18012018 - Southerners are biased, plotting to split North

C
M
YK
PAGE 2 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 3
Two sisters, one other girl suffocate
inside parked car in Kano
•Bereaved father: It is fulfilment of destiny
By AbdulSalam
Muhammad with agency
report
The police confirmed,
yesterday, that three
girls, two of them siblings,
died of suffocation inside a
parked car in Sabon Gari
area of Kano metropolis.
“The car has been parked
there for more than one year;
the girls were playing around
it and later locked themselves
inside.
“Apparently, they could not
open the door and there was
no one around to assist them.
Three of them died of
suffocation while one
survived,” Mr Magaji
Majiya, spokesman for the
Kano State Police Command,
told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN).
He said the incident
happened “around 3 p.m. on
Friday”.
According to him, the girls
were aged between two and
four years.
“The victim that survived
has been taken to hospital
while investigation has
commenced into the matter,”
Majiya said.
By Sam Eyoboka
& Olayinka Latona
WORRIED by the spate
of violent crimes
across the country, General
Overseer of the Redeemed
Christian Church Of God,
RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare
Adeboye, Tuesday, led 13
eminent gospel preachers, for
a three-hour intensive
intercessory prayers for the
peace of the nation at the
church’s Redemption Camp.
The non-stop prayer rally
witnessed by a huge crowd of
participants who converged to
pray for God’s intervention in
the 2019 general elections, the
nation’s economy, political
leaders, the unity of the Church
and the peace and progress of
Nigeria.
Declaring the session open
after a session of praise and
worship, the convener, Pastor
Adeboye, said it was dedicated
to prayers.
The G.O, who handled the
last 26 minutes belt of the
prayer rally, prayed for fresh
fire upon the Church in
Nigeria,
Among the special ministers
of God at the prayer session
was Elder Christopher
Kolade, a former Nigeria High
Commissioner to the UK, who
prayed for wisdom to manage
the nation’s resources in order
to reduce waste.
Stressing that God has
blessed the country with natural
and human resources, Kolade
pointed out that there was no
reason for Nigerians to be poor.
Earlier, at least 13 different
ministers of God from various
denominations including a
former National Vice President
of the Pentecostal Fellowship
of Nigeria, Rev. (Mrs.) Mercy
Ezekiel, took turns of 10-15
minutes to lead the participants
to pray for different segments
of the nation’s life.
Drawing the first blood was
an erstwhile Islamic
fundamentalist who in 1983
Meanwhile, the father of the
siblings described the deaths
as a fulfilment of destiny”.
The man, who simply
identified himself as Baba
Ilorin, named the two girls as
Aisha, 2, and Habiba, 4.
According to him, both
children were hale and hearty
before the Friday Muslim
prayer”.
He explained that the
children on that fateful day,
were picked from school by
their mother. “Immediately
they retuned from school, the
children went missing”, the
bereaved father said.
Baba Ilorin disclosed that
“the vehicle had been parked
for nearly three months while
the owner was looking for
somebody to buy the car”
He added: .”I was at my
working place in Kofar
Ruwa, where I sell spare
parts, when my wife called
to notify me that they were
looking for the children. On
getting home around 5pm,
four children were discovered
to have been trapped inside
the vehicle.
“I do not blame the owner
of the car for the incidence
because, as a Muslim,
anything that happens to
mankind, God has a reason
for it.”
From left: Wife of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Nneoma, presenting
a Safe Motherhood bag to a beneficiary; SEPLAT CEO, Austin Avuru, and Dr.
Chioma Nwachuku, GM, External Affairs and Communication, during the flagoff
of the SEPLAT Safe Motherhood and Eye Can See CSR Programme, held at
Izombe, Imo State. Photo: Seplat.
INSECURITY: Adeboye, Kolade, El Buba,
others intercede for Nigeria
converted to Christianity and
now a prominent prophet,
founder/president of
Evangelical Bible Outreach
Ministries International, Jos,
Plateau State, Prophet Isa El-
Buba, who led the people in a
session of thanksgiving to God
for His mercy and grace that
have upheld the nation thus far.
Shortly after him, Pastor
Austen Ukachi of His Alive
Chapel in Lagos led the session
for repentance from every
corruption in the land.
Chairman of the Christian
Association of Nigeria, CAN,
in the South-South,
Archbishop God-do-well
Avwomakpa, took the baton
thereafter and prayed for
leaders in authority.
Leading the session for the
nation’s security agencies,
Presiding Bishop of Vineyard
Christian Ministries,
Archbishop John Osa-Oni, said
it is the responsibility of the
Church to continually pray for
security agents as they fight to
protect lives and property
especially during insurgency.
Praying aggressively for
peace to reign in Nigeria,
Senior Pastor of The Fountain
of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos,
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya,
described peace as the
forunner of prosperity in any
nation, saying “the moment
peace eludes a nation, there
will not be progress of any sort.”
Wife of the General Overseer
of RCCG, Pastor Folu
Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left) with the member representing
Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon. Dennis Agbo (right); Executive
Chairman, Udenu Local Government Area, Hon. Frank Ugwu (2nd right); Udenu
L.G. A Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sir. Emma Chima (2nd
left); Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Hon. Solomon Onah, during
the meeting of the party in the council area, yesterday.
2019: Delta group mobilises for Okowa
•As ex-PDP chairmen endorse him
The Coordinator of Del
ta Political Vanguard,
Warri South-West local government
area, Ambassador
Andrew Omagbemi Igban,
has expressed optimism for a
greater Delta State with the
re-election of Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa for second term.
Igban, who spoke during a
mega rally organized by the
group to mobilize support for
the PDP-led administration in
the state, noted that Okowa
has done well and deserves
another term.
The Coordinator, an aspirant
for Delta State House of
Assembly, Warri South-West,
added, “Okowa’s predecessors
in office had their two
terms. For equity, justice, fairplay
and a stronger Delta, the
governor should be allowed
to complete his two terms”.
Meanwhile, the Forum of
Peoples Democratic
Party(PDP) Chairmen in
Delta State from 2008 to
2016 have unanimously
passed a vote of confidence
on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
for second term come 2019.
In a four-point
communiqué issued at the end
of its meeting at Agbor, the
group expressed satisfaction
with the performance of the
governor.
In the communique signed
by Engineer Dan Ossai, the
forum particularly
acknowledged the multisectoral
development
projects being executed by the
state government across the
state.
How to boost science education
– Singhal, Dufil Prima Foods CEO
BY YINKA AJAYI
The CEO of Dufil Prima Foods Plc. Deepak Singhal has
described the effective use of science laboratory equipment in
teaching science students across Nigeria as a pivotal to
revamping the falling standard of science education in Nigeria
.Speaking at the presentation of full science laboratory
equipment to Iganmode Grammar School, Ota, Ogun State,
Singhal, represented by the Group Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, said : “Teachers should ensure they utilize
the laboratory equipment effectively in order to improve the
performance of their students in science subjects especially in
West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination
(WASCE) as well as the National Examination Council (NECO)
exams.”
Ashiwaju commended all the staff of Iganmode for a siren
and secured environment for leaning.
Responding, school Principal, Mr. Olalekan Akinosi, assured
Prima Foods of effective utilisation. “The donations will go a
long way in changing the face of science education in the
school as government cannot shoulder the responsibility of
the education sector alone but requires the support of
responsible organizations like Dufil”, she said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Parent Teacher Association
(PTA) of the school, Mayor Hakeem Amodu, expressed the
profound appreciation of the community to Dufil Prima Foods.
Dabiri, Adebutu, Rusewe others
to be honoured by OOUA
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs
and Diaspora, Hon.Abike Dabiri-Erewa; business mogul and
Philanthropist, Sir(Dr) Kessignton Adebutu, and Director-
General,Nigerian Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba
Olusegun Rusewe, will, among others, receive Awards of
Excellence from the Association of Nigerian University
Professional Administrators chapter of Olabisi Onabanjo
University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State on Thursday.
The award, which is part of the annual Registry Lecture/
Awards of the university, is to celebrate Nigerians who have
contributed to nation building. Others to be honoured include
Oba (Dr) Sosanya Emmanuel-King(Adron Homes),Iyalode
of Remo,Mrs Ogunbiyi,Chief Samson Disunmu,Hon. Yomi
Akinruntan, and Mr Gbadega Adedapo,and Mr Afolabi Ajayi.
A former Head of Service to the Federation, Prof. Afolabi
Oladapo,according to a statement from the office of the
Registrar, Mrs Omolara Osunsanya, will deliver a lecture titled,
"Reflections on the Nigerian University System and Quest for
National Developments: Problem's and Prospects", at the
event.
Clarion call on women
to register to vote
BY VICTORIA OJEME
Director-General of the National Centre for Women
Development, Mary Ekpere-Eta (Mrs), has called on
women to take full advantage of the ongoing continuous
voter registration by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC).
Ekpere-Eta, in a statement in Abuja, reiterated the recent
declaration of women to support the restructuring of the
country, stating that obtaining the Permanent Voters Card
(PVC) is the first step to women returning persons interested in
restructuring and voting in.
She stressed the need for girls who turn 18 this year and
other women qualified to vote, to make out time to register at
INEC designated centres.
She maintained that women can only speak on
developmental challenges that affect their communities, such
as corruption, unemployment and poverty, by getting PVCs to
vote for those who can address these issues.
The NCWD Director-General further urged that women,
especially those in the rural areas and in the working
class in urban centres, to prioritise obtaining the
Permanent Voters Card.
We need Paradigm Change
in Nigeria —Obi
The former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has
made a strong case for paradigm shift in Nigeria in all aspects
of life among Nigerians, as well as in all aspects of national
development. Obi was speaking yesterday at Lagos at an event
organized by Potters House called "Paradigm Change."
Obi said that Nigerians daily demanded change from their
leaders in other to midwife a new Nigeria, but he insisted that
the most important change should be in the way Nigerians
think. "We must get our thinking right and every other change
will follow. Nigerians, including Peter Obi, must learn to think
about selflessness and the virtues of service. Nigerians must
learn to think about what to produce and not what to share.
Nigerians must think about the country and her future and not
about houses they own in different parts of the world", Obi
said.
Speaking further, Obi decried a situation where over 10
million Nigerians are out of school; where 4 million Nigerians
lost their jobs in 2017; where unemployment has moved from
38% to 40% in January. Obi said such negative indices were as
a result of poor planning or total lack of planning, caused by
election of people without any track of record in managing
men and resources.
Obi said that for Nigeria to get it right, that those in authority
must invest heavily in education and must start seeing resources
committed to education as investment rather than expenses.
Other speakers, Pastor Orhonor, Debora Williams, Pojo
Oyemade and Tony Rapu agreed with Obi that what Nigeria
needed urgently was paradigm shift from the way things are
done to doing them better.

PAGE 4— SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
From left: Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal after their meeting in Sokoto yesterday.
APC Reconciliation: Tinubu meets
Tambuw
ambuwal, al, Wamakk
amakko
National Leader and
Head of the
Presidential Reconciliation
Committee of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC),
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,
yesterday, met with Governor
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and
his predecessor, Senator
Aliyu Magatakarda
Wamakko in Sokoto. The
visit was believed to be in line
with Tinubu’s brief to
reconcile aggrieved
chieftains of the party with its
leadership.
Tinubu, accompanied by
APC chieftain, Alhaji idi
Farouk, held a two-hour
closed door meeting with his
hosts at the Government
House and Wamakko’s
residence in Gawun Nama
Area of the state capital.
The meeting was later
expanded to include Deputy
Governor Ahmed Aliyu and
National Vice Chairman
of APC (North West),
Malam
Inuwa
Abdulkadir.
Speaking briefly to
reporters after the meeting,
Tinubu said he was in Sokoto
for a family meeting.
“Family members meet
regularly to talk to each other
and I’m here for that
purpose,” he stated.
Tambuwal’s future in the
APC has been the subject of
much speculations with
insinuations that he is being
lured by the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, to cross
over with a fair chance of
competing for the
opposition party’s
presidential ticket.
Tambuwal and
Wamakko,who lead the
party in the state, were
believed to have been
aggrieved with the
decision of President
Muhammadu Buhari to
appoint a minister from
the state who, at that time,
was not known to the
mainstream of the party.
Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (3 rd right); APC Minority
Leader, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (middle); Hon.
James Abiodun Faleke (3rd left); Hon. Babajimi Adegoke Benson (2 nd left);
Hon. Nurudeen Akinwunmi (left); Hon Yomi Aiyeola (2 nd right) and Hon.
Olawale Raji (right), during a visit by the lawmakers to the Governor to
endorse him for a second term in Lagos.
Awardees at the first Thanksgiving and Merit Award ceremony organised by
Ibeshe Titun Oke-Awori, Lagos Community Development Association (CDA)
Boko Haram sends 21 to their graves, injure 22 in multiple
suicide attacks in Borno
By Ndahi Marama,
Maiduguri
Multiple suicide
attacks in
Konduga Local
Government Area of
Borno State have left no
fewer than 21 people
dead and 22 others
injured. But the state
Police Command
confirmed that 18 persons
were killed outside of the
bombers who also died.
The attacks on Konduga
town, about 40 kilometres
away from Maiduguri,
the state capital, took
place around 8:30pm on
Friday, residents said.
The state Commissioner
of Police, CP Damian
Chukwu, who made the
confirmation in a
telephone conversation
with our correspondent,
yesterday, said three
suicide bombers, who
The Ministry of Mines
and Steel Development
has concluded a three-day
tour of gold mines at Ibodi,
Ilesha, Osun State and
training of hundreds of
artisanal and small scale
miners on personal safety
and environmental
protection.
Participants were taken
through trainings on several
aspects of health and
environmental issues in
mining. Certificates were
detonated their IEDs,
wounded 22 other people
who were rushed to the
University of Maiduguri
Teaching Hospital
awarded to the miners after
the training while protective
clothing and gadgets were
also given to them for their
safety.
The training came barely
two months after government
announced plans to
commence a Gold Purchase
Scheme aimed at increasing
revenue accruable from the
country’s abundant gold
deposit, using Osun and
Kebbi States as pilot for the
project.
(UMTH) immediately for
treatment.
The Commissioner
added that normalcy had
returned to the area.
According to him, the
three suicide bombers,
One of the trainers, a health
and safety professional, Dr.
Adebola Odunsi, said the
Federal Government
discovered that artisanal
miners were engaging in
practices which exposed
them and host communities
with gold deposit to health
and environmental hazards.
He advised them against
digging without wearing
protective clothing, adding
that they must stop the use of
chemicals such as mercury
and cyanide in their mining
comprising of two females
and one male, entered
Konduga Motor Park,
along the road passing
through the town where
people gather to relax, do
business and watch videos/
activities in order not to expose
themselves to grave health
issues and pollution of the
rivers as well as the flora and
fauna.
A former President,
Nigerian Society of Mining
Engineers, Mr. Olusegun
Oladipo, at the training sites,
launded government’s
initiative, stressing that there
was the need to teach the over
one million informal miners
how to carry out their
activities in such way that their
activities would not further
destroy the environment.
The Minister of Mines and
Steel Development, Dr
films.
“They detonated their
IEDs killing themselves
and 18 people, while
injuring 22 others who
were rushed to hospital for
treatment”, Chukwu said.
Ahead of Gold Purchase Scheme:Don’t enter mines without wearing
prot
otective clothing, miners s warned
*Ogudu House Ikogosi House and Oguta House took the first, second and third
positions at the Neander International School, Epe inter house sport competition.
The representatives of the Houses, flanked by the Chairman of the occasion,
Omowumi Hassan (right), and the Chairman of the PTA, Ngozi Onyeador, during the
event.
Secondus, PDP leaders s in
closed door meeting with IBB
By Wole Mosadomi,
Minna
National Chairman of
Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, Chief Uche
Secondus, yesterday, led
some members of the
National Executive
Committee of the party to
a meeting with former
military president, General
Ibrahim Babangida.
In attendance were the
National Secretary, Alhaji
Umar Ibrahim Tsauri;
National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Abdullahi
Maibasira; National
Financial Secretary, Austin
Akobundu; National
Organising Secretary,
Ambassador Ibrahim
Kazaure; National Vice
Chairman, North, and
Mr Kola Ologbodiyan,
National Publicity
Secretary.
Our correspondent
reliably gathered that
Secondus briefed
Babangida on the efforts
being made by the
leadership to reposition
the party for the tasks
ahead.
Babangida was said to
have assured the EXCO
and the party of his
support .
Kayode Fayemi, had while
announcing government’s
plans to commence a Gold
Purchase Scheme last
December, said the project
was aimed at increasing
revenue accruable from the
country’s abundant gold
deposit.The scheme,
according to the Minister,
include training and
equipping of artisanal
miners, provision of
extension services and offtake
of all gold produced by
participants in the scheme.
‘Oleku’ author,
Akinwumi Ishole,
dies at 79
Renowned playwright
and culture activist,
Professor Akinwunmi Ishola,
has died at his Bolajoko Estate
home in Ibadan, aged 79
years.One of his former
students, Mr. Sola Ajayi, who
broke the news, said, “The
news of his death really
shocked me when I heard this
morning”.
Also confirming the death of
the playwright who authored
the book, Efunsetan Aniwura,
and the film, ‘Oleku’, a source
said,”He had been sick for
some time and was getting
better. But this morning, he died
peacefully.”
A friend of the deceased and
Chairman of Kakanfo Inn and
Conference Centre, Dr Lekan Are,
also confirmed Ishola’s death.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 5
From left: Folakemi Fatogbe, Director, Risk Management, Central Bank of Nigeria;
the Chairman, Benin Electricity Distribution PLC (BEDC), Victor Gbolade Osibodu;
Chief Executive Officer, BEDC, Funke Osibodu; and Founder, Elizade University,
Chief. Michael Ade-Ojo, during the graduation ceremony of Graduate Trainees
and Technician Trainees Programs held in Benin City.
By Jide Ajani
Stemming
from
penultimate
Saturday’s meeting in Abuja
by some Northern leaders,
and concerned by the
melange of criticism trailing
the tenure of President
Muhammadu Buhari from
some quarters, a set of
criteria has been put forward
by the leaders with a view to
screening presidential
hopefuls from that part of the
country who would
participate in next year’s
L-R:Global Fund Implementation Adviser, UNAIDS, Richard Noamesi
Amenyah; Ag. DG, NACA, Dr. Kayode Ogungbemi and Marketing Director,
RB, West Africa, Aliza Leferink during RB presentation of 100,000
units of condoms to UNAIDS/NACA in Abuja
CONSENSUS CANDIDATE: Nor
orthern leaders s set t criteria, screen
Democratic Party, PDP, to
presidential hopefuls
screen presidential
Former
President
Olusegun Obasanjo
has said “anybody who
wants to see
transformation should
come to Governor
Dickson’s Bayelsa”. The
former President said
Governor Seriake
Dickson has not only
transformed the state but
has also made the once
volatile Bayelsa State to
be relatively peaceful,
stable and secure. He
calls on other governors
to borrow a leaf from
Dickson.
Obasanjo stated this,
yesterday, at the
groundbreaking
By Dennis Agbo
THE National Youth
Council of Nigeria,
NYCN, has endorsed
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
for second term.
The council said that apart
from Ugwuanyi being a
servant-leader, he was youthfriendly
with programmes
that have impacted positively
on them.
Rising from a town hall
meeting/dialogue, the
Chairman of the state chapter
of NYCN said, Comrade
Nnaemeka Ugwu, said the
presidential election.
This process, which is
obviously being engaged
without much though for the
incumbent Buhari of the All
Progressives Congress, APC,
is said not to be of any real
concern to leaders of the
ruling party.
In fact, information made
available to Sunday
Vanguard at the weekend
suggested that President
Buhari is not one of those to
be considered in the
pursuit of picking a unity/
consensus candidate for the
Youth Council endorses
Ugwuanyi for second tenure
endorsement became
necessary ahead of the
general elections, adding that
one of the mandates of the
council was to educate and
sensitize youths on the need
to speak with one voice.
Ugwu said that youth have
the capacity to shape and reorganize
the political, social
and economic activities of
the state as they constitute
over 66 percent of the
population.
The council commanded
the governor for an allinclusive
administration and
youth-related programmes.
North by this group.
Apart from politicians,
Sunday Vanguard has also
been made to understand
that the group involves both
directly and remotely, but is
not limited to influential
leaders of thought, custodians
of traditional institutions and
religious leaders.
One of the criteria that has
been put forward is that those
seeking the office should have
the “integrity and intellectual
capacity to be President and
Commander-in-Chief,
especially at a time like this”.
In addition, such an
individual would be
expected to be nationalistic
OBJ flags-off refinery in Bayelsa, says
Dickson made state stable
Professor Daryl Zizwe
Poe of Lincoln
University, Pennysylvania,
USA has said the
abandonment of the ethos of
African liberation
movements is the undoing
of the African development.
ceremony of a privatelyowned
refinery project
(Azikel Refinery), at
Obunugha, in Yenagoa
Local Government Area
of the state where the
former president was the
Special Guest of honour.
Obasanjo and Dickson
also used the occasion to
thank President
Muhammadu Buhari for
granting Modular
Refinery Licences to
Nigerian owned
companies, one of which
was Azikel group owned
by a Bayelsan, Dr.
Azibapu Eruani. They
believed the refinery
project would boost the
Professor Poe stated this
while delivering a lecture
titled, US Civil Rights
and
African
Liberation Movements
at Babcock University, Ilishan-
Remo, Ogun State.
He said though the United
Bayelsa economy!
A statement by the Chief
Press Secretary to the
Governor, Mr. Francis
Ottah Agbo, quoted
Obasanjo as saying that
the facility, when
operational in 2019,
would add value to the
economy in terms of job
creation and availability
of petroleum products.
The former President,
who applauded the
Group President of
Aziikel Refinery, Eruani,
for taking a bold step in
the establishment of the
project, expressed
optimism that the
initiative would herald
more of such investments
in the country.
University don calls for solidarity of African youths
States civil rights movements
were deeply connected to
African liberation movements
materially and spiritually,
Africans leaders, however,
got it wrong by identifying their
individual country’s needs
instead of forging a common
front.
He said the youth could
rekindle the fire known of the
African liberation movements
if they were serious and
focused on the overall
development of the African
continent instead of seeking
individual gains.
Professor Poe said until the
youths redeem their
culture,imperialism and
neocolonialism would
continue to be the bane of
African development.
Earlier, President/Vice
Chancellor, Professor
Ademola Tayo said the
lecturer brought to the fore
eminent perspectives on
historical moments that
shaped the present and
future of both African and
American continents.
in thinking.
Also, the person must
possess the ability to
immediately commence
talks on proper reconciliation
and unification across the
country upon being sworn-in
as President of the country.
That is not all.
Further more, Sunday
Vanguard was told that while
consultations are ongoing,
one of the important issues
that came up was the role of
the private sector.
Therefore, as another
criterion in the selection
consideration, the individual
being sought would be
expected to enjoy the respect
of operators, particularly
leaders, in the private sector,
just as such a person must
respect the feudal system that
operates in the North.
Stemming from that but
not in total submission to the
above, the group is suggesting
that the eventual candidate
would stand better chances of
acceptability across board if
he (or she) is a liberal and
accommodating Muslim.
Indeed, what appears to be
obvious in the set of criteria
that was put forward is the
seeming deficit that seems to
have ensued since President
Olusegun Obasanjo left office
as President and
Commander-in-Chief.
The hue and cry in some
quarters about the
unacceptability of the spread
of political appointments in
the present regime,
particularly from the
opposition, continues to fuel
the need for a paradigm shift
in the activities of
government.
Perhaps, it is in realisation
of the danger such a deficit
constitutes that President
Buhari decided - and wisely
so - to appoint former Lagos
State governor, Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, to reconcile
aggrieved and warring
members.
Tinubu is himself perceived
by many as the aggrieved-inchief
among the lot in APC.
Therefore, the leaders are
seeking “a knowledgable
individual who also
understands the dynamics
of Nigeria; who is committed
to the diversity and
inclusiveness of the Nigerian
state, as espoused and
envisioned by the founding
fathers”, a source close to the
process told Sunday
Vanguard from the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja,
yesterday.
The source, who is also
close to Aso Rock Presidential
Villa, hinted that the
Presidency is not perturbed
by “people playing their
politics”.
Already, Sunday Vanguard
learnt that some individuals
eying the number one seat
are being screened
informally but would at
some “point in the not too
distant future subject
themselves to the committee.
This is reminiscent of the
type of committee set up, in
1999, by leaders of northern
extraction in the Peoples
candidates.
At that time, Obasanjo,
former Second Republic Vice
President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme,
Jim Nwobodo, Graham
Douglas, among others were
screened by the committee.
Why I walked
out on panel
— Anambra
monarch
By Lekan Bilesanmi
The newly elected
traditional ruler of Ojoto,
the host community of the
headquarters of Idemili South
Council, Anambra State,
Igwe-elect, Dennis Adindu
Okafor, has called on
Governor Willie Obiano to
remove two of his aides from
the panel set up to look into
the processes leading to his
emergence as the monarch of
his community even as he
advised that the panel be
disbanded. Okafor explained
why he walked out on the panel
on Tuesday after he alleged
that the aides were interested
parties in the matter.
He said his decision to show
up for the panel hearing was
principally to honour the state
government, the governor and
officials, but stated that he was
not ready to be intimidated, so
he walked out. The monarch
insisted that he was elected
according to laid down
procedures.
Suspects hide N80million Indian hemp in
Bibles, fruits
By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja
The police in Mushin,
Lagos have raided the
hideouts of suspected
criminal in Akala area
leading to the seizure of bails
of Indian hemp hidden in
Bibles, fruits and bags valued
at N80million.
During the raid carried out
by a combined team of the
Divisional Police Officers
of Mushin Area
Command, several
shanties allegedly used as
hideouts by criminals were
destroyed.
A source told Sunday
Vanguard that the Area
Commander, Area D,
Mushin, ACP Akinbayo
Olasoji, led the DPOs
under his jurisdiction for
the operation.
The source added that
investigation was ongoing
to unravel those behind the
Indian hemp.
The drug haul

PAGE 6— SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
L-R - The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the
UNWTO's Secretary-General, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili,signing the agreement on
Nigeria's hosting of the 61st CAF Meeting, in Madrid, Spain.
Nigeria, UNWTO sign agreement on hosting
of African Tourism Ministers’ meeting
Nigeria and the UN
World Tourism Or
ganization (UN-
WTO) have signed an agreement
on the hosting of the 61st
UNWTO Commission for
Africa (UNWTO CAF) meeting
4-6 June 2018 in Abuja.
The Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, signed for the
Nigerian Government while
UNWTO Secretary-General
Zurab Pololikashvili signed
for the global tourism body
at a ceremony at the UNWTO
Headquarters in the Spanish
capital, Madrid.
The signing of the agreement
which was witnessed by
PDP condemns Zamfara killings as Fayose says he
is vindicated
By Dirisu Yakubu
THE Peoples Democrat
ic Party (PDP), yesterday,
condemned the murder
of 41 Nigerians allegedly by
marauders in Zamfara
State. The party also bemoaned
what it called “the
continued failure of the All
Progressives Congress
(APC)-controlled Federal
Government to take decisive
steps to end killings in various
parts of the country,” the
latest being Wednesday’s
massacre.
The PDP spoke on a day
Governor Ayodele Fayose of
Ekiti State said the claim by
his Zamfara counterpart,
Abdulaziz Yari, that security
agencies failed to stop the
killings had vindicated his
stance that no extra $1 billion
was needed from the
ECA to fund the fight
against insurgency.
The party, in a statement
by its National Publicity
Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan,
lamented daily massacre
of Nigerians, stressing
that it was annoying that
those elected to protect them
were only thinking of fresh
mandate in 2019.
“Hardly have tears dried
over the gruesome killings
in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna,
Nasarawa and other states
when marauders hit Zamfara,
a state known for
peace, killing 41 citizens in
cold blood, yet all we get is
mere lip service from the
APC-controlled Federal
Government.
“In the last two months,
hundreds of helpless citizens
have been murdered by bandits
in various parts of the
country and nothing concrete
has been done by the
federal government to end
the butchery and bring the
perpetrators to book”.
Fayose, who spoke to journalists
in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday,
said funds being spent
on security seemed not well
used, as, instead of insecurity
being curtailed, the nation
was unfortunately witnessing
more killings on daily
basis.
In a statement by the governor’s
Chief Press Secretary,
Mr Idowu Adelusi, he
quoted Fayose as saying
that if security agencies were
not properly utilising the
funds given them, “why giving
them more.”
Fayose also faulted the
APC government of claiming
glory for projects and
policies put in place by the
previous administration of
President Goodluck
Jonathan.
“The drone that President
Jonathan launched some
years ago, they now woke up
now to say their government
has achieved a feat in that
regard. Maybe they think the
people are fools and have no
sense of history. Nigerians
will show them during the
next election,” he added.
the Nigerian Ambassador to
Spain, Her Excellency Susan
Aderonke Folarin, among
others, contained the conditions
for organizing the meeting
as well as other details.
Speaking at the signing, the
minister said the Nigerian
government plans to use the
opportunity of hosting the
meeting to showcase the best
of Nigeria to the world, saying
Nigeria has comparative
advantage and has taken the
world by storm in the area of
music, movies, theatre and
other aspects of the creative
industry.
He thanked the UNWTO
and its member states for their
confidence in giving Nigeria
the hosting right for the meeting,
and assured that the
country would host a top
class event.
Welcoming the Minister
earlier, the UNWTO Secretary-General
said the organization
would assist Nigeria
to develop and showcase
its tourist attractions.
The delegations of the
Minister and the Secretary-
General later met to review
the agenda of the 61st CAF
Meeting, the UNWTO’s
forthcoming Technical Support
Mission to Nigeria and
other issues related to tourism
development in Nigeria.
GYC holds Divine Rewards 2018
pastor, Prophet Paul Unuavworho,
it shall be a day of
salvation, award ceremony,
rewards, speech presentation,
healing, prophetic blessing,
earnest prayers, deliverance,
breakthrough, praise
and worship, etc for the people
of God.
Prophet Unuavworho and
other men of God will be
ministering in the yearly
event which has recorded
outstanding testimonies and
has continued to be a unique
divine platform for harvesting
souls; receiving God’s
blessings.
How man, 89, was murdered in his home — Lawyer
By Nwabueze Okonkwo
A
human rights lawyer
based in Onitsha, Anambra
State, Victor Ejide, has
petitioned the state police
command to unravel those
behind the gruesome murder
of an 89-year old man, Jeremiah
Onunkwo, who was allegedly
assassinated inside
his own house on Wednesday,
January 31.
In the petition, addressed to
the state Commissioner of
Police, Umar Garba, Ejide
recalled that the deceased
Onunkwo was slaughtered
inside his house at Umusiome
village, Nkpor-Agu,
adding that the gory incident
occured at about 10 a.m. on
the fateful day.
Ejide recalled that though
very old and visually impaired,
the deceased was
Brickhall school children
share love with orphans
THE children of the
Brickhall School Abuja,
yesterday, visited the Hope
for Survival Orphanage,
Gishiri, Abuja. The visit, designed
to mark Valentine’s
Day, afforded the Brickhall
School children an opportunity
to present food and other
gift items to the less privileged
children. The visit was also
an avenue to inculcate the
virtues of love, care and support
to the less fortunate into
the children.
They also presented a musical
performance and made
motivational speeches to encourage
the children of the
orphanage.
The Management and children
of the orphanage appreciated
the pupils, Management
and Staff of Brickhall
School for the kind gesture.
Pupils of Brickwall School celebrating the Valentine’s Day
with Hope for Survival Orphanage.
blessed with good health and
unusual physical strength,
adding that his lifeless body
was found by his wife, Anulika
Onunkwo, when she returned
to the house at about
11.30 a.m., barely two hours
after she left the house for
evangelism.
He noted that very sharp
cuts were found on his head
and body, which could only
be inflicted by the use of a
sharp machete or axe, adding
that the deceased’s phone
was also stolen by the
murderer(s).
He stated that his further
inquiries revealed that the
assailant(s) evidently entered
the house of the Onunkwo
and exited through the back
door, adding that the deceased
was slaughtered in a
Goodness of Yahweh
C h u r c h
Inc(Testifiers’ Chapel
Int’l) yearly event – Divine
Rewards, with a theme: Extraordinary
Honour, comes
up on Sunday, 25th February,
2018. Morning session venue
is at the church premises,
Km1, Ohore1, off Effurun/
Sapele expressway, by Aziza
junction, Ohore 1 – Effurun,
Delta State at 8:00am. Afternoon/Evening
sessions hold at
Wellington Hotel, Km2, Effurun/Ughelli
expressway, Effurun
at 2:00pm.
According to the presiding
hidden corner of the house, his
clothes torn in the process and
his swollen neck showed further
that in addition to the
sharp cut meted on him, the
killer (s) equally strangled
him.
Insisting that there is no
doubt as to whether he was
assassinated, the petitioner
contended that the shape of the
wound, the injury on the neck,
AS DAME OKOWA ORGANISES INTERCESSION PROGRAMME:
Dare to be different, preacher charges Delta women
By Sam Eyoboka
DELTA State First
Lady, Dame Edith
Okowa, under the aegis of
Delta Mothers Arise, an offshoot
of her pet project, O5
Initiative, gathered Christian
mothers, irrespective of
denomination, at the Unity
Hall, Government House,
Asaba, for an annual intercession
for families, communities,
churches, state
and the nation.
The annual religious
event, started 11 years ago
by the wife of then governor,
Deaconess Roli Uduaghan,
took place on February
12 where Dame
Okowa outlined the reasons
she decided to sustain and
improve on the programme,
saying: “My sister,
Roli, planted this good
seed while in office. She did
so well by pointing all of us
to Jesus Christ. I am glad
today the vision and tradition
of gathering Delta
mothers to pray has not
died and will continue even
after I leave office.”
One significant improvement
of this year’s edition
of the spiritual fiesta was
the Monastery-like orderliness
that characterized the
event.
While delivering her sermon
on the theme, ‘Brokenness:
Needful for a Successful
Walk with God’, the
guest preacher, Pastor Ruth
Aifobokhia, said only “broken
people can be used by
God”.
The Delta-born preacher
observed that due to unbrokenness,
many mothers (or
women, to be more exact)
had lived and died without
“making any impact.” She
charged the congregation
to “dare to be different,”
urging them to “arise in the
place of prayer, intercession
and godliness.”
Speaking on the theme,
the founder of O5 Initiative,
Dame Okowa observed that
brokenness was required to
“preach the gospel”and
then asked,”How, do you
talk to or correct your children
when you lack the
moral justification to do
so?”
the stolen handset and the
torn clothes all lend credence
to the assertion that he was
murdered, adding, “in his life
time, Jerry Onunkwo was a
very active minister of Jehovah’s
Witness, a model in the
neighbourhood and would
be remembered for his high
sense of humour and generosity.”
*The Firt Lady of Dëlta State, Dame Edith Okowa
(middle), the wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs.
Ebierin Otuaro (left), and the wife of the immediate
past governor, Mrs. Roli Nere Uduaghan, during
the 2018 Delta Mothers Arise Prayer Conference.
Photo by Norbert Amede

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 7
MYSTERY SERPENT
Suspect was diligent until
story about snake
swallowing N36m JAMB
money broke – Co-workers
BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI
Last weekend, a story broke that a
mysterious snake had swallowed
over N36million belonging to the Benue
State office of the Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Makurdi.
While many pondered the veracity of the tale,
some believed it was aimed at creating a
diversion to shield a fraud.
Meanwhile, Sunday Vanguard investigations
have revealed that the tale may have been
designed to cover up a fraud in the Board after
the immediate past Registrar, Professor Dibu
Ojerinde, launched a probe into the finances of
JAMB across the 36 states of the federation.
“The missing money was not swallowed by a
snake contrary to the story making the rounds
in the traditional and social media”, an official
in the Makurdi office of JAMB, who chose to
remain anonymous, said.
“I can take you round our premises and even
the toilets to see if there is anything like a snake
here. It was a dummy sold to the public by those
responsible for what is at best a tale by
moonlight.
“The truth of the matter is that we had a case
of a female accounts officer who was accused
of diverting M36million belonging to the
Board to her personal use and tried rather
ridiculously to claim that a snake swallowed
the money in this office.
“I know for sure that an audit of the finances
of JAMB was initiated by the immediate past
Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, about two
years ago and, in the course of that audit, some
issues were raised concerning the funds of the
Board in the state.
“When the new Registrar, Prof. Is-haq
Oloyede, took over sometime in 2016, he
continued with the probe and that was what
led to the discovery of the
disappearance of the
N36million.
“I must state that what we are
hearing today did not just
happen; it took place before the
exit of the last Registrar and it
happened over a period of time.
“It took place when we were
still selling scratch cards to
enable prospective candidates
buy our forms.
“The official at the centre of it
all has been transferred to Abuja.
She was moved when the
discovery was made last year
and she is believed to be helping
in the investigation. “So it is not that a snake
swallowed any money here. That tale was
cooked by whoever did maybe to sell a dummy
or to divert attention.
“The fraud was said to have been executed
with the connivance of some cafe operators
and other JAMB officials.
“But the claim that some cafe operators had
been arrested for questioning over the matter is
something I cannot confirm.
“And nobody can draw any conclusions until
investigation is completed”.
Saying the system of buying
scratch card to procure JAMB
I must state that
what we are
hearing today did
not just happen; it
took place before
the exit of the last
Registrar and it
happened over a
period of time
forms by candidates has since
been replaced, another official
at the Makurdi office said,
“What we now do is to sell what
we call pins in designated banks,
post offices and cafés and to
those who prefer to use credit
card with which prospective
candidates are able to access our
Direct Entry and Unified
Tertiary Matriculation
Examination, UTME, forms for
registration.”
Asked if the accounts officer
fingered in the scam had any
records of fraud, the senior official said, “I cannot
really say but I can say that she was diligent in
discharging her responsibilities and nothing
whatsoever gave her away as a fraudulent person
until this story broke out”.
When Sunday Vanguard visited a cyber cafe in
Makurdi metropolis whose owner was said to have
been arrested in connection with the fraud, a man,
who claimed to be the manager and gave his name
as Izuchkwu, confirmed that his boss was invited for
questioning in Abuja about two weeks ago and was
yet to return.
“I do not want to speak on the matter again because
we had talked about it earlier in the week, but I learnt
that my boss has been arrested over an issue that has
to do with fraud in the Makurdi office of JAMB”, he
said.
“But I know that he is innocent because we usually
sell scratch cards and pins for JAMB and if anything
went wrong in the course of the business, it will
certainly not be from a cafe operator but from
officials of the Board.
“We are however waiting for his return to have
a clearer picture of what happened and the true
position of things and why he was arrested”.
When contacted, Benue State Police Public
Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of
Police Moses Yamu, said the matter was not
reported at the state Command.
I brok
oke oil pipelines to send my y children to
school, feed them —Father of five
By Dayo Johnson, Akure.
A
father of five, Akin Akinyele,
has confessed that he took to
vandalising Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,
pipelines in order to feed and send
his children to school.
The suspect, 45, also accused of
leading an illegal association,
allegedly specialises in breaking the
Right of Way of the NNPC and the
SPDC to siphon crude oil and refine
it in the creeks for sale.
Akin was paraded alongside three
suspects, Alao Yusuf, 40, from Oyo
State, Aremu Saidi, 35, from Osun
State and Hassan Jimoh, 37, from
Osun State.
200,000 litres of suspected
adulterated diesel was destroyed
and 2,710 litres of same product
seized from them by the anti-vandal
operatives of the Nigeria Security
and Civil Defence Corps, Ondo
State Command.
*Akinyele (left) and fellow suspects
Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, The State Commandant of the
the suspect said he studied Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
electrical/electronics’ engineering Corps, Pedro Awili Ideba, said the
at Plateau State Polytechnic. anti-vandal operatives of the
He confessed that the product was agency raided the outlets and
illegally sourced, refined locally storage facilities of oil syndicates
before filling them into kegs and along Lagos- Benin Expressway,
sold to customers.
close to Odigbo, and arrested the
The suspect, who said he had been four suspects.
in the business for close to four years, Ideba reiterated the efforts of the
said he was previously selling Corps to deliver on its mandate of
telephone at lkeja when “there was ridding the country of Illegal
no business in sight.”
dealers in petroleum products.
We will protect youths against sexual violence, STDs —Esiet, Action Health Incorporated boss
With youths from poor
communities not
having adequate
access to friendly health services,
Action Health Incorporation, a
non-governmental organisation,
in partnership with Lagos State
Primary Health Centre Board,
and Champions for Change,
held a forum to give young
people access to healthcare
services through primary
healthcare centres.
Adenike Esiet, Executive
Director, Action Health
Incorporated, speaking
during the event, said young
people in the state, via the
intervention, will have access
to issues around not just
general health, but also have
counsellors who can provide
information and speak to them
on issues they encounter
every day.
“The issues of sexual
violence at home and outside
of the home, the issues
around getting protection for
abuse, counsellors who can
support them to get home and
people whoever their
gatekeepers or significant
others are in the house. There
is also the fact that they can
get immediate access when
they have issues like sexually
transmitted infections that
they have to deal with.”
According to him, a lot of
youths have problems taking
whatever issues are bothering
them to healthcare centres
because they believe care
givers are not receptive to
their plight.
The Permanent-Secretary,
Lagos State Ministry of Youths
and Social Development, Mr
Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said
the state government would
collaborate with stakeholders
to ensure that youths live
healthy lives.
Last
November,
MIDNIGHT CITY
LAGOS, Nigeria’s first online,
night food delivery platform,
was launched in Lagos. Three
months later, it has picked up
and gathered so much steam,
that it has become the go-to
website (www.midnightcity.com)
for many people who live on
Lagos Island, particularly in
Ikoyi, Lekki, Victoria Island,
Oniru, Banana Island and Ikate
Elegushi axis.
The brainchild of TOBENNA
OZIM, a graduate of computer
science from the University Of
Essex, the United Kingdom, the
CEO listed his clients to include
Dan Akpovwa, Chairman Of
Abuja Inquirer, Actor Richard
Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Comedian
AY Makun, Runtown, Burma Boy
and Don Jazzy.
Akpovwa said, “I am intrigued
by the whole experience.”
Tobenna says, “Our aim is to
supply the demand of food at
hours you would prefer it
conveniently delivered to your
door step. What really sets
Inside
Midnight
City Lagos
MIDNIGHT CITY apart from
others is the fact that you can
stay in the comfort of your home
at night and have food delivered
to you”.
*Ozim
From left; Dr Are Suewbat Iyabo, Permanent Secretary Lagos
State Primary Healthcare Centre, Dr. Adefunke Adeshina, Mrs.
Adenike Esiet, Executive Director Action Health Incorporated
and Dr. Iwayemi during the forum in Lagos.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Garlands for Durojaiy
ojaiye @ 85
The Presidency, the
National Assembly
and frontline
politicians were all full
of praises for Senator
Olabiyi Durojaiye, on
Wednesday. as he turned
85.
However, the
celebration held in
Lagos with the launch of
a book titled ‘Dare to be
Different” which
attracted attendance of
the movers and shakers
of the socio-political
class in the country. The
Minister of State for
Aviation represented
President Muhammadu
Buhari. Photos by
Akeem Salau
L-R: Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa; Mr Tunji Bell; Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta; Hon
Ifedayo Abegunde; Senator Hadi Sirika; Minister of State for Aviation
representing President Muhammadu Buhari; Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye
(celebrant); and Prince Bola Ajibola
By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215
onikoyi68@gmail.com
Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi (left) and Olorogun
Sunny Kuku.
L-R: Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Admiral Ndubuisi
Kanu (retd) and Lt. General Ipoola Alani
Akinrinade (retd).
L-R: Chief (Mrs) Alaba Lawson; Mr Segun
Ogunsanya and Engr. Sikiru Oduntan.
L-R: Mr Tokunbo Talabi; Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji
and Pastor Ituah Ighodalo.
L-R: Prof Wale Omole and Senator Jubril
Martins-Kuye.
Memorial lecture to mark
25th
year remembrance
of Gbadamosi
A memorial lecture in honour of the late Alhaji Sule
Oyesola Gbadamosi, popularly known as SOG,
the Otun of Ikorodu, held in Ikorodu Town Hall,
Ikorodu, Lagos on Monday, February 5, 2018,
organised by the Gbadamosi Odesanya family of
Ikorodu and was well attended by dignitaries from
various walks of life. Photos by Bamidele Lamidi
L-R: Senator Anthony Adefuye and Princess
Bukky Balogun.
L-R: Alhaji Lateef Okunnu, President, Ansarudeen
Society of Nigeria; Architect Taofik Agbaje,
President, Jamaatul Islamiyat of Nigeria; Alhaji
Musiliu Smith, former Inspector General of Police
and Professor Ade Wahab, Chairman of the
occasion
L-R: Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande, Chairman, NEPAD
Business Group Nigeria; Prof. Umar Garba
Danbatta; Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, SSG (Ondo)
and Mr Tunji Bello, SSG (Lagos).
Mr Owei Lakemfa (right) and Professor Lai
Olurode, both guest lecturers.
L-R: HRM Oba Kabiru Sotobi, Ayangburen of
Ikorodu; HRM Oba Biodun Oniru, the Oniru of
Iruland and HRM Tijani Akinloye, Ojomu of
Ajirunland.
R-L: Alhaja Adebisi Adeeko; Alhaja Sherifat
Balogun; Mrs Fehintola Okunola and Dr. (Mrs)
Tokunboh Dabiri.
L-R: Alhaji Abdul Waheed Tella, veteran journalist;
Alhaja Wonu Folami, daughter of the late Alhaji S
O Gbadamosi; Mr Lawal Pedro and Mr. Jibril
Folarin, ace journalist.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18 , 2018, Page 9
•Asiwaju Tinubu (left) and Senate President Saraki
Tinubu: When an
Aggrieved-in-Chief
Becomes a
Trouble Shooter
BY OMEIZA AJAYI, ABUJA; AND EGUFE YAFUGBORHI, PORT HARCOURT
T
his report takes a look at the difficult job given to former governor of Lagos
State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to reconcile aggrieved and warring leaders of the
ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Derisively referred to today as ‘Afflicted
Peoples Congress’ or ‘Aggrieved Peoples Congress’, Tinubu himself is perhaps the
most aggrieved of all the leaders of the party. But he has a job to do and he has already
started making moves. How his efforts would achieve results that are at once
meaningful and re-assuring remains to be seen in the weeks ahead. Is Tinubu also
expected to reconcile the Department of State Service, DSS, and the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC?
*Amaechi
•Magnus Aba
made him to pay little or no
attention to the party and
so in terms of welfare,
nothing tangible has
trickled down to party
members.
“I think we should try
and appreciate the
chemistry of what is
referred to as APC today.
APC started as an
amalgamation of
different political
groups, then graduated
into a mass movement
and formed the
government. The
significance of this was
that these are political
systems that are an
embodiment of diverse
interests. Now, the management of that
interest is very critical, but the challenge
the party is facing and the government, is
that the government itself inherited a
situation where it has more challenges of
fixing the country, and so nothing or no
good attention at all would have trickled
down along the line in view of the
economic constraints government found
itself. That is enough to stir bitterness in
the party and this can give birth to crisis”,
he had said.
From the National Party of Nigeria State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to reconcile
NPN, the Peoples Democratic grieving members.
Party, PDP, to the All Progressives
Congress, APC, ruling parties in Nigeria Early Warning Signals
are often besotted with an avalanche of One man who had been calling on
crisis, but the bottomline has always been President Muhammadu Buhari and
about the spoils of war and not any leaders of the party to take more than a What is not certain is how an
altruistic battle to make Nigerians passing interest in the affairs of the ruling
generally a better country.
party is Comrade Timi Frank, its aggrieved-in-chief can
After claiming power, they are often ‘suspended’ Deputy National Publicity translate to an effective
unable to manage victory or share the Secretary, himself an aggrieved national
booty appropriately, and hence while officer of the party.
trouble-shooter especially in
those who are at table would maintain Since 2015, Frank has been calling
the realm of Nigerian politics.
good table manners by being silent, attention to what could best be described
silence, those who are denied entrance to in the words of a cinematographer, Prof. The reason is because there
the feast would shout themselves hoarse, Anthony Ufua Enahoro of the University
of Jos, as ‘the fragility of stability and the
is a plethora of fronts where
threaten fire and brimstone, until their
personal interests are well-taken care of. inevitability of instability’. But while crises sit pretty
If managing its struggle was easy, some felt he was merely ‘seeking’
managing its successes since the last attention, those who understood that he
general elections have proven herculean. was ‘calling’ attention to an imminent
While the APC could rightly be described implosion, were, however, silent, perhaps
as ‘a congress of crisis’, many political in the erroneous belief that the During his visit to the national
observers have dubbed it the ‘Afflicted ‘suspended’ deputy spokesman of the secretariat of the party on October 6,
Peoples Congress’. or ‘Aggrieved Peoples party had a personal axe to grind with 2016, Youth and Sports Development
Congress’. It is in a bid to stem this tide Chairman John Oyegun. Frank had minister, Solomon Dalung, said the
that President Muhammadu Buhari frankly described the party as being on President’s preoccupation with
appointed former governor of Lagos the path of self-destruction.
revamping the nation’s economy has Continues on page 12
The task before Tinubu
Though Frank, like many others in the
party believe that the appointment of
Tinubu as ‘Presidential Crisis Mediator’
may achieve some result, the job of the
former Lagos governor is however well
cut out.
What is not certain is how an aggrievedin-chief
can translate to an effective
trouble-shooter especially in the realm of
Nigerian politics. The reason is
because there is a plethora of fronts where
crises sit pretty.

