01122019 - 13 states struggle for 7.5 metric tonnes of rice

C
Y
K

PAGE 2— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 3

PAGE 4— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 5
KOGI SENATORIAL RERUN: Adeyemi leads
Melaye in 4 of 7 LGAs
Smart Adeyemi, candi
date of the All Progres
sives Congress (APC)
in Kogi west senatorial rerun
election, is leading Dino Melaye,
candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), in
the results of the four local
government areas announced
so far.
According to The Cable,
while Adeyemi polled 5,609
votes in the four LGAs, Melaye
trailed with 1882 votes,
a difference of 3,727 votes.
In Lokoja, Adeyemi got
4,659 votes ahead of Melaye’s
920. In Mopa Moruo,
the APC candidate had 309
votes, while his PDP rival secured
just nine votes.
Although Melaye led with
a small margin in Koton
Karfe and Ijumu, where both
men hail from, his loss in the
two other LGAs affected his
stand in the election. Melaye
secured 376 votes in Koton
Karfe local government
while Adeyemi trailed with
287 votes.
In Ijumu, the PDP candidate
got 577 votes while his
APC rival secured 364 votes.
The results of four more
LGAs are being awaited as of
the time of filing this report.
The Independent National
Electoral Commission
(INEC) had declared the November
16 rerun in Kogi west
inconclusive, announcing
that the number of cancelled
votes was higher than the
margin between the PDP and
APC candidates.
Adeyemi polled a total of
80,118 votes, while Melaye
got 59,548 votes. leaving a
margin of 20,570 while
43,127 votes were cancelled.
ENUGU MARKET FIRE:
How firemen saved us — Traders
From left: Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (middle) with the Chairman, Enugu
North Local Government Area, Hon. Emma Onoh (right) and the Chairman, Tinker Motor
Spare Parts Market, Coal Camp, Enugu, Chief Crescent Ugwuoke, when the governor visited
the scene of the fire incident at the market to empathise with the affected traders, yesterday
Gov Ishaku calls impeachment plot
a scheme to malign him
By Femi Bolaji, Jalingo
overnor Darius Ishaku
Ghas described the news
making the rounds that he is
sponsoring the impeachment
of principal officers of the
Taraba State House of Assembly
as a wicked scheme
to malign his relationship
with the state legislature.
Ishaku, in a statement by
his Senior Special Assistant
on Media and Publicity, Bala
Dan Abu, yesterday, described
the allegation as fake
news.
The report, which the state
government refuted, had
claimed the governor committed
N200 million of public
funds to perfect the impeachment
of Speaker Abel
Peter Diah.
However, the state government
in the statement said it
was untrue.
“It is yet another wicked
and malicious attempt to
cause confusion and conflict
in the relationship between
the executive and legislative
arms of government in Taraba
State on the one hand, and
Governor Ishaku and Peter
Diah, his political god son,
on the other”, the statement
said.
“Both men have had several
years of fruitful personal
and official relationships
nurtured by mutual trust, cooperation
and collaboration.
“Gov Ishaku will never
sponsor and did not sponsor
the so-called impeachment
move, if indeed there was any
such move by the Honourable
members, let alone fund
it with such a staggering
amount of money from the
public purse.
“The allegations are ridiculous,
absolutely false and
malicious. It is certainly for
these reasons that the author
of the article failed to sign it.”
It urged members of the
public to ignore the fake
news.
Traders at Tinker Motor
Spare Parts Market, Coal
Camp, Enugu have applauded
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
for the effectiveness, efficiency
and professionalism of
the state fire service in putting
out the fire that burnt a
section of the market in the
early hours of Friday, without
any loss of life.
Expressing their feelings
when Gov. Ugwuanyi visited
the scene shortly after the incident
occurred and donated
the sum of N5 million, the
traders, who spoke through
the Chairman of the market,
Chief Crescent Ugwuoke,
told the governor that “these
men of the state fire service
you have upgraded and prepared
for emergency work
saved us today”.
Ugwuoke thanked God
that no life was lost, stressing
that the fire would have
caused more damage if the
state fire service did not respond
swiftly.
“Your Excellency, because
of the way you prepared the
fire service officials, when
they were called, they responded
quickly and they are
the people who made it possible
for us to be here.
“So, we are sincerely grateful
to you for your quick response
to see things for yourself.
We pray that God will
continue to bless you in Jesus
name. Amen”, the chairman
said.
Speaking, the State Chief
Fire Officer, Engr. Okwudiri
Ohaa, who stated that the
feat his agency recorded in
putting out the fire was a confirmation
that “Enugu State
is in the hands of God”, equally
attributed it to “the type of
support the governor has
been giving to us”.
The Chairman of Enugu
North LGA, Hon. Emma
Onoh, who received the governor
on arrival, thanked him
for his prompt visit and deep
concern for the well being of
the people.
God told me to be humble or He will wipe me out — Adeboye
By Olayinka Latona
General Overseer of
Tthe Redeemed Christian
Church of God, RCCG,
Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye,
has explained why he
has chosen to be humble despite
his fame.
Adeboye said he decided to
humble himself because God
warned to wipe him out if he
dared to raise his shoulders
or take God’s glory for himself.
Daddy G.O, as he is fondly
called, spoke during a
monthly thanksgiving and
special programme organised
for professors, lecturers,
teachers, youth corps members,
students and their families
by the national headquarters
of the church,
Throne of Grace Parish, in
Ebute-Meta, Lagos.
In his sermon held under
the theme, ‘Rising Stars’, the
lecturer-turned-cleric recalled
his encounter with God
after RCCG’s first Holy
Ghost Congress tagged ‘Lekki
98’ where God demonstrated
how he would wipe him
from the face of earth if he
allowed pride to take over his
life.
His words: “I will tell you a
story. Some years ago, we just
had a fantastic programme
called Lekki 98; that was the
first Congress that we had at
Lekki. The crowd was so
much that we shut down traffic
in Lagos for hours. Many
people came and thousands
of souls were saved.
“After the programme, I returned
to the Redemption
Camp in the night and soon
proceeded on a prayer walk
to thank God for what He
had done, giving Him all
glory and honor.
“All of a sudden I heard God
say clearly, ‘Son, bend down’.
I did that quickly because it
was night and the camp was
still a jungle then. You never
can tell; a witch could have
been flying past. And then he
said, ‘Draw the figure of a
man in the sand.’
“I drew the figure of a man:
zero for head, one line for the
body and two lines for the leg
and so on. You know that kind
of drawing.
“God said, ‘Stand up’, I did,
but by then I knew God was
about to say something very
serious. God said, ‘Son, wipe
out the figure you have
drawn with your leg.’“I wiped
it out. God said ‘Son, the day
you forget that I am the one
in charge, I will wipe you out.
Nobody would ever remember
you ever came to this
world’”.
3.3m displaced from Lake Chad
region — FG
By Victroia Ojeme and
Glory Odizuru
he Federal Government
Thas lamented global
humanitarian crisis as over
70.8 million persons have
been displaced globally, saying
they include 3.3 million
from North-East Nigeria.
The Minister of Humanitarian
Affairs, Disaster Management
& Social Development,
Sadiya Umar Farouq,
disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday,
at the Nigerian Consultation
Meeting on the Global
Compact on Refugees,
adding that Nigeria had the
highest number and carried
the heaviest burden of the
humanitarian challenge.
She said that Global Compact
on Refugees had opened
a vista of opportunity for
stakeholders to access support
in a timely, predictable
and sustainable manner
while creating an incentive
for stakeholder to join forces
and pull resources to address
the humanitarian challenge.
“Nigerian governmnet has
been providing support for
refugees through the National
Commission for Refugees,
Migrants and IDPS. We have
over the years increased our
assistance and support in response
to the influx of Cameroonian
refugees,” Farouq
said.
Meanwhile, the representative
of United Nations
High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) to Nigeria,
Mr Antonio Canhandula,
revealed that more than
900,000 displaced persons as
a result of Boko Haram insurgency
have returned to
their home state of Adamawa.
N’Delta agitators postpone
protest over NDDC
By Emma Amaize
GITATORS in Niger
ADelta have postponed
their plan to hold a protest
and shut down the Niger Delta
Development Commission,
NDDC, over the continued
operation of an Interim
Management Committee,
IMC.
Sunday Vanguard learned
that organisers of the protest
were privy to information that
some persons plan to infiltrate
the protest and paint the protesters
in a bad light.
Leader of 21st Century
Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators
with Conscience, selfprofessed
“General” Izon Ebi,
in a statement, said the oneweek
deferment was to give
President Muhammadu Buhari
enough room to reconsider
his stand on IMC.
The group, however, said:
“If the President fails to adhere
to the voice of wisdom
and save the Niger Delta and
the NDDC from the hands of
political vultures in the next
one week, we will have no
choice, but to come out fully
prepared for the worse.
“The blame will be on the
Federal Government for ignoring
the illegality and evil
in the NDDC.
“Our planned protest is not
borne out of hatred for Minister
of Niger Delta Affairs,
Senator Godswill Akpabio or
the Managing Director of the
Interim Management Committee,
Madam Joy Nunieh.
Niger Delta people have suffered
so much in the hands of
political buccaneers who use
the NDDC for their political
interests.’’
How to resolve conflicts in Nigeria
— Miyetti Allah, Yoruba, Igbo, groups
Group cautions against media trial
of Air Peace boss
HE Pan African Move
Tment for Peace, Human
Rights and Social Justice
(PAMPHRSJ) has risen in
defence of Mr. Allen Onyema
the Chief Executive Officer of
Air Peace, who was recently
indicted of bank fraud and
money laundering by the
United States Department of
Justice (USDoJ).
Convener of the movement,
Rex Ekiugbo Anighoro said
at a press conference in Warri,
Delta State: “We condemn
the ongoing the media trial,
hasty and premeditated
guilty verdict in the court of
public opinion on Barrister
Onyema even before he
makes appearance in the
United States to defend himself.”
Anighoro, who is also the
spokesman to Alhaji Mujahid
Dokubo Asari, stated that
Lauretta Onochie series of
tweets where she accused
Barrister Allen Onyema of
been part of the plunderers of
the Niger Delta was in bad
taste.
Anighoro, who recently led
a protest walk in New York
during the 74th United Nations
General Assembly
(UNGA), said the conspiracy
against the Air Peace boss
would fail and attempts by
imposters and outlawed organizations
like the Movement
for the Emancipation of
Niger Delta (MEND) to score
cheap points are dead on arrival.”
Anighoro, who addressed
newsmen in company with
Ambassador Obinna Sixtus,
President of the Independent
Pan African Youth Parliament
(IPAYP) stated that the two
groups are already mobilizing
millions of youths to
march in solidarity with Onyema,
whom they consider as
Africa’s global citizen and a
great entrepreneurial brand.
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway:
FG opens Kara Bridge today
The Federal Govern
ment yesterday said
the barricade around
Kara Bridge would be removed
today, December 1 to
ease the gridlock around that
axis.
The Federal Controller of
Works, Lagos, Mr. Adedamola
Kuti told newsmen that
construction work had been
completed on that part of the
road.
According to Kuti, when the
contractors return to the site
in January, construction work
will begin on the outbound-
Lagos traffic side of the road.
YOUNG leaders of ethnic
and socio-political
groups in Lagos have resolved
to continue to work together
to ensure peaceful coexistence
in the country. The participants
said a major conflict in Nigeria
has the potential of engulfing
the entire West Africa sub-region.
The groups include Miyetti
Allah, Oodua Peoples Congress
(OPC), Ijaw Youth Congress
(IYC), Igbo Youth Congress,
(IYC), Arewa Youth Consultative
Forum (AYCF), Oodua
Nationalist Coalition (ONAC),
Agbekoya and Middle Belt Indigenous
Peoples Congress
(MBIPC).
A retinue to civil society
groups working on conflict and
peace building also attended
the event. The groups identified
corruption as one of the major
causes of conflict in Nigeria.
They said, in a joint statement
issued at the end of the meeting
held under the theme, Engaging
the Media, Community
Based Groups for Peace Building
and Conflict Prevention, and
organized by Journalists for
Democratic Rights (JODER)
with the support of the Institute
for International Education,
(IIE) and the Ford Foundation,
West African Regional
Office, urged the Federal Government
to intensify the mopping
up of illegal weapons
across the country and initiate
the process for continuous dialogue
driven by the people
themselves. They also promised
to strengthen and promote
a National Working
Group for Peace and Conflict
Prevention across the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Assistant
Commissioner of Police
(ACP), Akinbayo Olasoji,
said crisis in Nigeria had continuously
been fueled by corruption,
greed and the selfserving
interests of some religious,
political and community
leaders.
“Now that inbound has
been completed, we don’t
want to start work on the outbound
and leave it halfway,
so we decided to open the
road to commuters tomorrow,
Sunday, so that people can
move freely this Christmas,”
Kuti said.
The contractor on Section
1 of the road, Julius Berger
on September 2 this year, diverted
inbound and outbound
traffic to one lane of the road
when reconstruction of that
part of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
commenced.

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
From left: Former Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP),
Engr. Emeka M. Ezeh; Chairman Senate Committee on Procurement, Senator
Uche Ekwunife; Director General, BPP, Mamman Ahmadu and Sen. Kola Balogun
at Public hearing on the amendment of Public Procurement Act, 2007 at the
National Assembly Abuja.
B/HARAM: Troops foil attempt to overrun Yobe community, , rescue 20
By Kingsley Omonobi
Abuja
roops of Operation
TLafiya Dole who
thwarted an attempt by Boko
Haram Terrorists to overrun
Babban Gida community in
Yobe State on Thursday, have
rescued all 20 persons
abducted by the terrorists
during the gunfight.
The 20 abductees include a
team of medical personnel
comprising of one Musa
Bulama (a medical doctor),
Gana Yelwa (a nurse) and
Malam Bala Musa (Yobe State
Primary Healthcare
ambulance driver).
Others equally rescued are
Adamu Madugu, Tukur
Abdulkarim, Ibrahim
Sulaiman, and 14 males all of
whom are teenagers between
the ages of 13 - 16 years.
...13 insurgents killed in Metele, Arege, Duguri
Additionally, a Toyota SUV
ambulance belonging to the
Yobe State Primary Healthcare
Board earlier snatched by the
insurgents was recovered by the
gallant troops.
A statement by the Deputy
Director, Army Public
Relations, Col Aminu Ilyasu
said: “ Babban Gida, the
administrative Headquarters
of Tarmuwa LGA of Yobe State
came under attack by some
marauding Boko Haram
criminals on November 27,
2019.
“The terrorists sneaked into
the peaceful community on
board nine Gun Trucks to
unleash terror on the innocent
citizens while simultaneously
attempting to overrun the
troops in the community.
“In the process, the
insurgents looted some
suspected attackers while a
letter of medical referral was
issued for the victim’s
attention in hospital.
He further revealed that
owing to the trauma
experience,d by Oyeshina, he
was immediately referred to
LUTH from Randle Hospital,
Surulere.
The LASTMA General
Manager further revealed that
it was unfortunate that the
properties and abducted some
citizens with obvious intent to
conscript them into their
criminal fold.
“In a bold and resilient
response that thwarted the
attempted infiltration by the
insurgents, the gallant troops
of Operation Lafiya Dole and
elements of Yobe State
Vigilantes supported by Air
Task Force, Operation Lafiya
Dole, immediately engaged
the insurgents. The troops put
up a hot pursuit of the
marauding criminals and in
the process discovered the
shattered remains of one of
them along their withdrawal
route while one Rocket
Propelled Gun 7 (RPG 7)
bomb was also captured from
the criminals.
“The troops later exerted their
‘How mob killed Lagos traf
affic official with stone’
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
A
Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority,
LASTMA, official, identified
as Ola Oyeshina, has died
from the injuries he sustained
after being stoned on Friday
by a mob around Iganmu area
of Lagos.
According to LASTMA’s
General Manager, Olajide
Oduyoye, a large stone was
thrown at him by some people,
out at whom two persons have
been arrested.
Condemning the murder,
the LASTMA boss said
government would not fold its
arms and allow its officers to
be attacked by hoodlums.
Oduyoye said that when the
LASTMA officer was stoned,
he was immediately rushed to
Area ‘B’ Police Station along
with two of the people who
attacked him, as ACP Bayo
Sulaimon thereafter ordered
the detention of the two
A
Babcock University
graduate of law,
Mayowa Mubashir Abiru,
has emerged Nigeria’s overall
best at the 2019 Law School
Bar Exams.
sAbiru, who graduated with
a Second Class Upper Credit
from Babcock, is one of the 10
BU alumni with a first class
grade at the Bar exams.
Also, Babcock University
ranked third among
universities that produced the
You ou can’t use humans as guinea pigs,
NACA chief warns Nigerian scientists on
AIDS cure claims
By Chioma Obinna
Director-General of
Tthe National Agency for
the Control of AIDS, NACA,
Dr Aliyu Gambo, has
challenged Nigerian scientists
to come up with a cure for HIV
even as he said that plans are
underway to place additional
50,000 Nigerians living with
HIV on treatment by 2020.
In an exclusive interview
with Sunday Vanguard on
cure claims by some
Nigerians, the Director-
General, who said NACA was
not against finding a cure for
HIV, explained that a Nigerian
scientist finding a cure for the
virus would put the country on
a global stage and boost it’s
economic status.
Gambo said the world has
gone past the stage where
someone tries to use humans
agency lost the officer to the
cold hands of death.
Oduyoye assumed that the
suspected perpetrators of the
dastardly act would be
prosecuted in court to serve as
deterrent to other members of
the public who might harbour
the notion of committing such
crime in future.
“LASTMA was established
to manage and control traffic
in order to reduce the people’s
A
Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) chieftain, Chief
Sunny Onuesoke has refuted
the information made by
Hon Benson Igbakpa,
member, representing
Ethiope federal constituency
in the House of
Representatives about the
state of Delta Steel Company,
Ovwian/Aladja.
According to Onuesoke, the
Rep member did not paint the
true picture of the company.
Onuesoke, who spoke in
reaction to a publication in a
national daily with the
caption: ‘Reps Probe N1.9
billion Delta Steel Company
Collapse’ which suggested
that the company was not
doing well, prompting the
House of Representatives,
upon a motion moved by Hon
From left: Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia (CON); Country Director,
Google Nigeria, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor; and Group Managing Director/Chief
Executive, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu at the maiden Zenith Tech
Fair themed ‘Future Forward’ held on Wednesday at the Landmark Event Centre,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
dominance within the
community and beyond.’’
In another development,
troops of the Multinational
Joint Task Force, MNJTF,
killed 13 terrorists in Arege
and Metele and Duguri.
The Chief Information
Officer, Col Timothy Antigha,
said this in a statement.
He said: ‘’In continuation of
Operation Yancin Tafki, the
Multinational Joint Task Force
has successfully conducted a
multi-sector link up operation
involving troops from Chad,
Niger Republic, and Nigeria.
“The operation cleared
terrorists who have been
hibernating in Arege and
Metele and Duguri, thereby
enabling troops of Sector 2
(Chad) and Sector 3 (Nigeria)
to link up with their
counterparts in Sector 4 (Niger)
around the Kamadougou
River.’’
travel time on our roads,
increase economic growth
through increased
productivity and ensure the
populace’s safety and
security”, he said.
“A situation where road
users will now turn against a
government official in order
not to answer the
consequences of breaking the
law is unacceptable and
would not be condoned.”
Babcock graduate emerges tops at Law School
as guinea pigs to test how their
products react or affect the
body.
His words: “The current
thing globally is that when you
use human beings, you must
respect the treaty, principles of
autonomy. It has to be
voluntary. When you used
them, they have to know what
you are using them for and
they have to know the
implication.
“And there must be
benefits. What are they
going to get out of it?
There has to be justice.
Justice means that there
must be a justification of
whatever you are going to
do with them. And you
must not exploit or harm them
in the process. There must be
no harm or exploitation, that
is why products are now tested
on animals before they are
tested in human beings’.
highest number of students
with First Class at the Law
School Bar Exams this year.
Abiru went home with 11
awards among which are
Council of Legal Education
Star Prize, Most Promising
Graduate Student of the
Year, Prize for First Class,
Overall Best Student,
Overall Best Male Student,
Student of the Year, Overall
Best in Corporate Law, Best
Student of the Year, and 3rd
Prize in Ethics Skills.
Meanwhile, the
President/Vice Chancellor
of Babcock University, Prof.
Ademola S. Tayo, has
congratulated the students
and their faculty for the
feat, noting that the
institution will continue to
strive for excellence in every
aspect of her
programmes.
“It is for this reason that
the university was
founded”, he said, “to be an
academic entity of
excellence, offering value
in cutting-edge and
functional education to her
students.”
Delta Steel Company: Rep member’s
statement inaccurate-Onuesoke
Ben Igbakpa, to set up a
committee to probe the true
state of things at the plant.
The PDP chieftain,
addressing newsmen in
Warri, Delta State, disclosed
that activities have peaked
and steel products were
being produced daily at the
plant since the take-over of
the company by Premium
Steel and Mines Limited.
Onuesoke, who said he
visited the company recently,
affirmed that the
management is doing a total
turn-around of the company
with the installation of
modern equipment just as it
had continued to impact on
the immediate community
they operate through
implementation of corporate
social responsibility
KOPOETECH star
artups get t $5000, N5m grants
By Victor Ajiromanus
lessing Ijoma, Umezinwa Maryjane, Onuigbo John, Eze
BVictor, and Campus Hub have emerged the winners of
the just concluded Kennedy Okonkwo Programme for Tech
Entrepreneurs (KOPETECH) in Anambra State.
Blessing Ijoma of the Hour Spent Company, who won $5,000,
defeated her closest rivals Umezinwa Maryjane, Onuigbo John,
and Eze Victor at the KOPETECH competition.
Other participants include Alawale Seyi, Isaac Emeti,
Abukubu Destiny, Philipa Joseph, Osohon David, Chinedu
Anyanwu, Nwabueze Henry and Maduka Samuel.
The KOPETECH event which took place at Oma Hall, Awka,
Anambra State, was established by MD/CEO of NedcomOaks
Group, Dr. Kennedy Okonkwo to the reduce the alarming rate
of unemployment among youths in Nigeria.
Cholera: Ogun to lock up houses without
toilet, arrest landlords
By James Ogunnaike
he Ogun State government has vowed to lock up houses
Twithout toilet facilities and get the landlords arrested
to face the full weight of the law.
This warning came in the wake of cholera outbreak at Abule-
Otun, Lafenwa, Kuto and Idi-Aba areas of Abeokuta, capital
and reportedly claimed five lives.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Adesanya
Ayinde, said Governor Dapo Abiodun’s directive to that effect
would become operational this week.
He said the governor opined that open defecation in the
21st century has become unacceptable world over given the
danger it is capable of unleashing on human lives, such as
cholera and other infections.
Distress calls: Rivers Police to reduce
response time to 10 0 mins -CP
By Egufe Yafugborhi & Chijioke Nwakpa
ORT HARCOURT - RIVERS State Police Command (CP)
Phave given assurance that it would reduce the force’s
response time on distress calls to ten minutes.
State Police Commissioner, Mustapha Dandaura gave the
assurance at the 3rd Police Community Forum hosted by Old
G.R.A Division of the Police Community Relations Committee
(PCRC) in Port Harcourt.
Represented by the Area Commander, Port Harcourt
Metropolis, ACP Bassey Ewah, the Rivers CP appealed to the
public to, “Learn to speak out when you see somebody being
wronged or a crime being committed. Don’t wait till you are
directly affected. Just call us and I assure you, we will take
quick action”.
91 graduat
aduate with distinction at Fed Poly Ondo
By Dayo Johnson, Akure
91 students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ile- Oluji passed out
with distinction in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 sets.
The Rector of the institution, Prof Adedayo Fasakin, said the
combined sets produced 292 students with diploma certificates.
They include 141 for the 2017/2018 pioneering set and 151
for the 2018/2019 set.
"Overall 39 students had distinctions, 91 upper credit, 119
lower credit and 42 with pass”, Fasakin said.
According to him, within four years, the institution had
expanded to 12 programmes.
The Rector added that the polytechnic will kick-start the
process of running Higher National Diploma shortly
“The HND programmes will be run in five courses in which
the polytechnic took off at the National Diploma (ND) level in
the 2016/2017 academic session’, he said.
Buhari urged to cancel Kogi, Balyesa
governorship elections
L
agos based political activist, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has
called on President Muhammmadu Buhari to, as the father
of the nation, cancel the November 16 Kogi and Balyesa
governorship elections because of violence that characterized
the polls.
While ordering fresh elections, the President should declare
a state of emergency and appoint administrators for the two
states, he suggested.
Onitiri made the call in Lagos in a press statement.
The activist said, “All democrats and patriotic Nigerians
should prevail on President Buhari to cancel the governorship
elections in Kogi and Balyesa states.
“The elections fell short of all democratic norms. It was not
fair, credible or free in view of callous murder of a political
women leader who was set ablaze in her house by suspected
political thugs.
“In fact, they were the worst elections ever conducted in
Nigeria. The polls were a free demonstration of craziness and
lunacy. It was a total war condoned by security agencies and
compromised INEC officials.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 7
PAYMENT PLATF
TFORM HITS BRICK WALL:
We cannot be treated
as civil servants
...ASUU dares FG, rejects IPPIS, splits varsities
•Non Academic staff: Opponents are beneficiaries of
compromised system on campuses
be released to the Governing Councils and there are ways
of checking what goes on in the system and with the
funds”, he said.
“We have internal audit checks, external auditing too and
there is provision for the setting up of Visitation Panels to the
universities.
“Those saying we are not supporting the fight against
corruption have forgotten that based on the petitions written
by ASUU, at least three Vice Chancellors have been probed,
indicted and relieved of their positions.
“We must not be brought back to the core civil service again.
Do you know what the new system they are proposing will lead
to?
“Now, before a VC could employ even a cleaner, he would
have to clear from the Head of Service and go cap in hand to
the Accountant General for funds.
“We won’t support anything that will erode the autonomy of
the universities and eventually kill universities”.
What is the alternative?
Ogunyemi said his union has proposed an alternative
to IPPIS to government. He said the alternative would
be situated in each university.
The ASUU’s alternative, according to the Chairman of
the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife chapter,
Adeola Egbedokun, is called the Nigerian Universities
Transparency and Accountability System’, NUTAS.
He said a committee had been put in place to work on
the alternative, saying it is at 33 percent completion.
He said the committee would soon conclude work on
the system.
According to him, the union has resolved that none of
its members would cooperate with any person from the
office of the Accountant-General on enrolment into IPPIS
By Adesina Wahab
The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information
System, IPPIS, is not a new concept.
It was introduced by the Yar ‘Adua/Jonathan administration
in 2007 to centralise payroll at the Federal Government level.
Almost all federal workers have been enrolled in the system
except few ones including those in federal universities, a section
of which have been opposed to the exercise for a number of
reasons.
Recently the Federeal Government raised the issue again
when President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 budget
proposal to the National Assembly and he dropped the hint
that all federal workers must be enrolled, and whoever failed
would no longer receive salary.
To enforce the President’s directive, the Accountant General
of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris,
issued a notice that all affected workers
must be enrolled between November
25 and December 7.
It is in the AGF’s office that the IPPIS
is domiciled.
The statement rekindled the
opposition of some university workers
to the IPPIS. However, this time
around, workers in the university
system are no longer speaking with one
voice; they are rather speaking in
cacophony of voices.
The worker unions in the university
are the Non Academic Staff Union,
NASU, the Senior Staff Association of
Nigerian Universities, SSANU, the
National Association of Academic
Technologists, NAAT, the Academic
Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and
the newly created Congress of
University Academics, CONUA.
The ASUU’s
alternative,
according to the
Chairman of the
Obafemi Awolowo
University, OAU, Ile
Ife chapter, Adeola
Egbedokun, is
called the Nigerian
Universities
Transparency and
Accountability
System’, NUTAS
NASU position
The non-academic staff members,
who are members of SSANU and
NASU, are in support of the policy.
The two unions set up a Joint Action
Committee, JAC, headed by the National President of SSANU,
Samson Ugwoke.
Ugwoke, who said non-teaching staff are in support of IPPIS,
said it would check corruption and cleanse the system.
“We are in support of the enrolment of our members into the
system. It will check corruption and cleanse the system. Those
concerns being raised regarding Sabbatical, Earned
Allowances, Check off Dues, Cooperative Dues etc are being
taken care of”, he said.
“Those opposed to the system are the ones benefitting from
the corruption in the system. Now, most of the federal
universities are hiring hundreds of workers to cover up the
loopholes that the IPPIS will expose. Those talking about
Sabbatical, is it every year they go on it?”
CONUA’s stand
The National Steering Committee, NSC, of CONUA, last
week, held a meeting where it passed some resolutions on the
IPPIS issue. The resolutions were endorsed by the National
Coordinator, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, and National Publicity
Coordinator, Dr Ernest Nwoke.
The resolutions included, “That CONUA members are
in full support of every policy and effort of government
to reform the Nigerian Public Financial
System with a view to combating corruption
and thereby sanitizing our educational
system.
“That the IPPIS being one of such efforts is
welcome by CONUA in the light of
government’s assurance on accommodating
the peculiarities of the academia.
“That CONUA notes the Federal
Government’s promise to address any other
issue that may arise through the desk offices
to be placed in the Bursary Unit of each
university.
“That, in view of the foregoing, CONUA
implores members to enrol on the IPPIS
platform with a strong belief that government
would reciprocate our good faith.”
ASUU’s opposition
The opposition of ASUU to the policy,
according to the National President of the
union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, is not without
reasons. He faulted the fact that the circular
to enrol members originated from the office
of the Accountant General of the Federation,
saying university workers should not be
treated as civil servants.
His opinion is that university workers are
employees of the Governing Council of each university
as provided by law.
“Each university has the law setting it up. By the law,
the Governing Council is in charge of each university
and that is what the autonomy of the universities means.
Universities are not government agencies. Funds should
Why non-teaching staff not toeing ASUU’s line?
Up until this year, academic and non-academic staff
appeared to be on the same page on the matter.
However, they parted ways following the brouhaha that
followed the disbursement and sharing of the N100
billion Earned Allowances.
Going by the allegations levelled by the JAC of SSANU and
NASU, ASUU short-changed other unions in the system by
taking N80 billion out of the money.
The development led to a threat of industrial action by the
non-teaching staff who accused ASUU of treating them like
second class citizens in universities.
The matter is yet to be resolved.
Also, the non-teaching staff feel centralising the payment at
the federal level would bridge the salary gap between them
and their academic counterparts.
Third opinion
An accountant, Sunday Morakinyo, agreed that the
peculiarities of the university system must be taken care
of
Ḣe, however, opined that whether IPPIS would work or
not depends on the ‘Nigerian factor’.
“If the payment system is located at each university,
there is a limit to how it could be manipulated”,
Morakinyo said.
“For instance, the University of Ibadan, which may
probably be among those with the largest workforce, may
have 4,000 workers. There is a limit to how the VC or
anybody could inflate the figures, that is, inject ghost
workers.
“I don’t think it would be possible to add another 400 to such
a figure without detection.
“Now, if you have all the universities, with hundreds of
thousands of workers, being paid from the AGF office, apart
from other federal agencies and ministries, will the people
there not be overwhelmed?
“I know for sure that the Federal Ministries of Information
and Health with NTA, Radio Nigeria, NAN, teaching hospitals,
federal medical centres, among others, have hundreds of
thousands of workers, imagine a dubious worker in the AGF
office deducting just N1, 000 from their salaries, and how much
that will amount to?
“What those already enrolled are experiencing with regards
to the payment of some allowances cannot encourage others
to want to join it. “If we say some university administrators are
thieves and are abusing the system, the issue eventually could
be that you send away a cat from watching over a piece of meat
and now ask a lion to replace the cat”.
One thing is clear, no matter how the vexed issue of IPPIS is
resolved, unionism on Nigerian campuses can never be the
same again, especially between academic and non-academic
staff.

