18082019 -Anxiety over " Next Level" Ministers

PAGE 2 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

•The newly installed President, Rotary Club of Victoria Island East, Lagos, Rotarian 

Gbemi Oyeneyin (middle), flanked by the District 9110 Governor–elect, Rotarian Bola 

Oyebade (1st left), Assistant District 9110 Nigeria Governor, Rotarian Sam Nwakohu 

(4th left), a Past District Governor, Rotarian Dr Michael Olawale Cole (beside Rotarian 

Oyeneyin) and the inducted members of the Club at the Installation of Rotarian Gbemi 

Oyeneyin as the 33rd President, Rotary Club of Victoria Island East, Lagos held at Eko 

Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. 

Man’s house burnt for 

killing neighbour’s dog 

By Ikechukwu Odu 

A 

38-yr-old man, 

Sunday Ugwuoke, 

has lost all his property and 

his house almost burnt 

when his neighbours 

attacked him for killing 

their dog. 

Ugwuoke, who spoke to 

Sunday Vanguard, 

yesterday, at his country 

home at Ama Ogwuo Edem, 

in Nsukka Local 

Government Area of Enugu 

State, explained that he 

came out to ease himself at 

about 10:30 pm, yesterday, 

when he noticed the 

movement of an animal 

around his door. 

He said that he was 

shocked to notice the 

strange animal lurking 

around his door and 

attempting to attack him 

which made him to hit it 

with a rod, adding that it 

cried out and attracted the 

attention of the owners. 

Ugwuoke, who trades in 

automobile parts at the 

Mechanic Village, Nsukka, 

said he was surprised when 

one of his neighbours, 

emerged from the backyard 

and threatened him for 

hitting the animal. He 

added that the threat 

provoked him further and 

he went inside, got his 

cutlass and severed the 

animal into two. 

At that point, Ugwuoke 

said the neighbour ran 

home and mobilised his two 

brothers, adding that when 

he saw them running 

THE Chairman of the 

Enugu State sectoral adhoc 

committee on Finance, 

Review of Internally Generated 

Revenue and International 

Development Partners’ Funding, 

Prof. Godwin Owoh, has 

commended Governor Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi for the innovation 

and far-reaching reforms 

his administration introduced 

in the State Internal Revenue 

Service, which, he said, was responsible 

for the impressive 

increase in its Internally Generated 

Revenue (IGR). 

Owoh noted with delight 

that Enugu is leading and has 

one of the strongest IGR automation 

mechanisms in the 

country, based on their “comparative 

analysis of about six 

similar states” in terms of accessing, 

collection and ac- 

*Part of the house still intact after the arson 

towards his house, and 

knowing that he could not 

challenge them, he 

withdrew to the backyard 

from where he watched 

helplessly as they destroyed 

his property. He said they 

started destroying things 

when they searched for him 

thoroughly without success. 

He also said that when 

By Harris Emmanuel 

NIGERIA has a deficit 

o 

f 

24.7 million prepaid 

meters as electricity consumers 

continue to receive estimated 

bills from distribution companies 

in spite of epileptic power 

supply, Chief Executive Officer 

of Metering Solutions Manufacturing 

Services Limited, 

Adebisi Adeniyi, has said. 

He spoke in Awa, Onna Local 

Government Area of Akwa 

Ibom State 

they had damaged all the 

property in his room, they 

brought out his mattress, 

positioned it on the roof of 

the house before setting it 

ablaze, saying the flame 

woke residents from their 

sleep as they rushed to the 

scene to save the building 

from getting burnt. 

•From left: Mr Folorunso Coker,Director General,Federal Ministry of Tourism;Hon 

Tolulope Sodipe,member, Federal House of Representatives, Oluyole Constituency;Mrs 

Bamidele Abiodun,First Lady of Ogun State;Chief Haresh Aswani,Managing 

Director,Tolaram Group and Dr Bartholomew Brai,President Nutrition Society of 

Nigeria,during the formal launch of Goodlife Magic fruit drinks in Lagos. 

Nigeria needs 24.7m prepaid meters — Expert 

According to him, while the 

Nigerian Electricity Regulation 

Company (NERC) says 4.7 

million Nigerians were in need 

of prepaid meters, real estate 

developers have a gap of 20 

million. 

This, he said, shows that 24.7 

million Nigerians require prepaid 

meters, adding that his 

company had commenced the 

roll out of pre-paid meters for 

Port Harcourt, Eko and Kano 

Electricity Distribution Companies 

as part of efforts to eliminate 

estimated billing. 

Enugu is leading in IGR automation, says Finance 

Committee Chairman 

counting for tax and other 

government revenues. 

The chairman spoke when 

he led members of his committee 

alongside other remaining 

four committees in the second 

batch of the 12 sectoral adhoc 

committees, constituted by 

Gov. Ugwunayi on review of 

various sectors of government 

for optimized service delivery 

and advancement of good governance, 

to submit their reports. 

The four committees that also 

submitted their reports were 

Agriculture and Rural Development; 

Lands, Housing and 

Transport; Sustainable Environmental 

and Urban Management; 

and Youths and 

Sports Development, while Education; 

Health; Water; Justice; 

Chieftaincy/Community Matters; 

Public Service; and Security 

Review Committees had 

earlier submitted their reports. 

Speaking further, Owoh stated 

that the finance committee 

worked in accordance with its 

terms of reference, adding that 

they narrowed down to key specifics 

and made critical findings 

after data gathering and 

extensive engagements with 

relevant stakeholders. 

s part of its avowed 

Acommitment to ensure 

Nigeria produce quality 

products and support the local 

content drive of the Federal 

Government, LS Scientifics 

Limited, a quality control 

company based in Lagos, 

Abuja and London has 

unveiled four quality control 

labs of international standard 

in Lagos. 

By Lawani Mikairu 

THE Federal Airports 

Authority of Nigeria , 

FAAN , yesterday, said with 

effect from August 24, the 

runway at Akanu Ibiam 

International Airport, 

Enugu will be closed for 

major repairs on the airfield. 

This came as one of the two 

airlines currently operating 

flights to the airport, Air 

Peace, commended FAAN 

and the Federal 

Government for taking the 

bold decision to close the 

airport for repairs 

Confirming the closure, 

Mrs Henrietta Yakubu 

,General Manager, 

Corporate Affairs, FAAN , 

said “The Federal Airports 

Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, 

hereby notifies airlines, 

passengers and all other 

stakeholders that effective 

00:00 on 24th August, 2019, 

the runway at Akanu Ibiam 

International Airport in 

Enugu will be closed for 

major repairs and works on 

the airfield”. 

“This move is aimed at 

resolving the existing 

Safety/Security concerns 

to flight operations. A date 

to reopen the runway will be 

communicated in due 

course,” she said. 

Responding, Ugwuanyi, 

who appreciated the members 

of the committees for their 

commitment and diligence in 

the discharge of their tasks, 

noted with delight the enthusiasm 

and positive feedback 

that greeted the exercise, describing 

it as a source of motivation. 

FAAN to close Enugu 

Airport for repairs 

Speaking on the move, 

Allen Onyema Chairman, 

and CEO, Air Peace, said, 

“The management and staff 

of Air Peace wish to 

commend the FG for the 

decision to close the Enugu 

international Airport in 

order to allow a proper 

repair and maintenance of 

the airports runway which 

has given us serious safety 

concerns. 

“We will not fail to thank 

the Federal Government for 

AMBASSADOR Eze 

N. Ebere has asked 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari to revisit the 

removal of former IGP 

Suleiman Abba who 

“former President Goodluck 

Jonathan angrily and 

illegally sacked for losing 

2015 presidential election 

on the grounds that he went 

to welcome General Buhari 

at the airport”. 

Ebere pleaded with the 

“It is what you use that you 

ultimately pay for. You do not 

pay for what you do not use. I 

have been a victim. So, it is my 

responsibility now as a product 

champion to ensure that others 

do not fall victim”, he said. 

Adeniyi, who described the 

company as not only the biggest 

in sub-Saharan African but 

on the entire African continent 

in terms of metering solution, 

said with a capacity of three 

million pre-paid meters per 

annum on a single shift, it is 

capable of producing six million 

working in two shifts in a 

year. 

“Our facility is clearly and 

arguably the biggest in Africa 

in terms of metering solution. 

People always said we are the 

biggest in sub-Saharan Africa 

but I have since come to realize 

that we are actually the biggest 

in Africa. That’s the truth”, the 

CEO added. 

“We work in three major activities. 

We assemble SKDs 

which is a semi knock down 

component for prepaid meters, 

two and three phases. We also 

go into what we call Injunction 

Moulding for the manufacture 

of meter boxes, because all our 

boxes are pole mounted. 

“So we need boxes to accommodate 

them when they are 

outside because of the weather. 

And the third thing we do is to 

assemble those metals, the assembled 

SKDs into the manufactured 

metal boxes, that is 

why we call it Metering Solution 

Manufacturing Company”. 

Firm unveils analytical labs to support local content 

Speaking during the 

unveiling ceremony which was 

attended by the representative 

of NAFDAC, SON and other 

stakeholders, the Managing 

Director of LS Scientific 

Limited, Mr. Olumurewa 

Odunjo said that the 

company has invested over 

N300m, assuring that 

products manufactured in 

Nigeria would be safer, 

the appointment of Capt. 

Yadudu as the Managing 

Director of FAAN. His 

appointment is a testimony 

to the Federal 

Government’s resolve to put 

result driven persons at the 

helm of its agencies. Air 

Peace is not alone in this 

thought. Since his coming, 

airlines have started 

enjoying the services that 

would definitely improve 

the standards in the 

industry”. 

Envoy asks Buhari to review IGP 

Suleiman Abba’s removal 

healthier and scientifically 

advanced in terms of 

technology. 

He noted that the labs, which 

include, Chemistry lab, 

Microbiology Lab, 

Instrumentation Lab and 

Technical Repair and 

Calibration Lab was installed 

to improve quality of locallymade 

products for export and 

is affordable. 

President to compensate 

the former top cop. 

The Executive Director of 

Eze Ebere Foundation, who 

noted that he was the first 

elite to see Buhari goodwill 

that made him endorse his 

re-election ahead of the 

February 23, 2019 

elections, said: “It will be 

very good to reward every 

good work done by any 

Nigerian, particularly 

former IGP Suleman Abba 

who is a very good man. 

“His illegal sack brought 

a lot of gaps in the police 

and I believe this is one of 

the reasons we are 

experiencing the level of 

security challenges we are 

facing today in this country. 

“Abba should have retired 

this year 2019. Now 

imagine how we have 

wasted the experience that 

would have helped to 

resolve our security 

challenges today” . 

The National Association 

of Nigerian Students 

(NANS) National Life 

Patron disclosed his plan to 

collaborate with the 

leadership of NANS and the 

National Association of 

Polytechnic Students 

(NAPS) to engage 

universities, among other 

educational institutions, 

over continued students 

taking of their lives because 

of failed examinations. 

Ebere spoke against the 

backdrop of the reported 

suicide of a student of 

Obafemi Awolowo 

University (OAU), Ile-Ife 

over failed examination. 

The deceased was the 

latest in the strings of 

students’ suicides in recent 

times. A copy of her 

academic records obtained 

from her portal page 

showed that she had many 

outstanding courses 

(carryovers).

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left) receiving blessings from 

the Bishop of Umuahia and Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Doicese, 

His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Lucius Ugorji, during the Thanksgiving Mass 

to mark this year's "Iri Ji Mbaise Festival", held at the Maria Mater Ecclesiae 

Cathedral, Ahiara, Mbaise, Imo State, weekend. 

Buhari, PDP congratulate Babangida at 78 

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru 

& Dirisu Yakubu 

P RESIDENT 

hammadu Buhari Mu 

has 

congratulated former military 

President Ibrahim Badamasi 

Babangida on his 78th 

birthday. 

Buhari, in a message to the 

former Head of State, according 

to a statement by his 

505 heroic stories from 

states and locations 

across the six geo-political 

zones of Nigeria have 

been received for the 2019 

edition of the Indomie Independence 

Day Award (IIDA) 

of Dufil Prima Foods. 

IIDA is a national award 

event, which identifies, celebrates 

and rewards the exemplary 

accomplishments of 

children, who have shown 

courage and determination 

in situations that ordinarily 

would bring fear. The award 

also encourages excellence 

and diligence in children. 

A breakdown of the stories 

entered reveal that the South- 

Senior Special Assistant on 

Media and Publicity, Mallam 

Garba Shehu, said Nigerians 

will be looking up 

to Babangida for guidance. 

“On behalf of the Federal 

Executive Council, my family 

and all Nigerians, please 

accept my warm felicitations 

on your 78th birthday”, Buhari 

said. 

“On this special day of your 

AMCON Chairman Banire loses mum 

Late Alhaja Sarat Banire 

West geo-political zone had 

99 entries, followed by the 

North-West (85 stories), South- 

East (77 stories), South-South 

(74 stories), North central (68 

stories) while the online and 

social media platforms 

matched with 102 entries, totalling 

505 inspiring stories. 

life, the reminiscences of your 

courage and invaluable service 

to the army in protecting 

the sovereignty of the country 

come to the fore. Thank 

you for the role of statesman 

you are playing in the affairs 

the nation. 

“As you age gracefully, the 

country will continue to look 

up to you for guidance and 

wisdom. May Allah continue 

to increase your health and 

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019, PAGE 3 

L-R: Mrs. Esther Dada and daughter, Ms Temitope 

Oturu during the 70th birthday celebration 

of Mrs. Dada at Ota, Ogun State recently. 

How I was attac 

acked by y suspected ed IPoB members s in Germany 

– Ekweremadu 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the 

Igbo apex socio-cultural 

organisation, has condemned 

the alleged attack on former 

Deputy President of the 

Senate, Senator Ike 

Ekweremadu, by suspected 

members of the proscribed 

Indigenous People of Biafra, 

IPOB, in Germany. 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo urged 

German law enforcement 

agencies to bring the 

perpetrators to justice, 

describing the attack as a 

disgrace. 

In a statement, Chief Nnia 

Nwodo, President General of 

Ohanaeze said: “The assault 

on Ekweremadu by Igbo in 

Germany, described as IPOB, 

is disappointing, grotesque 

and dangerous for Igbo 

solidarity. 

“This violent, rude, 

impertinent, divisive and 

discourteous style of IPOB or 

2019 Indomie Independence Day y Awar 

ard records 505 entries 

IPOB-instigated miscreants 

is damaging to our cause. It 

strengthens the case of those 

who describe them as 

terrorists and weaken our 

case against the infringement 

of our fundamental human 

rights. 

“Ekweremadu negotiated the 

sureties and securities for 

Nnamdi Kanu’s release on 

bail. He does not deserve this 

harassment and disgrace. A 

disgrace to him is a dishonour 

to theIgbo race. 

“Whilst I condemn the attack 

on our revered son and leader, 

I call on the law enforcement 

agencies in Germany to bring 

to book the perpetrators of 

this despicable act. It is un- 

Igbo. It is disgraceful.” 

Meanwhile, Ekweremadu, 

last night, confirmed a 

physical assault on him by 

some members of IPoB in 

Germany. 

ALHAJA Sarat Ban 

ire, mother of the 

Chairman of Assets 

Management Corporation of 

Nigeria, AMCON, Dr Muiz 

Banire, SAN, on Friday night 

passed on at the ripe age of 

92. A short statement released 

by the Banire family said the 

remains of Alhaja Banire will 

be interred at the Ebony Vault, 

Alagbon close, Ikoyi, Lagos, 

yesterday, according to Islamic 

rites. 

The late matriarch of the 

Banire family is survived by 

relations and children including 

Muiz, who is also a 

former National Legal Adviser 

of the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC; Alhaja 

Raimot Ajoke Banire, Mr Ajibola 

Banire, Dr Rasheed Oki 

and Mr. Ayoola Oke 

Enweremadu confirmed the 

attack in a statement released 

by his Media Assistant, Uche 

Anichukwu, in Abuja. 

The News Agency o Nigeria 

(NAN) reported that a 64- 

second video about the attack 

had gone viral on the social 

media earlier on Saturday. 

In the video, Ekweremadu 

was seen being violently 

questioned over his alleged 

conspiracy with the Federal 

Government to proscribe the 

IPOB in the South East and 

killing several of its followers. 

NAN further reports that 

there were initial speculations 

on the veracity of the video 

where the senator was 

attacked with eggs by the irate 

IPOB members. 

The senator who also gave 

account of the event on his 

social media handle, 

@iamekweremdu, however, 

assured that he was safe. 

He condemned the attack 

and said he had immediately 

reported it to the Nigerian 

grant you the strength to give 

your best to your family and 

the nation.”Also congratulating 

the former military President, 

the Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP) described Babangida 

as patriotic, fearless 

and detribalised “who has 

dedicated his life for the unity, 

stability and development 

of our dear nation”. 

“General Babangida is 

celebrated for his many lega- 

Release Sowore now, detention undemocratic, 

Onitiri tells FG 

Ambassador to Germany, Mr 

Yusuf Tuggar. 

He said: “I attended the 

Second Annual Cultural 

Festival and Convention 

organised by Ndi-Igbo 

Germany in Nurnberg today 

where I was billed to give a 

keynote address along with 

the President-General of 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief 

Nnia Nwodo, who, however 

could not make it eventually. 

“I was given a resounding 

welcome by Ndigbo in 

Germany and everything 

went smoothly until some 

men, who identified 

themselves as IPOB members 

stormed the venue and began 

to complain about the killings 

in the South East, stressing 

that there would be no Igbo 

event at the venue. 

“I tried to engage them, but 

when they became unruly, I 

had to leave the venue. The 

organisers also invited the 

police and I was 

accompanied out of the 

Speaking on the concluded 

nationwide search exercise 

and call-for-entry, the 

Group Public Relations and 

Events Manager, Dufil Prima 

Foods, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, 

stated that the 

progress report, which the 

brand has received from the 

search team, right from the 

venue. 

“Much as I am disappointed 

in their conduct, especially as 

I am one of the persons, who 

have spoken up on justice for 

Ndigbo, the Python Dance, 

judicial killings in Igbo land 

and elsewhere both on the 

floor of the Senate and in my 

written and personal 

engagements with the 

Presidency and the media as 

well as rallied the South East 

Senate Caucus to secure 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release 

with Senator Enyinnaya 

Abaribe taking him on bail 

to douse tension in the South 

East, I nevertheless do not 

hold this to heart against 

them, for they know not what 

they do. 

“I have received thousands of 

solidarity calls and messages 

from well meaning Ndigbo. 

I want to assure them that I 

am hail and hearty. I have 

also spoken with the Nigerian 

Ambassador to Germany, 

Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar.” 

commencement of the 

search which kicked-off 

about three months ago, 

has once again proven that 

children across this great 

nation exhibit several outstanding 

acts on a daily basis 

which should be rewarded. 

cies while in office as well as 

his steadfastness and exceptional 

commitment towards 

national cohesion, tolerance 

and peaceful coexistence in 

our country”, the party said 

in statement. 

“Indeed, from this great 

Nigerian flows an enduring 

lesson in selfless service. His 

life epitomizes the true virtue 

of statesmanship and the fact 

that one can indeed climb to 

the very top and yet remain 

humble and accessible”. 

A 

Peoples’ Democratic 

Party, PDP chieftain, 

Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has 

urged the Federal Government 

to release Mr. 

Omoyele Sowore from detention 

immediately. 

In a statement issued in 

Lagos at the weekend, Onitiri 

said the detention was 

unnecessary, undemocratic, 

unpopular and unconstitutional. 

“On behalf of millions of 

Nigerian democrats and 

peace-loving citizens, I 

plead with President Muhammadu 

Buhari government 

to release the convener 

of ‘Revolution Now’, 

Omoyele Sowore, as his detention 

is undemocratic, diversionary 

and will continue 

to heat up the polity”, he 

said in the statement. 

He said Nigerians’ fundamental 

human rights to freedom 

of speech, association 

and assembly cannot be 

taken away from them by 

any government. 

“Besides, we wish to plead 

with our judiciary not to 

work against the people, as 

Nigerians shall hold the judiciary 

responsible if our 

democracy should fail”, he 

said. 

“We have come a long 

way to achieve this fledging 

democracy and it should 

never fail. We implore our 

judiciary to be courageous, 

stand firm with the people 

of Nigeria and defend our 

democracy.” 

Chief Onitiri emphasised 

the importance of the judiciary 

as the last hope of our 

people and strongest pillar 

of our democracy. Judgement 

without fair trial 

should stop”. 

War against 

criminals: 

When Dapo 

Abiodun read riot 

act to kidnappers, 

others 

By Femi Onasanya 

he people of Ogun State 

Tmay have good reason 

to remember the just 

concluded Eid-el-Kabir 

festival. Beyond the spiritual 

notes and gaiety that usually 

attend the festival, this year’s 

Sallah festival had so many 

mementos to cherish. Apart 

from the fact that the festival 

was celebrated in a convivial 

atmosphere, reinforcing the 

bond of brotherliness and 

good neighbourliness that 

exists among the people of 

the state, the celebration was 

devoid of any unsavoury 

event. 

Also, on that day, the 

industrious Ogun people 

received a very reassuring gift 

from a man who had sworn 

to protect their interests 

always, the governor of the 

state, Prince Dapo Abiodun. 

And this gift is none other 

than the renewal of his vow 

to ensure the safety of all 

residents in the state no 

matter their status, when 

he made a bold declaration 

that outlawed criminals in the 

state. In other words, the 

Ogun State governor was 

emphatic when he read a riot 

act to criminals who might 

be planning to carry out their 

ignoble activities in any part 

of the state. 

Governor Abiodun, who did 

not hide his aversion for 

criminals who have been 

marauding and terrorising 

people all over the place, 

seized the unique Sallah event 

to pass his message when he 

played host to leaders of the 

Muslim community in 

Remoland at Iperu, his home 

town. 

The Muslim leaders, 

League of Imams, led by the 

Chief Imam of Remoland, 

Sheik Junaid Abdukadiri, 

was at Iperu to felicitate him 

on the occasion of Sallah 

and also offered prayer for 

him and the state, especially 

on the pervading insecurity in 

the country. The governor 

had in the spirit of the 

occasion reassured the 

Muslim leaders of the strong 

resolve of his administration 

to ensure that lives of Ogun 

indigenes and other residents 

in the state matter. 

Abiodun’s avowal to 

protect of life and property of 

the people under his charge 

is viewed generally as the 

perfect elixir for this troubling 

times. With growing 

insecurity across the nation, 

made more strenuous by 

incidence of banditry and 

kidnapping, many a 

Nigerian now lives 

perennially in fear. From the 

far North to the edge of the 

South, and indeed the South- 

West, where life and living 

used to be luxuriant, the 

situation has changed 

drastically. 

There is hardly a day that 

the news media would not be 

awash with reports of either 

deaths from banditry, 

unknown gunmen or 

kidnappings on the nation’s 

highways. Ogun had its own 

share recently when some 

hoodlums struck on the 

highways in the state. Seven 

persons were abducted. 

Though the victims, with the 

concerted efforts of security 

agencies in the state, have 

now regained their freedom, 

the Ogun governor had 

referenced those incidents in 

his response to the Muslim 

leaders’ apprehension and 

vowed that such incidents 

would never be allowed in his 

domain again. 

“You will recall that there 

were two cases of kidnapping 

along Lagos-Ibadan 

expressway, involving seven 

victims in all. 

•Onasanya works 

with the Ogun State 

information ministry


Renowned Poet and former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Odia 

Ofeimun; Ekiti State First Lady, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; former ANA President, Dr Wale Okediran; 

and National President, Mallam Denja Abdullahi; during the investiture of Ekiti State 

Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi as Grand Patron of the association at the 2019 Ekiti State 

Chapter Convention in Ado-Ekiti. 

Monarch, scores of mourners killed by 

gunmen in Benue 

By Peter Duru, 

Makurdi 

Atraditional ruler, 

Chief Tersoo Mbagir, 

and 30 others, including 

mourners, were feared 

dead in a bloody weekend 

attack on Tongov village 

close to Amaafu town and 

Mbasar Gasema community 

in Katsian/Ala local government 

area of Benue State. 

Sunday Vanguard gathered 

from a source, who 

claimed he lost a close friend 

in the attack, that the armed 

attackers, allegedly linked to 

a militia, stormed Mbasar 

Gasema community, less 

than a kilometer from Katsina/Ala 

town, in the early hours 

yesterday and killed their victims 

in their homes. 

“They are the same militia 

gang who have been attacking 

our people over the years. 

They carried out the dastardly 

act early Saturday morning”, 

he said. 

“This time they came when 

the people were fast asleep 

around 2am and started killing 

their innocent victims. It 

was the cry and wailing from 

the people’s homes that attracted 

the attention of Chief 

Tersoo Mbagir, my former 

classmate who was also our 

tax collector. 

“He went out to find out 

what was happening in his 

community and on his way 

he was ambushed by the militia 

and killed alongside four 

others while some also sustained 

injuries. 

“The same armed gang, 

numbering about 12, moved 

on motorbikes from Mbasar 

Gasema community and besieged 

Tongov community, 

close to Amaafu, where a 

wake-keep for a burial ceremony 

of one Tor was going 

on and killed about 25 persons 

though that figure may 

increase because many people 

are still missing and unaccounted 

for while some 

sustained serious injuries. 

“So, as I speak, Katsina/Ala 

is in deep mourning, and the 

people are apprehensive because 

nobody knows where 

will be the next target of this 

dreaded militia gang. 

“Most of the lecturers at the 

College of Education Katsina/Ala 

have moved out of 

town to neighbouring communities 

while some have relocated 

to Gboko and 

Makurdi from where they go 

to work daily for fear of being 

attacked and killed at 

night”. 

Confirming the attack, 

Katsina/Ala local government 

Caretaker Chairman, 

Otunba Segun Runsewe, Director- General, NCAC, (middle), flanked to his right by Dr. 

Mrs Gloria Laraba Shoda, National President, National Council of Women Societies( NCWS), 

Comrade Safiya Ibrahim Ogah, left, Hajia Binta lbrahim, PRO and Hajia Hadiza A. Ibeh 

in a group photograph during a courtesy visit of the Council to NCAC in Abuja. 

Mrs. Virginia Kpinbi, however 

said that the number of 

deaths might not be as high 

as being rumoured by people 

in the affected communities. 

When contacted, Benue 

State Police Commissioner, 

Mr. Mukaddas Garba, who 

confirmed the attack, said the 

police had record of four 

deaths stressing that investigation 

into the matter was 

ongoing. 

Women societies join FG in fight against nudity 

In a bid to stem the cur 

rent tide of public display 

of nudity and immorality 

among youths in Nigeria, the 

National Council of Women 

Societies and the National 

Council for Arts and Culture 

have decided to embark on 

far-reaching youth sensitisation 

initiatives. 

Both Councils met at the 

headquarters of NCAC in 

Abuja with a common resolve 

aimed at redirecting the drift 

to moral decadence especially 

among young women 

which they both agreed was 

getting out of hand. 

Speaking during the meeting 

attended by several media 

outfits, the National President 

of the NCWS, Dr. Laraba 

Shoda, who led members 

of her executive, condemned 

the upsurge in public display 

of nudity citing the recent video 

spectacle of near-naked 

girls dancing in full public 

glare inside a transparent van 

in Lagos. 

She described another scenario 

where a young lady 

walked into a mall completely 

naked, lamenting such indecent 

behaviours by females 

particularly, negates the very 

essence of our culture which 

promotes the dignity of the 

African woman. 

Dr. Shoda said there was 

the need to create television 

programs with good cultural 

content unlike what obtains 

now just as she extolled 

NCAC for taking the lead in 

the campaign against the debasement 

of the African culture 

which according to her 

promotes high moral values 

amongst young women. 

On his part, the NCAC Director-General, 

Otunba Segun 

Runsewe, said the partnership 

of interest between the 

Women Societies and the 

NCAC will signal a new 

dawn in the crusade against 

cultural degeneration and 

foreign erosion of our culture. 

Runsewe was upbeat that 

with the NCWS speaking up 

and with the new found collaboration 

with the NCAC, 

the time has come to nip the 

menace in the bud in order to 

avert another future crisis in 

the country. 

He informed Nigerians 

that his council is working on 

legislation with the National 

Assembly to curb the negative 

trend of public nudity 

while also packaging a culture 

friendly television program 

to excite the youths 

with the hope of restablishing 

our esteemed cultural 

values of time past. 

The DG decorated the 

women with NCAC pinups 

thereby conferring on them 

the status of cultural ambassadors 

of Nigeria. 

Adefuye hosts Osinbajo, Tinubu, Diya, Sanwo-Olu on 

birthday 

Apostle Suleman inducted as Fellow of 

Nigerian Books of Record 

T 

he Nigerian Books of 

Record Research Institute, 

Abuja, Nigeria, will today, 

honour the senior pastor 

of the Omega Fire Ministries 

(OFM) worldwide, Apostle 

Johnson Suleman, and induct 

him as a Fellow of the 

Nigerian Books of Record. 

Suleman’s untiring spirit of 

using the pulpit to fight on the 

side of the oppressed, has 

earned him a place among 

eminent personalities like 

Pastor E.A. Adeboye, President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, 

Pastor W.F. kumuyi, Chief 

Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji 

Aliko Dangote and more, 

who are on the list of the Nigerian 

Books of Record’s Circle 

of Eminence. 

A statement by the Director-General 

of the Nigerian 

Books of Record, Dr. David 

David, recognizes Suleman 

as one example of a true Nigerian 

who is doing so much 

to improve the international 

image of the country, especially 

by using the pulpit to 

contribute positively to issues 

of national interest. 

The Institute said it is honouring 

Suleman for his 

hard work, youth empowerment, 

humanitarian liberation 

and nation building. 

•Apostle Suleman 

day thanksgiving service of 

Senator Anthony Adefuye today 

at St. Dennis Catholic 

Church, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, 

to be followed immediately 

by a reception at the Heavens 

Events Centre, Oba Akinjobi 

Avenue, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. 

Other programmes lined 

up for the celebrations includ- 

By Tony Nwankwo 

THE coordinator of Ijaw 

Monitoring Group (IMG), 

Comrade Joseph Evah has 

described the former governor 

of Edo State, Chief John 

Odigie-Oyegun as South- 

South’s priceless gift to the Nigerian 

nation. In a congratulatory 

message, the Niger 

Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya 

(ret.), Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo, Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu, Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos 

State, Governor Dapo 

Abiodun of Ogun State, Sir 

Kessington Adebutu, among 

others are expected at the 

grand finale of the 75th birthed 

a cultural outing on Friday, 

August 9, followed on 

Wednesday 14 by a thanksgiving 

service mass at his 

family residence chapel, Lekki 

Phase I, Lagos while a 

novelty match in honour of 

the celebrant held yesterday 

at National Stadium, Surulere, 

Lagos (practice pitch). 

Ijaw leader salutes John Odigie- 

Oyegun @ 80 

Delta activist, Evah, said the 

former National Chairman 

of All Progressives Congress 

(APC) is without doubt, one 

of the best and brightest civil 

servants and political icons 

of his generation. “We are 

proud that from our region, 

Chief Oyegun was part of the 

glorious Nigerian civil service 

years of the General Gowon 

era, that laid a solid foundation 

of government business 

in the country. 

Voice of Truth Mission mounts 

seven nights revival in Lagos 

T 

HE Voice of Truth Mis 

sion Church, Agege, Lagos, 

holds her 24th annual revival 

from Monday night, August 

19 to Sunday, August 25. 

The revival will be held in the 

church’s auditorium at Plot 

23, Victor Olaiya Avenue, 

Alaagba, Iyana Ipaja, Agege. 

A statement from the 

church said the revival, 

tagged: “Seven Nights of Pulling 

Down the Strongholds” 

with the theme “Loose him 

and let him go” will feature 

messages on salvation, deliverance, 

healing, breaking of 

Satanic covenants, setting the 

captives free, restoration for 

couples with need for fruit of 

the womb and other prophetic 

declarations. 

Taraba: Ishaku renews ban on 

tricycle movement from 8pm 

By Femi Bolaji, 

Jalingo 

Taraba State governor, 

Darius Ishaku, has 

restated that movement 

of tricycles from 8pm 

across the state remains an 

offence liable for prosecution. 

The governor spoke as he 

reviewed the curfew imposed 

on Jalingo and parts of ArdoKola 

local government areas 

of the state which has 

been in force for two months. 

In a statement yesterday by 

Cryptocurrency: CTP to empower 

thousands in tertiary institutions 

By Victor Arjiromanus 

Atop blockchain and 

cryptocurrency outfit, 

CryptoTVPlus, has 

concluded plans to commence 

its Campus Blockchain 

and Cryptocurrency 

awareness Tour, BCAT, across 

universities in Nigeria. 

This was made known at a 

press conference yesterday in 

Lagos. 

The e-commerce sensitisation 

and education tour 

which is scheduled to commence 

in September 2019, 

Senior Special Assistant to the 

Governor on Media and Publicity, 

Bala Dan Abu, the existing 

curfew observed from 

9pm till dawn, will now commence 

from 12 am till 6am. 

The governor however 

maintained that the ban on 

movement of tricycles, popularly 

called Keke Napep, 

from 8pm till 6 am, remains 

unchanged, just as he charged 

security agencies to “arrest 

and ensure the prosecution of 

Keke Napep operators who 

violate the restriction order.” 

Glo-sponsored CNN African Voices 

screen Nigerian, SA film directors 

outh African dancer, 

Sactress, storyteller, 

poet, playwright, director and 

author, Nokugcina Elsie 

Mhlophe, is guest on this 

week’s African 

Voices Changemakers series 

on the Cable News Network 

(CNN), which issponsored 

by telecommunications 

giant, Globacom. 

The show will depict 

how Elsie and Nigerian producer, 

Choreographer, film 

director, dancer and actor, 

Seyi Oluyole, are taking kids 

off the streets. 

Sixty-year-old Mhlophe 

started as a domestic servant, 

progressed to a newsreader 

at the Press Trust and 

BBC Radio, and subsequently 

became a writer for 

Learn and Teach, a magazine 

for newly-literate postapartheid 

South Africans. 

She remains one of the 

few female storytellers in 

the country and has employed 

her charismatic performances 

in four languages 

including English, 

Afrikaans,Zulu and Xhosa 

as a vehicle for encouraging 

South African children 

not only to read, butalso 

to imbibe the values espoused 

by her stories. 

Mhlophe’s works have 

been translated into several 

languages including German, 

French, Italian, Swahili 

and Japanese. She has 

won the Obie Award for 

Performance as well as the 

Astrid Lindgren Memorial 

Award. She continues to 

traverse Africa and other 

parts of the globe, giving storytelling 

workshops on folklore, 

historical information, 

current affairs, songs and 

idioms. 

The other star on the show 

this weekend, 27-year-old 

Oluyole, is a graduate of 

English and Literary Studies 

of Covenant University. 

Oluyole founded a nongovernmental 

organisation 

named The Dream Nurture 

Foundation to cater for despondent 

street kids and indigent 

young adults whose 

hearts are crying to be nurtured. 

She also provideseducational 

opportunities for 

them throughthe NGO. 

Similarly, her dance 

academy,Dream Catchers, 

uses dance as a major tool in 

getting indigent children 

back to school in line with 

her belief that “every child 

deserves to succeed irrespective 

of their background”. 

She has successfully engaged 

such children in activities 

ranging from dance 

to drama and sports, 

while performing screenwriting 

for popular TV series 

including Tinsel, Hustleand 

Gbera leading to International 

music star, Rihanna, 

tipping Oluyole’s mentees 

for stardom. 

aims at teaching and exposing 

higher students on the 

basics, facts, and importance 

of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. 

The tour would commence 

at the University of Ibadan. 

Speaking to newsmen, the 

CEO, CryptoTVPlus, Mr. 

Tony Emeka said: “ Africa 

can only attain astronomical 

heights and not the usual 

catch up it plays with technology 

revolution through 

proper understanding of 

what blockchain and its varied 

applications present.”


From left: Mario Gomes, Chairman, Board of Directors, Institute for the 

Prevention and Investigation of Aeronautical and Maritime Accidents, Cape 

Verde; Ms Shamicka Fulson, Program Manager, National Transport Safety 

Board, USA; Engineer Akin Olateru, Commissioner/CEO, Accident Investigation 

Bureau Nigeria; Dennis Jones, former MD, NTSB; Eng Muhammed 

Wali, Director of Engineering, AIB and Captain Godfrey Ogbogu, Safety 

Manager, Air Peace at the AIB Nigeria symposium on Aviation Safety in 

conjunction with NTSB, in Lagos 

Eliminate bandits anywhere you see them, 

Buhari order 

ders s militar 

ary 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

P 

resident 

Muhammadu 

B u h a r i , 

yesterday, in Katsina, 

ordered the military to be 

ruthless with bandits 

troubling people within 

the North-West part of the 

country and eliminate 

them wherever they can be 

identified. 

The President specifically 

charged the military to be 

more spontaneous in 

restoring peace to the 

country, ordering them 

“not to spare bandits” that 

By Victoria Ojeme 

An Abuja pastor, 

Isaac Pada, has 

petitioned the Federal 

Capital Territory 

Commissioner of Police 

over the alleged abduction 

of his wife, Precious, and 

four children, Pearl, 8, 

Pathnel, 6, Pamebelo, 3 and 

Peace, 7 months, from their 

Aleyita, Abuja Municipal 

Area Council home on the 

30th of last month. 

In the petition dated 

August 16 and filed on his 

behalf by his solicitors, 

Honour Law Partners, Pada 

urged the CP to investigate 

a sister-in-law whom he 

alleged was behind the 

abduction and for holding 

his wife and children in an 

unknown location. 

The petition, with 

reference HLP/ABJ/IP/ 

MO&Co/1, was entitled: 

Petition Against Criminal 

Conspiracy, Joint Act, 

Kidnapping and Abduction 

read in part, “Our client 

informed us that on the 

30th day of July 2019, he 

returned from work at 

evening to find that his wife 

and children had 

disappeared from the house 

at Aleyita, Abuja where he 

left them in the morning 

and when he could not 

access her on phone, he 

made contacts with 

members of her family 

including her sister, and 

friends without any useful 

have been killing, 

maiming and extorting 

innocent citizens. 

Buhari, according to a 

statement by his Senior 

Special Assistant on 

Media and Publicity, 

Mallam Garba Shehu, 

gave the order while 

addressing 15 officers and 

160 soldiers of the 17th 

Army Brigade and 

Nigerian Air Force 213 

Operational Base in 

Katsina, under the 

“Operation Hadarin Daji”, 

at the Umaru Musa 

Yar’Adua Airport. 

Buhari said, “”This group 

was formed by the military 

to secure the geo-political 

zone from the activities of 

bandits. Fundamentally, it 

is your responsibility to 

secure the country. 

“As the Commander-in- 

Chief of the Armed Forces, 

I believe you are capable 

of doing it. I don’t think 

you should spare any 

bandit. Identify and 

eliminate them. Pursue 

them anywhere you can 

find them and eliminate 

them,” he said. 

“Nigeria deserves peace. 

The rainy season is good 

and we are already 

achieving food security, 

but we need peace. The 

money saved from food 

importation will be used to 

purchase arms for 

The Evangel Faith Int'l Mission's Children and Teenagers Anniversary was 

marked recently at the Church Headquarters, Mafoluku, Oshodi. Theme: 

Greater In Me (1 John 4:4); From L-r: Pastor Joshua Ojemeh (Senior Pastor); 

Deacon David Odukunle, (Children Co-ordinator); Pastor Okeowo Oderinde 

(Father of The Day); and Deacon Isaac Oluwole (Nat'l Youth President, EFM). 

operations.” 

Buhari, accompanied by 

Governor Aminu Bello 

Masari, assured the troops 

that the Federal 

Government will provide 

all the necessary support 

for restoration of peace in 

the country. 

“We will give you all the 

right equipment so that 

you can deal with them 

with despatch. I appreciate 

all your efforts but you can 

do more. I don’t want any 

bandit spared,” he added. 

Buhari said government and 

all officials were being 

sustained in office by the 

ordinary people, and they 

owe the people a duty to 

protect their lives and 

property. 

Abuja pastor petitions CP over abduction of wife, children 

information. 

“However our client has 

found out that it was his 

sister-in-law that 

masterminded the 

abduction and kidnapping 

of his wife and children 

respectively from his home 

By Wole Mosadomi 

T 

hree persons have 

been reportedly 

washed away by flood after 

an early morning 

downpour in Minna, Niger 

State yesterday. 

Besides the lives lost, 

more than five hundred 

people were displaced as 

a result of the torrential 

rainfall. 

Two local government 

areas - Chanchaga and 

Bosso - are severely 

affected. 

Our correspondent 

gathered that the rain 

on 30th July 2019, when 

he was away at work. 

“She procured the services 

of a driver that lives around 

her vicinity at Kubwa to 

convey our client’s wife and 

children under her 

instruction to a particular 

Flood claims three lives in Niger 

started at about 4 a m 

when residents of the 

affected areas were deep 

asleep thereby making it 

difficult to salvage their 

property. 

Two major bridges-the 

MYPA bridge in Bosso area 

and the Mola bridge in 

Dutsen Kura Hausa both 

in Minna - were washed 

away. 

An eye witness, Sanusi 

Mohammed, told Sunday 

Vanguard at Dutsen Kura 

Hausa that “Three persons 

are currently missing after 

the rainfall. according to 

him,”three persons have 

FAKE LICENSE: Police arrest five in Delta 

By Festus Ahon, 

ASABA 

A 

25-year old man, Mr. 

Kingsley Onaro, who 

was arrested by men of the 

Delta State Police 

Command, has revealed 

how one Rita Ifeanyi, an 

agent with the state 

licensing office, had been 

issuing fake documents for 

stolen motorcycles. 

Onaro and one Aghulor 

Adoka were apprehended 

for being in possession of 

two stolen motorcycles 

along Abavo Road on 

August 12 by police 

officers who were on stopand-search 

duty. 

Police Public Relations 

Officer of the state 

command, Onome 

Onovwakpoyeya, who 

made the disclosure, said: 

“During interrogation, 

Kingsley Onaro narrated 

how he had been going to 

peoples’ houses in the wee 

hours of the day to remove 

motorcycles from where 

they were parked while the 

owners were asleep. 

“He also mentioned one 

Odogwu Chukudi who is 

location outside Abuja. 

“Our client is firm that 

before the incident, he was 

in cordial relationship with 

his wife and also that the 

wife had no intention or 

capacity to stage her 

disappearance”. 

been washed away as a 

result of the flood and, by 

now, they must have died 

since we are yet to trace 

them till now”, he said. 

Another victim, Zubairu 

Abdullahi, told journalists 

that his house was 

submerged while his 

domestic animals and fish 

pond were washed away 

by the flood. 

The Ward Head (Mai 

Angwan), Inuwa Bawa 

Tukura, said the flooding 

had become an annual 

disaster and called on 

government to come to the 

rescue of the area 

immediately. 

the middle man and the 

receiver/seller of the stolen 

motorcycles, one Blessing 

Chukudi. She sells the 

motorcycles after 

registering them with fake 

documents. 

“One Rita Ifeanyi, an agent 

with the state licensing 

office, provides them with 

fake documents. Currently, 

15 motorcycles are at the 

Owa - Oyibo Division and, 

so far, six persons have 

been able to identify their 

motorcycles even though 

number plates have been 

changed. “ 

Nta, ICPC ex-boss, resumes 

at Wages Commission 

Mr. Ekpo Nta, a former Chairman, Independent Corrupt 

Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), has 

taken over the leadership of the National Salaries, 

Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC). 

The Chief Press Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Emma 

Njoku, made this known in a statement in Abuja. 

According to Njoku, the Chairman of the Commission, 

Chief Richard Egbule, handed over to Nta, who is also 

the Commissioner for Compensation at the NSIWC, 

after the completion of his statutory 10 years tenure. 

Egbule, while handing over to Ekpo Nta, described his 

tenure as historic, being the first to complete two terms 

and the first Chairman as the pioneer staff of the 

Commission from inception in 1992. 

He called on staff of the Commission to get acquainted 

with the Act establishing the Commission. 

Wema Bank, Fintechs Partner on 

Innovative Financial Solutions 

In keeping with its vision to reinvent banking and 

financial services in Nigeria and Africa, Wema Bank 

has partnered several Fintechs and startups within the 

tech-space. 

The bank, following the launch of its experiential banking 

platform ALAT, completed Hackaholics, a hackathon that 

attracted over 200 entries from various start-ups. The 3-day 

competitive event eventually had 19 shortlisted contestants 

focus on solving specific problems across the bank. 

Among several front-line solutions from the participating 

teams, EazyChange, a solution that solves the problem of lower 

denominations for public transportation won top honours, 

receiving a $10,000 funding. 

Riding on that wave, Wema Bank has continually engaged 

other startups as it gradually repositions itself in the mind of 

the public as a disruptor and collaborator in the fintech and 

startups space. 

With Team Lendse, the bank is working on an alternative 

credit scoring algorithm that rides on data science and 

machine learning to profile lenders and make credible credit 

decisions more efficient. A betting solution which helps agents 

remit risk-free funds conveniently using mobile app and USSD 

is currently being developed by Cashy. 

To offer customers better and convenient services with ALAT, 

Wema Bank’s Innovation Unit and internal tech team are 

working with Team Ace, another startup to build an offline 

version of its app such that users will leverage on alternate 

technology to use the app without requiring data. 

Kano police parade suspected 166 

robbers, kidnappers, others 

By Abdulmumin Murtala, Kano 

ANO State Police Command has paraded 116 suspect 

Ked criminals accused of various crimes that include kidnapping, 

armed robbery and drug peddling along with arms 

recovered. Parading the criminals at its headquarters, the state 

Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Ilyasu, stated that the IG’s 

Operation Puff Adder is paying off in the state as the command 

is making breakthrough in crimes such as armed robbery, 

kidnapping, car snatching, currency counterfeiting and 

drug abuse. 

Among those paraded were those who allegedly invaded 

the house of a police inspector attached to Kano state police 

Command and killed him with machete as the ring leaders 

were also arrested. 

They had at the wee hours of Thursday stormed the residence 

of the Police Inspector at Sabuwar.

PAGE 6– SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

Ibom deep sea port 

would’ve become a 

reality but for politics 

– Udoh, Information Commissioner 

By Harris-Okon Emmanuel 

ir Charles Udoh is Akwa Ibom 

SState Commissioner for 

Information. In this interview, he talks 

about Governor Udom Emmanuel’s 

agenda in the next four years, 

government’s efforts at actualizing the 

Ibom Deep-Sea Port and the aviation 

industry, among other issues. 

Excerpts… 

What were the major 

achievements that helped the 

governor to be re-elected for 

another four years? 

The book ‘Touching Life’ has 

encapsulated the achievements of 

Udom Emmanuel in the last four years. 

The margin of victory, the commitment 

and dedication of Akwa Ibom people 

bore testimony to the humongous 

strides of Emmanuel. It is 

unprecedented that one governor in just 

four years would attract 16 industries. It 

is unprecedented that one governor in 

just four years would construct 1,700 

kilometres of roads. It is also 

unprecedented that one governor in just 

four years would have almost all the 

general hospitals fixed. So, this clearly 

bears testimony to the achievements of 

Emmanuel. Akwa Ibom unanimously 

returned the governor to office. These 

are clear testimonies. 

Was the election really about 

him or the party that he 

represented? 

The party and the person are the 

same. You would also realize that if the 

party had chosen a wrong candidate, 

the party would be at risk. For the first 

time in the history of Akwa Ibom 

politics, the governorship candidate 

was unopposed and unanimously 

adopted across board and no other 

person showed interest in the party. 

That shows that everybody had deep 

confidence in the ability of the 

governor. Everybody had maximum 

satisfaction in his achievements. 

Everybody was pleased with his 

milestones and 

strategies. 

Talking about 

milestones, many 

people are saying 

that the governor is 

not celebrating the 

achievements you 

have enumerated. 

What is your 

ministry doing to 

highlight these 

achievements? 

The governor has said 

severally that he is here 

on a cause and not for 

accolades and he is 

more focused on 

delivering dividends of 

democracy and not on a 

circus show. That is why 

the governor has 

remained grounded, 

focusing on delivering 

dividends of democracy 

and not going on 

applause jamboree. And 

because the governor is 

a private sector person 

who is well exposed, 

vastly experienced in 

business development, 

he has learned and 

borrowed from best practices and has 

brought these to Akwa Ibom. In 

addition, we do not see those industries 

stalled in anyway because they are 

purely market forces driven. 

We are saying, if 

we are bringing in 

investors, allow 

the investors to 

come and we will 

employ people 

irrespective of 

party affiliations 

A school of thought believes that 

for government to benefit 

extensively from the industries, 

there should be a clear stake- 

holding. What is your take on 

that? 

Government’s interest is 

clear. The governor in 2015 

promised job creation, wealth 

creation and poverty 

alleviation. The governor did 

not promise that in civil 

service and political circle. 

For you to drive those three 

points, you have to create an 

enabling environment, create 

industries. Government said, ‘look, 

when you bring in industries, you 

create employment within the 

community and, therefore, government 

interest is covered. 

What about His Excellency’s 

agenda in the second term vis-àvis 

the time and resources? 

The Completion Agenda is an offshoot 

of the Five-Point Agenda. What we have 

done is just to expand it. You would also 

see that His Excellency believes in 

continuity. It is the first time in the 

history of Nigeria politics that you see a 

governor returning his entire Executive 

Council to continue with him in the 

second term. This clearly shows that the 

governor believes in the team and he 

wants to focus on developing Project 

Akwa Ibom to achieve result. The 

governor has also said repeatedly that 

no project started by his administration 

would be uncompleted. Therefore, we 

are poised to deliver dividends of 

democracy. This government is aware 

that time is against it. So, the governor 

is passionate about delivering on the 

Ibom Deep Sea Port and making Akwa 

Ibom a hub in aviation industry, among 

other things. The Completion Agenda 

consists of eight points. Ibom Air is 

clearly the toast of the aviation industry. 

We also talk about industrialization, 

rural and riverine area development, 

human capital development, security, 

infrastructure, and small and medium 

enterprises. This stems from the desire 

of government to harmonize everything 

it is doing and get result for the Akwa 

Ibom people. That is why we also said 

politics is over and let 

people forget about the 

myopic thinking along 

political, ethnic or 

religious lines. Let 

people think only of 

‘Project Akwa Ibom’. 

What is the 

governor doing to 

bring the 

opposition on 

board? 

We are not going to 

bring everybody on 

board. We are not 

going to bring strange 

bedfellows into the 

plan. What government 

is saying is that 

wherever you are, play 

your role. We are 

saying, if we are 

bringing in investors, 

allow the investors to 

come and we will 

employ people 

irrespective of party 

affiliations. 

Akwa Ibom people 

are anxiously awaiting 

the manifestation of 

Ibom Deep Sea Port, 

which is the signature 

project of this administration. How 

realistic is the project? 

If it were within the control and scope 

of the state government, I would have 

given you a definite timeline. However, 

Ibom Deep Sea Port is a project that has 

the interest of the Nigerian Ports 

Authority, the approval and all that 

need to be done by the Federal Ministry 

Sir Charles Udoh 

of Transport. Realistically, there are 22 

steps involved in getting the approval 

and, as we speak, we have gotten to 20 

with only two steps left. We have the 

preferred investor and one of the 

biggest port managing companies in 

the world. We are confident and that is 

why this government has created the 

Ministry of Economic Development and 

Ibom Deep Sea Port. Just like what we 

have done with the Ibom Air, the 

process of Ibom Air started in October 

last year and it is unprecedented that by 

March, Ibom Air became a reality. The 

youngest aircraft flying the Nigerian 

commercial airspace does so with 21- 

year-old aircraft, but Ibom Air has 

entered the market with aircraft that 

are 6-year-old, almost brand new. If you 

are familiar with the aviation industry, 

if you buy new aircraft, you are giving 

five years warranty period; so those 

aircraft are only in their first year out of 

their warranty period. This means that 

we have almost brand new aircraft in 

our hands. Beyond setting the standard 

in terms of age and quality of the 

aircraft, we are also taking into 

cognizance the fact that one of the 

drawback in the Nigeria aviation 

industry was that many people went for 

jumbo jets despite the attendant cost of 

maintenance and all that. But ours are 

newer, breakdown is not frequent and 

you can easily break even. As a 

government, we are breaking new 

grounds. We are bringing in this airline 

to redefine standard. And people would 

ask, what is government interest in 

managing airline? And I would say that 

British Airways, Emirates have huge 

governments’ interests. The economy of 

Ethiopia is driven largely by the 

Ethiopian Airline. The same with 

Kenyan’s Airways, which is driven by 

government. Also, the Singapore Airline 

and I can go on and on. Something tells 

us that for these governments to have 

the huge interest, it means there is 

something significant, it means the 

profitable level is encouraging and so 

we jumped into it. 

There is speculation that deep 

politics is involved in the 

actualization of the port project? 

As we speak, there is no deep-sea port 

in Nigeria that has gone as far as Ibom 

Deep Sea Port and no deep-sea port in 

Nigeria can start before Ibom Deep Sea 

Port. None of them has gone to ten 

points. And we are at the 20th level and 

you know how long it took us to get 

there. It took us four years. They have 

also studied the scenario. 

Businesspersons in South-West and 

South-East know that it is a nightmare 

going to Apapa, going to Tin Can Island. 

So, Ibom Deep Sea Port along the coast 

of West Africa, Central Africa is going to 

be the only deep-sea port with dual 

channels which means that you can 

process two ships at the same time. 

Lagos has single channel. All other ports 

have single channels. Beyond that, they 

are also taking cognizance of the 

problem of Apapa and that is why we are 

having Ikot Abasi jetty, designed to take 

care of smaller ships, because it is within 

the same proximity. That is why we are 

making that area an industrial city. We 

have studied the management of ports in 

Nigeria and let me tell you, if it was not 

politics, this would have become a 

reality a long time ago. 

Lawyer docked for 

allegedly publishing 

fake news about Edo 

University 

For allegedly publishing fake news 

about Edo University Iyamho, on his 

facebook account, a 59-year-old lawyer, 

Ogedengbe Oiseoruemi Ayodeji, was, on 

Friday, arraigned before an Oredo Magistrate 

Court. 

Oiseoruemi was arraigned on a four-count 

charge punishable under Sections 517,375, 

517 and 59(1) of the Criminal Code of the 

defunct Bendel State, also applicable in Edo 

State. 

