04022017
2face insists Protests will hold in Lagos, Abuja
2face insists Protests will hold in Lagos, Abuja
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2—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 3
C<br />
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4 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Drama as Reps grill former SGF<br />
*You’re acting childishly, ex-Minister tells C’ttee Chairman<br />
*C’ttee Chair alleges Centenary is owned by 2 Nigerians<br />
*You’re not qualified to chair this hearing, Anyim tells chairman<br />
By Emman<br />
Ovuakporie and<br />
Johnbosco Agbakwuru<br />
THERE was a mild drama<br />
yesterday as Members<br />
of the House of Representatives<br />
Committee on Federal<br />
Capital Territory, FCT<br />
were grilling former Secretary<br />
to the Government of<br />
the Federation, SGF, Senator<br />
Anyim Pius Anyim over<br />
alleged irregularities in the<br />
agreement on Centenary<br />
City.<br />
The drama started immediately<br />
the Deputy Minority<br />
Leader of the House,<br />
Hon Chukwuka Onyeama,<br />
PDP, Anambra representing<br />
the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara<br />
finished reading his<br />
welcome address at about<br />
10.45am at the investigative<br />
hearing on the Centenary<br />
City Project.<br />
The former Senate President<br />
then requested the<br />
Speaker’s representative to<br />
wait because he wanted to<br />
make an observation before<br />
the investigative hearings<br />
could proceed.<br />
At this point, chairman of<br />
the House Committee on<br />
FCT, Herman Hembe yielded<br />
the floor to the former<br />
SGF to make his presentation.<br />
He started reading his<br />
presentation and towards<br />
the end of his three page<br />
presentation said: “When<br />
the former Managing Director<br />
of Security and Exchange<br />
Commission accused<br />
you of demanding<br />
bribe from her, you pushed<br />
for her sack and I refused<br />
to sack her while I was Secretary<br />
to Government of the<br />
Federation. I will not allow<br />
you to use the platform of<br />
this committee to victimize<br />
me”.<br />
Immediately he read that<br />
portion, the air was rented<br />
by ‘Point of Order, point of<br />
Order, point of Order. No,<br />
no, no, no, no. Hold on.<br />
The following dialogue<br />
then ensue:<br />
Hembe:”The former Senate<br />
President cannot assume<br />
the chairman of the<br />
committee, it’s not fair.<br />
Anyim:Please sir, I have<br />
the privilege to be heard.<br />
Okay, let us not get overheated.<br />
Mr Chairman, distinguished<br />
Hon. members,<br />
let me just say briefly.<br />
Hembe:Hold on, I am<br />
going to allow him to finish<br />
but hold on.<br />
Let me just say that we are<br />
a house of free lawmakers,<br />
we are a house of order. We<br />
are a house of due process.<br />
Let me just say to the former<br />
President of the Senate and<br />
the former SGF that in my<br />
opening remarks, I tried to<br />
show you courtesy. Please,<br />
don’t interrupt, as far as this<br />
hearing is concerned, I’m<br />
the chairman here and I<br />
L-R: Frank Le Bris, Managing Director, Nigerite Limited; Arc. Adebayo Dipe,<br />
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Lagos State; Dirk Modderman,<br />
Managing Director, Emenite Limited and Banjo Abimbola, Sales Manager,<br />
Nigerite Limited, during the launch of KalsiClad by Nigerite at the company’s<br />
head office in Ikeja, Lagos<br />
would not allow you to<br />
usurp that position. I am<br />
here on no account of yours.<br />
I have shown you respect.<br />
I even made a comment in<br />
the beginning that you<br />
ought not to appear by saying<br />
clearly that it was<br />
brought to my attention by<br />
certain quarters that we<br />
shouldn’t have invited the<br />
former Senate President to<br />
a hearing like this out of<br />
respect. It’s just respect for<br />
the fact that he’s been Senate<br />
President and I took note<br />
of that and spoke to my colleague<br />
chairman in the Senate,<br />
Senator Dino Melaye<br />
last night.<br />
“I asked him to communicate<br />
with the former Senate<br />
President and ask if we<br />
could excuse him today. It<br />
doesn’t mean that if we excuse<br />
him we won’t write to<br />
request for such information<br />
later. What we are doing<br />
here bothers on his activities<br />
as Secretary to Government<br />
of the Federation.<br />
“For the former Senate<br />
President to impute bias<br />
when he does not even<br />
know what we are doing<br />
here, we have not even said<br />
a word and he’s already<br />
inputting bias, I will like to<br />
ask you.....<br />
At this point, Anyim interrupted<br />
Hembe:Do not interrupt<br />
me, do not interrupt me, I<br />
reject that. Let me finish. Sit<br />
down, you cannot, let me<br />
finish.<br />
Hon. Members, let me<br />
say this to the former Senate<br />
President. Former Senate<br />
President and SGF, hold<br />
on. Like I said earlier, we<br />
will allow everybody the opportunity<br />
to speak here but<br />
I’m a little dismayed that for<br />
someone who was invited<br />
for this programme and felt<br />
he ought not to be invited,<br />
has already delved into the<br />
subject matter, I would allow<br />
Senator Pius Anyim an<br />
opportunity to go ahead<br />
and finish his statement.<br />
When he finishes, we will<br />
rule and there’s no way he<br />
or anybody can attempt to<br />
disrupt this proceeding,<br />
this proceeding will be concluded<br />
today. Nothing will<br />
change and so you can go<br />
ahead and make your statement<br />
and make any imputation<br />
you want to make,<br />
when you are done, we will<br />
continue, I so rule.<br />
2 dismissed soldiers, nine others nabbed<br />
over theft of N7.2bn gas turbine, other items<br />
*Police recover nine stolen vehicles<br />
By Samuel<br />
Oyadongha, Yenagoa<br />
NO fewer than thirteen<br />
persons including two<br />
dismissed soldiers, attached<br />
to Operation Doyle<br />
battling the Boko Haram<br />
insurgents in Borno State<br />
were yesterday paraded<br />
for alleged involvement in<br />
crimes including the theft<br />
of a gas turbine valued at<br />
N7.2 billion owned by the<br />
Bayelsa State Government<br />
along the Etelebou community<br />
of Gbarain in Yenagoa<br />
Local Government<br />
Area of the State<br />
Also arrested by men of<br />
the State Police Command<br />
were nine persons over<br />
their alleged involvement<br />
in cases of kidnapping<br />
and car theft.<br />
The Bayelsa State Commissioner<br />
of Police, Asuquo<br />
Amba, who disclosed<br />
this yesterday in Yenagoa<br />
while parading the suspects<br />
before newsmen,<br />
said police operatives intercepted<br />
a Russian Gas<br />
Turbine Etelebu,Gbarain<br />
area of the state.<br />
According to him, “Seven<br />
suspects were arrested<br />
and five trucks recovered<br />
with vandalised turbine.”<br />
He said, Governor Seriake<br />
Dickson has been informed<br />
and has given the<br />
go ahead for proper investigation<br />
of those involved.<br />
Amba Asuquo also confirmed<br />
that the two deserters<br />
of the Nigerian Army<br />
who were of the rank of<br />
Corporal, were arrested<br />
alongside other suspects<br />
along the Agudama Ekpetiama<br />
area of the Bayelsa<br />
state capital over their alleged<br />
involvement in theft<br />
of vehicles.<br />
According to him, “On<br />
the 29th of January, 2017,<br />
the command control room<br />
received a distress call<br />
from one Toju Adama from<br />
Ogborikoko in Warri Delta<br />
State that his Hilux Van<br />
was stolen and was tracked<br />
to Agudama-Epie.<br />
“Operatives from the<br />
State Command swung<br />
into action and arrested<br />
the occupants of the Hilux,<br />
one John Linus Ogah, a<br />
dismissed soldier from 3<br />
Division of the Nigerian<br />
Army in Cross River State<br />
and his cohort, one Shedrack<br />
at the scene. A<br />
bunch of master keys were<br />
recovered from the suspect.”<br />
B-R-I-E-F-S<br />
We’re under siege of<br />
disinformation, FG cries out<br />
By Emmanuel Elebeke<br />
Apparently reacting to the rumoured death of President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari across the social media, the Federal<br />
Government has cried out that the country was under the<br />
siege of disinformation and fake news.<br />
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai<br />
Mohammed, made the observation in Abuja on Friday<br />
when he paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of Daar<br />
Communications Plc. owners of the African Independent<br />
Television (AIT) and Raypower radio station.<br />
The Minister said it was worrisome that the media had<br />
failed to check the dangerous which is capable of eroding<br />
the integrity of the media and bring the country to its knees.<br />
He then called on the media not to engage in dissemination<br />
of false information.<br />
Mohammed then urged the media, particularly the traditional<br />
media to eschew disinformation of fake news and<br />
save the country from the negative consequences.<br />
13,000 suffer from Malnutrition<br />
one Bauchi LGA<br />
By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi<br />
No fewer than 13, 000 children were said to be malnourished<br />
in Dambam local government area of Bauchi<br />
state.<br />
The Nutrition officer of the local government Ahmed<br />
idi who stated this during the weeked when he received<br />
a delegation led by the Chairman, State Primary<br />
Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA said<br />
that they were admitted for treatment at Dambam community<br />
management for acute malnutrition programme<br />
in 2016.<br />
‘Only 3,755 were successfully treated after receiving<br />
supplementary feeding for a period of eight weeks.<br />
The local government has five outpatient therapeutic<br />
sites, but most parents are found of defaulting, that<br />
was why the number of treated children are low”<br />
“ Enlightenment is still ongoing to encourage care<br />
givers on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding,<br />
complementary feeding and personal hygiene,” he<br />
said.<br />
Osinbajo to chair forum on<br />
Economic Recovery Plan<br />
By Emmanuel Elebeke<br />
sThe Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is to chair an<br />
Economic Recovery Plan forum on Monday, 6 February<br />
in Abuja.<br />
The Plan is expected to be formally launched by President<br />
Mohammadu Buhari within the month.<br />
A release signed by the Media Adviser to the Minister<br />
of Budget and National Planning, Akpandem James, explained<br />
that the forum is part of efforts towards carrying<br />
the critical sectors along and ensuring successful development<br />
of the Economic Recovery Plan.<br />
According to the Minister, Udoma Udo Udoma, the<br />
event is being organized for representatives of the Private<br />
Sector to actively engage their public sector counterparts<br />
on the proposals.<br />
He noted that the Ministry of Budget and National<br />
Planning was in the process of finalizing Nigeria’s Economic<br />
Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP) 2017 – 2020<br />
development process, stating that the forum is expected<br />
to enrich the Plan development process.<br />
There’s no travel ban on<br />
Nigerians—US envoy<br />
By Victoria Ojeme<br />
UNITED States has said Nigerians will not be<br />
banned from entering the country contrary to<br />
speculations of many. Trump had signed an executive<br />
order barring citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran,<br />
Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan from entering the<br />
country for 90 days and also suspended the admission<br />
of all refugees for 120 days. The US Ambassador<br />
to Nigeria , Ambassador W. Stuart Symington who said<br />
this yesterday during a press briefing in Abuja, stated<br />
that the US holds Nigeria in high esteem and would<br />
not ban its citizens from coming to US. He said the<br />
connection between our two countries has been strong<br />
and will continue to be strong tomorrow. He refuted<br />
the claim that Nigeria visa status has been reduce to<br />
one year. He said that nothing has really changed in<br />
the Visa policy for Nigeria, stressing that the two years<br />
multiple entry status is still valid for Nigerians. He<br />
said U.S will not discriminate against any Nigeria based<br />
on religion or tribe. He however stressed that should<br />
there be any visa denial for any individual it should<br />
not be constricted to discrimination.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 5<br />
STATE OF THE NATION: Tuface insists protests’ll<br />
go on in Lagos, Abuja<br />
*No ban on peaceful protests — Presidency<br />
*What the law says about public protest<br />
By Charles Kumolu<br />
BARLEY 24 hours af<br />
ter the Lagos State<br />
Police Command vowed<br />
to stop the planned protests<br />
against bad governance<br />
being convened<br />
by Tuface Idibia, the famous<br />
Afro-Pop artiste<br />
has vowed to go on with<br />
the exercise.<br />
The event which was<br />
earlier scheduled to<br />
hold in Lagos only would<br />
also hold in Abuja on<br />
February 6, 2017. Tuface,<br />
who made his insistence<br />
known on his Instagram<br />
account, said the events<br />
being organised on the<br />
platform of the 2Face<br />
Foundation, would commence<br />
at 8: am in Lagos<br />
and 9: am in Abuja.<br />
In a move indicative<br />
that the protests tagged:<br />
One Voice, One Nigeria<br />
were explicitly about Nigeria,<br />
interested participants<br />
were asked to put<br />
on green attires. Yesterday’s<br />
post to the effect<br />
that the protests would<br />
go on, was on the heels<br />
of a similar notice by a<br />
civil society organisation,<br />
Enough Is Enough, EiE.<br />
Tuface said the protests<br />
were meant to sensitize<br />
the Nigerian authorities<br />
over the increasing hardship<br />
in the country.<br />
The insistence by Tuface<br />
generated so many<br />
comments on his Instagram<br />
account from<br />
would-be protesters, who<br />
maintained that the<br />
grinding hardship in<br />
Nigeria made the protests<br />
inevitable.<br />
As of the time of filing<br />
this report, the social<br />
media was abuzz with<br />
comments against the<br />
plan to stop the protest.<br />
Instructively, those,<br />
who questioned the reasons<br />
adduced by the Police,<br />
insisted that it was<br />
the responsibility of the<br />
law enforcement agency<br />
to maintain law and order<br />
during the exercise.<br />
Even a few, who were<br />
less sympathetic to the<br />
protests, reminded the<br />
Police that the right to<br />
protest was inalienable.<br />
While dismissing the<br />
reasons given by the Police,<br />
others pointed at<br />
past protests which held<br />
in the country without<br />
being stopped by the<br />
law. The State Police<br />
Commissioner, Mr. Fatai<br />
Owoseni had said that<br />
Tuface lacked the capacity<br />
to contain the kind of<br />
crowd the protests would<br />
attract. “We know that<br />
Tuface does not have the<br />
capacity to contain such<br />
a crowd and we will not<br />
fold our hands and watch<br />
while things go out of<br />
hand,” he said last<br />
Wednesday.<br />
Instructively, Section<br />
39 of the 1999 Constitution<br />
granted the freedom<br />
of expression, including<br />
the right to be heard and<br />
to disseminate information.<br />
By Ifeyinwa Obi<br />
THE recent arrest of a<br />
container carrying<br />
high calibre arms by the<br />
Nigeria Customs Service,<br />
NCS, in Lagos, has raised<br />
questions about the role<br />
of security agencies and<br />
other agencies in the<br />
ports, who were saddled<br />
with the responsibility of<br />
inspecting imported<br />
goods. It was learnt that<br />
apart from the seven authorised<br />
inspecting agencies<br />
at the ports, no fewer<br />
than 15 operate at the various<br />
ports-a situation industry<br />
operators said had<br />
been instrumental to the<br />
indiscriminate clearing of<br />
harmful goods.<br />
Saturday Vanguard<br />
learnt that the authorized<br />
agencies include Nigerian<br />
Ports Authority, NPA,<br />
Section 40 provides the<br />
freedom of association<br />
while Section 38 gave<br />
Nigerians the right to<br />
freedom of movement<br />
and peaceful assembly.<br />
Meanwhile, the Presidency,<br />
yesterday, said it<br />
was not against the right<br />
of Nigerians to stage<br />
peaceful protests. This<br />
was made known by the<br />
Senior Special Assistant<br />
on Media and Publicity<br />
to the Acting President,<br />
Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Mr.<br />
Laolu Akande.<br />
Disclosing this on his<br />
Twitter handle, he said:<br />
“This administration will<br />
not prevent Nigerians<br />
from expressing themselves<br />
in peaceful protests,<br />
it is a fundamental<br />
right of the people. No<br />
government has ever<br />
laid out the kind of Social<br />
Investment Programme<br />
the Buhari government<br />
is now running<br />
across the nation that<br />
will touch millions.”<br />
More stories on Pg.28<br />
Nigeria Customs Service,<br />
National Drug Law Enforcement<br />
Agency,<br />
NDLEA, Nigeria Maritime<br />
Administration and<br />
Safety Agency, NIMASA,<br />
Nigeria Police, Nigeria<br />
Immigration Service and<br />
Port Health.<br />
The duties of these<br />
agencies in the process of<br />
examining and giving<br />
clearance to imported<br />
goods were supposed to<br />
complement the efforts of<br />
the NCS, but findings<br />
showed that most of the<br />
agencies often compromise<br />
professionally.<br />
Of these agencies, it was<br />
gathered that it was impossible<br />
for some to be<br />
ignorant of the content of<br />
the 40-foot container<br />
which was ferrying 661<br />
Pump-Action rifles to an<br />
unknown destination.<br />
A source revealed that<br />
the exit of the truck carrying<br />
the weapons may<br />
have been facilitated by<br />
the agencies saddled with<br />
the examination of the<br />
goods in connivance with<br />
the releasing officers.<br />
The faulty state of the<br />
scanners at the Port suggested<br />
that the officer in<br />
charge of examination<br />
alongside other agencies<br />
may have carried out the<br />
inspection after which a<br />
report which facilitated<br />
the release by the Releasing<br />
Officer was written.<br />
Saturday Vanguard further<br />
learnt that the container<br />
could not have exited<br />
from the port without<br />
being opened at the gate<br />
*Ganawuri Cultural Group from Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau<br />
performing a dance at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC ) Orientation<br />
Camp in Mangu on Friday. NAN<br />
Vampire was not treated like king<br />
— Prisons Spokesperson<br />
By Charles Kumolu<br />
THE Public Relations<br />
Officer of Nigeria<br />
Prisons Service, NPS,<br />
Mr. Francis Enabore has<br />
said that the kidnap<br />
ARMS SEIZURE IN LAGOS: Why security agents<br />
have questions to answer<br />
for sighting.<br />
With these suggesting<br />
the likelihood of a coordinated<br />
deal among the various<br />
officials saddled with<br />
the responsibility of ascertaining<br />
the content of the<br />
container, some stakeholders<br />
noted that unraveling<br />
those behind the<br />
importation and release of<br />
the goods would not be<br />
difficult.<br />
The Secretary General,<br />
Association of Nigerian<br />
Licensed Customs<br />
Agents, ANLCA, urged<br />
the Federal Government<br />
to hold the Command<br />
where the container was<br />
released responsible.<br />
He said: “This is not the<br />
first time arms and ammunitions<br />
have been passing<br />
through the ports.<br />
They should not fool us.<br />
It was only when negotiation<br />
broke down that the<br />
FOU was alerted.<br />
‘’These security agents<br />
including the Customs all<br />
saw these arms. It was a<br />
syndicate. All the agents<br />
have compromised. The<br />
wanted officers could not<br />
be the releasing officers.<br />
The releasing officer is<br />
always between the rank<br />
of Deputy Comptroller or<br />
Assistant Comptroller.<br />
‘’There is no way these<br />
releasing officers and the<br />
officer in charge of the<br />
gate could claim ignorance<br />
of the sordid incident<br />
because, at the gate,<br />
containers are always reopened<br />
after examination.<br />
All the security<br />
agents, including the<br />
kingpin, Mr. Chibuzor<br />
Henry, alias Vampire,<br />
who escaped at the High<br />
Court premises in Owerri,<br />
was never given special<br />
treatment while in<br />
custody.<br />
Customs are culpable.”<br />
His views were corroborated<br />
by the National<br />
Coordinator, Save Nigeria<br />
Importers and Freight<br />
Forwarders Coalition, Mr.<br />
Osita Okechukwu, who<br />
described the incident as<br />
a national embarrassment.<br />
He said: ‘”These two officers<br />
declared wanted<br />
could not have ordered<br />
the release of the container.<br />
The releasing officers<br />
should have been arrested.<br />
The Officer in charge<br />
of inspection, Officer in<br />
charge of releasing and<br />
Officer in charge of the<br />
gate, who are of the rank<br />
of Deputy Comptroller<br />
and Assistant Comptroller,<br />
have questions to answer.<br />
The junior officers, who<br />
are being hooded by the<br />
Customs authority, are<br />
not those to be held responsible.”<br />
It was however gathered<br />
that a female officer,<br />
who authorized the release<br />
of the container,<br />
Rose Abetiambe, an Assistant<br />
Comptroller of Customs,<br />
had been in detention<br />
at the FOU cell in Ikeja<br />
since Monday.<br />
Saturday Vanguard was<br />
told that the Releasing<br />
Officer did not deny authorizing<br />
the release of<br />
the container after physical<br />
examination.<br />
However, industry commentators<br />
have dismissed<br />
as untenable the excuse<br />
being bandied by the<br />
NCS that the Customs<br />
examiners failed to detect<br />
the arms in the container<br />
due to faulty scanners.<br />
Enabore, who said this<br />
in an exclusive chat with<br />
Vanguard against the<br />
backdrop of reports to<br />
the effect that the escaped<br />
prisoner lived<br />
large in detention, specifically<br />
denied that<br />
Vampire had no access<br />
to mobile phones.<br />
His words: “It is wrong<br />
for anyone to allege that<br />
people live like kings in<br />
the prison. The manner<br />
we keep prisoners is<br />
spelled out in our rules<br />
of engagement. To allege<br />
that some prisoners<br />
live like kings is wrong.<br />
It is misinformation.<br />
All I know is that the<br />
issue of phones being<br />
smuggled into the prisons<br />
has been a challenge<br />
to us. We have<br />
been battling it and it is<br />
not just a challenge in<br />
Nigeria, it happens all<br />
over the world. Our responsibility<br />
is to ensure<br />
that it does not happen.<br />
We don’t allow it. What<br />
is important is to ensure<br />
that people don’t smuggle<br />
phones into the prisons.<br />
Whenever we find<br />
out that it happened, we<br />
have a structure and our<br />
ways of handling it.<br />
‘’Vampire is one out of<br />
the 3000 persons in that<br />
prison. So, it is sheer<br />
exaggeration for someone<br />
to say that the service<br />
allowed him to live<br />
like a king. Anyone, who<br />
knows the prison, knows<br />
that it was not built like<br />
a palace. All the prisons<br />
were built in the same<br />
pattern.<br />
What people don’t understand<br />
is that we have<br />
the mandate to keep people<br />
alive. And we have<br />
always been doing that.<br />
For instance, an ex-governor,<br />
who is detained,<br />
cannot be kept in the<br />
same cell with kidnappers<br />
or hardened criminals.<br />
We use our discretion<br />
to ensure that prisoners<br />
are separated.”<br />
C<br />
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6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
C<br />
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Police arrest, parade killers of<br />
Assistant Superintendent of Customs<br />
*We were told he was carrying N4m, dollars but saw N600,000 in his bag<br />
—Robbers.<br />
*Added that Chelsea T-Shirt gave him out<br />
By Kingsley<br />
Omonobi, Abuja<br />
THE Police at Force<br />
Headquarters yesterday<br />
paraded five suspected<br />
armed robbers who shot and<br />
killed Assistant Superintendent<br />
of Customs (ASC)<br />
Aliyu Dayyab, on the 22nd<br />
of December 2016 at Tin<br />
Can Island, Apapa.<br />
Chief organizer of the<br />
gang, Lanre Humphreh<br />
Aimudo told reporters that<br />
the informant that gave them<br />
the job, told him that the<br />
Customs officer was carrying<br />
a cash amount of N4<br />
million and undisclosed<br />
amount of dollars and that<br />
was why the gang went after<br />
him.<br />
He said that they were<br />
able to distinguish the officer<br />
from others after the close of<br />
work on the day of the attack<br />
because he was wearing<br />
a Chelsea T-shirt.<br />
Asked How much they<br />
retrieved from the officer and<br />
why they killed him, Lanre<br />
said that contrary to the information<br />
given them, the<br />
bag that was taken from the<br />
officer only contained N600,<br />
000 which 10 of them who<br />
were involved in the crime<br />
shared at N50, 000 each.<br />
He said after they robbed<br />
the officer, they were about<br />
leaving when they heard<br />
gunshot and it turned out<br />
that one of them shot the<br />
officer.<br />
Giving details of the arrest<br />
of the gang, Force Public<br />
Relations Officer, CSP<br />
Jimoh Moshood said, “We<br />
are parading before you, a<br />
five member gang of vicious<br />
armed robbers and killers of<br />
ASC Aliyu Dayyab on 22/12/<br />
2016 at Tin Can Area of<br />
Lagos.<br />
“Sequel to the report of the<br />
incident and a coordinated<br />
operation carried out by the<br />
IGP’s Intelligence Response<br />
Team (IRT) and the Technical<br />
Intelligence Unit (TIU),<br />
on the directive of the IGP<br />
to fish out the killers of the<br />
Customs Officer, the following<br />
suspects were trailed<br />
and arrested between December<br />
2016, and 18th<br />
January 2017.<br />
“They are Lucky Williams-<br />
Gang Leader; Akinloye<br />
Samuel, Abraham Lot,<br />
Bolaji Taiwo and Lanre<br />
Humphreh Aimudo. One<br />
GSM Infinite phone belonging<br />
to the late Customs Officer<br />
was recovered from<br />
Lucky Williams.<br />
The FPRO noted that<br />
Humphreh organized the<br />
gang that robbed and killed<br />
the Customs Officer on the<br />
said day when he closed<br />
from duty on his way home.<br />
“The suspects confessed to<br />
have information that the<br />
officer had in his possession,<br />
four million cash and some<br />
dollars and this prompted<br />
the attack and killing of the<br />
officer after they snatched<br />
the bag containing some<br />
money.<br />
He said “All the suspects<br />
volunteered confessional<br />
statements admitting the<br />
various criminal roles they<br />
played in the commission of<br />
the heinous crime.<br />
“They will be arraigned in<br />
court on completion of investigation<br />
for murder, armed<br />
robbery and conspiracy,” the<br />
FPRO added.<br />
Task Force on food security identifies<br />
poor roads, multiple taxes as reasons<br />
for high cost of staple food<br />
By Levinus<br />
Nwabughiogu<br />
PRESIDENCY has<br />
identified the poor<br />
state of rural roads and<br />
multiple revenue collecting<br />
points on the highways<br />
from traders and<br />
transporters as major reasons<br />
prices of goods are<br />
sky-rocking in the markets.<br />
Committee on Food Security<br />
set up by the Acting<br />
President, Yemi Osinbajo<br />
to mitigate on the<br />
matter came up with the<br />
factors at its first meeting<br />
since their inauguration<br />
on Wednesday.<br />
Presided over by Osinbajo,<br />
the meeting which<br />
held at Aguda House,<br />
the official residence of<br />
the Acting President added<br />
that inadequacy of<br />
distribution networks<br />
and high cost of transportation<br />
also counted.<br />
Against this background,<br />
the Task Force<br />
set up technical subgroup<br />
to draw up a draft<br />
plan of action for further<br />
consideration.<br />
The Task Force would<br />
also be coordinating various<br />
“MDAs and working<br />
closely with the private<br />
sector to explore<br />
ways and means of overcoming<br />
some of the supply<br />
bottlenecks in the<br />
short term, while also reinforcing<br />
on-going medium<br />
and long-term solutions<br />
including improving<br />
supplies and providing<br />
better storage.”<br />
A statement from the<br />
Office of the Acting President<br />
however clarified<br />
that its assignment “is<br />
not about government<br />
intervening directly in<br />
the market for staple<br />
foods either though purchases<br />
or price fixing.”<br />
Those wishing PMB dead,<br />
wicked, callous—Obasanjo<br />
Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta<br />
FORMER President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has<br />
described those peddling the rumuored death of<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari as wicked, callous and<br />
treacherous.<br />
Obasanjo stated this in a release issued by his Media<br />
Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, in Abeokuta on Friday,adding<br />
that instead of embarking on such “worrisome” wishes,<br />
they should rather engage in marathon prayers from<br />
him.<br />
He said, what the President needs “are our prayers<br />
and best wishes, which will ginger his morale to come<br />
back more stronger and better.”<br />
Obasanjo who cautioned against politicization of every<br />
situation in the country, recalled that he has also<br />
been a victim of such rumoured death while in office as<br />
the President, declaring, “no normal human being will<br />
wish an elderly person dead irrespective of their differences.<br />
“If you don’t like him, wait for another election, not<br />
going about to say he is dead. No matter his health situation,<br />
we should pray for him to recover quick and<br />
come back more stronger and better. For anyone wishing<br />
him dead, such person or group of persons are callous,<br />
wicked and treacherous.<br />
“I was also rumoured to have died almost 12 times. I<br />
don’t know what they derive from doing so, but, they<br />
should seek forgiveness.”<br />
Maj. Gen. Atewe, Akpobolokemi<br />
re-arraigned by EFCC over N8.5b fraud<br />
By Innocent Anaba<br />
ECONOMIC and Financial<br />
Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday,<br />
re-arraigned Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe and three<br />
others, over N8.5 billion fraud before a Federal High<br />
Court sitting in Lagos.<br />
Atewe was charged alongside Patrick Akpobolokemi,<br />
former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime<br />
Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA and two<br />
other members of staff, Kime Engonzu and Josephine<br />
Otuaga.<br />
They are facing an amended 22 count charge of fraud.<br />
Their re-arraignment followed the transfer of the former<br />
trial judge, Justice Saliu Saidu from Lagos to the Port<br />
harcourt division of the court.<br />
The accused were re-arraigned before a new judge,<br />
Justice A.O Faji, and their pleas taken afresh.<br />
After their re-arraignment, defence counsel asked<br />
the court to allow the accused to continue on the earlier<br />
bail granted by the previous judge.<br />
Consequently, the judge allowed them to continue<br />
on the earlier bail granted and adjourned till February<br />
13 and 17 for commencement of trial.<br />
At the last adjourned date, the EFCC had examined<br />
a prosecution witness, Mr Adamu Yusuf, who told the<br />
court how the accused converted about N4.9 billion<br />
into dollars.
FG to cut fuel imports, grow Forex<br />
reserves with biofuels policy<br />
By Michael Eboh<br />
THE Federal Govern<br />
ment, yesterday, said it<br />
is set to introduce a<br />
Biofuels Policy that would<br />
cut Nigeria’s fuel import by<br />
five per cent in the short<br />
term and up to 20 per cent<br />
in the medium, and which<br />
would also help grow the<br />
country’s foreign exchange<br />
earnings.<br />
This was disclosed by the<br />
Acting Executive Secretary<br />
of the Petroleum Products<br />
Pricing Regulatory<br />
Agency, PPPRA, Mr. Victor<br />
Shidok, at a press conference<br />
in Abuja to announce<br />
the forthcoming<br />
workshop on biofuels development<br />
in Nigeria.<br />
Shidok said work on the<br />
National Biofuels Policy<br />
and Incentive Document<br />
was at the final stages and<br />
the document is currently<br />
awaiting ratification by the<br />
Federal Executive Council,<br />
adding that once the<br />
approval of the council is<br />
gotten, the policy would<br />
become operational.<br />
He stated that once the<br />
policy is in place, there are<br />
a number of individuals<br />
who are already engaged<br />
in the farming and production<br />
of biofuel products,<br />
while the policy would<br />
help coordinate and promote<br />
integration of their<br />
various activities.<br />
He maintained that the<br />
production of biofuels and<br />
biodiesels do not require<br />
complex technologies, but<br />
only require little equipment<br />
and off-takers.<br />
He said, “Biofuel as a<br />
source of energy when<br />
fully adopted would create<br />
employment opportunities,<br />
By Dayo<br />
Johnson,Akure<br />
THE 61-year-old chair<br />
man of Ilaje local government<br />
area of Ondo<br />
state Agunola Omomowo<br />
support agricultural development<br />
and can as well be<br />
used to generate electricity.<br />
Other benefits of biofuels are<br />
environmentally friendly,<br />
less pollution, cheaper as<br />
well as become source of foreign<br />
exchange earner.”<br />
He explained that biofuels<br />
comprise bioethanol and<br />
biodiesel, which are blends<br />
of petroleum products and<br />
agricultural products.<br />
According to him,<br />
Ondo council chairman slump, dies<br />
after attending political meeting<br />
yesterday slumped and<br />
died after attending a political<br />
meeting in Akure,<br />
the state capital.<br />
Party sources hinted that<br />
after the meeting, the deceased<br />
who walked to his<br />
10,000 students matriculate in UNIBEN out<br />
of 100,000 applicants—VC<br />
By Simon Ebegbulem<br />
THE University of Benin<br />
(UNIBEN) yesterday<br />
matriculated 10,000 students<br />
out of the 100,000<br />
Representative of the Governor and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr.<br />
Tunji Bello (middle), performing the foundation laying while the Acting Head of Service,<br />
Mrs. Folasade Adesoye (2nd left); Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education,<br />
Mr. Adesina Odeyemi (left) and Sole Administrator of Bariga LCDA, Mr. Sanya Osijo<br />
(right), watch during the foundation laying ceremony of the new model school building<br />
at Angus Memorial High School, Somolu yesterday.<br />
applicants that applied for<br />
the 2016/2017 admission<br />
into the institution.<br />
The Vice Chancellor of<br />
the university, Prof. Faraday<br />
Orumwense, who disclosed<br />
this at matriculation<br />
ceremony of the university,<br />
said the institution has<br />
given the matriculating students<br />
the opportunity to<br />
officially pledge their allegiance<br />
to the university<br />
authority through the matriculation<br />
oath.<br />
According to him, the institution,<br />
as results of its<br />
academic strides, has continued<br />
to receive large<br />
numbers of applications for<br />
admissions on a yearly basis.<br />
While congratulating the<br />
new intakes for being<br />
among the few lucky students<br />
who have been offered<br />
admission, he urged<br />
them to be law abiding students<br />
of the university.<br />
In his words, “I am urging<br />
you all to obey the university<br />
rules and regulations<br />
as the authority has<br />
zero tolerance for any nefarious<br />
act and will apply<br />
sanctions against defaulter.<br />
I encourage you all to be<br />
decent and shun evil vices<br />
like exam malpractices,<br />
drug abuse, cultism, prostitution<br />
and immoral activities<br />
that may mar your academic<br />
activities in this institution,”<br />
he said.<br />
bioethanol E-10, for instance<br />
is a blend of 90 per cent gasoline<br />
and 10 per cent ethanol,<br />
while biodiesel B-20 is<br />
a blend of 80 per cent diesel<br />
and 20 per cent oil jathropha,<br />
used palm oil among others.<br />
car reportedly slumped<br />
when he was about unlocking<br />
his vehicle.<br />
He reportedly gave up<br />
the ghost before he got to<br />
the State specialist hospital<br />
where he was rushed<br />
to by sympathizers and<br />
party members.<br />
His Special Adviser on<br />
Media Bode Omoyoloye<br />
who confirmed the unfortunate<br />
incident said that<br />
his principal did not show<br />
any sign of illness before<br />
the commencement of the<br />
meeting yesterday.<br />
Omoyoloye described<br />
the sudden death of his<br />
boss as a rude shock and<br />
that the entire oil rich community<br />
has been thrown<br />
into mourning.<br />
According to him “He<br />
was not showing any sign<br />
of sickness before his<br />
death because he left<br />
Igbokoda to Akure for a<br />
political meeting with his<br />
vice and the Secretary.<br />
“After the meeting, he<br />
slept in an hotel, but he<br />
slumped before he got to<br />
his car and died before<br />
getting to the hospital.<br />
Omoyoloye said “He<br />
was a fine gentleman,<br />
easy going and generous<br />
to all as he was been enjoyed<br />
by all Ilaje indigenes<br />
since he was sworn<br />
in as the LGA boss.”<br />
The deceased council<br />
boss was elected as the executive<br />
council. Chairman<br />
of the oil rich areas<br />
on April. 23 this year.<br />
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 7<br />
BRIEFS<br />
45 African countries to<br />
participate in Festac 77 @ 40<br />
By Ebun Sessou<br />
DIRECTOR, Centre for Black Arts and African<br />
Civilization, CBAAC, Mr. Ferdinand Anikwe has<br />
said that, no less than 45 African countries have indicated<br />
interest to participate in the forthcoming celebration of<br />
the 40 th anniversary of Festac77 that would start on<br />
April 1 across the country.<br />
He also noted that, the forthcoming Festac 77<br />
anniversary would be celebrated alongside the 80th<br />
birthday anniversary.of the former President of Nigeria,<br />
Olusegun Obasanjo<br />
According to him, Japan, Canada, the United States of<br />
America, China and other developed countries outside<br />
Africa have also shown interests in participating.<br />
The Festac 77, also known as the Second World Black<br />
and African Festival of Arts and Culture, was held in<br />
Lagos from January l5, 1977 to February 12, 1977 and 59<br />
countries participated.<br />
“The month-long event celebrated African culture and<br />
showcased to the world African music, fine Art,<br />
Literature, drama, dance and religion."<br />
Shun negative values, vices,<br />
Ambode charges students<br />
LAGOS State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on<br />
Friday advised students in the State to fully embrace<br />
the opportunities being provided by his administration<br />
in the education sector and shun all negative values and<br />
vices that could hinder them from realising their dreams<br />
The Governor said his vision remained the building of<br />
great future full of opportunities, possibilities and prosperity<br />
for the youths through the provision of qualitative<br />
education that is consistent with the demands of the 21st<br />
century, and as such it was important for students to<br />
reciprocate by showing commitment to excellence.<br />
The Governor, who spoke at the foundation laying ceremony<br />
of two additional Model Colleges in Yaba and<br />
Shomolu, recalled that since his assumption of office on<br />
May 29, 2015, conscious efforts have been made through<br />
policies and programmes that placed high premium on<br />
education as a vehicle for continued and future prosperity<br />
of the State.<br />
Governor Ambode, who had earlier on Thursday performed<br />
the foundation laying ceremony of the New Model<br />
School in Awori College, Ojo, said he remained committed<br />
to the reformation and strengthening of public schools<br />
in the State with the view to ensure that they are given<br />
the best in terms of quality teaching and learning environment.<br />
YOHESOR seeks improved<br />
anti-corruption content in<br />
curriculum<br />
By Dayo Adesulu<br />
ANon-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Youth<br />
Health and Social Reforms (YOHESOR), has called<br />
for the introduction of improved anti-corruption content<br />
and life building skills in the nation’s school’s curriculum.<br />
The group’s National Coordinator, Dr. Ijeoma<br />
Arodiogbu in a statement in Abuja said that YOHESOR<br />
was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education<br />
and other stakeholders on anti-corruption campaign<br />
in schools through The Value Project.<br />
He said the programme would be hinged on Picture<br />
Code, Curriculum Enrichment and Peer Education to<br />
drive home the anti-corruption message among students.<br />
According to Arodiogbu “though the picture code may<br />
not cover all facets of corrupt practices and habits but it<br />
would try to capture the very relevant ones that are quite<br />
common among students and adults in the school environment<br />
and public office respectively were captured.”<br />
He noted that the advocacy on curriculum enrichment<br />
was concerned with enhancing the basic and secondary<br />
education sectors to impact highest level of morals and<br />
ethics in students to bring the desired social and economic<br />
re-engineering.<br />
Reps Spokesman loses mother<br />
•Dogara condoles with family<br />
By Emman Ovuakporie and Johnbosco<br />
THE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu<br />
Dogara, yesterday commiserated with Chairman,<br />
House Committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrazak<br />
Saad Namdas over the death of his mother Hajiya<br />
Aishatu.<br />
Hajiya Aishatu who died in Yola in the early hours of<br />
Friday, at the age of 90, left behind six children and 18<br />
grandchildren and has since been buried in Yola,<br />
Adamawa State, according to Islamic rites.<br />
In his condolence message to the family, signed by his<br />
Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs, Turaki<br />
Hassan, the Speaker said he was shocked to receive the<br />
news of the demise of Hajiya Aishatu.
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K<br />
8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
National Assembly invites Fashola<br />
over change in leadership of TCN<br />
By Henry Umoru<br />
THE National Assem<br />
bly yesterday invited<br />
the Minister of Power,<br />
Works and Housing, Babatunde<br />
Fashola over the sudden<br />
change of leadership<br />
of Transmission Company<br />
of Nigeria, TCN, just as it<br />
asked the company’s<br />
leadership to remain in office<br />
for now.<br />
In a statement jointly<br />
signed yesterday by the<br />
Chairman, Senate Committee<br />
on Power, Steel Development<br />
and Metallurgy,<br />
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe<br />
and the Chairman, House<br />
Committee on Power,<br />
Daniel Asuquo, the National<br />
Assembly said that the<br />
minister and his team<br />
shunned the meeting fixed<br />
for yesterday.<br />
Against this backdrop,<br />
the joint committee has<br />
summoned Fashola and all<br />
other relevant officials to appear<br />
before it next week<br />
Monday to answer questions<br />
relating to the change<br />
of leadership of TCN, even<br />
as the Committee urged all<br />
TCN staff and relevant<br />
stakeholders to maintain<br />
the peace in the overall interest<br />
of the nation.<br />
A statement titled: “ The<br />
TCN leadership crisis and<br />
its effect on the power<br />
sector,” read in full, “ The<br />
Joint Committee on Power<br />
of the National Assembly<br />
acting on its oversight received<br />
disturbing correspondences<br />
and information<br />
regarding the sudden<br />
change in the leadership of<br />
TCN, and its attendant crisis.<br />
“Considering the urgency<br />
of the matter, especially<br />
due to the present economic<br />
recession, the Joint Committee<br />
resolved to invite the<br />
Hon. Minister of Power,<br />
Works and Housing to explain<br />
the decision of the<br />
Ministry to “ import” from<br />
the ADB( one of the leaders<br />
to TCN) yet another<br />
duplication of the Manitoba<br />
experience which had<br />
left a negative impression<br />
on the fortunes of TCN and<br />
indeed, the Power Sector.<br />
“The Joint Committee invited<br />
the Hon. minister of<br />
Power, Works and Housing<br />
to appear before the Committee<br />
with relevant officials<br />
on the 3rd of February<br />
which he could not appear.”<br />
“Consequently, the Joint<br />
Committee met and re-<br />
*Says status-quo ante must be maintained<br />
*Fashola out of Abuja on assignment —Aide<br />
TCN: Our position — AfDB<br />
...Explains $155m deal<br />
..As FG confirms Mohammed as Atiku’s replacment<br />
By Chris Ochayi<br />
THE African Develop<br />
ment Bank, AFDB,<br />
yesterday, said it acted in<br />
line with a request from the<br />
Federal Government to release<br />
its staff, Mr. Usman<br />
Gur Mohammed to head<br />
the Transmission Company<br />
of Nigeria, TCN, for a<br />
period of one year.<br />
The AFDB in a statement<br />
issued by its Senior Communications<br />
Officer, Nigeria<br />
Country Office, Fatimah<br />
Abubakar Alkali, in<br />
Abuja, explained the bank<br />
approved the request to<br />
support the government<br />
in its power sector reforms.<br />
According to the statement,<br />
“the African Development<br />
Bank, AfDB, approved<br />
a $155 million loan<br />
for the Economic and Power<br />
Sector Reform Programme,<br />
EPSERP, which<br />
became effective on 19th<br />
October 2012.<br />
“The support was aimed<br />
at improving power systems<br />
and the business environment<br />
and also sustaining<br />
growth through<br />
sound macroeconomic policies<br />
and budget priorities.<br />
The amount was fully disbursed<br />
in 2 tranches on 1st<br />
March 2013 and 21st December<br />
2015 respectively.<br />
“The programme will<br />
benefit the entire population<br />
of Nigeria in terms of<br />
extended access to a more<br />
reliable supply of electricity<br />
at improved quality and<br />
reduced cost.”<br />
The bank further remarked<br />
that, “The EPS-<br />
ERP will have a major<br />
positive impact on the private<br />
sector through the<br />
substantial reduction in<br />
the cost of doing business<br />
for all economic sectors,<br />
particularly in the formal<br />
and informal manufacturing<br />
and service activities<br />
which are seriously constrained<br />
by the power supply<br />
gaps.<br />
solved as follows: that the<br />
status quo ante in respect<br />
of the management must<br />
be maintained; that the<br />
Minister should endeavour<br />
to appear before the Committee<br />
on Monday, 6th February,<br />
2017 by 10am and<br />
that all TCN staff and relevant<br />
stakeholders should<br />
maintain the peace in the<br />
overall interest of the nation.”<br />
Fashola out of town—<br />
Aide<br />
Reacting to the invitation,<br />
the media aide to the Minister,<br />
Hakeem Bello said the<br />
Permanent Secretary in the<br />
Ministry wrote to the Senate<br />
informing them that the<br />
Hon Minister who was out<br />
of Abuja on assignment<br />
could not honour the invitation,<br />
adding that he would<br />
be at the National Assembly<br />
to meet with them.<br />
According to him: “We<br />
are currently on tour of the<br />
highway projects in the<br />
South East zone of the<br />
country. We have been to<br />
Imo and Abia, and now we<br />
are heading to Eboyin,” he<br />
said.<br />
•Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle) flanked by<br />
the Executive Chairman of Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Paul Dokpesi<br />
and the Special Assistant to the Minister, Mr. Segun Adeyemi when the minister paid<br />
a courtesy visit to the Media Group in Abuja yesterday.<br />
“On 19th September<br />
2016, the AfDB received a<br />
request from the Federal<br />
Government of Nigeria for<br />
the release of one of its<br />
staffers to serve as interim<br />
Chief Executive for 12<br />
months.” The bank approved<br />
this request to support<br />
the government in its<br />
power sector reforms.<br />
“The staff member has<br />
been granted a special<br />
leave without pay for 12<br />
months. The African Development<br />
Bank is committed<br />
to assisting Nigeria<br />
achieve the objectives of its<br />
reforms in the power sector<br />
in accordance with the<br />
priorities already approved<br />
by the authorities. It is to<br />
be noted here, that the appointment<br />
of the TCN<br />
management is a prerogative<br />
of the national authorities.”<br />
Meanwhile, Federal<br />
Government has confirmed<br />
its approval of the secondment<br />
of Usman Gur Mohammed<br />
as the interim<br />
Managing Director/Chief<br />
Executive Officer of Transmission<br />
Company of Nigeria,<br />
TCN.<br />
The Permanent Secretary<br />
in the Ministry of Power,<br />
Mr. Louis Edozien said in<br />
a statement yesterday that<br />
Mr. Mohammed has resumed<br />
duty with a 12-<br />
month non-extendable<br />
deadline to complete his<br />
transformational mandate.<br />
B-R-I-E-F-S<br />
Police confirm herdsmen<br />
attack on Enugu farmer<br />
By Dennis Agbo<br />
THE Enugu State police have confirmed an al<br />
leged herdsmen attack on a farmer at Awha<br />
Ndiagu in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu<br />
state, which led to the hospitalization of the farmer.<br />
Though the farmer’s name could not be ascertained<br />
as at press time, the state Police Public Relations<br />
Officer, PPRO, Ebere Amaraizu, told Saturday<br />
Vanguard that the incident occurred. “The suspects<br />
had issues with the farmer, which led to his being<br />
assaulted,” said Amaraizu.<br />
Suspected herdsmen on Thursday reportedly attacked<br />
a farmland and inflicted machete cuts on the<br />
victims who managed to survive the incident.<br />
An eyewitness said, the victim was rushed to a<br />
hospital where he is presently receiving treatment.<br />
“The victim who was in state of coma was assaulted<br />
with matchete at his back and one of the fingers<br />
was cut off.<br />
APGA warns Okorocha, asks him<br />
to join hands with Obiano to unite<br />
S/East By Vincent Ujumadu, Awka<br />
WORRIED by the verbal war between Governors<br />
Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Rochas Okorocha<br />
of Imo State, the All Progressives Grand Alliance,<br />
APGA, yesterday called on the two governors to join hands<br />
to unite the South East, instead of pouring venoms on<br />
each other.<br />
National chairman of APGA, Dr. Victor Oye said in an<br />
interview in Awka that the zone could not afford distractions<br />
from their two leaders, who were expected to show<br />
good examples for others to follow.<br />
Oye said: “Fighting each other in the media is something<br />
that is not acceptable to APGA. Okorocha should<br />
know that he would not have become governor if not for<br />
APGA and I want him to be conscious of that anytime he<br />
opens his mouth to pour out venom on the other governors<br />
in the zone.<br />
“APGA, as a political party, views Governor Okorocha’s<br />
comments on the party with every seriousness because<br />
describing APGA in such derogatory manner is not tolerable<br />
to us as leaders of the party.<br />
As an Igbo man, we expect Okorocha to cooperate with<br />
his brother governors in the South East to build a homogenous<br />
region withstand incursions from outside the zone.<br />
“In fact, for saying that three governors in the South<br />
East were planning to join APC showed that he intentionally<br />
wanted to ignite the ember of hate that is capable of<br />
setting up a conflagration that is capable of consuming<br />
the entire South East and generating needless bad blood.<br />
“In particular, he needs to cooperate with Obiano to<br />
write a good history of the South East on the map of<br />
Nigeria. We therefore call for unity between the two governors<br />
because if they are not united, it will be a minus<br />
for them.<br />
“They should work together to promote cohesion, unity<br />
and brotherhood so that they can speak with one voice<br />
and tackle their common problems together. Division and<br />
unnecessary suspicion among governors in the zone<br />
should be done away with, so that the benefits of democracy<br />
can trickle down to the grass root in the zone.”<br />
WORLD CANCER DAY: Nigeria<br />
records 14,000 cervical cancer<br />
cases annually<br />
IN a bid to ensure that Africans are properly ed<br />
ucated on the dreaded cancer scourge, Partnership<br />
for Eradication of Cancer in Africa (PECA), has<br />
adopted a partnership based approach to improve<br />
the life of people living with cancer and to reduce<br />
the rate of cancer-related deaths.<br />
The Chief Operations Officer for PECA, Dr. Gregoire<br />
Williams,who spoke yesterday in Abuja ahead<br />
of today’s World Cancer Day explained that about<br />
14,089 new cervical cancer cases were diagnosed<br />
annually in Nigeria.<br />
His words: ‘’Available information confirms that<br />
about 14,089 new cervical cancer cases are diagnosed<br />
annually in Nigeria. On Cervical cancer the<br />
WHO estimates ranked it as the second leading cause<br />
of female cancer in Nigeria and most common in<br />
women aged 15 to 44 years in Nigeria.<br />
“HPV infections are so common that nearly all men<br />
and women will get at least one type of HPV at some<br />
point in their lives. Most people never know that<br />
they have been infected and may give HPV to a sex<br />
partner without knowing it.”<br />
However, Williams is collaborating Cedarcrest<br />
Hospitals in Gudu, Abuja to improve health care<br />
service delivery in Nigeria by offering free and subsidised<br />
screening services targeting the four major<br />
types of cancer accounting for the highest mortality<br />
rates in Nigeria.