PAGE 8— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Rice farmers in a rice farm
BORDER CLOSURE
13 states struggle to meet
7.5m metric tonnes of rice
•’We need high varieties, good roads’
•Local rice shouldn’t sell for more than N12,000 —Farmers
By Demola Akinyemi, Abdulmumuni Mutarla,
Olasunkanmi Akoni, Rotimi Ojomoyela, Aliyu Dangida,
Peter Duru, Kabir DanKatsina& James Ogunaike
Following the closure of Nigeria’s southern borders
by the Federal Government, investigations
by Sunday Vanguard revealed that the country may
not be able to meet growing local demand for rice if
high yielding varieties are not urgently provided for
rice farmers and frontline producing states.
The provision of motorable roads and mechanised
equipment across the country were also found to be among
the measures that may ensure the
attainment of 7.5 million metric
tonnes of local consumption
capacity.
The Rice Centre, Benin Republic,
put Nigeria’s annual rice production
volume at four million metric tonnes,
while the US Department of
Agriculture, World Markets and
Trade, pegged the figure at
3.7million metric tonnes.
But the Rice Farmers Association of
Nigeria, RIFAN, had before the
border closure this year, said the
country had achieved eight million
metric tonnes of rice. It added that it
was targeting 18 million metric
tonnes by 2023.
Sunday Vanguard could not get
what could be termed an official rice
production data as of November
2019, from the Ministry of
Agriculture and Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, Anchor Borrowers
Programme, ABP.
The same applies to the volume of
production since the government’s
closure of borders began in
September.
However, the CBN told Sunday
Vanguard that Nigeria has saved
$1.8 billion since the federal
government's rice policy commenced.
The bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac
Okoroafor, who made the disclosure, said about 1,388,201
farmers have been assisted through the ABP.
“The ABP has greatly impacted the rice value chain in
Nigeria. From its inception in 2015 to the end of October
2019, a cumulative sum of N247.7 billion had been
The ABP has greatly
impacted the rice
value chain in Nigeria.
From its inception in
2015 to the end of
October 2019, a
cumulative sum
of N247.7 billion had
been disbursed
through different
Private Finance
Initiatives, PFIs
disbursed through different Private Finance Initiatives, PFIs,
to finance about 1,388,201 farmers, working with over 200
anchor companies, ‘’ he explained.
However, there is an increase in the demand for locally
produced rice since September as most Nigerians are now
left with the option of eating only Nigerian rice.
The frontline rice producing states in Nigeria include Kano,
Kaduna, Ebonyi Jigawa, Kebbi, Benue, Borno, Niger,
Taraba, Cross River, Bauchi, Lagos and Enugu. Virtually
every northern state produces rice in commercial quantity.
Across some of the states, Sunday Vanguard observed that
efforts are being made by local farmers to boost their
capacities given the upsurge in demand
especially ahead of Christmas and New Year
festivities when rice is usually in high demand
across the country. But the success of the moves
would only be determined by how urgent the
problems of infrastructure, insecurity and high
yielding varieties are addressed.
KANO: We’re
producing more now
According to statistics released by the Kano
Investment Agency, the state has about 214, 332
rice farmers during the wet season and 143,768
farmers during the dry season.
The state has an annual production capacity of
2.8 million metric tonnes, making it one of the
largest rice producers.
Kano state entered into several partnerships
with rice farmers to achieve self-sufficiency.
Sunday Vanguard learned that prior to the
closure of borders, there were new entrants into
rice farming in the state but the number has
increased.
Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria,
RIFAN, Kano State branch, Abubakar Haruna,
said farmers in the state are witnessing huge
sales, claiming that the country already
produces more than seven million metric
tonnes.
Haruna said before the closure of borders, their products
were purchased and taken to neighbouring countries to be
processed and brought back to be sold in Nigeria.
He, however, added that the practice has stopped as more
Nigerians have opened rice mills and are processing at
home.
He said: “Before the closure of borders, when we produced
rice it was taken to neighbouring countries and processed
but now the processing takes place here. We want a situation
where Nigeria can produce up to 10 million metric tonnes of
rice annually and we will consume seven million metric
tonnes and export three million metric tonnes to neighboring
countries.
“Our main challenges are the farmers who are not able to
pay back the loans which they have collected from the CBN.
These funds are revolving funds. If they don’t pay the
programme cannot be sustained.
“Currently, Nigeria is producing more than 7million metric
tonnes of rice annually. The border closure makes a lot of
people panic that rice is not going to be available. But rice is
available. Right now we are in the middle of harvesting.
People are coming to our farms to buy in large quantities.
They process it and sell at exorbitant prices. The prices
depend on where you go to buy. If you go to Kura, a major
rice production area, it goes for N8,700 or N8,000. But when
they buy at that rate from the farmers, it would not cost more
than N1,500 to mill and package. If it is bought at N9,000
and processed at N1,500, it shouldn’t cost more than
N10,500. Even if the millers add N1000 as profit, in the end
when the dealers buy and sell, it should not be more than
N12,500 in the market. We are farmers, not processors or
marketers. We don’t know why it is expensive in the
market.”
Acting President of Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry,
Mining and Agriculture, KACCIMA, Ambassador Erma,
said the government should provide more support to
farmers, adding that whatever grant is meant for farmers
should go to real farmers.
JIGAWA: To harvest
2.1 metric tonnes
The state government said it is not competing with any
state in Nigeria in rice production, adding that it aims to
dislodge Thailand, Brazil, America, and China from the
world ranking on rice production.
Some farmers across the state told Sunday Vanguard that
they have the potential of harvesting 2.1 million tonnes of
rice.
There are about 100 hectares of rice for the dry season
farming which would yield an average of five tonnes per
hectare. There are another 210 hectares with an average
yield of seven tonnes per hectare.
The state government and the federal government are
collaborating on a- 35-kilometre rice farm at Hadeja Local
Government Area, LGA, which covers 6000 hectares. The
federal government planted the crops while Jigawa State
provided inputs for the farmers.
The state governor, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar said: “We have
between 70 to 100 hectares under cultivation this dry season.
Continues on page 9

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 9
Farmer
armers struggle to meet
7.5m metric tonnes
Continued from page 8
*Abakaliki rice
market
During the rainy season, we are expecting to
have 400,011 hectares under cultivation. We
expect a minimum of five tonnes per hectare
from the dry season, and a minimum of four
tonnes per hectare during the rainy season
because during the rainy season, we have no
control over the water that flows into the
farms.
“We have up to nine tonnes per hectare in
specific fields. In most of the clusters, we get
up to seven tonnes per hectare.”
In 2015, when Badaru assumed office, rice
farmers could only cultivate an average of
2.5 tonnes per hectare, but because of the
cluster and other measures, they are moving
to about four tonnes per hectare. Some
farmers are doing six to eight tonnes per
hectare while some are doing 2.5 tonnes per
hectare.
Explaining further, Governor Baduru said:
“So, when you do the calculations, 100,000
hectares multiplied by five tonnes, it gives
you 500,000 tonnes, then 400,011 hectares
multiplied by four tonnes, is 1.6 million
tonnes. If you add all of these, it
is about 2.1 million tonnes.
That is what we expect”.
Sunday Vanguard learned that
the major challenge of rice
production in Jigawa State is
the attack on farms by Queala
birds, destroying crops and
reducing yield. But the farmers
engaged children on the farms
to make noise at intervals,
which scares away the birds
from destroying the farms.
BENUE: Rice
farmers now
have markets
Governor Samuel Ortom of
Benue State said the border
closure is providing markets
for Benue farmers.
He said: “Before now, our
farmers would produce rice
and struggle to sell the produce.
Since the policy came into
effect, farmers have been
selling their products and they
are getting better prices for rice compared to
what obtained in the past when they sold off
their products even without profit so as to
recover their investments. Today, the story
has changed for the better.”
The state Commissioner for Agriculture,
Timothy Ijir in a chat with Sunday
Vanguard, called on the federal government
to provide cottage industries for rice and
other agricultural products in the state.
”The federal government can also bring in
industrialists from the private sector to
process our products and create the market
for us to export some of our products. The
programme we have now is mostly for
farmers who have small scale holdings. The
major challenge being faced by rice farmers
is that of mechanization. We are always
depending on rain for agriculture.”
KEBBI: More rice
factories, increase
in production
Already, Kebbi ranks as Nigeria’s highest
rice producing state. With the increase in
demand arising from the closure of borders,
Sunday Vanguard learned that many
commercial rice producers have
commenced moves to establish factories and
farms in the state. One of them is the
Dangote Group, which has commenced the
installation of a rice factory in the state.
With the support of the Anchor Borrower’s
Programme, ABP, local farmers are engaged
in the massive production of local rice. The
state still produces LAKE Rice which is the
product of a Memorandum of
Understanding with Lagos State
government.
Speaking on what the border closure means
to the state, the state governor, Sen Abubakar
Bagudu, said: “Presently, with the closure of
our nation’s borders, farmers in Kebbi State
are producing millions of metric tonnes of
local rice.’’
Also speaking, Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Agriculture, Mohammed Shehu,
stated that the state can
feed the nation following
the closure of borders.
’’Every month, our rice
mills, particularly the
Before now, our
farmers would
produce rice and
struggle to sell the
produce. Since the
policy came into
effect, farmers have
been selling their
products and they
are getting better
prices for rice
leading mills like
LABANA in Birnin
Kebbi, WACOT in
Argungu and
MADAGALA in Bagudo
are producing millions
of metric tonnes of local
rice.’’
BAUCHI: Farmers need
modern processing
equipment, facilities
Major rice producers in
Bauchi State have called
on the government to
work towards increasing
the capacity of rice
farmers in the country to
achieve food sufficiency.
State Chairman of
RIFAN, Dr. Yahaya
Adamu, said Bauchi rice
farmers need good
facilities and
mechanised processing
equipment.
He said: “We have benefited immensely
from the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
Once we follow the process set for accessing
loans, we get the loan that we need for
farming rice. What we need is for Anchor
Borrowers Programme to continue so that
small scale farmers can continue producing.
We also need better facilities to enhance
farm mechanisation that would help reduce
cost, especially during harvest season. We
also need better processing equipment that
would add value to the rice we produce. The
farmers should be empowered to enable
them to process the rice by themselves. The
money in the value chain usually goes to the
middlemen, not to the producer of the
commodity,” he noted.
Jafaru Illehla, Director, Media and Publicity,
Bauchi State Ministry of Agriculture told
Sunday Vanguard thus: “The government
did the right thing to shut our borders. What
the government needs to do is to increase the
capacity of our rice farmers, in so doing, we
would achieve self-sufficiency.’’
*Rice farmers
C/RIVER: Rice
processing factories
established
Outside Calabar South, Calabar
Municipality, Akpabuyo and Bakassi other
LGAs in the state are rice producing areas.
The administration of former Governor Liyel
Imoke had had keyed into the ABP and
encouraged rice farmers to participate in the
scheme. This was inherited by Senator Ben
Ayade, his successor, who created an office
and rice farmers association to enable
farmers to benefit from the scheme.
More than 10,000 farmers are currently
participating in the rice value chain of
cultivation, processing, and marketing,
making the state a major hub in rice
production.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of
Agriculture, Justin Ugbe, said Governor
Ayade has revolutionised rice production
value chain in the state, making Cross River
one of the topmost rice producers.
“Governor Ayade has established the Rice
Processing Factory. What obtains now is
mechanised production of rice seedlings
which is faster and cost-saving. Apart from
producing rice seedlings for farmers in the
state, other states in the South-South and
South-East benefitted from the mechanised
rice seedling production and this has greatly
increased the quantum of rice produced in
the country.
“The governor has established a rice milling
factory in Ogoja which is a major riceproducing
zone and the mill is one of the
biggest in the subregion. It would employ
about 20,000 people.”
NASARAWA:
Processors now
active
Farmers under the aegis of Small Scale
Agro Farmers Production Association in
Nasarawa State told Sunday Vanguard that
they were yet to receive support from the
government to enable them engage in large
scale production of rice.
National President of the association,
Joshua Jonathan, who stated this in Lafia,
while speaking on the closure of borders,
said farmers, especially rice growers were
yet to get any support.
“We have not seen any clear policy towards
the agricultural sector in Nasarawa State. If
the government gives a target to farmers I
think it would be very good because there is
a great demand for rice in Nigeria,’’ he
added.
Jonathan also lamented that most of the
farmers were still planting varieties that are
not high yielding.
Also speaking on the issue, a rice miller,
Alhaji Alhassan Adamu said the policy has a
positive and negative effect, noting that the
positive effect is more because farmers and
those involved in the processing are now
more active.
He added that the price would crash if the
government provides all the support needed
to boost farmers’ capacity.
Also, the Director-General, Communication
Strategy and Press Affairs to the state
governor, Yakubu Laimai, said the state is
determined to improve on its agricultural
status.
KWARA: Reviving
cultivation in Pategi,
Lade, Edu, others
After Nigeria’s independence during the
military era, Kwara State was known for rice
production. Places like Patigi,Lade ,Edu and
other parts of the state were known for rice
farming.
The new administration in the state under
the leadership of Governor Abdulrahman
Abdulrazaq had taken the bull by the horn
to revive local rice production even before
the federal government shut Nigeria’s
doors.
Speaking in an interview with Sunday
Vanguard in Ilorin, Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Alhaji Mohammed Katsina, said
the governor had visited Patigi, Dukulade
and other areas where rice is cultivated. The
governor donated about N20 million to
encourage them and gave the rice farmers
his words that there would be all-round rice
production. He gave approval to experts to
visit about five states in the federation to see
how rice is commercially cultivated. Also,
we have identified about 60 sites in the state
and about 70 percent of those sites are for
rice. We want to develop them in phases. 12
of them have been approved and apart from
that in terms of mechanisation, the
government is working towards putting a
number of tractors in place ahead of dry
season farming.
On achieving local consumption capacity,
he said: “It is very realistic. We are looking
for funds to make rice production a huge
success and by the time we get the funds,
we are going to surpass the production that
is required before the end of 2023.”
LAGOS: Boosting
Lake Rice with
Imota factory
To ensure the availability of Lake Rice in the
market, the Lagos State government is
already making efforts to ensure that Imota
rice factory commences operation.
The mill has the capacity of producing
32,000 tonnes per hour.
The entire area covers 8,000 square metres
with an industrial park, and it is expected to
create jobs for 250,000 people. Also, the
facility would have a warehouse to
accommodate 20,000 metric tonnes of rice.
EKITI: Youths
trained on rice
farming
Ekiti State government has said it is kicking
starting rice revolution and hopes to be a
supply hub to all the states in the South-
West region.
The Programme Manager, Agric
Development Programme ,ADP, Mr. Yakubu
Oladele, who disclosed this to Sunday
Vanguard, said the state government
facilitated the training of youths in rice
production.
According to him, the youths were trained by
Africa Rice in Ibadan on modern ways of
producing rice through foundational seeds.
He said that the annual production figure of
rice in Ekiti is better now under the
leadership of Governor Kayode Fayemi.
He added that the governor has changed the
narrative in rice production.
“In 2017, Ekiti produced 134, 000 tonnes. In
2018 we had 135 thousand tonnes out of
which sixty percent was processed outside
the state. We are going to have gigantic
support from the Japanese government on
rice mills. A private rice production
company has been given a portion of land
along Poly Road. In addition, we are trying
to encourage dry season rice farming to
increase production, ’’ he added.
OGUN:
Pre-season
activities ongoing
Chief Press Secretary to Ogun State
governor, Mr. Sunday Somorin, told Sunday
Vanguard that: “Agricultural agencies and
farmers associations are currently engaging
rice value chain actors on pre-season
activities that would increase paddy
production, making paddy available for
processors and increase availability of high
quality. ‘’

