14012018 - BENUE MASSACRE : Gov Ortom slams Buhari, Osinbajo, NSA, IGP

C
M
Y
K

PAGE 2—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215
onikoyi68@gmail.com
From left: Sola Orikiade;Prof Egerton Ovieghara;Chief Jonathan Ogufere
and Mr Sam Amuka,Chairman of the Club/Chairman of Vanguard
Newspapers.
From left: Senator Ben Murray Bruce,Engr Ben
Atseyinku and Mr G.T.S Adokpaye.
At Sapele Boma
Boys Club party
Sapele Boma Boys Club (SBBC) held its
annual party at Nikon Estate
Playground, Lekki.
It was a jolly good time for all as they
caught up on old times while delighting
themselves with good foods and drinks
Photos by Akeem Salau
From left: Prof Egerton Ovieghara,Vice Chairman of the club;Engr Ben
Atseyinku; Senator Ben Murray Bruce and Dr Patrick Dele Cole.
From left:Victor Omaghomi;Segun Laoye;Peter
Arigbe;Sonny Aminaghan and Sonny Ekunkunbor
From left: Mr Kelly
Arawore; Chief Mrs
Patricia Arawore and
Mrs
Remmy
Diagbare,Editor Allure
Vanguard.
From left: Chief Benjamen Oseragbaje Apollo, Mrs Joyce Eza,
Lydia Arigbe, Prof Egerton Ovieghara and Ms. Esi Sagay.
From left: Mrs Rita Sankey-Omatseye, Patience
Idhike, Nina Okorodudu and Olorogun Ima
Idhike.
From left: Mrs Florence Oyowe, Dr Omawumi
Urhobo and Mrs Rose Danmole.
From Left: Mrs Uwala Murphy-Akpieyi, Dr
Omawumi Urhobo and Mrs Florence Oyowe.
From left: Sola Okikiade, Chief Jonathan Ogufere
and Engr Kolawole Omasan Koiki.
Mrs Ufuoma Efekodo (left) and Madam Yeye
Rewane.
Mrs Tobi Odunaiya (left) and Chief Mrs Cecilia Ibru.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 3
Ogbemudia’s daughter weds in style
It was a parade of
who’s who in the
society when the
daughter of the late Dr
Samuel Ogbemudia,
Nosakhare Oluwaseun,
tied the knot with the
son of Mr Ekan Oduwa
Egonmwan.
The wedding,held in
Lagos, had personalities
including the First Lady
of Edo State, Mrs Betsy
Obaseki, Senator Daisy
Danjuma, Comrade
Philip Shaibu and many
others in attendance.
C & S National
Convention 2017
THE Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and
Seraphim [INC] held its 2017 National
Convention and Awards at Cherubim and
Seraphim Church, 11 Cecilia Odutuga
Street, Ilasamaja, Lagos.
From left: Mrs Angela Jones, Comrade Philip Shaibu, Senator Daisy Danjuma,
Mrs Betsy Obaseki, the new couple and Mr Donald Ogbemudia.
The new couple with Mrs Betsy Obaseki.
The new couple.
L-R: Elder Prophet M.O . Lebile, Sec Gen
and Ag. President anointing Elder Prophet
M.A . Bako
Mrs Yetunde Ogbemudia (mother of the bride)
(left) and Rev (Mrs) Dele George.
Divine Ewulomi Church
thanksgiving
DIVINE Ewulomi Evangelical Church of Christ, C and
S, Mende Estate, Lagos held its 2018 thanksgiving
service at the church premises.
Mother-in-Isreal Tobiloba Akpata (m) with Rt Rev Dr
Oludemilade Akpata , General Overseer and members of
his family
The groom's sisters: Ivie and Amenze
From left: Funmilola Aremu, Arikejesu Aremu, Rt.
Rev. Dr Oludemilade Akpata, G.O. ,Olumide Orojimi,
Memura Orojimi , Olumide Guiphelle and Aremu
Idowu
From left: Mr
Nnanke Harry
W i l l i e ,
Pubblisher of
Brandpower
(left) with Rt. Rev.
Dr. Oludemilade
Akpata, General
Overseer.
L-R:Prophet R.B. Ajayi, Chairman, 2017
Convention; Prophet Babatunde Aina; Elder
Prophet M.A Bako; Elder Prophet M.O.
Lebile; Ag. President; Prophet M.A. Lajila
and Snr. Apt. Anthony
Otubue’s conferment
A renown broadcaster, Olorogun Frank Otubue, was
recently conferred with the title of ' the Urhirin R
Oghene' of Ughievwen Kingdom .
Olorogun Frank Otubue(left), with HRM Owhawha
II.

PAGE 4— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
HERDSMEN ATTACKS
How to avert crisis in Yoruba
land — S'West leaders
•FG calls for responsible reporting
By Dapo Akinrefon
FOLLOWING
the
massacre carried out
by Fulani herdsmen in Benue
State, which claimed
73 lives, leaders from the
South West geo political
zone, including but not limited
to Chiefs Ayo Adebanjo,
Ebenezer Babatope and
Supo Shonibare; Yinka
Odumakin and Wale
Oshun, have been expressing
their views on how
to avoid such a carnage in
the zone.
The pan Yoruba socio-political
organisation,
Afenifere, said the zone will
not be vulnerable to herdsmen
attacks, just as leader
of the Afenifere Renewal
Group, Mr Wale Oshun,
said it is the obligation of
the governors to protect the
lives and property in the
zone.
On his part, a former
Minister of Transport, Chief
Ebenezer Babatope, called
on leaders of the zone to
urgently come up with a
plan to prevent the Benue
episode from taking place
in the South West.
They were all speaking
on a day that Gani Adams,
leader of the Oodua Peoples
Congress, OPC, was
installed as the 15th Aare
Onakakanfo - generalisimo
and war leader - of
Yoruba land.
Meanwhile, the Federal
Government is s appealing
to the media and public
commentators to exercise
utmost restraint in their coverage
of the fallouts of the
farmers/herders' clash in
Benue State in order not to
further inflame passion and
worsen the situation.
The plea was contained
in a statement issued in
Abuja on Saturday, the
Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
said while the
Federal Government is
working hard to address
the situation with a view to
preventing a recurrence,
not just in Benue State but
anywhere across the country,
it is incumbent on the
media and public commentators
not to engage in actions
that can aggravate the
crisis.
We'll not be vulnerable —
Afenifere
Speaking with Sunday
Vanguard, Afenifere's National
Publicity Secretary,
Mr Yinka Odumakin, said
steps are underway to ensure
the region is not taken
by surprise by the enemy.
Odumakin, who said the
region will not be vulnerable
to any enemy attack,
noted that "the first thing is
to condemn what happened
in Benue and hold
the authorities to ensure
that it does not happen
again. Once the Fulani
herdsmen are done with
the MiddleBelt, your guess
is as good as mine where
they will be going to next.
But we believe that erect-
ing a wall against these killers
and ensuring that they
are not able to perpetuate
this evil again, is the first
line of defense. For the defense
of Yoruba land itself,
by God's grace, Yoruba will
not be vulnerable to any
enemy attack.”
We're waiting for our
leaders’ plan — Babatope
In his remarks, former
Minister for Transport,
Chief Ebenezer Babatope,
said he would wait for the
leaders to come up with a
plan.
Babatope said: "The Yourba
people are yet to react
but eventually, the Yoruba
people will react. We will
wait for the leaders to put a
meeting together and then
we react."
Govs owe us that obligation
— Wale Oshun
Leader of the Afenifere
Renewal Group, ARG, Mr
Wale Oshun, said the
South West governors
should map out a plan to
prevent the Benue episode
from occuring in the region.
Oshun said: “You know
we have elected leaders
who are in charge of security.
They are the ones who
have absolute responsibility
to protect their citizens
from any kind of assault and
herdsmen assault is a major
one that should give
them concern. So, they owe
us that obligation to ensure
that our land space is not
overtaken by intruders, particularly
when the claim is
being made that the Fulani
intruders are not Nigerians
but from other countries.
Restructuring is the answer
— Adebanjo
Afenifere leader, Chief
Ayo Adebanjo reiterated the
need for restructuring of the
country, noting that nothing
can be done.
Adebanjo, an advocate of
restructuring, said: “ e are
not waiting, that is what we
went to Enugu for; we have
been talking about it. We
went to Enugu, we condemned
it, what more can
we say? We are pointing to
the fact that all these are
happening because there
is no restructuring; if the
local police had been there,
they would have been able
to protect their people. We
have a governor who has
no power to execute his
right. We cannot do anything
except we have constitutional
powers, we cannot
move against a moving
train. We can only continue
to talk."
We only have have moral
and advisory functions
— Shonibare
Another Yoruba leader,
Chief Supo Shonibare
opined that they only have
moral and advisory functions
but the governors can
proffer solutions to the
problems.
Shonibare said: "Yoruba
leaders only have moral
and advisory functions, it’s
those exercising legislative
and executive powers who
will be able to enact laws to
reduce the impact of the
marauding herdsmen who
appear to now have militias
in their ranks. They are
the ones we expect to proffer
solutions. Our governors
and the state assemblies
have powers to legislate on
land matters. These powers
must be used to monitor
and ensure that ranching
and animal husbandry
is encouraged within the
South West Region."
On the way forward, he
said “ ltimately, devolution
of power and home rule
will enable the various constituent
parts of the country,
be it regional/zonal,
State and local government
Gov Ortom slams Buhari, Osinbajo,
NSA, IGP •They ignored warnings of attacks, he insists
By Henry Umoru
GOVERNOR Sam
uel Ortom of Be
nue State, yesterday,
told senators that prior
to the crisis that engulfed
the state, which led to the
killings by Fulani Herdsmen,
President Muhammadu
Buhari, Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo, the
National Security Adviser,
Babagana Monguno, and
Inspector General of Police,
Ibrahim Idris, all ignored
several warnings of the
planned attack on Logo
and Guma communities in
the state.
73 persons were left
dead in the attack.
Making the shocking
revelations yesterday, during
a meeting with the
Senate Adhoc Committee
on Security Infrastructure,
led by the Senate Majority
Leader, Senator Ahmad
Lawan, Governor Ortom
also blamed security agencies
for the continued killing
of inhabitants of the
state by Fulani herdsmen
since 2008.
The governor, while lamenting
the brutal killing
of his people, told the senators
that when he got the
information of the planned
siege by Fulani herdsmen
on targeted communities in
Benue State, said he immediately
wrote a letter to
the Vice President, Yemi
Osinbajo, who was acting
on behalf of President Buhari,
who was away for
medical treatment in London.
He told the senators that
all attempts to get the Vice
President's attention
through the letter fell on
deaf ears, as he got no reply
whatsoever from him,
just as he said that
President Buhari, upon returning
to the country, was
also written to, severally,
but no reply was also received
from the President
on the matter.
Minister of Power,Works & Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, (2nd right), Emir of
Keffi, Dr Shehu Chindo Yamusa III (middle), the Head,Transmission Service Provider
of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN),Engr. Victor Adewumi (3rd
left) among others during the commissioning of the 1x60 MVA, 132/33KV Power
Transformer built by the TCN as part of its Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion
Strategy under the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) at the Keffi
Transmission Substation Keffi, Nasarawa State.
structures have autonomy
in the operational and enforcement
processes of
State laws.
FG calls for responsible
reporting
The statement, signed by
Segun Adeyemi, SA to the
minister, explained that
‘'lest we are misunderstood,
we are neither saying
the media should not
•Lampoons Gov Lalong
According to him, additional
efforts were made by
the Benue State Government
to draw the attention
of the National Security
Adviser, Babagana Monguno,
to the threat which
was contained in a separate
letter addressed to him,
but still got no communication
from him.
In the words of Governor
Ortom: "We wrote to the
Vice President on the
planned attack on parts of
Benue by Fulani herdsmen,
because the word was
everywhere on the street,
but he refused to reply.
"And when there was no
response, and when Mr.
President came back, I personally
went and intimated
him, and also wrote.
The documents are here, I
will hand them over to you.
I wrote to him on the
planned attack by Fulani
herdsmen because this
threats were on the streets.
"I intimated Mr. President
and it was put into
writing. On the same October
7, 2017, I wrote to the
Inspector General of Police.
I told him of a planned attack
on our people when
there was no response. October
27, 2017, I reminded
him that these people are
planning to attack us, we
are law abiding, we have
disarmed our youths, and
we are looking unto security
agencies. And the way
to do it is to arrest those people
who were inciting the
herdsmen to combat us,
and we knew they were
going to come.
"These people were all
over the place; on television,
in papers, doing various
press conferences, and
they eventually took us to
court. But we felt that it is a
crime for anyone to incite
people against us with the
purpose of killing or causing
harm, destruction. So
we expected them (security
agencies) to act, but
there was no action."
"Of course I wrote to the
Senate President for information,
and the Speaker. I
also wrote on 7th of October,
when I was writing to
the Acting President and
Inspector General of Police,
to the National Security
Adviser on this planned
attack against Benue people.
I also wrote to the Director
General of the Department
of State Service
(DSS). And when there
was no action, I followed it
up with a reminder on 27th
of October, 2017. So, that
was it, and I also on the 17th
of October, I wrote to the
President, I copied the National
Security Adviser.
There was no response. Of
course, the National Security
Adviser invited us for a
meeting two times but it
was put off."
"This is very sad. Those
people who are responsible
for these killings, I
know. I accuse them and I
have evidence against
them. They are on newspaper
publications, they
are on video, they are on
audio, and they are
known."
"If I had wanted to buy
guns, I wouldn't wait. But
if I bought guns and gave
to those people, would my
people have been killed in
the manner they were
killed? I disarmed the people.
I've not bought a single
gun, I'm a Christian. If
I bought, I would say yes.
On allegations by Plateau
Governor, Solomon
Lalong, that he was
warned against introducing
the anti-grazing law in
Benue, the Benue governor
said: "How can you
warn me? Am I the governor
of Plateau State, Or am
I his staff? Do I work for
him? I'm Governor of Benue
State, and my responsibility
is to do what my
people want. That is what
democracy is.
cover the crisis nor asking
public commentators to desist
from commenting on it.
All we are saying is that
both must be circumspect.
''The current poisoned atmosphere
of incendiary
comments, unrestrained
use of pictures and footages
that offend human sensibilities
and fingerpointing
can only exacerbate the situation
and complicate ongoing
efforts to end the crisis,''
he said.
He said the Federal Government
has also mapped
out short and long-term solutions
to the incessant
clashes between farmers and
herders, including a planned
conference of stakeholders,
and assured of the government's
determination to find
a lasting solution to the farmers/herders'
clashes.
"So when you and castigate
people about because
you were induced by someone,
and you come out to
make those kind of statements,
then it's unfortunate.
"Remember, this is the
same man, a double standard
person, who told me
when I visited Jos three
weeks ago, he told me that
he is under pressure by his
people to do the same law
that I did in Benue State.
He told me this, he never
warned me anywhere. He's
just trying to use that to
blackmail me, what crime
have I committed."
Ortom continued: "Is this
how we want to continue
as a country? Where some
people are given privilege
to be lawless?"
Earlier, Chairman of the
Senate Committee on Security
Infrastructure, Senator
Lawan, who noted that
the intent behind the constitution
of the panel was
to ensure a review of security
infrastructure in the
country, said that the leadership
of the upper chamber
felt "this was necessary
due to the current rise of
insecurity in Nigeria", adding
that "the way our security
apparatus is arranged,
citizens are not properly
and effectively protected."
Blaming the spate of killings
around the country on
security agencies, Senator
Lawan said, "I think something
is amiss. It is either
they have deficiencies or
they are not cooperating
between themselves.
Members of the Senate
Adhoc Committee on Security
Infrastructure who visited
Benue state to investigate
the recent killings include:
Senators Abu Ibrahim,
Sam Egwu, Abba
Kyari, Barnabas Gemade,
Biodun Olujimi, Joshua
Lidani, Emmanuel Paulker
and Yahaya Abubakar.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 5
Aare Onakakanfo, Gani Adams,
vows: I will protect Yorubaland
•New Generalissimo installed by the Alaafin
in colourful ceremony in Oyo
By Dayo Johnson, Dapo
Akinrefon & Adeola
Badru
AARE Onakakanfo,
Gani Adams, has
promised to use his office
to bring about unity in
Yorubaland and build
bridges across Nigeria.
He also vowed to protect
the territories in
South-West against external
aggression.
This came as the ancient
town of Oyo stood
still for the better part of
yesterday as the 15th
Generalissimo of Yorubaland
was installed by the
paramount ruler of Oyo,
the Alaafin, Oba Lamidi
Olayiwola Adeyemi.
The installation of Adams
came 20 years after
the death of Chief MKO
Abiola, the last holder of
the title.
The event attracted dignitaries,
who thronged the
Durbar Stadium, Oyo, the
venue of the programme.
Traditional rulers, arrayed
in their royal regalia,
and traditional drummers
added colour to the
occasion
The installation of the
Aare was preceded by his
retreat from Wednesday
during which traditional
rites including 201 incisions
were said to have
been performed on him
ahead of the installation.
Eminent Yoruba people
as well as the common
people began to troop to
the ancient town for the
occasion as early as 8am
yesterday.
Security operatives had
a hectic time controlling
the crowd who came from
across the six Yoruba
states and beyond to witness
the colourful ceremony.
Meanwhile,
petty
thieves caught stealing
telephones, jewelries and
cash were beaten mercilessly
by security operatives
before they were
whisked away.
Arrival of Alaafin and
Adams
The Alaafin and Adams
arrived the venue of the
ceremony in a cart driven
by horses and were received
by some traditional
rulers from the South-
West, former governors,
captains of industry, notable
personalities and
guests from across the
country.
The lateness of Governor
Ajimobi delayed the
ceremony for hours.
Members of the Oodua
Peoples Congress (OPC)
from across the country
came in their thousands in
branded outfit.
Spiritual rites
Before installing Adams,
the Alaafin of Oyo,
who performed the spiritual
rites for the installation
of the Aare Onakakanfo,
directed the OPC
leader to open 15 calabashes,
which represented
the previous holders of
the title.
Performing the last rites
at Iyewoo on the stadium
grounds, Adams prayed
for the unity and progress
of Yoruba and prayed that
his reign will bring out
good things.
He prayed for Yoruba
unity
In his remarks, Oba
Adeyemi dismissed the
mythabout the Aare
Onakakanfo of having a
short life span.
‘“We wanted someone
who could bring about
unity in Yorubaland. Gani
Adams is now the Aare
Onakakanfo of Yorubaland”,
he said.
Goodwill messages
South West governors,
in their good will messages,
took turn to commend
the Alaafin and charged
the new Aare Onakakanfo
to unite the region.
Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode, who was represented
by the Commissioner
of Information, Mr
Kehinde Bamigbetan,
said he appreciated the
contributions of Adams
and wished him success
and courage in his new
assignment.
Speaking through the
Speaker of Ogun State
House of Assembly, Mr
Suraj Adekanmbi, Governor
Ibikunle Amosun said
Adams deserved the title.
Secretary to Osun State
Government, Mr Moshood
Adeoti, who represented
Governor Rauf Aregbesola,
said: “The person
chosen for the title is
worthy of it. We all saw his
efforts to ensure Yoruba
land does not lag behind.
We wish him well in his
new assignment.”
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
of Ondo State,
who spoke through his
deputy, Mr Agboola
Ajayi, commended the
Alaafin for deeming it fit
to install Adams, an indigene
of Ondo, as the Aare
Onakakanfo.
“God will guide and
help you in your new assignment”,
Akeredolu
prayed.
The Zaki of Arigidi,
where Adams hails from,
Oba Yisa Olanipekun,
lauded the Alaafin for
choosing the new Aare for
the title.
Olanipekun said: “I
urge that you join hands
with the new Aare Onakakanfo
to build Yorubaland.”
In his address, the new
Aare Onakakanfo promised
to live up to his calling.
He said: “There cannot
be a more humbling occasion
for me as the one we
are in today.
“The import of the office
still stands: protection of
the interests of Yoruba race,
both within the country
and everywhere else people
of the race exist.”
Aside the promotion of
peace and unity, he
vowed to project Yoruba
cultural heritage, which,
he said, has been waning.
His words: “While it is
estimated that there are 60
million Yoruba within Nigeria
and about 200 million
others scattered all
over the world, as a starting
point, the preservation
of the culture of the race
will occupy my attention.
“Pitiably, as a race, we
are gradually losing our
culture. In fact, from my
travels around the world,
•Aare Gani Adams acknowledging cheers after his installation. PHOTO by Dare
Fasube.
it has become obvious that
people of other races are
taking more interest in our
culture than we the owners
of the culture, with
Americans, Europeans
and Asians now earning
Degrees in the study of
our culture, beliefs and
what they have come to
term Doctrine. We need to
preserve our culture to
fully realize the potential
of the Yoruba.”
While he promised to do
more in bridge building,
he said: “Though with an
activist background, it is
now clear that I have to
do more as a bridge
builder with this new responsibility.
“In as much as the focus
of my struggle has
changed over the years
from the heady days of the
Oodua People’s Congress
(OPC) to the spread of our
culture through the formation
of the Oodua Progressive
Union (OPU),
which is now in 79 countries,
the Olokun Festival
Foundation, Gani Adams
Foundation and many
others, this new responsibility,
despite my age,
has unwittingly forced the
stature of a statesman on
me. I promise to live up
to that calling”.
He also pledged to collaborate
with traditional
rulers to bring about unity,
progress and advancement
of Yorubaland and
Nigeria.
According to him, “I will
work with our traditional
rulers, grassroots leaders
and have good rapport
with all stakeholders, no
matter the differences of
the past, for the unity,
progress and advancement
of Yorubaland and
Nigeria.”
“The office of the Aare
Onakakanfo will project
the Yoruba culture and tradition
by promoting and
sustaining our identity
globally.
“The office will equally
ensure unity of all Yoruba
sons and daughters all
over the world.
“To ensure the continuation
of the leadership role
the Yoruba is known for
educationally, I will give
scholarships to our sons
and daughters because
education is light and
power.’
On his plan to secure
Yoruba land, he said, “I
will collaborate with security
agencies and stakeholders
to ensure that
Yorubaland is effectively
secured through our various
organizations.”
“I want to assure this
August gathering that given
the fact that the Oodua
Progressives Union
(OPU), which I am also
the Convener, is now established
in 79 countries,
I will use this Union and
other pan-Yoruba groups
abroad to invite our sons
and daughters with exceptional
abilities, who have
distinguished themselves
in various fields, to come
home and help in our
quest to ensuring that our
country takes its rightful
place in the comity of nations”,
he said.
Calling for unity among
Yoruba leaders and monarchs,
the new Generalissimo
said: “The journey
has started from here. And
my first appeal goes to
Yoruba sons and daughters
who are outside the
shores of the country not
to forget that there is no
place like home. This was
what informed the formation
of the Oodua Progressives
Union (OPU),
Gani Adams Foundation
and Olokun Festival
Foundation. Please, see
Yorubaland as the place to
be. Don’t give the race a
bad name. Come home to
invest.
“As the 15th Aare Ona
Kakanafo, I consider myself
lucky that there is no
war at hand confronting
the Yoruba race now. In
other words, we are living
in peace time. However, I
am not pleased with the
level of Yoruba unity today
and I am very concerned.
Therefore, my greatest priority
is the unity of the
Yoruba race at home and
in the Diaspora.
I will, therefore, spare
no effort in ensuring the
unity of Yoruba race within
the contemporary Nigeria
body polity”.
He appealed to the Federal
Government to fix
roads in Yorubaland that
are critical to its citizens.
The Aare assured stakeholders
of working with
them to “turn our land
into a viable tourist destination.”
He called on the South-
West governors for cooperation,
regardless of party
affiliation, saying, “I
want you all to see me as
a partner in progress.
“I offer myself for service
once it is for the advancement
of the Yoruba race.
The various groups in the
South-West should also
resolve their crises.
“I will also persuade
seven of our elders, who
are not partisan, to work
with me in uniting all
Yoruba and resolve differences
wherever they may
arise.”
TIMELINE
8am: Police anti bombsquad
combs Durbar Stadium,
Oyo
8:30am: Guests start arriving
9:am: Security operatives
prevent some guests
from entering stadium
9:15am: Traditional rulers
arrive
9:30am: Technical team
deploy drones to capture
the aerial view of stadium
10am: More dignitaries
arrive
10:30am: Representatives
of the Oba of Lagos
arrive.
10:45am: Former governor
of Delta state, Dr Emmanuel
Uduaghan, governorship
aspirant, Chief
Niyi Akintola arrive.
11am: Deji of Akure and
Zaki of Arigidi, arrive.
11:05: Sat guru Maharaji
arrives.
11:10am: Osun cultural
troupe entertains guests.
11:15am: More traditional
rulers arrive.
12:30pm: Alaafin of Oyo,
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and
Gani Adams arrive.
1:30pm: Governor Abiola
Ajimobi arrives.
3:15: Alaafin of Oyo performs
spiritual rites.
3:30pm: Gani Adams
prays on 14 calabashes
representing the former
holders of the title.
4:20pm: New Aare
Onakakanfo delivers
speech.
ROLL CALL
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi
III—Alaafin of Oyo
Oba Samuel Adetunji—
Olubadan of Ibadan
Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan—Representative
of
Gov Akinwunmi Ambode
of Lagos State. Alh Moshood
Adeoti—Representative
of Gov Rauf Aregbesola
of Osun State. Mr
Suraj Adekambi—Representative
of Gov Amosun
of Ogun State.
Mr Agboola Ajayi—
Representative of Gov
Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo
State.
Dr Olusegun Mimiko—
former Ondo State governor
Otunba Adebayo Alao-
Akala—former governor
of Oyo state.
Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan—former
governor
of Delta State.
Deji of Akure; Owa
Obokun of Ijeshaland
Emani Ayiri-n Representative
of the Olu of Warri
National President of
NURTW, Alhaji Usman
Najeem, Chief Ayo Adebanjo—Afenifere
chieftain.

PAGE 6— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
VANDALISATION OF NITEL CABLES
Police Area Command launches
manhunt for six officers
•Five suspects arrested
By Kingsley Omonobi,
Abuja
OPERATIVES of
the Police Area
Command, Mushin, in
Lagos State, have
launched a manhunt for
six officers who provided
back up for vandals
who attempted to steal
expensive NITEL cables
worth several millions of
naira at the Fatai Atere
Street area of the state.
Area Commander
Mushin, ACP Olasoji
Olabayo, while confirming
the manhunt on
phone, disclosed that
five of the suspected
vandals have been arrested
while perpetuating
the criminal act adding
that the six policemen
involved in the
commission of the crime
escaped.
The suspects arrested
are David Orako, Musa
Ibrahim, Mohammed
Rabiu, Sherif Usman and
the driver, Musiliu Iyanda.
A source had told
Sunday Vanguard that,
following actionable intelligence,
men of the
Area Command were
swiftly mobilized to the
scene of crime and they
intercepted a heavy duty
truck/crane on the
Thursday, 11th January,
2018, at about 2.30am,
while vandalizing NI-
TEL cables.
The source said six policemen
provided back
up in the commission of
the crime.
“Four suspects were
arrested at the scene of
the crime while the 6 policemen
escaped.
“At about 6pm of the
same date, the driver of
the impounded truck,
who abandoned the
heavy duty vehicle and
escaped with the policemen,
was arrested”, the
source concluded.
While noting that the
manhunt for the 6 police
accomplices will continue,
the source said the
case and those arrested
will soon be transferred
to Federal SARS.
Already, men of the
FSARS have visited the
scene of crime and removed
the vandalized
cables (Exhibits) while
the truck is still at the Police
Station.
DEATH OF YOUTH
Three policemen dismissed for
reckless shooting in Lagos
By Evelyn Usman
THE Lagos State
Police Command
has dismissed three
policemen because of
the indiscriminate
shooting that led to the
death of a youth and
injury of another, in the
Amukoko area of Lagos.
The erring policemen
attached to
•The three police dismissed for allegedly killing a youth
Amukoko division are
: Sergeant Osaseri Saturday
with NPF number
25759 , Sergeant
Segun Okun with number
35 9075 and Corporal
Adekunle Oluwarotimi
with number
496833 .
The trio, as gathered,
shot at some youths
they alleged hurled
stones and sticks at
them, at about 9.30pm,
last Thursday, at Ifelodun
street.
Life, was snuffed out
of one of the youths by
a bullet from the policemen,
while another
was injured in the process.
The incident sparked
a protest in the area,
with youths calling for
justice.
The no-nonsense
command boss, Police
Commissioner Imohimi
Edgal, immediately
ordered the arrest of
the policemen and subsequent
Orderly Room
trial to ascertain their
culpability.
Spokesman for the
Command, Chile Oti,
explained that “they
were arrested, detained
and tried immediately
on the orders of
CP Edgal Imohimi.
The guilty verdict was
passed on them by the
adjudicating officer
who considered that
the officers did not appreciate
the situation
critically and ought not
to have applied maximum
force on the unruly
youths.
Meanwhile, the policemen
will be
charged to court next
week, while a duplicate
copy of the case
file will be sent to the
Directorate of Public
Prosecution, DPP, for
legal advice.
Sequel to the above
occurrence, the CP has
directed all the Area
Commanders and Divisional
Police Offices
,DPOs, in Lagos State
to warn their men
against misapplication
of force. He further
warned that officers
must abide by the
Rules of Engagement
(ROE) as stipulated in
Force Order 237."
FG raises the alarm over fake
Buhari twitter handle
•The heavy duty truck/crane allegedly used for vandalising NITEL cables
Glo has not acquired 9Mobile
By Lekan Bilesanmi
GLOBACOM de
nied media reports
which insinuated
that it was the preferred
bidder to acquire telecommunications
company,
9Mobile.
A terse press statement
issued in Lagos
late Friday said: “Globacom
has not acquired
9Mobile as widely reported
in the media.”
According to the company,
"we are bound by
the terms of the acquisition
process as stipulated
by the authorities
handling it and we will
not in any way sway or
deviate from the rules.
“We repose confidence
in Barclays Africa, the
Nigerian Communications
Commission
(NCC) and the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
which are handling the
process that will lead to
the emergence of a new
owner for the company”.
Globacom urges all
stakeholders and, indeed,
the Nigerian public
to disregard the report.
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
THE presidency, on
Saturday, raised
the alarm over a message
on a fake Twitter
handle in circulation,
purportedly belonging
to President
Muhammadu Buhari.
The presidency said
that the spurious message,
which seeks to justify
attacks by herdsmen,
claimed that they
were only defending
themselves.
A statement by the Special
Adviser to the President
on Media and Publicity,
Chief Femi Adesina,
said:
"Evil doers and enemies
of our country are
obviously at work, seeking
ways to further advance
their pernicious
acts. The (Twitter) message
is denounced in its
entirety, and President
Buhari stands by his earlier
condemnation of the
killings in Benue, and
other parts of the country,
as dastardly and unacceptable
before God
and man.
"Those behind the concocted
message are also
enemies of God and
man, who have no place
in a decent society.
"The President stands
by his earlier directives
that all those behind
wanton killings in any
part of the country must
be brought to book."

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 7
*One of the cars burnt in the Benue mayhem
Hoodlums destroy properties, set cars
ablaze in Makurdi
By Peter Duru,
Makurdi
RAMPAGING hood
lums, yesterday, reportedly
destroyed several
cars and razed buildings, following
an alleged minor
skirmish between Tiv and
Hausa youths in Makurdi,
the Benue State capital.
Sunday Vanguard gathered
that the crisis broke out
in the town as early as 8am,
when for unknown reasons
some Tiv and Hausa youths
engaged each other in a minor
quarrel which sparked
the crisis.
According to an eyewitness
account, “the news of
the escalating crisis spread
to Wadata, an Hausa settlement,
where Hausa youths
allegedly launched an attack
on the Tivs residents in
Wadata, destroying their
homes and burning their
cars.
"They also made attempts
to match into the heart of the
town, towards the high brow
area but they were chased
back by the military who
were immediately drafted
into the town to maintain the
peace.
"The irate Hausa youths,
armed with cutlasses, clubs
and others dangerous weapons,
also burnt the vehicle of
the landlord of the building
housing Vanguard office in
Makurdi after they tried unsuccessfully
to raze the building.
Meanwhile, Governor
Samuel Ortom who condemned
the development
,directed the State Commissioner
of Police to restore
order in the affected places.
The Governor appealed to
residents to remain calm
and report any breach of the
peace to security agencies for
necessary action.
In a statement issued on
his behalf by his Media Adviser,
Tahav Agerzua, the
governor said, "the state has
suffered too much losses in
terms of human life and
property and cannot afford
another round of crisis."
The governor also directed
the Police to investigate
the causes of the protests,
arrest and prosecute those
responsible for breach of the
peace.
He assured Benue people
that efforts would be intensified
with the collaboration
of the relevant security agencies
to restore peace and order
to all parts of the state.
Meanwhile the state government
has ordered a 6pm
to 6am restriction on the
operations of commercial
motorcycle in the town to
check an escalation of the
crisis.
When contacted, the state's
Police Public Relations Officer,
Assistant Superintendent,
ASP, Moses Yamu, who
confirmed the crisis, said security
had been beefed up in
the town.
2019: Looming disgrace awaits you, PDP tells El-Rufai,
Bello, Ganduje, others
By Dirisu Yakubu,
Abuja
THE Peoples Democrat
ic Party, PDP, yesterday,
tasked seven governors
elected on the platform of the
ruling All Progressives Congress,
APC, to face the reality
of defeat awaiting them
in 2019, stating that their
visit to the President, to prevail
on him to seek a fresh
mandate, was self- serving.
In a statement posted on
its official Twitter Handle,
the party berated Mallam
Nasir El-Rufai, Yahaya Bello,
Abdullahi Ganduje, Solomon
Lalong, Abubakar
Bello, Ibrahim Geidam and
Jibrilla Bindo, executive
governors of Kaduna, Kogi,
Kano, Plateau, Niger, Yobe
and Adamawa States, respectively,
who visited President
Muhammadu Buhari,
last Friday, asking him to
seek a second tenure in 2019.
"The visit of Governor El-
2019: Pro-Buhari radio programme in
Kano stopped — Campaigner
*We didn’t – Radio management
By AbdulSalam
Muhammad
THE Presidency has re
portedly directed
government owned media
in the North to halt materials
that favoured the second
term of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
A scheduled two-hour
programme of Radio Nigeria
Kaduna titled,
“Hanu Daya”, on which
Buhari’s second term
campaigner, Alhaji Abdulmajid
Danbilki Commanda,
was scheduled to feature
was allegedly cancelled
by the management.
The Buhari campaigner
claimed to have also received
a shocker from the
management of the Kano
based Pyramid Radio
when he said he was told
a similar programme had
been halted.
Danbilki told reporters
in Kano he was barred
from featuring in the Federal
Radio Kaduna program
allegedly by a Director
who he quoted as
saying he was acting on
orders from above.
Abdulmajid explained
that while trying to feature
in both radio stations, he
was told by the management
that they received a
message from the Presidency
that he should be
barred.
But in a reaction, the
Zonal Director of the Federal
Radio, Kaduna, Buhari
Auwalu, said it was not
true that the FRCN had
banned Buhari’s 2019
campaign.
“It is a blatant lie that
we are acting on any directive
from the Presidency,
because I don’t deal with
the Presidency directly,
neither do I receive orders
from them”.
Auwalu said: “What happened
is that Abdulmajid
Danbilki Commanda was
due to feature in “Hanu
Da Yawa” and we told him
on arrival that he should
postpone it for a week so
that we sort out some issues
of ethics with the NBC
and also deal with some
problems that had to do
with INEC on electioneering
campaign guidelines.”
Rufai and six other governors
of the All Progressive
Congress (APC), to President
Muhammadu Buhari asking
him to run for second
term is self-serving.
"Governor El-Rufai and
his cohorts are scared stiff
of the "looming disgrace"
awaiting them at the 2019
polls, forgetting that President
Buhari himself will face
an imminent and inevitable
electoral defeat too, come
2019.
Pipeline vandalism: Delta
advocacy committee
partners FG, others for
enduring solution
"They are not driven by
love for President Buhari or
patriotism. They are struggling
to save their imminent
job loss. But can a drowning
man rescue another?" The
party asked rhetorically.
Apart from Geidam, the
governors who are all seeking
fresh mandates have by
their visit and mission, made
it clear that the APC is unlikely
to field another Presidential
candidate in 2019
unless Buhari declines to
run.
DEPUTY Governor of
Delta State and chair,
Delta State Advocacy Committee
Against Vandalism of
Oil and Gas Facilities, Barr.
Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, says
ongoing efforts towards enduring
solution to oil facility
vandalism is in collaboration
with Federal Government
peace initiatives.
Otuaro stated this at Ogulagha,
Burutu local government
area of Delta State during
the just concluded first
phase of a 2-day conference
themed: “Sustaining Peace
Building Potentials and Surveillance
of Oil and Gas Facilities
Through Community
Engagement”. The Conference,
which drew participants
in youths, leaders and traditional
institutions from Itsekiri
and Ijaw kingdoms also
had representatives of local
and international oil companies
with Country Chair/
Managing Director of the
Shell Petroleum Development
Company (SPDC), Nigeria,
Mr. Osagie Okunbor,
personally delivering his keynote
address. The event featured
paper presentations
from erudite scholars on
“Crude Oil Theft, Illegal Refining:
Impact on Food Security
and Environment” (by
Prof. Flora Tubolayefa Oluwafemi),
“Environmental
Peace and Security in the Niger
Delta: Securing Oil and
Gas Installations” (by Dr.
Stephen A. Faletti), “Efficacy
of Nonviolence as a strategy
for Agitation in the Niger
Delta” and “Sustaining
the Oil and Gas Industry
through Community Partnership”.
Informing that Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa set up the Advocacy
Committee in 2016
when there was a resurgence
of breaches of oil and gas assets
with consequential damage
on the economy, Otuaro
said the Committee traversed
several kingdoms in
the creeks to seek understanding
that eventually halted
the ugly situation.
Appreciating the stakeholders
for the prevailing
peace, Otuaro stated: “We
are having this conference to
deepen engagements for sustainable
peace, security of oil
assets and to partner with the
FG’s peace initiatives towards
developing the Niger
Delta Region”.
In his keynote address,
Country Chair of SPDC,
Mr. Okunbor, said his company’s
strategies for securing
oil installations goes beyond
reliance on military cover.
The company, he said had
embarked on community
development, employment
of indigenes, provision of
social amenities/infrastructure,
social investment and
enterprise development programmes
among others.
These, he said, were beside
provisions by the company
through the Global Memorandum
of Understanding
(GMOU) which empowers
communities to put up plans
of their own for improvement.
Help Libya returnees, Oba of Benin pleads
Delta APC reiterates rejection of LGA elections
By Charles kumolu
THE All Progressives
Congress in Delta State
yesterday reiterated its
rejection of the just concluded
Local government elections
in the State Following the
announcement of the results
of the last two Local Government
Areas by the Delta State
Independent Electoral Commission
(DSIEC), noting that
the award of three wards victories
to APC in Evwreni
Ward 8 and Orogun Ward 5,
both in Ughelli-North LGA
and Abraka Ward 1 In
Ethiope-East is an indication
that the election was a sham
APC, in a statement signed
by its State Chairman
Prophet Jones Ode Erue,
stated that “no valid elections
took place in the 25 local
government area of the State.
By SIMON
EBEGBULEM
OBA Ewuare 11 of
Benin has urged
well-meaning Nigerians to
collaborate with Edo State
government and the National
Agency for Prohibition
of Trafficking in Persons
(NAPTIP) to rehabilitate
Libya returnees.
The monarch spoke
while commending Barr.
Jude Nosagie who was at
the palace to inform the
Oba about his scholarship
scheme for two female students
in engineering, accounting
or law.
¨I want to enjoin you and
other well-meaning Nigerians
to assist in rehabilitating
the Libya returnees.
The situation is very pathetic
and I want to urge
you and others to liaise
with Edo State government
and NAPTIP I to rehabilitate
these people. I pray
that you will succeed in
your service to humanity
and may God continue to
empower you¨.
Meanwhile, Oba Ewuare
11 has been decorated
with the remembrance
emblem as part of activities
to mark the 2018
Armed Forces Remembrance
Day celebrations.
The state Chairman of
the Nigerian Legion, Col.
Sunny Eboigbe (rtd), said
they were in the palace of
the Oba of Benin to thank
His Royal Majesty for his
support to the organisation
and to solicit for more support
in the realisation of
its objectives.
The Nigeria Legion specifically
requested for the
support of the Omo N’Oba
in securing the forest reserve
in Orhionmwon and
other boundary areas for
farming purposes, pointing
out that it will also
help to check illegal encroachment
by people
from neighbouring states.
Lagos bans cart pushers, wheel
barrow operators
LAGOS State govern
ment, yesterday, announced
the total ban of cart
pushers and wheel barrow operators
in the state, saying
their activities were inimical
to cleanliness.
In a statement by the Secretary
to the State Government
(SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello,
it said that with the flag-off
of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative
(CLI), activities of cart
pushers will pose a threat to
the success of the initiative.
Bello said investigations
also revealed that cart pushers
are responsible for most
of the illegal dumping of
waste in canals and road
medians at night which causes
flooding, adding that aside
constituting environmental
nuisance, they were also
sources of security threats.
“What the State Government
has discovered is that
these set of people use the
night to perpetrate all sorts
of dastardly acts. They dump
refuse indiscriminately on
the median of major roads
and highways. They also
pose serious security threats
because they use those carts
to hide arms and ammunitions
and hide under the guise
of carrying refuse to rob unsuspecting
residents”, the
SSG said.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
Gani Adams installed Aare Onakakanfo
The 15th Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, was installed,
yesterday, at Durbar Stadium, Oyo by the Alaafin, Oba
Lamidi Adeyemi. The event attracted many dignitaries from
across the country. Below are faces at the occasion. Photos: Dare
Fasube
•From left: Chief (Mrs) Mojisola Adams, Aare Gani Adams and Oba Lamidi
Adeyemi during the proclamation of Gani Adams
•Oba Lamidi Adeyemi (2nd left), Aare Gani Adams (2nd right) and some
Obas
•From left: Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Ambassador
Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu and former Governor Adebayo Alao Akala.
•From left: Aare Gani Adams; Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State;
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji.
•Cross section of royal fathers.
•From left: NUJ Chairman, Oyo State, Comrade Adewumi Faniran; General
Manager /Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Gbenga Adefaye,
and Oyo NUJ Secretary, Comrade Bola Ogunlayi.
•14 stakes holding calabashes depicting the past holders of the Aare Ona-Kakanfo
title.
•From left: Representative of the Olu of Warri and the Ologbotsere, Chief
Ayiri Emami; representative of Gombe State Governor, Ambassador Wada
Sadiq; Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Agbola Ajayi and Osun SSG,
Alhaji Moshood Adeoti.
•Cultural Troupe entertaining guests.
C
M
Y
K

More join ' handshake' for a
restructured Nigeria
By Dennis Agbo
LAST Thursday’s meeting held in
Enugu was intended to strengthen
the relationship between the Igbo and
the Yoruba ethnic groups and geared
towards achieving a balanced
federation. But the meeting went
beyond that expectation as minority
ethnic groups from the South-South and
the Middle Belt joined the parley.
The meeting, tagged, ‘Handshake
across the Niger’, was not the first of its
kind but the question arising is whether
it will help the clamour for a
restructured Nigeria where all
stakeholders in the country would have
a fair deal.
It also became a platform for the
demand for action against the
rampaging herdsmen, particularly in
the wake of the new year day killings
in Benue.
Nzuko Umunna, an Igbo group that
organized the summit, said the
significance of the coming together was
to open a new door that would accelerate
nation - building and create the synergy
to make the country better.
The speakers from the four
geopolitical zones that attended the
meeting were concerned about the
issues of insecurity believed to have
been engineered by herdsmen across
the country and the demand for
restructuring.
They accused the federal government
of either completely ignoring or paying
lip service to the issues. The speakers
believed the handshake should not only
be across the Niger but also across
Benue/Plateau and the Niger Delta.
One of the organizers of the event, Dr.
Law Mefor, said that moving forward,
the handshake summit would move to
Port Harcourt and Jos with a view to
aggregating opinions on how to carry
out the political reform which, he noted,
ends at constitutional changes.
Mefor said the National Assembly was
crucial in the process and that ethnic
organizations, Afenifere, Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum and the
Pan-Niger Delta Forum, were the ones
driving the process.
He agreed that it was possible the
convocation could lead to political
interest pressure, particularly as 2019
elections approach but maintained that
the underlying agenda was to make
President Muhammadu Buhari see the
dire need for restructuring.
Afenifere chieftain and leader of the
Yoruba nation to the meeting, Chief Ayo
Adebanjo, said the meeting was a
catalyst for the unity of Nigeria which,
according to him, the ‘enemies of
Nigeria’ did not want to take place.
He noted that it was not a gang-up
meeting or a forum for the formation of
a political party but a meeting against
the common oppressors of progressive
Nigerians.
Adebanjo said: “It’s only restructuring
that can guarantee your rights in
*The Yoruba, Igbo, Middle-Belt and Niger Delta leaders at the Enugu parley
Nigeria. Cheating, injustice and
even corruption can only be wiped
out through restructuring.
President Buhari will not do that,
instead he has ensured that all
military and paramilitary
institutions are under his control
and he has refused to name
herdsmen as terrorists yet he
pounced on IPOB that seeks for
justice.”
Adebanjo said the issue of
inequality was a major problem
for the country, arguing that until
all the people of the country were
made equal stakeholders, the
agitation for restructuring will not
abate.
He recalled that early
statesmen, such as Obafemi
Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and
Ahmadu Bello, realized the need
for a balanced federation and
operated true federalism. He there
wondered how President Buhari
could claim to be more northern
than the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir
Ahmadu Bello.
President General of Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, said
herdsmen were threatening
Nigeria’s unity, adding that it was
unfortunate that the federal
government had refused to
declare them as a terrorist group.
Nwodo observed that it was
important that the upcoming
generation was carried along in
what was going on the country,
noting that it was the reason he
made sure that secondary and
university students were brought
to the event.
He expressed disappointment
on the way security agencies were
paying lame attention to the
escalating insecurity situation in
the country and implored people
from other nationalities to invest
in the South-East like the Igbo
invest in every other part of the
President General
of Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, Chief Nnia
Nwodo, said
herdsmen were
threatening
Nigeria’s unity
country.
He stated that the quest for
restructuring was no more negotiable
and irrevocable and asked the federal
government to yield to the popular
demand of the people of Nigeria.
The Middle Belt Forum made two
presentations which exposed the
“hypocrisy of the Hausa/Fulani
domination and its arbitrary leadership
on the rest of Nigerians” that they noted
was in majority.
Newly elected chairman of the forum,
Chief Timothy Gwambe, said research
showed the Hausa/Fulani
dominating the North-
West and the North East
were about 33 million
going by the 2006
population census,
whereas the four
geopolitical zones of the
entire South and the
Middle Belt control over
99 million people.
Gwambe, from Southern
Kaduna, therefore,
wondered how the
minority will be using force
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 9
and apparatus to lord it on the
significant majority with all
their attendant education,
industry and dynamism.
A former governor of Plateau
State, Jona Jang, saw the
handshake across the Niger as
the rebirth of the country,
expressing discontent on the
style of leadership of those he
accused of not pursuing the
unity of Nigeria.
“We must ensure that true
federalism which our fathers
handed down to us prevails,”
Jang said while regretting that
the military, which he was part
of, foisted the 1999 Constitution
on Nigerians.
Representatives from the
South-South also made
presentations, speaking in the
same manner as their
counterparts from the other
zones but it was the speech by
the former Minister for
Aviation, Femi-Fani Kayode,
that reverberated at the
summit.
Fani-Kayode’s speech
attracted the solidarity of pro-
Biafra women who, at extreme
case, said it was not
restructuring that they wanted
but outright concession of an
independent country.
The pro-Biafra women, who
almost disrupted the event,
said they were annoyed that
nobody was addressing the
killings of their sons last year
by the army when soldiers
swooped on the South-East
under the guise of Operation
Python Dance II.
It took the effort of the
chairman of the local
organizing committee and
chairman of Capital Oil and
Gas, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, to calm
the Biafra agitators and
returned peace to the summit.
Fani-Kayode wanted the Miyetti
Allah group, the umbrella association
for herdsmen in the country, declared
as a terrorist organization and went
ahead to accuse President Buhari’s
government of an agenda to cripple
Igbo businessmen.
He said it was a period of reckoning
as the people have come together to
say no to being slaves to a handful few
in Nigeria. “I call for the proscription
and banning of Miyetti Allah and
herdsmen”, the former minister added.
The immediate past governor of Ondo
State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, said it was
the ‘handshake’ initiative that could
lead to the advancement of Nigeria,
noting that every genocide in history
emanated from evil perception of racial/
ethnic superiority/insecurity, whereas
the greatest nation of modern times was
built on an idea of equality.
Mimiko stated that Nigerians in their
quest for rapid development must
eschew ethnic prejudices and build
politics around positive ideas.
He said, ‘We now live in a world
where machines are being built to think,
a world in which Artificial Intelligence
threatens our fundamental assumptions
of employment. We can therefore not
afford to be cocooned in the prejudices
of the past, some of which are based
on the perceptive errors and
indiscretions of some of our leaders
living or dead.”

