14102017 - You're insidious minds, Presidency blasts critics

2—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—3
BLOODBATH IN LAS VEGAS
Did gambling turn
Paddock into a
mass killer?
ON paper, the man who blasted himself
into the annals of evil from the 32nd
floor of a Las Vegas hotel room wouldn’t
have hurt a fly. A former accountant and
qualified pilot, Stephen Paddock was a 64-
year-old resident of a retirement community
living in a quiet, crime-free Nevada desert
town.
He appeared to have nothing more
controversial in his life than a passion for
gambling.
A two-time divorcee with no children, he had
never come to the attention of police and his
dumbfounded family yesterday could suggest
only that he must have ‘snapped’ – although
over what they had no idea.
His motivation is, of course, a crucial part
of the investigation now under way. But the
slaughter of so many innocent people focuses
the spotlight firmly once more on America’s
insanely lax gun laws – and Nevada’s are
some of the loosest – that allow ordinary men
to commit extraordinary crimes by amassing
a terrifying arsenal with no questions asked
by the authorities.
Perhaps those questions might have
been asked if they had known
Paddock’s father, Benjamin, was an
armed bank robber who had once
been on the FBI’s Most Wanted
Criminals List after he escaped from
prison.
Paddock Sr, who tried to run over
an FBI agent chasing him, was
described as ‘psychopathic’ in his
arrest warrant.
When police burst into Stephen
Paddock’s 32ndfloor room at the
Mandalay Bay, they discovered his
body surrounded by at least ten rifles,
some of them automatic assault
weapons.
The whole operation was clearly
carefully planned. He had checked
into the room and managed to keep
the contents of his luggage secret,
despite regular routine visits to his
room by hotel staff. Experts believe
he gradually moved his guns and
ammunition into his room over the
preceding days.
Paddock had ensured he had a
perfect view of the country and
western concert he targeted. While he
was waiting to carry out the attack,
he even found time for a spot of
gambling, including at the fruit
machines in the Mandalay Bay’s
ground-floor casino.
Indeed, amid evidence that Paddock had
been gambling very heavily in recent weeks,
there was speculation that his outrage may
have been linked to his gaming.
Despite Islamic State claims that Paddock
had recently converted to Islam and had
carried out the atrocity in its name, the FBI
insisted there was no evidence of his having
any connection to an international terror
group.
‘We have no idea what his belief system was,’
said County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo.
With no obvious clue to a motive,
investigators were eagerly waiting to talk to
the one person who may be able to shed light
on the crucial puzzle as to what drove Paddock
to mass murder. His live-in Australian
girlfriend Marilou Danley was visiting family
in the Philippines at the time of the massacre.
It has emerged Paddock had used her ID in
the casinos over the past few days.
Police called Paddock a ‘lone wolf’ and his
lifestyle seems to reflect that. Since 1974, he
had been registered as living at 27 different
addresses – many of them respectable
middle-class communities – in
California, Florida, Texas and Nevada.
He had once owned two small planes,
although his licence had expired for
medical reasons. He also had a
hunting licence from Alaska.
Paddock – who grew up in Sun Valley
near Los Angeles – had worked his way
through a succession of jobs, including
as an internal auditor for the defence
giant Lockheed Martin.
However, the chief source of his
income had in recent years came from
an apartment building he and his 90-
year-old mother owned in a suburb of
Dallas.
In 2015, he paid $369,000 for his
last home at 3272 Babbling Brook
Court in Mesquite, Nevada. It is in a
retirement community for the over 55s
called Sun City Mesquite.
The sedate and remote town – set up
by Mormon pioneers in the Mojave
Desert – is only 80 miles from Las
Vegas. It has virtually no crime and is
the sort of town where the locals potter
down the main street in golf carts.
Like many who gravitate to Nevada,
Paddock lived for gambling.
According to Don and Sharon Judy,
his next-door neighbours at his
previous home in Viera, near
Melbourne, Florida, Paddock was
rarely at home and kept the house
•Before the Las
Vegas massacre
he lived a crime-
free life but
gambled up to
$30,000 a day
barely furnished.
They had seen his girlfriend Miss Danley
just a handful of times in the two years Paddock
lived there. They rarely socialised with anyone
else in the community.
‘He seemed normal, other than that he lived
by gambling. He was very open about that,’
said Sharon Judy. She said her neighbour had
described himself as a world traveller and
‘professional gambler by trade’.
The Judys never saw any sign of weapons in
the house, which Paddock sold for $235,000
before moving to Nevada and his beloved
casinos. His former neighbours’ utter
bafflement were echoed by Paddock’s family.
‘We have no idea how this happened. It’s
like an asteroid just fell on top of our family,’
said Eric Paddock, his 55- year- brother, in
Orlando, Florida. ‘Something happened, he
snapped or something.’
He said they had last been in contact a few
weeks ago when Stephen Paddock texted him
after Hurricane Irma to check on the welfare
of their 90-year- old mother who lived down
the street from Eric.
He said his college- educated brother had
no political or religious affiliations, and had
never served in the military. He had no known
mental health or money problems.
Stephen Paddock had been quietly living
out his retirement enjoying the hotels, shows
and gambling in Las Vegas, where he liked to
play video poker and fruit machines. ‘He was
a wealthy guy who liked to play video poker,
he went on cruises. He sent his mum huge
boxes of cookies,’ Eric Paddock said. ‘He
doesn’t even have parking tickets.’
His brother had owned a couple of
handguns and a rifle, he said, although nothing
like the arsenal that was discovered in Las
Vegas.
‘He’s not an avid gun guy at all. He never hit
anyone, he’s never drawn a gun,’ he said. ‘He
had no machine guns when I [helped him
move] from Melbourne to Mesquite.’
Growing up, they had nothing to do with their
notorious father, he added.
Another brother, Bruce, said he hadn’t talked
to Stephen for ten years, adding: ‘I don’t know
how he could stoop to this low point, hurting
someone else.’ He described the gunman as a
laid-back, ‘neverin-a-hurry’ type and a lawabiding
‘It’s like an asteroid fell on our family’
citizen. Stephen Paddock was married twice,
first to Sharon Brunoehler, divorcing in the
early 1980s. He married his second wife,
Peggy, in 1984 but they divorced after six years.
Miss Brunoehler’s brother, Scott,
remembered the killer as a smart and funloving
man who used to take his in-laws out
water-skiing on his motor boat. There was
speculation that Paddock probably inherited
his passion for gambling – not to mention his
affinity for guns – from his father. The late
Benjamin Paddock – a father of four – robbed
three Arizona banks of $25,000 in 1960.
Ironically, Paddock Snr – whose nicknames
included Big Daddy, Chromedome and Old
Baldy – was seized in Las Vegas after a
desperate bid to escape capture in which he
jumped into his car and tried to run over an
FBI agent.
The FBI, which had described him as ‘armed
and dangerous’, found a loaded handgun and
a cudgel in his car.
He subsequently escaped from prison and
robbed another bank, this time in San
Francisco. His son Stephen by contrast
appeared to have lived an almost completely
crime-free life – until the shooting that took
many lives.
This picture of law-abiding normality was
reinforced when police searched Paddock’s
home in Mesquite.
Fearing boobytraps, they used a robot to
break in but found what they said was a
completely ordinary home, albeit with some
ammunition that had been left behind.
Police are understandably keen to talk to
Paddock’s girlfriend and gambling partner
Miss Danley, a 62- year- old divorcee. A former
‘high limit hostess’ in a casino, she describes
herself on Facebook as a ‘proud mom and
grandma who lives life to the fullest’. Miss
Danley may be able to offer some insight into
speculation Paddock’s shooting spree was
linked to his gambling.
He tried to sue a Las Vegas hotel,
Cosmopolitan Hotels & Resorts, in September
2012, claiming it was guilty of negligence after
he slipped on the floor. The claim was settled
through arbitration.
More relevant may be the string of large
gambling transactions Paddock had made in
recent weeks. It wasn’t clear whether the bets
were wins or losses but records show he
repeatedly gambled more than $10,000 – and
sometimes more than $30,000 – a day.
Carolyn Goodman, Las Vegas’ mayor,
described Paddock as ‘a crazed lunatic full of
hate’.
History records that mass killers in the US
are often ordinary people, albeit driven by
twisted motives. It appeared that Stephen
Paddock was no different.
Culled from The Mail

4—VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Restructuring turning opposition agenda
—Presidency
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
THERE was sharp
disagreement
yesterday between the
presidency and Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia
State as well as the
spokesman of the Yoruba
socio-cultural organization,
Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin
on the clamour for
restructuring of the country.
Though the Special
Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Mr.
Femi Adesina said that the
issue of restructuring was
possible, he alleged that it
appeared that those on the
forefront of the agitation for
restructuring were people
who were in government for
about 16 years and now using
it to play opposition against
the government in power.
Adesina also frowned at
the threat of disintegration of
the country when the issue
of restructuring was
mentioned, stating that the
two had no correlation.
But the Publicity Secretary
of the Afenifere, Yinka
Odumakin took a swipe at the
position of the presidency’s
spokesman, saying that it was
quite uncharitable for him to
lampoon those clamouring for
restructuring and misconstruing
their position for a call
for the disintegration of the
country. On his own, Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu said it was not
correct to label those
clamouring for restructuring as
opposition to the government.
Adesina, Odumakin and
Ikpeazu spoke at the 8th
Annual Lecture Series
organized by the Change We
Need Initiative, in Abuja,
which had the theme,
“Disintegration or
Restructuring: Which Way
Nigeria?”
•Nigeria will be restructured but opposition is turning it into a
weapon – Adesina
•It’s wrong to see restructuring as opposition agenda, we all
need it–Okezie Ikpeazu
•Those against restructuring risk disintegration —Odumakin
In his remarks at the
occasion, Adesina described
the call for restructuring
particularly from those who
were in power for 16 years as
suspicious, although he
revealed that the present
administration under the
leadership of President
Muhammadu Buhari was not
opposed to restructuring but
was opposed to anything that
could lead to dismemberment
of the country. He said that
the theme of the lecture was
timely and that restructuring
should not be associated with
disin-tegration as was being
insinuated in some quarters,
adding that Nigeria had
always restructured which had
never led to the country falling
apart.
According to him, “In the
history of Nigeria there was a
time where the various people
and communities lived in this
space that is today called
Nigeria. And then, the colonial
masters came, formed what is
called the northern protectorate
and southern protectorate, that
was restructuring of what had
subsisted.
“And then in 1914 precisely,
the northern and southern
protectorates were
amalgamated into one
country, that was another
restructuring.
Did it come with any
rattling or did it send the
country into tailspin, no?
And then we got to a point
that we had regionalism
in the country, the regions
were formed and we begin
to grow, that was another
restructuring, it
happened almost
obtrusively and each
region begin to work on
its own pace.
“Eventually Independence
came and we had
parliamentary system at
the beginning and we
continue to grow. Today,
we have a presidential
system of government that
is another form of
restructuring from
parliamentary to
presidential.
FAVOURITISM CLAIMS: Militants trigger automated
strike team to stop oil production
By Emma Amaize
ACoalition of agitators
have concluded plans
to stop oil exploration from
the region following an alleged
scandal in the Nigeria
National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, and
revelation by the World
Bank that President Muhammadu
Buhari directed
the financial institution to
concentrate development
in northern Nigeria.
The groups, Niger Delta
Revolutionary Crusaders,
NDRC and 21st Century
Youths of Niger Delta, in a
statement by Izon Ebi, also
expressed displeasure
with the Federal Government
over what it termed
delay in implementing the
agreement reached with
the Pan Niger Delta Forum,
PANDEF.
The group made the
statement long before the
Presidency clarified that
the President did not tell
the World Bank to concentrate
on the Northern region.
The statement reads:
“The current revelation of
the World Bank and the
present NNPC scandal
has given us no choice but
•Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN(middle), Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mr
Babatunde Fashola, SAN(2nd right),Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Kabiru
Gaya(left) , Chairman, House Committee on Works, Hon. Toby Okechukwu (right) , Deputy
Governor, Rivers State, Mrs Ipalibo Banigo (2nd left) , His Majesty, King Edward Asimini
William Dappa Pepple, Perekule XI, Amayanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom(3rd left) and
others during the Flag -Off Ceremony for Construction of Bonny - Bodo Road, Rivers State
recently.
to activate our digital strike
team to swing into action
to stop further exploration
and exportation of oil from
the Niger Delta. For it is very
obvious that the present administration
is for the North
only.
“We want to warn that this
deliberate provocation and
intimidation by the north to
provoke the Niger Delta
people would be counterproductive
because we are
going to resist them with the
last drop of our blood and a
devastating response.
“We would not allow our
resources to be used to fund
only the north and intimidate
us, rather than developing
the Niger Delta deprived of
its God-given resources since
1958.
“The antics of their divide
and rule tactics would never
work again in the Niger
Delta in this 21st century
because the world and all
honest Nigerians have seen
the federal government’s insensitivity
after the adoption
of the 16-point agenda of
PANDEF on August 3,
2017.
“It is still very fresh in our
minds the betrayal of Isaac
Boro, the killing of Ken Saro
Wiwa and the Ogoni 9 and
the dehumanization of their
bodies with acid, the genocide
in Odi, and the genocide
in Gbaramatu Kingdom.
“We the NDRC and the
21st Century Youths and all
affiliate organisations are determined
to prove to the
world that we are not cowards.
The present military
operation called Operation
Crocodile Smile II that is
currently going on in the
Niger Delta would not deter
us neither would we be intimidated
because the current
agitators have succeeded
in taking the struggle
from analogue to digital.
“We have successfully
proven to our oppressors
before the ceasefire that we
have the capacity to stop the
flow of our God-given resources
as our clamour and
fight is for equity and justice.
“We have also succeeded
in educating our brothers
that we do not have any
problem with the military.
We, therefore, warn the federal
government that the deliberate
provocation through
Operation Crocodile smile 2
in the Niger Delta is a waste
of time.
“If our understanding and
sincerity are taken for granted,
it means we would have
no choice but to prove that
we are not cowards. We
would start implementing
our next line of action for
operation zero barrel of oil
in the Niger Delta.”
Anambra Poll: APC presents
Nwoye to Buhari
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
THE Chairman of the National Campaign for the All
Progressives Congress, APC, in the forthcoming
governorship election in Anambra State and Governor of
Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday took the
party’s standard bearer in the November 18 election to
President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the visit,
Governor Abubakar said that the party had reconciled all
the aggrieved members during its primary election to select
the candidate for the election.
He said, “I am the Chairman of the National Campaign
Council of the APC for the Anambra governorship election
that is taking place on 18th of November this year. We have
had our primaries and we have settled all the appeals, we
have done reconciliations.
“It is therefore time to present to the father of the nation,
the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the candidate
of the APC in Anambra state, Dr. Tony Nwoye. The President
has received us very well and has promised us that Insha
Allah he will personally grace the grand finale of the
campaign in Anambra state.”
On his part, Dr. Nwoye who is a serving member of the
House of Representatives, told journalists, “As you know, I
am not God but based on the parameters and the indices of
the Anambra political terrain and based on the campaigns
that we have done so far, I am confident that by God’s grace
because God gives power, that we are going to win.”
National Point Newspaper holds
public lecture @10
NATIONAL Point Newspaper has concluded plans
to hold a public lecture and book presentation as
part of activities marking its 10th anniversary celebration.
A statement by the Executive Director of the Port-
Harcourt based weekly, MsIbiba Don-Pedro said the
events which would hold in Lagos and Port Harcourt
respectively on November 23 and October 26 are in line
with its corporate mission to highlight the environmental
and socio - economic issues confronting the Niger - Delta
region. The statement reads: ‘With the theme ‘Niger-
Delta Next Decade: Away with Oil, the lecture will examine
burning issues facing the oil- rich but beleaguered region.
These include youth restiveness, a future without oil,
environmental degradation, gas flaring which lead to
diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular ailments besides
the devastating effects on livelihoods, businesses, social
life among others.”
Fitness expert counsels
Nigerians on fitness
A
FITNESS expert and Chairman of Gategold, Mr.
Goodluck Obi has called on Nigerians to prioritise
the need to be fit all times, noting that fitness is key to
having a healthy populace.
He also called for the usage of treadmill, noting that it
guarantees a straightforward and efficient aerobic
workout.
Obi said this in Lagos when he donated physiotherapy
equipment, valued at N5 million naira to the National
Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos for the enhancement of
delivery to poor clients.
His words: “Moderate intensity exercise, such as
walking on a treadmill instead of pavement has the added
benefits of reducing the impact on your ankle, knee, and
hip joint. The shock-absorbing capacity allows you to walk
with less stress on your joint than typically occurs with
outdoor walking. Treadmill walking can improve your
cardiovascular fitness, strengthening your heart and
potentially reducing your blood pressure. Regular
walking with treadmill reduces your cholesterol level,
lowering your risk for a heart attack and stroke.
Operation Crocodile Smile 2 in S/W to
chase criminals—Buratai
By Evelyn Usman
CHIEF of Army Staff,
COAS Lieutenant
General Tukur Buratai ,
yesterday in Lagos
explained that the
extension of Exercise
Crocodile Smile 2 to the
South West region of the
country was aimed at
ridding the region of
criminals who fled from
Niger Delta, where the
exercise was earlier
launched.
Speaking during the flag
off of the exercise at Tarkwa
Bay area of the state , the
COAS stated that the
exercise was also aimed
among other things: to
widen the skills of personnel
on land combat and
amphibious operations; to
test troops administration
and sustainment in the field
and adherence to rules of
engagement.
The increase in crimes,
particularly in the coastal
areas of the country, he
said, necessitated the
Nigerian Army to step up
the training and operations
in Amphibious
environment.
He said: “This imperative
has been aptly captured in
the Nigerian Army Order of
Battle 2016, Already, 6
Division Nigerian Army
was operationalised in June
2017 while efforts are on to
establish and operationalise
units and formation
approved in the ORBAT.
“The ORBAT provided for
an amphibious Battalion in
Tarkwa Bay to keep the
coastal area of Lagos state
safe. A detachment of
Nigerian Army has since
stationed on the Island,
more presence of the
Nigerian Army will be felt
soon on Island and other
part of the country in line
with the 2016 ORBAT as
fund become available.”
He noted that various
Military exercises in other
parts of the country,
particularly exercise
Crocodile Smile 1, had
yielded the desired result.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017 — 5
FAVOURITISM ALLEGATIONS AGAINST BUHARI:
You’re insidious minds, Presidency blasts critics
•Says Buhari told World Bank to concentrate on North-East, not entire North
By Charles Kumolu
IN what looked like a
harsh response, the
Presidency, yesterday, berated
critiques for claiming that
President Muhammadu
Buhari told the World Bank
to site its programmes in the
Northern part of Nigeria,
saying the President told the
global financial institution to
focus on the ravaged Northeast
geopolitical zone.
It also explained that the
President’s choice of the
Northeast was as a result of
the devastation of the area
by Boko Haram insurgency.
In a strongly-worded statement,
by the Special Adviser
on Media and Publicity to
the President, Mr. Femi
Adesina, the Presidency described
those, who had earlier
fumed at the statement
credited to the President as
insidious minds.
On the heels of that statement
was another one issued
on Twitter where it stressed
that the Northeast remained
a priority to President Buhari.
The statement reads:
“Those who specialise in a
deliberate twisting of information
have wailed and
raged endlessly on the news
item credited to the World
Bank Group President, Jim
Yong Kim, who disclosed in
Washington DC, United
States of America, that President
Muhammadu Buhari
had requested a concentration
of the bank’s intervention
efforts in the northern
part of Nigeria, particularly
in the Northeast.
“The ignorant and mischievous
people, who twist
everything for their vile purposes,
are making it seem
that it was a calculated attempt
to give the North an
unfair advantage over other
parts of Nigeria.
“The truth is that President
Buhari, right from his first
week in office in June 2015,
had reached out to the G-7
in Germany that Nigeria
needed help to rebuild the
Northeast, which had been
terribly devastated by insurgency.
He said the country
would prefer help in terms
of rebuilding of infrastructure,
rather than cash donation,
which may end up being
misappropriated. In concert
with governors of the
region, a comprehensive list
of needed repairs was sent
to the G-7 leaders.
“Also, during a trip to Washington
in 2015, and many
other engagements that followed,
President Buhari
sought the help of the World
Bank in rebuilding the beleaguered
northeast, which
was then being wrested from
the stranglehold of a pernicious
insurgency. It was
something always done in
the open, and which reflected
the President’s concern for
the region.
“Those ululating over the
disclosure by the President
of the World Bank should be
a bit reflective, and consider
the ravages that the northeast
has suffered since 2009
when the Boko Haram insurgency
started. Schools, hospitals,
homes, entire villages,
towns, cities, bridges, and
other public utilities have
been blown up, laid waste,
and lives terminated in excess
of 20,000, while widows
and orphans littered the
landscape. The humanitarian
crisis was of monumental
proportions.
“President Buhari simply
did what a caring leader
should do. He took the battle
to the insurgents, broke
their backs, and then sought
for help to rebuild so that the
people could have their lives
back. Should that then elicit
the negative commentary
that has trailed the disclosure
from the World Bank? Not at
all, except from insidious
minds.
“President Buhari has a
pan-Nigerian mandate, and
he will discharge his duties
and responsibilities in like
Emefiele bags Forbes
‘Best of Africa’ award
…woos investors to Nigeria
Babajide Komolafe, Reporting from Washington DC
THE Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr.
Godwin Emefiele, has been conferred with the 2017
Forbes Best of Africa Innovative Banking Award by the Forbes
Magazine.
Presenting the award to Mr. Emefiele at a dinner held at the
Willard Intercontinental, Washington, on the sidelines of the
Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), on Thursday, October 12, 2017, the
President of Forbes Customs Emerging Markets, Mark
Furlong, said the award was in recognition of Emefiele’s
courage and determination in using monetary policy to ensure
financial stability in Nigeria.
According to him, the CBN under Emefiele had also shown
transparency, which had helped to stabilise the economy and
had made huge interventions in the real sector of the economy.
He particularly cited the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP)
of the Bank as a major boost to the development of the
agricultural sector in Nigeria.
Before receiving the award, the CBN Governor highlighted
efforts made by the Bank, under his leadership, since 2014, to
stabilize the financial system and maintain the international
value of the naira. Attributing the award to the collective efforts
of the management and staff of the CBN, the cooperation of
the Nigerian Federal Government and the people of Nigeria
who stood by the Bank, he said the CBN had to take inflation
head-on in order to check the negative effects of several global
shocks that had hit Nigeria between 2014 and 2016.
President Muhammadu Buhari (2nd right) receives in audience stakeholders from the South East in
State House yesterday. From left; Ebonyi State Governor H.E. David Umahi, President Ohaneze Ndigbo,
Chief John Enia Nwodo; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama
and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu (right) at the meeting.
manner. Any part of the country
that requires special attention
would receive it, irrespective
of primordial affinities,
which narrow-minded
people have not been able to
live above. This President
will always work in the best
interest of all parts of the
country at all times. Let ethnic
warriors sheathe their
swords.”
World Bank President, Mr.
Jim Kim, had said that President
Buhari asked the bank
to focus its development efforts
on “northern regions of
Nigeria.” “In my very first
meeting with President Buhari
he said specifically that
he would like us to shift our
focus to the northern regions
of Nigeria and we’ve done
that,” he stated.
Buhari insists he’s fair to Ndigbo in appointments
•IPOB is symptomatic consequence of continuous marginalization of the South East —Nwodo
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
P RESIDENT
Muhammadu
Buhari yesterday said that his
government has been fair to the
South East geo-political zone
in terms of appointments which
he said were evidenced in the
allocation of four prominent
ministerial positions to the zone.
The President also assured
leaders from the zone that his
administration will benefit
them more from roads and
coastal rail projects, which he
said were of critical importance
to the economy.
But the President of Ohaneze
Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia
Nwodo told the President that
the South East had remained
marginalized by successive
administrations, which he
stated was the reason behind the
recent agitations by the
Indigenous People of Biafra,
IPOB.
According to Nwodo, IPOB
is a symptomatic consequence
of the continuous
marginalization of the south
east over a long period of time.
The President who met with
the leaders of the South East led
by the Deputy Senate President,
Ike Ekweremadu which had in
attendance the President of
Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief
Nwodo, the governors and
federal lawmakers from the
area in a closed-door at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, told
them that 2nd Niger Bridge, the
East-West Road and the Coastal
rail project, were receiving
utmost attention from his
administration.
President Buhari in a
statement by his Special Adviser
on Media and Publicity, Femi
Adesina, said counterpart
funding from the Chinese
government would
substantially fund these projects,
which when completed will
improve the welfare, well-being
and economy of the people in
the region.
He said, “I know the Chinese
are very competent in handling
such projects and we will ensure
that we get the money for the
projects to take off. I thank you
for articulating your demands
and I want to assure that we are
doing our best for the country.
“If we can stop people from
stealing, then there will be more
resources to put into projects
that will create employment for
Nigerians.”
Responding to allegations of
under-representation of Igbos
in his government, the President
said: “I gave south-east four
substantive ministers in the
ministries of Foreign Affairs,
Trade and Investment, Science
and Technology and Labour.
“Seven states in the North got
Ministers of State and of the
two Ministries headed by your
sons, I cannot take any decision
on foreign policy and
investments without their
input.”
He said he would soon visit
states in the zone, adding, “I
want to assure you that I came
into government with a clear
conscience and I will also leave
with a clear conscience.”
Earlier, the President of
Ohaneze, while articulating the
demands of the zone to the
President highlighted the issue
of state creation, restructuring,
federal projects in the South
East namely Enugu-Onitsha
road, Enugu-Port Harcourt
road and Aba-Ikot-Ekpene
road, among others.
Nwodo also demanded
urgent presidential
interventions on the Enugu
Airport, reticulation of the gaspipelines
in the South East and
the standard gauge plan for
railway construction.
Commending the President’s
remarkable achievements on
security and the fight against
corruption, Nwodo declared:
“we are ready to work with you.
We are determined to work with
you. We know you are a decisive
leader and we know God will
continue to give you the wisdom
to govern Nigeria.”
Also speaking, Governor
Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State
expressed satisfaction on the
outcome of their discussions
with the President on critical
issues and topics affecting the
region.
Umahi, who is the Chairman
of South East Governors
Forum said, “You have no
hatred for any state. You have
treated all states with equality.
What one state gets in the north,
the other gets in the south.”
Speaking to State House
correspondents after the
meeting, Chief Nwodo said,
“We had a frank and robust
exchange, we discussed
problems of the south east and
as head of state he is the finale
repository of an appeal for the
resolutions of those problems.
We went into great details about
each of those problems and I
have confidence that President
Buhari will give the problems
the attention they deserve.
“We dealt with problems of
development in the south east;
basic capital projects which
have for a very long time been
neglected not just from this
government but for a very long
time, major arteries of federal
highways in the south east have
been in complete state of
disrepair. Enugu-Onitsha,
Enugu-Port Harcourt, Aba-Ikot
Ekpene are virtually
impassable.
“We talked about the inland
waterways and the dredging of
the River Niger. We talked
about the reticulation of gas
pipeline on the south east. We
export gas from the south east
to the other parts of the country,
but there is no reticulation of
the pipeline and industrial
clusters in the south east.
“We talked about the only
international airport we have
in the south east which has very
bad infrastructure in terms of
the buildings.
“We got assurance from the
president that he will deal with
each of those problems.”
On whether the issue of
alleged marginalization of the
zone came up in the meeting,
he said, “That was the opening
line and that was why we single
out these things. Like I have said
these problems have been there
overtime and we have had
several presidents, it didn’t just
happen in the last two years. But
we expressed the desire that he
should be able to address them.”
Also responding to the
question on whether the
president’s promises could be
trusted, Nwodo said, “There is
no reason for me to doubt him
because this is the first time I have
had this interaction with him. I
have the feeling that he spoke to
us very frankly.”
On whether the issue of IPOB
came up in their discussion, he
said, “We came here for the
issues of developments in our
place. We talked about IPOB as
a symptomatic consequence of
the continuous marginalization
of the south east over a
long period of time.
Understandably our children
are restive and we want to make
sure that the federal government
is responsive to the issues that
have cumulated in the
quintessence of these agitations.”
Speaking on the issue of
devolution of powers, Nwodo
said, “We did talk about the issue
of devolution of powers, the
constitution, the paucity of the
states and local governments in
our place and the president has
asked that he be given time to
look at this more holistically.”

6 — VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 , 2017
Obasanjo, Daniel in closed door meeting
over PDP chairmanship election
By Daud Olatunji,
Abeokuta
A
former governor of
Ogun state Otunba
Gbenga Daniel on Friday
held a closed door meeting
with former President Olusegun
Obasanjo at his Presidential
Hilltop Estate,
Abeokuta, the Ogun state
capital .
Saturday Vanguard gathered
that Daniel’s visit to
Obasanjo was to consult and
solicit his support ahead of
Daniel’s planned formal declaration
of intention to run for
the Office of the National
Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party(PDP).
Daniel, who governed
Ogun State for eight years
on the platform of PDP, is
expected to declare his intention
for the PDP chairmanship
position in Abuja next
Wednesday .
Daniel would be contesting
with some PDP bigwigs
who are also aspiring to lead
the former largest political
party in Africa.
The Political warlords who
are also running alongside
Otunba Daniel include;
former Deputy national
Chairman ,Chief Bode
George and the Chairman of
Daar Communications,
Chief Raymond Dokpesi
among others..
Daniel was in the residence
of the ex- President
with some members of the
Ogun State Caretaker Committee
of the party led by its
chairman Bar. Tunde
Odanye, former State Chairman
of PDP, Elder Joju Fadairo,
former governorship
aspirant , Kayode Amusan,
former minister of steel, Sarafa
Ishola, Director of Organization,
Ogun PDP, Deji
Kalejaiye among others.
They arrived Obasanjo’s
home around 10am and
held a closed door meeting
with him after about an
hour of waiting.
The former governor who
spoke with newsmen after
the meeting said, “ The PDP
Ogun state has been rejuvenated
and we are led
here today by the Caretaker
Chairman, Bar. Tunde
Odanye (Ogun state) to
pay our respect to Baba and
to let him know that the
party has been rejuvenated,
re-organized and also
ready to re-launch itself in
a way that is unprecedented
and that is why we are
here.
“The important thing is
that we are reunited . Before
now there were a number
of divisions in the party
but now, united we stand
and through this we are
sending a signal that we are
taking over the administration
in Ogun state and of
course in Nigeria in 2019”.
When asked of his Chairmanship
ambition, Daniel
stressed, “Yes, I am consulting
and Baba was one of
the founding fathers of this
great party, the only President
we had for eight years
in this part of the country
so, we can’t move without
him and it is important that
we consult with him.
“There are no many challenges
nor problems in the
party, they call it internal democracy
but in summary
we just want to return the
party back to the people and
once we are able to do that,
I am sure that the people
will take control.”
Aso Villa Clinic probe: Jonathan had nothing
to do with 2015 budget implementation,
says Aide
MEDIA adviser to
former President
Goodluck Jonathan, Mr.
Ikechukwu Eze has faulted
media reports which
claimed that the House
of Representatives planned
to investigate the
past administrations of
President Jonathan and
President Muhammadu
Buhari over N11.1 billion
State House Clinic
budgets between 2015-
2017.
Eze in a statement issued
Friday, however dismissed
the report as a
misrepresentation of
facts, stressing that ex-
President Jonathan had
nothing to do with the
implementation of the
2015 budget.
His statement reads:
“The House of representatives
resolved Thursday
12 October, 2015, to
probe 2015-2017 allocations
to Aso Rock Clinic
and some media reports
are needlessly dragging
the name of former Pres-
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
ident Goodluck Jonathan
into it. We had thought
that the media should be
the first to remind Nigerians
that since Dr.
Jonathan left office on
May 29, 2015, he had
absolutely nothing to do
with the implementation
of the budget for that
year.
“For emphasis, the 2015
Appropriation Bill which
was passed by the parliament
in April was signed
into law in May, 2015.
And since the procurement
process, based on
the new procurement law,
takes at least three
months to complete, there
was no way Jonathan
would have had anything
to do with the budget implementation
for 2015,
before vacating Aso Rock
Villa on May 29, 2015.
“Going by the way some
people make insinuations
on issues that border
on the development
of our country, it would
appear as if Ex-President
Jonathan had been in office
since independence
in 1960, and probably still
be in charge today. We
expect media houses to
always do proper investigations
to avoid the convenient
choice of always
using Jonathan as the
scapegoat for the misdeeds
of others.
Pipeline Security: Consult ethnic
stakeholders, INYC tells FG
By Charles Kumolu
THE Itsekiri National Youth Council, INYC, has
called on the Federal Government to carry ethnic
stakeholders in the Niger Delta region along in
the engagement of 10,000 youths for security surveillance
of oil and gas pipelines in the region.
INYC, in a statement by its Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Joseph Uwawah, said: “The engagement of
youths for pipeline security should be handled by
stakeholders in the various areas where the pipes
are domiciled within the region.
The statement reads: “It is sad to hear of the alleged
screening of 10,000 youths by the Federal Government
in partnership with some group of leaders
from the region for pipeline surveillance job.
“The engagement of youths for the pipeline surveillance
job will help in addressing the problem of
youth restiveness if properly handled through various
ethnic stakeholders and youth leaders in the region.
“We will resist any attempt by the Federal
Government to sublet the engagement of youths for
pipeline security to some agencies owned by a group
of leaders in the region.’’
Court jails 45 Boko Haram
members
A Federal High Court sitting in Kainji, Niger State,
has convicted and sentenced 45 Boko Haram members
to between 3 and 31 years in jail.
This is contained in a statement issued on Friday
by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed, and signed by his Special Adviser,
Mr Segun Adeyemi.
The Minister said that the court decision followed
the conclusion of the first phase of the trial of 575
Boko Haram suspects brought before it.
He said the Court discharged 468 suspects who
had no case to answer, struck out 34 cases while 28
other suspects were remanded for trial in Abuja and
Minna.
Mohammed said that the court ordered that the
468 discharged persons should undergo de-radicalisation
and rehabilitation programmes before handing
them over to their respective state governments.
He said the Court adjourned the trial of other suspects
to January 2018
The Minister recalled that the trial had commenced
with the formal remand of 1,669 suspects for a period
of 90 days.
He said that the court had ordered that the suspects
be arraigned within the specified period or
released unconditionally.