Lawyers task Buhari over Onnoghen’s<br />
confirmation as CJN<br />
By Ikechukwu<br />
Nnochiri &<br />
Bartholomew<br />
Madukwe<br />
FOLLOWING the<br />
retirement of<br />
immediate past Chief Justice<br />
of Nigeria, Justice<br />
Mahmud Mohammed,<br />
who clocked 70 on<br />
November 10, 2016, some<br />
lawyers have expressed<br />
diverse opinions over the<br />
refusal of President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari to<br />
forward the name of<br />
Justice Nkanu Onnoghen<br />
to the Senate as the<br />
substantive Chief Justice<br />
of Nigeria (CJN).<br />
President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari had on November<br />
10, 2016, okayed<br />
Onnoghen who is<br />
presently the most senior<br />
Justice of the Supreme<br />
Court, to head the Nigeria<br />
judiciary in acting<br />
capacity. The appointment<br />
was based on a<br />
recommendation letter<br />
from the National Judicial<br />
Council, NJC.<br />
Eminent legal practitioners<br />
who spoke on the<br />
matter included Mr. J. B.<br />
Daudu SAN—former<br />
President of the Nigerian<br />
Bar Association,<br />
NBA, Professor Itse<br />
Sagay,<br />
SAN<br />
—Chairman, Presidential<br />
Advisory Committee<br />
Against Corruption,<br />
Chief Mike Ozekhome,<br />
SAN;Human rights advocate,<br />
Mr. Femi<br />
Aborisade, trade unionist<br />
and socialist; and<br />
Chief Morah Ekwunohhuman<br />
rights lawyer.<br />
Daudu said: “It ought to<br />
be known that the<br />
appointment of a CJN is<br />
not the exclusive preserve<br />
of the Executive arm of<br />
government. It is a<br />
tripartite arrangement,<br />
which involves the<br />
judiciary acting through<br />
the NJC by way of<br />
recommendation, the<br />
executive through the<br />
President by way of<br />
appointment and the<br />
legislature by way of<br />
confirmation of the said<br />
appointment.<br />
“The question that now<br />
arises is why the President<br />
will refuse or omit to act<br />
on the recommendation of<br />
the NJC and instead<br />
chose to appoint the NJC<br />
nominee in an acting capacity.<br />
“If he is not good for the<br />
substantive office why is<br />
he then good to act for<br />
three months in the same<br />
capacity? After all, it is the<br />
same security report on<br />
the suitability of the<br />
candidate that is relied<br />
upon by the NJC that the<br />
Presidency relies on too.”<br />
Prof. Sagay, on his part,<br />
pointed out that the<br />
number of Justices who<br />
have brought ruin to the<br />
Judiciary made it<br />
necessary for close vetting<br />
of candidates for Chief<br />
Justice of Nigeria at the<br />
Presidential level.<br />
He said the president is<br />
not a rubber stamp of the<br />
National Judicial<br />
Commission (NJC),<br />
noting that the body has<br />
failed to exercise due<br />
diligence in the past when<br />
making recommendations<br />
to the President.<br />
According to him, “the<br />
lack of due diligence on<br />
the part of the NJC allowed<br />
at least two Justices of the<br />
Supreme Court to slip<br />
through the net of judicial<br />
vetting to become the<br />
Chief Justices of Nigeria.<br />
And that became a permanent<br />
embarrassment to the<br />
Judiciary and Nigeria as<br />
a whole.<br />
Sagay, who is a Professor<br />
of Law and human rights<br />
activist, explained that the<br />
Supreme Court was<br />
almost abased by the stink<br />
of corruption after the 2007<br />
elections that brought Yar<br />
A’dua to power, and Justice<br />
Onnoghen was among the<br />
three Justices at the apex<br />
court.<br />
Ozekhome observed that<br />
in the last 30 years when<br />
Justice Mohammed Bello<br />
became the CJN, till 11th<br />
of November, 2016, when<br />
Justice Mahmud retired,<br />
all the Chief Justices of<br />
Nigeria hailed from the<br />
northern part of beleaguered<br />
Nigeria.<br />
He stated: “The last<br />
time a South-South person<br />
smelt the exalted<br />
seat was between 1985<br />
–1987, over 30 years<br />
ago, through Justice<br />
Ayo Gabriel Irikefe. The<br />
last time I checked, this<br />
country belongs to us<br />
all. It was therefore with<br />
bated animation and<br />
curious anxiety, that the<br />
country waited for the<br />
appointment of<br />
Onnoghen.<br />
“It is crystal clear from<br />
the provisions of section<br />
231 (1) and section 21<br />
(1) to the third schedule<br />
(part 1) of the 1999<br />
Constitution, that once<br />
the NJC has<br />
recommended a name to<br />
Mr. President for<br />
appointment, the<br />
President’s function at<br />
that stage is simply<br />
ceremonial to forward<br />
same to the Senate for<br />
confirmation. It is the<br />
Senate, not the<br />
President, that does the<br />
screening, to determine<br />
whether or not the<br />
person<br />
so<br />
recommended by the<br />
NJC meets the criteria<br />
set out in section 231<br />
(2)s which states:<br />
“A person shall not be<br />
qualified to hold the<br />
office of CJN or a Justice<br />
of the Supreme Court,<br />
unless he is qualified to<br />
practice as a legal<br />
practitioner in Nigeria<br />
and has been so<br />
qualified for a period of<br />
not less than 15 years.”<br />
According to him, if<br />
Onnoghen was found<br />
worthy to be sworn in as<br />
acting CJN under section<br />
231 (4), why not simply<br />
forward his name to the<br />
Senate for outright<br />
confirmation as CJN<br />
under section 231 (2)?<br />
Ozekhome averred that<br />
the President lacks<br />
absolute power to<br />
determine who becomes<br />
CJN, or to side-track or<br />
circumscribe NJC’s “recommendation,”<br />
or Senate’s<br />
subsequent “confirmation”.<br />
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 9<br />
Give Obaseki a chance to<br />
succeed, Obahiagbon tells<br />
Edo APC leaders, lawmakers<br />
By SIMON EBEGBULEM<br />
IMMEDIATE Pastor, Chief of Staff to the state<br />
Government, Mr Patrick Obahiagbon<br />
(Igodomigodo), yesterday appealed to leaders of the<br />
All Progressives Congress and members of the Edo<br />
State House of Assembly to give Governor Godwin<br />
Obaseki the desired cooperation to succeed.<br />
He said the recent comment made by the governor<br />
that Government House was not a place where<br />
money is shared should not be misconstrued as the<br />
governor was only trying to explain that the scarce<br />
resources in his possession would be managed for<br />
the betterment of the generality of the people of the<br />
state.<br />
Delta CP blames<br />
unemployment rate on<br />
infiltration by non indigenes<br />
By Festus Ahon, ASABA<br />
DELTA State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibra<br />
him Zanna has blamed the high rate of youths<br />
unemployment in the state on purported infiltration<br />
of the state by non indigenes.<br />
Zanna who spoke when he played host to the newly<br />
sworn-in executive of the State chapter of the<br />
National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, led by<br />
it’s chairman, Comrade Kenneth Okorie at the Police<br />
Headquarters in Asaba, lamented that people<br />
from other states claim Delta State during recruitment<br />
exercises thereby usurping the few slots allocated<br />
to the state.<br />
Enugu Magistrates get<br />
Laptops, others<br />
By Dennis Agbo<br />
MAGISTRATES in Enugu State judiciary,<br />
yesterday received 76 laptops and 25 desktop<br />
computers and 20 printers from the state government<br />
to enhance service delivery and productivity<br />
towards the dispensation of justice.<br />
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who made the<br />
donations noted that the items were also procured<br />
to replace the obsolete manual typewriters that had<br />
been in use in the state’s magistrates' court prior to<br />
the magnanimity of the governor.<br />
Receiving the items at the Enugu High Court,<br />
the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Ngozi<br />
Emehelu, who was represented by the Chief<br />
Registrar, Mrs. Ebele Egumgbe applauded<br />
Governor Ugwuanyi for his vision and kind gesture<br />
to the judiciary.<br />
She expressed delight at the commitment of the<br />
governor towards the welfare of the magistrates,<br />
and other public servants in the state despite the<br />
prevailing economic challenges in the country,<br />
adding that the modern technological devices will<br />
improve their productivity and service delivery.<br />
Glo-sponsored CNN African<br />
Voices commemorates Fregz,<br />
Nigeria’s celebrity chef<br />
GBUBEMI Fregene, a celebrity cook of Nige<br />
rian descent widely known as “Chef Fregz,”<br />
will be celebrated this week on CNN African Voices,<br />
a programme sponsored by Globacom.<br />
Globacom said in Lagos that the chef will be featured<br />
on the show this weekend with two others,<br />
South Africa’s Puppeteer,Janni Younge; and<br />
Ugandan actress, Flavia Tusimme.<br />
Chef Fregz is an ardent believer in the dictum<br />
that says to create great tasty meals, one needs a<br />
lot of love and passion. His passion for cooking has<br />
culminated in his rise to the pinnacle of his chosen<br />
profession within a very short time.<br />
The chef, according to a statement by Globacom,<br />
will excite viewers with the story of his rise to stardom<br />
as well as how his passion for marrying “creativity<br />
that is fresh and unbridled with elements of<br />
the budding youth culture and the world-class training<br />
he received at Le Cordon Bleu” helps him to<br />
prepare meals that are described as truly unique<br />
culinary experiences.<br />
Chef Fregz was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
10—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
•Mike Adeniy<br />
•Gogo Bright<br />
•Joseph Edionwele<br />
•Babatunde<br />
Kolawole<br />
•Samson<br />
Okwu<br />
By Emman Ovuakporie<br />
and Johnbosco Agbakwuru<br />
Given the high sensitivity the<br />
All Progressives Congress,<br />
APC-led administration<br />
brought to bear in its war against<br />
graft; it is not surprising that<br />
Nigerians of all shadows would<br />
scrutinise the actions and inactions of<br />
the administration where issues of<br />
corruption are alleged.<br />
The champion of the war is<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari, a<br />
man who has so far endeared himself<br />
to many across national and<br />
international boundaries for living<br />
above graft even when exposed to the<br />
kind of lucre that have entrapped<br />
fellow Nigerians.<br />
President Buhari’s distaste for graft<br />
is well summarised in the popular<br />
saying that the easiest way to get him<br />
to shut out anybody is to say that the<br />
person is corrupt.<br />
It is against this background that<br />
Nigerians have now taken the<br />
presidency to task over the president’s<br />
dithering procrastination in dealing<br />
with matters of alleged corruption<br />
concerning closest members of his<br />
administration.<br />
While some allegations have been<br />
allowed to pass, critical members of<br />
the public have, however, continued to<br />
question the presidency’s decision to<br />
prevaricate on the report of the Senate<br />
Ad-Hoc Committee on Humanitarian<br />
Crisis in the Northeast which indicted the<br />
administration’s top bureaucrat, Mr.<br />
Babachir Lawal.<br />
The Secretary to the Government of the<br />
Federation, SGF was indicted by the<br />
Senator Shehu Sani led panel in its report<br />
presented to the Senate and adopted by<br />
the legislative body last December.<br />
The president in his response to the<br />
indictment, however, chose the path of<br />
procedure in faulting the Senate’s<br />
adoption of a report which he claimed<br />
was signed by only three of the eight<br />
members.<br />
However, investigations by Vanguard,<br />
published last Thursday, showed that<br />
contrary to the president’s assertion that<br />
only three members signed the document,<br />
the chairman of the committee and six<br />
members signed the report. Critics were<br />
quick to latch on to the presidency’s<br />
attachment to procedure which they<br />
claimed was a deviation from the<br />
president’s well-known aversion to such<br />
issues. The real issue of whether the man<br />
was found wanting appeared not to<br />
matter to the President.<br />
Nigerians have also taken the president<br />
Buhari’s anticorruption<br />
war<br />
at crossroads:<br />
Reps speak<br />
Is it that there is no<br />
other person that is<br />
qualified to do exactly<br />
that job? He should<br />
have been removed<br />
to task for his decision to, on his own,<br />
resubmit Mr. Ibrahim Magu as<br />
chairman of the Economic and<br />
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC<br />
despite the allegations raised against<br />
him by the Department of State<br />
Services, DSS which affirmed in a<br />
report that he would be a distraction<br />
to the president’s war against<br />
corruption. Though the allegations<br />
raised against Magu were alleged to<br />
in some quarters to have been cooked,<br />
the president’s seeming cavalier<br />
dismissal of the allegations,<br />
however, unsettled many.<br />
It is against the background of<br />
the seeming contradictions in the<br />
fight against corruption that<br />
members of the House of<br />
Representatives expressed mixed<br />
reactions to the issue.<br />
We are not fighting<br />
corruption — Rep Gogo<br />
Bright (Okrika: Rivers)<br />
This is the worst thing that has<br />
happened to the fight against<br />
corruption because if the entire Senate<br />
sat on the issue after a committee of<br />
the Senate turned in its report after<br />
doing a thorough investigation which<br />
indicated that the SGF who awarded<br />
contract to his company; only for at<br />
the end of the day somebody will sit in<br />
the convenience of his office to clear<br />
the person, it means then we are not<br />
fighting corruption. On the issue of<br />
Magu, the DSS indicted him; and it is<br />
the same DSS on the basis of whose<br />
report judges were harassed in this<br />
country, and now you are saying the<br />
DSS this time around did not do a good<br />
work. So, my dear, there is problem<br />
in the land.<br />
President is encouraging<br />
corruption<br />
—Rep Joseph Eghoghon<br />
Edionwele; Edo State<br />
If the president whose major<br />
slogan is anti -corruption would<br />
react in this way, as Senator<br />
Shehu Sani rightly said, that<br />
is the end of the fight against<br />
corruption. If not for anything the<br />
indictment is enough to remove<br />
the SGF and in good conscience,<br />
even the SGF should have on his<br />
own resigned. That his company<br />
was mentioned is enough for him<br />
to have resigned or enough for<br />
the president to have removed<br />
him. Is it that there is no other<br />
person that is qualified to do<br />
exactly that job? He should<br />
have been removed. To insist that<br />
he is cleared, cleared of what?<br />
That his company is not the one<br />
that was involved? Is it that he<br />
is no longer the owner of the<br />
company? The fact that his<br />
company was given that contract<br />
alone means he must have<br />
influenced the job to himself.<br />
For the president to say they have<br />
cleared him is not encouraging.<br />
What the president has done is to<br />
encourage corruption.<br />
SGF is morally guilty<br />
—Mike Adeniyi Omogbehin,<br />
Ondo State<br />
It simply means that the anticorruption<br />
war has been finally declared<br />
over. I agree with Senator Sani intoto<br />
when he says that corruption is fought<br />
within the opposition and other arms of<br />
government with insecticides and within<br />
the presidency, it is fought with<br />
deodorants. For the singular fact that the<br />
Senate Committee was able to establish<br />
beyond reasonable doubt that the<br />
Secretary to the Federal Government has<br />
interest in a particular company, that he<br />
never resigned his directorship until after<br />
that contract ultra vires of the<br />
Memoranda of the Article of that<br />
Company; he stands guilty in court of<br />
moral justice, he stands guilty in court of<br />
common sense and he should have<br />
excused himself even before the hue and<br />
cry got to this level. I am surprised that<br />
President Buhari is taking this action.<br />
Some of us in opposition never knew that<br />
President Buhari was going to so soon<br />
discard his anti-corruption war.<br />
Only the courts can find him<br />
guilty – Rep. Babatunde Gabriel<br />
Kolawole; Ondo State<br />
The issue of governance is a very<br />
complex issue, and most of the time,<br />
you don’t do governance with<br />
sentiment. It is very important we look<br />
at issues holistically and get to the<br />
bottom of issues we are trying to push<br />
Continues on page 11
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—11<br />
•Prof Biodun Ogunyemi<br />
•Samson Ugwoke<br />
•Yusuf Dutse<br />
Labour leaders blast<br />
FG over Magu, Lawal<br />
By Victor Ahiuma-Young<br />
& Johnbosco Agbakwuru<br />
Reacting, President of United<br />
Labour Congress of Nigeria,<br />
ULC, Mr. Joe Ajaero, said: “If<br />
the President has re-forwarded the<br />
name of the EFCC acting chairman<br />
for confirmation after he was rejected<br />
by the Senate, and he has allegedly<br />
cleared the Secretary to the<br />
Government of the Federal, SGF, Mr.<br />
Babachir Lawal, of corruption, he<br />
may have his reasons.<br />
“For the EFFC chairman, the<br />
President is not forcing the senate<br />
to confirm him. He probably reforwaded<br />
his name to the senate<br />
based on information at his disposal.<br />
The senate has a duty to equally look<br />
into it and take a position. If it<br />
maintains its earlier position, the<br />
senate should say so and make its<br />
finding public. Members should do<br />
their jobs with utmost patriotism,<br />
putting the interest of the nation<br />
above personal interest.”<br />
Buhari should not use<br />
double standard—ASUU<br />
On his part, President of the<br />
Academic Staff Union of Universities,<br />
ASUU, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi,<br />
told the Federal Government not to<br />
use double standard in the fight<br />
against corruption in the country.<br />
According to him: “Obviously,<br />
anybody that hears this kind of<br />
reaction from the president will think<br />
he is shielding public officers. We<br />
think there should not be double<br />
standard. Where prima facie case<br />
has been established, it is expected<br />
that the person should step aside.<br />
“He said the senate didn’t give him<br />
fair hearing but Senator Shehu Sani<br />
said he was given opportunity to<br />
come and defend himself. My candid<br />
advise is that government should act<br />
in a way that will not water down<br />
public perception of its seriousness<br />
on anti corruption war. Government<br />
should not give impression that it<br />
has double standard; one for<br />
perceived enemies, the other one<br />
for those in government.”<br />
It’s wrong for Buhari to<br />
clear SGF—SSANU<br />
Similarly, President of the Senior<br />
Staff Association of Nigeria<br />
Universities, SSANU, Samson<br />
Chijioke Ugwoke, faulted President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged<br />
clearance of the Secretary to the<br />
Government of the Federal, SGF,<br />
over corruption allegations.<br />
Ugwoke contended that it was<br />
not the responsibility of the<br />
presidency to investigate the SGF<br />
who is directly under him, rather<br />
the duty of the anti-corruption<br />
agencies like the EFCC, the<br />
Independent Corrupt Practices and<br />
other related offence Commission,<br />
ICPC, and other bodies to probe<br />
the allegations.<br />
He said: “It is wrong for Buhari<br />
to come and say that the SGF has<br />
been cleared. There is no smoke<br />
without fire. He should tell us how<br />
he was cleared. People have been<br />
complaining that those working<br />
with the president are spared of<br />
the anti-corruption fight. There<br />
have been cases of corruption<br />
against some ministers around<br />
him, he says nothing and went<br />
ahead to send their names to the<br />
senate. To me, it is improper and<br />
it goes to show that the President<br />
is not serious with the fight against<br />
corruption.<br />
“Look at what is happening in a<br />
university where a Vice Chancellor<br />
was accused of corruption with<br />
evidence and he was investigated,<br />
yet he is still in office. The<br />
President should come out clear<br />
and start with his own people and<br />
not his perceived enemies or those<br />
he feels are in the opposition<br />
party. This is an assumption<br />
people are having and the way he<br />
is handling the corruption fight<br />
shows he is not serious.<br />
“See the case of Magu, see a very<br />
strong DSS report which<br />
investigated his past, life style as<br />
Buhari’s anti-corruption war at crossroads: Reps speak<br />
Continues from page 10<br />
across. The president is sitting at a strategic seat, and<br />
there are some actions he cannot take in a hurry, he<br />
needs to consult widely, he needs to look at the legal<br />
implications so that he doesn’t make mistakes. So for<br />
the fact that there are allegations against the SGF, it<br />
has to be proven beyond reasonable doubts and not<br />
until these allegations are proven, and the SGF is<br />
found guilty, not by the President but by a competent<br />
court of law, the President cannot take any action. It<br />
suggests very strongly that we don’t apply sentiments<br />
in coming to a conclusion on issues that have a<br />
national coverage and that has the interest of people.<br />
Anti-Corruption war is a ruse - Rep. T.J Yusuf;<br />
a police officer. A person living<br />
above his earning and living a<br />
flamboyant life, see the report of<br />
the senate which many feel was<br />
correct and see the position of the<br />
President on the matter.”<br />
Buhari should restore<br />
confidence in his anticorruption<br />
fight<br />
—ASUP<br />
Also reacting, the President of<br />
Academic Staff a Union of<br />
Polytechnics, ASUP, Yusuf Dutse,<br />
said President Buhari before his<br />
election in 2015, had promised not<br />
to spare anybody in his fight against<br />
corruption but the reverse appeared<br />
to be the case.<br />
Dutse said the President should<br />
provide a level play ground where<br />
reports and issues are fairly treated,<br />
adding, “But when people are<br />
covered, the intention will be eroded.”<br />
He claimed the senate committee<br />
had come up with its report that<br />
indicted the SGF and the president<br />
had also said that a committee was<br />
set up to look into the allegations<br />
and that it was proper to put the two<br />
reports side by side to know the<br />
veracity of the allegations.<br />
According to him: “When President<br />
Buhari assumed office, he said he was<br />
not going to spare anybody. But<br />
today, it appears the corruption fight<br />
has been eroded. He should do<br />
more to restore the confidence that<br />
he is really fighting corruption.”<br />
Kogi State<br />
This has just exposed the fact that ab initio, the anti-corruption<br />
crusade was a white-wash. What has happened to Gen. Tukur<br />
Burutai, what has happened to Gen. Abdulrahman<br />
Dambazzau’s case? What about the dollar swapping? Nobody<br />
in his right senses will say Nigeria does not need to tackle the<br />
issue of corruption. It must be holistic it must not be seen as<br />
being partisan<br />
Re-presenting Magu is an indictment on Buhari<br />
—Rep Samson Okwu, PDP, Benue<br />
Is he trying to say that Magu is the most genuine Nigerian<br />
that can occupy that office? Are there no other corrupt free<br />
Nigerians that can conveniently occupy the position?
12—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
•Professor Femi<br />
Odekunle<br />
Sir, you have been a member of the<br />
presidential advisory committee on<br />
corruption, what has been your experience so<br />
far?<br />
Before we talk about success it is good to<br />
inform you about things we have done; we have<br />
engaged virtually all those agencies involved It may not have been a<br />
in corruption prevention and control. We<br />
have managed to engage them in an interactive wrong doing under<br />
session. We go to an agency and we ask, this<br />
is the situation on ground, why have you not<br />
Jonathan but for an<br />
done this or why is this like this or like that? administration that<br />
We try to assess their problems and we put in an<br />
advisory to them because when we give an claims anti corruption<br />
advice it is like an advisory from the Presidency,<br />
whether it is ICPC or EFCC, whether they are<br />
as its major mantra, the<br />
judges, police or customs.<br />
man should resign and<br />
Take the EFCC for example. we have been<br />
able to advise them on how to upgrade the state if he refuses, the<br />
prosecution for example in liaising with the<br />
federal ministry of justice. They now have<br />
President should have<br />
prosecution teams which involve federal asked him to step aside<br />
government ministry of justice lawyers and<br />
private sector lawyers whereby for every case<br />
there will be a team of four.<br />
that could be raised against plea bargaining. I<br />
The problem it solves is that two heads are have told you that as a criminologist I am<br />
better than one. If a member of the team travels against plea bargaining because where it<br />
or is sick, there would be no need of originated like in the US it was met to take case<br />
postponing the case because the prosecutor is of minor cases like traffic offences, two fighting<br />
not available.<br />
that used to clog the system, not for cases in<br />
We have had workshops with judges in the<br />
which the society has been massively defrauded.<br />
FCT, federal high courts all over the country;<br />
But considering the problems we are having<br />
we did in Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Owerri, Port in processing the cases, plea bargaining can be<br />
Harcourt, Ibadan and Lagos. we had a full day an element of processing the case. All we have<br />
workshop with the judges to let them know the to do is now try to reduce the disadvantages<br />
powers they have because part of the problems that can come on board and that is why we say<br />
of dealing with corruption cases has to do with substantial amount of money must be forfeited,<br />
senior lawyers who use their clout to delay and<br />
the person must be punished with<br />
frustrate cases.<br />
imprisonment, that is the interest of the state, of<br />
Do you think that at this point in time of our the society, of the people who have lost either<br />
democracy it is right for people to steal money her by suffering a bad road, by not getting the<br />
and then return few amount and then they are hospital they desire, by having collapsed school<br />
let off the hook in the name of plea bargain? building, their interest must be taken into<br />
Plea bargain is a legal position which is to consideration whenever you are using this<br />
avoid the labour and the loss of a case you are bargaining system.<br />
not able to handle. We are in a colonially<br />
In your interaction and consultations with<br />
inherited judicial system that is in favour of the all these agencies did you come across<br />
bourgeois who have the money and the situations whereby agencies that are<br />
resources and the knowledge to turn an supposed to be fighting corruption being neck<br />
allegedly impartial system to a partial one deep in corrupt practices?<br />
because they have the resources to do so.<br />
Nigeria is a society and like any society it is<br />
Now going into our history in the fight against run on a system. We know the kind of<br />
corruption, you will realise that a lot of cases corruption that goes on in the university; there<br />
are either dead or virtually dead because they is monetary corruption, sexual corruption,<br />
have been there for 8-10years.Basically as a academic corruption which students are given<br />
person, despite the argument I have just given, grades they don’t deserve because of sex or<br />
I am against plea bargain because it is an money, people are promoted with fake<br />
admission that the state is incapable of doing certificates, there are cases of plagiarism, there<br />
its job. But in a committee system, you listen to are admission rackets. So similarly whether in<br />
the arguments of your colleagues and that is EFCC or ICPC, there would be such cases.<br />
the argument I have given which is also<br />
As a criminologist, there is nothing wrong<br />
understandable.<br />
with deviance. that is part of life. But when it<br />
But now what this plea bargain manual has becomes serious, when it is endemic,<br />
done is to take care of objections of people like pervasive particularly in certain organisations<br />
me and like you to say that if there is going to be that are crucial to the survival of the society as<br />
plea bargaining, first the interest of the state an organism, then there is problem. For<br />
must be taken into consideration, the interest of example it is not good, even if there is corruption,<br />
the society as a victim must be taken into corruption should not be in the judiciary, and if<br />
consideration, the money must be forfeited or it is there at all it should be minimal because of<br />
most of it, and most importantly, there must the importance of that organ of society in the<br />
be a term of imprisonment.<br />
matter. If there is corruption, it should not be<br />
In other words, there are legitimate questions among police men because they are people who<br />
C<br />
M<br />
YK<br />
I disagree with<br />
Buhari on SGF<br />
—Femi Odekunly, member Presidential<br />
Advisory Committee on Corruption<br />
Professor Femi Odekunle is a member of the presidential Advisory<br />
committee on Corruption headed by Professor Itse Sagay. In this interview<br />
with Ben Agande, he speaks on the anti corruption problem in the country<br />
and other topical national issues.<br />
are supposed to be the enforcers of the<br />
law and it is said that when law enforcers<br />
become law breakers the society is<br />
doomed.<br />
So when you ask whether or not there is<br />
corruption in the anti corruption agency,<br />
of course there must be.<br />
But remember that our committee is<br />
not an investigative one, we just go there<br />
and say we heard this, are you doing this?<br />
The fact that we even show up and even<br />
mentioned it at all is enough to put some<br />
fear into the minds of the agencies in<br />
charge of fighting corruption.<br />
One of the trending things in<br />
recent times is between the President<br />
and the National Assembly on the<br />
suitability or otherwise of Ibrahim<br />
Magu as the chairman of EFCC.<br />
It is in the interest of Nigerians to give<br />
back confidence. On the day that the<br />
Senate said they are returning his name<br />
back to the President, our committee<br />
considered the case and on the basis of<br />
our knowledge we wrote a letter to the<br />
President that Magu has been doing a<br />
good job, he has shown commitment and<br />
he has also shown diligence and we<br />
strongly advised that the name of Magu<br />
should be re-submitted for confirmation.<br />
In addition we said that if the Senate does<br />
not, he should continue to appoint him as<br />
acting chairman ad infinitum.<br />
On a personal note, the two cases that<br />
had to do with the Secretary to the<br />
Government of the Federation and Magu,<br />
I take the position that it is good for<br />
the Senate to do its job, even if<br />
occasionally. Secondly I am not against<br />
thieves pointing out another thief because<br />
it is in that situation that we the Nigerians<br />
will get to know the truth.<br />
In the case of the SGF, it is clear even<br />
from the conflict of interest positions that<br />
he has engaged in wrong doing. It may<br />
not have been a wrong doing under<br />
Jonathan but for an administration that<br />
claims anti corruption as its major<br />
mantra, the man should resign and if he<br />
refuses, the President should have asked<br />
him to step aside. And it is not actually<br />
appropriate for the President to ask the<br />
Attorney General to look at it.<br />
But let’s give it to the President that he<br />
must have his reasons for going that way<br />
but the man should have been told to step<br />
aside. You may call it step aside, you may<br />
call it suspension but the President should<br />
have done that. That is my position.<br />
In fact, what is being done is denting<br />
the work of our committee; it is denting<br />
the image of the administration by that<br />
man retaining his seat.<br />
And I find the letter allegedly sent by<br />
the President thoroughly inappropriate<br />
to say that well your report is interim, only<br />
three of you signed it; it appears<br />
therefore to the population that the<br />
President himself is appearing guilty of<br />
what we are accusing the judiciary by<br />
using technicalities to cover up wrong<br />
doing because to say that only three<br />
people signed and that is an excuse for<br />
you to turn down the findings is wrong.<br />
On the issue of Magu, I have pointed<br />
out that looking at the nature of<br />
corruption in Nigeria, the extent of<br />
corruption in Nigeria, what they accused<br />
Magu of does not have facts. They didn’t<br />
say that they found money under his bed<br />
like we did with judges; they didn’t say<br />
that he has these other properties; they<br />
didn’t say he has money in foreign<br />
countries. They said at one point in<br />
time they found files in his house.<br />
Most chief executives must take files<br />
home to be able to complete their work.<br />
A good executive actually in Nigeria or<br />
in any good organisation will only sleep<br />
for 3 or 4hours a night because during<br />
the office hours, you are doing meetings,<br />
you are receiving visitors, you are<br />
signing things and may not have the time<br />
to study documents. Most people who<br />
know their onions as chief executives<br />
must take papers home. As ordinary<br />
head of department, I used to take papers<br />
home otherwise the work would not be<br />
done. So that is neither here nor there.<br />
Secondly, they said he rented a house,<br />
they didn’t say he rented the house and<br />
paid with his own money. it came out<br />
that it is an FCDA property. The summary<br />
of my position is that what they have<br />
hung on Magu in order not to confirm<br />
him is simply a case of calling a dog a<br />
bad name so that you can hang it.<br />
The problems that fuel the crisis in<br />
the country, how do you think they can<br />
be resolved in a situation where we<br />
have a high rate of unemployment and<br />
job loss?<br />
I am not an economist but I have had<br />
this idea commonsensical for about two<br />
years and I have put it forward to the<br />
highest appropriate authority that<br />
paying N5,000 to unemployed youths<br />
as a palliative amounts to bribery and<br />
that even the amnesty for the south south<br />
militants amounts to a kind of ransom<br />
for blackmail or kidnapping because<br />
you did it many years back and the<br />
money has dried up, a new government<br />
has come in, militancy has started and<br />
then you want to continue the amnesty,<br />
that is like blackmail. When another<br />
government comes in the same thing is<br />
likely.<br />
The best way to solve our youth<br />
unemployment problem is through<br />
infrastructure development.<br />
As a teacher what do you think is the<br />
panacea for the continuous fall in the<br />
standard of education in the country?<br />
So far, I have listed about five or six<br />
types of corruption but the emphasis in<br />
Nigeria is the financial, the economic.<br />
Going back to the university system, I<br />
pointed out to you that the thing has<br />
gone down out of different kinds of<br />
corruption that I have pointed out. How<br />
come somebody will score 260 but they<br />
cannot enter the university but the one<br />
who scores 180 can enter the university.<br />
How come people who are brought in<br />
to the lecturers, some people who have<br />
first class or second class upper will not<br />
be admitted in the same federal<br />
university system but somebody with a<br />
second class lower would be admitted<br />
to be a graduate assistant.<br />
How come that at the end of the day<br />
even some professors in one university<br />
will not be qualified to be a professor in<br />
another university?. How come the best<br />
man is never the Vice Chancellor (VC)?<br />
It depends on election and other outside<br />
manipulations before somebody<br />
becomes a VC. And yet a VC is supposed<br />
to be an intellectual academic and<br />
administrative manager than just a<br />
manager sponsored by some people<br />
inside and outside the university.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—13<br />
BY EVELYN USMAN<br />
Shaking her legs vigor<br />
ously as she sat on a<br />
plastic chair at the middle<br />
of their one room apartment<br />
at 19 Taiwo Ibrahim<br />
street, Igando, Mrs Adeleke<br />
gave a blank stare to everyone<br />
around her.<br />
Tried as she could to betray<br />
her emotion by shedding<br />
some tears, her tear<br />
bags failed to drop any.<br />
Rather, she poured out her<br />
fury and agony by intensifying<br />
the velocity while her<br />
shaking legs.<br />
Indeed , fate has played<br />
an unkind role to Mrs<br />
Adeleke. First, was the<br />
death of her husband, a<br />
death that saddled her with<br />
the responsibility of taking<br />
care of her children, alone.<br />
This she struggled to<br />
achieve by toiling day and<br />
night selling whatever she<br />
could lay her hands on.<br />
Just when she was preparing to<br />
heave a sigh of relief, news reached<br />
her at the bus-stop where she sold food<br />
, Monday night, that tragedy had<br />
struck again! This time around, it involved<br />
her only son, Olalekan<br />
Adeleke.<br />
Journey to death<br />
37-year-old Adeleke, popularly<br />
known as star boy, was allegedly<br />
killed by a Hausa food vendor in<br />
Igando area, during an argument<br />
over N30 owed him. Adeleke, a commercial<br />
bus driver visited a canteen<br />
owned by his assailant identified as<br />
Adamu, at college bus-stop at about<br />
11pm.<br />
As he requested for a pack of noodles<br />
and two eggs to be prepared for<br />
him, little did he envisage that would<br />
be his last meal on earth. After eating,<br />
he was given a bill of N230. But<br />
he was said to have paid Adamu's son<br />
N200. When Adamu was informed<br />
about the payment, he reportedly engaged<br />
the commercial bus driver in a<br />
verbal confrontation, insisting that<br />
the exact amount must be paid.<br />
Explaining what transpired inside<br />
the kiosk used as canteen, another<br />
customer, Kehinde Ayanduro, who<br />
was also at the canteen, said he intervened<br />
by appealing to Adamu to allow<br />
Adeleke go home and bring the<br />
balance of N30.<br />
Speaking with Crime Guard during<br />
a visit to the scene, a visibly shocked<br />
Ayanduro, who claimed to have also<br />
been attacked by Adamu while trying<br />
to intervene said : “ At about 11.05<br />
pm that fateful night, I went to Aboki's<br />
(Adamu) place to eat Indomie . By the<br />
time I got there, star boy (deceased )<br />
had finished eating and offered<br />
aboki's son N200 but the boy said the<br />
total money was N230. When he took<br />
the money to his father, he (Adamu )<br />
started shouting and brought out a<br />
stick which had a nail on it. He chased<br />
star boy(Adeleke) across the road but<br />
people stopped him.<br />
“Few minutes later, Star boy (deceased)<br />
brought the N30 and gave it<br />
to Aboki's son. As he handed him the<br />
money , he asked if it was because of<br />
just N30 that his father was embarrassing<br />
him. Aboki heard his voice<br />
from inside and rushed out with the<br />
wood again. He hit Lekan on his ribs<br />
with it. At this point, Lekan tried to<br />
dispossess Adamu of the wood.<br />
“When I saw that Adamu was having<br />
an upper hand over star boy<br />
(Adeleke), I stood up and attempted<br />
to collect the wood from aboki, only<br />
for him to land it on my hands and<br />
one of my legs. I then fell down writhing<br />
in pains.<br />
By then, Lekan had left the shop,<br />
placing one of his hands on the in-<br />
WICKED!<br />
Noddles seller<br />
kills man over N30<br />
•Where is my daddy’,<br />
asks 8yr old daughter<br />
•Please bring back my son;<br />
bereaved mother wails<br />
But aboki ran after him<br />
and landed the wood on<br />
his head. The nail on the<br />
wood sank into Lekan’s<br />
skull. Aboki tried to<br />
forcefully remove it but<br />
could not. Star boy<br />
groaned and fell right in<br />
the middle of the<br />
expressway<br />
•Widow<br />
and child<br />
jured rib. But aboki ran after him<br />
and landed the wood on his head.<br />
The nail on the wood sank into<br />
Lekan's skull. Aboki tried to<br />
forcefully remove it but could not.<br />
Star boy groaned and fell right<br />
in the middle of the expressway.<br />
I and some customers rushed to<br />
where Lekan was and discovered<br />
he was motionless. We called<br />
aboki to come and take him to<br />
the hospital but he brought a<br />
bowl of water and poured on<br />
Lekan's head, yet, he remained<br />
motionless.<br />
When he discovered that<br />
Lekan was not breathing<br />
again, he took to his heels. As<br />
we were chasing him, he<br />
brought out a charm from his<br />
pocket and started dangling it,<br />
daring anyone to come close<br />
to him.<br />
In the process, some charms<br />
dropped from his pockets (displaying<br />
them). Aboki then<br />
ran to a school in Igando and<br />
jumped inside a drainage<br />
where he remained until the<br />
arrival of the Police”.<br />
Residents said that the suspect<br />
had always threatened<br />
to kill anyone who crossed<br />
his path, boasting that<br />
nothing would happen to<br />
him thereafter.<br />
Youths protest<br />
The death of the father of one<br />
sparked off protest the following day<br />
as some youths demanded that justice<br />
be done. The angry youths burnt down<br />
the suspect's kiosk. Some police vehicles<br />
were sighted at a petrol station<br />
close to the scene, apparently to checkmate<br />
any<br />
likely uproar by the angry youths.<br />
Colleagues of late Adeleke were also<br />
seen around. They stayed off work on<br />
Monday to mourn the demise of one of<br />
their own whom they described as an<br />
easy going person.<br />
Agony of a bereaved mother<br />
Meanwhile, the bereaved aged<br />
mother who was yet to come to terms<br />
with the rude shock of the demise of<br />
her only son, was sighted at her apartment<br />
mourning the loss. She described<br />
her son's death as the worst<br />
tragedy that had befallen her in life<br />
.The first word she muttered was “<br />
my dependant , my hope and joy is<br />
gone. The only son who made me to<br />
forget the pain of being a widow is<br />
gone”... at this point, sympathizers<br />
who thronged her house began to<br />
console her .<br />
Narrating how the news reached<br />
them, younger sister to late Lakan,<br />
Taiwo Adeleke said “We were still at<br />
the junction where we sold food when<br />
someone called me on the phone , to<br />
come to college bus-stop that something<br />
had happened to my brother.<br />
Immediately mama heard, she<br />
sprang up from her seat and started<br />
rolling on the floor crying. When I<br />
tried to calm her down, she said she<br />
knew all was not well with Lekan. We<br />
all rushed to the scene, where we saw<br />
Lekan's motionless body on the<br />
ground . Mama wanted to go and<br />
touch it but some people held her back<br />
because it is a taboo in Yoruba land for<br />
a mother to touch the corpse of her<br />
child. She has not been herself since<br />
then”, Taiwo said.<br />
Premonition<br />
It was obvious that late Adeleke<br />
could have had premonition of<br />
tragedy ahead, as<br />
Crime Guard gathered<br />
that he had<br />
informed his<br />
•Late<br />
olalekan<br />
Adeleke<br />
•Bereaved<br />
mother<br />
mother two<br />
weeks ago, of his<br />
intention to go<br />
to Ilorin for<br />
Teblic ( Islamic<br />
study )<br />
for six<br />
months.<br />
He was<br />
said to<br />
have asked<br />
his mother<br />
how she<br />
would be<br />
able to cope<br />
for that<br />
long without<br />
him.<br />
This was because,<br />
he always<br />
sent<br />
her money<br />
weekly.<br />
Along the<br />
line, he<br />
broke down in tears, saying<br />
he would miss his mother.<br />
She was said to have also<br />
shed some tears, as she patted<br />
her son at the back, unknown<br />
to her that she was<br />
only rehearsing his death.<br />
Police release corpse<br />
Adeleke's corpse was released<br />
to his family<br />
Wednesday for<br />
burial, although<br />
the family complained<br />
that it<br />
was not released<br />
on time in order<br />
to have him buried<br />
according to<br />
Islamic rites.<br />
Adeleke as gathered,<br />
was buried<br />
in the property<br />
he bought in Sango Otta,<br />
Ogun state.<br />
Where is my daddy<br />
As preparation for his burial was on, late<br />
Adeleke's eight -year-old daughter, Rokibat,<br />
innocently demanded to see her daddy. This<br />
was followed by a prolonged session of wailing<br />
by family members. Her grandmother<br />
snuggled her close and whispered into her<br />
ears, that her daddy was fine.<br />
Mother of late Adeleke's child, Fatimo<br />
Olufemi stated that the last conversation she<br />
had with him was a promise he made to<br />
rally round for their daughter's school<br />
fees.<br />
She said : “I was at my mother's place<br />
at Isheri Idimu when my brother called<br />
me on phone, to inform me that the father<br />
of my child was dead. I saw him last<br />
on Friday, two days before he left this<br />
wicked world. He promised he was going<br />
to intensify effort at raising our daughter’s<br />
school fees and instructed me to appeal to<br />
the school authority to give him till the end<br />
of this week to pay because the school threatened<br />
to send away those who did not pay<br />
their fees.<br />
He was not a rich man but he ensured that<br />
our daughter got the best he could afford<br />
. His death is a big blow to me because I<br />
do not know how to cope, particularly<br />
regarding our child's education”, she<br />
stated.