PAGE 10 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
2019 PRESIDENTIAL RACE: How
Dakwambo emerged as a contender
– Suleiman
Umar Ahmed Suleiman, Gombe State Commissioner for Information, speaks on the
reported bid of his principal, Governor Ibrahim Dakwambo, to contest the 2019 presidential
election.
WHAT’s your take on the
national convention of the Peoples
Democratic Party?
From the look of things, PDP is becoming
stronger and stronger. Going by the
convention that took place, PDP members
are trying to ensure that all their differences
are resolved. All issues causing challenges
within the party are being taken care of
following the transparent election that took
place at the convention. Looking at the way
the convention was conducted, people are
beginning to understand that members of
the PDP are getting united unlike what
happened in the past when due process
was not followed in terms of electing officials
of the party. That showed that PDP members
are willing to be united and once unity is
achieved, we can truly face the so-called
ruling party.
Gombe, being one of the two PDP states
in the North, do you think your principal,
Governor Ibrahim Dakwambo, can help
the party to retain the state in 2019?
The answer is yes. I don’t think there is
any opposition in Gombe. Looking at the
political activities that took place in 2011,
the margin of the votes PDP showed that
we are the dominant party in the state. PDP
is the ruling party in Gombe and, with the
way things are going, I do not think there is
any opposition that can face us because we
are united. If you look at the way APC is
operating in the state, you will find that they
are not united. The members keep fighting
each other in a way that portrays them as a
party in disarray. How can an opposition
party in disarray face the ruling party?
Even when they control the federal
government, at the level of this state, I do
not think there is nothing they can do because
most of them in the APC today are former
PDP members. In fact, some of them could
not add any value to us when they were in
the PDP. So there is nothing to fear. I don’t
think they are going to win in 2019. It will
never happen in Gombe.
Governor Dakwambo promised to pay
N56, 000 minimum wage if approved by
the Federal Government; how easy has it
been to manage the finance of the state in
view of numerous projects so far
completed and the poor allocations from
•Suleiman
the Federation Account to the state?
There is economic downturn across the
world which affected us because of our sole
dependence on oil. That is basically the cause
of our economic problems. Meanwhile,
Governor Dankwambo has the requisite
experience to manage the financial activities
of Gombe having worked as Accountant
General of the Federation and he actually
worked with three different presidents. As I
am talking to you now, the governor has
paid workers’ salaries up to date. This is a
product of prudent management of
resources by Alhaji Dakwambo. And it will
interest you that we are executing many
viable projects across the state.
Can you tell us some the projects?
One of them is the international conference
center under construction. Another is the
Gombe City Center which gulped about
#5billion. The state government has taken
delivery of the project from the contractor
after the successful completion. And because
health and education are high on the agenda
of the administration, the governor has
established the College of Legal and
Administrative Studies in Nafada, the
College of Nursing and Midwifery in Duku,
the College of Education in Ileye while
starting a university of science and
technology due to take off in the next couple
of months as it has begun admitting
students. The state just got approval for the
university from the NUC but the structures
and facilities required for the take-off are
already on ground. The governor has been
able to do this despite the fact that Gombe is
second to the last on the list of allocation
from the federation account to states. The
administration has also constructed more
than 500 kilometres of roads across the state
while the government has connected many
areas and states Adamawa, Bauchi and
Borno. He has started an agricultural
revolution in Gombe that has seen the supply
of implements, farm inputs, the training of
farmers and distribution of loans.
A group within the PDP is urging
Dakwambo to contest the 2019 presidential
election. Do you think he has what it takes
to lead this nation?
Of course yes. Presently what Nigeria
needs is someone who has solid financial and
management background. If we decide to elect
someone without solid financial background,
it will be very difficult to turn around the
economy of the nation. It is just like what is
happening now. President Muhammadu
Buhari is someone that is committed. But so
many things need to be done to ensure that
the economy is revived. Government is saying
we are out of recession but go round the
country and see how people are suffering.
They are emphasising farming now but, at
the end of the day, how much is a bag of
maize because what we are growing in the
country is not sufficient to feed us? If we want
a leader that has vision, a leader that has
financial and economic background,
Dakwambo is that person we need to turn
around the economy of the country. I just
showed you some of the projects that have
been completed by the administration in
Gombe despite the small allocation that comes
to us. Look at how this man has been able to
manage the scarce resources to actualize our
dreams In Gombe. So, if well-meaning
Nigerians are asking him to come and contest
as President, there is no problem as far as I
am concerned. The constitution has stipulated
the criteria for those who are eligible to contest
and to be President. And as far as I’m
concerned, Ibrahim Dakwambo is qualified
to do that both academically and experience
wise.
The Buhari administration has less than
two years left to finish its tenure. What can
you say about the administration?
In some areas, I can say they have done
well while they need to put in more efforts in
some areas. Actually, more needs to be done
in the area of the economic revival of this
country. They need to revive the economy.
The economic team should be reviewed
because the economy is still sick and
something needs to be done. But in terms of
security, we from the North are happy with
the federal government in terms of the
intervention and the establishment of the
North East Development Commission. These
are very good initiatives that were embarked
upon by the administration. But they need to
do more work because so many things are
not working in accordance with the
expectations of the people. In some cases, it’s
like the ruling party at the federal level has
failed Nigeria and the common man. After
fixing the problem of insecurity, what next do
we need to address? We need to address the
issue of hunger and diseases. These are some
of the issues bothering Nigerians across the
country. People hardly take their three square
meals because of the high cost of foodstuffs.
So, government needs to do something either
by importing to support the locally produced
foodstuffs or adopt any other means of
ensuring adequate food in the nation.
From left: Professor Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, Professor
Elizabeth Fashola, Pastor Precious Okeke (in suit) and Mr.
Tokunbo Oyejobi, convener, at the 5th National Conference
– Album Launch/Fund Raising for the Creativity Centre
for Disabled Persons.
Restructuring will foster peace, justice,
development — Prof. Atilade
THE Christian Welfare Initiative (CWI) has joined the
call for the restructuring of the country to foster peace,
justice and development.
In his welcome address at the 5th National Conference/
Fund Raising for the Creativity Centre for the Disabled
Persons, the President of CWI, Professor Magnus
Adeyemi Atilade, said there is urgent need for the nation
to be structured “because the present political structure
is faulty, lopsided and favors one side of the country. ”
He declared: “The National question remains
unresolved and threatening the unity and oneness of the
country. We need to revisit and rearrange the present setup
of the country”. Atilade said the neglect of the physically
disabled persons remains a spiritual challenge to the
conscience of the nation, saying they are citizens of this
country.
“Let us give them a voice in governance and space in
everyday life and living, by making provisions to
accommodate their special and peculiar needs. We all must
provide succor for the weak in our society”, he added.
The CWI president called on honest
Christians to join politics in the
interest of their children’s future.
Christians involvement in politics and
governance, he said, is an important
part of the fulfillment of God’s
purpose for the body of Christ,
equipped with anointing for dominion
and authority. The conference was
held under the theme, ‘Resolving the
National Question: Remembering the
physically challenged persons’, and
in conjunction with ‘Cherish Victory
and Jesus People Enabled Band.’
Speakers included Elder Ayo
Opadokun and Mrs Irene Patrick
Ogbogu, Executive Director,
Disability Right Advocacy Centre,
while Sir Asiwaju Debo Omotosho of
the Bond Group was the chairman of
the occasion.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 11
Is eradication of corruption the
motivating object of the on-going war?
BY PROFESSOR BEN
NWABUEZE
The object of the war against corrup
tion, in which successive governments
in the country profess themselves to be engaged,
needs to be clearly stated and constantly
borne in mind. The Constitution is
unequivocal that the object is the eradication
or abolition of “all corrupt practices
and abuse of office.” Accordingly, a duty is
laid on government, federal and state, to
do so, i.e. to “abolish all corrupt practice
and abuse of office” : section 15(5). What,
then, does the duty thus laid on government
require of it?
The Rt Rev Matthew Kukah, Catholic
Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, answers the question
thus: The battle against corruption, he
said, “is not so much going to be won by
how many investigations and probes we
conduct. It will not be won by how many
people go to jail.” Nor will it be won by
how much money is recovered from the
looters of our common wealth. Corruption
has to be fought in the minds and hearts of
people, with a view to bringing about a
change in their attitudes towards it, “a
change in the Nigerian psyche.” This is not,
however, to say that the anti-corruption war
should be discontinued or that the corruption
probes should be abandoned. They
must continue with increased vigour. It only
means that the eradication of corruption
and the cleansing of the pervasive rottenness
in our society, of which corruption is a
manifestation, call for a social and ethical
revolution, which in turn calls for an effective
mobilisation of the people for the purpose.
Effective mobilisation of the people for a
cause, a worthy cause of course, is one of
the most arduous tasks of political leadership.
It requires, as leader, a president with
the energy of youth, an energy that will enable
him to move round the country and
meet with the people in their various communities,
at town hall gatherings and other
fora, down to the grassroots, and address
them on the imperative necessity for change
in their attitudes and mindset, and the need
for patriotism generally. I think that at 75 a
person, man or woman, whoever he or she
may be, no longer possesses the sort of energy
required for the purpose. For nearly
three years since his installation in office
on 29 May, 2015, President Buhari has not
embarked on such mobilisation exercise
apparently because his advanced age (75)
does not enable him to do so and partly
because he appears not to have the necessary
inclination or disposition. The reason
of advanced age needs to be remedied by
prescribing in the Constitution an upper
age limit for a president, as is done in some
countries of the world, and as is done for
non-elective public officials.
A social and ethical revolution is needed
not only to rid the country of the cankerworm
of corruption, but also to launch it
upon a New Beginning, a new socio-political
order, a more or less clean slate, unsmeared
by the rottenness that presently
pervades the society. A “change in the Nigerian
psyche” is a radical change that requires
a social and ethical revolution to
bring it about.
The growing public cynicism about the
sincerity of President Buhari as an uncompromising
spear-head of a crusade
against corruption
Given that President Buhari was initially
acclaimed, hailed and idolised by the people
as an uncompromising spear-head of a
crusade against corruption – taking crusade
to mean, not just a war, but a war fought
with great passion and zeal – it is significant
that, in less than two years, the acclaim
is giving way to cynicism about the
President’s sincerity in the prosecution of
the war. Is he really the uncompromising
crusader that the public had been led to
believe? There is reason to suppose that the
public cynicism is the by-product of the President’s
Northernisation Agenda, as it is being
carried into effect by his lopsided strategic
appointments which are so manifestly
skewed in favour of the North and against
•Prof Ben Nwabueze
The 15 appointments stand
uncontroverted. And yet in a
futile attempt to controvert the
incontrovertible, the President,
responding to a newspaper
report that 81 of 100
appointments made by him were
from the North, published a list
of 159 appointments made by
him, 85 of which were from the
South and 74 from the North
the South.
Viewed from the standpoint of the war against
corruption, it is significant that all the key officials
involved, even if it be indirectly, in the prosecution of
the war are northerners appointed by President Buhari
since his inauguration as President on 29 May,
2015. A list of such appointees shows this assertion
to be an incontrovertible fact.
Babachir Lawal, Secretary to the Government of
the Federation (SGF); appointed in preference to a
hotly tipped candidate from the South-East; after
his removal following allegation of diversion of
funds meant for persons displaced by the Boko
Haram insurgency in the North-East, he was replaced
by another northerner, Boss Mustapha, again
in preference to a rumoured candidate from the
South-East.
Maj-General Babagana Monguno (rtd), National
Security Adviser (NSA), replacing Dasuki, NSA
under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Alhaji Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President,
replacing Brig-Gen Jones Oladehinde (rtd), the holder
of the office under former President Goodluck
Jonathan.
Ibrahim Idris, Inspector-General of Police (IGP)
appointed over the heads of some Southern officers
senior to him. The IGP is heading a Police Force, the
Nigeria Police Force (NPF), in which 15 out of the
22 Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIG), who
exercise much of the function of the operational control
of the Force, are northerners, while 3 are from
the South-West and 2 from the South-East. These
blatantly lopsided appointments, all of which were
made since the inception of the Buhari Administration,
portray the NPF as an army of occupation deliberately
designed to carry into effect President Buhari’s
Northernisation Aganda in furtherance of the
dream of the Sardauna to reduce the South to “a
conquered territory and thereby prevented from having
control over its future”. The President’s implacable
opposition to Re-structuring which envisages the
establishment of State Police should not, therefore,
surprise us. He wants to be able to continue to exercise
control over the internal security of the Southern
States and to continue to hold them hostage. It
caricatures true federalism that a constituent State
in a
Federation should be under the control and yoke
of the Federal Government in the matter of its internal
security.
Daura, Director-General, Department of
State Security (DSS) replacing Ita Ekpenyong;
apart from the DG, the directors
are mostly northerners.
The control of the NPF and DSS by northerners
must be taken together with the fact
that the Minister of Interior and the Permanent
Secretary of the ministry are northerners;
that the Army and Air Force are headed
by northerners; and, above all that President
Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, is
the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian
Armed Forces, and has the power under the
Constitution to direct the operational use
of the NPF for “the maintenance and securing
of public safety and public order”; his
power to direct the operational use of the
DSS is even more plenary. The implication
of the control of security by northerners is
that the security of Nigeria and Nigerians
is an exclusively northern affair, thereby putting
the rest of us at their mercy.
Abubakar Malami SAN, Attorney-General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice
(AGF), a young SAN, who was raised to
the rank in 2008, i.e. seven years before his
appointment as AGF.
Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Danbazau (rtd),
Minister of Interior.
Magaji Abubakar, Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Interior; he has publicly admitted
to have wrongfully sidetracked the Head
of Service (HoS), Mrs Winifred Ekanem
Oyo-Its, a southerner, in the reinstatement
of Abdulrasheed Maina, and has apologized
to her accordingly: see the Vanguard of December
1, 2017.
Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC); still kept in office in an acting capacity
since 9 November, 2015 because of
repeated refusal by the Senate to confirm
his appointment.
Hamed Ibrahim Ali, Controller-General,
Nigerian Customs Services; customs is
the underbelly of corruption in Nigeria.
Mohammad Babandede, Controller-
General Nigerian Immigration Services;
immigration stands implicated in Maina’s
escape out of Nigeria after his sack from
the civil service and his subsequent re-entry
into it.
Amb. Muhammed Dauda, Acting Director-General
National Intelligence Agency
(NIA), replacing Ayo Oke, a southerner; after
he was sacked, following the discovery
in the NIA offices in the Osborne Towers,
Ikoyi, of the sum of $43 million, £27,800
and N23 million.
Alhaji Amed Idris, Accountant-General
of the Federation, replacing Jonah Ogunniyi
Otunla, a southerner.
Maitanti Baru, Group Managing Director,
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC), replacing Ibe Kachukwu, a
southerner, who, as Minister of State for
Petroleum and Chairman, NNPC Board,
was sidelined by Baru in the process for the
award of some NNPC contracts; earlier he
has been downgraded from Minister of Petroleum
to Minister of State for Petroleum,
with the President taking over as his own
Petroleum Minister.
Abdulrasheed Maina, Chairman, Presidential
Task Force on Pension Reform; although
his initial appointment took place
before the Buhari Administration, his reinstatement
after he was sacked occurred
during that Administration, with the President’s
approval as the evidence shows.
The 15 appointments listed above are the
strategic appointments as they relate to the
prosecution of the war against corruption.
There are of course other lopsided strategic
appointments, such as the appointment of
Professor Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman,
Independent Electoral Commission (INEC)
and Hadiza Bala-Usman as Head aof the
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). The listed
appointments raise critical issues as to the
intention or design behind them. They look
like a swoop on the South, a jihad designed
to foist Northern domination, or even subjugation,
on the South in pursuance of the
Sarduna’s agenda, announced as far back
as 1960, to “subjugate” the South and “reduce
it to a conquered territory”, with the object of
preventing it from having “control over its future,”
an agenda which President Buhari, in a
speech in May 2015 as President-elect, re-echoed
and vowed to carry to a “finish”. What other
reason could there be for concentrating in the
North the appointments to all the positions vital
to the effective prosecution of the war against
corruption? We need to be told. One hopes that
the order for the purchase of war planes from
the U.S., ostensibly to fight Boko Haram terrorism,
is not connected with the hidden agenda
for a jihad.
The 15 appointments stand uncontroverted.
And yet in a futile attempt to controvert the incontrovertible,
the President, responding to a
newspaper report that 81 of 100 appointments
made by him were from the North, published a
list of 159 appointments made by him, 85 of
which were from the South and 74 from the
North: see the Vanguard November 6, 2017. We
are being treated again to another irrelevancy
designed to befog a critical issue and to hoodwink
the Nigerian people. The President is simply
preying on the gullibility of the public in
anything that comes from him.
What all this means is that corruption is being
fought, not by an all-inclusive team of officials,
but by officials drawn from one section of the
country, the North, separated in interests, outlook
and attitude from the South, which makes
the war look like an exclusively Northern affair.
Hence the increase in public cynicism about the
President’s sincerity as leader. The cynicism
seems to have reached its peak in the Maina
case, tagged by the media as the Maina saga or
Mainagate, involving several billions of naira
allegedly stolen from the pension fund scheme
superintended by the Presidential Task Force
Reform Team of which Abdulrasheed Maina
was Chairman.
The aspect of the Maina case that aroused
great public interest and heightened public cynicism
about the sincerity of the President as leader
of a crusade was the threat by the Chief of
Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, a northerner,
to “query” the Head of Service of the Federation
(HoS), Mrs Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita,
a southerner, for saying that she informed the
President of Maina’s reinstatement which was
effected against her opposition. The threat was
made in the view of people, including the Vice-
President, arriving at the Council Chambers for
the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive
Council. The threat and the HoS instant but
angry response triggered public reaction. Is the
HoS under the authority of the Chief of Staff as
to make her amenable to a query by him? Why
should he publicly utter such a threat, except
perhaps as an over-zealous show of solidarity
for a master from the same section of the country,
the North? Was the motive a concern to shield
a fellow northerner? The public was not told
anything more about this scandalous exhibition
of sectionalism other than that the controversy
had been settled by the President meeting privately
with the two quarrelling officials.
But the public cynicism remains. Was something
being concealed from the public about
the whole Maina saga? Was the President in fact
privy to Maina’s return to the country and his
reinstatement into the civil service, and did he
authorise it? Maina’s testimony came on 29
November, 2017, as reported in the Vanguard of
that day. He said:
“When this government came in, the president
gave his note that go and sit down with
Maina. I have given you the approval. They sat
down with me…..The process of my reinstatement
started after the Attorney-General, Mr
Malami, visited me. As soon as the present government
decided to sit with me, and after sitting
with me, I told them I will not leave you to go
back to Nigeria without something in your pocket.
I’m going to give you something in your pocket,
and the Minister laughed.”
Maina’s testimony has not been countered by
government.
The eradication of corruption requires the
concerted efforts of all Nigerians fighting together
as one people under an all-inclusive government,
not a government perceived to be one
for one section of the country only, the North,
and from which the other section feels alienated.

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
Heart of the matter,
with Chioma Gabriel
email: anyagafu@yahoo.com
Telephone: 08052201257
And the man died...
If you love one child
so much that you
would do anything,
spend any amount to keep
him alive and kicking and
the fear of losing him
sends unimaginable shivers
down your spine, then,
you should be human
enough to understand the
feelings of people from
Omoku in Rivers state and
the Benue where abominable
killings happened
recently. The man dies in
all who keep silent in the
face of tyranny.
Nigerians wake up almost
on daily basis with
news of senseless killings
happening in different
parts of the country. You
don't play politics with human
lives or show ethnic
solidarity where human
lives are concerned. Or
should we?
Suddenly, champions of
support for anything government
can no longer find
their voices and those who
do have been speaking
balderdash.
The activities of herdsmen
across Nigeria have
reached the level of enough
is enough, especially where
those who should talk or
curb the menace are loudly
silent or making political
statements instead of
tackling the issues headlong.
Strange things are happening
and our leaders are
looking the other way, and
those who are speaking
are speaking nonsense instead
of taking concrete
action. It was like Emperor
Nero playing the fiddle
while Rome was on fire or
someone chasing rats
when the whole house is on
fire. Those who are in
charge of the affairs have
not said any concrete thing
or taken any concrete action
like they did in the hey
days of Nnamdi Kanu and
chased his entire family out
of their ancestral home till
date and hence, solved the
problem of Biafra agitation
even when the agitators
were not wielding
weapon .
Now we have some dangerously
armed wackos
destroying peoples farms,
killing farmers, raping
their wives, kidnapping
and killing people in their
scores and yet, nothing has
happened. One can even
guarantee that the carnage
will happen again
and again because of the
confidence of the perpetrators
who seem to be saying,
yes, we are the ones in
power, we can do anything
and get away with it.
When will Nigeria wake
up from its deep slumber
and call a spade by name ?
Are we going to keep deceiving
ourselves, pretending
all is well when we
know they are not? What's
really going on with leadership
in Nigeria? It's disheartening
to have wimps
as leaders and men of appetite
who only govern for
their stomachs alone and
that of their family members,
forgetting the pains
of the governed and the
victims of such onslaughts
as happened in Omoku
and Benue. And the carnage
is spreading.
With the silence of the
gods, would you now
blame the people when
they take the laws in their
own hands? Nobody craves
for a chaotic society but
even the ordinary people
are no fools. Citizens are
beginning to revolt
against attacks by herdsmen
in some areas by stoning
them and sometimes
maiming them.
Many governors in their
bid to be in the good book
Why has the menace
of herdsmen gone
worse since
President
Muhammadu Buhari
came into power ?
Suddenly, you can
boldly see a herd of
cattle in the middle of
the high ways and
inside cities as if
cows are more
important than
humans. Why are
these herdsmen
being pampered?
of some people or to remain
in power for another
term in office are dinning
with the devil and trading
the destiny of the people
they swore to protect, keeping
silent and not taking
actions when their communities
are invaded by
strangers.
Worse still, strange
words are creeping up in
Nigeria's political dictionary.
Cattle colony. Please
what is the meaning of
that? Is that what the cabals
have done to Nigeria,
as if the suffering of the
people are not enough, as
if enough hunger, poverty
and hardship are not in
the land, as if selective war
against corruption is not
bad enough?
What we have not been
told is whether the menace
of herdsmen is a religious
war or a quest for territorial
control. But from all
indications, these are
clearly terrorists whether
we officially tag them as
such or not. In just one
week of the latest onslaught,
no fewer than
about 200 homes and huge
piles of foodstuff were destroyed.
Many people were
also reported missing in
the attacks.
It was not my imagination
but I read a a key government
official say that
the federal government
has not enough for herdsmen
and I ask, enough like
what? Taking peoples
farms and parcels of land
by force and giving foreigners
to inhabit because
one cannot say for sure
that these are Nigerians.
Why has the menace of
herdsmen gone worse
since President Muhammadu
Buhari came into
power ? Suddenly, you can
boldly see a herd of cattle
in the middle of the high
ways and inside cities as if
cows are more important
than humans. Why are
these herdsmen being
pampered? How do they
come about the weapons
they so dangerously wield,
including AK 47, GPMG?
What is really happening
that they are leaving to Nigerians
to figure out for
themselves rather than being
told? How come the
police, Department of
State Services (DSS), soldiers,
are not clamping
down on the killer herdsmen?
Why are herdsmen committing
murder and getting
away with it? Are
these herdsmen above the
law?
As far as I know, these
herdsmen just like farmers
are businessmen or are
they not? Why don't they
want to invest in their businesses
by having standard
settlements or ranches
purchased by them for
themselves and their cattle
instead of using their
own businesses to ruin the
businesses of others? Why
should people in pursuit of
their own private endeavours
, shepherd their flock
to other people’s land to
graze?
The cows destroy the
crops and the herdsmen
kill the farmers in the
most brutal ways. What
was that and for how
much longer will this be allowed
to continue? There
is nothing Nigerians have
not suffered in the hands
of herdsmen and those at
the helm of affairs have
remained loudly silent or
making weak statements
that mean nothing.
I think killer herdsmen
should be crushed the way
IPOB was tackled.
Que pensez-vous ? (What
do you think?))
‘SHITHOLE COUNTRIES’
Trump under fire over vulgar
comment on Africans, others
THE organisation repre
senting African countries
has demanded that US President
Donald Trump apologise
after he reportedly called nations
on the continent “shitholes”.
The African Union mission
in Washington DC expressed
its “shock, dismay and outrage”
and said the Trump administration
misunderstood
Africans.
The US leader made the alleged
remark in a Thursday
meeting on immigration.
But Mr Trump has denied
using the language reported.
He has been backed by two
Republicans who were at the
White House meeting, but
Democratic Senator Dick
Durbin said Mr Trump called
African countries “shitholes”
several times and used “racist”
language.
On Friday, Mr Trump on
Friday tweeted that his language
he used at the private
meeting with lawmakers to
discuss immigration legislation
had been “tough”.
But he added that the words
attributed to him were “not
the language used”.
What did the African Union
say?
It said the “remarks dishonour
the celebrated American
creed and respect for diversity
and human dignity”.
It added: “While expressing
our shock, dismay and outrage,
the African Union
strongly believes that there is
a huge misunderstanding of
the African continent and its
people by the current Administration.
“There is a serious need for
dialogue between the US Administration
and the African
countries.
What exactly did Trump
say?
The remarks were allegedly
made when lawmakers visited
him on Thursday to discuss
a bipartisan proposal
that would impose new restrictions
on immigration but
protect the so-called “Dreamers”
- hundreds of thousands
of immigrants brought to the
US illegally as children - from
deportation.
Mr Trump was said to have
told them that instead of
granting temporary residency
to citizens of countries hit
by natural disasters, war or
epidemics, the US should instead
be taking in migrants
from countries like Norway.
“Why are we having all
these people from shithole
countries come here?” the
Washington Post quoted him
as saying.
Mr Durbin said that when
Mr Trump was told that the
largest groups of immigrants
with Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) were from El Salvador,
Honduras and Haiti, the
president responded: “Haitians?
Do we need more Haitians?”
But in another tweet on Friday
the president denied that
he insulted Haitians.
Many US media outlets reported
the comments on
Thursday, quoting witnesses
The African Union mission
in Washington DC
expressed its “shock,
dismay and outrage”
and said the Trump administration
misunderstood
Africans
or people briefed on the meeting.
The White House did not
deny them.
What has been the political
fallout?
•“I cannot believe that in
the history of the White
House, in that Oval Office,
any president has ever spoken
the words that I personally
heard our president
speak yesterday,” Mr
Durbin told reporters on Friday
•House Speaker Paul
Ryan, a top Republican, said
the reported comments were
“unfortunate” and “unhelpful”
•Hillary Clinton, who lost
•President Donald Trump
to Mr Trump in the 2016 presidential
election, said the
country had been subjected
to his “ignorant, racist views
of anyone who doesn’t look
like him” and noted that it was
eight years since Haiti was hit
by a devastating earthquake
•Republican Senators Tom
Cotton and David Perdue, of
Arkansas and Georgia, said
that they could not remember
Mr Trump describing countries
as “shitholes” in the
meeting
•Mia Love, a Utah Republican
and the only Haitian-
American in Congress, demanded
an apology from Mr
Trump for the “unkind, divisive,
elitist” comments
•Steve King, a right-wing
Republican Congressman
from Iowa, backed the president
in a tweet:
Another Republican Senator
who was there, Lindsey Graham,
did not deny the comments
were made. “Following
comments by the president, I
said my piece directly to him
yesterday. The president and
all those attending the meeting
know what I said and how
I feel,” he said.
On Friday, Mr Trump ignored
press questions about
the issue as he signed a proclamation
declaring a holiday
in honour of civil rights hero
Martin Luther King Jr - as
presidents do every year.
He said Americans were
celebrating that “self-evident
truth” that “no matter what
the colour of our skin or the
place of our birth, we are all
created equal by God”.
What has been the global
reaction?
•Botswana summoned the
US ambassador and asked the
envoy “to clarify if Botswana
is regarded as a ‘shithole’
country given that there are
Botswana nationals residing
in the US”
•UN human rights
spokesman Rupert Colville
said the comments, if confirmed,
were “shocking and
shameful”, adding: “I’m sorry
but there is no other word
for this but racist.”
•Haiti’s US Ambassador
Paul Altidor told the BBC the
idea that “we’re simply immigrants
who come here to
take advantage of the US” is
wrong.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 13

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
BITCOIN CRAZE!
Is cryptocurrency real money or a
Ponzi scheme ?
•Experts woo potential investors, governments warn
By Dayo Adesulu
WITH Bitcoin’s capitalization of
$268 billion, experts say the
revolution of the cryptocurrency market
has changed the narrative of investment
globally, as it successfully displaced
Coca-Cola with a capitalisation of $195
billion and Boeing’s $175 billion.
From all indications, the emergence
of cryptocurrency in the financial
market has continued to post a threat
to the conventional legal tenders as
being used and controlled by the central
banks of many nations.
While many countries have approved
the innovation by creating their own
cryptocurrencies, some countries and
individuals still perceive the new
dispensation as a fraud and a threat to
their national economies.
Only last week, the government of
India, among others, warned its
nationals against patronising
crytocurrencies which it described as
Ponzi schemes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
had, in a similar vein, early last year,
issued a circular to banks and other
financial institutions requiring them to
take certain actions relating to digital
currencies. Citing money laundering
and terrorism financing, the CBN asked
banks to “ensure that you do not use,
hold, trade and/or transact in anyway”
in digital currencies.
It added, “Banks also must ensure that
their digital currency exchange
customers have effective AML/CFT
controls to allow them to comply with
customer identification, verification and
transaction monitoring requirements. If
in doubt, the relationship with those
exchanges and customers should be
discontinued immediately”.
Specifically naming Bitcoin, Ripples,
Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Onecoin
and similar products, the bank
reiterated that they were not legal
tender in Nigeria.
Same day, the Nigerian Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) made its
own announcement regarding digital
currencies. The SEC warned the public
against investing in them.
“The public is hereby advised to
exercise extreme caution with regard
to digital (cryptocurrencies) as a vehicle
of investments,” the SEC announced.
The situation is reminiscent of the alert
issued by the Nigerian authorities at the
peak of the MMM Ponzi scheme, in
2016, warning the people against
investing in it. Many ignored the
warning, causing several to lose
millions when the scheme suddenly
crashed around Christmas period.
Many of those who had lost a fortune
in the wake of the crash resorted to
suicide.
Investopedia
describes
cryptocurrency as a digital or virtual
currency that uses cryptography for
security, adding that it’s difficult to
counterfeit because of the security
feature.
It said: “A defining feature of a
cryptocurrency, and arguably its most
endearing allure, is its organic nature;
it is not issued by any central authority,
rendering it theoretically immune to
government interference or
manipulation.”
Since its creation in 2009 by Satoshi
Nakamoto, whose nationality is
undisclosed, it has 1408 listed crypto
coins globally.
Thus, cryptocurrencies have become
a digital asset designed to work as a
medium of exchange that uses
cryptography to secure its transactions.
It is classified as subsets of digital
currencies, alternative currencies and
virtual currencies.
Bitcoin (Automated Teller Machine)
ATMs the world over are said to have
increased from 503 in January 16, 2017
to 2,008 in January 2018. As criticism
continues to dog Bitcoin as a legal
tender, it continued to soar in value. The
value of a Bitcoin that was 6 cent in 2009
when it started has rose to over $15,000.
On Tuesday, Jamie Dimon was quoted
by the CNN as saying that he regretted
calling Bitcoin a fraud.
For months, the JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) CEO was one of Bitcoin’s most
vocal high-profile critics. He predicted
that governments would “crush it” and
even threatened to fire any of his
bankers if they traded it.
He said: “I called Bitcoin a fraud before
I knew how much money we could make
trading it.”
Founder of Bitcoin Ascension, Mr Ivan
Mircic, while speaking with Sunday
Vanguard from Australia, said countries
which were anti-Bitcoin now recognize
it
Ḣe said: “Countries such as Malaysia
and Japan were anti-Bitcoin but now
recognize and allow it. The good thing
about Bitcoin is that even if a governing
body doesn’t want it, there is no way to
actually stop people using it.
“The US securities are trying to find
ways to control it to no avail as the owner
has given Bitcoin to the internet, so there
is no process to stop or regulate it.
“The owner is unknown, so there is
no avenue there either. Bitcoin can and
is used in every country and that is why
I chose it to enable the whole world
benefit.”
“As for the people that believe Bitcoin
will not last, I seem to remember people
in the early 90s saying the same thing
about the internet.
“When you have a currency that can
be used to buy products and has some
of the wealthiest billionaires such as Bill
Gates and Sir Richard Branson heavily
invested in it, it is as safe as any
currency in my opinion.
“Governing bodies do not like Bitcoin
because they cannot regulate and
control it.”
Explaining the difference between
digital currency and cryptocurrency, he
said that though cryptocurrency is a
type of digital currency, there are some
fundamental differences.
On the structure of digital and
cryptocurrencies, he explained that
while digital currencies are centralized
and being regulated by a group of
people through computers in the state
of the transactions, cryptocurrencies are
decentralized, and the regulations are
made by the majority of the community.
Explaining further, he noted that
while digital currencies require user
identification, buy uploading a photo
of yourself and some documents issued
by the public authorities,
cryptocurrencies do not require any of
that.
He, however, said that in
cryptocurrency, though the addresses
don’t contain confidential information
such as name, residential address, etc.,
each transaction is registered while the
senders and receivers are publicly
known. “Thus, all the transactions are
tracked,” he said.
Talking about transparency in digital
currencies, Mircic, who has about 15
years’ experience in online business
Continues on page 15
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 15
BITCOIN CRAZE!
Is cryptocurrency real money?
Continued from page 14
world and helped to design Bitcoin
Ascension program, said: “Digital
currencies are not transparent.”
According to him, you cannot choose
the address of the wallet and see all the
money transfers, maintaining that
cryptocurrencies are transparent.
“Everyone can see any transactions of
any user, since all the revenue streams
are placed in a public chain,” he said.
For transaction manipulation, he
posited that while digital currencies
have a central authority that deals with
issues which could lead to cancellation
or freezing transactions upon the
request of the participant or authorities
or on suspicion of fraud or moneylaundering,
cryptocurrencies are
regulated by the community.
“It’s very unlikely that the users will
approve the changes in the Blockchain,
although there were some precedents
such as the hack of The DAO. However,
the amount of money was significant,
and the decision was uncertain,” he
explained.
On legal aspects, he said: “Most
countries have some legal framework
for digital currencies, i.e., Directive
2009/110/EC in the European Union,
or Article 4A of the Uniform
Commercial Code in the US. We
cannot say the same about
cryptocurrencies at the moment. In
most countries, their official status is
not defined. The establishment of the
legal framework is only in the
process”.
Asked why Bitcoin and not another
coin because some people say ‘Bitcoin
is a bubble’, he said, “I chose Bitcoin
as it is one of the most known and
easiest to use. It already has places
on and offline where it can be used
and is at a good price to be able to
benefit from the payouts; so people’s
lives can become easier
“The advice I have for the people of
Nigeria and Africa, both young and
old, is that Bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies are here to stay and
being involved in them now will give
you a better chance of securing your
future”.
Talking about the risk factor, he said:
“There are risks in any business. I
have tried to take out all the risks with
Bitcoin Ascension. The corruption of
a matrix by making it manual has been
taken away. I have double security on
my site to prevent any sort of hacking,
which can happen with anything
online. I have the site monitored for
this each day.
“Countries such as Malaysia and
Japan were anti-Bitcoin but now
recognize and allow it. “The good
thing about Bitcoin is that even if a
governing body doesn’t want it, there
is no way to actually stop people from
using it. “The US securities are trying
to find ways to control it to no avail as
the owner has given Bitcoin to the
internet; so there is no process to stop
or regulate it.
“The owner is unknown, so no
avenue there either. Bitcoin can and
is used in every country and that is
why I chose it so that the whole world
can benefit.”
Also speaking, a crypto-trade expert,
Mr Oluyinka Orimogunje, said:
“Bitcoin is digital money that is
generated through mathematical
solutions and secured through
complex coding.”
Bitcoin is the first decentralized
digital asset, Orimogunje said,
adding that it’s not controlled by any
central authority and therefore a
holder’s account cannot be shut down
or closed up.
On how it works, he noted that
Bitcoin transaction can be broken into
five processes: transaction request,
request broadcast to the nodes,
request validation through
mathematical algorithms, combination
of current transactions to form a new
block of data for the ledger and the
new block is then added to the existing
blockchain in a way that it is
permanent and unalterable.
While talking about the connectivity
between the blockchin and Bitcoin,
Orimogunje pointed out that the
blockchain is one of the most
promising technologies for the future.
He said: “Blockchain is a distributed
ledger technology that underlies
cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and
provides a way to record and transfer
data in a way that is transparent, safe,
auditable and resistant to outages.
“The blockchain has the ability to
make organisations that use it
transparent,
democratic,
decentralized, efficient and secure. It
is likely going to disrupt many
industries in the coming seven to ten
years”.
According to him, some industries
globally are presently affected by the
invention of cryptocurrency.
He said: “The blockchain will do to
banking what the internet did to the
media. It will hasten to bank the
unbanked. Barclays is working on
using the blockchain to make its
transactions more transparent and
efficient.
“Although the blockchain ledger is
public, the data is verified and
encrypted using advanced
cryptography. This way the data is less
prone to being hacked or altered
without authorization. The blockchain
eliminates the need for middle men,
making it a peer to peer affair, hence
faster and cheaper”.
He posited that part of the revolution
that blockchain has brought is supply
chain management, forecasting,
networking and insurance.
Others include cloud storage,
charity, voting, healthcare, energy
management, online music, retail and
real estate.
On her part, Mrs Chikezie Susan,
an engineer but currently into
cryptocurrency, said this is her third
year in the business. As an investor, a
trader and a trainer, she described
cryptocurrency as a means of
exchange like every other currency but
in digital form.
She said: “It has a lot of advantages
because of its flexibility; it appreciates
with time and, because of this, many
are now millionaires.
“As an investor, you just buy and
keep it for the rainy season and you
will see the power of cryptocurrency.
For example, I remember when my
sister gave me N500, 000 to invest in
something. I bought Bitcoin with the
money and within one month the
value rose to N800, 000. Seeing this
opportunity makes me to go the extra
mile to receive training on
cryptocurrency trading and now I’m
a certified trader.
“Training others on this platform is
a way of raising more millionaires
in our society. Trading is a platform
for increasing the quantity of Bitcoin
. With trading, you can turn one
Bitcoin to ten Bitcoin in a month”.
Speaking in the same vein, Mr
Noah Ejiofor said he knew about
The Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) had, in a similar vein,
early last year, issued a
circular to banks and other
financial institutions
requiring them to take
certain actions relating to
digital currencies. Citing
money laundering and
terrorism financing, the
CBN asked banks to
“ensure that you do not
use, hold, trade and/or
transact in anyway” in
digital currencies
cryptocurrency in April 2015 through
a friend. He disclosed that he decided
to learn about it, “since it’s all about
new way of making and spending
money”.
He said: “There were lots of things I
needed to understand before
investing in cryptocurrency which I
didn’t know; hence my first
investment was a disaster. So I
decided to seek for real knowledge
about it and the result was massive.
“Today I stand here to encourage
everyone to get involved in
cryptocurrency because it is a great
wealth creator. I have seen people
that started with almost nothing in
this industry and have become multimillionaires
in dollars. This is the first
time an ordinary person can change
his life easily and enjoy great financial
freedom.
“I know of people who started with
10 dollars and built their income to
over 800 dollars in few months of being
in business, this is really crazy.
“As a globally recognized currency,
with Bitcoin you can buy virtually
anything you can think of because it
is real money. We have Bitcoin
exchangers.
“It means that you can exchange
your Bitcoin to any currency you
desire, we also have Bitcoin ATM
machine in this country now; you can
also order a Bitcoin Master Card or
Visa Card and link it to your local bank
account and you can withdraw cash
on your account from your Bitcoin
wallet.”
Meanwhile, Mit Phoenx, an Online
Entrepreneur and Africa Director of
Bitcoin Ascension, told Sunday
Vanguard that Bitcoin is different from
normal currencies because it can be
used to buy things electronically. In
that sense, it’s like dollars, euro, yen
or naira.
Phoenx explained that no institution
controls the Bitcoin nextwork, adding
that a lot of people are at easewith
this because financial institutions or
government can’t control their funds.
He said: “No one prints Bitcoin. This
currency isn’t physically printed like
conventional currency. Currencies
like dollars, euro, yen or naira are
printed in the shadows by the various
central banks without being
accountable to the population. The
government of a country can produce
more money to cover national debt,
thus devaluating the national
currency. But the Bitcoin is different.
It can’t be devaluated and neither can
it be produced just to make sure
everyone around the world has a unit.
The reason is that every
cryptocurrency has a cap, a finite
number. Bitcoin would never be more
than 21,000,000 units in circulation.
The same goes for Ripple, Dogecoin,
Ethereum. This is even the reason for
the rise in the value. The good thing
is that everyone can be in the
community of Bitcoin.
“Another positive thing about Bitcoin
is the huge technology behind it,
called blockchain. Blockchain is a
distributed ledger or database held
and updated independently by each
participant in a large network.
Cryptography is an important force
behind the blockchain revolution.
Blockchain can be illustrated as a
combination of a public key+private
key= encrypted signature.
“Again, Bitcoin has several features
that set it apart from the central bank
controlled currencies.
“I strongly believe that Bitcoin is
here to stay. In fact the Bitcoin
capitalization is more than that of
Boeing, Coca cola and McDonald.
The Bitcoin market capitalization is
$268 billion, Coca cola market
capitalization $195 billion and Boeing
market capitalization $175 billion.
“Bitcoin is an economy of inclusion
whereas national currency is an
economy of exclusion.
“Most people cannot buy one
Bitcoin at the present rate of $15,000,
but there are legitimate ways to
acquire Bitcoin.
“It can be through mining or matrix
like Bitcoin Ascension where you turn
0.004bitcoin to 41 Bitcoin.
“Two billion people are unbanked
and most of them are in Africa and
Asia. With Bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin,
Electroneum, Ethereum, Ripples, we
can take away a lot of people out of
poverty. Bitcoin makes everybody
equal.”

