02122018 - 6,562 dead in 11 months

PAGE 2—SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 3

PAGE 4 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Prof. Benjamin Olley of the Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan, weekend, held
a thanksgiving service at the Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Ibadan, to thank God for his
recent promotion. L-r: Pastor S. O. Phillips, Regional Overseer, Mountain of Fire and
Miracles, MFM, SW 120, Ologuneru, Eleyele Ibadan, his wife, Mrs. Phillips, presenting an
Honorary Award to Prof. B. O. Olley at the service
From left: Deputy Manager Nigerian Medical Services Ltd.,Pharm. Zainab
Usman-Sada ; Managing Director Medical Services , Dr. Musa Shaibu, Managing
Direcror Nigeria Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman and MD Total Nig. Plc Nicolas
Terraz, during the World Aids Day 2018 in Lagos at the weekend.
Atiku finally gets US visa, jets out of Nigeria — Report
Atiku Abubakar, pres
idential candidate of
the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), has finally
been issued a visa to the
United States, TheCable
online newspaper reported
, yesterday.
TheCable quoted a family
source as confirming
that the former vice-president
had left Nigeria for
the UK, where he will
spend some time before
flying to the US.
TheCable said that
former President Olusegun
Obasanjo played a
“critical” role in getting
the American government
to issue the visa to his
former deputy with whom
he was estranged for almost
15 years.
The trip marks another
chapter in the controversy
that has rocked the former
vice-president for over a
decade.
Atiku, who is widely travelled,
has not been to the
US in 13 years, intially fueling
speculations that he
might be avoiding possible
arrest or prosecution.
His political opponents
had used his absence from
the US not just to taunt but
to discredit him.
His row with the US authorities
began after the
FBI investigated a bribery
scandal involving William
Jefferson, former US congressman,
in 2004.
Atiku was accused of demanding
a bribe of
$500,000 to facilitate the
award of contracts to two
American telecommunication
firms in Nigeria.
The FBI had searched
Nsukwa
Grammar
School, Class of 1981
has raised the alarm over
the deplorable state of
infrastructure in Nsukwa
Grammar School, Nsukwa,
in Aniocha South Local
Government of Delta State.
A statement by its Chairman,
Mr. Austin Chukwudi,
said:”It is unfortunate that
the efforts put in place by the
likes of Chief Van Nwokoh,
HRM Obi Ezeamaka, and
the maiden Principal, Mr.
S.M.O. Kofi, (all deceased)
were left to rot. We are urging
the school authority to ensure
that the withdrawn hard-won
accreditation of Nsukwa
Grammar School as a centre
for West African
Examination Council
Examination, WAEC, in 1979
and National Examination
Council, NECO, is restored.
“The current state of affairs
his residence in the posh
neighbourhood of Potomac,
Maryland, but no
money was found.
The investigators had
videotaped Jefferson, who
was the congressman representing
Louisiana, receiving
$100,000 worth of
$100 bills which he
claimed was meant for
Atiku, but the former vicepresident
has consistently
denied the allegation.
Despite Atiku’s claim to
innocence, the controversy
raged.
Two months before he
declared interest in the
2019 presidential race,
Atiku granted an interview
to Dele Mommodu, celebrity
journalist, where he
clarified his absence from
the US.
“It is the sole prerogative
of America to determine
who they want in their
country or not,” he said.
“I’m not running away
from America. I applied
but wasn’t issued a visa.”
He said the US did not
categorically deny him
visa.
“They’ve only said my
application is going
through administrative
process,” he said.
On Thursday, Lai Mohammed,
minister of information,
had warned the
US to be cautious in granting
visa to the main opponent
of President Muhammadu
Buhari in 2019.
Asked to comment on
Atiku’s visa status on Fri-
Alleged vote-buying: Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign
attac
acks Saraki
aki
The Buhari/Osinba
jo Presidential
Campaign has criticised
the Director General of
the Presidential Campaign
Council of Atiku
NGS, Nsukwa a alumni decry y infras
astructure decay
Abubakar, Senator
Bukola Saraki, for allegedly
making false allegations
about the Federal
Government Trader
Moni scheme. “For the
President of the Senate
of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria to make such
wild and false allegations
is degrading. Saraki’s
statement makes
his position untenable;
for it is preposterous for
him to criticise the Executive
for implementing
a programme in the
budget duly passed by
the National Assembly
which he leads. Does it
now mean that the implementation
of programmes
of government
equates to vote-buying?
Should governance be
suspended because of
politics? Is his so-called
empowerment scheme
presently ongoing in
Ilorin not a better example
of vote-buying?”, the
campaign said in a statement.
“His claims that the
programme has a political
coloration is just the
height of subterfuge. It
is on record that the
Trader Moni loans are
given to petty traders
and artisans all over the
country irrespective of
political leanings as nobody
is asked for their
party cards in the markets
before they are enlisted
on the programme.
Like other National
Social Investment
Programmes, it has been
launched in every state
of the Federation irrespective
of political affiliation.
To underscore the
non-partisanship of the
Social Investment Programmes,
the National
day, Rusell Brooks, spokesman
of the US consulate
in Lagos, had said issuance
of visa to Nigerians
irrespective of their status
is strictly a confidential
matter.
L-R: Mr. Bamidele Adedeji, Lead Consultant, Youthniversity Consult;
Mrs Adebimpe Adedayo-Ojo wife of Keynote speaker, Ms. Linda Obidike,
Consultant, Youthniversity Consult; Mr. Adedayo Ojo, MD/CEO, Caritas
Communications Limited and Keynote speaker, at the maiden edition of
the Leadership Launchpad orgainised by Youthniversity Consult in Lagos
at the school is quite
worrisome. Back in the days,
the school was pegged to be
the centre of learning in the
geopolitical zone, but reverse
is the case. However, we
propose massive investment
in infrastructure so as to
reclaim its status as the
premier secondary school in
the area. To this end, the
collective support must come
from the State Government,
local government, corporate
organizations and
individuals.”
The Acting Principal of the
school, Mrs. Calista Ajufo,
requested support for the
procurement of modern
laboratory apparatus for the
school. “We truly
acknowledged our alumni as
the school in her days pride
itself in academic exploits,
sports, ‘Operation Feed the
Nation’ and other extracurricular
activities which
were brought about by these
sets. It is believed that we
would not only replicate the
past record, but to better
them.
Earlier at the election of its
new executives, the
Chairman of the class, Austin
Chukwudi, Vice Chairman
Augustine Okereke,
Secretary, Raymond Momah,
Treasurer, Christopher
Adigwe; were elected
unopposed. Also elected
into the executive
committee of the class are:
Wilso Ijomah, Assistant
Secretary, Godwin
Amuebie, PRO, Priscilia
Chukwuji, Financial
Secretary, Sunday
Chiejine, Media
Coordinator, while Paul
Okocha and Felix Bolu
were returned as Ex-Officio
members.
Home-Grown School
Feeding Programme of
the Federal Government
started in the APGAcontrolled
Anambra
State while Rivers State
which is controlled by
the PDP had the highest
number of N-Power
participants at inception
in 2016”.
Treat wife beaters as potential
murderers, activist tells police
The police have
been urged to
stop treating domestic
violence cases as
family issues, but as potential
murder cases.
The Director of Project
Alert, Mrs. Josephine
Effuah-Chukwuma,
made the call during a
sensitisation workshop
on Lagos State Domestic
Violence Prohibition
Law organised in conjunction
with Rise Up at
the Ikeja Police Officers
Mess.
While addressing police
officers at the event,
Effuah-Chukwuma stated,
“We all know that a
law is useless if it is not
put into use. We have an
epidemic on our hands
He said the US government
would not discuss
such confidentiality in
public.
Some All Progressives
Congress (APC) members
had alleged that Brian
Ballard, publicist of US
President Donald Trump,
was working towards relaxing
the visa ban on
Atiku.
Senatorial
candidate tasks
Buhari on new
minimum wage
resident Muhammadu
PBuhari has been tasked
to set in motion a
machinery to boost the
financial base of states and
local governments to
enable them pay workers
N30,000 minimum wage
The PDP senatorial
candidate for Lagos
Central, Chief Adesunbo
Onitiri, gave this advice in
Lagos yesterday.
“The review of the revenue
formula will enable the
vast majority of Nigerians
the opportunity to enjoy
the dividends of
democracy as funds will
be available to local
governments to carry out
major functions such as
the repair of local roads
and provide basic
infrastructure. Presently
our local governments are
totally dysfunctional. If
our local governments are
well funded and
functional, poverty and
suffering will be reduced
in the society”, he added.
which are a twin case of
domestic violence and
sexual abuse. On the issue
of sexual abuse, 99%
of sexual predators are
the people close to us,
and not strangers”.
According to her, every
case of domestic violence
reported to the
police should be treated
as a likely murder case.
“The police in Lagos
have come a long way
when it comes to domestic
violence. But more
still needs to be done.
The police need to know
which bodies to refer
cases to as they come instead
of waiting till it
becomes a murder case
before taking action”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 5
Alleged anti-party ty activities: Akok
oko o youth group
urges APC to call Akeredolu to order
koko Youth Alliance Ajasin University, Dr Tunji
A(AYA) has called on the Abayomi, member
national leadership of the All
Progressives Congress
(APC) to call Governor
Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo
State to order over alleged
anti-party activities.
The group, in a
statement signed by its
Coordinator, Olusegun
Akintunde, said recent
political events in the
state were a strong pointer
and confirmation that the
governor was engaging in
anti-party activities which
may spell doom for the
APC in the 2019 elections
and also make it lose the
state.
Akintunde said: “We
have observed with utmost
dismay how members of
the APC loyal to the
governor who lost out in
the party primaries in the
state have been moving to
a mushroom party to pick
the party’s ticket to run for
elective offices in the 2019
general elections. While it
is the right of anyone to
belong to any association
of their choice, we find it
ridiculous that these
people enjoy massive
backing from the governor
who’s supposed to be the
leader of the APC in Ondo
State.
“Despite several
entreaties and
reconciliatory moves by
the leadreship of the party,
these people have turned
deaf ears by moving to
another party and we have it
on good note that the
governor is secretly funding
and supporting their moves
at the detriment of his party.
“Prominent among these
defectors are the Chairman
of Governing Council of
Ondo State-owned Adekunle
Eulogies as Anenih is laid to rest
By Gabriel
Enogholease and
Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY - THE
body
of
elderstatesman and
former chairman, Board of
Trustees (BoT), of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP),
Chief Tony Anenih, was,
yesterday, laid to rest at his
residence in Arue-Uromi,
after a funeral mass service
at the St. Anthony Catholic
Cathedral, Uromi.
The solemn service was
attended by political
associates, businessmen,
family members and well
representing Akoko North
East and West federal
constituency at the House of
Representatives, Hon
Olemija and several
aggrieved aspirants across
the state who lost out in their
T
he Field Monitoring
& Enforcement
Officer of the Ogun State
Signage
and
Advertisements Agency
(OGSAA), Mr. Bolaji
Banjoko, and other
Advertisements Agency
staff were allegedly
attacked, yesterday, by
political thugs loyal to a
wishers including President
Muhammadu Buhari who
was represented by the
Minister of State for Health,
Dr Osagie Ehanire, former
President Goodluck
Jonathan, PDP Presidential
candidate, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar,represented by his
running mate, Peter Obi.
Others were governors
Godwin Obaseki, Ifeanyi
Okowa and Dickson Seriake
of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa
states, respectively; exgovernor
James Ibori and
Emmanuel Uduaghan of
Delta State, Aliko Dangote
and the national chairman of
the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole, among others.
In his sermon, the
Cath?olic Bishop of Uromi
Dioceses, Most Rev. Bishop
Donatus Ogun, said the life
of a man is short and defined
by God, adding that the day
man will return to God is
uncertain.
He then urged Nigerians to
make out time every day to
get close to God, saying "let
us work hard to make the eyes
of God see us as His own".
The minister described
late? Chief Anenih as a good
Christian and man of his
word, who spoke of his
conviction irrespective of
political affiliation.
"He was called Mr. Fix it
not because he could solve all
problems, but because he
believed any problem can be
solved if people are ready to
shift ground.
"He was a man of integrity
who lived by his words. As a
Catholic, consistency was?
exceptional to him. He was
outstanding politician and
mentor, who kept his
promises, who believed in
giving others opportunity to
be", he said.
Bishop Ogun added that
it will be difficult to find
replacement for Chief Anenih
in Esan land, saying that
anyone to replace him must
start with the generosity of
himself: "Anenih was
generous with his person, time
and resources, -he was
generous to a fault".
Ahead of the 2019
elections, Bishop Ogun
warned Nigerians and
politicians not to make
promises they cannot fulfil
?because God will demand
account from them just as he
urged politicians to
campaign on issues.
"Nigerians are tired of
hearing rubbish, give us
something fresh when we go
to bed. If you? are hiring a
campaign manager, tell us
what you want to do to
improve our lives", he said.
President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki (left),and Senator Barnabas
Gemade (right), during the wedding between Gemade’s daughter, Sedoo, and Sheyin
(middle)in Abuja at the weekend
LAGOS 2019: Agbaje launches campaign, laments N6 trillion waste
•Fingers ADC, Sanwo-Olu on the destruction of boards, assault on poster pasters
By Emmanuel Aziken,
Mike Ebunwogu &
Monsuru Olowoopejo
P
eoples Democratic Party,
PDP, governorship
candidate for Lagos State,
Jimi Agbaje, yesterday,
flagged off his campaign with
a vow to upset the hegemony
he claimed had held down the
progress of the state.
At the election campaign
launch in Lagos, Agbaje
lamented that over N6 trillion
equivalent to $35 billion had
been squandered by
successive administrations in
the state in the last 20 years.
He particularly lamented
that the past three
administrations in the state
did not bother to open up the
bid to clinch the party’s ticket
for the 2019 elections”.
The group added: “The
anti-party activities of the
governor, if not checked and
quickly addressed, will spell
great doom for the party and
negatively affect it’s chances
in the 2019 elections.”
Political thugs attack Ogun
Signage officials
governorship candidate.
They were said to have
been attacked while on
official duty in Abeokuta
along the Ibrahim
Babangida Boulevard.
The OGSAA officials
said they were enforcing
the removal of illegal
boards in the area when
they were attacked by
thugs.
state leading to the choking
up of the state.
Cheered on by passionate
party supporters, the
gubernatorial hopeful
repeatedly cited the Lateef
Jakande administration as a
model as he said that Lagos
was only one of two
megacities in the world
without a light rail system.
He also used the
opportunity to present his
running mate, Mrs.
Haleemat Busari, a
corporate lawyer as his
running mate.
“Lagosians do not see a
future in the Lagos we have
today. Those that have been
there have spent over N6
trillion in the last 20 years
and they have not opened up
Lagos.”
Meanwhile, Agbaje,
yesterday, protested the
massive destruction of his
publicity boards on the Third
Mainland Bridge and other
parts of Lagos, while placing
the blame on the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC)
and its candidate, Mr.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He said the destruction
represented the height of
political intolerance and
impunity from a ruling party
clearly staring defeat in the
face in the 2019
gubernatorial elections.
Agbaje challenged the
police to immediately
apprehend the hooligans.
Recalling that his publicity
materials had suffered
similar violence in 2015,
Agbaje, in a statement by his
campaign’s Director of
Media and Publicity, Felix
Oboagwina, said that
Lagosians could only break
free from such self-serving
and corrupt tendencies by
voting out APC in the 2019
polls.
In a related development,
the state Commissioner of
Police, Edgar Imohimi,
ordered the arrest of anyone
found vandalising or
defacing campaign posters or
boards in the state.
Imohimi also summoned
the Chairmen of all political
We transmit 25,000m3 of water daily
to Enugu metropolis, says Corporation
…presents status report on water supply
T
he administration of Gov.
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of
Enugu State said it has,
through the recent
rehabilitation of facilities at
Ajalli and Oji River Water
Treatment Schemes,
registered a remarkable
improvement in the daily
supply of water to Enugu
metropolis and its environs.
A status report by the
Managing Director of
Enugu State Water
Corporation, Engr.
Chidozie Eze, stated that
“Ajalli and Oji water
schemes presently produce
10,000m3 and
15,000m3water
respectively daily.”
Engr. Eze revealed that
“prior to the assumption of
office by the present
administration, the water
supply situations in Enugu
metropolis and Nsukka
urban were comatose, with
Oji and Ajalli water
schemes almost at the verge
of collapse”.
He added that “Nsukka
urban was barely
managing with one
functional borehole”,
disclosing that Gov.
Ugwuanyi’s administration
consequently “invested
enormous fund in the
parties in the state, their flag
bearers, the Resident
Electoral Commission
(REC) and other
stakeholders for a meeting
ahead of the 2019 elections.
The commissioner, in a
statement by Police Public
rehabilitation of Oji
Augmentation and Ajalli
Water schemes”.
The managing director
maintained that contrary to
erroneous impression being
peddled that there is no
water in Enugu, there has
been increased water
production and distribution
to more consumers in
Enugu metropolis as
“tremendous boost in water
supply has been noticed by
the residents of Enugu”.
Engr. Eze further disclosed
that “significant feat was
achieved in getting water to
some areas in Abakpa that
we were hitherto unable to
supply because of low level
of water in our reservoirs”.
Relation Officer, Chike Oti,
stressed that “there is no
alternative to peace and the
need for all political parties,
their candidates and
supporters to shun acts
capable of breaching the
public peace.”
University of Dundee alumni meet
he University of Dundee
Tgraduate community in
the country was recently
reunited with its alumni as
HRH, the Emir of Keffi, Dr.
Shehu Chindo Yamuisa III,
and some other traditional
rulers gathered.
The staff of the Scottish
university met with the Emir
and HRH, the Emir of
Bakura, Alhaji Bello
Muhammad Sani, both of
whom are graduates of
Dundee.
The Emir of Keffi
graduated from the
university in 2004, with a
master’s degree in law
while the Emir of Bakura
obtained his master’s
degree in science from the
university in 1977.
Also representatives of
Nasarawa State University
were in the meeting,
rekindling the ties that exist
between the two
institutions.
Overwhelmed by the
warm welcome they
received from their
distinguished hosts, Professor
Peter McEleavy from the
university said that engaging
with the alumni was a central
part of his role as the
university’s academic Lead
for sub-Saharan Africa,
adding that it was the first
time he had been received at
a royal palace and welcomed
by a traditional horner,
drummers and singers.
He said: “His Royal
Highness Dr Shehu
ChindoYamusa III was a
most gracious and
welcoming
Abia, Edo shine at Niger
Delta planning contest
By Egufe Yafugborhi
DO and Abia states
Ehave emerged best
Niger Delta states with most
realistic long term
development plan initiatives.
The contest was part of the
7th Niger Delta
Development Forum
(NDDF), a program of the
Foundation for Partnership
Initiatives in the Niger Delta
(PIND) and other
development partners held
respectively in Benin, Edo
State and Port Harcourt,
Rivers State.
Edo won the first leg it
hosted in Benin just as Abia
turned out winner in the
second round held in Port
Harcourt, both winners
defeating other Niger Delta
state except Rivers which
abstained for undisclosed
reasons.
The competition,
according the organisers,
was intended motivate all
nine Niger Delta states to
share expectations and
processes for long-term
developmental planning by
the state governments and to
provide
expert
recommendations on policy
actions and strategies.

PAGE 6 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
APC Enugu governorship candidate (middle), Sen. Ayogu Eze, wife, and other party
chieftains during the unveiling of The New Dawn, the manifesto for a better Enugu State.
L-R: Mr. Jeff Anuta, Bala Yesufu and Dr. Aminu Yesufu during the Bala @60 Lecture
and Book Launch, held in Lagos.
Buhari, Gani Adams mourn as OPC founder, Fasheun,
passes on at 83
*Tinubu, Ooni, Afenifere also pay tributes
*How he died of diabetes – Spokesman
By Dapo Akinrefon,
Abdulwahab Abdulah,
Johnbosco Agbakwuru and
Gbenga Olarinoye
The founder of the Ood
ua Peoples Congress,
OPC, Dr. Frederick
Fasehun, yesterday, died at the
age of 83.
Fasehun passed on at the
Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital (LA-
SUTH), Ikeja.
The octogenarian, it was
learned, was admitted at the
Intensive Care Unit of the
hospital on Tuesday, where he
remained until his demise.
Confirming the death, Fasehun’s
spokesman, Adeoye
Jolaosho, said: “It is true,
Baba died this morning at the
ICU of LASUTH, Ikeja.”
Sunday Vanguard gathered
that Fasehun died of diabetes,
a disease he was said
to have been nursing for some
time. A source close the late
OPC founder said he had
been receiving insulin treatment
for several months, saying
the development made
him to withdraw from the
public.
Fasehun was born in Ondo
Town, Ondo State in 1935.
He studied science at
Blackburn College and furthered
his education at Aberdeen
University College of
Medicine. He also studied at
the Liverpool Postgraduate
School after which he had a
Fellowship at the Royal College
of Surgeons. In 1976, he
studied acupuncture in China
under a joint World
Health
Organization
(WHO) and United Nations
Development Scholarship
Programme.
In 1977, he set up an Acupuncture
Unit at the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital,
LUTH.
He resigned in 1978 and
immediately set up the Besthope
Hospital and Acupuncture
Centre in Lagos.
The Acupuncture Centre
once earned a reputation as
Africa’s first for the Chinese
medical practice.
Tributes flowed as the news
of Fasehun spread yesterday
President Muhammadu
Buhari commiserated with
the Yoruba nation, the family
of the medical practitioner
and the government and people
of Ondo State.
Buhari, in a statement, recalled
the prominent role
Fasehun played as a member
of the defunct National
Democratic Coalition (NA-
DECO) which campaigned
against military rule in the
country.
He was a good
governance activist
– Tinubu
The All Progressives Congress
(APC) National Leader,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described
Fasehun as a renowned
pro-democracy and
good governance activist,
committed democrat, tested
political player and Yoruba
nationalist who left behind
fine legacies.
He charged the Fasehun
family and other associates
of the late leader not to allow
his fine legacies to die.
In a statement signed by
Tunde Rahman on behalf of
Tinubu’s Media Officer, the
APC leader said: “Dr. Fredrick
Fasehun was a renowned
pro-democracy and
good governance activist,
committed democrat, tested
political player and Yoruba
nationalist. I say all of that
because I knew him well. We
related very closely.
“He was known for his
Yoruba nationalistic fervor.
Like an Afenifere chieftain
that he was, he fought stridently
for the Yoruba cause.
He canvassed true federalism
and political restructuring.
He fought as well for the
cause of the Nigerian nation.
“The good thing about
Baba is there was never a time
that he sat on the fence. Although
trained as a medical
doctor, he was very active politically.
We were together in
the forefront of the agitation
for the de-annulment of June
12. He founded the Oodua
Peoples Congress to actualize
June 12 but respoused
non-violence”.
A former Deputy National
Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, Chief
Olabode George, said Fasehun
was a committed and
detribalized Nigerian.
In a telephone reaction to
the death, George said he was
when he heard of the OPC
president’s death, saying it is
a big loss to Nigeria, especially
to Yoruba race.
George, who is also the Atona
of Oodua, said, “Fasehun
is a committed Nigerian who
has promoted his people not
to the detriment of others, but
strived that every tribe must
be recognised and developed.
And that was what he fought
for all his life.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye
Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja
II, said Fasehun’s death was
a rude shock, saying his death
was a big loss to Ondo Kingdom,
Ondo State, Yoruba
race and Nigeria.
Ogunwusi expressed his
commiseration through a
press statement by Comrade
Moses Olafare, Director of
Public Affairs at Ooni’s Palace.
“The Arole Oduduwa, while
performing his duty as the
Chancellor at the ongoing
48th Convocation Ceremony
of the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka received the news of
the passage of leader of OPC,
Dr Frederick Faseun, with a
rude shock”, the statement
said.
“The Royal Court of Ife will
never forget Dr Fasheun for
his incorruptible loyalty to the
sacred throne of Oduduwa.
The good people of Ile-Ife,
which is the ancestral home
of the Yoruba, will miss him
for the love and respect he
ceaselessly showed to us. Yoruba
people all over the world
will miss him for his committed
struggle for the socio-political/economic
survival of
the race and Nigerians will
miss him for his fights for fairless
and justice as a Nigerian
human right activist”.
He was a father
– Gani Adams
THE Aare Onakakanfo of
Yorubaland, Aare Gani Adams,
described the death as a
great loss to the Yoruba race.
In a statement, Aare Adams,
said Fasehun left behind a
worthy legacy.
He said: “It was with shock
that I received the sad news
of the passing of our Papa and
founding father of Oodua
Peoples Congress, OPC,
which occurred today, December
1, 2018. This, no
doubt, is a moment of great
grief for entire family of OPC,
Yoruba nation, Nigeria and
the world at large”.
Describing the late Fasehun
as a father, Adams said: “I
passed through him for a period
of five years.”
His death a rude
shock – Afenifere
Afenifere’s National Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin,
described Fasehun as
“a dogged fighter who played
pivotal role particularly in the
resistance to the annulment of
June 12 election and generally
in all struggles for emancipation
in his lifetime.”
Odumakin added: “Fasehun’s
death at this crucial time
in the life of our country is a
big blow to the struggle he
devoted most of his adult life
to.
“As we cannot question God
for taking him when it pleased
him,we pray that his soul will
find a comforting testing place
.“We console his immediate
family,his fraternal family in
OPC and the Yoruba Nation
in general on the death of this
great soul.
“It shall be well with all that
he left behind.”.
Describing Fasehun as a
historical figure and a foremost
father of the country’s
Fourth Republic democracy,
Mr Jimi Agbaje, the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) governorship
candidate for Lagos
State, said his transition
at this time in the country’s
political history was personally
painful to him.
“Not only was Baba an icon
of Nigeria’s democratic struggle,”
the PDP candidate said.
“To me, he stood as a father
figure with whom I enjoyed
a personal relationship.”
Agbaje spoke in a statement
by Felix Oboagwina,
the Director of Media and
Publicity, Jimi Agbaje Campaign
Organisation.
In his reaction, High Chief
Owolabi Salis, Lagos State
governorship candidate of
Alliance for Democracy, AD,
said although it is a sad day
for the people, nobody could
deny the fact that Fasehun
contributed his quota to the
development and leadership
Ayogu Eze promises prompt payment
of pension to senior citizens
Worried by the increas
ing number of pensioners
who die while waiting
to be paid, the governorship
candidate of the All Progressives
Congress (APC),
Senator, Ayogu Eze has assured
pensioners that when
elected he will ensure prompt
payment of pensions and other
entitlements to senior citizens
in the State.
The Senator who made the
point while unveiling some of
his campaign materials said
the sad news of deaths of pensioners
while waiting for their
entitlement gives the impression
that "our society is not
grateful for the services rendered
in their active period."
According to him, "we are
not happy that our pensioners
are not paid on time.
When we come in May next
year, by June we will look for
money to clear the arrears of
pension.
"We should show that our
people are grateful for the services
of these sets of Nigerians
who gave their productive
years to the service of the
country," Eze said.
"As people are leaving service,
their pension will be
ready and kept in escrow accounts
so they can be paid as
soon as they leave."
On the raging minimum
wage debate, Eze said as governor,
he would implement
the proposed minimum wage
of N30k for the state workers.
He said the APC government
wou work to return the
internally generated revenue
of the state to the Sullivan era
so as to be able to get fund the
welfare package for workers.
The event was marked by
the launch of his manifesto,
which detailed his plans for
the State.
P-H seminar: Keyamo, Prof Okodudu,
Ekekwe to interrogate corruption
By Egufe Yafugborhi
SPOKESMAN to Bu
hari Campaign Organisation,
Festus Keyamo
(SAN), along with Professors
Eme Ekekwe, and Steve
Okodudu will next week interrogate
‘Corruption as an
Issue in Nigeria’s Development
Crisis’ in a seminar in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Peter Ekekwe, Co-convener,
Rivers Unity House, a political
interest group organizing
the seminar, said, “We
felt the need to get some tech-
of the Yoruba race.
Speaking to newsmen, yesterday,
at Akinde, Ifako-Ijaye
Local Government Area of
the state during the graduation
of 1,000 persons from his
free Lagos Youth Skills Acquisition
programme, Salis said:
“It is sad. A great loss. I was
to see him yesterday (Friday),
but traffic gridlock frustrated
the meeting. He will be remembered
for good deeds
and that should be the goal
of everyone because life is a
circle. May his soul rest in
peace.”
2019 polls can’t hold amid present security challenges
— Charly Boy, others
By Dapo Akinrefon
LEADER of the Our
Mumu Don-Do
Movement, Charles
Oputa, also known as Charly
Boy, yesterday, warned that
the 2019 general elections
cannot be conducted amid
the present security challenges
facing the country.
Charly Boy, who joined other
human rights’ activists on
a protest rally in the Isolo axis
of Lagos State over abductions
and terrorism in the
North-East and other parts of
the country, tasked the Federal
Government to address
the security challenges in the
country before conducting
the 2019 polls.
The rally was organised by
Catalyst for Global Peace and
Justice Initiative in collaboration
with the Committee
for the Defence of Human
Rights and Transition Monitoring
Group, among others.
Oputa flayed the Buhari
administration for failing to
secure lives and property despite
promising to do.
He said: “How can I forget
the killing of Liman Hauwa
and Sairura Khorsa, while so
many other girls are still in
the captivity of Boko Haram?
Nigeria has turned to a jungle
that human lives no longer
mean anything to us. See
how people are being slaughtered
under the very watch of
the very man who promised
to stop terrorism.”
Also speaking, the chairperson
of Transition Monitoring
Group, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-
Afolabi, warned that elections
could not hold under the
present insecurity situation in
the country.
In his remarks, Convener
of the coalition and Coordinator
of Catalyst for Global
Peace and Justice Initiative,
Abraham Aiyedogbon, said:
“We have families that are
grieving. The parents of these
girls are still crying. We have
soldiers that have just been
slaughtered in their hundreds.
The wives are now widows
while children have become
fatherless. It can no
longer be business as usual.
We can no longer remain in
the church and be preaching
as usual when Nigerians are
dying.
“Even the soldiers that are
fighting have come out to say
recently that they are not
equipped. With all the billions
being spent, the top military
officers are just milking
the country. Lives are being
lost and we have a president
who does not seem to be
aware of what is going on.”
nocrats, experts from labour,
the academia and other sectors
to discuss corruption and
how if affects us particularly
with elections at hand again.
“We want to talk, not just
on government’s efforts at
fighting corruption, but to
also interrogate politicians,
public servants on how they
made their money and how
their names are prominent
among the 10% of Nigerians
who are said to control our
commonwealth and desperate
to hang on to it.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 7
NIGERIA’S KILLING FIELDS
6,562 deaths in 11 months
By Clifford Ndujihe
FOUR weeks to the end
of 2018, many
Nigerians would be
eager to bid the year goodbye
and welcome 2019 with open
arms.
Reason: 2018 has been a
harbinger of death, tears of
blood and gnashing of the
teeth for a host of people and
families in all parts of the
country.
No state was spared the
anguish of gruesome
murders.
Literally, Nigeria could be
described as a killing field in
2018 as no fewer than 6,562
Nigerians, according to
Sunday Vanguard’s checks,
were slaughtered through the
Boko Haram insurgency,
herdsmen and farmers’
clashes, cult clashes,
sectarian and communal
clashes, kidnapping, ritual
killings, and armed robbery,
among others.
The Boko Haram
insurgency and herdsmen
and farmers’ clashes
accounted for the bulk of the
deaths.
The North-Central, North-
East and North-West zones
were the apex theatres of the
killings with states like Borno,
Benue, Plateau, Zamfara,
Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa,
and Taraba being the
epicentre of the killings.
The death figure is
conservative because it is
based on but not even limited
to reported incidents and
deaths. Many killings were
not reported or the casualty
figures were not disclosed. If
those who died in the custody
of kidnappers were added, the
tally would be much higher.
The 6,562 deaths recorded
since the beginning of 2018
exclude those who died from
illnesses, accidents, flooding,
infant mortality, Lassa fever,
malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc.
Those killed include
civilians and security agents
as well as the insurgents.
In the first 10 weeks of the
year as tallied by Sunday
Vanguard in March 2018, no
fewer than 1,351 people were
mowed down.
In January, 676 Nigerians
were killed, and in February,
no fewer than 517 people died
violently, across the country.
For the remaining months the
death tolls are as follows:
March, 485; April, 670; May,
508; June, 639; July, 357;
August, 363; September, 926;
October, 1,033; and
November, 388 (see table).
The deaths have made
Nigeria one of the countries
affected most by terrorism.
According to the Global
Terrorism Index, GTI,
Nigeria is the fourth country
with the highest number of
deaths resulting from
terrorism. In 2016, the GTI
said 2,164 persons died
through terrorist acts in
Nigeria.
The Committee on
Resettlement of Internally
Displaced Persons, IDPs, set
up by the Plateau
Government, said
penultimate week that 1,801
persons were killed and
50,212 people displaced by
the recent attacks in the state.
AVM Bala Danbaba (retd),
Chairman of the committee,
while presenting the
committee report to
Governor Simon Lalong, in
Jos, said the committee
identified 115 communities
cutting across Jos North, Jos
South, Bassa, Riyom, Barkin
Ladi and Bokkos Local
Government Areas, that were
affected by the crisis. He said
the committee, whose one
month mandate was later
increased to two months,
received 55 memoranda and
visited 27 camps where the
IDPs were quartered, noting
“The only IDPs camp we did
not visit was the one at Lere,
in the Dorowa area of Barkin
Ladi Local Government. We
could not go there because of
security reasons. ‘’
Last July, the Amnesty
International, AI, said the
killings in Zamfara were
under reported, saying of then
371 people had been killed
in the state.
Amnesty International
recalled that on Friday 27
July, 18 villages in the
Mashema, Kwashabawa
and Birane districts of Zurmi
local government area of
Zamfara state were attacked,
leaving at least 42 people
dead.
“At least 18,000 residents of
the affected villages who were
displaced over the weekend
are now taking refuge at
various locations in the local
government headquarters.
The following day a further
15 people were kidnapped in
Maradun local government
area.
“On Saturday 28 July,
President Muhammadu
Buhari announced the
deployment of 1,000 troops
to Zamfara. This is the third
time since November 2017
that the authorities have
deployed the military in
response to attacks, but
villagers told Amnesty
International that this has not
translated into protection for
remote, vulnerable
communities.
“Previous military
interventions have failed to
end the killings, especially in
rural areas of Zamfara. At
least 371 people have been
killed in Zamfara in 2018
alone, and at least 238 of
these killings took place after
the deployment of the
Nigerian air force. The
government is still neglecting
the most vulnerable
communities in this region,”
said Osai Ojigho.
“Villagers described
feeling helpless and on edge,
constantly bracing
themselves for attacks. Men
said they are sleeping outside
their homes and in trees as a
way of keeping vigilant, while
women and children are
sleeping together in groups
for protection. Villagers
described a pattern where
they receive warnings ahead
of attacks, including by
phone, ordering them to pay
huge sums of money or be
killed or abducted,” AI
further disclosed.
Harvest of
killings in 2018
Month Killings
January – 676
February – 517
March – 485
April – 670
May – 508
June – 639
July – 357
August – 363
Sept – 926
October – 1033
Nov ember – 388
Total 6562
Time line of killings
since March 2018
March 1 – 15 killed in
Saradauna, Taraba
March 2 – Nigerian
police killed a kidnap
kingpin in Ikwerre, Rivers
State.
March 2 – Sectarian
violence led to six deaths in
Gwer East, Benue State.
March 3 – Three suicide
bombers killed themselves in
Maiduguri, Borno State.
March 4 – 20 killed in
Saradauna, Taraba
March 5 – Herdsmen
killed five in Guma, Benue.
March 5 – A suicide
bomber killed himself and
three CJTF members in
Maiduguri, Borno
March 5 – Boko Haram
killed four loggers in Dikwa,
Borno.
March 6 – Pirates killed
three in Ogbia, Bayelsa.
March 6 – Boko Haram
killed three in Ngala, Borno.
March 7 – 2 killed in
Takum, Taraba
March 8 – 11 killed in
Bassa, Plateau
March 9 – 10 killed in
Bokkos, Plateau
March 10 – A
communal clash led to 11
deaths in Boki, Cross River.
March 11 – An IED by
Boko Haram killed four
soldiers in Monguno, Borno
State
March 12 – Sectarian
violence led to four deaths in
Izzi, Ebonyi State.
March 12 – Sectarian
violence led to seven deaths
in Bassa, Plateau.
March 12 – 26 killed in
Bassa, Plateau sectarian
violence
March 13 – 7 killed in
Guma, Benue State
March 13 – 1 killed in
Lokoja, Kogi State
March 14 – Herdsmen
killed 32 in Daima/Omala,
Kogi State
March 14 – Herdsmen
killed four soldiers in Bassa,
Plateau State
March 14 – 6 killed in
Bassa, Plateau State
March 14 – Herdsmen
killed 12 people in Omala,
Kogi State
March 14 – Herdsmen
killed 20 people in Dekina,
Kogi State
March 14 – Two suicide
bombers killed themselves in
Maiduguri, Borno
March 15 – 5 killed in
Takum, Taraba sectarian
violence
March 16 – Herdsmen
killed three in Esan-South
East and two in Ovia North-
East in Edo.
March 19 –10 killed in
Omala, Kogi State
March 20 – 11 killed in
Birnin Gwari, Kaduna
March 22 – 3 killed in
Jos South, Plateau State
March 24 – 5 killed in
Makurdi, Benue State
March 24 – Sectarian
violence led to one death in
Makurdi, Benue.
March 25 – Sectarian
violence led to two deaths in
Guma, Benue
March 25 – Sectarian
violence led to two deaths in
Agatu, Benue
March 25 – Soldiers
killed one Boko Haram
militant at a town in
Konduga, Borno
March 28 – Bandits
killed 36 people in Anka,
Zamfara.
March 29 – Suspected
herdsmen killed six in
Jema’a, Kaduna.
March 30 – Four suicide
bombers killed themselves
and one other in Maiduguri,
Borno.
March 30 – Nigerian
troops killed four Boko
Haram militants in Damboa,
Borno.
March 30 – 6 killed in
Jema’a, Kaduna
April 1 – During an
attack on Maiduguri, Borno,
13 Boko Haram militants,
one soldier, and 14 civilians
were killed.
April 3 – Gunmen
invaded a police station in
Kogi, and killed two police
officers.
April 4 – 6 killed in
Chikun, Kaduna
April 4 – 4 killed in
Takum, Taraba
April 4 – 10 killed in
Gwer West, Benue
April 4 – Two soldiers
and 21 bandits were killed
during a clash in Anka,
*From left: Director, Kabiru Rabiu; Managing Director, Yusuf Binji, both of Cement
Company of Northern Nigeria, CCNN; and Founder, BUA Group/Chairman,
CCNN, Abdul Samad Rabiu, at the court-ordered Extra-Ordinary General Meeting
where shareholders voted 99.01% to merge with the BUA-owned Kalambaina Cement
Company in Sokoto.
Zamfara.
April 4 – A pastor
beheaded secret lover, and
buried body in a church at
Papalanto, Ogun State.
April 5 – 5 killed in
Donga, Taraba
April 5 – 30 killed in
Gwer West, Benue
April 5 – 50 (9 police, 41
civilians) were killed in Offa,
Kwara following multiple
armed robberies on banks in
the town
April 5—A Nigerian
singer, Zainab Nielsen and a
three and half year old
daughter , Petra, were killed
by her Danish husband, Peter
Nielsen
April 6 – Gunmen killed
village head, 5 others in
Sarari village rear Kuriga
town in Birnin Gwari LGA,
Kaduna State.
April 6 – Nigerian troops
killed five Boko Haram
militants in Madagali,
Adamawa. One civilian was
also killed during the clash.
April 7 – 4 killed in Bali,
Taraba
April 7 – 2 killed in
Agatu, Benue
April 8 – 5 killed in
Birkin Ladi, Plateau State
April 8 – 5 murdered in
Obi, Nasarawa
April 8 – 4 killed in
Keana, Nasarawa
April 9 – 1 killed in
Guma, Benue
April 10 – 10 murdered
in Benue
April 10 – 51 killed in
Wukari, Taraba
April 12 – 2 killed in
Markudi, Benue
April 12 – 2 murdered in
Birnin Gwari, Kaduna
April 12 – Kano based
Syrian killed, son abducted
in Kano state, Ahmed Aredia,
was reportedly killed by
gunmen and his 14 years old
son abducteds
April 13 – 5 killed in
Bassa, Kogi
April 14 – 4 killed in
Logo, Benue
April 14 – 78 murdered
in Obi, Nasarawa
April 17 – 1 killed in
Logo, Benue
April 17 – One killed,
Maitama, Abuja.
April 18 – 4 killed in
Bassa, Plateau
April 19 – 1 killed in
Kutigi, Niger
April 19 – 1 killed in
Gwer West, Benue
April 20 – 31 killed in
Guma, Benue
April 20 – A pregnant
teenager’s womb was ripped
opened by unidentified
people, who took the unborn
baby away and also killed
three others on in Rumuoro
village in Ogbakimi Emohua
LGA of Rivers State.
April 21 – Gun men
killed 30 in Maru LGA,
Zamfara State.
April 24 – A woman
identified as mama Lekari,
slumped and died, during a
clash between the Yoruba and
Hausa in Sabo Area of Akure,
Ondo
April 24 – Herdsmen kill
two Catholic priests, 17
worshippers in Mbalon,
Gwer East LGA, Benue
April 25 – 19 killed in
Gwer East, Benue
April 25 – 39 killed in
Guma, Benue
April 25 – Herdsmen
killed 7 IDPs in Awe,
Nassarawa
April 28 – Bandits killed
14 miners in Birnin Gwari,
Kaduna
April 28 – Bandits killed
14 miners in Birnin Gwari,
Kaduna.
April 28 – Nigerian
military bombed and killed
40 Boko Haram militants in
Konduga, Borno.
April 28 – Herdsmen
killed eight Agagbe
community, Senger, Gwer
West, Benue.
April 29 – 5 killed in
Gwer West, Benue
May 1 – Two Boko
Haram suicide bombers
killed themselves and 84r
others in Mubi South,
Adamawa.
May 1 – Herdsmen
killed six in Guma, Benue.
May 2 – Boko Haram
killed 10 people in Konduga,
Borno.
May 2 – Bandits killed
13 in Maru, Zamfara.
May 2 – A 21 year old
final year student of UNICAL,
Joseph Ita Archibong has
been killed by armed robbers
during an attack on his
family in calabar.
May 3 — Four suicide
bombers killed themselves in
Maiduguri, Borno.
May 3 —Herdsmen
killed 15 in Numan and
Lamurde LGAs in Adamawa.
May 3: Nigerian soldiers
neutralized a suicide bomber
before they could detonate in
Bama, Borno. Boko Haram
was suspected.
May 4: Four suicide
bombers killed themselves
and three others in Konduga,
Borno. Boko Haram was
suspected.
May 5: Bandits killed
seventy-one in Birnin Gwari,
Kaduna.
May 4 and May 6: A cult
clash resulted in 13 deaths in
Jos North, Plateau.
May 7: A communal clash
led to eleven deaths in
Odukpani, Cross River.
May 7: No fewer than 48
bodies have been recovered
from Gwaska village in
Birnin Gwari local
government area of Kaduna
state.
May 9: Two suicide
bombers tried to attack a
mosque in Maiduguri, Borno
but ran away and ended up
killing themselves.
May 9: Herdsmen killed
nine in Ussa, Taraba.
May 9: The JTF killed 10
bandits in Lau, Taraba.
May 9: Herdsmen killed
eight in Numan, Adamawa.
May 10: Police and ‘Land
Grabbers’ killed five in Lagos
State, Lagos.
May 11: Nigerian troops
killed eight bandits in Maru,
Zamfara.
May 11: Nigerian troops
killed 10 bandits in Numan,
Adamawa.
May 12: Customs agents
killed four smugglers in
Imeko Afon, Ogun.
May 13: No fewer than
four persons were feared dead
while six others sustained
gunshot wounds, following a
clash between Nigerian
Customs Service (NCS) and
transporters at Ilara, in
Imeko Afon Local
Government Area of Ogun
State.
May 14: Kidnappers
killed two and abducted
four in Birnin Gwari,
Kaduna.
May 14: Communal
violence led to 31 deaths in
two weeks in Toto,
Nasarawa.
May 15: A suicide bomber
killed himself and five CJTF
members in Konduga,
Borno.
May 15: Bandits killed
10 in Birnin Gwari,
Kaduna.
May 15: Nigerian troops
killed 11 Boko Haram
insurgents in Marte, Borno.
May 15: Nigerian troops
killed four Boko Haram
insurgents in Bama and
Dikwa LGAs in Borno.
May 15: The Nigerian Air
Force bombed Boko Haram
structures in Bama, Borno,
killing 10 occupying
terrorists”
May 16: Kidnappers
killed three policemen and
abducted a Syrian national
in Bodinga, Sokoto.
May 16: Boko Haram
killed six vigilantes in
Madagali, Adamawa.
May 17: Herdsmen killed
five in Logo, Benue.
May 17: A suicide bomber
killed himself and four
others in Dikwa, Borno.
May 18: Two suicide
bombers killed themselves
but no others in Konduga,
Borno.
May 19: Nigerian troops
killed thirty-five bandits and
lost one soldier in Gwer West,
Logo, and Guma LGAs in
Benue.
May 20: Herdsmen killed
two soldiers and took one
soldier captive in Logo,
Benue.
May 20: Gunmen
abducted nine and killed one
in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna.
May 20: Gunmen killed
“scores” (estimated at forty)
in Toto, Nasarawa.
May 20: Herdsmen killed
five in Logo, Benue.
To be Continued next
week