PAGE 10— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Each LGA in Ebonyi
produces 200
metric tonnes
— Ogodo, Chairman, Abakaliki Rice Mill
•Our rice is finest, cheapest, he says
By Peter Okutu
Chairman of Abakaliki Rice Mill,
Ogodo Samuel, speaks on the
impact of border closure on local rice
production and the uniqueness of Abakaliki
rice.
What impact does the closure of borders
have on rice production and distribution?
I want to commend the President for his
effort towards repositioning the agricultural
sector. This time, it appears that the present
administration is getting it right. With the
closure of the borders, the wrong
impression about our rice has changed. It
has increased the consumption of local rice,
I’m afraid govt may succumb to pressure
— Oluga, Agrecourse head
By Gabriel Ewepu
Chief Executive Officer of
Agrecourse Integrated Service
Limited, Ayoola Oluga, in this
conversation, describes the closure of
Nigeria’s borders as generous to rice
farmers.
What is the impact of border closure
on local rice production?
The border closure has significantly
boosted the local production of rice.
Practically, every rice mill in the
country has been very busy since the
border closure. This decision has been
very generous to local producers as
they have made more than they usually
would make.
How are you people coming with the
increased economic activities and boosted
the production of rice in the state. The
policy has helped.
How has the present administration in
Ebonyi supported rice production?
I commend Governor David Umahi for
the initiative he has brought into the
agricultural sector and the Abakaliki Rice
Mill. We have many cluster engines in
Ebonyi. More than 50 years of the existence
of Abakaliki Rice Mill, nobody apart from
the governor deemed it necessary to fence
the Mill for the purposes of security and
administrative convenience.
A plan is on the ground for the overall
renovation and revamping of the Abakaliki
upsurge in demand for locally
produced rice?
At Agrecourse, we do not currently
have a rice mill but we have rice farms.
We are currently harvesting our rice
farms and we hope to process them
through our rice mill partners, so as to
benefit from the sudden rise in demand
for local rice.
Apart from the Anchor Borrowers
Programme, has the federal
government offered any kind of
support to you people since the
borders were closed?
The only support rendered by the
government has been the border
closure itself and it has been really
helpful for local producers like us. We
hope the government will not bow to
unnecessary pressure to open the
borders.
•Ogodo
Samuel
rice mill for better productivity. We have the
finest and cheapest rice in the whole
country. Our rice is 100 times cheaper.
What makes Abakaliki rice distinct and
what is the price range?
It is one of the best and it is clean. It is not
the type of rice that after becomes watery
after cooking. The acidic nature of our land
does not permit such. Our 25 kilogram, kg,
is sold between N5,800 and N5,600, while
the 50kg is between N12,000 and N13,000.
The price is determined by the quality or
specie of rice. The texture of our land
determines the type of rice to grow and
harvest in Ebonyi.
•Ayoola
Oluga
How many million metric tonnes do
you produce annually and what is the
volume produced since the increase in
demand?
The amount we produce varies from
season to season. If you recall, the 2019
wet season had commenced way before
the border closure was announced. Due
to flooding, we lost some of the rice we
How qualitative is Abakaliki rice and is
there enough to serve Nigerians?
I am not boasting. If we mill rice at the
Abakaliki Rice Mill from morning to night
the whole state will be flooded with rice. We
are rice and rice is Ebonyi. Our rice has
been subjected to clinical test and it
remains one of the best in the world. We
want the federal government to assist us in
the area of irrigation so that we can
cultivate rice three times yearly. If that is
done, rice would be available everywhere
in the state. We have 13 Local Government
Areas, LGA, in Ebonyi State and about 200
metric tonnes of rice are cultivated in each
LGA. Abakaliki rice is one of the best in the
world. We have enough to feed the world.
The state has keyed into the Anchor
Borrowers Programme introduced by the
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and it has
really paid off.
How are you coping with the increase in
demand?
Since I became the Chairman of
Abakaliki Rice Mill, we have been getting
support from the state governor. We met a
situation where customers were
complaining about weighing and balancing
problems. We dealt with it squarely. That is
the issue of inaccurate measurement. We
sought the support of organisations like
IFAD, Standard Organisation of Nigeria,
SON, and Ebonyi State House of Assembly
to ensure better service delivery. We are
now using scale instead of the old bushel.
The issue of cheating by some miscreants
within the mill has been dealt with by our
administration.
Currently, we have customers from Lagos,
Port Harcourt, Ogun and several other
states across the country. People from the six
geopolitical zones of the country buy
Abakaliki Rice. Sometimes, customers
come from outside the shores of Nigeria.
produced. However, we have been
buying from some of our partner
farmers for processing. We are still
harvesting some of our farms. It is
difficult to give a figure now.
What volume does Nigeria need to
produce to meet local consumption?
The 2018 estimate for the amount
required was eight million metric
tonnes but we only produced 4.5
million metric tonnes. This means in
2018, we had a shortfall of 3.5 million
metric tonnes. If we are able to produce
that shortfall, I am sure it would be a
very good development.
What are your fears and needs?
My fear is that the government would
likely bow to pressure and open the
borders soon. What everyone needs is
good and consistent government
policies that would aid local
production/manufacturing and reduce
poverty among Nigerians
By Gabriel Ewepu
Head of Media, Nigeria Farmers
Group and Cooperative Society,
NFGS, Gabriel Emameh, in this
interview, urges the Federal
Government not to succumb to pressure
and open the borders. He says the
closure has mounted pressure on local
rice farmers.
Can we know the kind of impact the
closure of the nation’s borders has on
local rice production?
The closure of the borders has not
only mounted pressure on rice farmers
in the country to produce more for local
consumption and even export as
demands increase, but it has also
provided the market for them to sell
their products. The demand is high
and guess what? They smile to the
banks and there is confidence to grow
more and improve in the quality of
Nigeria rice. Government is already
creating an enabling environment for
them and that in turn, will make
agriculture much more attractive for
prospective farmers. Although
Nigerians might be feeling the heat
now, it is going to be a win-win
situation for all as we match on.
How are you people coming with the
upsurge in demand for locally
Rice farmers’re now
under pressure
—Emameh, NGFS Spokesman
•Says Nigeria needs 7m tonnes for local consumption
•Gabriel
Emameh
produced rice?
You may observe in your last visit that
we are already expanding our
production and milling capacity by
every means possible to meet demand,
particularly as the festive period draws
closer. In NFGCS for instance, we have
already upgraded to between 150- 210
tonnes daily with graders, whiteners
and colour sorters to give it the quality
Nigerians would appreciate. By
February we would be looking at 1000
tonnes daily.
Apart from the Anchor Borrowers
Programme, has the federal government
offered any kind of support to you
people since the borders were closed?
We have not gotten any support from
any bank apart from Kiakia, a fintech
lender. The federal government has
been helpful through its subsidised
farm implement, agrochemical, and
fertilizers. That to some extent has
reduced the burden on us and we hope
they extend it to the distribution of
tractors and other heavy-duty
equipment for farmers like us. With
regards to this, government has done
wonderfully well
The government is making plans to
partner with us in some technical areas
to expand what we have and replicate
the same in local governments across
the country. Till today, we are still
getting subsidised farm implements
from government. But one thing is very
crucial here, government must be up
and doing to provide improved
seedlings to boost production and
harvest capacity
What volume does Nigeria need to
produce to meet local consumption?
We need 6-7 million metric tonnes
annually. Like I said earlier, there must
be a deliberate policy put in place to
prioritise Agriculture. China and
other advanced countries in the world
today have their success story deeply
rooted in agriculture which eventually
led to the industrial revolution in those
parts of the world. I mean our land is
the only technology we have for now.
What are your fears and needs?
There would be no need to fret when
the right thing is done. Government
should invest massively in agriculture
to create job opportunities and our
stomach is secured. I mean our country
and our stomachs would be secured.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 11
Nigeria has saved
$1.8b from ban on
rice importation
— Okorafor, CBN Spokesperson
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
Director, Corporate
Communications of Central
Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Isaac
Okoroafor, in this interview, speaks on
the gains being recorded following the
ban on importation of rice
into Nigeria. He also
explains how the CBN is
assisting local rice farmers
through the Anchor
Borrowers’ Programme,
ABP.
Rice production has
taken the centre stage
in the agricultural
sector. What role has
the CBN Anchor
Borrowers’ Programme
played in this
development?
The Anchor Borrowers’
Programme (ABP) has been
a huge success as can be
attested to by the level of
acceptance and
participation by various
stakeholders along the
value chains of all the crops
the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) is intervening in. As for rice, the
story can be likened to a revolution of
some sort. Beginning with the launch of
the programme in Kebbi State by
President Muhammadu Buhari in
November 2015, the rice industry in
Nigeria has witnessed a great revamp.
What we did with the ABP was to form
strategic partnerships with agricultural
This
significant
reduction in
imports of rice
from Thailand
represents a
saving of over
US$1.8 billion
to Nigeria from
that time to
now
commodity associations such as the
Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria
(RIFAN), which has yielded great
results.
How has the ABP impacted the
rice value-chain in the country?
The ABP has greatly impacted the rice
value chain in Nigeria.
From its inception in 2015
to the end of October 2019,
a cumulative sum
of N247.7 billion had been
disbursed through different
Private Finance Initiatives,
PFIs, to finance about
1,388,201 farmers, working
with over 200 anchor
companies. Also, over two
million and eight million
direct and indirect jobs,
respectively, have been
created under the ABP. Right
from the input suppliers,
rice farmers, extension
workers, processors and
marketers alike, we have
addressed the value chain to
ensure value addition and
ultimately job and wealth
creation.
There are calls for the
nation’s borders to be
opened to rice importation. Those
behind the calls claimed that local
production is too low to meet rice
demand. Do you see this as a
justification for rice importation, at
least for now, pending when local
production can meet demand?
Although the security of borders is not
within the CBN remit, we are glad
•Okorafor
about the decision of the Federal
Government to do that as it will have a
great impact on the interventions the
bank is making in the value chains of
different crops. Those vested interests
seeking an immediate reopening of the
country’s borders are not patriotic
Nigerians and do not wish to see the
country develop and its army of
unemployed citizens gainfully
employed. When those borders were
open, unpatriotic elements worked with
foreign interests to take advantage of
the situation. They imported all sorts of
items that can be produced here locally
and our local manufacturers bled. In
the specific case of rice, with open
borders, the rice millers across the
country had their storage houses full of
bags of rice that they were unable to sell
due to the unfettered access importers
had particularly through the Northern
and Western borders of our country.
Fast forward to the border closure. All
those unsold bags of rice that were in
the warehouses of the millers have all
been bought with new orders already
placed. Some may argue that the
border closure has led to an increase in
the price of locally produced rice but I
tell you that increase is only temporary.
Very soon, those prices will moderate
and you will see a sharp drop in the
prices of locally produced rice. The
closure of the borders is a win-win
situation for Nigeria.
What difference has the local
rice production made in terms of
conserving foreign exchange from
rice importation since the CBN
ABP intervention, in the past three
years?
It has made a humungous difference.
Since we commenced the
implementation of the policy, there has
been a sharp drop in imports of rice
from several countries. As we have
shown before now, available data from
Thailand’s Rice Exporters Association
indicate that in 2012, about 1.2 million
metric tonnes of rice were exported to
Nigeria. However, in 2016, which was
the first full year of implementation of
our policy, rice exports to Nigeria fell to
only 784 metric tonnes. This significant
reduction in imports of rice from
Thailand represents a saving of over
US$1.8 billion to Nigeria from that
time to now. This fall in rice
importation has served as a boost for local
rice production in Nigeria. These are clearly
verifiable successes of government’s
attempts to create jobs locally, improve the
wealth of our rural population, improve
industrial capacities and ultimately attain
economic growth in Nigeria.
Specifically, in the past three years, we
have pursued a demand management
approach to conserve our reserves and
support domestic production of certain
goods in Nigeria. In this regard, we
analysed our import bill, and encouraged
manufacturers to consider local options in
sourcing their raw materials, by restricting
access to foreign exchange on 43 items.
How would you rate the loan
repayment by beneficiaries under the
ABP?
The response of farmers in terms of
repayment of the loan is quite
encouraging. Suffice to state that the
facilities are staggered according to
farming seasons. While some of the
facilities are maturing, others might
just be in the early stages of utilization
by beneficiaries. We have also devised a
more sustainable and enduring means
of disbursement to ensure efficiency
both in utilization and repayment. We
are collaborating with produce
associations like RIFAN. They would
ensure that genuine farmers not only
access these loan facilities but also
ensure monitoring and prompt payment
as and when due.
Excitement in Kano as Glo delivers prize to winner’s home
FAGGE area in the an
cient city of Kano was enveloped
in celebration last Friday
when Globacom delivered
a brand new tricycle to one of
its subscribers in her home.
The day started just like any
other day for the residents of
the community. The entire area
was quiet and there was no inkling
that anything spectacular
was going to happen.
However, at 10:30 am, the
area took on a completely new
look when a large entourage
of traditional chiefs of Fagge,
Kannywood superstar, Sani
Danja, and others appeared on
the horizon. In the entourage
were the representative of the
Galadima of Fagge, Alhaji
Hassan Ahmed, the Mai Ungwa
of Fagge, Alhaji Tijani Dan
Wawu, Globacom’s Head of
Sales, North West, Niyi Anifowose
and Regional Manager,
North West, Yakubu Baba.
In the procession was a Globranded
tricycle destined for
House 146, Fagge-A. The
house is located in the middle
of the sleepy street.
Curious residents, trooped
out to behold the spectacle unfolding
before them. Many of
them, especially the children
and the youths, came out of
their homes and joined the
train. By the time the entourage
reached House 146, where
Ummukhairi Badamasi, a 29-
year-old full-time housewife
lives with her husband, the entourage
had swelled considerably.
From left: Niyi Anifowoshe, Globacom’s Head of
Sales North West, representative of the Galadima of
Fagge, Alhaji Hassan Ahmed; winner of tricycle in
the on-going Recharge and Win Big promo by Globacom,
Madam Ummukhairi Badamasi, Mai Unguwa of
Fagge, Alhaji Tijani Dan Wawu, Kannywood star, Sani
Danja, and Globacom’s Regional Manager North West
1, Yakubu Baba, after delivery of the star prize to the
tricycle winner at her home in Fagge, Kano.
The tricycle finally arrived
the front of the destined address
and the lucky Badamasi
and her entire family members
and neighbours rushed out in
excitement to receive the august
visitors.
Globacom’s Regional Manager,
North West, Yakubu Baba,
wasted no time in announcing
why the team was there. Assisted
by all the dignitaries, he announced
that the brand new
tricycle was the prize Ummukhairi
won by recharging
her line during the ongoing
sales promotion by Globacom,
tagged Recharge and Win Big,
popularly called My Own
Don Beta.
Baba handed over the key to
the tricycle to Badamasi as the
crowd cheered. The lucky winner
told the crowd she never
imagined she could win a tricycle.
She said she was aware
of the promo and was recharging
her phone, hoping she
would win.
Badamasi said even when
she was called by someone
from Globacom, she was still
thinking it was either a dream
or a prank.
“Now, all doubt is gone! I am
a proud owner of a tricycle.
Thank you, Globacom,” the
lucky winner enthused.
The subscriber said she is a
housewife, adding that the prize
she had won now would enable
her to go into business. She
said she would use the keke for
transportation business.
Other winners received their
prizes from Globacom. Kamilu
Muhammad Adam also got
a tricycle. Yinusa Abubakar, a
policeman, and Sadiq Abdulkadir
collected a grinding
mill.
A lawyer, Ibrahim Idris, and
Salisu Sheu got an industrial
sewing machine each.
The previous Monday, a
prize-presentation exercise was
held at the Kantin Kwari Market
in Kano. It was the fifth
prize presentation exercise in
the ongoing promotion. Other
prize presentations had been
held in Lagos (Ojuelegba), Abuja
(Wuse Market), Port Harcourt
(Mile 1 Market) and
Ibadan (Bodija Market).
In Kano, a total of 130 prizes,
including tricycles (popularly
known as keke), grinding
mills, generators, and industrial
sewing machines, were won
by subscribers from Kano and
its neighbouring states.
Why Nigerians must start 2020 with God
– Prophet Aderanti
By Demola Akinyemi
THE General Over
seer of Resurrection
Commission Evangelistic
Ministry [RCEM], Evangelist/Prophet
Adeolu Aderanti,
has urged Nigerians
to start 2020 with God
if they want peace and
progress to return to the
country.
Aderanti said it is because
there is no Jesus
Christ in many homes that
there is hardship and crisis
in Nigeria, saying no
amount of prayers could
solve problems unless everyone
returns to God
through Jesus Christ.
The renowned prophet,
who had his roots in Baptist
where he rose through
the ranks before he received
God’s call to start
his own ministry in 2003,
spoke with Sunday Vanguard
at the headquarters
of the church arm of his
ministry, Resurrection
Power Church International,
located at Ajegunle,
Otte, boundary area of
Kwara and Ogbomosho in
Oyo State.
According to him, he is
gifted in “rural evangelism
through which many people
including kings and non-
Christians have given their
lives to Jesus”.
Aderanti said arrangements
had been concluded
for three days crusade of his
ministry tagged ‘He That
Hath The Key of David’
starting from this Friday,
December 6-Sunday 8, at
the church headquarters,
Resurrection Land in Otte
with his spiritual father,
Prophet Peter Owa, urging
people to come irrespective
of their religions for miraculous
solution to their problems.
He said free transportation
had been provided for
people who wish to attend
the crusade from Ilorin and
Ogbomosho.
The cleric explained that
former Nigerian leaders
did their best to turn the
country around, saying
President Muhammadu
Buhari is equally doing his
own but insisted that unless
the leaders and followers
return to God in 2020, there
won’t be peace and progress
in the nation.
“According to Philippians
4.13, ‘I can do all things
through Christ’. The moment
we run away from
Jesus Christ, we are running
away from solution. Without
Christ, we are deceiving
ourselves. With Jesus
Christ alone we can get all
we want”, Aderanti said.

PAGE 12, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Daleko,
Lagos
market
where local rice is gold
where local rice is gold
•High demand, low supply battle
By Bose Adelaja
Three months into the closure of Nigeria’s
land borders, many appear to be adapting
to its effects.
The closure has not only brought about
scarcity of imported food items in the country
but has also escalated prices of imported staple
foods like rice which is usually in high demand.
Before the closure, imported rice brands were
in high demand across the country. The
aftermath of the border closure has however
affected the distribution chain of this staple
food which is now assumed to be very scarce in
the country.
The popular saying “a bird in hand is worth
millions in the bush” however seems to be
currently playing out in markets across the
country as locally-produced rice such as
Ofada, Abakaliki, Stallion and Lake Rice,
are gradually gaining acceptance with many
consumers opting for them in place of the
scarce foreign rice.
This was the exact situation in Daleko
Market, Lagos State, during the week, where
traders claimed they have since embraced
locally-produced rice which, according to
them, is of better quality.
Daleko Market is the chain distribution hub
of both local and foreign grains in Lagos State.
Though one of the traders, Madam Esther
Ugochukwu, told Sunday Vanguard that the
border closure has negatively affected her
business, 80 percent of the traders said the
closure is more of a blessing in disguise.
Local grains
In the course of this report, Sunday Vanguard
observed that 90 percent of the market supply
are local grains in various sizes such as 50, 25,
10 and five kilogrammes. They are of different
brands.
Apart from the existing locally-produced rice,
other brands that were noticed at different stalls
and shops last Wednesday were Alhamusad,
Labana, Umah, Nigeria Champion, Mama’s
Pride, Mama Choice, Savana and Famous
Parrot, with prices ranging between N17,500
and N19,000 per 50 kilogrammes. 25
kilogrammes were between N9,000 and
N10,000 each but the traders described the
ones sold for N17,500 and N9,000 as low in
quality due to the availability of sand in them.
Low supply
Regarding supply, the traders said suppliers
bring samples to the market to seek patronage,
unlike the foreign rice brands which are
difficult to get.
Also, Sunday Vanguard observed that 80
per cent of intending buyers opt for locallyproduced
rice whose supply is low.
Another trader, Chris Mbaju, blamed the
federal government for what he described as
improper distribution chain of the local grains
across the country.
He said: “If government
wanted to make things easier,
it could have sold the local
grains through government
outlets, local governments,
electoral wards or common
markets. Unfortunately, the
products are not distributed to
the points that they are easily
affordable and accessible to
the common man.”
Distribution chain
Speaking to Sunday
Vanguard, the Yeye-Oge of
Daleko Market, Alhaja
Fausat Ariyo, said the present
situation has created an
avenue for local farmers to
expand rice production by
introducing various brands in
addition to the existing ones.
She said the scarcity of rice
was observed three months,
adding that the effect is being
effectively managed to the
extent that consumers of rice
have realised the need to adjust
to the situation by consuming
locally-produced rice.
The Yeye-Oge said three
months ago, the demand for imported rice was
higher than supply, adding that the traders had
to start telling the buyers about locallyproduced
rice.
According to her, the sensitisation seems to
have yielded results as the demand has
increased.
She, however, noted that access to the product
has been very difficult, especially now that
Christmas is around the corner.
At least, a 50kg
bag of Lake Rice
was sold at
N12,000 in 2018.
What could have
prompted the
sudden hike in
price when there
is no duty,
premium or extra
cost of
production for it?
Consumers’ health
She said the difference between foreign and
locally-produced rice is glaring.
“The border closure has enabled local farmers
to expand rice production. Also, the local rice
is nutritious, fresh and less starchy, unlike the
foreign rice which is chemically-preserved,
thereby causing some damaging effects on the
consumers’ health,” she added.
According to her, the effect of the border
closure has exposed some hidden things which
ordinarily may not have been
exposed.
She said: “Before the border
closure, the locally-produced
rice was sandy, less attractive
and of low quality. But the
closure has opened our eyes
to the need to upgrade it for
general demand. If this
tempo is sustained, our
local rice will compete
favourably with foreign
rice.”
In terms of patronage,
she explained: “Do you
know that some brands
of foreign rice expire
before being shipped
into Nigeria whereas
local rice is fresh, tastes
fine and digests easily
such that a good
number of Nigerians
are gradually shifting
their attention to it.”
Alhaja Ariyo, who
regretted that the
demand for locallyproduced
rice is
currently much higher
than supply, advised
Nigerians to exercise
patience till the situation is amicably
resolved.
She said: “Nigerians have seen the need
to buy locally-produced rice but the
supply cannot meet up with the demand
although nothing good comes easy,
brighter years are ahead if only we can
be patient. This is my 28th year in this
business and I make bold to tell
Nigerians to be patient as the locally-produced
rice will be upgraded to meet with our
yearnings.”
Hike in price
Another market leader in Daleko, Ms.
Monilola Adeniregun, lamented the exorbitant
price and low supply of locally-produced rice.
“In my 20 years in this business, this is the first
time I am running from pillar to post to meet
with demand.
“There is the problem of distribution in the
sense that the privileged ones who have access
to the product have constituted themselves into
a cartel in a way that the totality of the rice to
be sold to common people is being hoarded by
them. This is aimed at causing artificial scarcity
in order to amass more wealth since prices
will automatically shoot-up when there is
scarcity.
“At least, a 50kg bag of Lake Rice
was sold at N12,000 in 2018. What
could have prompted the sudden hike
in price when there is no duty, premium
or extra cost of production for it? If it
were to be imported, it obviously would
have been costlier than the foreign
rice.”
She called on government to do the
needful.
“The government should work on
the method of distribution so that it
can reach the common man on the
street. Can you imagine that Lake Rice
which was jointly produced by Lagos
and Kebbi states is very scarce in
Lagos and residents cannot get the
product to buy except through the rice
merchants, “ she added.
She gave the current price of
locally-produced rice as between
N250 and N400 per Derica
while the foreign brand is between
N500 and N600 per Decrica,
depending on the brand.
“The most annoying thing is that
most of these foreign rice brands
have stayed longer than 10 years
but are being shipped to Nigeria
because Nigerians typically
appreciate foreign products more
than their locally-produced
counterparts,” she added.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 13