He pleaded not guilty to the charges, according 

to The News magazine. 

Earlier, the prosecuting counsel, Thomas 

Ojo, told the court that on June 22, 2019, the 

accused and others now at large, unlawfully 

published a defamatory matter on his Facebook 

account with the name Ogedengbe 

Oisoruemi Ayodeji Uduanghe, titled, press 

statement, Friday 21, June 2019, NUC revokes 

Edo University Iyamho, operating licensees, 

with the intent to injure the reputation 

of Edo University, Iyamho. 

The charge sheet read in part: “That you 

and others now at large did conspired among 

yourselves to publish fake news with intent to 

cause fear and alarm to the public, thereby 

committing the offence punishable under section 

517 of the Criminal Code.” 

The defense team, led by Peter Uwadiae, 

pleaded with the court to grant bail to the 

accused on self-recognition. 

The presiding Magistrate, I .U. Iyoha, 

granted the accused bail on self-recognition. 

He adjourned the case till September 3, 

2019 for continuation of hearing. 

Speaking with journalists, the Public Relations 

Officer of Edo University, Iyamho, 

Betcher Ekhosihun, insisted that the institution 

is owned by Edo State government. 

He noted that the institution does not need 

an operating license but recognition by NUC. 

He however cautioned people against publishing 

fake and unverified news in social 

media as the law will definitely catch up with 

them. 

Slain Police Officer: 

Lawyer makes cash 

donation to Ediale family 

By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu 

Benin-based lawyer, Olayiwola Afola 

A bi, yesterday, made a cash donation to 

the family of the late Sergeant Mark Ediale, 

one of the policemen killed by soldiers in Taraba 

State while on official assignment. 

Afolabi presented the cash to the family 

through the Edo State Commissioner of Police, 

Danmallam Abubakar. 

He described the late Ediale as brave and 

one of the finest police officers. 

He said his support for the family was to 

spur well-meaning individuals to show appreciation 

to the late officers. 

His words: “I know the late Ediale. He is 

from Edo State. As a Nigerian and I am living 

in Edo State I decided to support the family. 

I appeal to well-meaning Nigerians to 

assist the family of the policemen. They died 

fighting for our society to be crime-free.’’ 

Okere Urhobo to 

Okowa: We deserve 

commissionership slot 

KERE Urhobo people of Warri 

OSouth Local Government Area, Delta 

State, say it would be unfair if Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa denies them a commissioner appointment 

given the level of support they accorded 

him in the 2019 governorship election. 

In a statement through a Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, opinion leader, Oghenewwoke 

Aminagha, they urged the governor to make 

the difference by not yielding to past attitude 

of “use and dump” in Warri South politics. 

Aminagha, former PDP Secretary, Okumagba 

1 Ward 11, said, “After elections, comes 

rewards in form of appointments. This time 

around, we worked so hard that Okere Urhobos 

against all odds delivered Okumagba II 

Ward 12 that no governor had won since 2003. 

“We ensured Okowa won seamlessly there. 

Now it’s time for rewards, all we are receiving 

are meager Senior and Executive Assistants 

when in fact we deserve a commissioner where 

the governor is rewarding our neighbors who 

played anti party against him with commissioners 

and several other key appointments. 

“Some detractors are saying but Governor 

is tarring roads in Okere Urhobo, so why the 

outcry. Without being ungrateful, with infrastructural 

development, the governor is simply 

delivering his campaign promises. Appointments 

are rewards we as much for our 

elections support.”


MINISTERIAL PORTFOLIOS: 

Round pegs in round holes or... 

By Clifford Ndujihe, Acting Political Editor 

AS President Muhammadu Buhari swears in the 43 ministers-designate on 

Wednesday, all eyes are on him to see the portfolios he will assign the 

seven women and 36 men. 

Will he put square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes? 

Will it be round pegs in square holes or square pegs in round holes? Will 

he saddle some ministers with tasks that are beyond their competence or too many 

duties as was witnessed in 2015? 

Following a groundswell of calls on him to avoid the mistakes of 2015 by forming 

his second term cabinet on time, President Buhari on July 11, 2019 made a shocking 

remark. 

At a maiden dinner with the new leadership of the National Assembly, he vowed that 

only tested persons who are capable of delivering on assigned mandates would 

make his cabinet. 

Practically passing a vote of no confidence on some of his out-gone ministers, he 

unwittingly blamed them, his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and some 

individuals for the flaks his administration has faced since he assumed power on 

May 29, 2015 on account of the poor performance of some ministers. President 

Buhari assured that this time he would appoint those he knew to help drive his next 

level agenda. 

“I’m very much aware about it. I’m under tremendous pressure on it (appointment of 

ministers). But the last cabinet which I headed, most of them, the majority of them I 

didn’t know them. I had to accept the names and recommendations from the party 

and other individuals. 

“I worked with them for three and half years at least; meeting twice or two weeks in 

a month. So I know them now. But this time around, I’m going to be quite me in the 

sense that I will pick people I personally know”, he vowed. 

Indeed, the president took steps that are markedly different from what he did in 

2015. Exactly 55 days after his swearing-in for second term, he sent the list of 

ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation. 

The number was seven higher than the 36 he submitted in 2015. This time he did it 

in less than two months compared to the 124 days or four months it took him to send 

his first list of nominees on September 30, 2015. 

If the ministers-designates are sworn-in on Wednesday, it means the president will 

get his second term cabinet ready in 84 days, that is two months and 23 days. This 

is remarkably better than the over six months it took him to do so in 2015. 

As the August 21 swearing-in date beckons, will President Buhari continue with the 

improvements observed so far with assignment of portfolios? Interestingly, he reappointed 

14 of his first term ministers. Will the returnees retain their portfolios or 

will they get other jobs? 

In terms of 35 per cent Affirmative Action, there is little or no difference in 

the number of women nominated in 2015 and now even though the lot of 

women was marginally better four years ago. In 2015, there were six women 

(16.67 per cent) in a list of 36. Now, there are seven women (16.28 per cent) 

in a list of 43. 

The seven women nominated are Pauline Tallen (former minister and 

deputy governor of Plateau); Mariam Katagun (Nigeria’s ambassador and 

permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organization, UNESCO); Sadiya Farouq (federal commissioner of 

National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced 

Persons); Sharon Ikeazor (Member of APC BoT and executive secretary of 

Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD); Gbemisola Saraki 

(former senator); Ramatu Tijjani (national women leader of the APC), and 

Zainab Ahmed (immediate past minister of Finance). 

Looking at the list, one question on the lips of observers is whether or not they can 

drive President Buhari’s Next Level Agenda. No doubt, most of them boast of fine 

credentials and experience but a host of them were part of the last cabinet, whose 

performance has been wrapped in divergent arguments. The list include seven 

former governors, seven former senators, a collection of party leaders in some 

states and a couple of fresh nominees, whose names do not ring a bell in the 

political firmament. 

Pedigree of the 

ministers 

Given their credentials and pedigree, a host of the ministers-designates can make 

appreciable impact if properly deployed as a peep into their pedigree and 

accomplishments reveals. 

Read more on www.vanguardngr.com


HEALTH 

‘We need a Minister 

of Health, not Minister 

of Medical Doctors’ 

member. 

On the health portfolio, the 

President of the 

Pharmaceutical Society of 

Nigeria, PSN, Mazi Sam 

Ohuabunwa, said: First, the 

President should choose somebody 

who has familiarity with healthcare 

because it is always better for 

somebody who has familiarity with 

the subject matter he or she is 

superintending. Again, the minister 

should be somebody who has 

understanding of how a large sector 

as healthcare can be 

managed and directed, 

somebody who has a 

wide spectrum of 

experience in managing 

people and resources. 

The President should 

also look at the person 

who is conversant with 

global situation, 

somebody who is 

current and should 

know what is going on 

in healthcare issues 

across the world. What 

are the issues in 

America, Nambia, 

Rwanda and what are 

those things that gave 

them better quality of 

life, better health 

statistics and do not 

appear at the bottom of 

every health index as it is in our 

own case? Then, he should also look 

at somebody who knows how to 

motivate professional harmony, who 

can be able to get different 

professionals to work together as a 

team. We need a team builder, not 

somebody who creates division. 

On his part, the President, Nigeria 

Medical Association, NMA, Dr 

Francis Faduyile, said: We have 

three medical personnel that made 

the ministerial list and I can tell 

you that the three of 

them are capable to lead 

the health ministry. I am 

hoping that the 

President will appoint 

someone from the sector 

to lead the health 

ministry because of the 

knowledge the 

curriculum has over 

others within the sector. 

The three ministerial 

nominees have their 

areas of competence and 

they can be effective on 

their job. For instance, 

Senator Mamora has not 

only been a consummate 

medical practitioner 

from the private aspect 

but also an astute 

administrator, a threetime 

House of Assembly 

Continuity crucial 

– Okebukola 

By Elizabeth Uwandu 

Professor Peter Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary, National 

Universities Commission, NUC, speaks on the incoming Minister 

of Education. 

Let’s talk on the incoming 

Minister of Education? 

I propose only two agenda items 

for the incoming Minister of 

Education. First is to craft a 

continuation ministerial strategic 

plan from the Adamu Adamu 2016- 

2019 Ministerial Strategic Plan and 

through assessment of successes 

recorded, lessons learned and 

stakeholder consultations, come up 

with a 2019-2023 Ministerial 

Strategic Plan. This is the essence of 

continuity in governance and the 

idea of ‘next-level’. Second, the 

minister should strenuously 

implement the 2018 federal and 

state government-approved 

implementation plan on the state of 

emergency on education. If I had 

the ears of Mr. President, the right 

person for the post based on my two 

proposed agenda items is Malam 

Adamu Adamu. Since God has 

blessed Nigeria with Malam Adamu 

Adamu’s return to the cabinet, 

assigning the portfolio to another 

We need 

someone who 

is nationalistic 

and is seen as a 

total healthcare 

person. It 

doesn’t matter 

who is there as 

long as it is in 

the interest of 

all 

person will impede in some may, the 

momentum gathered in the last four 

years in the education sector. Since 

man proposes and God disposes, if 

another person is put in post, he/she 

should take-off from where the 

Adamu administration left off and 

not march us in other directions. 

Within the gross picture of the two 

agenda items are some very 

important details. These include 

improving access to basic and 

higher education, improving quality 

of education at all levels, halting the 

spate of strikes that have 

characterised our higher education 

system; significant reduction of 

academic corruption including 

examination malpractice; improving 

capacities and welfare of teachers 

and improving relevance of our 

education through production of 

skilled and entrepreneurial 

graduates. Let me expatiate on two 

of these- access and quality. On the 

matter of access, the Minister (at the 

federal level) and the 

Commissioners for Education (at the 

state level) have to put their legs on 

We believe that his wealth of 

experience will benefit the health 

ministry. We need people who have 

the knowledge about how to attract 

things to the health sector. Dr 

Ehanire was Minister of State for 

Health who has, by that position, 

been on ground and has learned so 

many things about the sector while 

Dr Chris Ngige, who is also an 

administrator, was in the ministry of 

health. He was a high-ranking 

practitioner. We have confidence in 

the three medical personnel the 

President has judiciously chosen to 

work with him as a minister. 

Gbenga Olubowale, a former 

Chairman, PSN Lagos, said: Our 

message to Mr President is that he 

should appoint a Minister of Health 

and not a Minister of Medical 

Doctors because that is why we have 

the pedal of cutting the number of 

out-of-school children by minimum 

half in the next four years. Access to 

higher education should be 

significantly increased through 

motley combination of mechanisms 

including strengthening the 

National Open University of Nigeria 

(NOUN) to boost enrolment to one 

million; resourcing (human and 

physical) of existing universities, 

polytechnics and colleges of 

education to increase their 

carrying capacities hence 

enrol more students; and 

approving open and 

distance learning 

centres for universities 

for dual mode of 

delivery. While 

quantity is attracting 

the gaze of the 

Minister, he should 

“shine his eyes” more 

on quality. The 

depreciating quality of 

products of our 

education system is the 

“talk of the town”. 

Employers decry the 

quality of products from our 

secondary and higher 

education 

institutions. I 

will be the 

first to 

admit that 

this 

general 

view is 

erroneous 

as quite 

not made progress till date. We 

need someone who is nationalistic 

and is seen as a total healthcare 

person. It doesn’t matter who is 

there as long as it is in the interest 

of all. Healthcare is teamwork. Lack 

of teamwork has brought 

disharmony and we want to move 

forward. Our health indices are 

abysmally poor; we need someone 

with the knowledge that can 

deployed to the benefit of all 

Nigerians, and not just to the select 

few. The new Minister should 

improve the nation’s 

health indicators 

through better 

collaboration 

among the 

healthcare team, 

and that will 

guarantee better 

outcomes. 

Secretary, 

Lagos ACPN, 

Okotie, said: 

We need 

competence, a 

round peg in a 

round hole, a 

well-rounded and seasoned 

administrator and not necessarily a 

practitioner. We need a person with 

good human and interpersonal 

relationship skills with an open 

mind, pragmatic and sound 

communication skills, a visionary 

and enlightened person able to 

adapt to the needs of the office with 

a commitment to achieving and 

developing a total quality healthcare 

system in our country. We need 

someone who understands the 

enabling environment for 

professionalism, teamwork, value 

and reward for excellence, discipline 

in the sector and quashing of 

quackery amongst others. He should 

review the curriculum in health 

schools to meet up with global best 

practices especially with regards to 

ICT and AI technology. 

•Ohuabunwa 

EDUCATION 

a number of our graduates are top 

class and world beaters. It is to the 

average graduate who is deficient in 

knowledge and skills in his or her 

discipline of training that we need to 

pay greater attention. The minister 

can make this happen through 

strengthening the quality assurance 

arm of the federal ministry of 

education and getting the 

commissioners for 

education to do same 

at the state level. At 

the higher 

education level, 

regulatory 

agencies should 

copy and improve 

upon the 

globallyacclaimed 

quality assurance 

model of the 

National 

Universities 

Commission 

(NUC). 

•Okebukola

PAGE 8— SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

JUSTICE 

Give us us a 

apolitical, true 

democrat true 

democrat 

AGF, SANs, 

others AGF, SANs, tell 

others Buhari tell 

Buhari 

“We also need someone who 

understands what is required for 

successful prosecution of cases, and not 

one whose job will be to find loopholes 

in our laws or contrive one to explain 

executive mistakes and outright 

violation of the laws of the land. We 

need a forthright and courageous 

Attorney General and Minister of 

Justice”. 

From the Civil Society group, Mr. 

Ariyo-Dare Atoye, who is the Convener, 

Coalition in Defence of Nigerian 

Democracy and Constitution, said: “We 

expect an AGF who is very thorough 

and detailed in the understanding of 

our laws, verse in judicial knowledge 

and one with a genuine track record in 

human rights engagement and who can 

guide government to respect 

fundamental human rights and the 

decisions of our courts. 

“The AGF must never hide under 

public interest and national security to 

undermine court pronouncements and 

decisions or aid government to oppress 

critics and the opposition”. 

Convener of Coalition of Civil Society 

Groups under the aegis of Concerned 

Nigerians, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, on his 

part, said: “I believe that someone who 

can be made the Minister of Justice 

should be one that believes in the rule of 

law. 

“Not someone who will justify and 

give reasons why court judgements and 

valid orders should be disobeyed. 

“It should be someone who places the 

interest of the country above the interest 

of the political class or ruling party. 

This is why, ordinarily, the AGF should 

not be political at all. But 

unfortunately, we have an ugly situation 

in Nigeria”. 

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

& Henry Ojelu 

As President Muhammadu 

Buhari gets set to inaugurate his 

cabinet and assign portfolios to 

Ministers, stakeholders speak on what 

should inform the choice of the Attorney 

General of the Federation and Minister 

of Justice. 

According to Section 150 of the 1999 

Constitution, as amended, “There shall 

be an Attorney General of the 

Federation who shall be the Chief Law 

Officer of the Federation and a 

Minister of the Government of the 

Federation”. 

The Constitution specifies that a 

person shall not be qualified to hold or 

perform the functions of the Office of 

the AGF unless he is qualified to 

practice as a legal practitioner in 

Nigeria and has been so qualified for 

not less than ten years. 

Highlighting his 

expectations for the next 

AGF, a Senior Advocate of 

Nigeria (SAN) and 

constitutional lawyer, 

Yunus Usman, said 

whoever is assigned the 

Justice Ministry must be 

as clean and above board 

as Julius Caesar’s wife. 

He said: “The person 

must have proven 

incorruptible qualities 

and must be able to give 

the Federal Government 

wonderful legal advice at 

all times. 

“Second, when he is in 

doubt, he must consult 

experienced external 

lawyers before giving 

advice to government”. 

Besides, the senior 

lawyer, who has handled 

many sensitive cases in 

court, said it was 

imperative for an AGF to 

personally conduct high-profile cases 

involving the Federal Government. 

“Whoever is appointed as the AGF 

should be handling serious government 

cases himself. He must also ensure that 

government lawyers in the Ministry of 

Justice are not just there to take salaries 

but must be forced to go to court so as 

To combine the 

two offices, the 

occupier must 

be an 

established 

legal 

practitioner with 

sound pedigree 

preferably from 

academia with 

no party 

affiliation 

to reduce the cost of litigation and 

amount of money spent to pay external 

lawyers. That is why they were 

employed as state counsel. 

“Any AGF that imbibes these qualities 

will succeed but anyone one who fails to 

do so is bound to fail”. 

Similarly, human rights lawyer, Dr. 

Kayode Ajulo, said the occupant of the 

AGF’s seat must have sound knowledge 

of the law. 

“Whoever is assigned the portfolio 

must be a senior lawyer who has firm 

grip of the law. To me, I think the 

former AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, 

did not perform badly”. 

Another SAN, Dayo Akinlaja, said: 

“To my mind, professionalism is crucial 

for one to serve as a desirable Chief 

Law Officer. The AGF must be someone 

that can comfortably rise above the 

murky waters of politics and ensure that 

the rule of law flourishes. 

“The country at this point essentially 

needs an AGF that will make going to 

court worthwhile by 

looking for ingenious 

ways to expedite the 

course of litigation from 

the trial court to the 

apex court. Much of the 

injustice that we witness 

around is linked to the 

fact that it takes 

inordinate time to round 

off litigation in the 

courts. 

“Once it is known that 

people can get justice in 

court over a reasonable 

period of time, it is 

almost certain that some 

of the injustice around 

would be promptly 

curbed by deterrence. It 

takes a professional 

person whose 

preoccupation is not 

politics and politicking 

to bring this about. 

“Of course politics is 

inexorable in the 

discharge of whatever political duties; 

nonetheless, it should not have the 

better of professionalism. There is a 

need to rebuild confidence in our 

judicial system. We need an AGF who 

will work hand in hand with the 

judiciary and the NBA to achieve this. 

“So we need a judiciary and NBA 

friendly personality for the office of the 

AGF. Importantly too, we need an AGF 

that will serve as a bridge builder 

among the three arms of government 

and the generality of the public. 

“The singular way to do this is to be in 

a position to foster a robust culture of 

rule of law. It takes professionalism to 

have this done as well. Of no less 

importance is the fact that we need the 

AGF to dictate the pace of legal 

practice in the public area of the law of 

the land. 

“Professionalism comes to the fore in 

this regard as well. For all these, the 

AGF must be a team player, well 

focused professionally and, above all, 

given to probity and must be God 

fearing”. 

To Chino Obiagwu, SAN, who is the 

Director of Legal Defence and Assistant 

Project, LEDAP: “The main minus of 

this regime is disobedience to orders of 

court. That is a major affront to the rule 

of law. 

“No modern society can develop 

without the rule of law. So I expect the 

incoming AGF to be committed to the 

rule of law. He must not mis-advice 

government that national security or 

whatever security supersedes judicial 

orders or the rule of law. That is a call 

to anarchy. 

“A new AGF must respect the 

Constitution and citizens cannot be 

detained arbitrarily without charge for 

weeks and months and years. This is a 

democracy and arbitrary detention is 

unconstitutional. We want an AGF that 

is truly a democrat”. 

Said human rights lawyer, Mr. 

Ugochukwu Ezekiel: “I believe we need 

radical reforms in the administration of 

Justice in Nigeria. We therefore need 

someone who does not only have deep 

understanding of the law but also one 

who is independent- minded, fearless 

and bold, someone who could look 

straight at his principal’s eyes and 

advise on radical but result oriented 

reforms in our justice system in 

Nigeria. 

“I am not talking of criminal justice 

system alone but reforms in civil rules 

to ensure speedy dispensation of justice. 

Such a person should be someone who 

could convince his colleagues at the 

state level to advise governors to adopt 

uniform but well thought-out reforms in 

the states. 

Also speaking, a senior lecturer at the 

Faculty of Law, Lagos State University, 

LASU, Mr. Gbenga Ojo, urged Buhari 

to assign the Justice Ministry to an 

established legal practitioner with no 

party affiliation. 

Ojo said the President should take a 

cue from the Lagos State where the 

current Vice President, Professor Yemi 

Osinbajo, was appointed the Attorney 

General by the administration of 

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. 

He noted that Osinbajo’s background 

as a professor of law was responsible 

for his success as Attorney General of 

the state. 

His words: “Political appointment is 

at the discretion of the President. That is 

why there should be the office of 

Attorney General of the Federation, 

AGF, and that of the Minister of Justice. 

To combine the two offices, the occupier 

must be an established legal 

practitioner with sound pedigree 

preferably from academia with no party 

affiliation. This is doubtful though. The 

politicians would prefer a party man 

who would dance to the tune of the 

party. “I use the case of Professor 

Osinbajo who was the Attorney General 

in Lagos State. He did credibly well. 

This can be replicated at the federal 

level. 

On his part, a member Ekiti State 

Judicial Service Commission, Mr. 

Kabir Akingbolu, said: “The office of 

the AGF is a very sensitive and an 

important one. It is key to the 

functioning of government. Without an 

active AGF, the government would 

always run into trouble. Section 150 of 

the Constitution specifically created the 

office of the AGF by saying that there 

shall be an AGF who shall be the Chief 

Law Officer and Minister for Justice of 

the federation. The constitution states 

the qualifications of a person to be 

appointed as AGF. It said the person 

must be a lawyer duly called to the 

Nigerian Bar and someone who has 

been qualified to practice law for at 

least 10 years before the time of his 

appointment. 

“However, for someone to be 

appointed the Minister of Justice in 

Nigeria, such a person ought to be 

highly knowledgeable. He should 

be a man who would advise 

government on the inescapable 

reason to obey the law. This is 

because an AGF is like a class 

monitor in the cabinet. He guides, 

directs and advise the government 

and all its agencies.’’


LABOUR 

Division over Ngige 

By Victor Ahiuma-Young 

But for the controversy over 

his last-minute substitution 

of veteran unionist and prodemocracy 

activist, Chief Frank 

Ovie Frank Kokori, as the 

Chairman of Nigeria Social 

Insurance Trustfund, NSITF, 

which pitted him against 

Organised Labour, Senator Chris 

Ngige, the immediate past 

Minister of Labour and 

Employment, ranks, alongside 

Chief Emeka Wogu, as the best 

minister that ever headed the 

ministry in recent times. The 

tenure of Ngige as Labour 

Minister witnessed robust 

engagement with stakeholders 

By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja 

Stakeholders in the military and 

security sectors of the country 

say for the new Minister of 

Defence and the Ministry of Defence to 

be effective, the Federal Government 

should embark on a strategy of 

reorganizing the current security 

architecture. 

Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, 

some stakeholders, including retired 

military officers, former intelligence 

chiefs and security experts, advised that 

there is need to appoint and redeploy 

the hierarchy of the current leadership 

of security apparatus for new ideas and 

operational modules in line with 

current security challenges. 

They called for practical and 

operational strategy among security 

agencies at all levels starting with 

and among his achievements was 

his total displeasure for work 

stoppages and strikes in the 

critical sectors of the economy. 

During his tenure, the former 

Anambra State governor was 

reputed for his penchant for 

apprehending industrial actions. He 

never shied away from summoning 

workers and their employers 

whenever there was threat of 

industrial unrest in any sector and, 

in most cases, his dexterity aborted 

potentially crippling industrial 

unrest in critical sectors. One of his 

remarkable achievements is in the 

area of protection of jobs. For 

example, following public outcry 

over banks’ mass retrenchment in 

2017, he summoned a stakeholders 

meeting to find amicable resolution 

and halted looming industrial unrest 

in the sector. When it was brought to 

his notice that banks had 

disregarded his directive to stop the 

Stakeholders await new 

helmsman with bated breadth 

changing the service delivery thought to 

remove the belief of superiority feeling 

which is damaging joint and national 

objectives. 

The Minister should ensure the 

synergy through services cooperation 

and interdependence at all levels. 

He should also ensure that military 

units whether Army, Navy, Airforce, 

Special Task Forces and Joint Task 

Forces are not only well equipped 

but also engage in periodic testing 

of equipment and hardware to 

ensure proficiency, workability and 

adaptability. 

It was also suggested that the new 

•Chris Ngige 

Minister should ensure that 

postings in the military to ‘harsh 

spots’ is well planned and time 

bound so that willingness, passion 

and dedication to duty is not 

compromised after particular 

periods. 

“A situation where Foreign Service 

trainers are allowed unfettered 

access to units of the Nigerian 

armed forces, special military 

locations and training institutions 

should also have limitation because, 

in some cases, it has led to more 

harm than good”, one stakeholder 

said. 

sack pending the stakeholders’ 

meeting, he threatened that 

government would consider 

withdrawing operative licenses of 

banks should they continue to sack 

workers. The threat halted the mass 

sack. Never the less, Organised 

Labour is divided as to whether 

Ngige should be returned to Labour 

Ministry having being re-nominated 

by the President into the federal 

cabinet and confirmed by the 

Senate. While Nigeria Labour 

Congress, NLC, appears not 

comfortable with Ngige’s return to 

Labour Ministry, Trade Union 

Congress of Nigeria, TUC, sees 

nothing wrong if the President 

returns him. And whereas ULC is 

silent on the issue, the Federal 

Parastatals and Private Sector 

Pensioners Association of 

Nigeria, FEPPPAN, has actually 

pleaded with the President to 

return Ngige as Minister of 

Labour and Employment. 

DEFENCE 

The Minister should emphasize 

honest and true rapport through 

Civil Military Relations at the 

highest echelon of the services and 

deliberate efforts should be made to 

see that this relationship trickles 

down to build trust and ensure joint 

ownership and prosecution of 

security challenges by all 

stakeholders especially the media. 

Furthermore, the new Minister 

should ensure good and effective 

use of Defense Sector diplomats and 

other related assets to develop 

strategic pointers and objective 

achievement in the overall interest 

of peace and security. 

Please give us problem solver, stakeholders beg Buhari 

By Lawani Mikairu 

Aviation stakeholders say the 

Ministry of Aviation portfolio 

can be assigned to any of the new 

ministers-designate who has the 

ability to understand the numerous 

problems militating against the 

growth of the sector and be willing 

to confront and solve them. 

The stakeholders, who spoke with 

Sunday Vanguard on condition of 

anonymity, said it is “obvious the 

former Minister of State, Aviation, 

Senator Hadi Sirika, will be returned 

to his former portfolio” when asked 

about the qualities they feel the incoming 

Aviation Minister should 

possess. 

A professional with one of the 

domestic airlines said all that the 

new minister will need is ability to 

listen to genuine advice and act on 

them. According to him, the 

Ministers should not learn on the job — NACCIMA President 

By Peter Egwuatu, Assistant Business 

Editor &Naomi Uzor 

Speaking on the factors that 

should determine, who heads 

the Ministry of Finance, 

National President, Nigerian Association 

of Chambers of Commerce, 

Industry, Mines and Agriculture, 

NACCIMA, Hajiya Saratu Aliyu 

said Nigerians do not want someone 

who would learn on the job. 

She said: “The country is at a very 

critical time with unemployment at 

23.1 percent. All the ministers need 

to engage with the private sector to 

ensure the economy is rebooted to 

create jobs, especially through the 

empowerment of Small and Medium 

Enterprises, SMEs. NACCIMA 

would be playing a very proactive 

role in engaging with government 

on the economy to ensure we 

provide jobs for our youths and stem 

the increasing insecurity. 

All the ministers’ efforts must be 

synchronised in the same direction. 

•Hajiya Aliyu 

problems of the aviation sector have 

been identified by the panels set up 

by former ministers. The new 

minister, he said, should dust up the 

reports and act on them after 

listening to advice from aviation 

professionals. 

Another highly placed aviation 

expert said ability to carry aviation 

stakeholders along when 

introducing new or reviewing old 

policies will go a long way to assist 

the new minister to succeed. 

All stakeholders would be watching 

to see the level of ingenuity, resolve, 

and coordination that would be 

displayed by the incoming cabinet. 

“Experience is key at this point for 

the nation. We cannot afford ministers 

who would be learning on the 

job. The President is wise and I am 

sure he would exercise discretion in 

putting square pegs in square 

holes. Competence of the ministers 

would go a long way in assuring 

local and international investors that 

Nigeria is ready and open for 

business. 

“The President has had the privilege 

of supervising the returning 

ministers and he is aware of their 

strengths. There is an argument for 

continuity for some of them. Some 

are better suited to handle greater 

responsibilities.’’ 

On agenda for the ministers, 

especially those in the critical 

sectors such as finance, industry, 

budget and national planning, and 

power among others, she said: “The 

number one agenda should be 

creating an enabling environment 

for private businesses so that we can 

create jobs. The ¦ 8.92 trillion 

federal budget is less than 10 

percent of the country’s GDP, so 

AVIATION 

•Hadi Sirika 

FINANCE/ 

BUSINESS 

stimulating private sector investment 

is the key to rapidly growing 

the economy and providing the 

much-needed jobs. ‘’ 

On his part, Director-General, 

Manufacturers Association of 

Nigeria, MAN, Mansur Ahmed 

said: “If they are adjudged to have 

done well, they may continue in 

their previous ministries. 

Nigerians expect improved 

performance, not only from the 

ministers but from Mr. President. 

One expects that the ministers 

should be mandated to deliberately 

build and strengthen the institutions 

under their watch. Of particular 

importance to us is the issue of 

those who will serve in the ministries 

that handle economic matters. 

One would expect that Mr. President 

would assign the portfolio to 

tested and capable individuals.’’


AGORO: 

How could you give 

three key ministries 

to one man? 

By DChris Onuoha 

r. Olapade Agoro was a 

presidential contender 

under the National Action 

Council (NAC) in the 2019 

elections. A social critic, Agoro 

speaks on the state of the nation 

You wanted to be President of 

Nigeria at some point. What 

happened and what is the situation 

now? 

I have always believed that leadership is 

something that is in-built, and I have 

always had leadership qualities in me. 

Seeing beyond the ordinary has been part 

of me. In the United States, when Barrack 

Obama was chosen, he is a black man for 

the first time in the history of the world to 

be given the opportunity to lead the 

biggest nation on earth and he did not fail 

because, right from the world go, he had 

leadership qualities in him. Leadership is 

what calls you out to lead, just like Jesus 

Christ or Mohammad. As young as the 

age of 20, I have always seen things 

different from other people’s perspectives. 

At 25, I graduated. At a time nobody could 

have given me the opportunity, I left my 

bench and, today, I have occupied various 

leadership positions in history. I did the 

first international oil conference in the 

entire black Africa in 1990 where I had 

the British and other parts of the world 

coming to see what I was doing in Abuja, 

and it was very successful. I originated the 

idea of ‘Road Safety’ and sold it to the 

Federal Government but the original idea 

was not implemented. I did the first 

international book fair in Lagos around 

90s. I was the first Nigerian to propose 

how to tackle corruption and I 

communicated the idea to then Interim 

Head of State Ernest Shonekan but I 

couldn’t fathom what came out of it. 

These were my reasons and drive to be 

President. 

In other climes, people should be 

begging someone like you to lead. 

You made a very cogent point. But the 

question is, is Nigeria ready for somebody 

who will lead them righteously, and 

truthfully? They don’t want to listen to the 

truth. I am a religious leader, an elder and 

an Oba in my town and also the leader of 

all the Aladuras. The question is, who is 

ready to listen? They want things to keep 

going the way it is. 

The “Revolutionnow” protest 

turned out to be a non-event. What 

is your assessment of the intention 

of the organisers and government’s 

response? 

Omoyele Sowore is a positive young 

man but the type of revolution he is 

calling for is wrong. What type of 

revolution was he talking about? Does he 

have the wherewithal? He contested 

election and he did not mention 

revolution. If I were him, I would have 

sold that idea of revolution from the word 

go and not after losing election. Then he 

went on talking; ‘that he does not want 

this President...’ That is not the way to do 

revolution. It must not be about one man. 

It must be an idea. It must be a concept. It 

is not just something you wake up one day 

and say there must be a revolution. Which 

revolution now? The man who led the 

revolution in Cuba did not start this kind 

of ‘Revolutionnow.’ He did it against the 

greatest political power in the world, the 

US. He had the people, he had the money 

and he had the dream and vision that he 

pursued. Sowore did not have 

followership on that concept. If he had 

been instructed by God to lead a 

revolution, a lot of people would have 

followed him. He wanted to draw 

attention to himself, which he has 

achieved. How far that can carry him, I 

may not know. If he is not careful, that can 

lead him to a destination of beyond. 

Some people said we are not ripe 

for such a protest because of deep 

ethnic division in the system. Do 

you agree? 

If you are talking about revolution, you 

can have it in the area of education, 

agriculture and even health sector. Dr. 

Akinwunmi Adeshina was appointed 

Agriculture Minister by the Obasanjo 

regime and he became the best we ever 

had. To me, that is a revolution. In 

journalism ‘Sad Sam’ stood his ground 

against all odds and revolutionized the 

idea of publishing and, today, Vanguard 

has remained a newspaper to reckon with. 

We have Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who came 

with a fantastic financial blueprint during 

Obasanjo regime. At that time, the 

administration paid almost all our debts. 

When you talk of revolution, you may 

have a revolution of idea and it does not 

have to be bloody. In Nigeria, we had the 

first revolution in 1966 when the young 

military officers came with an idea but, 

unfortunately, they were cut down. They 

made it one-sided and could not succeed. 

Anybody can have a revolution but it must 

not be bloody. To be followed, you must 

show who you are. 

Knocks and kudos greeted the 

ministerial list after it was 

submitted to the Senate. Some 

people felt the list fell below 

expectation. What do you think? 

You can only the get the taste of the 

pudding from what you put into the 

pudding. When Buhari made a noise that 

he was going to bring the best of 

technocrats in his government, what did 

we see, people that have been tested one 

way or the other? There are so many 

unknown names in this country; names 

without noise, untested, but with quality. 

The ministerial list should not have been 

based on party patronage or who you 

know. I still could not find the technocrats. 

•Olapade Agoro 

Where are they? The people on that list; 

about 90 percent of them have been tested. 

He should look beyond who he knows and 

use the real Nigerian technocrats that will 

work. 

The thinking in some quarters is that the 

list should have come with portfolios. 

What is your perspective? 

Every leader has his own style. Maybe 

for Buhari, there were certain things that 

made him do that, that 

we don’t know. 

How do you rate 

the screening of the 

ministerial 

nominees by the 

Senate, especially 

the ‘bow and go’ 

episode? 

As I was saying, he 

who plays the piper 

dictates the tune. The 

way the ministers were 

selected was contrary to 

what Buhari told us and 

contrary to our 

expectation of 

something very fantastic 

coming from him. But 

then, I don’t know what 

all that the Senate 

would have done 

against the wish of Mr. 

President. Many of those 

selected know 

themselves, so why 

bother the nation with 

something we all know. 

What do you want them to tell us that is 

different from what we already know? If 

he had selected people unknown to 

We were 

looking for the 

ministerial 

nominees 

without 

knowing that 

the list is all 

about those 

who were there 

all along 

politics, then we would have liked to know 

more about them, but from their 

antecedents, we already know them. 

Speculations are rife that some of 

the returning ministers may go 

back to their former ministries. If 

you are in Buhari’s shoes what will 

you do? 

I have been involved in the system for so 

long and if opportune, I would have done 

things differently. My ministerial list 

would have been out a week before I 

assumed duty. We were looking for the 

ministerial nominees without knowing 

that the list is all about those who were 

there all along. We have many young men 

and women untested. If I am in Buhari’s 

shoes, I would have done it differently. We 

have a lot of men like Akinwunmi waiting 

to be tested. But can they be ever 

discovered in this system that recognises 

only people in their caucus? Look at what 

happened to Babatunde Fashola, such a 

brilliant man. He was saddled with threein-one 

portfolios, just one man. How 

could you give three key ministries to one 

man when we have lots of people who are 

qualified to do the job? I wouldn’t have 

done that. That is a type of thing we do 

wrongly. 

What is your take on the state of the 

nation especially against the backdrop of 

the claim by government that it is doing 

its best to fix the economy and tackle 

insecurity? 

The insecurity that we are battling with 

is engineered by us. There is nothing really 

wrong in Nigeria that we cannot manage, 

but we saw it and we were careless about 

it. Did we not see the Boko Haram 

coming? How did we manage it? We know 

the mother and grandmother of insecurity 

and did not nip it in the bud. We have been 

paying terrorists, kidnappers and bandits 

in this country. The kidnappers of the 

Chibok girls were paid. 

On RUGA and state police? 

RUGA is a political noise. We believe in 

making noise. I don’t believe we should 

follow the tradition of our forefathers. 

Also, I don’t believe in anybody living in 

the bush with cows. Human beings and 

cows are not the same. The problem here 

is that we don’t have people that study the 

problems before they proffer solutions. We 

have had it long time in this country, even 

in Ibadan. What is wrong with the old 

system of rearing cattle? If I am Mr. 

President, I would have imported hornless 

cows to fill all the ranches because they 

look robust and healthy. My father used to 

have them. I don’t see the reason why I 

can’t start a cattle rearing at my backyard. 

RUGA doesn’t make sense. Agriculture is 

for everybody and must not be restricted 

traditionally to some people. 

State police? 

Can we talk about state police without 

knowing what is on ground? Who will be 

the head of state police? We always talk to 

the wind in the direction the wind blows. 

What are the modalities for state police, 

has it been described? Will state police be 

in control of state governors? If anyone 

should mentioned the American system, it 

is not the same with Nigeria. They have set 

out modalities and their system is 

working. If a state governor appoints a 

state police chief, what happens if he is not 

there? These are the questions we need to 

answer before we talk about having state 

police. 

Perhaps, you can summarize your view 

on the anti-corruption crusade by the 

Buhari administration. 

Nigerians are corrupt and 

it has become part of our 

life. We have to go inside 

ourselves and find out what 

is wrong. I believe in 

developmental ideology 

than evolving ideology. 

Buhari has not shown me 

that he is capable of fighting 

corruption. If it could take 

him that long to release the 

ministerial list, then how can 

he fight corruption? If he had 

waited until people coerced 

him to release the names, it 

is an element of corruption. 

What will be your frank 

advice for Buhari on fixing 

Nigeria? 

I don’t believe that we 

should divide this country. 

Nigeria was designed by 

God to be the greatest nation 

in this world, but it is our 

inability to manage that is 

our problem. I believe that 

we should come together 

and speak the truth. Those 

who are feeding fat on the marrows of this 

country are the ones seeking to divide the 

country. In the Taraba Police-Army 

exchange, three police officers were killed 

by soldiers and the kidnap suspect 

escaped. As a nation, we must tell the 

truth at all times. If I see you spending 

more than your income, I should ask 

you questions. We all know the corrupt 

ones but everyone is keeping sealed lips. 

Our electoral system is corrupt and 

contestants spend billions without 

anybody asking questions. Buhari 

should be honest and look inwards to 

tackle all these with the zeal of a 

President.


How I would 

have assigned 

portfolios 

— Onovo, ex-NCP 

presidential candidate 

By Chinwoke Akoma 

Chief Martin Onovo, the presidential 

candidate of the National 

Conscience Party, NCP, the party founded 

by the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, in the 

2019 general elections, speaks on how he 

would have shared portfolios to 

ministers-designate were he to be in the 

shoes of President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Ministerial list: what do you 

think of it? 

We must first ask ourselves 

whether Gen. Buhari was 

legitimately elected before he 

can make ministerial 

nominations legitimately. In our 

opinion, falsification of election 

results is treasonable as it is an 

overthrow of the sovereignty of 

the people. 

While we wait for the tribunal 

to determine that, we have 

followed events at the tribunal 

and we have seen the 

contradictions of the positions of 

Gen. Buhari and INEC on the 

certificate issue and the election 

results as collated manually and 

on the INEC server. We also 

have the reports of election 

observers like the EU Observer 

Mission, the US International 

Republican Institute and the US National 

Democratic Institute. It is clear that the “stolen 

mandate” of 2019 is worse than the 

“annulment” of June 12, 1993. 

The ministerial list has many people battling 

corruption allegations and many old and 

recycled people. This confirms our claim that 

the anti-corruption fight is deceitful. The 

number of ministers is also unwieldy and the list 

is dominated by Muslims, consistent with the 

perceived Islamization agenda in Nigeria. 

With our 

move for 

restructuring, 

the federating 

regions in a 

restructured 

Nigeria will 

have their own 

regional police 

Do you think the list should have come 

earlier? 

We expect that in a legitimate government, 

the list should come much earlier but even in 

President Buhari’s first tenure, the Ministers 

were sworn-in over five months after he had 

been inaugurated. So while we expect that the 

list should come earlier, we also know that 

Buhari lacks a sense of urgency on serious 

national issues. 

What is your take on the return of old faces 

in the cabinet? 

That was predictable. Buhari 

insisted publicly on nominating 

people he knows instead of people 

that can serve better. This can be 

interpreted as placing his personal 

interest above national interest. 

The old faces reappointed had 

failed previously but apparently for 

Buhari’s personal interest, he 

prefers to reappoint them against 

national interest. 

Was Gen. Buhari right in not 

indicating the ministries of his 

nominees at the Senate 

screening? 

We think that it would have been 

better if their ministries were 

indicated so that the Senate 

screening will be more effective 

with more specific questions on 

the challenges in the particular 

ministries. 

How do you rate the screening of the 

Ministers by the Senate? 

Very poorly! It seemed as if the leadership 

of the Senate was desperate to confirm our 

allegation that they are puppets of the 

executive. The Senate screening subverted 

the objectives of that very important national 

undertaking. 

What are the factors you think can be 

applied to determine the ministries of the 

•Martin Onovo 

nominees? 

Regular human resource management 

factors of education, experience, energy, 

competence, federal character, public 

priorities and, most importantly, integrity. 

What do you think of the ‘state of the 

nation’ especially with respect to insecurity 

and the economy? 

The ‘state of the nation’ is very painful with 

respect to the economy and insecurity. 

On the economy, we have the highest 

unemployment level ever, the highest total 

public debt ever, highest price inflation ever, a 

deeply devalued Naira and the highest 

number of people living in extreme poverty 

worldwide. All these catastrophic economic 

indices were recorded during the tenure of 

Buhari. The economy has been clearly ruined 

by the Buhari government. 

On insecurity, the situation has continuously 

deteriorated throughout Nigeria since Buhari 

was sworn-in. According to the Shehu of Borno, 

“nobody can dare move out of Maiduguri by 

10 kilometers without being attacked by Boko 

Haram”. According to Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, “a 

large area of Borno State is still not accessible 

to health care workers because of the activities 

of Boko Haram”. Since the reported 

government payment of a ransom of two 

million Euros to Boko Haram for the release 

of some kidnap victims, Boko Haram has 

resurged, killed thousands of Nigerian soldiers 

and overran so many military bases including 

Gajiram, Mainok, Rann, Geidam, Sasawa, 

Magumeri, Malam Fatori, Gashigha, 

Kanama, Mafa, Gamboru-Ngala, Damasak, 

Gudumbali, Garunda, Kunduga, Kareto, Jili, 

Arge, Zari, Arege, Metele, BuniGari, etc. 

In addition to Boko Haram that operates 

majorly in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, we have 

the terrorist herdsmen that operate in almost 

all states of Nigeria and have killed more 

Nigerians than Boko Haram in the last 12 

months. Government has failed 

catastrophically on security of lives and 

property and in managing the economy. 

Paradoxically, security and economy are two 

of the three priority areas of the government. 

What is your advice to Buhari on fixing 

Nigeria? 

Our advice to Buhari on fixing Nigeria is 

that he lacks the vision, vigor and competence 

required to fix Nigeria. Also, since he knows 

that he did not win the 2019 election, he should 

confess and step out of Aso Rock for the 

authentic choice of Nigerians to lead. 

Otherwise, he can support the restructuring of 

the country as demanded by a clear majority of 

Nigerians. 

What is your perspective on RUGA? 

The RUGA policy is Islamization and 

fulanization. It is unlawful and undemocratic. 

It is simply abusing government authority to 

steal the lands of indigenous people and give 

them to terrorist herdsmen as a camp to further 

their attacks on innocent Nigerians and 

Islamize and fulanize the entire Nigeria. Let us 

remind you of Buhari’s declaration that “I will 

continue to show openly and inside me the total 

commitment to the Sharia movement that is 

sweeping all over Nigeria”. RUGA is a violation 

of the Constitution of Nigeria. We will resist 

RUGA by all means, moral, legal, political and 

strategic. 

What is your perspective on state police? 

We opposed state police for many reasons. 

Many states owe salaries. They do not pay their 

teachers. How will they fund and pay their state 

police? The risk of unpaid teachers is not the 

same as the risk of unpaid armed police 

personnel. The risk is too high. We have seen 

the abuse of state institutions and we know that 

state police will be abused against political 

opponents. There is also a high risk of clashes 

between the police of different states, say in 

boundary disputes, etc. We have seen the killing 

of Nigerian policemen by Nigerian soldiers. 

However, with our move for restructuring, 

the federating regions in a restructured Nigeria 

will have their own regional police. This will 

reduce the risk of abuse and the risk of unpaid 

policemen. 

What is your perspective on the anticorruption 

war? 

Do not be deceived. There is no anticorruption 

war. What we have is a procorruption 

scheme that is concealed with very 

elaborate anti-corruption rhetoric. It is clear 

that this is the most corrupt government ever in 

Nigeria. Everything about this government is 

corrupt, with nepotism, sectionalism, fake 

certificates, false affidavits, false propaganda, 

falsified election results, unprecedented looting 

of national resources, etc. This government 

deliberately promotes corruption in many ways 

like, the appointment of corruption suspects, 

shielding corruption suspects that support the 

ruling party from the law, political deals with 

corruption suspects to be freed in exchange for 

political support, blackmail, intimidation and 

harassment of politicians that oppose the ruling 

party, etc. 

For discerning citizens, this is the most 

corrupt government ever. This government has 

spent nearly N30trillion belonging to Nigerians 

since May 2015 till date. Yet, no new power 

station, no new refinery, no significant 

maintenance of the existing refineries, no new 

Niger bridge, only the false propaganda of a 

‘completed’ Ogwashi-uku dam. Send your 

correspondent to Ogwashi-uku to see the empty 

site overgrown with weeds. International 

agencies like Transparency International and 

the US Department of State have exposed the 

“massive corruption” in this government. 

My reappointment for the good of Delta, Ugborodo—Pirah 

By Abel Kolawole 

ommissioner for Special Duties in 

CDelta State and Public Relations 

Officer, PRO, of Ugborodo Community 

Trust, Mr. Mofe Pirah, in this interview, 

speaks on his reappointment by 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and how to 

achieve lasting peace in the community. 

How do you feel being reappointed? 

Let me first thank the governor 

graciously for reconsidering me to be 

part of his government. It shows he wants 

me to be part of his government for eight 

years. It is not that I am the best, but I 

am a consistent and stable character. I 

understand and believe in the vision and 

mission of the governor. 

Maybe he saw that I supported him a 

lot. I am the only Commissioner, who is 

going doing a third consecutive term in 

the Delta State Executive Council. I was 

first appointed by ex-governor 

Emmanuel Uduaghan. 

Surprisingly, your latest appointment 

came against wrangling and 

allegations against you, especially 

from dissenting voices in Ogidigben 

where you hail from. Why the 

disconnect between you and your 

people? 

I don’t have a disconnect with my 

Ogidigben brothers and sisters. Social 

media is a place where big boys hire 

little boys to blackmail people. If you 

watched, when the propaganda came 

that I was given a road contract and 

embezzled the funds, I never said a word. 

They went further by saying that I was 

lobbying to be reappointed. They even 

said that heads must roll. I still didn’t 

glorify the blackmailers with any 

response. They are political detractors. I 

won’t mention names, but people know 

who is sponsoring them and what reward 

they derive from that. 

Just before the governor reappointed 

you, your name had been listed, 

particularly as PRO, among a new 

Ugborodo Community Trust. Is it still 

ideal you occupy both offices? 

Some people will say that Mofe Pirah 

went to lobby. Some said I stooped low 

by accepting to be the PRO of Ugborodo 

Community. First, I never lobbied for 

any position. My community 

(Ogidigben) came to me to discuss the 

critical issue. They said that while 

Ugborodo Interim Management 

Committee, UIMC, lasted, Ogidigben 

was shortchanged in all their activities. 

As a result, the community needed a 

representative who can match the 

caliber of people at the executive level of 

the Trust to be constituted. I didn’t see 

my reappointment as commissioner 

coming. What is the job of a Public Relations 

Officer in an organisation? I am not the 

Secretary or chairman. 

How about looking at it from the point of 

conflict of interests? 

If Ugborodo Community is coming to 

deal with the Delta State Government where 

I am commissioner, I can excuse them, but 

mainly, they are going to be dealing with 

Chevron, NDDC, Shell, Agip, NNPC, Niger 

I never lobbied for 

any position; my 

community 

(Ogidigben) came 

to me to discuss 

the critical issue; 

they said that 

while Ugborodo 

Interim 

Management 

Committee, UIMC, 

lasted, Ogidigben 

was shortchanged 

Delta Ministry and sundry stakeholders. The 

community needs people like us with a good 

pedigree to be in meetings to interact with 

these critical organisations. The community 

needs people in my caliber to introduce 

ourselves in such meetings. 

Talking of credibility, how credible is the 

new Community Trust? 

If I say that I am satisfied with the way the 

new Trust was constituted, I am deceiving 

you, but remember, the Olu of Warri has 

visited the Governor of Delta State to inform 

him that a new Ugborodo Community Trust 

•Pirah 

has been constituted. Who am I to challenge 

what the Olu endorsed? I have no such 

powers. 

I dare say, however, that the new Trust 

Chairman, who was also UIMC chairman 

must consult critically with key stakeholders 

and determine, how we can get out of the 

imbroglio. That is when some of us would 

offer suggestions on the way forward. I don’t 

want to see Ugborodo going back to the 

trenches anymore. 

It is a disgrace that the previous 

management committee chaired by Austin 

Oborogbeyi mislead the community.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019, PAGE 13

PAGE 14 —SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 18, 2019 

ADETUTU AUDU 

08023849036, 

08112662587 

Dangote 

gets 

grandchild 

Billionaire businessman, 

Aliko Dangote, is over the 

moon. Reason: One of his 

daughters, Fatima, put to 

bed a baby girl in far away 

United States. 

Fatima, who tied the 

nuptial knot with 

her husband, 

Jamil 

Abubakar, in a 

high profile 

wedding last 

year, is the 

apple of her 

father’s eyes. 

And the 

•Aliko Dangote 

excited 

grandfather 

has jetted out 

of the country to celebrate the arrival of the bundle of joy. 

It would be recalled that the Africa’s richest man’s parting 

words to Fatima on her wedding remain evergreen and left 

many with misty eyes. 

In the video he shot congratulating and wishing his 

daughter well in her marriage, Dangote 

acknowledged Fatima as his baby. 

“Fatima, my baby, my youngest, my sweetheart, 

this is a bittersweet time for any parent. I watched 

you blossom into an excellent representation of what 

I call my values; you are indeed pure to them. I 

trained you to take on any kind of weight on your 

shoulders and also to be bold and respectful”, he said 

in the video. 

Dangote further said: “Jamil has been a son to me 

even before I realised he had gone inside my garden 

to pluck my Juliet rose. I am here anytime you need 

me and I love you unconditionally. I have done 

enough homework to know that Jamil will always 

respect the ground you walk on. Good luck on this 

new journey, my baby. The time has come. Be loved, 

be very happy and I love you very, very dearly.” 

Shina Peller Celebrates 

Salah In Style 

Socialite and politician, 

Honourable Shina 

Abiola Peller, representing 

Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/ 

Iwajowa Federal 

Constituency in the House of 

Representatives, on Sunday, 

celebrated the Eid al-Adha in 

a stylish way as he rode on a 

horse from the Eid prayer 

ground to his family house in 

Koso area of Iseyin local 

government area of Oyo 

State. 

The event was fun-filled for 

Peller, his wife and children, 

who had flown in from the 

United Kingdom, close and 

extended family members, 

friends, associates and well 

wishers most of whom are 

residents and indigenes of 

Iseyin. 

With its majestic and lyrical 

move, aided by drummers 

and singers, the horse took 

Peller, who waved smilingly 

and lovingly at people, 

around the town to the 

admiration of all. 

•Shina Abiola Peller 

•Shirley Aghotse 

City Architect and socialite, Teju 

Ajayi, alongside his siblings, is 

hosting a lavish 60th birthday bash for 

his adorable mom, Mrs Christianah 

Bosede Ajayi. 

Today, the crème de la crème will 

converge at the Balmoral Hall, 

Oregun, Ikeja to celebrate the woman 

who is joining the Diamond Club. 

The easy-going architect and his 

siblings are sparing no expense to host 

a birthday party that will be the talk of 

the town for a long time to come in 

celebration of their loving mom. 

Famous comedian cum compere, Dr 

Smile, will anchor the bash while 

the rave of contemporary live 

music, SB Live, will be on the 

bandstand to serenade guests. 

Mrs. Ajayi is blessed with four 

children –Teju, Gbemi, Damola and 

Dayo. And celebrating her is a 

token of their appreciation for 

nurturing them as successful 

professionals in their chosen 

fields. 

The new Diamond Woman’s 

debonair son, popularly known as 

Teju OGA among his cross-section of 

friends, is the CEO of The Architects 

Place Ltd, a design and construction 

firm based in Ikeja, Lagos. 

Shirley Aghotse 

finds new faith 

Former beauty queen, Shirley Alero Aghotse, has 

found new faith. The former Miss Tourism Nigeria 

has jettisoned the glamorous lifestyle of beauty queens, 

her weavons and make-up to become a born-again 

Christian. 