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
•Ortom
•Jime
•Hwande
Benue 2019: How the PDP,
APC and SDP stand
By Peter Duru, Makurdi
Less than 90 days to the 2019 gener
al elections, the shape of things to
come in the race for the political
soul of Benue State is becoming clearer,
no thanks to the crises that have plagued
the two main opposition parties in the
state, the All Progressives Congress, APC,
and the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
The development, according to analysts,
may smoothen things for the ruling
Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, and reelection
of Governor Samuel Ortom.
APC leaders in the state are enmeshed
in battle over the picking of a running
mate for their governorship candidate, Mr.
Emmanuel Jime, leaving the party without
an authentic deputy governorship
candidate at the moment.
The battle in the Benue APC
is woven around the party’s
political heavy weights with
grave consequences for it in
the forthcoming elections.
The party has not been able
to pick a running mate from
Benue South or Idoma speaking
area of the state where the
position is usually zoned to.
Though they still could exploit
the window of substitution
of the candidate but the
possibility of the party coming
out of the problem unscratched,
even after a candidate
eventually emerges,
seems quite slim.
There is no gainsaying that
the APC is like a house divided
against itself especially
with most of the party’s
former governorship aspirants
who control the party’s
structures still nursing the
wound of being compelled to
jettison their ambition and
having a candidate allegedly
imposed on them from Abuja.
It was gathered that some
top APC members in the state
The bond of
unity in the
PDP has given
the party that
unassailable
lead and
control of the
Benue political
terrain ahead
of the
elections
barring any
unexpected
development
have been attending nocturnal
meetings in the PDP in a bid to
sabotage the party as revenge for
the manner Abuja ‘hijacked’ the
election of its governorship candidate
to the exclusion of those
who gave their all to galvanize
support for the party even when
many Benue people have nicknamed
the APC the ‘Miyetti Allah
party.’
The SDP is also, analysts say,
fast losing the steam that propelled
it into the Benue political
arena following the bitter legal
tussle over who should be the
party’s gubernatorial flag-bearer
in the coming elections.
Mr. Hinga Biam, the preferred
candidate of the majority of the
founding members of the
party in the state, has instituted
a legal action
against the party and
INEC for denying him the
ticket of the party by substituting
his name with
that of a new entrant, Dr.
Stephen Hwande.
The party is in disarray
and without proper coordination
of its activities
ahead of the elections.
Not a few faithful of the
party are said to be embittered
over the manner a
senator, who recently defected
to the party, allegedly
took over the party’s
structure to the exclusion
of founding members.
Its fortune in the elections
would obviously be
determined by the individual
efforts of few vibrant
candidates who could
make an impression in the
election owing to their respective
affinity with close
allies.
However, the internal
wrangling in the party has left its chances
in limbo, leaving candidates on its platform
with the option of going into the race
without a coherent superstructure needed
for electoral victory.
Meantime, the Peoples Redemption Party,
PRP, a new but small political platform,
has joined the fray throwing up Pastor Fredrick
Ikyaan as its gubernatorial candidate.
The PRP looked more like an organised
political party out of the array of opposition
parties in the state but the greatest
challenge confronting the party is its
poor support base and obvious lack of
reach and finance to run general elections.
The ruling PDP, on the other hand, is said
to be having a smooth sail ahead of the
2019 elections, especially with those who
lost out at the party’s governorship primary
aligning themselves with Ortom and
pledging allegiance to his leadership.
Majority of the former aspirants have
openly demonstrated their allegiance to
the party and the governor by handing
over their respective campaign structures
to the PDP and Ortom.
The bond of unity in the PDP has given
the party that unassailable lead and control
of the Benue political terrain ahead
of the elections barring any unexpected
development.
Perhaps the party seemed to have caught
its groove and the party’s major selling
point at the moment is the much celebrated
Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches
Establishment Law of 2017 which the
people of the state unanimously agitated
for and got on a platter from Governor
Ortom.
For the average Benue person, that law
represents the collective vision and symbol
of strength of the Benue people. And
the fact that Ortom brazed all odds to have
it enacted has stood him out as the man
they could entrust with the leadership of
the state.
Speaking on the unfolding drama in the
state, Convener of the Middle Belt Movement
for Justice and Peace, MBMJP, Comrade
Joe Bukka said it was expected.
According to Bukka, “I see the hand of
God in all that is happening in Benue state
ahead of the general elections and the earlier
members of the opposition realized
this the better for them.
“I recall that I had told you some time
ago that with the manner the APC was
going about its governorship primaries,
the party would be engulfed by deep rooted
crisis because of the manner its governorship
candidate was surreptitiously
imposed on the party faithfully from Abuja
which as expected would be a source of
bitter squabble among its members and
major stakeholders.
“That is what is currently playing out
and that is why it would be difficult for the
party to make any reasonable impression
in the coming election.
“Mark my words, even if at the end of
the day a running mate is picked for Jime,
that would be another source of dissension
and disagreement in the party.
“At the moment I have on good authority
that several of those who are considered
the pillars of the party are already
romancing the PDP. They pretend to be
APC members in the day but at night they
are full blooded PDP members.”
Continuing, Bukka said, “the truth of the
matter is that the average Benue person
supports the grazing law and for that reason
even members of the opposition cannot
hide their preference for Ortom despite
his shortcomings which is natural
with every living being.”
“As for the SDP and PRP, we may see some
individuals in some constituencies making
a mark which we cannot also deny the
APC but on the whole it is most unlike to
see them recording any significant upset
in Benue.
“Look, the killings in Benue and the
manner Governor Ortom courageously
stood up against the pogrom despite obvious
threats, harassment and intimidations
he suffered in the hands of powerful forces
has stood the man out as the preferred
governorship candidate of the people of
Benue state and there is nothing anybody
from within and outside can do about it.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 9
We don't allocate land for purposes that are
not genuine – Ossai, Delta Commissioner
Delta State Ministry of Lands and Survey is in charge of government landed
properties and is one of the Ministries that generates good revenue for the state
government.
By Festus Ahon
SPEAKING to Sunday Vanguard on the
activities of the ministry, the Commis
sioner in charge, Chika Ossai, said,
“When I assumed office, I was confronted with
so many protests arising from encroachment,
compensation, multiple allocations of lands
court litigations and I must tell you authoritatively
that, to a very large extent, we have tried
to tackle those issues especially on encroachment
that got to do with blockage of roads and
affected the Asaba master plan.
“The issue of court litigations. Yes issue that
bothers on land, we are all aware that it is always
full of litigation but we have tried our
possible best to see how we can reduce that to
barest minimum. The ministry of Justice can
testify to that because they mediate in most of
the cases. Of course, you cannot also rule out
that case in their lands have to do with litigations
but as the commissioner in the ministry
of lands, we have done everything humanly
possible on how we mediate on some of those
cases bothering on issue of multiple allocations
of lands.
“I also found out to a large extent that the
ministry of lands precisely hardly engage multiple
allocation but these land racketeers just
walk into a business center and try to duplicate
what looks like the normal C of O and that is
what we battle with and to a large extent we
have done everything that will put that to rest.
“If you look round the ministry, you see that
it is no longer what it used to be where all Dick
and Harry can just walk in and begin to make
cases where there is not supposed to be case. All
that we have done so far and I thank God that
God has given us the initiative to handle those
issues and we hope that we are still going to
move on to see that the ministry of lands is no
longer what people used to know it to be”.
On why lands are not readily issued to applicants,
especially within the Asaba metropolis,
Ossai said; “Let me start from the issue of where
you say there is no land. When the ministry says
no land, then there is no land because government’s
acquired land is not what you just begin
to bukanize and give to friends and relations.
From the beginning of this government, there
was executive fiat that we don’t just acquire
land.
“We acquire land on demand, that means it
is only when investors come to partner government.
If you ask for land, we look at the profile
of the investor if it requires to acquire land for
that purpose because we have to look at whether
it is going to be SPV where government will
have share. It is on that ground that government
will acquire land.
“For some areas where government does not
have land, we are trying to be very careful because
most of these lands were previously allocated
to Deltans and friends of Deltans but they
did not perfect their papers. I can give you Ugbolu
an example. 10-16 years ago all that parcel
of land was acquired by government and
allocated to people but most people did not
perfect their documents, so government thought
it wise to revoke those allocations but those
that have their C of O their land is intact. It is
only those who did not have C of O that had
their land revoked and if land was given to you
10-16 years ago and you did not have cause to
come and perfect your papers at least to the
level of having C of Os, that means you do not
also appreciate the gift.
“When you talk of issues of compensation,
the government of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has done
very well in terms of compensation because,
over the years, government was not responding
so much on issues of compensation and
that is why we are having stiff opposition from
communities over the time. So, but in this administration,
we tried to attend to give them
that sense belonging that this government can
listen to communities in terms of compensation
even when we have not paid fully.
“I can’t tell you that we have paid everything
even those that have not received theirs, are
relaxed knowing that they are remembered and
will be paid sometime soon”.
Ossai
Secretary of Ground Rent Committee, Dr
Frank Nwugo, who spoke on what necessitated
the payment of Ground Rent, said, “Before
the oil glut which started as far back as 2008,
then became terrible in 2014, worsened in 2015,
degenerated in 2016, the state government was
relying mainly on revenue from oil even the
federal government and contributed about 98
Ìf land was given to you 10-16
years ago and you did not have
cause to come and perfect your
papers at least to the level of
having C of Os, that means you
do not appreciate the gift
percent of the voucher of the state of FAAC allocation.
“When it became obvious that oil revenue as
the oil itself is a vanishing spirit, had become a
vanishing asset, it became necessary for every
level and organ of government to think outside
the box, to think outside the usual to the unusual.
That led to what must we do to accelerate
our IGR?
“In the ingenuity of the government feelings,
land asset is a veritable instrument for generation
of revenue. You will agree with me that
even at the local level, there is much to do with
land in terms of access; there is need for government
to tap from the physical element of
the revenue that has bearing with land.
“By way of enlightenment, the issue of ground
rent is not novel; it is as old as the Land Use Act.
It is imbedded; it is both constitutional and an
act of the parliament discovering this avenue
of revenue generation in order to recover from
the oil gloat, governments have to tap into the
provisions of the constitution. If you look at the
law; the Land Use Act, the issue of land especially
state land, the ownership is entrusted in
the Governor of the state and therefore whoever
occupies the ownership is a tenant or through
the instrumentality of a grant from the state
government which we now call by way of lease
and an instrument of conveyance of possession
to anybody is why we use the C of O.
“And for every C of O, it has a covenant you
entered into with government that this land government
entrust to you for a period, normally
say a period of 99 years. In that same covenant,
there is a provision for the payment of ground
rent. In fact, covenant 1b and C, specifically
speaks on ground rent that every lease holder
must pay this percentage of the lease to the
government.
“The rate is there and it is annually for a
period of five years and it is subject to review by
the Governor who is the owner in issue. So, that
has been the position, all that the government
did was to highlight each provisions of the law
and to domesticate it into the Delta State Internal
Revenue consolidated law 2009 as amended
through various gazette until the last one of
July 2014.
“For many people, it sound strange because
at the time of securing and procuring C of O,
they pay for it without knowing but every lawyer
knows that they have been paying because
the provision is there, so they are paying. Most
of them after payment of C of O, they no longer
come back to pay the annual rent just as you
are paying rent for the houses you occupy that
is how land lease holders are supposed to be
paying their annual rent.
“The annual rent is the ground rent to separate
it from your normal house rent. Many people
say we are paying tenement rate to local
government why are we paying again. Will you
pay to local government and pay to the state
government? You cannot pay same tax twice;
otherwise, we call that multiple taxation.
“There is different between ground rent and
tenement rate. The word tenement have to do
with building and by the provision of the constitution,
it is the prerogative of the local government
to collect tenement rate which I said
is attach to building but the word ground rent
is attached to the land, it has no bearing with
building at all. Whether the land is vacant or
built, you must pay ground rent on it because it
is documentary evidence that this land is entrusted
to you by the owner”.
So, it is advisable that everyone that buys
land either by conveyance or by transfer or by
lease to make sure you pay your ground rent
every year because it is an evidence that the
land belongs to you. So, when there are issues
of trespass, encroachment, the ground rent receipt
is a documentary evidence for you to prove
to the court and to the world that this land is
your own.
On how it has helped to boost revenue of the
state government, Nwugo said; “one thing
about revenue, is the dexterity of the people
given the responsibility to collect it. The political
will of the government and the environment,
the physical policy of the environment. I
have to thank the Governor who feels that there
is need also to excavate for more resources
through the instrumentality of other avenues
outside oil. Ministry of Lands have been doing
wonderfully well but they cannot drive the process
at the rate government is going.
“As I told you, if we are doing more than what
we are doing before, we must change our strategies.
In order to improve on the revenue coming
from this source, government has to
change strategies through the instrumentality
of engaging a consultant to the Ministry
of Lands and surveys.
“I also want to thank the current Commissioner
of Lands and Survey who provided a
conducive atmosphere for people to work.
Before now, there has been one major problem
of lack of corporation between various
consultants and the MDAs. It has been a running
battle; to the MDAs, these people have
come to take over our jobs, they want to frustrate
us. To the consultants, these people are
our enemies, if we work with them, we will
not achieve our results. Because of lack of
synergy, the revenue has not been yielding
what it ought to yield but under this government,
especially the governor and the Commissioner
who said yes, we have one target.
The Consultant is looking for money and
the money he is getting is a function of how
much he collects and he believes that the principal
motive is that the more he collects, the
more he will get and the government objective
is to collect more revenue. The MDAs is
to collect more revenue. The same objective
with wrong understanding. Under this government,
there was a synergy of understanding
that we will have a common objective
and therefore if we have a common objective,
we must synchronize our strategies, ideas
and go forward.
“And that is why I can assure you with all
sense of responsibility that the government
as dated from 2015 to a level I can say to a
minimum of 500 per cent increase. I have
taken statistics from different MDAs by the
grace of God, I am in charge of the coordination
of the MDAs; in fact lands and Survey
have become a very veritable source of IGR
for Delta State and lands and survey has
gone above 500 per cent to 700 percent of its
operation before this government come to
power.
“The implication is that let me a hypothetical
example, if they have been collecting
N1.00, they are collecting a minimum of
N70.00 now. That is over 1000 per cent”.
Also speaking, the Director of lands in the
Ministry, Mrs Elizabeth Dabitonmo, said;
“Land administration under Senator Ifeanyi
Okowa and Mr Chika Ossai has been classified
as one of the best because the greatest
problem in the management of government
land under the previous leadership was double
allocations and court cases. Now the issue
of double allocation is no more which
has put paid to court cases arising from double
allocation.
“Like now you can see the mails. This is my
incoming mails, no more double allocation
cases mails again because I told you it is over
and there are no more court cases in respect of
that. The ministry has been sanitized. Why do I
say it is sanitized? Like now civil servants in the
ministry of Lands and Surveys, are now very
careful and diligent. Mr Chika Ossai is God
sent, he has brought sanity into the system.

PAGE 10—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
GEORGE BUSH:
Portrait
of power,
wealth, class
•What his demise means
BY Charles Kumolu,
Deputy Features Editor
Grandson of a wealthy oil
merchant, son of a senator,
father of an ex-President,
father of a former governor and the 41st
President of United States of America,
George Walker Hubert Bush, wasn’t
just an ex-American leader but one of
the defining figures of the 20th
century.
His demise, yesterday, at
94 symbolises not only the
exit of a global statesman but
the death of the patriarch of
world’s most powerful
political dynasty.
Literally, it may not upend
political configurations
neither will it affect the
balance of power on the
global stage, but Sunday
Vanguard believes its
symbolism is reverberating
across the world.
From Baghdad to Beijing,
Abuja to Havana, Rome to
Ramallah, that is the mood
and pulse.
With an enormous financial
power and political exposure,
Bush dominated world
politics for more than half a
century.
This, he was able to achieve
as the youngest pilot in US
Navy, major player in Texas
oil business, congressman,
Chairman of Republican National
Committee, Head of US Central
Intelligence Agency, CIA, Ambassador
to United Nations, US Ambassador to
China, Vice President and President.
Some, especially in this part of the
globe, may wonder why his demise
matters.
The reasons lie in the fact that since
participating in the second World War,
WW2, Bush remained a regular player
in international politics through the
various positions he
occupied.
Being in key
positions of power in
the Cold War and early
post-Cold War era
With an
enormous
financial
power and
political
exposure,
Bush
dominated
world politics
for more than
half a
century
when democracy was
emerging from
c o m m u n i s t
strongholds, made his
roles eminent.
Specifically, the fall
of the Berlin Wall,
Tiananmen Square
killing of thousands of
pro-democracy
activists by China,
collapse of Soviet
Union, toppling of
Panamanian drugdealing
President,
Manuel Noriega,
Saddam Hussein’s
invasion of Kuwait,
and Gulf War, among
others, happened
under his watch.
They were historic and had the
imprints of Bush in diverse ways.
Naturally, historians differ on his
scorecard as President, but there is a
consensus that Bush was the most
qualified person ever for the US
presidency.
A similar unanimity exists regarding
his score sheet on the international
scene.
Stephen Knooth captured it clearly
in his George H.W Bush: Impact
and Legacy.
He observed thus:”Generally the
Bush presidency is viewed as
successful in foreign affairs but a
disappointment in domestic affairs.
“Presidents generally have more
control over foreign policy than
domestic policy, and this was markedly
the case during the Bush presidency.
“Bush put together a strong team of
advisers, including James Baker, Dick
Cheney, Brent Scowcroft, and Colin
Powell, and together they oversaw
significant accomplishments. Bush had
a conservative nature and was
uncomfortable with bold, dramatic
change, preferring stability and calm.
“These characteristics helped him
lead the United States through a period
of geopolitical transition. Although the
Bush administration often had little
control over the unfolding of world
events, its responses helped avoid
chaos. His refusal to gloat or declare
victory during the collapse of the Soviet
empire helped Mikhail Gorbachev and
diffused a possible backlash from the
hardliners in the Soviet government.
President Bush showed that he could act
unilaterally (such as in Panama) but he
was also able to form a large, diverse
coalition such as in the Persian Gulf
War.”
For a man, reputated to have been
committed to global stability, the
outpouring of reactions to his demise
shouldn’t be surprisng.
They are rather very illustrative for the
global political order at a time the world
is witnessing a rise in nationalism
spearheaded by the 45th President of the
US, Donald Trump.
Sunday Vangaurd asserts that the US
President is indeed, reversing decades
of global trend created by leaders like
Bush. Remarkably, the worldwide
tributes pouring in for the late Bush
could be deflating for Trumpism, since
globalisation which it threatens, rank
among the ideals President Bush lived
for.
Surprisingly, Bush didnt write his
autobiography but spent 57 years,
writing a compendium of his letters and
diary entries about his sojourn around
the world.
He believed the book entitled: My Life
in Letters and Other Writings, would
help “the reader look at what is on the
mind of an 18-year-old kid, who goes
into the Navy and at 19 is flying a torpedo
bomber off an aircraft carrier in WW2,
what runs through the mind of a person
living in China, and what a President is
thinking when he has to send someone
else’s son or daughter into combat.”

Buhari, Atiku, others: 2019 will be
full of shocks, surprises — Okhue Iboi
Dr. Okhue Iboi is the spokesman, Association of Nigerian Seers. Iboi, in this interview, says the
2019 presidential election will not be a tea party for President Muhammadu Buhari and the All
Progressives Congress, APC, as the crises rocking the party over the conduct of its primaries may
jeopardise the President’s re-election chances.
Ephraim Osuji
NEC has given the go ahead for cam
paigns for the 2019 elections and
political parties and their candidates
have commenced the sale of their
manifestoes and programmes to Nigerians,
what is your advice to politicians as the campaigns
go on?
First and foremost, there should be no violence.
Politicians must play the game according
to the rules. They must comply with rules
and guidelines set by INEC and don’t see
politics as a do or die affair.
It should be issue-based campaigns, tell
Nigerians what they have to offer and not
attackson personalities, character assassinations
and hate speeches, they must not behave
as if they have learnt and forgotten nothing.
We must emulate other climes, where campaigns
and campaigns are devoid of bitterness
and rancour. There were elections recently
in the United States, Zimbabwe and
Ghana, we didn’t hear of any loss of lives.
That’s what we expect it to be here. Our political
leaders should realize that the whole
world is watching us. We should play politics
with maturity. We must not make Nigeria an
object of mockery because of our own selfish
interest, losing or winning an election is not
the end of life. In politics, it is either you win
or you lose, but life must continue.
Growing tensions and anxiety over the
2019 elections are inducing fears in people,
what … ?
Cuts in… Nigerians should not panic, there
is no cause for alarm. At our recent meeting
on Zuma Rock, Abuja, it was revealed to us
that the elections will be rancour-free.
The nation’s founding fathers- the Sardauna
of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. NnamdiAzikiwe
and Chief ObafemiAwolowo- appeared
before us and asked us to tell Nigerians
not to panic over the 2019 elections, that
all will be well, but expressed their reservations
over some things happening in the country.
Atiku
Iboi
Like what?
They asked us specifically to tell President
Muhammadu Buhari that they are not happy
that 58 years after independence, Nigeria
has become the poverty capital of the world
under his watch, that hunger and poverty has
become a way of life in Nigeria today. Although
they commended the president for
recording some successes in the power sector,
war against corruption and in the area of
infrastructural development, they are at all
not happy with the widespread killings in the
country and the general insecurity across the
land. They equally expressed their dismay at
the way Boko Haram are killing Nigerian
soldiers and ravaging the entire North East
axis of the country. They fear that unless President
Buhari acts fast to arrest the deteriorat-
ing security situation
in the Northeast, the-
Boko Haram attacks
may threaten the successful
conduct of the
2019 general elections.
There are a parade
of presidential candidates
apart from President
Buhari and Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, how is the election
likely to go?
The 2019 general elections are almost here,
but I want to assure Nigerians that there is
no cause for alarm. The election will be full
of shock and surprises. Former Vice–President
AtikuAbubakar should not be underrated,
for sure, President Buhari and the APC
are not going to find it easy.
It will be a direct battle between APC and
PDP, and from what was revealed to us at our
meeting, they both have 50-50 chance, victory
could go either way.Atiku should not be
underrated, he could spring surprise with the
PDP.
The current crises rocking APC across the
country will persist till 2019, and it would
affect Buhari and APC’s chances, there will
bemass defections in the party before the elections,
those members that are still nursing
grudges against the party over the primaries
may leave en masse to other parties.
Atiku’s chance is bright, but he has some
issues that may affect him he needs spiritual
cleansing, seek the face of God in prayers so
that the obstacles on his path would get
cleared.
This is not the first time that messages have
been sent to Atiku over his presidential ambition,
but he has always ignored such spiritual
messages we are asked to pass to him.
In the months leading to the 2011 general
elections, the Association of Seers was asked
to deliver messages to Atiku and former President
Ibrahim Babagnda that their expression
of interest to contest the presidential ticket
of PDP against the then President Goodluck
Jonathan would end up in in disaster,
both of them ignored us, but we were eventually
proved right as Jonathan defeated both
of them in the primaries to flythe PDP flag in
the election.Our warnings to both of them
were lavishly reported in various newspapers
then.
I have said that the 2019 general elections
will be full of shocks and surprises, taking
Ogun State for instance, where Senator
BurujiKashamu is poised to become
the next governor of the state
in the coming elections.
PDP should resolve whatever differences
it has with Kashamu amicably.
He is an asset to the party.
From our crystal ball, BurujiKashamu
may deliver Ogun
State to PDP in 2019.
The likes of ex-governor
Donald Duke, former Minister
of Education, DrObyEzekwesili
and a host of others are also in
the presidential race, what…
Cuts in…Duke and Ezekwesili
are just wasting their time, they are going
nowhere. Duke and Ezekwesili and those other
presidential candidates apart from Buhari
and Atiku are just attention seekers. How
many votes can they garner? The battle is
between Atiku and Buhari. APC leaders, including
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should notgloss
over the current crises, rocking the party. The
crisis may be the beginning of the end of APC,
they must make stringent efforts to resolve
the crisis, otherwise, it could cause irreparable
damage to the party.
What is your advice to INEC because
many people have been saying that the success
or otherwise of the 2019 general elections
depend on INEC, what’s your take on
that?
INEC should play the role of a genuine
umpire, it must not compromise. The chairman
must ensure that the way the electoral
body conducts the election doesn’t jeopardisethe
peace and unity of the country.
The same appeal goes to the security agencies,
they must play neutral. They must abide
by the rules, carry out their roles professionally
and leave politics to the politicians.
INEC must remember how in 2015, a
serving PresidentGoodluck Jonathan lost an
Osinbajo causing distraction, abandons N’Delta devt blueprint – PANDEF, Stakeholders
I'll implement N30,000 minimum wage if elected
Delta governor — Obire
*Say N’Delta ministry, PAP, HPRP working without synergy
By Emma Amaize, Editor, South-South
HE Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF,
Tsays the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo,
is causing confusion in the Niger Delta
region with the alleged abandonment and of
the acceptable Strategic Implementation
Work Plan, SWIP, for the development of Niger
Delta for a fresh plan, New Vision for the
Niger Delta.
PANDEF, an umbrella body of the traditional
rulers, leaders and stakeholders of the people
of the coastal states of the Niger Delta, in a
statement presented to the Senate and House
of Representatives Committees on Niger Delta,
said, “In the meantime, as a distraction, the
Vice President’s Office seems to have abandoned
the Strategic Implementation Work
Plan for what it now calls the New Vision for
the Niger Delta.”
His Royal Majesty, Diette Spiff and King
Jaja of Opobo, PANDEF led the PANDEF team
to the interactive session.
The South-South body regretted that efforts
to avoid project duplication and promote concerted
development action in the region has
not happened since the abandonment of SWIP
by the vice president, as “all the players in the
region (Niger Delta Development Commission,
Presidential Amnesty Programme and Hydrocarbon
Pollution Remediation Project), are
working independently without synergy.”
The governorship hopeful of the Progres
sive Peoples Alliance, PPA, has vowed to
implement N30,000 minimum wage for civil
servants in Delta State if he is elected the governor
in 2019 to pilot the affairs of the state.
Dr. O'diakpo Obire gave the assurance at
Abuja while speaking to newsmen during a
book launch by former President Goodluck
Jonathan, saying that Delta civil servants deserve
nothing else but a better living.
Obire who promised an efficient and effective
civil service package that will drive his
sustainable development agenda, said, "It behooves
on me to pay the civil servants their
wages so they can put in their best in the service,
promised prompt payment of salaries,
saying that no responsible government gambles
with the salary of her workers".
"The choice of who governs the state is between
the old and the new, between corrupt,
nepotistic governance and innovative governance.
While I represent the new and innovative
governance, the others in the race belong
to the old order that must give way for us to
make sustainable progress.
“I am calling for the support of both the
youths and the old because we can do it when
we both agree to do it. A lot of people have
tried it and they made it and l know that with
your support, we will all walk into government
house to give Deltans what they have been
yearning for.
“We have tried the old, now let us support the
'Not Too Young To Serve' in order to change the
face of the state, where the youths will have a
voice and be a beneficiary of government programmes
in all sectors of government."
Given a background to the establishment of
SWIP to the lawmakers, PANDEF asserted,
“SIWP is conceived in the context of a series of
engagements with the stakeholders in the region,
including the visit of the Vice President
to the region where he made several commitments
to come up with a document containing
intervention/ measures covering the short
and medium term.”
“That document, which is the SIWP, partially
integrates the 16- point agenda of PANDEF
and the governments’ 20-point agenda as well
as the corporate social responsibility (CSR)
initiatives of the oil and gas operators into a
coherent development work plan.
“Although its objective is to ensure coordinated
delivery of the sets of interventions outlined
by the various agencies and ministries of
government and the oil and gas operators, the
region is yet to see it’s off take.
“As a result, the deliverables are not there to
be monitored, tracked for implementation and
reports made on delivery outcomes. The SIWP
is envisaged to also assist in mitigating duplication
of efforts and promote coherence
through commonly agreed sets of objectives
and development outcomes for the region.
“In view of the above, a team of PANDEF
and stakeholders from the region are here to
interact with the NASS Committees on the
Niger Delta and explore ways in the light of
the 16- point agenda o of bringing meaningful
development to the region,” the regional
body said
Points of contention
PANDEF stated, “There was some initial reluctance
by us to engage with Strategic Implementation
Work Plan, but some argued for
the region to test the sincerity of the Federal
Government by accepting it, although they
knew it was a hurriedly conceived plan for the
region.”
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 11
“ The confidence that SIWP sought to exude
in the beginning by pulling together the Ministry
of Niger Delta Affairs, Ministry of Petroleum
Resources, Ministry of Environment,
Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC), and Presidential Amnesty Programme,
with the support of the Office of the
Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
with stakeholders from the Niger Delta,
Oil and Gas companies and other relevant
agencies for its conceptualization, seems to
have ebbed as we see less and less involvement
of high level officials in the affairs of SIWP.
“Secondly, the promise to engage the region
to incorporate current and relevant project initiatives
of the various agencies into the SIWP
compact, particularly the host communities’
priorities, is yet to happen.
“Thirdly, the identification of a lead Ministries
Department and Agencies (MDAs) to give
effect to the SIWP has been lacking and therefore,
actions, which include the establishment
of a system for monitoring and evaluation as
well as a joint accountability framework to
track implementation, have not happened.
“Fourthly, the project activities outlined were
to ensure the elimination of project duplication
and promote concerted development action
in the region. That has not happened as
all the players in the region (Niger Delta Development
Commission, Presidential Amnesty
Programme and Hydrocarbon Pollution
Remediation Project), are working independently
without synergy.
“Fifthly, the Inter-ministerial committee and
technical working group on SIWP had since
stopped inviting PANDEF to its meetings and
as such, report on progress under the plan has
not happened. In the meantime, as a distraction,
the Vice President’s Office seems to have
abandoned Strategic Implementation Work
Plan for what it now calls the New Vision for
the Niger Delta.

PAGE 12 — SUNDAY, Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Urhobo Ladies Association celebrates 50th
anniver
ersar
sary
L-R: HRM. Ogunrimerime Ukori I, the Ovie of Agbon Kingdom; Mrs
Elizabeth Koricha, chairperson of the day; Olorogun Johnson Barovwe
and Mrs Lydia Imasuen, President, Urhobo Ladies Association.
Members of the
Urhobo Ladies
Association
celebrated its 50 th
anniversary last weekend
in Ikeja at the 10 Degree
Event Centre. The
occasion was graced by
many notable sons and
daughters of the Urhobo
nation.
Roll call of dignitaries
include His Royal
Highness, Ogunrimerime
Ukori I, the Ovie of
Agbon Kingdom,
Olorogun Johnson
Barovwe, who was the
chairperson of the day
and many others. Photos
by Kehinde Shonola
L-R: Mrs Mary Okpomo,treasurer; Mrs Alice
Idufueko, 1st Vice-President; Mrs. Lydia
Imasuen, President; and Mrs Clara Ologbo, secretary;
all of Urhobo Ladies Association.
Lucy Lawrence (left) with Kemi Adeyeye.
L-R: Chief Samson Okuesa, Most Evang. Evue
Emmanuel and Olorogun Jacob Diedjomahor.
Lady (Evang.) Ojis Aduloju stepped into the
septuagenarian league in style and
celebrated the landmark in pomp and
pageantry with a thanksgiving service at St
George’s Military [Prot], Church , Point Road,
Apapa, Lagos, last Sunday.
The event was graced by her family, friends
and church members who had a delightful time.
Mrs Caroline (left) and Chief Mrs Philomena
Osaahweke.
Ojis Aduloju steps into 70 in style
L-R: Vero Okoro, Mrs Caroline and Blessing
Akara.
Lady Evang. Ojis Aduloju, celebrant (m), with members
of the Church while cutting her birthday cake.
L-R; Lady Evang. Ojis Aduloju, celebrant; Chief
(Mrs) Florence Omotenwa and Dr Tayo Aduloju.
Lady Evang. Ojis Aduloju, celebrant, (m) being
cheered by members of the Church.
L-R; Mr Yinka Aguda, Mrs Helen Falope, Dr
Olusegun Falope and Chief [ Mrs] Florence Ogunbiyi
L-R: Sir Chief Ezekiel Ainabe, Mr Tom Ogboi, Lady
R. Ainabe and Mrs Nancy Ogboi.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 13

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Hausa Muslims stop following
my page, it’s about sex – Jaaruma
Widely acclaimed
highest paid sex
therapist in Nigeria,
Jaaruma of Jaaruma Empire,
born Hauwa Saidu
Mohammed has cried out in
an Instagram video that
Muslims and Hausas should
stop following her on
Instagram because, according
to her, what she sells and what
her page is all about is sex and
sex education.
Holding a male dildo in the
video and obviously looking
disconcerted about abusive
comments that have come her
way from mostly people in the
north, Jaaruma begged, nearly
in tears, that, they should stop
following her.
Her words: “ Muslims and
Hausa people, this page is a
sex page. You don’t like this
kind of content, this kind of
content is not for you. So, stop
following my page, my page
is not the type you like.
Anybody you see following
this page wants to learn
something about sex. This is
not your kind of content.
There are many other pages
on Instagram doing the kind
of content you like. So, please
unfollow me. I’m not Hausa,
I’m Tangele. I don’t want to
sell bedsheets or cakes, I
want to sell sex education.”
Jaaruma hails from Billiri
local government area of
Gombe State and she has
been highly touted as the
brain behind the
m y s t e r i o u s
Instablog9ja. When
Vanguard Ripples
disclosed that she
was the owner of
Instablog9ja,
instead of denying it,
she boldly posted it
on her Instagram
page and many
comments from her
close associates like
Tonto Dikeh clearly
showed Vanguard
might not have been
off the mark.
Heineken set to raise the bar at
Backyard Fashion show today
World’s most international
premium beer Heineken is set
to raise the bar in the fashion
and music as it prepares to sponsor the
maiden edition of the Backyard Fashion
Show holding today at the Backyard Bar
and Grill in Victoria Island. The event
will be a 360-degree experience
showcasing the finest of underground
African fashion, live music from afrojazz
band, and mouth-watering meals.
Themed ‘Africanism’, the Backyard
Fashion Show seeks to promote the
African culture in an ever-evolving era.
This will see underground fashion
brands tell stories of their African
heritage through the runway.
Attendants will also be entertained to a
rich flow of afro-centric music
throughout the show.
Speaking ahead of
the event, Brand
Manager Heineken,
Nigerian Breweries
Plc., Olaoluwa Babalola
said, “After the huge
success of the Heineken
Lagos Fashion Week,
we wanted to offer a
platform for young
designers to showcase
their craft to the world.
Heineken as a brand is
a firm believer of
African fashion, the
brand revel in being
able to celebrate the
originality of these
immensely talented
Africa designers. It
believes in the potential
of these designers as
well as the Fashion
industry and we are
excited to witness the
showpiece on Sunday.”
Expected at the event are
Nigerian fashion designers,
stylists, and enthusiasts, while
the lineup of designers
showcasing their works
include; Johnny Lingo, Doo by
Iyanu, Ina and Denike. The
show will associate a charity
organization with each of these
designers and donate part of
the proceedings to each of the
charities.
For three years now,
Heineken has thrown its
weight behind the Lagos
Fashion Week as title sponsor.
This is as a result of
Heineken’s interest in the
development of the Nigerian
Fashion Industry.
•Jaaruma
•Queen
Ultra
FitFamFest2018: Lanre
Olusola, Kemen, Maje
Ayida, others turn up
Lagos came alive this past weekend as the largest
comprehensive fitness festival, FitFam Fest in
collaboration with Amstel Malta, brought men,
women and children of all ages together for its
annual, unmissable fitness and wellness experience.
The event which held on Saturday, November 24
at the Hard Rock Cafe Beachfront, in Oniru, Lekki,
saw top notch trainers and fitness enthusiasts
converge in one place to partake in an array of fitness
activities.
FitFam Fest is a single day festival designed to
promote health and fitness across Africa through fun
and participation. The festival was geared towards
identifying and validating every individual’s journey
into fitness - through physical activity, proper
nutrition, mental well-being and other hacks that
help attain a healthy balance.
Premium malt drink, Amsel Malta lent its support
to the 2018 FitFam Festival, as its Senior Brand
Manager Ugo Ahukannah said, “Amstel Malta
recognizes the capabilities of people and inspires
them to always be their best. Amstel Malta is a
premium malt drink enriched with pure vitamins and
minerals. It has a nourishing malt taste and perfect
for getting that instant dash of goodness, energy and
vitality.”
Other aspects of the festival include, the Assault
Obstacle Course: a military inspired obstacle
competition that introduced extreme entertainment,
the 5k Colour Run for those with the chops for
endurance, The Neon Room: the glow-in-the-dark/
silent-disco workout room that combined innovative
tech with various workouts, the Soho Fitness and
many more.
People pay me to
twerk to their songs
– Queen Ultra
O
ver time in business and enterprise, some
extraordinary individuals have put to shame
the mantra, that “Jack of all trades is master of
none” by doing extraordinary things and achieving
great feats with their hands in many pies. The
mantra, though, never took root in the
entertainment world because there have been
many jacks of all acts who are damn good at
every act they take upon. Such is the case of
delectable actress, singer and dancer known in
the trade as Queen Sultra.
In a one-on-one session with Potpourri the
voluptuous multi-talented entertainer said people
pay her to twerk to their songs because, according
to her she’s damn good at shaking her waist and
bringing out the full glory of her exciting bum.
“ You need to see me to know just how good I am at
twerking. People pay me to twerk to their songs. I’m
so good I burst people’s screen guard. I’m a dancer
and a singer which makes a good dancehall artiste.
The special thing about my twerking is that I can
asswalk to every keynote anywhere, any time with my
style,” she beamed, describing how twerking is so
special.
“I will always beat my last performance. The best is
yet to come but I ‘m grateful for the things I have, she
added coolly.
When asked whether her boyfriend is not bothered by the
horde of guys that must be stalking her on account of many
twerking videos that abound on her Instagram page, she
said he nurses no fear.
“ His mindset is Western. I wouldn’t want to talk about
him because he’s a very private person. Unfortunately, we
have this wrong mindset here that anyone that dances for a
living is a slut. Unknown to people they hate you and
struggle to bring you down once they sense you are breaking
through in your chosen career,” she aid.
Born Susanultra David, Queen Ultra started her journey
in the entertainment world in 2008 as a dancer for Duncan
Mighty and picked up acting in 2013. She has produced
two movies, namely; Burning Bridges and House 69.
Recently, she featured in Cossy Ojiakjor’s video where her
twerking skill is a sight to behold.
C
M
Y
K

Meet 11-year-old Daniella Soje who won
international award by turning trash to art
1-year-old Daniella Soje,a young artist from Nigeria, was one of the three girls
from Africa that won the international PowerPuff Girl Award (PPGA) by using
toothpicks, matchsticks, beads and other household materials to create artistic
designs. And she has set out to inspire young people in her community to embrace art as
a tool for wealth creation and effective waste management.
Daniella has championed the conversion of turning every day trash into beautiful
works of art and through her project, Trash to Art, she’s set to empower over 100 kids
and teenagers in Lagos Mainland by equipping them with the skills that will enable
them to become financially independent, while motivating them to care for their
environment.
To ensure continuity and sustainability, participants of Daniella’s two-week summer
art classes, participants will become members of the Daniella Art Studio Club, offering
them a platform that provides networking opportunities and exchange of resources and
ideas among kid art entrepreneurs.
Besides juggling school, homework and art classes, Daniella will definitely help save
the world before bedtime by raising an army of young art and environment ambassadors.
Meet her: excerpts.
How does it feel, winning
the PPGA?
I am so excited, this has
been a fun experience for me
and its nice that I could make
friends with girls from other
countries
What was your first
experience with Trash to Art
like?
For me it felt inspiring, I
could do something great with
what people saw as waste. It
makes me feel like anything
is possible. Helping the
environment while creating
beautiful art.
In what way do you think
the award will empower
young girls everywhere to
see art as a money-making
career?
I think the award will inspire
girls to just go out there and
make their dreams come true.
Whatever those dreams are
and see that art is just
important as any other career
choice because we make the
world more beautiful.
What was your biggest
motivation to win this
award?
My family, they always
believed in me. They have
always celebrated my talent.
What was your inspiration
for taking trash and turning
it into art?
I wanted to do something
out of the ordinary. I love art
and I’m lucky to have found
something I enjoy doing and
it’s also good because it
means I’m helping to clean up
the environment
How long did it take you
to decide and carry out your
creation?
I decide on new creations all
the time and it takes me a few
days to complete a project, but
it depends on what it is.
What influenced your
decision to make use of
household materials like
toothpicks, matchsticks,
beads and other house hood
materials to make your
artistic design?
It was stuff that was already
available, things that people
do not care for and throw
away, but I want to show that
you can make beautiful things
from what trash.
Who is your favourite real
life female superhero?
My mother and my aunt
Bisola, they are always there
for me
Which DStv channels do
you enjoy the most when you
are inspired?
I enjoy watching Cartoon
network. Some of my favorite
shows are Teen Titans and
Powerpuff Girls
•Charity
Nnaji
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 15
Edited By AYO ONIKOYI
08052201215
onikoyi68@gmail.com
•Daniella
Soje
Helping young girls in
Lagos make money by
turning waste into money is
a big deal. How does that
make you feel?
On top of the world. I get to
do what I love, inspire other
young girls and make some
money
For girls who want to win
this award next year, give
them one piece of advice.
Enjoy exploring your talent
and don’t let anyone kill your
dreams.
Most fair girls are ugly
beneath – Charity Nnaji
Beautiful Abuja-based actress and producer,
Charity Nnaji, who has made some damning
revelations about her colleagues in the past has
thrown yet another swipe, but not at entertainers this
time but women as a whole. In a chat with Potpourri,
the mother of one said most fair girls are ugly, saying,
most of them bleached their skin to hide their
ugliness.
“ Yes, most fair girls are ugly beneath. They
hide their ugliness with bleaching cream they used
to bleach their skin. Funny enough, these days, once
you are not fair men look at you as dirty. My
statement is really for the men who have been fooled.
Black girls like us are cleaner and prettier than those
so-called fair girls. Please, don’t let their
bleached skin deceive you,” she said.
Expressing her own personal ordeal in
this regard she said; “ When I go out in
the company of fair friends men tend to
give them more attention. They simply
cannot resist the sight of fair laps. But
my friends who are fair know in their
heart I’m more beautiful with my black
skin.”
•Princess
Shyngle
I breathe
through my
anus, Princess
Shyngle tells fan
Every woman of today
desires hourglass
shape and would go
several miles to achieve it
but it appears no one can
go as far as Gambiaborn,
Ghana-based
actress, Princess Shyngle
who is reputed to have the
tiniest waist among all
the actresses in Africa.
Her tiny waste and curvy
hips are as legendary as
mystery surrounding
how she came by it.
More so, some
believe her waist is
getting smaller by the
day, to the extent an
unknown artist had
to paint a portrait of
her waist to tell her
it could disappear
completely in the
near future.
Recently, a
concerned follower
of hers threw a
question that got a
nasty reply from her.
“ Please how do you breathe or
don’t you breathe at all”, the fan had
asked. And the actress simply replied
him; “ I breathe through my anus”
Many questions have been raised over
her unusually tiny waist that she had had
to come out to defend herself that it is
waist trainers she uses.
“There is absolutely nothing more to this
waist, I have always been a slim girl. I
have always had a small waist, I only
enhance it with waist trainers. I haven’t
done anything yet maybe after I have
given birth to my 3 kids probably I
might do something if my husband is
in support of it”, she once said in an
interview.
She was once reported to have
fainted at a mall as a result of extreme
waist training, which some said gave
her kidney disease but she ha since
debunk all rumours.
Habari, Nigeria’s largest
platform for music, shopping,
lifestyle Content launched
Leading African financial
institution, Guaranty Trust
Bank plc, has announced the
launch of Habari, Nigeria’s
largest platform for music,
shopping, lifestyle
content and more.
Unveiled on
Friday, November
23, 2018 at a
special event
attended by
r e n o w n e d
personalities in
the entertainment,
media and
technology
sectors, Habari
offers users direct
access to the
largest catalogue
of local and foreign
music online, a
s e a m l e s s
s h o p p i n g
experience and an
exciting way to
connect with
friends, amongst
other features.
Among the
exciting services
available on
Habari are its
catalogue of local and foreign
music, the largest ever in
Nigeria, carefully curated
videos that range from short
engaging self-help kits to
captivating full-length movies,
and books that cut across all
literary genres. Habari also
offers an end-to-end shopping
experience that allows users
buy goods and services
directly from over 10,000
small businesses. On Habari
users can also shake their
phones to find and connect
with friends, split bills,
transfer and receive funds as
well as pay for utilities,
subscriptions and other
services.
Commenting on the launch
of Habari, the Managing
Director and Chief Executive
Officer of Guaranty Trust
Bank plc, Mr Segun Agbaje,
said; “By reimagining the role
of banking and driving
innovation in how we serve
customers, we have built a
platform that is less about us
as bank and more about our
customers and everything
they need to enable their
lifestyle.”
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 16 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
ATIKU:
Boko Haram will be
starved to death if
we restructure
By Atiku Abubakar
In this piece, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar, explains how to starve Boko Haram to death by restructuring the nation.
n order to defeat terror, Nigeria needs a
Iwell thought out anti-terror plan and one
thing that must be central to that plan is the
buy in of the people because terror can only
thrive where there is local support. Take
that local support structure away and the
terror architecture will collapse like a
pack of cards.
Terrorists are themselves human beings.
Terror groups depend on recruiting from
the local communities to replenish their
ranks or they cannot grow. The members
of Boko Haram are not spirits and while
there definitely is some foreign influence,
the overwhelming number of their
leadership and followers are members of the
local population.
Central to our plans for defeating terror
therefore must be to find out why young men
in those communities are aggrieved enough
to be alienated from Nigeria and attracted to
the radical philosophy of Boko Haram and
ISWAP. When we find out, we must prevent
this alienation from occurring.
The key to answering this question is to look
at the economy of Nigeria and how that
economy is distributed.
Within Nigeria, the heartland of the terror
insurgency is the Northeast, with Borno and
Yobe states being the hardest hit. Surely, it
cannot be a coincidence that the Northeast is
also the most economically backward part of
Nigeria with Borno and Yobe states worst
affected.
Recently, someone called Nigerian youths
“lazy”. Rightly, there was an uproar over that
indecorous slandering of a whole generation,
but that type of mentality exposes the
mindset that has led to the alienating
of huge swathes of our youth,
especially in the Northeast.
When Nigerian youths feel that they
are not valued as equal members of
society that should have equal access
to opportunity, they begin to take
matters into their own hands.
When the leadership of a nation fail
to provide positive avenues for the
youth to assert their intelligence
positively, then the youth will find
negative uses to express their innate
intelligences.
Lack of access to education is linked
to poverty and poverty is undoubtedly
an incubator for crime, terrorism or
militancy.
On November 22, 2016, the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
revealed that a whopping 70% of
children in Kebbi state are not in
school. They also revealed that they
do not have reliable figures for states
such as Borno and Yobe, but the
numbers may well be more. Even
likely so.
In 2016, my running mate, former
Governor Peter Obi, gave an
Independence Day speech at The
Platform event organised by Covenant
Christian Centre in Lagos. It was an
unforgettable Independence Day
event which, according to Google
analytics, was the most searched item
in Nigeria on that day, besting even
the President’s own speech.
Why was that speech so attractive to
Nigerians? It is because Mr. Obi gave a
detailed breakdown of the reality of
governance in Nigeria today, which is one of
a wasteful squandering of the riches that
should have gone into the development of our
youth.
And he is not alone in noticing this. Youth
everywhere and especially in the Northeast
are seeing this. The Nigerian government and
the Nigerian elite are not offering them a way
out of this dilemma. However, anti social
groups, like Boko Haram and ISWAP, are
exploiting their dissatisfaction with society and
are offering our youth a utopian ideal which
is in reality a dystopia.
These youth read about highly connected
government officials who pilfer ¦ 200 million
that was meant for Internally Displaced
Persons, without so much as a slap on the
wrists, they hear about suspected mega thieves
who are returned by government, reinstated
into the civil service, given promotions and
armed guards and treated like royalty.
These events only deepen their alienation
from society and affirm the twisted messages
of groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP.
To defeat terrorism therefore, we need to arm
our military and motivate them with good
working conditions and terms of services,
especially for the lower ranks who face the
greatest risks and are the least paid. We need
to demonstrate that when you fight for Nigeria,
Nigeria will fight for you, but even more
importantly, we must show that when you die
in the services of Nigeria, your name and your
survivors will be celebrated by the
society that you died for.
We must also help our military
win the hearts and minds of the
people of the Northeast by
empowering them to open soup
kitchens where they give food to
the hungry. We must encourage
them to set up field hospitals where
they treat the local population free
of charge. Even something as
giving each soldier a pocketful of
sweets to handout to little children
on the streets will help the military
win the love and affection of the
local population and turn their
allegiance to our armed forces.
That is one part of the plan. The
other part of the plan, which is even
more important, is that we must
starve Boko Haram and ISWAP of
their recruiting tool by quickly and
effectively restructuring Nigeria so
that we have a society that allows
for inclusiveness and social justice.
A very good first step is to go back
in time to find out why an initially
peaceful movement became
violent. It all started with the extra
judicial murder of their
charismatic preacher and founder
Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf.
In fact, the current leader of
ISWAP, is Mohammed Yusuf’s son,
Abu Musab al-Barnawi. It is clear
that that act of extra judicially
killing Mohammed Yusuf is one
of the grudges that these groups
have against the Nigerian state.
We must deprive Boko Haram of the means
of claiming injustice as the rationale behind
its insurgency by trying all those behind
Mohammed Yusuf‘s extra judicial murder.
As Theodore Parker said, “The arc of the
moral universe is long, but it bends towards
justice”.
Just as we are satisfying this moral debt, as
a nation, we must ensure that there is a fairer
redistribution of the wealth of Nigeria
amongst all Nigerians. Our budgeting system
must be upended and we must have the
political will to start spending more on
capital expenditures than on recurrent
expenditures.
We must curb waste in government by
eliminating security votes and those
wasteful spendings highlighted by
Governor Peter Obi which include, but are
not limited to, eliminating huge and
expensive convoys, overseas medical
treatment at public expense, reducing
unnecessary travel and building people
instead of building edifices.
We must learn from countries like
Rwanda that has stabilised its society by
statutorily reserving 30% of all legislative
seats for women. As the late Kofi Annan
said in 2006, “there is no tool for
development more effective than the
empowerment of women. No other policy
is as likely to raise economic productivity,
or to reduce infant and maternal
mortality”.
When you empower a woman, you
empower a family, a village, a community
and eventually, a nation.
In our case, we can go further by
reserving at least 35% of all legislative
and executive positions for not just
women, but also for our youth, at all levels
of government, federal, states and local
governments. We must convert our youths
from onlookers to stakeholders.
They must see that it is easier for them
to influence the direction of Nigeria by
going into government or business than
by going into crime or terror.
But above all, we must massively invest
•Atiku
in education by building capacity, which
must not just be limited to establishing
more schools, but by training teachers.
In a situation where we do not even have
enough teachers, it is a mistake to sack
the few that we have because they fail
adhoc examinations. Instead, we must
build their capacity to teach via training
and continuous development.
It is impossible to have 70% of the
children of a state outside the formal
school system without having
destabilising crime and terrorism such as
we are currently having in Nigeria. And
it will be a mistake to fight only the
symptoms without fighting the cause.
We must accept the wisdom that a
provision of equal opportunity and social
justice is the panacea to almost all of the
ills of society.
By reversing our budgeting ratio from
7-3 in favour of recurrent to 7-3 in favour
of capital expenditure, we will create an
atmosphere for jobs.
If we are building and rebuilding
infrastructure, there will be jobs for our
youth. They will have increased
purchasing power, which will itself lead
to further jobs flowing from the goods and
services they patronise. They will keep
their monies in banks, which will result
in more liquidity with which the banks can
then provide loans to more small and medium
scale enterprises. The snowball effect is almost
limitless.
Again, let me state that we have to make
these changes to rescue our nation from the
brink. Only last week, the World Bank revealed
that in recent years, Nigeria “has
underinvested in human capital and remains
very low compared to others.”
If we do not address these negative indices,
we will continue to totter, while nations that
sufficiently invest in their youth make
advances that we can only dream of.
These are the only ways we can decisively
defeat terror and defeat it we must otherwise
anarchy await us.