14—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
ALABA INTERNATIONAL MARKET UNDER SIEGE<br />
Traders lament attacks from<br />
armed robbers, hoodlums<br />
•Cry out police, Lagos State Govt<br />
BY EVELYN USMAN<br />
The expression on the faces of anxious<br />
traders at the popular Alaba<br />
International market located in Ojo<br />
area of Lagos, depicted that of despondency<br />
and fear, as they went about their daily<br />
sales.<br />
The reason for the forlorn and gloomy<br />
visage was attributed to the recent upsurge<br />
in crimes ranging from looting of shops,<br />
broad day robbery , intimidation and<br />
harassment of traders and customers by<br />
miscreants and cultists.<br />
The traders traced the genesis of their<br />
present predicament to an alleged attempt<br />
by an erstwhile President of Fancy and<br />
Furniture Dealers Association(names<br />
withheld) to forcefully continue with<br />
running the affairs of the market by<br />
imposing<br />
his loyalists on traders as executive<br />
members.<br />
Saturday Vanguard was reliably informed<br />
that the incumbent chairman of the<br />
association was nominated by a former<br />
chairman. But things fell apart when the<br />
incumbent was said to have refused to<br />
dance to the tune of his godfather .<br />
In a peaceful march to protest hoodlums’<br />
excesses Wednesday, the traders lamented<br />
their woes in the hands of these oppressors<br />
who they alleged were hired by the former<br />
chairman to cause unrest in the market.<br />
The traders said that the action of the<br />
miscreants was scaring customers away<br />
from the acclaimed largest electronics<br />
market in Nigeria.<br />
Speaking with Saturday Vanguard, the<br />
incumbent Chairman of Fancy and<br />
Furniture Dealers Association and<br />
President, Alaba Amalgamated Association<br />
of Nigeria, Mr Emeka Mozoba, lamented<br />
that “We are having security challenges in<br />
Alaba market . Lives of people are in danger<br />
as well as our goods because everyday we<br />
have cases of robbery, snatching of phones.<br />
A lot of atrocities are happening at he<br />
market. People doing business are afraid,<br />
nobody wants to talk because they don’t<br />
want to fall victims to these hoodlums hired<br />
by one man. The market is in disarray and<br />
our lives are in danger”.<br />
Petitions the Police<br />
Mozoba stated that the association had<br />
written several petitions to the Police but<br />
he expressed regrets that there had been no<br />
favourable response from the Police.<br />
A copy of a recent letter of appeal for<br />
police intervention made available to<br />
•Protesting traders<br />
People doing business<br />
are afraid, nobody wants<br />
to talk because they don’t<br />
want to fall victims to<br />
these hoodlums hired by<br />
one man<br />
Saturday Vanguard, was addressed to<br />
the Deputy Commissioner of Police incharge<br />
of the the State Criminal<br />
Investigation and Intelligence Squad,<br />
SCIID, dated January 20, 2017.<br />
In the petition signed by the solicitor<br />
to the association, Chinedu Nwosu,<br />
members of executives of the association<br />
recalled how miscreants allegedly<br />
sponsored by the erstwhile chairman<br />
threw caution to the wind two years ago,<br />
invaded the market with dangerous<br />
weapons and inflicted injuries on several<br />
traders. It also stated that there were<br />
plans by the miscreants to force the<br />
incumbent executives out of office and<br />
bring in loyalists to their sponsor to fill<br />
the positions.<br />
The statement read in part “our clients<br />
have gathered that Azubuike Ekwerekwu<br />
and his cohorts are bent on foisting on<br />
the association his stooges through<br />
which he intend to control the purse of<br />
the association and they have resolved<br />
among themselves to bring in touts to<br />
the market to harass, intimidate<br />
subjugate and quell any dissident voices<br />
against their resolve to carry on with the<br />
imposition of their loyalists on the<br />
traders.<br />
“Our clients informed us that these<br />
people have threatened to snuff life out<br />
of them if they make good their resolve<br />
to resist them in the market but our<br />
clients and genuine traders at the Fancy<br />
and Furniture section of the market are<br />
more than ever, resolved to put this<br />
abrasion of one man to an end once and<br />
for all time. And that is the very reason<br />
for this petition”.<br />
Chairman of the association, Mozoba<br />
said “This man (alleged sponsor) in<br />
question is not a real trader, he only owns<br />
a property in Alaba . He is not the only<br />
property owner in Alaba but he is<br />
interested in the politics of the market.<br />
He has sworn that if his candidate was<br />
not the one managing the market, he<br />
would remove the person.<br />
His thugs intimidate and harass traders<br />
in broad day light, wielding guns,<br />
everybody is just afraid These thugs who<br />
are also cultists will storm a trader’s shop,<br />
brandishing their guns and collect<br />
whatever they wanted.<br />
The recent incident happened Thursday<br />
last week, after two of the cultists invaded<br />
my office, unknown to them that there<br />
were policemen on surveillance from the<br />
State Criminal Investigation and<br />
Intelligence Department, who<br />
subsequently arrested them. But they were<br />
released next day by their sponsor’s<br />
lawyer. Their sponsor had boasted that<br />
he was untouchable and that he was<br />
capable of killing somebody and would<br />
get away with it”.<br />
We have written several petitions to the<br />
police but no action has been taken. We<br />
sent copies of the petition to the DPO Ojo,<br />
the Area Commander E, Festac, the Lagos<br />
State Commissioner of Police and the<br />
Inspector-General of Police”<br />
.Lamentations<br />
One of the traders, Samuel Echendo,<br />
disclosed that he was attacked by<br />
hoodlums right in his office last week.<br />
According to him “I am one of those<br />
attacked by these paid hoodlums who are<br />
well known cultists. They stormed my<br />
shop and ordered me to lie down, pointing<br />
guns at me. After terrorising me, I went to<br />
report at the union’s office. Since then,<br />
they have been threatening me on the<br />
phone for reporting them”.<br />
Another victim of the hoodlums<br />
molestation, Uchechukwu Chukwuma,<br />
who is also a trader, said he was attacked<br />
on December 24, 2016 and his phone<br />
forcefully collected at gun point.<br />
Chukwuma said “ As I was coming out<br />
of the office at about 4pm, the hoodlums<br />
led by Oyibo surrounded me and<br />
collected my phone . Later, one Chidi<br />
called me on the phone requesting for<br />
N40,000 before the phone would be<br />
released. I reported the matter at Ojo<br />
division”.<br />
One of the executive members,<br />
Comrade Jude Osita, said that he was one<br />
of those slammed with the sledge<br />
hammer of the opposition camp,<br />
following an allegation of robbery<br />
levelled against him and eleven others.<br />
He said “Twelve of us were wrongly<br />
accused of being armed robbers in 2008<br />
. But for the intervention of Justice Dada<br />
of an Ikeja high court, who gave us<br />
unconditional release through the DPP,<br />
we would still be in prison for an offence<br />
we knew nothing about. They almost<br />
manipulated DPP into believing we were<br />
armed robbers, all in a bid to take over<br />
the affairs of the market.<br />
Appeal for Police, government<br />
intervention<br />
Continuing, Chukwuma said : “As I<br />
speak, we don’t have security in the<br />
market. Last week this place was<br />
surrounded by hoodlums. Their sponsor<br />
paid them to come and sack the<br />
incumbent chairman. We want<br />
government to intervene because the<br />
intimidation is much . Nobody is safe<br />
any more. We generate revenue for the<br />
state government. Billions of naira is<br />
paid into government coffers from here.<br />
Therefore, we deserve government’s<br />
protection when the need arises. As an<br />
international market , we deserve the<br />
best security to checkmate excesses of<br />
these paid hoodlums and cultists”.<br />
On his part, Sir Cosmus Obi, who<br />
claimed to be one of the founders of<br />
Alaba International market<br />
also called on the Police to rise up to<br />
the present security challenge in the<br />
market before it gets out of hand.<br />
One of the former chairmen of the<br />
association, Chief Ausgustine Okafor,<br />
who frowned at the present situation in<br />
the market, stated that if drastic<br />
measures were not taken by security<br />
agencies to address the present<br />
situation, it could lead to a state of<br />
anarchy.<br />
He recalled that “When I was<br />
chairman, it was peaceful. Everyone<br />
desired to have an office in Fancy and<br />
Furniture but at a point things changed,<br />
as touts and hoodlums filled everywhere<br />
in the market .<br />
Today, I am appealing for the<br />
intervention of security agencies to<br />
come to our rescue by assisting us to<br />
send these hoodlums who have their<br />
abode inside this market packing. They<br />
are terrorising my people and nobody<br />
is happy any more. Sometimes, they<br />
terrorise people with guns, machetes<br />
and all sorts of weapons. If the Lagos<br />
state government can’t address it, then<br />
the federal government should rise up<br />
to the occasion , after all the duty of<br />
government is to defend its people”.<br />
Reaction<br />
Investigation by Saturday Vanguard<br />
revealed that the alleged sponsor of the<br />
thugs, left the market last year, when<br />
the accusation became over bearing.<br />
Since then, he has reportedly not been<br />
seen around Alaba.<br />
In a swift reaction, the man at the<br />
centre of controversy, Ekwerekwu<br />
described the claim by the traders as<br />
false.<br />
He explained rather that “there was<br />
no election that brought in the man who<br />
claims to be the incumbent chairman.<br />
The former chairman was accused of<br />
misappropriation of funds and the<br />
stakeholders led by me, appointed the<br />
present man.<br />
He further explained that in less than<br />
one month in office, some startling<br />
discoveries were made on Mazoba<br />
which prompted him (Ekwerekwu) to<br />
advice his anointed candidate to step<br />
down.<br />
Continuing , he said “Eight members<br />
of his executives who challenged him<br />
on the matter were chased out and he<br />
appointed other people to take their<br />
positions. The issue is that he feels<br />
threatened that we will move him out . I<br />
am the biggest stakeholder in that<br />
market and I own most of the shops there.<br />
Tell me, how do I throw stones where I<br />
have property? Besides, I am no longer<br />
there with them, I have moved to the<br />
Island. The police are there to investigate,<br />
let him go to them. If I am invited, I will<br />
make myself available”, he said.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—15<br />
BY EBUN SESSOU<br />
In 2012, the Lagos State<br />
Government passed the<br />
traffic law banning<br />
motorcyclists (Okada) and tricycle<br />
(Keke Marwa) operators from<br />
major roads in the state. This was<br />
as a result of the alarming rate of<br />
accidents on the roads as well as<br />
increase in crimes as many<br />
robbers were operating on<br />
motorcycles.<br />
Major highways where these<br />
motorcyclists and tricyclists have<br />
been banned include Lagos-<br />
Ibadan Expressway, Apapa-<br />
Oshodi Expressway,<br />
Oworonshoki-Oshodi<br />
Expressway, Lagos-Ikorodu<br />
Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta<br />
Expressway and Third Mainland<br />
Bridge. Other routes are Eti-Osa/<br />
Lekki –Epe Expressway, Lagos –<br />
Badagry Express-way, Funsho<br />
Williams Avenue, Agege Motor<br />
Road and Eti-Osa/Lekki Coastal<br />
Road. The law therefore became<br />
necessary in order to ensure sanity<br />
in the state. The law enforcement<br />
agents seized the initiative and on<br />
the date of the deadline given the<br />
commercial motorcycles to vacate<br />
the roads, the police commenced<br />
full enforcement of the law as they<br />
started seizing the motor cycles<br />
that flouted the law. The police<br />
however left the tricycles alone.<br />
Unfortunately, the same ‘Okada’<br />
and ‘Keke Marwa’ riders who<br />
were banned some years ago have<br />
returned to those highways in full<br />
force and operate with impunity.<br />
They now operate in Lekki, Ibeju<br />
Lekki, Oshodi/Apapa<br />
Expressway, Badagry Expressway<br />
and several other places<br />
They drive against the traffic,<br />
they do not regard the traffic law<br />
and above all, they do not observe<br />
the traffic light rules and<br />
regulations.<br />
A resident, Mr Johnson in<br />
Ibeju-Lekki who spoke with<br />
Saturday Vanguard argued that<br />
most of these Okada riders were<br />
Okada, Tricycle back on<br />
the highways with a bang!<br />
not educated about traffic rules as they<br />
ventured into it without having any<br />
knowledge of what they were going<br />
into doing. He said, “I spoke with some<br />
of the Okada riders and I find out that<br />
many of them are not educated. They<br />
do not even know what traffic law or<br />
traffic light rules and regulations are.<br />
It will interest you to know that some<br />
of these people have abandoned their<br />
jobs for Okada riding”.<br />
A business man who resides in<br />
Second Rainbow area of Lagos, Mr<br />
Lucas explained that, “the restrictions<br />
of Okada on the major routes was a<br />
good initiative but I have noted that the Okada<br />
riders returned to the roads immediately after the<br />
ban. Every attempt to sanitise and restore order to<br />
the chaotic Lagos traffic should be made. That is<br />
what any responsible government should do”.<br />
According to Mr John, a journalist in Victoria<br />
Island, “most of these Okada and Marwa riders<br />
are reckless. According to the traffic law, the<br />
commercial motorcyclists and their passengers are<br />
mandated to wear standard crash helmet for full<br />
protection, they should carry only one passenger,<br />
but should not carry children and pregnant women,<br />
and should not operate beyond 8.00pm in Victoria<br />
Island, IKoyi and Ikeja and 10.00pm in other areas<br />
of the State.<br />
“They should be aware of what is<br />
behind and to the sides before<br />
manoeuvring. They should look behind,<br />
and use mirrors if they are fitted. When<br />
in traffic queues, they should look out for<br />
pedestrians crossing between vehicles<br />
and vehicles emerging from junctions, or<br />
changing lanes.<br />
They should also position themselves<br />
so that drivers can see them in their<br />
mirrors and in slow-moving traffic they<br />
should take care and keep their speed<br />
low. Unfortunately, these people do not<br />
know all these or better put fail to observe<br />
these rules and regulations.<br />
Waste management undergoes reforms<br />
BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI<br />
Waste management in<br />
Lagos State is<br />
currently facing a<br />
tougher time following the<br />
planned introduction of<br />
major reform into the sector<br />
by Governor Akinwunmi<br />
Ambode.<br />
Lagos state government is<br />
making moves to rescue the<br />
state from the inefficiency of<br />
the Private Sector<br />
Participation, PSP, operators<br />
through the launch of<br />
‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’.<br />
Lagos waste generation<br />
which was between 9,000 to<br />
10,000 metric tons of waste<br />
per day has recently, risen to<br />
between 13,000 to 14,000 per<br />
day.<br />
Commissioner for the<br />
Environment in the state, Dr.<br />
Samuel Adejare, while<br />
announcing<br />
the<br />
development, said besides<br />
creating the enabling<br />
environment for the private<br />
sector to harness<br />
international best practices,<br />
the Cleaner Lagos Initiative<br />
is likewise concerned with<br />
addressing the existing<br />
challenges in solid waste<br />
management in the state.<br />
Under the proposed<br />
reform, government will<br />
carry out a re-certification of<br />
all the 350 PSP operators, relicense<br />
them and audit the<br />
state of their compactors.<br />
Government will also<br />
transform the existing<br />
LAWMA confirms reform processes<br />
Meantime, the Lagos<br />
State Waste<br />
Management<br />
Authority, LAWMA, has said<br />
that waste generation within<br />
the state has increased to<br />
over 420, 000 monthly,<br />
representing 14, 000 metric<br />
tons daily.<br />
Meanwhile, the<br />
operators of domestic<br />
and commercial<br />
wastes in Lagos State are already<br />
in court to stop the government<br />
from displacing them or replacing<br />
them with new operators through<br />
the guise of reform.<br />
In a suit filed on their behalf at<br />
a Lagos High Court by Ebun-Olu<br />
Adegboruwa, the PSP operators,<br />
urged the court to urgently uphold<br />
and protect their existing rights<br />
and benefits so that the<br />
government will not appoint new<br />
operators to replace them.<br />
Listed as defendants in the suit<br />
are the Lagos State Government,<br />
Transfer Loading Station<br />
(TLS) and introduce about<br />
25 Material Revolving<br />
Facility (MRF) where wastes<br />
will be sorted, 600 new<br />
compactor vehicles will be<br />
Chairman of LAWMA,<br />
Olumuyiwa Adejokun and<br />
General Manager, Mr.<br />
Segun Adeniji, disclosed this<br />
recently, at the opening<br />
session of a 3-day training<br />
workshop for officials of the<br />
agency, themed: “Reformed<br />
Waste Management in Lagos<br />
the Attorney-General of Lagos<br />
State, Commissioner for the<br />
Environment, the proposed<br />
foreign operators and their local<br />
agents–namely Visionscape<br />
Group, Visionscape Santiation<br />
Solutions Limited, and ABC<br />
Sanitation Solutions Limited.<br />
“If the government’s resolutions<br />
are implemented to the letter, the<br />
regime of refuse heaps may soon<br />
return to the state,” Adegboruwa,<br />
a human rights lawyer said.<br />
In their 77 paragraph affidavit<br />
deposed to by Olabode Coker, the<br />
acquired, and waste<br />
dumpsites will be closed and<br />
replaced with engineered<br />
sanitary landfill sites.<br />
The reform will include;<br />
Establishment of five new<br />
State: The role of LAWMA,”<br />
held at Lekki, Eti-Osa Local<br />
Government Area of the<br />
state.<br />
The governor’s directive,<br />
Adejokun, stressed was part<br />
of the planned reform to<br />
make the agency more<br />
efficient and effective saying,<br />
PSP drags govt to court<br />
Chairman of the Association of<br />
Waste Managers, the operators<br />
stated that they had helped Lagos<br />
State to rid the state of refuse<br />
spanning several years of<br />
investments in human and<br />
material resources, which had<br />
also involved professional<br />
trainings and education.<br />
The association, comprising<br />
over 350 PSP operators, asked the<br />
court to restrain any foreign<br />
operator, and their local agents,<br />
from taking over the collection,<br />
disposal and management of<br />
power stations – one in<br />
each division in the state,<br />
which will be built to<br />
generate power from<br />
wastes, and closure of the<br />
Olusosun at Ojota, Kosofe<br />
Local Government area,<br />
and Solus, Igando, old<br />
Alimosho LGA, dumpsites<br />
next year.<br />
“Government does not have<br />
the huge funds required to<br />
manage waste in the state,<br />
this is why the governor has<br />
decided to embark on waste<br />
management reform.”<br />
He explained that the<br />
reform would see LAWMA<br />
being excluded from waste<br />
collection and concentrate<br />
on regulatory role of waste<br />
collection in the state.<br />
domestic solid waste in all areas<br />
of Lagos State.<br />
“The operators claimed that<br />
Lagos State had encouraged them<br />
in the past to improve their<br />
operations through acquisition of<br />
modern trucks, for which many of<br />
them obtained loans from banks<br />
with huge interest rates and the<br />
consideration was to be using the<br />
resources generated from the<br />
waste operations to service the<br />
said loans, and they have built<br />
offices in various parts of Lagos<br />
State for the smooth<br />
administration of their<br />
operations,” Adegboruwa<br />
maintained.<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
16—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Nigeria’ ll split if we<br />
don’t restructure<br />
– Ohaneze Chieftain<br />
•Why Igbo Governors<br />
cannot lead Ndigbo<br />
•Prof Elochukwu<br />
Amucheazi<br />
What have you been doing after<br />
MAMMSER?<br />
After MAMMSER, I became the Director<br />
General, National Orientation Agency, NOA,<br />
from 1993 to 2011. Since then I have been<br />
involved in one thing or the other. In fact I just<br />
ended as the pro-Chancellor, Anambra State<br />
University; before then I was the Chairman<br />
Anambra Broadcasting Service before I<br />
became the pro-chancellor of the university The common<br />
now called Chukwuemeka Odumegwu<br />
Ojukwu University. So I am still in the arena, saying is Igbo<br />
so to say.<br />
What about politics?<br />
don’t have kings<br />
Well, everybody is a politician but I am not<br />
vying for political power.<br />
What is the major difference between the<br />
but I think it is<br />
Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Igbo Leaders of<br />
Thought?<br />
probably taking it<br />
Ohanaeze is the apex socio-cultural<br />
organization of Ndigbo whereas Igbo leaders literally not that we<br />
of Thought is a collection of, call it,<br />
intellectuals who are concerned about the don’t have leaders<br />
welfare of Ndigbo. It is a think tank,<br />
generating ideas, interacting with all other<br />
Igbo organizations; selling those ideas; in<br />
other words mobilizing our people for the<br />
welfare of Ndigbo.<br />
But the Aka Ikenga claims to be the<br />
intellectual arm of Ohanaeze?<br />
I am not aware of that kind of claim; I am<br />
not sure any organization can claim that. I<br />
am in Ohanaeze and the current constitution<br />
of Ohanaeze was drawn up by my committee,<br />
I was the chairman. So I am not aware. Is<br />
Aka Ikenga not located in Lagos? But I think<br />
it is just one of the organizations. You have to<br />
appreciate the political culture of Ndigbo;<br />
we are an egalitarian society and individuals<br />
are bubbling with enthusiasm to contribute<br />
and so they can come round, form<br />
organizations and explore how they can make<br />
their own contributions. So we have Aka<br />
Ikenga, we have Nkpoko Igbo, we have Ala-<br />
Igbo Development Foundation, we have the<br />
World Igbo Summit Group and so many other<br />
organizations and no one can claim any<br />
particular/ special relationship with<br />
Ohanaeze. Ohanaeze is just the umbrella<br />
organization of Ndigbo. We call it sociocultural,<br />
not necessarily political.<br />
Does it have anything to do with the saying<br />
that Igbo have no leaders?<br />
Who said Igbo have no leaders? No, no, no!<br />
C<br />
M<br />
YK<br />
By Emeka Mamah and Dennis Agbo, Enugu<br />
Prof Elochukwu Amucheazi is both a member of the Igbo Leaders of Thought, ILT, and<br />
Ohanaeze Ndigbo. In this interview, Amuceazi who is the National Secretary of ILT<br />
spoke about Igbo leadership, lip service to fight against corruption: true federalism<br />
and restructuring as well as the problems within the South East Governors’ Forum,<br />
SEGF, and efforts to reconcile them. He also, said that Ndigbo would never regret<br />
rejecting President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 election, and would vote for<br />
Jonathan again en-masse if he stands for another election tomorrow.<br />
The common saying is Igbo don’t have<br />
kings but I think it is probably taking it<br />
literally not that we don’t have leaders.<br />
There is no community that doesn’t have a<br />
leader or leaders, starting from your<br />
primary community.<br />
The former Vice President, Dr Alex<br />
Ekwueme is a foremost Igbo leader who is<br />
now over 84 years. The problem is that we<br />
don’t have those who will take over from<br />
people like him or Prof Ben Nwabueze<br />
among others<br />
Ekwueme is an Igbo leader, very<br />
prominent, an intellectual and everything<br />
that you need in defining Igbo leader you<br />
have in Ekwueme and therefore he is a<br />
foremost Igbo leader, at least till today but<br />
we have others coming up as well. We have<br />
Nwabueze, Ebitu Ukaiwe, Ndubuisi Kanu<br />
and a good number of others. I think that<br />
what confuses people is the dominance,<br />
politically, of young traders in government;<br />
compradors in government; people reared<br />
by erstwhile military dictators, who<br />
managed to have cornered a lot of money<br />
and they are everywhere in Igbo land. At<br />
the moment they seem to be at the helm of<br />
affairs because they are governors, they are<br />
these, they are that. But they are not<br />
necessarily the Igbo leaders. In every<br />
community there are leaders, at the<br />
moment the impression is about these<br />
people who are in government, who<br />
control tools of government but it is not<br />
always the case. They throw their weight<br />
about because of the way things are in<br />
this country but it is not that Igbo do not<br />
have leaders. You see, at critical moments,<br />
Igbo leaders emerge. In the 1950s you<br />
saw how Dr Michael Okpara emerged.<br />
During the civil war you saw how Emeka<br />
Ojukwu emerged. They were in the<br />
forefront, but not that Ojukwu or Okpara<br />
were the only leaders. There is this<br />
collective leadership that is associated<br />
with Ndigbo. Why some of these governors<br />
are failing is that sometimes they fail to<br />
consult the real leaders; people who<br />
matter. Because of the way things stand<br />
in this country they think about their<br />
patrons, so to say, from up there, but how<br />
long will that last? I believe tomorrow<br />
will be bright for Ndigbo. A crop of leaders<br />
are coming up, not just this present day<br />
party leaders. As a matter of fact, look at<br />
this small boy, Nnamdi Kanu who is being<br />
detained, how do you evaluate him? An<br />
Igbo leader must be selfless, must be well<br />
focused; must be dynamic and prepared<br />
to move the people forward. Many of<br />
these governors don’t have these qualities,<br />
so you have these chaps coming up and I<br />
can assure you many more will surface<br />
even before you know it.<br />
Don’t you believe that some of these<br />
groups like IPOB and MASSOB are<br />
there because Nigeria has refused to<br />
be restructured?<br />
It is obvious; there is consensus all over<br />
the country that we must go back to<br />
genuine federation. Everybody agrees<br />
that a few individuals are dragging their<br />
feet. It is not as if they don’t know that<br />
there must be restructuring. If you do not<br />
restructure, the country will disintegrate<br />
and it is as simple as that. Sooner or later,<br />
we will have what happened in other parts<br />
of the world- Central Africa, Europe and<br />
Asia and so on. Even the other day Britain<br />
was pulling Europe in a way, Scotland is<br />
even thinking about that and even the<br />
other day, California started saying its<br />
own. If you don’t restructure you cannot<br />
hold people down. I said it the other day<br />
that coercion or force has never held<br />
people together forever. Dictators have<br />
come and gone and there is a consensus<br />
that Nigeria has to be restructured.<br />
How do you want the country to be<br />
restructured?<br />
Ekwueme talked about six constituent<br />
federal units, that is, the present six<br />
geopolitical zones. They can become the<br />
federating units of the federation. You<br />
see there are criteria for balanced<br />
federation. The constituent units must<br />
be reasonably sizable; they have to be<br />
reasonably viable in a way; they can<br />
stand on their own. That is why Ekwueme<br />
came up with six geopolitical zones. At<br />
the moment you have all these tiny units<br />
called states, they cannot become units<br />
of a federation and that is why we are<br />
running a unitary system of government<br />
which is not good enough for Nigeria.<br />
Right from the word go, even the British<br />
that created Nigeria realized that<br />
Nigeria must be a federation which was<br />
why they came up with three federal<br />
units and later the civilians added one<br />
and we had four. It is only these military<br />
dictators who are not qualified, who<br />
didn’t understand anything about how<br />
to govern human society that<br />
treacherously brought about this so<br />
called 36 states so that they can run the<br />
country as a unitary system of<br />
government.<br />
Do you think restructuring would<br />
quell issues like agitation for selfdetermination<br />
like in the case of Biafra?<br />
It is possible but many have been<br />
pushed to the wall. It depends on the<br />
powers given to the constituent units. You<br />
can have a federation, you can have a<br />
confederation, so it depends on what will<br />
be agreed upon.<br />
How do you react to Obasanjo’s<br />
recent call for Igbo Presidency in 2019?<br />
I do not think it is a subject for<br />
discussion. I do not have answer to this.<br />
I don’t think I will waste my time<br />
addressing that question. Why do you<br />
think one should listen to that kind of<br />
advice? Is it an advice or whatever you<br />
call it? I think it is just a distraction.<br />
Do you think Biafra can stand on its<br />
own?<br />
I guess you are talking about selfdetermination<br />
which is a guaranteed<br />
human right. The issue is not viability or<br />
no viability. When it comes to that really;<br />
Continues on pg 37
SATURD<br />
TURDAY Vanguard<br />
anguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—17<br />
BBC confirms DfID<br />
targeted Ibori;<br />
Spent millions<br />
to nail him<br />
BY TONY ELUEMUNOR<br />
Barely three days after my story entitled<br />
“Exposed: How the UK Conspired to<br />
convict Ibori, Gohil, others - Govt’s Role,<br />
“appeared in the Weekend Vanguard of 28<br />
January 2017, the BBC on 1st February<br />
2017 confirmed one of the most damning<br />
disclosures there.<br />
My expose showed how the British<br />
Government, acting through the DfID, had<br />
been in contention with Chief James<br />
Onanefe Ibori over the control of V-Mobile<br />
shares. I gave this back grounding: “At the<br />
centre of this conspiracy is the British<br />
government’s aid agency – the<br />
Department for International<br />
Development (DfID). To the world, it<br />
provides British monetary support for<br />
humanitarian aid and projects in<br />
impoverished counties. Yet, as its role<br />
in the Ibori case shows, its agenda is<br />
however political. In the Ibori case/<br />
s, the British government used these<br />
aid funds as a political tool against<br />
Ibori and to support its political<br />
agenda and undermine Nigerian<br />
sovereignty”.<br />
Then I dropped the bombshell: “To<br />
begin at the beginning; It will be<br />
recalled that since 2005, DFID funded<br />
the entirety of the Ibori, Gohil and<br />
linked prosecutions; with £16 million<br />
going to “The Proceeds of Corruption<br />
Unit.”<br />
This week Wednesday, Mr. Mark Easton,<br />
BBC’s Home editor, published “James<br />
Ibori: Nigerian ex-governor challenges UK<br />
conviction” He wrote: “In 2005 the<br />
Department for International Development<br />
funded a special police unit inside Scotland<br />
Yard to go after corrupt African politicians.<br />
Its prime target was Ibori. Its aim: to get<br />
him into a British court and convict him<br />
for corruption. The UK government spent<br />
years and millions getting Ibori out of<br />
Nigeria and into a British court in one of<br />
the most expensive and complex police<br />
investigations undertaken”.<br />
And showing that the hunters have<br />
become the hunted as the Ibori case has<br />
turned against the Police, the BBC report<br />
added: “Last year, after repeatedly telling<br />
judges there was no evidence of police<br />
corruption, the Crown Prosecution Service<br />
(CPS) admitted they had found substantial<br />
material that supported the allegations.<br />
“There exists intelligence that supports<br />
the assertion that [a police officer] received<br />
payment in return for information in respect<br />
of the Ibori case,” the CPS admitted.<br />
The officer in question has always denied<br />
taking bribes and internal police<br />
investigations have previously exonerated<br />
him. Details of how Scotland Yard tapped<br />
phones and conducted covert surveillance<br />
on a number of officers in the unit<br />
investigating Ibori emerged for the first<br />
time”<br />
Unfortunately for DfID, it did little to<br />
cover its tracks. Once Ibori was arraigned,<br />
it never bothered to arraign any other<br />
politically exposed person. Also, the claim<br />
that the special Police Unit it funded<br />
lavishly with £16 million was for Africanwide<br />
operation was a ruse; it has not cast<br />
an eye at any other country apart from<br />
Nigeria or at any other person.<br />
Yet, the BBC report repeated the lies the<br />
media had heaped on Ibori owing to media<br />
•Ibori<br />
Unfortunately for DfID, it<br />
did little to cover its<br />
tracks. Once Ibori was<br />
arraigned, it never bothered<br />
to arraign any other<br />
politically exposed person<br />
manipulation, calculated disinformation<br />
and misinformation. Mr. Easton’s report<br />
claimed: “Ibori was believed to have<br />
laundered large sums in the UK, just part of<br />
hundreds of millions of dollars it was<br />
claimed he had embezzled from the<br />
Nigerian people.<br />
On a state salary of just £4,000 a year he<br />
had bought a fleet of luxury cars and<br />
expensive properties. He was also looking<br />
to buy a private jet”.<br />
This nonsense that a governor’s salary was<br />
Ibori’s only source of income from 1999 to<br />
2007 has been at the heart of the Ibori<br />
London and Asaba trials. And that has been<br />
the most crucial media manipulation and<br />
court-misleading both the Economic and<br />
Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and<br />
the British Police and Prosecution did against<br />
Ibori.<br />
The British Police and Prosecution both<br />
knew that Ibori had other sources of income,<br />
such as an oil service company called MER<br />
Engineering but chose to mislead both the<br />
court and the public. Page 14 of the 44-page<br />
charges filed by the London Metropolitan<br />
Police, against Ibori in court, item 81, on MER<br />
Engineering states: “MER built houseboats,<br />
which were rented out to oil workers in the<br />
Delta. It was Ibori who was able to<br />
influence the contracts with Chevron<br />
and Shell and the NNPC”, Item 83: “It<br />
was MER money that paid for the Ibori<br />
property in Hampstead, Westover Hill:<br />
Count 5. Item 84, “It was MER money<br />
that paid for the house Ibori bought in<br />
Houston Texas. Item 85, “it was MER<br />
money that paid for the deposit for the<br />
$20 million Challenger Jet airplane that<br />
Mr. Ibori was in the process of buying<br />
when his monies were restrained by the<br />
UK courts”.<br />
Yet, weeks before Ibori was sentenced,<br />
EFCC arrested and questioned one Dr.<br />
Babalakin on the charge that he helped<br />
Ibori launder money, using the account<br />
of Babalakin’s company. EFCC said<br />
Ibori never tried to buy a Challenger jet<br />
but was only helped to launder money<br />
by pretending he was buying a jet. I<br />
replied that the EFCC was lying because<br />
it had known for years that Ibori<br />
actually invested some money in a<br />
registered air-charter company for a jet<br />
that would be used commercially, but<br />
the world has been deceived that Ibori<br />
had bought, or was in the process of<br />
buying, a private jet. And didn’t<br />
Prosecution state in court that Ibori<br />
had invested only $4million on that<br />
aircraft – money from MER<br />
Engineering?<br />
I wrote then: “Adding the $4<br />
million for the jet to the $6<br />
million for the properties, sums<br />
that came from MER<br />
Engineering, brings the entire<br />
sum in contention in the UK to $10<br />
million. If you make allowance for<br />
police exaggeration of property costs,<br />
you would have a sum that is below $8<br />
million. It is a huge amount but it is<br />
nowhere near 50 or 250 million Pounds<br />
that were bandied about. And the monies<br />
came from MER Engineering accounts.<br />
Also, I don’t want to go into the amount<br />
of the travel and overnight allowances<br />
that Ibori was paid during his eightyear<br />
tenure as Governor”.<br />
Now, see court-misleading at<br />
work as I had pointed out<br />
before!. On item 175 of the<br />
same court charges against<br />
Ibori: “By the time he was<br />
into his second term of<br />
office as Governor of Delta<br />
State, James Ibori had<br />
defrauded Delta State of<br />
such large sums of money that he was<br />
planning to buy himself a private jet<br />
aeroplane costing $20 million.” Is this<br />
not the same plane for which Mr.<br />
Babalakin was arrested, and EFCC said<br />
he was laundering money for Ibori in<br />
the guise of buying a plane? Item 183:<br />
“MER had an account at Barclays bank<br />
in Knightsbridge. The Money went from<br />
the oil companies straight out of Nigeria<br />
and into MER account in Barclays”.<br />
And that too is a crime? Item 29: “Mr.<br />
Ibori used money defrauded from the<br />
people of Nigeria to buy a property in<br />
Houston in Texas … “only to see in Item<br />
84, “It was MER money that paid for the<br />
house Ibori bought in Houston Texas’.<br />
Ibori’s many sins for which he was<br />
convicted included this terribly grave<br />
crime: Item 34: “In addition to his<br />
millionaire life style, Ibori called himself<br />
“HIS EXCELLENCY”, a title not<br />
recognized by the constitution”.<br />
For the source of this commotion,<br />
remember that former EFCC chairman,<br />
Nuhu Ribadu accused some oil majors<br />
of helping Ibori launder money over the<br />
same MER Engineering contracts,<br />
claiming that MER Engineering had no<br />
contracts at all with those oil companies.<br />
He was simply preparing the grounds to<br />
make this deliberate falsehood stick. And<br />
such nonsense even found its way into<br />
the Financial Times of London of<br />
November 16, 2007 story, “Probe into<br />
Chevron and Shell payments” written by<br />
Michael Peel and Dino Mahtani. It stated<br />
that “Anti-corruption investigators are<br />
probing payments by ChevronTexaco<br />
and Royal Dutch Shell to a company<br />
owned by a powerful Nigerian politician<br />
they suspect has laundered tens of<br />
millions of dollars in British banks,<br />
property and cars.<br />
James Ibori, who was governor of<br />
Delta State until last May, is being<br />
investigated by British and Nigerian<br />
authorities over sums he is alleged to<br />
have accumulated during his years in<br />
office.<br />
A UK court affidavit seen by the<br />
Financial Times says there is<br />
reasonable cause to believe Mr Ibori<br />
bled money from his oil-rich state and<br />
bought assets including a $20m jet,<br />
houses in London and Dorset, and a<br />
•406,000 ($595,460) armour-plated<br />
Mercedes-Benz from a Mayfair<br />
dealership.<br />
The document says police are<br />
examining £2.3m ($4.7m) of payments<br />
made over the past three years by<br />
ChevronTexaco and the state-owned<br />
Nigerian National Petroleum<br />
Corporation into a dollar-denominated<br />
Barclays account in London held on<br />
behalf of MER Engineering, a company<br />
owned by Mr Ibori.<br />
The affidavit says the “purportedly<br />
legitimate” payments were for the<br />
rental of two houseboats for oil workers,<br />
although it suspects the transfers were<br />
“corrupt payments rather than in<br />
exchange for legitimate services”. So<br />
the Police knew as far back as 2007 that<br />
Ibori earned money legitimately apart<br />
from his salary as Governor. Yet, even<br />
the BBC towed reported their lies ten<br />
whole years later.<br />
That is the source of the commotion.<br />
Ribadu and the British Police never<br />
wanted anybody to know that Ibori had<br />
other sources of legitimate income. And<br />
this nonsense continued even after the<br />
FT wrote this “Chevron confirmed it had<br />
hired two houseboats from MER, but<br />
declined to give more details. It said it<br />
believed it had complied with anticorruption<br />
laws. Shell said MER was<br />
on its register of approved contractors.<br />
It declined to elaborate on the amount<br />
and type of work done by MER.NNPC<br />
said it never paid bribes”. That was<br />
written in 2007.<br />
So what was the conclusion of Nuhu<br />
Ribadu’s investigation? On October 19,<br />
2007, Sahara Reporters wrote:<br />
“Documents available to<br />
Saharareporters paint a picture of how<br />
former Governor James Ibori of Delta<br />
State used international collaborators,<br />
offshore shell companies and local<br />
assistants to BUY a Bombardier<br />
Challenger jet from Bombardier<br />
Aerospace Incorporated, Canada’s<br />
leading private jet manufacturing<br />
company”. Total hogwash! So, where<br />
is the jet parked today?<br />
No wonder Ibori’s understatement :<br />
“I have been unfairly treated, that’s all I<br />
can say,” Mr Ibori told the BBC,<br />
confirming that he plans to appeal<br />
against his conviction for money<br />
laundering.<br />
“Yes, I am, of course. I have made that<br />
decision personally and I have<br />
instructed my solicitors.”<br />
What lawyers had thought impossible<br />
became possible in the Ibori case.<br />
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 Daniel<br />
Elombah of elombah.com, a lawyer,<br />
analyzed the Ibori London case and<br />
concluded: “Without original evidence,<br />
without the predicate crime, and relying<br />
on inference alone, the battle to secure<br />
the conviction of Ibori at all cost seems<br />
a lost cause”. Well, he spoke too soon;<br />
without adducing any evidence<br />
whatsoever of any monies lost by Delta<br />
state, and proving same beyond every<br />
reasonable doubt, the London<br />
prosecutors got judgment against Ibori<br />
when a Judge agreed the case should be<br />
decided on inference and inference<br />
alone and so no burden of proof<br />
weighed down on the prosecution at all,<br />
no matter how wild their claims could<br />
be. But Justice Marcel Awokulehin of<br />
the Federal High Court Asaba, rested<br />
his judgment on the prosecution’s<br />
failure to establish of prima facie<br />
evidence of guilt against Ibori. And<br />
Ignorant Nigerians have been<br />
condemning that judgment without<br />
knowing the planks on which it rested;<br />
proof beyond all reasonable doubt as<br />
against inference alone – relied on by<br />
the London court.<br />
•Tony Eluemunor is Ibori’s Media<br />
Assitant.<br />
C<br />
M<br />
YK
18—SATURD<br />
TURDAY Vanguard<br />
anguard, FEBRUARY 4 , 2017<br />
Spice and drama at Edo Governor<br />
ernorship Tribunal<br />
By GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE<br />
The campaign ahead of the Edo<br />
State governorship election<br />
in 2015 was laced with much<br />
drama and intrigues climaxing with the<br />
last minute postponement of the election<br />
from the earlier scheduled date of<br />
September 10.<br />
Given the spectacle that shadowed the<br />
election campaign, only few would have<br />
expected the post-election struggle to be<br />
less dramatic. Indeed, actions and<br />
inactions of the contenders have been no<br />
less dramatic as reflected in recent<br />
tribunal outings where the Peoples<br />
Democratic Party, PDP candidate, Pastor<br />
Osagie Ize-Iyamu is seeking to reverse the<br />
declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki as<br />
governor of Edo State.<br />
The sitting of the Justice Ahmed<br />
Badamasi led Governorship Election<br />
Tribunal sitting in Benin last Wednesday<br />
was, however, laced with comedy and<br />
acrimony.<br />
Osaro Osuwne, from Ikpoba Okhai Ward<br />
1, called to testify for the PDP candidate<br />
was put under pressure when the APC<br />
counsel alleged that he made depositions<br />
describing himself as a business man and<br />
also as a public servant in another<br />
deposition.<br />
Faced with the seeming contradictions,<br />
Osuwne who had earlier described himself<br />
as a “Man of God,” threw the court into<br />
laughter when he added “I am also a<br />
nurse!”<br />
However, the high point of the drama acts<br />
on Wednesday was when two senior<br />
members of the bar, Chief Wole<br />
Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Kemi<br />
Pinheiro ( SAN) engaged themselves in a<br />
shouting match following the order on a<br />
witness, Mr. Frank Pax Osifo to shut up<br />
by Chief Olanipekun during a cross<br />
examination.<br />
Trouble started when Mr. Osifo who is a<br />
witness for the PDP tried to explain the<br />
literary meaning of a question put to him<br />
by Chief Olanipekun.<br />
Olanipekun who was visibly angered by<br />
the audacity of the witness ordered him<br />
to shut up saying, “this is insulting, you<br />
are insulting me.”<br />
He was to add that he had expected<br />
counsel to the petitioners to caution their<br />
witness when he made the statement.<br />
It was at this juncture that lead counsel<br />
for the petitioners during the session, Mr.<br />
Kemi Pinheiro replied in anger.<br />
“I have been very patient with counsel<br />
shouting down and intimidating my<br />
witnesses. He has no right to abuse a<br />
witness. He is not your house boy that<br />
you can abuse and order to shut up.”<br />
Also, speaking in the same vein, Mr.<br />
Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) another counsel<br />
for the petitioners, said that certain<br />
standard must be maintained in the<br />
tribunal, adding, “a witness is not a house<br />
boy, we must resist the temptation to see<br />
a witness as a lesser person.”<br />
However, counsel to INEC, Mr.<br />
Adegboyega Aromolowo when called<br />
upon by the tribunal chairman, Justice<br />
Ahmed Badamasi to comment on the<br />
quarrel between the two senior counsel,<br />
thanked the tribunal for its patience.<br />
He said, “Chief Olanipekun and Mr.<br />
•Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu<br />
Pinheiro need to accommodate each<br />
other. There are many cases they would<br />
do together or against each other. I<br />
appeal to Chief Olanipekun who is a<br />
SAN, former President of the NBA, etc.<br />
to see Pinheiro as a junior brother. I<br />
thank the tribunal for it’s patience.”<br />
The intrigues continued to the<br />
following day when the petitioners<br />
brought some witnesses including a<br />
professor of Constitutional Law to<br />
support their case.<br />
The professor was, however, not let off<br />
lightly as he was subjected to serious<br />
questioning by the legal team of the<br />
defendants.<br />
Prof. Edoba Omoregie was among the<br />
eight witnesses who appeared for the<br />
petitioners from Egor and Orhionwon<br />
local government areas of the state.<br />
Prof. Omoregie who under cross<br />
examination from counsel to the<br />
respondents told the tribunal that he<br />
could not say if he were accredited to vote<br />
in the election unless he sees the INEC<br />
voters register , saying that his complaints<br />
as contained in his deposition were<br />
inappropriate accreditation and overvoting.<br />
Asked then what was the basis of his<br />
claim of over voting he said that the<br />
number of used and unused ballot papers<br />
in Unit 010 where he voted did not tally.<br />
According to him whereas 335 was<br />
recorded for accredited voters but that<br />
the result sheet showed that 340 voted.<br />
“My unit is clustered with other units, so<br />
this afforded me the opportunity to move<br />
around and as a ward collation officer<br />
polling agents in other units submitted<br />
their various results to me.”<br />
Hon Tony Osazuwa who was collation<br />
agent of the PDP for Evbueghae Ward in<br />
Orhionwon local government area<br />
admitted that he did not vote in the<br />
elections though he is a registered voter<br />
in Unit 4.<br />
( He told the tribunal that there were no<br />
elections in 4 out of the 21 polling units<br />
and blamed this on the malpractices that<br />
he claimed characterised the process in<br />
the listed polling units in the ward.<br />
Asked how he came to the conclusion,<br />
he said based on complaints he received<br />
from the polling agents scattered all over<br />
the ward, he undertook the task of going<br />
round and confirmed their assertions to<br />
be true.<br />
Other witnesses like Messrs Osamede<br />
Edebiri in his deposition before the<br />
tribunal said, “ I observed that there was<br />
total absence of accreditation”, in the 28<br />
polling units in his Ward in Egor local<br />
government of the state.<br />
The tribunal sitting meanwhile<br />
continues.<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K<br />
BY HAKEEM ADEBAYO<br />
Nigeria took a major step in its commitment<br />
to improve ease of doing business through<br />
trade facilitation on January 20 2017, when it<br />
submitted the instrument of acceptance of World<br />
Trade Organisation’s Protocol on Trade<br />
Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on the sideline of<br />
World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.<br />
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and<br />
Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah<br />
submitted Nigeria’s instrument to the Director<br />
General of WTO, Roberto Azevêdo at an event<br />
to mark the deposit. With this, Nigeria became<br />
the 107thWTO member state to ratify the<br />
agreement, while Nepal submitted its own<br />
instrument on January 26, 2017, thus needing<br />
just two more ratifications to reach the two-third<br />
threshold required for the TFA to come into force.<br />
Other African countries that have ratified include<br />
Botswana, Niger, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya,<br />
Zambia, Lesotho, Mali, Senegal, Swaziland,<br />
Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique.<br />
According to Dr Enemalah, “Nigeria’s<br />
ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement<br />
is a reflection of our commitment to the WTO<br />
and a rules-based economy. It is evidence of<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment<br />
to rapidly implement his presidential initiative<br />
on the creation of an enabling environment for<br />
business. Nigeria would like to see a strengthened<br />
WTO that reflects the development principles of<br />
developing countries like Nigeria.”<br />
We believe that the minister and the Nigerian<br />
team worked tirelessly to push through the<br />
process, which I believe is another milestone for<br />
the country. This therefore positions the country<br />
on the right pedestal to harness expected gains<br />
of the TFA when it fully comes into force. TFA<br />
aligns with Nigeria’s objective of deepening the<br />
ease of doing business in the country through<br />
enabling policy environment.<br />
Reactions continue to pour in since Nigeria<br />
submitted the Instrument to the WTO indicating<br />
that we are fully on board to harness immense<br />
opportunities offered by the protocol to global<br />
economy. Trade experts around the world see<br />
the ratification by Nigeria as an impressive step<br />
given her position in Africa as the continent’s<br />
largest economy.<br />
Ease of Doing Business<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari in October<br />
last year approved the establishment of the<br />
Presidential Council on Ease of -Doing Business<br />
to further strengthen the administration’s resolve<br />
to enhance ease of doing business. And in addition<br />
Leveraging on Trade<br />
Facilitation to Grow<br />
Nigeria’s Economy<br />
to correct the perception that Nigeria is a<br />
tough environment to do business. This will<br />
attract the much-needed foreign direct<br />
investment and local direct investment in<br />
Nigeria. Trade facilitation is a tool for<br />
economic development, inclusive growth<br />
and job creation. It is also in tandem with<br />
the policy of diversifying the economy from<br />
oil<br />
Ṫhe WTO’s General Council adopted the<br />
resolution on protocol on Trade<br />
Facilitation Agreement at its summit in<br />
November 2014 to address challenges<br />
posed by barriers and constrains to trade<br />
across the member-states by the customs<br />
services. WTO during its 20th anniversary<br />
noted thus; “Under current border<br />
procedures, the average transaction can<br />
involve numerous steps. The Trade<br />
Facilitation Agreement (TFA) sets forth a<br />
series of measures for expeditiously<br />
moving goods across borders inspired by<br />
the best practices from around the world.<br />
The Agreement is ground-breaking in that,<br />
for the first time in WTO history, the<br />
commitments of developing and leastdeveloped<br />
countries are linked to their<br />
capacity to implement the TFA. In addition,<br />
the Agreement states that assistance and<br />
support should be provided to help<br />
countries achieve that capacity.”<br />
“An amendment protocol for the Trade<br />
Facilitation Agreement was adopted by the<br />
General Council in November 2014 to<br />
bring the TFA into the WTO’s legal<br />
framework. The Agreement will enter into<br />
force when two-thirds of WTO members<br />
ratify the TFA and deposit their instruments<br />
of acceptance with the WTO Secretariat.<br />
Hong Kong, China, became the first<br />
member to do so in December 2014.”<br />
•Dr Okechukwu Enelamah<br />
Domestication<br />
The protocol on TFA was ratified by<br />
Nigeria’s National Assembly and<br />
subsequently assented to by President<br />
Buhari. The process for its domestication<br />
by Nigeria began in 2014, when the country<br />
submitted its Category A notification to<br />
the WTO outlining substantive provisions<br />
of the TFA it intends to implement upon<br />
entry into force of the Agreement. Observers<br />
see this as a good sign that the country is<br />
ready to align her economic strategic<br />
objectives and goals with results.<br />
The protocol on Trade Facilitation<br />
Agreement aims to ease the flow of goods<br />
across the borders through removing<br />
several barriers that inhibits movement of<br />
goods across borders. Developing and least<br />
developed countries are beneficiaries of the<br />
TFA as it supports them to overcome<br />
seamlessly, several barriers and constraints<br />
that affect import and export across their<br />
borders. The immediate impact is that ease<br />
of doing business will improve by a wide<br />
margin resulting in improved revenue,<br />
reduction in customs processes as well as<br />
income for producers and traders. The TFA<br />
protocol is expected to usher in an era of<br />
ease of doing business by shortening<br />
requirements for documentations and<br />
number of days required to process them.<br />
A WTO publication, Easing Flow of Goods<br />
Across Border: Trade Facilitation Agreement<br />
published to mark its 20thanniversary, notes<br />
that as at 2014, customs transactions from<br />
country to country records the following<br />
requirements for export and import<br />
respectively. For export, there are between<br />
two to eleven documentations, which span<br />
from six days to eight-six days to be<br />
concluded. While for import transactions,<br />
two to 17 documentations are required which<br />
span from four days to 130 days before<br />
finalization. The protocol on Trade<br />
Facilitation Agreement aims to ease the flow<br />
of goods across the borders through<br />
removing several barriers that inhibits<br />
movement of goods across borders.<br />
Nigeria will benefit immensely from TFA<br />
in terms of inflow of foreign direct<br />
investment, job creation, capacity utilization<br />
in view of emerging investment friendly policy<br />
framework it will usher in. The evolving<br />
opportunities through FDIs, technology<br />
transfer it creates in return would boost the<br />
economy. There is consensus among experts that<br />
the size of Nigeria’s market makes it the most<br />
lucrative investment destinations in sub-Sahara<br />
Africa with a high return on investment. Nigeria is<br />
an emerging market, which makes it one of the<br />
new frontiers for investment considerations.<br />
The key thing Nigeria must do now is how to<br />
leverage on the TFA to grow her economy. There is<br />
no better time than now to explore the opportunities<br />
inherent in the WTO to grow our economy by<br />
positioning the country to reap benefits from other<br />
global pool of investments. Additionally, Nigerians<br />
still stands to gain from the export of its products to<br />
other countries within the WTO framework, which<br />
aims to increase opportunities for businesses in<br />
Nigeria. The recognition this brings to Nigeria to<br />
the world stage is immense. It could not have come<br />
at better time than now that every effort is geared<br />
towards increasing Nigeria’s share of non-oil<br />
revenue sectors of the economy.<br />
Hakeem Adebayo, a trade expert, writes from<br />
Abuja.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—19<br />
SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN<br />
CITY<br />
It is becoming obvious that the<br />
two major leaders in Edo state<br />
today, Omo N’Oba N’Edo<br />
Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare 11<br />
and Governor Godwin Obaseki,<br />
share the same vision and mission<br />
and have the will to take drastic<br />
decisions in areas that have been<br />
very problematic to the people of<br />
the state over the years.<br />
Immediately Oba Ewuare 11<br />
became the Oba of Benin, his first<br />
assignment was to ban Community<br />
Development Associations (CDAs)<br />
in the seven Local Government<br />
Areas in Edo South. This singular<br />
decision endeared him to the<br />
people of the Kingdom because<br />
these CDAs had become killer<br />
groups in various communities. In<br />
fact there are communities today<br />
whose elders have fled as they<br />
have become the targets of killing<br />
by the youths who occupied these<br />
positions and saw the elders as<br />
threats to their interests<br />
On his part, Governor Obaseki<br />
on the 31st of December, 2016<br />
banned collection of taxes, levies<br />
and all dues in the state by private<br />
indigenes who used to do that on<br />
behalf of the state government in<br />
previous administrations. These<br />
collectors had become a threat to<br />
the state as they harassed innocent<br />
citizens and visitors over one levy<br />
or the other and painting the state<br />
in bad light. And knowing that this<br />
was a major problem in the state,<br />
Obaseki banned it and sent a bill<br />
to the state House of Assembly<br />
which will ensure that all levies<br />
and taxes that are collected by<br />
government agents are paid<br />
directly to the coffers of the<br />
government. This decision was<br />
again received with a loud<br />
applause.<br />
Also, as Obaseki has been<br />
strategizing on how to fulfil the<br />
200,000 jobs he promised to Edo<br />
people, Oba Ewuare is working<br />
hard to ensure the establishment<br />
of an Export Free Zone in<br />
Gelegele which will also create<br />
employment for the people of the<br />
state. And working towards the<br />
same direction, Obaseki returned<br />
from China two weeks ago where<br />
he met with investors who are<br />
willing to come and develop the<br />
Export Free zone.<br />
In appreciation of what the<br />
governor had done so far, Oba<br />
Ewuare 11, paid a royal visit to<br />
Governor Obaseki two weeks ago<br />
with his senior chiefs and held<br />
discussions for several hours where<br />
issues that border on security,<br />
economy, and employment were<br />
tackled.<br />
Ewuare II commends Gov<br />
Obaseki<br />
Emerging from the private<br />
meeting, Oba Ewuare said that he<br />
was impressed with the activities<br />
of the governor particularly his<br />
efforts in ensuring the realization<br />
of his dream, which was the<br />
establishment of an Export Free<br />
Zone in Gelegele.<br />
His words: “I have been<br />
passionate about the export free<br />
processing zone. When President<br />
Buhari came to visit me at Uselu<br />
when I was Ediaken N’Uselu, I<br />
mentioned it to him. I repeated it<br />
in the coronation speech and then<br />
That Oba of<br />
Benin’s visit to<br />
Obaseki<br />
Emerging from the private<br />
meeting, Oba Ewuare said that he<br />
was impressed with the activities<br />
of the governor particularly his<br />
efforts in ensuring the realization<br />
of his dream, which was the<br />
establishment of an Export Free<br />
Zone in Gelegele<br />
Oba Ewuare 11 and Governor Godwin<br />
Obaseki<br />
reiterated it when the<br />
governor visited me as the<br />
Oba of Benin. This is to show<br />
how passionate I am about<br />
the Export free zone.<br />
“When I was in Rome I tried<br />
to bring some investors to<br />
Benin, to develop the<br />
Gelegele sea port<br />
specifically. But I was advised<br />
by some professionals that if I focused<br />
on the development of Gelegele sea<br />
port, the Federal Government would not<br />
support it but if I looked towards the<br />
development of Export free zone tied<br />
to agro allied industries, the<br />
government would like it. So I looked<br />
at it and I started working on that ever<br />
since and when I came to Nigeria I<br />
focused on it”.<br />
Palace forges partnership with state<br />
govt<br />
Giving his royal blessings to Obaseki’s<br />
administration, Oba Ewuare 11<br />
declared: “I want to appeal to other<br />
members of the government to please<br />
support the governor. I want to assure<br />
you of the support of the palace. We want<br />
to assure you that you have the full<br />
support of our ancestors to be where<br />
you are. You should feel comfortable in<br />
your office. If you have any issue don’t<br />
hesitate to come to me personally as you<br />
are already doing and we will always<br />
assist your government to succeed. By<br />
the grace of God and our ancestors you<br />
will succeed in your tenure. We have<br />
discussed areas of mutual cooperation<br />
where the palace and the state<br />
government will cooperate as I<br />
mentioned in my speech during<br />
inauguration”.<br />
Edo will become Nigeria’s economic<br />
hub——Obaseki<br />
An elated Obaseki then responded:<br />
“No honour can be greater than this<br />
when your father decides to greet and<br />
honour you and pray for you, you cannot<br />
ask for more. We realized that Edo state<br />
more than any other state in the country,<br />
has tremendous advantages that will<br />
make it a major economic center in this<br />
country. We also have a very high<br />
agricultural potentials unlike Lagos and<br />
many other states And one other asset<br />
which we have like Lagos which we<br />
never really thought about is access to<br />
international trade through the<br />
Gelegele axis. And if we are going to<br />
re-enact our glory days, it is an asset<br />
we cannot continue to ignore and that<br />
is why we took steps to make sure that<br />
we fast track the process of making<br />
Gelegele an industrial and agricultural<br />
hub. We were in China to meet some<br />
potential investors and the interest was<br />
very encouraging.<br />
“The issue of CDAs is an issue that<br />
we must stem because it will be very<br />
difficult and challenging to create<br />
200,000 jobs if we don’t put order in our<br />
land administration system in Edo state.<br />
We have finalized a draft bill which we<br />
are sending to the state House of<br />
Assembly. This will criminalize any act<br />
by any CDA because the status today<br />
does not criminalize the activities of<br />
these people.<br />
“We have also looked very closely at<br />
the issue of governance particularly at<br />
the local government level. The<br />
constitution permits only state actors to<br />
collect government revenue because we<br />
began to see a very dangerous trend<br />
where private people and groups have<br />
become a lot more efficient in collecting<br />
revenues in the name of the state for<br />
themselves and they were becoming a<br />
threat to the state itself. We could not<br />
sit back and allow such situation to<br />
continue, we had to allow stop it. We<br />
also sent our first bill to the state House<br />
of Assembly harmonizing all taxes and<br />
levies in the state. I want to assure you<br />
that we are very clear, we are very<br />
determined in ensuring that Edo state<br />
is restored to its pride of place in this<br />
country and we become the economic<br />
hub which we are naturally destined to<br />
be in this country” he stated.