PAGE 16 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
President we have versus
the President we need(2)
“A fool if given eternity will
not know what to do with it.”
Epicurus, 341-270 BC,
Athenian philosopher.
(VANGUARD BOOK OF
QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 62.
Don’t get me wrong,
President Buhari is not
being called a fool. I have too
much respect for elders, and
especially those
providentially placed in high
positions for that – unless, like
Baba Iyabo, they don’t know
when to quit. Then, it becomes
imperative to remind them, in
the words of Elphinston that
“You have had your share of
mirth, of meat and drink. It’s
time to quit; it is time to think.”
Buhari has not reached that
stage yet. He might still be
persuaded to ignore Alhaji
Shittu, the Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, SAN, and Minister
of Communications and
throw in the towel on his own.
More than half of American
Presidents served only one
term and the nation was the
better for it. Some, like Lyndon
Johnson, 1908-1973,
voluntarily quit. Johnson was
elected by one of the largest
landslides in American
political history in 1964. He
was forced to withdraw from
the presidential race in 1968
on account of majority public
opinion. Richard Nixon, also
re-elected for second term in
1972, was forced to resign in
1973, on account of the
Watergate scandal, similar to
our own Mainagate, when his
personal involvement was
known. Leaders in civilized
democracies know that the
Presidency is a trust and not a
birth right. They quit when the
ovation stops and the sniping
increases.
Nigerians now know that
Buhari was aware of Maina’s
return to Nigeria despite the
monstrous charges against
him. He was provided security
and even promoted – even as
he was still a wanted man.
That is obstruction of justice
by any definition known to
man.
However, because it is “un-
African” and particularly un-
Nigerian for failed Presidents,
governors or senators to quit
on their own, we might be
called upon to administer the
English treat to Buhari. Shittu,
leading a mob of faceless
people recently announced
that the Buhari/Osinbajo reelection
committee will
inaugurate the campaign in
the South West on January 20,
2018. Yours truly will occupy
a ring-side seat to watch the
charade for report and
commentaries. But, why wait
until January 20 to tackle
Buhari and Shittu? Let’s start
now. This promises to be fun.
“The arch-flatterer with
whom all petty flatterers have
intelligence, is a man’s self.”
(Francis Bacon1561-1626.
Shittu, who until his
appointment as Minister in
2015, was an obscure lawyer,
but definitely no historian,
gave the “victory” over Boko
Haram as his reason why
Buhari deserves a second term.
Poor Buhari and poorer
Shittu. Apart from the fact that
Boko Haram is still very much
around, the two need to be
reminded of what happened
to Sir Winston Churchill,
1874-1965, Prime Minister of
Great Britain, 1940-1945.
Churchill led Britain to
victory in a far bigger war
than the bush skirmish to
which Buhari is claiming
credit. Yet, on the very next
election after the war Britons
sent their war hero packing.
They decided another leader
was needed. So, Nigerians
should also thank Buhari and
send him back to Daura in
2019. A new leader is needed.
And permit me to continue
where I left off last week with
another column written in
SUNDAY VANGUARD in
2005.
AFTER OBASANJO;
WHO ELSE? GOVERNOR
MAKARFI -3
DELE SOBOWALE
Governing Italians is not
impossible; it is merely
useless”. Benito Mussolini( Il
Duce) 1883-1945, Italian
Fascist Dictator
To that Leopold Mozart
(1719-1781), the father of one
of the greatest music
composers the world has
known, Wolfgang Mozart
(1756 –1791) has added the
observation which perhaps
remains true till today:
“Italians are rascals the world
over”. But, if the dictator and
Leopold were alive today, they
will discover that one nation
has outclassed Italians in
rascality and perhaps in being
almost ungovernable the
world over. That nation is
called Nigeria. Of the thirtysix
states constituting this
geographical expression, as
late Chief Obafemi Awolowo
called Nigeria, two states can
claim without any argument
to constitute the melting pot
for the almost three hundred
ethnic groups in the country *.
Lagos ranks first and Kaduna
would come a close second;
very close. It is quite possible
there is no ethnic group in
Nigeria without a
representative in Lagos and
Kaduna states each of which
can be regarded as a mini-
Nigeria. The governor of such
a state for eight years, if he is
as successful as Governor
Makarfi has been, must have
learnt how to promote peace
among those different groups.
In addition, Kaduna is also
home to various religious
groups, not just Islam and
Christianity as well as to the
broad spectrum of political
positions. The mixture is a
powder keg which is not only
potentially explosive but which
was actually detonated during
the first term of the governor
threatening the delicate coexistence
that has
characterised life in Kaduna,
which unquestionably is the
most congenial of all northern
cities. When the religious/
ethnic conflict occurred in
2001, there was widespread
apprehension that Kaduna
would go the way of its
neighbour – Kano – where
southerners left in droves never
to return.
Having lived in the north for
years including several years in
Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Bauchi and
Sokoto and having been
present when several violent
conflicts occurred, I had
The All Progressives
Congress, APC, the
ruling party led by the
President of Nigeria
has not been able to
hold its own
convention. The
President of Nigeria
cannot even rule his
own party
expected the worst. And indeed
the large number of refugees
leaving Kaduna in the
beginning appeared to
confirm my worst fears. But, I
failed to reckon with the bridge
building skills of the young
governor, Makarfi, who
almost miraculously went to
work. Meeting with different
groups night and day,
mediating conflicts, offering
financial assistance to the
afflicted, the governor in a
record time restored normalcy
to Kaduna in a manner that left
no lasting recriminations
anywhere. Friends who had
fled the state promising never
to return were back a few
months after and have
reestablished their lives. By
contrast, I cannot recollect a
single person who left Kano and
returned.
That achievement alone
demonstrated that in
Kaduna, we have a governor
who is capable of providing
the sort of national
leadership required in a
multi-ethnic, multi-religious
and multi-party country like
Nigeria. But the governor
provided more reasons why
his claim to national
leadership must be taken
seriously. He has achieved an
almost rancour free
relationship with his state
legislature; being a
professional accountant, he
has introduced a high
degree of transparency and
accountability resulting in
minimised corruption; and
he has delivered on most of
his campaign promises. In
fact, if the concept of moving
a political entity forward has
any meaning, it is contained
in the achievements of this
governor in Kaduna state. I
have been privileged to enter
Kaduna state from all the
approaches to the state
possible. In fact next to Lagos
and Kano states, Kaduna is
the state I know most
intimately. From 1999 till
today, I have traveled
through Kaduna at least
twenty times and I have
personally seen the
improvements made in the
state since Makarfi became
governor. Compared to the
Federal government, which
had been long on promises
and short on delivery, the
governor of Kaduna state,
who actually talks very little,
had delivered on most of the
promises to the people of
Kaduna state.
After Obasanjo, who must
go in 2007, the Nigerian
people would be well
advised to consider Makarfi
as one of the worthy
successors.”
P.S. Anybody interested in
obtaining the list of ethnic
groups identified can write
to me providing a postal
address and the list will be
dispatched for your use by
registered mail by our NGO
for a small processing fee.
Taken together with last
week’s recall of the first 2005
article on Ahmed Makarfi,
then Governor of Kaduna
State, it is obvious that we
have had living among us a
leader worthy of notice. And,
as it turned out, I was not alone
in my assessment of Makarfi
as a plausible presidential
candidate.
Mercurial Governor
Fayose has revealed how he
was drafted by Obasanjo to
survey PDP Governors in
2006-7 to determine which of
them was considered the best
qualified to succeed the
outgoing president.
According to Fayose,
Makarfi was the
overwhelming choice. But
Obasanjo turned him down
because he could not be
controlled. That tells us lot
about the esteem his
colleagues had for him then
and some still do now.
Finally, at least for now,
everybody should recollect
that the PDP was virtually
dead two years ago. The
remnants of the greatest party
in Africa then turned to the
most reliable pair of hands
they could find to repair the
damage. Despite the
challenge of the impostor,
Modu Sheriff, the majority
trusted Makarfi to lead them
through the storm of
reconstruction and to safety.
That the PDP previously
regarded as moribund could
successfully hold its
convention, elect its officers
and return as a credible
opposition today can only be
credited to Makarfi’s bridge
building and leadership skills.
Meanwhile, the All
Progressives Congress, APC,
the ruling party led by the
President of Nigeria has not
been able to hold its own
convention. The President of
Nigeria cannot even rule his
own party.
LAST LINE: You have read
about the appointments of
Board members of various
government agencies, almost
three years after APC took
over. It included the names of
dead souls, people now
incapacitated, father and son,
and a whole lot of people
illegally appointed to serve on
the Board of APCON.
What, exactly can the Buhari
administration get right?
Good people do not let
bad things happen
‘I am no longer accepting the
things I cannot change. I am
changing the things I cannot
accept.’-Angela Y. Davis
The recent death of
scores of people over
three states in Benue,
Nasarawa and Taraba was
caused in part due to the
state’s new ban affecting
herdsmen and farming
communities. This resulted in
the deaths of over 80 people
and it left thousands
displaced. Benue’s
contentious ban on open
cattle grazing was
implemented in November
and, of course,those affected
in particular,the Fulani
herdsmen registered that the
ban was unfair and unequally
bias towards them. Crucially,
the ban was not thoroughly
researched and nor were any
impact assessment carried
out. The state hurriedly
implemented the ban without
consulting and considering
how it would impact on these
communities. Sadly,the
chicken definitely has come
to roost.
These erroneous actions
have evidently caused loss of
lives and livelihood. The state
governor has to take full
responsibilities for these
unnecessary deaths.
And it was not helpful that
the army deployed to these
areas after the tragedy
described the deployment to
the areas was to- “stem the
menace”. The only menace
here is the governor stoking
the fear and disregarding the
needs of the herdsmen and the
safety of all the citizens
affected.
The Benue’s information
commissioner, Lawrence
Onoja, tried but failed to
defend state’s ban: “Our
economy in Benue State
depends on agriculture; take
that away and we have a
serious problem.”
I believe, there couldn’t have
been more serious problems
than they have at present. Let’s
be absolutely clear here: the
ban contributed to the mass
deaths. The Presidency
addressed the killing of about
200 Fulani herdsmen and
cattle in various attacks
If farmers and their
crops are destroyed,
it has a knock on
effect on everyone:
lack of crop means
inadequate food or
expensive food out
of the reach for most
Nigerians
across the country that “every
life is valuable. “President
MuhammaduBuhari’s
Personal Assistant on Social
Media, LaurettaOnochie
commented on why
Nigerians are silent on the
death of herdsmen while
crying about farmers and
residents killed, shewrote:
“Every life is valuable.
“No one has a right to take
any life. She went on:
“However, we are all silent on
the murder of over 200
Nigerians. We are all caught
up in the unfortunate loss of
Nigerians on one side of the
coin ONLY.
“The other side of the coin
with over 200 lives lost suffers
in silence.”
A life is life ,no matter whom.
We cannot pick and
choose,what affects one also
affects the other.
In May 2016, I wrote: Let’s
tighten our borders to stop the
illegal
grazing
atrocities:Nigeria has become
like the Wild West, with guns
blazing bandits, coming into
town and leaving dead people
and damaged properties in
their wake. Where is the law and
where is the sheriff? This is so
wrong, totally wrong. It is
shocking to witness the
incessant spate of attacks by the
Fulani cattle herders and the
wanton loss of life and
livelihood.When something is
wrong, it is important that we
stand up and say so. The silence
from some quarters is worrying
and this is not the time to take
sides on religious and tribal
lines. Good people do not let
bad things happen.The
government have got to take
action, if these bandit herders
cum militias are indeed
citizens of Nigeria then, they
have to abide by the law like
everyone else and if they are not
Nigerians then, they have no
business, no right to be roaming
Nigerian soil without care and
no fear of repercussions. When
will the government safeguard
the safety and uphold the rights
of Nigerians?For as long as I
can remember, there have
always been skirmishes and
squabbles between the
Fulani herdsmen and local
people but this, is a whole
new level.In the past,
whenever there is
disagreements over the use
of essential resources such as
farmland, grazing areas and
water between herders and
local farmers are said to be
the major source of the
fighting, it was usually
settled so why now and who
up the ante?.It is well
established that Fulani
herders are semi nomadic
and they often travel
hundreds of miles to seek
fresh pasture for their cattle.
This development is new and
macabre; they are acting in
an audacious manner
trespassing into people’s
land and the movement is
more inland, arming
themselves to the teeth and
like locusts, destroying
everything in their path. This
is very troubling and it should
set alarm ringing like an
invasion. The herdsmen
have said that they need the
rifles to defend their cattle
from cattle rustlers and to
protect themselves from
being robbed of their
cattle.They travel hundreds
of miles in large numbers
with their cattle in search of
pasture. They are often
armed with weapons to
protect their livestock, there
seems to be more than meets
the eye. What exactly is
going on and the
government should fortify
the borders or, at most, there
has to be consequences for
errant herdsmen who trespass
on other people’s land. At the
moment there does not seem
to be an enforceable law to
deter them from committing
grave atrocities and there has
to be a dedicated grazing
areas and plans to ensure
areas set aside like ranches for
resting cattle with
herdsmen,vetsfor the cattle
with dedicated government or
NGO officials to administer
the programme and oversee
the welfare of the animals.
And in my column : EACH
ONE, TEACH ONE,I
mentioned the need to plant
more trees last week, but it
seems that those who are
planting trees or crops are
targeted by some herdsmen,
trampling on their land and
crops to graze their cattle.
If farmers and their crops
are destroyed, it has a knock
on effect on everyone: lack of
crop means inadequate food
or expensive food out of the
reach for most Nigerians.
This concerns us all and not
just those who are killed,
maimed or displaced by the
herdsmen.
The death toll that the
armed herdsmen left behind
should not and cannot be
swept under the carpet. No, it
is not acceptable nor should
it be condoned by anyone, no
matter where they stand in the
political/religious or tribal
•To be continued

PAGE 18 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
I don’t like handsome
men – Yvonne Okoro
•Yvonne Okoro
BY TOLULOPE ABEREOJE
I can never be caught without
my bra on — Allwell Ademola
Gorgeous Victory Obasi becomes
17th Most Beautiful Girl in Abuja
While it is every woman’s dream to settle with a good
looking gentleman as a lifetime partner, Ghanaian
actress and producer, Yvonne Okoro has revealed that
good looks isn’t her catch.
Born Chinyere Yvonne Okoro, the award-winning actress
explained that she is not the type of woman who would easily fall
for a guy’s looks and thinking otherwise about her will be
erroneous.
Replying a Twitter follower on her page, praying for her and
Yvonne Nelson to get handsome men as husbands, Yvonne Okoro
replied to correct that notion about her.
“Thank you darling. But I don’t like handsome men. Looks are
the last thing I look at, he has to have a heart and a soul,” she
corrected. Reactions have emanated and a good number of
people believe she is simply bluffing as it is the desire of every
lady to be seen with a good looking man.
Fingers are crossed as everyone will be waiting to see what
‘Mr Right’ will look like and exactly what he will be.
P
lus-size Nollywood actress, scriptwriter, movie director,
musician and film-maker, Allwell Ademola
is as opinionated as the next woman who knows what she wants and
how to go about getting it. Like most women, she’s very emotional and
tags her nature as “ice and fire”.
In a one on one session with Potpourri recently, the actress revealed
some interesting intimate stuff about herself while baring her mind on
a number of issues.
Concerning a fashion item she can never be caught dead without, the
Jide Kosoko protégé smugly admitted it is bra.
“I can never be caught without my bra on. I can’t even run out of the house
without my bra. I am busty, you know, so, bra is very important to me,” she
said.
Although still single at her 40s, Allwell is not looking for a man who
would sit at her feet expecting all sorts of handouts from
her and she isn’t gunning for a very wealthy one either.
The man she was supposed to marry died two months
before their wedding.
“I am not asking for a wealthy man, my father
was not a wealthy man but my grandfather was.
My dad was only comfortable. I want a man that
would not look up to me to live. I want a man
whom we can rub minds together, I want a man
who won’t make me a full house wife.
However, I don’t want a man who thinks
because I can be independent financially,
run away from his responsibilities like
putting money on the table. If I end up
with such a man, it will be difficult for
me to respect him,” she quipped.
•Allwell Ademola
Nigeria’s third oldest pageant and the first in Abuja, ‘The Most Beautiful Girl In Abuja’
annually organized by Dolce Entertainment witnessed the emergence of runway goddess,
Victory Obasi as new queen of the 17th edition of the pageant held recently at the prestigious
Transcorp Hilton.
About 30 intelligent and beautiful models battled on the big stage for the coveted title won
by the EbonyiState-Born model extra-ordinaire. She emerged the winner of the 17th edition
following her exceptional display and sterling stage presentation and ethics .
The University of Calabar babe set tongues wagging with her charming and captivating
qualities which couldn’t be overlooked by the judges as she worked away with an official car
and other entitlements during the unveiling of the Queen before thegeneral public at an
exclusive event.
The event organizer and CEO of Dolce entertainment, Ejiro Okpihwo expressed his
appreciation to God for the success of the household event as he also eulogized the team,
partners and sponsors who played a key role to ensure the success of the 17th edition.
•Victory
Obasi
Restoring
confidence
to fat girls is
my focus
•Catherine
Agazer,Miss
Nigeria
Plus Size
—Miss Nigeria
plus size
By ROTIMI AGBANA
Benue-State born plus
size beauty queen,
Catherine Agazer, has
unveiled plans for her reign
as Miss Nigeria plus size.
The final year Philosophy
undergraduate of University of
Lagos who was overwhelmed
with happiness when she was
announced Miss Nigeria
Plus Size is poised to restore
hope to children and youths
who have lost hope and
confidence in themselves.
According to her,
helping them to believe
in themselves and strive
to achieve their
ultimate goals and
ambitions in life is her
focus and she is ready
to go all the way to
achieve this goal in
2018.
“What I do intend
to achieve as Miss
Nigeria Plus Size
queen is to create
awareness to all the
girls who have lost
hope and have less
belief in
themselves or who
have low self esteem
in their appearance
and think that being
a certain size in
today’s society is the
norm, but being a
large size woman
would not stop the
ability to achieve
greater things. I will
teach them how to
be confident in their
own skin and how to
go for what they want;
anything thinkable is
achievable.”
“I also intend to visit
female adolescents and
educate them on puberty,
because female children
between the ages of 10-
14 are young and naive
and it can be alarming
and embarrassing
when it occurs
suddenly. Therefore
they need to
understand it is
natural and what to
expect as the
symptoms. They
need to be prepared
on the common
knowledge of how
to use sanitary pads,
keeping clean
during the process
and ways on
preventing
infection.
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 19
Pasuma finally meets blind boy
who sings like him on the street
By ADETUTU ADESOJI
Luck has found its way to the abode of a young blind boy who was
discovered on a street in Ibadan few days ago, passionately singing
the song of popular Fuji musician Alabi Pasuma.
The video recording of the boy who is identified as Basit, hit the
internet and went viral instantly as well wishers trended the video
online in order to catch the attention of the Fuji singer.
Pasuma eventually got a hold of the video and sent words out about
finding the location of the boy, he wrote: “I woke up to this...despite
his disability this young man has earned my love and respect not only
because he sings my song with passion but also because he displays
raw talent beyond my expectations, he sends waves running down my
spine and I can’t stop watching this video... whoever has his contact
should please reach out to me...”
However, the search is over as the superstar musician has found the
boy and is set to record a song with the young talent whom he described
as his new friend in an Instagram post.
Kemi Olunloyo regains freedom after 90 days
•Kemi
Olunloyo
•Moesha
Buduong
Girls who flaunt their curves
are not cheap or for sale
– Moesha Boduong
Drop dead gorgeous Ghanaian actress and Photo model, Moesha Budong, who once revealed in an interview
that she lost her virginity at the age of 21 has come out to shade people who assume every girl who flaunts
her body or curves on social media, particularly, Instagram, is courting attention of men for amorous reasons.
The obviously pissed curvy diva who started the year with a tantalizing picture of herself and with a message
that this year will be full of smiles, don’t see anything to smile about concerning this kind of mindset, saying
dress for themselves and not for attention
“Dear society ,being curvy is not a crime and me deciding to flaunt what I have does not mean I am for sale
or I am a cheap girl, really, can we cut the hypocrisy already. The same thing a slim girl will do and get away
with it. Ladies dress sexy for themselves and not for attention or for a man to like them. Let’s stop body
shaming,” she writes
2018 began on a bright note for the bundle of voluptuousness as she pampered herself at the beginning of the
new year with a brand new 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. Moesha, who is fond of flaunting her huge derriere on
social media post the picture of the car on Instagram with an alluring picture of herself.
•Pasunma
and Basit
By TOLULOPE ABEREOJE
Controversial Nigerian journalist, Kemi Olunloyo has
regained her freedom after spending about 90 days in Port
Harcourt maximum prison. This made it the third time in 12
months that the blogger was released from prison.
Her ordeal started in March 2017 when she allegedly defamed
popular Port Harcourt pastor, David Ibiyeomie and Nollywood
actress, Iyabo Ojo. The 53 year old blogger had written about
getting hints from closed sources on the alleged intimate
relationship between the cleric and the actress, an article that
landed her in prison.
Kemi was picked up at her home in Ibadan and has since
been a regular visitor at the Port Harcourt prison after she was
detained for over two months. All seemed well after she was
bailed, until October 12 when she announced to her internet
fans that she was going back to court and might spend the
night at the court prison, stating that she felt unsafe and wanted
the case moved to Ibadan, which is the real jurisdiction.
She took to Instagram to share a video of herself thanking
her fans for the support and most especially Charly Boy for his
efforts towards her regaining her freedom. She however
pleaded with the Federal Government of Nigeria to help
decongest the Port Harcourt maximum prison, pointing out
that inmates are inadequately fed and are wasting away with
skin and health problems.
•Roze
New music duo, Roze
unleashed on Nigerian
music space
•Drops new single ‘The Whole Night’
BY ROTIMI AGBANA
After successfully capturing and stamping their feet
on the American music scene, it is not surprising
that versatile singing duo, Eghosa Rodney
Agbonayinma, aka ‘Row’ and Osazuwa Michael
Agbonayinma, aka ‘Zuwa’, decided to return to their
fatherland, Nigeria, to claim their space on the music
space as rare breeds with a smashing hit single titled,
“The whole Night’.
Born to House of Representatives member, Hon.
E.J Agbonayinma, the budding musical greenhorns,
armed with a mouth watering talent are eager to
storm, take over, set a new trend and lead the pace on
the music space with their rare kind of music which
they claim is yet to be defined because they believe
defining it may limit their creativity and versatility,
which is their strength as unique music makers.
At their unveiling and introduction to the Nigerian
media on Friday, January 12, 2018 at the American
Hall of the Eko Hotel and Suites Signature, Victoria
Island, Lagos, the two dashing teenagers explained how
they intend to break into the competitive Nigerian music
industry.
“We do pretty good music never seen before, and we
have great musical stuff we’re bringing on board. When
you have great stuff you aren’t scared to launch out in an
industry that is complicated or crazy.”
Signed to U & I Music, an entertainment platform
owned by their father, they intend to ride on the crest of
his influence to stardom, as he is an elder statesman,
just like Davido exploited his father’s influence to
stardom, and they confirmed our suspicion.
“If it is a good thing and it will take us to that
high and covetous pedestal, why not? Did Davido’s
father support him? If he did and Davido decided
to use his influence to rise to fame then why won’t
we do same?” said Row.
Expressing excitement, also at at the artiste
unveiling press conference, veteran movie maker, Lancelot Imasuen, was
almost moved to tears.
“It is an emotional morning for me to see the talented kids being unveiled
today. I have known their father for a long time and he is a lover of good
music so I’m surprised that he is surprised that his boys are musically
talented. I’m extremely glad to see that this came to fruition and I believe
that with God, their unique talent and your support, they would become
the new trend in Nigerian music”, he mused.
Lanre Lawanson joins Kunle Afolayan,
Banky W at New York Film Academy
BY ROTIMI AGBANA
years old CEO of MadHouse and Music Video Director, Lanre
Lawanson proved the popular saying right that Africans are the ones
leading in the world today by being one of the young few in Africa to ever
attend the New York Film Academy in pursuit of a master’s degree in Film
Making.
The young Film maker joins Kunle Afolayan, Banky W in pursuing a
master’s degree in the prestigious Film Academy.
The New York Film Academy offers camps, short-term workshops,
conservatory-style programs, and degree programs. The Academy’s oneand
two-year conservatory-style programs include topics in Filmmaking,
Acting for Film, Producing, Screenwriting, 3D Animation, Cinematography,
Broadcast Journalism, Photography, Graphic Design, Musical Theatre, and
Game Design; as well as an accelerated three-year Bachelor of Fine Arts
(BFA) degree programs in Filmmaking, Acting for Film, Producing,
Screenwriting, 3D Animation Grand and Graphic Design.
T
wenty-two
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk
08056180152, SMS only
Could You Be Better Friends After Your Divorce?
THE major reason
married couples divorce
is that they couldn’t
stand each other when they were
married. Most marriages could
be acrimonious, but there are
some couples who got along
better now they don’t have the
responsibilities that committed
relationships bring. Mandy, 42
and Frank 39 swore they’ve
forged a close friendship, even
though Frank walked out on her
when their second daughter was
only four.
“I was distraught when Frank
left me four years ago,”
confessed Mandy. “I had
recently suffered a miscarriage
and was really depressed. On
top of which the doctors had
really advised 1 shouldn’t try for
another baby at my age”’. That
made me feel really old and
emphasised that at 35, Frank
would think his childbearing
age was over. We
already had two adorable
daughters, would he want a son
like most men?
“Frank assured me he’d got all
the family he ever wanted and 1
relaxed. A couple of years later
however, 1 got the news that
shattered everything. A friend
called she was just from a
naming ceremony where the
new dad was Frank. And you
guessed it, the new tot was a
boy! Frank didn’t know her, so
she was able to give a blow-byblow
account of the ceremony.
1 literally died inside.
How could he? After he’d
assured me he was fine the way
things were? 1 didn’t even
suspect he was having a serious
affair. This was a man who, even
in my darkest moments was
there, assuring me 1 could count
on him.
“When he eventually showed
up and I addressed him by the
name of his new son, he was
taken aback. Then he became
defiant. He told me he didn’t
ask for what happened, but
when one of his mistresses
became pregnant and refused
an abortion, he resigned himself
to his lot. But when he realised
he’d had a son, he was
really happy. The only
problem was how to tell me, but
this ‘well-meaning’ friend had
made things easier for him. And
he meant to be a responsible
father to this son who was born
due to no fault of his.
“I assured him we should be
able to get past his indiscretion
and that the baby would always
be part of our family. He was
relieved to hear that and for a
while we forged on. Then my
friend showed up again to let me
know she was at the ‘winecarrying’
ceremony by Frank’s
relatives to his mistress’ parents’
home. She is now officially a
second wife. The day the event
occurred, I remembered Frank
had called letting me know he
was at a function, had problems
with his car and was staying at a
mutual friend’s place until the
next day when he could have the
car fixed. I even spoke with the
friend amid some background
noise I’d assumed was from the
party. Not knowing it was at the
actual traditional wedding of a
man already married to me!
“This time, he didn’t sugar-coat
anything. And he intended to
shuttle between the new home he
now had and our matrimonial
home. I told him I wasn’t having
any of that and he shrugged. He
wasn’t in his 40s yet, he reminded
me when we started yelling at
each other, and he wanted
more children which I couldn’t
provide him with. In the end I
told him I wasn’t cut out for
that kind of a primitive
arrangement. If he wanted
more children, then he was free
to go and live with his baby
factory. And that’s just what he
did!
“We had little contact after
that and we didn’t discuss
getting a divorce. Then
towards the end of last year, he
started coming to the house
more often, purported to see
the children who still adored
their dad. He said he was really
sorry for what happened and
how ashamed he was. I was the
best friend he ever had and he
would wish for that friendship
to be rebuilt. My friends
thought I was going to be used
again and might get hurt, but
he started coming to the house
more often and we even went
out as a family. Officially,
we’re still married afterall. Now
we’re really close and the
children visit his other family.
They even have nice things to
say about their half siblings
(now two) and their mother. I
now have a regular man in my
life and I’m sure Frank’s found
it easy whenever he’s found him
in the house. He jokingly told
me once the house belongs to
him, if I wanted a bunk, I should
go and do it in my boyfriend’s
house. But I just ignored him
knowing he was pulling my legs.
I only thank God we’re now just
good friends who understand
we’re free to meet other people.”
Sheyi, 39 a divorced father of
three has such a rapport with
Adesua,his ex wife that they
sometimes even sleep together
whenever they felt like it!
“Adesua was already a divorced
mother of two when we met
through mutual friends. We
were so much in love that we
tied the knot almost straight
away. 1 also got on well with my
step-children. My problem
really was that I am a free
spirited person and Adesua
complained 1 shouldn’t expect
my life to continue as the same
before now we were married.
But I couldn’t change my
bachelor ways and enjoyed
going out with friends most
nights.
“I was so used to the single
life I’d be hung over on Sundays
and would spend all day lying
on the sofa rather than helping
out. My wife was always
nagging to be more responsible
now we had four children but 1
was resentful. Two of them were
not mine afterall.
Then my office sent me to
manage a new branch in
another state for a few months
and 1 so much enjoyed the
freedom I realised married life
wasn’t really my thing.
“When 1 came back, 1 moved
into an accommodation
provided for me by my office.
Adesua didn’t kick up much of
a fuss and 1 was surprised I
enjoyed helping out in the house
as long as I could go back to
my bachelor pad. Whenever the
mood takes me, 1 sleep over and
at first my wife kicked at us
having sex, but I think she now
looks forward to it as much as
1 do!”
Just How Square Can You
Be?! (Humour)
The C.O. had just welcomed
the young army officer, shown
him around the camp and was
outlining the recreational
facilities.
“On Mondays we have
snooker tournaments, a jolly
good show with the winner
taking the jackpot.” “I’m afraid
1 don’t play snooker sir,” said
the officer.
“Well, on Tuesdays we have a
darts match,” continued the
C.O., “and first to make 301
wins the drinks.” “I’m afraid 1
don’t like gambling or playing
cards, Sir.” “Really?” said the
c.o. “Well, on Wednesday nights
a few girls come up from the
village for a dance and a bit of
hanky panky and ... “ “Sorry
Sir,” said the officer, “I have no
time for women.”
“Good God, man,” said the
C.o. “You’re not gay are you?”
‘Certainly not Sir,” said the
officer. “Oh dear,” said the C.O;
“then you are not going to like
Thursday and Friday nights
much either.”
Y
OUR column to express your loving
thoughts in words to your sweetheart. Don’t
be shy. Let it flow and let him or her know how
dearly you feel. Write now in not more than 75 words
to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, P.M.B. 1007,
Apapa, Lagos. E.mail: sundaylovenotes@yahoo.com
Please mark your envelope: “LOVE NOTES"
Let love reign!
The eagle that rules over all birds
Yet, makes the skies his dwellings
Mountain tops his foot stool
Bird nests his refuse pits
You the eagle, love says I will judge
You ordinary birds, love says
Act a fool and let me reign
Are you critics, down talking in public
Envying the same in your closet
Are you hypocrites, condemning in
public
Doing the same in your closet
Hypocrites and critics, love says I will
judge
Clients, be deaf and let me reign
The vine deceives its branches, twigs, leaves
And takes its roots not in humus but to rocks
Feeds on leafs' hard-earned carbon IV
The leaves toil to produce food for all
Yet, been starved to death
The vine grows bigger and stronger
While the leaves and the twig die daily
For the vine, love says I will judge
You twigs and leaves, be still and let me reign
The leaves that die are reconciled
To humus with hopes of a new being
But for the vine, destruction
But wait ye the chosen ones
Let love reign
Akegh U Jacob
Mobile: 08186915871
E-mail: akeghujacob@gmail.com
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 21
THE LESSON OF TWO YEARS
Listening to your
people does not
mean you are
weak
•Ogiame Ikenwoli, the Olu of Warri
•Says he has learnt that there is no
alternative to peace
C
M
Y
K
By Emma Amaize, Regional
Editor, South-South
The Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame
Ikenwoli, says the Ijaw and the Itsekiri
are inseparable.
Ikenwoli, who spoke to Sunday
Vanguard in his palace in Warri, warned
the two ethnic groups in Delta State to
desist from attacking one another.
According to him, it was impossible to
rule out disagreement between two
brothers.
He insisted that no dispute should
again degenerate to bloodshed between
the Ijaw and the Itsekiri.
The monarch shed light on what he
had learned on the throne as the Olu of
Warri Kingdom over the past two years.
His words: “The language I want to
hear from my Ijaw brothers is that
‘Itsekiri people are our brothers’; it does
not mean that there might not be one or
two issues, but we should not forget that
we are one.”
“I can tell you that the royal
family today is mothered by
an Ijaw woman from Isaba,
we have our family there.
My father, that is, the
demised Olu, had two Ijaw
wives. One Ijaw wife gave
him 10 children, more than
the three Itsekiri wives
combined gave him. So we
cannot separate ourselves
anymore because God has
joined us together.
“Ijaw and Itsekiri must sit
down and understand
ourselves and live as one
family. If a case comes, we
should discuss how to settle
it without killing and
fighting ourselves, without
abusing each other and
using hate language. Those
things aggravate issues, it
should not happen”.
Reflecting on his reign,
Ogiame Ikenwoli, who
celebrated his second
anniversary, last month,
said: “We thank God for the
opportunity to rule the
Itsekiri people. Yes, I just
finished celebrating my
second anniversary. There is
nothing happening that was
unexpected. My people
have been supporting me,
the royal family, chiefs and
all of them. They are around
me ensuring that I rule
according to the wish of the
people. So, it has not been problematic.
The past two years has been fine
because of the support I am getting from
my people.”
Chieftaincy titles
On the controversy over the
Ologbotsere title, he said, “Yes, there
might have been one or two issues.
Sometime ago, there was a
demonstration at my gates here held
because of a chieftaincy title. But I am
sure that many people did not
understand that chieftaincy title in
Itsekiri is family-based or honorary.
“The Ologbotsere and Uwangue titles
are family titles. Families present
candidates for the positions. As the Olu,
after the family has nominated two
persons and sent to me, I will pick one.
That is what happened. The respective
families sent the names of two persons
to me and I chose the ones I felt were
capable of occupying the positions.”
He went on: “But there were
arguments here and there. Some people
had preference for one candidate or the
other and they ventilated
their opinions, which was
why some of them came here
to demonstrate. The reason
they gave was that majority
of the members of the
families were not consulted
on the nominations for the
titles sent to me.
“I said if that was the case,
they should go back and do
more consultations; I gave
them three months to represent
the candidates. I felt
that was the right thing to
do as a listening father.
“They went and, three
months after, they came back
with the same names as the
choices of the families and,
based on that, I went ahead
and installed them as the
Ologbotsere, the Iyatsere
and the Uwangue.
“Those who did not
understand did not know
that it was not my decision
to make really. I only chose
from the nominations made
by the families. I know that
many have come to
understood what actually
happened and they are
pacified now”.
The IRDC affair
The monarch also spoke
on the Itsekiri Regional
Development Council,
IRDC, promoted by
Chevron Nigeria Limited,
*Ogiame Ikenwoli, the Olu of Warri
CNL, for the development of the
Itsekiri. “When I came in, I noticed
some things that were wrong and
carried out a shake-up, which, I believe,
has helped to streamline its operations”,
he said.
“You know there will definitely be
disagreements among human beings,
but, as a leader, you must listen to them,
know what is wrong and take
straightforward positions to advance the
growth of the land and cause of
Ijaw and Itsekiri must
sit down and
understand
ourselves and live as
one family. If a case
comes, we should
discuss how to
settle it without
killing and fighting
ourselves, without
abusing each other
and using hate
language
humanity.
“What I have learnt so far as the Olu
of Warri is that it is good to listen to your
people. That does not make you weak;
rather, it portrays you as an
understanding leader. That formula has
helped so farm- my listening to them
and appreciating what they want, doing
it and everybody is satisfied”.
Fascinating people with native
intelligence
Asked how he sees the Itsekiri people,
he said: “I have always known them as
peaceable people. I grew up in the
palace; my father reigned from 1936 to
1951 and my senior brother ruled from
1987 to 2015, so I have always been
familiar with my people. “
“To answer your question, they are
interesting and peace-loving people,
they have a lot of native intelligence and
they love their Olu. Of course, the
Itsekiri only have one king and they are
loyal to the king. They serve the king
and subject themselves to him. So they
are people who support the institution
of the Olu and, like I said, just try to
understand them, know what they want
and yield to their needs when they are
right, otherwise, they are quite an
interesting people”.
My peace mission
Speaking on his peace mission to
neighbouring ethnic groups, Ikenwoli
said: “Well, that actually is one of my
cardinal policies because, in the past,
we had problems with our neighbours.
In Warri those days, you did not know
who was Ijaw or Itsekiri or Urhobo, we
lived together as a family. Warri is not
limited to Warri city. When you say the
Olu of Warri, people think it is just Warri
city, no, Koko is Warri Kingdom,
Escravos is Warri Kingdom, and all of
that.
“So it was a regrettable conflict we had
with our neighbours at that time. Having
mounted the saddle as the Olu, though
I did not expect it, somehow, God has a
way of determining these things; I am
doing everything to bring our
relationship to what it should be with
Continues on page 23

PAGE 22 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
‘Don Waney believed
he had power of life
and death over
people’
• Ex-confidant speaks on suspected cult leader behind new year day
killings in Rivers
• Why his palatial home was demolished—Source
By Egufe Yafugborhi,
Port Harcourt
BEFORE last Sunday when the
military announced the death of
alleged cult leader/kidnap kingpin,
Johnson Igwedibia, a.k.a. Don Waney,
he was said to have been behind the
attacks which had sent scores to their
early graves and maimed many in Ogba
Ndoni Egbema local government area
of Rivers State (ONELGA).
At Omoku, the headquarters of
ONELGA, several businesses collapsed
while many others relocated as
terrorized residents fled the community.
Justus Idibia, a welder, said, “But for
the setback caused the residents by Don
Waney, Omoku has one of the best
environments for the ease of doing
business in Nigeria because power
supply is steady and free in Omoku.
“You may not believe it; we don’t pay
for electricity in Omoku. And it is steady
and free of charge for even artisans and
those running hotels and other
businesses. So, Omoku has been a
peaceful place to live in but the reign
of terror unleashed by Don Waney
interrupted the ease of doing business
environment and everyone fled”.
Before troops moved against him,
residents say Don Waney and his men
had operated with impunity.
Onyebuchi Ose, a.k.a. Okosisi, a
member of the vigilante group in the
area, the ONELGA Security, Peace and
Advisory Committee, OSPAC, told
Sunday Vanguard, “The army and
police initially appeared reluctant
to arrest Don Waney. They knew
where he was, knew the evil he was
committing, including being a big
time oil thief”.
Okosisi, believed to be a former
confidant of Waney before joining
OSPAC, lost his elder brother to the
new year day gun attack on Aligwu
allegedly masterminded by the
suspected gang leader while his
mother was shot in the foot.
He accused the police in the area
of selling out to the kingpin.
The alleged former confidant said,
“I can’t forget a particular occasion
when Waney wanted to kill me for
joining OSPAC and I had to rush
to the local police station to file a
complaint.
“I had barely stepped out of the
police station when my phone rang
and it was Waney on the line
boasting that he had heard all I just
said against him at the police
station and that he was watching
my very move. He asked me that if
the police sent by Rotimi Amaechi
(Transportation Minister) and APC
*The kidnap' kingpin's palatial estate
to arrest him could not
accomplish the mission, why
would I believe that the common
police I complained to at Omoku
could arrest him. I lost all hope
or confidence in the police and
army at that point. He falsely
believed he had the power of life
and death over fellow human
beings.
“Statutory security operatives
were galvanized to rise up
against Don Waney after
OSPAC took to self-help on
behalf of the people. Before, the
military and the police used to
wait for Waney to strike and
inflict pain on residents before
running about chasing shadows.
OSPAC came and took the fight
to the gang leader and his
associates.”
OSPAC is the local vigilante
put together by the ONELGA
Caretaker Chairman, Olisa Osi,
who swore to end Waney’s reign
of terror. The outfit is led by
Maxwell Ahiakwo, a lecturer at
the Federal College of
•Don Waney
Education
(Technical), Omoku,
where the staff were
repeatedly
kidnapped, some of
them dying in the
hands of Waney’s
men.
When Sunday
Vanguard visited the
O S P A C
headquarters,
located inside the
O N E L G A
Secretariat, Omoku,
it was found that
most of its
operatives were
repentant criminals
who had sworn on
oath before local
deities to become
crime fighters.
The last straw
The killing of two
OSPAC members on
December 18, 2017
Soldiers and some
government
officials moved into
the estate of Don
Waney with
bulldozers on
Tuesday and
demolished the
structures there
appeared to have been the beginning
of the end for Don Waney and his
suspected fellow cultists. Two days later,
a raid on Aligwu by troops and OSPAC
operatives yielded 10 human skulls and
three decomposing bodies exhumed
from graves in his expansive and
tastefully furnished home.
Following his escape during the raid,
his alleged return from hideout for the
new year day reprisal attack which took
no fewer than 20 lives was said to have
become the last straw that broke the
camel’s back. The killings, it was learnt,
provoked President Muhammadu
Buhari into ordering security operatives
to hunt down Waney at all costs.
While handing over the remains of the
alleged kidnap kingpin to the police
after the military operation that killed
him, outgoing General Officer
Commanding of 6 Division of the Army,
Maj Gen Eni-Obong Udoh, said, “There
was a presidential directive that the
perpetrators of the new year day attack
in Rivers State should be brought to
book. The mandate was to collaborate
with other security agencies in the state
to hunt the gang down.
“We trailed them to Enugu where they
were living in a rented apartment in a
neighborhood. They were living in Imo
State before they left. We collaborated
with the GOC in charge of 82 Division
and raided their home.
“Don Waney was the mastermind of
the incident of January but the attack
was led by Ikechukwu, his second in
command, and there is another person
whose name we will not mention but
we will get him. We will not rest until
we get all of them.”
Return home, ONELGA boss tells
fleeing residents
Meanwhile, the Caretaker Chairman
of ONELGA, Olisa, has asked
residents, who fled Omoku, Aligwu and
other communities in the local
government for the fear of Waney’s reign
of terror, to return to a new lease of life.
Olisa said: “What has happened is a
demonstration of the commitment of
Governor Nyesom Wike to the security
of Rivers State. With the killing of the
suspected cultist, we can now face
development. The people of Omoku are
celebrating.
Continues on page 23