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Pains my boobs have
caused me — Mimi Ubini
Sumptuous Nollywood actress, blogger and
businesswoman, Mimi Ubini has revealed that
growing up with big breasts is not all so enchanting
as many may think because, according to a post she shared
on Instagram, it has its many downsides as she found out
the hard way among her peers and older people. She said
she always cried herself to sleep because her boobs were
way bigger than girls her age and when she turned 16 they
simply snowballed.
“Growing up, I hated my boobs. I used to cry every night,
Lord why me? Why do I have boobs at the tender age of 9
when my mates were all flat chested? At the age of 9 my
school teachers, lesson teachers and random guys were
already toasting me. Then, I couldn’t understand why grown
men were always buying me biscuits, sweets or ice cream.
Then one day my mother wanted to punish me the usual
way by taking off my clothes to flog me. Viola, when she
raised my dress it was my breasts that fell out to greet her.
She screamed and called the attention of the neighbours . I
just stood there wishing the ground would swallow me. Did
I give myself breasts? I thought to myself. My classmates in
primary school didn’t make life any easier either,” she
wrote. “At the age of sixteen, they were already like big
size paw paw, very big, round and sitting proudly on my
chest. When my mates were all rocking tank tops I was
forbidden to ever wear it, why? I don’t know. Lately, I’ve
been thinking of going for breast reduction,” she added.
Apart from acting and blogging Mimi also does music
videos as a video vixen.
My first romantic scene
with Ramsey Nouah -
Nneoma Okoro
Being a first-timer at anything in life is never a
stroll in the park. For promising Nollywood actress,
Nneoma Okoro, her first encounter to shoot a somewhat
romantic scene with her idol, Ramsey Nouah, was as
awkward as it was stimulating. She recounted the
experience in her WhatsApp status on Friday. In the
movie ‘Levi’ shot in 2017 in Enugu she was supposed
to be the A-lister actor’s nurse, a night nurse with a
script to seduce him.
“I remember having scenes where I seduced
him. Tension nearly killed me but thanks to him.
He noticed and asked the director for a 20
minutes recess on my behalf. He called me
outside and took out his phone and showed
me a super hilarious video on YouTube which
we saw together and laughed over. Ramsey
knew I hadn’t worked with him before, so,
it was natural to have tensions and he
made it way easier for me. I respect
artists that understand their craft well
enough, their fame will always go far.
Prior to then, I had always wanted to
work with Ramsey Nouah, having
watched him as a kid while growing
up. It was a dream come true,” she said.
However while her post lasted it
caught the eye of the veteran actor who
responded by promising to give her
another job soon. She had since the
first experience done 3 other
movies with Ramsey.
Nneoma is also a lawyer.
Viacom International Media
Networks Africa (VIMN
Africa) and MultiChoice Group
have announced the renewal of
their distribution partnership
which highlights the investment
in local content, bringing
audiences programming that
showcases the best of Africa’s
creativity and talent. VIMN
Africa’s channel brands BET,
Comedy Central, MTV, MTV
Base, MTV Music 24,
Nickelodeon, NickToons and
Nick Jr. collectively offer a
broad range of original
entertainment content across
every age demographic.
“This continued partnership
demonstrates the shared
•Nneoma Okoro
commitment between VIMN
Africa and MultiChoice to invest
in local and international content
that resonates with our audiences
across the continent. We truly value
our collaboration with
MultiChoice as it also enables us
to consistently deliver great
African productions,” said Alex
Okosi, Executive Vice President
and Managing Director for VIMN
Africa and BET International.
On behalf of Multichoice, Yolisa
Phahle, CEO for General
Entertainment said, “As Africa’s
most-loved storyteller, we are
pleased to share this market
announcement of VIMN Africa.
Our content offering ensures that
we provide our partners platforms
•Mimi
Ubini
VIMN Africa, Multichoice renew distribution partnership
to tell their own stories in an
authentic way. We invest over
R2,5 billion in local content to
keep bringing exciting and
engaging African content to
market and the industry.” said
Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice
CEO for General
Entertainment.
In addition to its powerful
slate of content, VIMN Africa
brands also showcase the
widest array of hit
international tentpoles such as
MTV EMAs, MTV VMAs,
BET Awards, Soul Train
Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards,
Black Girls Rock!, Comedy
Central Roast and
Nickelodeon’s KCAs.
Fierce Nation Entertainment
signs new act ‘Diamond Jimma’
Fierce Nation Entertainment proudly
presents their new artist ‘Diamond
Jimma’. Jimma, who is already a known name
in the street pop scene with his ‘Aje’ cover, aims
to capture the hearts of the public with his
unique sultry inspirational sound. A fan of
alternative pop acts such as Adekunle Gold,
22 year old Kusimo Olawale Abeeb draws
inspiration from his background and
surroundings to tell compelling stories about
love, life and struggles of a young man
growing up in Nigeria. He describes his style
of music as ‘Afro-fusion & Alternative’.
Speaking at the signing of Diamond Jimma,
the third signing of the label, CEO Jackson
Fierce spoke highly of his new signee and made
it it known to the public that the label is very
serious when it comes to artiste grooming and
development.
“At FierceNation, we aim to take the best
music talents to the peak of their game,
supporting them with access to the best minds
in the industry”.
Diamond Jimma is currently about to serve
his first official single to the public right before
he embarks on a nationwide campus tour at
the beginning of the year.
Music duo, ROZE to
storm Nigeria for
’Patience’ video
release December
Nigerian US-based singing duo and brothers,
Eghosa Rodney Agbonayinma, aka ‘Row’
and Osazuwa Michael Agbonayinma, aka
‘Zuwa’ of the ROZE group are set to storm
Nigeria yet again for the release of the video of
their rampaging single ‘Patience’ slated for
December of this year. They will also be
performing at the Zlatan show this month as well
as gracing the launch of U&I Studio in Abuja
owned by their father. The U&I Ultra Modern
Recording Studio owned by Hon. E.J.
Agbonayinma is adjudged to be the bestequipped
recording studio in Africa.
The last time they were in Nigeria, they were a
toast of the crowd at the AY Live show at the Eko
Hotel and Suites. The brothers, who live and
work in the United States of America have
since been showcasing their craft at several
destinations across the world. They
performed at The Grand White House,
Houston, Texas and South Africa
recently.
ROZE, who have never stuck to any
particular genre of music because they
believe it would limit their horizon,
explain what the single ‘Patience’
entails.
“‘ Patience is a dancehall fused
with melodic rhythm. The single
was made in less than 6 hours
after the beat to the track was
shown to ROZE by
GospelOnDeBeat. Several
beats were show to ROZE
by Gospel. But when he got
on the beat used in the
track ‘Patience’, it caught
the attention of ROZE.
The video was shot in
Lagos by Unlimited LA
and mastered by Marqai
Mixx.
ROZE first appeared in
2014 while working
on a test project,
titled ‘Time to
Party,’ which was
never released.
However, they
later reappeared
in 2016, being
introduced to
producer,
Mekoyo, who
has produced
for artist such as
Style Plus. Their
discograhy
includes songs
like Too Much,
All These
Things, The
Whole Night,
•ROZE
Good things,
Impressions,
Stranded and
Patience.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 15

PAGE 16—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
OTI UKUBEYINJE:
Cybercafe enthusiast who
became digital comms guru
By Charles Kumolu,Deputy Editor & Urowayino Jeremiah
President, Digital Marketing Professionals of Nigeria, ADMARP, Mr. Oti Ukubeyinje,
narrates how he used his likeness of the internet in its early days, to build a career
in Digital Marketing Communications. Today, he is the Head of Operations
and Sales, Opera Mini, Nigeria. Ukubeyinje also analyses the prospects of
the field in Nigeria, emphasing that it is evolving at a slow pace.
You are among those making waves in
Digital Marketing Communications.
Given that the discipline is not being
taught at the universities how did you
become an authority?
I studied Business Administration at
the university and marketing was my
favorite subject. I have been a huge fan of
the internet since my cybercafé days in
1998 till date. Practically, everything I
do revolve around the internet. It has been
my primary environment for
communications, entertainment,
commerce, and education. When I
decided to go into marketing, digital was
a natural path for me. I taught myself
marketing, took professional courses and
went back to basics to build a career,
starting as an intern at a marketing
technology company in the UK. And here
I am, nine years after.
How would you describe digital
marketing in Nigeria?
The advertising and marketing
communications landscape in Nigeria is
evolving at a very fast pace, and with a
lot of casualties along the way. The
Advertising Agencies Association of
Nigeria, AAAN, has in the last five years
delisted over 12 of its agency members
who have gone out of business due to nonprofitability.
Another 14 of them are
reported to be struggling with a lack of
business. Brands have an objective to
communicate to consumers in the most
creative and cost-effective ways. In recent
times, this has been influenced by
technology and economic conditions
which put pressure on their marketing
spend. As a leading professional in digital
marketing communications, heading the
Operations and Sales in Nigeria for
Opera Software’s fast-growing global
advertising business, we explore the
current landscape of marketing
communications in Nigeria,
the challenges, and
opportunities for the
client-agency
relationship to flourish.
What are the
prospects of digital
m a r k e t i n g
communications
industry in Nigeria?
In comparison to
what is happening in
other markets, the
industry is slow in
Nigeria. You can’t solely
blame the players
though, as marketing
communications would
evolve according to the
opportunities presented
by the environment
including but not
limited to population
demography,
technological
advancements, and
investment coming in
from businesses that
need to communicate. The industry is
currently valued at $300 million.
Compare this to $150 billion in the US,
$26 billion in the UK, and around $3
billion in South Africa. Ours is equivalent
to what a single-player spends in some of
these markets. With very little to go
around, most players here would die, and
others would bootstrap on tech and talent
to survive.
In terms of investment, how can the
industry attract more spend?
In business, money follows value. For
some organisations, in-trade marketing
and experiential delivers more value, so
you would find that line item constantly
attracting budgets. For others, it is direct
sales that matter, so they invest in
personnel and equip them to execute
this. In most cases, it isn’t very straight
forward to evaluate marcomms
contribution to the bottom line. It
is often the first area to face budget
cuts during tough times. The
only way to avoid this is
to become more
measurable with
clear attribution
models to prove
value down to the
last naira, where
possible. Let us
agree that this
isn’t very easy
across all
channels, but
it should
always be the
aim.
How do you
t h i n k
Marketing
Communications
I taught myself
marketing, took
professional
courses and
went back to
basics to build a
career, starting
as an intern at a
marketing
technology
company in the
UK. And here I
am, nine years
after
can become
more measurable?
Technology, people
and intent should be •Oti
prioritized. Nigeria used
to be very behind in banking
and financial services, but the
country has used technology,
skilled people and the clear
intent to expand financial
inclusion (for profit mostly)
to get us to where we are now
with mobile money, micro
lending and alternative
payment solutions. Agencies
and media houses have
thrived in the ambiguity of
measuring marcomms, but
this has only led advertisers
to lose confidence and turn to
alternative channels to drive
the bottom line. For this
reason, most agencies are
still in a vendor-client
relationship with their
advertisers, instead of being
in a consultancy relationship,
ensuring the most value is
extracted from every
communications activity.
Digital has proven that
communications and its
impact can be measured,
almost in real time. So it is
important that traditional
communications channels evolve and
build measurement technologies that are
more efficient and accurate. This is
already being done globally across TV,
and radio among others. You should be
able to run a billboard over time and find
out from
consumers in
that location
how they feel
about your
brand or
product via
mobile for
example.
Do you see
d i g i t a l
communications
outgrowing the
traditional marcomms?
Maybe, but not anytime
soon as it currently accounts
for less than 10 percent of
marketing spend in this country. There
are several factors to consider here. You
can’t grow faster than the technology
available to the audience. There are more
eyeballs and ears than mobile phones out
there, yet brands want to reach as many
people as possible so they would surely
need beyond digital platforms to do so.
However, there is a big debate about what
constitutes digital - once a channel
becomes powered by the internet. Does it
suddenly become a digital channel or is
it still traditional with digital ability?
Take IOT enabled digital OOH for
example or online radio that you can
listen to on your car radio, and Digital
TV ,Netflix, Showmax, etc, that you can
watch on your home TV. If more people
move to consume content and
advertisements on traditional devices but
via internet transmission, would you
attribute the communications and they
spend on such channels to digital or still
traditional? The answer to that would
determine whether digital spend would
soon overtake the traditional system. In
the UK, digital already accounts for over
66 percent of all advert spend. It is indeed
a possibility.
There are talks about the likelihood of
advertising agencies going into
•Oti
extinction. What is your take?
It is a tempting thought, but I don’t see
that happening. If you were to launch a
shoe company today, your priority would
be to make shoes, and then how to market
it comes after. For most companies,
making the product takes a lot of their
resources. They rely on experts who have
sold similar products to help with
marketing. Flooding your company with
comms staff even before the product has
proven itself not the smartest thing to do
in my experience and opinion. While
agencies would be needed, the real
question is what type of agencies would
be needed? Value, creativity, and
relevance would be the key determinants
here. While more organisations are
internalizing comms services to avoid
bloated agency fees, smart agencies are
evolving with tech and fresh talent,
combined with the adoption of valuebased
pricing, replacing time-based
billing, to provide more value to
advertisers. I also see opportunities for
agencies that choose to specialise in
specific industries or specific areas of
marcomms, deepening their strengths
through focused innovation and
collaboration.
What role can ADMARP play in all of
this?
While our focus is on the digital side,
we are actively working closely with all
stakeholders in the marketing
communications industry to drive this
agenda of effective measurement. In fact,
we have our conference and awards
coming up next year, where we would
focus on the benefits of effective
communications measurement, and
celebrate brands and agencies that have
demonstrated this. We aim to educate and
equip all stakeholders with the skills and
tools to effectively measure marketing
communications, which would give
businesses the confidence to keep
investing in this area.