Hate speeches capable of
disintegrating Nigeria, Obaseki,
Catholic Bishops, Oba Ewuare 11 warn
By Simon
Ebegbulem
GOVERNOR Godwin
Obaseki of Edo state,
Catholic Bishops of Nigeria
and the Benin monarch,
Oba Ewuare 11, have
expressed their anger over
what they described as
divisive comments being
made by political leaders,
and urged Nigerians to pray
hard against comments and
actions capable of
disintegrating the nation.
While the Bishops led by
their President, Arch-Bishop
Ignatius Kaigama, harped
on the need to commence
genuine reconciliation to
achieve lasting peace and
reconciliation in Nigeria,
Oba Ewuare 11, called for
prayers for political leaders
to be equipped with the
desired wisdom to lead a
united nation.
They stated this when the
Bishops paid a courtesy visit
on Oba Ewuare 11 at his
palace in Benin City. The
Bishops are in the Edo state
capital for the three day
Centenary celebration of the
appearance of the apparition
of Mary, the Mother of
Jesus Christ at Fatima, in
Portugal.
Governor Obaseki who
spoke when the Bishops
and representative of Pope
Francis paid him a courtesy
visit at Government House,
asserted that “our unity is
being threatened by hate
speech, unemployment and
other numerous divisive
tendencies. The country
needs the church more than
before so you can speak the
truth when the need arises.
“We accept the message
of our mother, Mary at
Fatima. We need political
restructure so that there will
be a sense of belonging for
all of us. I’m a pilgrim in
search of more grace. It is
my prayer that we become
better and greater after
now,”.
Among other top clerics
on the entourage were the
Catholic Bishop of Abuja
Cardinal John Onaikan, the
representative of the
Apostolic Nunsio in Nigeria
Monsignor Harvier who
also represents the Pope in
the country as well as
Archbishop of Benin
Diocese Most Rev.
Augustine Akubueze,
Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie,
emeritus Bishop Patrick
Ekpu and other Cahtolic
Bishops from the 36 states
of the nation.
L-R: Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (middle), flanked
by Tara Fela-Durotoye, CEO, House of Tara (2nd left); Olalekan Olude, Co-Founder,
Jobberman Limited (1st left), Professor Eyitayo Ogunbodede, Vice Chancellor,
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife (2nd right); and Tunde Owolabi, Group
Executive, Retail Banking, FirstBank(1st right) at the “The Entrepreneur Mindset”, a
Mentoring Session with Ibukun Awosika, held at OAU Campus recently.
Arch Bishop Kaigama
while addressing the Oba of
Benin, harped on the need
for “the world to allow peace
to reign” and to ask for God’s
intervention in the affairs of
the country to bring about
genuine reconciliation and
peace as well as avoid all the
provocative and very
dangerous statements
capable of tearing the nation
and her people apart.
In his response, Oba
Ewuare 11 said that the
ancient palace has had
many things in common
with the Catholic Church,
stressing that he had a soft
spot for the clergies while
serving in Rome as Nigerian
Ambassador.
His words, “I am sure you
have all been praying for me,
the kingdom and the palace.
We want to please appeal to
you all to pray fervently for
us for success. We have a lot
of challenges; we want
peace, we want security. We
keep praying to God
Almighty, we pray for our
leaders in Abuja, the
President for his good
health, for all the governors,
most importantly that God
should give us more
wisdom, to add to our
wisdom to rule our people.
“Perhaps all of you coming
VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 — 7
here today, are not aware
that my secondary school
was Immaculate
Conception College, that
was where I completed my
secondary school and I
believe what the Reverend
Fathers in that school
imbibed in us such as
morality, uprightness and
truth that have been helping
me in particular all this
while. It further straighten
the image connection with
my ancestors to always tell
the truth and stand by the
truth.”
Olokun Festival Quiz competition: Gani
Adams, Nollywood artistes call for
more attention to Yoruba Language
By Dapo Akinrefon
THE Chief promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation,
Otunba Gani Adams and popular Nollywood artistes,
including Tayo Odueke, Sesan Adio, Ojoge and others
have called for more attention to the teaching and learning
of Yoruba language.
They made the call during the quiz competition for
secondary schools in Lagos as part of the events lined up
for the 20017 edition of the annual Olokun Festival.
Eight senior secondary schools in Lagos State took part
in the keenly contested competition, which tested
secondary school students on various aspects of Yoruba
literature, culture and tradition and other aspects of the
Yoruba language.
In his address, Adam, who is also the National
Coordinator of Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, decried
the rising neglect of the Yoruba language in favour of
western and foreign languages.
The OPU Convener stated that the organizers of the
event introduced the Yoruba quiz competition as part of
its efforts, not just to propagate the Yoruba culture, but
to encourage the learning of Yoruba language among
secondary school students.
While he urged traditional rulers and governments of
the South West states to dedicate more resources to
encourage students to learn the Yoruba language, the
Olokun Festival Foundation chief said: “This event (the
quiz competition } is part of the Olokun Festival . It was
introduced some years back to promote and preserve the
Yoruba language.
NASS laments poor budgetary allocation to hospitals
•Seeks proper funding of public hospitals
By Chioma Obinna
MEMBERS of the
House Committee
on Health Institutions
yesterday decried poor
budgetary allocation to the
Lagos University Teaching
Hospital, LUTH, even as
it made case for proper
funding of public hospitals
across the nation.
The members of the
committee led by its
chairman, Hon. Betty
Apiafi, representing,
Constituency, Ahoada-
East/Abua/Odual, Rivers
state who were on an
oversight function to LUTH
also noted that a tertiary
hospital like LUTH needed
more funding for it to
function properly.
Appraising the hospital’s
budgetary performance,
the chairman of the
committee, who put the
performance at about 41
percent said the institution
was not given what they
asked for, adding that, “out
of about N130 million, only
about 40 percent was
released which is further
reduced to about N40 or
N50 million.
Apiafi further called for
proper funding of public
health institutions for
effective delivery of
services.
He said: “As a house, we
think that we need to look
at bulk or outside funding
to support the health
institutions, if we have to
make our health institutions
functional. We need to fund
them properly but
depending on the national
budget will not solve our
problems.
“We need to seek
collaboration with other
agencies and see how bulk
money can be raised. We
have many leaking roofs
and buildings in the
hospital to refurbish in
order to get patients
properly taken care of. “
Expressing satisfaction
on the projects executed in
the hospital, Apiafi who
said she was excited with
the established biomedical
training school in the
hospital said with such
schools in public hospitals;
era of abandoned medical
equipment would be a
thing of the past.
She further called for the
replication of the school in
other public hospitals.
“The school is very
important because any
hospital you go to in this
country, you will see
abandoned medical
equipment. And with the
cost of equipment today, it
will do us some good if we
now have a good number
of our people working on
medical equipment and
that will keep all our
hospitals' equipment
functioning.
Man attempts suicide over N27 million debt
By Davies
Iheamnachor
THERE was panic
yesterday in
Rumuaghorlu in Obio/
Akpor Local Government
area of Rivers State as a
middle aged man
allegedly attempted to
commit suicide over debts.
It was gathered that the
man, Meshack Okonye,
who is the Managing
Director of CMIK High
Global Service, had
incurred huge debt which
made debtors troop to his
house daily.
It was learnt that
Okonye, had allegedly
executed a project for a
firm, Bua International
Limited in Sugar Refinery
project in Port Harcourt for
Troops kill Boko Haram terrorists
in Borno
By Joseph Erunke
THE troops of 202 Battalion, 21 Brigade Nigerian
A r m y ,
on Operations Lafiya Dole killed many Boko Haram
terrorists in Borno State on Thursday.
A Nigerian Army statement, yesterday, said the
development followed the clearance and blockade
tagged:”Operation Deep Punch 2, launched by the troops
at Boko Haram terrorists’ enclaves in Abaram, Churuchuru
and Aulajiri villages in Bama Local Government Area of the
state.
“The terrorists on sighting our troops withdrew in dissary
as the troops overpowered them with a heavy fire.
“The troops neutralized three of the terrorists, rescued a
child who is between five to six years of age and recovered
two dane guns, “the statement said.
It said similarly, troops of 151 Battalion, 21 Brigade on
patrol encountered some Boko Haram terrorists along
Bama-BOCOBS road. The troops engaged the terrorists
in a heavy fire fight and neutralized quite a number of
which Bua still owed
CMIK over N27 million.
It was also gathered that
Okonye had sold off most
of his property in order to
pay the workers he
employed and the
machineries he hired for
the project.
The wife, Mrs. Millicent,
said that her husband had
attempted to commit
suicide because of the debt,
adding that after executing
the contract several people
have been coming to
demand for their payment.
Millicent noted that
those who lend money to
her husband to execute the
project had been
threatening, noting that
Okonye did a job for one
Bua International Limited
and that over 27,750,000
was still not paid.
She explained that her
husband has sold off most
of his property to enable
him pay the debts, but that
the money was huge.
“I will not be happy and
I will not take it lightly if
my husband hurts himself
because of debt that Bua
International Company
owes him,” she added.
Millicent then called on
the government agencies
and well meaning
Nigerians to compel Bua
International Limited to
pay her husband so that he
could pay off his debts.
Meanwhile, the
management of Bua
International Limited
declined comment when
contacted.

8 — VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017
FG’s ban on doctor’s private practice a
time-bomb waiting to explode — Dr Obayi
By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA —THE President
of National
Association of Resident
Doctors (NARD) Federal
Medical Centre Abuja, Dr
Emmanuel Obayi, has said
the federal government’s ban
of private practice by doctors
in full time employment in
the public service was
comparable to a time-bomb
waiting to explode.
According to him, the ban
carries the potential of
leaving public health
institutions in disarray owing
to the fact that most doctors
operating in the public sector
were poorly remunerated
and were forced to work in
harsh conditions.
He added that the ban
could trigger a mass exodus
of quality brains from public
health institutions
established to cater to the
needs of the poor in the
society to the private sector
where the remuneration is
not only higher and more
regular but also boasts of
better infrastructure and
quality working
environment
Obayi, who made this
known in an interview with
Vanguard, said the resident
doctors received the
information with dismay
because the government
appeared to have lost focus
on what was really important
in tackling the problems of
the health sector in Nigeria.
He said: “The federal
government is joking. We
don’t think they are serious
with the ban slammed on
doctors in public sector from
engaging in private practice.
“Compare the welfare
package of doctors in the
public sector in some other
countries with what we have
in Nigeria. You will find out
that we receive peanuts from
government here.
“If government pays its
F suspected
OURTEEN
growers and cultivators
of indian hemp have
been arrested and 5000
hecters of plantation
destroyed by officials of the
National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA) in Ondo state.
The arrest and
destruction of the
plantation at Ala forest was
carried out by a Special
Enforcement Team(SET)
led by the Controller of
Operations(CN) of the
Agency Sunday Zirange.
Those arrested include
both men and women.
The led by the NDLEA’s
Chairman/Chief Executive
Officer(CEO)
Col.Mustapha
Abdallah(Rtd) were on a
two day operation to the
state.
Also, two suspected
cultivators of the substance
had to abandon what they
doctors very well, there will
be no need for them to
engage in private practice
of any kind. Even if they do,
it will be just to help
humanity.
“Check the number of
strike actions embarked
upon by doctors in the public
sector since 2014, you will
be amazed at the number
you will count. These
industrial actions are all
centred on welfare issues.
“As we speak, doctors in
UNTH and ULTH are
currently being owed
salaries and other welfare
packages. How does the
government expect them to
survive?” he queried.
Obayi, however,
maintained that even with
the poor salary and harsh
working conditions doctors
are rarely derelict in their
duties in public health
institutions. He cited the
number of Consultants who
not only provide health care
services but also teach
resident doctors and
graduate them every year as
world class professionals
“Honestly, government
has removed its eye from the
ball and is now focusing on
the periphery. Government
rarely provide infrastructure in
public health institutions. Take
for instance the State House
clinic that reportedly lacked x-
ray machine, syringes, and
medicines. Government will be
quick to say it budgeted billions
of Naira for health
infrastructure. But you and I
know that these budgeted
sums are unrealistic. The
funds are seldom released.
Budget implementation is
zero in Nigeria. These are
the real issues that need
government attention.
“We will not embark on
strike action over the ban of
private practice but we think
there is need for public
enlightenment on the pressing
problems plaguing the
health sector that require priority
attention of government,”
he said.
Obayi said that the union
would not advise any doctor
to abandon his or her duties
in the public sector which
caters for the majority for the
private sector.
EVANS: Kirikiri Prison is well fortified against escape
— PRO
By Joseph Unduu
PRISON authorities,
yesterday, assured
that security has been
fortified at Kirikiri prison
where suspected notorious
kidnap kingpin, Chukudemebi
Onwuamagbu aka
Evans, is awaiting trial and
stated that he did not plot to
escape from the prison as
being rumoured.
The Public Relations Officer
of Nigeria Prisons, Francis
Enobare who stated this
while addressing newsmen
during a musical concert organised
by Lamboginny in
14 suspects arrested, 5,000
hectares of Indian hemp
plantation destroyed in Ondo
were cooking on fire
inside their hut when they
saw the team but were
later arrested in a nearby
farm where they were
hiding.
Hundreds of labourers
were engaged by the
agency to cut all the
substance before they
were set on fire.
Speaking on behalf of the
NDLEA Chairman,
Zirange lamented the rate
of deforestation in the
southwest especially
Ondo state.
He said that “in the next
10 years if care is not taken,
the thick forest in the west
would have disappeared.
“The Northern part is a
desert region, with fast
encroachment while the
south which is suppose to
be the hope of the nation
is being used for cannabis
cultivation and the
destruction of economic
trees.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State being briefed by his commissioner
for works and infrastructure, Engr. Greg Nnaji yesterday, on the
progress report on the reconstruction of the failed box culvert at New Haven
junction, Enugu, built over 16 years ago.
conjunc-tion with the Nigeria
Prisons, Lagos State Command
at Kirikiri Medium
Security, Apapa said that “the
suspect was in high spirit and
his lawyer had free access to
him.
According to the Deputy
Controller of Prisons; the notorious
billionaire kidnapper
popularly known as Evans
did not plot to escape from
our custody as claimed. The
report is mere rumour, he is
hale and hearty.
“There is no truth in that
story published by one media
house (name withheld)
that Evans plotted to escape
from our custody. He is in
high spirit and he sees his
lawyers as he wants. He has
never plotted to escape since
we took custody of him. The
security around him is very
tight; all our prisons are well
fortified.”
He added that the musical
concert was an avenue to
build and discover talented
youths inside the prison.
In his speech, Lagos state
Controller of Prisons, Mr
Tunde Ladipo, stated that the
programme was put together
to reshape the lives of inmates
and make them more
useful to themselves and the
society after serving their jail
term, adding that there were
lots of talents behind the
wall.
He advised the inmates to
engage in productive behaviour,
shun crime and any act
that could bring them back
or tarnish their image after
serving their jail term. “When
we discover them, we give
them courage to build themselves
and be useful to the
society.”
Meanwhile, the organiser
of the concert, Yinka Lawanson,
popularly called Lamboginny
said he would continue
to partner with the Nigeria
Prison Service to hunt
and discover talented youths
inside the prison. He also
used the occasion to launch
his album titled SALT. “The
inmates were so happy. That
is why I call on government
to decongest the prisons.
There are many talented
young men and women in
the prison who felt that all
hope was lost because they
are unable to pay their fines.
This partnership between
me and NPS that gave me
the idea of launching my new
album in the prison. I believe
this concert will give the inmates
courage and make
them to discover their
talent,”he said.
North highest consumer of hard, fake
drugs — Arewa youths
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region Editor
IN a rare confession,
the Coalition of
Northern Groups, yesterday,
raised the alarm that
the North had become the
highest consumer of hard
and substandard drugs
capable of causing untold
social, economic and political
crisis to the region.
The startling revelation
was contained in a mail
released by the Spokesman
for the CNG, Abdul-
Azeez Suleiman, entitled:
“Persistent proliferation of
Northern Pharmaceutical
Markets with Drugs of
Abuse” and made available
to Saturday Vanguard.
Although the group did
not name those responsible
for flooding the
North with hard and fake
drugs, the Spokesman,
accused the perpetrators
of using hard and counterfeit
drugs as a political
weapon to smear the
North.
The CNG lamented
that the persistent flooding
of the region with
fake and hard drugs had
continued despite its demand
as contained in its
‘Kaduna Declaration’
that certain aspects of
drug distribution in the
north be reviewed by the
respective states.
For this reason, the
CNG called for immediate
closure of all open
drug markets in the
North, the empanelling
of task forces to deal
with the dealers of fake
and hard drugs and the
revocation of the land titles
of the masterminds
across the region.
The group said, “Worried
by the recent disturbing
revelation by the
Senate of the Federal
Republic that not less
than three million bottles
of codeine are consumed
daily in Kano alone, the
Coalition of Northern
Groups CNG, wishes to
remind the 19 northern
governors of its demand
for the total closure of all
the open drug markets
operating in Northern
Nigeria.
AfDB projects
3.7% GDP growth
for Africa by 2018
By Franklin Alli
THE Africa Development
Bank, AfDB, yesterday ,
revised downward its
projected GDP growth rate
for the continent to 3.7
percent from 4.2 percent by
2018.
The bank in an updated
forecast released in Abidjan,
said: “The changes in
previous forecasts released in
the African Economic
Outlook in May 2017 have
followed the release of new
data by some key countries
–Nigeria, Algeria, and
Egypt– which account for
some 50% of the continent’s
GDP and which revised their
2017 and 2018 forecasts
downwards.”
Abebe Shimeles, Acting
Director, Macroeconomics
Policy, Forecasting and
Research, said that however,
the continent’s averages
compare favourably with
global economic growth
projections of 3.5% and 3.6%
GDP growth in 2017 and
2018, respectively.
Anambra
attracts
N60bn agric
investments
By John Ndu
ANAMBRA State
Government has attracted
N 60 billion investment
for establishment
of 4,000 hectares of
Commercial Agriculture
Project.
This was announced
during the signing of
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU), between
Folio Holdings
Limited, and the Anambra
State Government, at
Governor’s Lodge,
Amawbia.
The project is to be sited
at Awba-Ofemili,
Awka North Local Government
Area (LGA), Anambra
State.
It will be in a partnership
among Triton Aqua
Africa Ltd., Alluvial Farm
Nigeria Ltd., and Choice
International Group.
Signing on behalf of the
Anambra, Gov. Willie
Obiano said the state
under his administration,
had promoted agricultural
production to strengthen
the economy and create
food sufficiency for the
state. Obiano said he had
invested not less than,
N2 billion in supporting
farmers, saying the state
had not less than, 500
Cooperatives that had
commenced recruitment
of youths in various
segments of the economy.
“We have started recruitment
of youths, especially
in agriculture to
give them basic rudimentary
training in agriculture.
“Before my administration,
the GDP of the
state was 1.8 trillion, but
currently, it has grown to
N3.9 trillion.
“From records, my administration
has contributed
N200 trillion to
growth, making it N300
trillion,” governor said.

Police storm Ex-Dep Speaker’s residence
in Benin over govt vehicle
By Simon Ebegbulem
THE Edo State police
command has obtained
a warrant of arrest
from the Benin High
Court to effect the arrest
of the former Deputy
Speaker of the State
House of Assembly, Mrs
Elizabeth Ativie over her
alleged refusal to return
the remaining one vehicle
belonging to the House
in her possession.
The lawmaker who is
currently on suspension
from the House had returned
three out of the four
vehicles in her possession
and promised to return
the remaining one which
according to her she sold
long ago.
Saturday Vanguard
gathered that the matter
was being resolved amicably
by the leadership of
the All Progressives Congress
(APC) in the state
until it took a new twist. It
was gathered that policemen
attached to the State
Criminal Investigation
Department (SCID) of the
state Command, stormed
her Benin residence at the
early hours of yesterday to
arrest her but she was not
at home. Saturday Vanguard
was reliably informed
that the Speaker
of the House, Alhaji Kabiru
Adjoto had insisted
that the vehicle be returned.
When Saturday
Vanguard contacted the
Speaker as regards the
latest move to arrest Ativie,
he confirmed the incident
insisting that the law
should take its course.
He said: ¨I think we
have given the former
Deputy Speaker enough
time to return the remaining
vehicle and she failed
to do so. So there is nothing
wrong if the police are
doing their job. One person
cannot hold the entire
lawmakers to ransom.
If you look at other members
of the former leadership,
we all are working
together without any
problem so why is her
own different?
¨So I don´t have personal
issues against her.
She actually created this
problem for herself and
she knows. It is unfortunate.
Let the police do
their work and that is my
reaction to the issue¨ he
stated.
VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 — 9
From Left: Brand Manager, Natures Gentle Touch, Anita Anosike; Movie
Director of “Omoye,” Uche Chukwu; General Manager, Natures Gentle Touch,
Chijioke Anaele and Nigerian actor Kiki Omeili at a press conference to
announce the movie “Omoye” sponsored by Natures Gentle Touch recently
at NECA House, Lagos.Photo: Akeem Salau
Flood sacks Bayelsa communities
By Samuel
Oyadongha
FLOOD has dis
placed scores of
persons in some communities
in Biseni clan
in Yenagoa local government
area of Bayelsa
state. Fish farms, farmlands,
crops, homes and
church buildings have
been submerged by
surging waters forcing
several persons to relocate
from their homes.
The troubled natives
have therefore appealed
to government to sand
fill the community as
well as construct embankment
to save them
from the perennial flooding
in the area.
Biseni is one of the
clans in Yenagoa Local
Government Area of the
state, located along the
Taylor creek, a tributary
of the River Niger.
The clan is made up of
about ten communities,
most of them located on
low lying planes, making
them susceptible to
perennial flooding especially
from September to
November.
Saturday Vanguard recalled
that these communities
were among the
worst hit in the country
during the 2012 flood
disaster with water sacking
most houses, roads
and other infrastructure..
This year, the flood level
seem to have been
more than what was experienced
in the last
four years as explained
by the head of Chiefs of
Egbebiri communities,
comprising Egbebiri I
and II as well as Akudoma,
Chief Oyowah
Charles.
He said, “ most of our
houses have been submerged
by surging waters
forcing many to
move out to higher
ground. We don’t know
whether the water level
will surpass that of
2012.
“If the government can
build embankment
along the creek here as
well as sand fill the communities,
it will save us
this perennial flooding.”
Also lamenting the
plight of the locals, Mrs.
Kuroyinaya Aniedima
and Mrs. Esther Gwanbiri
who spoke in pidgin
and the local dialect stated
that their homes have
been flooded as well as
their farmlands compelling
them to resort to
forced harvesting of
their crops.
Archbishop
Martin, Osu,
others move to
rejig Catholic
Agora
By Sam Eyoboka
THE Catholic Archdi
ocese of Lagos took
advantage of the 57th independence
anniversary
celebration to reinvigorate
its Catholic Agora Social
Media Network, the first
privately owned Catholic
Social Media in Africa,
which was formally unveiled
on August 4, 2017
by Archbishop Alfred Adewale
Martins.
The investiture ceremony
of about 16-member
Catholic Agora Board of
Benefactors to assist the
Archdiocese to retool the
online platform in the
mould of Facebook designed
to serve the needs
of Catholic faithful, was
also used to raise funds
for the management of the
Catholic Agora Social
Media.
In his address, the
Catholic Archbishop of
Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred
Adewale Martins, disclosed
that the idea of the
Catholic Agora was not
accidental but rather a
response to the special
place of the archdiocese
as the most vibrant in the
country and the hub of
media related activities.
“Our archdiocese is
growing by the day, both
spiritually and in terms of
infrastructural development,”
he noted, stressing
that there is therefore
the urgent need to harness
all the various
groups in “our Archdiocese
through timely exchange
of information,
ideas and sharing of
knowledge about our faith
so that we can be better
grounded spiritually and
administratively.”
He also revealed that
the inspiration of the
Catholic Agora actually
derived from Emeritus
Pope Benedict XVI message
to all Catholic faithful
during the 47th World
Communication Day,
when he urged the faithful
to embrace the social
networks as the new expectations,
especially
Catholic website space for
evangelism.
RESTRUCTURING: Itsekiri demand
referendum to devolve powers
By Egufe Yafugborhi,
Warri
M Itsekiri INORITY
ethnic
nationality has called on
the Federal Government
to hold a nationwide
referendum on
devolution of powers
and true federalism that
will guarantee equity
and social justice among
all component groups.
The Itsekiri ethnic
nationality under th
aegis of the Itsekiri
National Forum, INF,
yesterday in Warri,
Delta state, said that
Itsekiri supports a
Nigeria that remains
indivisible and abhors
any violent split or
exclusion of any state or
group from the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
The Itsekiri position
presented by Chief Komi
Kartey, leader of INF
and Secretary, Olu-In-
Council, described
Itsekiri as major
contributor to the
nation’s economy and
not below second
position among oil and
gas producing ethnic
groups, but that the
present sociologypolitical
arrangements
have not rewarded them
accordingly.
They demanded that
the envisaged
restructured
government to, “remain
democratic with all arms
and institutions
managed in cost
effective manner with
zero tolerance for
corruption, nepotism,
and undue imbalance in
the devolution of
powers.

10—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
•SARDUANA OF SOKOTO
•ZIK
• DIKE CHUKWUMERIJI
• AWOLOWO
• GOWON
Six investments that could
make Nigeria GREAT AGAIN
My way forward - Dike Chukwumerije
Dike Chukwumerije is a
Nigerian Spoken Word and
Performance Poetry artist and
an award winning author.
Dike who studied Law and
has published eight books to his name, is
one of the sons of Late Senator Uche
Chukwumerije. Since 2013, he has hosted
and directed the annual Night of the
Spoken Word (NSW) performance poetry
event, as part of a movement to insert
performance poetry into Nigeria’s
mainstream pop culture. He is Nigeria’s
most prolific Performance Poet with three
successful Performance Poetry videos, a live
Poetry show (NSW – Night of the Spoken
Word) now in its 5th year, and a theatre
production (the Made in Nigeria Poetry
Show) that had been successfully staged
seven times – in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Benin
– between September 2016 and May 2017.
His shows are now among the most
anticipated events in Abuja, creatively
fusing entertainment and a call for reawakening
of national consciousness. In
one of his presentations, he highlighted
some of the factors responsible for the apathy
in the country and the way forward. Hear
him on this video that has gone viral...
“There was a country”, Chinua Achebe
wrote and I think he knew what he was
If we have
become more
similar over time,
why is our
politics still as
divisive as it was
50 years ago? I
can understand
it 50 years ago
talking about, because to say that Nigeria
was the mistake of 1914, that it’s a mere
geographical expression is to discount
1920 and the formation of the Nigerian
National Democratic party by Herbert
Macaulay, to fight for the rights of people
he considered to be his countrymen. It is
to discount 1933 and the formation of the
Nigerian Youth movement by people like
Ernest Ikoli from today’s Bayelsa, H.O
Davies from today’s Lagos, Eyo Ita from
today’s Cross-River to fight for the rights
of people they considered their
countrymen. It is to discount 1944 and
the formation of the National Council of
Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC). It was
formed by students to bring together the
two political heavyweights of that time,
Nnamdi Azikiwe and Herbert Macaulay
together in one organisation, so that they
can effectively fight for the independence
of the country these young people
considered to be theirs.
Nigeria is a mere geographical
expression is to discount the constitutional
conferences that took place in 1951, 1953,
1957, 1958,when Nigerians from all
walks of life came together to negotiate
and agree on the terms under which they
were prepared to live together. It is to
discount Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
who in the early 60s took a trip to the
United States and what he saw there
made him think that if this country
(America) with its trajectory can become
a nation, then Nigeria can do it too. And
from the states, he wrote a letter to a
friend back in Nigeria in which he said
“from today henceforth, I consider
myself a Nigerian and nothing else”. To
say Nigeria is a mere geographical
expression is to discount the fact that for
a generation of young men and women
that Nigeria was an aspiration, a dream
and independence was the fruit of
decades of struggle. So, when Chinua
Achebe said there was a country, he was
expressing nostalgia for a dream that
did not come to pass, not very different
from the sentiments expressed by
Anthony Enahoro who as a young man
in the parliament in 1953 moved the
motion for self governance in 1956, but
as a much older man later in his life, he
wrote “This is not the Nigeria of our
dreams”.
I know this is not the Nigeria of the
dreams of Achebe’s generation. I know
that there was a coup on the 15th of
January 1966 that triggered a
Continues on pg 11

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—11
Six investments that could make Nigeria GREAT AGAIN
Continues from pg 10
catastrophic series of events for this country.
I know this... I know there was pogrom in
May, July and September of ’66 when men,
women and children were killed, pregnant
women had their belly split open, their
babies ripped out and killed because of their
ethnicity. I know that there was a war, a
brutal war where millions of children
starved to death, innocent men, women and
children killed and till today, there is no
plaque, wall or memorial to remember
them. We don’t even know what their names
were or how many people actually died.
We don’t even know where some of them
were buried.
I know this... I know that this giant of
Africa stumbled right out of the starting
blocks and almost collapsed. I can even
understand why it happened. Because our
founding fathers; Nnamdi Azikiwe,
Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello were
really and truly different. In fact, the fact
that those three people were able to work
together to bring Nigeria into independence
is testament to their belief in the viability of
one Nigeria. That belief was virtually the
only thing they had in common. They were
really and truly different.
Ahmadu Bello was born and raised in
northern Nigeria. The first time he went to
Lagos, he was in his mid 40s. Obafemi
Awolowo was born and raised in western
Nigeria. He lived there all his life (safe for
when he went abroad to study), that was all
he knew. The one who was slightly different
was Nnamdi Azikiwe – he came from the
east but was born in the north, had part of
his education in the east, completed it in
the west, worked in the west and did his
politics in the west. He was cosmopolitan.
It is very logical that the concept of one
Nigeria, of a monolithic Nigeria, of a
Nigeria where any Nigerian can represent
every Nigerian regardless of tribe or faith...
It’s logical that it came naturally to him
because that was his socio-cultural
background. Ahmadu Bello had a slightly
different concept of ‘One Nigeria’. To him,
‘One Nigeria’ was a federation of the existing
regions at the time, because Northern
Nigeria was his primary constituency. So
he saw Nigeria as a federation of Northern
Nigeria and all the other regions of Nigeria
relating on an equal and independent basis.
Obafemi Awolowo had a slightly different
idea. Like Amadu Bello, he also didn’t see
Nigeria as one monolithic entity, he saw
Nigeria as different groups, but those groups
were not the regions. Obafemi Awolowo
saw Nigeria as federation of ethnic
nationalities because the region he came
from was dominated by one ethnic group –
the Yorubas. He saw Nigeria as a federation
of ethnic nationalities where each major
ethnic group would have its own political
unit from which it can relate to the others
on an equal footing.
And when we became independent, it was
the vision of Ahmadu Bello that carried the
day because Nigeria became independent
as a federation of the existing regions. But
over time, we have evolved towards the
vision of Obafemi Awolowo, because
different ethnic groups had begun to
agitate for better recognition at the federal
level and that is what has driven the
fragmentation of this country from a
federation of four regions to a federation of
thirty-six states and one federal capital
territory.
But what baffles me is that individually,
we have evolved more towards Zik. Today,
Nigerians are more cosmopolitan than
ever. Which begs the question – If we have
become more similar over time, why is our
politics still as divisive as it was 50 years
ago? I can understand it 50 years ago. It
was an accurate reflection of their sociocultural
reality. But as we have become more
similar, why is our politics still locked in
the past? There are many reasons for this,
but I’ll give two;
One, the bedtime stories we’ve all been
told. We’ve been told that the Igbos killed
the Sardauna. You were not told that the
Sardauna was killed by Major Kaduna
Nzeogu. You’re told that the Yorubas
betrayed the Igbos. You’re not told that
Obafemi Awolowo was the Commissioner
•CHINUE ACHEBE
of Finance in Gowon’s government during
the war and it was his responsibility to
involve a physical strategy for the Nigerian
side in the civil war. No! What you’re told
is that the Yorubas betrayed the Igbos.
You’re not told that Murtala Mohammed
led the army into Asaba during the civil
war and it was under his watch that the
Asaba massacre occurred. No! What
you’re told is that the Hausa-Fulani
murdered the Igbos. And so we keep
seeing our social reality through the
blinkers of this story, that forces us to keep
interpreting current facts using models
that were invented fifty years ago.
Two, the system. Now I don’t care how
cosmopolitan you actually are, but at
many points in your journey as a Nigerian,
you’ll encounter the question “What is
your state of origin?” And attempting to
answer that question will take you back to
1966. But you need to answer that question
because it gives you access to so many
parts of Nigerian public life. It is the answer
to that question that will get you an
admission to a Nigerian public life. It will
get you a job in the Nigerian Civil Service.
It will get you promoted. It will determine
your decision about where to run for public
office in this country. Therefore no matter
how you define yourself based on your
actual upbringing, at some point you have
to accept a label that was created by
circumstances fifty years ago.
These factors ensure that as we become
more similar, politics remain locked in
the 50s and 60s. So what can we do about
this? How can we facilitate integration in
this country. First, we have to tackle it
directly. Integration is not a by-product. It
For this reason,
we must
consciously
invest in
infrastructure –
roads, unity
schools, NYSC,
sports, music,
arts and things
that naturally
connect people
•UCHE CHUKWUMERIJI
doesn’t just happen. It only happens as a
result of deliberate investment in
integration, because there is no nation on
earth that is natural. All nations are the
deliberate creation of men. To facilitate
integration, we have to deliberately and
consciously invest in integration as
Nigerians. There are certain aspects of
integration we must invest in;
One, we have to invest in the
infrastructure of integration. In those
things that actually connect us physically
like roads. For to be physically isolated is
also to be socio-culturally isolated. For
instance, I cannot tell you the damage the
non-existent of something as simple as the
second Niger bridge has done to the fabric
of nationhood in this country. We can’t see
everything in terms of Naira and Kobo
and contributions to GDP. Sometimes, we
have to evaluate some of these things in
terms of their impact on the sense of
belonging. Because that sense of
belonging is as critical to Nigeria’s future
as the crude oil in the Niger Delta. For
this reason, we must consciously invest in
infrastructure – roads, unity schools,
NYSC, sports, music, arts and things that
naturally connect people. Any
government that is thinking seriously
about the future of this country has to see
these things as strategic investments.
Two, we have to invest in the economics
of integration. As a rule of thumb,
whenever people feel less secure, poorer,
they tend to become more xenophobic. To
invest in security, vibrant economy and
growth is not just to invest in growing the
GDPA, it’s also to invest in growing a
climate that is conducive to tolerance and
integration.
Three, we need to invest in the body
language of integration. As Nigerians, we
must become conscious of the fact that we
are living in a highly charged political
environment and that any word carelessly
spoken or action carelessly taken can
provoke a traumatic and extreme reaction
from any section of this country. We need
to begin to invest in the language that
demonstrates our awareness that we are
citizens living in a fragile nation. It’s very
important.
Four, we need to invest in stories on
integration. The only stories we ever hear
is how the Igbos killed the Sardauna, how
the Fulani killed the Igbos, how the
Yorubas betrayed the Igbos and so on.
You’ll never hear how the Emir of Katsina
went out of his way to save Igbos during
the pogrom. You’ll never hear of the
Nigerian soldiers that came into Biafra
and were giving water and food to the
children they saw. You’ll never hear of
Umar, the Hausa-Fulani man who
became the first mayor of Enugu. You’ll
never hear of Igbos who are winning
elections to state House of Assemblies in
Kano and Lagos. You don’t hear these
stories because they don’t fit the
mainstream narrative. Any government
that is interested in the future of this country
will be investing in pushing those stories.
Five, we have to invest in the morality of
integration. No matter what your ideology
of politics is. I don’t know what you think
of Nelson Mandela, but you can’t take it
away from him that the fact that we have a
multi-racial and democratic South-Africa
today is a direct result of his decision not
to take vengeance on the whites when he
had the opportunity. That act was his own
investment in the unity and integration of
his country. We need more acts like that
here in Nigeria. We need people who have
suffered harm in the hands of individuals,
members of other religious and ethnic
groups who make a decision that when
they have the opportunity, they won’t take
revenge. Because this tit for tat will take us
to a dangerous place. Mahatma Gandhi
said “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
will leave us both toothless and
blind.”Justice in this country should be
blind particularly to the ethnic and
religious background of the people that
stand before it. People should pay for their
crimes. If you do the crime, you should do
the time, simple.
Lastly, we need to invest in the politics of
integration. Those that don’t want Nigeria
have effectively politicized their point of
view. Over the years, we have developed
the capacity to politicize our ethnic and
religious differences, but we have failed to
develop the capacity to politicize the things
we share in common. What are these things
Nigerians share in common? We have bad
roads in common, no light in common, no
books in our schools in common, no drugs
in our hospitals in common. That is what
we all share. Poverty in Sokoto, poverty in
Yenagoa; Corruption in Maiduguri,
corruption in Lagos. Yet while we’ve been
able to build radical populace, fanatical
movement over our differences, we have
been unable to build radical and populace
movement over our socio-economic
similarities. Any objective analysis of the
fact will show that there is no major ethnic
or religious group in this country that has
not produced a political leader at some
level of government in this country. This
suggests that what we are suffering today
has nothing to do with the village the
person comes from or the gods that he
worships. It has everything to do with his
policy prescriptions and his commitment
to executing them. This is an issue that is
routinely neglected by those whose politics
is defined by identity.
I believe that if we are able to invest in
all these aspects of integration, then that
dream that eluded the generation of
Chinua Achebe will become realisable in
ours.