Page 10 — SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18 , 2018
IN THE BEGINNING
The just amended Electoral Act was
introduced by the House of Representatives.
By the provision of Section 87 (c) of the
Senate Rule, during conference committee
meeting of both Chambers, it states that any
“matter which has already been agreed to by
the Senate or House of Representatives”, it
shall not be in order for the Senate to strike it
out from the bill. Invariably, what this means
is that since the order of election is a matter
introduced by the House, and the Senate, in
this instance, has no counter provision, then,
it becomes compelling for the Senate
to adopt that provision.
Also, the provision of Section 76 (1)
of the 1999 Constitution as amended
in the (First Alteration) Electoral
Act, 2010, empowers the NASS to
state the order of election. While the
original provision of the 1999
Constitution states that “Elections
shall be held on a date to be
appointed by the Independent
National Electoral Commission”, the
2010 amendment in Section 5 states
that “Section 76 of the Principal Act
is altered - (a) in sub-section (1), line
2, by inserting immediately after the
word “commission” the words in “in
accordance with the Electoral Act”.
What this means is that INEC can,
among other things pertaining to
election matters, fix dates of elections;
but this would be done to the extent
that it is “in accordance with the
Electoral Act” enacted by NASS.
Apart from this amendment being
supported by law, it is also supported
by history or precedent.
PRECEDENT
For example, since 1979, the only
two times when the presidential
ANXIETY OVER ORDER OF ELECTIONS
NASS override awaiting
presidential veto?
By Jide Ajani
T
he stage is set for a possible presidential veto on the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act which,
from all indications, would be met by an uncomplimentary override by members of the National
Assembly. Its is about the congruity, appropriateness and altruism embedded in the proposed legislation
on order of elections, at a time when the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has put forward a
time-table for the 2019 general elections. This report will show why the hot air by some senators who kicked
against the amendment would expose the polity to more heat.
election was conducted first, in the order of
elections, was when an incumbent President
was desperately seeking re-election and was
not sure he would win.
That was what happened in 1983 when Alh.
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari was seeking reelection.
Unlike 1979 when the national
Assembly election came first, the then
National Party of Nigeria, NPN, leadership,
worked with the then Federal Electoral
Commission, FEDECO, headed by (rtf)
Justice Ovie-Whiskey, to commence the
process with the presidential election. What
that then did, was to set a tone for the
bandwagon effect after the
orchestrated landslide and
moonslide victory recorded by
Sharagi.
The second time the Presidential
election was held first was in 2015.
This time, it was former President
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who was
seeking re-election.
In fact, in Jonathan’s case, he was
forced to agree that the Presidential
and National Assembly elections
should hold simultaneously. This was
premised on the false assumption that
he would win. Unfortunately, he did
not. Conversely, it was his defeat at
the March 28, 2015 poll, that laid the
foundation for the All Progressives
Congress, APC’s, magical
performance in the other elections
because the persona of Muhammadu
Buhari was the pole on which many of
the APC candidates hoisted their
ambition.
However, the curious aspect of what
the members of NASS have done with
the so-called bottom up arrangement
that is expected to usher in a rainbow
legislative body, where individuals of
different persuasions are expected to
have been voted for on the merit of their
character, could have passed litmus had the
state legislative election been taken along
with the national assembly election. This
would have made a water-tight defence for
the amendment which has been insinuated
into the realm of selfishness.
IMPLICATIONS
A more significant implication of the passage
of the electoral law amendment is that it shows
some politician still want to latch onto
President Buhari to gain acceptability at the
polls. The NASS remains the biggest
assembly of elected politicians as it has 469 elected
representatives. If the President has an interest in
a provision of the law, he merely needed to have
worked with members of the NASS who, in this
case, are peopled, largely, by members of his APC.
That this chasm exists is a reflection of the type
of relationship that exists in the ruling party. In
fact, it is in realisation of this frosty relationship
between the executive and legislative arm of
government as well as the other pockets of
discontent among and between political leaders
in the party that Buhari picked the former governor
of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to head a
reconciliation committee.
It should be remembered that this decidedly
controversial amendment scaled through from
the House of Representatives without any protest.
In fact, Wednesday’s adoption of the
conference report in the House scaled through
without any single opposition.
In the Senate 10 Senators addressed the Press,
after walking out of plenary session.
The 10, Sunday Vanguard has been made to
understand, are individuals with varied grievances
and interests.
Ranging from individuals who have not been
pronounced totally free of on-going charges
against them by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC, to those who have
made Aso Rock Presidential Villa a second home,
some of the lawmakers needed to openly
demonstrate loyalty. In another instance, one of
the aggrieved senators was said to have been
removed as chairman of a juicy committee, while
another is expecting a possible ministerial
appointment.
Yet, in some other instances, some senators who
are having issues with the state governors know
that loyalty to President Buhari would play a role
in how their state governors are persuaded to
allow them get the party ticket for a return to the
national assembly.
The NASS seemed set to ensure that the bill
will gets to Presidency last Friday, February 16,
or tomorrow, February 19.
From tomorrow, the 30 days allowed by Section
88 (b) of the Senate Rules will start counting. The
National Assembly will definitely overturn the
veto - if the numbers add up.
The seeming desperation by those who see
murder in the new amendment opens them to the
insinuation that, perhaps, something is going to
be suffered. In the press conference held by the
10 senators who walked out, they seemed to
suggest that the amendment was targeted at
President Buhari. Although they did not explain
how, the ready conclusion in some quarters is
that the legislators do not want any form of
encumbrance(s) to their re-election bid.
Apart from the hot air, there are key issues in the
amendment like the legalisation of the use of the
card readers, the rigorous and transparent process
for the emergence of party candidates for the
elections, provision for biometric accreditation
of voters with smart card readers, immediate
transmission of results from polling units to
collation centers, fixing of maximum expenses
that can be incurred by every politician, setting
clear criteria for the substitution, resignation and
replacement of candidates, among other
amendments.
These are good measures, important
amendments and essential issues that should not
be thrown away with the issue of order of elections.
These are measures that can deepen the
democratic process, correct the ills and mischief
of the past and give legitimacy to earlier
innovation used by INEC.
The mistake of throwing the baby away with
the bath water, a mistake made in 2006 in the
frenzy not to pass the tenure elongation
amendment, should not be repeated.
Over the years, the argument has been that in
order to have a level playing electoral field, free
of bandwagon effects, whereby on occasions
where the Presidential election comes first, there
is the possible consequence that most electors
wants to be on the victorious side of the outcome
of the Presidential election thereby placing all
other elections in possible jeopardy or bias,
advocates of the latter perception are of the view
that the electoral process and outcomes should
be allowed to buildup in a bottom-up electoral
process with the Presidential election coming
last. That way, a rainbow assembly is possible.
In addition, the voting masses would not be
psychologically primed to vote in a particular
direction since the presidential election would
hold last.
More, in a polity such as Nigeria’s, where the
humongous power of the President is considered
one of the weightiest in the world, the ends to
which the powers of that office can be put is
unlimited. Therefore, any arrangement that
would aid a fair process in the eventual election
of the holder of such an important office should
be encouraged.
ORDER OF ELECTIONS SINCE 1979
In the 1979 elections, the senatorial election
came first on July 7, 1979, followed by the House
of Reps on July 14, governorship, July 21, House
of Assembly, July 28 and Presidential August
11, 1979. These were five weeks of election.
In 1983, presidential election came first on
Aug. 6, while governorship followed on Aug.
13, senate on Aug. 20, House of Reps on Aug.
27
İn 1992, Senate and Reps elections took place
on July 4. While Presidential election took place
on June 12, 1993. The houses of assembly and
governors had been inaugurated a year earlier.
In 1999, the election of Senators, Reps
members and state legislators were the first to
hold on Feb 20. That of governors and president
held on Feb. 27.
Also, in 2003, state and national legislative
elections were held on April 12, while
presidential and governorship elections held the
same day on April 19.
In 2007, governorship and state legislative
elections held on April 14, before the
presidential and national assembly polls a week
later.
In 2011, governorship, state and national
assembly polls held first on April 9, while
governorship and presidential elections took
place on April 16.
In 2015, when President Jonathan, out of
insecurity, insisted on having the Presidential
election first, he had to agree with the Nass for
the Federal legislative polls too to hold on the
same day, March 28 while Governorship
and State Assembly polls held two weeks
later on April 11.

2019: The Emerhor, Ogboru, Omo-
Agege ego war will not help APC
—Comrade Ofehe
SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY
Comrade Sunny Ofehe, founder and Executive
Director, Sunny Ofehe Foundation, is a
chieftain of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) in Delta State. In this interview, the Isoko born
activist, who is eyeing the governorship of the state in
2019, reviews the two letters written to President
Muhammadu Buhari by two former Presidents,
saying they were not in bad taste. The Netherlands
based Nigerian condemned the factional crisis
ravaging the APC in Delta and warned that it may
cost the party the governorship seat in the forthcoming
elections.
What is your take on the two letters written
by two former President Olusegun Obasanjo
and General Ibrahim Babangida to President
Muhammadu Buhari?
If there is anything that is good in democracy, it is
the fact that it gives everybody the chance to express
himself. In a normal democratic contest, every citizen
of Nigeria has the right to express his opinion about
governance. In this case, former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, who is a man I respect and he is an elder
statesman, has expressed himself; talking about his
concerns and concluding that President Buhari
should not run for second term. I believe that what
the President should do is to look at some of the issues
raised by Obasanjo. I was so happy when I saw a
video that went viral, when they (Buhari and Obasanjo)
met at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa. The picture
clearly shows to the world that they don’t have
anything against each other. Coming to the President
himself, I am also of the opinion that the president
has the constitutional right to vote and be voted for.
The decision to run for a second term lies in his hands.
But in deciding that, I want the President to address
some of the issues raised in that letter by Obasanjo.
And to also hear that IBB also raised the same issues
means there is something they must have seen that
we may not have seen. The three of them were former
military heads of state, so they have a better channel
to discuss this. If I were Mr President, I will call these
people for a meeting and have a serious discussion
with them. I believe that Buhari has the pedigree to
meet them and address the issues they raised and
convince them that he is ready to run for re-election.
Are you worried about the activities of
herdsmen and how it may affect your party
in the 2019 elections?
It is not only affecting our party, the issue of
herdsmen has brought the country to an insecure state.
If I say it will affect my party in 2019, that means I am
only trying to narrow the negative consequences of
the action on the country. The issue is worrisome and
I think it requires, apart from security solution, a
political solution because it has created ethnic
tension. We saw the killing of innocent people and we
have to deal with the challenge. The intelligence
community needs to get to the root cause of the
problem. And also the President has to ensure that
they instil confidence in Nigeria that we are not
playing politics with the issue of herdsmen. Yes, the
situation can affect the APC in the polls because I
have spoken to people at the grassroots and one of
the things they confront me with is that APC has been
unable to resolve the problem and some of them think
that herdsmen are having their way because the
President is their kinsman, a Fulani. But I think the
President is taking serious action against herdsmen
because I have seen that from the response of security
operatives. Your party is so factionalized in Delta.
What is the problem?
It is sad that about a year to elections, the party will
find itself in factional politics in Delta State. As the
biggest opposition in the state, in order to be able to
battle the power of incumbency, we need a united
front to show the people of Delta that we have the
capacity to take over government in 2019. What is
playing out now is a sad reality that we should not
encourage. One of the people involved in this
leadership tussle, Ortega Omerhor, is a man I respect
a lot. He almost single-handedly brought APC to that
level where it is a respectable party in the state. Then
we have Great Ogboru whose name is being
mentioned in this tussle. Great Ogboru is an
experienced politician, he has contested the position
of governorship in the state about four times and he
knows the merits and the demerits of factional politics
with in a party structure. Senator Omo Agege is
another name being mentioned in this leadership
tussle. He is in the Senate now and I think he should
concentrate on delivering dividends of
democracy to his senatorial district.
Our party at the national level must
move into the matter because Delta is
very significant to the national party
structure. And we are working very hard
to ensure that APC dethrones PDP in
Delta but we must stop this unnecessary
ego fight. There are three people that
have the experience in politics and they
must know that their fight can easily
help the PDP in winning the election. I
am positive that before our congresses,
all the problems will be resolved. And
that is why I commend President Buhari
for appointing Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as
Chairman of the APC Reconciliation
Committee. Tinubu is a father and I
am sure he will not want people to
destroy the party he laboured to build.
I believe that he will visit Delta and
meet with the warring factions so that
peace may reign.
But the people of Delta North
where Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
hails from want to complete their
By Festus Ahon & Ochuko Akuopha
OLOROGUN John U Oguma is one
of the founding members of the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in
Delta State. Having contributed immensely
to the growth of the party in the state, Oguma
is often referred to as one of the strong pillars
of the PDP. In this interview, he speaks on the
achievements of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
and chances of the PDP in the 2019 general
elections.
It will be three years on May 29,
2018 since Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
assumed office. What is your
assessment of the governor’s
performance?
Governor Okowa came into office with a
well thought out plan to add value to the
lives of Deltans, irrespective of political, social
and cultural affiliations. Here is a
governor who came into office at a time when
revenue receipts to the state were at the
lowest ebb. In spite of this daunting
challenge, that was occasioned by the poor
price of oil at the international market and
vandalization of oil and gas installations in
the Niger Delta, particularly here in Delta
State, the governor moved on with his human
and capital development agenda which
today has transformed all parts of the state.
Okowa, in his wisdom, has taken
governance to the rural and riverine
communities connecting them to the urban
centres through the construction of intra and
inter-community roads. Today, there is
massive road construction, completed and
on-going across the three senatorial districts.
There is road construction in Escavos,
Ogulaha clan, Yokri, Obotobo One and Two,
Burutu, Okerenkoko and environs, thus
giving them a facelift. In the area of political
•Comrade
Sunny Ofehe
tenure?
The beauty of democracy is to ensure that
the best candidate is elected. And it is for the
people to decide who governs them after
looking at the credibility of every candidate
irrespective of where the person comes from. I
think the APC should come out and overcome
the politics of ethnicity that has divided us over
the years and has not given us anything. I have
met a lot of people from Delta North who are
not happy with the current government. And I
think those people are in a position to screen
all the candidates that will be offered by every
political party in the state.. So the politics of
rotating candidates on the basis of where they
come from would not have a place in the 2019
election.
But there is this feeling that the APCled
Federal Government has not met
the desires of the Nigerians. Do you
think you stand a chance in 2019?
We should not forget the economic indices
the current President met when he took over
power. Nigeria’s economy is driven by revenue
from crude oil. As of the time Buhari took over,
the price of crude had gone down to around 50
dollars per barrel. What most Nigerians forgot
is that at the time of the PDP administration
oil was selling for an average of 100 dollars.
We could not achieve anything, if we had
achieved economic stability during that time,
like we see in most of the Middle East countries
which have saved so much money when they
had the opportunity, we would have been
better off today. On the campaign promises,
first tenure is not sufficient enough for people
to see the dividends of democracy. Just recently,
other African Presidents gave Buhari an award
on his anti-corruption drive. I agree that there
is economic challenge in the country which
has affected the people, but when you look at
the steps taken so far by the administration,
they are steps in the right direction. So I think
that APC will be given another opportunity to
consolidate on the economic policies that they
are already working on.
PDP’s threat
PDP is an opposition party and you don’t
expect them to say good things about Buhari.
PDP should be blamed for where we are today,
they never saved money when we had it and
this affected the current administration from
delivering on its promises. However you can
see that our foreign reserves have gone up and
this was what I was expecting that the previous
administration should have done and that
would have been able to help us. And if APC is
running at the federal level, I expect Deltans
to vote APC because the benefit will be
enormous to compare to when you have an
opposition party in place. And that is what we
in the APC are trying to do in Delta to ensure
that our people benefit from the Federal
Government.
APC can solve Delta economic woes
Delta State has a very a big economic
problem and I have not seen any move being
made by the current governor to solve the
problem. The debt profile is very high and
servicing it is huge challenge. The internally
generated revenue has not improved and the
federal allocation is dwindling. When you put
all these together, that is what has affected the
civil service. Civil servants are not being paid;
unemployment rate has increased, there is
infrastructural decay. Delta is the second
largest producer of crude oil but we don’t have
tank farms. There are job opportunities that
we need to create in the marine sector by
bringing in foreign investors in that area. Edo
State is showing us that it can work and they
have signed an MOU. Everything that has to
do in that investment in Gelegele seaport is
less than 3 per cent. And the government’s
equity contribution in the whole of the deal
has not cost the state anything but it will bring
a lot of benefit to the people. It will create jobs,
business opportunities, there will be cash flow
and that is what Delta politicians should focus
on and not fighting themselves.
Okowa deserves second term —Oguma
•Oguma
SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18 , 2018, Page 11
appointments, he has ensured that
virtually every community in the state has
representation in his administration,
thereby giving everybody a sense of
belonging.
The governor, on assumption of
office, came up with what he termed
the SMART Agenda. How would
you say he has fared in meeting his
promise of bringing prosperity to
Deltans?
Governor Okowa, as someone who has
been in touch and abreast with the
yearnings and aspirations of his people,
was not unmindful of the massive youth
unemployment in the state. In a bid to
tackle the problem, the governor
established a Job Creation Office with the
mandate to train and equip the teeming
youths of the state in skills of their choices.
Today, over 10, 000 direct and indirect
jobs have been created by his
administration. The Job Creation Office
has trained, equipped and empowered over
3,000 youths in skills such as poultry
farming, piggery, shoe making,
confectioneries, generator repairs, among
others. Beneficiaries of this initiative have
become employers of labour, thereby
reducing crime wave in the state. Some of
these beneficiaries were trained under the
Skills Training and Entrepreneurship
Programme, STEP, and Youth Agricultural
Entrepreneurs Programme, YAGEP, in
addition to various youth empowerment
programmes in the state.
The opposition APC has been
accusing the Okowa’s
administration of being insensitive
to the plight of workers and
pensioners and that his
administration is bringing untold
hardship to Deltans. What is your
take on this?
This is laughable. It shows that our
opposition brothers in the state are either
ignorant of the workings of government or
are mischief makers. Now, this is a governor
that is not owing civil servants, a governor
that is working round the clock to make life
more meaningful for both civil servants and
pensioners in the midst of scarce resources.
As we speak, Delta is one of the few states in
the federation that is up to date with the
payment of salaries. Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa is sensitive to the plight of Deltans
and has been assisting local governments
in the state in the payment of their workers.
Local government workers have been
receiving their monthly salaries while the
backlogs are being defrayed even though it
Continues on page 12

Page 12 — SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18 , 2018
Okowa deserves second term —Oguma
Continued from page 11
is not a direct responsibility of the state
government. These allegations are aimed at
projecting the government in a negative light,
but the governor has remained focused and
resolute in his efforts to fulfil his electioneering
campaign promises.
2019 is around the corner, what do
you think are the chances of your party,
the PDP, in winning governorship and
other elections in the state?
The taste of the pudding is in the eating. We
are about going into elections; Governor
Okowa’s overwhelming performance in all
sectors speaks volumes and will surely earn
the PDP and all its candidates good votes in
Delta. Delta is a PDP state and the party has
come to stay, the mischievous moves of the
APC, notwithstanding. APC is one party that is
not on ground and has no structure to win
elections in Delta. APC is a confused party
made up of confused politicians who have no
direction; Deltans are too wise to allow
themselves to be deceived by this bunch of
uncoordinated political actors. For over two
Continued from page 9
Buhari Versus APC
Tinubu must be bold enough to let
President Buhari know that his actions
and inactions may have served to fuel the
crisis in the APC.
After the appointment of the former
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal, the
relationship between the president and the
party became very frosty, with party
elements accusing the former SGF of
creating bad blood between the party
leadership and the presidency.
“The president was made to believe that
the leadership of the party was the face of
corruption, hence his seeming disinterest
in the running and sponsoring of the
party”, a party official had said at the
time.
President Buhari’s numerous
appointments left a sour taste in the mouth
of the party leadership that was largely
never consulted or taken into confidence
before such appointments were made. The
recent board appointments in which at
least, eight dead people were nominated
is a case in point. Chief Odigie-Oyegun
had earlier this year told journalists that
the party was not consulted when the final
list of appointees was ratified.
“The only thing I want to add is that it is
pretty obvious that the party was not
involved in the final stages of the
compilation of that list”, said Odigie-
Oyegun at a dinner with journalists on
January 6, after the embarrassment of
appointing dead persons.
Speaking further, he recalled; “Yes, we
sent names at the initial stage and I am
talking of a period of two years ago. We
demanded for every state to make 50
nominations which were sent to the
committee in charge of the list for the
purpose. They completed the initial
exercise that time but since then a lot has
happened. People have changed parties,
people have died, we have three new
governors that were not there when the
list was compiled. Therefore, it was clear
that there was obvious need for us to look
at the final outcome of the exercise. But
we were not fortunate to participate in that
final stage, otherwise it is quite clear such
would not have occurred. It is my sincere
hope that we will be fully involved in the.
review that has to now take place and any
other exercise moving forward from this
day”.
In his many appointments, many of those
who worked for the victory of the party
have reportedly been sidelined even as
there are allegations by the president’s own
years, APC has been in supremacy crisis. Since
1999, PDP in Delta has always spoken in one
voice and has its taproots in all the nooks and
crannies in the state. So, how do you expect a
confused party without a defined leadership
like the APC to be a threat to PDP? There is no
gainsaying the fact that 2019 will be a walk
over for the PDP, a party that has done so much
for Deltans.
As a prominent Urhobo politician in
Delta State, do you see the Urhobos
voting for Okowa in 2019, considering
allegations of lopsided appointments
by his administration?
Don’t be deceived by the antics of the
opposition and political jobbers, the Urhobos
will vote massively for the PDP in all elections
in 2019. Don’t forget that the PDP, from 1999
till date, has carried the Urhobos along both
at the federal and state levels. This is about the
first time that the Urhobos are grossly
marginalized at the federal level despite the
fact that it is the fifth if not the fourth largest
ethnic nationality in the country. Here in Delta,
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the PDP gave
lieutenants that 50 per cent of his
appointees are members of the PDP.
Tinubu may, in fact, have to remind the
President of his promise in October last
year to expand the “compressed” Federal
Executive Council, FEC, as well as
announce a rash of other appointments to
cater for the demography of supporters
marginalized since 2015.
Tinubu versus Odigie-Oyegun
There is no love-lost between these two.
The frosty relationship between Tinubu
and Chief Odigie-Oyegun became
officially public in September 2016 when
Tinubu’s Media Office issued a statement
denouncing the role of the national
chairman in the conduct of the party’s
governorship primaries in Ondo State.
“The party was supposed to buttress APC
members elected to government at all
levels. Because of Oyegun’s conduct of our
affairs, the party is rapidly becoming an
albatross to those it was meant to help.”
“On the chopping block, lies the future
of the political party in which the majority
of voters had placed their confidence. To
rescue the party, Oyegun must go. He has
shown that he and democratic, fair play
cannot exist in the same party at the same
time. If Tinubu is to choose between John
Oyegun and progress toward a better
Nigeria, the choice has already been
made,” the statement concluded.
Odigie-Oyegun swiftly responded two
weeks later when he debunked the
insinuations by Tinubu that his actions in
the Ondo State primary were influenced
the Urhobos and other ethnic groups in the
state their fair share in terms of political
appointments and infrastructural
development. Going by this, I can tell you that
the Urhobos are for the PDP. We the Urhobos
are no fools; it is safer and better for us in the
Central to support the re-election of Okowa.
We must not forget that our son, Chief James
Onanefe Ibori, did two terms, and our brother,
Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, from the
South, also did two terms; therefore, it is only
fair and just to allow Okowa, from the North,
who is doing very well despite the economic
downturn, to get a second term. It will be
foolish of us to vote for another person from
Delta North in 2019, knowing well that he will
seek re-election in 2023. It is a common
knowledge that the Urhobos and Ika people
have political affiliation from the days of
NCNC till date. The Ikas supported Jereton
Mariere, Felix Ibru and James Ibori. The Ika
people even voted for the late Chief Daniel
Okumagba of NPN in 1979.
What do you have to say about former
President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter
Tinubu: When an Aggrieved-in-
Chief Becomes a Trouble Shooter
The emergence of Bukola
Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as
Senate President and
Speaker, respectively, as
against the duo of Ahmed
Lawan and Femi
Gbajabiamila, Tinubu’s
candidates, has been a major
cause of disagreement in the
APC
by money as he affirmed that nobody has
the kind of money to buy his conscience.
“This reckless and baseless corruption
allegation levelled against me is
unfortunate and an insult to my person and
my hard-earned reputation which I have
strongly maintained. Nobody has the kind
of money that can buy my conscience or
make me do injury to an innocent man. In
all the primaries conducted under my
watch as National Chairman, I have
strived to ensure a free, fair, transparent
and credible process,” Odigie-Oyegun
deposed.
Tinubu/Buhari versus NASS
The emergence of Bukola Saraki and
Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and
Speaker, respectively, as against the duo
of Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila,
Tinubu’s candidates, has been a major
cause of disagreement in the APC.
The president’s aloofness in the
circumstance led to some form of badblood
between some elements in the
presidency and some in Tinubu’s camp.
But that was not all. For, on the other
hand, there has been a fractious
relationship between the federal legislators
and the executive. From the issue of the
suspension of constituency allowance, nonimplementation
of parliamentary
resolutions, the wanton disregard for
parliament by some executive appointees,
to the trial of Senate President Bukola
Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal,
and at the Federal High Court for alleged
forgery of Senate Rules, the executivelegislature
relationship has been like that
of a cat and mouse.
Rivers of crisis
One of the flash-points the reconciliation
committee must deal with is the Rivers’
crisis between Transport Minister and
Rivers APC leader, Rotimi Amaechi, and
Sen. Magnus Abe, over who flies the party
flag for the next governorship is stretching
divisions in the party and threatening its
chances. A clan of the pro-Abe supporters,
tagged Rivers East APC Stakeholders,
from Ameachi’s Ikwerre enclave, on
February 6, 2018, in Port Harcourt,
proclaimed Abe as the “overwhelming
choice” as governorship candidate for
2019. Present on the occasion were Rep
Member representing Ikwerre Emuohua
Federal Constituency, Chidi Wihioka,
Allwell Onyesoh, Adokiye Oruwan, Tony
Okocaha, Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff,
Golden Chioma, former lawmaker,
Chibuiko Akarolo, former Mayor of Port
Harcourt City among others. But last
weekend, Amaechi ended the mind game
to President Muhammadu Buhari?
Obasanjo spoke the minds of Nigerians. The
Buhari-led APC administration has failed
Nigerians in all aspects of governance. This is
a government that cannot even guarantee
security of lives and property in the country, let
alone putting food on their table. Under the
watch of Buhari, thousands of Nigerians are
being killed and maimed by rampaging
herdsmen. Today, majority of Nigerians cannot
afford three square meals daily due to the poor
economic policies of the APC government; fuel
has gone far out of the reach of the poor; cost
of staple food has also gone up, people find it
difficult to pay medical bills and meet their
social and economic obligations. The dollar
has continued to rise against the naira; the
future of Nigerians is bleak under the Buhari
government. I therefore implore President
Muhammadu Buhari to heed the wise counsel
of Olusegun Obasanjo by quitting office and
bidding himself goodbye from Aso Rock in
2019. The National Chairman of the PDP,
Prince Uche Secondus, had, in his acceptance
speech at the Eagle Square on December 10,
2017, served quit notice on the Buhari
government, Obasanjo only reaffirmed the
position of the PDP.
of silence, stoking the conflict apparently
having had it with the speculations. “No
fight in the APC. I am not in any way
stopping Abe from running for the
governorship, but what I know is that I will
not support him. Abe is daring me, an
Ikwerre son. He is abusing me every day. I
will ensure I use Ikwerre vote on him”, he
exploded at a meeting in Port Harcourt
with Ikwerre APC Chiefs and Elders’
Forum, IACEF.
State of the States
Virtually all the state chapters of the
APC are embroiled in one form of crisis
or the other, but while some may be
described as ‘low-level’ conflicts and so
would not be mentioned here, there are
those that should not just be glossed over
by Asiwaju Tinubu.
1. Ondo State: Borrofice Versus
Akeredolu.
2. Kogi State:
a. Faleke Versus Yahaya Bello;
b. Dino Melaye/APC Exco Vs Yahaya
Bello
3. Bauchi State: Speaker Dogara Versus
Gov. Mohammed Abubakar
4. Kaduna State: Sen. Shehu Sani
versus Gov. El-Rufai
5. Oyo State: Adebayo Shittu versus Gov.
Ajimobi
6. Ogun State: Sen. Adeola-Yayi versus
Gov. Amosun
7. Kano State: Sen. Kwankwaso versus
Gov. Ganduje
8. Zamfara State: Sen. Marafa versus
Gov. Yari
9. Rivers State: Amaechi versus Sen.
Magnus Abe
10. Imo State: Gov. Okorocha versus
Sen. Ifeanyi Ararume
11. Edo State: Oyegun versus
Oshiomhole
12. Bayelsa: Timipre Sylva versus APC
State Exco
13. Abia: APC elders versus Minister of
Trade and Investment, Okechukwu
Enelama.
14. Gombe: Sen. Danjuma Goje vs.
(disbanded) State APC Eco
15. Ekiti: Segun Oni versus Fayemi
16. Osun: Aregbesola versus Lasun
17. Lagos: Ambode vs. APC National
Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire.
18. Delta: Erue Jones-led Exco versus
some party bigwigs.
19. Adamawa: Gov. Jubrilla Bindow
versus ex-Gov. Nyako, Sen. Nyako and Mr
Nuhu Ribadu.
20. Cross River: State Exco versus Niger
Delta Affairs minister, Pastor Usani
Nguru.
Tinubu may also want to wade into the
rivalry between the DSS and EFCC as
well as the reported animosity between
the NSA and COS, Abba Kyari. Who
knows? The solution could pretty lie in
his bosom. In any case, the lesson for the
president is that people like Timi Frank
may not just be alarmists but could prove
useful as crisis-indicators, going forward.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18 , 2018, Page 13

PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Mafia groups
in Italy and
Nigeria
involved in
human
trafficking
—Gov Obaseki
•‘Our people are better today in Edo
than during PDP years’
•Explains how Oshiomhole laid solid
foundation for development in Edo
•Governor
Godwin
Obaseki
By Simon Ebegbulem
He is just a workaholic like his predecessor, Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole. Getting this interview from him was not easy.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State prioritises state issues
above any issue; but when Sunday Vanguard and some foreign
journalists were able to track him, he bared his mind and experiences on
several issues, particularly the troubling migrant/human trafficking
crisis in the state. He insists that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot
fix in three years, what the PDP destroyed in sixteen years. Excerpts:
After one year and two
months in office, how has it
been?
If you’d asked me four years ago if I
will be in politics, I wouldn’t have
believed it is possible. I had
come to assist four years
ago, when former governor
Adams Oshiomhole was
here. Especially from the
economic planning aspect
and institutional building,
respectively, and that gave
me an opportunity to learn.
I was able to understand the
nature of government, what
is required to be able to fix
problems. Honestly, I was
not knowledgeable about
politics until I made a
decision to run and I had to
go through the political
torture of seeking
nomination
and
campaigning for elections.
It was a great experience.
In terms of governance, I
really did not appreciate the
level of poverty before. May
be some of us were
privileged but on the whole
people were fairly selfsufficient.
I can’t remember
any of my classmates going
to bed hungry a night. The
level of poverty growing
was not that obvious; then
we were a bit agrarian. But
coming to serve as
governor, it hit me how
poor people have become
and how that has
translated into a lot of
social dislocation and
infrastructural decay,
Illegal migration
has taken a new
dimension. It was
not just about
the girls going to
Europe, it has
become more
serious, so many
people were
getting involved,
so many people
were losing their
lives and as a
government we
have a
responsibility to
deal with it
just
because
government could not
do what is expected of it.
So, that was what struck
me, I just could not
understand why things
went so bad. But upon
further examination I
realized that it is really
an issue of leadership
and my predecessor in
office, Comrade
Oshiomhole, proved it.
Before Oshiomhole
came into power, we did
not have a dualized road
in this town, all the roads
you drive through now
never existed before he
came. There were no
street lights before.
Unfortunately the
economy had become
so distorted and import
dependent, there was no
production going on, everybody was
trading. No wonder our young boys
and girls decided to go abroad for
greener pastures.
So what were the first things
you did to tackle that?
For us the first thing we did was
accepting that there was a problem.
But even in our political debates and
conversations, everybody pretended
about it. Again you have to
understand the economics of
migration, they are people who
support their families at home from
proceeds they get over there, so most
politicians don’t want to talk about it
because they know there will be a
back clash. Illegal migration has
taken a new dimension. It was not just
about the girls going to Europe, it has
become more serious, so many
people were getting involved, so
many people were losing their lives
and as a government we have a
responsibility to deal with it. So, that
acceptance that they was a crisis led
us to all other things we did, like
setting up a Task Force to deal with
the situation. That was why we
domesticated the national laws and
made it stiffer and that task force
began to develop more responses to
the entire spectrum of the problem.
First how do you deal with the
returnees, how do you resettle them,
how do you reintegrate them? From
reports the task force has done very
well, you can verify the progresses
of the task force.
The other issue was that yes we
knew there was a problem but we did
not realize how large the problem
was and we never expected that the
repatriations was going to involve a
large number very quickly. So we
were not really prepared financially
for that but we are coping. Though
we have been stretched and that is
why we are reaching out to the
Federal Government and donor
partners this month, February, to see
how we can get resources to deal with
the size of the problem. And the way
we see it, first thing is advocacy,
trying to make them see the hazards
Continues on page 15

Continued from page 14
and the risk associated with being
trafficked. So we put up a team that is
always at the airports, any time we
have an Edo team back home we
welcome them, transport them back
to Benin, run a medical check on
them, counsel them, give them
stipends and put them in skill
programmes to help them rebuild self
confidence and open up
opportunities for them for jobs.
We are beginning to expand the
dialogue with the Federal
Government and I am sure that the
Federal Government, like the local
authority, did not appreciate the
extent of the size of the problem until
the international media exposed it. I
have discussed it with our President,
who himself as a father is touched by
the situation. He is one man that feels
disturbed with situations like this and
killings and he is doing something too
to help the situation.
We learnt that a strong cartel
and some confraternities are
involved in this trafficking?
It was not in my conscience, I did
not appreciate it until we went to
Rome, where we had a session with
the Italian parliament and the
security forces, and in their briefing
they narrated how the Nigerian
confraternities got involved, that
there is actually a Nigerian mafia that
runs the trade in collaboration with
the Italian mafia.
For us as a government, it is just to
focus on law and order and
strengthen the institutions such as
the police, the judiciary, the prison
system, just to ensure that these
institutions work. So, we don’t single
out any special group for special
action. Just strengthen the
institution and people will respect
themselves. And to do this, we started
to upgrade the courts by rebuilding
and expanding the courts. We had
situations in this town where some
persons felt they were above the law,
that they were powerful. But we had
to remind them of the rule of law and
that laws are meant to be obeyed.
My predecessor started the
process of dismantling the
strongholds of strong men.
Before now few people in the PDP
were in charge, they just allocate the
resources to themselves. But when
Oshiomhole came in, he started
dismantling these people, we call
them the god fathers. For me the
foundation has already been laid and
that was what influenced my decision
to get into politics. We replaced those
strongholds with institutions which
is the background that I come from.
Improved voting system and
development
The voting system has been aided
by technology our democracy is
maturing. Before now our
democracy had its imperfection, the
voting system, but that changed
radically with technology. Today it
is much more difficult to manipulate
elections. Even if you are going to do
that, you need human beings to go
and vote. You just cannot conjure
figures like it used to be in the past.
Our electoral laws have been
amended to strengthen the electoral
process. What we found in my
election - like I said I had a gruelling
campaign because we had to ensure
that the bad guys don’t come back to
power and set Edo backward - a lot of
people were convinced that
Oshiomhole did a lot of work while in
office and that work needed to
continue. Whereas I had a lot of
opposition from the political class, a
lot of people who believed in the
achievement of Oshiomhole went out
to vote and for me that was quite
instructive. As a governor, if you
work and improve the lives of the
people, they will see that their lives
have improved, they will support you
in office. And I can tell you today that
we have improved upon what my
predecessor did, we are building
roads, improving our
infrastructures, we are building one
of the biggest industrial parks in this
country if not in Africa. We have the
Gelegele seaport project which will
create jobs and accelerate economic
activities in this state and the South
South. It has not been easy but we are
focused on what we want to achieve as a
party. I am aware that the opposition PDP
keeps talking, dishing out lies to members
of the public and boasting that in 2019, it
will come back. Let them be talking while
we are working. And in 2019 both here
in Edo and Nigeria, APC’s performance
will give us victory. Our people are wiser
now, they can no longer be fooled. You
see this same people blaming President
Buhari forget that for sixteen years PDP
was in power but never saved for the
nation when crude was sold for between
$100/1400 per barrel. They led this
country for sixteen good years without
any meaningful development and you
are blaming a government that is barely
three years in power, that is crazy.
President Buhari is sincere in curbing
corruption, insecurity and revamping
the economy and we must all give him
the desired support to achieve those
goals. What is it that the PDP left in Aso
Rock that its members are dreaming of
going back to take. It cannot work, we
have passed that stage. Things may be
tough but with the way the President is
tackling the issues, we will come out of it.
•Governor
Godwin
Obaseki
'Our people are
better today in
Edo than during
PDP years’
You cannot fix sixteen
years’ problem in just
three years, it is not
possible. In Edo today we
have no PDP, all we have
are political jobbers who
go out to collect money
and call press
conferences where they
say all sorts of rubbish
against the government.
These same guys
destroyed all we stand for
as a state until God used
Oshiomhole to rescue
us. We are moving
forward and we can
never go backward.
But it seems the issue
of cultism is so
prevalent in Edo, how
are you dealing with
that?
For me, what we have
done is to start with
rebuilding basic
education. Begin to look
at the curriculum,
improve the physical
environment where
these students learn,
clean up the basic
education system, give
them access to
technology and that
freezes their mind. The
first thing we did was to
take charge of the
schools, so they will know that
somebody is incharge. Then we
strengthened the Ministry of
Education and trained educational
SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 15
administrators and putting in place the
right incentives for them. But whatever
happens in the schools is a reflection
of the larger society. If you cannot get
away with misbehaviour at the
political level then it is difficult for it to
happen in the school system. So my
hope is to get a lot more transparency
into our schools, deal with the
fundamental problem about who pays
because if government cannot pay,
why not open it up and allow people
who can pay go there. If your family is
paying a huge sum of money for your
education let’s see how you will go
there and spend time in cultism rather
than the investment your parents are
making on you. That will be wasting the
money and you will be in trouble in
For me the
foundation
has already
been laid and
that was what
influenced
my decision
to get into
politics. We
replaced
those
strongholds
with
institutions
which is the
background
that I come
from
the family. Part of the problem we
are having now is that some teachers
seem not to know what to do, they don’t
publish, they don’t teach, they
encourage malpractices, sexual
harassment from the top. We want
proprietors to conform with
international best practices if I must
keep them. I won’t tolerate these
immoralities. Initially our children
went into schools, they did not pay for
anything, they wanted free education.
But I said now what we should do is
that they should pay something
because those of them who go abroad
for education understand that they
have to get value for what is being
invested in them. So we are beginning
to change that mind-set that university
education cannot be free.
You are not the typical
politician but a technocrat, how
has it been coping with political
matters?
I am trying to explain to people, that
yes I have powers as a governor but
those powers must be tempered, I am
not an imperial monarch. For instance
in the last primaries of the APC for our
local government election, some
people came and said please make me
chairman but I said please I cannot
make you chairman, it is the people that
will make you chairman. Oshiomhole
ended the politics of godfatherism and
we cannot behave like the godfathers.
So we don’t impose people, the people
decide who their leaders should be,
that is our policy. Infact in Oredo my
brother contested as chairman and
people expected me to support him.
But I felt morally it is not right, other
governors may do it but I cannot. I felt it
is not morally right because we are both
from the same ward and local
government. So it has not been
easy, but our political leaders in
the APC understand me better
now and they know we must
continue to deliver on our
promises to the people and not
get distracted by politics. Our
people now understand that
good deeds, developmental
progress, stable polity, sound
economic foundation and
development are the things that
make for progress and not
godfathers.
We understood there was
an outbreak of Lassa fever
in some parts of the state,
what is the situation now?
Everything is under control
now. It was a bit worrisome in
the beginning but it is now
under control; it is not Ebola.
We had issues with that in
some parts of Edo State; we had
to approve some money to buy
equipment and drugs in the
hospital to support the
doctors. You know the Irrua
hospital is a federal hospital
and a referral center for lassa
fever in Nigeria. We saw that
some things were lacking in
the hospital and we had to
assist because our people are
involved. We have patients
from Ebonyi, Kano, Kogi and
many other states there but
of course the staff there are
mainly from Edo state and
that is the danger. So we had
to get drugs, power generating sets
and other equipment needed to
check the spread of the disease.

PAGE 16 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
The President we have versus
the President we need (5)
“Buhari reinstates NHIS
boss under probe for alleged
N919m fraud.”
It was vintage Buari and
not totally unexpected
given the man’s age. Most old
men, like dried crayfish, are
impossible to bend. They are
as stubborn as iron bars and
don’t give a damn what others
think. Thus when I read that
the Executive Secretary of the
National Health Insurance
Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf,
who was placed on
suspension by the Minister of
Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole
for alleged corrupt practices
had been ordered reinstated
– without prosecution, trial
and acquittal by a court of law
– by our “indefatigable
corruption fighter” President
Buhari, I smiled. Prof. Usman
Yusuf is from Katsina and
Daura, naturally.
When I wrote in January this
year that Buhari’s bigotry,
incompetence and nepotism
threaten Nigeria, one of his
“brothers” sent me a text
message announcing that the
“Fulanis will rule Nigeria for
ever whether you Yorubas like
it or not.” The damn fool was
not there when Buhari
crawled into Lagos to strike a
deal with Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu and the South West
massively voted for him in
2015 when he won. In 2011,
with the SW voting for
Jonathan he lost and cried all
the way to Daura. He will lose
the SW vote in 2019
irrespective of what he does.
We will not forget the
replacement of Oke with
Abubakar from Daura and
the open humiliation of Prof
Adewole in order to protect
Prof Yusuf.
It immediately reminded
one of the treatment granted
to Maina by the same
President whose anticorruption
credentials have
been torn to shreds by the man
himself. Never again will
Buhari be named among the
nation’s strong corruption
fighters. Mainagate, we must
remind our readers, is
languishing under the
bulging carpet in the Vice
President’s office – where it
had been swept. Pastor
Osinbajo has become the
eager recipient of all the
garbage Buhari wants swept
out of view. Serving God and
mammon at the same time is
perilous business as the
Redeemed “Man of God” is
finding out.
Yusuf joins the lengthening
list of “our brothers and
sisters” from the North, who
had been given a
“handshake” while the Olisa
Methus of this world had
received the hammer.
Nepotism, parochialism and
injustice have never been so
openly wrapped in every
measure taken by the man
who promised to be fair to all.
The Permanent Secretary,
Northerner naturally, whose
tenure was extended twice
remains fresh in our memory.
Charity for Buhari not only
begins at home; it stays
permanently there. Is
nepotism itself not corruption
by other means?
That brings me to a
continuation of the
introductory profile of Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, GCON and
former Vice President of
Nigeria under Obasanjo,
1999-2007. He was one of the
founding fathers of the
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, started by late Dr Alex
Ekwueme, GCON.
Collectively, the leaders of the
PDP made the grievous error
of having Obasanjo imposed
on them in 1999. He
proceeded to wreck the party
by destroying its constitution
and imposing people at will.
OBJ’s culture of imposition
later destroyed the PDP under
Jonathan and brought an end
to the party’s rule – making
people like Vincent
Ogbulafor look foolish for
predicting a seventy-year-rule.
As cruel fate would have it,
Atiku and Obasanjo might be
getting set for another battle.
As far back as 2005, when the
former VP was nursing the
ambition of making another
attempt at the presidency, I
had warned Atiku as follows:
“AFTER OBASANJO:
THE CASE FOR ATIKU -- 2
DELE SOBOWALE
“Every hero becomes a bore
at last”—Ralph Waldo
Emerson 1803-1882
Every potential presidential
candidate for the 2007
elections must regard
President Obasanjo as his
main opponent despite the
flurry of denials by those
claiming to be his close friends
and associates. Many
suffering from a critical case
of amnesia, have forgotten or
choose to forget that the same
Obasanjo in June 1998,
shortly after his release from
prison, denied any
presidential ambitions. If the
man reneged on a voluntary
promise in 1998, what is to
prevent him from breaking
his promises again? After all,
to politicians and
“militicians” alike: “
Promises are like pie crusts;
made to be broken” according
to Jonathan Swift ( 1667-
1745 ). Distrusting Obasanjo
is the beginning of wisdom.
Instead of relying on his
promises, we would be well
advised to make it impossible
for him to prolong his stay.”
Obasanjo, like the
proverbial bad penny, is back
in 2018 to torment presidential
candidates and in another
attempt to impose his
candidate on Nigeria. Having
made a public show of tearing
up his PDP party card and
virtually throwing out the
Makarfi-led party delegation,
which ill-advisedly went to beg
him to return, he now realizes
that he cannot return to the PDP.
As long as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
remains in the All Progressives
Congress, APC, the gates
remain shut in his face there. It
is out of desperation to remain
relevant that he has embarked
on the Third Force adventure.
Those following him, like a
pack of lemmings racing for
self-destruction, are wasting
Distrusting Obasanjo
is the beginning of
wisdom. Instead of
relying on his
promises, we would
be well advised to
make it impossible for
him to prolong his
stay
their time and chances. OBJ,
like a leper cannot milk a cow,
but can render the milk
undrinkable for others by
dipping his diseased fingers in
the pail. He still cannot on his
own win an election in his ward,
his Local Government,
Senatorial district or state
without the PDP umbrella. He
is a spoiler and nothing more
and we are witnesses to the
damage his selfishness did to
Nigeria when in 2007 he
imposed Yar’Adua and
Jonathan on us. Unpatriotic
elements who helped Obasanjo
to wreck the PDP and Nigeria
have since been humiliated
politically.
Of all the things I have read
about Obasanjo’s adventure
into third party formation,
nobody has been able to pinpoint
his major reason for
taking the plunge. Let me tell
you now.
OBJ is motivated by
FEAR. The emergence of
Makarfi and Atiku as PDP
presidential candidates,
when the APC has a bad
product on its hands, has
opened the possibility that
Buhari’s successor might be
one of those two. When that
happens, a full probe of
Obasanjo’s administration
from 1999 to 2007 will be
conducted. And, you can bet
the self-righteous former
president will be exposed.
The least of his allegations
was the Peugeot 607
purchased for a lady of easy
virtue from the Petroleum
Development Trust Fund.
PDTF.
Of the two people, the one
who really terrifies
Obasanjo is Atiku. The
Turaki was one of Obasanjo’s
major benefactors. He
helped to pay his debts after
his release from prison in
1998. And, this was what this
eminently generous man
said about the ingrate he
helped to become President
in 1999.
On September 22, 1998,
Atiku, who did not know
Obasanjo very well
announced as follows: I
think we are getting to a
stage that when he
[Obasanjo] gets back from
his overseas tour, we will
approach him to accept the
presidency.” In his bid for the
third term, Atiku, who
helped him to clinch first and
second terms, was his
number one enemy. OBJ
forced the man out of the
PDP which Atiku had helped
to form while Baba Iyabo
was still in prison.
Atiku even saved his life
while in prison. After
Yar’Adua was poisoned, it
was Obasanjo’s turn to go by
injection. Atiku got the
information and went to
OBJ to warn him against
taking accepting injections
for treatment of anything.
Sure enough, a few weeks after
Abacha’s “Doctor Death”
came to administer injection.
Some of the inmates of the
prison still recollect Baba
shouting “I don’t want
injection; I don’t want to die
like Yar’Adua!!”
Obasanjo is mortally afraid
that if Atiku wins, he might be
back in jail for the rest of his
life.
TINUBU SENT ON
ERRAND BY BUHARI
“Here lies our sovereign lord,
the king, whose promise none
relies on; he never said a foolish
thing; nor ever did a wise
one.”—John Wilnot, 1647-
1680, English statesman.
(VANGUARD BOOK OF
QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 231.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is on
my short list of politicians
who can never be insulted on
this page for too many
reasons. But, most of all, I
admire his ingenuity and guts.
With somebody else running
the errand, it would have been
dismissed as a “fool’s errand”.
Virtually no month ends
without Buhari reminding us
that his brand of democracy
is “government of Daura, by
Daura and for Daura”. In
January it was Abubakar of
Daura appointed as the
Director General of the
National Intelligence Agency,
NIA. He joins Daura of the
DSS who naturally comes
from Daura as our top security
chiefs. In Februart, it was Prof.
Yusuf of Daura, who, despite
facing corruption charges,
was reinstated to humiliate
the Minister of Health who
placed him on suspension.
Before my brother Asiwaju
sets out on this errand, he
should go and ask Buhari a
question. Has he been sent out
to reconcile those who insist
that APC must fight
corruption and those, like
Buhari, who are now
subverting the anti-corruption
fight? And which side will
prevail? The lovers of Yusuf
or those who stand for equal
justice?.....
Everything has an end
‘Everything has an end’.
There is an end to everything,
to good things as well.-Chaucer
All things must end
sometime. This was the case
of would he or would he not.
South Africa’s President Jacob
Zuma for a long time was the
Teflon Don- nothing stuck to
this man; he was able to come
out of any scandal, corruption,
fraud and other scraps with
hardly any political damage
until now. Like a cat with nine
lives, he very well used up all
nine lives and more.
Zuma dug his heels in and
was refusing to go despite
mounting pressure from his
own party, the African
National Congress (ANC).
Despite the party’s
constitutional direction that
the head of the party, becomes
the nation’s president Cyril
Ramaphosa was duly elected,
thereby unseating Zuma as
the party head. The writing
was on wall but Zuma
ignored it. Zuma was defiant
and his determination not to
concede was the defining
moment that galvanized
South Africans that,this time,
Zuma must go. Despite
having some support within
the top echelons of the party,
it was not enough this time to
save his political life. This was
a monumental fall from grace
and they told him in no certain
terms that,he had over stayed
his welcome; he had lost their
confidence to lead them. Like
many leaders in Africa in
particular, he had abused and
over stayed his position as a
leader. And repeatedly the
people spoke, protested and
told him in every way possible.
They wanted him out. They
were ready for change.
He finally stepped down on
Wednesday as President of
South Africa and in his
resignation speech, he tried to
salvage some dignity from his
tattered and bruised ego. He
said: “No life should be lost
in my name and also the ANC
should never be divided in my
name. I have therefore come
to the decision to resign as
President of the republic with
immediate effect.”
And after his resignation
announcement, Zuma said he
‘disagreed with the decision
of his political party and that
he had always been a
“disciplined member of the
ANC. As I leave I will
continue to serve the people
of South Africa as well as the
ANC, the organization I have
served all of my life.”
Of course, he would say
that, wouldn’t he? But the rest
of the nation disagreed with
him. He has no legacy of note
and he did not serve his
country well as much as he
served himself and his
pockets. And I do not think
they would miss him, in fact
they are celebrating.
Zuma, is a fallen hero and
he lost the respect of his people
over the years. He became an
embarrassment . He may
have had some respect way
back but he lost it a long time
ago. He miscalculated and
he took for granted the level
of support he had within the
ANC, hoping that only that
could see him through. He
was wrong this time.
In Nigeria, the politicos
should take note and this
should serve as a lesson, that
power of the people carries
weight. Politicians should
know that the interests of the
people are ultimate and
should matter most.
There is a limit to how much
charisma will take a leader
and no matter the loyalty of
the people, they would rather
have a leader who can lead
effectively and affect positive
change in their lives.
Crucially, to be in power and
leadership is not a lifelong
ambition, it is definitely not
the end goal. For those who
hold on to power in spite of
their ineptitude and
corruption ways, they should
know that there is an end to
everything and that no one lasts
forever
Running out of
water
South Africa’s Cape Town
could run out of water by April
due to the city’s worst drought
in a century. It is now a common
sight to see its residents queuing
for emergency water rations.
They are preparing for “Day
Zero” - the date taps they fear
that the taps are due to run dry
– estimated to be on April 22.
The city is hard though at work
building desalination plants
Politicians should
know that the interests
of the people are
ultimate and should
matter most
and drilling underground
boreholes to avert disaster. The
city has numerous campaigns,
educating its residents on how
to ration water and to avoid
wasting the precious liquid.
Despite, the dire situation, there
is calm and order and everyone
is playing their part. We cannot
take water for granted; it is
essential for life and living.
Cape Town knows this more.
And as a prosperous tourist
destination, they can ill afford,
an enforced drought. It could
cripple their economy. Cape
Town receives close to 2
million tourists a year. It’s
travel and tourism
accounted for an estimated
9 per cent or 412 billion rand
($33 billion) of South
Africa’s economic output last
year, according to the World
Travel and Tourism Council.
Cape Town will take this in
their stride and they are
determined to find a solution
to the water shortage before
Day Zero. I have no doubt
that they will.
Bobsled: Nigerian Spirit
We are rooting for the
national ladies bobsled
team, who, against all odds,
are participating in the
winter Olympics in South
Korea. Their story and
journey are characteristic of
the true Nigerian spirit of
determination and tenacity.
They are a source of national
pride. It took a determined
athlete with an idea and hard
work, and sharing her
dreams with like-minded
people and they made this
impossible dream come
alive. When they started out,
there were no means of
funding, but it did not stop
these ladies, they crowd
funded and inspired millions
of people at home and
abroad and they finally got
the funding, international
publicity and enforcement
from Visa! Who tells you
dreams don’t come true!
Well, they definitely had not
met these impressive and
determined Nigerian
ladies.
Now for those, who are
afraid to dream big, they
should know this; you either
dream big and graft until you
make it happen or not at all.
Fortune favours the brave,
they say!
And for those who do believe
in their dreams, I hope the
Nigerian bobsled ladies serve
as an inspiration to you to
follow your dreams.
Whatever their success in
South Korea, they have the
support of the nation and they
have singularly lifted the
positive image of Nigerian by
their sheer dedication, charm
and commitment.
The snake
swallowed the
money!
When would Nigerians stop
pulling a fast one!? No matter
the age, there is always a
hustler trying to pull a fast one
over the eyes of others with tall
stories and it does not get
more bizarre and incredulous
than this. The account
saleswoman working for the
Nigerian exam board
claimed that a snake
swallowed the missing 36
million naira ($100,000;
£72,000) when auditors
raised the alarm of the
missing money. She also tried
to point accusing finger at
her house help and one of her
colleagues but this failed to
convince the investigation
officials from Nigeria’s
examination body, the Joint
Admissions and
Matriculation Board
(JAMB), who have suspended
the story teller. Only in
Nigeria!
C
M
YK