In her hey days, Aghotse rocked with the high and the 

mighty. In her inner circle were top models and beauty 

queens. She worked with Osun State Government as 

‘Miss Tourism Osun State’, the Presidency (under 

President Olusegun Obasanjo), the Federal 

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (under Amb 

Franklin Ogbuewu), as well as Mrs Nike Etiebet, 

who was the owner of Miss Tourism Nigeria, 

before she found her new faith. She was an active 

member of Deeper Life children’s church and a 

chorister while growing up. 

Today, beauty pageant for her is past. Her 

ambition is to set Nigeria free with her Grace 

Riches Army Ministry. The ex-beauty queen also 

wants to ensure that people of her generation 

represent the right values that would help make 

them progress as nationals. 

City Architect Teju Ajayi serenades 

mum as she hits diamond age 

Anative of Jema’a in Kaduna State, 

Amina Sijuwade founded Abrahams 

Seed Foundation, a non-profit organization 

dedicated to assisting 

orphanages in the Federal 

Capital Territory in the 

specific areas of health 

and education. 

The mother of two 

is not resting on her 

oars as she is 

taking up new 

challenges. 

Amina was the 

Attorney-General 

and Commissioner 

for Justice in 

Kaduna State and 

later Commissioner 

for Environment and 

Natural Resources. 

Before her appointment, she worked at the 

Northern Numero Resources Limited, an 

Abuja-based mining and metal company. She 

is also an Executive Director of Business 

Development and Investment Ltd, an 

•Amina 

Sijuwade 

•Teju Ajayi 

Amina Sijuwade’s large heart 

organizational development 

company based in Abuja. 

Many will easily recollect this svelte 

beauty, Amina, who wedded the late 

Ooni of Ife‘s eldest son, Tokunbo 

Sijuwade, at a well-attended nuptial 

many years back. 

Of northern extraction, the union 

did not come as a surprise as she is 

equally of a notable pedigree. 

A blue blood, her father, Maj.- 

Gen. Adamu Dyeri (ret.), is one of 

the finest officers the Nigerian 

Army ever produced. 

A few years after the union was 

contracted amidst grandeur, the 

couple began to hum discordant 

tunes and ultimately split to the 

consternation of those who were privy 

to the generous display of affluence at 

the wedding ceremony. 

Tell tale signs that concerted efforts 

to reconcile the couple had begun to 

yield fruit came to light when Amina 

began to play conspicuous roles at 

family functions.


•Adediwura 

Blarkgold 

BBNaija’s Diane 

claims her virginity 

is intact, may not 

have sex till marriage 

By TOLULOPE ABEREOJE 

n the wake of the many sexual escapades in the Big Brother 

INaija house, Diane said during a game with fellow housemates, 

Omashola and Elo on Friday that she plans on staying away from 

sex until marriage. 

The BBNaija housemate made the remark while responding to 

Elo on the last time she had sex. Going down memory lane, she 

recalled how her aunt once made her take a vow using the Bible 

to stay away from sex until marriage. She however, stated that 

she would give up on her vow if she meets a man she truly loves. 

“When I was younger, around 10 or 11, I went to see my 

cousin and her mother was telling us about how she kept 

herself till she got married. She told us that one thing that 

kept her was that she made a vow with God to stay pure, after 

which she now made us make a vow using the Bible to stay 

pure till marriage. At 23, I could wait or find someone to 

confuse my head and I will give it out,” she said. 

Recall that evicted housemate, Nelson once admitted to 

pushing for a relationship with Diane. Nelson said he stopped 

gunning for a relationship with Diane after Tuoyo told him he 

had an interest in her. 

Being single for 12 years with a 

son has been my toughest years 

—Adediwura Blarkgold 

It was not only Toyin Abraham and fiance, Kolawole Ajeyemi that were assailed 

with waves of congratulations on Thursday, Voluptuous Yoruba actress and mother 

of one, Adediwura Blarkgold was also overwhelmed with goodwill messages when 

she broke the news of her engagement with a video that has since gone viral 

brandishing her engagement ring. 

The actress who has become popular with her son surprised many 

including Potpourri when she made the announcement. In several 

social media posts the ebony beauty has claimed that the only man 

in her life is her teenage son, giving no hint whatsoever that there 

may be a man pulling her chestnut out of the fire. 

In a chat with Potpourri the actress opened up on the 

engagement and how her son comes into the details. 

“Been single for 12 years with a son to cater for “alone” has 

been the toughest years so far. Honestly, it was terribly tough 

but I thank god today. Sometimes, when I think of a day 

like now, I put my son into consideration first, being my 

priority. I find it difficult to take this bold step with a lot of 

phrases like What if,” she said. 

“I consider my son’s feelings, acceptance and love. I 

had to wait till this time just for him to be of age and by 

God’s grace he will be 14 in 6 months.Also, I fought an 

internal battle within me for years trying to conquer 

the previous experiences that I had in my former 

marriage so as not to bring it to my future. I just 

have to take this bold step having found 

someone I love totally. He helped me to kill 

the spirit of ‘I can’t’ move on’. Thank god 

my son loves him and we all love him,” 

she added. 

The Nollywood damsel, is in her 

forties and a graduate of English 

from Lagos State University and 

has been acting since 2008. Her 

friends and fans call her the 

Blarkgold on account of a role 

she played at a point in her 

career. 

•BBNaija 

Diane 

26 year-old teacher becomes millionaire after winning Betway’s AFCON jackpot 

•Uche 

Elendu 

•DJ Cuppy 

26-year-old classroom teacher, Temitope A, has become N2 million richer after winning Betways’ African Cup of Nations prediction 

A jackpot. 

Betway, an internationally recognised and reliable online betting provider, had offered bettors on its platform a chance to win big by 

predicting multiple games during the recently concluded football competition hosted in Egypt. 

Temitope, a dedicated football fan, was one of many bettors who grabbed the unique opportunity offered by Betway to predict games for free. 

The Osun State native couldn’t believe his luck when he was notified of his win from the betting platform he says he has been using since 2018. 

“I was very very happy… I wanted to scream but I was invigilating in an exam hall,” the Arsenal fan says after receiving his money. 

Speaking on Temitope’s win, Betway Country Manager, Lere Awokoya says, “Betway is a betting giant that offers the highest odds, fast 

payouts and good customer care to assist players. That is why many Nigerian bettors are interested in placing their wagers on the platform”. 

The reputable betting platform, in addition to offering odds on thousands of sporting fixtures, also offers casino games, virtual sports, 

jackpot games, and a number of exciting promotions. 

Don’t rush out 

of your marriage, 

you may never 

find someone 

better 

—Uche Elendu 

By TOLULOPE ABEREOJE 

N 

ollywood actress, 

Uche Elendu 

recently shared a post on 

her Instagram page in 

which she warned men 

not to take any good 

woman they have in their 

lives for granted. 

According to her, when a 

man decides to leave a woman 

who loves him genuinely 

despite his flaws to look for 

someone better, he may not be 

very lucky. Elendu also made it 

known that women make huge 

sacrifices for their relationships 

to work. But when and if they 

discover that they are the only one 

putting in all the hard work 

needed, they leave the 

relationship with hurt feelings. 

“Good women are scarce. 

When you get one, don’t mess 

with her or go out thinking 

you will find someone 

better. You just may not be 

that lucky. Appreciate 

your woman. Not all 

women are 

materialistic; most of 

them just want a 

man who is loyal, 

caring, loving and 

understanding. 

Any other thing is a 

plus if you’re 

privileged to have it. A 

lot of women make huge 

sacrifices just to protect their 

marriages or relationships, the 

tears, the battles both emotional, 

physical, spiritual battles they 

fight, the pain, financial input, 

betrayal and the 

disappointments, and yet, they 

don’t give up easily till it dawns 

on them that they’ve actually 

been in a relationship with 

themselves,” she said. 

DJ Cuppy 

set to release 

song “Gelato’ 

with 

Zlatan 

I 

nternational Disc Jockey 

and phenomenal 

producer Florence Ifeoluwa 

Otedola popularly known as 

Cuppy is set to release one of 

her most anticipated song of 

the year, Gelato ft Zlatan. 

Cuppy has constantly given 

us timeless hits since the 

release of her classic Afrobeat 

single, Green Light up till her 

sizzling love jam, Abena. 

Indisputably, one of the best 

DJs in the scene right now, 

Cuppy has become a key 

player across the music field 

as a vocalist, songwriter, 

producer. She continues to break barriers, 

unveiling new layers to her craft and 

surprising us with new twist to each of her 

melodious tunes. 

The Afrobeat queen has teamed up this time 

with the zanku master, Zlatan to deliver a 

lilting piece solidifying her position as the 

queen mother of the masses “Iya Gbogbo 

Street”. 

Gelato is definitely one to top charts and 

cause a stir on the dance floor.


What I miss 

about Nigeria 

— Ogeh Cynthia 

By EKAETTE BASSEY 

anada-based Nigerian actress, Ogeh Cynthia, who also runs a PR and 

C entertainment outfit, LQP Image Consulting and Ogeh Cynthia 

Entertainment, in this interview, speaks on life as a Nigerian in diaspora, 

reasons behind celebrity marriage crash and lots more. Excerpts; 

Can you tell us more about yourself? 

I’m a fabulous daughter, a committed 

mother and a dependable partner. I’m 

called ‘The Lion Queen’ by those who love 

me. I’m also an actress and a business woman 

who is devoted to serving God and humanity. 

You have been scarce in movies, why? 

I have been very busy working behind the 

scenes. We now run a production company 

that produces drama, marketing campaigns 

and advertisements. We are working on a 

major TV series for Africa cinema. Please stay 

tuned. 

Besides acting, you’re also into so many 

other things, can you give us a breakdown? 

I’m an entrepreneur who is on the lookout 

for great investment opportunities. My 

partners and I are into general merchandising 

like, event and entertainment production, 

marketing and advertisement, content 

creations, relationship counselling, car 

importation, advocacy, and charity work. 

As a Nigerian in diaspora, how have you 

been coping? 

It is not easy living outside of your home. 

Trust me, I miss Nigeria all the time. There is 

no place like home. The western society is 

structured and very straight forward. Anyone 

who is determined and ready to put in the 

work will definitely make it. I am comfortable 

here but I miss my Nigeria. 

Do you have plans to shoot your own 

movies anytime soon? 

Yes. We are currently working on some 

quality projects. 

What do you miss about Nigeria? 

I miss the freshly harvested and cooked meal. 

I miss family and friends. I miss my village 

in Anambra state. 

How have you been 

coping with running an 

NGO in this poor 

economic state of the 

country? 

We have been 

fortunate so far. We are 

blessed with 

remarkable pair of 

human beings who are 

committed to our 

cause. They volunteer 

their time and support 

our programs with 

resources. We are 

currently working on a 

major healthcare 

intervention for our 

people. We will let you 

know as soon as we are 

ready to launch. 

Donors and partners 

are welcome. 

As a relationship 

consultant, what do 

you think is 

responsible for the 

alarming rate of 

celebrity marriage 

crash and baby mama 

syndrome? 

Marriage or any kind of committed 

relationship requires deep commitment and 

maturity. Committed relationship is a contract 

and a covenant that is binding. The parties 

involved must keep to their own side of the 

agreement. Marriage crash is as a result of a 

default in such agreement. These days, people 

are more conscious of avoiding exploitation. 

Baby mama on the other hand is a derogatory 

term created to shame and demean 

women. I find the term very irritating. I 

will rather use the term single 

motherhood to describe them. Single 

parenthood is not an easy thing. I 

will not degrade anyone working 

hard to raise responsible 

children. 

You started ‘Black and 

White Gala Ball’ in Canada 

but later stopped. Why? 

The Black and White Gala 

Ball Canada, was a pet 

project created to bring 

Africans together in an 

environment where they 

are respected and 

recognized. We ran it for 

two years before we 

moved to other projects. 

We are presently 

mentoring and 

shaping the future of 

young Africans in 

Canada. Africans are 

often associated with 

ineptitude and 

e c o n o m i c 

backwardness, we 

are increasingly 

changing that 

narrative. We are 

equipping these 

young minds with 

skills and 

leadership 

qualities that will 

propel them into 

management 

positions. 

Baby mama is a 

derogatory term 

created to shame 

and demean 

women. I find the 

term very irritating 

You seem 

to have a special 

kind of love for 

Anambra State, with 

regards to your famous 

Facebook page, what’s 

behind that? 

Anambra is home, and 

home is where the heart is. 

I want my people to access 

some of the beautiful things 

I have seen in Canada. 

Anambra state has a 

reputation 

for 

industriousness and 

business acumen. Anambra 

State is blessed with wealthy 

men and women who can do 

great and mighty things for 

our people. We can do better. 

We should do better. We must 

start it now. We must change 

the trajectory of our society. 

Looking back, what fond 

memories do you have of 

your home town? 

Many fond memories. I love 

moving from town to town. I 

love learning about each town 

and how their customs differ 

from our own. I adore the 

wealth of our humanity and 

the richness of our culture. 

Do you miss core Nigerian foods? 

I eat almost all the Nigeria foods that I love. 

What I miss most is my inability to cook with 

freshly harvested leaves. In Canada, our 

Nigeria vegetables are either dried or frozen. 

How fluent are your children in Igbo 

•Ogeh 

Cynthia 

language? 

T h e y 

understand Igbo 

language but they 

are not fluent in 

speaking it. They 

mix their Igbo with 

English. We are 

working on them 

speaking Igbo more 

fluently. I will admit, our 

progress has been slow. 

We will keep trying until 

success is achieved. 

Should more women 

venture into politics? 

Absolutely Yes. I’d love 

to see more women doing 

wonders for the nation. 

How do you think 

women can take their 

place in the society? 

As a people, we must 

pull down all visible and invisible walls 

socially constructed to limit and restrain 

women. Every Nigerian female should be 

encouraged to take up space in every sector 

•Ogeh 

Cynthia 

of our society. We need women occupying 

leadership positions in business, banks, 

entertainment, politics, markets, 

manufacturing, real estate and religion. 

What life lessons has been instrumental 

to your success so far? 

One of my greatest inspirations in life is 

the Bible verse which states: “I can do all 

things through Christ who strengthens me”. 

My mum endorsed the significance of 

education to me. She is my strongest human 

inspiration. 

Would you say you’re a fulfilled woman? 

I am a woman who is contented with her 

life. I am a woman in fullness of her agency. I 

love me because I am an original. I love God 

and I love humanity. 

What’s next for you in terms of projects? 

First, we are seeking for partners with 

visionary ideas. We are working on new 

campaigns for our charitable work. We also 

have some new products coming into the 

market soon. Creating and making things is 

a big part of our identity. Don’t worry, we will 

continually keep you updated.

Digging up wealth in the South, 

burying them in the North 

“The wretched nurseries of 

unceasing discord and the 

miserable objects of universal 

pity or contempt….” - 

Alexander Hamilton, 1757- 

1804. 

hat was how Hamilton, 

Tone of the founding fathers 

of America and a former 

Treasury Secretary (equivalent 

to our Minister of Finance), 

described some of the 

nations of Europe when they 

were going through social, 

political and economic upheavals 

similar to what we are 

now experiencing in Nigeria. 

Invariably, the tensions were 

heightened by poor leadership 

and prolonged by lack of 

compromise on the part of the 

contending forces for supremacy. 

When a leader announces 

that he is, by nature, combative, 

he has simply forgotten 

that nobody has a monopoly 

on that attribute. One person’s 

perpetual aggression 

invites a similar response 

from others. Both the thirty 

years and hundred years wars 

in Europe started in one day 

and outlasted most of those 

who got them started. If war 

breaks out in Nigeria, it will 

most likely occur because we 

lack leaders and advisers with 

any sense of history. We would 

have been led to it by people 

who should not be leading us 

or who we should no longer 

follow. 

Nigeria, in 2019, can, with 

a great deal of justification, 

be called a wretched nursery 

of unceasing discord. We have, 

since the 2011 general elections, 

elevated the winnertakes-all 

brand of politics, 

which had been endemic 

since 1959, to new lows of 

mutual political hostility. Our 

language during campaigns 

and after elections had always 

aimed to divide the country. 

We were witnesses to the 

statements made about making 

the country ungovernable 

by the losers. We experienced 

the riots in some states which 

supported them. But, fortunately, 

the disturbances did not 

get out of hand. 

There was no cause for 

alarm in 2015 because the 

major loser was patriotic 

enough and statesmanlike as 

well, as to concede without 

even going to court to challenge 

the results. Had the loser, 

an incumbent President, 

Commander-In-Chief of the 

Armed Forces, C-I-C, chosen 

to fight instead of going 

peacefully, only God knows 

how many Nigerians would 

have been needlessly sacrificed 

at the altar of one man’s 

ambition. Billions of naira 

worth of properties acquired 

with sweat and hard labour 

would have gone with the 

dead. The facts are before us 

and the difference is clear. 

Another difference, however 

unpalatable, is the fact that the 

President in 2011 is a Southerner; 

his opponent was a 

Northerner – who went to 

court. Now he is President and 

he resents anybody challenging 

his victory. That should tell 

us something about principles 

and leadership. It matters a 

lot what leaders do – in and 

out of office. 

Four years and three months 

after his re-election, Nigeria 

qualifies more to be described 

as a wretched nursery of unceasing 

discord and disunity. 

In 2011, Nigeria had one major 

security threat inherited 

from the government of President 

Yar’Adua. That was 

Boko Haram. The problem 

was of purely of Northern origin; 

no Southerner, not even 

Muslims in the South, had a 

hand in fomenting this discord 

which had consumed lives, 

properties, hopes for development 

as well as funds which 

could have been spent to avert 

Nigeria becoming the poverty 

capital of the world. Today, 

in addition to Boko Haram, 

the nation is contending with 

terrorists in the form of herdsmen, 

cattle rustlers, bandits 

and kidnappers – the last on 

an unprecedented scale. 

Nobody needs to be told 

where cattle rustlers operate 

and who they are. It is inconceivable 

that an Ijaw or Oron 

or Ilaje or Berom will attempt 

to go to Zamfara to rustle cattle 

and hope to return alive. 

Rustlers, if they are Nigerians, 

are Northerners. Now, the nation’s 

financial resources are 

being diverted towards solving 

another security threat 

which is absolutely Northern 

in origin. Bandits constitute 

another species of armed robbers 

who are everywhere in 

Nigeria. Bandits are the only 

group of armed robbers who 

are not only contented to steal 

properties – cash, GSM sets, 

jewellery, food items etc – they 

actually seem to take special 

delight in wiping out communities. 

The bestiality and viciousness 

are unmatched by 

any other group of armed robbers 

anywhere in Nigeria. The 

blood-thirstiness is totally 

unique to the North – especially 

the North-West. That raises 

three quick questions to which 

no answer will be provided 

now. First, what sort of society 

breeds people like these? Second, 

what religion do they 

practice? Third, what conditions 

exist in Zamfara, Katsina 

and Kaduna which produced 

them of all the thirty six 

states of Nigeria? Today, unknown 

number of lives and 

immeasurable billions of 

naira worth of properties had 

Professor Dame Elizabeth 

Nneka Anionwu (2) 

• Prof. Dame Anionwu 

She has written exten 

sively and is a co-au 

thor with Professor 

Karl Atkin of the book ‘The 

Politics of Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia’ 

published in 2001 

by the Open University Press. 

She is a Patron of the Sickle 

Cell Society, the Nigerian 

Nurses Charitable Association 

(UK) and the Sickle & 

Thalassaemia Association of 

Nurses, Midwives & Associated 

Professionals (STAN- 

MAP). 

She chaired several projects 

for the NHS Sickle and Thalassaemia 

Screening Programme. 

These included: • the development 

of ‘Caring for people 

with sickle cell disease and 

thalassaemia syndromes: A 

framework for nursing staff’ 

that was accredited in 2010 

by the Royal College of Nursing 

• ‘Understanding the contribution 

of sickle cell and thalassaemia 

specialist nurses’ 

(2012), funded through a grant 

from the Roald Dahl’s Marvellous 

Children’s Charity. 

“Her tireless work to ensure 

that people affected by sickle 

cell disease and thalassaemia 

get the support they need has 

touched the lives of thousands.” 

– Lord Victor O Adebowale 

CBE, MA CEO, Turning 

Point 

There is more- Professor Anionwu 

helped set up the Mary 

Seacole Statue Appeal, which 

culminated in a magnificent 

statue of Mary Seacole over 

looking the house of parliament 

and it is on the grounds 

of St. Thomas hospital in 

London. 

In 1997 Elizabeth was appointed 

as Dean of the School 

of Adult Nursing and Professor 

of Nursing at the University 

of West London. In 1999 

she established and was Head 

of the Mary Seacole Centre 

for Nursing Practice until her 

retirement in 2007. The university 

then honoured Elizabeth 

with the award of Emeritus 

Professor of Nursing. 

Elizabeth was vice-chairperson 

of the Mary Seacole 

Memorial Statue Appeal 

from its launch in November 

2003. The statue was unveiled 

in the grounds of London’s St 

Thomas’ Hospital in June 

2016. Elizabeth is now a Life 

Patron of the new charity, the 

Mary Seacole Trust. 

Mary Seacole was a mixed 

race with Jamaican and Scottish 

parentage, who was a doctress 

and a woman of means 

and courage. Mary was a formidable 

woman who nursed 

wounded soldiers during the 

Crimean war. She was honoured 

by Queen Victoria and 

it was reported that when she 

to the UK, Firmer soldiers 

lined the road to get a glimpse 

been lost to these sub-human 

elements. No other Nigerian 

government until this one has 

ever spent a kobo on the problem 

of rustlers. That is a fact 

which the habitual dissemblers 

in Aso Rock cannot dispute. 

“A stitch in time saves nine”, 

according to an old adage we 

grew up with. A former Chairman 

of the US Federal Reserve 

Board, Burns, went further. He 

warned that if governments allow 

an untenable situation to 

go for too long, suddenly, they 

might find there are no good 

solutions left. Herdsmen palaver 

is a classic case of a government 

failing to check a 

problem before it becomes a 

serious crisis. Herdsmen were 

Under Buhari in the 1980s, 

Nigeria expelled Ghanaians – 

giving rise to the Ghana- 

Must-Go epithet. Now, as fate 

would have it, Nigerians are 

now being hounded out of 

Ghana. They have Buhari to 

thank for that 

hardly a serious security threat 

since the creation of Nigeria 

in 1914. They were as docile 

as can be. My first experience 

with them was in 1952 in our 

small community at Agbowa- 

Ikosi, Lagos State. They would 

come with the cows at harvest 

time to feed on cast-offs from 

our daddy’s farm. They never 

on their own entered the farm; 

any farm. We gave them food 

because they were transient 

friends and they occasionally 

brought dried meat for the 

kids. The relationship was 

symbiotic until recently. Now 

everybody in the community 

is on alert when the first cows 

are sighted. What went wrong 

and why now? Given space 

constraint, let me summarise 

how we missed the boat. 

TRAMPLING ON THE 

GRAVES OF AGATU 

When herdsmen sacked the 

small Agatu ethnic group in 

Benue State in 2016, the FG 

was presented with a golden 

opportunity to put a stop to in- 


discriminate killing of fellow 

Nigerians by herdsmen. tion until now. In 2019, it had 

managed that delicate situa- 

Agatu and Nebo in Enugu become another divisive issue. 

Is there anything Balewa, 

State occurred within weeks 

of each other. Nobody is certain 

how many people died Obasanjo, Shagari, Babang- 

Ironsi, Gowon, Mohammed, 

in Agatu. But, I was there and ida, Abacha, Abubakar, 

took some pictures which Yar’Adua and Jonathan 

were published in May that didn’t know about Shiites that 

year. Even if only a hundred is now known? What is it? We 

people were killed, the FG have now added captured 

should have demonstrated Shiites to the growing list of 

more concern for the security 

of its citizens. They should and fed at government ex- 

people who must be housed 

also have known that doing pense. How on earth can we 

nothing would foster impunity 

and more killings. A schools for kids when more of 

ever have the funds to build 

former President of France the little we now have is going 

mobilised the security forces 

to track down and elimi- 

Sorry, it took so long to get 

to the prisons? 

nate killers of only six citizens. 

The terrorists quickly gerians have become “the 

to the heart of the matter. Ni- 

got the message. If the FG, miserable objects of universal 

instead of offering excuses for pity or contempt” largely because, 

since 2009, we have 

the herdsmen, had demonstrated 

more statesmanship evolved a queer sort of federal 

structure in which eighty to 

instead of partisanship, after 

Agatu, we would have eighty-five per cent of the federally 

collected revenue is 

been saved the losses of lives 

and properties and prospects generated by the Southern 

which we now suffer. Now, States while the generally selfimposed 

problems, now con- 

we have N2billion RUGA 

money going begging and suming our resources (funds, 

no Middle-Belt or Southern manpower and time), have 

State wants to participate. their origins solidly in the 

Great opportunity is being North. Strictly speaking, our 

lost on account of mis-management 

of the herdsmen- 

even worse than “monkey- 

present federal structure is 

farmers-communities conflicts. 

We are now close to the become “monkey-work-bawork-baboon-chop”. 

It has 

brink of costly war. 

boon-chop and throw more 

Other problems exist, away”. 

which are totally Northern In 2015, we were not the 

in origin. But, only one deserves 

attention now – Nothough 

we were already the 

poorest nation on earth; almadic 

Education. As conceptualised, 

the Nomadic sal pity or contempt”. No na- 

“miserable objects of univer- 

Education programme was tion in the world welcomes 

designed to provide the opportunity 

for children of nations; whose leader we are 

Nigerians – not even African 

herdsmen/women to acquire supposed to be. Under Buhari 

some education. The burden in the 1980s, Nigeria expelled 

was expected to be shared Ghanaians – giving rise to the 

between the Federal, States Ghana-Must-Go epithet. 

and Local Governments. Now, as fate would have it, 

That has not happened. It is Nigerians are now being 

now completely FG-funded. hounded out of Ghana. They 

It is also in shambles. Nobody 

can account for how the Elsewhere in the more ad- 

have Buhari to thank for that. 

money is spent and the results 

achieved. It has become ed with the pity and contempt 

vanced nations, we are treat- 

a scam. We all know who we richly deserve. Countries 

attends Nomadic Schools living within hazardous boat 

on which funds generated rides of Libya can have nothing 

but contempt for those 

largely from the South is 

now being wasted. 

risking their lives on those 

Just as we thought everything 

had been released country of origin. Nigeria tops 

rickety contraptions and their 

from the national nursery of the list because most of the 

discord, Shiitism cropped revenue allocated to the region 

is thrown down the drain 

up. Every Nigerian Head of 

State, military, civilian, with very little hope of earning 

a return on Muslim or Christian, had 

investment. 

Always be confident 

about both your 

strengths and 

weaknesses. There’s 

often solutions to our 

problems, and to the 

differences that we 

may have which may 

pose barriers 

and thank her for her service. 

Mary Seacole’s contribution 

was largely forgotten if not for 

the drive of Professor Anionwu. 

Mary Seacole is now studied 

and spoken about due to 

the recognition in schools in 

the UK. 

Professor Anionwu is the 

author of memoirs Mixed 

Blessings from a Cambridge 

Union . Elizabeth Anionwu's 

memoirs 'Mixed Blessings 

from a Cambridge Union' are 

available in paperback. They 

can also be downloaded as an 

e-book from Kindle Amazon 

& Kobo. Please visit her website 

for more information: 

h t t p : / / 

www.elizabethanionwu.co.uk 

Visit Elizabeth's Facebook 

Page: 

https:// 

www.facebook.com/SickleTo- 

SeacoleMemoirs/ 

The book charts the fascinating 

story of her journey 

through a great number of 

childhood adversities, including 

severe beatings at the 

hands of her stepfather, racism 

and exclusion, and how she 

overcame it to become a nurse, 

health visitor, educator and 

PhD, and Emeritus Professor 

of Nursing at the University of 

West London. She was awarded 

the CBE in 2001. 

One reviewer said of the 

memoir: Do get hold of this and 

read it. This is the sort of book 

that changes who you are. It’s 

an astonishing story, beautifully 

told with sensitivity, humour 

and pace. Not only is it a revealing 

social history of British 

attitudes to the perceived 

stigmas of race and illegitimacy; 

it’s an intensely personal 

account of a remarkable woman’s 

realisation of the world 

around her and her determination 

to make it a better place. 

Elizabeth Anionwu is an alchemist, 

turning shame and prejudice 

into strength and service. 

Utterly inspiring.” 

In 2017 Queen ‘New 

year’s Honour list ,Elizabeth 

was honoured with a Damehood 

(DBE) in the her services 

to nursing and the Mary 

Seacole Statue Appeal. 

The Queen’s Nursing Institute 

awarded her a Fellowship 

(FQNI) in October 

2017. In 2001 she was 

awarded a CBE for services 

to nursing. 

In 2004 she was presented 

with the Royal College of 

Nursing Fellowship (FRCN) 

for her work in the development 

of nurse-led sickle cell 

and thalassaemia counselling 

services and education 

and leadership in transcultural 

nursing. 

In July 2018, as part of the 

celebrations for the 70th Anniversary 

of the National 

Health Service, Elizabeth 

was included in the list of the 

70 most influential nurses 

and midwives in the history 

of the NHS. 

Professor Dame Elizabeth 

Anionwu was awarded an 

honorary doctorate from Birmingham 

City University in 

recognition of her major contribution 

to the profession. 

When asked what inspires 

her to keep going she said, 

“Seeing the improvements 

that have happened so far. But 

I’m not satisfied until other 

gaps in service for BME patients 

and health professionals 

are addressed.” 

During a speech at the graduation 

ceremony, she told 

graduands to make the most 

of their talents in their future 

careers and advised them to 

“always be confident” about 

their strengths and weaknesses 

Ȯn collecting her honour, 

Professor Anionwu, also paid 

tribute to Birmingham’s 

healthcare services, which 

made a major difference to the 

life of one of her cousins with 

sickle cell. 

“Be aware of who supports 

you, of who’s looking out for 

you,” said Professor Anionwu. 

“And it may not necessarily be 

the people that you expect, so 

we mustn’t stereotype the type 

of people we think will support 

us or won’t support us.” 

Professor Anionwu closed 

her speech by offering advice 

to graduates on making the 

most of their talents in their 

future careers. 

She said: “Always be confident 

about both your strengths 

and weaknesses. 

“There’s often solutions to 

our problems, and to the differences 

that we may have 

which may pose barriers,” she 

said. 

I have a feeling that that 

there is more Professor Anionwu 

has on her to do list and 

she of course is determined to 

accomplish every single one 

of them . 

Concluded

PAGE 18, SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

I copied ‘hustle 

spirit’ from my 

mum – Ejiro Agambi 

Ms Ejiro Agambi, CEO/Founder of Jeovil 

Cleaning Services and Luxury Vox, is 

a multinational businesswoman with 

the passion to reduce 

unemployment in countries 

across Africa. The outfit has won 

the hearts of many as she is seen 

as a mentor to people from far and 

near. In furtherance of this, she 

recently extended her frontiers to 

Ghana, in determination of her 

belief that this year would not 

end without gaining footholds in 

several African countries. 

Agambi spoke to Sunday 

Vanguard. Excerpts: 

Tell us about your background 

I’m from a humble home, a 

family of eight, where I’m the 

second child and first girl. And this 

has prompted me to work hard not 

only for myself but also for my 

younger ones who look up to me as a 

role model. For example, my mum is a 

business woman and, having helped her 

run her shop while growing up, that 

helped me to develop the ‘hustle spirit’ 

which is very vital for every Nigerian 

entrepreneur. 

You are into diverse businesses. How 

do you cope? 

Being a multinational 

businesswoman takes a lot of 

persistence, self-encouragement, 

commitment and trust because every 

business you want to venture into is 

a risk, and you need determination 

not just from within you but also 

from people who 

work with you. 

And, of course, 

you need a role 

model; someone 

you look up to, 

like, for example, 

my mum is my 

first role model. 

As far back as I 

can remember, 

there is no 

business my mum 

has not done. 

Although on a 

small scale, my 

mum literally did 

80% of the 

businesses that 

exist in Nigeria 

while I was 

growing up. It 

takes guts, 

decisiveness and 

creativity, you 

have to be 

creative and 

innovative, follow 

I can still 

remember 

vividly when I 

was the whole 

company. At the 

said time I was 

the CEO, 

manager, 

project 

supervisor, 

customer care, 

delivery woman 

and accountant 

the trend; wow your audience and, 

above all, the grace of God. 

What motivated you into 

embracing self-employment? 

I never did a salaried job like the 

usual ‘9 to 5’. I never thought of it. 

Although at a point I wanted to but 

the zeal to be creative, and venture 

into business has always surpassed 

any idea of looking for a 

job. 

People going into 

business often 

encounter key 

challenges like finance. 

How was it at the 

beginning? 

Well, at the 

beginning, I would 

say financial 

challenge was a big 

problem. For 

example, it was 

difficult securing 

funds. As you 

know, sometimes 

the people or 

businesses which 

need these funds 

more are unable to 

get them. Why? 

Because the questions 

are 

sometimes too complex for 

them to answer or the 

proposals they submitted to 

institutions that provide funds 

are not good enough but if 

you actually give these 

people funds, you will be 

amazed about the outcome. 

And then there are financial 

problems with family and 

friends, they want your 

service but will not pay for it. 

Other times they pay for same 

services or patronize 

outsiders. Things like this 

could be frustrating and 

discouraging...you know. For 

me back then it was really draining 

and challenging but God pulled me 

through. I started out with virtually 

nothing. 

When was the turning point? 

I’d say it was from the very day I 

decided to step-up my game. I decided 

I won’t let challenges weigh me down, 

because, as my Sapele people would 

By Josephine Agbonkhese 

08054650907 

Email: jossynovia@gmail.com 

say, “Because rain falls and the road is 

not good does not mean you will not 

leave the house to look for work”. Ever 

since I made that decision, a lot of 

things changed. My perspective and 

reaction to situations changed. Through 

this, I learnt to maximize every 

opportunity, making good use of every 

situation, be it good or bad. 

Describe how daunting running a 

business in the country is? 

Doing business in Nigeria is very 

challenging because no one tells you 

the pain and battle you will go through 

as an entrepreneur, the hard work you 

need, the losses you are likely to incur, 

the sleepless nights that will come, the 

tears that will roll down your cheeks, the 

numerous trying times before success 

comes, no one says anything about all of 

these but you have got to keep believing 

and moving. 

Career women like you often 

encounter special challenges especially 

when they are in big time businesses 

like you. Share your experience with 

us 

Ẇell, sometimes we go through 

challenges which tend to be very 

personal. Take for example when 

you’re bidding for a contract and you 

have to deal with the opposite sex and 

they start asking for things that do not 

align with the business and which you 

cannot give. And then there are 

financial challenges, when the 

customers are not coming in as 

expected, a little short on budget, you 

need to pay salaries, wow! It’s draining 

sometimes dealing with these issues. 

How profitable is the cleaning and 

gift items outfit? 

A clean space is a healthy space. So 

far the feedback we’ve been getting 

from our janitors has been really good. 

We’ve been able to train our janitors to a 

world class standard, thereby raising the 

cleaning standard in Nigeria and, so far, 

our janitors have been good 

ambassadors of Jeovil and I know, for a 

fact, that this has prompted a lot of 

people who have come in contact with 

or heard about Jeovil to strive for 

excellence. And as for my gift outfit... I 

would say we have changed the game. 

Any regrets since going into 

business? 

Not at all! All thanks to God Almighty 

Rate the size of your company now 

and when you started? 

The difference is massive because I 

can still remember vividly when I was 

the whole company. At the said time I 

was the CEO, manager, project 

supervisor, customer care, delivery 

woman and accountant. I was literally 

the whole company! And now... what 

can I say? I give God the glory. 

What advice do you have for young 

business women? 

I advise every young woman going 

into business to be focused, decisive, 

dream big, be willing to work hard, be 

persistent, set your priorities right, turn 

your goals into prayer requests, be 

organized, like my daddy always says, 

“if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. But 

you must know that “failure is the 

stepping stone to success” because if 

you don’t fail you’ll never know what 

you’re doing wrong 

Assess Ease of Doing Business in 

Nigeria? 

Regarding the authorities on the Ease 

of Doing Business, they should try to be 

lenient with entrepreneurs, young, new 

and old. They should make the laws 

conducive for starters. 

What are your future plans? 

We are planning to dominate 

Africa as a whole in the nearest 

future by the grace of God.


RUGA: The Ganduje Model 

By Charles Kumolu, 

Deputy Editor 

You may not be his supporter but you 

can’t afford to ignore him. 

The more you attempt to disregard 

him, the more interested you become in his 

affairs. 

He may lack the charm of Alhaji Abubakar 

Rimi nor what is regarded as the astuteness of 

Rabiu Kwakwanso, yet, he is one of the 

mavericks of the Muhammadu Buhari era. 

Being the governor of the commercial nerve 

centre of northern Nigeria, could effortlessly 

earn even the most reclusive leader fame. It 

is not so in the case of Governor Abdullahi 

Ganduje, who is as popular as the state he 

governs. 

Dissenting voices should carry out a fiveminute 

popularity test for All Progressives 

Congress ,APC, governors and make public 

the result. He may not emerge the first but 

would definitely rank among the first three. 

Aura of self-assurance 

Whatever presence he has across the country 

is neither because of service delivery nor 

political ideology, but what Sunday 

Vanguard identified as hidden aura of selfassurance. 

This virtue which requires an eagle eye to 

see, accounts for his political relevance since 

1979 when he vied for the House of 

Representatives on the platform of defunct 

National Party of Nigeria ,NPN. 

This has seen Ganduje commanding 

nationwide attention with issues and events 

he associates with. 

For instance, the dollar bribery allegation, 

his re-election process and the split of Kano 

Emirate Council, all crashed the social media. 

Even the declaration of assets before his second 

term inauguration didn’t go unnoticed. 

Judicial 

pronouncements 

The bribery allegation which emanated 

from a leaked video purportedly showing the 

governor receiving wads of dollars from a 

contractor was one controversy that many had 

thought would consume Ganduje. 

A man purported to be the Kano State 

governor was seen collecting the dollars before 

putting them into his white dress, in one of a 

series of questionable deals allegedly struck 

over a span of several months. 

The 15 clips were published by online-based 

Daily Nigerian. 

The two minutes video was recorded in 2017 

in what Daily Nigerian described as a sting 

operation aimed at beaming a spotlight on 

the governor’s alleged penchant for contract 

racketeering. 

Describing the matter as scandalous even 

though he survived through judicial 

pronouncements is to say the least. 

Till date, the split of Kano Emirate Council 

into five is still largely regarded as a vindictive 

act against the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu 

Sanusi. 

The vociferous leader’s sin was said to have 

been his alleged sympathy for the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, during the last 

governorship election in the state. 

Though the state government had said the 

move was made to expand the emirate, 

critiques dismissed the reason. 

“We will now have development close to the 

people. The traditional institutions are indeed 

partners in progress, especially in the area of 

security, health, education, environment and 

social development. With this new 

arrangement, all hands will be on deck to take 

Kano to the next level, “ Gaduduje said while 

justifying the action. 

In the news today 

He is in the news today not for irrepressible 

abuse of power that political elites are known 

for, but for moves on Ruga settlement for 

herdsmen—an issue that seems very 

threatening to Nigeria. 

The governor wants President Buhari to 

abolish the movement of herdsmen from the 

north to the south in order to end farmersherders 

conflicts 

Ganduje, who is also a Fulbe, Fulani, in an 

interview with Channels TV, said: “The 

federal government should abolish the 

movement of herdsmen from the northern 

part to the southern part of Nigeria because it 

creates a lot of problems and the only way to 

do it is the Ruga issue. 

“This settlement is a must and for us in Kano 

State. It is a task that must be done, because 

we must improve the quality of lives of the 

herdsmen so that they can become full 

Nigerians and behave like any other good 

Nigerian, so that the conflict we are having 

all over the country 

can be reduced and at 

the same time, they 

can improve the way 

they breed their cattle. 

“We have trained 72 

of the herdsmen 

children in artificial 

insemination and we 

have constructed two 

insemination centres 

in Kano and with this 

Ruga settlement which 

we are starting now so 

that the breeding 

system of the cattle 

will be according to the 

modern system. 

Crises and extreme 

threats can be 

useful for directing 

individuals, a 

country, and even 

the world to a 

solution 

Infrastructure 

for grazing 

“That is where we 

are heading to, and 

that is why we are 

calling on all 

herdsmen all over the 

country to come to 

Kano, we are getting 

assistance from the Islmic Bank so that we 

develop infrastructure for grazing areas and 

we believe when they converge, it will be a 

good omen for the state. 

“We are already planning to build an 

ultramodern abattoir here so that the chain 

can be built right from bottom to top.” 

This is not the first of such a call as he had 

done so last year. However, the escalation of 

the crisis lately, makes his intervention apt 

and unignorable. 

You only needed to read the reactions that 

trailed the development, to realise how 

germane the Ganduje call is to the crisis that 

further widens Nigeria’s fault lines. 

Courage and 

true leadership 

Surprisingly, the statement by the Kano 

helmsman created a common ground for 

many who had been so divided by the matter. 

To a lot of people, Ganduje’s submission 

illustrated courage and true leadership in the 

face of a national security challenge. 

Though not the only northern governor to 

have supported the proposed Ruga settlements, 

acknowledging nomadism to be at the core 

of the crisis endeared him to many. 

Little wonder, comments like these from the 

online community: “God bless this man. I hope 

you will achieve this golden goal to save many 

Nigerians from untimely death.” 

Apart from, those, opposed to the Ruga, other 

sections regard the Ganduje model as 

heartwarming, timely, and tenable. 

The singular move depicts the governor as 

not just clairvoyant but a trendsetter. 

He has succeeded in identifying 

opportunities amidst crisis at a time his peers 

prefer positions that are only pleasing to the 

central government. 

Investment 

opportunity 

Put differently, instead of just 

viewing the crisis through an 

ethnic prism, he found it an 

investment opportunity for the 

state. 

In the light of this, Sunday 

Vanguard can’t agree less with 

Maria Langan-Riekhof, Arex 

Avaani, and Adrienne Janeti, 

who titled one of their works: 

Sometimes the World Needs a 

Crisis: Turning Challenges into 

Opportunities. 

An excerpt that speaks to 

what Ganduje seeks to 

achieve, reads: “Crises and 

extreme threats can be useful 

for directing individuals, a 

country, and even the world to 

a solution. As President 

Kennedy suggested, out of 

crises can emerge new and 

incredible opportunities, 

particularly if traditional 

approaches and paradigms 

are questioned and challenged.” 

By and large, the governor’s stance, 

strenghtened the often ignored truism that 

crises offer benefits. 

Now, beyond being the at the helm of affairs 

in Kano State, how much of Ganduje do you 

know? 

Trained in Islamic 

knowledge 

Wikipedia provides this insight: “He started 

his early education in Qur’anic and Islamiyya 

school at his village Ganduje where he 

became trained in Islamic knowledge. He 

later moved to headquarters of his local 

government where he attended Dawakin Tofa 

Primary School from 1956 to 1963. Ganduje 

attended the Government Secondary School 

Birnin Kudu from 1964 to 1968. 

“Ganduje attended Advanced Teachers’ 

College, Kano between 1969 and 1972. He 

then attended Ahmadu Bello University, 

located in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he 

graduated with a Bachelors in Science 

Education in 1975. 

In 1979 he obtained master’s degree in 

applied educational psychology from Bayero 

University Kano and later returned to Ahmadu 

Bello University from 1984 to 1985 for a 

Master of Public Administration degree. He 

got his doctorate in Public Administration 

from University of Ibadan in 1993 

“He joined the Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP) and aspired to be the party’s 

gubernatorial candidate but lost the primaries 

to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Tony Momoh 

chaired the Committee that screened the 

candidates and conducted the primary 

election, other members included Abdullahi 

Aliyu Sumaila and Senator Bala Tafidan 

Yauri. Ganduje was later picked as the deputy 

to Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso between 1999 

and 2003. 

“In addition to the deputy governorship, he 

was also appointed as the Commissioner 

for Local Government. From 2003 to 

2007 he served as the special Adviser 

(Political) to the Hon. Minister of 

Defence, Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Ganduje also served as a member of the 

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority 

(NCAA). 

Ganduje was appointed the chairman of 

the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in 2008 and 

was later appointed as the executive secretary 

of the Lake Chad Basin Commission at 

Ndjamena, Republic of Chad. He participated 

in the 2006 Nigerian Political Reforms 

Conference. 

Ganduje was a Deputy Governor of Kano 

State Governor Kwankwaso between 1999 

and 2003, under the flag of the PDP. They 

lost re-election to Malam Ibrahim 

Shekarau. They were re-elected on 27 April 

2011 and sworn in on 29 May 2011 for a 

second term in office. 

Ganduje was conferred the national 

honour of the Order of the Federal Republic 

(OFR) in September 2012 by President 

Goodluck Jonathan. He was also conferred 

with the honour of Fellow National 

Association of Educational Administration 

and Planning (FNAEAP) on October 13, 2016, 

in Bayero University, Kano.

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 18, 2019 

Sad to see your dad beat up his mistress’ lover! 

Timi’s dad, Kingsley, 

had always been close 

to his five children 

though it was obvious that Timi 

was his favourite when they 

were growing up. The closeness 

became even stronger after 

Timi left home. “I was the eldest 

child”, Timi said, “and I did most 

things with him, including confiding 

in him instead of our mum. 

I was just married when dad came 

calling, telling me he was thinking 

of taking a second wife. I was 

shocked. After over 30 years of 

marriage to mum,what did he 

need a second wife for? Why 

didn’t he just have an affair? 

He’d had some in the past that 

he’d never admitted to. So, why 

was this Veronica he said he’s 

fallen in love with different. 

“She was a single mother of a 

six-year-old girl, dad said, and 

didn’t want another hole-inthe-corner 

affair that would result 

in her having another child 

out of wedlock. `But you’re still 

married to mum’. I reminded 

dad. `What wedlock are you 

talking about?’ Dad had that determined 

look on his face as he 

answered: “I’m almost 60 and 

I need to feel passion once 

again before it is too late. Your 

mother is not exactly a sex symbol 

and after five kids, she 

wouldn’t lose sleep if I never 

went near her. She might have 

lost it, but I have it! Veronica 

doesn’t mind a native marriage, 

as long as her parents see 

a semblance of commitment 

from me. The only snag is that 

she’s sill under 30...” 

“In other words, Veronica is 

not only more than 30 years 

younger than dad, she wanted 

more children! What sort of 

madness possess these young 

women intent on wasting their 

youth on men more than old 

enough to be their fathers? Ì 

love her’, dad said firmly when 

I pointed out that the age difference 

could prove to be a 

problem. So I wished him well. 

Dad looked younger and happier 

and if he’s found happiness, 

I would be the last person 

to stand in his way. I just 

didn’t want to see him hurt. As 

if reading my mind, he told me 

he’d already assured this Veronica 

that he would let her go 

if she met a younger man she 

fancied. Would I love to meet 

her? I nodded uncertainly. 

What on earth would mum say 

if she knew of this conspiracy? 

“She seemed okay when we 

met and looked genuinely interested 

in dad. He’d already found 

her a flat which they furnished 

together. I had to find out how 

mum felt about the whole thing 

but it was obvious she was resigned 

to this mad urge of dad’s 

to prove his virility. `He reminded 

me of the number of his 

friends who’d had one or more 

wives and said he only waited 

for our children to be independent 

before he got another one’, 

mum said, looking a bit amused. 

Ì told him he could do whatever 

he wished. He can afford to 

keep two homes and if his heart 

gets broken, he could always 

come home!’ 

“So, the pair got hitched and 

dad spent time with Veronica, 

putting his new love-next right 

and cooing over their new son. 

In fairness to Veronica, she made 

a great fuss of dad and I was relieved 

he was happy. They were 

together for almost eight years, 

when dad showed up at my 

house with his bombshell. Ì’m 

sure Veronica is two-timing me’, 

he said, looking really unhappy. 

Wasn’t he the one who said he 

was prepared to let go if she met 

someone younger? Ì’m definitely 

losing her’, he continued. 

Ì’ve asked her if she was seeing 

someone else, but she denied 

it. But she keeps getting 

calls on her mobile and text messages 

late into the night …’ 

“I was a bit worried about the 

state he was in. Did he ever 

go through all this with mum? 

I consoled him the best I could 

but with time, he became quiet 

and withdrawn. All of a sudden, 

he started dressing up 

and splashing on expensive 

after-shaves. Poor dad, he’d 

never bothered about his looks 

before. One day, he turned up 

at the house confiding in me 

he wanted his hair dyed! We 

couldn’t get him to a salon, so 

I offered to do it at home. I 

bought one of these five-minute 

instant hair dye, and went to 

work. He looked different after 

I was through. It would all have 

been hilarious if I hadn’t been 

so worried about his sate of 

mind. 

“In spite of his efforts to look 

younger, it was all wasted on Veronica. 

They were definitely 

drifting apart and dad urged me 

to have a word with her. By this 

time, dad looked tired and 

drawn and I would do anything 

to put the bounce back to his 

feet. When I called on Veronica, 

she didn’t want to admit to anything 

but I assured her she was 

free to tell me anything. She 

confessed she was fed up with 

her relationship[ with dad 

inspite of the fact that he’d 

spared no expense making her 

happy. As a matter of fact, he’d 

just bought her a new car. Unfortunately, 

her once strong love for 

dad had all but died. Ì’m aware 

of the fact that I’m nothing but a 

part-time and unacknowledged 

wife and it is humiliating that I 

will not be properly married in 

life’, she lamented. What the heck 

did she want? 

“She had a man who was so 

besotted with her she took on her 

child from a previous relationship. 

What man would now legally 

marry her with two kids from 

two different fathers? Didn’t she 

know the score before she went 

into relationship? She just 

shrugged. I couldn’t make her 

love dad and he needed to put 

an end to his misery. Patiently, I 

explained everything to dad. He 

looked really dejected that I felt 

sorry for him. I told him he needed 

to get Veronica out of his system, 

that her son for him would always 

be a link. 

“Only, a few weeks later, my 

younger brother phoned me at 

work that dad had been arrested 

– he was calling me from the Police 

station. I rushed to the said 

station, my whole body shaking 

as I raced down. Dad was behind 

the counter, looking shamefaced. 

My brother was arranging 

to get him released on bail but 

discreetly passed the photocopy 

of a photograph the Police had 

let him have. A man was sitting 

on a stool looking like an armed 

robber that had been beaten raw. 

Some wounds were plastered 

whilst some were left open. I 

gasped as I was told dad had 

assaulted the man when he 

found him in Veronica’s flat. 

“After dad left the station, we 

made efforts to have the case 

withdrawn. Dad’s victim confessed 

he never knew Veronica 

was married to dad, let alone that 

the flat was set up by him. In the 

end, he agreed not to press 

charges and the Police were duly 

informed after `formalities’ were 

completed. We were just glad it 

was over. Has dad learnt his lesson? 

I doubt it. 

“Some days he looks our cheerful 

and happy dad. Mum on the 

other hand, took things in her 

stride and never gloated. I 

haven’t asked dad what his relationship 

with Veronica’s son is at 

the moment. 

When he’d first felt jealous and 

insecure about Veronica, I wished 

I had tried to talk him out of trying 

to win back her love. But emotional 

problems are the hardest 

to handle – as we all found out 

the hard way with dad. I just 

hope now he’s almost 70, he 

would have learnt his lesson ...” 

The Higher bidder? 

(Humour) 

During a wedding rehearsal, 

the groom takes the vicar to one 

side .. “I’ll give you N10,000 if 

you’ll change the vows”, he says. 

“Just leave out the part where I 

promise to love, honour and 

obey,and forsaking all others, be 

faithful for ever”. 

He then slips the vicar the cash 

and walks away. The wedding 

comes and the couple are about 

to exchange vows. The vicar 

turns to the groom and announces: 

“Will you promise to worship 

the ground she walks on, obey 

her every command, serve her 

breakfast in bed every morning 

and swear eternally you 

will not even look at another 

woman, as long as you live? 

The groom gulps and yelps: 

“Yes!” He then leans towards 

the vicar and hisses: 

“I thought we had a deal!”, 

the vicar presses the N10,000 

back into his hand and whispers: 

“She made me a much 

better offer”. 

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" 

Naked Moon 

The moon is black skin 

You are the night leaking from the wall 

I am the shadow in the bed 

The room is not dark, it is black 

Our hug cracks in the black coldness 

Two bodies touch with moon in between 

Where does night go when it is day? 

When light feeds your memory in morning 

Will you remember the shape of my 

name? 

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kingsley.alumona@yahoo.com 

A dream, a fantasy 

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And our souls in touch 

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PAGE 22—SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

Mr Femi Falana is a Senior 

Advocate of Nigeria 

(SAN) and an activist. 

Falana speaks on the state of the 

nation in the wake of 

‘RevolutionNow’ protest and the 

arrest of the convener, Mr 

Omowole Sowore. 

What I have considered is that the 

state, through the police, recognises the 

fact that Nigerians have the right to 

protest peacefully. And I hope 

government will not reverse itself. 

However, government is saying “we are 

clamping down on protesters this time 

around because they used the word 

‘revolution’. But protest has also been 

carried out by the Bring-Back-Our-Girls 

campaigners at the Unity Fountain 

Abuja because, since the Chibok girls 

were captured in 2014, that 

organisation has been protesting daily 

to remind all of us that Chibok girls, 

Dapchi girls are still in captivity of 

terrorists. Government says no, “we 

don’t want those rallies.” The Shiites 

were also protesting peacefully to 

demand compliance with a court order 

releasing their leader and his wife. 

Government said no! But now, we are 

being told that rallies are allowed in 

Nigeria and they must be peaceful. 

That’s the first lesson. The second and 

painful one is that protesters who are 

not armed, placard carrying people, are 

being brutalized. It does not portray us 

a civilised people and we can avoid 

that. What the law says, I am talking of 

the Electoral Act, amended as of March 

27, 2015, is that the police shall provide 

security for protesters. That is the law 

because we have won the battle against 

obtaining police permit as a condition 

for rallies and protests in Nigeria. 