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 23
‘Don Waney believed he had power of life and
death over people’
Continued from page 22
“The major challenge we are
facing outside of insecurity that
has been taken care of is the
issue of unemployment. When
youths are not engaged, they
go into cultism and that is what
resulted to the challenge we
had. We will work to remove
our youths from the streets so
that we will not go back to this
situation.”
The council boss explained
that OSPAC would be reformed,
adding that the main cause of
insecurity in the area had been
removed.
“OSPAC is part of the society
and it has to grow alongside the
society, but it will be reformed.
We will not scrap it because we
want to make ONELGA safe,”
he added.
Fish out Waney’s sponsors -
Residents
In a related development,
residents of the area have been
thanking the military for ending
Waney’s reign of terror in the
area while asking that the
sponsors of the kidnap kingpin
be fished out.
Mela Claude-Ake, a lawyer
who resides in Omoku,
organised a rally in the
ONELGA headquarters to
celebrate the return of peace.
Mela, addressing the rally,
said, “Every act of terrorism like
Waney’s requires money. We
call on the authorities to find out
his financiers and bring them
to book to bring lasting peace
to ONELGA. The rich should
stop arming our youths to kill
*Don Waney's estate after the demolition
the people instead of
meaningfully engaging them.”
Another resident, Kingsley
Ogwubike, said, “Today is
remarkable for us youths. We all
came back together,
undermining our political
affiliations to celebrate those
who were killed on January 1.
“We are celebrating them
because they are the reason
God took swift intervention
through the security agencies
to bring Don Waney and his
gang down. We urge our youths
to learn a great lesson from what
happened to Don Waney. Peace
has returned in ONELGA and
there will be no more killings
and kidnapping.”
But the fact that Waney’s
suspected deputy, Oluchukwu,
believed to have led the new
year day attack in Omoku and
Aligwu, is still at large is a
source of worry to residents.
Sen. Magnus Abe, however,
dismissed the worry.
Abe said, “Another Don Waney
will not rise to terrorize the
people if we all do the right
thing. Let us realise that blame
game doesn’t help the people
directly affected or the state at
large. Leaders must work
together to find a lasting
solution. If we all see what is
wrong and collectively agree to
correct it, we get it right.
“Don Waney has always been
there. Everybody knew the
danger he constituted, but some
persons chose to protect and
encourage him. When we are
agreed to see it as bad, they
caught him. If you create
leadership without authority,
you destroy society.
“If we want to help the youth,
we must educate them to
establish them in leadership.
When undermine merit to glorify
a small boy because of how well
he can shoot gun or kill, people
around him will lose hope in
leadership.”
Waney’s home demolished
Four days after his death,
Waney’s palatial residence in
Aligwu, was, on Wednesday,
demolished. A community
source told Sunday Vanguard,
“Soldiers and some government
officials moved into the estate
of Don Waney with bulldozers
on Tuesday and demolished the
structures there”.
The 6 Division of the Nigeria
Army, which had been
prominent in the Don Waney
saga, declined comment on the
development but a security
source said the property
stopped being Waney’s from the
time he became a fugitive.
“Since November 20 when we
(security operatives) raided that
house, he had been on the run.
We handed the house to the
state government”, the source
said.
“If somebody becomes a
fugitive for any reason, his
property becomes government
property. Let there be no issue
about Don Waney’s house
being demolished because he
had no house, no property.
“Before, he had property; but
when he became a fugitive, he
lost that right to any property.
The property became
government property. The law
is clear. Even if he has family,
they cannot come and lay claim
to that property”.
A community leader in
Omoku, supporting the
demolition of the suspected
kidnap kingpin, said, “The
community is further
encouraged to chart a new
course for lasting peace by this
development. For long, that
place has been the place to plan
evil against the people by
Waney.”
The community was said to
have made a strong case for the
demolition of the premises
following Governor Wike’s
Monday night broadcast where
he expressed government’s
move to take over the building.
’I have learnt that there is no alternative to peace’
Continued from page 21
our neigbours.
“I made the pronouncement during
my coronation that we must be at peace
with our neigbours and, after I was
crowned, I started visiting our
neighbours. I met the Olomu king, met
the Ijaw king at Akugbene Kingdom and
also met my neighbor here, the Ovie of
Uvwie Kingdom, HRM Emmanuel
Sideso. I went to Isoko and all that to
see the people and their leaders.
“It is a well-appreciated policy and
efforts and at the royal fathers’ level, we
are happy to be at peace with ourselves
and it has to transmit to our subjects.
And I know that when they see us
relating as royal fathers, our subjects will
follow suit. Therefore, I am pursuing
peace and will continue to pursue it”.
Maritime varsity
Speaking on the Nigerian Maritime
University, NMU, the monarch said the
Itsekiri were happy that the university
was going to be at the allocated site. “But
when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo came
the other time, I did not want to look
down on the Ijaw, they are important as
we are, these are things that have been
there for a very long time, but when
people talk about it, they say it with
hatred, which is not supposed to be at
all, I told him the same thing, we are
not opposed to the university, but the
government should uphold the rule of
law”, he said.
“Recently, the National Assembly took
up the matter; our youths went there to
present their case. It is not as if we are
saying that they cannot live there, but
let the truth be known without hatred or
malice, so the Ijaw should not be angry,
the Itsekiri should not be angry, we must
live together as one family” .
Revealing what he discussed with the
Vice President when he visited him, last
year, the traditional ruler said: “When
the Vice President as Acting President
met with me, we discussed two issues,
one of which is that Warri Port and Koko
Port have been left unutilized for a very
long time, while ports elsewhere are
suffocating. I said when Warri Port was
booming, we had no armed robbery,
kidnapping as we see it today. People
were engaged, so government should
reactivate them to create employment for
our youths.
“I also drew his attention to the Export
Processing Zone, EPZ, at Ogidigben. I
think they call it Gas City. The ground
breaking ceremony was performed by
former President Goodluck Jonathan but
since then nothing has happened.
Though we know that government is
interacting with stakeholders, I told him
We must be at
peace with our
neigbours
that they should hasten up work because
it has a lot of potentials for our youths.
“It can provide job for over 200,000
youths. If that can take off, you will find
that peace will come to the region
because people will not be idle. Then
the Koko-Ogheghe- Lagos Road that had
been approved for a very long time, but
not executed. If these projects are done,
the region will start to boom again”.
‘What Okowa should do’
On the alleged abandonment of
Itsekiri Kingdom by Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa, Ikenwoli said; “When Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa took over, the economy
was not in the best shape; many states
were owing workers. So, as far as I am
concerned, the man is making good use
of what is available at his disposal.
“The road to Ode Itsekiri and
adjoining communities, I think he has
approved money for the construction of
the road, but the bridges have not been
done. However, he has earmarked some
huge amount of money to address the
matter. “The problem that we also have
as Itsekiri, most of our communities are
riverine. Apart from Ubeji, Ifie and
Omadino, most of our communities are
in the riverine areas; so if roads can be
built there, it will encourage us a lot;
that is why they should help us to speed
up the Omadino-Escravos Road to
facilitate development in that area.
“I know too that they have a stake too
in the EPZ project. The last time, the
governor told us that the state
government was doing everything to
pressure the Federal Government to
start the project. All we want is for them
to develop our area, build factories to
create jobs and people will go back
there.
“Doing this crisis, lots of people came
to Warri, some relocated to Sapele,
Benin but if the state government can
open up the place with road and build
cottage industries, it will encourage
them to go back. Warri is expensive to
live in now, so I want the governor to
focus attention on the riverine
communities and bring life to the area”.

PAGE 24–SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
people
I was attacked over TV show for being a
former governor’s daughter – Osasu Igbinedion
C
M
Y
K
•Says human traffickers tried to destroy her mum but they failed
Osasu Igbinedion is the founder of the Osasu Show Foundation and the Chief Executive Officer of
the TOS TV Network, an online television network which focuses on politics, entertainment and
business development in Africa. Osasu Show is aired weekly on AIT, ITV and Ben Television London
among others. This daughter of a former governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, in this
interview, speaks on why she chose the media business after she obtained her master’s degree in
corporate and organization communication from the North Eastern University, United States.
Osasu, also into charity work, speaks on the fate of the Libyan returnees and Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs) in the country.
By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City
WHAT actually motivated you to go
into the media business?
I started my media career in March
2015. I studied TV and film production at
the New York Film Academy. When I
returned to Nigeria, I was involved in
political campaigns for some political
parties and that was when I realized how
good the content was. So I decided to
venture into the media. However, the
Osasu Show came about after I realised
the huge gap between the elite and the
masses in the country. The state I met the
country when I returned in 2014 was even
more deplorable than when I left the
country eight years before. So I said to
myself that my purpose in life is to uplift
the less privileged. Meanwhile, I was
making money from political campaigns
by branding politicians to be electable. I
realized that the reason the less privileged
people are what they are today is because
of the failure of the leaders and lack of
accountability. So I decided I was going
to use a vehicle, which became the Osasu
Show, to bridge the gap between both
classes. And when I visited some IDP
camps, I realized that government had
neglected these people. I said to myself I
will be the one to hold them accountable
by starting a television show where people
say I harass politicians until they answer
my questions. I like holding leaders
accountable.
Fulfilling part
We are going to be three years in March;
we have interviewed the President, the
Senate President, many state governors,
Ministers among others. The most
fulfilling part is actually the work we have
been able to do in the lives of women and
children through the foundation. If you
watch the Osasu Show, most times, you
see the charity work that we do. So the
lives we have been able to impact is what
is most meaningful to me. What we
actually want to achieve is a more
equitable society; in the sense that
Nigerians should know that there is no
office of the President without the office
of the citizen. We elect our leaders, we
are the government and, until we take
power back in our own hands, we can
really not accomplish anything. For
instance, there is a programme a
colleague of mine and I just started, ‘The
People’s Candidate’, which avails
Nigerians the opportunity to elect who
they want as the presidential candidates
of the various political parties. This means
that instead of the race in 2019 being
Buhari VS Atiku for instance, Nigerians
can say ‘no, this is the candidate we
want’. Nigerians can tell the PDP or the
APC that ‘you better adopt this candidate
or we will not vote for you’. So we want to
revolutionize the system and tell our
leaders ‘no more imposition of
candidates’. The days of a few leaders
sitting down to decide the lives of over
180 million Nigerians are over. Only about
60 million are registered voters and, in
•Osasu ... People say I harass politicians
When we started,
people said, ‘Ah,
another Igbinedion
has come again; why
are you lambasting
the government that
they are not taking
care of IDPs? What did
you father do when he
was governor of Edo
State?’
the last elections, only 28million came out.
So we are saying that even if only
28million Nigerians came out to vote, let
those 28million determine who they want
as their president.
Were you motivated due because your
dad is a politician?
I think my dad’s tenure in government
shaped my perspective in politics. It
revealed to me that the collective voice of
the people can make change. I was
younger when my dad was governor. I
was still in school then; so most of his
policies I was not able to digest as of that
time. But coming out of government, there
were certain criticisms about his
government and those people who adore
him have positive things to say about him
too. But I was able to draw from both two
perspectives to say ‘this is where you did
something good and this is where you
failed’. And if, for example, tomorrow I
decide to vie for political office, I will pull
from that because my dad is the closest
politician I have ever met. I will pull from
his mistakes and strengths and see how I
can shape my political career to scale
hurdles. When he was the Chairman of
Oredo Local Government Area, the
impact he made must have given him the
opportunity to run for the governorship
the first time. He lost, vied again and won.
He did two terms as governor; no one is
perfect, he was able to do some work but
also faced some challenges. As a whole I
was able to pick a few lessons from his
actions in office.
Being a daughter of a former
governor, what challenges have you
faced since you started this show?
We started from a bad side, now we
have graduated to the good side. When
we started, people said, ‘Ah, another
Igbinedion has come again; why are you
lambasting the government that they are
not taking care of IDPs? What did you
father do when he was governor of Edo
State?’ (Laughter). So they were a lot of
criticisms. But when people started
watching the show, they saw who Osasu
was, not just Igbinedion’s daughter.
People became attracted to my show. It is
a product of passion. If it was just a hobby,
I would have quit long time ago.
Businesses don’t make money for the first
three years not to talk of a political show
on TV that airs only once a week. So when
people saw that it was more than a pet
project, they started taking us seriously.
If you go online and read the comments
and blogs that posted articles about us in
2015, you will read so many ill comments.
But when you read the comments made
in 2017, if you read one ill comment, you
will see ten positive comments countering
those comments. And I don’t know these
people commenting but these are people
who are now appreciating the show.
You have been into charity works. How
has it been and what is your take on the
number of Libyan returnees we have
seen so far? Most of them are from Edo,
your state.
Government needs to set up an orderly
system where those who have been
displaced from Borno, you have their
names, date of birth and where they stay.
Because these are displaced people who
will one day go back to their communities.
But government, as we speak, cannot track
some of them. The IDP camp in Duromi,
Area One in Abuja, the Osasu Show
Foundation built shack houses for them.
We built a makeshift school for them; some
other foundations have gone there to
upgrade what we did. But as private
individuals, how much can we do?
Government needs to set up an organized
system to take care of these people,
empower them. We do that, we train some
of the women and they appreciate these
things. Right now, NEMA or SEMA
cannot tell me they have organized plans
for these people in the IDP camps and it
is not right. When these people tell you
their horrific stories, young children had
to watch their parents killed in front of
them. Some were in the bush for days
drinking their own urine and eating
leaves. These are small children, how do
you expect those children to grow up and
be normal if we don’t take care of them?
Nigeria is sitting on a time-bomb because
if the next generation of supposed leaders
that we are breeding are victims of
terrorism, slavery, victims of impunity,
victims of bad governance, then we are
in trouble. These IDPs need to speak with
professionals to help them overcome the
trauma they experienced. Provide basic
amenities for them and settle them back
to their communities so they can live a
life worth living.
And the Libya issue is one very dear to
my heart and it is sad that 80 per cent of
the returnees are from Edo. But I am
happy Governor Obaseki is finding
solution to the problem. Then I look back
to my father’s regime and my mother’s
work that she did 17 years ago, when I
talked to some people and tell them my
mum battled this issue 17 years ago, they
scream. Human trafficking is older than I
am, older than most people. So it is a trade
that has been covered up with so much
deceit because of how profitable it is. And
that is the reason why when you come
out sincerity to fight them, they blackmail
you and try to destroy you like they tried
with my mother but they failed. This is
not just affecting us locally but also
worldwide. I think NGOs who specialize
in anti-human trafficking should all come
together and fight this scourge. We should
not leave it to NAPTIP alone, because
only NAPTIP cannot fund the fight or even
take care of the returnees. We must have
a strategic plan on how to rehabilitate the
returnees, people are doing pockets of
good work everywhere but it must be
coordinated so that the impact can be felt.
The federal, state and local governments
need to synchronize their system. The
Federal Government should provide the
funds while the state governments
concerned should crack down on the
pimps, the madams perpetrating this
crime. And most people think this is a
very low level crime but millions of dollars
are made. Before these people leave
Nigeria, they pay up to N1.5million each,
who is getting that money? Imagine
getting N1.5million or N1million from
2,000 people every month. We are making
billionaires out of this heinous crime.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 25
Why You Need To Get The Loving Right This New Year!
WHEN it comes to lovemaking,
there’s no
blue print to always
get things right - all of the time.
As a matter of fact, most of the
things you believe you’re a deft
hand at in the bedroom could be
rubbish in your partner’s eyes.
And with the internet giving
various pointers and graphic
illustrations, you need all the help
you can get to steer things in the
right direction. Anne, a sex
counsellor believes you need to
work on your self-confidence so
that you feel strong enough to ask
for what you want in bed.
According to her: “Women find
it hard to say ‘left hand down a
bit, Fred’, because they think it
implies criticism. The thing to do
is to lavish praise on his skills as
a lover and then slip in a
suggestion or two about what you
really want. Say. ‘I love the way
you touch my breasts, could you
carry on a little bit further down
the side?’ Stop faking orgasms,
it’s counter-productive because
you’re educating him into
thinking that what he’s doing is
working for you when it isn’t. A
satisfactory sexual relationship
can become stale because there
isn’t any incentive to change
things.
“You need to make a decision
to do things slightly different,
even though you probably don’t
want to. For instance, if you
usually stroke him with your right
hand, try using your left. It feels
all wrong at first, but you’ll be
stimulating new pathways in the
brain, opening new avenues to
pleasure. There’s this huge
misunderstanding about sexual
fantasies: talking about them can
be very exciting, but you don’t
have to act them out. In fact, it
doesn’t usually work because
fantasies are so subtle and
personal and your partner can
never know the exact details of
what turns you on. Talking about
your fantasies while having
conventional sex can be much
more raunchy.”
You also need to give up the idea
that sex has to be spontaneous to
be any good. Accept that
sometimes you’re going to have to
plan for it, and that this doesn’t
diminish the experience in any
way. Try to build in variety, but
check that your partner wants to
do the same things as you. Just
because you get turned on by
nibbling his ears,don’t assume he
does by nibbling yours. “Ignore
what men say about their sex
lives,” continues Anne, “they are
such liars. Most people have a
very average time in bed. There
are periods when it’s absolutely
pathetic, and times when it’s
really quite good, and the rest of
the time it’s just so-so.
“Women often find it hard to
accept that sex is an intensely
egotistical activity. When you’re
getting to the point of orgasm,
you are really not thinking about
anyone else’s pleasure. Try not to
feel pressurised by erections - he
has them all the time. It’s his
erection to worry about, not
yours.
“Unfortunately, most people
settle down far too young. I didn’t
get married until I was 34 and I
cherish the chance I had to
experiment sexually.
Women tend to over-commit
too quickly. It’s helpful if women
masturbate, because that way,
they learn how to have an orgasm,
and many more women could be
multi-orgasmic if they just learnt
to push after the first one. Only
30 per cent of women climax
through orgasm. Even if you’re
married or celibate, it’s vital you
literarily take things into your
hands through masturbating
regularly - and in a very relaxed
and curious manner.”
Six years ago, Kanyi met an old
flame at a mutual friend’s house.
“I’d had two children and was a
divorcee. I got married when I
was fresh -out of the university
because I was pregnant and didn’t
want an abortion. My ex too was
not aversed to marriage even
though he’d just started working.
Both our parents supported us
financially, but after I had my first
child, I realised I wasn’t really in
love with my husband and the
second pregnancy was a mistake.
When I started avoiding sex with
him, I knew it was time to throw
in the towel. It helped a lot when I
discovered he’d not only had
mistresses, he had one of two
videos of himself having sex with
some of his conquests.
“John was already married and
wasn’t critical of his wife. But he
was keen for us to get back
together again, especially when
our first relationship wasn’t
sexual. Sex with him was another
chapter in my sex life. He was
patient. We talked, teased, and
when we eventually had sex, it was
warm and friendly, not the
frenzied sessions I often had with
my ex. I still see John from time
to time-not for anything
permanent. Just for the sex. With
him my confidence has increased.
If I eventually meet a prospective
husband, I would know the
qualities to look for in him - and
he had better have them!”
08052201867(Text Only)
You can be more active and less tired
Proper body management is
the key to being more alive,
more active and less tired.
What does proper body
management entail? Well, there must
be good nutrition, followed by
sufficient elimination. And then also
you must form the habit of having
regular physical exercise and deep
breathing. Now, deep breathing
happens to be the most important
component in a healthy life. Oh, yes,
it comes even before the food you
eat. You stand a better chance of
making the most of what you have
taken in, if you have inundated the
system well with enough breathing
exercises.
Well, you can’t build any form of
tissue without blood and you can’t
build a drop of blood without
oxygen.
So, you see how crucial it is to
know how to, and practise deep
breathing.
You want to be bubbling with
energy and full of enthusiasm for
living? You now know how. But there
must be application, there must be
commitment to habits that conform
with such.
All that practitioners of yoga have
one distinction – abundance of
energy. In any given situation the
yogi will always be the last to feel
tired, it is most energy inducing
regimen known tp man and it is also
a therapy form.
You simply can’t beat yoga. All
practitioners know that.
Now, let's get cracking. Try the
following for waking up muscles and
getting set for the day. Chandrasana
(sideways).
Technique: Standing with feet
together put your hands up with
palms together. Lock your knees as
you bend to the left side. Maintain
this position for as long as possible.
Then repeat on the other side.
Benefit: This induces flexibility.
Chandrasana (backsides).
Technique: Standing with feet
together and knees locked, raise the
hands up as you take a deep breath.
Breathe out thoroughly and bend
backwards. Stay in the position for a
slow count to five.
Benefit: This posture like the one
above also conferability on the
practitioner.
MATSYENDRASANA
Technique: As you sit with both legs
out-stretched, draw up your right knee
and place your right foot on the
outside of your left knee. Place your
right hand midway at your back and
then twist as you look over your right
shoulder
Your left hand should be clasping
your right thigh. This is
matsyendrasana or the Twist posture.
Benefit: This is yet another posture
that brings flexibility. It also gives
massage to the kidneys. Constipation
sufferers also get relief with the
practise of this posture.
•The Chandrasana (backside) Pose
•The Twist Pose
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 26 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
Networking/ Sponsorship
•Chidiebere from Anambra
State, needs someone
sponsor him, with N 50,000,
to enable him set up a
business, Afamefuna
Chidiebere, acct
3078427063,First Bank.
08139568799
•Promise a graduate, resides
in Lagos, into agribusiness,
livestock and crop farming,
needs a sponsor or to help
stock his birds & boost
production.08147442331
Links
•Chris N Ehihie wants to link
up with his course mates
Harry Agonmoh and
Augustina A Okonji.
08037483857
Friends
Searching Female
•Chi 27, a single mother,
needs a God fearing male
friend, aged 32-35.
08139676089
Searching Male
•Charles 26, employed and
resides in Abuja, needs
educated female friends aged
19 and above for a
relationship.08035442516
Lovers
Searching Female
•Peace 32, beautiful and a
single mother, needs a
comfortable man, aged 40-50,
who is ready to settle down for
marriage.09081650865
•Teniade 31, fair in
complexion, average height,
into business and from Osun
State, needs a man, for a
serious relationship that can
lead to marriage.
09058905286,09098933722
•Tessy 34, beautiful, busty,
caring and humble, needs a
caring, tolerant, healthy, and
hardworking man, for a
relationship, aged 40-70.
08163362225
•A lady 28, fair in
complexion, slim, jovial, fun
to be with, a Christian,
educated,employed, from Edo
state but resides in Lagos,
needs a man, who is also
educated, employed, into
business, dark in complexion,
open minded and generous,
aged 40-45.08157144207
Searching Male
•Frank 30, chocolate in
complexion, hairy, average
height employed and based
in Delta State, Asaba needs a
lady,in Asaba aged 20-28,for
a serious relationship that will
lead to marriage.08170096900
•Kelvin 35, employed,
handsome, fair in
complexion, from Abia State,
needs a responsible lady, for
a serious affair, aged 25–33.
08066718319
•Emmanuel a graduate, from
Imo State, needs a lady, who
is honest, and God fearing, for
a serious relationship.
08034056458
•Ago 30, employed and
resides in PH, needs an
employed , busty ,God fearing
and light in complexion, lady,
for a serious relationship that
can lead us to marriage, aged
22- 29. 09053832999,
08069796738
•Adetunji 30, needs a
Muslim lady, who is a
graduate and ready for a
serious relationship that can
lead to marriage.07033917981
•Mikael 39, dark in
complexion,a graduate and
self employed, needs a tall,
slim and employed Igbo lady,
aged 28-35, in Lagos, for a
relationship that can lead to
marriage relationship.
07080114023,08034808109
•Dan good looking, a
graduate and resides in Abuja,
needs a lady who is willing to
help him financially, for a
relationship.
07068948634
•Tony 30, tall, handsome and
resides in Abuja, needs a
caring and pretty lady, who
DISCLAIMER!
Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in
or outside the country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does
so at his/her own risk. Our mission is only to provide a platform for social networking.
Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of
requests which may result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore
request that text must be sent through at least one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to
enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different style. You can send your requests to 33055. For
enquiries, text or call 08026651636
can sponsor his post graduate
degree for a serious
relationship.08179152948
•Michael 33, from East, needs
a God fearing Christian lady,
aged 18-23,who resides in
Lagos, for a serious
relationship.08137582623,08189023066
•Daniel 40 employed, HIV
positive and resides in
Anambra State, needs an HIV
Positive lady, aged 30,
for marriage.08141119844
•Daniel 19, tall, handsome
and resides in Abuja, needs a
lady, aged 22-50, who can take
care of him. 08179176222,
08064950780
•Paul 32, light in complexion,
matured, employed and
resides in Delta state, needs
an employed lady, for a
serious relationship that can
lead to marriage.
08050450109,09039013099
•Daniel 42, needs a pretty,
loving, busty, fair in
complexion,romantic and
employed lady, nurse or
teacher,aged 25-35, for
marriage.09086685850
•Raymond 38, employed,
Igbo, by tribe but resides in
Benin City, needs a humble
and God fearing lady, for
marriage, aged18-40.
0807798139507083444271,08030508678
•Ben 32, jovial, loving, fair
in complexion, athletic built
and a graduate, needs a lady,
for a relationship, that can lead
to marriage. 08039272261
•Chuks 30, needs a God
fearing and multinational
lady, who resides in Abuja, for
serious relationshipwith
purpose .08035858616
•Akin 33, employed form
Osun state but resides in
Lagos, needs a God fearing,
gentle, educated, loving,
caring and matured Muslim
lady, aged 23-27, for
marriage.07069596282
•Tony resides in Lagos, needs
a lady who also resides in
Lagos, for a relationship.
09077088374
•Austin 29, single male lawyer
wants a lady who thinks
outside the box and wants
decent company and
adventure for relationship.
07066950802
•Mich 31, needs a rich lady,
aged 35-45, for a discrete
affair.08032466144
Sugar Cares
Searching Female
•Bennie , 26,a graduate,
reside in Lagos, romantic and
fun loving needs a nice and
caring sugar daddy btw
the ages of 50-70.
08050572880,08168485612
Searching Male
•Prudent 32, from Delta state
needs a sexually starved
sugar mummy who resides in
Delta state for a relationship.
07037177183
•Vincent 30,6ft tall, fair in
complexion, from Delta state
but resides in Ibadan needs a
sugar mummy, within Ibadan,
Lagos,aged40-45, for a
serious relationship.
080221311079
•A man,needs a wealthy,
beautiful, sexy and active
sugar mummy, aged 45,who
is not married and can support
him financially.08085254398
•Yusuf 33, tall, slim and
handsome, needs a sugar
mummy in Lagos.
08116509982,07064772147
COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVEL
VELTY BASED SOLUTION (ADVER
VERTORIAL)
I keep hearing all kinds of
things about how
masturbation is bad and all
that? Please what is your take
on the matter along with anal
sex? – Sandra
Masturbation or selfpleasuring
is really about the
human body getting sexual
relief in the absence of a partner
to have sex with. This sexual
relief is very important because
it helps lower stress and
depression levels. Most
impressive I think is how it also
helps keep people sane, rational
and in control of their sexual
urges and devious
tendencies.Rape, domestic
violence, sexual
molestationof both children
and adults, incest and a variety
of sexually deviant
behaviorhave their roots in
unfulfilled sexual desires.
Everybody masturbates and as
weird as that might sound, our
world is significantly safer
because of this and our wives,
daughters, mothers and sisters
are able to commute from one
place to another with relative
safety.
Secondly, anal sex like all other
forms of sex does have risks such
as bruising/bleeding due to lack
of lubrication and the spread of
sexually transmitted diseases
and bacterial infections when
protection is absent. If one is
able to clean the anal passage
before and after intercourse and
use a good lubricant and
protection, they will be fine. Lots
of couples are into anal play. It
really is a matter of preference
and mutual consent - Uche
I will like to order more of the
FX 3000. I tried it over the
holiday period after a friend
recommended it and I cannot
believe how it transformed my
love life at 62years of age. My
erections are strong again and
I can perform well, last long and
keep performing for days –
Chike
You are welcome. It is one of the
best natural male performance
enhancers out there – Uche
I have started using the Stiff
Nights Erection Enhancer as
recommended by you for weak
erection and it is doing the job.
Now I want penis enlargement
as well but I don’t know if I can
take both drugs at the same time
– Yakubu
An alternative way to enlarge
your penis when you are already
taking an erection supplement is
through the use of an
enlargement cream or pump. So
for this, get the Handsome Up
Enlargement Pumpor XXL
Enlargement Cream– Uche
Hello sir. I have no problem with
sex but I have never really been
a big fan like that because the
men I have been with rarely last
long enough for the fun to be
significant – Paulina
Well that is not your fault but
there are ways to make this
experience last longer. If you are
in a relationship where you and
your lover can speak honestly
about sex, then you can get him
to wear a Cockring during
intercourse. This novelty will help
him last up to 20 minutes in bed
even after ejaculation.
Alternatively, you can add a
vibrator to your lovemaking
process to ensure the fun
continues for as long as you want.
Ask for the Jeusen Undulating
Rabbit Vibrator – Uche
My husband and I are interested
in novelties that boost
performance and sexual play.
Our preference is toys and
movies. Do you have anal toys
and something that can make
him maintain his erection for
longer?
For anal toys, you can take the
Ridged Vibrating Butt Plug. It is
the best. Also ask for the Dolphin
Vibrating Cockring. This will
help him last longer while
pleasuring you as well. The 7 inch
Penile Extension is also very
good for this too and helps men
continue intercourse long after
ejaculating. If you do not already
have a toy, take the Lilo
Rechargeable Wand. It is great
for couples or solo use. And for
the movies, get the
KamasutraSex Position Guide
for couples and the movieThe
Masseuse - Uche
Adults in need of these
treatments/novelties can call us
on 08171912551, 08027901621
or 07086754515 for help or visit
www.zeevirtualmedia.comto
place their orders with their
computers oron their phones
with thezee mobile shopping
app. Zee Virtual Media delivers
all over Nigeria. For enquiries
email us at
custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com-
Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual
Media.
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14 , 2018, Page 27
BENUE KILLINGS
Give us justice
now, or…
• Benue mourners cry as 73 victims of herdsmen attacks get mass burial
• Stop sending representatives, come and see for yourself the magnitude of the
killings in our land, Tiv monarch tells Buhari
•Father laments as pregnant wife of son, killed just after finishing NYSC, gives
birth
BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI
IT was all scenes of tears everywhere
last Thursday as the remains of the 73
persons killed by suspected herdsmen in
Tomatar and Umenge, Akor villages in
Guma local government area of Benue
State, and Ayilamo, Turan and Ngambe-
Tiev in Logo local government area were
laid to rest at a special cemetery located at
Genabe village on the outskirts of
Makurdi, the state capital.
The thousands of people who turned out
to witness the funeral service at the IBB
Square, Makurdi went into frenzy,
demanding justice for the unarmed
victims, including pregnant women,
children and the elderly, who were
gruesomely murdered by suspected
herdsmen on new year day and the days
after.
Most of the people who turned out for
the mass burial service wore black dresses
to show their mourning mood while
businesses and commercial activities in
the state were brought to a halt to honour
the departed.
Recurrent attacks by suspected
herdsmen, dating back to 2012, have left
at least 17 of the 23 local government areas
of the state in ruins with over
4,000 lives lost and property
estimated at N95billion lost.
But the new year day attacks,
coming barely two months after
the commencement of the
implementation of the Open
Grazing Prohibition Law in
Benue, were seen by many as
a major affront to the law, the
people and government of the
state given the alleged threat by
the leadership of the Miyetti
Allah Kautal Hore to invade the
state and resist its
implementation.
Following the massacre and
the tension it generated, the
Inspector General of Police, IGP,
Mr. Ibrahim Idris, was directed
by President Buhari to relocate
to Benue and beef up security.
But before then, the police, in
conjunction with the military
and other security agencies, had
commenced an operation to
return peace to the troubled
areas.
Meanwhile, the killings
continued unabated and the
police also bore the brunt of the
suspected herders who, in their
usual guerrilla warfare style,
attacked Tse Awashua and
Gambe-Tiev in Tombo council
ward of Logo local government
area and slaughtered two
policemen deployed there.
*The lorpuus being consoled by sympathisers
The development triggered the criticism
of the police chief who had in an interview
classified the killings as the products of
communal crisis.
At a stakeholders meeting
with the IGP immediately on his
arrival in Makurdi to aggregate
the people’s views on the
happenings in the state,
speaker after speaker, including
youths, women and the leaders
of the three socio-cultural
organisations in Benue,
lampooned Idris for the
statement credited to him.
The IGP tendered an
unreserved apology for the
comment which he attributed to
a misconception.
“I want to apologize for the
misconception over the
statement I made at a press
briefing I made in Abuja”, he
said.
“What I tried to convey in that
statement is that we should live
together and regard each other
as our brothers’ keepers and
also ensure peaceful
coexistence.
“Irrespective of where you
come from, we should be seen
as one people who should live
in peace and show love for one
another.
“So, in essence, my statement
should not be seen or regarded
as my support for anyone but
must be seen to be an advice for
the greater unity of our
country” .
Idris assured that adequate
men and materials had been
*Philomena lost an uncle
drafted to the state to stop the killings and
to ensure the return of peace and order in
the state.
Governor Samuel Ortom informed the
gathering that 73 bodies had been
recovered from some of the attacked
communities, assuring that arrangements
were on to accord the deceased persons a
befitting burial at the end of the three days
of mourning declared by government.
So, on Thursday, the governor led
thousands of Benue people to accord their
last respects to those whom he described
as martyrs in the struggle against the
enemies of the state.
Addressing those in attendance at the
funeral service, Ortom cautioned that if the
Federal Government failed to put a halt to
the killings by suspected herdsmen, the
country could relapse into anarchy.
He reiterated his call for the arrest of
the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Kautal
Hore for their alleged complicity in the
killings, saying Nigerians were tired of
the criminal activities of herdsmen.
Earlier in a state broadcast, the governor
had lamented that the invasion of the state
was an orchestrated plot to exterminate
the people and take over their land for
grazing.
He noted that the bandits attacking
Benue communities were being camped
at Tungwa in Awe local government area
of Nasarawa state from where they had
been invading.
He appealed to the Federal Government
to move against the Miyatti Allah Kautal
Hore and bring them to justice since they
had allegedly earlier issued threats to
invade the state to resist the Open Grazing
Prohibition Law in the state.
He warned that if the Federal
Government failed to do justice in the
matter, the blood of those killed would cry
for justice before God.
Speaking at the funeral, elder statesman
and a former Minister of Steel, Wantaregh
Paul Unongo, cautioned that, as the
spiritual leader of the state, he was being
compelled to mobilize the people to raise
a million-man army to defend their land
and ancestral homes.
“If the people we voted for cannot
defend us we will teach our people how
to defend themselves”, Unongo said.
“We cannot accept anybody coming to
our state to kill and rape our children and
wives anymore. We will not allow it
again.
“I serve a notice to the leaders of this
country and we are saying enough is
enough. If government cannot defend us,
in two weeks, we can raise an army to
defend us.
“We are not going to allow this to
happen again in our land and watch
helplessly.”
On his part, the paramount ruler of Tiv
Tribe, His Majesty, Prof James Ayatse,
remarked that the killing of the 73 persons
by suspected herdsmen was part of ethnic
cleansing agenda.
Ayatse said, “I want to draw the world’s
attention to the fact that what is happening
is not only happening in Benue but also
in Nasarawa and Taraba against the Tiv
nation.
“We want to believe that what is
happening is a clear signal that there is a
programme of genocide against Benue
State.
“I call upon the Federal Government to
rise up and put an end to this wickedness
and impunity”.
He urged President Buhari to visit the
state to calm frayed nerves and to reassure
the people that Benue was still part and
parcel of the country.
The monarch expressed disappointment
that after the alarm raised by the state
government foretelling the attacks by
suspected herdsmen in the state, nothing
was done.
Decked in a mourning regalia, Ayatse
said, “I am yet to understand the reason
for the slaughtering of our people. We feel
very unhappy that it is happening to us
as citizens of Nigeria. We sacrificed for
the unity of this country.
“There is no household that you go to
in Tiv land that you will not find a soldier
who fought for this country or lost a loved
one in the civil war. I am sad because
the killings have continued even as I talk
with you.
“I am therefore expecting that the
President will come to Benue but if he
does not, then that means he is not treating
us as friends. Even if he comes and waves
at the people and says, ‘I feel your pain
and sorrow’, it will do a lot of good. When
he comes himself, his whole being will be
here and the impact on the people will be
greater than sending representatives.
“If he does not come at all, we will not be
happy as a people because he has been
visiting places where we didn’t record this
magnitude of killings.”
Continuing, he said, “Though the Federal
government has made some efforts to stem
the crisis but I am not satisfied with the
Continues on page 28
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 28 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANURY 14, 2018
Give us justice now, or…
Continued from page 27
efforts.
“It is a well-planned, barbaric and
coordinated genocide on my people to take
over our land; it is unfortunate and very
saddening.
“We have been restraining our people
against any form of reprisal, so I expect
government to act fast before this snowballs
into what nobody can control.”
On the proposed establishment of cattle
colonies by the Federal Government, the
royal father said the move was alien
especially to an area where the people were
not cattle rearers, maintaining that the
grazing law enacted in the state should be
supported by the federal authorities to
succeed “because it is a global practice.”
Also speaking, Senator Joseph Waku said
the killings in Benue were unacceptable and
unwarranted, stressing that the people
would resist further attacks if the Federal
Government failed to protect lives and
property.
In his homily at the requiem service, the
Bishop of Gboko Dioceses, Most Reverend
Williams Avenya, who took his reading from
the book of John 11, 21 and 32, consoled
those who lost loved ones warning that the
wanton killing in the state would no longer
be accepted by the people of the state.
Also speaking, Gen. Lawrence Onoja (rtd)
said, “What we see in Benue today is a
genocidal conspiracy hatched in the highest
places.
“I align myself with the proposal by Elder
Unongo; if we get to the position of raising
an army, I don’t mind commanding that
army so long as Benue is protected.
“I therefore urge the Federal Government
to come to Benue and replicate the
‘Operation Python Dance’ that was
introduced in the South East to address the
herdsmen killings in our state.”
On his part, former Governor George
Akume lamented that the sanctity of human
life was being violated by herdsmen and
nothing was being done by the Federal
Government to stem the tide.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Country
Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr. Martins Ejidike,
called on the federal authorities to ensure
that the killings were investigated and the
masterminds brought to justice.
The Country Coordinator assured that the
world body would muster resources to
provide assistance to the over 60,000 persons
displaced in Benue as a result of the attacks.
In a related development, some of those
who lost loved ones in the attacks urged the
Federal Government to apprehend the
masterminds before the people resort to selfhelp
or reprisal attacks.
To Philomena Orakaanya, who lost
a 68-year-old uncle in one of the
attacks, the silence of President
Buhari on the killings was an
indication that the suspected killer
herdsmen enjoyed the backing of the
authorities.
“This is not the first time herdsmen
were invading Guma local
government to chase our people
away from our ancestral homes in
order to take over and graze their
cattle”, she lamented.
“It has been happening and
despite our pleas to the Federal
Government to stop them, nothing
has been done; the herdsmen are
being emboldened by the silence of
government.
“This time they came to Tomatar
on January 2 and killed our people
including my uncle, Julius Gwa, who
was in his farm harvesting rice.
“They caught him in the farm and
butchered him like an animal after
which they dumped his body on the
farm, leaving his six children
fatherless and his two wives without
a bread winner.
“How long will we continue like
*Ifeoma lost her husband
He died, leaving his heavily
pregnant wife who gave birth
two days ago. The young
man just passed out of
Youth Service in Kamte,
Taraba State. That is the pain
the present Federal
Government has given my
family and I for voting them
into power
this? Our people asked and got the grazing
law from the state government believing that
it will bring an end to the killings but these
people are clearly showing us that some
people own this country more than others.”
In the case of the Sende family, their pains
knew no bounds after their patriarch, 60-
year-old Asamoga Sende, was killed
alongside his son, Shikaan, 30, and
granddaughter, 11 months, in one of the
latest attacks.
Also narrating her ordeal, newly married
Ifeoma Ene, 26, said she lost her husband,
Samuel, in the attacks. According to her, she
and her deceased husband had barely
opened their shop at Tomatar around 6am
on the fateful day when the sound
of gunshots sent everyone running
helter-skelter.
“We came to the shop around
6am because buying and selling
starts very early in the community.
I was busy sweeping when we
started hearing gunshots.
“The herdsmen who were
carrying sophisticated weapons
matched into our shop and on
seeing my husband they shot him
on the chest and asked me to run
away. But before I could run, they
asked me what I was carrying in
my bag, but I was dumbfounded.
“One of them snatched my bag
and collected the money there and
cell phones and warned that I
should run and not look back. Even
when I pleaded that they should
allow me carry my husband, they
threatened to also shoot me.
“I ran away but when they left
and I returned to the shop, I
discovered that my husband was
already dead and all the goods in
our shop had been looted.”
Narrating his own story,
Comrade Mike Vember said the
assailants struck on January 2 at
*Sende lost son and grandchild
*Attah lost a son
*Vembe lost two relations
Iornongh, Bakir Kator, on Umenge - Keana
Road and hacked to death his cousin, Julius
Gwar, a bulldozer operator.
“After that, on January 3, as early as 5am,
they struck again; this time, they killed
another of my cousin, Abende Aloysius; since
then, the entire village has been deserted
and I learned that the herdsmen have made
several attempts to take over the village but
they were chased away by the army
personnel patrolling the community who
also confiscated their motorbikes.”
To 17-year-old Tarkubu Iorpuu, the
gruesome murder of her father, Ger Iorpuu,
a member of the Benue State Livestock
Guard, was huge setback to the family.
She said, “Because of the attacks on our
community, my father and other men in the
community asked us to leave our homes at
Gbashia village in Logo local government
area for another village for fear that we might
not be able to run if the Fulani people came
to our village.
“That same night, they came and attacked
our village; my father, who is a member of
the Livestock Guard, was killed. We are
completely helpless because I am the eldest
and still in secondary school while my
siblings are very small with no one to take
care of us.
“We are pleading with government to stop
these killings and also arrest those who killed
my father. I am also pleading that they help
us pay our school fees because my mother
and step mother may not be able to cater for
our needs like our father did when he was
alive.”
The gruesome murder of Augustine Attah,
a library and information science graduate
of Benue State University, who only few
weeks back completed his Youth Service,
has left his father in deep shock
“I am yet to understand why my son, who
I spent all my life savings to give education,
could be murdered just like a common
criminal by people who do not value human
life”, the bereaved father said.
“He had gone to my village at Kasiyo in
Guma local government to harvest our farm
produce and they were coming back to
Makurdi through Amua Jogo when they
met some armed herdsmen who opened
fire on them.
“Some occupants of the vehicle conveying
him managed to escape but my son was
not that lucky, he was killed on the spot by
the armed men who fled after the shooting.
“He died, leaving his heavily pregnant
wife who gave birth two days ago. The
young man just passed out of Youth
Service in Kamte, Taraba State. That is
the pain the present Federal Government
has given my family and I for voting them
into power. The blood of my son will surely
cry for justice and all those supporting
the wanton killing of innocent people will
pay, if not now, in the very future.”
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANURY 14, 2018, PAGE 29
Butchers in Benue: What a nation!—Okogie
By Sam Eyoboka
PIQUED by recent violent
eruptions in different parts of
the country, Catholic Archbishop
Emeritus of Lagos, Anthony
Cardinal Okogie has urged
President Muhammadu Buhari to
urgently demonstrate convincingly
that there is only one Nigeria - a
Nigeria of the law-abiding, a
Nigeria where no one is above the
law, a Nigeria where those who
break the law are treated according
to the law irrespective of their
political affiliation.
In a write up titled: “Butchers in
Benue: What a Nation!”, the former
National President of the Christian
Association of Nigeria, CAN,
lamented that Nigeria is daily
wobbling from one major crisis to
another.
With particular reference to the
dastard killing of innocent citizens
in Benue State by Fulani herdsmen,
Okogie lamented that “what
obtains in Nigeria at this point in
time is the unmitigated tragedy of
spectacular failure of government.
But, instead of a serious attempt on
the part of the government to mend
its ways, its spokespersons find a
hobby in insulting Nigerians with
dissenting voices, while preparations
and propaganda for re-election
have already begun.
“It is reprehensible that while
Nigerians are disturbed at the
butchery in Benue, the President and
his party are campaigning for votes
in Abia State. We are thus being told
in a rather crude and arrogant
manner that the fortunes of the
politician take precedence over
security and welfare of citizens of
Nigeria. Politicians who truly rely
on the votes of the people to be in
office respect the people because
they know that the day of reckoning
shall surely come,” Okogie said.
The latest full article by the
Cardinal dated January 10, 2018
and made available to Sunday
Vanguard reads:
“She ended the year 2017 in
excruciating fuel scarcity, and began
the year 2018 witnessing the
massacre of the innocents. While
Nigerians were still exchanging
•Okogie
New Year greetings, from Benue
State came gory pictures of pregnant
women, children, adults and the
aged cut to pieces like animals in
an abattoir.
From Rivers State came pictures
of Nigerians slaughtered on New
Year’s Day. From Ilorin in Kwara
State came pictures of Churches
vandalized, and innocent Nigerian
Christians physically and sexually
assaulted within their Churches on
New Year’s Eve, with chants of
another religion in the mouths of
their assailants. Nigerians are no
longer abducted on the streets or
highways. Abductors now invade
the privacy of their homes, even
violating the sacredness of their
bedrooms, to pick them up,
demanding millions of naira as
ransom.
The North-eastern part of Nigeria
remains an expanding theatre of war
as we read of the killer instinct and
atrocities of terrorist herdsmen in
Adamawa and Taraba. Apart from
Benue, other states in the middle belt
like Kaduna and Plateau are regular
targets of bloody herdsmen.
Southern states like Delta and
Enugu States have also been visited
by the same murderous herdsmen,
leaving traces of sorrow, tears and
blood.
In the present situation, there are
some questions to which a
supposedly responsible and
accountable government must
provide clear answers: where is the
government in all this? Where were
the security agencies when innocent
Nigerians were being assaulted and
slaughtered? Why is it that our
policemen and soldiers, notorious
for brutalizing innocent civilians,
are conspicuously absent and
impotent when those same civilians
are being attacked? We read
credible reports of herdsmen
attacking police posts and killing
policemen with their superior
firepower. Who is providing
herdsmen with arms?
Nigerian citizens living in states
where herdsmen and kidnappers
are operating have senators and
governors representing them. In
the case of Benue State, as at the
time this is being written, apart from
the Governor, no word has been
heard from any senator or
Assemblyman or woman from
Benue State. Why is it that, in a
democracy, where every citizen is
represented at the local, state and
federal level, those who were voted
into office to represent the citizen
are completely ineffective?
It is the responsibility of
government to protect the life of
every citizen. The Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
despite its many dangerous flaws,
stipulates that every Nigerian has a
right to life. The life of every
Nigerian citizen, whether that citizen
comes from the south or the north,
the east or the west, must be
protected at all times and in all
places within the borders of Nigeria.
But Nigerians look to this
government for protection in vain.
A truly responsible government
acts proactively. Treating matters
of security with levity does not form
part of the job description of a
Commander-in-Chief. When
Nigerian citizens are slaughtered
like cows, as we saw recently in
Benue State, in a recurrence of
herdsmen’s butchery, those who lead
us must be held accountable. For
when they took the oath of office,
they promised to uphold the
Constitution of our country. But a
government that fails to protect the
citizen cannot convince Nigerians
that it is alive to its responsibility.
There is an urgent and compelling
need for the President and
Commander-in-Chief to show
leadership in this regard.
What obtains in Nigeria at this
point in time is the unmitigated
tragedy of spectacular failure of
government. But, instead of a
serious attempt on the part of the
government to mend its ways, its
spokespersons find a hobby in
insulting Nigerians with dissenting
voices, while preparations and
propaganda for re-election have
already begun. It is reprehensible
that while Nigerians are disturbed
at the butchery in Benue, the
President and his party are
campaigning for votes in Abia
State. We are thus being told in a
rather crude and arrogant manner
that the fortunes of the politician take
precedence over security and welfare
of citizens of Nigeria. Politicians
who truly rely on the votes of the
people to be in office respect the
people because they know that the
day of reckoning shall surely come.
Nigeria overdue for restructuring, CAN President tells Buhari
The President, Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN),
Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle,
has thrown his weight behind those
calling for the restructuring of the
country.
President Muhammadu Buhari
in his New Year message had
rejected restructuring.
Ayokunle, who doubles as the
President of the Nigerian Baptist
Convention, yesterday, in
Abuja at the International Workers’
Retreat of the Convention
said, at 57, the country is due for
restructuring, saying, however, it
must be done without fear of
favour.
Said he, “There is the need to
update how we govern ourselves,
thus, re-structuring the nation
after 57 years is a welcome development.
It must be done without
bias or prejudice to religion,
ethnicity, class or group affiliation.
“We must develop our homegrown
democracy. The present
system is a hybrid of the American
and British systems. It is not
working well for us.”
The cleric said it is clear that
every nation in the world has her
glory adding, “Nigeria is not left
out. Our glory is our pride as a
nation.
“When we gained independence
from Britain in 1960, it
was a turning point in our history
and a breakthrough for the
nation’s glory to burst forth. Our
glory shone brighter and brighter
after independence as we became
the foremost nation in Africa
and indeed among the black
race.
“However, at a point, the glory
began to fade and we are yet to
recover that glory. If we must
bring back the glory of Nigeria
and rise to more glory as a nation,
then effective participation
is compulsory for all Christians”.
The CAN President asked
Christians avoiding politics as
a plague because it is dirty to
have a rethink and embrace it if
they wanted to make impact on
the political scene.
“The practice of separation of
State and Church must be redefined.
While the State must not
be allowed to control the Church,
the Church must influence the State
through Christians who are in position
of power.
“To get to a position of power, there
is need for election especially in a
democratic setting like ours. We
must be involved in all facets of politics.
Politics is not a dirty game as
many have come to believe, but those
who play politics are the ones who
•Rev Ayokunle
are dirty”.
Ayokunle had words of advice
for those who are politically conscious:
• Join a political party, and be a
card-carrying member.
• Register to vote when called to
do so by INEC
• Participate actively at the ward
level of your party, attend meetings,
and contribute meaningfully during
discussions.
• Vote and encourage others to
vote during election period. Do not
stay back at home and watch TV,
play football or sleep.
• Monitor and protect your vote
He went on: “Sidon look approach
will not help us as Christians.
Mike Murdock said, ‘Never complain
about what you permit’. If we
do not participate actively in politics,
then we do not have the right to
complain about the type of leaders
that are presented by political
parties to be voted for and
voted into various office.
“This year, God is interested
in our nation and us. Throughout
the Bible, we see God intervening,
leading and instructing
men on how to lead their nations.
He is urging us as Christians to
be involved in the governing process
of our nation. Nigeria is at
the center of God’s plan for the
human race”.
On nation-building, Ayokunle
said, “If nation building in the
21st century is to be successful, the
importance of democratic values,
civic culture and civil society that
develop and sustain them, the importance
of increasing social, political,
and economic equality,
Meanwhile, Nigerians have not
forgotten President Buhari’s
statement when he took the oath of
office on May 29, 2015.
Paraphrasing the nihilist subtitle of
Friedrich Nietzsche work, Thus
Spake Zarathustra: A Book for
Everybody and for No One, our
President said, “I belong to
everybody, I belong to no one.” For
the past three years, however,
Nigerians have been waiting for
these words to take a concrete
expression in the way Nigerians are
treated by his government. Shall
they wait in vain?
The President of Nigeria must be
for all Nigerians. He has a nonnegotiable
moral obligation to rally
all the security agencies under his
command to protect the life of every
Nigerian. That obligation is to be
assumed now, not later. Not to do
so would amount to a betrayal of
trust.
While we hear some arrests have
been made, the insufficiency of the
arrest of foot soldiers must not be
overlooked. Those who
mastermind the killings of innocent
Nigerians—and the utterances of
leaders of Miyetti Allah make of
them prime suspects—must be
apprehended and diligently
prosecuted, with the aim of securing
their conviction, with appropriate
sanctions imposed. Days after
some leaders of Miyetti Allah have
spoken in support of the killings in
Benue, none of them has been
arrested, none invited by the police
for interrogation.
This act of omission on the part of
government lends credence to what
many Nigerians have been
suggesting: that those behind these
killings are left to go untouched
because of their ethnic and political
affiliation. If that is the case, then
we have another illustration of two
Nigerias—the Nigeria of the rightly
connected, and the Nigeria of the
wrongly connected. President
Buhari needs to demonstrate
convincingly that there is only one
Nigeria - a Nigeria of the lawabiding,
a Nigeria where no one is
above the law, a Nigeria where those
who break the law are treated
according to the law irrespective of
their political affiliation.
and of human development, rather
than just economic development,
are key in any successful
strategy for long-term democratic
nation-building.
“For Nation building to be a sustainable
force for peacebuilding,
it must incorporate more than just
the Western appendages of democracy,
voting systems, free market
development and increase in
the Gross National Product
(GNP) of the nation”.
On the perceived ongoing genocide
in Benue and Taraba states,
the CAN leader prayed for peace
in the areas, asking God to comfort
the bereaved, heal those recuperating
in the hospitals and challenged
the government and the security
agencies to live up to the
expectation.
"Bloodletting could have been
avoided if our political leaders the
heads of the security agencies are
alive to their responsibilities. This
is why the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) has been consistently
calling on them to live
up to the billing.
"What is happening in the Northcentral
of the country is a shame,
ungodly, wicked and ungodly. It is
high time we stopped it before we
are thrown into another needless
civil war".
C
M
Y
K

