24032018 - OBA’S CURSE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKERS: Come and take your pubic hairs, pants in our shrines — Native doctors beg victims of sex slavery

2—SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018

SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018— 3


SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018 — 5 

SCHOOLGIRLS ABDUCTION: Buhari vows to sanction Service 

Chiefs for negligence 

*Begs Boko Haram to lay down arms 

*Promises to rehabilitate repentant insurgents 

*Directs security agencies to deal with people politicizing 

abduction 

*4 released Dapchi girls have broken limbs, 107 with skin 

diseases—DSS 

*Accuses government officials of stalling negotiation efforts 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru, Abuja 

P RESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari 

declared yesterday that 

serious sanctions await 

any Security Chief who 

allows insurgents to abduct 

or kidnap school 

pupils in any part of the 

country, especially, in the 

North East. 

President Buhari made 

the declaration while 

receiving 105 of the 

abducted girls of 

Government Girls 

Science Technical 

College, Dapchi, Yobe 

state who were released 

by the Boko Haram 

insurgents who abducted 

them. He also said that 

Nigerians especially the 

political class who make 

political capital with the 

abduction of pupils/ 

students would be 

severely dealt with. 

While appealing to the 

Boko Haram sect to lay 

down their arms and 

embrace peace, the 

president announced 

that the repentant ones 

among them would be 

granted unconditional 

amnesty. 

Meanwhile, the 

Director General of 

Department of Security 

Services, DSS, has said 

that the released 105 

abducted girls were all 

having skin diseases 

because of the poor 

sanitary situation they 

were subjected to within 

the one month period 

they were in captivity, 

while four of them have 

broken limbs. 

The President who was 

accompanied by some 

members of his cabinet 

and security chiefs to 

receive the released 

abducted girls at the 

Council Chamber, 

Presidential Villa, Abuja 

expressed joy to 

announce the release of 

the girls. 

He said, “I am 

delighted to formally 

announce to Nigerians 

this morning and our 

international friends and 

partners that One 

Hundred and Seven 

(107) Dapchi students 

previously abducted have 

been unconditionally 

released by their 

abductors. 

“This cheering and 

hearty development 

signifies our commitment 

to the security and well 

being of all Nigerians. We 

are never in doubt about 

our focus and direction 

since the assumption of 

this administration. 

Security, anti-corruption 

and revamping of our 

economy are the main 

focus of our government. 

“You will recall that on 

14th of this month, I paid 

a visit to Yobe State 

during which I 

sympathized with the 

parents, families, 

Government and people 

of the State for the tragic 

abduction of the students 

in Dapchi. I made a 

solemn pledge on my 

word of honour that this 

administration would do 

everything possible to 

ensure the unconditional 

release of the girls. 

“I further tasked all the 

appropriate security 

agencies to safely bring 

back the girls. We also 

reached out to our 

contacts at home and 

abroad. We embarked on 

backchannel shuttles with 

a clear view to bring to an 

end this tragedy. 

Negotiations 

Boko Haram 

with 

“We entered into 

negotiations solely to 

make sure that no single 

girl was hurt. This 

strategy paid off as the 

girls have been released 

without any incidents. 

Let me re-emphasize our 

administration’s 

commitment to the fight 

against terrorism and 

insurgency, and also call 

on all Nigerians, to join 

in this task. The security 

services have since been 

directed to put in place 

further measures around 

all schools vulnerable to 

attacks to ensure the 

safety of our pupils/ 

students and teachers 

and school workers. 

Warns security chiefs 

against lapses 

“I have tasked all the 

security agencies to work 

to ensure that we do not 

witness any recurrence of 

these incidents. Security 

Chiefs have been warned 

in clear terms that any 

lapse on their parts will 

be viewed seriously. To 

the rescued students, we 

want to reassure you as 

our daughters, that you 

will freely live and 

pursue your dreams in 

Nigeria of peace and 

order, without fear of 

violence or molestation. 

“While parents of the 

Dapchi girls rejoice because 

of the reunion with 

their children, I want to 

appeal to the Chibok 

Community never to lose 

hope or to despair. We 

are determined as never 

before, to bring back our 

remaining Chibok 

daughters. And this, we 

must accomplish. And 

that will be soon by God’s 

grace. 

Amnesty for repentant 

insurgents 

“While further efforts 

are being made to secure 

the release of every 

abducted citizen in 

Nigeria, Government is 

ever ready to accept the 

unconditional laying 

down of arms by any 

member of the Boko 

Haram group, who 

shows strong 

commitment in that 

regard. We are ready to 

rehabilitate and integrate 

such repentant members 

into the larger society. 

This country has suffered 

enough of hostility. 

Government is, therefore, 

appealing to all to 

embrace peace for the 

overall development of 

our people and the 

country. 

Warns politicians 

a g a i n s t 

uncomplimentary 

remarks over abduction 

Cross section of the released Dapchi girls as they were officially received by 

President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Press Centre, Presidential Villa, 

Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 

“May I also warn those 

elements who have 

chosen to make political 

fortune of our citizens’ 

misfortune. Government 

would not tolerate any 

attempt by any person or 

group to trivialize or 

politicize security issues 

for politically motivated 

ends. Accordingly, 

security agencies would 

not hesitate to decisively 

deal with such 

unscrupulous characters. 

“Finally, I thank all 

Nigerians, who in spite of 

political differences, 

prayed and showed 

solidarity with families of 

the abducted students, 

during the period of the 

abduction. 

“This, undoubtedly, is 

the Nigerian spirit. We 

can and should sustain it 

beyond moments of 

sorrow. I remain thankful 

to the International 

Community and our 

friends who offered 

varying degrees of 

assistance during the 

backchannel 

communications.” 

Presenting the 105 released 

girls and another 

two pupils from Dapchi to 

the President, the Director 

General of Department of 

State Services, DSS, Mr. 

Lawal Daura said that 

four of the released girls 

had broken limbs, while 

all the 105 had skin 

disease as a result of the 

poor sanitary condition 

they were subjected to by 

their abductors. 

He also said that some 

government officials 

through their comments 

nearly marred the 

negotiation for the release 

of the abducted girls, 

adding that presently six 

out of the 111 abducted 

girls from the Dapchi 

school were unaccounted 

for. 

His works: “May I 

formally and respectfully 

present to Mr President, 

the released Dapchi 

School girls. I wish to 

inform Mr. President that 

one hundred and five 

(105) out of one hundred 

and eleven (111) female 

students abducted from 

the Government Girls’ 

Science Technical 

College, Dapchi on 

February 19, 2018 were 

released two days ago 

(March 21, 2018) 

following painstaking, 

backchannel dialogue 

with their abductors. 

“However, before you 

today Mr. President are 

two additional young 

Primary School pupils 

namely; Hafsat 

HARUNA, eleven years 

old, Primary Six pupil and 

Mala Maina BUKAR, 

thirteen (13) years old also, 

a Primary Six pupil. 

“The remaining six (6) 

Dapchi girls are yet to be 

accounted for, and 

dialogue on these 

students is still on-going.” 

Explaining how the 

negotiation process for the 

girls released was struck, 

Daura said after the 

presidential directive to 

security agencies to use 

peaceful options to ensure 

the timely and safe release 

of the girls, there was 

intense behind the scene 

dialogue spearheaded by 

the DSS. 

He said the insurgents’ 

only condition was their 

demands for cessation of 

hostilities and temporary 

ceasefire to enable them 

return the girls at the point 

they picked them, adding 

that the insurgents 

demanded assurances 

that the government 

security forces would keep 

to the cessation of hostility 

agreement. 

According to him, “The 

exercise was arduous and 

quite challenging. The 

sensitivity of the operation 

and some uncertainties 

surrounding it 

particularly routes to be 

used, nature of 

transportation, realization 

and concern that the girls 

were not kept at one place, 

issues of encountering 

military checkpoints 

within the theater and 

indeed keeping the 

operation on strictly the 

“Principles of Need-to- 

Know” made the whole 

exercise more 

complicating.” 

He further stated that 

beyond the release of the 

abducted girls, the 

primary interest for 

engaging in the dialogue 

was informed by 

permanent, possible 

cessation of hostilities, 

discussing the fate of the 

arrested insurgents and 

innocent Nigerian 

citizens being held 

hostage, and the 

possibility of granting 

amnesty to repentant 

insurgents. 

He said, “These 

presently seem 

problematic because the 

insurgents are 

factionalized while 

holding various spheres 

of influence in their 

guerrilla controlled 

enclaves. The negative 

impact of social media on 

otherwise classified 

operations and of course, 

some of the utterances of 

the government 

functionaries who were 

not competent to comment 

on the issues, posed 

challenges that almost 

marred the rescue efforts. 

“However, despite these 

challenges, the Service 

has managed to successfully 

conclude the operation 

leading to the release 

of the abducted Dapchi 

School girls that are now 

before you, Mr. President.” 

Speaking on the state 

of the girls health 

status, Daura said on 

their release, they were 

taken into the DSS 

medical facility and 

were put through 

programmes to give 

them mental stability, 

pointing out that about 

four were discovered to 

have broken limbs and 

were sent for X-ray. 

“Almost all of them 

had one skin infection 

or the other having not 

taken their bath for over a 

month. They have been 

medically examined, and 

those with ailments were 

treated. The measures 

were to ensure that they 

were in good health.” 

He suggested that 

“efforts should be 

sustained to ensure the 

release of all abducted 

persons in the North East 

Theatre of Operation, 

improve the strategic plan 

for the safety of schools in 

vulnerable locations, 

using all available 

national assets, improve 

on the coordination efforts 

amongst security 

agencies to avoid future 

incidents and expand 

the current dialogue 

towards conflict 

mitigation and 

resolution, with a view 

to getting an 

everlasting peace for 

the entire sub-region.”

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018 

Jonathan, S/South govs, others to grace 

Yenagoa restructuring rally 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

THE Pan Niger Delta 

Forum (PANDEF), 

under the dynamic 

leadership of Chief (Dr.) 

Edwin Kiagbodo Clark will 

on Saturday, March 24, 

hold what it calls a mega 

rally in Yenagoa, the capital 

of Bayelsa State to demand 

the restructuring of the 

Nigerian federation. 

The rally which is billed 

to kick off by 9:00 am, will 

hold at the Grand Pavilion 

& Boat Club,Ox-bow Lake, 

Swali, Yenagoa. 

Themed “Restructuring 

The Nigerian Federation,” 

PANDEF insists that the 

2019 general election is a 

referendum on 

Restructuring Nigeria and 

calls on the Federal 

Government to restructure 

the federation before the 

2019 polls. 

A press statement signed 

by Chief TKO Okorotie, 

Chairman of Media/ 

Publicity of the mega rally, 

named the former DG NSO, 

Chief A.K. Horsfall as 

Chairman of the occasion, 

while the 

Royal Father of the Day is 

His Eminence, King 

Edmund Daukoru, the 

Amayanabo of Nembe. 

Chief Okorotie also said the 

former President of Nigeria, 

Dr. Good luck Ebele 

Jonathan, the six South 

South Governors and all 

former Governors of the 

South-South, serving and 

yesterday. 

former ministers, chairmen, 

CEOs and members of 

boards and parastatals are 

special guests of honour. 

Other special guests of 

honour are all the current 

and former National 

Assembly members, all 

current and former Speakers 

and members of Houses of 

Assembly of the South- 

South. 

The statement also enjoins 

Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo, 

Arewa Consultative 

Assembly, Middle Belt 

Forum, the clergy, traditional 

rulers, leaders and elders 

from across the nation, 

youth, women groups and 

the general public to attend 

the South-South Mega 

Rally. He said that the 

governors of South South 

extraction, former president 

Jonathan, PANDEF leader, 

Chief Edwin Clark, some 

eminent Nigerians and 

leaders of ethnic 

nationalities, civil society 

groups are expected to 

deliver speeches at the rally. 

The statement reads in 

parts: “Fellow Nigerians; 

let’s restructure now, 

tomorrow may be too late. A 

Restructured Nigeria will 

guarantee a free, fair, 

egalitarian, united, peaceful 

and prosperous nation 

where everybody, 

irrespective of region, 

religion, creed and status 

will be happy to call his/her 

country! 

“We intend to use the rally 

to rally support for 

restructuring of Nigeria. The 

2019 general election is a 

referendum on 

Restructuring. We the 

people of Niger Delta/ South 

South want the Nigerian 

federation to be restructured 

to enthrone true federalism 

before the 2019 general 

election and it is doable, all 

that is required is a political 

will on the part of the 

President of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria...” 

How I was defiled by my supervisor —Two-yr-old girl 

By Abdulwahab 

Abdulah and Jane 

Echewodo 

Atwo and half year old 

girl of Chrisland 

School, Lekki Lagos, 

(names withheld) yesterday 

informed Justice Sybil 

Nwaka of an Ikeja Sexual 

Offences Special Court how 

her school supervisor, 

Adenekan Adegboyaga allegedly 

defiled her two 

years ago. 

The child was led in evidence 

by the prosecutor, Mr 

B.T. Boye before the court 

in a proceeding that lasted 

three and half hours. 

The session started after 

the court Registrar had administered 

the oath on her 

and during which she 

promised to tell the truth. 

She was the fourth prosecution 

witness in the matter. 

When she was asked why 

she was in the court room, 

child X told the trial judge: 

“I am here to explain all the 

bad things that Mr Adenekan 

did to me”. 

Reminded of Jesus Christ 

and the fact that she stood 

for truth, she replied that 

she knew she must tell the 

truth in the matter. 

When asked how many 

times she was allegedly 

defiled, she replied that the 

Gov. David Umahi in red cap, his wife, Rachel Umahi, PDP National Chiarman, 

Prince Uche Secondus, wife of the deputy Governor, Mrs. Ethel Igwe, PDP 

National Vice Chairman, South East, Chief Austin Umahi and PDP Zonal Youth 

Leader, South East, Chidiebere Egwu arriving Afikpo during the mega solidarity 

rally in honour of Governor Umahi by the Ebonyi South Public Officers Holders 

defendant allegedly defiled 

her two times. 

“The first time he did it in 

his office. The second time 

was in the corner outside”, 

thereby corroborating the 

claims of her mother about 

where it happened. 

Asked to narrate how it 

happened, she said: “he put 

his hand inside my weewee. 

It really, really pained me. 

When I screamed, he covered 

my mouth with his 

hand. When I tried to 

scream again, he tightened 

his hand on my mouth”. 

At this stage, the prosecutor 

asked her to recognise 

Adenekan in court but 

she refused to look at him 

in the dock. 

But when confronted with 

the pictures of the defendant, 

she confirmed her 

aggressor and retorted: “I 

remember now. He put his 

wee wee in my mouth”. 

Prior to her entering the 

court, a clip of the video recording 

done by the psychologist, 

Mrs Ogendengbe 

was shown at the request 

of the defence counsel 

which showed the victim 

answering questions. 

When asked to show 

where Adenekan’s wee 

wee was, she touched the 

mid region of her body to 

indicate the location of a 

male’s manhood and to the 

lower region of her body to 

show location of her private 

part. 

Under cross examination 

by counsel to the defendant, 

Olatunde Adejuyigbe 

(SAN), Child X answered 

in affirmative that 

she told her mummy 

when the incident happened. 

She denied visiting 

Adenekan in her office 

except on the day “when 

he did bad thing to me”. 

Asked by Adejuyigbe if 

she loves drawing, she 

said: “I love drawing but 

I don’t want to draw in 

this place. It is very 

scary”, as a result of 

which the judge and 

counsel calmed her. 

However when told by 

the defence counsel that 

she was tutored on all 

that she said in court, 

child X replied: “nobody 

told me what to say when 

I came here today”. 

The mother of the victim, 

under cross examination 

had earlier told the court 

that her daughter told her 

that Adenekan allegedly 

abused her in his office 

and at a corner outside. 

She explained that when 

she visited the school with 

the police, she did not lead 

them to the corner, one of 

the places the victim was 

abused, because she 

didn’t want to make it look 

as if she was guiding investigation 

by the police. 

She said initially she 

wanted to keep quiet 

about the incident but 

changed her mind when 

it appeared the school 

wasn’t going to do anything 

about it. Justice 

Nwaka has adjourned the 

matter till May 21 for continuation 

of trial. 

70-yr-old man, two sons in police 

net for defiling 9-yr-old-child 

By Simon Ebegbulem 

OFFICIALS of the Edo State government yesterday 

handed over 70-year-old Francis Ezomo, and his two 

sons to the State Police Command for alleged defiling of a 

nine-year-old-girl. 

The two sons Nosa Ezomo, 26 and Festus Ezomo, 29, 

joined their septugenarian father to defile the young girl, 

who is a relative of Mr Francis Ezomo’s wife. 

The Acting Chairman of the Edo State Universal Basic 

Education Board (SUBEB) and Special Adviser to the Edo 

State Governor on Basic Education, Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, 

told Journalists after the suspects were handed-over to the 

Police at Government House, Benin City, that the case 

was reported to her office by the Headmistress of the minor. 

“The issue came to the limelight when the Headmistress 

of the minor’s school noticed a change of behaviour in the 

minor and decided to ask her what the problem was? The 

nine-year-old-girl narrated her ordeal to the Headmistress, 

who then informed the Education Secretary of the local 

government council, where the alleged crime took place. 

We then swung into action and got the Ministry of Women 

Affairs and Social Development involved,” Dr. Oviawe said. 

Glo-sponsored Professor Johnbull 

enters Season 6, retools 

NIGERIA’s most watched sitcom, “Professor 

Johnbull”, is being taken to higher grounds and 

retooled as the shooting of Season 6 teed off recently in the 

Coal City of Enugu. 

The TV drama series, Professor Johnbull, sponsored by 

the telecommunications giant, Globacom, is being enhanced 

by the production crew headed by the iconic Producer, Tchidi 

Chikere, supported by two legendary consultants, Chika 

Okpala alias ‘Zebrudayah’, and Richard Mofe Damijo 

(RMD). Reports from the location confirmed that the first 

set of cast and crew arrived Enugu last Friday, while the 

remaining members joined mid-week, adding that 

recordings for the new season were on-going. 

Professor Johnbull is an episodic situational comedy built 

around the family of the linchpin of the comedy Professor 

Johnbull, acted by Kanayo O. Kanayo. He is domiciled in a 

neighbourhood in Enugu with his daughter, Elizabeth 

(Queen Nwokoye), his househelp, Nje (Angela Okorie) 

and his kinsman, Jeroboam, aka Boam (Osita Iheme). 

Professor Johnbull’s house is the rallying point for all the 

proximate people of the neighbourhood who congregate in 

his house for conflict resolutions, agenda setting and 

enlightenment . 

Ondo Gov Poll: Akeredolu loses 

appeal at S-Court 

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

THE Supreme Court, yesterdasy, dismissed an 

appeal Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo 

State lodged against a suit challenging the primary election 

that produced him as flag-bearer of the All Progressive 

Congress, APC. 

Akeredolu had gone before the apex court to set-aside the 

July 2017 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which 

upheld a Federal High Court order that granted permission 

to a chieftain of the APC, Mr. Olusegun Abraham, to serve 

the court processes on him through substituted means. 

The litigant, Abraham, who was a gubernatorial aspirant 

in the state, in his pre-election suit, prayed court to sack 

Akeredolu on ground that he was not validly nominated to 

participate in the poll. The apex court, in a unanimous 

judgment by a five-man panel of Justices, held that 

Akeredolu’s contention that the suit ought to have been 

served on him personally, lacked merit. 

Justice John Okoro who prepared the lead judgment that 

was delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, upheld the earlier 

decision of the appellate court and awarded N500,000 cost 

against Akeredolu, in favour of Abraham. 

Meanwhile, the Ondo state government in a swift reaction 

after the verdict, said there was no cause for alarm. 

Akeredolu, via a statement that was signed by his Chief 

Press Secretary, Mr. Segun Ajiboye, described the judgement 

as a non-issue. 

He said: “Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu 

(SAN), has assured the people of the state that there is no 

cause for alarm over the supreme Court ruling which 

dismissed the appeal filed by him. 

“He describes the ruling as a non-issue. The governor 

asks the peace-loving people to dismiss the ruling, adding 

that it is nothing to worry about and advised them to continue 

to support his administration in its determination to develop 

the state. 

“What the Supreme court ruled on was whether the service 

of the Originating Process on the APC secretariat in Abuja, 

instead of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, was right or 

not. 

“At best, the ruling only succeeded in correcting Abraham 

to serve Akeredolu through substituted means in relation to 

the suit he (Abraham) filed. 

“Governor Akeredolu, therefore, wants to state equivocally 

that there is no cause for alarm over the ruling delivered by 

the Supreme Court”.

2019: APC leadership sidelines 

Tinubu’s committee 

•Moves to resolve own crisis 

•To set up separate reconciliation, confidence building c’ttee 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

THE Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubuled 

reconciliation efforts in the 

ruling All Progressives 

Congress APC may have 

lost its steam following the 

decision of the party 

leadership to scale up crisis 

mediation efforts ahead of 

the 2019 General Elections, 

Saturday Vanguard has 

learned. 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari had weeks ago 

appointed Tinubu to embark 

on troubleshooting and 

confidence building efforts in 

the ruling party, but the party 

now seems ready to resolve 

its crisis its own way in spite 

of the Tinubu ‘committee’. 

The former Lagos State 

governor had on February 

14 visited the Chief John 

Odigie-Oyegun led 

National Working 

Committee NWC of the party 

at its secretariat in Abuja to 

intimate them about the 

commencement of his work 

as well as solicit their support 

in delivering on the 

presidential mandate given 

to him. 

At the meeting, Tinubu 

was alleged to have listed 

several terms including 

asking the party leadership 

to stand down all ongoing 

reconciliation efforts in order 

not to work at cross-purposes 

with his team. 

Tinubu on his own in a 

letter he wrote to Chief 

Odigie-Oyegun days after 

the meeting, said he had 

also requested for documents 

on the state of affairs of the 

party in some States, a 

request he said had not been 

granted as promised. 

He had also asked the 

party to appoint a liaison 

officer to interface with him 

and the party in the course 

of his troubleshooting 

assignment, a request that 

had since been granted by 

the party through the 

appointment of the APC 

Director of Organization, 

Alh. Abubakar Kyari. It is not 

From left: Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa- 

Dutse; Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Co-Chair of Bill 

and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates; Country Director, Nigeria Office 

of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paulin Basinga, and President, Global 

Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Chris Elias, during a meeting 

on vaccine financing and support for Nigeria's fiscal agenda in Abuja,Thursday. 

known whether Tinubu has 

named his full team. 

However, Saturday 

Vanguard learned that the 

party has been making 

efforts to resolve its crisis, a 

move that has left the Tinubu 

committee with nothing 

much to do. 

“Kogi is one of the flash 

point states that Tinubu is 

so much interested in. Even 

in his last letter to the 

national chairman, he stated 

it. Now, the NWC has 

insisted that the status quo 

ante bellum be maintained 

in the state, meaning that 

Haddy Ametuo, obviously 

favoured by Tinubu against 

Gov. Yahaya Bello’s choice 

of Alh. Ibrahim Ahovi, 

remains the chairman of the 

party in that state”, said a 

national officer of the party 

who did not want his name 

mentioned in the report. 

In Kaduna, the party had 

recently set up a committee 

headed by its Deputy 

National Chairman, South, 

Engr. Segun Oni to wade 

into the crisis afflicting the 

party in the state. Other 

members of the fact-finding 

committee were the National 

Auditor, Chief George 

Moghalu and National 

Woman Leader, Hajia 

Rahmatu Aliyu. The team 

was to “ identify the remote 

and immediate causes of the 

disagreement and 

circumstance that led to the 

demolition of the house of 

Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi” 

among other issues. 

Apart from mediating in the 

crisis in other states 

including Cross River, the 

party leadership earlier in 

the week took its efforts a 

notch higher by wading into 

the continued altercation 

between the National 

Assembly and the Executive 

when it visited its Senate 

Caucus on Wednesday. 

Consequent upon 

discussions at the parley, the 

NWC and the senators 

resolved to set up what 

could appear as a parallel 

crisis mediation team to 

resolve all the crises in the 

party. 

At the end of the meeting 

which lasted about three 

hours, Senate Leader, 

Ahmed Lawan said the 

party would soon constitute 

a caucus, comprising 

members of the executive, 

the legislature, governors 

and the party leadership, to 

resolve issues confronting 

the party. “The discussions 

centered around so many 

things, including the issue 

of election sequence. We 

are coming to a situation 

where that can be resolved. 

We are hoping that as soon 

as that caucus is 

constituted, this kind of 

issue will easily be 

addressed and resolved. 

Senators took the 

opportunity to express 

problems bedeviling the 

party. The party will soon 

constitute a team that will 

comprise the Executive, 

Legislature, governors and 

the party itself. The 

meeting was worthwhile 

and the party was happy 

to be here this afternoon. It 

was a frank discussion. 

“The idea of bringing 

everybody to the table is to 

ensure that we are able to 

resolve any issue; issues at 

party, National Assembly 

and at the executive levels 

and with some of our 

governors. Should there be 

any issue, we should be able 

to discuss and dispense 

with it as quickly as 

possible. 

“When you have 

everybody on the same 

page, you would have 

reduced misunderstanding 

to its barest level or 

eliminated it completely. 

There may be times when 

there will be disagreements. 

Such disagreements must 

not be allowed to become a 

clog in the wheel of 

progress. 

“This is our government. 

This is our administration. 

We should not be fighting 

dirty in the public. If we have 

misunderstanding, we 

should be able to deal with it 

inside our house. It is not as 

if a political party will not 

have problems, what makes 

the difference is for the 

political party to manage 

such challenges that will 

arise from time to time. We 

are on top of the situation. 

We are going to resolve all 

our problems.” 

Describing the visit of the 

NWC to the Senate “as a 

father visiting his family”, 

Lawan said the NWC had 

requested for an interaction 

with the party’s Senate 

caucus to review events in 

the party and the country. 


2019: I want to give back to 

Nigeria — Lamido 

•Says Nigerians must be decisive in 2019 

BY CHARLES KUMOLU 

AFORMER governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule 

Lamido has said that his presidential ambition 

is not a product of desperation, noting that he wants to 

give back to a nation that gave him many opportunities 

in life. Lamido, who is one of the presidential aspirants 

in Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the current 

bloodshed, pains, and anger in the country should be 

seen as reasons to be decisive on who is elected 

President in 2019. 

In a chat yesterday in Lagos, he said the country is 

reaping the fruits of the evil it created, adding that the 

current state of the nation cannot guarantee progress. 

His words: “Nigeria has been there for me. I have 

been a governor, minister, and party leader among 

others. This country made it possible. I also fought for 

the enthronement of democracy and got imprisoned 

with Abubakar Rimi by the regime of late General Sani 

Abacha in 1998. My aspiration is not desperation. I 

want to give back to Nigeria. 

“There is hatred, bloodshed, corruption in government 

and private sectors. I am very concerned because we 

can’t continue like this. For how long shall we continue 

like this? We are in this situation because we have lost 

our values as a people. “As the father of the nation, a 

President is supposed to correct his children and not 

to curse them. But Buhari called Nigerians thieves. 

By so doing, he cursed his children. There are so 

many thieves in government, public and private 

sectors. Nigerians should be concerned about the state 

of the nation by voting for the right person in 2019. 

We can only reduce our current pains through 

collective efforts. I feel terribly pained about the things 

happening in the country. After reviewing everything 

happening in the country, I concluded that we are 

reaping the result of the evil we created.” 

2019: CAN prays for 

Ugwuanyi’s re-election 

T 

HE Christian Association 

of Nigeria (CAN), Enugu State chapter has offered 

special prayers for the re-election of Governor Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi in 2019 and God’s continuous favour on him to 

fulfill his heart desires for the state. 

Rising from a “mega prayer rally”, tagged: “Enugu State 

is in the Hands of God”, which was attended by the leaders 

of the five blocs in CAN Enugu State, namely, Most Rev. Dr. 

Calistus Onaga of the CSN (represented by Rev. Fr. Dr. 

Donatus Onuigbo); Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel O. Chukwuma 

of the CCN; Bishop Obi Onubuogu of CPFN/PFN; Rev. 

Michael Ebonine of OAIC and Rev. Emmanuel Edeh of 

ECWA/TEKAN, the chairman of the association, Rt. Rev. 

Christian Obiefuna in his address told Gov. Ugwuanyi that 

“your second tenure is in the Hands of God” and “it is safe 

with Him because you have acknowledged Him”. 

Disclosing that the rally’s prayer theme “originated from 

the doctrinal and ideological principles” of Gov. Ugwuanyi, 

the Christian body commended the governor for his 

commitment to God and entrenchment of peace and good 

governance in Enugu State, stating that he pays workers’ 

salaries regularly, provides infrastructure and security, etc, 

in spite of “the dwindling economy” and “meager resources” 

of the state. CAN Enugu State described Ugwuanyi as a 

“God-fearing” leader, stating that the association was “proud 

to identify with him. 

Senate to complete L/Content Act 

amendment before end of session 

THE Senate has assured that it will completely carry 

out a holistic amendment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas 

Industry Content Development, NOGICD Act of 2010 

before the end of the eighth legislative session. It also 

said that the Act requires amendment especially against 

the backdrop that all principal players in the Nigerian 

economy and foreign investors do not want local content. 

According to the Senate, it will in the next two weeks 

commence the amendment process, as it plans to put in place 

an action plan that would set out the modalities and the modus 

operandi needed to achieve the amendment of the current 

act as passed by the National Assembly. The Act establishes 

the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, 

NCDMB as the sole agency of the Federal Government that 

is responsible for driving Nigerian Content in the oil and gas 

industry. Disclosing this in Accra, Ghana at the close of a 3- 

day Stakeholders’ Sensitization Programme on developing 

Legislators’ Understanding of NCDMB’s mandate and the 

Oil and Gas Industry, Chairman, Senate Committee on Local 

Content, Senator Solomon Adeola, APC, Lagos West said 

that it has become imperative to review and possibly amend 

the relevant acts governing the oil and gas industry as that 

will help move the industry forward. According to him, such 

acts include Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, Deep 

Offshore and Inland basin Production Sharing Contract Act 

and NOGICD Act of 2010.


Farmers/herdsmen crisis: 80,450 children 

trapped in eight IDP camps across Benue 

By Peter Duru, 

Makurdi 

THERE are indications 

that as at March 1, no 

fewer than 80,450 children 

are currently trapped in eight 

Internally Displaced 

Persons, IDPs, camps 

established by the Benue 

state government to cater for 

victims of herdsmen 

incursions in the state. 

According to official 

figures obtained from the 

State Emergency 

Management Agency, 

SEMA, of the said figure 

47,353 are male while 39,909 

are female children. 

A further breakdown of the 

figure indicated that the 

LGEA Primary School camp 

and the UNHCR Shelter 

camp, all in Daudu, Guma 

local government area, 

houses a total number of 

10,871 children. 6,527 are 

male while 4,344 are female. 

The Tse-Ginde camp also 

in Guma local government 

area, with a total number of 

10,021 children, 4,468 of 

them are male while 5,553 


At the Gbajimba camp 

where 9,393 children are 

currently taking refuge, 

2,941 are male while 6,453 


The Abagena or Agan 

camp, in the outskirt of 

Makurdi the state capital, of 

the 16, 583 children taking 

refuge in the gigantic camp 

8, 773 are male while 7, 810 

are female. 

From left: Mr. Dele 

Alake, former Commissioner 

of Information & 

Strategy, Lagos state; 

Mr. Gbenga Akinbiyi, 

and Mr. Bola Bakare, 

both Son-in-law of 

deceased, during the 

Funeral Service for 

Late Pa Emmanuel 

Elegbede, Father -inlaw 

of Mr. Dele Alake, 

former Commissioner 


Strategy, Lagos state, at 

Araromi Baptist 

Church, Moloney, Lagos 

Island, and Reception 

at Harbour Point, 

Victoria Island Lagos, 

yesterday. Photo: 

Bunmi Azeez 

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (m) with the Speaker of the State House 

of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi (2nd right); Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical 

Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma (r); Chairman, 

Christian Association of Nigeria, Enugu State chapter, Rt. Rev. Christian Obiefuna (2nd 

left) and another cleric, during the Mega Prayer Rally for the state, where the association 

prayed for Gov. Ugwuanyi's re-election in 2019, yesterday. 

According to the figures 

from SEMA, the Anyiin 

camp in Logo local 

government area of the state 

is playing host to 19, 283 

children. Of this number 9, 

845 are male while 9, 438 

are female. 

At the Abeda camp also in 

Logo local government area, 

6,730 children are currently 

taking refuse in the camp. 

Out of this number 1, 677 

are male while 3, 688 are 

female. 

The camp at the LGEA 

Primary School Ugba, the 

Logo local government 

headquarters houses 7, 569 

children. The male children 

are 5, 312 while the female 

are 2, 623. 

Meanwhile as at March 

1, the total number of 

persons displaced as a 

result of the lingering crisis 

stood at 175, 070. 

Speaking on the 

development, the Executive 

Secretary Benue State 

Emergency Management 

Agency, Mr. Emmanuel 

Shior lamented that the state 

was facing a huge 

humanitarian crisis that had 

overwhelmed the state 

government. 

“What we have at hand is 

a huge humanitarian crisis 

that has already 

overwhelmed the state 

government given the 

financial implication. 

“Catering for the 175,070 

IDPs caused by the 

herdsmen crisis and the 

10,940 refugees from 

Southern Cameroon who 

are currently taking refuge 

in Abande and Imande- 

Agbatse the two camps 

established in Kwande local 

government area are 

obviously a huge challenge 

that requires urgent help 

from well meaning 

organisations, individuals 

and the international 

community.” Shior added. 

From left: Prof. Yemi 

Osinbajo, Vice President 

of Nigeria, his Mrs. 

Dolapo, Asiwaju Bola 

Tinubu, National Leader 

of All Progressives 

Congress[APC] and 

Chief Bisi Akade, 

former APC Interim National 

Chairman during 

the Funeral Service for 

Late Pa Emmanuel 

Elegbede,Father-in-law 

of Mr. Dele Alake, 

former Commissioner 


Strategy, Lagos state, at 

Araromi Baptist Church, 

Moloney, Lagos Island, 

Lagos. Photo: Bunmi 

Azeez 

Ibori shows evidence of 

police corruption 

•As his London case enters appeal stage 

AS the case between the London Metropolitan Police 

and Chief James Onanefe Ibori and associates entered 

the second day at Court of Appeal on Thursday 22/3/2018 in 

London, Ibori’s legal team showed overwhelming evidence of 

police corruption. In a press statement dated Friday , March 

23,2018, Chief Ibori’s Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, said 

that a police officer, DC John McDonald was mainly at the end 

of Ibori’s finger pointing because that particular officer was at 

the heart of the cases which started in 2006, and he has been 

the topic of several police investigations and is now accepted 

by the British Crown Prosecution Service as being corrupt. 

Also, he was the one who built the Ibori investigation on 

inferences, instead of on proving allegations against Ibori beyond 

every reasonable doubt. 

Ibori’s lawyers made three key submissions on Thursday. 

The first was that the lead case officer, DC McDonald was 

corrupt and accepted bribes and they provided heaps of evidence 

in support. Second; that the Met police deliberately 

covered up the corruption from 2007 till the end of the case. 

Third; that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) then failed to 

make proper disclosure of the Police corruption to the defence 

team. The Court was told that the conduct of Prosecution was 

of such gravity that to maintain conviction would bring the 

globally respected British administration of justice into disrepute 

because the Crown Prosecution had mislead the Courts 

and Court of Appeal on several occasions. 

For instance, Ms. Sasha Wass QC told UK’s Director of Public 

Prosecutions personally around January 20, 2016, that the 

disclosed evidence confirms that DC McDonald was corrupt. 

She described the evidence the Met Police had as highgrade 

intelligence but which, staggeringly, has never been 

provided to the Defence teams. Wass stated that she would not 

be prepared to prosecute any case in which DC McDonald 

was involved owing to the man’s track record in the Ibori case. 

Wass claimed that there were multiple instances where DC 

McDonald was paid bribes by Cliff Knuckey. 

The evidence comprised an internal Met Police anti-corruption 

report which demonstrated clear evidence including telephone 

traffic between RISC and some Police officers. DC 

McDonald was known as ‘C22’in the records and was in receipt 

of payments even in another case too. ‘Source A’ intelligence 

in the possession of the Met confirmed a payment in 

September 2007. It was described by Sasha Wass QC as reliable 

and high grade intelligence in her statement. 

The Met deliberately failed to properly investigate the findings 

by prematurely closing down the investigation, known as 

Operation Limonium which revealed a deeply corrupt relationship 

between RISC and Police in particular, the Proceeds 

of Corruption Unit ‘POCU’. Operation Limonium would 

have severely damaged the Metropolitan Police reputation. 

This failure was deliberate and was done to protect the Police 

and maintain the Ibori investigation, Eluemunor said. 

Operation Limonium identified multiple strands of corruption 

involving RISC and other police officers. It appears that 

the MPS had recognized the potential consequences to 

scuppering the Ibori investigation. 

The internal Met report described RISC as NIM Level 3 

Red 55 IDG matrix – an aggressive corruptor of the police and 

engaged in a cycle of corruption. 

Neligan said in May 2012 that this risk of a proper investigation 

into DC McDonald and his corruption was going to ‘scupper 

a multi-million-pound investigation’ into Ibori. But Police 

engaged in “Disclosure failures” now at the heart of this 

appeal – by repeated assertions that nothing was there to be 

disclosed. 

The UK aid agency, the Department for International Development 

(DFID) was funding the police unit even by December 

2006. It was noted that the UK aid agency had spent some 

£4.9m on the police unit in which DC McDonald was working. 