Incidentally, it was a case we won for 

General Muhammadu Buhari and other 

political leaders of the ANPP and about 

ten other opposition figures sometime 

ago. The point was made that peaceful 

protests are part and parcel of freedom 

of expression guaranteed by the 

Constitution and freedom of assembly 

and that when they are protesting, the 

police and other security forces must 

provide security. That was not what we 

witnessed yesterday (Monday). 

So what do you think informed 

this kind of situation because 

before becoming President, just 

like you mentioned, Buhari was 

one of those who protested 

peacefully and there was not any 

arrest? 

No! That is not correct. In 2003, 

September 22, the ANPP leaders, led by 

General Muhammadu Buhari and the 

late Chuba Okadigbo, had a rally in 

Kano, because there was going to be 

series of rallies to protest the rigging of 

election that year. The Obasanjo regime 

asked the police to clamp down on the 

rally. And of course, the police did so, 

violently and tear-gassed the conveners 

and participants. In fact, three days 

later, on Sept 25, 2003, Okadigbo 

passed on and it was speculated that his 

death arose from the dose of teargas 

inhaled by him, because he had 

respiratory problem. And 

notwithstanding the fact that there is 

judicial recognition of the right to 

protest, on many 

occasions, the police and 

military clamp down on 

Nigerians who are 

protesting. Last year, there 

was an incident where 

about 50 Shiites were 

killed by security forces in 

Abuja for protesting and 

demanding the 

compliance to a court 

order. 

What do you think is 

responsible for this 

situation? 

It is the failure to 

recognise that we are free 

people. We are being ruled 

as a conquered people. I 

have tried to make the 

point over and over again. 

Chapter 4 of the 

Constitution which spells 

out the fundamental rights 

of Nigerians cannot be 

violated or abrogated 

without a procedure 

permitted by the same 

Constitution. Be that the 

case, if you are going to 

take the life of any citizen, 

there must be a trial. Since 

death penalty is still a part 

of our law, a person must 

have been tried, convicted and 

sentenced. You cannot engage in extra 

judicial killing. If you are going to 

detain Sowore, you can’t detain him for 

more than 24 hours in a place like 

Lagos and not more than 48 hours 

If they are 

sure that the 

revolution 

has failed, or 

going to fail, 

why bring out 

the army, 

police, to do 

what? 

where you do not have a court within a 

radius of 40 kilometres. Section 35 of 

the Constitution says if you are going to 

detain Sowore beyond 24 hours, you 

must go and get a court order. If you are 

going to violate my rights in anyway, if 

you are going to seize my account, 

passport, you must get a court order. 

These will show that we are a civilized 

people. If you have the right 

information that the “RevolutionNow” 

was planned to disrupt the peace of the 

country, and you had the information 

for about two weeks which is required 

by the law, it is not a threat to commit 

treason or you are a terrorist, the police 

will approach the court. 

So, you are saying government 

erred. 

Oh yes, for sure. The police will 

approach the court and say “this is the 

information we have”. I have seen some 

of the papers circulated. No! You cannot 

engage in media trial. You put 

somebody in detention; you are 

circulating information saying he 

wanted to overthrow government, that 

he has taken money somewhere to 

overthrow government. Please charge 

him. If you have 

information that Mr. 

Falana wants to cause 

disruption, go to court; 

you cannot sit down in 

your office and conclude 

that this is treasonable 

felony. No! No police, 

security officer has the 

power to make such 

declaration. 

In all of these, you 

are saying government 

erred and, of course, 

the protesters are 

saying they will 

continue. Meanwhile 

the Presidency says the 

revolution has failed, 

that people should go 

about doing their 

businesses. Has the 

revolution failed? 

I wish government well. 

But if they are sure that the 

revolution has failed, or 

going to fail, why bring 

out the army, police, to do 

what? The protesters did 

not say “we are going to 

cause such a disruption” as 

stated, that nobody will 

move. If you are having a 

rally at the stadium, not on the street of 

Lagos, why should any government feel 

so disturbed? No! You can’t do that. 

Under President Obasanjo regime, there 

was a time the Labour Congress was 

going to go on strike and government 

confronted them for mobilizing for the 

SOWORE: 

We are being 

ruled like 

conquered 

people 

– Falana 

strike across the nation. Then, 

government approached a court in 

Lagos in the dead of the night and got a 

court order that the strike should not 

hold. Comrade Adams Oshiomole, the 

current APC National Chairman, was 

the President of the Nigeria Labour 

Congress NLC then; Peter Esele was the 

President of the Trade Union Congress 

TUC. They were confronted with the 

order the following day. One way or the 

other, the order was served. And so we 

had a dilemma. The late Chief Gani 

Fawehinmi and I had to spend 6 hours 

at the Sheraton Hotels in Lagos to 

convince the Labour leaders, but they 

said “this is a black market injunction”. 

But they had to obey, because next time 

their members were arrested, 

government will say “you didn’t obey 

court order”. And that is what the rule 

of law is all about. They obeyed the 

order and we said “give us a week to be 

back to the drawing board and set aside 

the order”. And based on that 

assurance, the strike was postponed and 

we were able to vacate the order. 

So, we don’t treat Nigeria as an 

isolated case. There has been 

mass protest in the United States 

over the shooting of students and 

we saw how government handled 

it including other places with 

similar cases. What do you say 

about the way government is 

handling this case now? 

Sowore was ‘captured’ on Friday 

night. I used that word ‘capture’ 

deliberately because I warned in 2016 

when some judges were arrested in the 

dead of the night: You don’t do it 

because criminals might take 

advantage of the people wearing mask 

in the dead of the night like officials of 

government wearing mask in the dead 

of the night. Criminals will take 

advantage and kidnap people and you 

will be told it is done by the DSS. You 

must learn to be civilized because it is 

dangerous not to do so. And in the case 

of Sowore, he kept them for over an 

hour because he didn’t know who they 

were until he got confirmation from 

DSS office and he obliged. 

So, what do you expect to 

happen? 

It is going to be difficult for 

government to stop protests. Once, you 

have not recognised that Nigerians 

have the right to protest. You are now 

convinced that there was no revolution 

yesterday when the protest was violently 

stopped. I have warned the security 

forces to stop embarrassing 

government, particularly the President 

who had called the security chiefs to 

recommend the Egyptian revolution to 

Nigerians. 

Do you say the President is not aware 

of what is happening? 

I am not saying the President is not 

aware. But I am saying that the 

President is being challenged with his 

own involvement in protest in the past. 

Nigerians are saying there must be 

consistency on the part of those who are 

in government. Some of them were in 

NADECO. They took part in protests 

with us. On their part, the last rally the 

APC leaders organised was on the 19th 

of November 2014 to protest insecurity 

in the country. If other Nigerians are 

protesting against insecurity in any part 

of Nigeria, you cannot clamp down on 

them. And that’s what Nigerians are 

saying, that Mr. President should 

recognise our right as yours was 

recognised then. 

I am sure you have looked at 

this situation objectively. Is there 

any justification for what the 

government is doing right now? 

There is no justification. But I also 

want to assume that in some of these 

crackdowns, government has not been 

exposed to sound legal advice. The last 

time we had this kind of harassment of 

Nigerians over the use of the word 

‘revolution’ was in 1948 when some 

young Nigerians formed ‘Zikism 

Movement’ without Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe 

after being disturbed that the politics of 

Nigeria was being ethicized. So, they 

formed that body saying “we are going 

to elevate Nigerian politics”. They 

launched the movement to demand for 

revolution here in Lagos at Glover Hall 

and the lecture was delivered by Osita 

Agunna. The Chairman of that 

programme was the late Chief Tony 

Enahoro, young people in their 20s and 

30s. The second one was held and they 

were arrested for calling for revolution; 

charged, convicted and sentenced to 

imprisonment by the colonial regime 

for a period ranging from six months to 

three years. They were not charged with 

treasonable felony or terrorism. They 

were only charged with sedition. And 

seditious publication charge was then 

under provisions of criminal code 

which was declared illegal in July 1993 

by the Court of Appeal. I am talking 

about cases decided here in Nigeria. So, 

you can’t charge anybody with treason 

for saying “we are going to cause a 

revolution”. That is part of freedom of 

expression. 

• Interview first aired on 

Channels Television

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 18 , 2019, PAGE 23 

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women currently 

romping with anyone as low 

as their paid drivers, ask 

around and you’re hound to 

be treated to stories of women 

who’ve dabbled into taking romance 

to the level that makes 

them devilishly selfish! And before 

you recoil in horror and start 

talking about improper conduct 

on the part of these male subordinates, 

bear in mind that majority 

of the men involved admit 

to initiating the relationships 

themselves. |Like Stella, 42, who 

seduced one of the facilitators at 

the computer school she set up a 

few years ago. 

“When Akeem started lecturing 

part time at my school to augment 

his salary as a bank clerk, I 

was instantly attracted to him because 

I thought he looked vulnerable, 

said Stella. “He was 

also a good lecturer and listened 

as if what I had to say to him 

really mattered. It didn’t take me 

long to decide to seduce him, even 

though he was almost ten years 

younger. I knew I had to bid my 

time in gaining his trust. As good 

looking as he was, he wasn’t 

brash. Pounce on someone like 

that and you’ll look like a cradle 

snatcher. I became nicer to him 

than I ought, and encouraging 

his budding relationship with his 

girlfriend, whilst gently flirting 

with him. 

The night I asked him to say 

for dinner (the computer school 

Loud Whispers 

With 

Erelu Bisi Fayemi 

is on my premises), I piled him with 

good food and booze. Afterwards, 

we retired to the sofa and I had the 

most mind-bugling sex I’d had for 

years. Apparently, he was on to my 

scheme and happily played along. 

“Akeem later got married but not 

before we’d had a torrid affair for 

one year. I let him go after his marriage 

so he could concentrate on 

building a good home”. 

Big Brother Naija: Some 

matters arising 

ig Brother is an international 

Breality TV show that was created 

as an experimental game to see 

how human beings would relate to 

each other if kept sequestered for 

an extended period of time, usually 

up to three months, having minimal 

contact with the outside world. Over 

the years, the results have ranged 

from hilarious and entertaining to 

outright scandalous. The novelty of 

watching a handful of young adults 

languishing in a house for weeks on 

end doing next to nothing never 

seems to wear off enough to discourage 

investments in the show. The 

more scandalous and outrageous 

the behaviour in the house, the more 

the ratings. With ratings comes sponsorship. 

The notoriety acquired 

from participating in the show is 

enough to guarantee a long-term 

win for most of the contestants, winners 

and losers alike. 

I watched most of Big Brother Africa 

Season 1 in 2003. The show was 

on when I got home from work, and 

I was not paying much attention to 

it until a question came up. One of 

the participants asked ‘When did the 

genocide in Rwanda happen’? The 

other housemates gave responses to 

the question. None of them got it 

right. I was so shocked I dropped 

what I was doing and starred at the 

TV. I could not believe what I was 

watching and hearing. The only one 

who seemed to come close to a right 

answer was Gaetano Kagwa from 

Uganda who said ‘ I think it was 

1995’. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide 

is one of the most devastating 

events in Africa’s history. No African, 

regardless of where they live 

should be ignorant of this terrible 

chapter. It is like being a Jew and 

not knowing about the Holocaust. 

The housemates all seemed to be 

young, most 

of them under 

30, from 

different 

countries 

and backgrounds. 

It 

dawned on 

me that people 

of my 

generation 

needed to 

pay more attention 

to 

w h a t 

younger 

people were 

saying be- 

With Beth, familiarity came 

with the surgeon that operated on 

her when she had a car accident. 

“I had a broken leg and ribs”, she 

recalled, “|and over the years, he 

performed a lot of check-ups and 

three more operations after the 

few major ones. Whenever we 

met, he’d be flirtatious and it was 

inevitable that I developed a big 

crush on him. When I had my last 

fore the inter-generational gap widened 

even further. I never became a 

Big Brother fan, but I treated the show 

as an acquired taste. I watched highlights 

whenever I was able and filed 

away whatever I learnt from the shenanigans 

of the housemates. The show 

is about real life – choices (wise and 

foolish), dreams, hopes, creativity, immorality, 

friendship, lust, the list is 

endless. 

Big Brother Naija (BBN) which is 

meant to be the Nigerian version of 

the show has generated so much controversy, 

thanks to the hawkish nature 

of social media these days, that everyone 

is now an authority on the ills of 

reality TV. The moral brigade is out 

in full force, with many calling for the 

cancellation of a show that has admittedly 

become increasingly brazen, 

especially in relation to sexual matters. 

As stated above, I am not a Big 

Brother advocate, but I am a fan of 

rational thinking. These are some my 

thoughts on the Big Brother Naija ‘crisis’ 

1.GREECE WON THE OLYM- 

PICS BUT THE STADIUMS WILL 

BE IN SPAIN 

The serious objection I have to Big 

Brother Nigeria is that it is being recorded 

in South Africa. With all due 

respect to our sister African country, 

this is not right. The arguments that 

Nigeria lacks the capacity to host the 

show are ridiculous and those mouthing 

the excuses, Nigerians and South 

Africans alike should be ashamed of 

themselves. Yes, Nigeria would have 

presented a challenge in terms of 

power supply, security, technical support 

and so on, but what happened to 

building capacity? Big Brother is big 

business, but it should be interested in 

not only milking the massive market 

that exists in a country like Nigeria, it 

should also be able to help build infrastructure. 

All the material, technological 

and human resources required 

to host the show would have 

created jobs and provided income 

for Nigeria. It sounds like Greece 

winning the Olympic games and 

building the stadiums in Spain. 

2 ‘FAST FOOD TV’ IS HERE TO 

STAY 

All those screaming themselves 

hoarse over the impropriety of Big 

Brother Naija are welcome to the 

world of what I call ‘Fast Food TV’. 

The world of The Jerry Springer 

Show, Keeping up with the 

Kardashians, Real Housewives , 

Married at First Sight, Wives and 

Girlfriends (WAGS) of Miami, and 

so on. The world of the insane, the 

inane and the inexplicable. Not everyone 

wants ‘Fine Dining’. My favourite 

TV channel is The History 

Channel, followed closely by National 

Geographic (but not when 

they are showing snakes and spiders). 

However, every now and then 

I have a ‘TV hamburger’ when I am 

switching channels and come across 

an episode of Real Housewives of 

somewhere or the Kardashians. I am 

fascinated by the dramas of people 

who never seem to have any work to 

do other than shop, eat, dress up and 

go on vacation. I however cannot 

stomach more than a few minutes 

of TV ‘French fries’. If fast food is 

your thing, good. If not, reach for 

the remote control. 

3. UNDERSTAND THE SHOW 

– IT IS A GAME FOR ADULTS 

Big Brother is a game for adults. 

For a period of three months, live 

with complete strangers and during 

that time, show them your best and 

worst behaviour, manipulate, ingratiate, 

show leadership, make friends, 

incite enemies, do whatever you can 

to remain popular, entertaining and 

relevant to avoid being voted off the 

show. The housemates are mostly 

single adults and after being cooped 

up for weeks on end, with alcohol 

flowing freely, hormones go into 

overdrive and naughty things start 

happening. The more discreet steal 

touches and snuggle under the blankets. 

The more brazen go further. Too 

disgusting, offensive and immoral? 

Reach for the remote, just as I do 

when I have had enough ‘TV fast 

food’. 

4. LET US RESPECT THE 

RIGHTS OF OTHERS 

In the interests of protecting our 

collective human rights, those calling 

for the scrapping of BBN should 

operation, he said he wanted a relationship 

with me now, I would 

no longer be his patient. I was 

elated and with him I was able to 

get back my libido in the most 

amazing way!” 

Unfortunately, not all ‘familiarity’ 

relationships that breed lust 

end up in the bedroom. Roli, who 

now co-runs an events-management 

outfit recalled falling head 

Our policy makers 

should concern 

themselves with laws and 

regulations that can 

address our problems 

take it easy. We cannot mount surveillance 

over what is appropriate 

for consenting adults to watch. The 

show is rated 18, and people should 

learn how to operate the Parental 

Guidance controls on their televisions. 

If we go down this road, one 

day some people will call for the 

banning of all those indigenous Africa 

Magic Movie channels full of 

witches, Juju men and the like. Then 

we will have a full blown war on our 

hands. Do you have any idea how 

many people are fans of Africa 

Magic? 

5. THINGS ARE NOT AL- 

WAYS WHAT THEY SEEM 

Thinking about shows like the 

Kardashians and the Real Housewives 

of wherever, the beautiful, wellgroomed 

people who pass their time 

engaging in one meaningless drama 

or vacation after the other are not as 

stupid as they come across. They are 

mostly shrewd, calculating entrepreneurs 

who are acting out a script for 

which they are well remunerated 

through their modelling contracts, 

endorsements and sales of merchandise. 

The scale of youth unemployment 

in our countries is a huge cause 

for concern. If sponsors of BBN are 

dangling a cash prize of U$100,000 

for the lucky winner, it makes sense 

that the housemates would outdo 

themselves to win. The prize money 

for Big Brother Africa is U$300,000. 

From the Big Brother Africa/Naija 

shows, we have seen the on-show 

notoriety ploughed into careers in 

modelling, acting, radio and TV, 

music and public relations. 

6.WE NEED TO TALK 

I have made the case for the remote 

control, freedom of expression, 

career advancement, and I have appealed 

to the moral police to sheathe 

their weapons. We however need to 

talk, and I mean the sponsors, the 

young people on these shows or those 

thinking of going on some day. There 

is a thin line between bravery and 

stupidity, and the roaring flames that 

over heels in love with her theatre 

arts lecturer at the university. 

According to her, “lessons he 

gave included choreography and 

I’d been attending dancing lessons, 

all the time fantasizing 

what he would be like in the sack 

when I intensified flirting with 

him. Then I bumped into him at 

a cousin’s party and he talked me 

into going back to his place. We 

continued laughing and dancing 

when we went back to his flat before 

falling into bed. It was then 

that I realised he was rushing me 

to have sex with him and I became 

apprehensive. I don’t normally 

drink much and all I had 

at his place was a gin and tonic. 

But I felt really woozy and realised 

he must have given me more 

gin than tonic. I protested when 

he started fiddling with my 

clothes and insisted ongoing 

home. He refused of course, and 

inspite of my protest, forced himself 

on me. 

“When I got out of his flat and 

he took me home, I was actually 

shaking. It was then I realised he 

could be really creepy. He was a 

lot older than me, but because he 

was my lecturer and I felt safe 

with him I didn’t realise what a 

nutter he was. In class, flirting 

with him seemed naughty, like seducing 

the teacher you fancied in 

school, but the reality of what 

happened with him when we were 

finally alone was disturbing. 

Which goes to show it’s not all 

the time you let your head rule 

your heart”. 

look welcoming on a cold day can 

also consume you. Yes, you own your 

breasts and your ‘eggplants’, and I 

am sure they look very attractive. 

But do you really need to unleash 

all your business on millions of viewers/voyeurs? 

I am not sure all the 

breast sucking and blow jobs are 

necessary. If you are seeking a career 

in show business or the entertainment 

industry, risky sexual behaviour 

will not necessarily open 

doors for you, it will only make you 

vulnerable and disposable. 

7. A WORD FOR FEMALE 

HOUSEMATES 

For the young women, we still live 

in a different universe from men. The 

handsome young man on the Big 

Brother shows can bonk all the 

women in the house and still go on 

to win, hey, people (including other 

women) will keep voting people out 

for him to stay so he can score some 

more! Sadly, hypocrisy and double 

standards still reign. The women are 

the sluts, the tramps who get voted 

out once they have the audacity to 

put their breasts up for consumption. 

Sexy does not have to be trashy 

and a total lack of inhibition is quite 

dangerous. 

For all those who are not fans of 

shows like Big Brother but have no 

interest in jumping on the ‘banish’ 

bandwagon, I suggest we should 

aggressively promote alternatives. 

If you are in a position to do so, step 

up and sponsor shows that promote 

real talent such as entrepreneurship, 

writing, debating, acting and so on. 

Our policy makers should concern 

themselves with laws and regulations 

that can address our problems such 

as creating livelihoods, ending discrimination 

and violence against 

women and making sure that we attract 

and not chase away people who 

use us to amass subscribers and then 

take the show elsewhere to record. 

The problem is we all know the 

benefits of eating healthily and 

regular exercise, but when no one 

is looking, we reach for the 

burgers and French fries. Oh, it is 

those Kardashians on again. Let 

me watch for a few 

minutes…………………..where is 

my remote control? 

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender 

Specialist, Social Entrepreneur 

and Writer. She is the Founder 

of Abovewhispers.com, an online 

community for women. She can be 

reached 

at 

BAF@abovewhispers.com


VOX POP 

Security tops Nigerians’ list of 

expectations from Buhari and his men 

By Harris-Okon Emmanuel, 

Uyo 

Chris Ekong, professor of 

economics, University of 

Uyo: I expect to see good performance 

from the crop of the 

Ministers oppointed by the 

President. I expect government 

to tackle the issue of insecurity. 

The cabinet should try to take 

people out of poverty, get young 

people out of unemployment 

and not just any employment 

but the ones that they would 

like to stay in. Government 

should provide power and internet 

access and people on their 

own would go out to do things 

and youths will be gainfully 

employed without waiting for 

government. 

Chief Effiong Abia, lawyer and 

politician: First, in the area of 

security, there has to be a synergy. 

See what happened in 

Taraba State and that is a clear 

testimony of the need to overhaul 

our security network. 

There is no collaboration between 

the Army, the police, DSS 

and other security agencies. 

Even in terms of our fight 

against corruption, there is no 

synergy among relevant agencies 

and the Presidency. 

Ideally, there are supposed to 

work as a team. There is not supposed 

to be any conflict among 

them. Government is supposed 

to be moulded into one unified 

force to achieve its goals. Moreover, 

the economy is the function 

of these dynamics of government. 

So, you cannot isolate 

the economy from security. 

Inibehe Effiong: Constitutional 

and human rights lawyer: It 

is a national embarrassment 

that the President waited so long 

to inaugurate a cabinet. I expect 

the Ministers to get down 

the brass task and work assiduously 

to put the economy on the 

right pedestal. They should 

bear in mind that Nigeria is collapsing. 

Section 14 of the Constitution 

says that security and 

welfare of the people should be 

the primary purpose of government. 

Regrettably, this constitutional 

mandate has been taken 

for granted by this government. 

Nigerians are being killed daily 

without any serious response 

from government. President 

Buhari is the Commander-in- 

Chief and he should bear responsibility 

for the insecurity in 

Nigeria. 

Etim Etim, a former banker 

and public affairs commentator: 

We expect the cabinet to work 

By Demola Akinyemi 

Miss Israel Oluwaseun, a 

member of NYSC and an 

entrepreneur based Ilorin: I’m 

aware no government can provide 

jobs for everybody but for this incoming 

cabinet of President Muhammadu 

Buhari, expect government 

to provide grants to young 

entrepreneurs willing to start their 

own businesses. 

Now, more than ever before, Nigerians 

are afraid of travelling for 

the fear of being kidnapped or 

even killed by bandits or even the 

so-called herdsmen. In view of 

this, the new administration 

should do everything possible to 

make our highways safe. Also as 

far as I’m concerned, we don’t have 

equal sense of belonging in this 

country because some people actually 

think and even behave as if 

they own this country than others. 

Inibehe Effiong 

Etim Etim 

hard to increase the country’s 

GDP, create jobs and face the 

security challenge in Nigeria 

and that, in the next three years, 

the 10 million Nigerian children 

who are out of school are resent 

to school. Every Nigerian child 

should have access to free and 

compulsory primary and secondary 

education. I also expect 

that in the next four years, Nigeria 

should be fully self-sufficient 

in all categories of food 

production and there should be 

food security. There is a difference 

between food security and 

availability. In addition to food 

security, there should be food 

availability to all Nigerians. So, 

I am discussing education, security, 

agriculture and job creation. 

So, I strongly wish that this incoming 

cabinet should create a template 

that will give everyone equal 

a sense of belonging. They should 

also look into the education sector 

with a view to giving it the deserved 

attention. Salaries paid to 

teachers in government schools 

are ridiculously 

p o o r 

c o m - 

pared to 

those in 

t h e 

health 

sector. 

Teachers 

deserve 

m o r e 

t h a n 

w h a t 

they are 

earning. 

Chief Effiong Abia 

Miss Israel 

Oluwaseun 

By Egufe, Port Harcourt 

Charity 

Gbonone 

Steven Obodoekwe, rights 

activist: The new cabinet to 

be inaugurated should change 

from their ‘change mantra’. It’s 

time for them to work. They 

shouldn’t just be there to occupy 

space as if that is all that 

matters. The economy is in a 

mess, security is not working, 

everything is in shambles; nothing 

is working in Nigeria. The 

new cabinet should put their 

acts together and begin to do 

things to move the country out 

of the mess they have put it. Interestingly, 

these are same people 

that have pushed the nation 

into the mess it has fallen into. 

Leka Charity Gbonone, political 

science graduate, Uniport: 

The new Buhari cabinet should 

put efforts into tackling insecurity, 

especially in Rivers State. 

They should invest in education 

if they say education is key. 

They should invest in youths as 

a matter of priority since youths 

are leaders of tomorrow. They 

must know they won’t be regarded 

by Nigerian unless they 

truly make the difference. 

By Chinonso Alozie, Owerri 

President of Igbo Nation 

al Council, INC, Chilos 

Godsent: Our expectation 

from the new ministers of the 

Federal Republic of Nigeria 

is to be hardworking and diligent 

in their duties to solve 

the many problems facing 

the country. In view of the deteriorating 

state of the nation’s 

economy and the worsening 

security situation in 

the country which has immensely 

discouraged investors 

from investing in the 

country, Nigerians expect the 

new ministers to be diligent, 

patriotic, creative, accountable 

to Nigerians and be nationalistic 

in award and execution 

of government 

projects. We expect them to 

embrace team spirit, join 

hands to rebuild the economy, 

and encourage the President 

to formulate policies 

that will improve the security 

situation of the country. 

Chilos 

Godsent 

Zik Gbemre 

Darlington Nwauju 

Darlington Nwauju, politician: 

My expectation from the ‘Next 

Level’ cabinet is for Mr. President 

and the team to oxygenated 

and Economic Team headed 

by the Finance Minister to 

thoroughly give the country a 

vibrant economy. 

Zik Gbemre, activist: Expectation 

is that it will be business as 

usual because you can’t do 

something same way and expect 

a different result. Yes, a few 

new faces in the nominations 

but the key men are same faces 

who couldn’t make change in 

the last dispensation. 

Mallam 

Taofiq 

Mallam Taofiq Yusuf Alata, 

CEO Auto Lamp Place, 

Baboko Ilorin: There is no remarkable 

improvement yet in the power 

sector like Nigerians actually 

expected. So, the new cabinet 

should seriously look into that. For 

instance, we don’t expect that our 

power supply would still be as 

poor as we are experiencing it 

now despite what we expected 

from Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola. 

Also many of our federal roads in 

particular are still death traps; 

people still die avoidably on our 

roads because of these problems, 

so they should fix our roads. 

We expect Buhari to give the ministers-designates 

portfolios where 

thay can deliver to Nigerians the 

much expected dividends of democracy. 

This time around we want 

ministers who really want to serve 

the masses and not those who want 

to amass wealth at the expense of 

the poor masses. 

Generally, we are expecting a far 

better performance from President 

Buhari than in the first term because 

there is no third term and, 

more importantly, unlike in the 

first term there should be no excuse 

for poor performance now. 

By Christian Odu 

Dr. David Wayas, Senior Lec 

turer, Department Of Linguistics, 

UNN: Buhari’s ministerial 

list is a compensation list for 

political gladiators. Some of them 

were nominated because they 

supported Buhari’s government 

against the wish of their people, 

and some were re-appointed because 

they failed to meet expectations 

of their constituents during 

the first tenure. Be that as it may, I 

think what we need mostly now is 

to rebuild the economy to make 

things work out; we should not be 

going backwards. However, since 

they have been appointed, they 

should do the needful. They 

should know that they have a responsibility 

to discharge to Nigerians. 

Dr. Greg Ezeah, Former Head Of 

Department Of Mass Communication, 

UNN: President Muhammadu 

Buhari’s government has 

disappointed Nigerians. I am no 

longer interested in what they are 

doing. I am not expecting anything 

from the ministers going by the 

pedigree of people he nominated, 

they are all politicians; there is no 

technocrat. So, I do not expect 

much from them. Just like his 

‘Next Level’ agenda, I don’t understand 

what it means. Is it next 

level of poverty, insecurity and 

suffering for Nigerians? I don’t 

understand. We are just waiting for 

God in this country. 

Onyemuche Ejesu, Lecturer- 

English And Literary Studies Department, 

UNN: We expected 

something revolutionary in terms 

of engagement of young technocrats. 

We thought this would be 

time for serious business, but it 

was never to be. Since they have 

not hit the ground running by now, 

a lot of things will go wrong. I am 

not expecting anything new really. 

It is a compensation package 

for the nominees. Sincerely, I 

think the future is bleak, all the 

indicators here point to that fact. 

According to the National Vice 

President of Nigerian Union of 

Journalist, NUJ, Zone C, Prince 

Petrus Obi, “Well, there are areas I 

am particularly interested; areas I 

would love to see appreciable improvement. 

They include security, agriculture, 

power and of-course industry. 

The primary duty of a government 

is to secure the lives and property of 

the citizens. The security situation in 

the country is worrisome so I expect 

the new cabinet to come up with solutions. 

Secondly, the Buhari administration 

has taken some steps towards diversification 

of the economy. To this end 

they came up with programmes 

aimed at developing agriculture. 

They should evaluate the government 

efforts so far, is it yielding positive 

results? Are the loans and incentives 

to farmers being assessed by 

the correct persons? How far has the 

issue of herdsmen affected farmers 

in cent times. 

The issue of power has remained 

another source of concern. The privatization 

of that sector has failed 

largely because they went to the 

wrong hands. It is my view that credible 

investors 

who 

have the resources 

are 

brought in 

to handle 

the 11 disco’s 

because 

the 

present investors 

have failed.

VOX POP 

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019,PAGE 25 

Comrade Kindness Jonah 

Enugu based human rights ac 

tivist, Comrade Kindness 

Jonah: First of all, Nigeria is at the 

cross roads presently. Before you 

analyse peoples’ expectations, you 

analyse peoples’ heartbeats. The 

national heartbeat is centralised 

on insecurity because government 

has failed to provide security. 

There is this national outlook of 

fear everywhere. If you are inaugurating 

cabinet, you must look at 

the national outlook. We do expect 

that employment, security, which 

is at zero level, will be taken care 

of and the banking sector, which 

has been contaminated with forgery, 

will be redressed. We also 

expect that the person who is going 

to man the aviation will have 

national development interest at 

heart so that every zone can have 

international air carriage, especially 

Enugu airport. I expect that 

the immigration will be restructured 

because people are importing 

and if you are from the east 

you cannot import directly to the 

east. 

We need a cabinet that is national 

in operation, in mandate, carriage 

and mind. 

.By Ugochukwu Alaribe, Umuahia 

Onuchukwu, lawyer: I urge 

Nigerians not to expect anything 

from the ministers. I am not 

EYL, Chief Goodluck Ibem: They 

should formulate policies and programmes 

that, if implemented, 

happy that the Federal Government 

has continued to disobey 

will have direct bearing on the 

court orders. It is a recipe for anarchy 

when a government choos- 

people. In power sector, anybody 

that will man that ministry should 

es which court order to obey. The 

do his best to reverse the epileptic 

power supply in the country. It’s 

court gave bail to ex-NSA Sambo 

Dasuki but the Federal Government 

is still detaining him till 

very important because our industries, 

businesses and the economy 

depend on adequate power 

date. So, what change are you expecting 

from the ministers when 

supply to function effectively. In 

government who appointed them 

science and technology, we expect 

doesn’t comply with the rule of 

the new minister to promote science 

based economy. He should 

law? 

Chairman of the Coalition of 

guide government towards scientific 

and technologically innova- 

South East Youths Leaders, COStions. 

Royale Y2 Lite 

Vitalis Ugo, retired journalist: 

Thank God that the President 

has finally constituted his cabinet 

to kick-start his second tenure. 

The president and his new cabinet 

should be focused. Nigerians 

have had it rough in the past four 

years; this is time for the President 

to right the wrongs of the first tenure. 

Some of the ministers have 

been in government and were part 

and parcel of the system. What 

Nigerians expect from them is 

commitment to their welfare. They 

want rapid progress. We need a vibrant 

economy and growth in national 

development. If things are 

done well, the issue of revolution 

which the government is spending 

resources and energy to subdue 

will not arise. The Minister of 

Finance should ensure that the 

money collected from looters is 

properly utilised and invested in 

paying of pensions, development 

of infrastructure in health, education 

and roads. 

Innocent Ibeabuchi, businessman: 

The President and his cabinet 

should swing into action immediately. 

A lot of time has been 

wasted on the ceremony of appointing 

them. A lot of things need 

to be put right. And a lot has been 

missed. He should act as the President 

we elected and not allow a 

cabal to hijack government for 

their selfish ends. Nigerians are 

suffering a lot and there is so much 

delay in putting things right. If 

there is no immediate remedy, we 

will continue to see more suicides, 

protests and corruption 

Pastor Etim Ekpatt, cleric: In allocating 

portfolio, the President 

Pasor Eim Ekpa 

Vialis ugo 

should ensure that an engineer is 

given what relates to his ministry 

and not to a lawyer. What I mean 

is each minister should be given 

the portfolio that relates to his profession 

for efficiency. Those he has 

observed are performing well during 

the last administration should 

be retained in their positions but 

the ministries of power, works and 

housing should be separated and 

not given to one person. Nigerians 

should not expect magic and 

should, therefore, give the new 

ministers time but they should not 

see it as an opportunity to grab 

and forget why they were appointed. 

Miss Mercy Obo, student: The 

Minister of Education should ensure 

the universities are functional 

and there is a check on extortion 

of students by lecturers. There 

should be adequate funding of the 

educational sector and youths who 

are unemployed should be given 

jobs and not given excuses that 

there are no jobs. 

Dayo Johnson, Ola Ajayi, Rotimi Ojomoyela, 

Shina Abubakar 

Michael Adeyeye, public af 

fairs analyst: The Buhari 

administration had promised us 

‘next level’ in this dispensation. 

The performance of the Ministers 

will definitely determine that. l 

expect the Ministers to swing into 

action immediately after their inauguration. 

They must work with 

the Medium Term Framework and 

the SDG goals for their policy 

drive. It is unfortunate that the last 

Executive Council did not have a 

clear cut policy thrust, and that 

made performance evaluation almost 

practically impossible. The 

Federal Government must therefore 

come up with a policy thrust 

for all ministries and ensure that 

these are strictly adhered to. 

On the other hand, the Ministers 

must ensure a timely submission 

of budget this year. Our budget 

performance had always been at 

its lowest due to late submission 

which culminated into late passage 

of budget especially our capital 

budget. 

I believe the President will put a 

square peg in a square hole this 

time. I also urge the Ministersdesignate 

to quickly review some 

of the ongoing projects which are 

almost in comatose and make attempt 

to complete them. In the 

power sector for instance, there is 

a need to review the agreement of 

Wale Obanigba, lawyer: 

I 

expect President Buhari to 

look at area of competence of 

each of the ministers-designate 

and assign to them ministries 

where they can be effective. I expect 

the ministry of works, power 

and housing be split into three 

ministries for effectiveness. And 

,importantly, Nigerians expect an 

end to this high level of insecurity 

with competent Minister of 

Defence and also Interior. 

Alex Kalejaye, Publicity 

Secretary, Ondo APC: 

The peoples’ expectations nat 

urally range from effective 

and efficient security strategies, 

stable power supply, more investments 

on transportation and transparent 

but more biting anti-graft 

war. Perhaps, the most important 

of all these is the security of lives 

and property. It is only those who 

are secured that can be creative 

and give their best to a system. 

One expects a rejig of the security 

apparatus; more focus on intelligence 

gathering to remove some 

of the security concerns in the 

country. The last administration 

rode on goodwill and sincerity to 

procure some war helicopters and 

other ammunition. These should 

be put to good use to protect the 

citizens. 

Sense of security activates ingenuity. 

To actualize this, a stable 

power supply is inevitable. The 

Federal Government has expended 

a lot of money on the Mambilla 

Power Project. There should be 

renewed efforts to complete this 

and other power projects to support 

industrial growth. The last 

government approved money for 

automated meter reading machines 

and services. There must 

be a follow-up. 

Alex Kalejaye 

the DISCOs. The power sector is 

very key to economic recovery of 

the nation. On roads, it is unfortunate 

that the federal roads in 

South-West are dilapidated. In 

Ondo State for instance, the roads 

between Akure and Ekiti, Akure, 

Ilesa, Ibadan and the seemingly 

unending repair of Lagos-Ibadan 

Expressway is in a sorry state. This 

is the case with all federal roads 

in the region with the exception 

of a few. The security situation of 

the nation is appalling. The new 

Minister of Defence must act decisively 

to end insecurity in the 

land. 

Transportation sector, agriculture 

and housing are very crucial to the 

development of the nation. 

Michael Adeyeye 

Zadok Akintoye, Director, 

Media and Publicity, 

Ondo PDP: 

For us as a party, we expect 

nothing more than has been 

witnessed in the last four years of 

the APC-led Federal Government, 

which has been largely disappointing, 

to say the least, particularly 

in the areas of uniting Nigerians 

towards national development, 

providing adequate infrastructural 

development in the areas 

of education, health and job 

creation. The APC has spent the 

last four years excusing its incompetence 

without keeping to its 

promise to Nigerians and we don’t 

expect them to make good of any 

of their policies and plans now 

that they have gotten an ‘ill-wind’ 

mandate. 

Zadok Akintoye 

Mashood Erubami, Convener 

of Voters Assembly 

and human rights activist: 

The new federal cabinet 

should show dedication and 

be passionate and courageous to 

deliver the desired change. They 

should pursue their mandate selflessly. 

Government 

has 

no business 

dabbling 

into education 

and agriculture. 

These two 

important 

sectors 

should be 

left for local 

and state 

governments. 

Mashood 

Erubami 

Alhaji lbrahim Kilani 

Alhaji lbrahim Kilani, 

public analyst: 

Power is the soul of any nation. 

I expect a Minister of Power 

to concentrate on the power sector 

as poor power supply in the 

country has made many multinational 

companies to relocate from 

Nigeria to neighbouring countries 

.The Minister needs to critically 

look at the performance of the distribution 

companies and possibly 

review or change some of them 

who perform below expectations 

based on the outcry of consumers. 

In the area of roads, deplorable 

roads have caused carnages and 

avoidable loss of lives and property. 

The Minister of Works needs 

to make use of FERMA to do more 

in his efforts to maintain federal 

roads. The Ministers of Defence 

and Police Affairs should have synergy 

that will not give room to 

clashes between soldiers and police, 

the type that happened in 

Taraba where soldiers killed policemen. 

Weapons, vehicles and 

other incentives must be given to 

our security agents to curb insurgency, 

ritual killings and kidnapping 

which are rampant. Finally 

the new Minister of Information 

must look for a way to replace obsolete 

equipment at NTA and Radio 

Nigeria for effective dissemination 

of information. 

Dr Kunle Olajide 

Dr Kunle Olajide, Secretary 

General of Yoruba 

Council of Elders: 

The ministers should realise 

that they have been selected 

by President Muhammadu Buhari 

and help the country to address 

the issues of insecurity, 

youth unemployment and poor infrastructure. 

Whatever decisions 

they make must unite us and not 

to further polarise us. The first 

term of this administration did not 

give much confidence. For instance, 

the security architecture 

consists of people from a particular 

zone in this country. 

Peter Idowu, lawyer: 

The new cabinet should syner 

gize to address the issue of insecurity 

and economy. 

Even though other sectors need 

attention, these two sectors need 

urgent and immediate action. Everybody 

is feeling the issue of insecurity 

and the wobbling economy. 

Once these are addressed, 

Nigerians would heave a sigh of 

relief 

Ojo Ajisafe, newspaper 

vendor: 

The expectations of Nigerians 

from the incoming ministers 

are very high. But we want them 

to look into the issue of security. 

The economy of this country is not 

good. 

Their performance this time 

should be better than better than 

the former. There is so much poverty 

and hardship in this country. 

So we want government to do 

something that will help to eradicate 

poverty. 

Continues on page 26


HERDSMEN ATTACKS: 

You will weep if you see 

our people who survived 

– Benue tribal leader 

•Tells FG: Keep your RUGA money, give 

us N/C Development Commission 

By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

Chief Edward Ujege is the President General of Mdzough U 

Tiv and the Chairman of Benue tribal leaders. In this 

interview, Ujege speaks on the N2.2billion purportedly 

budgeted by the Federal Government for RUGA implementation, why 

Benue will resist it, the controversial Water Resources Bill, the need to 

create the North Central Development Commission, the Governor 

Ortom and Senator Akume’s rift and more. Excerpts: 

We now know that the Federal Government actually budgeted 

over N2.2billion to implement RUGA for herdsmen. Will Benue 

people key into this plan given the huge sum involved? 

Well, our stand on the RUGA remains the same. We already 

have in existence the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches 

Establishment Law 2017 which regulates issues of animal 

husbandry in Benue and we stand by it. 

RUGA is not part of what our law provides for. RUGA cannot 

override the provisions of our law in Benue. This is democracy, 

it is not autocracy or a military regime where whatever the 

government at the centre wants is implemented in the states. 

The world knows that the Benue’s grazing law was 

properly made after it originated from the people of the 

state themselves and the government in place ensured its 

enactment. So whatever sum the Federal Government 

has budgeted for RUGA 

will go to the states that 

are amenable to the 

policy. For us in Benue we 

have no place or land for 

Ruga. Whatever we do is 

guided by the provisions of 

the Benue Grazing Law 

and nothing more. 

But if the Federal 

Government makes 

legislation to compel 

states to accept the 

RUGA, what would the 

Benue people do? 

We will use 

constitutional means to 

resist forceful 

implementation of the 

RUGA project in Benue. 

Our people have chosen 

the path they want to 

follow in the area of 

animal husbandry and a 

law was made to that 

effect. It is, therefore, 

incumbent on any 

government to respect that 

law which was an 

expression of the wishes of 

the people. That is the essence of democracy 

and that is why it is a government of the 

people, by the people and for the people. 

Hence anything outside of that is no more 

democracy. So anyone planning to subvert a 

substituting law in Benue in order to suit his 

or her own purpose is certainly not a 

democrat. 

You are aware that Miyetti Allah 

recently approached the courts to seek 

an abrogation of the Benue ranching 

law but lost, they vowed to approach 

the appellate court on the matter. What 

is your take on the development? 

Well, they have the right to appeal the ruling. 

The facts of the matter are so clear. Moreover 

we did not contravene any law of the land or 

any section of the Constitution in making that 

law. Rather we were empowered by the 

Constitution to make the law, so we do not 

harbour any fears about the constitutionality 

of the law. Our grazing law was made in good 

faith; it was made to save our people from 

years of massacre and bloodbath. It was made 

to ensure peaceful coexistence between 

herders and our farmers. That law was made 

in line with the global best practice in animal 

husbandry. It was not targeting anybody or 

any ethnic group. It did not seek to send 

The world knows 

that the Benue’s 

grazing law was 

properly made 

after it originated 

from the people of 

the state 

themselves and 

the government in 

place ensured its 

enactment 

anyone away from Benue 

neither was it meant to 

stop anyone from 

conducting his or her 

business. So challenging it, 

for us in Benue was 

improper and the High 

Court agreed with us. 

Recently, Senator 

George Akume was 

nominated for ministerial 

appointment by President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

What is your reaction? 

We congratulate Akume 

and we are very happy for 

his nomination. We also 

want to thank President 

Buhari for the nomination. 

As a Minister of the 

Federal Republic of 

Nigeria, we will give him 

all the support that he 

requires to perform his 

duties well and to succeed. 

That is a responsibility we 

owe him. 

Are you not scared that there might be 

conflict between the sitting government and 

the Minister given that they both come from 

different parties and considering the bad 

blood that the last general elections 

generated in Benue? 

Well, we only appeal to all the parties that 

we are all aiming at dividends of democracy 

for the people of Benue. They must realize 

that the people of the state cannot enjoy 

dividends of democracy where there are 

conflicts. So we appeal directly to them that 

we are looking forward to them as political 

leaders who must lead by example. Being 

leaders, they should lead us aright, shun all 

those issues that separate them and work 

together to see that Benue is not left behind in 

the scheme of things. 

How do you see Benue coming out of the 

situation it found itself in the last two years 

following the herdsmen crisis and its 

attendant consequences on the socioeconomic 

life of the people? 

We are praying to God to help us because the 

situation we are in Benue would require divine 

intervention for the state government overcome. 

We still have thousands of out kith and kin 

stranded in the various Internally Displaced 

•Chief 

Edward Ujege 

Persons, IDPs, Camps situated in parts of the 

state and the state government is facing a 

herculean task catering for their daily needs in 

the face of scare resources. 

We need the Federal Government to come to 

our aid to overcome these challenges because 

Benue requires special assistance to address the 

challenges. I will also stress the need for the 

creation of a North-Central Development 

Commission urgently to help ravaged states 

like Benue get adequate support to tackle the 

challenges created by the herdsmen crisis. That 

commission is imperative given the level of 

devastation our people have suffered because 

what we have in the North-Central is similar to 

what you have in the North-East if not more 

and the only way states like Benue can really 

come out of the devastating effect of that crisis 

and get her economic life going will be with the 

assistance of a commission. 

Look, if you visit the communities affected by 

the crisis, you will weep for our people. They are 

battling to get their lives back on track because 

of lack of assistance. At the stage we have found 

ourselves the burden is too much for the state 

government to carry. People are still living in 

IDPs camps not knowing which homes to return 

to because their communities were sacked 

and the Federal Government is yet to fulfil its 

pledge of rebuilding affected communities. 

Schools, hospitals and clinics, churches, 

clinics, homes and farmlands that make for 

conducive living were all destroyed in the 

crisis and our people now live like refuges in 

their homeland. The education of our 

children have been dislocated due to the 

crisis. It is a pathetic situation. The scope of 

what has to be done in Benue at the moment is 

way beyond the state government. 

What do you make of the proposed 

reintroduction of the Water Resources Bill which 

seeks to concentrate the control of water 

resources around Rivers Niger and Benue? 

That move is suspect and we will not support it 

because the law runs against the Land Use Act to 

the extent that state governors are custodians of 

land in their respective states. And the land includes 

water, the shore or bank of river. So that will 

certainly not fly. 

Anyway, if that happens, it will be contested in 

court because it will have an implication on the 

provisions of the Land Use Act. I must point out 

that if it is intended to foster Ruga on the people 

through the back door, it will be unfortunate 

because if a policy was rejected by the people, 

why try to reinvent or reintroduce it through 

other means, it will certainly meet a resistance? 

VOX POP 

Continued from page 25 

By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

New Ministers will hit the 

ground running—Mr. Kashim 

Afolabi, an auto mechanic 

Iexpect that the new Ministers 

will hit the ground running im 

mediately they get inaugurated. 

One area I expect will be given adequate 

attention is the issue of internal 

security. Nigeria is currently witnessing 

the worst security challenge 

in recent time and it would require a 

lot of commitment and selflessness to 

duty to ensure that we get out of it. If 

the insecurity issue is tackled headlong 

we will be in a better stead to 

actualize our dreams and visions for 

a greater country. 

Scholastica Hir: I expect that the 

coming of the new Ministers would 

galvanize socio-economic growth in 

the country because it is expected that 

they would help the President stir the 

ship of leadership and ensure that the 

policies and programmes of the federal 

government are executed to the 

latter. We also expect that they would 

assist the President tackle the security 

challenges confronting the country 

at the moment. 

We need to see improvement 

in all sectors of economy—Uche 

Nnorom 

We need to see an improvement in 

all sectors of the Nigerian economy 

and importantly in the area of security. 

I must state that the last set of Ministers 

did not fare too well but we hope 

that this time we will get a better deal. 

Though they have not been given 

their portfolios but we expect that the 

each person would be put in the right 

position. We hope to see round pegs 

in round holes so that the country can 

make progress because Nigerians desire 

development and these set of 

Ministers should be ready to deliver 

the goods. 

Ministers should justify their 

appointments—Kene Kenneth 

Our economy is in a bad state and 

the security situation in the country 

calls for worry. So this set of Ministers 

should justify their appointments 

by ensuring that they give their best 

to address the economic situation and 

the security challenges facing the 

country. 

Presently we are all worried at the 

level of insecurity in the country and 

anybody appointed by the President 

should be prepared to work so that 

we can take our country to the next 

level of development as promised by 

the ruling party because if insecurity 

is left unattended to for a long period 

of time we may find it difficult to attract 

flow of needed foreign investments 

into the country. 

Appointees should assist President 

achieve his next level 

agenda—Dr. Charles Iornumbe 

I urge the appointees to assist the 

President achieve his next level agenda 

in order to get the country out of 

the various challenges it is contending 

with at the moment. We expect 

that the agricultural sector would be 

given adequate attention to boost food 

production. We expect that whatever 

policy that the government puts in 

place, agriculture should be given 

priority attention because it will impact 

the lives of the ordinary man in 

the rural communities who eke their 

living from agriculture. The ministers 

should also work closely with the government 

and people of their respective 

states so that everyone would be 

carried along in the policies and programmes 

of the federal government.

APC certainly needs 

another Oyegun 

Quite often, some 

current events re 

mind me of memorable 

occurrences in my 

early days as a reporter in 

a television newsroom. 

The one I can hardly forget 

is my discovery of an 

editor who could report 

on an event he didn’t witness. 

When I pleaded with 

him to let me into the secret, 

he confessed it was 

an unwritten template. He 

was just gifted to instinctively 

know what the 

guests at an event would 

likely say on each occasion. 

For instance, he 

knew that in deference to 

the African cultural injunction 

precluding anyone 

from speaking ill of 

the dead, all funeral orations 

in Nigeria take the 

form of eulogies. People 

would shower praises on 

a deceased well-known 

thief provided he was never 

caught before he died. 

In the case of public officers, 

he explained that 

good things are said only 

after such persons had left 

office, such as at send 

forth parties or at the 

marking of other achievements. 

When I asked why 

that was the fate of public 

officers, my editor said 

those who would have appreciated 

them were usually 

busy plotting to remove 

them from office. 

So, when a tenure is over, 

or the plot to remove a 

person succeeds, the urge 

for blackmail and false 

allegations dies a natural 

death opening eyes to virtues 

that were hitherto unseen. 

Against this backdrop, I 

enjoyed last week’s celebration 

in Benin City of 

the 80th birthday of Chief 

John Odigie-Oyegun, immediate 

past national 

chairman of the ruling 

APC. The testimonies were 

concise just as they aptly 

reflected the reality; no 

embellishment whatsoever. 

It was hard for one not 

to be proud of Oyegun because 

the speakers were 

men of substance who 

spoke in unison about the 

solid personal achievements 

of a great patriot, 

statesman and decent politician. 

For example, Governor 

Kayode Fayemi of 

Ekiti State described 

Chief Oyegun, as an enigma, 

a reference point in 

terms of humility, selfless 

service and integrity in 

public service. Fayemi 

added that the younger 

generation of public servants 

and politicians have 

a lot to learn from the 

track record of the great 

leader- retired Permanent 

Secretary, a thoroughbred 

administrator who built 

an enviable public service 

The return of barbarians (1) 

he noun ‘barbarian’ is de 

Trived from the Greek word 

barbaros, which means ‘foreign. 

It also connotes ‘stammering,’ 

indicating the unfamiliar 

sound of foreign 

tongues other than Greek. 

Chambers Twentieth Century 

Dictionary states that a barbarian, 

originally, is “one who 

was not a Greek, later neither 

a Greek nor a Roman: a foreigner: 

one without taste or 

refinement: a somewhat uncivilised 

man (but usually not 

a savage).” If the connotation 

of ‘barbarian’ is expanded to 

include incapacity to govern, 

properly arising from incompetence, 

crude or unrefined 

understanding of what political 

leadership really means 

and Machiavellism of the 

grossest kind, it is clear that 

the ruling elite in Nigeria generally, 

particularly since the 

Biafran war ended in 1970, 

are barbarians, although the 

level of barbarity across dispensations 

varies. For example, 

even if it is conceded that 

the military government of 

retired General Yakubu Gowon 

recorded some achievements 

during the oil boom 

years, that administration was 

barbaric going by our expanded 

meaning of ‘barbarian.’ 

This is because Gowon’s duplicitous 

handling of the 

Aburi Accord, eagerness to 

subdue the secessionist Eastern 

Region through military 

PhD,Department of Philosophy, 

University of Lagos 

08116759758 

conquest, policies intended to 

cripple the defeated Biafrans, 

and incompetent corrupt 

handling of Nigeria’s economy 

at a time when revenue 

from oil would have been wisely 

utilised to lay the foundation 

for sustainable development–all 

this makes the 

former head of state and his 

top lieutenants barbarians. 

But Gowon’s barbarity and 

incompetence has been surpassed 

by subsequent military 

administrations led by 

northerners on behalf of 

Fulani caliphate colonialists, 

in-between, which there 

was the three-year default 

leadership of another retired 

general, this time of Yoruba 

extraction, Olusegun 

Obasanjo. To some extent, 

the civilian governments of 

Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Chief 

Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji 

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and 

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan 

manifested different degrees 

of barbarity in the form of 

bulimic corruption, cronyism 

and appaling insensitivity 

to the plight of the suffering 

masses. But in my view, 

the most barbarous administration 

in Nigerian history, 

particularly since the return 

to civilian rule in 1999, 

is the current one headed by 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

of the All Progressives 

Congress (APC). Probably, 

aside from Buhari’s military 

record through sheer hard 

work, brilliance and integrity. 

In the words of another 

APC governor- Rotimi 

Akeredolu of Ondo 

State, Oyegun is an enigmatic 

leader with inviolably 

unassailable leadership 

qualities whose life is 

a study to all. Akeredolu 

further avowed that because 

history preserves 

the memories of men and 

women of exemplary courage 

and impeccable character, 

Oyegun’s life of selfless, 

dedicated and uncompromising 

service to 

humanity cannot but be 

recorded. 