Don’t blame the executive,
blame the judiciary, legislature
“Decency, security and liberty
alike demand that government
officials shall be subjected
to the same rules of conduct
that are commands to the citizen.
In a government of laws,
existence of the government
will be imperilled if it fails to
observe the law scrupulously.
Our government is the potent,
the omnipresent teacher. For
good or ill, it teaches the whole
people by its example. Crime
is contagious. If government
becomes a lawbreaker, it
breeds contempt for law; it invites
every man to become a
law unto himself. It invites anarchy”
- US Supreme Court
Justice, Louis D Brandeis,
1856-1941, in the OLM-
STEAD case, 1928.
ne of the regular read
Oers of this column for
many years sent me a text
message a few weeks ago. He
raised objection to my advice
to the Minister of Justice, Abubakar
Malami, SAN, who
had announced that Nigeria
was approaching a US court
to intervene in the case between
Nigeria and P&ID. The
latter, as we all know, is sitting
on a $9.1bn judgment in
its favour. The Federal Government
of Nigeria, FGN, has
appealed the case in Britain;
it has started the prosecution
of two staff members of P&ID
in Nigeria and it still wants
the US court to rule in its favour.
I am not a lawyer. But, I
very much doubt if a court in
the US can over-rule a UK
court on a matter already decided
in London. We wait to
see if a precedent will be created
just to please Nigeria.
But, the real reason for
bringing the private text exchange
into the open has to
do with my comment that “all
the lawyers for P&ID have to
do is to point out to the US
court that the FGN is a habitual
lawbreaker when judgments
are not in its favour and
no court in the US will entertain
the case”. My friend accused
me of providing information
to the other side. I replied
by pointing out to him
that the American embassy in
any country has a very large
section which monitors compliance
with the rule of law by
all the countries in the world.
They follow ALL cases involving
fundamental rights of citizens
in every country and
record infractions. Nigeria is
no exception.
Already, the files are bursting
at the seams of various instances
when the FGN and its
security agencies have flouted
court orders since 2015.
Malami himself actually
published an article defending
government’s lawlessness.
I am sure that my friend knows
that Nigerian newspapers are
read worldwide. I receive messages
from Nigerians in virtually
all the nations of the world
in response to articles appearing
on this page. So, the people
in the US already know
that the FGN is a habitual and
remorseless lawbreaker. They
don’t need me to tell them that.
P&ID’s lawyers also don’t need
anyone to teach them how to
get the case in the US thrown
out. And, if they did, the continuing
detention of Omoyele
Sowore by the Department of
State Services, DSS, should
provide them with all the evidence
they need to brand the
FGN a lawless government
which has scant regard for the
rule of law. So, why should a
US court entertain the case
when it is obvious that all the
government is doing amounts
to shopping for a favourable
Love the skin you are in
The black skin is not a badge
of shame but rather a glorious
symbol of national greatness.”
– Marcus Garvey
n 2014, I wrote ‘Brown is
Ithe new white’
I did so in response to the
fact that Nigeria was top of
the league table for bleaching.
It ratcheted up the love
for bleaching by going even
paler, in the shade of white.
From creams to potions to all
out white. No, this is not
progress, it is self loathing and
misguided. It is shallow and
narrow minded. It is very dangerous
and harmful.
So here we are, in 2019,and
we are watching a car crash
of a horror show as a woman
is in a bath and stripped of
her melanin. This is utter repugnance
and repulsive.
How can anyone in their right
mind go to the length(or
depths)to strip themselves of
their God given gift of dark
skin?.
Self loathing and disrespect
of our black skin knows no
bounds. Frankly, they do not
deserve the melanin. Our skin
is, to protect from the sun and
elements.
I am sure many more are
falling over themselves to
have this horrific experience
of being stripped of their top
layer. More fool them.
verdict? An unfavourable
judgment will most likely be
ignored given their track
record.
Recently, Mr Femi Falana,
SAN, said that the FGN
only obeys foreign courts. It
treats with contempt Nigerian
courts – including the Supreme
Court of Nigeria. That
statement is beyond dispute.
One only needs to add that the
courts in Nigeria, without exception,
deserve the insults –
in more ways than one can
deal with in one article. Our
“My Lords” are among the
most pathetic group of people
sitting on the benches of any
democratic nation on earth.
On recent event confirms
this.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
lined up the “Justices” in
Ondo State and handed them
keys of new vehicles “donated”
(that was the word used
for God’s sake) by “government”.
The men and women
under the wigs bowed in appreciation
as each clutched the
coveted keys.
Readers should correct me
if I am wrong. But, in elementary
school we were taught that
in a democracy, government
consists of the Executive, the
Legislative and the Judiciary
branches. Each of them is coequal
and independent.
Where then was the equality
on display when the head of
one branch calls the head of
another branch and hands
him “gifts” when they should
have been entitlements. Unfortunately
what happened in
Ondo is the rule and not the
exception and it underlines
why government at state and
federal levels operates with
unbecoming impunity. The
judiciary has either willingly
surrendered its role as coequal
branch of government
or has allowed itself to be bullied
into submission by the Executive
branch.
If the reader thinks the judiciary
is subservient, when it
should not be, he will be
shocked to the marrows about
the “slaves of the Executive”
who parade themselves as
lawmakers. Almost without
exception, they have been
slaves of the President or Governor
unless very unusual circumstances
push them towards
asserting their independence.
But, that show of
A moment of madness
is a lifetime of regrets.
These places are not
regulated and anything
that artificially strips
your upper layer, has
untold health
consequences
It is so wrong on so many
levels. In the video which was
viewed by over a million, we
see a woman soaked in a bath
of murky water,another woman
can be seen scraping the
skin off the back of the woman
in the bath. And she shows
the dominant as if it was a
prize. I do not know about you,
but it was like peeling tripe of
its outer layer.
Sadly, this is not tripe, it is a
living person ! The mind boggles
where these people’s
heads are at. Who in their right
mind sits in a vat of chemicals
to have their upper layer
peeled off? It is a shame.
The more, the woman
scraped off the skin, the darker
the water becomes.
And of course,you hear the
woman praise her business;
“As you can see, it’s very fast.
You can see now it’s peeling
off and this is December period,
it’s very, very effective. The
result is instant. Can you see
this? It works just for 30,000
naira. The skin peels off immediately
and you get whitening
immediately.”
A moment of madness is a
lifetime of regrets. These places
are not regulated and anything
that artificially strips
your upper layer, has untold
health consequences. What
message are they sending to
people and what are the government
doing about shutting
such establishments down?
Ghana and Rwanda have
been very proactive in banning
bleaching creams and
paraphernalia. Time Nigeria
followed suit.
We have an epidemic when
over 7 out 10 Nigerians ‘tone'
or bleach or worse still, remove
pigmentation.
Bleaching methods are
paint strippers and in spite of
the warning from reputable
scientists and dermatologists,
it falls on deaf ears. The gullible
and the opportunists Buyers
be beware. There is a discussion
to be had at home, social
gathering, in schools, in
faith groups, at work, at institutions
and in the media.
From my archive :
Say it loud, I am black and
proud; sang James Brown. The
song carried so much weight
courage seldom lasts. It started
in 1999 at the federal level.
Newly-elected President
Obasanjo had ordered N10
billion to be given to the late
Chief Anthony Anenih ( Mr
Fix-it) already appointed as
Minister of Works for the advertised
Poverty Alleviation
Programme, PAP, without the
approval of the National Assembly,
NASS, on the basis of
what Obasanjo called “anticipatory
approval”. There is no
such term in the Constitution
of Nigeria and in another democracy
an impeachable
breach of the Constitution.
(See details in my book PDP:
CORRUPTION INCORPO-
RATED pages 137-140). The
PDP controlled Senate refused
to consider a bill by Senator
Arthur Nzeribe, then of the All
Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, to
call Obasanjo into account for
the brazen lawlessness.
Even the Alliance for Democracy,
AD, a largely South-
West based party in opposition
took sides with the PDP. Governor
Bola Tinubu of Lagos State
declared Nzeribe “persona
non grata” in Lagos State –
adding more illegality to the
show in Abuja. The mostly Yoruba
AD took sides with the PDP
on ethnic grounds. “He is our
brother; we cannot allow him
to be thrown out of office just
like that.” Those were the kinds
of drivel that our Yoruba leaders
uttered while defending
presidential lawlessness. Obasanjo
paid them back twice
with his trade mark ingrati-
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 17
tude. First he rigged five of cy” asked him to get up. He
their governors out of office spoke for five minutes, after
in 2003. Then, despite Supreme
Court order, he withrection
to be sure it was safe.
glancing anxiously in my diheld
local government allocations
for Lagos until he Excellency that some of our
He had come to tell “Your
was almost out of office in unserious members are opposed
to some of his nominees
2007. I should not forget that
Bola Ige, one of the AD leaders
who supported OBJ’s dis-
proceeded to list their names.
for Commissioner.” He then
regard for the rule of law, It was agreed that the ring
died in mysterious circumstances
after tendering his Not for one second was he of-
leader should be suspended.
resignation as the Minister fered a seat. My heart bled for
of Justice and Attorney-General
of the Federation. That The Governor must have
Nigeria.
was AD’s reward for betraying
the people of the South- face for the Speaker; because
noticed the contempt on my
West. The party expired after the poor man left, he
shortly after 2003. Good riddance,
if you ask me – espe-
America. Unless you keep
said: “You know Dr, this is not
cially since they supported these small-minded people in
Executive lawlessness – not their places, they will not allow
you to achieve anything.”
only at Abuja but in all the
states governed by AD from Still, two days after, the “ring
1999-2003.
leader” was suspended by the
The picture in most of majority on a trumped-up
the states of Nigeria is as bad charge. I was still in the state
if not worse. In theory, the and with the Governor when
Speaker of the House is supposed
to be independent and see him. The episode was
the state Chief Judge came to
be responsible only to the worse. It came as no surprise
legislature. But in practice, that the Governor was a monster.
Nigerians have seen a
he is the puppet of the Governor.
In fact, his primary assignment
is to whip into line Kogi State before the last
similar thing happening in
behind the Chief Executive “elections”. Mark my words,
all the members of the state the people have enslaved
House of Assembly. In that themselves. And, they have
role, he acts as the Governor’s
CIA or KGB. He is al-
and judges to thank for it.
only their gutless lawmakers
ways on the look out for dissident
members who could weeks, we have read three dif-
Finally, in the last three
be suspended if they persist ferent statements released by
in their rebellion – however the Directorate of State Services,
DSS, for not releasing
justified. Former Ekiti Governor
Ayodele Fayose, when Dasuki, El-Zazaky and Sowore.
Each of the victims of
about to present his last
budget, boasted that “it will Executive lawlessness had refuted
the DSS claim through
be passed because I put them
there.” He was not joking as their lawyers. The DSS
this true story will demonstrate.
degree – I don’t know in what.
spokesman holds a doctorate
I had gone on appointment
to meet with a Gover-
dissembling. Common sense
One can only hope it is not
nor in one of the Middle Belt would suggest that the easiest
states about five years ago. way of finding out whether or
While I was seated in the not the three detainees are
Governor’s office, the voluntarily seeking DSS protection
is to open the gates and
Speaker of the state House
of Assembly was ushered in we all will see whether they
after several desperate attempts
to see the Chief Exec-
Granted, that might appear
will walk out or stay put.
utive. He came in, and despite
being about eight years educated elsewhere; but at
like a simple solution to those
older than the Governor, literally
prostrated in front of arise and solutions sought, we
UniJankara when problems
the man whose functions he believe in KISSS – keep it
was elected to oversee. Furthermore,
he remained in the
position until “His Excellen-
The picture in most of
the states of Nigeria is
as bad if not worse. In
theory, the Speaker of
the House is
supposed to be
independent and be
responsible only to
the legislature
and when you sang the song,
you believed it. It meant so
much to hear that when I was
growing up. It was a time when
race and colour was wrestled
out of the hands of those who
systematically defiled and oppressed
the whole black race
and wrote us off as inferior.
” I am not tragically coloured.
There is no great sorrow
dammed up in my soul,
nor lurking behind my eyes…
Even in the helter-skelter skirmish
that is my life, I have seen
that the world is to the strong
regardless of a little pigmentation
more or less. No, I don’t
weep at the world- I am too
busy sharpening my oyster
knife.” – Zora Neale Hurston
Unfortunately, some of us
carry the complex and scars till
today and we merely pass the
inferior complex from our
generation to the next. We need
to break this chain of self-hatred
and identity crisis.
And yet, there was a time
when we did take back our
pride, dignity and affirmed
that we were, who we are; black
and jolly well proud to be
black. In Nigeria, then we went
better than that, we hosted
FESTAC in 1977 to showcase
Black peoples’ achievements
and our rich heritage.
The world sat up and took
notice and we truly inspired
Africans and Diasporas alike.
That now it seems so long ago,
as Nigeria tops the league of
skin lightening users in the
world.
A recent World Health Organization
report has revealed
that Nigerian women are the
biggest users of skin-lightening
products. The study revealed
that 77 percent of women
bleach their skin. Togo
came second with 59 percent
and Senegal third with 27 percent.
So, according to the report,
nearly 8 out of 10 Nigerian
women bleach their skin.
So there are unscrupulous
people capitalizing on the
gullible and their insecurities.
They are laughing all the
way to the bank. They peddle
this whiteners and laud
it as the solution to life’s obstacles
and the panacea to
success. So this young talentless
musician, attention seeking
musician has put Nigeria,
again on the map (for the
wrong reasons)with her
brand of whitening products
and she is a living advert for
this product.
Dencia, before, was a pretty
black girl, who for the reason
known only to herself decided
to go white from head
to toe. Now she wants to get
more black sisters to do the
same even when she admits
that her products have not
been scientifically examined
and approved and what if
they get cancer? She glibly
said, “People can also catch
cancer just by breathing!”
She does not care much who
uses her products or what
they do with it, she said! So,
I am sure she is not bothered
if those using her products
get cancer. All she is concerned
about is how many
units she can sell and how
rich it can make her. If we
accept whitening as a choice
we run the risk of normalizing
a trend that has serious
implication on the health of
the nation and its psyche.
Look around you, if you
have not noticed ,we now
have an altered view of beauty;
whitened, heavily made
up, with large pneumatic
chest, fake hair and a very
serious identity crisis. Nigeria
has a serious societal problem
and we need to face it.
“Dipped in chocolate,
bronzed in elegance, enamelled
with grace, toasted with
beauty. My Lord, she’s a
black woman.” –Yosef A.A.
Ben-jochannan
For those who use this
potion, they should beware
there are health consequences,
which may not be apparent
in the short term, but it will
eventually and perhaps they
could justify their loss of pigmentations
to cancers and
serious skin conditions. These
people are psychologically
damaged, that they do not understand
that they cannot buy
acceptance by changing their
skin. It would be more prudent
to work on their self-esteem
rather than,who people
think they should be.
We have a herd mentality
and they often follow a trend
without questioning the rationale;
we always want what
the other has.You name it; we
want it,be it the latest car,jet,
appliances, the largest party,
the biggest hair,clothes and
now this, extreme change of
skin colour. Our society has a
misplaced sense of beauty if
these whitened people are put
on a pedestal and has an example
of what is beautiful and
best of our women. Don’t get
me wrong, I have been told, it
is not only women domain
that men are into whitening
too. We seriously have a societal
problem.
I have been told that men
like whiter looking black
women or so we are made to
believe. But I hasten to add,
that some men including my
father, loved my mother’s
dark skin. It is smooth and
velvety and it ages less as a
result. It is important that self
worth is taught at home and
our role models starts at home
and if we do not have one, we
look somewhere. So, the media
becomes the go to. A very
unrealistic expectation ensues
and it is not attainable or sustainable.
Unfortunately, some people
believe, that in order to be successful,
that you have to be
fairer that darker people cannot
make it. I beg to differ.

PAGE 18 – SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
SHAIBU, EDO DEP GOV, AT 50:
Despite our political
differences, Oshiomhole
is my father
•Speaks on life as activist,
footballer, politician, family man
By Ozioruva Aliu
Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr Philip Shaibu, who clocks 50
today, in this interview, talks about his childhood and trajectory
as an activist and politician. The former President, National
Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, who describes himself as a
student of the Oshiomhole school of thought, also speaks on his
relationship with the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress,
APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
What does clocking 50 mean to you?
I feel great attaining 50. It has been a life
of struggle. My struggle started right from
secondary school till date. I have been an
activist and I have made up my mind to do
what is right. I am from a very humble home.
My father was a very humble man. He died
as a pastor and my mum was a primary
school teacher in Etsako, Edo State. I was
brought up in the way of the Lord. My parents
were Roman Catholics. They later
established their own church but I remained
a Catholic. The interesting thing is that my
father was liberal. His liberal nature gave
some of us the courage to do what we believe
in. He gave all of us Muslim names. His
father was a Muslim but he
converted to Christianity. My
Muslim name is Momodu. I
remember when my father
followed me to school to sign
an undertaking to be of good
behaviour because I led a
struggle for improved feeding
system. I was asked if such a
thing happened again I will
still protest and I said yes.
Instantly, my father slapped
me for saying so. I left
secondary school to start
playing football. I didn’t go
straight to university. I grew
up in Kaduna but after I left
secondary school, my father
sent me home. There was a
day somebody invited us to
Akure where he said they were
looking for footballers. I was
one of those who were picked
for a youth tournament
holding in Ekpoma. I was
picked alongside Yakubu
Ayegbeni and others. I ended
up in Water Corporation
Football Club of Akure after
which I followed the coach to
I am not the first
to disagree with
his father
politically and I
will not be the
last. The good
news is that it
has not
changed our
relationship
Abuja to play for the Federal Ministry of
Works, Foreign Affairs and Nigeria Prisons
Service. I later got admission into
University of Jos.
Abacha must go
While in school I was the coordinator of
‘Abacha Must Go’ group of the National
Association of Nigerian Students, NANS,
Zone B and we joined Gani Fawehimi in
protesting against the military junta then. I
held a lot of rallies at Jos township stadium
and the one I cannot forget was the one I
joined Gani in Yaba where we were all
arrested and we ended up in Gashua Prison
in Zamfara State. Our military captors
tortured me to the extent
that a surgery was
performed on me after the
torture. I was released
because a journalist who
visited the prison saw me
and wrote about it. I was
arrested severally and was
taken to the Jos
Headquarters of the
Department of State
Services, DSS. I was kept
with Lt. General Oladipo
Diya (ret.), and others who
allegedly planned a coup
against Abacha. As
President of NANS, I joined
Comrade Oshiomhole to
stage the first strike that
crippled this country when
President Olusegun
Obasanjo announced an
increase in pump price of
petroleum products. It was
NANS that actually started
the protest because, at that
time, then-NLC President,
Oshiomhole, was in
Geneva. I led NANS to the
Yaba office of the NLC.
Interestingly, Oshiomhole
•Philip Shaibu
came out and spoke. I also led students in
different struggles like when we led students
against financial autonomy for universities
and the increment of Youth Corps members’
allowance from N3, 500 to N7, 000. I also
led the struggle to reinstate over 965
students during the military era.
Joining Oshiomhole
I delved into politics because the struggle
must continue. We joined Comrade
Oshiomhole to struggle for the
emancipation of our people from the hands of
the godfather, the late Chief Tony Anenih.
Oshiomhole led us in that struggle and we
succeeded. We had several struggles including the
House of Assembly crisis. I won all my elections
apart from the first one in 2003 where I was
announced the winner but my name was changed
four days later. In 2007, I won an election into the
House of Assembly. I also won an election into
the House of Representatives where I didn’t
conclude my term. I spent 18 months and was
called home to become the Deputy Governor. The
struggle is still on for me even as Deputy Governor.

The struggle to free Edo State
from the hands of godfathers
which was started by Comrade
Oshiomhole is still on. He started
the struggle to secure Edo so that
our resources will be available for
our people.
How is your current
relationship
with
Oshiomhole?
He is one person I will continue
to respect. He is my father and
I was a
victim of a
stepmother.
It created
that strong
mind in me. I
am learning
to be
romantic
nothing has changed. What has changed now is that
people are now able to read my role as a son and my
role as a politician. We have political differences, no
doubt about that but it has not changed our
relationship. Even when he made some statements
that suggested what I am not, I refused to reply
because when the chips are down, I will be the one to
still apologise not minding whether he is right or
wrong. He is the one talking and I am not talking. I
am comfortable with him talking. That shows I was
properly brought up by my father and by him not to
elders. I am not the first to disagree with his father
politically and I will not be the last. The good news is
that it has not changed our relationship.
How do you describe your relationship with
Governor Obaseki?
I have learnt from Comrade’s style of leadership. I
am learning another style of leadership from
Obaseki. One part of governance I learnt from
Comrade is the communist aspect of governance. I
am learning the capitalist aspect from Obaseki. You
can imagine if I have to combine both how effective
I will be. Obaseki is like an elder brother to me.
What does it feel like living a life of
struggle?
I thought the struggle was over when I became
Deputy Governor. Each time I think it has stopped,
something else comes up. At 50, I am concluding
that maybe God created me to fight oppression. I
have submitted to the will of God. He placed me in
leadership positions to fight oppression. The 18
months I spent in the House of Representatives, I
created a movement called the House of Commons.
I created it to fight oppression. Those of us that were
not given committees decided to form a union. As
Deputy Governor, I thought I was just to hide behind
the governor but I found out that the struggle for the
emancipation of Edo people from the godfather is
continuing. The joy I have is that godfatherism has
not come to stay in Edo. We thank Oshiomhole for
leading that struggle. We are helping him to sustain
it. Like he said you need to fight these people to a
standstill for you to be able to free the resources for
the state to deliver dividends of democracy to the
people.
Were you at any time scared for your life?
If what I know about government now I knew it
then, maybe I would not have taken those risks. I
once told President Obasanjo, “you are the President
of Nigeria and I am the President of 40 million
Nigerian students”. The men of DSS were looking at
me. I said he must listen to me and that we could
cripple the economy and the country. I did it when I
said then-US President Clinton could not come to
Nigeria. That was how powerful we were at the time.
We learnt your wife was also an activist...
I met my wife while in the struggle. My wife was
the Vice President, Students Union Government,
SUG, of Auchi Polytechnic when I went there to seek
their votes as an aspirant for NANS presidency. I
went to the 36 states of Nigeria and I came to Edo to
campaign and I visited all the higher institutions in
Edo State. When I got to Auchi Polytechnic, the SUG
President was not around. The Vice President received
us and, after the campaign, I left and they formed an
alliance to support me when they discovered that I
am from Edo. They had thought I was a northerner
having come from Jos. They only knew me as Shaibu,
they did not know that my name is also Philip. When
I came, I asked her where she hails from and she
said Etsako. I greeted her in our dialect and she was
surprised. I told her I am from Jattu. That was how
we met. Eventually, she was in Bauchi where the
election held and she gave me all the support and I
became President of NANS. On her invitation, I came
to attend Auchi Poly Student Union Government,
SUG, Week which is normally organised by the office
of the Vice President. That was where I started
recognising her as wife material and, subsequently,
I started visiting. It was during my fifth visit that I
told her I wanted to marry her and she was surprised.
She thought I was joking but I was
already convinced and the next time I
came I said I wanted to visit her family.
Do you see yourself as
romantic?
My wife used to say I am not
romantic. I think it was the way I grew
up. I don’t like to share that aspect of
my life. I didn’t grow up with much
affection. That part is not there. Maybe
that is why I grew up to fight
oppression. That aspect of my life was
not a pleasant one. I was a victim of a
stepmother. It created that strong mind
in me. I am learning to be romantic.
How do you cope with work
and family life?
I am blessed with my wife. She is an
activist and understands what activism
is all about. She gave me that freedom.
She knows how to tolerate me. The
reason I succeeded during
Oshiomhole’s administration when we
were fighting the godfather was that
she was always awake to provide not
only prayers but also the logistics to
face the struggle.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 19
ABOUT THE MOON
WEEKLY HOROSCOPE
Periods of the Moon's fluctuation as given here-under,
are when unexpected frustrations and disappointments
are possible .And those are the times when other people
should not be taken for granted. Any period with hysteric (*)
should be handled more carefully. However if I write
that such periods/days favour you, you have no cause
to worry. Therefore you are advised to plan your week
carefully. Such periods/days are:
1.28pm of Monday to 8.1226pm of Tuesday*
9.16 am to 8.46pm of Thursday (same day)
4.02 pm of Saturday to 8.30am of Sunday
11th degree of Pisces will host First Quarter Moon on Wednesday. The Moon will
go through Aquarius, Pisces and Aries. By 7.21pm of Monday lucky Jupiter will
move into Capricorn.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec21)
BUSINESS; Mid-week pressure within your base of operation. It s important you
are consistent.
MONEY; Unusual opportunities to enhance your finances will come on Tuesday.
Be stead fast.
LOVE; Excitement and pleasure are indicated during the weekend. Money cant
but real love.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)
BUSINESS; Jupiter – the planet of good luck comes to your Star and signal
success.
MONEY; Tue & Thurs will prove successful, particularly Thursday. Be practical.
LOVE; Try your best to resolve domestic challenges before the weekend. Be tolerant.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)
BUSINESS; You’ll start the week on an ambitious note to the betterment of your
prospects
MONEY; Whatever happens, you will get your bearing rightly on Tuesday. Be
bold.
LOVE; Exciting attractions indicated on Thursday but it can lead to illicit and/or
secret affairs
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 19)
BUSINESS; Many of you may be tempted to look straight into the eyes of your
superiors.
MONEY; Positive actions on your part’ll earn you mid-week success desired by
you and yours.
LOVE; Friends may unconsciously put your finances under pressure you can not
resist.
ARIES ( Mar 20 – Apr 19)
BUSINESS; Expansive Jupiter goes into Capricorn and influence many to see
green light.
MONEY; Mid-week success indicated for those of you who are more consistent.
LOVE; Much will depend on your initiative ; your being self assertive’ll bring
good result
TAURUS ( Apr 20 – May 20)
BUSINESS; Lucky Jupiter at positive angle will signal good signs. Be your
practical self.
MONEY; Whatever your choice, mid-week success’ll be yours. Dont give in to
blackmail.
LOVE; Reason with your tried and trusted friends, especially around mid-week.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)
BUSINESS; Frivolity’ll not appeal to you. Its good to be conscious of your image.
MONEY; Pressure’ll lead to situation you’ll have good opportunities. Be your
smart self.
LOVE; If you are receptive to your good friends, you’ll have more to be happy
about.
CANCER (June 21 – July 22)
BUSINESS; First Quarter Moon warns you to take the LAW and its agents
seriously.
MONEY; Opportunity to lay good foundation may come today (Sunday). Beflexible.
LOVE; Say no to aggressive instinct trying to come to the fore on Thursday.
LEO (Jul23 – Aug 22)
BUSINESS; Your business parners’ll come with good suggestions early in the
week.
MONEY; It’s important you resist temptation to gamble at all around the midweek.
LOVE; Those of you trying to mix business with pleasure pay painful price.
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)
BUSINESS; Good ideas on best way to improve your working pattern’ll come to
you.
MONEY; Other people’ll work favourably for you on Thursday. Be steady.
LOVE; Mid-week success indicated for many male Virgo born people. Be moderate.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 22)
BUSINESS : Severe pressure’ll come with much needed success during the midweek.
MONEY; Gambling around weekend can lead to avoidable loss and/or trouble.
LOVE; Refusal to reason with your spouse can lead to weekend misunderstanding.
SCORPIO (Oct 23 – Nov 21)
BUSINESS; Take advantage of good ideas coming to you in order to enhance
your prospects.
MONEY; Nothing easy indicated but success not forbidden for you. Utilise midweek
influence.
LOVE; You will be in good mood after few challenges Take advantage on Tue,
Wed & Thurs..