20—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
The Vampire is on the loose. And jitters<br />
have spread. He can’t remember just<br />
how many he has killed and how many<br />
millions ,in ransom, he has collected. They are<br />
too many to be remembered. But he remembers<br />
coming to Lagos and storming the house of<br />
one of his girl friends and killing the girl and<br />
everyone in the house. Everything he does, he<br />
does savagely. The girl, he alleged, stole his<br />
45 million naira. And he executed her family.<br />
Not that he has earned any money in his entire<br />
life - his criminal career started precociously<br />
at age 11. When the DSS snared and caged<br />
him a year ago, his criminal career seemed all<br />
but ended. And the region heaved a sigh of<br />
relief. That was before he bought over the<br />
whole prison. Many accounts suggest<br />
imprisonment didn’t dampen his criminal<br />
propensity. With a prison system that has too<br />
many officials available , ready to be bought<br />
and hired, Chibueze Henry’s wings didn’t<br />
remain clipped for long.<br />
But the only difference between Vampire and<br />
many other lords that litter our rickety prison<br />
system is his extreme ruthlessness which<br />
attracts notoriety. Others otherwise as<br />
imperious are scattered all over the nation,<br />
quietly, dominating the prisons and running<br />
rings around the law. Corruption doesn’t just<br />
birth impunity it fattens it to dangerous sizes.<br />
Vampire’s gang strolled into the Owerri high<br />
court last week , shot at hapless warders, took<br />
away Vampire and set 48 others criminals<br />
fluttering away. Judges hiding under tables<br />
isn’t a good sight . But corruption ultimately<br />
leads to the desecration of the sacred. The<br />
judges that day squirreled into holes. The<br />
amoured police vehicle kept at the Judiciary<br />
gates stood like a statue while policemen<br />
dropped their guns and fled. Evidently ,<br />
corruption, in the end, endangers everyone.<br />
A free ravenous vampire is an apocalyptic<br />
nightmare. Witnesses, security officials, real<br />
and imagined enemies are all vulnerable. It<br />
is reported that in the melee that gang foisted<br />
on the Owerri high court that evil day, he found<br />
the composure to personally shoot a particular<br />
prison warder. That in itself tells the danger.<br />
The very notion that a serial murderer in prison<br />
can break loose so easily, in the vicinity of the<br />
seat of government in Owerri, is as sickening<br />
as it is frightening. Every criminal justice<br />
system relies on witnesses , police and judicial<br />
officers who must trust the system for their<br />
safety. This case is a national security priority.<br />
The state government scrambled a security<br />
The Vampire and the torn nests of<br />
Nigeria’s prisons<br />
meeting and placed a paltry 5m naira on such<br />
an enormous head. The prison Comptroller<br />
General rose from his slumber in Abuja to<br />
carry out pretentious raids at the Owerri<br />
prisons. He found hundreds of mobile phones<br />
and laptops, concrete evidences of the<br />
entrenched laxity that enabled Vampire.<br />
Without strict supervision, the prisons can<br />
become criminal heavens. And thoroughly,<br />
Kirikiri maximum prison has become such a<br />
center. But rather than institute proper inquiries<br />
into the Vampire escape and improve the<br />
system through scientific findings, shallow<br />
makeshift measures , by people worried only<br />
about their jobs will prevail. And the prisons<br />
will continue their decay.<br />
The decay in the prisons is systemic and<br />
pervasive. That Owerri prison , like the Kirikiri<br />
, is so overcrowded that no meaningful<br />
rehabilitation can commence there. The<br />
overcrowding exists because too many people<br />
who have no business being in prison are in<br />
prison. Our slovenly criminal justice process<br />
has only one conveyor belt. People are<br />
remanded in prison for minor infractions, for<br />
meager unsettled fines. Only an insignificant<br />
minority of inmates are convicts. But many<br />
handed custodial sentences could have been<br />
processed differently. Our probation service is<br />
almost non existent, so community service as<br />
a retributive option is hardly explored. Without<br />
efficient state counsels for indigent accused<br />
persons many are left to rot in prison because<br />
they have no legal representation. Some on<br />
remand now live perpetually in the prisons,<br />
their case files have gone missing for years.<br />
Those in prison therefore feel no need for<br />
repentance. They only feel unlucky. The<br />
A ‘good’ bed space will cost you<br />
250,000 naira at the KiriKiri<br />
maximum prison. This was the<br />
price before the fall of the naira.<br />
Your options are few. You could<br />
be kept in the condemned<br />
prisoners cell. There, you will<br />
meet a leaking bucket of urine<br />
and faeces in a room meant for<br />
one occupied by eight.<br />
overcrowding of the prison may not be directly<br />
responsible for Vampire’s escape but it helps<br />
create and diffuses cynicism which affects even<br />
the warders and corrodes integrity.<br />
Our prisons are old and poorly maintained.<br />
The inmates are shabbily treated. No ethical<br />
codes can thrive where chaos , physical and<br />
psychological , has taken root. Basic rights are<br />
sold and bought as privileges. Human dignity<br />
is made utterly negotiable, dispensable. If the<br />
prisons had good livable accommodation,<br />
inmates won’t live like animals in pens and<br />
warders won’t metamorphose into<br />
extortionists. If the warders were properly<br />
trained and adequately motivated they won’t<br />
let their wives become petty contractors and<br />
food hawkers in prisons. And how can the<br />
quality of food served prisoners ever improve<br />
when warders supplement their income selling<br />
food to inmates.<br />
Corruption thrives so brazenly in our prisons<br />
it squelches all seeds of correction sown in<br />
those prisons. The corruption in the prisons is<br />
a shade more sinful than that at police<br />
roadblocks. The victimization of incarcerated<br />
poor people under all circumstances is<br />
extraordinarily heinous. The inmates are not<br />
just more vulnerable than motorists, they are<br />
perpetually vulnerable behind high walls and<br />
iron bars. You go to visit an inmate in any<br />
Nigerian prison you are compelled to pass<br />
through two toll gates. So you must shed at<br />
least 200 naira per visit per person. And it<br />
happens in the open and in every prison.<br />
Institutionalized corruption doesn’t fret. A<br />
‘good’ bed space will cost you 250,000 naira at<br />
the KiriKiri maximum prison. This was the<br />
price before the fall of the naira. Your options<br />
are few. You could be kept in the condemned<br />
prisoners cell. There, you will meet a leaking<br />
bucket of urine and faeces in a room meant for<br />
one occupied by eight. The condemned<br />
prisoners cell? Don’t go there! Its very existence<br />
is a crime against humanity. What the general<br />
prison environment does is to foster a confused<br />
moral climate that cannot help a convict find<br />
redemption.<br />
Prisons all over the world are called colleges<br />
of crime for a reason. But our prisons that do<br />
not even pretend to be rehabilitative must be<br />
flourishing crime colleges. We must hesitate<br />
therefore to send youngsters guilty of<br />
misdemeanors to our poorly supervised, soulseering<br />
prisons. A free intercourse between a<br />
criminal like Vampire and our merely rascally<br />
but incarcerated youths in Owerri prison must<br />
be forbidden. The society must then rethink<br />
how it processes youth crimes even before it<br />
begins to rebuild the prisons.<br />
Vampire’s reign in Owerri prison is tragically<br />
familiar. It is hoped his escape doesn’t herald a<br />
new trend. The society celebrates money. The<br />
warders who granted him special privileges<br />
aren’t a few bad apples. The tree is rotten, root<br />
and branch. Petty thieves must have watched<br />
in envy as he dominated the prison. The idea<br />
that crime pays and pays even in prison is<br />
unfortunately in our country. His escape is a<br />
lesson for the criminal justice system and the<br />
society. The worship of money is the root of all<br />
evil.<br />
My condolences to all the victims of that<br />
attack.<br />
OPEC and America tangle in web of output<br />
Recently oil prices found a bracer<br />
from production cuts by the<br />
Organization of the Petroleum<br />
Exporting Countries, OPEC and other<br />
producers. The OPEC and non-OPEC<br />
producers agreed to output reduction<br />
in November 2016, to shore up prices<br />
that plummeted in July 2014. The<br />
OPEC attempt to reclaim price seemed<br />
to have fired another salvo that has<br />
pitted its wit against American shale. A<br />
price war seems to be brewing over the<br />
production cuts that took effect last<br />
January.<br />
Two years on negotiations by OPEC<br />
Ministers culminated in last November’s<br />
Vienna meeting deal in hand for<br />
production cuts to shore up prices. The<br />
successful dousing of production output<br />
and market share tensions from OPEC<br />
producers reverberated in the United<br />
States which brought a renewal of<br />
interest in shale production hitherto in<br />
limbo. Projections are that prices in the<br />
high 50s or low 60s would attract more<br />
American investors deploying<br />
technology to bring more rigs to<br />
production. Many are however<br />
watching their flanks because the second<br />
half of the preceding year showed<br />
perceived signs of good tidings which<br />
became turbulent.<br />
OPEC’s production cut may be<br />
heading for the rocks with the American<br />
shale producers benefiting from the<br />
higher prices of oil freeze. The US shale<br />
output is increasing just as the oil cartel<br />
commenced output cut from the 1.8<br />
million barrels per day, MMbpd agreed<br />
to by OPEC and non-OPEC. Again the<br />
new administration of President Donald<br />
Trump is bent on increasing output of<br />
petroleum with his ‘America First<br />
Energy Plan.’ This may again trigger<br />
another round of animosities<br />
reminiscent of the last six years price<br />
war between OPEC led by Saudi Arabia<br />
and the United States.<br />
The United States drillers tested their<br />
might in output control from their ‘fracking’<br />
shale oil technology that outpaced global<br />
oil supply from January 2011 to June 2014,<br />
to make America the number one oil<br />
producer. The retaliation by Middle East<br />
producers’ led by Saudi Arabia between<br />
June 2014 and September 2015, led to<br />
increased production to dwarf the<br />
America’s dream. The richer ones from the<br />
Gulf States went along with the Saudis in<br />
the market share battle, while the poorer<br />
members of OPEC reluctantly accepted; a<br />
decision that became an evil with many oil<br />
dependent nations experiencing economic<br />
crises.<br />
But who wins the price-giver battle is<br />
again the controversy in the offing with<br />
International oil price rally<br />
this year will depend on<br />
oil-producing nations<br />
upholding their side of<br />
the bargain to cut<br />
1.8MMbpd from supplies<br />
globally<br />
global expectations that American shale<br />
output would increase this year. The battle<br />
appears to have been drawn on the board<br />
game over which capture may checkmate<br />
the opponent’s king. Many OPEC members<br />
including Saudi Arabia had bitter<br />
experiences when oil prices crashed.<br />
Commentators believe that the marketshare<br />
war involve too many unknowns.<br />
Based on the economics of petroleum<br />
production, it was thought that the price<br />
range of $50 to $60 meant that American<br />
shale producers and investors would be out<br />
of business. The Saudis according to expert<br />
report made sure that the low oil price drop<br />
lasts enough to exhaust oil pricing hedges,<br />
enough to cause banks to tighten credit, and<br />
cause investors to withdraw.<br />
The cost of Saudi production is between<br />
$10 and $15 a barrel. The Saudis, the key<br />
player in OPEC did not reduce production<br />
in the face of global glut to get Americans<br />
out of production. To produce Bakken shale<br />
at the wellhead in 2014 was US$59.03 the<br />
breakeven cost per barrel, on average, which<br />
fell to $29.44 in 2016, according to<br />
consultancy Rystad Energy. Bakken is the<br />
most competitive of major U.S. shale though<br />
they pay more to transport crude to market<br />
than producers in most other U.S. regions.<br />
In spite of the 2014 uncontrolled output<br />
that drove some producers out of the market<br />
the two-year price war made shale producers<br />
more resilient and a stronger rival. Improved<br />
technology and drilling techniques have<br />
boosted efficiency for the North Dakota<br />
Bakken shale and the entire U.S. oil industry.<br />
A price of $45 a barrel is enough for Bakken<br />
producers to profit and $55 would<br />
encourage production growth, said Ness.<br />
Petroleum Economist surveyed six banks<br />
and consultancies with Energy Aspects<br />
having the most bullish; forecasting an<br />
international benchmark for Brent will<br />
average almost US$66 per barrel in 2017<br />
while BNP Paribas is the most bearish, with<br />
an average of US$50 per barrel across the<br />
year. Last year’s average was $43.55bpd. Oil<br />
prices had marginal falls this week with WTI<br />
closing at US$53.57 on Thursday fueling<br />
speculations that the US recovery mode may<br />
out way that of OPEC and non-OPEC supply<br />
cut deals.<br />
Is global crude oil price likely to<br />
experience another bearish spiral? From<br />
experts that track OPEC supply, compliance<br />
in OPEC target of 1.2 MMbpd cut by the<br />
first half of 2017 is believed to have recorded<br />
82 percent supply cut at 984,000 bpd by the<br />
end of January 2017. The Americans have<br />
increased rig deployments far and above<br />
their 2016 levels with the number of oil rigs<br />
deployed by last week put at 566 as against<br />
498 for the same period last year.<br />
It is however not certain whether there<br />
would be significant difference in the<br />
projected global oil consumption estimated<br />
for about 95.41 million barrels per day in<br />
2017 up from the 2016 demand of 94.26<br />
MMbpd, a projection in the OPEC Monthly<br />
Oil Market Report published in August 2016.<br />
The OPEC deal is to cut 1.8 MMbpd from<br />
global output from January to end a twoyear<br />
excess that brought down prices.<br />
A successful implementation of this target<br />
would replace more than half the barrels<br />
OPEC promised to eliminate from the<br />
market. International oil price rally this year<br />
will depend on oil-producing nations<br />
upholding their side of the bargain to cut<br />
1.8MMbpd from supplies globally.<br />
Iran was mandated to maintain<br />
production below a threshold of 3.8 MMbpd<br />
just below the 2012 sanctions output of<br />
4MMbpd. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan<br />
Zanganeh said that crude production had<br />
reached 3.9 MMbpd to restore market links<br />
with Europe and Asia. When OPEC met in<br />
Vienna, Nigeria was given exempt<br />
status after suffering a year of violence and<br />
outages from the activities of Niger Delta<br />
militants. President Muhammadu Buhari<br />
believes output can reach 2.2MMbpd.<br />
Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com reports that<br />
veteran energy trader Martin Tillier admits<br />
that while fundamental analysis usually<br />
outweighs technical analysis, there is a very<br />
strong case for a correction in crude. Tillier<br />
sees increased global demand figures along<br />
with OPEC cuts as bullish long term<br />
fundamentals, but finds short term technical<br />
more decisive in the near term.<br />
Who wins this war between the shalemen<br />
and the sheikhs in OPEC? It appears the<br />
American deployment of technology may be<br />
a problem for OPEC. President Trump is<br />
bent on reducing oil imports; so relying less<br />
on OPEC to meet domestic needs. Although<br />
the Saudis have enough fiscal sovereign<br />
reserves to gamble, the oilmen of Dakota<br />
since 2010, have new wells more than ten<br />
times Arabian score.
Ireally don’t understand the noise<br />
about our President taking a<br />
medical time out. We knew, or should<br />
know, what we signed in for when we<br />
elected a septuagenarian as our<br />
President. He may have looked lean<br />
and trim during the campaign. He may<br />
even have been fit for his age. But 70<br />
is not 50, and it would be an unusual<br />
70 year old who would not have health<br />
issues. In any case, any responsible<br />
person who is fifty plus should have a<br />
regular medical check–up. And<br />
anybody, 50 or less who wants to pace<br />
himself for optimum performance<br />
should take his leave seriously. I<br />
therefore consider all the hullabaloo<br />
surrounding the medical leave an<br />
unnecessary distraction. The presidency<br />
should be commended if anything, on<br />
the orderly way it transferred power. It<br />
was a gesture of seamlessness, trust and<br />
continuity. The only reason highbrows<br />
should be raised is if it was more than<br />
a routine medical check-up as<br />
announced. Or if, come Monday, he is<br />
not at his desk. In order words, we need<br />
to know if the President is facing a lifethreatening<br />
illness or one that could<br />
incapacitate him in any way.<br />
The President being human, should<br />
be expected to be sick at some point.<br />
He also has every reason to take care<br />
of his health. But then so do the rest of<br />
us because our lives are as important<br />
to us and our close families as his life<br />
is to him and his close family.<br />
Unfortunately, the President and<br />
members of the political elite have<br />
medical options that are denied the rest<br />
of us. They can go to the best hospitals<br />
anywhere in the world. We can’t. And<br />
our hospitals at home are in such a state<br />
that they are no longer consulting<br />
clinics—because many of the good<br />
consultants are no longer there—but<br />
half way mortuaries. I wonder, I really<br />
wonder, what it would take to have<br />
seven new, or upgraded professionally<br />
managed medical centres of excellence<br />
in the country. Apart from what we<br />
would save in FX, we would save lives,<br />
generate employment and also bring<br />
national pride to the country. I am sure<br />
a lot of our medical professionals in the<br />
Diaspora would gladly participate<br />
if there was a seriousness of<br />
purpose on the part of government.<br />
I feel ashamed for the country and<br />
the leaders themselves who are in<br />
a position to make a difference when<br />
they rush abroad for routine medical<br />
check-up and treatment for illnesses<br />
like ear infection, leg infection and<br />
so on. Apart from the obvious<br />
security implication of our President<br />
being treated abroad, what respect<br />
does that fact accord him or the<br />
country? He is not alone. In fact,<br />
almost all our political leaders and<br />
top civil servants have personal<br />
doctors abroad. It is therefore<br />
routine—to our shame and<br />
embarrassment—to hear foreign<br />
medical treatments being used as<br />
reasons for bail applications in our<br />
courts. People who steal money that<br />
could have been used to build good<br />
hospitals don’t deserve to be<br />
granted bail so they can go abroad<br />
for treatment. I honestly look<br />
forward to the day when we would<br />
have a courageous, committed and<br />
visionary leader who would ban<br />
foreign treatment for certain classes<br />
of ailments for all Nigerians,<br />
especially government officials. Let<br />
us all learn to treat ourselves or die<br />
in the process. It is also a cause for<br />
concern that our President chooses<br />
to recuperate in the UK according<br />
to the photographs that went viral.<br />
Couldn’t he have found a place<br />
anywhere in the country,<br />
particularly in the south for political<br />
reasons, where he could recuperate?<br />
SATURDAY<br />
titbits2012@yahoo.com<br />
All lives matter<br />
Couldn’t he have used that as a little<br />
tourist message?<br />
That said, I believe those who<br />
concocted and pushed the false news<br />
of his death belong to the lows of the<br />
low. The publishers who helped to<br />
disseminate this wicked news without<br />
fact checking are reckless and<br />
irresponsible. The urchins in the social<br />
media who glee at the death of a<br />
President and a father figure need help.<br />
I mean that seriously. The amount of<br />
venom and hatred that oozes out in the<br />
social media under the guise of<br />
anonymity is frightening. If it is a<br />
barometer to gauge the thinking of our<br />
The President<br />
must address<br />
firmly, the various<br />
killings around the<br />
country<br />
youths then its readings are alarming<br />
and worrisome. It is understandable<br />
that the President would have many<br />
enemies. After all, millions did not vote<br />
for him. And many of those millions took<br />
his victory personal. His actions, if not<br />
his policies since he took over have not<br />
exactly endeared him to them. Added<br />
to that, is the fact that many Christians,<br />
north or south of the country, who voted<br />
Vanguard,FEBRUARY 4, 2017—21<br />
for him before might not do so if<br />
elections were to be held today. But to<br />
wish him dead? He is someone’s<br />
father and husband for goodness sake!<br />
A Yoruba proverb translates roughly<br />
‘that we quarrel should not be unto<br />
death.’ Death is so disruptive; so final<br />
that nobody should wish it on his worst<br />
enemy. The only plausible reason I<br />
can adduce for our cavalier attitude to<br />
death is that death has become too<br />
common in this part of the world. Just<br />
look around you. There is death,<br />
preventable death everywhere. While<br />
we were contending with the carnage<br />
of the Boko Haram adherents who<br />
slaughter human beings like rams, the<br />
Fulani herdsmen came on the scene<br />
to unleash what can only be described<br />
as mindless violence. These agents of<br />
destruction have moved from village<br />
to village, maiming and killing. Yet the<br />
State seems powerless. These<br />
criminals in the name of Fulani<br />
herdsmen have become ghosts that<br />
cannot be apprehended and brought<br />
to justice. On top of this came the<br />
eruption in Kaduna where wanton<br />
destruction and hundreds of<br />
preventable deaths took place. Again,<br />
the perpetuators have become ghosts<br />
that cannot be apprehended. These<br />
deaths and the failure of government<br />
to contain them, are threatening the<br />
unity of the country and exacerbating<br />
religious and ethnic fault lines in the<br />
country. It is worth repeating that<br />
poverty, religion, ethnicity and<br />
injustice are fuels for chaos and<br />
disorder.<br />
The President must address firmly,<br />
the various killings around the<br />
country. Every death is a painful loss<br />
to someone because everybody has a<br />
root. The President must move the<br />
earth if necessary to safeguard the<br />
lives of its citizens. All lives matter.<br />
These killings must stop.<br />
I hope he has had a good rest<br />
because he has a lot of work to do; not<br />
only on the economy, but also on the<br />
religious and social fabric of the<br />
country. May God grant him the<br />
health and the will to set the country<br />
on the path of justice, equity and<br />
religious harmony.<br />
Political Editor<br />
emmanuelaziken@vanguardngr.com<br />
08052201189<br />
What is the difference between PDP and APC?<br />
The controversy surrounding the<br />
Rivers State Government-owned<br />
helicopters best exemplifies the saying<br />
that in politics there are no permanent<br />
positions, but permanent interests.<br />
Politicians will switch sides whenever<br />
their interests are best protected. In the<br />
course of political adaptability,<br />
politicians have been found to destroy<br />
national institutions as the helicopter<br />
incident is now seen to be doing to the<br />
image of the Customs.<br />
The story of the two armoured Bell<br />
helicopters flows back to the beginning<br />
of the decade when the relationship<br />
between Governor Chibuike Amaechi of<br />
Rivers State and President Goodluck<br />
Jonathan was rock solid.<br />
Apparently determined to check the<br />
spate of criminality in Rivers State,<br />
Governor Amaechi with the support of<br />
the Jonathan administration ordered<br />
the two Bell helicopters and as we now<br />
know, with $15 million support from the<br />
Federal Government.<br />
The helicopters were to form<br />
part of the security architecture<br />
that Amaechi was building to<br />
check crime. As part of that set<br />
up, scores of policemen were<br />
trained in Israel by the Amaechi<br />
administration, while a number<br />
of Israeli security advisers were<br />
ferried into the state. Security<br />
cameras and dogs were also<br />
deployed around the state that<br />
at that time had become a haven<br />
for criminals and bandits. The<br />
helicopters were to be at the<br />
peak of the security architecture<br />
that Governor Amaechi boasted<br />
would leave criminals totally<br />
exposed. From the air the armed<br />
helicopters equipped with night<br />
vision equipment would beam<br />
their searchlight on the bandits.<br />
However, at about the time,<br />
the deal to import the helicopters<br />
was agreed, Mrs. Patience<br />
Jonathan and Governor<br />
Amaechi had their famous falling out<br />
at the Okirika Water Front when the<br />
First Lady publicly scolded Amaechi.<br />
That became the turning point in the<br />
relationship between the Jonathans<br />
and Amaechi, and led to the<br />
politicisation of governance and the<br />
relationship between the two men.<br />
The specially trained policemen who<br />
had received training in Israel to<br />
operate in the state were not long<br />
after reportedly transferred out of<br />
Rivers State making a waste of the<br />
millions of naira invested into their<br />
training.<br />
Even more, the Federal<br />
Government subsequently dithered<br />
on the earlier gentleman agreement<br />
to support the importation of the<br />
armoured helicopters.<br />
That was how the helicopters were<br />
stranded while crime made a<br />
resurgence in the state.<br />
However, with the switch in<br />
administrations in Rivers and at Abuja<br />
in 2015, the drama and intrigues it<br />
seemed did not go away.<br />
Months after the Nyesom Wike<br />
administration came on board it<br />
claimed to have discovered that the<br />
state had helicopters wasting away at<br />
the ports. The PDP administration<br />
asked the APC Federal Government<br />
for a waiver to the custom duties<br />
including demurrage which<br />
reportedly ran into billions of naira.<br />
The state government buttressed the<br />
need for the waiver on the fact that<br />
the helicopters were not for<br />
commercial use but for security<br />
purposes.<br />
The APC Federal Government<br />
according to documents presented<br />
by the Wike administration turned<br />
down the application for the waiver.<br />
In frustration, Governor Wike<br />
wrote the National Security Adviser<br />
to hand over the helicopters to the<br />
Nigerian Air Force on the ground<br />
that the state cannot afford the<br />
money to clear the helicopter.<br />
It was thus a shock when officials<br />
of the Customs at a ceremony last<br />
week handed over the two<br />
helicopters to the Nigerian Air<br />
Force, claiming that they were<br />
confiscated from unknown<br />
importers. That was despite the fact<br />
that the state government had been<br />
in correspondence with federal<br />
authorities.<br />
How Customs officials would allow<br />
their institution to be used for such<br />
murky political passions, show how<br />
politicians damage national<br />
institutions. It is a shame that the<br />
two aircraft that would have<br />
curtailed the reign of insecurity in<br />
Rivers State became pawns for<br />
political manipulation.<br />
The shame goes to both the PDP<br />
and APC which at several times had<br />
control of the Federal Government<br />
but allowed partisan politics to<br />
becloud good judgment! It is a<br />
shame!<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
22—SATURD<br />
TURDAY Vanguard,<br />
FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Today’s topic was prompted by two<br />
experiences. Twice last year, I gave<br />
a talk to the same gathering of married<br />
people on marriage and family. On both<br />
occasions, one gentleman expressed his<br />
reservations about an aspect of my<br />
presentation. He felt I did not put<br />
enough emphasis on the headship of<br />
the husband and the submissiveness of<br />
the wife, as stated in Ephesians 5: 22-<br />
24: “Wives, submit to your husbands as<br />
to the Lord. For the<br />
husband is head of<br />
the wife, just as Christ is the<br />
head of the church, His body, of<br />
which He is the Saviour. Now as the<br />
church submits to Christ, so also wives<br />
should submit to their husbands in<br />
everything.”<br />
The second was my parish seminar<br />
where the speaker felt husbands have<br />
thoroughly misunderstood their role as<br />
the head of the family. She drew the<br />
attention of the husbands present to the<br />
portion of the Bible where Jesus Christ<br />
showed how to be the head when he awareness,<br />
washed the feet of his disciples to conceptualization,<br />
demonstrate humility in leadership<br />
(John 13: 12-17). Jesus explained this<br />
paradigm of leadership further when<br />
the mother of James and John sought<br />
prime positions for her two sons in<br />
Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus then called all<br />
the disciples together and explained to<br />
them: “You know that those regarded<br />
as rulers of the Gentiles exercise<br />
lordship over them, and their superiors<br />
exercise authority over them. But it<br />
shall not be this way among you.<br />
Instead, whoever wants to become<br />
great among you must<br />
be your servant, and whoever wants<br />
to be first must be the slave of all.…”<br />
Matt. 20:20-23/Mark 10: 42-44<br />
The kind of leadership for which Jesus<br />
canvassed in the above passages is<br />
what is today commonly referred to as<br />
servant leadership. Servant leadership<br />
has been around for thousands of years,<br />
in the midst of authoritarianism,<br />
monarchy, etc., but it was in 1970 that<br />
Robert Greenleaf labeled it servant<br />
leadership. At the heart of servant<br />
leaders is a desire to serve the people,<br />
ensure their wellbeing, make them<br />
better human beings, ensure they<br />
participate in decision making on issues<br />
concerning them, not leaders taking<br />
decisions and informing them. That you<br />
Husband as servant leader<br />
are first of all a servant does not<br />
diminish your role as a leader. You<br />
must still be equipped with necessary<br />
leadership skills and traits: vision,<br />
good communication skills, empathy,<br />
etc.<br />
Breaking down servant leadership<br />
further, Larry Spears, former President<br />
of Robert Greenleaf’s Centre, listed<br />
10 attributes of a servant leader. They<br />
are: listening, empathy, healing,<br />
persuasion,<br />
foresight,<br />
stewardship, commitment to the<br />
growth of people and building<br />
community. There is no space for<br />
further explanation of each attribute,<br />
but they are self-evident. These are<br />
attributes any man who wants to build<br />
Servant leadership has<br />
been around for<br />
thousands of years, in the<br />
midst of authoritarianism,<br />
monarchy<br />
a successful home should cultivate.<br />
Wives must, however, note that<br />
servant leadership is not about<br />
spousal equality; God has already<br />
allocated different roles to the<br />
husband and wife. It is also not foolish<br />
liberalism, where the children are<br />
concerned. Servant leadership means<br />
the husband has to be guided by what<br />
is in the best interest of the family,<br />
individually and collectively, at all<br />
times.<br />
As a servant leader in your home,<br />
you have a lot of balancing act to do.<br />
I advise young men going into<br />
marriage not to be enamoured by this<br />
head of the family business, lest they<br />
get their fingers burnt. Even though<br />
the Bible pronounced you the head,<br />
learn to build consensus in the family.<br />
And make no mistake about it, you<br />
should be head when it comes to<br />
making money and providing for the<br />
family, but when it comes to spending<br />
it, you are joint-head, very answerable<br />
to the de facto head, your wife.<br />
If your wife is the breadwinner, it<br />
should be temporary until you find<br />
your feet again, unless you are<br />
incapacitated and emasculated. I have<br />
not seen any wife who really loves<br />
being the breadwinner of the house<br />
and I cannot understand why any<br />
normal, able man should be contented<br />
with the wife being the breadwinner.<br />
I am not saying husbands should be<br />
in competition with their wives in<br />
income generation. When God saw<br />
that Adam needed a companion, He<br />
said He would create a suitable<br />
helpmate. Your wife is a helpmate, she<br />
is meant to complement you, not<br />
takeover your role as a breadwinner.<br />
Servant leadership is participatory.<br />
You are joint head with your wife when<br />
it comes to decision making in the<br />
house. In fact, as the children come<br />
of age, you become more like senate<br />
president in the house: first among<br />
equals. You become more democratic,<br />
which means the majority most times<br />
will carry the day and you can easily<br />
be overridden. A servant leader<br />
husband listens to members of his<br />
household. Sometimes family<br />
members bless him with superior<br />
arguments, which he flows with<br />
because of his humility. But I do not<br />
support young families practicing full<br />
blown democracy. The children are<br />
minors and minors in real<br />
democracies do not participate in<br />
voting until they are 18 years. The<br />
problem some adults have today were<br />
created earlier in their lives when they<br />
were allowed to have their way as little<br />
children and take fundamental<br />
decisions, some of which are now<br />
affecting them adversely. Children<br />
should be supported and encouraged<br />
to live their lives and achieve their<br />
potentials under parental guidance.<br />
When they derail, parents must put<br />
their foot down. That is why diligent<br />
parents will continue to “fight” with<br />
their adolescent children.<br />
Liberalism with minors creates a<br />
mess and we are seeing some of it in<br />
advanced countries. Toddlers and<br />
other children under 10 tell their<br />
parents they are girls trapped in boys’<br />
bodies and vice versa and the parents<br />
acquiesce. The next thing, the parents<br />
spend hard earned money to do a sex<br />
change for a child who is yet to<br />
understand his/her sexually. An under<br />
10, whose sex hormones are still<br />
dormant and undeveloped, tells the<br />
parents he/she is gay and the parents<br />
support the child in the “discovery”<br />
that is not more than a misguided<br />
choice, fuelled by herd mentality. How<br />
can you allow minors take such<br />
weighty decisions? On one of my trips<br />
home recently, I queried my mother<br />
(and my late father) for allowing me<br />
to have my way in respect of my<br />
academics at age 13. That foolish<br />
decision I took haunted me for the rest<br />
of my formal academic pursuit.<br />
Children can have their way on<br />
ephemeral and minor issues, but<br />
parents should be ready to “fight to<br />
finish” on fundamental issue, if<br />
persuasion does not work. No retreat,<br />
no surrender. That is one of the<br />
attributes of a servant leader:<br />
commitment to the growth and<br />
wellbeing of the people. Didn’t Jesus<br />
use a whip to chase out bureau de<br />
change operators and others selling<br />
in the temple? (Matt 21:12-17/John<br />
2:13-22). The child will be grateful to<br />
you later in life.<br />
(Text Only)<br />
Toughen the thighs, improve the heart ...<br />
The Reed<br />
Technique: Stand straight with the feet together and<br />
hands by your sides. Inhale deeply while raising the<br />
hands slowly up till they’re<br />
overhead.<br />
Exhaling slowly, drip the<br />
trunk to the left side without<br />
heading the knees. After a slow<br />
count to ten, inhale deeply and<br />
straighten up to the trunk.<br />
Exhaling slowly again, dip the<br />
trunk to the right for another<br />
count to ten.Bring back the<br />
trunk upright and drop the<br />
hands to the sides. Rest a bit<br />
and repeat.<br />
•The Reed<br />
Benefits: The Reed gives an<br />
excellent lateral stretch to the<br />
hips, sides and arms. It tones the<br />
spinal nerves and organs of the<br />
abdomen improving bowel<br />
action. It reduces or eradicates<br />
lower back pains.<br />
locking the knee and drawing<br />
the trunk and head towards the<br />
raised leg.<br />
Breathing normally, holds the<br />
position for some 10 seconds<br />
and repeat with the other leg.<br />
•The Deep knee Bend<br />
The Bow<br />
Technique: Lie flat face<br />
downwards on the floor. Keep<br />
the hands at your side. Breathe<br />
out and bend the legs at the<br />
knees, drawing the feet above<br />
the thighs. Stretch the arms<br />
back and catch hold of the right<br />
ankle with the right hand and<br />
the left ankle with the left hand.<br />
Secure the position of the<br />
•The Bow by a female<br />
hands, with normal breathing.<br />
Raising the head, body and knees<br />
by tugging the hands and legs, so<br />
that the whole weight of the body<br />
rests on the abdomen. Retain the<br />
posture for a few seconds. Gradually<br />
increase the duration.<br />
While remaining in the posture,<br />
concentrate on the abdomen,<br />
thighs and back muscles. Release<br />
the ankles, stretch out the legs<br />
and bring the legs, chest and head<br />
to rest in a straight line on the<br />
floor.<br />
Relax with the head on folded<br />
arms for a few seconds. Repeat this<br />
Asana twice with normal breathing.<br />
Benefits: The bow expands the<br />
thoraxic region. Of great benefit<br />
to those with respiratory problems,<br />
it renders the spine elastic<br />
and the muscles of the back get a<br />
good massage and there’s a general<br />
strenghtening of the entire<br />
musculature.<br />
The Deep Knee Bend<br />
Technique: Get on<br />
your knees with the feet<br />
quite wide behind you.<br />
Firstly, lower your body<br />
down till your buttocks<br />
rest on the floor. Then<br />
bending slightly to the<br />
left, place down your<br />
left elbow then right<br />
elbow and gently ease<br />
your back flat down on<br />
the floor. Spread out<br />
your hands by your<br />
sides. Breathe deeply<br />
and slowly as you retain<br />
the posture for 5 to 15<br />
seconds.<br />
Benefits: The Deep<br />
Knee Bend tones the<br />
quadriceps (the front<br />
thigh muscles) and<br />
burns fat in the thighs.<br />
It lubricates the ankle<br />
and knee joints.<br />
instils<br />
Yoga Classes<br />
@ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola,<br />
Victoria Island Lagos.<br />
10.00am — 11.00am on
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—23<br />
JULIET EBIRIM<br />
08137897935<br />
What is the unpardonable<br />
thing a spouse or lover<br />
can do to you?<br />
Have you been wronged by a lover or spouse?<br />
Is it unforgivable? Some people who have<br />
been wronged find it hard to forgive and let<br />
go of the feelings of anger, pain and betrayal. But in<br />
marriages and relationships, forgiveness is key as<br />
mistakes and offenses are inevitable. However, most<br />
marriages and relationships have crashed due to<br />
irreconcilable differences as people involved find it<br />
difficult to forgive. In this edition, Saturday Vanguard<br />
got the responses of Nigerian celebrities on some acts<br />
that are downright 'Beyond Pardon'. Read on...<br />
•Dimplez<br />
Cheat on me<br />
with a relative<br />
— Dimplez, Singer,<br />
T he<br />
unforgivable<br />
thing that can be<br />
done to me is if I<br />
catch my spouse<br />
making out with<br />
a family member.<br />
I will be<br />
disappointed and<br />
hurt. So I will<br />
just stay away<br />
from them – my<br />
spouse and the<br />
family member<br />
involved. I am<br />
definitely going<br />
to quit the<br />
relationship.<br />
•Jennifer<br />
Enujiugha<br />
Stare at another<br />
woman in my<br />
presence<br />
—Sandra Ifudu, Singer<br />
Iknow this might sound<br />
petty but when I'm with<br />
my lover, it's downright<br />
offensive for him to stare at<br />
another woman or<br />
even give another<br />
woman a second<br />
look. It is<br />
disrespectful because<br />
it means that he<br />
thinks that she is<br />
more attractive or<br />
she has something<br />
that appeals to<br />
him that I don't. It<br />
happened to me<br />
once and I stood<br />
up, walked away<br />
and called it quits!<br />
That was the end<br />
of the relationship.<br />
It's petty I know,<br />
but to me, it's<br />
beyond pardon!<br />
Nothing is<br />
beyond pardon<br />
— Jennifer Enujiugha, Model<br />
Personally, the<br />
way I see life I<br />
don't think<br />
anything is beyond<br />
pardon. It might<br />
take a while, but at<br />
some point I will<br />
forgive and let it go.<br />
There is nothing that<br />
can't be forgiven.<br />
•Sandra<br />
•Nev<br />
Harrison<br />
Sleep with anyone<br />
related to me<br />
— Cynthia Agholor, Actress<br />
Where there<br />
is love,<br />
nothing is<br />
unpardonable,<br />
but if he sleeps<br />
with anyone<br />
related to me -<br />
my sister,<br />
cousin, niece or<br />
any other<br />
relative, I will<br />
hardly forgive<br />
him. For me,<br />
that is the<br />
height of<br />
betrayal and<br />
disrespect and I<br />
will be very<br />
hurt. In that<br />
case, divorce is<br />
a sure thing.<br />
•Cynthia Agholor<br />
Keep past marriage and kids a secret<br />
— Nev Harrison, Comedian/Ventriloquist<br />
If I find out my spouse was<br />
once married and kept the news<br />
from me, I'm going to have great<br />
difficulty forgiving her. I say this<br />
because I don't understand why<br />
people do it. A lot of people with<br />
children from previous relationships<br />
•Iyabo<br />
Ojo<br />
and failed marriages start new<br />
marriages and relationships<br />
without informing their new spouse<br />
of what has occurred in the past.<br />
It's best to tell your present partner<br />
that you were once married or that<br />
you already have kids. Let them<br />
decide whether to stay or leave. I<br />
won't leave if I love you that much<br />
because I appreciate honesty. But if<br />
you keep it a secret, I will show you<br />
the way out through the back door.<br />
Keep it a secret, get kicked out!<br />
Hate my kids<br />
— Iyabo Ojo, Actress<br />
The only thing I can<br />
never forgive a<br />
spouse or lover is if he<br />
hates my kids. That is<br />
totally unpardonable.<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
24—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Juliet Ebirim<br />
08137897935<br />
juliet.ebirim@gmail.com<br />
Ita Giwa makes<br />
case for Buhari<br />
Former Presidential<br />
Adviser on National<br />
Assembly Matters, Senator<br />
Florence Ita Giwa has asked<br />
Nigerians to stop rumour<br />
mongering on the health<br />
condition of President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari but<br />
rather pray for him to return<br />
hale and hearty.<br />
The leader of the Bakassi<br />
people of Cross Rivers also<br />
encouraged Nigerians to<br />
pray for peace in the country<br />
so that the ethnic and<br />
religious killings would stop<br />
forthwith, adding, that<br />
nobody should take delight<br />
in rejoicing over the<br />
misfortunes of others or<br />
creating unrest in order to<br />
claim innocent peoples lives.<br />
In a statement signed on<br />
Saturday in Lagos, Senator<br />
Ita Giwa said that what<br />
should matter most to all<br />
Nigerians is praying for an<br />
improved health for the<br />
THE owner of Quilox Nightclub,<br />
Shina Peller, has explained why<br />
he has added a restaurant service to<br />
the list of his companies. The new<br />
venture, 6ix Restaurant, shares the<br />
same location with the popular Quilox,<br />
which is situated at Victoria Island,<br />
Lagos.<br />
The grand opening last Sunday<br />
attracted the likes of 2Face and his<br />
wife, comedian Bovi, Olisa Adibua,<br />
Adunni Ade and a host of others.<br />
Speaking at the unveiling, Shina<br />
Peller said providing a hangout spot<br />
for people during the day brought<br />
about 6ix. “I am happy that we are<br />
finally unveiling 6ix Restaurant. This<br />
is a dream come true for me. I built<br />
president, improved<br />
economy and peace for<br />
us all especially those<br />
in Southern part of<br />
Kaduna State.<br />
The statement<br />
reads in parts:”I<br />
am under<br />
obligation as a<br />
mother and as an<br />
elderly person to<br />
advise Nigerians<br />
on the impropriety<br />
of wishing any of<br />
our leaders dead.<br />
It is very immoral for anyone<br />
to conceive or spread fake<br />
rumours about death. God is<br />
the creator of us all and in his<br />
due time, we all shall transit<br />
gloriously. So when anyone<br />
especially our President is<br />
indisposed, the best thing we<br />
can do is to pray for a speedy<br />
recovery and not otherwise.”<br />
“The challenges of our dear<br />
nation is enormous. We should<br />
Why I ventured into restaurant<br />
business — Shina Peller<br />
•Florence Ita Giwa<br />
Quilox from scratch. But after a while,<br />
I thought there was need to utilise<br />
the building during the day and<br />
create a nice hangout spot. That was<br />
how the idea of a restaurant came<br />
about,” he said.<br />
According to him, the restaurant is<br />
named 6ix because it is the sixth<br />
company in the Aquila Group.<br />
“We have Aquila Oil and Gas,<br />
Aquila Building and Projects, Aquila<br />
Global Resources Limited, Quillox,<br />
Aquilla Records and then 6ix. Our<br />
plan for 6ix is to make it a pan African<br />
brand. We intend to conquer Nigeria<br />
with branches in major cities. From<br />
there, we plan to spread to other<br />
African countries,” he added.<br />
always pray that God should<br />
give our leaders wisdom to be<br />
able to lead us out of recession<br />
and this economic woes so we<br />
can have a stable economy<br />
and enjoy prosperity as a<br />
people. Let us also pray so that<br />
the many killings ,<br />
kidnappings and other social<br />
vices should stop so we can<br />
live in harmony and in unity”.<br />
Bisi<br />
Omologbalogba<br />
celebrates at 40<br />
BY SOFOWORA<br />
OLADAPO<br />
SULTRY<br />
Nollywood<br />
actress Bisi Ibidapo-<br />
Obe is not new on our screen,<br />
most especially to those<br />
conversant with the Yoruba<br />
speaking genre of Nollywood.<br />
Bisi’s exemplary talent and<br />
impeccable delivery of roles<br />
has been her selling point, this<br />
has made her every director’s<br />
choice. Highly talented and<br />
blessed with a good heart,<br />
people who have come in<br />
contact with her will attest to<br />
the fact that outside the<br />
screen, she is an angel in<br />
human form.<br />
Unknown to many, the tall<br />
light skinned actress just<br />
started life, as, it is widely said<br />
that ‘Life begins at 40’. Her<br />
40 th birthday kick started with<br />
a two-day event which debut<br />
on Friday 27 th of January, Bisi<br />
was accompanied by her<br />
colleagues and<br />
few friends to<br />
visit ‘Heart of<br />
•Shina<br />
Peller<br />
Linda Ikeji begins #SelfMade secondary school tour<br />
C<br />
elebrity<br />
blogger and initiator<br />
of the #iratherbeselfmade<br />
project, Linda Ikeji has begun her<br />
statewide secondary school tour<br />
aimed at sensitizing young<br />
females on the core values<br />
bothering on self esteem,<br />
integrity and self dependence.<br />
The tour which will reach over<br />
25 schools in its first phase will<br />
see Linda Ikeji share her story<br />
with over 500,000 secondary<br />
school students across Lagos<br />
state; the many obstacles and<br />
challenges faced on her journey<br />
to becoming #SelfMade.<br />
Speaking on the timing and<br />
relevance of the project, Linda<br />
Ikeji reiterated, “Catching our<br />
girls young is key to me! I want<br />
to tell them to start young,<br />
believe in themselves, work hard<br />
and surround themselves with<br />
like minds, people who are<br />
ambitious and believe in their<br />
vision”.<br />
Beginning with Yinkem Schools<br />
and Bosworth College both in<br />
Mafoloku and also Fountain<br />
Heights in Surulere as first leg<br />
of the tour on Thursday 25th and<br />
Friday 26th January, Linda Ikeji<br />
will spend the first quarter of<br />
2017 inspiring and challenging<br />
young people to be the best they<br />
can be without resting on their<br />
oars to get to the next phase in<br />
their life but rather to channel<br />
their inner strength and positive<br />
mind to achieve success.<br />
•Bisi Ibidapo-Obe<br />
Gold’ children hospice<br />
Surulere, Lagos. Out of her<br />
large heart of philanthropy,<br />
she donated food items and<br />
cash to celebrate her birthday.<br />
On Sunday 29 th of January,<br />
the actress gathered top<br />
socialites, actors, friends and<br />
several others to her church<br />
for a thanksgiving service,<br />
afterwards, everybody moved<br />
to her residence in Magodo<br />
GRA, Lagos for a private party.<br />
According to sources close<br />
to the actress, she spent<br />
millions of naira on the<br />
birthday celebration,<br />
everybody who attended the<br />
high octane birthday soiree,<br />
was treated like a king and<br />
queen with assorted meals of<br />
all kinds and lots of drink.<br />
At 60, I feel younger<br />
— Paul Adams<br />
Having spent thirty years on screen and stage,<br />
Edo State-born actor Paul Adams has continued<br />
to remain relevant in the acting industry. The actor<br />
clocked 60 on Saturday, January 28, and to mark his<br />
birthday, friends, family members and colleagues in<br />
the entertainment industry converged on the National<br />
Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, to celebrate with him on stage<br />
as he performed in Ayo Jayesimi’s ‘Itan – The Story’,<br />
where he featured as a lead actor.<br />
Children from Little Saints Orphanage were also<br />
present to celebrate with the producer, presenter and<br />
graphic artist, who is a former Cartoon Editor with<br />
Vanguard Newspapers. The stage play was presented<br />
by the Thespian Family Theatre and Productions and<br />
features Yinka Davis, Hafis Oyetoro aka Saka, Lara<br />
Akinsola, Kryptic Kids, Dance Machine Empire, Zorah<br />
Julius and Henry Arnold.<br />
“Clocking 60 is actually more of a delightful<br />
attainment for me more than anything else. It is an<br />
age I believe everybody in life hopes to attain and<br />
surpass. It gives me some feeling of achievement, so<br />
to say, especially against the backdrop of people one<br />
knows would have given anything to attain this age,<br />
but didn’t make it. That gives room for plenty of<br />
thanksgiving and gratitude to God for His mercy and<br />
faithfulness. Crossing over from one decade to another<br />
for me feels like I am being given<br />
a fresh lease of life. But as they<br />
say, age is just a matter of<br />
figures. How one feels<br />
even at 70 or 80 is what<br />
counts. For me really, I feel<br />
younger than 60 and that<br />
gives me a bit of thrill”<br />
he enthused.<br />
A thanksgiving service<br />
was also held at the<br />
Guiding Light Assembly in<br />
Parkview Estate, Ikoyi on<br />
Sunday, January 29,<br />
2017.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—25<br />
Edited by Ayo Onikoyi<br />
08052201215<br />
By AYO ONIKOYI,<br />
Entertainment Editor<br />
Up and doing Yoruba actress,<br />
Seyi Edun has been in the<br />
eye of the storm since a story<br />
went viral that she was engaged to a<br />
colleague, Niyi Johnson, who was<br />
married to another actress Toyin<br />
Aimakhu. When Toyin Aimakhu and<br />
Niyi Johnson separated after a marriage<br />
that didn’t last two years, tongues began<br />
to wag just months after that he had<br />
found solace in the arms of another<br />
actress, Seyi Edun.<br />
And their several Instagram pictures<br />
didn’t help matters as cosy pictures of<br />
them together littered the internet. It<br />
would be recalled that Toyin walked out<br />
of her marriage when she caught her<br />
estranged husband, pants down, with<br />
another woman.<br />
In what was a public display of emotion<br />
and love, Niyi wrote a public romantic<br />
prose to his wife, Toyin, begging for<br />
forgiveness, but the popular actress of<br />
the ‘Alacada’ fame turned deaf ears and<br />
refused to go back to her husband. The<br />
marriage crashed.<br />
Now, Seyi Edun, who hit limelight<br />
with her hugely successful Yoruba film<br />
‘Eja Nla’ is in the picture and many are<br />
saying the estranged wife of Niyi is not<br />
all too happy about his closeness to a<br />
colleague and thus has been promoting<br />
some hate social media campaign<br />
against her.<br />
With the news of the engagement and<br />
pregnancy still raging like wildfire, Seyi<br />
puts us in the clear what is really going<br />
on between her and the handsome actor.<br />
Congratulations on your nuptial<br />
engagement to Niyi Johnson. Hope<br />
you are having fun?<br />
Which engagement? I didn’t do any<br />
engagement with Niyi. Everything you<br />
have heard about any engagement<br />
between me and Niyi are all lies. I don’t<br />
know where they got the news from.<br />
But the news is everywhere that you<br />
are engaged, soon to marry. There is<br />
even a gist that you are already<br />
pregnant for him?<br />
You can’t believe that unless you have<br />
joined the ‘copy and paste’ people.<br />
Nothing of such has happened between<br />
me and Niyi. If you want the truth from<br />
me I will tell you. I have read many<br />
stories concerning this and I can<br />
tell you that there is nothing<br />
of such. There is no iota<br />
of truth in the news.<br />
But you can’t tell us you<br />
are not dating him<br />
because the rumour is<br />
widespread?<br />
Okay, I will tell you how<br />
the rumour started. One<br />
Prophetess Olubori is Niyi<br />
spiritual mother and she’s<br />
been my spiritual mother<br />
too since I was in United<br />
States. Though I never<br />
met her until I returned to<br />
Nigeria. She calls me her<br />
daughter because people<br />
say we look alike and she<br />
calls Niyi her son too. She<br />
always shows me love on<br />
Instagram and I do same<br />
to her. She’s got many of<br />
I’m not dating Niyi<br />
Johnson for now<br />
— Seyi Edun<br />
•Says, “ If my man cheats I<br />
will only get him condoms”<br />
us she prays for. One day she invited Niyi and I to the<br />
mountain for crossover night for three days vigil. Niyi<br />
didn’t even come immediately because he was busy<br />
but he later joined us. We worshipped there and had<br />
the first Sunday of the year service on the mountain.<br />
Niyi had a testimony and was doing thanksgiving<br />
on his car gift he got from Mr Kehinde Oloyede<br />
and I celebrated with him. I guess that’s how<br />
the rumour started that we were engaged<br />
because we spent three days together on the<br />
Holy mountain. Someone said Mummy<br />
(Prophetess Olubori) pronounced us her<br />
“favourite couple’ but I can tell you Mummy<br />
never said that. She never ever said such<br />
anywhere. Someone just went to her page to<br />
crop out pictures and started writing stupid<br />
captions. Niyi is my best friend forever and<br />
will remain for life.<br />
So, what is your opinion of Niyi as a man?<br />
He’s a good man with a good heart. He’s<br />
God-fearing and hardworking. His wife to be<br />
will surely enjoy him.<br />
But you know sometimes even friends end<br />
up as lovers. And I believe it is even better<br />
to marry one’s friend. Do you see that<br />
happening<br />
between you<br />
two?<br />
For now,<br />
no. I can’t<br />
say for<br />
n o w<br />
•Seyi Edun<br />
m a y<br />
be in the<br />
nearest<br />
future, I’m<br />
not God.<br />
Many people<br />
tell us they<br />
don’t why we<br />
clicked as best<br />
friends.<br />
Are you<br />
saying this<br />
because of fear<br />
of aggression<br />
from his estranged<br />
wife, Toyin Aimakhu?<br />
Nothing of such. I don’t<br />
fear anyone<br />
Have you had any confrontation from<br />
her over being too close to Niyi?<br />
No<br />
But are you in a relationship?<br />
Of course, yes.<br />
And how has this rumour affected<br />
you and your man?<br />
It didn’t affect anything. I guess it’s<br />
the price one has to pay for being a<br />
public figure. I enjoy the attention when<br />
the media speaks the truth and not this<br />
‘copy and paste’ that is the order of the<br />
day. I appreciate when they get their<br />
facts right, like you are doing now. You<br />
haven’t published anything on the<br />
matter until after you have confirmed<br />
from the sources.<br />
So, what kind of woman are you<br />
when in love?<br />
When I’m in love I give out my all .<br />
I’m weak and emotional.<br />
So, what will you do if you catch your<br />
man with another woman?<br />
Men are bound to cheat. Women<br />
should always have that in mind. It’s<br />
their nature. If I catch my man cheating<br />
I will feel bad but I won’t let it take over<br />
me because I’m not expecting a perfect<br />
man, all I will do is advise him to use<br />
condom.<br />
So, how is your career going; What’s<br />
new on your plate?<br />
My career is fine. I had the premiere<br />
of my latest movie ‘Four Couples’ in<br />
USA recently. I’m working on four<br />
projects this month and I will be having<br />
the premiere in Nigeria and USA<br />
respectively.<br />
When are you getting married?<br />
Maybe tomorrow. God’s right time.