Regular reports were made from the Police to DFID and 

this provided one of the key reasons why the Police did not to 

lose this slush source of funding. 

Remarkably, this Appeal is not about confiscation. This issue 

was heard before His Honour Justice Pitts in September 2013, 

when the Crown Prosecution Service abandoned its confiscation 

case after the Court heard an independent forensic evidence. 

Mr. Henry Blaxland QC appeared for Udaomaka 

Onuigbo. He submitted that the court should find that the 

police deliberately covered up the DC McDonald’s corruption 

in this case, which represents an abuse of process. He submitted 

that the integrity of the Court process has been compromised. 

The disclosed Met Police dated 15 Feb 2007 Intelligence 

Log confirms her legal professional privilege was compromised. 

The non-disclosure has also been significant and 

repeated the Courts observation that DC McDonald as fortunate 

to escape prosecution previously. 

Mr. David Emmanuel appeared for Christine Ibori. Mr 

Emmanuel argued that her legal professional privilege was 

violated. DC McDonald played a vital role in her prosecution 

and the corruption plainly affects the safety of the convictions. 

Christopher Convey representing Lambertus De Boer. 

De Boer was appealing the V Mobile Case. Convey 

argued there had been police corruption and non-disclosure 

which rendered the convictions unsafe. Convey identified 

a number of significant disclosure failings which would have 

assisted the defence. The original case was deeply flawed 

and the evidence did not support the prosecution case.


10—SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, , 2018 

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, 

BENIN CITY 

FOR those, who doubted the 

efficacy of the curse on human 

traffickers by the Oba of Benin, 

Oba Ewuare 11, the calls on trafficked 

girls to come and take their pubic 

hairs and pants from shrines are 

indeed a direct response to the 

doubts. 

Saturday Vanguard learnt that 

native doctors, who hitherto held the 

power of life and death over the girls, 

are now terrified to the extent of 

reaching out to them through 

emissaries. 

The native doctors in Edo State and 

other states, whose charms are known 

to have sustained the trafficking 

business, were gathered to have been 

uncomfortable since the Benin 

monarch made the pronouncement. 

For many years, human trafickers, 

sponsors of girls to Europe where 

they are forced to engage in 

prostitution to pay back their sponsors 

who are fondly called “madams.” It is 

simply sex slavery. 

The trade had badly 

damaged Nigeria’s 

image abroad. Most of 

the girls are Edo 

indigenes. 

Complying 

with the order 

Saturday Vanguard 

recalls that the Oba 

recently placed a curse 

on human traffickers, 

cult-related killers and 

other criminals 

perpetrating crime in 

For many years, 

human trafickers 

sponsors of girls 

to Europe where 

they are forced to 

engage in 

prostitution to pay 

back their 

sponsors who are 

fondly called 

“madams” 

OBA’S CURSE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKERS: 

Come and take 

your pubic hairs, 

pants in our shrines 

— Native doctors beg victims of sex slavery 

•Victims, Madams at war in Europe as girls celebrate their freedom 

•Pains, as Madams abandon girls in Libya 

• Oba’s curse has made our job easier — NAPTIP 

the state to complement the efforts of 

the state government in the war 

against human traffickers. 

The Oba had dug out juju that had 

not been exposed to sunlight for 800 

years to place the curse. 

However, it was learnt 

that the frightened native 

doctors had called the 

parents of some of the 

girls to come for the items 

they used in 

administrating some 

oaths, as most of them 

were no longer 

comfortable keeping them 

in their shrine. 

The decision to call the 

victims’ parents instead 

of the traffickers, who 

hitherto owned the 

properties before the 

Oba’s pronouncement, was to ensure 

that some stubborn traffickers do not 

hold on to them. 

Reliable sources told Saturday 

Vanguard in Benin City that the 

traffickers are devastated by the fact 

that the development has made it 

impossible for them to recoup their 

investment in the trade. 

Italy, Germany, 

France, and Russia 

Consequently, some of them have 

commenced complying with the order 

in Italy, Germany, France and Russia 

and India. 

However, it was gathered that some 

maintained that since they were not 

indigenes of the state, their trafficked 

victims would still pay the money 

used in taking them outside the 

shores of Nigeria. 

For instance, an Igbo woman was 

said to have granted freedom to her 

victim in India, while some are hellbent 

on being paid in defiance of the 

royal curse. 

Expectedly, there is much 

compliance from the trafficked 

victims, who Saturday Vanguard 

gathered have refused to make 

further payment to their traffickers. 

Some of the girls are coming 

together as a group to be able to form 

a formidable force to battle their 

respective traffickers. 

Calls from Europe 

and Asia 

Special Assistant to the state 

governor on Anti-Human Trafficking, 

Comrade Solomon Okonduwa, who 

spoke to Saturday Vanguard said his 

office is being inundated with calls 

from Europe and Asia over the effects 

of the curse by Oba of Benin. 

Okonduwa said: “The impact of the 

Oba’s pronouncement has gone a 

long way to free our girls from the 

hands of these Madams in Italy and 

native doctors who are in possession 

of the girls’ personal belongings like 

pubic hairs, and pants among others. 

“Some of the native doctors are 

calling their parents in Nigeria to 

come and take their properties out of 

the shrine in compliance with the 

directive of the Oba of Benin. Some of 

the girls in Europe are rejoicing while 

some are crying that their traffickers 

have not yielded to the voice of the 

Oba. 

“An indigene of the state, whether 

Continues on pg 11

SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, , 2018—11 

Continues from pg 10 

the person is Esan or Edo 

North, is under the 

leadership of the Oba of 

Benin. Some are raising 

some issues that the 

pronouncement is for 

only Edo people, but we 

want to say that even an 

Igbo man or Yoruba who 

takes any Edo indigene 

to Europe, will be 

affected by the curse. As 

long as the person 

commits that offence in 

any part of Edo State, he 

will be affected. They 

should understand that 

those that disobeyed the 

Oba in the past had 

stories to tell. 

Disobeying 

the Oba 

“Those who have been freed, have 

been sent packing by their traffickers. 

But some of these girls have no place 

to stay after being sent away by their 

traffickers. We are referring them to 

some Non-Governmental 

Organisations, NGOs, who are into 

charity in Europe. The NGOs will 

take care of them so that they will not 

be sleeping at train stations. 

“Most of the girls that have gone to 

these NGOs have renounced 

prostitution. These NGOs are 

assisting them. Those who want to 

live responsibly are being taken care 

of. Those in India, Russia, and France 

have some NGOs. We got a report 

from India that a trafficker who is from 

Edo State allowed her victim to go but 

an Igbo woman insisted that the girl 

must pay the money on the grounds 

that she is not from Edo State. We 

received that call three days ago. 

There is compliance in Italy, 

Germany, France and Russia. 

“We still have many of them in 

Africa and we are monitoring the 

situation seriously” 

Juju priests on the run 

Also speaking, the Benin Zonal 

Commander of National Agency for 

Prohibition and Trafficking in Persons, 

NAPTIP, Mr. Nduka 

Nwanwenne noted that: “Most of 

the juju priests are on the run. There 

was one we wanted to arrest three 

days ago but he ran away. 

There was a lady that was 

summoned to appear before 

the juju priest we also tried to 

track the man but he got 

wind of it and took off. 

“The victims have also 

refused to make further 

payment to their 

traffickers. It has 

been a positive 

development. We 

have seen 

situations where 

most of these 

victims are now 

free to talk 

which will help 

us during 

prosecution in 

the court. And 

the Oba’s 

pronouncement is 

going beyond 

Edo State. I 

•Oba of 

Benin, Oba 

Ewuare 11, 

Victims, Madams at 

war in Europe as girls 

celebrate their freedom 

visited Agbor where I met with a 

traditional ruler and I know what he 

said. The effect is so much. There has 

been positive development so far and 

it has made our jobs easier” 

However, a Benin lady based in 

Spain, who pleaded anonymity, 

informed Saturday Vanguard that 

apart from the effect on the business 

of trafficking, some girls who were in 

transit to Europe have been 

abandoned in Libya. 

She said: “The Oba’s curse is 

affecting the businesses of the 

Madams and they are all scared 

now. The girls who are already in 

Libya on their way to Europe as of the 

time of the Oba’s declaration are now 

stranded in Libya. The Madams have 

decided that since Oba has placed a 

curse on them, they will no longer 

carry on with the trade. So, they are 

no longer sending money for the 

upkeep of the girls in Libya from 

where they would have moved some 

t o Europe. The girls are now 

stranded in Libya. 

“The situation is causing 

pains to these girls in Libya 

because usually, the Madams 

who will take them to Italy are 

the ones in charge of their 

feeding, transportation, and 

other expenses in Libya. 

“Now that the Oba has placed 

the curse, they have completely 

abandoned these girls in 

Libya and those girls 

are now vulnerable 

with all kinds of 

things. 

Girls 

abandoned 

in Libya 

“The Madams 

should send them 

money to send 

these girls back home 

instead of keeping them 

in Libya. But one of 

them told me that she is 

even scared of sending money to one 

of the girls to go back to Nigeria 

because she does not know whether 

the curse will affect her if she tries to 

help. They have now left those girls to 

fend for themselves. These girls are 

being sold as sex slaves now in Libya. 

I just hope that the governor of Edo 

State, who has been doing a lot, will 

chatter a plane to bring those girls 

back.” 

A few days after Saturday Vanguard 

published the story of the Oba’s 

pronouncement, some of the 

trafficked girls posted two videos on 

the social media, vowing not to pay 

their traffickers. 

In one of the videos, an Austrianbased 

girl, who identified herself as 

Joy, vowed not to pay further money 

to her Madam. 

She narrated how she came to 

Europe through Libya two years ago, 

adding that she was told to pay 

30,000 Euro by her Madam so as to be 

free. 

She said: ‘’I don’t have a good job 

because I have no document. And my 

Madam expects me to get the money 

through prostitution and I can no 

longer cope. I was sleeping in a train 

station before I was able to get a small 

house where I live now. I have been 

paying that money back to 

my Madam since then. 

But I thank God when I 

heard about the Oba’s 

curse because I need to 

plan my future and stop 

being a slave to a 

woman. I called my 

Madam and I told her 

about Oba’s curse, saying 

that I was not ready to pay 

any more. She started 

shouting and asking me 

whether it was Oba that 

brought me to Europe. I 

told her it does not matter 

that after all, I took the 

oath in Benin. The 

native doctor is still with 

my pubic hair, pant and 

other things we used for 

the oath-taking. We were three girls 

my Madam brought here. I am in 

Austria, one is in Italy and another 

one in France. 

I am in Austria 

“She asked the one in France to pay 

40, 000 Euro, while the one in Italy 

will pay 30 Euro. 

“If we are not able to pay the money, 

we will be valueless as women in life. 

No man will ever marry us because 

we will be finished while the Madam 

and her family will be enjoying life. 

The Madam is threatening me saying 

that if I don’t pay this month she will 

deal with me. But I want to say that if 

she tries anything against me, I am 

going to call the Police for her. She is 

an evil woman. I have been enduring 

a lot of things. These women sponsor 

people here to destroy their lives. In 

Italy the man pays five or ten Euro for 

a round of sex, is that life? And we 

have been suffering this because we 

want to pay the money to Madam. But 

enough is enough and in the event 

that anything happens to me, she 

should be held responsible”. 

Another girl in Europe, who 

identified herself as Jenifer, said her 

Madam asked her to pay 35,000 Euro, 

adding that she had paid 30,000 Euro 

before now. 

She said: “I have told my Madam 

that I can longer pay the balance of 

5,000 Euros because of Oba’s curse. 

After all, I came to Europe by land 

and not air. I came through Libya. I 

suffered to pass through the Sahara 

Desert. She is calling everybody in 

Nigeria threatening me. The family 

said they will take my 

pant and pubic hair 

to a native doctor so 

that I can be deported 

The girls who 

are already in 

Libya on their 

way to Europe 

as of the time 

of the Oba’s 

declaration 

are now 

stranded in 

Libya 

to Nigeria. I will 

arrest her If she 

continues to threaten 

me. She stays in 

Cologne, Germany. 

Her name is Queen 

Iyobo, I will deal with 

her if she disturbs 

me. She is claiming 

that she is Esan and 

not Benin, saying 

that Oba’s curse will 

not affect her. I 

have told her I will 

not pay because if I 

pay the curse will kill 

me.”

12—SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018 

Tony Nwaka’s 

PDP/APC drama 

Tony Nwaka, former commissioner 

in Delta State and one of the advisers 

of governor Ifeanyi Okowa posted the 

following on his facebook page few 

days after announcing on facebook 

that he was quitting PDP for APC; 

YES, I MADE A MISTAKE. 

Imust first apologize to my PDP 

family who, all these years, 

provided the platform for my political 

ascension. There is no doubt that I 

took my grievances beyond 

permissible limits. I shouldn’t have 

left the party for a minute. I pray that 

I find forgiveness in the hearts of our 

teeming party loyalists, many of 

whom have always held me in high 

esteem. My special apologies go to 

His Excellency, Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa and the state leadership of the 

party, who must have been terribly 

embarrassed by my indiscretion. I 

shall duly explore the formal channels 

for a remediation of this misjudgment. 

At the same time, I also seek the 

understanding of many members of 

the APC, some of whom had opened 

their arms to welcome me to their fold. 

I am truly sorry for the unintended 

confusion. Rest assured that my 

decision to remain with my original 

political family has nothing to do with 

the general acceptability or otherwise 

of the APC. Of course I am not in a 

position to determine that. It is for the 

Nigerian masses to judge. 

My decision is purely a product of 

my conscience and deeper reflection. 

I honestly cannot imagine myself in 

the media or at the campaign ground 

speaking against the PDP, a party that 

took me to the limelight I enjoy today. 

Also, although I still have not attended 

any APC meeting, I am convinced I 

will feel completely out of place in their 

midst. 

Yes, PDP may have its faults. Yes, I 

may have my frustrations with the 

party. But it remains the only political 

family I know. I cannot extricate myself 

from the failures and successes of PDP. 

Honor and integrity demand that I 

not only identify with the party when 

the going is good for me, but also 

remain with her in my moments of 

distress. 

For my many followers who are truly 

desirous that we seek alternative 

routes to political fulfilment, I ask for 

temperance and fortitude. No 

condition lasts forever. I believe that 

the seeming discomfort of today could 

eventuate in a glorious tomorrow. Let 

patience be our watchword for God is 

on the throne. 

For my numerous Facebook 

followers, I crave your understanding 

in the circumstance. One of the lessons 

I have taken away from this whole 

experience is the need to identify the 

limits of social media in matters of 

practical politics. Accordingly, I shall 

henceforth restrict my social media 

commentaries to purely non-political 

topics. I hope you’ll bear with me. 

Once again, I apologize to everyone 

that may have been offended by my 

actions in the last few days. I am really 

sorry. The truth is, no matter the 

yearning for better political prospects, 

my conscience simply would not let 

me walk away from PDP, a political 

family that has done so much for me. 

Any pretensions to the contrary will 

continually set me at war with my 

inner self. I cannot live a life that is 

not me. PDP I am and PDP I will 

remain. 

Edo women react to o Oba's curse 

se 

Any Madam in Europe that 

dares the Oba will die 

—Madam Blackky Omoregie JP, Leader 

market women Association in Edo state 

This is one of the best decisions our Oba 

“ has taken since he assumed office. We 

market women leaders appreciate it. Many 

of our sons and daughters have died in Libya 

and Nigeria is better than Libya. Our children 

don’t deserve to die there. So we express our 

gratitude to the Oba for that action because 

this will help sanitize the society. Anybody 

that tries to cause more trouble will not live 

to tell the story. 

Our advise to the state government is that 

rather than pay these returnees money every 

month, I will suggest that government gives 

them three months salary in bulk so that they 

will be empowered to do something for 

themselves. We have many shops unoccupied 

in the market so let them come and sell here. 

I recall the other day we had an event for the 

Libya returnees, I was there that day and I 

observed that some of them could produce 

perfumes, soup, cocoa nut oil cream etc. That 

one will be better for them than the small 

money every month. Anyone who is 

hardworking cannot suffer in life. What the 

Oba did for us is that best thing a father can 

do for his children and may God bless him”. 

•Madam Blackky Omoregie 

Oba’s curse will end 

the wicked business of 

the Madams 

—Mrs Yemisi Omoregie—Oba Market 

Leader 

e, the market women leaders are very 

Whappy. The day Oba invited us to the 

palace to place that curse, we did not know 

that was why he was calling. This issue of 

human trafficking has become an 

embarrassment to us for a long time. I can 

tell you that since he placed the curse the 

sponsors of these girls have been crying in 

Europe. The girls are revolting now. He did a 

very good thing for us because we are tired 

of these human traffickers. People will come 

and recruit innocent children for slavery while 

their own children are at home. Let the 

Madams now recruit their own children for 

human trafficking. 

•Mrs Yemisi Omoregie 

•Mrs Mary Ogiamien 

Oba has freed us from 

slaver 

ery, , he deserve 

international award 

—Mrs Mary Ogiamien 

hat Oba has done for us no man could 

Whave done. He has fixed the problem 

we have been having here years ago. Our 

Oba, showed great concern. He invited native 

doctors, Olokun people, chiefs and placed a 

curse against human traffickers. As it is now, 

the native doctors can no longer be part of the 

evil and that will be the end of these people. 

This is because, one strong part of the 

arrangement is always the oath taking part 

where the Madam will milk the girl for years. 

This is wickedness and a crime against 

humanity. The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare 11, 

the Ogidigan deserves an International Award 

for this. 

We also thank Governor Godwin Obaseki 

for all he has been doing to rehabilitate Libyan 

returnees and the way he is working together 

with our Oba to fight these people people. 

This is the end of human 

traffickers in Edo 

—Florence Omogiade ,Edo state 

coordinator market women Association 

et me tell you, since the Oba’s curse, our 

Lchildren in Europe have been calling 

their native doctors to revoke the curses as 

Oba has spoken. I have even advised many 

of them who have called to follow Oba’s 

instruction and if their sponsors are disturbing 

them they should call the police. We are very 

grateful to the Oba. No more human 

trafficking in Edo, their end has come with 

the Oba’s pronouncement. 

•Florence Omogiade 

Parents will stop selling their 

proper 

operty to send children 

abroad 

—Esther Erabor, Vice President of Iyanga 

market 

We thank our Oba. Since he came on the 

throne he has embarked on many reforms 

which have been impacting on our people 

positively. And we want to warn parents who 

sell their property to send children abroad to 

stop it because this curse will affect them. I 

have told these children that we have markets 

here, they can come here and work. There 

is money here. All my children are here, we 

have been managing together. There is money 

here in Nigeria if you are a serious person. 

You must not go abroad to make money. All 

we are appealing is for the state government 

to help empower these youths so they can 

have money and start a business or farming 

like governor Godwin Obaseki has promised. 

We are grateful to the Oba for this curse. 

•Esther Erabor 

Edo people react to Oba 

of Benin’s curse on 

human traffickers 

— Pa Jolly Agbontaen 

We will start arresting evil 

people like chickens 

I heard about the Oba’s curse and it is a 

welcome development. People will now 

be scared of committing evil. It has gotten to 

a stage where these people no longer fear the 

police or other constituted authorities but with 

Oba’s curse now, you will die if you disobey. 

Oba does not place curses any how and when 

he does you know that the gods will react. So 

it is left for the perpetrators of this heinous 

crime to repent or they will die in their evil 

ways. 

We have now told our people to be more 

vigilante in our communities about those 

people who recruit girls. You will see that we 

will start arresting them now like chickens. 

•Pa Jolly Agbontaen

SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, , 2018—13 

GUNS EVERYWHERE! 

Will raiding of 

homes, 

hideouts 

achieve 

results? 

BY CHARLES KUMOLU, 

Deputy Features Editor 

WHEN the Inspector General of Police, 

IGP, Ibrahim Idris announced that all 

state commands of the Nigeria Police 

Force, NPF, had been directed to mop 

up illegal arms within 21 days, the 

optimism that greeted the news was a 

cautious one. 

Considering the scale of violent 

deaths in Nigeria, the statement 

would have elicited total excitement 

across the country.But that was not the 

case in a country the United Nations 

identified to be hosting 70 percent of 

estimated 500 million illegal weapons 

in West Africa. 

So far, concerns over the 

workability of the order 

overwhelm the goals it seeks 

to achieve. 

From Zamfara to Benue, Jos 

to Abraka, there are more 

ambiguities than excitement 

over the move which could 

curb the menace if properly 

executed. 

Findings by Saturday 

Vanguard revealed that 

many are more curious about 

the feasibility, scope, and 

modus of the disarmament. 

On the streets, in the 

boardrooms and hallowed 

chambers, the feelings are 

similar. 

However, opinions were not 

found to be divided over the 

needfulness of the directive by the IGP. 

Another area of concern is what seems to 

be the non-inclusion of rampaging 

herdsmen among the groups to be 

disarmed. 

Surprisingly, the order is 

silent on whether gunwielding 

herdsmen should 

submit their weapons and 

also be subjected to stop 

and search, raiding and 

other methods to be used by 

the Police. 

Enforcement of order 

The Police had in a 

statement announcing 

the setting up of a Task 

Force on illegal arms, 

outlined how the order 

would be enforced at the 

expiration of the 21-day 

ultimatum. 

“The operation will 

equally include cordon 

and search and raid, seizure from any 

premises, hideouts, dwelling houses 

or buildings or sites (completed or 

under construction) or any other 

location where these illegal/prohibited 

firearms are kept,” the statement by 

NPF Spokesman, Mr. Moshood Jimoh 

said. 

The statement further offered clarity 

thus: “A police joint task 

enforcement team has been set up at 

the Force Headquarters by the 

Inspector General of Police, while the 

Commissioners of Police and the 

Assistant Inspectors General of Police 

in the states and Zonal Commands 

respectively have been mandated to 

immediately set-up similar Police Joint 

Task Enforcement Teams in their states 

and zones. 

Categories of weapons 

“The categories of prohibited/illegal 

firearms and ammunition, specified 

under Chapter F.28 LFN 2004 Fire 

Arms Act include “artillery, apparatus 

•Ibrahim Idris, IGP 

for the discharge of any explosives of 

gas diffusing projectile, rocket 

weapons, bombs and grenades, 

machine-guns and machine-pistols, 

military rifles, namely; calibers 

7.62mm, 9mm, .300 inches, Revolvers 

and Pistols whether rifled or unrifled 

(including flint-lock pistols and cap 

pistols), firearms such as pump action 

gun of all categories and any other 

firearms/lethal weapons fabricated to 

kill. 

“Individuals and groups such as 

vigilantes and neighbourhood watch 

groups under state governments, local 

governments or town unions, hunters 

and watch night men who currently 

possess the illegal firearms are given 

21-day ultimatum from February 22, 

2018, to surrender them to the 

Commissioner of Police in their state.” 

Carrot and stick 

With the expiration of the deadline 

and the readiness of state commands 

to commence enforcement Saturday 




Vanguard gathered that there are fears 

that the enforcement processes might 

be abused. 

These fears were informed by the 

thinking that carrot and stick option 

would have resonated well with 

Nigerians. 

Respectively, cash for arms deal, 

recruitment for arms, amnesty and the 

use of religious leaders to persuade 

illegal arms holders, were cited by 

proponents of this view. 

“The Police should be commended for 

announcing the order but the modus 

operandi is a challenge to that 

fortuitous move by the police 

leadership. I have not seen where this 

model helped in gun control,” Dr. 

Prosper Anetor, Managing Director, 

Lion Gate Securities, told Saturday 

Vanguard. 

He expounded his assertion, saying 

that objectives behind gun control or 

better still disarmament hardly yield 

results with force alone. 

“While I still praise the 

IGP, I need to be 

convinced that most of the 

illegal arms in circulation 

would be retrieved by 

raiding all manner of 

places based on 

intelligence. We need not 

forget the existence of 

crisis of confidence 

between the citizens and 

law enforcement 

institutions, especially the 

Police,” he stated. 

Information from the 

public 

A retired Police 

Commissioner, Alhaji 

Abubakar Tsav, however, 

differed on the modus of 

enforcement, as he told 

Saturday Vanguard that 

the decision to embark on 

raiding of suspected 

homes and hideouts is in 

order. 

“That is the only process 

Will raiding of 

homes, hideouts 

achieve results? 

they will employ to recover the arms 

very well. And they are going to do it 

based on the information they receive 

from members of the public. Without 

working with the public it will be 

difficult for the Police to identify 

people who carry arms in 

communities. Asking those, who have 

licenses to renew them is also good 

because there are people whose 

licenses had expired and they are still 

carrying arms,” he said. 

He, however, re-echoed the opinion 

of those, who expressed concerns 

about the likelihood of the 

order being exploited. 

‘’The Police gave grace to 

people who are carrying 

illegal arms and they 

should not be faulted by 

deciding to retrieve the 

arms based on intelligence 

at the expiration of the 

grace period. Since human 

beings are not perfect, I will 

not fault those, who are 

afraid that the process 

might be abused.” 

To ensure that the order is 

executed without infringing 

on the rights of Nigerians, 

the retired police officer 

said: “I am urging senior 

officers, who have the 

responsibility of 

supervising the process to 

ensure that it is not 

abused.” 

Rules of engagement 

Executive Chairman of 

Centre of Anti-Corruption 

and Open Leadership, 

CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, did 

not kick against the method to be 

used. He, however, wants the Police 

to be guided by rules of engagement. 

“The way the Police put it is as if they 

want to retrieve arms from licensed 

groups that don’t belong to armedbearing 

groups. But if it is only illegal 

arms, that is in order. We are not 

denying them the right to suspect 

possible areas of crime nor their right 

to raid homes, but that should be 

carried out within the specifications of 

the law, ‘’ he stated. 

Adeniran, however, demanded that 

those, whose home may be wrongly 

raided, be compensated when they 

seek redress. 

“They raided Akala and other areas 

suspected of hosting criminals in 

Lagos. That is good for the system if 

the police do not abuse the process. 

The IGP should provide a mechanism 

that would ensure that those, whose 

homes may be wrongfully raided, are 

compensated. There should be a 

leeway for them to seek redress 

whenever their places are raided with 

wrong information,” he added. 

On his part, a security expert, Mr. 

Folunsho Attah, said: “Raiding of 

suspected homes is a routine exercise 

of the Nigerian Police. On the IGP’s 

order on illegal arms, I think the Police 

at various state levels should do it with 

their discretion. It must not be by 

harassment or coercion. I will highly 

advise that they allow the 21-day 

ultimatum to elapse before doing so. 

If a state Commissioner of Police is not 

careful, some of his men might abuse 

the process. The 21 days must elapse. 

The police should do it with utmost 

decency. ‘’ 

Niger Delta Amnesty model 

Asked about the notion in some 

quarters that Niger Delta Amnesty 

model should have been adopted by 

the Police, Attah said the rate of arms 

proliferation in Nigeria demands 

stronger measures. 

“The two situations cannot be 

compared because, during the period 

of militancy, arms proliferation was 

between militant groups, but these 

days there are many arms in the hands 

of miscreants and hoodlums as 

witnessed in the activities of Boko 

Haram, kidnappers, and hi-tech 

robbers among others. During the time 

of militancy, the crime level was not 

as high as it is today. What the police 

are doing in Nigeria now is in 

consonance with what is happening 

all over the world. In every situation, 

it is important to consider the realities 

on the ground.” 

Notwithstanding Attah’s downplaying 

of the carrot and stick option, Saturday 

Vanguard gathered that it remains the 

most popular method of gun control. 

Massive buyback program 

For instance, Chris Weller in a piece 

entitled: These four countries Have 

Nearly Eliminated Gun Deaths: What 

the US Can Learn, narrated how the 

Australian government was forced by 

an alarming rate of violence to hold a 

forum on gun control. 

He said: “A spate of violence in the 

1980s and ’90s that culminated in a 

1996 shooting that left 35 dead led 

Australian Prime Minister John 

Howard to convene an assembly to 

devise gun-control strategies. 

“The group landed on a massive buyback 

program, costing hundreds of millions of 

dollars offset by a one-time tax increase 

that bought and destroyed more than 

600,000 automatic and semiautomatic 

weapons and pump-action shotguns. 

‘’Over the next few years, gun-death totals 

were cut nearly in half. Firearm suicides 

dropped to 0.8 per 100,000 people in 2006 

from 2.2 in 1995, while firearm homicides 

dropped to 0.15 per 100,000 people in 

2006 from 0.37 in 1995.”

SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018—15 

2019 

Why I pray APC fields Buhari for 

2nd term — Senator Owie 

•It’s better not to have any government than for PDP to return 

•How Igbo leaders betrayed Ekwueme 

•Obaseki is doing well but losing grip of his party 

•What Awolowo told us about party supremacy 

Senator Rowland Owie, a veteran politician was a former Chief 

Whip of the senate. He was also in the House of Representatives 

between 1979 and 1983. He is currently the chairman, National 

Contact Committee of the Action Democratic Party (ADP). 

In this exclusive interview, Senator Owie declared that both the 

Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP and the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, have failed Nigerians, asserting that his new party, 

the ADP has all it takes to sweep the polls at next year’s general 

elections. He also disclosed why he worked against his former party, 

the PDP in the 2016 governorship election in Edo state to support 

Governor Godwin Obaseki of the APC. 

Excerpts: 

By SIMON EBEGBULEM, 

BENIN CITY 

As we approach the general 

elections in 2019, 

politicians have started 

adjusting here and there. The 

opposition PDP is regrouping 

hoping to retake power, the SDP is 

also waxing stronger while the APC 

government is being accused of 

failing to deliver on its promises. 

What is your take on all these? 

The problem we have today was 

caused by the PDP. It is a pity I was 

in that party. We were the 

founding members of the PDP. The 

leadership of that party brought 

impunity into the party. By the time 

the PDP took over power, Nigeria 

Airways was alive, Aladja was 

working, Ajaokuta was working, 

Basita sugar company was 

working, NITEL was working. As 

a matter of fact, when we were in 

the senate, NITEL had over 

N2.4billion in its account, they were 

not borrowing to pay salaries. But 

the PDP government came and sold 

these businesses and as at today not 

one single staff of these former 

companies had got his or her 

pensions and gratuities. The party 

went ahead and 

destroyed all the toll 

gates from where 

huge revenue could 

have been derived to 

fix all Federal roads 

without going to ask 

for tax payers money. 

Do you know that one 

year’s allocation 

during Obasanjo’s 

tenure was just about 

10 per cent higher 

than the allocation 

IBB got in eight years. 

And yet IBB’s 

performance for that 

period surpassed 

Obasanjo’s 

performance in eight 

years. So when you 

say the PDP is 

regrouping, it is 

laughable because 

they can never 

regroup. This is a 

party where 

governors decide 

what happens while 

the ideals of the party 

built by the founding fathers of the 

party had been destroyed. 

Few weeks ago, former Chairman 

of the PDP, Col.Ahmadu Ali, during 

the launching of his book declared 

that he was a major proponent of 

third term. Ordinarily he should 

have been stoned for saying that. I 

was even more disappointed when 

Prof. Jubrin Aminu, former Vice 

Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello 

University, said that he respected 

Col. Ahmadu Ali, a man who 

supported third term for Obasanjo. 

It is a shame. It is better not to have 

any government in place in Nigeria 

than for PDP to return. I was just 

reading in the papers how PDP 

shared N150billion two weeks to 

the 2015 general election. Let me tell 

you, after Shehu Shagari, then 

Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and bit of 

President Jonathan before he was 

hijacked by palace jesters, there was 

no other civilian president in this 

country. The eight years of Obasanjo 

were a waste and PDP should take 

responsibility for it because they 

fielded him. So PDP cannot come 

back again, they are making noise 

as usual. 

For the SDP, my happiness about 

the arrival of SDP is that it is 

depleting PDP and very soon the 

PDP will be erased 

and the SDP will be 

nowhere. Those 

who are going to the 

SDP are analogue 

politicians, they 

don’t know the 

mechanics of a 

political party. In the 

first Republic it was 

The 

problem we 

have today 

was caused 

by the PDP, 

it is a pity I 

was in that 

party 

Action Group, 

NCNC, UNPC, 

NEPU, when the 

coup took place and 

entered second 

Republic those four 

parties died and 

never came up 

because they were 

already in the 

mortuary. So the old 

Action Group came 

out as UPN, the old 

NCNC came out as 

NPP. The old NEPU 

came out as PRP and 

the old UNPC came 

out as GNPP and 

that was the end. So 

NRC, SDP came in the third aborted 

Republic. Are you still hearing of 

NRC, no. So SDP cannot fly. If you 

are looking for the sins of SDP and 

its leadership, it is the spirit of late 

Gen.Yar’Adua who they betrayed 

that will continue to haunt them. 

SDP can never be a threat to ADP. 

With ADP, by the grace of God, in 

government in 2019, the past shall 

be corrected and the future shall be 

secured. 

How do you react to separate 

letters written by Obasanjo and IBB 

to President Buhari 

Obasanjo’s letter had merit but 

Obasanjo who was the messenger 

has no merit. IBB was a credible 

messenger with a credible message. 

Ordinarily, Buhari should not think 

of a second term but we pray that 

APC should field him so that it will 

make it a lot easier for ADP to win 

the election. As at today there is no 

APC in this country anymore. 

There are reports of killing here 

and there and a feeling of insecurity 

across the nation, does it not give 

you cause for concern? 

Of course I am concerned because 

I have never witnessed this type of 

killing before. These killings were 

not by herdsmen but organized 

killers. From time immemorial, 

herdsmen had been going around 

•Senator Owie 

with their stick to escort their cattle, 

they never held any gun. As a 

matter of fact I have never seen any 

of them holding guns. But those 

who want to destroy our democracy 

are hiding under the herdsmen, 

they have sponsors and their 

sponsors don’t mean well for this 

nation. But the only thing that 

shocked me was the silence of 

President Buhari over the atrocities 

of these people. A responsible 

government should know that its 

borders ought to the protected. I feel 

very strongly that those who are 

carrying out these killings are not 

from this country but because the 

government is not bothered about 

how to protect our borders, these 

perpetrators continued. Our 

borders should be policed seriously 

and every effort must be made to 

identify the non-Nigerians in our 

midst who are killing our people. 

There is so much joblessness and 

we have lost our values as a people. 

A lost nation is the one where 

hungry and jobless people blindly 

support those who are responsible 

for their agony and misery. PDP and 

APC have failed the nation. 

IPOB/MASSOB agitations 

That also brings me to the issue 

of IPOB and MASSOB. Any 

reasonable person in Nigeria 

cannot condemn IPOB because the 

Igbo man has been totally 

marginalized in this country. Some 

of the elites however contributed to 

the marginalization of the Igbo. 

How do you explain it that since 

1979, the East has been 

marginalized. In 1983 it was going 

to be the turn of the Igbo to produce 

the President, but it was aborted by 

the military coup. Thereafter, in 1999 

when they talked about zoning, it 

was clear the first President would 

come from the South West even 

though it was unjust because the 

PDP constitution was very clear that 

anyone who wanted to be President 

must win his polling booth, his 

ward, local government and state. 

But Obasanjo lost his unit, his ward, 

his local government, his state and 

zone and yet he became the party’s 

candidate instead of late Alex 

Ekwueme. And the Igbo politicians 

who were supposed to insist that it 

was going to be Ekwueme refused 

to stand by him and quite a number 

of them started singing Obasanjo. 

Igbo leaders betrayed Ekwueme, if 

they had stood their ground to say 

‘this time it is our turn not South 

West, we were to have it in 1983 after 

Shagari’, at least people would have 

listened to them. That was why 

before late Solomon Lar died, 

myself and one of my colleagues 




met him in Jos. We told him he did 

well when he was governor but from 

the way he managed the PDP, he had 

sown a seed that would be difficult 

to grow good fruits. When he asked 

why, I told him that the constitution 

of PDP provided that any body who 

did not win his unit, local 

government, state and zone in the 

preceding local council election 

must not contest for presidency but 

he went ahead and gave the form 

for Obasanjo to fill and thereby 

refused to enforce party supremacy. 

He regretted his actions and told me 

it was not his fault but that some top 

military men who wanted to 

compensate for June 12 imposed 

Obasanjo on them. When you look 

at the nation, after the Hausa, the 

next major tribe are the Igbo. 

Unfortunately the Igbo who are 

mostly traders, when you ask them 

to go and collect their voters card 

they will tell you they are in the 

market. You can see that three Igbo 

men won elections in Lagos, which 

shows that the Igbo in Lagos are 

conscious and you have to remain 

conscious because you cannot win 

Igbo presidency by just praying. You 

win election with your PVC so I 

advise Igbo to equip themselves 

with their PVCs. Igbo should wake 

up and take what belongs to them. 

For instance in 1999, the senate 

President was zoned to the East 

while the Speaker was zoned to the 

North, after Salisu Buhari was 

removed due to the certificate 

forgery as Speaker, everything that 

was done by the Obasanjo regime 

to remove Na’Abba and encourage 

Northern House of Reps members 

to take over from N’Abba was 

resisted, nobody agreed. Whereas, 

Obasanjo went after Okadigbo 

using Igbo to remove him and 

picked Evans Enwerem. He could 

not do that to the North. The Igbo 

started destroying themselves 

because they wanted to taste the 

senate Presidency. So, we feel for 

the Igbo for the marginalization 

they are suffering in the hands of 

the Federal Government and that 

was why in the ADP, we have zoned 

our presidential ticket to the South 

East in 2019. 

You were a founding member of 

both the PDP and ACN which is 

now APC , what do you think was 

the problem with these parties that 

pushed you out? 

The APC that you see today in 

Edo, before it was ACN which 

started in my sitting room as ANPP. 