PAGE 20 — SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 1, 2019
'I regret snatching my friend’s husband' — Reader
AReader wrote: I have
followed your columns
way back from your
Punch days when |I was in the
university. Most of the times,
your articles are so down-toearth
they speak to me – as if
you are writing about me. In
one of the editions of Sunday
Vanguard a few months back,
you wrote about my second
marriages might not work. I am
a living example of that. I’d
been married for over 12 years
with three children when I
changed jobs for a challenging
management post in a bank.
The salary almost doubled what
I earned and I quickly made
friends with a colleague who
was about the same age. Her
name is Tina and it was inevitable
that both families met.
“We attended each other’s
functions and Francis, Tina’s
husband, was a particularly
friendly chap. Tina had regaled
me with stories of his affairs but
I saw the reason why women
found him attractive - he was
dishy! When Tina travelled
abroad on a course and Francis
came to the office, I wondered
what he wanted. Thinking he
needed help with his bank account,
I went to him. But he said
he just dropped by because he
was lonely and missed Tina so
much. He also missed her homecooking.
I was touched and
promised to drop some packaged
meals at his place. He was
to put them in the freezer and
help himself whenever he felt
hungry.
“True to my word, I dropped
the meals at the house of a very
eager Francis. He offered to pay
for them, but I refused. |He insisted
I stayed for a drink To be
frank with you, Francis had always
intrigued me. I mean, he
must have something special for
all those women to be panting
after him. So, when he made a
pass at me, I didn’t resist. Like
a lamb to the slaughter, I let him
lead me to his matrimonial be.
I wasn’t disappointed – Francis
really knew how to bonk! Why
else was I risking my marriage
for this? He made my head spin
with his love-making, transporting
me to places I never imagined
possible.
“That was how our affair
started. So though Tina and I
worked together, I parcelled off
the guilty I felt at helping myself
to her husband. I knew we
were playing with fire – both of
us were married with children
and Tina, my friend, was the one
who’d introduced me to her husband.
That shows the extent of
her trust and complacency in her
marriage. Seun, my husband and
I had since lost the magic of our
early years. Even then, he wasn’t
as hot as Francis was. Comparing
Seun to Francis was like
comparing a Christmas sparkler
to a rocket! My head had already
been turned by Francis’ sizzling,
scorching ways. So the affair
continued for about a year
before the bubble burst. I was returning
from another illicit date
with Francis when my husband
was waiting for me with a disgusted
look on his face. “Tina just
rang”, he spat. “She saw you with
her husband coming out of an
hotel. |She said she’d become
suspicious of her husband yet
again and had followed him only
to see both of you together.
“All the glow of our love-making
drained out of me. “We are
just friends having a meal together
...” I panicked. Seun
warned I shouldn’t insult his intelligence.
Instead, I should be
thinking of what to tell my friend
when I faced her in the office the
next day. As for this sham of a
marriage, Seun told me it was
now dust. He couldn’t cope with
the thought that his wife had
been having a torrid affair with
a supposed family friend for
months. What I had was not a
fling, he told me nastily, it was
a relationship and I was now
free to pursue my passion.
“The hardest part was facing
Tina in the office. She made a
scene and all eyes were on me
as if I’d committed a crime.
Our head of department invited
us both to his office when
he heard the commotion, and
to be fair to him, he didn’t pass
judgement. All he said was that
we’d both fouled up the office
atmosphere and one of us
would have to be transferred
to another branch. I quickly
offered to go. I felt really awful
at first. But Francis was
really sorry for breaking up
my marriage and quickly
found me a flat, which I moved
into with two of my children.
“My eldest, a boy, decided to
stay with his father. So that
was how Francis and I became
a reluctant couple, Tina stayed
put in her matrimonial home
– she’s used to her husband’s
philandering. Whatever sadness
I felt at the death of my
marriage was quickly erased
by Francis’ love-making. Fate
put on its final seal when I discovered
I was pregnant. It
wasn’t planned and I was really
angry with myself. Francis, on
the other hand was delighted
and before the baby was due, insisted
on a traditional marriage.
Seun had already instituted
a divorce anyway and I
would be a fool to contest it with
a full-blown pregnancy!
“I couldn’t socialize because
most of our friends were aware
of what happened and they
weren’t sympathetic – especially
the married ones. They openly
disapproved of it. The birth of
our son didn’t help much. I
couldn’t find a convenient house
help and when Francis visited,
I wasn’t the temptress he was
used to. But as soon as the boy
was a toddler, we were back to
a semblance of romance. Only
as the years rolled by, I still felt
like the other woman – but without
the excitement and sparks.
Tina still lived with her husband
and when Francis took our son
to visit his four other kids, my
blood boiled because Tina
would be there probably with
her disapproving look.
“Seven years after my husband
threw me out, passion with
Francis now meant screaming
arguments, not frenzied lovemaking.
He’d since had a couple
of affairs I was aware of and
we kept falling out, then falling
into each other’s arms.
Only the making up became less
and less. Seun had already remarried
though he had a very
good rapport with two of our
children that lived with me. I’d
made my bed, building it on
deceit. Was lying in it now my
just desert? It was then I started
having panic attacks and palpitations.
My doctor said it was
stress-related. My illicit love
life was affecting my health.
“Now that my complaints had
become second nature, I saw
Francis less and less. He’d
bought us a flat in his son’s
name and wasn’t really keen on
sex. When I discovered he’d
started yet another affair, it
didn’t even bother me until I
learnt that she was pregnant.
Francis had always believed I
had affairs from time to time.
If I could do it when I was properly
married, what stopped me
from doing it now that I was a
quasi wife? I couldn’t blame
him really – betraying my exhusband’s
trust for a fling with
him has damaged my credibility.
“As he spent more and more
time with his younger wife, I
saw very little of him. Tina is
still married to him and he’s set
up home with his younger lover.
These days, on the few occasions
I see Tina at official functions,
she will gloat at me with
a wry smile. A husband snatcher
who’d been given a dose of her
medicine. Thank goodness, I
still have my job – it’s a stabilising
force in a world of passion
gone wrong ...”
– Your faithful reader
Go stuff yourself?
(Humour)
A rich man and a poor man
are talking about what they are
going to give their wives for
Easter. Rich Man: I’ve given my
wife a Mercedes Benz and a diamond
ring. Poor Man: Blimey!
Why did you get her both? Rich
Man: Because if she doesn’t like
one, she always has the other.
What are you going to give your
wife? Poor Man: I’ve bought
her slippers and a dildo. Rich
Man: Why did you get her a
dildo? Poor Man: Because if
she doesn’t like the slippers, she
can go screw herself.
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"
She cries with my eyes
We are singularity of fragmented hearts
Love loving without loving love
We know this, we do not know this
You make my eyes hail broken rain
They are a body of troubled waters
I know you now ocean has dry in my ducts
Ocean writhes and tests itself on you
I let you tear and flow through my eyes
We can start again, we can recycle again.
Kingsley Alumona
kingsley.alumona@yahoo.com
Be proactive in approaching
her
All what you have to do his to believe and
take a proactive step towards your different
love pursuits. You have to get through
all the stages of love.
You still need to believe in the love processes
and think of winning her to your side.
There is no time to waste, as the year is
ending soon do not be left in the cold.
Think of winning her love .
Michael Adedotun Oke
talentupgradeglobalconcept@gmail.com
08027142077

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 21
S p o n s o r s h i p /
Networking
•Jide a widower with two
children needs well meaning
people to help him
financially to start a business
so that he can take care of his
children’s education, acct
0230634730,Wema
Bank, Babajide Olusola.
08034206054
•Omolade needs well
meaning Nigerians, to help
him with the sum of N500,
000, for his working
materials, acct
3013524154 First Bank,
Omolade Ojuri-Obikoya.
09014969891
•Chidiebere 32, needs
someone who will financially
support him to start up
business, acct
6322525468,Fidelity
Bank. 08139568799
•Clem 46, needs financial
help of N480, 000, to enable
him start up a business, acct
0081003236,Eco Bank.
07037136113
Lovers
Searching Female
•Linda 24, chocolate in
complexion and shapy, needs
a romantic and strong man,
for a serious relationship.
08149025690
•Princess 23, hot, busty and
sexy, needs a man to make
her happy.08104859639
•Akpos 48, a single mother
from Delta state, needs a man,
aged 50-65, within Benin,
Warri, Ughelli and environs.
08066565529
•Bimpe 37, resides in Abuja,
needs a nice, God fearing,
caring, understanding,
responsible, knowledgeable
and employed man, for a
serious relationship.
08106685905,08050544365
Searching Male
•Avah 30, tall, good looking
and a widow, from Delta
State, needs an employed
beautiful lady, for a serious
relationship.08024884278
•Joel from Delta State needs
a busty lady, who is also from
Delta state, for a serious
relationship. 08133333161
•Dada 49, fair in complexion,
a businessman and resides in
Lagos, needs a rich and
financially ok lady, who is
pretty fair in complexion,
curvy without any child. She
must be a graduate, who is
employed as an army, police,
DISCLAIMER!
Air force and Navy officer, or
doctor, lawyer and banker.
08039533557,08088974646
•Happy 39, 5.5ft tall, dark in
complexion, and resides in
Udu Delta state, needs a
caring, and fair in
complexion lady, aged 25-
35, who is honest, for a
serious relationship.
08035018273
•Joshua 27, needs a lady,
aged 18-25, from either Edo
or Delta state, for a serious
relationship.08057053801,
08162065737
•Richie 47, employed, and
resides in Delta state, needs
a rich or wealthy woman, for
a serious relationship.
08164506853,08118692290
•Steve 47, Godly,
hardworking, and resides in
Ilesa Osun state, needs a
Godly, hardworking and
serious minded lady, aged
35-40, for a serious
relationship that will lead to
marriage. 08105760632
•Ken 27, resides in Benin,
needs a lady, aged 18-25,
from either Edo or Delta
state, for a relationship.
08143410999,08157763651
•Ifeanyi 38, a businessman
and resides in Lagos, needs a
lady, for a relationship that
will lead to marriage.
09032164946
•Patrick level headed,
Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in
or outside the country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does
so at his/her own risk. Our mission is only to provide a platform for social networking.
Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of
requests which may result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore
request that text must be sent through at least one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to
enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different style. You can send your requests to 33055. For
enquiries, text or call 08026651636, or 08054700825
objective and Godly, needs a
lady with gold heart, who is
loving and must be attractive,
able to communicate fluently,
Godly, friendly, for a
relationship,players and
flashers should stay off.
08102319200
•Davison 42, resides in Enugu
state, needs a good and kind
hearted lady, for a relationship
that will lead to marriage.
09037119023
•Adisa 54, employed as a
delivery officer and resides in
Lagos, needs a lovely, cool
reliable lady, who is also
employed or into business,
aged 47, for a good
relationship that can lead to
marriage. 08038051047
•Astra 47, from Delta state,
needs a very tall, busty and fair
in complexion lady, aged 26-
33, whose genotype is AA, a
university graduate not
circumcised, also from Delta
state, for marriage.
08025152808,08030722412,
07084354272
•Sam 40, fun to be with and
resides in Lagos, needs a
mature lady, aged 50-60,
either fat or slim, who doesn’t
want to be lonely, for a
relationship.08068553322
•Waheed 55, needs an
employed or business
practical Muslim lady, aged
35-45, who resides in Ibadan
or Lagos, for a relationship
that will lead to marriage.
09091452582
•Alexander 40, from East
and resides in Lagos, needs
a Yoruba lady, aged 30-35,
who is highly educated and
ready to settle down this
December.08034471625,
09056243008
Sugar Cares
Searching Male
•Ty 35 needs a sugar
mummy who is stable and
willing to show him love
and also care for him. He
says he is ready to do
everything within his
power to make her happy
in bed. 0807 863 3314
•Henry 23, slim, tall and
fair in complexion, needs a
sugar mummy who’s
financially strong and will
take care of him.
08056555687
•History 32, resides in Ondo
state, needs a caring,
romantic and
understanding sugar
mummy that can take care
of him financially.
08054426877
•Prosper 23, resides in
Warri, Delta State, needs a
sugar mummy, he
promises to fulfill all her
desires.08129256027
•Clifford 36, dark in
complexion, employed as a
laboratory technologist and
resides in Benin City, Edo
state. He needs a sugar
mummy who is romantic
and caring.09072843448,
08140850572
•Jason 20, resides in Ogun
State, needs a wealthy
sugar mummy, that is
caring.08131037669
•Charles 29, dark in
complexion, average height
and resides in Abuja, needs
a sugar mummy whom he
can satisfy at anytime.
09012007147
COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVEL
VELTY BASED SOLUTION (ADVER
VERTORIAL)
Hello again everyone and
welcome to the next
installment of our new product
unveiling as the holiday period
approaches.
First on the list is Rhino 8, a
superb male performance pill
for men struggling with a lack
of erection, weak erection,
inability to engage multiple
rounds of sex back to back, lack
of stamina and staying power.
One dose of it also works for
three to five days. Many of you
are already familiar with the
rhino brand of natural
performance supplements. In
addition to Rhino 69 and
Rhino 7, we have also added
Rhino 8 to it. So there is more
than enough variety for adult
males to choose from at any
point in time especially now
that new products abound. We
already told you about Black
Ant King last week and you
are also aware of FX 75000
and African Superman, all
of which are in stock. So we are
ready for you this holiday
season and beyond.
Also for men are new
Cockrings for prolonged
intercourse. I am talking about
the Studded Tongue Cock
Ring and the Dolphin Nose
Cockring, both of whom are
capable of keeping you hard for
up to twenty minutes after
ejaculation while thrilling your
lady to orgasm. Twenty
minutes is a long enough time
to write your name in the
Guinness book of records, if
you know what you are doing.
These toys are easy to use and
can be used by all adult males.
You wear it at the base of an
erect penis before intercourse
and then you proceed to
rewrite history in your favor.
And still on the subject of male
performance, Man Gels is
back in stock. It is a mild
erection enhancer for men
who are unable to take pills and
a lot of people like it.
For the women, we have three
new vibrators to discuss
today. They are the Ridged
Beige Rabbit, Multi
Studded Vibrator and the 8
Inch Beige Realistic
Vibrator. These are all
wonderful toys with different
looks, textures and
capabilities. The Ridged Beige
Rabbit is unlike any rabbit you
have seen because its shaft is
adorned with incredible
ridged textures for extra
stimulation. It also has two
extensions attached to it. The
first is the rabbit head for
clitoral stimulation and the
other has a smaller phallic
head for anal stimulation if you
choose to use it. The Multi
Studded Vibrator is also
adorned with studded textures
that are essentially colorful
rubbery nubs that has its own
unique sensation and it is also
one of the more affordable
toys. It comes in four to six
different colour combinations
and all the colours where
shipped to us. Last but not the
least is the Beige, a long veined
and realistic dildo that also gets
the job done in more ways than
one. All three toys have multiple
speeds of vibration and will
leave the user satisfied every
single time.
Last but not the least is yet
another new orgasm gel for
the ladies. This one is the
Pleasure Orgasm Gel and
it is quite the aphrodisiac it is
billed to be because it has
stronger minty sensations
that make for stronger
arousal. The Pleasure
Orgasm Gel definitely makes
the cut of the list of things a
lady should have in her
pleasure chest so we highly
recommend it. You don’t
need much of it. Just a little
dab massaged on the labia
does the job. Simply put, if you
are a sexually active adult that
still complains of sexual
dissatisfaction, you just haven’t
shopped at Zee Virtual
Media.There is a solution to
every sexual problem out there.
That is it for today. Our Black
Friday discount sales bonanza
spills into cyber Monday for
your benefit. So get any of these
products and all others on our
site at a discount on Monday the
2 nd of December, 2019.Adults in
need of these treatments/
novelties can call us on
08171912551, 08027901621
or 07086754515 for help or
v i s i t
www.zeevirtualmedia.comto
place their orders with their
computers oron their phones
with thezee mobile
shopping app. Zee Virtual
Media delivers all over Nigeria.
For enquiries email us at
zeevirtualmedialtd@gmail.com-
Uche Edochie, MD, Zee
Virtual Media.

PAGE 22, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
By Josephine Agbonkhese
08054650907
Email: jossynovia@gmail.com
AKINDOTUN
MERINO:
Recurring dream
about mental
health issues
N
igeria-born Akindotun Merino is a professor of
psychology at the Argosy University, California, US. Merino, who
has zeal for mental wellness, is County Commissioner for Behavioural
Health in California where she has resided for many years. Founder of African
Mental Health Alliance and President, JARS Group of Organisations, the author
of many books was in Lagos where she had an evidence-based workshop tagged
‘From Trauma to Triumph’.
We had an encounter with her.
By Chris Onuoha
What was your childhood experience like and
how has it affected your choice of career?
My childhood experience was a mixture of
fantasy and turbulence. I grew up in Lagos,
had my primary and secondary education here
and also went to the University of Lagos before
I migrated to the United States where I
currently reside. I lost my mother when I was
very young; she died two weeks after having
a baby. I cried for about two years after her
death. I used to be very introverted. I was
afraid I would die too. Then I used to have
this reoccurring dream for about five years
about a woman, Aduke, with mental health
issues. I greatly wanted to help her. When I
grew up, I forgot about this but that sort of
shaped who I am today. Losing my mother in
such a tragic manner gradually made me a
teacher to children with diverse emotional
and mental health challenges. Some had
witnessed their parents being shot while some
had been victims of maltreatment and rape. I
tried to find solutions to their problems; that
was when I knew I needed to get special
training for this. Right now, I am a trained
educator with PhD degree in psychology. I
am also a pastor. As a pastor, I observed that
here in Nigeria, we focus so much on the devil
and forget about the real issues. In the Bible,
Jesus talked about the keys to the kingdom.
Here the key to our emotions have not been
used by the church itself. This key is what I
am trying to give to people because you’ve
got to have the key to mental health to proceed
to the key of salvation.
What I really want Nigerians to take from
my effort on this project is the need for
systemic structural change. As a nation, we
need to have different organisations that are
responsible for mental health. We need to have
an alliance. We need to have agencies that
keep data of how many people are suffering
from depression nationally. We also need to
know how many have died from depression.
You’ve just had a fourth workshop in
Nigeria; tell us about it...
What I did at the last workshop was to
provide educational training for different
organisations on organisational leadership
and management with emphasis on mental
health; trauma. That was very important
because the mental health of an individual
determines the success and prosperity of any
organisation or nation. A person who is
wounded mentally and physically cannot
work productively.
Its focus seems to point at depression which
is a major problem in Nigeria today, with
suicide on the rise...
This is not coincidental. Rather, it is very
strategic. I thought this would be a good time
to start talking about the trauma we all face
every day. For example, when you are stock
in Lagos traffic for about 4 to 6 hours, your
productivity is limited. It puts you in a state
of high stress, releasing adrenaline. Such
Losing my
mother in such a
tragic manner
gradually made
me a teacher to
children with
diverse
emotional and
mental health
challenges
Merino
situations are not prohibited but when they
become constant in life, your health gets
affected. At that point, many things happen;
your body is basically out of balance. I believe
we can start by reducing the wrong stigma
attached to mental health and address some
situations that even policy makers overlook.
That’s why I am here.
Depression, according to experts, is a slow
killer. As a psychologist, what is the way out?
Nigeria does not have in place adequate
mechanisms to battle depression. We have 250
psychiatrists in a country of about 200 million
people. When you look at that ratio, it means
we are not taking mental health seriously.
Until we begin to focus on these issues, spend
money on community mental health and train
people on psychological first aid, then we can’t
get it right. Ordinarily, the normal first aid
help usually comes handy when you get an
injury before going to hospital. But for
w e
emotional and mental health issues,
don’t. We need to train regular
volunteers to handle the sources of
mental disorders in families and
communities.
One of the variables we can use
to prevent suicide is connection.
Every single person who has
tried to commit suicide lacks
communication. You will
always hear them say ‘I
felt alone, I had no way
out’. Creating
connections will
reduce the suicide
rate. Some people
are still going to
commit suicide
anyway, but it can
be reduced.
Secondly, we are
to practice
empathy, rather
than sympathy.
We can begin to
identify risk
factors. For
instance, if
somebody is
struggling
with mental
h e a l t h
issues—
showing weird
signs of fatigue,
resentment or
self alienation
and other things,
we shouldn’t just
abandon them.
Have you observed
Nigerians hardly want to
visit a psychiatrist?
In the
case of
depression,
you don’t
need a
psychiatrist.
It is the job
of a
psychologist.
A
psychiatrist
will deal
with a
m a j o r
psychosis
but the
psychologist
who deals
with the
regular
stress and
trauma
comes in
handy.
They are
trained in
different
fields.
M o s t
psychologists
in the
country
Merino
usually
complain of
l o w
patronage
compared
to their
counterparts abroad. The issue is that there
should be a global campaign to sensitise
people to know that mental health is a part of
your physical health.
How best can depression caused by
personal attitude and interpersonal relations
be averted?
Anger is one major challenge that people
struggle with. Managing emotions is vital
here. We should stop reacting on impulse.
When you react abruptly, you release negative
emotions. The first thing one needs to do is
“Retreat, Rethink and Respond.” That is the
most creative and innovative way to response
to circumstances. It seems very simple, but
it’s hard. If you can do that, you save yourself
from negative emotions and mental health
challenges therein. All the sudden reaction
to traffic gridlock, bad roads, loss of
appointment, financial hardship and
many others, will not be there if you apply
the simple strategy. What the body does
at that moment is release hormones that
should be very adaptive.
Mindfulness is another strategy we
teach people to apply as self-care. Most
people spend their time chasing the past
rather than the future. Mindfulness
allows you to be in the present and to focus
on the future. Don’t bring the baggage of
the past into the present; it disrupts the
future. You can only learn from the past
and move on.