26 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Compliments I get from<br />
men make me<br />
uncomfortable<br />
– Sandra Anthony<br />
Beautiful and curvy Imo State-born Sandra Anthony has<br />
a good claim to fame. She's the reigning Miss Curvy<br />
Nigeria, a beauty cum modeling pageant for the plus-sized<br />
women. In this interview with Star Tracker, the graduate of<br />
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who grew up in Edo State<br />
tells us why plus-sized models may be taking over from the<br />
traditional skinny models in the modelling business.<br />
visit their site.<br />
What do you think is the<br />
future of plus-sized<br />
modeling?<br />
We don’t have only the slim<br />
people in the world. When<br />
having a fashion show and you<br />
only showcase slim girls, a<br />
plus-sized lady will not know<br />
what she will look like in such<br />
outfits. When you do an online<br />
shopping and you just advertise<br />
only slim girls, it means you are<br />
leaving out the big ones.<br />
Do you see plus-sized models<br />
taking over from the slim ones<br />
in the nearest future?<br />
I am not asking everybody to be<br />
slim but for every 10 women, you<br />
will get one plus-sized lady. I am<br />
not saying plus-sized models will<br />
take over the industry, I only<br />
want to see where plus-sized<br />
models would also be taken<br />
seriously.<br />
By AYO ONIKOYI,<br />
Entertainment editor<br />
You are the winner of Miss<br />
Curvy 2015, what is it all about?<br />
It has to do with discovering<br />
women who are plus- sized<br />
models. You don’t have to be<br />
very fat anyways, more of being<br />
curvy and be in shape and how you<br />
can actually rock your body. This is<br />
because most of these modeling<br />
agencies look out for people who<br />
are slim and skinny but we want to<br />
prove them wrong that we can do<br />
what the slim people can do with<br />
their body.<br />
What does being curvy means?<br />
It is the look of an African<br />
woman. An African woman is not<br />
slim or skinny, she has a<br />
pronounced butt and hips. She is a<br />
complete woman. Gone are the<br />
days where we talk about slim<br />
women, we want to celebrate<br />
women with the African looks.<br />
What qualities gave you the<br />
crown in 2015?<br />
I wasn’t the curviest but we were<br />
in the camp for two weeks. There<br />
were other qualities they were<br />
looking out for at the camp;<br />
intellect, attitude towards others,<br />
among other things that make a<br />
queen. We were also given some<br />
tasks and were graded accordingly<br />
at the camp.<br />
After winning the crown, what<br />
has changed about you?<br />
A lot has changed about me. My<br />
perception about certain things has<br />
changed. I have met many people<br />
since then and the way I relate<br />
with people has also changed. I<br />
am now mindful of places I go to<br />
thereby reducing my outings. I<br />
don’t want to be seen just<br />
anywhere. The way people relate<br />
with me has also changed; people<br />
try to get closer to me now.<br />
Were you given a prize?<br />
Yes, I was given a landed<br />
property in Ajah. Miss Curvy is also<br />
like Miss Nigeria where the tenure<br />
of a queen last for two years.<br />
Can you take us through your<br />
acting journey?<br />
I’ve done a couple of acting. The<br />
industry is a bit challenging. I<br />
might be on a location for weeks<br />
which means I have to suspend every<br />
other thing.<br />
You seem to love flaunting your<br />
body, what do you think is special<br />
about your body?<br />
I like my eyes, lips, curves , height<br />
and everything about my looks.<br />
Has this brought you any trouble?<br />
I don’t think so.<br />
Are you in a relationship?<br />
I don’t discuss my personal life on<br />
the pages of the newspaper.<br />
What is the naughtiest thing a<br />
man has ever done to you?<br />
I get so many compliments from<br />
men that make me uncomfortable.<br />
An African woman is<br />
not slim or skinny, she<br />
has a pronounced butt<br />
and hips. She is a<br />
complete woman. Gone<br />
are the days where we<br />
talk about slim women,<br />
we want to celebrate<br />
women with the African<br />
looks<br />
•Sandra<br />
Anthony<br />
What can make you fall in love<br />
with a man?<br />
I don’t talk about things like<br />
that.<br />
What’s your connection with<br />
“Lady’s hub”?<br />
I have a year contract to be<br />
their ambassador. As their<br />
ambassador, I have to advertise<br />
their product, talk about it to<br />
people and encourage people to<br />
Can you ever consider going<br />
on a dieting programme to get<br />
very slim?<br />
No, I don’t like being slim. You<br />
don’t have to be big but having<br />
flesh where necessary.<br />
Many people believe that slim<br />
ladies are sexier than the plussized<br />
ones, how true?<br />
That’s not true. I’m sure you<br />
have heard about thick ladies.<br />
People get more attracted to<br />
plus sized ladies. The slim ones<br />
are undergoing surgery to add<br />
butts, they want to look like<br />
Nikky Minaj, Beyonce and the<br />
rest.<br />
Some men believe slim ladies<br />
are more active in bed than plussized,<br />
your take?<br />
I don’t know.<br />
Modeling comes with doing<br />
the out of the ordinary things,<br />
can you go into nude modeling?<br />
I can’t do that unless I want to<br />
use it for my personal use. I mean<br />
I can’t do nude modeling for a<br />
brand.<br />
Who is your role model in the<br />
modeling industry?<br />
I love Kim Dashy, Naomi<br />
What can a man do to win your<br />
attention?<br />
He needs to be himself and be a<br />
man.<br />
Do you believe in love or<br />
money?<br />
They both go hand in hand.<br />
If a man credits your account<br />
with a million naira, will you go<br />
on a date with him?<br />
(Laughs) That means the man is<br />
buying my love and attention.<br />
What was your growing up<br />
like?<br />
My growing was okay, I got<br />
everything I wanted. I was the<br />
second to the last girl in the<br />
family.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 27<br />
One of the film’s stars,<br />
Mahershala Ali, won<br />
the award for best supporting<br />
actor for his role in Moonlight,<br />
while Claire Foy and John<br />
Lithgow both won dramatic<br />
television awards for roles in<br />
the Netflix hit The Crown and<br />
the cast of Stranger Things<br />
won for best ensemble in a<br />
drama series.<br />
David Harbour, who plays<br />
Jim Hopper in the 80s-set<br />
adventure, gave a rousing<br />
speech on the importance of<br />
inclusion. A visibly upset Ali,<br />
who remains the firm favorite<br />
to win an Oscar next month,<br />
delivered an emotional and<br />
topical speech about<br />
acceptance. He talked about<br />
converting to Islam yet<br />
maintaining a close<br />
relationship with his mother,<br />
an ordained minister, and<br />
begged people to also put<br />
aside their religious<br />
differences.<br />
Emma Stone won the award<br />
for best female actor in a lead<br />
role for La La Land and after<br />
discussing her insecurity in her<br />
profession, she spoke about<br />
the importance of bringing joy<br />
to people given that “we’re in<br />
a really tricky time at the<br />
moment in our country”.<br />
Denzel Washington received<br />
the award for best male actor<br />
in a leading role for his role in<br />
Fences after many predicted<br />
Manchester by the Sea star,<br />
Casey Affleck would win.<br />
Washington’s co-star, Viola<br />
Davis, was the night’s other big<br />
screen winner, named best<br />
female actor in a supporting<br />
role and she dedicated her<br />
award to playwright August<br />
Wilson for honoring the<br />
average man.<br />
Julia Louis-Dreyfus won the<br />
award for best female actor in<br />
a comedy series for Veep and<br />
made jabs at the vote being<br />
hacked by the Russians as well<br />
as the crowd size at the event<br />
itself. She also made a<br />
passionate reference to Donald<br />
Trump’s controversial<br />
executive order on<br />
immigration.<br />
The 37-strong cast of Orange<br />
Is the New Black won the prize<br />
for ensemble in a comedy<br />
series for the third time. Sarah<br />
Paulson picked up the award<br />
for best female actor in a<br />
television movie or limited<br />
series for The People vs OJ<br />
Simpson. John Lithgow’s role<br />
as Winston Churchill in<br />
breakout Netflix drama The<br />
Crown won him the award for<br />
BY JULIET EBIRIM<br />
The thrills and frills of the 2017 SAG Awards<br />
T<br />
he 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards was held on Sunday, January 29, 2017 at<br />
the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The stars of ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Stranger<br />
Things’ were the big winners at the event while political speeches dominated the<br />
evening. Accepting the award, star Taraji P Henson said: “This story is of unity and this<br />
story is about what happens when we put our differences aside ... Love wins.”<br />
best actor in a drama series.<br />
The awards act as a strong<br />
indicator of success at the<br />
Academy awards, taking place<br />
on 26 February.<br />
Red carpet moments<br />
Nicole Kidman in Gucci:<br />
This emerald green, sequin<br />
Gucci number with feathered<br />
parrots as sleeves may or may<br />
not have been used to deflect<br />
from the humanitarian chaos.<br />
The gown turned up on a<br />
mixture of best and worst<br />
dressed lists. But the Lion<br />
star certainly knows how to<br />
stand out from her peers, with<br />
too many wearing the colour<br />
of this awards season - neutral<br />
metallic.<br />
Emily Blunt and Natalie<br />
Portman showed that neutrals<br />
don’t have to be boring in<br />
embellished Roberto Cavalli<br />
and a bell-sleeve Dior,<br />
respectively.<br />
Emma Stone in Alexander<br />
McQueen: This is an<br />
unexpectedly revealing dress,<br />
but the combination of lily pads<br />
and lingerie somehow works<br />
in favor of provocation.<br />
Emily Blunt in Roberto<br />
Cavalli: The embroidery<br />
imparts a quasi-Indian effect,<br />
and the fit is as precise as a<br />
tattoo.<br />
Gwendoline Christie in<br />
Vivienne Westwood Couture: It<br />
takes a lot of courage and<br />
stamina to wear a jumpsuit to<br />
an awards ceremony, and<br />
more so when you add glitter.<br />
Evan Rachel Wood in<br />
Altuzarra: You have to be<br />
impressed by her commitment<br />
to making a fashion statement<br />
with substance by wearing<br />
pants throughout the awards<br />
season, but she also makes it<br />
look so good that it’s also just<br />
downright fun.<br />
Millie Bobby Brown in<br />
Giorgio Armani: Twelve years<br />
old, and so much talent, it’s no<br />
wonder that designers are<br />
knocking down her door. She<br />
has already landed a Calvin<br />
Klein campaign, and now this<br />
Emma Stone won the<br />
award for best female<br />
actor in a lead role for<br />
La La Land and after<br />
discussing her<br />
insecurity in her<br />
profession<br />
ruby red dress has<br />
eclipsed the<br />
competition, yet<br />
Brown shrugs it off<br />
like an old pro:<br />
“Giorgio Armani<br />
sketched it for me,”<br />
she said on the red<br />
carpet. “And I’m like,<br />
that’s totally fine.”<br />
•Emma Stone<br />
•Gwendoline<br />
Christie<br />
•Denzel<br />
Washington<br />
•Emily Blunt<br />
•Nicole Kidman<br />
•Evan Rachel<br />
•Taraji P<br />
Henson<br />
•Viola Davis<br />
•Millie Bobby<br />
Brown
28 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215<br />
onikoyi68@gmail.com<br />
BY AYO ONIKOYI<br />
& ROTIMI AGBANA<br />
In less than twelve hours after<br />
the Lagos Police<br />
C o m m a n d<br />
pronounced they would<br />
not be allowing the<br />
protest to take place,<br />
2Face again posted on<br />
his Instagram the action<br />
plan for the protest,<br />
adding Abuja to the list. In<br />
the same vein, the Enough is Enough<br />
Coalition Nigeria’s answer to the CP<br />
Lagos pronouncement is a tweet “the<br />
protest will go on”<br />
According to the action plans, the Lagos<br />
protest starts from National Stadium by<br />
8am, with the procession expected to move<br />
on to the National Theatre in Iganmu,<br />
Lagos. The Abuja end will hold at the Unity<br />
Fountain by 9am.<br />
It should be noted that the protest was<br />
formerly slated for Sunday, February 5 th ,<br />
but 2Face moved it to Monday 6 th when<br />
he issued the official statement on the<br />
action plan on Tuesday.<br />
In his official statement released on<br />
Tuesday in Lagos at Eko Hotel, 2Face<br />
clearly made his position known and<br />
succinctly asked politicians of any<br />
leaning to back off.<br />
“It is not a platform for politicians of<br />
any party to manipulate. I know you<br />
will still spin it but for one second<br />
leave your battles aside and just listen<br />
to people without trying to score<br />
cheap political points against one<br />
another. It is not a point scoring exercise.<br />
It is certainly not personal. It is not an<br />
organized labour platform. With all due<br />
respect to our comrades who have done<br />
much for Nigeria, this march is for the<br />
unrepresented,” he said.<br />
Artistes in support of the protest<br />
Veteran entertainer, Charly Boy, Galala<br />
master, Daddy Showkey, Skelewu crooner,<br />
Davido and Yawa Dey star, Burna Boy<br />
have taken side with hiphop ace.<br />
Ruggedman showed his won support by<br />
taken on Blackface Naija who attacked<br />
2Baba for undertaking the protest. Here are<br />
others who have penned their support as<br />
well<br />
I stand with 2face - Wizkid<br />
“It is in Nigeria that you fight for the poor<br />
and the poor fights you for fighting for<br />
them. Such mental degeneration, I stand<br />
with 2face”, Wizkid wrote on twitter.<br />
I applaud 2baba’s voice - Tee Billz<br />
“Our lives begin to end the day we become<br />
silent about things that matter. Martin<br />
Luther King, Jr. I applaud your voice<br />
2baba”<br />
I will march with 2baba- Annie Idibia<br />
“I connect to the love in your conscience,<br />
the power in your words are so<br />
inspirational; our lifestyle na spirituality.<br />
One way or the other you have influenced<br />
my life and others, you are a special<br />
blessing, God sees your heart and we do<br />
too. God bless you always, God bless<br />
Nigeria One voice Nigeria. I stand with<br />
2baba, Feb 6, we will march peacefully”.<br />
Yes, I will be part of it- Singer, Niyola<br />
“I don’t know if it has a political undertone<br />
but what I can rightly say is the truth is I<br />
did a song called The Word, and I did a<br />
text in the beginning of the song that it is<br />
the duty of an artiste to inform its society of<br />
the ills, benefits and the great deed that are<br />
meant to be performed. So it is only right<br />
because we are people that people look up<br />
to, it is our place; the way that music started,<br />
the way that drama started was to satirize<br />
the government and to correct social ills,<br />
so I don’t think anything has to have a<br />
political undertone, even if it does have a<br />
political undertone is it effective for a<br />
positive change? Yes, so I will be a part of it<br />
and I don’t have a problem with that if that<br />
was even the case”, Niyola retorted.<br />
I’m going to march with 2face<br />
- Actor, Adeniyi Johnson<br />
“I’m aware of it, I’ve heard and<br />
read about it, I’m in full support and<br />
•2Face<br />
2Face, EiE<br />
defiant,<br />
say protest<br />
will go on<br />
•Wizkid<br />
•Ali-Baba<br />
•Stella<br />
Damasus<br />
I’m going to march with him. I’m not in Lagos right now<br />
but I’m going to do everything possible to make myself<br />
available in person that day”, Adeniyi Johnson stated.<br />
I’m with 2face- Comedian, Seyi Law<br />
“I have seen you come under serious criticism and read<br />
from some people who think your mistakes should be held<br />
on you forever, but I am here to tell you that I am with<br />
you.<br />
You didn’t start the movement; you only lend<br />
your support to the voice of the people. You<br />
have only proven that at a time such as this,<br />
Nigeria and Nigerians deserve to truly be<br />
served.<br />
I can boldly say we are not lazy people;<br />
we just don’t enjoy the right environment<br />
to excel. Good governance has been the<br />
bane of our development and<br />
institutions. Together with you, we will<br />
rise and match against those that oppress<br />
us.<br />
Today, I stand with you and as long as<br />
your stand is for the good of this nation, I<br />
will<br />
keep standing. Please don’t let us<br />
politicize the protest as some fools made<br />
us do with the fuel subsidy. God bless you<br />
brother.<br />
Cabasa<br />
made it<br />
2face.”<br />
Nigeria is a hard place to live in- ID<br />
Nigeria is a harsh place to live in, who<br />
harsh? Nigerians! Who will fix it,<br />
Nigerians, so I stand with<br />
Artistes on the fence or<br />
against<br />
2Face<br />
On the<br />
contrary, Nollywood<br />
actress,<br />
Stella Damasus,<br />
Timaya,<br />
and Alibaba have<br />
bluntly declared their<br />
resolve not<br />
to get involved in<br />
t h e p l a n n e d<br />
•Charlyboy nationwide<br />
protest.<br />
I can’t protest against<br />
something I don’t have facts about -<br />
S t e l l a<br />
Damasus<br />
“That time<br />
wey I go take dey talk dey<br />
protest, I go take am dey do<br />
something, I<br />
will use it to do something<br />
good for the<br />
community, I will use it to<br />
do something for the<br />
people I can help. Before<br />
protesting anything we<br />
have to have a clear focus,<br />
we will hear this and hear<br />
that, we will not hear the<br />
exact story or know the<br />
exact m3information,<br />
we’ll just start protesting.<br />
People who know what is<br />
going on in Nigeria they<br />
can talk about it but I’m<br />
not in Nigeria right now<br />
so I can’t protest against<br />
something that I don’t<br />
have the facts for. So<br />
like I was saying, I’m<br />
praying for all of you,<br />
for those of you who<br />
have children”<br />
•Niyola<br />
It doesn’t concern<br />
me -Timaya<br />
I don’t comment on<br />
things like that, I don’t<br />
have anything to talk<br />
about the protest. How<br />
doesn’t it concern me?<br />
I am not in Lagos now.<br />
I have not been briefed<br />
about that -Alibaba<br />
I have not been briefed<br />
about the whole thing so I don’t<br />
really have anything to say<br />
about that.<br />
I’m not going to be<br />
there- Comedian, Bovi<br />
Ugboma<br />
I don’t even in<br />
support; I was never<br />
against and will not be<br />
against it. That I’m not<br />
going to be there doesn’t<br />
not mean I’m not in<br />
support of it. It is a<br />
peaceful protest.<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 —29<br />
By Rotimi Agbana 08137741609<br />
rotimiagbana@gmail.com<br />
Toke Makinwa in trouble<br />
as ex hubby threatens<br />
to sue over her book ‘On<br />
Becoming’<br />
Adrastic turn of the tide is<br />
imminent, following the<br />
emergence of<br />
incontrovertible evidence<br />
strongly indicating that Toke<br />
Makinwa’s account in her book<br />
“On Becoming” is not all there<br />
is to know about events leading<br />
up to her separation from her<br />
erstwhile husband Maje Ayida<br />
and that her book is nothing but<br />
an exaggerated fabrication.<br />
This most recent development<br />
has come to the fore on account<br />
of damning revelations<br />
discovered proving that Maje<br />
Ayida and Toke Makinwa were<br />
legally separated 6 months into<br />
the marriage.<br />
The leading defamation law<br />
firm in the UK, Carter Ruck,<br />
lawyers to top figures like Elton<br />
John, Simon Cowell, Chelsea<br />
Football Club and The State of<br />
Qatar have recently taken up<br />
Maje Ayida as one of their<br />
clients and in a warning letter<br />
addressed to Toke Makinwa on<br />
the 23 rd of December 2016<br />
•Harrysong, Daddy<br />
Showkey, Kcee<br />
BY ROTIMI AGBANA<br />
Acclaimed King of galala<br />
dance and fire fire crooner,<br />
Daddy Showkey, has confirmed<br />
that he interceded in settling the<br />
ongoing brouhaha between<br />
reggae blues singer, Harrysong,<br />
and his label, Five Star Music.<br />
In an exclusive chat with<br />
Showtime, the diana hit-maker<br />
explained why he got himself<br />
involved in the altercation which<br />
resulted in a police case which<br />
seems to have been resolved<br />
after both parties have given it<br />
serious thoughts and<br />
considerations. According to<br />
Daddy Showkey, both<br />
Harrysong and officials of Five<br />
Star Music are his children in<br />
the music industry, therefore<br />
the onus lies on him to mediate<br />
when there is a rift between<br />
them.<br />
“Yes, they are no longer<br />
fighting, no mind anybody we<br />
don settle them” he confirmed.<br />
Showtime queried further to<br />
highlighted a number of<br />
excerpts from the book that<br />
were untrue, specifically<br />
quoting as follows:<br />
“… We highlight the fact that<br />
our client requested a legal<br />
separation from you within 6<br />
months of your wedding to him<br />
in January 2014, when it<br />
became clear that the marriage<br />
was breaking down. A<br />
separation agreement was<br />
formally signed by you in July<br />
2014…”<br />
“It is therefore well<br />
documented that our client and<br />
you had agreed to separate by<br />
July 2014 (a matter which the<br />
book signally fails to record),<br />
and that this was, self-evidently<br />
far more than ‘’teething”<br />
difficulties as the book<br />
misleadingly describes the<br />
circumstances at the time”<br />
Also, heading the legal front<br />
in Nigeria is Kemi Pinhero<br />
SAN, whose firm has also<br />
served Toke Makinwa a letter,<br />
corroborating the issues raised<br />
know why he<br />
decided to<br />
wade into the<br />
matter and he<br />
responded<br />
Why I no go<br />
reconcile them?<br />
My younger<br />
brothers get<br />
misunderstanding,<br />
wetin be my<br />
duty, na make I side one<br />
person? My duty is to make<br />
peace between them, and dem<br />
be boys wey get a lot of respect<br />
for me and dem be boys wey<br />
•Toke<br />
Makinwa<br />
by Carter Ruck letter<br />
and specifically demanding<br />
among other things that she:<br />
“Withdraw from circulation all<br />
copies of the book and take immediate<br />
steps to call in all copies of the book<br />
already distributed and deliver up same<br />
at the place to be agreed upon by our<br />
client for destruction”<br />
“Retract or cause to be retracted the<br />
said published words and tender an<br />
unreserved apology to our client by<br />
publishing the said apology in one full<br />
page insertion in three national dailies<br />
to with.<br />
Why I reconciled Harry<br />
Song and Five Star Music<br />
— Daddy Showkey<br />
be like say anytime me and dem dey<br />
very close, so I nor go dey make them<br />
get misunderstanding make I nor<br />
intervene na, and I don dey intervene for<br />
the matter a long time ago, say make we<br />
make peace between them. But we thank<br />
God sha say everything went well”. He<br />
went on to stress that he is not sure if<br />
both parties have resolved not to further<br />
press court charges against each other.<br />
“That one I don’t know, that one is<br />
between them, I cannot say anything<br />
more than this, for the rest ask Five Star<br />
Music, Kcee or Harry Song. They are my<br />
children, we thank God everything is back<br />
to normal, we’ll leave the remaining to<br />
God”, he said.<br />
Afro-beat singer, Dede<br />
Mabiaku, angrily storm<br />
out of radio interview<br />
•Dede<br />
Mabiaku<br />
BY ROTIMI AGBANA<br />
During an interview session<br />
which held on radio 91.3FM<br />
on Thursday in Lagos, veteran Afrobeat<br />
singer, Dede Mabiaku, angrily<br />
walked out in the middle of interview<br />
claiming he was insulted and<br />
disrespected by Special Adviser to<br />
the President on Media and<br />
Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina,<br />
who was also a guest on the<br />
same radio show with him.<br />
During the discussions,<br />
Mabiaku interjected while<br />
Adesina was responding<br />
to a question asked<br />
by the anchor on<br />
t h e<br />
forthcoming<br />
February<br />
6 t h<br />
nationwide<br />
protest<br />
led by<br />
2 f a c e<br />
Idibia,<br />
over the nation’s current economic<br />
situation, distracting Adesina who requested<br />
that Mabiaku allow him finish with his<br />
response then he could air his own opinion.<br />
The anchor, Faith, also asked Mabiaku to<br />
exercise patience, to which Mabiaku obliged.<br />
Displeased with the manner in which<br />
Adesina and the anchor had shut him up<br />
earlier, Mabiaku angrily refused to go on<br />
with the interview. He demanded an apology<br />
from Femi Adesina who bluntly refused,<br />
stressing that he had politely requested<br />
Mabiaku to be patient since the question was<br />
directed at him and not Mabiaku. This got<br />
Mabiaku angrier; threatening to walk out of<br />
the show if Adesina refused to apologize to<br />
him. “Why do you want to hear me? When<br />
he had the audacity to tell me to shut up and<br />
you told me to stop! I will not use the word<br />
‘Shut up’ that is what he said, play your tape<br />
back and I’ll walk out now on this.” Adesina<br />
tried to set the records straight with Mabiaku<br />
but he was too angry to listen, “No, that’s<br />
the end of it, you don’t have the<br />
right to tell me to shut up<br />
because you work with the<br />
government, hell no, I’m<br />
here to tell you things about<br />
truth not to be insulted by<br />
somebody who works in<br />
government, who wants to<br />
defend the government,<br />
no, I’m out of here,”<br />
he thundered and<br />
walked out.<br />
•Adesina<br />
Olamide, Juliet Ibrahim join Glo as brand ambassadors<br />
•Juliet<br />
Ibrahim<br />
•Olamide<br />
One of Nigeria’s most celebrated<br />
musicians, Olamide Adedeji<br />
a.k.a. Olamide Badoo; the Egberi<br />
Papa 1 of Bayelsa and philosophical<br />
Dance Hall artiste, Inetimi Alfred<br />
Odon popularly known as Timaya<br />
and foremost Ghanaian actress<br />
Juliet Ibrahim, have all joined the<br />
prestigious group of brand<br />
ambassadors of telecommunications<br />
giant, Globacom.<br />
Globacom disclosed in a press<br />
statement that Olamide was made<br />
a Glo ambassador because of his<br />
success in the music industry and<br />
for being an inspiration to millions<br />
of Nigerian youths, just like<br />
Timaya who is equally a model<br />
to youths, especially in the South-<br />
South part of Nigeria.<br />
The three ambassadors have<br />
been inducted into the exclusive<br />
Hall of Fame for Globacom’s<br />
brand icons. Prominent among<br />
those in the elite group are standup<br />
comedians Basketmouth and<br />
Bovi Ugboma; Reekado Banks,<br />
Korede Bello, Hadizah Blell<br />
(Di’ja), Patience Ozokwor<br />
popularly called Mama G,<br />
Omawumi, Ego, Yvonne Nelson,<br />
MI. among other mega stars.
30—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
By AYO ONIKOYI<br />
08052201215<br />
onikoyi68@gmail.com<br />
Eargasm concert will<br />
surpass other events in<br />
February<br />
— 2Baba Boasts<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K<br />
Kunle Afolayan drags Omotola,<br />
Kate Henshaw to set to fulfil<br />
Multichoice promise<br />
Ace film-maker and actor,<br />
Kunle Afolayan, after the<br />
huge success of his ‘The<br />
CEO’ is dragging the likes of<br />
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde,<br />
Kate Henshaw, Nobert<br />
Young, Toyin Oshinaike,<br />
Fathia Balogun, Dari<br />
Afolayan, Funsho Adeolu,<br />
Ade Laoye, Omowunmi<br />
Dada, Damilola Ogunsi, Ayo<br />
Adesanya, Yaw and Gloria<br />
Anozie Young among others<br />
to set for three films<br />
sponsored by Multichoice<br />
Nigeria.<br />
The three films; ‘Roti’,<br />
‘Umogwo’ and ‘Tribunal’ will<br />
enjoy back-to-back filming<br />
that will fast-track their<br />
releases, beginning from the<br />
first quarter of the year. The<br />
films will make debut with an<br />
April 2017 cinema release,<br />
enjoy some festival routing<br />
before berthing on Africa<br />
Magic channels.<br />
In ‘Roti’ which stars Kunle<br />
Afolayan himself playing<br />
alongside Kate Henshaw,<br />
By Rotimi Agbana<br />
In an evening of what seemed<br />
to be endless moments of<br />
sharing, connecting, catching<br />
up and socializing, music<br />
artistes, Wizboyy, Myro, Issi,<br />
Sound City Fm On-Air-<br />
Personality, Moet Abebe and<br />
others, shared a beautiful time<br />
with men of the press at the<br />
monthly Meets Media event, a<br />
platform where entertainers<br />
and industry personalities<br />
interact with the media,<br />
socialize and get up-close and<br />
Toyin Oshinaike, Fathia<br />
Balogun and Dari Afolayan,<br />
the story is told of how,<br />
years after a couple loses<br />
their son called Roti to a<br />
brief illness, the wife sees a<br />
boy called Juwon who is an<br />
exact replica of her dead<br />
son. After discovering that<br />
Juwon is not a reincarnation<br />
of Roti, she is washed anew<br />
by grief and soon descends<br />
into depression and<br />
consequent hysteria.<br />
In ‘Tribunal’, “Jimi Disu, a<br />
man in his fifties, is one of<br />
the bright- minded lawyers<br />
who co-establish a leading<br />
law firm in Lagos many<br />
years ago. However, he lost<br />
his sense of direction and<br />
strength after being hit by a<br />
series of personal<br />
challenges that question his<br />
resolve as a man. He<br />
becomes a ‘charge and bail’<br />
lawyer with no further<br />
ambition. Approached by a<br />
young, enthusiastic, fresh<br />
law school graduate,<br />
By Rotimi Agbana<br />
As the prime headliner for the<br />
upcoming Eargasm concert<br />
billed to hold at Eko<br />
Convention Centre, Victoria Island,<br />
Lagos on Saturday, February 11, 2017<br />
International superstar, Innocent<br />
2Baba Idibia has boasted that the<br />
concert will surpass other events<br />
happening in February of this year.<br />
During a quick chat with the press at<br />
a conference at same Eko Hotel and<br />
Suites, 2face further described<br />
expectations of the concert; asserting<br />
an exciting lineup of events; stressing<br />
that lovers of good music will enjoy<br />
themselves.<br />
“Every other event that will take place<br />
that period will be like normal events,<br />
Tanimowo (who adores him for the stature<br />
of his legendary pedigree as a lawyer), to<br />
defend her friend, an albino, who has<br />
been unfairly relieved of his duties at<br />
work, Jimi Disu is presented a chance to<br />
battle his old law firm. ‘Tribunal’ stars<br />
Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde, Funsho<br />
Adeolu, Nobert Young, Ade Laoye, and<br />
Damilola Ogunsi.<br />
Wizboyy, Moet Abebe, others shine at Meets Media event<br />
personal. Sound City Fm OAP,<br />
Moet Abebe, was celebrated as<br />
Personality of the Month, for her<br />
giant strides in her chosen field<br />
of endeavour. Moet Abebe who is<br />
a Barrister at Law but chose to<br />
pursue her love for the media<br />
was presented with an award for<br />
Personality of the month.<br />
Erstwhile highlife singer,<br />
producer and instrumentalist,<br />
Wizboyy, who has just returned<br />
from an intentional hiatus from<br />
the music scene, opened up to<br />
the media on his absence. He<br />
revealed his reasons for being<br />
away, what he has been up to and<br />
what he has in store for his fans<br />
and lovers of good music. Chop<br />
Plantain singer, Myro, and Issi, a<br />
budding afro-pop singer, also had<br />
moments of interaction with the<br />
media as they opened up on their<br />
plans to besiege the music industry<br />
with their creative abilities and<br />
talents. The event was attended by<br />
media personalities such as Ariyike<br />
Akinbobola, and many others, to<br />
mention a few.<br />
no extra activity. This is going to be<br />
classy and like the name suggests,<br />
Eargasm is going to be ‘ear-blowing’.<br />
The kind of music that you will listen<br />
to on that day is not going to be your<br />
everyday kind of music,” he remarked.<br />
2Baba will be performing at Eargasm<br />
alongside Niyola, Tekno, Adekunle Gold,<br />
Sir Shina Peters, Yinka Davies, Kelly<br />
Hansome, Acetune, Bovi, DJ Neptune<br />
and other A-list Nigerian artistes.<br />
Eargasm concert is aimed at presenting<br />
music lovers with a unique and exciting<br />
blend of classic, as well as creating a<br />
convergence of fans from diverse<br />
generations. The concert is put together<br />
by Nigeria’s leading hospitality brand,<br />
Eko Hotel and Suites in partnership with<br />
Buckwyld Media Network.<br />
Sunny Neji, Tade Ogidan,<br />
Sani Danja endorse<br />
Lodios.com launch<br />
By Aderonke Adeyeri<br />
Celebrities, including award-winning<br />
singers Sunny Neji, Obiwon, Sani Danja<br />
and producers Tade Ogidan and Zeb Ejiro<br />
have shown delight at the launch of<br />
Lodios.com a digital entertainment content<br />
platform.<br />
Mrs Teniola Stuffman, VAS2NETS Business<br />
Development Director, said the platform<br />
“provides solutions to enrich leisure time at<br />
an affordable price. We discovered that<br />
having a one-stop shop for various genres of<br />
entertainment content will make life better”.<br />
Other guest celebrities in attendance that<br />
endored the new platform include Olasco<br />
Films Producer, Olatunji Balogun, Nigerian<br />
actor Lanre Balogun among others.<br />
Currently running on the platform are<br />
popular songs of Seyi Shay, Jaywon, Sunny<br />
Neji and Illrymz (Contagious TV) among<br />
others. Also, movies, such as Benevolence,<br />
Sisi Karo and Pure Honey are available<br />
for free, while offer lasts a month. The<br />
movie, Benevolence was nominated for<br />
‘Most Inspirational Feature Film’ at the<br />
International Christian Film Festival in<br />
Orlando, in April 2016. Also, subscribers<br />
have a potpourri of Nollywood movies<br />
(English and Yoruba genres), as well various<br />
comedy skits, like the Ushbebe collections, to<br />
choose from.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—31<br />
Butts don’t come much<br />
bigger than this.<br />
This is Courtney Barnes.<br />
She’s 32 years old, and her<br />
most recognizable feature<br />
is her enormous, 59-inch<br />
booty.<br />
She’s the definition of<br />
thick — but to get such a<br />
huge butt, Courtney, from<br />
Miami, Florida, almost paid<br />
the ultimate price.<br />
She opted to get illegal,<br />
highly dangerous silicone<br />
injections to make it bigger<br />
— but even so, she didn’t<br />
expect it to get so big.<br />
Now, the former economics<br />
student is a cam girl and<br />
model, and has hundreds<br />
of thousands of<br />
followers awaiting<br />
her next booty pic on<br />
Instagram.<br />
I want to show<br />
men, women and<br />
children that it is<br />
possible to be<br />
beautiful, smart and<br />
have a big ass.<br />
Six years ago,<br />
Courtney was working as<br />
a dancer when she decided<br />
she wanted to transform<br />
her body, admitting it<br />
was a risk she was<br />
“willing to take at the<br />
time.”<br />
It happened at an<br />
illegal “pumping<br />
party” — where the<br />
injections often<br />
contain unknown<br />
substances, as<br />
well as silicone,<br />
and can be<br />
08116759759<br />
Woman Ends Up With 59-Inch<br />
Butt After Risking Life...<br />
administered by people with<br />
no medical experience — and,<br />
luckily, there were no<br />
complications.<br />
Courtney admitted she was<br />
“naïve,” but said many other<br />
women were getting it done —<br />
with the shots causing one of<br />
her friends to need blood<br />
transfusions and spend<br />
months in a hospital.<br />
They can even be deadly if<br />
injected accidentally into a<br />
vein.<br />
After the procedure, videos<br />
of Courtney and her 59-inch<br />
booty began to go viral online.<br />
So, using some of the<br />
knowledge gained during her<br />
economics studies, she<br />
decided to make money off it.<br />
But it hasn’t all been easy<br />
sailing. She said,<br />
My career is fun but at the<br />
same time it is really<br />
difficult for people to<br />
take you seriously<br />
when it comes to<br />
certain businesses.<br />
People stare at me<br />
everywhere I go and<br />
not every reaction is<br />
positive. I feel like<br />
women<br />
are<br />
intimidated by me and<br />
men view me as a<br />
piece of meat.<br />
It’s difficult for her<br />
because, believe it<br />
or not, she’s<br />
“actually quite a<br />
shy person.”<br />
If any of<br />
Courtney’s fans<br />
want her behind<br />
to become even<br />
more gigantic, they<br />
shouldn’t keep<br />
their hopes up.<br />
Explaining<br />
that her butt is<br />
not as perky as<br />
it once was,<br />
she said she<br />
i<br />
s<br />
considering<br />
getting it<br />
reduced<br />
in the<br />
future.<br />
World's oldest<br />
surgeon is still<br />
scrubbing in at the<br />
grand age of 89<br />
Man says his 18.9-inch phallus...<br />
Man with colossal half-ametre<br />
penis that reaches<br />
his knee insists he won’t have a<br />
reduction<br />
The man with the world’s<br />
largest penis insists he won’t<br />
have it reduced – even though he<br />
won’t ever be able to have sex.<br />
Roberto Esquivel Cabrera, 54,<br />
from Saltillo, has a penis which<br />
measures a staggering 18.9<br />
inches when flaccid.<br />
He hit headlines when he<br />
smashed the unofficial world<br />
record held by US actor Jonah<br />
Falcon, whose penis was 9.5<br />
inches flaccid and 13.5 inches<br />
when erect.<br />
Yet despite being superendowed,<br />
the 54-year-old’s penis<br />
has caused him a number of<br />
health problems, including<br />
frequent urinary tract infections<br />
because not all his urine escapes<br />
his foreskin.<br />
He’s also unable to sleep on his<br />
front and has to put his penis,<br />
which has to be wrapped in<br />
bandages, on its own pillow so<br />
he’s not in discomfort at night.<br />
But probably the worst problem<br />
he faces is not having a sex life<br />
because his penis has too much<br />
girth to have intercourse.<br />
Roberto said: ‘Some people ask<br />
me if I put some condoms on it<br />
and the answer is: I cannot. I can<br />
never penetrate anyone because<br />
it is too thick.’<br />
Yet despite all these issues, the<br />
54-year-old refuses to have a<br />
penile reduction, as per his<br />
doctor’s recommendation, as he<br />
wants his ‘gift’ to be recognised<br />
by the Guinness Book of World<br />
Records.<br />
He said: ‘I would like to be in the<br />
Guinness Book of Records but<br />
they don’t recognise this record.<br />
‘I am famous because I have the<br />
biggest penis in the world. I am<br />
happy with my penis, I know<br />
nobody has the size I have.’<br />
His doctor, Dr Jesus David<br />
Salazar Gonzalez, said: ‘We have<br />
advised him “Roberto, the best<br />
thing for you is that the doctors<br />
give a normal shape to your penis<br />
so that it doesn’t hurt you, in order<br />
to have sexual relationships, in<br />
order to have children”.<br />
‘But he doesn’t accept it, he’d<br />
rather have a penis bigger than<br />
the rest of the people.’<br />
‘In Latin culture whoever has<br />
the bigger penis is more macho.<br />
It’s something that makes him<br />
different to the rest of the people<br />
and makes him feels special.’<br />
Doctors recently did a thorough<br />
examination of Mr Cabrera’s<br />
penis, confirming suspicions that<br />
the bulk of his nearly 20-inch<br />
penis is foreskin.<br />
His penile glands stretch only<br />
seven inches, meaning the rest of<br />
his member is completely foreskin<br />
and blood vessels.<br />
They have also been able to<br />
offer some insight in just how his<br />
penis became quite so large –<br />
they say he has been stretching<br />
his penis with weights since his<br />
teenager.<br />
Dr Gonzalez added: ‘He was<br />
obsessed with the penis length.<br />
He began with this enlargement<br />
since he was a teenager,<br />
wrapping some bands around his<br />
penis with some weights and<br />
trying to stretch it.’<br />
Though Roberto loves his penis,<br />
he says it is a ‘disability’ and<br />
stops him from working, forcing<br />
him to rely on food banks to<br />
survive.<br />
He said: ‘I cannot wear a<br />
uniform like anybody in the<br />
companies and also I cannot get<br />
on my knees.<br />
‘I cannot run fast and so the<br />
companies think badly of me.<br />
They say that they will call me,<br />
but they never do.’<br />
According to the Mexican,<br />
after initially dismissing his<br />
claim, the government has now<br />
recognised him as disabled.<br />
Every four months he receives<br />
some economic assistance, but<br />
‘it’s not enough’, he says.<br />
Another downside to having<br />
such a gigantic penis is that<br />
many people believe it is a hoax.<br />
He said: ‘Sometimes when the<br />
people ask me if it’s real or not, I<br />
ask them “Do you want to see<br />
it?”’<br />
Alla Ilyinichna Levushkina<br />
has completed 10,000 ops<br />
in 67 years with no fatalities and<br />
says she has no plans to retire<br />
The world’s oldest surgeon<br />
scrubs up well at the age of 89<br />
and still cheerily carries out four<br />
operations a week.<br />
Alla Ilyinichna Levushkina<br />
never married or had children<br />
and dedicated her life to saving<br />
patients in Russia.<br />
At home, Alla cares for her<br />
disabled nephew and eight cats .<br />
There’s no secret to her long life,<br />
she says, adding: “I eat<br />
everything, laugh and cry a lot.”<br />
After 10,000 ops in 67 years<br />
and no fatalities, she has no<br />
plans to retire.<br />
“It’s not a profession, it’s a way<br />
of life,” she said. “Why else<br />
would the surgeon live, if not to<br />
work?”<br />
Speaking about her<br />
unwavering dedication to the<br />
profession, Alla said: “I have<br />
nothing to do in retirement.<br />
“It’s not just a profession, it’s a<br />
way of life. Why else would the<br />
surgeon live, if not to work?”<br />
Each day, the inspiring<br />
pensioner begins work at 8am,<br />
holding a clinic for patients,<br />
before heading to the operating<br />
room at 11am to start the day’s<br />
procedures.<br />
In honour of her incredible<br />
commitment, Alla was recently<br />
awarded the prize for the best<br />
doctor in Russia.