After my governorship election, 

which I ran under the ANPP, Chief 

Anenih de-registered Lucky 

Igbinedion and his people in PDP 

then. Lucky Igbinedion, Sam Iredia 

and Capt Hosa came to me and said 

they wanted to join us. We then 

arranged it, Lucky brought the state 

chairman in the person of Tony 

Omoaghe while I brought the state 

secretary Gentleman Amegor. I 

brought Reti Uzzi as Publicity 

Secretary while Igbinedion brought 

in Madam Modino Emovon as state 

women leader. We shared the 18 

Local Governments, 13 of them were 

ANPP chairmen while five were 

PDP chairmen. That was how AC 

came to Edo. Lucky Igbinedion was 

governor then. He supported us 

because he had been deregistered 

in PDP by Anenih. That was why 

on the day PDP went to campaign 

in Oredo, I chatted with Lucky 

Igbinedion and he said ‘my leader, 

we are going for campaign today, 

what do I do, you know I cannot 

condemn you people’. I laughed 

and I told him to go there and 

describe us as ‘AC without 

compressor’. And that was how he 

described us that day because Chief 

It’s better not to have any government 

than for PDP to return 

Anenih thought he was smart but 

Lucky wanted to tell him that he 

was smarter. They were playing 

games then. That was how we 

frustrated PDP out of power in Edo 

state and Oshiomhole became 

governor. When Oshiomhole came, 

he worked with the good, the bad 

and the ugly and he did very well. 

Initially Ize-Iyamu and his group 

wanted to confuse Oshiomhole on 

the issue of appointments. They 

went to report me to the Oba that I 

was anti-Benin. But I explained to 

Oba Erediauwa of blessed memory, 

that I only told Oshiomhole to 

maintain the tradition by 

appointing the chairman Local 

Government service commission 

and SSG from Edo North because 

that had been the tradition. So the 

Oba commended me after I 

explained to him. So what you see 

today as APC was an 

amalgamation of 

ACN, CPC, part of 

PDP and ANPP. It is 

an angry 

organization. If it was 

the ACN alone 

without these other 

parties that formed 

what is known today 

as APC, they would 

not have had this 

problem they have 

today. When we 

formed ACN we tried 

to copy the UPN 

pattern, which was 

party discipline. The 

problem I had with 

them in ACN then 

was that they started 

giving tickets to new 

members who came 

from the PDP leaving 

out the old members 

who built the party. 

They took advantage 

of Oshiomhole’s 

large heart to do that 

but that led to my exit 

from that party. So if 

ACN was the one 

that built itself up 

nationally without 

We feel for the 

Igbo for the 

marginalization 

they are 

suffering in the 

hands of the 

Federal 

Government 

and that was 

why in the ADP, 

we have zoned 

our presidential 

ticket to the 

South East in 

2019 

•Senator Owie 

bringing others into it, they would 

not have had the problem they have 

today. Today there is no APC, it is 

an assembly of the ungodly like the 

PDP. 

When I went back to the PDP, I 

thought we would be allowed to 

sanitize the party but the god father 

would not allow us lead the party 

democratically. For instance, Chief 

Anenih would be in Uromi and 

would decide who would be the 

chairman in my local government 

as well as the delegates. 

Unfortunately for the PDP, some of 

its chairmen actually destroyed it. 

Apart from when Okey Nwodo was 

chairman, then a bit of Solomon Lar, 

and Audi Ogbe, other PDP chairmen 

ruined the party. They killed the 

party. Audi Ogbe was forced out at 

gun point at the Villa while insisting 

on party supremacy. Other PDP 

chairmen were 

palace jesters. While 

they were destroying 

the party at the 

national level the 

same thing was 

happening in states 

like Edo where Chief 

Anenih would 

always impose 

delegates for 

elections and 

dropping people he 

felt were not bowing 

down for him. So you 

cannot expect 

someone like me to 

be there. 

The final straw was 

during the 

governorship 

election. I went to 

meet Chief Anenih 

and asked him to 

disclose his interest 

in the primaries but 

he said he had no 

interest and that 

Solomon Edebiri 

had met him. He told 

me that everywhere 

he went, people were 

recommending 

Edebiri as PDP 

candidate, I 

commended him and I told him that 

Edebiri was the candidate I had in 

mind. He said all of them should be 

working. But three weeks to the 

election, somebody told me about a 

meeting in Auchi that Chief Anenih 

had directed all of them to vote for 

Pastor Ize-Iyamu in the primaries. 

I drove to Chief Anenih’s house and 

I asked him. I reminded him that 

people supported Lucky Igbinedion 

as governor because he performed 

as chairman of Oredo but that it was 

the same person he was telling 

people to support that gave that 

administration a bad name. I told 

him I would not be part of Ize- 

Iyamu’s campaign. I was in this 

state when I was running an 

election against Anenih and others 

when they went to tell a lie that I 

kidnapped INEC officials. I knew 

those who went to Agbor to pay for 

dead bodies in the mortuary to try 

to replace those bodies they said I 

kidnapped. As a sitting senator I was 

detained for 18 days at the state CID. 

If the police had not done their work 

and carried out a raid, those boys 

they wanted to use against me 

would have been flown out of the 

country and they would say I 

abducted them just to frame me up. 

I told Chief Anenih I knew those 

who did that to me but that if it was 

Ize-Iyamu they were nominating I 

would not be part of it. And as soon 

as they gave the ticket to Ize-Iyamu, 

I called my people and told them 

that if Pastor should become 

governor, he would fight all of us but 

if Obaseki won, he may not do 

anything to us but he would not fight 

us. So I told them, gentlemen all of 

you should vote for APC. And our 

people voted for Obaseki. In 

Uhumnwonde Local Government 

where I come from, PDP could not 

get any evidence to go to tribunal 

against Obaseki because there was 

nothing to get. I worked against the 

PDP and I did not hide it. But after 

that election, I did not want to join 

APC even though I supported 

Obaseki. Myself and other well 

meaning Nigerians decided to form 

Action Democratic Party (ADP) and 

I thank God we have members 

across the country today. 

You supported Obaseki against 

the candidate of your former party, 

how will you assess his 

administration so far? 

Obaseki was my candidate and I 

voted for him. I did that as a 

rebellion against the 

irresponsibility of the PDP. Chief 

Obafemi Awolowo told us at a 

meeting of governors of UPN, 

Jakande, Bola Ige, Ajasin and 

members of the National Assembly 

were there. He said governors, if you 

like go and use gold to tar roads but 

when you use gold to tar the roads 

and you are not an independent 

candidate, your party members are 

not happy with you because they are 

hungry, your gold will mean 

nothing because how would they 

drive on the road when they don’t 

have money to buy cars. He went 

on to tell them that as they were 

using gold to tar roads they should 

carry their party members along. 

Governor Obaseki is doing well. He 

is working on several roads and the 

city is becoming more organized 

and cleaner. But the problem is that 

he is too far from his party members. 

The truth is that as an opposition 

party, we are happy with his style 

of leadership. He is working for the 

people but his party is being 

destroyed, no synergy between his 

work and his relationship with 

people and his party members. So 

this will help me harvest most of 

them into my party before 2019. As 

my brother, I want to advise him to 

know that party is supreme, he is 

not an independent candidate. If 

your party is not happy with you, 

you are like a man who is marrying 

a wife that is not happy with you. 

He is a gentleman I know but he 

should learn from his predecessor 

Oshiomhole. Oshiomhole was able 

to bring him because Oshiomhole 

was nice to the general public. He 

cared for them like his own people, 

he would eat and drink with them 

and that was why when he told them 

‘I prefer Obaseki to succeed me’ he 

was able to pull it through. 

Oshiomhole was nice to people and 

he still worked to the admiration of 

many so I think Obaseki should 

strike that balance too. I always hear 

him say he is not a politician, I don’t 

think that is right because you 

benefited from the politics of others, 

when you say that, you make your 

people look like they are fools. I 

speak with APC leaders everyday, 

they are all in pains, in fact most of 

them have taken their complaints 

to God. It is not really good but it is 

good for us in the opposition 

because I believe that the 

governor’s thinking now is that the 

war is over so nothing will happen. 

But he should go and ask 

Oshiomhole how he (Oshiomhole) 

was able to conquer. He used people 

inside PDP to destroy PDP, so who 

tells Obaseki that people cannot use 

his party members to destroy APC. 

As a Benin governor we pray he 

succeeds but he must be careful not 

to ruin his party. 

My advise to him is that he 

should not allow the College of 

Education Ekiadolor to die. The 

UPN regime in Bendel inherited 

that college and the College of 

Education Abraka from the military. 

He should also ensure that the Tayo 

Akpata University is functional. 

Ekiadolor can be relocated to Abudu 

with the staff. I also want to urge 

the governor to liaise with the 

University of Benin and the Federal 

Ministry of Education to make the 

St Kizito College, now Elaiho 

Grammar School Eguaeholor-Isi, a 

campus for the Agric department in 

UNIBEN or alternatively hand over 

the College to the original owner, 

the Catholic Church.


Town Hall Meeting: 

Accountability 

to the People 

By Julius Oweh 

The concept of democracy is 

anchored on the time honoured 

principle that sovereignty belongs 

to the people who periodically have the civl 

duty to choose their leaders. In Nigeria, in 

the current dispensation, the electorate 

have the power to choose their leaders in 

every four years. However in Delta State, 

the governor is not waiting for four years to 

render accountability to the people, rather 

he and his team embarked on 

tour of the local government 

areas to meet the people 

couched in lofty terms as the 

town hall meeting. This did not 

come from the blues, rather it is 

a promise given to the people 

of the state by the governor that 

he would rather meet the 

people in their domains and 

feel their pulses. 

The town hall meeting 

started last year but this year so 

far the governor has visited a 

couple of local government 

areas like Ethiope East, 

Ukwuani local government, 

Ughelli north and Bomadi 

local council areas. In these 

meetings with the people, 

projects are commissioned and 

the governor uses the 

opportunity to explain to the 

people the direction of his 

administration. It would be 

recalled that on assumption of 

office, the governor pledged to 

•Gov. Okowa 

visit all the 25 local government councils 

and hold town hall meetings with the 

people. So far at the last count, the 

governor has visited 19 local government 

areas, saying that he has gained so much 

by directly interacting with the people. The 

governor also added that the town hall 

meeting was an avenue to break down the 

wall of bureaucracy and make the people 

freely assess his administration and 

contribute their own quota towards the 

growth and development of the state. 

At Isiokolo, the 

headquarters of Ethiope East 

local government areas after 

listening to the complains of the 

people especially of the 

menace of Fulani herdsmen in 

the local government area, he 

not only promised the people 

that he would address the 

issues raised, he also made a 

powerful statement to the 

federal government on the 

need to put an end to the crisis. 

This is how governor Okowa 

addressed the issues raised: 

Ùnfortunately, in our state, we 

are under siege but we are 

trying to manage it the best way 

possible. We have made a 

statement that we would not 

support cattle colonies in Delta 

State because we believe that 

we do not have enough land for 

our farmers considering the fact 

that a lot of our lands are 

already degraded from oil 

exploitation activities. We have 

raised these issues along with other states 

as we have no doubt that these clashes we 

have here are not limited to Delta State`. 

Speaking in the same vein, the 

speaker of the Delta State House of 

Assembly, Honourable Sheriff Oborevwori 

harped on the dangers of herdsmen in 

Abraka and other parts of the state. The 

speaker maintained thus: Òur people are 

mainly farmers and our dynamic governor 

has been doing everything to encourage 

our people to go into farming. The governor 

has created jobs for Deltans in the 

agricultural sector, but as I speak, most of 

the farmers are now scared of going to farm 

to avoid being killed by herdsmen. 

Something drastic must be done about the 

situation` 

In the town hall meeting at Ethiope 

East and Ukwuani local government 

areas, a lot of projects that have direct 

impact on the people were 

commissioned. The projects 

include Isiokolo Orhoakpor/ 

Ekerhauvwe and Abraka 

township roads in Ethiope 

east local government 

area. He also 

commissioned the 

Phase II of Amai / 

Ezhionum /Abbi 

Road and Umutu Skill 

Acquisition Centre in Ukwuani local 

government area. 

The governor used the opportunity to 

thank the people for their support and 

understanding and solicited for more cooperations. 

He also explained the import 

of the projects commissioned. Listen to 

him: ` Our projects are designed to make 

our towns and cities accessible, give them 

facelift and make our people happy. With 

all these commissioning and inspection of 

projects, we believe that we are imparting 

on our people but the flagship of our 

programmes is the wealth creation 

programmes which have created a lot of 

jobs and wealth for our people.... I thank 

you (Deltans) for your support which has 

ensured good governance in our state, as 

long as we continue to make the state 

peaceful, we will continue to witness the 

development in the state`. 

On the town hall meeting at Obiaruku, 

the headquarters of Ukwuani local 

government area, the executive director, 

social services, Delta State Oil Producing 

Area Development Commission 

(DESOPADEC) Honourable Chris Ochor 

hailed the massive turn out and warm 

reception for the governor. Ochor put it this 

way: Ì plead with the people to continue 

to support this government, so that the 

necessary attraction of development to the 

communities in Ukwuani will be achieved. 

During the town hall meeting, we saw 

different groups who freely expressed their 

minds, without harassment, including the 

opposition during the town hall meeting. 

This showed how united we are in 

Ukwuani. Let us keep living in unity. I call 

on the people of Ukwuani to extend this 

love to Governor Okowa, as they can do 

more by obtaining the only legal means of 

returning him for second term. Let them 

obtain their PVC, to enable them vote 

come 2019. It is only with your PVC you 

can do that and the love which you showed 

during the visit will be more appreciated`. 

Chief Amos Itihwe, the commissioner 

in DESOPADEC representing Ughelli 

South, Udu, Uvwie and Urhobos in Warri 

South local government area argued that 

the town hall meeting of the governor 

showed the calibre of leadership and that 

other governor should emulate him. Itihwe 

described the town hall meeting thus: ` The 

town hall meeting let Deltans know about 

the fundamentals of politics to understand 

that the coast is clear now and even beyond 

2019. The positive impact of the Okowa 

government in job creation through YAGEP 

and STEP, the unique health insurance 

scheme, the provisions of road networks 

and social infrastructures, schools 

rehabilitation, puts the Okowa 

administration on the path of enviable 

growth and development. Besides that, the 

human capital empowerment of Deltans in 

this dispensation outclassed something 

one can easily measure. His political aides 

who are on payroll is indeed a teaming 

population of men and women who are 

reaping the dividends of democracy more 

than we have ever experienced before this 

time.... Delta State is blessed beyond our 

imagination because of how resourceful 

the man at the helms of affairs has been 

handling programmes and policies of 

government with dexterity`. 

On the part of Chief Raphael Uwalaka, 

the vice president , Ohanaeze Ndigbo, 

Abraka, he sees the town hall meeting as a 

manifestation of the governor’s good 

intentions. He explained further: Ìt is only 

a man with vision and foresight that can 

think of such ingenious initiative. How 

many governors can come up with such 

innovation? The town hall meeting is an 

avenue to interact with the people in the 

various local government areas in order to 

know their needs. Note that it is only a true 

leader that can do this. For a governor to 

go from local government area to another, 

to interact with the people is a testimony of 

genuine love for the people and we pray 

that God will strengthen him to continue 

in this trajectory. A true leader is one that 

inserts himself in the shoes of those he is 

leading so as to know their expectations. 

With the interaction today, I think and I am 

happy that the governor now knows the 

challenges facing the local government 

and the people`. 

With the verdict of the people about the 

importance and relevance of the town hall 

meeting, it would do the state and its people 

a world of good if some of the suggestions 

got from the meetings are incorporated into 

the art of governance so as to peak up their 

living standards and take care of the 

current security challenges confronting the 

state.


Rivers 2019: 

Wike's doubts, 

fears and hopes 

• My projects will count for me —Wike 

• Why he's crying foul —Rivers APC 

By Egufe Yafugborhi 

By current permutations, intrigues 

and realities heralding the race 

for the 2019 governorship in 

Rivers state, incumbent Governor 

Nyesom Wike, should be under little or 

no pressure in his aspiration to notch a 

second term in office. This notion, by 

many watchers of the volatile politics of 

the state, was premised on the widening 

cracks created by the conflict of interest 

between Transport Minister, Rotimi 

Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe, in 

Rivers' All Progressives Congress (APC), 

the only opposition against ruling 

People's Democratic Party (PDP). 

Paradoxically, Wike, in several fora, 

continued to express doubts and fears, 

not on perceived strength of the 

opposition, but rather on morbid distrust 

of critical stakeholders whose conduct 

and roles could make or mar the coming 

elections and impact on its results. 

No confidence vote on INEC 

In one expression of this apprehension, 

Governor Wike on February 21 passed 

a vote of no confidence on the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, 

declaring that the body 

lacked the capacity to 

conduct credible elections. 

Wike, while hosting 

visiting German 

Ambassador to Nigeria, 

Dr Bernhard Shlagheck, 

at the Government House 

Port Harcourt, called on 

the International 

Community to closely 

monitor INEC during the 

2019 elections. 

According to him, 

"INEC does not have the 

capacity to hold free and 

fair elections. Look at 

what happened in Kano 

State. INEC said it 

wanted to investigate the 

under-age voting that 

took place in Kano. Who 

gave the children the 

voters cards? We will not 

allow anyone to 

manipulate the electoral 

system of the country ". 

The governor equally 

alleged that the standoff 

in the National Assembly 

over the order of elections 

So, nothing can 

be as valuable 

and satisfying as 

a government 

when our modest 

efforts and 

achievements are 

objectively 

evaluated, 

benchmarked and 

publicly 

appreciated by 

the watchdogs of 

this nation 

•Wike 

by the ruling All Progressives Congress, 

has revealed that the ruling party's 

intention to manipulate the electoral 

process. 

Reliance on wave of development 

projects 

Before questioning credibility of INEC 

before the international community, Wike 

had satirically challenged the police not 

to rig the coming elections for him. 

Speaking at a night of thanksgiving 

by the Rivers State Police Command, 

Wike warned security agencies against 

offering themselves as tools for election 

manipulation. 

"I won't tell you to rig elections for me. 

The projects I am doing across the state 

will count for me. I know people are 

waiting for you. When you want to rig, 

the only security I have are 

the people. 

"I have projects spread 

everywhere. That is the 

sacrifice we have made. I 

am monitoring and 

inspecting projects 

everyday, because I will 

continue to build my 

friendship with the 

people", he told the police 

and other security 

operatives on the occasion. 

The massive execution of 

projects across the state, 

he stressed, was intended 

to raise a generation of 

Rivers people who will 

defend their electoral 

mandate in 2019. 

"Whether you are wearing 

black or t-shirt, Rivers 

people will be there. 

Whether you come with 

armoured vehicles, Rivers 

people will be there. This 

time, you will see women. 

Let me see how you will 

kill them that day. I am 

recruiting Rivers people to 

protect democracy ", he 

further cautioned the 

police. He however pledged continued 

support for the Police and insisted that its 

officers and men must abide by the ethics 

of professional policing. 

Condition for accepting wave of 2nd 

term endorsements 

There have been assurances from the 

Rivers electorates who have endorsed 

his second term but Wike has also been 

cautious. From leading Rivers political 

leaders, outstanding professionals and 

business icons, monarchs and the 

masses as well as the non indigene 

community, endorsement and 

encomiums have not ceased but a 

cautious Wike said he would only be 

moved by their gesture when there was 

an assurance that those who were 

endorsing him would defend their votes 

in 2019. 

At a Civic Reception in his honour by 

the Apara Kingdom in Port Harcourt, 

he told the Rivers people, "I will declare 

when you assure me you are ready to 

protect our votes. The way Nigeria is 

going today, the APC Federal 

Government is only prepared to write 

results, but this time, the results will 

write them. 

"Even if there is fuel, there is no money 

to buy fuel. Dollar exchange to the naira 

has degenerated and prices of foodstuffs 

have gone beyond the reach of 

Nigerians. They deceived Nigerians with 

all kinds of lies, but today they are 

compounding the problems of the 

people." Governor Wike said that he was 

developing Rivers State because he 

wanted to walk the streets after leaving 

office without being guarded by soldiers 

like those who failed the people. 

Added motivation 

If Wike has no faith in INEC, distrusts 

the police and is even mindful of the 

Rivers electorates towards 2019, he 

certainly is motivated and fired up to go 

into the race for a second term on the 

strength of the streaks of awards in this 

first tenure, the latest of honours being 

recognition as Silverbird's Man of the Year 

2017 and winning Sun Governor of the 

Year back to back. He is equally 

strengthened by perceived dismal 

performance of the ruling APC federal 

government. 

At the Silverbird's awards in Lagos 

penultimate weekend, Wike noted 

that, "As officeholders, we cannot 

credibly be our own judges. This role 

belongs to the people and the 

institutionalised mediums of 

accountability, to which the critical media 

is one. And so, I am incredibly honoured 

to receive this award, not just because of 

its reputation, but also because it 

represents the very ideals 

that motivate and 

sustain my interest in 

public service. 

"We came into office 

at the most difficult 

period of our economic 

history. We could as 

well advance all sorts of 

excuses for nonperformance 

as the 

current Federal 

Government is doing in 

justification of its 

colossal failure to 

deliver on its promises. 

But, we decided to be 

different and we’ve 

been quite different in 

our approach to governance. While we 

refused to be daunted by the level of rot 

we met, we also believed that promises 

are sacred and that with prudent and 

targeted management of available 

resources, we can deliver much more for 

our people. 

"Today, the testimony is everywhere 

that in Rivers State where we govern, 

things are working and working very well 

for our people, especially in the area of 

road, education and healthcare 

infrastructures. 

"And so, nothing can be as valuable 

and satisfying as a government when 

our modest efforts and achievements are 

objectively evaluated, benchmarked and 

publicly appreciated by the watchdogs 

of this nation. 

"I thank every one, including the 

disorganized opposition in Rivers, for 

keeping us focused on our development 

agenda. But for your prayers, support 

and encouragement, we would not have 

come this far in addressing the 

challenges of our state in so short a 

period of time" 

Why he's crying foul-----Rivers APC 

For Rivers APC however, Wike's 

apprehension was borne out of fear that 

he doesn't stand a chance under a level 

playing field. Chris Finebone, Publicity 

Secretary, Rivers APC said, "His (Wike's) 

is a case of the guilty running when no 

one is pursuing. Wike as governor is a 

product of impunity of federal power. 

Wike took full advantage of the federal 

might of the Jonathan government in 

2015. Security agencies solely worked 

for him and the PDP. Despite the 

outcome of the matter at the Supreme 

Court, we of the APC still believe that 

federal agencies, including INEC, aided 

the emergence of Wike as governor 

before, during and after the 2015 

elections. 

"Having enjoyed such impunity, Wike 

has developed this morbid fear that his 

past will replay and catch up with him. 

Unfortunately, no one can save him from 

such internalised fears because they 

come naturally. Come 2019, APC will 

take over Rivers Government House."

Living and eking out a living in 

Nigeria is tough, no need clothing 

the harsh reality in flattery garments or 

applying perfumes and make up to make 

the obvious bitter truth smell fine and look 

appetizing. The many problems and 

challenges offer great opportunities, 

though, but it is also an uphill task 

taking advantage of these opportunities. 

The environment is very hostile and 

creates an atmosphere of survival of the 

fittest. The weak have little chance. 

But committing suicide for whatever 

reason has never and will never be an 

option. Recently a housewife in Ughelli, 

Delta State, allegedly committed suicide 

because her husband brought a lover 

home. That is very strange to me, 

especially if the woman is Urhobo, 

because Urhobo men, like many other 

men in the Niger Delta, are inherently 

polygamous. Before the advent of 

Christianity, our fore fathers married 

many wives for prestige and also to have 

a large work force. Even today, some 

Urhobo men, especially those who do not 

subscribe to Christianity, still practice 

polygamy. In fact, there is this popular, 

though erroneous, belief that sleeping 

with only one woman leads to impotency 

(Ay’ovo hw’osho). So if you come from, 

or you are married to a man from, an 

ethnic group with this mindset, why will 

you kill yourself because he brought 

another woman home, painful and 

disrespectful as the act is? 

The husband has quickly responded that 

the wife killed herself because of 

indebtedness. Indebtedness, how many 

Nigerians are free of debt? Even Nigeria, 

as a nation, and Delta State are heavily 

in debt. That is a general disease, not 

enough reason to kill oneself. Wherever 

the truth lies, why take your life? What 

has she achieved? Now she has left her 

two children to an uncertain future. Soon 

her husband will marry another wife and 

life continues as if she never existed. The 

major losers are her two children and her 

parents, who probably made great 

sacrifices to see her through school. 

While we were still on that, news of 

another suicide broke. This time, it was 

a school girl who killed herself because 

she failed her exams. Parents and 

Nigeria is tough,but suicide…? 

guardians need to give their wards 

closer monitoring. Why will a 

youngster kill herself because she 

failed an exam? Many of the 

successful people today failed exams 

at one point or the other. Some sat for 

WAEC and/or JAMB multiple times. 

It was agonizing then, but the 

sweetness of subsequent successes 

has erased the pains of old. Recently 

in Kogi State, a number of civil 

servants also committed suicide 

because of the hardship caused by 

nonpayment of their salaries. 

I remember in those days, we used 

to joke that, “Nigerians too like life, 

dem no dey commit suicide.” Times 

have changed, from suicide bombers 

to individuals, who commit suicide, 

what we thought was distant now 

But committing suicide for 

whatever reason has never 

and will never be an 

option. Recently a 

housewife in Ughelli, Delta 

State, allegedly committed 

suicide because her 

husband brought a lover 

home 


indebtedness came about: make 

efforts to avoid subsequent potholes 

and put in place a repayment plan. 

Suicide is not an option. 

I find youngsters who commit 

suicide particularly painful. From age 

14, many young people stop listening 

to their parents; that is when peer 

pressure takes firm hold of them. But 

as parents do we surrender? No way, 

we must continue to play our role. 

They will sulk, they will rebel, they 

will grumble, they will see us as a 

pain in the neck, but we must 

continue to play our role. Our counsel 

and admonition might not register in 

their consciousness, but they will in 

their sub-consciousness. When they 

are on the brink, or at a cross road 

and are thinking of doing something 

stupid, like committing suicide, that 

parental counsel will speak to them 

and pull them back. 

While we must always encourage 

our children to excel, we must not 

threaten them in a way that, if they 

fail or make mistake, they are unable 

to turn to us for solutions. Whether or 

not we like it, youngsters will 

continue to do stupid things, some 

will try out hard drugs and get into 

trouble, some will get pregnant or the 

boys will knock up other people’s 

daughters, they will fail exams and 

get involved in other unacceptable 

acts. You must leave a window for 

them to get back to you like the 

prodigal son did. And when they do, 

take them back like the father of the 

prodigal son did. Some parents shut 

every available avenue for children 

who have gone astray to come back. 

At the end, the youngsters dig 

themselves deeper into mess or 

commit suicide. 

As for government workers who 

commit suicide over nonpayment of 

salaries, no need killing yourself. 

Elections of 2019 are here, arm 

yourself with your voter’s card, be an 

opinion leader in your locality and 

campaign against such government 

officials and do your bit to ensure they 

do not get reelected. Suicide is not 

an option, please. 

resides with us. When I think of 

some of these cases of suicide, 

what always occurs to me is a 

common saying in my place: 

“Those whose mothers went to the 

farm are wailing, what do they 

expect those who have lost their 

mothers to do?” Another way, I look 

at it is a saying my mother used to 

mentor us while growing up: “In 

life, you look in all directions; if 

you look in only one direction, your 

neck will become stiff.” 

Let us look at the cases one after 

the other. At 32, the young lady 

was married and had two children. 

She was also employed in a bank. 

Before she allegedly took her life. 

If she had reflected, she would 

have remembered her mates, who 

are still unmarried, her mates who 

got married before her but have no 

children yet; she would have 

remembered her mates who 

graduated with her, but are yet to 

secure a steady job. If she had gone 

a little further, she would have 

remembered primary school mates 

who never made it beyond primary 

six, her mates who now look as old 

as her mother because of hardship. 

If the problem was her husband’s 

infidelity, engage him in dialogue; 

find out what the problem is. 

Constructive dialogue does 

wonders in marriages. It levels 

mountains, fills up valleys, makes 

deserts fertile, builds bridges 

across wide rivers and expressways 

across thick forests. If it is 

indebtedness, reflect on how the 

Healthy postures to keep you going 

(Text Only) 

The Locust 

Benefits: 

The practice of this Asana 

fenders the spine supple 

and elastic. It relieves 

back-ache or strain on the 

spine caused by the hard 

work, etc. It also tones up 

the muscles at the back and 

the intestinal organs in the 

abdominal region and 

relieves pain in the lumbar 

as well. 

Raised Body Pose 

Technique: 

Lie face down with the 

hands straight ahead of 

you. Keep the legs also 

straight behind you. Inhale 

deeply and raise the hands, 

chest, and legs off the floor. 

Breathe normally in this 

position for 5 to 7 seconds. 

Rest and repeat. 

Benefits: The Raised Body 

Pose strengthens the entire 

musculature. Practiced 

•The Raised Body Pose 

regularly, it enhances 

vitality. 

3. The Twist Over 

Technique: 

Lying flat on your 

back with feet together 

and arms spread out at 

shoulder level, place 

your right foot on top 

of your left thigh. Now, 

bring your left hand to 

hold your right knee 

and gently press the 

left leg down. In all of 

this, try to keep your 

back flat down on the 

floor. Hold the position 

for some 10 to 15 

seconds and repeat on 

the other side. 

The Twist Over 

Benefits: 

The Twist Over endows the spine 

with suppleness and the digestive 

organs and kidneys get gentle but 

effective massage. 

The Eagle Technique: 

Stand straight with the 

feet together,bend the 

elbows and place the 

sight on the top the left 

one and bring the palms 

together while you raise 

and bend the left leg and 

wrap it around the right 

lower leg with foot 

sticking out. The left leg 

must be slightly bent at the 

knee to make this possible. 

Benfits: 

The Eagle instills a sense 

of balance and also 

banishes varicose veins.It 

stretches both the 

harmstrings and inner 

tigh muscles also. 

•The Eagle


They were eager to denounce 

Chibok. They said it was a farce. 

They said it was contrived by the 

opposition to tarnish Jonathan’s ruling 

government. Jonathan’s wife lent 

credence to the absurdity by shedding 

crocodile tears on national television. 

She was the weeping wife of a 

victimized husband. They had said it 

was impossible to find many girls in 

any one school in the North. They said 

it was impossible to cart them away 

like oranges. They despised the Bring- 

Back-Our-Girls movement. They said 

they were rented by the opposition to 

create nuisance. That was in 2014. 

More than half of the abducted girls 

remain missing till today. 

In February 2018, another news 

broke. 110 girls had been abducted 

from a school in Dapchi. The girls were 

carted away, quietly, in trucks, from 

their school. It took government 

avoidable clumsiness and very many 

hours to confirm the incident. The 

rattled government needed many days 

to settle on the number of girls that 

were taken. The Chibok doubting 

Thomses were stirred. They danced 

out of their cynicism. 

The Thomases of 2014 were 

delirious. They welcomed the horror 

of Dapchi with sadistic glee. They 

mocked Buhari and booed the military. 

They said the Buhari government was 

founded on cheap propaganda. They 

said Dapchi was hard evidence that 

Boko Haram had neither been 

decimated nor defeated. They said only 

a government that traded in deceit 

and technical lies would play hide-andseek 

with the people on the 

insurgency. They demanded the 

resignation of the president. They 

announced that he had failed in 

everything. 

The CNN said Dapchi was not a 

national disaster but a national 

disgrace! They chuckled. They quoted 

CNN’s Aisha Sessay everywhere they 

went. The hatred they had fashioned 

for her in 2014 and sustained for four 

years had suddenly expired. 

They wanted many heads to roll. 

They wanted the Chief of Army Staff 

to resign. They pilloried the police. 

They said they left Dapchi unprotected 

to loiter in the kitchens of VIPs. They 

tittered as the Army and the police 

traded scowls and blames. 

They were hysterical. To service their 

The United States Department of 

Energy, DOE bids for companies 

to purchase seven million barrels of 

crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum 

Reserve, SPR closed last Wednesday, 

March 21, 2018. Successful offers would 

be declared on April 6, 2018 to lift fuel 

from three SPR sites in Bryan Mound, 

south of Houston, Big Hill in Texas and 

West Hackberry in Louisiana. 

Why was the SPR created and who 

benefits in the policy of using it to fund 

American budget? The SPR was created 

after the Arab oil embargo from October 

1973 to November 1974, which sent 

prices through the roof and forced 

Americans to ration gasoline. The 

United States and other members of the 

International Energy Agency, IEA 

agreed in 1974 to keep a 90-day supply 

of oil imports on hand (in government 

and private stocks) to make it easier to 

weather unexpected disruptions. The 

SPR is an insurance policy for the U.S. 

energy sector and economy from threats 

of embargo from foreign nations, 

natural disasters, and unexpected and 

drastic changes in the market. 

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is 

a U.S. Government complex of four sites 

with deep underground storage 

caverns created in salt domes along the 

Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts.The 

60 storage caverns, the largest in the 

world have a capacity of 727 million 

barrels to store emergency supplies of 

crude oil owned by the U.S. 

Government. The strategic reserve is 

to protect U.S. consumers from global 

supply shocks. The United States crude 

oil stockpile which had grown to about 

700 million barrels is enough to offset 

production equivalent of 143 days of 

import protection (based on 2016 net 

petroleum imports). The U.S. 

Dapchi and miserable lives of the 

Chibok doubting Thomases 

histrionics, they validated Chibok 

retrospectively. Dapchi had to be true 

so that Buhari can bear the brunt. 

For Dapchi to be true, Chibok had 

to be true. So Chibok was made 

true. They said Chibok should have 

been a lesson. They said Buhari 

never learns. They said if Jonathan 

had the benefit of a lesson like 

Chibok he would have handled 

Dapchi smartly. 

They called on the international 

The Thomases of 2014, 

after a brief sally into 

reality, have returned to 

base 

community to take note of the woeful 

performance of their once preferred 

Buhari. They taunted the president. 

They said he lacked empathy. They 

said if he had any empathy he would 

have gone to Dapchi to commiserate 

with grieving families. They 

remembered how quickly, and 

emotionally, he attended to his 

wounded son Yusuf. 

Then Buhari attended a wedding 

party of governors’ children in Kano. 

It became a free-for-all. They 

discarded all restraints. They called 

him a wanton prodigal who frolicked 

with the rich while the nation grieved. 

While they believed Dapchi, they 

rendered soulful jeremiads. 

Then Buhari visited Dapchi. They 

The American Strategic Petroleum 

Reser 

eserve drawdown plan 

government began stockpiling of oil 

on July 21, 1977 with 412,000 barrels 

of Saudi Arabian light crude. 

Many have criticized the continued 

storage of crude in reserves since the 

United States has become less 

dependent on foreign oil. About 

US$25.7 billion have been spent on 

the SPR four complex sites 

maintenance (US$20.7 billion for 

crude oil and US$5 billion for 

facilities). Legislation in Section 404 

of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 

authorized the Secretary of Energy 

to draw down and sell up to US$2 

billion of Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

crude oil, for fiscal years 2017 

through 2020. The Energy 

Department last year kicked off the 

$2 billion, multiyear effort to upgrade 

the reserve and improve its ability to 

distribute oil during an emergency. 

President Donald Trump 

considered selling half the U.S. 

Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the 

2018 budget proposal of May 23, 

2017 to raise billions of dollars to help 

tackle deficits. It sparked off fierce 

debate in Congress with opposition 

from some Trump’s fellow 

Republicans including Chairman of 

the Senate Energy and Natural 

Resources Committee, Senators Lisa 

said it was a shameless piece of 

gimmickry. They said he went 

because he couldn’t stand the 

deluge of moral outrage directed 

at him. They said he was an artful 

hypocrite. At Dapchi, Buhari 

walked on a red carpet. They rolled 

their eyes and rolled on the floor. 

They said he had walked on the 

pool of the blood of the missing 

girls. They were willing to give it 

depraved occult interpretations. 

When he told them he had given 

marching orders to the military to 

rescue the girls. They yawned. The 

Air force announced that our pilots 

were doing round-the-clock sorties. 

They sneered at what they called 

childish propaganda. They said the 

military was culpable. They said the 

military was sloppy. They said the 

commander-in-chief must bear 

responsibility for such a 

monumental failure and for such a 

disastrous outcome. 

The doubters of 2014 had become 

latter-day supporters of the 

BBOG.They said they wanted the 

Dapchi girls returned intact. They 

jumped around like human rights 

activists. Chibok had proved a 

mortal wound for Jonathan. So they 

calculated that Dapchi must be the 

nemesis of Buhari’s government. 

They punched the air in triumph. 

They appeared resolute in their 

new convictions. 

Then the former United States 

Secretary of States, Tillerson, 

visited. President Buhari revealed 

that the government was making 

progress in negotiations with the 

insurgents to retrieve the girls. 

That rang alarm bells. The 

Thomases of 2014 screeched to a 

Murkowski, and Senators John 

Hoeven. They argued that it would 

hurt American (shale) drillers 

because it would bring prices of 

crude down. Again they say the 

reserve is needed for emergencies, 

such as major storms and outages 

in oil producing countries. The 

American minimum threshold 

requirement of the IEA is 450 

million barrels of oil. 