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRAURY 18, 2018, PAGE 17
Mercy Johnson Goes Sensational On Hubby:
Hundred hearts not
enough to carry my love
They say when the Roman god Child of
love, Cupid, goes to town, shooting his
arrows in different directions, very few
people smitten by love can escape unscathed.
Last Wednesday which was St Valentine’s Day
was certainly an open season for the arrowshooting
baby god and one of our celebrities
who got stock in the line of fire is A-list
Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson-Okojie.
It is a common knowledge that the amiable
and curvy mother of three never let go of any
opportunity to gush over her love for her
husband, Prince Odi Okojie. So, it was no big
surprise when she hit the Instragram so early
on St. Valentine’s Day to pen a romantic
missive to her better half.
“A Hundred Hearts Will Be Too Few To Carry
My Love For You. Happy Val’s Day
@princeodiokojie .Happy Val’s Day Friends
and What are your plans? My own plenty ooo
with My kids on Break and looking at me like
“na we and you
today,” she writes.
Out of curiosity, Potpourri went after the
Kogi ebony beauty, to know what she had
planned for the big lovers’ day, with an intent
to know if the hubby or her three kids comes
first on her to-do list.
“ I am not torn between my hubby and
my children. My hubby has his final exams
to graduate, so, I will hang out with the kids
till my date is done writing his exams. After
his exams we can go on a dinner like he
promised. Besides, everyday is Val’s day to
us,” she replied.
Sometime ago, rumour went wild that
the screen diva was having problems with
her hubby as a result of a slight glitch on
her Instagram page but it was soon
dispelled. When she was asked if she’s not
running a risk by flaunting her private
affairs on social media, she said it is God
that decides such matters.
“ God decides that, not us humans,” she
replied.
•Mercy Johnson-
Okojie and hubby
•Anita Joseph
Anita a Joseph reveals her altar
ar-bound
lover is a farmer
Hot and relentlessly visible Nollywood actress, Anita Joseph, has never made St.
Valentine’s Day a big issue but the last one was a bit of something special to the
voluptuous screen diva as she celebrated the day with some romantic aplomb. For
some time now, a small rumour that the actress has been swept off her feet and that
she may be heading to the altar pretty soon has been playing on the lips of her close
friends and what she posted on Val’s day may just be the seal on the rumour
lurking in the dark.
Like many in love, Anita Joseph joined the train on Wednesday by penning a
romantic missive to her mysterious lover, on her Instagram, tagging the short
missive “Letter to my Lover”
Anita wrote:”My heartbeat the only man who understands me and loves
me wholeheartedly. Being with a woman like me ain’t easy because of my
kind of job. I am here today and there tomorrow But you still help me plan
me. I love you everyday and always. Cheers to all the strong men in
every entertainer’s life. E no easy,thanks for being our
number one fan.s”
Of course, Anita gave a bit of hint during her
birthday a couple of weeks ago that her heart is
taken by stating in one of her many birthday posts
that she would celebrate her next birthday as Mrs so
and so, but coy on revealing the name of the lucky guy.
When Potpourri prodded her to give the name or any
hint on the identity of the lover, the hipsy actress
declined, saying she wants this very private.
But whether as a joke or not, when asked
what the guy does for a living as he is not
into entertainment, the actress replied
wryly, “ He’s a farmer”.
I wasn’t really nude as portrayed in picture –
Moyo Lawal
Feisty, wild and effervescent Nollywood actress,
Moyo Lawal has been accused of many things
since her career hit top note. Love her, hate her, the
Lagos-born sexy diva has a way of getting away
with things most of her colleagues wouldn’t dare.
But her latest stunt, where she posted a picture
that portrayed her as being totally unclad, with
some of her coveted assets peeping out of their
sacred places, has got tongues wagging and even
some screaming that the actress has crossed the
line this time.
But in a phone chat with Potpourri she
explained the picture and stated emphatically
that she was not nude in the picture, saying it was
mere illusion.
“ I think you saw the picture without a caption
on it. I was promoting a Beauty Line launched
by a fellow actress, Mimi Ojiekwe, it is called
Flawless by Mimi. If you go on Instablog you will
see the write up. It’s about promoting her Beauty
Line called Flawless by Mimi, she is advertising
the highlights. She has used Ebube Nwagbo, Onyi
Alex and a few other people. If you go on her page
or on Instablog you will see what the story is about,”
she said.
On whether she’s unclad or not in the picture, she
explained: “It is not totally unclad, I’m wearing
something, it’s not nude, it is just promoting highlight,
it’s an illusion to make it look like I’m not wearing
anything but if you look well you will see it because
it is obvious. It is just a campaign to promote her
Beauty Line, Flawless by Mimi.
•Moyo Lawal
DStv celebrates
Hollywood’s finest with
iconic movies on M-net
Movies Oscars Pop-Up
Channel
Ahead of the Oscars next
month and in the spirit of
celebrating movie industry
talents, DStv has created Oscars
Pop-Up Channel (DStv 109). The
channel not only showcases
movies, but some of the biggest
talents to have ever been
nominated or won the coveted
Academy Awards. More iconic
movies are lined up to keep DStv
customers glued to their screens.
Today at 9.05pm, An Officer
and a Gentleman, starring
Richard Gere, Debra Winger and
Louis Gossett Jr, will be
available for viewing.
Available for viewing on
Saturday are Ordinary People
at 10:30am, All the President’s
Men at 5pm, Little Miss
Sunshine at 7:15pm and
Inglorious Bastards at 9pm.
On 18 February, viewers will
have the opportunity to watch
Scent of a Woman, starring Al
Pacino, at 12 pm; Crazy Heart
at 5:05pm, Training Day at
7pm, The Colour of Money at
10am, Ray at 2.35pm and The
Revenant at 9pm.
Showing on Saturday 24
February are As Good as it Gets
at 11:15am, Silver Linings
Playbook at 1:35pm, Erin
Brockovich at 3:40pm, The
Blind Side at 5:50pm, Black
Swan at 8pm and Room at
9:50pm.
On Sunday 25 February, All
About Eve will show at
11:35am. The same day, The
Artist will be on at 2pm, The
Lord of The Rings: The Return of
The King (3:40pm), Argo (7pm),
Gladiator (9pm) and
Shakespeare in Love (11.35 pm)
will be available for viewing.
C
M
YK

PAGE 18 — SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Toyin Abraham set to storm cinemas
in May with ‘The Ghost and the Tour’
After a super success with
‘Alakada Reloaded’
Nollywood
actress and producer, Toyin
Abraham, will storm cinemas come
May 11, 2017 with her latest movie
titled ‘The Ghost and the Tout
The movie follows the story of a
young and vibrant lady, Isila (Toyin
Abraham), who grew up in the cores
of a ghetto. An unforeseen event
sends her world into a series of
drama involving a murder case and
a mystery from a forbidden spiritual
event. Left with no choice, Isila
journeys on a mission to unravel
the truth also to get her life back
on track and in turn freeing a ghost from the
restlessness of his soul.
Written by Toyin Abraham, Produced by
Biodun Stephen and Directed by Charles
Uwagbai, ‘ The Ghost and The Tout’ features
talented actors like Chiwetalu Agu, Dele Odule,
Femi Adebayo, Rachel Okonkwo, Sambasa
Nzeribe, Chioma Akpotha, Omowunmi Dada,
Chigurl, Ronke Oshodi-Oke and more. It also
stars talented Instagram sensations like
Josh2funny, Cute Abiola, Bobrisky, Lasisi
Elenu, Oshisko Twins,Iya Ibadan and more.
Speaking with the actress, she said; “This is
not just an extremely hilarious and entertaining
movie; it cuts across all spheres of our lives
and realities. It deals with the several emotions
that can be felt by any human and how we let
these emotions define us.’
•Toyin
Abraham
Praiz treats five fans
to dinner for two
Afro Pop and R&B singer, Praiz
certainly had an amazing Valentine
Day as he treated five lucky fans to a lovely
dinner date for two with Praiz at the Scotch Bonnet
Restaurant. The five lucky winners who brought along
their dates or partners won the tickets after having streamed
Praiz’s newly released “2 Minutes EP.
Fans of Praiz also got a chance to call in and speak with
him and also tweeted him live on Valentine’s Day, to know
what the “Rich and Famous” crooner has been up to and
got more gist on how they can become winners of all the
goodies. He was live on air at the Beat 99.9 fm by 10 am
on February 14, and later that day by 2pm he also had
a live twitter chat with fans on the Music Plus Tweet
Guest. Fans who tuned in joined the conversation
with him, with the hashtags #LiveWithPraiz and
follow @_musicplus & @MtechNigeria .
According to the singer, the offer to dine with him
lasts till February 25, 2018 and any fan who wishes
to join him for a dinner at the Scotch Bonnet
restaurant, should subscribe to stream Praiz’ “2
minutes” EP by texting 265 to 5900 (MTN
subscribers only).
“The top 5 streamers will be selected and they get to win
dinner for two with Praiz at the Scotch Bonnet restaurant,”
he said.
Praiz who recently released his highly anticipated “2
minutes” EP is set to perform at the 100% Valentines outdoor
concert this weekend. The initiative is supported by MTECH
communications.
Achievas Entertainment
signs new talent
Achievas Entertainment
h a s
officially announced and
unveiled its newly signed act
Jephy Jay, a 20-year old boy
with an amazing talent.
Jephy Jay is a young, eclectic
and talented singer, whose
unique sound endeared him to
the Label. The Label wasted no
time in deciding to take Jephy
Jay on as one of its acts as they
believe he has what it takes to
play with the big boys.
To show that he is hitting the
ground running, Jephy Jay
official releases two songs; his
debut single ‘Ifeoma’ and a
follow up ‘No think am’.
Jephy Jay features Prolific
and legendary music producer
Don Jazzy on ‘Ifeoma’ and the
result is a love anthem that
would get you on your feet.
‘Ifeoma’ was produced by
Skoolbeatz. ‘ while No think
am’ was produced by Berry
Vick Both singles are now
available on all digital stores
worldwide.
•Praiz
•Jephy Jay
A-list celebrities grace ‘Black
Panther’ premiere in Lagos
Celebrities like Debola
Williams, Alexx Ekubo,
Ik Ogbonna, Stephanie Coker,
Lola OJ, Timini Egbuson,
Ayoola Ayola, Kas Beats,
Adunni Ade, Jumoke
Aderonmu and many more
stepped out in style for the
premiere of Black Panther on
Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at
the Genesis Cinemas, The
Palms, Lekki, Lagos.
The event which was
organized by one of Nigeria’s
biggest distribution companies,
Blue Pictures and held by
Nairabox, saw excited cinema
lovers dressed in different
classy and sophisticated
traditional attires in respect to
the origin, nature and theme of
the movie which was “African
Royalty”.
Black Panther follows
T’Challa’s actions after the
•Liz John-Black
and Timini Egbuson
at Black Panther
premiere
death of his father in Captain
America: Civil War as he returns
to Wakanda as the new king.
Speaking to a viewer actor
Timini Egbuson said; “”I have
been looking forward to this
movie. A black super hero
movie, with black casts and
directors, I’m really excited that
I get to be among the first
people to see this movie in
Nigeria. It was totally worth the
wait.”
Black Panther is the latest
installment in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe’s lineup of
movies. The movie is directed
by Ryan Coogler—director of
Creed— and stars Chadwick
Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o,
Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman
and other stellar actors.
The movie is set to open in
cinemas nationwide,`
February 16th.
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 19
Edited By AYO ONIKOYI
08052201215
onikoyi68@gmail.com
BY ROTIMI AGBANA & CHIBUIKE OKAFOR
Bright Ukpabi, better known as ‘Mr. Dutch’ is a
young afro-pop musician, record label
executive and business man who at a young age
had strong passion for music but never had the
opportunity to live his passion. After his success from
investments, he decided to establish Dutch Dreams
Records, a South African based record company. Mr.
Dutch made his music debut in Nigeria with the
release of his first official single titled ‘Carry Go’,
featuring Yung O.G and followed up with the release of
the audio and video of his latest song “She Want”. In
this interview with Potpourri, he speaks about his music
and more.
You just released a new
single “She Want” with the
video, why drop it on
Valentine’s Day?
Yes, it was planned that
way to give lovers
something to savour on
St Valentine’s Day to
spice up their romantic
imaginations and
expression. It is a love
song but I am using the
street lyrics to express
love for an African
woman in a way that
everyone can relate to
with a slow tempo,
RnB, afro-pop feel. The
inspiration came from
praising the African
woman because all
around the world
African women are
known to have
beautiful bodies. Unlike
other women around
the world who undergo
all sorts of surgery to
acquire jaw dropping
bodily endowments,
African women possess
the most attractive
feminine endowments
and body structure in
the world and that is
why I don’t mind
spending my money just to
appreciate them. Basically, I’m
passing a message to African
women telling them how
beautiful they are, appreciating
them because they have the
best physique and body
structure compared to other
women around the world .
“She Wants” video is a creation
of Dutch Dreams Records,
masterfully produced by
Kiddominant with a classic
performance visuals directed by
SOS. ‘She wants’ conveys a
cool piano strings, subtle music
with that high note in between
that chills the ears, producing
magical effects and sensational
feeling.
How did music start for you?
I’ve been into afro pop music
for a while now; my first song
was released around 2002 or
2003 and it was in a group
called ‘Basket Boys’ in Benue
State, but we later changed the
group's name to ‘Three Tribes’
because we were from three
different tribes in Nigeria.
When we started, there was no
money to finance our music;
along the line we lost one of
our members in an auto
accident in Lagos. After that,
everyone went back to school.
After graduating from Federal
University of Technology,
Owerri, I travelled to the
United States to stay with my
cousins who live there. In 2013,
I decided to establish my own
record company, that’s when I
registered Dutch Dreams
Records, then between 2014
•Mr. Dutch
African women have
the most attractive
feminine endowments
in the world – Mr Dutch
•Drops new single with video ‘She Wants'
`She Wants'
video is a
creation of
Dutch Dreams
Records,
masterfully
produced by
Kiddominant
with classic
performance
visuals directed
by SOS
and 2015 I signed my first
artiste, and from there the story
continues.
What is the greatest sacrifice
you have made for your music
career?
The greatest sacrifice I have
made since I started my career
is pushing my artistes. I
remember while I was pushing
my artistes I had other
businesses I was doing, so at
some point I had to stop going
to the office and doing my
business to focus on pushing
them and making sure they get
to where they need to be and
achieve what they want. It was
difficult because if you believe
in someone, not everyone
believes in them, and you
alone know what you see in
them and it eventually paid off.
Which song is your debut?
My first official single is
‘Carry Go’.
•Mr. Dutch
Your sound and beats are like
Davido’, don’t you think you
will be criticized for that?
I didn’t intend it that way; if
you listen to the beat well you
will understand that all afrobeats
sound alike and the beat
I’m given determines what I’m
going to deliver. So, if you give
me the best beat I will definitely
jump on it because I usually
work with what the producer
brings up. So, when
Kiddominant went with his own
inspiration and made that beat
I followed the inspiration that
made him make the beat and
that was how we made that
song. I didn’t intentionally
have the mind to copy
Davido’s beat, sound like
him or any of his artistes
at the time when the music
was produced.
Do you think you can
withstand the current
competition in the music
industry?
Music is not a
competition to me because
music is the art of
creativity, the art of
sending out a
message and
expressing yourself.
My music is me trying to
express myself in the way I feel
at the moment I’m making the
music. I think I have the talent,
so, I do not need to be under
any pressure because of what
other artistes are doing, I just
need to deliver what I think
people love to listen to.
So you won’t follow the
musical wave going on right
now in the music space?
My goal is to create sounds
that come from deep inside of
me, it may not sound like the
current wave of sound but the
delivery is what matters. I feel
if you believe in what you are
giving out there will be people
who will love it. I seriously
don’t need to follow the trend
because no matter what, there
must be some people who will
listen to whatever you put out. I
remember when Davido sang
‘If’, lot of people were like
“This is nonsense, what is he
saying”, even Davido was
skeptical at the beginning but
later when the song became a
hit; he was so shocked. I feel
that is how music is, it’s better
to always give what you feel is
good, a message people can
remember.
What strategy are you
adopting to remain relevant?
When you make music you
must realise you are not
making music for yourself
because as a musical artiste,
you are painting a picture for
yourself and others. You are
doing music for everybody; you
may do commercial music but it
has to be music that appeals to
all, not leaving anyone behind.
So, I think I will make music for
everybody and I believe that
will give me an edge over
others.
In recent times, live music is
becoming the trend, are you
inclined to it?
Yes, I’m prepared for it
because I actually like live
performances. Live
performance goes with the
reaction of your audience, so
you need to present yourself in
a way that the people will want
to listen to what you have
given to them. I believe in live
music and I think I will deliver
when the time comes.
How has South
African music
influenced you?
If you listen to my
songs you will
notice that they
have the South
African feel
because I’ve
been able to
infuse
elements of
South African
music into
mine.
Which Nigerian
artiste do you look
forward to working
with?
I would love to
work with Davido; I
also want to work
with Tekno so bad,
while for producers
I would love to work
with Master Craft.
You don’t want to work with
Wizkid?
I love Wizkid’s music but I
have not really thought of
working with him although it
will be great to have a song
with him. If I’m given an
opportunity to work with
Wizkid, trust me I will jump at
it.
What is music to you?
Music is supposed to pass a
message, heal people, make
people happy and feel good. I
feel that music is life, it brings
about unity, and music is to
bring about change, one way or
the other.
C
M
YK

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk
08056180152, SMS only
When Hurricane Infidelity Hits Your Marriage!
AS many friends in a
female group get
married, the few left start
fretting if they’re not going to be
left permanently on the shelf.
Years later, a couple of marriages
in the group are likely to hit the
skids and the rest of it start getting
jittery - “case of ten green
bottles?” Beverly, a mother of
three adorable kids has been
married 11 years. A few weeks
ago, a friend of hers dropped by
with the news that another friend
had just been separated from her
husband - divorce was on the
cards.
“The news was really
depressing, I tell you,” said Bev.
“The couple in question, Grace
and Melvil, got married around
the time we did. They were a sort
of role model of the group,” the
ones you invited to the house
when you just felt like hanging
out, the ones who gladly ran
errands for you, the ones you
called when you needed a legup.
They had been together since
their university days and had
been married 12 years. Although
their relationship had issues -
Melvil is a football fanatic, she
loves going to A - list parties - it
seemed like a given that their tilldeath
vows would stick.
However, early last year, Grace
had hit a rough patch emotionally.
She lost her parents in quick
succession and had an uphill task
hanging on to a job in the office
where massive retrenchment was
a threat.
“We knew Mel had lost a lot of
patience over his wife’s malaise -
but we didn’t suspect how bad it
was until he confirmed his affair
to his wife and the fact he’d found
solace - and red-hot sex - in the
arms of a hot dance teacher, whom
he now referred to as his ‘soul
mate’! It’s one thing to read about
the cheating scandals of all these
celebrities in various soft-sell
magazines, but it’s easy to
reassure yourself you won’t be
part of that group - your partner
is not a movie star or a socialite
and, as a result, he does not have
adoring women flashing their
obscene boobs at him every time
he steps outside the door. Yet,
almost on a daily basis, you
witness the devastation of what
is now termed Hurricane
Infidelity .
“After my friend left, I became a
bit insecured about my marriage.
One night, when Timi, my
husband, was fast asleep, I
pinched his mobile, crept to the
kitchen and started scrolling
through his recent text messages
like some possessed psycho. I
skipped through the usual
notes from work contacts and
friends until I saw one from Kate.
Who the hell was she?, ‘What
happened to you yesterday,’ it read
and my heart kicked into a gallop.
‘You were terribly missed. Same
time today?’ I was livid. I charged
up the stairs to confront my
sleeping husband - the cheat!
Only, I made a complete fool of
myself. The text was from an old
female colleague whom we all
know to be always lovey-dovey
with everyone. She was merely
raving about a restaurant they’d
all discovered to be exceptionally
good.
“But would that tiny episode
assure me of my husband’s fidelity.
No way! 1 mean, if a regular guy
like Melvil - someone 1 thought 1
knew and understood, who
seemed reasonably happy with
Grace his wife - could go ga-ga
over a dance teacher, what’s to stop
my husband doing the same?
Some few weeks after this incident,
we were at a swanky party when I
looked across the room and noticed
that Timi was engaged in an
animated conversation with a
woman I’d never met.
“She was young, pretty and
flirty, with dangerous curves
and perfectly groomed hair
extensions. Instead of walking
up and saying hello, as I would
have done up to a few months
before, 1 left the room. 1 thought
I would give him a few minutes
and he would come looking for
me. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen.
My withdrawal tactics clearly
wasn’t working, so I charged
back to the room. Timi was
still engrossed with Ms 38 D
more-bouce-to-the-ounce,
Could this be an old colleague
too? Heck no! When I finally
grabbed Timi’s hand and
introduced myself to the
woman, she looked
embarrassed. In a huff, I
dragged him off her, telling
him I was ready to go.
“As soon as we were in the
car, Timi claimed he was really
grateful to me for dragging
him away from the woman. ‘I
don’t remember her name, but
she wouldn’t leave me alone,”
he said. I didn’t buy his story
and I told him so-loudly, with
accusations and profanity. We
barely spoke for two days and
when we did, we were polite,
careful and detached. 1 knew
1 had really offended him. I
knew I should be trying to
mend things but the more I
witnessed Bev’s agony and
Mel’s ‘liberation’, the more
freaked out I got.
“I read articles on how to tell
if your man is cheating, then
checked his behaviour for clues.
Has he become more fastidious
in his grooming? More
protective of his phone?
Changed his work hours?
Become more solicitous. One
night, he called he would be
working late. Humph! My
chance to catch the rat! He
would be too tired for sex if he’d
had one already. So, when I
later pounced on him in the
bedroom and he eagerly rose to
the occasion, I felt really bad.
Why did I doubt his love and
dedication to this lovely family
we’ve both worked hard for
ove the years? As my husband
drifted off to sleep, I felt
reassured that whatever
happens in future longevity
might not compete with
excitement but new is the one
thing Timi and I can never
be to each other.”
Want to get pregnant? So
what’s stopping you?
Here is a compilation of
what the medics believe
might work against you when
trying in vain to get pregnant.
Age: The younger you are,
the easier it is to get pregnant.
After 35, your chances get
slimmer, and it increases the
risk of your baby having a
genetic disorder.
Period: Regular periods?
The best time to conceive is
days between 13 to 16 than 31,
see your doctor to check your
hormone levels. Painful
periods can be a sign of
endometriosis, which affects
fertility. Taking painkillers can
lower your chances too.
Excessive bleeding might
indicate that you have fibroids
which can make it hard for an
egg to be implanted in the
womb.
Weight: If you’re obese,
planning a baby is the perfect
incentive to lose a few
pounds. Too much body fat
affects hormones and
infertility. Getting regular
exercise will boost your
immune system and improve
circulation as well.
Booze and fags: Drinking
over five units of alcohol a
week greatly decreases your
chance of getting pregnant.
Cigarettes contain at least 30
chemicals that decrease
fertility.
Additives: Avoid artificial
sweeteners in most diet drinks
and sugar-free foods, and try not
to use air fresheners or perfumes
that contain artificial musk. They
can affect your hormones. On the
other hand, a daily multivitamin
and mineral supplement may
help boost your fertility.
Him: Swap your man for a
younger man! Men over 35 are
less likely to get their partners
pregnant in a year than they were
at 25. A healthy weight and diet
are important for him too. Steam
rooms can decrease sperm
count, as tight synthetic pants
and smoking. Drinking too
much can also cause impotence
and sterility.
Worry: Most of all, don’t get
stressed about not getting
pregnant! It will cripple your
libido, interfere with your
menstrual cycle and deprive
your body of vitally needed
nutrients. If you’ve done all
the right things and still
haven’t conceived in 18
months, visit your doctor for
tests.
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"
MY SNOWMAN
Don't cry snowman, not in front of me who'll
catch your tears if you can't catch me darling.
Don't cry snowman, don't leave me this way
a puddle of water can't hold me close baby.
I want you to know that I'm never leaving
'cause I'm Mrs Snow, 'till death will be
freezing, you are my home, my home for all
seasons, so come on let's go below zero and
hide from the sun. I love you forever and
we'll have some fun, yes let's hit the north
pole and live happily, please don't cry, no
tears now.
My Snowman and Me
Baby.
Ezekwesili Jedidiah Perfect
odigboperfect@gmail.com
What next after Valentine Day?
The Valentine day for 2018 has come and go.
What should be the next step to keep the love
going not minding the fact that your Val treated
you like a queen on that day. Make your life to
be blisful in season of love and every other
season. Improved communication process and
the ability to get access to each other will enhance
your relationship. With effective communication
you are sure of true.
Michael Adedotun Oke
maof2020@gmail.com
08027142077