Attah @ 80: His cup of glory
overflows
Only our love hath no decay
This no tomorrow hat, nor
yesterday.
Running it never from us
runs away
But, truly keeps his first, last
and everlasting day.
John Donne, 1571-1631,
VANGUARD BOOK OF
QUOTATIONS, p 141.
08055069026
While everybody
else close to
Obong Architect
Doctor Victor Attah, former
Governor of Akwa Ibom
State, was busy writing tributes
and publishing adverts
in newspapers to congratulate
him on his 80th birthday,
I uncharacteristically,
did nothing. There was a
reason. Like the Board
member of a company quoted
on the Nigerian Stock Exchange,
NSE, and acting on
privileged information, I
knew that there were more
blessings for Attah other
than his attaining the golden
age of 80. And, as I knew,
the honours tumbled torrentially.
History would record that
in November 2018, a man
called Victor Bassey Attah in
the same month clocked 80
in a nation where the life expectancy
is still 54 and in
sound heath. In the same
month he was awarded a
Honorary Doctorate Degree
by a university in Delta State
and on the same day was installed
as the Pro Chancellor
of the same university.
On November 20, which
was his real birthday, a book
I edited titled IT IS WELL
WITH MY SOUL, chronicling
Attah’s achievements
as Governor, was launched
at the Shehu YarÁdua Conference
Centre in Abuja before
on overflowing audience
of the cream of Nigerian
society from all walks of
life. The astonishing thing
about the book launch was
the fact that former President
Jonathan was also
launching his book in Abuja
on the same day. Fearing the
tough competition some had
urged me as the organiser of
the Attah book launch to
shift the date. I stubbornly
refused. Remembering the
story of the race between the
Hare and the Tortoise in
Aesop’s Fables in our youth,
I knew that we must out-hustle
the Jonathan team if we
want to have a decent outing.
Working patiently and
steadily, using contacts all
over Nigeria and touching
many important places personally,
we got over 750 very
important people crammed
into a hall meant for 400. In
four months, I reckoned that
I personally logged over
70,000 kilometres in Nigeria
in pursuit of invitees. But,
it was worth it in the end.
And to cap it all, on Saturday,
November 24, 2018,
at the Le Meridien Hotel
and Suites, which Attah
built when he was governor
of Akwa Ibom State from
1999 to 2007, before a full
hall, the current Governor of
Akwa Ibom State, Udom
Emmanuel, did what should
have been done long before
he became governor, but
was not done on account of
bad belle politics, he renamed
Uyo International
Airport, Victor Attah International
Airport. I have
searched everywhere in Nigerian
history and cannot
find another instance when
White is not the new black!
than himself – the incomparable
Dr. Samuel Johnson,
1709-1784. Boswell became
the leading authority on the
life of one of the greatest writers
in history. Samuel Johnson
was the first English lexicographer
(don’t go searching
for your dictionary, a lexicographer
is a person who
writes dictionaries). He was
also an author of several
books and a journalist – and
in my opinion the best columnist
ever in history. He left
the world with such philosophical
bombs like “Patriotism
is the last refuge of the
scoundrel”. Boswell set me
off in search of the person
who will receive my attention
so much. I was lucky. I
found two – both here in Nigeria.
Attah is the second one.
Late Architect Femi Agbe,
my cousin in the Agbe-Davies
family introduced me to
Attah almost ten years before
I met the man. At an Agbe
Family function, my older
cousin was talking with another
family member and Attah’s
name came up. The
more cousin Femi talked
about Attah – his courage,
selflessness and fairness – the
more I became determined
to search for the man he was
talking about. The real opa
single individual, dead or
alive, has had so many blessings
showered on him by the
Almighty God in such a short
period of time.
Let me at this point restate
my relationship with Attah
for readers who might not be
familiar with it. It all started
as far back as 1954 when my
father, who loved fishing, and
would take his sons on the
boat to under Carter Bridge
in Lagos. In between waiting
for fish he would tell us stories
from Aesop’s fables as
well as traditional Yoruba
tales. He was also passionate
about one man – Zik of
Africa. To us, his three sons,
it was totally incomprehensible
that an Ijebu man
would abandon Awolowo
and cling to Azikiwe an Ibo
with all at his disposal. Half
of his money was deposited
in the bank controlled by the
Eastern Regional Government
when Zik was Premier
and the other half he placed
in Barclays Bank, DCO (now
Union Bank) and Bank of
British West Africa (now First
bank). So passionate was my
father about Zik that he read
only the West African Pilot,
owned by Zik and had several
Igbo attires. Perhaps, if
Zik had asked him to sacrifice
one of his three sons he
might have considered it.
One day, under Carter
Bridge waiting for fish to
bite, I summoned the courage
to ask Daddy why he
loved Zik so much. Instead
of giving me a straight answer,
he uttered something
similar to Jesus answering
the question: “who is my
neighbour?” He told me that
a man can only appreciate
God if he can find a human
being outside his own immediate
family to whom he can
devote his time and effort.
Zik was for him that man.
To be candid, at ten, it sounded
like a lot of malarkey to
me. But, I trusted Dad and I
believed he would not mislead
me.
It was not until I found myself
as an undergraduate in
university, taking courses in
philosophy, comparative religious
studies and history
“Black women were created
of brown sugar and warm honey.
The sweetest thing to bless
the earth. Be wary of anyone
who tells you otherwise.” –Alexandra
Elle
There is an undeniable fact
that is true of Nigerians; they
are black Africans. It is important
to establish that fact.
And as Africans, in particular
habiting the sub-Saharan
region of the continent, Nigerians
are black with possibly
all different shades and hues
of brown spectrum. Genetically
as people, we are blessed
with amazing skin so finetuned
by evolution: to glisten
and thrive under the African
sun. The melanin has a protective
factor for that reason
and it is true, black does not
crack the skin when not tampered
with stay young for a
long time.
So, when upstarts and benighted,
vacuous individuals
have the effrontery to promote
and sell noxious potions to remove
the very hues (cynically
described as dark spot remover)
that makes and protect the
black skin, then it is important
to call them out.
It is a disgrace and a big
shame.
It is difficult to lay the blame
squarely on the interloper
without addressing the disease
of colourism that pervades
the nation. After all,
77% of Nigerians bleach their
skin!
If not, why on earth, would
make anyone think it is fine to
come over and peddle this insult
and shame in a jar to Nigerians.
It would have been better if
they had come over to promote
education, science or
technology, we sure can use
that. It will definitely uplift the
nation to greater heights. In a
nation with 88 million living
in abject poverty, you would
have thought, that what Nigerians
needs right now, is how
to be self-sufficient.
No, instead, the good time
promoter and all round social
butterfly, Blac Chyna was invited
to come and peddle a
skin-lightening cream that
promises to give skin a
“brightening glow” while users
“retain luminosity”.
So in a nation, where an average
Nigerian lives on less
than a dollar a day, she is fronting
this brand Whitenicious to
release the product, which
goes for $250 (£196) a tub. So,
who in their right mind, can
honestly buy this portion and
how often can they afford to
pay for it? Of course, it seems
that many believe the hype:
that it will revive their blackness
and turn them lighter and
whiter.
I have no intention aiding
and abetting a free advert for
this aberration; in fact I wrote
about this some years back.
(More later on).
For those, who do not know,
the self-loathing of our dark
skin goes far, far back and it is
more than skin deep.
This self-hatred or the yearning
for lighter or white skin is
centuries old and it seeped in
slavery and colonialism.
Colourism as defined by the
Oxford Dictionary as “prejudice
or discrimination against
individuals with a dark skin
tone, typically among people
of the same ethnic or racial
group”.
Colourism is rooted in slavery:
the slave owners would
prefer treatment to slaves with
fairer complexions.
While, the dark-skinned
slaves toiled outdoors in the
fields, their light-skinned counterparts
usually worked indoors
at far less gruelling domestic
tasks.
Slave owners were partial to
light-skinned slaves because
they were often family members.
Light skin slaves were a
product of rape and of course,
the light-skinned offspring
were the tell-tale signs of these
sexual assaults.
This light had privileges that
the dark skin slaves were denied
and over the years the
mentality remains where
many view this as lighter skin
being superior to darker skin;
it is seen as a passport to higher
social class, better prospects
and so on. Sadly this has
been perpetuated as the norm.
It was heartening to see that
there were voices of descent
and protests repudiating the
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 17
portunity came when he to get him aroused. He
became Governor of Akwa looked up briefly and said
Ibom. Before you start to her “Better put on your
thinking that he showered bath robe. It’s a chilly night.”
me with money, let me declare
openly that he did no stick on his head. I almost
She smashed the candle
such thing. In fact we met got my head smashed working
on the revised edition of
twice in his eight years in
office. But, then I had the ATTAH ON RESOURCE
man in my sights and I CONTROL launched in
would not let him go. April this year and IT IS
In 2004, he asked me to WELL WITH MY SOUL.
write the foreword to the Attah’s biography follows in
original book ATTAH ON two years time – God willing.
I know more about the
RESOURCE CONTROL
as he went to war with Obasanjo
on behalf of others. I as he will discover later.
man than he knows himself
was an eager recruit to the Thanks Dad and James
combat and remain so till Boswell; you showed me the
now. But, it was after he left way.
office and Governor Happy birthday Sir.
Godswill Akpabio and his TRUTH WILL ALWAYS
appointees descended PREVAIL
heavily on Attah with nobody
to defend him that I liars.” Homer, 900 BC.
“God will be no helper of
stepped forward. I offered VANGUARD BOOK OF
to join the battle at a time QUOTATIONS, VBQ p 127.
when Akwa Ibom was the A Federal Minister, went
murder and kidnapping to Borno State in 2016, and
capital of Nigeria. This was after being driven around
no mercenary mission. Of under heavy military escort,
what use is money to a dead pronounced Boko Haram
man? It was, for me, a crusade.
It is quite possible that ter, Boko Haram kidnapped
“defeated”. A few weeks af-
none of the people Attah enriched
stood up for him as searchers and foreign work-
almost 50 UNIMAID re-
I did despite the risks involved.
My only inspiration cide bomb attacks on over
ers. They also launched sui-
was Daddy’s advice under twenty communities in one
Carter Bridge. The more I month.
know about Attah, the more About two months ago,
the devotion grew and today,
I fully understand again. This time it was to tell
The minister was back
what Elton Trueblood us that “Boko Haram has
means when he said “Faith been decimated”. Today numerous
families of soldiers
is not [just] belief without
proof; it is trust without are mourning their loved
reservation.” (VBQ p 55). ones slain by a decimated
There are two people alive gang. I am also grieving for
today who I trust without the families and Nigeria.
reservation – our eternal We thought a retired General
could fight the war better
uncle, Uncle Sam, publisher
of VANGUARD Newspapers
and Victor Attah. were wrong; dead wrong.
than a “bloody civilian”. We
They can get me to do just He is too old to fight this
about anything.
war. Ogapatapata of the
Permit me to end this armed forces just asked the
narrative, part one really, military to “wipe Boko Haram
off the face of the earth”.
by recalling what happened
to Boswell as he Take cover. Each time they
worked on Johnson’s biography.
Late one night, his replies with venom. “Liars
talk like that Boko Haram
young wife who had waited
in bed for him night afries.”
(Algernon Sidney,
ought to have good memoter
night finally got desperate.
She approached James These liars can’t even re-
1622-1683, VBQ p 127).
without a stitch on hoping member yesterday. Pity.
that the truth of Daddy’s advice
hit me. In my readings,
while compiling the VAN-
GUARD BOOK OF QUOTA-
TIONS, I later came across
a fellow called James
Boswell, 1740-1795, who
achieved some measure of
greatness by being the biographer
of a greater person
History would record
that in November 2018,
a man called Victor
Bassey Attah in the
same month clocked 80
in a nation where the life
expectancy is still 54
and in sound heath
promotion of this bunkum portion.
They say the fool and his money
are soon parted, so for those
who are intent on joining the
light brigade, a warning: buyers
beware! There is no research
and long-term use of any
bleaching or lightening
creams designed to make skin
lighter has been linked to cancer,
as well as kidney damage,
blindness, and depression.
And people have accused
Chyna of further perpetuating
the idea that lighter skin is
more desirable and better in a
region where the regular use of
According to the World
Health Organisation,
nearly 77% of Nigerian
women, the highest
percentage in the world,
use skin-lightening
products regularly
skin-lightening products is already
significantly high.
According to the World
Health Organisation, nearly
77% of Nigerian women, the
highest percentage in the
world, use skin-lightening
products regularly. Skin
bleaching is not unique to Nigeria
alone, there are other
countries around the world as
well, such as India, Taiwan, and
Hong Kong.
A voice of reason: Actress and
dancer Kelechi Okafor has criticised
the new product online,
which she called “damaging”.
She said the demand for
skin-lightening products
were “inextricably linked to
colonisation and internalised
inferiority complexes”.
And she added: “If white supremacist
patriarchal ideologies
weren’t so successful
we wouldn’t have the constant
aspiration to be as
closely linked aesthetically
to whiteness.”
I wish others can be as perspicacious
as Ms Okafor.
As for Chyna Black, it has
been confirmed by her representative
that she has been
using the brand for years to
treat her ‘hyper-pigmentation’
and wants to help other
black women with similar
skin issues”
It is about time, to call it
what it is: bleaching is what
it is and it is robbing the skin
of its protective layer-melanin.
My Archive
Brown is the new White
‘I’m black, I don’t feel burdened
by it and I don’t think
it’s a huge responsibility. It’s
part of who I am. It does not
define me. – Oprah Winfrey
Look around you, if you
have not noticed we now
have an altered view of beauty;
whitened, heavily made
up, with large pneumatic
chest, fake hair and with
some concerning identity
crisis. Nigeria has a serious
societal problem and we
need to face it.
For those who use this potion,
they should beware, that
there are damaging health
consequences, which may
not be apparent in the short
term but it will eventually
damage the largest organ of
the body -the skin. The truth
here is, whether, the user can
justify their loss of pigmentations
to cancers and serious
skin conditions.
Frankly, these people are
psychologically damaged
and that they do not understand
that they cannot buy acceptance
by changing their
skin. It would be more prudent
to work on their self-esteem
and confidence.
We have a herd mentality
and they often follow a trend
without questioning the rationale;
we always want what
the others have without thinking
of the consequences. You
name it; we want it, be it the
latest car, jet, appliances, the
largest party, the biggest hair,
clothes and now this: extreme
change of skin colour. Our
society has a misplaced sense
of beauty if we think that these
whitened people are better
and should be given privileges
as a result.
How can this be the example
of beauty or the best of
our women? Shame if this is
the case.
Don’t get me wrong, I have
been told it is not only a women
only domain that men are
into whitening too. This is a
sad state of affairs, not only
have we lost our moral compass,
we are losing our identity
and our skin colour? So
where does that leave us, what
messages are we sending to
our young? We have become
a country where image matters
more than anything.
I have been told that Nigerian
men prefer whiter looking
black women and if this is
the case, then the more fool
they are.

PAGE18—SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
people
I normally don’t celebrate
birthdays – Oritsejafor
BY SAM EYOBOKA
PASTOR Joseph Ayodele Johnbull Oritsegbubemi Oritsejafor was seen in many quarters as the
most misunderstood National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) because he
had boldly lifted the profile of the umbrella body for Christians. Before his emergence as
the leader of the body, people talked down on CAN, but, today, many people call him, “The
Lion of Africa” because, during his tenure, you wouldn’t talk down on CAN without CAN
responding. And one of his greatest achievements in CAN is that he interfaced with all
the blocs of the body, and there is no bloc that can say the former CAN President never
came either physically to worship with them or participated in one of their projects.
He gave accommodation to widows of Christian leaders that were killed, like some
pastors in Borno State and gave their children scholarship. At the end of his Word
of Life Bible Church’s 2018 National Convention, otherwise known as Jubilee
Word Festival, held in Warri, Delta State, Papa Ayo, as he is fondly called, fielded
questions on many issues. Excerpts:
What is unique about this
year’s Jubilee?
First of all, the way the theme,
‘Advancement
and
Enlargement’, came was unique
because Mama (his wife, Helen)
was preaching and made a
statement, and she said
“advancement
and
enlargement”, and the Holy
Spirit just said to me that was
the theme of the 2018 Jubilee.
When she finished, I stood up and
I announced it. This was six
months ago. So that is where the
uniqueness started from. That is
where the difference started
from. Now we are here. You must
also realize that this is the first
year after the 30th anniversary
of the Word of Life Bible Church.
It’s the beginning of another
phase for the church.
You know we have started
branches now; all these are
unique things that have
happened. But then you look at
the atmosphere of the whole
Jubilee, it’s so different and so
unusual. I feel like Jubilee
myself. Saturday was my
birthday but I normally don’t
celebrate birthdays, I run away
from such things. But I was so
happy on Saturday, I can’t even
explain it. Then you look at the
other days after that, and the
gentleman that came from
Tanzania. I was telling someone
here that he wasn’t preaching;
he was issuing prophetic
instructive words; very unique
kind of things. So everyday has
been somehow different but still
with the spirit of Jubilee. And this
is the first Jubilee that we will
want to give out so much to
people. We have never done that
in Jubilee....usually it’s on
December 26 that we give out a
lot of stuffs. But this is the first
Jubilee we are going to this
extent because this was what
God spoke to us to do. We are
giving out so many things. In all
these ways, I think this is quite a
unique Jubilee, the best so far
and it’s really exciting to me.
Beginning from Saturday,
what informed the water project
that you had to commission that
morning?
I’m going to confess
something! We have been in this
place for about 25 years, I don’t
know what happened to me; we
never really took note of our
immediate environment. If you
ask Mama, she hardly plans any
crusade around here. She does
her market crusades very far
away. I used to wonder why some
people were hostile to us in the
environment and I used to really
get upset honestly, but it was
when we now started branches
and I now started pastoring
them because I stopped
pastoring all these 30 years in
the sense of pastoring. So when
I now started pastoring, everyone
is at their branches and I’m here,
automatically my eyes now
opened that these are the people
I’m supposed to be preaching to,
have we really been preaching
to them? I discovered we haven’t.
We have never done any outreach
towards these people. We have
never touched their lives. I used
to wonder why they don’t
participate in anything we do.
Even the December thing, they
won’t come. It is now that my
eyes opened.
One of our brothers in the
church was just saying that there
is no water in that community. I
was shocked that a community
in Warri will have no water. So I
sent someone to go and check
because it was hard for me to
believe. So the person went to
check and came back and said
“it is true, they don’t have
drinking water”. Then, I said
Saturday was
my birthday but
I normally don’t
celebrate
birthdays, I run
away from such
things
“this is wickedness. How will a
community that is inside Warri
not have water to drink? Have
we gotten to this stage in this
country?” That’s when I said
whatever it will take, I will bring
water to that community. I wasn’t
even sure that we would open it
on that November 10th. I didn’t
even plan it for that day. It was
three days to the time that I said
“since my birthday is on the 10th,
why not just open this thing on
that day?”
So I now asked the brother
helping to do it if they thought it
was possible, and he said yes! So
I made the announcement. I
called him the next day and told
him I’d made the announcement
and asked if we could make it,
he said yes. They painted those
things overnight; they worked
through the night to be able to
deliver. So I feel really happy
that we have given people water.
Water is the most essential thing
a human being needs today. And
God will permit me in my
own little way to provide
water for people to drink.
I am so grateful to God
that I can be allowed by
God to do that.
Two, it was on my
birthday that we did
this. Three, for the
first time, we are
reaching out to our
i m m e d i a t e
environment. This
is where we are; in
a general sense,
it’s a social
responsibility.
There’s what you
call community
relations or
relationship,
you can’t be in a
community and
you are
preaching in the
community and
you are not
reaching out to the
community, so what
exactly are you doing?
That’s why I said I will confess
that I’ve not really done that.
Jesus said “start from
Jerusalem, then go to Judea,
then to Samaria, then to the
uttermost part of the earth”. But
we abandoned our Jerusalem
completely. But I’m grateful to
God it’s never too late. They say
“charity begins at home”.
Honestly, I confess my wrong,
it’s a very wrong thing but my
joy, today, is that we were able
to correct it. I feel happy that we
were able to do this. Jesus said
“I was hungry and you fed me, I
was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink”. These
things are true. It is as I see
these things playing out every
day that I begin to realize they
are true.
The Church has a huge
responsibility. For example, I
have some things in mind. Yes,
government has the
responsibility to make sure that
everybody is well taken care of,
but I tell you that I really feel
that the Church also has a
responsibility to take care of
people. Because if Jesus could
do a three-day crusade and
turned to His disciples and said
“give them physical food to eat”,
it means that the Church has
physical responsibilities to
people. There are some things I
have in mind. I’m afraid if I say
whether I will be saying it is too
early. One conviction I have now
is that the Church has been very
good in the eternal gospel in my
own opinion. Some may not
agree with me; but we have been
very poor with social gospel. I’ve
been saying it and I heard the
man saying it today. We are
always talking about heaven. I
believe I will go to heaven by
the grace of God and I intend to
take everyone with me but the
issue is who wants to go to
heaven now? Even Apostle Paul
said “I’m between two opinions,
for me to die is gain, for me to
live is Christ”. And he chose to
live, he didn’t choose to die. We
are still here. And while we are
here, are we supposed to be
idle? Jesus said “occupy till I
come”. Occupy means doing the
work of God; so it’s both
preaching from the Bible and
also practical social
responsibility.
You had to plead with youths
in the community to make
peace with one another on that
day, what informed that?
I’m a very observant man. I was
observing and seeing something.
I don’t want to say it. In Nigeria
today, young people are not
being empowered, no jobs, they
are just there. If you go around
communities, you just see them
sitting down doing nothing. They
say an idle mind is the devil‘s
workshop. So I was praying
against that workshop not to
function.
Will you say that 31 years of
this church, you are fulfilled?
Oh yes I am. I am fulfilled. One
thing I’ve also learnt in life is that
the Bible says godliness and
contentment is great gain, but
there’s a difference between
contentment and satisfaction.
Contentment is to be happy with
what you have but satisfaction
is, you can still look at what you
have and still look for something
better. So if you can hope for
something better, it makes you
not to be satisfied while you are
•Oritsejafor
contented. When you are
contented, you are not covetous
at what other people have, but
when you are not satisfied, it
means you are challenging
yourself and you are saying it
could be better. This is the way I
see it. It’s my own explanation
of being fulfilled.
What next after 31 years?
I said something a while ago
that I don’t want to go into
details; when the things start
developing, then I can talk to
you.
This Tanzanian man said so
many things today...
The Tanzanian was definitely
in the spirit. He didn’t come to
preach, he came to prophesy a
godly instruction. In my own
opinion, what I see here is, it
gives us more burden to pray; to
believe God for a good and great
country. That’s how I see it.
Every year you come up with
a new form of outfit and it’s
always unique to you...
If Nigerians were as liberal as
Tanzanians, if Nigerians were as
accommodating as Tanzanians,
probably I’d have made
comments. You see how free this
man talked about wealth,
business. If I make those
statements, Christians here will
take those things and blow them
out of proportion, make them
into something else. Why can’t I
talk about what I wear? I won’t
because I don’t want to be talked
about again. So that’s why I will
keep quiet.

people
SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE19
Our goal is to inspire
one billion Champions
by November 2026
— Abiola Salami
Abiola ‘Champ’ Salami is an internationally published
author and motivational speaker. Recognized as a
Global Young Leader, Salami has coached several
young people and business executives across Nigeria,
Africa & the United States. He speaks, in this interview,
about his journey towards the ‘One Billion Champions
Goal’ as well as the CHAMP Xceptional Leadership
BootCamp scheduled to hold in December among others.
‘My story’
Abiola ‘Champ’ Salami is a
gentleman with a passion to
inspire people to rock their world
like champions. I’m proudly
Nigerian and African and I was
raised, bred, buttered in Nigeria
and then sold out to Africa and
the world to inspire people to rock
their world like champions.
Everything started with a
discovery. And it all started in my
penultimate year in the university
where I was searching for
meaning in life. Prior to that time,
I had read many books and had
been exposed to many insights and
philosophies about life and it all
came to one thing for me, that
every human being is created for
a purpose. In those days, people
described me as being multitalented
but I discovered that
without a sense of personal
leadership, an individual can be
multi-talented and multiconfused
at the same time. The
discovery of purpose led me to
understand that I can combine all
my gifting towards inspiring other
people to think better, do better
and live better. That is the entire
purpose of CHAMP.
The discovery, that time, led me
to a further discovery that I didn’t
have the requisite knowledge,
skills and relationships for the
delivery of the vision, so I had to
go through a process. That’s what
got me into working in four
thriving industries – Non-
Governmental Organization,
Health Maintenance
Organization, Banking and
Consulting. And, finally, after
nearly a decade of working in
these industries, I resumed
running full time with The
CHAMP Vision on December 1,
2012.
How was starting like?
The beginning days were quite
interesting. Most times when you
start something new, people don’t
pay attention to you. Some think
you are wasting time; some don’t
even want to hear you speak at all.
In fact, someone I have a lot of
admiration for at some point said
I should go and bring my CV
because he thought I was running
CHAMP because I was jobless.
Why?
There were many people who felt
I didn’t know what I was doing at
the beginning of the project. You
have to choose the right peers and
mentors and there is Dr.
Christopher Kolade who has been
a great source of inspiration for
me even when things aren’t going
well. Many were sceptical about
this new thing that seems not to
have a success path - there was no
evidence. But these are the things
I found: Firstly, you need passion
as energy. It works for you when
nothing else is working. It’s also
what fuels your vision when you
are seeing one thing and everyone
is seeing something else. So with
full passion to inspire and
persuade people to rock their
world like champions, I went head
on into what looked uncertain. It
is six years down the line and things
are getting better by the day.
By your definition, who is a
CHAMPION?
Our working definition of a
Champion is any individual that
is committed to using his or her
competence, character, creativity,
courage and compassion to make
a positive difference anywhere in
the world - family, industry,
community. Our own
commitment is working with
anyone that shows this
commitment to develop necessary
skills while also providing
opportunities for them to deliver
We started counting
in 2016 after we
inspired 2.3million
across 30 countries;
last year we inspired
5million across
those countries
and, based on our
2018 interim reports,
we have inspired
8.25million across
30 countries
the Champion in them to the
world. So we fill the gap between
desire and delivery of the vision
of Champions. With the
Champions message, we focus on
Workforce Productivity, Women
Empowerment and Youth
Leadership. And our goal is to have
inspired one billion Champions by
November 2026.
My exposures abroad
Some years ago, I was invited by
the administration of President
Barack Obama to the US
Consulate Program called IVLP.
That exposed me to a lot of lessons
in leadership from Educational,
Business and Socio-Political
Institutions. Two of the
Educational institutions that
made a huge impact on me were
Wright State University, Dayton,
Ohio and University of Florida,
Jacksonville, Florida.
Mentorship
While I have
been tutored
closely by
the likes of
John C.
Maxwell,
Les Brown
& Brian
Tracy, I have
enjoyed
immense
mentorship &
support from
the following people: Dr.
Christopher Kolade (CON); Chief
Oyekunle Alex-Duduyemi; Mrs.
Mosun Belo-Olusoga; Dr. Herbert
Wigwe; Mr. John Obaro; Mr. Jimi
Awosika; Prof. Pat Utomi; Mr. &
Mrs. Udezue and Hon. Abike
Dabiri-Erewa. It is important to
note that whatever dream you
have, you are the first to step out
to pursue it. Even when you have
no proof of concept, your passion
should be evident enough; and
gradually the world will start
opening up to embrace your
dream. That is how we got here
today.
Champ City
As part of our commitment to
inspire one billion
Champions, we opened
CHAMP City, an
inspirational centre in
2017. CHAMP City is the
place where, despite your
gender, religion, ethnicity,
race or political leanings,
people can come and learn
to rock their world like
Champions. Champ City is
growing fast and we have
training facilities which
people make use of and there
are up to 15 programs
available for those who desire to
learn. We also have a free monthly
business and career advancement
series through which we build the
capacity of professionals &
entrepreneurs. We leverage our
strong network of top
professionals from different
industries to share experiential
knowledge and experience has
been phenomenal. So far we have
engaged five hundred plus people
within a year. And our goal is to
have inspired one billion
Champions by Monday,
November 30, 2026. We started
counting in 2016 after we inspired
2.3million across 30 countries;
last year we inspired 5million
across those countries and, based
on our 2018 interim reports, we
have inspired 8.25million across
30 countries.
What is ‘You Too Can Be An
Xceptional Leader’ about?
‘You Too Can Be An Xceptional
Leader’ is my forthcoming book
based on the philosophy that for
any social entity to experience
transformation, everyone that
identifies with that entity, should
develop competencies in Personal,
Visionary & Sustainable
Leadership. The foreword is being
written by the His Excellency Prof.
Yemi Osinbajo (GCON). Some
people say leaders are born but
we believe anybody can develop
these competencies not just to be
an ordinary leader but an
exceptional leader. It is a book
every forward-thinking
organization should invest in, to
empower their workforce to
deliver consistent high
performance.
This book will be presented at
CHAMP International Business &
Leadership BootCamp in
December 2018. It is a high profile
leadership development program
with the theme Xceptional
Leadership – Accelerating the
Performance OF High Performing
Champions. The target audience
are high performers within
organizations and we will be
privileged to have in attendance
His Excellency, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, the Vice President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr.
Christopher Kolade, Mrs. Mosun
Bello Olusoga, Dr. Herbert
Wigwe, MD, Access Bank, Mr.
Abiola ‘Champ’
Salami
Jimi Awosika and many others
that will be on the faculty. It is a
two day-program with a lot of
learning and fun activities. We
will also be celebrating our
10million Champions milestone
and 6 Years of CHAMP.
Youths are leaders
I prefer to call every young person
an Emerging Leader. Every
emerging leader need to have
realistic expectations. Because
statement like ‘I want to be my
own boss’ is good to say but when
it comes to the reality of it, it is
good to know that everybody has
a boss. Hunger can be your boss.
At times, responsibilities can also
be your boss. What you need to
know is to discover what you are
supposed to do and the purpose.
Then, grow through, sowing seed
to benefit other people and no
leader should jump up saying ‘I
want to start a business.’ First, in
the place you are now, how
faithful are you? Also know that
the things you sow are what you
will reap.

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk
08056180152, SMS only
Warning to all men – Never trust your friends with your wife!
Philco was very reluctant
to serve as the ‘Out
back’ town she was
posted for her youth service.
“I’s in one of those states that
you know make up the country
but which you never imagined
you would ever visit”, she
recalled.”A group of us had
tried to pull strings and influence
our postings and I’d been
assured the furtherest I’d be
posted to was Oyo State, Lagos
was my first choice. So
when the postings came out
and I was flung into a town in
the far North, I wept. My parents
were angry and demanded
their money back from
the chap who made empty
promises about getting better
postings but he simply disappeared.
I had no choice but to
make the most of what I
thought was a bad situation.
“It was during our orientation
weeks that a group of us
got together from time to time
to hit the social circuit. Peter
and Seye were members of the
group and had been friends
since their university years.
Peter was the sexier friend
though, with a roughish smile
and tall physique that charmed
all the girls – including me. Yet
despite our closeness, Peter
never hit on me. Instead we
became very good friends. I
was a bit disappointed but
what could I do?
“In the meantime, he was
always cheating on all his girlfriends
and breaking their
hearts, I was lucky not to be
part of his conquests! Towards
the end of our service year,
though, things changed. Peter
saw me home from Seye’s
birthday part and we were both
drunk.
There was also that sad feeling
that we would soon be
gong back to our various
states. That must be the reason
why we suddenly found
ourselves in each other’s
arms, with Peter paying me
sexy compliments. The love
making that followed was great
and he slept over. The following
morning, he was dressed
and out of he door before he
could make further commitments.
Days later, I fumed as
|I watched him getting off
with another girl. But I calmed
down later. He was being himself
and I really valued our
friendship.
“He got a very good job and
decided to stay. We all went
back to Lagos and I saw a lot
of Seye. From time to time, Peer
would come down for the
weekend and he was the first
of the group to own a car.
Seye and I continued to get
closer and closer. He wasn’t a
womaniser like Peter and he
was eager to settle down. We
fell in love and decided to get
married. Peter was to be the
best man. When I rang to ell
him, he sounded a bit sad!
How could he be, he was the
happy-go-lucky guy! We
might have had a one-night
fling, but he was the one who
pretended it never happened.
“Nine years of married bliss
and three kids later, Peter finally
found another good job
in Lagos and came down to
stay alone. He was divorced
and left his ex-wife and two
kids behind. It was at this time
that Seye’s father died. His
mum really took it badly and
Seye had to constantly be with
the family as they planned the
funeral. Even after that, Seye
was always at his mum’s to see
she was alright. One night,
with Seye staying with his
mum yet again, Peter dropped
by for a visit. He had two bottles
of wine he said he intended
to share with us both
but we ended up drinking the
lot alone – we were truly
slushed by this time. ‘You
know I really regret the way I
treated you before”, he blurted,
`I wish things had worked out
differently and we had gotten
married’. Was he drunk? `I
always fancied you’, he continued,
`but I was young and
stupid. It was when you called
you were getting married I realised
the type of fool I’d been
…’
“I was nonplussed. He fancied
me? He leant across the
sofa and pressed his lips on
mine. All those feelings I’d
thought wee forgotten crept up
as I kissed him back. We ended
up making endless love on the
sofa before I hurriedly asked
him to leave before Seye
showed up. As he was leaving,
Seye rang, he would be
spending the night at his
mum’s to help her sort out a
few details. Smiling mischievously,
Peter led me to our
guest room and it was exhilarating
to finally live out all my
sexual fantasies with him.
“After more than 12 years of
simmering sexual tensions,
this was long overdue! `We
probably shouldn’t have let our
emotions run riot like that’, I
teased as Peter got ready to
leave, a satisfied smirk on his
face. `But I’m glad it happened,
I told him. He agreed
but warned Seye must never
find out. I assured him my
husband wouldn’t – I loved
him too much to break his
heart. And my marriage was
too solid than the fickle one
|Peter had and got out of!
“That was the only time I
strayed and I’ve even helped
Seye work through his grief for
his dad. Peter is still our good
friend. Only, once in a while,
Peter and I will swap secret
smiles and I know he too is
treasuring that wild, forbidden
night … To his credit, he didn’t
bother to hit on me again, and
I respect him for that.”
As I’ve often warned, your
closest friend is the most likely
culprit to lure your partner into
bed. And their secret is usually
safe as long as either of
them don’t want to be caught!
All you need to know about
various STDs
Chlamydia is the most common
sexual infection among
young people. It is caused by
an organism passed during
sex, and is treated with antibiotics.
Genital Herpes is a
painful condition which involves
blisters forming on the
vulva. When they burst, they
become raw, shallow sores.
Fifty per cent of people who
suffer from this will experience
recurring attacks. Although
there is no cure, outbreaks can
be helped by aspirins and antibiotics.
Genital warts are small warts
inside the vagina which can
be caught from other people
or even spread from warts on
the hand. They are easily
treated by a doctor who will
cover them with anti-wart
paint.
Gonorrhoea, also known as
the clap, is caused by bacteria
passed during penetrative or
oral sex. It’s treated with antibiotics
and often no symptoms
occur in women.
HIV, the virus which causes
AIDS, can be passed through
unprotected vaginal or anal
sex. If you’re sleeping with
more than one partner, you
should always use a condom
to protect yourself. NSU or
urethritis is an infection of the
urethra – the tube urine passes
through. Eighty per cent of
sufferers are men, so unprotected
sex carries a risk of infection.
It’s treated with antibiotics.
Trichmonas vaginalis is a bi
like thrush. However, the discharge
is usually heavier, will
smell unpleasant and may be
a greenish/yellow colour. It’s
treated with tablets.
The Astronaut
Love at risk!
Y
OUR column to express your loving
thoughts in words to your sweetheart. Don’t
be shy. Let it flow and let him or her know how
dearly you feel. Write now in not more than 75 words
to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, P.M.B. 1007,
Apapa, Lagos. E.mail: sundaylovenotes@yahoo.com
Please mark your envelope: “LOVE NOTES"
A look at your face
Is like a tour to the space
Such starry eyes, such solar smiles.
I will to be the centre
Of every universe you stare at
With your mystery revolving around me.
I am buoying on your lovehead
Lost in your gravity that does not know why
Gaping at your visage that blinds like galaxies.
Kingsley Alumona
kingsley.alumona@yahoo.com
08030872649
You can use money to win a woman's heart but
your love may be at risk in the long run, if you
cannot sustain it. The best piece of advice for you is
not to give up anytime you are faced with rejection,
it is a normal thing and stop using your money to
win her to your side.
Try to demonstrate your love towards her and she
will fail in love with you.
Stop having at the back of your mind that you can
break the yoke of rejection by offering money to buy
love.
Michael Adedotun Oke
maof2020@gmail.com
08027142077

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 21
Sponsorship/Networking
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Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in
or outside the country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does
so at his/her own risk. Our mission is only to provide a platform for social networking.
Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of
requests which may result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore
request that text must be sent through at least one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to
enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different style. You can send your requests to 33055. For
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Next on the list is the Man Gel
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It is a new and superb
enlargement cream especially
for men who cannot afford
enlargement pills or do not want
to take enlargement pills. But as
always, enlargers like the Man
Gel Penis Enlargement
Cream are to be combined with
a penis enlargement pump for
faster and more enduring results.
The Man Gel Penis
Enlargement Cream is
applied on the penile shaft twice
a day after shower.
We also have the Open Ended
Clear and Studded
Vibrating Penis Sleeve, and
it is a product that enables men
last longer while pleasuring the
woman as well during
intercourse. Just like the name
suggests, this penis sleeve is not
closed at the end like a condom.
It is open at the mouth which
allows female insemination take
place amongst other things. It is
thicker than a condom and
enables men last longer by
reducing penile sensitivity. It
also makes the man look and feel
bigger and women love that. And
it vibrates as well specifically for
female pleasure.
And talking about female
pleasuring, we have new products
for the ladies as well. While
shopping these items, I came across
a unique glass dildo that is yellow
and shaped like a banana. It looks
really really nice and exotic. We
have sold different designs of glass
dildo over the years but nothing
quite like this one. You will love it.
So yes we now have the exotic
Banana Glass Dildo. Something
exquisite for the holidays.
For women also, we have the
Phallic Studded Pink Double
Vibrating Bullet. Both bullets
are loosely attached together and
powered by the same battery. One
is bigger, shaped like a penis and
studded for extra stimulation while
the other is smaller, smoother and
oval shaped like the typical
vibrating bullet you are all used
to. So you have options with this
toy, depending on what you feel
like at the time.
And for fans of anal toys, we also
have a new metal anal probe that
kind of looks like that metal thing
you use to gauge the oil in your
car. It is really weird, edgy and
intense looking and I figured some
people like toys like this. It is the
Slim Beaded Anal Probe and
you can view the image on
zeevirtualmedia.com. The first
time I picked up that toy, I felt like
a mechanic lol.
And last but not the least is a new
orgasm gel for women and guess
the name? It is called Orgasm
Gel. Yep. Straight to the point and
no embellishment
whatsoever. But it is wonderful
and does the job.
So that’s it for this week. N
ext week we will bring you more
new products. Have a great
weekend
Adults in need of these treatments/
novelties can call us on
08171912551,
08027901621 or 07086754515
for help. We can also be reached
via whatsapp on 08188153279
and instagram on
zeevirtualmedialtd. Visit
www.zeevirtualmedia.com to
view our entire range of products
or to order online. Zee Virtual
Media delivers all over Nigeria.
Email us at
custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com-
Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual
Media.