The testimonies of these 

two governors alone may 

have made some people to 

wonder why the APC allowed 

the end of the tenure 

of the same Oyegun to 

be controversial as if he 

failed the party. That obviously 

not the case if as 

recorded by the media, the 

Plateau state governor 

Simon Lalong described 

the celebrant as a politician 

whose life and conduct 

have always been 

about the people. In the 

words of Lalong, who currently 

chairs the Northern 

Governors’ Forum, “Chief 

Oyegun has continued to 

be a unifying factor and 

one whose experience and 

candour provided the 

needed advantage that 

culminated in the APC defeating 

a sitting government 

during the 2015 general 

elections, a feat that 

remains the first in the nation’s 

political history.” 

dictatorship of 1984 to August 

1985 and that of late 

Gen. Sani Abacha, it would 

be difficult to pick out a government 

that was so nepotic, 

so allergic to valid criticism, 

so disdainful and 

heavy-handed towards opposing 

viewpoints as this 

government. Indeed, freedom 

to express oneself has 

become a dangerous undertaking 

since President Buhari 

consolidated his hold 

on power, to the extent that 

information or opinion, 

which challenges the claims 

of officialdom or questions 

decisions and actions of the 

President and other top officials 

of government are 

branded “hate speech,” or 

“fake news” from “wailing 

wailers” by vociferous media 

aides of Buhari or by 

APC’s version of Goebbels, 

Alhaji Lai Mohammed. Of 

course, the alarming intolerant 

attitude of this administration 

to dissent implies 

that President Buhari has 

not, and probably cannot 

wean himself of the stifling 

authoritarian tendencies 

that defined his public persona 

as a military dictator. 

The dangers of being harassed 

or intimidated by 

government officials notwithstanding, 

APC leaders, 

including the President 

himself, must be told that 

democracy entails freedom 

of speech, freedom to disagree 

with government, freedom 

to like or dislike the 

President, governor, and so 

No less a person than the 

nation’s number one citizen, 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari affirmed 

that Oyegun “set a standard 

for consistency, honesty 

and integrity in Nigeria’s 

politics as he 

championed building of 

strong democratic institutions, 

and promoted the 

The testimonies were 

concise just as they 

aptly reflected the 

reality; no 

embellishment 

whatsoever. It was hard 

for one not to be proud 

of Oyegun because the 

speakers were men of 

substance who spoke 

in unison about the 

solid personal 

achievements of a great 

patriot, statesman and 

decent politician 

virtue of looking beyond 

elections and positions to 

growing and unifying the 

nation for posterity.” 

These are no doubt commendable 

words to be said 

of a man who traversed 

the vagaries of Nigeria’s 

bumpy political weather 

more so as the leadership 

of the unyielding opposition 

PDP gave Oyegun 

similar accolades at the 

celebration. 

Of course, Oyegun is free 

to expect many more 

compliments as another 

party in his honour was 

scheduled for Abuja a 

week later to be followed 

in the next 60 days by the 

unveiling of a public service 

academy to be known 

as - John Odigie-Oyegun 

Institute for Public Administration. 

The edifice, 

It is undemocratic to 

use instruments of 

state power to harass 

the press and intimidate 

individuals for being 

critical of government, 

whereas sycophants 

are free to eulogise the 

President ad nauseam 

using every available 

platform and are 

rewarded for it 

on. Therefore, it is undemocratic 

to use instruments of 

state power to harass the 

press and intimidate individuals 

for being critical of 

government, whereas sycophants 

are free to eulogise 

the President ad nauseam 

using every available platform 

and are rewarded for 

it. 

Judging from the incompetent 

handling of the economy, 

security challenges and 

the anti-corruption programme 

of this government, 

every honest or sincere supporter 

of Buhari before he 

was elected in 2015 must 

accept that he or she made 

a big mistake. Some, like 

Farooq Kperogi, Dele 

Sobowale, Timi Frank and 

Ralph Obidubah have acknowledged 

that they misjudged 

Buhari’s capacity to 

perform if given the chance 

to lead. Unfortunately, some 

of my colleagues at the University 

of Lagos, including 

Professors, who should 

know better, still bizarrely 

cling to the notion that Buhari 

is a good leader and 

would perform much better 


which would be the largest 

facility for training 

public servants in Nigeria 

is being organized by 

the ‘wake and see’ governor 

of Edo State, Godwin 

Obaseki who himself has 

proven to be an effective 

quiet achiever amidst political 

distractions. Naming 

such an edifice after a 

seasoned past federal permanent 

secretary of edo 

extraction underscores 

Oyegun’s antecedents 

which must have aided his 

managerial acumen in 

politics. As former President 

Obasanjo recalls, 

Oyegun during Nigeria’s 

military government in 

the 70s, demonstrated 

rare qualities of commitment 

and courage by always 

upholding the cherished 

tradition of the public 

service. In other words, 

it is not enough to jump 

into political party leadership 

without a robust 

management background 

and successfully coordinate 

and aggregate divergent 

and competing political 

interests. Unfortunately, 

that is the fate today 

of most of Nigeria’s 

political parties, a development 

that needs to be 

quickly redressed. 

For this to happen, political 

parties in Nigeria 

must get to understand 

that an election is a game 

with rules for which proper 

coaching, planning and 

coordination are an imperative. 

It is not everyone 

that can serve as a 

party leader. Warren Bennis, 

who for decades led 

other leadership theorists 

always stated that the 

leadership qualities of vision, 

passion and integrity 

are basic prerequisites 

for managing entities. 

Every organizations 

needs them. For this reason, 

the APC, Nigeria’s 

ruling party clearly needs 

another Oyegun to bring 

in the second term. Their 

dogmatic belief in the ability 

of Buhari to govern well 

is akin to irrational religious 

dogma because it is 

held contrary to the unfolding 

evidence that this President 

appears to be overwhelmed 

by the hydra-headed 

problems of the moment 

and has no clue about how 

to tackle them. Many Buharimaniacs, 

who voted for Buhari 

in 2015 nowadays lament 

that he disappointed 

them after securing their 

votes at the time. The impression 

being that Buhari 

has changed from the stern 

military disciplinarian and 

anti-corruption champion, 

who launched War Against 

Indiscipline (WAI) to something 

else. But that impression 

is misleading and false. 

The fact is that Buhari did 

not change: rather, unlike 

his brief tenure as military 

head of state, when his deputy, 

late Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, 

seemed to be the 

puppeteer pulling the 

strings with military decrees, 

what happened this 

time around is that four years 

as a civilian President are 

enough time for Buhari’s 

vacuity, mediocrity and incompetence 

to burst into 

bold relief. Perhaps, a conclusion 

justified by his inability 

to improve himself intellectually 

and in terms of enhancing 

whatever leadership 

skills he had between 

1985 and 2015. 

To buttress the assertion that 

the current administration 

is unrefined and mediocre, it 

is necessary to point out some 

low hanging fruits it could 

have harvested if truly Buhari 

and his lieutenants are determined 

to actualise the change 

propaganda that propelled 

APC to victory four years ago. 

The first one, which any President 

serious about fairness 

to an end avoidable bickering 

that normally follows 

rancorous primaries 

which portray leadership 

deficiency. The party 

needs to avoid another 

Zamfara, Rivers and Edo 

House of Assembly debacles. 

This admonition is 

not new. Last year, the National 

Institute for Policy 

and Strategic Studies, 

Kuru, organized a retreat 

on ‘’The Dynamics of 

Managing Political Parties 

Professionally.” 

Speaking at the opening 

session, Yakubu Dogara, 

immediate past Speaker 

of the House of Representatives 

was greatly concerned 

that “In Africa and 

Nigeria in particular, political 

parties are weak, 

lacking not only a stable 

and functioning party apparatus, 

but also a clear 

programmatic appeal. 

They also suffer from low 

organisational capacity 

and a lack of internal democracy.” 

Exactly 30 years ago, 

President Ibrahim Babangida 

IBB, dissolved all 

the political associations 

seeking to be registered as 

political parties and by 

the use of government fiat 

established two parties 

for politicians. He then 

appointed seasoned public 

servants to manage the 

parties for a given period. 

We all blamed him then 

for seemingly militarizing 

politics, but he made 

a quiet point which many 

ignored, that Nigerian 

politicians had a deficiency 

in their capacity to organize 

people into political 

movements. According 

to IBB, what appears 

to interest our politicians 

is not the running of political 

parties but the running 

of government. The 

indicting observation is 

as valid today as it was 

when it was made on October 

7, 1989. 

and national unity can easily 

pluck, deliberate spreading of 

top level appointments in critical 

areas of our national life, 

particularly the top echelons 

of Nigeria’s security apparatchik, 

Customs and Immigration, 

Nigerian Ports Authority 

(NPA), Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation 

(NNPC), and so on, in a manner 

that gives Nigerians from 

different parts of the country 

a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, 

President Buhari, 

supported by Fulani caliphate 

colonialists and selfish 

knuckleheads from southern 

Nigeria, motivated by the few 

crumbs that fell from their 

Fulani masters’ table, successfully 

carried out a northernisation 

agenda in his appointments, 

contrary to Section 

14 sub-section 3 of the 

flawed 1999 Constitution, 

which stipulates that “The 

composition of the government 

of the federation or any 

of its agencies and the conduct 

of its affairs must be carried 

out in such a manner as 

to reflect the federal character 

of Nigeria and the need to 

promote national unity, and 

also to command national 

loyalty, thereby ensuring that 

there shall be no preponderance 

of persons from a few 

states or from a few ethnic or 

other sectional groups in that 

government or in any of its 

agencies.” President Buhari 

and his supporters argue that 

it is his prerogative to appoint 

anyone he pleases or only 

those he knew to certain critical 

positions. During the euphoria 

of “anyone-but- 

Jonathan” mass hysteria before 

the 2015 presidential 

election, a well-known figure 

even argued that it does 

not matter if Buhari filled 

existing vacancies with only 

people from his village. 

To be continued


PARADISE LOST! 

• 

Satellit 

ellite e Town 

frets over 

•A tank farm under 

construction in strictly 

residential area. 

invasion of 

2.5trillion 

litres of petr 

trol 

By Godfrey Bivbere, Ebuka Oko 

& Gideon Nnaemezie 

Residents of Satellite Town, who, 

before 2014, lived in the serene 

environment, are today living in 

fear following the siting of 50 tank 

farms housing over 2.5 trillion litres of 

petroleum along the water-front of the 

community. 

Satellite Town stretches from Alakija to 

Abule-Ado along the Badagry 

Expressway down to the waterside and 

beyond. 

Following the location of the tank 

farms in the town, life for the residents 

has taken a turn for the worse, not only 

because of the dangers associated with 

the tank farms but also the takeover of 

all the connecting streets by tankers. 

The 50 tank farms are operated by oil 

marketing companies and, according to 

industry sources, each of the farms has 

the capacity to store between 30 million 

and 60 million litres of petroleum 

products. 

At estimated 50 million litres of 

petroleum products per tank farm, the 

volume of petroleum products of the 50 

tank farms will bring the total volume 

to 2.5 trillion litres. 

The Chairman of Satellite Forum, 

Michael Imitini, in an interview with 

Sunday Vanguard, said the community 

is a residential area where no industrial 

activity should take place. 

He said: “Satellite town is a residential 

area. It is not an industrial area. From 

1960 when we got our independence, 

Satellite Town has been a residential 

area. And by 1966 and 1967, when some 

houses were built, they were mainly 

built for legislators and individual 

occupants. 

“Approvals were also given by former 

Head of State, General Olusegun 

Obasanjo. That is what brought estates 

like Chevron, Nigeria National 

Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and 

National Provident Fund, NPF. 

“In the first place, we don’t know how 

they came about the approval for tank 

farms. They have turned the area into a 

chaotic one such that it can take two to 

three hours to complete a journey from 

Waterside to Fin-Niger that should 

normally take five minutes. This is due 

to the gridlock. 

Emergencies 

“This gridlock also affects us in the 

case of emergencies as there are no 

alternative routes. Students, 

entrepreneurs and workers alike arrive 

late at their various destinations due to 

this problem. 

“Our plea is that we don’t need 

additional tank farms in Satellite Town. 

And we are asking the 

Federal Government to 

look into the activities of 

the 12 marketing 

companies that have the 

over 50 tank farms. We 

are saying that they 

should get a deadline to 

relocate out of Satellite 

Town”. 

Imitini condemned what 

he described as on-going 

plans by a company to 

site more tank farms in 

the area. 

“They are in the final 

stages of the review now. 

They didn’t communicate 

with the community. The 

questionnaire they 

claimed to have 

administered was not 

given to the community 

and nobody ever laid 

hands on that 

questionnaire for 

Environmental Impact 

Assessment, EIA, that was said to have 

been conducted”, he stated. 

“And most of their designs and 

We want 

government to wake 

up to its 

responsibility and 

plan things very 

well because people 

cannot just come 

and site industries 

everywhere. These 

things have to be 

regulated 

whatever 

thing they said that they 

were going to put in place when the 

tank farm is at 95 percent completion 

are not up to standard”. 

Imitini stressed that the lives of over 

one million residents in 

the area are at risk. 

This is because, 

according to him, there 

had been two near-fatal 

fire outbreaks that 

claimed six lives. 

Fire-fighting 

equipment 

These tank farms, it was 

learnt, do not have 

adequate fire-fighting 

equipments thereby 

exacerbating the fear of 

residents in case of any 

emergency situation. 

For instance, Sunday 

Vanguard gathered that 

during one of the two 

emergency situations of 

the past, Julius Berger 

Construction Company 

had to come to the rescue 

by providing its firefighting 

equipment. 

The Chairman pointed out that five 

bonded terminals are soon to become 

•Trucks blocking access road. 

operational in Satellite Town 

thereby complicating the situation. 

On his part, the Secretary of Satellite 

Town Forum, STF, Akorede Kamal, 

faulted government for not doing a 

proper check and evaluation of the 

environment before issuing licenses to 

tank farm owners to operate in the area. 

He declared that the community is 

“sitting on a keg of gun powder “that 

could explode in an instant.’’ 

Kamal called for adequate measures to 

nip disaster in the bud and also bring 

some form of relief to residents. 

Volatile investments 

Also speaking, a member of the forum 

and Chairman of Media Committee, 

Ndubisi Okafor, called on government 

to wake up to its responsibility and save 

the community. 

“We want government to wake up to its 

responsibility and plan things very well 

because people cannot just come and 

site industries everywhere. These things 

have to be regulated. You don’t come to 

a fully built residential area and start 

building investments which are very 

Continues on page 29


•Trucks obstructing one of the roads in Satellite Town 

Continued from page 28 

dangerous”, Okafor said. 

“We have had fire outbreaks and loss of 

lives in the past due to these tank farms. 

Notwithstanding, there is the looming 

danger of a massive explosion because 

of the carelessness of several tank 

farms. These tank farm owners have no 

regard for human lives. 

“Sometimes, some of their tankers 

filled with petroleum products leak on 

the roads. They are talking of 

consultation with members of the 

community and residents yet you still 

see a lot of problems in the community. 

What manner of consultation is that? 

“We want people to hear the voice of 

the community. Let me categorically say 

that we are putting the cart before the 

horse here, like starting a building with 

the roof, that is what they are doing and 

that is the Nigerian factor which is very 

bad.’’ 

An-on-the-spot assessment by Sunday 

Vanguard showed that some of the tank 

farms are built on natural flood 

channels and drainages. 

Whenever it rains, some parts of the 

Paradise lost! 

•Satellite Town frets over invasion of 2.5trillion 

litres of petrol 

neighbourhood are flooded as a result 

of the blockage of the channels. 

Marwa Road, leading to the tank farms, 

is the only major link road in the 

community and it is in a state of 

disrepair. 

Also, residents linked the presence of 

the tank farms to health challenges in 

the now densely populated 

neighbourhood. 

It was alleged that there is an increase 

in the rate of waterborne diseases 

especially among children in Satellite 

Town 

The residents equally said fumes oozing 

from the tank farms constitute health 

hazards. 

Landlords flee 

Further investigations showed that 

many landlords have either abandoned 

their houses or sold them over the fear 

of the tank farms. Many residents are 

also moving out of the area as a result 

of the situation. 

Businesses in the once serene 

community are being shut down due to 

the deplorable state of the environment. 

Okafor further told Sunday Vanguard: 

‘’The activities of trucks and the 

deplorable nature of major roads 

constitute a major part of the problems 

caused by these tank farms. The fact 

that there are no alternative routes to 

escape the gridlock caused by fuel 

trucks worsen the situation.’’ 

Other residents, who spoke 

anonymously, lamented that the Oriade 

Local Council Development Authority, 

LCDA, which is located on the failed 

link road, does nothing to ameliorate 

their suffering. 

In fact, from the deplorable state of 

Satellite Town, it is obvious that the 

LCDA looks the other way while truck 

drivers constitute danger to residents. 

Oriade LCDA 

unconcerned 

The LCDA was accused of not 

performing even the least of its 

functions, which was identified as 

clearing of drainage systems and 

grading of failed feeder roads. 

“Even when the LCDA clears the 

blocked drainage systems, the specks of 

dirt are left on the roads beside the 

cleared drainage systems. They are 

making money from the truck drivers; 

that is why they don’t care about the 

dangers posed by the tank farms. 

“If the situation continues, in two years 

time, Satellite Town will be a ghost city. 

I believe when that happens, those who 

sold land to the tank farm owners 

would realise how foolish they were.’’ 

Bishop Charles and Rev Carol Ighele(middle),flanked by Pastor Angela Okotie- 

Eboh,Theresa Johnson,Dr Shuana Baron,Kathy West and other ministers from 

the United States during the medical outreach done by Holy Spirit Mission, 

Lagos Nigeria in partnership with Healing Streams Ministry, USA 

Ikeja Electric, Magodo residents sign power supply agreement 

igeria’s Electricity Distribution 

NCompany, Ikeja Electric (IE) has signed 

an agreement with Magodo Resident 

Association to investin electricity 

infrastructure in the Estate as well as provide 

reliable and quality electricity supply to the 

residents. 

The contract, which is in line with the 

company’s Premium Power Purchase 

Agreement, was signed at the association’s 

community hall in Lagos with representatives 

of Ikeja Electric and Magodo Resident 

Association present. 

By this agreement, IE will provide Magodo 

residents with electricity supply beyond the 

existing standards with guaranteed 

performance levels. In addition to the 

improved supply of electricity to the Estate, 

there will also be access to dedicated Customer 

Care and Technical teams for prompt 

resolution of queries and/or technical issues 

within the Estate. 

The Chief Operating Officer of Ikeja 

Electric, Mrs. Folake Soetan, expressed 

confidence in the success of the trend-setting 

agreement which she noted was in line with 

the Federal Government’s “willing seller, 

willing buyer” policy. 

“We are confident that this agreement will 

serve as a model for other power agreements 

in the power sector because, while it is in line 

with the Federal Government policy, it also 

reflects our unwavering commitment to our 

customers. This has also been made possible 

by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory 

Commission’s directive to DisCos to provide 

an enabling environment with exceptional 

service delivery,” she said. 

Soetan who signed on behalf of IE, described 

the agreement as a foremost partnership that 

would enhance growth and economic 

development within the community. She 

further emphasized on the importance of the 

agreement to both parties, while reiterating 

Ikeja Electric’s commitment to ensure 

adherence. 

From left: Founder, FCMB Group, Otunba Subomi Balogun, exchanging pleasantries 

with the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, during the Ojude 

Oba Festival held at Ijebu-Ode. With them is the Governor of Ogun State, Dr. 

Dapo Abiodun and other dignitaries. 

The Chairman, Board of Trustees, Magodo 

Residents Association, Chief S.A. Owojori, 

commended the technical teams from both 

sides for a job well done. He described the 

signing ceremony as a significant 

achievement in the community’s efforts at 

enjoying uninterrupted power supply, noting 

that the agreement, if judiciously 

implemented, will strengthen the relationship 

between the community and Ikeja Electric. 

Others present at the ceremony from Ikeja 

From left; Chairman, Magodo Residents Association, Mr Jade Niboro; 

Chairman, Magodo Residents Board of Trustees, Chief Stephen Owojori; Chief 

Operating Officer (COO) Mrs Folake Soetan and Head, Legal and Regulatory, 

Mr. Babatunde Osadare both of Ikeja Electric, during the signing of the Premium 

Power agreement at the Magodo Town Hall, Lagos recently. 

Electric include, Chief Technical 

Coordinator, Engr. Sunday Oyewole, Chief 

Network Optimization, Engr. Abdullahi 

Mohammed, Head Legal & Regulatory, Mr. 

Babatunde Osadare, Business Manager, 

Shomolu Business Unit, Engr. Olanrewaju 

Yusuf and the Project Manager, Wale 

Atobatele. Members of the Magodo Resident 

Association present were Mr. Jade Niboro, 

Chairman, Magodo Resident Association, 

Akin Adepoju, General Secretary and Mr. 

Kunle Fashogbon amongst others. 

The Premium Power initiative is a power 

purchase agreement which entails a 

commitment to specific service level standards 

while the customer agrees to pay a tariff that 

is above the current MYTO tariff. 

US based pastor 

ors s to 

distribute free drugs 

in Lagos 

W 

ith the high rate of Nigerians needing 

medical care which a lot of them can 

barely afford, a delegation of ministers 

from the United States of America who are 

currently attending the Annual Women 

Convention of Holy Spirit Mission will be 

distributing free drugs to locals in some part 

of Lagos alongside other Nigerian medical 

practitioners. The Medical outreach which 

is done annually is organised by the Holy 

Spirit Mission Church in partnership with 

the Healing Streams Ministry, USA. 

Annually, drugs worth millions of dollars 

are distributed after thorough free medical 

checkup.

PAGE 30, SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

ONDO RUBBER WAR: 

Senator, General clash 

over governor’s alleged 

bias 

By Dayo Johnson, Akure 

The feud between two 

communities in Ondo State 

over rubber plantation has 

continued as the umbrella body of 

the Araromi community, Araromi - 

Obu Development Council, ICU, 

took on the leader of lkale 

community, General Oluyemi 

Bajowa, dismissing his assertion 

that Araromi-Obu people are 

settlers. 

It equally disputed the general’s 

claim that Governor Rotimi 

Akeredolu was biased in his 

handling of the land dispute 

between the warring communities 

in which four people were 

murdered, houses and vehicles set 

ablaze, necessitating a 24-hourcurfew 

in Ago - Alaye since July 18. 

In a statement by its 

spokesperson, Senator Omololu 

Meroyi, ICU noted that Araromi- 

Obu has been in existence for over 

500 years with the present Ajobu, 

Oba Aderemi Adelola, the 18th 

occupant of the throne. 

“It is therefore shocking that in 

spite of an avalanche of 

documentary evidence freely 

signed by the Ikales as tenants of 

our forefathers spanning over a 

century, they could turn round to 

assert that Araromi-Obu people 

are settlers on their land”, ICU 

said. 

Dismissing the allegation of bias 

on the part of the governor and the 

state police command, the group 

said Ondo State government and 

security agencies merely moved 

against mindless bloodletting, 

arson, wanton destruction of lives 

and property. 

“It is on record 

that in order to 

prevent the 

outbreak of 

hostilities, several 

peace meetings 

were initiated by 

Ondo State 

government, the 

police and the 

Directorate of 

Security Services by 

the Ajobu and his 

people but 

surprisingly 

shunned by the 

Abodi of Ikoya”, it 

said. 

“Also, Ondo State 

Commissioner of 

Police, in a bid to 

avert the looming 

clash, visited the area and 

We are 

satisfied with 

the fatherly 

role Governor 

Rotimi 

Akeredolu has 

played as an 

impartial 

arbiter in the 

conflict 

appealed to the Araromi-Obu and 

Ikale people to maintain peace and 

allow the judicial process to be 

exhausted since Araromi-Obu had 

appealed the judgment”. 

However, ICU alleged that 

shortly after the visit of the 

Commissioner of Police, the attack 

on the people of Araromi-Obu by 

the Ikales assumed a more 

frightening dimension as 

farmlands were 

invaded, farm 

produce 

harvested and 

carted away, 

people 

molested, 

harassed 

and 

abducted 

on their 

farms, 

all in a bid to take over the 

Rubber Estate Nigeria Limited. 

“The breakdown of law and order 

prompted the visit of Ondo State 

governor as Chief Security Officer 

of the state accompanied by the 

heads of security agencies”, it 

added. 

“The governor should be 

commended for the visit as his 

prompt intervention and the 

deployment of security men has 

ensured the return of peace to the 

area. 

“We also wish to debunk the 

claim of the Ikale people who were 

arrested for their alleged 

involvement in the wanton 

destruction of lives and property 

that they were part of the 

delegation to appraise the governor 

of their position. 

“We are satisfied with the fatherly 

role Governor Rotimi Akeredolu 

has played as an impartial arbiter 

in the conflict. 

“We condemn in strong terms the 

vituperation of General Oluyemi 

Bajowa whose aim is to tarnish the 

image of our governor as 

the Chief Security 

Officer of the state 

“We need to remind 

General Bajowa that we 

are no longer under 

military dictatorship and 

need to accord respect 

to constituted authority 

derived from the 

mandate of the people of 

Ondo through the ballot 

and not through the 

barrel of gun. 

“We support all the 

measures taken by 

Ondo State government 

to bring lasting peace to 

Araromi-Obu and 

environs including the 

newly constituted panel 

of enquiry to ascertain 

the cause(s) of the crisis 

and promise to cooperate with the 

panel to achieve set-objectives”. 

Meanwhile, the lkale community, 

through the lkale Central 

Organisation (ICO), in a statement 

by its Chairman and Secretary, 

Bayo Ehinmosan and Akinyemi 

Aiyebiwo respectively, has cried 

•Gov Akeredolu 

out over what they described as 

hardship being experienced by 

them following the 24-hour curfew 

imposed by the state government 

on July 16 after the bloodshed 

occasioned by the land dispute 

with the Araromi community 

According to them, the curfew has 

made life almost impossible for Ikale 

residents to live. 

They, however, lauded the 

governor for setting up the probe 

panel to look into the crisis. 

The ICO pleaded with Akeredolu 

to provide a level-playing ground 

for them to appear before the panel 

by removing completely the curfew. 

“Members of the two communities 

are expected to step out before the 

committee to present their respective 

sides of the story”, the group said. 

“However, as things are now, only 

one side to the conflict, the side that 

initiated aggression, is free to 

present her story. 

“Since the governor visited Ago- 

Alaye, our community has remained 

under 24-hour curfew with the 

attendant hardship that has made 

living almost impossible for the Ikale 

residents. 

“On the other side, the aggressors, 

in and out of Araromi-Obu, have 

been living their normal lives and 

organising for the committee”. 

In another development, the state 

Information and Orientation 

Commissioner, Donald Ojogo, said 

the 24-hour curfew in Ikale had 

been relaxed and “detained persons 

unconnected to the crisis ordered to 

be released by the governor” . 

“The new curfew regime will 

henceforth be dusk to dawn; that is, 

twelve hours (from 6pm-6am) until 

further notice”, he said. 

The Tunde Atere Panel of Inquiry 

probing the Araromi-Obu and Ikale 

(Ago-Alaye) has three weeks to 

submit its report. 

In a twist, government officials in 

the state have been barred from 

making public statements on the 

matter. 

A statement by Ojo Oyewamide, 

Senior Special Assistant (Media 

and Publicity) to the Governor, said 

this will allow the panel set up by 

government to be dispassionate in 

its assignment. 

POLIO: One year 

allowances of 

107 senators 

can vaccinate 

30 million 

children 

By Dayo Johnson, Akure 

IMMEDIATE past President, 

Nigerian Academy of 

Science and a professor of 

Public Health, Oyewale Tomori, 

has said that one year 

allowances of all the 107 

senators would vaccinate 

nothing less than 30 million 

children against polio in 

Nigeria. 

Tomori spoke at the 6th 

Distinguished Lecture of the 

University of Medical Sciences, 

UNIMED, Ondo on the topic 

‘Nigeria: A Nation Playing 

Poker With Public Health’. 

“The N13.5 million monthly 

allowance of all the senators 

when put together in a year 

would vaccinate nothing less 

than 30 million children 

against polio in Nigeria”, he 

said. 

According to him, the amount 

of money being looted by those 

at the helm of affairs was 

enough to provide health 

facilities across the country and 

protect the public from disease 

outbreaks. 

The guest lecturer added that 

individuals had also 

contributed to the deplorable 

conditions of public health in 

the country, saying concerted 

efforts was needed to save the 

sector. 

“ It is in Nigeria where the 

EFCC recovered funds from 

corrupt elements. Imagine the 

positive effect on the socioeconomic 

development of the 

nation, were such looted funds 

used judiciously”, Tomori 

stressed. 

“ Add to the insult of the 

barefaced looting, the fact that 

109 senators,as revealed by one 

of them receive N13.5 million 

allowance per month 

amounting to N17 billion per 

annum. 

“Just one year allowance of 

all our senators can fully 

vaccinate 30million Nigerian 

children”. 

The pioneer vice Chancellor 

of Redeemer University Ede 

called on Nigerian leaders to 

desist from frequent traveling 

abroad for medical attention 

rather develop the health 

facilities in the country for the 

citizens to benefit. 

The Vice Chancellor of the 

University, Prof. Friday 

Okonofua, described the guest 

lecturer as one of the leading 

international icons of public 

health. 

Okonofua noted that the 

lecture “would help the 

institution in no small measure 

to rethink the health strategies 

of the country and reposition it 

to develop appropriate 

research around public health 

and development.

Back up your faith with obedience 

ur God is awesome and 

Ohis ways beyond anyone’s 

imagination. This is one 

of the factors that make him 

the incomparable God. 

Brethren, as Christians we 

are taught that even if we have 

given our lives to Christ, we 

could still have challenges. 

The good news however is that 

with God on our side, we can 

overcome those challenges. 

May I quote Pastor J.T. Kalejaiye 

of RCCG’s popular 

statement that “what God has 

finished cannot finish you”. 

In other words, with the 

death of Jesus on the cross and 

his blood shed for our resumptions, 

we should be confident 

that whatever is the 

challenge, we shall overcome 

in the name of Jesus. 

Faith is crucial in Christianity. 

Why? Hebrew 11 vs. 1 

defines faith: “ Now faith is 

the substance of things hoped 

for; the evidence of things not 

seen’. 

An employed person who 

sees himself as a future employer 

of labour is exercising 

faith. A barren woman who 

imagines herself nursing her 

own children is exercising 

We are still in the gym 

trying to get our act 

right without sabotaging 

our image. I hope you 

have been following all the 

tips in Part 1. This is the final 

belt on our etiquette tips for 

using the gym, I hope you find 

them useful. 

6. Dress to impress 

Some people find the gym 

an excuse to go bare, but how 

bare should you go? 

Because it is a gym you really 

do not want to be wearing 

clothes that are too thick 

or baggy. In choosing gym 

wear look out for the right fit. 

Some people wear gym wear 

a size too small and end up 

revealing way too much. Your 

gym wear should be stylish, 

try to colour co-ordinate from 

top to bottom to portray a 

good image. It should be comfortable 

and clean. Don’t wear 

gym clothes more than once, 

especially if you have previously 

sweated in it, this is not 

hygienic and is a clear image 

killer. Somehow I still see 

women wearing blouses, casual 

trousers and flats to the 

faith but faith alone cannot 

work. Faith needs to stand on 

the two legs of obedience. 

Complete obedience, to the 

word of God. 

Hebrews 11 vs. 6 “ But without 

faith it is impossible to 

please him: for he that cometh 

to God must believe that he is, 

and that he is a rewarder of 

them that diligently seek 

him”. 

Note the word “ diligently”. 

The adverb qualifies the word 

diligent, which my simple dictionary 

tells me is “ quietly 

and steadily persevering especially 

in detail or exactness”. 

Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye 

in his current daily manual 

“Open Heavens”, identified 

factors that make miracles 

to manifest. He identified 

the factors as “ Faith and 

Obedience”. 

He wrote, “ As a matter of 

fact, disobedience is the byproduct 

of having no faith”. 

It is lack of faith that will 

make anyone who calls himself 

a Christian to begin to 

consult herbalists for promotion 

in the office, for an end to 

barrenness or for any other 

j a n e t . a d e t u 

janet.adetu@gmail.com 

Etiquette in the Gym (2) 

ANon Government 

Organization,NGO , 

Shamar Educational 

Foundation, SEF, has empowered 

over 200 women in 

Delta State. 

The facilitator of SEF, Dr. 

(Mrs) Onyi Ikemefuna who 

spoke to journalists shortly 

after the fourth edition of the 

empowerment programme at 

Shamar International Group 

of Schools, Enerhen in Uvwie 

Local Government Area, explained 

that the programme 

was aimed at empowering 

women, including widows, 

single and married women 

from different ethnic groups, 

adding that the gesture was 

to enhance economic endeavors 

of the beneficiaries. 

Dr. Ikemefuna who is a Special 

Consultant to United 

Nations on Women Empowerment, 

also promised to key 

into Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa's agenda on environ- 

gym, some wear bedroom 

scarves or nets, some even 

come braless. It shows they 

have just jumped out of bed 

without a second thought, 

worn the nearest thing and 

headed straight out for the 

gym. Some women even after 

taking a shower spend more 

time and detail wearing 

makeup and lots of perfume 

to the gym. 

What is your mission for going 

to the gym? 

Follow the gym dress etiquette 

guidelines below when 

going to the gym: 

1. Wear mainly lycra 

wear to the gym (elasticated 

easyfit) 

2. Trainers are best footwear 

for comfort 

3. Wear a sports bra for 

better support during exercising 

4. Medium to long gym 

trousers are better when using 

equipment that involve 

sitting. 

5. Beware of wearing 

shorts in the gym or hot pants 

6. Avoid wearing your 

glasses to the gym you don’t 

Shamar Educational Foundation empowers Delta women 

mental sanitation in Delta 

State, as she urged women in 

the state to always ensure that 

their environment is clean. 

Dr. Ivanah Thomas, a Jamaican 

American, who was 

a resource person at the 

event in chat with newsmen, 

stressed the need for women 

to be 'whole' ( complete) for 

them to realized their full potentials 

at home and in the society. 

She described the Nigerian 

women as strong and lovely. 

"I want the international community 

to know that Nigerian 

women are strong and 

amazing. I love them". 

On her part, the Chairman 

of National Association of 

Proprietors of Private Schools 

( NAPPS) , Uvwie Local Government 

Area chapter, Mrs 

Elohor Obi, who also spoke 

with journalists , described the 

event as awesome.The renowned 

counsellor urged participants 

to impact what they 

learnt on others, just as she 

also urged beneficiaries of the 

empowerment programmes 

to empower other women in 

their localities. 

While Abigail Ezeoni, a journalist 

with NTA, who was a 

resource person at the event 

described the women empowerment 

programme as timely. 

The event featured talks on 

safety, skills acquisition, 

health and thrifts. 

High points of the event were 

the presentation of certificates, 

awards and souvenirs 

to participants and empowerment 

of beneficiaries. 

The women empowerment 

programme was graced by 

women from all the 25 local 

government areas of the state, 

including others from Lagos, 

Ebonyi, Abia, Edo, Rivers and 

Enugu states. 

Often times, what the 

Spirit of God tells us 

to do, does not make 

scientific sense 


issue. 

To obey, and obey completely, 

you must be familiar with 

his word and claim his command 

for your life. You must 

also be prepared to listen. One 

can only obey a command 

that you hear or are informed 

about. 

Many of us hear but we need 

faith to obey. Often times, 

what the Spirit of God tells us 

to do, does not make scientific 

sense. 

I give an example. God told 

a man of God to lay his garment 

on the table for people 

to touch, many in the congregation 

touched and the barren 

conceived. 

From the point of view of 

science, this makes no sense. 

What gave these women the 

breakthrough is not the garment 

but the anointing that 

the Lord had deposited in that 

garment. 

Brethren, you have been going 

for anointing services yet 

you have not received your 

miracle. Why? This could be 

because; your faith has not 

taken you to the level that you 

believe that such a simple 

touch could bring in your miracle. 

The story of the woman 

with the issue of blood readily 

comes to mind here. Luke 8 

vs. 43-47 gives us the full story 

but for our purpose, we’ll consider 

specific verses. 

Verses 43&44 “ And a woman 

having an issue of blood 

twelve years, which had spent 

all her living upon physicians, 

neither could be healed of any, 

Came behind him, and 

touched the border of his garment: 

and immediately her 

issue of blood stanched”. Verse 

46 &47 “ And Jesus said, somebody 

hath touched me: for I 

perceive that virtue is gone out 

of me. And when the woman 

saw that she was not hid, she 

came trembling, and falling 

down before him, she declared 

unto him before all the 

people for what cause she had 

touched him, and how she was 

healed immediately”. 

The Lord Jesus told her in 

verse 48 “ And he said unto 

her, Daughter, be of good comfort: 

thy faith hath made thee 

whole; go in peace”. 

The anointing makes challenges 

give way and once they 

give way, the peace and joy of 

the Lord will step in. 

need them. 

7. Socks is a must inside 

your trainers for better grip 

and to avoid the aftermath of 

too much feet sweating. 

8. If you are having a 

bad hair day wear a sports 

cap. 

9. Minimal jewellery is 

expected at the gym. 

10. Always tie your hair 

back from your face to maintain 

concentration. 

11. Carry a sports bag 

and not a designer bag to the 

gym. Leave all valuables behind. 

12. Invest in different 

gym wear of various colours 

7. Hair Flaws 

We women tend to spend so 

much money on our hair, so 

sometimes we would rather 

avoid the gym for the fear of 

ruining our lovely hair do. It 

is so much easier to tie your 

hair back when going to the 

gym. Wearing a cap may also 

help keep the hair intact. It 

may sound funny but it must 

be said: Don’t make the mistake 

of wearing your rollers 

on your head just because you 

are going to work straight 

from the gym. Remember 

even in the gym image is everything 

and perception is reality. 

8. Bare Essentials Bathroom 

Tactics 

In the gym I know women 

are all the same and really 

have nothing to hide. A lot of 

women I find don’t mind revealing 

all their bare essentials 

when getting ready in the 

bathroom. A number of ladies 

use this opportunity to get 

ready for work and totally 

take over the bathroom as if it 

was their very own at home. 

Sometimes it can be quite 

frustrating how much freedom 

some women have in 

such a public place. What is 

yours is yours I recommend 

you act with caution when 

using the shower or washroom, 

not everyone is comfortable 

with such environments. 

Please cover up your 

bare essentials all for the sake 

of decency. 

Brethren, how much of the 

Word do you know? To what 

extent are you prepared to 

obey? The Holy Bible tells us 

how to increase our faith in 

Romans 10 vs. 17: “ So then 

faith cometh by hearing and 

hearing by the word of God”. 

If you don’t hear the word, 

you cannot believe. If you believe 

and refuse to obey, you 

may never testify to a miracle 

Ṫhe Holy Bible tells us Faith 

and Action work together to 

produce miracles. When you 

obey, you are taking an action 

or engaged in an activity. 

Therefore, you should expect 

a miracle. 

As recorded in Mark 11 vs. 

20&21 Jesus cursed a tree and 

it dried up from its roots. 

Peter reminded the Lord 

that he cursed the tree and it 

has withered. Jesus replied according 

to verse 22 “ And Jesus 

answering saith unto 

them, Have faith in God”. 

Why must we have faith? Jesus 

said in verse23 “ For verily 

I say unto you, That whosoever 

shall say unto this mountain, 

Be thou removed, and be 

thou cast into the sea; and 

shall not doubt in his heart, 

but shall believe that those 

things which he saith shall 

come to pass; he shall have 

whatsoever he saith”. 

Brethren, from the words of 

the Lord Jesus, it is clear that 

there is a lot you have to do to 

bring about the manifestation 

of your miracle. 

You must find time to attend 

good church programmes 

that are in line with the word 

of God. It is not enough to 

declare yourself a Christian 

9. A Fruit or Two 

Exercise does make us peckish 

and even hungry. If you are 

fortunate some gyms provide 

a variety of basic fruits like 

apples or bananas for their 

members to help replenish lost 

energy. In your bid to alleviate 

your hunger be careful not 

to overdo the taking. An apple 

is a sufficient after exercise, 

don’t take more than one 

it would create a wrong image 

of you if you did otherwise. 

10. Dining Etiquette at the 

Gym 

If your gym has a cafeteria 

be careful not to indulge in 

too much food so soon after 

exercising. Most cafeterias 

will offer juices, smoothies and 

teas with breakfast bars, light 

salads, soups and sandwiches. 

Watch your intake at this 

point the real essence of eating 

would be to regain 

and sit at home claiming to be 

praying on your own. 

Engaging in fellowship with 

other Christians helps to increase 

our faith. Listening to 

testimonies is faith lifting and 

can lead one to the steps to 

take to have a miracle. 

If you saw the crowd of parents 

that presented babies that 

God gave them as a result of 

their steadfastness with the 

Lord, during the just concluded 

67th annual convention of 

RCCG, you will have no 

doubt that with God all things 

are possible. 

Are you or someone you 

know waiting on the Lord for 

babies and other goodies, then 

be at the Redemption Camp 

or connect with the Holy 

Ghost night of September 6, 

2019 titled “ Lifted into Glory”. 

It is a programme that 

will bring an end to all forms 

of fruitlessness. 

Laughter Foundation Ministry 

also has an on-going programme 

that holds every Sunday 

for couples who want to 

be fruitful. 

Other churches have similar 

programmes. Find time 

to attend. 

By the grace of God, whatever, 

you lack now, the Lord 

will give you an overflow in 

the name of Jesus. 

For whatever reason you 

shed tears of sorrow, our God 

with whom nothing is impossible 

is able to replace those 

tears of sorrow with tears of 

joy. 

Be prepared to play your 

part and be assured that God 

will honour his word in your 

life. 

Have a fruitful week. 

strength not to satisfy your 

appetitive. Eat in grand style 

even if it is only a salad and a 

smoothie, remember you are 

being constantly watched. 

While discussing with others 

avoid talking about your favourite 

or worst food. There is 

no need to start counting calories 

as most foods will be specific 

with health intentions. 

Avoid any form of gossiping 

especially over someone’s 

weight or image. 

11. Rapport 

The gym is also a good opportunity 

to meet new people. 

Many people go the gym do 

what they have to do and leave 

immediately. To exchange 

common pleasantries and introductions 

appears an impossible 

task. You never know 

where you can meet each other 

again or if that person can 

be a valuable acquaintance. 

The world is so small it is important 

to maintain a good 

first impression everywhere 

you go. Likewise engage in 

good rapport after all you will 

surely learn something new. 

Do not hesitate to be the first 

to introduce yourself, be brave 

and courageous. In the same 

light choose when you want 

to engage in conversations 

avoid being a rumour monger 

and a nuisance. 

Well I hope I have been able 

to through more light on proper 

conduct in a public place 

like the gym. It is the New Year 

take out time for health and 

wellness. It’s the new you. 

Goodluck! 

The facilitator of Shamar Educational Foundation ( SEF), Ambassador ( Dr) Mrs Onyi 

Ikemefuna(4th from left) and Dr Ivanna Thomas with participants in a one day women 

empowerment programme titled ' Whole Women On The Move' organized by SEF at 

Enerhen Community in Uvwie Local Government Area , Delta State.

PAGE 32– SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019 

I broke a jinx 

– Olowo-elect 

By Alex Kola Folorunso 

Less than two weeks to the installation of the new Olowo of 

Owo, Gbadegesin Ajibade Ogunoye, preparations are in top 

gear for the ceremony. 

Ogunoye, in this interview, gives an insight into his 

imminent kingship. 

Excerpts: 

HOW do we describe the Olowo-elect? 

First and foremost, I am a prince of Owo 

and a direct son of Oba Adekola Ogunoye II, who 

reigned between 1968 and 1993. 

I am 53 years old, having been born on July 6, 

1966. I attended various schools, from primary 

school to the university level. I have first and 

second degrees in law. I obtained my first degree 

from then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti and 

master’s from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba 

Akoko. 

I have been called to the bar. I was a civil servant. I 

joined Ondo State Civil Service in 2001 as an 

Administrative Officer and rose to become Permanent 

Secretary on Protocols, Governor’s Office. Prior to that, 

I taught briefly in a secondary school. 

Let’s talk about events that led to your emergence 

as Olowo–elect? 

The process started when the late Oba Olagbade 

Olateru Olagbegi III joined his ancestors. In line 

with Owo tradition, a new prince has to emerge 

as Olowo of Owo- elect. The process started 

three months after his demise. 15 of us vied 

for the throne and, through the grace of 

God, I emerged as Olowo - elect. There is 

only one ruling house in Owo Kingdom 

which we call Elewokun Ruling House. 

However, we have two subsets in the 

ruling house which are the Atanneyes 

and the Ogunoyes. The Atanneyes 

comprise the Olagbegis and Ajikes. 

Did you have any conviction 

during your growing up days that 

you would one day become an 

Oba? 

I will like to answer this question 

after my installation. 

But your mother in one of the 

national dailies recently was 

quoted as saying that your 

father had once predicted that 

one of his children would be 

crowned the Olowo one day 

and don’t you think that the 

day has come now? 

I will soon elaborate on that. 

What are the expectations of 

your people as you are 

crowned their king? 

Majorly and considering our past 

experience, it has always not been 

easy to choose an Oba for the Owo 

people. The competition is usually 

tense. But we thank God that this 

time around, it all went peacefully. 

In essence, I broke a jinx. For me, 

the most important thing is to 

ensure that there is peace in the 

kingdom and we have started 

experiencing it. Without peace, 

there will not be development. 

Again, you know that youths are the 

driving force for development. So 

my focus is to work more in the 

direction of youth development in 

Owo Kingdom. 

Meanwhile, I desire to promote 

our culture and tradition. Owo is a 

unique kingdom known for culture. 

I will work towards the preservation 

and promotion of our culture. We 

have a very popular festival called 

Igogo which we want to take to 

global acceptance, we will have a 

The governor 

did not interfere 

at all, in spite of 

the fact that he 

is a stakeholder 

in Owo 

Kingdom as an 

illustrious son 

of the ancient 

Kingdom 

date set aside for tourists to pay a 

visit to Owo Kingdom. Igogo festival 

used to be very interesting. I will 

promote the festival to global 

acceptance such that we will have a 

date set aside for tourists to pay a 

visit to Owo. The festival will be 

explored towards cultural tourism. 

People, through the means of the 

cultural tourism, will be empowered. 

Hoteliers, food vendors, carpenters, 

artisans will benefit. I equally want 

to have a Hall of Fame for those who 

have positively impacted on the 

kingdom. All these will be done to 

restore our values. Yoruba values are 

•Ajibade 

Ogunoye 

being eroded due to a lot of factors. 

During my reign as Olowo, I will 

restore Yoruba values in Owo 

Kingdom. 

Do you have plans to 

reconcile with those who lost 

while contesting with you. The 

Ogunoye ruling family, for 

instance? 

Those who contested with me are 

my brothers. We are together. There 

are no grievances. We are one big 

family. They all congratulated me at 

the venue where the election took 

place. Some of them have visited me 

.They have been coming to meet me 

and we have been discussing. 

Because we are all from the same 

Elewokun Ruling House, we have 

no problem at all. 

What roles did the Senior 

Omo Olowos play in your 

emergence as Olowo-elect? 

We have kingmakers and we have 

the Senior Omo Olowos. Everyone 

played his role according to the 

customs and traditions of Owo 

Kingdom. Those who were saddled 

with the responsibilities of selection 

of an Oba in Owo are the Senior 

Omo Olowos. They are princes in 

their own rights and they have been 

honoured with various chieftaincy 

titles over time. However, they 

cannot by themselves contest for the 

throne. They have chieftaincy titles 

already. They all supported me and 

conducted themselves properly in 

line with family tradition in order to 

protect the family against any 

rancor. By their own decision and 

reasoning, they thought I should be 

the one to fill the vacant stool of the 

Olowo. I thank them all for their 

decision. 

As a top civil servant serving 

in the administration of 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, 

some people are of the opinion 

that the governor would have 

influenced your candidacy. 

That is not true. The only thing 

that the government of Ondo State 

did was to ensure that there was 

maximum peace during the selection 

process. They did this without any 

interference. The governor did not 

interfere at all, in spite of the fact 

that he is a stakeholder in Owo 

Kingdom as an illustrious 

s o n of the ancient Kingdom. 

The governor has 

shown that he is a true 

leader who wants the 

best for his kingdom by 

creating a peaceful and 

rancor-free 

environment during the 

selection process. The 

events that followed my 

announcement in the 

kingdom tell you that I am 

the popular choice. The 

mammoth crowd that 

followed me from the palace 

to my private home tells you 

about my popularity. Hardly 

can you change the minds 

of the Owo people once 

they decide on what they 

want to do. So, I am the 

people’s choice. 

As you join the 

league of the 

traditional rulers in 

Nigeria, how can the 

menace of insecurity, 

especially herdsmen 

attacks in the South- 

West region and 

Nigeria, be curbed? 

I will hold meetings 

with my fellow Obas to 

fashion out a way 

forward, particularly 

by advising 

government on what 

they should do. Mind 

you, it is only 

government that is 

empowered to curtail violence and 

ensure peace. That is one of the 

primary functions of government. 

They have the instrumentality of 

crime control. The best any 

traditional ruler can do is to advise 

government on such issue. I believe 

that, over time, God will help us to 

surmount the problem. 

As Oba-elect, how do you 

combine that with being a 

father and husband? 

Fortunately for me, I stayed with 

my father as a prince for almost 25 

years when he was on the throne. I 

have learnt the rudiments and culture 

of our people. I am well equipped to 

play a fatherly and traditional role. As a 

public servant, I will surely retire from 

public service immediately I am 

crowned. As a family man, I will 

continue to play my role to my lovely 

children as their father and also a good 

husband to my wife. 

Your message to natives of Owo 

Kingdom and Nigerians as you 

prepare for your installation 

ceremony? 

My message to the world is that we 

are about to experience a new beginning 

in Owo Kingdom, a new beginning that 

is spiced with peace, prosperity and 

promotion of our cultural heritage. 

From August 23, 2019 when I will be 

installed, it will be an expression of our 

culture and tradition. Whoever is 

interested in witnessing how an Oba is 

installed in the area of cultural tourism 

is invited.

My friend’s story is gripping 

Iran into an old friend 

some times last week. He 

is the type of friend you 

only see, probably once in a 

decade. I have known him 

from way back in primary 

school. We were best of friends 

and sometimes, worst enemies. 

We argued, fought and 

laughed on basically everything. 

I guess you will say, this 

is what makes friendship 

sweet. 

As we grew older, we somewhat 

drifted apart from each 

other. This is understandable 

because we both had to face 

life’s challenges individually 

as we chased our destinies and 

over the years, we occasionally 

run into each other. With the 

little times we had together on 

these “run-ins” we always try 

to catch up on each other’s stories, 

as much as we could. My 

friend is one of the few from 

my kindergarten days that I 

still have strong connections 

with. 

Strangely, we bump into 

each other in odd places. Before 

last week’s unplanned 

meeting, the last time we saw 

was in 2007 at the Edinburgh 

Airport, and before this, I saw 

BOOK REVIEW 

Skill Acquisition: A timehonoured 

platform for 

combating the menace 

of general insecurity, pervasive 

poverty, burgeoning unemployment 

and destabilization 

of the international system. 

The Second Edition of the 

Handbook of Skill Acquisition 

Training and Empowerment 

Programmes was published 

barely a year after the 

publication of the 826-page 

First Edition on 13th April, 

2017. The Second Edition 

was mooted due to the clamour 

and general interest 

shown by well-meaning 

stakeholders as to the plight 

of Internally Displaced Persons 

(IDPs) and Refugees that 

have come to be associated 

with the insurgency in the 

North East geopolitical zone 

of Nigeria. This necessitated 

the inclusion of a whole Chapter 

(that is Chapter 11), titled 

“Skill Acquisition Training 

and Empowerment, Resettlement 

of IDPs, Refugees, Indigenes 

and Residents of Insurgency 

Devastated Territories 

and Reconstruction and Rehabilitation 

of their Communities.” 

Another key feature of the 

Second Edition is the inclusion 

of a Reader’s Guide; Key 

Points to Note and; Revision 

Questions at the end of each 

him last in Lagos in 1999. It 

was a chance meeting in front 

of Juli Pharmacy at Ikeja. 

With the advent of the Internet, 

we did try keeping up with 

each other via email messages 

and the trusty “Yahoo messenger”. 

But at a point, this 

means of communication 

dropped off the radar and became 

obsolete. I guessed we 

also both dropped off each 

other’s radar. Yahoo Messenger 

outlived its usefulness and 

became an invention from the 

last century. 

You wonder why we do not 

“meet” on social media. Well, 

my friend seems to have a big 

dislike for social media? I had 

searched online many times 

for him, with no luck. Neither 

Facebook nor any of these 

modern-day online community 

is his thing. Although I later 

found out that he is very 

much active on Twitter. He 

tried to justify this to me, without 

much success, though. 

You can, therefore, imagine 

our excitement when we ran 

into each other again at the 

Leeds Train Station. Bless my 

friend, he is a great talker. 

Growing up, our friendship 

chapter. It also covered the 

Spiritual Dimensions of Skill 

Acquisition. 

Handbook of Skill Acquisition 


Programmes (2nd Ed.) 

chronicles the author's well 

over 26 years’ involvement in 

the training and management 

of Non-Militant, Restive 

and Ex-Militant Youths and 

Persons. The book elucidates 

the following key elements of 

Skill Acquisition Training and 

Empowerment Programmes: 

•A holistic Skill Acquisition 


Programme should comprise 

of four components: Vocation 

Specific Training; Soft and 

Life Skill Training; Entrepreneurship 

Development Training 

and Post-Training Empowerment. 

• As much as natural traits 

or endowments can aid the 

skills acquired through training, 

some aspects of learning 

and skill acquisition are dependent 

on Psychological, 

Psychomotor and Spiritual 

strength of Trainees. 

• Proper exposition of Intellectual 

Capital that comprise 

Human Capital, Structural 

Capital and Relational Capital 

are needed in skill acquisition 

programmes. 

•Starter Packs for Graduands 

of Skill Acquisition Programmes 

should be given to 

them before they leave the 

Training and should comprise 

was always a means of 

amusement as we were 

classed opposite of each other. 

My friend can talk a dead 

man back to life. On the other 

hand, I am the type that believes 

in sitting back and see 

events unfold. I do offer one 

or two comments where necessary. 

But I always admire 

people who can talk without 

any “restraint”, whether they 

make sense or not. I guess I 

hung out with my friend most 

times in my early years just to 

make up for my shortfall in 

the “talking department.” 