DEPORTATION OF ABU LECTURERS, OTHERS
Under Buhari, Nigerian
govt. has resorted to
authoritarian tactics
– Femi Falana
By LYinka Ajayi
agos lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, speaks on the
controversial deportation of the leaders of
Southern Cameroun, some of whom he described as
naturalised Nigerians and led by Ayuk Julius Tabe,
from Nigeria.
The Cameroon government
announced recently that leaders of the
Anglophone movement, led by Mr Julius
Ayuk Tabe in Nigeria, were handed over
to Cameroon. How did this happen?
It is true that a number of Cameroonian
refugees and asylum seekers, who were illegally
arrested and detained by the Federal
Government, were arrested and deported
from Nigeria to Cameroon on Friday, January
26, 2018. When we received information of
the plan to deport them, we rushed to the
Federal High Court to stop the illegal plan. We
also reached out to the Comptroller-General of
Immigration, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
and the Office of the United Nations
Commissioner for Refugees in Nigeria. As soon
as the Commission confirmed the information,
it dispatched a letter to the Federal
Government pointing out that Nigeria had a
legal obligation under international law not to
deport the detained Cameroonians. But in a
demonstration of reckless impunity, the
National Security Adviser, Major-General
Babagana Monguno (ret.) deported our clients
in defiance of the intervention of the United
Nations and the pending suit in court. Out of
shame, the National Security Adviser could
not disclose the deportation of our clients from
Nigeria but the government of Cameroon
decided to celebrate the deportation and
threatened to prosecute our clients for
terrorism. I have protested the deportation to
President Buhari and demanded that our
clients be returned to Nigeria without delay.
You were one the lawyers mentioned
in the case. What role did you play?
My learned colleague, Mr. Abdul Oroh, is
handling the case with our law firm. Both of us
were at the High Commission of Cameroon
last (penultimate) Tuesday to demand for
access to our clients who are currently held
incommunicado in Cameroon. We were asked
to submit a letter to that effect and we have
done so.
Does Nigeria have any extradition
treaty with Nigeria? What laws were
respected and what laws were violated?
Nigeria has no extradition treaty with
Cameroon. For that reason, the Federal
Government could not file extradition
proceedings in any local court. Hence, the
deportation was carried out outside the ambit
of the Extradition Act. No law was respected
whatsoever but many laws were breached by
the Federal Government which has continued
to exhibit authoritarian tactics and rule of
might under a democratic dispensation that is
supposed to be anchored on the rule of law. In
deporting our clients, the Federal Government
violated Section 1 of the National Commission
for the Refugees Act which prohibits the
expulsion, extradition or deportation of any
person who is a refugee to the frontiers of any
country where his life or freedom would be
threatened on account of his membership of a
particular group or political opinion or whose
life may be endangered for any reason
whatsoever. The Federal Government also
breached the human right of our clients to
enter Nigeria, reside, seek and obtain asylum
as guaranteed by
Article 12 (3) of the
African Charter on
Human and Peoples’
Rights (Ratification and
Enforcement) Act. The
Act further provides
that every individual
shall have the right, when persecuted, to seek
and obtain asylum in other countries in
accordance with the laws of those countries
and international conventions. Apart the
violation of those laws, the Federal
Government breached its legal obligations
under the 1951 United Nations Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969
Organization of African Unity Convention on
Refugees which guarantee the rights of refugees
and asylum seekers in Nigeria to protection.
Among those said to be arrested were
those having Nigerian citizenship and
working here; and others with refugee
status or seeking same. What does this
scenario tell us about the Buhari
administration?
We have established that three of the deportees
are naturalized citizens while others are
recognized refugees and political asylum
seekers in Nigeria. Twelve of our clients who
are the leaders of the people of Southern
Cameroon have been living in Nigeria for
several years. Some are lecturers at the
Ahmadu Bello University and the American
University in Yola. Three of them are lawyers.
Those who are not refugees among them
have been granted permanent residency status
in Nigeria. You can only expel a foreigner from
your country if he violates the law. Even then
an asylum seeker cannot be turned over to the
authorities of a country that is likely to
persecute him. Under no condition can a
Nigerian citizen be deported from the country.
The only time that a Nigerian citizen had been
deported was in 1980 when the Shehu Shagari
regime expelled Mr. Shugaba Abdulraman
Darman and dumped him in Chad. The
deportation was declared illegal by the High
Court which ordered the Federal Government
to bring him back to the country. The court
also awarded damages in favour of the deportee.
The illegal deportation of the naturalized
Nigerians and the refugees has caused a huge
embarrassment to the Federal Government
because there is no legal justification for it. Can
you believe that the National Commission for
Refugees, the Immigration Department and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were not
consulted before the deportation of our clients
was carried out?
Some people look back from the arrest
and transfer of Charles Taylor under
Obasanjo, to the inaction of Jonathan
when Libya was under attack and now
transferring people who fear for their
lives to a government they are running
away from and the question of Nigerian
leadership in Africa. What do you have
to say?
It is trite that the foreign policies of a
government are dictated by its domestic
policies. The case of Charles Taylor is totally
different from this one. The Special Court for
•Femi Falana
Sierra Leone set up by the Security Council of
the United Nations had issued a warrant for
the arrest of the ex-Liberian president for crimes
against humanity. Nigeria was under a duty
under international law to turn him over to
the court. But unknown to Nigerians and the
international community, President Obasanjo
did not want Mr. Taylor arrested in Nigeria.
As President Obasanjo, who was
then in the United States, was
under pressure to hand over
Mr. Taylor to the court, as a
precondition for meeting
President George Bush, he
quickly directed the
Immigration to allow the
fugitive to leave the country.
But as Mr. Taylor was rushing
out of the country, he was
arrested at Damboru border in
Borno State at about 6 am on
March 2009 by Mr. Sylvester
Umoh, a Customs officer who
was committed to his duty.
Even though Mr. Taylor offered
to bribe him with $500,000
cash, Mr. Umoh rejected it and
arrested him. That was how
Mr. Taylor was handed over to
the Special Court to the
embarrassment of President
Obasanjo. The Federal
Government then descended
on Sylvester Umoh. Instead of
giving him a national award,
he was dismissed from the
service without ignominy.
Although I succeeded in
ensuring the conversion of Mr.
Umoh’s dismissal to retirement
in 2014, we are still battling
with the payment of his
entitlements. Again, the
Libyan case is different from
this case but it also demonstrated a failure of
leadership. Both President Goodluck Jonathan
and President Jacob Zuma of South Africa did
not have the courage to challenge President
Barrack Obama over the planned invasion of
Libya. In fact, the representatives of both
leading African nations voted for the invasion.
Both Nigeria and South Africa betrayed Africa
by endorsing the invasion of Libya. In
particular, the strategic interests of Nigeria
were not considered by the Jonathan
administration. Hence, we have paid dearly
for the barbaric invasion of Libya. Apart from
the slave trade that President Gaddafi would
not have allowed in Libya, the arms and
ammunition looted from the armoury of Libya
were bought by the Boko Haram sect to launch
deadly attacks on Nigeria. Just like the nation
is messed up locally by a cabal of primitive
power mongers our foreign affairs have been
ruined by the same reactionary group. Luckily
for the cabal, Nigerians are not aware of the
SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 21
The illegal
deportation of
the naturalized
Nigerians and
the refugees
has caused a
huge
embarrassment
to the Federal
Government
extent of the manipulation of our foreign
affairs. Can you believe that the cabal almost
smuggled Morocco into the Economic
Community of West African States? The other
day, Nigeria lost an important position
contested at the African Union because the
cabal insisted on a candidate who was alleged
not qualified for the post? With the
controversial appointment of the Director-
General of the new National Intelligence
Agency, it has been proved beyond any shadow
of doubt that the cabal will continue to expose
the country to ridicule.
With the international standing and
experience you have. is there any role
you think Nigeria can play in resolving
the crisis in Cameroon?
Frankly speaking, Nigeria can resolve the
crisis in Southern Cameroon in the interest of
regional stability. Notwithstanding that
Nigeria negligently gave out the Bakassi
peninsula to Cameroon, Nigerians in the island
are still being harassed by Cameroonian
gendarmes. As far back as 2002, the Federal
Government had opted for a peaceful resolution
of the political crisis in Cameroon. When the
people of Southern Cameroon
filed a suit at the Federal High
Court to determine whether
they are not entitled to selfdetermination
within their
clearly defined territory
separate from the Republic of
Cameroun, the Federal
Government decided to settle
the case out of court. Hence,
by a consent judgment
delivered by the Court on
March 5, 2002, the Federal
Government agreed to file a
suit at the International Court
of Justice to have a judicial
confirmation of the human
right of the people of Southern
Cameroon to selfdetermination.
The Federal
Government also undertook
to take other measures as
may be necessary to place the case of the people
of Southern Cameroon for self-determination
before the United Nations General Assembly
and other international organizations. On the
basis of that judgment, which is valid and
subsisting, Nigeria is estopped from colluding
with the Paul Biya regime to terrorize the people
of Southern Cameroon.
Under
Nigerian
jurisprudence is it possible for
people to be held without access
to a lawyer?
Under Section 35 of the
Constitution and section 6 of the
Administration of Criminal Justice
Act the fundamental right of every
suspect or detainee to access their
lawyer is guaranteed. With respect
to the Cameroonians, all efforts
made by their lawyers, doctors and
family members to visit them in
custody were frustrated. Even Mrs.
Nalowa Bih who is pregnant was
denied medical attention. But due
to the intervention of the Minister
of Foreign Affairs a representative
of the Office of the United Nations
Commissioner for Refugees in
Nigeria was allowed to visit our
clients before they were expelled
from Nigeria. During the visit, the
United Nations representative
found that our clients were held in
an underground cell at the
headquarters of the Defence
Intelligence Agency on the orders of
the National Security Adviser.
From your findings, who
ordered the arrest? Some
people say they were arrested
and taken to Cameroon long
before Nigerian authorities
even got wind of it.
When we were refused access to our clients
by the National Security Adviser, we filed an
application at the Abuja Judicial Division of
the Federal High Court on Thursday, January
25, 2018 for the purpose of securing their
fundamental rights to personal liberty and
freedom of movement. Barely 24 hours later,
in utter disdain for due process, the National
Security Adviser deported our clients from
Nigeria to Cameroon. Up till now, the
National Security Adviser has not been
called to justify his action since the
country is run on the basis of official
impunity. But as law abiding citizens we
have challenged the illegal deportation and
we have concluded arrangements to give our
clients the best legal defence. We shall pursue
the case until Nigeria returns to the
community of civilized nations. The Federal
Government has to be compelled to abandon
its embrace of the rule of might.
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 22—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
P A R E N T I N G
Ways to show love to your children
not only on Valentine's Day
Last week Wednesday was another
celebration of Valentine in many parts
of the world that practice the act. Whether
we like it or not, our children hear and know
about it if not at home, but also in schools.
They celebrate it even in primary schools.
As parents we have to come to that reality
and begin to show them different ways to
express love, living by example before they
think romantic love, with cards, gifts and
flowers are the ways to celebrate Valentine.
Let the children feel you in the house that
it can also be a day to show love for children.
Think about how you can better make your
children feel loved all year round.
When children feel loved, it not only builds
happiness, but confidence and resilience,
both of which can make a lifelong
difference.
How?
•1. Be positive and encouraging when
you talk with your children. Skip the sarcasm
and put-downs, even if you are joking.
Think about the “Golden Rule.” Treat your
children the way you’d like to be treated.
•2. Say things like “please,” “thank
Terre Des Hommes Foundation, an
international organisation has advised
child protection actors in Lagos and Ogun
States to reduce vulnerability and the risk
factors faced by children migrants in the
process of migrating but increase their access
to development opportunities to prevent
future emergencies like the recent cases in
Libya.
This advice was given by the Head of
Country in Nigeria, Mrs. Osoba Olapeju
at a 3-day training that brought together
major players in the field of child protection
from Ogun State as well as in Lagos State at
Sycomore Hotel, Badagry, last week.
According to Mrs Osoba Olapeju, the
objectives of the gathering was to improve
the knowledge of participants on child
protection, the concepts of mobility and the
protective accompaniment of children which
is a child protection approach created by
Terre des hommes Foundation. It was also
to strengthen their knowledge on case
management of children affected by mobility,
institutional and community based
child protection mechanisms, case
management tools, the registration of
children affected by mobility and to have the
restitution of the mapping report of CORAL
project for Nigeria which was done in the
five locations where the project is being
implemented in Lagos and Ogun States:
Badagry, Oshodi, Makoko, Lagos Island
and Abeokuta.
Talking briefly about Coral project, Osoba
reminded the participants that all children
have the same rights, migrant children
inclusive and, therefore the same rights that
are extended to other children must be
extended to migrant children.
"The migration of people is an issue that
presents us as a people with a lot challenges.
The reality over the years has shown that
people can’t be stopped from moving. People
move for various reasons but most of these
movements come with a lot of risks and
dangers especially for children who are
directly affected and who sometimes are
unaccompanied. Our timely commitment
and support for the protection of children
on the move or those who are affected by
migration will go a long way in preventing
future emergencies such as the recent Libya
example". Osoba added.
She however added that leaving the
responsibility of the protection of migrant
you”and“ I’m sorry.” Be kind and polite.
Not only does it show respect and kindness
to your children, it sets a good example
about how to talk to people generally.
•3. Respond promptly to your children’s
physical and emotional needs, even if it’s
not the best time for you. Put aside what
you are doing, turn off the TV or computer,
and listen or help. It sends the message
that your children matter more than
anything. Ask them about their day — and
pay attention to the answer.
•4. When your children are angry or just
in a bad mood, instead of getting angry or
in a bad mood yourself, try giving them a
quick hug or other sign of affection they
respond to — and talking to them about it
when they’re feeling better instead of in
that moment.
•5. Use nonviolent forms of discipline.
All hitting does, besides making children
upset and afraid, is teach them that it’s okay
to hit, which isn’t a great lesson to learn.
Discipline works best when it’s started early
and done consistently. From an early age,
set rules about behaviour, and stick to them
When children
feel loved, it not
only builds
happiness, but
also confidence
and resilience,
both of which can
make a lifelong
difference
•8. Cook and eat together. Cooking
together teaches children about good food
choices and gives them cooking skills they
can take into adulthood. Eating family meals
brings families together and can be a great
opportunity to connect and hear about each
other’s lives and ideas. Turn off all phones
during meals (including yours).
•9. Speaking of devices… don’t let them
take over your children’s lives. Read to your
children and encourage reading as they
grow. Limit the amount of “screen time,”
both by having time limits but also by having
other things to do, like arts and crafts,
building toys, and other things that
encourage creativity and imagination (and
are fun).
•10. Take your children to the doctor
regularly for checkups — and listen to your
doctor’s advice about healthy diet, safety,
sleep, and physical activity. Follow that
advice yourself, too, so you are setting a
good example.
•11. Help your children build positive
relationships with siblings, friends, and
others. Set a good example by inviting
friends and neighbours to share a meal, and
by joining community activities.
•12. Help your children learn their
strengths — and learn to believe in
themselves. This involves not just
supporting them but giving the
independence they need to become
competent and capable — and learn from
their mistakes.
•13. Don’t forget to say, “I love you.”
Not just now, but for the rest of their lives
Children Migrants: Increase their access to development to
prevent future emergencies --- Terre des hommes
children to only the institutional actors without
involving the community actors will not yield
the desired result, saying that the primary
host of migrant children and children on the
move is the community where they live.
She said working directly with actors such
as traditional rulers, chiefs, market leaders,
religious leaders and influential people in
those communities will ensure their
protection, reduce their risk and increase their
opportunity of having access to capacity
building or skill acquisition.
She advised the protection actors to always
show high level of interest and invest their
time in carrying out their duty professionally.
"Creating a synergy and a strong network
among the actors will surely improve the
condition of migrant children and those of
children on the move", she said.
Osoba also added that the protection project
along Abidjan-Lagos corridor in the West
African coastal region also known as CORAL
— and remember to reward children for
following the rules instead of just punishing
them for breaking them.
•6. Spend alone time with your children
on a regular basis, doing something they
enjoy. If you have more than one child, make
sure that each one gets one-on-one time
with you.
•7. Spend time together as a family, like
family outings, and turn off your devices
during those family times.
PROJECT was launched in Nigeria at
Airport Hotel, Lagos, on December 21, 2017,
financed by the European Union and
implemented by Terre des hommes
Foundation, ENDA Youth Action and the
African Movement of Working Children and
Youth (AMWCY).
Declaring the workshop opened, on behalf
of the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State
Ministry of Youth and Social Development,
Mr. Akeem Muri-Okunola, represented by
Mrs. Modupeola Sahid-Adebambo, Head
of Child Protection in the Ministry advised
Terre des hommes to work closely with the
right people working in their key intervention
areas because children will only benefit
more. She also urged the participants to work
together as a team and to think more on what
they can give for the success of the project
rather than what they can get.
Mrs Ngozi Okoro, Child Protection
Network Coordinator, Nigeria, said the
training was a great opportunity for CPN
members, especially those working with street
children, to learn how to identify migrants
children from street children and profile
them as such, saying that the training will
empower them to also know the steps to take
to help these children.
Participants at the workshop were drawn
from the Lagos State Ministry of Youth
and Social Development, Ogun State
Ministry of Women Affairs and Social
Development, the Child Protection
Network, Ogun State, the Child Protection
Network Lagos State, the Network of Civil
Society Organisations Against Child
Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL),
National Commission for Refugees,
Migrants and Internally Displaced
Persons (NCFRMI), National Agency for
the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons
(NAPTIP), Vanguard Media and some
other notable NGOs.
Par
articipants at a 3 day y Child Prot
otection Actor
ors s Training held at Sycomore Hotel Badagry y last t week.
•Sitting are Mrs Peju Osoba,Head of Country Office Terre des hommes, Mrs Ngozi Okoro, Coordinator, Child Protection Network,
Mrs Akomolafe, Zonal Commander, NAPTIP, Mr. Funso Viavonu, Assist Director,MYSD, Police and other participants from NGO's
and the media.
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 23
Why it’s worth your while travelling first class – You don’t catch
flies with vinegar
NO matter how bad the
economy is, some girls
often strike gold when
they run into the right man at
the right venue. According to
Joyce, a happy-go-lucky friend,
investing in expensive first class
trips usually yields returns if
you play your cards right. I was
still musing on how to get such
money with the guaranteed
success Joyce always boasts of
when, who should breeze into
the flat but Joyce herself,
looking fresh from her recent
trip? Wafting the latest perfume
in the range she favoured, she
looked rejuvenated from her
recent trip. A far cry from the
Joyce who had rang a few weeks
earlier, groaning under the
stress of an overzealous lover!
I perked up immediately. With
her, there is never a dull
moment.
“So how did you get out of the
clutches of your randy bit-onthe
side?” I asked her. She
wrinkled her nose. “That man
is now history”, she assured me.
“He must be the type of men
who equate material gifts with
the sex they get in return. But as
luck would have it, I met a new
man on the plane!”. Joyce has
always travelled first class.
Money well spent too, she told
me, as you seldom meet rough
necks in first class. “You can
always sniff out the ministry
types who pin their estacodes to
their underpants and seldom
encourage friendly chatter with
‘stranger’ on a plane especially
women!” she’d once said. “The
businessman is the best and if
he has his personal assistant
travelling with him, your
holiday is assured.”
“This man is a very popular
politician, (she mentioned his
name) and was on board with
one or two aides,” she continued.
As soon as he settled, and we
were air-borne, I went to the
toilet, pretending I didn’t see
him. On the way back, his aide
was trying to turn his seat into a
comfortable bed when I
pretended to do a double take.
‘Good evening sir,’ I boomed,
introducing myself. ‘I’m so
honoured to have met you sir,
I’ve only seen your picture and
read about you in the paper and
I must commend you for the type
of clean politics you play. You are
a shining example to our youth
... ‘ on and on I went, massaging
his ego. The poor man was
lapping it up and looking at me
with interest.
“Later, when the duty-free
trolley made the rounds, one of
the air hostesses told me the
man said I could pick whatever
I wanted. Clutching a not-soexpensive
perfume, I went to
where he was now reclined and
knelt down. Thank you sir!’ I
gushed. He looked at the
perfume in my hand and
ordered the hostess to bring
more. I was on easy street. As
we chatted, I told him how
privileged I was to have met
him `just like that.’ That if it
were in Nigeria, I would have
to go through
a lot of red tapes to see him.
He lapped up all my praises
then slipped me his card. Ile
didn’t ask for mine. In other
words, it was up to me to do the
running.
“Since I had a whole week in
London before I met my
husband in the States, I decided
to all him. What have I got to
lose? “Hello?” I said as the
phone was picked up. “Joyce?”
he asked. The rogue was
obviously waiting for my call.
He told me where his hotel was
and we decided to have dinner
together. I stayed with my
children as usual and they were
seldom home. When I got to the
hotel, he instructed I should be
taken up to his room. It wa a
single room and I wasn’t
impressed, a man of his status?
He greeted me like an old
friend, ‘this is your room.’ He
told me proudly. ‘My suit is
always bombarded with
politicians and I know a girl
like you would cherish her
privacy.’ As he said this, he
slipped a fat envelope into my
willing hand. The cash was for
anything I wanted outside the
hotel room!
“We then ordered food to be
brought to my room with
champagne. Thank goodness he
was the wham-bam type! As
soon as he was through, you
could see his mind was back in
his suit with the boot- licking
politicians waiting for him. He
said I could come and go as I
pleased, giving me the card
key to my room, and that the
tabs for whatever I’d spent in the
room would be picke up after
I’d checked out. I’d already told
him I was staying _with my
children and he said they were
free to help themselves to food
and drinks at the hote1! You
know me, I never mix business
with pleasure and I don’t
encourage my kids to rub
shoulders with my lovers. But I
took them to the hotel
restaurant once, when I knew
the man wouldn’t be there.
When I charged the bill to my
room, I lied to my kids that a
classmate who was on a course
gave us the treat. They looked a
bit doubtful as I signed
the bill myself.
“Once in a while, I lied to my
kids I was spending an evening
with a friend and they never
questioned it. As a result, I
stayed three nights out of the six
booked for me, though I utilized
the facilities in my room
everyday. For all our time
together, I never once saw inside
his suit. A very intelligent and
influential man, he was
obviously happy with me and
told me to call him as soon as I
got back to Nigeria. I’ve done
just that and we’ve spoken a
couple of times. I’m sure I’ll be
seeing him again soon. Men
like him are worth their weights
in gold ... “ As usual, Joyce had
come back laden with gifts for
me. A friend like that, you
can’t help but be happy for.
She not only attracts men like
magnet, she’s overly generous
with her spoils to her friends, we
all love her, though a few wish
a bit of her devil’s luck would
rub off on them. When she asked
what’d been happening to me
since she left and I had nothing
but tales of woe to tell, she said
I’d better look for a brand new
lover! Easier said than done. I
mean, how do I go gushing over
a prospective lover and hoping
the bait will catch as it always
does for Joyce?
08052201867(Text Only)
You are what you eat
TO be healthy and
hearty our food
must be wholesome and in
the right quantity.
Eating anything and everything
and too much of anything spells
doom for our well-being. In the urban
centres across the length and
breadth of the world people are developing
the diseases brought on by
Modern civilization and its attendant
prosperity. To put it simply,
people who are earning so much are
getting more and more careless with
their eating habits.
There are now a lot more people
engaged in sedentary occupations
than ever before with such people
physical activity is nearly always at
a minimum. But you see the body
needs a certain minimum level of
exercise. When this is denied the
body, it soon begins a down-hill trip.
And the inordinate amount of food
consumed adds to the problem of
deterioration.
It’s like this, when the body is given
more than it needs in relation to its
energy out-put the surplus calories
translate as excess weight.
There must be balance as regards
tissue building (anabolism) and tissue
breaking down (catabolism)
when one exceeds the other you have
what is known as Metabolic
inbalance leading to a build up of
toxemia. There are two fundamental
ways the body produces toxemia.
One is normal and natural to the
function of the organism; the other
we constantly contribute to
knowingly or otherwise.
In the first place there is toxemia
produced on account of the process
of metabolism. The inner body never
at a stand-still has billions of old cells
being replaced by new ones each day.
The old cells needing replacement
are toxic, meaning poisonous and
must be gotten rid of by one of four
means of elimination: skin, lungs
bowels and bladder.
All this is normal and natural to
the body and doesn’t have to worry
us unless in a situation where this toxic
waste is not being rid of at an equal
*The Wheel Posture
rate to which it is being produced.
All what this process demands is
ample energy at the body’s disposal.
The second means by which
toxemia is produced in the body is
from the by-products of foods that
have not gone through digestion and
assimilation and become part of the
cell structure.
The build up of this toxic waste
will eventually lead to overweight.
The problem doesn’t end there.
Toxins are acidic in nature and the
build up of acid makes the body
require water to neutralise it
bringing about more weight and
bloat.
On a daily basis this finally brings
us to the door step of obesity and all
what it portends.
So now, we see that interference
with the body’s elimination cycle is
the forerunner of toxemia and overweight.
And we can also understand
that there must be the kind of living
pattern that allows us to continuously
cleans our system and forestall
a build up of toxins.
To help us achieve this state of
metabolic balance are the following
food items that work against overweight:
Carrot, lettuce, cucumber,
tomato, orange, pear, plum, pineapple,
beetroot, cabbage, grapes,
lemon and strawberry.
Exercises to be practised to
achieve the same end include
CHAKRASANA for regularization
of bowel movements and
matsyendrasana the lateral spinal
twist to stimulate the activity of the
kidneys.
CHAKRASANA, or the wheel
posture.
Technique: Lying flat on your back,
draw in the knees and place your
feet wide apart on the floor. Put your
hands backward on the floor just
below the shoulders. As you breathe
in deeply, raise the entire body in the
shape of a bridge. As you stay in this
position respiration must be slow
and deep. After 15 to 20 seconds,
lower the body, lie flat on your back
and rest in a still fashion.
You may repeat this thrice.
MATSYENDRASANA or the
lateral spinal twist.
Technique: Placing the left heel
under the right thight which his lying
horizontally on the ground put the
right foot over the left thigh with the
sole of the foot on the ground. As
you turn the chest to the right put the
left arm in front of the left knee which
is uprightly erect and grasp your left
knee. Place the right hand across the
middle of the back. As you stay in
this posture your breathing must be
of an even rhythm for some 30
seconds. Change legs and arms
and repeat on the other side.
Apart from the wonders it
works on the kidneys and the
digestive system, it is also said to
restore strength to the nerves.
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 24 — SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Networking/ Sponsorship
•Wisdom 26, from Akwa
lbom state,needs
sponsorship, for his
education,acct
2115442234,Zenith bank,
07035417073
•Paul 31, a graduate, from
Edo state, but resides in
Abuja, needs well meaning
Nigerians, to help him get a
job.08038581655
•Henrietta a graduate, of
English, needs well meaning
Nigerians to help her with a
good job in Lagos.
07060700336,09050358934
Friends
Searching Male
•John 22, handsome and
gentle, from Delta state
Warri, needs a female friend,
aged 18-23.09064698765
Lovers
Searching Female
•Amaka,25, fair in
complexion,needs a God
fearing man, who is
handsome, lovely and rich,
aged 30-35, for a
serious relationship that will
lead to marriage.
08122690011,08168478901
•Excel, beautiful, very
attractive,Godly and well
culture, from a responsible
family, needs a man who can
help settle the debt she
incurred to settle her my late
mothers bills, for a
relationship that can lead to
marriage.09081135918
•Bola 26, good looking and
romantic, needs a man, aged
45-65, who is nice and who
can take care of her financially.
08085260368
•Promise 25, beautiful, sexy
and busty, needs a man, for a
relationship.08104859639
•Esther resides in Lagos,
needs an employed guy, aged
38-40, who is from Imo or Abia
state, for relationship that can
lead to marriage.08132183317
•Mildred 21, sexy, needs a
strong and sexy man, for a
romantic and fun filled, erotic
relationship.08149025690
•Vera 28, resides in Asaba,
needs someone she can call
her own. 09073231076
•Lisa 23, beautiful, charming
and busty, needs a man to
make her feel like a woman.
08144692028
•Julie 23, needs a God fearing
man, aged 28-35, for a serious
relationship.08179693202
•Gifty 23, from Benin City Edo
State, needs a man, that can
take good care of her and her
family, for a serious
relationship,that will lead to
DISCLAIMER!
marriage.08083087844
•Bimpe 34, resides in Abuja,
needs a nice, God fearing,
caring, understanding,
responsible,knowledgeable
and employed ,man, for a
serious relationship.
08184384600,08106685905
•Ajoke, resides in Lagos,
needs a serious, gentle, God
fearing Christian man, with
good job,for a serious
relationship, that will lead to
marriage.07068106615
Searching Male
•Nonso 35, a graduate, from
Anambra state, needs a
supportive lady, aged 40,for
marriage.09030852526
•Toyin 35, resides in Lagos,
needs a lady, aged 22-33, for
a relationship.08169733903
•Lekan 37, employed, and
resides in Mowe Lagos, needs
a sincere Muslim lady, who is
ready for marriage.
08124050056,07036436464
•OC, late 30s and resides in
Lagos, needs a mature and
busty lady, for a fruitful
relationship.08157108259
•Daniel needs a lady in Lagos,
for a relationship.
08142372211
•Princcy 32, employed, slim,
tall, chocolate in complexion
and resides in Benin, needs a
Godfearing,military or
industrious lady, aged 22-30,
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
for a serious relationship.
08037966754
•Idahosa 39, 5.3ft tall, fair in
complexion, employed and
bini by tribe, needs a lady,
aged25-35,who is employed or
into business, and ready for
marriage.08066563902
•Mike 40,tall,romantic, a
graduate employed and
resides in PH, needs a
romantic,lady,aged35-45, for a
relationship.09084769482,
08039449991
•Christian 36,needs a lady,
who is ready to settle down,for
a good relationship, that will
lead to marriage, aged 23-30.
08053962395
•Ifeanyi educated, humble,
employed and a Christian,
needs a matured and
employed single or divorced
lady, aged33-40, for marriage.
08061526458
•Innocent 45, resides in Abuja,
needs an employed lady,
aged39-40, who is ready for
marriage.07065049313
•Edirin 25, a graduate, needs
a lady, who is employed, aged
18-35, for a serious
relationship, in Warri,
Udu or Ovwian.07067489372
•Osaretin 39, Benin by tribe
and self employed, needs a
lady, for a serious relationship,
that can lead to marriage.
07066419886
•Damilare 24,OND holder and
resides in Kwara State, needs
a lovely, humble and truthful
lady, aged 23-26, for a serious
relationship. 07034836741
•Alex 40, tall, slim and
employed, needs a humble,
loyal and employed lady, aged
30-40, for a relationship,
that can lead to marriage.
07067069041,08053332498
Sugar Cares
Searching Female
•Ijeoma 25, slim, light in
complexion, beautiful, with
nice shape and nice body,
needs a sugar daddy that can
take good care of her in Port
Harcourt only.08167576806
•Gold 25, tall, dark in
complexion, chubby and
beautiful, needs a rich sugar
daddy, who can take very
good care of her.07080859830
Searching Male
•Victor 33, resides in Abuja,
needs a sugar mummy within
Minna and Abuja, for a
discrete relationship.
08084833310,08063726671
•Famous resides in Lagos,
needs a sugar mummy.
09061924993
•Young 40s, from Delta state,
needs a nice, well to do,
mature, responsible and God
fearing widow or sugar
mummy for a romantic affair
that can lead to marriage.
08148830819
•Samuel 34, fair incomplexion
and resides in Lagos, needs a
sugar mummy, for a serious
relationship,aged 35-40.
08055757241,09035626135
•Osaze 26, romantic, fun
loving, tall, slim and
handsome, needs a sexy,
caring and fun loving sugar
mummy, for a romantic and
fun filled affair.08032935910
•Emma 37, needs a sugar
mummy, in Benin and Abuja.
09061144011
•Ugoo 35, good looking ,fun
to be with and resides in
Anambra, needs a caring and
sexy sugar mummy, for
a relationship.08066661610
•Johnson 18, from Abia state,
needs a very rich sugar
mummy in Aba.09065928153
COMMON SEXUAL AL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVEL
VELTY Y BASED SOLUTION (ADVER
VERTORIAL)
I just want to commend you for
the way you helped me with my
weak erection? I bought a bunch
of items after your
recommendation and the FX
3000 has been beyond my
expectations. I have super sex
now that I never had before.
Thanks again. I would like to
order a sex robot next. I hope
you have it. I hear it is available
in the country now - Akande
I am glad you loved your FX
3000. It is very good. We don’t
sell Robotic Sex Dolls at the
moment. I am not comfortable
with these intelligent machines.
Right now, the makers of these
products are so excited about the
technology that they fail to realize
that they are creating machines
that will ultimately replace
humans one day and render us
irrelevant. Employers are already
ordering robots to replace their
staff because you don’t have to
pay them salaries. Robotsare
smarter than us and can be more
productive than us. They can work
longer hours. They don’t need
sleep. Robots are already
replacing workers in factories and
many don’t even know this. Our
cars, cell phones and computers
are partly built by robots.
Manufacturers love this because
robots are cheaper to have. You
own them like property and you
don’t have to pay them salaries.
This saves you millions and
billions.
Everybody is busy focusing on
sex robots and how they will
impact human relationships.
That is the least of our problems.
At worst, sex robots will be
nothing more than side chicks
and mistresses. Many men have
sex with side chicks and still go
home to their wives. Robots
cannot have children. The real
danger is the super intelligent
robots with infinite capacities that
will replace the human work
force soon.Consider this. The
average human that wants to be
a doctor spends ten to twelve
years in medical schools of sorts
learning. But one day, we will be
able to buy super smart
robotswhich we canturn into
doctors in less than thirty
minutes. All you have to do is to
download a doctoral or
architectural app into its
hardware and within minutes, it
will gain knowledge that humans
spend years of education and
work experience learning. And if
you can do that, why do we need
human doctors and architects and
engineers? All those years of
education spent in school for
nothing. Robots are cheaper. You
don’t pay them. They don’t go to
school. They learn instantly and
they learn whole disciplines in
minutes.Are you getting the
picture now? This is an existential
issue. Humans just shot
themselves in the foot messing
with artificial intelligence. Right
now, it sounds like science fiction
but it is real.I have seen some of
them. They exist already and are
being perfected in labs around the
world. And when the day comes
when humans realize our
foolishness and try to get rid of
these robots, of course they will
fight back. And that will be the
end of us because they are much
smarter than us and can hurt us
in a million different ways– Uche
My husband says I don’t show
emotion during foreplay. Sex is
dry sometimes and it hurts –
Ellen
Sorry. A simple lubricant will solve
this problem. Ask for the Dual
Lubricating Gel – Uche
I am interested in penis
enlargement - Wale
Take Prosolution or Max Man II.
Use any of them with a Penis
Pump for best results – Uche
Please I need a realistic Vibrator–
Moreen
Take the 8 Inch Super Whooper
Vibe. It is very good – Uche
I just want to thank you for your
advice and everything you do.
You helped me a great deal when
you recommended Max Man
Delay Cream for my premature
ejaculation – Chinedu
You are welcome – Uche
That is all for today. 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 or on their phones with
thezee mobile shopping app. Zee
Virtual Media delivers all over
Nigeria. For enquiries email us
a
t
custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com-
Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual
Media.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 25
ANGO ABDULLAHI EXPLODES ON HERDSMEN ATTACKS
Southerners
are biased, plotting
to split North
•Says cattle rearers are fighting back over injustice
•Asks: What makes the kidnapping of Olu Falae so special?
•‘Those who live in Lagos don’t know what is happening in Nigeria'
By Chioma Gabriel, Editor Special Features
Professor Ango Abdullahi, a former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu
Bello University, is the spokesperson for the Northern Elders
Forum (NEF). Abdullahi, in this interview, bares his mind on
the controversy dogging the creation of state police and herdsmen,
describing the claims linking herdsmen to killings in the Middle
Belt as a political agenda to split the ‘monolithic North’. He deplores
what he points out as injustice meted to herdsmen, accusing the
southern part of Nigeria of bias against them.
A national security meeting has
reportedly accepted the creation of
state policing as the way out of the
insecurity in Nigeria? Do you agree
with that?
There is apparent consensus in the
security conference that the way out of
our numerous security challenges in
the country is the creation of state
police. I think this is an accepted
direction because it is not only in
Nigeria that we will have multiple tiers
of policing. In the United States, there
are also three tiers. There is the local
tier which they call Sheriffs. There is
the Department of Police at the state
level and FBI at the federal level. I
support state police. But I don’t support
the fact that those in politics will
manipulate it to satisfy their interests.
It will be the responsibility of the people
to determine how the police in their
respective states should be used and, if
there is any abuse, the people will stand
up against that abuse. But state police
is a constitutional matter. There are
amendments to be made in the laws
establishing the police down to the state
assemblies and, after the amendments,
it will be optional for each state.
There could be confusion between
the duties of the state and the
federal police.
There will be no confusion. It all
depends on the laid out terms of the
relationship between the state and the
federal police. For instance, there will
be protocols, like the one you have in
the army. Before you call the army,
there is a protocol; you have to meet
the commander-in-chief who will direct
you to the chief of defence staff. If things
are properly laid out, there will be no
confusion.
What about the implications of
allegiance of the state police to
governors?
When you have a state police, of course
the governor has the primary
responsibility of how it is used in terms
of the needs of the state. But one thing I
worry about is that this control can be
abused, but any form of abuse of using
state police illegally should be
challenged by the people. The problem
with us in Nigeria is that we don’t really
get up to challenge things that tend to
weaken our efforts. There is no way
somebody from elsewhere will be able
to come to my place and
understand it more than I do.
So, for the state police, the
indigenes know the area
and the place where the
criminals hide in the
state and know
where to search for
them. I am now
80 years old, and
during the days
of the Emir
Police and
L o c a l
Government
Police, they
were more
efficient in
•Prof Ango
Abdullahi
terms of
tracking
criminals
because they knew their areas very well
and they also knew where to reach out
to get criminally minded individuals. I
don’t think we should worry too much
about it. We have about 500 ethnic
groups in Nigeria and, in each state, the
recruitment of the police would cut
across the ethnic groups in that state to
be able to reach out to criminal
hideouts. All these should be taken into
account in state police recruitment.
You don’t think there could be a
possible clash between state police
and the federal police in their
areas of responsibility?
Virtually, you are saying that the
country is no more a country where the
laws are known. There are
responsibilities of different levels of
governments which are known. This is
the same thing with state police. You
cannot use the state police to violate the
laws of the country or the Constitution
of Nigeria. The Federal Government has
a responsibility to defend the unity of
the country. It is criminal if it does not
do that. There should be no reason to
worry about this because policing at the
local level should be effective but, at the
moment, it is not. First, we have the
problem of numbers; second, we have
problem of poor training of the police;
third, we have problem of
understanding the various
constituencies where the
police are operating. And most
importantly is the fourth
problem which is corruption.
All these are the things
militating against efficient
policing in the country and if
we can pay attention to them,
we should be able to improve.
Now, state police, unlike the
local vigilantes that have no
laws guiding their operations,
will have laws.
But state governors could
hijack it for political
ambitions?
It depends on the people. How
can a governor who claims to
be elected popularly by the
people of the state hijack a law
enforcement agency that is
supposed to serve the entire
people? If the people understand that the
state police are not for the governor but
for them, then there should be no reason
to surrender their right of policing to
the governor. Most of the things
happening in Nigeria today are due to
the people’s laxity and their
connivance. If you look at it strictly
from the point of law, the commissioners
of police try to connive with governors
to rig elections and terrorise opponents.
It is the people that allow it. If they don’t
allow it, they should come out and kick
against it; they should make demands
on the governor and insist these
demands are met. The way things are
happening in Nigeria is funny.
Something will happen and, before
you know it, it has been given tribal or
ethnic connotation. There are lots of
religious and tribal sentiments in
Nigeria. Politics in Nigeria has been
tribalised. Religious sentiments are
creeping in; in fact, into everything
except the laws that govern the
country. That is why we have failure
in detecting crimes, failure in
punishing crimes.
You are saying this because of
herdsmen attacking communities
and people saying its Islamisation
agenda...
You have already taken a position as
a journalist, that it is herdsmen that
are attacking communities and I am
sure you have a reason for taking sides
which could be religious or ethnic. The
media in Nigeria is promoting a lot of
ethnic and tribal sentiments. Every
newspaper has it editorial policy and
you as a journalist work in accordance
with it or you could lose your job. The
herdsmen issue is being given religious
and tribal connotations; the media calls
them Fulani herdsmen. This is very
well encouraged by the media which has
not given a balanced narrative of what
is happening.
The herdsmen
issue is being
given religious
and tribal
connotations;
the media
calls them
Fulani
herdsmen
If it’s not herdsmen attacking
communities, who then are
they?
They’re
northerners all over
Nigeria who are
living peacefully
with the people; in
the South-East,
they speak Igbo
language and
intermarry.
But what is
happening
now is
different?
That is
how it
should be,
living
peacefully
with one
another.
W h a t
you said is also happening
in the North. We have Igbo
and people from other
tribes living there
peacefully with
northerners. But I tell you,
what is happening today is
that politicians are
dividing this country on
the basis of political
interests and people are
paid to protect the affairs
of these politicians. And
journalists are also falling
into the same trap of
tribalism and all sorts of
divisive measures. I tell
you, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba
have no problems with one
another. Go the markets,
check out personal
relationships among
ethnic groups but
everything is being
tribalised because of politics. Go to the
big markets at Onitsha, Aba, Kaduna
or Kano and you will not see what you
are reporting. Everybody is one, but
politicians who want to win elections are
the problems. These politicians operate
at different levels; from ward to local
government, state and federal, they
Continues on page 26
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 26—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Continued from page 25
poison the people’s minds and interpret
everything with ethnic and religious bias.
They take advantage of the ignorance of
the people and brainwash them. Some of
the reports in the newspapers do not help
issues. A man in the rural area reads
some of these things and swallows them.
Now, journalists who are supposed to be
denying the politicians’ lies are working
for them.
'Cattle rearers are
fighting back over
injustice'
If you say I jumped to a
conclusion that those
attacking communities are
herdsmen; that means
you think they are not.
So what do you call
what is happening?
Everybody is
talking about
Benue but who is
taking about
Taraba? Did you
report the 743
people that
were murdered
in Mambilla?
Did you people
report the 953 people that
were murdered in Kaduna?
Did you report the 500
people that were killed in
Southern Kaduna? Did you
report the Fulani that were
murdered in Numan and so
on? You did not, but
politicians are pushing you
to report the 73 that were
killed in Benue and this is
what is heating the policy
and the several hundreds of
people that died in other
places have died in vain. So,
I am accusing the press of
bias and for engineering
some of the difficulties we
are having today? The
herdsmen crisis is politically
driven. We have been
having herdsmen for over
200 years or 300 years ago in
Nigeria, particularly we in
the North. I haven’t seen
how this crisis between
farmers and herdsmen
would lead to attacks and
loss of lives. This is a
politically driven agenda,
perhaps, intended to split
the monolithic North; we
have been talking about the
monolithic North for a long
time politically in this
country. I have been
involved in debates against
some respected people from
the southern part of this
country who believe that this
country is not balanced
because the North is too big; because the
North is too politically united, so there
must be a way of disrupting this unity,
and this is what we are seeing on ground
today, and the elements that are being
used are the Fulani herdsmen. This
matter would be looked at properly;
political alliances and so on are welcome.
You don’t need to lose blood, or property
to engage in political alliance or
whatever you want, or still, you don’t need
to introduce excuses that will lead to loss
of lives. We saw this when the Boko
Haram was on ground; they said
northerners created the sect to disrupt
former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
government, which led to his failure in
the last election, and so on. Now that Boko
Haram is out of the way, the new excuse
is the Fulani herdsmen. This is what is
happening in other places except in areas
that you are talking. We have seen what
they called a new handshake across the
Niger; it is political, and we have seen
the mourning that has taken place in
Benue and other places to show that the
monolithic North is not in tandem with
the Middle Belt; it is all politics. Our
Middle Belters don’t need to take the
agenda that appears to be a thing of
distrust. We are not going
to force anybody into a
relationship politically or
otherwise. We see this as
a political agenda.
So, it is not
herdsmen that are
committing the
murders?
The truth is, if you want
to kill me and I have a
chance first, I will kill you,
or you do want people to
be killed and not defend
themselves? By your
reporting, you have
denied them justice and
government also has
denied them justice by not
going to arrest those that
are killing them. So, they
defend themselves.
Are you saying
herdsmen are the ones
wronged? In Ondo State,
Chief Olu Falae has a
farm. First, he was
kidnapped; second, his
farm was raided and,
third, his farm was set
ablaze by herdsmen. Did
he attack them first?
May uncle was
kidnapped last week in
Kaduna, my cousin’s
children were also
kidnapped and they had to
go and find N2.5 million to
pay. Why is Olu Falae case
different? Because he was
Secretary to the Federal
Government? He is a Nigerian just like my
uncle and my cousin whose children were
kidnapped. The right of every citizen is
important under the law. Why is he so
special?
I have been
involved in
debates against
some respected
people from the
southern part of
this country who
believe that this
country is not
balanced because
the North is too
big; because the
North is too
politically united,
so there must be a
way of disrupting
this unity, and this
is what we are
seeing on ground
today
•Prof Ango
Abdullahi
But you insinuated it is not herdsmen,
but look at the social media and see their
impunity; they occupy highways even
in the cities, graze in government
establishments, sack school children from
the schools, because cows have occupied
the classrooms, destroy farms and
crops...
What about the impunity of the people
killing herdsmen? The herdsmen in
Nigeria are reacting to the injustice
meted out daily to them?
Who meted out the injustice to
them?
You people, you Nigerians, including
you who are biased, who are not prepared
to protect the rights and interests of
herdsmen. They are killed but not
reported, that is not acceptable.
I want to get this right. I live in Lagos....
You actually live outside the country.
Those who live in Lagos don’t know what
is happening in Nigeria. Lagos is
the end of the world. Herdsmen
operate in these places you
mentioned because the
country has denied them the
traditional routes which the
British created for them
IN 1914 when they
occupied this country
because they realised
that, like cars require
tracks, herdsmen also
require tracks they can
use to graze and drink
water. The British
provided it for them
and gazetted it but people have denied
them these routes. So, where do you expect
the animals to follow? They have to follow
somewhere and the easy road is the one
other people are using. We are all living in
Nigeria.
Are you trying to justify the
menace of herdsmen?
I am justifying it very strongly because
herdsmen are being unjustly treated in
this country.
You should take cognisance of that.
They are businessmen just like the
farmers whose crops are being destroyed.
They should invest in their business; buy
ranches like the farmers bought their
parcels of land...
They are businessmen. If an Igbo man
could go to my state and set up a shop,
why shouldn’t herdsmen operate
elsewhere? Or are you the one who
planted the grass the animals are feeding
on? Are you the one who created the
water they drink? The land belongs to
Nigerians and herdsmen are Nigerians.
If an Igbo man can go to the North and set
up a business, why won’t herdsmen go to
the South, including your village, to graze
their cattle?
The Igbo man you are talking about
rents a shop and pays for it. He also pays
tax...
Where we come from, you don’t pay for
land, you only ask for permission to use
it. That is why I said you people are biased
against other people and that is why the
peace of this country will be very difficult.
You only see Nigeria in your own picture,
not in the picture of other people. Then,
of course, there is a problem, there are
other people who also have pictures and
are interested in the only thing you want
to protect. That means you have a lot of
work to do ahead of you.
So, should farmers keep quiet
while herdsmen destroy their
farms?
It is not farmers, it is all political now, I
can tell you. Only 35% of the land in
Nigeria is under cultivation. The
remaining 65%, the wet land, the forests,
the range are uncultivated. It only
requires good policies of government to
make sure that our land is efficiently
utilised and you should know livestock
industry contributes 6% of the country’s
GDP; it contributes more than the
manufacturing industry is contributing
to the GDP of Nigeria. So, the economic
contribution of the livestock man who is
day and night in the bush is more than
your own who live in Lagos.
What do you say to government?
Of course government is not managing
the problem well. That is what we told the
Vice President a few days ago in his office;
they have not managed the problem well.
When this thing started, what they should
have done is to tell the Minister of
Agriculture to call the National Council on
Agriculture meeting. There are 36
commissioners of agriculture in the
country who need to sit together and
discuss this matter. This is not a matter that
will be treated in isolation by any state. It
affects the whole country and that is why a
more sensible solution should be applied
to the matter. I see this now that the matter
is political; the matter is tribal and
religious. The matter is sectional. You are
not looking at it from the point of view of
fairness, equity and justice. I am not talking
about you as a person but the entire media
and the entire South.
We have not solved the security
problem in the country and here
comes 2019. Do you think Buhari
deserves to come back?
It’s up to Nigerians to decide how they
want to enter 2019; if they want to enter
2019 peacefully or otherwise depends on
Nigerians. Everyone has a stake but
because we have abandoned our stake,
others are operating there and are
treating us the way they are doing.
Nigerians should wake up and make
sure that they get people of quality that
will eventually take Nigeria to its proper
place of good governance and the
products of good governance. We have
been hearing reports of billions stolen by
Nigerians, Nigerians who are politicians,
who are civil servants and others who
have stolen money and yet when politics
comes, these thieves are defended on the
basis of friendship, on the basis of religion,
on the basis of ethnicity and, based on
these, they are declared innocent. There
are only guilty because other areas
deemed them so. So, Nigerians really
need to take control of their country, by
looking at their country and finding
people who will govern them well.
But Buhari is coming back for second
term...
You should tell him that or you tell his
party. I am not a member of government
or a member of any party.
How do you assess Buhari
government?
I will not assess it now until that time when
we are ready to assess everybody. The
government of Nigeria is not one. There
are various governments in the country,
the collective success or failure does not rest
in one particular government. It rests on
several governments at different levels.
Nigerians should be able to assess all these
collectively and arrive at a decision
whether the governments and the parties
have done well. If they have not done well,
we should be able to decide to change them
in the next election. This is the kind of thing
we want to see next year. Everybody should
be responsible for this assessment including
the media which in many cases have
written beautiful analysis of what is
going on. The journalists are after
information and it is through this
information that a lot of things that are
wrong are exposed.
You are also a politician from the way
you talk. Why don’t you join politics?
I was in politics. I won an election as
governor of Kaduna State but I was denied.
I have been in the system for long.
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 27
HERDSMEN ATTACKS SWEEP
THROUGH SOUTH-WEST…
‘The rapists of our
women, killers of our
men and attackers of
our farms are walking
the streets free’
By Dayo Johnson - Regional Editor,
South-West, Gbenga Olarinoye -
Oshogbo, Ola Ajayi - lbadan, Daud
Olatunji - Abeokuta, Rotimi
Ojomoyela - Ado-Ekiti
THE rapacious activities of herdsmen
in the South-West have left tales of
woes and many persons, including
aged farmers, hacked to death on their
farms while their wives and female children
are not only raped but also butchered and
vital body parts carted away.
Annoyingly, the families of those
murdered on their farms were left to bury
their dismembered bodies and made to live
with such a bad memory.
Also destroyed in the geo-political zone are
hundreds of hectares of farmlands and in
many cases cash and food crops burnt.
Herdsmen are also accused
of rampant kidnapping of
residents.
Farmers are abandoning
their farms in droves because
of the unending activities of
herdsmen who lead their
cattle to graze on the
farmlands.
Notable personalities such
as a former Secretary to the
Government of the
Federation, SGF, Chief Olu
Falae, had suffered untold
hardship in the hands of
suspected herdsmen.
His massive farm, located at
Ilado in Akure North, Ondo
State, has been set ablaze by
the assailants many times.
He was equally kidnapped
in broad daylight while on his
farm and spent days in
captivity only to be released
96 hours after a ransom of
N5million was paid. Whereas
seven of his abductors were
caught, prosecuted and
sentenced to life
imprisonment, most of those
who attacked other victims
were never apprehended not to talk of being
brought to justice.
On the recent attack of his farm, Falae
had said, “They burn my farm every year
so that fresh grass can grow for their cattle
to eat. This is the third time they’ll be setting
my farm ablaze”.
In another act of impunity linked to
herdsman in Ondo State, a 28-year-old
mother of two, Florence Godday, was
attacked by machete wielding herdsman
who she claimed nearly raped her on her
farm in Igbo Abo, near Osi community in
Akure North.
Speaking on her ordeal, the woman
explained that she was working alone on
her farm on the fateful day when the
herdsman attacked, gagged her and tore
Farmers are
abandoning
their farms in
droves
because of
the unending
activities of
herdsmen
who lead
their cattle to
graze on the
farmlands
She narrated that the gag miraculously
slipped from her mouth following which she
raised the alarm to attract nearby villagers.
The attacker fled but not before dealing her
machete blows.
“I can’t really explain the motive behind
the attack by the herdsman, maybe to kill
me or to rape me, but he had removed my
wrapper and blouse before I could raise the
alarm and he dealt machete blows on me”,
Florence said.
The husband, a member of the Oodua
Peoples Congress (OPC), Thomas Godday,
mobilised and got the suspect arrested but
he was later set free by the state Police
Command which described him as a
scavenger who attempted to sexually abuse
the woman and injured her in the process.
The police denied that he was a herdsman
but a northerner.
A suspected herdsman,
who allegedly stabbed a
driver, Victor Ajisafe, at
Road Block area of Ibadan
Garage in Akure South, has
not been apprehended
almost a month after the
incident.
Ajisafe was said to have
met his untimely death
after a minor disagreement
between him and the
herdsman.
The wife of the deceased,
Oluwatoyin, said, “We
appeal to government and
the police to arrest the
Fulani herdsman who killed
my husband in his prime.
He must face the
consequences of his action.”
Last December, some
farmers in Arodoye
community in Akure South
took time off their farming
activities to celebrate
Christmas and New Year
with their families only to
return to discover that
their over 200 hectares of
farmlands had been
attacked by herdsmen whose cattle fed
freely on the crops.
A 65-year-old woman, Patience Salami,
who was met on one of the farmlands by the
rampaging herdsmen, was murdered; her
body dismembered and parts like the
tongue, breasts and private part carted
away.
The victims petitioned the state
government, security agencies, the state
House of Assembly and the state Ministry
of Agriculture on the development.
They listed some of the farm produce
destroyed by the herdsmen to include
cassava, cocoa, cocoyam, yam, vegetables
while some part of the cocoa farms were set
on fire.
Speaking on behalf of the farmers, a
Court of Appeal, Justice Michael Owoyemi,
traced the genesis of the invasion to
December 2016 when some herdsmen
harvested most of the farm produce in the
community while they were away for
Christmas /New Year.
He noted that the 2016 attack was small
compared to the latest assault.
Owoyemi explained that the herdsmen
returned last December destroying over
5,000 heaps of cassava in his farm. “They
took the advantage of the break and brought
their cattle and uprooted all the cassava in
my farm to feed their cows”, he said.
“The herdsmen are determined to send
us farmers out of business in the South-West
and unless steps are taken by the
authorities, the situation may degenerate
to ethnic clashes. What they have
destroyed in a twinkle of an eye is worth
millions of Naira”
Another victim, Gabriel Ikoja, 68, who
claimed to have started farming in the area
in 1985, said he never experienced the kind
of the latest destruction.
“We want to call on the state government
to emulate Ekiti by enacting a law to control
grazing activities because there is no
question about the fact that this is becoming
a monster, it is getting dangerous while the
audacity is very disturbing.”
•Florence
attacked by
suspected
herdsman on
her farm in
Ondo
should rise up to help us.”
The community head, the Olu of Arodoye,
Chief Idowu Ajetumobi Fasuyi, said apart
from the destruction of farms, most people
had fled the community while those that
remained had been living in fear.
The Senior Special Assistant to the state
governor on Agriculture, Mr. Akin Olotu,
at a meeting with stakeholders, said there
should be a form of identification for cattle
rearers and their cattle to distinguish the
erring ones in the state.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu also disclosed
the determination of the state government
to end clashes between herdsmen and
farmers in Ondo, saying plans were
underway to resuscitate the ranch
established by the Chief Obafemi Awolowo
administration in Akunnu-Akoko area of
the state.
8-year-old attacker
Last week however, some herdsman, said
to have been led by an 8-year-old herder,
sacked Akure South LGA secretariat.
The lad had reportedly led his cattle to
feed on a vegetable farm at the back of the
council secretariat and, when challenged,
he drew out a dagger and stabbed the farm
manager.
A fight reportedly ensued and the boy
wounded but, moments later, several
herdsmen emerged with dangerous
weapons, invaded the council secretariat,
forcing workers to flee in different
directions.
Debtors
“They have turned us to perpetual debtors
because some of the tools we use in the farms
were procured with bank loans. The
herdsmen will just get there and destroy
her clothes preparatory to raping her. victim, who is also a judge of the Customary our farmlands. The state government Continues on page 28
C
M
YK

PAGE 28 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 17, 2018
Continued from page 27
Some brides and their grooms, who had
come to the council’s registry for the
solemnisation of the holy matrimony, also fled
on seeing the herdsmen, said to be numbering
over 30 and brandishing dangerous weapons.
The council boss, Margaret Atere, it was
learnt, was ferried out of the council premises
by her aides during the incident.
For three days thereafter, the workers, out of
fear of a reprisal attack, stayed away from
work.
The state Commissioner of Police, Gbenga
Adeyemi, who led his men and the governor’s
Special Adviser on Security to the LGA
secretariat to assess the situation, tried to play
down the incident which he described as a
minor disagreement.
Ogun: Death on farmland
The situation in Ogun State is not entirely
different from Ondo’s. In January, some
suspected herdsmen invaded a farm and
destroyed N6.8 million worth of produce. The
farm is located in Likosi-Alabata village in
Papalanto area of Obafemi-Owode local
government area of the state and belonging to
one Roseline Ogege. Same month, another
group of suspected herdsmen reportedly attacked
two female primary school teachers in Onigbedu
area of Ewekoro LGA while a farmer was killed
on his farmland at Afon in Imeko-Afon LGA in
an incident blamed on herdsmen. Both incidents
occurred after the state government took
measures to prevent clashes between herdsmen
and farmers and to ensure safety of lives and
property and the state Commissioner of Police,
Ahmed Iliyasu, convened a stakeholders’
meeting to discuss the clashes. The government
said the herdsmen attacks affected Yewa
North,Obafemi-Owode,Odeda and Ijebu-Ode
LGA among others. The Secretary to the State
Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, who spoke on
behalf of the state government, said Yewa North
was hardest hit. He, however, vowed that
government will invoke the recently passed antiland
grabbing law in Ogun to curtail herdsmen/
farmers clashes.
Oyo: One killed, hunters deployed
Since the latest killing of a farmer in Iseyin by
suspected herdsmen, the Yoruba farmers group,
Agbekoya, has deployed hunters to areas that
appear to be flashpoints. The strained
relationship between herders in the state and
farmers dates back to many years ago.
According to a chieftain of Agbekoya, the influx
of herders into Yorubaland was not considered
a threat due to the hospitable nature of the people.
But as the number of herders grew, trouble started
‘The rapists of our
women, killers of our
men and attackers of
our farms are walking
the streets free’
as their cattle increased in number and needed
more grazing fields.
This informed their movement away from their
grazing routes to destroy farmlands.
The people of Oke Ogun area of Oyo State
are worst-hit. There is hardly a week that there is
no issue between Saki residents and herders. It
was gathered that the population of herdsmen
has now surpassed that of natives.
In a meeting convened by the Oyo State
Commissioner of Police, Mr Abiodun Odude,
he appealed to both parties to live together in
peace.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s representative at
the meeting, Mr Segun Abolarinwa, said the
peace enjoyed in the state was as a result of the
collective efforts of government and security
agencies.
He said, “We don’t want a repeat of attacks
that engulfed states like Taraba, Benue, Enugu
and Yobe here in Oyo. We have been living
together in peace for several years. Robbery
attacks and violent activities of members of
NURTW have stopped and we don’t want
anything to rupture the peace. If there is trouble
in Nigeria, with the population of about 170
million, where do we run to?
EKITI: Despite law, pregnant woman,
one other killed
In Ekiti State, the anti- open grazing law
enacted by the Governor Ayodele Fayose-led
government, which initially curtailed the
nefarious activities of herdsmen in the state, now
appears dormant, especially in the face of current
killings allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen.
The law, titled, “Prohibition of Cattle and
Other Ruminants Grazing in Ekiti, 2016,”
criminalises grazing in some places within the
state and outside certain period in the day. It
also prohibited carriage of any kind of weapon
by herdsmen.
Aside the legal measures against killer
herdsmen, local hunters of border communities
across the state have been mobilised and
empowered with
vehicles and funds
by Governor
Fayose to tackle
them.
However, in the
last two months,
several killings
and destruction of
farmlands have
been recorded
across Ekiti.
In January, a pregnant Tiv woman was hacked
to death in a farm settlement located in Orin-
Ekiti in Ido/Osi LGA by people referred to as
“Bororo herdsmen”. A former Chairman of the
LGA, Prince Sanmi Olubummo, who confirmed
the incident, disclosed that another victim of the
attack was receiving treatment in hospital.
It was gathered that the incident was a reprisal
attack. A particular herdsman was said to have
been attacked by a group of Tiv natives who
were enraged at the damaged done to their
farmlands by the cattle of some herdsmen and
immediately launched an attack on the cattle.
Some weeks ago, another group of suspected
herdsmen struck again, hacking to death a father
of two, Olayemi Tunde, in Ipao area of Ikole
LGA. Olayemi, a motorcyclist, was reportedly
killed while returning from his farm.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the deceased
had gone to his farm to harvest cassava when he
met his untimely death.
Following the killings, a security meeting was
called by Fayose who proposed that the Ekiti
anti-grazing law should be amended in such a
way to earn the confidence of herdsmen.
The governor said the amendment would
provide one year jail term for anyone who kills
herdsmen’s cattle, as well as provision of
compensation for affected herdsmen.
He promised to set up a panel to investigate
the root cause of the Ipao attack.
OSUN: 100 acres of farmlands, crops worth
hundreds of millions lost
In Osun State, there are claims that herdsmen
recently attacked two villages and destroyed
farmlands worth hundreds of millions of naira.
The villages were identified as Oki and Uro in
Obokun East LGA.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the attacks
occurred on January 20.
One of the affected farmers,
Prince Patrick Olaniyan, a
Senior Lecturer in the
Department of Business
Administration of The
Polytechnic, Imesi- Ile,
confirmed that he lost over three
hundred thousand worth of
crops to the attack.
Another victim, Prince
Samuel Ajiboye, said his
plantain farm was destroyed.
The farm, sited on five acres of
land, was, according to him,
cleared of the plantain by the
cows of the herders before day
break. He claimed to have spent
over one million naira on the
enterprise before the incident.
In the case of Pa Joseph
Osundare, another staff of the
polytechnic, the cassava planted
on his two acres of land in Uro
and estimated at about five
hundred thousand naira was
eaten up by the herdsmen’s cattle
*One of battered victims About 100 acres of mangoes,
pineapple, plantain plantations
and cassava farms were also reportedly set
ablaze in Esa Oke area of Obokun East LCDA)
by suspected herdsmen.
Some of the farmers, who spoke to our
correspondent, put the cost of their economic
crops at hundreds of millions of Naira.
They called on the state government, which
leased the farmlands to them at Esa Oke Farm
Settlement, to come to their rescue.
One of the victims, Mr Sola Obembe, said,
“On January 26, our farms were set ablaze by
herdsmen and over 100 acres of farmland were
burnt with economic trees valued at hundreds
of millions of Naira.
“Also in Ikoyi town, we had a trial farm of
tomato and cucumber of about 200 acres which
was also set ablaze. The fire started around 5.30
pm and spread quickly as we have plastic mulch
and drop lines all over. Fortunately, some of our
workers who live close were still around and they
tackled the blaze”.
Osun State Commissioner for Special Duties,
who doubles as the Chairman of the Peaceful
Co-Existence between herders and farmers in
the state, Mr Oguntola Mudsiru Toogun,
confirmed the attacks but said about 29
farmers affected at Esa Oke had been paid
compensation by the erring herders.
He said government was taking proactive
measure to foster peace and harmony in
the state, assuring that efforts were on-going
to sustain peace and avert any clash
between farmers and herders.
Heart of the matter,
with Chioma Gabriel
email: anyagafu@yahoo.com
Telephone: 08052201257
Perilous Times
MY friend, an
American Nigerian
came home from Texas
to contest election in
his state in southeast Nigeria.
He is someone
who uses the social media
a lot to express his
feelings about Nigeria
and Nigerians. He never
fails to comment on serious
things happening
around Nigeria. But
sometimes, I feel these
Nigerians who live overseas
especially the professionals
among them
have attitude problems.
Many years ago, my
friend acquired a stateof-the
art property somewhere
in Victoria Garden
City ,VGC . Nobody lives
in that edifice except
when he comes home
once in a while.
Throughout the great
flood that swept through
the Island last year, he
was overseas. But when
he came home for campaigns,
he realised a
great misfortune had befallen
him. His VGC
house which is in waterfront
submerged during
the flood and destroyed
things. I had once advised
him to keep somebody
in the house to
avoid any surprise but he
didn't take the advice. To
him ,every Nigerian,
young or old, male or female
is a fraudster.
He not was far from the
truth but then, people
take risks.
His house in VGC is no
longer a place of comfort
for him currently. The
properties he left inside
the house were destroyed.
The last time we
spoke, he was thinking of
selling the VGC property
and relocating to the
mainland. Perhaps, if
somebody was living in
the house, the situation
would not have deteriorated
to the level it did.
I have also read his
commentaries on APC
and Buhari as if Buhari
is the biggest problem
facing Nigeria. Many
commentators on social
media imply same. Nigerians
are just using the
bad economy as excuse to
perpetrate all manner of
evil and are blaming it on
Buhari's purported poor
governance.
Some cases being handled
by the Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC,
have nothing to do with
APC or Buhari. These
were cases of fraud perpetrated
by Nigerians
from different fields of life
prior to this time.
People are perpetrating
evil in Nigeria and blaming
it on the economy.
The petrol marketer who
is hoarding pms or who
adjusted his fuel pomp
downward is not working
for Buhari. The man next
door who is into obtaining
by trick, that is 419 is
not working for APC. The
greedy landlord who increased
the rent pf a
house he built 20 years
ago because the price of
It is easier to point
fingers at others in
higher places for
fraudulent practices
whereas among us
in our various
communities and
establishments,
nepotism which
many are accusing
Buhari of practising
reigns supreme
building materials have
just gone up is not in government.
The market man
or woman who arbitrarily
increases the price of
commodities for flimsy
reasons is not in government.
People who cheat
others in business and
other transactions thinking
they are smart are not
in government. These are
opportunists who let their
selfishness dominate
their conscience.
Since the Americana
came back and has returned
to his village mobilizing
for election, he
has been running more
commentaries on Nigeria
and Nigerians. Recently,
he has started
complaining that people
beg a lot in Nigeria. His
account officers in the
bank are begging. Those
he meets in shops and
supermarkets are also
begging. Almost everyone
in his village is begging.
Those that are employed
are begging.
Those that are not are
also begging. Everywhere
he goes in Nigeria,
the people are begging.
And he asks, what
is going on?
For someone who has
been critical of Buhari's
government, he didn't
blame him for the begging.
He felt Nigerians
are blind, that money
practically litters the
streets but Nigerians are
too blind to see it. He
didn't empathize with the
workers who are not
earning salaries especially
in his state where the
government is notorious
for owing pensions and
salaries.
One of the responses he
got on the 'begging' commentary
he posted said
he should thank God he
was dealing with beggars
and not robbers. He was
also advised that some of
the beggars could turn
violent and become robbers.
Another commentator
advised him to help
those he considered genuine
beggars and leave
the rest.
Agreed, the average
Nigerian is a crook. People
like to cheat others
and could go to any
length to do that. The issue
of the upsurge of corruption
is troubling. And
the damages it has done
to the polity are astronomical.
In fact, the major
factor obstructing Nigeria's
path towards sustainable
development is
corruption. Nigeria is
troubled in many ways.
There is decline in public
morality. Unemployment
and poverty reign
supreme. Lawlessness
has become the order of
the day as a result of a
failed system. Corruption
has many faces in Nigeria:
embezzlement, misappropriation,
kickbacks
or what have you. Just
name it, Nigeria has it.
At the individual level,
haven't you noticed how
many times your blood
brother has robbed you of
opportunities or stolen
out rightly from you?
What about businesses?
C
M
Y
K