The SPR is a valuable foreign 

policy tool, offering the United 

States and its allies insulation from 

foreign threats to withhold oil 

supplies as a means of political 

ransom, so reducing the SPR stocks 

weakens that tool. The resistance to 

using the SPR as a convenient way 

to raise money (for causes like 

infrastructure or medical research) 

is for Americans to decipher. On 

February 9, 2018, a Continuing 

Resolution was passed that included 

a provision to allow DOE to sell up 

to $350 million worth of crude oil 

from the SPR, to carry out the SPR 

Life Extension Phase II project—a 

component of the SPR 

modernization programme. The 

proceeds from this sale will be 

deposited into DOE’s Energy 

Security and Infrastructure 

halt. The spirit of cynicism started 

creeping back into them. 

Then the Minister of Defense 

announced an imminent return of the 

girls. His confidence troubled them. That 

was enough. The Thomases ran back to 

their rumour mills and factories for 

conspiracy theories. They oiled their 

dusty equipment and revved the engines 

of obdurate skepticism and mindless 

nihilism. They re-submitted themselves 

to delusions. 

The PDP tweeted that it smelt a rat. It 

said the minister’s announcement meant 

the government knew too much. The 

Amnesty International announced that 

the army had ignored early warnings 

of Dapchi attack. The Thomases started 

guffawing. They wouldn’t hear that the 

army receives thousands of false alarms 

daily. 

Then another news broke . The Dapchi 

girls had been returned. Boko Haram 

had come like thieves at night when they 

took the girls. Now they came 

triumphantly-flags flying, trumpets 

blaring. They had time to deliver a 

sermon. They warned the parents never 

to send their girls to school again. 104 

of the 110 girls were returned. They 

said they collected no ransoms and 

didn’t touch the girls. The villagers 

broke out of their grief and cheered the 

insurgents. 

The Thomases had had it. They found 

the reaction of Dapchi villagers 

ridiculous, suspicious. They scoffed at 

what they called a badly written script 

and its poor execution. They said the 

government enacted the piece to paint 

a messianic image of a bumbling Buhari. 

They dismissed Dapchi as a farce. They 

said it was another thriller from the 

producer of Chibok. Another clever use 

of Boko Haram to manipulate the 

dynamics of national politics. 

They wont lend themselves to reason. 

These Thomases. This government had 

pronounced the insurgency defeated. 

What would it gain letting the 

insurgents strike such a blow with loud 

international resonance? On any cost 

benefit analytical scale, the abduction of 

the Dapchi girls would outweigh the 

recovery of the girls. Even with a giant 

leap of devilish imagination it’s hard to 

see how this government would benefit 

from a scripted Dapchi. But the 

Thomases have resumed their mills. 

The Thomases of 2014, after a brief 

sally into reality, have returned to base. 

More U.S. oil hitting the market, even if 

staggered over time, would just add more 

barrels to an already overloaded market, 

potentially making life tougher for big oil 

producers 

Modernization Fund during fiscal year 

2018. 

In a recent analysis by Matt Chester, 

an energy analyst writing in Chester 

Energy and Policy, an unwritten and 

bipartisan rule was that the SPR was not 

to be used to fund political measures. It 

has become an issue for Congress that 

had faced the perennial opposition to 

raising taxes and the need for new 

sources of income. While selling SPR oil 

to raise funds is legislatively permitted, 

the sale of 100 million barrels (15 percent 

of the balance of the SPR) is believed to 

be the biggest non-emergency sale in 

history. The immediate side effect of 

selling such a large amount of SPR oil 

would be to reduce the price of oil and 

harm U.S. oil producers as a result. 

Also market expectations about lower 

prices tomorrow can cause lower prices 

today. Also market expectations about 

higher prices tomorrow can spark higher 

prices today. More U.S. oil hitting the 

market, even if staggered over time, 

would just add more barrels to an already 

overloaded market, potentially making 

life tougher for big oil producers. 

Emptying the SPR will be just one more 

thing problem for the Organization of the 

Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC to 

discuss extended production cuts to 

shore up prices. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

Speaking of vision, a thick, black 

smoke enveloped the air in the 

afternoon of last week Wednesday 

reducing visibility and making it almost 

‘dark at noon.’ I was scared as thicker 

and darker smoke billowed. It seemed 

so close to home that I thought one of 

the factories next to ours had caught 

fire. I felt I needed to do something in 

case of eventualities but the sheer 

magnitude of the smoke made me feel 

helpless. So there was I, petrified and 

fidgety, until a worker told me it was 

not as near as I thought and was sure 

the authorities would have been aware 

because of the scale of the fire. It 

turned out to be true, but it was cold 

comfort at the time. Olusosun, one of 

the dumpsites of the Lagos State 

Government was on fire. On a good 

day, this site is less than five minute 

drive from my office in Oregun and 

just a few hundred meters by air. My 

worries were therefore not entirely 

unfounded. 

Olusosun was a disaster foretold. But 

like many things in Nigeria, a 

prediction ignored. Apart from what 

one had read in the papers and on the 

social media by environmentalists, and 

the PSP contractors who use the place, 

about the various dangers waiting to 

happen, and the need to do something 

urgently to avert them, even laymen 

and passers-by knew something 

unpleasant was simmering 

underground. It was not unusual to 

have one’s vision impaired by different 

colours of smog—sometimes lightly, 

sometimes heavily—in the course of 

the year as one walked or drove pass 

the site. Just as it was not unusual to 

actually feel the polluted and toxic air 

pass through one’s system anytime one 

found himself around the area. But 

prevention is not our forte in Nigeria. 

And the country’s richest economy is 

not an exception. I wonder if anybody 

would quantify the loss of last 

Wednesday’s ‘preventable accident.’ I 

wonder if anybody would compensate 

the victims who suffered trauma as well 

as economic losses directly because 

indirectly, all of us who were 

unfortunate to be in that area on that 

Hearing partisans of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP and the 

All Progressives Congress, APC weave 

and untie conspiracy theories around 

the abduction and release of the 

Dapchi Secondary School girls must 

be sickening to anyone that values 

human life. 

Without expounding on how the APC 

and its officials conspired to use the 

life of the innocent girls as a political 

tool, PDP officials have sickeningly 

dismissed last Wednesday’s release of 

the abducted Dapchi school girls as a 

conspiracy. But what is the conspiracy? 

Were the girls not abducted? Were five 

of the girls not killed? Is one of the 

girls not still in the hands of these 

brutal Islamists who refused to release 

her because she refused to convert to 

Islam from Christianity? 

These are facts on the ground that 

not one of the sneering PDP officials 

has been able to contradict. What will 

these scornful partisans say to the 

mothers of the five who were killed by 

the Islamic insurgents? 

It is nauseating the way the PDP is 

allowing itself to be trapped into 

another round of denial. Almost four 

years ago when innocent school girls 

were abducted by the same Boko 

Haram Islamic insurgents, elements of 

the PDP and its sympathizers alleged 

a political conspiracy on the part of 

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno 

State and the APC. It is not as if there 

was no room for conspiracy given some 

hearsay here and there. But tittle-tattle 

I am still to see the vision in visionscape 

fateful day and had to contend with a 

nightmarish traffic, impaired vision and 

toxins were also victims. 

But the fire incident is merely the 

latest in the current saga of a clean 

Lagos tussle. For about two years now, 

the contractors, called PSP Operators, 

who were hitherto saddled with the task 

of cleaning Lagos had been at 

loggerheads with Lagos State, their 

employer. It started with a delay in 

contractual payment to actual stoppage 

of work. Lagos State, under the Cleaner 

Lagos Initiative, had employed the 

services of Visionscape ostensibly to take 

Lagos to a greater, more modern height 

in terms of waste management. But the 

operators cried foul. Depending on who 

you are listening to, Visionscape is a 

scam. The allegations are that it was 

hurriedly set up in Dubai with no 

previous experience of waste 

management in any country. It is, 

according to allegations, currently 

draining the tax payers of 750 million 

naira monthly while unsuccessfully 

grappling with the enormous waste 

generated by Lagosians. The other side 

opines that Visionscape is an 

international company which has raised 

50billion naira to do business in Lagos. 

And that what we are currently 

witnessing are teething problems which 

would soon be resolved. The equipment 

they claim are slow in moving to site 

because of the peculiarities of our ports. 

(I am not sure I have heard any rebuttal 

or defence of the 750million naira 

monthly ‘stipend’). 

What Lagosians want is a clean Lagos. 

What they really want is to have their 

SATURDAY Vanguard, , MARCH 24, 2018—21 

refuse cleared at a relatively cheap 

rate irrespective of who is doing the 

evacuating. However, the fact on the 

ground is that Lagos is presently very 

dirty with garbage heaps all over the 

place. It hasn’t been this dirty since 

the early days of Tinubu’s 

administration and we are talking of 

about 15 years ago. The private/public 

partnership which Tinubu put in 

place and which Fashola improved 

upon seemed effective in evacuating 

the tons of garbage being generated 

every day. What was needed was the 

will on the part of government to 

upgrade the dumpsites and turn 

waste into energy as is being done 

in other countries. They say ‘if it’s not 

broke, you don’t fix it.’ PSP was 

working. The people of Lagos had 

come to terms with it. There was no 

need for an overhaul. The 

Government could maybe fine tune 

and possibly upgrade but it did not 

have to throw the baby out with the 

bath water. Besides, what manner of 

government would take business from 

his people and give it to foreigners? 

You could hire foreigners as 

consultants to improve the system. Or 

better still, you could send your 

people abroad for training in newer, 

more modern ways of doing things. 

You could urge them to upgrade. But 

to hand over a business that has 

created hundreds of entrepreneurs 

and commendable local knowhow to 

a single foreign concern under the 

guise of doing it better does not seem 

visionary to me. It also sounds callous 

and uncaring. 

People have, in the past 15 years, 

Political devaluation of the Nigerian life 

is not sufficient tract to build such things 

that pertain to life and death. 

The inept reaction of the PDP 

opposition, however, does not justify the 

disgusting dissonance on the part of the 

APC administration and its 

propagandists to the miserable 

conditions of the girls. 

From denying the fact of the kidnap 

of the Dapchi girls to the initial fake 

news about their release, through the 

surreptitious negotiations that led to the 

Wednesday release, to the odious 

celebration of the release of the girls, 

the APC administration has seemingly 

lowered the benchmark for ethical 

probity. 

APC officials are backslapping one 

another seemingly oblivious to the fact 

that five of the girls died and yet 

another one is still being held by the 

terrorists. Yes, while the release of some 

of the girls is gladdening, the look 

down on the PDP for the failure of the 

previous administration to release the 

Chibok girls is simply disgusting. 

Even more, provoking is the 

befuddling attitude of administration 

officials to the new strategy of kidnap 

for ransom by Boko Haram. 

Though the government claims that 

it does not pay ransom for hostages, 

no one believes that Boko Haram, the 

group declared to be one of the 

world’s most deadly insurgent 

groups could be so charitable to have 

freely returned the girls. 

An administration that claims to 

have degraded, defeated, technically 

defeated, decimated a terrorist group 

should not be seen to be negotiating 

with the same group. 

Indeed, many Nigerians find it 

preposterous that the government is 

negotiating with a group that has 

been defeated. 

Even more interesting is the fact that 

the terrorists drove for hours 

unhindered on their return trip to 

Dapchi last Wednesday. So what of 

the narrative that the defeated Boko 

Haram terrorists are not holding sway 

to any patch of Nigerian territory? 

These are indeed baffling questions 

The fact on the ground is 

that Lagos is presently 

very dirty with garbage 

heaps all over the place 

invested heavily in the waste 

management business and have 

earned a decent living off it. I could 

have been one of them. Some ten years 

ago, a Relationship Officer at one of 

my banks recommended me for a 

meeting with top LAWMA officials. 

The meeting was to discuss medical 

waste. It seemed a win/win situation 

for me. The bank would finance the 

equipment and LAWMA would take 

care of the rest. Besides, a couple of 

my friends had earlier invested in 

trucks for LAWMA and seemed to be 

doing well. I hesitated only because I 

already had a loan from another bank 

that was choking me and this seemed 

a whole new terrain for me. Besides, I 

am not much of a businessman much 

less an intuitive one. 

Had I taken that offer, I would have 

re-invested and re-capitalised in line 

with business demands only to be 

thrown out at the deep end at the end 

of the day like other investors before 

and after me, by ‘an Egyptian King who 

does not know the Jews.’ I believe 

Lagos State Government has betrayed 

the trust and endangered the livelihood 

of those who bailed Lagos out of its 

waste problem by investing in waste 

management. It has also sent a 

dangerous signal to all those involved 

in Public/Private partnerships in 

various sectors of the economy. And if 

it is true that Visionscape is causing 

the tax payers more money than PSP, 

then where is the sense? Where is the 

vision? More poignantly, whose 

interest is being served here? 

The inept reaction of the 

PDP opposition, however, 

does not justify the 

disgusting dissonance on 

the part of the APC 

administration and its 

propagandists to the 

miserable conditions of 

the girls 

that the administration needs to 

address and win the confidence of the 

people. 

The way and manner the political 

class seems to have taken partisan 

positions at the expense of the life of 

ordinary Nigerians is shocking. Across 

the country, lives are regularly being 

plucked with increasing indifference 

from the political class. 

The government needs to come out 

clear on these issues if it truly values 

the lives of Nigerians! 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Fulani-Kanuri power game 

Give it to the Fulani, they 

understand themselves and 

know how to find a way round other 

groups. While some ethnic 

nationalities beat their chest as the 

best in Medicine, Astronomy, Nuclear 

Physics and the rest. History means a 

lot to the Fulani. 

They are at home with the game of 

power, it is unfortunate that only the 

Kanuri know this side of the Fulani. 

What we see playing out today is 

another dimension of the evergreen 

Fulani rivalry with the Kanuri, from 

Boko Haram to killer Herdsmen. 

Whoever killed the study of History 

in our schools has succeeded in 

distancing the younger generation 

from events surrounding their 

existence. Many in the Southern part 

of our country play politics of the 

stomach, a greedy bunch ready to sell 

their ancestral home to the highest 

bidder. 

You will never find a Fulani without 

a sense of the past. The Fulani know 

where they are coming from, they 

know what today holds for them and 

try as much as possible to plot their 

future while others grope in the dark 

until it is too late. 

The Kanuri have been able to dance 

around the Fulani and continue to try 

new things. Although their civilization 

precedes the Fulani, the Kanuri still 

play second fiddle. This sounds 

strange if we realize that in the First 

Republic, the Kanuri had so much 

going for them. 

Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sarduana 

of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern 

Region was the most prominent 

Northerner before the January 1966 

coup. However, most of the powerful 

men around him were of Kanuri 

background. 

The first indigenous governor of the 

Northen Region, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, 

Speaker of the House of 

Representatives, Jalo Ibrahim, the 

first Nigerian governor of the Central 

Bank, Alhaji Mai Bornu and the first 

Nigerian Sandhurst trained Army 

officer, Brigadier Zakari Maimalari 

were Kanuri sons. 

During the early years of military 

rule, the Kanuri were also favoured. 

The Alhaji Kam Selem,became 

Inspector General of Police. Lt.Col 

Mohammed Shuwa, was Commander 

of the Fifth Battalion, Kano even as a 

Fulani prince, Lt.Col Hassan Katsina, 

was appointed military governor. 

Unfortunately, while the Kanuri 

produced a civilian governor before 

the Fulani and a One–Star general 

before their rivals, the Fulani have to 

their credit four Heads of State: 

Murtala Mohammed, Shehu 

Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari and 

Umaru Ya’radua. 

Kanuri traditional marks were boldly 

printed on Gen. Sani Abacha’s face. 

And I guess, his wife Maryam, is 

Shuwa Arab. It was strange that 

Abacha claimed Kano and some say 

he could hardly speak Kanuri. 

Talking about insecurity in our land 

today, we all know of Boko Haram. It 

is no doubt a Kanuri thing. Their late 

leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and 

present hero, Abubakar Shekau, 

chose Maiduguri as their initial 

religious operational base. There 

could have been skirmishes around 

Fulani areas but Boko Haram faced the 

other non-Kanuri groups around the 

North-East. 

Yes, there were bombings in Kano and 

Kaduna. There were occurrences 

around Kebbi and Sokoto. The Fulani 

were not asleep. The message sank and 

that part of Nigeria has been left out of 

attacks. 

At the moment, we have killer 

Herdsmen. Most of them are Fulani 

even if they are non-Nigerians. This is 

where History becomes important. 

These deadly herders may be the 

Fulani response to Boko Haram. Both 

groups have a common goal: conquest 

of other nationalities. 

The Herdsmen issue is interesting. 

Many have forgotten that in the past, 

Fulani herdsmen fought Fulani in the 

North. I will give an example. In 

November 1998, there were clashes 

between them and farmers in Katsina. 

Four Local Government Areas were 

affected. 

They included Jibia, Rimi, Charanchi 

and Batsari Local Government Areas. 

In Bala village, Karaye district of 

Charanchi, a farmer, Alhaji Umaru 

Jarini,45, was beaten to death by 

herdsmen. Six farmers were injured. 

And we should note that the killers were 

not armed with the now popular ‘Guitar 

Boy,’ AK-47. They had locally made 

guns. 

Perhaps in the attempt to have living 

space, herdsmen are all over the 

country, maiming and killing but 

overlooking Boko Haram controlled 

areas and ignoring Fulani villages and 

towns. It is sounds like an unwritten 

accord. 

In the past, we saw Fulani and Kanuri 

doing power business. Under Mai 

Dunama Dabbalemi[1221-59], Kanem– 

Bornu conquered Kano. The Kanuri 

had embraced Islam in 1090 with the 

conversion of Mai Ume. Under Idris 

Alooma, there was tremendous 

reformation. 

So when Shehu Usman Dan Fodio 

tried to preach a better Islam in Bornu, 

he was resisted. It was Sheik 

Muhammad al Amin al Kanemi that 

Whoever killed the study of 

History in our schools has 

succeeded in distancing the 

younger generation from 

events surrounding their 

existence 

stemmed Fulani aggression. It is on 

record that Ngazargamu, the capital 

of Kanem Bornu was overrun by a 

Fulani man, Goni Mukhtar. 

Eventually, the Kanuri settled for 

Yerwa as capital when Shehu Abubakar 

Gubai moved from Kukawa. That was 

the birth of Maiduguri in 1907. The 

Kanuri do not trust the Fulani. They 

always remember how Yakubu Bauchi, 

an Hausa man who supported the 

Fulani during the Jihad, was used and 

dumped. They do not forget what 

Janta Alimi did to the Yoruba,Afonja, 

in Ilorin in 1824. 

The Fulani try to think ahead of 

others. In the old Songhai Empire, 

Tenguela Diara, Fulani leader, fought 

Askia Mohammed, the great. In 1512, 

Askia’s brother,Amar, killed the 

attacker. Diara’s son, Koli, later moved 

to conquer Futa Toro just like his 

ancestors did Futa Jallon. 

The Fulani are spread all over Africa. 

You find them in Guinea, Sierra Leone, 

Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso, 

Sudan, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Egypt, 

Central Africa Republic, Chad, 

Cameroon and Guinea- Bissau. In 

Guinea they are majority with 40 per 

cent of the population but have been 

schemed out of power almost eternally. 

You find the Kanuri in Cameroon, 

Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Libya. 

President Muhammadu Buhari is 

Fulani but has Kanuri blood through 

his mother. He was the last governor 

of North Eastern State and first 

governor of Borno. We are watching 

this power play. His Amy Chief is 

Kanuri just like the National Security 

Adviser. 

Not until I drove through the 

vicinity, Monday, did I get to 

have a clearer picture of the 

magnitude of danger posed by the fire 

incident at the Olusosun dumpsite in 

Ojota area of Lagos State to residents 

in the neighbourhood and environs. 

It is one toxic situation, really, that is 

obviously killing the victims by 

installment. 

Prior to this physical presence, I had 

noticed the very thick cloud from some 

place in Ogudu area of Lagos, last 

week Wednesday and had attributed 

it to a sudden change of weather, 

perhaps ushering in some rainfall. 

By the time I looked out the window 

again after a while, it dawned on me 

it wasn’t just a thick cloud but a thick 

dark smoke billowing and hovering 

round the sky. 

When a fire outbreak was eventually 

confirmed at the dump site, first thing 

that came to mind was that it must be 

major, going by how much of the sky 

was covered in smoke. 

And so when I drove through the 

area, last Monday, almost one week 

after I had forgotten the development, 

I was shocked to realize the fire was 

still burning. I came face-to-face with 

the very toxic situation and wondered 

how those residing in the area have 

been coping with the choking and 

poisonous environment for almost one 

week. 

And it was so obvious that these 

Nigerians are being killed by 

installment. 

In addition to the toxic air, visibility 

Nigerians dying by y installment 

was near zero in the area. Driving 

along the express, hundreds of 

metres away from the dump site was 

as terrifying as it was dreadful. 

Cars had to slow down for their 

drivers to do some mental 

calculations, perhaps, on how the 

It won’t be out of place 

therefore to say that such 

government’s negligence is 

also responsible for the 

prevalence, these days in 

our society, of such dreaded 

diseases 

road looked like so as not to veer off 

or hit another since the thick smoke 

practically made visibility so difficult. 

Even the car air-conditioning 

system couldn’t keep the sickening 

and choking fumes out of the car. I 

had to drive some hundreds of metres 

away before I could recover from the 

horrible experience by winding down 

my glasses and allowing some fresh 

air to drive away the poisonous one 

that got into the car, even when the 

window glasses were fully wound up. 

And to think some people have had 

to live with the deadly development for 

almost a week, and still counting, leaves 

one wondering if and why we have any 

government in place. 

From what I gathered, the Lagos- 

Ibadan Expressway was completely 

locked down the first day of the incident 

as residents panicked and officials of the 

Lagos State Fire Service and Lagos State 

Emergency Management Agency 

(LASEMA) battled to put out the fire. 

Unfortunately and almost one week 

later, the place was still covered in 

smoke. What a country! 

The outbreak, which started with 

pockets of fire, is said to have been 

caused by gases from chemical 

substances at the dump site that later 

snowballed out of control. 

Although no life was lost, seven of 

LAGBUS buses allegedly got burnt 

beyond repairs in the process. That is 

only expected considering that the 

LAGBUS yard shares a fence with the 

dump site. 

Though this was not the first time such 

fumes would be oozing out from that 

dumpsite, this particular incident took 

a different dimension. The thick and 

poisonous smoke continued unabated 

many days after, thus exposing the lives 

of residents to grave danger from the 

highly toxic fumes. 

Worst part is that most of those so 

exposed, which include residents of 

Ketu-Mile 12, Magodo, Shagisha, 

Olusosun, Ogudu and some parts of 

Ojota, are unaware of the danger they 

are being exposed to. But an 

examination may reveal large doses of 

toxicity in their respiratory systems as 

a result that could lead to diseases as 

grave as cancer. 

In saner climes, where state of health 

of citizens matter, a dumpsite of such 

magnitude can never be located at a 

city centre. 

And where an incident like that of 

Olusosun happens, it can never be 

allowed to linger for so long. It won’t 

be out of place therefore to say that 

such government’s negligence is also 

responsible for the prevalence, these 

days in our society, of such dreaded 

diseases. 

The location of the Olusosan 

dumpsite has never been healthy for 

trading and living. Aside from the 

negative health implication it poses, 

the structure of the facility is so risky 

and susceptible to all forms of hazards. 

Moreover, the stench that oozes out 

of that site, which incidentally is 

located at the gateway to the state that 

prides itself as centre of excellence, is 

enough to drive away any clean visitor, 

figuratively. 

With the unfortunate incident at 

Olusosun, one is bound to ask what 

are the measures in place are by 

government to prevent future 

reoccurrence, even if the site is 

relocated to any other part of the state. 

That and other questions that I put 

across to the Lagos state commissioner 

for Information, Mr. Kehinde 

Bamigbetan, via his Facebook page, are 

yet to be responded to at the time of 

writing this report.


2019: I'm the fresh 

idea that Delta 

needs – Edozien 

Dr. Leroy Chuma Edozien is one of the few Nigerians, who are both 

medical doctors and lawyers. With a Ph.D. in law, the 

distinguished gynaecologist is also among the very few who practice Medicine 

and Law simultaneously and excelled in both professions. Dr. Edozien, a 

nephew to the Asagba of Asaba, who holds degrees in Basic Sciences, 

Medicine, and Law from the universities of Ibadan, London, and Glasgow, 

served as a medico-legal expert in UK, Ireland, and Australian courts. During 

a visit to the corporate headquarters of Vanguard Newspapers, recently, Dr 

Edozien, who is aspiring to govern Delta State on the platform of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, for which he joined politics fully in 2017, shared 

his thoughts on the politics of the state, his mission and vision for Delta, why 

he supports power rotation and is willing to do a single term of four years, if 

elected. 

By Clifford Ndujihe, Deputy Political 

Editor 

PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP 

leaders claim that Delta is a PDP 

state. Why are you aspiring on the 

plank of the APC? 

Personally, I have always been on the left 

side of the political stage, left of the centre. 

So it was natural for me to align with the 

progressives. The second is, going back in 

history, my grandfather, late Chief N.O.E 

Edozien, was a member of the Action Group 

in the late 50s. Then our state was under 

Western Region. We enjoyed late Chief 

Obafemi Awolowo's free education and 

other programmes. I am only continuing 

that heritage of my family's contribution to 

national development. 

Again, I chose APC because of my interest 

in serving the people of Delta State. If I 

wanted to further my own nest, it will be 

much easier to go to the party in power in 

the state. It is an uphill task removing an 

incumbent party that has been in power for 

close to two decades. It is a measure of my 

commitment to service and development of 

politics in Delta State that I am prepared 

to go to a party that is not in power in the 

state. Besides, I do not think the PDP has a 

record after all these years of leading the 

state. Bearing in mind the resources that 

are available to Delta State, it should be 

one of the best or the leading state in 

Nigeria in terms of development. 

What are your chances of 

picking the APC ticket? 

My chances are excellent 

because, first of all, you have 

to look at what the people of 

Delta State want. People are 

tired of the old style 

politicians. People are 

looking for the new breed, 

new ideas, personalities, and 

thinking. People want 

something fresh and people 

are tired of promises. They 

want somebody they will look 

in the eye and say we trust 

this man and believe what he 

says. We have seen his track 

record, his level of 

performance and his 

leadership qualities. We 

think this is the right man for 

us. I will bring that newness, 

that freshness that dynamism 

and creativity people are 

craving for. My party fully 

realizes that it cannot win 

Delta State if it continues to 

offer the same thing it offered 

in the past. My party is fully 

aware that to displace the 

incumbent governor and 

occupy Osadebey 

House, it ought to offer 

something different 

from the old and I 

represent that 

newness and 

something that is 

different. 

What will you be 

doing differently in 

Delta State, if 

elected? 

First of all, I will 

make my 

government, the government of the people, 

for the people and by the people. We will 

offer politics of service to the people. It will 

be inclusive governance. And it will be 

accountable and transparent such that 

people can see that the resources of the state 

are being used for their benefit. If you go 

to Delta State, there is an abject poverty of 

infrastructure. Tell me one beautiful road 

in Delta State. And yet this is where oil 

money is coming from. This is where 

agricultural produce used to come from. 

What I will do differently will include 

changing the mindset of the people who 

are actually running the government and 

the mindset of those who are being served 

by the government. It is a very important 

thing. It is not easy to achieve but it is 

achievable if the man at the top is leading 

by example. 

I chose APC 

because of my 

interest in 

serving the 

people of Delta 

State, if I wanted 

to further my 

own nest, it will 

be much easier 

to go to the party 

in power in the 

state 

On what stands him out 

having been out of the state 

and country for long 

One of my strong 

credentials is that of 

education and training. 

Three of my books: The 

Labour Ward Handbook; 

Biopsychosocial Factors in 

Obstetrics and 

Gynaecology; and Selfdetermination 

in Health 

Care have been short-listed 

for awards. Selfdetermination 

in Health 

Care is a landmark book 

because it is the first of its 

type in medical law and 

this book has been 

recognized for its original 

contribution to scholarship. 

You can always tell 

somebody’s abilities from 

his track records and I am 

just trying to show that I 

have shown promise from 

school. When you just come 

back from England and join 

politics, people will always 

ask: 'What does he know?' 

And if you are light skinned 

•Leroy Edozien 

as I am, people will say he is Oyinbo 

pepper. 

I can identify with the man in the street 

because I have been with them from when 

I was young. Before I went to St Joseph's 

School, Nsukka, I was living with my 

grandmother in Ibadan, partly because my 

father was moving around places. 

I founded the African Forum for Quality 

in Healthcare, AFRIQHER, and initiated 

the campaign Promoting Thrombosis 

Awareness in Nigeria, PROTRAIN. I 

generate seed funding for AFRIQHER and 

PROTRAIN from Endowment for Training 

and Finance Education in Reproduction, 

ENTER, which I established in 1999. 

I do lecturing too at the University of 

Manchester. As part of my legal work, I 

have been an expert at Supreme Court of 

Australia. Carrying the people along with 

us is part of service and development. 

I was practicing medicine until late 2017. 

Right now, I am a full-time politician. I 

practiced law but in an academic role. In 

academic law, you produce materials which 

barristers and judges use in determining 

cases. I have been in courts in UK and 

Canada as expert supporting judges in 

arriving at decisions in clinical negligence 

cases. 

Don't you think that your hailing from 

Delta North as the serving governor, who 

is going for the second term, may hurt your 

ambition as people fear you may want to 

do a second term, meaning 12 years for 

Delta North? 

It does not follow. When you say if you 

win, you will do a second term, you are 

buying into that old idea we are working 

against. Delta state is a microcosm of 

Nigeria. The same way we have ethnic 

diversity in Nigeria, that is how we have 

in Delta State. There is clamour for 

equitability in the distribution of national 

resources across the country, so you have it 

in Delta State. If we are able to manage 

Delta state properly and adopt that legacy 

approach in Delta state, we are showing 

the rest of Nigeria this can be done and be 

done well. 

Going back to the core of the question, 

if we are able to sustain that principle of 

zoning, it becomes institutionalised and 

that will give everybody in Delta State a 

sense of belonging. We have to maintain 

that position and let every senatorial zone 

have the opportunity to lead the state. 

So, I support zoning. More importantly, 

I support rotational leadership because 

zoning has a certain connotation. I support 

the principle of rotational leadership. 

Will you do a term and leave, if elected? 

I have always expressed that 

willingness. I did so at a well-attended 

meeting of Delta North APC senatorial 

district. Delta CentraI and Delta South 

have had eight years. If Delta North does 

another four years, it will be eight years. 

Once you complete the eight years circle, 

it becomes institutionalised. I want to be 

remembered as a person who consolidated 

that institutionalisation. I do not want to 

be remembered as someone who came 

and put sand-sand in the garri. That is 

why I am emphasising this point of 

integrity. My number one selling point is 

integrity. 

After many years of study as a medical 

doctor, why did you read Law up 

to Ph.D level? 

I have always had interest in law. If I 

had my way, I would have probably done 

humanities because when I was in 

secondary school, I was better in 

humanities than in science but my school 

teachers and principals took me to science. 

My family also wanted me to do science. 

Despite reading medicine, I still have 

interest in humanities that is why I am 

always writing articles and commentaries 

for radio stations. I also recognized a gap 

in Medical Law and I said this is a gap I 

can cover. There has been a growing need 

for scholarship in this area and I said this 

could be an area I have interest in. So I 

combined my medical and legal interest. 

My interest in law is academics.


ROTIMI AGBANA 

07054964685 

Email: rotimiagbana@gmail.com 

Davido bought fame, Wizkid 

earned it, says Marenikae 

*Says, “I’ll pick Wizkid over Davido” 

Though the supremacy battle 

between Nigerian music 

heavyweights, Wizkid, Davido, 

seems to have simmered a little 

after their open declaration of 

affection for each other at 

Davido’s N30 Billion concert 

last year but afro-merge singer, 

Morenike Lasode, aka 

Marenikae, has decided to 

stoke the fire a little by sharing 

her opinion on her preferred act 

out of the two. 

In her opinion, Wizkid 

earned his pedigree as a 

musician of repute through 

difficult circumstances while 

Davido bought stardom with 

wealth. 

•CDQ 

•King 

Sunny 

Ade 

•Kiss 

Daniel 

King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer 

Obey, not fetish juju 

musicians- Tayo Mix 

“Wizkid is an all-rounder 

because of his vibes; thanks to 

his learning and struggling 

years. Struggle in the industry 

teaches you how to be a better 

artiste, it teaches you how to 

navigate in the business, how 

to improve, how to grow, it 

makes you more perceptive, 

more aware of what the market 

needs and I think this struggle 

shaped Wizkid’s career and 

drive”, she argued. 

She added, “Davido on the 

other hand grew in better 

circumstances and his career 

also snowballed in better 

circumstances but he’s also 

good. There are some Davido’s 

In recent times, popular 

Nigerian rapper, Sodiq 

Abubakar Yusuf, aka CDQ, has 

been hogging news headlines for 

the wrong reasons. But this time 

around there seems to be a bit of a 

good news about him as he has 

become the first Nigerian artiste 

not signed to G-Worldwide record 

label, to feature Kiss Daniel on a 

song. 

In a chat with Showtime, CDQ, 

who released his latest single 

titled, ‘Gbayi’, just yesterday, 

featuring embattled former G- 

Worldwide signee, Kiss Daniel, 

denied allegations of exploiting 

Kiss Daniel to save his music 

career which has been heavily 

criticised and described as “Street 

Music.” 

Nigerian-born, London-based 

juju musician, Rafiu Temitayo 

Fadoju, better known as ‘Tayo 

Mix’, may not boast of King Sunny 

Ade or Evangelist Ebenezer 

Obey’s pedigree as a juju music 

musician, but he knows his salt 

as a fast growing juju musician 

in diaspora. 

Confident of his knowledge 

about juju music, Tayo Mix who 

has been doing Juju music in 

London for five years minced no 

words as he declared in an 

exclusive chat with Showtime 

that juju music maestros, King 

•Davido 

songs I 

love more 

than Wizkid’s 

but if I have 

to pick one 

person, 

looking 

a t 

Wizkid’s artistry, image, 

performance and history, I’ll 

pick Wizkid. As far as image is 

concerned, Wizkid is very 

sophisticated.” 

I didn’t exploit Kiss Daniel to save my 

music career- CDQ 

“Kiss Daniel and I have got 

chemistry. It’s natural when two 

people connect musically and 

have a good heart. I guess that’s 

why the collaboration worked out 

between me and him. We are both 

exploiting each other because we 

are tapping into each other’s fan 

base. Basically, we just got 

musical connection and we vibe, 

just like it happened between 

Davido and I , Wizkid and I, also. 

Being the first Nigerian artiste 

outside G-Worldwide to feature 

Kiss Daniel wasn’t something I 

expected to happen so soon. This 

means that there is something he 

saw in me also before choosing to 

work with me. So, there’s nothing 

like anyone taking advantage of 

the other. It’s a rub my back I rub 

yours thing”, he said. 

Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, or any other 

juju musician are not fetish or belong to 

any form of secret cult. 

“King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and 

other juju musicians are not fetish or belong 

to any secret cult. King Sunny Ade’s success 

at juju music is not because he’s diabolical, 

belongs to any secret cult or fetish group. 

He has been doing juju music for ages 

now. We all know that as the godfather of 

all juju musicians, he is good at what he is 

doing. When you have been doing 

something for a long time and you don’t 

stop it, you become a professional at it”, he 

said with confidence. 

Speaking further, he corrected the popular 

misconception that juju music is diabolical 

or fetish. 

He said, “Juju music is not about being 

in a caucus or belonging to a secret cult. 

It is just that when your music is good 

and very popular, people will want 

to know you more. By so doing, 

some might think that you are 

in a caucus or in a secret 

cult. The truth is when you 

•Hon 

Justice 

Ayotunde 

Phillips 

In commemoration of the just 

concluded International 

Women’s Day, soul singer, 

Aramide, celebrated the former 

Chief Judge of Lagos State, Hon. 

Justice Ayotunde Phillips (RTD), 

at the first edition of her concert 

tagged ‘Songversation with 

Aramide’, an evening of soulful 

music and exciting performances 

which held at the Hard Rock 

Cafe, Oniru, Lagos. 

In an exclusive chat with 

Showtime, Aramide explained 

the motive behind her decision 

to celebrate the former chief 

judge. In her explanation, she 

described Hon. Justice Ayotunde 

Phillips as a woman of 

impeccable character and virtue, 

a reason she celebrated her at 

‘Songversation’ concert. 

“I decided to honour Hon. 

Justice Ayotunde Phillips 

alongside the commemoration of 

International Women’s Day 

•Tayo 

Mix 

do good music some people 

will become your fans and 

some will think negatively of 

your fame and success.” 

He added that unlike fuji 

music, juju music 

discourages thuggery, 

violence and other vices 

socially unacceptable. 

“Juju music is cool to listen 

to. It is a kind of music that 

will make you remember who 

we really are as a people. 

Juju music discourages 

thuggery, violence, 

hooliganism and other social 

vices that are unacceptable 

in the society. Juju music is 

made for people who 

understand how life should 

be. It is made for people to 

remember where they are 

going in life or where they 

are going to be. It is not for 

thugs or violent people who 

have no future to protect”, he 

concluded. 

•Aramide 

Why I 

celebrated 

Hon. Justice 

Ayotunde 

Phillips — 

Aramide 

because she is someone that 

has been extremely nice to 

me. When we spoke about 

tonight’s event she was very 

excited about it and she was 

happy to attend. I’m sure you 

saw that she had a good time 

because she was on her feet 

dancing to my songs and that 

of other artistes who came to 

support me. She’s an 

amazing woman, the type 

that every girl should 

endeavor to be like”, she said 

with excitement.