12—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
If Lai Mohammed
were PDP
spokesman ...
•Information minister says Buhari has
diagnosed Nigeria’s ills and will leave the
country y bett
tter than he met t it
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
Politician, businessman, public relations expert and
lawyer, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, before he became
minister of information was the long enduring
spokesman of the opposition. He had served as
spokesman of the Action Congress, the Action
Congress of Nigeria, and lately the All Progressives
Congress, APC. The French language graduate in
this interview with Saturday Vanguard speaks on
contemporary issues relating to the pace and pattern
of the administration.
Excerpts
•Lai Mohammed
Imagine you were the spokesman of
the opposition party, what would be
your assessment of this government?
Off course you don’t expect me to
answer that question! I can tell you that if
I were the spokesperson of the PDP today,
I will do what I did as the spokesperson
for ACN, for APC and AC; which is, I
would address issues, I would do my
homework thoroughly, I would
not make any allegation that I
cannot back by evidence. That is
what makes the difference. It is
not just about to criticise a policy
but to get it right.
Would you say you have
delivered on your agenda two
and a half years into office?
I thank God for the privilege
of serving as a minister of
information and culture. I can see
that in under two and a half years,
that this government has
delivered largely on all its
promises. I will start with
insecurity. When we came in
2015, there were 24 local
governments in this country that
were under the sovereign control
of Boko Haram. Today, as I speak,
not one local government is under
the control of Boko Haram. Boko
Haram has been decapitated.
Boko Haram has been thoroughly
degraded; they can no longer
function as a parallel army as they
were doing. Before now, Boko
Haram was active in Plateau
State, they attacked Bauchi, Kano
had a regular taste of their terror,
Kaduna State was not spared,
Niger State and even the Federal
Capital was not spared, and not
to talk of the epicentre which was
Borno.
But as I speak today, the military
has been able to recruit them to
cowardly attacks to soft targets.
There is no army in the world that
can overcome that as we
witnessed recently in Barcelona, Paris, and
London. So, for us, it is a triumph that we
have been able to subdue Boko Haram,
their territorial ambition has been cut short,
life has returned to normal in most parts
of the Northeast today.
This thing did not come by
accident. I think it came because
we had a focused programme.
The first thing the president did
was that he ordered the
relocation of the command and
control of the army to the
epicentre of the war itself. He
held meetings with the Lake
Chad Basin Commission
comprising of Niger, Cameroon,
Benin Republic, Chad, and
Nigeria. It was the collaborative
efforts of the four countries with
Nigeria and our Sahel partners
that reinvigorated the Multi-
National Joint Task Force, and
then the morale in the army was
improved, new service chiefs
were appointed. We also
reached out to the G8, reached
out to Western Countries, who
also saw an honest and
committed leader and assisted
us; and today, the Northeast is
a far different place than what
it used to be two and a half years
ago. And if anybody wants
further proof that normalcy has
returned to the Northeast is the
fact that the finals of the last
football league was played in
Maiduguri about a month ago
between the Mountain of Fire
Football Club and El-Kanemi
Warriors. That shows that
normalcy has returned.
O yes, we have challenges
facing us, not just in terms of
cowardly attacks and
abductions, but also because
of the success of the military,
thousands of people who had
been in captivity have now
been released and we are now
grappling with issues of how
do we resettle them, how do
we feed them, how do we
ensure that medical supplies
are enough? And most of all,
how do we ensure that civil
authority is returned,
rehabilitation is done, and the
people moved from the IDP
camps to their various towns
and villages. The Federal
Government has set up both
the presidential commission
on Northeast Initiative and
also the Bama Initiative to
ensure that destroyed facilities,
houses, hospitals are put in
place.
What is happening in the
Northeast today is a regional
crisis, it is not just about the
Northeast of Nigeria, it is
about the entire Lake Chad
basin which contains about 20
Million lives.
Despite your assertion in
December 2015, the Boko Haram group
still holds on to portions of territory in
the Sambisa Forest and hold the captured
Chibok Girls. Does that not counter your
claims?
I don’t think that there is any
contradiction. It is not correct that Boko
Haram is holding ground in Sambisa
Forest.
Are they not holding ground in
Sambisa Forest?
No! The best analogy is like when you
destroy an anthill. When you do that, not
•Buhari
all the ants are killed. Some of them will
escape and go around the forest. All we
are saying today is that Boko Haram does
not have a stronghold unlike before. When
I visited Bama in 2015, I saw evidence of
real occupation. It was as if I was in Algeria
or I was in Egypt, all the signboards, road
signs were in Arabic! We don’t have that
kind of thing today where they levy taxes,
have their own government, their own
judiciary and all that.
Continues on pg 13

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—13
Continues from pg 12
So, where are the Chibok Girls?
You see, we took responsibility and
assured the nation that we are going to
free those girls and so far, we have returned
100 of those girls.
You paid money for them?
I say again; we did not pay anybody
for anything. What we did and which we
told the world was, yes; we did exchange
the last batch for about five of their own
commanders. When you look all over the
world, what we did was international best
practise.
Yes, we still have more than 100 of these
girls missing, and we will continue to
negotiate for their release. But you must
never forget that these girls had been
kidnapped for over a year before this
government came in and the trail had
become very cold and until we came in
no attempt had been made to release not
even one of these girls.
We came in, and we have had releases
in two batches; 21 and then 82. So you
cannot accuse us of breaking our promise.
These negotiations are tricky; they do take
time, and anybody familiar with
insurgency will appreciate what this
government has done.
Also we have been able to free over
15,000 other women and children from the
captivity of the Boko Haram.
After two years of the APC
government would you say that your
relations and ordinary Nigerians who do
not have access to government comfort
like you are better off?
My answer would be, we would have
been much worse off today but for
discipline, the focus and commitment of
this government because until you know
where you are coming from you would
not know what you have achieved. We
didn’t go into recession overnight.
But it was your government that took us
into recession.
In fact, we started going into recession
by 2014 when our GDP went from 5.9%
second quarter of 2014 to 3.5% the third
quarter to 2.3% in the last quarter.
By the first quarter of 2015, we went into
negative growth, and it was in the second
quarter we went into recession.
What I am telling you is that there had
been a pattern. That we were going to enter
into recession was certain given the
conditions. Not only did we suffer a crash
in the price of crude, but we had a
defective economic structure which relied
largely on oil and nothing else and when
the price of oil crashed it was bound to
affect every aspect of the economy.
Secondly, the past administration made
certain mistakes. One, they failed to
invest in infrastructure when oil was being
saved at $100 per barrel. They failed to
save for the rainy day and more
importantly, they neglected to pay our
debts. Those were the conditions we met,
and that is why the recession bit harder.
Don’t forget that we also experienced a
recession under Umaru Yar‘adua but
because of the huge savings he inherited
from the Obasanjo administration, it was
easier to accommodate. But I am not
saying this to shame anybody, but when
we were selling crude at $100/barrel, we
squandered our reserves. The government
inherited about $66 billion in reserves but
when we came in it was about $30+
billion. These are facts.
We came in and decided to diversify and
put more emphasis on agriculture, on
infrastructure and solid minerals, and after
five consecutive quarters of negative
growth, we finally came out of recession
in the second quarter of this year. The good
news is that that recovery was led by the
non-oil sector. It was led by agriculture,
mining, construction, creative industry,
and electricity among others.
Which means that we correctly
diagnosed the ills of the economy and our
If Lai Mohammed were
PDP spokesman ...
We would have
been much worse
off today but for
discipline, the
focus and
commitment of
this government
because until you
know where you
are coming from
you would not
know what you
have achieved
plans are working.
You see coming out of recession is the
most important step to cure your economy
because when you get out of recession,
then the outside world has more
confidence in investing in you.
But with all your assertions to the value
of the naira to the dollar has slumped
under your regime from N190 to N365?
It is a pity that Nigerians have very
short memory. In February this year, the
value of the dollar was N520, today it is
N360.
But under Jonathan it was N199?
But under Jonathan, we were selling oil
at $100/barrel and what determines the
value of your currency is your receipt. So,
you can imagine that if at $100/barrel the
dollar was exchanging at N190 and today
we are selling at $57/barrel, so by all
ramifications, we are doing much better
in discipline than the Jonathan
administration. The records are there to
•Lai Mohammed
show.
One of the virtues that projected Buhari
to power is integrity. But the
administration has been accused of
defending corrupt persons like the case
of Babachir Lawal? The president used
technicalities to pooh-pooh a Senate
report that indicted him.
When you suspend somebody from
office...
No this was before he was suspended?
I know. When you suspend someone
from office, can you now claim that you
are supporting the same person? If
Babachir remained in office, then this
argument would have remained valid.
But he remained in office for five
months after the indictment.
You think Mr. President would
not do his own due diligence?
It is claimed that the president
is slow?
That is their own opinion. He
doesn’t want to reverse himself.
You are the spokesman of a
government that has developed
a knack of its top officials and
agencies fighting one another.
The DSS has taken on the EFCC,
we had the EFCC impound
money belonging to the NIA, and
now we have seen the Ministry
of Petroleum fighting the NNPC.
Does this not talk of a president
detached from the affairs of his
subordinates?
I won’t answer that question!
But the PDP is raising these
issues?
Let the PDP ask. See, when
you are in government, you know
a lot more than all these things
they are talking about.
Thank God the president is back
and in good fettle. When the PDP
was in a similar situation, the
ACN which you spoke for and
even President Buhari had
different perspectives on the
issue of the president going on
medical vacation?
Don’t let’s compare apples to oranges.
We had a sick president (Yar‘adua) God
bless his soul. Nobody told us he was ill.
He travelled out of the country, and he did
not hand over power as the Constitution
stipulates. This is a far cry from what we
had. He (Buhari) left Nigeria on an annual
vacation and wrote a letter to the National
Assembly that he was going on his annual
vacation and that when he is there, that
he would take the opportunity to do his
normal check and that the Vice-President
would be the Acting President.
I think the entire hullabaloo over
Yar‘adua’s health was the fact that he left,
and he did not hand over to the vicepresident
neither did he inform the
National Assembly or anybody where he
was going and what he was doing there.
This is different from what transpired in
respect of the president’s (Buhari’s)
illness. The president travelled, and he told
the whole world what he was going to do.
As to whether he owes us the obligation
of what is wrong with him, I think that is a
personal decision of Mr. President, and I
don’t think constitutionally he needs to tell
anybody on what is wrong with him. I think
it is a personal decision of Mr. President.
If he chooses to tell us tomorrow, all well
and good.
This government has lately been mired
in industrial disputes. Why?
Government is a continuum. Most of the
industrial disputes that you have witnessed
have been the result of negotiations into
by previous governments which were not
kept, but you do not as a government say
this agreement was entered into by your
predecessor, so you will not keep them.
ASUU is talking about 2013/4 agreement
or Health Sector talking about 2012
agreement.
Leaders of the Southeast say this
administration is marginalising them.
Why?
We are trying to get a complete picture
of all appointments and employments in
the country. I have approached the Federal
Character Commission, and I think when
that is published whether that allegation
is true or not will be known to all.
I think what happens is that we take part
of the whole sometimes to represent the
whole. I know that the whole idea of Federal
Character Commission is such that
everybody is represented not just in terms
of appointments but in terms
of amenities and infrastructure.
I am not talking of civil
service appointments, but
political appointments. Like the
NNPC board, the Igbo say that
despite having two oilproducing
states, that they are
not represented on the board
of the NNPC.
Like I said when this thing
is published whether civil
service or political, you will see
the whole picture.
A final remark sir?
Nigeria is back, we are out
of recession, the government
has never lost focus, and we
believe that we will definitely
leave this country better than
we met it. We seek the
cooperation of all and sundry.
If there is no stability there can
be no development. We should
all remember that it is because
we have a Nigeria that is why
we have a South-South, that is
why we have a Northeast, that
is why we have a North-
Central. We should all work
with the government in
fighting corruption, and we
should all do our bit to ensure
that the economy recovers fully.

14—SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard
anguard, , OCTOBER 14, 2017
ASABA MASSACRE:
How we can heal our wounds — Soyinka
•Day Ekwueme, Soyinka, Okowa, Nwodo, Duke, Kukah others gathered to honour victims of Asaba massacre
L-R: Bishop Matthew Kukah, Prof. Lizzy Bird and Prof. Wole Soyinka at the
gathering on 1967 Asaba Massacre in Asaba last weekend.
From Left Prof. Lizzy Bird, Prof. Emmanuel Nwanze and Ephraim
Ngozi Okocha,President Asaba people in the USA
By Festus Ahon
IN the wake of the Nigeria civil war, the
people of Asaba witnessed the most
traumatic moments of their lives when the
Federal troops entered Asaba about October
5, 1967, ransacking houses and killing
civilians, claiming they were Biafran
sympathisers.
Sensing danger, leaders of the Asaba
community, summoned their people to
assemble in the morning of October 7, with a
view to reassuring the Federal troops of the
support and loyalty to the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
Hundreds of men, women, and children,
many wearing the ceremonial white ‘akwa
ocha’, their native attire, who thronged the
streets, dancing and chanting songs of “one
Nigeria”, were reportedly opened fire on by
the Federal troops under the Second-in-
Command, Major Ibrahim Taiwo at Ogbe-
Osawa village after teenage boys were
separated from women and young children
in the open square.
It was gathered that over 700
men and boys were killed, some as
young as 12 years old, in addition
to many more killed in the
preceding days. While the bodies
of some victims were retrieved by
family members and buried at
home, others were buried in mass
graves, without appropriate
ceremony.
The Asaba people who may not
have recovered from the shock
50 years after, lost dozens of men
and boys to the massacre which
many termed as the bloodiest
during the civil war. It was also
gathered that the Federal troops
which occupied Asaba for many
months, wrecked serious havoc in
the town as many women and girls
were reportedly raped or forcibly
“married,” and large numbers of
citizens fled, often not returning
until the war ended in 1970.
Natives of Asaba, last week
converged in the town, attracting
prominent Nigerians, including
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta
State, former Nigeria’s Vice
President, Dr Alex Ekwueme;
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole
Soyinka; former Governor of Cross Rivers
State, Mr Donald Duke; former Deputy
Governor of Delta State, Chief Benjamin Elue;
business mogul, Chief Sonny Odogwu;
Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma; Igwe Laz
Ekwueme; Bishop Hassan Kukah and a host
of others to mark the 50th anniversary of the
‘Asaba massacre’ with the theme: “In Pursuit
of Rebirth”.
Speaking as Special guest of honour at the
ceremony, Prof. Wole Soyinka frowned at the
practice of naming national institutions and
infrastructure after leaders known to have
committed grievous crime against
humanity.
Soyinka said the memory of the innocent
people killed by federal troops in 1967 were
being desecrated with the naming of streets
and important public infrastructure after the
perpetrators of the Asaba Massacre.
He said: “How do we talk to future
generations about corruption if they find a
street named after Gen. Sani Abacha? Do we
not think it is about time that somebody took
the bull by the horns and wiped out the
memory of such individual? It is a
small restitution.
“We do not say dig up Abacha’s
remains and put in the evil forest,
but do not leave, lying around, the
provocative symbols, the trauma
that this nation went through. What
does that make of the ethical
foundations from which they pull
them out to assist in peace keeping
in areas all over the world in the
enthronement of peace in the world?
“We are saying that to complete
that archway of healing through
which all of us must pass, the
capstone is restitution,” he said while
joining others to advocate restitution
to complete the healing process for
the October 7, 1967 massacre.
While saying “restoration is only
possible ultimately, when it is closed
by a consciousness of remorse and
compensation, no matter how
symbolic”, Soyinka recounted his
experience before the civil war finally
broke out. He said the Asagba of
Asaba, Prof. Chike Edozien, hosted
him in his house as mediation efforts
intensified to avert a full blown war.
He said; “It was here that I crossed
through the bush paths, through the
then Biafran enclave on behalf of not
From Left Ogbushi Konwean and other Asaba Chiefs
during the prayer for the Souls of those Massacared
just myself but of a group which believed
passionately that the civil war was still
avoidable.” He said that his experience,
inspired his publication: “The Man Died”.
He however sued for forgiveness, adding that
the knowledge and wisdom derived from such
experiences were ingredients that helped to
shape the moral foundations of nations.
On his part, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of
Delta State, said; “the prevention of a repeat
of such massacre (the Asaba Massacre) starts
on the benches of schools; education and
places of worship, prevention of hate speeches
and prejudice, by weakening the grounds for
ignorance, by promoting how to live together
and by cultivating respect for all people
because, in a world where the local is, but one
click away from the global, we need a renewed
commitment to dialogue, tolerance,
reconciliation and understanding.
“Today, people are using the power of mass
communication provided by the internet and
social media to propagate bigotry and to
demonize other groups to advance their
radical narrow goals. In our interconnected
world, there still exists the deadly potential of
propaganda to exacerbate sectarian tensions,
terrorism and persecution of ethnic, religious
and political minorities.”
Dr Alex Ekwueme called for activities that
will deepen Nigeria’s unity and ensure that it
remains an indissoluble entity.
National President of Ohaneze Ndigbo,
Chief Nnia Nwodo in a solidarity speech,
decried the level of impunity in Nigeria and
the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Donald
Duke called on Nigerians to resist anything
that could lead to such killings.
Chairman of organising committee for the
event, Ogbueshi Ofili Okonkwo said; “every
Asaba woman, man or child carries a memory
of genocide, it is a communal memory of loss
and anguish that has stayed with us for 50
years. On 7th October, 1967, soldiers of the
2nd Division of the Nigerian Army entered
Asaba where their activities led to the deaths
of more than 700 innocent Nigerians.
“All we want is to remember our dead and
ensure that future generations of Nigerians
know that no good comes from war.”
Bishop Hassan Kukah, who also spoke in
the same vain, described the Asaba Massacre
as a black spot in the nation’s history, stressing
the need for Nigerians to embark on the
process of healing with mutual trust and love.
Recounting their personal experiences
during the period, other speakers warned
against keeping the memories for future
generations, enjoining the Federal
Government to build a memorial plaque with
the names of victims in Ogbe-Osawa Quarters
in Asaba metropolis, the spot where the most
heinous acts of violence were committed
against the Asaba people .
Highpoint of the ceremony was the
unveiling of a book co-authored by Prof.
Elizabeth Bird and Prof. Fraser Otanelli of the
University of Florida, Tampa on the event and
entitled: ‘The Asaba Massacre: Trauma,
Memory and the Nigerian Civil War’. This
was on the second day of the ceremony.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—15
President Buhari’s Midterm Report:
CBN takes
the cake
By Magnus Onyibe.
Being a farmer himself, it was easy for
president Muhamadu Buhari to spot
the fact that the Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN Anchor Borrowers Program
has been making waves by having massive
impact on the farming sector across the
country and by extension helping in lifting
up Nigeria’s economy which due to the
sharp drop in crude oil price had tanked
since the inception of the current
administration.
President Buhari who used the opportunity
of October 1st Independence Day
anniversary broadcast to sort of present the
mid term report of his stewardship in the
past two years , also held aloft the recently
launched CBN National Collateral
Registry program also known as
Collaterals Bank aimed at making credit
more accessible to the small scale
enterprises, SMEs as another milestone
achievement under his watch.
Through the new scheme , owners of SMEs
and a critical mass of micro entrepreneurs
who constitute over 90% of the estimated
17 million registered SMEs in Nigeria
creating some 32 million jobs would be able
to use their movable assets such as plants
and equipment, vehicles and even
furnitures and fixtures in their businesses
as collateral for obtaining loans from
banks. .
That’s a welcome departure from the past
when it was mainly landed properties which
are immovable and difficult for SMEs to
come by, that were acceptable by financial
institutions as collateral.
With a critical mass of Nigerians having
easier access to credit owing to the
existence of the collateral bank, the ensuing
frenzy of business activities are guaranteed
to buoy up the economy such that it could
accelerate the nation’s economic recovery.
In that respect, the CBN initiative with
Godwin Emefiele as governor , aimed at
bolstering financial inclusion for the SMEs
and micro enterprises is on point.
And l won’t be
surprised if on the
occasion of
Nigeria’s 58th
independence
next year,
President Buhari
once again
eulogizes the CBN
and its governor,
Godwin Emefiele
for promises
delivered
And the consensus is that it has
the ability and capacity to provide
the required muscle to engender the
recovery of Nigerian economy from
the recession that it plunged into a
couple of years ago owing to the
sharp drop in the international price
of crude oil which is Nigeria’s main
foreign exchange earner.
Another policy that gave CBN the
leverage of taking the cake in Mr
president’s mid term report is the
quest for creating 10,000 jobs in the
agriculture sector for unemployed
youths in each of the 36 states of
the federation through CBN’s
development finance initiative.
The initiative which is known as
Accelerated Agricultural
Development Scheme (AADS) is
envisioned to create a total of
360,000 jobs nationwide for youths
in agriculture value chain.
It is common knowledge that
unemployment and poverty
are like Siamese Twins
which are by products of
societal challenges such
as lack of visionary
leadership, insecurity
and bad governance
that are inimical to
progressive social
existence.
These are the existential issues currently
bedeviling Nigeria and which the relevant
authorities are currently struggling to
address.
According to the National Bureau of
Statistics, NBS, unemployment rate that
had skyrocketed to astronomical levels a
year ago, has recently dipped. But with youth
unemployment still reckoned to be roughly
25% of the jobless , which is in excess of 20
million people who are either unemployed
(or underemployed), it is not difficult to
figure out why CBN has made job creation
for the youths its next focal point.
Obviously, its part of its quest to contribute
significantly to president Buhari’s arsenal
of policy initiatives that would facilitate
putting the economy on even keel.
Now, let me crave your indulgence to take
you behind the scenes to dwell on why CBN’s
Anchor Borrowers program which is aimed
at creating a farming Renaissance might
have caught president Buhari’s attention.
Following the crash of crude oil price in
the international market and its debilitating
effect on Nigeria’s foreign reserve which
became inadequate for financing at least
six months of import (which is the minimum
requirement for a country’s economy to be
adjudged as being in good health) , Emefiele
knew there had to be alternative means of
sourcing forex to sustain the nation’s
burgeoning bureaucracy.
Some of the factors responsible for the
ballooning of expenditure on bureaucracy
are the whooping N125b budgeted
towards funding 109 senators and 360
House of Representatives members in
budget 2017 and the astronomical cost
of salaries and emoluments for
public and civil servants who inspite
of the dwindling income
in the national treasury have
been receiving salary increases
following labor unions clamor
for wage raise without
commensurate improvement
in productivity.
And as agriculture is the only
product for which Africa and
indeed Nigeria has comparative
advantage in international
trade, it’s unsurprising that the
CBN governor decided to
venture into massive funding of
the sector.
That’s a move akin to United
Arab Emirates,UAE’s decision
some decades ago to shift some
of her oil wealth from Abu Dhabi
area into Dubai-formerly a
quaint boating building
province. And by so doing,
Dubai was transformed into the
biggest trading and tourist
location in the Middle East and
perhaps one of the world’s best
holiday destinations .
That also probably explains
why Mr president’s
Independence Day broadcast
was centred on the economy
with particular reference to interventions
by the CBN and their positive impact on
the economy.
The obviously satisfied president proudly
announced the benefits of investing about
N43b by the CBN in Anchor Borrowers
initiative which he launched as president
only in November 2015 (less than 2 years
ago) and which has now generated
bountiful harvest nation wide.
With over 200,000 small holder farmers
cultivating 233,000 hectares of farmland
across 29 states, of the federation, Mr
President had every reason to celebrate and
also pat the CBN on the back.
Indeed it is a thing of joy that rice is now
widely cultivated in several states ranging
from Kebbi, Lagos, Ebonyi to Jigawa states
so much so that it is being projected that
the staple commodity would sell for about
N13,000 Naira during the Yuletide which
comes up in less than three months thence.
Considering that it is estimated that
Nigeria has been spending about N1b
daily on rice import, the rice revolution is
expected to lead to staggering savings in
foreign exchange for the country .
Apart from rice revolution in the
aforementioned states, Ondo,Edo, Delta,
lmo, Cross River, Benue, Ogun,Kaduna and
Plateau states have also accelerated the
cultivation of Wheat, Maize, Cotton,Soya
Beans, Poultry, Cassava and Groundnut as
well as Cashew and Potatoes amongst other
cash crops. It is also worthy of mention that
in 2010, Nigeria spent about N632b
importing wheat which constitutes a major
Continues on pg 16

16—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Continues from pg 15
part of staple food in Nigeria and that figure
might have risen over the past 7 years.
But with the rebirth of farming,
engendered by CBN’s intervention more
forex conservation would have been
achieved in these past few months.
Without doubt, the aforementioned
positive developments in the agricultural
sector have had positive effects on the
nation’s treasury from which a whopping
N24 trillion, by some estimates, goes
towards importing food as l earlier
mentioned, one billion just in rice import
daily.
It may be recalled that Nigeria’s golden
age was the period that groundnut
pyramids competed with the minarets in
the skyline of Kano, and cotton cultivated
in Funtua, katsina state area, provided raw
materials that fed the ginneries and textile
factories that created jobs for thousands of
families in the days of yore in the northern
axis of Nigeria.
Basically, the same narrative applied to
cocoa crop in Western Nigeria and Oil Palm
and Rubber plantations in the south-east
and south-south Nigeria.
Please keep in mind that it is the cash crops
listed above-groundnut, cotton, cocoa and
oil palm as well as rubber that were the
main foreign exchange earners for Nigeria.
And the funds were used to develop the
four regions into the envy of many African
countries such as free education and first
television in Africa established in western
Nigeria, before the advent of crude oil
that has now become more of a curse than
a blessing.
To underscore the squandering of
Nigerian oil/gas wealth, the Nigerian
Extractive Industries Trade Initiative, NEITI
Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio recently
stated that $715b was earned by Nigeria
in 34 years(1981-2015) but unlike the UAE,
Nigeria has little or nothing to show for the
huge foreign exchange inflow.
However, by allocating funds from oil/gas
for investment in the agricultural sector
(As UAE did by shifting funds from oil/gas
from Abu Dhabi into trade and tourism in
Dubai) Emefiele through the Anchor
Borrowers program, seem to be quite
visionary and so also is president Buhari
whose far-sightedness convinced him to
encourage the CBN to embark on the
voyage of rejuvenating the moribund
agricultural sector against the trend of
public opinion.
In the thick of forex crunch ,
Emefiele with the support of
president Buhari prohibited 41
items from sourcing forex from
the CBN with the justification
that such items should be
sourced locally through
backward integration. And the
policy threw up a fire storm of
some sort from latter day
economists and pundits, locally
and internationally who
questioned the efficacy of such
‘native’ wisdom devised by
Emefiele and the apex financial
institution owing to necessity.
Fortuitously, that highly
reviled economic recovery
strategy tagged ‘Tooth Pick’
economy ostensibly because
importation of tooth picks with
forex from CBN which Emefiele
saw as subterfuge by economic
saboteurs and therefore
exempted it along with 40
other items from sourcing
forex from the CBN, has
become the economic elixir that
our ailing economy needed.
Although, it made common
sense then but it did not fit
Western dogma or doctrine , so
experts including those from the
highly rated Economist and
Time magazines of the U.K and
USA respectively parodied the
policy.
Like the rejected stone that
later became the cornerstone of
the house, the much
condemned ‘Tooth Pick’ policy
is now providing the much
needed shot in the arm that
Nigerian economy needed to
•Buhari
President Buhari’s Midterm Report:
CBN takes
the cake
move out from the sick bay also known as
recession into a state of financial wellness,
widely referred to as economic buoyancy.
And with a legion of Nigerians returning
to farming which is the number one job
creator, the economy has no choice but to
respond to the growth stimuli.
You can bet your hard Naira that Emefiele
did not get the ‘native sense’ that he has
applied so far in stabilizing the naira and
economy from the prestigious
Harvard Harvard Business
School, HBS but from the school
of ‘Hard Knocks, a training
that can only be obtained from
practical experience in the
somewhat odd and unique
Nigerian business environment.
But that is just one component
of the string of policies being
driven by the CBN in the bid to
end the economic recession
currently dragging the economy
down.
The other component is the
intervention in the SMEs sector,
which according to Nigerian
Bureau of Statistics, NBS is the
second largest employer of
labor after agriculture.
Although l’m not unmindful of
the conventional wisdom which
is that data is (more often than
not)only authentic to the
organization that creates it, at
46.54%, SMEs are believed to
be contributing about half of
Nigeria’s GDP.
And that’s according to
Enterprise Baseline Survey study
conducted by Small And
Medium Scale Enterprises
Development Agency of Nigeria,
SMEDAN with the support of
German Development Agency.
At this juncture, to underscore
the importance of SMEs, it is
worth pointing out that it is an
army of 50 million Chinese
SMEs generating over 500
million jobs between 1980-2012
that leapfrogged the economy
to the global economic
powerhouse.
If the Chinese economic miracle,
underscored by the benefits of empowering
SMEs could be mirrored in Nigeria via
the ongoing shot in the arm remedy being
administered on the SMEs by CBN through
easier access to finance leveraging the
Collateral Bank initiate, it could stir up
entrepreneurship, like the ongoing rice
revolution.
And l won’t be surprised if on the occasion
of Nigeria’s 58th independence next year,
President Buhari once again eulogizes the
CBN and its governor, Godwin Emefiele for
promises delivered .
Way back in June, l had written an article
which was a tribute to the CBN governor
titled “Godwin Emefiele : From Zero To
Hero?”. It was published widely in both
mainstream and online media platforms
and it was based on his spectacular
accomplishments amongst which is the
success in stabilizing the Naira exchange
rate, a task which had overwhelmed his
predecessors.
I concluded the piece by noting that
Emefiele seemed to be the lone performer
of the present administration and wished
there were a couple of others like him
delivering on their mandate as that could
have generated enough points to earn a
pass mark for the government in power.
Looking back, Customs & Excise boss,
Hamid Alli and head of Federal Inland
Revenue Service, FIRS Tunde Fowler are
the other top executives with stellar
performance in the current administration
whose efforts could altogether bolster the
chance of president Buhari being seen to be
delivering on his promise of change.
I’m tapping Customs & Excise boss for
the huge amount of arms and ammunition
smuggled into the country that has been
intercepted by the department since he
assumed office and the improved revenue
collection as well as the FIRS helmsman
for the policies he has introduced to ramp
up tax collection nation wide which is
currently at the highest level ever recorded.
I’m happy to note that after l extolled
Emefiele as the unsung hero of president
Buhari’s administration in the article
earlier referenced, and some people scoffed
at me, much the same way that Emefiele’s
quaint but efficacious economic tactics and
strategies focused on backward integration
were parodied and derogatorily tagged
‘Tooth Pick’ economics when he unveiled
them, the number one citizen of Nigeria,
President Buhari has now validated my
assessment of Emefiele and CBN by
anchoring his regimes accomplishments
mainly on the policies they were planned
and executed by the apex financial
institutions regulatory organization under
Emefiele’s watch.
In other words, five months after l
chronicled Emefiele’s proficiency as CBN
governor in the article, president Buhari
has more or less now endorsed
my sense of judgement by
rewarding Godwin Emefiele
and the CBN that he leads,
with a vote of confidence
during his Independence
Day national broadcast.
I would like to conclude
this piece by highlighting a
very poignant quote whose
author l do not know but
which is both Germane
a n d
fundamental
to the point
at issue and
therefore
instructive to
p u b l i c
servants.
“I choose
to live by
choice, not
by chance;To
m a k e
changes not
excuses ; To
•Emefiele
b e
motivated,not
manipulated;
To be useful,
not used; To
excel, not
compete.
I choose self esteem, not self pity.
I choose to listen to my inner voice, not
random opinion of others”.
I suspect that the principles espoused in
the quote above might have been lurking
in Emefiele’s mind as he laboured to find
the right mix of policies to fix the economy
while navigating the very treacherous
public service mine field where lots of booby
traps had been laid up for him to trip off. It
is a common phenomenon in Nigeria.
As things currently stand, Nigerian
economy is yet to return to vibrancy as the
gains that Emefiele’s policies and programs
in CBN and which president Buhari
gushed about in his Independence Day
broadcast are yet to fully manifest.
Nigerians would only heave a sigh of
relief when the benefits of the policies start
to percolate down or permeate all the strata
of the society via abundance of rice at an
affordable price , increase in employment,
better quality of education,good roads and
provision of adequate housing units as well
as improved healthcare facilities amongst
others.
But as the saying goes, the morning
foretells the evening and based on the
growth and development indices which
have started sprouting, there are glimmers
of hope in the horizon and a good reason to
be optimistic .
This simply implies that the APC
government of President Buhari which has
more or less been described as barren in
the past two years of being in the saddle in
Aso Rock villa, is now manifestly pregnant
with potential game changing events.
And like anxious family members of an
expectant woman, Nigerians are hoping
that sooner than later, the joyful cry
associated with successful delivery of a
healthy baby that would usher in happiness,
also known as positive dividends of
democracy would soon rend the air.
Magnus Onyibe, a development strategist,
an alumnus of Fletcher school of Law and
Diplomacy, Tufts university, Massachusetts,
USA and former cabinet member of delta
state Govt, sent this piece from lagos.

SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard
anguard, , OCTOBER 14, 2017—17
ANAMBRA ELECTION 2017 SPECIAL…
BY FRED IWENJORA
(frediwenjora@yahoo.com , 08027505461)
Harris Chuma: I
can die for Obiano
•How he became Obiano’s propaganda in chief
Harris Chuma Eze Omenani is a Nollywood film maker
with many years experience and many films in his kitty. But
he has metamorphosed over the years from that film maker
to a culture exponent, organizing Ogene Ndigbo film festival across
Nigerian cities, Igbo Film festival, Igbo Beauty pageant as well as
becoming Eze Ndigbo Nollywood.
The Ogbunike Anambra state born politician joined APC in
Lagos and became a major supporter of the party until ‘push
became shove’ and he had to relocate to push APC from his
home state.
As the build up to the Anambra state guber election started,
Chuma eyed the Governorship ticket and started his campaign
earnestly even before the obtaining of forms.
At that time, his main target was Governor Willie Obiano
who is battling for re-election.
Chuma had deployed all his propaganda armament on
Governor Obiano that no day was complete without
garbage being hauled at him.
He had employed all his writing talents and his social media
suaveness in Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to blast
scathing criticism on Obiano including no government presence in
Ogbunike where his wife hails. Chuma’s bombs continued to rain
non stop until a meeting which changed everything.
All his contacts on all platforms rose one day to read with shock
that he had dumped APC and joined APGA apparently denouncing
all he had said about Obiano in the past. Some drama, you may say.
Obiano is now messiah… and ally. Many have tried to speculate on
how much Chuma was paid for hibernating where his bread is now
being well buttered. There may really be no need for all that because
he earns the accolade as Propaganda in chief of the Obiano
administration’s re-election bid firing from all cylinders.
Chuma has many facebook, watssapp and twitter and instagram
•Governor
Willie Obiano
pages and groups using it very judiciously in favour
of Obiano and APGA. And he writes with ease,
churning out sensible, logical and radical and
audacious points of view in favour of his principal
With his Independent Media Support
Organisation, Chuma continues to churn out
releases upon releases to cite Obiano’s achievements
and throw darts at his opponents. He even
spearheaded the publishing and launching of a book
on Obiano written by his friend Ngozi Emedolibe
aside from holding several events for Obiano’s wife.
In a chat Wednesday, he said “I agree I am
Obiano’s propagandist but very positively so. I owe
no one any apologies for doing so. I speak the
•Harris
Chuma
Propaganda and lies can’t save Obiano from
losing election — PDP Chieftain
Eselu Onyii Esiaka is an
organizer by nature, having
been part of several groups
and forum.
Currently, he is President of Ogbaru
Solidaity Forum and a PDP Chieftain
in Ogbaru Local Government Area of
Anambra state famed to be the most
populous LGA in the state with winning
voter indices.
Esiaka from Ogwuaniocha is one of
the pivots of the Oseloka Obaze
campaign and has been screaming to
all ears that listen that Obiano will
never win the coming election
especially in Ogbaru because
according to him he has not performed
to earn a second term adding that
Obaze is a better and well qualified
candidate.
What does this fast approaching
Governorship election in Anambra
state mean to you?
This election means much to me
because It would either move us
forward or keep Anambra retarded for
good. The forces of mediocrity are
battling with the forces of light. How can a man
let the light of development handed to him by
his predecessor quench in his hands? The past
three years and more has been a hell in Anambra
state and a change is required. My call upon
Anambra people is for them to look at the
candidates and make the right choice which an
illustrious Obaze represents. A man who did not
do anything with his mandate in the past three
years cannot perform any miracles in the nearest
future. Obaze is the future of Anambra state and
I strongly believe so.
Obaze has been criticized for being too aloof
during his days as SSG…It must be tough
answering questions about what he has done
for his people as SSG?
Those who criticize Oseloka Obaze are some
of those few who are currently benefitting from
the nefarious system that has not benefitted the
generality of Anambra people including Ogbaru
people. They are the numerous SAs from the
towns whose roads have not been touched since
Peter Obi and the Obaze’s were close to
government that had equity as watch word. Since
former governor Peter Obi left power, the state
has been misrun. The stretch of road from Uga
junction and Okpoko down through odekpe,
6000 card readers to be deployed
by INEC
INEC Administrative Secretary
in Anambra state Charles
Mbanaja says 6000 card
readers have been earmarked for
the smooth conduct of the November
18 2017 election in Anambra state.
In a NAN report, Mbanaja said
5000 of those machines have been
tested and ready for use.
There are high hopes that the
remaining 1000 readers would have
been confirmed ready for use
during the election.
INEC also said the commission is
prepared to provide a level playing
field for all contestants while urging
politicians to play by the rules
adding that a voter education
exercise has started to sensitise
voters as well as stakeholders on
how to make the Anambra election
hitch free, fair as well as generally
acceptable .
Atani till Ogwu Aniocha where I
come from is famed to be the most
populous LGA in Anambra state with
over 100,000 votes. It is part of
Anambra North which produced
Governor Wilie Obiano of APGA and
Senator Stella Oduah of the PDP. But
the government has not impacted on
us in the past three and half years and
I believe the voting pattern would
change this time around. I don’t think
that any right thinking person from
Ogbaru would vote Obiano again
because he has not performed and
more so their erudite son Oseloka
Henry Obaze is contesting and has
the huge capacity to turn our fortunes
around. He is indeed a pride for
every Ogbaru man.
You have been battling what you
call “cheap lies and propaganda”
from the other camp…how are you
coping?
No amount of propaganda will
save Obiano during the coming
election because he has not
performed to earn a single vote. But
hard truth. I have strong belief that Chief Willie
Obiano will definitely be re elected due to his
excellent performance in the past three and a
half years. What he did his predecessors couldn’t
do in areas of security, economy and
infrastructural development. Obiano would
definitely return to Awka Government House
come November 18 because Anambra people are
not blind”.
On why he dumped APC, Chuma said he could
“not be working for a party that is anti Igbo. I
have no regrets dumping APC for APGA. Non at
all. It is the party that promotes the welfare of
Ndigbo in Nigeria”.
we don’t mind them. Propaganda will
lead them nowhere. Everyone in
Nigeria knows that Governor Obiano
burnt down the treasury of Anambra
state as boosted by Peter Obi since he
came into power. He has employed the
use of propaganda as his main tool but
the world knows better. How can a
governor be claiming projects he never
executed? He was booed at Iyiowa
Odekpe a few days ago for alluding
to himself projects he did not execute.
How could they have fished out an old
interview by Chief Alex Ekwueme to
promote as today’s feeling of the elder
statesman who is a founding father of
PDP just as his daughter is in the race
as Deputy Governorship candidate?
They even went to Agulu, home of Peter
Obi to lie. Who knows the next lies they
would concoct? It is very unfortunate
because they believe Anambra people
are fools who don’t know when blatant
lies are told against them. We have seen
that it was a mistake that we made and
it is time for Obiano to go as he left
Anambra more impoverished than he
met it. He did not initiate any new good
projects neither did he complete the
ones he met on ground. Anambra state
people have said it is unacceptable.
Enough is enough.

18—SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard
anguard, , OCTOBER 14, 2017
ANAMBRA ELECTION 2017 SPECIAL…
BY FRED IWENJORA (frediwenjora@yahoo.com ,
08027505461)
•Osita Chidoka
APC governorship candidate in the
Anambra election come November 18,
Dr. Tony Nwoye is currently loading and
readying his arsenal for a super launch of his
final campaign onslaught even as he lunches a
super salvo on the incumbent Governor Obiano.
Since winning the APC primaries, the political
master strategist returned to the trenches to plot
his winning way and is warming up to unleash.
Obiano’s handlers are yet to reply to his first
Chidoka is a breath of fresh air in
Anambra state election…Egeonu
Governorship candidate for the
United Progressive Party UPP in the
forthcoming Anambra state
governorship election Chief Osita Chidoka
has been described as the new breath of fresh
air in Anambra state politics.
Speaking with Saturday Vanguard after an
endorsement visit to Igwe Kenneth Orizu of
Nnewi , a member of the campaign team and
strategist Barrister Chuma Egeonu said
Chidoka “very seriously towers over and
above all the other contestants and urged
Anambra electorate to vote en masse for him.
According to Egeonu, a former Chairman
of a Local Government Transition committee
in Anambra “Chidoka is young with a lot of
energy and roaring to go to the service of
the state unlike all the others who have
grown too old for modern day governance.
This is the time for Nigerians
especially Anambra state people
to do away with these unserious
people who have caused Anambra
people much underdevelopment.
According to him “Chidoka is
a born leader who started his
leadership call from his days at
University of Nigeria Nsukka. We
only need to flash back on his
services at the Federal Road Safety
Corps where he served as Corps
Marshal and at the Federal
ministry of Aviation where he was
Minister for Aviation to see what
I am talking about. He did not
disappoint Nigerians during
those times and will not
disappoint Anambra people when
the chips are down. Anambra voters
should not be deceived by the
antics of the men who have nothing
to offer the state and look upon
Chidoka for the correct democratic
dividend which has eluded us in
the past three years. With campaign
offices across the state, he has big
plans for the youths, elderly and
the vunerable. He has huge plans
for infrastructural boom and true
interest for better fiscal
development and management of
the state with transparency. He also
plans to score huge points in ICT
education for young people while
tackling erosion a scourge ravaging
many parts of the state head-on”
Ton
ony Nwoye begins special attack on Obiano, plans big launch
of campaigns
shot at Obiano in the past week which
is for the governor to account for
monies mapped for Local Government
elections which were never held in the
state since.
We gathered from reliable sources that
a big rally to unveil Nwoye is planned
for Awka with APC leader BolaTinubu
and APC governors, Senator Chris
Ngige as well as other notable wigs of
the party in attendance.
No date is fixed yet for this rally but
APC top hierarchy takes it very serious
because it would mean adding
another state in their kitty of
control.
With the grand support of the
ruling party, Nwoye who has lost
few elections in his life time is being
propelled by the strategic
organizing and mobilizing
character that made him students
union president, then PDP
chairman and a member of the
House of reps does not wish to lose
Anambra come November 18.
•Tony Nwoye
Urhobos in Lagos seek
unity for Urhoboland
By Francis Ewherido
October 2, 2017, started with a heavy
downpour. Lagosians understand that
to mean trouble because the whole city
gets flooded and life literally comes to a
standstill. Many were apprehensive, but God
knew the mission was genuine, so the rains
stopped before it could inflict damage and
Urhobo sons and daughters
started trickling into Admiralty
Conference Centre, venue of the
gathering tagged A DAY WITH
URHOBO SOCIAL CLUB, at
about noon.
After the opening prayers led by
a Past President of the club,
Special Most Evangelist
Emmanuel Evue, rendered in
flawless Urhobo, to the
admiration of all present, the
President of Urhobo Social Club,
Lagos, Prince Austin Enajemo-
Isire, quickly set the tone of the
gathering in his opening speech:
“Even though today’s gathering
is at the instance of Urhobo Social
Club, Lagos, the business of the
day transcends the club. We are
here today as Urhobos in
Lagos to talk about the
Urhobo Nation at this critical
stage of the corporate
existence of Nigeria as a
Nation.”
And “talk” we did. The
presentations focused mainly on
the theme of the gathering:
URHOBO UNITY, PROGRESS
AND WAY FORWARD. It is no longer news
that the Urhobo Nation is deeply divided, a
division foisted on us by a few key political
actors to serve their selfish end. The bitter taste
of the seed of division they sowed is still very
much with us over a decade later. The division
has turned Urhobo Nation into a giant with
clay feet. Major issues, including who emerges
governor in Delta State, have been
accomplished in the last decade in
our small Delta, in spite of Urhobos,
not to talk of Nigeria. Yet we mouth
the fourth largest ethnic nationality
in Nigeria with no bite to back it up.
This makes it “imperative for
the Urhobo Nation to stick together
like a bunch of broom and become
a formidable entity, fulfilling its
enormous potential,” Isire rightly
observed. Urhobo unity is not about
using the accompanying size and
strength to oppress others, as some
people erroneously believe. A united
Urhobo Nation will be of benefit to
the Urhobo people as well as the rest
of Delta and the Niger Delta. The
drums of restructuring are sounding
louder; no matter what happens at
the end of the day, the components
units that make up Nigeria will
discuss the way forward for Nigeria
as a nation. When push comes to
shove, a fragmented Urhobo Nation
will be a liability to the rest of the
Niger Delta and Nigeria.
Predictably, some people both
within and without are apprehensive
over a united Urhobo nation. A
united Urhobo Nation is bad news
•Olorogun Moses Taiga,
President General, Urhobo
Progress Union Worldwide
to the status quo which they represent. But no
matter how long you hold people captive, when
the time for freedom comes, you stand in the
way at your own peril. Ask Pharaoh. The
destiny of the Urhobo people is in their hands
and when they decide to bond as one, at least
substantially, there is nothing anybody can do
about it.
In his contribution, the Chairman,
Board of Trustees of Urhobo Social Club,
Chief Johnson Barovbe, also lamented
how disunity has brought the Urhobo
Nation to its knees, he particularly
condemned the policy of Omote
om’ohwofa ( a daughter belongs to
another family by virtue of marriage). He
said this policy has alienated Urhobo
women, especially those married to men
from other ethnic groups. For Barovbe,
“seeking unity includes bringing our
married daughters and our sons-in-law
closer to us. They are part of us.”
Also speaking, Chief Goodie Ibru
harped on a united Urhoboland. He said
sons and daughters of Urhobo should be
encouraged to set up industries to provide
much needed employment in
Urhoboland. But during his welcome
speech, Isire had listed some obstacles
which needed to be overcome for Ibru’s
dream to come to fruition. Isire said “the
more worrisome trend is that
Urhoboland is turning to a land that is
very hostile to investment and
development. We have heard stories of
Urhobo sons and daughters, who
attempted to set up farms or companies
back home to provide employment. They
were chased away by their own people,
the same people they are trying to give
back to. This self-destruction must stop.”
Other speakers at the summit harped
on the necessity for unity before Urhobo
can make progress on all fronts. They
said the slogan, Amroma vughe (let us
know ourselves and who we are) must be
operationalised. Responding, the president
General of Urhobo Progress Union
Worldwide, Olorogun Moses Taiga, said he
was the gathering to listen more and talk
less. But he confessed that all the speakers
spoke his mind. Taiga said that the degree of
“Urhobo Ovuovo” (Urhobo is one) exhibited
by every Urhobo person is the principal basis
of peace, growth and development of our
beloved Urhobo nation. He re-emphasized
the need for Urhobo Nation to speak with
one voice and under the Urhobo Progress
Union, the umbrella body of all Urhobos.
The gatherings attracted many

I
have attended about five
w e d d i n g s
in the last few weeks. In each of
these weddings and the previous ones
I attended, there are certain highlights
I always look forward to. The first is the
exchange of marital vows. That is when
the lovebirds use sweet pet names and
look lovingly into each other’s eyes. It
is all so sweet, even if it looks like it
was rehearsed. The second is the cutting
of the cake and feeding of each other
with a piece of the cake. So much love
in the air, or so it seems. Finally, you
have the nuptial dance, where they
show their dancing skills laced with
love. Where they have no good dancing
skills, which is rare these days, they
simply dance, but you can see the love
in their eyes.
Seeing so much love at weddings, you
begin to wonder why there is divorce
or separation, in the first place, not to
talk of the fact that incidents of divorce/
separation are even on the rise. What
goes wrong along the line? Where does
all the love on the wedding day go to?
But such thoughts are for the
uninitiated. The initiated knows, at least
a bit of it. Sometimes, things start going
wrong right there at the wedding
reception. During the reception, one of
the couple realizes that his/her people
are being discriminated against in the
serving of food, drinks or sharing of gift
items. He/she gets angry and draws the
attention of the spouse to it. If he/she
does not get a good response or the
situation is not well handled, marital
squabbles have started. If poorly
managed, they will continue squabbling
when they get home instead of
consummating their marriage (the first
post marriage sexual intercourse which
puts a seal of validity on the marriage.
Without it, the marriage is not valid).
Both of them have conveniently
forgotten that they took marital vows
earlier that they are no longer two, but
Booby y traps aps for young
marriages
one. Moreover, both of them are now
a new family, the real priority.
Siblings, parents and relatives
become what the white man calls
extended family. So, how can
extended family take precedence
over immediate family? Mark you,
I am not by any means saying you
should disrespect or allow your
parents, siblings and relatives to be
disrespected. In fact, respect for the
families you came from is very key
to the success of your marriage. What
I am saying is that such an issue can
easily be resolved amicably and need
not strain an hours-old marriage.
Still on conflicts resulting from
Once a baby,
especially the first
child, arrives all
attention shifts to the
baby; the husband is
completely forgotten
SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard,
OCTOBER 14, 2017 —19
extended family members that can
bedevil a young marriage, I got this
from a friend, Emeka Oparah’s
Facebook Page. According to him, a
couple just had their first baby, but
rivalry between the two
grandmothers, who came to help out
the young mother with the new born,
was making an otherwise joyful event
nightmarish for the man of the house.
He, therefore, asked for Emeka’s
advice. Emeka told the young man
that it is the mother-in-law’s
responsibility to take care of the
newborn baby, according to Igbo
tradition. In any case, it is easier and
better to “diplomatically” talk your
mother into leaving. But if you are
not firm about that, both women, who
probably have had long term
marriages, will truncate yours in its
infancy.
Another issue turning young
couple’s marriages into nightmare is
pregnancy. Some young wives simply
do not know how to handle difficult
pregnancies, especially at the early
stages. They are easily irritated and
treat their husbands as if it is a crime
getting them pregnant. Some of the
young men too do not know how to
manage such volatile wives. The
situation worsens when they are
denied the opportunity to have the sex
they thought marriage has given them
the license to indulge in. Some feel
rejected and take refuge in the arms
and bosom of other women. But since
there are very few things hidden
under the sun, you can easily get
caught and that puts your young
marriage in jeopardy. While the man
might claim he took the action
because he felt rejected, the wife feels
betrayed and scorned and you know
what? “Hell hath no fury like a
woman scorned.” No be me talk am.
Even if she forgives you, it will take
a while to win back the trust. The
woman might also be wary of another
pregnancy, not knowing how it will
pan out. Young men should love, show
understanding and empathise with
their wives during difficult
pregnancies. Some of them can be very
nasty and unreasonable, but bear with
them; it is only nine months. My
friend’s wife used to send him to a
particular woman about a mile away
every night around 11pm to buy moi
moi. The time and place of purchase
were invariable. My friend was pissed
off, but grumbled in silence.
Finally for today, child birth and
resumption of conjugal activities are
other areas which turn young happy
marriages into nightmares. Many
young wives do not manage the
situation well. Once a baby, especially
the first child, arrives all attention shifts
to the baby; the husband is completely
forgotten. Some young husbands feel
lonely and left out. Some begin to
wonder if they actually participated in
bringing the child to life. Some wives
too switch off sex after child birth. Some
who had a cut during child birth or
gave birth through caesarian continue
to mentally relive the pains and
withdraw into themselves. They deny
their poor husbands their conjugal
rights. You better get professional help
because denying a young man with hot
blood running through his veins sex is
not a good idea. That your sweet
marriage can easily get soured if not
properly preserved.
Healthy postures to keep you going go-
The Locust
Benefits:
The practice of this Asana
fenders the spine supple and
elastic. It relieves back-ache
or strain on the spine caused
by the hard work, etc. It also
tones up the muscles at the
back and the intestinal organs
in the abdominal region and
relieves pain in the lumbar
as well.
Raised Body Pose
Technique:
Lie face down with the
hands straight ahead of
you. Keep the legs also
straight behind you.
Inhale deeply and raise
the hands, chest, and
legs off the floor.
Breathe normally in
this position for 5 to
7 seconds. Rest
and repeat.
Raised Body Pose
entire musculature. Practiced regularly,
it enhances vitality.
The Twist Over
Technique:
Lying flat on your back with
feet together and arms spread
out at shoulder level, place your
right foot on top of your left
thigh. Now, bring your left hand
to hold your right knee and
gently press the left leg down. In
all of this, try to keep your back
flat down on the floor. Hold the
The Twist Over
Benefits:
The Raised
Body Pose
strengthens the
The Locust
position for some 10 to 15
seconds and repeat on the other
side.
Benefits:
The Twist Over endows the
spine with suppleness and the
digestive organs and kidneys get
gentle but effective massage.
Yoga Classes
@ 32 Adetokumbo
Ademola,
Victoria Island
Lagos.
1000am — 11.00am
on Saturdays
C
M
Y
K

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Malu, the General, is dead. He
won many battles but
succumbed to diabetes at 70. Reputed
for hard work and professionalism,
Malu was the ideal soldier. He went
into the Nigerian Defence Academy
(NDA) when military fervour was at
its peak, in 1967. He was
commissioned in 1970. Biafra had
surrendered. But life had other battles
lined up for him.
The first test came early. Six years
after he was commissioned, he was
arrested and investigated for coup
plotting. Bukar Suka Dimka had
executed Gen Murtala Mohammed.
He was exonerated, set free, after two
weeks. A member of the legendary
NDA’s 3rd regular course. His course
mates held the reins of succeeding
juntas after the military returned to
power in 1983. David Mark, Tunji
Olurin, Chris Garuba, Mike Akhigbe,
Haliru Akilu, Raji Rasaki,
Abdulkareem Adisa. They were
everywhere. Malu was in literal
oblivion. 1999 came. Democracy made
a return. Military Officers that had
held political positions were deemed
too ambitious. Malu was celibate, and
given the reins of the army.
Before then, in 1996, he commanded
ECOMOG forces. He turned the
fortunes of that sub-regional peace
force around. But even the stint at
ECOMOG didn’t go without a riddle.
While he was drenched in global
applause for diligence and
professionalism , Liberia’s Charles
Taylor found him uncontrollable. His
ECOMOG tour of duty was therefore
cut short. In his farewell speech he
lamented his sudden exit. He told the
soldiers to maintain a ruthless streak.
While at ECOMOG he was handed
a case to decide at home. He chaired
the military tribunal that tried General
Diya and others for involvement in an
alleged coup plot against General
Abacha. Many believed Diya’s coup
was a phantom. Malu found Diya and
others guilty. Malu could not
exonerate Gen Diya. Many believed
that despite his reputation for brutal
frankness he was timid in front of
Abacha.
If fate played funny games with the
Last week the Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu
had a furious diatribe against the Group
Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr.
Maikanti Baru. Kachikwu’s letter to
President Muhammadu Buhari on
alleged matters of insubordination and
lack of adherence to due process
perpetuated by Baru was confidential
information released unofficially. Like a
hurricane it made a landfall in the media
in the mold of what may be named
Kachileaks.
Kachikwu alleged that for over one year
of Dr. Baru’s tenure, no contract has been
run through the Board which he asked the
President to intervene to avoid wrongfully
painting him (the President) as one who
does not allow Due Process to thrive in
NNPC. Kachikwu’s allegations included
US$10billion Crude Term contracts, the
US$5billion Direct Sale Direct Purchase,
DSDP contracts—the US$3billion Abuja-
Kaduna-Kano, AKK Gas pipeline
contract—value approximately, the
US$3billion NOC allocation funding
contracts and various NPDC production
service contracts valued between
US$3billion and US$4billion.
The allegations against the GMD were
so weighty and questioned the integrity of
President Buhari’s war against corruption.
The President was prompt in action this
time around with two tete-a-tetes arranged
last week Friday; one between President
Buhari and Kachikwu and the other with
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Baru.
The NNPC in its response dispelled
Kachikwu’s claims of the crude oil term
contracts that had values running into
billions of dollars. The NNPC said Term
contracts are for off takers lifting crude
oil. They said NNPC does not pay any
amount of money to successful bidders as
insinuated. NNPC explained that off
takers lift crude and pay money to
General Victor Malu: A life of
spectacular ironies
late General, it saved the best for the last.
It dished him cruel cards. The first term
of the Obasanjo’s administration.
There was Odi. Elections were over,
Aswana boys ( local thugs) felt used,
and dumped. They threw tantrums at
‘ungrateful’ politicians. Police were
called in to restore public peace. The
boys were dislodged from their Yenogoa
Black Market domain , in a heavy
handed operation. Those who didn’t die
shifted their camp to Odi. Their
nuisance grew, and became great.
The Police had it rough going. Seven
policemen were abducted in Odi. Then
another five. They were all slaughtered.
Then president Obasanjo gave the
governor two weeks to fish out the
culprits. He forgot who was the
Commander in Chief of the Police. He
brandished threat of declaration of state
of emergency. Two weeks! he said.
Before two weeks, and while the
community fretted over promised drastic
consequences, the Army moved in. The
Army sat on Odi for two weeks. And Odi
was decimated. Everything was razed.
They left only the bank, the health centre
and the church. Malu was Chief of army
staff. His idea was that Odi had to be
taught a brutal deterrent lesson. Odi was
made a lesson. But it would seem some
soldiers learnt a thing about barbarity
too. That was 2009, November.
In 2011, Malu fell out of favour with
his Commander-in-chief. He was
removed from his position and retired
from the army. A few months later fate
came with its mischief. That was the
season of the TIV- JUKUN ethnic
madness. The Army was sent to Ibi in
Benue to patrol the area. Ethnic tension
We can’t tell how much
of Gen Abacha’s errors
he confronted with truth
had squashed peace. They fell into
an ambush laid by Tiv ethnic
militants. Desperate efforts were
made to get them released. The
soldiers were killed in a school in
Zaki Ibiam, the next day. The
governor cried mistaken identity.
What followed was truly gory.
The army was sent in. They were
sent to fish out the criminals. They
came like peace makers. They gave
the villages a notice . They said they
wanted a peace meeting. They
chose a market day. So that they
would have a full house. On the
appointed day, the Army in Abuja
was busy burying their dead with
national honors. That day, the army
in Benue descended on a number
of villages. They started with Gbeji.
Everyone gathered as appointed.
Women and children were separated
from the men. The men were
sprayed with bullets. Everything
that moved was shot. Everything
that stood was brought down. They
burnt dead bodies for fun. They
burnt empty homes like
pyromaniacs. Everywhere, they
went arson followed them. And they
Kachileaks
achileaks: : Matter
ers arising
government coffers; a standard practice that
had endured since the inception of the NNPC
including the one year tenure of Kachikwu
as GMD.
If there was infraction why did Kachikwu
wait for up to one year before raising alarm
when there are disciplinary measures for
insubordination(s) including query and
copying the President? In August 2015,
Buhari appointed Kachikwu as the GMD of
NNPC without a Board. Again on November
4, 2015, he (Kachikwu) was privileged to be
appointed Minister of State for Petroleum
Resources. Issues bothering on the propriety
of one person performing multiple roles of
Minister, Board Chairman, Board and
NNPC GMD were raised. It lasted from
August 2015 to July 2016. When one
consulted the 1999 constitution as amended
one discovered that Chapter 6 Section 148
(1) says “The President may, in his discretion,
assign to the Vice-President or any Minister
of the Government of the Federation
responsibility for any business of the
Government of the Federation, including the
administration of any department of
government.”
That assignment may have empowered the
Minister/NNPC GMD on May 11, 2016 to
withdraw subsidy on petroleum products
including PMS which went up from N86.50
to N145 without Nigerians debating it. The
decision killed many businesses, with
many more still in the intensive care
units today. Our lawmakers must as a
matter of urgency amend that section
of the constitution to prevent a
recurrence. The bone of contention is
who does what? Baru as GMD is
holding on to the statutes that
recognized him as the man in charge of
operations. Kachikwu as Board
Chairman is for policy and guidelines.
Both held on to their comfort zones. The
picture is like what renowned novelist
Chinua Achebe painted in his celebrated
Things Fall Apart of let the kite perch
and let the eagle perch and whoever
Nigeria is not benefitting
from wrangles between
and among senior
government officials in
this administration
went around.
They got to General Malu’s country
home in neighbouring Katsina Ala.
They burnt it. Three of his close
relatives were killed, in his
compound. A community that took
pride in having a soldier in every
family lay in waste. Desolate, charred,
ravaged by their army’s ruthless
reprisals. Vaase, Gbeji, Kastina Ala,
Zaki Ibiam, nothing was spared.
Malu, as chief of army staff, stood
against proposed American
modernization of the army. Malu, the
retired General bore, the brunt of
Army’s crudity. General Malu
grieved in plain sight. He lamented
that only the army could have been
that brutal.
The corpse of a stranger, they say,
feels like a stack of woods, evokes no
grief. Odi didn’t teach him what Zaki
Ibiam taught him. We wouldn’t know
all his other regrets. We know he was
strict and disciplined. He left an
autobiography. He titled it—In the
name of Victor: confronting errors
with truth. We can’t tell how much of
Gen Abacha’s errors he confronted
with truth. But it was Gen Malu who
shocked others when he wore
Abacha’s badge on his military
uniform. We wouldn’t know whether
he came to regret that. He didn’t
regret convicting Diya. We know he
served his fatherland diligently, and
died in an Egyptian hospital. Even
that would elicit another shake of the
head. He had tried Lagos University
Teaching Hospital when he gallantly
fought off a stroke in 2008. Cairo must
be infinitely better. People shook
their heads when in 2006 he rendered
a certain confused speech. He said
he could have overthrown Obasanjo.
But chose not to. He said he didn’t
know why northern youths in major
Mustapha and co. were languishing
in prison for mere attempted murder.
Malu was a good man. He was a
patriot. He was a soldier’s soldier,
in the words of David Mark. Good
obituarists don’t write all they can.
The memory of the dead must be left
in fine scents.
Adieu General Victor Malu. You did
your best.
prevents the other should have its wings
clipped. Kachikwu may have enjoyed the
perks of office including awarding term
contracts and the values in billions of
dollars in his one year tenure as sole
administrator. Withdrawal of privileges
often elicit crying wolf but that’s the way
the cookie crumbles in government and
corporate governance.
Again, Kacikwu alleged that since Dr.
Baru resumed as GMD, he was never
given the opportunity to discuss the
recent appointments before the
announcements. Some observers have
said two wrongs do not make a right.
Kachikwu’s restructuring in March 2016
as Sole Administrator of NNPC had the
two house unions, PENASSAN and
NUPEN accuse him of increasing the
number of subsidiaries and allegedly
appointed heads of these subsidiaries
without interviews to determine their
suitability for effectiveness and
efficiency. He redeployed Dr. Baru who
was the NNPC Group Executive Director,
Exploration and Production, E&P to the
Ministry as his Technical Adviser in
charge of upstream operations. It was the
same Baru that took over from him as
GMD on July 4, 2016. Within the period,
Kachikwu must have courted this
animosity that trailed him.
We ask where our refineries are. The
infightings had stalled the rehabilitation
of all the refineries because Kachikwu is
allegedly claiming he has approval while
the operators, NNPC say it is their
responsibility. Nigeria as a factor in the
unbalanced equation is the sufferer.
Kachikwu and Baru must bury the
hatchet for the betterment of Nigeria.
Mutual respect is necessary. Nigeria is
not benefitting from wrangles between
and among senior government officials
in this administration.

Things you learn early in life
hardly leave you. In fact, they
influence the course of your life either
for good or ill. I had an Editor during
my early years in journalism who
drummed certain ‘truths’ into my head
which have influenced my practice of
the profession. Two of them will suffice
for the purposes of this discourse. First
is that there is no story that cannot be
cut; the skill is in the manner of
cutting. The second which is related
to the first, is that it is an indulgence
on your part and an unfair pressure
on your readers to write an article or a
column that spans three weeks or
more. These days because of what I
am yet to unlearn, I cringe when I see
a columnist serialise 4, 5 up to 10 parts
of an article. (My old-school Editor
would squirm wherever he is). How
are the readers supposed to remember
what they read two, three months ago
when they are not studying for an
exam? And how can they follow your
train of thoughts if they miss an article
or two in between as often happens?
The preamble is necessary because
this week’s article is a follow-up of
sorts to last week’s piece and because,
like I said, it is not in my character—
to borrow a cliche—to so do. Last
week’s article titled: ‘There is a
country still’ was influenced by an
Independence Day homily I heard in
church. This week’s column is
influenced by a video of a speech by a
young man called Dike
Chukwumerije. The video so touched
me that if I had heard it a week
earlier, I would have incorporated its
message into my article. As it is,
because I feel it needs to reach as
many people as possible, I have
helped in forwarding it to a few
friends—something I rarely do. It is
for the same reason I feel the need to
write on it even when the theme is so
similar to last week’s theme.
Dike belongs to at least a generation
behind mine. He belongs to a
generation that is bitter with itself, and
the generations above it because they
have bequeathed a Nigeria of warts
A
stalwart of the ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC
was quick to dismiss the biggest
scandal to hit the Muhammadu Buhari
administration as a family affair. But
whether the fuss between the minister
of state, petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu
and the Group Managing Director of
the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC Dr. Maikanti Baru
is an APC family affair is debatable.
The APC stalwart’s reference to the
issue being a family affair may have
been stoked by the make-believe
photo-op between Kachikwu and Baru
on the sidelines of the National
Economic Summit in Abuja last
Tuesday.
If not, then maybe because of the
mimicry of the Muhammadu Buhari
administration by one of its chief
instigators, Governor Ayodele Fayose.
In reacting to the allegations of
improper contract award leveled
against Dr. Baru by the minister of
state, Governor Fayose was quick to
accuse the APC administration of
treating corruption as a family affair.
The practise of confiscating national
issues as family affairs was the habit
of Fayose’s PDP when it was in power.
Party and government officials
decided such issues at conclaves of
party elders at the Presidential Villa
or in Wadata Plaza.
There were indeed, many of those
horrendous affairs that were swept
under the carpet in the jaundiced
opinion that such issues no matter
Barriers s to nationhood
and all to it. A generation with so
much information and knowledge
around it yet is so ignorant of the
things that should matter. A
generation that has members born in
the main, outside their fathers’
villages and homesteads and rather
than develop a more cosmopolitan
and therefore more tolerant world
view, is trapped in the tribal hatred
and prejudices of the past. It is heartwarming
therefore, to see a product
of that generation come out on a
higher pedestal than we are used to
from the generation to make an
impassioned plea for the unity of
Nigeria. Armed with the same sets of
To describe Nigeria as
a mere geographical
expression therefore is
according to him, to
deny the genuine
efforts of these people
and the various
meeting of minds aimed
at forming a nation
APC family affair
fairs
how grave should not be the problem
of the prying eyes of those outside
the PDP. The kidnap of a serving
governor in Anambra State, the drama
associated with the forced resignation
of Chief Audu Ogbeh as PDP national
chairman, the crisis between
President Olusegun Obasanjo and
Vice President Atiku Abubakar among
many other affairs.
So, how APC’s messy affairs came
to be compared with those ugly sides
of the PDP era must be quite
intriguing for a party that trumpeted
change as its philosophy.
Indeed in its two years in power,
the APC has packed its set of
controversies that are seemingly
being handled as family affairs.
The quarrel over the leadership of
the National Assembly, the budget
padding scandal, the spat between
the Department of State Services and
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC on one side and
the spat between the same EFCC and
SATURDAY Vanguard, , OCTOBER 14, 2017—21
were formed. Integration, he argued,
must be worked at since there is no
naturally integrated country in the
world.
He then listed factors he believed
would enhance integration, the
absence of which would, in my view,
constitute veritable barriers to
nationhood. He started with physical
integration and mentioned the
construction of a good network of roads
that would ease the movement of
people. He believed physical isolation
would lead to socio-cultural isolation.
In this light, we should also invest in
unity schools, NYSC, and sports.
Secondly, he advised we should invest
in the economics of integration since
financial insecurity leads to intolerance
which leads to xenophobia. Thirdly, we
must understand that we live in a very
fragile country and so, any word or
action that threatens our fragile unity
must be resisted. Fourthly, we must
also invest in what he called the
morality of integration by refusing to
take vengeance on those who have
wronged us. That was the Mandela
way. And the Ghandi way. Then he
talked about the politics of integration
which is not to allow those who want
to divide us hold sway. And to
emphasise on things that unite us as
opposed to things that divide us.
Finally, he insisted justice must be
blind to ethnic and religious
considerations. ‘If you do the crime,
then you must do the time’ he stated.
I don’t know if Dike is the son of the
late Uche Chukwumerije, the highly
cerebral journalist. If he is, then history
has just gone full circle. But for the
better. The late journalist was an
integral part of Biafra and the
spokesman for Abacha during the
inglorious June 12 period. But I have
never stopped respecting his high
intellect. Dike Chuckwumerije has just
earned my respect too. To be fair, Uche
Chukwumerije acted on the exigencies
of his time. Dike Chuckwumerije is
acting on the exigencies of his own
time. And if he is actually a scion of
the late journalist, then he is indeed,
an improved chip off the old block.
‘truths’ that have always been in the
public space, he set out to reconstruct
the Nigerian narrative from a
different prism and to deconstruct the
widely held view of the Nigerian
story based on what he termed
‘bedtime stories’ which have been
handed down from father to son over
the past 50 years. He queried for
example, ‘the truth’ which holds a
tribe responsible for the actions of
individuals in discussing the varied
causes of the Civil War. He queried
the ‘truth’ that emphasises the acts
of callousness and wickedness of
some individuals before, during and
after the civil war, but ignores the
acts of kindness and compassion of
other individuals during the same
period.
He excused our founding fathers for
their views of Nigeria which he felt
were born out of their limited
knowledge of the country. Many of
them with the possible exemption of
Azikiwe never left their regions until
they had become full adults. What
should be our excuse; especially that
of his generation? He applauded the
vision and patriotism of leaders like
Davies, Ikoli and Ita who came from
different parts of the south to rally
round Herbert Macaulay and
Nnamdi Azikiwe to form a powerful
national movement. To describe
Nigeria as a mere geographical
expression therefore is according to
him, to deny the genuine efforts of
these people and the various meeting
of minds aimed at forming a nation.
This was the same way other nations
Indeed in its two
years in power, the
APC has packed its
set of controversies
that are seemingly
being handled as
family affairs
the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, on
the other. There is also the allegation
of impropriety in the disbursement of
funds by the Presidential Initiative in
the North East, PINE among others.
These are worrisome issues. Just as
the ruling administration has failed to
address its fault lines, so preceding
PDP administrations failed to address
theirs.
The repeated failure by this and
preceding administrations to frontally
confront our fault lines is the major
reason why the country has failed to
reach its potentials. When a country
continues to make the same mistakes,
there is no way it can make progress.
Indeed, when your correspondent
encountered the administration’s
image maker, Lai Mohammed last
Saturday for a scheduled interview
session it was not by happenstance that
the first question that was thrown at
him was how he would have acted
were he the spokesman of the
opposition PDP.
It was a question the Honourable
Minister sought to pooh-pooh as unfair.
Despite economic indices that
Mohammed easily churned out to
buttress achievements of the Buhari
administration, the question as to
whether the ordinary man is better
today than two years ago is a poser
many supporters of the administration
are finding difficult to address.
Whatever, the fact is that under the
PDP administration one could point to
individuals or fora where family
matters were settled. However, under
the APC administration, with nothing
much changed, political stakeholders
are at a loss as to where family affairs
are being addressed
C
M
Y
K