Again, The “Samanja”
Governor In Imo
Mr. Anayo Okoro
cha’s activities in
Imo State makes
the saying that “elections
have consequences” very true
and immediate. Elections do
indeed have consequence;
and the election of the man
called Rochas as governor of
Imo State, who sold the snake
oil of “philanthropy” to Imo
people as his most significant
quality, has come with great
consequence to that state.
Okorocha arrived Owerri
with a retinue of goons – a
large retinue indeed, among
them actors in Nollywood,
who put a true sheen to the
very theatrical practice of
comedy. There was comedy
when Okorocha first announced
his appointments,
among them “special Assistants”
for all kinds of routine
affairs.
There were originally seventy
of them. What he basically
did was to gut the state
civil service. Let me remind
us again why the civil service
is established as the central
nervous system of government:
Nigeria inherited the
British model of the civil service,
and established that service
to carry out three roles
fundamental to the meaning
of the state: to (a) constitute a
functioning system of organic
governance and administration,
(b) maintain the stability
of the institutions of
governance, and (c) maintain
the security of the established
order of government under
the rule of law. In these roles,
the civil service carries out the
rexmarinus@hotmail.com
policy of the government; it
serves the government of the
day, while remaining independent
of any political affiliations.
The operational delivery
of the policies of government
through the various
departments, and agencies of
the public sector rests squarely
on the service. The various
departments and agencies
are organized with a hierarchy
of usually highly trained
administrators specially recruited
and continually
trained by government
through the Civil service
Commission, a body independent
of the political administration,
which maintains
various protocols and
privileges of the Civil Service,
and through which the order
of the service is maintained.
Through the Head of the Civil
Service, usually also the
most senior of the Permanent
Secretaries, and often playing
the role in the administration
as Cabinet Secretary,
a role now somehow played
by the Secretary to the state
or Federal governments, various
schedule officers of the
civil service are deployed to
assist the political leadership,
advise them, and implement
executive policies and programs
of the government of
the day. These civil servants
provide institutional memory
Ȧny government worth a
damn does two things: it recruits
its most brilliant graduates
into the service – the
Teaching service, the Administrative
service, and the Tech-
For Zuma, The End Was Before
The Beginning In 2009
There were sighs of re
lief when Mr Jacob
Zuma, the troubled
former President of South
Africa, finally decided to resign
his post last week. The
news reverberated all over the
world and the Wall Street reacted
swiftly with the South
African Rand “jumping” to its
highest ever since 2015. This
signified good news for a majority
of South African citizens,
some of whom are unemployed,
broke and hopeless
as a result of the leadership
style of the 75-year-old
Zuma.
While there were muffled
celebrations and jubilations
on the resignation, there were,
however, hopes that the beacon
of hope for Africa, once
again has an opportunity of
a new beginning. The resignation,
we know, was long
overdue and when it finally
came, it was not a shock nor
was it a pleasure for anyone.
It was not for the fact that
Zuma has lost political sympathies,
but because people
were just tired of his scandalridden
leadership.
Diaspora Matters, with
Morak Babajide-Alabi
http://www.babajidealabi.com
No one was expecting a
Zimbabwean-style of celebrations
after his exit. We can
still recall the excitements, jubilations,
and back slapping
on the news of the resignation
of Zimbabwe’s maximum
leader Robert Mugabe a few
months ago. It was epic. But
this is how far the comparison
goes, as it would be too
harsh to equate Mugabe with
Zuma. They are two individuals
in different classes -
Mugabe “thoroughly” overstayed
his welcome in the seat
of power, while Zuma was just
a bad student of politics.
With recent events in the
country, we knew it was a
matter of waiting game for
Zuma to either be pushed off
the cliff or forced to jump. He
is a deft politician, but one of
the qualities of a good fighter
is, realising when you are out
of steam and time to throw in
the towel. Zuma realised his
time was up and there were
no more games, and he said -
"I have to come to a decision
to resign with immediate effect."
It was a brutal call by his
party – the African National
Congress (ANC) – on him to
resign. His first instinct was
to dare the party leaders when
he claimed ignorance and
questioned their audacity to
call him to resign. It didn’t
take him too long to retrace
his steps when he discovered
the party leadership had already
drawn out a grand plan
to “march” him out should
he chose to be “stubborn”.
The great Nelson
Mandela is
probably turning
in his grave and
wondering if his
dream for South
Africa is not
gradually turning
into a nightmare
He couldn’t have been soberer
when he said: “It is my
party that placed me before
the representatives of the people
to be elected. It is my party
that availed me to serve on
basis of the Constitution. I respect
the prescripts of the
Constitution on how we enter
and exit political office. I
must accept that if my party
and my compatriots wish
SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 29
nical services, and so on, continually
trains them locally
and internationally, buffers
them from want by providing
them good housing, access to
credit, and comfortable
amenities that would make
them resist any temptations
to defraud the institution they
serve, and the security of a
good pension, that would
make their retirement at the
end of service tolerable. That
way, they would protect the
system, and prevent its corruption.
Secondly, they would
deploy them to function in the
roles that they are established
to play by the Act of establishment.
A government
therefore would not need
“Special Advisers” of the
number that Okorocha did
parade. It is not only a ridicule
of the office he occupies,
it was a move to usurp,
through these “sweetheart appointments,”
the function of
the civil service and corrupt
the process of public governance.
We see the effects today.
The thorough misgovernance
of the state, and the
destruction of the infrastructure
of transparent public
governance is part of the legacy
of Okorocha’s “Samanja”
administration in Imo
State today.
A governor has legitimately
only three possible positions
for extraordinary appointment
as advisors: the
Economic Advisor, a Political
Advisor, and a Legal Advisor.
Okorocha does not get it because
he does not have the
depth of philosophical and
humanizing education that
should have civilized him to
the culture of democratic
governance; somehow, he
thinks of government as
throw-back to military-era
absolutism.
It is injurious in the end because
much of the policies of
his administration have been
built on illegalities, and the
structures will be dismantled
when he leaves office eventually.
Okorocha has very little
help thinking through his policies.
There is no person of
serious intellectual weight in
his government: he is no Sam
Mbakwe – who was not only
a brilliant Lawyer but already
had a higher degree in Political
Science before he became
governor in Imo State.
Mbakwe was a classy man,
and he had his Enoch Anyanwu,
his Oxford trained Professor
of Economics as his
Chief Secretary, and heavyweights
like Ray Ofoegbu,
and so on, as his commissioners.
And he had a vast array
of highly trained and experienced
public servants at his
disposal – in an era when the
likes of SC Nwapa were still
in service, or Emeghara, or
Putting his son in
law up for election is
designed to shield
him from his serial
misdemeanors, and
give him a backdoor
to power in the state
Ekezie, or Ekeocha, or Gaius
Anoka, and so many of the
old Civil service Mandarins,
who were true “mandarins”
of the service when it was still
the “Civil Service,” and who
could, as Permanent secretaries
give fearless, and peerless
advise to government; when
debates at the Executive Council
were of a quality of
thought, and recorded in the
most elegant of language,
that puts to shame whatever
we have become today in Imo
State under Okorocha.
Elections have consequence.
The greatest consequence
of the election of Okorocha
as governor in Imo
State is that he brought a rabble
to the state. That rabble
has defined the current quality
of governance in Imo
that I be removed from office
they must exercise that right
and do so in the manner prescribed
by the constitution.”
So on Wednesday, Zuma
left the stage rather unceremoniously
for a flamboyant
and expressive politician who
enjoyed traditional dances
with naked women. Dancing
was clearly far from his mind
on this day, rather he was
more concerned with how
history would judge him.
Would history place him in
the “naughty corner” or overlook
his many misdeeds and
write him a chapter of his developmental
contributions to
the country he went to jail for?
We all seem to know how he
will be judged, as his handiworks
while in office seem not
to speak positive volumes.
No other president in the
history of the country has been
openly criticised and accused
of corruption, adultery and
rape as Zuma. Some of these
allegations preceded his tenures
in office as president and
had overshadowed his role in
the anti-apartheid struggles.
He had never had a quiet or
glorious time in the public
sphere. His tenure as Deputy
President ended abruptly in
2005 when he was sacked by
Thabo Mbeki, the man he
later succeeded, anyway.
His infamous rape trial is
still fresh in the minds of
South Africans. For many
people all over the world, it
was a painful trial to watch.
Unfortunately, his supporters,
mainly the youth wing of the
African National Congress
(ANC) saw the trial as an avenue
to show the world how
big his “political base” was.
The solidarity visits and songs
State. Just recently – this past
week in fact – Okorocha
threw a public punch by putting
his bets on his son in-law,
Mr. Uche Nwosu, as his successor.
Let me say this, I do
not know Mr. Nwosu, his
background, or his competencies,
and I shall endeavor to
find this out in due course as
a conscientious public commentator.
All one knows for
now is that Mr. Nwosu is
Rochas Okorocha’s son-inlaw.
I also must say that Uche
Nwosu despite all that, has a
right to seek public office on
his own terms. It is fair to
grant him the right to aspire.
But thus far, I should also say,
as part of this administration,
which he has served as Chief
of staff, which has allowed
him a front-row position in the
governance of Imo State, he
shares profoundly in its failures.
It is an administration
with a questionable legacy: its
policies are skewered; it has
in connivance with the leadership
of the State Assembly,
failed to restore the authority
of the local government administrations
in Imo State,
and expended money that
ought to be held in trust for
these local governments without
account; this administration
has destroyed the civil
service of the state; and in
owing state pensioners sent
many to their untimely deaths.
Okorocha must be held accountable
for all these by the
next administration, and the
next Assembly which must
bring him hand and feet to
justice.
Putting his son in law up for
election is designed to shield
him from his serial misdemeanors,
and give him a
backdoor to power in the state.
Among those things which we
must associate with Okorocha’s
ordained successor is the
current school policy. Okorocha
says his greatest legacy
in Imo is “free education.”
This is an insulting lie. There
is no free education in Imo
State. Indeed, Imo State has
never needed free education.
at the venue were never in
short supply to the anger of
the international community,
especially anti-rape charity
organisations.
Although he was acquitted
of the rape charges, his infamous
defence for having sex
with an HIV positive woman
will forever warm our hearts.
He admitted knowing the
health status of the victim but
said he had a shower after the
exercise, implying that he
washed away whatever could
have infected him.
This was how “seriously”
not to take Zuma serious. But
the South Africans seem to
hold different values for their
political leaders, or they were
just too forgiven, as he was
elected President some years
down the line. The world was
shocked that someone with
Zuma’s history could be elected
to lead the country.
There is no denying the fact
that South Africa is troubled,
as it seemed it had completely
derailed from the dream of
its “founding fathers”. These
are the great nationalists who
fought hard battles to ensure
the country gets its freedom.
No one can really say where
and how they lost it, but it is
glaring that something got
broken along the line, between
the dreams of the freedom
fighters and the reality
on the ground now. The great
Nelson Mandela is probably
turning in his grave and wondering
if his dream for South
Africa is not gradually turning
into a nightmare.
The South Africans are disillusioned
and hoping this
would be another beginning
for them. Their lots have not
improved from what it used
It has always had quality education.
This is precisely what
Okorocha has destroyed.
Imo has never fared so badly
under any other administration!
From being consistently
first on the WAEC and
JAMB lists, Imo slid under
Okorocha to the fifth position,
and has remained there.
This is the tragedy that has
befallen the state, from being
governed by a half-baked,
poorly educated man, who
still thinks we are under military
rule.
Otherwise, how could he
announce, just off the cuff, the
creation of five new university
campuses in Okigwe,
Mbaise, Onuimo, and the
transformation of the Ahiara
Technical College into a Polytechnic,
when Imo State University
currently is underfunded,
underdeveloped, and
when the original mission of
that university has been distorted.
Besides, universities
are not just established by fiat.
They are established through
an Act of Parliament which
gives them their charter. Okorocha
should go and look
carefully at the Act establishing
the Imo State University
system in 1981, and as
amended by decree in 1986,
and the careful thinking that
went into it all. These new
schools announced by Okorocha
are not established by
the laws of Imo State. And so,
Ahiara Technical College
should remain what it is because
we need more welltrained
technicians. Just upgrade
its facilities. But the
Eastern Palm University
should be renamed Imo State
University at Orlu, while we
think of chartering two more
in Okigwe and Mbaise, not
as distant faculties, but as new
campuses of the Imo State
University system. Basically,
a new administration after
Okorocha must reverse much
of the illegal mandates of the
Okorocha administration.
That should be the goal of
2019. Elections do have consequences.
to be in the apartheid days.
Poverty is still rife in the country,
as political observers believe
the situation in the country
has taken a turn for the
worse since the handover
from the white minority government.
The country is recorded
as one of the most
dangerous in the world with
little or no economic development
since the ANC took
over the governance.
Under the ANC, the economic
and social lives of the
citizens have not witnessed
any significant change. The
agitation for a transfer of
power from ANC is understandable,
as the party seem
to be bereft of ideas to move
the country forward. There is
no doubt that Mandela
paved the way for his successors.
The goodwill his name
generated towards the country
is, however, beginning to
fade off in the minds of people.
This is not in any way
Mandela’s fault, it is the fact
that the leaders seem to care
less or they are just lacking in
ideas of how to move forward.
The new President Cyril
Ramaphosa has been touted
as a businessman with good
ideas for the country. Considering
the fact that Ramaphosa
had been a part of the
Zuma administration, one is
tempted to be cautious and
ask if he actually has any new
ideas to follow through.
Zuma’s reign has ended
unceremoniously, while Ramaphosa
has smiled his way
to power, but the world waits
in anticipation of a better
South Africa.
So long Zuma!
C
M
YK

PAGE 30—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
By Daud Olatunji
Osile of Oke-Ona Egbaland,
Oba Adedapo Adewale
Tejuosho, is one of the
traditional rulers in Nigeria who are
very deep in Christianity. He clocks 80
shortly. The first class Oba, who hosted
some media chiefs in his residence
ahead of the 80th birthday, explained
that he takes off his crown and leaves
his head bare in the public in defiance
of the rituals he performed at the time
he was ascending the throne, saying,
it is to emulate Jesus Christ who,
according to him, was not known to
have worn a cap in his lifetime. The
monarch also shed light on his family
life among other issues.
You are turning 80 but you are not
really looking old. What is the secret?
I thank God for useful life; I thank
God for making me relevant to him,
the world and my people. In another
two weeks or thereabouts, by the grace
of God, I should clock 80 years. I did
not think I will get this far, but the
grace of God has led me and I cannot
but be grateful to Him. I am particularly
grateful to Him because He has
allowed me to serve Him; a lot of
people want to serve Him but are not
given the opportunity. I am happy. I
feel fulfilled but my fear is that, just
like Moses who God started using at
80, I hope my work is not just starting,
because, if it is just starting, it would
be an uphill task; but I know I can do
all things through God who
strengthens me. My prayer is that no
matter how long I stay on the planet
earth, I will always be in good health
because that is why some people don’t
like to live to this age. By the time you
get there, you feel like people asking
you ‘when are you going? Have you
not done enough?’ But if you are living
a healthy, successful and fruitful life,
then the sky is the limit.
At 80, what is your wish?
God has granted me a peaceful
family. I have many wives but I think
I am more fulfilled than some of those
who have many wives because all my
wives are in Christ; it is the Christ that
lives in me that also lives in them, it is
the one ruling the lives of all of us. And
the Bible says if a house is divided
against itself, it shall not stand. If you
accept Christ into your life, you have
only God to fear and nobody else. My
wish for everyone is to live long and
attain the Kingdom of God at the end.
It was said that you belonged to12
Lodges. Do you regret renouncing
them?
When I gave my life to Christ, I
renounced the devil and all his works.
Of course, what inspired me to do that
was what Jesus Christ told his
disciples in John that unless he went
back to the Father, the Holy Spirit will
not come to us. We all know Jesus was
not a sinner, sin belongs to the devil.
Anybody who harbours sin has the
things of the devil in him and the devil
will take control of his life and he will
die. We must all aspire not to keep
anything of the devil; otherwise, that
is what the devil will always use
against us.
At 80, how has the journey been?
You must know that no leaf will fall
from the tree without God’s consent.
You know that God knows all of us by
name. I have only 24 children, and
people credit me for knowing their
names and their dates of birth, but
that is only 24. The Creator of the
world knows the population of the
world; He knows everyone of us by
name; He even knows how many
strands of hair on your head; so, what
will you do that He does not know of?
Oba Adedapo
Tejuosho at 80
I am luckier than other people
who have many wives
• Says he takes off his crown in
public contrary to custom
You cannot hide from Him; even if you
wear suit, you are naked before God.
God knows exactly why He created
me; He knew what he wanted me to
come to this world to do and I hope
that I am on the right path. Maybe he
just wanted me to be a king for His
purpose and not for our purpose. What
I have come to understand is that I
have to serve Him. I happened to have
been born in a Christian family and I
thank God that he is using me for his
work and I am enjoying every bit of it,
but some people will not understand;
the Bible says the cross is foolishness
to those who are lost but to all who
are saved, it is the power of God.
I have many
wives but I
think I am more
fulfilled than
some of those
who have many
wives because
all my wives are
in Christ
Talking of personal principles, what
is the secret behind this magnitude
of success you have achieved?
It is not me, nobody can be saved by
working; we can only try to finish the
work of Jesus Christ. Once you give
your life to Christ, you are crucified
with him, you experience death;
momentarily, your head is dipped in
water and they leave you there until
you start feeling choked, then they
pull you out. So you identify with the
death of Christ with water baptism and
also experience his resurrection. So,
in the process, the Holy Spirit gets
into you and continues to live in you.
It assumed that an Oba is for
everyone. How do you cope looking
at your depth in Christianity?
Well, God knows He sent
me here. You said you
discovered certain things
about me; you should have
also seen that at the time I
was ascending the throne,
I wasn’t a born again
Christian but I was quite
religious. I was going to
church not too frequently,
but I was very prayerful and
God was always answering
my prayer. Of course when
I ascended the throne, it
was mandatory for me to go
to school which we call Ipebi
for three months. There, I
was to be trained in the
rudiments of kingship in
Oke-Ona. I went there and
during that period, there
were some rituals I was
supposed do. God told me
I should go through all they
asked me to do. I was later
informed that God showed
somebody a vision that I
was covered in black
throughout my stay in Ipebi. After I
finished the three months, I came back
and my eyes started opening and I saw
why I should not be part of that. After
some months, another person saw
another vision and saw me covered in
white. For instance, you will notice
that I am never afraid to take off my
crown in public. If I didn’t go through
those rituals, I will not know why Obas
usually keep their crowns on the
heads. But when I was in Ipebi, they
gave me something like powder. Of
course when you get to Ipebi, the first
thing they do is to shave your head
and give you this small cap to cover
your head simply because, every
morning, you have to put your hand
in that powder and use it to form a
cross in your head and cover it. In a
nutshell, I stopped it sometime after I
left Ipebi. If I have been entrapped in
those things (rituals), you will never
find me outside taking off my crown.
And my reason for doing that again is
that it just occurred to me that I am
trying to be like Jesus who never wore
a cap or dressed differently from
people around him. If he was doing
that, Judas Iscariot will not have had
a problem identifying him. All he
would have done was just to describe
him with his different way of
dressing.
Talking about being king only to
Christians, I say often that I am the
king of Oke-Ona Egba which means I
am king to Christians, Muslims,
traditionalists, everybody but I know
of only one God. I am a leader who
leads from the front. When I see
something good, I follow it and wish
you will follow and believe that I will
not lead you astray. I am not a blind
leader; therefore, I cannot lead you
into a pit. And when I say blind, I am
not talking about physical eyes. I have
inner eyes which Jesus gave me to
lead the way and he is going to lead
me to the Kingdom of God. I should
try to ensure that everybody behind
me does not go to hell but I cannot
force them.
At 80, any regrets?
I don’t know how I should answer
that question but I doubt if I have any
regret as to how I have lived my life
for the simple reason that, when I was
ascending the throne, to be precise,
when I was coming to Ipebi on
February 20, 1989, it was a Monday,
it was a day after my 51st birthday…
we have a chapel in our house at
Surulere, Lagos where a send-off
thanksgiving was held for me. It was
then Archbishop Adetiloye who
preached and, at the end of the
service, almost everybody there burst
into tears, including me, and
Adetiloye said my watch word
should be Psalm 32: 8 which
quotes God as saying He
would show me “the path to
follow, He would guide my
steps and He will guard me
with His eyes”, and that has
been what has been inspiring
my life. God has been
guiding my steps; He has led
and guarded me with His
eyes. And that has made me
to understand that I am not
likely to have any regret.
Every disappointment is an
appointment from God, there
is no coincidence in the
spiritual realm; everything
has been planned by God. So,
whatever you think is wrong
is probably a step that was
meant to take you to your
success; every blockage of
your life should be a stepping
stone to your glory. In that
respect, I will say I have no
regret.
C
M
YK

Vanguard, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 31
Why we ‘re
focusing
on external
borrowing
—Oniha, DMO boss
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
Some critics of the Buhari administration
have expressed concerns over the
growing debt of the Federal
Government, especially the part incurred
through foreign loans. However, in this
interview, the Director-General of the Debt
Management Office, Patience Oniha, explains
that strategies have been put in place to avoid
a repeat of the debt trap from which the 2005
Paris Club deal under former President
Olusegun Obasanjo extricated Nigeria.
Excerpts:
Some financial analysts have
expressed concerns that Nigeria’s
foreign debt is moving towards the pre-
2005 level and that we may fall into
the problem of foreign debt trap again.
What is your reaction?
Where we were before the exit from the
Paris Club really was where most of Nigeria’s
debt was in foreign currency, meaning most
of it was external. Then, as we were told, we
didn’t keep proper records, there wasn’t a
central office managing the debt, so there
were several reasons we fell into a debt trap
because, to manage debt, you need
information, you need to monitor and you
need to service. Thankfully, as a first step,
all of that is behind us. We had a DMO
created and, since then, we haven’t had a
single record of default.
To answer the question specifically about
the external borrowing, let me explain that
it is backed by a strategy and a plan, it is
not just happening because we want to go
and borrow externally.
What strategy informed this
development?
The Debt Management Policy of the
Federal Government is that 60 per cent of
borrowing should be from the domestic
market, that is, Treasury Bills, FGN Bonds,
Savings Bonds and then Green Bonds, and
then 40 per cent should be external. The
reason for that strategy is that, just as you
diversify your investment, you also
diversify your sources of funding so you are
not dependent on only one source. The
percentage of our external debt before we
went to the market in November 2017 was
only 23 per cent of our total public debt.
That was even an improvement when you
compare it to 2008, 2009 where over 80
per cent of our total public debt was from
the domestic market.
What are the implications?
What that means from a macroeconomic
point is, if the Federal Government depends
on borrowing from the domestic market,
first of all, it will be a question of borrowing
at relatively high rate because we are a
developing country; the level of interest rate
would be higher than that of the advanced
countries. That way, your interest cost is
higher. It also means that your borrowing
is concentrated on only one place. If there
is a tightening of liquidity or there is a slight
challenge there, the impact could be
heavy. The third part, which most
economists have mentioned, including the
organised private sector in Nigeria, is that
because government is actively borrowing
from the domestic market, the liquidity
available to them, meaning the funds banks
would have lent to them, is being lent to
government and that also even where some
money is remaining for banks to lend to
them, because the rate on government
securities are high, it means they have to
borrow at high rate. So there are very
many macro reasons we should achieve a
slightly better balance between our
domestic and our external debts. So, like I
said, if we are looking at that 60 to 40 per
cent ratio and, before we issue the $3 billion
euro bond in November, the borrowing will
be 23 per cent external; if you start counting
from that time, it, obviously, means we still
have a bit of a journey to go because we are
still near domestic borrowing. Ordinary
mathematics will tell us that we need to
accelerate the rate of external borrowing to
achieve 60 40 per cent balance. The overall
objective is diversifying your sources,
reduce your dominance in the domestic
market and I have explained the macro
benefits to the real sector in terms of
availability of credits, because government
believes that the private sector should drive
growth; so we want them to be able to access
credits at good rate that would
enable them make profit. And
for those who are exporting to
be able to export competitively,
or for our local products to be
able to compete with import,
the rate should be low. The
other point is in terms of
diversifying sources and what
it does to other users in the
market; the other benefit to the
government is that because we
have been borrowing, most of
our debt is in the domestic
market, it means our interest
cost is high. If you check 2016,
2017 using FGN Bonds, we
were borrowing at rates as high
as 17, 18 per cent. The rate on
Treasury Bills, which is a
discounted instrument, got to
about 18 per cent. If you do
the effective cost because that
is a discount upfront; it comes
to about 22 per cent. So the
issue is, should government be
borrowing at that rate?
Certainly too high. Compare that to when
we borrow at the international market at
anywhere between 6 and 7 per cent. If we
pick the November $3billion euro bond we
issued, the one for 10 years, the $1.5billon
was at 6.5 per cent and the one for 30 years
was 7.62 per cent. If you compare those to
the domestic borrowing, you are making
If the Federal
Government
depends on
borrowing from
the domestic
market, first of all,
it will be a
question of
borrowing at
relatively high rate
because we are a
developing
country
•Patience
Oniha
huge savings including even
for the 30years. So for the 30
years, you are making a
savings of up to 10 per cent
per annual and that is huge.
In terms of interest cost,
which you can describe as
debt service, going external
reduces the growth of our
debt service obligations. It
also reduces the cost of
borrowing. Then of course we
were able to access longer
term funds, which is what we
need to build major roads,
major bridges or airports. It
is not five-year money you
would use; it is long-term
money for structures
because structure-money is
always long term because
infrastructure can last
several generations.
From
your
explanations, foreign
borrowing is cheaper,
reduces your debt service, frees up
space for the domestic market for the
private sector. What about the
exchange rate risk?
I want you to note that our external
borrowing is still a small component of our
total public debt. But having said that, we
Continues on page 32
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 32—Vanguard, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Continued from page 31
need to also, in looking at some risks, analyze
the economic environment and the future.
Government is doing several things that
will ensure that Nigeria has healthy
reserves, and healthy reserves mean FX
(Foreign Exchange) is coming and FX is
going. The first thing is that we are actively
trying to diversify the economy so that we
can produce more; to produce more even if
we don’t export, we consume and if we
consume what we produce, we reduce
import. So that speaks to several products
like rice, wheat and the refineries and there
are several things we are trying to produce
locally that would reduce the demand for
FX. But included in that diversification are
sectors such as solid minerals and, of course,
you will export. Consequently, there will
be more FX inflows. If we, for instance, get
our refineries working or our private sector
operators are building refineries, then
really we will be exporting. So foreign
exchange will come from other sectors other
than crude. When that happens, we will
conserve foreign exchange because we are
not so import dependent and then we will
earn more foreign exchange. What I am
saying is that in terms of the macroeconomy,
let us stop looking at it in terms of
‘what if oil prices fall? What if oil production
reduces? There are all these economic
policies and activities going on
underground that, in some years to come,
they will help us sort out that dependence
on imported foods and products as well as
crude oil being the major source of FX
revenue. While all of these may not happen
this year or next year, the fact that the
borrowings are long-term means there is
time for these policies to materialize. We
have seen what has happened with rice, so
we know it is possible.
The N100 billion realized from the SUKUK
Bond has been used to fund several on-going
projects across the country. I wonder how
government will be able to pay the investors
since the fund was not used for a particular
project.
The SUKUK serves good purpose of
borrowing and tying it to capital. Based on
the approval, and we have to issue that
product including from the regulators, the
Sharia Council and the Central Bank, you
can only use it for projects and we are
complying with that fully. Obviously you
can use SUKUK to finance hospitals or a
university hall. What happens with SUKUK
is that there were 25 road projects in all the
geopolitical zones, so this N100 billion was
Why we ‘re focusing
on external borrowing
—Oniha, DMO boss
•Patience
Oniha
technically divided into the six geopolitical
zones and then the Ministry of Power picked
those roads in these zones that were
considered economic; economic in the sense
of traffic. Maybe we will get to the point
where you will raise money and all of that
money will be for one project. But for now
this was how it was distributed.
The DMO used to be inundated with
requests by state governments
seeking approval to access funds from
the capital market. What is the
current situation?
State governors are not allowed to borrow
externally by law, so it is the Federal
Government that does the borrowing and
on-lend to them and such loans are projecttied.
For such loans, state governments will
pay back by way of deductions, so to that
extent the Federal Government is covered. It
is expressly provided for in the Fiscal
Responsibility Act.
There are guidelines for borrowing by
Federal Government agencies as well as subnationals.
The guidelines provide that such
loan should not exceed 40 per cent of their
revenue from the previous year. The idea
is that if you still want government to run,
let them have 60% to run the business of
government. If a state wants to borrow from
a commercial bank in Nigeria, it will still
come to us to be sure it is not more than 40
per cent of previous year’s revenue. In fact
the banks themselves will notify us; that is
the requirement of the law that they were
not complying with until everybody’s eyes
became clear in 2015. Not many states have
come to issue bonds since 2015; Lagos is the
only state that has been in the market and
you know why, they have IGR. Their laws
on borrowing are very strong- it is all
devoted to capital, they have a Debt Reserve
Account, so the market will buy that
because the market sees it and they are
thinking rationally. Lagos has done that
successfully.
What is your assessment of that
market?
The market has remained active, it is a
market that responds to trends, to
information and so we are talking about
the security market. Movements in the
market are explained by certain factors
they don’t just happen. If it is a case of
liquidity is dry because of OMO or when
CBN sells a lot of FX, the banks will pay in
naira and that naira goes to CBN. Second, it
may create pressure on FX. So they do the
OMO operations but the Treasury Bills, it is
our auction, the Federal Government is the
issuer, it is on our balance sheet.
What strategy do you have to deepen the
secondary market of the bonds you issue?
We already have an active market both for
Treasury Bills and FGN Bonds; we have many
institutional players. For the FGN Bonds and
Treasury Bills, the market is largely
institutional and, thankfully, whereas the
market started on the basis of telephones and
all of that, now we have an institution that is
purely for this. It all started from the market,
from those securities issued by the DMO’s
working with the banks and discount houses
then.
So there is already a trading platform for
fixed income securities; that is where you
find some banks went and issue commercial
papers, some other companies also issue
commercial papers that are listed in and
traded on FMDQ.
What do you want to see happen as
you issue the FGN Bond each month?
We would want investors to continue to
have that confidence that the securities are
safe, and that government will honour its
obligations and that the securities are liquid.
If we issue a 20-year bond or a 10-year bond,
you don’t have to say ‘I cannot keep my
money for 10 years, I may need it after 2
years’; you either buy the 3-year bond if we
are issuing it or buy the 10-year bond
knowing that when you need your money,
you can sell it; so we want to keep that
confidence in the market. We would like to
increase the numbers of players in that
market. We have moved from the point
where banks were the major players to
where their ranking now is number two or
three both for the auctions and for the trade.
Of course you know we have pension funds,
farm managers, assets managers. And now
and again, we still have foreign investors
in the market.
How are you attracting Nigerians in
the Diaspora to invest in FGN Bonds?
Nothing stops Nigerians in the Diaspora
from investing in FGN Bonds, in the savings
bonds, if that is where their capacity is
financially, or Treasury Bills. Some of them,
as you know, have accounts with Nigerian
banks. Technically all our products in the
domestic market are available to them. The
other one of course is the Diaspora Bond
which was issued in the international
market that is a dollar dominated
instrument.
This $2.5billion that we are planning to
issue, it is not borrowing to finance the
budget. It is borrowing to re-finance
domestic debts. Last year we got approval
to issue euro bonds of up to $5.5billion made
up of $2.5 billion to fund the 2017 budget
deficit and the $3billion approved by FEC
and the National Assembly to refinance
domestic debts.
C
M
Y
K
When VAIDS visited Enugu
By Lekan Bilesanmi
“From our records, there seems to be a few
The prestigious Base Centre in Enugu, big men and big women from this part of
on 8 February, was the focal point of the country, who may need to think very
members of the business community carefully about making a VAIDS declaration.
in Enugu State. The occasion was the We have been compiling data on property,
hosting of the Voluntary Assets and Income bank accounts, shareholdings and other
Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) by the Enugu sources that suggest that many people have
State Government. In attendance was the not been paying the right taxes. VAIDS is an
governor of the state, Mr. Ifeanyi opportunity to regularize,” she stated.
Ugwuanyi, who was accompanied by The minister added that huge sums of
members of the state Executive Council, money have been moved out of Nigeria
Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of without the owners paying a kobo in tax. She
Assembly, other top government functionaries warned those who have taken money out of
and traditional rulers in the state. Also present the country without paying taxes that they
was the Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, would be found out.
whose ministry conceived VAIDS as a panacea “The good news for government, which is
to the country’s many tax defects. Mr. Tunde bad news for the tax evaders, is that globally,
Fowler, Chairman of the Federal Inland nations have agreed to share data under the
Revenue Service (FIRS), was represented by Automatic Exchange of Information. This
Sir Oseni Elamah, Executive Secretary, Joint means that sitting at our desks in Abuja, we
Tax Board (JTB).
are getting information about assets that the
The business community in the state made owners thought were well hidden from the tax •Adeosun
its presence felt with large number of authorities.
representatives from across the sectors. They “As you know, Nigerians are entitled to Currently, we have just 14million taxpayers
included members of Enugu Chamber of keep their wealth anywhere in the world, out of 70million, who are economically active.
Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Nsukka including under their mattress, but what So, many who should be paying are not paying
Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and the law requires is that they pay tax on anything. Incidentally, we have 74million
Agriculture, bank executives, lawyers, market their income as they earn it,” stated registered voters.
traders, electronic dealers, hospital owners, Adeosun.
“Also, some who are paying something are
school owners and transport owners While stating that the country is proud of not paying the correct amount. It may seem
associations among others.
her millionaires and billionaires and want smart for a businessman to go and get a tax
In her speech at the event, Adeosun said many more emerge, she stated that the clearance certificate for N200,00 when he
the Federal Government has compiled data government wants everyone to pay the earns millions, but I can tell you without fear
on property, bank accounts, shareholdings right taxes for the development of the of contradiction, that not only is this illegal,
and other income sources of individuals and country, which currently has a very poor but such people are cheating themselves and
corporate entities. According to her, VAIDS scorecard in tax compliance because of her future generations,” she said.
was conceived to allow Nigerian companies obsession with oil revenue.
The minister explained that with the
and individuals to do what right for the “When oil came, we abandoned the old payment of regular taxes, the country will be
country, right for Enugu State and right systems of tax collection that provided most shielded from the type of difficulty that the
for one another.
of our infrastructure since colonial days. collapse in oil prices and the recession have
inflicted on her. Payment of taxes, she
explained, is a fundamental requirement for
the economic revival of the country.
“How many of us would love to switch off
our generators if there was constant power
from the grid? And how many new
businesses could we start if we had more
power? How much longer would our cars
last if all our roads were in perfect condition?
How many of us would love to sack the
landlord and buy a home if government
housing programmes could be expanded?”
she asked.
She stated that there is so much more that
government could and would do if everyone
would pay the right taxes.
“I note that Enugu State is part of the N-
Power scheme, it might interest you to
know that one man or better still, one woman
paying tax of N1.2 million per annum, would
finance 40 graduates in a month on the N-
Power scheme. Maybe you don’t like young
unemployed graduates and the fact that we
have many thousands waiting to join the
labour market does not worry you, so, let’s
look at the School Feeding Programme. That
same N1 .2million will feed 17,143 primary
school students for a day. That same
N1.2million will allow us to transfer N5000
to 240 of the poorest Nigerians for a month.
You will be amazed at what just N5000 can do
in the lives of some of the widows, disabled,
destitute and downtrodden in our society.
So, there is a direct link between payment of
taxes and quality of life for Nigerians. The
more people co-operate with government, the
more government will be able to do,” she said.
VAIDS, which provides a time-limited
opportunity for tax defaulters to declare
their indebtedness, ends on 31 March.
Declarers will be free of tax audits, payment
of interests and penalties on owed taxes as
well as prosecution. Failure to declare at the
expiration of the window will attract severe
penalties and prosecution.