PAGE 22— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Life
•Father Cyriacus Kamai, Peter
Augustine Anyam and two other
former drug abusers
CONFESSIONS OF DRUG ADDICTS!
Substance Abuse
Almost Ruined My Life
– Catholic Priest
By Femi Bolaji, Jalingo
This might not be the kind of life
experience one would have hoped to
hear from a person like Father
Cyriacus Kamai of the Catholic Diocese,
Jalingo, but his life’s journey, through the
stormy path of redemption from substance
abuse, has saved countless others hooked on
drugs.
Merely looking at him, one
would doubt if he was a slave
to drug abuse.
But his life experience, which
many in his shoes would have
swept under the carpet, has
spurred him into campaigning
against drug and substance
abuse, especially by youths, on
the grounds that if he could
have weathered the storm of
drug addiction, they could too.
The total silence that greeted
his testimony at a public
forum, where even
members of his
congregation were present,
shows the curiosity of the
audience to his story.
However, one of those
whose lives have been
transformed by the crusade
of Kamai is a young man in
his early 20s, Peter, who,
today, is free from drugs,
having gone through
rehabilitation at Hope
Health Centre, a pet project
of the first lady of Taraba State, Anna
Ishaku, where Kamai works as a volunteer
counsellor.
The tale of Peter Augustine Anyam would
have been seen as that of neglect and nonchalance
which, today, has driven many youth
into drugs but, unlike the cleric, he was not so
fortunate to enjoy the care of having a mother
and father, having lost them early in his life.
His straying into drugs, however, started in
2012 while in secondary, when some of his
friends inducted him into the world of
I started by
smoking cigarette
and drinking beer
just like any other
person right from
secondary
school,
Government
College, Jalingo
narcotics.
His shady past, which deprived him of the
opportunity to further his education, has
culminated into wasted years he regrets
today.
“There is so much ignorance about drug
abuse and parents don’t know when their
children start taking drugs”, Kamai
narrated.
“Most parents get to
know when it becomes a
problem but, at that stage,
it will only take the grace
of God and rehabilitation
to bring the children back
to their senses because
there is little or nothing they
can do.
“I was a victim of drug
abuse and l went through
rehabilitation and, today, I
have decided on my own to
go round campaigning
about the effect of
substance abuse and how
to help those battling the
disorder.
“Battling drug abuse
takes a lot of courage and
it will only take a resolute
mind and love of family
and close associates to
weather the storm.
“I started by smoking
cigarette and drinking beer
just like any other person
right from secondary
school, Government College, Jalingo, but
never knew it will become a problem for me
later in life.
“When it started affecting my work and l
was totally overwhelmed, I had to come out
of my shell and told my boss that I needed
assistance.
“I am saying this for a reason because if I
were to be at home and not a priest, my father
could not have been able to pay for my
rehabilitation because it was capital intensive.
“I commenced my rehabilitation in 2014 at
Quintessential Health Care Centre, Jos,
Plateau State for six months. Every month we
paid N200,000 and for the six months of my
rehabilitation, we paid N1.2 million.
“We don’t desire for people to get to that
stage of rehabilitation because it is not easy.
“After my rehabilitation in 2015, I told myself
that God made me go through this process for
a particular reason and realized that countless
young men and women will be wasting away
if I don’t lead the campaign against this
growing social menace.
“Now I go about campaigning on the
negative effects of drug abuse with the support
of my bishop because young people are dying.
“After my redemption, I was able to write a
book which has been of great assistance to
other victims. It was in the course of my
sensitization that Mrs Anna Ishaku absorbed
me as one of the board members and volunteer
counsellors of Hope Afresh Centre.
“If government can prioritise combating
this growing menace in the society, especially
among youths, the country would be a better
place because there would be fewer vices.”
I Was Told Drug Would
Boost My Dancing
Skills - Peter
In his brief narration, Peter said,
“It all started in 2012 while I was still young
in secondary school. With a couple of friends,
we would dance together because I was good
at it.
“Along the line, they told me if I wanted to
improve on my dancing skill and add more
life to my thrills on stage, I needed to start
taking drugs.
“They introduced me to Tramadol and that
was how it began. Most of the money l made
from shows was spent on drugs and anytime l
bought something valuable, I ended selling it
to get drugs.
“One day, I had a sober reflection and told
myself that if I didn’t stop doing drugs, it will
end up stopping me someday.
“All efforts for me to stop it on my own were
futile because, after mustering the courage to
do so for some days, I would end up in a
relapse.
“Help eventually came when I met a
counsellor whom I confided in and who paid
for my treatment at the Hope Health Centre
where I was rehabilitated.
“The rehabilitation process was all
encompassing because I was redeemed
psychologically, spiritually and medically. I
am proud to say that I am drug free. “
He continued, “There are many people out
there on the streets that are into drugs, but
detaining them will not help. They need to be
listened to and loved, and helped with
rehabilitation to rescue them from the
scourge.
“The establishment of this facility in Taraba
is a major step to rid the state of junkies and I
am happy to have had my redemption from
this place.”
The Last One Year
Has Been Adventurous -
Centre Superintendent
Recounting his experience with patients of
the medical facility during the first anniversary
of the subsidiary of Hope Afresh Foundation,
the Coordinator, Dashe Dasogot, explained
that the year had been adventurous.
He said, “We have been able to meet those
who have been stigmatized and criminalized
by the public. We have also been able to
meet those that believe you cannot work
effectively without substance in the body.
“We have also had the opportunity of
meeting families who have come to thank us
in tears for the good work we have done for
one of theirs who had been brought to the
facility for rehabilitation.
“This facility was commissioned on October
19, 2017 and had its first patient admitted on
October 23, 2017.
“The centre has been able to treat and
discharge ten persons while three patients had
incomplete treatment and two others were
attended to as out-patients”.
Spurred by the success recorded in the
medical facility, Governor Darius Ishaku said
N100 million will be injected into the 2019
appropriation bill to establish a rehabilitation
centre for victims of drug abuse in the state.
He noted that the proposed facility will mark
the takeover of Hope Health Centre by the
Taraba government.
Ishaku donated N6 million in support of
the initiative.
He said, “For every rehabilitated soul, we
have uplifted one person.
“I will make sure that we put into the 2019
budget the sum of N100 million for the
establishment of a rehabilitation centre in the
state specialist hospital because I want
something that will be left behind.”
The first lady, Anna Ishaku, in her address,
noted that the statistics of substance abuse
across the country shows that the North-East,
where Taraba is located, is 8.54 percent.
She said, “Nine out of 100 persons in the
region suffer one form of substance abuse or
another, but this health centre has given hope
to families of victims of various substance
abuse.”
While soliciting for more support in order
to extend the services rendered at the medical
facility to other local government areas of the
state, Mrs Ishaku explained that the facility
would review its mode of operation to
accommodate more out-patients.
She maintained that the contribution of
various individuals to the medical facility
since it began operation was the live wire that
has sustained the centre.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 23
08112662589
Girls who would do anything for money!
“
Anyone who enters the
world of prostitution
thinking it’s going to
solve all their financial problems
will be bitterly disappointed.
The cold reality is that
you deal with the darker,
seedier side of life on a daily
basis. Many of your clients
don’t have a good level of personal
hygiene and it’s all you
can do to prevent yourself from
throwing up. Many of those so
called customers are arrogant
and treat you like dirt because
they’re paying. Others always
push their limits, wanting more
and more....”, observed
Fidelia, recently.
Some six years ago, Fidelia
was a carefree secretary in a
fairly big firm with lots of
friends and oodles of confidence.
She got herself a couple
of boyfriends and her social
life became frenzied.
Thanks to some high flying
colleagues who combined their
jobs with frequent trips to
Dubai to bring back goods they
sold in the office, Fidelia was
able to dress well, on credit.
“Before I knew it, I was owing
two or three colleagues huge
sums of money”, she said,
“and things came to a head
when I was roughened up by
two of the `traders’ within a
month! They nearly tore my
dress off in the office as they
rained insults at me! A classmate
of mine had always
hinted I could make easy
money by going to private parties
organised by some top
`guns’. I already knew what to
expect and always turned her
down. This time around, I was
the one who singled her out to
take me with her on her next
outing, and that’s how it all
began.
“True, I’ve met the flash type
who throw money at you, but
I’ve also met men who think
they can do what they like because
they’re paying, being
violent at times and forcing
you to have unprotected sex.
If you say you won’t do something,
they become extra aggressive,
its just you and him
alone in the room. One grab
round the throat by a drunken
punter and you wouldn’t even
be able to shout for help. Your
opinion of men goes very
quickly down the drain. Sadly,
I doubt if I’ll ever trust another
man again. All my `boyfriends’
are married; most of
their wives have no idea what
monsters they’ve landed themselves
with.
“With prostitution, all you invest
in is your body. And sex
is one of the commodities that
sells even in a credit crunch.
As good as the money is, it
comes at a terrible price. You
become a bit tearful in case any
of your friends guess what you
do or start asking questions
about your money. I mean,
how would I feel if my friends
and family, or worst of all, future
kids, found out? How
would it feel if I lost my reputation
just for a bit of cash?
That’s why a lot of my socalled
girlfriends in the trade
are alcoholics. Drinking
numbs the guilt they feel selling
heir bodies.
“At times, when I attend a big
do and a man stares at me, I
cringe in case he’s one of my
`customers’. In spite of my
fears, I still haven’t quit. I
thought that once I’d paid off
all my debs, I’d stop, but the
money has become addictive
and I began spending it as fast
as I was making it. My boyfriend
almost found out recently
when one of his friends
told him he’d seen me before
being led to a room at one private
party. I denied it so vehemently
that he cut his friend
off for wanting to ruin our relationship!
“The shock of discovery
made me more careful and I
intend to stop soon. I still have
my health and am lucky not to
be roughened up by a violent
man. You can be as careful as
you like but a violent man is
not likely to use a condom and
you’ll be very unlikely to stop
him. Prostitution is an industry
where so many women and
children are exploited and
abused. Many do not want to
be there and quite a few get
damaged for life. It’s just not
worth it ...”.
08052201867(Text Only)
Get going on the exercise path
You’ve come to under
stand that the lack of a
fitness programme in your
life has not done you any good. You
have decided to reverse the trend of
things Good.
Well once you get going, try not
to give up along, the way.
Read up about the success of
others on the exercise path.
That should keep your enthusiasm
burning. The truth is that it
won’t be long when you’ll begin
to look forward to exercising
upon rising every morning.
Let’s go into the following
breathing exercise and posture.
right hand. Now, proceed to place
your palms together. Try to be as
still as can be. If you sway a little,
don’t worry. After all trees sway!
Breathe normally.
Duration: Stay in this posture
between 10 and 15 seconds.
Repeat with the left foot up
against the right inner thigh.
Benefits: This exercise instills
a sense of calmness and improve
a stoopy posture.
Half-Plough
Technique: Place a chair at
the head of your practice mat.
Place your head halfway underneath
the chair. Now swing
both legs and place them atop
the back-rest of the chair.
Duration: Stay in the plough
pose for about 10 seconds. To
return to the original position,
first bend the knees and gently
roll down flat back onto the
floor.
Benefits: The half-plough
pose makes the spine elastic.
The abdominal organs are
messaged. The gastric fire is
improved and constipation
dealt with.
The Seated twist
Technique: Sit upright with
feet close together Clutch the
left thigh with the right hand
while the left hand held the
top left corner of the chair. Sit
tight and turn the trunk leftward.
Duration: Stay in this position
for a slow count to 15 and repeat
on the other side.
Benefits: This posture gives lateral
flexibility to the spine. the
kidney are favourably affected
and the inward are also massaged.
This pose also aids elimination.
Press-Up Breathing
Technique: Lying flat on your
belly arrange your palms next to
your shoulders. Tale in a deep
breath and raise the body horizontally.
This position should
find you on your palms and toes.
Duration: Stay in this posture
between 5 and 10 seconds. Return
to the original position of
lying flat down, rest awhile and
repeat twice or three time.
Benefits: This exercise expands
and airs the lungs.
Tree Pose
Technique: Stand with feet together.
Now, place the sole of
your right foot up against your
inner thigh with the help of your
•The Tree Pose
•The Seated Twist Pose
• Half Plough Pose
C
M
Y
K

PAGE 24 – SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
GRUESOME MURDER OF DE
We plucked Elozino’s eye
to be released before
— Suspected 'Y
•How police tracked suspected killers;
By Emma Amaize,
Editor, South-South
•Elozino Ogege
•Elozino Ogege
Crime the police
cracked in a jiffy
IF there is one matter the police in Delta
State handled with creditable nimbleness
in the last few weeks, it was the fishing
out of the Yahoo boys (internet fraudsters/
ritualists) who allegedly decapitated a
300-level mass communication student
of Delta State University, Abraka
(DELSU), Elozino Joshualia Ogege.
However, notwithstanding the taking in,
for questioning, of four alleged gangsters,
suspected ritualists are still on the loose
in the state, striking, last Wednesday, in
Asaba, the state capital, and one more
time, last Thursday, in Oghara, the
country home of former Governor James
Ibori, which seems to be the major
operational target of the prowling
executors.
Some Yahoo boys had abducted Elozino,
whose death has brought their subversive
activities into razor-sharp focus,
November 15, and killed her three days
after. While the police had three suspects
in custody about 72 hours after, the
alleged mastermind, a Ghanaian-based
internet fraudster, slumped and died.
The suspects were said to have
collaborated with some private security
guards engaged by DELSU and
kidnapped Elozino right inside the
campus. This is what makes her case sad
as friends said she was not the wayward
type.
One of the security guards, a suspected
Yahoo boy and ritualist, arrested by the
police, told Sunday Vanguard, “I was
posted by my security supervisor (also in
police custody) deliberately to arrange
the abduction of female students for
Yahoo boys.”
A source said Elozino, 22, looking for
accommodation in the school’s lodging
facility, was contacted on phone by the
security guard and that was the last time
those who knew her on campus saw her
last.
Concerned about the rising cases of
Yahoo boys and ritualists in the state,
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, on November
26, gave the police marching orders to
crackdown on gangsters.
How police tracked
suspects – PPRO
Meanwhile, Police Public Relations
Officer, PPRO, Delta State Command,
DSP Andrew Animamaka, told Sunday
Vanguard, last Thursday, “Before the
governor came up with the order, the
Command had already mounted a search
for the masterminds and any person who,
in any way, may have had a hand in the
gruesome murder of the young Elozino
Ogege.”
Disclosing that the arrest of the suspects
was a combination of efforts of different
units of the command, he said, “The initial
•Uche
credit goes to the Abraka Division, which even, prior
to the information getting to the Command
Headquarters, Asaba, had been on the matter and
the Anti-Kidnapping Task Squad then intervened and
did the rest of the job.
“The Elozino matter did not come to the police
as death of somebody, it came as a case of missing
person. The mother of the deceased reported she
was missing and, quite unlike her, had not made
contact; so she smelt foul play.
“That is what set the Abraka Division in search
of her. The police got their breakthrough in the
case with the tracking of her phone to a security
guard through our tracking device. As you would
expect, he (security guard) was in denial of how
the phone got to him and we sought to see the
person he said sold the phone to him.
“We got the second suspect through a search
and it was denial all through, but we knew that
hardened criminals do not easily own up. They
will never own up until you get incontrovertible
facts and do proper interrogation.
“Immediately information got to the
Commissioner, Muhammad Mustafa, he ordered
the transfer of the case to the Anti-Kidnapping
Unit and it was when the two suspects got to Asaba
that they started confessing”.
Aniamaka went on, “First, we found that it was
not just about them. There was a mastermind,
somebody known to be a fraudster, and he had
just come back from Ghana where he was said to
have been engaged in internet fraud. We made
efforts to pick him, it was not easy, but the good
thing in our favour was the promptness, speed
with which we worked.
“Between that Thursday and Saturday, we had
most of the (alleged) perpetrators of the crime.
Yes, one of them slumped, in fact, the mastermind,
knowing that we had him slumped and gave up
the ghost.
“The second (suspected) fraudster confessed
that this was not his first time as he had been

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 25
LSU STUDENT
s as she begged
we killed her
ahoo Boy'/ritualist
Ghanaian-based alleged ringleader slumps, dies
•Robinson •Onos •Desmond
involved in four previous cases. He
identified a 62-year-old herbalist as the
person they took the body parts to, and,
when we got to him through our
undercover network, he was in denial.
Immediately we got information on
where his home is located, we laid
ambush, watched the stream of people
coming in and out of his home in Warri.
“Detectives bid their time, acted as if
they were potential customers in
targeting him until they were certain
they were not going to lose him. Ab
initio, he said he did not know them,
but later he owned up that they had
once brought human parts to him,
which he destroyed.
“By the time we got to Asaba, he
admitted that it was only once he got
human parts from them, which he threw
away. Even the alleged mastermind,
who slumped and died, confirmed in
the presence of the herbalist that they
took body parts to him to do ritual for
them.
From kidnapping to
gruesome murder
“The suspected mastermind owned
two buildings in Abraka. The gang
actually established contact with the
family of Elozino and that is what
made the police to have the impression,
at first, that the mission was abduction.
However, right now, it is a case of
gruesome murder.
“From their confessions, they had
done their escapades earlier in Oghara.
We arrested five of them, even the small
girl, but we are not holding it against
her because we see her as a victim used
by the mastermind. The little girl is his
sister making it six”.
It took some time
before the police saw
the manner they
plucked her eyes and,
while questioning the
suspects, we got
other harrowing tales
According to the PPRO, the alleged
mastermind used the minor in the
telephone conversation with the
parents of Elozino, probably to assure
the parents that all was well.
“We did not get Eloziono’s remains
until the early hours of last Sunday at
the outskirts of Abraka, right there in
one of the farms, a hidden spot that had
a tree. “The anti-kidnapping team,
joined by the Special Armed Robbery
Squad, SARS, and others, got to where
they buried her, and what was evident
after the remains were exhumed was
that it was not something that happened
overnight.
“It took some time before the police
saw the manner they plucked her eyes
and, while questioning the suspects, we
got other harrowing tales. Even
policemen were horrified at man’s
inhumanity to man”.
Aniamaka stated that the police had
not yet linked the suspected gang to
other groups. “Apparently they acted as
a unit. I do not think they acted in
concert with other groups, but what is
obvious is that they have sold their
souls to the devil.”
Confession
and denial
The security guard, Onos, said to have
arranged the kidnapping, confirmed to
Sunday Vanguard that he was recruited
for the purpose by his supervisor, who
vehemently denied the allegation.
He said, “I was contacted by
Desmond (a Yahoo boy also in custody)
and another to provide a female student
for Yahoo rituals. Therefore, when
Elozino approached me that she was
looking for accommodation, I saw it
as a good opportunity. I called
Desmond who told me to tell her to
come back the next day.
“The next day, they brought a Toyota
Corolla car and when Elozino came,
they used something on her face, which
made her unconscious. We took her to
a bush where we first plucked her eyes
while she was still alive. She was even
crying and begging us to forgive her
and let her go, but we plucked the other
eye, removed her breasts and heart
before she died”.
Security supervisor, Uche, who denied
the allegation that he was aware of the
kidnaping, said, “I was not part of it,
he only said that I sold phone to him,
which is my connection to the case.”
•DSP Andrew
Aniamaka, PPRO,
Delta Command
The second suspected
fraudster, Desmond, who identified the
herbalist, said he was the one they took
human parts to, to make charms for
them so that “when we speak to white
men on phone, they will do anything
we ask them to do.”
The herbalist, Robinson, told Sunday
Vanguard, “I am a farmer, I am not into
rituals.” He denied preparing charms
for the suspected Yahoo boys, but said
one time that they brought something
like human parts to him, he threw them
away.
Ritualists
intensify
operation
As the police celebrate their swiftness
in apprehending Elozino’s suspected
killers, ritualists are not resting.
Residents of Asaba, the state capital,
woke up, last Wednesday, to behold the
remains of an unidentified young girl
along Asaba-Benin Expressway, near
the Summit Junction, with her vital
organs removed.
A police patrol team later removed
the corpse. An eyewitness said her
killers removed her breasts and private
organs. Police Commissioner
Muhammad, in response to questions
by newsmen, said, “Our men on patrol
stumbled on a crowd of people around
Summit Junction, Asaba- Benin
Expressway and, on findings,
discovered the corpse of a female
dumped on the road with her breasts
removed and other parts in her body.
They took the corpse to the FMC Asaba
mortuary for further investigation.”
Muhammad, who had earlier
paraded the four suspected killers of
Ogege, stated, “ Now that the suspects
have made useful statements to the
police, except the one who slumped and
died, the four suspects will be charged
to court, including the herbalist who
have been economical with revelations
and been calling God.”
The next day, Thursday, at Oghara,
suspected killers butchered a 12-yearold
at Scott Road, close to Okwemeva
Junction in Ogharaefe. She was said
to have screamed for help like Elozino,
but residents in the area were afraid to
come out. Her head was hacked off her
body.
A villager, Julie, said, “The incident
happened at about 5.00 am, few poles
away from the Council Secretariat.
Only God knows where she was coming
from, but people said they heard her
shouting, that they should open door
for her, that some persons were after
her until she went quiet. When we woke,
we saw this” (pointing to the corpse).
University
tightens
security
Meanwhile, the authorities of
DELSU, in partnership with the police,
local vigilante and the Nigerian
Security and Civil Defence Corps,
NSCDC, have embarked on moves to
flush out anyone involved in internet
fraud, popularly referred to as Yahoo
Yahoo, from the school.
The university, in a statement signed
by the Public Relations Officer,
Freeborn Aganbi, stated,
“Management has banned the entry of
exotic cars with tinted glasses,
popularly used be Yahoo boys, into all
campuses of the university, prohibited
the entrance of non-staff and non
students into the campuses after
6.00pm and restricted students to their
hostels after 7.00pm.
“So far, these strategies have greatly
reduced the presence of suspected
Yahoo boys and their related activities
in Abraka town. To this end, DELSU
management is calling on students to be
security conscious and to refrain from all
activities and relationships that could
jeopardize their safety”.

PAGE 26– SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
FEAR OF RITUALISTS IN DELTA
We anoint our pants to escape Yahoo Boys – Warri girls
BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME
“As a rule now in my house, we pour
anointing oil and sprinkle holy water on our
pants before wearing them because of Yahoo
Boys”. With these words, Alero, a female
resident of Ubeji area of Warri, told Sunday
Vanguard her family’s strategy to escape
ritualists on the prowl in Delta State.
It was gathered that undies, particularly of
girls between the ages of 16 to 32, are hot
cakes for use by ritualists. One pant, according
to some residents, sells for as high as two
hundred and fifty thousand naira. The price
can be higher when the ‘boys’ confirm “
through science that the girl has not done any
abortion”, Esther, another resident in the area,
said. The pants are allegedly used for money
ritual. “After they finish with the pants, their
owners will lose their wombs which is the real
ritual”, Esther added.
Alero, who lives with her parents, said she
has three adult sisters. The anointing oil and
holy water, according to her, had the capacity
to neutralize any evil plan of Yahoo Boys on
their pants.
For Tamera, a charming lady in her late
20ts on Jakpa Road, she and her mother no
longer hang their underwears on the rope
outside the flat in the compound where they
By Festus Ahon
ivil Society Organizations, CSOs, Non-
CGovernmental Organizations, NGOs,
and human rights groups are demanding
thorough investigation into the killing of
Elozino Ogege with a view to bringing those
behind it to book.
Members of the groups took the streets of
Asaba, Delta State capital, on Thursday,
expressing sadness over the killing of the 22-
year-old.
National Coordinator of the Campaign for
Good Governance, CGG, Prince Obaro
Unuafe, in a related development, described
the incident as ungodly and wicked. He said it
was wickedness and greed for money taken
too far.
Obaro, in a statement, said:
“Campaign for Good Governance, an NGO
committed to social justice, capacity-building
and education of the civil populace has
vehemently condemned the brutal murder of
a 300 level student of the Delta State
University, Abraka, Elozino Ogege by
suspected yahoo boys.
“This senseless and dastardly act of
terminating the career of a 1st class student in
live. “Because of Yahoo Boys, we no longer
hang our underwears on ropes outside the flat
in our compound”, she said .
“We live with five other tenants in our
compound . There are boys in the compound
too. Since we heard the news, we have been
hanging our pants in the bathroom; whether
they get dry or not is no longer the issue. We
sometimes use hot iron on them to get properly
dry”.
When asked if they also handled their
braziers in like manner, her response was
spontaneous, “Yes o. No difference between
pants and braziers. We hide them very well
now. Ladies pants na mega bucks for Warri”.
I sit outside until my
pants dry on the rope - Lola
A female banker with one of the first
generation banks, who simply identified
herself as Lola, lives in a one-bedroom flat
around Estate area of Warri. She said she
washes mostly on Saturdays and sit by the
rope until her pants get dried. “I just bring out
a chair, sit outside until my undies dry and I
take them in. No room for gambling. The story
is everywhere that people have been recruited
to go for ladies’ pants for attractive prices.
Dem no go see my own “, she said.
Killers must face justice – Groups
a manner too gory to describe should not be
swept under the carpet.
“We urge the police and other security
agencies to beam their searchlight on the
activities of Yahoo boys who now pose as a
threat to the society. These ritualists or yahoo
boys live with us, their addresses are known
especially as they are known to ride in flashy
cars with some of them living in mansions
that are clearly beyond their means.
“This issue should not be left in the hands of
government alone as the Church, parents and
even civil society groups have roles to play in
arresting this evil trend that is now ravaging
our social fabric”.
The groups, which demonstrated in Asaba,
called for justice and proper investigation into
the matter, insisting that those behind the
dastardly act should not go unpunished.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mrs
Caroline Usikpedo, said: “Unwarranted quest
for wealth and big cars have led the society
into a den of ritualists with special focus on
women and girls. Women can no longer go in
search of their livelihoods due to the fear of
being abducted for money ritual.
“The normal traditional way of living and
of washing and drying women clothes,
LOUIS ZULU ONWORDI AT 75
My dad as a teacher was a hard man to please – Toni Kan
Award winning writer and on
line publisher Toni Kan and
his siblings threw a high octane
shindig for their father on Saturday
November 24, 2018 at the Rajulie
Hall of Temple School, Ilupeju, Lagos.
The event was to commemorate
the 75th anniversary of their father
and patriarch of the family, Louis
Zulu Onwordi aka ‘The Master’,
teacher, lecturer, corporate mandarin
and writer.
Nollywood star Arinze Okonkwo
took charge of the praise worship session
leaving the hall in rapture of adoration
to God for life and health.
Speaking about his father, Toni said,
“As a teacher he was a hard man to
please but he is a good father who made
sure we all got an education. “
In his speech, the celebrant thanked
God for life as he went down memory
lane recounting his days in Minna and
how an uncle turned his life around
and saved him from becoming a mechanic.
Guests at the party include Prof. Fidelis
Oditah, QC and SAN; Francis
Atuche, a former CEO of Bank PHB;
Toyin Akinosho, oil man and art enthusiast;
Dr. Phillip Ofulue; Dr Austin
Izagbo; Kunle Bakare, publisher
of National Encommium; Ayobami
Adebayo, writer; Dami Ajayi,
poet; Victor Ehikhamenor, artists
and writer; Rele Sonariwo of Rele
Art Gallery; Mrs. Regina Igbinedion;
Niran Adedokun, writer and
columnist; Yinka Akanbi, actor and
director.
Lola, in her early thirties, said since the news
hit Warri that Yahoo Boys were after ladies
pants, she has been very careful with personal
effects.
Many girls now go to their
boyfriends houses with no undies on -
Rosemary
Rosemary , a student in Oghara, Ethiope
West local government area, said many girls
now visit their boyfriends without undies.
“Oga journalist, you no know who be who.
Even these our boyfriends, their eyes no clear.
We are just gambling if it will lead to marriage.
In the past when you visited your boy friend, if
you were spending a night or two in his house,
you took some underwears in your bag. But it
is no longer so. You just go like that, not even
with one. Just like that. You get what I mean ,
Oga journalist. No be my head dem go take
break coconut”, she said.
We avoid lonely routes
at night - Esther
Esther, in her late twenties, said she heard
some girls had been asked on the street at
gunpoint to pull their pants or be shot. “It is so
bad. We heard some people now go round in
especially under-wears, has become a
problem as they even go to the level of stripping
girls at gunpoint to get their panties for rituals.”
Addressing the protesters, the Secretary to
the State Government, Mr Festus Agas, said:
“The primary responsibility of government is
to protect lives and property and we are poised
to do just that. We have decided that the police
By Ochuko Akuopha
ELTA State House of Assembly candi
Ddate of the All Progressives Congress,
APC in the Isoko North Constituency for the
the 2019 general elections, Mr. Israel Akegwure
has bemoaned the gruesome murder of
Miss Elozino Ogege, a 300 Level Mass
Communication student of the Delta State
University, Abraka, by suspected ritualist
“yahoo boys”.
Reacting to Elozino Ogege’s murder, Akegwure
held that the society was gradually sliding
into a ritualists’ den.
He lamented that “youths now prefer short
cuts to make money all in a bid to live big at
the detriment of their fellow human beings”,
stressing the need for security agencies to “roll
L-R: Kunle Bakare, publisher National Encommium, Toni Kan Onwordi
and Peju Akande at the 75th birthday party of Louis Zulu Onwordi.
L-R: Mr. Ofili, Mrs Regina Igbinedion, Mr.Louis Zulu Onwordi,
The celebrant and Alhaji S. Kareem during the cutting of the cake.
flashy cars looking for girls on lonely roads to
order at gun point to pull their pants or be
shot. You will just see a vehicle pull in front of
you and guys will jump out. All they do is order
you to pull your pants”, she said
“So, in my house, we the girls don’t go on
errands at night. From 6pm you don’t see us
on the street. We also try to avoid lonely roads
during the day”.
The fear of Yahoo Boyz has become the
beginning of wisdom in Delta State. In the
last three months no fewer than eight girls
have been allegedly murdered for money
ritual by Yahoo Boys.
The story of Elozino Ogege is one of them.
There is also an unconfirmed incident at a
shopping centre in Warri where a Yahoo Boy
allegedly offered a girl fifty thousand naira to
just caress her. It was a good deal , the girl
thought , after all he was not going to have
sex. So they reportedly hopped into the guy’s
car. After the guy finished, transfer of cash
allegedly done to her account, she went to the
convenience to freshen up.
“It was at the toilet she bled to death. Her
friend who was with her that night was the one
that raised the alarm, narrated all that
happened to everyone”, a lady who did not
want her name in print said.
Despite the seeming extra care on the part
of many girls not to fall victim of Yahoo
ritualists, some of the Yahoo Boys, Street Boys,
Everywhere Stew Guys, as they are called in
Warri, oftentimes boast, according to residents,
“Baba God will always provide data for
subscription”. Data here means whatever they
need for ritual while subscription means
renewal of ritual to sustain cash flow.
must do everything possible to prosecute the
killers of Miss Ogege and bring them to justice.
“We have also directed the Attorney General,
Peter Mrakpor, to come up with a draft bill to
strengthen the state government to combat
the challenge of yahoo business in the state.
We will ensure justice is done and that Miss
Ogege’s killers do not go scot free.”
Akegwure bemoans Elozino Ogege’s murder
up their sleeves and nip the ugly trend in the
bud as people are no longer safe to go about
their businesses due to fears of falling into the
hands of ritualists who are on the prowl”.
Commiserating with the Ogege's family on
the sudden death of their daughter, he said it
was painful for any parent to lose a child,
especially under such circumstances, after investing
so much in her education only to reap
death when she ought to graduate from school
next year.
While urging the police to bring those behind
the dastardly act and their accomplices
to book in order to pay for their crime against
humanity, Akegwure
advised the female folks to be mindful of
these so called Yahoo boys who are out to
make money at any cost.
L-R: Mr. Bamidele Adedeji, Lead Consultant, Youthniversity Consult;
Mrs Adebimpe Adedayo-Ojo, wife of Keynote speaker, Ms.
Linda Obidike, Consultant, Youthniversity Consult; Mr. Adedayo
Ojo, MD/CEO, Caritas Communications Limited and Keynote
speaker, at the maiden edition of the Leadership Launchpad orgainised
by Youthniversity Consult in Lagos
L-R: Director, West Africa, 1 Million Teachers, Mrs. Yinka
Banjo; Chairman, Oyo State Education Trust Fund; Chief Dr.
Mrs. Nike Akande; Executive Secretary of the Trust Fund, Mrs.
Yetunde Fatoki and Head, Corporate Communications, Lagos
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Segun Alabi during
a Courtesy Visit by 1 Million Teachers to the Trust Fund in
Ibadan Oyo State

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 27
METELE MASSACRE
The fall and
rise of Boko
Haram?
•Lamentations in House
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
Tuesday’s special plenary of the
House of Representatives offered
the members an opportunity to
ventilate their feelings on the
operations of security agencies,
especially the Nigerian Army which lost scores
of soldiers recently in an attack by Boko
Haram in a community called Metele, Borno
State. Sunday Vanguard was at the session.
A minute silence heralded the day.
Lamentations and sighs followed. On their
faces stood, visibly, a string of regrets just as
fury sat atop the chamber.
This may not be the first time an eerie silence
would envelope the chamber. But this is
definitely the first time a tragedy of such a
gargantuan proportion, in a no war situation,
would be hitting the nation to elicit a bipartisan,
tirade of reactions from parliamentarians.
In one fell swoop, life was snuffed out of
scores of soldiers in Metele, Borno State. Yes,
it was a national tragedy but then
unacceptable. To the lawmakers, it is one death
too many. And it must not be allowed to go on
unabatedly.
So, as they stood in honour of the fallen
heroes and many other victims of similar
circumstances in
Nigeria, thoughts,
unarguably, ran amok
in their subconscious.
How long would this
madness last? How
long would the Nigeria
nation continue to lose
people, civilian or
military? For how long
would senseless,
gruesome killings be
tolerated? Has
government really
failed the people? A
flurry and slurry of
thoughts!
That was obviously
the mood in the House
of Representatives on
Tuesday when
lawmakers resumed
plenary.
As expected, the
members, who had
been undaunted to
speak since the
incident occurred on
November 18, finally
broke their silence
upon the presentation
of a motion by the
Deputy Minority
Leader of the House,
Hon. Chukwuka
Onyema.
To them, the gory details of the attack, which
have, in no small degree, instilled palpable
fear in the citizens of the country, couldn’t have
been received with some mumbled equanimity.
Chronology
Initial figures of
casualty put the
deaths at 44 but, as
more details
emerged, it is now
confirmed that 118
soldiers and officers
were killed together
with their
Commanding Officer,
Lt Col. Ibrahim
Sakaba, while about
150 more soldiers
and officers are still
missing
Onyema was detailed. He laced the motion
with a chronology of previous attacks that
somewhat exposed government failures to
properly secure the land.
Lamenting the lingering incidences of
fatalities on many a Nigerian soldier in and
out of military formations, camps and war
theatres, the motion, however, called for lasting
solutions to the ugly development.
Said the motion sponsor: “The House notes
that reports from credible news mediums
indicated that no fewer than 118 Nigerian
soldiers of the 157 Battalion were massacred
by Boko Haram insurgents who now call
themselves Islamic State of West Africa on
November 18, 2018 at the village of Melete,
Borno State.
“Also notes that initial figures of casualty put
the deaths at 44 but, as more details emerged,
it is now confirmed that 118 soldiers and
officers were killed together with their
Commanding Officer, Lt Col. Ibrahim Sakaba,
while about 150 more soldiers and officers are
still missing.
“Further notes that, according to reports, the
insurgents carted away a large consignment
of weapons from the Melete army base which
security experts say would embolden them and
pose great danger.
“Observed that while the news of the attack
and death toll continued to
increase, neither the President
and Commander-in-Chief nor
the Minister of Defence or the
army authorities said anything
about the reports as there was
silence for more than five days.
*Notes that President and C-
in-C, finally broke his silence
six days after the attack in a
statement issued on his behalf.
“House regrets that in the last
one year, no fewer than 600
Nigerian soldiers have been
killed by insurgents mostly in
Borno State around the fringes
of the Lake Chad.
“Recalls that, on June 18,
2018, a Boko Haram attack in
Gajiram, Borno State led to the
death of civilians and soldiers.
“On July 13, 2018, Boko
Haram ambushed and killed
soldiers at Alagaye Village near
Bama, Borno State and carted
away nine gun trucks.
“On July 14, 2018, Boko
Haram attack at the 81
Division Forward Brigade at
Jilli Village in Geidam Local
Government Area of Yobe State
killed scores of soldiers.
“On August 30, 2018, Boko
Haram attacked an army
formation at Zari village also
in Borno State killing no less than 48 soldiers
and many others still missing aside equipment
losses.
“On September 8, 2018, the 82 Division Task
Force in Gudumbali, Borno State was
attacked, many soldiers killed and equipment
carted away.
“Also observes with regrets that while the
executive said and continue to insist that Boko
Haram terrorists have been ‘technically
defeated’ or ‘technically degraded’, the
insurgents seem to be waxing stronger and
stronger such that they attacked a community
just 20 kilometres from Maiduguri.
“Also recalls that twice in three years, the
Commander-in-Chief gave directives to
Service Chiefs to relocate to the Theatre
Command centre in Maiduguri until Boko
Haram is defeated.
“Regrets that with recent happenings in the
North, all the successes and gains made against
Boko Haram have been reversed”.
Members’
reactions
Expectedly, the debate on the motion was a
no-holds-barred. The issue at stake was of
utmost national importance and concern.
Members, therefore, took turns to bare their
minds but there was a subtlety of self censorship
as the reactions later tilted towards
partisanship.
The motion emanated from a member of
the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
from Anambra State and there was, apparently,
that natural inclination on the part of the
opposition members to make full use of the
opportunity and lash at the ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC, which rode to
power on the mantra of change and security.
While PDP members in the House spoke
frankly on the goings-on in the security
apparatus, their APC counterparts spoke
tongue-in-cheek, knowing that an all-out free
speech can be inimical to their government
led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Hon. Shehu Shagari from Sokoto State, a
former member of the APC who, before the
primary elections of political parties jilted the
party for the PDP, said that he was disappointed
in the government.
According to him, he had anticipated an allout-war
against the insurgents since that was
the reason Nigerians chose APC against the
PDP in the 2015 elections, moreso, that the
person in the saddle is a retired army general.
Hon. Edwards Pwajok from Plateau State,
in his contribution, decried the lack of synergy
between security agencies, accusing Service
Chiefs of diverting money meant for operations
into private pockets.
Hon. Zakari Mohammed from Kwara State
asked Buhari to live up to his campaign
promises.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the House
Committee on Navy, Dasuki Abdulsamad,
from Sokoto said the President, as the nation’s
chief security chief, has failed the people.
“I can authoritatively tell you that, in the last
three years, the manpower of the security
agencies is nothing to write home about. In
the last three years, not a single person has
been sacked for not doing his job. Our
colleagues have spoken that the Service Chiefs
are not living up to expectation. Let’s not also
forget that the President is the Commanderin-
Chief. He has also failed us. He has not
lived up to expectations”, he said.
On his part, Hon. Gabriel Onyeweri from
Anambra State expressed fear that the elections
in Borno villages may not be free and fair going
by the security lapses in the area.
For Hon. Aliyu Magaji from Jigawa, the
Service Chiefs should immediately resign their
appointments.
Hon. Beni Lar from Plateau State said that
the ugly trend would continue as long as the
present Service Chiefs were in the saddle.
For Hon. Hassan Saleh, the people were
reaping the fruit of incompetence.
Hon. Istafanus Gyang told his colleagues,
“We cannot continue to reinforce failure”,
therefore calling for setting up of an ad hoc
committee to check the lapses that led to the
killing of soldiers.
In his remarks before ruling on the motion,
Speaker Yakubu Dogara expressed shock that
Cameroon, a neighbouring country, had
adopted more virile measures to decimate
insurgency than Nigeria with more human and
material resources, asking why the country
could not police its borders effectively.
Some members of the APC, such as Hon.
Nasir Ahmed, who argued along party lines,
reminded the House of where Buhari picked
up the pieces.
“There has been some level of achievements
from where we were. We should bring the
Service Chiefs here and talk to them directly”,
he said.
Resolutions
The House eventually resolved to set up an
ad hoc committee to probe the utilization of
all funds appropriated for security operations
in the North-East.
The committee was also assigned the task of
unravelling the circumstances that led to the
massacre of the soldiers at Metele just as the
House called on the Nigerian Army authorities
to publish the names of the slain soldiers after
securing the consent of their families.
The House also urged the President to
immediately relieve the Service Chiefs of their
duties. To them, the Service Chiefs have
completely run out of ideas, a perception Hon.
Mohammed Mongonu, a lawmaker from the
theatre of war of Jere federal constituency of
Borno State, vehemently objected to when he
spoke to Sunday Vanguard on the heels of the
resolutions.
Reps’ first indictment
of Service Chiefs
Tuesday’s indictment of Service Chiefs was
not the first time members of the House would
be ventilating their anger on the security
pontiffs. In April this year, the members had
also vexed with them following the stream of
blood in Benue State. The House, at the time,
passed a vote of no confidence on them and
resolved to boycott sittings for three days to
protest the killings. On another plank, they
resolved to summon Buhari to appear before
them and give account of his security
stewardship. But that was not to happen as
they eventually backed down for reasons the
House leadership is yet to make known.

PAGE 28 – SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Why it is difficult for Bu
to defeat Boko Haram
— Major General Gbor (ret.
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
Major-General John Gbor (ret.) is a former Commandant of the Nigeria Army Education Corps.
interview, Gbor speaks on the efforts of the Buhari administration to defeat Boko Haram. He also s
on his dreams for Nigeria as the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliace (APGA
What informed your decision to contest
for President?
I have chosen to contest for President
because Nigeria is at the crossroads. We are
in critical times and critical times require
critical leadership.
•Gbor
I have chosen to
contest for
President
because Nigeria
is at the
crossroads. We
are in critical
times and critical
times require
critical
leadership
If things were going on well and if there were
no crises, if fellow Nigerians were not being
killed all over the country by kidnappers,
herdsmen, farmers and all kinds of crooked
people; if the youths, over 20 million graduates,
were employed; if our women in the rural areas
and in the cities were cared for by government
and if our schools were running well to provide
qualitative education to Nigerian children,
in primary and secondary schools, and
our university students were
without educational crisis,
probably I would not have come
but none of these things is
happening. There is serious
security challenge in the
country, people are being
killed all over Nigeria and
it looks as if government is
helpless even though we
have a retired general of the
Nigerian Army as
President; he is helpless and
this is necessary for General
Gbor to come in now to save
Nigeria. We had a situation
like this in the 60s and
someone came from the
North Central, the Middle Belt
called General Gowon; he saved
the nation from disintegration.
General Gbor is coming also from
the Middle Belt, the North Central to
unite this country. There will be no nonsense
and when I come in, there will be unity. Besides,
this country came as a result of British activities
on the African soil but this country has been
formed by Nigeria using the British
imperialists. When this country started in the
1920s and 1930s, it was the hope of not only
Nigerians but also that of the entire black
world that Nigeria will lead the entire third
world countries. We eventually became an
independent nation in 1960. But because we
were loosely put together by the British, we
ended up in political crisis that led us into
civil war and, after the civil war, we have not
done much to integrate the Nigerian people.
We are still the people of the East, the West and
the North. Under President Buhari, Nigeria is
divided more than it has ever been. It has
become necessary for General Gbor to come
in as President on the ticket of the party that
had its origin before the East, the North and
the West were created. APGA is an offshoot of
the National Council of Nigeria and
Cameroon (NCNC) which was formed in
1944 at the instance of the Nigerian youths.
Nigerian youths are suffering today simply
because what the youths started in 1944 before
the East, the North and the West were created,
they abandoned it; it was the youth that started
the NCNC, not Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe or
Herbert Macaulay; it was the ex-students of
King’s College, Lagos who rose from a meeting
and went to the house of Azikiwe and told him
Nigerians didn’t know themselves since
amalgamation in 1914 and neither had a
common council to speak for them. In essence,
they needed a council that will speak for all
Nigerians. Zik said he was happy to listen to
them and then motivated the youths to call for
a national conference, he allowed them to use
his newspapers to mobilise for the conference
that was held on August 26,1944; and it was
on that occasion that they established the
National Council of Nigeria. Some
Cameroonian groups came as observers and,
when they saw that Nigerians had
decided to come together as
a unit, they also requested
that if Nigeria wouldn’t
mind, they should include
them. That same day, they
changed the name from
the National Council of
Nigeria to the National
Council of Nigeria and
Cameroon. The aim of the
council was to weld
together all the ethnic
groups of Nigeria and work
for the prosperity and wellbeing
of each Nigerian and Herbert
Macaulay was elected the Chairman and
Azikiwe the Secretary General. It was the
youths that gave out the cock as the
group’s symbol and the cock is still
crowing and that is why General Gbor
has come to this cock given to
Nigeria by youths in 1944 so
that Nigeria will wake up.
With the challenges facing
this country, how have you
outlined your programmes to
tackle them and realise the
country of your dream? What are
you bringing to the table?
As President, the first thing I am going to
do is to seek ways of uniting Nigerians. Let
me tell you frankly, the Hausa man/the
Fulani man does not trust the Igbo man,
the Igbo man does not trust the Yoruba
man, the Yoruba man does not trust the
Hausa man, we don’t trust ourselves.
How can live without trusting each
other? We are afraid of each other; we
use derogatory languages and names
on each other. We may come together
to share the resources of the nation
but we do not love ourselves and trust
ourselves. When I come in as
President, the first thing I would do is
to get a committee of traditional
rulers, academicians, renowned people like
Prof. Wole Soyinka, patriots like the Emir of
Kano Lamido Sanusi, intellectuals, men and
women to find out what our problems are.
Why is it that as a Tiv man, I cannot trust my
neighbour the Idoma man; why is it that the
Yoruba man cannot trust the Igbo man, what
is the problem, where did it start from? Let us
get to the root. Did the Igbo even offend the
Yoruba people as a group or as individuals?
Did the Yoruba offend Igbo people? What are
all these talks that amount to nothing? Did
the Igbo offend the Fulani people? Did the
Fulani offend the Igbo people? Let us put
everything on the table, remove the fear and
when we remove the fear, we find out how to
remove the hurdle of this fear. How can the
Fulani, the Hausa, the Yoruba, the Igbo can
now come together to start building this
nation, what Zik wanted us to do in 1958,
1959 before independence? Now, we are still
suffering even though Generals Ironsi and
Gowon came and dismantled the regions,
which were created by the British to fuel
division among Nigerians and which led us
to civil war. As soldiers, they saw it far away.
The first thing the British did to truncate
Nigeria’s nationalism was to give us regions
so that nobody will be fighting for Nigeria,
making people from each region to be fighting

hari
In this
peaks
.
for themselves and not the nation called
Nigeria and that led us into serious political
crisis. So when Ironsi came, he pulled down
the regions and brought provinces. But
Nigerians did not understand him. In the
North, they felt he was trying to level down
everything so that he will bring his Igbo
brothers to take over the nation because the
North was not educated. He was called all
kinds of names. The issue was that he didn’t
consult well, he didn’t do his home work
properly and therefore Nigerians did not
understand him but that was the right thing to
do.
•Gbor
Are you going to replicate that, are you
going to return that system?
When Gowon came after Ironsi, he knew
that was the problem. He consulted and
created 12 states. Ironsi gave us 24 states by
that group of provinces; 6 in the East, 6 in the
West and 12 in the North but Gowon gave us
12 states, half of what Ironsi gave us; today
we have 36 states and we still condemn Ironsi.
He was doing the right thing but we didn’t
know, the simple reason was that he didn’t
consult and explain the historical background
of his action. So, when I come in, I am going
A country that
ignores its youth,
that country has
shot itself on the
foot, it cannot
progress. Nigeria
has systematically
ignored the youths
from 1960 to date
to restructure Nigeria but my own
restructuring is not going back to the regions
as some people are agitating. Regions are here
to divide us. States are good. But my own
restructuring focuses on the emergence of
economic entities that are viable and
sustainable and competitive so that, if a state
has oil, manage your oil, take care of your
youths, women and the aged. Certain
percentage as agreed upon as a nation
will go to the centre. If you have gold,
mine it. If you are into palm oil, it is
your property; what you produce,
give a percentage to the federal
government. I have five-point
agenda and restructuring is the
first one. We want to restructure
Nigeria. The British gave us
regions because Nigerian
nationalism was becoming too
powerful, it was going to send the
British packing, so they gave us
regions, so that instead of
fighting for national
nationalism, Nigeria will
decentralize into fighting for
regional nationalism; Igbo
fighting for Igbo, Hausa fighting
for Hausa and Yoruba fighting
for Yoruba, nobody was fighting
for Nigeria apart from the army.
So, if we go back to the regions,
we will go back to what the British
created us to be so that whatever
we do here, we will remain
divided; we steal money here and
send to the British bank, and when
you tap palm oil, you sell it for the
interest of the British government
to educate their children while
your own children are suffering
here. I will not let that happen if
Nigeria will listen to me. States
are good; we will develop as we
are. The philosophy of my
administration is that nobody
will be left behind, no place will
be left behind, everybody will
be developed, every human
being will be affected
positively, and every place will
be affected positively. I am
going to decentralize the
police so that each
federating unit will look after
its own security, will tap its
own resources and if you are
tapping your own
resources, you need security
to protect your resources
and to protect the citizens
of your state. We will still
have Mobile Police at the
national level; a state that is
in crisis and needs the
assistance of the Federal
Government, the Mobile Police will go there
to assist to put down the crisis but each state
will maintain its own security. In the judiciary,
there are a lot of cases all over Nigeria up to
the federal level and this is delaying justice. I
am going to decentralize the judiciary but they
will be consulted and I am going to take the
judiciary very seriously. Some aspects of the
judiciary will be decentralized. For instance,
the Court of Appeal will operate at the state
level so that cases will be dispensed off quickly
because we have been delaying justice too
much in this country. Also the cost of running
government is too high. We borrow money
from international agencies to develop Nigeria
and the chunk of it goes to service the National
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 29
Assembly, pay the ministers, the governors and
the people for whom you borrow the money
to develop, to help provide education, roads,
hospitals, they hardly get these things. A small
percentage of the population will borrow
money and share it, this will not happen. We
are going to cut down the cost of governance
and the excess from this will be used to take
care of the poor. The youth and women are
also on my agenda. A country that ignores its
youth, that country has shot itself on the foot,
it cannot progress. Nigeria has systematically
ignored the youths from 1960 to date. When
people contest for political positions in this
country, nobody talks about the youth and
when they come to power, the youths will just
follow them blindly, they don’t know that this
country belongs to them more than these ones
contesting for political positions. In another
30 years, by 2050, our population, which is
180million now, is going to be over 400million
and the youth that can’t oversee Nigeria now
will be managing the Nigeria of over
400million people. So if we ignore these youths
today, when the country population gets to
over 400million, how can they manage the
country? If people like Buhari, a general,
cannot manage Nigeria and people are being
killed over the place, with his military
background, how do you expect these youths
to manage Nigeria when the population is
over 400million? Where will they be getting
food when we are not planning? This is not to
say there will be no food but if we don’t plan
and have a culture of how food can be produced
and distributed, human beings will be eating
human beings at that time.
You talked about President Buhari being a
military person and being incapable of
curtailing the security challenges we are
currently faced with. You are also a military
person; what would you say has made it
difficult for President Buhari to perform?
In the military, we have generals, we have a
commander-in-chief but we also have service
chiefs. If we are fighting a war, of course the
commander-in-chief is the overall person in
charge. A general is appointed to oversee that
war. All generals are trained but they are not
the same. When a general is not doing well in
a war situation, the commander-in-chief
replaces him with another general. If Buhari
is not doing well and he is our commanderin-chief,
the electorate should remove him and
put me there to make sure that things work,
generals are never the same.
There is this widespread belief that the
military created the current problem of
structure that we have, that the unitary
system that we are practicing today was
caused by the military. Do you think those
who have this impression are fair to the
military?
The issue here is not a question of being fair
to the military or not, the issue is how do we
handle Nigeria now that we are at the
crossroads? It is not the issue of who caused
Nigeria’s problem, the British caused Nigeria’s
problem by giving us regions. When Nigeria
came together, the people now refer to
themselves as Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.
You said President Buhari has failed to
curtail the killings all over the nation; if you
become the President of Nigeria, how would
you solve the problems of insurgency and
insecurity, Boko Haram?
The Nigerian Army is renowned all over
the world as the best peace keeping army
and I personally came out with two books
on that. Anywhere there is a problem in the
world, the UN will insist that Nigeria should
be part of the peace keeping mission, so why
can’t we keep peace in our own country? You
have a commander-in-chief who is not able to
wield, give the right command to his service
chiefs, sit back and expect results, you will get
it. If they have training problem, they will tell
you. As commander-in-chief, I will make
sure they are trained in the area they need,
even if it means bringing people from
overseas or sending the team overseas for
training, I will do that. If it is equipment,
if they come to me, they will get it. But
why do we have insurgency? It is not
always to use weapons each time this
thing happens. Of course the first thing
you do is to protect lives and property in
the areas where there is insurgency. If
people are saying ‘we are Biafra and we
want to go’, is that want they are saying?
No. They are saying ‘we are angry. We
graduated from the university 10 years
ago, 20 years ago, no jobs and the number
keeps increasing each year and you, as a
government, doesn’t care’. You are
appointing the same people who were
ministers in 1960 as ministers again and
you are ignoring these youths and when
these people who were ministers in 1960
come as ministers again, they don’t even think
of the youths in their localities, so what do you
expect?