22—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Rangers: Att
ttac
acked for not
defeating eating Tanzania
Unbeatable, that was the other name
for Enugu Rangers all through
1974 to the last quarter of 1975. A
goalless draw with Tanzanian side, Young
Africans, in Lagos meant a different thing
to some compatriots who read Civil War
meanings to it.
The name Rangers came from a group
of Guerillas on the Biafran side during
the war. After hostilities, the Igbo lost
everything. Lives, property, money and
respect. That was when Chief Jerry
Enyeazu came up with a football club on
February 25, 1970. Many of the young
Biafran soldiers and officers were indeed
good footballers.
Some Cadets of the Nigeria Military
School, Zaria grew to become officers.
Boys turned men like Paul Ndimele
Omeruo, Bernard Akpunonu and
Hanibal Okpani Nkama did not continue
with soccer. Some of the pioneer Rangers
had battle field experience. They were
handed over to coach Godwin Anyanwu.
Later the baton was passed to Dan
Anyiam, with Paulinus Nzerem and Isaac
Nnado as assistants.
The players were: Captain Godwin
Achebe, Ide, Shedrack Ajaero, Nana,
Cyril Okosieme, Flying Cat, John Nwosu,
Wheeler, Keneth Abana, Magician, Luke
Okpala, Jazzman Bucana, Mathias
Obianika, Wonderboy, Chukwuma
Igweonu, It’s a goal, and Godwin
Adimachukwu, Alan Ball. Others
included: Dominic Nwobodo, Alhaji,
Nwabueze Nwankwo, Bulldozer, Sam
Nwachukwu, Onyembi, Peter Okeke,
General Gason, Teddy Anikputa, Ajiobi,
Emmanuel Okala, OAU, Ernest Ufele,
Emma Ojirika, Godwin Nwosa, Sam
Okoh, Emeka Okonkwo, Patrick
Ozuah and Ray Ohaeri.
In the next one year, Rangers restored
Igbo pride. They won the informal
National League known as the
Amachree cup, lost in the grand finale
of the challenge cup to WNDC
Shooting Stars of Ibadan, no thanks
to Amusa Adisa who stopped Achebe’s
penalty, and got to the quarter-finals
of the CAF Champions League.
The East Central State Academicals,
captained by Godwin Ogbueze, won
the Adebajo cup after beating
Midwestern State. Some prominent
members of the victorious team were
Christian Chukwu, Dominic Ezeani,
Damian Odo, Chike Ikebuaku, Johnny
Azinge Keneth Ilodigwe and Patrick
Ekeji who all would join the Flying
Antelopes later. Ekeji could not make
the Biafra Airforce but joined Army
Signals later.
So from day one, some Nigerians
saw Rangers as another Biafra that
must be vanquished. That did not
happen and the team really dealt with
Nigeria Army clubs. The name itself
hurt Nigerian soldiers. Major Ibrahim
Babangida’s 44 Battalion, Umuahia
was also known as Rangers.
To lift the Amachree Cup, the Coal
City Boys trounced an All Army team.
In their international debut, they
defeated Secteur Six of Niger
Republic, an Army team. In the 1972
formal league, Rangers hammered
The sore point was that
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s
Tanzania was the first
country to recognise Biafra
military side Octopus of Port Harcourt 5-1
in the Garden City. The soldiers did not
bother to go for the Enugu leg.
Even General Gowon had summoned
Enyeazu to Lagos in 1970 for choosing May
27 to pitch Rangers against Vipers of Benin.
And to be fair to Gowon he accepted
explanation that it was mere coincidence.
Two years later, he made Enyeazu pioneer
Director of the National Sports Commission
(NSC ).
On May 10, 1975, Rangers were forced to
a barren draw by Young Africans (Yanga) in
the Second Round of the CAF Champions
League at the National Stadium, Lagos.
That was the day hell was let loose. Some
Nigerian spectators pounced on the home
team. Left winger, James Ogidinma
Ibeabuchi,was almost killed in the process.
The sore point was that Mwalimu Julius
Nyerere’s Tanzania was the first country to
recognise Biafra, on April 13, 1968. Keneth
Kaunda’s Zambia followed on April 15, then
Felix Houphet Boigny’s Cote D’Ivoire and
Albert Bongo’s Gabon. The strange belief
was that Rangers did not want to win the
match.
Well Rangers had not lost a game in 18
months. In the 1974 league of eight teams,
they earned 25 points from 14 matches.
Eight wins, three draws, no loss, 21 goals
for and three against. Lagos NEPA were
runners-up Shooting, third and Vasco fourth.
Bendel, Stores, Asabatex and Darma United,
Kano followed. After beating Shooting at
Ibadan, Supporters club chairman, A.A.
Amaugo, almost lost an ear following attack
by the losing fans.
Rangers became Nigeria’s first double
champions in 1974, a feat repeated in
1975. They messed up Army teams as well
either Lagos Garrison Organisation (LGO)
of Paul Hamilton, Keneth Olayombo,
Lawal Rigogo, Ifeanyi John and Abass
Olawoyin or Super Two of Eyo Essien,
Segun Olumodeji, Tetteh Okonkwo,
Kingsford Yeboah, Owusu Agyeman and
Peter Obi.
Before confronting Yanga, the Flying
Antelopes had humiliated Accra Great
Olympics 2-0 in Ghana with Alex Nwosu
and Abana scoring to stun crack players
like Awule Quaye, Christian Madu, Joe
Amartey and the duo of Obley and Sabban
Hammond. In the Lagos return leg Rangers
won again, 2-1. Again Nwosu and Abana
netted goals.
Some rabid spectators could not accept
the draw with the Tanzanians. On May 27,
1975, Rangers did not find it easy at away.
They got a 1-1 draw,courtesy Alex Nwosu
and advanced on away goals rule to face
Zambian Army squad, Green Buffaloes, led
by hard tackling libero, Dick Chama.
Rangers were almost losing 2-1 after
Stanley (Englishman ) Okoronkwo’s goal
until Ogidi hit a last minute leveller. Some
members of the Copperbelt team won silver
at the Egypt’74 Nations Cup and were
more experienced than the Nigerians. In
the Lagos leg, the hosts won 2-1 to romp
into the semis. Zambia, like Tanzania
recognised Biafra during the crisis.
Enugu Rangers lost home and away to
Hafia of Guinea in the 1975 CAF
Champions League finals. Many blamed
the NFA for the loss. That was not
completely true. According to P.O.C.
Achebe, Rangers lost to their officials who
refused to travel to Lagos until 10pm the
day to the grand finale. They were therefore
not mentally and physically strong to
cancel the 1-0 first leg outcome.
Hafia were champions in 1972 and had
great players like Petit Sory, Papa Camara,
Aliou Keita (Njo Lea ) and Jacob
Bangoura. Obianika got the first goal, then
Rangers ran out of gas to concede two
goals. Ilodigwe threw his jersey away as he
walked away. Dan Anyiam refused to
substitute a striker who was imposed on
him even when the player was begging to
be pulled out.
By tomorrow, it will be 10 weeks,
two full months and a half that
the gruesome murder of worshippers
at St. Philips Catholic Church,
Ozubulu, in Ekwusigo Local
Government Area of Anambra state,
happened. And no one or group, yet,
seems to have been found responsible.
On Sunday, August 6, 2017,
precisely, gunmen found their way into
the Church where worshippers were
observing the early morning Mass.
And by the time they left, scores of
innocent Nigerians were killed, at least
12. A lot more worshippers received
serious gunshot injuries from the
tragic incident.
Police Commissioner in the state,
Mr. Garba Baba Umar, would
immediately connect the shooting to
a long standing rift between two
alleged drug dealers from the
community, both of who were said to
reside in South Africa.
Umar, who told Channels Television
shortly after the incident that the
attack was not unconnected with gang
violence between some indigenes of
the state, sounded like he was armed
with details that many thought by now,
the case would have been closed, or
substantial progress made.
His words then: “Information further
revealed that this is not unconnected
to a kind of a ‘gang war’ between
indigenes of the state—children of the
same village—who are engaged in
warfare outside Nigeria, precisely, in
South Africa.”
Not many Nigerians, however, were
convinced by the hasty conclusion.
Still on that Ozubulu chur
hurch h shooting
This speed with which CP Umar
almost concluded on who the
perpetrators were, how they went
into the church, who they were
looking for and so on, did not cut
it for many. More so, when the
worshippers were still in shock and
could not possibly give accurate
account, or say for sure if they
recognized any of the shooters. Or
their motive(s).
State Governor Willie Obiano,
who also visited the scene shortly
after, it would appear, came to
chorus Amen, to the Police
Commissioner’s Hallelujah.
Obiano, in line with the CP’s
earlier narrative, said intelligence
reports linked the attack to a feud
between two kingpins in
Ozubulu—Aloysius Ikegwuonu
and one Chinedu Akpunonu (a.k.a
Oborocho), both of whom live
outside Nigeria.
After elaborating on his
understanding of how the two drug
warlords had been at each other’s
throat, Obiano also concluded that
the Church shooting was an
importation of crime between the
two alleged drug kingpins into the
community and the state. He
promised investigation would
commence immediately to bring
perpetrators to book.
Interestingly, and about nine
days later, the alleged target,
Ikegwuonwu, better known as
Bishop, who was said to have built
the church, but incidentally, was not
among the worshippers at the time, and
whose father was said to have been shot
instead, returned to the community and
actually visited victims of the shooting
at the hospital they were being treated.
‘Bishop’ would tell anyone willing to
listen that he knew nothing of the killing
and as a matter of fact, issued a statement
to the effect that he has never been
arrested nor convicted for any drug
related offence before, claiming that all
his businesses are legitimate and duly
registered.
He described the Church killing as an
unprecedented evil that deserves full
investigation to unmask the perpetrators.
That’s not all. He requested all those
linking him with the killing to retract his
name from the defamatory stories,
threatening that failure to do so and any
further linking of his name with the
Or are the revelations by the
CP, as corroborated by
Governor Obiano, all fake
news? Could it be that these
two were wrong in the
narratives, after all?
incident will force him to take legal
action against those he described as
“purveyors of the defamatory false
story.”
That, to the best of the knowledge of
most Nigerians, is the last piece of
information they would hear of the
bloodshed. That, today, appears to be
the much in public domain on the
horrific incident of August 6 that
evoked national outcry. Twelve lives
wasted, just like that and all crying
out for justice!
In typical Nigerian fashion, this one
incident too may have been overtaken
by so many ugly events and
Nigerians, characteristically, have
moved on. Not many, beside family
members of the victims, still remember
the incident, or so it appears. No
justice yet, if ever, for those murdered
in cold blood.
One would have expected that since
the state police boss, Umar, and chief
security officer of the state, Governor
Obiano, from their statements, knew
from the onset those behind the
incident, it shouldn’t be taking this
long to bring the perpetrators to book.
In other words, isn’t it natural that
since both CP Umar and Governor
Obiano had early clue on who the
perpetrators were, they (perpetrators)
should have by now, be made to face
the music?
Or are the revelations by the CP, as
corroborated by Governor Obiano, all
fake news? Could it be that these two
were wrong in the narratives, after all?
If so, who murdered, in cold blood,
worshippers at St. Philips Catholic
Church in Ozubulu?

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—23
LAGOS:
Challenges of being 6th
largest city in the world
BY ISHOLA BALOGUN
“Lagos is on track to be either a
city of 36 million people or the 6th
largest city in the world after
Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Kinshasa,
and Kolkata.” These were the words
of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of
Lagos at the 1st Lagos State
Infrastructure Round Table hosted by
the state government in collaboration
with the Harvard Business School
Association of Nigeria (HBSAN) in
Lagos.
Ambode also affirmed the dearth of
infrastructure in Lagos regarded as a
growing mega-city and promised to
lay the foundation for transforming it
into a city ahead of Tokyo, Karachi,
New York, and Mexico City, adding
that he would continue to search for
new and innovative ways to drive
infrastructure development and
economic independence. But the big
question is how this can be achieved
without a genuine effort to develop
the inter lands and remove slums as
well as impact greatly on rural
settlements within the state.
The government has also been
unable to keep pace with the demand
for the provision of affordable
housing, good road network,
particularly in the inter-lands and
rural areas and of course basic
amenities such as water, electricity,
health centres, education, and
employment. Lagos is only growing
in population but without
corresponding infrastructure
development and because of the
attendant challenges in getting
affordable housing, many Lagosians
have moved to rural areas, creating
new belts of settlements. In fact, with
the presence increase in slums and
rural settlements in Lagos suburbs,
it is an indication that hundreds of
thousands of people are living in
appalling housing structures,
crumbling roads, and lack social
amenities. A visit to Adamo,
Agunfoye, Mojoda, Araromi,
Ipoyewa and Isiu, in Ikorodu North
Development area will reveal the
sorry state of infrastructure making
livelihood difficult for residents.
However, some of the affluent areas
still lack some of these facilities such
as Festac, Ikeja, etc.
According to the Governor at the
forum, “as at 2015, our state had
16,000km network of roads but with
a daily human traffic of over 7.5
million people and 2.8 million
cars.
“The power needs of the state are
over 10,000 mw of power but we
receive less than 2,000mw.
“We presently supply 210.5
million gallons of water per day
(“mgpd”) as against a demand of
750 mgpd”.
The governor said that the deficit
could only be imagined in 2017 as
well as the challenges and
pressures on the physical and
social infrastructure that came with
it
Ġovernor Ambode argued that
there was the need to carefully
assess situations and take careful
and deliberate actions to handle
the challenges that face the state.
He noted that it was important
to take actions that would not
only affect the people’s
livelihood today, but also protect
the future of the younger
generations.
He said: “In government, we
do not have all the answers. That
is the truth. That is why we are
here.
“I hope to get some answers
because we represent hope to many
people and we must provide for all
who make Lagos their home,” the
governor said.
He said that it was important to
take actions that would not only
affect the people’s livelihood today,
but also protect the future of the
younger generations.
In his keynote address, Prof. John
Macomber identified massive
urbanisation, worsening resources
scarcity and inability of most
governments to invest in
infrastructure as three trends
driving economic development in
the world.
Macomber is the Faculty Chair,
Harvard Business School, Africa
Research Office.
He said that large global capital
with technological breakthrough
was now combining to a new era
in private investment in public
infrastructure around the world.
How these three trends will
impact on the economic
development of a mega city like
Lagos, only time will tell.
Residents protest, insist on pre-paid meters or no payment
Residents of Okunola community
in Mosan/Okunola Local
Council Development Area of
Lagos State have vowed to resist
outrageous bills and called on the Ikeja
Electricity Distribution Company, IEDC, to
install pre-paid meters in their homes
without further delay.
Protesting against what they described as
“Crazy bills,” residents under the aegis of
Duro-Olaleru Crescent Community Youth
Development Association said they will
resist outrageous bills without regular power
supply.
A community leader, Joshua Faboye said
the community had resolved not to pay
electricity bills without pre-paid meter. “We
are fed up with the system; if there is no
power supply we are still made to pay bills
for what we did not use. We pay N750 as
service charge and the Minister of Power,
Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola
has said if they didn’t install meter they
should not distribute bill but the Ikeja
Electricity Distribution Company (IEDC)
did not comply”.
Another resident of the community, Mr
Olu Toyin said: “Ever since the electricity
company was privatized we have not
seen the best of them. Where I live they
distributed prepaid meters from Iyana
Ipaja, Egbeda and Alabata Streets; they
Lagos is only growing
in population but
without corresponding
infrastructure
development
•We’ve not abandoned consumers, Electricity coy replies
stopped there and jumped to Okunola
and Abule Odu to distribute the
prepaid meters. We have gone to their
office to complain without any positive
outcome till date.
“They bring crazy bills like N20,000
and N50,000. There is even a house
that was billed up to N1million which
we all know is not possible because they
are not running any factory there. In
my house, I paid a sum of N10,000
every month , we are pleading to them
to bring the prepaid meter so we can
pay for what we consume”.
Contacted, the spokesman of IEDC,
Felix Ofolue said the installation of prepaid
meters was being done in phases
because of paucity of fund arising from the
adverse economic situation of the country,
which has affected operations of the company.
According to him, ‘’with regards to the
provision of pre-paid meters, we have not
abandoned consumers. The issue of pre-paid
meters is a general problem across the country
where other electricity distribution companies
are operating. The issue is compounded by the
economic problems confronting the country
which also affected the procurement of the
meters. However, even if we have the resources
to procure meters in large quantity we still
have to factor in technical personnel that would
install them.
‘’However, what we’ve been doing is to install
the meters in phases. We have provided the
meters in some communities including Idimu
and Government Reservation Area
(G.R.A) Ikeja among others and we are
still installing in other places. To this end,
I want to urge the people to be patient
with us as we would surely get to their
area.
He added: ‘’On the issue of crazy bills,
we have installed a metering device in
our transformers through which we
monitor the electricity supplied and
consumption in communities and the
billing is based on what is supplied. The
only problem is that of electricity thieves
whose activities rub off on genuine
consumers, hence, we are appealing to
consumers to assist us in identifying these
electricity thieves not for prosecution but
for us to properly bill them so that the
issue of crazy bill can be solved.”
Trader
raders, residents decry untold hardship over Alapere road construction
Traders at Alapere Market in
Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Area of
Lagos State have decried the untold
hardship being experienced daily
along the Alapere-Estate-Agboyi road,
currently undergoing construction.
They attributed their plight to the
‘slow pace of work’ by the contractor
handling the project. They said the
project which started in February this
year was to be completed last month.
One of the traders, Iyabo Adewale
said: ‘’ We are experiencing loss of
patronage and poor sales. Before the
construction works started on the road, we
would display our wares as early as 8 a.m,
but since the commencement of the project,
we can no longer display our wares until
about 4 p.m in the evening.
‘’The consequence of this, is that we are
losing our loyal customers and income. We
want the state government to order quick
completion of the project, because we are
losing money daily and our children cannot
go to school because we don’t have money
to pay their school fees.”
Other traders who spoke to us lamented
the hardship being experienced as a result
of the project and urged government to
expedite action on the work.
Speaking on the issue, an official of the
Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development
Area, who refused to be named however said
the project would soon be completed,
adding that the market would be relocated
to Fortune Garden area of the community.

24—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14 , 2017

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—25

26—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14 , 2017
By Rotimi Agbana 08137741609
rotimiagbana@gmail.com
Who’s telling the truth :
One night too sad
The past few days have been
rather tumultuous and
unsettling for Nigerian hip
hop singer, David Adeleke
popularly known as Davido with
three of his friends being turned up
dead by the police after a night of a
birthday drinking binge of one of
them, identified as Tagbo Umeike.
The night of October 3, 2017 was
Tagbo’s birthday, which his friends,
including late DJ Olu, and Chime
Amechina and the hip hop star,
Davido got together at the Shisha
Lounge, Lekki. And it was supposed
to be a night to remember but
instead has turned out to be a
nightmare never to be forgotten,
as the trio of Tagbo Umeike,
DJ Olu and Chime
Amechina have ceased
to be.
The first death to
attract public
attention was that
of Tagbo. The
news of his
death was
broken by his
a c t r e s s
girlfriend,
Caroline
Danjuma who
reportedly
said that
Davido had
s o m e
explanations
to make
about his
death but
noting that
she was not
accusing
him of
complicity.
“I have not
said that
Davido was
responsible
for his death
but since Tagbo was with him before
he died Davido must have something
to say about it,” she said.
While the social media was feasting
on the news of Tagbo’s
death with series of
claims and counter
claims, other two friends
of Davido who were at
the birthday binge were
turned up dead by the
police.
DJ Olu, born Olugbenga
Abiodun, son of an oil
magnate, Dapo Abiodun
and Chime Amechina
were also found dead.
According to an alleged
eyewitness, Davido and
his friends, started a
drinking competition,
where the singer Davido
placed a price of N200,
000 and Iphone 8 for the
winner. Tagbo was said
to have won the
•Davido
competition, consuming heavy shots
of Tequila but failed to live to tell of
his conquest. Both DJ Olu and
Chime were not so lucky either as
they were both also
deceased after that one
night bender.
Talks and allegations of
Davido’s complicity in
their deaths began to
spread like wildfire. But
that did not deter Davido
from embarking on his
planned “30 Billion
African Tour’. In fact, he
was in South Africa on his
tour when the news of DJ
Olu and Chime
Amechina’s deaths
reached him. And he
wasted no time in
dedicating the
AFRIMMA awards; Best
Artiste of the Year award
and Song of the Year
awards to his late friends.
•DJ Olu
On Tuesday, he was billed to perform
at the Felabration, but according to
him, he was in grief and therefore,
cancelled his participation as a mark
of respect to his late friends and
families.
“ To all my fans expecting me at
Felabration tomorrow (Tuesday), I’m
sorry I would not be performing
anymore. I promise to make it up. I
love you guys. Everyone stay prayed
up. I love each and every one of you.
RIP Chime, every time we met you
were always happy.”
For Davido, life goes on
The old cliché that the world stops
for nobody couldn’t have rung truer
to anyone’s situation right now than
that of Davido’s. He was already
billed for his “30 Billion African Tour’
and he just had to be on the plane
and mourn his friends any other way
he could.
In spite of all his troubles, the Omo
Baba Olowo, as he is fondly called
•Chime
continues his African tour and
performed on Monday in South
Africa admirably.
His manager, Asa Asika praises the
singer for his courage in the face of
his recent loss. Asika says, “ Despite
all the bad news these past few days,
this man here (Davido) he’s still a
straight champ. He still got on stage
in South Africa and gave an amazing
performance just the way we know
Olu would have wanted him to. It’s
hard to understand but God knows
best. DJ Olu lives forever, rest well
brother.”
More troubles at home
While Davido was being strong and
continuing his tour in South Africa
more trouble was brewing for him
at home. Contrary to general
perception and a report from a
doctored autopsy report that Tagbo
died of drunkenness another autopsy
claimed that the late associate of the
singer died from suffocation. And
while rumours were running rife with
false stories have an open season on
social media, the Lagos State
Commissioner of Police waded in to
clear the air.
The CP’s claim that Davido lied on
Tagbo’s death
It is due to this development that the
commissioner of Police Lagos State,
Imohinmi Edgal addressed
pressmen during the week regarding
police investigation on the matter.
The Police CP disclosed that in order
to be objective, he called for a preinvestigation
meeting in his
conference room, involving Davido,
Tagbo’s family and Tagbo’s fiancee.
According to the CP, the meeting
confirmed that the deceased Tagbo
Umeike on the date in question met
and had drinks with friends at Shisha
Continues on pg 27

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—27
The Police or Davido?
•Tagbo
Continues from pg 26
Bar amongst whom was Davido. The
bartender who was also present and
served them drinks confirmed that
the deceased had as much as forty
shots of Tequila and exhibited clear
signs of drunkenness. The CCTV
footage which he called for from the
bar also showed that the deceased
was quarrelsome and even violent.
In that same meeting, Davido
confirmed that he left Shisha Bar
without the deceased to a nightclub
known as DNA in Victoria Island.
The singer stated that he was only
informed by some mutual friends
about Tagbo’s death at DNA club.
However, investigations revealed
that the deceased was taken to the
General hospital and abandoned
there on the instructions of Davido.
CP. Edgal disclosed that it was based
on these recent findings that the pop
singer was re-invited by the Police
for questioning. However, after all
said and done, the interim autopsy
reports revealed that Tagbo Umeike
died of Asphyxia which in simple
terms means ‘Suffocation’.
Davido’s statement through his
lawyer debunked CP’s claims
Meanwhile, the singer has debunked
the CP’s claims. In a statement he
released through his lawyers, the
‘Aye’ crooner stated that his late
friend, Tagbo Umeike, never entered
his car, in complete variance to what
the Police claimed at the press
conference on Wednesday. He also
released CCTV footages of the
night’s events. The statement by
Davido’s lawyer, Norrison Quakers
(SAN), entitled The Unfortunate
Death of Tagbo Umeike exonerates
the Omo Baba Olowo of any
complicity in Tago’s death.
His conquest of the music world
However, despite the return turn of
events in his life, Davido is
a gifted child with many
things working against
him. While many will argue
that money remains a big
factor in what launched him
into stardom, the talented
son of billionaire business
mogul, Chief Adedeji
Adeleke took the industry
by storm when he released
his debut single Back
When and Dami Duro in
2011.
Whilst the mood was that
he might be a one-single
hit-maker and a smoke
that would soon disappear,
Davido followed up with yet
other killer singles in
Gobe, and then Skelewu .
It was then the industry
began to take him
seriously as something of
value. Indeed all that
glitters becomes gold, at
least for the HKN boss,
who began his career like
an alpha male. With the
hits, Aye and If, he became
a force, felt not only in
Nigeria but also all over
the world.
Davido never sought
anybody’s back to ride to
fame or looked long and
desperate for a label boss
to launch him. When
there’s money as
inexhaustible as the one at
Davido’s disposal, it is
piecemeal to execute a
campaign of any sort. With
his band of cronies, like Sina Rambo,
and others, he began his musical
campaign under his own record label
HKN, recording hits after hits and
consuming awards after awards in
his wake.
His many
controversies
BY ROTIMI AGBANA
As a result of the recent
m y s t e r i o u s
developments
surrounding the
American-born Nigerian
pop star, he is currently
topping the chart as the
most controversial artiste in
the country. Davido, who
made his way into the
Nigerian music industry in 2011
with his debut single ‘Back
When’, began attracting
huge media attention as
a result of
controversies that
usually greet
celebrities.
Davido versus
Nigerian
Immigration
In May 2014,
Davido attacked the
Nigerian Immigration
Service (NIS) for
pestering him for
money
and
subsequently causing
him to miss his flight to
London. This was
however denied by the
NIS, claiming they
didn’t issue him an exit
permit because he
didn’t have the proper
travel documents with
him at the time.
Dele Momodus versus
Davido
The drama continued
with Sophia Momodu,
his first baby mama.
Sophia and her family
reportedly blew open
the feud when they filed
a petition against the
pop star and his family
for child trafficking. In
a petition sent to the
Director General of the
National Agency for
Prohibition of
Trafficking in Person,
Davido and his family
were accused of
preventing Sophia,
Dele Momodu’s cousin,
from seeing Imade,
their daughter born out
of wedlock, and
conspiracy to leave
Nigeria with the baby.
Dele Momodu is a
renown journalist and
the publisher of the Ovation
Magazine. After a prolonged cold
war, Davido denied the allegations
and also apologized to Dele
Momodu, and Sophia’s uncle. Both
parents currently have joint custody
of the daughter.
•CP Edgal
Imohimi
Babymama
number two
It was more
trouble for him
u p o n
welcoming his
s e c o n d
daughter,
H a i l e y
Veronica
Adeleke, from
his Atlantab
a s e d
girlfriend, Amanda Mandy in March
2017. Sometime in May 2017 when
Amanda heard that Davido met a
new girl and she allegedly followed
him back to his hotel room, she took
a swipe at him with a line from one
of Nicki Minaj’s songs. “Got a good
girl, but hoes are his choice”.
Apparently “Hoes” is plural and
means more than one person. Sophia
also caught the mockery bug and
took hilarious swipes at him too.
Davido and Call Girl
The ‘IF’ crooner was enveloped in
another controversy when he was
pictured in bed with an unidentified
lady. It was reported that the girl
took the pictures after having a wild
and raunchy time with the star and
decided to leak the photos after their
escapades.
Davido and the Police
A video which circulated on social
media showed two policemen
allegedly shooting into the air on the
street in a moving vehicle in Lagos.
It was later revealed that the owner
of the car was Davido and the officers
involved were attached to him. This
was revealed after Davido posted the
video of his police escorts shooting
in the air, thereby causing commotion
on the streets of Lagos. The Head
Public Complaints Rapid Response
Unit (PCRRU), ACP Abayomi
Shogunle had to release a statement
and the police officers involved were
eventually arrested.
Davido and taxi driver
Davido was alleged to have beaten
up a taxi driver when the latter had
gone to drop off Davido’s ‘girlfriend’
at a hotel. The supposed girl friend
had allegedly met a friend of hers in
the hotel room with Davido and all
hell was let loose. As the driver
attempted to drive off, Davido dealt
him some slaps and slammed his
head against the steering wheel.
Davido, in the company of four hefty
bouncers was said to have really
dealt with the man.
Davido and Wizkid supremacy
tussle
The unending battle for supremacy
between Davido and Wizkid is yet
another drama that has been a
recurring decimal on social media.
The pop rivals are yet to gain a
common ground on who is a better
entertainer, judging by awards, to
who is more talented, richer, more
famous, influential and more popular
or recognized locally and
internationally? The sudden passing
on of three of his friends in one
week has saddened him and he
is mourning them in his own
way. But life continues as his
tour has continued. He was
booked to perform in these
tours of Africa and he is
bound by contractual
obligations to play on
even in mourning.

28—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Edited By AYO ONIKOYI
08052201215
onikoyi68@gmail.com
What I told my wife
before I entered the
BBNaija house
—Thin Tall Tony
Offiong Anthony, popularly known as ThinTallTony,
(TTT) is still reliving memories of his evergreen stay
in the Big Brother Najia house, and this time, he’s
revealing why he suddenly became friends with T-Boss, saying
the strategy was to discover the source of her strength while in
the house. He also opened up on what he told his wife before
he entered the BBNaija house and why he kept his marital
status away from Bisola and many more...
By Abigail Olawoyin & Effa
Ebu
How has it been?
It’s been an amazing journey.
You would meet a lot of people,
people who would go out of their
way to get your GSM number
just to give you a shout out,
appreciate you and congratulate
you. It has also been very
stressful, but it’s good because
it makes you work harder.
Unfortunately, you didn’t
make it to the finals at the
reality show. Did that affect
your pocket?
Before I entered the Big
Brother Najia house, there were
projects that I had been working
on. The difference between then
and now is that I used to work
for someone in order to earn a
living. But all that has changed,
as I now work directly with the
people and there's no
middleman anymore.
Did you have any regret
while in the BBN house?
To be honest, I didn’t regret
anything at all. I have always
wanted to experience it, and
you know people tend to be
real once money is involved at
some point.
While you were in the house,
there was a huge controversy
because you never opened up
to anyone about your marital
status, how did your wife react
when you returned to her?
I didn’t know about that until
I left the house. She reacted
fine and she wasn’t offended.
Before I entered the BBN
house, I told her I wasn’t going
there to sell films. I went there
as the brand Thin Tall Tony.
The only activity she
remembered was the one
between Bisola and myself.
Then I asked her if she did
remember that I did some wall
paintings? Did she also
remember I did a drum out of
plastic? Did
s h e
remember too
that I shared
ideas with
other people?
Did she
remember I
won four
different
Friday games?
Did she
remember that
I was Head of
house in a
very difficult
situation?
Did she also remember I ate
rubbish and she was like, 'yes
that’s true...', then why did you
decide to focus on my
relationship with Bisola in the
house. My going to the house
was to showcase my craft. Like
I said earlier, everything has
changed for good. Fortunately
Bisola had no idea that I kept
that secret to myself. But yes,
the social media went crazy at
some point, it was only when I
returned to the country that I
started reading and checking
those comments on social
media. My wife understood it
was a game.
You think your wife wasn’t
bothered by your open
declaration of crushing on T-
boss?
Not at all! T-Boss was a plan
between Bisola and myself.
This is because most people
were very much interested in
the game. I noticed she was
up for eviction three times and
she did not leave the house,
so there is something behind
it. But people were thinking
maybe she couldn’t do some
domestic work, always taking
time to make-up, or because
she’s fair and she’s got too many
tattoos and they kept voting
against her. Sometimes, you
need to indirectly bring your
enemies closer . So, I said the
best way was to get closer to her,
perhaps know
more about her .
But unfortunately,
I guess
everybody now
knows that she
had a solid back
up while she was
in the house.
What’s the
difference
between Thin
Tall Tony and
Anthony Edet
Offiong?
Thin Tall Tony
The things that
can sell in terms
of new ideas. It
has put me in a
position where
there are a
whole lot of
things I can't do
again, which I
think is unfair
is a dancer, an OAP, a creative
person and a workaholic, while
Edet Anthony is a simple guy,
who is dedicated to his family.
Can you tell us how your past
has helped to shape your
present?
It has pushed me in a
direction where I have to be
more aware of my environment.
The things that can sell in terms
of new ideas. It has put me in a
position where there are a
whole lot of things I can't do
again which I think is unfair.
This is because everyone now
has access to social media.
Before you know what’s
going on, someone is
already recording
where you are
urinating by the
roadside, but they
forget that nature can
call at any point in
time. I don’t like the
fact that I can’t do
some of the things I
used to do again.
Has your wife ever
picked up a fight with
you because of a picture
you took or something
she heard?
Yes she has!
Women are
v e r y
suspicious
and they keep
a s k i n g
questions
like what’s
she doing
there? Why
are you guys
talking in the
d a r k .
Sometimes,
she would go
through my
phone, but it's
fine because
there is nothing
to hide. I think
I’m kind of a
warm guy. So
when ladies
request for my
number, I just
tell them to talk
to my manager.
I don’t turn
people down , I
love my family so
well and I don’t
want to hurt my
wife.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—29
By BENJAMIN NJOKU
Felabration 2017:
•Simi
performing
on stage
How Pasuma, Simi, others stole show
BY ROTIMI AGBANA
With stellar
performances from
Pepenazi and other
artistes, this year’s edition of
the annual music festival,
Felabration, kicked off on
Monday, October 9, on a good
note.
The 2nd day of the show,
Tuesday, October 10, was a
night of entertainment
panache, led by Femi Kuti who
set the stage agog with his
energetic performance. So also
was Aramide, Pasuma, Simi,
Praiz, Black Magic, BBNaija
winner, Efe, soul singer, Maka
among other acts who gave
good accounts of themselves on
stage.
Though the event kicked off
quite late, at about 9:30pm,
when spectators were already
tired and murmuring, but
humor merchant, Omo Baba,
cracked ribs momentarily
before ushering in velvety
voiced soul singer, Maka, who
serenaded the audience with
classic tunes from her musical
repertoire.
The absurdity of the night was
a performance by a female
gospel artiste and saxophonist.
There were murmurings of
dissatisfaction as to why the
organizers would
accommodate a gospel
performance at an event such
as Felabration. Most
spectators payed attention to
their phones, leaving her to
the mercy of a few. Seeing
how she was ignored,
Femi Kuti was forced to
jump out on stage to
express solidarity with
his Saxophone, and in
what seemed like a
battle of supremacy,
they took turns to
play a medley of
Fela’s evergreen
tunes. As expected, the
Guinness book of world
records holder won the
musical bout.
With her acoustic guitar,
Fun mi lowo crooner, Aramide,
tuned the tempo of the night a
notch higher as she thrilled the
audience to her hit songs.
Omo Baba didn’t fail to
continuously crack ribs
whenever the need arose. He
exchanged abuses with
hoodlums in the crowd who
took it up on themselves to
mock him.
MTN project fame season one
1st runner up, Praise Adejoh,
thrilled lovers of love songs to
an evening of romantic tunes
with a live band, which got the
girls in the building screaming
with lust. While performing, a
fight began in the crowd which
almost disrupted his stage craft,
but he called on the warring
parties to show some respect to
the late Fela and quit fighting
which they obliged to
immediately.
Clad in a yellow high waist
Kampala shorts and a red shirt
to match, X3M ideas singer,
•Eda
•Praiz performing on stage
Simi, dazzled when she
displayed a side of her never
seen on stage. She thrilled with
alujo tunes, bringing a lot of
sensuality on stage as she
danced.
Bbnaija2017 winner, Efe,
musically chronicled his
success story on stage, he
wowed the crowd ecstatically.
He was forced to leave the stage
after a series of warnings from
the MC and DJ.
There was a prolonged
frenzied excitement wen omo
baba announced that the
Oganla of Fuji, Pasuma wonder,
was still back stage.
Black magic stylishly made a
mockery of the DJ using fela’s
Suegbe when the DJ
interrupted him while
performing. Paying obeisance to
Fela, he concluded by
serenading the audience with
his hit song, Pass you by,
featuring Oritsefemi.
Closing the show for the night
was the Sheu of Fuji, Alhaji
By Juliet Ebirim
Pasuma. He took swipes at
the government and law
enforcement agencies,
boasting that Afrika Shine
is the only place himself
and any other person can
have fun infinitesimally
without embarrassment or
bully from any law
enforcement agent. He
praised Fela for fighting
with his blood to give
Nigerian socialites the
freedom to express
themselves socially.
Pasuma who has not
performed at felabration
since 2012, expressed
profound gratitude to the
organizers for having him
as part of the artiste lineup
for the 2017 edition. Fela’s
erstwhile manager,
couldn’t resist the elixir in
Pasuma’s beats, in the
company of a few big
butted girls, he danced all
through his performance.
Eda Boy debuts with
‘Fine Woman’
Born Eda with the stage name, Eda Boy, the
Cross River native hit the music scene, bats swinging
with the dance track titled ‘Fine Woman’. The track which
was produced by Bahbow was exceptionally mixed and
will leave you moving along to the tune. ‘Fine Woman’
also subtly samples Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of you’ which
definitely makes it a hit!
Eda Boy is currently an undergraduate studying at
Houdegbe North American University in Benin Republic
and he shows a lot of promise with this debut track. ‘Fine
Woman’ would be the Edimas Music signing’s first single
to be released to what could potentially be his new fanbase.
Eda Boy’s genre of music is R&B, Hip-Hop and what
he likes to denote as ‘a little dash of party Jams’. His
passion for music definitely rings true in this brand
new track.
The feel of the track is groovy, with a hint
of pizazz as the beat is particularly catchy.
The perfect hype song when sitting in traffic
or looking to have a good chill session with
your buddies.
Ex-Project Fame
winner, Jeff
Akoh’s birthday
gift to himself
As a tasteful appetizer to his
forthcoming album, ex-
Project Fame winner, Jeff Akoh
is blessing music fans with two
new ear-tingling tunes,
Shokolokobangose and Gbadun
(Your Lovin’).
Jeff Akoh, who is tipped to be
Nigeria’s next big music
sensation, drops his debut album
entitled Lokoja on his 21st
birthday on October 27.
The gifted vocalist teamed up
with talented producer, Cobhams
Asuquo and UK-based group
Team Salut for
Shokolokobangoshe and Gbadun
(Your Lovin’), respectively.
In the two new tunes, talent and
class meet with skill to produce
two of the hottest jams of 2017.
Shokolokobangoshe is a
danceable bubble-gum pop
medley that shows the dexterity
of the singer while his vocal
prowess shines through in
Gbadun (Your Lovin’), as he
switches seamlessly to R&B.
Alongside other artistes like
Iyanya and 9ice, Jeff is currently
being managed by Temple
Management Company and is
signed under its sister company,
Temple Music (TMPL).
“These new songs are my gifts
to my fans who have waited
patiently with me to hear what I
am up to. Please enjoy this one
while you wait for the main dish.
My album, Lokoja drops on my
birthday, October 27 and I can’t
keep calm,” Jeff gushed.
•Jeff Akoh
C
M
YK