Vanguard, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 33
The day Forever celebrates Business Owners
By Tony Nwankwo
As the management of Forever
Living Products Nigeria
continues to make waves,
sourcing business owners from
the youth of society, it uses platforms
like the Lagos Success
Day, for the impact. Platforms
like the event of Saturday, January
20, 2018, in Ikeja, Lagos,
provide opportunities to bring
joy to beneficiaries of earned
incentives based on company
approved plan.
In what is now a movement,
the venue was jam
packed, not only by Forever
Business Owners, many of
whom had come with their
teams, while others had come
to hear about the products they
had used or would want to
participate in the greatest
money making business of this
generation.
According to the Country
Sales Manager Mr. Daniel
Ikechukwu, “this Success Day
presented an opportunity for
us to recognize and celebrate
our business owners for the
work they did last year (2017).
We, as well, used it to remind
all our business owners the
fact that 2018 has once again
presented to all of us a blank
cheque or a white canvas. It is
left for each of us to fill in the
amount that we desire or to
paint the picture of the future
we desire. We urge all our business
owners to make 2018 that
year that posterity will remember
that there was a 2018 for
them.
This comes before the landmark
Forever 40 Years Anniversary
of Forever Living Products
International, #FGR18
(Forever Comes Home), holding
in Dallas, Texas, USA, 22 -
30 April, 2018 and another,
#EMR18 (Forever Comes
Home) Eagle Manager Retreat,
Phoenix, October 07 –
13, 2018.
Speaking after the event in
Lagos, Africa’s First Double
Diamond Manager, Mr. John
Ekperigin, commended the
organisers, particularly the
Country Sales Manager, Mr.
Daniel Ikechukwu, whom he
described as a young man
who is full of energy and full
of ideas. According to him,
“Daniel is intelligent, focussed
and a businessman to the
core”. Ekperigin described the
last Lagos Success Day, as one
of the best organised events he
had witnessed since joining
the company”.
“Forever Nigeria has done
so much for this country in its
18 years. Nigerians are hard
working people, yet in all their
struggles, they are never well
compensated. But in Forever,
you know what you are worth,
people are compensated. The
young, middle aged and old
people who do the business are
From left: Justina Ekperigin, Daniel Ikechukwu, John
Ekperigin, Oma Attah, Cynthia Uchaguwa, Clement Idigo
and Jean-Baptiste Amichia, at the event.
celebrated and their successes
recognised and acknowledged
for all to see. Business
Owners work hard every day
and this reflects in their
monthly income which sometimes
runs into millions of
Naira.
“As we speak, I am driving
by fifth brand new car – a Hillux,
courtesy of Forever Living
Products. We usually get
some of the best cars around.
This incentive is not only for
people like me, they are for
all FBOs who qualify. Today, I
have more than 350 Forever
Business Owners, from my
team who have benefited from
Car Incentives.
“A few weeks from now, our
people are going on an allexpenses
paid trip to Dallas,
Texas, USA, to celebrate 40
years of Forever International.
When they go, they will
bring back millions of Naira
in the form of the Chairman’s
Bonus. In Dallas, Nigeria
Nollycoin berths in Nollywood courtesy of Ope Banwo
By Lekan Bilesanmi
Dr. Ope Banwo, a lawyer,
author, entrepreneur
and internet business consultant,
is a strong force in the entertainment
industry. A US
based legal practitioner, Banwo
is back in Nigeria with
Nollycoin to help the Nigerian
movie industry. With Nollycoin
partnering with Nollywood,
he explains, in this interview,
an avenue is unlocked
for stakeholders to make
mega money via quality movie
production.
The Nollycoin idea is an
advanced technology that
movie makers in Nigeria can
benefit from. How much has
your team done to sell to
movie stakeholders the prosperity
that may arise from
this synergy?
A: We are already engaging
the movie industry to share
this vision. Some of the stakeholders,
including producers,
movie executives, actors and
actresses; even cinemas, are
on our advisory team and we
hope to get many more on
board. It is always a challenge
to be a pioneer in the entertainment
industry, and this
blockchain and crypto technology
is still new to a lot of
them and many of them even
see it as a bubble with no lasting
influence. Fortunately, I
am very comfortable being a
pioneer and have been a pioneer
in the entertainment industry
before, so I know the
work that must be done. I
know we must do a lot of work
to make them see beyond the
misconceptions about the
technology, and make them
see how it can revolutionize
the industry.
With this partnership, movie
sales would increase and
there would be access to
Our daily lives are
affected by whatever
we do. The tension
that exists today,
particularly in an
environment like
Nigeria, affects the
people
•Ope Banwo
grants for project financing;
are you also going to work
with movie makers to ensure
that the quality of movie production
is better?
Yes. A big part of the Nollytainment
initiative with Nollycoin
is to use it as a platform
to improve the quality of African
movies while also providing
financial support for producers
who are already doing
great things with little capital.
To ensure that picking a
good movie project does not
rest with one man, thereby
leading to mistakes, I am putting
together a 7-man Creative
Advisory Team to evaluate
any movie project we
would be investing in to ensure
transparency and verify
that the movie meets the standards
required for international
success.
Explain what the shared interests
from this scheme
would be like.
There are different levels of
interest that would be shared
by people who will participate
in the Nollytainment ecosystem
powered by Nollycoin.
I would like to call the
shared interest the Nollycoin
value proposition for the movie
community. Nollycoin also
offers a lot of win-win opportunities
to stakeholders in the
entertainment industry excluding
pirates and copyright
thieves. Some of the solutions
and opportunities that Nollycoin
is bringing into the entertainment
ecosystem include
making sure that hardworking
movie producers
win. Under our ecosystem, the
entire entertainment market
scale can be enlarged to enhance
long term exploitation
of the copyrighted creative
works. All stakeholders will
enter their copyrighted content
onto Nollycoin blockchain
and harvest the profits
worldwide ad infinitum. Two,
collaborators and creative
artistes in the movie production
chain win. This means
that, with blockchain technology
and the Nollycoin, collaborators
can now be compensated
accurately per contract
without need for any thirdparty
intervention. Three,
movie financiers and stakeholders
in each completed
FOBs will be celebrating with
others from over 180 countries
across the world on the
founding of Forever by Mr.
Rex Maughan, a man of vision
and great wisdom, whom
God had used to bless mankind.
“I use Forever Living products
and I get healthy. Even
the scriptures say so. In the
Third Epistle of John vs 2, it
says: “Behold I pray that you
may prosper in all things and
be in good health, just as your
soul prospers”. So, God wants
us to prosper and be in good
health.
“Yet you discover that nothing
that we eat today contains
natural nutrition. Anti-oxidants
are no more in the food
of today, so you need supplements
to provide these nutrients
that are absent from these
foods.
“The world is moving too
fast that world economies and
individuals welfare are challenged.
Our daily lives are affected
by whatever we do. The
tension that exists today, particularly
in an environment
like Nigeria, affects the people.
This has resulted in the
increased cases of cardiovascular
diseases. You see people
dropping dead as a result of
heart failure. And, Forever has
some of the best known supplements
to take care of the
heart to prevent heart diseases.
Some of these supplements
like Forever CardioHealth,
with CoQ10 is a special cardio
vascular formula designed
to provide nutritional
support for cardiovascular
health. It promotes heart
healthy anti-oxidants. There
are many more.
“I like to use myself as an
example: I am a lecturer and
I am still teaching. This business,
for me, is part time. Every
month I make millions of
Naira, and in addition, every
year, I make further millions
from the Chairman’s bonus.
This is the fate of everyone who
do the business.
“Today, we are blessed to
have Mr. Daniel Ikechukwu.
In the past, people were doing
their businesses on individual
capacities, but Danel has
changed that. He now insists
that everyone work together
for the benefit of all and the
groups. The company also
benefits from this innovation.
There was a time, Forever
Nigeria was No. 3 in the world,
I can see this Daniel taking us
to that position again and
hopefully higher. With Daniel
Ikechukwu, the sky is the limit
for Forever Nigeria”.
Also speaking on the Lagos
Success Day, Double Eagles
Manager, Mrs. Omar Attah,
described the event as breathtaking.
“We have had great
Country Sales Managers,
from Suswan Oyemade, Cornelius
Tay and now, Daniel
Ikechukwu. I thank God for
this business and would encourage
Forever Business
Owners to take their businesses
seriously, adhering strictly
to company plans for them”,
she said.
movie win. By this, proportionate
payments to movie financiers
can be worked into the
smart contract that would
form the basis of distribution
of income from all movies on
the Nollytainment network.
No longer will financiers or
stakeholders have to chase
movie producers to get repayment
of loans or capital investment
in any movie project.
Four, open and transparent
record-keeping ledgers for all
stakeholders. This means that
Nollytainment platform, with
its underlying blockchain
technology, will provide all
players in the movie making
industry including movie
makers, movie producers, cinematographers,
and writers
with digital recording of all
transactions in copyrighted
works that is accessible to all
stakeholders on an instantaneous
and permanent basis.
By Nelson Utip
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
An idea that should be buried
It is a known fact that Akwa Ibom
State is the highest crude oil producer
today and by extension the
largest contributor to the petrodollar
that sustains Nigeria. This is
made possible by the relative peace
the state enjoys when viewed against
other parts of the country who are
great beneficiaries of the resources.
Recently, the All Progressives Congress,
APC, in its usual confusion,
desperation, and panic had set up a
committee headed by Gov. Nasir El
Rufai to look at the restructuring of
the Nigerian polity and make suggestions
thereafter. The committee’s
report which was recently made public
had recommended amongst other
absurdities a revisit of the longsettled
onshore/offshore oil dichotomy.
This is preposterous, provocative
and uncanny, and tantamount flogging,
in the forlorn hope of waking a
‘dead horse’. This is condemnable
Onshore/Offshore oil dichot
hotom
omy: : Stak
akeholder
eholders s must t speak up
and amounts to fanning the embers
of an inferno when we are presently
faced with security challenges nationwide;
the menace of the deadly killer
herdsmen terrorizing the nation and
uncontrollable Boko Haram terrorists.
Is the party not saturated with the
various crises ravaging the country
since its assumption of office?
This issue remains sensitive and
touchy for the people of Akwa Ibom
State who had paid dearly in the past
before the abrogation of that obnoxious
discriminating and oppressive
policy.
The attempt by the APC to re-introduce
through the back door this settled
issue is reckoned as an attempt
to once again strangulate our people
and subject us to serfdom. This is unacceptable
to our people as nobody
would lead us back to Egypt. We have
since been liberated and in line with
the Dakkada Renaissance the brainchild
of our amiable Gov. (Dec.)
Udom Emmanuel, we say no to this
attempt.
In a recent Press Conference held
in Uyo by Akwa Ibom Leaders’
Vanguard the APC’s move to re-introduce
the settled onshore/offshore
dichotomy was condemned in very
strong and clear terms. The Leaders’
Vanguard lampooned the summation
of the APC committee and
wondered what warranted such a
recommendation. Its leader, Sen.
Anietie Okon, had declared and restated
the position of the Akwa Ibom
people who are not ready to accept
and entertain any discourse on a
matter that had long been settled.
He warned that any attempt to do
otherwise could result in dire consequences
for Nigeria.
The group is startled by the complicity
of APC chieftains from the
South-South Zone. The party Chairman-
John Oyegun had been a governor
and even signatory to several
memos by the peoples of the region
on this same issue but maintains an
uncanny silence against the people’s
interest; this also goes for those from
This issue remains
sensitive and touchy for
the people of Akwa Ibom
State who had paid dearly
in the past before the
abrogation of that
obnoxious discriminating
and oppressive policy
Akwa Ibom who are yet to take a position
on this matter.
The fact that there is peace in Akwa
Ibom State today must not be construed
to mean a lack of will and ability
to stand our grounds. Sen. Okon
restated that the people are the owners
of the land and if need be, would
defend their God-given resources.
Akwa Ibom Leaders Vanguard is
in unison with Akwa Esop Ima
Isong Ibibio, Nto Efe Annang, Ekid
Nation, Oron Nation, Mboho Mkparawa
Ibibio, Esop Nlap Oro and
other socio-cultural and political
groups in the state on this issue. I hereby
call on our lawmakers both State
and Federal to unanimously speak
up to condemn this evil agenda as
their silence might be seen as acceptance
of this absurdity.
El Rufai and his co-travelers, President
Buhari and others involved in
this scheme are hereby advised to bury
the idea for good and for the peaceful
co-existence of Nigeria.
One thing is absolutely sure; Akwa
Ibom State will not accept this jaundiced
joke taken too far. We will remain
peaceful and law abiding, but
we will reject anything that will take
us back to those dark ages. All wellmeaning
indigenes of Niger Delta
and Akwa Ibom State, in particular,
should make sure that this evil embryo
is aborted before it is delivered
by the schemers who are jealous of
the paltry 13% derivation enjoyed by
the zone from the Federation Account.
•Utip, a lawyer, is resident in Uyo
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 34—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Order of Nigerian elections:
Unanswered questions
Whose function is it
to determine the
dates of Nigeria’s
elections? On its face value,
this is a simple question; but
its simplicity vanishes as soon
as it becomes clear that it has
more than one answer and
that for no less than one month
now, it has been a contentious
issue of the moment in
Nigeria’s over-busy political
scenario. The nation’s
electoral body, the
Independent National
Electoral Commission
(INEC) must have assumed
that the function is hers hence
she released a time table at
the beginning of January
2018 containing the dates for
the 2019 general elections.
Some people had indeed
commended INEC for the
initiative claiming that the
early release of the dates
signified a high level of
preparedness. From nowhere,
the House of Representatives
some two weeks later came
up with a fresh election
timetable on the sequence of
elections. The main difference
between the INEC time table
and the sequence ordered by
the House is that what INEC
intends to begin the process
with which is the presidential
election; is what the House
wants the process to end with.
The development elicited
many comments such as why
the House waited for INEC
to issue a time table before
coming out with a sequence
that is designed to change the
decision of INEC. It is pretty
difficult blaming INEC for
what she did because she must
have assumed that she was
independent and that the
Constitution gave her explicit
powers to so act.
According to Section 76 of
the original 1999
Constitution, “elections to
each House of the National
Assembly shall be held on a
date to be appointed by the
Independent National
Electoral Commission.” As if
to reaffirm that position, the
same provision is reproduced
in Section 116 for elections
into State Houses of Assembly
as well as Section 132 for
Presidential elections and
Section 178 for Governorship
elections. Anyone could have
assumed as INEC did that it
was her prerogative to
determine the days of general
elections considering that her
mandate was repeatedly
stated for each election that
is, four times, in the same
Constitution. So, where the
legislature got the power to
usurp the mandate does not
appear easy to know. We
Based on experience
and level of
development of the
nation, it appears
inappropriate to begin
our general elections
with that of the
presidency. We
maintain our earlier
canvassed view that in
line with nature, the
highest point of a game
should be the last
suspect that unknown to
many people including INEC,
the legislature which has been
quite busy amending parts of
the Constitution especially
those concerning politics and
elections may have since
appropriated the power. Our
suspicion is based on a
revelation last year that the
power which was granted to
the people by the Constitution
to recall a legislator they were
no longer satisfied with was
taken away by a ‘secret’
amendment. We can only
hope that this is not also what
is playing out with the power
to determine the date of an
election
Interestingly, all the
analysts who have been
commenting on the conflict
of election dates have not
referred to sections of the
Constitution which
empowered INEC to imagine
it had powers to determine
election dates. All the talk has
been on the electoral Act as if
the latter can derogate from
the express provisions of the
Constitution. Some people
felt that the matter had been
resolved following the
alleged announcement by
INEC soon after the
controversial directive on
sequence of election, that she
would obey legislative
amendments. But Prof
Okechukwu Ibeanu the
INEC Commissioner, who
made the statement on behalf
of the commission, clearly
added that such amendments
must be legitimate. For us in
this column, our unanswered
question is this: if our
constitution says that every
general election “shall be
held on a date to be appointed
by the Independent National
Electoral Commission” of
what use is any amendment
to that? What lacuna is there
to fill and what mischief is
there to cure other than the
continued agenda of
weakening national
institutions? It is unfortunate
as we said two weeks ago that
politicians who are players in
the game of elections are
struggling to dictate to the
referee of the game- a posture
that can easily push us far
away from free and fair
elections.
Our considered opinion
remains that INEC should not
be dispossessed of the powers
which she needs to do her
tedious task. In the on-going
debate on sequence or order
or time table, let’s leave it to
INEC to handle as originally
planned. However, the
electoral body should use the
current controversy to review
its declared dates. Based on
experience and level of
development of the nation, it
appears inappropriate to
begin our general elections
with that of the presidency. We
maintain our earlier
canvassed view that in line
with nature, the highest point
of a game should be the last.
The presidential election is the
grand finale which when done
first, takes away the shine and
values of the smaller contests.
It is natural to hold it last
notwithstanding that in the
past this was not followed.
Besides, the presidential
election being the peak should
not be used as an experiment.
As already established, our
elections never take off
smoothly because of poor
logistics. Under the
circumstance, it is better for
INEC to learn lessons from
each contest and use them to
handle the next bigger event
in an ascending order in a
hierarchy. Accordingly, state
elections, that is, Houses of
Assembly elections and
Governorship elections
should hold before the federal
elections, that is, National
Assembly and Presidential
elections. An empirical
approach such as this could
dissuade the current
arguments that the order of an
election being proposed by
different groups could target
certain contestants.
It is also obvious that the
arrangement of the Electoral
Commission to hold the next
set of elections on two days is
better than the three days
suggested by the legislators.
One obvious reason is the
colossal sum involved in
holding an election on one day.
For this reason, the fewer the
days involved, the better for a
poor economy like ours. We
cannot pretend that the costs
of elections do not matter. In
addition, since there appears
to be a consensus on voting
for State legislators and
governors on the same day,
there is no reason why Federal
legislators’ elections and that
of the president cannot
similarly hold together on one
day. Today, INEC is largely
populated by strong
appointees, so we lose nothing
having faith in them. A few
days back, Vice President
Osinbajo reiterated the need
to build strong institutions. He
was on point but can our
political elites who usually
emerge from weak election
management bodies allow the
building of strong institutions?
President Buhari and the
phenomenon of Biafra
My esteemed readers,
because of numerous
requests from some of you, I
will suspend today our
discussion of Nigeria and the
curse of Sisyphus and present
a modified version of the
conclusion of the essay
entitled “The Phenomenon of
Biafra.” As I stated in the
earlier essay, President
Muhammadu Buhari is
uncomfortable with the
separatist agitations of IPOB.
For him, majority of the youths
agitating for Biafra do not
really appreciate the horrors
of the civil war because they
were not yet born at the time
and, as a result, should not
precipitate another conflict.
In his view, the main problem
is not with the structure but
with processes. But can
anyone really argue that there
is no connection between the
political structure of a country
and processes for the
authoritative allocation of
power, resources and
responsibilities? Of course
not: the two are linked by an
unseverable umbilical cord;
they are symbiotically related.
Thus, Buhari’s argument is
invalid, and his jackboot
response to the Biafran
problem is unhelpful. The raid
on Nnamdi Kanu’s home and
brutality against defenceless
IPOB members by the
military has proven Buhari’s
critics right that he is an
unrepentant despot. No
matter how difficult it would
seem, as a leader and father
figure to Nigerians he should
have invited leaders of all
genuine separatist
movements in the country to
a meeting for serious
discussions, work out a
PhD,Department of
Philosophy,
University of Lagos
08116759758
opuruiche2000@yahoo.com
consensus with them on how
to address the complex issues
fuelling their agitations, and
begin the process of correcting
the numerous geopolitical
anomalies hampering
Nigeria’s quest for rapid
development. But the
President, given his rigid and
inflexible disposition, and
misled by bulimic sycophants
benefitting from the current
system, will not do that. I
believe that President Buhari’s
approach to the national
question in general is
outdated; it cannot engender
lasting solution to problem of
ethnic rivalry and suspicion
because it is based on the
flawed premise that Nigeria’s
unity is non-negotiable and
that the best way to maintain
it is by force. Meanwhile, the
unstated presumption that
those who did not witness the
civil war are somehow
disqualified from agitating for
the resuscitation of Biafra is
wrong, an indication of
ignorance concerning the
critical role of history in
shaping human activities. To
be sure, the demand by IPOB
for a referendum to
determine whether the Igbo
want Biafra or prefer to
remain in Nigeria is definitely
not a call for violence or
another civil war, as Buhari
and his sycophants want us to
believe. Indeed, the demand
is in line with current
international practice for selfdetermination.
Also, through
historical research, critical
reflection, and empathic
imagination any intelligent
person can relate genuinely
with the sufferings of others.
That is why even today, the
man-made socio-political
and economic problems of
Ndigbo in Nigeria resonate
with millions of their
compatriots across the
country. It follows that
through the psychological
mechanisms of transference
and imaginative intellectual
reconstruction both the Igbo
and honest non-Igbo person
who even did not witness the
Biafran war either because he
was too young to understand
what was happening at the
time or was born after the war
- or even a foreigner that had
never visited Nigeria - can
imaginatively be so
connected vividly or attuned
mentally to the Biafran
phenomenon as if he was
actually involved directly. I
would like to draw your
attention to the interesting but
tragic incident of May 30,
1969, when an American,
Bruce Mayrock, a part-time
student of General Studies at
Columbia University who
neither visited Biafra nor was
related to any Biafran, set
himself ablaze in the lawn of
the United Nations building
in New York to protest the
genocide Nigerian
government was committing
against Biafrans. Steve Jobs,
co-founder of Apple, became
an atheist at thirteen because
he could not understand why
a supposedly omnipotent
good God would allow
children to suffer the way
Biafran children were
suffering during the civil war.
More examples can be cited
but the two highlighted above
suffice to establish that one
does not need direct
acquaintance with an event of
profound social significance,
such as the Biafran war and
its repercussions, before that
person can genuinely identify
with it. Would Christianity and
Islam have survived, let alone
thrived, if the earliest believers
had insisted that only those
that actually saw Jesus of
Nazareth and Prophet
Mohammed preach were
qualified to identify with their
teachings? The point is:
anyone from the defunct
eastern region, particularly an
Igbo, can justifiably agitate
for Biafra’s resuscitation
because the conditions that
led to secession by the then
Lt. Col. Ojukwu in May 30,
1967, are still rearing their
ugly heads especially now
largely due to some of the
anti-Igbo decisions of
President Buhari.
No matter the military
strategy the federal
government adopts against
the separatist movement in
the south-east or elsewhere, it
The best option for
IPOB at this point is to
re-examine its goals
and methods, adopt the
ones that are realistic,
and work towards both
intellectual and
emotional penetration
of Igboland as a
formidable force for
projecting Igbo
Interests in a
restructured Nigerian
nation
cannot guarantee a lasting
solution. For as long as there
is a sizeable number of any
homogenous cultural and
linguistic community who
believe strongly that they are
treated like second class
citizens, that Nigeria is
designed in such a way that
emasculates them by making
them feel unwanted and
alienated, the quest for selfdetermination
will continue
to rear up from time to time.
Certainly, one can question
the intellectual, moral and
spiritual qualifications of
people like Nnamdi Kanu
and their cohorts to lead.
Based on his interviews and
speeches, one can conclude
that he is reasonably welleducated,
intelligent and
genuinely dedicated to the
actualisation of the sovereign
state of Biafra. However, on
many occasions, his irascible
speeches and pseudo
messianic behaviour
undermine his efforts. For
instance, Kanu’s imprudent
vitriolic utterances against
some members of the Igbo elite
and other ethnic groups are
childish. Sometimes he goes
completely overboard by
conducting himself like a
divine being to be worshipped.
Like late Chief Chukwuemeka
Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Kanu’s
mistakes are due to youthful
e x u b e r a n c e ,
characterological weaknesses
and hyperbolic idealism. But
unlike Ojukwu who, as the
proactive military governor of
eastern region mandated by
his people, including some of
the most distinguished men
and women Nigeria has ever
produced, to lead them out of
Nigeria, Nnamdi Kanu is a
relatively obscure individual
who used IPOP as a platform
to leap into national
prominence. Consequently,
his leadership credentials are
open to question. Moreover,
and this is crucial, he does not
have the mandate of the Igbo
intelligentsia and business
elite in the country probably
because they do not see him
as the right person to lead the
Igbo to the promised land, and
also to protect their vested
interests with Nigeria as
presently constituted and
governed. As a result, Kanu is
in a considerably weaker
position than Ojukwu was in
1967. Additionally, although
the IPOB agitation resonates
with a sizeable number of Igbo
youths, it is clear from the
somewhat uncoordinated
speeches of Nnamdi Kanu,
Emma Powerful and others
that the IPOB leadership has
not articulated a reasoned,
coherent and pragmatic
ideology containing the
foundational principles of the
kind of society they intend to
create through Biafra,
something akin to the Ahiara
Declaration of June 1, 1969.
Without a doubt, absence of
sound ideological framework
that should guide IPOB is
affecting the movement
negatively especially now that
President Buhari has
deployed his customary iron
hand method in dealing with
problems pertaining to
Ndigbo. Moreover, the IPOB
leader has repeated the same
deadly mistake Ojukwu made
by underestimating the extent
caliphate colonialists can go
to stifle dissent or anything
that threatens the present
lopsided political economy
that makes Nigeria a glorified
animal farm in which some
citizens are more unequal
than others depending on one’s
ethnic group, religion or some
clandestine group called
cabal. The best option for
IPOB at this point is to reexamine
its goals and
methods, adopt the ones that
are realistic, and work
towards both intellectual and
emotional penetration of
Igboland as a formidable
force for projecting Igbo
Interests in a restructured
Nigerian nation. In closing, I
wish to remind those in the
corridors of power now,
including President Buhari,
that deploying military might
to deal with issues that require
wisdom, patience, tolerance
and creativity is
counterproductive, because
those who ignore the lessons
of history are doomed to repeat
its worst mistakes. The IPOB
“problem” has been
suppressed now with bullets
and bombs. But as history has
amply demonstrated, such
“final solutions” do not last
and may, in fact, engender a
more disastrous outcome in
future. Without the harsh
Treaty of Versailles after World
War I, for instance, it is
doubtful whether the dictator
called Adolf Hitler would
have emerged to plunge
Germany and the whole world
into a calamitous World War
II. One can only hope that a
surrogate Hitler does not
emerge later to continue
where Kanu and his
disgruntled cohorts stopped.
C
M
Y
K

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2017, PAGE 35
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time
voter legitimacy has been question.
Voter fraud is a critical imposition on
the productive and accountable
formation of democracy across the
globe. Blockchain technology has the
The Senate on Cryptocurrency
ability to provide an unhackable
electronic vote-counting system. This
system can secure an election during
voter registration, and can account for
the voters identification and insure
votes cannot be tampered with at a
By Tuedor Jackson
later date. In the same way blockchain
Iam a lawyer cum cryptopreneur
acts as a public ledger for
well versed in the blockchain
cryptocurrencies, it can also create a
technology and cryptocurrency as
permanent and public ledger for votes
a current financial tool in the world
as tallied—promising a future of
today, having undergone trainings on
equitable democratic elections around
the blockchain technology in the UK
the world. There’s a startup already
and USA respectively.
working on this called Follow My
I was disturbed on hearing a report
Vote.
on January 31 wherein the Senate
urged the CBN, NDIC to warn
Improving government
Nigerians against cryptocurrency and
efficiency
investments in Bitcoin. The technology
Blockchain has the ability to
behind Bitcoin and other digital
accelerate governmental capabilities,
currencies has the potential to change
and affect functions like public
everything about how we humans do
benefits, healthcare and education.
business and has indeed become so
For example, government processes
widespread and beneficial that
can be slow, difficult to understand,
developed countries all over the world
and highly susceptible to corruption.
are looking seriously into taking advantage
Blockchain, as a solution, can aid
of the blockchain technology to create
governments in being more efficient
wealth, curb fraud and corruption and
and secure—in every sense.
make business and financial transactions
The archaic technology in hospitals
more safe, secure, transparent and
around the world create unnecessary
beneficial to all and sundry.
issues for medical patients and their
The most important thing is first to be
records. MedRec is a perfect example
educated on cryptocurrency. Being an
of what blockchain is looking to
unregulated sector makes it prone to scams
improve within healthcare. According
and illegal activities, but with the help of
to MIT Media Lab, MedRec is, “a
education one can easily decipher the real Voter fraud is a critical
novel, decentralized record
from the fake. Like the dotcom crisis where
management system for EMRs that
everyone was rushing to invest in internet imposition on the
uses blockchain technology to manage
startups in the early 90s which later turned productive and accountable
authentication, confidentiality,
out that 90% of such startups could not
accountability, and data sharing.”
make it so a lot of people lost money. formation of democracy
Blockchain, as both a technology and
But the real ones turned out to be the best
an industry, is still largely undefined.
investments of the century where across the globe.
We are in an exploration stage, far
companies like Google, Yahoo, Apple,
from any established or proven
Blockchain technology has
Facebook and Amazon made billionairee
solutions. However, it’s a promising
out of the early investors.
the ability to provide an
(and relevant) solution aiming to solve
So also will happen to cryptocurrency.
for some of human right’s most
With regulation, many of the scams will unhackable electronic votecounting
system
vulnerable areas: corruption, financial
be weeded outt. The authorities only
inequality, and access to information.
needf create a group of cryptocurrency
•Jackson
By setting an international
experts to create blockchain services
precedent-––and hopefully a
that will go a long way to better the lot
standard––for transparency, blockchain
of the common man and the polity in
tech is closing the economic gap and
general. There is so much to do but I new type of internet. Originally
solving for the preservation of human
believe that we will get there. devised for the digital currency,
rights.
In a layman’s definition, the Bitcoin, the tech community is now As long as you have access to a I desire to enlighten this
blockchain technology is an open finding other potential uses for the smartphone, you’ll have a way to distinguished Senate on the veracity
ledger that stores all activities/ technology so much now that the conveniently access money.
of digital currencies and Bitcoin (as a
transactions spread across different blockchain technology is now used in Additionally, blockchain is a store of value) and how our dear
computers worldwide that cannot be different spheres of human endeavor decentralized system, which means you country can take advantage of these
manipulated, altered or destroyed. which I will briefly state herein. don’t get charged to transfer money the times. An assertion that Bitcoin or
The blockchain is an ingenious
way you would with typical financial digital currency is another MMM or
invention – the brainchild of a person Tacking refugee crisis
institutions. This disrupts the international ponzi scheme clearly shows an
known by the pseudonym, Satoshi This year, the UNWFP sent over socio-economic landscape because inaccurate knowledge on virtual
Nakamoto, and, since then, it has 10,000 Syrian refugees cryptocurrencybased
vouchers. Led by Ethereum co-
businesses from reaching certain regions on the lives of humans worldwide
remittance is costly, and as such can deter currencies and the impact it will have
evolved into something five times
bigger than the internet technology as founder Gavin Wood, and blockchain of the world, severing opportunities for hence, I will be most glad if given an
more user options have been big data firm Datarella, Parity developing nations. It also creates a opportunity to explain it in its entity
discovered from this new technology Technologies put this platform into financial strain for people sending money and the advantage awaiting those
and will create even more billionaires action and helped thousands of to their family members overseas. countries that takes this technology
than the internet technology did. refugees use cryptocurrency to Last year, the total amount it cost to send seriously. As we speak, countries like
Blockchain is best known for being purchase food, according to Coindesk. money to Sub-saharan Africa was over $30 Russia, USA, UK, Germany, UAE have
the technology behind cryptocurrencies In 2014, the Syrian crisis had billion, and according to the Bureau of started testing the blockchain
like Bitcoin and Ether (the currency of “become the biggest humanitarian Economic Analysis, the yearly remittance technology in governance,
Ethereum), but blockchain is much emergency of our era,” said António from international financial transfers out cryptocurrencies and finances.
more than an instrument of finance. It’s Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for of the US is up to $50 billion.
Cryptocurrencies are following the
an encrypted database of agreements, Refugees. Today, the global refugee crisis BitPesa, a platform that sends and collects same exponential growth trajectory as
so to speak. This means once a “deal” continues to grow, and the agencies and crypto-payments between Africa and the the Internet (remember how so many
is made, neither party can go back and countries whom are heavily invested are rest of the world, is an excellent example people criticized the internet until its
rewrite the terms. Smart Contracts––a having to look toward new solutions to of the positive effects and economic use cases were discovered and how it
blockchain based contract that holds solve an otherwise unmanageable freedom blockchain technology can offer. took our lives to the next level? so will
both parties accountable by only situation.
This is exceptionally promising, the blockchain technology), it is a oncein-a-generation
investment
completing the terms of the agreement The opportunity to bypass bureaucracy considering Africa is currently the most
once both parties have fulfilled their and international uncertainty with costly continent to send money to. opportunity. There is so much human
end of the bargain––is a perfect Ethereum technology not only gives This technology tackles two huge capital and real money being
example.
refugees direct access to donations, but variables of global poverty. First, it pouredinto this space. We are just at
Blockchain serves as a bookkeeping stands as a huge first step in including makes sending money cheaper for the take off point and Nigeria should
platform or ledger that is incorruptible, them in dialogue aimed at solving the migrants, immigrants, and refugees take advantage. I am very open at any
enforces transparency, and bypasses international refugee crisis.
who need to send money back to their point in time to come before the
censorship. By tackling issues of
families, and second, it makes doing distinguished senate to further buttress
financial, political and institutional Creating financial avenues for business with hard-to-reach countries and enlighten more on this subject.
corruption, this has the potential to impoverished people
more convenient. This alone has the
create massive social change—and The same blockchain platform used to potential to lessen extreme poverty. * Jackson is MD/CEO Deotaj
greatly protect the human rights of provide financial vouchers to refugees is
Global Services Nig. Ltd and
every individual.
also working to bridge a poverty gap Preventing voter fraud
Founding Partner, Pegasus Legal
By allowing digital information to be around the world. As we’ve already seen, Cyber security and voter fraud have Practitioners.
distributed but not copied, blockchain blockchain can act as a bank-like institution been exceptionally concern since the lawyertaj@gmail.com
technology created the backbone of a for people without bank accounts. United State’s 2016 election. 08039161601, 08136175772
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 36 —SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2017
Letter to the Defence Minister:
If It Is Not Too Late Already
By FELIX OBOAGWINA
In view of your coming appointment with
the Senate and as you sit atop the country’s
security architecture, I feel this compelling need
to address this letter to you. I understand that
the Senate felt the emergency need to seek your
views and inputs on why Cameroon, a country
with whom we have no extradition treaty and
against all known United Nations Conventions
and African Charters on Human and Refugee
Rights, should be able to march her gendarmes
through our common borders, to abduct socalled
political activists and some Nigerian
citizens. Unchallenged! Let me wish you luck
as you meet justifiably angry senators over
this slap to the face of “the Giant of Africa.”
But I confess that I should have really, really
done this letter since you made your recent
pronouncement. Emerging
from a meeting with your
Commander-in-Chief, you had
told journalists covering Aso
Rock that killings by Fulani
herdsmen were a response to
two provocations: 1. Farmers’
encroachment on grazing
routes; and 2. States’
enactment of anti-grazing
laws.
Your submission made it
appear like you were justifying
the herdsmen’s campaign of
violence. If that report
accurately captured your
mind-set and body language,
it explains why you and the
government have failed to
enact a policy even now to send
the military to quell the
killings. Yet in the same time
and space in Benue State,
soldiers are easily deployed to
hunt down Tiv militias
defending their land against
herdsmen’s attacks. Crass
nepotism! As if Tiv lives do not
matter too!
Being in charge of defence and
security, you must have
unimpeded access everyday to
the reports of all the Intelligence
community and allied
agencies. Didn’t these reports,
some weeks ago, pin the
mayhem on foreign cowboys?
Those reports must count for
something!
Before going on to some other things, I shall
here like to tackle your two controversial
theories.
FULANI AND THE GRAZING LAWS
Killings by Fulani herdsmen predate the
grazing laws, whether that enacted by Ekiti
State or Benue State or Taraba State. Ask Retired
General Muhammadu Buhari what took him
to Oyo State on October 13, 2000 (18 years
ago!), when he went to protest what turned out
to be reprisal attacks by Yoruba natives against
Fulani nomads. There was no grazing law back
then. Then you may need to speak to Femi
Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President
on Media and Publicity, who in his defence of
the President’s thunderous silence on the
scandalous Benue killings, pointed out that
President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure recorded
similar incidents with 756 victims mowed
down. Need we point out that angst over those
unrequited killings partly informed why Benue
people voted for CHANGE in the last elections?
Retired Brigadier-General Monsur
Mohammed Dan Alli, was there an anti-grazing
law between 2013 and 2017, when Agatu, in
same Benue State, lost over 5,000 people to
killings by herdsmen, who subsequently took
over the land and brazenly grazed their cattle
on the deserted ancient town, whose
inhabitants were subsequently trailed to
Internally Displaced Persons camps and again
slaughtered in their thousands?
After Agatu, the neighbouring Enugu State’s
482 communities have been forced into this
chronicle of unchecked sorrows. Over time, the
Middle-Belt and Southern regions have seen
killings by herdsmen snowball. In January
2015, the Nkpologu community in Uzo-Uwani
of Enugu State came under unprovoked attack,
followed in April 2016 by Ukpabi Nimbo
community in the same council. Similarly, the
Abia State communities of Uzuakoli, Ebem,
Akanu, Umuchieze and Abam have suffered.
The carnage in Southern Kaduna is welldocumented,
with Governor Nasir El-Rufai
revealing he had to bribe the attackers to layoff
–they haven’t. Zaki Biam in Benue State,
Odukpani in Cross River State, communities
in Niger State and communities around the
Oyo State capital, Ibadan, have come under
attack. So have those in Ogun State. Attacks in
Ekiti prompted the state to finally enact a
grazing regulatory bill. Rampant killings in
Bayelsa and Delta states have been so volatile
that farmers are scared off their farms. Barkin
Ladi and Bassa LGAs in Plateau recently
witnessed sensational violence. After initial
killings of indigenes by
herdsmen here, soldiers
sent to keep the peace
Certainly,
these ones are
deadlier than
the Igbo IPOB
and the Niger-
Delta cultists
whom you
organized
OPERATION
PYTHON
DANCE and
OPERATION
PYTHON
DANCE for
respectively
abandoned displaced
villagers in a primary
school building, only for
armed Fulani Herdsmen
to return and slay 27
helpless women and
children in their sleep. On
New Year day, about 70
people, including
members of the Benue
State Livestock Guards,
newly-formed as an
answer to the Fulani
harassments, were killed
by militant herdsmen in
coordinated attacks on six
Benue communities:
Tom-Atar, Umenge and
Akor villages in Guma
LGA (home town of
Governor Samuel
Ortom); and Ayilamo,
Turan and Ngambe-Tiev
villages in Logo LGA.
According to Amnesty
International, herdsmen
killed 168 in January
alone. In my mum’s
village, Ewu in Edo State,
Fulani Herdsmen raped
and slaughtered two
women farmers they met
farming.
XENOPHOBIA
This is xenophobia. This
is genocide. This is Ethnicnasia; permit my
coinage, it reflects the blend of euthanasia and
ethnic cleansing. This is Sudan and Rwanda
loading.
For all these atrocities, Fulani Herdsmen take
fourth position as the worst terrorist group in
the Global Terrorism Index, after Boko Haram,
ISIL and El-Shabaab. Yet you people refuse to
label Fulani Herdsmen as the world sees them,
the fourth worst terrorist group globally –a
ticking nuclear bomb! You people prefer to live
in denial? A perplexed world sees a complete
disconnect between these troubling facts and
figures and the attitude and expressions of top
government figures like you. You all do not
seem to appreciate the danger posed by this
evil group in the long term and in the short
term. You fail to realize that this could end up
turning everyone against the Fulani as an
ethnic stock and endanger our fragile unity.
The law forbids any recourse to self-help. But if
the Fulani can resort to self-help, so can other
tribes. After all, what is good for the goose is
equally good for the gander. We run the virile
danger of descending into a free-for-all violence,
where every man shall be for himself.
The herdsmen have brought us close to this
nightmare. Yoruba folks have a saying that it
is better to tame the Iroko plant when it is young
because upon developing into a gigantic, fullgrown
tree, it becomes a deity demanding
oblations and sacrifices. This is the time to act.
Donald Trump came into power last year and
proclaimed America for Americans, promising
to erect a wall along the Mexico border. I have
no doubt Trump would have tackled the Fulani
Herdsmen, be they locals or foreigners, with
guns blazing. No less is demanded of you,
General Dan Alli.
•Col. Mohammed
Dan-Alli, retd
STATE’S RIGHT TO MAKE LAWS
Partly, you blamed these killings on the antigrazing
laws. Let us assume, without
necessarily agreeing, that the states did provoke
these attacks through enacting livestock
regulating laws. For your information, sir,
states DO have a constitutional right (duty, in
fact) to make laws for themselves. Believe it or
not, despite the unitary bastardisation of our
Republican Constitution, it still allots that kind
of power to the states. In the specific, the
Constitution, the grund num of all laws, and
the parameter against whom all laws must be
tested, in Section 4(7) concerning the
responsibility of states, posits that: “The House
of Assembly of a State shall have power to make
laws for the peace, order and good government
of the State or any part thereof ….”
I guess this provision formed the peg upon
which some states in the North adopted Sharia
law.
General, have you studied these laws to see if
they are totally loaded against the Fulani?
They are not anti-Fulani but anti-open grazing,
open grazing that has resulted in preventable
losses of lives. For example, not only do the Ekiti
and the Taraba statutes forbid open grazing in
favour of ranching, they went further to protect
herders by specifically forbidding cattle
rustling. By the way, people who are not Fulani
also own cattle; and they do not graze openly.
FEUDALISM OVER FEDERALISM
Your address to the Aso Rock Press corps
ignored the urgency this issue deserves. This
was the same way that the Boko Haram issue
was politicised and allowed to fester until it
mushroomed into the global dimension it has
assumed today. What is most troubling for
people like me is the fact that all you key
government functionaries are speaking one
language, a language that belittles this festering
genocide but fires blames in the direction of
every stakeholder except the parasitic Fulani
herdsman and his cowherds. It makes it sound
like you are endorsing Fulani feudalism over
national Federalism. Are you not in essence
saying that the shepherd is lord over the farmer?
The Fulani have their roots and their homes. If
the global climate change and desertification
have combined to push them to seek greener
pastures Southward, then Fulani herdsmen
must approach the host communities with
decorum and civility. But the Fulani are not
the only victims of climate change. South-East
and South-South Nigeria suffer flooding,
erosion, mudslides, ocean surge and coastline
erosions, all of which unleash harsh effects on
people and property. Those displaced do not go
on the rampage against their new hosts. If
Fulani cannot graze on grasses without
destroying farmers’ crops and killing farmers,
they should be compelled to stay back home in
their native lands. Simple!
FORMULA
I hesitate to subscribe to those trying to indict
you and make people believe that you are one
of the misfits in an administration, where a
Minister of Culture once said the regime will
create employment through the kitting of
masquerades, and where a Minister of Sports
said he wanted to be remembered for wearing
his trademark red hat. Don’t force me to change
my mind. Or do you also subscribe to the 97-5
per cent formula of the President? Like him, do
you too believe that those who gave him the
most votes should be satisfied at the expense of
areas who gave him fewer votes? Or does your
stance reflect the lopsided arrangement in the
Security Council? Like many other Nigerians,
I wonder if this problem would not have received
its deserved urgency were the Security Council
otherwise constituted. Today, we have a council
composed of a preponderance of Muslim
Northerners, a composition that is a clear
affront on Section 14(3), which demands that,
“The composition of the Government of the
Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct
of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner
as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria...
ensuring that there shall be no predominance
of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic
or other sectional groups in that Government
or in any of its agencies”
WHERE ARE OUR REAL FULANI?
But are these the real Fulani of my childhood?
I remember growing up between Lagos and
Ibadan. Those days, the sight of the Fulani
herder with his cattle sent us kids into frenzied
singing: “Malu gongo, labalaba gongo.” The
Fulani man, with his wide-brim hat, sheathed
dagger and amulets strapped to his arm, would
smile and wave at us, directing the cows from
doing us harm, as we kept a safe distance from
their huge horns and hoofs. Their women came,
hawking wara and fura. Those were the Fulani
we knew! Who are these ones armed with AK47
rifles? Did your DSS not say the other day that
these are foreigners and mercenaries from the
wars in Mali and Chad and Libya? They are
ISIS and ISIL. And yet they are being allowed to
dig in, take root and turn Nigeria into the next
theatre of war. Or have they succeeded in
intimidating the Nigerian Army under you,
Mr. Minister? Is this Fulani herdsman the
ultimate enemy your Nigerian Army would
love to avoid?
Certainly, these ones are deadlier than the
Igbo IPOB and the Niger-Delta cultists whom
you organized OPERATION PYTHON DANCE
and OPERATION PYTHON DANCE for
respectively. Now you have declared
OPERATION CAT RACE for Benue. The
herdsmen now kill police at random. They are
now burning police stations. I saw a Whatsapp
clip this week, where these reprobates burnt an
Armoured Personnel Carrier, against the
backdrop sound of weeping soldiers. Now your
Defence Ministry’s cat has finally entered the
race, have you not come too late to pour salt on
an earthworm that has grown into a viper?
General Dan Alli, you must speak up and act
tough. God forbid the heavens to fall, sir, people
will always remember you as the Minister of
Defence who provided neither defence nor
security. Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006 to
recover two slain soldiers whose bodies were
abducted by Hezbollah. This feat mirrored 1976
when Israel invaded Uganda to liberate a
hijacked airplane forced to land at Entebbe
Airport with Israelites on board. Israel
demonstrated that Jewish lives mattered. Such
is the stuff that breeds patriotism! Oppositely,
your posture and the Commander-in-Chief’s
insinuate that non-Nigerian Fulani in Nigeria
rate above non-Fulani Minorities Nigerians.
This posturing (and your posture on the
Cameroon agitators, by the way) contradicts
not only our Constitution but international
laws like the 1993 “Declaration on the Rights
of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious or Linguistic Minorities.” Its Article 1
proclaims: “States shall protect the existence
and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious
and linguistic identity of minorities within their
respective territories and shall encourage
conditions for the promotion of that identity.”
Violation is enforceable by the International
Criminal Court, ICC’s prerogative of detection,
arresting, extradition and punishment of
persons guilty of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, as adopted by the General
Assembly Resolution 3074 (XXVIII) of 3rd
December 1973.
This statute can be invoked not only against
the herdsmen and the Cameroonians, but
against you and the President –anytime, for
time never runs against crime.
What is the way out? Government must
construct a paradigm shift that not only makes
these demons realise that they no longer have
official backing but that they will be confronted
OFFICIALLY! This, Mr. Defence Minister, is the
change that must begin with you and your
Commander-in-Chief.
• OBOAGWINA, A JOURNALIST, LIVES
IN LAGOS
C
M
YK

An end to tears of sorrow
Brethren, glory be to
God for the grace to
witness the beginning
of another week.
In the name of Jesus, that
prayer request that is upper
most in your heart will soon
become a testimony.
Why am I so sure? It's simply
because I know we have a God
that is alive. Our God has ears
and he can hear us anytime
we call upon him.
Jeremiah 29 vs. 12 is our
authority. “ Then shall ye call
upon me, and ye shall go and
pray unto me, and I will
harken unto you”.
As human beings we have
some things in life that we
really need to make us
fulfilled.
For some, it is to get
married, for others, to have
children yet other people want
to acquire professional
certificates as a way of getting
to the top in their chosen
careers.
I may not know exactly
which is yours but I know that
for you to desire an end to your
present situation, the spirit of
stagnation has held you down.
Therefore, you are really in
need of a turn-around. In the
A
friend in need is a friend
in deed” This is what the
popular saying says.
" Many times having a friend
can surely help you,
encourage you, nurture you,
direct you, and comfort you.
Some people are lucky, they
can boast of having a BFF,
best friend forever, while
others will tell you that they
have been burnt many times
by so called friends.
I have met many who still
struggle to mix and mingle
among a crowd of total
strangers, this hinders any
chance of cultivating a
relationship, building
acquaintances or even
becoming a future friend.
Some have said confidence is
an issue within themselves, the
fear of rejection; scrutiny and
criticism have also been
linked to this introversive
nature. It does take an open
mind, free personality,
elements of boldness and
tenacity to reach out to others
and purposely decide to
make some connection or the
other. The irony of life is that
you simply cannot live alone
name of the Almighty God,
your situation will change for
the best.
Some of these issues
actually cause us to shed tears
of sorrow in our closet. Many
times you fall asleep after
shedding tears of sorrow.
Tears of sorrow cannot
bring in the solution to your
problem only Jesus can. You
need to connect to the burden
bearer for whatever is causing
you pain now to become your
gain. When you possess it, it
becomes your gain. People
will see and celebrate with
your.
For someone reading this
article because our Lord lives,
you will soon move from
sorrow to joy in the wonderful
name of Jesus.
Our God has given us this
assurance as recorded in
Isaiah 30 vs. 19 “ For the
people shall dwell in Zion at
Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no
more: he will be gracious unto
thee: at the voice of thy cry;
when he shall hear it, he will
answer thee”.
I hope you understand that
the one who will be gracious
unto you and answer you is
the Almighty God, the creator
The Etiquette of Being a
Friend
you will need people around
you to survive.
In today’s world continuous
networking has been
identified necessaryto become
successful in business and in
social settings.
•What does it take to be a
true friend?
•Why are some people best
friends?
•What chemistry needs to
exist for friendships to last?
•How do you keep friends
after a huge argument?
•Are friends to be trusted?
Would you consider yourself
a true friend? On many
occasions there is a tendency
to reveal very confidential
information to your friend, at
times that which you may not
reveal to a close family
member. Sadly it is that same
highly confidential
information that dear friends
use against you to bite back
or score an unnecessary point,
simply to hurt you.
The etiquette of being a
friend is an everyday
intelligence awareness that
of heaven and earth.
We have a greater assurance
in the word of God as recorded
in Revelation 21 vs. 4 “ And
God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall
be no more death, neither
sorrow, no crying neither shall
there be any more pain: for
the former things have passed
away”.
Brethren, when the former
things pass away, what
happens? A new era is ushered
in. This season your new era
of joy will manifest in your life
in the name of Jesus Christ.
Let’s go practical now.
Sunday Vanguard of last
week published the story of a
63-year-old woman, Mrs.
Margaret Davou who gave
birth to a baby girl after 38
years of marriage. No doubt
this is a miracle. You may say
after all she went through IVF
but let me recall the words of
her doctor.
Dr. Kenneth Egwuda her
consultant gynecologist told
the interviewer “ We admitted
her and I felt she was in good
state of health to undergo IVF
treatment. We just did what
we have been trained to do
professionally, and the only
attempt she had with us she
got pregnant with the help of
God because I don’t think
anything different was done
from what she had had in
some other places”.
Note his words with the help
of God. Brethren, that is my
point. Thank God for doctors
who acknowledge the
supremacy of the greatest
physician, Jesus.
Did you also take note that
the doctor said he didn’t do
should be known to all. Life
should not be taken for
granted, a friend can open
doors for you that you never
dreamt of. A friend maybe the
only one left where everyone
else turns their back on you. A
friend maybe that one person
that you can talk to at times
of needs. In striking a balance
during friendship the
chemistry is one of warmth,
trust and credibility. Friends
understand each other,
tolerate one another and
cherish the other.
To maintain any good
friendship requires taking a
look at yourself, assessing your
strength and weakness,
knowing what ticks you off
and sets you in a bad mood,
being able to control your
temper and ultimately
respecting yourself before
others.
How are you perceived
today? How would you like
to be perceived? What could
you be doing wrong?
SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 37
anything different from what
she had done elsewhere.
Brethren, this season, the
Lord will lead you to your
helper in the name of Jesus.
God led this woman to her
helper and her story changed.
God gave her a miracle that
advertised his name. By the
grace of God, you will have a
better testimony.
On the same day, that I read
the story of this woman who
gave birth at 63, God gave me
the opportunity to witness a
testimony of a lady during the
Don’t give up. Rather,
be more serious with
your worship and
service to God and
you and the children
that God will give you
will be amazement to
the world
miracle service of Laughter
Foundation International
Ministry and I decided to
share that testimony with you.
I will simply refer to the lady
who gave this testimony as
Lady B. Lady B has been
married to a man who
practices another religion
since 2004 without children.
Then someone invited her
to this particular church. This
was in 2013. After coming for
sometime and nothing
happened. She decided to stay
away.
In 2016, the Spirit of God
spoke to her to go back. She
Friendship Don’ts
1. Do not buy your
friendship by purchasing
expensive gifts to create
attention.
2. Do not rush a friendship,
or acquaintance you have just
met; take each day slowly and
gradually.
3. Avoid being a pest with
persisted phone calls at odds
hours of the day.
4. Friendship is mutual,
avoid dominating the
relationship.
5. Respect your friend’s
privacy, do not show up
unannounced.
6. As much as you can
maintain independence, try
not to appear solely
dependent on your friend for
money, a ride, decision
making and so on.
7. Keep what is confidential,
confidential.
8. Be quick to apologize,
remove criticism especially if
frequent.
9. What you don’t like never
obeyed. At this time, the
General Overseer gave an
assignment to all women
trusting God for the fruit of
the womb. She said when she
was praying; her husband
looked into her room and
asked if she was quarrelling
with anybody. She said no,
she was only carrying out an
assignment. He decided to
partake in the assignment.
This was in February 2016.
The following month, March,
for the first time in her life, she
took in.
Brethren, she told the
congregation that she had
killed so many chickens and
goats having visited
numerous herbalists but none
could wipe away her tears.
But our God, who does not
take chicken or goats from
anyone, did it for her. Today,
she is a mother of a baby girl.
Before, I make other points;
I’ll refer to another quote in
the interview with Dr. Egwuda
who admitted that IVF is quite
expensive in Nigeria. His
words “ The reason the price
is high is because of Nigeria’s
developmental stage. We are
not a manufacturing country;
we don’t make drugs and
most of the consumables used
for IVF are imported, we
would have wished that IVF
is not as expensive but of
course the exchange rate keeps
going up”.
Brethren, our God does not
charge for miracles. He gives
freely to those who love him
and live by his word.
Have you taken note that in
the two instances, the couple
stayed together? The men
didn’t go looking for
use it against your friend, talk
about it immediately.
10. Never revenge against a
onetime good friend two, two
wrongs never make a right.
Friendship Etiquette.
Appreciate
Appreciate your friend
whenever you get the
opportunity, simple times like
birthdays, anniversaries,
special global occasion
should not be overlooked. Be
happy to grow your
friendship, learn from the past
and be grateful for where you
first met to date. What can you
do better in the future?
Communicate
Good friendships only
survive with great
communication. Distance
today is no barrier or excuse,
email, phone calls, social
media all makes friendship
survive. Be open in your
communication, be free to
share what is relevant. Be
mindful of sensitive
confidential information, you
should be prepared for any
consequences and take
responsibility for it. Allow
communication to be regular
but not over bearing frequent.
A simple hello, how are you
today can put a smile on a
friends’ face.
Live and laugh
Laughing is a value not so
often experienced. As a friend
have moments of laughter
around you, remember the
good old days, have fun while
living in the mist of the
alternative wives who may
end up giving them children
whose paternity could be in
doubt.
Did you also appreciate the
point made by the doctor that
it was God that made it
possible?
Why did Madam Margaret
not conceive as a result of her
previous treatments? God led
her to her helper.
In the case of Mrs. B. who
had spent so much killing,
goats and chickens, I’ll share
with you the comments of the
general overseer of Laughter
Foundation, Pastor Gbenga
Oso. He said, “ People who
go to herbalists are the most
stupid people”.
He said people should not
be deceived. Herbalists do not
and cannot give children.
As a believer in Christ, you
have no need for such people.
Even if you are not yet a
believer, brethren, I implore
you to give your life to Christ.
If Mrs. B can give birth to a
baby after about 14 years of
marriage and Madam
Margaret at 63 years, why are
you giving up?
Don’t give up. Rather, be
more serious with your
worship and service to God
and you and the children that
God will give you will be
amazement to the world.
God does wonders in all
things. He is not limited to
childbearing issues alone.
Renew your faith in him and
he will fill your life with
pleasant surprises.
Get ready for your tears of
joy in the name mighty name
of Jesus.
Do have a blessed week.
challenges that life’s throws at
you. Smiling or laughing
makes the world a happier
place to live and calve out
time for a laugh by doing what
you love to do.
Inspire
What you know try to be free
to share new knowledge,
acquire some yourself.
Networking with friends,
broaden your horizons. Learn
together to become better,
bolder and brighter. Attend
business and social events,
when possible to keep each
other inspired. Go out of your
way to share fashion trends,
motivational stories, latest
news, rising technology, the
latest buzz in town.
Challenging times.
Be there for your friends
during trials and tribulation.
This is not the time to abandon
your friend, but show how
good a friend you are. Give
that should to cry on and lean
on. Advise only when solicited
or recommend as you deem
fit. A true friendship stands the
test of time.
Respect
Finally being loyal to
friends requires trust and
respect. In respecting your
friends you will all need to
respect their spouse, parents,
family, property, opinion,
views and much more.
Respect once given returns
back to you.
Goodluck!!!
Janet.adetu@hotmail.com
2019: Okotie drums support for Buhari
President Muhammadu
Buhari has promised to
reconcile the leaders of All
Progressives Congress, APC,
in Delta State to ensure the
victory of the party in the state.
The Senior Special
Assistant, SSA, on Political
Matters, to President Buhari
who represented him on the
occasion, Hon.Gideon
Samani,dropped this hint in
Ughelli, headquarters of
Ughelli North Local
Government Area of Delta
State during a rally put
together by a governorship
hopeful, Olorogun Osiobe
Okotie to drum support for
President Buhari.
Hon. Samani,explained
that the President is working
hard to ensure that Nigerians
get the best through his fight
on corruption. adding that
both Buhari and his vice
Professor Yemi Osihanjo are
men of integrity sent by God
to redeem the country He
stated that President Buhari
will use money recovered so
far from looters for the
infrastructural development
of the country.
He commended Olorogun
Osiobe Okotie for helping to
develop the party by making
its structure solid. He added
that Aso Rock is aware of his
effort in galvanising support
for the Project Buhari come
2019 which he has shown
through the massive
mobilization of party
members for the rally.
By Festus Ahon, ASABA
The Grand Administrator
and Director Supreme
Board Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC, Dr. Kenneth Idiodi
has blamed Nigeria problem
on misplacement of the
country's priorities and
mismanagement of her
resources.
He said: "Nigeria was like
an over pampered and spoilt
child. She is hugely blessed by
God with so many rich
natural resources especially
during the oil boom, and as a
AMORC leader blames Nigeria's problem
on misplacement of priorities
result lost her focus, sense of
value, became lazy and refuse
to work, forgot about the
groundnut pyramid, the
cocoa plantations and other
resources she used to survive
before the discovery of oil.
"Nigeria was swept off her
feet by too much money which
she could not manage and as
a result incured the wrath of
nature because nature avoids
waste."
Idiodi who was speaking at
this year's Delta/Edo Conclave
"Ughelli 2018" with theme,
"Soul's Immortality and
Universal Love", maintained
that love, tolerance and
obedience to the dictates of
our conscience both as
individuals and leaders was
the only way out of the
nation's present
predicaments.
C
M
YK