Page 30 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
BENUE
PRESIDENCY FAUL
ULTS CRITICS
Killings have nothing to do with
Buhari being Fulani
•Explains why president was reluctant to deploy troops
•On 2019: He will soon decide whether to run or not
The mood of President Muhammadu Buhari when the news of the new year day bloody attacks on
Benue State filtered into town was one of sadness, Sunday Vanguard has been exclusively told. His
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in an interview in Abuja, last week, disclosed
that the President felt very bad about the dastardly act that claimed over 70 lives. Adesina said his
principal, who directed the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to relocate to Benue, to calm the
storm, was also keeping tab on the security situation across the country. Asked why the police were
deployed to Benue instead of soldiers as was the case in Abia (at the peak of the IPOB crisis), the
presidential spokesman said the scenario that prompted the deployment of soldiers in the South-East
was not the same with Benue. He also responded to the calls for a broadcast to the nation by the president
on the killings, saying actions were more appropriate than talking. Adesina also spoke on the calls on
Buhari to seek re-election. Excerpts:
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
It is two and a half years into
President Buhari’s administration.
As the spokesperson, how do you
assess the government?
I would rather that you had asked an
impartial person that question because
he can then answer it dispassionately.
But if you ask an insider to assess the
government in which he serves,
naturally, he will rate the government
well because he is serving in that
government. But an impartial observer
will be more neutral, more
dispassionate. So, let’s leave the
assessment of the government to those
impartial observers. But all I would just
say is that this government came in at a
very difficult time in the history of this
country. It has done its best in many
areas. The times are still very difficult
but the work continues.
I asked the question because one
would say that this administration has
not commissioned even one single
project. Would they be saying the truth
or lying against the government that
mouthed so much of hitting the ground
running once it assumed power?
That is very funny to me. There are
many projects that have been
commissioned. I leave you to find out.
But anything enduring has a gestation
process. Do you want roads that are just
resurfaced in six months and they are
commissioned with fanfare and in
another six months they are washed
away. No. This administration will not
do that. It will take its time to build
enduring things. Whatever it is doing,
roads, railways, will be done properly.
Things that are built to last are what this
administration would do. This
administration will not play to the gallery;
it would rather do what is right, in all
things and at all time.
The year 2017 was actually a very
difficult one for you, the government
and for Nigerians in the sense that the
President, I recall, on January 19, jetted
out of the country for health reasons
and it continued for the better part of
the year. How did you cope with the
agitations from Nigerians?
It is just a case of being human and
putting ourselves in other people’s
•Adesina
shoes. Anybody can be sick: presidents,
princes, kings, queens, ordinary
people, anybody can be ill and anybody
can recover and anybody can die. So
when our president was going through
that trying time, what I expected from
people was empathy. They should
empathize with him and so, for me, I
resolved that through thick and thin, I
stand by the president and that was
what I did. And in doing that I also
told myself that I would always tell the
truth that was available to me. I will
not spin anything. I will not colour
anything. I will not give Nigerians
yarns, no falsehood, truth that was
available to me was what I will tell and
that was what I did throughout.
During the period, you were quoted
as saying you would only report what
you were told and Nigerians
wondered how and why the
spokesperson of the president would
be told what to say instead of seeing it
himself.
I didn’t have to then go and stay in
the UK with somebody who was ailing.
Your presence there was not useful.
There were people who would go to see
him and come back and give you
feedback and you would present that
feedback to Nigerians and tell them that
‘this is what I have received and that is
what I am giving you’. If Nigerians
wanted to believe, they should then
believe and that kind of time called for
empathy like I said and believing
whatever comes from government to
you. This is not a government that would
lie to people. I can’t recall a lie that this
government has told Nigerians, at least
not deliberately, not willingly. This
president does not want you to spin
anything for him, and if you make the
mistake to spin something for him, he
would come out one day and tell the
truth and you would be ashamed. The
onus was on Nigerians to believe what
we were telling them and I am glad that
a large number of the people believed.
Are you perturbed by some
insinuations in some quarters that the
government is controlled by a cabal
rather that the president?
There is no place that there is no cabal
even in your home and cabal can be
positive or negative. If it is negative,
then that is where the issue comes in.
Everywhere, even in companies you
have them. In churches and mosques
you have them. Wherever you have
more than two or three people, you will
find that there will be a cabal because
two of them can get together and take a
decision. So, cabal can be positive or
negative. What I know is that every
government has its kitchen cabinet,
people that the leader of the
government will always consult and
they will take decisions together. So
beyond that I don’t know. If you’re trying
to say that there is a group with some
pernicious influence, unless you tell me
their names and show me things they
have done, I cannot say more than that.
Some people believe that the report
of the panel headed by Vice President
Yemi Osinbanjo that investigated the
sacked SGF should be made public and
there should be punitive measures.
People are saying that he should be
handed over to the EFCC for
prosecution but up till now nobody has
heard anything. Do Nigerians actually
stand a chance of seeing that come to
pass?
There are some things that are never
released until they are declassified by
government and declassification takes
a period of time. I am sure that,
sometime in the future, that report can
be declassified. But, for now, it is a
declassified report. It was submitted to
government which looked at it and took
a decision based on that report. If that
report is going to be declassified, it is
going to be the prerogative of the
president. It is not going to be as a
matter of right that the people must
know. No. It is going to be, one, the
decision of the president; two, it is going
to be a consequence of time and then
that report can be declassified.
The opposition party, the PDP, called
for the prosecution of the sacked SGF.
They alleged that only members of the
opposition are being prosecuted. If
that had happened in the other party,
would the president have kept silence?
The thing is that the president never
directs the agencies on what to do,
especially the anti-graft agencies. He
never directs them. They do what they
think is proper and the president never
stops them. So the onus is on the antigraft
agencies to move in on that matter
if they consider that there is a prima
facie case established against those who
are concerned.
Most Nigerians feel that the president
is tribalistic. You have worked with him
Continues on page 31
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018, Page 31
'Why president was reluctant to
deploy troops in Benue'
Continued from page 30
for years now, how do you see that?
When you say most Nigerians, it is
very subjective and it is one of the
subjective things we say in this country.
You don’t just sit down in your house
and maybe because you have heard 50
or maximum 100 people say one thing,
you then say most Nigerians out of
180million Nigerians; so it is subjective
for you to say most Nigerians. Now, the
president I have worked with for two
and a half years, going to three years
now, is a very fair-minded man. If he
knows that this is the fair and just thing
to do, he goes ahead and does it. And
in terms of appointing people, at times,
it just happens that this is the best
qualified person or this is the next in
rank or this is the one that has been
recommended most highly, now the
president would say that ‘if I reject this
person based on where he comes from,
have I not be unfair to him?’ So those
are some of the considerations that come
into play most times. To say that there
president is tribalistic, I have not seen
that in him while working with him.
Can you vouch for his integrity as
well?
Not for me to vouch, he is known the
world over for his integrity. He was out
of government for about 30 or 32years
and, then, he was re-elected. What got
Nigerians to re-elect him? His integrity!
And remember when he went to
America for the first time, you heard
what then President Obama said about
him that ‘this is a man widely known
for his integrity the world over’.
Remember the Archbishop of
Canterbury when David Cameron was
talking about ‘fantastically corrupt’, he
said ‘but this current president is not
corrupt’. So he is known the world over
for his integrity. So it is not for me to
vouch for his integrity. In fact, I came to
work for him because of his integrity. I
am not a government person. I didn’t
think I was going to work in government
but because this man that has integrity
was the one that was elected, that was
why I chose to come and work for him.
Some people believed that the love
they had for him and lavished on him
has waned. It’s no more as it used to
because the government came on a
mantra of change and that change
hasn’t really been delivered to
Nigerians and they are now having
mixed feelings.
You are guilty of being subjective again
when you said ‘Nigerians’ broadly. I am
sure you have not taken a survey, you
have not heard from 200 people or 500
people; even if you heard from
10million people, what is 10million in a
country of 180million? There are still
people who love the president
passionately and they are across the
country and they understand with him
that he came at a very difficult time and
that he is doing the work under very
difficult circumstances and they are
ready to wait until that change comes.
Change is not a magic wand, change is
a process and people are ready to wait
for that process till it comes. See the day
he came back, I think, August 19; from
the airport to the Villa took us almost
an hour because, at every point of the
way, people were streaming onto the
road almost blocking the convoy and
those are the same people bearing the
brunt of the economic crunch. These
people streaming onto the road were
ordinary people. They were not induced
in any way. They are the ones going
through the hardest of the hard times
and see the way they responded to him.
They still love him passionately.
Everything may not be as they would
have wanted to have it but also it takes
a while. It took decades and not just 16
years of the PDP, it took decades to run
Nigeria aground. So why would
anybody think that in two and a half
years everything would be back to
normal? It will take a while.
The president blames the PDP and the
former governments for the woes of
the country. But some people feel that
you must not always be shifting blames,
accept responsibility for once. Like you
did in the video posted on Facebook
about the Benue killings, passing the
buck.
(Cuts) But I now said it is the duty of
government to protect lives...So, when
the president talks about the past and
blames the governments of the past, it
doesn’t mean that he passing the buck,
it is just a fact of history and it is said
that those who don’t consider the past
are doomed to repeat the mistakes of
that past. So our past must always be
kept ahead of us so that we don’t repeat
the mistakes of that past. As we move
forward, the past would be the key to
unlock the future we are going into.
It has taken the government quite
some time to find a way out of this
economic crunch, these economic
challenges we have
(Cuts in...) I don’t agree with you. If
the economy began to slow down in
There was panic
buying, there was
hoarding, there was
diversion and
everything and it
never got sorted out
till the new year. So it
was just a matter of
Nigerians causing
problems for
Nigerians
2012, as we have been told, until 2016
when it went into recession, that is four
years, and that recession lasted for only
one year and we came out of it, what
are you then saying? It took four years
to collapse. Shouldn’t it take eight years
to come back?
The opposition said that the president
is clueless, has been bereft of ideas...
(Cuts in...) You know that word is
already a trade mark (laughter) for those
in opposition now. When they were in
government, that word was, indeed,
manufactured for them. It was a clueless
government then, so they shouldn’t try
to pass it to another government. That
is their trade mark.
So you’re saying that the president
and the current government are really
•Adesina ... Some people deliberately sabotaging the system
moving on and getting things right?
Let Nigerians decide but all the indices
are clear: Economic, social, political, see
everything. On the political front, it used
to be that the party at the centre won all
the elections anywhere in the country.
Have you seen the elections held in the
past two years? There are some won by
the PDP. It never happened in the past.
It is happening now because the
president has said that if the last thing
he does is to give free and fair elections
to Nigerians, he will do it. APC went to
some elections. Anambra just ended. If
the APC wanted to use the PDP style, it
would take Anambra and take it with
impunity and it will tell the people ‘if
you don’t like it go to hell. Go to the
tribunal’. That is what PDP used to say.
‘We have won this election, go to the
tribunal’, but not this government under
President Buhari. That is change on the
political scene. Look at the economy. We
had a bubble economy in Nigeria based
on false foundation, false premise and
all that, everything was oil. It was like
a balloon and what do you need to
deflate a balloon? Just a pinprick! When
that pinprick came, Nigeria collapsed.
From $110 per barrel in about six years,
suddenly oil prices crashed to $29 per
barrel and Nigeria just crashed with it
because the economy was a bubble
economy. It was built on false premise.
It is now that President Buhari is
building a solid economy for Nigeria that
will not be dependent only on oil. Oil
will continue to be important to us. Oil
got us into trouble. Oil got us out of it
but, going forward, oil will not be the
only thing that Nigeria can rely on. See
what is happening in agriculture; see
what is happening in mines and steel;
see what is happening in
manufacturing; going forward Nigeria
will never be the same after this
administration.
Talking about oil, we were told that
once the subsidy is removed, there will
be no more queues. Aren’t you
surprised that Nigerians spent
Christmas virtually at fuel stations?
A lot of things went wrong. In
computer language, they call something
SNAFU, Situation Normal All Foul Up.
That was what happened. The situation
was normal even in the first week of
December. At the FEC meeting, the
minister of state for petroleum, Dr Ibe
Kachukwu, assured us that there was
enough fuel in the country till the new
year and, suddenly, there was that
threat of strike by PENGASSAN. You
know there had been some crisis caused
by short fall in supply. NNPC admitted
that but it had enough reserves into the
new year. It was in correcting that short
fall in supply when PENGASEN
declared a strike. The strike was called
off the very day it was to start but it was
enough to have disrupted everything.
There was panic buying, there was
hoarding, there was diversion and
everything and it never got sorted out
till the new year. So it was just a matter
of Nigerians causing problems for
Nigerians.
Nigerians causing problems for
Nigerians? How do you mean?
Marketers and some other interest
groups. Check the statistics that the
GMD of the NNPC gave of the number
of trucks that were diverted during that
period and it was about 149million litres
of PMS. Nigerians did that diversion.
They took it across the border and yet
they were crying that there was no fuel
in the country. How would there be fuel
if some people were deliberately
sabotaging the system, maybe trying to
force the government to increase the
pump price of petrol?
You recall the phrase, ‘body language
of the President’. I was thinking that
the ‘body language’ is still very much
active and could stop some of those
crimes against the state.
Well, for the honest, just and patriotic,
‘body language’ would work but some
people are hardened. They are
criminals at heart and they will go to
any length to subvert a system. For those
kinds of people, sanctions must come
and come heavily. ‘Body language’ is
good but for the honest, the patriotic and
those who want things to go well in the
country. But there are some, unless you
wield the big stick against them, they
won’t change.
Are you worried that the anticorruption
war is losing steam?
I don’t agree that it is losing steam
because the anti-corruption war is well
analyzed. Just go and look at the
statistics of the conviction, statistics of
the people that were brought before the
courts, monies that had been recovered
and that had been part of the budget of
2017 and the budget of 2018.
During his electioneering campaign,
President Buhari promised to fight
corruption to a standstill. But up till now
not even one person has been jailed.
(Cuts in) No, well, if you want to say
high profile or politically exposed
people, it is a different thing but there
Continues on page 32
C
M
Y
K

Page 32 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
'Buhari and Atiku are still friends'
Continued from page 31
are convictions every day. I was reading
of one former local government chairman
in Osun State that was jailed for six
years.
Yes, I mean high profile people.
Yes, high profile people before the
court can also hire high profile lawyers
who can delay the system and that is
what is happening and that is where the
onus is on the judiciary and the judiciary
to find a way to hasten anti-corruption
cases. The executive cannot be the
judge, cannot be the jury, it cannot be
everything. There is separation of
powers: The executive, the legislature
and the judiciary. Let the judiciary also
do its part.
Starting the new year with killings in
Benue and Rivers states, tell me how
the president actually feels.
Very sad, very bad and very distressed.
I have sat with the president a number
of times this year and I know how he
feels about the situation in the country,
completely sad and depressed. And he
is keeping an eye on everything and
giving the necessary instructions and
making sure that those instructions are
carried out. A lot of people said ‘we want
him to talk’, yes, it may be okay for him
to talk but, sometimes, actions speak
louder than words. He is doing things
to bring the situation under control and
that is more important than talking. You
may talk at times and do nothing. So,
the president is sad about all that’s
happening. And he’s doing everything
to ensure that the situation is brought
under control and I believe that going
forward after this flare of violence, this
problem may be sorted out once and for
all because it has been with us for a long
time now. And that is why I fault those
who say Fulani herdsmen are killing
people because we have a Fulani
president. Is this the first Fulani
president? No. Killings between 2013
and 2015 were more horrendous than
what we have seen even under this
administration. Was the president then
a Fulani? No. So, it doesn’t have
anything to do with the president being
Fulani. It is evil. It is criminal and it is
something that the government must sort
out. Government, according to our
constitution, has the responsibility to
protect lives and property and this
government will do it. It is unfortunate
that it has happened this way but the
solutions are being worked out and I
believe that, this time, they will give us
enduring solutions.
When there was civil unrest in Rivers
or Bayelsa State, the ‘Crocodile
Smiled’. In the East, the ‘Python
Danced’. People also expect that in
Benue, something more drastic should
take place. People are accusing the
president of foot-dragging on the
Benue killings.
Some Nigerians are never short of
criticisms. They will always criticise no
matter what you do. As of yesterday,
news came out that special units of the
armed forces had gone into Benue,
Nasarawa and Taraba states. So why is
that criticism still coming up? The
president himself, when I engaged with
him, told me that the easiest way to first
tackle the matter is through the police
because the police are in the 774 local
governments of the country. So, that’s
the first step in tackling the problem and
that was why he ordered the IG of police
to go into Benue. So if the IG now needs
further help, he will say so and other
forces will join.
But that wasn’t the case in Abia when...
(Cuts in...) Abia was a training
exercise. Don’t forget. You are a
journalist, you are a chronicler of history.
Military was not sent into Abia to quell
•Adesina ... Nigerians never short of criticism
any riot or any blood-letting or anything.
It was a training exercise for the military
which they do from time to time in
different places. Operation Python
Dance was a training exercise. It was in
the process of that training that some
people confronted them and it led to
what happened. So, it was not that they
were deployed to Abia to quell anything.
The timing of your documentary, ‘The
human side of President Buhari’, was
faulted by some Nigerians...
(Cuts in) Let me tell you what
happened. NNPC gave us an assurance
that the fuel crisis will end by that
weekend. On Thursday, we took a
decision to air that documentary on
Sunday based on the assurance of the
NNPC. Suddenly, it didn’t happen. Now
should you then because of that cancel
what you had scheduled? How many
people cancelled weddings? How many
people cancelled naming ceremonies?
How many people cancel social
ceremonies? Those who were making
noise just wanted to make noise over
nothing.
2019 is almost here and INEC has
announced deadlines for party
primaries. Does the president have any
intention of contesting again?
He will tell us because if he would
contest he would expect the people to
bring votes; so if he expects votes from
the people, there will be a time that you
must tell them, ‘I want your votes again’.
So that time would come. INEC has
unfolded the timetable. By August,
primaries would start, that means
anybody that is going to run must
declare his intention. Just this (last)
week, Chief John Oyegun, the National
Chairman of the APC, said the party was
not aware yet if the president would run.
So if the president is running, he must
make the party to be aware and
Nigerians to also be aware.
There are calls for him not to run.
Those people making the calls have
the democratic right to say what they
want and the president also has the
democratic right to run if he wishes to.
The president said he is old and cannot
act like a youth he was when he was
the head of state. Don’t you see that as
an obstacle?
I gave a response to that. That was in
South Africa in 2015. Naturally, if a man
is 75 years old, he is not as young as
when he was 42 years old. He was 42
years as military head of state, so it
stands to reason. But then, don’t they
say that old wines are thirsty? So, there
are certain things that the impetuousness
of youth would make you do that would
even be errors. A 75-year-old would not
make those errors because he is older,
he is more reflective and he can take so
many things in his strides which a young
man would not do. The president, for
instance, said when he came as a
military ruler, young, brash and ruthless,
Just this (last) week,
Chief John Oyegun,
the National
Chairman of the APC,
said the party was not
aware yet if the
president would run.
So if the president is
running, he must
make the party to be
aware and Nigerians
to also be aware
to use his words, that all the people he
suspected were corrupt, he packed them
and kept them in Kirikiri and said ‘you
are guilty until you can prove yourself
innocent’; that was him as a 42-year-old.
Now as a 75-year-old, he says those he
suspects are corrupt, he sees them
driving round in Rolls Royce but he
can’t pack them and put them in prison
again because he has to be able to prove
that they are guilty, so that is the
difference.
The $1billion approved by NEC to
fight insecurity in the North-East...
(Cuts in) A mistake, not North-East;
to fight insecurity in Nigeria.
But Nigerians heard the governors
after NEC saying that the fund is for
the North-East.
No; insecurity in the country.
Kidnapping is not only in the North-
East; armed robbery is not just in the
North-East. So anything that amounts
to insecurity in the country, that was what
the funds were made to tackle.
So, how would you respond to those
who said it is for the funding of the reelection
of the president in 2019?
They have a right to their opinion but
those people are using their own
standards to judge this administration
because, when they were in power, that
was what they did. They brought out
money under different guises and then
they used it for election, not this
administration.
Miyetti Allah, the cattle rearers,
declared the president their life patron.
How do you look at that?
Don’t forget that as a civilian after his
stint as a military head of state, the
president went into farming and he rears
cattle. Yes, he was involved in that
association; there is nothing wrong in
it. That same Miyetti Allah made
President Jonathan a patron and gave
him a certificate. So, are you now saying
that President Jonathan was behind the
killings? Some Nigerians should think
better.
Former Vice President Atiku and the
president were in the same political
party and they were friends; how come
they have parted ways politically now?
They are still friends. Politically they
can always part ways; that is the easiest
thing for politicians to do. You remember
at a public event the president told the
APC Chairman ‘I sympathise with you
for losing a senior member of your party’;
so politicians can always part ways. It
doesn’t mean anything.
Were you bothered by the latest
statistics from National Bureau of
Statistics, NBS, about job losses to the
tune of 4 million?
No, I am not bothered because it is
even a positive thing that NBS, which
is a government institution, is unfettered,
unshackled and it can say the truth; that
is a positive thing for the administration.
Some other administration will muzzle
NBS and say ‘shut up; don’t say
negative things’, but this government
hasn’t muzzled NBS in any way. When
an economy grows into recession, it is
only natural that jobs would be lost but
the good news is that the same economy
that went into recession has gotten out
of recession, so jobs that were lost can
always be regained. So we must always
look at the positive side of things.
What should Nigerians expect from
this administration in the next one year
and a half left for it?
A concentration on its three focal areas:
Securing the country, fighting
corruption, reviving the economy and
creating jobs. Those will continue to
retain the focus of government and
things are looking up. The World Bank
came out two days ago to say that this
year, Nigeria would likely experience
growth of up to 2.5%. All the institutions,
IMF, World Bank, Bloomberg,
everybody, they have good projections
about the Nigerian economy. It didn’t
drop from the sky. That is as a result
and response to policies and activities
of government. So, government would
maintain focus. Security? It would
continue to secure the country in all
parts, not just one part but every part of
the country. Government is determined
to secure this country and of course, the
anti-corruption war would continue. This
government would not lose focus. It is
often said of some governments that
when it is electioneering year they lose
focus and concentrate more on elections
and politics, not President Buhari’s
administration. Every day he would keep
an eye on governance.
C
M
Y
K

Beyond the controversial
board appointments
The outrage that
followed the
discovery of dead
persons in the list of members
of federal agencies recently
released by government may
have died down but its
implications will remain in the
sub-consciousness of many
Nigerians. Although some
pro-establishment
commentators tried to play
the subject down by stating
that a mistake in any human
endeavour is normal, it is
good for our democracy that
without delay, critics such as
the Socio-Economic Rights
and Accountability Project
(SERAP) condemned the
obvious lethargy. In fact, the
reasons given for the lapses
are unacceptable. Even if the
dead persons on the list died a
few months ago, we have no
basis justifying our inability
to be diligently up to date with
official assignments - a trait
which happens only in
countries such as ours where
public policy actors are
forever unduly simplistic. The
federal government has
however done well in
The attitude of gratitude
In my village, Ishi-Owerri,
Imo State, there is a
saying that ekelee onye
akidi ya agwota ozo.
Translated into English it
approximates to “If gratitude
is expressed to a benefactor, it
motivateshim to do more.” As
is usual every January, I
acknowledge those that
impacted positively on my life
the previous year. But before I
do that this time around, I
want to fill a lacuna in the
essay published last Sunday
entitled “The question
concerning the historicity of
Jesus Christ (3).” In the
concluding part of that article,
I tried to explain the
astonishing religious impact
of Jesus of Nazareth through
Christianity on human
history. Taking a cue from the
British zoologist, Richard
Dawkins, I argued that
although religion does not
confer direct survival
advantage on believers, it is
the by-product of something
else that does. But the veteran
editor of Sunday Vanguard,
probably because of lack of
space, omitted the
“something else” which I
claimed is essential for
survival - and which also is
necessary for understanding
the crux of my explanation.
The “something else” is the
evolutionary advantage of
possessing a brain that,
beginning from early
childhood, absorbs beliefs
about reality and apply rules
of behavior without question.
More than any other
biological organism, human
beings survive by the
accumulated experience of
previous generations which
needs to be transmitted to
apologizing for the error and
recalling the list for better
scrutiny. It is hoped that this
time, a good job would be
done.
Against this backdrop,
government should always
distance itself from praise
singers and those who are ever
ready to defend anything it
does. Except government
takes such a stand it, may be
misled into ignoring every
criticism thereby depriving
itself of the golden
opportunity of making
amends and remaining in the
good books of majority of the
people. Whereas the error
concerning prospective
members who died a few
months ago can be
understood; that of the late
Senator F. S. Okpozo who
transited more than one year
before the list was released is
inexplicable more so as his
family had the privilege of
receiving a condolence
message from government
when he died. His case and
those which SERAP described
as duplication of same names
on different boards ought not
PhD,Department of
Philosophy,
University of Lagos
08116759758
opuruiche2000@yahoo.com
children for their protection
and well-being. Thus, after
millions of years of evolution,
natural selection has
generated brains from early
in life with a tendency to make
children believe without
question whatever they are
told repeatedly and
authoritatively by their
parents, tribal elders and
people in positions of
authority generally.
Inculcation of culturally
approved rules of conduct into
children, which engenders
trusting obedience, is essential
for adaptation and survival in
a society, such that if children
were to question critically and
insist on hundred percent
rational justification of every
instruction from parents or
other grown-ups around they
might harm themselves,
especially when they are
aloneand faced with
threatening circumstances.
Therefore, automatic
obedience is important for
survival at a certain stage of
human development.
However, that attitude can
have deadly consequences in
certain situations because it
encourages the habit of
believing without evidence
and weakens the ability to
differentiate between good
ideas from bad. For instance,
a childpropelled by trusting
obedience will find it difficult
to understand the
fundamental difference
between “Before crossing the
road look sideways first” and
“Before crossing the road
pray first and dash across
immediately because God
answers prayers.” The first
advice is reasonable because
it could prevent an accident;
to have happened. Buck
passing which the ruling partythe
All Progressive Congress
APC sought to employ by
arguing that it was not part of
the error merely worsened the
issue as the list was compiled
and collated by APC members
and announced by their
members in government.
Even if the dead
persons on the list died
a few months ago, we
have no basis justifying
our inability to be
diligently up to date
with official
assignments - a trait
which happens only in
countries such as ours
where public policy
actors are forever
unduly simplistic
Except the party is suffering
from self persecution, its
attempt to exculpate itself
from blame is annoying.
For this column, except the
lack of diligence is roundly
condemned, many more of
such lapses will recur and
the second is irrational and
would likely have the opposite
effect. In this connection, we
can interpret religious
behavior as a misfiring, an
unfortunate by-product of an
underlying propensity which,
under certain circumstances,
has survival advantage or was
once useful during the earliest
stages of human evolution but
also has the potential to
engender completely
irrational and deadly
behavior. There is nothing
mysterious, extraordinary or
supernatural about the origin
and spread of Christianity or
any other religion for that
matterbecause religion is
largely the unintended
cultural by-product of the
human brain’s tendency to
economise the use of higher
cognitive faculties for
problem-solving.
Now back to the theme of
today’s discourse, which
focuses on the attitude of
gratitude. Some people are
fond of taking kindness for
granted, without realising
that the attitude of gratitude
even for the smallest of help
or kindness received is one of
the hallmarks of a civilised
and enlightened mind.
Accordingly, since the
universe owes nobody
anything, our world would
have been a much better
place than it is at the moment
if every beneficiary of good
deeds expressed gratitude to
their benefactors and
extended the same to others.
Foolish pride, arrogance,
ignorance and inattention
prevent people from saying a
simple “Thank you,” or
showing genuine
appreciation when someone
is good to them. We tend to
take the kindness of our
partners, parents, relations,
friends, colleagues and
neighbours for granted. Most
times human beings do not
really value what they have
until they lose it, which often
results in pain and regret. As
a result, I try my best to thank
people that have helped me
in one way or another.
My life in 2017 would have
VANGUARD, SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 33
increase existing ones. First,
the APC has proven never to
be ready at composing any
team. For instance, it was
sheer luck that the judiciary
was not pushed into chaos
when to appoint a new Chief
Justice early last year became
a last minute herculean affair
after different people had
raised concerns. Considering
that a tradition of appointing
the most senior justice of the
Supreme Court had been in
place; government ought to
have simply followed it or be
decisive in breaking the
tradition if it so chooses
without creating anxiety in
the polity over it. As at the
point of writing this piece,
there were fears that the allimportant
monetary policy
committee (MPC) of the
Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) will not be able to meet
this month because it may not
form a quorum in view of
members whose tenure had
expired and are yet to be
replaced. This could further
sink our economy.
The pain in our casual
approach to governance is
that it is not new; our grouse
is thus not necessarily with the
present administration,
instead it has become a
culture which we had hoped
would be redressed by our
acclaimed progressive
government. During the
administration of President
Goodluck Jonathan, the
federal government selected
50 ‘outstanding’ Nigerians
for special honours on the
50th anniversary of the
nation in 2010. It was during
been like a hole in a black
wall if not for these people.
First, my special good wife,
Ijeoma, and my rascally but
beautiful daughters,
Nwanyioma and
Nwadiuoto, who recently
joined their mother to call me
Nwokocha. Ij dear, I
commend your efforts to
build our family – the
companionship,
commitment, care and
delicious meals. Of course,
Most times human
beings do not really
value what they have
until they lose it,
which often results in
pain and regret. As a
result, I try my best to
thank people that
have helped me in
one way or another
marriage and family life is
full of challenges, but we have
been able to cope reasonably
well for almost nineteen years.
Since there are no guarantees
in life and nobody gets
everything he or she wants in
a marriage, I can only hope
that as we work together to
improve our marital
experience this year, our
family will grow from
strength to strength. My two
girls, in spite of
theirtemperamental
differences, have been a
source of exquisite affection
in which love is blended with
the desire to inculcate the
right values in them.
Watching them grow
physically, intellectually,
emotionally and morally has
been a source of happiness to
me. I consider myself very
lucky to have you,
Nwanyioma and Nwadiuto.
My caring big sister, Ihuoma,
and her husband, Dee Sam,
have remained a strong pillar
of support for me and my
family and I thank them.
the ceremony that the
President was confronted with
the reality that the organizers
could not produce enough
medals for the decoration of
only 50 honourees. Painfully,
the same thing happened less
than a year earlier when there
was shortage of medals
during the national honours
award ceremony. Of course for
a nation with a retinue of
supporters who would
rationalize every failure, our
inability to handle any matter
successfully has become
firmly rooted in public affairs
in our clime. The delay does
not come from one arm of
government. In some cases,
where the executive names its
appointees, those who are
legally required to obtain
Senate clearance are caught
in the cross fires between the
executive and the legislature.
Our boards are often
constituted in a manner that
looks as if they are not obliged
to serve any purpose. The
position has been that boards
are usually composed of
members of the ruling political
party as compensation for
whatever role they played in
the election of the President.
Elsewhere, being a party
member is never the most
important basis for being an
appointee, instead cognate
experience; knowledge and
competence come first while
being a party man is only an
added advantage. After all, the
votes of party members alone
did not elect the President.
With party patronage as the
main basis of political
appointments in Nigeria, there
Mekus and his wife,
Chinwendu, I salute you for
sustaining the home front in
the village.
At the University of Lagos,
there are gracious human
beings who believe in me and
have been of help in different
ways. I am grateful to the new
Vice-Chancellor, Prof.
Oluwatoyin Ogundipe; the
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Management Services), Prof.
Ben Oghojafor; Dean Student
Affairs, Prof. Ademola
Adeleke; Dean of Arts, Prof.
Muyiwa Falaiye; Profs. Duro
Oni, Ralph Akinfeleye, Ngozi
Osarenren, P.K. Fogam, O.
Obasoro-John, H.O.D. Longe,
Iwu Ikwubuzo, Chimdi
Maduagwu, Victor Ariole,
Austin Nwagbara, Adeyemi
Daramola, J.N. Mojekwu,
Samuel Owualah, Iyoola Oni,
Ropo Akinsoji, Joseph Abugu,
Tunde Babawale, Friday
Ndubuisi, Ndubuisi
Nwokoma, and Ike Mowete. I
dare not forget Drs. Isaac
Nwogwugwu, David
Aworawo, Solomon
Azumarana, M.M. Fadakinte,
Henry Ogunjewo, Charles
Ibeziako, Sunday Ajala, Obi
Iwuagwu, Ayo Yusuf, G.S.M.
Okeke, Rotimi Omosulu,
Philomena Ojomo, Dennis
Otto, Rev. Joseph Ekong, and
my doctoral students.
Colleagues in the department
have been nice to me. They
include, but not limited to, Drs.
Peter Osimiri, Tony Okeregbe,
Chiedozie Okoro, Debo
Gbadebo, Modestus
Onyeaghalaji, Peter Oni, and
Kayode Fayemi. Deji Medubi,
Dan Ekere, Surajudeen
Owosho, Pholomena Egbe,
Nonso, Seun, and E.O. – I
thank all of you. I
mustacknowledge my people
at the University of Ibadan who
have demonstrated that out of
sight is not out of mind. Profs.
Isaac Ukpokolo, Chris
Agulanna, O. Oyeshile,
Amaechi Udefi and Francis
Offor; I appreciate your
interest in my academic
endeavours.
My friends in auto spare
parts and maintenance
business - Debo, James,
is doubt if dead members are
less useful in the boards. Many
board members have little or
no knowledge of the
mandates of their
organizations and as such are
not fascinated by such
mandates. They are only
interested in contracts,
allowances and interfering
negatively in the day to day
running of the bodies. A
cursory look at the Agencies
which have problems with
boards will show that they are
those which reject attempts to
extort money from them
Besides, there is very little
impact the few worthy
members can have because
coming on board in 2018 on
the eve of electioneering, there
is no time for meaningful
work. It is therefore not
unlikely that the omission to
scrutinize the appointees may
have been influenced by the
realization that they are
strictly speaking hardly
needed. In some cases, the
boards are unwieldy as in the
case of the Film and Video
Census Board with about 50
members. In other cases,
boards are constituted in
breach of their enabling laws.
Whether or not a befitting
chairman is found to replace
the dead nominee of the
Nigerian Press Council, there
is doubt if the board of the
Council would achieve much
after the Judiciary held in
2010 that the law setting up
the council is “oppressive,
overbearing and grossly not
compatible with standards of
society.” We surely can avoid
controversial boards.
Lawflora, Ezechuks and
Segun – I am grateful to you
for keeping my vehicles on the
road throughout last year. My
great friends, Bede Egbufor,
Chiefs Emmanuel Ofodile,
Ralph Obiduba and Bashorun
Innocent Egwim; Simon
Tashie, Dele, Joe Otogbolu,
Genetic Criminal, Dee Tony,
Jude Obaro, Robert Obioha,
Desico, Jake Epelle, Gabriel
the attorney and Fred
Udueme - my sincerest
gratitude for your kindness to
me. My favourite cobbler,
Tunde, Mrs. Akanwo (who
runs an eatery in Arts Block),
Fruitee, Samanja, Lugard,
and Matthew were helpful to
me in several ways and I
appreciate it. Uncle Sam
Amuka, Gbenga Adefaye and
Jide Ajani – I cannot thank you
enough for providing me a
stable and trustworthy
platform for expressing my
views every Sunday. I also
want to put on record the
assistance of Abel, Moses,
Richard, and Madam Titilayo
– thank you so much your help.
The same goes to residents of
C Block, Higrise, University
of Lagos. My aquamarine,
Queeneth, Nduka Iheanacho,
NG girl, and Hajiyah – your
love and care is hereby deeply
appreciated. Dr. Ifeanyi
Chionye, Uba and Mr.
Aminigo - you helped me a lot
in dealing with issues that
arose following my sister’s
death in 2016, for which I am
truly grateful.
I thank all consistent readers
of this column, especially
those who, through their
encouraging text messages
and phone calls, motivated
me to continue expressing my
thoughts dispassionately. This
year, I hope to do better in
order to sustain your interest.
Now, given the fallibility of
human memory and the need
for brevity, many names have
been omitted. If you are
among them, please just
accept my sincerest
appreciation for helping this
struggling man called
Douglas Anele. Without you,
my life would be
inconsequential.