30—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Juliet Ebirim
08137897935
juliet.ebirim@gmail.com
Oba of Lagos, Etsu Nupe, others
grace Agric-Food conference
Oba Rilwanu Akiolu of
Lagos, Alhaji (Dr)Yahaya
Abubakar of Nupe
together with other dignitaries
joined stakeholders at the 2017
Nigerian Agri-Food Investment
Forum held in Lagos during the
week. The forum organized by
Youths Off The Street Initiative
(YOTSI), which is the brainchild
of Comrade Kennedy Iyere, is
aimed at tackling food insecurity
in the country. The event
attracted potential investors from
the United States and Britain.
The royal father of the occasion
and the Oba of Lagos, Oba
Rilwanu Akiolu commended the
present administration for
making significant investment in
the sector and advised that efforts
should be made to provide the
needed infrastructural support to
help stabilize the sector.
The Etsu Nupe and chairman,
coordinating committee of the
•Gumsu Fatima Abacha
National Council of Traditional
Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN),
Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, who
was the chairman of the occasion,
said he is impressed by the
initiative, which is driven by the
youths for the youths of the
country, adding that engaging
Gumsu Fatima Abacha's
special birthday dinner
By Oba Michael Soyebo
There are so many reasons why we adore Gumsu Fatima, one of the coolest
silver spoon kids in her generation. One thing you can't deny is her genuine
humility and passion for humanity. Days back, the adorably cute late general's
daughter had reasons to celebrate. Fatima added another year in style and it was
an occasion of class and luxury as the Abachas all came out to celebrate one of their
own. The high profile birthday dinner attracted Nigeria's class of rich kids who
turned up looking resplendently in honour of Fatima, who many have described
as a kind personality. The matriarch of the Abacha dynasty, Hajia Maryam
Abacha led the family's delegation to Abuja and she was looking so ageless
and quite at peace with herself. Trust the Abachas not to do things in half
measure; Fatima's birthday was another occasion for the former first family to
make a statement. Expectedly, there were more than more to chew and
exotic wines flowed like water. The highlight of the dinner was the dancing
skills of the celebrant who really grooved in company of her close friends
and family to Olamide's hit song, Wo. And without any hype, Fatima's
birthday dinner is one of the classiest party organized by any of the
Abachas in recent times. And
it was a delight to see the love
and bond shared by this family
at Fatima's party. And she did
a good supply as the celebrant
stunned in her attire.
Maymunah Kadiri's ‘Little drops of happy’
With a conscious effort aimed at educating
the public and creating more awareness on depression and suicide syndrome,
medical consultant, Neuro-Psychiatrist and Physiotherapist, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri,
in partnership with Derwin Productions is set to premiere a health awareness movie
titled ‘Little drops of happy’, on 18th November, 2017 .
Starring Ngozi Nwosu, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, Osas Ighodaro Ajibade, MTN Project
fame winner, Ayoola Ayoola, Seun Kentebe, Lisa Omorodion, and Channels TV news
anchor, Ijeoma Onyeator, ‘Little drops of happy’ subliminally highlights depression
and suicide, a currently trending topic which has long constituted a bane in the Nigerian
society. According to Dr. Kadiri, “Depression and suicide poses serious health problems
in the Nigerian society and this movie was conceived to educate the public by creating
the needed awareness aimed at curbing further occurrences.”
The movie, which is a speak out initiative of Pinnacle Medical services, in
collaboration with Derwin
Productions, depicts the
internal and external battles
Mano Ojo (Osas Ighodaro)
had to suppress as a result of
her unfaithful husband, Femi
Ojo (Ayoola), who is an actor
in the movie. At the peak of
these emotional challenges,
Mano becomes depressed but
friends and relatives took her
erratic behaviour for random
acts of madness, trivializing it
to spiritual attack which
eventually made her suicidal.
With efficient technological
and psychological
intervention, Mano was able
to overcome her worst fears;
she got help and in the
process, helped her husband
overcome his too.
•Osas Ighodaro & Dr.
Maymunah Kadiri
•Oba of Lagos and the Etsu Nupe
GAC Motors gift new
GS4 to TVN2 winner,
Idyl
the youths in meaningful
economic activities is a better way
of dealing with insecurity.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan
Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who is the
co-chairman National Council of
Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, was
represented by His Royal
Majesty, Architect Adeyemi
Adeen Adedapo, the Alayemore
of Osun State. Other dignitaries
present at the event include the
Emir of Gummi - Alhaji Lawal
•TVN2 winner, Idyl with
GAC Motors officials
GAC Motors, one of China’s largest automakers
and the latest major entrant into Nigeria has
presented a brand new GS4 SUV to The Voice
Nigeria Season 2 winner, Daniel Diongoli,
popularly known as Idyl. The prize presentation
ceremony was held recently at the automobile
company's head office in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Hassan, Former Mayor of
London – Mayor Kate Anolue,
Commercial Counsellor to the
United States Mission to Nigeria
- Brent Omdahl, President Nat.
Council for Women Societies –
Dr. Gloria Laraba Shoda among
others.
President of the YOTSI,
Comrade Kennedy Iyere, in his
speech said the organization is
set to raise $350 million for
investment in the sector, which
would generate about one
million jobs in the next three
years.
Olakunle Churchill
in triple celebration
By Oba Michael Soyebo
One of the most celebrated businessman in the
Nigeria’s space, Dr Olakunle Oladunni
Churchill, the
Chief Executive officer of Big Church group is
presently in a celebration mood. The Big church
group has many juicy pies that cut across Agriculture,
entertainment, properties, IT to mention a few and
the quintessential businessman has further invested
his time and resources in bringing hopes to the less
privileged in the society.
Presently, the Abuja based businessman is basking
in the euphoria of a triple celebration as he rolled
out the drums for his mother’s birthday with a luxury
dinner in Europe days ago. The business magnate
went on his social media page to announce the party
organized to celebrate his adorable mum, attended
only by few close friends and associates including
his younger sister.
?The top businessman had received special IT
outstanding recognition awards by top international
organizations the past week will next month celebrate
his company’s 10th year anniversary in Lagos. The
anniversary would be celebrated
with a dinner party tagged
‘Dinner with the CEO’s’. And
also on the exciting line up of
events, Churchill and his close
circle of associates would visit
the motherless babies home
to donate some items.
The prestigious Elim
Hotels is expected to host the
special anniversary dinner
which will be attended
by top company
executives, banks
MDs, among
others. Dr.
Olukunle
Churchill despite
all odds has
•Olakunle
enjoyed a
Churchill
flourishing profile
rise in areas of
business and
humanitarian
services to the less
privilege in
Africa.
Speaking at the event, chairman of GAC
Motors in Africa, Chief Diana Chan
congratulated the winner and re-iterated
the company's commitment to supporting
the entertainment industry: “We are
making a huge contribution to the creative
sector including movie, music and others
in Nigeria. It is not as a one-time
sponsorship and it is not an occasional
effort, but something that will continue to
happen. ”
The talented 22-year-old singer, who was
mentored by award winning musician,
Timi Dakolo said: “First of all, I’d like to
say thanks to GAC Motors for making this
possible and I am grateful to them for not
just coming to Nigeria, but for getting
involved in the entertainment scene. I am
indeed very excited.” he enthused.
Other officials of the company who were
present at the ceremony include Mr. Zheng
Tiehu, Africa Market Director and the
International Sales and Marketing
representatives of GAC Motors, Mr. Scolfield
Wu and Mr. Miracle Ye.
The Voice Nigeria, which began on the 18th
of June, 2017 with 48 contestants ran for three
months featuring blind auditions, contestant
battles, public voting and so on. Idyl, emerged
the winner of the second season after an
exhilarating live finale.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—31
08116759759
DIVE IN
Gruesome moment surgeons remove record-breaking
tumour FIFTY Y times the size of patient's kidney
AMODEL dubbed the Rus
sian Kim Kardashian has
launched a new swimsuit
range during New York Fashion
Week. Anastasia Kvitko is known for
the hourglass curves that have seen
her compared to 36-year-old reality
star Kim.
She has amassed a staggering
6.7million followers on Instagram
thanks to the incredible figure she
frequently flaunts on the site in a
series of skimpy outfits and swimsuits.
The 22-year-old has been busy
taking some time off social media
to surprise her followers with her
appearance at New York Fashion
Week both as a model and as designer.
Together, with fashion designer
Eliya Cioccolato, Anastasia released
a swimwear line called AC-
305, which they started presenting
earlier this year.
Both designers showed off bold
swimsuit designs with deep cleavages.
The Russian beauty went down
the catwalk in a tight silver overall
that barely covered her chest.
The entire collection is a mix of
beachwear and evening gowns, both
aimed at looking sexy and seductive.
The majority of items were made
in metallic colours gold, silver and
bronze. Even though both of the designers
are pretty curvaceous themselves,
they invited other models to
the show as well, in order to demonstrate
how this swimwear would look
on an "average" girl.
But the design has drawn some
criticism on social media. One user
wrote: "All the swimming suits are
ugly. All the models look tasteless
and untidy. This is far from being a
Victoria’s Secret show."
But another added: "I actually do
like all the models. This is a current
trend to diversify models.
"This is actually great! All those
‘standard’ models are pushing normal
girls to develop self-esteem
problems."
Beautiful moment terminally-ill
father is granted a dying wish as he
watches the male voice choir he
sang with for 20 year
ears s perform
orm
outside his home
This is the gruesome
moment surgeons re
moved a world record
breaking renal tumour - FIFTY
times the size of the patient's
kidney.
Manju Devi, 28, had complained
of a "lump" on her
right side for three years before
a scan revealed a huge
31cm by 19 cm mass.
It took a team of surgeons
eight hours to remove the
5.5kg tumour from her kidney,
which had dwarfed her other
organs.
Urologist Dr Ajit Sawant,
who led the surgical team,
said: "She was no longer able
to do her day to day activities
because of the huge mass in
her abdomen.
"In the past three years she
had been referred to multiple
hospitals, however because of
the enormous size, the surgery
was deferred.
"Her CT scan showed a
large - 31 cms x 19 cms --
tumor completely replacing
the intestines and the pancreas
to the left half of the abdomen.
"After thorough evaluation of
her fitness to undergo supramajor
surgery, she was posted
for radical right nephrectomy.
"The enormity of the surgery
can be understood by comparing
the weight of the kidney
tumor - 5.5kg with the weight
of a normal kidney which is
110 to 140s."
The operation was carried
out at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal
General Hospital at
Sion in Mumbai. The woman,
from the Darbhanga district of
Bihar state in North India,
was released from hospital after
a week.
The Guinness Book of World
Records confirmed it was the
largest renal tumour every discovered.
Singer Peter Kennedy
was granted a final
wish when his beloved
male voice choir colleagues
performed outside his home.
Thirty four members of New
Mill Male Voice Choir visited
the family home in Shepley,
West Yorkshire, after hearing
that Mr Kennedy was suffering
from terminal cancer and
is very poorly.
His wife Denise and daughters
Helen Lear and Sarah
Martin were by his side as the
choir performed songs including
Morte Criste, The Rose
and Hail Smiling Morn.
Ms Lear said her dad was
very emotional by the 'magical
performance.'
She added: 'He was very upset but also happy. He sang with the
male voice choir for 20 years, it was a big part of his life. 'He
couldn't believe they had come to sing to him, he was shellshocked.'
Mr Kennedy, who is 65 and a former engineer with British Steel,
was tapping his foot and singing along during the performance.
'The singers were waving at dad and he was singing along,' said
Ms Lear.
'He then sent me up to the Black Bull to buy them all a drink.
That choir meant more than anything in the world to my dad.' Mr
Kennedy, who has lived in Shepley for 45 years, was also involved
in organising the Christmas carol concert at the Black Bull in
Shepley. This year's event is taking place on Thursday, December
14, from 6pm.
C
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K

32—SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard,
OCTOBER 14, 2017
Alake of Egba land celebrates es 74 in regal style
L-R:Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Yomi Sobande; Gov Ibikunle Amosun;
celebrant, Alake of Egba land, Oba Adetodun Gbadebo; Olori Tokunbo
Gbadebo; Mrs. Bola Obasanjo; Barr. Leke Adewolu, Ogun State Special
Duties Commissioner and others.
GOVERNOR Ibikunle
Amosu led a huge
entourage consisting of
his top cabinet
members to the Alake
of Egba land’s Palace
Chapel to grace the
monarch’s 74 th
birthday which held at
the palace premises
recently. Other high
ranking monarchs from
Egba land were also
present at the
occasion.
Though it was only
meant to be a low-key
affair, with just a
prayer session for the
royal father but
royalties hardly keep
things simple and so it
was for the Alake.
Photos by Wumi
Akinola.
Methodist Knights turn
up for choral concert
CHORAL Evening Concert of the Lagos Chapter
Council of Knights Methodist Church Nigeria held
at the Methodist Church Cathedral, Ago Ijaiye,
Ebute Ebutta Lagos recently. Here are some faces
at the event.
L-R: Sir Bimbo Carzim KJW; Aramide Tola Noibi
and Sis Sola Okedairo.
Oba Ademola Joseph, Olu of Mokola; Oba Oluwole
Sowemimo, Olu of Owode Egba; Oli of Itori, Oba
Fatai Akamo and Oluwo E. A Adeboye.
R-L: Olu of Ilaro, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle; Oba
Adedotun Gbadebo, Alake of Egba land, and celebrant;
Olori Tokunbo Gbadebo and Mrs. Bola
Obasanjo .
L-R: AVM Anthony Okpere; Dame Adetope
Tychus KJW; Sir David Soremekun and Sir
Bimbola Carzim KJW.
L-R: Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, Ogun State SSG and
Olubara of Ibara, Oba Femi Omolade (JP).
L-R: Chief Kabimowo Lalako, Parakoyi of Egba;
Olori Funmi Ayorinde and Oba David
Olorunsola, Olu of Odeda.
Sam Oghor of Vanguard buries mother
Sam Oghor, a staff of Vanguard Media Limited, buried his late mother, Mrs Anna Oghor (nee Aroba)
at Idumu-Oza, Agbor, Delta State recently. Many members of staff of Vanguard a well as his
relations graced the occasion which was captured in pictures by Nath Onojake.
L-R: Sir Oluremi Omotoso KJW; AVM Anthony
Okpere; Sir Deola Olufon; Sir Otunba Bola
Onabadejo KJW; Sir Ben Sangodiya KJW and Sir
Abimbola Carzim .
Mr.Sam Oghor and family
L-R: Prince Sunny Iyobosa; Mr.Sam Oghor and
a guest.
L-R: Mr. Sola Ojo, Internal auditor ,Vanguard;
Mr. Sam Oghor, bereaved Vanguard staff and
Mr Sunny Arawolo, also of Vanguard.

33—SATURDAY Vanguard,OCTOBER 14, 2017
Living with
cancer is
not death
sentence
was
Acancer diagnosis could be devastating, but cancer does not have
to be a death sentence. With prompt diagnosis, good treatment
as well as sustained care and support, cancer is survivable. Sadly,
many Nigerians diagnosed with cancer eventually die of the disorder;
however there are several cancer survivors that are living in good health
after achieving full recovery.
Are you a Nigerian living with cancer? Even if you are not, what are
you doing about cancer care and
support in Nigeria? This was the
pertinent question at a forum
penultimate week in Lagos in
commemoration of the 2017
National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month.
The forum was put together as
a partnership between the Care.
Organisation. Public
Enlightenment (C.O.P.E) and the
Bricon Foundation, with
sponsorship by Hurlag
Technologies Ltd and supported
by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.
C.O.P.E is a support group that
meets once a month in Lagos
creating education and
awareness about cancer in
Nigeria and helping to dispel
myths about cancer, offering a
lifeline in form of emotional
support to breast cancer patients
and survivors and educating
people affected by cancer on the
benefits of diet and exercise.
One of the speakers at the
event,Della Ogunleye, 55, a
breast cancer survivor. She
narrated how she was caught
completely off guard when
diagnosed with the disease in
2010. Following the diagnosis,
Della, a church administrator was
even more confused when she
was told she needed to have
mastectomy (breast removal).
“Why me?” She asked no one
in particular. “Without the benefit Ebunola Anozie:Seeking care for cancer survivors
of care and support, the diagnosis was one big scare. I did not have the
mentality that the disease was an attack or anything like that. Before I
was diagnosed, I had this breast pain, but I always thought that cancer
was a white man’s disease and did not believe blacks had it. I was an
advocate for self-medication. I love the African touch and I was trying to
do it for cancer.
Della who is the CEO, DDS African Cancer Support Group is using her
experiences in the United Kingdom to help women affected by cancer in
Nigeria. “I live in an affluent side of England, Wimbledon but I can say
my experience with breast cancer was good and bad. Nobody in my family
had cancer and I still don’t know how I got it. My mother was so scared
when she heard I had cancer.
“I was diagnosed in 2010 and had chemotherapy for six months. The
chemo ended 30th December and the first thing they told me to do was
breast reconstruction but I do not like fake things so I wear a prosthetic
bra. If you passed me on the street you would not know.”
Della who visits Nigeria to contribute to the advocacy for cancer care
and support says there is so much to do to help women with breast cancer
in Nigeria.
“Care and support are essential towards
ensuring cancer survival. When you are
diagnosed with cancer, you need support.
Somebody has to hear our voices. We should
stop wallowing in self-pity. If we don’t tell
the government what to do, it’s a waste of
time. We should target the right audience.”
Abigail Simon-Hart, Co-Founder, The
Bricon Foundation and also a breast cancer
survivor, opted for a double mastectomy when
she was diagnosed years ago.
“I had cancer and basically took both breasts
off. It was not a hard decision for me at all. I
just asked the doctor to take them off. I did
not even wait for him to give me options. For
me it was that, if these breasts are going to
kill me, I might as well take them off.
“My mother had breast cancer, but I do not
have the BRECAN gene. The cancer I had
not in any way genetic. I got diagnosed on time
and right now I am cancer free. Many of those
diagnosed have to wait five or so years but for me it
was three and a half years.”
Abigail, who is a health consultant with over 20 years’
experience, said she observed that in Europe, women
who have metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread to
other parts of the body) are living up to 15-30 years
even with metastasis all because of appropriate care.
That is what it boils down to. And
there is no reason why we cannot
have that here. The important thing
is education and access to treatment,
care and correct medication.
She said cancer is an everyday
occurrence, so it should be talked
about every day. “Every day, when I
wake up in the morning, I see the
effects of the cancer I had because I
removed my breasts. Women with
breast cancer that are undergoing
treatment live the effects every day.”
Abigail stresses that every Nigerian
has a role to play and be a voice for
change, to make a difference. “The
Nigerian health system should be
improved because even with early
detection, if there are no facilities,
people will continue to die of a
disease we should not be dying of.
In his own views, Dr Niyi Adekeye,
also Co-Founder of The Bricon
Foundation, said the NGO does not
carry out any screening. “Patients only
come to us after they are diagnosed
with cancer and we find many NGOs
are offering free screening but not
offering treatment. The challenge is
that if you tell people that they have
cancer and you do not support with
treatment or care and support, then
they are worse off than before because
now they know, but are helpless to
do anything about it because they
cannot afford the cost of management
of the disease.”
The Bricon foundation, works with
patients and their families already
diagnosed with the disease providing support from
provision of free mastectomy products, funding of
treatment and nutrient support to indigent women
who have lost one or both breasts.
Ebunola Anozie, the CEO, C.O.P.E, did not mince
words. “Cancer is on the prowl in Nigeria and
enough is not being done to stop it. Cancer doesn’t
respect borders - it can happen to anybody,
anywhere.
She lamented that the socio -economic impact of
cancer is significant and increasing in Nigeria,
worsened by late stage presentation and inadequate
diagnosis/ treatment that contribute to higher cancer
mortality rate higher than anywhere else in Africa.
“The average Nigerian cannot cope with the
enormous cost associated with treating this disease,
and a lack of adequate diagnostic and treatment
centers as well as the dearth of qualified personnel,
Cancer is on
the prowl in
Nigeria and
enough is not
being done to
stop it
makes the cancer journey a
perilous, traumatic and
sometimes lonely one. “There
are countless examples of
patients being abandoned as
a result of the high cost and
even superstitious beliefs that
the person is somehow
responsible and is being
punished by God for some
wrong doing or is under some
sort of curse.”
Calling for increased
political will in Nigeria to
really tackle the issue of
cancer with the urgency and
seriousness it deserves,
Ebunola tasked government
and Nigerians at large to take
on a holistic and determined
action plan to address the
cancer scourge.
“ Living with cancer is not
death sentence. Cancer is
everybody’s fight. Let us
spread the message of hope.”
According to Ngozi Ushedo,
Media & Public Relations
Manager, Pfizer: “We will
continue to work together and
speak with one voice to help
raise awareness on early
detection, reducing cancer
risks and improving the
quality of life for cancer
survivors and patients”.
C.O.P.E and The Bricon
Foundation have made giant
strides in providing succour
to cancer survivors and those
battling the disease. For over
18 years, COPE has
embarked on massive breast
cancer awareness campaigns
providing free breast
screening in Lagos and
several other states in
Nigeria.
The Bricon Foundation
recently set up a “Help 4
Husbands” - H4H group, the
first of its kind, to provide
support for men whose
womenfolk are battling or
have lost the battle with
cancer. The inaugural
meeting is 13th October 2017
The C.O.P.E group of
special, brave women meet
every 3rd Thursday of each
month from 11.00am -1.00pm,
at 39B Adeniyi Jones Avenue,
Ikeja, Lagos, whilst the Bricon
Foundation “Whole Woman
Group” meets on the last
Friday of every month at the
same time.

34—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Gun Salute for Imohim Edgal
•How ‘Palace coup’ against CP Lagos was foiled
•CP Imohim Edgal
•Dr. Mike Okiro of PSC
By Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor
It has been said that to whom
the Gods found favour in, no
man can change his destiny.
This biblical acronym manifested
glaringly, when news of the
demotion of the acting Commissioner
of Police, Lagos State, Imohim Edgal,
rented the air. In fact, the rumour
which went viral elicited mixed
feelings amongst Lagosians who
have been enjoying tremendous
relief and nursing high hopes based
on the massive achievements
recorded by the new police boss, just
a few months after he assumed
duties.
Fear and trepidation
It was an admixture of fear and
trepidation as both members of the
public and policemen stood in
groups, wondering the next line of
action. Not minding the turn of
events, the police boss simply went
ahead with his daily schedule after
answering numerous calls from
friends and concerned citizens over
the ugly development.
Earlier efforts made for
clarifications from the Chairman of
Police Service Commission, Mike
Okiro met brick walls as he
vociferously claimed ignorant of the
development. The Public relations
Officer of the Commission,
Ikechukwu Ani, was also in a
dilemma as reporters bombarded his
phone with calls with a view to
ascertaining the veracity of the story
but he simply said he was yet to be
briefed.
The first sign of a flop came from
the police spokesman, Jimoh
Moshsood, who initially, pleaded for
anonymity but later changed his
mind and stated unequivocally that
he should be quoted. He said in
unmistakable words: “Imohim Edgal
is still the acting Commissioner of
Polcie, Lagos state. The PSC has
the power to appoint, promote and
discipline officers. But they don’t
have the power to demote. They
can only demote an officer after the
Force disciplinary committee has
looked into what the officer has
done and then recommend him for
discipline. They can only
authenticate or authorise what the
police take to them. In this case,
CP Edgal has not committed any
disciplinary offence and the Force
disciplinary committee has not
recommended him for reduction.
They cannot demote him and they
have no such power. Nigeria Police
Force can exist without Police
Service Commission, PSC, but PSC
cannot exist without NPF.”
This bold assertion was like the
cannon fodder that propelled other
pungent reactions, both from Lagos
State government and, the least
However, what they
woefully failed to take
into cognisance is the
tenacity of purpose
and achievements
recorded by Acting Cp
Edgal within this short
period he assumed
leadership of the
command
expected of all, Dr. Mike Okiro,
the Chairman of the same
commission that issued the
statement demoting the Lagos
police boss. Ironically, the
statement was signed on behalf of
Okiro by the Permanent Secretary
of the commission, Mr. M.F
Istifaanus, and it quoted that the
decision was taken at the end of
the plenary meeting of the
commission on September 27 and
28, 2017. Okiro whose position
earlier appeared unclear later was
firm in disassociating himself and
the commission from the
controversial letter signed by the
Permanent Secretary.
He stated that he was in the
meeting the Permanent Secretary
claimed the decision was taken but
they never took such decision. The
development was a pointer to
discernible inner bickering in the
commission which must have led
to the discordance in their tone.
Worse still are suspicions that the
centre could no longer hold in the
commission as Okiro himself
attested to the fact that the
Commissioner who was holding
brief for him was not in the know
about the controversial statement.
This should prompt a deeper
investigation of the circumstances
that led to this national disgrace
and why, in the first place, it was
allowed to fester to almost a
damaging extent.
Sources hinted that while the
drama was being played by both
the police and PSC, the presidency
was watching with keen interest
to see where the carrot would
dangle towards. This is because
the lingering power play and bad
blood existing between both vital
organs is no longer news. What is
definitely new is the evolving
drama inside the commission
which points to the sordid fact that
a house divided against it self can
no longer stand.
Security watchers are of the
opinion that what played out must
be a lingering and long nurtured
outburst which must have grown
wings with an external intervention
from interested parties in the office
of, especially, the Commissioner of
Police, Lagos State which to a large
number of interested parties, is like
the cash cow to occupiers of the
position. However, what they
woefully failed to take into
cognisance is the tenacity of
purpose and achievements
recorded by Acting Cp Edgal within
this short period he assumed
leadership of the command.
There is no gainsaying the fact
that the gigantic steps he took on
assumption of duties and the
massive achievements recorded
speak volumes and this must have
prompted the positive reaction of
not just police authorities in Abuja
but also in Lagos state government
which rose in unison and
pronounced him their anointed
candidate. This was widely
exhibited by the tumultuous
welcome that heralded Imohimi
Edgar the next day as he rode into
the State police command
headquarters, Ikeja to continue
with his duties.
As soon as his escort car entered
the command, policemen, in
unison, came out with their rifles
to salute his arrival with ovation.
The firing that ensued lasted for
almost 30 minutes as jubilant
policemen and women sang
uproariously and danced round the
arena thanking God for saving their
hero from the palace coup. It took
long before CP Edgal personally
pleaded with his men to seize fire
as it nearly degenerated to the
extent that the falcon could no
longer recognise the falconer.

C
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SATURDAY Vanguard, , OCTOBER 14, 2017—35

36—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Sustaining I wanted to national be an
peace, air hostess security but lies
more mum with said families ‘no’
— Funsho Adegbola, Bola
Ige’s proprietress daughter
BY JEMI EKUNKUNBOR
Having been served the best of education from the best schools both in
Nigeria and outside, Funsho Adegbola, daughter of the late Attorney
General of Nigeria, Chief Bola Ige, returned to Nigeria to help develop young
children by setting up The Vale College, Ibadan where she holds forth as the director. Some
of the students are currently making global impact, according to her.
Recently, the school, commissioned a modern four storey building at its permanent site
located in Iyaganku, Ibadan. The ground breaking ceremony was performed by the wife of
Ondo State governor, Mrs. Betty Akeredolu.
Mrs. Adegbola who qualified as a lawyer like her father, in this encounter with WW speaks
about her passion for education and life without her parents.
What is a lawyer doing in the field
of education especially with the
setting up of Vale College?
The Vale College is a result of a
dream given to me by God. I had
the best of education- my parents
ensured that. I had two degrees: One
in French and Spanish from
University of Essex and a law degree
from University of Bristol both in
England. When I came back to
Nigeria in 1986 for my Law school,
a lot of people were complaining
about the standard of education. So
I volunteered to teach in St. Anne’s
my alma mater. Prior to that, I had
taught in two secondary schools in
France. I had taught English to
French children. I knew I had
passion for young people especially
teenagers. In 1986/1987, God gave
me this vision to start the Vale
College but I wasn’t very sure about
it. But because I grew up in a family
where they invest a lot in education,
I knew I had to do it. When my father,
the late Chief Ajibola Ige, SAN, was
Governor of Old Oyo, one of the key
projects of his political party was free
education. My mother, the late
Justice Atinuke Ige was the first
female lawyer of Ibadan origin. My
parents believed in me and believed
in education. They didn’t have
money but they believe if you give
your child the best education, he/she
would be able to look after him/
herself.
How did the story of the school
start?
The Vale College was established
by the Solemilia Educational Trust
on November 7, 1994 as a private
co-educational secondary school to
cater for the educational and
pastoral needs of individuals from
Grade 7 to Grade 12 (JSS1-SSS3).
It is a Bible-based Christian school
that values character building in
young ones. As part of its process to
fulfilling its mission statement, the
school runs broad curricula, the
Nigerian curriculum and British
curriculum while public speaking
and elocution, Christian
Fellowship, Leadership Training
and Charitable activities, have been
part of the school’s programmes
since inception.
Over the past 23 years, the school
which resumed with 13 students at
its first premises in Old Bodija, has
recorded many feats.
How has it been in the last 23
years?
I am a beneficiary of God’s Grace.
God sent dream helpers all along
the path of my life. I first shared the
vision with my immediate late
brother, Babatunde Ige.
Unfortunately, he never saw the
physical manifestation of the
college. He died in his sleep in
1993. And that is why I do a
scholarship on his behalf every year.
My father gave me the seed money
to start the school and my mother
gave me her building to start the
hostel. I have committed and
dedicated members of staff who run
with the vision. I also thank parents
who have entrusted their kids in my
care. It is an awesome responsibility
that I don’t take for granted.
Can you recall the school’s
memorable moments?
I started my school with 13 students
and 10 teachers and those first 13
students were a work of faith
because I didn’t have a track record
of a renowned educationist. When I
was selling the form, I was still
working in Bola Ige and Co. and I
would ask the parents; why are you
sending your children to this school?
They would respond that they
believe it is going to work. The vision
of the school is that our relationship
with the students, staff and parents
would be life-long. So I have
They didn’t
have money but
they believe if
you give your
child the best
education, he/
she would be
able to look
after him/herself
students who are married, I attend
their marriages. When they
graduate I attend their graduations.
I have students who have started
giving scholarships. One of my exstudents
is 27 years old and he has
already given out N400, 000 this
year and he plans to do this every
year. That for me is a landmark
achievement. One of my students,
Yewande Akinola got an award from
Queen Elizabeth II of England in
2012 for being one of the best female
engineers under 30 in the whole of
UK. She was Head Girl when she
was in The Vale College.
In a saturated school environment,
what, in your own view, makes The
Vale College tick?
We know them one-on-one: we
know every student’s weakness and
strength. We know all the parents
and we are able to monitor if a child
is not doing very well or not. Every
child is an individual: we know you
and your parents. The vision of The
Vale College is not a place to dump
your child; it is a school like learning
environment and home all put
together. We have that synergy and
it has really helped us in the past 23
years.
What effort has the school made in
impacting the immediate
community?
A few years ago, I started an annual
scholarship scheme in memory of
my late parents Bola/Atinuke Ige for
children and pupils in public
schools. Bola Ige scholarship is for
students in public primary school
in Oyo and Osun States. Every year,
we give scholarship for the best boy
and girl through examinations:
written and oral. The best two get
scholarship worth N12 million for
the six years post primary education.
Then I do another one under the
Atinuke Ige Scholarships for
students in public secondary
schools: The best outstanding boy
and girl in both Oyo and Osun
states, receive a scholarship worth
N2 Million to come to The Vale
Tutorial College for their ‘A’ Levels
for a period of one year. We have
been doing that now in the past five
years. I have three of them studying
medicine at the University of
Ibadan. It is not an ordinary
scholarship but an award that has
transformed lives. For instance, the
N12 Million awards have benefited
pupils whose parents are
bricklayers, tailors, bread sellers.
What effort is The Vale College
doing to achieve global
recognition?
Already my students are making
waves globally. We do a lot of
international exposure for both
students and teachers on excursion.
Also, 50 per cent of my students
school in universities abroad.
Where do you see your journey in
the next 10 years?
I pray that the school and its
tutorial arm will continue to expand.
We already have a succession plan
and I am looking forward to when
my alumni will begin to send their
children to The Vale College. I am
looking forward to when my
children will take the children to a
greater height.
What are the life lessons learnt over
the years?
I have learnt that when God gives
you a vision He will make
provisions: human, spiritual,
physical and material things. I have
faced a lot of challenges as it has
not been a bed of roses. I started the
school a year after my immediate
younger brother, Babatunde died.
By the 10th anniversary of my
school, I had lost both parents.
Those are the people that are closest
to me in the whole world.
How is life as Bola Ige’s daughter?
What do you miss about your
father?
I am a very proud daughter of my
father. I am so proud that I wrote a
book about him and me. I consider
myself to be extremely blessed to be
born by Bola and Atinuke Ige. My
dad was a real ‘Abiyamo’. He was
like a mother hen who was always
protective of his children. I miss that
about him. If I come home crying
as a child that ‘I can’t do this’, he
would simply tell me ‘you can’.
When I do debate in my school, he
would be on the opposition side
bringing points so that I can think
before the opposing side comes up
with points. He puts a lot of values
in me.
Who or what do you consider as
the greatest influence in your life?
Apart from God, my mum was my
•Funsho Adegbola
number one role model. I remember
when I was about five I wanted to be
an air hostess because I want to be
travelling and all that. My mum said
that is not a very lofty ideal. She said
I can still be travelling and the air
hostesses will be serving me. And
that really struck me because she
didn’t rebuke me rather she
encouraged me that I can do better.
Again, both of them used to work
together under Ige and Ige
Chambers.
Losing your parents was a
challenge. How did you overcome
it?
Every inch of the way God has raised
help for me. In the last three months
when I thought I would not be able
to finish the project, I was scared but
God kept telling me ‘Funso, I have
your back’. The parents in my school
donated the ICT Lab because they
wanted me to succeed. And because
I am an open person and if things
are tough I will put it on the table
and we would deliberate. Then I
have wonderful chairman board of
governors. So I have men and
women of good pedigree who give
solid advice and counsel.
Tell us about family life.
My greatest supporters are my
husband, Mr. Gbenro Adegbola and
my two amazing children, Kayode
and Ayotunde. Both of them are
lawyers. They attended The Vale
College before schooling abroad.
Kayode schooled at Queen
Mary’s, University of London and
Ayotunde attended University of
Kent both in the UK, attended Law
School, called to the Nigerian bar
and they are both working now. They
have all witnessed my best and
lowest moments. I wouldn’t have
been able to achieve this if I don’t
have a happy home.
You look radiant for 57 years old.
What is the secret?
More than anything God has been
kind. There is no secret to it. I have a
trainer. I exercise five days a week, I
do my massage every week. I love to
do my nails just to look good. I put a
lot of mental stress on myself and in
other not to break down, I try to feed
my body and soul and like to be in
the midst of people who would
inspire me.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