However, one thing I learnt 

growing up is when you talk 

too much, you are most likely 

to say “things” out of context 

and regret later. Sometimes, 

you say inappropriate things 

for the moment. My friend is 

in this class. He had talked 

himself into and out of many 

troubles while growing up. 

His mouth has always been 

his greatest weapon as he 

most times talks himself into 

whatever position he thinks 

will benefit him. He might be 

a “bit” quiet with new people, 

but with me, he lets down his 

guard. He must tell me his 

stories. 

When we ran into each other, 

as usual, he could not hold 

back. He screamed and did a 

100-metres dash in the opposite 

direction, made a u-turn, 

charged at me in full speed 

and got me off my feet. By stature, 

under normal circumstances, 

I should not be easily 

swept off my feet by my 5ft tall 

friend. But he did. It was a 

spectacle at the station as the 

folks passing by thought we 

were having an African wrestling 

match (Ijakadi). If not for 

the smiles on our faces, the policemen 

on standby at the station 

would have mistaken us 

for terrorists about to detonate 

bombs. 

one thing I learnt 

growing up is when 

you talk too much, 

you are most likely to 

say “things” out of 

context and regret 

later. Sometimes, you 

say inappropriate 

things for the 

moment 

ter speaking at a Centre for 

African Studies, University of 

Leeds-sponsored programme. 

I was at the station 

to pick up train tickets for a 

guest of mine. My friend had 

mistaken his departure time 

and came early to the station 

only to be told he has another 

fifty minutes to wait. And here 

I am to fill the "time" for him. 

I am available and as usual, 

earful for my friend to keep 

me updated on what he has 

Golwa 

of support and vocation specific 

components. They should 

also be trained on the use and 

application of each component 

of the Starter Pack 

•Vocational and Technical 

Education should be taught 

alongside and within conventional 

academic curricula so 

that Graduates can be 

equipped with Vocation Specific 

Trades they can eke out a 

living, after graduation. 

•All Departments in acacational 

potentials so that 

they can be involved in Vocation 

Specific Trades or MS- 

MEs that can help them eke 

out a living. 

• Operationalization and 

Reporting Templates are 

needed for effective and successful 

Training Programmes 

(over 100 Templates are provided 

in the book). 

• Critical Success Entities 

must consolidate their interventions 

from Skill Acquisi- 


My friend was in the Train 

Station en route to London afbeen 

up to in the past years. 

“Let's get somewhere comfy 

to sit and talk,” he said. 

When I hear this, my heart 

skipped a beat as I thought of 

the impending parking 

charge. I had left the car at 

the Short Stay Park, but I was 

sure this would turn into a 

Long Stay Park. We headed to 

the lobby of the nearby 

Queens Hotel. “Bobo (he calls 

me this, for no apparent reason) 

you have shed a lot of 

weight. The last time I saw 

you; you were bigger than 

this.” 

“Yes. I know. It's no longer 

fashionable to be fat. You are 

not doing badly, you still retain 

your stature at your age," 

I replied. “Bobo, I could not 

have put on any weight at all. 

I have been through a lot in 

recent times. If I start the story, 

I won't finish it till tomorrow. 

But I thank God I am still 

standing.” 

We finally found a space at 

the lobby, and it was in here 

he unloaded all. He told me 

how life has been very good 

to him, had been moving 

from one level to another in 

his career, travel all over the 

world on speaking assignments, 

have properties in 

some choice cities of the 

world. I can see his pride. But 

behind all these, I could also 

see there was a hurt that he 

was trying (albeit unprofessionally) 

to hide. 

“Good for you, my friend. 

You are not doing badly,” I 

said. By his look and story, I 

knew he was not doing badly. 

You know there are some people 

you see and just conclude 

they are doing fine in life. 

Sometimes we judge by their 

appearances, clothing, and all 

the superfluous things. We often 

forget that as human beings 

we know how to cover up. 

As a result, it is most times 

possible for a man or woman 

to be in real pain and disguise 

without sharing this with 

friends or family members. 

My friend was not going to 

cover up. No. I am not that 

type of friend, he will cover up 

for. 

“Bobo, you know while 

growing up, we always tease 

each other on the type of wife 

we will marry.” 

“Please don't get to that 

again. You know I sure remember,” 

I answered him, 

while I recollected how we 

“dreamt” as kids. 

He continued: “Bobo while 

growing up I have always had 

an idea of the type of woman 

I wanted. I fantasised every 

day about my type of woman. 

Back in the days in the classroom, 

while classes were going 

on, I was always “weighing” 

my female classmates 

against the criteria I had 

drawn up in my head for my 

future wife. I had a clear picture 

of the type of wife I wanted.” 

“But you are married now, 

so what are all these got to do 

with the present,” I asked him. 

He ignored me and continued. 

“Bobo, growing up I wanted 

a woman who can read and 

write. I usually say to myself 

in my those days that a Primary 

School graduate will be 

okay for me, as long as she 

knows how to cook good 

food.” 

TO BE CONTINUED 

NEXT WEEK. 

Skill Acquisition: A time-honoured platform for combating insecurity 

Book Title: Handbook of Skill 

Acquisition Training and Empowerment 

Programmes (2nd 

Ed.) 

Author: Dr Benjamin Onoriode 

Irikefe 

Publisher: International Centre 

for Sustainable Development, 

Nigeria 

Year of Publication: 2018 

Pagination: 1074 

Reviewer: Professor Joseph 

OML 26 CDB empowers oil communities' indigenes 

By Ochuko Akuopha 

UCCOUR has come the 

Sway of 533 persons from 

35 oil bearing communities 

in 

Isoko North, Isoko South, 

Ughelli North and Ndokwa 

East local government areas, 

Delta State, as the 

Community Development 

Board, CDB, of the Oil 

Mining Lease, 26 presented 

them with empowerment 

items and grants worth 

millions of naira in its third 

edition of the capacity 

building programme for 

youths and women in the oil 

bloc. Items presented to the 

beneficiaries who are 

indigenes of communities in 

clusters one, two, three and 

four in the oil bloc, included 

deep freezers, gas cookers, 

sewing machines, welding 

machines, hair dryers, 

grinding machines, 

generators, hand mixers, 

washing machines,ladders for 

electrical work, laptops, 

printers, barbing saloon 

equipment, among others. 

Speaking at the presentation 

ceremony in Ozoro, 

Chairman, OML 26 CDB, 

Prince Johnson Akpomalue, 

said the programme was 

sponsored by NPDC/FHN26 

AMT, and "financed with all 

allocation from the OML 26 

2017/2018 and first half of 

2019 GMOU fund. 

Saying that the scheme was 

targeted at students in 

secondary and tertiary 

institutions, market women 

and artisans that had learnt 

various trades, he explained 

that 254 beneficiaries received 

starter packs, while 128 and 

151 went home with grants 

and market money 

respectively. 

On his part, the Manager, 

Community Affairs, AMT, 

NPDC, Mr. Blessyn Okpowo, 

thanked members of the CDB 

for the programme, saying, "l 

am overwhelmed because I 

can see transparency, honesty 

and hard work in action." 

There is the need to 

properly institutionalize 

the resettlement, 

rehabilitation and 

reconstruction of 

insurgency devastated 

territories and persons 

demic institutions should 

develop Vocation Specific 

Trades or MSMEs (Micro, 

Small and Medium Enterprises) 

out of the various Academic 

Curricula the students 

can get engaged in, 

after graduation. 

• Graduates Enskillment 

Programmes should be undertaken 

to help Graduates 

of Tertiary Institutions unlock 

their creative and vo- 

tion up to Post-Training Empowerment 

through institutional 

collaborations to lift 

MSMEs and Artisanal Training 

Outfits and Artisans. 

•Trainers should be proactive, 

accommodating and 

passionate when managing 

Trainees and also avoid the 

commoditization of Training 

Programmes. 

• Provision of Skill Acquisition 

Training is one of the 

time-honoured programmes 

that can be used to stem down 

the menace of global insecurity, 

pervasive poverty and 

destabilization of the international 

system. 

•Continuous provisions 

should be made to re-integrate 

and empower Ex-Militants, 

Civilian JTF (Joint Task 

Force) Members, De-radicalized 

Nigerian Repentant Ex- 

Boko Haram Operatives, 

IDPs and Nigerian Refugees 

to enable them lead self-reliant, 

productive and wholesome 

livelihoods. 

• There is the need to properly 

institutionalize the resettlement, 

rehabilitation and 

reconstruction of insurgency 

devastated territories and persons. 

•Sambisa Joint Development 

Territory (SJDT) should 

be developed using Public Private 

Partnership (PPP) Model 

to make the Sambisa Forest 

a security fort and economic 

powerhouse for Nigeria rather 

than leaving it to degenerate 

into a safe haven for terrorists 

and other criminal elements 

to ply their trades. 

Although the Second Edition 

of the book was unveiled 

at the highbrow Transcorp 

Hilton, Abuja on the 17th of 

July, 2019, the book was actually 

published on the 5th 

June, 2018. The formal unveiling 

was delayed due to the 

tight schedule of the author in 

several training and capacity 

building engagements. 

The agenda setting and revolutionary 

nature of the book 

has made both pundits and 

specialists alike, akin the author 

to the “Adam Smith of 

Nigeria.” It can be recalled 

that in 1776, a Scottish Economist 

and Moral Philosopher, 

Adam Smith published 

his book titled “An Inquiry 

into the Nature and Causes of 

the Wealth of Nations” generally 

referred to by its shortened 

title “The Wealth of Nations.” 

His work is the foundation 

of free market economy 

till date. 

On the whole, the Handbook 

of Skill Acquisition 


Programmes (2nd) has been 

adjudged by academics and 

subject matter specialists as a 

mentoring manual that can 

be used to foster peace, security 

and sustainable development 

in all climes. 

Chairman OML 

26 CDB, Prince 

Johnson 

Akpomalue 

(right), Manager, 

Community 

Affairs, AMT, 

NPDC, Mr. 

Blessyn Okpowo 

(left) and others, 

during the 

presentation of 

empowerment 

items to indigenes 

of oil producing 

ethnic 

nationalities.


ARMY VS POLICE 

Whereas investigations may have established links between criminal intent and the killing of three policemen by 

army personnel, an underlying factor exists. It is so crucial to be dismissed. 

Not considering it in dealing with the issue makes further bloodshed between the two security agencies 

inevitable. 

The important element is the absence of inter-agency harmony, which has made the security agencies the 

paradox of a house divided against itself. There is virtually no security agency that hadn't violently clashed with another, 

especially since 1999 when Nigeria retired from military dictatorship to democracy. 

The situation, which is a total negation of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution Section (25), is the least expected at a 

time Nigeria is gravely threatened by insecurity. 

That Section of the Constitution created the National Security Council which comprises heads of security agencies among 

others. One of the major casualties of the perennial clashes is esprit de corps, a principle that promotes team spirit among 

security operatives. 

Another one is internal security in the country, which only deteriorates more with the persistent rivalry among the agencies. 

This report presents the views of some retired top security operatives on how to promote inter-agency relationship. 

Proliferation of security 

agencies responsible 

for rivalry 

— Nwanguma, 

ex-NOPRIN boss 

• Average of two clashes yearly 

By Esther Onyegbula 

former Executive Director, Network 

A on Police Reforms in Nigeria, 

NOPRIN, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, 

blames the Federal Government for the 

recurrence of conflict among security 

agencies, saying many were created to 

perform the duties of the police. Among 

other issues, he says that no security agency 

is superior to another. 

This is not the first time the police 

and soldiers are clashing. What is 

responsible? 

The main causes of rivalry and conflicts 

between security agencies in Nigeria are the 

needless proliferation of security agencies, 

the duplication of security and law 

enforcement duties, powers and functions 

and overlapping of functions with no clear 

demarcation of operating boundaries. 

Although all the security agencies are 

involved, rivalry and conflicts have been 

more pronounced between the militaryparticularly 

the Army- and the police. There 

is an arrogant but deluded perception by the 

Army of its superiority. 

Denials, blames and counterblames 

Between 2005 and 2019, there were 

recurrent cases of reprisal attacks by the 

Army and, on a few occasions, the navy 

attacked the police with an average of two 

cases recorded each year between 2005 and 

2019 with the recent happening Ogun State. 

This is usually followed by denials, blames 

and counter-blames with each side pushing 

different narratives. 

In October 2005, soldiers from Abalti 

Barracks in Ojuelegba unleashed a reprisal 

attack on police officers, burning down 

buildings while over 50 vehicles were 

damaged. At least, there were three fatalities 

at the Area ‘C’ Police Command 

Headquarters, Ojuelegba. This was 

triggered by an alleged assault on a senior 

army officer by police officers protesting 

1. October 2005, soldiers from Abalti 

Barracks in Ojuelegba, in a reprisal attack 

on police officers, burn down buildings 

while over 50 vehicles are damaged 

2. In May 2011, soldiers from 242 Recce 

Battalion, Ibereko Barracks, Badagry 

launch reprisal attack on police officers 

attached to Badagry Police Division, killing 

the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, 

Divisional DCO, and about eight other 

officers in retaliation for the shooting of an 

Army officer by some police officers at a 

checkpoint. 

3. In February 2016, Army officers storm 

Railway Police Station, Umuahia in a 

reprisal attack, following the arrest of an 

Army captain for an alleged traffic offence. 

•Okechukwu Nwanguma 

‘interference’ earlier by two army officers 

who resisted their attempt to extort money 

from a driver of a commercial bus in which 

they were passengers. 

Shot dead in cold blood 

In May 2011, soldiers from 242 Recce 

Battalion, Ibereko Barracks, Badagry 

launched reprisal attacks on police officers 

attached to Badagry Police Division killing 

the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, 

Divisional DCO, and about eight other 

officers in retaliation to the shooting of an 

army officer by some police officers at a 

checkpoint. The DPO, leading the DCO and 

other officers, was on his way on a peace 

mission to the Army headquarters on the 

invitation of the Army Commander when 

they were ambushed by some Army officers 

4. In October 2016, police and soldiers 

clash in Ebonyi State following a request by 

police officers on road check to Army 

officers from Nkwagu Military Cantonment 

in a bus to present their identity cards and 

vehicle particulars. 

5. In March 2017, clash is averted as 

soldiers invade a Lagos police station. The 

soldiers are reported to have invaded 

Alakara Police Station in a bid to release the 

mother of one of their colleagues detained 

at the station. 

6. In April 2017, there is a bloody clash 

between soldiers and police in Yobe State, 

leaving one soldier and three police dead. 

An army officer is said to have run into the 

convoy of the head of the police mobile unit 

in Damaturu and gets beaten up. Army 

and shot dead in cold blood. There was no 

consequence. 

The list is endless. In February 2016, Army 

officers stormed the Railway Police Station, 

Umuahia in a reprisal attack following the 

arrest of an Army Captain for an alleged 

traffic offence. 

Police and soldiers clashed in Ebonyi 

State in October 2016 following a request 

by police officers on road check to Army 

officers from Nkwagu Military Cantonment 

in a bus to present their identity cards and 

vehicle particulars. 

In March 2017, there was a report of a 

clash that was averted after soldiers invaded 

a Lagos police station. Some soldiers were 

reported to have invaded Alakara Police 

Station in a bid to release the mother of one 

of their colleagues detained at the station. 

In April 2017, there was a bloody clash 

between the Army and the police in Yobe 

State leaving one soldier and three 

policemen dead. An Army officer was said 

to have run into the convoy of the head of 

the police mobile unit in Damaturu and got 

beaten up. Army officers went to the station 

on reprisal mission and seized the Mopol 

Commander. 

In June 2018, there was yet another clash 

between soldiers and police in Aba, Abia 

State resulting in the killing of three 

persons. 

In Calabar, on May 29, 2017, several 

police officers were reportedly killed after a 

night attack by suspected officials of the 

Nigerian Navy. The police station was 

burnt. This, according to reports, followed a 

skirmish between a police traffic officer and 

a naval officer near Calabar stadium. 

In March 2019, there was tension as 

police and soldiers clashed in Rivers State 

following an alleged attack on Army 

officers by policemen accompanying 

Governor Nyesom Wike. 

In the past one week alone, we have read 

disturbing news of attacks on police officers 

by Army officers with the one that just 

happened in Taraba State being the latest 

and will certainly not be the last unless 

something urgent is done to address the 

TIMELINE OF ARMY/POLICE CONFLICT 

officers go to the station on a reprisal and 

seize the Mopol commander. 

7. In June 2018, there is a clash between 

soldiers and police in Aba, Abia State 

resulting in the killing of three persons. 

8. In Calabar on May 29, 2017, several 

police officers are reportedly killed after a 

night attack by suspected officials of the 

Nigerian Navy. The police station is burnt. 

This, according to reports, follows a 

skirmish between a police traffic officer and 

a naval officer near the Calabar stadium. 

9. In March 2019, there is tension as 

police and soldiers clash in Rivers State 

following an alleged attack on Army 

officers by policemen accompanying 

Governor Nyesom Wike. 

• SOURCE: NOPRIN 

underlining factors feeding the rivalry and 

conflicts. 

During training, how were the 

officers trained on how to relate with 

other agencies? 

I believe that each agency has its training 

curriculum and manual which emphasise 

professional duties and conduct including 

human relations. Although training and 

retaining security and law enforcement 

agencies are key to professional conduct 

and effectiveness, I doubt if the problem of 

rivalry can be located in training. 

I rather think it is the confusion created by 

government when it created multiple 

agencies to perform the same functions with 

some crossing their operational boundaries 

and some feeling that they are superior. The 

police are the primary agency created by 

law to deal with internal security problems. 

Their training prepares them for this role. 

The Army is not trained to deal with internal 

security issues although they can be called 

in to assist in exceptional situations. And 

their intervention is usually temporary and 

limited. It is the failure by government to 

adequately fund and equip the police to 

effectively discharge their constitutional 

functions but instead choosing to deploy the 

military to permanently assume the 

functions of the police, thereby 

marginalizing and neglecting the police. 

Besides the military, government creates 

agencies which play the role that the police 

are charged with. 

Are you saying that duplication of 

agencies is also responsible? 

They dissipate scarce resources which 

could have been given to the police. There is 

the need to harmonise the functions and 

operations of all the agencies performing 

policing and internal security functions in 

Nigeria with a view to determining those 

that should be merged with the police, 

delineating functions where merger is not a 

feasible option and working out, from 

leadership to operational levels, 

rearrangements to coordinate activities that 

will ensure that resources are properly 

shared. There is a need for inter-agency 

cooperation in planning and executing 

safety and security functions. 

Is there an order of seniority 

among the army, police and 

paramilitary agencies? 

There is no such order of seniority. Every 

agency has its functions and powers clearly 

defined in its establishment law. They ought 

to work in synergy towards achieving the 

ultimate goal of national security, stability 

and development. 

Petty jealousy, envy 

responsible for rivalry 

— AIG Aisabor (ret.) 

By Evelyn Usman 

retired Assistant Inspector General, 

A AIG, of Police, Ambrose Aisabor, says 

so long as there is no proper sharing of 

information among security agencies, rivalry 

would remain a regular occurrence. 

The retired top police officer, who spoke in 

a chat with Sunday Vanguard, noted that there 

has never been inter-agency harmony among 

the various security agencies in the country. 

Particularly, he outlined petty jealousy, envy, 

sycophancy, and blackmail as factors fueling 

supremacy battle among the agencies. 

To address the problem, he called for joint 

training among the agencies, regular 

workshops, seminars and revival of interagency 

sporting competitions. 

His words: “There is no sharing of 

information among security agencies. What 

we have is inter-agency rivalry, petty jealousy, 

envy, sycophancy, blackmail and supremacy 

battle. 

‘’There should be joint training among the 

junior ranks of the forces, regular workshops, 

seminars, and revival of sporting competitions 

among security agencies. 

“It is time to equip the police adequately as 

they are supposed to be the lead agency in the 

internal security of the country. 

“We fought a civil war for three years, but 

Boko Haram has taken more than 10 years 

and there is no end in sight. This fight against 

Boko Haram should be the concern of all 

security agencies now, not petty rivalry. 

‘’It is not impossible that some security men 

are on the payroll of kidnappers. The 

manner the officers were ambushed showed 

that there is the possibility that security officers 

are working with kidnappers in the country. 

‘’There should be a judicial commission of 

inquiry to unravel the riddle in the face-off. As 

far as the inter-agency rivalry among security 

forces in the country continues, there will 

always be a face-off among the various forces. 

“There has never been inter-agency 

relationship among the security agencies in 

Nigeria and there might not be any in the 

future.’


BY Charles Kumolu, 

Deputy Editor 

Aretired Police Commissioner, 

who served in Lagos State 

among others, Abubakar Tsav, in 

this interview, traces the rivalry between 

the Army and police to military rule, 

saying the powers of the police were 

appropriated by the military after the 

January 15, 1966 coup. He also offers 

solutions to the age-long bitterness 

between the two security agencies. 

The recent killing of three 

policemen by soldiers was not the 

first time members of the two 

security agencies were clashing. 

What is the problem between the 

police and the Army? 

These agencies are working for the 

success of the same government but 

there is rivalry among them. Each unit 

feels it is better than another unit. The 

Army thinks it is superior to the police. 

The police also feel they are superior to 

the Army. Before January 15, 1966, 

coup, which was the beginning of 

military incursion into politics, the 

police had more authority than soldiers. 

I joined the police before the first 

military coup and soldiers were taking 

instructions from the police. Whenever 

anything happened, they came to the 

police because we had more authority 

under the law and we had more 

responsibilities. Suddenly, when the 

military toppled the government of the 

federation, they divested the police of 

all its powers and arrogated it to 

themselves. It was from that moment 

that they started intimidating the 

police. No matter anybody’s rank in the 

police, the military men think they are 

superior to that person. Sometimes, 

female military officers do not even 

give compliments to a senior police 

officer. That was not the case when I 

joined the police. 

Having traced the origin of the 

crisis to the military incursion in 

politics, how can its recurrence be 

stopped? 

All the forces should unite and achieve 

common goals. If there is no law 

uniting all the forces, it is high time the 

National Assembly enacted a law so 

that there would no longer be rivalries. 

What we have is like a situation where 

so many wives are married to one man, 

with each one trying to please the man 

so that the man would see the other 

wives as bad. In some local areas, 

military personnel call policemen 

women who are not capable of 

Military rule brought 

rivalry between 

police and Army 

—Ex-Police Commissioner Tsav 

• ‘Soldiers not superior to police’ 

•Abubakar 

Tsav 

performing their duties. They even get 

honour and respect more than the 

police. If the police arrive anywhere the 

military mounted a roadblock, the 

Army personnel should give the police 

the right of way as soon as they identify 

themselves. The military is also to assist 

the police when they are in trouble 

without seeking any clearance but it is 

not so in Nigeria. Corruption is one of 

the reasons responsible. 

Can you explain the relationship 

between corruption 

and the rivalry 

between the police and 

the Army? 

When the police are 

doing their job and there 

is a need for the military 

to come in, the police 

would think the military 

would stop them from 

taking bribes. Similarly, 

whenever soldiers take 

over the job of the police, 

they claim to be superior 

to the police. The National 

Assembly should make a 

law to strengthen areas of 

cooperation among all 

our security agencies. 

They all should be 

accorded respect 

according to their ranks. 

The impression of the 

public is that the Army occupies the 

top in the pyramid of security 

agencies. Is there any law that says 

the Army is higher than any other 

security agency? 

This problem started when the Army 

took over in 1966, they arrogated 

powers to themselves and felt they 

were superior in every aspect. That is 

why sometimes they arrest people and 

detain them, which ordinarily is the 

duty of the police. No law made the 

military superior to the police. In areas 

of operation, when the police feel they 

cannot carry out an assignment, they 

write to the military asking to be 

assisted. When they take over the 

situation, the police would now be 

advising them about the task. 

Unfortunately, every agency thinks it is 

superior to others. 

What do you make of the claim 

that the police abdicated their 

responsibilities for petty 

pecuniary reasons and indirectly 

paved the way for soldiers to take 

over their place in the society? 

It is not true. Even with the military 

incursion into politics, the police still 

followed due process in carrying out 

their functions. The police arrest, 

investigate and charge cases to court 

but soldiers assault people as soon as 

they arrest them. They introduced 

instant justice and people thought it was 

the right thing to do. That kind of 

situation made many Nigerians to 

believe more in the military. During the 

civil war, soldiers did whatever they 

liked and officers could not correct 

them. They still have the mentality to 

date. It is an unfortunate situation. 

When the proliferation of arms was just 

starting, we told 

the police to 

perform their 

duties but 

This problem 

started when the 

Army took over 

in 1966, they 

arrogated 

powers to 

themselves and 

felt they were 

superior in 

every aspect 

nothing was 

done. Today, there 

are many arms in 

wrong hands. At 

the time, we knew 

certain 

politicians who 

were arming 

youths and we 

gave instructions 

but nobody 

listened. The 

Commissioners of 

Police were loyal 

to governors. So 

they could not do 

anything. It is the 

failure of the 

police to stop the 

proliferation of arms that made most 

places unsafe. When I was an Inspector 

of Police in Lagos, one Emmanuel 

Olawale was the Commissioner of 

Police. The man was not educated but 

he was a good officer. At the time, he 

could mark out an area and ask the 

police to search the houses and we did 

that and were able to reduce crime in 

Lagos. Now, people are more interested 

in money for the acquisition of 

properties which they would die and 

leave behind. 

COL LABO (RET.): 

Deploying soldiers 

for Internal Security 

duties in 32 states is 

recipe for tragedy 

By Chris Onuoha 

Retired Colonel Stan Labo speaks 

on the Army, police exchange over 

the killing of three policemen in 

Taraba State, saying the deployment of 

soldiers for internal security duties that 

ordinarily are the exclusive preserve of 

the police can sometimes be 

problematic. 

The Taraba Army - police exchange was, 

to me, a clear failure in Operational 

Coordination and Cooperation without 

compromising Operation Security 

(OPSEC). Fine, it was a covert operation 

but that does not negate the need for 

some level of info sharing. This becomes 

highly necessary because both services 

share same operational space. In sharing 

info, the police insist they notified the 

soldiers at the road blocks. This is rather 

a wrong procedure. The police could have 

spoken to the Military Command and not 

some foot soldiers at road blocks. If the 

Command had been duly informed, that 

Capt who is been alleged to be 

protecting his kidnaperfriend 

wouldn’t have 

exercised the latitude of 

initiative and 

discretion he 

displayed in 

ordering the third 

check point to 

stop the vehicle. 

As worrisome 

as it may sound, 

the reality on 

ground today is 

that the military 

is fully involved 

in Internal 

Security duties 

which is 

outright a 

preserve of the 

police. Due to 

obvious reasons of manpower deficit in 

the police, the FG is left with no option 

than pulling out the military for police 

duties. This abnormal operational 

engagement sometimes comes with dire 

consequences as seen in the Taraba 

situation. The training concept of the 

Army differs from that of the police. While 

the soldiers’ training concept is ‘Shoot To 

Kill’, that of the police is ‘Shoot To Maim 

f o r Prosecution’. So when you 

now deploy a soldier in 

police role 

operations theatre, 

he becomes a misfit 

because his 

training is to 

engage all 

external 

aggression and 

eliminate them. 

He has no business 

with prosecution. 

He is a good 

shooter or soldier 

only when the 

perceived enemy or 

threat is 

satisfactorily 

eliminated. 

Not when the 

threat is 

barely 

demobilized. 

That 

probably 

accounts for 

why the three 

police men 

who were 

assumed to 

•Stan-Labo be 

kidnappers 

lost their 

lives. 

Obviously 

the soldier’s operational orientation 

would require some re-caliberated if he 

must be deployed on Internal Security 

operations. However, on-going 

investigations would unravel the true 

position of things. Let me quickly add that 

the Terms of Reference for this 

investigation should be robust enough to 

give us answers to the many questions on 

the table. 

The handling of the matter by both 

services could have been better managed. 

The serial release of bulletins upon 

bulletins to counter or refute allegations 

that we saw was rather uncalled for. I 

seriously feel that some background 

discussions leading to decisions by the top 

echelon of both services could have been 

the proper thing to do. Consequently, a 

joint press statement would then be issued 

on the way forward to the media/public. 

IS duties 

Moving forward, I will advise that the 

FG takes deliberate steps in beefing up 

the strength of the police with a view to 

committing less of the military in Internal 

Security (IS) duties. The military is 

currently engaged in about 32 States on 

IS duties. This is against the backdrop of 

severe strength deficit in the North-East. 

Presently on ground, our Force 

Generation effort in meeting this huge 

manpower deficit does not reflect the 

required urgency. Out of the box thinking 

in addressing the issue is required. What 

for instance stops us from recalling the 

able bodied ones on our reserve list? With 

mouth watering incentives we could mopup 

a reasonable strength, avail them 6 

weeks training and get them commit to a 

brief 3-5 years contract. This is a short 

term approach to the problem. In the 

long run, we could expand on our 

facilities on ground to accommodate 

large number of recruits.


By Emma Nnadozie, 

Crime Editor 

Aretired Commissioner of 

Police, Frank Odita and Chief 

Executive Officer of Frankcom 

Securities, in this interview, bares 

his mind on how to achieve synergy 

among security forces in the 

country. 

What is responsible for the 

perennial clashes between the 

Police and Army? 

I am talking as a security expert, 

not as a police officer. It simply 

shows lack of synergy and esprit de 

corps between security services in 

Nigeria. One cannot hide the fact 

that the Nigeria Police Force is the 

only organisation that is solely 

charged with internal security 

operations in Nigeria. Any other 

force that is doing what policemen 

are doing is merely performing the 

functions of the police. Every 

security agency wants to show that it 

is doing better than the others 

Nigeria. 

Case of conspiracy 

Without prejudice to what the 

investigation might produce, what 

happened in Taraba was 

collaboration with criminals to make 

nonsense of the activities of the 

Police Force in the state. The 

evidence that came to us clearly 

states that the policemen came all 

the way from Abuja. They reported 

to the headquarters at Abuja, they 

also reported at the Command 

Headquarters, before proceeding to 

arrest the criminal whom they 

No synergy among 

security agencies 

–Odita, retired CP 

Frank Odita 

arrested. If the story of the police 

was true as it was said, I want to say 

that an unnecessary and avoidable 

murder was committed, and I do not 

see why our men, should be 

collaborating with criminals, and 

make nonsense of the police force. 

On DSS 

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, 

and heads of other agencies are 

expected to work in collaboration. 

For example, the Directorate of State 

Services, DSS, is supposed to be 

working in collaboration with the 

police. Their job is to get security 

information and feed the police with 

such information, but what we see 

now is that the DSS is carrying out 

arrests and making themselves seen 

and heard. They are like the CIA in 

America. You don’t hear that the CIA 

arrests someone and takes the 

person to court. They carry out their 

investigation and pass to the police 

who make the arrest and send 

suspects to court. 

Military too 

Sadly in Nigeria, the Army arrests 

people, when the constitution clearly 

declared that anyone, who arrests a 

suspect is a private person, and 

such private person must hand over 

the suspect to the police. When 

other people do what the police are 

supposed to do, they are carrying 

out a function outside their domain, 

and because nobody is saying 

anything about it, people have 

accepted as a norm. For instance, 

immigration has its laws. The same 

thing applies to customs. If the 

customs arrests a suspect outside its 

jurisdiction, the suspect must be 

handed over to the police. 

Everybody, including citizens who 

see a criminal, has a right to arrest a 

criminal, but the law expects you to 

hand over such person to a police 

officer. Why would somebody stop 

police officers from doing their jobs? 

Soldiers on the highways 

I do not have a problem with them 

being on the highway, but we 

should stop stationing them alone 

on the highway. There should be a 

joint operation between them and 

the police, because, the road is the 

area of operation of the police. Every 

road is within the division of the 

Nigerian police. There is a 

Divisional Police Officer in charge of 

that division. I do not subscribe to 

the idea of having soldiers who are 

performing internal security duties 

not accompanied by the police. If 

the police require superior 

firepower, soldiers can come in, but 

if you leave soldiers alone at the 

roadblocks, they can do what they 

like because soldiers are trained to 

fight wars. 

Changing arche 

hetypal medical education 

system em for transf 

ansformational health care 

• Case for Specialised Medical Universities 

By Prof Friday Okonofua 

Continued from last week 

Distinguished Guests, Ladies, 

and Gentlemen, the purposes of 

this memorial lecture are to first 

identify the major challenges in the 

delivery of comprehensive and high 

quality health care services; and next 

share my firsthand experience of 

developing a non-traditional health 

*Okonofua 

sciences educational curriculum at 

UNIMED to address these challenges. 

In Nigeria, changing established 

dogmas and doctrines concerning the 

training of healthcare professionals is 

daunting and certainly not a tea party. 

As such, I will highlight in this 

presentation some of the difficulties 

experienced in this process, and also 

share what we have done to confront 

these challenges. 

Challenges within the Nigeria’s 

Health Care Delivery System 

It is now well known that Nigeria has 

one of the most difficult and obstinate 

health care systems in the world. Not 

only does the country have extremely 

high rates of communicable and noncommunicable 

diseases, but it also has 

some of the highest disease-related 

morbidity and mortality in the world. 

In 2001, the Health and Development 

Dialogue (Health Development 

Dialogue, 2001) described the 

Nigerian health care systems as “sick, 

very sick and in urgent need of 

intensive care¨. It is blind, lacking the 

vision of its goals and strategies; it is 

deaf, failing to respond to the cries of 

the sick and the dying; and it is 

impotent, seemingly incapable of 

doing things its neighboring states 

have mastered.¨ 

Similarly, the World Health 

Organization summary index of 

performance of health systems released 

in 2000, placed Nigeria in the 187th 

position out of 191 countries surveyed, 

and described it as “dysfunctional, 

ineffective, under-capitalized, costly, 

and inaccessible.” (WHO, 2000). Since 

these periods, nothing substantial has 

changed. Our healthcare challenges 

continue to be compounded by the 

absence of a coherent national health 

policy and health reform agenda, 

inadequate healthcare financing 

mechanisms and the lack of a political 

will for addressing the problems of illhealth 

and poverty in the country. 

Not only are the numbers of 

healthcare professionals in the country 

clearly inadequate, but we are yet to 

chart a clear vision for the nation’s 

healthcare system. The challenges 

within the Nigerian 

healthcare system are too 

many to enumerate here, 

because of time 

limitation, but a short list 

will underscore the scope 

of the problem. The 

challenges include the 

following: 

1. Shortage and uneven 

distribution of manpower 

2. Disproportionate on 

cure of disease at the 

expense of preventive 

care 

3. Limited physical 

infrastructures and 

inequities in healthcare 

delivery 

4. Inadequate funding 

of healthcare 

5. High cost of medical 

equipment and 

pharmaceutical products 

6. Delay in the 

implementation of the 

national healthcare 

insurance scheme 

The present 

state of our 

healthcare 

system 

appears to 

repeatedly fail 

many 

Nigerians at 

the critical 

period when it 

matters most 

7. Endemic corruption within the 

system 

8. Incessant labor strikes and interprofessional 

conflicts 

9. Poorly developed emergency 

response system and 

10. Ineffective leadership at the 

Health Ministry 

These challenges are too familiar, but 

they can be overcome with the right 

leadership and implementation of a 

dynamic medical education 

curriculum that is responsive to the 

problems within our healthcare system. 

The first medical school in Nigeria was 

established in 1948 at the University 

College, Ibadan, and it adopted the 

University of London medical 

curriculum, which subsequently was 

transplanted to the other newly 

created medical schools. For over six 

decades, no concerted effort has been 

made to align the contents of our 

medical curriculum with 

emerging global standards 

despite appeals from 

several quarters. 

Meanwhile, our healthcare 

system continues to 

crumble. 

Unfortunately, healthcare 

professionals in Nigeria 

must share part of the blame 

for the failure to propel our 

healthcare system forward 

in dynamic ways to ensure 

sustainability, intra-andinterprofessional 

cohesion, 

commitment and increased 

funding for the health 

sector. Healthcare 

professionals in Nigeria 

usually think mostly of 

themselves and the benefits 

that may accrue to them 

rather than the broader and 

more comprehensive ways 

that will systematically 

improve the health sector. 

The failure to teach

By Sam Eyoboka 

16-year-old Master Esigbone Omag 

A bemi Ferdinard of Roshallom International 

Secondary School, Egbeda, Lagos who 

came third in the Mike Okonkwo National 

Essay Competition for Secondary School students 

in Nigeria last year, has emerged the 

overall winner in the 2019 edition of the competition 

having scored a total average of 68 

per cent. 

A statement signed by the Group Manager, 

Operations of The Redeemed Evangelical 

Mission, TREM., Rev. (Mrs.) Oluwayomi Uteh 

said the second position went to Oluwaseun 

Esther Aremu of Shepherd International College, 

Ado-Ekiti with an average score of 61 

per cent, while Adeola Ademuwa Ifeola from 

Chrisfield College, Itamaga, Ikorodu came 

third with 60 per cent. 

The fourth position was a tie, with West Tamunonye 

also of Christfield College, Itamaga, 

Ikorodu, and Anazia Rita from Roshallom 

International School with a total average 

score of 56 per cent. 

Announcing the 2019 results, the Chief Examiner, 

Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo disclosed that a 

total of 612 entries were received, representing 

a drop of about 28 per cent compared to 

848 that were received and assessed last year. 

According to the chief examiner, “the drop 

arises in part from new management strategies 

introduced by the organisers to ensure 

that only credible entries are sent in for assessment. 

Based on the positive feedback and 

to further the institutionalization of the Bishop 

Mike Okonkwo Lecture Series, we urge 

the organisers to put the winning entries in a 

book form, as had been done to the adult ver- 

The Voice of the Lord 

Contact Address: 

The Sword of the Spirit Ministries, 

The Garden of Victory,Old Ife Road,P.M.B 60, 

Agodi-Ibadan,Oyo State 

Telephones: 

0813 128 4001, 08186991467 

Email: ootpbsotsm@gmail.com 

& info@sotsm.org 

Website:www.sotsm.org 

facebook.com/franciswaleoke 

Twitter:@franciswaleoke 

Instagram:@franciswaleoke 

Discipline for destiny fulfillment 

But I keep under my body, and 

bring it into subjection: lest that 

by any means, when I have 

preached to others, I myself should be a 

castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27). 

An individual that shall fulfill destiny 

must be purpose-driven. You must have 

a clear picture of the plan of God for your 

life, and drive for its accomplishment with 

strong passion and singular focus. This 

was the way Apostle Paul lived. 

But we see from the scriptures that Paul 

could fulfill destiny, not just because he 

was purpose-driven but because he undergirded 

himself with holiness and strict 

discipline. 

He lived a holy life, and would not mess 

with sin at all. He knew that sin is a 

destiny destroyer. He therefore presented 

his body “as a living sacrifice, holy 

and acceptable to the Lord ” (Rom. 12:1). 

sam.eyoboka@gmail.com 

08023145567 (sms 

Don advocates introduction of internet 

usage in secondary schools 

....as winners of Mike Okonkwo Essay Competition emerge 

(L-R) Miss Aremu Esther Oluwaseun, Master Esigbone Omagbemi Ferdinard, Miss 

Anazia Rita, Master Olaitan Olajuwon, Dr. Patric Oloko, Master West Tamunoye, Master 

Adeola Ademuwa Ifeoluwa and Miss Ajayi Ibukun. 

BISHOP WALE OKE 

sion of lectures, in order to make the materials 

more portable and accessible to teachers 

and students. 

“Such a compilation will build capacity and 

prepare students for a more viable participation 

in future competitions. More importantly, 

it will be a unique addition to curriculum 

materials. We assure you that our winning essays 

are original materials from gifted students 

that can function adequately as teaching 

materials,” she maintained, postulating 

that the teaching of responsible internet usage 

in secondary school curriculum has become 

very paramount and of necessity. 

“The fact that almost any material is available 

and accessible via a click makes a compelling 

case for us to introduce the teaching 

of responsible Internet usage in the secondary 

school curriculum. We recommend a review 

and expansion of the syllabus of a subject like 

civic education to include teaching students 

to understand that plagiarism violates Intellectual 

Property (IP) rights, and that referencing 

the literatures they consult as they make 

their points is a key aspect of their academic 

development.” 

Topic of this year’s essay was: “Justice as an 

Instrument of Enduring Peace in Nation building”, 

while the second round topic was ”Entrenching 

Tolerance as Solution to Nigeria’s 

Ethnic and Religious Crises.“ 

For coming top in this year’s competition, 

Master Esigbone Omagbemi Ferdinard will 

get a cheque of N100,000, a personal Laptop, 

a trophy, a plaque, while his school gets three 

sets of Computer and a printer. Miss Oluwaseun 

Esther Aremu who came second will go 

home with N75,000, a plaque and the school 

will get two sets of computers and a printer. 

This made the enemy to have nothing to use 

to destroy him in his pursuit of the purpose 

of God for his life. Yes, he was distressed, 

cast down, but was never defeated nor destroyed 

because he kept sin out of his life. 

He also lived a disciplined life. He brought 

his body under subjection. He was not going 

to allow his body to dictate to him what 

to do, or to hijack him in any way. He lived 

a life of strict discipline and proper order and 

he reached his God-given goal. 

Do you want to fulfill your glorious destiny? 

Then be like Paul. Live a life of purpose, 

walk in holiness and be disciplined. 

Purpose. Holiness. Discipline. They are the 

keys to destiny fulfillment. 

The Lord will help you in your journey to 

prominence. You will reach your goal. 

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, 

without which no man shall see the Lord: 

(Hebrews 12:14) 


For emerging the third position, Master Adeola 

Ademuwa Ifeola will go home with N50,000, 

a plaque and the school gets a Computer set. 

The other winners will get a consolation price 

of N20,000. 

The prizes will be presented at this year’s 

Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, at the Shell 

Is your life on the wrong trajectory? (1) 

•Ighodalo 

And when he was full forty years old, 

it came into his heart to visit his 

brethren the children of Israel. And 

seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended 

him, and avenged him that was oppressed, 

and smote the Egyptian: For he 

supposed his brethren would have understood 

how that God by his hand would deliver 

them: but they understood not. Acts 7: 23- 

25 KJV 

I was speaking at a wedding yesterday and 

I spoke on “your life is not your idea”. Basically, 

the life you live is an idea of the one who 

created you; the one who created the life you 

live. Your life is not a mistake; before you were 

born he already knew you. He created you 

and decided into which womb you would 

grow. 

Number one is that our life is not our idea; 

number two, our life has a purpose. God has a 

program for our life. Moses never thought, 

neither did he imagine it, that he would still 

be keeping a small flock at the age of 80 years. 

At the age of 40 years Moses knew he was 

born to do great thing; he was born to be the 

one to deliver his people from slavery. However, 

the program of his life went wrong the 

day he decided that he would take law into his 

own hands and do things his own way. He 

Hall Muson Center, Lagos, on September 5, 

2019. The theme for this year’s lecture is “Justice 

as an Instrument of Enduring Peace in 

Nation Building”. The occasion will be chaired 

by Chief Folake Solanke (SAN) while the lecture 

will be delivered by Barrister Femi Falana 

(SAN). 

Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition 

was initiated in the year 2004, as part of 

activities to celebrate the birthday of the Presiding 

Bishop of TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo 

(MFR) and more importantly to contribute 

to the development of the Educational Sector. 

Dr. Okonkwo has continued in this gesture 

for 16 years, using his God-given talent, 

strength and resources to be a blessing to the 

younger generation in the pursuit of academic 

excellence by encouraging them to cultivate 

the habit of reading and writing effectively. 

This man of God, who believes in absolute 

development of mankind in all facet of 

life, has used the institutionalization of Mike 

Okonkwo National Essay Competition to 

achieve this dream and desire. He is confident 

that Nigerian youths can compete favourably 

with their counterparts in developed nations. 

Yoruba Church to Buhari: Engage Nigerian youths if.... 

By Sam Eyoboka 

HE first Yoruba-speaking church in La 

Tgos, the Ereko Methodist Cathedral has 

called on President Muhammadu Buhari and 

all Chief Executive Officers of the 36 states of 

Nigeria to urgently fashion economic programmers 

that will adequately accommodate 

Nigerian youths in productive ventures or risk 

imminent revolution. 

Addressing newsmen at the Archbishop Soremekun 

Hall on Broad Street, Lagos, on activities 

to mark its 150th anniversary which has 

been flagged off on June 30 and will run till 

November 24, 2019, the Chairman of the anniversary 

committee, Prof. Tola Atinmo 

averred that Ereko Methodist Cathedral is 

highly concerned about the development and 

future of the youths of the country. 

“The sea of able-bodied young men and 

women roaming about aimlessly on our streets 

is a time bomb waiting to explode,” the anniversary 

committee chairman lamented, contending 

that unless urgent steps were taken to 

alleviate the sufferings of the nation’s youth 

there would be a serious crisis very soon. 

According to him, such interventions 

“should be handled with total responsibility, 

commitment and the fear of God in order to 

function efficiently and effectively. I implore 

all of us of the Christian faith to do more in 

terms of youth employment and empowerment 

in order to safeguard the future of our 

faith and that of our dear nation, Nigeria.” 

Apart from evangelism among market 

women in the predominantly market environment 

in the mother tongue, he argued that 

the Ereko Church was established essentially 

to promote the speaking of the language 

among the families, stressing that a very important 

tool that was employed and that assured 

was the use of their mother tongue. 

“It has been affirmed that a core marker of 

our ide tith is our language. Our most intimate 

thoughts, our heartfelt feelings, our most 

touching and life-changing experiences, our 

deeply-felt expressions of appreciation and 

praise are culture and language based. 

Environment, not a limiting factor for youths 

By Elizabeth Uwandu 

ATHER than wallow in regrets, depres 

Rsion and the urge to leave the county, 

Nigerian youths have been called upon to seek 

avenues to improve their worth through the 

acquisition of creative skills. 

This was the consensus of speakers at a weeklong 

impact-training recently organized by Assemblies 

of God Church, speakers in Lagos 

for teenagers, tagged, “Beyond limits of the 

youths.” 

Explaining reasons for the programme, one 

organizers, Elder Samson Akunna, said the 

event was designed to encourage, mentor and 

create platforms for youths from less developed 

communities who see their environment 

as limiting factors to their success. 

According to him, the event looked beyond 

such limitations and assisted the youths to develop 

skills and expertise that would make 

them useful and relevant in the society. 

Stating further, Akunna said: “Many youths 

from areas such as Orile, Ajegunle and such 

suburban areas do not believe that they can 

be great. It was on this note, we brought young 

people that included Eze George, Hadji 

Kwame, Samuel Mensah, Chinelo Ujubuonu, 

Shola Animashaun, Mide Tijani, Idris Olalekan, 

who are making impact locally to inspire 

the youths. 

“The youths had motivational sessions, vocational/artisan 

sessions, one-on-one counseling 

sessions, internship opportunities, and 

empowerment packages. 

“We believe that if youths from less developed 

communities are positively engaged, 

they will see beyond their environment. This 

will, in turn, reduce the spate of social vices, 

depression and the urge to leave the country 

through fraudulent means for greener pasture,” 

he said. 

thought that the Israelis would know that he 

was their deliverer but when he tried to intervene 

in a fight between his brothers he got the 

shock of his life. What he had done a couple 

of days prior was not hidden, but the Israelis 

made him realize that what he thought he 

had done was known. 

Moses who was brought up as an Egyptian 

became the enemy of both the Egyptians and 

the Israelis. He had nowhere to stand and so 

he had to flee and run into the desert. Like 

Moses a lot of us make that one mistake that 

changes the course of our life. We are like 

Moses finding ourselves in the desert and not 

being able to find our way out of the downhill 

slide our life is moving towards. 

At the age of 80 years it had not ended for 

Moses. Therefore, it has not ended for you. 

Acts 7:22-36. God’s promise to Abraham was 

that Israel will be in Egypt 400 years but just 

at the time that the promise was to be fulfilled 

Moses made a mistake and the time 

was delayed another 30 years. 

Although Moses saw himself and understood 

the times, the children of Israel his 

brethren did not. Therefore, they who Moses 

was supposed to lead out of captivity turned 

against him. 

David did the same when he committed 

adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah 

the Hitite. That one small challenge brought 

a problem into his family that didn’t depart 

from it even after his death. Therefore, some 

of us grow us to inherit the result of the mistakes 

our parents made. 

To be continued next week 

*Ituah Ighodalo is the Senior Pastor, 

Trinity House, Trinity Avenue, Off Ligali 

Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. 

+234-808-895-6162 

info@trinityhouseng.org


True freedom through Jesus Christ(2) 

By Pastor William F. 

Kumuyi 

It was the love of God for 

humanity that solved the 

problem of sin man kind 

had been pondering and evaluating 

for centuries. And only 

those who would believe in 

Jesus and accept His offer of 

salvation will eventually be 

saved. 

John 3:16 "For God so •Kumuyi 

loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 

believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting 

life." 

You do not need to look elsewhere for your salvation, because 

your help is only in Jesus Christ the Saviour; and turning over 

a new leaf of life, without Jesus Christ as the centre piece of that 

decision making process, will do you no good. This is because 

Christ died for us while we were sinners: you do not need to be 

good enough for God before you could be saved from sin! If 

you have 'saved' yourself already by your moral standards, 

then Jesus would not have died nor would there be any basis for 

your salvation. 

Again, if you hinge your salvation experience on water baptism, 

then you will end up deceiving yourself and you will remain 

deceived because it will be pointless for Jesus to save you 

since you have been saved in deception. If your church confirmation 

becomes the platform for your salvation, how would 

you experience real salvation through Jesus Christ? And if religion 

and or denomination becomes your sole lifeboat, I doubt 

that you would request a second saving from the only Saviour 

Jesus Christ. 

None of the aforementioned, together with your arms giving 

to hapless many in society, can carve a niche for you before 

God, and trigger the ticket for your salvation from sin. But 

Jesus, the only way to true freedom from sin, is available and 

He will save you. Plug in to Him and you will catch your 

miracle of salvation. 

1 John 3:5, 8 "And ye know that he was manifested to take 

away our sins; and in him is no sin. He that committeth sin is of 

the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this 

purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy 

the works of the devil." 

Christ died for our sins and on that basis there is forgiveness 

for all the sins you must have committed on earth. He will 

forgive you today. 

If Jesus saves you from sin, but lets you to rot in the hands of 

the devil, without saving you from him, your problems will still 

remain with you and it will become a snare that will want to 

take you back into sin. That is why Jesus is also committed to 

defeating the devil in your life too so that you would be able to 

experience twofold salvation. 

Luke 11:2 "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his 

goods are in peace:" 

Satan will always want to keep the weak and powerless sinner 

captive in checks and bondage because he is stronger than 

you are. But there is a Champion that is stronger than Satan, 

circumstances and daunting situations of life. 

Luke 11:22 "But when a stronger than he shall come upon 

him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour 

wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils." 

A new sheriff has come to town today and He is Jesus Christ. 

He wants to put an end to the ills you have been suffering in the 

hand of Satan. Please, for your own good and for the good of 

your family, do not turn Him away. But let Him have complete 

access into your life and Satan will pack his bags, baggage 

and garbages out of your life and he will leave you alone. 

When Jesus comes into the arena of your life the power of the 

devil will be broken and those tears of yours will be wiped 

away. Another reason you should let Jesus in to your life is 

because He will take gloom from you and fill your life with 

glory and your life will completely change for the better when 

Jesus comes to stay. 

Many who could not conquer lust, sin and Satan, but because 

they found Jesus and believed in Him, today they have 

been able to do the impossible. 

Luke 10:17-20 "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, 

Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from 

heaven. 

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, 

and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall 

by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, 

that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because 

your names are written in heaven." 

The instant you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you are given 

a heavenly recognition, and your name written in the book of 

life. This should kindle emotional excitement in you because 

you now have the authority and anointing of a bona fide child 

of God and Satan knows it too. 

Romans 16:20 "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan 

under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 

with you. Amen." 

When you accept the salvation offer of Jesus Christ and you 

put your fate in the faith of our Lord and Saviour you have 

made peace with God. That is when God will begin to prove 

Himself mighty in your life and give the devil complete technical 

knock out from your life. 

Today is the day for your emancipation from sin, Satan and 

any other unsettled problems. It is coming your way today and 

it will happen in Jesus name! 

Only allow Jesus to do the hard work of taking you out from 

the bad habit of sinning and no power will restrain the Almighty 

God from delivering you. 

The time has come for you to take a decision for your salvation. 

As you bow your head, close your eyes and begin to confess 

your sins and ask God for forgiveness. While you are at it, 

promise Him never to go back to sin, and as you accept Jesus 

Christ into your life, you will never remain the same again. 

Congratulations. You are now born again. 

Faith in the Redemptive names of God (9) 

JEHOVAH – NISSI (THE 

LORD OUR BANNER) - 

CONCLUDED 

TEXT: EXOD 17:8-16 

I NTRODUCTION 

We give thanks to God 

that Jesus Christ has already 

been shown forth to us as our 

Banner in the last episode. We 

were made more than conquerors 

through His precious 

Blood. His "banner over" us 

(Song 2:4) symbolizes His 

presence, His power and His 

provision. 

WHAT'S VALUE OF ME- 

MORIALS 

“Only fear the LORD & serve 

Him in truth with all your 

heart, for consider what great 

things He has done for you.” 

(1 Sam 12:24). 

What do we learn of warfare? 

Staff of God ~ His "banner 

over" us (Song 2:4) symbolizes 

His presence, His power 

and His provision. Even as He 

provided food and water, so 

also He gives us victory in spiritual 

warfare. When confronted 

with "Amalekites" don't depend 

on your zeal or ingenuity 

to defeat them but on your 

Rallying Point, Jehovah Nissi 

Who are the "Amalekites" in 

your life? 

Enemies of God's people 

1) Flesh – Gal.5:16, 

Mt.26:41 

2) World –Jn.16:33, 

Gal.6:14 

3) Devil - 1Pe 5:8; 9; 10, He 

THE word “church” is 

coined from the Greek 

word, Ekklesia. Therefore 

a true church is called out 

of the world. No wonder, Jesus 

said, “They are not of the 

world, even as I am not of the 

world” (John 17:16). Believers 

in Christ, chosen out of the 

world by Jesus Christ, as written 

in John 15:19b, have the 

Spirit of Christ, hence they are 

called Christians, but those 

who have not the Spirit of 

Christ, are not Christians (Romans 

8:9c; John 15:19b). They 

are adulterers and adulteresses 

and enemies of God, because 

of their friendship with 

the world. (James 4:4). 