Y 

Davido 

By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215 

onikoyi68@gmail.com 

Davido, Small Doctor, guilty of copying 

KSA’s lyrics without permission 

— Clement Ige, KSA’s manager 

New generation pop stars have 

been advised to always seek 

permission before sampling decades 

old work of arts that were done by 

older artistes. This was the 

submission of juju icon King 

Sunny Ade’s manager, 

Clement Ige who was 

speaking at Goldberg’s 

Ariya Repete Roundtable 

Discourse in Abeokuta. 

Ige, who has worked with 

KSA for nearly forty years 

Small Doctor and is also an Executive 

Director at Culture FM, 

Ondo identified a number 

of issues with the new 

generation artistes that 

have become a menace 

threatening the growth of 

traditional Yoruba music. 

“They use English language to 

speak Yoruba. Like the young 

man who sang ‘makole marale’: 

how do you build house before 

buying a land?” he asked. 

He also added. “Many of them 

don’t give credit to the original 

composer of the song they 

adopt. They just sing it without 

seeking permission. That’s a 

copyright infringement. It’s not 

done in developed societies. Till 

today Small Doctor didn’t get our 

permission before and after 

singing “ijó tí m’ojó l’àná, tí wÍn 

n’pariwo, oni nkÍ, ola nkÍ”. And 

many of them are guilty of this. 

Black Panther has grossed N600M 

in Nigeria, over $1B worldwide, 

says Blue Pictures 

West Africa’s leading movie distribution 

company, Blue Pictures has attained 

milestone as they have broken and made new 

box office records days after Black Panther was 

released in Nigeria. 

The movie, Black Panther was said to have had 

the biggest opening of a movie in history 

recording a whooping sum of N135.4 million 

in its opening weekend. This means, Black 

Panther beats the Avengers AOU by 175% thus 

doubling what the competitive titles performed. 

Within the opening days, Black Panther went 

on to become the number 1 all-time weekend 

opener, best of 2018 so far, Best of February 

releases, Best Marvel and Disney movie, Best 

superhero movie among others. This is a feat 

that has never been achieved before by a 

singular movie ever in the history. 

The movie which was distributed in Cinema 

nationwide by Blue Pictures now sits as the 

number 1 biggest movie ever made by Marvel 

Studios. 

Black Panther 

Since their launch in 2006, the 

distribution company has established 

a good working relationship with 

independent studios worldwide and 

distributing movies like “Wonder 

Women”, “Doctor Strange”, 

“Justice League”, “Avengers”, 

“AVATAR” all which are among 

the highest grossing movies 

ever produced in Hollywood. 

Black Panther has gone ahead 

to gross over N600-million 

Naira since its release in 

Nigeria and has topped 

over $1b worldwide. Also, 

Black Panther has 

become the second 

biggest comic book 

Adaptation behind The 

Avengers. 


The Davido that used Sunny’s lyrics in his 

song didn’t even get it right and that’s 

because he didn’t ask for permission; if he 

did we would have corrected him. What is 

‘Kuluso ewe, agbagba ewe...?” The line is 

actually ‘Seleru agbo, agbara agbo’. I know 

because I co-wrote the song!” 

The panel was to discuss the evolution of 

Yoruba traditional music and its influence 

on modern pop music and it featured 

musicians such as K1 De Ultimate, Sir Shina 

Peters, Lekan Babalola and a host of others. 

It is a precursor to the annual Ariya 

Repete talent hunt 

seeks to find out 

young talents 

in the Fuji and 

Juju genres. 

Auditions for 

talents on 

March 13 in 

Ado-Ekiti, 

Sango Ota and 

other places 

across eight 

cities in 

Nigeria. 

Le King 

BY ROTIMI AGBANA 

Abidjan-based Nigerian hiphop 

singer, Giwewhegbe, 

Shadrack Ediri, aka, ‘Le King’, 

is set to storm the Nigerian 

music space with the aim of 

giving Nigerian music 

heavyweights including 

davido, wizkid, Kiss Daniel, 

amongst others a run for their 

talent and hard earned 

pedigree as hit-makers. 

With five years in the music 

game and three singles to his 

credit, Le King who believes 

music brings him closer to 

people more than anything 

else, has blamed the system in 

the African music industry for 

discouraging musical 

greenhorns like him from 

pursuing their musical dreams 

with ease. 

According to him, without 

monetary gratifications, the 

musical production of most up 

and coming artistes never see 

the light of day, all because 

they are unable to meet up with 

the financial demands peculiar 

of the music industry. 

“I don’t think the society is the 

problem, it is the system in the 

music industry that is. In Africa, 

the system is not free; they want 

us to think that sometimes it’s 

not about doing good music but 

paying to get your songs played 

on the radio or TV stations. 

Sometimes, the society doesn’t 

even get to hear your music 

because you haven’t greased 

palms”, he lamented. 

On why he has decided to 

return to Nigeria to promote his 

music, he said; 

“I think the Nigerian music 

industry is the best, it is a very 

big music industry in the world, 

with a lot of competition. A lot 

of people know the industry 

around the world so I just want 

to be part of the action being a 

Nigerian”, he said. 

Top Stars, others preach crime-free society 

at the entertainment meet security concert 

By Chris Onuoha 

The beautiful hall of Ade Ajayi auditorium, 

University of Lagos was full to the brim and 

lit with kaleidoscope of colours as top celebrities, 

music stars and special guests thrilled the 

audience at the Entertainment meet Security 

concert held last Tuesday under the auspicse of 

Zone 2 Command of 

Nigerian Police 

Force, Lagos. 

CSP Dolapo Badmus with 

Miss Intercontinental 

KSA 

The event, 

envisaged by the 

Zone 2 PPRO, CSP. 

Dolapo Badmos and 

the Zone 2 

Commander, AIG. 

Adamu Ibrahim was 

born out of need to 

curtail cultism, 

internet fraud and 

drug dealings 

among youths in the 

country. Prominent 

stars that featured 

t h a t 

To be a star in 

Nigeria you 

need money to 

push your 

songs- Le King 

were; Dr. Sid, Korede Bello, Sound Sultan, 

Ruggedman, Small Doctor who performed 

on stage and as well tell their inspiring 

stories of living without drugs. Nollywood 

stars, Funke Akindele and Omoni Oboli 

were unavoidably absent but Odunade 

Adekola made it up for them with his 

exciting stories of success through 

hardwork without short cuts. Other guest 

speakers include Debola Williams of Red 

Media, Rolland Avedician, the Legal 

Attaché to the US Consulate in Lagos, 

Dayo Adesanya, Cyber Security experts 

and Bisi Olatilo, Chairman Biscon Media. 

Queen Chizoba Ejike, Miss 

Intercontinental Africa and sensational 

beauty queen who demonstrated love for 

her country by adorning Police uniform at 

the 2018, Miss Intercontinental pageant 

in Egypt was on stage also to tell her 

stories. Her appearance created sensation 

especially in the Police unit because of 

quest to change the force narratives. 

C


CONTROVERSY: 

Popular film maker comes for Omotola, 

Genevieve, Jim Iyke, other A-list actors 

•Says: 'They have failed Nollywood' 

Nollywood actress, Ego 

Nworji has recounted 

the challenges she faced while 

striving to actualize her dream 

of becoming a superstar. 

In a chat with HVP, the 

Asaba-based actress recalled 

how her husband initially 

refused to allow her go into 

acting on the ground that 

actresses are promiscuous. But 

how he was proved wrong after 

he escorted the actress to a 

movie location as he 

discovered that “actors are not 

only serious minded people 

but true thespians. “Since 

then, he allowed me to follow 

my dream,”she enthused. 

Sharing her experience with 

HVP, Ego who is one of the 

hottest actresses making waves 

in the Asaba movie scene, said 

she joined the industry in 2009, 

but it was a battle trying to 

convince her husband to allow 

her follow her passion. 

“My husband used to see 

every woman in Nollywood as 

a wayward person. But he 

Genevieve 

Popular movie director and producer, 

Lancelot Imasuen, has lashed out 

at A-list Nollywood actors, 

accusing them of neglecting the industry that 

brought them fame and fortune. 

Lancelot's outburst is coming days after 

actress, Rita Dominic, criticized poorly produced 

Nigerian movies that are being over hyped and 

pushed to the cinemas to the disappointment of lovers 

of Nigerian movies. 

However, reacting to Rita Dominic's comment, which 

has since gone viral on social media, the popular director 

agreed that not all Nollywood movies should make it to 

the cinemas. But he, however, frowned at the platform 

‘My hubby used to see actresses 

as waywards until...’ 

was proved wrong the day 

he followed me to a movie 

location. There and then, he 

discovered that actresses are 

serious 

minded 

professionals. That was how 

he allowed me to follow my 

dream,”she added. 

Ego, who has starred in 

films such as “Blood is 

Money”, where she played 

the role of a priestess, 

“Investigation”, “Juju”, 

“Wrath of a Virgin” and “The 

Next Governor” recalled that, 

while she was struggling to 

find her feet in the industry, 

she was frustrated by some 

producers who wouldn’t pay 

her after completing her job. 

“Sometimes, they would call 

you for a job and after 

negotiating with them and at 

the end of the day, they won’t 

pay you at all or sometimes, 

they would pay you less than 

what you bargained with 

them. It’s really painful,” 

she added. 

*Omotola 

Ego said her dream is to become 

a superstar as well as a force to 

reckon with in the 

industry. To her 

credit, she has 

featured in many 

notable movies 

alongside top 

Nollywood 

stars. 

* Ego Nworji 

which the actress used in voicing her opinions. 

“I agreed with Rita Dominic's statement that not 

all Nollywood movies should be taken to the 

cinemas. But what's the yardstick for measuring 

movies that should go to the cinemas? Sometimes, 

I have gone to the cinema to see different movies 

when I'm at home. And each time, I discovered 

that the films are in slow pace and they 

disconnect,”Lancelot stated. 

The film director, however, stressed the need 

for film makers to conduct internal censorship of 

their movies before taking them to the cinemas. 

“We should be very assiduous in building this 

industry. I have a problem with the platform that 

Rita Dominic used in airing her opinions. I'm 

sure she didn't anticipate the kind of huge 

reactions that followed her comment. The 

comment is coming at a time when we are 

expressing worry that the patronage of our local 

movies are dropping drastically,” Lancelot stated. 

Speaking further, the film director blamed A-list 

actors for their inability to give back to the 

industry that made them who they are today. 

According to him, A-list actors have failed to 

give back to the institution that brought them into 

limelight. “A Nollywood star is today one of the 

most influential people in the world. The same 

person has bagged national award, MON, mingle 

with the high and mighty in the society.” 

He continued, “How have they been able to 

use the platform that Nollywood provided for 

them to impact positively on the industry? An 

average Nollywood practitioner is a selfish 

person. Both the movie marketers and the actors 

are the big brands in Nollywood that have refused 

to support the growth of the industry. How many 

Nollywood stars have attracted major government 

attention to the industry? None, Nollywood has 

remained an orphan, where everybody comes to 

harness its potentials but abandoned it to its fate. 

It's sad.” 

“ I don't expect any Nollywood star to come out 

and criticize anything Nollywood because they are 

also guilty of negligence of the industry. Some of 

them are feeling too big for the industry that made 

them. Who were they some years ago before 

Nollywood gave them the opportunity to shine.” 

While calling on A-list actors to come together and 

salvage the Nigerian movie industry, Lancelot who 

has sojourned in the industry for more than two 

decades, said there is need for the big brands to 

give Nollywood a new face. “All the big brands that 

Nollywood have given so much fame and fortune, 

including RMD, Omotola, Genevieve, Jim Iyke, Stella 

Damasus, Kanayo O.Kanayo, Stephanie Linus- 

Okereke, Eucharia Anunobi among others should 

come together and give back to the industry. That's 

my clarion call to all of them.” The film director also 

called on core Nollywood heads to come together to 

see how they can rebuild the industry such that 

investors can get a good return on their investments. 

The Edo State-born film director also lamented lack 

of the government's support for the 

industry. 

calls, 

He, however, proposed what he 

a “Nollywood Summit” , where 

practitioners and other 

stakeholders will come together 

to brainstorm on the way forward 

for the industry. On the state of 

the industry, Lancelot said the 

government has done nothing to 

protect the local producers. “There is 

no incentives that we enjoy or any 

encouragement that the government put 

in place to see that any film produced in 

Nigeria survives. A Nigerian film maker is 

an endangered specie. He cracks his head every now 

and then to come up with a story that the audience 

will appreciate. We need to understand that the 

environment in which we are operating is so intense 

that it takes a miracle to even see one film out there” 

he added. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Edited By AYO ONIKOYI 

08052201215 

onikoyi68@gmail.com 

Psquare: Paul 

Okoye opens up 

on their breakup 

•Says ‘I waited for months before I 

could get myself together again’ 

•Apologizes to fans who are not 

happy with them 

By Iyabo Aina 

After months of 

speculations on their 

uncertain future, 

Peter and Paul Okoye a.k.a 

Psquare finally went their 

separate ways last September, 

and there has been no sign 

that the singing twin brothers 

will reunite again. One of the 

twin brothers, Paul, who 

spoke with Showtime Celebrity 

opened up on their break-up, 

his music and plans to rebrand 

himself.. 

How have you been coping 

as a solo performer? 

It’s been good because it’s 

still the same old thing. There 

is nothing new per se. It’s the 

same music, same style, same 

performance and same studio. 

The only difference is that I'm 

performing alone. At the 

initial stage, I wasn’t used to 

it but now, I’m getting used 

to it. 

Are you saying you are not 

missing your twin brother? 

I don’t even want to talk 

about the past. There are 

certain things you would ask 

me that will benefit you as a 

journalist, but won’t benefit 

me. So, the best thing I will 

do is to skip it because I don’t 

like discussing family issues. 

Except you want to know more 

about my personal family. As 

for my fans who want to hear 

my own side of the breakup 

story, I have my own way of 

communicating with them. 

Are the shows still coming 

your way since you went 

solo? 

Yes, that’s normal. I’m still 

attending shows. Though 

there was a big breakdown 

when the breakup happened. 

Everybody was in shock 

because usually when things 

happen like that I always feel 

really low. I didn’t do 

anything again. I waited for 

almost nine months without 

doing anything. But this time, 

I’ve turned my life around, 

and in less than two months 

of doing so, things have 

started working for me again. 

Since then, I’ve released 

three songs. 

Will Psquare ever come 

together again? 

I didn’t leave the group and 

I don’t know why 

everybody keeps 

asking me that 

question. This is 

the fourth time it’s 

happening and I 

always wait. So 

this time, the 

difference is that I 

didn’t wait so I 

don’t have 

anything to say on 

the issue. 

But how are you 

trying to create 

your own brand 

after the breakup? 

When we were 

going for shows 

people used to call 

me ‘Rude Boy.’ It 

started from when we 

released one of our songs, 

‘Busy Body.’ So, ‘Rude Boy’ 

has been there. Even when I 

travel out of the country, our 

fans still ask me certain 

questions, which I don't 

usually answer because I 

have certain things to protect. 

I didn’t work hard for twenty 

years just to throw it to the 

wind. I worked so hard for a 

reason and I’m keeping that 

reason to myself. That’s the 

reason I’m focused. 

How is your wife taking 

your breakup with your 

brother? 

I can’t say 

because it’s 

Sometimes, 

there are 

things that 

would 

happen to 

you and 

you would 

prefer to be 

silent and 

move on 

with your 

not my 

opinion, but I 

think she’s 

cool with it. 

When you 

s t a r t e d 

pursuing your 

solo careers, 

mouth-started 

wagging that 

you are not 

different from 

up and 

c o m i n g 

artistes? 

They know 

who they are 

referring to 

and whoever 

the person is referring to 

knows his or herself. Like I 

said earlier, nothing has 

changed. If you listen to our 

songs, it’s the same thing. So, 

I cannot start overnight to 

discover new things because 

it’s still the same thing that 

I’m doing. I know we are in 

the new age of information 

technology, and people are 

free to say whatever they 

want to say. I know people 

are angry but there are certain 

things I cannot say because 

it’s a family issue. Like I said 

earlier, I don’t want to talk 

about the breakup because I 

need to protect my image. It 

won’t benefit me, but it will 

benefit the media. Anybody 

that knows me before now, 

would agree that I am not the 

social media type. We all 

have our respective jobs, my 

own part is what I’m playing 

which is to go to the studio 

to sing and write a good 

song. That’s what I’ve been 

doing over the years. But the 

difference now is that 

because I’m doing my own 

thing alone. I have to be out 

there and that’s what I’m 

trying to do for myself now; 

trying to be active on social 

media. In fact, I started 

being active on Instagram 

about two years ago. Before 

now, I used to spend my 

time in the studio. That’s why 

you can never hear anything 

about me then. The only thing 

now is that I’m still doing the 

same old thing- music. I 

know our fans are feeling 

happy, I’m sorry. I never hurt 

anybody. Sometimes, there 

are things that would happen 

to you and you would prefer 

to be silent and move on with 

your life. I’m fine with it 

because my silence means 

I’m protecting my family. 

Whatever is happening 

nobody is good. So, the best 

thing I’m doing is just to 

keep quiet and continue 

doing my music. 

Buying songs is becoming 

a trend in the Nigerian 

music scene. Do you think 

it’s the way to go? 

I’ve never had that 

experience before. I 

understand the part of 

production but the part of 

buying song is a normal thing 

in the music industry. I don’t 

see anything wrong with that 

as long as there are two ways 

of going about it; The artist 

earning his pay after the song 

is out or you paying the artist 

outrightly. Whichever way 

you are doing it make sure it’s 

documented. 

There is what 

we call 

coincidence 

in music, 

somebody 

might release 

a song now 

and two days 

later, another 

artist releases 

the same 

song. The 

former will 

accuse the 

latter of 

copying his 

songs. That’s 

why no matter 

who you are I don’t collect 

artiste’s CD for any reason, so 

they don’t come back to accuse 

me of copying their songs. 

Why do you want to change 

the name of your record 

label ? 

I don’t want it to be attached 

to my name for now. That’s 

why I want to change it 

because I am Rude Boy now 

and there are so many things 

I also need to change about 

myself. I will say 2018 is not 

a re-branding year for me, but 

for my record label. This is 

because I’m still the same 

person I have not changed. 

What inspires you to write 

songs ? 

It’s a gift and there’s a way I 

usually explain it, in as much 

as the voice is there. It’s how 

to put things together and it 

has been happening to me 

since I was a child. Gradually 

as I grew up, I realized that 

this thing is a gift that should 

not be wasted. I could 

remember buying a recorder 

then. I would keep it by my 

bed side and each time, I woke 

up from sleep at night, I 

would record the song playing 

in my mind. there was this 

melody that usually played in 

my head and while doing 

that, I would be doing the beat 

too. Most of the songs I 

recorded back then are the 

ones that have become hits 

today. I can still remember 

how I got the inspiration to 

write songs like “Do me” “No 

one like You”, “Busy Body” 

and “Temptation.” I can still 

remember which room and 

where I was when I got the 

inspirations for the songs. 

Any retirement plan aside 

music ? 

I won’t say it’s a business but 

an investment. I mean 

property investment. Trust me, 

music is not for life though it 

can be for life as you get older. 

The best investment you can 

make today is going into real 

estate. Just be buying 

properties and keeping them 

because one day you will turn 

back and be proud of the 

investment that you have 

made.


By IYABO AINA 

08184172548(SMS ONLY) 

aina.iyabo@yahoo.com 

•Beverly 

Simi replies those 

worried about her fat 

tummy 

Singer, Simi, got tongues wagging 

during the week after she stepped out 

on Big Brother Naija stage with her tummy 

looking bigger than usual. 

While some had issues with her outfit, 

others found her tummy fat unappealing. 

When asked by a follower why she looked 

fat in her tummy region, she answered that 

it is because she is actually fat there. 

Another follower however went on to 

advise the singer not to mind the haters. 

In reply, Simi stated that her fans were 

not haters as no one actually likes tummy 

fat. 

Beverly Osu warns 

bleaching cream sellers 

to stay off her 

Former Big Brother Africa star 

Beverly Osu, who came into 

limelight after participating in the 

Big Brother Africa 2013 has taken to 

Instagram to call out manufacturers and 

sellers of bleaching cream. 

Beverly who is always flaunting her 

black colour called out manufacturers 

and sellers of bleaching cream for 

always sliding into her D.M ( Direct 

Message) to market their products 

which makes her uncomfortable. 

According to her, she is not their 

target market as she is not interested 

in any kind of bleaching or toning, 

warning them to stay off her page. 

•Simi 

K1 acquires 

N66M Bentley 

Flying Spur 

car 

Fuji music legend, King 

Wasiu 

Ayinde 

Olasunkanmi Marshal also 

known as Kwam1 has 

reportedly acquired a brand 

new 2017 Bentley Flying Spur; 

a potent symbol of status, 

wealth, and luxury . 

This was gathered on the 

social media platform of the 

music icon where he flaunted 

the brand new car which is said 

•Korede 

to cost 132,800 pounds, about 

N66M. 

This was few weeks after he 

married his partner of many 

years, Fathia Opeyemi, during 

his 61st birthday and his 

inauguration as UN SDG 

Ambassador. 

With the recent acquisition, 

K1 De Ultimate has joined the 

growing list of Nigerian 

singers who own a Bentley. 

Korede Bello gets 

honorary 

Superintendent of 

Police title 

•K1 

Mavin’s act, Korede Bello, who was 

unveiled as the first Nigerian Police 

Ambassador in December 2015, was 

decorated with the honorary title of 

Superintendent of Police, by the 

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim 

Idris during the week. 

Sharing photos of his honourary 

police decoration, Korede Bello 

wrote; ‘I want to be part of the 

solution, not just paying lip service to 

nation building. Rare selfie of SP 

Korede Bello and IGP Idris K. Ibrahim. 

Say hello to the new Doro M3GA 

Superintendent of Police’. 

D'banj and 

Don Jazzy 

D’Banj, Don Jazzy finally 

announce Mo’hits reunion tour 

Nigerian singer, D’Banj 

and Mavin producer, 

Don Jazzy have 

announced the reunion 

tour of their defunct group, 

Mo’hits. 

Both artistes took to their 

Instagram pages to 

announce the reunion tour. 

Don Jazzy, alongside a 

video on his Instagram 

wrote, “@Dbanj, how 

many states/countries 

should we give them?” 

Dbanj in reply on his 

Instagram page wrote, 

“@Donjazzy, are they ready?” 

However, the dates and 

venues of the tour have not 

been disclosed yet. 

Note that if and when the 

tour eventually holds, it will 

be the second time the crew 

will be reuniting since their 

split, as the crew which 

comprise of Don Jazzy; the 

Entertainer, D’Banj; vocal 

powerhouse, Wande Coal, Dr 

Sid, K-Switch, Ikechukwu and 

D’Prince were reunited at 

Davido’s 30 billion concert in 

December. 

Ini Edo shows off her N900k 

D&G embellished glasses 

Ini Edo has joined the league 

of Rihanna and Toke 

Makinwa who have rocked one 

of the hottest face accessories, 

the D&G crystals embellished 

sunglasses. 

Recall that the shades were 

first made popular by singer, 

Rihanna, who first rocked them, 

•Ini Edo 

and posted some pictures on 

her Instagram page. 

One of the shades costs about 

$2,500, which equals, 

N900,000 in naira. And in 

Nigeria, Toke Makinwa was the 

first female celebrity to rock the 

shades.

Ambode, Okor 

oroc 

ocha, Ooni of Ife for ‘My 

Heritage, My Pride & Sisi Oge 2018 

Ooni of Ife 

All is now set for the 

11th edition of the an 

nual most exclusive 

cultural event “My Heritage, 

My Pride & Sisi Oge”, Africa’s 

biggest most exclusive 

cross-cultural event and award 

festival. The award, a brain 

child of Heritage Solutions, will 

hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, 

(Balmoral Convention Centre) 

Victoria Island, Lagos, on 

Sunday, April 15, 2018. 

Tokoni Esther Atin is one of 

the few beauty queens who 

have maintained a sterling profile 

after her reign as the Miss 

Federal Capital Territory Niger 

Delta 2014. The epitome of beauty 

and hardwork successfully executed 

her elderly care initiative 

project despite high earnings 

from modeling for a few fashion 

houses home and abroad. 

As part of activities to celebrate 

her birthday the runway maestro 

launched a skincare training to 

empower young entrepreneurs. 

We gathered that her prestiguous 

beauty lounge is now a Mecca of 

sort for female pace setters in Nigeria’s 

capital city. 

The fashionable beauty queen 

Okorocha 

Tok 

okoni oni Atin tin throw 

ows s classy 

birthda 

thday y dinner 

hosted her friends, 

associates and family 

to a classy dinner 

at Metro cafe and 

grill on Saturday 

March 10, 2018 to 

celebrate her big 

day. She has also 

recently added 

another colourful 

feather to her hat 

with her new role 

of a business 

consultant for 

some international 

organizations 

. Tokoni 

Tokoni Atin 

who was one of 

the representative 

of the Nigerian 

delegation was 

elated as issues concerning 

investment 

in Nigeria were brought to the front 

burner. 

By Juliet Ebirim 

juliet.ebirim@gmail.com 

08137897935 (sms only) 

Chief Host of the event and 

Lagos State Governor, Mr. 

Akinwunmi Ambode will lead 

other top dignitaries including 

Royal Father of the Day, His Imperial 

Majesty, Adeyeye Enitan 

Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife; 

Special Guest of Honour and Executive 

Governor of Imo State Excellency, 

Owelle Rochas 

Okorocha; Chief Mrs. Nike 

Okundaye and a host of members 

of the Diplomatic Corp and Ambassadors. 

Convener of 

the event, Mr. 

Idris Aregbe 

said this year’s 

edition would be 

bigger and better 

than the 10th 

anniversary 

held last year. 

“It’s time to 

brace up for an 

unprecedented, 

awesome experience, 

as we 

bring you mindblowing 

crosscultural 

line up events from: 

Awards, Art Exhibition, Fashion 

Show, Music, Dance 

Drama, Cultural Pageant and 

Festival,” he said.`` 

T 

he 


Ambode 

Ruth 

Osime 

Ruth Osime returns with 

ARISE Fashion Week 

Africa’s premier fashion show, ARISE 

Fashion Week (AFW), is set to deliver 

one of its most exciting line-ups to date, 

when it returns to Lagos on March 30th to 

April 2nd at the Lagos Continental Hotel 

(formerly Intercontinental Hotel). 

The 2018 runway event in Lagos will feature 

fifty designers from fifteen countries including 

South Africa, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, 

Canada, Tanzania, the United States, United 

Kingdom, Germany, Morocco, Botswana, 

and many more. 

C0-producer, Ruth Osime has this 

to say about the event “We are excited 

to bring world-class fashion 

back to Lagos in the real sense of 

it. The bar will definitely be raised 

once more with strong collaborations, 

innovation, and creativity.” 

Eleven years ago, Africa’s fashion 

industry became truly global 

with the birth of ARISE, the synonym 

for “Africa Rising”. AFW 

helped to put Nigeria firmly on the 

global fashion map, showcasing 

and promoting African designers on 

the runways of the world, from London’s 

famous Royal Albert Hall, to Washington 

DC’s powerful J.F. Kennedy Center, 

to the legendary triple appearance during 

the iconic NYFW, to viva- cious Lagos 

and Abuja, to magnetic Johannesburg 

and Cape Town, and to fabulous 

Paris. The AFW runway 

has seen global fashion icons 

and leading models such 

as Naomi 

Campbell, 

A l e k Wek, Liya 

Kedebe, 

O l u c h i 

Orlandi, and others 

showcase the 

best of Africa. 

Backpackaz launch 

Russia World Cup 

Packages 

only fever that strikes every four 

years spreading like wildfire around the 

world, the World Cup fever is almost upon us 

again. The excitement is building up with the 

World Cup Trophy touring some of the participating 

countries ahead of the football festival in 

Russia. The good news is that football fans in 

Nigeria planning to see the World Cup in Russia 

are in for a treat as one of Nigeria’s leading Travel 

Management companies, 1860 Travels Limited 

has concluded plans to give football fans a 

once-in-a-lifetime experience of the World Cup 

as is their culture. 

According to the Managing Director of the 

high-flying Travel Firm, Francis Daodu, Backpackaz, 

the holiday service wing of the travel 

company launched its travel packages to offer 

Nigerian fans a world of fantasy experience outside 

of the stadiums in Russia. The uniqueness 

of the plans and itinerary amongst other attractions 

presents exclusive opportunities to explore 

the beauty and tourism attractions in Russia. MD Backpackaz 

Isaac Idahosa 

Isaac Idahosa’s new book 

Bishop Isaac Idahosa, the 

President and Founder 

of God First Ministries 

Int’l, Illumination Assembly, 

released his latest book ‘Revelations 

for Elevation’. 

The multi-talented cleric has 

authored ten books to his credit 

and sees writing as his source 

of strength. 

Edo State born Idahosa, who 

is the organizer of “Night Of 

Worship (NOW) and initiator of 

‘Everyday is a plus’ claims to 

have been writing for over 20 

years . 

“Revelations for Elevation” 

which is the latest book, was 

launched during his last birthday 

celebration. 

Amb. Gilead Okolonkwo, 

President and founder, 

BeepMagnet Group is a man of 

many parts. The astute 

businessman and e-commerce 

expert is popularly known as the 

new face of digital currency. 

Having made a huge impact in 

the online business 

with the introduction of 

GoldClub, GoldCity 

property Projects, he 

recently added to his 

chains of companies, a 

health insurance 

scheme called 

‘BeepHealthcare’. 

Unveiling the new 

health scheme last 

weekend amidst 

fanfare at the 

company’s corporate 

headquarters in Ikeja, 

Lagos, Amb. 

Okolonkwo disclosed 

that BeepHealthcare 

Insurance scheme was 

Beep Magnet Group's 

latest addition 

created out of need to alleviate people’s challenges as 

regards meeting hospital bills on emergency. 

Beep Healthcare is poised to contribute to the health 

need of the society through easy and accessible scheme. 

Beep Magnet Group cutting the cake 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Life e in Fela's F 

former Empire 

By Chris Onuoha 

CHIEF OLA 

GUNDOYE 

DAVIES, an interviewee 

in the TV documentary, 

My Lagos Diaries, 

is the Baale of Oju 

Oluwa community in 

Yaba, popularly known 

as Fela’s former Empire. 

The Baale is worried 

that the drug habit of the 

late Afrobeat King and 

his lifestyle still pervade 

as legacies for the vicinity. 

“This place is known 

as ‘Empire’ because of 

Fela Anikulapo Kuti who 

had his musical base at 

that time here. The original 

name is Oju Oluwa, 

in Ojuelegba area. Because 

of Fela’s lifestyle, 

several people who 

smoke Igbo (marijuana) 

are still seen here. 

“They smoke it freely 

without fear of security 

personnel. Here is the 

headquarters of cocaine, 

heroin and marijuana. 

Before, you dare not 

look for accommodation 

here. People will advise 

you against it. It was terrible,” 

says Chief Olagundoye 

in the TV documentary 

project done 

by Freedom Foundation, 

a not-for-profit organisation 

based in Nigeria. 

Freedom Foundation 

is on mission to reach 

the society’s forgotten 

ones and to rescue drug 

addicts who lurk around 

the Empire and other 

places like that. 

Chief Olagundoye 

Davies is now happy 

with the Freedom Foundation 

rescue project. 

He wants the Federal 

Government and private 

organisations that are 

into humanitarian works 

to come and help the 

under-aged children, 

teenagers and women 

that are hooked to drugs 

in this area and other 

areas notorious for 

drugs. 

My Lagos Diaries, a 

docu-series was premiered 

recently in Lagos 

and is currently airing 

on some Nigerian TV 

stations. The TV documentary 

seeks to bring 

to the nation’s attention 

what had been ignored 

by the society. At the 

heart of this documentary, 

with its aim of creating 

awareness, sensitizing 

and educating the 

populace on the dangers 

drugs pose to society, is 

•Some of the rescued victims 

the fact that behind the 

drug addict is a soul that 

yearns for a normal life 

and in desperate need 

for help 

Unfortunately, society 

views drug addiction as 

social vices from which 

addicts ought to easily 

pull out, but the truth is 

that drug abuse is just 

about as difficult to quit 

as it is easy to fall into. 

These drug addicts 

who desperately need 

help are stuck in areas 

where help is hard to 

reach – ghettos, Motor 

Parks and sometimes in 

the middle of highbrow 

areas. 

According to a recent 

report titled Sending 

the right message on 

drug use and dependence 

from the United 

Nations Office on Drugs 

and Crime, “too often, in 

existing legislative and 

administrative frameworks, 

drug use is treated 

as a criminal act rather 

than a health challenge 

which reinforces 

stigmatization towards 

drug users and lowers 

the expectations of their 

recovery and reintegration 

into the society.” 

It is against this backdrop 

and in an ongoing 

journey that began in 

2006 that Freedom 

What we 

found here is 

heart-wrenching 

and mindnumbing. 

People 

living in 

squalor, 

hooked and 

peddle in hard 

drugs, teenage 

girls in prostitution. 

Some 

of them with 

pathetic stories 

of abandonement 

and 

rejections from 

homes. 

Foundation Outreach in 

conjunction with the 

God Bless Nigeria team 

dared to go where no 

one else would or think 

of going within the Lagos 

environs in search 

of drug addicts with the 

aim of rehabilitating 

them. 

The areas are among 

the poorest communities 

in Lagos – Bariga, Somolu, 

Iwaya, Ejigbo, Ijora, 

Ajegunle, Ikpodo- 

Ikeja and other vicinities. 

On getting to these areas, 

Freedom Foundation 

team discovered, 

“What we found here is 

heart-wrenching and 

mind-numbing. People 

living in squalor, hooked 

and peddle in hard 

drugs, teenage girls in 

prostitution. Some of 

them with pathetic stories 

of abandonement 

and rejections from 

homes.” 

This is a true life story 

in documentary series 

on how these addicts 

get hooked in the 

first place. The series 

also documented how 

they were followed 

through rehabilitation, 

a period of relapse and 

persistent effort to bring 

them out of the situation.” 

My Lagos Diaries documentary 

teaches that 

few people in the society 

realize that drug addicts, 

of whom people 

deride, are victims of circumstances 

who desperately 

need help and 

want to come out of it. 

“Many of them do not 

know how they found 

themselves there, while 

some were lured into 

addiction by either addicted 

friends or 

through peer experimental 

inclination.” 

The project is a response 

to the drowned 

cry to which society has 

been deaf. “The victim is 

someone else’s sister, 

brother, father, mother or 

even bosom friend. Society 

is losing human 

assets to addiction. 

Many people who are 

engaged in promising 

careers or on the verge 

of making it big in life 

have been ruined by 

drug addiction. 

In the first episode, 

Fatima, a thriving 

businesswoman spiraled 

to a life of drug 

abuse after she was introduced 

to it by a lover. 

In the process of 

pandering to her addiction, 

she sold her 

cars. When the proceeds 

from the cars 

proved insufficient in 

maintaining her addiction, 

she descended to 

petty theft just to get her 

next high. Her situation 

kept degenerating until 

she could no longer afford 

a roof over her 

head. Fatima becomes 

homeless and resorted to 

living in the streets. It 

was then that she realized 

that her situation 

was helpless. 

The Freedom Foundation 

eventually found 

her and made tremendous 

strides in helping 

her get clean to great 

effect, but tragedy struck 

not once but twice in the 

space of 3 years. She 

suffered relapses and 

returned to the life she 

had bid farewell. 

You may be right to assume 

it was a personal 

thing with her and that 

she really didn’t want to 

quit, but the same thing 

happened to Sunday, 

another victim, a dedicated 

family man until 

he encountered the 

dreaded ‘White Sugar’ 

(cocaine). 

Sunday shoots his 

veins until his own 

mother abandons him 

and takes responsibility 

for his children. Even 

after getting clean, a 

momentary relapse occurs 

and Sunday sees 

himself return to the 

same pit he had steered 

clear for 2 years. 

These clips are true 

picture of many people 

within our neighbourhood 

who are today, victims 

of drug and who 

may not find any way of 

getting out of it. Even 

when the spirit is willing, 

the body being the 

recipient and jolly good 

friend of the substance 

will be too weak to resist. 

Meanwhile, through 

relapse therapy and psychological 

intervention 

by the Freedom Foundation, 

Sunday and Fatima 

have been clean for 

years and are very well 

on their path to social 

reintegration. My Lagos 

Diaries continues to 

show the warm soft sides 

to the cold hard facts of 

drug addicts. It’s obvious 

that this predator live 

among us. As the effort 

of this organisation is 

worthwile, many cases 

are still seeking for attention 

in the remote 

sides of the country. 

The documentary series 

shows on Saturdays by on 

Silverbird TV, 7:30 p.m. 

Sundays on AIT by 6:30 

p.m., TVC by 9:30 p.m. 

& Ebonylife by 3 p.m.


08034019419 

Too hot to trot! 

Thousands of 

racegoers 

enjoyed a day of 

sunshine in the 

scorching 30C heat to celebrate 

St Patrick’s Day in Sydney. 

Ladies Day at Rosehill 

Racecourse was ripe with 

women donning colourful 

frocks while some decided to 

embrace the traditional Celtic 

festivities in green suits. 

Many revellers were seen 

letting their hair down as they 

embraced the spirit of the 

Irish. 

While St Patrick’s Day is 

generally celebrated in hues of 

green, some revellers chose to 

wear other bright frocks 

making them stand out from 

the crowd. 

The western suburb came to 

life on Saturday March 17 as 

thousands continued to spend 

the day sharing a laugh with 

friends. 