32—SATURD<br />
TURDAY Vanguard,<br />
FEBRUARY ARY 4, 2017<br />
Late Olasimbo Matesun buries amid pomp<br />
It was celebration galore at the BisRod Mega Event Hall, GRA, Igbeba, Ijebu-Ode on the 14th<br />
January 2017 when the children and families of Late Alhaja Adijat Olasimbo Matesun rolled drums<br />
for the 40th day Fidau prayers and final burial ceremony in honour of the late great woman. Family<br />
members and many dignitaries graced the occasion. Late Alhaja Adijat Olasimbo Matesun (new<br />
Odunsi) died 4th December 2016 and was buried same day according to Islamic injunction. Photos by<br />
Wumi Akinola<br />
Zuliat Lawal weds<br />
Muritala Ahmed<br />
Solemnization of Holy matrimony (Islamic way<br />
Nikkah) between Zuliat Abiola Lawal<br />
daughter of Alhaji Fatai Lawal and Muritala<br />
Olarewaju Ahmed, son of Alhaji Kola Ahmed<br />
took place at Event Centre, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos,<br />
late last year. Guests had delightful time-out.<br />
Photos by Diran Oshe<br />
L-R:Chief (Mrs) Bola Obasanjo, wife of former<br />
President Obasanjo, Dr Lateef Bello, son in-law,<br />
Dr (Mrs) Faozeeat Aderonke Bello, daughter of<br />
the deceased.<br />
L-R: Hon. Engr. Olaribigbe Matesun, the<br />
patriarch of the Matesun dynasty, Dr (Mrs)<br />
Faozeeah Aderonke Bello, daughter of the<br />
deceased, Pastor Engr. Oladimeji Matesun (son).<br />
L- R: Alh. Fatai Lawal, bride's father, Alhaja<br />
Kuburat Lawal, bride's mother,the couple, Mr &<br />
Mrs Muritala Olarewaju Ahmed,Alhaja Modupe<br />
Ahmed, mother of groom,and Alhaji Kola<br />
Ahmed, father of groom<br />
The Fregenes at the event: From L-R; Toyosi<br />
Fregene, Pastor Joseph Fregene, Bolaji Fregene,<br />
Gbemisola Fregene, Daniel Fregene, Temitayo<br />
Fregene, Alero Fregene and Oyemi Fregene.<br />
R-L: (sitting position): Dr Mrs Faozeeah<br />
Aderonke Bello, Alhaja Kudirat Oluwatoyin<br />
Ashogbon,. Standing: L-R: Mrs Gbemisola<br />
Fregene, Alhaji Abdul Rasheed Titilayo<br />
Matesun, Alhaja Dhikrat Abiodun Oshodi(<br />
Children of the deceased).<br />
L- R: Alh. Jamiu Abdul Wahab, Sheikh Abdu<br />
Rahman Ahmad and Sheikh Najmudeen Yusuf<br />
R-L: Dr Chief Fassy Yusuf(former Ogun state<br />
Commissioner for information, Dr Abdul Lateef<br />
Bello (son in law), Alhaji Sulaiman Ashogbon<br />
(son in law) Dr Wahab Adesanya.<br />
R-L: Mr George Emefiele and Dr Okanta mefiele<br />
and a guest.<br />
Tenn<br />
enny Tolly Hotel Chairman celebrates es 50 in style<br />
Chief Oriyomi Ogungbesan, Chairman/CEO Tenny Tolly Hotels &Suites recently marked his 50th<br />
birthday with lots of fanfare . To make the occasion an auspicious one Chief Oriyomi Ogungbesan<br />
shared the day with the SOS children in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State<br />
L-R: Mrs Folashade Olumide, Chief Dr. John<br />
Odeyemi with his wife Ezinne Chief (Mrs)<br />
Victoia Odeyemi.<br />
Mr Peter Ogungbesan and friends at the SOS<br />
village Owu-Ikija,Ijebu-Ife presenting gift<br />
items .<br />
Representatives of HRM Oba Akeem Adesanya,<br />
Alara of Ilara-Epe, Mr Oriyomi Ogungbesan<br />
and wife, Mrs Tolani Ogungbesan.<br />
Mr Oriyomi Ogungbesan & wife cutting his<br />
50th birthday cake.<br />
C<br />
M<br />
YK
33—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
By Sola Ogundipe / 0805618112 / solazed@live.com<br />
Just female<br />
When a woman with endometriosis has her<br />
monthly period, the blood and tissue shed<br />
from the endometrial growth has no way of leaving<br />
the body, hence resulting in internal bleeding,<br />
inflammation that result in pain, adhesions and<br />
bowel problems.<br />
Endometriosis is an incurable medical condition<br />
in which the lining of the uterus transplants itself<br />
outside of the uterus to the lining of the abdominal<br />
cavity and other organs-causing bloating, bleeding<br />
and pain. Doctors say the disorder causes damage<br />
and blockage to the Fallopian tube by impeding the<br />
journey of the eggs down the Fallopian tube to the<br />
uterus, hence causing fertility challenges. They add<br />
that the commonest symptom of endometriosis is<br />
pain—painful<br />
intercourse, painful<br />
menstruation, abdominal<br />
pain, back pain and<br />
emotional pain.<br />
One in every 10<br />
women is affected and<br />
about 176 million women<br />
worldwide have the<br />
disorder. It is often<br />
extremely painful and<br />
can make having sex and<br />
going to the toilet<br />
agonizing. It causes<br />
painful periods and may<br />
lead to infertility<br />
problems.<br />
In recent times, series<br />
of prominent, glamorous<br />
and some of the most<br />
beautiful women around<br />
have spoken publicly<br />
about their personal<br />
battles with the disorder.<br />
They include Hillary<br />
Clinton, Nike Oshinowo-<br />
Soleye, Padma Lakshmi<br />
, Whoopi Goldberg and<br />
dozens others.<br />
They use their voices to<br />
speak bravely about their<br />
battles living with the<br />
condition. Their voices<br />
are important so that others can be aware<br />
and learn about it. To de-stigmatize and<br />
raise awareness about endometriosis,<br />
women affected keep talking about it.<br />
It was quite a shock to several people<br />
when socialite, entrepreneur, role-model<br />
and former Miss Nigeria, Chief Adenike<br />
Oshinowo, first opened up to the public<br />
a decade ago about her struggle with<br />
endometriosis .<br />
Nike had just turned 40 when she<br />
granted the interview and disclosed her<br />
big secret. Over the years she has<br />
granted many more interviews and is<br />
now officially recognised as the face of<br />
Endometriosis and Global Ambassador<br />
of the Endometriosis Support Group of<br />
Nigeria, ESGN. Her story was an eye<br />
opener, particularly in Nigeria.<br />
She readily admitted she has lived with<br />
the condition since the age of 11. She<br />
lost count of how many surgeries she<br />
has had and is now looking forward to<br />
menopause. At 47 she became a mother<br />
to twins via an American surrogate.<br />
“No doctor told me why I suffered so<br />
much because of endometriosis. I turned<br />
50 recently and I’m looking forward to<br />
menopause. However, in spite of<br />
endometriosis, I have had an amazing<br />
life,” she asserted. She is not alone.<br />
Former US presidential candidate, and<br />
one-time US First Lady Hillary Clinton,<br />
who also served as the 67th Secretary<br />
of State, Senator for New York, had<br />
trouble conceiving her only child,<br />
Per<br />
ersonal battles of<br />
prominent women<br />
with Endometriosis<br />
•Hillary Clinton(L) and Nike Oshinowo-Soleye<br />
Chelsea, born in 1980, due to<br />
endometriosis.<br />
So did Padma Lakshmi, an Indian<br />
American author, actress, model and<br />
television presenter that was diagnosed<br />
at age 36. Padma suffered with pain<br />
for more than 20 years and was told it<br />
was ‘all in her head’ before she was<br />
diagnosed with endometriosis. She had<br />
surgery when it was revealed she had<br />
two cysts on each of her ovaries and<br />
One in every 10 women<br />
is affected and about 176<br />
million women worldwide<br />
have the disorder<br />
was also put on to birth control. She<br />
gave birth to her daughter, Krishna,<br />
in 2010.<br />
Padma who is co-founder of<br />
the Endometriosis Foundation of<br />
America remarked: ”I think, yes,<br />
endometriosis was definitely a major<br />
reason that my marriage failed, not<br />
intentionally, but, it’s weird to talk<br />
about your period all the time. It’s the<br />
least sexy thing in the world to do,”<br />
she said.<br />
American comedian, actress, singersongwriter,<br />
political activist, author<br />
and talk show host, Whoopi Goldberg,<br />
knew about her endometriosis for a<br />
long time, and was surprised to learn<br />
that so many women lacked<br />
knowledge about the condition. She<br />
found out she had endometriosis in the<br />
70’s and was given medication for the<br />
disease which worked. She has one<br />
daughter, Alexandria, born in 1973.<br />
“You have to take whatever stigma<br />
people think that is there. You have to<br />
take it. It’s not male or female. It has<br />
nothing to do with that. It has to do<br />
with, here’s a disease you don’t know<br />
about and you need to know about it.<br />
It’s that simple. It’s not rocket<br />
science.”<br />
Lena Dunham the “Girls” star<br />
announced she had endometriosis on<br />
Instagram. Soon after the post,<br />
Dunham was hospitalised to ruptured<br />
ovarian cyst. She wrote of her<br />
condition earlier in her 2014<br />
memoir Not That Kind Of<br />
Girl, describing the pain as feeling<br />
like “someone had poured a drop of<br />
vinegar inside of me, followed by a<br />
sprinkle of baking soda. It bubbled and<br />
fizzed and went where it would.”<br />
Because of her endometriosis, Tia<br />
Mowry-Hardict underwent two<br />
surgeries and changed her lifestyle in<br />
order to conceive. ”Despite my<br />
diagnosis I still wanted to try and<br />
have a baby, but not being able to have<br />
kids was an immediate fear. It made<br />
me feel out of control.” The famous<br />
twin now has a, Cree.<br />
”When all you know is pain you<br />
don’t know that it is not normal, said<br />
Sarandon, who became aware of her<br />
condition in 1983 and has given<br />
advice for men on how they can<br />
help.<br />
In 1982, Country star Dolly Parton<br />
was taken to the hospital to have a<br />
partial hysterectomy related to her<br />
endometriosis. She says she<br />
suffered from depression after<br />
learning she would not be able to<br />
have children. Ït was an awful time<br />
for me. Every day I thought, ‘I wish<br />
I had the nerve to kill myself.’”<br />
Anna Friel, a British actress, was<br />
diagnosed<br />
with<br />
endometriosis when she was 28,<br />
after being rushed to hospital with<br />
a ruptured ovarian cyst. She says,<br />
“one doctor told me it would be very<br />
hard if I left trying for a baby<br />
beyond the age of 30, which at the<br />
time was far from an ideal<br />
situation.” She gave birth to<br />
daughter, Gracie, in 2005.<br />
Known best for her role in Save<br />
The Last Dance, Elizabeth Oas<br />
spent many years in pain due to<br />
Endometriosis. She says: ”I found<br />
myself working as a patient<br />
advocate, and thus created 5 years<br />
ago the internationally known blog<br />
talk radio show,”The Pelvic<br />
Messenger.”
34—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
In Badia,<br />
condoms<br />
are taboo<br />
BY SOLA OGUNDIPE<br />
IN the red light district of Badia, in<br />
downtown Lagos, sex workers as<br />
young as 14, trying to eke a living, by<br />
making money to survive, entertain<br />
around five clients a day. Series of<br />
photographs taken in the slums of<br />
Lagos and published by the Daily Mail<br />
shows the faces of sex workers living<br />
in squalid conditions. But they are<br />
unwittingly selling something else to<br />
unwary clients - HIV.<br />
Nigeria has the 2 nd higest HIV<br />
prevalence in Africa after South<br />
Africa. Currently, the HIV<br />
prevalence rate in adults in the<br />
country is 4.1 per cent according to<br />
the Iranian Journal of Public Health.<br />
and nearly a quarter of Nigerian sex<br />
workers are living with HIV,<br />
according to a 2013 survey.<br />
There are currently an estimated<br />
1.2 million people living with HIV<br />
in the city. A survey conducted last<br />
year has also highlighted that<br />
attitudes towards condom use is<br />
helping the spread of the condition,<br />
The problem is that<br />
you cannot even<br />
suggest the use of<br />
that thing to your<br />
boyfriend<br />
and research suggests that nearly<br />
a quarter of Nigerian sex workers<br />
have HIV.<br />
Thanks to investment and<br />
education, the study found, the rate<br />
had fallen from five per cent in the<br />
early 2000s, but it said there is still<br />
some way to go. They charge each<br />
client between N1,000 and N2,500<br />
for services rendered.<br />
Another research by the Journal<br />
of the International AIDS Society<br />
found the prevalence among sex<br />
workers in Nigeria was 24.3 per<br />
cent.<br />
From the study, it was observed<br />
that women often could not<br />
negotiate sex because they had no<br />
control over making sex partners<br />
wear condoms, and were not even<br />
expected to carry them.<br />
According to one of the clients, a<br />
28-year-old marketing executive:<br />
“The problem is that you cannot<br />
even suggest the use of that thing<br />
to your boyfriend. It’s like if you<br />
say it you are accusing him of<br />
sleeping around or that you are not<br />
sure of yourself. No matter which<br />
one, it can end the relationship and<br />
give you a bad name.”<br />
It was gathered that talk and use<br />
of condoms was taboo. ‘To confirm<br />
this cultural barrier to access to<br />
prevention tools, only one female<br />
respondent... has ever gone to buy<br />
a condom for her boyfriend, while<br />
all the other female respondents<br />
were of the view that they would<br />
not like their parents and spouses<br />
to see them with condoms.”<br />
A 42-year-old father of three told<br />
researchers in the study: “Any<br />
woman, including my wife who tells<br />
her husband about it or gets it for<br />
them to use needs to be questioned.<br />
In short, she should be seriously<br />
sanctioned.”<br />
Scientists in California have discov<br />
ered that the naturally occurring<br />
steroid lanosterol is able to melt away<br />
cataracts and prevent them from returning<br />
when administered to patients via<br />
eye drops. If approved for human use,<br />
the compound would be available as a<br />
non-invasive treatment for individuals<br />
with moderate forms of cataracts.<br />
Scientists first became aware of lanosterol<br />
cataract-blocking abilities by observing<br />
two children in China who had<br />
a hereditary form of the condition.<br />
Upon closer examination, it became<br />
clear that the children shared a mutation<br />
that blocked the production of the<br />
steroid lanosterol.<br />
Their parents lacked this mutation and<br />
as a result never went on to develop<br />
cataracts. From this observation, the<br />
team proposed that the steroid must<br />
play a role in the formation of cataracts.<br />
In a series of experiments outlined in<br />
a study now published in Nature, the<br />
team tested lanosterol on donated human<br />
lenses and live rabbits and dogs.<br />
Results repeatedly showed that lanosterol<br />
was able to significantly shrink<br />
cataract size.<br />
Cataracts develop when protein in the<br />
lens builds up and prevents light from<br />
getting through. Although the condition<br />
can be hereditary, such as in the<br />
case of the Chinese siblings, it is more<br />
often likely to develop at an older age.<br />
According to the Centers for Disease<br />
Control and Prevention, cataracts are<br />
the leading cause of blindness world-<br />
New eye drops melt cataracts<br />
wide. Currently, the only treatment<br />
available for cataracts is surgically<br />
removing the clouded lens from the<br />
eye and replacing it with an artificial<br />
lens.<br />
Although it’s not entirely clear<br />
f the drops prove to<br />
also work on humans,<br />
they could offer a noninvasive<br />
treatment for<br />
individuals with mild to<br />
moderate cataracts and<br />
serve as a way to<br />
prevent the condition<br />
from ever returning<br />
how lanosterol is working, the researchers<br />
believe that the steroid<br />
prevents the proteins from building<br />
up.<br />
If the drops prove to also work on<br />
humans, they could offer a non-invasive<br />
treatment for individuals<br />
with mild to moderate cataracts and<br />
serve as a way to prevent the condition<br />
from ever returning. While<br />
cataract surgery is relatively easy<br />
and safe, the drops would serve as<br />
an easier alternative. Despite not<br />
yet being tested on humans, the<br />
study is already causing excitement.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—35<br />
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk<br />
My friends are bent<br />
on giving me a<br />
bad name. Just<br />
because I’ve written this<br />
column for decades, they<br />
believe anyone who is barmy<br />
enough to tell me a ‘secret’<br />
hoping I could keep it is<br />
madder than a hatter! Only a<br />
couple of months back, I had a<br />
visitor in my office.<br />
“My goodness, did I have a<br />
rough night?” he moaned. You<br />
would notice I didn’t ask him<br />
anything. And who wouldn’t<br />
ask the question I asked next.<br />
What happened?<br />
“It is Frank, that crazy<br />
friend of mine,” he<br />
volunteered. “I hadn’t seen<br />
him in the last nine months<br />
but he wanted me to go with<br />
him to his girlfriend’s house.<br />
You know, the one I told you<br />
had his baby some three<br />
years ago. Apparently, she’s<br />
had a second child but Frank<br />
hadn’t even set eyes on the<br />
new baby and she was almost<br />
three months old. He knew<br />
he would be thrown out of<br />
her flat if he as<br />
much as showed his face<br />
alone. That was where I came<br />
in handy. I was to go and see<br />
her whilst he lurked around<br />
somewhere and butter her up<br />
a bit. As soon as she softpedalled,<br />
I was to call him.<br />
“At first, I didn’t want<br />
anything to do with it. Frank<br />
is not the stablest of friends.<br />
It is only when he wants any<br />
dirty linen laundered that he<br />
shows up. This time around,<br />
he stayed for hours sending<br />
for food and boozed to wear<br />
down any resolve that in the<br />
end. I went with him to his<br />
girlfriend’s house.<br />
“The girl was like a raving<br />
lunatic when she saw me. You<br />
would think I was the one<br />
who hurt her. She cursed,<br />
howled and sobbed her heart<br />
out. I pacified her the best I<br />
could, then went for Frank.<br />
He came so subdued you<br />
would have thought he was<br />
being arraigned before a<br />
heartless judge on a trumped<br />
up charge of murder. He<br />
calmly stood through the poor<br />
girl’s tirade until she ran out<br />
of things to say before he<br />
launched into a cock-and-bull<br />
self-defence story. In the end,<br />
we saw the baby, made the<br />
right noises and promises,<br />
then went home. I didn’t get<br />
home until around three 0'<br />
clock this morning ...” My<br />
friend broke his story as his<br />
hand flew to cover his mouth,<br />
alarm plainly written on his<br />
face.<br />
“What have I done telling<br />
you all this?” He chided<br />
himself. “I know a friend of<br />
yours is Frank’s wife’s good<br />
friend. Please, don’t let any<br />
of this get out. Frank will kill<br />
me if his wife finds out.”<br />
“Who do you think I am,” I<br />
was really indignant, “It is<br />
really none of my business if<br />
Frank has hundreds of<br />
Friends who refuse to trust<br />
you with their secrets!<br />
illegitimate kids scattered<br />
all over the place. That’s<br />
his own business, not mine.<br />
The country is<br />
full of men who have no<br />
control over their pants!”<br />
Two weeks later, my friend<br />
was back in my office. “You<br />
gave me your word that<br />
story wouldn’t get to<br />
Frank’s wife,” he accused<br />
as soon as he sat down.<br />
I couldn’t quite look him<br />
in the eyes as I stammered,<br />
“Err ... I didn’t really go out<br />
of my way to talk to her.<br />
One of our friends called<br />
me on the phone about<br />
Frank being involved with<br />
yet another woman. She<br />
then talked about this<br />
mother-of- two as if she<br />
knew all about her. I told<br />
her that I not only knew the<br />
girl, I knew for a fact that<br />
she had a boy and a girl for<br />
Frank. She couldn’t say a<br />
word for<br />
some seconds. She asked<br />
if I was sure and I said I<br />
was willing to be a huge<br />
sum of money on it. She too<br />
gave me her word that<br />
Frank’s wife wouldn’t get to<br />
hear about it....”<br />
My friend roared with<br />
laughter. “You’re really<br />
predictable, aren’t you?” He<br />
told me: “That night when<br />
Frank called at M house,<br />
he was worried that he had<br />
these children out of<br />
wedlock and his wife was<br />
none the wiser. He said he<br />
would love for his wife to<br />
know in case anything<br />
happened to him. It was<br />
then I told him not to worry.<br />
That I knew someone who<br />
knew Frank’s wife’s friend.<br />
That someone was you.<br />
That if you were told the<br />
story, it was almost<br />
guaranteed that Frank’s<br />
wife would be put in the<br />
The<br />
country is<br />
full of men<br />
who have<br />
no control<br />
over their<br />
pants!<br />
picture. You didn’t<br />
disappoint me, thank<br />
goodness. Of course, I had<br />
to tell you that touching story<br />
about Frank not going to see<br />
the baby, but it was to put in<br />
more spice—for your benefit.<br />
Asking you not to tell a juicy<br />
story is like waving a red<br />
flag at a bull, hoping he<br />
won’t charge!”<br />
Talk about giving a dog a<br />
bad name! I was still smiling<br />
from this incurable gossip<br />
tag my friend pinned on<br />
me when another one<br />
phoned recently. After<br />
catching up on current hot<br />
gossips, she told me her<br />
younger sister just left her<br />
husband, I told her I’d<br />
heard. She then launched<br />
into the version of the split<br />
that I heard.<br />
“That’s why I’m<br />
phoning,” she cut in<br />
frostily.” “My sister told me<br />
she was sure you must<br />
have heard about her right<br />
from the grape-vine and<br />
she would appreciate your<br />
keeping the lurid details<br />
out of the pages of the<br />
newspapers ... “<br />
In case you discover that<br />
Weekend Blues ceases to<br />
exist, God forbid bad thing,<br />
you readers will know that<br />
the concerted efforts of<br />
friends to misunderstand<br />
my good intentions and<br />
term them to be nosepoking<br />
have finally taken<br />
their toll .... “<br />
So you think resolutions are a waste of time?<br />
Every year, majority of us break the promises<br />
we made on January 1. Whether you vowed<br />
to turn-around your career for the better, quit<br />
smoking or even learn to make your own dress,<br />
a group of experts have got this fast plan for<br />
getting you back on track when your resolves<br />
melt.<br />
Forgive your inner slacker: You’ve probably<br />
had lapses in behaviour since making your list.<br />
Don’t fret: “Backsliding is not a failure,” says<br />
Leslie Groene, author of Picture Yourself and<br />
the Life You Want. “It’s easy to see what we<br />
haven’t accomplished—and to forget the steps<br />
we’ve already taken. But, any effort or energy<br />
we spend focusing on the negative will only<br />
slow us down. Don’t be too fixated on dates<br />
either. There’s no difference between starting<br />
something on January 1 or March<br />
21. Here are more helpful hints from the<br />
author:<br />
Make it easier to succeed: Ask yourself why<br />
you broke your resolutions in the first place.<br />
Relapses tell you what you failed to account for.<br />
Did you fold in the presence of stress or<br />
temptations? What could you do differently?<br />
When you feel yourself sliding back into old<br />
behaviour, try distracting yourself with another<br />
healthier activity. Step outside for fresh air or<br />
call a friend to talk. Take a walk, spend time<br />
with your pets. Watch some comedy on<br />
television. Just do something, anything else.<br />
Draw a road map: Break lofty goals into<br />
manageable steps and your likelihood of success<br />
increases—tenfold. If you want to learn to do<br />
salsa, for example, you would write down: “Buy<br />
salsa shoes. Sign up for salsa class. Take 10<br />
lessons....<br />
“Once you’ve spelled out the details for<br />
yourself, you’ll be better able to visualize<br />
achieving your goal.<br />
Be your own cheer-leader: Buy a calendar<br />
and check off the days you work out, sew, take<br />
photos, and have lunch with a mentor or<br />
anything that gets you closer to your goal. Hold<br />
yourself accountable for further change. Set<br />
aside some time, daily or weekly, to review<br />
your progress and plan what you will do to<br />
move forward.<br />
Leave some wiggle room: Find solutions,<br />
not excuses. Can’t afford a vacation in a<br />
faraway locale? Shop, dine and dance like a<br />
tourist in your hometown. Is work interfering<br />
with your vow to increase family time? See if<br />
the kids can visit you at the office. Too busy<br />
to see friends you’ve sworn to catch up with?<br />
Ask them to run errands with you. It’s the<br />
end result that matters so don’t sweat the<br />
details.<br />
Use daily reminder: If you’d like to get into<br />
shape, paste full-length pictures of yourself<br />
on the fridge and bathroom mirror. For other<br />
resolutions, post phrases or affirmations all<br />
over the house. Seeing them every day will<br />
strengthen your resolve. Right before going<br />
to bed, repeat a mantra to yourself, for<br />
example: “I am a non-smoker now and<br />
forever” or” I am becoming thinner and<br />
thinner,” it’s like putting files into your<br />
subconscious. After 30 days, you’ll see<br />
yourself this way without even trying.<br />
Get pals involved: Enrol others in your<br />
success. Tell them what you’re doing and ask<br />
for their assistance. Your friends may be<br />
willing to go walking or take dance classes<br />
with you. They may also be a great source of<br />
moral support. If your resolution is to leave<br />
office earlier, for example, your friends could<br />
e-mail you something like “if it’s after 6p.m.,<br />
it’s time to go home.”<br />
Trick yourself: Small changes can reap big<br />
rewards. Resolved to walk more? Put sneakers<br />
next to the door. Want to save some money?<br />
Have it automatically deposited into a savings<br />
account every month. Vow to spend more time<br />
reading?<br />
Turn off the phone and TV. Build slowly on<br />
your successes by adding a new goal every<br />
month. You’ll be amazed at how much you<br />
accomplish. If you’re trying to eat healthier,<br />
start by increasing your water in-take.
36—Vanguard, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Twitter: @yetundearebi<br />
yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk<br />
08054700825<br />
Yetunde Arebi<br />
Little children acting the role of the<br />
father and mother is a very<br />
common game, especially where<br />
you have a couple of them growing up<br />
together in same vicinity. The older kids<br />
play the role of parents while the younger<br />
ones play the role of the children. They<br />
all try to re-enact as much as possible,<br />
what they observe in their different family<br />
settings. While the ‘father’ goes to work,<br />
the ‘mother’ often stays back at home to<br />
take care of the house chores as well as<br />
prepare meals for the ‘family’. The meal,<br />
mainly made of sand is served on pieces<br />
of paper for plates and everyone touches<br />
the sand to their chins to eat. What<br />
happens after this depends on what time<br />
of day is being acted out and what kind of<br />
environment the play is being staged,<br />
secluded or open. Usually, the house<br />
consists of two main rooms. They may be<br />
virtual or real, again, depending on the<br />
environment. The real rooms are usually<br />
divided with the wrappers of someone’s<br />
mother as curtains. The ‘children’ sleep<br />
on one side of the divide while the<br />
‘parents’ sleep on the other. Now, what<br />
takes place in ‘father’ and ‘mother’s room<br />
depend largely on the intelligence,<br />
exposure or awareness and smartness of<br />
the two actors. Many young people<br />
experienced their first kisses and more<br />
behind these curtains.<br />
While visiting a dear close friend at her<br />
home, a couple of years ago, we were<br />
forced to sit on the terrace to gist and play<br />
catch up, because the PHCN had decided<br />
to do what it knows best to do. Her last<br />
child, a four year old boy also had a visitor,<br />
a little girl from their compound who had<br />
come over to play. As we discussed, we<br />
could hear their voices and laughter from<br />
where we were until everything became<br />
quiet suddenly. Perhaps acting on instinct<br />
or just motherly intuition, my friend<br />
asked for permission to go and check on<br />
them. Then, I heard her calling out to me<br />
frantically to come and see something. I<br />
rushed in to find the two children<br />
standing just feet apart from each other,<br />
both with funny looks on their faces.<br />
“What happened”, I asked my friend.<br />
“Can’t you see what is happening here”<br />
she said, pointing to the children and<br />
winking downwards to the direction she<br />
wanted me to look at. I quickly scrutinized<br />
the scene and concluded that something<br />
bad had been interrupted here. My friend<br />
began laughing very hard, pointing to her<br />
son’s now extremely shrunken penis and<br />
the little girl who clutched on to her<br />
knickers in her hand as if her life<br />
depended on it. As my friend kept asking<br />
her son what happened and who took off<br />
his shorts, he just kept looking straight<br />
while pointing his forefinger at the girl.<br />
Initially, I did not quite understand what<br />
was happening but when it finally clicked,<br />
I did not understand why my friend was<br />
laughing and praising her four year old<br />
son for being such a fast Houdini. I found<br />
nothing funny about it.<br />
One major mistake parents of the boy<br />
child make is to erroneously believe in<br />
the alpha male syndrome. Such parents<br />
believe that they have no problems since<br />
their boys can never get pregnant from<br />
their sexual escapades, neither will they<br />
be frowned at or socially stigmatized as<br />
loose and bad boys. So when incidents<br />
such as this happens, they take a standoffish<br />
posture, leaving the girl and her<br />
parents to take the fall, just as my friend<br />
was doing. My Miss-do-good attitude<br />
took over and I just had to let my friend<br />
see things from another perspective. A<br />
little girl already engaging in the<br />
“Cowgirl position” with her male friend<br />
could not have conjured this all by herself.<br />
She must have either seen her parents<br />
having sex or someone else had been<br />
teaching her these moves secretly. This<br />
meant that she was either being abused<br />
or exposed to such by an adult. My second<br />
position was that, should an adult be<br />
involved in this unfortunate incident, then<br />
the poor girl might have been exposed to<br />
STDs, including HIV/AIDS. In that case<br />
too, her son was also in serious danger, I<br />
told my friend. “God forbid”, she cried,<br />
“it is not my portion”. But it can be, I<br />
Catching them<br />
young<br />
The role of many<br />
parents and caregivers<br />
as sex educators<br />
changes as young<br />
people get older and are<br />
provided with more<br />
opportunities to receive<br />
formal sex education<br />
through schools and<br />
community settings<br />
insisted, so it was important that the little<br />
girl’s parents be informed so that they<br />
could conduct a thorough investigation.<br />
If this problem was not seriously<br />
addressed, there is no telling what could<br />
become of the girl as she grows older. By<br />
the time I was done, we were heading<br />
to the little girl’s flat. What we<br />
uncovered at the end of the day, is a<br />
story for another day.<br />
While the girl child may remain the<br />
endangered specie all of her lifetime,<br />
the boy child will remain the sound<br />
board for whatever falls out of any<br />
unwholesome alliance between the<br />
sexes. And then, the beat goes on. That<br />
is why sex education for young people<br />
is compulsory, rather than necessary.<br />
Both sexes must be well grounded if<br />
we intend to do a good job for both<br />
society and humanity.<br />
When Lizzy returned from a business<br />
trip to Abuja and was informed that her<br />
seven year old niece who was spending<br />
the holidays with them had been<br />
caught under the sheets with her five<br />
year old son, she almost whipped him<br />
into a pulp. She said, “I can’t<br />
remember for how long or how many<br />
times I whipped him with the belt as I<br />
had lost control of myself. My<br />
house help and younger<br />
sister had to hold me and<br />
retrieved the belt. As I was<br />
whipping him, I was crying<br />
at the same time. I was afraid<br />
that a little mistake could<br />
ruin his life and ultimately<br />
ours too. I did not touch my<br />
niece at all. I simply called<br />
her mother, who is my sister<br />
to come and remove her from<br />
my house before I killed her.<br />
I was alarmed when our<br />
mother tried to play the<br />
matter off lightly, insisting it<br />
was just a game and that most<br />
children engage in it. She<br />
insisted it was nothing to be<br />
scared about and that I was<br />
taking things too seriously”.<br />
On investigation, they<br />
discovered that a teenage<br />
boy in their compound had<br />
been abusing her and giving<br />
her money, biscuits and<br />
sweets for her cooperation.<br />
My sister wanted to call in<br />
the Police but my mother<br />
again prevailed on her,<br />
arguing that she will only<br />
bring herself to ridicule in the<br />
neighbourhood. That was<br />
how the matter died, but it<br />
was how the issue of anyone<br />
spending their holidays in my<br />
house also died”, she told me<br />
during a conversation.<br />
Sex education that works<br />
starts early, before young<br />
people reach puberty, and<br />
before they have developed<br />
established patterns of<br />
behaviour. The precise age at<br />
which information should be<br />
provided depends on the<br />
physical, emotional and<br />
intellectual development of<br />
the young people as well as<br />
their level of understanding.<br />
What is covered and also<br />
how, depends on who is<br />
providing the sex education,<br />
when they are providing it,<br />
and in what context, as well<br />
as what the individual young<br />
person wants to know or needs to know<br />
about.<br />
It is important for sex education to<br />
begin at a young age and also that it is<br />
sustained. Despite recent increased<br />
awareness, many parents still find it<br />
difficult or think it is inappropriate to<br />
discuss sex with their children. I have<br />
seen parents who prevent their children<br />
from watching even kissing scenes on<br />
the Television rather than take time to<br />
explain what it means to them and why<br />
they are not to engage in any forms of<br />
sexual intimacy with the opposite sex.<br />
We often forget that these children have<br />
access to the television and many other<br />
media channels when our backs are<br />
turned. Giving young people basic<br />
information from an early age provides<br />
the foundation on which more complex<br />
knowledge is built up over time. For<br />
example, when they are very young, such<br />
as in the case above, children can be<br />
informed about how people grow and<br />
change over time, and how babies<br />
become children and then adults, and<br />
this provides the basis on which they<br />
understand more detailed information<br />
about puberty provided in the preteenage<br />
years. They can also when they<br />
are young, be provided with information<br />
about viruses and germs that attack the<br />
body. This provides the basis for talking<br />
to them later about infections that can<br />
be caught through sexual contact.<br />
Indeed, many are against the teaching<br />
of sex education to young people. They<br />
are concerned that providing information<br />
about sex and sexuality arouses curiosity<br />
and can lead to sexual experimentation.<br />
However, in a review of 48 studies of<br />
comprehensive sex and STD/HIV<br />
education programmes in some selected<br />
US schools, there was found to be strong<br />
evidence that such programmes really<br />
did not increase sexual activity. Rather,<br />
some of them reduced sexual activity, or<br />
increased rates of condom use or other<br />
contraceptives, or both. It is important<br />
to remember that young people can store<br />
up information provided at any time, for<br />
a time when they need it later on.<br />
So, when must we start? This is a<br />
question often asked by many parents I<br />
interact with. Sometimes it can be<br />
difficult for adults to know when to raise<br />
issues, but the important thing is to<br />
maintain an open relationship with<br />
children which provides them with<br />
opportunities to ask questions when they<br />
have them. Parents and caregivers can<br />
also be proactive and engage young<br />
people in discussions about sex,<br />
sexuality and relationships. Naturally,<br />
many parents and their children feel<br />
embarrassed to talk about some aspects<br />
of sex and sexuality. Viewing sex<br />
education as an on-going conversation<br />
about values, attitudes and issues as<br />
well as providing facts can be helpful.<br />
The best basis to proceed is a sound<br />
relationship in which a young person<br />
feels able to ask a question or raise<br />
an issue if they feel they need to.<br />
Research has shown that in counties<br />
like The Netherlands, where families<br />
regard it as an important<br />
responsibility to talk openly with<br />
children about sex and sexuality, this<br />
contributes to greater cultural<br />
openness about sex, sexuality and<br />
improved sexual health among young<br />
people.<br />
The role of many parents and<br />
caregivers as sex educators changes<br />
as young people get older and are<br />
provided with more opportunities to<br />
receive formal sex education through<br />
schools and community settings.<br />
However, it does not get any less<br />
important. Because sex education in<br />
school tends to take place in small<br />
time-blocks and can’t always address<br />
issues relevant to young people at a<br />
particular time, parents can therefore<br />
fulfill a particularly important role in<br />
providing information and opportunities<br />
to discuss things as they arise.<br />
Do have a wonderful weekend!!