These adulterers and adulteresses 

are always unequally 

yoked with unbelievers to partake 

of their ungodly and 

worldly celebrations, such as 

Birthday, Christmas, New 

Year, Easter, Valentine’s Day. 

All these ungodly festivities 

and worldly celebrations are 

not of God, but of the devil, 

who is the prince of this world, 

hence they were not observed 

in the early church, which was 

called out of the world. 

The only two birthdays, 

mentioned in Genesis 40:20, 

22 and inwharf 6:21, 27 were 

celebrated by ungodly kings- 

—Pharaoh and Herod. “Val- 

Connect with us@ 

Faith Life Assembly International, No 

20 Abeokuta Road, Kano 

For more enquiry call: 08035860546/ 

0803 777 6548 

• J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor) 

2:14, 15, 1Jn 3:8, 9, 10; 

DON'T FORGET TO RE- 

MEMBER AMALEK! (EXO- 

DUS 17) 

But for the busy young executives 

among us, Amalek in 

the Bible is a type of our fleshly 

nature. You know the one... 

that which you have problems 

with on a daily basis! So God 

was teaching Moses, the Israelites, 

and us about this battle 

that we are in. The battle belongs 

to the Lord. It doesn't 

come down to our strength or 

great numbers. It comes down 

to His response to our praise 

and surrender (pictured in 

Moses raising his hands to 

heaven). 

So at the end of a long day 

for Moses, with arms that were 

no doubt very heavy, he wanted 

to praise and acknowledge 

the amazing victory that Yahweh 

had given the Israelites 

and so he built an altar. 

“Moses built an altar and 

called it The LORD is my Banner 

(Yahweh Nissi). (vs 16) He 

said, "For hands were lifted up 

Three nuggets for covenant places (2) 

Every man's mountain 

is his ignorant. Your 

ignorant is your 

greatest mountain. The reason 

why many people are 

stuck in life is because they 

are ignorant. The reason 

why many people are not 

strong is because they are 

stuck.it is not enough to be 

knowing, you must know 

enough. Let break it down. 

It is not enough to know God 

as a problem solver. Many 

people know God to solve 

their problems. Even as you 

Bishop David George 

are sitted here, some of you 

here the reason why you are 

in church today is because 

you want God to solve your 

problems. You know God to 

solve your problems, that is 

not enough you don't know 

God. When you know God 

you solve most of your problems. 

We have people in 

church who are on church 

asking God to solve thier 

problems. Unknown to them 

knowing God is less awareness 

of your problems. 

When Jesus was in the ship 

what was He doing sleeping. 

to the throne of the LORD. The 

LORD will be at war against 

the Amalekites from generation 

to generation." 

JESUS AS OUR JEHO- 

VAH NISSI (ISAIAH 11:1- 

10) 

In this great promise of God, 

He beckons all of the heavens 

to shout for joy and all of the 

earth to burst into song! Why? 

Because He is going to lift up 

a banner (Nissi) to the people. 

There will be a rallying point 

of great victory! But Who is 

'my banner'? Who is the Nissi 

of the Lord? That's right answer 

JESUS! Himself, present 

on earth when he returns, will 

become the banner and rallying 

point for the whole world. 

Isaiah 11:1-10 speaks of the 

kingdom that the Messiah 

Jesus will setup and reign over 

at His return. Did you see that 

last verse? This root of Jesse 

(who was King David's father) 

will be a banner (Nissi) for the 

peoples and the nations will 

rally to Him! 

CONCLUSION 

On the contemporary level, 

it was during a battle that 

Moses and the Israelites found 

that their Lord was Yahweh 

Nissi, their Victor and their 

Rallying Point. Finding God 

as Jehovah Nissi always requires 

a battle, for we only 

learn such things when pressed 

and desperate. It requires a 

conflict that causes us to cry 

out and learn of Him who is 

our Victor. Our Christian walk 

begins with such a battle for 

we must experience Christ as 

we see our great need of Salvation 

and humbly come before 

the cross of Christ and look 

at Him, the sinless Saviour lifted 

up and taking the bite of 

sin on our behalf. This is our 

initial rally point and victory. 

But the only growth in the 

Christian life is growth in 

Him. That is, growing and 

experiencing more of the One 

who is our Victory (whether the 

opposition comes from without 

or within). Each day there 

is a need to come back to our 

rallying point and that banner 

that we rally to is the person 

of Jesus Christ – Hallelujah! 

We also look forward with 

GREAT hope and expectation 

to the day when all of the world 

will join us in rally to this banner 

that God will place over 

the whole earth. Maranatha - 

Come Lord Jesus! 

May you continue to grow 

and learn more about Yahweh 

Nissi - Your banner, your 

victory! God bless you as we 

look forward to the next Redemptive 

Name of God in the 

next episode. 

^The Gospel Faith Mission International, 

Living Word Cathedral, Oluyole Estate, beside 

Total Petrol Station, off Ring Road, Ibadan. 

(Telephone : 08033376660, 08055405095) 

Ekklesia is a Greek word which means ‘Called out’ 

entine” and “Christmas” have 

nothing to do with the Christian 

faith, because they are not 

mentioned in the scriptures of 

truth. 

Valentine is a doctrine of the 

devil which teaches erotic 

love, to gratify fleshly lusts, 

that are at war with the souls 

of believers in Christ, and 

from which they are warned 

to abstain! (I Peter 2:11.) 

The word, Easter is a 

Chaldean word, pronounced 

as Ishtar, the goddess of queen 

of heaven, also known as Ashtaroth. 

This Ishtar or Ashtaroth, 

had been the object of 

worship right from ancient 

Babylon, even before Christ 

was born! 

King Herod intended to 

bring Peter out of prison, to the 

people, after this pagan festivity 

of Ishtar. This period was 

the Jews’ Passover, the days of 

the unleavened bread, as written 

in Acts 12:3. This was a 

yearly ordinance observed by 

the Jews, as commanded by 

Moses. The anger of God was 

kindled against the children 

of Israel, when, in their rebellion, 

they forsook the God of 

Israel and worshipped this 

same Ashtaroth/Easter/Ishtar 

and Baal, the sun-god, as written 

in Judges 2:13-14: “And 

they forsook the Lord and 

worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth. 

And the anger of the 

Lord was hot against Israel, 

and He delivered them into 

the hands of spoilers that 

spoiled them, and He sold 

them into the hands of their 

enemies round about, so that 

they could no longer stand 

before their enemies.” 

And the judgments of God 

are the same yesterday, today 

and forever! 

There is no record in the 

scriptures that Jesus rose on 

“Easter” day. The record is that 

He rose on the first day of the 

week.” (Mark 16:2) This is 

The Lord’s DaY. (Revelation 

1:10). In Revelation 18:4-5, 

believers in Christ are warned 

to come out of Babylon and 

her people, and not to be partakers 

of her ungodly festivities 

and worldly celebrations, 

and, as they come out, as written 

in II Corinthians 6:17, 

God will receive them as His 

sons and daughters, or else 

they will incur the wrath of 

What was his disciples doing 

shouting save us. Carest 

not if we perished, then Jesus 

stood up and said why is it 

that you have no faith. This 

is the difference between two 

people who know God. 

Some know God without 

knowing they have problems, 

some know God yet 

they are still with their problems. 

Some people even if 

they fast or do anything in 

the house of God they do it 

for God to solve thier problems. 

Their knowledge of 

God is that God is a problem 

solver. If that's why you 

are here, am sorry you don't 

even know God. And it is 

only children that does that. 

How may of you relate with 

your father to solve your 

problems?. Nobody, so you 

don't relate with your father 

because he will solve your 

problems, so why do you relate 

with God as your prob- 

God. (Judges 2:14-15). 

Church, therefore, is not a 

den of thieves. These thieves 

are the demons behind all 

ungodly festivities, worldly 

celebrations, and commercialization, 

that go on in most 

churches today. (Matthew 

21:13). The true church is an 

assembly of saints of God that 

have been called out of the 

world. 

Any assembly of “people of 

God”, who have not yet come 

out of the world, is not a 

church, but a harlots’ house 

made up of adulterers and 

adulteresses, whose ministers 

preach “another Jesus”, “another 

gospel”, inspired by 

“another spirit” the spirit of 

the world. II Corinthians 11:4. 

Believers in Christ are also 

warned not to be idolaters, 

whose tradition is always to 

sit down to eat and drink, and 

thereafter rise up to play (to 

instruments of music) (I Corinthians 

10:7). 

CHRISTIAN GOSPEL CHURCH 

(The Truth Centre) 4, Christian Gospel Avenue, 

Beside Psychiatric Hospital, 

Uselu, Benin City, Edo State. 

Email: cgc.com.ng@gmail.com 

Telephone: +234 (0) 7052061135, +234 (0) 9030731406. 

Website: www.cgc.com.ng 

lems solver?. You even walk 

away from Him, if your problems 

are not solved. Why do 

you get discouraged when 

little things happen. Why do 

turn your back because of 

little problem, why do you 

leave your place of assignment 

because somebody 

hurts you.? in this country we 

have best brains, go to America, 

the best brains in America 

are Nigerians.. All over 

the world Nigerians are 

known to be best in both sciences 

and arts profession. 

The knowledge of God you 

have will command the help 

you get from God . 

Worship with us @ 

Faith Life Assembly International 

No. 20 Abeokuta 

Road, Sabon Gari, Kano 

every Thursday's by 5pm 

and on Sunday's 7am and 

9am 

For more inquiries contact: 

08035860546, 0803 

777 6548.


, 

When Jesus multiplied 

loaves to feed the multi 

tude, many concluded he 

was just the pastor they needed. As a 

result, they went to great lengths to 

relocate to his “church.” Some got 

into boats and crossed over from the 

Sea of Galilee to Capernaum in order 

to see him. But these people were 

not hungry for God. They came because 

they wanted bread. They came 

bringing their own five loaves and 

two fishes as offering in order that 

they might be multiplied. 

But Jesus is not one to encourage 

vain worship: “Jesus answered them 

and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to 

you, you seek me, not because you 

saw the signs, but because you ate of 

the loaves and were filled. Do not 

labour for the food which perishes, 

but for the food which endures to 

everlasting life, which the Son of 

Man will give you, because God the 

Father has set his seal on him.’” 

(John 6:26-27). 

For good measure, Jesus then 

preached one of the most spiritual 

messages in the bible. He told them 

he is the bread of life and insisted 

they must eat his flesh and drink his 

blood in order to obtain eternal life. 

When he said this, he lost the church. 

Virtually the whole congregation 

left. Even many of his disciples concluded 

he was no longer the type of 

pastor they were looking for: “From 

that time many of his disciples went 

back and walked with him no more.” 

(John 6:66). 

Made-to-measure 

Christianity 

How different Jesus’ position is 

from that of many pastors today. 

Rather than discourage those who 

only see godliness as a means of 

worldly gain, many pastors are determined 

to attract such people by 

even claiming they have a special 

calling or anointing to make people 

rich financially. They repackage 

the gospel to make it attractive 

to the world. They see Jesus himself 

as a commodity to be marketed. As 

a result, they end up with a self-serving 

gospel. 

Churches now do telemarketing 

surveys, asking: “What would you 

like in a church?” They even have 

surveys now asking church-members 

what kind of messages they 

would like to hear. This is standard 

operating procedure in the world of 

business marketing where you find 

out what your potential customers 

want and give it to them. But it is 

totally inappropriate with regard to 

the kingdom of God which is based 

on the will of our Father in heaven. 

Churches have become the jack 

of all trades. They use such nonspiritual 

activities as gymnastics, 

rock n roll, comedians, and a host 

of other gimmicks to entertain their 

congregation. The church service 

is often a carefully crafted and choreographed 

production designed to 

please and impress man and not 

God. Many churches put on shows 

with worldly celebrities to increase 

their numbers. 

Today it is a regular practice for 

churches to offer some sort of inducement 

for newcomers. In one 

American church, they offered to 

pay for a portion of the visitor’s 

petrol in exchange for visiting the 

church. Another preacher offered 

non-members a certain amount of 

money for just sitting through a Sunday 

morning service. 

The worldly church 

Giving the enemy no chance 

E all should know that 

WChristians are special 

people. Although they are in 

the world but they do not belong 

to the world. They are the 

people of God Almighty, people 

of heaven, holy and peculiar 

to God. If you want to belong 

to this class of people you 

must believe in Him today, 

and thus have the privilege of 

son-ship, and be called His 

people, for all that receive 

Christ by faith become automatically 

the sons of God by 

adoption and by that are special 

people. 

I want to let you know that 

these special privileges enjoyed 

by the people of God are 

the envy of our enemy the devil. 

Thus he opposes all the 

good things God has for His 

people and is fighting to ensure 

they do not have access 

to the opportunities of open 

doors the Almighty has bestowed 

to them. 

I Corinthians 16:9 says: 

“For a great door and effectual 

is opened unto me, and there 

are many adversaries.” 

God has opened a great 

door of opportunities for us but 

there are many enemies opposing 

the blessings of God for 

His Children. These enemies 

block the way and prevent us 

from entering and taking what 

belongs to us. But God has 

heard our cry and has decided 

to bring our enemies to 

submission. As it was in the 

Godliness cannot be marketed 

days of David when God 

helped him to recover all that 

the enemies took from him, 

so it will be now as we pray in 

the special program entitled.. 

“GOD WILL MAKE YOU TO 

REJOICE.” Truly, God who 

has chosen us among the people 

of the world will make us 

to rejoice in Jesus name. 

I Samuel 30:8 and 18 says: 

“And David enquired at the 

LORD, saying, Shall I pursue 

after this troop? shall I overtake 

them? And he answered 

him, Pursue: for thou shalt 

surely overtake them, and 

without fail recover all. And 

David recovered all that the 

Amalekites had carried 

away: and David rescued his 

two wives.” 

You cannot afford to miss 

this special program, because 

there are so much to gain and 

lots to lose if you absent yourself. 

This is because it is time 

for that enemy troubling your 

life to surrender. God is going 

to raise His banner very 

high over His people to prove 

He is our glory and defender. 

So for your enemies to submit 

you must come under His 

banner. You cannot pursue 

and overcome your enemies 

if you are not under the banner 

of the Almighty or belong 

to His Kingdom. 

Matthew 6:33 says: “But 

seek ye first the kingdom of 

God and his righteousness 

and all these things shall be 

Church marketers 

are purpose-driven, 

but their purpose is 

neither Christ nor 

the gospel 

The modern-day pastor is determined 

to change man’s perception 

of God and to make him more desirable 

and appealing; all in the interest 

of expeditious church growth. 

The choice is now towards promoting 

a casual, even cavalier, atmosphere 

in churches so as to make 

people feel more comfortable and 

relaxed. The truth, however, is that 

we cannot entertain men into the 

kingdom: but we can convict them. 

In this regard, the “purpose-driven 

churches” are true to their names. 

They are purpose-driven but their 

purpose is neither Christ nor the gospel. 

Their purpose is to fill the pews. 

Their purpose is to collect as much 

money as possible. Therefore, they 

sacrifice the gospel on the altar of 

pragmatic purpose. Since they are 

keen to attract the world, inevitably 

they become worldly. 

As a result, we have today “church 

for people who don’t like church.” 

That is like saying “Jesus for the people 

who don’t like Jesus.” What is 

the point of a Christ-less church? A 

lady spelt out the evangelistic objectives 

of her church. She said: “We 

added unto you.” If you desire 

every good thing in this world 

and want to be in heaven at 

last, you must seek the Kingdom 

of God first. The Scripture 

says, you should seek first 

the kingdom of God and His 

righteousness and all good 

things shall be added unto you. 

The enemy must have hindered 

you from having abundant 

life Christ brought to us. 

However, at this special meeting 

whatever the devil has 

done in your life all these years 

or has taken away from you 

must be retrieved so that you 

have all round blessing. 

Psalm 50:15 says: “And call 

upon me in the day of trouble: 

I will deliver thee, and thou 

shalt glorify me”. 

There is no doubt that we in 

this part of the world particularly 

in Nigeria are presently 

in all kinds of trouble. But 

thank God who have heard 

our cry and promised to supply 

all good things to us this 

weekend as we call upon Him. 

Psalm 24:1 says: “The earth 

is of the Lord and the fullness 

thereof.” God owns everything. 

He has nothing to do 

with car, building, husband 

and wife, employment or 

whatever. We are the ones that 

have something to do with the 

things of this world. And we 

are supposed to enjoy them as 

children of God. That is why 

God asks us to go after what 

belong to us so that our joy 

shall be full. This time God will 

make us to rejoice in Jesus 

name. 

By Pastor 

Oloruntimilehin 

Joshua Daramola 

HERE are two things 

Tpeople should be requesting 

for, the anointing of 

blessing from God and man. 

If God blesses a person, man 

will say it will not get to the 

person and it will not. In the 

manner if a man blesses a 

person and God say it will not 

get to the person and it will 

not. People should pray that 

God and man should show 

them favour. The Bible says 

if I should see favour from my 

master and God things will 

be smooth for me”, Most 

people are deceiving themselves 

that nobody can do it 

for them except God and nobody 

except those that are 

helping them. God exists and 

man is there for man. God 

created man to have dominion 

over other creatures and 

coordinate the affairs of the 

world. Therefore whatever 

man does, it is God that does 

it because God has given man 

authority. When God created 

man the sixth day, He empowered 

man with the power 

of the world. It is in this 

world that we see electricity, 

clothes we wear and other 

things invented by man. We 

may be saying these things 

were made possible by God 

but they belong to the world. 

Imagine God told Satan that 

Job was in his care and he 

could collect whatever he 

wanted from Job because 

everything Job possessed belongs 

to Satan except his life 

which God own. That was 

why Satan was able to destroy 

all he had. Worldly 

things belong to the world 

and heavenly things belong 

to heaven. It is God that gave 

the world the power and the 

people controlling the affairs 

of the world are exercising 

this power. The Bible says that 

Daniel requested from God 

understanding and humility 

but the grant was with held 

with the angel God sent to 

want to attract the world but in an 

unworldly way.” This is a contradiction 

in terms. 

The world is sold on worldliness, 

so how can it be attracted to godliness? 

Moreover, godliness cannot 

be marketed. Once we try to market 

a church, we go off the rails. Somebody 

out there needs to spell it out to 

Pastor Zerubbabel that the building 

of Christ’s true church is not by power 

or by might but by my Spirit says 

the Lord. (Zechariah 4:5). 

Counter-productive 

evangelism 

It is counter-productive to try and 

attract people to church. The question 

is for what purpose would we 

want them to come? God warned 

Isaiah that no matter what he does, 

the people would not listen to him. 

(Isaiah 6:9). Jesus also confirmed 

this. He says the people will not hear 

and they will not understand. (Matthew 

13:13-15). Indeed, according 

to his teachings, God is not in the 

churches but in our hearts. (John 

4:21-24). 

Therefore, true evangelism should 

not be embarked upon in order to 

bring people to church. Churches 

have been more effective in misleading 

people by showing them the highway 

leading to destruction instead 

of the narrow way leading to salvation. 

Today, pastors are the blind 

leaders that Jesus railed against. All 

they do is lead people into the ditch. 

(Matthew 15:14). 

Seek the favour of man and God 

•Daramola 

deliver the grant to Daniel for 

twenty-one days until angel 

Micheal came to rescue of the 

angel in captivity. The principalities 

of the world felt that 

their consent should have 

been sought before delivering 

the grant to Daniel. In fact the 

angel was refused to pass 

through comic level to meet 

Daniel (Daniel 10 verse 12- 

13). In the same vein both the 

federal and state governments 

make plans for the betterment 

of Nigerians but some powerful 

and influential people 

will prevent other Nigerians 

to receive the benefits. And it 

is a pity those in authority will 

not call them to order. Brethren 

do not say everything 

must be done for God. Jesus 

was given both the worldly 

and heavenly power that 

made it possible for him to 

heal the blind man from birth 

and the cripple. In this world 

many things are blocked or 

prevented to manifest but 

many men of God are unblocking 

these things because 

they were given the knowledge 

of worldly power. What 

they need to do is to connect 

with God to enable them carry 

out the work. So the grace 

of the world and heaven are 

powerful also anointing of 

blessing of the world and 

heaven are powerful. Be 

afraid of your father as well 

as your mother because they 

brought you to this world. 

Many people are saying that 

it is God alone they fear. Let 

The objective of true evangelism is 

to bring people to Christ, and no man 

can come to Christ unless the Holy 

Spirit draws him. (John 6:44). 

Because churches now believe the 

gospel is a product for sale, they 

measure success by the amount of 

money they make. If the takings are 

meagre, they do what all enterprising 

businessmen do: they modify the 

product until it is more to the liking 

of the customer. The customer is always 

right, even in the Church of God 

of today. 

Let there be light. Can you think 

of some of those opening cadences 

of televangelists on television? Just 

turn to a Christian broadcasting 

channel and you are bound to be 

inundated with them. “Creflo Dollar 

has been winning millions and 

millions of souls to Christ. God has 

been using him to open prison houses 

to those who are bound.” 

There is no difference between the 

advertisements of Christian ministers, 

either on billboards, on television, 

in newspapers, radio and handbills 

and the advertisement of Coca- 

Cola or your 

breakfast cereal. Or more appropriately, 

there is no difference between 

them and that of a man running 

for public office and putting out 

political advertisements. They are 

all seeking public approval. But 

Jesus is different and so are his sheep. 

They do not seek honour from men. 

(John 5:41). 

Pastors have become get-richquick 

tipsters who offer keys, not of 

the kingdom, but of financial prosperity. 

They organise special programmes 

for businessmen, promising 

to give them the power to get 

more wealth. Like Joel Osteen, pastor 

of Lakewood Church in Houston, 

Texas (U.S.A.), they offer their 

parishioners "your best life now;" an 

infinitely more appealing proposition 

than Jesus’ "take up your cross 

and follow me." 

me tell you the day of your 

death will not complete before 

you are killed suddenly. 

My prayer is that we will not 

offend the world in Jesus 

name. Amen. Many people 

will claim they have God 

alone and nothing can happen 

to them. Yes, but God will 

be watching when the principalities 

and rulers of the world 

are inflicting pains and suffering 

on you. God will not 

intervene because he had established 

a boundary between 

heaven and world. 

Imagine the suffering the rulers 

of the world subjected 

Jesus who claimed to have 

both worldly and heavenly 

power. It was the suffering and 

torture that led to his premature 

death. God refused to intervene 

in Jesus’ plight until 

he voiced that father why have 

forsaken me. Jesus knew that 

all powers belong to God and 

He had rejected him. Even 

when Pilate told Jesus that he 

has the power to set him free 

he disagreed that Pilate would 

not have power over him if it 

was not given to him from 

above (John 19 verse 10-11). 

God refused to intervene because 

he had given the rulers 

of the world power and they 

were exercising the power at 

that moment. It is in heaven 

that God will judge all that 

happened. What about you? 

How friendly are you to God? 

It is my responsibility to teach 

people this misery and the 

misery is that there are anointing 

of blessing of the world 

and that of the heaven. Finally 

do not underestimate the 

rulers and principalities of the 

world they can be destructive. 

My prayer is that God in his 

infinite mercy will give everyone 

both anointing of blessing. 

• For further inquiries call 

the following numbers 

08023020108, 08160587634 

www.facebook/pastoroloruntimilehin

PAGE 40—Vanguard, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019 

How Heritage Bank is investing in young people 

By Pachaline Nwakundo 

he performance of Corpo 

Trate Social Responsibility, 

CSR, is one of the sterling factors 

that distinguish leading financial 

institutions in Nigeria. 

In this area, banks and telecommunication 

companies 

have maintained the lead, as they 

have notably invested in human 

capital development across the 

country. 

One of such institutions that 

stand out is Heritage Bank, a financial 

institution that is contributing 

to the improvement of 

the lives of Nigerians, especially 

young business owners. 

Considering the importance of 

young people to the growth of 

any economy, the bank’s commitment 

is indeed remarkable. 

There is hardly any time that 

Heritage Bank is not in the news 

for CSR programmes, testifying 

to its commitment to improving 

economic development and wellbeing 

of communities, while also 

maximizing shared value for 

business, employees, and shareholders. 

Worthy of note is the bank’s 

support to the Moses Siasia-led 

Young Nigerian Professionals 

Forum, NYPF, an organisation 

that seeks to harness Nigeria’s 

economic, political and social 

resources using contemporary 

leadership techniques. 

The bank’s assistance was noticeable 

in the support it has provided 

for NYPF’s YESGrant 

which provides business training 

for 600 young entrepreneurs. 

The scheme trains youths in 

agriculture, creative business 

and Information and Communication 

Technology, ICT. 

Consequently, grants were 

awarded to about 35 young entrepreneurs 

in agriculture, creative 

industry and ICT sectors 

after a rigorous review process 

• Sekibo 

conducted by an independent 

body, out of the tens of thousands 

who applied. 

Impressed by the success of the 

scheme, Siasia commended Heritage 

Bank for its consistent support 

to the growth of Small and 

Medium Enterprises, SMEs, in 

Nigeria. 

He also called on all stakeholders 

to see youth development 

as a necessity for national 

growth. 

Another outstanding support 

from the bank was its decision 

to embrace NYPF’s anti-modern 

day slavery campaign. 

At an international conference 

on illegal migration organised 

by the NYPF in Abuja, it was obvious 

that the success of the event 

was made possible by Heritage 

Bank and other partners. 

Titled, International Action on 

Illegal Migration and Trafficking 

in Persons Conference, the 

forum was primarily convened 

to strengthen a multi-stakeholder 

partnership in curbing illegal 

migration and human trafficking. 

With participants drawn from 

One of the reasons 

why we chose, as an 

organization, to 

support the 

entrepreneurial 

growth and welfare of 

the youths is to see 

young men and 

women play vital 

roles in the socioeconomic 

development of the 

country and help 

curb the high level of 

unemployment 

ADEBOLA TIES THE KNOT WITH TEMI DEE 

Adebola Makanjuola, son of the Chairman of Caverton Helicopters, Mr. Aderemi Muyinudeen 

Makanjuola and Ms Cassandra Omage, a businesswoman and a retired Assistant Director of Information 

at the Federal Ministry of Information, married the love of his life, Temidayo popularly 

called Temi Dee recently in Los-Angeles, California. It was a well-attended Ranch themed white 

wedding which was preceded by a lavish engagement ceremony held at Oriental hotel, Lagos. Here 

are some of the faces at the ceremony in LA, California: 

international and local agencies 

working on human trafficking 

and illegal migration, the forum 

was an avenue to hear first-hand 

gory tales about the crisis. 

Encouraged by the successes 

the NYPF has recorded so far 

with assistance from the bank, 

Siasia recently described the 

bank as the bridge to the future. 

He particularly lauded the 

bank for supporting NYPF’s 

Skills and Entrepreneurship Programme, 

SEDP, for young returnee 

irregular migrants. 

Siasia said the bank’s commitment 

to NYPF’s vision is adding 

value to the anti-modern day slavery 

campaign launched by the 

group. 

His words:” Heritage Bank is 

a bank that is passionately supporting 

the aspiration of young 

people in Nigeria. 

“Heritage Bank supports 

Nigerian Young Professionals 

Forum’s scheme for young business 

owners, which has aided the 

growth of thousands of small 

businesses. 

“We are glad to say that the 

bank has provided sponsorship 

to NYPF, especially some of our 

capacity building conferences 

for young people across Nigeria 

“The bank is seriously supporting 

our Skills and Entrepreneurship 

Programme, SEDP, for 

young returnee irregular migrants 

and our campaign to 

combat modern-day slavery in 

Nigeria. “The bank’s unrelenting 

support to our vision attests 

to its commitment to Corporate 

Social Responsibility. They are 

not only supporting our initiatives 

but are also promoting Nigeria’s 

values and culture across 

the country. It is commendable. 

“I see Heritage Bank as Nigeria’s 

premier bank that provides 

hope to the aspirations of Nigerians 

with cutting edge solutions. 

“We have a lot of banks in Nigeria, 

but Heritage Bank stands out 

because of their brand philosophical 

ideology to invest in the 

future.” 

It would be recalled that the 

bank emerged as Nigeria’s Most 

Innovative Banking Service Provider 

for its outstanding contributions 

to improving the lives of 

young business owners in at the 

5th-anniversary ceremony of 

NYPF in 2018. 

The bank was bestowed with 

the “Best Bank of the Year Business 

Support/Entrepreneur Development,” 

at the Africa Value 

Award 2018. 

It was adjudged “Best SME 

Bank Nigeria 2018” by Capital 

Finance International (CFI.co) 

and “Agriculture Bank of the 

Year 2018” by the Nigeria Agriculture 

Awards, MAA. 

It was also honoured by the 

Chartered Institute of Bankers of 

Nigeria, CIBN, in terms of members’ 

mobilisation and participation 

as well as sponsorship of 

the institute’s programmes. 

At the fourth edition of Green 

October Event 2018, organised 

by Alamode Magazine, the bank 

emerges as the “Most Supportive 

Bank of the Year.” 

Speaking at the NYPF, awards 

in Abuja, MD/CEO of Heritage 

Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo said the 

honour spoke volume of the 

bank’s efforts to demonstrate its 

commitment towards developing 

and positioning youths to 

become world-class citizens 

equipped and ready to be absorbed 

into an increasingly competitive 

workforce. 

“One of the reasons why we 

chose, as an organization, to 

support the entrepreneurial 

growth and welfare of the youths 

is to see young men and women 

play vital roles in the socio-economic 

development of the country 

and help curb the high level 

of unemployment,” Sekibo said. 

The Managing Director, who 

was represented by Jubril Adeojo, 

Team Lead, Power Corporate 

Banking, said Heritage Bank is 

positioned to lead the recovery 

of the economy through enhancing 

youth entrepreneurship development 

and engendering selfemployment 

via its various initiatives 

and products. 

According to Sekibo, the 

drive to support youths seeks to 

create, preserve and transfer 

wealth across generations. 

He explained that the entrepreneur 

schemes of the bank had 

always focused on dependable 

job-creating sectors, such as agricultural 

value chain (fish farming, 

poultry, snail farming), cottage 

industry, mining, and solid 

minerals, creative industry 

(tourism, arts and crafts), and 

ICT. 

•The bride and groom - Adebola Makanjuola and wife, Temidayo 

The bride and groom with the groom’s sister, Cora (3rd right); groom’s mum, Cassandra 

Omage (2nd right); and Cora’s children, Jayden (right) and Cassy (left) 

The bride and groom with the groom’s mum, Cassandra (2nd right) and the bride’s father, 

Tokunbo Abudu (right) 

L-R: Winifred Agunbiade; Chief Olusegun Olusanya; Cassandra Omage (the 

groom’s mum), Mrs Olusanya and Sade Odusoga

By Sam Eyoboka & 

Olayinka Latona 

THE 2019 National 

Convention of the Redeemed 

Christian Church of God, 

RCCG, themed ‘AND GOD SAID’, 

has come to end but the 

reverberations, including the 

outstanding testimonies of healings 

and deliverances, have continued. 

Describing the 2019 convention as 

a mighty and prophetic one, never 

seen before, the General Overseer 

of the Church, Pastor Enoch Adejare 

Adeboye, had earlier promised 

participants some of the first things 

‘God said to man.’ 

God said to man “he is blessed; he 

will be fruitful, multiply and have 

dominion.” Adeboye said those, who 

had challenges in those areas of life, 

will be free of them. 

Adeboye leads walk 

The spiritual event, which was 

flagged off on Monday, August 5 to 

open the anniversary, was preceded 

by Ministers Conference (August 1 – 

4) to prepare ministers for the 

programme during which the 77- 

year old General Overseer led young 

ministers on a spiritual and physical 

walk for hours. Many of the 

ministers, who couldn’t walk for one 

hour on the first day or two hours on 

the second day, didn’t attempt to join 

the walk for three hours on the third 

day. 

Several of the more scientificallyinclined 

ministers, who couldn’t find 

empirical explanation for a 

sebteranian walking with the same 

pace for hours, are still in awe of 

him, remembering his sermon titled: 

67TH RCCG CONVENTION: 

Pastor Adeboye stuns 

youths, walks for 3 hours 

•Pastor 

Adeboye 

‘Spirit, not flesh’. 

In that sermon, Adeboye said: “To 

break away from our limitations as 

humans, we must move towards 

becoming more of spirit by becoming 

more like God. Man is a tripartite 

being made up of spirit, soul and 

body. 

“All three components must be 

developed in that order. Your spirit 

must be given the greatest priority in 

development, followed by your soul. 

Your body should not be developed to 

the detriment of your spirit and soul. 

“If you are not born-again, your 

spirit is dead, and the soul is heading 

for hell. In the unsaved state, the flesh 

is in charge of an individual’s life.” 

ICU dedication 

As part of the RCCG Corporate 

Social Responsibility, Adeboye took 

time off his pressing spiritual matters 

to commission an Intensive Care 

Unit, ICU, at the church’s Redeemer’s 

Health Centre. The ICU is the third in 

a series of ultra modern health projects 

facilitated by His Love Foundation, 

the benevolence arm of the church, 

the first and second being the ICUs at 

the Lagos State University Teaching 

Hospital and Plateau State Specialist 

Hospital. 

In his short remarks before Ogun 

State governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, 

cut the tape to declare the facility open 

in the presence of some traditional 

rulers from Lagos and Ogun states, 

the General Overseer said he was 

convinced that any attempt to 

restructure the nation now must take 

into account a special constitutional 

role for traditional rulers. 

109 babies 

Giving a breakdown of the number 

of children born during the 

convention as of 8.00 a.m. on Sunday 

(109-56 boys and 53 girls), an elated 

All eyes on Ezenwankwo in Awka 

•Ezenwankwo 

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 18 , 2019, PAGE 41 

Adeboye assured the enthusiastic 

crowd of worshippers at the closing 

service that next year’s convention 

would be more glorious. 

Explaining modalities for childbirth 

at the church’s maternity, the head of 

the unit, Pastor Joshua Kayode, 

disclosed that the mission bears all 

the medical expenses for all the babies 

delivered at the unit irrespective of 

creed. 

“There are herbalists and Muslims 

among others living around the 

Redemption Camp who take 

advantage of the facility and they are 

all treated free and given packs for 

their new born babies,” Kayode stated. 

Assistant General Overseer in 

charge of Administration and 

Personnel, Pastor Johnson Funsho 

Odesola, gave the breakdown of those 

ordained during the convention to beef 

up the work force for the fast growing 

church with footholds in 197 

countries. According to him, the 

number of pastors was 1,904, assistant 

pastors 4,126 while deacons/ 

deaconesses rose to 16,100. 

And according to the Special 

Assistant to the General Overseer on 

Makinde, Awolowo family, others to grace 60th anniversary of Saviour’s African Church 

oday is the grand finale of 

TSaviour’s African Church, 

Ekotedo, Ibadan 60th 

anniversary. 

The anniversary started on 

Sunday, April 14 with a rally, 

unveiling of the anniversary 

logo and launching of card. 

Today’s event is expected to be 

attended by Governor Seyi 

Makinde of Oyo State and the 

Awolowo family whose patriarch 

laid the foundation of the church 

in 1959. 

Also to grace the occasion are 

Primate-Elect of the African 

Church, His Eminence, the Most 

Rev’d Julius Abbe, the 

Archbishop, Augustus Odufuwa 

and the Bishop, Abiodun 

Ademola. 

By Nwabueze Okonkwo 

or about eight years in his 

Fsojourn at the Traders’ House, 

Onitsha, Anambra State where he 

was the President-General of the 

defunct Association of Markets 

Amalgamated Traders Anambra 

State, AMATAS, now Anambra 

State Markets Amalgamated 

Traders Association, ASMATA, Hon. 

Okwudili Christopher 

Ezenwankwo, a native of Nanka in 

Orunba North Local Government 

Area of Anambra State and 

lawmaker representing Orumba 

North/South Federal Constituency 

in the House of Representatives, had 

canvassed the welfare of average 

traders in the country. 

Before then, traders under his 

jurisdiction had suffered 

harassment in the hands of law 

L-R: Director, Office-360, John Adegbola; veteran Nollywood actor, Rauf Niyi; Producer, 

Office-360, Elliot Ovadje and Head of production, Happenings Media, Michael Kolawole, 

at the location of the production of maiden season of Office-360 in Lagos 

*Dr(Mrs) 

Annah Afolabi 

*Rt Rev 

Abiodun 

Ademola 

The Mother Church, Ebenezer 

African Church, Ogunpa, 

Ibadan (now Cathedral), was 

established in 1914. 

“The inspiration to establish 

*Ven 

Dairo 

another church – St. Saviour’s 

African Church (now Saviour’s 

African Church Cathedral, 

Ibadan) - was motivated by a 

group of people led by Elders 

enforcement agencies including 

customs, policemen, NAFDAC and 

NDLEA. 

His promise to champion the 

cause of traders if given the 

mandate to go to the National 

Assembly gave him a landslide 

victory during the February 23 polls 

As President of AMATAS and 

SEAMATA, Ezenwankwo 

established a cordial relationship 

between the headship of law 

enforcement agencies and traders 

on one hand, and traders and 

government on the other hand, 

making Governor Willie Obiano to 

give N10 million grant to each of 

the market branches in the state 

under Markets Choose Your Projects 

Initiative of the state government. 

He also set up a task force to 

checkmate the activities of dubious 

traders. 

S.O. Fakorede, J.A. Sijuade and 

E.O. Sowunmi”, according to a 

statement. 

“The maiden service of the 

church took place on 27/12/59, 

and an open-air service was held 

in the evening of the same day. 

“The first Baptismal and 

Confirmation Services were held 

on 31/1/60 and 29/5/60 by 

Archdeacon Asabia and Bishop 

A. Aboyade Cole respectively. 

“We are happy to report that 

after the establishment of 

Saviour’s African Church, 

Ekotedo, we have built a Primary 

School which is adjacent to the 

Church Building. 

“It is also on record that 

Saviour’s African Church rose to 

the grade of an Archdeaconry 

Ezenwankwo, who has the 

chieftaincy title of Ewepudike 

Nanka, also sensitized traders to 

endorse Obiano for re-election on 

November 18, 2017, a situation that 

enabled the governor to win 

majority votes in all the 21 local 

government areas of the state, and 

for which Obiano is nicknamed ‘21 

over 21 governor’. 

Born into the family of late Chief 

Matthias and Mrs Lizzy 

Ezenwankwo of Oka Agbiligba 

Village, Nanka, Ezenwankwo 

obtained his senior secondary 

school certificate at the 

prestigious community 

secondary school, Igbakwu, 

bagged his NCE certificate at 

Nwafor Orizu College of 

Education, Nsugbe, and 

obtained his B.Ed. at Enugu 

State University of Technology, 

ESUT. 

He was also conferred with a 

Doctorate Degree in Business 

Administration (Honoris Causa) 

by the Commonwealth 

University, Belize and another 

Missions and Chairman of Central 

Missions Board, Pastor Brown Oyitso, 

it is obvious that RCCG has been 

divinely positioned as an arrowhead 

for global revival. 

“The RCCG has grown from an 

obscure church that was started in an 

obscure neighbourhood of Lagos, 67 

years ago, into a mission that will fulfil 

the divinely covenants global 

mandate of taking the gospel to the 

whole world”, Oyitso said. 

“From the founder, Rev. Josiah 

Akindayomi, to Pastor Enoch 

Adeboye, we’ve seen leaders who are 

passionately and vigorously 

committed to the divine mandate and 

who are exhibiting exemplary 

leadership”. 

Oyitso, who is also the pastor-incharge 

of RCCG Region 19, expressed 

gratitude to God for all He has 

enabled the church to accomplish thus 

far, saying: “RCCG currently has 

presence in 198 countries and 

territories of the world. 

“There are about 50 countries and 

territories yet to be penetrated by the 

RCCG. Most of these nations are in 

territories that will need very creative 

evangelistic strategies to penetrate. 

Traditional missions and church 

planting strategies will not work in 

these nations”. 

Commuters’ SOS 

Commuters within the camp 

decried the high cost of transport fare 

they were made to pay from one point 

to the other especially during national 

programmes of the church. 

Sunday Vanguard learnt that due 

to the mammoth crowd that attends 

the major programmes of the church, 

the Transport Department allows 

tricycles and other buses from outside 

the camp to complement the efforts 

of registered ones to convey the large 

army of passengers within the camp. 

Participants at the convention 

lamented that operators 

indiscriminately increased transport 

fare between the Old and New Arena 

by as much as 75 per cent depending 

on the size of the crowd, thus making 

it difficult for many participants, 

who cannot afford such high fares, 

to trek long distances to get to their 

destinations. 

One of such commuters, who 

identified himself as Mr. Taiwo 

Odushile, said: “I am surprised that 

we are having a bad situation on 

the campground in terms of 

transportation. Imagine we are 

charged N100 instead of N50 to the 

Old Arena and N300-N400 to the 

New Auditorium. 

“It was even worse on Friday night 

because of the crowd when these 

guys charged N500 to the New 

Arena.” 

Council on 29th May, 1983 

named Ibadan Archdeaconry 

Council with the Venerable J.B. 

Taiwo as the first Archdeacon 

and later became Saviour 

Archdeaconry on 5th April, 

2001. 

“The African Church split some 

Dioceses for rapid expansion. 

Ibadan North Diocese was 

carved out of Ibadan Diocese on 

January 27th 2018 by the 

Primate. Consequently, the 

church became a Diocesan 

Headquarters of Ibadan North 

Diocese and by so doing became 

a Cathedral. The Bishop of the 

Diocese is Rt. Rev’d Abiodun 

Ebenezer Ademola, the Provost 

and the People’s Warden, Ven. 

Oluwajimi Dairo and Bro. ‘Dayo 

Adekoya respectively”. 

doctorate degree from Zoe Life 

Theological College, Lagos. 

Ezenwankwo, who is the 

founder of Facomore Oil & Gas 

Nigeria Limited; Henchris 

International Nigeria Limited; 

Ezenwankwo Group of 

Companies Limited; among 

others, is the leader of All 

Progressives Grand Alliance, 

APGA, in Orumba North/South 

LGAs; Leader, Onitsha 

Metropolitan Residents Forum; 

BoT Member, Aluminium Dealers 

Association, Onitsha; BoT 

Chairman, Shoe Manufacturers/ 

Dealers and General Goods 

Association, among others. 

Ezenwankwo hosts a thanksgiving 

ceremony today in Nanka with a 

Holy Mass to be presided over 

by Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor of 

Catholic Diocese of Awka at the 

Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 

Nkwoagu, Nanka, after which he 

will host his political and 

business associates, friends and 

well wishers to a reception.

Page 42—SUNDAY Vanguard, August 18, 2019 

Viewpoint 

By Moses Alao 

o, come with me, work with 

“S me; let us take Oyo State to 

greater glory. Together, we can do this!” 

These were the words of the Oyo State 

governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, on 

Thursday, August 15, as he inaugurated 

the 14 newly-appointed commissioners 

who will work with him in steering the 

ship of the state. 

They were words on marble and they 

will remain memorable for the 

Commissioners. They will also be 

words of challenge for the 

administrators who are assuming 

offices in a state that has, in the last 81 

days, enjoyed a breath of fresh air or 

put differently, a shower of Omi Tuntun 

[fresh water], in line with the governor’s 

campaign slogan. 

Indeed, the last two months and a 

few days of Governor Makinde in office 

cannot but remain memorable for the 

people of the state, who activated the 

new dawn following the massive votes 

that brought Governor Makinde to 

office in the March 9, 2019 election. 

Following his inauguration as 

governor of the state on May 29, 2019, 

it didn’t take hours for the residents of 

Oyo State to feel the reality of Omi 

tuntun, as the governor started fulfilling 

his electoral promises right from the 

swearing-in podium. He announced 

the immediate scrapping of the N3,000 

By Jude Uyi Ediale 

press release by Committee of 

A Benin Elders, published by 

Vanguard Newspaper of August 

13,2019,page 24 and the legal opinion 

of Hon.Justice S O Uwaifo, a retired 

Supreme Court Judge, published by 

Punch newspaper of August 

13,2019,page 34,justifying the 

controversial inauguration of the 7th 

Edo State House of Assembly require 

the interrogation of critical minds in Edo 

State in particular and Nigeria in 

general. 

There is no doubt that the names listed 

as the authors of the press release in 

support of the questionable inauguration 

of Edo State House of Assembly-Chief( 

Prof) E.U. Emovon ,Hon(Justice) S. O. 

Uwaifo, Princess(Prof) Mrs.A. 

Emovon,Hon(Justice) I. O.Aluyi, 

Hon(Justice) J.O.Olubor, 

Prof.D.E.Agbonlahor, Emeritus 

Prof.R.O.Elaho,Emeritus 

Prof.A.A.E.Orhue,Prof.U.Edebiri,Brig- 

Gen(Dr) D.O.Ikponmwen,Maj-Gen 

S.E.Asemota and Maj-Gen C.O. 

By Zik Zulu Okafor 

nly recently he opened a 118 

Obedroom exotic hotel named 

Dantinajo Gold Resort. It was 

commissioned by Nigeria’s former 

President, Chief Olusegun 

Obasanjo. It was in a quaint modest 

town, Oleh , in Isoko South Local 

Government Area of Delta State. 

Now the hotel has become the 

Mecca of Nollywood superstars and 

practitioners of distinction. And 

every practitioner that visits, leaves 

with both material and spiritual 

satisfaction. The big heart behind the 

resort gives financial support, he 

gives advice.. he gives hope, all laced 

with spiritual counseling. 

This is Engineer Daniel Elozino 

Omoyibo. Breezy at sight and full of 

zest, Omoyibo is writing a new page 

in the unfolding tale of Nigeria’s 

motion picture industry. 

Only a few weeks ago, he hosted a 

galaxy of Nollywood’s directors 

and actors as he was formally made 

Patron of the Directors Guild of 

Nigeria, DGN, under the leadership 

of its peerless National President , 

Fred Amata. The event turned out 

not only a checklist of Who is Who in 

Directing but a catalogue of star 

actors and perhaps cheer leaders. 

They include Fred Amata, Francis 

Onwochei, Hilda Dokubo, Eucharia 

Anunobi, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Ejike 

Asiegbu, Francis Duru, Patience 

Ozokwor, Zeb Ejiro, Mathias 

Obahiagbon, Chinedu Ikedieze, 

Abay Esho, Osita Okoli, Chico Ejiro 

and Andy Amenechi, among others. 

Beyond the enchanting rituals of 

patronship, perhaps the most 

enthralling news at the event was 

Omoyibo’s announcement of his 

plan to build a Film Village at Oleh. 

He had already acquired some 

massive acres of land stretching over 

three kilometers for this grand 

mission and he took some of his 

guests to the proposed site of what 

promises to be a delightful tourists’ 

Makinde’s cabinet of colourful commissioners 

Education Development Levy, which 

had become a source of agony and 

anger among the people, thereby 

fulfilling a promise he made in the 

heat of elections. 

He promised that the state would 

replace the controversial levy with 

effective and timely funding of 

education and by blocking loopholes 

of corruption. He had also announced 

the increment of budget allocation to 

the sector to 10 per cent from a paltry 

two percent, promising to raise the 

budget annually until it reaches the 

26 per cent which the UNICEF 

described as preferable for the 

education sector. 

The governor has since followed 

that action up with the cancellation of 

examination fees across the public 

schools in the state, which resulted in 

massive enrolment for terminal 

examinations conducted in July. 

Similarly, the governor, in a 

symbolic act that has continued to 

water the throats of pensioners in the 

state, announced that he was donating 

his salaries for the next four years to 

the Oyo State branch of the Nigeria 

Union of Pensioners. That action, 

which was a tip of an iceberg, has been 

followed by the release of N280 to 

offset pension arrears of about 100, 

who retired in 2012 in the state. 

With each passing week of the last 

The Omoyibo/Nollywood partnership 

•Zulu Okafor 

haven. 

In his words, “I want to leave a 

legacy in the movie industry 

because Nigerian movies taught 

me a lot of amazing things. I learnt 

so many lessons from the early 

Nollywood movies that I used to 

watch with my wife”. 

He revealed watching those 

movies at a time that life was 

difficult and hope was almost 

epileptic. “I had become a business 

man then, but there were no 

contracts coming my way. So, from 

morning to night, me and my wife 

would sit in our small, quiet 

apartment and watch Nigerian 

movies. Those movies taught me to 

be patient, to keep hope alive and 

never to make money through evil 

ways because the joy will only be 

temporary and the end will be 

disastrous. The movies 

consistently taught us that no matter 

how long it might take, light would 

always defeat darkness and that an 

evil person will suffer and die in 

shame. Unfortunately my 

•Gov. Makinde of Oyo State 

two months, the Oyo State governor 

continued to be in the news for all the 

right reasons, restoring the joy of civil 

servants in the state through prompt 

payment of salaries on the 25th of every 

month, a date that has now become 

known as the GSM day; restoration 

and massive increment of bursary 

award to Oyo State students in the Law 

School from N100,000 to N500,000 

by the governor; bringing back smiles 

to the faces of pensioners. He had also 

blazed the trail of public accountability 

and transparency by being the one and 

only governor out of those elected into 

precious wife passed away after all 

our endurance, just when things 

started going well for us . It was 

painful. But I thank God that she 

was alive to witness our 

breakthrough and to enjoy at least 

a little bit of it”. He paused as 

change in his mood became 

palpable on those windows of his 

emotion-laden soul: his eyes. And 

his guests quickly rose in applause 

to cheer up a man whose entire life 

seems dedicated to the cause of the 

down-trodden, men and women 

confined to the lower end of the 

economic ladder and still grappling 

with the pangs of life. 

Omoyibo, the Chief Executive of 

Damotech, an indigenous oil and 

gas firm, a glowing tribute to the 

efficacy of Nigerian Local Content 

Law, announced to the delight of his 

guests a huge financial support for 

their movie industry. And within 

minutes issued cheques to DGN 

executives towards plans for its 25th 

anniversary. The 51 year old father 

of three children and a business 

magnate with over eight companies 

under his corporate canopy also 

unleashed millions of Naira to the 

Nollywood stars, leaving them 

twinkling as they grinned from ear 

to ear. The man, now seen as an 

emblem of a new hope for 

Nollywood, had expended over 

N100 million in his first formal 

encounter with the doyens and stars 

of the motion picture industry. 

But the buoyant and sprightly oil 

and gas mogul did more. He 

announced his plan to raise the bar 

of professionalism in Nollywood. To 

achieve this he says will require 

good training. Therefore he would 

finance young Deltans and 

Nigerians interested in movie 

production for quality training both 

in Nigeria and abroad. “I want them 

to be well trained to be able to tell 

our stories professionally and to be 

office in the 2019 to publicly declare 

his assets. Indeed, Governor Makinde’s 

manner of asset declaration has been 

commended by articulate anticorruption 

agencies such as SERAP and 

CACOL as well as well-meaning 

individuals in the country as setting a 

great example for other public officials 

at all levels. 

In two months, Governor Makinde 

has emerged the leading topic on 

Twitter trends, beating entertainment 

and other trending topics in 

recognition of his people-oriented 

leadership and good governance ideals 

that are paradigmatic of a true 

democrat and progressive. 

But after a few weeks, residents of the 

state had begun to anticipate the 

formation of Governor Makinde’s 

cabinet, waiting with baited breaths to 

know the individuals that will work with 

the governor to deliver on the mandate 

given to him. Going by the kind of 

characters and individuals that have 

been commissioners in the state in the 

past and how their actions and inactions 

have rubbed off on government and 

shaped governance, residents of the 

state who have been enraptured by 

some of the early steps of Governor 

Makinde in office, were hoping that 

the governor would appoint 

individuals that will build on his 

achievements and be active vision 

Benin elders got it wrong on Edo Assembly saga 

Omoregie are eminently qualified 

Benin Elders. What is curious however, 

and the reason for the interrogation of 

their support is the complete absence 

of legal foundation for their decision. 

The claim by the Elders that the 

inauguration of Edo State House 

Assembly is a Constitutional issue that 

should not be politicised is absolutely 

correct. Sadly, in a desperate search for 

reasons to support what is wrong , the 

Elders contradicted themselves by 

saying that the Party Caucus had in 

mind those to hold certain official 

positions in the House,and those who 

disagreed decided to stay away from 

the inauguration. Is inauguration of the 

House of Assembly a business of the 

Constitution or an activity of a political 

party?Are these official positions of the 

House appointees of the political party 

or elective by members of the House? If 

they are appointees of the political party, 

why should members stay away from 

the inauguration of the House after the 

appointments have been made by the 

political party? If the official positions 

of the House are elective, why should 

the majority,(15) members-elect stay 

away from inauguration and allow (9) 

to elect the official positions? It will be 

interesting for these erudite Elders to 

tell Nigerians whether the inauguration 

of the House of Assembly is about the 

official positions of the House or a 

Constitutional enthrone of the State 

legislative Arm of Government. 

It is highly doubtful whether these 

Elders are aware of the date and time of 

the inauguration of the 7th Assembly of 

Edo State House of Assembly . Their 

press release stated that the Governor 

made a Proclamation letter on the 17th 

of July,2019 to the Clerk and the 

inauguration was done that same day 

by the Clerk of the House. The 

controversial inauguration of Edo State 

House of Assembly was held in the late 

night of 17th June, 2019, not 17th 

July,2019. If their date is excused on 

typographical error, how can these 

Elders defend the legal propriety of 

inauguration of the House by the Clerk 

on the same day the Proclamation was 

issued by the Governor?Is the element 

of the Proclamation of a State House of 

Assembly a secret correspondence 

between the Governor and the Clerk of 

the House or a public announcement 

for the information of the Members- 

Elect and the general public as defined 

by Law, Public Policy and English 

Dictionary? 

The claim that there is no 

Constitutional requirement for all 

Members-Elect to be present before 

inauguration, is not equally supported 

by any Constitutional provision that the 

inauguration of the House can take 

place without the invitation or notice to 

all Members-Elect.Those to be 

inaugurated are legally title holders that 

must be compulsorily invited to the 

inauguration.The issue of quorum can 

only be relevant if their is evidence of 

Proclamation and invitation of all 

Members-Elect for the inauguration. 

Any Member-Elect can be absent on 

his personal volition, but not to be 

criminally schemed out in order for an 

equipped technically so that our 

pictures are excellent and could 

compare with foreign movies. 

They may be short- term training 

programmes, but they will be 

intensive”, he said. 

Omoyibo’s kind gesture towards 

Nollywood however is not surprising 

to those acquainted with his history. 