PAGE 34—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
God is able to meet our
expectations
Brethren, let’s focus on
how we addresses our
challenges this year. I
mean a spiritual shift. Let’s do
it differently this year and the
Lord will visit us in the name
of Jesus.
I was privileged to listen to
a sermon of the general
overseer of Laughter
Foundation International
Ministry, Pastor Gbenga Oso
who said we should see our
challenges as needs. So how
is a need different from a
challenge? I decided to check
my dictionary for the meaning
of Need. As a verb need is
defined as “ have or feel a need
for”.
As a noun, it is defined as “
A condition requiring relief”.
For the purpose of Joyful
homes, I prefer the use of need
as a noun, which is “ a
condition requiring relief”.
In life, we all have at least a
condition we want a relief
from but our methods of
getting such a relief differs
from one person to another.
For instance, a man might
have made up his mind to
have his social status lifted this
year. This could mean that he
wants to shift from a
pedestrian to a car owner or
from a tenant to a landlord or
from a middle level manager
to a top executive. Whatever
it is, the issue is that he wants
to be financially lifted up.
As Christians, the focus for
such a person should be to
work harder, pray harder,
devout more time to the study
of the word, exalt the Lord
with more praises and expect
his visitation.
Others may be thinking of
belonging to cults as a way of
enriching themselves. That
is not just a sin against God;
the end result for such a
person could be everlasting
sorrow and tears. Is someone
offering to show you the way
to get rich quick?. Brothers
and sisters, think twice and
many times over. Whatever
the devil and his demons give,
they take back in multiples.
Watch the company you keep
this year.
As human beings we all
desire to be promoted.
Stagnation is not the desire of
our Lord Jesus for us. Indeed,
stagnation is a spirit that
rebuffs promotion. This year,
in the name of Jesus, God will
give you all round promotion.
Someone has paid the price
for your financial promotion
and you can experience it if
you go by the rules earlier
mentioned.
The Holy Bible states in
2nd Corinthians 8 vs. 9 “ For
ye know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that, though he
was rich, yet for your sakes he
became poor that through his
poverty might be rich”.
This is a clear indication
that God is not opposed to
riches. He wants his children
to be rich but God has played
his part, you also have your
part to play.
This season, the Lord will
give you new ideas that will
promote you financially in the
name of Jesus.
To move up, the word of God
reminds us in the book of
Isaiah 43 vs. 18 and 19 “
Remember ye not the former
things, neither consider the
things of old. Behold, I will do
a new thing; now it shall
spring forth; shall ye not know
it? I will even make a way in
the wilderness and rivers in
the desert”. Brethren, should
shift our focus from the need
that was not met in 2017 and
look forward to a new
beginning. Note- “ I will even
make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert”. In
other words, where you do not
even expect, God will give you
surprises. What you thought
is impossible will become
possible.
Only look up to God.
I’ll give an example. A lady,
who used to work in the
organized private sector, lost
her job to re-organization.
She thought about what to do
and God told to her that since
she has been good at cake
making, she could make it a
business.
She did and God blessed
her. Today, she is better off .
Indeed, she has become an
employer herself.
Whatever, step we chose to
take, in a bid to remove any
reproach, it is important to
ask the Lord. To hear from
God, you may need to have a
few days of fasting. You may
need to make a vow. Only
make a vow that you can
This year, 2018
should not be a year
of lamentation. It
should not be a year
that we are still
brooding over what
we did not achieve
last year
fulfill.
If you are in doubt about
your spiritual level, you may
ask a Pastor who is a true man
of God to join you in prayer.
When the Holy Spirit speaks,
it is consistent. He cannot tell
the Pastor one thing and tell
you something else. What you
have in mind may not be what
the Holy Spirit will reveal to
you or tell you. He could
reveal it to you in a dream or
whisper to you. Brethren,
when you hear the voice of the
Holy Spirit, and the spirit of
God leads you, you can never
make mistakes in life. Indeed,
you will obtain with ease
everything that others are
struggling to possess.
However, it is your duty to
obey the Holy Spirit
completely. There cannot be
half compliance. When you
comply partly, you cannot
possess what God has
planned for you.
The word of God tells us in
3rd John verse 2 “ Beloved, I
wish above all things that thou
mayest prosper and be in
health, even as thy soul
prospereth”.
Brethren, God wants to us
enjoy prosperity in good
health.
As the Lord blesses you this
year, you will not be confined
to a sick bed in the name of
Jesus. You will not spend your
resources on ill health for you
and members of your family
in Jesus name.
Note also that God wants
us to prosper spiritually and
this is very important. When
your spiritual level is raised,
you will be free from
sickness; you will be raised
above all antics of the devil.
You will carry the fire of the
Holy Ghost and no demon
will dare come near you.
As you resolve to come
closer to the Lord Jesus, God
will fight all your battles and
you will sing songs of victory
in the name of Jesus.
This year, 2018 should not
be a year of lamentation. It
should not be a year that we
are still brooding over what
we did not achieve last year.
Therefore, we must say good
things to ourselves. We must
make positive declarations.
I’ll share with you some
prophetic declarations
released by Pastor Demola
Adeloye of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God as
part of an on going 100 days
vigil.
As a Christian, ensure you
make these declarations with
your faith.
It is not meant to be recited
for the sake of it.
•2018, concerning you, I
receive the power to make it
early in the name of Jesus.
•2018, I forbid the spirit
behind infirmities, bareness
and untimely death in my
family in the name of Jesus.
•In 2018, I rebuke and reject
the spirit of
misunderstanding, confusion
and strife in my family. I
silence you in the name of
Jesus.
•2018, you shall not be my
year of wasted efforts in Jesus
name.
Every effort will produce
mighty results in the name of
Jesus.
•In 2018, I receive divine
mandate to run faster than my
mates in the name of Jesus.
•In 2018, I receive the
unction to function, power to
excel, mandate to positively
affect my generation in the
name of Jesus.
•In 2018, I boldly declare, I
will never be alone. Help will
always find me before I need
it in Jesus name. Amen.
Brethren, when you do this,
you are saying something
positive to your spirit, to your
destiny and the Lord of Hosts
will bring it to manifestation
in the name of Jesus.
The best time to say this is at
night or when you wake up
during your sleep. You may
also say it during the day.
By the Grace of God, we
shall all end this year far
better than 2017.
It is well.
Excuse for Discourtesy
It is the New Year 2018:
Where are your manners?
Many people still
ask if manners
are really
important, for them they just
cannot be bothered with all
the fuss. Others are well
aware of the need to have
manners and exhibit in the
right places but the outer
mind supersedes the inner
mind. A lot of what tend to see
around us today has a lot to
do with old habits dying hard.
What I am trying to express is
a case of personal and
professional demeanor
(attitude) taking over ones
brand. Some people are
comfortable being
perpetually rude and almost
do not see the extent of their
rudeness as it affects another
person. If asked I guess they
will always have a resounding
excuse for their actions.
What happened to the
“Golden Rule?
“Do not do onto others what
you would not have done to
you”. Will there always be an
excuse for bad behavior? Poor
customer service witnessed
today has largely to do with
employees being rude and
having excuses for their
discourtesy. What happened to
leading by example?
Imagine a customer has
called you four times today,
you think they are beginning
to become a nuisance and
troublesome chasing you
with their calls, so you have
decided not to pick the call
consciously. The customer
now bombards you
consistently with more calls,
then you have made your
situation worse. Again on a
normal working day as you
greeted your colleague he or
she replied hello but you did
not hear, and decided to take
offense for what you thought
was a slight to you. You
escalate your disappointment
to rumor mongering, eyeing
and malice. You have now
created an atmosphere of strife
and workplace incivility,
raising emotional tension on
both sides. Yet again on
another fresh day, you have a
meeting with a client and
casually got up in a much
slower manner than your
normal routine. You are very
much aware that you are
likely to be late but you
casually stroll in an hour and
a half late, with no apology
for your lateness and no
advanced warning. You leave
your client thinking of you
with negativity and the lack
of credibility. I can go on could
this be you? As a team member
you decided to take your work
casually thereby you fall
behind your expected delivery
deadline. You offer no
apology but reign untenable
excuses that indicate you lack
team spirit and lack integrity
towards productivity. Finally
your boss is calling you
frantically but because you
are busy you decide not to
pick the call but decide to call
back when convenient for you
with readymade excuses.
Ultimately with the
scenarios above the
repercussion to your
workplace or social
environment are
unhappiness, relationship
discord, disruption of teams,
poor communication,
demoralization and reduced
productivity. The real reason
for courtesy and its
importance is to use manners,
kindness, respect and
consideration to promote
relationship building. The
bottom line of every
organization relies on the
coordination of team players,
satisfaction of customers,
organizational growth, and
business sustenance. Without
good manners, this will be
difficult to hold. The whole
idea is to ensure that the
culture of the organization is
void of rudeness, one that
encourages etiquette, polite
behavior and courteousness.
Quick Steps to
Encouraging Courtesy in the
Workplace:
1.Stipulate appropriate
acceptable work behavior in
the office.
2.Be clear on discipline
procedures for defaulters
3.Operate a staff feedback
style for consistency
4.Have in a place a proper
conflict resolution system
5. Encourage training and
team building activities
6.Make polite
communication part of the
organization culture
7. Be open to listening to
comments and suggestions.
To encourage a healthy
work environment and team
cordiality, leave no room for
excuses when discourtesy is
shown. Allow for the sharing
of experiences and the ability
for everyone to learn from
their mistakes. The bottom
line is there is no excuse for
discourtesy.
All the Best!
Why PDP recorded landslide victory in Ughelli South
— Okoh
The immediate past Vice
Chairman of Ughelli
South Local Government
Council and a chieftain of
Delta State Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, Hon.
Eunice Daji Okoh has
explained why her party
recorded a landslide victory
in the state in the just
concluded local government
elections,
Using her Okwagbe
Federal Ward 3 in Ughelli
South as a case study in a chat
with newsmen at her country
home of Okwagbe in Ughelli
South at the weekend, she
ascribed the landslide victory
of PDP to its preparedness for
the elections.
" You cannot sit for an
examination without
preparing for it. Besides , we
know the people and the
people know us. We are
always with them 247 and it
is not only when there is time
for election that we go to
them. We service them at all
times in order to ensure that
there is no hunger at the
grassroots"
Okoh who insisted that
Ughelli South is the
traditional home of PDP,
explained further that the
people at the grassroots have
trust in PDP and that
members of PDP are united
hence the All Progressives
Congress, APC, could not
penetrate the local
government.
She disclosed thaty she has
always used her personal
funds in supporting the party
and its candidates and that
PDP leaders in Ughelli South
HOSTCOM elects new exco in Delta
The Delta State chapter of
the Host Communities
of Nigeria Producing
Oil&Gas has elected a new
executive to administer its
affairs in the next four years.
The new executive emerged
at HOSTCOM 2nd Annual
General Meeting which held
at Ekpan,Uvwie Local
Government Area of Delta
State.
In and address,the out-gone
Chairman, Dr. Peter.K.
Egedegbe advised the newly
elected executive not to jettison
the idea of working closely
with the government to the
benefit of the communities,
noting that it does not mean
that the pressure group should
be mortgaged.
While pointing out that his
executive had challenges
can attest to her support for
the party, saying that during
the Christmas period she
provided bags of rice and
other food items, including
wrappers to women of her
ward .
She promised to extend her
during his four year in office,
Egedegbe said,” In spite of
those challenges, we were able
to achieve a lot for the host
communities.”
Egedegbe also mentioned
some of his achievements
which includes the SEEFOR
Intervention, collaboration
with Government, securing
HOSTCOM House as
Secretariat, Pipeline facilities
support to Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa and other PDP
candidates in 2019 general
elections so that our
hardworking and amiable
governor can be returned to
Government House, Asaba in
2019".
contracts and the consolidation
of HOSTCOM as a true
umbrella body for communities.
He assured them of
achieving success with the
support from the various
states HOSTCOM.
“I foresee that there is peace
and unity in Delta State
chapter of HOSTCOM.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 35
You must pay
tithe even if your
pastor misuses it
—Pastor Adeyemi
PASTOR Seyi Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of The Worship
Centre, was ordained a pastor in the Christ Apostolic
Church in 1995. He was a Director and Head of Trade
Products in Citibank Nigeria Ltd where he had over 20 years
banking experience. The church, situated in Oregun, Lagos,
is hosting an interdenominational Apostolic Fire
Conference with the theme, ‘Eyes on Eternity,’ in January
2018. He speaks on the programme and other national
issues.
C
By Sam Eyoboka
an you tell us what informed the
Apostolic Fire Conference?
Sometime in 2016, in the course
of seeking the face of God as to what next
to do as a church, I had the inspiration to
establish a platform where people must be
geared to focus on what is the most
important thing in the mind of God. God
wanted to have a relationship with man
until sin interrupted the plan and God
decided that Christ should come for the
redemption of man. The spirit of God put it
in my mind that it’s important for the church
to focus on the things that are of eternal
value, that are celestial because we have
been so terrestrial over the years and that’s
what brought about the birth of this
conference.
The programme is slated for three days.
Do you think those days are enough to
address the issues you are targeting?
Three days will not be enough but it’s a
continuous programme, it’s an annual event.
So wherever it is that we stop after the three
days, we continue at the next edition. All of
these things revolve around the gospel—-
the gospel has been preached since the
resurrection of Christ over 2017 years ago
and we haven’t finished preaching it. This
programme is not going to finish the gospel.
There’re so much distortions,
controversies surrounding the Nigerian
Church with many ministers more
interested in pecuniary gospel than the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Where did the
Church get it wrong?
In the 30s to 50s, when
Pentecostalism and the move of the
spirit came into Nigeria, it didn’t come
with any form of modality, as we had
the apostles, ordinary people,
uneducated and raw people who were
so dependent on God and obedient to
the letter of the gospel. That is why
our fathers, for example, were so
committed and were able to pass the
gospel to us in its raw form. There
was a high level of spirituality but there
was a low level of knowledge. In the
70s, during the era of Billy Graham,
T.L. Osborne, Kenneth Higgins, we
began to see the renaissance of
knowledge. They began to teach the
scripture in its entire form.
Interestingly, the people who received
the gospel at the beginning were not
wealthy people. They just lived their
lives and depended on God. But in the
70s and the 80s, the spirit of God was
moving even on the educated and
wealthy people and, therefore,
Christianity, for those who were
growing, found themselves between two
extremes: Those who wanted to focus
on holiness, righteousness and close
their eyes to anything that is of the world
and those who equated poverty with
righteousness. Neither of the two positions
was correct. But because that was the
experience of some people at a point , those
who found themselves in the first era moved
in that direction while those who found
themselves in the second era moved in that
direction. Here is where the problem began;
when Pentecostalism came to this part of the
world in the 80s, that was when we had the
new generation churches and the notion of
poverty and not being ambitious was
associated with the gospel; some people
believed it was a sin to be a doctor or a lawyer
because those were not the things God
wanted but many people said no.
When the light of the gospel came, people
began to understand the mind of God that
we didn’t need to be so celestial focused and
terrestrially useless which was the impact of
the first era but that God wanted us to prosper
both on earth and in heaven and that was
where the pendulum swung from one
extreme to the other. People like Billy Graham,
T.L. Osborne who are examples of modern
Pentecostalism were wealthy and blessed but
were not covetous. But the challenge we have
in the body of Christ today is that a number
of people have commercialized the gospel of
Jesus Christ in such a way that people are
now being motivated to chase money rather
than chase the things of God. The Bible says
seek ye first the kingdom of God and its
righteousness and all other things shall be
added. So the most important thing we need
to understand is that those charlatans who
distort the true gospel are the ones that are
giving the gospel a bad name. God is not
anti-wealth, God is not pro-poverty. He
blesses people who are doing things
according to His will. He asked us to
work and we will be blessed. We need
to understand the morality of working.
God is a working God. It is a distortion
in the body of Christ and that is part of
the things we intend to address at this
conference.
And you are not afraid to step on big
toes?
I don’t know what you mean by
stepping on toes. One thing about the
gospel is that you preach it the way it is.
If it affects you, you’ve got two options,
either change or ignore. We don’t target
or attack anybody. We simply preach
the true and undiluted Word of God and
that’s all. We are not setting out to step
on anybody’s toes; we are only stepping
out to do the will of God.
Time was when Nigerians accused
the likes of Archbishop Benson
Idahosa for leaning towards money
gospel and not the true gospel. Don’t
you think you are going to be at
loggerheads with some big players in
the industry today?
God is in a business of revelation over
•Pastor
Adeyemi
Do people arrogate
tithe and offerings to
themselves? Yes! But
the misuse of
something does not
nullify the authenticity
of its command
a period of time and He uses different
people at different times for different
purposes. Archbishop Idahosa was the
father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. He was
the one who took away that extreme notion
of poverty gospel. In that dispensation, God
had to use people like that to open the eyes
of people to know the mind of God. God
did not intend people to live in penury.
When He created Adam and Eve, He put
them in a garden where every need was
already provided for them. So Idahosa was
used in that dispensation.
Then God talked to another dispensation,
where the issue of faith had to come in. We
have people like Bishop David Oyedepo who
God use to teach people faith. We have people
like Pastor William Kumuyi because God
knows that holiness and righteousness and
purity are also the prerequisite for making
heaven. God gave him that assignment. God
looked at people like Pastor Enoch Adeboye
and said that only those who humble
themselves before God can be exalted and
gave him the gospel of humility. And looked
at Pastor Sam Adeyemi among others and
said people need to learn the art of leadership.
He looked at people like Pastor Matthew
Ashimolowo and used them to teach success.
God does not use one person for everything.
Over the years, God has used different people
for the revelation of His mind, and we will
not understand God in full until we get to
heaven.
Will the conference address the issue of
the unification of CAC?
The issue of the unification of CAC is an
on-going programme and serious efforts are
being made in that direction and great
successes are currently being achieved. I
predict that within the next couple of years,
the process of unification should be
completed and we will have one powerful
and focused Christ Apostolic Church again.
There’s a lot of controversy over
Christmas, where do you belong?
That Christ was born at all is a major
headache for the devil because Christ was
born to defeat the devil here on earth. There
is no controversy as to the fact that Christ was
born. Whether He was born in December or
He was born in January, as far as I’m
concerned, it’s inconsequential to the whole
fact. So whether December 25 was exactly
the day Christ was born or not is not the real
issue, the issue is that the Christian world
has chosen the 25th as the day to celebrate
the historical and undeniable fact that Christ
was born. If anybody has a headache with
that, there’s no apology.
On the issue of tithe, where do you
belong?
When you speak about the things of God,
you need to speak out of the knowledge which
reveals the mind of God and not from
convenience or circumstance. A lot of the
people who spoke against tithe spoke because
they don’t pay and they probably want to get
people to align with them. Second, they spoke
because they felt that recession is biting so
hard and they felt that tithe was taking part
of their income and, therefore, affecting their
ability to live which, in itself, is ignorance.
Third, because I know that whenever you
see a campaign against biblical principles
and doctrines, the devil is behind it. The
scriptures that talk about tithe began as far
back as Genesis where Abraham paid tithe
to Melchizedek. Then it moved on to
Deuteronomy where the people of Israel were
required to make 10 per cent contribution to
the house of God in order to take care of the
Levites. That is how the issue of tithe was
established in the Jewish setting and, of
course, when it got to Malachi, which is the
popular scripture, Malachi 3:10, the Bible
says ‘bring all tithes into the house that there
may be meat in my house’. That is the first
part of that scripture. Then it says ‘prove me
now if I will not open the windows of heaven
and pour you out a blessing’. Now here’s
the question, by demanding tithe, does God
really need our money? No. God requires
man, wherever there is a physical demand
for anything in church, it is not because God
is in need, it is because God wants us to learn
how to honour Him with what He has given
to us. People need to understand that the
needs in the house of God will be met whether
or not people decide in their own wisdom or
knowledge to bring. So people need to come
to the understanding that we are not doing
God a favor by obeying that scripture, we are
doing ourselves a favor. The argument that
tithe was given as a commandment to Jews
and that it was supposed to be paid to the
Levites, and we are not Jews and neither are
pastors Levites simply shows the ignorance
of those who say so. The Bible makes it clear
that everything that took place in the Old
Testament was an example for the future. It
used physical things to give analogy for the
understanding of spiritual things that were
going to come. So when we talk about tithe,
there is a need in the house of God that
transcends just meat and drink. The Church
has a role to take care of the brotherhood.
The Church has a role to step in and try to
bridge the gap where government fails as
far as people’s welfare is concerned. The
Church has a role to propagate the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ for God till the end of
the earth. All these assignments require
money and that is what tithe is meant for.
Do people arrogate tithe and offerings to
themselves? Yes! But the misuse of something
does not nullify the authenticity of its
command. Every man, pastor will give an
account of his stewardship to God. So if
somebody is not being faithful, it does not
nullify the Commandment of God. It simply
means that you are being unfaithful to the
commandment of God. So, if somebody takes
the tithe that belongs to the church and uses
it for his own personal need, that is
unfaithfulness. I don’t believe that the money
that comes from tithe and offering is enough
to buy private jets. We need to talk about
something else.

PAGE 36—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
“SHITHOLE” NATIONS?
Human migration is an
inexorable part of human
history. Human beings
move, settle, and resettle, according
to certain compelling
forces, including the search
for security, for new economic
opportunities; for food and
well-being, and in some very
unique cases unwillingly, and
therefore by force. In the
making of America, the Africans
were the only people
who were force-marched to
what became the “new
world.” Millions were kidnapped
as slaves to work as
free labourers, in the pre-industrial,
pre-machine-age
plantation slave economy;
some were sold after capture
in war; many fought and resisted
coming to America
with the last breath in their
body, preferring to die in the
slave ships, rather than go to
America.
The late historian, Professor
Okon Uya, who later
taught at the University of
Calabar, did his seminal
work in the United States researching
and documenting
the incidents of slave resistance
among Africans forced
into slavery in America.
Among the most powerful examples
of such kinds of resistance
was what he documented,
and what many chroniclers
of the slave ships documented
to be the tendency,
among Igbo captives to commit
suicide rather than be
slaves in America. Compare
this, folks, to today. They did
this in a number of ways:
sometimes, they sat down,
closed their eyes, and willed
rexmarinus@hotmail.com
themselves to death. These
acts of self-willed deaths so
frightened the slave ship captains
that they resorted to cutting
off the head of the dead,
before throwing them to sea,
as a way of deterring others
who may so will. They did this
after finding out the very idea
behind this self-willed deaths,
the fact that these Igbo folk,
believed seriously in re-incarnation,
and believed that in
exiting their physical bodies,
they would re-incarnate and
return home to Igbo land
from where they had been abducted.
The Igbo also believed in
the credo: “isi-dinso” – one’s
head was holy, and was the
carrier of one’s fate. So, the
slavers thought that without
their heads, at death, incarnation
was impossible, or incomplete,
at least in that Igbo
conception of the afterlife.
However, this did not stop all
the attempts to escape, for
very frequently, whenever they
could, these Igbo would
agree, and still in their chains,
choose to commit suicide by
hauling themselves into the
roaring sea, consumed by the
waves, believing that they
would drown, but they would
incarnate physically whole in
Igbo land, which they had
always regarded as holy – the
sacred land or “Ala-Nso,” in
their conception of their land.
One of the most dramatic incidents
recorded in this example
is the now famous incident
of “Eboe Landing,” in
Georgia, where Igbo captives
on arriving in St. Simons Island,
Georgia, and discern-
ing their fate walked right
back solemnly into the sea to
commit suicide by drowning
chanting, “the sea brought us,
by the sea we shall also return…”
These incidents also
created the myths in America
of the “flying Igbo,” so-called
Igbo who simply disappeared
by “flying home” physically,
or the so-called, “melancholic
Igbo,” who remained
dopey, refused to work, and
ultimately died from heartbreak
and nostalgic melancholy.
Most slave owners did
not want these Igbo slaves,
who also, if they even settled,
plotted escapes, and all manners
of insurrections and subversions,
including the incident,
now written of by the
historian, Douglas B. Chambers,
of poisoning Ambrose
Madison, the father of one of
the presidents of the United
States, James Madison, in his
Virginia plantation, Montpelier,
in 1732. It wasn’t only the
Igbo Africans who fought their
enslavement and resisted
coming to America, many,
many other Africans fought,
resisted, and died, and many
longed for home. A truly magnificent,
new novel, Homegoing,
by the contemporary
Ghanaian-American novelist,
Ya Gyasi, puts a magnificent
sheen on this. Now, the
point of this is to situate this
important question of the historical
value of America to Africans.
Over the years Africans and
descendants of Africans enslaved
in the Americas, particularly
in the United States
have come to understand the
enormous sacrifice of Africans
in building America as
the richest nation on earth
today, and are claiming it as
heritage. American success is
from the sweat of their brows.
The historical imbalance in
wealth and access to power
in America, and the profound
decimation of Africa by slavery
continues to linger as
does the consequence of over
three hundred years of depredation
of the entire continent
by what I call its three historical
modern conditions: abduction,
subjection, and dispersion.
The anti-colonial
movement in Africa, and the
civil-rights movement in
America were the cooperative
action in modernity by Africans
in the Diaspora and in
the homeland to establish
common ground and common
cause, and retrieve themselves
and their historical
homeland from depredation,
and build a bridge of cooperation,
prosperity, and solidarity.
It will take another essay
directed at this very issue to
unbundle it all, and I will
Africans must see
Donald Trump’s
statement as an insult
and a challenge, and
begin to complete the
task of decolonization.
It is pointless to get
angry at Trump who is
both ignorant and
uncivilized
leave it well alone, and just
simply say, that at the end of
decolonization, a generation
of Africans were determined
to rebuild Africa from its ashes.
But within a decade of decolonization,
these new nations
succumbed to the subversions
of a “new world order,”
designed without their
economic and political security
in mind. They were to remain
minion nations, with
which the new great powers
that emerged after World War
II played “yo-yo” particularly
during the cold war.
The subversion of Azikiwe
and the Nationalists in Nigeria,
and their prevention from
assuming power, and the installation
of an incoherent
postcolonial or “Ogbanje”
nation in Nigeria; the destruction
of Lumumba in the
Congo, and the overthrow of
Nkrumah in Ghana, and most
recently, the destruction of
Ghaddafi and Libya, and the
installation and securing of
the minions of the great powers
in Africa, have more than
anything else Walter Rodney
may write about how the west
strategically underdeveloped
Africa, helped to buckle Africa
in the modern era. In fact,
the assassination of the likes
of Rodney, Malcolm X, Lumumba,
and the containment
of black nations in the west
like Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad,
Guyana, and so on, is an extention
of the strategic containment
of the black world
by western powers, and the
racists that determine their
policies. But that is also only
one part of the issue, because
black folk themselves have
much of themselves to blame
for not recognizing the impetus
for shared survival: Africans
fight themselves; Africans
have refused to push their
political, economic and cultural
leadership to fuse and
repair a global and transnational
Africa, and to create
and quicken the internal cohesion
of Africa. Up till the
1980s, Nigeria was a magnet
for Africans, and drew an array
of African expertise from
the black world to itself, in her
schools, her industry, her bureaucracy,
and and its new
wealth ensured what seemed
like a rapid growth. But Nigeria
and its new elite mismanaged
an opportunity to
provide the African bulwark
to Africa.
Nigerians went all over the
world to school, and like the
Chinese, quickly returned
home. Today, Nigeria sends
her children away, and says
to them, “do not return to this
shithole.” Africans themselves
call their own land “shitholes.”
Africans are about the
only people who send out their
best people today to immigrate
without returning. Nigerians
who migrate to America
are from its best educated.
It follows the example of
the decimation of Haiti – the
first African republic in the
new world - with the fleeing
of its educated and professional
class, which, aside from the
“debt-over hang” imposed on
it by international usury, was
complicit in the long term
impoverishment of Haiti.
That is why the American President
Donald Trump’s reported
outburst on Thursday in
the White House, that America
does not need more immigrants
from Haiti and “shithole”
countries from Africa,
but more from countries like
Norway cuts close to the nerve.
Of course Donald Trump is
Donald Trump, and speaks
the mind of troubled white
racists in America. Very
thoughtful Americans from
both parties did quickly denounce
Trump’s use of such
vulgar description of black
people as “shameful,” “divisive”
and “unkind.” America
is full of good people. It is also
full of racists.
It is also true that Nigerians,
Jamaicans, Ghanaians,
are among the best educated
Americans today. In fact, a
New York Times report clearly
placed Nigerians as the
most educated in America today,
with many of them acquiring
higher degrees far
more than white folk. Trump’s
statement is part of the larger
racist image of Africa as the
world’s “underling” – the savage
space where people still
live in “huts” and up on trees.
But Africa is a beautiful and
wealthy continent. Many
people in Africa have higher
lifestyles than many Americans.
But that is immaterial.
What is important is that Africans
must see Donald
Trump’s statement as an insult
and a challenge, and begin
to complete the task of decolonization;
rebuild many
parts of Africa and the African
world, and stop African
or global black immigration
to America, or take its many
left-handed charity. It is
pointless to get angry at
Trump who is both ignorant
and uncivilized.
We Cannot Blame Trump, At t All
When Donald
Trump, the presi
dent of the United
States America last week used
derogatory words to describe
some countries, one cannot
debate the fact that Nigeria
was on his mind. Although he
did not disclose this, no one
should be in doubt on
Trump’s real evaluation of the
country.
Trump, who is under fire
right now made the comments
at the Oval Office, his
official office in Washington.
The world immediately rose
in unison to condemn this
man who is gradually turning
himself into the greatest
joke of the century. In a reaction,
the spokesperson of the
United Nations Office of the
High Commissioner on Human
Rights, Rupert Colville
lashed at President Trump for
referring to Haiti, El Salvador
and African nations as
“shithole countries.” He said:
“There’s no other word one
can use but racist” to describe
the remarks and not “just a
story about vulgar language,
it’s about opening the door to
humanity’s worst side.”
The African Union (AU)
Diaspora Matters, with
Morak Babajide-Alabi
http://www.babajidealabi.com
mission to the US on Friday
also called for an apology
from Trump. In a statement,
the union expressed it’s “infuriation,
disappointment and
outrage over the unfortunate
comment” and demanded “a
retraction” as well “as an
apology, not only to the Africans,
to all people of African
descent around the globe.”
There has been no official
reaction from the Federal
Government of Nigeria. This
is not to suggest that our leaders
are in line with the comments
of Trump. Well, maybe
they are. The slow reaction is,
however, understandable, as
the country’s leaders are reputed
to be sluggish in taking
decisions on issues that
demand prompt actions. But
be assured that somewhere
along the line, they might remember
to issue a statement.
While Trump had not mentioned
Nigeria by name in his
latest comments, he has a history
of derogative comments
against the country and the
citizens. During his campaign
for the office, he was
reported many times to have
singled out Nigerians as part
of the group of immigrants
he would turn his searchlights
on. As recent as some months
ago, he was also reported to
have made the comment that
Nigerians, in their thousands
would never “go back to their
huts” once they saw his country.
This was denied by the
White House at the time;
however, his recent remarks
seem to have confirmed this
trail of thoughts.
But who will blame Donald
Despite the various
positive contributions
of many Nigerians in
the US and all over the
world, recent events
back at home can
propel any man or
woman to make
untoward comments
on the country
Trump if he had actually
made the comments about
Nigerians? Despite the various
positive contributions of
many Nigerians in the US and
all over the world, recent
events back at home can propel
any man or woman to
make untoward comments
on the country. And unfortunately,
the opinion of other
world leaders on Nigeria
does not seem any much different
from the eccentric
Trump’s.
There is no worse (or better)
time to further tarnish the
image of the supposedly “gi-
ant” of Africa than now. The
news coming out of the country
is not good at all. To be
honest, it’s been a while any
good news or development
that has cheered the world
come out from there. It is as if
this naturally blessed populated
country is wired to move
from one image disaster to
another. Can we, therefore,
blame Trump, based on happenings
in the country?
The magnitude of violence
reported in the latest Benue/
Taraba farmers and nomadic
herdsmen clash is a good
reason to think our country
actually exist in the past century.
The scale of the killings
by the herdsmen has been on
the rise for some time and it
is not abating. The images of
herdsmen with AK47 grazing
cows have become part of our
national identity now. Gone
are the days when they are
identified with their bows and
arrows. Nowadays, they are
armed to the teeth as they
shepherd their flock from the
dry lands of the north
through the middle belt to the
green southern fields.
We cannot play ignorance
to the rate at which these
herdsmen have been killing
innocent citizens that resist
their cows damaging their
crops. The world’s attention
once again was turned to this
region as the clash in the
death of eighty people. This
figure, I hasten to say, should
be taken with a “pinch of
salt”. There is the likelihood
that the fatalities experienced
were more than the official
numbers reported.
I am not unnecessarily being
mean here, but it is a fact
we all know - official figures
are not usually correct in Nigeria.
Ask the staff at the National
Office of Statistics, the
population figures for each
state of the federation and you
will be shocked that what they
have are either estimates or
conjured up figures.
On Thursday our eyes
welled up with tears once
again, when seventy-three of
the causalities were committed
to mother earth. It was
such a sight to see the coffin
lined up and conveyed to their
final resting places. This, once
again, has reminded us all of
the dangers and insecurity
that Nigerians live with every
day. It is unfortunate that these
avoidable deaths have now
become part of us.
These are the types of images
that come up in the heads
of world leaders, such as
Trump. He, like others, would
wonder what is going on in a
country with constituted army,
police, and other security apparatus.
Yet these killings go
on daily with no arrests or
prosecutions. What image do
you think a leader such as
Trump would have of our
country?
It was not long ago that the
image of the Boko Haram
group leader, Abubakar
Shekau became synonymous
with the highest authority in
the country. At that time foreign
media were routinely using
Shekau’s image to illustrate
Nigeria. As funny as this
may seem, it was the reality
when our security agencies
struggled for so many years
to “conquer” the ragtag
"army" called Boko Haram.
And you expect Trump to rate
us highly. Do you?
Where else on earth have we
heard hundreds of sleeping
students kidnapped in a
school hostel? No other country
has reported such a large
scale kidnapping of innocent
citizens. Where else on this
earth do people start counting
the number of days in
captivity, rather than make
efforts to free them? It only
happened in Nigeria. Where
else, apart from Nigeria, are
funds meant for the fight
against terrorism mismanaged
while individuals corruptly
enriched themselves?
Yet, we expect Trump to respect
us as a country when
we cannot even manage our
refineries because of corruption?
Long fuel queues are
routine in the country that
rank as one of the leading
producers of crude oil, and
we still have the temerity to
blame Trump for his comments.
It is a country where
workers go many months
without being paid their wages.
Where people die because
the government rather than
provide basic health facilities
would commission elephant
projects to compensate individuals
for political patronage.
Yet we all blame Trump for
his comments. Now we can
guess why the government
may not find words to condemn
Trump. The citizens are
angry, but not for how Trump
has described their country.
They are angry because
Trump took the words from
their mouths and said it to the
whole world. They describe
Nigeria with more harsh
words than Trump had used.
Don’t blame Trump. Blame
our vison-less leaders.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 37
They have taken our generous reverend sisters away again!
•Villagers lament after six women, freed by
kidnappers, are withdrawn; convent shut down
By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin City
ON November 13, 2017, three
reverend sisters and three aspiring
sisters attached to the Eucharistic Heart
of Jesus Convent, Iguoriakhi in Ovia
South West local government area of Edo
State were kidnapped by gunmen who
stormed the convent at midnight. They
were said to have been taken away in a
speed boat that was waiting at the bank
of the Ovia River. The convent, located
at the bank of the river, has been in the
serene community for the past ten years.
Whereas the victims regained their
freedom, last Sunday, nearly two months
after the abduction, events have taken
another turn at the convent.
When Sunday Vanguard visited
Iguoriakhi on Thursday, the convent was
under lock and key. It was learnt that
the Catholic Church decided to shut
down the place temporarily due to the
sad incident. Sunday Vanguard further
learnt that the abductors of the women
refused to release them due to the
Catholic policy which forbids the
payment of ransom.
On the temporarily shut down of the
convent, a source said it was to enable
the sisters overcome the trauma they
suffered in the hands of their abductors.
Sunday Vanguard could not find any of
the victims to speak to, but some
community members narrated the
incident of November 13 and how they
were missing the sisters. One of the
residents, Pa John Dogha, 76, whose
house is adjacent to the convent, said
he was shocked by what befell the
sisters, saying the community was
missing their prayers. “They
(kidnappers) came very early in the
morning and said they didn’t come for
us. They were shooting and we ran into
the bush. They said we were not their
targets. This is the first time we would
experience this kind of incident. They
took them away but we are not happy
because these people have been good
to us. They should come back to our
community we are begging them. These
youths are not doing well at all they
should stop this kind of attitude we are
not happy”.
Another villager, Mrs Elizabeth Oboh,
a farmer, regretted that the activities of
kidnappers had plunged the community
into suffering. “We heard the kidnappers
barking orders”, she narrated. “We
didn’t know what was happening but we
stayed in our houses while some people
ran to the bush. It was in the morning
that we came out to hear that they took
the reverend sisters away. We have been
living happily here for years, sometimes
the reverend sisters will come and meet
me here, and we will sit down together
and talk. They always made our
community busy and happy. During
Mama Beatrice Ogunruku, a community leader in Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, recently marked
her 85th birthday. On hand to celebrate the occasion with her are her children, grandchildren
and in-laws including Mr Ayo Ogunruku, a former Registrar of Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife, Mr Olubayo Ogunruku, Mr Owolabi Ogunruku, Mr Gboladele Ogunruku,
Mrs Funke Ojo and Mr Tunde Ogunruku.
Farmers raise the alarm: Cocoa production will
be low this year
By Dayo Johnson, Akure
COCOA farmers across the country
have predicted low production this year
if the federal government failed to address
the issue of “sub-standard and
fake inputs” allegedly procured for
them last year.
Speaking under the auspices of Cocoa
Farmers Association of Nigeria
(CFAN), they lamented that the alleged
fake inputs procured by some people
contracted by government was responsible
for the low production of cocoa
last year.
National President of CFAN, Chief
Raimi Adeniji, disclosed this in Akure.
Adeniji asked President Muhammadu
Buhari and the Minister of Agriculture,
Chief Audu Ogbeh, to urgently look into
the matter for the betterment and improvement
of cocoa production in
2018.
He alleged that, in 2017, the suppliers
of the cocoa inputs supplied “unwanted,
fake and substandard inputs”,
which, according to him, “contributed
to the low production of cocoa we are
witnessing today in the country.”
“This has distorted the flowering
and untimely ripening of the cocoa pods
and may result into further declining
of Nigeria cocoa beans production in
the year 2018/2019 if the procurement
of cocoa inputs by the Federal Ministry
of Agriculture is not reviewed”, the
CFAN boss said.
By Akpokona Omafuaire
A
group under the aegis of Concerned Cit
izens of Polobubou (Tsekelewu) Communities
(CCPC), in Egbema Kingdom, Warri
North Local Government Area, Delta State,
has condemned an alleged invasion of their
community on by the military, saying that they
will not succumb to intimidation in any guise
in their quest to sign Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with all oil companies operating
in their area.
CCPC made this observation in a press statement
titled “NPDC/Elcrest Threaten Host
Communities with Military,” signed by Comrade
Benjamin B. Custom and Comrade
Evans Owei kelete Tiemo, President and Conflict
Resolution Chairman, respectively, and
made available to newsmen in Warri.
It was gathered that on January 1st, 2018,
at about 2 a.m when the communities were
celebrating her happy new year, a detachment
of soldiers stormed the community with two
military speed boats with sophisticated weap-
•The contvent, deserted, on Thursday. Inset: Pa Dogha
Christmas, they will share gifts to us and
our children. But this last Christmas, our
children did not celebrate well because
we did not get any gift from the sisters
because they were in the kidnappers’
den. I wish I know where they are, I
would have loved to go and see them.
Superior-General of the Catholic
Convent, Sister Agatha Osarekhoe, who
was contacted, explained that the
convent was not permanently closed but
that the sisters were asked to leave due
to security reasons. Her words,”The
kidnapped sisters are fine. These days
The road is rough but all will be
well – Amu, CAN leader, at 76
Vice-Chairman of the Christian Asso
ciation of Nigeria (CAN), 17 South
ern States Chapter, Archbishop
George Amu, says all will be well with Nigeria.
“The road may be rough and tortuous, Nigeria
will emerge and submerge all the daunting
problems confronting her presently, and
take her position in the comity of all nations
in the nearest future”, he assured.
Amu said this in a prophetic message to
Nigerians ahead of his low-keyed 76th birthday
anniversary.
“Nigerian politicians must eschew politics
of bitterness and rancor and embrace peace,
love and unity.
Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, has brought
peace to the world, including Nigeria, and we
must allow peace, love, justice and equity to
dominate our behaviors, actions and relationship
with our fellow men and women”, he
added.
“In 2018, let us as Nigerians look behind us
with understanding, before us with faith and
around us with love. We as Nigerians should
stand at the threshold of a new year. May God
help us to be kind, fair and wise in all our
affairs”
Group condemns alleged military invasion
of Egbema community
ons and took over the new year celebration, a
situation that caused panic and stampede. It
was said that several people were injured in
the process.
The group lamented that the incessant military
attacks on both communities, could
cause crisis between the oil companies and
the communities, adding that if the Federal
and state government do not interfere in the
matter, things could go out of hand.
Speaking with the chairman, Concerned Citizens
of Polobubou (Tsekelewu) Communities,
Comrade Benjamin Custom, he said it was
regrettable that their people are being intimidated
by oil companies that came to do business
in their communities, alleging that their
independent investigation showed that the
military men who invaded their communities
were from a flowstation owned by an oil company.
“I hereby call on the Federal and state governments,
Inspector General of Police and other
security agencies to come our aide and stop
this harassment.”
will not be easy for them. They have been
away in a strange environment. They are
taking care of themselves and they will
be fine. That was why we decided that
for now the place be temporarily closed.
We leave the future in God’s hands. It is
good to know that the community is
missing the sisters. We wonder why such
a thing will happen to people who have
been so generous to the community. We
care about them and share our resources
with them. It is unfortunate that the
incident happened to the sisters.”
•Amu
Amu, one-time PCRC Chairman, Zone Two
Police Command, Lagos, expressed sadness
over the way some Nigerians had been attacking
President Muhammadu Buhari, saying
he believed Buhari was doing his best for
the country and he needs prayers, support and
encouragement, not condemnation.
The General Overseer, Good News Bible
Church, Oshodi, Lagos, pleaded for a good
relationship between the National Assembly,
the executive and the judiciary, in order to
move the country forward.
“I am not a politician; neither do I want to
be one. But the truth must be told that all is not
well with our politicians who don’t see any
good in what their opponents do, however
good they are. This is not good enough.”
Madam Ogigbah is dead
MOmoteokpare rs.
Ogigbah, (Née Grace
Esisi),
aged 86, is dead. She was a devoted
Christian and a member of the Women
Guild of the Anglican Communion.
Mrs. Grace Omoteokpare Ogigbah who
was born into the renown Esisi family of
Okere, Warri and Sadjere family of Ovwor,
Olomu, Ughelli South and got married to
late Chief T. G. Ogigbah JP, a great politician
in the second republic.
The funeral arrangements will be announced
by the family.
The late Mrs. Grace Ogigbah