SUNDAY Vanguard,DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 23
08112662589
She never hid her flightiness from her husband
Over a decade ago, a
group of men who
belonged to the same
indigenous club had an annual
get together where wives and
kids were treated to good food,
music and gifts. They were all
in fairly jolly moods when
Dinyo, one of the few unattached
members walked in
with a mulatto in tow. The pair
got curious looks from this
bunch of fairly parochial people
– who was the girl that
stuck out like a sore thumb?
Some of the men were, however,
not impressed by what
they saw. “Meet my fiancee”,
Dinyo, the man announced,
grinning from ear-to-ear. He
looked like a magician who
had successfully performed a
seemingly impossible feat.
Disapproval was clearly written
on most of the wives’ faces
and their husbands looked confused.
It was bad enough that
he couldn’t find one of their
`kind’ to marry – but a half
caste? And fairly well-known
to some.
Dinyo on the other hand,
couldn’t be happier. He’d
spent months hot on the trail
of his new fiancee until she’d
grudgingly agreed to marry
him in spite of the number of
men he had to contend with.
He looked at his future wife
proudly as she sat primly like
a model waiting for a professional
photographer – amongst
the other ‘drab’ wives. In the
end, Taiwo, another member
couldn’t contain his disgust any
longer. As soon as he decently
could, he dragged Dinyo to a
corner. “Are you mad?” He
hissed. “That girl is nothing short
of a prostitute”. Men from his
side of the country are not known
for their fact and diplomacy. “I
have seen her around you
know,” he continued heatedly.
“Even in her university days,
she’d always been with men
who were generous with their
money, she was always being
used by the4se contact hunting
men as either a sexual bait, a
sexual bribe or a sexual present.
Why do you want lo take such a
girl as a wife?”
Dinyo was livid. Again men
from his part of the country have
tempers with very short fuses.
He punched Taiwo in the nose
and the whole thing would have
degenerated into a real brawl if
the president of the club hadn’t
called both men to order. Dinyo
grabbed Mary-Ann, his beloved
fiancee, and walked out
of the gathering. Three months
later, the wedding took place.
Dinyo’s friends and club members
honoured the wedding invitation,
giving the marriage
less than five years. It lasted
almost ten. And they were ten
nightmarish years. Taiwo, who
first sounded the death-knell of
the wedding to Dinyo said gleefully,
“Marriage didn’t cramp
Mary-Ann’s lifestyle at all. She
continued her carryings-on as
if she were still single. Because
of the type of job I do, I
was able to keep tabs on her,
but I didn’t tell my friend anything
about his precious wife
any more. He was the one who
was carried away by being married
to an `Oyinbo’, despite her
obvious arrogance and insatiable
appetite for sex.
“But other members and
friends were witnesses to some
of her escapades. The husband
caught her a few times too – not
actually beneath her lovers, but
in some compromising positions
that left little to the imagination.
The quarrels they had
were always violent. Dinyo had
a nephew living with him and
he was also very critical of his
uncle’s wife. As he grew older
though, he became less critical
an at times showed disapproval
that his uncle was always
`witch-hunting, the poor
woman in spite of the fact that
they already had two kids. Out
of exasperation, Dinyo came to
me. He was fed up with being
made a laughing stock by everybody,
he confessed. He was
particularly miffed that his
nephew who was now in his
early twenties, no longer saw
eye-to-eye with him because of
his wife. I told him to send
Mary-Ann packing before she
drove him crazy. He promised
to do that soon but he never did
until she had to move our herself.
On this fateful day, Dinyo,
who is a fairly successful auto
dealer, felt a bit fed up with
work and came home early for
a change. He was happy that
Mary-Ann wasn’t in the expensive
gift shop she ran as her car
was still in the drive. He let himself
in. The house was a bit quiet
so he naturally assumed Mary-
Ann was having a nap before
going to pick up the kids from
school. Tiptoeing, ever so quietly,
so as not to disturb her
ladyship’s beauty sleep, he
opened the bedroom door. He
did a double-take. He looked
around him. Was he in the
wrong house? Of course, he
wasn’t. It was really his wife
who was stark naked in the
bedroom, striding on top of the
naked body of his twenty-twoyear-old
nephew! They were
both sweating profusely and
having raw sex. Dinyo raised
an alarm. They both turned
round with startled looks.
Before he knew what was happening,
the nephew raced past
him into his own room and
bolted the door. His wife looked
defiant as Dinyo gave her a few
slaps in anger. Dinyo marched
in disgust to call a few relations.
Mary-Ann’s parents were dead
anyway, and her younger
brother didn’t give a toss about
the marriage. By the time
Dinyo’s relations arrived, both
culprits had flown the nest.
Needless to say, Dinyo’s people
and friends haven’t stopped
their derisive laughter. They
warned him a lot of times,
didn’t they? He is now left literally
holding the two offspring
of the marriage. Mary-Ann is
no longer interested in the
marriage. The last they heard
of her, she had travelled in the
company of one of her rich
‘comforters’ so, she could get
away from it all.
Loud Whispers
With
Erelu Bisi Fayemi
The Nigeria women want
‘I want a Nigeria safe for
all women and girls. A country
that nurtures the girl child
to a meaningful future’.
‘A Nigeria where the voice
of girls and women are
heard. Where women and
girls are seen as part of the
development and growth of
the nation. Where women are
given leadership roles and
responsibilities. Where
women are not seen only as
meant for cooking and childbearing’.
‘A Nigeria where the rights
of our women and girls will
always be protected by the
Government. A Nigeria where
whosoever molests our
women and girls will be
brought to book’
‘A Nigeria where women
and girls will be able to reach
their full potential’
‘A Nigeria where cancer will
be understood as not an attack
from witches’
‘A Nigeria where ladies will
be given employment without
‘trade by barter’
‘A Nigeria where our women
and girls are treated with due
respect and not as sex slaves.
A Nigeria where our women
and girls will not be discriminated
against in the corridors
of power. A Nigeria where our
women and girls place will not
be limited to the kitchen. A Nigeria
where one day a female
President, State Governors and
Senate President will emerge’
These are the comments people
left on my Facebook wall
over the past couple of days
when I put up a flyer advertising
the Nigerian Women’s Dialogue
scheduled for November
27th-29th in Abuja, ‘The Nigeria
We Want’. I thank the organisers
for inviting me to
Chair this very important event.
The NWD has been organized
by a coalition of feminists and
women’s rights activists from
around the country, interested
in addressing the root causes
of women’s exclusion,
marginalization and abuse, and
I am proud to be one of them.
The issues are very familiar and
have been addressed so many
times. However, it was felt that
this National Dialogue needed
to be convened in order to put
our thoughts together as a
women’s movement, understand
different perspectives
and agree workable strategies.
This event brings together activists,
policy makers, researchers,
grassroots leaders, politicians,
faith-based leaders
and so on. We come together
with our various identities as
grassroots, middle-class, elite,
ruling-class women, irrespective
of age, education, religion,
ethnicity, marital status
or physical ability. Our locations
are different. Our experiences
are different. Our
platforms are different. Our
understanding of the issues
might be different. Yet, there
is one thing we all have in
common.
WE ARE TIRED
We are tired of saying the
same thing over and over
We are tired of nursing our
raped and battered children
back to health
We are tired of mourning our
sisters beaten to death by their
spouses
We are tired of searching for
our children who have been
snatched away from our arms
and have not returned
We are tired of singing,
dancing and clapping for political
leaders only to end up
with nothing to show for it.
We are tired of being assaulted
and discriminated
against because of our disabilities,
as if we are not
women too.
We are tired of being old,
lonely and abandoned, mostly
because our children are too
poor or indifferent to take care
of us, or have died and left us
alone in the world
We are tired of not being
able to go to our farms for fear
of being raped
We are tired of being tortured
and dispossessed when
our husbands die, all in the
We are tired of
singing, dancing and
clapping for political
leaders only to end up
with nothing to show
for it. We are tired of
being assaulted and
discriminated against
because of our
disabilities,as if we are
not women too
name of tradition
We are tired of all the blades,
knives and scissors used to
mutilate our little girls all in
the name of culture
We are tired of seeing children
giving birth to babies
We are tired of watching our
sisters and daughters die
while giving birth
We are tired of living in such
poverty and desperation that
we resort to the only tools we
have to survive
We are tired of being harassed,
intimidated and even
burnt alive because we dared
to raise our voices
We are tired of sex for
grades, sex for jobs, sex for
food, sex for appointments
We are tired of seeing the
driver, gateman, Teacher, Policeman,
Politician, Bank
Manager, University Lecturer,
Pastor, Imam, Traditional ruler
all go scot free when they rape
us or our children
We are tired of all the excuses
for the lack of political
will
In the famous words of the
civil rights activist Fannie Lou
Hammer, we are sick and tired
of being sick and tired.
We will talk, argue, disagree
and hopefully agree. At this
dialogue, we need to ask
questions for which we might
not know the answers. There
are some answers we will talk
about without even understanding
the questions. It
doesn’t matter. We are here.
This is our platform. This is
our conversation. Let us use
our voices. We will say what
we want, we will describe the
present and the future that we
want for ourselves and our
children. At the end of our
time here, we will be able to
tell the world about the Nigeria
we want as women.
Hopefully, it will be a place
everyone else would like to
live in. I wish us a productive
and joyful time together.
Thank you
Opening remarks as Chair
of the National Women’s Dialogue,
Abuja, November
27th-29th 2019.
•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

PAGE 24, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019

Like any other nation of the
world that is faced with
challenges on the Ease of
Doing Business, the
Nigerian business environment
has often been described as
tough, given the realities of
insecurity, multiple taxation,
infrastructural deficits which
include but not limited to poor
electricity and bad roads, as well
as the slow rate of economic
growth occasioned by
fluctuating oil price.
Reports have shown
appreciable growth recorded by
some corporate organizations in
Nigeria despite these
challenges and the outstanding
heights they have attained
today, would not have been
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 25
SPECIAL SECTION ON OUTSTANDING CEOs
possible without the
painstaking efforts of some
thorough-bred and purposedriven
Chief Executive Officers
(CEOs) who have through
exemplary leadership skills
made their various
organizations succeed against
all odds. Such CEOs obviously
deserve recognition for their
uncommon resilience and
innovation.
•Becky Damilola-Oke •Boma Femi Julius
•Tommy Odama •Austin Ume Zurike •Victor Ehimuan
The Amazon Of The Nigerian Real Estate Industry
budget of N10.6 trillion, the Federal country. If we want to solve the deficit
Ministry of Works and Housing is under the four years remaining for
only getting six percent. Out of the this administration, we will need a
six percent, the minister says capital minimum of seven million houses
projects will take 80 percent while per year and the only way this can
the remaining 20 percent will go be achieved is for the government to
into housing, which means there bring foreign and local investors
will be more deficits.
together to map out strategies to
achieve this. If this can be done, the
deficit will reduced by at least 70
percent, but is obvious the federal
government is looking in this
direction.
State governments should
Engr Dr. Becky
Damilola-Oke
GMD/CEO, Bstan Group
She is a core professional in
engineering and construction
with 18 years of professional
experience, Engr Dr. Becky
Damilola-Oke is the Group
Managing Director of Bstan Group.
She bagged her first degree in civil
engineering at the University of
Benin, thereafter, she proceeded to
the prestigious Oxford University,
UK where she obtained a master
degree in construction
management. She later attended
Dominican University, USA for a
doctorate degree in estate
management and civil construction.
She is a member of the Nigerian
Society of Engineers (NSE) and the
Council for the Regulation of
Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)
among other professional institutes.
About Bstan Homes
We have been in the industry for
12 years and we have done so much
in the real estate industry. I
branched from pure construction to
real estate because I have passion
for people and looking at the
housing needs in Nigeria, I want
to be a stakeholder in impacting
lives through the provision of
shelter. I believe every Nigerian
should have a home, but we don’t
have the enabling policies and
there is less support from the
government. We have completed
over 22,000 housing units across
Nigeria and we are currently
working on the construction of
20,000 housing units across seven
estates located in Abuja, Lagos and
Port Harcourt.
Challenges of real estate
development in Nigeria
The Land Use Act is the greatest
challenge hindering the growth of
the real estate industry because
land titles are not regulated as they
should. During the eighth
assembly, the amendment for the
act scaled through the first reading
and nothing was heard again, the
ninth assembly is here and we are
still advocating for the act to be
passed to law. It is the reason why
foreign investors are not interested
in the Nigerian housing sector.
When it becomes a law, the new
act will ensure that land titles are
duly regulated, it will abolish
bureaucracy and mortgage will
work as it ought to. It will also put
an end to scams perpetrated by
companies that are not meant to be
in business.
Another issue is that the sector is
underfunded. Out of a total national
•Oladipo Raji •Ebenezer Olufowose •Kabir Ayinde
•Becky Damilola-Oke
Bridging the gap in demand and
supply for housing
The housing deficit in Nigeria is
alarming. If it should be truly
measured, we should be hitting
50 million because the
population is growing and
people are being
displaced every year by
flooding and insurgency
in some parts of the
encourage Public-Private
Partnership by releasing lands to
developers who will build houses,
because government cannot do
everything. PPP is a system that
works all over the world, when the
right policies are in place.
BOMA JULIUS: Developing Careers
In The Oil And Gas Sector
He is drilling fluids
specialist with a passion
for imparting knowledge
to others. Engr. Boma Femi Julius
is the CEO of Globat Oil and Gas
Skills; a training institute which
specializes in petroleum
processes, technical and
operational procedures as well as
project management.
An alumnus of the Federal
University of Technology, Owerri
where he obtained a bachelor of
engineering degree in polymer
and textile engineering, Julius
started his career in the oil and gas
industry as a mud engineer with
Geo-Fluids Limited and he has
gone on to work with a number of
companies across African and the
Middle East including
Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and
Saudi Aramco. To further enhance
his skills, he also trained at
Petroskills and Murchison
Drilling School both in the USA.
According to him, he was
inspired to set up the institute
given the fact that a large number
of Nigerian oilfield workers don’t
have the funds to go abroad for
training. He said, “Training people
has always been a part of me.
During the course of my career
abroad, I discovered that even
though the local content act has
helped in empowering Nigerians
with oil and gas skills, the level of
education is still low. Oftentimes,
some of friends in Nigeria would
call me to explain certain processes
to them, so I decided to set up Globat
Skills to enhance technical and
professional competence among
our engineers because it is
expensive to go abroad for
training.”
He added that the training at the
institute which is based on
American Petroleum Institute (API)
curriculum covers both theory and
practical sessions with the approval
of the Department for Petroleum
Resources (DPR). Also, Globat
Skills is affiliated with reputable oil
and gas training institutes which
assist in facilitating international
certification for trainees.
Since the inception of the
company in 2015, the company has
contributed to the career
progression of Nigerians in the oil
InfraFocus Technologies Limited,
ConnectFocus Technologies
Limited, SoftFocus Technologies
Limited, SmartFocus Technologies
Limited and Soft Solution Concept
Limited.
An alumnus of Federal
Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Lagos
Business School and the Federal
University of Technology, Akure,
within a space of four years, Raji has
grown the Focus Group from an
and gas sector, some of whom are
now gainfully employed in Kuwait,
Gabon, Saudi Arabia and
Nigeria.
“When we started, I
wanted our trainees to be
the best, so I brought in
professionals from different areas of
the industry to teach various
courses. These are leading technical
experts who are adept at addressing
the challenges the industry is facing
today by combining academicbased
learning with hands-on
training. Till date, we still bring in
experts from USA and other
countries to train our students.
“This is our way of contributing
to the local content initiative and we
have been getting recommendation
from our past students. It gladdens
my heart to know that we are
developing careers and helping
people gain employment. When we
started, people were coming on
their own, but now, we have
companies that are sending their
staff for training”, he informed
With a vision to build an institute
that will outlive him, Julius
informed that a branch of the
SME to become a powerhouse in
the Nigerian ICT sector. Earlier in
the year, the company became the
youngest ICT group to be certified
to the ISO9001:2015 standard in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Describing the operations of each
of the subsidiaries, Raji explained
that the flagship subsidiary which
is InfraFocus Technologies provides
hardware and infrastructure
solutions around servers, storage,
Future plans for Bstan
Homes
Part of our plan for the year 2020
is to work with states ravaged by
insurgency in building IDP homes
where the people can be resettled.
Our projects in Abeokuta and
Ibadan will soon be coming up as
part of the plans to expand our
operations to other states of the
federation where we will build
affordable homes for Nigerians.
Our immediate goal is to take over
the nation as the choice provider of
affordable homes and at the same
time create employment
opportunities for Nigerians.
institute will soon be coming up in
Lagos and Ghana, while the South
African branch will start classes in
the first quarter of 2020. “I have
observed that the reason why we
don’t have indigenous companies
that are over 50 years is because the
entrepreneurial understanding and
exposure of most business owners
in Nigeria ends within the
satisfaction of their family circle.
The founder of Julius Berger is no
more, but the company is
challenging the trend to meet up
with the standards of the modern.
The vision for us is big, but the
immediate plan is to stabilize our
current structure. We are also
working on extending our services
to cover recruitment for oil and gas
firms in Nigeria, such that we can
assist our students with job
placements after training”, he
informed.
We Create The Future To Stay Ahead Of Competition
Oladipo Raji
President/CEO, Focus Group
ladipo Raji is the President/
OCEO of Focus Group; one of
the fastest growing ICT
conglomerates in Nigeria with a
clear focus on providing end-toend
ICT solutions and services to
solve present and future problems
with five subsidiaries namely,
•Victor Ekpenyong
•Boma Femi Julius
end user devises, and data center
infrastructure. ConnectFocus
Technologies provides network and
connectivity solutions around Local
Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan
Area Network (MAN), wide Area
Network (WAN) and system
integration.
SoftFocus Technologies offers
software solutions for front end
Continues on pg 30

PAGE 26, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Tommy Odama is the founder
and chief executive officer of
the multi-award winning real
estate agency and property services
conglomerate, Luxury Villas Group,
he is a passionate consultant with
robust grounding in property
agency, management,
development, appraisals,
investments, advisory and
publishing, facility and project
management, lease administration,
property acquisition and business
development.
A Fellow of the Institute of
Administration and member of the
Association of Estate Agents in
Nigeria. He is an alumnus of
Knowledge Train Learning Matter,
UK, where he bagged a diploma in
project management fundamentals;
and the Hetta Institute in New York.
What informed your interest in
Luxury Real Estate Services?
First and foremost some things are
intrinsic or inherent in us. You may
not necessary be born with such
privileges but you just discover
yourself to love such things. Such
is my experience with luxury. When
I realised my love for luxury, I opted
for a business that will make me to
live or showcase it, hence I chose to
become a realtor with panache for
premium luxury lifestyle. I realised
ab initio that it is easier to deal with
the upper echelon of the society
“W
e pride ourselves as the air
that keeps the industry
growing, as represented in
the acronym AIR which outlines our
values. We Adapt our services and
tools to meet clients’ needs,
Innovate solutions around project
requirements and Resolve
challenges to deliver expectations
as an engineering, projects and
operations services provider to the
oil and gas, power and maritime
industries”, these were the words
of Mr. Austin Ume Zurike, the
managing director and chief
executive officer of Arion Energy
Services Limited.
His impressive career cuts across
drilling, ship building and offshore
marine operations across Asia and
Europe in over two decades. His last
employment was at BW Offshore
where he rose through the ranks as
operations manager and
subsequently became managing
director for the multinational in
Nigeria. He left in 2016 to fulfil his
entrepreneurial dream with the
establishment of Arion Energy
Services.
“We are quite young in the
industry and we came in at a time
when the Nigerian economy was in
recession, but we were not deterred
in our quest to make a difference in
the industry. We ensure that we only
take jobs that are within our capacity
and we execute to the best of our
ability. What drives us is being
innovative and agile in the way we
provide our service offerings which
includes technical manpower
services, crew and vessel
management, asset integrity
management, operations and
maintenance services as well as
procurement. Presently, we are
looking into vessel ownership for
the upstream sector of the oil and
gas industry”, he informed.
An exceptional CEO with a cando
spirit and knack for excellence,
his expertise is unquestionable as
evident in the amazing growth and
successes recorded since the
establishment of Arion Energy
Services in a space of three years.
Not just that, Arion Energy Services
has been compliant with both
cabotage and local content
initiatives in line with the provisions
of extant laws in the maritime and
oil industries by facilitating the
transfer of knowledge to indigenous
engineers and cadets as well as
engaging these Nigerians in its
operations.
According to him, the nondisbursement
of the Cabotage
SPECIAL SECTION ON OUTSTANDING CEOs
•Tommy Odama
than to work with the lower cadre
of the social strata in terms of
services delivery in real estate
whether buying, selling, leasing
and even pitching.
What are the greatest challenges
you have encountered in your
Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) is
one of the challenges facing the
maritime industry. He said, “The
Cabotage law in itself has been
effective to some extent, as we now
have more local vessel owners and
more indigenous seafarers are
replacing foreigners, but in terms
of vessel acquisition, it has been
difficult. I want to believe the reason
why the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency
(NIMASA) has not disbursed the
fund is due to past experience
whereby the beneficiaries diverted
the funds into something else, but I
think genuine players should be
given access to the fund provided
they are properly vetted and placed
under checks to ensure the money
Professionalism and Integrity
Has Brought Us Far
Tommy Odama —GCEO, Luxury Villas Group
entrepreneurial journey and what
are the lessons you have taken from
these challenges?
On the contrary I really can’t tell
precisely what specific challenge or
challenges I have encountered in
the course of my entrepreneurial
journey but I do know that at first
the rich may find it difficult to trust
you with huge sums of money to buy
a property for them or collect such
monies on their behalf, however,
once you are able to earn their trust
there is no limit to how much and
how far they can go with you. In
terms of lessons; professionalism
and integrity are two virtues that are
key if you must run a successful real
estate business.
Proper maintenance is key in
preserving building, how would
you rate facilities management
practise in Nigeria as an important
aspect of Real Estate?
Facility management of a building
We Are Innovative And
Agile In Service Delivery
can, in my opinion, be likened to
nourishing the human body to
healthy living such as good food
and taking the right Vitamins as
well as exercise to keep the body
functioning properly. In Nigeria, we
lack good maintenance culture
especially in our government
institutions. Outside some
individually owned private homes/
properties and corporations
especially those owned by
multinationals, there so many
decays in our facilities. You do not
need to be lectured on this, look
around, you will see what I mean.
So, a good and functional
professional facility management is
an important element in the
preservations of properties in
Nigeria and should form a part of
our culture and must be taken
seriously otherwise we may not be
able to see some of these
developments in the next fifty years
to hundred years from now and
Mr. Austin Ume Zurike —CEO, Arion Energy Services Limited
•Victor Ehimuan
Mr. Victor Ehimuan is the
Group Chief Operating
Officer of Joeny Holdings
Limited; an indigenous company
that is highly committed to
excellence and focused on building
a brand name associated with
unique quality and service delivery.
He holds a bachelor degree in
economics as well as a master
degree in management from the
Univeristy of Leeds Business School.
He is also a certified QMS ISO 9001
lead auditor by PECB Canada.
How would you describe the year
given to them is strictly spent on
vessel acquisition. It will be good if
NIMASA starts disbursing the
funds because vessel acquisition is
expensive, and our banks are not
helping with the interest rates.”
With a vision “to be recognised as
the distinctive energy services
provider that is significantly
improving our clients’
performance”, Arion Energy
Services has continued to position
itself for opportunities in the
industry by embracing trends as
they come up, with the ultimate goal
of being the partner of choice.
“The future is bright. We hope the
Petroleum Industry Bill will be
passed into law in the nearest future
because it has the potentials to
2019 in terms of challenges and
opportunities?
Frankly speaking, the challenges
are not what we did not anticipate
because part of management is to
forecast and develop strategies to
mitigate risk or optimise
opportunities, and this is what we
at Joeny Holdings are very good at.
Starting with the opportunities, we
took a strategic decision to invest
in expanding our engagement to
other financially viable clients that
were not initially on our portfolio
and to expand our asset capacity due
to perceived growth. This has
worked well, because we have seen
expansion in drilling operations.
Also, the current local content
initiative is gathering more
momentum to support
indigenous companies like
ours, not only to grow but to
compete with the
multinationals. I am pleased to
say that Joeny Holdings is
taking over highly technical service
contracts from the multinationals. I
will also say increasing
globalisation in 2019 has impacted
our business positively because we
are better able to communicate,
procure and deliver critical
mechanical spares just in time and
we are better deposed to the
international community for wellestablished
joint venture
partnerships and investments.
A big challenge that we face is
getting the right local skill sets in
some critical areas and balancing
their needs and expectations with
the requirements of the client and
better the
industry. The
NLNG Train-
7 and the
Bonga South
West projects
among others
will create
opportunities
for the
industry and
we are well
positioned to
key into these
opportunities. Once these projects
kick off, the maritime industry will
follow, because it is 80 percent
dominated by services in the oil and
gas industry. We stand to benefit
from increased activities that are
our company’s set standards. In
responding to this challenge, we are
investing hugely in putting in place
adequate knowledge management
systems. We have also seen a lot of
split-second changes in key
government regulations and
policies which directly affects the
way we do business without proper
awareness creation and stakeholder
engagement to enable good
understanding and a seamless
transition to a new order.
As a top player in Nigeria’s oil
and gas industry, how has Joeny
Holdings contributed to the Local
Content Initiative?
As an indigenous company, we
are a beneficiary of this initiative,
so we must be a valuable
contributor as well. We embed local
content policies as regards
community labour and suppliers
engagement in our community
management plan. Through this, we
are able to employ and train persons
and engage local suppliers and subcontractors
in different communities
where we carry out our operations.
Currently, together with NCDMB
and one of our major oil and gas
client, we are training almost 36
people on a two-year program
which includes; classroom training,
on-the-job training and relevant
industry certifications. We are
currently working in collaboration
with a foreign partner to develop a
critical industry tool and site
maintenance support service centre
in the Niger Delta region.
admire them. They would have
decayed and become
uninhabitable.
What is your projection for the
Luxury Real Estate market in
Nigeria?
I am very positive about growth
in the Luxury real estate market in
the very near future. Growth has
been slow due to a number of factors
from funding, exchange rate to
interest rates. We are getting there
gradually. It is a work in progress.
To what extent would you say the
vision of your company has been
achieved and where do you hope
to see the company in another ten
years?
Without sounding immodest and
with all humility and sense of
purpose, I believe we have made
sufficient progress with so much
room for improvement. There is no
limit to success and achievement
but with hard work and
perseverance, we are forging ahead
and meeting the goals we set out
for ourselves. In ten years from now
we hope to be rated as a global
company, ceteris- paribus.
•Austin Ume
Zurike
coming up and this is why we want
to acquire our own vessel,
nevertheless, all these requires
stability in our economy for all to
materialise”, he said.
JOENY HOLDINGS: Local Firm With Global Perspective
What are the core values that
distinguishes your company from
other players in the oil and gas
sector?
At Joeny Holdings, we have a
highly disciplined and focused
leadership and we believe that
what can ensure our sustainability
and long-term competitive
advantage is our uniqueness. As
such, we focus on four of our core
business values which are; delivery
of quality services, investment in
human capital, premium
equipment and tools, and
continuous technical innovation.
These four values clearly distinct us
from our competitors and display
our adopted strategic management
philosophy of prioritizing our
planning on enforcing the internal
competence of our organisation (i.e.
people, systems, processes) in
building a winning corporate
strategy that gives us that
uniqueness which is inimitable.
What are your goals for Joeny
Holdings?
Like most other companies that
are forward thinking, we at Joeny
Holdings look to a day when our
company name clearly becomes a
household brand beyond the shores
of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
We look to a day when our above
highlighted key values need not be
spoken, but be seen in the
substance of our service
deliverables and output in the oil
and gas industry in Nigeria.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 27