Indeed, he is a known passionate 

philanthropist. His Foundation, 

Damotech Foundation for the Less 

Privileged carries the pay-off, “Your 

pain is our concern”. This genuine 

concern is indeed demonstrated in 

the over 1,600 pupils that the 

Foundation paid their WAEC fees 

this year and 600 last year. 

The Foundation has also given 

scholarship to over 300 students in 

both secondary and tertiary 

institutions. There is an 

empowerment programme to the 

tune of N100,000 for market women 

without any tribal discrimination as 

long as the market woman plies her 

trade within Isoko North and South 

LGAs. His car gifts to the men folk 

came in consignments of 50 and 100 

cars. Shockingly, while the 

enigmatic philanthropist was 

sharing these cars he bought none 

for himself except a motor bike. The 

height of his car gift to men came 

when the Delta State government 

under ex-Governor, Dr Emmanuel 

Uduaghan gave out Special Purpose 

Vehicles, SUV, Toyota Land 

Cruiser, V-6, to some traditional 

rulers in Delta State, but one 

important royalty was snubbed. It 

was that of Oleh, his home town, 

His Royal Majesty, Anthony 

Williams, Onovughe Ovrawah, JP, 

FCI, Omogha I, The Odio-Ologbo 

of Oleh Kingdom. In reaction, this 

revered scion of the soil, Omoyibo 

gave his king exactly the same car 

but one with a higher engine 

capacity- a V-8 super strength. He 

carriers. 

Therefore, when the list of 14 

nominees for commissioner posts 

surfaced, not a few people heaved a 

sigh of relief that the governor had, 

indeed, got it right again. The 

preponderance of individuals with an 

experience base that is a composite of 

politics and professionalism was 

hailed as a good step in the right 

direction for the state. 

For instance, many of the new 

commissioners, apart from boasting 

of professional experiences in different 

fields, have had public service 

experiences as former legislators, local 

government chairmen and 

commissioner. 

In fact, as the citations of the new 

commissioners were reeled out on 

Thursday ahead of their taking the oath 

of allegiance and oath of office at the 

Executive Chamber of the Governor’s 

Office, to the admiration of hundreds 

of political dignitaries, civil service 

chiefs and family members of 

commissioner-nominees in 

attendance, the colourful nature of the 

new cabinet was laid bare. 

•Alao is a Special Assistant on 

Media to Oyo State Governor 

Read more on 

www.vanguardngr.com 

individual or a group of persons to 

achieve an unlawful objective. These 

Elders deliberately stabbed morality 

without any concern that those excluded 

from the inauguration are equally Edo 

sons that should be protected by these 

Elders to enjoy the fruits of their labour. 

It is totally untrue for the Elders to say 

that the Business of Edo State House of 

Assembly had fully commenced and 

already functioning in the interest of 

Edo State. 

The threat of declaring the seats of 

the Members-Elect that have not been 

inaugurated vacant because of the 

Constitutional requirement 100 

legislative days is equally unfounded. A 

tenant cannot be default of a rent when 

the landlord has not given access into 

the apartment. It is sickening that the 

Members-Elect that have not be 

inaugurated should make themselves 

available to an illegal Speaker for 

swearing-in. 

*Ediale is SECRETARY, 

Committee of Benin Progressives 

and a public commentators. 

Read more on 


topped it up with a Pilot Honda car 

to serve as Escort for his traditional 

ruler. The ovation, the story and 

appreciation that awesome gesture 

spurred, still remain familiar 

acoustics in almost every home in 

Oleh. 

Still, his Foundation pays medical 

bills for the sick, in addition to a 

major housing programme that 

builds and hands over bungalows 

and duplexes to men, women, 

widows and families. 

His Royal Majesty, Anthony 

Williams Ovrawah, in a flowing 

narrative gave a crystal account of 

how Omoyibo has touched lives in 

Oleh, how he footed his medical 

bills abroad and many community 

projects he had executed. For the 

people of Oleh, Engr. Omoyibo is 

putting their little town on a global 

map . The sheer size of his hotel, 

the expatriates it attracts and now 

the mega stars of Nollywood 

visiting, they say, are incredulous 

testaments to the silent wind of 

global fame blowing their town. 

They are proud of their eminent son 

whose image towers high and his 

influence transcending the 

boundaries of Delta State and 

Nigeria to the rest of Africa. 

In all, Daniel Omoyibo seems to 

be living up to his middle name – 

Elozino, for a tale is told of how his 

dear mother having had three boys 

before him was praying fervently for 

a girl during her fourth pregnancy. 

She was palpably disappointed 

when the baby turned out another 

boy. She was indeed depressed. But 

her husband, Daniel’s father, a man 

Daniel himself described as 

spiritually deep, saw in the new baby 

boy, a ‘messiah’ to the family. 

So he gave him the name, Elozino, 

which means “Light has come to our 

family”. And today that “Light” is 

indeed shinning, not only on 

Omoyibo’s family, town or state 

but also on Nigeria and surely 

Nollywood.

A 

Viewpoint 

By Kenny Okotie 

ever in the history of Nigeria 

Nhas the South-South risen to 

the pinnacle of the National 

Assembly since the return to 

democratic rule. 

From his humble beginnings, 

Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, being the 

Deputy Senate President of the ninth 

Senate, is from the South-South and 

senator representing Delta State 

Central. His travails on the road to 

becoming the Deputy President of 

the Senate show us not to give up on 

our dreams and visions no matter 

the temporary setback or the 

debilitating experiences we face as 

we journey through the tapestry of 

life. For, life itself, is unpredictable. 

This is to say that nature teaches us 

that it is impossible to succeed 

without going through adversity. 

Once Omo-Agege believes in a 

project, he follows it to its logical 

conclusion. Since he’s defection from 

By Toni Kan 

very death diminishes us but some 

Emore than most. 

Toni Morrison aka Chloe Ardelia 

Wofford passed on from the realm of 

mortals into that of the ancestors on August 

5, 2019. 

Nobel laureate and critically 

acclaimed author of over 10 novels, Ms. 

Morrison was a national treasure, an 

icon of the African American community 

and peerless chronicler of the African 

American experience. 

Working as an editor at Random House 

after a short academic career, she came 

to the realization that most of what she 

read could be written differently and taking 

her own counsel - ”If there’s a book that 

you want to read, but it hasn’t been written 

yet, then you must write it” - Toni 

Morrison quit her job as editor and began 

a career as novelist. 

At Random House she had edited 

works by Alice Walker, Gayle Jones, Toni 

Cade Bambara and many more. 

By Olayiwola Babatunde 

ne profound secret that the 

OIndependent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, has kept away 

from Nigerians regarding its election 

server is the use of tablets like iPad called 

Z-Pad which is the brand name of its 

manufacturer. The INEC server is 

useless if INEC ad-hoc staff did not send 

election results to it during elections. The 

secret link between the INEC server and 

the public is the fact that INEC recruited 

IT technicians from a public portal, 

trained them and paid them honoraria 

for using the Z-Pads to send election 

results to the INEC server on election 

day. What is Z-Pad? Before further 

explanation about the Z-Pad a little 

background on INEC’s recruitment 

efforts to enable the use of the Z-Pad. 

Just before the 2019 general election, 

By Mike Awhawha 

The Omo-Agege factor in S/South 

the Labour Party to the All 

Progressives Congress (APC) on 

March 7, 2017, he has been a 

dedicated member of the party and 

its ideology. Recall that during the 

Eighth Senate how he doggedly 

threw his weight behind President 

Buhari when the lawmakers had 

issues concerning INEC and Buhari. 

Such is Omo-Agege! Those who know 

him are not surprised. 

He is a legal titan who had travelled 

far and wide. In 1990, he relocated to 

the United States (US) where he 

worked as a foreign associate at 

Charles O. Agege’s Law Office in Los 

Angeles, Califonia. Omo-Agege was 

called to the state bar of Califonia, 

United States District Court and the 

United States Supreme Court, 

Washington, DC. His avidity with the 

law and constitutional matters is 

legendary. No wonder Senate President 

Ahmed Lawan congratulated him on 

Reading them she realized that there 

was scant representation of ordinary 

black people navigating quotidian 

issues like her folks back in Lorain, Ohio. 

So she decided to write about them, these 

black people in all their simplicity and 

complexity against a broader canvas of 

their lives as former, freed or descendants 

of slaves. Her writing was honoured with 

a Pulitzer as well as a Nobel prize in 

1993 making her the first African 

American woman to win it. The prize 

motivation read that she was being 

honoured for writing novels which 

“…characterized by visionary force and 

poetic import, gives life to an essential 

aspect of American reality.” 

That essential aspect of American life 

was her focus on capturing and 

immortalizing through literature life in 

rural America while highlighting and 

celebrating the centrality of women, 

especially black women, in the 

community. 

OKIEMUTE: The quintessential selfless leader 

popular Kenya politician, Mwai 

Kibaki, once said “ Leadership is 

a privilege to better the lives of others”. 

Hon. Benjamin Essien Okiemute, a 

retired Navy personnel and former 

member of Delta State House of Assembly, 

has lived all his life to better 

humanity. 

Okiemute, a complete gentleman, 

loyal and committed member of the 

All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta 

State, is integrity personified, who 

had served the country meritoriously. 

Being a strong pro-Buhari supporter, 

the former lawmaker, had consistently 

mobilized resources to support 

the campaigns and elections of President 

Muhammadu Buhari in Delta 

State. 

Clearly, Okiemute is among several 

reputable and worthy Nigerians who 

had served and contributed immensely 

to the growth of this country and it’s 

only fair to celebrate such personalities. 

Born in 1966, the retired Navy officer, 

was enlisted or joined the Nigeria 

Navy in 1987, and assumed General 

Seaman Duties in 1988. He was a 

trained Gunner (Q/A) in 1989 to 1990. 

Okiemute had his basic education 

at Ewoma Primary School, Ivrogbo 

and Ivrogbo-Irri Grammar School 

both in Delta State. 

He later attended Delta State University, 

Abraka, Delta State, where he 

got his first degree, Bsc Sociology and 

further obtained Msc Industrial Sociology 

from same Delta State University. 

Okiemute, was in University of California, 

for a Leadership course at 

Goldman School of Public Policy, UC 

Berkeley, California, United States of 

America. He also attended Oxford 

University, London, for a Leadership 

course, in the United Kingdom. 

Back in 1991, he was in Directorate 

of Navy Intelligence, Apapa, and also 

in 1993 was assigned General Seamanship 

Duties in the Nigeria Navy. 

He was Head of Operations, Cracks, 

Delta Region. 

Okiemute worked at various capacities 

such as Trained Special Force, 

Intelligence Operations, Intelligence 

Surveillance, Intelligence Sweeping. 

He was also trained on Special Body 

Guard and Tactical Operations. He 

served as Presidency Operations to late 

Head of State, General Sani Abacha. 

At Navy House in Lagos, between 

1993 to 1994, he was a personal body 

guard to former Chief of Naval Staff, 

Vice-Admiral Dan Prince-Will 

Omashola and Vice Admiral Saidu. 

In 1994, he assumed at NNS, Delta ( 

Warri) as General Intelligence Duties 

/ Operations. In 1995, he moved to 

NNBTS, Akaso Port Harcourt, on 

same assignment and eventually returned 

to NNS Beecroft Lagos, on 

General Intelligence Duties and Operations 

in 1996. 

Interestingly, in 1997, he was reassigned 

to DNI Annex Operations ( 

HQ), Apapa Lagos, on Investigation, 

Technical Duties and Operations. 

his 56 th birthday by describing him as 

a principled political leader and a 

beacon of hope. Lawan also 

commended him for his zeal and 

uncompromising commitment to the 

principles of participatory democracy, 

justice and equity. 

Omo-Agege is indeed an enigma 

and an asset to the present 9th Senate. 

His deliberations and contributions in 

this dispensation would be invaluable 

and beneficial to the entire country as a 

whole. Time alone will vindicate yours 

sincerely. Obarisi is a pride not only to 

Delta Central which he represents but 

also the entire Delta State and even the 

South-South zone. He is our entire 

delight ad a “primus inter pares” – the 

first among equals. Everybody within 

this zone should always pray for his 

success and for God Almighty to imbue 

him with divine health and wisdom to 

be able to finish this race which has 

only just begun. 

Thereafter, to Defence Headquarters, 

Lagos on Operations. Same year in 

1979, he was redeployed to NN Shipyard, 

Port Harcourt on General Intelligence 

Duties. 

Hon. Okiemute also served as a Personal 

Body Guard to Captain Joseph 

Adewusi, former Sole Administrator, 

Government House, Akwa Ibom State 

in 1979. He also served as Assistance 

Chief Security Officer to Captain 

Walter Feghabo, former Sole Administrator, 

Government House, Delta 

State in 1998. 

Having served the two prominent 

Nigerians and former Sole Administrators, 

he was again moved to NNS 

NNEC, Sapele, as General Intelligence 

Duties / Instructor, Technical 

Duties in 1999. 

Between 2000 to 2001, at NNS Delta, 

Warri, as General Intelligence Duties 

/ Surveillance, he led the Operation 

Zuma, that actually destroyed 80 

bunkering badges and three cargo vessels 

in Delta State. 

SUNDAY Vanguard, August 18, 2019,Page 43 

I want to emphatically state that it 

cuts beyond tribal inclinations or 

religion and also is irrespective of the 

party you belong to, this illustrious son 

of our soil should be accorded the 

necessary inputs to enable him live 

above board and attract development 

strides to the region. At this juncture, I 

must congratulate a body of the Itsekiris 

for placing a congratulatory advert in 

the newspaper when he emerged as 

the Deputy Senate President. I do not 

know if other tribes in the Niger Delta 

did the same but if they didn’t, it’s not 

too late. The era of tribal sentiments 

should be over in this 21 st century. 

Primordial sentiments should be 

considered archaic and should not be 

tolerated whatsoever. It blows only ill 

winds. I prophesy good tidings on the 

entire South South geopolitical zone 

being the proverbial “goose that lays 

the golden egg” not only for the region 

but the entire country. The zone has 

Toni Morrison re-defined and enriched the world of literature 

Her career move from editing to 

writing was made almost at middle age 

but it was one that had to be made 

because without that move the libraries 

of the world would not have been 

enriched by books like The Bluest Eye or 

Sula or Beloved or Jazz or Song of 

Solomon amongst others. 

Toni Morrison’s books are cultural 

artefacts. She wrote black with neither 

equivocation nor apologies. Her raison 

d’etre for writing was to chronicle and 

privilege the black experience. Slavery 

and its repercussions was a constant 

theme but so was the black body; it’s 

representation and traducers. She was 

also firmly focused on womanhood and 

matriarchy. Her novels were celebrations 

of women in all their flawed glory. Her 

aesthetic and pragmatic agenda was 

unashamedly and unequivocally 

feminist. On the colourful canvases of 

her novels we always found female 

characters dominating as if Morison had 

INEC server: The unspoken secrets of z-pad? 

when the President generated needless 

and intense controversy by his refusal 

to accent to the Amended 2019 

Electoral Act, one of the redeeming acts 

which restored INEC’s autonomy was 

the willingness of the commission to 

assert its right to determine election 

procedure based on already existing 

laws. 

The commission through its proxies 

reminded the country that former 

President Goodluck Jonathan signed 

the 2015 Amended Electoral Act, in the 

new version of the Act, Section 52 the 

Act empowered INEC to determine the 

procedure of elections without 

equivocating, the provision states that: 

“Voting at an election under this Act 

shall be in accordance with the 

procedure determined by the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission.” 

On the basis of that section of the 

extant Act and the provisions of Section 

160 of the constitution which states 

that:”Any of the bodies may with the 

approval of the President, by rules or 

otherwise regulate its procedures or 

confer powers and impose duties on any 

officer or authority for discharging its 

functions; provided that in the case of 

the Independent National Electoral 

Commission, its powers to make its own 

rules or otherwise regulate its own 

procedures shall not be subject to the 

approval or control of the president” 

It is widely known and undoubtedly 

accepted that these legal enablers 

informed INEC’s decision to use the 

electronic transmission of results, hence 

•Okiemute 

internalized Helen Cixous views 

expressed in her essay “The Laugh of the 

Medussa” where she affirmed that 

“Woman must write herself: must write 

about women and bring women to 

writing, from which they have been 

driven as violently as from their bodies.” 

Her work was different, black, 

beautifully poetic and female. In her 

novels one did not find the romanticism 

and religiosity of early black writers like 

John Hammond or Phyllis Wheatley; 

the militancy and fiery stridency of 

writers like Richard Wright and James 

Baldwin or the kumbaya-ness and focus 

on the interior and the self of later writers. 

Toni Morrison spoke hard truths, 

dissected difficult subjects and gave us 

books that reclaimed not just blackness 

but what it means to be black and often 

female in America. 

She was a woman who wrote about 

women, strong black women. Accused 

of writing men who are always one 

the Chairman of the INEC and a few 

Resident Electoral Commissioners used 

this legal backing to inform the public 

that it was going to transmit results for 

the 2019 general election, a 

programme that it has been piloting 

since the 2011 general election. 

To appreciate the scale of work 

required by INEC to achieve the digital 

collation and transmission of results to 

augment manual collation and 

transmission as well as appreciate how 

it was expected to advance electoral 

integrity, it is necessary to note that it 

budgeted for and indeed procured 

tablets for each of the eight thousand 

eight hundred and nine ,8,809, 

Registration Areas or wards in the local 

governments in the six geopolitical 

zones of the country. 

On the basis of the above estimated, 

In 2002, he was redeployed to 

NNEC, Sapele, Intelligence Duties / 

Instructor, Technical Duties and Operation, 

Investigation Duties / Instructor 

at Headquarters, WNC, Lagos. 

Having served in the Nigeria Navy 

meritoriously with outstanding track 

record, he voluntarily discharged from 

active service of the Nigeria Navy in 

2004. 

Okiemute, as an investor and security 

expert, in 2004, he founded Hamilton 

Guards Limited ( Provider of Industries 

and Private Guards) and has 

been a Security Consultant to several 

private organizations. 

Hamilton Guards Limited which is 

today the most visible indigenous security 

firm in Niger Delta State with 

over 400 staff across the region. 

In recognition and appreciation of 

his selfless service to the country and 

humanity, he was honoured and given 

awards by several organizations. 

In December, 2008, he bagged the 

Isoko Heroes Award from the Publisher 

of Isoko Mirror Newspaper. And in 

March, 2009, he was honoured as the 

“Best Human and Community Developer”, 

an award given to him by The 

Front-Line News. 

While in 2009, he bagged the Best 

Honorable Member on “ Human Development 

Award of Excellence” from 

the National Association of Delta State 

Students, Delta State University, Oleh 

Campus chapter. More so, he was given 

the Isoko Mega Award by Champions 

World Entertainment/Delta State 

been neglected for too long a time by 

past administrations. In Psalm 102:13, 

the bible tells us that “You will arise 

and have compassion on Zone, for it is 

time to show favour to her, the 

appointed time has come”. There is 

going to be a progressive development 

to this zone sonnest, for the appointed 

time has come. It’s the Lord’s doing. 

His choice of Mr. Omeni Sobotie as 

his Special Adviser on Political Matters 

is pragmatic. It is just like putting a 

round peg in a round hole” Mr. Sobotie 

is loaded with an enigmatic political 

prowess, a political mathematician 

who has paid his dues in the murky 

waters of Nigerian politics. 

Furthermore, he is a colossus, astute 

administrator and an enthusiastic 

leader of impeccable worthiness. 

Thereafter, the political stage is been 

set for serious business. It’s a win-win 

situation for Delta State, South-South 

geopolitical zone and the entire country. 

*Okotie is Founder/Chairman, 

Abadingo Abadango Foundation 

(AAF) Kenneyokotie@yahoo.com , 

08062193311 

dimensional and dysfunctional, she was 

unapologetic about privileging the black 

narrative through the points of view of 

women – Pecola in the bluest Eye, Sula 

and Eva and Nel in Sula, Beloved and 

Sethe and Halle in Beloved. 

Her women were always strong, often 

times man-crazy, conflicted and 

complex, hard loving and sacrificial, 

homicidal and murderous. 

In Beloved, one of her characters 

explaining the depth of motherlove says 

“Love is or love ain’t, thin love ain’t love 

at all.” Love was always a key theme in 

Morisson’s works whether of a man for 

woman and vice versa or woman for 

woman as many analysts have alluded 

to in the relation between Sula and Nel 

or mother to children, one that is often 

sacrificial. 

Read more on 


INEC recruited Information Technology 

technicians for training, including 

online recruitment, developed a 

Training kit for Registration Area Techs 

,RATECH, and Local Government 

Techs ,LGATECHs, and trained them 

through its IT and electoral Institute line 

activities sponsored by International 

Foundation for Electoral Systems ,IFES, 

which sponsored the trainings in Cross 

River and Kaduna states. These activities 

were all budgeted for, implemented and 

funds disbursed and used for them all 

over the country. 

For the training and field activities, 

INEC procured 

z-Pad 

Tablets from organisations 

and selected personnel from those 

trained after the recruitment. 

*Babatunde, an election data 

analyst, writes from Ibadan 

Read more on 


Council of Arts and Culture. 

He also bagged Golden Award for 

Excellence from Nigerian Print Journalism 

Development and several other 

awards just to mention a few. 

In 2011, he secured the opportunity 

to serve his people of Isoko South Constituency 

2, and he was eventually 

elected to represent the people of Isoko 

South Constituency 2, from 2011 

to 2015. 

Evidently, because his only intention 

and political journey to the Delta State 

House of Assembly was to better the 

lives of his people, he ensured that all 

constituency projects were executed 

and completed. 

The 12 Constituency projects were 

construction of six modern classrooms 

block and renovation of staff 

quarter at Ivrogbo Grammar 

School. Renovation of three modern 

classrooms and construction of 

five room toilets at Itimi primary 

school, Irri. Construction of three 

modern classrooms at Abriku primary 

School, Ada and construction 

of three primary school at Eto primary 

school, Ivory. Construction of 

Three modern classrooms at Eweri 

primary school, Emede, construction 

of three modern classrooms at 

Okugbe primary school, Ikpide. 

Construction of three modern classrooms 

at ICS, Oleh and construction 

of three modern classrooms at 

Idheze primary school, construction 

of three modern classrooms at Orie 

and construction of three modern 

classrooms at Uro. 

Read more on 

www.vanguardngr.com


Tribute 

IN 1970 when Austin Avuru got into Orogun 

Grammar School (OGS), STEM referred 

to one thing, a structural axis or branch of a 

tree. 

But today, as Judith Hallinen writes in an 

April 12, 2017 brittanica.com article, STEM 

now refers to a new field of study encompassing 

“science, technology, engineering, and 

mathematics…introduced in 2001 by scientific 

administrators at the U.S. National Science 

Foundation (NSF). 

The organization previously used the 

acronym SMET when referring to the career 

fields in those disciplines or a curriculum that 

integrated knowledge and skills from those 

fields. In 2001, however, American biologist 

Judith Ramaley, then assistant director of 

education and human resources at NSF, 

rearranged the words to form the STEM 

acronym. Since then, STEM-focused 

curriculum has been extended to many 

countries beyond the United States, with 

programs developed in places such as 

Australia, China, France, South Korea, Taiwan, 

and the United Kingdom. 

What does STEM have to do with Austin 

Avuru who grew up in rural Abbi of the late 60s 

and early 70s and attended school at the 

provincial but well regarded OGS ? Plenty as 

we will soon see. 

But first some rumination. If life was fair 

and we all get what we wish for, Austin Avuru 

may not be the CEO of Nigeria’s pre-eminent 

oil and gas independent. “He would probably 

be a poorly paid journalist sweating it out in a 

musty newsroom with poor lighting and faulty 

air conditioning. Or maybe he would be a poor 

writer, famous across Africa and the rest of the 

world but unable to pay his bills or his 

children’s school fees. 

But maybe, not to be too pessimistic, he could 

have become a top level economist, working 

for the Central Bank or the Africa 

Development Bank or maybe the IMF. 

As he remembers it, his natural inclination 

was to the arts and social sciences. Science 

was not in his purview. He liked his English 

Literature as well as Economics and 

Commerce. He had grown up the son of a 

business woman who had married one of the 

richest men in their village so there was a 

natural or maybe reflex reaction to business. 

The year was 1973 and Austin Avuru was 

about to choose the subjects he would enter for 

his West African School Certificate exams. 

Choosing a subject was a momentous occasion 

because the subjects you chose in Form 3 

defined, in many ways, your subsequent 

academic and career trajectory. 

I was going to choose these social sciences,” 

he recalls but he had a new teacher, a 25 years 

old chain smoking geologist who had been 

posted to OGS to teach physics. His name was 

Solomon Abba and as Austin recalls it one 

day, his young teacher asked him what subjects 

he was planning to choose and what he was 

planning to study at University. 

I said I will study Business Administration in 

the university. He said why? I said I want to be 

a businessman. And he said, but you can be a 

businessman even if you read engineering. I 

said really? He said yes. So, that’s how I 

dropped a few subjects. I brought in Physics 

then dropped French and Commerce. I also 

brought in Geography and kept Economics. 

My strength was in the social sciences. So, if I 

had read Economics, Sociology, especially 

Economics or Sociology or even the Arts, if I 

had read English Language or Literature in 

English, maybe I would have made a First 

Class without having to even work as hard as 

I did. But finishing secondary school, we were 

told that if you are a brilliant student you should 

be studying the sciences. 

Today, that youth corps teacher is an Emeritus 

Professor at the Federal University, Bauchi. 

His name is Solomon Abba. Austin Avuru 

credits him with steering the ship of his destiny 

unto the path of STEM. “If there was any real 

influence on me in my secondary school, it 

was Mr. Abba who is now Professor Abba. 

Professor Abba’s influence cannot be glossed 

over because Austin Avuru came from a home 

where there was no real influence 

academically. His mother was not schooled 

and the only educated adult in the family was 

his aunt Margaret who was married to the 

brilliant whip wielding teacher, Steve Emuh. 

But even then, how educated were they?“And 

this was not peculiar to Austin Avuru. It was the 

same for his bosom friend Pius Opute. He was 

also influenced by Abba to study the sciences 

because their natural brilliance made them 

STEM candidates. 

Before Abba came to OGS and turned the 

Tribute @ 61: How 

Austin Avuru became 

a science student 

•Austin Avuru 

youngster’s gazes towards the sciences Austin 

and Pius had a favourite teacher. His name 

was Mr. Iwebema and he taught them English. 

He wasn’t a graduate but the boys didn’t even 

realise it. He had an NCE but his students 

thought he was a professor and the best teacher 

on earth. He tooled around town in a spiffy 

Vespa and taught English Language as if he 

was first cousin to the Queen. Thanks to him, 

Austin made A3 in English which was 

remarkably impressive in a village school like 

OGS. 

Why was Abba so influential in the lives of 

the two young Abbi boys and their eventual 

academic choices...? First was a perception of 

cool.“Solomon Abba was just 25 in 1973. Born 

in 1948 he had graduated with a 2:1 in Geology 

from Ahmadu Bello University and had come 

to Abbi among the first set of youth corps 

members when the scheme was launched in 

1973. He was a young man just like the 17- 

year-old boys he was teaching Physics. His cool 

If life was fair and we 

all get what we wish 

for, Austin Avuru may 

not be the CEO of 

Nigeria’s pre-eminent 

oil and gas 

independent 

quotient was ratcheted higher by the fact that 

he was a chain smoking geology graduate who 

made physics look like arithmetic. 

We just liked him,” Austin Avuru says with a 

fond smile. “Pius and I thought he was the most 

brilliant person on earth. He would come and 

teach us Physics and he had a way of 

dramatizing things. He always had a cigarette 

in one hand. He would be teaching and smoking 

a cigarette and when we told him to slow down 

that it was getting too difficult to follow he 

would laugh and say “wait till we get to 

Almighty formula.” 

Secondly, Solomon Abba’s counsel was 

sought after and accepted because these were 

brilliant young boys with no role models when 

it came to academics. By the time they were 

choosing their subjects and preparing for 

WAEC, there was really no one in their families 

to go to provide sound counsel. 

So, following Abba’s counsel, Austin Avuru 

settled for Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics 

and Biology and then English Language, 

Literature in English, Economics and 

Geography. If he hadn’t met Abba, Austin Avuru 

would never have read Physics and mostly 

probably wouldn’t have toed the science line 

at all. 

By the time he and his friend, Pius Opute sat 

for their school certificate exams, Solomon 

Abba was long gone but the seed he had sown 

in them had germinated and the impact he 

had on them is best captured by this quote 

attributed to William Arthur Ward: “The 

mediocre teacher tells/The good teacher 

explains/The superior teacher demonstrates/ 

The great teacher inspires. 

They were so inspired that they finished with 

the two best results in their year. Out of 118 

students, Austin Avuru and Pius Opute emerged 

the only ones with Division 1.“After finishing 

school, the two friends had a few options. Go 

to university; go for A-levels or teach.“They 

chose to teach to the chagrin of their former 

principal, Mr. Demas Akpore. By this time, 

Demas Akpore had handed over the school he 

founded to the state government “without 

collecting a dime” Austin Avuru recalls. After 

the take-over, Akpore, who would later gain 

national prominence as Deputy Governor of 

Bendel state under Ambrose Alli, went to 

Ughelli as principal of Government College, 

Ughelli.“He was disappointed that his two best 

students were choosing to teach instead of 

gaining more knowledge and preparing for 

university by going for their A’Levels. 

So, that was how the duo applied to become 

teachers. They were accepted and posted to 

some primary school near Ughelli. But the new 

principal, Mr. Ozulu intervened. He went out 

of his way to change their posting from the 

primary school they had been posted to by the 

school management board back to OGS and 

so, between the two of them, they taught 

Mathematics, Physics and Biology to students 

in Classes 3 – 5. 

Austin Avuru was just 17 years old. 

(Excerpted from A Safe Pair of Hands, The 

Austin Avuru Biography” by Peju Akande and 

Toni Kan.)“ 

Fayemi’s aide 

bags UN award 

By Paschaline Nwakudo 

pecial Adviser on Development 

S Partnership, to Ekiti State governor, Mrs. 

Margaret Taiwo Fagboyo, has been conferred 

with a leadership award by the United 

Nations. 

The award, “Distinguished Leader and Role 

Model Award,” was bestowed on her for her 

exemplary support for the development and 

empowerment of youths. 

Before her appointment as an aide, Mrs. 

Fagboyo was the Programme Manager, 

South-West for the Department for 

International Development (DFID) 

The UN award was by Centre for Leadership 

and Good Governance International in 

conjunction with NGM Group. It was part of 

activities marking the United Nations’ 2019 

International Youth Day. 

Delivering a keynote address at the event, 

Fagboyo declared to the distinguished 

gathering that “Human capital, particularly 

the youths, not oil, will determine Nigeria’s 

future”. 

Speaking further on the topic “Transforming 

Education”, she said population growth will 

make Africa’s youth to be 10 times the size of 

the young population of the European Union 

by 2050, which could be a demographic 

dividend if the right action is taken on time. 

New enter 

ertainment 

hub, ‘Kohinoor Lagos’ 

ups the ante 

T 

he city of Lagos recently shook to its roots 

as one of the new leading lounges, 

Kohinoor Lagos, partnered with Dublin Irish 

Whiskey, Jameson, to thrill fun-seekers to a 

delightful experience at its Kusenla, Ikate- 

Elegushi location in Lagos. 

Nigerians seeking various lifestyle 

experiences had their most expectations 

fulfilled at the night when soul music singer 

and multi-instrumentalist, Bez, alongside 

Lagos based ‘Afrocentric influenced’ band, 

Cavemen by Kingsley and Benjamin Okorie 

took the center stage with their performance 

of Afro-beats, highlife, jazz, R&B and soul 

music. 

With about 10-business units, The Kohinoor 

Hub is a one-stop center which hosts a 

supermarket – Madiba Mart, a restaurant, 

lounge and bar – Kohinoor Lounge, a 

pharmacy, a bakery, a fast food place, a 

farmers’ mart, an ice creams place, a café, a 

work zone with amazing work stations for 

lease. The mall has complimenting short let 

apartments, which as well, hosts on its rooftop, 

the Skyline Lounge, Skyline Spar and Skyline 

Gym. 

Within few months of opening, the hub has 

positioned itself as a fascinating go-to-place 

for all lifestyle desires of her customers by 

providing the convenience of shopping at 

affordable prices that gives one value for 

money; a place to relax with friends and a 

work zone that enables networking, amongst 

other offers. 

To further provide convenience to customers, 

an online shopping is available, where 

customers can purchase online and their 

orders will be delivered to their doorsteps. 

There is also two automated teller machines 

(ATMs) set up outside the mall to serve buyers 

and residents in the environment. 

My passion and joy is seeing the 

youth discover themselves 

—Agatha Amata 

The Chief Executive Officer, Rave Tv, Mrs 

Agatha Amata has disclosed that her passion 

and joy is seeing the youth discover themselves 

and be more productive in the country. 

Disclosing this at Rave Tv unveiling of a 

new logo to commemorate her 5th 

anniversary on national digital terrestrial 

television, Agatha said her passion for the 

youth has endeared her to work more with 

young people. 

She noted that Rave Tv, just like inside out, 

is a bigger platform for youths and people 

who wants to express themselves to the world. 

“Many of the people working with me are 

very young talented people who are working 

for the first time and that is the essence of 

Rave tv because they have been able to discover 

themselves. With the relaunch and unveiling 

of its new logo, that is youthful, approachable, 

timeless and fit for the 21st century audience 

to leave a top of the mind rave experience 

amongst our viewers, online and offline” she 

stated. 

She disclosed that Rave Tv will be repositioning 

her stand in the digital broadcast 

space as Nigeria’s first so exciting, interactive 

youth focused television with the relaunch and 

unveiling of its new logo. 

According to her, Nigerians wants to err their 

views and Rave Tv has alot of programs that 

gives room for that. 

“In the twenty years plus that I hosted Inside 

out, we give people opportunity to err their views 

and think right and they have a voice that can be 

heard. We have been able to provide that space 

for them to experiment and after five years, its 

going to be bigger and better” she stated.

African Games: I’m not under pressure to break 

Ajunwa’s record, says Brume 

By Ben Efe 

Nigeria’s long jump 

sensation, Ese 

Brume has been tipped to 

win the gold at Africa 

Games which is expected 

to go in full swing today 

in Rabat, Morocco. 

Brume leads the African 

jump with a massive 

7.05m the second world 

leading time after Tanzania 

born German jumper 

Malaika Mihambo’s 

7.16m. Ese is bustling 

with a good form this season 

is being tipped to do 

more for herself in the 

days to come with Chioma 

Ajunwa’s 7.12m 

long standing African 

record in sight, but 

humble Brume said yesterday 

that she isn’t 

under any kind of pressure 

to surpass the 

mark even though it is 

something she would 

gladly record as a personal 

life time achievement. 

“No I’m not under any 

kind of pressure to 

break the African 

record. I know that peo- 

ple are looking up to me 

to do it but... Im just taking 

every step as it 

comes. Glory to God 

when that record breaking 

distance comes,” 

said Brume. 

She maintained that 

she is focused on her 

training and would be 

joining the Nigerian 

team in Morocco from 

her base in Cyprus. 

“I’m going out there to 

do my best and better 

myself and also give 

God the glory,” Brume 

added. 

Osinbajo urges Nigerian masters to 

brace up for World Championships 

Vice president, Prof 

Yemi Osinbajo has 

urged Nigerian athletics 

masters to brace up for 

the challenges of the 

IAAF World Athletics 

Masters Championships 

billed for Canada next 

year. 

Prof. Osinbajo made the 

charge when a group of 

Nigerian masters paid 

him a courtesy call during 

the week in Abuja, to 

intimate the Nigerian 

number two with their 

plans and aspiration for 

the championships meant 

to keep retired athletes 

busy in their old age. 

Osinbajo commended 

the dedication of the athletes 

led by Falilat 

Ogunkoya, reigning African 

400m record holder 

at 49.10 seconds. Osinbajo 

said it was a good 

thing retired athletes 

were still looking fit and 

strong, he added that 

other sports order than 

athletes should also embrace 

the concept. He 

offered his moral and financial 

support for the 

masters in their quest to 

represent Nigeria in the 

championships next 

year. 

“The vice president 

appreciated our efforts,” 

said Ogunkoya. 

“We are doing our best 

to give a good representation 

to Nigeria 

next year at the Cham- 

pionships and the good 

thing is that we have support 

of the Vice President, 

sports ministry and 

though we still need 

more support from members 

of the public, our 

plans are well on track.” 

Other members 

present at the villa for 

the visit are Mr Samuel 

Onikeku (Executive 

Board Member of NAM) 

Mr Peters Femi Olajide 

(Medallist) Mr Abudullahi 

Mekudi (Medallist) 

Mr Dele Ige (Medallist) 

Mrs Abosede Funke 

Ogunfuye ( Facilitator) 

Mr Omisakin Alabi Olatokunbo 

( Journalist / 

Media Consultant For 

NAM). 

Vice President, Prof. Osinbajo greets members of the Nigeria Athletics Masters 

in Abuja 

Guinea put Put out for life 

The Guinea Football 

Federation (Feguifoot) 

has placed a life ban 

on former Guinea coach 

Paul Put and a seven year 

suspension on the federation’s 

vice president, 

Amadou Diaby. 

Feguifoot’s ethics commission 

ruled that both 

Put and Diaby had allegedly 

breached the institution’s 

code of ethics and 

its code of discipline. 

63-year-old Put was in 

charge of Guinea at the 

2019 Africa Cup of Nations 

where the Syli Nationale 

exited the tournament 

in the round of 16. 

Feguifoot’s ethics commission 

confirmed both 

men have also been 

handed hefty fines following 

an investigation, 

with Paul Put ordered to 

pay 100,000 euros (approximately 

US$ 

110,944) while Amadou 

Diaby has been fined 

25,000 euros (approximately 

US$ 27,736) . 

Belgian tactician Paul 

Put was sacked by 

Guinea last month 

amidst an “atmosphere 

of mistrust,” according 

to the Guinea Federation. 

*Paul Put 

Bring it On... Ese Brume 

D’Tigers’ trip 

to China 

under threat 

D 

’Tigers’ earlier 

scheduled trip to 

China in continuation of 

their preparation for the 

FIBA World Cup may 

have suffered a setback 

over paucity of funds as 

the Nigeria Basketball 

Federation continues 

struggling to make funds 

available. This much was 

made known to journalists 

at the weekend by the 

General Manager of the 

team, Musa Adamu when 

asked about the team’s 

plan for the FIBA 2019 

World Cup in China. 

“I cannot tell you exactly 

when the team is leaving 

for China, the basketball 

federation has been 

doing a lot for this team. 

We started this elimination 

over a year ago and 

now going to two years 

and the federation has 

been funding the trips for 

each window. 

“Each window, we had 

to bring players, fly them 

down, accommodate them 

and also pay insurance 

and all these things have 

been done single-highhandedly 

by the federation 

with a promise from 

the ministry to support us, 

but we are still expecting 

and hoping that they will 

do so before we leave for 

China,” Adamu continued. 

The former Nigerian 

international revealed 

that despite plans to adequately 

prepare the team 

for the apex global sports 

fiesta, the unavailability of 

funds might just be the 

clog in the wheel of the 

team’s preparation.- 

“The team is here in Nigeria, 

so we hope that 

they will act because we 

don’t know when we will 

leave. There are no funds 

available for now. The federation 

is looking up to the 

Ministry with the hope 

that the funds will be released 

for us to leave” 

Vanguard, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019 — 45 

Siasia faces hard choices 

after FIFA ban 

Former Super Eagles 

striker and coach, 

Samson Siasia failed to 

address the media yesterday 

to give his own 

account of the story following 

a life ban 

slammed on him by 

world soccer governing 

body FIFA over match 

fixing allegations. 

Siasia denied any 

knowledge of the matching 

fixing allegations, it 

was revealed that FIFA 

wrote to him twice in 

February 13 2019 and 

March 7 2019 to defend 

himself and he failed to 

do so, hence the decision 

to give him a life 

ban a fine of N18m. 

Though he was not involved 

in any match fixing, 

but the fact that he 

accepted to collect bribes 

and throw a match is the 

expression of intent and 

was enough for FIFA to 

slam the coach. He is 

now left with the choice 

2019 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket final 

D’Tigress chase historic 

fourth title against 

Senegal 

By John Egbokhan 

Nigeria’s women 

national basketball 

side, D’Tigress will 

today in the 15,000 seater 

Dakar Arena, go up in 

arms against Senegal in 

the final of the 2019 FIFA 

Women’s AfroBasket 

Championship, with the 

Nigerians chasing an 

historic fourth title, while 

the hosts are bidding for 

a record 13th crown 

It is the second time in 

two years that both sides 

will clash in the final of 

Africa’s premier basketball 

tournament for women. 

With four impressive 

wins under their belt 

against Tunisia, Cameroon, 

Congo Democratic 

Republic and Mali, it 

would not be a walk in 

the park for D’Tigress 

who face a Senegal side 

yet to lose a match so far 

in front of their fans 

On the evidence of Friday’s 

semifinal tie 

against Mozambique, 

where they came back 

from the dead, overturning 

an 18 point deficit to 

overcome a strong 

Mozambique charge 60- 

57 to book their third 

straight Final, the hosts 

will be buzzing with self 

D’Tigress 

*Siasia 

of appealing the ban or 

accepting it. “I believe 

Siasia should access the 

situation thoroughly especially 

with the two letters 

confirmed he was 

given room to defend 

himself,” said former 

NFF technical director 

Chris Greene. 

belief that they can finally 

stop the rampaging 

Nigerians from running 

away with a second successive 

title and make 

up for the loss to 

D’Tigress, in the final 

two years ago. 

Senegal head coach, 

Cheikh Sarr hopes his 

star performers like captain 

Astou Traore, who 

slammed home 16 

points, nine rebounds 

against Mozambique, 

Bintou Dieme and Sy- 

Diop will turn up big 

time against D’Tigress. 

Having looked flawless 

so far and playing in 

their fifth FIBA Women’s 

AfroBasket Final, all 

eyes will be on D’Tigress 

star, Ezinne Kalu, who 

for the second match in 

a row, top scored with 19 

points, made five assists 

and two rebounds to continue 

her impressive 

run, which Nigerians 

hope will not abate 

against Senegal. 

Captain Adaora Elonu, 

Evelyn Akhator and 

Atonye Nyingifa who 

added 13, 12 and 10 

points against Mali are 

also ready to seize their 

chances in today’s final, 

with Akhator stating that 

“”we are going for the 

title and believe that we 

will get’’.

46 — Vanguard, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019 

Aubameyang fires Gunners to another win 

Pierre-Emerick Aubam 

eyang grabbed the 

winner as Arsenal overcame 

a stubborn Burnley to 

maintain their winning 

start in the Premier League 

with a 2-1 victory at the 

Emirates Stadium on Saturday. 

It was the first time in 10 

years that Arsenal have 

won their first two league 

games of a season and 

manager Unai Emery was 

delighted with the team’s 

performance. 

“We can be happy. Our 

idea, our gameplan on the 

pitch was knowing it was 

going to be tough because 

we need to adapt,” the 

Spaniard told reporters. 

“A lot of moments we 

couldn’t impose our gameplan 

because they pushed 

and their gameplan was a 

struggle for us.” 

“We’ve started with two 

victories, last year we lost 

two,” Emery added. “Our 

challenge is each match. 

We’re happy with six 

points. Next week we are 

against Liverpool, a big 

challenge. “Being realistic, 

(it) is going to be tough.” 

PSG leave 

Neymar out 

again 

Neymar has been left 

out of the Paris St 

Germain team for the second 

week running, coach 

Thomas Tuchel said on Saturday, 

as speculation continues 

over whether or not 

the Brazilian will remain 

at the French champions. 

“He won’t be with us,” 

Tuchel told reporters 

ahead of Sunday’s league 

match away at Rennes, 

adding that the forward 

was still not fully fit having 

missed last week’s season 

opening win over 

Nimes. 

Tuchel said Neymar’s 

future at PSG remained 

undecided, but that he remained 

one of the club’s 

most important players. 

“If I think of a strong PSG 

team, I think of a team with 

‘Ney’ in it,” the German 

coach said. 

Neymar joined Qatariowned 

PSG from Barcelona 

in 2017 in a deal valued 

at a record 222 million 

euros ($246 million). 

However, injuries have 

kept him out of key Champions 

League matches and 

media reports have linked 

him with a transfer to Barcelona 

or Real Madrid. 

*Neymar 

Arsenal's striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (L) vies with Burnley's defender 

James Tarkowski during the English Premier League football match 

between Arsenal and Burnley at the Emirates Stadium in London on August 

17, 2019. Photo: AFP 

AFCON sacked coaches' list swells with 

Angola’s Vasiljevic 

Srdjan Vasiljevic be 

came the latest 

coach to leave his job in 

the wake of the 2019 

Africa Cup of Nations 

after he and the Angolan 

Football Association 

agreed to end their relationship. 

His contract was due 

to expire in January but 

it was cut short, with an 

extension to the deal 

unlikely. 

Angola will now prepare 

for the upcoming 

World Cup and Africa 

Cup of Nations qualifying 

campaigns under a 

new regime. 

Paco Alcacer, Jadon 

Sancho and Marco 

Reus turned on the style 

as Borussia Dortmund 

recovered from conceding 

an early goal to 

land an emphatic opening-day 

5-1 win over 

Augsburg. 

Dortmund fielded the 

same team that had successfully 

seen off Uerdingen 

in the first round 

of the DFB Cup a week 

ago, with Marwin Hitz 

still in goal for the injured 

Roman Bürki, and 

the Swiss goalkeeper 

got his first touch of the 

ball just 31 seconds in 

– to pick it out of the 

back of his own goal. It 

was Augsburg’s summer 

recruit Florian Niederlechner 

who met Mads 

Pedersen’s low cross at 

the near post to give the 

guests from Bavaria a 

flying start, and Dortmund 

a second cold 

shower after conceding 

at the same time on the 

opening day of last season. 

Back then, they recovered 

to beat RB Leipzig 

4-1, and you would not 

have bet against a repeat 

after Jadon Sancho 

sent Marco 

Angola play the Gambia 

over two legs next 

month at the start of the 

2022 World Cup preliminaries 

and in November 

begin their bid for a 

place at the next Cup of 

Nations with group 

games against either 

Djibouti or Gambia and 

then Gabon in November. 

The unheralded 46- 

year-old from Serbia was 

a surprise appointment 

by Angola who named 

him coach at the end of 

2017. 

Vasiljevic had little 

playing or coaching 

Reus to the goalline 

and the Germany international 

pulled the ball 

back for Paco Alcacer 

to tuck in from close 

range, still in just the 

third minute. Julian Weigl 

and Mats Hummels 

both tested Tomas 

pedigree save for a spell 

as an assistant with the 

Serbian national side 

under Vladimir Petrovic 

in 2011-12. 

But the former defender, 

whose club career 

took in spells in Romania 

and Kazakhstan, 

qualified Angola for their 

first Cup of Nations finals 

since 2013. 

At the tournament in 

Egypt in June, they were 

eliminated at the first 

stage, drawing with Tunisia 

and Mauritania 

and then losing 1-0 to 

Mali. 

He is the 12th coach 

from the recent Cup of 

Nations to move on. 

Dortmund off to flying start in Bundesliga 

Wilfred Ndidi be 

lieves that 

Chelsea will be in no 

mood to concede defeat 

when they clash with 

Leicester City in today’s 

English Premier League 

match. 

Chelsea lost their 

opening league game 

under coach Frank Lampard, 

a 4-0 drubbing at 

Manchester United’s 

stomping ground Old 

Trafford, and according 

to Ndidi his team mates 

must have to brace up for 

good fight. 

“Despite the fact that 

they’ve lost two games, 

it will be a difficult 

game and we will have 

to be alert. We got a 

point against Wolves, but 

we can be better going 

into the Chelsea game. 

We’ll go there to try and 

Koubek in the Augsburg 

goal, before Alcacer 

missed the target, and 

Reus twice found Koubek 

a bridge too far as Dortmund 

raised the pressure, 

but failed to find a 

way through before halftime. 

Ndidi expects Chelsea to fight 

like wounded lions 

get something out of it. 

“Every game we learn, 

and we take to the next 

game. For Wolves, 

they’re a very good 

team. We actually kept 

the ball in possession 

and that’s difficult 

*Ndidi 

VAR denies Jesus goal as 

Tottenham hold City 

Manchester City were denied a last-gasp goal 

by VAR as Lucas Moura came off the bench 

to salvage Spurs an unlikely point at the Etihad. 

The hosts dominated large parts of the encounter 

and took the lead when Raheem Sterling nodded 

home a delightful Kevin de Bruyne delivery midway 

through the first-half. 

Erik Lamela then equalised for the visitors with a 

goal out of nowhere, finishing past Ederson who 

was seemingly caught of position in goal. 

Sergio Aguero restored the lead for the Citizens 

following another sublime De Bruyne pass before 

sub Lucas Moura rose highest to level the match 

once more. 

But VAR sensationally overuled Gabriel Jesus’ 

winner in the dying embers of the game after Aymeric 

Laporte appeared to handle the ball in the area. 

Modric sees red in Real Madrid's 

win at Celta Vigo 

Real Madrid got off to a flying start in La Liga 

by beating Celta Vigo 3-1 away from home on 

Saturday with the help of a magnificent long range 

strike from Toni Kroos, although they had Ballon 

d’Or winner Luka Modric sent off for a straight red 

card. Karim Benzema put Madrid ahead in the 12th 

minute after a superb piece of wing play from Gareth 

Bale, who had earned a surprise starting berth 

due to injury to Eden Hazard after a close season 

period of uncertainty over his future. 

Celta had an equaliser ruled out on the stroke of 

halftime for offside after a video review but they 

benefited from the use of the technology in the 56th 

minute when Modric was punished for raking his 

studs against the heel of Denis Suarez. 

The hosts could not make the most of the extra 

man as German midfielder Kroos doubled Madrid’s 

lead five minutes later with an unstoppable distance 

strike, while substitute Lucas Vazquez added a third 

in the 80th after a pass from Benzema. 

Celta finally managed to get a goal back in stoppage 

time when 18-year-old Iker Losada scored two 

minutes after coming off the bench to make his first 

team debut. 

Iwobi warms bench as Everton 

pip Watford 

Marco Silva’s Everton survived a scare against 

old club Watford to sneak a 1-0 victory courtesy 

of some Bernard Brazil-iance. 

But Nigerian forward, Alex Iwobi was an unused 

substitute in the match and it comes as a blow to the 

former Arsenal man, who said he left the Emirates 

Stadium in order to become a man of his own. 

The Hornets are now winless in their last 14 visits 

to the blue half of Merseyside as they failed to sting 

the hosts despite dominating for long periods. 

But the Toffees and their boss will not care one bit 

as they recorded a fifth-successive Prem home win. 

Goodison was rocking with just ten minutes on 

the clock courtesy of some Samba magic from Bernard. 

The 26-year-old was sent clear down the left 

by Lucas Digne’s wonderful diagonal ball out of defence. 

The South American collected possession and 

cut in towards the edge of the area before shifting 

onto his right foot to rifle home low inside Ben Foster’s 

near post. 

It was just reward for the Blues, who had looked 

pumped up from the off. 

Zidane wants Bale, James to 

remain at Madrid 

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane all but con 

firmed that Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez 

will not leave the club this summer. 

With €100 million attacker Eden Hazard injured, 

none of Madrid's summer signings started the game, 

but Bale was recalled in attack and his vigorous 

showing included a superb assist for Benzema's 

opener. 

The Los Blancos coach told the post-game news 

conference at Balaidos that he had spoken to Bale 

this week, and a player who almost left for China 

on a free transfer was now just thinking about the 

new campaign with Madrid. 

"We spoke before the game, two or three times, to 

say he was staying," Zidane said. "Gareth's game, 

like all of them, was very good. He is just thinking 

of the new season, and playing." 

Zidane was asked what had changed in Bale's work 

since July, when the coach had suggested it would 

be best if the Welshman left the club as soon as possible. 

"Nothing has changed, we are all now just thinking 

about the season," he said. "Gareth, James, all 

the players, just want to do the best possible to defend 

this shirt."

SUNDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 18, 2019, PAGE 47

SUNDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 18, 2019 

SEE SOLUTION PAGE 5 

ACROSS 

1)English Village & Civil Parish (7) 

4)L.G.A in Kebbi State (5) 

7)Commercial Town in Abia State (2) 

8)Namibian President, Mr. Hage – (7) 

9)Gabon “Panthers” Midfielder, 

Franck – (7) 

10)Greek Alphabet (7) 

13)L.G.A. in Kano State (4) 

15)France “League 1” Club-Side (6) 

18)Former Cross-River State 

Governor, Mr. Idongesit – (6) 

21)Former Chief Judge of the 

Federal High Court of Nigeria, 

Rtd. Justice Ibrahim – (4) 

23)Former Super Eagles Right-Back, 

Efe – (7) 

25)Country in Africa (7) 

26)Former Wolverhampton Warriors 

Coach, Paul – (7) 

27)Venomous Snake (3) 

28)Director-General, National 

Orientation Agency (NDA), 

Dr. Garba – (5) 

29)This Number is Twice the value of 

Eight? (7) 

DOWN 

1)Mali “Eagles”Full-Back, Molla – (5) 

2)Director of Press, Federal 

Ministry of Transport, 

Mrs. Yetunde – (7) 

3)National Publicity Secretary, 

All Progressives Congress (APC), 

Mr. Yekini – (6) 

4)Thailand’s Capital City (7) 

5)England “League 1”Club-Side (7) 

6)Former Ogun State Governor, 

Mr. Harris – (7) 

11)Judge of the Federal High Court 

of Nigeria, Justice Stephen – (3) 

12)L.G.A. in Imo State (4) 

14)Former Warri Wolves Striker, 

John – (4) 

15)Canadian Province (7) 

16)American State (7) 

17)Kenyan Capital City (7) 

19)Morocco “Atlas Lions” Attacking 

Midfielder, Noureddine – (7) 

20)Vapour (3) 

22)Secretary-General, World 

Meterological Organisation 

(WMO), Mr. Petteri – (6) 

24)American Country (3) 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Advert Dept: 01- 7924470; Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. 

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(ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: WALE AKINOLA 08023145556. All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

18082019 -Anxiety over " Next Level" Ministers

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