PAGE 30– SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
8 DAYS AFTER P/HARCOURT BUILD
Rescuers seem to have lost hop
more survivors – Relative of vict
•More than 38 persons likely still buried in rubble – Survivor
•‘How tragedy happened as victims waited to collect wages’
By Egufe Yafugborhi
*The rubble
With dozens of victims still
feared trapped and rescue
operations hindered by
inadequacy of equipment
to cut through each of
seven 28-inch concrete decking now piled
against its basement, the collapsed Port
Harcourt building has assumed a
monumental tragedy.
Nobody is sure exactly how many
persons were in the basement and those
on the ground floor when all of the six
and partly completed seventh floor came
crashing down. However, Chigozie
Anayo, 27, a concrete caster at the failed
project, who cheated death with facial
injuries, could only estimate. “We were
many. If they say we are only 38 that have
come out, I believe we have more than
that number still trapped”, he told Sunday
Vanguard.
“It was pay day. Even those who had no
duty to carry out that day were alerted to
come and collect their wages, so were
some contractors. Some were in the
basement all eager to have their share of
the millions of Naira in wages brought
and trapped”.
At press time on Friday, eight days after
the tragedy, the rescue team, supervised
by Rivers State Commissioner for Special
Duties, Emeka Onowu, put the casualties
at eight mortalities and 26 survivors.
Through the weekend of the collapse,
hopes were high of more persons coming
out alive as rescue operations continued,
just as some relatives could still engage
trapped victims in phone conversation,
confirming they were still alive as they
cried for help.
Regrettably, after a lucky survivor,
simply identified as Ogoni born Christian,
was pulled out bleeding on the nose five
days after the collapse, further hopes of
pulling out more victims alive were
dampened amid feelers that underground
flooding was rising to suffocating levels
on the basement where most victims had
remained safe.
Rotary’s
interest
The dimming hopes have, however, not
deterred relatives of still trapped victims
from keeping vigil at the tragic incident’s
site. Among the expectant crowd still
keeping vigil at the scene of the tragedy
are members of global charity group,
Rotary International, who have opened a
stand at the spot.
Many third generation banks are also
visible at the site with the speculation that
they may be among institutions
supporting the rescue operations.
Though known for health charity and
social investments across the world,
Rotary’s robust visibility at the scene, to
the extent that its Nigerian member on
the international board, Yinka Babalola,
had to show up, was provoked by reports
that one of its own, Rotarian Ihionu Ekene
Morgan, was among victims still trapped
in the building.
Morgan, a member of District 9141 of
Rotary, Nigeria, is said to be the supplier
of scaffolders for the collapsed building.
Chimezie Ihionu, Morgan’s agitated
cousin, had narrated to Sunday

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018 PAGE 31
ING COLLAPSE
e of finding
im still trapped
Vanguard, “We were at a stone throw,
The Boss Club, playing snooker when
Morgan was alerted that money had
arrived to pay workers and suppliers.
“Shockingly, someone called less than
five minutes later that the building had
collapsed and Ekene (Morgan) was
inside. We have stayed put at the scene
since Friday. Ekene was calling us among
others trapped inside. This (penultimate
Saturday) morning, his phone is no
longer reachable.”
In the hope of seeing its member make
it out alive, Rotary has been a big
contributor to the rescue efforts,
providing hospitality to rescuers and, at
some point, assisting in the mobilization
of equipment.
Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike,
who declared the owner of the building
wanted to face inquiry, and the police
authorities in Rivers, who now have the
landlord and other key stakeholders in
custody, have refused to reveal his
(landlord) identity. Speculations have
however mostly pointed to a Bayelsan
born power broker with vast investments
in hospitality business in Port Harcourt
and beyond.
Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers
State Command, Nnamdi Omoni,
confirmed that the architect and other
key persons involved in the failed project
were also in custody.
Omoni said, “The owner of the building
has been arrested. He’s with us helping
with investigations. We also have with us
the site engineer, the architect, the builder
himself. We have been able to get
statements from some of the survivors,
sharing their accounts of what has
happened.
“Investigations are discreet. We have
also deployed our Anti-Bomb Unit. Our
men are probing to also try to see other
possible angles, like if there was any
sabotage.”
Omoni expressed the police’s
disappointment at the failure of Rivers
State Urban Development Ministry’s
officials to respond to the police
invitation to offer explanations on
government role on approvals for the
construction of the building.
However, before Omoni’s
reservations, the
Urban
*A survivor in hospital
*Another survivor
The dimming
hopes have,
however, not
deterred
relatives of
still trapped
victims from
keeping vigil
at the tragic
incident’s site
Development Ministry’s Commissioner,
Dr Reason Onya, had resigned his
appointment.
Onya, in a statement, told Rivers
people, “After due consultation with my
family on the collapsed seven-storey
hotel building under construction, I have
decided to ‘step aside’ as the Honourable
Commissioner for Urban Development
and Physical Planning on 28/11/2018
during the State Executive Council
Meeting.
“The building plan was approved on
18/7/2014 and revalidated by me on 14/
9/2018, because the file was missing. To
those that lost their loved ones, I am
pained, so pained that each time I visit
the site, my heart bleeds; each time I
hear news of it, I am perturbed.
“I am sincerely sorry for all the pains
you all have gone through in the cause
of this that my official assignment is
involved.”
Blame game,
public anger
From professional bodies involved in
the construction or monitoring of
projects of this nature, to residents and
relatives of loved ones, the tragedy has
generated into blame game. While the
state branch of the Nigerian Institute of
Architects, through its Chairman,
Asommba Egbuonu, blamed relevant
ministries’ officials for lack of
professionalism, others pointed to greed
on the part of the project owner and
compromise by supervising engineers
and contractors engaged to deliver it.
Ihionu, cousin of still trapped Morgan,
lamented, “There has been no sense of
urgency or coordination in the rescue
operations. The body language of the
rescue team seems to be of hope lost. We
have overheard them saying there could
be no more survivors. It is too early to
draw such a conclusion.
“They have informed us that Julius
Berger is in charge of the rescue
operations yet the only Julius Berger
branded equipment on site are
ambulances and Hilux vans. “No diggers,
cutters, cranes or any requisite
equipment/motors belonging to them
are here. The excavators seem to belong
to MCC.
“Time is of the essence now. We are
heartbroken and helpless, unable to do
anything as our loved ones wither within
the rubble of this site.”
Survivors’
stories
Meanwhile, at the Braitwaite Memorial
Hospital, Port Harcourt, 39-year-old
Emmanuel Ikuje, one of the earliest
survivors to be rescued, under medical
attention, said he could not explain his
escape.
Ikuje, a Benue indigene, said, “I have
been doing oil works for such big projects
for years. What I have seen is one or two
floors drop down from defects. I have
never encountered a case where the entire
floors of a seven-storey building
crumbled to the foot.
“I narrowly escaped. Several persons,
I can’t give exact figures, were on the
ground floor waiting to be paid from the
money we heard the project owner
brought. Suddenly, the house came down
on us, majority crowded at the front
entrance area.
“I tried escaping the beam dropping
towards me, but it struck me down by my
right arm and a mix of sand and broken
concrete covered me. I found it difficult
to breathe and shout for help. After
minutes of digging around much of my
buried body, I came out alive.”
Ejijah Benjamin, 21-year-old plumbing
apprentice, was rescued with suspected
broken spine as doctors probed into his
case at the hospital where he lay
motionless on a stretcher when Sunday
Vanguard visited.
His mother, Gift Benjamin, told
Sunday Vanguard, “He can’t move his
body. They are telling us his spine is
affected and he can’t open his mouth. He
was supporting his boss on plumbing at
the building project site. That his Oga is
still trapped inside.”
John Paul, 39, from Plateau State,
another artisan rescued alive, couldn’t
talk from the pains of bruises sustained.
Paul’s elder brother, Francis Pam,
however, said, “His own is not too serious
and the doctors have been giving him
meaningful attention since government
first moved some of them to a private
hospital before the transfer to BMH. It
is well. We thank God”.

PAGE 32— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
redress, it cannot go to the
absurdity of making rules
which oust judicial review
of the activities of a political
party which is purely an
administrative body.
Rule of Law: Buhari
needs to guide APC
Democracy presup
poses the rule of
law where everything
is done according to
law; hence in all democratic
societies, the law itself must
not be indeterminable.
Everyone, citizens and authorities
alike, are expected
to be equal before the
law. But this can hardly happen
in Nigeria especially in
matters concerning politics
and elections. Two points
made by retired Justice
Oyegoke Babalakin of the
Supreme Court remain instructive.
First, in 1986, he
led a Judicial Commission
of Enquiry which found our
politicians to be the “chief
perpetrators” of election
malpractices in the country.
Second, at the launching of
the Mustapha Akanbi
Foundation in 2010, he reminded
the nation that the
method of selection of
those who govern and/or
engage in the act of governance
have been so disoriented
that it has become “difficult
if not impossible for
a person with honest intention
to enter the arena of
governance without succumbing
to their ‘modus
operandi’ in the act.” Many
will agree that Nigeria is yet
to depart from this ugly revelation
by the jurist.
The recent rancorous primaries
of our political parties
particularly that of the
ruling All Progressive Congress
(APC) cannot be described
as new but it is worrisome
that a malaise discovered
many decades ago
is unabatedly being entrenched
by our politicians
in the polity. The statement
credited to President Muhammadu
Buhari the other
week that APC members
who are aggrieved about
their party primaries
should feel free to seek judicial
redress is not only
comforting but also suggests
that Buhari is not on
the same page as his political
party leadership which
earlier threatened to deal
with aggrieved members
who seek to ventilate their
grievances through the due
process of law. This position
is patently deplorable.
First, it exposes the APC
leaders to the unacceptable
usurpation of the constitutionally
backed mandate of
the judiciary. While a political
party can encourage its
aggrieved members to exhaust
internal avenues for
Like what the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) always
did when it was in
power, the APC has also
shown ample disdain for
the rule of law. In several
matters, the present APC
operates like the old PDP
thereby validating the description
by some analysts
that both parties are two
sides of a coin. In 2007, the
PDP created tension by
picking as its flag bearers,
aspirants who did not win
the party’s governorship
primaries in some states.
Rotimi Amaechi and
Ifeanyi Araruamen who
were aggrieved aspirants of
the process in Rivers and
Imo states respectively successfully
defeated their party
in court. Some analysts
at that time argued erroneously
as the APC has sought
to do now that party primaries
are internal activities
of a political party which
ought not to concern the
courts. Luckily, the Judiciary
had correctly established
that party supremacy
does not justify lawless
acts adding that to substitute
a candidate who won a
primary election, a party
must show cogent and verifiable
reasons for its decision.
Is the APC unaware or
unwilling to recognise the
long-time decision of the
Judiciary that it has jurisdiction
over the subject?
The repercussions of
APC’s circumvention of its
own rules are mounting
not-withstanding the party’s
assurances of being intact.
Indeed, due to what
Governor Amosun described
as ‘Off-shore’ rigging,
the party has lost
many Ogun legislators and
Adekunle Akinlade, one of
The party made a
mockery of its socalled
innovation of
involving all party
members in a
primary election first
by its inability to
evolve uniformity of
process. It was
obvious that the
party made rules
targeted at
individuals by
approving different
modes of primaries
for the same type of
election
its governorship aspirants.
In Imo state, Governor Rochas
Okorocha is convinced
that the issues of the
party primaries which had
gone beyond the stage of
reconciliation are irredeemable.
This is why President
Buhari cannot stop at
merely canvassing the freedom
of aggrieved party
members to seek redress in
court; he needs to specially
counsel the leadership of
his party on the expedience
of adhering to the rule of
law. He must in earnest put
his foot firmly on it bearing
in mind that earlier in
the year, it took his timely
intervention to halt his party’s
plan to illegally prolong
the tenure of its immediate
past executive. It is
thus not irrational to suggest
that APC leaders are
uncomfortable with the
tenets of the rule of law
which abhor impunity and
arbitrariness in which existing
rules are changed
without recourse to the due
process of law.
The party made a mockery
of its so-called innovation
of involving all party
members in a primary election
first by its inability to
evolve uniformity of process.
It was obvious that the
party made rules targeted
at individuals by approving
different modes of primaries
for the same type of election.
Nothing stopped direct
primaries in every state
considering that the presidential
involving every sate
was direct. All that the party
needed to do was to encourage
every state and the
FCT to hold one over thirty-seven
of the presidential
process. Instead, where it
suited the officials, the direct
method was used while
it was indirect in others and
yet, by consensus in some
places.
Although President Buhari
was the APC’s consensus
Presidential candidate,
he still faced direct primaries.
The worst of it all was
an introduction of a fourth
undemocratic method
known as ‘automatic ticket’
given to some people
who allegedly stood by the
party at a critical time. Interestingly,
those who fell
within this privileged group
were not uniformly handled
meaning that in APC, everyone
is not equal before
the law as some aspirants
were placed above the law.
At the end, those who were
placed below the law are
being told to iron out their
grievances before a reconciliation
committee that
was set up only to whitewash
premeditated arbitrariness
and injustice. That
is obviously bad for a ruling
party that many
thought would embrace
leadership by example
which as the saying goes, is
always better than precepts.
President Buhari needs to
stretch his guidance beyond
party officials to his party
members in government.
He must stop forthwith
those in government from
disobeying court orders.
While it is in order to aggressively
prosecute suspected
offenders in cases
including those on corruption,
no one should be held
where the courts have
granted him bail. Releasing
a suspect from bail does not
hinder his eventual conviction.
Government should
therefore never place itself
above the law in a case between
it and a citizen because
the rule of law is applicable
to both individuals
and government. Besides,
all citizens must be treated
as equals. But whereas to
skip the NYSC attracts
12months imprisonment
former Finance Minister
Adeosun who did was instead
eased out of office
while Communications
Minister Adebayo Shittu
was untouched. Nigeria
can do better in adhering
to the rule of law.
On the re-electability of President
Buhari (4)
iven President Muham
Gmadu Buhari’s frank
admission that he does not really
understand the basic theoretical
principles of modern
Nigerian economy, it would
be unrealistic to presume that
he has the intellectual tools for
differentiating between good
and bad economic advice.
Thus, his lack of in-depth understanding
of the dynamics
of economic management
might be the reason he and
his economic team headed by
the Vice President who is a
lawyer regularly ignore good
advice from economists critical
of his government’s overly
idealistic approach to economic
issues. For instance,
three years ago President Buhari
refused, against expert
advice, to allow the Central
Bank devalue the naira when
falling oil prices were eroding
the country’s foreign reserves.
Eventually, when the
harsh economic reality
kicked in the naira depreciated
so quickly that its negative
reverberations hit small scale
businesses and poor Nigerians
really hard. Moreover, it
led to severe restrictions on
meeting our international
payment obligations, constraints
on liquidity, and repulsion
of foreign investors.
Buhari’s promise to boost
employment and curtail inflation
has not been fulfilled –
actually the situation has
worsened. The rate of unemployment
climbed in the last
three and half years from
8.2% in the second quarter of
2015 to 9.9%, 10.4%, 12.1%
and 13.3% in the third and
fourth quarters of 2015 and
PhD,Department of
Philosophy,
University of Lagos
08116759758
opuruiche2000@yahoo.com
the first and second quarters
of 2016 respectively. By the
third quarter of 2017, unemployment
figures had reached
an alarming level of 18.2%,
more than twice the level it
was when Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan was in office. According
to the Nigerian Bureau
of Statistics (NBS), up to
ten million Nigerians have
lost their jobs since June 1,
2015, with youth unemployment
reaching a staggering
33%, which is a serious ticking
time bomb. Most Nigerians
do not know that the NBS
has broadened its criteria for
identifying someone as employed;
otherwise the unemployment
figures would have
been abysmal. Expectedly, underemployment
has also risen
from 17.9% in 2015 to
21.2% in 2018. Data from the
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
confirm that inflation rate
moved up steadily from 9.3%
in the third quarter of 2015 to
a 12-year high of 18.45% in
the last quarter of 2017. Although
it started decreasing
mainly as a result of CBN’s
intervention in the foreign exchange
market, by the first
quarter of 2018 it settled at
14.33%. This implies that prices
of goods and services have
been increasing since the APC
government came into office,
and that vulnerable segments
of the Nigerian population
are sinking deeper and deeper
into poverty never mind the
half-truths and outright falsehoods
hawked by government
officials. Little wonder, then,
that Nigeria has overtaken India
as the poverty capital of
the world, with an estimated
87 million Nigerians living in
extreme poverty.
On the national debt issue,
statistics from the Debt Management
Office (DMO) is not
cheering at all. As at June 30,
2015, Nigeria’s total debt, foreign
and domestic, was
N12.118 trillion; it climbed
to N21.725 trillion by the end
of 2017, a meteoric rise of almost
N10 trillion in less than
three years and more than
what the three different PDP
governments borrowed in sixteen
years! This grim situation
is aggravated by the fact that
a sizeable quantum of borrowing
by this administration
is for financing the budget,
while debt repayment presently
stands at about 40% of actual
retained revenue at a time
when the GDP is shrinking.
Conclusion: the Buhari administration
is leading Nigeria
back into the debt trap after
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
and her team had successfully
got debt relief from the Paris
Club during the Obasanjo
administration.
It is widely recognised that
steep drop in crude oil prices
beyond the control of our government
has had a damaging
effect on Nigeria’s economy.
But the prices have steadily
moved up to an average of
$70 a barrel in the last few
months. In addition, the federal
government has grown
our foreign exchange reserves
which was under $30 billion
to $47 billion. Unfortunately,
the President’s pledge to diversify
the economy has not materialised.
For example, the
value of non-oil exports was
N308,696 million in the third
quarter of 2015; it declined
steadily to N171,349 million
in the last quarter of 2017. Of
course, the newly-launched
Economic Recovery and
Growth Plan (ERGP) and its
corollary, the Medium-Term
Expenditure Framework
(MTEF), are intended to address
this problem by boosting
the economy through increased
trade and capital
flows. Still, there are genuine
fears about the ability of the
current economic team head-
Nigeria’s economy has
been on a sick bed
since the APC came
into power. Even so,
President Buhari has
hardly scratched the
surface of other
promises he made at
the microeconomic
level and skills
acquisition
ed by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to
achieve the laudable objectives
of ERGP. For example,
according to Dr. Sobowale in
his article, “Four Reasons
Why Nigerian Economy Will
Not Improve Under Buhari,”
a toxic combination of ignorance,
inability to learn from
past mistakes, embrace of
falsehood and lack of creative
ideas will militate against
real economic growth within
the lifespan of this administration,
which means that average
Nigerians should get
ready for more difficult times
ahead.
Clearly, President Buhari
has failed woefully to make
Nigeria’s economy one of the
fastest growing emerging
economies in the world with a
real GDP growth averaging at
least 10-12% annually as he
promised. In the decade before
he was elected, the economy
grew at an average of not
less than 6.5% per annum. The
GDP Reports from NBS reveal
that the economy grew by
2.64 and 2.11% in the third and
fourth quarters of 2015 respectively.
Unfortunately, recession
reared its ugly head the
following year as the economy
declined by -0.67%, --
1.49% and -2.34% and -1,73%
respectively in 2016. It declined
further by -0.91% in the
first quarter of 2017, and
thereafter began a slow and
sluggish growth by 0.72%,
2.17% and 2.11% in the first,
second, and third quarters of
that very year. Although the
economy grew by a paltry
1.95% in the first quarter of
2018, there is no up-to-date
information for the remainder
of the year because, according
to Dr. Yemi Kale, Statistician
General of Nigeria
and NBS boss, the bureau has
no money to carry out the necessary
research. Keep in mind
that although officially Nigeria
has come out of recession,
the economic situation is still
dicey and fragile: both local
and foreign economic experts
predict that the economy will
grow by less than 3% for the
rest of 2018 and 2019. That is
not all: even in the period
when the GDP expanded, it
was less than the growth in
population. To cut a long story
short, Nigeria’s economy
has been on a sick bed since
the APC came into power.
Even so, President Buhari has
hardly scratched the surface
of other promises he made at
the microeconomic level and
skills acquisition. For instance,
very little has been
achieved regarding boosting
vocational training, entrepreneurial
and skills acquisition
programmes for graduates in
tandem with the creation of
Small Business Loan Guarantee
Scheme (SBLGS) to create
at least 5 million new jobs
by 2019 though the proposed
Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Commission
(SMEDC). In spite of the
significant role of the informal
economy in the lives of
Nigerians, that sector has remained
peripheral in the economic
machinery of this government
and is in danger of
being used for political leverage
by the ruling party. To buttress
this point, Nigerians are
increasingly questioning the
motives of government for
implementing the tradermoni
initiative and loan of
N50,000 to artisans so close
to the upcoming elections.
This is based on the suspicion
in certain quarters that the
programmes are a ploy by the
APC to rig because the documentation
process requires
beneficiaries to fill in details
of their Permanent Voters Card
(PVCs).
Additionally, there is nothing
concrete to show that the
federal government is serious
about full actualisation of the
National Identification
Scheme to generate relevant
data or about amending the
Constitution and the Land Use
Act to create freehold/leasehold
interests in land, with
matching grants for states to
put in place a nationwide electronic
land Title Register on a
state by state basis. Even at this
point, about six months to the
end of this government, there
is no evidence that if President
Buhari gets re-elected, he can
fulfil his promise of creating
an additional middle-class of
at least 4 million new home
owners through a national
mortgage scheme at single
digit interest rate for the purchase
of owner-occupier houses,
as well as review the collateral
qualification to make
funding for home ownership
less cumbersome or demanding.
Home ownership remains
a big challenge for most working-class
Nigerians as a result
of persistent bottlenecks in the
mortgage system, tedious land
ownership processes (the obnoxious
Land Use Act has not
been amended), and rising cost
of building materials.
To close our discussion on
the economy, let us consider
the latest World Bank report
on Nigeria’s economic outlook
for 2018 and beyond. The
report corroborates Bill
Gates’s criticism of Buhari’s
economic policy thrust that it
does not adequately address
the need to invest more on human
capital development. It
states that “In the first half of
2018, the current account surplus
surpassed four per cent of
GDP, driven largely by higher
oil exports, while non-oil revenue
collections have come in
lower than envisaged. Despite
sustained efforts to improve
the business environment,
Foreign Direct Investment inflows
remain stagnated.”
To be continued

he recent attack, and killing of
TNigerian troops by Boko
Haram insurgents in Metele throws
up a number of questions which both
the government in place, and the
general Nigerian public are actually
not yet asking? And that question
is, what is the current status and
mission of the group we generally
call “Boko Haram”? It is now not
simply enough to say, Boko Haram
is fighting an insurgency because
they want to occupy a particular site
in Nigeria called “Borno.” This is
no longer true.
Those who are fighting this insurgency,
first of all are no longer Nigerians.
They are sworn to overthrow
the Nigerian state. It is therefore
a terrible kind of folly to keep
calling them, “Nigerians” who
must be dealt with as Nigerians.
That is, pussyfooting. Secondly, according
to latest reports, these fighters
operating now in the Nigerian
territory, have been joined by thousands
of other highly trained, foreign
military fighters and Jihadists,
intent on destabilizing and taking
control of the states in West Africa.
They are trying to establish the Islamic
Sultanate or Islamic State of
West Africa. This is a very, very dangerous
development. From a small,
ragtag group of fighters the “Boko
Haram” has snowballed into a
huge, sophisticated army of highly
trained, and technologically savvy
operators, now capable of taking
on the Nigerian military, and quite
clearly threatening now the Sovereignty
of the Nigerian state as never
before.
Nigerians often think that history
stopped yesterday. As a result they
do not often factor in their analysis,
currents that make history a continuous
event in the development of
the material and dialectical condition
of man. Inability to understand
or comprehend this often leads to a
complete failure of analysis that
rexmarinus@hotmail.com
Metele, or mediocrity?
should produce a complete, untrammeled
picture. That ought to situate
historical phenomena to the currency
of those actions which we must
then understand as emergent and in
play. I think Nigeria is in play for
the Islamic State which now sees it
as weakened, and vulnerable; a “low
hanging fruit” to be taken in small,
firefights. It seems that the Boko
Haram question has now grown into
a larger question, and demands
fresher answers and fresher strategies.
It is now a larger movement
with an internationalist dimension
that has implications not only for
Nigeria but for West Africa. There
are actors seen and unseen, shaping
that movement, aiding and abetting
it, while closely embedded in the service
of the governments of Nigeria
and its neighbouring states. These
are called “sleeper agents.” Much
of its funding and much of its intelligence
comes from this “sleeper
agents” embedded deep in the Nigerian
government – both in its civil
bureaucracy, its National Intelligence
apparatus, and in its military
and political leadership. Nothing
else can logically explain the resilience
of the Boko Haram Insurgency,
apart also from the fact that War
makes men rich.
There are the contractors and suppliers
of war materiel, who trade in
war and war intelligence; there are
the profiteers, the smugglers, and the
soldiers of fortune who trade in looted
artefact, property, and other forms
of war booty. For this, and we have
plenty of them in Nigeria today, war
is good. The insurgency must therefore
go on, and the national security
situation, often built around fear and
insecurity, and the threat of wellbeing
must continue to yield profit.
Today, we budget more for this unending
war than we budget for the
health of Nigerians. Now, Metele is
not an accident. It seems like a very
strategic operation to clear out the
Nigeria Politics: The Future
Looks Much Like The Past
As we match towards the 2019
Nigeria's General Elections,
I think it is wise to look back and
ask ourselves what we have learnt
as a nation and as individuals since
the last elections. We are told that
the lessons of life are learnt when
we look back, correct and plan for
the future. “You can’t go back and
change the beginning, but you can
start where you are and change the
ending.” ? C. S. Lewis
This is expedient as at this time
four years ago, all we heard from
the politicians was the chant of
change. This week, I am, once
again, reaching into the archives to
share my thoughts with the readers.
This is predicated on the fact that
our politicians are on the roll again,
canvassing for votes to win the next
election. They have been going
about, as usual, promising heaven
on earth for all Nigerians.
There is the need to look back at
history, especially the journeys of
these politicians. Are they still as
promising as they were four or five
years ago? Do they have the steam
or energy to turn the ill-fated economy
around? Do they still possess
the charm that endeared them to
the masses in 2015?
It is always fascinating to watch
politicians, especially from developing
countries, a few months before
elections. They are such a bunch
Diaspora Matters, with
Morak Babajide-Alabi
http://www.babajidealabi.com
of fun people that lift the moods of
everyone. They appear nice, loving
and very caring. As they hop from
one soapbox to another, you think
they are the best creations of the Almighty
Father.
Not only are they fun they also
present themselves as problem solvers.
They are adept at identifying the
ills of the society, while they pretend
to have the solutions to the problems
at their fingertips. The politicians
paint a world far away from the reality
that they themselves begin to
believe it actually exists.
For these lots, there is no conscience
in their act. All is fair in the
game as they try to outsmart themselves
searching for vantage positions
so they can be seen as the best
friends of the masses. They do all
they can to prove that they are as
human as the other citizens down
the road.
When you see politicians jumping
on public transport buses in Nigeria,
you need no telling that an election
is around the corner. These are
times when big men do households
shopping in the local markets. They
do not come alone; they bring along
the party faithful who distribute
goodies to the market men and
women.
Politicians are always eager to exhibit
their foolishness in exchange
for votes. Or how can we justify them
Nigerian military, currently doing
what they call “stabilization” operations
in that part of the North East
of Nigeria, between Chad and the
Cameroonian borders, leading in
an archway into the Central African
Republic.
These are all areas in the gunsight
of Boko Haram – now called the
“Islamic State of West Africa” – an
alliance that is growing with significant
bulge since the 2014 agreement
of an alliance and a declaration
of loyalty to the ISIS. West Africa
is at play, and the Sahara, that
rich, mysterious, open plain which
with untapped resources – clean
ground water stored in ancient aquifers,
oil, and other minerals, and with
the possibility in fact of long term
regeneration of the Chad basin, a
great human treasure, is now the
Since Buhari’s
administration, Boko Haram
has rekindled its effort, taken
on new strength, become
emboldened, and is
operating even deeper in
Nigerian territory using
guerrilla tactics, even
though it seems it controls
no apparent territory
subject of a transnational firefight.
This area, vast and spectacular was
once the epicenter of the very vast,
ancient Kanem Bornu Empire, one
of the world’s most magnificent ancient
empires, stretching as far afield
from Nigeria to Southern Libya,
including parts of Niger, Chad, and
the Sudan, with its capital in Njimi,
by the Lake Chad.
It is important for Nigerians to
examine the connections between
the development of Boko Haram
and a nationalist movement to restore
the Kanem Empire, given the
dynamic developments, with the
pressure from the Fall of Ghadaffi’s
Libya, and the defeat of the Islamic
State in the Middle East. As these
fighters flee and converge at the
borders of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and
the Cameroons, a West African Sultanate,
using the foothold of one of
the ancient, desiccated African king-
eating roasted plantain, corns or
yams by the roadside? Till date, it
has been unexplainable how some
of them think hawking or riding on
commercial motorbikes, Okada, is
the best way to connect with the people.
On the other hand, election periods
are harvest times for the hungry
and often neglected voters as the
politicians spend some of the looted
money on them. The politicians
come with wads of cash, branded
bags of rice, bales of clothes, live
chickens, wheelbarrows, loaves of
bread and many other types of gifts.
The citizens, among them old pensioners,
jobless youths line up under
the weather while the demagogues
shake their hands for photo opportunities.
Poverty is a curse. It turns otherwise
decent and disciplined people
into desperadoes. Desperation, on
the other hand, makes people do
what they would not have done ordinarily.
This is why the common
men and women in Nigeria see the
political gifts as their share of the
national cake. It is hard to blame
them as these heartless politicians
only surface once in four years. Waiting
another four years is a risk too
big to take as immediately the elections
are over, the masses are left to
their fates.
The promises of improved infrastructure,
better life, abundant jobs
soon become dreams. The politicians
have got what they wanted,
and the masses are left struggling
with dilapidating infrastructures,
hunger and joblessness. The only
redeemer, at this stage, is, therefore,
religion. They turn to the Lord as
the pastors and imams urge them
to look beyond their present situation.
They are encouraged to come
to the house of the Lord, and He will
take care of their needs.
Prayer may be the answer to turn
the fortunes of the jobless around.
The politicians have run back to the
cities to make more money for the
next general elections. The ones that
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 33
doms seems at play and probable.
But what are the analysts at the Nigerian
National Intelligence Agency
saying? What pictures are they
providing both to the National Assembly,
and to Defence Headquarters
who must provide the president
with an actionable picture? What
does the president know, and how is
he managing this war, and this development?
Very clearly, Metele is a
wakeup call.
But let us leave the larger, more
conceptual issues alone, and go for
a moment to the basic, nitty-gritty
question of the operational management
of this military campaign, for
clearly, Nigerian troops are in
harm’s way, and according to Defence
Headquarters, finally owning
up to the facts after much dawdling,
35 troops were killed, and 65 others
injured in the Metele attack. Three
important developments following
this devastating incident struck me,
and ought to raise the hackles of
Nigerians: first is that in trying to
manage its outcomes, the president
issued a plea (in the inappropriate
language of the Nigerian media a
“warning”) that Nigerians should
not “politicize” the death of the soldiers
killed by Boko Haram. And
my question: is President Buhari for
real? The death of Nigerian troops
engaged in a military operation is
already a political issue and must
be interrogated politically.
Fact is, aside from the political
dimension to all war, one other question
is, what did the Commanderin-chief
do or fail to do, to prevent
this tragedy? That is a political question.
It is about the ability of the President
to lead. The second question
is, how is this president managing
this war against Boko Haram which
his administration made bold once
to say is “technically degraded?”
The evidence before Nigerians is
that (a) if ever Boko Haram was ever
“technically degraded” it was not
by this government apparently, given
the time and occasion of that declaration.
They were riding the headwinds
of the success of the Jonathan
led administration which had forced
Boko Haram into retreat and pleading
for amnesty by the time it left
government. Since Buhari’s administration,
Boko Haram has rekindled
its effort, taken on new strength,
become emboldened, and is operating
even deeper in Nigerian territory
using guerrilla tactics, even
though it seems it controls no apparent
territory. The truth is that it is
Recent happenings
are not encouraging,
nor are they signs of a
better future for this
generation or the ones
coming behind
are elected to represent the local
communities have hurriedly built
palatial buildings with high fences
and security manned gates to keep
the masses away. The elections have
been won. This is a signal that the
dividends of democracy are ripe for
harvest. The wardrobe, constituency,
transport, housing, security allowances
are making sweet sounds
of alerts on their phones. Enough
said for now. Read an excerpt of my
thoughts as published in this column
on November 5, 2017.
"I am not going to join the band of
pretenders that have found it hard
to accept the fact that the country is
on course to nowhere. I am tired,
also, trying to convince people that
ship ‘Motherland’ is stuck in the
middle of the ocean and the present
captains, just like the set they sent
packing, lack basic ideas of nautical
position, direction, distance, and
depth, talk less of applying them to
practical navigation. It will take
more than a crash course in navigation
to get out.
"Recent happenings are not encouraging,
nor are they signs of a
better future for this generation or
the ones coming behind. Disappointment
is an overused word and
to say the people are disillusioned is
stating the obvious. Yet, we are being
assured that the hope in change
is not misplaced.
"This is understandable. Thich
controlling more territory now than
ever, because it is operating in wider
invisible circles, and is able to
move in and out, behind and ahead
of Nigerian troops at will. It controls
the territory - basically, the
hearts and minds of wherever they
occupy invisibly. It is able to recruit
and replenish its stores, using local
population support, and it is running
circles around Nigeria’s very
formal military formations.
And the fact is (b) the troops came
complaining openly about the lack
of equipment to fight, in spite of billions
already allegedly spent on
procurement of these tools by this
government and the previous; the
soldiers are increasingly thus unmotivated
to fight, and are accusing
their commanders of corruption.
This is serious, and yet President
Buhari asks that the deaths of these
soldiers should not be politicized.
Even so, his Chief Spokesman, Garba
Shehu answering related questions
said that there should be no
need for a presidential investigation
into the death of the troops in Metele
at the hands of Boko Haram.
This is weird. As a matter of fact,
Nigerians should insist, not just on
a presidential commission, but a
broad Legislative inquiry into the
death of Nigerian soldiers in Metele.
Questions must be asked and serious
answers provided on whether
there is corruption in the procurement
of National Defence tools, and
whether the soldiers were given the
right tools and training to fight this
insurgency. Secondly, what led to
these deaths? Was there a failure of
intelligence? Was there subversion?
Key military security analysts continue
to emphasize that there is too
much that does not add up. There is
for instance, too much information
leaking at the Nigerian end, and
very little intelligence acquisition at
the adversarial end. This is serious.
The National Assembly needs to
exercise its investigative powers and
give Nigerians answers, and establish
very clear oversight on this war.
That is why they were elected and
sworn in as legislators. This war with
Boko harm is calling into question
the competence of the political and
military leadership currently engaged
with protecting Nigeria and
its neighborhood. It is time to expand
the doctrinal and operational
principles of this war with the Islamic
State of West Africa. A lot more
seems at play than is obvious.
Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese peace
activist once said – “Hope is important
because it can make the present
moment less difficult to bear. If we
believe that tomorrow will be better,
we can bear a hardship today.”
Nigerians are soldiering on, losing
hope in the promised change."
"Looking back now, it was understandable
change was the focus of
the 2015 political campaign. The
world, in general, was going
through a change process, and the
smart politicians knew they had to
jump on this bandwagon and promise
something. The ordinary Nigerians
had no choice because a particular
political party and political
characters have ruled their destinies
for many years without any corresponding
change in their welfare or
lifestyle”.
Some of us saw beyond the political
catchphrase of change. We
warned that we need more than
screams of change for the country
to move forward. At the height of
these frenetic change campaigns in
January 2015, I wrote a piece titled,
“Nigeria Will Change, When There
Is Individual Rebirth” where I foretold
that no change was coming to
Nigeria if there was no change in
the way we conduct individual businesses.
It was easy to know there was
not going to be any change because
the type of change we were clamouring
for at that time was superficial.
I wrote – “Change does not come
in a vacuum. It has to be effected.
And no society can be changed without
changing the individual. The
Nigerian has to change himself before
society can change. And this is
the mistake these agents of change
are making. Change cannot be
achieved overnight. It has to be a
steady process.“
Now we are wiser than we were in
2015. Yet, people are still trying to
pull the wool over our eyes. Either
to prevent us from seeing what is
happening or they simply think we
are all “mumus”.

PAGE 34—SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
pro- People's Democratic Par
A ty ( PDP) group, Arewa Political
Group paid a consultative visit
on PDP Orogun national leader,
Chief Andi Kayoma Osawota at his
Orogun residence, Ughelli North
Local Government Area.
In his address at the event, the
National President of the Arewa Political
Group, Alhaji Haruna Imam
Umar Faruk, acknowledged the
leadership of Chief Osawota in PDP
in the area,explaining that the purpose
of the group' s visit was to seek
the support of Chief Osawota (who
is the grand patron of Combined
Bishops and Ministers Forum,
South South and South East geopolitical
zones) on the political ambition
of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku ,the
presidential candidate of the PDP in
2019 general elections.
Alhaji Faruk who often referred
to Alhaji Atiku as the changer of the
change in his speech, then traced the
PDP Orogun national leader, Chief Andi Kayoma Osawota and
the National President Arewa Political Group Alhaji Haruna Imam
Umar Faruk ( middle) with members of Arewa Political Group,
Combined Bishops and Ministers Forum, South South during members
of Arewa Political Group Consultative visit to Chief Osawota
at his Orogun residence.
08116759757
Amosun’s wife hosts Queen
Moremi pageant finals
is Imperial Majesty, Oba to Queen Moremi Ajasoro,
HAdeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Princess Aderonke Ademiluyi
Ojaja II, has charged the youth in under the auspice of House of
the country to brace up and take Oduduwa Foundation and Ooni’s
full responsibilities in the polity, palace.
saying the country belongs to Two Queens had graced the
them.
throne since inception thus,
Speaking in his palace ahead of becoming QMA cultural
Queen Moremi Cultural Pageant ambassadors while several others
finals, Ogunwusi noted that also benefited from the
youths are the leaders of tomorrow foundation’s humanitarian and
and should not be complacent. empowerment initiatives.
He stated: “Reason for With Miss Blessing
empowering youth is that clearly, Animashaun becoming the first
the future belongs to them. I see Queen Moremi model and Miss
myself a lot in them and I live on Oluwatosin Shittu winning the
this throne for them all across the second edition, the current edition
whole length and breath of will produce a queen that will be
Nigeria.
the Moremi touchbearer for the
“My major wish is that some day next one year alongside other nonwinners
benefiting from the
the youth of this country will rise
up to occasion of how they will foundation’s empowerment
claim their right and take full programmes.
ownership of what belongs to them Recall that last year, one of the
- the country Nigeria.”
contestants, Damilola Falodun
Meanwhile, his imperial who did not make it to the finals
majesty will lead monarchs, was immensely rewarded with
traditional rulers, cultural empowerment benefit. Having
enthusiasts and notable impressed and endeared the
personalities in the country to Ooni’s heart with her heart
Abeokuta, Ogun State capital as touching story of how she lost her
Queen Moremi Ajasoro cultural parents, dropped from school and
pageant finals holds.
had a terrible experience as a
The much anticipated finale of
the cultural event to hold on
Sunday December 2, hosted by
Her Excellency, Mrs. Olufunso
Amosun, wife of Ogun State
governor is termed by culture
eoples Democratic Party, PDP,
scholars as the greatest cultural
Pchieftain, Chief Sunny
reawakening pageant to relive the
Onuesoke, has accused the All
legacy of a popular Yoruba
Progressives Congress , APC, of
heroine, Queen Moremi Ajasoro.
not obeying court orders.
Mrs. Amosun who incidentally
Onuesoke stated this during a
is the model of the living ‘Queen
chat with news men in Lagos.
Moremi Ajasoro’ with a book and
He said while other parties have
a plaque dedicated to her name
conducted peaceful primaries,
by the Ooni is hosting the 3rd
APC primaries were bedevilled
edition to show her support and
with one crisis or the other.
commitment in uplifting the
Oduduwa cultural heritage of the
Yoruba land and the legacy of the
heroine.
By Princewill Ekwujuru
About 400 registrants that
indicated interest to contest for the he Nigeria Employers’
crown where drilled in an audition TConsultative
Association
that produced 40 candidates who (NECA) has expressed shock at the
went to camp for cultural National Lottery Regulatory
orientation. While in booth, the Commission (NLRC) for shutting
ladies were exposed to camp life down the business premises of
and cultural values by seasoned Nigeria Brewery (NB) Plc across the
cultural experts and about 20 nation over promotional activities.
disqualified contestants were Speaking in Lagos, the Director
evicted leaving 20 for the finals. General, NECA, Mr. Olusegun
The cultural pageant, started Oshinowo, said: “I am shocked that
three years ago was initiated by the NLRC boss will go all out to act
the Global Cultural Ambassador in breach of the rule of law and utter
contempt of court by shutting down
slave servant in Oman, Middle
East, the Ooni adopted her with a
scholarship to continue her
University education. The lucky
lady who is in her 2nd year in the
University is also employed as
senior personal assistant to the
general manager, Ife Grand
Resort and Leisure, Osun State.
According to Princess
Ademiluyi, “This year we intend
to empower 2 more young ladies
who will not win the crown but
QMA will impact on their lives
immensely too. It has always been
Ooni’s idea since he mounted the
throne to impact the youth
positively. The Moremi legacy
also continued with a stage drama
that will be coming in December
to January, 2019. All these among
other things are what House of
Oduduwa is doing to give life a
meaning and engage the Nigerian
youth positively,” Princess Ronke
added.
Prince Jide Fadairo, chairman,
House of Oduduwa Foundation
also stated; “The Moremi
pageantry is an attestation to
upholding that Yoruba heritage,
and this also is to reiterates the
importance of the heroine’s legacy
Onuesoke accuses APC of not obeying court orders
“Imagine President Muhamadu
Buhari and the National
Chairman of APC, Adams
Oshiomhole, clashing. While the
party is asking aggrieved
members to withdraw their cases
from court, the President is
asking them to seek redress in
court. This is to tell you how
confused the party is,” he stated.
Onuesoke maintained that the
the offices and business premises of
NB Plc in a case that is still before
the Court of Appeal.”
Oshinowo noted that “since 2016
when the case was filed in court, the
past leadership of the Commission
had exercised restraint and due
respect for the law of the land”. He
decried the resort to jungle
behaviour by the power drunk
“public servant” in a civilized
society where all hands are on deck
to boost the ailing economy of the
nation. According to him, “It is
unthinkable that a Public Servant
Support for Atiku: Arewa political group visits Osawota
cordial relationship between the
North and the South South to the
1st Republic, noting that both geopolitical
zones have always been on
the same page politically.
He, however, quickly added that
Alhaji Atiku believes in a united Nigeria.
" He is the hope in the salvation
of the present situation which
the APC has placed Nigeria .This is
why we opted to support his presidential
ambition in 2019. We have
heard so many good things about
you politically hence we are here to
seek your support for the presidential
ambition of Alhaji Atiku "
He further disclosed that the
group also comprised of other socio-political
groups in the country.
On his part, the chairman of
Combined Bishops and Ministers
Forum, South South geopolitical
zone, Bishop Johnson Ojakovo, who
led a team of clergies from Ughelli
to the occasion, in his speech explained
that the clergies decided to
support the political ambition of
Alhaji Atiku in order to save Christians
from senseless killings currently
going on in the country
today.
He, however, advised that the
PDP presidential candidate in
2019 should take the group seriously
as he assured that the clergies
have millions of followers
with PVCs who will vote for Alhaji
Atiku in 2019.
In his response, Chief Osawota
who is also the grand patron
of South South and South East
Political Elites thanked members of
Arewa Political Group for the visit
as he assured them of his total support,
promising further that he will
not do anything against the choice
of Governor Okowa and the PDP.
He remarked that Alhaji Atiku is
a manifestation of a united Nigeria,
just as he also commended
him for his support on restructuring
of Nigeria.
While noting that there is no opposition
in Delta State,the Warri -
based legal luminary and political
icon was full of praises for
Governor Okowa for conducting
a successful PDP National Convention
that was devoid of rancour
or crisis " It is a sign of victory
for our great party at the presidency
in 2019"
The Ogba (strong man) of Orogun
kingdom and Chairman,
Governing Council, Delta State
Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, however,
charged clergies across the
country to do what they know best
by praying and fasting for the victory
of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku in 2019.
Mrs. Olufunso Amosun
so that she will not go into
extinction. It’s part of our history
and we must always projection it.
The Yoruba history in terms of
Moremi contributions would not
be forgotten.
“The significance of hosting this
year’s finals in Ogun State is
nothing peculiar, for the fact that
Ogun is part of Oduduwa land by
extension. It is also a good
intention of the First Lady of Ogun
State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun to
have accepted to host this year’s
event after the last year edition in
Lagos. The idea is to move the
pageantry to every different
regions of the Oduduwa land so
that all the Yorubas will have a
sense of belonging to that part of
history,” Fadairo concludes.
most absurd of the violation of
human rights by the APC
administration is its treatment
of Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, a
Shiite group leader who has
been in detention without trial
for the past two years.
He urged Nigerians to vote in
PDP that is truly desirous of
national unity, respect for rule
of law in the 2019 general
elections.
NECA slams Lotto Commission shutting of NB business premises
will rashly shut down business
premises of a multi-billion dollar
investment without considering the
dire implications on the economy.”
The NECA DG, them called on the
Presidency and the Honourable
Minister of Industry, Trade and
Investment to call Gbajabiamila to
order as his actions are not only
illegal, unlawful and ultra vires the
powers conferred on him, but he is
working at cross purpose against the
laudable efforts of the Federal
Government in improving the Ease
of Doing Business (EODB) in
Nigeria. “He should be called to
order to avoid further damage to
business and the fragile economy at
large.”
Atiku visa row:
FG cannot dictate
to the US – Group
he National Coordinator of
TAtiku Professionals For Better
Nigeria (APBEN), Benita Dike-
Israel, has criticised the Federal
Government over a statement
credited to the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, that the United States
(US) should be cautious in granting
visa to the PDP presidential
candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in order
not to create the impression of
endorsing him for the 2019
elections. Dike-Israel said govt’s
position is a clear indication that it
has taken its political ‘witch
hunting’ of Atiku to another next
level. She said it is becoming
confusing and indeed ridiculous to
understand what exactly the federal
government is up to, considering this
recent meddlesomeness in Atiku’s
visa to the U.S. “The federal
government of Nigeria cannot
dictate to the United States on whom
to grant visa to and cannot also teleguide
the U.S on who to endorse or
not in the coming 2019 presidential
elections”, she said.
“This is a government that has
consistently claimed that Atiku was
wanted in the U.S for some alleged
crimes, and has actually dared him
that if he travels to the U.S he
would be arrested by U.S security
agents only for the same government
to turn around and ask the U.S not
to grant him visa.”
US based ICT expert
lists top drivers of
project success
By Abel Kolawole
US based Nigerian ICT
A expert, Dr. Alex. O. Atawa
Akpodiete, has advised project
managers to inculcate the culture
of utilizing technology to improve
performance.
Akpodiete, while delivering the
keynote address entitled,
‘Technology, innovation and the
future of project management’, at
PMI Nigeria Chapter Conference
2018, held the theme: ‘Innovate,
Motivate, Integrate’, held in Lagos,
noted that mature value delivery
capabilities was one of the top three
drivers of project success.
According to him, “mature means
quick adaptation to change,
balancing efficiency and capacity
and promoting continuous
improvement”.
While noting that businesses
understand the power of digital
innovations to reshape industries
and markets, he lamented that
“time and again, they have
struggled to innovate with new and
disruptive technologies.”
In her address, PMI Nigeria
Chapter President, Mrs. Rosemary
Imhanwa, said, “As a chapter
representing the Prestigious Project
Management Institute in Nigeria,
we have upheld this tradition
November every year and will
continue to do so.
“We picked this year’s theme
because we see it as key to unlocking
ideas on project management to
meet up with the fast-paced
economy of developed countries and
the developing countries around us.
“We have also for the first time, in
recent times, reached out to students
as a way of sparking their interest in
project management and
motivating them into using project
management processes”.
Also speaking at the occasion, Dr.
Orode Doherty, a US board certified
pediatrician, urged project
managers to be willing to invest in
the future
Dr. Alex O. Atawa Akpodiete,
delivering the keynote
address at the PMI Nigeria
2018 Conference
Uduaghan upbeats of
APC victory in Delta
By Akpokona Omafuaire
MMEDIATE past governor of
IDelta State and the All Progressives
Congress, APC, Delta South
Senatorial District standard bearer
in the 2019 general election, Dr. Emmanuel
Uduaghan is upbeat that
his party will take over Delta State.
The former Governor hinged his
belief on the recent reconciliatory
moves to unite the fractionalized
chapter of the party by the Vice President,
Yemi Osinbajo after getting
the President's nudge.
An elated Uduaghan took to his
official tweeter handle, @eeuofficial
on Friday exclaiming, "Coming
with a bang, united APC Delta.
Thank you VP, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
for your Intervention after consulting
with PMB."
Uduaghan complemented his
tweet with another on Saturday
morning in a prayer form, "#Happy
#December#naija#APC@APC-
Nigeria. May we reap the harvest of
all the good seeds we have sowed
this year...God bless Nigeria!."
The excitement of Uduaghan can
be viewed from the various peace
interventions he had moved to unite
the warring factions.
He had repeatedly warned that
only unity can give victory to his new
party. Since his defection to APC,
Uduaghan had undertaken several
underground moves towards uniting
the party as he is desirous of victory.