PAGE 38—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Sultan of Sokoto, Egbere
Emere Okorie Eleme, other
monarchs brainstorm on
community policing
By Etop Ekanem
MEMBERS of the Nation
al Council of Traditional
Rulers of Nigeria, NCTRN,
have showered encomium on
HRH Appolus Chu, the Egbere
Emere Okori 1 Eleme for promoting
unity among ethnic
groups in Nigeria.
The monarchs, who were in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State
capital for their 9th General
Assembly, spoke when they visited
Appolus Chu at his palace.
They expressed delight over
the monarch’s efforts to unite
the various ethnic groups in
Nigeria.
The Attah Igala, HRH
Michael Idakwo, Ameh Oboni
II, who spoke on behalf of the
group, appreciated Appolus
Chu and the people of Rivers
State for hosting them at a period
of ethnic mistrust in the
country.
“We have had very exhaustive
deliberations at the conference
of traditional rulers and we are
exhausted both physically and
mentally but one of us, the EgbereEmereOkori
1 Eleme,
HRH Appolus Chu, decided to
give us a special treat”, he
said.
“And he has built our image
beyond our expectations in the
way he has offered us this unprecedented
hospitality in his
new palace. For those of us who
came by air and even those that
came by road, from all over the
country, our presence here is
due to the ingenuity of one of
us, the EgbereEmereOkori 1
Eleme”.
In his response, Appolus Chu
stressed that the coming together
of the monarchs was to promote
unity among Nigerians.
Speaking on the theme for
the 9th General Assembly
tagged, “Community Policing
as a Catalyst to Crime Prevention
– The Role of Traditional
Rulers,” which was addressed
by the Inspector General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris Kpotum,
the monarch said: “This is
very relevant at this time because
of the security situation
and crises in the nation”.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji
Mohammad Sa’adAbubakar
III and Chairman of NCTRN,
who had earlier expressed
gratitude to Rivers State for
hosting the monarchs, noted
that the meeting would not
have been held at a better time
than now as they all were
aware of the challenge of insecurity
facing the nation.
The HRH Appolus Chu, the Egbere-Eleme Okori Eleme Kingdom, flanked by fellow traditional
rulers during the visit
Lagos councillors seek more independence to guarantee
good governance
By Temitope Akinbami
EPE, the home town of
Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode, hosted the 377
councillors of the 20 Local
Government Areas and 37 LCDAs
of Lagos State during which they
elected their new leaders for 2017-
2021.
The meeting was held at Epe
Local Government Secretariat
and had in attendance a member
of the state House of Assembly,
Hon. Turbo Abiodun, royal fathers,
LGA Chairmen from Epe Division
and representatives of the state
government.
In his inaugural address, the new
President of the Forum of
Councillors, Hon. Nurudeen
Alowonle Alimi, from Igbogbo
Bayeku Local Government Area,
appreciated his colleagues for
giving him the opportunity to lead,
My Nollywood experience will last a lifetime – Tessy
Avan, costumier
NOLLYWOOD costumier, Im
uetinyan Tessy Avan, is celebrating
the five years that she has
been in the movie industry.
Avan praised her mentors in the
movie industry for the opportunity
that she has been given to showcase
her prowess in the movie world.
The Benin born star recalled that
her success made possible by the
string of positives that she has been
able to achieve despite the stiff competition
existing in the industry.
She told Sunday Vanguard: “My
experience in Nollywood would last
me a lifetime. It has been worth the
while.
“I must give kudos to Nollywood
top shots like Amen Imasuen for
their support in ensuring that I am
distinguished as a brand.
“Most of my works are done in
such a manner that movie buffs will
always have something positive to
say about them.”
Avan is the brain behind the lovely
costumes used in top-of-the-range
blockbusters like ‘Sunburn’, ‘Mother’s
Love’, ‘Oghe’(a Benin language
movie) and ‘Iwin Doctor’.
DELSU hosts conference on gender
DELTA State University,
Abraka (DELSU) will from
February 19-23 be a beehive of
activities as the University’s Centre
for Gender and Development
Studies (CGDS) holds its first international
conference. The Centre
was established about two
years ago with Professor (Mrs)
Diana Arubayi as pioneer Director.
Tagged “Gender and Sociocultural
and Economic Issues”,
the conference seeks to interrogate
gender issues and explore
new dynamics in tackling them
in 21st Century Africa.
In a statement by Professor
Ashipa Kaoli Olusanya; Oba Babatunde Ogunlaja Aladeshoyin, the
Odo Naforija of Epe Kingdom, the new Chairman of the Lagos State
Forum of Councillors. Hon. Nurudeen Alowonle Alimi; Hon. Solomon
Gbinigbin, Leader, Yaba LCDA, and Oba Abdul Semiudeen
Orimadegun Kasali, the Adeburuwa of Igbogbo Kingdom, during the
inauguration of the new leadership of the forum
(Mrs) Grace N. Ojie-Ogwu, the
organising committee’s chairman
and Dean of the University’s
Faculty of Arts, and Dr. Patrick
Okonta, the secretary to the committee,
the keynote speaker is
Professor C. A. Oduaran, a professor
of clinical psychologist at
North West University South Africa,
while Professor William
Akpochafo will present the lead
paper.. The wife of the Delta
State Governor, Mrs Edith
Okowa, is special guest of
honour while the Vice Chancellor,
Professor Victor F. Peretomde,
is chief host.
Imuetinyan Tessy Avan
saying he will not disappoint them.
He promised to use his leadership
of the forum to promote good
relationship among LGA
legislatures, the executives and the
administrative staff in Lagos.
“We shall ensure prompt
delivery of dividends of democracy
to the people at the grassroots and
not play politics with the interest
and needs of the state”, Alimi said.
“We are the overseers at the
grassroots. We know the
challenges. We are appealing that
as parliamentarians at the LGA
level, we should be independent as
that is the only way the effective
performance of our mandates of
oversight of the executive and the
making of good laws can be
guaranteed. The state and federal
governments should do all in their
power to make local government
legislatures independent”.
The forum Chairman pleaded
for the creation of more LCDAs in
Lagos to further get government
closer to the people.
Tobun Abiodun, member, Lagos
State House of Assembly
representing Epe Constituency 1
and who represented Governor
Ambode at the occasion, urged the
forum members to live up to their
responsibility by promoting good
governance at the grassroots.
On his part, Hon. Solomon
Gbinigbin, Leader of Yaba LCDA,
advocated a law that will
guarantee the autonomy of the
legislative arm of the LGA in terms
of budget while saying the good
works Ambode is doing in Epe
should extend to other local
governments in the state.
ICRC okays infrastructural devt. in
Rivers ports
By Davies Iheamnachor
The Infrastructure Conces
sion Regulatory Commission
(ICRC) has expressed satisfaction
with the infrastructural
development in the ports in Port
Harcourt and Onne, Rivers
State.
This came as the Federal Government
expressed worries over
the level of insecurity on Niger
Delta waterways, adding that
the poor activities recorded at
ports in the region and Rivers
State in particular were caused
insecurity.
However, the concessionaires
in Port Harcourt lamented recurrent
attacks on vessels around
Bonny waters, noting that their
operations are affected by the
activities of pirates on waterways.
A delegation from the ICRC
spoke when it visited the ports in
the state to assess and ascertain
the level of compliance by concessionaires
on their agreements
on the development of infrastructure,
saying it was satisfied with
the development on the ground
at the port.
The Acting Director-General of
ICRC, Engr. Chidi Izunwa, who
led the delegation, said: “I am
happy with the development we
have on the ground at the ports,
but we have not got to the point
where I will say I am satisfied”.
Meanwhile, the two concessioners
at the Port Harcourt Port
Ports, and Terminal Operators
Nigerian Limited and BUA Ports
and Terminal Limited have lamented
that vessels importing
and exporting products were being
attacked regularly.
The General Manager of BUA,
Mohammed Ibrahim, told Sunday
Vanguard that two of their
vessels were attacked recently,
adding that the incident had affected
their operations.
Ibrahim stated that the operators
now charter gunboats to escort
their vessels on the fair waters
to avoided piracy, stating
that security was adding a huge
cost to their operations.
Okowa tackling herdsmen menace — Ishiekwene
By Festus Ahon, ASABA
Special Assistant to Delta State
Governor on Security matters,
Hon Basil Ishiekwene has said Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa's style of handling
issues between farmers and
herdsmen in the State was yielding
results.
Ishiekwene spoke to newsmen on
the sideline of the stakeholders meeting
organised by the Delta State
Government for Farmers, Herdsmen,
Community leaders and
Heads of security agencies at the
Unity Hall, Government House
Asaba penultimate week.
According to him, the stakeholders
meeting was one in the series of
meetings convened by Governor
Okowa's administration.
He said; "Governor Okowa's application
of dialogue among stakeholders
have saved a lot of lives in
the state, it has made the herdsmen
and the farmers to be cautious and
his efforts to check escalation of
hostilities as a result of activities of
herdsmen deserves commendation
"Our Governor has ensured that
through constant engagements with
the stakeholders, Delta has remained
relatively peaceful without
the usual stories of confrontation
between farmers and herdsmen in
the state.
"No law in Nigeria permits anyone
to graze on the farm of another
person, there is no law too that permits
anyone to forcefully take over
someone’s house but as we co-exist
as a people, there must be mutual
respect for one another by obeying
the laws of the land".

BENUE KILLINGS:
CAN solicit help for IDPs
By Sam Eyoboka
CHAIRMAN of The Chris
tian Association of Nigeria,
CAN, in Benue State, Rev.
Akpen Leva yesterday appealed to
public spirited individuals in the
country to rally round numerous
persons displaced as a result of
unabating incessant killings involving
Fulani herdsmen and local
farmers in Benue, Nasarawa,
Taraba and other neighboring
states, warning that except deliberate
efforts are urgently put in
place to disarm all armed militias
in the state, the situation will
get worse.
In a telephone interview with our
correspondent yesterday, the state
CAN chairman Leva, lamented
the pathetic situation in the numberless
refugee camps erroneously
being labeled Internally Displaced
Persons Camps across the
state, stressing that ”despite efforts
by the security officials deployed
to the state, killings are still ongoing
living every Benue resident in
perpetual fear.”
The cleric who had earlier called
for the immediate arrest and prosecution
of leaders of Miyeti Allah,
yesterday noted that even after
leaders of the group openly issued
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
1The short answer is, you can’t.
You can faithfully scatter the
seed of the Word, but only God
can make it grow (I Corinthians
3:6).
2. You can faithfully call people to
turn from their sin and trust in
Christ, but only God grants faith
and repentance (Philippians 1:29;
Acts 11:18).
3. You can alert people to the
danger of their state, but only God
can raise them from spiritual
death (Ephesians 2:1-5).
4. That’s not to say that your
efforts to faithfully preach and
pray and lead don’t matter. It’s just
to say that you cannot create any
spiritual fruit. You cannot convert
a sinner. You cannot cause a
Christian to overcome a sin. You
cannot cause your church to grow
in the ways that matter most. That
all finally depends on God’s sovereign
and omnipotent grace alone.
5. Numerical growth is not always
equal to, or the best indicator of,
spiritual growth. The bare fact
that more people show up on Sunday
morning does not mean a
church is growing spiritually.
6. Therefore, any strategy for
growing a church that promises
success based on what you do,
without taking into account that
only God can bring genuine spiritual
fruit, is fundamentally misguided
because it is aiming at
numerical growth to the exclusion
of genuine spiritual growth.
7. On the other hand, if you’re a
pastor, you have the responsibility
to faithfully preach the Word, pray,
shepherd the people, live a holy
WHO is the God people are serving all time?
Where is He? Where does He live? Is He liv
ing in heaven or earth? Nobody claimed to
have seen God. In the scripture, Moses, Elijah and
Jesus were seen on earth. None of them met each other
on earth but Jesus heard about Moses and Elijah and
preached about their words.
The stories and era of these people are facts and witnesses
that show how great God is. Today many people
do not know God, they know something exists.
Who owns and controls the activities of man i.e. eating,
drinking, walking, speaking etc. It is God.
The Elders describe God as the One that does what
He likes. He created people in different forms, some
are able and some are disabled from birth. All these
creation has shown that He does what He likes. Then
who is this God?
If some people do not know Him, then are they supposed
to be doing His wish or not? The person that
can kill and revive, bring about sorrow and happiness.
Are we not to fear Him? Some people say God is
not tough or harsh but these people are in affliction
and suffering.
Similarly some people say God is tough but they are
sam.eyoboka@gmail.com
08023145567 (sms only)
How can I grow my church?
life, and trust that God will bring
fruit in His own time. Not only
that, but as you faithfully preach,
pray, and lead, you should expect
God to bless his appointed means
for saving sinners and sanctifying
saints. You should expect your
church to grow, both numerically
and spiritually. So preach, pray,
lead, and expect God to bless your
efforts.
Kingdom Growth
Growth is synonymous with the
Kingdom of God. Jesus used many
analogies for the growth of the
kingdom of God. He likened it to
a mustard seed, a tree that grows
so great and big.
However, there is a world of
difference between Kingdom
growth and church growth. While
some form of church growth is
kingdom growth, many others are
beside the point. In true church
growth studies, there are three
types of growth, namely;
A. Biological growth - this is
children born in the church to
Christian parents. They grow up
in the church, but will later leave
the church after their teens.
Churches that focus only on
Seek for God's favour and mercy
By Pastor Oloruntimilehin Joshua Daramola
•Daramola
living unpleasant life. But God is
tough that is a fact; this is because
He does whatever He likes. The
Bible says in Isaiah 45:7 “I form
the light and create darkness. I
make peace and create calamity,
I the Lord do all these things.” Jesus
was asked whether it was the
sin of the blind man’s parent that
made him blind from birth, but
he replied that the blind man was
created in that form so that the
work of God should be revealed
several threats, none of their members
have been arrested by security
agents.
According to him, “Benue people
were peacefully going about their
noble duties of farming until last
year when the anti-grazing law
was enacted, the herdsmen started
killing our people and they are still
threatening us. We are still living
in fear because the whole of Benue
State is still under seige.
“Our people are still being killed
in the villages and there is fear
everywhere. Our people in
Nasarawa State are being attacked
and are returning en
masses to Benue, and there are numerous
IDP camps being opened
in the state as I speak now. The
atmosphere is tense as nobody
knows what is going to happen
next,” he said.
Continuing, the CAN chairman
said though the Federal Government
is talking of deploying more
security personnel to the state, “yet
people are being killed because
the Police personnel that have
been deployed are not helping
matters at all. The attacks have
been extended to our people in
Masarawa State and those who
managed to escape are daily migrating
to Benue.
“As at yesterday, several of them
were on the road, looking for transport
to get to Benue to take refuge
with their kith and kins in Benue,”
Leva noted.
Asked to explain reasons behind
the attacks, the CAN helmsman
explained that the incessant attacks
were both religious, political
as well as economic, “it’s a
deliberate plan to Islamize the
state because when they kill people
and the others run away, they
take possession of their land and
gain the economic power of the
state.
“It’s no longer hidden. The herdsmen
have issued the threat to attack
and take over the land. So
whatever is happening I look at it
as a deliberate ploy to Islamize
the state by military fiat,” he said.
Asked how much support they are
getting to mitigate the suffering
of the displaced persons in different
parts of the state, he lamented
that not much is coming apart
from fellow state governors who
are now visiting the state governor
and making donations for the
upkeep of the IDPs.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018 PAGE 39
RCCG launches operation
'clean the waste'
THE desire to support the Lagos State government to achieve a
cleaner and healthier environment, the National Sanitation De
partment of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, has
launched operation 'Clean The Waste', reports OLAYINKA LATONA.
Unveiling the initiative during the Outpouring programme of RCCG,
Region 1 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan in Lagos, the wife of the
General Overseer of the church, Pastor Folu Adeboye said the initiative
is aimed at making the environment cleaner, safer and healthier for all
Lagosians.
Pastor Adeboye said: "When there is outpouring of the Spirit of God,
wisdom, knowledge and revelation increase and that is why the sanitation
department of RCCG has decided to launch what nobody has ever
done and it is already on record in heaven and in Lagos.
"We are not going to clean the sanctuary alone, we are now going to sell
the spirit of purity and cleanliness to Lagos State and when this is done
in all homes, streets and villages in Lagos would be free of sickness," she
said.
Adeboye also urged members to be part of the initiative by supporting
the sanitation department in actualising the laudable project.
Urging Nigerians to live a life of holiness and uprightness to attract
God’s unlimited blessings and His outpouring grace the Assistant General
Overseer, to Pastor Adeboye on Administration & Personnel, Pastor
Funso Odesola said it is only righteousness that can exalt a nation.
Ukpai, Isong, Aggrey for Enugu Miracle Confab
PRESIDENT of Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association
Incorporated, Rev. Uma Ukpai alongside with Bishop Emma
Isong, Rev. Ntia Ntia, Apostle Zilly Aggrey and Rev. Don Odunze
Jnr will minister at the 2018 Enugu Miracle Convention.
The Enugu Miracle Convention with a theme; ‘Overtaking the World
with the Word’ is billed for March 4-11 at the Newspring Christian
Redemption Church Worldwide, 8, Moses Ogbodo Street, Topland
Amechi Road, Enugu.
According to the General Overseer and Senior Pastor, Rev. Chimaobi
Aninwene, the theme was informed by the need to stir up a revival in the
Body of Christ and in our nation. The miracle convention will feature
Paul Nwokocha, Samuel Anya, Chinyere Udoma, Gozie Okeke and
Chika (Abel C) ministering in songs alongside the Redemption Voices.
in him John 9:1-3.
Imagine somebody would be created blind
so that he or she could be used for sign and
wonder. Now would anybody say God is not
tough? Some people are still suffering, no
regular food, no money, no better life. These
people experiencing these problems are not
better than the blind man Jesus healed. In
fact people would show mercy to the blind
man than those facing problems.
Yet some people say God is not tough. If
God is not tough, He would not allow friends
to depend on each other for survival, husband
to depend on the wife, some to depend
on the younger brother or sister. He would
ensure everybody is treated equally Brethren,
it is therefore imperative for people to
rely on God because whoever rely on God
shall not lack good things of life. This is
how God works.
When a person that says God is not tough
complains about church doing things excessively
and does not embrace what is
Godly, the person shall continue in his or
her suffering.
But those who are serving God diligently
biological growth are not really
increasing His kingdom.
B. Transferred growth - this is
populating your church with
Christians from other churches.
For one reason or the other,
Christians from other churches
transferred their membership to
our church. This is not kingdom
growth, but sheep exchange. I
know churches that have 90 per
cent transferred membership, yet
they claim they are growing!
C. Kingdom growth - this is
getting people converted, turning
them from darkness to light, from
kingdom of Satan to kingdom of
God through genuine repentance
and forgiveness of sins. It is getting
people transformed through
personal encounter with The Lord
Jesus in the power of the Holy
Spirit. It is when people are being
changed, being genuinely saved
from sin and corruptions of this
world and discipling them for
God that we are really experiencing
Kingdom growth in our ministries
and churches.
Every minister must pursue
kingdom growth in our ministrations
and leadership. Without it,
am afraid for our church.
Marks of a healthy
local church
Every local church has a place
in God's plan to affect her
community and the world for
Christ. The local church is the chief
agent of God in transforming
people and society for Christ.
Headquarters, Regional, Provincial,
District, Area, zonal
churches are simply administrative
convenience to monitor the
local churches. The real power of
resurrection is in the local church
to change the world for Christ.
The size of the local church
doesn’t matter when it comes to
health. Small, middle-size and
large churches must all strive to
be healthy, taking these factors
very seriously and working them
out into the root and fabrics of
each local assembly of the saints.
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.”
and know that God is tough, praying fervently,
that do not sleep or slumber and trying
to move closer to God are eating good
foods and drinking good wine and wearing
good clothes. If they refuse to do all
that pleases and serve God then they will
know God is tough.
If you do not serve God you would not eat
and if you do not serve Him and you are
eating you are cheating and eating from
Satan.
For me I am serving diligently and I do not
lack good things of life with my family. God
revealed to me several years ago three
things required for man to do on earth.
Firstly, he should eat very well. Secondly to
worship and serve Him and; thirdly for man
to die. God has commanded every living
soul to worship and serve Him whether it is
convenient or not. Many people would have
fallen short of God’s commandments but
things can be reverted if you sober and beg
for forgiveness of your sins.
God does not forgive unless you request for
it. Let us seek for His favour and mercy.
*For further enquiries call:
08023020108, 08058110288.
w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /
pastoroloruntimilehin.

PAGE 40— SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Identifying marks of born again believers (5)
By Pastor William F. Kumuyi
IF you are in the sitting room
and Jesus is right there with
you, while the devil is at the
door knocking, which of them is
closest to you?
If your answer is Jesus and He is
closer to you, then why is it that
anytime the weakly Satan who is
far away from you performs his
theatrics, you do not tell him to
shot up his mouth. Silence that
devil and Jesus will humiliate him
for you.
It is unfortunate that those who fall
into sin do not seem to realise that
Jesus is near by. But as many who
belong to Jesus will find Him as a
present help in times of their need.
Today you will escape from the
snare of the devil in Jesus name.
Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin.”
Do you still remember the story of
the pardoned thief who was by
Jesus at the cross? Okay. People
feared him when he was roaming
the streets because he was ‘powerful’.
But the moment word got out
that he had been crucified, people
had no reason to be afraid of him
anymore.
Our old man and nature has been
crucified. Before we knew Jesus
Christ, that old nature was strong
REVEREND FATHER
John Damian
ADIZIE, OCD
Director of Int'l Youth Empowerment
& Rehabilitation Centre
(IYERC)
Tel: 08076635886
Email:
johndamianocd@yahoo.co.uk
and powerful and could make us
act foolishly, because we were
helpless. That was when it was
free. Now we have come to Christ
and the old nature has been nailed
to the cross. It is no longer powerful
nor can it conquer us any
more. You will overcome. Your
victory has come.
I John 3:10 “In this the children of
God are manifest, and the children
of the devil: whosoever doeth
not righteousness is not of God,
neither he that loveth not his brother.”
You are now living in a new dawn,
because Jesus Christ lives inside
of you. He is now your Saviour
and when the devil comes with his
theatrics you will not fall.
Tell it to the Lord because He has
all the grace, strength and righteousness
that you need. He will
help you. Confess your sins and
accept Him into your life.
God has supplied us with sufficient
grace to overcome all temptations
that come our way. There
is no temptation that will come
upon you that you do not have
grace to overcome. If God allows
any temptation and trial to knock
at your door, it is because He has
given you the needed grace to
overcome.
I John 5:1 "Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God: and every one that loveth
Where can we find a just society?
THE world is gradually
becoming an arena of
injustice and oppression
---a world where people are no
longer feeling secured due to
injustice, inequality and insincerity.
The violence, hardship
and killings we are facing in
our world today is as a result
of injustice which has to do
with discrimination, inequality
and unfair hearing; couple
with delay and total denial of
justice.
An unjust society is one where
the rich get richer while the
poor are getting poorer; a
world where the leaders are
inflicting undue hardship on
their citizens, like what is
happening right now at Imo
State where the government
has destroyed so many
local markets, rendering
poor market women jobless
and homeless, without proper
relocation and compensation;
a world where people
are killed indiscriminately
without anybody
being brought to book; like
what happened at Benue
State where several innocent
citizens were butchered
in cold blood, yet nobody
was arrested; a world where
people are imprisoned without
fair hearing; a world
where people could not even
express themselves freely
without intimidation and
even assassination; a world
•Kumuyi
him that begat loveth him also
that is begotten of him."
Everyone that loves God the Father
also loves the believing Christians
who have been washed by the
blood of the Lamb.
The moment you become born
again your life will be different
from others and it will change for
good. When that transformation
is visible and readily seen by all,
then you are a child of God.
I Peter 2:1-2 "Wherefore laying
aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil
speakings, As newborn babes, desire
the sincere milk of the word,
that ye may grow thereby:"
If you are born again, there are
things you are expected to lay
aside so that your journey to
heaven is not hampered. While
you are at it, you need to cultivate
the longing desire within you for
studying the milky word of God.
I Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people;
The couple's future in the course of their marriage
where people are
not allowed to
practice their religion
freely; a
world where the
best academic
and medical services
are reserved
for the rich alone
---is indeed an unjust
society.
A free and just
society, on the
other hand, is a society
where justice is upheld as
the ultimate goal; a society
where there is respect for the
fundamental human rights;
a society with rule of law;
where there is respect and
love for people of all tribes,
race and nationality irrespective
of their colour, sex
and religion. A just society
is a society where people’s
opinion is respected; where
leaders are at the service of
the people. it is a society
where people are given
equal opportunity irrespective
of their political, social
and religious affiliation.
It is a society where people’s
right and dignity are respected;
where human life is
more valuable than animal
By Pastor Okokon Ating
AS I noted earlier, every
wicked and demonic
person knows what the
future of each marriage
would look like. They foresee
the content, the blessings
therein in a godly marriage.
Hence, they do not feel happy *Pastor Okokon Ating
to be part and parcel of what
will make such marriages to less without knowing how to
succeed.
continue again in raising a
I know of a young family new family.
whose progress has been Economically, the man is
thwarted on several occasions.
He married his first ped, spiritually, he claimed
hampered and handicap-
wife; the parents complained he is rejected by God.
bitterly that he should divorce
her, why? No reason who were not progressive in
Socially, those of his age
was given. The man went life are now doing better
ahead and divorced the lady than him, because he has not
and took in another wife been himself since he lost
which was his parent’s choice three wives. He has been
but suddenly she died. He hampered and jeopardized
remarried according to the by evil parents.
advice of the parents, but The young man has now
after some years, the wife died become retrogressive in life.
again. So the man became The future of the young man
frustrated in life without hope. that was full of progress and
Now he is in the village hope-
growth had been terminated
and he is stagnant. There is
every need for us in this world
to continue praying for the
future as we progress in our
marriage. Inclusively, the
future couple should pray for
their children, property, education,
finance and health.
These and others are the
areas which Satan fights
against the marital life of
people.
Strength and weakness of
the couple.
In this, the kingdom of
darkness will look into the
area in which the couple is
strong and weak so that they
may use that to strike against
the progress of the family. If
the devil knows that the
couple are strong in prayers
they will like to attack by
causing weariness and backsliding.
This could be by
engaging them in unnecessary
profession which can
take their time away from
church services and fellowship.
The enemy may strike also
in the area of weaknesses
like anger, drunkenness,
smoking and fighting in the
marriage.
I knew a couple long ago
who lost their fortune, family
and almost lost hope
because of constant fighting
and quarrelling. Every day
the husband will tell the
wife, ‘you will be divorced
whether you like it or not’
the wife will ask why, without
explanation, the next
action will be fighting.
Frankly speaking, they
divorced themselves without
a cause. The man went
and married another woman
who later died and
subsequently, the man himself
died too. The first wife
remarried another man and
later met with hard luck.
That is how the young
couple put their marriage in
shamble and destruction
because of anger which led
to frequent fighting.
that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you
out of darkness into his marvellous
light:"
We are to show forth the glory of
God by our conduct and lifestyle;
and you will show forth the praises
of God in Jesus name.
There are some people who think
to possess salvation experience,
but a closer look at their admittance
reveals that their salvation
is false and only stem from personal
effort. Some are of the opinion
that if they could only blend
in with the ways of a certain denomination,
through regular
church attendance, then it would
fetch them salvation. But they fail
to understand that salvation requires
sweat and hard work. This
is because to obtain salvation you
must let the sermons you have
heard work on you and you on the
sermons in order to have a change
of character that is demanded by
God. Else, you will only end up
like Judas Iscariot because I do
not think that you have heard as
many sermons as Judas. He heard
all the sermons Jesus gave and
when the multitudes found time
to retire, he was still by the Master,
with the rest of the disciples,
listening away. Yet, he did not
have the staying power because he
loved 30 pieces of silver more than
Jesus Christ. If the love of money
still incubates in your heart, then
and other values in the
world. Can we still find such
society in our world today?
If yes, where?
Reflecting on the level of
injustice in our world, His
Holiness, Pope Francis,
laments: “I think of the
difficulties, which, in various
countries, today afflict
the world of work and business;
I think of how many
are unemployed many times
due to a purely economic
conception of society,
which seeks selfish profit,
beyond the parameters of
social justice.” For the Holy
Father, therefore, the high
level of unemployment and
hardship we are facing
today is a clear indication
that our world is nothing but
an unjust society.
Considering the high level
of injustice that perverse our
society, the UN General
Assembly has declared
February 20 as World Day
of Social Justice. For them
justice is the essence of development
and the best way
to promote human dignity.
Social justice is therefore
the promotion of justice for
all citizens in a given society.
The theme of this year's
World Social Justice Day is:
“Workers on the Move: the
Quest for Social Justice.” In
her Declaration on Social
Justice for a fair Globalization
the International Labour
Organization guarantees fair
and just treatment for all,
through employment, social
dialogue, fundamental principles
and rights at work.
The organization is actually
out to build a free, fair and
just society based on social
justice.
Social justice is among the
guiding principles that exist
in a just society. It is a fundamental
principle that guarantees
peaceful and mutual
coexistence among various
people in a given society. They
are those guiding principles
that promote the wellbeing
and welfare of every individual
in a given society.
Social justice is a principle
that promotes equality at all
levels, especially, gender and
social equality. It upholds the
right of all citizens, especially
the rights of widows, orphans,
migrants and indeed the
rights of the less privileged in
every society.
Since the world is full of evil
and would not want marriage
which is God’s institution
to survive, people
who are involved in it
should be careful how they
handle it. If they have found
themselves in one weakness
or the other, there is a need
for them to minimize or
avoid totally any that will
amplify the progress of their
marital life, prayer and
constant counseling may
solve these challenges in
their lives. Many couples
have ruined their future
because of wantonness.
Those who have allowed this
to become habitual in their
lives have died miserably
without good records in
their generations.
I see marriage as one of the
most valuable and costly
projects in one’s life which
needs to be protected at all
cost, once we enter into it. It
is easy to build a house, get
it destroyed and rebuild
when not satisfied with the
style and architectural
design. It is also easy for one
a real change has not taken place
in you nor can you say that you
are a real child of God. That is
why you need the real proof of salvation
in Christ so as to dispel any
doubt.
I John 5:2 "By this we know that
we love the children of God, when
we love God, and keep his commandments."
When people look at your life can
they say you are prone to obeying
the commandments of God? Because
all your life's achievements
will go down the drain, if you do
not have accompanying obedience
to the word of God.
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my
commandments."
Jesus says that the only way to
prove that you love Him is when
you keep His commandments.
This means that when you love
Him it will reflect on your attitude
and your daily actions.
John 14:21,24 "He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me: and
he that loveth me shall be loved of
my Father, and I will love him, and
will manifest myself to him. He
that loveth me not keepeth not my
sayings: and the word which ye
hear is not mine, but the Father's
which sent me." True lovers of
Christ show it by the life they live.
John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments,
ye shall abide in my
love; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and abide
in his love."
*To Be Continued
Pope Francis has contributed
immensely in the
promotion of social justice.
He has even created a new
department that focuses on
helping the migrants,
unemployed and care for the
environment.
He went as far as encouraging
all those who
promote social justice in
the following words: “To all
people of good will who
are working for social
justice: never tire of
working for a more just
world, marked by greater
solidarity!” http://
www.azquotes.com/author/
5099-Pope_Francis
With the Holy Father Pope
Francis, I wish to commend
all those who are promoting
social justice in our
world today.
Social justice is indeed the
solution to all the problems
in our world today. Without
justice there will be no
peace and without peace
there will be no development.
So, for peaceful coexistence
and mutual development
--- let there be justice!
to buy a car and resell it for
one reason or the other. But
in marriage, once destroyed,
the scar remains till death.
And many generations can
suffer from it except the yoke
of that mistake is broken by
a careful and wise generation
which came to know
that there was something
wrong with their founding
parents. Only few couples
see and understand all these
as challenges which can
render them impotent in
life.
But to others, they see it as a
common phenomenon in
life. As Christian couples,
think, check and correct all
these things in order to put
your life in a correct way and
pass it on to your next generation.
*For enquiries contact:
Apostolic Church, 3, Tree
Power Avenue, Itire, Lagos.
Or call: Pastor Okokon
Ating on:
0 8 0 5 4 1 2 1 3 5 5 ,
08179072635
Pastorating@gmail.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 18, 2018 PAGE 41
Iwent to buy blank video
tapes in a van emblazoned
with Christian VideoNet on
both sides. When I came out of
the van, an Asiatic gentleman
engaged me in friendly banter.
He was clearly not a Christian,
but I soon got the impression he
was in the marketplace for a new
religion. He did not wait for me
to witness to him. Having seen
the insignia on the van, he wanted
me to tell him about Christianity.
But then he had some
vital questions he wanted cleared
up right at the onset.
“Your religion,” he asked,
“does it allow you to drink alcohol?”
“Yes,” I replied expansively,
“we even drink wine in
church.” “Wonderful, wonderful,”
said my new-found friend,
brightening up. Then he asked:
“How many gods do you have?”
I was a bit slow on the uptake
and did not quite understand
what he was getting at. What do
you mean how many gods do I
have?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes, yes,” the man replied, without
any hint of mischief. “How
many gods do you have?”
“I have only one God,” I insisted
marvelling at him. “Only
one?” he asked in disbelief. “You
have only one God?” “Well, yes,”
I replied, now defensive. “I have
only one God.” The man shook
his head in a way that said eloquently:
“Forget it.” I imagine
him saying to himself: “What is
the point of a religion where you
only have one God? That is simply
too risky. What if he happens
to be busy at any given time?”
On later reflection, I came to
the conclusion that it was a godsent
question. Therefore, I pose
the same question here: “How
many gods do you have?” “Do
you even know how many gods
you worship?”
Idol worship
One of the most important
subjects that Jesus addresses in
the scriptures is idol worship.
CHRISTIANS ARE IDOL WORSHIPERS (1)
Atheism does not
exist. Man is a
worshiper.
Everybody worships.
The critical question
is who or what we
worship
One of the Ten Commandments
of God says: “I am the
LORD your God, who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before
me.” (Exodus 20:2-3).
Atheism does not exist. Man
is a worshiper. Everybody worships.
The critical question is
who or what we worship. We either
worship the one true God or
we worship idol gods. Says John
Calvin: “The heart of man is an
idol factory.” Left to himself,
without divine revelation, man
will worship almost anything.
We worship what we highly esteem.
For this reason, Jesus
says: “What is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination
in the sight of God.” (Luke
16:15).
Jesus himself faced the challenge
of idol worship at the very
inception of his ministry: “The
devil took him up on an exceedingly
high mountain, and showed
him all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory. And he
said to him, ‘All these things I will
give you if you will fall down and
worship me.’ Then Jesus said to
him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For
it is written, ‘You shall worship
the Lord your God, and him only
you shall serve.’” (Matthew 4:8-
10).
Many people, including those
who call themselves Christians,
have accepted the devil’s offer.
We worship the devil and his
“things” instead of the one true
God. Thus, Jesus counsels:
“Store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where moth and
rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.” (Matthew
6:20-21).
It goes without saying that God
is the only real treasure we have.
Every other so-called treasure is
ephemeral. God is: “the Desire
of All Nations.” (Haggai 2:7).
Accordingly, John warns all
believers: “Do not love the world
nor the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh and the lust of the eyes
and the boastful pride of life, is
not from the Father, but is from
the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).
Idols of the heart
Jesus told a Samaritan woman:
You worship what you do not
know; we know what we worship,
for salvation is of the
Jews.” (John 4:22).
The same conundrum applies
today. Many presume salvation
is of the Italians or the Romans,
but it is not. Salvation is of the
Jews. For this reason, Roman
Catholicism is full of idol worship.
God says: “You shall not
make for yourself an idol in the
form of anything in heaven
above or on the earth beneath or
in the waters below. You shall not
bow down to them or worship
them; for I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:4-
5).
But Roman Catholics have deliberately
removed this injunction
from their own non-scriptural
version of the Ten Commandments,
so that the people would
be unaware that they are contradicting
it. As a result, the making
of idols is very big business
in Rome, and the worship of idols
is standard fare in Catholicism.
However, the problem is not
limited to Roman Catholics. It
is a general predicament among
all Christians. The problem with
idol worship is that many who
worship idols are unaware that
they are worshiping idols. Many
worship God while also worshiping
idols. But when we worship
God and other gods simultaneously,
we become idol worshipers.
Thus it is said of the people
of Samaria: “They feared the
LORD, yet served their own godsaccording
to the rituals of the
nations from among whom they
were carried away.” (2 Kings
17:33).
Even more fundamental is the
fact that many of the idols worshiped
today are not physical
idols: they are idols of the heart.
God identifies this tendency to
Ezekiel: “Son of man, these men
have set up idols in their hearts
and put wicked stumbling blocks
before their faces.” (Ezekiel
14:3).
These idols are strongholds set
up in our hearts and minds that
prevent us from growing in the
knowledge of God, and from seeing
the glory of God in our lives.
Thus, Paul says we should cast
down: “imaginations, and every
high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God,
and bring into captivity every
thought to the obedience of
Christ.” (2 Corinthians: 10:5).
Worship of money
One of the idol gods that Christians
have been seduced into
worshiping is mammon; the god
of money. Paradoxically, this
worship even takes place during
church services. Today, everything
is upside down. People go
to church to pray for money, to
invest money and to learn about
how to make money. God has
become second-place; simply an
instrument for the acquisition of
money.
Mercenary pastors now claim
the gospel gives us the power to
get wealth. In his book, “The
$elling of Je$u$,” Victor Bryditzki
observes cryptically that:
“Je$u$ is a multi-billion dollar
industry, expanding into places
where angels (and sober Christians)
fear to tread.”
But the word of Jesus remains
sure, having this seal|: “No servant
can serve two masters. Either
he will hate the one and love
the other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and
Money.” (Luke 16:13).
CONTINUED
The prayer answering God (I)
BRETHREN, we in this part
of the world should be in
the mood of prayer because
the situation we came to find ourselves
demands by its merit a
fervent and passionate prayer.
This is because we have been
boxed into a tight corner by
circumstances of events of
history of our country and we
couldn’t help ourselves nor find
a rescuer to come to our aid.
Government has failed us; our
leaders have failed us, so also the
society has failed us. Above all,
the devil and his human agents
have gone haywire in attacking
the Church of God and genuine
ministers of God, it has become
very dangerous to openly serve
the Lord, so our only option now
is to pray to the Almighty God to
inter-vene in our plight and give
ans-wers to our prayers.
Our consolation is that our
God is a prayer answering God
and we totally rely on Him to
give answer to our prayers. He
answered the chosen ones in the
Bible, such people like Moses,
Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, David,
Solomon and Peter, Paul and
Silas.
Psalm 99:6 says: “Moses and
Aaron among his priests, and
Samuel among them that call
upon his name; they called upon
the LORD, and he answered
them.”
When God designs mercy, He
puts it into the hearts of His
people to pray for the mercy
designed. When such a spirit of
prayer is poured out, the mercy
that it evokes prevails against
any judgement meted for it, thus
answer is given to the prayer.
These notable chosen people of
old made God’s word and law
their rule, knowing that they
could not else expect that their
prayers should be answered. They
all wonderfully prevailed with
God in prayer and miracles were
wrought at their request.
They pleaded to God for the
people, and obtained answers of
peace. Our Prophet and High
Priest, Jesus Christ our Lord, who
has greater dignity than Moses,
Aaron, or Samuel, has received
and declared to us the will of the
Father. He encouraged us to pray
whenever we are in need, and
assured that our Father will give
answer to our supplications that
are according to His will.
No matter your condition or
situation, the same God that
answered Moses and the apostles
of old is still alive to answer your
prayers in Jesus name. Paul and
Silas were accused, bound and
tortured yet they prayed and
praised God and God heard them
and answered them. In any
situation, if we cry to God, He
will answer us in Jesus name.
I Timothy 2:8 says: “I will therefore
that men pray everywhere,
lifting up holy hands, without
wrath and doubting”.
The above verse captures the
position of God as far as prayer
is concerned. Under the gospel,
prayer is not to be confined to
any one particular in the house
of prayer, but men must pray
every-where. We must pray in our
closets, pray in our families, pray
He encouraged us
to pray whenever
we are in need,
and assured that
our Father will
give answer to our
supplications that
are according to
His will
at our meals, pray when we are
on journeys, and pray in the
solemn assemblies, whether in
public or private. We must pray
in faith, without doubting, and
without disputing.
The above verse also made us
to understand that if we are to
expect answer to our prayer we
must ensure that we appear
before God with holy hands
devoid of any atom of wickedness
and doubting. So as you pray
ensure that your heart is full of
purity devoid of anger and
unbelief and the Lord will accede
to your request. This is because
heartiness and sincerity in
seeking God insure a gracious
answer.
James 5:15 says: “And the
prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins,
they shall be forgiven him”.
The Lord answers prayers
made with true faith in God. In
the above the Scripture shows
the good effects of prayer. The
Bible did not ascribe the sick
man’s recovery to the oil, but to
the prayer. The prayer of faith
shall save the sick.
Mark 11:24 says: “Therefore I
say unto you, What things soever
ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall
have them”.
Jesus here lays down the broad
rule in the application of which
we must be guided by. The rule
is, we must not expect to obtain
that which is unlawful for us to
desire nor must we selfishly run
counter to the will of God. We
must keep away from sin or
anything that resembles it
because it hinders prayers. These
sins may be faithlessness,
unbelief, unforgive-ness,
complaining, murmuring,
bitterness etc.
Isaiah 59:1-3 says: “Behold, the
LORD’s hand is not shortened,
that it cannot save; neither his ear
heavy, that it cannot hear: But
your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and
your sins have hid his face from
you, that he will not hear. For
your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies, your
tongue hath muttered
perverseness”.
No one prays in sin and expects
his or her prayers to be answered
and so if you must pray, please
endeavour as believers to confess
and renounce all known and
unknown sins and He will surely
meet you at the points of your
needs in Jesus name.
The above scriptures have
become necessary given that
many have prayed and are still
praying without answers to their
prayers and hence if you must
pray you must do so with purity
of heart, holiness and you will be
answered by Him.
The Lord has assured us that
whenever we call upon Him He
will answer us as we have seen
Matthew 7:7-11 says, “Ask, and
it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you: For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened. Or
what man is there of you, whom
if his son ask bread, will he give
him a stone? Or if he ask a fish,
will he give him a serpent? If ye
then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Father
which is in Heaven give good
things to them that ask him?
Pray according to the will of the
living God and He will give you
answers. Let us not only exalt the
Lord with our lips, but give him
the throne in our heart; and while
we worship Him upon His mercyseat,
let us never forget that He is
holy.

PAGE 42— SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
EDITED BY OSA
AMADI
osaamadi@yahoo.com
08070524223
To leave and to cleave:
a significant reference
material on marriage
By her Excellency, Erelu Angela Adebayo
Abook review is not supposed to be a book report, or a
comprehension as our children write in school. A book
review is more for me to tell you what jumps out at you
from this book and then finish up by telling you if it’s a book
you might want to read or not.
Unfortunately, due to some technological progress (if we want
to call it that) we are not reading as much as we used to. These
days, we can find answers to everything by googling it. We
hardly ever sit down as in the olden days to read a book. But
then, sometimes you require a reference book and a hand book.
And in something as important as marriage, I don’t think you
should be googling or watching a film. This is why I think this
book is very important.
To Leave and to Cleave is a delightful book that I predict will
be a reference material, a companion book, and a comfort book
for couples as they plan to wed, as well as for those who are
already married.
Apart from being experience-based, this book is also faithbased
with no apologies. It refers to the Bible, and therein you
find its major strength, because man is fallible, but God is
•Elder Steve Rhodes
infallible. So if we take the Bible as our reference
book, To Leave and to Cleave is the natural
progression from that.
Written by two authors, the book begins with
a legal framework of marriage which, in Nigeria
of today, is extremely important. Because
you will be surprised to know that some people
still don’t even know exactly what it means
to be married or what their rights and privileges
are, especially the women. So, the authors
give us quite a good insight into the le-
• Sets up award in his name
May 29 2018 will
mark the 10th
anniversary of the
passing of the renowned music
impresario, broadcaster
and art manager, Steve
Omodele Bankole Rhodes.
Born at No. 38 Igbosere Road
Lagos on April 8, 1926, he
died on Democracy Day, May
29 2008 in a London hospital,
where he had been admitted
following a bout of illness.
To set the anniversary celebration
ball rolling the
family have set up an endowment
- the Elder Steve
Rhodes Award for the Best
9mobile Prize for Literature announces
2018 shortlist
BY OSA AMADI
The three shortlisted titles
are: Stay with Me by Ni
geria’s Ayobami Adebayo;
What it Means When a
Man Falls Down From the Sky
by Lesley Nneka Arimah, also a
Nigerian; and Asylum by Marcus
Low, from South Africa.
This shortlist announcement
follows the long list unveiled in
December 2017, which featured
nine books chosen by the judges:
Nigerian academic and poet
Harry Garuba (Chair), Ugandan
writer Doreen Baingana, and
South African writer Siphiwo
Mahala.
The judges are now faced with
the task of deciding which of
Graduating Music Student from
the University of Lagos. According
to his third daughter, Jeanette
Rhodes, this first award will be
presented during the University of
Lagos Convocation ceremony on
the morning of the 20th February
2018.
She disclosed further: “”On the
20th February 2018, Freedom Park
in collaboration with the family
will display a photographic exhibition
(initially displayed in 2014
to mark the 6th anniversary) and
the public will have the opportunity
to view the exhibition as well
as watch a short documentary titled
Metamorphosis directed and
produced of Femi Odugbemi.”
gal aspect of marriage. I find that the book is
made very easy for me to review because it
ends with conclusions. I find the conclusions
to be very important.
For instance, at the end of chapter 3, it tells us
about courtship. After going through what constitute
courtship, it concludes that a failed courtship
is better than a failed marriage. After reading
the chapter, you would see exactly how they
came to this conclusion. This helps if you have
someone going through this – you can quote
meaningful parts of the Bible that will comfort
the broken hearted, so that when the right person
comes later they will realize that indeed a
failed courtship is better than a failed marriage.
Something I found very important in this book
is communication. It tells us how important communication
is in marriage. For me, this is a key
message from the book. Communicating effectively
with your spouse is key to a successful
marriage.
The book dwells on the roles of the man and
the woman in marriage relationship and then
talks about sex and fornication. It also discusses
pregnancy and children, teaching us to also regard
our house help as our children. There is
also a chapter on finance.
For me, the strength of this book is in this line:
“God is the author of marriage; remember to always
go to Him because he has all the answers.”
Indeed He has all the answers. But He may not
always come down to us. So He sends people
like Angela and Nnezi to come and minister to
us. I commend the authors and recommend this
book to all: read it, save it in your library, and
use it in your day-to-day life.
•Her Excellency, Erelu Angela Adebayo, is the wife
of former governor of Ekiti State
Family, associates mark 10th anniversary of
legendary music impresario, Steve Rhodes
these three impressive firsttime
writers will win the
2018 9mobile Prize for Literature.
The winner will be
announced during the
Grand Finale event to be
held this year.
The chair of judges, Professor
Harry Garuba, said
the three finalists were selected
after a thorough, objective
and painstaking review
of their books.
Director, Brand and Experience,
9mobile, Elvis Ogiemwanye,
expressed satisfaction
that every stage of
the 2018 9mobile Prize for
Literature has been inspiring.
He further commended
the judges and patrons
for their diligence; while restating
the company’s support
for African literature.
The winner of the 9mobile
Prize will receive £15,000, an
engraved Montblanc Meisterstück
pen, and a 9mobilesponsored
fellowship at the
University of East Anglia,
where he/she will be mentored
by renowned literature
teacher Professor Giles Foden,
author of The Last King of Scotland,
while all three finalists
will have copies of their books
purchased by 9mobile for distribution
to schools, libraries
and book clubs across Africa.
This is in fulfillment of the
company’s goal of making
books available across the continent,
and developing the
publishing industry.
•Lesley Nneka Arimah,
The event of February 20th will
wrap up with some musical entertainment,
especially by a band
that is competent in both highlife
and jazz idioms – the two that
were Elder Rhodes most preferred
forms. “All are encouraged
to come and participate – established
musicians and budding
talents alike”, stated the Jeanette
for the organisers.
Remarkably, Freedom Park the
venue for this celebration is located
at the site of the former Prisons
on Broad Street, a stone’s
throw from Igbosere Road, where
the late Steve Rhodes was born,
“so this is a fitting tribute to this
great legend”.