Whether they were wearing 

vibrant flower crowns or 

elegant gold head pieces, 

many made sure they caught 

the moment on camera. 

The men got in on the fun too, 

many wearing simple white 

shirts topped with groovy white 

fedoras and bright sunglasses. 

Champagne flutes were in 

hand while hundreds 

celebrated the day basking in 

the autumn sunshine. 

While the horses 

had run their race, 

festivities 

continued well into 

the afternoon. 

Some people enjoyed 

champagne through the day at 

Chandon S Ladies Day while 

others got a glance at the 

country’s best fillies and 

mares competing for $600,000 

at the prestigious Rosehill 

Gardens. 

Racegoers tested whether the 

luck of the Irish was on their side 

today placing bets on the winning 

horses as others may have received 

some unfortunate losses. 

Not many people appeared to 

look fatigued as they managed to 

remain in high spirits through the 

day and into the evening. 

There’s a pop-up restaurant 

which only employs 

HIV-positive staff 

We’ve come a long way in 

terms of understanding 

around HIV but there’s still a good 

dose of stigma attached to the 

condition. 

Some people still believe that it’s 

an illness exclusive to the LGBT 

community when of course, it’s not. 

So imagine the numbers who 

probably 

think you’d be at risk from eating 

food prepared by an HIV positive 

person. 

In fact, according to a survey last 

year, only half of participants said 

they’d willingly consume food 

made by someone with HIV. 

Which is why a Canadian popup 

restaurant has set up shop to 

help #SmashStigma. 

Casey House is a speciality 

HIV/AIDS hospital in Toronto 

and they’ve just launched a 

restaurant which exclusively 

employs staff who are HIV 

positive. 

Over two days, June’s Eatery 

has been serving four-course 

dinners for $125 to 200 customers, 

in a bid to ‘Break Bread, Smash 

Stigma’. 

All 14 members of staff have 

HIV and the space has been 

decorated with various 

outlandish slogans such as ‘I got 

HIV from pasta. Said no one 

ever’, and ‘Remember when 

people thought they could get 

HIV from toilet seats? LOL.’ 

‘For many people living with 

HIV, it’s the stigma that hurts the 

most,’ the restaurant says in a 

statement. 

‘June’s HIV+ Eatery is an 

opportunity to fight stigma with 

every bite. To come together in a 

show of 

love, 

support 

a n d 

acceptance, 

and to 

dispel 

the myths 

about 

HIV that 

condemn 

so many 

to suffer 

i n 

silence.’ 

And, 

according to Joanne Simons, 

head of Casey House, there are 

plans for more pop-ups. 

‘We’d love to be able to do it in 

places like New York and San 

Francisco and London,’ she tells 

out.com. 

Cheeky monkey! 

This is the hilarious moment 

a cheeky monkey nearly 

exposed an unsuspecting tourist 

after it pulled down 

her top. 

Brittany Bowman 

was travelling with 

friends when she 

visited Chiang Mai 

monkey centre in 

Thailand to visit the 

local macaques. 

The Los Angeles 

native let the baby 

monkey clamber 

over her after it 

jumped onto her leg. 

But while the 

macaque was 

attempting to swing 

up to her shoulders, 

it grabbed on to 

Brittany’s off-theshoulder 

top and 

almost pulled it 

down. 

Luckily Brittany 

pulled it back in 

time and managed 

to 

avoid 

embarrassment. 

Brittany said: ‘It left all 

of us laughing 

hysterically, almost to 

the point of tears. 

‘I was just so scared 

that the monkey was 

jumping on me that I 

didn’t even consider it 

would pull down my 

top. 

‘The owners said he 

must have been looking 

for breast milk. 

‘It was all just so 

random, I’m just glad 

we caught it on 

camera.’ 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Nigerian Army Finance Corps holds Wes 

est t Africa Social Activities 

The Nigerian Army Finance Corps recently held its 2017 annual West 

African Social Activities (WASA) at the Apapa headquarters of the Corps 

in Lagos. It was a fun-filled day that saw many soldiers walking home 

with prestigious awards and recognitions. 

GOC 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General E.O Udoh (3rd right); 

Army Chief of Accounts and Budget, Major General J.E Jakko (4th right); 

Director, Military Intelligence, Major General Tarfa with Senators and 

Federal House of Representative members. 

Commandant, 

Nigerian Army College 

of Logistics, Lagos, 

Major General 

Richard Duru (3rd 

right); DAFA, Brigadier 

A A Fayemiwo ( 4th 

right) GOC 81 Division, 

Nigerian Army, Major 

General E.O Udoh (6th 

right), Army CAB; Major General J.E Jakko (7th 

right) with other senior Army Officers at the 

event. 

Female soldiers and wives of soldiers engaged in 

a tug of war activity. 

2017 Nigerian Army Finance Corp Soldiers and 

Awardees all holding their awards. 

Nollywood ood actress Foluk 

oluke Daramola marks 

40th birthda 

thday, , 5th 

wedding anniver 

ersar 

sary 

NOLLYWOOD actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako celebrated her 40 th birthday and the fifth wedding 

anniversary of her marriage to Kayode Salako, a popular social commentator. The couple and their 

friends spent part of the day with children of Down Syndrome Centre, Surulere, Lagos. 

L-R: Army Chief of Accounts and Budget, Major 

General Jehadi Ezra Jakko, Rep. of Chief of Army 

Staff & General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 

Division, Nigerian Army, Major General 

Enobong.O Udoh and Director, Military 

Intelligence, Nigerian Army, Major General A 

Tarfa. 

Rotar 

tary Mega Club 

marks Int’l Women’s 

Day with awards ards to 

female members 

Foluke Daramola Salako, Dr. Joe Okei Odumakin 

(5th left) with children of Down Syndrome 

Centre, Surulere . 

Foluke Daramola Salako, and husband ,Kayode 

Salako with there Children. 

L-R : The President-Elect, Rotary Mega Club of 

Lagos Island, Rotary International District 9110 

Nigeria, Rotn Raj Kumar Gulati; Rotn. Vinod Garg; 

Rotn. Chief Dr. Anil Grover; Rotn Dr. Deinde 

Shoga; Rotn Sanjeev Tandon and Rotn Mamta 

Debroy. 

Foluke Daramola Salako, and husband, Kayode 

Salako (Middle) with Dr. Joe Okei Odumakin 

(5th left), Bose Arowoegbe and others with 

children of Down Syndrome Centre, Surulere . 

Foluke Daramola Salako, and husband, Kayode 

Salako[Middle] with children of Down Syndrome 

Centre Surulere,Lagos. 

L-R : Rotn. Mamta Debroy; Rotn. Nike Ajoke; Rotn. 

Geetika Tandon; Rotn Sanjeev Tandon; Rotn 

Grace Okafor and Rotn Dr. Deinde Shoga. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

Court strikes out corruption charges 

against Justice Ngwuta of S-Court 

•Says FG needs NJC’s approval to arrest, prosecute Judges 

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

THE Abuja Division of the 

Federal High Court, 

yesterday, struck out the 13- 

count criminal charge the 

Federal Government 

preferred against Justice 

Sylvester Ngwuta of the 

Supreme Court. 

The court, in a ruling that 

was delivered by trial Justice 

John Tsoho, held that Federal 

Government failed to fulfil the 

condition required before a 

serving judicial officer could 

be arrested or charged to court 

over corruption related 

offences. 

Relying on a recent 

decision of the Court of 

Appeal in the case involving 

Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa 

who was also accused of 

engaging in acts of corruption, 

Justice Tsoho, maintained that 

Federal Government ought to 

allow the National Judicial 

Council, NJC, to 

“appropriately scrutinize” 

allegations against judicial 

officers, before charging them 

to court. 

“Any direct arrest and 

prosecution of a judicial officer 

by security agencies as in the 

present case should be 

declared a nullity,” the court 

held. 

According to the court, it 

was not in dispute that Justice 

Ngwuta is a serving judicial 

officer, stressing that sections 

152, 158 and Paragraph 21, 

Part 1 of the Third Schedule 

of the 1999 Constitution are 

clear and unambiguous to the 

effect that only the NJC has 

administrative and statutory 

powers to discipline judicial 

officers. 

“No matter how 

incompetent the NJC may 

seem to the security agencies, 

its powers are constitutionally 

vested,” Justice Tsoho held, 

adding that such powers 

“cannot be switched or 

overrun under democracy.” 

“This court is of the view 

that it will be tidier and safer 

that all kinds of offences 

against judicial officers must 

first pass through the NJC.” 

He said the NJC should be 

allowed to “first consider 

cases involving judicial 

officers across all offences 

before the involvement of 

security agencies.” 

Besides, the court noted that 

some of the charges against 

Ngwuta were vague. 

“This court has difficulty 

seeing a clear distinction as 

to whether the alleged acts 

are within the scope of 

Applicant’s performance of 

his official function or outside 

the scope of offences within 

the rank of theft, arson or 

murder.” 

The court said it was not 

persuaded by Federal 

Government ‘s argument that 

the appellate court had in 

Nganjiwa’s case, held that 

judicial officers could be 

prosecuted for committing 

offences like theft, arson or 

murder, without recourse to 

the NJC. 

It maintained that Federal 

Government has no option 

than to report erring judicial 

officers to the NJC, pending 

the filling of lacunas in the 

constitution. 

Justice Ngwuta had 

through his lawyer, Chief 

Kanu Agabi, SAN, prayed the 

court to quash charges against 

him which bordered on money 

laundering charge, age 

falsification, as well as his 

alleged possession of multiple 

international passports. 

He argued that the court 

lacked the jurisdiction to hear 

the charge since his trial was 

not okayed by the NJC. 

The embattled apex court 

jurist was docked before the 

high court on November 21, 

2016, and later granted bail to 

the tune of N100million. 

He was among eight 

superior court judges who 

were arrested after a sting 

operation the Department of 

State Service, DSS, conducted 

in October, 2016. 

FG said the DSS had at the 

end of the search operation 

conducted at Ngwuta’s official 

residence, recovered several 

sums of cash, including the 

sum of Thirty-five Million, 

three hundred and fifty-eight 

thousand naira 

(NGN35,358,000.00); Three 

hundred and nineteen 

thousand, five hundred and 

ninety- six United States 

dollars ($319,596.00). 

Also recovered was the 

sum of Twenty-five thousand 

nine hundred and fifteen 

Pounds Sterling (GBP 25,915) 

and two hundred and eighty 

Euros (EURO 280.00). 

Federal Government told 

the court that shortly after 

Ngwuta was granted 

administrative bail by the 

DSS, he quickly called the 

PW-1, one Mr. Linus 

Nwamba, to help him conceal 

some of the evidence against 

him, including N27million he 

hid in his bathroom at 

Abakaliki in Ebonyi State. 

The prosecution told the 

court that the defendant 

equally removed three exotic 

cars from his residence in his 

home town. 

It told the court that 

Nwamba initially hid the bag 

that contained the 

N27million cash at the 

residence of one Abraham 

Ezeani in Abakaliki, saying 

the Money,“was 

subsequently dissipated by 

Mr Nwamba on the direct 

instructions of the defendant/ 

applicant.” 

It listed the three exotic cars 

that Ngwuta allegedly 

attempted to conceal, as a 

Hummer Jeep Sports Utility 

Vehicle, Wrangler Jeep 

Sports Utility Vehicle and a 

BMW 5 Series Sedan Vehicle 

which it said was quickly 

moved by the defendant to 

Clevero Hotel in Abakaliki, 

Ebonyi State. 

Federal Government said 

the properties which it 

maintained were derived 

from the proceeds of an 

unlawful act, were all 

recovered by investigators on 

November 11, following 

Nwamba’s arrest, weeks after 

the defendant had been 

released on administrative 

bail. 

More so, the government 

alleged that Ngwuta was in 

possession of multiple 

international passports, 

which he allegedly used 

interchangeably to travel 

abroad, especially to 

Seychelles and the United 

Arab Emirate, UAE. 

An operative of the DSS, 

Mr. Aminu Ndakpoto who 

testified as a prosecution 

witness in the matter, told the 

court that the defendant 

claimed that the funds that 

were found in his house, 

which were stashed inside 

bags, were proceeds of his 

palm oil and rice business. 

He said Ngwuta equally 

admitted under interrogation 

that he was into foreign 

exchange business that 

involved buying and selling 

of currencies with “Mallams”. 


Unilever partners local 

farmers to reduce importation 

of raw materials 

By Naomi Uzor 

IN line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s 

strategy to deepen the quality of growth through 

the backward integration policy, Unilever Nigeria Plc 

yesterday demonstrated its support for the policy through 

its “Partner to Win”initiative. 

Partner to Win, is Unilever Nigeria’s initiative of 

investing in capabilities of intermediary companies to 

enable them convert farm produce to usable goods that 

will be sourced by the company as part of its raw materials 

locally. The organization believes this will enable it achieve 

a significant reduction in the importation of raw materials 

by working with local partners. 

Speaking at the Manufacturing and Equipment, 

Nigerian Raw Materials Expo, Unilever, West Africa, 

Procurement Director, Thomas Mwanza gave examples 

of steps taken by Unilever to achieve this drive in 

packaging and agro-based materials. 

“Already, Unilever has achieved over 90% in local 

sourcing of packaging materials. The aim is to achieve 

100% by the end of 2019 and overcome the current 

challenges of local vendor’s capacity to meet up with 

global best standard. In agro-allied sector, Unilever is 

partnering with intermediary companies, for the supply 

of cassava and starch.” 

Providing the motivation for this decision,Mwanza said, 

“the backward integration programme of the Federal 

Government is a sound policy and as an organization we 

are committed to this initiative. We have found strong 

connections between this policy and our business model. 

18yrs after marriage, 

52-yr-old Pry school teacher 

delivers triplet 

By Dayo Johnson Akure 

A 

52 year-old primary school teacher, Wosilat 

Olamoyegun, has delivered a set of triplets after 18 

years of barrenness. 

The delivery was carried out at the Ondo State Specialist 

hospital, Ondo town through Ceasarian Section, CS 

operations. Reports had it that the nursing mother of the 

triplets teaches at Saint Micheal primary school, Oboto in 

Ondo East Local Government area of the state. 

Saturday Vanguard was informed that the mother of the 

babies had spent three years in another wedlock before she 

opted out to marry her new husband and had stayed with 

him for 18 years until the babies came. 

Speaking with newsmen, the nursing mother who was 

elated said she had been with her husband for over 18years 

without a child. Olamoyegun appealed to the state 

government through the Wormen Affairs Ministry to come 

to their aide to take care of the “ precious gifts from God.” 

She equally solicited for assistance from public-spirited 

individuals and non-governmental organisations. 

Olamoyegun pointed out that to take care of the babies 

was beyond them and would need urgent assistance. 

Also speaking with newsmen, the father of the new babies 

Muyideen who is a Human Right Activist said that Nigerians 

should “ rally round his family at this crucial period.” 

Why Ogoni cleanup is yet to 

commence — HYPREP 

By Michael Eboh 

A 

member of the Board of Trustees of the 

Hydrocarbon Remediation Project, HYPREP, Mr. 

Mike Emuh, has said the seeming delay in the 

commencement of the cleanup of Ogoni land, was as a 

result of the special nature of the project, as well as economic 

and technical challenges. 

In an interview with Vanguard in Abuja, Emuh, who is 

also the National Chairman of Host Communities of Nigeria 

Producing Oil and Gas, HOSTCOM, said the Ogoni 

cleanup project was unlike infrastructure projects where 

contractors quote, and were then mobilized to site. 

Emuh, who is representing oil producing communities on 

the HYPREP Board, said the cleanup was presently at the 

demonstration stages and a number of companies were 

already at the sites displaying their competencies. 

According to him, the project was delayed because of issues 

of locating a site where the wastes could be dropped for 

conversion to energy; other factors included Nigeria’s 

economic recession and challenges in the Niger Delta region 

which hampered Nigeria’s revenue profile and the inability 

of the Federal Government to include the project in the budget 

of the country in 2016 and 2017.


Why we are celebrating 

ordinary women 

— founder, Sheroes Initiative 

Many years ago Yemi Adenuga, a member of the golden age of 

broadcasting in Nigeria, left her job at AIT to relocate to Ireland 

more than a decade ago. After a stint with IBM, she began a nongovernmental 

organization (NGO) which eventually gave birth to 

Sheroes, an initiative which seeks to honour ordinary women doing 

extraordinary things in the society. 

As she debuts Sheroes in Nigeria via a launch event, she dialogues 

with Morenike Taire about what has been, and what is to come. 

What has the response been so 

far to your initiative? 

The response in Nigeria has 

been very positive and 

encouraging. Everyone is intrigued by the 

name SHEROES and ask how they can be a 

part of the initiative. We get a lot of questions 

and we give answers. Many have said the 

projects within the initiative are very much 

needed at this time and are a welcome 

development in Nigeria. The women, youth 

and Schools that have participated in one 

project or the other all give positive feedback 

and we are encouraged to do more. We are 

happy we are making positive impact in the 

lives of women and youth and will continue 

to do so. We have been running some of our 

projects in Nigeria over the past 2 years and 

they have been so well received. We even find 

ourselves doing more in Nigeria now as 

people become aware of what we do and want 

to benefit from them. So the launch in Nigeria 

on the 23 rd March is a formality to let 

people know that we are here. 

But what makes you think that what obtains 

abroad can be duplicated in Nigeria? 

All over the world, regardless of race, 

religion, nationality and even status in the 

society, one of the issues that bind women 

together is the need to be seen, and their 

voices heard, and not to be limited in the 

things they can do or achieve just because 

they are women. Nigerian women have 

stepped up so amazingly and can stand side 

by side with any woman from any part of the 

world at their level. If given half the chance 

most women abroad have, Nigerian women 

will do better because circumstances have 

conditioned them to be resilient and creative, 

making the best of what they have in the face 

of little or nothing. The need to be 

recognised for their efforts and celebrated for 

their achievements is addressed by our 

SHEROES Global Awards which has been 

running in Ireland since 2015 and will be 

duplicated here in Nigeria. 

While girls are often raised to be “good 

wives”, there’s no commensurate lesson for 

boys in many cultures. Many boys do not 

receive explicit encouragement to fully access 

their emotions and as a result, they are many 

angry and emotionally unstable men out there 

in our society today. With the increase in the 

rate of domestic violence in homes, and with 

husbands stabbing and maiming their wives 

on a daily basis, it is important that the next 

generation of men are deliberately taught 

how to treat women right, from when they are 

boys. This need is addressed by our 

SHEROES BOYS-TO-MEN project which is 

designed to help raise Boys to be good men. 

The Project is focused on giving boys an 

orientation of becoming good men for our girls, 

helping them grow into caring, confident, 

responsible men. The goal of the campaign is 

simple: TO RAISE GOOD MEN. A good man 

will be a good husband, good father and a 

good colleague or boss to the women he works 

with. 

Thousands of students in secondary schools 

face the on-going challenge of deciding what 

they want to do as a career when they leave 

school; hence they struggle with picking 

subjects for their final exams. Many pick ‘easy’ 

subjects they believe they can pass, not 

thinking of its usefulness in relation to a 

specific career, and others are even forced to 

go with what either their teachers or parents 

tell them to study as a career. The resulting 

effect is what we see today; thousands of 

graduates who studied English literature 

working in banks, some studied 

Accounting but have turned religious 

leaders, and many with amazing 

results are still jobless. Our 

SHEROES EXPLORING 

OPTIONS CAREER PROJECT 

addresses this issue, creating 

valuable opportunities for 

young people to engage in 

creative thinking, become 

innovative and develop an 

entrepreneurial mind-set 

early in life. The project 

gives career talks and The 

‘EXPLORING OPTIONS’ 

career book FREE to 

students and youth, 

helping them decided 

on a career path very 

early in Life. So far, 

2,500 copies of the 

books have been given 

FREE to students and 

youth. 

I could go on and 

on, but the point 

here is that the 

issues we 

address in 

our projects 

are all so similar all over the world and our 

projects are developed to address needs and 

can be replicated anywhere in the world. 

You are celebrating ordinary women doing 

great things. That is a bit different. What do 

you hope to achieve by that? 

There are so many awards programs out 

there that recognise celebrities and high 

achievers. The SHEROES Global AWARDs, 

which became one of our SHEROES 

programs in Ireland in 2015 is designed to be 

an uplifting event, where women from every 

walk of life who inspire, influence and impact 

are celebrated equally in one big Award 

ceremony. 

The annual Award ceremony encourages 

individuals to nominate any woman who has 

inspired or impacted their lives or the lives 

of others, to be recognised and celebrated as 

a SHERO. The UNIQUENESS OF 

SHEROES Global AWARDS is that it is a 

‘once-in-a-lifetime’ recognition Award (can 

only be received ONCE in a lifetime) and 

All over the world, 

regardless of race, 

religion, nationality and 

even status in the society, 

one of the issues that 

bind women together is 

the need to be seen, and 

their voices heard, and 

not to be limited in the 

things they can do or 

achieve just because 

they are women 

every winner earns the title of SHERO. What 

we aim to achieve every year is to identify, 

recognize and celebrate ordinary women who 

do extraordinary things that positively 

inspire, influence and impact the lives of 

others, motivate the SHEROES by letting 

them know their selfless act of kindness is 

seen & appreciated, and encourage them to 

do more while inspiring others to start, or keep 

doing things to inspire, influence and impact 

lives. 

What are the criteria for choosing the 

Sheroes? 

Our SHERO is that woman who shows 

strength and courage in the mist of 

challenges, thrives under pressure, renders 

acts of kindness in spite of her own personal 

challenges, gives in the midst of little, 

triumphs over her circumstances and is an 

inspiration to people around her, impacting 

them positively. It could be that pepper seller 

by the roadside who consistently helps little 

children cross the road on their way to and 

from school without even knowing who their 

parents are, or that little young girl who was 

abused, but rather than allow the horrible 

experience of that violation affect her life 

negatively, courageously decides to use her 

story to create much needed awareness, 

waking the consciousness of parents to the 

reality of abuse in homes. Anyone 

nominating their SHERO is encouraged to 

send as much information as they can about 

their nominee, because an independent 

selection panel (Not a panel of judges, as 

nominees are not judged) first draws a short 

lists from the many nominations, and the final 

women to be celebrated as SHEROES are 

decided by the public through a public voting 

system. Another uniqueness of SHEROES 

Global Awards is that there are no finalists in 

different categories. All women to be 

celebrated as SHEROES know they are 

winners before the Awards and come to the 

Awards ceremony to be celebrated. Their 

stories inspire, motivating many to want to 

do good. 

How do you intend to sustain the program? 

Since we started in 2012, SHEROES Global 

has not had to rely on public funding to run 

its projects or programs. We’ve been selffunded 

through personal support from 

members of the organisation, the funds 

generated from some of our projects and with 

some support from kind-hearted individuals 

who believe in the vision and want to see it 

continue to grow. Every member of our team 

(our SUPERSHEROES) and our 

AMBASSADORS are passionate about the 

initiative and its goal, going above and 

beyond, volunteering their precious time and 

expertise. We do so much with the little 

resources we have and have become experts 

are channeling the little we have to achieving 

big and highly impactful results. We are 

consistent, action oriented and focused on 

delivering our projects on a timeline each year. 

We are an action organisation that talks less 

and works more, thriving on the goodwill of 

those who believe in and support our work. 

You can imagine what level of impact we will 

have if the resources are more. This is how 

we have sustained the initiative since 2012 

and we are confident that the result oriented 

work we do will continue to draw the needed 

resources to, not just keep us going, but to 

expand even further, just as we have expanded 

from Ireland into Nigeria now. Our 

motivation is the growing number of 

positively impacted women and youth whose 

lives are changed for good through our work 

and we are continually inspired by their 

willingness to pay-it-forward and touch other 

lives too.

Dapchi Girls, politics and 

the price of insurgency 

Different media organizations 

have from within and 

outside the country, bandied 

different figures on the number of 

schoolgirls that had been released 

of the 110 abducted February 19 by 

suspected Boko Haram insurgents; 

from Government Girls Science and 

Technical College Dapchi, Yobe 

state. Finally, most have settled on 

101. 

As most of the nation rejoices, it 

has been impossible to overlook such 

confusions, which have over the 

years proved fodder for conspiracy 

theorists who are convinced both the 

Dapchi and Chibok episodes are 

politically driven. 

Needless to say even the very 

phenomenon of insurgency itself is 

innately political. Terrorism has 

always existed all over the world not 

only as a protest but a tool of 

coercion as well as for political 

negotiations. To say therefore that 

the abduction of persons by terrorists 

is a political occurrence is stating the 

obvious, and therefore not saying 

much. Terrorism is a highly 

organized and expensive venture, 

and the high level of organization 

and capacity which usually attends 

it cannot exist for fun or merely to 

massage egos. 

When we understand what 

terrorism is, we have a clearer idea 

that bodies such as Boko Haram are 

part of highly organized international 

pressure groups that are looking for 

something and go to any lengths to 

achieve it, including to rape, raze, 

kidnap and kill. It would therefore 

be naïve and simplistic to say the 

least, to limit the political interests 

influencing organizations such as 

Boko Haram to the administrations 

of one president or the other. 

Admittedly, there exist too many 

reasons to doubt the veracity of the 

Chibok and Dapchi episodes. Apart 

from the obvious 

problem of logistics, 

it has proven almost 

impossible to keep 

the stories and 

numbers consistent. 

But to dismiss them 

on the basis of 

timing- being a year 

before elections- is 

stretching a 

coincidence way too 

far. 

Still, by far the 

most convincing part of the 

conspiracy theories, is the 

fact that Minister of 

Defense Mansur Dan-Ali 

had this week predicted the 

return of the Dapchi girls 

based, according to him, on 

security reports. 

The drama that has 

attended the return of the 

girls has not helped 

matters either. While 

government claims it paid 

no ransoms, Boko Haram 

militants on dropping off 

the girls as though they 

were school bus operators, 

had issued an ominous warning to 

the parents of the Nigerian 

schoolgirls after releasing the girls 

in the town where they were 

abducted: “Don’t ever put your 

daughters in school again.” 

The innuendoes do not alter the 

facts, and the facts are dire. An 

estimated 3 million Nigerians are 

affected by the Boko Haram 

insurgency in a direct manner. Most 

of them are homeless, jobless/ out of 

school and disenfranchised. Many 

move South, putting an 

unprecedented amount of pressure 

on Southern cities such as Lagos. 

Some of the ‘migrants’ have families 


they can put up with. Others 

do not, and have to live in 

camps under deplorable 

conditions. All have to get 

back on their feet and hit the 

ground running in order to 

make a living. They have to 

learn fast, so many of the 

skills they pick up are only 

half baked. Many are 

distressed, unable to get 

over the death of loved ones. 

Many die. 

The rest of Nigeria carries 

on as though the North East 

is not part of the country. 

The internally displaced are 

majorly ignored by 

authorities. No real 

measures are in place to 

resettle them. 

But the chickens will come 

home to roost. The region 

that produces more than 

50% of the nation’s food is 

handicapped. It is a matter 

of time before food scarcity 

becomes an issue. It is a 

matter of time before 

insurgency comes 

southwards as well. 

We have seen this happen 

in other countries such as Sierra 

Leone and Liberia where war waged 

in the hinterlands for ten years but 

was not recognized as war until it 

reached the big cities. We have seen 

it happen even in Nigeria where the 

Fulani Herdsmen trouble raged in 

the north for decades, and was not 

considered a problem until it came 

to the south. 

Recognizing insurgency as a 

national emergency and acting as 

though it were, is what should be the 

priority of all citizens at this time, 

whether or not they are politicians 

or in government. 

RELIGION 

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday 

By Sam Eyoboka 

A major hall mark of the 

feast is the celebration of 

the Holy Mass followed by 

a procession of the faithful 

carrying palm 

branches, representing 

the Jews who celebrated 

Christ's entrance into 

Jerusalem 

CHRISTIANS and 

indeed Catholics 

the world over will tomorrow 

mark the feast of 

the Palm Sunday. 

Palm Sunday is the 

commemoration of the 

triumphant Entrance of 

our Lord into Jerusalem 

following His glorious 

miracle of raising 

Lazarus from the dead. 

According to a release 

by the Director, Social 

Communications, Catholic 

Archdiocese of Lagos, 

Msgr. Gabriel Osu, 

“Palm Sunday is one of 

the Major Feasts of our 

Lord, and it is the day on 

which the Lord Jesus 

Christ entered Jerusalem 

as a King, riding o-n a 

donkey and a colt, the foal 

of a donkey. Accordingly, 

the crowds with palm and olive 

branches, who joyfully chanted 

“Hosanna, Son of David”, greeted 

Him. On this day also, we receive 

and worship Christ in this same 

manner, acknowledging Him as our 

King and Lord.” 

He explained further that Palm 

Sunday also marks the beginning 

of Holy Week, the final week of 

Lent, and the week in which Christians 

celebrate the 

mystery of their salvation 

through 

Christ's Death and 

His Resurrection on 

Easter Sunday. The 

Holy Week starts 

from Sunday and 

will run till Good 

Friday, March 30, 

2018. 

A major hall mark 

of the feast is the celebration 

of the Holy 

Mass followed by a 

procession of the 

faithful carrying 

palm branches, representing 

the Jews 

who celebrated 

Christ's entrance 

into Jerusalem. 

Here in the Archdiocese 

of Lagos, 

the Archbishop of 

Lagos, His Grace Alfred 

Adewale Martins 

is expected to 

lead thousands of the 

faithful in Palm Sunday 

procession 

through the streets of 

Lagos Island and environs.


bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 

Women who deal 

uppercuts on hubbies! 

Awhile back, I toyed with 

the idea of looking into 

spousal abuse, especially 

where a woman gives as much 

as men in the put-down game. 

What jogged my memory 

recently is this letter from a 

male reader detailing abusive 

treatment suffered in the hands 

of his girlfriend. “My partner 

and I have broken up after she 

beat me up for the fourth time,” 

he wrote. “We had a violent 

relationship for a lot of the time 

we were together, and the last 

time she attacked me, I warned 

her that if it happened again, 

we were finished. I never 

raised a finger to her in my 

defence whenever she 

physically attacked me because 

I do not believe in violence. In 

the end I could take no more, 

so ended the relationship. You 

would think I would be happy 

to be rid of a shrew like her, 

but I miss her so much and I 

want her but I haven’t seen her 

since we split, and I can’t get 

her out of my mind. I know 

there’s a chance we could 

patch things up, all I need to 

do is ask her to let us try 

again. And I’m so tempted to 

do just that. I keep thinking of 

her warm body next to mine at 

night, and the way she used to 

kiss and hold me. Also, I think 

of the passion in our lovemaking 

and all these make me 

miss her so much. Do you 

think it is normal for me to 

want her, even though she 

physically abused me 

whenever she was mad at me?” 

This reader’s torment shows 

that you can’t switch off love 

like a tap. But that doesn’t 

mean you should condone 

abusive behaviour no matter 

how obsessed you are with 

your partner. Unfortunately, 

most abusive relationships are 

not physical. 

Verbal abuse hurts as much 

as physical ones if not more. 

These are by people who 

deliver verbal blows where it 

hurts. As soon as a female 

partner gets a whiff of her 

mate’s infidelity, the fangs are 

out. To make things worse, a 

large number of men now deal 

with one sexual problem or the 

other which affects their 

potency. One or two failures in 

the bedroom and the partner 

instantly concludes he’s 

having so much extra dose 

outside he’s run out of rations 

for her. That’s when she 

starts attacking her 

manhood. “Don’t think 

you’re the only man 

around with a dick?” 

she sneers, “If you can’t 

get it up there are loads 

that can.” She then 

starts getting dressed 

provocatively; giving 

the partner the 

impression she’s having 

affairs. Men in this 

situation either sink low 

into depression because 

of their partner’s 

callous indifference or 

fight back by being 

violent. Some wives 

sneer at husbands 

who’ve lost their 

lucrative jobs and have 

to settle for jobs that 

don’t pay quite as much 

as the old ones. They 

compare their men with 

friends’ husbands who 

they believe are better 

providers. And some 

foolishly try affairs with 

other men because it is 

easy to be tempted 

when you are feeling 

neglected and unloved. 

There could be many 

reasons why a male 

partner has erection 

problems and these 

have nothing to do with 

his partner. He might 

be stressed or 

depressed or have a 

physical problem that 

scares him off sharing it 

with a close partner. 

The last time I 

took off my 

clothes, he 

sneered at my 

drooping breast 

and bulging 

stomach. He said 

it would be 

tough finding 

another man if 

we broke up. I 

told him to look 

into the mirror 

and take a 

critical look at 

himself. Any girl 

who’s insane 

enough to go out 

with him with his 

wrinkly face 

would do so for 

money which he 

hasn’t got 

Whatever the cause, 

there is every chance 

he could be helped, but 

he needs to be 

persuaded to seek help. 

Instead of attacking him 

and putting him down, 

drop hints about 

friends’ spouses who 

had problems and sort 

help. As for the reader 

whose partner was 

always trying to spar 

with him, his best bet is 

to forget about her. The 

next time he is tempted 

to get back with her, he 

should not think of the 

good times. Instead, he 

should think of all the 

times she beat him up. 

I’m sure she would 

have apologized each 

time it happened and 

promised it would 

never happen again. 

Yet it did, and if he 

takes her back, it will 

keep on happening 

until she completely 

destroys his self-esteem 

and confidence. 

Don’t get me wrong, it 

is not only women that 

indulge in verbal 

abuse, some men have 

sharp tongues too. 

“Whenever a relative I 

haven’t seen in ages 

suddenly makes an 

appearance, I instantly 

put my guards on,” 

sighed Vicky. She’s 

been married for almost 

20 years with grown-up 

children, yet her 

husband still believes their 

dirty linen has to be 

washed in the glare of their 

separate relatives. 

“He’s the one always 

running to them when we 

have tiffs,” she said sadly. 

“He then paints scary 

pictures of the type of wife 

he was married to, how I 

never see eye-to-eye with 

the first daughter he had 

before he met me and how 

I never want to make love. 

How unreasonable can you 

get? Here is a man who 

criticizes all I do most of 

the time, who says I don’t 

like his daughter that is a 

delinquent with two kids 

from different fathers and 

gives me peanuts as house 

keeping money. We had an 

almighty row when his first 

daughter, who is 28 wanted 

to live with us with her two 

kids in a three bedroom 

flat! With all these attacks 

coming from him all the 

time, how does he expect 

me to switch off and make 

love to him? I can’t even 

have submissive sex with 

him! 

‘I’ve since realize there 

are men who like having 

an audience when they feel 

pain. They exaggerate 

these pains; tell the world 

the type of shrews they 

have to put up with just to 

fish for sympathy. I feel sad 

that I made that error of 

judgment when I first 

noticed these traits in the 

early years and mistook it 

for love. He’s now started 

criticizing my body. The 

last time I took off my 

clothes, he sneered at my 

drooping breast and 

bulging stomach. He said it 

would be tough finding 

another man if we broke 

up. Calmly, I told him to 

look into the mirror and 

take a critical look at 

himself. Any girl who’s 

insane enough to go out 

with him with his wrinkly 

face would do so for money 

which he hasn’t got. 

He was mildly shocked 

that I could retaliate. But 

things have got to the point 

where I’ve realized I don’t 

have a husband—I’m living 

with a grouch and I don’t 

think I want to live the rest 

of my life this way....” 

C 

M 

Y 

K

Vanguard, SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2018—37 

Yetunde Arebi 

Twitter: @yetundearebi 

yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk 

08054700825 

Hi, 

Take it or leave it. Women are the 

darkest of God’s creatures. Save for 

grace, the mind of a woman is deep, 

almost bottomless. It is dark and filled with 

a pot pouri of emotions. Name it; joy, 

sadness, love, hate, jealousy, envy, anger 

happiness, unforgiveness, etc. In one 

minute she can be cold as ice and in the 

next, as hot as lava. Her ability to 

manipulate and control her emotions and 

actions to suit her purpose often make her 

tower above the male specie, having 

imbibed in her strides, the ability to stoop 

to conquer all odds. Call her the weaker 

sex at your own peril. and they come one 

tougher that the other, each with her own 

peculiarity. How good or how bad she is 

depends largely on how she is able to 

control the elements around her. The 

average woman’s mission is simply to 

conquer her territory, whatever the 

circumstance. A woman by nature is a solo 

agent on a mission to conquer. So, when 

she finds a female co - traveller, a friend 

whom she finds comfort in, it is easy to let 

herself go. However, the complex nature 

of women seem to be their undoing, thus 

their often inability to make strong, lasting 

friendship with each other. Whereas men 

disagree, argue and fight but make up or 

part amicably, many women lack the 

emotional ability to hold it together when 

things go sour in their friendships. Rather 

than take things in their stride, count their 

losses and move on, each want to be right, 

each want to play the victim, each want to 

be better than the other, each want to 

conquer. So, they through caution to the 

winds, point accusing fingers at each 

other, spill their guts of old secrets shared, 

conspiracies executed and favours 

gestured, all in a bid to outshine each other. 

Believe me, you do not want to see what 

goes down when two female best friends 

turn enemies. Such was my plight a few 

weeks ago when I walked into one 

unexpectedly. I had gone to visit an older 

cousin who had come from America on 

holiday. I had not seen her in many years 

so, I was looking forward to our catch up 

gist. No sooner had we began did two 

women walk in, one a few minutes after 

the other. Without a thought about my 

presence, they went into their discussion 

almost immediately. From the conversation, 

it was obvious they had come to settle a 

dispute and that one of them had been 

there prior. Pretending not to be interested, 

I reluctantly asked to be excused to wait in 

the dining area and was happy when they 

all chorused that I could stay and listen in 

and perhaps help judge in the dispute as 

a woman. What I took away from the 

conversations left a very terrible bile taste 

in my mouth. And to think these women 

had no idea who I was but were ready to 

spill this much was more confounding. 