Time to o celebrat
ate e you is now, , not when you are dead,
Ekiti Elders s tell Afe e Babalola, 13 others s above 80 year
ears
• Prof. Oluwasanmi, Africa’s first plastic surgeon, on list
*Afe Babalola
By Rotimi Ojomoyela,
Ado-Ekiti
kiti Council Elders is set
Eto roll out the drums on
Wednesday to celebrate those
who are above 80 in the state,
especially those who have
sacrificed their younger lives
for a better Nigerian nation.
Allowing them to die
without the recognition of
their efforts to make the lives
of the younger generations
better, according to the
Council, is a disservice to their
generation.
Their attainment of 80
years and above, no doubt,
merits a resounding
celebration and, importantly,
the exposition to the younger
ones for emulation.
According to Mr Niyi
Ajibulu, Secretary General of
the Council, the theme of the
celebration is, ‘Our heritage,
our pride’.
“It is a celebration of
longevity with remarkable
achievements. The
*Prof. Oluwasanmi *Chief Fasuan *Mr Niyi Ajibulu
continuous contributions of
our octogenarians to the wellbeing
of their localities and
the society in general
prompted the viewing of old
age as a success story in Ekiti
State”, Ajibulu said.
“The celebration is to
basically express our success
in aging. For example, life
expectancy in the country is
put at between 47 and 52; that
is WHO figure and, in our
Council of 52 people, we can
see 14 that are 80 years and
above. We consider it a
success story, not only in
terms of their age but also
their remarkable
contributions to the
development of this state and
Nigeria. We are also glad that
they are still very lucid, they
are still contributing. People
like Chief Afe Babalola, Chief
Deji Fasuan, most of the time
you find their writings in
newspapers, offering solution
to various challenges
confronting us as a nation.
(L-R): Meka Olowola, Managing Partner, Zenera Consulting;
Bekeme Masade, Partner, Zenera Consulting; Aramide, Artiste;
Godman Akinlabi, Lead Pastor, The Elevation Church; Yomi
Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer, Enyo Retail & Supply and
Denrele Edun, TV Presenter during the Zenera Consulting fifthanniversary
cancer awareness walk tagged ''Hope Beats Cancer''
in Lagos
Molfix relishes outstanding 3yrs
milestones
olfix, the flagship brand
Mof Hayat Kimya says it
has received value driven
awards for its three years of
existence in the market.
The company said that one of
such awards was the recent
Advertisers Association of
Nigeria (ADVAN) Marketing
Excellence Awards in Lagos,
where the brand led the pack
with Brand of the Year, and
second position with its first ever
corporate social responsibility
“Happy Mums, Happy
Families” CSR campaign.
Speaking on some of the
milestones recorded, Mrs.
Roseline Abaraonye,
Marketing Manager, Hayat
Kimya Nigeria said “Amidst
the highly cluttered and
competitive environment,
Molfix defied all odds and
played against the already
established brands in the
category. The brand kept
growing steadily year on year
until it took over the Nigerian
diaper market. Within these 3
years, Molfix has won multiple
awards based on quality,
innovation and execution”.
According to Abaraonye, who
also spoke on the brand’s CSR
initiative and the importance
of the award said: “Hayat
Kimya as a global organisation
is a firm believer in giving back
to the society. Hence, in
Nigeria, we identified the fact
that unemployment is a key
issue.”
“In addition to the fact that a
lot of women have become the
bread winners of their families,
the brand thought it wise to
empower our mums and
enable them earn a living
through the brand. As a result,
the brand launched the
“Happy Mums, Happy
Families” CSR campaign.
With our first ever award entry
on CSR, Molfix came 2nd
place amidst all the established
brands that have been doing
this for many years. This has
refueled our energy to do more
knowing that we have taken
the right step in the right
direction,” she said.
On the ADVAN awards, the
Hayat Marketing Manager
stated that ADVAN awards is
unarguable one of the most
credible awards used to
celebrate the Marketing
professionals for their hard
work through the year under
review.
“The Chairman of the
Council, Professor
Oluwasanmi, who is about
86, the first plastic surgeon in
Africa, is still working and
contributing to the
development of this nation.
“Celebrating these elderly
ones also offers an
opportunity for the coming
ones to learn and put their
achievements on record for
prosperity.
“We are going to honour,
precisely14 people. This
means that we have among
us in the Council 14 who are
80 and above”
Besides Afe Babalola,
Oluwasanmi and Fasuan, on
the list of those to be
honoured are Sir Lawrence
Egunjobi, Chief Francis
Daramola and Chief (Mrs)
Modupe Oyesanya.
Others are, Prince
Adebuyiro Alonge, Alexander
Ajayi, Chief (Mrs) Susan
Olitan Awojuyigbe, Prof
Ayoola Olatunde, Chief Titus
Ogunlade, Chief William
Funmilayo,
Elder Samuel Fowobaje
and Elder Osatoyinbo
Adeleye
Majority of them have
indelible footprints in the
sands of time.
Afe Babalola, born 89 years
ago, is the founder of Afe
Babalola University, Ado-
Ekiti (ABUAD) and the
second largest employer of
labour in Ekiti.
With a career spanning 53
years, Babalola has made
phenomenal contributions to
the development of law and
jurisprudence.
He was Pro-Chancellor of
the University of Lagos
(2001-2007) and, in 2009, he
established ABUAD, a young
university adjudged in many
quarters as one of the fastest
growing universities in Africa
and acknowledged by
UNESCO as “a model of
excellence and a world class
institution of higher
education”.
Babalola, a farmer and
manufacturer of note, his
university produces almost 80
percent of its needs.
Oluwasanmi, born August
18, 1933 at Ode-Ekiti, is the
first African plastic surgeon
south of the Sahara. In 1999,
he was appointed the
Commissioner for Health in
Ekiti by the government of
Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
He was instrumental to the
establishment of eight new
hospitals and the School of
Nursing and Midwifery,
Ado Ekiti, and played a key
role in the setting up of the
Medical School of the
University of Ado Ekiti,
UNAD (now EKSU).
Oyesanya, a nurse and a
politician, is the founder of
Iretiayo Maternity and
Clinic. A foundational
member of the defunct Social
Democratic Party (SDP), she
worked assiduously for the
election of former Governor
Bamidele Olumilua of the old
Ondo State.
Oyesanya, who was born on
October 26, 1937 in Egosi
Ekiti, now called Ilupeju, was
appointed the Chairperson of
Ondo State Women
Commission and Special
Adviser to the Governor on
Women Affairs. She was
also a member of Ekiti
State Hospital
Management Board
during the Segun Oni
administration.
Alonge, a retired teacher,
community leader and
politician,
his high points include
significant participation in
the creation of Oye Local
Government, He was also
reputed to have participated
in the founding of several
From left: Commercial Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria,
Solomon Ogufere; Head, Strategic Partnerships, Microsoft 4Afrika,
Soromfe Uzomah; Sales Director, Descasio Limited, Nehita Fashe;
Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Wale Odeyemi at
the recently concluded Breakfast meeting held to launch the
partnership between Vodacom and Microsoft on the Azure Cloud
Platform.
Insight Publicis CEO retires
Insight Publicis, a part of
Insight Redefini Group, has
announced that its Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), Feyi
Olubodun, will depart the
organization effective
December 3, 2018. A search
for a new CEO, according to
a statement, will commence
as the company continues to
execute its transformational
Nollywood screen
divas, Omotola
Jalade-Ekeinde,
Rita Dominic, Ego Boyo,
Ini Edo and Uche Jumbo
were among personalities
that witnessed the 2018
edition of the Africa
International Film
Festival, AFRIFF,
sponsored by TECNO
Mobile held in Lagos
recently.
To make it memorable, the
smartphone company
gave the actress the
SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 35
plans. Dr. Ken Onyeali Ikpe,
Group CEO, Insight Redefini
(IR), will lead the execution
of the lplan until a new CEO
is announced.
“Olubodun, who has been
a part of the company since
2009, rose to the position of
Strategic Planning Director,
and moved to become the
Chief Operating Officer in
opportunity to experience
the amazing selfie quality
of its TECNO Camon X
Pro and 11 recently
launched.
The annual film festival
showcases the diversity of
African films into one
experience, screening vast
film categories including
feature
films,
documentaries, short
films, various film makers
and actors around the
continent to share their
different film making
2014, from where he became
the first non-Founder Chief
Executive Officer,”the
statement said.
His commitment and
dedication over the past ten
years has been instrumental
in the evolution of the almost
4 decade old company. Under
Oluboduns leadership,
Insight Publicis was well on
its way to achieving its vision
to remain the biggest
Creative and Marketing
Communications company
in West Africa.
Omotola Jolade, Rita Dominic, others present at 2018 Film Festival
skills.
According to the PR and
Strategic Partnership
Manager at TECNO, Jesse
Oguntimehin, said:
‘TECNO does not only
develop amazing
products, we also create
and partner with
experiences that highlight
the unique features of our
devices. With the
international nature of
AFRIFF and its focus on
film culture, we have
brought the strength of our
political parties and
associations including the
Unity Party of Nigeria in
1978, the Social Democratic
Party in 1990 and the Alliance
for Democracy in 1999. He
has since 2006 been a
member of the Peoples
Democratic Party. He was a
member of the Ondo State
House of Assembly.
Fasuan, a seasoned
administrator and retired
Permanent Secretary, was
born in Afao Ekiti on
October 1, 1931. His most
significant achievement in
public life was the creation
of Ekiti State. He set up the
Committee for the
Creation of Ekiti State in
May 1991 and, in close
collaboration with the
Ekiti Council of Obas and
some distinguished Ekiti
indigenes, led the struggle
that ultimately resulted in
the creation of Ekiti State
in October 1996.
Egunjobi and Daramola
are educationists of note
and were reputed to have
contributed immensely to
the exploits of Ekiti in
ducation which earned the
state the alias “Fountain
of Knowledge”.
Egunjobi was the
Chairman of the Nigeria
Union of Teachers (NUT),
Ondo State Chapter and
member of the Governing
Council of Adeyemi
College of Education,
Ondo and College of
Education, Ikere-Ekiti.
Daramola, a teacher
and born in 1927, was
instrumental to the
establishment of All Saints
Anglican Primary School,
Opopogbooro, Ado Ekiti
Vodacom signs MoU
with Microsof
osoft
By Olayinka Ajayi
Vodacom Business Nigeria
has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding with
Microsoft to improve
operational efficiency
among its customers using
the Microsoft Azure Cloud
platform services.
Speaking during a meeting,
the Managing Director for
Vodacom Business Nigeria,
Wale Odeyemi, said: “Our
vision is to be a leading digital
company that pursues a
collaborative approach and
leverage the combination of
core competencies of its
partners to increase customer
value in addressing our
customers’ needs.”
Responding, Head Strategic
Partnerships Microsoft
4Afrika, Soromfe Uzomah,
said: “Microsoft aim is to
empower businesses, across
different verticals, with the
tools they need to succeed in
a technology driven world
and the platforms they
require to create
breakthrough innovations
and accelerate Africa’s
digital transformation. We
are pleased to be a part of this
initiative working in
collaboration with Descasio
to provide Cloud services to
Vodacom customers.”
Camon series to fore. We
are definitely looking
forward to playing a
bigger role at next year’s
edition.”
The festival which kicked
off with a screening of
Jahmil Qubeka’s ‘Sew the
winter to my skin’ also
won the AFRIFF Globe
awards. While over 100
films from 25 countries
were screened with
industry seminars and
Master classes held.

PAGE 36 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Focus on gains, forget losses
Happy new month! I
congratulate every
one that has witnessed
the beginning of the
month of December; by the
grace of God we shall see the
end of the month.
December is a special
month to many people. Essentially,
because it is the end
of the year and the month that
we mark the birth of Jesus
Christ indeed the advent of
Christianity.
We are all familiar with the
story of the birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ whose birth symbolizes
humility. Jesus came
to the world because of us; he
lived for us and died for us.
What a great sacrifice!
However, the reality in our
world is that December is a
time for stock taking. Many
are eager to return to villages
to show off their gains made
during the year. No one ever
makes a show of losses but all
human beings have lost something
at one point or the other
Ḟor a married woman
whose eggs fails to fertilize
every month, yet she desires
to have children, what she experiences
can be said to be a
loss.
In the case of a farmer, who
janetadetu@gmail.com
has planted all round the year
and at the end of the year, he
fails to meet his target; he too
would count his failure to
meet his target as a loss.
A patient who has been battling
with one form of illness
or another without any significant
improvement is likely to
count all that he or she has
paid to doctors as a loss.
Even some Christians who
have prayed for one issue or
the other and the answer is yet
to come, could conclude that
the time used to pray and fast
have been wasted thereby
counting it a loss.
For someone out there, who
has written all applications
for job opportunities but never
got a reply, such a person is
likely to regard his efforts as
wasted.
In many experiences of life,
there are gains and losses.
Let’s consider the life journey
of Apostle Paul as recorded
in Acts of Apostles 27 vs. 20
-23 “ And when neither sun
nor stars in many days appeared,
and no small tempest
lay on us, all hope that we
should be saved was then taken
away. But after long abstinence
Paul stood forth in the
midst of them, and said, Sirs,
ye should have hearkened
It’s The Festive Season
Wow! December fe
ver has come. A big
shout out to my
darling son whose birthday is
today. Happy birthday my
dear Son Oluwaseun. This festive
season fever just arrived,
we can already see and feel
the impact. We are witnessing
the long traffic queues with no
known reason for its cause,
Christmas shopping has
started in earnest. Hamper
orders and Christmas cards
are racing for time. This weekend
lots of people will strt to
the festive décor early as a
number of Christmas trees
will be set up, festive lights are
now in many places and of
course shop windows will leverage
on window marketing
to attract you and I to come
in
İt is the season where you
are clamming to look for outfits
to wear to the numerous
year end dinners, uncountable
weddings, birthday celebrations
you name it. Surely
you are likely going to experience
clashes in dates, so there
will be a need to juggle your
time well to accommodate
those important invites to you.
As all this is going on for
some businesses this is a very
hectic season probably the
best time of the year where
sales tend to skyrocket due to
bulk purchases. For Corporate
Nigeria this is a period
where they begin to wind
down and close shop for the
year in readiness for a new
business year.
The festive season can be
quite cumbersome and
packed especially in our terrain.
Even in the less intense
environs the thought of gift
buying, hamper distributions
and card giving also increases
tension, blood pressure and
generally stress levels. Since
this is a highly routine period
of the year and a lot can be
predicted now is the time to
unto me, and not have loosed
from Crete, and to have
gained this harm and loss.
And now I exhort you to be of
good cheer; for there shall be
no loss of any man’s life
among you, but of the ship.
For there stood by me this
night the angel of God, whose
I am and whom I serve’.
From this story, Paul assured
worried ship travellers
that no life would be lost
though the ship could be lost.
Peter as a fisherman toiled
all night and caught no fish.
He suffered losses but when
he encountered Jesus, he experienced
an overflow. The
same net that caught no fishes
before began to break when
it got an overflow of fishers.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
whatever you lack today, God
will give you an overflow even
before the year-ends.
Brethren, we must be clear
in our minds that sometimes,
losses could be the foundation
for a greater gain.
How you want to ask? A
young graduate who has
walked the streets for a job that
he never got, suddenly finds
favour and someone gives him
an idea or even some money
to start a business. Once this
happens, he will forget the
losses and begin to focus on
the prospects of his new venture.
In the same way, Christians
need not focus too much
on losses though it is human
to reflect on such once in a
while but such thoughts
should not dominate our lives.
The amount of money spent
on failed IVF is definitely a
prepare for the festive season
if you have not done so already.
Strategies to consider during
the ‘Festive Season’
Your Health
Let me start by saying that
above all others your health
is the first thing to look out for
as the festive season approaches.
Research has said
that blood pressure tends to
rise astronomically around
the festive period. People are
committed to spending more,
suddenly there is a burning
need for resources. There is
also a huge tendency to eat so
much more at festive events,
they do less exercise or non at
all and the impact is felt in no
time. Generally this is the
time to pace yourself, drink
Brethren, be confident
that you cannot be
stagnant forever. When
God moves in your life,
stagnation will vanish
and you will experience
a new beginning
loss but when the Lord shows
up for that person and she
gives birth to a set of twins,
her memory of losses will fade
away. Joy will take over.
In the name of Jesus, whatever
it is that we have labored
to have and we are yet to receive,
the favour of God will
hand in over to us this season.
Jacob suffered losses when
he served his father in law
Laban –Genesis 31 vs. 39 but
in the end, Jacob became
much richer that Laban.
You may be serving someone
now, giving in your best
but your boss does not appreciate
you, keep on putting in
your best, God will surely reward
you.
To shift our focus from losses,
we need to increase the level
of our faith.
Our Lord Jesus said while
addressing his disciples on the
case of a boy who was possessed
by demons in Mark 9
lots of water and do not overdo
your personal capacity.
Plan December Well
This is a very fast month, as
there will be so many activities
going on everywhere. It is
naturally a time of jubilations,
celebrations and appreciations.
In the midst of it all,
you must still endeavor to
plan the month well. It calls
for intensifying efforts to sell
off old stock, offer festive season
discounts and bargains,
introduce something new in
the market. Organize office
activities that align with the
season, round up outstandings
and close for the year. It
is all about setting good goals
for the future.
Close Your Books
vs. 23 “ If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him
that believeth”.
Jesus gave us another assurance
in Mark 10 vs. 27 “ And
Jesus looking upon them
saith, With men it is impossible,
but not with God: for with
God all things are possible”.
Perhaps your own concern
at this time of the year is the
challenge of stagnation.
Brethren, be confident that
you cannot be stagnant forever.
When God moves in your
life, stagnation will vanish
and you will experience a new
beginning.
Even if life’s condition keeps
you stagnant now, with prayer
and thanksgiving, shift your
focus away from stagnation,
focus on new things and you
will see it happen.
I’ll share with you an edited
version of a testimony documented
by Winners’ Chapel.
A jobless graduate got tired of
writing applications and even
lost faith. He shunned invitations
to church services, giving
all sorts of excuses. One
day however, his friend succeeded
in getting him to attend
the service titled “ Covenant
Day of Settlement”.
He paid attention to the sermon
during which a word of
knowledge was released that
someone would get a job within
the week.
He wrote, “ Immediately
after the service, I got a call
from an unknown number,
inviting me for an interview
the next day. I was amazed”.
Within of year of his regular
church attendance, he said “
This is to the time to ensure
that your accounting books
are up to date, all statutory
government payments are
catered for and debtors are
settled. Take stock where necessary,
account for new introductions.
If you need the services
of a professional book
keeper or accountant, especially
for tax purposes it is a
good idea to solicit for such
expert services.
Have a Strategy Session
A number of company’s like
to hold there year end retreat
during this season, it is a very
good way for employees to
open up and share what
worked for them, what did not
and the way forward. Strategy
sessions set the tone for the
new business year where new
ideas are kicked off to hopefully
prepare for a better year
ahead. The retreat or strategy
session provides a platform
for bonding in teams and
among themselves. It is also
a platform for hard truths and
serious decision making.
Appreciate & Scold Staff
This is yet again a good time
to do staff appraisals, by assessing
year round performance.
Not all is bright as it is
also a good opportunity to table
all concerns, identify any
lack in productivity and identify
the implications of poor
performance. The decision to
God has indeed settled me in
all areas”.
We must always bear in
mind that God is never late
but as we serve and worship
the Lord, it is important to
strive to maintain a cordial
relationship with human beings
especially fellow Christians.
What if our brother mentioned
here picked a quarrel
with the one who had invited
him? That could mean that he
would miss his miracle or
have it delayed.
Perhaps God wanted to
know if he still had faith in
him.
At a time like this, we need
to support the word of God in
whatever way that the Spirit
leads us.
It is also important that
while we pray, our inner eyes
visualize the positive. I pray
that the Holy Spirit of God
will open our eyes to see the
goodness of the Lord for us in
Jesus name.
We should always allow the
words of the Lord in Psalm 138
vs. 8 flows in our minds when
we pray. It states, “ The Lord
will perfect that which concerneth
me: thy mercy, O Lord
endureth for ever: forsake not
the works of thine own hand”.
Brothers and Sisters, we are
the work of God’s hands,
therefore, HE will not like to
see us suffer losses.
Our gains are to the glory of
God therefore, we should focus
on gains and shift our focus
from losses.
Have a blessed week in Jesus
name.
reward is also captured here
and the fate of staff members
is announced regarding promotion,
salary increment or
withdrawal of services. You
must be diplomatic, intentional
and unbiased here.
Create a Festive Atmosphere
The season is already here,
you will be receiving cards
and gifts too. I would say create
that environment where
possible and affordable. If you
can this is the time to appreciate
customers and clients by
giving festive season cards,
gift giving and more. Add a
touch of décor to your surroundings
to lighten up the
mood, boost moral and motivate
people to perform.
Celebrate and have fun
Finally this is the time
against all odds to celebrate
the good, re-strategize the not
so good, and innovate for the
better. Let your hair down,
unwind from all the stress, socialize
when you go out, network
as best you can and endeavor
to entertain where you
can too.
Have a fabulous Christmas
festive celebration season!
Please share your experience.
Join the community on
facebook, Instagram, Twitter
and LinkedIn @JanetAdetu /
Janet.adetu@jasketiquette
consortium.com
I'll continue to remain in PDP — Othihiwa
By Ochuko Akuopha
RUNNERS up in the
House of Representatives
primary of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in the
Isoko Federal constituency,
Sir Ayodele Othihiwa has
vowed to remain and work towards
the success of the party
in the 2019 general elections.
This came as he inaugurated
his Elo-Isoko Campaign
Organization which he said
would "Lead a massive campaign
to rally Isoko electorates
to vote for all PDP candidates
from the national to the
state levels."
Othihiwa, who lost to the
Minority Leader of the House
of Representative, Mr. Leo
Ogor, said his decision to give
his total support and commitment
to the party was in the
interest of sustainable growth
and development of the state
and the country at large.
Speaking when he paid a
thank you visit to the Chairman
of the PDP Elder Council
in Isoko South Local Government
Area, Chief Dennis
Etaluku at his Igbide residence,
Othihiwa said: “When
I came, I said 2019 Othihiwa
for House of Representatives
but after the primaries, we lost
and there is the saying that
success is not defined by absolute
defeat but it is defined
by the courage to partake in
an event.
"It is measured by the obstacles,
challenges that you face
in the course of that race and
when you evaluate the courage,
the odds that we faced in
the primary election, I dare to
say to you the we are the victors. We
won the election even though we are
not taking the seat."
Othihiwa said, “Despite the outcome
of the primaries, I remain committed
to the party and will campaign
vigorously to deliver, Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar as president, Dr.
Ifeanyi Okowa as Governor, James
Manager as Senator and Rt. Hon
Leo Ogor, Chief Fegerson Onwo for
House of Representatives and House
of Assembly respectively."
In his remarks, Chief Etaluku said,
“Despite not winning the primaries,
you came back to say thank you to
the people of Igbide and Isoko nation.
I was not expecting this at all.
“Politics is always an ongoing
project and I must commend the efforts
of Othihiwa. His coming back
to show appreciation despite indicates
that he is a grass root person
who knows his foundation."
Fortune Club In
ternational, a
group that is into
scholarship support
scheme for university students
in Nigeria is putting
measures in place to sustain
its scholarship
project, in order to support
the growth of education
sector in the country.
The President of the
Club, Mr. Eyo Inuekin
gave this assurance at
the15th Fortune Day/induction
ceremony, organised
by the group at
Spring Event Centre, Surulere,
Lagos, where three
new members were inducted
into the Club.
According to him,
“The15th Fortune Day
celebration was unique
with the induction of three
new members, who are
ready to toe the line of
Fortune International to sustain
scholarship project in Nigeria
philanthropy in helping
the less privileged and indigent
students in the society
to get good education.
We will sustain the scholarship
project because
quality education is important
for us to grow our economy
and enhance human
capital development like
what obtains in advanced
countries”.
He went on: “This programme
is historic, as it
marks the 15th Fortune
Day event. We celebrate
‘Fortune Day’ every November
of the year. Today’s
programme is unique because
three new members
are joining our Club to
support the education sector
in Nigeria”.
In his remarks during the
induction exercise, the Chairman,
Scholarship Committee
of Fortune Club, also the Secretary,
Mr. Godwin Akadu
said, “What stands Fortune
Club out is the fact that members
are concerned about improving
the standard of education
in our country and
helping the poor to improve
their living condition”.
Akadu added, “We will continue
to do our best on the aspect
of Corporate Social Responsibility,
CSR, in giving
something back to the society,
especially in education sector”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD
ARD, , DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 37
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (2nd right)
his wife, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki (right) Deputy Governor,
Rt. Hon Philip Shaibu
BUSINESS OF GOVERNANCE
Obaseki’s new approach,
two years on
By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY – EDO State governor, Mr
Godwin Obaseki, recently clocked two
years as governor of the state, attracting
mixed feelings from the political class and
members of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) where some feel he is not doing
enough to oil the political machinery he
inherited from his predecessor; but to the
business class, some think he is giving them
the right environment for investment while
some non-partisan residents of the state have
their mixed opinions of what his
administration stands for.
But what is not in doubt about his
administration is his adoption of a style
different from what the people are used to.
His style of administration, though not
without criticism, has been that government
provide policies, programs and a conducive
environment to enable the citizens explore
the goodies and opportunities provided
by such platforms. This style has achieved
some great successes in the area of small
businesses registration and set up.
This formed one of the highlights of his two
years in office as he gave out cash rewards
running into millions for young
entrepreneurs. The water
fountain, at the city centre, which also
houses the Benin Museum before
2008, was a haven for criminals and
their activities - infact it was said to
be a warehouse where criminals
stored their arms for activities in the
night.
But the place has been
transformed and hosted a musical
concert to mark the second year
anniversary of Obaseki, where
popular artists like Waje, Mayourkun
and others were brought to inspire
the young ones.
But the activities of the night at the
Museum ground overshadowed
whatever decadence is creeping into
the place where Obaseki told the
excited youths that his administration
has plans for a 30-hectare Television
Village to be situated in Okhoro axis
of Benin City, which he said would
attract big-ticket investments from
Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming
movie industry.
The governor also said that the sum
of N250 million would be allocated
to boost the creative industry in the
state’s 2019 budget, noting that his
administration is committed to
creating room for youths to find
expression in productive ventures in
the state.
The governor, who was elated by
the performance of local and
international artistes at the concert,
donated N10 million to a physically
challenged artiste named ‘Kasali’ to enable
him establish his record label.
“My administration will support talents. We
want the world to know that there is ability in
disability. The N10 million is to enable him
establish his label and promote his music,”
the governor said.
The second year anniversary experienced
successes in several ways especially with
surprise presence of Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole during the governor’s
thanksgiving service which quelled
insinuations that the relationship between
father and son was going awry.
Obaseki spoke glowingly of Oshiomhole just
as Oshiomhole told journalists that he is not
regretting picking him as his successor and
assured Edo people that the second half of his
first tenure would be more prosperous.
Obaseki, while making remarks in the
church service held at the headquarters of
Church of God Mission in Benin City, declared
that some chieftains of the All Progressives
Congress were against his predecessor as
National Chairman of the APC because of
the changes being introduced to the party and
that Oshiomhole was trying to instill a regime
of change where nobody is above the law.
He said many Nigerians under the
Buhari led administration are now
afraid to commit crimes because they
know there would be repercussion and
that Nigerians would soon begin to feel
the impact of what he termed
fundamental changes President Buhari
is making.
He said his administration would
continue to invest massively in
infrastructure and human capital
development like the recent training of
about 7,000 primary school teachers
on modern ways and techniques if
teaching which s already yielding
results for the people of the state.
Governor Obaseki said he would
also support people to grow their
businesses or ideas instead of dashing
money out. He said, “One key element
is that whatever we do must affect the
people. We are stretching our limited
resources to work for the people. We
will spend money to work for the people.
“Some of the fundamental changes
started by Buhari/ Osibanjo will
manifest shortly. For the first time
people are now afraid to do wrong.
What Oshiomhole is doing is to institute
a regime of change where nobody is
above the law.”
Speaking, Bishop Margaret Benson-
Idahosa described Obaseki as ‘talk na
do’ governor.
She said, “looking at what is going
on in the state where allocation is little,
Obaseki is making a big difference.”
Edo State Chairman of the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) Bishop
Oyonude Kure, urged Obaseki to tackle
insecurity and fix roads in the state.
He recommended that private school
teachers should be trained in the Edo BEST
Programme so that pupils in private schools
would now be at par with those in public
schools.
Oshiomhole on his part lauded his successor
describing him as a right choice to continue
from where he stopped.
He told journalists: “I am very excited, I
did say to Edo people that I know the man
Godiwn Obaseki and I believe that entrusting
him with the leadership of this state would be
putting the state in good hands, in safe hands,
in progressive hand and in a hand that has
clarity of purpose and above all the one that
has the passion and total commitment for the
sustainable development of our great state.
Overall, I think the average Edo person will
say he said so, we have seen it and I am sure by
the special grace of God what we have seen in
half time will be seen even more in the second
half.”
The government also organized a women
summit championed by the wife of the
governor, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, to appreciate
their support and chart a new course to better
the lives of women in the state.
The activities to mark the second year in
office climaxed with the 2nd Alaghodaro
Summit organized to galvanise support for
the programmes and policies of the Obaseki
government.
At the well attended event which attracted
dignitaries from all works of life, Obaseki
said his administration has been saving one
percent of its monthly allocation strictly for
the health sector and that the 18 local
government areas are also doing the same
to strengthen primary healthcare delivery
in the state.
The event was graced by politicians,
captains of industry, clerics and others
including the representative of Governor
Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state, John
Edebiyi, Speaker Edo State House of
Assembly, Hon Kabiru Adjoto, Minister of
Health, Professor Isaac Adewole who was a
keynote speaker, Minister of Education,
Mallam Adamu Adamu also a keynote
speaker who was represented by the Executive
Secretary, Universal Basic Education,
Professor Hammed Boboye, Chairman
Sterling Bank, Mr Asue Ighodalo, the Chief
Executive Officer of the bank, Abubakar
Suleiman, Deputy Governor of the state
Comrade Philip Shaibu, Secretary to State
Government, Osarodion Ogie, Chief of Staff,
Taiwo Akerele members of the State Working
Committee (SWC) of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) led by its chairman, Anselm
Ojezua and others.
The governor said health centres were being
built or rehabilitated across the 18 local
government areas to take care of the health
needs of the people.
He said “To sustain this reform and in
addition to the various federal government
support and funding which we continue to
receive and we are very grateful for, we now
save one per cent of our federal government
allocation every month and invest in our
healthcare system.
“Our philosophy and view is that the first
point of contact with the healthcare scheme
cannot be the specialist hospital, cannot be
the General Hospital; the first point of contact
has to be the health centres so we are building
up.”
On the newly built part of Central Hospital
by his predecessor, Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole, he said “We have done all the
inventory, we are purchasing the equipments
that are not there yet and we are having a
process now with some private sector partners
on how to open that hospital and manage it
on a sustainable basis so that it can endure
and don’t go through what we went through
in the past. Last week, I had a session with all
the doctors in the Edo State healthcare system
and we have now included them in our
planning and execution.”
He said the state government is reorganizing
the state’s school of nursing to get fresh
accreditation to produce needed manpower
for the health sector.
On housing, he said in the last 16 years,
only 200 units of houses have been embarked
upon by the state government to ease housing
challenges of the state but that under his
administration, he has embarked on
massive housing programme in
collaboration with the private sector and
that the first 100 units of houses out of
the 800 would be delivered to their
owners before the end of the year.
On public water, he said his
administration has embarked on what he
called Small Town Water Agency with
support from UNICEF to meet the water
deficiency in five local government areas
worst hit while the Public Water Board
continue to work to give water to the
people.
In the area of sports, Obaseki said he had a
revamping plan under his deputy, Comrade
Philip Shaibu, whose efforts he said was
responsible for Bendel Insurance football
club being at the verge of gaining promotion
to Nigeria’s premier league.
On infrastructure, Obaseki said that 100
roads in different parts of the state have
been earmarked for construction as the dry
season sets in.
The governor acknowledged the
achievements of his predecessor, which he
said his government was building on.
He explained that “two years on, Edo
people are celebrating the progress we have
made in all sectors of the state.”
He thanked Edo people and residents for
their support and encouragement, adding
that the input from the people helped the
administration to perform better.
“God has endowed the state and placed
her in a unique location. We all should be
patient and trust God to help us make more
progress,” he said.
Secretary to State Government,
Osarodion Ogie said: “This celebration is
to tell our people how far we have gone in
fulfilling our promises. For us, we are
progressing as all we promised in four years
will be done in less than four years, looking
at our progress so far in the first two years”.
Ogie noted that God has been faithful to
the Obaseki-led administration in fulfilling
the electioneering promises made to Edo
people in the area of job creation,
infrastructure development, sports
development, education and health care.

PAGE 38 — SUNDAY VANGUARD
ARD, , DECEMBER 2, 2018
How to develop Nigeria using domestic
resources — IMF, others
By Michael Eboh
Nigeria is blessed with abun
dant human and mineral
resources, but the country’s
major challenge has been its inability
to utilize these resources to improve
its economy and positively
impact the lives of its citizens.
Successive governments had not
been able to fully harness the immense
opportunities inherent in the
country for economic growth and
prosperity, as major sectors of the
economy only been able to make
little to insignificant contributions
to the country’s Gross Domestic
Product, GDP.
One key area of note is the aspect
of domestic revenue mobilization
and the immense potential it portends
to grow the Nigerian economy
in a sustainable way.
This was the major talking points
of panel of experts at a panel organized
by the Nigerian Economic
Summit, NES. The experts were discussing
on the theme, ‘Leveraging
Domestic Resource Mobilization for
Sustainable Development.
One of the panelists, Mr. Amine
Mati, who is Mission Chief and Senior
Resident Representative of the
International Monetary Fund, IMF,
in Nigeria, bemoaned the fact that
Nigeria’s non-oil revenue, which is
currently at four to five per cent of
GDP, was very low, while 97 per cent
of Value Added Tax (VAT),accounts
for only three per cent of the country’s
revenue.
According to him, in terms of proper
tax collection, excise in Nigeria
is only 2.3 per cent of total revenue,
while he noted that the active taxpaying
population in Nigeria is six
per cent, looking at it from all perspectives,
including Company Income
Tax and VAT.
“There is a lot of leakage in the
tax system and by widening the base,
revenue is bound to increase.There
Mr. Amine Mati, Mission Chief/Senior Resident Representative, International
Monetary Fund; Prof. Teju Somorin, Immediate Past President,
Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria; Dr. Doyin Salami, Co-Chair/
Resident Commissioner, Fiscal Policy Roundtable; Rep of His Excellency
Nasir El Rufai, Executive Governor of Kaduna state, Dr. Salamatu Isah
-Special Advisor to the Governor on Economic and Investment Matters;
Dr. Sarah Alade, Chairman, NESG Fiscal Policy Roundtable; Dr. Neil
McCulloch, Principal, The policy Practice and Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi,
CEO, Proshare at the Panel discussion on Leveraging Domestic Resource
Mobilization for Sustainable Development by the FIScal Policy Commision
of the NESG.
used to be an excise on fuel products
in 2009, which used to bring in
quite a lot and had been discontinued
since 2009,” he explained.
Another panelist, Mrs. Teju Somorin,
immediate past president of
the Chartered Institute of Taxation
of Nigeria, CITN, blamed the low
revenue mobilization of the country
on perception with regards to
exchange fairness, lack of tax education
and low awareness, multiple
taxation, absence of financial and
administrative autonomy for tax
authorities and low understanding
among tax officials.
She said, “Our research findings
revealed that people do not like paying
tax because of the issue of ‘exchange
fairness’, whereby people
claim there is no correlation between
the amounts of taxes they pay
and the work done by government.
“Another challenge hindering
people from paying tax is the issue
of multiple taxations. There are so
many taxes being collected by the
same level of government. The burden
of tax on a typical company is
on the high side. There are so many
taxes in the country that are not supportive
to the growth of companies
in Nigeria.
“Other findings are lack of tax
education by taxpayers, lack of
awareness, also lack of knowledge
of tax laws by most of the tax officers.
“Another is the issue of financial
autonomy and administrative autonomy.
If there is no funding, no
tax authority would be able to perform
its function; therefore, it would
affect economic growth. As a result,
Nigeria loses big to insecurity, lack of information
• Diaspora makes case for improved remittance
By Elizabeth Uwandu
t is no longer news that Nige
Iria’s diaspora, estimated at
about 15 million worldwide, plays
crucial role in driving growth and
progress in the country. However,
despite this figure only few make
remittances and or have investments
in the country.
Worried by this trend, the UK Department
for International Development’s
Policy Development Facility
Phase II, PDF ll commissioned
Dalberg Advisors to develop a report
in 2017 themed, "Nigeria Diaspora
Studies: Opportunities for
increasing the development impact
of Nigeria's diaspora on behalf of
the Office of the Vice President, OVP,
Nigerian Investment Promotion
Commission, NIPC, and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, MFA.”
It was, therefore, a gathering of
Nigerians in diaspora and some key
stakeholders of various industries;
a panel discussion on "Optimising
Nigeria Diaspora remittances for
development”, that had panelists
such as Mr Bayo Adeyemi, Marketing
Head City Bank. Representing
Chairman of City Bank; Mr Onyekachi
Wambo -Executive Director,
ED Afford UK. African Foundation
for development; Obinali Egele
- Founder, Diasfunds; Mr Oladipo
Joseph - Economic Advisory Council
Member from the Vice Presidents
office ; Mr Adrian’s Emmanuel -
Director NIPC and Mrs. O M Abdulrazaq
- Representing the minister
of foreign affairs, recently in Lagos
to discuss the summary of the
above topic and also proffer solutions
that will increase investments
opportunities of Nigerians abroad.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, represented
by Mrs Folake Abdulrasaq
thanked UK aid PDF 11 and Dalberg
for hosting the dialogue.
The Minister who observed that
the economic impact of diaspora
investments and entrepreneurship in
the country were enormous pledged
to set mechanisms that would enable
diaspora remittances seemless
and attractive.
Onyeama said, "it is pertinent to
note that diaspora investments and
entrepreneurship are often hailed as
drivers of economic development
and positive change in the world
and Nigeria is no exception. There
is evidence to support that 70% FDI
of China is from Chinese diaspora.
The Indian diaspora in America
have also played a role in building
India IT industry.
"It is worthy of note that most countries
of the world desire to engage
small or large about one percent of
the total budget they spend on their
citizens abroad. This commendable
investment is crucial to Nigeria government
in maintaining relationship
with diaspora, in view of promoting
a better partnership for the
overall benefit of the country.
"To us in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, we are looking into the situation
contextually with a view to
developing techniques and models
that will enhance the positive impact
of remittances to the development
of Nigeria."
However parts of the report done
by UK Department of International
Development and Dalberg highlighted
interests of Nigeria diaspora
investments in the country; the
challenges and ways forward that
Nigeria economy will grow through
inputs from those abroad.
Interests of Nigeria diaspora
According to the summary of
study by Dalberg, the key points were
that while only 31% of respondents
currently invest in Nigeria, a vast
majority of those who do not (86%)
are interested in investing in the future.
First-generation, UK-based,
and male respondents were more
likely to invest in Nigeria than their
counterparts in other countries; they
are also more interested in investing
in potentially riskier geographic
areas, such as the North East and
Knowledge and awareness of
investment opportunities in
Nigeria tend to be inhibited by
limited availability of reliable
information sources
North West.
Real estate continues to be the most
popular category for current and
future investment with UK-based
respondents showing a particular
interest in investing in securities
compared to their US counterparts.
Respondents indicate a 13 per cent
increase in their future interest in
investing in franchises compared to
current behaviours. However, overall
interest in micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises (MSMEs);
social enterprises; and export-oriented
businesses remained higher.
Strong future interest in geographies
beyond Lagos may support
broader development efforts focused
on Nigeria’s least developed
regions. However, the conditions for
investment will likely include further
macroeconomic recovery, addressing
the security situation, and
infrastructure development.
Challenges of Nigeria diaspora
- Key takeaways:
Overall, the most frequently cited
barrier to investing in Nigeria is lack
of sufficient available capital. This
presents some interesting opportunities
for crowdfunding or targeted,
high-volume investment vehicles
such as savings bonds issued by the
Federal Government.
US-based respondents were less
likely to invest than their UK-based
counterparts and appear to have
less awareness of investment opportunities
in Nigeria.
all tax authorities in Nigeria are
supposed to have both administrative
autonomy and financial autonomy.
But what we found out is that
not all the tax authorities enjoy
both.”
Doyin Salami, Co-Chair of the
Nigerian Economic Summit Group,
NESG, Fiscal Policy Roundtable,
disclosed that if Nigeria is going to
grow, its fiscal space has to be expanded.
“We are collecting 7.5 per cent of
our total GDP in revenues. That,
given the African average of 22.5
per cent, already tells you that we
are potentially collecting about onethird
of what we could collect if we
matched the African average”.
“Imagine we have more revenue,
then, the opportunities for development,
through effective and efficient
government spending on areas of
national priority would boost the
economy significantly.That is why
we are saying we need to expand
that fiscal space,” he noted.
To reverse this trend, Salami insisted
that Nigeria must go back to
a meaningful, established and reliable
budget cycle.
He also noted that the country
needs a fiscal governance philosophy
that would help grow the economy
in a sustainable manner, ensure
effective and efficient collection
of resources and utilization of the
resources in a judicious manner.
He added that Nigeria needed to
move away from emphasis on macro
data in our budget preparation
process and focus more on data from
the micro level.
“Whilst there might be macro
data, there is certainly no micro
data. Our work suggests that the tax
collectors really do not know who
their customers are. We do not have
data about households, data about
corporate, data about sectors; all of
these is missing and make it very
difficult to get budget or fiscal governance
in any meaningful shape,”
he argued.
He maintained that the country
needed to begin to look at the concessions
it was making in terms of
taxes that is costing it money, while
he added that efforts should also be
geared towards considering the various
kinds of opportunities and reforms
that would boost tax collection.
On his part, the IMF country chief,
Amine Mati, recommended the introduction
of specific excise — such
as excise in fuel products, excise on
luxury goods, including on airtime
fees, adding that this would increase
its contribution to the GDP.
In the area of VAT, he said, “You
can act on two ways in terms of VAT
— one on compliance, one on the
rate. One of the important things is
to broaden the base. People ask why
is compliance on VAT low?
“Compliance in Nigeria is low;
about 20 to 25 per cent. If you were
to double compliance to 50 – 60 per
cent, you would double VAT collection.
Again, each percentage point
increase in VAT rate would get you
0.4 per cent of GDP, bu. t that doubles
once you get the compliance
up.
“There is a lot of leakage in the
tax system, that by widening the
base you can increase the revenue.
To increase revenue, tax policy is
necessary, but revenue administration,
in both tax and custom administration
measures are essential,
they need to accompany that.”
Mati also called for an improvement
on the Nigeria’s taxpayers’ registration
database and emphasized
the need to strengthen the compliance
risk management base to help
to increase the base.
In her recommendations, the
former CITN president, Somorin
said, “All tax authorities should be
made to be both financial and administrative
autonomous. In the
area of exchange fairness, we recommended
that government should
make sure that taxpayers’ money is
put to work.
“Again, people should be transparent
and accountable in what they
do. With respect to tax laws, we recommend
that the Office of Tax Simplification,
OTS, should be established
in the Ministry of Finance,
whereby tax laws would be simplified.
This is quite crucial especially
as tax is legally backed.
“Furthermore, government should
establish another study group to
undertake a wholistic review of all
the tax reforms in the country.”
Anecdotally, this may not be surprising,
but it is interesting given that
overall, the US remits more than
the UK. Difficulty in identifying
trustworthy investment opportunities
was a major concern both
among individuals who do not currently
invest and individuals who do.
The study found that three overarching
needs or conditions determined
an individual’s investing or
remitting behaviour, and these are
knowledge and awareness; ability,
and willingness. In each case, several
barriers can prevent these needs
or conditions from being met and
make it less likely that the individual
will invest or remit. For instance,
knowledge and awareness of investment
opportunities in Nigeria tend
to be inhibited by limited availability
of reliable information sources
and because members of the diaspora
have poor access to available resources.
US-based respondents appear to
lag behind their UK counterparts in
their awareness of investment opportunities
in Nigeria—which suggests
a lack of exposure to appropriate
information in the US Individual
ability to invest,
Another constraint is that availability
of capital, time, and other
resources. The sample showed that
lack of sufficient capital to invest
was the most frequently cited barrier
to investing in Nigeria. Again,
perceptions of mistrust and uncertainty
also limit individuals’ willingness
to engage members of the diaspora
who currently invest and
those who do not both cited difficulty
in identifying trustworthy investment
opportunities as a major concern.
Summary of identified solutions
and key recommendations
Dalberg identified two primary
levers for encouraging diaspora
engagement in Nigeria to improve
the overall enabling environment
for investment. Private sector and
third-party arbiters may be better
placed to execute on investment and
deal promotion with the diaspora,
due to prevailing attitudes of mistrust
with respect to the government.
The Federal Government should
encourage the private sector to develop
and promote opportunities
that are grounded in an understanding
of the diaspora’s interests and
motivations. Investment promotion
strategies can be tailored based on
identifiable groups within the diaspora
and their specific ambitions
and goals. It can play an important
role in driving efforts related to improving
the overall enabling environment,
which requires a coordinated,
systems-level approach. The
government, in collaboration with
other partners, can address barriers
to engagement at the ecosystem level
to make it easier and more compelling
for the diaspora to engage
in Nigeria.
Recommended solutions included:
• Establishing a certification programme
for investment opportunities
and businesses in Nigeria that
incorporates quality-assured reporting
requirements.
Aggregating deal flow and pipeline
opportunities in easy-to-access
and well-known platforms among
the diaspora.
Promoting crowdfunding platforms
that enable individual investors
to participate in deals with
smaller capital requirements and
reduce the risk of investing.
Streamlining the investment process
and strengthening an integrated,
online platform to enable remote
project / investment management.
Developing “how-to” guides for
foreign investors and professional
directories of local experts and investors
in the diaspora.
Developing open-source, peer review
channels that allow local partners
and service providers in Nigeria
to be publicly rated.
Developing reporting platforms to
crack down on corruption, improve
transparency, and demonstrate
commitment to fighting corruption
at all levels of government.
Effective outreach and engagement
with the diaspora remains a
key challenge. As demonstrated by
this study and previous research attempts,
reaching the diaspora is difficult
due to fragmentation within
the diaspora community and lack
of centralised outreach channels.