PAGE 38 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
EDITED BY OSA AMADI
osaamadi@yahoo.com
08070524223
Art, culture and
natural skin colour
By Job Joy Emmanuel
A case for camwood for the arts
By Lari Williams
Let’s take the college
Back to the village
For research
We can’t find our history
From the city.
“Ode to Culture”
In any tradition, there
must be a meaningful
reason for naming or
christening. Hollywood Studio
in the USA was so named
because studios were built
amongst the holy woods,
though the studio owners later
moved in and the place
was renamed Hollywood
City, the first entertainment
city in the world. Pinewood
Studios in England was built
among the pine woods
(trees). As for Bollywood, we
know what “Boli” means to us
here but I am sure the Indians
have their own meaning.
Camwood, if wood it must
be, should be our own choice.
In Nigeria, our first makeup
and skin care material is obtained
from camwood, the
blood tree. Till date, our
maidens still adorn their
bodies with the camwood
body care mixture. In the
West, it is called Osun. In the
North, it is called Lali and the
Idomas call it Lewo.
Therefore, Camwood is a
strongly rooted wood that
can and should carry the
name of the Nigerian movie
industry with cultural dignity.
Camwood was also the
main ingredient used in the
fattening room during female
circumcision, although I hasten
to say “Cut out the circumcision
but preserve the
art and culture of the fattening
room tradition called
Moninkim.” In my opinion,
like the NYSC, every teenager
should be made to experience
this cultural orientation:
Moninkim
Generations gone by
When granddads were boys
Men sang belles beauties
In tones of camwood mingles
They dote on camwood tones
Under shimmering bead
rows
Roaming the belles’ fresh
flesh
And blending the black gold
in Camwood blood-red
The men see rainbows in the
sunrise
As the belles leave the waterside
Shrouded in camwood magic
Face to feet of colour intrigues
Men lick lips and slap laps
As they watch beadstrands
caress mam’ glands
In the teasing game of camwood
craft
Spying what the eyes can catch
They yoggle to the rhythm
Of the copper-ringed feet
As the belles chime their regular
route
Back to the fattening room
Where they sing and dance and
weave antimaccassa
And learn the art that teach the
heart
How to make a home from a
house
And how to rule the home from
the room
Moninkim, the circumcised
belles
Ready for suitors and wedding
bells
Beauty is the comfort of the fattening
room
Camwood groomed into womanhood.
Here I quote my poem,
Moninkim, to consolidate the
“Case for Camwood.” If Nollywood
has come to stay, so be
it. Nonetheless, as Elstree has
coexisted with Pinewood in
England, so also Camwood and
Nollywood can coexist in Nigeria
as production locations,
live and let live. Even in America,
as there is Hollywood so
too there is the Broadway. It
would help the Nigerian entertainment
industry to be more
broad-based.
The Royal Hibiscus Hotel opens at cinemas
in February
By Chris Onuoha
ing an African restaurant in
London. Frustrated by her
lack of progress, she returns
to Nigeria and discovers that
going home can bring pleasant
surprises.
Successfully screened at
last year’s Toronto International
Film Festival (TIFF),
RHH was identified as a ‘Hidden
Gem’ by the panel, and
was the only Nigerian movie
and one of just three African
titles featured at the festival.
The cast includes Zainab Balogun,
Kenneth Okolie,
Deyemi Okanlawon, Kemi
‘Lala’ Akindoju and O.C. Ukeje,
with veteran actors Rachel
Oniga, Jide Kosoko, Olu Ja-
Heartwarming roman
tic comedy from Eb
onyLife Films, The
Royal Hibiscus Hotel is set to
open at cinemas in February
for Valentine Day celebrations.
During a record-breaking
box-office reign as one of the
producers of The Wedding
Party 2, EbonyLife Films announced
the cinema debut of
its new movie on February 9.
Set in Lagos and London,
The Royal Hibiscus Hotel
(RHH) tells the story of a passionate
Nigerian chef, ‘Ope’,
following her dream of opencobs
and Joke Silva. It was directed
by Ishaya Bako.
Mo Abudu, Executive Producer,
is thrilled about RHH
being shown to audiences in
Nigeria.
“The Royal Hibiscus Hotel has
been a special project – it is a
beautiful story of love, sprinkled
with delightful comedic
moments. We hope it resonates
with the young and young-atheart,
and reminds them of
what it’s like to fall in love. We
are proud of this film and anticipate
it being enjoyed in cinemas
across the country,” she
said.
The Royal Hibiscus Hotel will
be released at cinemas on February
9, 2018, following an ex-
God is the first and greatest artist. He sculptured us
and breathed into us and we became living beings.
He also created everything, both visible and
invisible. He wanted variety of everything, including
colours. That’s why there are people with black skins and
fair skins – all are good, portray high art, and delineate our
cultural backgrounds.
But some black people in Africa, Southern Asia, the
Caribbean, and the Middle East have the notion that fair
skin colours are better than dark complexions. As a result,
a lot of people use products to lighten their skins, sometimes
at a high health cost.
Perhaps those people do not know that some skinlightening
creams contain hydroquinone agents that
suppress the production of melanin, and therefore reduce
the skin’s natural protection against damaging ultraviolent
[UV] radiation. Hydroquinone penetrates the skin and may
cause irreversible damage to the connective tissue. The
result is premature aging.
Amilna Estevao
The chemical may also be cancer-causing. Other creams
contain mercury, which is another toxin. Furthermore,
continuous use of such products can cause disfiguring
rashes, unsightly blotches, and skin so weakened that it
cannot be stitched if cut. And if the chemicals in some of
these cosmetics are absorbed into the bloodstream, they
can damage the liver, the kidney, or the brain, and even
cause organ failure.
Ironically, while some dark-skinned people want to lighten
their complexion, many fair-skinned people go to great
lengths to get deeper tans. To be sure, moderate exposure
to the sun can be healthful. It can, for example, enable the
production of vitamin D. But extended exposure, especially
when the sun is high in the sky, can be harmful. A tan, in
fact, indicates that the skin has already suffered damage
and is trying to protect itself from further exposure to
harmful ultraviolent rays.
But that protection is limited. A dark tan on fair skin, for
instance, provides a sun-protection factor of no more than
four. While regular use of sunscreen may help, it does not
provide complete protection against skin damage and
certain cancers, including melanoma.
Hence, the World Health Organization recommends
‘’strengthening the message that everyone should be happy
with their natural skin color’’. Whether dark or fair in
complexion, ‘’be happy with your natural skin colour’’.
(Job Joy Emmanuel is a student of mass
communication at Federal University Ndufu-
Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State).
clusive premiere in Lagos,
Nigeria on February 4.
The movie will be an additional
source of enjoyment
for moviegoers with
soundtrack that features
score of award-winning Nigerian
musicians such as
Cobhams Asuquo, Johnny
Drille, Chemistry by Falz
and Simi, Skintight by Mr.
Eazi and Tonight, Ocean and
Radio by Nonso Amadi.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 39
Our overcoming faith in Christ
REVEREND FATHER
John Damian
ADIZIE, OCD
Director of Int'l Youth Empowerment
& Rehabilitation Centre
(IYERC)
Tel: 08076635886
Email:
johndamianocd@yahoo.co.uk
How often do you say
'Thank You?'
DO you know that
Thank you is a sign
of appreciation and
a mark of humility? Do you
even know that appreciation
is the gateway to success and
a channel to more favours?
Yes, the more we express appreciation
the more we are
likely to receive more favours.
In fact, the most favourable
people on earth are
the most grateful people.
The grateful ones are those
who know when and how to
express their appreciation.
For the grateful ones, nothing
is too small and nothing
CULTURE IN MARRIAGE: African Perspective (continuation)
By Pastor Okokon
Ating
MANY young men
who have no
money to marry
are now adopting the
method of just bringing a
woman in to live with them
to fast-track their ways into
ma-rital life. In this kind of
marriage, the consent of
both families is zero,
payment of bride price is
ignored and neglected and
therefore no parental or
family's blessings, the two
people involved goes ahead
to have children.
There are lots of dangers
found in this kind of relationship.
Such dangers are
premature death of the lady
during pregnancy, barrenness,
miscarriage and other
serious sicknesses which
may be inflicted on the lady
by unknown and unseen
negative family forces.
Such misfortune may come
from the bride's family or
ancestral spirit of the ancient
to torture the couple.
ed and born again just like
you are. He went on to say
that the resounding evidence
that you belong to the family
of God is when you
love God and keep His commandments.
I John 5:4 "For whatsoever
is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory
that overcometh the
world, even our faith."
There is a conflict and opposition
against God from
the rebel post of the world,
which is sponsored by Satan
the devil. That spirit that
is working in the world is
known as the spirit of the
god of this age; and it is
contrary to the Holy scriptures,
to Christ Jesus and
God Almighty. If you must
love God, you have to hate
that diabolic devilish influence
Satan the devil uses to
captivate and capture the
gullible many who are daily
entrapped in sin. And as for
those of us who are on the
side of the LORD, we are to
overcome, overpower and
outwit the world through
faith in the grace of our Lord
Mr. & Mrs. Okokon Ating
This is because the bride's
family feels cheated by the
groom who refused to follow
the cultural rites of the
people. Some young men,
who have the fear of God,
would after some years tell
the lady to take them to her
parents or her people to do
the right thing. But some
men who do not fear God
would rather send the lady
away when such need arises,
with the thought that "after
all, she has given me
children and I don't have
business with her people".
I know of a man who refused
to acknowledge the
parents-in-law yet have had
•Kumuyi
Jesus: faith is able to resist
the devil, resist temptations
and all the principles and
practices of the world.
The possibilities of faith,
centuries past, has not
waned. Whether right from
the first century up until the
21st century, where we now
live, faith is still the same. It
was forged from the very
heart of Christ and He imparted
it on all those heroes
of faith who have gone to
glory. Now, it is our time to
manifest that same victory
they enjoyed because "greater
is he that is in us than he
that is in the world." And today,
if you have not tasted
that victory, victory is coming
your way. If you have
got the victory in a moder-
sidering the importance
and
indispensible role
of Thank you, the
UN General Assembly
has set
aside January 11
as World Thank
You Day. It is not
just a day to reflect
on the importance
of
Thank you but
also a day to express
our thanks
to those who deserve it.
These includes:
God: is our Creator and the
creator of heaven and earth.
He is our Provider, He provides
for all our needs. He is
our Protector, He protects
and guides us against our
enemies. He is the One that
sustains our lives. He defends
us against evil charges.
He is our Redeemer and
Restorer, He restores whatsoever
the evil one has taken
away from us. Most of the
favours we have received
here on earth come directly
from God. To Him be glory
and praise both now and
forevermore. Amen!
Our Parents: are the ones
more than six children with
their daughter, I have discovered
that this sort of
marriage does not last, in
that, it is bound with many
challenges such as abandonment
of ladies who try
to persuade their partners to
pay a visit to their parents
and perform the necessary
marital rites. A man who is
taking an advantage of a
lady to satisfy his carnal
curiosity may turn down
such a lady and send her
away.
In this kind of union which
was contracted without
genuine love, it will become
very difficult to stand the test
of time and withstand
storms and challenges.
Hence, as it started wrongly
so will it end wrongly and
abruptly.
Going through the memory
lane, one could see that the
above system of marriage
was contracted because of
a condition like, "seeking for
shelter". Genuine marriage
would involve an agreement
between two parties,
is too poor---they remain
ever grateful! Appreciation
is therefore a sign of inner
satisfaction. It is the deepest
expression of contentment,
approval and admiration.
If I may ask, how
often do you express your
appreciation?
One of the commonest ways
to express our appreciation
is by saying "Thank You!"
Thank you is not just an ordinary
phrase; it is among
the most influential word in
life. It is a word that is globally
accepted as an expression
of appreciation. Con-
ate way, you are going to
experience it in a grand
style.
You are not going to enjoy
this overcoming faith in one
single day of your life, but it
will be every day of your life
for the rest of your stay on
earth. The challenges that
come with living a pilgrim
journey will not cut you
down. So, do not assume a
dejected look nor appear
sorrowful because the faith
backbone you have is greater
than the problems hunting
you in life; and today,
you will make a new discovery
that you are more than
a conqueror. You will overcome
in every battle of your
life in Jesus name.
We are overcomers in this
world because we are privileged
to enjoy the favour
and mercy that come from
God.
I John 5:1 "Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the
Christ is born of God: and
every one that loveth him
that begat loveth him also
that is begotten of him."
The people that believe in
that gave birth to us. They
are the channel through
which God brought us into
this world; they were the
ones that nurtured us. They
trained us in informal education.
They sponsored our
formal education. We remain
ever grateful to our
parents!
Our Teachers: are those
who train and educate us
intellectually, morally and
even physically. Apart from
our parents, the most important
people in our lives
that deserve our thanks are
our teachers. Most of the
knowledge we have today
were transmitted to us
through our teachers.
Our Priests, Pastors and
Prophets: are those who
cater for our spiritual and
moral wellbeing. They, especially
our spiritual directors,
are the ones who take
care of our spiritual growth
and nourishment. They often
use the word of God to
shape our lives. They usually
intercede for us and
above all they mediate between
us and God.
Our Leaders: Have you
ever imagined a society
acknowledgment of both
family members, bride
price and other marriage
rite would be paid and parental
blessings would be
given, this is a proper marriage.
Hence, in my study of the
different cultures affecting
marriages, I discovered
that only a handful of these
marriages lasted "till death
do us part", very many did
not last. Some that lasted
do so based of certain cultural
beliefs and customs. It
must have been banded by
an oath or a curse which no
succeeding generations
could shift or break. As a
result, the people can practice
it because it has become
a way of life; nobody sees it
as an evil or bad omen. For
instance, the taking of
someone's daughter without
the consent of the parents,
the couple will not
worry, so far as it is the laid
down custom they have
come to see. They would
even be happy living together
as husband and wife,
the saving grace of Jesus
Christ have a deep conviction
in their heart that Jesus
is the anointed and appointed
One chosen by the
Father to die for us and to
be our Saviour. When you
believe that with all of your
heart, without any shadow
of doubt, then you are born
of God.
John 1:12 gives a confirmation
to that unmistakable
fact when it says that "But as
many as received him, to
them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his
name:"
John 1:29 "The next day John
seeth Jesus coming unto
him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world."
Look away from any pseudo
alternative because Jesus is
the only One qualified to
take away the sin of the
world. And if He takes away
the sin of the whole world,
He will take your sins away
too.
John 3:3 "Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily,
without leaders? Leaders are
the ones that take vital decisions
on our behalf and for
the wellbeing of the society.
Thank you our leaders!
Our Benefactors: are those
who support our vision and
our projects. They do so
through moral and financial
support. A tree cannot make
a forest. We cannot succeed
with divine and human support.
As people support us
we really need to show appreciation.
Our Drivers: are those who
convey us in a car or vehicle
from one place to another.
As long as our journeys are
concerned, our lives depend
on the drivers. Each time we
travel safely without accident
and without any robbery
attack on our way, we
should say "Thank you" to
our drivers.
Our Security Men: are
those who sacrifice their
lives to ensure that we are
secured. Most of them often
sleep outside or at the security
post to ensure that their
masters are well protected.
They are ever ready to die in
place of their masters. Each
time you remember the risk
bearing children who will in
turn practice same. And they
dare not marry outside their
cultural background.
This type of union cannot
marry from another region,
distant race or nation because
they are used to their
own lifestyle. Others may
not last as said earlier due
to the fact that many things
may militate against it, for
example:
1. The marriage may have
been forceful due to the influence
of both parents but
not to the satisfaction or
agreement of the couple.
2. The decision was taken on
behalf of the couple without
their agreement to take responsibility
for their marriage.
3. In the occasion where the
marriage was contracted by
the parents using cultural
cults e.g. the goddess of their
land, Ekpe cult in Efik, Ekpo
cult in Ibibio land etc to
threaten the girl just to accept
the marriage, there will
always be a time of expiration
when the spells or the
verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom
of God."
Nicodemus got a first hand
experience of the essence of
the message of salvation
from the Saviour Himself.
And when you meet anyone
along the way or in the bus
stop or better still, at the
place of work asking the
very same question Nicodemus
asked the Lord Jesus
Christ, then you should remember
that Jesus is the
answer.
John 3:4-7 "Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a
man be born when he is
old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's
womb, and be born? Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, Except a
man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of
God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit
is spirit. Marvel not that I
said unto thee, Ye must be
born again."
-To be continued
and the sacrifices they
make, we say Thank you.
Finally, I want to thank
you, my dear readers, for
your encouragement. In a
special way I thank those
of you who usually comment
on my write-ups. Your
comments and suggestions
have really improved my
writing skill.
Child of God, now that you
have known the importance
of thank you, I hope you
will continue to be grateful
to God and to all the people
around you. God bless
you as you express your appreciation
to those concerned!
As you continue to
use the word Thank you,
you shall receive more favours
both from God and
from your fellow human
beings.
Above all, I thank the Almighty
God for the gift of
life, the gift of our families
and friends and well wishers.
We also thank God for
the gift of inspiration, wisdom
and understanding.
May His name be glorified
both now and forevermore
- Amen!
By Pastor William F.
Kumuyi
IJOHN 5:1-3 "Whoso
ever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of
God: and every one that
loveth him that begat loveth
him also that is begotten of
him.
By this we know that we love
the children of God, when
we love God, and keep his
commandments. For this is
the love of God, that we keep
his commandments: and his
commandments are not
grievous."
John the Beloved said that
one of the consequences of
being born again is that
those who have been saved
from sin, through the blood
of Jesus Christ, will have the
benevolent love for their spiritual
relatives. In other
words, when you are born
again, you will express the
agape love for God the Father
and His children; and
you will love the king of the
kingdom, you will love the
subjects of the kingdom and
the people who are redeeminfluence
become powerless.
4. Every culture has a "mistake
of the past"•especially
when the culture was
against human rights and
freedom of choice in the
society. For instance, a girl
of 14 to 16 years is forcefully
given to a man of 60
years in marriage. At the
refusal by the girl, the parents
would bind her with an
oath or curse, calling the
ancestors, some parents use
their daughter to borrow
money or properties.
In most society where couples
suffer shipwreck, the
factor had always been the
evil influence of the wrong
culture which makes the
couple see themselves as
enemies to each other or as
unwanted gift which is
meaningless to each other.
Closely monitoring, one
would see that in the time
past many women were
fond of running away
quickly from their marital
home. Some ended up
marrying up to three or
four husbands and vice
versa.

PAGE 40— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
DR. FRANCIS
AKIN-JOHN
Church Growth Consultant, 6/8,
Mukadaq Close, Off Palace Way,
Iyana-Odo, B/Stop, Isheri-LASU Road,
Lagos.
08023000714. akingrow@yahoo.com
RECENTLY, I was asked
about the greatest obsta
cles to church growth I see
in many denominational, independent
and evangelical
churches. Based on my consultations
and studies, here are some
of the primary ones I've seen:
1. A worn-out pastor. When the
shepherd is exhausted "and often
hurting because of conflict" have
an outward, evangelistic focus.
2. Inward focus. No church naturally
defaults into an outward
focus; instead, they turn inward
to meet internal needs unless they
intentionally fight against that
trend.
3. Bad preaching. Sometimes it's
not as biblically sound as it
should be. At other times, it's less
than exciting. Either way, it
doesn't lead to growth.
4. Evangelistic apathy. This, too,
often starts at the top. A church
that's lost its fire for evangelism
usually settles into maintenance
mode.
The unquestionable God that need to be feared
By Pastor Oloruntimilehin
Joshua Daramola
GOD is an unquestionable being,
compassionate, merciful and
loving. He does not compromise
when there is need to exercise His
authority and power on any
matter or anybody. He makes
people to know that there is
nothing He cannot do (Jeremiah
32:17). Also He establishes His
authority and power when He said
in Isaiah 45:7 "I form the light and
created the darkness, I make
peace and create calamity, I, the
Lord, do all these thing". Many
people believe God would easily
or ordinarily forgive sinners when
they plead and beg Him for forgiveness
of their sins. Brethren, I
come to understand that God
doesn't easily forgive in the way
of people's thinking and
understanding. Let us examine the
story of King David, an elect of
God whom God had shown
favour (II Samuel 7:8). King David
committed a great sin in the eye
of God by plotting and killing his
warlord Uriah and took his wife.
•Daramola
Uriah's wife born a child for
David. God struck the child and
became ill. David sought for God's
kindness for the child to be
healed. II Samuel 12:16 "David
pleaded with God for the child.
He fasted and went into his house
and spent the night lying on the
ground". Despite the intervention
of his elders to prevail upon him
to get up from the ground, David
refused and did not eat nor drink.
Yet God did not grant his plea and
prayer. The child died the seventh
day. Imagine David the elect of
God, begged God and He refused
to listen to him. I want people to
10 Barriers To Church Growth
understand that NOBODY does
evil and goes scot-free. Therefore
there is no evil done in secret that
will not be exposed, it is a matter
of time. For instance stealing of
goats in town became rampant.
Later three men were caught and
confessed it was a famous man in
the town that was sending them to
steal goats. Nobody would have
thought the famous man could be
involved in the act of stealing
goats.
He was exposed and disgraced.
Some people believe they have
grace because of their status, fame
and godliness, they perpetrate evil
and their secrets are yet to be exposed.
They are not smart at all.
Whether a person is an armed robber,
adulterer, fornicator, fraudster,
his or her days are numbered when
the person will be exposed to the
extent that God will not forgive.
Imagine a woman had five children,
two were for the real husband
while the other three were for other
men. These three children were
counted for the real husband. But
the three children started experiencing
problems, no progress in
Avoid bloodshed, Abidoye warns politicians
By Wole Mosadomi
5. No growth strategy. The
church assumes that just because
they gather and enjoy it, others
will come automatically. Meanwhile,
the enemy who is a strategist
(Ephesians 6:10-12) works his
plans to keep people away from
the gospel.
6. Turf wars. It's tough to reach
outside the church when everybody's
fighting to keep his power
inside church. Plus, non-believers
aren't interested in stepping
into a battleground.
7. Prayerlessness. I know this
one sounds like a "super-spiritual"
reason, but I'm not shocked by
the correlation between churches
that don't pray much and churches
that don't grow much.
8. Space issues. This reason's at
least a positive one: the congregation
has outgrown its parking
and/or facility space. The crowd
won't come where the crowd
won't fit.
9. Poor discipleship. When baby
believers remain babies after
years of being believers, they tend
SPIRITUAL Head of Cheru
bim and Seraphim Church
Movement (AYO NI O),
Most Rev. Samuel Adefila
Abido-ye has called on all political
parties in the country to
be matured in their campaigns
in order to avoid bloodshed
just as he advised the electorate
to avoid any step that could
lead to breakdown of law and
order ahead of 2019 general
elections.
In his new year message to Nigerians,
the Spiritual Father
said the only weapon all eligible
Nigerians have is their votes
which can be legitimately used
to retain or change any administration
rather than resort to
violence.
He said:"2018 is another year
of engaging in politicking either
to gain power or to retain
power; but my plea to all Nigerians,
is that we should be
politically and spiritually matured
and be careful not to engage
in bloodshed."
He reminded politicians that
power comes from God and that
nobody can forcefully acquire
it, adding that the quickest step
towards bloodshed and anachy
is rigging and desperation to
gain power which he said
should be avoided.
Rev. Abidoye called on President
Muhammadu Buhari to
focus more attention on education
which, he said, is going
down the drain.
"I beseech the ruling government
to be masses oriented
and improve the quality of our
education that is going down
the drain.
While the Spiritual Father predicts
that the new year is going
to be a fruitful year, he
warned celebrities and corrupt
politicians to be weary and
watch their ways in order to
avoid the wrath of God.
"I want to inform you that 2018
is going to be a very fruitful
year because a lot shall reach
their stardom while several
to become whiners' strategy to
help babies grow.
10. Retreat mentality. I've said
for years that the church has become
a place to retreat from the
battles rather than a place to get
re-armed for the war. The church
in retreat won't grow.
These are the basic and primary
ones I can give out now. Much
more will be given during our
Healthy Local Church conference
of 14-17 February 2018, in
Lagos, Nigeria, With the theme:
OPEN THE FRONT AND
CLOSE THE BACKDOOR OF
YOUR CHURCH. You can indicate
your interest by sending me
your number in my inbox.
10 Reasons I fear for
Young Ministers
I love young ministers who answer
God's call upon their lives. They're
some of the most creative, passionate,
committed people I know. I
love it when young people start the
ministry early in life and focus on
their divine assignments, I do fear
for them, though. Here's why:
1. Many have had no older mentors
in their life. No older believers
have taken them under their
wing, loved them, and led them.
Too many young pastors are learning
ministry on their own.
2. They're leading in a culture that
is increasingly accepting sin. Had
selfish and corrupt celebrities
will be heard no more," he said.
Rev. Abidoye called on all Nigerians
to continue to pray for
governments at all levels, remain
calm, humane, firm, resolute
and decisive while pleading
that the government should
also be given more time to drive
home their point on their war
against insurgence.
"Let us give the present administration
more time to execute
their campaign promises including
the fight against corruption,"
he appealed.
Abidoye particularly called on
President Buhari to investigate
critically the causes of the
present acute scarcity of petrol
which has exposed the country
to international embarrassment
so that such will not repeat
itself again.
He prayed for a bumper harvest,
pointing out that when
there is abundant food and
other social amenities, there
will invariably be peace and
development in the country.
you projected the sin issues we face
today when I began ministry 35+
years ago, I probably would have
laughed at you. Now I weep.
3. The internet brings sin options
to them. In my days, people sneak
out to buy pornography. Now, it
sometimes shows up in our inboxes
and computer systems.
4. Many come from broken
homes. That means they're teaching
about being godly, healthy,
God-centered, committed families
when they've never been part
of one themselves.
5. Their only heroes are Internetbased.
It's great to have heroes
from afar, but most of us need gospel
heroes who stand in front of us
and look us in the eye.
6. They sometimes fear leading a
church. Frankly, they've seen too
much in fighting congregations.
A healthy respect for the deep responsibility
of leading God's people
is right; a fear that hinders
their leadership is not.
7. They're walking into inwardlyfocused
churches. By sheer numbers,
most young pastors will step
into congregations with a track
record of little growth. What
seemed so exciting and challenging
at first can quickly become defeating.
8. Many don't know how to pray.
No one's taught them how, and
they have no prayer warrior role
models. Instead, it doesn't take
their lives. It was when their
mother brought their case to me
that the spirit of God revealed that
the three children were not for the
real husband but another father.
The woman actually confessed
that they are for other men (three
other fathers). Their mother who
was above 60years caused the
problem for the children because
she had deceitfully transfered the
ownership of those children to
another person.
Brethren, it is pertinent to stay by
the truth because it will set a person
free rather than lying which
will compound person's problem
in future. Telling lie destruct people's
life. Then I advised the
woman to commence begging for
forgiveness of sin. In fact the spirit
of God revealed that the three children
should go back and stay with
their biological father but the
woman should be preparing to
depart this world. I fervently pray
that we would not do what will
make God to close His eyes
against us in Jesus name.
Brethren, there are some sins that
God may not forgive. There are
ASSISTANT General Over
seer on Administration and
Personnel, of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God, RCCG,
Pastor Johnson Odesola, has expressed
displeasure at the recent
killing of children, women and innocent
people by Fulani herdsmen
in Guma and Logo Local
Government Areas of Benue State.
Addressing journalists after the
church annual thanksgiving service
at the national headquaters of
the church in Ebute-meta, Lagos,
Pastor Odesola who is also pastor-in-charge
of Region 1, said the
spate of killings by the Fulani
herdsmen in different parts of the
country, calls for urgent attention
and action by the Federal Government.
In his words: "I kept on wondering
on the silence of government
as regards the recent violent attacks
by Fulani herdsmen which
have always lead to loss of lives of
innocent citizens. The situation
could best be described as barbaric,
terrible, devilish and heartless,
looking at the way innocent
citizens of the country are being
killed.
"The government should do something
as it appears that the will to
them long to begin doing ministry
in their own power.
9. They take for granted their access
to the Bible. Most of us do,
actually. We've forgotten that
much of the world has no access
to the Word.
10. They're entering a profession
too often marked by competition,
jealousy, and personal kingdombuilding.
They don't have to look
far to see the ungodliness of
church leaders striving for recognition
and platform space. And, it
doesn't take long for zealous, talented
pastors to fall into the same
trap.
I fear for young pastors, but I don't
let the fear trump my belief in
them. In fact, my concern makes
me to reach out to them in seminars,
conferences and resources.
*Don’t forget our conference
“Healthy Local Church 3” is
Wednesday 14th – Saturday 17th
of February 2018.
@ Foursquare Int’l Convention
Camp, Orisunbare-Idimu, Lagos
Contact: 08029744296 or
08023000714
E-Mail: akingrow@yahoo.com
*International Church Growth
Ministry holds two major
conferences a year, one in
second week of every February
and the other in every first week
in September.”
some things God would not because
of sin. When you request He
might not grant your request.
Many people do not know God.
They think God is not tough and
strict. God can destroy a whole
city because of a person. God's
mindset differs from people. Imagine
God wanted to sink a vessel
because of Jonah, (Jonah 1:1-16).
There is nothing God cannot do.
People do not understand the way
and manner God does His things.
The Bible says in Galatians 6:7-
10 "Do not be deceived, God cannot
be mocked, a man reaps what
he sows. The one who sows to
please his sinful nature, from that
nature will reap destruction; the
one who sows to please the spirit,
from the spirit will reap eternal
life. Let us not become weary in
doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not
give up".•Therefore let your goodness
be weightier than the sins
committed, may be God would
show his mercy upon you.and servants
were surprised at his actions
and they asked him.
*For further enquiries call:
08023020108, 08058110288,.
www.facebook.com/
pastoroloruntimilehin.
Adeboye's aid
condemns
Benue killings
By Olayinka Latona
take positive action on this unnecessary
protracted problem is conspicuously
lacking.
"Our worry is that these Fulani
herdsmen carry out these hienous
crimes and no single person is prosecuted.
It only translates to the assumption
that the evil work by
these group is approved. It is not
just for the government to say
something but to act decisively,"
he said.
He also asked President Muhammadu
Buhari to do more on corruption
beyond just arresting people
to making them to face the
wrath of the law.
Odesola decried the situation
whereby no politician has been
brought to book since the war was
declared on corrupt over two years
ago.
"We only hear that corrupt leaders
are arraigned in court without
hearing any further action," he
lamented.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018 PAGE 41
Jesus says: “Is it not written: ‘My
house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations’? But you have made
it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Mark 11:17).
This statement was true in the time
of Jeremiah, who wrote it initially.
It was true in the days of Jesus, who
quoted Jeremiah. It remains true
today, confirming it as a word of
God. Jesus says: “Heaven and earth
will pass away, but my words will by
no means pass away.” (Matthew
24:35).
The churches, today’s so-called
houses of God, are veritable dens of
robbers. Their kingpins are their
highfalutin pastors and bishops.
These men and women specialise in
hypnotising unsuspecting Christians
in order to rob them of their hardearned
monies.
Be warned! They are planning to
steal from you in a big way this January.
Law and grace
Under Moses, God instituted the
law of “firstfruits.” This was part of
the support system established for
the Levitical priesthood who were
not given any land in Israel.
“The priests, who are Levites- indeed
the whole tribe of Levi- are to
have no allotment or inheritance
with Israel. They shall live on the
offerings made to the Lord by fire,
for that is their inheritance. They
shall have no inheritance among
their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance.”
(Deuteronomy 18:1-2).
As the name implies, firstfruits are
the produce of the land of Israel,
which was God’s gift to the Jews:
“When you come into the land
which I give to you, and reap its harvest,
then you shall bring a sheaf of
the firstfruits of your harvest to the
priest.” (Leviticus 23:10).
However, Christians are not under
the Law of Moses but under
God’s grace. (Romans 6:15). Nevertheless,
modern-day Christian
pastors are still laying claim to firstfruits
from members of their congregation.
John says: “The law was given
through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ.” (John
1:17). When Jesus fulfilled the law,
he declared on the cross of Calvary:
“It is finished.” (John 19:30). Accordingly,
Paul maintains: “Christ
is the end of the law.” (Romans 10:4).
Why then are pastors determined to
bring back the outdated law of firstfruits
through the backdoor?
Jesus says: “He who does not enter
the sheepfold by the door, but
climbs up some other way, the same
is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1).
Deceived-deceivers
The Jerusalem Council, convened
by Jesus’ apostles to determine
the application of the Law of Moses
to Gentiles, ended up by sending the
following edict to all Gentile
Churches: “It seemed good to the
Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon
you no greater burden than these
necessary things: that you abstain
from things offered to idols, from
blood, from things strangled, and
from sexual immorality. If you keep
yourselves from these, you will do
well.” (Acts 15:28-29).
Note that this does not include giving
firstfruits to priests. Neither does
it even include giving tithes to God.
“For on the one hand there is an
annulling of the former commandment
because of its weakness and
unprofitableness, for the law made
nothing perfect; on the other hand,
there is the bringing in of a better
hope, through which we draw near
to God.” (Hebrews 7:18-19).
Nevertheless, money-grubbing
pastors cherry-pick aspects of the
law for Christians to obey. They do
WE ARE CONVERTED TO
BRING OTHERS TO CHRIST
ROMANS 10:1-2 says:
"Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for
Israel is, that they might be saved.
For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not
according to knowledge."
No one who claimed to be a
Christian should feel comfortable
because he is saved. He is expected
to desire and pray that others
should be saved, for our religious
obligation is to ensure that others
are saved. He should not rejoice
because he is the only one going
to heaven while millions of other
people are going to hell fire and
among these people are his
neighbours and friends. Such
rejoicing is contrary to the will of
God for it is not the will of God
that any should perish. He does
not desire it, and His patience
towards sinners proves that He is
willing that they should be saved.
That is why He commissioned us
to go into the world and preach to
all creatures that they might be
saved. Anybody who claims to be
a disciple of Jesus and ignore this
injunction is a false disciple
because those who are saved by
grace must not be reminded of
CHRISTIANS: WATCH OUT FOR THE
FIRSTFRUITS SCAM
their responsibility to serve the
Lord.
Mark 16:15 says, "And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature."
If you know you are saved by His
grace and born again, you are
among those commissioned by
Christ to go into the world and
preach the saving grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ to all without
limitation. You are to proclaim the
good tidings of Christ crucified,
died and raised from the dead to
all so that they shall through Him
be saved. The essence of the divine
commission is that we believers
should through preaching the
gospel of salvation bring all to
Christ.
I Corinthian 9:16 says: "For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing
to glory of: for necessity is laid
upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I
preach not the gospel."
After he received the commission
from Christ, Paul the Apostle told
the Corinthians that necessity has
been laid upon him to preach the
gospel. He was no longer counting
whether it was convenient for
him to preach or not, what he
419 pastors
are already
salivating,
waiting to rob
you of your
entire January
salary
this for deceitful gain; in order to
extort money from the members of
their congregation. But: “You can't
pick and choose in these things, specializing
in keeping one or two
things in God's law and ignoring
others.” (James 2:10). Moreover,
you are not allowed to subject God’s
law to self-serving distortions.
Counterfeit firstfruits
knew was that he could no longer
refrain from preaching. He concluded
that his life would be miserable
if he did not preach and his
heart would be in pain because
God would frown at him.
The same degree of necessity is
laid upon every believer to preach.
It does not matter what your vocation
is, as long as you are a believer,
the calling of God must
hem in your goings, and constrains
you to become an ambassador
of the cross. You must feel
The increase in
armed robbery,
prostitution, cultism
etc is as a result of
our inability to keep
to our divine
commission
wretched in any other profession
even if such profession is surrounded
by wealth, honours,
pleasures, or fashion. If you are
born again your heart will be occupied
with how to bring others
to Christ. The circumstances of poverty,
illiteracy, persecution, peril,
sickness, etc must not discourage
you from ensuring that others are
saved. A Christian whose heart is
not in the ministry of preaching
the gospel, and who would be
happy when not preaching, is not
fit to be an ambassador of Christ.
Unless a believer's heart is occupied
with the urge to preach he
will find it difficult to convert a
soul. A believer who abandons
preaching and devote himself to
other vocation when he is expected
to preach, has not really been
saved by grace. If you claim to be
The true and original firstfruits
were crops and livestock: “You are
to give (the priests) the firstfruits of
your grain, new wine and oil, and
the first wool from the shearing of
your sheep.” (Deuteronomy 18:4).
But the counterfeit firstfruits of today’s
mercenary pastors is money,
money and nothing but money.
Firstfruits are specifically “the
firstfruits of the land.” (Deuteronomy
26:10). This ties them to the land
of Israel and makes them inapplicable
to the land of Nigeria. It also
means they cannot be re-conceptualised
as the firstfruits of your salary.
God gave Israel the land: he did
not give them any money.
Jews who simply possessed the
trees and not the land were exempted
from offering firstfruits because
they could not say: “Behold, I have
brought the firstfruits of the land
which you, O Lord, have given me.”
(Deuteronomy 26:10). Jews who
lived beyond the Jordan could not
bring firstfruits because they could
not recite the scriptural words of the
service saying it was from: “a land
flowing with milk and honey.” (Deuteronomy
26:15).
How then can Nigerians bring
firstfruits to God from Nigeria? It is
simply impossible!
True firstfruits were collected once
a year at the harvest. Today’s counterfeits
are collected at the beginning
of the year in January. True
firstfruits were just a small portion
of the entire harvest: “The first of the
firstfruits of your land you shall bring
into the house of the Lord your God.”
(Exodus 23:19). Counterfeit firstfruits
are the entire “harvest.”
Counterfeit first-fruits used to be
defined as a Christian’s first salary
after leaving school and securing
gainful employment. But some pastors
soon realised this only gives
them the right to the salary of their
congregants once and for all. So
they now insist that, since the January
salary is the first salary of the
year, counterfeit firstfruits must be
given every year, and must be the
entire January salary of their hoodwinked
parishioners.
Witchcraft
Accordingly, 419 pastors are already
salivating, waiting to rob
Christians of their entire salary this
January. They have been busy, laying
the foundation for this grand
larceny; extolling at every opportunity
the “blessings” of giving counterfeit
firstfruits. Equally important,
they have been putting the fear of
the devil in Christian hearts; telling
them of the dire consequences of refusing
to accept this daylight robbery.
Pastor Paula White, spiritual advisor
to Donald Trump, president of
the United States, recently declared
that, when you don’t give firstfruits:
“whether through ignorance or direct
disobedience there are consequences.”
Don’t fall for this kind of witchcraft
unless you want to live in penury
throughout February. Unlike
the Levites of old, today’s pastors are
far richer than the average members
of their churches. So don’t give
them your money. Remember: “He
who gives to the rich, will surely
come to poverty.” (Proverbs 22:16).
Firstfruits are anathema to the
New Testament. Today, the harvest
is no longer of crops but of souls.
The redeemed are now God’s firstfruits.
(Revelation 14:14). James
says: “Of (God’s) own will he
brought us forth by the word of truth,
that we might be a kind of firstfruits
of his creatures.” (James 1:18).
So if your pastor is already waxing
lyrical about the need for you to
give him your entire January salary
as firstfruits, don’t mince words.
Shout to his face: “Ole! Thief! Barawo!
Jaguda pali!”
Isaiah says: “They are as greedy
as dogs, never satisfied; they are stupid
pastors who only look after their
own interest, each trying to get as
much as he can for himself from
every possible source.” (Isaiah
56:11).
a believer, and you are not preaching
to your backslidden friends,
unbelieving colleagues or supporting
the work of God, then you
are not really saved by grace.
Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered,
What mean ye to weep and to
break mine heart? for I am ready
not to be bound only, but also to
die at Jerusalem for the name of
the Lord Jesus.
Apostle Paul determined to preach
the gospel to the people in Jerusalem
told fellow disciples that no
threat to his life would discourage
him from his avowed resolution
to preach the gospel also in
Jerusalem so that they may be
saved. Nothing shall hinder us
from preaching the gospel for we
are converted to bring others to
Christ.
Brethren, if we say that we are in
Christ, we should not relax because
we are saved or members of our
families are saved and are going
to heaven. We should not rejoice
for being the only people going to
heaven while millions of other
people are going to hell fire and
among these people are our neighbours
and friends. Such rejoicing
is contrary to the will of God.
I Timothy 2:3-4 says: "For this is
good and acceptable in the sight
of God our Saviour; Who will have
all men to be saved, and to come
unto the knowledge of the truth."
It is the will of God that all men
should be saved. This is in accordance
with His benevolent nature
and He made ample provision for
it. He does not want anybody to
perish. If men perish, it is because
they refused to come to the Lord
for salvation; not that the Lord is
not willing to save them.
John 3:16 says: "For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
God gave Jesus to the whole world
that they might be saved. It is never
His will that any soul should perish.
He loves every soul and wants
everybody to be saved. He does not
have pleasure in the death or destruction
of any sinner.
Before the manifestation of our
Lord Jesus Christ the entire world
was in ruin, and exposed to the
wrath of God. All men were in a
hopeless condition until God gave
His Son. Man had no claim on
Him; it was a gift, an undeserved
gift. It is for all the world that the
Son of God tasted death and that
sacrifice was the only mean by
which the redemption of man
could be affected, and it is absolutely
sufficient to accomplish this
gracious design.
I Peter 3:9 says: "The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing
that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance."
This is the mind of God. It
is not His will that any should perish.
If we claim to be Children of
God, it therefore behoves on us to
respect the will of our Master. We
must do everything to ensure that
all are saved. So, our salvation
and joy will not be completed until
others are saved.
Beloved, we must have the mind
of our Master Jesus Christ who
wishes all to be saved. All we do
must be geared toward ensuring
that others might be saved. The
increase in armed robbery, prostitution,
cultism etc is as a result
of our inability to keep to our divine
commission. If we are to meet
the demand of the grace upon us
as believers, we must ensure that
others are saved. We should not
be contented until we bring others
to Christ.