Today, you will get to read what the first 

woman, apparently the more aggrieved 

and the first to talk had to say. I will call 

her India, for the purpose of this 

publication. Do have a wonderful 

weekend!! 

“Tessa, (39), a Civil Servant, is accusing 

her best friend of envy and betrayal: I don’t 

have much to say about the whole matter. 

All I want you to do for me is warn her to 

stop chasing after me. I know she is 

planning some evil or misfortune for me, 

but my God will not allow her to succeed. 

(the other woman claps her hands in 

disbelieve) She is not my friend. I have 

noticed this through her behaviour before, 

but now, I have confirmed it and I know 

she is after my life. If not because of the 

gift of dreams that God gave me, I might 

not have been able to detect her plans for 

me. And my dreams always come to pass, 

so I believe in them. I have seen her three 

times in separate dreams. Once, I saw her 

discussing with people that I don’t talk to 

anymore. She knows I don’t, and I have 

When friendships 

go sour, Yawa 

fit gas 

I had not seen her in 

many years so, I was 

looking forward to 

our catch up gist. No 

sooner had we began 

did two women walk 

in, one a few minutes 

after the other 

told her to steer clear of them if she wants 

to remain my friend. So, why was she with 

my enemies in my dream? The second 

time, she was chasing me with a stick and 

shouting my name. I don’t know what 

she said I did to her in the dream, but I 

saw myself running away from her. The 

third time, we were fighting each other. 

And when I fight with someone in my 

dream, it is a bad omen. That is why I 

have come to report her to you. In fact, 

when I heard that you have arrived 

Nigeria on holiday, I was very happy 

because I don’t want you to hear about 

our quarrel in America. It is because you 

are very fond of her that I have come to 

report this matter to you. If it were to be 

someone else that is doing what she is 

doing to me, I know what I would do to 

the person. (My eyes pop!! What in hell’s 

name is this about?) 

Please don’t be annoyed, 

you must take things easy. 

What is the actual problem, 

what is her offence? I asked. 

Thank you aunty, you too 

can help us judge this matter, 

after all, you are a woman. 

We have been good friends 

now for almost five years, at 

least, since they moved to this 

neighbourhood. We do 

things together and everyone 

knows we are good friends. 

Your sister can attest to this 

too. I loved her like a sister 

and I believe she loved me 

too. But her behaviour of 

recent have opened my eyes. 

She is not a true friend after 

all. She has not been as loyal 

with me as I have been with 

her. There is nothing I have 

not done to show her how 

much I love her, but she still 

goes around stabbing me in 

the back everywhere I turn. 

Please, ask her if I have not 

allowed my boyfriend to have 

sex with me in her presence 

before. (Mow, I adjust myself 

properly in my seat. This is 

surely more interesting than 

I had thought) We took her 

out with us and had sex in 

the same room with her. What 

more can I do for my friend? 

My secrets are with her, I 

have hidden nothing from 

her. Maybe this is why she is 

behaving like this with me. 

It is my house which is still 

under construction that has 

caused all these problems oh. 

She is jealous of my success. 

You can’t believe that as close 

as we claim to be, she does 

not know the site of the house 

I am building in my home 

town. Last year, when we 

went to lay the foundation for the 

construction, we had a small service and 

light entertainment for the guests. I 

didn’t even know that people do this sort 

of thing. It was suggested to me by some 

friends at my office. They said it is like 

committing the project into God’s hands 

and also a fund raising of sort as guest 

would chip in to assist. So, I had to invite 

those I know would give me substantial 

money. When I informed her, she agreed 

that it was a good idea. But you can’t 

believe that she did not help me with 

the preparations at all. On that day, my 

best friend did not show up until late in 

the evening when the event was almost 

over and many of the guests had left. 

She stayed up for a while and later 

demanded for a bed to sleep. Her excuse 

was that she had a rough time with her 

car on the way to my home town as she 

didn’t have a driver. The next day, she 

didn’t even bother to ask me to take her 

to the location until she left. Up till today, 

ask my friend if she knows the place. 

Is it my fault that she doesn’t have 

money to build a house of her own? Or 

is it my fault that she doesn’t have 

enough boyfriends to attend to her 

needs? I have four boyfriends right now 

and she knows all of them. One of them 

is an Oba, though of a small town in Epe, 

Lagos state. She complained that she did 

not like my relationship with him. Ok, 

now that I think of it, maybe this was 

actually where the problems started. She 

calls him Oba jege jege, but I know that 

even if he is not a first class Oba or very 

rich, he has the name and personality to 

command respect. Even in his so-called 

wretchedness according to her, oh, I 

know the things I have gained through 

his assistance. As regards the house I 

am building, he has assisted me with 

several tippers of sand and gravels. That 

is not to mention the people I have been 

opportune to meet through him. 

It is things like these that I have been 

telling her that she should be looking 

for in relationships. But she will never 

listen. She loves going out with men who 

are not worth the bother. Many of them 

don’t even give her anything tangible, 

instead, she spends her own money on 

them. Whenever I ask that we buy 

something together, she will always have 

one excuse or another. The standard one 

is that she has no money. How can she 

have money when all her money goes 

into irrelevant ventures? How much can 

she make from a boutique, or how much 

can her husband give her? I have tried 

to fix her up with better men, but they 

never like her. Is that my fault? She 

doesn’t have the luck for men like I have. 

Ask her if it is a lie. Once, Kabiyesi threw 

a party. I invited her with three other 

friends who wanted boyfriends. 

Everyone of them caught a man friend 

each, but my friend did not find any 

suitable man. Am I to blame for that? 

She doesn’t know that I have spies in 

her shop who give me full details of what 

she does there. She has a new boyfriend 

who has entered her system, so she can’t 

reason properly anymore. I was told by 

my spies that they were discussing my 

affairs at the boutique over a bottle of 

Stout. Can you imagine? Maybe she was 

drunk then, because I still find it difficult 

to believe. All I want is that, you should 

warn her for me. If she wants to go her 

own way, let her do so without going 

around to spoil my name. I know that I 

am not so lucky when it comes to having 

a loving and caring husband. But I am 

grateful to God for giving me the luck to 

have the love of my boyfriends. They 

swarm around me like bees and I am 

only trying to do her a favour. ( She is 

now haughty and boastful, a smack look 

on her face) If she doesn’t want it 

anymore, she can go. This is my own 

side of the story”.


Day Ezeagu hosted Ugwuanyi, endorsed him for 2nd term 

Communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State last Saturday organised 

a civic reception for governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi where they endorsed him for a second 

term come the 2019 elections. Photo: Henry Unini 

Ugwuanyi 

and his 

deputy 

Cecelia 

Ezeilo 

acknowledging 

cheers on 

arrival in 

Ezeagu. 

Prof. Chike Anibeze (right) Chairman of the Planning 

committee welcoming Governor Ifeanyi Uguanyi of Enugu 

State (left) during the civic reception. 

From right; Ozo Ferdinand Anikwe, Chairman of the 

Planning committee, Prof. Chike Anibeze, Rev. Fr. Christian 

Anieke and H.R.M., Igwe Lawrence Aggubuzu during the 

civic reception for Governor Ifeanyi Uguanyi of Enugu State 

. 

Governor Ifeanyi Uguanyi of Enugu State (left) 

and his host , the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, 

Hon Cecilia Ezeilo (right) during the civic 

reception for the governor. 

APC members dumping their brooms while decamping 

to PDP. 

Aerial views of crowd during the civic 

reception. 

Enugu residents call for action in Trans Ekulu 

By Dennis Agbo 

Residents of Trans Ekulu Layout 

in Enugu metropolis have 

pleaded with Governor Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi to reconstruct 

dilapidated infrastructure provided 

in the estate about 40 years ago. 

The governments of Chimaroke 

Nnamani and Sullivan Chime 

ended their tenures without any 

attention in the estate. The residents 

now bank on Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to 

rescue the estate. Residents have not 

felt government presence for about 

19 years now. 

The dilapidated infrastructure 

that have become sources of 

embarrassment to the residents 

include roads, water and electricity. 

Trans Ekulu phase one layout was 

among the initiatives in the 

seventies for low income earners by 

the Jim Nwobodo administration. 

There were also the Federal 

Housing units on another side of 

Trans Ekulu. 

The estate with 250 housing 

units was a model of decent and 

modern accommodation and a 

semblance of estates presently 

found in Abuja FCT. 

The estate had underground and 

central sewage and drains with pipe 

born water supply that made the 

upper class of the period jealous of 

how such a model housing scheme 

could be allocated to the low income 

civil servants. 

A veteran journalist, Mr. Calistus 

Eze who has lived in the estate for 

Unbelievable. This is a street in Trans Ekulu. 

This is Road 18. Cars don't ply it anymore 

over 40 years told Saturday 

Vanguard, that his mother was one 

of the first beneficiaries of the 

housing scheme, adding however 

that, the administration of Chief 

Jim Nwobodo destroyed the 

aesthetics of the estate in 1979 by 

creating what it called “carve outs” 

within the estate. According to Eze, 

the action of Nwobodo’s government 

distorted the landscape of the 

planned residential area. 

“Then the bungalows were like 

the ones the white men built in old 

GRA. Each apartment had large 

gardens, with enough spaces. There 

were regular supply of water and 

electricity when we parked into the 

estate but the Nwobodo 

administration came and did carve 

outs because they said the 

compounds were too large and since 

Another Trans Ekulu Road 

then things changed for the worse 

until now that the roads have 

become impassable just as the taps 

have become dry because water has 

stopped running,” he said. 

Eze further said that the Trans 

Ekulu Phase two was which had 

duplexes was the initiative of the 

then Nwobodo administration, 

pointing out that new estate was 

built for the second republic 

members of the old Anambra State 

House of Assembly comprising the 

present, Enugu, Anambra and part 

of Ebonyi states. 

“That was how residency 

increased in Trans Ekulu up to 

when the subsequent military 

administrations constructed further 

housings like Phase 6 and later 

Trans Ekulu GRA but what became 

problem was that facilities such as 

roads and water were over looked 

until the area now degenerated to 

the sorry state that it wears now,” 

Ebue added. 

According to Ebue, the failure of 

internal roads in the area has put 

pressure of the service streets like 

the Damija Junction that had been 

turned into street market, whereas 

a model market inside the estate 

(around Road 12) was abandoned 

with little or no activity there. 

Also, Eze said that the Trans Ekulu 

Primary School, within the estate 

had dilapidated buildings due to 

lack of attention, even though some 

intervention had taken place in the 

school with construction of new 

buildings. 

Former National football Coach, 

Christian Chukwu and other 

national players and veteran 

Rangers Football Club players like 

Dominic Nwobodo reside in the 

estate. Houses were allotted to 

them, following their soccer 

victories in the 80’s but they now 

face nightmares entering and 

leaving their residences. 

Another resident of the estate, 

George Onu, pleaded with 

Governor Ugwuanyi to restore 

facilities in the layout, noting that 

they were being treated as if they 

were no longer part of Enugu 

metropolis. 

The former administration of 

Sullivan Chime, awarded contracts 

for reconstruction of some roads in 

Trans Ekulu but some of the 

contracts were abandoned by the 

contractors even as those which 

were completed were poorly 

executed. 

“The Ugwuanyi administration 

has however been doing some 

patches on the very bad junctions 

but we are asking the government 

to do more particularly on roads 

rehabilitation and water supply,” 

Onu said. 

The main road leading to Trans 

Ekulu is fairly fine but the roads 

inside the estate are terrible, many 

of them no longer motor-able. 

Many residents can’t drive into their 

compounds. 

Enugu State Commissioner for 

Works, Patrick Ikpenwa promised 

to make comments on what the state 

government had done or planned to 

do in the area, later.


By Abu Quassim 

The controversy over whether 

the National Assembly has 

the right to amend Section 25 

of the Electoral Act 2010 seems to 

have dwarfed the other good 

provisions contained in the 

Electoral Act 2010 Amendment Bill 

to which President Muhammadu 

Buhari recently withheld assent. 

The controversial amended 

section seeks to specify the order 

of elections to be adopted in the 

2019 polls and beyond. The issue 

seems to have set the National 

Assembly against the Presidency 

as the former has concluded plans 

to override the refusal of assent by 

the President. 

What is baffling is the way 

public commentators have been 

carrying on as if the Electoral Law 

2010 Amendment Bill 2018 is all 

about its Section 25 or the order of 

elections. Another confusion on the 

debate is whether the order of 

elections is the same as dates of 

elections. In simple language, 

while order of elections is about 

which of the elections for the 

various positions come first and 

which ones follow. Simply put, 

order of elections is about whether 

the Presidential elections should 

be conducted before or after the 

gubernatorial, the Federal and 

state legislature elections. 

However, the dates of elections 

deal with calendar dates on which 

each of these elections will take 

place. 

However, with the debate about 

whether the National Assembly 

can fix the order of elections or 

whether what the legislators did 

in the current Amendment to the 

2010 Electoral Act amounted to 

fixing dates of elections, this 

country is once again about to 

throw away the baby with the dirty 

bath water. 

The Electoral Act 2010 

Amendment Bill which President 

Muhammadu Buhari just denied 

assent contains fundamental 

provisions which should not be 

allowed to die on the altar of 

disagreement about whether one 

elections should come first before 

the other. And these provisions 

include : 

Instant Electronic (no more 

manual) Transmission of Results: 

The overarching objective of this 

new electoral act is to reduce 

human interference in the 

electoral process and minimize 

rigging, electoral fraud and 

corruption. In this regard, the 

Electoral Act amendment 

mandates the immediate 

transmission of voting results 

from polling units to collation 

centers. This will help to give realtime 

results and updates, reduce 

the opportunity for manipulation 

of results significantly and 

entrench transparency in the 

electoral process. 

Also, Section 15 mandates the 

Independent National Electroral 

Commission (INEC) to load the 

voters’ register online as well as 

pasting of the hard-copies at the 

designated centers 30 days before 

the polls day. This provision 

democratizes access to the voters’ 

register and makes for easy 

identification of impostors on 

voting day. This is part of the 

regime of transparency, free and 

fair polling that the new Electoral 

Act seeks to enthrone. This 

amendment further provides a fair 

and more level playing ground for 

all contestants. This will end the 

manipulation of voter registers. In 

the case of missing names on the 

voter register, voters have 30 days 

to complain to INEC. 

Again, a new Section 49 of the 

Electoral Act 

Amendment: 

Appreciating 

other aspects 

Amended Electoral Act provides 

for full bio-metric accreditation of 

voters. The Electoral Act 

amendment gives INEC powers to 

utilize full biometric accreditation 

of voters with smart card readers 

and/or other technological 

devices, as INEC may introduce 

for elections from time to time. This 

So, if President 

Buhari benefited 

from this card 

reader on his way 

to becoming 

president, how 

will his presidency 

now oppose or 

reject the 

innovation that 

made his victory 

possible 

provision legalizes the use of card 

readers and removes the mischief 

created by the Supreme Court 

judgement in a case like that of 

Amaechi Vs Wike where the card 

reader was declared illegal and 

unknown to law. 

It will be recalled that the use of 

the card reader into the electoral 

system created the transparent 

atmosphere which enabled this 

country to witness the defeat of an 

incumbent President and the 

transition from party to party. So, 

if President Buhari benefited from 

this card reader on his way to 

becoming president, how will his 

presidency now oppose or reject 

the innovation that made his 

victory possible? Or are there 

some other considerations that are 

not known to the public? 

The new Electoral Act 

amendment ensures that political 

parties can no longer impose 

arbitrary qualification criteria on 

aspirants to various offices. This 

will encourage younger aspirants 

to contest, promote competition in 

the process, and make elections 

more free and fair. The 

arbitrariness of party leaders who 

simply set some hard criteria in 

order to promote the candidacy of 

some choice aspirants and knock 

out some others has now been 

tamed. This will eliminate a lot of 

the Pre-Election matters which 

clog the political process, even 

after elections. 

The new Electoral Act 

amendment also sets out a more 

rigorous process for the 

•Saraki 

•Buhari 

determination of candidates, as 

well as creates dispute resolution 

mechanisms that will allow those 

who are aggrieved to petition 

quickly. 

In this new bill exists a Section 

87 sub section (3) which sets out 

the maximum expenses that can 

be incurred by every aspirant who 

is seeking election, as well as 

designates the fees that aspirants 

will be charged by political parties 

to purchase nomination forms. 

This means that our elections will 

no longer be about money and 

politics, but about competence. 

Sections 33 to 38 of the new 

Electoral Act deals with the issue 

of substitution, resignation and 

replacement of candidates for an 

election. The Electoral Act 

amendment ensures that the 

names of candidates must be 

submitted by political parties not 

earlier than 90 days before the 

election, and not later than 60 days 

before the election. Additionally, 

names of candidates can only be 

substituted not later than 30 days 

before the election. In the case of 

resignations, the person who is 

resigning must do so physically 

(in-person) — and his/her 

resignation letter will be 

transmitted to INEC. 

The new Sections 33 and 34 of 

the amended Electoral Act address 

the issue of death of a candidate 

while the election results are 

being expected as it happened in 

Kogi State in 2016. The Electoral 

Act amendment specifies that in 

the case of a death occurring before 

an election, such election will be 

suspended for 21 days and a 

replacement will be done within 

14 days (after new primaries) — 

the remaining seven days will be 

used for campaigning. 

Section 87 of the new 

amendments to the 2010 Electoral 

Act Bill will see to the death of 

imposition of candidates by 

parties. Under this new section, 

the procedures imposed for 

nomination and holding of 

primaries will ensure that 

whoever emerges will only do so 

as a result of the decision of the 

members of the party not that of a 

few party chieftains. 

All these and other numerous 

benefits of the amended Electoral 

Act are what the presidential veto 

is putting on the line and 

threatening to throw into the waste 

basket on account of self 

preservation and ego. That is why 

the analysis in the media should 

focus more on other benefits of the 

Bill and stop straight-jacketing 

and profiling the Bill as if all that 

is in it is the issue of which 

elections come first in 2019. 

Perhaps, this new Electoral Act 

is the most ambitious and 

innovative law aimed at 

deepening democracy, opening up 

the political process, making the 

electoral process transparent and 

curing the defects that have 

manifested in the last eight years 

of the operation of the old law it 

seeks to replace. 

That is why all patriotic 

Nigerians should appeal to 

President Buhari and the 

lawmakers to avoid a situation 

where the country loses this 

golden opportunity to reform the 

electoral process and further 

putting our democracy on a sure, 

sound footing. 

Quassim writes in from Funtua, 

Katsina State. 

C 

M 

YK

40—SATURDAY Vanguard, , MARCH 24, 2018 

OPINION: 

National Assembly and Buhari’s Challenge 

By Sufuyan Ojeifo 

The refusal by President Muhammadu 

Buhari to assent to the Electoral Act 2010 

Amendment Bill is the biggest 

challenge yet to the collective decision of the 

8th National Assembly. Whereas, the passage 

of the amendment bill by the National 

Assembly is an approximation of a national 

consensus; the withholding of assent by the 

president is repudiation of the collective 

wisdom of the Federal Legislature to forge the 

philosophy that underpinned the 

amendments to the extant electoral law. 

To be sure, the National Assembly is 

empowered by the constitution to make laws 

for the good governance of the nation. While, 

the implementation of the laws so made is 

vested in the executive arm of government 

under the control of the president, the 

interpretation of the laws is the forte of the 

judiciary. Although functionally separated, the 

trinity enjoys interdependence that is 

circumscribed by the principle of checks and 

balances. 

In this instance, the National Assembly has 

performed its constitutionally-assigned 

function of lawmaking, including amendment. 

It has specifically amended section 25 of the 

Electoral Act by reordering the sequence of 

general elections effective from 2019. In the 

sequence of elections as administratively and 

discretionally dealt with by the Independent 

National Electoral Commission (INEC) before 

the amendment, the presidential and national 

assembly elections were to hold first. 

But in the reordered sequence, which has 

been specifically spelt-out and expressly 

incorporated in section 25 of the Electoral Act 

Amendment Bill, the National Assembly has 

demerged the presidential and national 

assembly elections. The presidential election, 

as a standalone election, will now hold last in 

the sequence as against holding first 

simultaneously with the national assembly 

election. INEC’s administrative discretion has 

been legislatively and rightly impaired in the 

limitation of delegated powers. 

Although, President Buhari has refused to 

sign the amendment bill into law for three 

reasons, the most significant reason is the 

reordered election sequence, which renders 

him an orphan of sorts and subjects him to 

vulnerability and the vagaries of standalone 

elections, especially the presidential election 

that comes last after other elective office 

seekers must have secured victory at the 

different levels. 

This is the mortal fear that afflicts President 

Buhari. He is suddenly afraid of his election 

holding last. He would want it to hold first, 

even as a standalone, knowing full well that 

as the first election, all his party candidates 

would work round the clock to ensure victory 

for him as the presidential candidate. If he 

wins, there is the likelihood of a bandwagon 

effect, the kind that presidential election victory 

precipitates. 

But, it is quite instructive that the All 

Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled 

National Assembly is in the forefront of 

forestalling a general election that is largely 

influenced by a bandwagon. Yet, President 

Buhari craves the bandwagon. He wants a 

situation where he would clinch his victory 

ahead of others and possibly retire to the “other 

room” either without caring a hoot or 

pretending not to care a hoot about what 

happens to his foot soldiers in the electoral 

battlefield. 

Without a doubt, President Buhari’s sudden 

disposition to an arrangement that does not 

expose him to existential electoral threats of 

possible defeat speaks volumes about his 

present level of confidence in securing victory 

in the 2019 presidential election even as an 

incumbent. Otherwise, if he is sure of his 

ratings as he had always been in the previous 

elections, he should not bother, as a sitting 

president, whether his lection comes first or 

last in the sequence. 

Unfortunately, the president has become 

understandably panicky. He has allowed 

wrong pieces of advice by some blinkered 

advisers to preponderate his decision to veto 

the amendment bill. In any case, he has the 

right to veto any bill to show his displeasure or 

reservations. 

But I believe his approach was wrong. Why 

would the approach not 

be wrong when there 

has not been a robust 

relationship between 

him and the leadership 

of the National 

Assembly? From the 

outset, Buhari and the 

APC that he leads have 

been opposed to the 

emergence of the 

current presiding 

officers of the Senate 

and the House of 

Representatives. 

For instance, the 

Senate President, 

Bukola Saraki, is still 

being taken through the 

harrowing indignity of 

prosecution for alleged 

false asset declaration at 

the Code of Conduct 

Tribunal (CCT). 

Speaker Yakubu 

Dogara is also not in the 

good books of the presidency and the party. 

The duo’s offence was that they both insisted 

on contesting for the leadership positions of 

the National Assembly in spite of the decision 

of the presidency (read as the party’s decision) 

and went ahead to realise their aspirations. 

Ideally, whatever the differences are 

between the executive and the legislature 

could be resolved politically. If there were 

camaraderie among them, Buhari could have 

called a meeting where the issues would have 

been resolved without it being allowed to fester. 

Allowing it to fester is a manifestation of much 

deeper fundamental cold war, aggravation and 

animosity in the executive-legislature’s flank 

of the APC-controlled administration. 

Rather than sink personal ego and allow the 

National Assembly to exercise its powers of 

override, the president who had already 

exercised his power of veto without any 

intimidation, is now encouraging his foot 

soldiers and hirelings to throw spanner in the 

works of the federal legislature. Or, for those 

who are always eager to defend the president 

as a puritan who does no evil, perhaps the foot 

soldiers and hirelings are misreading the 

president’s body language. 

But, in any case, I can safely suggest that the 

decision to use a fringe element-ACCORD 

Party- to file a suit to challenge the 

constitutional powers of the National 

Assembly to reorder the sequence of elections 

is executive interference in the exercise of the 

constitutional functions of the federal 

legislature. What is obvious from the suit by 

ACCORD Party is that section 25 of the Electoral 

Act 2010 Amendment Bill is the fundamental 

gravamen for which it is seeking an order to 

set aside. The sequence of elections is the real 

issue and the whole essence of the unfolding 

legal gymnastics. 

Using the instrumentality of the court for 

such an enterprise calls for cautionary 

disposition on the part of the judiciary and I 

could see that restraint on the part of Justice 

Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, 

Abuja, when he carefully made an order on 

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 after hearing the 

oral application for interlocutory injunction by 

Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) that all parties 

to the suit should maintain status quo 

antebellum between then and the next 

adjourned date, to wit Tuesday, March 20, 2018. 

Justice Mohammed is aware that the court 

cannot stop the National Assembly from 

overriding the president’s veto because that 

power is constitutionally guaranteed. The 

judge is conversant with the kind of orders to 

make that are right and enforceable. To restrain 

the National Assembly from performing its 

constitutional responsibility of lawmaking or 

legislative functions is also not within the 

purview of the court. 

Indeed, the court can also not adjudicate on 

a proposed law that the National Assembly is 

taking through the mills until it has been 

passed and can thereafter be subjected to the 

crucible of judicial intercession and 

interpretation where a dispute arises. Judicial 

pronouncements arising from such 

interpretation become the law and the 

legislature thereafter would be properly 

guided. In this case, that situation has not 

arisen yet. The doctrine of ripeness has not 

been activated and any move to truncate 

legislative exercise of lawmaking power is 

obtuse. 

Kudos must be given to the legal icon and 

statesman, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN), 

who was quoted to have said in response to the 

court ruling on the suit that: “Nigeria is a 

country where strange things happen, where 

a court of law, whose jurisdiction is limited to 

the application of law in dispute before it, can 

act on the basis of a Bill that has not yet become 

law….” 

Well, I see a dilatory strategy, as it appears 

presently, to bog down the National Assembly 

from proceeding expeditiously to do the 

needful by overriding the president’s veto. The 

president has thrown his hat in the ring. The 

National Assembly must take up the gauntlet 

in defence and preservation of its 

constitutional responsibility. This is the 

principle of checks and balances in action in 

the domain of power separation. 

For National Assembly not to exercise its 

override power is to compromise its barking 

and biting rights. If the president did not bat 

an eyelid before exercising his veto right, why 

should National Assembly? After all, what is 

sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. 

Stranded North-East IDPS in Jos face eviction, cry for help 

By Marie-Therese Nanlong 

os – At the time they lost relatives and 

Jhomes at Gwoza, Borno State, they thought 

the end had come but as fate brought them to 

Jos, Plateau State, hope was rekindled and 

they were accepted, accommodated and fed 

at the Stefanos Foundation camp situated at 

Zang Commercial Secondary School, Jos 

South Local Government Area. 

The initial joy of a new found home has 

now been lost as reality stares them in the 

face. Having lived in the camp for almost four 

years without any reasonable means of 

livelihood and a threat of 

being thrown back in the 

streets, the memory of the 

dark days of invading 

insurgents in the North East 

comes back alive and they are 

crying for help again. 

These people seeking help 

are the remaining 24 families 

from the initial 700 displaced 

families who were at the 

Stefanos Foundation camp 

established since 2014 with 

the aim of catering for 

internally displaced persons 

escaping insurgency in the 

North East. 

At the peak of the Boko 

Haram insurgency, about 

3000 people from 700 families 

found their ways into the 

camp but now, only 24 families 

are still in the camp, while 

many have integrated into the 

communities in Jos, others 

have returned to their States 

of origin. As the number 

reduced, management of the 

camp is threatening to close 

the camp saying they are no 

The women 

groups urged 

them not to give 

up on life 

despite the 

situation they 

find themselves 

but continue to 

keep the hope 

alive and 

contribute in 

their little way to 

ensure the 

longer able to cater for the people. 

Narrating their experiences in the camp, 

Saratu John, Patience Zacharaya, Emmanuel 

Nagagiya, Adamu Yohanna and Hannatu 

Yakubu all said they have come to the wits’ 

end and the most urgent needs are food and 

shelter as the camp is going to be closed. 

While appreciating the efforts of Stefanos 

Foundation for establishing the camp to keep 

them safe and take care of their basic needs, 

they passionately appealed for urgent help 

not only for themselves but also for their 

children. 

According to Saratu John, "As I am here, I 

don't have N1, nobody is helping us, we are 

appealing for help. We do go 

out in search of menial jobs to 

sustain our families since 

funds and grains from public 

spirited people and groups are 

no longer coming to the camp. 

We appeal to well meaning 

individuals, governments and 

non-governmental 

organizations to come to our 

aid as the conditions of living 

are not conducive and we 

have nowhere to go to if the 

camp is closed as 

contemplated by the 

Foundation.” 

Patience Zakaraya added, 

"Some of the people here want 

to go back but no transport 

fare and to go and settle there 

is a problem having left for 

this number of years. When 

you get back, you will start 

thinking of school fees, house 

rent since our houses were 

burnt. We really need 

support." 

Hannatu Yakubu stated, 

"I'm really in need, as I talk to 

you, We don't have food even for the children, 

we don't even have transport fare to go out 

and seek farm work, we have left everything 

to God, we are looking for where to get help, 

if anyone can help us, even if it is money for 

transport or to rent, we will not reject." 

To Emmanuel Nagagiya, "Of a truth, we 

don't have food to eat, before people used to 

bring foodstuffs here, different organizations 

and churches were helping us but right now, 

we have no work, no food and no help, how 

do we survive? Please come to our aid." 

Yet another, Adamu Yohanna maintained, 

"We don't even have money to eat, how do we 

talk about transport fare to our place which 

we are not even sure how safe it is. We are 

looking up to God and asking people to please 

help us." 

However, the Camp Director, Stefanos 

Foundation, Pastor Mancha Darong said the 

camp had provided succour to the internally 

displaced persons through the support of 

government, civil societies and individuals 

but everything changed as there is paucity of 

funds. 

He stressed, “NEMA came to the camp 

once since 2014, SEMA too came in once since 

2014 and one would have been asking how 

the idps have been sustained since 2014 since 

NEMA which is saddled with the 

responsibility of caring for these people came 

in just once. How have they been managing 

their lives here in the camp?" 

Speaking on the planned closure of the 

camp, he said they have challenges paying 

the N2million annually for accommodation 

and at present, only 24 families are in the 

camp. 

His words, "We pay the rent of this place 

N2million annually and we have a school to 

run which is capital intensive, we have a sick 

bay where they receive medical care and a 

community health worker is coming here and 

receiving stipend and we buy drugs, all of 

these are things we use money to do. " 

The internally displaced persons are 

however appealing to the Plateau State 

government to liaise with the Borno State 

government to come to their aids and possibly 

relocate them back and settle them in their 

homes. 

To cheer up the women in the camp, the 

Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, 

NAWOJ in collaboration with the 

International Federation of Women Lawyers, 

FIDA and four non-governmental 

organisations while commemorating the 

International Women's Day; took the message 

of peace to them. 

The women groups urged them not to give 

up on life despite the situation they find 

themselves but continue to keep the hope 

alive and contribute in their little way to 

ensure the message of peace is preached and 

imbibed by all. 

Addressing the women, State NAWOJ 

Chairperson, Jennifer Yerima, and Bridget 

Dakyes of International Women’s Peace Group 

among others called on the women to speak 

out if they were being abused in the camp so 

that help could come their ways. 

Yerima said, “You have passed through a 

lot and narrowly escaped death but continue 

to remain positive but if there is any case of 

abuse of your rights, don’t keep quiet but 

speak out so that you can get help.” 

Other groups which collaborated for the 

event where tokens were given to assist the 

IDPs included the Justice, Peace and 

Reconciliation Movement, JPRM, Women 

and Girl Child Rescue and Development 

Initiative and New Era Educational and 

Charitable Support Foundation, NEEDSCI. 

Meanwhile, while not indicting the camp 

management, Saturday Vanguard suggests 

any assistance could be channelled directly 

to the victims as their deplorable conditions 

are really pathetic. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


WhoGoHost presently 

hosts over er 50,000 

SMEs—OBANIYI 

Oluwatoba Obaniyi, CEO WhoGoHost Limited is a graduate of 

Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo 

University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State . In this interview with 

Nosike Moses, Obaniyi reveals that WhoGoHost is Nigeria’s most 

popular Web Hosting Company, which recently kicked-off a campaign 

on #TakeItOnline to ensure that an average SME owner puts 

hisbusiness on a website even as the offer attracts many discounts. 

Excerpts: 

When did you join WhoGoHost and how? 

I joined WhoGoHost in 2010, then, WhoGoHost was 

basically a reseller and a business arm of Ennovate Nigeria, 

also a company founded by Opeyemi. He felt it was time to 

grow the business to the next level, and he saw something in 

me and trusted me to take the business that had so much 

potential to the next level. I was still green around the ears 

but I had passion and that was enough to start with. My 

passion drove me to learn, think of ways to improve the 

services we offer. I believe the never-give- up attitude was 

crucial in getting WhoGoHost and I to where we are today. 

Tell us a bit of WhoGoHost and its services in the Nigerian 

economy? 

Whogohost is Nigeria’s leading web hosting company and 

foremost NG domain registrars. We presently host over 

50,000 SMEs. We offer web services that help take businesses 

online quickly. 

With online, businesses can reach more 

clients than using traditional means of 

promoting goods and services. We also offer 

add-on services that would help improve our 

user experience. Some of our offerings 

include Domain registration, Shared 

Hosting, G-Suite, Cloud hosting, Virtual 

Servers, SSL Certificates, Code Guard 

Backup, Sitelock, Website designs etc. Our 

aim is to deliver reliable technology services 

that delight and improve the lives and 

businesses of our customers. 

What are your challenges in terms of Web 

Hosting? 

We run a 24/7 service that does not give us 

the luxury of going offline as we manage a 

lot of websites. Epileptic power supply is a 

great challenge. Businesses need power to 

thrive. 

You recently kicked-off a campaign, tell 

us about it? 

#TakeItOnline is a campaign we kicked 

off to help businesses grow. We have 

benefited so much from running an online 

business and realised that most business 

owners are unaware of the benefits owning 

a website. Targeting business growth this 

year, we are giving business owners 50% off 

professional web design, 20% off shared 

hosting and 20% off site builder (this is a 

software that allows people build their 

websites themselves with no technical 

knowledge required). 

What is the sole purpose of the 

campaign? 

The sole purpose of this campaign is to 

help businesses grow this year by helping 

them take it from offline to online where 

they can reach more customers. 

What would you identify as challenges 

of SME owners without websites? 

We live in a digital age and most clients 

expect your business to have a website where 

they can check your products or services 

online, but if you do not own a website, they 

will not trust your business. 

People, who are interested in patronising 

your business, will likely patronise your 

competitors, who own websites, where they 

can place orders at whatever time of the day 

they choose. A lot of businesses believe 

selling on social media channels are enough 

but they need to realise that social media is 

making it more difficult to promote 

businesses organically. This means you have 

to boost your posts for more people to see 

them. 

What is the benefit of having a website 

to a typical Nigerian business owner? 

The benefits of owning a website for 

businesses are endless. Owning a website 

provides social proof and credibility for your 

business. Rather than promote your social 

media username/handle to sell your 

products, you can promote your own website. 

Promoting your website will help you build 

a customer base on which you can re-market 

your products and make loyal customers. 

After obtaining a domain, tell us briefly 

how customers can get their 

website? 

The 50% off web design offer is a 

three in one package that gives you 

hosting, domain and web design. 

So even if you don’t previously own 

a domain name or hosting account, 

we’ve got you covered if you go to 

whogohost website to select your 

preferred package, request a quote 

and our web design team will 

follow up with you. If you 

previously own a domain name 

and hosting, do the above and our 

web design team will work their 

magic on your business’s web 

design project. 

Are there value-added services 

that come with acquiring a 

website on your platform? 

For businesses interested in 

owning e-commerce websites, we 

will link them up with reliable and 

affordable courier services that will 

help them deliver goods to their 

customers. 

Have there been any significant 

uplift in Nigeria’s cyberspace 

over the years? 

The Nigerian cyberspace has 

grown over the years but it is quite 

surprising that quite a lot of 

businesses are yet to take 

advantage of it. 

Is building a website a 

necessity for successes in 

business? 

If you are a business owner 

looking to grow your business on a 

very large scale and make more 

money, you need to own a website. 

What would you say about the 

future of cyberspace in Nigeria? 

The Nigerian Cyber space is 

growing rapidly and if businesses 

don’t take advantage of it, such 

businesses are likely to be relegated 

to the background. 

Could you tell us some 

multiplier effects of owning a 

website? 

At the pace at which technology 

is developing in Nigeria, in the near 

future, most products and services 

will be rendered online. This means 

that businesses without websites 

will most likely die a natural death. 

Permit me to say that owning a 

website for your business is 

futuristic. It is an investment for the 

future of your business. 

How has WhoGoHost been able 

to help both corporate 

organisations and SME owners so 

far? 

Beyond helping SMEs take their 

business online, we also provide 

security services such as SSL, 

Sitelock and CodeGuard that will 

help them keep their businesses 

secure in this digital age. What’s 

more, we offer teams and corporate 

organisations the means to 

collaborate and work with their 

teams from anywhere in the world 

using G-Suite formerly known as 

Google Apps For business. 

L-R: Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anders Einarsson; 

Manager, Quality Assurance, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Josephine 

Remigious-Ajayi; and her husband, Mr. Remigious Ajayi, during the 

presentation of the Long Service Award (LSA) to Mrs. Remigious-Ajayi at the 

company’s 2018 LSA held in Lagos. 