Viewpoint
By Dr. Kayode Ajulo
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
The law enforcement
bodies we need
The notoriety of executive agencies in
transgressing the very laws that create
and empower them have become
commonplace, and regrettably the
norm. The issues that arise from this
exhibitions of impunity and gross
ignorance of the law are a real threat to
our budding democracy, and a mockery
of laid down procedures and guidelines
painstakingly enacted by our
lawmakers.
The misplaced zeal of the Nigeria
Police Force and the Department of State
Security in handling the non-issue
involving Mr. Kassim Afegbua once
again throws up this concern for
contemplation. Firstly, we must reiterate
that the law seeks to establish laid down
procedures for securing the attendance of
accused persons in court. This is important
because where no proper procedures are
laid down for securing the attendance of
accused persons in court, there is bound to
be
violation of the rights of persons. These
procedures are crucially important and
must be jealously guarded and enforced.
Usually, when a declaration that a person
is wanted is made by any security outfit it is
usually under the impression that a crime
has indeed been committed and such
offender has suddenly gone under the
radar. Also such declarations usually
Vincent Uba
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Rebuilding Nigeria
I write as a peace-loving citizen of
Nigeria. I am disturbed whenever I see
actions capable of causing breach of
peace in the country.
The Benue killings are one of the most
disgusting scenes ever witnessed in the
history of the nation. I wonder if those
who perpetrated the heinous acts
against humanity are sane human
beings. It is very gruesome and awful to
see fellow humans butchered like wild
animals.
There is no sane person that will not
rise in condemnation of these brutal and
senseless killings.
When killings assume the proportion
as that of Benue and other states, no
right thinking, and sane Nigerian will
feel comfortable with the situation.
And the President of such country will
be under tension and pressure. That is
the unfortunate situation that President,
Muhammadu Buhari finds himself.
In most countries of the world where
there are patriots and statesmen, a crisis
of this nature tends to unite the country
to fight a common cause.
Fellow countrymen and women unite
themselves around the President to not
only condemn the acts but also find a
By Michael West,
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
A landmark judgement
Prior to the ascension of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo to the
Presidency in 1999, Nigeria was a
pariah in the comity of nations due to
her deplorable track records in
human rights abuses as epitomized by
the late Sani Abacha government and
unassailable corruption index. The
fact that we are still recovering Abacha
loot kept in some western countries
even almost 20 years after his death
goes to show how endemic and deeprooted
sleazy lifestyle had become.
I believe EFCC is a welcome
development as a veritable tool to
curtail corruption in our system. Its
assignments are clear. It has needed
legal backing and enticing perquisites
for its operatives. The fear of the EFCC
has been the beginning of wisdom in
some official quarters. Thus far, it has
sanitized our financial sector to a
reasonable extent. Illicit funds transfers
locally and internationally have been
reduced drastically. This is a significant
achievement of the commission.
The commission, according to
Justice Minister and Attorney General
of the Federation, Abubakar Malami,
had recovered over $2 trillion (Two
SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 43
Re-orient
e-orientation of Security Agencies As A Matter Of National Emergency
The sheer zeal
exercised by the DSS
in its invitation of Mr.
Kassim Afegbua
reveals an ambitious
undertone that may
not border well for
Nigeria and Nigerians
preempt an arrest. Under our extant laws,
a person may not be arrested or declared
wanted without a warrant duly obtained
from a competent court and endorsed by
same authorising it. The exceptions to the
above do not bear on the case in point.
The Law demands that before making
a Wanted Declaration on a public platform
or any other for that matter, that the police
ought to obtain a warrant of arrest duly
signed and endorsed by a competent court.
Said warrant must also be presented at the
point of arrest, and in it the particulars of
the arrest ought to be spelt out. Where a
person sought to be arrested makes a run
for it or evades arrest, then a public
declaration informing the public of the
accused’s status may be made. By
implication, where such an accused
declared wanted is seen, the public is to
trillion dollars) within a period of 12
years while more than N500 billions
loots were recovered under Buhari
administration alone. More are still
being recovered. This is a great feat, I
must say; and it is commendable. I
guess this amount included the “relooted
funds” alleged to have been
missing in the custody of the
Commission.
However, EFCC has been operating,
in some instances, beyond the limits of
the law. Common acts of the EFCC’s
assumed qualified privilege was
unrestrained access to state
governments’books. And basking in the
unquestionable euphoria of
presidential nods, it had bulldozed its
way into places that were not part of
its call of duty - not just in this dispensation
but even before Buhari..
It has also become an attacking
assume that such a person is not just a
wanted criminal but a potentially
dangerous one. The serious implication
of such presumptions thus makes any
deviation from the above process an
abrogation of lawful processes, a clear
indicator that said agency seeks to
appropriate to itself powers vested
singularly in the courts and also a gross
disrespect of the accused’s dignity of self or
person especially where he or she is neither
on the run, in hiding nor knowing of the
summon, invitation or intended arrest.
Barely had the public knocks and dissent
of that audacious and ambition gambit
by the Force settled, however, before the
Department of State Security (DSS)
assumed the role of an arbiter in a civil
issue, and followed suit with an invitation.
At first glance one could see into the real
substance of that move but the question
that begs said invitation is: by what
authority, real or imagined where the DSS
operating under?
The issue of the circumference of the
DSS’ s operative power has been severally
delineated by statutory and case law
authorities. Section 3 of the National
Security Agencies Act, binding on the DSS
and sister agencies materially restricts the
function of the DSS to dealing with the
prevention and detection within Nigeria
of any crime against the internal security
of Nigeria; the protection and preservation
of all non-military classified matters
concerning the internal security of Nigeria;
and such other responsibilities affecting
internal security within Nigeria as the
National Assembly or the President, as the
case may be, may deem necessary.
As reaffirmed by the courts in Director
ofState Security Service & Anor. v Olisa
Agbakoba (1999) 3 NWLR (Pt 595) 314,
the above statutory functions remain the
scope of the DSS ‘ s operational power as
anything done outside those provisional
functions are ultra vires and null ab initio.
While security agencies continue to
gamble with statutory powers and
functions, the real crimes and criminals
operate freely. The summon of Mr. Kassim
Afegbua by the DSS is a total waste of time
that could have been better put to the
strengthening of the nation’s internal
security. It is befuddling to common sense
what threat to internal security is occasioned
by one’s exercise of his right to freedom of
speech. It is equally sobering to note that
those entrusted with securing the nation’s
internal security cannot tell apart a real
threat from a non-existent one.
The sheer zeal exercised by the DSS in its
invitation of Mr. Kassim Afegbua reveals
an ambitious undertone that may not
border well for Nigeria and Nigerians.
There have been previous outcries
denouncing the personalisation of security
agencies, particularly the DSS by the
executive who deploy them into
intimidating and muscling perceived
opposition into submission. While it is not
my brief to outline the demerits of such a
situation, I nonetheless denounce it
strongly as it limits and weakens the DSS,
Benue killings: Buhari deserves our support, not knocks
ks
common solution.
Unfortunately, that is not the case in
Nigeria and that makes it more
unfortunate for Buhari.
It is very worrisome that some people
in Nigeria see this kind of crisis as a
veritable avenue to advance their selfish
motives. Rather than unite to rally round
Buhari to find a solution, they see the
crisis as an opportunity to further their
political, religious and tribal
sentiments.
It beats my imagination that different
group of persons apportion blames
rather than somberly pray for the
country and offer the President genuine
advice. I am so so surprised that some
past leaders who should have known
better in this period of crises, now play
to the gallery. They point accusing
fingers and write open letters.
Nigerians are also quick to condemn
and point accusing fingers as well. In
developed and civilized countries like
US and UK where brutal shootings and
killings regularly occur, the President is
not linked to such acts. Rather, people
unite and rally round him to find a
common solution.
Does the mere fact that the alleged
perpetrators of this crime against
Ekiti Verdict: Clipping the Wings of Impunity
In recent times,
interdicting Governor
Ayo Fayose’s bank
account was a violation
of his immunity as a
sitting governor
mankind are Fulani Herdsmen,
implicate the President simply because
he is a Fulani man? Now, the social
media is again agog with news that the
herdsmen’s activities are one of the ways
the President is by proxy aiming to
Islamize Nigeria. Some people in their
desperate motives fabricate lies and use
same to appeal to the sentiment of others.
They fabricate and post propaganda
that is just tissues of lies. They use Benue
crisis to pitch Christians against
Muslims and in some cases pitch tribes
against other tribes. People become
partisan rather than use objective
reasoning to address the crisis. A source
of worry is the fact that some pastors
mount the rostrum to vilify the person
of the President when such pastors are
supposed to know that the pulpit is not
a place from which to dish out insults
but a sacred place from which solemn
counsel and prayers are supposed to be
said for people. These pastors ignore
the injunction of the Bible on the need to
pray for those in authority. It is in the
light of this that I praise the approach
of the Catholic Bishops Conference who
consulted with the President, pointing
out the ills that plague the country and
offering him candid pieces of advice.
dog for sitting Presidents to hunt
perceived political foes and critics.
Obasanjo used the Commission to
intimidate his political enemies and
recalcitrant associates in a show of
strength. It also used it to earn forceful
submission by those who dared to have
the minds of their own or those who
would not kowtow to his agenda even
when they belong to the same camp.
The likes of Late S. M. Afolabi and
Vincent Ogbulafor are good examples.
I won’t be surprised to see some APC
chieftains who won’t subscribe to
Buhari’s second term bid becoming
guests of the commission in months to
come.
In recent times, interdicting Governor
Ayo Fayose’s bank account was a
violation of his immunity as a sitting
governor. He could only be investigated
and not prosecuted; therefore, placing
an embargo on his account tantamount
implementing the punitive measure
meted out to individuals not enjoying
immunity.
Let me acknowledge that
investigating suspected sleazy deals and
inviting suspects for interrogations are
within the norms of best practices; but
disparaging people’s names in the
media before diligent investigations
That is what is expected of good and
genuine religious leaders.
Some elected legislators are not left
out in this blame game and some use
the Benue killings to take their own
pound of flesh.
A President that has been
acknowledged and praised by not only
sincere Nigerians but by world leaders
cannot be associated with this evil
against man and God. This statesman
who once publicly shed tears for this
country cannot and should not be
associated with actions that claim
innocent lives. President Buhari, who
inherited a battered economy is now
building an economy that will not easily
collapse.
How can one insinuate that the
President can be involved in the terrorist
acts of those murderous herdsmen?
President Buhari is on a mission of
rebuilding this country. mess of the good
he has so far done by associating with
the killings allegedly being perpetrated
by Fulani herdsmen.
When I hear that Fulani herdsmen
carry sophisticated weapons, I ask,
whether the herdsmen are different from
the ones I used to see in my village when
I was a child. They were moving with
their cattle across my village and other
are concluded leaves much to be
desired.
The recent verdict by the Federal
High Court, Ado Ekiti against the
EFCC is grand and technically
sound. The judgment was delivered
in a suit filed by Ekiti State Government
against the EFCC, the Inspector General
of Police, the Speaker, Ekiti State House
of Assembly, the Clerk and 13 others.
Ekiti Attorney General filed the suit
after the commission sent letters of
invitation to some government officials
seeking details over some financial
transactions of the state. The EFCC
also sent letters to the banks seeking
financial books of the state in their
custody.
“The assembly has the responsibilities
on the management of funds by the
executives. They have the responsibility
to ensure fund management, cut
wastages, and reject corruption. The
first defendant (EFCC) is bound to
operate within the constitution and
cannot operate like the lord of the
manor. It is statutory duty is not a
license to contravene the
Constitution.
“I can’t by any stretch of imagination
see how the statutory functions of the
(EFCC) can extend to a state in a
while exposing them to ridicule.
The absurdities at play in this political
theatre of interests, ambitions and ultra
vires appropriation of functions and
powers must end. No institution can be
bigger than the people it was created to
serve, nor assume a role not within the
character of its enabling laws.
Mr. Kassim Afegbua remains a patriotic
Nigerian caught in the whirlwind of power
politics, and his rights under the constitution
and other similar legislation cannot and
should not be trivialised by ignorant or
overzealous agencies and agents quick to
scurry a favour or two from their political
handlers. We have laws and laid down
procedures for a reason; to create order
and set boundaries.
Mr. President must be duly advised as to
how the continuous haranguing of Mr.
Kassim Afegbua by agencies under his
direct control reflect badly and poorly on
his democratic scoresheet. At a time when
this government is hard-pressed to prove
it’s respect for the law and due process, the
negative publicity stirred up by the antics
of the Force and DSS cannot be reckoned
as good for its image.
I would recommend that all security
agencies in the country begin an
immediate re-orientation of its agents as a
matter of national emergency. We cannot
continue to harbour obtuse elements within
such sensitive agencies at a time when real
security issues confront the country and
other nations of the world make progress
in their respect of rights of their citizens.
villages without molesting anyone and
without being molested. They moved
peacefully and we accommodate them.
My submission is that anyone carrying
sophisticated weapons masquerading
as herdsmen and killing people is a
terrorist and must be treated as such.
One of the virtues of our President is
great restraint. I acknowledge the fact
that our President as a human being
has made some mistakes in the course
of governing the country but I make
bold to say that he is on course. He has
the mandate of God to be there and
carry out a mission and until that
mission is complete, no amount of
negative propaganda against him will
work.
Let all people of goodwill pray for the
President and the country. We should
stop playing to the gallery. Let us
stop spreading negative
propaganda especially on the social
media. Those who have made it
their stock in trade to insult the
President should stop. We should
stop pitching Christians against
Muslims and stop pitching tribes
against the other.
*Uba is a Lagos-based
businessman and ex-President,
Catholic Brothers United ,
CBU.
federation under any guise to the extent
that the eight to 18 defendants (banks)
will be directed to submit bank details.
Yes, the first defendant can investigate
any person or corporate organisation,
what it can’t do is to usurp the powers of
the assembly. The Federal
Government cannot impose its statutory
duties on a state in flagrant disobedient
of the constitution. The prosecution
should not ride roughshod of the
constitution. It is the duty of judges to
ensure they don’t listen to sentiments
of the public. I resolve all issues in favour
of the plaintiff. I grant all reliefs sought
by the plaintiff in view of the fact they
are live issues.”
By this landmark judgment, the court
has made it clear that the EFCC
should not be a rampaging
federal agent that monitors state
finances. It means the commission has
been operating illegally over the years
by scrutinizing state governments’
accounts and harassing banks to
submit details of the states’ financial
transactions. Henceforth, the
Commission should be humble enough
to employ due legal process in the
discharge of its statutory duties and
avoid being accused of flagrant abuse
of judicial process.
• Michael West, a media
consultant, can be reached via
cikeawe@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 44—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
THE TIDE MUST RISE AGAIN
The concluding part of the essay by
Bashorun J.K. Randle
Professor Abubakar said: “As you know, Kano
has the largest share of all the challenges,
considering our population and commercial
base, but we have just one rehabilitation centre. “The
government set up task force to track the drug abusers
and arrests were made. Drugs worth N4.1 billion have
already been destroyed, but I can tell you, this has little
or no significant effect from what is on ground. So, we
need federal government’s support.”
Throwing its weight behind the Emir, the pan-Yoruba
socio political organisation said it was a good
consideration. Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary,
Mr. Yinka Odumakin said: “It is a good consideration
because most of the actions that our public office holders
exhibit at times, we wonder if they are not under
influence. I think it will be good for them to take such
drug test and ensure that drug is not one of the things
we would not be dealing with in those who are ruling
us.”
On his part, Mr Akin Osuntokun, former Political
Adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo said:
“Well I don’t know whether the Emir has any specific
reference in mind but given the ways and manners of
a number of characters in public office there’s logic to
his concerns. For instance it is next to impossible to
fathom a reason to what is happening in Imo state. I’m
almost certain that the governor is not a drug addict
but there’s something unhinged about recent
developments in that state.
Look also at Donald Trump and his sparring partner
in North Korea. The leading American psychiatric
association has actually come out with a publication on
the subject of the mental stability of President Trump.”
Recall Vanguard report yesterday, in which the
Senate had raised alarm three months ago on the floor
of the Senate that the 19 Northern states of the federation
are under serious threat due to drug abuse, stating
that over three million bottles of codeine syrup are
consumed daily in Kano and Jigawa states. It disclosed
that across the 19 states, women, young girls in tertiary
institutions, working class ladies, including married
and unemployed women displaced by Boko Haram
insurgency, among others, were involved in drug
abuse, and that in 2015 alone, over 2,205 people were
arrested in North-West geo-political zone by the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, over drugrelated
abuses.
Consequently, the Senate mandated its Joint
Committee on Drugs and Narcotics and Health to
investigate the growing misuse of cough and other
prescriptive drugs abuse and report back to the Senate
on the needed legislative interventions to combat the
trend. The senators stressed that secondary school
students consume cough syrups regularly.”
Even more remarkable is the failure of the Colin
Sharman team to have predicted the voracious appetite
and sexual harassment unleashed by Dr. Larry Nassar
on female American gymnasts who were thoroughly
traumatised by the brazen abuse of trust. Here is the
report from CNN on January 25, 2018:
Headline: ‘LARRY NASSAR SENTENCED
TO UP TO 175 YEARS IN PRISON FOR
DECADES OF SEXUAL ABUSE’
“Once a world-renowned sports physician treating
America’s foremost Olympic women gymnasts, Larry
Nassar now will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan
State University doctor was sentenced to 40 to 175 years
in prison, a judge announced Wednesday, after more
than 150 women and girls said in court that he sexually
abused them over the past two decades.
“I’ve just signed your death warrant,” Judge
Rosemarie Aquilina said in a Lansing, Michigan,
courtroom. “I find that you don’t get it, that you’re a
danger. That you remain a danger.”
Nassar had pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal
sexual conduct in Ingham County in Michigan and
admitted to using his trusted medical position to assault
and molest girls under the guise of medical treatment.
He offered a short statement in court, apologizing
and saying that hearing seven days of victim impact
statements had shaken him to his core.
“There are no words that can describe the depth and
breadth of how sorry I am for what has occurred,” Nassar
said. “An acceptable apology to all of you is impossible
to write and convey. I will carry your words with me for
the rest of my days.”
But before delivering her sentence, Aquilina read
aloud a letter Nassar wrote to the court recently in which
he defended his medical care, said he was
“manipulated” into pleading guilty, and accused the
women of lying.
“I was a good doctor because my treatments worked,
and those patients that are now speaking out are the
same ones that praised and came back over and over,”
Nassar wrote. “The media convinced them that
everything I did was wrong and bad. They feel I broke
their trust. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
The letter “tells me you still don’t get it,” Aquilina
•J.K. Randle
said, tossing the letter dismissively. “I wouldn’t send
my dogs to you, sir,” she added.
The sentence brings to an end a wrenching seven
days of victim impact statements as part of Nassar’s
plea deal.
A total of 156 victims spoke, recounting similar stories
of how they went to Nassar to receive treatment for
sports injuries only to be sexually assaulted and told it
was a form of treatment.
“The breadth and ripple of this defendant’s abuse
and destruction is nearly infinite,” Assistant Attorney
General Angela Povilaitis said in her remarks before
the sentencing.
Many of the women said that when they spoke up
about the treatment, they were ignored or their concerns
brushed aside by organizations in power, primarily USA
Gymnastics, Michigan State University and the US
Olympic Committee.
The final speaker was Rachael Denhollander, the
former gymnast who first made Nassar’s abuse public
in a September 2016 story in the Indy Star. She
meticulously laid out the ways that the systems failed
her and other women and allowed this abuse to continue
for so long.
“Women and girls banded together to fight for
themselves because no one else would do it,” she said.
Nassar sat and listened on the witness stand,
sometimes hiding his head in his hands or wiping
away tears with a tissue.
Separately, he has already been sentenced to 60 years
in prison for federal child pornography charges. He
also has pleaded guilty to three charges of criminal
sexual conduct in Eaton County in Michigan and is
due to be sentenced on those charges on January 31.
Between the three sentences, Nassar, 54, will never
get out of prison, Aquilina said.
But the judge reminded everyone in the courtroom
that the focus of the week-long sentencing hearing
was the victims — or survivors, as many have called
themselves. One by one, women and their families
came forward to confront Nassar and explain how he
used his respected position to molest young, injured
girls.
“I think what we’ve seen over the past week may
have been a watershed moment in our country,” said
attorney John Manly, who represents more than 100
women in civil lawsuits. “(This happened) because
these women had the courage to get up and speak.”
The women — almost all of whom initially met Nassar
for a sports-related injury — said that, because of the
abuse, they struggled with anxiety, depression and
instances of self-harm. Others said they no longer trust
doctors or that they shrink from any physical touch.
“Sexual abuse is so much more than a disturbing
physical act,” Kyle Stephens, the first victim to speak,
said last week. “It changes the trajectory of a victim’s
life, and that is something that nobody has the right to
do.”
But the women also showed remarkable resolve and
bravery, staring down Nassar in court and calling out
the systems of power that protected him for more than
two decades. The victims include some of the most
famous Olympic gymnasts in American history,
including gold medallist Aly Raisman, as well as athletes
at Michigan State University and at USA Gymnastics.
“We, this group of women you so heartlessly abused
over such a long period of time, are now a force, and
you are nothing,” Raisman said. “The tables have
turned, Larry. We are here. We have our voices, and
we are not going anywhere.”
Court officials initially expected 88 victims to speak
in court. But that number nearly doubled over the course
of the sentencing hearing as more and more women
came forward, inspired to speak out by what many
called an “army of survivors.”
“We were ultimately strong enough to take you down,”
Kaylee Lorincz said on Wednesday. “Not one by one,
but by an army of survivors. We are Jane Does no more.”
Judge Aquilina allowed everyone who wished to
speak a chance to be heard, and she offered personal
responses to each woman in court. Legal experts said
her intimate comments were unusual, but Nassar’s
victims praised Aquilina for doing what so many others
had failed to do: listen.
Though the sentencing marks the end of Nassar’s
time in the public eye, it has focused critical attention
on USA Gymnastics, the US Olympic Committee and
Michigan State University, the institutions that employed
Nassar for about two decades. A number of women
have accused the organizations of turning a blind eye
to Nassar’s abuse and even pressuring outspoken
victims into silence.
“Michigan State University, the school I loved and
trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not
understand the difference between sexual assault and
a medical procedure,” Amanda Thomashow said in
court. “That master manipulator took advantage of his
title, he abused me, and when I found the strength to
talk about what had happened I was ignored and my
voice was silenced.”
All three organizations have denied wrongdoing and
said they reported the sexual abuse allegations to
authorities once they learned about them.
Still, the fallout at those organizations has moved
slowly and then all at once. Michigan State University
asked the state attorney general to investigate its
response to the abuse, and President Lou Anna Simon
has faced calls for her resignation.
In the past week, USA Gymnastics cut ties with the
Karolyi Ranch, the training facility where the abuse
happened, and three leaders of its board stepped down
under pressure.
The US Olympic Committee called on the rest of the
USA Gymnastics board to step down and said it was
considering decertifying USA Gymnastics as a national
governing body, according to a statement from USOC
CEO Scott Blackmun on Wednesday. The USOC
statement also apologized for failing to stop Nassar’s
abuse and for its inadequate response at his trial.
“The purpose of this message is to tell all of Nassar’s
Court officials initially expected 88
victims to speak in court. But that
number nearly doubled over the
course of the sentencing hearing as
more and more women came
forward, inspired to speak out by what
many called an “army of survivors.
victims and survivors, directly, how incredibly sorry we
are,” Blackmun wrote. “We have said it in other contexts,
but we have not been direct enough with you. We are
sorry for the pain caused by this terrible man, and sorry
that you weren’t afforded a safe opportunity to pursue
your sports dreams.
“The Olympic family is among those that have failed
you.”
Even more startling is the “sang froid” by Yoweri
Museveni, the President of Uganda in his response to
the viciously disparaging and blatantly racist remarks
of Donald J. Trump against Africans. Here is the report
in the Washington Post on “January 23, 2018.
Headline: ‘UGANDAN PRESIDENT SAYS
HE LOVES TRUMP: ‘HE TALKS TO
AFRICANS FRANKLY’’
“Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni spoke
in defence of President Trump on Tuesday, telling
lawmakers at the opening of the East African Legislative
Assembly held in Kampala he loved the American
leader as “he talks to Africans frankly.”
The comments came a little less than two weeks after
Trump described African nations, along with Haiti and
El Salvador, as “shithole countries” whose inhabitants
were not desirable as immigrants to the United States.
Trump later suggested he had not used the word
“shithole” during the private White House meeting.
However, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the lone Democrat
present in the Oval Office at the time, said Trump’s
denial was false.
After Trump’s remarks were reported, a number of
African leaders directly rebuked the president for his
remarks. Nana Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana,
suggested he could not “accept such insults, even from
a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful,”
while Macky Sall, president of Senegal, said he was
“shocked” by the comments and “Africa and the black
race deserve the respect and consideration of all.”
Speaking on Tuesday, however, Museveni suggested
he felt differently about the comments. “America has
got one of the best presidents ever. Mr. Trump. I love
Trump,” the Ugandan president said, according to
video published by local media outlets. As his audience
laughed nervously, Museveni continued: “I love
Trump because he talks to Africans frankly. I don’t know
if he’s misquoted or whatever, but when he speaks I
like him because he speaks frankly.”
Museveni went on to say Africa needed to be
stronger. “It is the fault of the Africans that they are
weak. They have this huge continent,” he said. “If you
look at Africa, Africa is 12 times the size of India, in
terms of land area, lots of resources, and the population
is growing now. Why can’t we make Africa strong?”
The Ugandan leader’s thoughts on the U.S. president
may not be shared by everyone in his country.
Uganda’s state minister for international relations,
Henry Okello Oryem, has called Trump’s remarks
“unfortunate and regrettable,” while the U.S.
ambassador to Uganda, Deborah Malac, said she herself
had found the comment “obviously quite disturbing
and upsetting as I know Africans themselves felt.”
Museveni has directly praised Trump before —
just weeks ago in a New Year’s address, the Ugandan
leader said he liked Trump. The U.S. president has
also offered some limited praise to Uganda, listing its
“incredible strides in the battle against HIV/AIDS” as
one of a number of positive aspects to the relationship
between the United States and Africa in a meeting with
African leaders at the United Nations last year.
To critics of Museveni, the kinship is not so surprising.
The Ugandan president has led the country for over
three decades and recently lifted an age limit on his
office. Meanwhile, he has allocated more than $77
million for expenses related to his residence and is
openly grooming his son as his successor. Under his
rule, Uganda has come down harshly on his critics:
One university lecturer who called him “a pair of
buttocks” on Facebook recently ended up in maximum
security jail, while in 2014, a TV station was banned
from presidential events after showing Museveni asleep
in parliament.
Shortly after Trump’s “shithole” comments were first
reported, Nigerian American journalist Dayo Olopade
said the U.S. administration’s appointment of political
novices to key positions resembled Museveni’s own
“disorganized” executive staff. “What the president
doesn’t grasp is that if some African nations have been
reduced to ‘shithole countries,’ it’s precisely because
they’ve been run by leaders like Trump,” Olopade
wrote.”
However, both Sir Colin Sharman and Sir Ralph
Leach would be deeply saddened (on behalf of the
retired partners of KPMG who are still awaiting their
gratuity and pension) that “Private Eye” magazine
in its 1,461st issue took KPMG to task (and the
cleaners):
Headline: ‘FIFA CORRUPTION, YELLOW
CARD FOR KPMG’
“Football fans put off travelling to a less than
welcoming Russia for the world cup this summer –
not to mention to the 2022 event in Qatar – might
might ponder the decades of corruption that led to the
bizarre hosting decisions seven years ago.
When the depth of Fifa sleaze became clear with a
raid on its snoozing officials at Zurich’s Baur au Lac
hotel in May 2015, one question hung over the affair:
with so much dodgy money sloshing around, how
had the organisation’s auditor, KPMG, signed off its
books as squeaky clean every year since the turn of
the millennium?
Among the findings in US attorney-general Loretta
Lynch’s indictment against the Fifa officials was that in
2008 $10m had been sent from Fifa to accounts controlled
by the legendarily bent top Caribbean Fifa man Jack
Warner as part of a kickback scheme for rigging the
2010 South African world cup vote. It should not have
been difficult for the auditors, themselves well
schmoozed at tournaments and elsewhere, to spot. Later
in 2010, the same absence of controls let unlawful
bonus payments (11m Swiss francs in Sepp Blatter’s
case) go through on the nod.
With these and other scandals emerging, Swiss audit
regulators agreed to examine KPMG’s work with Fifa
between 2008 and 2014. The Eye can now reveal the
so far unnoticed conclusion. The regulators identified
“shortcomings” in the auditing and instituted
enforcement proceedings against one individual (who
can’t be named because of Swiss secrecy law). He or
she received a reprimand. This all sounds very
bureaucratic; but it does at least give official notice of
flawed auditing at the heart of world football’s
governing body.
KPMG’s shortcomings almost certainly go back far
further than 2008. Effective auditing would have picked
up the corruption at the core of Fifa long before it was
allowed to turn the people’s game into a racket for a
privileged few at the expense of grassroots facilities
and fans.
KPMG’s “global head of communications” told the
Eye he had nothing to add to an anodyne statement
of resignation from the Fifa account in 2016. A promised
review of its work by global HQ firm KPMG International
is now two and a half years old... and silent.
When KPMG was found to have been up to its neck
in the Gupta corruption affair in South Africa recently,
worldwide Chairman John Veihmeyer apologised
profusely, sacked the firm’s local leadership and claimed
“this is not who we are”. But that was only after the
beancounters began feeling the heat of some seriously
bad publicity. Until that happens, as the Fifa episode
shows, it’s business as usual, sweeping things under
the carpet. For that is who KPMG are – and millions
of fans are paying the price.”
* Randle is a former President of the Institute
of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
and former Chairman of KPMG Nigeria and
Africa Region. He is currently the Chairman,
J.K. Randle Professional Services.
Email: jkrandleintuk@gmail.com

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 45
Broadcast of foreign leagues: NANF fights English FA,
satellite networks *Demands $10b compensation over invasion of Nigerian space
By Jacob Ajom
IT sounds strange for one
to ask for royalties on a
product one did not
contribute to its fabrication.
It will be more intriguing to
the layman on how a lawyer,
arguing for the plaintiff,
could convince a judge to
entertain such a motion, talk
less about granting such a
plea.
But that is the seemingly
awkward position the
National Association of
Nigerian Footballers, NANF,
finds itself in as it has taken
up the fight for
compensation (NANF calls
it royalty) from the English
FA to Nigerian football “for
the invasion of the Nigerian
space by foreign football
leagues.”
Speaking on the issue
during the week, NANF
President, Harrison Jalla
said he was forced to bring
the matter to the public
domain for the interest,
growth and development of
Nigerian football.
“Nigerian football has
suffered the biggest blow
because of foreign leagues,”
he argued, adding, “put the
best two Nigerian clubs at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium
for a match that coincides
with, say, Manchester
United vs Chelsea fixture in
England, I bet if you would
see one thousand spectators
at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
Stadium. That is how bad the
domestic game is suffering
from the English Premier
League. Why is the national
stadium looking like a
graveyard?
“The issue we are bringing
today is about the invasion
of the Nigerian space by
foreign leagues.”
Jalla said NANF had
written to the English FA
over the development. “We
have written to them and
informed them that their
product, the EPL is having
a very adverse effect on the
Nigerian Professional
Football League. To that
effect, we are demanding for
Anambra Made. Bahrain’s
athletics pride,
Selwa Eid Naser.
a royalty of US$10 billion,
being part of the money
going into their league at the
detriment of the Nigerian
league.”
He said, “they have
acknowledged receipt of our
correspondence and have
even discussed with us on
phone. But we don’t have
that luxury.
“We are speaking from the
angle of the players and for
the protection of our own
local content. The invasion
has very serious adverse
effect on the players in this
country.”
Jalla said regulatory
authorities like the Nigerian
Broadcasting Commission,
the Nigerian Lottery
Regulatory Commission and
the Nigerian Lottery Fund
had also been contacted and
enlightened on the need to
amend their policies as they
affect their operations as it
has to do with satellite
broadcast and betting.
“If you look at the Acts of
Parliament that created these
bodies, they gave them
absolute powers to use their
discretion in absolute control
of the industry,” NANF boss
contended.
He said NANF believes in
the viability of partnering the
English FA in the quest to
develop Nigerian football.
“That is why we are not
asking for outright ban on the
broadcast of foreign leagues
in Nigeria but what we want
is a fraction of what goes out
should be given to the local
Synchronicity...Chelsea’s Ngolo Kante and Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi in a battle of middle field supremacy,
during an English Premier League game. NANF wants compensation from broadcasters for
airing such games.
game to develop.`“We have
got in touch with our external
solicitors, Johnson & Steler
Solicitors of Hanover Square,
Mayfair London to launch a
process to recover
US$10billion as outstanding
royalties from 2008 to 2018
for the adverse effect of the
invasion of the EPL and
football betting using the
Premier League games.”
But the battle is not only
against the English FA, the
cable television networks
have also been roped in as
co-conspirators. “We are
holding them accountable
for the state of our football
today and we have drawn
the attention of the regulatory
bodies to this sad trend,”
Jalla said, adding that the
agencies have shown a lot
of sympathy to NAN’s
cause, and have pledged
their commitment to the
struggle.
FIFA U-17 WWC: Flamingoes in tough battle against Cameroon
in Yaounde
NIGERIA’s U-17
women’s team, the
Flamingoes face a daunting
task this afternoon in
Yaounde, when they face
their Cameroonian
counterparts in the second
leg qualifier of the 2018
FIFA U17 Women World
Cup.
The first leg at the
Samuel Ogbemudia
Stadium Benin City,
ended 2-2 and the
Flamingoes, who have
never failed to qualify for
the World Cup would have
to dig deep to avoid
missing out for the first
time.
The Flamingoes
dominated the first leg
encounter but were goal
shy. Precious Vincent and
Osaretin Ikekhua got the
goals for Nigeria in Benin
City. However, Coach Bala
Nikyu says many more of
his outfield players are
capable of putting the ball
in the net when the die is
cast in Cameroon.
The Flamingoes were
part of the inaugural party
in New Zealand in 2008,
and also featured at the
2010 (Trinidad and
Tobago), 2012
(Azerbaijan), 2014 (Costa
Rica) and 2016 (Jordan)
editions. Nikyu coached
the team at the two last
editions of the FIFA World
Cup.
Oliseh tips Ndidi, Iwobi to shine at Russia 2018
FORMER
Super
Eagles captain and
coach, Sunday Oliseh said
Wilfred Ndidi and Alex
Iwobi are two Nigerian
players to watch out for at
the Russia 2018 FIFA World
Cup tournament.
Oliseh
who
unceremoniously quit the
Super Eagles coaching role
introduced Ndidi and
Iwobi to the national team.
“Iwobi has grown and
Ndidi is playing great,” the
coach praised the players
in a radio interview
monitored by
SCORENigeria
The former Juventus and
Ajax Amsterdam star also
said he expects the Super
Eagles to fly high at Russia
2018. “We can do well at the
World Cup,” simply
predicted Oliseh, who
featured at the 1994 and
1998 World Cups.
South East U-15 athletics championships begin Feb 22
YOUTH
athletics
talents are gearing up
for the 2018 South East U-
15 Athletics
Championships, billed for
February 22-24 at the
Rojeny Stadium Oba,
Onitsha in Anambra State.
The catch them young
competition, the brain child
of Patrick Estate Onyedum,
was started in 2017 with the
notion of discovering and
grooming athletics talents in
the area. Hon Onyedum, a
member of the Athletics
Federation of Nigeria
representing the South-
East zone, submitted that
the region is a catchment
area for athletics, hence his
decision to support the
championships. He called
on other athletics
enthusiasts to replicate his
gesture so that athletics
development will spread
around the country.
Some of the events
include short and mid
distance sprint events,
discus, javelin, long jump
and high jump. There will
also be relay races.
“We have over 100 athletes
registered for the event.
Each of the five States will
come with 20 athletes and
of course Anambra as hosts
will have at least three
entries in all the events,”
said coach Johnny Igboka
who is coordinating the
championships.
“We are expecting a
keenly contested
championships. This is
because there are lots of
athletics talents in this area
and of course we are on the
look out for those who are
exceptionally good that we
can groom to international
level,” he added.

PAGE 46, SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Conte confident Chelsea can beat Barca
CHELSEA’s coach
Antonio Conte was
encouraged with the way
his team rediscovered
their swagger ahead of
the visit of Barcelona
during their 4-0 defeat of
Hull.
Their victory, following
last Monday’s 3-0 win
over West Brom,
represented their second
in the space of five days
and came after
successive losses to
Bournemouth and
Watford after which the
manager’s position was
questioned.
After Barca on Tuesday
they face fixtures against
Manchester United and
Manchester City and,
having revealed his
fringe players had given
him a selection headache
for the visit of the LaLiga
leaders, the 48-year-old
Conte said: “The last two
wins were very important
for us and our
confidence.
“To win in the league,
and then the FA Cup,
Jesus Gabriel
was very important for
our confidence, and to
prepare in the right way
for Barcelona.
“To play against
Barcelona is a great
challenge for us. This
type of game must give
us great enthusiasm. We
must be excited to play,
especially against this
team.
“I consider Barcelona
one of the best teams in
the world. You have to try
and compete with them
at this level. It won’t be
easy, for sure, but we
must have the right
confidence and then
we’ll see what happens.
“I’m very happy. Before
an important game I go
to my house with many
doubts in my mind.
“‘Which is the best
starting XI to start the
game against
Barcelona?’ But it’s right
to be so. We must take
the right time to make
the best decision to pick
the best XI to start that
game.”
Mahrez, Vardy reunion
gladdens Leicester coach
LEICESTER
City
manager Claude Puel
is delighted to see Jamie
Vardy and Riyad Mahrez
play together again.
The 26-year-old was absent
for ten days at the King
Power Stadium after failing
Mahrez & Vardy
to secure his desired move
to Manchester City in the
January transfer window.
However, in his first start
since January 20, the forward
set up Vardy for the winner
against Sheffield United to
help the Foxes clinch their
first quarter-final place in the
FA Cup since 2012.
And French tactician is
pleased not only with the
victory but also seeing the
duo combine together to lead
the Foxes to victory.
“The most important thing
was to win the game but also
to see again Jamie and
Riyad playing together in the
same game and on the same
pitch,” Puel said after the
match.
“It was a good feeling and
it was important and we
appreciate the good support
from the fans for Riyad. It
was important they remained
with him after this story and
it’s a good feeling for the
future. “He was a little
frustrated at the end because
he wanted to score for the
fans."
William ... Striking for Chelsea
Jesus vows to revive City career
GABRIEL Jesus has
vowed to return
stronger for Manchester
City after seeing the
“worst day of my life”
leave him with knee
ligament damage.
The Brazilian forward
suffered an unfortunate
injury on New Year’s Eve
during a Premier League
meeting with Crystal
Palace.
After falling awkwardly,
the 20-year-old knew
straight away that he was
set for a lengthy spell on
the sidelines.
He told CityTV on an
occasion he would rather
forget and his desire to
ensure that he does not
rush back into action: “I
got injured on 31st
December, it was the
worst day of my life.
“It was difficult
because I never had an
injury there and in that
moment, I feared the
worst.
“I’ve never felt that
pain and in your knee,
it’s always difficult. But
after that I accepted it
and now I just need to
heal, recover and come
back as soon as I can.
“It’s not worth rushing
back when you’re not
fully recovered. I’d
rather return when it’s
time and I’m ready.”
Jesus is well on the
road to recovery, with
Pep Guardiola having
confirmed that he has
returned to first-team
training.
There were some dark
times for the youngster,
though, with the advice
of fellow Brazilian
Ronaldo having been
sought at one stage as he
struggled to come to
terms with his
misfortune.
He is now ready to put
those struggles behind
him and believes that he
will come back even
stronger, having already
contributed 10 goals to
the City cause before
being laid low.
Batshuayi: I didn’t have a good time at
Chelsea
MICHY Batshuayi
has seemingly hit
out at how Chelsea utilised
his talents as he continues
to enjoy life with loan club
Borussia Dortmund.
The striker joined the
reigning Premier League
champions for around
£32m 18 months ago, but
wasn’t given a fair crack of
the whip to showcase his
talents at Stamford Bridge.
The arrival of Olivier
Giroud from London rivals
Arsenal allowed Batshuayi
to move to the Bundesliga
in a bid to find more regular
football and, in an interview
with Belgian news outlet
Sporza, the attacker
revealed that he had not
been happy with life under
Antonio Conte.
He remarked: “I did not
have a good time at
Chelsea, but I’m doing well
here and I’ve been well
received by my colleagues
and supporters.
“Sitting on the bench,
scoring a goal and then
Batshuayi
being back on the bench is
quite difficult to deal with
for an attacker. As a young
player, you need a lot of
playing time to evolve. It’s
perfect here, and I’m
trusted by everyone.”
Salah wants
to score
more goals
for Liverpool
MOHAMED Salah
has described his
‘great feeling’ at hitting the
30-goal mark for Liverpool
with his strike in
Wednesday’s victory over FC
Porto – but he isn’t satisfied
yet.
The forward reached the
milestone with a wonderfully
taken effort at the Estadio do
Dragao in which he juggled
the ball over goalkeeper Jose
Sa with both his feet and his
head before finishing from
close range after James
Milner’s initial shot had come
back off the post.
It’s taken Salah just 36
appearances to reach 30
strikes; however, despite such
impressive statistics, the
No.11 still believes there is
room for improvement.
Speaking
to
Liverpoolfc.com at the Reds’
training camp in Marbella, he
said: “It is a great feeling to
have scored 30 goals in a first
season at a club like
Liverpool.
“It’s something huge, so I
am very happy about it – but
I have to carry on and keep
looking forward to score
many more goals.
“In my mind I am always
trying to improve and I’m
doing it every single day.
Every day I look at myself and
try to improve myself all the
time."
Giroud blasts
Wenger
Giroud
CHELSEA new boy
Olivier Giroud has
rated Antonio Conte’s
touchline antics better than
Arsene Wenger passivity on
the bench.
When asked about the
difference between Wenger
and Conte on the sidelines,
Giroud said: “Yeah, from
the first game when I was
behind bench I was
watching the game with
big attention.
“But the coach just a few
metres from me - it was
special.
“You can feel he’s still a
player in his head. You can
tell he wants to help us on
the pitch and he can’t just
sit on the bench.
“Strikers need a human
relationship with the coach,
it’s nice to have confidence
with him and you want to
give back.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018, PAGE 47
Moses, Ndidi vie for NFF awards
SUPER
Eagles’
attacker Victor
Moses and midfielder,
Wilfred Ndidi top the
nominees for the maiden
Nigeria Football
Federation awards billed
for February 19 in Lagos.
Moses, Ndidi and
Africa Nations
Championship silver
medalist Anthony
Okpotu are in line for the
Men’s Player of the year.
Moses played a key
role as Chelsea won the
Premier League title and
progressed to the final of
the FA Cup last season,
while Ndidi has
impressed since joining
Leicester from Racing
Genk in January 2017.
Both players were
among the star men as
the Super Eagles
qualified for the 2018
World Cup with a game
to spare.
In the other categories,
LIFE IS A CRAWL ... Barcelona’s forward Lionel Messi looks at Eibar’s
goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic during their Spanish league football matchat
the Ipurua stadium in Eibar. Photo AFP
Messi posts unenviable record
LIONEL
Messi
might be an expert
when it comes to putting
the ball in the net but the
Barcelona superstar is also
prolific when it comes to
near misses.
Having set up Luis
Suarez’s opener in
Saturday’s 2-0 win at Eibar
with a sumptuous pass, the
five-time Ballon d’Or
winner rattled the upright
with shot before half-time.
It means Messi has now
been denied by post or
crossbar in LaLiga 14 times
this season, equalling a
record he set himself in
2011-12.
The Argentina
international is without a
goal in his past three
league outings but still has
Federer ... Still going strong
20 in 24 top-flight
appearances this term.
Barcelona also equaled
their unbeaten run in the
competition. Their best ever
run of 31 games undefeated
under Pep Guardiola in
2010-11. It was not,
however, an entirely
convincing performance
from the Catalan club.
Eibar were thrashed 6-1
at Camp Nou earlier this
season, but came into this
match on a fantastic run,
having lost just one of their
previous 12 fixtures in the
Primera Division – a 1-0
loss to Atletico Madrid last
month.
It was something of a
tired display by Barca at
Ipurua, perhaps
unsurprising given that the
Catalans have been in
action twice a week for the
most part in 2018 due to
their games in La Liga and
their run to the final of the
Copa del Rey.
Asisat Oshoala is the
overwhelming favourite
for the Women’s Player
of the Year award after
being nominated
alongside Charity
Reuben and Francisca
Ordega, while Whye
Ogbonna, Edwin Okon
and Ann Chiejine will
contest the Coach of the
Year (Women) prize.
In the men’s coaching
category, Kennedy
Boboye has been
nominated following his
successes with Plateau
United, but he’ll have to
see off competition from
Abdu Maikaba and
Fidelis Ilechukwu to win
the inaugural prize.
Stephen Odey, Nura
Mohammed and
Ikouwem Utim have
been nominated for the
Men’s Young Player of
the Year award, while
Plateau United, Akwa
United and MFM FC
will contest the Team of
the Year award.
For the women’s Team
of the Year prize, Rivers
Angels, Nasawara
Amazons and Ibom
Angels have been
nominated.
The Goal of the Season
will be contested
between Sikiru
Olatunbosun, Shedrack
Asiegbu and Oche
Salifu.
NPFL slams ban on
erring clubs
NIGERIA Professional
Football League
Management Company,
LMC has come down hard
on various erring clubs in
the NPFL league.
These clubs include
Sunshine of Akure, Kwara
United and Katsina United.
This is just as IfeanyiUbah
players have been left off
the hook of a previous
suspension.
Sunshine of Akure had
three points from them for
repeatedly breaching the
Fifa to visit Rwanda for U-17
World Cup bid
FIFA will send a twoman
delegation to
Kigali in Rwanda next
week to inspect the
country’s facilities as
they bid to host the 2019
Under-17 World Cup.
The Rwanda FA
President, Vincent
Nzamwita, said the
inspection will be done
alongside his members
and the Sports Ministry
as Fifa inspect their
existing and proposed
structures.
“They want to get first
hand information and
then report back to the
Fifa Council to compare
and decide who wins the
bid to host,” Nzamwita
told BBC Sport.
According to the
Rwanda FA, the Fifa visit
- which will run from 21-
24 February - will
include a visit of the
proposed stadiums,
training facilities, hotels
and hospitals in Kigali
City, Bugesera District,
Huye District, Muhanga
District, Musanze
District and Rubavu
District respectively.
Fifa’s Head of
Competitions, Oliver
Vogt, and Christian
Schmölzer who is from
Fifa’s Tournament &
Events - Youth
Tournaments, have been
confirmed as the two
officials who will travel
to Rwanda.
“We are optimistic that
we have a good bid and
we should be able to
bring the Under-17
World Cup to Africa and
the Cecafa region,”
added Nzamwita whose
FA successfully hosted
the 2016 African Nations
Championship (CHAN).
The country also hosted
the Africa Under-19
Youth Championships in
2009 as well as the
Africa Under-17
Championships in 2011.
Rwanda’s President
Paul Kagame, a football
fan, has ensured the
government supports the
FA to host competitions.
Djokovic, Agassi, Ozil hail Federer
ROGER
Federer
beat Robin Haase
in the ABN AMRO
World Tennis Tournament
quarter-final Friday
to become the oldest ever
world No 1 at the age of
36.
Federer’s triumph has
attracted praise from a
number of famous faces.
Andre Agassi, who formerly
held the record,
and Arsenal footballer
Mesut Ozil both congratulated
the veteran
Victor Moses
on his achievement.
The Swiss legend took
to Instagram to post a
photo of him celebrating,
which was captioned: “A
night to remember forever.
Thank you to all my
fans who have been there
for me since the beginning.”
And Djokovic responded
to the post, paying
tribute to his rival.
“Incredible achievement
@RogerFederer,”
he commented on Federer’s
post.
“Congratulations to the
whole team and family
@Ivanljubicic”
Djokovic has been unable
to compete against
his counterpart since
picking up an elbow injury
during Wimbledon
last year.
The Serb is planning to
return in the coming
months after having surgery
to fix the problem.
However, it is unclear
when Federer will be
able to clash with the
rules of the game. These
include monetary fines,
playing without fans, ban
of use of home ground and
an order to identify for
prosecution, supporters
cited for acts of breach of
security and or interference
with match officials.
Sunshine will also pay
N1million to the LMC and
N500,000 to the injured
match official in addition to
a further order to deduct
additional three points from
the club’s total for the
season in case of a
recurrence. The Club was
given 48 hours to, in
writing, submit to the
decision or enter an appeal
which if it loses will attract
further sanctions.
And in other decisions, for
engaging in physical
confrontation after match
day 8 in Ilorin, Coach of
Kwara United, Maji
Mohammed and Team
Manager of Katsina United
Ganiyu Adeleke have been
charged for breach of the
code of conduct for club
officials.
Consequently, Maji
Mohammed and Ganiyu
Isiaka have been
suspended from further
participation and access to
venues of all NPFL activities
for the next ten matches.
Reprieve however, came
for some players and
officials of FC IfeanyiUbah
who were last season
banned for one year for
violent conduct at the
Confluence Stadium in
Lokoja at the end of the
2016/17 Match Day 36
fixture.
The LMC notified the
club that the ban has been
lifted on condition of good
behavior until the end of the
season. The club officers
are Chidi Nwogu
(Secretary) and Obi Adirika
(Kits Manager). The
players are Isaac Loute,
Wilson Elu, Godfrey
Uchenna Jnr, and Michael
Egbeta. Others are Kone
Soumaila, Ngoma Loumba,
Stephen Eze, Adeleye
Olamilekan and Nkurwna
Douglas.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 18, 2018
•Dikko
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.