PAGE 42 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
Viewpoint
By Osadie Crusoe
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Investing in Primary Health
care
GOVERNOR
Godwin
Obaseki is taking the bulls
by the horns by putting in place
measures that will guarantee
quality life for the people of Edo
State. He has committed to developing
the state’s primary
health care, which he is massively
investing in.
Stating the fact as they are,
Obaseki has repeatedly said that
meaningful health care system
in Nigeria would be a mirage if
government fails to invest in the
primary health care sub-sector,
which is the foundation of a
growing society. He had, at his
inauguration on November 12,
2016, pledged to provide the
needed leadership to move the
state forward.
And to ensure a sustainable
health care system in the state,
the administration is aggressively
pushing for the Edo State
Health Law 2017 to domesticate
the National Health Act of 2014.
When it takes effect, the law will
enable the state government roll
out Primary Health Care Model
centres in all the 18 local government
areas and the 192 wards
in the state.
Obaseki’s health care architecture
Only a strong primary
health care system
would ensure that
residents don’t develop
health complications
that would limit
their chances of contributing
to the development
of Edo
The benefits of the bill will
include the remodeling and standardisation
of the health system
in the state, particularly the primary
health care sub-sector
which covers 70 percent of the
state’s health challenges.
This move is no doubt one in
the right direction for which
Edo people will be grateful. This
policy will address issues associated
with healthcare at the
grassroots for Edo people who
cannot afford overseas medical
attention. This is no doubt a legacy
for which Obaseki will be remembered
for in years to come.
The import of this bill is not
just its potential to revolutionalise
healthcare management, it
will also go a long way in impacting
the lives of the people.
This will reduce the cost of
health care services as the
scheme, when it becomes law,
will reduce the cost of medicare.
It is instructive to note that it is
at the primary health care level
that issues relating to maternal
and child mortality, family planning,
immunisation and other
everyday health issues are handled.
This makes the decision to
invest in primary healthcare by
the Obaseki-led administration
strategic.
Obaseki, who reiterated that
his commitment to primary
health care was due to its impact
on the poor masses, said only a
strong primary health care system
would ensure that residents
don’t develop health complications
that would limit their
chances of contributing to the
development of Edo and country
at large.
Another strategic move by the
Obaseki administration is the
plan to run the Specialist Hospital,
in Benin-City on a publicprivate
partnership arrangement
with a view to providing
world class healthcare services
to the people.
The new structure is intended
to put the hospital at par with
the best hospitals in the world
and serve the healthcare needs
of Edo people. This will reposition
Edo as a medical tourism
destination in Nigeria and pave
way for the state to invest in its
primary healthcare system.
Obaseki who was the Chairman
of the State Economic
Team in the last administration,
came prepared for the job of governor.
His experience and expertise
can be felt from the impactful
policies his administration is
rolling out. Shortly after assuming
office, he constituted a committee
on Project Clean-Up Edo
State. It was followed by a twoday
workshop of stakeholders in
the sector, which was chaired by
a former Cross River State Governor,
Donald Duke.
To further actualise the vision
of a clean and green Edo, the
state government embarked on
training of the Edo State Waste
Management Board (ESWMB)
workforce and waste managers.
The blueprint for the task was
unveiled to the team during a
one-day retreat on “The New
Waste Management Reform and
implementation Strategy”, put
together by the Committee on
Project Clean Up Edo.
As a result, the three major city
centres namely, Kings Square,
Third Junction and New Benin
Market area, have been rid of
chaos and debris. Past administrations
had tried to clean up the
state in order to curb the menace
to no avail.
Expatiating on the need for
these laudable policies and interventions,
Obaseki maintained
that they became necessary in
view of the fact that for meaningful
health care system not to
be a mirage in Nigeria, government
at the subnational level
must invest in the primary health
care sub-sector which is the first
line of medicare sought by the
masses.
Considering the volume of
work that has been put in place
by this administration within the
period under review, Edo people
can be rest assured about the administration’s
capacity at surmounting
the daunting challenges
ahead and delivering on
its campaign promises.
Osagie Crusoe is the Special
Adviser on Media to Governor
Obaseki.
By Olayinka Ajayi
DELTA State Commission
er for Oil and Gas, Mofe
Pirah, has criticised Chief Ayiri
Emami, the Ologbotsere of Warri,
for accusing Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa of neglecting the Itsekiri.
Pirah, reacting to the statements
credited to Ayiri in which
he labeled the Itsekiri in
Okowa’s administration as being
compromised by “stomach
infrastructure”, yesterday; he
said, “Dr Ifeanyi Okowa’s government
in which I serve has not
neglected or sidelined the Itsekiri
people on projects”.
He said: “What school of
thought is he coming from?
When did he become an APC stalwart?
Was the previous administration
doing projects? Can he
show us the projects that he drove
eight years in that government
to his Itsekiri enclave? Let’s be
factual on sensitive issues having
to do with developmental
projects.
Saying he was in the previous
government of Dr. Emmanuel
Uduaghan, the commissioner
said, “Six months to the end of
Why television repeats are welcome
By Amarachi Okeh
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Opportunity to catch missed
programmes
Ilove weddings. Weddings
are supposed to be one of
the happiest days in a lifetime
of a new couple and I look forward
to a fairy tale wedding
even though they are rare.
One of the most glamourous
wedding events in recent
times was the wedding of Mr.
and Mrs. Bankole Wellington.
We all looked forward to this
occasion because besides being
a fan of the Wellingtons,
Banky and his beautiful bride,
Adesua are a symbol of class
and panache. But again, not
everyone had the opportunity
to get an invite to this near
fairy tale wedding.
Just last week though, I got
a text message from a friend
that the #BAAD 2017 wedding
(that was what the couple
hash tagged their wedding)
will be aired on DStv on
Saturday. I was so excited but
then again my excitement
quickly faded when I remembered
that I would not be
home to watch the show as I
had an important assignment
at work and even worse, I
couldn’t for now afford one of
those decoders that gave you
access to record programmes.
Then again I was so excited
when the following day, Sunday,
the same wedding programme
I missed was repeated
on AfricaMagic channel
151. Wow! it was so exciting;
the two-hour programme got
me glued to my seat from start
to finish. I was never a fan of
repeats on TV. However, for
those of us with tight sched-
For those of us with
tight schedules who
also can’t afford to
get a decoder that
can record TV programmes,
we are
now fans of programmes
repeats
ules who also can’t afford to
get a decoder that can record
TV programmes, we are now
fans of programmes repeats.
I found out recently that repeats
are part of the pay TV
that administration, there was no
fund. Allocations went down
making it impossible to execute
projects and pay salaries. And
Okowa inherited that. So the incumbent
governor did two and
a half years plus paying debts
and clearing all the challenges
inherited.
“Not long after Okowa came
in that we had the demise of our
king, Ogiame Atuwatse II. And
Okowa ran with his two feet to
meet the new Olu of Warri, went
to Big Warri (Ode Itsekiri) and
did over 20 internal roads so
that the Itsekiri can have a befitting
ancestral home for the
crowning of their new king. The
state is still paying for that.
That’s on record, let them verify.
“Again, if you say Okowa has
done nothing for Itsekiri, in Ogidigben
where I come from,
Okowa is doing a 2.5km road. It
is ongoing. Other projects ongoing
in Iwere land include the reconstruction
of Korobe Road, Koko; Ubeji
Access Road; and the rehabilitation
of NPA Bypass among
others”.
Speaking on how the Itsekiri
have benefitted in the 2018 budget
of Delta State, Pirah said:
“I went to the governor personally
to request that a road be
constructed from Deghele, Bateren
to Orere in Warri South
West local government area. It
is in the budget. I went again to
say that in Aruton, at the mouth
of Ugborodo, there is need for
reclamation, shore protection
and sandfeeling so that the people
can have a new settlement. I
have not seen a copy of the new
budget. I will look at it to see
whether that one is there as well.
“So, Governor Okowa, for the
Itsekiri of Warri South West, has
made remarkable impact. The
projects in Big Warri have not
been abandoned. Work is ongoing.
The state allocation is beefing
up. This dry season, there will
be a lot of work done in this environment.
So we shouldn’t be
talking about why are we not
getting what is due us.
“What is important for our
people is to be able to make the
area peaceful so that oil companies
can come back, then life will
come back more rewarding here.
Development in our area is a
three-way thing. Oil companies,
communities and government. I
programming structure
around the world and that the
reason programmes are repeated
are twofold or even
more.
The first and more popular
reason is to increase the opportunity
for more people to
catch programmes they may
have missed on its first airing.
Sometimes a movie is shown
at night on a certain day, then
at daytime the next day or a
few days later as occurred
with the AfricaMagic airing of
The Wellingtons wedding.
Another reason repeats happen
is sometimes directed by
the content owner. When entering
into a contract to lease
or purchase content, the content
owner has the right to
stipulate that the programme
is shown a certain number of
times, what time of the day
and so on.
Additionally, I recently read
that there are only about 600
new movies produced annually.
If this is true, it means
that television broadcast times
for these movies will be just
1200 hours of movies and if a
single channel broadcasting
24 hours a day needs 8760
hours of content annually, it’s
a clear indication that programme
repeats cannot be
ruled out as you only have so
many movie hours to fit in.
Until I can afford a decoder
that records TV programmes
like the DStv Explora, I beg
DStv to help repeat interesting
programmes that I missed
out on as I have become an
advocate of TV programme
repeats.
Okeh, a broadcaster, is
based in Port Harcourt
Okowa has not neglected Itsekiri, Pirah, Commissioner replies Ayiri
don’t want to join issues
with Chief Ayiri
Emani. He knows
how blunt I am. he
knows who I am”.
On the maritime
university site naming
debacle, he said.
“What I can say is
that the issues would
always arise, but the
best mutual approach
is to sit down
as neighbors, as
brothers to address it.
You can’t fault Supreme
Court judgments,
but these are
people who
have been living
here for ages. My advice
is that both sides,
the Okerenkoko and
Omadino people in
conjunction with the
traditional councils
of Gbaramatu and
that of Itsekiri, let
them sit down and
find how to get out of
the stalemate, because
the Itsekiri and
Ijaw people need the
school. You know
Mofe Pirah, Delta State Commssioner
for Oil and Gas.
what DELSU did to Abraka and the other
places with such development. So let’s stop
the social media war and sit together to settle
this distraction”.

Viewpoint
By Festus Adedayo
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Celebrating a technocratc,
financial genius
THERE are some persons –
even though very few – who
climb to new class from very
humble backgrounds, and who
still keep a potent link with the
facts and situations of their
humble background. Having
known the tragedy of poverty,
they try all they can to ensure that
the number of those currently
battling it is reduced to the minimum.
These very few people, it
is said, take this approach first,
as a way of depopulating that
class of poor people and as a
memorabilia of the unpleasant
period they spent in lack and
poverty.
One person who personifies the
latter category is Zaccheus
Adelabu Adedeji, erstwhile
Commissioner for Finance in
Oyo State. Adedeji clocked 40 on
Monday Jamuary 8, 2018. He
regales those who come close to
him with the myth-like facts of
his growing-up years. They were
years lived in the countryside, in
a village called Iwo-Ate, Ogbomoso,
Oyo State. They were
years when cock-crow met his
family inside the thick forest cultivating
cash crops and sipping
contaminated water from the
By Nelson Utip
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Letting the sleeping dog lie
IT is a known fact that Sena
tor Godswill Akpabio supported
Mr. Udom Emmanuel as
his successor. The ‘uncommon
transformation’ of Akwa Ibom
State, however, came at a huge
price: A huge debt profile.
Whereas the debt is impeding
the smooth running of the state,
it takes a thoroughbred technocrat
and financial manager of
international repute such as the
incumbent governor to keep
Akwa Ibom afloat, paying salaries
as and when due and still
attending to numerous aspects
of statecraft.
The details of the debt burden
on the present administration
are not the subject of this writeup.
During the Yuletide season,
Akpabio spoke from both sides
of the mouth and flew a kite that
Zaccheus: Youth with liberating ideas
He proffers solutions
to them and provides
the geography to
tread if one doesn’t
want to be entangled
by the cobwebs
streams..
From childhood, Adedeji manifested
some qualities which
marked him out from his peers.
His sense of reasoning and ability
to penetrate issues with teleological
clarity was baffling.
His teachers in primary and secondary
schools noticed this rare
quality and didn’t shy away from
underscoring it. When he gained
admission to the Federal Polytechnic,
Ede, Adedeji manifested
this quality at a far clearer
level. As an accountancy student,
he combined the native intelligence
that he scooped from years
SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018 — PAGE 43
of engaging elderly ones in mental
athletics at the countryside,
with the modern modem that he
learnt in school.
Perhaps the area where Adedeji,
often called Zacch by those
who knew him, demonstrated an
uncommon deposit of nature’s
wizardry is his grasp of issues of
life. Many were thrown into bafflement
when they learnt that the
young man who demonstrated
such a precociousness and grasp
of the complex issues of life was
born only in 1978. Those who
knew him during his student
years told the tale of an extremely
brilliant young boy with an eye
on the top. They concluded that
the challenges of being at the top
didn’t meet him suddenly. He
had prepared for this period.
After his national diploma,
Adedeji crossed over to the
Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife to study accounting. At
moments of joke-cracking, the
young Zcacheus would tell anyone
who cared to listen that he
might not have proficiency in
any other subjects but when it
comes to mathematical calculations
and accounting procedures,
providence had deposited
the modus operandi of solving
knotty problems in his oblongata.
The humility which he has in
a huge deposit would not allow
him to acknowledge that this
was same way providence had
tossed deposited in him the art
of solving, with mathematical
precision, the life problems of
many who came to him with
their problems of existence.
It was said that he was still a
student at the Obafemi Awolowo
Univeristy when he attended an
aptitude test conducted by the
multinational giant, Procter &
Gamble where he came tops
among the hundreds who sat for
it. Rarely ever allowing a nugget
it discovered being snapped
off its palm, P & G was said to
have snatched up the young Zaccheus
and started appropriating
his God-given endowments, even
as he continued to wind up his
course of study at the university.
From there, he moved to the top
of the multinational company,
becoming one of the top management
staff of the American
corporation. He was there till
2011 when he took a leave of
absence to participate in the
Abiola Ajimobi government of
Oyo State as its pioneer Commissioner
for Finance.
While he was commissioner,
Adedeji demonstrated an under-
Between Akpabio and Udom Emmanuel
got burnt to ashes. While addressing
some Ikot Ekpene
youths, elders and elites, he openly
condemned Udom for abandoning
the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene
Road and Four Point by
Sheraton Hotel at Ikot Ekpene.
He whipped up ethnic sentiments
against the governor, setting
conditions to support his second
term ambition. The next
moment, he led a delegation to
show solidarity with the governor
at the Government House,
promising him half a million
votes in the next gubernatorial
election. What is the Senate Minority
Leader up to? Is he trying
to spite the Ibibios of Uyo Senatorial
District who are warming
up to take the governorship slot
come 2023? It is simple arithmetic
that if Udom does not
complete his eight years, whoever
comes in from Eket Senatorial
District will not serve for four
It is absolutely
depressing to see
the greatest beneficiary
of unity of
purpose in the
state stirring up
ethnic disharmony
years but will want to serve for
the eight years the constitution
permits; this simply means that
the people of Uyo will have to
wait till 2027 before they can
occupy the Hilltop Mansion.
Akpabio is the greatest beneficiary
of the zoning system in the
state. The Ibibios overwhelmingly
voted for him against Bob
Ekarika, the then governor’s in
law; there was no ethnic bias. He
was elected and supported by the
Ibibios of Uyo Senatorial District,
the same people he vilified
during his tenure as governor. It
is absolutely depressing to see
the greatest beneficiary of unity
of purpose in the state stirring
up ethnic disharmony. The overbearing
posture of the senator is
a huge yoke on the neck of the
incumbent governor. In the early
days of the present administration,
the senator was always
breaking protocols, arriving at
occasions when the governor
was already seated.
On his facebook page, Udo
Silas, General Manager, Pioneer
Newspapers during Akpabio’s
regime, castigated Udom.
Ironically, Silas is from Onna,
standing of finance beyond comprehension.
He exuded a depth
that was said to be legendary,
which he spiced up with rare
native intelligence. Beyond accounting
and figures, Zacch understands
the facts and issues of
life more than even those old
enough to be his father. Apart
from finance which he had a legendary
grasp of, he also has a
grasp of the vocation of politics
that he was just coming into.
When he lectured his father’s age
mates on how the political
should be run, he cut the picture
of a young man who was far older
than his age. He marveled
those who had bested Methusellah
in their years in politics. Adedeji
is a professional in politics,
a technocrat who demonstrates
that it is not the age of the man
but the age of his ideas that
marks the man out.
If you say that the difference
he made in the places he worked,
especially in government, was
borne out of the voracious appetite
for reading the lives of others
that he cultivated, or his humility,
you would not be wrong.
He gobbles volumes of books,
especially biographies, scooping
messages from the strides of
great men and learning from
their mistakes in life decisions.
*Dr. Adedayo is on the editorial
board of the Tribune
the same Local Government Area
as the incumbent governor. Silas
is trying to protect his university
days colleague and former
boss. He saw the incumbent
governor as an ingrate who paid
back his master in bad coins.
Does Udo Silas know that Udom
spends almost half the
allocation he receives from the
centre to service the debts left
behind by the former administration?
Has he asked himself
why his boss did not complete
Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Road even
when N9.7 billion had been expended
only on compensation?
The eight years of Akpabio as
governor was the years of oil
boom and huge financial wind
fall. How did he manage the resources?
Okeh, a broadcaster, is
based in Port Harcourt
Hameed ‘The Magic’ Ali: A justification for Buhari’s choice
By Remi Adebayo
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Taking tough decisions
PRESIDENT Muhammadu
Buhari rode to power on the
strength of his integrity. What
many may not have known then
is that, among his other qualities
as a leader, he is also tenacious.
There have been many examples
of this doggedness one of
which is his quest for the number
one office in the nation. He
did not stop until he won the big
pie to occupy Aso Villa. Another
such example was when he called
Hameed Ibrahim Ali out of retirement
to turn things around
at the Nigeria Customs Service,
NCS; perhaps the number one
revenue generator for the country
outside of crude oil. There
was a great hue and cry over the
appointment but Buhari, himself
a retired general, knew what he
wanted and did not relent.
Those Nigerians who put pressure
on the President to rescind
his decision to hire Ali, a retired
army colonel, if they are true to
With dogged implementation
of the Presidential
mandate to Restructure,
Reform and Raise revenue
(3Rs), Nigeria Customs
Service has recorded
the highest revenue
collection of
N1,012,259,006,779.74
in 2017
themselves, will agree today that
they were wrong; that indeed,
the ‘old man’ has more than added
value to not just the NCS but
also to Buhari’s government.
Ali’s appointment as Comptroller-General
of the NCS provoked
some murmurs from different
quarters.
No sooner had he assumed
duties that impediments were
thrown in his path; not as a result
of incompetence, but by critics
who insisted that he must be
seen to dress ‘appropriately,’
which is wearing Customs uniform
with Comptroller-General
insignia since the position is
ranked.
Senators on the Committee of
Customs and Excise had a heated
debate with Ali over his refusal
to wear the uniform of the
Service. Specifically, Senator
Obinna Ogba challenged Ali on
the matter, saying the act was
“highly demoralizing” to officers
and men of the front-line revenue
generating agency.
Ali had responded with candor.
Being a former military officer,
the statute of the military does
not permit him to wear any othgued.
A few days ago, Customs
spokesman, Joseph Attah, a deputy
Comptroller, announced
that the Ali-led Service attained
an unprecedented over revenue
in excess of N1 trillion; as
against the N770 billion target
for 2017. With dogged implementation
of the Presidential
mandate to Restructure, Reform
and Raise revenue (3Rs), Nigeria
Customs Service has recorded
the highest revenue collection
of N1,012,259,006,779.74 in
2017.
This spectacular performance
in revenue collection shows
N241.68 billion over the N770.5
billion target for the year and
well above the N898.6 billion
collected in 2016.
The Customs spokesperson explained
that the feat was in spite
of the economic recession experienced
earlier in the year with
low volume of imports, occasioned
by restriction from accessing
foreign exchange placed
on 41 items; and more especially
the ban on smuggled rice and
automobiles.
Ali’s secret was simple. He uner
uniform. While appearing on
a television programme, he was
emphatic in telling Nigerians
why the uniform’s debate should
take a backseat.
“I was not appointed the Comptroller
General to wear uniform.
Does the uniform work or the
person behind the uniform? Am
I doing my job or not? I think
that’s what should interest the
National Assembly,” he had ardertook
some strategic measures
in restructuring and repositioning
the Customs for efficient
service delivery. Attah listed
them as strategic redeployment
of officers and men; overhaul
and re-training of the operatives
of the intelligence unit;
maximizing the potentials of
automation through monitoring,
tracking infractions, blocking
and recovering lost revenues.
The CG reinvigorated antismuggling
operations, setting
up a compliance team while ensuring
prompt reward for hard
work, punishment for wrongdoing,
a transparent promotion
process strictly based on merit,
deliberate and sustained sensitisation
as well as engagements
with all stakeholders.
No fewer than 4,000 seizures
of contraband with over N11 billion
also helped to increase level
of compliance. Importers were
willing to embrace honest declaration
and correct payment of
duties to avoid loss of their
goods and possible jail term.
These seizures include the spectacular
2,671 pump action rifles,
dangerous drugs, rice and vehicles.
*Adebayo is a journalist residing
in Abuja.

PAGE 44— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 14, 2018
tribbute
By Richard Oma
Ahonaruogbo
TRIBUTE IN BRIEF
The passage of a gem
Is there a man
(woman) that will
not die? God forbid
that a man (woman)
should live forever here
on earth.
It does not matter one’s
religious persuasion, it is
a truism that all living
things, including humans,
have lifespan.
Death, no matter the
manner in which it manifests,
is considered
“cold”, hence the saying
“the cold hands of death”.
When death occurs, a curtain
is drawn here on
earth and another is
opened in the hereafter. It
was from the sage, Chief
Susan Oritsematosan Omagbemi, a great
alumnus of UNIBEN
Obafemi Awolowo, SAN,
that I first heard of the
word “continuum”.
So while death signifies
the finality of man’s
earthly journey, it transcends
to a link with a
higher celestial being for
those whose memories
are just and commands
commendations by those
still living. For them to
live in the minds of those
who love you is to live
forever.
The late Mrs. Susan
Oritsematosan Omagbemi,
my dearly beloved
sister and friend, a great
and enthusiastic alumnus
of the University of
Benin, a devoted and loving
wife of my dear brother
and friend, Barrister
•The late Mrs. Susan
Omagbemi
Richmond Omagbemi, a
DR – Deputy Registrar (a
DR without a Doctorate)
of the university of Benin,
a DA – Distinguished
Alumnus of the University
of Benin and a Past
Alumni Relations Officer
of the University of Benin,
was a priceless gem and
one who will live forever.
Her life was remarkable
and filled with lots
of laughter and smiles.
She radiated warmth and
friendship. She was selfless
in her service to God
and humanity and went
the extra mile to seek
happiness in all.
She was a loving mother
to her children. She
natured them in the ways
of the Lord such that her
demise will not diminish
the glory of God in their
lives; for she had put them
on the straight and narrow
path to His righteousness.
Life is only worth living
when the memory once
leaves behind is enduring.
It is then and only
then that one can conquer
death. Susan’s memory is
enduring. She was at my
father’s 80th birthday,
celebrated on the 25th of
November 2017, in Benin
City, full of life, not knowing
that death was just a
few days away.
Susan conquered death
and rests in the bosom of
her Lord.
Adieu Susan.
*Ahonaruogho is Past
President,
University of Benin
Alumni Association
Ondo
pharmacists,
nurses, lab
scientists reject
Contributory
Health Bill
Dayo Johnson Akure
MEDICAL profession
als in Ondo State
have rejected some aspects of
the Contributory Health
Scheme Bill pending before
the state House of Assembly.
They described the bill as
oppressive, highly discriminatory
and misleading.
The professionals include
the Pharmaceutical Society
of Nigeria (PSN), the Association
of Medical Laboratory
Scientists of Nigeria
(AMLSN) and the National
Association of Nurses and
Midwives of Nigeria (NAN-
MN).
Mr Samuel Adekola, a
pharmacist, who spoke on
their behalf, said the membership
and chairmanship of
the proposed Board of the
Health Insurance Scheme
should be open to all health
professionals rather than
only medical doctors as proposed
in the bill.
Adekola, who is the National
Vice Chairman of
PSN, said that the health professionals’
bodies equally demanded
the prohibition of
global capitation as a means
of payment in the implementation
of the scheme.
He said they had made
their position known to the
state House of Assembly via
a paper presented during a
public hearing on the bill
Adekola called on the lawmakers
to make necessary
correction to the bill before
passage.
“We strongly advocate for
the deletion of the misleading
definition of medical
practitioner as captured in
the draft bill.
“ The decree 10 of 1985
which stipulates that only
medical practitioners are
medically qualified to be
heads of medical institutions
in Nigerian is well known to
be highly discriminatory.”
Group scores
Reps member
high on
performance
A
political pressure
group under the aegis
of Ethiope Political Assessment
Movement, EPAM, yesterday,
endorsed Hon.
Lovette Edirin Idisi as their
candidate for Federal House
of Representative come February
16th, 2019, general
elections.
The coordinator and secretary
of the group, Brother
Marvel Emakpor and Sister
Rebecca Anurhi, in a statement,
said the endorsement
of Hon. Idisi came up after
assessment of his performance
as first timer in the
National Assembly.
While applauding him on
his performance, the group
warned against politics of attack
and pull him down syndrome,
the group urged all
to support Hon. Idisi to attain
a greater heights in the
discharge of his duty at the
National Assembly instead of
posting stories that have no
basis against a legislator of
impeccable character.
The group further explained
that it was difficult
for a first timer to have attained
such a great height
within a short time, and as
such should be given maximum
support to grow, instead
of undue criticisms.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 45
Leicester boss dismisses Rohr’s
claim on Iheanacho
LEICESTER City boss,
Claude Puel insists
Kelechi Iheanacho will not
leave Leicester during the
January transfer window
despite his slow start to life
at the club.
The 21-year-old joined
the club from Manchester
City for £25m in August, but
has scored just once and
Which Way.... Kelechi Iheanacho sitting in limbo at Leicester
NPFL: Udi calls for improved
officiating, security
SUNSHINE Stars
head coach, Duke
Udi has called for
standard officiating and
maximum security as the
2018 Nigeria Professional
Football League
commenced yesterday.
Udi and his Sunshine
Stars will today play
against Heartland at the
Dan Anyiam Stadium in
Owerri. He revealed his
delight at the quick
commencement of the
League.
“The league is about to
kick off, we pray for the
best tournament, good
game, officiating, security
and spectatorship.
“Security is quite key
and vital for an
entertaining, fulfilling and
rewarding season.”
He added that Sunshine
are quite prepared to do
well in the new season.
“We are here to give the
hosts, Heartland the very
best game of the season.
“We are ready for the
season as we have done
virtually everything we
need to do as a team to
excel in the new season.
“We had one month
closed camping in the
serene ground of
Olashore International
School in lloko-ljesa,
Osun state.
“We engaged the team
in few low profile friendly
matches as that was what
we could lay our hands
on.
“We used the
opportunity to test the old
and new players on the
detailed programmeshe
side.
“Our agendas for the
season are to win
continental ticket, better
our performance last
season and cement the
premiership status,”
made only two Premier
League starts.
Super Eagles, Gernot
Rohr said he expected both
Iheanacho and Ahmed
said the former Osun
United coach to
supersport.com.
Udi helped the side to
finish last season in 10th
position on 54 points in
the 20-team top-flight.
Walking on the Sunshine... Sunshine players
ready for the 2018 season
Musa, who is also
struggling to get into the
Leicester team, to leave the
King Power Stadium.
However, Puel dismissed
those suggestions, saying:
“We don’t know about what
the national trainer said.
“We will see. We have
discussions with different
players. For example,
Iheanacho is a young player,
arrived this season, and he
will stay with us.
“Iheanacho is a young
player, he signed this
season with us and we have
to develop him. I hope he
can have more game time
in the second half of the
season.
“Yes, for Iheanacho there
has been a lot of speculation.
He is a young player who
arrives in a good team
where there is competition
and he needs to keep
working and improve.”
Be patient, Owumi tells Rangers fans
ENUGU Rangers
general manager,
Davidson Owumi has
called on the clubs fans to
exercise patience with
their relatively new squad
as they resume hostilities
in the 2017-18 season
with today’s clash against
Akwa United.
The Flying Antelopes
brought in a new technical
crew led by Gbenga
Ogunbote and a handful
of new players, headlined
by striker Abu Azeez. And
the general manager of
the former league champions
made an appeal to
their supporters, while
also charging the new set
up ahead of the upcoming
campaign.
“We are doing everything
to ensure that Rangers
return to the name it is
known for. It is no automatic
as it is going to take
time. We have just brought
in new technical crew and
We need more
grassroots
football
development,
says DSC boss
DINO Sporting Club
boss Samuel
Omamofe Colombus has
reiterated the need for the
country to focus more on
grassroots development of
football.
Colombus was speaking
ahead of an open screening
session for players of ages
15-18 is scheduled for the
Legacy Pitch of the National
Stadium, Surulere, Lagos
beginning this month.
“We need the likes of
Lionel Messi, Cristiano
Rinaldo, Austin “Jay Jay”
Okocha and Kanu
Nwankwo. Players like
Messi, Alex Iwobi, Jack
Wilshere, Wayne Rooney
and co were direct academy
products of FC Barcelona,
Arsenal and Everton, that’s
a summary of our
projection,” began
Columbus who confirmed
securing two acres of land
for their permanent site at
Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“Already we’ve concluded
plans to create a football
environment at the
Abeokuta permanent
training camp with standard
pitch, gym, swimming pool,
basketball court, hostel,
administrative block and
other standard facilities.
management and some of
the players are equally
new. We will need the fans
and supporters’ understanding,”
Owumi told
Goal.
“We want our loyal fans
to keep on supporting us
even when things do not
go as expected. We will try
to start the season with a
bang but whatever happens;
we will need our
fans’ support at all times.
ACCESS BANK/LAGOS CITY MARATHON:
Ambode tasks
commissioners on
successful outing
By Ben Efe
WITH less than a
month to the 2018
Access Bank/Lagos City
Marathon, Lagos State
governor, Akinwummi
Ambode has mandated
his lieutenants to give
maximum cooperation to
the organisers of the
event.
The governor is said to
be impressed with the
success rate of the race,
which is in its third
edition. He has implored
the organising
committee to do more, to
ensure that higher
standard are set as
Lagos is aiming to join
in the big league of
marathon races.
“The governor, is
pleased with what we
have been doing with
the race. He has told his
commissioners to key
into the 2018 event to
ensure that we come out
in a big way,” Yusuf Alli
who is the generalmanager
of the event
hinted.
He added preparations
are in top gear, adding
that flight arrangements
have been made for ten
of the elite runners that
are being expected to
contest for the $50,000
top prize.
“We are moving in the
right direction with our
preparations. And with
the corporation of all
Lagosians we expect to
deliver a world class
race.”
Governor Ambode...having a nice time at the
2017 event
BASKETBALL: Mark
Mentors to relocate
MARK Mentors
basketball club
will leave their current
base in Abuja, once the
proposed Otukpo Indoor
Sports Hall is ready for
use.
Mrs Ada Mark, a
stakeholder in Mark
Mentors, told the News
Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) that the absence
of an indoor hall in
Otukpo necessitated the
team playing from its
present base in Abuja,
instead of its original
base.
“Mark Mentors don’t
play from Otukpo
because we don’t have
an indoor sports hall
here and that is one of
the requirements of the
Nigeria Basketball
Federation (NBBF) for a
team to play in the
league.
“So, that is why we are
eager to have one
(indoor sports hall) in
Otukpo.
“Like the Mark d’Ball
ambassador Igoche
Mark said, there are
plans to construct an
indoor sports hall in
Otukpo; in fact, the
space in our new arena
can take both indoor and
outdoor, just like we have
at the National Stadium
Abuja.
“But the truth is that
the outdoor is easily
more accessible and the
cost of maintenance is
less than that of indoor,
and the idea is to make
the game accessible to
our people,” Mark said.
Ada Mark also told
NAN that they were
giving priority to the
development of
basketball in Otukpo and
Nigeria in general
because of its popularity
of the game.

PAGE 46, SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
Ivan Rakitic and Lionel Messi... Looking forward
to Russia 2018
Falconets hit S/Africa’s
Basetsana 2-0
Eagles World
Cup foes
Argentina,
Croatia agree
warm-up games
in March
SUPER Eagles World
Cup foes Argentina
and Croatia have
finalised warm-up
games in March leading
up to Russia 2018.
Croatia will face Peru
on March 23 possibly to
get a feel of the South
American style of football
Argentina will present
when both teams clash
on June 21 in Novgorod.
Two-time world champions
Argentina will take
on Italy, who sensationally
failed to qualify for
Russia 2018, on March
23 in Basel, Switzerland.
Four days later, they
will test their readiness
for the World Cup
against 2010 world
champions Spain in
Madrid.
A
brilliant perfor
mance by the Nigeria
U20 girls in Polokwane
yesterday drew them very
close to another outing in
the FIFA U20 Women’s
World Cup, as South
Africa’s Basetsana could
find no answer to the fire
–power of Chris
Danjuma’s maidens.
Usual suspect Rasheedat
Ajibade, the Falconets’ top
scorer in this qualifying
series, showed shrewdness
and great ball sense
in beating the home
team’s goalkeeper for
Nigeria’s first goal on the
half –hour, and Anam Imo
increased the tally for the
two –time World Cup silver
medallists six minutes
later.
The Basetsana tried to
find a way back into the
game in the second period,
only to meet an impregnable
wall at the Nigerian
rear. Goalkeeper
Cynthia Nnadozie was
well –protected by Sunday
Opeyemi, Christy
Ucheibe, Mary
Ologbosere and Kemi
Famuditi.
Glory Ogbonna, Bashirat
Amoo, Grace Igboamalu,
Imo, Ajibade and
Folashade Ijamilusi all
impressed at the Old Peter
Mokaba Stadium.
Showing impressive
dexterity and guile (which
had seen them past Tanzania
and Morocco earlier
FIFA 2018 WC:
Nigeria’s Group D
with Argentina,
Croatia is toughest
— Rakitic
BARCELONA mid
fielder, Ivan Rakitic
believes anything is
possible for Croatia at
the World Cup, adding
that the group D parings
of the tournament is the
toughest.
Asked what Croatia can
do at the World Cup,
where they will also take
on Nigeria, Argentina
and Iceland in the group
stage, Rakitic said: “I
wish a lot. I think we’ve
in the series), Coach
Danjuma’s ladies threw
everything at the home
girls right from kick off,
and will retain confidence
of picking a ticket to the
FIFA U20 Women’s World
Cup France 2018 after the
concluding encounter in
Benin City in a forthnight.
The return is scheduled
for the Samuel
Ogbemudia Stadium,
Benin City on Saturday,
27th January 2018.
The 9th FIFA U20
Women’s World Cup finals
will hold in France 7th –
26th August 2018.
been the strongest group
of all.
“If we get through the
group, I believe that everything
is possible.”
He said he and teammate
Lionel Messi are
looking forward to their
match. Rakitic and superstar
forward Messi
will go head to head in
the second Group D
game on June 21 in
Nizhny Novgorod.
Croatia were one of the
better teams to watch at
Euro 2016 before losing
to eventual winners Portugal
in the round of 16,
and boast a hugely talented
squad including
Rakitic, Real Madrid’s
Luka Modric and Inter’s
Ivan Perisic.
But Rakitic still does
not see Messi being worried
at the prospect of
taking Croatia, jokingly
telling Marca: “I do not
think he gets nervous if
I say ‘watch Croatia!’
“It’s the World Cup,
you want to play against
the best. And if it is
against the best of all
times, well better. That’s
what a World Cup is for.”
10-man Leicester deny Chelsea victory
CHELSEA failed to
win for the fourth
match in a row in all
competitions as they
scraped a 0-0 draw against
10-man Leicester
yesterday.
The Blues had won their
previous seven Premier
League home matches, but
were fortunate not to lose
to the Foxes after a
lacklustre display.
Shinji Okazaki, Wilfred
Ndidi and Riyad Mahrez
all went close as the visitors
created a number of
chances in a dominant
opening hour.
Ben Chilwell was sent off
for the visitors in the 68th
minute for a second yellow
card, but Chelsea still
created few clear openings
and remain without a win
in 2018.
Antonio Conte had said
before the match that
Leicester were the “worst”
side for Chelsea to face
after a busy recent run of
fixtures, and so it proved
as the visitors came flying
out of the traps and
immediately applied
pressure.
Okazaki missed the
target from eight yards out,
Jamie Vardy poked a shot
wide and then dragged
another across goal before
Thibaut Courtois made an
excellent diving stop to
keep out a header from
Ndidi.
Kasper Schmiechel was
hardly tested at the other
end aside from pushing an
effort from Cesc Fabregas
away.
Pressure mounts
on Zidane as Real
lose at home
REAL Madrid lost 1-0 at
home to Villarreal as
pressure mounted on coach
Zinedine Zidane.
A late Pablo Fornals goal
condemned Real to a defeat
that leaves them in fourth
place, 16 points behind leaders
Barcelona with the same
number of games played.
As the home side poured
forward in search of a winner,
they were caught on the
break; Fornals chipping in
the rebound after Keylor Navas
saved from Eres Unal.
Despite racking up 26
shots, Real were well below
their best and look a shadow
of the side that won a Liga/
Champions League double
last season.
Real have not won a Liga
match in over a month and
look more likely to drop out
of the Champions League
places than get back into the
title race.
As far as Zinedine Zidane
is concerned, things are not
as bad as they look for Real
Madrid.
Zidane downplayed
Madrid’s recent setbacks,
blaming critics for exaggerating
the team’s struggles
and wanting to create turmoil
at the club.
“I’m tired of hearing that
Madrid is struggling,”
Zidane said. “It’s easy to say
that everything is wrong, but
it’s not all bad here. It’s pretty
to talk negatively about
Real Madrid, it sells more.”
Madrid has been under
increased pressure since it
lost to Barcelona 3-0 at home
in its last game of 2017. It
started the year by defeating
second-division club Numancia
3-0 in the Copa del
Rey, but then was held by
Celta Vigo to 2-2 in the Spanish
league and couldn’t manage
more than another 2-2
against Numancia in the return
leg of the Copa at Santiago
Bernabeu Stadium.
Olunga becomes first Kenyan to score
La Liga hat-trick
GIRONA forward
Michael Olunga
made history on Saturday,
becoming the first Kenyan
to score a hat-trick in
Spain’s La Liga as they
beat Las Palmas 6-0.
Olunga came off the
bench to score in the 57th,
70th and 79th minutes as
he became the first player
to record a top-flight
treble for Girona in their
debut season in La Liga.
It was also the Catalan
side’s biggest home win
at any level.
Olunga, 23, is on loan
I’ll still be at Arsenal next season — Wenger
ARSENE Wenger has
insisted he will not
leave Arsenal this summer,
as his optimism grows over
keeping Mesut Ozil.
Wenger’s future has been
the subject of intense
scrutiny following a difficult
period that has seen
Arsenal win just one game
in their last six.
The Frenchman signed a
new two-year deal ahead
Olunga...
of this season and it is
understood there is no
break clause in the contract.
There have been
suggestions Wenger could
walk away at the end of the
season due to the club’s
difficulties on the pitch.
However, Wenger has
maintained on many
occasions that he does not
break contracts.
And when asked on
Friday whether he could
walk away this summer, he
responded: ‘Will I be here
next season? My contract
clarifies that. Have I ever
walked away (from a
contract)? Never. Why
should I change?’
And Wenger is growing
increasingly confident of
having Ozil at the club next
season and beyond.
Sportsmail revealed last
Despairing Days... Ronaldo laments Real’s slump
month that the club had
launched one last effort to
persuade the Germany star
to sign a new contract.
As it stands Ozil can
leave for nothing in the
summer. However, Arsenal
sources claim there is
growing optimism around
the latest set of talks, with
the club hopeful of securing
the playmaker for around
£300,000 a week.
at Girona from Chinese
club Guizhou Hengfeng.
Girona were ahead at
half-time through a Cristhian
Stuani penalty
when Olunga - who has
been used sparingly since
joining at the start of the
season - was sent on for
the second half in place
of the Uruguayan.
The Kenya international
turned in a Johan
Mojica cross to double
Girona’s lead, and he was
then involved in the
build-up to Borja Garcia’s
goal.
Defensive errors from
Las Palmas allowed Olunga
to make it 4-0 before
he set up Cristian Portu
for the fifth goal. Olunga
was then left with an easy
finish to complete his hattrick
11 minutes from the
end.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018, PAGE 47
Wenger waves off
Lacazette’s lack of goals
ARSENE Wenger has
conceded that
Alexandre Lacazette’s
confidence has taken a
knock but insists he is not
concerned by his record
signing’s goal drought.
Lacazette hit the
ground running following
his £50million move
from Lyon last summer,
netting four times in his
opening six league fixtures
for Arsenal.
But the France international,
26, has now gone
nearly 10 hours without
finding the back of the
net - he last scored in the
3-1 defeat against
Lacazette and Wenger...Let’s work it out
Manchester United at
the beginning of December
- and he was largely
ineffectual in the Carabao
Cup semi-final at
Chelsea before he was
substituted in the second
half.
Lacazette, however, is
likely to be given another
chance to recapture his
early-season form when
Arsenal travel to
Bournemouth in the Premier
League on Sunday.
“[The lack of goals] certainly
affects him
(Lacazette) a little bit, but
I am not worried,”
Wenger said. “He was
diminished a bit physically
on Wednesday night
against Chelsea because
he was not at his best
before the game, but he
was very isolated as well.
“It was a difficult game
for a striker because he
did defend a lot, but
overall I don’t worry that
he will come back and
it’s in cycles. At the moment
he’s going through
a cycle that is a bit more
frustrating for him.”
Conte a ‘petulant child’,
Barton blasts Chelsea boss
JOEY Barton described
Antonio Conte as a ‘soft
lad’ and a ‘petulant child’,
arguing that his behaviour
on the touchline doesn’t
help Chelsea’s misfiring
Alvaro Morata.
The Blues striker has just
two goals in his previous
nine games and faced
criticism for his finishing
after missing a series of
golden opportunities in his
side’s last few matches.
Man United to table £444m for Neymar
M UNITED
ANCHESTER
are
ready to rival Real
Madrid with a
£444million bid for
Neymar, according to
reports in France.
Paris Saint-Germain
obliterated the world
transfer record when
they met the Brazilian’s
Barcelona buy-out
clause of £198m last
Messi’s weekly pay revealed
LIONEL Messi contract
is worth a staggering
$2.4million-a-week,
according to Football Leaks.
The Argentine ace finally
ended speculation over his
future in November when he
put pen to paper on a
bumper deal that ties him to
the Nou Camp until 2021.
However, the financial
details of that contract have
emerged, apparently
showing that Messi pockets
$123m-a-year.
That is almost double what
his rival and Ballon d’Or
winner Cristiano Ronaldo
receives at Champions
League holders Real
Madrid.
Messi scoops $86million
in wages, while the rest of
the cash comes from image
rights.
He is also in line to pick
up another $85m bonus if
he stays with the Catalans
for the duration of his deal.
It is believed the release
clause in Messi’s deal
stands at $854m, with only
Cristiano Ronaldo and
Karim Benzema
commanding bigger buyouts
in their contracts.
The 30-year-old has
scored 25 goals in 31 games
for club and country this
season.
Swensea boss laments video
referee absence
SWANSEA manager
Carlos Carvalhal
bemoaned the lack of a
video assistant referee
(VAR) in the Premier
League which he
believes would have
given his side a “clear
penalty” in Saturday’s 1-
1 draw at Newcastle
United.
Carvalhal who took over
at the league’s bottom
club in December, was
referring to a first-half
incident when Mike van
der Hoorn’s header
struck Newcastle
defender Mohamed
Diame’s arm on the goal
line with the score 0-0.
“I must be honest from
the bench I didn’t see in
that moment,” Carvalhal
told the BBC.
“My assistant says that
it’s a very clear penalty
and a red card also, so
it’s another decision that
creates something
important but what can
we do?
summer. But there have
been murmurings of
discontent with Real
Madrid waiting in the
wings to make a stunning
offer at the end of the
season.
However, Le 10 Sport
reveal Los Blancos are
not alone in their pursuit
of Neymar — with
United likely to battle
them for his signature.
The Red Devils have
previously been linked
with a move for the
former Santos ace, and
even spoke to his agent
before he left the Nou
Camp for PSG.
However, they were
never able to strike deal.
CHAN: Zambia good to go,
says Nyirenda
ZAMBIA
coach,
Wedson Nyirenda
said his team is ready to
take on the Cranes of
Uganda this afternoon in
their opening game of
the CAF African Nations
Championship.
He said that they won’t
be underrating
Ugandan, a team that
has been a threat to their
ambitions in recent
times.
“The team is ready for
the tournament opener
against Uganda. The
players are here to
showcase their quality
and we are looking
forward to go in the
tournament.
“Uganda has been a
Gundogan
Neymar
money
...More
thorn in our flesh in
recent times and won’t
be easy to beat. They
(Uganda) have come of
age and play good
football.
They have a group of
matured players who
have played in the Africa
Cup of Nations and the
FIFA World Cup
qualifiers.
“We also have
experience and it will be
an interesting affair. We
can go all the way but our
objective is to better the
performance at the last
edition (quarter finals).
Ugandan coach
Sebastien Desabre said
the game is 50-50 adding
that his team will do its
best.
Klopp a father figure,
says City’s Gundogan
ILKAY Gundogan holds Thomas Tuchel and
Pep Guardiola in high regard but views Jurgen
Klopp as
Runaway Premier League leaders City face a
stern test of their unbeaten top-flight record on
today, when they take on Klopp’s Liverpool at
Anfield.
Gundogan came to prominence under Klopp’s
guidance as part of his celebrated Borussia Dortmund
sides but the missed out on the chance to
face his old mentor last season when his debut
campaign at City was curtailed by a cruciate knee
ligament injury.
The 27-year-old is now back in action under
Pep Guardiola, who was a vital factor in making
him decide against re-joining Klopp when a Premier
League switch was on the cards in 2016.
Nevertheless, Gundogan continues to hold the
animated 50-year-old coach
But Barton sprung to the
Spaniard’s defence and
accused his manager of
failing to offer him the right
support.
He said: “Morata, who I
think is an incredible
player, is having a tough
time at the minute, missing
a couple of chances.
“But you look to the
touchline and there’s soft
lad Conte banging the
floor, throwing himself
around and jumping into
the crowd.
“I agree with Mourinho
a little bit – behave yourself.
“Maybe celebrate goals
but when your player’s
missing a chance, the last
thing you want to see on
the telly is your manager
slamming the floor and
acting like a petulant
child.”
in high regard.
“With Kloppo everything
really started for me,” he told
Sportbuzzer. “Even though
I won’t forget Michael Oenning
and Dieter Hecking
[Gundogan’s former coaches
at Bochum and Nurnberg
respectively], Kloppo
was like a father to me and
his speeches can be extremely
motivating.
“There were times when
he took the whip out, but he
also embraced you and said,
‘Boy, everything is okay.’ He
worked very well together
with his assistant Zeljko
Buvac who was more the tactical
mastermind.”
On Guardiola, Gundogan
added: “Pep played at the
highest level himself. He
has the gift to think like the
players, no matter whether
you are a superstar or a player
on the bench.
“He knows exactly what a
professional thinks and
needs in certain situations.”
Conte: My players are tired
ANTONIO Conte
blamed tiredness
for Chelsea’s lacklustre
performance in their 0-
0 draw with Leicester at
Stamford Bridge.
Having played
Arsenal in the Carabao
Cup semi-finals on
Wednesday evening, the
home side struggled to
get going and were
fortunate not to be
behind at half-time after
Leicester created
several good
opportunities.
Conte said: “Everyone
is frustrated after
another 0-0. We played
the game against
Arsenal on Wednesday
night and didn’t have a
lot of time to recover.
“I saw many players
were very tired and they
didn’t recover from the
Arsenal game. But at the
same time I saw great
will and desire to win
the game.
“When you play every
three days you have to
make rotation. We did
this. In the FA Cup we
played with one team, in
the Carabao Cup we
played another team,
and today we played
almost the same team as
Wednesday. But to play
in this busy period is
not simple and you must
have a big squad to face
all competitions.”
Asked whether his
squad is big enough,
Conte said: “My answer
is always the same. I am
a coach and I give my
opinion to the club and
the club then see and
make the best decision to
the team.”
Conte

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 14, 2018
See solution on page 6
Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Advert Dept: 01- 7924470; Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024.
E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert:advert@vanguardngr.com. Internet: www.vanguardngr.com
(ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: JIDE AJANI. 08111813023 All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.