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—37<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K<br />
Continues from pg 16<br />
you look at all these tiny countries in West<br />
Africa, are they even bigger than Anambra<br />
State, how much more the five eastern states<br />
assuming it comes to that? Senegal, the<br />
Gambia, Benin Republic, Ghana and the rest<br />
of them put together! What is our population?<br />
What is even the land space as it is? If our<br />
people determine today, that this area at the<br />
border between Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo<br />
and Enugu, where you have this cattle market<br />
(Lokpanta) and the rest of them, create that<br />
area and call it a community of its own; give<br />
it a charter for 50 years and you will see<br />
another Dubai there. It is possible to transform<br />
this place called South East within five years.<br />
Even Israel, what is their population; what is<br />
their land mass? The issue really is the<br />
principle of self- determination. That has to<br />
be accepted. This idea that some chaps are<br />
asking for this and you start shooting them<br />
down, that is unlawful, that is not helpful; you<br />
are alienating people more and more and<br />
therefore creating tension. That is not a way<br />
to build a nation, common nationality and<br />
identity; that is not the way! I have said it before<br />
that coercion; that is force, has never held any<br />
country together. Look at the old British<br />
Empire, look at all empires all over the world,<br />
they have come and gone. Even the so called<br />
modern empires, those who disintegrated a<br />
few years ago… Sometimes I get worried that<br />
people are not coming up constructively with<br />
suggestions on how to make this country one<br />
country. With common identity you can<br />
transform this country but not with a unitary<br />
system of government.<br />
What do you think should be done with the<br />
resolutions of the National Conference under<br />
former President Goodluck Jonathan?<br />
Government succeeds government and that<br />
is part of the problem we are talking about.<br />
The main problem this country is facing now<br />
is restructuring the country. Whatever you are<br />
coming up with, whatever policies and<br />
programs you are coming with, unless you<br />
restructure this country, you are going<br />
nowhere. So let us face the issue facing us.<br />
Whether it is parliamentary, presidential,<br />
whether this section will produce the president<br />
or not, the point we have on the floor here is<br />
look, let’s restructure Nigeria!<br />
What are the benefits of this restructuring?<br />
You want to survive as a country, sense of<br />
belonging; every person will now have a sense<br />
of belonging and brings out his best. The<br />
constituent units will now come out with<br />
programmes, transform their areas just as we<br />
did in the 50s and there will be development<br />
really in all ramifications. When you talk<br />
about development, it includes human<br />
development, economic development,<br />
infrastructure and all that. You cannot do it<br />
under this unitary system. What is the essence<br />
of government, is it not about human<br />
development? You cannot do it unless you<br />
have appropriate structure and that is what<br />
we are saying that the structure is not there,<br />
therefore you are just dancing in a circle.<br />
Is it correct to say that the north is shying<br />
away from restructuring because it involves<br />
resource control which may put them at a<br />
disadvantage?<br />
Yes it involves resource control but they won’t<br />
be disadvantaged. The latent energy is there,<br />
you will be surprised! Even this cattle thing<br />
we are talking about, they will establish<br />
ranches there and we will go there and buy.<br />
They will produce more milk from the cows<br />
which is what Argentina is doing. There are<br />
minerals that are not tapped and so many<br />
things. The point is that each unit will now be<br />
challenged to mobilize its resources and so<br />
on and you will see rapid development in all<br />
dimensions. I have no doubt about that.<br />
Do you know why the South East<br />
Governors have not been having their<br />
meetings for almost two years now?<br />
We have mediated on that. The Igbo leaders<br />
of Thought have gone to see three governors<br />
so far and we made suggestions. This is part<br />
of the disturbing development we are having<br />
and it tells a lot about the qualities and<br />
characters of the present leadership, but we’ve<br />
been appealing to them that it is in their interest<br />
that they meet. Like I said we have gone to<br />
three governors, we have sent letters for<br />
appointment and we are waiting for the other<br />
two. We have gone to three states. We are<br />
waiting for appointments from two.<br />
Did they tell you why they are not meeting?<br />
•Prof Elochukwu<br />
Amucheazi<br />
If you ask Ndigbo to<br />
vote again today and<br />
Jonathan is in the race,<br />
they will vote for him.<br />
Never mind all these<br />
shenanigans. You are<br />
talking about APC and<br />
these, they don’t even<br />
understand<br />
How do you think they will tell me?<br />
What did you deduce from that?<br />
What do you think yourself? I said it shows<br />
the quality of leadership. There maybe one or<br />
two of them that may not cooperate with others,<br />
it is possible. It is unfortunate. If they see<br />
themselves truly as leaders of Ndigbo, they<br />
should know what Ndigbo stand for and want.<br />
People have said some of them are so selfcentred,<br />
they are not really bothered. It’s a pity.<br />
What will you suggest as a way out for them?<br />
We are praying they overcome whatever the<br />
obstacles are and see the wisdom in coming<br />
together.<br />
Based on the alleged marginalization of the<br />
South East by the present administration, do<br />
you think Igbo should regret voting for<br />
Jonathan in 2015?<br />
How can a President have that kind of opinion<br />
if truly he is a president of Nigeria? Did he ever<br />
say that (he will carter for the 95 percent that<br />
voted for him more than the five percent that<br />
didn’t vote for him?) Do you expect every person<br />
to support one particular person? Till tomorrow,<br />
if you ask Ndigbo to vote again today and<br />
Jonathan is in the race, they will vote for him.<br />
Never mind all these shenanigans. You are<br />
talking about APC and these, they don’t even<br />
understand.<br />
Why do you think some people are joining<br />
the APC?<br />
It is understandable. You have to analyse the<br />
characters that are joining APC; they want to<br />
join the government in power. Are they joining<br />
“ Why Igbo<br />
Governors<br />
cannot lead<br />
Ndigbo”<br />
because of Ndigbo, are they there to<br />
defend the interest of IPOB, MASSOB,<br />
the generality of Ndigbo or are they going<br />
because of their personal interest? These<br />
are the issues. It is in their own perception<br />
about themselves in the context of Igbo<br />
interest. All in their personal interests!<br />
These are some of the issues we must think<br />
of. It is freedom of association. If you think<br />
you have electoral value but when the time<br />
comes, some of them may even lose their<br />
wards. If the APC gives the impression<br />
that it is anti-Igbo as symbolized by the<br />
President who described five percent and<br />
95 percent of supporters as the way he is<br />
going to distribute resources, do you think<br />
the people will be quick in supporting<br />
these fellows in spite of all their sermons<br />
and untenable arguments that you just<br />
belong to get your entitlements? Even<br />
some of them who are there what<br />
portfolios were they given, are they really<br />
recognized? Are they really taken<br />
seriously? I was told of one of them who<br />
has been struggling to see the president<br />
and they wouldn’t even allow him and he<br />
is preaching to people that you have to<br />
get there; join for you to belong. You think<br />
these people you are seeking their<br />
friendship don’t know who you are?<br />
What kind of social mobilization do<br />
people need in this political confusion?<br />
What political confusion? It’s all over<br />
the world. You have a foreign system of<br />
government foisted on you; you are being<br />
told you have to learn how to operate the<br />
constitution. That’s why we are confused<br />
between presidential and parliamentary<br />
systems, the electoral system and all kinds<br />
of problem but if we get the structure right,<br />
I can tell you that proper leadership will<br />
emerge and we move forward, there won’t<br />
be that kind of confusion you fear.<br />
Some critics have accused President<br />
Buhari of allegedly fighting corruption<br />
in both the Legislature and the Judiciary<br />
with insecticides but using deodorant to<br />
fight same malaise in the Executive, with<br />
the kid gloves on the Secretary to the<br />
Government of the Federation, SGF, and<br />
the EFCC Acting Chairman as<br />
examples. What is your opinion on this?<br />
What is still surprising me is that Magu<br />
is still parading himself as the acting<br />
chairman of EFCC. I am surprised<br />
because if you are not confirmed after six<br />
months in an office, you automatically<br />
cease to retain your position and almost<br />
one year and his papers were thrown out<br />
and so he ought to go. We understand they<br />
have re-submitted the papers but why he<br />
is still there is what I don’t understand.<br />
My own way of looking at it is to ask<br />
whether the government is really fighting<br />
corruption. As I said before, political<br />
corruption is even worse than the so called<br />
economic corruption.<br />
If you look at the appointments Buhari<br />
has made, you will find out that they are<br />
tilted to one side.<br />
In the first 41 appointments made, the<br />
armed forces, security agencies and the<br />
rest of them, do you have any Igbo man<br />
there? So what is corruption then?<br />
Economic corruption is all over the world<br />
particularly in a capitalist system.<br />
Every government fights corruption<br />
and I expected Buhari to evolve a system<br />
of convincing every person that he is really<br />
fighting corruption. Some of his close<br />
aides have been mentioned . We are<br />
watching; Nigeria is watching and the<br />
whole world is watching and that is why<br />
people are not convinced that there is<br />
serious commitment to this fight against<br />
corruption. Look at the problems that we<br />
are now having about the Chief Justice<br />
of the Federation. Few days to the<br />
expiration of his service, people are saying<br />
why should it take this time for his papers<br />
to be forwarded to the Senate?<br />
What message do you think the<br />
President is conveying when he has<br />
travelled severally over medical issues<br />
yet his government discourages<br />
patronage of foreign goods?<br />
Objectively, the President should have<br />
the best treatment. To be honest, the<br />
standard of medicare here is not the same<br />
as that of the countries overseas. I don’t<br />
approve that he should not travel on<br />
medical grounds<br />
But the President pledged to end<br />
medical tourism<br />
Who said he has not shown<br />
commitment? Is it because he went for<br />
treatment overseas? There are still others<br />
going outside to receive treatment even<br />
when they are not presidents. I think we<br />
should be more open-minded in this kind<br />
of a thing.<br />
Do you believe in the think home<br />
imitative for the Igbo?<br />
But it has been there; remember that<br />
the former governor of Anambra State,<br />
Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife has a think<br />
home philosophy estate. Go to the<br />
villages, everybody has a house there;<br />
even those who before did not think about<br />
coming back to the East.<br />
Igbo are cosmopolitan in nature; we<br />
are everywhere in the world but that<br />
doesn’t mean they forget their homes. So<br />
when people talk about think home, they<br />
are saying come and build your factories<br />
here. We accept the country as a nation<br />
and everywhere we are we feel at home<br />
but that doesn’t mean we must all come<br />
home. I wish others will appreciate and<br />
behave like Ndigbo.<br />
You don’t see an Hausa or Yoruba man<br />
owning a house in Enugu but our people<br />
are everywhere. What about all these<br />
multi-nationals that are owned by the<br />
British and the rest, they are also<br />
everywhere.<br />
What about the factories, Dunlop and<br />
the rest, they are owned by foreigners, so<br />
it doesn’t mean you cannot invest<br />
elsewhere but what people are saying is<br />
because of the non- acceptance of Ndigbo,<br />
hostility to Ndigbo, bitterness against<br />
Ndigbo, that in spite of whatever we do,<br />
you discriminate against us, you don’t<br />
give us equal rights and citizenship. Look<br />
at what they did in the census, they<br />
scrapped ethnic identity.<br />
How do you do that kind of a thing? So<br />
you do everything possible to humiliate<br />
and destroy our psyche. That is why we<br />
say, look, stop investing elsewhere come<br />
home and invest.
38—SATURDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Stories by Moses Nosike<br />
Quality specie of plantain and<br />
banana can make emerging<br />
farmers successful, and they also<br />
have a large local and foreign<br />
market. The plantain thrives under<br />
harsh farming conditions in en<br />
vironment where the quality of soil<br />
is poor. The specie develops bigger<br />
fruits at very low cost, enabling<br />
plantain farmers in these areas to<br />
farm commercially.<br />
Managing Director, Jovana<br />
Farm, Prince Arinze Onnebuna,<br />
said, “In 2010, demand for plantain<br />
increased by 280% and since then<br />
till now the demand has steadily<br />
increased. The increase in demand<br />
has affected the price in Nigeria, and<br />
there is shortage in supply because<br />
farmers are only few growing it.<br />
According to him, plantain<br />
farming is money spinning and at<br />
the same time, can create jobs for<br />
our teaming unemployed youths. We<br />
must look in the direction of<br />
agriculture to solve the challenges<br />
of unemployment in the country,<br />
reduce crime and promote<br />
economic growth.<br />
However, “our concern and efforts<br />
this season is to meet the ever<br />
increasing demand for quality<br />
plantain suckers to enable farmers<br />
produce more. Not only is the<br />
production capacity low, most<br />
plantain farmers are not producing<br />
up to standard. They’re still farming<br />
Group Managing Director/<br />
CEO, Eliel Group of<br />
Companies, Mrs Damilola Adefemi<br />
has urged the Federal Government<br />
to initiate schemes that will provide<br />
shelter for the citizens considering<br />
the country’s growing population.<br />
Speaking with Saturday<br />
Vanguard, Mrs Adefemi said a<br />
subsidiary of the company, Shadop<br />
International Properties Limited<br />
has been encouraging Nigerians in<br />
abroad to invest at home by<br />
acquiring and developing landed<br />
property.<br />
The company which operates in<br />
Nigeria, Ghana, Dubai and US<br />
provides services and consultation<br />
BUSINESS GUIDE<br />
ranging from planning, design,<br />
approvals, construction, renovation,<br />
sales, letting and property facility<br />
management. Its years of integrity<br />
and trust in providing building<br />
services has attracted Nigerians in<br />
diaspora to invest in the country and<br />
many Nigerians abroad are now<br />
owning properties at home while in<br />
the US, Canada, France, UK, etc.<br />
through Shadop International<br />
Properties Limited.<br />
Plantain ain sucker<br />
ers, most t lucrative<br />
aspect of farming<br />
•snail<br />
with poor quality specie of plantain<br />
that is not sustainable”.<br />
“As at the moment, we have huge<br />
orders to supply plantain suckers,<br />
fruits, flour, etc to many farmers and<br />
food processors. This is a huge<br />
supply that has kept us working<br />
harder on ways to meet the demand<br />
because there are not enough<br />
farmers.<br />
When I looked at the capacity of<br />
my farm and the farms we have setup<br />
and the ones we are currently<br />
managing, I see the huge gap<br />
between the quantity buyers need<br />
and what I have. Also not all farms<br />
have what the market needs.<br />
Currently, we have thousands of<br />
Cameroon hybrid plantain and<br />
banana suckers available for sale<br />
to farmers. This is to encourage<br />
more people to venture into<br />
plantain business.<br />
Plantain occupies a strategic<br />
Shadop building dream homes for<br />
Nigerians in diaspora<br />
According to Damilola Adefemi,<br />
“we also help clients determine fair<br />
values for property to be sold or<br />
purchased to ensure proper values<br />
for money spent”.<br />
In addition, Adefemi said, “since<br />
we realised the importance of<br />
investing at home from any part of<br />
the world especially acquisition of<br />
landed properties and development,<br />
Shadop International Properties, a<br />
specialist in building houses for<br />
Nigerians in Diaspora has helped<br />
many of them to think home and<br />
their families with the country<br />
benefiting from such investment”.<br />
So, “we take up the full<br />
responsibility from land acquisition<br />
in viable areas or specific locations<br />
required by our clients and we<br />
provide the necessary designs and<br />
government building approvals and<br />
subsequently develop the properties<br />
according to cash flow pattern and<br />
financial ability of the clients. And<br />
we ensure that our services are<br />
absolutely affordable and cheaper<br />
than other options.<br />
Discussing further on the<br />
position for rapid food production<br />
in Nigeria; it is ranked third among<br />
starchy staple foods. Production still<br />
remains largely in the hands of<br />
small scale producers who, over the<br />
years, have ingeniously integrated<br />
into various cropping systems.<br />
Plantain farming has<br />
tremendously increased the income<br />
of farmers in the last few years,<br />
unlike some other starchy food that<br />
demand tends to fall with rising<br />
income.<br />
In addition, there exists suitable<br />
plantain farming sites in different<br />
parts of the country. As little as one<br />
plot of land or more could be<br />
engaged under small or large scale<br />
farming, while several hectares<br />
have the potential of producing<br />
many tonnes per hectares a year with<br />
the right species of plantain. Our<br />
high-yielding plantain suckers is<br />
creating millionaires.<br />
Plantain suckers are one of the<br />
m o s t<br />
lucrative<br />
aspects of<br />
plantain<br />
farming.<br />
T h e<br />
multiplication<br />
is high as<br />
o n e<br />
mature<br />
plantain<br />
economic value of the company’s service in Nigeria,<br />
Adefemi, said, “we are adding substantial economic<br />
value to Nigeria in terms of shelter by successfully<br />
building houses in various parts of Nigeria for all<br />
Nigerians in diaspora who at one point or the other<br />
had been frustrated and defrauded by friends and<br />
relatives in the course of trying to build houses on<br />
their behalf. These funds are coming from overseas<br />
into the Nigerian real estate sector of the economy<br />
and providing employment for Nigerians and<br />
generating sales to improve the country’s GDP”.<br />
However, because we deliver first class quality<br />
services and we don’t compromise our integrity<br />
because we want to remain on top of real estate<br />
market and competition in Nigeria and beyond, we<br />
work in collaboration with other global property<br />
companies like Damac Properties in Dubai and<br />
Christie’s International. We also work in tandem<br />
with our affiliated companies like Eliel Jerahmeal<br />
Nigeria Limited which handles our construction<br />
works and provide elevators and escalators to<br />
achieve desired results and that empowers us to<br />
deliver as at and when due with same standard as<br />
obtained in other countries we operate”.<br />
Shadop International Properties Limited is a<br />
subsidiary of Eliel Group of Companies and we<br />
solicit that the Federal Government should come<br />
up with schemes that would provide shelter for its<br />
citizens considering the growing population”,<br />
Adefemi said.<br />
Nobel Carpe<br />
pets and Floors partner VConnect on SME<br />
Nigeria’s leading carpets and<br />
floor solutions manufacturer,<br />
Nobel Carpets and floors has once<br />
again shown its commitment to the<br />
development of small and medium<br />
scale enterprises in Nigeria, as it<br />
recently partnered VConnect<br />
Global Services to host the first of<br />
its kind SME conference 1.0 held<br />
recently in Lagos.<br />
The event which brought<br />
together diverse budding<br />
entrepreneurs from different<br />
parts of the country, had<br />
facilitators from Paga,<br />
Businessday, Seedvest, and other<br />
small and medium scale<br />
entrepreneurs in attendance, and<br />
they spoke on topics ranging from<br />
essentials of starting a business to<br />
growing your business, accessing<br />
funds, business partnerships etc.<br />
The General Manager, Nobel<br />
Carpets and Floors, Mr. Jitesh<br />
•Plantain farming is part of agriculture that can benefit investors<br />
Pamnani who spoke at the event, said<br />
that the SME conference 1.0 is a<br />
platform through which the firm<br />
seeks to support and grow small<br />
scale businesses within the country<br />
through knowledge acquisition and<br />
mentoring from established<br />
entrepreneurs.<br />
“As an organization, we desire<br />
to eradicate the challenge of<br />
unemployment and business<br />
failure ravaging our society and<br />
this we plan to achieve through<br />
training and information<br />
gathering platforms such as this<br />
where young minds and start-ups<br />
can have the opportunity to<br />
interact with business leaders,<br />
thereby gain knowledge and<br />
strength needed to keep pursuing<br />
their ideas and growing their<br />
businesses no matter the<br />
challenges that may erupt over<br />
time,” Pamnani said.<br />
Pamnani added that, “with as little<br />
as Thirty thousand naira, individuals<br />
can also become partners with Nobel<br />
Carpets and Floors; and this is no<br />
doubt a viable business opportunity,<br />
as the brand is known, trusted and<br />
accepted across West Africa.”<br />
Pamnani therefore urged the<br />
budding entrepreneurs to remain<br />
focused and open-minded to ideas,<br />
information and opportunities which<br />
are essential for growth and success in<br />
the competitive world of<br />
entrepreneurship.<br />
Also speaking at the event, The<br />
Founder, VConnect Global Services,<br />
Mr. Deepankar Rustagi, stated that the<br />
conference was organized to teach<br />
small and medium scale enterprise<br />
owners on how to have an effective<br />
online presence and how to grow their<br />
businesses online to yield great returns<br />
on investment.<br />
can produce seven suckers or more.<br />
Plantain is a major source of<br />
carbohydrate for many people in<br />
Nigeria. In fact, all stages of the fruits<br />
from immature to overripe are used<br />
as a source of food. The immature<br />
fruits are peeled, sliced, dried and<br />
made into powder and consumed.<br />
The mature fruits are consumed<br />
boiled, steamed, baked, pounded,<br />
roasted, or sliced and fried into<br />
chips. A bunch of plantain cost<br />
between<br />
N1, 000 to N1, 300 depending on<br />
the size and specie.<br />
However, being a perishable food<br />
item, substantial quantities rot away<br />
in a short period after harvest<br />
because farmers plant, harvest and<br />
at the same time flood the markets<br />
with the produce.<br />
Investors can make huge profit by<br />
setting-up a suitable processing<br />
technology to convert plantain into<br />
powder form; as there is a ready<br />
market within and outside Nigeria<br />
for plantain flour.<br />
Choose also the nearest venue from<br />
the advert box in this page<br />
BUSINESS GUIDE<br />
Coca-Cola, World Economic Forum<br />
empower Uyo with $10,000 grant<br />
Coca-Cola, World Economic Forum recently announced Uyo 2016<br />
Winner of the Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant<br />
Challenge. This competition was an initiative of World Economic Forum<br />
to promote education for sustainable development in communities.<br />
However, the Uyo Hub of the Global Shapers Community would<br />
receive a total of $10,000 grant for its educational project, “Education<br />
for Sustainable Development”. The funding from Coca-Cola would<br />
help build libraries, educational infrastructure for underprivileged<br />
students in the country. Global Shapers seeks to improve infrastructure<br />
in schools, quality training and provide learning tools for education.<br />
Mmanti Umoh of the Uyo Global Shapers Hub, said, “Our hunger for<br />
better education in this state should never stop. We need to be focused to<br />
enable Akwa Ibom students pursue their right to education by eliminating<br />
those barriers facing them and ensuring that activities and programmes<br />
are innovative, evidence-based and sustainable. This is the foundation<br />
that would make Akwa Ibom great and the key ingredient for global<br />
competition. “Education in Akwa Ibom needs to become better to meet<br />
the demands of the global marketplace”.<br />
President, Coca-Cola West Africa, Peter Njonjo, said, “It is exciting to<br />
see young people demonstrate active interest and resourcefulness in<br />
developing innovative solutions for many of the challenges faced by our<br />
communities in Africa. This growing trend of social entrepreneurship is<br />
supported by the Coca-cola company in many ways, and I am particularly<br />
proud that two Global Shapers Hub in West Africa – Ghana and Uyo,<br />
Nigeria were selected as 2016 Winners of the Coca-Cola Shaping a<br />
Better Future Grant Challenge”.
Yinka Kolawole 08023722949<br />
seg_kola@yahoo.com<br />
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—39<br />
Elixir Global acquires 100% P&G’s<br />
Ibadan healthcare plant<br />
BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU<br />
Elixir Global Manufacturing<br />
Food Limited, a Nigerian<br />
entity operating under the Chanrai<br />
Summit Group, and a sister company<br />
of Fareast Mercantile Co Ltd, has<br />
made a 100 percent acquisition of the<br />
Procter & Gamble’s Ibadan<br />
Healthcare Plant.<br />
The plant covered by this<br />
transaction produces medicated<br />
throat drops well known and<br />
accepted in the Nigerian market<br />
under the brands Vicks Blue and<br />
Vicks Lemon Plus.<br />
Sivaswami Raghavan, a Director at<br />
Elixir, said that with the acquisition<br />
his company has also obtained the<br />
right to manufacture and sell these<br />
brands within Nigeria and the Sub-<br />
Sahara African markets, in exception<br />
of South Africa, through a Brand<br />
Licensing Agreement, BLA, valid up<br />
to 20 years.<br />
Additionally, the agreement also<br />
confers on the company “the rights<br />
to have these products and its<br />
variants manufactured in other third<br />
party manufacturing locations both<br />
within and outside Africa to meet with<br />
the specific requirements of the large<br />
market that it intends covering over<br />
the brand licensing period,”<br />
Raghavan said.<br />
The purchase of the Ibadan plant<br />
combined with the BLA, gives Elixir<br />
Global a ready made market to<br />
begin with and also provides the<br />
ability to launch both Vicks brands and<br />
other completely new brands in the<br />
large Sub-Saharan African marketplace<br />
including Nigeria.<br />
Khululiwe Mabaso, Head Corporate<br />
Communications/Associate Director,<br />
Procter & Gamble, Sub-Saharan Africa<br />
had this to say on this agreement:<br />
“P&G is delighted to partner with a<br />
local Nigerian party to continue<br />
building the Vicks brand not only in<br />
Nigeria but across many other parts<br />
of Africa.”<br />
Diamond Bank, Jumia Food set to delight customers<br />
Diamond Bank Plc has entered<br />
into partnership with Jumia<br />
Food to delight its customers with<br />
the food they love. The partnership<br />
kicked off with a customer loyalty<br />
campaign to ‘Diamond’s Xclusive’<br />
customers in Lagos and Abuja from<br />
the 19th of January, 2017 for a twomonth<br />
period.<br />
Commenting on the bank’s<br />
decision to embark on the<br />
partnership, Mrs Aishah Ahmad,<br />
Head, Consumer Banking, said, “At<br />
Diamond, we are committed to our<br />
beyond banking ethos which seeks<br />
to integrate banking with our<br />
customers’ lifestyles.<br />
“With this partnership, our<br />
‘Xclusive’ customers will enjoy 30<br />
per cent off their first order on Jumia<br />
Food, giving them access to the<br />
finest cuisines from Nigeria and<br />
across the world via over 200 select<br />
restaurants, delivered to their door”<br />
she said.<br />
Reiterating Aishah, Olamide<br />
Bada, Managing Director of Jumia<br />
Food said: “We recognize Diamond<br />
Bank as a premier financial<br />
institution, often at the forefront of<br />
innovation in order to benefit its<br />
customers. Our common goal is<br />
great customer experience, which<br />
makes this partnership mutually<br />
rewarding”.<br />
‘Unilever committed to Nigeria’s economic growth’<br />
BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU<br />
Unilever Africa President, Mr.<br />
Bruno Witvoet, has said that<br />
the company is committed to actively<br />
contribute to the economy and<br />
growth of the manufacturing sector<br />
in Nigeria.<br />
He said this when the<br />
management of the company visited<br />
Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam<br />
Nasir El-Rufai, where he told the<br />
governor that the company was<br />
ready to enhance the growth of the<br />
manufacturing sector to help grow<br />
the country’s economy.<br />
Witvoet commended the<br />
development strategy of the<br />
Governor of Kaduna State in<br />
ensuring the state is inclusive in<br />
economic growth and socio-economic<br />
transformation which translates into<br />
substantial improvements in the<br />
quality of lives of Kaduna citizens.<br />
He signed a Memorandum Of<br />
Understanding with the governor on<br />
the Kaduna Emergency Nutrition<br />
Action Plan (KADENAP) which is an<br />
initiative championed by the Wife of<br />
L-R: Frank Le Bris, Managing Director, Nigerite Limited; Arc. Adebayo Dipe,<br />
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Lagos State; Dirk Modderman,<br />
Managing Director, Emenite Limited and Banjo Abimbola, Sales Manager,<br />
Nigerite Limited, during the launch of KalsiClad by Nigerite at the company’s<br />
head office in Ikeja, Lagos<br />
the Governor, Hajia Aisha (Ummi)<br />
Garba El-Rufai aimed at tackling<br />
Anaemia/Malnutrition in the<br />
State.<br />
This is in furtherance to the<br />
company’s Sustainability Strategy-<br />
Unilever Sustainable Living Plan<br />
(USLP).<br />
In his response, Governor El-<br />
Rufai commended the company for<br />
their efforts in the sustainable<br />
development of Kaduna State. He<br />
reassured the team of the<br />
government’s assistance whenever<br />
there is an expansion plan within<br />
and outside the state.<br />
Dana bags air crew of the year award<br />
ADana Air crew member, Mrs Joy Odimgba, recently bagged the<br />
Air Crew of the Year award at the Nigeria Aviation Awards held<br />
at Welcome Centre, Airport road Lagos.<br />
Odimgba, while speaking to newsmen after the award said, “I am<br />
delighted to have won the award for Air Crew of the Year and this<br />
underscores the effort we put in daily to ensure that all our guests<br />
enjoy our award-winning hospitality on-board our flights. For us at<br />
Dana Air, our customers come first and we will continue to keep them<br />
smiling at every opportunity.”<br />
She dedicated the award to the entire Dana Air Crew and the<br />
Management for the constant training and retraining while urging<br />
passengers to take advantage of the airline’s customer-centric offers<br />
and rewards.<br />
Already in its 7th year, the Nigerian Aviation Awards is an annual<br />
award put together to recognize excellence in all spheres of the aviation<br />
industry.<br />
FirstBank gets global<br />
brands awards<br />
First Bank of Nigeria limited has<br />
won the “Best Banking Brand,<br />
Nigeria 2016” and “Best Banking<br />
Performer, Nigeria 2016” in the Global<br />
Brands Awards.<br />
The awards are instituted to identify<br />
and recognise the significance of<br />
exceptional service delivery and reward<br />
performance.<br />
According to Global Brands Magazine,<br />
the organizers of the award, the awards<br />
reflect the countless hours of time and<br />
efforts spent by FirstBank employees in<br />
achieving the vision of the company and<br />
making its customers happy.<br />
Group Head, Marketing and Corporate<br />
Communications, First Bank of Nigeria<br />
Limited, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, in<br />
a statement said: “The awards are a<br />
testament to FirstBank’s unwavering<br />
commitment to put customers first and at<br />
the heart of our business in line with our<br />
‘You First’ mantra. We will always deliver<br />
the ultimate ‘gold standard’ of value and<br />
excellence.<br />
“Our financial services knowledge and<br />
practices lead the market in ensuring that<br />
we understand our customers and surpass<br />
their expectations as we strive for a better<br />
way of delivering first-class service and<br />
experience.”<br />
NETSHOP rakes in<br />
N3m from half year<br />
operation<br />
BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU<br />
NETSHOP, an e-commerce and event<br />
ticketing platform, says it earned<br />
N3million ($6,000) in revenue by selling over<br />
350 items, reached about a million people<br />
and listed over 20 products on its website.<br />
NETSHOP Founder, Ayeni Adekunle,<br />
during the review of the activities of the e-<br />
shop in Lagos, said the platform made<br />
N3million, ($6,000) from its six months of<br />
operation, sold over 350 items, reached about<br />
a million people and listed over 20 products<br />
on its website.<br />
“We are creating opportunities for those<br />
who love entertainment to be able to<br />
conveniently access the products they want;<br />
be it tickets to events, merchandise, books,<br />
and everything else. We wanted to place<br />
entertainment products right where there’s<br />
demand for them - on entertainment platforms<br />
where their consumers come to regularly,” he<br />
said.<br />
The netng has over 20 million users across<br />
our different platforms, so we thought there’s<br />
no better place to discuss, say, a new 2face<br />
Idibia perfume line, a Mercy Johnson hair<br />
product, a Wizkid concert, or a Julius Agwu<br />
book”, he noted.<br />
Usually, most event planners complain of<br />
poor corporate sponsorship with many<br />
artistes unable to go on tours or host their<br />
own shows, while those who do are unable to<br />
sell to their real fans until event day. Events in<br />
Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are<br />
dominated by “VVIP” tables mostly sold to<br />
corporates and money-bags.<br />
In 2016, that trend changed a bit, with the<br />
coming of platforms like NETSHOP. From<br />
awards, shows to music concerts, over 45<br />
percent of attendees bought their tickets<br />
online, with most of the NETSHOP events<br />
being sold out weeks before D-Day.<br />
As the trend continues, it is evident that<br />
growth opportunities still abound in Nigeria’s<br />
e-commerce sector for content publishers,<br />
particularly platforms that understand<br />
Nigerian entertainment consumers, and that<br />
have direct access to both fans and stars like<br />
NET does.<br />
NET is one of the few media companies<br />
placing a foot in e-commerce, testing the<br />
waters and hoping to develop new business<br />
areas to ensure survival at a time when<br />
advertising revenues continue to dwindle as<br />
seen in Google’s recent decision to pull 1.7<br />
billion ads off its network, he stated.
40—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
*Chibueze<br />
Henry<br />
(Vampire)<br />
REVEALED:<br />
How Vampire<br />
turned prison<br />
officials into<br />
errand boys<br />
•Shocking details of the escape of<br />
notorious kidnap kingpin, serial killer<br />
By Emma Nnadozie,<br />
Crime Editor<br />
The invasion of an Owerri<br />
High Court by a dare-devil<br />
gang of criminals, last<br />
week, and the subsequent rescue<br />
and release of suspected hardened<br />
criminals on trial could aptly be<br />
tagged ‘ The Day of the Jackal’<br />
from the epic thriller novel by<br />
celebrated English writer Frederick<br />
Forsyth. The auguries are hideous<br />
but intriguing.<br />
That penultimate Friday, the<br />
sanctity of the court was wantonly<br />
desecrated by a gang of gun-toting<br />
young men who stormed the<br />
premises in a commando-like<br />
manner, shooting from all fronts.<br />
At the end of the barely 30<br />
minutes operation, two persons lay<br />
dead. Many people, including<br />
prison officials were seriously<br />
injured. The invading criminals<br />
succeeded in escaping with their<br />
booty which turned out to be the<br />
dreaded and highly prized kidnap<br />
kingpin and acclaimed serial killer,<br />
Henry Chibueze alias Vampire.<br />
The notorious criminal, Henry, 30,<br />
from Nwangele LGA in Imo state,<br />
for long, bestrode the criminal<br />
scene in Nigeria like a colossus.<br />
In fact, his exploits and successes<br />
have continued to baffle and taunt<br />
security officials even after he was<br />
caged and kept in the cooler<br />
awaiting trial in Owerri prison.<br />
Before his arrest early 2016 by<br />
operatives of the Department of<br />
Security Services, DSS, Vampire<br />
was terrorizing both the Eastern,<br />
Southern and Western parts of the<br />
country unhindered. He was<br />
notorious for killing his victims after<br />
collecting ransom.<br />
The chilling bloody account of his<br />
operation in Lagos on February 16,<br />
2013, still remains a red dot in<br />
security circles. It was a day he<br />
stormed the home of his girlfriend,<br />
Sandra Ijedinma at Igando area of<br />
Lagos with an AK47 assault rifle<br />
and opened fire on everyone<br />
present in the apartment, killing<br />
his girlfriend, her elder sister,<br />
Praise Ozor and her two children.<br />
Not satisfied, Vampire proceeded<br />
to a nearby street where one of the<br />
elder sisters to Sandra resided and<br />
killed the woman and three of her<br />
children before fleeing from the<br />
He capitalized on the<br />
porosity of security in<br />
the prisons and<br />
turned himself into the<br />
‘Lord of the Manor’ –<br />
no thanks to gullible<br />
officials of the prisons<br />
scene.<br />
Days after perpetrating the evil,<br />
filled with vulgar obscenities and<br />
crude hoopla of the wantonly selfobsessed<br />
ragamuffin, Vampire still<br />
continued threatening to eliminate<br />
other remaining members of the<br />
family who had no option than to<br />
re-locate to an unknown place. His<br />
grouse was simply that the<br />
girlfriend and members of her family<br />
vehemently rejected his continued<br />
relationship with Sandra after<br />
discovering his deep involvement in<br />
crime. The whereabouts of the<br />
fleeing members of Sandra’s family<br />
still remain unknown till date as<br />
efforts they made to be protected by<br />
security agencies failed.<br />
However, while security agents<br />
spread their dragnets in search of the<br />
fleeing butcher in Lagos and<br />
environs, Vampire regrouped with<br />
his gang in Imo state and they<br />
coordinated several kidnappings in<br />
the South East and South- South<br />
areas of the country. At the last<br />
count, he was reputed to have<br />
kidnapped no fewer than 200<br />
persons, killing most of his victims<br />
including the wife of a royal father<br />
in Imo state and an official of the<br />
state Environmental Transformation<br />
Commission which yielded him<br />
about N5million in ransom. It was<br />
gathered that anti-kidnapping team<br />
from police headquarters in Abuja<br />
had cause to place a huge ransom<br />
on his head after combing virtually<br />
all the nooks and crannies of the<br />
criminal hideouts in the country<br />
searching for the highly prized<br />
criminal kingpin without success.<br />
Luck, however ran against him<br />
when he attempted to kidnap the<br />
tribunal Judges handling Election<br />
Petition in Imo state, at their lodge<br />
in Disney Hotels, along Onitsha-<br />
Owerri Road when operatives of the<br />
DSS, acting on a tip-off swooped on<br />
him. He managed to escape with<br />
bullet wounds and relocated to the<br />
house of his elder brother in Ohafia,<br />
Abia State to treat himself when men<br />
of the secret police eventually<br />
apprehended him. He was<br />
subsequently taken to court and<br />
remanded in Owerri Central Prison.<br />
While in the prison, Vampire,<br />
Continues on page 41
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—41<br />
Kidnapping is no longer a lucrative<br />
business in Abia State— CP Leye<br />
In the past, Abia state was well known for<br />
kidnapping that ravaged the area. It was<br />
notorious with big names in the kidnapping<br />
world like late Osisikankwu, who held sway in<br />
the entire length and breadth of the state and<br />
beyond until the long arms of the law caught up<br />
with him. However, after his demise, there were<br />
pockets of kidnappings. But the police helmsman<br />
in the state, Leye Oyebade has vowed that it is no<br />
longer going to be business as usual. He spoke<br />
with our Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie recently,<br />
in Umuahia.<br />
Excerpts;<br />
How we are fighting crime in Abia<br />
When I came on board as the commissioner<br />
of Police, Abia State, I rolled out a mission<br />
statement and a strategy to follow it with a view<br />
to ensuring that we bring crime and criminality<br />
to a tolerable level. And it is that agenda that<br />
I’m still following. I said then that we needed to<br />
combat headlong, heinous crimes such as<br />
kidnapping, child trafficking, armed robbery,<br />
cultism and the rest. So, we have been able to<br />
get the crime pattern and the trend of crime for<br />
each area of the state. After we have segmented<br />
it, we now devised a strategy to deal with these<br />
diverse crimes that are prevalent in the areas. To<br />
carry out his task, the government set up<br />
Conflicts Resolution Committee which I headed<br />
and the committee will be replicated in all the<br />
areas. If you go to Bende, Arochukwu and<br />
Uzuakoli local government area councils where<br />
clash between farmers and herdsmen is<br />
prevalent, we put mobile men on red alert and<br />
position them where the two sides are aware<br />
that mobile men are there. These are the<br />
preventive measures we have been able to adopt<br />
before we now engaged them on dialogue. You<br />
know the youths can be restive, but anytime they<br />
want to agitate, we use the Eminent Persons<br />
Forum, EPF, which the Inspector -General of<br />
Police has put in place to interface with them.<br />
Before they set out to fight, we would call the<br />
community leader and invite the youths and<br />
everything would be resolved. That’s why by the<br />
grace of God, we have not had anything like<br />
herdsmen over running the state. When it comes<br />
to kidnapping, we know the areas where this is<br />
prevalent. When you go to Aba, we set up our<br />
own intelligent network to know their modus<br />
operandi, their timing and escape route. They<br />
monitor us but we go ahead of them before they<br />
strike. So, we have been able to arrest them<br />
before they struck on three or four occasions.<br />
And when I paraded them, this is a signal to<br />
others that kidnapping is no longer a<br />
lucrative business in Abia State. They now<br />
know that the probability of the police<br />
arresting them is very high and no criminal<br />
wants to be arrested. That has really helped<br />
us<br />
Ċultism<br />
Coming to cultism, we found out that so<br />
many of our graduates are really into<br />
cultism and drug abuse. Let me be specific,<br />
we monitored a syndicate that would come<br />
from Akwa Ibom to steal vehicles in<br />
Umuahia especially on weekends and had<br />
their receivers in Akwa Ibom. When they<br />
came, we already knew their route. We<br />
arrested some of them and kept on picking<br />
other members of the syndicate who were<br />
at large. Our investigation showed that 80%<br />
of them are graduating students of Michael<br />
Okpara University. That was a worrisome<br />
trend and our strategy is to reach out.<br />
Among the EPF, we have religious bodies.<br />
So, we now started sensitizing and<br />
counselling them. We call it campus<br />
outreach. On such occasions at Abia<br />
Polytechnic, about 35 students renounced<br />
cultism. When we went there, we partnered<br />
with religious bodies and we were following<br />
them up. When they were having their<br />
students summit at the university, I went<br />
there and used the opportunity to talk to<br />
them. The Bible says the people perish for<br />
lack of knowledge. Some of them do not<br />
know why they are joining these cult groups.<br />
It gives us the opportunity to bring cultism<br />
to a manageable level.<br />
Armed robbery<br />
When you talk of armed robbery, the<br />
strategic location of our Safer High Way<br />
Vehicles gives us the opportunity to manage<br />
crimes on our highways. When I came on<br />
board, we had challenges at Ogonabo, but<br />
strategically, I had to change some officers<br />
there, the DPO and the management of that<br />
axis and we have been able to fortify that.<br />
We also relocated the positioning of the<br />
vehicle because we now noticed that in<br />
places where we have bad roads, especially<br />
when you are getting to our boundary with<br />
River State, that is where these boys will go<br />
and hide in the night when vehicles are<br />
coming early in the night or morning and<br />
come out to rob them. We now noticed<br />
that and stationed our Safer High<br />
Way vehicles there and<br />
stopped their excesses. We<br />
also stationed our vehicles<br />
in our exit route with<br />
Enugu State where there<br />
are bad roads because<br />
that is where they do come<br />
out. So, it’s just to study the<br />
pattern and trend of crime<br />
and manage it because<br />
criminals don’t want to be<br />
caught. .<br />
Synergy at work<br />
Last Christmas and<br />
during the New Year<br />
celebration, we had many<br />
Abians who came home and our intelligence<br />
network was very helpful. We also synergized<br />
with other security agencies as no man is an<br />
island and nobody has monopoly of<br />
knowledge. We share information vertically<br />
and horizontally with our sister security<br />
agencies and this has been working for us.<br />
This was what happened during the last<br />
election. We have involved members of<br />
the public in combating crimes in Abia<br />
State. We have been able to do what we<br />
call “Assurance Policing”. I went round<br />
all the media station to assure members<br />
of the public that we are here to serve<br />
them and to protect their interest. On<br />
each of these occasions when I go for<br />
these programmes, they do have phone –<br />
in-programme. We have contributions<br />
from members of the public and our phone<br />
numbers have been circulated. I also have<br />
dedicated numbers I give out to Abians<br />
anywhere I attend a public function. That<br />
one is to enable them send text messages<br />
directly to me. The way we manage<br />
information has really been very helpful.<br />
Building confidence in the police<br />
I must also say that building confidence in<br />
our police officers has also helped us. We have<br />
been giving encouragement to them, building<br />
capacity for them, tutoring them on arms<br />
handling and repositioning of men on<br />
assignment especially when we asked them<br />
CP, Leye Oyebade<br />
to do “Operational Stop and Search” since<br />
we know that we don’t have road blocks<br />
Government assistance<br />
I must also say that during election,<br />
government assisted by giving us some<br />
equipment since communication is the key.<br />
So, the communication gadgets that were<br />
given including 198 walking talkies have<br />
really boosted our communication skills<br />
and I can communicate with my men more<br />
effectively from my office.<br />
Policing black spots<br />
We have areas we call flash points or<br />
black spots; these are areas where<br />
notorious gangs want to dominate. The<br />
flash points that we know, we burst<br />
them. There is a place called dustbin.<br />
Members of a robbery syndicatewould<br />
enter vehicle to Aba unknown to<br />
unsuspecting drivers, motor boys and<br />
passengers and somewhere along the<br />
way they pull out their guns and rob<br />
the passengers. In that instance, what<br />
we did was to change our modus<br />
operandi and we were able to<br />
apprehend membersof that syndicate.<br />
We also arrested those who specialized<br />
in “one chance”,as well as those who<br />
were stealing vehicles. . Their receiver<br />
was also arrested in Akwa Ibom. This<br />
was made possible because of long<br />
term intelligence gathering on them.<br />
Shocking details of the escape of notorious kidnap kingpin, serial killer<br />
Continues from page 40<br />
unfortunately, continued with his<br />
criminal exploits unhindered. He<br />
capitalized on the porosity of security<br />
in the prisons and turned himself into<br />
the ‘Lord of the Manor’ – no thanks to<br />
gullible officials of the prisons. He<br />
reportedly converted some serving<br />
officials of the prison and formed a new<br />
gang inside while awaiting trial. One<br />
of the officials identified as Chukwuma<br />
Agim allegedly assembled a six-man<br />
gang headed by one Chiboy also known<br />
as Ezekudele and they carried out<br />
several operations in Imo state aimed<br />
at raising funds for Vampire’s freedom.<br />
In one of the operations, they abducted<br />
a middle-aged woman and got a ransom<br />
of N5m but after the operation,<br />
operatives of the Inspector-General of<br />
Police Special Intelligence Response<br />
Team, IRT, headed by indefatigable<br />
Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP,<br />
Abba Kyari, succeeded in rounding up<br />
five members of the gang , including<br />
the prison official various parts of Imo<br />
state.<br />
Surprisingly, that did not deter the rot<br />
and connivance of other prison officials<br />
in Owerri as they continued to aid and<br />
abet not only Vampire but other dreaded<br />
criminals inside the prisons. Crime<br />
Guard learned that the invasion of the<br />
The CG of Prisons, Ahmed Ja'afaru (in mufti) being welcomed at Owerri<br />
Prison.<br />
court was planned and executed inside<br />
the prisons by new members of the gang<br />
in connivance with some officials of<br />
Owerri Central Prison. Feelers<br />
revealed that both Vampire and other<br />
hardened criminals awaiting trial in the<br />
prison had virtually turned officials of<br />
the prison into errand boys. The<br />
prisoners are known to have free<br />
access to all communication gadgets<br />
including laptops, assorted highwired<br />
telephones etc. In fact, it was<br />
revealed that robbery and kidnapping<br />
operations are freely planned and<br />
perfected inside the prison after which<br />
members of the gang outside would<br />
execute the operations and deliver<br />
proceeds to their gang leaders<br />
awaiting trial. Most of the time,<br />
they have evening rendezvous inside<br />
the prison where they review their<br />
exploits in the full glare of officials<br />
of the prison officials said to be ready<br />
to do their bidding for a fee.<br />
On the day of the attack inside<br />
Owerri High Court, sources said only<br />
five officials of the prison<br />
accompanied about 50 awaiting trial<br />
inmates to the court without<br />
handcuffs. The suspects were left<br />
under one shade inside the court<br />
instead of being locked up in the cells<br />
provided inside there. People were<br />
freely allowed to mingle with them<br />
and that was why the gangsters that<br />
earlier arrived the court in an SUV<br />
capitalized on the security lapses and<br />
struck.<br />
Eyewitnesses said as soon as they<br />
swung into action by releasing volley<br />
of bullets in a staccato manner, one<br />
of them quickly handed over an AK47<br />
assault rifle to their mentor, Vampire<br />
who tuned into Rambo and perfected<br />
what he knows how to do better.<br />
They all shot their way to freedom and<br />
even forced other awaiting trial inmates<br />
to join them in escaping from the<br />
scene. While the shooting raged,<br />
sources said the Commissioner of<br />
Police, Imo state; Taiwo Lakano was<br />
forced to rush to the scene with his<br />
personal aids and engaged the<br />
rampaging criminals in a fierce battle.<br />
Unfortunately, they disappeared from<br />
the scene without trace. Their escape<br />
has placed all the security agencies in<br />
the country on red alert and feelers from<br />
Force headquarters, Abuja indicated<br />
that all units involved in chasing<br />
criminals have been mobilized and<br />
directed to swing into action with a view<br />
to arresting the fleeing Vampire and<br />
members of his gang.
42—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
•Suspects<br />
How we killed Custom<br />
officer in Lagos—Suspects<br />
BY IFEANYI OKOLI<br />
When the lifeless body of an<br />
Assistant Superintendent of<br />
Custom, ASC, Aliyu Adamu,<br />
was found with bullet wounds at a spot<br />
close to the Tin-Can Island Port, Second<br />
Gate, on Thursday December 22, 2016,<br />
many thought that the middle-aged<br />
officer may have been assassinated,<br />
given the sensitive nature of his position<br />
at the Nigeria Customs Service.<br />
But investigations, launched by<br />
operatives of the Inspector General of<br />
Police Special Intelligence Response<br />
Team, IRT, has revealed that, ASC<br />
Adamu, was murdered by a gang of<br />
armed robbers after snatching from him<br />
a bag he was carrying which was<br />
believed to have contained a huge<br />
amount of money.<br />
The Public Relations Officer at the Tin-<br />
Can Island Command of the NCS, Mr.<br />
Uche Ejieseme, had disclosed in<br />
December, 2016, that the officer, who<br />
until his death, was attached to the<br />
‘Ashaye‘ exit gate of the port, was killed<br />
at about 10pm on his way home after<br />
work. The Command spokesman also<br />
said that it was not clear whether the<br />
killing was an act of armed robbery or<br />
assassination.<br />
According to him; “the officer was<br />
blocked while he was on a motorcycle<br />
around National Filling station close to<br />
Tin-Can. The late officer had a little<br />
scuffle with the assailants as they<br />
attempted to snatch his bag”.<br />
Vanguard gathered that the Inspector<br />
General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, swiftly<br />
deployed his operatives at the IRT to trail<br />
and apprehend all the suspects involved<br />
in the killing when he received reports<br />
on the death of the custom officer.<br />
Sources disclosed that a mobile phone<br />
belonging to the deceased officer was<br />
trailed to Tolu area of Ajegunle and<br />
found on one Lucky Williams who<br />
eventually confessed during<br />
interrogation to have taken part in the<br />
operation.<br />
His arrest also led to the arrest of a<br />
clearing and forwarding agent,<br />
Humphrey Aimodu, operating mainly<br />
at Tin-Can Island Port and who was<br />
said to have been the mastermind of<br />
the robbery as he worked closely with<br />
the the custom officer. Four others<br />
arrested with him were identified as<br />
Fayero Egbato, Bolaji Taiwo, Samuel<br />
Akinjoye and Abraham Lots.<br />
I told the boy to rob, not to kill him<br />
—clearing agent<br />
When Vanguard interviewed one of<br />
the suspects, Aimodu, the clearing and<br />
forwarding agent, he confessed that he<br />
only contracted the robbers to rob the<br />
custom officer and not to kill him,<br />
adding that he told the boys not to use<br />
guns while robbing the officer. The 33-<br />
year-old suspect, who is a native of Edo<br />
State explained that he was only trying<br />
to raise some money to celebrate the<br />
While we waited, Humphrey<br />
informed us that the man<br />
was coming, so I alerted<br />
Lucky, Bolaji, Ibro and<br />
Ochuko, who attacked the<br />
man. But before I got to<br />
where they were, I heard a<br />
gun shot. I didn’t know that<br />
the man was killed<br />
last Christmas season. According<br />
to him “It all started on December<br />
20, 2016, five days to Christmas<br />
and I was having a conversation<br />
with one of my colleagues, Edet<br />
Bassy, a clearing agent and I told<br />
him how broke I was since we<br />
weren’t working the way we used<br />
to as the price of dollar has<br />
affected the volume of<br />
importation. I told him I had no<br />
money to celebrate the Christmas<br />
with my family and he suggested<br />
we could rob ASC Aliyu working<br />
at the second gate, where he<br />
checked and signed clearing<br />
documents. He told me that the<br />
man normally took N8million<br />
home everyday as he had been<br />
monitoring the officer for a long<br />
time. He also said that sometimes,<br />
he observed that the man would<br />
changes the money to dollar so<br />
that it would be easy for him to<br />
carry. He told me that he could<br />
not do the job because the man<br />
knew him while I also told him<br />
that the man knew me as well.<br />
We then agreed that I should<br />
arrange some boys from the<br />
outside who would do the job. I<br />
later called one of my friends<br />
known as Samson, an Ilaje boy<br />
who was living in Tolu area of<br />
Agegunle and was familiar with<br />
bad boys operating around Tolu.<br />
He then linked me with one<br />
Abraham Lots, who he said could<br />
do the job. By the evening of the<br />
following day, Lots sent two of his<br />
boys to me and asked me to take<br />
them to the gate where the officer<br />
was working. I took them there<br />
and showed them the man. After<br />
some hours they told us that they<br />
could not carry out the operation<br />
as they weren’t fully<br />
prepared. Then I told<br />
them not to use guns<br />
whenever they wanted to<br />
rob the man. On 22<br />
December, around 9pm<br />
they called me saying<br />
they had robbed the man<br />
and I should meet them<br />
in Adidas field Tolu.<br />
When I got there I saw<br />
more than eight persons<br />
and I learnt that there was<br />
a gun shot. When I asked<br />
why they shot the man<br />
they told me that the man<br />
tried to struggle with<br />
them when they wanted to<br />
snatch the bag and they<br />
shot him on the leg. When<br />
they opened the bag I saw<br />
N500,000 and I took<br />
N50,000. The next day I<br />
heard that the custom<br />
officer was dead and he<br />
was killed by armed<br />
robbers. I sensed trouble<br />
and I stopped going to<br />
work. Then on December<br />
28, 2016, Samson called<br />
me and said some of the<br />
boys who carried out the<br />
robbery have been<br />
arrested by the police and<br />
he said I should not go to<br />
Tin-Can that the police<br />
would be looking for me.<br />
I went back home and<br />
moved my wife and<br />
children to Mowe Ibafo<br />
where I was eventually<br />
arrested on January 2017.<br />
It was devil that led me<br />
into this”, he lamented.<br />
How we carried out the<br />
operation—Akinjoye<br />
Narrating how they<br />
carried out the robbery<br />
and the eventual killing of<br />
ASC Aliyu, Samuel<br />
Akinjoye, a 36-year-old<br />
native of Ilaje Local Government Area<br />
of Ondo State, said “I am a local<br />
fisherman and I am also into oil<br />
bunkering and that was where I met<br />
Lucky. I stayed in Mogaji area of<br />
Ajegunle with my wife and children.<br />
Abraham Lots, who we normally call<br />
Ibro, called me and told me about the<br />
job, then I called my friend Lucky and<br />
we all met Samson who gave us three<br />
days to do the job and I told them that<br />
I do not have a gun. When they took<br />
us to the man, I discovered that we<br />
could not rob the man without a gun.<br />
The following day, Lucky brought one<br />
Bolaji who had a gun and I took them<br />
to Samson and Lots but they told us<br />
not to kill the man, that we should just<br />
collect the money from him. I was<br />
asked to get a motorcycle while Lucky<br />
and Bolaji should get a speed boat<br />
which we would use to escape. I took<br />
the bike to second gate and Humphrey<br />
asked us to wait for the man. While we<br />
waited, Humphrey informed us that the<br />
man was coming, so I alerted Lucky,<br />
Bolaji, Ibro and Ochuko, who attacked<br />
the man. But before I got to where they<br />
were, I heard a gun shot. I didn’t know<br />
that the man was killed.”<br />
Why the deceased was shot<br />
—William<br />
In his own account, Lucky William,<br />
29-year-old native of Cross River state<br />
who snatched the bag containing the<br />
money from the custom officer said,<br />
“when we held the man he was<br />
struggling with us and wanted to fight<br />
everyone. Bolaji was the one holding<br />
the gun and I didn’t know what came<br />
over him before he shot the man who<br />
then released the bag immediately. I<br />
ran with the bag and we all escaped<br />
through the waters to Tolu where we<br />
shared the money in the bag. I also<br />
got N50,000 as my share” he stated.