L-R: Mr Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Federal 

Inland Revenue Service; Mrs Yinka Adeboye, Finance and 

Strategy Director, Cadbury Nigeria Ltd; Mr Tola Adeyemi, 

Partner and Head, Audit Services, KPMG Nigeria and 

and Wole Obayomi, Partner and Head, Tax Regulatory 

and People Services at the Chief Financial Officers Forum 

and CFO Outlook Survey Report presentation held in 

Lagos on Friday 

Firm organises 2018 

award for trade partners 

Foremost alcoholic beverage trade and 

marketing company, Brian Munro Limited, 

in its usual tradition of rewarding esteemed trade 

partners is set to host major Campari distributors 

today at the prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel, 

Ikeja, Lagos. 

The annual event is primarily aimed at 

recognising distinguished trade partners that 

have not only demonstrated loyalty but also 

contributed immensely to the values of the 

company. 

The Managing Director of the company, Paul 

Wilson, said that Brain Munro Limited 

understands what it takes to be responsible for 

the distribution of Campari and other premium 

alcoholic beverages in Nigeria. Therefore, we will 

continue to rise to the occasion with continual 

support and value-added efforts to all our trade 

partners. 

In addition, the Brand Manager, Campari, 

Rilwan Shofunde, said, “As the custodian of a 

world-class brand, we recognise the significant 

role and contributions of major distributors hence 

the resolve to continue working with them to 

ensure a seamless distribution of our premium 

brand across agreed trade regions.” 

Entertainment at this strictly by invitation event 

will be headlined by multi-award-winning 

musician and the Brand Ambassador for Campari, 

Tu Baba alongside other notable acts while ace 

comedian and event Compere Tee-A is billed to 

anchor the evening. 

Hollandia Evap 

satisfies consumers 

For its high quality and nutritious health benefits, 

Hollandia Evaporated Milk needs little introduction 

to consumers conscious. It is an “all-rounder milk” which 

can ideally be used for traditional and non-traditional 

purposes. 

Offering premium quality at affordable prices, Hollandia 

Evaporated Milk is a great tasting and creamy addition to 

a breakfast cup of tea or coffee, or a bowl of cereal, pap or 

custard, as it provides excellent nourishment required for 

the body before you set out for the day. 

A marketing executive with Shalom Enterprises, Ishola 

Oyedokun, said that his early morning routine involved a 

stop at a local mai shai (tea seller) to enjoy a hot cup of tea 

or coffee. He observed that in most of the mai shai shops he 

visited in Agege, Hollandia Evaporated Milk was 

commonly used. 

“Upon enquiry, I was told by Alhaji Isa, the tea seller on 

my street, that Hollandia Evaporated Milk is widely used 

because it tasts fresh and creamier when adds to tea or 

coffee. It is also cost effective when compared with other 

brands in its category and offers convenient packaging 

ideal for individual consumption and storage,” he said. 

Also a confectionery consultant with Bake Mix Limited, 

Nkechi Agu, stressed that milk is a key ingredient for 

baking, as well as for preparing desserts and that in order 

to achieve a great tasting product, its quality should never 

be compromised. 

“Hollandia Evaporated Milk is comparatively tastier 

than other milk brands I have come across, and creamier 

too. It is easily my favourite, as it is a perfect addition to 

enhance taste and quality whenever I have to prepare 

milkshakes, desserts and some snacks for my clients. The 

difference is impressive as there is a noticeably improved 

taste, texture and mouth feel whenever I put Hollandia 

Evaporated Milk in the mix,” she added. 

For Chi Limited’s Managing Director, Mr. Deepanjan 

Roy, “Hollandia Evaporated Milk is a highly nutritious 

milk that provides the essential nutrients needed by the 

body for healthy development.


Estate agent, 37, bolts with “Suya” man’s N.5m in Lagos 

A 37-year-old man, 

Tajudeen Olukoya, was 

on Thursday brought 

before an Ikeja 

Magistrate Court for 

allegedly collecting 

N550, 000 on the pretext 

of leasing a space to a 

man for a“Suya” spot at a 

night club in Lagos. 

Suya is a spicy meat 

skewer which is a 

popular food item in 

Nigeria and West Africa; 

it is traditionally 

prepared in the Northern 

part of Nigeria. 

Olukoya, who claimed 

to be an Estate Agent, 

resides at Lekki area of 

Lagos Island and he is 

facing a four-count 

charge bordering on 

conspiracy, stealing and 

obtaining money under 

false pretenses. 

The accused, according 

to the Police Prosecutor, 

Insp. Benson Emuerhi, 

committed the offences 

with others now at large 

sometime in September 

2017 at Lekki, Lagos. 

He alleged that the 

accused collected N550, 

000 from the 

complainant, Alhaji 

Umar Alhassan, with a 

promise to lease out a 

space to him to use as 

“Suya” spot at D’Place 

Night Club premises at 

Lekki. 

“The accused collected 

the money and failed to 

lease out the space as 

promised and converted 

the money to personal 

use.’’ 

The offences 

contravened Sections 77, 

287, 314 and 411 of the 

Criminal Law of Lagos 

State, 2015 (Revised). 

That Section 314 

stipulates 15 years 

imprisonment for 

obtaining money under 

false pretences. The 

accused, however, 

denied the charge. 

In her short ruling, the 

Chief Magistrate, Mrs O. 

Sule Amzat, granted the 

accused bail in the sum 

of N100,000 with two 

sureties in like sum and 

adjourned the case until 

May 21. 

CDAs hail Ambode on downward review of Land use Charge 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

C o m m u n i t y 

Development 

Associations, CDA in the 

57 Local Government and 

Council Development 

Areas in Lagos State have 

commended Governor 

Akinwunmi Ambode on 

the downward review of 

the controversial Land 

Use Charge, adding that 

the governor meant well 

for the State. 

Following outcry and 

protest that greeted the 

announcement of the 

increased land Use 

Charge, government 

bowed to the pressure 

and reduced the payment 

by 50 percent. 

Speaking to Saturday 

Vanguard at a 

Stakeholders' meeting 

presided over by the 

Special Adviser to the 

Governor on 

Communities and 

Communications, Akeem 

Sulaimon, held at LTV 

auditorium, Agindingbi, 

Ikeja, recently, residents 

across the 57 local 

councils expressed 

happiness that the 

government listened to 

the voice of the people 

by reducing the LUC, 

urging the Ambode-led 

administration to use the 

proceeds judiciously by 

d e v e l o p i n g 

infrastructure in the 

state. 

One of the CDA 

members, Mr. Alabi 

Agbaje, from Oshodi 

Isolo council, who spoke 

during a stakeholder's 

meeting in Ikeja, said: 

“The 50 per cent 

reduction has brought 

relief to us. We are really 

happy over this. We urge 

government to always 

and thoroughly, carry 

residents along in policy 

formulation and 

implementation to avoid 

misunderstanding and 

unnecessary rancor often 

experienced as a result 

of communication gap. 

We are mostly grateful, 

particularly for the 

waiver granted 

pensioners. This is a 

responsive government.” 

Similarly, Mr. Ayoku 

Owolawi, a member of 

Ijede Community 

Development 

Association commended 

the Governor for the 

review of the land use 

charge “ I want to 

appreciate our listening 

governor for the 50 per 

cent and 25 per cent 

reduction in the land use 

charge, the residents will 

find it very easy to pay 

the charge by installment. 

A 68 year old pensioner, 

Alhaji Musibau Alayaki 

expressed joy that 

government exempted 

pensioners who are 

property owners and 

above 60 years from 

payment. 

He commended the 

Governor for the 

reduction, adding that it 

responded to the 

yearnings of residents. 

Mrs. Kudirat Dalemo, 

member of Owutu 1, 

CDA, also, did not hide 

her joy to the government 

for waiving the penalty 

of late payment and for 

giving room for 

installmental payment as 

this will make the 

payment very easy for 

the residents. 

Addressing them, 

Special Adviser to the 

Governor on 

Communities and 

Communications, Akeem 

Sulaimon said Governor 

Ambode meant well for 

the people, assuring that 

the proceeds would help 

to upscale infrastructure 

in the state. 

Man 52, in court 

for allegedly 

fondling 13-yr-old 

girl’s breast 

A 

52-year-old man, 

A j i d a r e 

Oluwadare was on 

Thursday, arraigned in an 

Ikorodu Chief Magistrate’s 

Court for allegedly fondling 

the breasts of a 13-year-old 

girl. 

The prosecutor, Sgt. John 

Iberedem, told the court that 

the accused, who resides at 20, 

Engr. Adebajo St., Ojuoro 

Road in Owutu Community 

in Ikorodu committed the 

offence on Feb. 26 at 4.00 p.m. 

Iberedem said the accused, 

who lives few houses away 

from the girl’s house, called 

her to come and collect some 

text books in his apartment 

which she did. 

“The accused called the girl 

when she was coming back 

from school, gave her some 

textbooks which he said 

might be useful for her. The 

accused then told her to come 

for the remaining books later 

in the day. “Happily, the girl 

went back with the intention 

to collect the remaining books 

and met the man tying only 

towel on his waist in his 

apartment. The man pulled 

her closer and started 

fondling her body parts, the 

girl quickly ran out of the 

man’s house and reported to 

her parents who then reported 

to police,” he said. 

Iberedem said the offence 

contravenes Section 135(1) of 

Lagos State Criminal Code 

Laws, 2015. 

The accused, however, 

pleaded not guilty to charge 

of unlawful and indecent 

assault. 

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. 

F.A Azeez, granted the 

accused bail in the sum of 

N200, 000 with two sureties 

in like sum. 

“The sureties must be 

gainfully employed, address 

to be verified and must show 

evidence of tax payment to the 

Lagos State Government,” 

she ordered. Azeez adjourned 

the case until April 5 for 

mention. 

Saturday Voxpop 

Nigerians speak: On release of Dapchi girls by Boko Haram 

By Juliet Ebirim and 

Adetutu Adesoji 

The Dapchi girls are 

pawns in a chess game - 

Uche Anyabuike, Banker/ 

Political Scientist 

My opinion on the Dapchi 

girls is viewed basically 

from two angles. First, 

is that the girls have just 

returned from some sort of 

political picnic sponsored 

by the APC and closed 

clique or cabal, as they are 

called within the FG with 

President Buhari knows 

how to handle delicate security 

matters - Justin Akpovi-Esade, 

Journalist/ 

Social commentator/Media 

lobbyist. 

The negotiated release of 

the Dapchi girls is the 

sweetest news one can 

wish for, even though we 

must condemn the abduction 

in the first place due 

to some laxity in our security. 

What this shows is that 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari knows what to do 

as regards handling very 

delicate security matters. 

Terrorism is a global menace 

and no government 

can be 100 percent capable 

in curbing it. So embarrassing 

situations like the 

mass abduction of 110 little 

girls may occur sometimes, 

the issue would be 

how the leader handles the 

situation and that president 

Buhari has displayed. 

It’s glaring that the 

whole thing was arranged 

- Emele Chijindu Emmanuel, 

Teacher 

I think APC is a big 

shame. It’s so glaring they 

arranged the whole thing. 

And now I think we have 

PDP Boko Haram and APC 

Boko Haram. If not, why 

were the remaining Chibok 

girls not released too. However, 

I don’t think APC will 

lose credibility among their 

core base because the base 

is made up of those benefiting 

from the APC led 

government. 

the unapologetic consent of 

the President. It was a supersonic 

statecraft that has 

gone counterproductive. 

Second, as a political scientist, 

my observation 

dares to critique the issue 

of sovereignty and territorial 

integrity. The way and 

manner the terrorists 

mounted their Hilux vans 

with flags consciously 

hoisted on them and flagrantly 

enjoying encomiums 

from a crowd of cheerleaders, 

leaves much to a 

rational mind. What it 

We are in a failed state - 

Duke Onwudiwe, Building 

Consultant 

I saw the natives of Dapchi 

in one of the dailies 

waving at terrorist as if they 

were liberators and heroes. 

What this shows is that the 

people have lost faith in 

this regime. This government 

has lost control of everything 

it should be in control 

of. The people of this 

country have developed a 

numb feeling to extreme 

hardship. Nobody feels 

pain anymore, because it 

has become part of us. 

means is that the Nigerian 

state has granted the terrorists 

a recognition status 

befitting a state. It is an 

open shame; there is now 

an Boko Haram state within 

the Nigerian state. In 

the end, the Dapchi girls 

It seems like a blockbuster 

movie - Olutayo 

Irantiola, Journalist, PR 

Consultant/Journalist 

The Dapchi incident 

seem to be a blockbuster 

movie to Nigerians. The 

plot- Boko Haram kidnapped 

the girls, a top government 

functionary recently 

said the girls would 

soon be released, almighty 

Boko Haram returned the 

girls back to Dapuchi. The 

biggest suspense is saying 

that no ransom was paid! 

Where are we as a nation? 

It’s a very suspicious 

development - Kehinde 

Titiloye, Consultant 

The release of the 

girls is a good win for 

humanity, but the development 

is a very 

are just pawns in the chess 

game. The effect will be felt 

in sentimental mobilization 

of votes especially from the 

vulnerable north, while 

Boko Haram remains the 

Alibi for continued negotiations. 

suspicious one for logical 

thinking citizens. 

The Dapchi girls are 

pawns in a chess game - 

Uche Anyabuike, Banker/ 

Political Scientist 

My opinion on the Dapchi 

girls is viewed basically from 

two angles. First, is that the 

girls have just returned from 

some sort of political picnic 

sponsored by the APC and 

closed clique or cabal, as 

they are called within the FG 

with the unapologetic 

consent of the President. It 

was a supersonic statecraft 

that has gone 

counterproductive. Second, 

as a political scientist, my 

observation dares to critique 

the issue of sovereignty and 

territorial integrity.



Anthony Joshua confident of 

keeping his title against Parker 

Anthony Joshua believes his world 

heavyweight unification clash with 

New Zealander Joseph Parker in 

Cardiff on Saturday week in front of another 

huge stadium crowd will provide the 

sternest test of his career. 

The International Boxing Federation and 

World Boxing Association heavyweight 

champion clearly has huge respect for his 

opponent, whom he believes is a “better allround” 

fighter than the World Boxing 

Council champion Deontay Wilder. 

Joshua, who made the fifth defence of his 

IBF title against Carlos Takam in the same 

venue last October, will earn close to 

£20?million for his latest fight, with Parker, 

the World Boxing Organisation champion, 

set to net a career-high £7?million. 

“It will be my toughest style match-up,” 

said Joshua at his training camp, the 

English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. 

“People want to see how good you are with 

every fight. You can’t rest on your laurels in 

boxing. One win doesn’t define you. People 

want to see how long you can keep reigning 

as the king of the jungle.” 

Joseph Parker is going into 

his blockbuster world 

heavyweight title fight with 

Anthony Joshua barely 12 

weeks after undergoing elbow 

surgery. 

That revelation came with 

assurances from Parker's 

trainer Kevin Barry that the 

WBO champion will be 

punching harder and faster as 

a consequence of operations 

on both elbows. 

Barry said: 'We have not 

been hiding this but now it 

has come out I can tell Joshua 

that Joe will be a different 

animal from the one he saw 

taken the distance by Hughie 

Fury.' 

Parker has reported being in 

pain for two years prior to 

having his left elbow repaired 

in November, then the right 

just before Christmas. 

Barry says: 'There were 

chips of bone floating in both 

joints, stress in the sockets 

and severe calcification of the 

bones in those areas. 

Oblak unsure over 

Atleti future 

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper 

Jan Oblak has admitted he 

is uncertain over his future at 

the Liga club as he receives 

interest from some of Europe's 

biggest sides. 

“There’s nothing new, there 

have been a lot of things said 

and written about a new 

contract but the only confirmed 

situation is that there is nothing 

new. 

Parker had 

secret 

surgery on 

both elbows 

Oblak 


Man Utd prepare £260m Neymar swoop 

Jose Mourinho is considering 

a bid for Neymar worth a 

world-record £260 million, 

possibly sending Paul Pogba to 

PSG as part of the deal, claims 

Nigeria’s U20 boys, Flying 

Eagles, will today fly to 

Cairo for a two –match tour of 

Egypt as part of the team’s 

preparations for the qualifying 

series of the 2019 Africa U20 

Cup of Nations. 

Head Coach, Paul Aigbogun 

will lead the new group that is 

being put together with the 

mandate not only to return the 

Flying Eagles to the Africa U20 

finals which they missed last 

year, but also to qualify for the 

FIFA World Cup and go one 

better than the Class of 1989 

and Class of 2005 that won the 

silver medals. 

The trio of Elkanemi Warriors’ 

Nur Mohammed, Ikouwem 

Utin of Enyimba FC and 

Plateau United’s Eneji Moses, 

who impressed with the Super 

Eagles B at the African Nations 

Championship in Morocco 

earlier in the year, are in the 

Diario Gol . 

With Neymar apparently 

unsettled at Parc des Princes, 

the Manchester United 

manager is keen to add a 

world-class striker to his ranks 

after seeing Alexis Sanchez 

flounder. 

And while Real Madrid have 

been linked most closely with 

the Brazilian, United are 

interested too - and could send 

unsettled Pogba the other way 

to tempt PSG into a sale. 

Neymar, meanwhile, could be 

offered up to £30m a year to 

move to Old Trafford. 

Flying Eagles off to Cairo on two–match tour 

23 –man squad that will face 

the Junior Pharaohs. 

Kano Pillars’ Nazifi Yahaya, 

Nasarawa United’s Douglas 

Achiv and Akwa United’s duo 

of Duarw Nuhu and Adeshina 

Gata are also in the contingent. 

Team Administrator Aliyu 

Ibrahim Lawal said that the 

Flying Eagles will take on the 

Junior Pharaohs on Tuesday, 

27th March and Thursday, 

29th March, with both 

matches to hold in Alexandria. 

The seven –time African 

champions will be up against 

the winner of the preliminary 

fixture between Sierra Leone 

and Guinea Bissau in the first 

round of the qualifiers, with the 

first leg to hold in either Bissau 

or Freetown in mid-May. 

Niger Republic will host the 

2019 Africa U20 Cup of 

Nations. 

Conte, Pirlo in 

line for Italy job 

Italy have turned their attention to 

former Azzurri coach Antonio Conte 

to spearhead their Euro 2020 bid, and 

he could team up with legend Andrea 

Pirlo, according to Gazzetta dello 

Sport ( via Football Italia ). 

Both Conte and Carlo Ancelotti are 

being considered by the Italian FA to 

take over after failing to qualify for 

the World Cup in Russia. 

And if either of those esteemed 

coaches takes the reins, Pirlo would 

be interested in joining their technical 

staff. 

Real Madrid target Rashford 

Real Madrid have added Manchester United 

striker Marcus Rashford to their summer transfer 

wishlist, according to Sport . 

The Merengue have long been linked with an 

approach for a new forward, with Robert 

Lewandowski and Harry Kane the names that have 

most regularly come up. 

But Madrid are apparently impressed by 

Rashford's versatility, and see the 20-year-old as a 

top prospect. 

Aigbogun 

Tottenham to 

trigger Evans 

contract clause 

Tottenham are ready to 

complete a cut-price move 

for Jonny Evans should West 

Bromwich Albion fail in their 

bid to avoid relegation, reports 

the Telegraph . 

Evans had been a target for 

Manchester City over the 

January window, before the 

table toppers eventually 

decided on Aymeric Laporte. 

But the centre-back would be 

available for just £3 million if 

the Baggies go down, a price 

that both Spurs and north 

London rivals Arsenal have 

taken note of. 

Rashford 

Evans


How Eagles can 

stop goalkeeping 

worries – Akanni 

•Says Serbia will 

give Eagles a feel 

of Croatia style 

By Jacob Ajom 

Former 

Nigeria 

international, Waidi 

Akanni has backed the 

Super Eagles to do well in 

Russia, particularly in 

Group D, which also has 

Croatia, Iceland and 

Argentina. 

In a chat with Saturday 

Vanguard Sports, Akanni a 

former Lagos State FA 

Chairman said the friendly 

matches against Poland 

whaich held last night and 

the one against Serbia next 

week, were good 

experiments to prepare the 

Eagles for the World Cup as 

the two East European 

countries play the same 

style of football as Croatia. 

“Playing against Poland 

and the match coming up 

against Serbia will give the 

Eagles a feel of how their 

World Cup opponents, 

Croatia play. 

“For the Serbians, most of 

their players ply their trade 

in Italy. But I know one of 

their star players, Matic 

playes for Manchester 

United, and they have their 

captain, Kolarov in Roma, 

among others. Serbia is one 

of the stiffest tests for Eagles 

before they can meet 

Croatia,”Akanni said. 

The former youth 

international refused to 

yield when asked about the 

seeming crisis in the team, 

particularly, as it affects the 

goalkeeping department. 

Said he, “Collectively, if we 

put up a strong team 

together that is good, we 

shouldn’t say there is a 

goalkeeper crisis 

“If, for instance, the team 

can be defensively together, 

then the goalkeeper will not 

have a problem. But if, for 

some reason, you open up 

your back line and expose 

your goalkeeper, and he 

becomes vulnerable and 

faulty then you would have 

CAF Confederation Cup: Enyimba ‘ll work 

hard to outwit Bidvest Wits, says Anyansi 

Enyimba 

chairman 

Felix Anyansi-Agwu 

has described as “tricky” 

his team’s CAF 

Confederation Cup final 

playoffs pairing with 

Bidvest Wits of South 

Africa. 

The South Africans host 

the first leg between April 

6-8 with the return leg in 

Nigeria. 

“It’s a very tricky fixture 

because our opponents have 

the experience of playing on 

the continent,” Anyansi 

said. 

“No team should be 

underrated and I have 

started playing the match in 

my mind since the draw was 

made. 

“We played against 

another South African club 

Mamelodi Sundowns in the 

CAF Champions League 

two years ago. We beat 

them by a lone goal in 

Nigeria and we were beaten 

2-1 in South Africa. 

“It will not be a stroll in 

the park against Wits, we 

have to work very hard to 

get to the group stage of the 

Confederation Cup at their 

expense.” 

Enyimba have won the 

CAF Champions League 

twice, in 2003 and 2004, but 

no Nigerian club have 

stood on the podium in the 

Confederation Cup. 

Anyansi also promised 

fans that very soon Enyimba 

will return to play their 

international and local 

matches at the Aba Stadium 

as renovation is almost 

completed. 

...We can keep the spirit 

going – Ojo 

Olorunleke Ojo feels 

Akwa United can 

surpass fans’ expectation as 

they continue their quest to 

win the 2018 CAF 

Confederation Cup trophy. 

The reigning Nigerian 

Federation Cup champions 

were paired with Sudanese 

giants Al-Hilal in the 

competition’s play-off 

round on Wednesday 

evening. 

And the former Flying 

Eagles goalkeeper whose 

penalty heroics powered his 

team past Al-Ittihad Tripoli 

believes that focus and 

discipline are key 

ingredients that will carry 

Akwa United on. 

“Our target is to go as far 

as we can, and I can assure 

you that if God can help us 

scale through Al-Ittihad 

hurdle, we can keep the 

spirit going,” Ojo said. 

“We just hope that God 

will keep giving us the 

strength because all we 

need to do is to remain focus 

outside and inside the field. 

“It is through that we can 

achieve what we want, and 

I am very sure that Akwa 

United are going to go 

beyond what people think.” 

In other pairings, Plateau 

United face USM Alger 

while Bidvest Wits battle 

Enyimba, with MFM FC 

trying Djoliba for size. 

Even at this, Ojo thinks 

having four Nigerian teams 

in the championship is a 

blessing in disguise as a 

Nigerian team might end 

up as eventual winners. 

“It is unfortunate that 

they [MFM and Plateau 

United] dropped from the 

Caf Champions League, but 

I think it’s a blessing in 

disguise,” he continued. 

made him look bad before 

the whole world. 

“I don’t think it is a 

goalkeeper crisis that we 

have, I think what we need 

to discuss about is ollective 

responsibility. If the team 

play defensively as a unit, I 

don’t think we will have any 

problem with our 

goalkeepers.” 

Akanni said instead of 

worrying about the 

goalkeepers, Nigerians 

should be worried about 

Eagles defence, which he 

considers the weakest link 

of the national team. “Yes, 

that is where I feel we have 

problems. We have issues 

with the left back, we have 

issues with 5 and 6. People 

don’t have much confidence 

in them. Even the right full 

back where people think we 

are doing well is not there 

yet. 

“And of course, our 

defensive midfielders, 

Onazi and Ndidi 

sometimes don’t play for 

each other. My take is the 

defence is where we have 

problems. We need to work 

on those guys If the 

defensive midfield gels with 

the central defence, the 

goalkeeper will not have 

much problems because it 

will mean, you are 

defending for your 

goalkeeper. But if the 

goalkeeper is exposed to all 

forms of attack, that is 

where we will have 

problems,” Akanni 

concluded. 

NCF signs sponsorship 

deal with Eroton 

The Board of the 

Nigeria Cricket 

Federation (NCF) has 

made good on it’s 

promise to seek 

partnership with the 

organized private sector 

for its activities and 

teams in 2018 and 

beyond. 

The NCF announced a 

sponsorship agreement 

with one of Nigeria’s 

leading, indigenous oil 

companies, Eroton 

Exploration and 

Production Company. 

Under the terms of the 

sponsorship agreement, 

Eroton has acquired 

branding rights on the 

match and training kits 

of the Nigerian Men 

and Women senior 

national cricket teams. 

“Our Corporate 

Strategy is leveraged on 

a very engaging 

operations and CSR 

platform that sees us 

play an active role in the 

transformation of the 

communities where we 

do business,” said 

Ebiaho Emafo, MD/ 

CEO, Eroton E&P. 

He observed, “there is 

a synergy in our 

corporate values and 

those of Cricket that 

gives us a confidence to 

enter into this 

partnership.” 

“We kick-started the 

relationship with Eroton 

E&P in the last quarter 

of 2017 when the 

company was kind 

enough to sponsor the 

Nigeria Cricket 

Awards,”said Uyi 

Akpata, Vice-President, 

NCF 

GOtv Boxing 

Night 14: Lion 

Nwoye vows to 

end Joe Boy’s 

unbeaten 

record 

Prince “Lion” Nwoye, 

the fast-rising 

lightweight boxer has 

vowed to end the 

unbeaten run of Oto “Joe 

Boy” Joseph, reigning 

African Boxing Union 

and Commonwealth 

Africa lightweight 

champion, when they 

meet at GOtv Boxing 

Night 14 slated to hold 

on 14 April at the Indoor 

Sports Hall of the 

National Stadium, 

Lagos. 

Nwoye, a fast-punching 

boxer, said Joe Boy has 

enjoyed an unbeaten run 

because he is yet to come 

up against him since they 

both turned professional. 

As amateurs, he said, he 

used to beat Joe Boy fun, 

a trick he has vowed to 

repeat at GOtv Boxing 

Night 14. 

“I will show him that I 

am a policeman. I was 

beating him while we 

were in the amateur ranks 

and I will beat him again. 

After beating him, I will 

handcuff him, so he would 

know that I am a 

policeman,” bragged 

Nwoye. 

Responding to his 

opponent’s taunting, Joe 

Boy said he will make 

Nwoye understand that 

the boxing ring is not an 

extension of the police 

station. He dismissed 

Lion’s claim as an 

impotent threat, saying 

being the African and 

Common wealth Africa 

lightweight champion 

shows that he is many 

tiers above Nwoye. 

“For saying he used to 

me during amateur trials, 

I will beat him so much 

that the Police Force will 

have no option than 

dismiss him for the shame 

he will bring on the 

institution. I do not want 

to waste my time talking 

about an insignificant 

boxer, who will not last the 

distance,” the champion 

said.

C'wealth Games: 

First batch of 

Team Nigeria 

departs today for 

Gold Coast 

THE first batch of Team Nigeria athletes 

for the XXI Commonwealth Games in 

Gold Coast, Australia, are expected to 

depart for the games today, an official of 

the Federal Ministry of Sports, Yemi Usikaye, 

has confirmed. 

Usikaye, the Deputy Director, Para-Sports 

and coaching department in the ministry, 

said that 56 athletes and 22 coaches would 

depart from Abuja ahead of the games. 

“This first batch of athletes and coaches 

will come from Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, 

Gymnastics, Para Athletics, Para Power 

lifting, Para Table Tennis, Table Tennis and 

Weightlifting. 

“The second batch which will consist of 

athletes and coaches from Wrestling and 

Athletics Federations will leave on April 2,’’ 

the official said. 

An advance team of officials from the 

ministry departed Nigeria on March 18 to 

attend the Delegates’ Registration Meeting 

due to hold on March 22. 

Athletes competing in the Games would 

round-off their training and proceed to 

Brisbane on March 24. 

The athletics federation would depart with 

25 home-based athletes and five coaches. 

The Games Village will officially open on 

March 25 while team officials are allowed 

to check their athletes’ rooms five days 

before the commencement of the event. 

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will hold 

from April 4 to April 15. 


Fasuba decries Nigeria's inability to produce world class 

sprinters 

African 100m record holder, Olusoji Fasuba, has 

revealed his frustration with Nigeria’s inability to 

produce world class sprinters after he quit the scene. 

Fasuba who holds the African record of 9.85 seconds 

set in Doha 2006 called on the country’s sports 

authorities to take a cue from other Africa countries 

Team Nigeria 

Sunfit Fitness and Spa Club holds squash 

tournament in April 

The First Sunfit Junior National 

Squash Tournament is organized in 

partnership with the Ex-Squash 

Professionals of Nigeria. 

According to the organisers, the 

tournament is scheduled to take place 

from the 11th - 14th April at the SUNFIT 

Fitness and Spa premises, in Lagos 

There will be competition in Under 13 

Boys and Girls and also in Under 16 

Boys and Girls categories. 

The tournament, we gathered is op en 

to squash players - all over the federation 

within the stipulated age brackets. 

A spokesman for the Sunfit Fitness 

and Spa Club stated that the 

tournament “is aimed at discovering 

new talents and catching potential 

future champions now,” adding that 

through the squash students can 

secure foreign scholarship to study in 

colleges abroad. 

He added that although registration 

is completely free, there are lots of 

prizes to be won. 

like South Africa and Cote d’ Ivoire and 

bring Nigeria back from the brink. 

“It’s sad and frustrating that Nigerian 

sprints have been relegated to where it is 

currently. And sadly there is no hope or 

plan of even trying to get the sprinters in 

to the circuit,” said Fasuba. 

He added that the runners who are 

currently in the top bracket of Nigerian 

sprinting lack the courage and backbone 

to compete with their contemporaries 

abroad. 

“We even have some of our top sprinters 

rather than stay abroad and work amongst 

the people that they would compete with 

at the world stage, decided to come back 

home and that in itself has spelled doom.” 

Fasuba won the African championships 

back to back in 2004 and 2006. He also 

won the 2007 Africa Games gold in 100 

and 4x100m. He also won a 2004 Olympics 

4x100m bronze and a 2008 IAAF World 

Indoor 60m gold. 

Olasuji 

Fasuba 

Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria’s 

search for the next generation 

of Sprint Queens 

Earlier this month at the 

IAAF World Indoor Championships 

in Birmingham, Cote 

d’Ivoire made history by producing 

Africa’s first ever winner of 

the women’s 60m in the history 

of the World Indoor Championships, 

Murielle Ahoure! Even 

more stunning was the fact that 

Ahoure inspired a 1-2 for the 

French-speaking country as her 

teammate, Marie Josee Ta Lou, 

won Silver in the same race. 

Ahoure dominated a star-studded 

line up that included Rio 

2016 100m and 200m women’s 

champion, Elaine Thompson of 

Jamaica who finished 4th, and 

reigning 200m World Champion, 

Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands 

who was relegated to 5th 

position. 

Ahoure’s winning time of 

6.97secs is not only the fastest 

time in the world this year over 

that distance; it is the fastest the 

world has seen since 1999! Ta 

Lou on the other hand, set a Personal 

Best of 7.05secs to finish in 

2nd place. 

This is what Ahoure had to say 

after her triumph in Birming- 

ham: “It’s huge to get Gold and 

Silver. The Ivory Coast is on top; 

we’re so happy and hopefully 

soon we’ll be able to take over 

the whole podium.” 

Her teammate Ta Lou shared 

the same sentiment: “Every day, 

I say that the Ivory Coast is good 

and I really believe that. I was 

happy to see Murielle in Gold 

and I’m happy to see two girls 

representing us on the podium.” 

And though Ivory Coast may 

not boast of the vast human potential 

of Nigeria, the country 

must be doing something right 

to have at least two female sprinters 

who are currently among the 

best in the world. In 2016, Ahoure 

dethroned Nigeria’s Blessing 

Okagbare as African Record 

holder in the women’s 100m 

(10.78s), a position which hitherto 

had been reserved for Nigerians. 

Ironically, these two Ivoirian 

sprinters were no match for 

Okagbare a few years ago. 

At the 2014 African Athletics 

Championships in Marrakech, 

Okagbare easily dominated the 

100m and went on to win Gold; 

Ahoure settled for Silver, while 

Ta Lou took the Bronze medal. 

Four years down the line, it is 

evident that the Ivoirian pair has 

since evolved. 

The past couple of years have 

seen Ahoure struggle with injury 

and the personal trauma of losing 

her father to cancer. But while 

she was contending with these 

issues, her compatriot Ta Lou 

proved to be a formidable opponent 

on the global stage, narrowly 

missing out on a medal at the 

Rio Olympics after finishing 4th 

in both the 100m and 200m. But 

she bounced back with double 

Silver medals at last year’s World 

Championships in London, following 

in the steps of Ahoure who 

won Silver in the 100m/200m at 

the 2013 World Championships 

in Moscow. 

Ahoure narrowly missed the 

podium after finishing 4th in the 

100mat London 2017, while 

Okagbarewas unable to make 

the final. Incidentally, no Nigerian 

female sprinter has ever 

medalled in the 100m in the history 

of the World Championships. 

What happened to the days of 

Nigeria having an array of quality 

female sprinters who had to 

fight to get a shirt on the national 

team, especially in the 90s and 

early 2000s when the likes of 

Mary Onyali, Tina Iheagwam, 

Mercy Nku and Endurance 

Ojokolo amongst others, ignited 

the tracks with their rivalry? How 

has the country found itself in a 

situation where there is no quality 

representation in the women’s 

100m/200m should Okagbare 

decide not to race in a particular 

competition? 

Okagbare has more than paid 

her dues with seven National titles 

in the 100m, six in the Long 

Jump, three in the 200m and two 

Murielle Ahoure and Marie Josee Ta Lou 

in the Triple Jump, making a total 

of 18 national titles over a 

period of 11 years. As the Commonwealth 

Games approaches, 

one doesn’t need a soothsayer to 

predict that Nigeria will not 

medal in the women’s 100m, save 

for some sort of miracle. Okagbare 

is the defending champion 

in the 100m and 200m, and even 

owns the Commonwealth Games 

record of 10.85secs in the 100m, 

and though she will be in Gold 

Coast, she’s only going to compete 

in the 4x100m relay. 

The times being returned by our 

female sprinters in recent times 

have been nothing to write home 

about. Okagbare won the 100m 

at the 2016 National Championships 

with an impressive 

11.02secs, and Aniekeme Alphonsus 

who finished 8th in that 

particular race, clocked a time 

of 11.52s. A year later at the 2017 

National Championships, in the 

absence of Okagbare, Alphonsus 

went on to win the 100m with the 

same 11.52secs with which she 

placed 8th the previous year! At 

last month’s Commonwealth 

Games Trials in Abuja, the winning 

time for the women’s 100m 

was 11.55secs - unimpressive by 

global standards! 

However, a sort of renaissance 

seems to be in the offing, with the 

grooming of a crop of talented 

young female sprinters who are 

set to take over, although it may 

take a couple of years more to 

get them ready for the world 

stage. The likes of Blessing 

Ogundiran who won last week’s 

Abuja Golden League with a PB 

of 11.48secs, or the talented duo 

of Rosemary Chukwuma and Joy 

Udo-Gabriel who both made the 

Commonwealth Games team inspire 

hope for the future. Hopefully, 

Nigeria will get it right 

again.

SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 24, 2018 

ACROSS 

1)Minister of state for Niger-Delta 

Affairs, Mr. Claudius – (8) 

5)Italian Capital City (4) 

7)Lagos State Commissioner for 

Home Affairs, Dr. Abdul-Hakeem – 

(5,6) 

9)Paddle (3) 

10)Board Game (5) 

13)Sound System (5) 

14)French Word for “Cocoa”? (5) 

15)Former Super Eagles Striker, 

Sone – (5) 

16)Dismiss (5) 

17)Egypt “Pharaohs” Winger, 

Ahmed – (5) 

18)Head Gear (5) 

19)Germany National Coach, 

Joachim – (3) 

21)Turkish “Super Lig” Club- 

Side(11) 

23)Director of Defence Information, 

The Nigerian Army, Brigadier- 

General John – (4) 

CROSS WORD PUZZLE 

24)Former Togolese President, Mr. 

Gnassingbe – (8) 

DOWN 

1)Nasarawa United Coach, Kabiru – (4) 

2)Rank in the Navy (4,7) 

3)Former Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella 

– (5) 

5)Rodent (3) 

6)Swedish Premier League Club (8) 

8)Ionized Liquid or Gel (11) 

10)Director-General, United States National 

Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Dan – (5) 

11)MD/CEO, Union Bank of Nigeria, Mr. 

Emeka – (5) 

12)Ridicule (5) 

13)Permanent Secretary, Ministry of 

Information &Culture, Mrs. Ayotunde – (8) 

19)Container (5) 

20)Prepared (5) 

22)Former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Idris 

– (4) 

24)Objective (3) 

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE ON PAGE 46 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. 

Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com 

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X). EDITOR: ONOCHIE ANIBEZE. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

24032018 - OBA’S CURSE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKERS: Come and take your pubic hairs, pants in our shrines — Native doctors beg victims of sex slavery

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?