SATURD
TURDAY Vanguard,
OCTOBER 14, 2017 —37
C
M
Y
K

38—SATURD
TURDAY Y VANGU
ANGUARD, ARD, OCTOBER 14, , 2017
For close to five years, Jide
and his wife had tried
unsuccessfully for a baby. Their
doctor had assured them
nothing was wrong with either
of them—all they had to do was
let nature take its course. And to
help nature along, Ann, Jide’s
wife, sought divine
intervention.”Almost overnight,
my wife turned into a religious
fanatic,” Jide lamented. “She no
longer cared for the orthodox
church we attended because I
seldom went with her. Instead,
she joined one of these’
charismatic’ churches.
‘Fasting and constant prayers
became so entrenched in her
religious rituals that whenever I
wanted to make love to my wife,
she would urge us to pray first.
That, along with her popping in
the thermometer the doctor gave
her to find out if she was
ovulating. By the time she
finished with her rituals, it was
either that my ardour had been
completely doused, or I’d fallen
asleep. Needless to say, I found
someone who didn’t find
spontaneous love-making
sinful. My wife and I grew
further and further apart that
when my lover became
pregnant, I didn’t encourage
her to abort the pregnancy. In
fact, I felt vindicated that I
could father a child without
going to the church all the time
to confess to sins I didn’t count
offensive. So when next my wife
gave me her righteous-thanthou
sermon about waiting on
the Lord, I told her nothing was
wrong with my faith—that she
should fine-tune hers instead. I
also told her why. That was the
end of the marriage as far as
she was concerned....”
Every nook and cranny you
turn these days, there are one
or two ‘charismatic’ churches
springing up. Here, the
congregations range from
toddlers to pensioners. Some in
their white-garment get-ups
and lately, some in such attires
they could have stepped off the
pages of fashion magazines.
What each church has in
common is that it follows a strict
form of evangelism—salvation
Jesus has
given me
confidence,
assurance
and peace of
mind
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk
When your
partner
refuses to be
‘Born Again’!
by faith, the authority
of the Bible, the death
of Christ as a means of
forgiveness, speaking
in tongues and faith
healing; and lays a
lot of emphasis on
payment of tithes—the
more generous these
tithes—the more
salvation for your
troubled soul.
A new convert to one
of such churches
believes that, “being in
the church gives me an
ability to ask for
forgiveness for my sins.
I was completely set
free. If I’d been going
on and off for a year
when, one night during
a vigil, the ‘prayerwarriors’
put their
hands on my head, I felt I
was somewhere else in
heaven. I felt heat in my
body;and tears dropping
from my eyes and I felt like
crying. That night, I really
felt Jesus... it changed my
life. Now, life is more
meaningful. Jesus has given
me confidence, assurance
and peace of mind. The
church has also made me
realize that marrying
someone outside the church
would weaken my
commitment. If God wants
me to meet a man and marry
him, He will put these
opportunities in my way.
The choice will be clear, real
and obvious.”
For a girl in her midthirties,
with a high-profile
job and a state-of-the- art
car, she obviously needs
spiritual intervention to find
such a compromising
husband! Recently, Paul
said he rummaged through
his wardrobe to find some of
his expensive clothes and
shoes gone. Puzzled, he
asked his wife who
confessed that she’d
donated the items to a relief
centre for the homeless!
‘Our pastor urged us to look
into our wardrobes and that
anything we hadn’t worn in
the last three years should
be donated as we obviously
didn’t need such items.
“I was livid. I work hard
to keep my wardrobe,” Paul
said. “Only a month before
then, my two boys had
donated their expensive
shoes and wrist-watches
when they were urged by
the church to forgo
earthly things dearest to
them if they wanted to
reap great spiritual
dividends! How can you
laden school children with
such a burden?”
Gbade, a highly
successful industrialist
nearly had a heart attack
when his wife confessed
that she’d given all her
expensive jewels to her
church, to be sold and the
money used for the glory
of God. “Those jewels
were gifts from me,”
fumed Gbade. “She had
no right to give them away
without consulting me.
Over the years, I’d taken
the opportunity to buy her
all sorts of expensive
jewels whenever I
travelled. Now, she wore
no jewelries at all and
looked like a widow on a
perpetual mourning jag. I
warned her of the
consequences of living
with a wife that looked
nothing like the woman I
married and drew the line
at turning our three
children into religious
freaks.
“We’ve now decided to
separate amicably. We’re
both basically Catholics
and divorce is out of the
question, but I’ll be
darned if I would live my
life making love to a wife
who makes you feel you
are violating her.... “ The
most amazing thing is the
ease with which these
churches are set up any
day of the week, only to
balloon into large
phenomenon almost
overnight. Religion is now
more of a capitalist show
with a motto that screams:
“Start your own show and
see how well you
prosper.”
Why 60 is the new 40
Life coach and author Butwell is
appalled by the way anyone over 55 is
considered over the hill. According to
her: U As soon as I turned 50, I started
getting junk mail about warden
controlled accommodation. I was
stunned and offended. I don’t think 60
is what is used to be. Most of my friends
are the same age as I am and none of
them plans to slow down any time soon.
But not everyone has caught on to the
fact that 60 is the new 40. Recently a
book came out on how to use the intemet
aimed at the over 50s that really made
my blood boil. I don’t know of anyone
my age who doesn’t use the internet a
lot. Then there’s the way TV soaps may
show old people as being old in their
ways.”
In reality, people are always likely to
seek new experiences when they reach
retirement age. Retirement is probably
the first time in life when you don’t have
anything mapped out for you. You’re free
to do whatever you want. But younger
people think it’s all about money.
Pensioners are either seen as poverty
stricken because they can’t get by on
their savings and pensions, of filthy rich
and spending all their money on
travelling.
“You don’t hear much about the inbetween,
which is the reality for most
people. For many, the worst part of being
over 60 is being treated as if they’re dim.
I find that I’m being talked down to,
especially by pharmacists. They talk to you
as if you’re 12. They have to ask you if
you’re over 60 so that they know if you’re
entitled to a free prescription. And if you’re
over 60, they start explaining how to take
the medicine very loudly and in great
detail as if you’re completely stupid.”
So why do we seem to find it so difficult
to stop treating pensioners as old fogies
who don’t count any more? One reason
could be that we’re afraid of getting old
ourselves. The reason age discrimination
is not going anywhere is that we all know
we’re going to get old and we’re scared.
We don’t want to know about it. Because
we’re scared, we pigeon-hole older people
and tend to think that they’re not so
valuable.
It’s foolish because if we embraced and
celebrated old age, by the time we became
old ourselves, age discrimination would
be gone.

Dear Aunty Julie,
My cousin had his 30th birthday
party and I got so drunk and had a
one night stand with a guy at a club
and it happened very fast without
us getting to know each other too
much first. The problem is, the next
day I felt extremely sad and
depressed. I felt like I’ve been
used and felt cheap. I was also sad
that he didn’t ask me for my phone
number or my name even though I
wasn’t interested in him. I felt
unattractive and worthless. Is it
normal to feel this way? Do guys
also feel this way too? How can I
get over this post-one-night-stand
depression?
Aishatu, Lagos
Dear Aishatu,
No strings attached doesn’t
always equate to no feelings
attached. Whether you feel sad,
confused, or even empowered, it is
perfectly normal to have different
emotions after a one night stand.
You may find that engaging in
casual sex is not positive for your
emotional health. Studies have
shown that at some point or another,
most people feel that sex is more
juliecoker100@yahoo.com
I had a one-night
stand and it
bothers me
meaningful or enjoyable if it is with
a partner that they are emotionally
invested with.
Self-reflection is key to sorting out
your emotions. Asking yourself
SATURDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 14, 2017—39
These questions may help you better
understand the pros and cons of
different sexual situations you may
encounter in the future. In the
meantime, if you’re feeling down and
out, keep your chin up! There are
various ways to cope with your
feelings.
In regards to gender differences,
statistics indicate that more men than
women enjoy participating in casual
sex. However, this may be the result
of a greater social stigma
surrounding women who engage in
casual sex than for men. That is,
women who engage in casual sex are
more likely to be viewed as
promiscuous. As a result, studies also
indicate that women were less likely
to engage in casual sex with strangers
in comparison to men. Despite these
gender differences though, it is
important to remember that people of
all genders can have strong feelings
after a one night stand.
If the days are flying by and your
feelings still linger, remember that
sorting out your emotions may take
some time. By treating yourself to
some quality thinking time, exploring
your emotions, and being patient, you can
feel confident and balanced again.
some important questions can help you
move forward. For example, what kind of
relationship would you like to have with
romantic partners? What role do you think
casual sex will play for you in the future?
C
M
Y
K
I don’t think I still love him
Dear Julie,
I have been dating my guy for five
years but things are not working
out as they should. We have been
having conflicts . I don’t think that
I love him anymore! My friends
think I should take things easy and
give the relationship another
chance but I’m confused. What
should I do?
Juliana, Ughelli
Dear Juliana,
Falling out of love with a
boyfriend of five years is normal.
Exploring your feelings regarding
your boyfriend and the reasons
why you may have fallen out of
love with him may be a helpful first
start for deciding what you
“should” do.
Sometimes “falling out of love” is
due to withheld anger, outgrowing
the other partner, changing your
mind, and/or developing or
acknowledging different priorities.
Sometimes it has more to do with
one’s self than it has to do with the
other partner. Although it’s unclear
whether you believe that falling
out of love with your boyfriend is
itself the “problem” or whether
having problems with your
boyfriend led you to fall out of love
with him, it doesn’t hurt to be a little
introspective and examine more
closely what may have led you to
feel (or not feel) the way that you
do.
You seem conflicted about the
thought of not loving your
boyfriend anymore. As such, you
Married Life
A husband and wife were in bed watching TV. The
husband had the remote in hand switching back and forth
between the porn and fishing channels. The wife got pissed
off, grabbed the remote and kept it on the porn channel
and said to hubby.. “Leave it on the porn channel you
already know how to fish.”
The Perfect Man
A man walked out to the street and caught a taxi just
going by. He got into the taxi, and the cabbie said,
“Perfect timing. You’re just like Ryan”
Passenger: “Who?”
Cabbie: “Ryan Jay Robinson. He’s a guy who did
everything right all the time. Like my coming along when
you needed a cab, things happen like that to Ryan Jay
Robinson, every single time.”
Passenger: “There are always a few clouds over
everybody.”
Cabbie: “Not Ryan Jay Robinson. He was a terrific
may want to consider asking yourself
the following questions. Does the fact
that you may not love your boyfriend
anymore bother you? How long have
you felt this way? Do the two of you
have mutual respect, friendship, and
trust? Do you feel that your
relationship is a caring one? Does
your relationship enhance or
diminish who you are? Do you feel
that you need some time apart? Can
you picture him as a life partner? What
would your ideal relationship (with or
without your boyfriend) look like?
Have you discussed this issue with
someone you trust, such as a friend? Even
so, have you considered talking to your
boyfriend about this? While it may not be
such a comfortable conversation to have,
your boyfriend may certainly appreciate
your honesty and your openness with your
feelings. In addition, he may be having
I can’t get over my divorce
Aunty Julie,
I’m a man of 38 years who is going
through a divorce. The process is
so painful because of what I passed
through in the hands of my ex wife.
We have been living apart for
sometime now but the problem is
that I haven’t really been able to
talk to any girl since our breakup.
We haven’t really signed any
divorce papers, so I feel very
obligated to stay faithful to her even
though our relationship as we know
it is over and done with. Will I still
have this problem even when we
actually get divorced? And will I
forever feel bad about making the
first move to end this relationship?
For the past three months, I could
neither sleep nor concentrate on
my career. My commitment to her
and my love for her was the only
thing that helped my to go on with
my life. Now that’s over, I am
totally lost. My family thinks she fed
me with a love portion. Please help me
with my problem.
Sunkanmi, Ibadan
Dear Sunkanmi,
Passing through a divorce or
separating from a partner is one of the
most significant stressors life can throw
at you, and the sometimes
overwhelming feelings of guilt,
distraction, and disorientation you are
experiencing are so normal as to
almost be expected. Knowing that
these emotions are common might not
seem to make them easier to handle,
but it might bring some comfort to know
that the process of grief and loss is
indeed universal.
People cope with loss differently.
Some cling to feelings of remorse, guilt,
and a notion that if they remain
faithful to the relationship, they might
be able to save it. Others feel numb
C O C K - T A L E S
athlete. He could have won the Grand Slam at tennis. He could
golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone and danced
like a Broadway star and you should have heard him play the
piano. He was an amazing guy.”Passenger: “Sounds like he
was something really special.”
Cabbie: “There’s more. He had a memory like a computer.
He remembered everybody’s birthday. He knew all about wine,
which foods to order and which fork to eat them with. He could
fix anything. Not like me. I change a fuse, and the whole street
blacks out. But Ryan Jay Robinson, he could do everything
right.”
Passenger: “Wow. Some guy then.”
Cabbie: “He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic
and avoid traffic jams. Not like me, I always seem to get stuck
in them. But Ryan, he never made a mistake, and he really
knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good. He would
never answer her back even if she was in the wrong; and his
clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished too.
his own feelings about the relationship
as well. Open and honest
communication, in any relationship, is
key to expressing wants, needs, and
desires. Perhaps such a discussion
would be a good opportunity to
communicate what you like/don’t like
about your relationship and how to
improve it. Still, you may decide that
taking some time apart would be a
good experience for both of you, or
that breaking up would be the way to
go.
and closed off from themselves and
others. In both cases, it can be very
helpful to focus on who you are, who
you want to be, goals for your future,
and tangible steps you can take get
there
It’s hard to offer a guess as to when
you might start to feel better, whether
it’s when the divorce becomes official
or sometime before or after that. But
allowing yourself to feel how you’re
feeling and to fall apart a little bit may
be an essential part of recovering your
sleep and work habits, and emerging
back into your life in a new way. You
cannot rush the grieving process.
Many people report that after letting
themselves come undone, they are
able to put themselves back together
stronger than before. The path of
healing may seem like an impossible
uphill journey, but all mountains are
climbed one step at a time.
He was the perfect man! He never made a mistake.
No one could ever measure up to Ryan Jay
Robinson.”Passenger: “An amazing fellow. How
did you meet him?”
Cabbie: “Well, I never actually met Ryan. He
died. I’m married to his widow.”
Shoplifting
An old lady gets caught shoplifting. On court day,
the lady and her husband who goes with her stands
before the judge and he says to her, “Why did you
shoplift?” And she says “I was hungry.” The judge
says “What did you take?” She replies, “A can of
peaches.”
So the judge trying to figure out how to punish her says,
“How many peaches where in the can?” The lady says
“6”. So the judge says okay, then 1 day per peach in jail
that will be 6 days time served. The judge says, “would
anyone like to say anything” and her husband says, “your
honor, She stole a can of peas too”

40—Vanguard, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Twitter: @yetundearebi
yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk
08054700825
Yetunde Arebi
Hi
I met this lady whose story you are about
to read last week at a friend’s place. Of
course you know most times, the gist is
about men. Her story, though not peculiar,
reminds me of famous musician, TuFace,
his women, and some other women I have
come across. Do you call them confident
women who know how to fight for what
they want, or spoilers? While under the
pressure of circumstances several years
ago, Tutu, (not real name) took some rash
decisions and has had to live with the
consequences since then. Now knocking
on 40 years, she said she regretted one of
the decisions she took back then and
would give anything to turn back the hands
of the clock.
Her story:
“I met Dave at a party hosted by one of
his friends who was going out with my
cousin too. It was a stormy affair right
from the beginning. We obviously suited
each other in a way. He was one of those
smooth, fast guys. Very popular, good
career potential and good looks to
complement it. He won my heart almost
instantly. Then, I admit, I was also moving
on the fast lane. But I have given up all
that now. I am older and more aware of
the essence of life. Whenever I think
about the various events that led to Dave’s
marriage to another girl, I cannot but ask
myself if indeed I had taken the right
decisions at the time. Perhaps, a little
patience would have set everything right,
but God knows best. He has been married
for over 10 years now, while I am yet to
find a suitable partner.
When I met Dave, I knew he had strings
of girlfriends. Some I met in the course of
my visits to his flat. He would always have
one excuse or another for them calling on
him. Some of them were quite nice looking
and well mannered. But once a while, I’d
met some girls and wondered how he
could degenerate to the level of dating
such girls. It’s not that they were ugly, but
they looked like typical ‘Owanbe’ or
pepper seller with uneven bleached skin,
bad makeup and ill manners. You know
those type that looked like they were ready
to fight and tear your clothes over any
flimsy issue. There was one occasion that
he asked that we pretended no one was in
the flat so that when the lady knocked
without anyone answering, she would
leave.
I cannot recall the number of times we
fought or called off the relationship, but
we would always make up again. My
cousin who was dating his friend had
similar problems with him too despite the
fact that they’d been dating for over five
years at the time. She it was, that gave me
courage to continue always begging on
his behalf and insisting he loved me and
wanted to marry me. I got pregnant twice
and terminated them because of his
insatiable desire for the opposite sex and
our regular quarrels. One thing was sure
about him, he was fun to be with and a
near perfect gentleman when it came to
caring for a lady. So, like his many other
girls, I was also in love with him and when
I became pregnant a third time, I decided
to leave it.
Initially, he was a bit reluctant but when
I insisted I was keeping it and that if he
loved me as much as he claimed, it was
time to prove it, he accepted and asked
me to inform my mother. Finally, I felt
relived and happy that I had won the battle
and would soon have him to myself. I
never knew I was far from Eldorado. By
the time the truth hit me, I was too
devastated to do anything.
Due to the nature of my job, (an
international Air hostess) I was always on
the go and this gave him more
opportunities to engage in various
activities which were not open to me at
the time. My mother was very happy about
the news and the fact that I would be
settling down because she did not really
like my job. But she was not very happy
about my getting pregnant out of wedlock
and wanted us to formalise things before
the pregnancy became visible.
Arrangements were already in top gear
about how his family would meet mine
Of marriage and broken cords
I cannot recall the number of
times we fought or called off
the relationship, but we
would always make up again.
My cousin who was dating
his friend had similar
problems with him too
despite the fact that they’d
been dating for over five
years at the time
for the initial formal introduction, when I
discovered that Dave had also
impregnated another girl. She belonged
to one of those popular families from
Lagos Island, and was born and raised
there too. I was at his place one Saturday
morning when the girl came bouncing in.
It was as if she had come there just to find
me. When I saw her, I immediately knew
she was his girlfriend because she had
that typical look about her. She eyed
me coldly from head to toe, hissed
loudly as I walked into the bedroom,
leaving them to sort themselves out.
Soon, I began hearing them shouting
at the top of their voices. The girl’s
name I learnt was Joke and she kept
ranting that she would not get rid of
her pregnancy. She said she was
prepared to give anything and assured
him that he was going to have two
wives since he enjoyed having sex so
much. She said her mother was
coming to see him very soon after
which they would go to his mother.
More abuses followed and then I
heard some shuffling. I peeped out to
see that they were fighting and Dave
was shouting “get out of my house! I
say get out of my house!” After
some time, everything was quiet, but
I didn’t dare venture out as I wasn’t
sure she’d left. When he finally came
to me, he wanted to explain what had
happened, but I was in no state to
listen properly. He told me he had
met the girl in Lagos while
visiting his mother at her shop at
Balogun market where she sold
clothes. The girl’s mother also sold
clothes in Lagos. They dated a few
times and it was over. But the girl
contacted him recently to say that
she was pregnant. He said he
insisted she must find a solution
to it as he already had someone
he wanted to marry but she
refused. She swore not to get rid
of it and that he would have to
marry the two of us.
To be honest, Dave appeared at
a loss and pleaded with me to
understand his plight and support
him to sort things out. He asked
me not to tell my mother or anyone
until he’d figured out what to do.
All sorts of emotions raced through
my being and mind. All my earlier
premonitions were confirmed at
last. I was filled with anger, self
pity, hatred, fear and shame all at
once. Of all, fear was the
uppermost on my mind. I was
afraid of the type of girl Dave had
chosen to mess with. This was one
of those girls who could do
anything, including juju to
achieve their goals. For all she
cared, I did not exist and she
could even delete me and my
child if need be. If Dave managed
to “sort her out” which I doubted
at the time, would she be my mate
or rival? Would we have to share
Dave? How do I explain that to my
friends, family or even colleagues
at work? I will be the laughing
stock of everyone. I have seen this
sort of things happen and I was
not ready to be a victim. That was
not the kind of life I wanted to live.
My mother and siblings were
worried sick when I told them that
we had decided to postpone the
wedding plans for some time. I
told them we had problems with
his parents that needed to be
resolved. A few days later, I
confided in my mother and her
reaction did not help matters too.
Though she agreed that we needed
to be patient since Dave had made up
his mind to marry me and not the girl,
she went on and on about how we were
taking off on a very bad note and expressed
doubt that I would have a successful
marriage. In one instance she would be
trying to assure me that things would work
out, and the next instance she would be
wailing all over the place saying; “this is
beyond me oh. I don’t know the type of
problem you’ve gotten yourself into this
time oh! I don’t know anywhere to run to
except to my God. You have to hold
yourself together and make up your mind
on what you want to do with this boy oh!”.
I had to take time off work as I was greatly
disturbed. Meanwhile, my baby continued
to grow and I became more miserable by
the day. Things just seemed to spiral from
bad to worse. Whenever Dave came to
see me, I would decline, asking my
younger ones to tell him that I was not in.
And when we did see, we must end up
quarrelling over one thing or another.
Then, one day, my cousin (the one dating
Dave’s friend) called that she had a terrible
news. She’d over heard her boyfriend
discussing with someone about Dave and
Joke’s traditional wedding. She’d
confronted him and he confessed that it
was to be a small quite one, so that he
could still go ahead with plans for our
wedding. Convinced that there was a mix
up, she wanted to know my position. Like
my mother, she too went on and on about
how my marriage to Dave had already hit
the rock before it took off. She said she
was afraid of the girl and asked if I was
prepared for the consequences of such a
marriage.
That did it! The humiliation was getting
too much for me. I did not want such a
lifestyle. I decided to do what I thought at
the time, could free me from my
predicament. The following week, I
travelled to England and there had the
pregnancy aborted. I sent a message to my
mother that I had fallen ill and had a
miscarriage. Everyone sympathised with
me, but I knew they were relieved in a way
too. Of course, I called off the relationship
and Dave went ahead to marry his queer
wife. Together, they have four children. It’s
over 10 years now and I have not found a
husband, nor had another pregnancy.
Having waited this long, I just don’t want
to have a child out of wedlock. I want to
get married and I am believing in God for
my own miracle.
Hmm! It is pretty difficult to criticise
someone, unless you’ve walked in their
shoes. I wish Tutu all the best. Do have a
wonderful weekend!!

VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017—41
Baru lures investors to establish
refinery in A/Ibom State
•…As GMD Tasks Industry to Brace up for Change
The Group Managing
Director of the Nigerian
National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti
Kacalla Baru, has said that he had
engaged investors to establish a
refinery in Akwa Ibom State.
The NNPC GMD, who declared
this during a two-day
PENGASSAN’s Triennial Retreat/
Synergy workshop which opened
today in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State,
said the state was well-positioned
geographically to have a refinery.
“The investors have been coming
to us and I have seen one that is quite
promising. It is in this light that I
encouraged these investors to come
and see the state government and
discuss,” he said.
Dr. Baru explained that although
the preferred location of the
investors was not Akwa Ibom State,
but he had convinced them to
consider establishing the refinery
there, to leverage, especially on the
state’s deep coastline.
The GMD called on the Akwa
Ibom State Government to explore
partnership opportunities provided
by investors towards establishing the
refinery in the state.
Speaking further at the opening
of the two-day event in Uyo, Dr. Baru
called on industry players to brace
up for change in the sector.
He stressed that the current state
of the international energy market,
the urgent need to rehabilitate the
nation’s refineries as well as the
Petroleum Industry (Governance)
Bill currently being considered by
the National Assembly, were dire
NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. MaikantiBaru, middle, on arrival
at the opening ceremonies of a two-day PENGASSAN Triennial Retreat/
Synergy workshop which started today in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. With
him are PENGASSAN National President, Mr. Francis Johnson, right,
and Special Adviser to Akwa Ibom Governor, Pastor Umoh Bassey.
challenges, necessitating that the
industry charts a new course
Dr. Baru emphasized that navigating
these challenges successfully required
strong, purposeful and focused
leadership from stakeholders in an
industry where changing regulatory and
macroeconomic realities are imminent.
Dr. Baru seized the opportunity of the
event to commend the Petroleum &
Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and the
Nigerian Union of Petroleum & Natural
Gas Workers, NUPENG, for their role in
ensuring harmony in the nation’s Oil
and Gas Industry, saying this has helped
stabilize petroleum products supply
across the country.
“I would like to appreciate the support
given to us by the two unions,
PENGASSAN and NUPENG. You have
over the years exhibited high level of
maturity and partnership. This is evident
in your pragmatic approach to issues,
your support during difficult times as well
as strategic engagement with industry
stakeholders which has not only
guaranteed industrial peace and
harmony, but has also ensured the stable
supply of petroleum products across the
country,” Baru stated.
NNPC, BUK Pledge
Collaboration on
Frontier Basins
T
HE Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) and Bayero
University Kano (BUK) have pledged to
partner in the ongoing exploratory activities
in the frontier basins across the
country.
Group Managing Director of NNPC,
Dr. Maikanti Baru, made this known
Thursday when the Vice Chancellor of
BUK, Prof. Muhammad Yahuza Bello,
paid him a visit at the Corporation’s headquarters
in Abuja.
Dr. Baru said the Corporation would
always identify with the Ivory Towers because
its work force was drawn from the
universities.
“Your visit would open up opportunities
for collaboration between NNPC and
your university and we are looking forward
to receiving your inputs”, Dr. Baru
Stated. He said while the Corporation
was not keen on setting up a university,
it had nonetheless established the NNPC
Learning Academy which trains high
level manpower for the Oil and Gas Industry,
adding that it offered short term
high level technical courses capable of
enhancing the oil industry operations.
Dr. Baru said NNPC already had an
established relationship with Petronas on
shipping, saying further collaborations
with the company are underway.
Earlier, BUK Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bello,
said the university was in collaboration
with Petronas, as he called on other
industry stakeholders to join NNPC by
showing interest in education.
Prof. Bello noted that Petronas had
awarded Ph.D scholarship to 13 staff
members of BUK in different areas of
Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering,
Petroleum Engineering, among others
in recent times.
NNPC to reinvigorate exploratory
activities in seven inland basins
adding that attempts which
… As Gov. Gaidam Applauds Baru on Reforms
were made under Production
Sharing
Contract
As part of strategies to
arrangements had involved
shore up the nation’s
Shell, Chevron and Agip, which
reserve base, the
had drilled a well each in the
Nigerian National Petroleum
region.
Corporation (NNPC), will
He added that already the
reinvigorate exploratory
NNPC had identified some leads
activities in the seven
and prospects that are going to
hydrocarbon basins in the
be tested through drilling ahead
country.
NNPC Group Managing
Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru,
disclosed this Thursday when
he received the Governor of
Yobe State, Alh. Ibrahim
Geidam at the NNPC Towers,
Abuja.
Briefing the Governor and
his entourage on efforts to
increase the tempo of
exploratory activities in the
Industry, Dr. Baru stated that
modalities were on to open up
NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. MaikantiBaru (right),
all the basins in the country
welcoming Yobe State Governor, Alh. Ibrahim Geidam, who paid
to prospective investors.
him a visit today his Office in Abuja
“We are on target and we
are looking at the indicated some signs of deployed in the exploration of
prospectivity of the whole hydrocarbon in eastern Yobe the Yobe section of the Chad
basins of Niger Delta, Chad, of the Chad Basin, adding Basin similar to that deployed
Anambra, Benue Trough, that once the Corporation in the Borno side of the Chad
Benin, Sokoto and Bida. We received security clearance, basin.
are focused on delivering on the 3D seismic data He revealed that exploratory
these basins in line with our acquisition in the area would activities executed in the
mandate,” Dr. Baru affirmed. continue as scheduled. Benue Trough in the 1990s
The GMD said preliminary Dr. Baru noted that modern had indicated presence of
exploratory activities had technology would be hydrocarbon in the region,
The GMD said
preliminary exploratory
activities had indicated
some signs of
hydrocarbon in eastern
Yobe of the Chad Basin,
adding that once the
Corporation received
security clearance, the
3D seismic data
acquisition in the area
would continue as
scheduled
of the resumption of the Chad
Basin exploratory activities.
Earlier, Yobe State Governor,
Alh. Geidam, said his visit was
informed by the commitment of
President Muhammadu
Buhari’s government to increase
Nigeria’s oil reserves through
exploration of oil and gas in the
Chad Basin, adding that the
policy direction of the Federal
Government was of interest to
the state because the basin
covers a large area including
Yobe State.
“My visit is a follow-up to our
request on exploration of oil in
the Yobe section of Chad Basin.
The assurance which you gave
that the exploration for
hydrocarbon deposits in part of
Yobe State was being considered
has reinforced our resolve to
work with you on diversifying
the sources of national economy
for improved revenue
generation,” Alh Geidam stated.
Alh. Geidam said he
appreciated the critical role of
the Oil and Gas Industry in the
national economy, stressing
that the reforms introduced by
Dr. Baru since assumption of
Office had created
unprecedented developments
in the industry.
The Yobe State Governor
listed the gains of the reforms
to include stemming the
incessant scarcity of
Petroleum products, increase
revenue accruable from the
Oil and Gas Sector to the
Federation Account and the
leap in the contribution of the
Nigeria Liquefied Natural
Gas to the national economy.

42—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Mitigating human losses
at the workplace
By Moses Nosike
Human losses and suffering resulting
from workplace injury are, most times,
immeasurable. They can trigger major
crises for affected families. Such crises could
come in form of financial burden and can
impose substantial time demands on family
members.
Hence, safety in workplace goes a long way
in mitigating losses on both individuals and
corporate entities. It is also very crucial to the
growth of any organisation as it determines,
to a large extent, the pace of productivity. Also,
organisations that put safety first turn out
higher quality products.
In the formal sector, particularly the Fast
Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry,
accidents occur often times, hence the need
for enforcement of Occupational Safety and
Health (OSH) regulations by appropriate
authorities.
In Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Labour
and Productivity, through its Inspectorate
Division, enforces OSH regulations, while the
National Council for Occupational Safety
and Health (NCOSH) ensures
compliance with the Labour,
Safety, Health and Welfare Bill
of 2012.
So far, the impact of the
enforcement authority has been
ineffective as key stakeholders in
the several sectors of the economy
pay less attention to OSH
regulations, thus rendering the
scheme dysfunctional and
unenforceable, and, at the same
time hindering OSH development.
However, a few companies in the
FMCG industry have abided by
the various safety regulations,
winning various awards in return.
For instance, in 2013, Lucky
Fibres Plc, maker of Nobel
premium brand of carpets and
rugs won the gold medal by the
Manufacturers Association of
Nigeria (MAN) for the “Best Kept
Industrial Premises” (BKIP)
award.” The company won the
award consistently since 2008 and
also in 2015. This followed the
environmental assessment of the
factory premises conducted by
MAN’s environmental committee.
In 2016, British American
Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) emerged
winner of the same award, while
the first and second runners-up
respectively were Nampak Cartons
and Nigerian Breweries.
For the small and medium scale
category, Boulus Food and Beverages,
Frigoglass Manufacturing Industries Limited
and Vina International Limited came first,
second and third respectively. Special
recognition was given to Oriental Foods
Industry Limited, Fan Milk Plc, Filade Marble
Works and Altak Industry Limited.
While compliance to safety regulations is a
major challenge for several companies in the
FMCG sector, Promasidor Nigeria Limited
(PNL) is an interesting case study. Its strides
have been recognised by independent and
credible institutions, the latest one being the
MAN.
Recently, the company, a leading provider
of high-quality food products across various
regions in Africa, won MAN’s BKIP award.
Chi Limited, producer of dairy, beverages and
snacks, and Friesland Campina Wamco
Nigeria Plc, producer of the Peak Evaporated
Milk brand clinched the second and third
positions respectively.
Promasidor Nigeria Limited, which is
passionate about the safety of its work force,
was applauded for keeping a healthy
environment not only in its own premises, but
also in the neighbouring Isolo
community of Lagos.
The BKIP competition, which is
also referred to as Total
Compliance Inspection
Competition, is aimed at
encouraging MAN members to
adhere to environmental
regulations and standards, and
also to improve their
environmental friendliness.
In its commitment to a
transparent and credibility
process, MAN ensured that
members of the award committee
were drawn from the Lagos State
Environmental Protection Agency
(LASEPA), Federal Ministry of
Environment, National
Environmental Standards and
Regulations Enforcement Agency
(NESREA), practising Health,
Safety and Environment (HSE)
professionals in the
manufacturing industry and Ikeja
MAN representatives.
Areas of inspection by the
officials included external and
internal premises, utilities, solid
waste management, effluent
treatment plant where applicable,
pollution abatement, use of
relevant and quality personal
protective equipment, green-life
and general aesthetics,
government certifications as well
as general good housekeeping.
Other areas included
usage of marked
pedestrian walk-way,
which was
commended, noise
level in the factories
was within the
acceptable standard,
and the environmental
audit report, fire
certificate, among
others were current
and valid.
Promasidor Nigeria
Limited, whose
products range from
milk powders, culinary
and beverages, has
always affirmed that a
healthy environment is
crucial for the growth
of any business and for
the community where
it operates. It is
spearheading tree
planting, an initiative
that has been
commended by the
Lagos State
Government.
The Head Legal and
Public Relations, Mr.
Andrew Enahoro
stated that Promasidor
has been keeping to
healthy environment
•Chris-Ngige
regulations. He
stressed that it was
essential for businesses
to adhere to
environmental laws in
order to thrive and also
for the benefit of
people living within
the locality.
Enahoro emphasised collaboration between
organisations and government in order to
achieve a healthy environment that is free from
pollution and also make the society safe for
living despite the threat of global warming.
He said that Promasidor’s efforts in keeping
its environment healthy have endeared it to
its host community, Isolo.
Enahoro explained that in the pursuit of a
greener environment, the company had
installed eco-friendly equipment at its
premises, which have eliminated health risk
to staff and people in its locality. The company
generates electricity from industrial gas
supply and this feeds into the main electricity
supply of the organisation. This has greatly
helped PNL to reduce noise and pollution levels
from the use of diesel generating sets, being
Managing Director of Promasidor
Nigeria Limited, Mr Anders
Einarsson
used to complement the epileptic power
supply in the country. Promasidor also uses
solar powered security lights.
This is in line with what is widely practised
in other developed economies where private
organisations are meant to generate some
percentage of the required power for the
production and delivery of their products and
services. This process does not produce any
form of pollution and is one of the cleanest
sources of energy. In comparison with other
sources of power generation, solar energy
promotes the essence of keeping the
environment green in compliance with
regulations from government.
Other efforts in compliance with healthy
environment included the change from diesel
powered to gas powered forklift machines and
improved waste management plan through
waste sorting, the use of wind powered
extractor fans, conversion from conventional
to eco-friendly air-conditioners and
conversion from diesel powered or public
power supply plants to gas powered plants.
The change from diesel to gas powered
forklifts and generators has helped in
reducing the dangers from diesel exhaust.
Some of the health hazards averted range
from irritation of the eyes and nose, headaches
and nausea, to respiratory disease and lung
cancer caused by air pollution.
Similarly, in order to avert pollution of the
atmosphere and to maintain good health
standard for the people of Isolo community,
Promasidor Nigeria has adopted a more
suitable waste
management plan
through waste sorting.
This hygienic method of
waste management has
helped in maintaining a
healthy environment as
it involves a process
whereby waste is
separated into different
elements, depending on
its substance.
The company stated
that it is a better
approach because
waste ending up in
landfills produces
leachate and landfill
biogas that
contaminate water and
pollute the air. Biogas
contains mainly
methane, a greenhouse
gas that is 25 percent
more powerful than
carbon dioxide. Indeed,
the management of
waste through the
sorting process shows
how much PNL has the
interest of people within
its locality at heart.
Also, the use of ecofriendly
air-conditioners
has reduced the noise
that would have been
generated from the
conventional
equipment used by other
organisations. The units
are designed and
manufactured with
materials that are safe
for the environment.
While the
conventional air
conditioners release
emissions from
fluorocarbon
refrigerant, these ecofriendly
units installed
by Promasidor Nigeria
uses hydro fluorocarbon
refrigerant which does
not have adverse effect on the ozone. When
these units are no longer usable, they are more
easily broken down without adding to nonbiodegradable
trash because they are not
made up of dangerous materials.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government
and LASEPA have expressed their gratitude
to Promasidor for not only believing in an
eco-friendly environment but also living it.
During one of the tree planting campaigns,
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, through his
representative Mrs Adetola Onisarotu of the
Lagos State Environmental Protection
Agency, said that Promasidor’s green house
initiatives are worthy of emulation. The
Governor urged other corporate
organisations to take a cue from the
commitment of Promasidor to safety in the
work environment and in its locality.

VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 — 43
Fayose: Buhari is a sectional leader, World
Bank President’s revelation not surprising
By Rotimi Ojomoyela
ADO-Ekiti-Ekiti State
Governor, Mr Ayodele
Fayose has said that he was
not surprised by the
comment from the
President of the World
Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim
that President Muhammadu
Buhari directed
specifically that the World
Bank should shift its focus
to the northern region of
Nigeria.
Fayose maintained that
“the President has never
hidden the fact that he is a
sectional leader and
painfully, because of his
nepotism, religious bigotry
and favouritism, Nigeria is
now more divided than
ever before, with the unity
of the country being
threatened.”
The governor, who spoke
through his Special
Assistant on Public
Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka,
asked; “Is the comment
from the World Bank
President different from the
97 percent/5 percent
formula of President
Buhari?”
He said; “When a
President opened his
mouth and said that
constituencies that gave him
97% votes could not in all
honesty be treated, on some
issues, with constituencies
that gave him 5% votes,
lovers of unity in the country
should have raised the
alarm and alerted the world
of the danger of having a
nepotistic president, and I
warned then but other
Nigerians that should
have raised their voice, kept
mute.”
President of the World
Bank Group reportedly said,
“You know, in my
very first meeting with
President Buhari he said
specifically that he
would like us to shift our
focus to the northern region
of Nigeria and we’ve done
that. Now, it has been very
difficult. The work there has
been very difficult.”
Governor Fayose, in his
reaction said; “Once again,
the fact that President
Mohammadu Buhari is an
ethnic champion, a religious
bigot and the number one
promoter of disunity in
Nigeria was brought to the
fore by the President of the
World Bank Group, Jim
Yong Kim.
“Nigerians should be
reminded that on August 15,
2015, less than three months
in Buhari’s government, I
raised the alarm that he
(Buhari) was operating as a
president of the Northern
Nigeria only."

44 — SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
2018 WORLD CUP
Balogun:
My late grandmother will
be weeping in heaven
BY JOHN EGBOKHAN
STANDING at an imposing
1.90m in height, Leon
Balogun naturally fits into
the traditional football defender,
the no-nonsense, tough-tackling,
leg-breaking, even though he is
yet to break anyone’s legs and
mean-looking, despite having an
easy on the eyes appeal player,
who does his defensive duties
effortlessly.
The Mainz centre-back, who
first burst into the Nigerian
football scene in March 2014,
during an international friendly
match against Mexico, coming
in as a substitute for former
captain Joseph Yobo, has
wormed his way into the hearts
of Super Eagles fans, with his
impeccable performance in the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying
campaign.
Originally born in Berlin,
Germany to a German
mother and a
Nigerian father, the
towering 29 year old,
who started his
Bundesliga adventure on 19
April, 2009 for German side,
Hannover, would have joined
the swelling ranks of African stars
born in Germany, like Jerome
Boateng and David Alaba, who
•Balogun
rather than stick up for their
father’s countries, chose to play
for European nations.
In Balogun’s case, who was
torn between playing for either
Germany or Nigeria, the
choice for the African nation,
was never in doubt as he
craved connection with the
ancestral home of his
father and in
retrospect, it seems
that his decision
has paid off,
following the
qualification
of the Super
Eagles for
n e x t
summer’s
FIFA World
Cup finals in
Russia. It came
following 1-0
victory over
Zambia at the
Godswill Akpabio
International
Stadium, Uyo,
Akwa Ibom, a
week ago.
And speaking in an interview
with Sports Vanguard, Balogun
has said his late paternal
grandmother would be weeping
in heaven, in celebration of his
landmark feat with the Super
Eagles.
‘’I can’t describe how I feel. It
is unbelievable. It’s probably
going to my first and only World
Cup, so I still need time to realise
that I am going to play with the
best players in the world. I need
time to realise what this means.
‘’Before the game against
Zambia, I thought about my
Nigerian grandmother, who I
never got to see, as she has
passed on but was told of the love
she had for me and the other
grand children I thought about
what this World Cup ticket
would have meant to her were
she to be alive and the answer I
got from my mind is that she
would be weeping and overcome
with emotions in the afterlife’’,
added Balogun.
The fair-skinned defender
dedicated the World Cup ticket
to his late grandmother, adding
that, “I also dedicate it to my
father and other family members
who supported me throughout
this journey’’.
Balogun said the qualification
was made sweeter as it was
achieved against a very tough
and good Chipolopolo side.
‘’The victory is sweet because
it was achieved against an
amazing Zambian side, who
gave us a good run for the ticket.
Other teams that we played
against do not have the technical
depth of the Zambians. They
have a complete team inside out.
They kept coming at us from all
sides of the field. It was very
difficult containing them.
‘’Their wingers were very quick
and skilful. They are a unit. They
play for each other. They gave
us a tough time throughout the
game. They are a team for the
future. They would have
qualified if they were in another
group’’, added Balogun.
He said that the Super Eagles
will not be making up the
numbers at the 2018 FIFA World,
noting that “we are going to be
competing for glory against the
best in the world as the World
Cup, not to make up the
numbers. We have shown our
determination in this qualifying
campaign and are sure that it the
world will see the stuff we are
made of in Russia’’.
Borrowing owing a leaf from South Africa’s
Sports Development Str
trat
ategy
Two weeks ago, the
International Association of
Athletics Federations (IAAF)
released a shortlist of nominees
for the World Athlete of the Year
award. The list comprises of 20
names (10 Male, 10 Female) of
some of the best athletes in the
world.
Fourteen countries are
represented in the list of
nominees, and it is instructive to
note that two countries are tied
for the highest number of
nominees – Athletics world power
USA, and South Africa, with both
nations having three nominees
each for the highly coveted IAAF
World Athlete of the Year award.
The South African trio of
Wayde Van Niekerk,
Caster Semenya and
Luvo Manyonga won
Gold in their respective
events at the 2017 World
Championships in
London in August,
propelling their country
to 3rdposition on the
medals table - South
Africa’s best ever ranking
at the biennial
competition, having
finished 13 th two years
ago in Beijing. All three
athletes are currently
ranked No.1 in the world
in their events.
Manyonga and Semenya
were particularly
dominant in the Long
Jump and 800m
respectively, and
remained unbeaten all
through the season. They
also added the IAAF
Diamond League
trophies to their Gold medals
from London. Manyonga even
went on to set a new African Long
Jump Record of 8.65m earlier in
the year.
The amazing aspect of South
Africa’s rise in Athletics is the fact
that these successes have been
replicated across all age levels,
and isn’t limited to the senior
category alone.Despite sending a
‘lean team’ to the 2017 African
Junior Championships in Algeria
in June (Nigeria didn’t send a
team to this competition), South
Africa finished 2nd on the medals
table as almost every athlete in the
squad returned home with a
medal.
At the IAAF World Youth
Championships in Kenya,
the South Africans held
sway once more and
finished at the top of the
medals table (Nigeria
didn’t send a team to this
event as well).
Speaking with the media
recently, Athletics South
Africa (ASA) President
AleckSkhosana identified
the factors responsible for
the country’s ascent in the
sport.
He said: “I think there are
two reasons. First, there is
cohesion in athletics
administration
countrywide. We are all
speaking with one voice
and there is no more
pulling and pushing each
other with negative vibes.
Secondly, South Africa as
a country is very strong in
athletics and in coaching
in particular. As a result of
that, we’ve worked hard to ensure
we’ve got the support of our
coaches at every level and they are
all working to make sure the
athletes shine. I think those are
two things we can pinpoint at this
stage, but it comes down to
cohesion, strong competition,
strong coaching and the strategy
we have implemented by aiming
to be on top of the world.”
Many years ago, Nigeria used to
be regarded as one of the
powerhouses of Athletics on the
continent and even in the world,
especially in the Sprints. We need
no soothsayer to tell us that those
days are far gone, with nothing left
but the ashes of yesteryears.
Instead, countries like South
Africa and Cote d’Ivoire have
since taken the lead and are
making an impact on the global
stage.
It’s become a herculean task
trying to get a Nigerian male
sprinter to run under10 seconds
since Olusoji Fasuba
accomplished his feat of setting
Van Niekerk, Semenya
the African Record of 9.85seconds
in 2008. The reverse is the case
for South Africa whose sprinters
have been breaking the 10 second
barrier with ease. Three South
Africans (Akani Simbine, Wayde
Van Niekerk and Thando Roto)
are among the Top 10 sprinters
who have run the fastest times in
the world in the 100 metres this
year. Van Niekerk and Simbine
are also among the Top 10 best
athletes in the world in the 200m.
For too long now Nigeria has
been putting the cart before the
horse with our obsession with
winning age grade competitions
at all cost, including fielding over
aged athletes, which has resulted
in short-term successes that are
yet to be replicated at senior level.
These quick fixes have done little
or nothing in mitigating the
downward spiral of the sport that
has brought more glory for
Nigeria at the Olympics than any
other sport, including Football.
While we were dominating the
continent at Youth and Junior
levels, South Africa went back to
the drawing board to restrategize.
It meant a few years of
playing second fiddle to the Giant
of Africa but their strategy
eventually paid off and they are
now the cynosure of all eyes and
are already giving powerhouses
USA and Jamaica a run for their
money. They are also building a
reserve that will keep churning out
world beaters for decades to come.
Hear Skhosana:”If you look at
the youth and junior categories,
we have a pool of athletes from
entry level through to senior level,
so if we do not go wrong, it means
that for the next 20 years or more
we will have athletes representing
this country and coming back
with medals from major
international championships. We
want to broaden the base and the
best way to do that is to bring in a
structured schools competition
from primary school to secondary
school. We are busy with that now.
“We need to strengthen the
schools’ competition, working
with school sport as one of our
members and ensuring that every
district and corner of this country
has a structured competition in
order for us to produce the desired
results. Right now we are working
on ensuring that for the next 20 or
30 years we will always have
athletes coming through. Athletes
who are in primary school now
will still be active in 20 years.
Competition for those athletes and
training for those coaches, is very
important to us.”
It’s about time Nigeria begins
the tough but rewarding task of
salvaging the sport if we are to
bounce back into global
reckoning. South Africa is doing
it; so can we.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017 — 45
ROHR:
Apparently basking in the euphoria of the qualification of the Super
Eagles for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, Super Eagles chief coach,
Gernot Rohr has been speaking on a number of issues including
the place he intends to camp his team, the type of preparation he
wants as well as what his wards did differently to qualify ahead of
reigning African champions, Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia. He
also spoke of his interest in Nigerian food and other things. He
spoke to Correspondent Jude Opara in Abuja.
Excerpts
BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja
Congratulations on your
qualification for the
Russia 2018 FIFA
World Cup, what was the secret
of your team.
Ans: There is no secret other
than playing together in
harmony and unity. The
players are having more
confidence and that resulted in
the superlative outing against
Cameroon and Zambia. The
players are having good
feelings and played according
to our instructions. We won our
first game in Zambia, which
really gave us a lot of
confidence. It is always
important to win the first game.
Actually, in the beginning most
people did not believe we could
do it. I had told them of the
need to be loyal and follow the
instructions of the technical
crew and that is what they did.
Since we arrived on August 16,
our aim was to introduce a lot
of young players into the team
and they blended with the older
players as well as the staff.
Who among your players do
you consider the most
valuable?
All my players were
impressive, but I will say that
Victor Moses has a slight edge
because he has a lot of
creativity, quickness,
anticipation and alertness. He
is a very special player and you
always see how it goes when he
is not available. In fact these
players we have now are really
a determined set and that is
why they did what they did and
everybody is happy. But haven
said that, we must continue to
work hard to get better players.
Do you think you have a team
to favourably compete in the
World Cup?
The 23 players we have today
are very good but there could
be injuries which means we
must continue to look for more
quality players in case there is
an injury. The game in Algeria
is very important to us because
it will serve a dual purpose. We
will like to use it to experiment
on some other players we have
not really seen and at the same
time, we want to also win so as
to improve our rating in FIFA
ahead of the draws that will be
coming up in December. The
next game on November 10 is
almost at hand and we will
release the team list in two
weeks. Also we will request to
play one or two international
friendly matches after Algeria
and it is our hope to use these
matches to appraise some other
players who may join the World
Cup team. We intend to have 23
or 26 players to also showcase
what they can do.
The goalkeeping area has
been a source of concern for
your team especially with the
injury of Carl Ikeme, what are
you doing to address it ahead
of the competition?
Yes the goalkeeping area
became a very tasking one for
us because all of a sudden
Vincent Enyeama left, Carl
Ikeme became sick, Daniel
Akpeyi was injured and we
were only left with the option of
relying on the fourth choice
keeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa. In
fact we decided and I must
confess that it was a bright idea
from the president himself to
bring another good
goalkeeper trainer to join
Alloy Agu to train the
keepers and that worked
very perfectly. So we had a
good goalkeeper coach
who is right foot and we
found another good one
who is left a foot, so I think
that the good quality
compliment made it easier
for the team to stand firmly.
So going to the World Cup,
we will continue to work
with what we have and I am
optimistic that with the
performance of Ezenwa
recently, we will not have any
anxious moment in Russia.
So you were impressed with
the performance of Ezenwa?
Very fantastic, he did
exceptionally well. You could
see from what he did against
Cameroon and Zambia that he
has started growing in
confidence. I think he is now
stronger than he was before. We
know that this is a very crucial
position but at the moment, we
are happy with what we have.
Are we likely going to see
Vincent Enyeama in the World
Cup?
Vincent at the moment is
injured but we are having a
good communication with him
and also with the coach of
Vincent before who is also the
technical director of the Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF), so
together with the technical staff,
we are putting heads together
to solve all the problems of the
team, not only that of the
goalkeeper. We must have to
get the players in the right
mood for a competition like the
World Cup because you cannot
play unless you are fit. We also
hope that after this injury, may
be in January that Vincent will
be able to find another club
because we will only have the
best players. There is no other
criterion but to have the best
legs for the country. Also the
players must be ready to work
harmoniously with each other
and with the entire staff and
crew.
Will you give some untested
players opportunity to play in
Algeria?
Now it is possible to use it and
see other players. We have some
players like John Ogu, Wakali,
Ola Aina and many others. If
you do a first game, it will be
easier to see all of them but with
Moses
gives Eagles
creative edge
only one
game, you
can only see
a limited
number of
players. I also
know that we
can take a good
risk of playing
some unseen
players but as I said
earlier, we also want
to get results
because you know
that FIFA rankings
are very important
for the draws.
What are you
doing about your
left full back
because there
are a lot of
concerns
about that
area?
When you take a critical look
at what happens on the pitch,
you will realise that Echiejile is
doing a great job for the team.
You saw him against Zambia
and against Cameroon who are
reigning African champions,
don’t forget that everybody did
a great job in the first game and
you saw him. But I think
everybody is asking a lot of
question about his position
because he appears to be
injured but if he is fit, and
playing in his club, he has this
disposition of doing a great job
all the time. Yes, we have these
younger players and they too
are doing well, so it is entirely a
good thing when you have
viable options.
Since we have already
qualified, will you rest some
players like captain Mikel Obi
and striker Odion Ighalo?
I will say it is also important
for us to finish the qualifiers
without losing a match. It will
be great for us to play the six
matches without losing one
game. Yes we will want to
marry the two situations of
not losing the game and also
giving an opportunity to
some other new players to
showcase their skills. Also
remember that before then,
some players might be fit
while others may not, also
those coming from China
have a long journey to
make and when their
league resumes, they will
not have the extra two
weeks like they had when
we played Cameroon. So
the week will be long for them
and they will not have a enough
time to recover. That means we
will not want to risk them having
injuries and so
it is
possible
that for
t h e
China
based players, it will
be difficult to start the game.
What will be your target at
the World Cup?
My first goal now is to have a
united voice not only around
the team but also around us.
When I say united team, I mean
everybody around the
federation should be thinking
in the same direction. If you
want to do something and get
good result, you must prepare
well for that. We want the same
solidarity as we have in the team
because the team and the staff
have a united solidarity and we
wish to have the same around
because this is the first major
outing we are going to make.
The foundation of how we will
fare at the World Cup is here. It
will be good if we don’t have
any money problems about the
bonuses and the usually
African problems as we have
severally seen in each World
Cup. I think we don’t really
need those distractions, we
should rather have a conducive
environment to prepare for the
matches. On our part as the
technical crew, we have
resolved to give our best. But we
want to clear from the president
that all will be agreed before
starting the championship.
I will still want to know your
personal target going to the
championship
Talking about target, I know
Nigeria has gone up to the
second round, but first we wish
to be in a group that will not be
so difficult (laughter). The
second target will be to be tops
of the group. Then being in the
round of 16 will be a wonderful
thing but first we must have to
see what the draws will look like
on December 1. We have to be
a united family and not people
who only want to come in for
money. I think we have a good
staff and good people, if we
need somebody more, I should
have them like a psychologist,
a second physiotherapist for the
physical preparation during
the camping for the World Cup.
Where will you like to camp
your team before going to
Russia?
For me it is sure that we have
to start the first camping in
Abuja. The first camping must
be in the country, then we must
spend the first money to the
people of Nigeria in this
country. It is important that we
show respect to the government
and people of the country that
are sponsoring us, so we have
to start in Abuja. I have already
spoken to the president that we
should start here before going
to other places and also to play
a friendly game here before
going to play elsewhere. We will
also select and present the 23
players to Nigerians here and
to say good bye to them as a
team before going to Russia.
Are you thinking of playing
some friendly matches as you
prepare for the tournament?
We want to play Tunisia after
Algeria because they are at the
same zone. They also need
about one point to qualify. We
can play in Sousse and they
have good pitches there.
Morocco will not be possible
because they will be playing in
Senegal at that time.
Now let me go a bit personal,
you have been in Nigeria for
over one year. What do you say
you enjoy about the people
including their food and may
be girls, are you hooked by
anyone?
Well I will sincerely say that I
enjoy working in Nigeria. I like
the enthusiasm of the people
and their industry. They are a
loving and friendly people. As
for the food, I like some of their
soup like the egusi and
edikaikong but it must not be
too spicy. As for the other one
you talked about (general
laughter), I don’t discuss it in
the media.

46 — SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
Iwobi:
Henry still
•Salah
advises me
•Lukaku
Liverpool, Man Utd set EPL alight
When Manchester United paid 75
million pounds to sign Belgian
striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton in
July, few doubted the club were
recruiting a player with the ability to
score goals in the Premier League.
With 85 Premier League goals for West
Bromwich Albion and Everton, including
25 in the previous season at Goodison
Park, Lukaku’s record spoke for itself.
Already only the fourth player to score
more than 80 goals in the Premier
League before turning 24 — following
Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and
Wayne Rooney — Lukaku looked a good
bet to continue to find the net at an
impressive rate.
Yet there was one aspect of his scoring
record that raised an element of doubt
about whether the target man could lead
United back to the pinnacle of English
football - his record against the top clubs.
Today, with United facing their
biggest test of the season so far, at
Anfield against Liverpool, Lukaku has
the perfect chance to prove a point.
On the Anfield end, Egyptian forward,
Mohamed Salah will be leading
Liverpool\’s charge for goals.
The doubters, however, have plenty
of evidence to support their case.
Last season, 21 of his 25 goals for
Everton came against teams in the
Federer eyes magical run at
Australian Open
Celebrating the presentation of
the 2018 Australian Open that
will be played from 15th to 28th
January, Roger Federer recalled
his 2017 win over Rafael Nadal
in an unbelievable five-setter. It was
Federer’s first official tournament
since the six-month break, and he
had not expected such a fairytale
return.
‘I didn’t see it coming this way, I
thought maybe that if the stars
aligned, that I would make quarters
or semis and maybe beat one or two
top-10 players. That’s what I
thought I had in me,’ the Swiss
admitted. ‘I was hoping that maybe
down the stretch in the season,
bottom 13 places in the league.
That record is part of a trend across his
time in England where in 57 games against
the so-called “big six” in the Premier League,
he has managed just 15 goals and finished
on the winning side just nine times.
Statistics, however, can be misleading.
Lukaku was relying on his Everton team
mates to create chances, something they
have not always been able to do well against
top clubs.
This season he has found the target seven
times in seven Premier League games and
he has scored in 12 of 13 matches for club
and country.
It has been exactly the form that United
manager Jose Mourinho would have
hoped for and after last season, where
United had a league-high 15 draws,
Lukaku has helped deliver six early wins.
But those goals have come against midto-lower
table teams and now the United
faithful will be anxious to see if he can
produce the goods against the elite.
“He’ll be defined by his performances in
big matches,” says former United skipper
and now Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
“Lukaku has settled in brilliantly and done
everything he was asked to do in terms of
converting those home draws into wins. But
games like this one are the real test.”
starting Wimbledon or US Open,
that’s when I was gonna be 100%.
But before that I just knew I needed
time. So winning the Australian Open
was a surprise.’ He still celebrates
this success: ‘When I am home
sometimes and I drink champagne
with my family or friends, we are like
“this is for Australian Open”.
We’re still joking about it, because
that’s a crazy moment in my life. We
couldn’t believe. Being down 1-3 with
Rafa, it was disbelief. It was like
surreal.’ And he will play next year
as well, hoping to win his 20th Grand
Slam title: ‘I hope it’s gonna be just
another dream magical run in
Melbourne and just enjoy the
atmosphere and play for the people.’
Alex Iwobi has revealed that Arsenal legend Thierry Henrystill advises
him on his game today.
Henry, now an assistant to Roberto Martinez in the Belgium setup alongside
his media work, worked in the Arsenal academy for a time, before leaving last
summer. Iwobi made his senior Gunners debut three years after the Frenchman
made his final appearance during a 2012 loan spell. When asked who his ‘all
time’ favourite Arsenal player was, there was no hesitation from the Nigerian
international – who also revealed that he still receives advice from his icon.
“Thierry Henry, defo,” Iwobi told FourFourTwo.
“The goals he got, the player he was – and he is still advising me today.” Iwobi
is one of a number of promising young players to have graduated from the
academy within which Henry worked at Arsenal, and he has tipped close friend
Chuba Akpom to soon follow the likes of Riess Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-
Niles into the first team.
“I don’t know who to expect because you never know at this time who will
come through,” he added.
“But I would say Chuba Akpom.”
•Federer
•Kante
Kante out for
three weeks
Chelsea say midfielder N’Golo Kante
will be missing for another three
weeks after picking up a hamstring injury
on international duty. The 26-year-old
limped out of France’s 1-0 win against
Bulgaria last weekend and will be out of action
until next month.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says the
midfielder will need a scan. Fellow midfielder
Danny Drinkwater is “progressing well” from
his calf injury but is not ready to make his debut.
There was a boost for Conte with the news
that striker Alvaro Morata should be fit to face
Roma on Wednesday.
The former Real Madrid forward pulled his
hamstring in the 1-0 defeat by Manchester
City before the international break.
“He is a big loss for us because we know very
well the importance of Kante to our team,” said
Conte. “We don’t have another player with his
characteristics.
“We may have to adapt some defenders
into midfielders.”
Milan rule out swoop for Conte
AC Milan claim they are not
looking to convince Chelsea coach Antonio
Conte to take charge next
season.
The Serie A club have been
heavily linked with a move
for Conte throughout this
year, especially since they
were taken over by Sino-Europe Sports in April. AC Milan
spent over £150m on 11 signings this summer but currently
sit in seventh place in Serie A. Current manager Vincenzo
Montella is under increasing pressure for his position and
AC Milan were thought to be planning to try and lure
Conte away from Chelsea. But AC Milan director of
football Massimiliano Mirabelli said: “We already have a
manager and we are not thinking of Conte nor about other
managers.”
•C

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017—47
• Iwobi
• Zidane
• Kane
Zidane:
I don’t think
I can coach Barca
As Zinedine Zidane prepares to set up
his side without the crocked Gareth Bale,
he said he has a white heart towards
coaching Barcelona.
Asked if he ever regretted not coaching
Barcelona or any other side, Zidane’s
response was unequivocal.
“I have a white heart,” he said.
“I’m here now, I only think about what
I’m doing now, and playing was the
same.”
Atletico Madrid take on Barcelona in the
game of the weekend, but
the Frenchman isn’t
interested in the goings on
elsewhere.
“I want to win our
game,” he explained.
“I don’t want any result
in particular, I just want
to win.”
Kane wins EPL player of the month award
Tottenham striker Harry Kane has won the Premier League player of the month award for a stunning September.
Having once again drawn a blank in August, Kane hit an outstanding run of form bagging 13 goals for club and
country in September, six of which came in the Premier League.
After opening his account for the season while on international duty, Kane returned to Premier League action
with a brace in a 3-0 win at Everton - scoring his first Spurs goal of the season from a cross.
Kane joins Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie as the only players to have won the honour five times, while
Steven Gerrard is ahead on six.
Bayern battle Freiburg, Dortmund
face RB Leipzig
StarTimes is set to thrill subscribers with live scintillating German Bundesliga league
actions this weekend from the various match venues for the viewing pleasure of its
subscribers. Today, champions Bayern Munich, who are second on the table with 14
points from seven games will be home to 15 th placed SC Freiburg at the 75,000
capacity Allianz Arena, while league leaders, Borussia Dortmund will confront RB
Leipzig at the Signal Iduma Park.
Other matches slated for today include third placed
Hoffenheim welcoming FC Augsburg, Hertha Berlim
tackling Schalke 04, while Hamburg face Leon Balogun’s
Mainz.
Commenting on the Bundesliga games, Brands and Marketing
Director, StarTimes, Mr. Qasim Elegbede, said the live telecast of these matches
reflect the firm’s commitment to provide the best sporting action to its subscribers at a
very affordable rates.
“We hold our customers in high regard and will strive to bring quality sporting and
entertaining programs to their television screens. These lives matches which we plan
to show this weekend are just a tip of the vision that we have in the transmission of live
football games from the best”, Elegbede said.
StarTimes is the leading digital-TV operator in Africa, covering the entire continent’s
population with a massive distribution network of 200 branded halls, 3,000 convenience
stores and 5,000 distributors.
The 2018 World Cup will mark the end of Javier Mascherano’s
international career, but the 33-year-old could be set to leave
Barcelona next summer as well.
With Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti forming a solid central
defensive partnership, minutes are becoming scarce for the
midfielder-turned-centre-back and he will study his options.
“I still have a contract with the club, but it’s clear that maybe
once the season finishes I’ll I look at what to do,” he said in an
interview with TyC Sports.
“But I’ve not yet spoken with anyone. Barcelona have always
shown that they are happy with me. There will be a time to
think. It’s more than obvious that I play less frequently at my
club because I have two other centre-backs there who are better.
I try to fight for my place and, above all, to be ready for when
I’m called upon.”
Curtain falls on Governor’s Cup Futures 4
An eight - man team from the Embassy of the
State of Israel in Nigeria yesterday were at the
Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan to cheer their ward,
Deniz Khazaniuk to record an upset over her betterrated
opponent, Ayla Aksu of Turkey in the semi final
of the first leg women’s singles of the ongoing
Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship.
The frenetic Israelis were in joyous mood as their
representative, number 4th seed at the 17th Governor’s
Cup Lagos Tennis shrugged off an initial lethargy to
overcome number 2 rated Turkish Aksu at the Centre
Court yesterday afternoon.
Mascherano considers leaving Barca in 2018
Showering plaudits with the Israeli flag hovering
over their heads, the eight-man group of four men
and women hugged and kissed their compatriot as
she sealed the final ticket victory, recording a 3-6,7-
5,6-3 win to play in the final of women’s singles on
Saturday against top seed, Swiss star, Conny Perrin
who beat Mexican Anja Sofia Sanchez in straight set
of 6-4,6-1.
“Today’s final will just be fun, “ said Israeli
Khazaniuk. “I know Perrin very well. We had played
together in the past, we will just play our game and
have fun, “ she said after her semi final match.
• Arena
USA coach resigns
after World Cup
failure
United States coach
Bruce Arena has left
his role after the side failed
to reach the World Cup
finals for the first time
since 1986.
The US will not compete
in next year’s finals in
Russia after a 2-1 defeat
in Trinidad and Tobago
on Tuesday.
Former US defender Alexi
Lalas said the failure was
a “sad and dark moment”.
“We didn’t get the job done, and I
accept responsibility,” said 66-yearold
Arena, who took charge for the
second time last
November.
onte •Sanchez
Sanchez is the Beckham of Chile —Wenger
Arsene Wenger believes Alexis Sanchez is as
revered in Chile as David Beckham once
was in England and insists the Arsenalstriker will
bounce back from his World Cup heartbreak.
Sanchez will miss out on the game’s greatest
tournament next summer after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil
left Chile sixth in South America’s qualifying group.
Wenger likened the pressure on his star player to
the hype that used to surround Beckham, who
became England’s villain for his red card at the
1998 World Cup before going on to lead the national
team as captain.
“In Chile it’s Sanchez. In Argentina of course it’s
(Lionel) Messi. It looks like that there is somebody
there in a national team who has to carry the pressure
and absorb it and protect a little the rest of the team.’’.
Messi set for Atletico battle
Lionel Messi will be keen to see Barcelona seal their eighth
successive league win of the campaign and maintain their
100 per cent record at La Liga’s summit when they travel to
face Atletico Madrid today.
The clash will be the first to take place between these two
sides at Atleti’s new venue, the Wanda Metropolitano stadium,
and the hosts can climb to within three points of the Blaugrana
with a Week 8 win.
Barca were 2-1 winners the last time they travelled to
Spain’s capital to face Atletico in February, and new manager
Ernesto Valverde will be eager to set a precedent as he goes
up against the Madrid giants for the first time as Blaugrana
boss.
The international break and the end of 2018 World Cup
qualification’s group stage took attention off La Liga for a
time, but some of the globe’s greatest stars return to Spain’s
top flight in time for today’s encounter.
• Lionel

C
M
Y
K
SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 14, 2017
TODAY’S FIXTURES
ACROSS
1)Group Managing Director, Zenith
Bank Plc, Mr. Peter— (7)
5)Cross-River State Commissioner for
Justice, Mr. Joseph – (5)
8)South Korean Currency (3)
9)L.G.A in Kano State (5)
10)Burkina Faso “Stallions” Midfielder,
Abdul – (5)
11)Former Egyptian President, Mr.
Mohammed – (5)
12)Country in Asia (5)
15)L.G.A in Borno State (5)
17)President, World Bank Group, Mr. Jim
Yong –(3)
19)Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar – (6)
20)Anambra State Governor, Mr. William
– (6)
22)Apprehend (3)
24)Managing Director, Nigerian Ports
Authority (NPA), Mrs. Hadiz – (5)
27)Chairman, Senate Committee on
Navy, Senator Isa – (5)
30)Nigerian Currency (5)
31)Speaker Lagos State House of
Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru – (5)
32)Yoruba God of Thunder (5)
33)Container (3)
34)Ebonyi State Governor, Dave – (5)
CROSS WORD PUZZLE
DOWN
1)Ethnic Group in Nigeria (5)
2)Iceland Currency (5)
3)Greek Alphabet (5)
4)Imo State Capital (6)
5)Former Senate President, Mr. Pius –
(5)
6)Town in Delta State (5)
7Group Managing Director, Flour Mills
of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Paul – (7)
13)Japanese Currency (3)
14)Lagos State Capital (5)
16)Sunshine Stars Striker, Sikiru – (5)
17)Former Japanese Prime Minister,
Mr. Naoto – (3)
18)Crowd (3)
19)Vice President, National Association
of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade
Olamide – (7)
21)Former Director of Currency
Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), Mr. Muhammad – (3)
23)L.G.A in Kebbi State (6)
25)Former Tanzanian President, Mr.
Benjamin – (5)
26)Chairman, Senate Committee on
Communications, Sen. Gilbert – (5)
27)Ethnic Group in Kenya (5)
28)Former Kwara United coach, Tunde
– (5)
SOLUTION ON PAGE 43
EPL
Saturday 14 October
Liverpool v Man United 12:30pm
Burnley v West Ham 3pm
Man. City v Stoke 3pm
Cry/Palace v Chelsea 3pm
Tottenham v Bournemouth 3pm
Swansea v Huddersfield 3pm
Watford v Arsenal 5:30pm
LA LIGA
Ath. Bilbao v Sevilla 12pm
Getafe v Real Madrid 3:15pm
Alavés v Sociedad 5pm
Atl/ Madrid v Barcelona 7:45pm
BUNDESLIGA
Mainz v Hamburg 2:30pm
Hertha v Schalke 2:30pm
Hannover v Eintracht 2:30pm
Hoffenheim v Augsburg 2:30pm
Bayern v Freiburg 2:30pm
Dortmund v RB Leipzig 5:30pm
SERIE A
Juventus v Lazio 5pm
Roma v Napoli 7:45pm
LIGUE 1
Dijon v PSG 4pm
Guingamp v Rennes 7pm
Toulouse v Amiens SC 7pm
St-Étienne v Metz 7pm
LOSC v Troyes 7pm
Caen v Angers 7pm
FIFA U-17 World Cup
France v Honduras 12:30pm
Japan v New Caledonia 12:30pm
Mexico v Chile 3:30pm
England v Iraq 3:30pm
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