sam.eyoboka@gmail.com
08023145567 (sms only)
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018 PAGE 39
Testimony of my life, By Prophet Ini Okpon
FOUNDER and General Overseer of Mustard Seed Assemblies International, Dr. Ini Okpon operates an itinerant prophetic outreach
ministry all over the world. He conducts quarterly revival programmes in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State where he brings together all the
churches under his oversight. His vision for the San Jose, California, US church is to have an ultra modern church that benefits America.
His vision is to have a growing church that will expand greatly in size, with more pastors under his wings, a school, daycare and rehabilitation
center all attached to the church. Prophet Okpon was the opening act at the just concluded Word of Life Bible Church’s annual Jubilee Word
Festival 2018 with a theme, “Advancement and Enlargement” where he narrated a teenager’s prophecy about his US’ trip in this interview
with our Sam Eyoboka.
The prophecy by a 13-year old girl
It started before 2005, I was given a
word of prophecy by a now woman of God.
Then she was just a teenager at a little
occasion. She turned around and
prophesied to me that God is going to take
me to America. I didn’t take it to heart, but
it came to pass that I played America lottery
randomly and I won. But the process was
something that really took me back. I got
to the American Embassy for the first time
and I saw many people that were called to
the booth to talk to the consulate officer
turned away. I remember a lawyer who won
the America lottery turned back. I was a
mere pastor by that time. My wife was
standing praying in tongues and the
consulate officer called my wife and asked
what was going on, my wife said she’s
praying. The consulate officer said there’s
no prayer here and asked her to go and sit
down. So my wife sat down and was tapping
her feet while still prayingnwithout the
consulate officer knowing that she was still
praying. He called me forth and said we
have seen your WAEC result.
Congratulations, we are going to test you
on that. I started shaking because the
testimony of my WAEC result was a miracle
after I had failed several attempts. I took
that exam in Lagos and I had no hope of
passing because at the time, my sister in
Lagos had lost her marriage. My older
brother had lost his job and his house. I was
kicked away from where my brother was
living and I had to go and squat with one
Muslim gateman at a certain compound
to enable me stay for extra two weeks to
write the exam.
In the process of me trying to take the exam,
there were several times I had to trek for
miles with no food in my stomach, and there
were times when I got to there and the exam
was over. I remember one time when I was
supposed to write mathematics, I got to the
venue few minutes before the end of the
paper.
That is the testimony of my life. I sat down
and just wrote my name, I was on fasting at
that time, waiting on God se-riously. I just
wrote one or two answers, I wasn’t good
with mathematics, so I knew I wasn’t going
to make that result but when the result was
mailed to my father, I discovered I had nine
A’s includ-ing Chemistry, Physics and
Further Math-ematics which I never took.
So, I claimed the result because it has my
name and exam number on it.
So when the consulate officer saw it he said
he was going to test me on Math-ematics
and I told him no problem. He gave me an
equation to solve to prove that I owned the
result. I just looked at the paper and moved
the X one way and the Y another way and
just made it two-two and I pushed it back to
him. I didn’t waste time. The man looked at
my face and said you know that’s not
correct. I said yes I know. He gave me
another difficult equation which I didn’t
know. I thought he was going to test me on
reading Bible or something because I wore
a collar like a pastor but it turned out to be
that the second question was more difficult
than the first one and I just went around
and did what I did and pushed it back to the
man. Again, he said you know you didn’t
get the answer. I said I know.
He just looked at me, swung his head, took
his stamp and stamped my pass-port and
said come back and get your visa, you are
welcome to America. I told my wife I passed
and got the visa, my wife did not believe it
but on the fourth day, I got the visa for myself,
my wife and our two daughters. That was
2005. I walked out of the embassy with my
briefcase containing N250,000 and the
visa. I entered a bus and left the brief-case
at the bus stop. When I got to the hotel and
a friend asked to see what the visa looked
like, I told him it’s in the briefcase only to
turn round and there’s no briefcase.
I trekked, ran like a madman and by the
time I got to VI it was almost 8.00 p.m.
crying because everybody was gone and the
road was empty. While I was crying, there
was this traffic warden that walked up to
me and asked what I was looking for? I told
him my briefcase. He said he's been waiting
for me, adding that when he was controlling
the traffic, he saw me enter the bus but I left
the briefcase and people were gazing at the
briefcase and wanted to steal it but his
conscience told him to go get it. When the
day was over that evening, he went and sat
by the street waiting for me and brought
out the briefcase from a nearby bush flower.
I told the man if I could give him part of the
money, he said he doesn’t want the money. I
didn’t know what to do with him. I asked
him if I could have his number that when I
get to America, I will remember him. I got
his number. Do you know that I’ve only
spoken to that man one time since I left. I
went to his office address but was told he
was long transferred out of that place. Some
people said he never worked there. I have
no trace of him.
I went home with the briefcase, pre-paring
for our trip to America when a few days
later, fire entered my house and burned
everything except the briefcase confirming
that when God speaks, He is able to prove
His word. That is my testimony and I have
lived in America for 12 years now.
Do you remember the young lady
that prophesied?
I still remember her. As a matter of fact we
reconnected last year and as I’m going back
to Uyo now I have a present for her. She’s a
big lady now, married and her name is Itoro
with a ministry of her own.
You have been coming to Jubilee.
What has been your experience?
It’s phenomenal because I notice that I’ve
been the one opening Jubilee and opening
major conferences in Word of Life Bible
Church. I ask myself why. I even asked my
spiritual father, Papa Ayo and he said he
doesn’t know, but what he said the beginning
of a conference matt-ers. He said if we fail
the first day, it will be hard to recover. He
said God told him that I should be the one
to open it. For me, it’s an experience that
this meeting takes me months of preparation
and I thank God that it’s been a huge
testimony. You can see the crowd, the
testimonies and all of that miracles. Today,
we had over 3,000 people watch-ing on the
Internet from all over the world.
The opening ceremony happened to
coincide with Papa's birthday which
featured several persons paying
tributes to him. What's your opinion
of him?
Papa Ayo is a different specie of human
being. I happen to be very close to him and
whenever we are together in Ameri-ca or
anywhere else, I see simplicity in him. I see
humility mixed with greatness. He has
touched many lives. If everyone Papa Ayo’s
ministry has touched were to be in this
building, will not contain them. I know
The crisis is
waking up the
Church because it
was the Church
who voted the
unrighteous into
power
*Prophet Ini Okpon
where we have travelled to. I’ve hosted him
in Jamaica and men of God who met Papa
Ayo 40 years ago... a man came and said 'I
met you 40 years ago and you anointed me
and today I have churches all over
Jamaica.' He has touched many lives. What
moves me is that he is still relevant till today.
Not every man that carries the oil becomes
relevant after a while. Even among the
white pastors, you see degradation. People
go from up to down, but Baba is still
relevant...his voice, his energy, his grace. If
you leave him there, the service is not going
to close today. He’s a man with a heart of
gold.
How will you rate the Church way
back in America and here in
Nigeria?
It’s a different game. In America, a 250-
member church is considered to be a mega
church because America, though loves God
but they’ve seen a huge reduction in the
number of people. America believes in God
but they hardly go to church. So American
Church is now receiving African preachers.
They brought the gospel to us but now when
we preach to them they sit back and receive
it with joy because the anointing in Africa
is raw.
A keyboardist in Africa could be a mega
pastor in America. The passion is much. I
will say because part of it is technology.
Unemployment level here is high and so
there’s a difference of culture and a
difference with passion. We represent the
breed, the remnant of the Pentecost, the
power of God is still real. I still see miracles
of God in America, where crip-ples walk
and the blind see. We’ve had Obama write
us a letter. I was invited to the White House
for a meeting, Obama’s inauguration
meeting. Even the last election in America,
there were people who came to meet us
because they know we are a voice in the
community. When you keep your fire, it will
burn. The Church is different.
The Nigerian Church is currently is
going through a series of challenges.
Do you believe there’s an Islamic
agenda?
There’s always been one. The Church in
Nigeria is going through a shaking.
Remember the man on top determines how
the flow of the tempo of the country. If you
look at America, we have a very radical
president right now and we feel it. I don’t
like talking politics but when Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan was in power...let me just say when
the righteous rule, the people rejoice but
when the unbeliever rules, it will always be
there. The crisis is waking up the Church
because it was the Church who voted the
unrighteous into power.
Now God allowed us to be punished
whether we like it or not. Who are the people
being slaughtered? It’s the Church. The
Church should have noticed that they have
power to retain their own. So, we forgot to
retain the one that belongs to us, now the
unrighteous is ruling. But I know it’s
seasonal and it’s coming to go. Very soon
the Church in Nigeria will enjoy the liberty
again. God is allowing us to realize what
we got... how we lost it and how we can go
back to get it. I believe the next election
will favour the Church.
But let’s be careful on who we allow to rule
us because it sends a message to the Body, it
affects the economy, the body of Christ,
marriages, employment, investment.
Do you know how many people have walked
away with their businesses from Nigeria?
All of that is a sign for the Church to wake
up and I believe the Church is going to get
back its act tog-ether. I happen to have
spoken to my spiritual father, a couple of
times and I shared with him my sentiments.
I felt he was mistreated by the Church and
when God gives us a leader like him who’s
passionate about the sheep, the Church rose
up.
But what I saw on the Internet was a sign
that the Church was fighting its true
leadership and you can’t bite the hand that
feeds you. Now there’s division, now there’s
disunity. What is it teaching us? It’s making
the Church know now. I want to thank God
that other pastors are stepping up now
because they were not talking before. They
wanted one man to be nailed on the cross.
I’m not again-st leadership but I did not see
the unity when our own was leading and
now they are voicing out. I believe that the
shaking will soon end.
100 year
ears s after
er, , Anglican
Church to establish
Centenar
enary y City, , var
arsity
By Olayinka Ajayi
he Anglican Bishop of the Lagos
T Diocese, Dr. Humphrey Olumakaiye,
has asked Nigerian leaders to serve the
nation with a Christlike heart.
Speaking during his visit across 96
parishes of Anglican churches in Lagos,
Olumakaiye said: “ Politicians should toss
away every habit of greediness and move
closer to God. If politicians are Christlike,
Nigeria will be great again because God
is interested in the greatness of Nigeria.”
The bishop disclosed plans by the Church
to establish a centenary city as the
Anglican Lagos Diocese celebrates her
100 years.” By the special grace of God,
next year, the Lagos Diocese will be 100
years old and we will be celebrating the
centenary celebration in a very big way
and part of the centenary celebration is
that we will establishing a centenary city
in Lagos. Within the city, we will have
rehabilitation centre, entrepreneurship
centre , convention centre, international
health centre, amusement park and our
long term project of our own university.
The celebration will commence from
January to December 2019,” Makaiye
said.
Bishop Olumakaiye
KOGEM holds 16th
anniversary
THE Knowledge of God Evangelical
MInistries (KOGEM) Ibadan, Nigeria
holds 16th anniversary with a
theme: ''My Year of Success'' (Odun
Aseyori mi) (Eccl.5:19) today at the
church worship center, Old-Ife Road,
Ibadan by 1.00 p.m.
According to the KOGEM president,
Evang. Peter Ola Aremu, the guest
preacher is Prophet Nath Oroyimika, with
support by the church anniversary
committee members, Mr. I A. Ogunwale,
Bro. Wale Ogunwale, Hon. Gbemileke
Olayinka, Deaconess Sola Babalola,
Evang. Awoyale Olufemi among others
with KOGEM Choir delivering gospel
musical tunes.

PAGE 40— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Christ's Unlimited Power
for your Salvation (3)
By Pastor William F. Kumuyi
THEY attend church
services on Sunday,
but during the rest
of the week they patronize
a witch doctor in a secluded
spot seeking for
protection.
This is the reason the scripture
says in Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned, and •Kumuyi
come short of the glory of
God;" but the good news is that there is redemption for all
sinners. This goes to show that God forgives sins, and He
will forgive your sins. He will separate you from that sin
that easily besets you and give you sal-vation. He will separate
you from that sin and separate sin away from you. In
other words, as the east is far from the west, so will He
take away sin from you. There-by, breaking the power of
sin from your life so that it will no longer have authority
and or dominion over your life. You will become free from
the problem of sin. God will do it for you today. Are you
there? I said, to-day. He will set you free from sin!
Romans 5:9 "Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." When
we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal Saviour, it
will enable us to avoid the divine wrath of God that will
come upon all sinners who disobey the commandments of
God. This is due to the fact that God sees sinners, who fail
to repent from their sins, as enemies of His Kingship who
deserves the fate of death for aligning with instruments of
wickedness in maligning His Lordship and by rejecting
His offer of Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary, as treasonable
felony. But as many that will receive Jesus Christ into
their lives shall be saved from sin and from the judg-ment
of God.
When you come to Jesus, automatically you become
the property of God and your body becomes the exclusive
reserve of the Most High and no longer a deposit
dunghill for the devil; and to be fittingly suited for God,
your repentance must be genuine, truthful and without
any reservations and sympathy for sinful intentions.
I Samuel 15:1-30 contains an account in the history of
the children of Israel when God, through the prophet
Samuel, instructed Saul, the first king of Israel, to take
vengeance for the injury Israel suffered in the hands
of Amalek, when they came out of Egypt. He was given
an express command, as the General of the army of
God, to destroy their enemies; but he disobeyed the
word of the LORD instead. Afterwards, Samuel the
prophet confronted him in lieu of admitting guilt he
gave excuse by passing the buck to his men.
Today, most people fall into similar situations that Saul
found himself years ago. They still transfer blame to
others, especially when caught in the act; and the higher
they climb the ladder of societal success, just like Nebuchadnezzar,
the deeper they sink in idol worship and
occultism.
Eventually, when Samuel told him that his unpopular
action before God will hurt his kingly position, he quickly
pretended to be sorry. But as for you, if you are going
to experience true repentance, it has to come from
the heart of your heart.
Most of us are familiar with the Biblical account of the
life of Judas Iscariot. He was one of the disciples of
Jesus Christ. In fact, he was even the treasurer of the
team. He carried the offering bag of the ministry. Yet,
he kept stealing; and all that he rake-off from the offering
bag was not enough to quench his appetite, because
he took an unprecedented step further by selling
Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver; and when he observed
that they have condemned Jesus, he regretted
the consequence of his sin, which made him to return
the inducement money he earlier received as payment
for his dishonesty and betrayal of his Master.
Look at that lady over there. After committing fornication
and becoming due to the shame and stigma of
pregnancy, she is now being sorry. But if there was no
resultant consequence, you would not have known that
she committed an act and she would not have been
sorry for living the life she is now sorry for. That kind
of attitude she now displays is not repent-ance.
The act Saul put up when found to be guilty is not called
repentance nor the show of guilt Judas Iscariot demonstrated,
when he returned the pieces of bribe money
he took for betraying his Master Jesus Christ termed
repentance. In truth, excuse makers who only end up
regretting their actions, but without repenting from
such sins will not experience the blessedness of God.
That is the more reason why it is advisable for sinners
to get back in their relationship with God through confessing,
forsaking and turning away from sin.
Repentance is the willingness of an individual to turn
from all forms of sins. It comes from the very heart of
the individual. That is, a sinner takes a decision to repent
because he or she knows that to continue on
that sinful path attracts sudden death and eternal destruction
in hell; and in order to avoid such a steep
price, complete and entire repentance that comes from
the heart becomes the only wise choice. Hence, the
conscientious decision-maker takes the most important
step life has ever offered, with great gusto and determination,
to become a friend of God by turning away
from the life of sin; and to do that, true repentance is
required.
Sanwo-Olu storms Lord’s Chosen for prayers
By Sam Eyoboka
ALL People's
Congress, APC
governorship
candidate for Lagos State
in next year's elections,
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Sunday paid a surprise
visit to the headquarters
of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic
Revival Ministries
as part of his sensitiza-
Igbobi
College wins
BSN Bible
quiz
By Olayinka Latona
IT was a display of indepth
knowledge of the
scriptures at the finals
of the annual national
Bible Society of Nigeria,
BSN quiz competition for
secondary schools at the
District Headquarters of
The Apostolic Church in
Palmgrove, Lagos.
At the end of the keenly
contested competition,
Salako David and Nwosu
Izuckukwu of Igbobi College,
Lagos, emerged winners.
They were followed by St.
Mary & Joseph School, Imo
State while Standard
Christian School clinched
the third position.
Addressing participants
and guests at the event,
the corporate development
consultant to BSN,
Mr. Victor Damilare, said
the competition was organised
to help youths
develop Godly values by
taking them back to the
bible.
He added that because
youths of today have so
many gadgets at their disposal,
they seldom have
time to study the bible.
Describing the youngsters
as catalysts to needed
transformation and positive
change in Nigeria, Damilare
urged the participants
to shun corrupt
practices but rather be
agents of transformation
and positive change in
their various communities.
For the 16th edition, there
were representatives
from the six geo-political
zones.
DR. FRANCIS
AKIN-JOHN
Church Growth Consultant, 6/8,
Mukadaq Close, Off Palace Way,
Iyana-Odo, B/Stop, Isheri-LASU Road,
Lagos.
08023000714. akingrow@yahoo.com
WE put no
stumbling block in
anyone’s path, so
that our ministry will not
be discredited (II Corinthians
6:3).
Whatever happens, conduct
yourselves in a manner
worthy of the gospel
of Christ (Philippians 1:27).
The two scriptures and
many more of such give
us standards of ethics
expected of every minister
of the gospel, especially
pastors.
Every trade, profession
and vocation have rules of
dos and don’ts. Here are
ethical rules that sincere
and genuine pastors must
abide by as they carry out
their onerous responsibilities.
tion of all Lagosians for
their votes.
The campaign visit coincided
with the final day of
an annual two-day power
packed international crusade
of the church at
Ijesha, Lagos, titled, “Hope
for the Needy”, and Mr.
Sanwo-Olu expressed gratitude
for the opportunity.
“Some of us have been
watching the General
Overseer, Pastor Lazarus
Muoka from a distance
and we know all the miracles
that have been happening
here,” the governorship
candidate stated,
extolling the virtues of the
man of God.
According to him, it is not
an error that all of us are
here today, adding “we
need to hold onto our
God because we can see
people witnessing miracles
today. Miracle is real.
By Sam Eyoboka
THE Household of
God Church has
perfected plans to
host this year’s edition its
annual GRACE programme
on December 16, 2018
according to the pastor of
the Lagos-based church,
Rev. Chris Okotie.
According to a statement
by Ladi Ayodeji, GRACE is
the acronym of God’s Riches
At Christ’s Expense.
During the event, four
charities, Little Saints'
Orphanage, Spinal Cord
Injuries Association, Sunshine
Foundation and the
Pachelli School for the Blind
All who are called by God
to the ministry of the gospel
solemnly commit to a
life of joyful obedience
and selfless service in
order to glorify God and
enrich his people. Therefore,
a minister must:
A. PURSUE INTEGRITY
I know, my God, that you
test the heart and are
pleased with integrity. All
these things I have given
willingly and with honest
intent (I Chronicles 29:17).
1. In Personal Character:
Exalt Christ, not self. Be
honest, not exaggerating
or over-promising; peaceloving,
not contentious;
patient, not volatile; diligent,
not slothful. Avoid
and, when necessary,
report conflicts of interest
and seek counsel.
I am a living testimony of
miracle. It is not by Man's
power; it's by His miracle.”
Craving the prayers of the
GO and the large crowd of
worshippers, Mr. Sanwo-
Olu said: “This is why I'm
here. God has started the
work, and He is going to
perfect it come 2019. I
implore all of you, let's
pray. Let’s hold onto
Jesus, and God will continue
to be with you in Jesus
name.”
In answer to the request
for prayer for bigger testimony,
Pastor Lazarus
Muoka asked him to knee
down while he led the large
congregation to intercede
on the behalf of the governorship
candidate, asking
God to give him the desires
of his heart.
In a brief interview with
newsmen who asked him
for his new year message,
Code of ethics for
pastors
2. In Personal
Care: Care for
the spiritual,
m e n t a l ,
emotional and
physical dimensions
of your
person, for
“your bodies are temples
of the Holy Spirit” (I
Corinthians 6:-19)
3. In Preaching and Teaching:
Interpret the Bible
accurately and apply it discerningly:
“In your teaching
show integrity, seriousness
and soundness of
speech that cannot be
condemned” (Titus 2:7-8).
Speak the truth in love.
Give due credit when using
the words or ideas of
others.
B. BE TRUSTWORTHY
It is required that those
who have been given a
trust must prove faithful
(I Corinthians 4:2).
1. In leadership: Model the
trustworthiness of God in
leadership to encourage
and develop trustworthiness
in others. Use power
Mr. Sanwo-Olu said: "Elections
are coming next year.
Everyone should go about
campaigning in a peaceful
and orderly manner. Just
as Christmas is coming,
let everyone work and
pray and live in a healthy
environment.
“Government is meant to
create a safe and sound
environment for all. Let
that be our tenement.
Everyone should ensure
that they are their brothers'
keeper. Let us do
the things that we need to
do, in the festive period,
let's remain safe. Let's be
watchful. If you have
anything, involve the
police. Police is your
friend. When we start
campaigning; let it be
peaceful. No one should
cajole anybody to go and
do anything wrong to
anybody do,” he said.
Okotie's church honours ex-King's
College principal with Karis award
By Alemma-Ozioruva
Aliu
BENIN CITY - A
lecturer with the
Ambrose Alli University,
Ekpoma in Edo
State, Prof. Isaac Aigbedion
has donated an 800-
seat capacity building to
the Redeemed Christian
Church of God (RCCG) in
Ukpenu-Ekpoma, Esan
West Local Government
and Partially Sight, traditionally
receive N2 million
each from the church.
The highlight of the GRACE
event is the Karis award,
given each year to a distinguished
but unsung Nigerian
whose contributions
to society is not widely
recognized and the
church uses the GRACE
platform to celebrate
such individual.
This year, the Karis award
will go to Chief Reginald
E.O Akpofure OFR, the
first Nigerian principal of
the famous King’s College,
Lagos. Every year, GRACE
which holds the Sunday
before Christmas, attracts
movers and shakers
of society from all walks
of life. Okotie expanded
the GRACE vision with the
introduction of Karis
award in 1996, as an
award to unsung heroes
and heroines, whose contributions
to society are
not well appreciated in
their generation.
Thus Karis, first given
posthumously to famed
mathematician, Chike Obi,
has been awarded to
other achievers across
Nigeria the roll call of past
awards reflects the nation’s
ethic, religious and
gender diversities, without
sacrificing merit.
Varsity don donates auditorium to church
Area of the state.
The church which serves
as the headquarters of
Calvary Love Area, was
dedicated by the Edo
Regional head, Pastor Dele
Balogun on behalf of General
Overseer of the
church, Pastor Enoch
Adeboye.
In his welcome address,
the Provincial Pastor,
overseeing the dedicated
Area church, Pastor James
Ologun praised the donor
for building what he described
as a magnificent
edifice, for God.
He equally lauded the
pastor-in-charge of the
church who is the wife of
the donor, Pastor (Mrs)
Hilda Aigbedion for her
contribution.
The donor, Prof. Aigbedion
said the church was his family's
contribution towards
evangelical work.
and influence prudently
and humbly. Foster loyalty.
Demonstrate a commitment
to the well-being of
the entire congregation.
Keep promises. Respond
sensitively and appropriately
to ministry requests
and needs: “Whoever
can be trusted with
very little can also be
trusted with much, and
whoever is dishonest with
very little will also be dishonest
with much” (Luke
16:10).
2. With information: Guard
confidences carefully. Inform
a person in advance,
if possible, when an admission
is about to be made
that might legally require
the disclosure of that
information.
E - M a i l :
akingrow@yahoo.com
*International Church
Growth Ministry holds
two major conferences a
year, one in second week
of every February and
the other in every first
week in September.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 41
Jesus says: “I am the vine,
you are the branches. He
who abides in me, and I in
him, bears much fruit; for without
me you can do nothing.”
(John 15:5).
But can we pray without Jesus?
Certainly not! Prayer is only acceptable
in the name of Jesus.
Moreover, when we want to pray,
the host of spiritual wickedness in
the heavenlies is determined that
we should not. Therefore, we fall
asleep, are distracted and “buy
and sell.”
Offensive prayers
When we offend God, we cannot
even pray. The sky over our
head become bronze, and the
earth beneath us iron. (Deuteronomy
28:23). Our vitality is
turned into the drought of summer.
(Psalm 32:4).
Therefore, we are desperately in
need of God’s help even in order
to pray to God. The psalmist
confirms this. He tells God:
“Quicken us, and we will call upon
your name.” (Psalm 80:18).
This means before we pray for
anything, we need to pray first for
the grace to be able to pray. Otherwise,
our prayers become a
waste of time.
As a matter of fact, our prayers
easily become offensive to God.
This is what happened to Israel.
As a result, the psalmist pleaded:
“Lord God All-Powerful, how
much longer will the prayers of
your people make you angry?”
(Psalm 80:4).
For this reason, the disciples
came to Jesus with a simple petition:
“Lord, teach us to pray, as
John also taught his disciples.”
(Luke 11:1). They did not ask
him to teach them how to pray.
Prayer is simply talking to God.
They asked him to teach them to
pray. This is because, as with
everything else, the grace to pray
comes from God.
Many do not know that the acceptable
prayer is always according
to the will of God. Therefore,
Jesus answered the prayer of
some disciples by saying: “You do
not know what you ask.” (Matthew
20:22). Paul also observes
that: “We do not know what we
ought to pray for.” (Romans
8:26). Therefore, before we can
pray, we need to ask the Alpha and
Omega to give us the grace to
pray and to direct our prayers aright.
Healing prayers
How does this relate to healing?
When the disciples of Jesus
could not cast out a dumb and
deaf spirit, he rebuked them, saying:
“O faithless generation, how
long shall I be with you? How long
shall I bear with you? Bring him
to me.” (Mark 9:19). When they
asked him later why they were
unable to cast out the demon, he
tells them that type of demon does
not go except through prayer.
However, prayer by itself does
not heal. Certainly, the prayer
of a faithless generation is ineffectual.
What heals then? It is
faith in God that heals: “The
prayer of faith will save the sick.”
(James 5:15).
Jesus emphasized this again
and again. When a woman with
an issue of blood touched his garment,
believing she would be
healed by so doing, Jesus pointed
out to her that her healing did not
God's covenant of peace, blessing
TODAY is a special
day because we are
commemorating
the highest event in
Christendom which happens
to be the focal
point of our belief, for if
Christ did not die, buried
and resurrected, our
belief will have been in
vain and there would not
have been any hope of
restoration of the covenant
we had with God
before our fore-parents
severed it through sin. It
is at Easter that we are
re-minded of how God
sent His son to die as a
sacrifice for all our sins
in order to rescue us
from the impending destruction
that has been
earmarked for us as a
result of the sin of Adam
and Eve. Thus, by His
death, burial and resurrection,
the co-venant of
peace and blessing which
mankind originally had
with God at creation was
rest-ored.
The Almighty God established
this covenant
with our fore-parents in
the Garden of Eden where
He blessed them and
gave them dominion over
all other creatures but with
a caveat not to eat the forbidden
fruit. This warning
was disobey-ed and thus
the covenant was placed
in abeyance until Christ
made the highest sacrifice
to restore the covenant to
mankind.
Genesis 1:28-29 says: “And
God blessed them, and
God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and
subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over every
living thing that moveth
upon the earth. And God
said, Behold, I have given
you every herb bearing
seed, which is upon the
face of all the earth, and
every tree, in the which is
the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be for
meat.”
God Almighty put everything
He created under the
control of man. What a
blessing man had when
everything was subjected
to him. Adam was lacking
no-thing in that beautiful
garden where he had the
privilege to among other
things play host to God.
THE PRAYER OF FAITH
Before we pray
for anything,
we need to pray
first for the
grace to be
able to pray.
come from his garment. He said
to her: “‘Daughter; your faith has
made you well.’ And the woman
was made well from that hour. ”
(Matthew 9:22).
.
It is our faith that heals. As a
matter of fact, if you have faith,
you don’t have to pray for healing.
You simply decree a healing
and the healing is established.
(Job 22:28).
Jesus says: “Have faith in God.
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever
says to this mountain, ‘Be removed
and be cast into the sea,’
and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that those things he
says will be done, he will have
whatever he says. Therefore I say
to you, whatever things you ask
when you pray, believe that you
receive them, and you will have
them.” (Mark 11:22-24).
Gift of faith
So, the critical issue is faith.
How do we get it? Faith comes
But this blessing
did not last as it
was jettisoned
as soon as
Adam broke his
part of the covenant
by eating
the forbidden
fruit.
Genesis 2:16-17
says: “And the
LORD God commanded
the
man, saying, Of
every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely
eat: But of the tree of the
know-ledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of
it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die”.
God commanded the man
to receive law, as he had
received a nature but the
man Adam dis-obeyed
and allowed his will to
contradict the holy will of
God and thus sin against
God. As a result of this
sin man lost everything he
got from God. The consequences
of Adam's
disobedience extended
to all mankind as God
severed all relat-ionship
with man, including the
covenant of peace and
blessing. Consequently,
man started suffering and
dying because our first
parent left a miserable inheritance,
an unhappy
portion of sin and death
upon all posterity.
When God saw the wretchedness
of man He sent
His only begotten Son
Jesus Christ to serve as
propitiation for man-kind;
that is the atoning sacrifice
by which the wrath
of God is appeased
By Pastor
Oloruntimilehin
Joshua Daramola
THERE is need for
people to move
forward in their
deeds and examine how
big or great they are. In
view of the above, let us
examine two statements
or expressions made in
the scripture by Pontius
Pilate and Jesus Christ.
The former had the power
to free the latter from the
hands of the Jewish people
that wanted Jesus
crucified when he said in
John 19:10 “…Don’t you
realize I have power either
to free you or to crucify
you”. Imagine the
extent of power Pilate had
to do whatever he wanted
to do without any challenge.
Similarly Jesus Christ
expressed the extent of
power He had when He
told the Samaritan woman
that refused to give Him
water to drink. John 4:9–
14 “…Jesus answered her
if you know the gift of
God and who it is that ask
you for a drink, you would
have asked him and He
would have given you
living water…”
Jesus exercised the
power in Him. Therefore,
it is necessary for a person
to exercise occasionally
the power he or she
has. Brethren when you
are experiencing poverty
use the power in you to
cast away by pronouncing
its rejection and God
would put His authority on
the pronouncement.
from God. “Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of
God.” (Romans 10:17). Jesus is
the author of our faith. (Hebrews
12:2). When some Jews asked
him: “What shall we do, that we
may work the works of God?” he
told them: “This is the work of
God, that you believe in him whom
he sent.” (John 6:28-29).
But we cannot just decide to have
faith and then get it. Faith is not
of works. It is, first and foremost,
a gift of God. “For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift
of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).
Therefore, we need to ask God
for faith and pray earnestly for it:
“Ask, and it will be given to you.”
(Matthew 7:7). We must come
boldly to the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy and find
grace to have faith in God. (Hebrews
4:16). When we do this,
God gives us individually “a measure
of faith” required to fulfill our
petition. (Romans 12:3).
If you want the faith to fight
cancer, he will give you the faith
to fight cancer. If you want the
faith to fight a headache, he will
give you the faith to fight a headache.
The faith to fight a headache
is not the faith to fight cancer.
The faith to move a car is
not the faith to move a mountain.
Prayer of faith
So, let us go back to the earlier
question we started with. Why
could the disciples not cast out the
dumb and deaf spirit? They could
not because they did not have the
faith to cast it out. They did not
have the faith because they did
not ask for the grace to have it.
They did not pray for the faith.
James explains this common
predicament: “You do not have
because you do not ask. You ask
and do not receive, because you
ask amiss.” (James 4:2-3). But
he notes that to those who ask
aright, God gives “more grace.”
(James 4:6).
How do we ask amiss? With
regard to healing, we ask amiss
because we ask for healing instead
of asking for more grace and
for more faith. If you have faith,
you will be healed by decree. If
you don’t have faith, you won’t
be healed. According to your
faith, so will it be unto you.
For those who have been paying
attention, Jesus emphasized
this again and again. When two
blind men asked him for healing,
he asked if they have faith.
When they answered in the affirmative,
he opened their eyes by
saying: “According to your faith
let it be to you.” (Matthew
9:29). When blind Bartimaeus
came to him for healing, he
healed him by saying: “Your faith
has made you well.” (Mark
10:52).
Therefore, it is imperative for
us to keep coming to the throne
of grace to receive more grace and
more faith to deal with the vagaries
of life. When the disciples
understood this, they said
to Jesus: “Increase our faith.”
He replied: “If you have faith as
a mustard seed, you can say to
this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up
by the roots and be planted in the
sea,’ and it would obey you.”
(Luke 17:5-6).
You can turn your night to day
•Daramola
You must check and try
yourself to enable you
know who you are. You
must stand by your authority.
Imagine a person
was given a spiritual
message that he or she
would be rich and wealthy.
If the person fails to work
and move to actualize the
message, it won’t come
to reality.
So whatever a person
wants to become in life
is in the person’s hand to
actualize all the positive
messages that come your
way. If you want to be
great, sitting down at
home will not bring fortune
or solve the problem.
Imagine a widow who had
five children. . Initially she
could not survive with the
gratuity of her husband.
She became a person that
depends on family to live.
In fact she lost one of her
children in the course of
her poverty.
On a particular day she
decided to take the bull
by the horn when she
decided to start a load
carrier job in one of the
markets in Lagos. She
started carrying loads for
people who came to buy
goods into their vehicles.
One of her customers’
vehicle developed a fault
that required the attention
of a motor vehicle repairer.
Her female customer begged
her to stay till the
vehicle was fixed and
even requested her to
follow her home in case
the vehicle developed
problem on the way. She
obliged and the woman
compensated her with
cash and material gifts.
On getting home in the
night, she and the children
had a delicious meal. The
children had stopped going
to school due to lack
of money. One fateful day
her wealthy female customer
came searching for
her in the market.
In the course of their discussion,
she knew she
was a widow. The woman
changed her life, stopped
her doing load carrying
job and hired a shop for
her, bought goods in the
shop and made the children
to resume their
school.
*For further enquiries
contact
The
Omnipotence Mission
of God, 2 Oloruntimilehin
St,
Pipeline, Mosan off
Ipaja road, Lagos or call
0 8 0 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 8 ;
0 8 0 5 8 1 1 0 2 8 8 ;
0 8 0 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 8 ,
0 8 0 5 8 1 1 0 2 8 8 .
www.facebook.com/
pastoroloruntimilehin.

PAGE 42 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
EDITED BY
OSA MBONU-AMADI
osaamadi@yahoo.com
GEJ’s book: Finding ways
to avoid violent conflicts
arising from elections
Stories by Osa Mbonu
The book is titled My Transi
tion Hours, the author is Ni
geria’s former president, Dr.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the
publisher is Ezekiel Press.
Now, it is no longer a subject of
controversy; even his foes are in
agreement that former President
Goodluck Jonathan's fateful decision
on the night of March 30,
2015, when he chose to concede
defeat to General Muhammadu
Buhari, even before the final results
of the presidential election
had been collated by INEC, sealed
his reputation as a selfless Nigerian
leader. Nearly four years down
the line, his decision to tell the story,
not only of his concession, but
also of the ordeal that convinced
him to take this step in what is certainly
one of the most unique publications
ever essayed by a former
Head of State in Africa, guarantees
that his role in the continent's
history will be celebrated with
even more gravity in years to
come. Dr Jonathan's perspective
on the historic antecedents of his
ascent to 'the pinnacle of Nigeria's
polity is related here with unusual
lack of dissemblance, especially
when being articulated by a politician
for public consumption.
The African public has become
so accustomed to the self-serving
propaganda behind which most
politicians hide in their public utterances
that the candour and veracity
displayed by former President
Jonathan in this narrative
will come as a welcome surprise.
As a result, this work is bound to
find a niche in African political
history that will be truly reflective
of the importance of the original
act of statesmanship that has inspired
the loyalty and Dr.
Jonathan's most dedicated supporters.
In spite of the fact that this work
appears to have been crafted in
response to the former president's
perceived need to set the record
straight on the reasons that led to
his fateful decision, its overall impact
is effective on a much broader
canvas. He chooses to devote
most of the fifteen chapters to specific
aspects of his stew- ardship
as Head of State
and in defence of policies
and projects that
his administration
embarked upon. He
also focuses on
some critical
events that
seemed to indicate
that a
groundswell of
instability had
been mounted
against
his government,
not only by his expected adversaries,
but also from within his
own party.
This presumption gains credence
from evidence that Dr.
Jonathan marshals with the impeccable
objectivity that one expects
from a trained academician.
In this wise, his narration of the
circumstances surrounding the
notorious abduction of the Chibok
schoolgirls and the supposedly
"spontaneous" protests
against his laudable initiative that
was meant to halt the wasteful fuel
subsidy, is particularly revelatory.
He also makes some facts
available to the reader about motivation
and aspirations surrounding
government actions and policies
that give the work the unique
flavour of being a document about
public office as a path to service
rather than as an opportunity to
gain privilege.
It is not surprising that this work
is provoking some reflective commentaries
both from those antagonists
that Dr. Jonathan mentions
in the text as well as from some of
his supporters. His ideas will find
fertile ground especially among
the youth whose interests he advocated
as President and still advocates
with notable sincerity in
this publication.
However, an important aspect
of the work that must not be over-
looked is the author's assertion
that African politics is badly served
by the format that generates regular
conflict arising from electoral
contest. He suggests that the resilience
of regional rivalries and ethnic
loyalties inject an element of
almost primordial conflict into the
political discourse that can lead
to the divisive sentimentality that
degenerates into violent conflict.
His main concern, he insists, is
to find ways to avoid this consequence,
and that, he believes,
should be the main
concern of all African leaders.
It is for this reason that
Dr. Jonathan clings to a belief
in reform of the structures
of governance throughout Africa
and his arguments in
favour of this process are effectively
marshaled in this
brief book.
Alexis Galleries exhibits works of 15 next masters
THE first edition of La Florai
son (The Bloom 1) exhibition
will hold from Saturday 8-22 December
2018 at Alexis Galleries, 282 Akin
Olugbade Street, off Idowu Martins,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
The artists scheduled to exhibit their
works are Segun Aiyesan, Sam
Ovraiti, Duke Asidere, Dominique
Zinkpe, Zinno Orara, George Edozie,
Fidelis Odogwu, Diseye Tantua,
Reuben Ugbine, Abiodun Olaku,
Gab Awusa, John Oyedemi, Alex
Nwokolo, Edosa Ogiugo and Gbenga
Offo, all critically considered and
selected to sustain this drive to hold
The Next Masters exhibition every
year at Alexis.
According to a statement released
by Mrs. Patty Chidiac
Mastrogiannis,curator, founder
and director of Alexis Galleries,
“these great
artists have
stood
the test of time. Their works are exquisite
crossover between traditional
and contemporary art, a skill they
have impressed on global art connoisseurs
in their various exhibitions across
the world. They have achieved this feat
by brilliant fidelity to their traditional
roots while playing in the contemporary
artistic genre. Alexis Galleries also
wishes to establish an ongoing relationship
with the commune of artists,
so that together, we can renew and sustain
our artistic vision for mutual benefits
and for the good of our respective
communities and countries.”
Each of the artists, who shared their
artistic philosophy with journalists, is
expected to showcase two pieces. For
Gab Awusa, his major focus is projecting
the woman as progenitor of the
human race, while Sam Ovraiti believes
that “art is food for the soul created
from the inner formation of the
artists.” Sam also believes that women
are under-celebrated in our society,
hence his work titled Celebration will
be on display.
With his 'Nne Nkisi' (a goldfish has
no hiding place) and 'Ikpopu Chi'
George Edozie explores the horrendous
issue of migration to other lands,
and submits that people are justifiably
•L-R: Sam Ovraiti, George Edozie, Gab Awusa, Chidiac-
Mastrogiannis, Zinno Orara and Diseye Tantua during press briefing
announcing The Next Masters Exhibition
trying to escape the madness in our
land.
Diseye Tantua's experiment is on
using classic cars to make furniture,
which he calls 'functional sculpture'.
He describes his works as writing a
day-to-day diary of his life. “I am not
necessarily out to make money but
to make statements,” he said.
The exhibition is supported by Pepsi,
Maikano, Delta Airline, Amarula,
Nederburg, Cobranet Internet Service
Provider, Cool FM, Wazobia FM/TV,
Chocolate Royal, The Avenue Suites,
Art Café and The Homestores Limited
İn eight years, Alexis Galleries has
engaged in the presentation and dissemination
of contemporary art in the
media of painting, drawing, mixed
media and sculpture.
Owhoko's book, The Language of Oil and Gas
receives a boost
The unveiling of
Oshodi video and
phenomenallagos.com
The duo of ‘Oshodi’, a poetry video
on the evolution of Lagos’ popular
area so named, and phenomenallagos.com,
an integrated online newspaper,
came on stream on Friday, November
30, 2018.
The video was produced by celebrated
performance poet and seasoned journalist,
Akeem Lasisi, of ‘Eleleture’ and
‘Udeme’ fame. As usual, afro/folk singer,
Edaoto, is featured in the poetic offering.
While the video will be presented on
the platform of phenomenallagos.com,
both are brands of Full Point Publications
and Communications, with Lasisi
saying they will enrich people’s experience
on Oshodi as an iconic place and
Lagos as a country within a country.
The ‘Oshodi’ video captures the character
of the area loved and once dreaded
by all and sundry. In moving verses and
inspiring music, it tickles the viewers’
memories of the area, juxtaposing the
modern version with what used to be the
order of the day. The poet believes the
video has the capacity to be the best tribute
to preserve Oshodi heritage.
On the other hand, phenomenallagos.com
is an offshoot of ‘Phenomenal
Lagos: 50 Iconic Places in the Centre
of Excellence’, a book that Lasisi co-authored
with an Assistant Editor with The
Guardian, Kabir Alabi Garba.
According to Lasisi, who recently resigned
from The PUNCH where he was
also an Assistant Editor,
phenomenallalgos.com will deploy elegant
journalism and creativity to telling
the Lagos story - from the perspectives of
news, business, politics, art, tourism, culture
and entertainment, sports and opportunities.
SUCCOUR has come the way of the oil and
gas industry as its efforts at communicating
issues to stakeholders has received a boost after
a lingo compendium was reintroduced to the
public with reinvigorated and well researched information
containing clear and detailed definitions that
are extensively cross referenced, and handy for quick
and easy understanding of the industry.
The Language of Oil and Gas which is contained in a
book published in the United States of America is a
dictionary and a complete explanation of oil and gas
terminology comprising current developments in the industry
which comprises the upstream, midstream and
downstream.
The book written by Michael Owhoko, a renowned author
and journalist, was published by BookVenture Publishing
LLC, and has been formally released to the public. It is
available in major bookstores worldwide, including Amazon,
Banes and Nobles, BookVentures.
“Every trade or profession has its
language. The language is what
gives it its unique identification.
The oil and gas industry, just like
other trade and professions, has its
peculiar language. For those
whose activities revolve round this
industry, the surest way to build a
bridge across to it is to be familiar
with its unique identification”,
Michael Owhoko discloses in the
new book.
The book is vital to all stakeholders
in the oil and gas industry, particularly
professionals, practitioners,
journalists, contractors, businessmen
and students, as it provides
explanation to hitherto grey
areas with robust clarity of concepts.
It is a must read, as all lives
are impacted directly or indirectly
by the oil and gas industry one way
or the other.
Michael Owhoko is a media and
public relations practitioner who
has mostly worked in the oil and
gas, banking, and media industries.
He earned degrees in political science
and mass communications
and is the publisher of Media Issues,
an online newspaper. He is
also the author of Career Frustration
in the Workplace; Nigeria on
the Precipice: Issues, Options and
Solutions; The Future of Nigeria;
and Feminism: The Agony of Men.