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017—43<br />
Bishop Chioma<br />
Grace Dauji<br />
By Ebun Sessou &<br />
Jumoke Kolawole<br />
Bishop Chioma Grace Dauji, is the<br />
founder of Amazing Grace<br />
Pentecostal Church Worldwide and the<br />
CEO of Great Life Changer Foundation<br />
International. She is an influential woman<br />
of God and an excellent proof of the<br />
unlimited capability and potentials of a<br />
woman. She celebrated her birthday<br />
recently. In this interview, the Bishop speaks<br />
on how she started her ministry with “Area<br />
Boys”.<br />
How did you start your ministry?<br />
It started at Ojuelegba roundabout as an<br />
NGO with some “Area boys” (miscreants).<br />
I also worked with some less privileged<br />
persons, the bus drivers, the drug addicts,<br />
smokers and I later went to Ayilara to<br />
preach to the prostitutes. That was how the<br />
ministry started.<br />
How will you explain the mission and<br />
vision of the church?<br />
Our main vision is to bring together the<br />
How I started my<br />
ministry with ex-convicts,<br />
‘area boys’ – Bishop Dauji<br />
Women know how to<br />
handle things better<br />
than men when it<br />
comes to dealing with<br />
people<br />
less privileged, to evangelize and present a<br />
visible demonstration of the love and power of<br />
God in line with God’s plan for mankind with<br />
the message of salvation, hope and revival.<br />
The mission of the church is to teach the<br />
undiluted life-changing and profitable word<br />
of God to the people, to bring people to the<br />
knowledge of God in order for them to<br />
realize their divinely ordained destiny. To<br />
establish and run rehabilitation centers,<br />
orphanages, schools and such other<br />
educational, social and spirit filled centers.<br />
To educate and empower members to improve<br />
their general well-being, to raise<br />
missionaries who will take the message of<br />
salvation to all corners of the world<br />
according to the biblical great<br />
commission as well as strengthen<br />
Christian marriages and families.<br />
What are the challenges of being<br />
a female Bishop?<br />
There are lots of challenges I had<br />
faced in the past. As an African, it is a<br />
taboo for a female to be a Bishop but<br />
I am not discouraged. I stay focused.<br />
As a Christian, I have a convincing<br />
call from God. If you know what God<br />
has called you for, it is important to<br />
work towards it without any<br />
challenge.<br />
Unfortunately, people believe that<br />
women should be seen but not heard<br />
but by the grace of God I have passed<br />
that level.<br />
Any regret so far?<br />
I don’t have any regret. But I have<br />
been highly challenged in this<br />
ministry in so many ways. There were<br />
times where evangelism turned to<br />
abuses, however, it is part of the<br />
challenges.<br />
...And your moments of joy?<br />
The moment I appreciated most in<br />
the ministry was when a sick person<br />
was brought to the church. He was<br />
brought without any help not even a<br />
member of his family was around to<br />
take care of him. They thought he would<br />
die but with prayer and fasting he was<br />
brought to life. Another moment was<br />
when an ex-convict, a notorious armed<br />
robber was brought to the Church. It<br />
was a difficult decision to take care<br />
of him but I thank God that I did what<br />
was right by admitting him with all<br />
his many challenges. Today, he is<br />
doing well and I am happy.<br />
How do you cope with your male<br />
pastors?<br />
Although, it has been challenging<br />
with the men in the ministry but they<br />
understand the vision and mission of<br />
the church and they know that I am<br />
not doing anything without God’s<br />
guidance. As Africans, men would<br />
want to take you for granted but my<br />
male pastors have been encouraging.<br />
I stand as a mother, I don’t look down<br />
on them, I respect them a lot and we<br />
work as a team.<br />
What are the achievements of the<br />
church?<br />
There have been tremendous<br />
achievements. The ministry started 20<br />
years ago. Those who were<br />
worshiping at Ikoyi, Badagry, Kirikiri<br />
Female prison can testify to the<br />
achievements. Whenever, a prisoner<br />
was released, he or she was integrated<br />
into the ministry. Some years ago,<br />
Lagos State Government gave me 90<br />
armed robbers to mentor them.<br />
Today, these armed robbers are<br />
converted.<br />
We are also identifying with the<br />
grassroots by way of sport (football).<br />
The ministry also sponsors youths<br />
education. We have sponsored seven<br />
youths to higher institutions, and<br />
twenty-seven into secondary schools.<br />
God has been helping us. Presently,<br />
the ministry empowers about one<br />
thousand widows every month and we<br />
take care of them.
44—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Immediately Stephen Keshi got<br />
the Eagles coaching job in<br />
November 2011 there were two<br />
people he searched for. They were<br />
Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and Noel<br />
Okorougo.<br />
I joined in the search and led him<br />
to Okorougo's house in Asokoro,<br />
Abuja. Noel lives in Geneva,<br />
Switzerland but had a house in<br />
Abuja. He held useful talks with<br />
Chief Okorougo. Abdulrahman was<br />
not in the country at that time, and<br />
Keshi had to schedule a meeting for<br />
another time.<br />
Why was he looking for these<br />
gentlemen?<br />
Keshi had been around long<br />
enough in Nigerian football to<br />
know who could help him<br />
succeed. There are<br />
people who always do<br />
a lot behind the scene.<br />
They are not loud.<br />
They work silently and<br />
achieve results that<br />
many would attribute<br />
to some “noise<br />
makers.”<br />
Noel was the sports<br />
financier who also<br />
marketed Nigeria<br />
to earn a fat Nike<br />
contract shortly after<br />
the USA '94 World<br />
Cup. But he did a lot<br />
more for Nigerian<br />
football behind the<br />
scene. Many players at<br />
that time would easily<br />
attribute their success to<br />
the leads Noel exposed<br />
them to.<br />
Abdulrahman was<br />
another silent worker. He is<br />
a Nigerian whose<br />
knowledge of the game is<br />
tremendous, and whose passion<br />
and support for football know no<br />
bounds.<br />
•Abdulrahman<br />
Abdulrazaq<br />
Abdulrahman's<br />
birthday<br />
presentation<br />
•With Late Uche Okafor<br />
•Abdulrahman with Jay Jay Okocha<br />
•With Onochie Anibeze<br />
How many people know that he<br />
set up Abuja FC sponsored by<br />
EFCC?<br />
Imet Abdulrahman in January<br />
1998 in Burkina Faso while<br />
covering the Nations Cup. He wore<br />
a Nigerian track suit at the VIP Box<br />
in one of the matches. His attire<br />
attracted me. Who could this be, I<br />
asked? Nigeria was serving the ban<br />
for refusing to play in the 1996<br />
edition in South Africa. World hero<br />
Nelson Mandela had condemned<br />
Nigeria's General Sani Abacha for<br />
executing Ken Saro-Wiwa and the<br />
diplomatic impasse that followed<br />
led Abacha to pull Nigeria out of<br />
the competition that the country was<br />
the defending champion, having<br />
won the last tournament in Tunisia<br />
in 1994.<br />
So I was surprised to see a<br />
Nigerian who came to watch the<br />
Nations Cup that Nigeria was not<br />
part of. He must love the game. I<br />
approached him, and we discussed.<br />
It did not take a long time for me to<br />
note the passion in him.<br />
He was also at France '98 World<br />
Cup, but my trips to different cities<br />
of France in pursuit of stories did<br />
not make it possible for us to meet.<br />
But in the next Nations Cup<br />
competition, he served as a pundit<br />
for Vanguard and his points made<br />
interesting reading. From Nations<br />
Cup to European Championships<br />
and to the World Cups and Olympic<br />
Games Abdulrahman moves<br />
around with a bubbling enthusiasm<br />
for sports. And he supports sports<br />
men and women in various ways.<br />
Little wonder Keshi searched for him<br />
as when it is about sports he gives it<br />
his all.<br />
Tomorrow is February 5,<br />
Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq's<br />
birthday that usually falls in the thick<br />
of the Africa Nations Cup. And the<br />
Eagles usually celebrate with him<br />
as some pf the pictures here show.<br />
•Abdulrahman ( right ) watches as<br />
Late Stephen Keshi, Amodu Shaibu,<br />
Uche Okafor and another friend<br />
mark his birthday in Mali<br />
Rather than discuss his life on his<br />
birthday, this son of the famous<br />
Abdulrazaq, a first republic minister<br />
from Kwara, was as usual, talking<br />
sports yesterday, espousing his longheld<br />
view that “Sports can be better<br />
in Nigeria if the government decides<br />
to prepare the grounds for its<br />
development. The private sector<br />
would be attracted later, but the<br />
enabling environment must first be<br />
there.” More excerpts:<br />
INFRASTRUCTURE<br />
We have villages, towns, Local<br />
Government Areas, etc. How many<br />
play grounds do we have in these<br />
areas? If every Local Government<br />
tries to develop one playground (not<br />
necessarily stadium) you can't<br />
believe what can come up from that<br />
level. Just a play ground with a<br />
soccer pitch and one track field.<br />
When we have that, we will be<br />
developing the culture of sports.<br />
Those who can can afford it may<br />
include multipurpose court. You<br />
can't have such infrastructure and<br />
talents don't spring up from such<br />
places.<br />
SCHOOLS<br />
The Ministry of Education should<br />
ensure that schools develop sports<br />
facilities. These were in our schools<br />
before. How can we have schools<br />
without sports grounds? The schools<br />
remain the best grounds to discover<br />
and begin to nurture sports<br />
potentials. Sports may not develop<br />
if the Ministry of Sports does not<br />
have some synergy with the Ministry<br />
of Education. They must see the<br />
reason to work together for sports<br />
development. The sports ministry<br />
should know the programmes in<br />
schools so that they can send coaches<br />
to scout for talents. Our tertiary<br />
institutions must begin to do sports<br />
again and award sports<br />
scholarships to deserving students.<br />
COMPETITIONS<br />
Competitions are important from<br />
the local government areas to<br />
schools and zones. Ministry of<br />
Education must organise<br />
competitions among schools in the<br />
zones and the state. The Ministry of<br />
He is a Nigerian<br />
whose knowledge<br />
of the game is<br />
tremendous, and<br />
whose passion and<br />
support for football<br />
know no bounds<br />
•Amodu Shaibu and other friends<br />
marking Abdulrahman’s birthday<br />
Sports can support with technical<br />
hands and send coaches to scout for<br />
talents. The schools will remain the<br />
base for any sports revolution we<br />
intend to carry out if the government<br />
decides to develop sports and make<br />
it an industry. Some residential<br />
estates should be encouraged to<br />
develop playgrounds too. They can<br />
afford them. It is just that we have<br />
not started developing such a sports<br />
culture. With infrastructure comes<br />
talent hunting and nurturing.<br />
School competitions will be there,<br />
but there should be a big National<br />
School Sports Festival like they<br />
have in Jamaica. Whoever wins any<br />
event in such a competition is likely<br />
to be a national and international<br />
star. Many of the top athletes from<br />
Jamaica were champions of the<br />
school sports competitions. Usain<br />
Bolt is a product of the school<br />
competition. Same with Powell and<br />
many others. In America, it is the<br />
Collegiate system. The universities<br />
are the grounds where stars are<br />
made. We can develop a good<br />
structure that makes competitions<br />
classy from the zones to the school<br />
games and at the universities. That<br />
way, we can have local champions<br />
and elite athletes who can be world<br />
champions.<br />
PROFESSIONAL LEVEL<br />
At the professional level (if there's<br />
anything like that in Nigeria) our<br />
pro league clubs are still running<br />
without feeder teams, teams that<br />
should be playing their own league.<br />
It can be worked out. Players and<br />
coaches need to be on contracts, and<br />
such contracts must be respected.<br />
Our clubs can be better run. Club<br />
base is important. We have the<br />
population for the homes of our<br />
clubs to support them massively like<br />
they do in Europe and other places.<br />
There should be ways of enriching<br />
the clubs and making them more<br />
viable. Something must be done to<br />
officiating. Recently, things<br />
appeared to have improved, but we<br />
can still do better. We still need<br />
facilities and good pitches in our<br />
stadia.<br />
When we have top athletes that<br />
companies would want to identify<br />
with, then sponsorship will impact<br />
positively. When we have athletes the<br />
corporate bodies can sponsor and<br />
benefit from the visibility such<br />
would expose them to; I bet you<br />
many companies would want to<br />
come into sports. Some may even<br />
want to invest in the development<br />
and not just promotion of sports if<br />
the bright prospects are there.<br />
The government must think of<br />
ways to fund sports. The National<br />
Lottery is one, but they are not taking<br />
it seriously. It generates so much<br />
money in Britain and other places. I<br />
think that we have the potential to<br />
be a big sports country, but the<br />
government must lead the way for<br />
the private sector to follow. This is<br />
my position for our sports.”<br />
Well said Abdulrahman. I wish you<br />
many happy returns. Happy<br />
Birthday, sir!
In Libreville, Gabon, where<br />
I am writing this piece<br />
from, we are just a day<br />
from knowing who will be the<br />
champion of the 31st edition of<br />
the Africa Cup of Nations.<br />
It has been an educative three<br />
weeks in this central African<br />
country, which has more<br />
foreigners<br />
than it does<br />
citizens, who<br />
have been<br />
less than<br />
interested in<br />
t h e<br />
tournament.<br />
And not just<br />
for the<br />
reason that<br />
the national team, ‘Les<br />
Panthers’ (The Panthers), did<br />
not reach its knockout stages.<br />
As I do not need to remind<br />
any Nigerian, the Super Eagles<br />
are the most notable absentees<br />
from this tournament, as they<br />
were from the one before it, in<br />
Equatorial Guinea.<br />
It is a fact that colleagues<br />
from every part of the continent<br />
have never failed to remind me<br />
of, since I got here. Their<br />
painful jibes, about<br />
Nigeria’sfour-year absence<br />
(which will, hopefully, end in<br />
2019) from the Africa Cup of<br />
Nations, do not fail to grate.<br />
But the ones that were the<br />
hardest to swallow were from a<br />
person very familiar to<br />
Nigerians – Cameroon’s<br />
Joseph-Antoine Bell, the<br />
former Marseille and Saint<br />
Etienne goalkeeper, who won<br />
the Cup of Nations with the<br />
Indomitable Lions in 1984, in<br />
Cote D’Ivoire and four years<br />
later in Morocco – both at<br />
Nigeria’s expense.<br />
Bell is working as a<br />
tournament match analyst for<br />
A Nations Cup encounter<br />
with ‘Jojo' Bell<br />
Radio France International<br />
(RFI).<br />
“Jojo,” as he is fondly known,<br />
was with me in in Franceville,<br />
where we both watched the very<br />
terse quarter-finalbetween his<br />
country and Senegal's Lions of<br />
Teranga, which took a penalty<br />
shootout to resolve, in his<br />
country’s favour.<br />
After the match ended, we sat<br />
together in the shuttle bus that<br />
took us back to Franceville<br />
Bell<br />
airport, in order to catch my 1am<br />
flight back to Libreville.<br />
"Jojo” began to boast that<br />
Cameroon, with just two points<br />
in the final round of 2018 World<br />
Cup qualifiers, while Nigeria's<br />
Super Eagles have SIX - will<br />
still snatch the ticket.<br />
He began to remind me of<br />
how many times Nigeria has<br />
been bested by Cameroon. The<br />
great Roger Milla, who was also<br />
in the bus, smiled as Bell talked.<br />
This bus was full of<br />
Cameroonians,<br />
including former Real<br />
Madrid player<br />
GeremiNjitap,<br />
excitedly listening to<br />
all Bell said, in English<br />
and French. (He speaks<br />
both languages<br />
excellently).<br />
Senegal's El<br />
HadjiDiouf, who was<br />
still feeling the pain of<br />
the defeat to Cameroon,<br />
was in the bus too, poor<br />
chap. The embrace that<br />
Milla gave him was<br />
little consolation.<br />
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 45<br />
Besides myself, Colin Udoh–<br />
who needs no introduction - was<br />
the only other Nigerian in the<br />
bus. But Colin decided to keep<br />
quiet, while Nigeria's football<br />
honour was under attack and<br />
being rubbished by Jojo.<br />
But I could not be quiet and I<br />
had to answer back. The<br />
disrespect to Nigeria was too<br />
much to swallow.<br />
"Yes, you have beaten us in<br />
three AFCON final games," I<br />
told Jojo.<br />
"But you know, very well, that<br />
only your victory in 1984 was<br />
clean.<br />
“The second, at Morocco<br />
1988, we were cheated. Roger<br />
[Milla] tricked the referee<br />
(Idrissa Saar of Mauritania) into<br />
giving him a fake penalty. And<br />
the clean goal of Henry Nwosu<br />
was disallowed as being<br />
offside," I told him.<br />
"As for the 2000 Nations Cup,<br />
the Tunisian referee<br />
(MouradDaami) denied us a<br />
penalty goal that Victor Ikpeba<br />
scored. We have been cheated<br />
many times in the AFCON<br />
final,” I reminded Bell.<br />
"We are in the World Cup<br />
qualifying driving seat now and<br />
you will never take over. We beat<br />
Zambia away and Zambia<br />
disgraced you at home. And we<br />
will do the same to you," I said<br />
to him.<br />
But Jojo did not let up, telling<br />
me that Nigerian players<br />
always tremble when they face<br />
the Indomitable Lions and they<br />
will never get over this mental<br />
block.<br />
“Any time Nigeria face<br />
Cameroon, they are scared.<br />
They have an inferiority<br />
complex that they cannot<br />
overcome and we are going to<br />
use that to beat your team, at<br />
home,” Jojo said.<br />
That was a stinging insult to<br />
Nigeria, which I was certainly<br />
not going to let go. "August will<br />
soon be here and you shall see,"<br />
I told him.<br />
Let anyone tell me that<br />
football is just an ordinary game<br />
or that national pride and<br />
honour is not at stake, when<br />
games are played.<br />
The Nigeria Football<br />
Federation - and Amaju Pinnick<br />
particularly - better not tell me<br />
- or any Nigerian for that matter,<br />
any cock and bull story about<br />
Russia 2018. We MUST be<br />
there.<br />
After failing to qualify for two<br />
successive AFCON finals – our<br />
worst period since making our<br />
debut, at the 1976 finals in<br />
Ethiopia - and with none of<br />
Nigeria's teams, including the<br />
U-20 and U-17 teams - playing<br />
in any African or FIFA<br />
competition this year, Nigeria<br />
and Nigerians have suffered<br />
enough football humiliation.<br />
I believe that with the players<br />
Nigeria now have and with the<br />
serious-minded coach that we<br />
also have, in Gernot Rohr, we<br />
shall beat Algeria and<br />
Cameroon to the ticket - AS<br />
LONG AS THE NFF DO THEIR<br />
PART and ensure the coach and<br />
players are given what is<br />
required to deliver.<br />
What happens if we don’t<br />
qualify? Let’s not even think<br />
about that... Failure is not an<br />
option for Nigeria.There will be<br />
no place in Nigeria that will be<br />
big enough to hide Pinnick and<br />
the current NFF board, should<br />
we fail to get to Russia.<br />
A six-year absence from<br />
competitive international<br />
football, for the Super Eagles –<br />
which will happen, if we do not<br />
make it to the 2018 World Cup<br />
finals - is a possibility that<br />
cannot be contemplated.<br />
Arsenal partner MTN Nigeria<br />
Arsenal partner MTN Nigeria<br />
Arsenal Football Club have<br />
entered into a partnership<br />
with MTN, Nigeria’s largest<br />
mobile network operator. MTN will<br />
become Arsenal’s Official Mobile<br />
Telecommunications Network<br />
partner in Nigeria.<br />
The partnership will see MTN offer<br />
a number of exclusive Arsenal<br />
related benefits to the club’s large<br />
following in Nigeria as well as to<br />
MTN’s vast subscriber base. MTN<br />
will offer its customers access to a<br />
range of match and player exclusive<br />
content including match highlights,<br />
club news, interviews and club<br />
imagery.<br />
Through Arsenal’s digital platforms,<br />
MTN will also be able to<br />
engage directly with supporters in<br />
Nigeria. Promotional and marketing<br />
activities featuring Arsenal first-team<br />
players and club legends will further<br />
enhance MTN’s engagement with<br />
Arsenal supporters. Arsenal will also<br />
send specialist coaches to undertake<br />
annual coaching clinics as part of<br />
MTN’s marketing activities in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
Arsenal has fantastic support in<br />
Nigeria, with the club’s largest<br />
website traffic outside the UK coming<br />
from the country. In addition to<br />
this, the club’s second highest<br />
number of digital members and third<br />
largest Twitter following comes from<br />
Nigeria.<br />
Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer,<br />
Vinai Venkatesham, said: “Arsenal<br />
has huge support in Nigeria, in part<br />
due to Kanu Nwankwo and the<br />
recent emergence of Alex Iwobi into<br />
the first team. This partnership with<br />
MTN will really help us engage with<br />
these passionate fans on a regular<br />
and personal basis. We are expecting<br />
MTN’s Arsenal exclusive content to<br />
be very popular among our support-<br />
ers, as well as followers of football<br />
generally. This is our second regional<br />
partnership in Nigeria and fifth in<br />
Africa. It really underlines our<br />
commitment and the level of support<br />
we have on the continent.”<br />
Also speaking on the partnership,<br />
MTN’s General Manager, Consumer<br />
Marketing, Richard Iweanoge said<br />
that the partnership is another way<br />
MTN is connecting<br />
with the<br />
passion of<br />
Nigerians.<br />
Sanchez<br />
kloss<br />
Adidas tasks athletes on creativity<br />
Adidas has unveiled a glo<br />
bal campaign underlining the<br />
brand’s aggressive pursuit for creativity<br />
to push the boundaries of<br />
sport.<br />
The new campaign, titled “Unleash<br />
Your Creativity,” is told<br />
through a female athlete’s lens and<br />
stars supermodel Karlie Kloss,<br />
Hannah Bronfman, Robin Arzon,<br />
WNBA All-Star Candace Parker<br />
and soccer star, Becky Sauerbruns.<br />
“Like this campaign, creativity enables<br />
me to accomplish more and<br />
follow my passions. It is inspiring<br />
to work alongside this incredible<br />
group of women and help each other<br />
achieve our personal goals,” said<br />
Karlie Kloss.<br />
“Unleash Your Creativity” builds<br />
upon the brand’s belief that hard<br />
work only gets you so far. The campaign<br />
includes a multi-athlete TV<br />
spot and short film series that<br />
brings to life authentic stories of 15<br />
female athletes around the globe<br />
who use creativity to defy conventions,<br />
reinvent routine, create their<br />
own path and inspire others to make<br />
a difference in sport.<br />
Karlie Kloss’ film highlights how<br />
she uses her imagination to make<br />
a difference in the world while<br />
Candace Parkershows how she<br />
uses creativity to shape her style<br />
of play and elevate her game.<br />
Dancer and fitness influencer Ally<br />
Love inspires women to unleash<br />
their own creativity daily from her<br />
motivational spin classes to charging<br />
up an arena as host of the<br />
Brooklyn Nets. Ruqsana Begum is<br />
a British and European Kick-Boxing<br />
champion who blazed a trail for<br />
Muslim women to access sport.<br />
Running coach Jessie Zapo found<br />
a way to open her sport to a new<br />
generation of runners. USWNT<br />
Captain Becky Sauerbrunn uses<br />
her creativity in soccer to challenge<br />
her opponents on the field and win<br />
championships.
46 —SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
Moses eyes<br />
redemption in<br />
Arsenal rematch<br />
If, as widely expected,<br />
Chelsea go on to lift the<br />
Premier League trophy, one<br />
game in their title-winning<br />
campaign will surely be<br />
remembered as the most<br />
significant for manager<br />
Antonio Conte.<br />
Forget the 4-0 rout of<br />
Manchester United in<br />
October when returning<br />
manager Jose Mourinho<br />
was humiliated. Or the 5-0<br />
victory over Everton in<br />
November when everything<br />
went right and Eden Hazard<br />
briefly resembled Lionel<br />
Messi. Or even the comefrom-behind<br />
win at<br />
Manchester City the<br />
following month that firmly<br />
installed the team as title<br />
favorite.<br />
The defining 90 minutes of<br />
Chelsea’s season will likely<br />
be a loss that led to some<br />
serious soul-searching and,<br />
critically, a change in<br />
formation.<br />
A 3-0 loss at Arsenal on<br />
Sept. 24 bewildered Conte.<br />
He saw his team playing as<br />
individuals, with the wrong<br />
attitude, the wrong balance<br />
Zinedine Zidane’s Real<br />
Madrid are only two<br />
games away from equalling the<br />
club record of scoring in 41<br />
consecutive matches.<br />
Only Celta Vigo in Balaidos on<br />
Sunday, and Osasuna at the<br />
Estadio El Sadar next<br />
Saturday, February 11, are the<br />
obstacles to overcome.<br />
If Los Blancos can score in both<br />
matches, the game in which<br />
they could set a new mark<br />
would be against Jose<br />
Callejon’s Napoli in the<br />
Champions League.<br />
Real are the only team in the<br />
top five European leagues that<br />
has managed to score in every<br />
game that they have played this<br />
season (a total of 34).<br />
The last match time that they<br />
failed to find the net was in the<br />
first leg of the Champions<br />
League semi-final against<br />
Manchester City.<br />
and with no identity. The<br />
only good thing to come<br />
out of that ill-fated trip to<br />
Emirates Stadium was a<br />
second-half switch to a 3-4-3<br />
formation, which finally put<br />
Conte’s imprint on his new<br />
side and was there to stay.<br />
From a low ebb — eighth in<br />
the standings, to be precise<br />
— Chelsea haven’t looked<br />
back. Fifteen wins from 17<br />
matches later, Chelsea host<br />
Arsenal for their return<br />
game today with a<br />
nine-point lead and<br />
with mostobservers<br />
saying t h e<br />
title h a s<br />
been<br />
wrapped<br />
up.<br />
“ I think,”<br />
Conte<br />
said,<br />
“this<br />
could be<br />
a good<br />
chance<br />
Madrid chase<br />
scoring record<br />
Tottenham are fully aware<br />
that they have a star in<br />
their ranks in Dele Alli and are<br />
not willing to let him leave the<br />
club unless an offer exceeding<br />
•100 million arrives for the 20-<br />
year-old. That price, however,<br />
might not be enough to repel<br />
the interest of Real Madrid and<br />
Bayern Munich - two teams<br />
said to be monitoring his<br />
progression.<br />
The Times say that the fee<br />
Up to<br />
three<br />
times<br />
t h e<br />
team<br />
have<br />
come<br />
close to<br />
shattering the record. Jose<br />
Mourinho’s side almost set the<br />
new mark during season 11/<br />
12, and in 87/88 and 88/89 Leo<br />
Beenhakker came within a<br />
whisker.<br />
The first time Real managed<br />
such a high number of<br />
consecutive scoring games<br />
came when Santiago<br />
Bernabeu was president,<br />
between the seasons of 51/52<br />
and 52/53.<br />
Zidane’s team have already<br />
managed to beat the streak of<br />
games without losing, and<br />
now seem ready to continue<br />
making history.<br />
Tottenham slap •100m price tag on Alli<br />
that brought Gareth Bale to<br />
Real Madrid would have to be<br />
outdone in order to poach the<br />
player from Mauricio<br />
Pochettino’s side. They did<br />
not specify a price but Bale’s<br />
fee was in the region of •100<br />
million. Alli signed a new fiveyear-deal<br />
with the club and<br />
also received a boost in his pay<br />
for his emergence as one of the<br />
best young players in<br />
Moses<br />
game.<br />
“Even<br />
though<br />
for us to<br />
s h o w<br />
that, now,<br />
we are a<br />
totally<br />
different<br />
team.”<br />
His view<br />
w a s<br />
reinforced<br />
by Victor<br />
Moses,<br />
who has<br />
s i n c e<br />
t h a t<br />
defeat to<br />
Arsenal,<br />
b e e n<br />
converted to<br />
a wing-back<br />
and is<br />
dreaming<br />
of a<br />
redemption<br />
i n<br />
today’s<br />
we are on top,<br />
we need to win the<br />
match and redeem<br />
ourselves<br />
from that<br />
defeat, which<br />
hurt us so much”,<br />
said the Nigerian<br />
winger.<br />
That’s already been proven.<br />
David Luiz looks like a<br />
different player with more<br />
freedom as a libero in a back<br />
three. Unheralded pair<br />
Marcos Alonso and Victor<br />
Moses have excelled as<br />
wingbacks, central midfielder<br />
N’Golo Kante is possibly the<br />
most influential player in the<br />
league, while forwards<br />
Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez<br />
have been outstanding<br />
without having so much<br />
defensive responsibility as<br />
part of a front three with topscorer<br />
Diego Costa.<br />
The team are more streetwise<br />
and organized, as shown<br />
in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool<br />
on Tuesday when Chelsea<br />
absorbed lots of early<br />
pressure from the home side<br />
before growing into the game<br />
and being a late penalty miss<br />
from Costa away from<br />
winning.<br />
Alli<br />
IGHALO: Exponent of<br />
Chinese football’s<br />
boom time<br />
Changchun Yatai made<br />
Odion Ighalo the sixthmost<br />
expensive player in the<br />
history of the Chinese Super<br />
League late last month, as<br />
Watford received 23.5 million<br />
euros for the player who<br />
helped mastermind their<br />
return to the Premier League<br />
big time.<br />
His new club had previously<br />
been modest with their<br />
transfer dealings, but took the<br />
plunge to ensure that their<br />
profile and reputation within<br />
football received a welcome<br />
boost.<br />
Clubs such as Shanghai SIPG,<br />
Jiangsu Suning, Guangzhou<br />
Evergrande, Shanghai<br />
Shenhua, Hebei China<br />
Fortune and newly-promoted<br />
Tianjin Quanjian have been<br />
the teams to make the most<br />
headlines during the last year<br />
due to their signings.<br />
They are backed by big<br />
business, except for<br />
Changchun Yatai, but Ighalo’s<br />
new club recently decided to<br />
steer themselves away from<br />
being financially prudent and<br />
take a big step forward in<br />
Aguero:<br />
I’m not<br />
thinking of<br />
leaving<br />
Sergio Aguero will not<br />
seek a move away from<br />
Manchester City at the end<br />
of this season and is willing<br />
to fight for a starting spot at<br />
the Etihad Stadium,<br />
according to the Argentina<br />
striker’s agent<br />
Aguero is in the familiar<br />
position of being City’s top<br />
scorer, with 18 goals in 25<br />
appearances this term, but he<br />
has fresh competition for his<br />
place as the club’s attacking<br />
spearhead in the form of<br />
Gabriel Jesus.<br />
Jesus lined up flanked by<br />
Leroy Sane and Raheem<br />
Sterling as Aguero looked<br />
on from the bench at London<br />
Stadium on Wednesday,<br />
where the livewire trio<br />
proceeded to tear West Ham<br />
to ribbons in a 4-0 victory.<br />
City boss Pep Guardiola<br />
praised Jesus’ aggression<br />
and pressing after the match<br />
– cutting a contrast with his<br />
calls earlier in the campaign<br />
for Aguero to improve his allround<br />
contribution, around<br />
the time he left the 28-yearold<br />
on the bench against<br />
Barcelona at Camp Nou in<br />
Aguero<br />
Ighalo<br />
terms of being a sporting<br />
project. It must be<br />
remembered that their most<br />
expensive signing up until this<br />
point was Bolivian player<br />
Marcelo Moreno, who cost<br />
2.5m euros two seasons ago.<br />
Ighalo’s arrival is a statement<br />
from Changchun, who will be<br />
featuring in this season’s<br />
Super League after<br />
completing a great escape last<br />
term. With four games left to<br />
play, they needed six points<br />
for survival, but Lee Jang-Soo<br />
masterminded the miracle<br />
turn-around and achieved<br />
safety on the final day<br />
Jang-Soo will be looking to get<br />
the same performance levels<br />
out of Ighalo as Quique<br />
Sanchez Flores did last season<br />
for Watford, when the Nigeria<br />
international was one of the<br />
revelations of the Premier<br />
League campaign a n d<br />
scored 14<br />
goals in the<br />
first half of<br />
the season.<br />
October.<br />
Real Madrid have been<br />
linked with a move for the<br />
former Atletico Madrid man,<br />
but his representative<br />
Hernan Reguera assured the<br />
player is content with his<br />
current situation in<br />
Manchester.<br />
“Yes, he is very, very happy<br />
– he will be there next<br />
season,” he told The<br />
Guardian.<br />
Asked whether Aguero was<br />
willing to contest his favoured<br />
central attacking berth with<br />
Jesus, who can also be<br />
deployed on the left, Reguera<br />
replied: “No problem.”
Aboubakar<br />
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 — 47<br />
Ronaldinho back<br />
at Barca<br />
It has been confirmed that<br />
Barcelona legend Ronaldinho<br />
will return to the club in an ambassadorial<br />
role.<br />
The Brazilian won two LaLiga<br />
titles and the Champions League<br />
during a distinguished five-year<br />
spell at the Camp Nou.<br />
Nine years after his departure<br />
from Catalonia as a player, the<br />
36-year-old’s new position will<br />
see him perform such duties as<br />
representing the club at official<br />
events and functions and playing<br />
for the Barcelona Legends<br />
team in matches around the<br />
world.<br />
The deal will also see ‘soccer<br />
schools’ currently run by<br />
Ronaldinho brought into line<br />
with those run by Barca.<br />
“I have a lot of friends here,”<br />
the World Cup winner told<br />
Mundo Deportivo. “I have a history<br />
and a big part of my life<br />
here.<br />
“I am very happy to have the<br />
opportunity to come home.”<br />
Egypt,<br />
Cameroon set<br />
for AFCON final<br />
Egypt will attempt to win the<br />
fourth consecutive Africa Cup<br />
of Nations in which they have<br />
competed when they face<br />
Cameroon in tomorrow’s final.<br />
The Pharaohs, among the<br />
tournament favourites from the<br />
outset in Gabon, were victorious<br />
in 2006, 2008 and 2010 before<br />
failing to qualify for the next three<br />
editions in 2012, 2013 and 2015.<br />
Underdogs Cameroon have upset<br />
the odds to reach the final,<br />
beating much-fancied Ghana in<br />
the last four.<br />
The game is a repeat of the 2008<br />
final.<br />
Cameroon’s squad includes two<br />
British-based players, Hearts<br />
midfielder Arnaud Djoum and<br />
Clinton N’Jie, although the latter<br />
is on loan at Marseille from<br />
Tottenham.<br />
Egypt have three players from<br />
England’s Premier League -<br />
defender Ahmed Elmohamady<br />
(Hull) and midfielders Mohamed<br />
Elneny (Arsenal) and Ramadan<br />
Sobhi (Stoke), as well as former<br />
Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah.<br />
Seven-time winners Egypt<br />
earned their place in a<br />
record-equalling ninth<br />
Afcon final<br />
b y<br />
Kane<br />
H<br />
a r r y<br />
Kane,<br />
Dele Alli and<br />
A l e x i s<br />
Sanchez are<br />
part of the<br />
quintet of<br />
nominees for<br />
the Premier<br />
League’s<br />
Player of the<br />
Month in<br />
January.<br />
Tottenham<br />
beating<br />
Burkina Sallah<br />
Faso 4-<br />
3 on<br />
penalties<br />
following a<br />
1-1 semifinal<br />
draw.<br />
The Pharaohs’<br />
hero in the semifinal<br />
was 44-yearold<br />
goalkeeper Essam<br />
El Hadary, whose save in<br />
the shootout means he now<br />
has a chance to win a fifth<br />
Afcon title, having won his first<br />
in 1998.<br />
El Hadary has been in fine<br />
form in Gabon, the goal he<br />
conceded in the semi-final<br />
being the first he has let in<br />
during the tournament.<br />
The make-up of Cameroon’s<br />
squad has changed<br />
significantly since the<br />
appointment of Hugo Broos as<br />
manager in February 2016, but<br />
he is confident his youthful<br />
line-up can cause an upset.<br />
“In the 29 years I’ve been a<br />
coach I’ve never worked with<br />
a group like this,” said the<br />
Belgian, who is hoping to lead<br />
the Indomitable Lions to a first<br />
Afcon title since 2002 and fifth<br />
overall.<br />
Juve<br />
battle<br />
Inter on<br />
StarTimes<br />
Fans can enjoy all<br />
Serie A football<br />
games this weekend<br />
live and exclusively on<br />
StarTimes World football<br />
(channel 254 or 245),<br />
especially Juventus versus<br />
Inter Milan cracker.<br />
Games between tabletopping<br />
Juventus and Inter<br />
Milan are often explosive,<br />
Kane, Sanchez, Alli battle for award<br />
striker Kane has been in<br />
electric form over recent<br />
weeks, netting five goals in<br />
five league games including a<br />
hat-trick in the 4-0 win over<br />
West Brom at White Hart<br />
Lane.<br />
However his achievements<br />
have arguably been<br />
overshadowed by his Spurs<br />
team-mate Dele Alli. The<br />
England international has<br />
seven to his name this month,<br />
none more important than the<br />
brace that ended Chelsea’s 13<br />
match winning run in the<br />
Premier League at White Hart<br />
Lane.<br />
Arsenal star Sanchez has also<br />
been weighing in with crucial<br />
goals this month, finding the<br />
net to inspire a revival from<br />
three goals down at<br />
Bournemouth and scoring an<br />
impudent ‘Panenka’ penalty in<br />
the 98th minute to secure a 2-<br />
1 win for the ten men<br />
Gunners against Burnley.<br />
Fabregas vows to keep ‘taking risks’<br />
Chelsea<br />
midfielder<br />
C e s c<br />
Fabregas has<br />
vowed to<br />
continue<br />
“taking risks”<br />
with his passing<br />
this season.<br />
“When you look<br />
at statistics, for example, you<br />
see a midfielder that plays in<br />
my position and you say he<br />
has 95 per cent accuracy, he<br />
didn’t lose the ball,”<br />
Fabregas told Chelsea TV.<br />
“[But] I will always lose more<br />
balls because I take a lot of<br />
risks. I like to play final balls,<br />
Ronaldinho<br />
I see the striker on the move<br />
and I take the chance. I could<br />
play a simple pass just five<br />
yards away from me and keep<br />
the ball and play it simple<br />
but that’s not who I am. I<br />
always like to feed the striker<br />
to create chances and to<br />
score goals,” he added.<br />
engaging,<br />
dramatic and<br />
intriguing<br />
Higuain and this<br />
Sunday’s<br />
encounter<br />
promises to be<br />
a cracker.<br />
With Juve, Inter<br />
face a pretty<br />
daunting task, as<br />
the Old Lady are<br />
not known to be<br />
losers in their home stadium<br />
in Turin, making the clash all<br />
the more worthwhile.<br />
StarTimes plans to also beam<br />
live on Sunday as AC Milan<br />
battle Sampdoria, Chievo host<br />
Udinese, Pescara confront<br />
Lazio while on Saturday,<br />
Napoli travel to face Bologna.<br />
Head of Public Relations and<br />
Communication, Israel Bolaji,<br />
said All Serie A football games<br />
in the European league fixture<br />
this weekend will be screen<br />
live on StarTimes sports<br />
channels, including ST<br />
World football, ST Sports<br />
Arena, ST Sports Focus,<br />
ST Sports Premium<br />
etc.<br />
He emphasized<br />
the pay TV<br />
company’s<br />
commitment to<br />
deliver a fine mix of<br />
pulsating live sporting<br />
matches to its customers<br />
and football lovers.<br />
Costa<br />
rubbishes<br />
Chinese<br />
move<br />
Diego Costa has responded<br />
to reports that he has<br />
agreed to a big money move<br />
to China by posting a messge<br />
on Instagram. The report<br />
suggested that he had<br />
agreed a deal to move to<br />
China in the summer with<br />
the rumour surfacing on<br />
Cadena SER.<br />
The 28-year-old fell out with<br />
Antonio Conte earlier this<br />
month when reports of a bid<br />
from a Chinese club arrived<br />
into Chelsea headquarters<br />
and Costa asked to be told<br />
the details of the deal. He<br />
had been struggling with an<br />
injury complaint that didn’t<br />
help the brief feud with his<br />
manager Conte and it caused<br />
a strain between the former<br />
Atletico striker and the<br />
medical staff at the club.<br />
It is not the first Instagram<br />
post Costa has posted<br />
recently. He took to the<br />
social media site after he was<br />
dropped by Conte for the<br />
Leicester City game<br />
following their spat with a<br />
similar message. Whether<br />
there is any meat to the<br />
rumours<br />
b u t<br />
is one thing<br />
Costa’s<br />
contribution<br />
t o Chelsea’s<br />
cause this<br />
season can<br />
Costa<br />
not<br />
be<br />
questioned<br />
with 15<br />
goals in<br />
24 games.<br />
According<br />
t o<br />
Costa,<br />
“they talk too<br />
m u c h<br />
rubbish”.
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K<br />
SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 4, 2017<br />
>>46<br />
Moses eyes<br />
redemption<br />
>>46<br />
in Arsenal<br />
rematch<br />
Exponent of<br />
Chinese football's<br />
boom time<br />
AFCON 3rd place<br />
Burkina Faso v Ghana<br />
IGHALO:<br />
TODAY’S FIXTURES<br />
>>46<br />
Costa rubbishes<br />
Chinese move<br />
8pm<br />
EPL<br />
Chelsea v Arsenal 1:30pm<br />
Crystal Palace v Sunderland 4pm<br />
Everton v Bournemouth 4pm<br />
Hull City v Liverpool 4pm<br />
Southampton v West Ham 4pm<br />
Watford v Burnley 4pm<br />
West Brom v Stoke 4pm<br />
Tottenham v Middlesbrough 6:30pm<br />
SERIE A<br />
Bologna v Napoli 8:45pm<br />
LA LIGA<br />
Malaga v Espanyol 1pm<br />
Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao 4:15pm<br />
Atletico Madrid v Leganes<br />
6:30pm<br />
Valencia v Eibar 8:45pm<br />
BUNDESLIGA<br />
Bayern Munich v Schalke 3:30pm<br />
Cologne v Wolfsburg 3:30pm<br />
Hertha Berlin v FC Ingolstadt 04 3:30pm<br />
Hoffenheim v Mainz 3:30pm<br />
M'gladbach v SC Freiburg 3:30pm<br />
Dortmund v RB Leipzig 6:30pm<br />
LIGUE I<br />
Monaco v Nice 5pm<br />
Bordeaux v Rennes 8pm<br />
Dijon v PSG 8pm<br />
Guingamp v Caen 8pm<br />
Lille v Lorient 8pm<br />
Montpellier v Bastia 8pm<br />
>>47<br />
EREDIVISIE<br />
NEC Nijmegen v Go Ahead Eagles 6:30pm<br />
AZ Alkmaar v PSV Eindhoven 7:45pm<br />
Willem II v Heracles Almelo 7:45pm<br />
Groningen v Excelsior 8:45pm<br />
>>46<br />
Aguero:<br />
I'm not thinking<br />
of leaving<br />
CROSS WORD PUZZLE<br />
ACROSS<br />
1) Minister of Youth & Sports,<br />
Mr. Solomon (6)<br />
4) Macedonian Capital City (6)<br />
7) Director-General, National<br />
Food &<br />
Drugs Administration & Control<br />
(NAFDAC), Mrs. Yetunde (3)<br />
8) Adamawa State Governor,<br />
Umar Jibrilla (6)<br />
9) Former Minister of Health,<br />
Dr. Adenike (6)<br />
10) Ethnic Group in Nigeria (5)<br />
13) Former Benue State<br />
Governor,<br />
Mr .George (5)<br />
15) L.G.A in Kaduna State (5)<br />
17) L.G.A in Borno State (5)<br />
18) Niger State Capital (5)<br />
20) Senate Majority Leader,<br />
Senator Mohammed Ali (5)<br />
23) L.G.A in Adamawa State (5)<br />
26) Lagos State Commissioner<br />
for<br />
Women Affairs & Poverty<br />
Alleviation, Mrs Lola (6)<br />
27) L.G.A in Enugu State (6)<br />
28) Colour (3)<br />
29) Chairman, Senate<br />
Committee on<br />
Information & National<br />
Orientation, Sen. Suleiman (6)<br />
30) Oyo State Head of Civil<br />
Service,<br />
>>46<br />
Mr. Williams Adesoji (6)<br />
DOWN<br />
1) Special Adviser to the Lagos<br />
State Governor on central<br />
Business District,Mr.Agboola (6)<br />
2) England’s Capital City<br />
3) Former Nigerian President,<br />
Rtd.Major-General Yakubu (5)<br />
4) Greek Alphabet(5)<br />
5) Former Chilean President,<br />
Mr. Sebastian (6)<br />
6) Director-General, National<br />
Bio Safety Management Agency<br />
(NBMA), Dr Rufus (6)<br />
10) Speaker, Kwara State House<br />
of<br />
Assembly, Dr.AIi (5)<br />
11) LG.A·in Kano State (5)<br />
12) ltalian “Serie A” Club-Side (5)<br />
14) Cameroon “Indomitable Lions”<br />
Central Midfielder, Daniel (3)<br />
16) Adult Male Sheep (3)<br />
18) Ghanaian President,Mr .John<br />
(6)<br />
19) Chairman, lnterParty Advisory<br />
Council (lPAC),<br />
Dr .Muhammad Lawal (6)<br />
21) Country in Africa(6)<br />
22) Former Anambra State<br />
Governor, Chief Emeka (6)<br />
24) Super Falcons Defender,<br />
Ngozi (5)<br />
25)Farmer’s Tool (5)<br />
Madrid chase<br />
scoring record<br />
SOLUTION ON P AGE 5<br />
Egypt,<br />
Cameroon<br />
set for<br />
AFCON<br />
final<br />
>>47<br />
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