PAGE 44 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018
Viewpoint
By Emma Umohinyang
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Nigeria of our dreams
One of the attributes of great
leaders is the mastery of the
art of pro – activeness, especially at
very critical moments of
nationhood.
Unfortunately, this art is almost
alien to most of our leaders as they
are caught napping at times when
they are expected to rise to the
occasion, leading to a yawning gap
between African countries and the
developed world in terms of growth
and technological advancement.
This no doubt has been the bane
of most of African countries,
including Nigeria, leaving
unpalatable consequences which
impeded and continues to impede
our growth and development.
It was therefore a thing of joy when
President Muhammadu Buhari, not
wanting to be bitten by this terrible
bug launched next level, 2019, a
compilation of his achievements
and plans for a second term.
One of the most striking features
of the event was that it took place
almost as soon as the curtain on
political activities for 2019 raised
which is very instructive.
This no doubt is remarkable as it
is a demonstration on the part of
the president that he is truly serious
about leading the nation again to
consolidate on the achievements of
the last few years.
Buhari, Critics and Next Level 2019
One of the most
striking features of
the event was that it
took place almost as
soon as the curtain
on political activities
for 2019 raised which
is very instructive
Given the fact that a lot of efforts
must have gone into the project, it
also underscores that he is not taking
Nigerians for granted and a
demonstration of the fact that he
clearly identifies with their hopes
and aspirations.
This is a clear departure from what
we used to see in the recent past when
aspirants at various levels approach
us to vote for them without any level
of seriousness.
Curiously, these are people who we
entrust our destiny into their hands
as they are naturally saddled with
steering the ship of state. It is
therefore safe to say that our
decisions and indecisions in the
recent past is largely connected to
the unfortunate rape of our
commonwealth by these leaders.
This is the major reason the launch
of next level 2019 by President
Buhari needs to be applauded by all
men and women of goodwill who
truly love the growth and
advancement of our nation,
especially at this critical moment.
Aside from providing an insight
into the journey of the present
administration so far, next level 2019
gives detailed information about the
administration’s plans for the future.
The document, therefore, presents
Nigerians and all lovers of Nigeria,
ample opportunity to score the
Buhari administration based on its
promises especially the landmarks
recorded in the fight against
corruption, agric revolution,
diversification of the economy,
infrastructural development,
economic emancipation for the
poorest of the poor, fight against
Boko Haram and more.
Aside this, the document is a
veritable research material which
is bound to be useful to Voters,
Students, Academics Researchers,
etc who may need critical
information about the government.
Perhaps, for the first time in our
national history, “Next Level 2019”
presents Nigerians with critical
information needed for decision
making at a very critical period in
our national history.
This is unsurprising as the Buhari
administration has never hidden its
desire to run a transparently open
system for the benefit of Nigerians
both at home and in the diaspora.
Though some members of the
opposition have criticised the
document, the good thing about it
is that they have not been able to
rubbish the facts presented.
Worse still, it is doubtful whether
anyone remembers the title of the
document launched by the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) candidate,
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar same day
President Buhari launched next
level 2019.
The question really is: can the
achievements of Buhari over three
and a half years in critical sectors of
our economy – Agriculture, Solid
minerals, Power, infrastructure,
Health, Anti – corruption etc be
waved aside by discerning
Nigerians?
For the first time in our nation,
the country has made more money
than it has made from non – oil
exports since independence.
Consequently, next level 2019 is
most expedient at this time as it is a
story of what the Buhari
administration hopes to achieve in
the next four years as part of
strategies aimed at putting Nigeria
back on stream to make her regain
our lost position in the comity of
nations. Can anyone say he does
not desire railways working across
the nation as being carried out by
the Buhari administration,
especially since this government
kick started this project some years
back?
Would anyone kick against the on
– going efforts to make our Airports
world-class as demonstrated with
the Port Harcourt Airport, and the
successful construction of the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja second runway by
this administration?
Does anyone hate the on – going
social intervention projects aimed
at breaking the artificial wall
between the rich and the poor
through Trader moni and other
empowerment schemes to lift the
poor out poverty as demonstrated
by the Buhari administration?
Even the South – East where
President Buhari administration
recorded the least votes has about
70 on – going projects across the
zone, with more to come.
This is what the next level 2019 is
all about as it all about the Nigeria
of our dreams.
Now is the time for all hands to
be on deck by supporting PMB for
a deserved second term in office.
•Umohinyang, a social
commentator, lives in Lagos
By Gab Ejuwa
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
The cap fits him
Of all the political gladiators
contesting to represent Delta
South at the National Assembly via
the forthcoming general elections,
one name that stands out is that of
Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan,
the immediate past governor of
Delta State.
For the greatest majority of the
people of Delta South Senatorial
District and the state in general, the
candidature of Dr. Uduaghan is a
welcome development and great
delight. To the people of the District,
it would be pay-back time and a
commensurate reward for Dr.
Uduaghan, who is credited with
great leadership strides and legacy
achievements while he was
governor of the state between 2007
and 2015. He had been tested with
power and is found competent for
the higher national assignment.
It will be an understatement to say
that Dr. Uduaghan in his eight years
in office as governor
institutionalized far-reaching socioeconomic
reforms and as well
provided critical infrastructures for
the progress of the state. He was a
man of the people while his
governorship tenures lasted.
Most Deltans in all sincerity will
By Timothy Abass
Arabambi
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
Wake up call
As the 2019 general elections
are approaching,
candidates are jostling to be voted
for, but they should strategize on
how to impact on the nation and
the people positively. They should
not position themselves and their
cronies for parochial interest, and,
as a minister of God with a divine
duty to warn people, community,
nation and others, I have this wakeup
call for a nation and our
political leaders in a state of
slumber.
Notwithstanding the socioeconomic
challenges facing the
country today, and the crimes and
criminalities arising from
corruption, killings, cultism, rape,
kidnappings, armed robbery
among others, government should
check these social vices urgently
for there to be sustainable peace,
2019: The Uduaghan factor in Delta south
continue to remember those
revolutionary years when Uduaghan
brought positive infrastructural
developments to all parts of the state
and most importantly his fight for
the headlong tackling of militancy
in the state.
To those who know Uduaghan and
what he represents in the trajectory
of Delta State and its developmental
narratives, and in his usual political
will and characteristics, he is
certainly going to Abuja to attract
more robust development to his
people through quality
representation on the floor of the
Senate in addition to helping in
ensuring good and forward-looking
legislations for the growth and
democratic stability of the nation.
Many political pundits believe that
the former governor, who is
contesting the senatorial seat on the
platform of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) is very
suitable and ably qualified for the
seat in view of his political pedigree
over time.
Undoubtedly, this medical doctorturned
politician, who was also the
cerebral Secretary to Delta state
government at one point in the life
of the state is not going to warm the
seat in Abuja, but to initiate
progressive bills that would be
impactful to the people of the
senatorial district, Delta State, the
Niger Delta Region and the nation
at large.
To many progressive citizens of the
state and Senatorial district, the
belief is that it is indeed the right
time to change the docile
representation the people had
2019: The government Nigerians deserve
For good
governance,
Nigerians must
respect
constituted
authority, rather
than wishing
them evil
stability, justice and fairness
without which there can be on
meaningful development and
good governance.
The optimism is high
that the people of
Delta South Senatorial
District with their
Permanent Voter Cards
(PVCs) will vote in
Uduaghan who has
been politically tested
and found to be
competent, reliable
Also good governance is needed
in a situation in which the gap
between the rich and the poor has
widened.
Considerably, while many
Nigerians are increasingly angry
and hungry in the midst of plenty
is caused for great concern.
In addition, the lingering issues
of hunger, poverty hopelessness,
unemployment, fulfillment
electoral promises, all these
needed to be addressed by our
leaders.
Frankly speaking, the spate of
killings in some states of the
federation is worrisome and calls
for everyone’s attention and
concern. Each day is greeted by
announcements of bombings here
and there, with several innocent
lives cut short unceremoniously.
Also, the menace of herdsmen has
become a recurring decimal in
Nigeria and lives are being lost on
witnessed since the birth of the forth
Republic in 1999 with the
emergence of Dr. Uduaghan.
The people are unanimous in their
views that the time for a new face to
take the senatorial district to the next
Level of qualitative and robust
representation is now, and that
Uduaghan is the right man for the
job.
They strongly believe that one
cannot be doing the same thing for
over nineteen years and expect to
get a different result. Only a breath
of fresh air and personality change
will bring the desired change to the
Itsekiri, isoko and Ijaw people of the
Senatorial district.
With this mindset and belief, the
people are in high spirit and in one
accord with Uduaghan’s
candidature. It has been a gale of
endorsement among the various
groups in the Senatorial District.
Indeed, Uduaghan whose
candidature has received the nod
and blessings of the traditional
institutions, religious leaders,
political leaders of different divides,
market men and women, traders,
professionals, the academia,
students and youths, artisans,
traders, transporters, fishermen and
women, farmers, workers and the
a daily basis
For good governance, the
killings in Nigeria must END.
Insecurity is a reproach to any
nation. Hence the primary
responsibility of any government
is the protection of life and
property, and the responsibility to
end the killing is with the federal
Government. It is our candid hope
that Nigerians hold the president
and the federal government to
their promise to the international
community that he would work to
end the killings.
For good governance, Nigerians
must respect constituted authority,
rather than wishing them evil.
Government at all levels should
declare state of emergency on
unemployment, to tackle the
socio- economic challenges
Nigeria is presently facing.
It is also Alarming the sociomalaise
that have bedevilled the
generality in the grassroots across
the Senatorial District will
definitely live to the expectations of
the people who have much trust in
his personality and integrity. For a
man with enormous experience in
the medical profession and public
service, the people are in for a good
deal as he hinged his manifestoes
on attracting more infrastructural
growth, human capital
development and empowerment to
the people of the district.
The former governor, who
recently decamped from the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), advised the
electorates in the Senatorial district
to change the old order which had
not been beneficial to the people.
He urged them to embrace the APC
as a political party to make the
desired progress in the lives of the
people.
The optimism is high that the
people of Delta South Senatorial
District with their Permanent Voter
Cards (PVCs) will vote in Uduaghan
who has been politically tested and
found to be competent, reliable and
up to the task as their Senator in
next year’s general elections.
He remains the leading light to
illuminate the political space of
Delta South and we are convinced
that he will not disappoint his
teeming supporters and the
generality of his people come 2019.
entire nation including
kidnapping, rape, ritual killings,
armed robbery, Fulani-Herdsmen
killings, Boko-Haram menace
and other violent crimes, therefore
the Federal Government should
take cognisance of the provision
of section 14(2)(b) of the
constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As
amended) that-”the security and
welfare of the people shall be the
primary purpose of the
Government” and double their
efforts in the fight against
everything constituting a threat to
the peace of our country
Leaders should also remember
that masses who voted them to
power, did not do that, so as to
inflict them with pains.
•Arabambi is Assistant
General Evangelist, CAC W/wide
& G/O, CAC Reformation Land,
Ibadan, Nigeria.
08037210363 or 0818776042

ERICSSON MOBILITY Y REPORT:
5G estimat
timated to reach 1.5b subscriptions in 2024
—Ericsson mobility report
…as Smartphones to consume more than 21GB data per month
Latest Ericsson Mobility report
just released at the weekend
has revealed that 5G is
expected to reach more than 40
percent global population coverage
and 1.5 billion subscriptions for
enhanced mobile broadband by the
end of 2024.
This is expected to make 5G
the fastest generation of cellular
technology to be rolled out on a
global scale, according to the report.
According to the report, by the end
of 2024, a smartphone user would
consume more than 21 gigabyte
(GB) of data per month
The report estimated that the
amount of monthly mobile data
traffic consumed by a smartphone
user would rise from 5.6 Gigabytes
to 21 gigabyte.
According to Ericsson, in addition
to the increased usage, the number
of smartphone subscriptions is set
to increase by 45 per cent, reaching
a total of 7.2 billion
By the end of the forecast period,
the average data used per
smartphone is anticipated to
increase by a multiple of four to
21GB per month.
Compound global mobile data
traffic across all devices is tipped to
reach 136 exabytes per month by
close of the period, some five-times
higher than at end-2018.
Key drivers for 5G deployment,
according to the report would
include increased network capacity,
lower cost per gigabyte and new use
case requirements.
“North America and North East
Asia are expected to lead the 5G
uptake. In North America, 5G
subscriptions are forecast to account
for 55 percent of mobile
subscriptions by the end of 2024. In
North East Asia, the corresponding
forecast figure is more than 43
percent.
For participants at the just
concluded National
Hackathon Series 1.0 held in
Kano State, unless Nigerian youths
were enabled with Internet of a thing,
IoT solutions, solving the 16th
Sustainable Development Goal
SDG, including, Peace, Justice and
strong institutions may remain
unabated.
The national hackathon with the
theme “Building the Makers’
Movement”, had the participation of
no fewer than twenty two youth across
the national.
The National Hackathon Series 1.0
is a 2-year civic engagement
programme jointly developed and
implemented by Vilsquare Makers’
Hub, the social impact subsidiary of
Vilsquare Global Resources Limited
- a data science and analytics firm
and Meluibe Foundation, an NGO
which focuses on empowering
women and youth through good
governance, technology and
innovation, youth employment and
women-centric programmes
The hackathon series, among other
things offered a unique opportunity
for young Nigerians to
collaboratively work together during
the hackathon, with each participant
contributing the skills and knowledge
required to achieve the desired results.
Participants at the hackathon came
from the traditional tech sectors -
software and embedded systems
design as well as non-tech sectors
including law, journalism, fashion
design, graphics design, architecture,
and advocacy.
For Obasegun Ayodele, Technical Co-
Founder at Vilsquare “We are very
excited at the diversity in skills and
experiences that participants bring to
the National Hackathon Series, as
well as the passion and commitment
they display to collectively and
collaboratively contribute their
quotas towards solving the problems
that bedevil us as a nation.”
Speaking to the cooperation exhibited
by the participants who came in from
the different parts of the country, Alhaji
Muhyi Magaji, the Executive
“In Western Europe, 5G is forecast
to account for some 30 percent of
mobile subscriptions in the region
by end of 2024.
“The uptake of NB-IoT and Cat-
M1 technologies is driving growth
in the number of cellular IoT
connections worldwide.
“Of the 4.1 billion cellular IoT
connections forecast for 2024, North
East Asia is expected to account for
2.7 billion, a figure reflecting both
the ambition and size of the cellular
IoT market in this region, the report
added.
Diverse and evolving
requirements across a wide range
of use cases, the report said, were
prompting service providers to
deploy both NB-IoT and Cat-M1 in
their markets.
Mobile data traffic grew 79
percent between Q3 2017 and Q3
2018 China a key engine, according
The Chairman of Africa Information and Communication
Technologies Alliance, AfICTA, Dr. Jimson Olufuye (left) and
AfiCTA second Chairman, Engr Hossam Elgamal of the Arab
Republic of Egypt, during AfICTA 6th Annual General Meeting
held in Nairobi, Kenya recently.
How hackathon athon 1.0 series enables youths to use IoT for tac
ackling issues
Hydrocarbon Forensic team at the national Hackathon 1.0
series
Chairman of the Kano State Public
Complaints and Anti-Corruption
Commission who hosted the
hackathon said, “the National
Hackathon Series 1.0 serves as a
platform for promoting national
cohesion, unity and integration
among Nigerian youth through
technology and innovation. This IoT
Edition held in Kano provides our
youth with a laudable platform
through which they can learn to
effectively integrate not just with their
Nigerian counterparts but with the
global community”.
Participants speak:
Majority of the participants who
narrated their experiences noted that
the event had really given them the
opportunity for collaboration solve
issues and challenges ahead.
For Richard Umar, this hackathon
has truly given a good platform for
young diverse Nigerians to come
under same umbrella to work. This
will go a long way in building a greater
Nigeria, he added.
Similarly, Mhammed Yayandi, said
Edited by EMEKA AGINAM
Email: emekaaginam@yahoo.com 08057538314
that he was excited with how the
hackathon created a platform for
young citizens to collaborate and
solve community problems.
“My experience with the hackathon
has taught me to communicate my
ideas without being biased culturally
or religiously”, Ayoka Kabiawu,
another participant, said.
For one thing, at the 3- day
hackathon, the participants were able
to respond to assigned case studies
where they articulated some of the
problems facing these institutions
from the perspective of the public.
Public procurement web platform,
document tracker for Ministries,
Departments and Agencies,
ticketing device to buy and sell toll
pass/units in markets and other
government parks, an embedded
system/hardware for fingerprint
logging and hydrocarbon forensic
tests on premium motor spirit at
crime scenes of pipeline
vandalization, unified Identification
card containing carrier’s Voting,
Driver’s License and BVN
information and customised card
reader and a touch screen device for
anti-human trafficking education
were some of the solutions developed
by the participants to solve local
challenges.
Nokia fights back with PureDisplay screen technology
okia appears to be fighting back
Nto regain market leadership in
the smart phone market as the firt
smart phone maker to launch
PureDisplay screen technology for
a superior viewing experience, and
advanced imaging with ZEISS
Optics in Nokia Nokia 7.1 series.
The new solution in Nokia 7.1 ,
according to HMD Global, the
home of Nokia phones will take
viewers experience to the next level
as a result of its high contrast ratio,
greater clarity and enhanced
colours across all of your content.
The stunning HDR display on the
new product lies within a
masterfully crafted, gorgeous
design and offers an advanced
imaging experience powered by a
dual rear depth sensing camera with
2PD and ZEISS Optics to ensure
you never miss a moment.
Speaking on the new series, Joseph
Umunakwe, General Manager,
HMD Global, West, East and Central
Africa says “Almost two thirds of
videos around the world are viewed
on mobile, which is why we’ve
introduced our PureDisplay screen
technology, to give everyone a
premium viewing experience on a
smartphone. The Nokia 7.1 even
offers real-time SDR to HDR
conversion, meaning you can
experience HDR quality
SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2 , 2018 PAGE 43
to the report. Mobile data traffic in
Q3 2018, the report indicated grew
close to 79 percent year-on-year,
which is the highest rate since 2013.
“Increased data-traffic-persmartphone
in North East Asia–
mainly in China – has pushed the
global figure notably higher.
“With a traffic growth per
smartphone of around 140 percent
between end 2017 and end 2018,
the region has the second highest
data traffic per smartphone at 7.3
gigabytes per month. This is
comparable to streaming HD video
for around 10 hours per month.
“North America still has the
highest data traffic per smartphone,
set to reach 8.6 gigabytes per month
by the end of this year – which can
be compared to streaming HD video
for over 12 hours monthly.
“Between 2018-2024, total mobile
data traffic is expected to increase
by a factor of five, with 5G networks
projected to carry 25 percent of
mobile traffic by the end of the
period”, Ericsson Mobility report
revealed.
Speaking on the new
development, Fredrik Jejdling,
Executive Vice President and Head
of Business Area Networks, said
that, “As 5G now hits the market, its
coverage build-out and uptake in
subscriptions are projected to be
faster than for previous generations.
At the same time, cellular IoT
continues to grow strongly. What we
are seeing is the start of fundamental
changes that will impact not just the
consumer market but many
industries.”
Meanwhile, the Mobility report
also features articles on fixed
wireless access and how to make it
a reality, streaming video from
megabits to gigabytes, and
developing the smart wireless
manufacturing market.
entertainment, even when your
content is not.
“We believe the best camera is the
one you carry with you, so we’ve
designed a new imaging experience
powered by ZEISS Optics, featuring
rapid auto focus, thanks to the 2PD
technology to capture your own
incredible HDR photography. We are
excited to deliver a unique, premium
experience in collaboration with best
in class partners to deliver a standout
smartphone at great value.”
Nokia 7.1 highly sensitive ZEISS
Optics 12MP/5MP dual cameras
with 2PD enable fast, accurate
autofocus giving great shots in both
bright and low light conditions.
LG electronics
boosts consumer
experience in
laundry y with
TwinW
winWash
ash
T
he introduction of TwinWashm
machine by the South Korean
tech giant LG Electronics may have
redefined the concept of laundry,
boosting consumer’s experience with
well-coordinated and less stressful
washing.
The new product offers a new
dimension of convenience and time
saving by significantly cutting down
on washing time as multiple loads of
laundry can now be done
simultaneously.
LG Electronics has over the years
positiobed itself as a leader in home
appliances with numerous cuttingedge
products.
This is evidence in the World’s First
LG TWINWash washing machine
giving users the opportunity of
washing two loads at the same time.
With the constant demand for time
and energy saving homes appliances,
this washing machine is all about
efficiency and innovation, helping to
get more clothes cleaner in lesser time.
LG is raising the bar to a new level
of home appliance innovation
generating a whole new set of washing
options.
A loyal consumer of LG Electronics
products Mummy B as she is fondly
called recently testified that the
product is everything in washing
machine. In her words: “I do not have
to wash and wait for the sun to dry it
anymore that has been taken care of
by the two compartment for washing
and drying of fabrics simultaneously
seamlessly. I highly recommend
TwinWash to all my friends especially
those who are tired of the
conventional way of doing their
laundry.”
Another loyal consumer Esther
Ekuku also added her voice to the
ability of the TwinWash washing
machine to multi-task at the same time
is a game changer when it comes to
washing experience. Washing and
drying at the same time saves one a
lot of time and energy. “For me
laundry time has been quite exciting
due to the comforting feeling I get
whenever am using the TwinWash.”,
she said.
The powerful main washer
handles the bulks of the laundry, while
the TWINWash Mini can be set to run
a different wash cycle.
Smaller loads can be washed when
needed without having to wait until a
full wash load has accumulated,
saving user time. It is perfect for
delicate or specialized fabrics that
require wash setting such as lingerie
or baby clothes and even the gym wear
which can also be separated from
whites.
However, the washing machine also
features LG’s unique TurboWash 2.0
technology with its
Nozzles positioned inside the drum
of the main washer spray a
concentrated solution of detergent
directly onto the clothes, improving
the unit’s cleaning performance.
Another high pressure nozzle sprays
tiny water particles through the clothes
during high spin cycles for more
effective rinsing.
The revolutionary Inverter Direct
Drive motor at the heart of the LG
TWINWash is attached directly to
the drum, improving efficiency and
reducing the number of moving parts,
leading to enhanced durability. Also,
the washing machine’s Energy
Monitoring feature provides helpful
data while LG’s proprietary
HomeChat service allows users to
check the status of their washing
machine using everyday natural
language.

Viewpoint
By Richard Elesho
VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF
A reporter’s diary
I
cannot remember precisely the
time I first heard the name,
Awoniyi. Most children in Okunland
of the late 70s through the 90s would
have eavesdropped on that name
randomly in political discussions
among adults. Indeed, like other
children in the neighborhood of then
Oyi Local Government area of the old
Kwara State, I became familiar with
the letters of that word from
childhood. With time, the name
carried the familiar acronymic
initials, S. B. In our largely indigent
environment, our infantile minds
conceived of Awoniyi as a most
prosperous personage.
But, my first real meeting with the
elder statesman, Chief Sunday
Bolorunduro Awoniyi, late Aro of
Mopa, did not come until many
decades after the infantile fancies. It
was far from being fortuitous. It was
a product of an inevitable
appointment, carrying the threat of
imminent rebuke. Here is a quick
recap. Sometime in 2,000, at the turn
of the new millennium, I had anchored
a story with Awoniyi as an intro in
TheNews Magazine, as a budding
reporter. A scene of a failed banquet
The S.B Awoniyi I know
I met Baba in front
of the house
surrounded by a
coterie of elderly
women who were
obviously paying
Christmas homage
to a worthy leader
appointment between then President
Olusegun Obasanjo and some
chieftains of the then ruling People’s
Democratic Party, PDP, including
Awoniyi, was used to demonstrate
crisis within the behemoth political
body.
The old man found the story
distasteful and did not hesitate to
ventilate his opinion. This was
customary of him. On enquiry, he
gained intelligence that the author of
the offending article was a kinsman
from Okun land. His anger subsided
and pronto he offered the young
reporter an opportunity to meet his
acquaintance. Of course, I declined.
Not long after, another opportunity
for me to meet the old man came on
the horizon. That was in 2002. Kola
Ologbondiyan, a fellow journalist
from Okunland, who was then
reporting for ThisDay Newspaper,
also in Lagos was the facilitator. Baba
was to mark his 70th birthday and
had chosen Mopa his hometown, as
venue to entertain guests. Kola offered
me free ride for the occasion. Again,
not sure of how the celebrant would
receive an arrant reporter, at his
birthday bash, I avoided the journey
and ceremony altogether. A time
came when I could run no further.
Later that year, around October
2002, management of TheNews
decided at an editorial meeting to
haunt Awoniyi for a state of the nation
interview. The lot fell on me to handle
the assignment. I reverted to
Ologbondiyan for Baba’s number
and other contact details. He
graciously granted me the needed
information. I then put a call through
to the line. A man picked. After
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 2, 2018, PAGE 45
exchanging pleasantries, I introduced
myself as a journalist seeking an
interview with the elder statesman.
The man at the other end told me Baba
was not in, and that I could repeat the
call later in the evening. He took down
my name, medium and promised to
deliver my request.
I was about to end the call. But then,
a new voice sauntered at the other end
introducing himself as Awoniyi. He
listened patiently to my introduction
and request for interview. Then he
asked of my name again. I told him.
He asked of my state. I told him Kogi.
He wanted to know which part and
the particular Local Government
Area. I told him Kogi West and
Mopamuro L.G. “Oh Okay, I see” he
responded.
He further requested to know where
I was brought up and if I could speak
any Okun dialect. I confirmed I could
speak Iyagba fluently. To be double
sure, he greeted me in Iyagba and I
responded. Then, calmly he snapped,
‘Elesho, o mo goo.’ (Elesho, you are
foolish). He added in our local dialect,
why are you so foolish, that you were
speaking English to me, instead of
Iyagba. I apologized and we had a
few more conversation about home.
He encouraged me to visit home more
often. Back to my interview request,
he deliberately gave me a three
months appointment for December
26th, in his country home in Mopa.
The D-Day came and I was at the
gate of Boja Industries, a company
owned by him and where the elder
statesman had his residence. I arrived
the factory about the time Baba was
traveling to Oranre for a social
engagement. One of the two guards
at the gate declined me entry,
explaining the old man was set for a
journey. However, the second guard
took my name, hopped on a bicycle
and rode speedily to the house about
half kilometer away. In a jiffy he came
back and ushered me in.
I met Baba in front of the house
surrounded by a coterie of elderly
women who were obviously paying
Christmas homage to a worthy
leader. I offered my greetings. In
response, he took my hand, sized me
up like someone he had known all his
life and warmly said, ‘Elesho, is this
you? Welcome son.’
Continues at
www.vanguardngr.com
*Elesho is a former Chief Press
Secretary to erstwhile Governor
Ibrahim Idris of Kogi State
NIGERIA SME SUMMIT AND AWARDS
Ugwuanyi shines as he bags Human Capital Devt Award
*Umahi, Masari, Ishaku, Okowa, Tambuwal also to receive awards
*The Emir of Keffi (middle) presenting the
award to Senator Utazi
overnor Ifeanyi Ug
Gwuanyi of Enugu
State was the cynosure of
all eyes at the maiden edition
of the Nigeria SME
Summit and Awards
(SMESUMA) where he
bagged the SME/Human
Capital Development
Award of the Year 2018.
Ugwuanyi was represented
at the occasion, held
at the Department of Arts
and Culture Exhibition Pavilion,
Abuja, on Thursday,
by Senator Chukwuka
Utazi representing Enugu
North at the Senate.
Organisers of the event,
Lakewhyte Communications,
endorsed by the
Small and Medium Enterprises
Development of Nigeria
(SMEDAN), government
agency overseeing
the SME subsector of the
economy, said other recipients
of awards scheduled
to be honoured at the occasion
but unavoidably absent
will receive their
awards at a later date.
Meanwhile, the Emir of
Keffi, Alhaji (Dr) Shehu Yamusa
III, received the
SME/Royal Father Award
at the maiden edition of
SMESUMA.
Although Yamusa was
the Royal Father of the Day,
he got the Royal Father
Slain LASTMA official: My husband’s aim was to become the most
celebrated officer – Widow
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
and Monsuru Olowoopejo
In an emotion laden
voice, Mrs. Eniola
Adeyemo, wife of the officer
of the Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority,
LASTMA, Rotimi Adeyemo,
who was allegedly shot dead
by a policeman attached to
the Federal Special Anti Robbery
Squad, FSARS, Olukunle
Olonade, yesterday, cried
for financial assistance for
her children’s education.
She also disclosed that the
aim of her husband was to be
the most celebrated LAST-
MA official, resulting in his
dedication and never tired
attitude towards traffic management
in the state.
Eniola, who spoke with
Sunday Vanguard after the
Chief Executive Officer of
LASTMA, Mr. Chris Olakpe,
and General Manager of the
agency, Olawale Musa, led a
high powered delegation on
a condolence visit to the family
in Ipaja-Ayobo axis of the
state, lamented that before
her husband’s death, they
both had plans for their children’s
education.
*From left: Senator Utazi, Alhaji Aliyu Yamusa III and
Prof. Oyinlola at the Nigeria SME Summit and Awards.
The late LASTMA officer
left behind three children including
twins who are oneyear-old.
The widow lamented Rotimi’s
murder had truncated
the plans the late LASTMA
officer had for his children,
saying, “On Wednesday
morning, we had a lengthy
chat on our plans for the children
and yuletide.
“He assured me that all the
plans would be fulfilled. And
that soon, with his diligence
at work, fortunes would smile
on him and he would become
the most celebrated LAST-
MA officer.
“But I never knew that was
our last conversation. This is
because we chatted a lot and
he had become my confidant.
But his death has truncated
all that now. All I want is adequate
care for the children
because he never joked with
them.”
Eniola described the deceased
as a loving and caring
husband who encouraged
others not to despair irrespective
of their circumstances.
Apparently, in shock and
couldn’t believe his brother
had passed on, Oluremi
Adeyemo, younger brother of
the slain LASTMA officer,
disclosed that if he had premonition
of his death, he
would have asked Rotimi to
leave his duty post, saying, “I
waved at him few minutes
before his death.”
Adeyemo, who described
the slain LASTMA officer as
generous and the pillar of the
family, narrated that he drove
past Iyana-Ipaja roundabout
10 minutes before the tragedy
and saw him managing
traffic as usual.
LASTMA to establish
foundation for deceased
Olakpe, while condoling
the widow and members of
the family, said that efforts
would be made to take care
of the children and that a foundation
would be established
to remember him for his heroic
contribution.
“We are going to establish
a foundation where we honour
Adeyemo for his sterling
contribution to the management
of traffic in the state. It
would be in form of an award
to encourage diligence and
industry among LASTMA”,
the LASTMA CEO said.
“We have two officers that
have been murdered in the
state. They will be the foundation
for the award. It would
be an annual award to remember
them and spur other
officers towards diligence to
work.”
Musa, on his part, lamented
that the rewards they get
daily from managing traffic
were harassment and intimidations
from military officers.
He said, “I must salute the
courage of the LASTMA officers.
The persistent attack
on our men is absolutely unfair.
It is sad that for someone
to leave home to work and
get murdered in line of duty
is quite unfair”.
Award.
The monarch expressed
a pleasant surprise at the
development.
Senator Utazi, after receiving
the award on behalf
of Ugwanyi, said the
Enugu governor was appreciative
of the honour in
recognition of his giant
strides in human capital
development.
“Because of the adverse
economic situation in
which we have found ourselves,
white collar jobs are
no longer there. Thousands
of our youths graduate
every year but the jobs
are not there. Our youths
should look for the alternative
which is self-employment”,
Utazi said.
“My governor, His Excellency,
Rt. Hon. Ugwuanyi,
believes we should show
a direction to the young
ones. They should go for
the alternative to white collar
jobs. And my governor
is doing his best to provide
the alternative. He not only
trains but also provides
funds for the youth to start
doing business. In Enugu,
because of the administration’s
love for youths and
their empowerment, sign
posts advertising SME is
everywhere” .
In his speech, the Emir
of Keffi said his emirate
was willing to partner the
organisers of the Nigeria
SME Summit and Awards
2018 to achieve the
SMEDAN agenda.
“Let me also use this opportunity
to thank the Nigerian
SME Summit and
Awards Committee 2018
for being considerable and
thoughtful for honouring
me as the Royal Father of
the Day. In the same vein,
Keffi Emirate has accepted
to partner with you to
take SME to greater
heights towards achieving
the mandate of the Small
and Medium Enterprises
Development Agency of
Nigeria (SMEDAN)”, Yamusa
said.
Announcing awards for
Governors David Nweze
Umahi (Ebonyi), Aminu
Tambuwal (Sokoto), Darius
Ishaku (Taraba), Aminu
Masari (Katsina) and Ifeanyi
Okowa (Delta) for their
pro-SME activities, the
Chairman of Lakwhyte
Communications, Alhaji
Muhammed Lawal Aliyu
(MNI), said the recipients
will receive their awards at
a later date.
The lead speaker at the
Nigeria SME Summit and
Awards 2018, Prof. Olaniyi
Oyinlola of the University
of Abuja, stressed SMEs as
the engine of economic
growth, advising Nigeria
to take it as the route to
prosperity.
PPA governorship candidate, picks
deputy from Delta north
The governorship
candidate of the
Progressive Peoples’
Alliance, PPA, Dr.
O’diakpo Obire has picked
his running mate, Engr.
Rex Chinye Biose, from the
Delta north senatorial district.
In a statement made
available to newsmen by
his Special Assistant on
Media and Publicity,
Comrade Musa O’Karo
Ugasa, said the nomination
of Engr. Biose came as
a result of consultations
from relevant stakeholders
across the state.
According to the statement,
the deputy governorship
candidate, Engr.
Biose, popularly called
“Man of Excellence” is a
native of Idumuje-Unor in
Aniocha North Local Government
Area of Delta
State.
Boise who is an Engineer
by profession was until his
nomination, an Engineering
Consultant and a
School Proprietor. He also
had a successful career in
banking, spanning fifteen
years and rose to the position
of Regional Head,
Corporate Bank, Edo/Delta
in one of the leading
banks in Nigeria.
He resigned from his
position in 2016 to engage
in Engineering Procurement
and Consultancy. In
this capacity, he has handled
a number of projects
with the highest standards
of technical proficiency.
On his educational
background, Biose attended
Emotan Primary
School and the famous
Edo College, both in Benin
City, before he later
obtained Bachelor of Engineering
(Honours) in
Mechanical Engineering
in 1997, with special interest
in Engineering Thermodynamics
and Engineering
Design, from the
University of Benin, Edo
State.
He did his National
Youth Service in 1998 at
Petroleum Resources Limited,
Port-Harcourt, Rivers
State.

46 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
AFCON 2019: Morocco, South Africa
front runners to replace Cameroon
Morocco and South
Africa are ready
to step in after Confederation
of African football
stripped Cameroon of the
2019 African Cup of Nations
hosting rights.
CAF cited insecurity and
inadequate facilities as
reason for shopping for a
new host for the new 24
team format tournament
billed for June 15 – July
3.
Morocco, who lost out to
a United States/Mexico/
Canada bid to host the
2026 World Cup, have
regularly been reported as
possible replacements.
The North Africans had
been set to stage the 2015
Cup of Nations before
being stripped of its hosting
rights in a row over
the Ebola outbreak.
South Africa is the only
African country to stage a
World Cup, in 2010, and
last staged the Cup of
Nations in 2013.
“I know that there are
CDF holds 2018 kiddies
boxing competition
Raw boxing talents
set the Brai Ayonote
Boxing Gym on fire as the
Child Dignity Foundation
organized the 7th edition
of the Kiddies Boxing
Competition on Saturday.
The 1 -day event tagged
“Potential: Showcasing
with Boxing Talents” featured
12 bouts and 1 exhibition
fight which attracted
boxers from all
over Lagos State.
Speaking at the talent
discovery event, the CEO
of CDF, Amaka Awogu
expressed satisfaction
over the turnout of talented
boxers, adding that
the competition has grown
in leaps and bounds.
“I am really excited and
I want to thank everybody
who has made this event
worthwhile for the past 7
years. The event is growing
and we are really encouraged
with what we
have been able to
achieve.”
On the challenges being
faced by the organizers,
Awogu said having to
screen out interested boxers
as the competition continues
to grow has been
the biggest challenge.
“To accommodate the
increasing number of entries
we receive every
year is becoming more
difficult because we feel
everybody deserves a
chance to participate and
showcase his or her God
Zinedine Zidane’s son
Enzo Fernandez believes
the former Real Madrid
coach will return to management
soon.
Frenchman Zidane led
Madrid to an unprecedented
three consecutive
Champions League titles
(2016-18) as well as winning
La Liga (2017) before
surprisingly walking
away in May.
Midfielder Enzo, on
loan at Spain’s Rayo Majadahonda
from Swiss
side Lausanne-Sport, said
his father needed a rest
after his Real exploits but
given talents. Sadly, we
are left with no choice because
of our purse and
time.”
On the foundation’s biggest
achievement since
inception, the CEO of
CDF said seeing Farouq
Saheed who was one of
the previous winners
grace the occasion alongside
his school mates at
Strong Tower Academy,
Ikorodu was really encouraging.
countries which are interested,
rest assured, candidate
countries will come
forward,” said Ahmad
Ahmad, CAF President.
“We know there won’t be
many (new candidates)
but we will leave the task
force to evaluate them
and to set up visits in order
to select the organisers
of the CAN by the end
of the year”.
CAF inspectors recently
travelled to the country,
which last hosted the
tournament in 1972, to
check security, infrastructure,
stadiums and accommodation.
Cameroon is experiencing
a tense security situation
with persistent attacks
by Boko Haram jihadists
in the north and a
conflict between the army
and separatists in the two
English-speaking regions.
That recalls the trauma
that preceded the 2010
Cup of Nations in Angola,
when the Togo team
bus was attacked with
three dead two days before
the opening match.
Hammers fans want
Moses in January
West Ham fans are
wishing that Victor
Moses will return to the
club during the January
transfer window.
The Chelsea wing back
has found himself on
sidelines after the arrival
of Maurizio Sarri as
coach. Hammers fans
while deliberating on the
club’s social media page
agreed that Moses will be
a good addition to the
squad in the January.
Moses spent the 2015/16
season on loan at Upton
Park from London rivals
Chelsea and certainly
made a bright start to life
under former Croatia
coach Bilic. But after suffering
a serious hamstring
injury that curtailed his
progress, the hard-working
wide man fell down
will return to the dugout
before long.
“We all know that my
father loves football and
loves to be a coach. For
sure, he will be back soon.
It’s his decision,” Enzo
told Spanish newspaper
AS.
“Now he is taking advantage
to rest, which he
needed, because in the
end being at Madrid was
nice but hard, with a lot
of work.”
Enzo played for Madrid’s
youth team while
his father was at the club
but left for Alaves in 2017
the pecking order.
West Ham coach
Manuel Pellegrini has
prioritised the right-back
position, following a shin
injury to Ryan Fredericks
which will keep him out
for another six weeks.
West Ham would consider
a loan deal for Moses,
with the option to buy at
the end of the season.
*Moses
Zidane will return to coaching
soon, says son
before moving to
Lausanne-Sport in January.
Zidane, 46, played for
Cannes, Girondins Bordeaux
and Juventus before
becoming one of the
‘Galacticos’ at Real where
he won the Champions
League in 2002 and La
Liga the next year. He
won the World Cup in
1998 and the Euros in
2000.
Zidane retired from
playing in 2006 and later
turned his hand to management
with the Spanish
club’s ‘B’ side in 2014
before taking over the first
team in January 2016.
*Vice-Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Professor Ndowa Lale, decorating
athletes with medals during the WAUG games.
WAUG 2018: UniPort undisputed
centre of sports excellence
THE University of Port Harcourt at
the recently concluded West Africa
Universities Games held in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, proved beyond reasonable
doubt that apart from being a
citadel of learning, it is also a centre of
sports excellence. It was the fourth consecutive
time UniPort was topping the
WAUG medals table.
The WAUG games tagged UniPort
2018, which were held between October
31 and November 10 saw Team UniPort
hosting and winning convincingly
with 75 gold, 36, silver and 24 bronze...
a total of 135 medals out the 462 medals
at stake. The total number of participating
universities was 36. University of
Lagos, came second with 16 gold, 24
Silver and 16 bronze.
University of Cape Coast (UCC) in
Ghana, came third with 9 gold, 53 silver
and 4 bronze medals. The fourth position
went to Obafemi Awolowo University
which garnered 8 gold, 3 silver and
7 bronze medals, while Bayero University,
Kano harvested 6 gold, 7 silver and
9 bronze to place fifth. University of
Ghana, University for Development
Studies, University of Ilorin, University
of Benin and Nile University of Nigeria
took the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and
tenth positions in that order.
The University for Development Studies
beat Bayero University Kano on penalty
for the football event gold.
Matthew Nantiere of the University of
Cape Coast and Grace Anigbata of UniPort
won the best players in the male
and female categories in athletics, respectively.
Godwin Olofun of the University
of Lagos and Zainab Alabi of
University of Ilorin received the awards
for best male and female players in badminton.
Kareem Joseph of UNILAG and
Iornumbe Deteren of BUK took the
awards for basketball. Daniel Anwuli
and Perpetua Ogbiyoyo, both of UniPort
emerged as best male and female players
in chess.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of
Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who
was Special Guest of Honour at the closing
ceremony, a Director in the Ministry,
Mrs. Oluwagbemisola Ajibade, commended
the University for hosting a
successful sporting fiesta for the youths
of West Africa. She stated
that the administration of
President Muhammadu
Buhari paid special attention
to sports development
in the country as a
powerful instrument of
peace, national and youth
integration.
In his farewell address,
the Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Ndowa Lale, congratulated
the athletes,
coaches and technical officials
who participated in
the various events and for
•Athletes in action
making friends across the sub-region.
He also expressed gratitude to the Rivers
State Government for the huge financial
succour which he said played a
decisive role in the successful hosting
of the games by the University of Port
Harcourt.
“Our collective gratitude also goes to
the Government of Delta State for supporting
us from the beginning to the end
of the Games. We are grateful to the
Secretary-General of the Athletics Federation
of Nigeria, Mr. Elijah Aamu for
his invaluable input to the huge success
recorded at the Games. We thank
Heritage Bank for partnering us to stage
the event. We cannot thank one of our
distinguished Honorary Alumnus, Dr.
Solomon Ogba enough for his untiring
support for the University of Port Harcourt,”
Professor Lale disclosed.
Declaring the 14th WAUG Games
closed, President of the West African
University Games, Professor Kingsley
Akpabio, described the sporting fiesta
as a huge success, despite the twists and
turns that raised concern at the preparation
stage. Professor Akpabio specifically
commended the universities that
came from outside Nigeria to participate
in the Games. He ended his closing remarks
by ordering the extinguishing of
the Games Torch which was lit by one of
UniPort’s star athletes, Mercy Genesis.
Other dignitaries who graced the
event included the Rivers State Commissioner
of Youths and Sports, Mr.
Boma Iyaye, who led two other commissioners
to represent Governor Nyesom
Wike at the opening ceremony and the
Front Desk Officer for UniPort at the
Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Aliyu
Alani. Chairman Local organising
committee Prof. Regina Ogali remarked
that UniPort was honoured to host the
WAUG Games.
“We are happy and honoured to host
the high and mighty in politics, business,
sports and education on our beautiful
and expansive campus. We are
pleased to harvest the cultural mosaic
of the dynamic peoples of West Africa
and spectators from the continent of Africa
and beyond. It has been a labour of
love as we battled all odds to package
the 14th edition of WAUG.”

*Super Falcons celebrating after beating South African's Banyana Banyana
AWCON: Super Falcons rule Africa again
•‘shoot-down’ Banyana Bayana 4-3 penalties
By Ben Efe
Nigeria’s Super Fal
cons, yesterday retained
the Africa Women
Cup of Nations title after
beating South Africa’s
Banyana Banyana 4-3
on penalties to win their
ninth title.
Full time scores stood
at 0-0 as both teams
failed to find the net in a
game that was evenly
balanced. However, Nigeria’s
goalkeeper, Oluehi
Tochukwu was the
most busy of the night
denying the South Africans,
a number of scoring
opportunities, this
include a clear cut
chance created by South
Africa’s top scorer,
Thembi Kgatlana. She
had weaved her way
through the Nigerian
defence and shot
straight into the arms of
Tochokwu. Banyana
Banyana came close to
scoring again Tochukwu
parried Mamelo Makhabane’s
free-kick out.
Perhaps the big moment
of the match came
in the 75th minute, when
Francisca Ordega who
had been working her
socks off all day was set
free into the South Africa
box by Asisat Oshoala.
Ordega beat on-rushing
Kaylin Swart, but the
out stretched legs of the
South African keeper
caught Super Falcons
midfielder.
But to the chagrin of
watching spectators who
had thought that the
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
P
r e s i d e n t
Muhammadu
Buhari last night congratulated
the Super Falcons
of on their victory
over the Banyana
Banyana of South Africa
in the final match of the
11th Africa Women Cup
of Nations (AWCON),
Ghana 2018.
The President expressed
particular delight at the
discipline and commitment
exhibited by the
country’s senior women
football team despite the
stiff resistance of their
South African counterparts.
From left:Mr Joseph Udedri. Commissioner for
Youth and Sports,Enugu state; Mr Obiukwu
Mbonu,Chairman Enugu states Athletes Association,
Mrs Omotayo Egberongbe, Junior Brand
Manager, Three Crowns Milk, Mr Uwakwe
Azikiwe, Special Adviser for Special Duties to
Enugu state Governor and Mr Ogbuagu Anikwe.
Commissioner for Information Enugu State. at
the Coal City Marathon held in Enugu state
match was done and
dusted, top striker Oshoala
missed the chance
to take her goals haul in
the tournament to four,
when she blew the penalty
kick with a low shot,
which rolled lazily off
target. She had slipped
on making contact with
the ball.
There was no anxious
moments for both teams
in the extra time and
then the shoot-out drama
ensued. Team captain
Onome Ebi missed the
first kick to give South
Africa hope, but on their
third kick Banyana Banyana
shot wide, while
Tochukwu saved the last
kick to bring joy to the
hearts of the Super Falcons
and pain to the
South African women
who were poised to win
their first title.
Buhari Congratulates Super Falcons
Noting that the Super
Falcons had earlier qualified
to represent Nigeria
at the FIFA Women World
Cup in France next year,
President Buhari described
winning the
AWCON for the third consecutive
time and ninth
overall, as the “icing on
the cake.”
Saluting the country’s
female football ambassadors
for doing their fatherland
proud and showing
clear dominance on the
African continent, he
urged them to approach
the France 2019 competition
with clear focus and
determination to excel on
the global stage.
Chukuweze targets win
against Barcelona
Up and coming Su
per Eagles striker,
Samuel Chukwueze is
hoping to post a good
outing when his club Villarreal
visit Barcelona this
evening in searching of
their first win at Nou
Camp.
The former Golden Eaglets
star is expected to be
in the starting line up and
he is looking forward to
playing against the like of
Lionel Messi.
“I have been working
very hard for a day like
this. I grew up watching
Messi and other big Barcelona
players play football
and getting the opportunity
to play against
them will be a dream
come true for me. Playing
against a player like Messi
will be an honour and
I’m looking forward to it.
“We know it won’t be an
easy tie because Barcelona
have not won in the
league for the past two
matches but we are confident
we can play our own
game and beat them to
theirs.
“The coaches here have
given me the motivation
and confidence to express
myself and Santi Carzola
is like a mentor to me
here also, I’m happy to be
playing alongside him,
because he always encourages
me and always
tells me to be strong.
“Many people say I play
like Arjen Robben and I
SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018 — 47
Salah backs Liverpool to
collect silverware in 2019
Mohamed Salah has admitted that he wants sil
verware more than any personal accolades as
Liverpool seek success on multiple fronts.
The Egypt international was imperious in a 44-goal
2017-18 season that nonetheless ended without any
trophies for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool – beaten Champions League finalists and
fourth-place finishers in the Premier League last season
– host Merseyside rivals Everton this afternoon,
where Salah can reach a personal milestone.
“My target last season was not only to break the
[goalscoring] record but also to win something with
the club,” Salah told Sky Sports, with Liverpool trophy-less
since 2012. “We were very close in the Champions
League final but this is football, we have to accept
the result. “This time also I can’t say my individual
one but my target now is to win something for the
club. “This would be huge for us as a team and as
players. “It’s also a dream for the city and for the fans.
I think this season we are going to do something.”
Klopp’s side are unbeaten in the league this season,
but are precariously positioned in their Champions
League group, needing a win from their final game
against Napoli to ensure progression.
Guinness, Rio Ferdinand fete
winners of Fans Made of
More Promo
Football fans in Lagos had the opportunity of
having a close interaction with former England
and Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand
when he presented cheques to winners of the company’s,
Fans Made of More Promo.
The event which took place at Lions Den Sports
Bar, Tejuosho, Yaba, Lagos and Shoprite Alausa,
Ikeja respectively, saw the winners namely; Oladipo
Fatai, Francisca Ifeoma Ibe, Wisdom Okpdiowho,
Jos based Elizabeth Ayuba and Bertrand Okeke
going home with N1 million and an all expenses
paid trip abroad to watch an international match.
The carnival like event attracted some ex- internationals
such as Victor Ikpeba, Julius Aghaghowa,
Mutiu Adepoju and Peter Rufai attracted many football
fans who had the winners rare privileged of
having close interaction with the player as well as
the match between Manchester City and Bournemouth
with the Man Utd legend.
The winners expressed happiness with Guinness
and its uniqueness with an appeal to consumers to
continue to patronise the beer to stand a chance of
winning next time.
Spurs ready to break
Arsenal’s curse — Poch
Mauricio Pochettino believes his side now have
the mental strength to secure their first victory
against Arsenal at the Emirates in eight years.
Tottenham haven’t won on enemy territory in the
North London derby since 2010 but come into Sunday’s
fixture under a surge of momentum having won
six games in succession including recent victories over
Chelsea and Inter Milan. And Pochettino is adamant
that his side can now end their curse at the home of
their bitter rivals as he clashes with old friend Unai
Emery for the first time in England.
“I think the mentality so far is so good,” Pochettino
said. “I think now it is about delivering the job. We
have the belief which is most important in football.
“The belief and faith that you can beat any team
away from home or at home and I think today the
squad have that belief and that is most important.
“It’s special, a special game. Always it’s tough to
play this kind of game because it means more than
other games. We know very well what this game means
for our fans.
“Of course the players feel that. The players are
aware of what the game means. We have a lot of players
who through the academy arrive in the first team.
They know very well what it means to play Arsenal.”
City won’t slip during Christmas — Guardiola
Manchester City will
not relent in their
attacking zeal despite the
glut of fixtures to come
over the festive period,
manager Pep Guardiola
said before his side beat
Bournemouth 3-1 to go
five points clear in yesterday’s
English Premier
League tie.
City, who won the title
last season by breaking
records in terms of goals
scored and points accrued,
are once again flying
high, leading the table
on 35 points after 13
games without tasting
defeat.
It was in the midst of the
busy December fixtures
last year, however, that
Guardiola’s side saw their
record 18-game winning
run come to a halt in a 0-
0 draw at Crystal Palace.
Guardiola maintained
that his side will not
change their approach to
mitigate the short recovery
time. “When we are
not able to win the games,
people will say we cannot
keep the standard but we
have been at the same
level for the last 15 months
so I don’t have any reason
to think we will not
be who we are,” the Spanish
coach told a news conference.
“That doesn’t mean win
or lose but the way we
approach the games, I
don’t see any signals to
see we are not going to
try and be who we are.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 2, 2018
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