PAGE 28, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 29

PAGE 30, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
applications, back end applications
and workflow, robotics, artificial
intelligence (AI) and process
automation solutions. SmartFocus
Technologies Limited caters for
operations around smart buildings,
smart facility management, smart
metering which helps consumers
measure power consumption at any
point in time regardless of the
source of supply (grid or generator),
smart parking, as well as internet
of things (IoT) technology. The fifth
member of the group is Soft
Solution Concept Limited; the
bespoke and home-grown
solutions subsidiary providing
locally built and tailor-made
SPECIAL SECTION ON OUTSTANDING CEOs
We Create The Future To Stay Ahead Of Competition
Continued from pg 25
solutions around human resource
management and legal office
management among others.
A member of the Institute of
Directors of Nigeria, Chartered
institute of Management and
Nigerian Computer Society, while
commenting on the challenges
faced in his entrepreneurial journey,
he emphasised on scarcity of skilled
people among others. In his words,
“there seems to be scarcity of skill
set in the country as it is very
difficult to get capable skilled
people to employ. Most of the
unemployed graduates do not have
the necessary skills, neither are they
ready or willing to learn and work,
all they are interested in is money.
In terms of infrastructure,
inadequate power supply is killing
OLUFOWOSE: Creating Bespoke
Financial Services Across Board
e is an alumnus of the prestigious
HHarvard Business School and a
first class graduate of economics from
the University of Lagos. Without
mincing words, Ebenezer Olufowose,
the Group Managing Director of First
Ally Capital Limited, is indeed an
economist and investment guru with
a Midas touch. This has been evident
throughout the course of his career till
date.
Highlights of his illustrious career
includes being responsible for the
listing of Guaranty Trust Bank’s shares
on the Nigerian Stock Exchange,
while he was head of investment
banking after which he was charged
with the responsibility of setting up
GTBank’s first subsidiary outside
Nigeria.
He later joined Citigroup in 2002
where as a director, he led Citigroup’s
origination, structuring and execution
of corporate finance deals in Nigeria
till 2007. He was also an Executive
Director with Citibank Nigeria.
As an Executive Director at Access
Bank between 2007 and 2013, he was
involved in the acquisition of
Intercontinental bank; a process
which transformed the bank from a
tier-2 to a tier-1 bank. His expertise
also came to bear in the bank’s
USD500million Eurobond which was
listed on the London Stock Exchange.
He resigned from the bank in 2013 to
pursue his entrepreneurial quest with
the establishment of FACL which
under a period of six years has become
a financial house attending to the
needs of every class of the society
through its subsidiaries namely; First
Ally Asset Management, Personal
Trust Microfinance Bank, First Ally
Bureau De Change and FACL
Properties Limited.
“It has been a wonderful journey
since we started because God has been
there for us. Our vision is to be the
•Victor Ekpenyong
ictor Innocent Ekpenyong is the
Vmanaging director and chief
executive officer of Kenyon
International West Africa Limited;
a wholly owned indigenous firm
that has achieved giant strides in the
Nigerian oil and gas industry with
regards to wellhead services,
sealant solution technology and
OCTG services.
An indigene of Edem Idim
Ibakesi from Ini Local Government
Area of Akwa Ibom State, he
attended Government Technical
School, Ewet, Uyo for his technical
•Ebenezer Olufowose
partner of choice to our clients,
providing innovative financial
solutions and enabling growth. We
have made the progress so far achieved
by hiring creative minds who make up
the management team of the group.
The quality of our shareholders and
directors has also contributed greatly
to our success”, he informed.
A Sir Adam Thomson Scholar at the
University of Sussex, UK where he
obtained a master’s degree in
International Economics, Olufowose
sees opportunities in every situation
no matter how ugly it looks and he
approaches every challenge creatively
with the objective of bringing out
something that will be beneficial for
all. This actively played out in FACL’s
acquisition of Personal Trust Savings
and Loans, now known as Personal
Trust Microfinance Bank through
which thousands of MSMEs have
benefited from its products in growing
school education, after which he
proceeded to the Federal University
of Technology, Owerri where he
obtained a bachelor of technology
degree in Project Management
Technology.
He started his career as a
technician trainee during which he
learnt how to install and service
surface well control equipment,
wellhead & Xmas tree, pile driving
among others. After years of
working across a number of
companies, he embarked on an
entrepreneurial journey in 2015 with
the establishment of Kenyon
International West Africa Company
Limited. Since establishment, the
company has distinguished itself
for excellent services which has
given it credence with international
oil companies (IOCs) as well as local
companies in the Nigerian oil and
gas industry.
“We are one of the youngest and
fastest growing companies in the
Nigerian oil and gas industry. We
have been opportune to leverage on
the local content act which has
helped us in getting jobs with IOCs
and other local players. In line with
our core values of reliability, loyalty,
dependability, passion and
commitment, we have been able to
bring to reality our mission which
is to meet and exceed our customers’
expectations by continually
improving and updating the skills
and resources needed for demand
driven oil and gas services in all our
•Oladipo Raji
their businesses. The bank is also
responsible for the digital lending
application called “MoniNow” as part
of efforts to extend its footprints in the
digital banking space.
The successes of the company has
continued to increase despite
challenges peculiar with the Nigerian
business environment. In the course
of this year, FACL won the Capital
Finance International (CFI) award for
the most innovative financial solutions
team in Nigeria, while its asset
management subsidiary achieved an
impressive record through its money
market fund which became the first
money market fund to be
oversubscribed in many years and it is
presently listed on the FMDQ
Securities Exchange.
Commenting on the challenges
facing the capital market, the
innovative CEO explained that the
lack of confidence in the Nigerian
economy has continued to be a fear
factor for investors which is why the
capital market is yet to actualise its full
potentials.
In his words, “When the economy
was in recession, most foreign
investors pulled out and the truth is
that portfolio investors account for a
significant portion of investors in
Nigeria, so every time they retreat, the
market goes down. As it is the equities
market is yet to recover from the last
recession. Despite the successful
conclusion of the elections, investors’
apathy persists as a result of lack of
confidence in the country’s economic
direction. However, the constitution of
the Economic Advisory Council
headed by Prof Doyin Salami is a great
development because the team is made
up of respectable and knowledgeable
economic professionals. I have
absolute confidence in what they have
to offer and hope their
recommendations would be given due
recognition”
VICTOR EKPENYONG: Bridging Gaps In The Oil and Gas Industry
operations”, he informed.
On the challenges faced in his
field of operations, the alumnus of
the Lagos Business School Owner
Manager Programme (OMP 29)
described vandalism as the biggest
challenge faced in the management
of wellhead & Xmas tree. According
to him, anti-theft locks, ESD valves
being used in isolated location in
protecting wellheads in Nigeria are
obsolete and the vandals already
know how to unlock them.
“Whenever these vandals carry out
their acts, they don’t only hurt the
companies, they also hurt the host
communities as a result of spillage.
The companies get to spend more
money because they will need to
compensate the communities and
also clean up the spillage. I believe
if the newer well security
technology used in other countries
is deployed, it will check stop the
activities of the vandals, so there is
need to budget more for well
integrity and this is where NNPC
needs to come in”, he said.
Ekpenyong disclosed that his goal
is for the company to be a one-stop
shop for wellhead supply,
installation and maintenance in
Nigeria. According to him, “Our long
term goal is to open a factory where
wellhead accessories will be
manufactured to serve Nigeria and
neighbouring markets. In the shortterm,
we will be opening our
warehouse by the third quarter of
next year where everything
a lot of businesses in Nigeria, as a
24/7 company, we spend heavily on
power to keep our operations
running and this impact greatly on
our bottom-line. Another challenge
is the market structure, especially,
in the connectivity sub-sector where
we have to compete with our service
providers for the same businesses
due to lack of effective regulation
that segment the market for
different scale of operation.”
In its bid to stay focused
irrespective of challenges and also
stay above competition, Raji
informed that the company operates
a blue ocean strategy which has
enable it create its own future
instead of struggling for the already
saturated markets. “Our capability
•Kabir Ayinde
e is an astute manager of
Hresources who has succeeded in
raising the bar when it comes to
delivering excellent results through
professional and organizational skills.
Mr. Kabir Ayinde Tukur, the chief
executive officer of Cooperative
Mortgage Bank has distinguished
himself as a financial expert with a
touch of excellence in the course of his
career.
An alumnus of the University of Togo
and the Harvard Business School,
Tukur started his career at Savannah
Bank where he served for 15 years
before branching out to set up a
consultancy firm known as Home
Management Services. He
subsequently established City Homes
Savings and Loans Limited where he
worked until 1996. During the
recapitalization exercise by banks in
2006, he played a prominent role in
some merger and acquisition deals in
the country as a consultant. In 2009,
he was involved in the recapitalization
of Cooperative Savings and Loans
Limited which is now known as
Cooperative Mortgage Bank and he
has been serving as managing director.
Since he took over the helm of affairs,
the bank has witnessed a positive
turnaround in its fortunes as it
celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary
earlier this year as an institution that
has been providing home ownership
services to the medium and lower class.
“As the only cooperative bank in
Nigeria, we emphasize more on
cooperative institutions and societies
because, we have not less than 20
million co-operators in Nigeria which
gives us the unique opportunity to
bank that segment of the populace”,
to offer end-to-end solutions from
within the group has helped
position us for effectiveness. For
existing markets however, we
compete effectively through
unmatched efficiency in the
industry. Our unique value
proposition that sets us above the
pack includes being a one-stop ICT
solutions provider, service
excellence, the trust and confidence
our customers have is us, is perhaps
our greatest strength. We are
innovative because we believe the
best way to predict the future is to
create it. We are agile in responding
to customers promptly, our rich
experience and industry
Knowledge stands us out and we
guarantee cost effectiveness by
offering quality solutions and
services at prices unmatched in the
market”, he said.
At CMB, We Are Passionate
About Home Ownership
Through Mortgage
Mr. Kabir Ayinde Tukur
CEO, Cooperative Mortgage Bank
pertaining to wellhead & Xmas
accessories will be available for our
esteemed customers. We have
partnership deals with some
OEM’s in US, UK and China in
terms of engineering design and
he informed.
During the course of the year, Tukur,
representing Cooperative Mortgage
Bank, became the only Nigerian
among the seven-man board of the
International Cooperative Bankers
Association, which is the banking arm
of the International Cooperative
Alliance; the body that controls all
cooperative societies worldwide with
over one billion members spread across
the globe. According to him, it is not
just an achievement that has given him
and the bank a global recognition, but
also an honour to Nigeria as a whole.
Commenting on the challenges of
home financing, Tukur explained that
the major challenge as it relates to
Nigeria is capacity, and mortgage is
the only solution that provides the
capacity people need to own their
houses. He said, “In developed
countries 95 percent of home
ownership is through mortgage, but
the reverse is the case here in Nigeria,
where only about five percent home
ownership is through mortgage. The
problem is not affordability, it is more
about capacity and that is where
mortgage comes in. It does not only
encourage efficiency and prudency, it
also helps to manage cash flow in the
economy.”
“Take for instance, if you earn
N50,000 monthly, it means you can
afford our one-bedroom apartment
which goes for N3million by paying
N18,000 every month. In this case, the
moment you realise your salary is tied
to mortgage, you will cut off
unnecessary spending and you
become efficient on your job because
you don’t want to lose your house.”
In line with the strategies of the
bank to focus more on cooperative
societies, the astute CEO informed that
CMB approaches home ownership
from the demand side. “Before we
finance a housing project, we would
have secured assurances from the
people involved. This approach helps
in reducing the cost because the more
the number of houses you are building
together, the cheaper the cost. Instead
of buying cement from a road side
distributor, you buy directly from the
factory which comes at a lower rate.
Same also applies to other materials
that goes into the construction. This
approach has also helped in providing
immediate accommodation, unlike
those who build and then look for
people to buy. Such houses are usually
expensive and that method also ties
down capital”, he explained.
On future goals of the company,
Tukur emphasized on the bank’s vision
to expand its operations across the
country in providing mortgage, for
affordable housing to Nigerians. “We
want to be visible in every part of the
country by empowering people to buy
houses with ease at a single digit. To
achieve this, we have partnered with
some estate developers in providing
houses for the middle and lower class”,
he said.
production of surface wellhead as
well as spare parts. With this, we
will be able to stock enough
inventory and bridge gaps in the
industry.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 31

PAGE 32, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019

Nigerian politics: Great
award winners emerge
Some simplistic fel
low Nigerians quite
often naively assume
that persons who are
nominated for awards in
the country may have
achieved a lot. It is not always
so. Even our national
honours award lost its credibility
long ago when government
started allocating
figures to certain institutions
and positions like
governors, top legislators
and ministers instead of
outstanding citizens. Perhaps
the most common but
annoying awards are those
organized by the media
and civil society groups
who for their own material
benefits are seen falling on
each other to honour the
same characters. Sometimes
some governors who
failed to pay workers’ salaries
are honoured while
some other honourees have
had to walk into EFCC
cells a few months after
their lavishly published
awards.
We do not mean to deny
the existence of many Nigerian
with integrity; our
point is that no one needs
to labour to find out what
informed an award. Among
governors for instance, no
matter how much political
PhD,Department of
Philosophy,
University of Lagos
08116759758
The normalisation of suffering and
self-deception in Nigeria (2)
opponents may dislike
Nyesom Wike, Rivers State
governor, there is a high
degree of consensus that the
title, ‘Mr. Project’ given to
him by Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo for his hard work
is deserving as it is constantly
corroborated by any
visitor to Port Harcourt. It
is against this backdrop that
this column today presents
its own award for the most
outstanding Nigerian politicians
of the moment. We
have three winners of our
Gold, Silver and bronze
medals by a set of winners
with uncommon disposition.
Our bronze medal goes to
the Zamfara State House of
Assembly where a bill was
passed last week, to abrogate
a particular exploitation
of the masses by the
privileged class. What the
legislators did was to simply
repeal a law which hitherto
authorized the payment
of extravagant pension
and other allowances
to former governors and
deputies, as well as to
Speakers and their deputies.
Among other things,
the old law had allowed a
former governor to earn his
previous salary for life in
addition to an allowance of
henever buharimani
Wacs led by the Vice President,
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo,
boast garrulously about the
economic blueprint of this
government and throw
around numbers purporting
to show that the policies are
working, I wonder whether
they are living in a fantasy island
far removed from the
harsh realities facing ordinary
people like myself. Everywhere
people are begging;
to even have two good meals
a day is becoming very difficult
for thousands of families,
not to mention decent accommodation
with modern amenities.
The problem of begging
is no longer restricted to the
unemployed or physically
challenged. Majority of workers
both in the public and private
sectors are poorly remunerated,
while artisans and
self-employed Nigerians running
small businesses are
complaining bitterly about
the drastic reduction in their
income due to low patronage.
Moreover, rising inflation
made worse by the border closure
is corroding the purchasing
power of the naira, which
means that keeping poverty
at bay has become more challenging
than ever for the average
Nigerian. Unfortunately,
the President and sycophants
around him seem to think that
making optimistic statements
claiming that things are looking
up means that things are
actually improving, which is
a delusion. Things are not improving
for over hundred million
Nigerians. On the contrary,
the level of poverty is very
alarming: since 2016, I have
been receiving phone calls
and text messages from total
strangers soliciting for financial
assistance. Nigeria is
steadily turning into a country
of beggars; yet those in
positions of authority appear
to be unconcerned about it.
Now, despite Buhari’s claim
that government will pull one
hundred million Nigerians
out of poverty in a decade,
there is no guarantee that it
can be done, nothing to show
that the government is moving
in the right direction. Poverty
is spreading faster than
ever before. Government officials
who parade carefully
distilled data that contradict
the existential poverty pervading
the country right now do
not understand that statistics
are like bikinis, what they reveal
is interesting, but what
they conceal is even more interesting.
Everywhere one
goes, one sees poverty and suffering
on the faces of Nigerians.
Let me put the matter
plainly: no amount of finagling
with numbers can hide
the fact that more Nigerians
are poorer since APC came to
power. But the issue of rising
poverty is beyond partisan
politics, although the ruling
party must bear the heaviest
burden of blame for the ugly
situation. The political elite
are mentally unfit to govern
because virtually all of them
are bulimic hypocrites stealing
the resources that ought
N10million every month
plus other wasteful benefits.
Presenting the bill before
the House, Frank Dosara,
the House leader, urged his
colleagues to, as a matter
of urgency, consider the repeal
of the law, which provided
jumbo pay for former
political leaders in the state
amounting to over N700m
annually. The repeal was
expeditiously done.
The commendable action
of the legislators brings to
an end a scandalous law.
How could a group had
been so pampered when fellow
citizens who were only
entitled to an insignificant
percentage of their meagre
salaries hardly got paid,
notwithstanding that they
worked for as long as 35
years? Among the legislators
who approved the repeal
were those who are or
had been speakers and their
deputies who would someday
on account of this patriotic
consideration lose
their privileged huge allowances.
By their action,
Zamfara legislators have
set a standard that would
be hard to change without
massive rioting. Again,
they have created a platform
for citizens in other
states to agitate for an end
to such bogus allowances
which could now be diverted
to helping the poor masses
in society. Barring any
unforeseeable developments,
Zamfara people appear
blessed.
The Silver medal would
to be used to improve the living
conditions of the masses.
The most painful aspect is
that they do not really need
the billions and other material
things they are accumulating.
The academics, senior
journalists, politicians, and
businessmen who packaged
and repackaged Buhari as an
ascetic disciplinarian immune
to the attractions of
materialism should be
ashamed of themselves: they
overrated Buhari and ignored
the lessons of history. If Buhari’s
government is really
fighting poverty and Nigeria
has become the poverty capital
of the world ahead of war
torn countries like Afghanistan,
Iraq and Yemen, then
something is seriously wrong
about its poverty alleviation
strategy, including the socalled
social intervention programmes.
Overall, the most
vulnerable segment of the
Nigerian population which
constitutes an overwhelming
demographic majority is not
experiencing the alleged positive
impact of buharinomics.
Instead, what we are seeing is
the gradual normalisation of
poverty and suffering nationwide.
A key component of deception
and propaganda tool
used by the APC was hyperbolic
projection of Muhammadu
Buhari as an anti-corruption
crusader. Nostalgic
references to the War Against
Indiscipline (WAI) was the
lodestar of the party’s presidential
campaign in 2015, although
it was not very effective
and convincing this year
compared to that year due to
the mutation of corruption
into more dangerous forms
since Buhari became President.
On the other hand, even
if one concedes that WAI
might have achieved some
limited success from 1984 to
August 1985, it was not a guarantee
that more than thirty
years later Buhari as a civilian
President still had what it
naturally go to the state
governor, Bello Mohammed
Matawalle who was
the architect of the policy.
Of course, it could not have
happened without him
Sometimes some
governors who failed
to pay workers’
salaries are
honoured while
some other
honourees have had
to walk into EFCC
cells a few months
after their lavishly
published awards
which also explains the
speed with which the bill
was signed into law. Some
critics might argue that he
initiated the policy out of
malice to punish an adversary
– his immediate past
predecessor, Abdulaziz
Yari. For us, such an argument
is superfluous as the
policy will affect every person
who becomes a former
governor and speaker and
their deputies. Besides, anyone
who has followed the
activities of Matawalle
since he became governor
cannot but perceive the visible
people-oriented disposition
of the governor. Although
he inherited a beleaguered
state that had
been in the hands of bandits,
he has by sheer statesmanship,
pragmatism and
managerial prowess, freed
his citizens from despair.
That he had to depose an
emir who was reportedly in
league with bandits is instructive.
Again, like his
Overall, the most vulnerable
segment of the Nigerian
population which
constitutes an
overwhelming
demographic majority is
not experiencing the
alleged positive impact of
buharinomics
takes to fight corruption effectively.
Of course, the War
Against Indiscipline was
flawed in many respects: it
was arbitrarily selective,
heavy-handed, and haphazard.
The same shortcomings
are evident in the current war
against corruption, the major
difference being that the flaws
now are more malignant than
they were when WAI was
launched in 1984. This is not
the first time I have argued
that Buhari’s government is
fighting corruption badly. The
point I want to highlight presently
is that discerning Nigerians
no longer believe that
this government is serious and
sincere about killing corruption
before it kills the country.
Moreover, some of them think
that the APC is more corrupt
than the PDP. Instances of corruption
at the top echelons of
government are legion, several
of which I have discussed
earlier in this column. But
there is a special brand of corruption
that APC has perfected
in the last four and half
years, namely, flagrant nepotism
and deliberate harvesting
of corrupt prominent politicians
from other parties, especially
the PDP. In a bizarre
manifestation of the corrupting
influence of power, APC
chairman, Adams Oshiomhole,
proclaimed that corrupt
politicians will be forgiven
once they join the ruling party.
Yet, irredeemably gullible
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 33
lawmakers, he has cancelled
a personal future fact that INEC had no pow-
she took advantage of the
benefit.
ers to determine the subject.
She moved to the
Matawalle’s silver medal
shines brightly because no courts and won. Thereafter,
one else has had the guts to Natasha Akpoti moved
stop the inexplicable squandermania
especially the votes in a volatile state
around campaigning for
bigger benefits going to where a deputy governor
former Presidents or ex-military
heads of state. We had probe panel had just been
declared innocent by a
waited in vain to find someone
strong enough to oply
not intimidated by me-
impeached. She was clearpose
a continuation of an dia reports that her state
expenditure reportedly well had more fake than authentic
police. They burnt her
over 15.3 billion naira as
‘upkeep’ to our former office and party secretariat,
yet the lady remained
number one citizens and
their families. In the states, standing. When a peace
governors of Akwa Ibom, agreement was put in place,
Lagos and a few others are the fake police stopped her
paying more than the profligacy
that Zamfara has signing ceremony, while the
from participating in the
just halted. The only reason authentic police served
Governor Matawalle is not their Inspector General,
going away with our gold INEC chairman and other
medal today is because another
Nigerian has fought including the state gover-
personalities in attendance
the statusquo in perhaps a nor some doses of teargas.
more extra-ordinary way. In On election day, live ammunition
and other weap-
earnest, we didn’t need to
search too long for the gold ons were reportedly thrown
medalist we are now unveiling.
sources including air raids,
indiscriminately from all
Our star winner is a yet Akpoti endured. After
young highly educated Nigerian
lady, who has spofied
hands burnt another
voting day, some unidentiken
truth to power against lady alive; yet, citizen Natasha
Akpoti survived. In-
all odds and yet survived.
Natasha Akpoti, the governorship
candidate of the forting words from anyterestingly,
she got no com-
Social Democratic Party where, not even from fellow
SDP in the recent governorship
elections in Kogi state women organizations and
women. Nothing from
has no doubt written her associations be it trader
name in gold. She began groups, professional bodies
with a clash with the Independent
National Electortional
Council of Women
etc., nothing from the Naal
Commission, INEC. Societies, nothing from the
When the latter announced minister of women affairs,
her disqualification from nothing from female activists
known for their aggres-
the election, the reason given,
that her running mate sive demand for affirmative
was underaged, appeared action. Indeed, nothing
cogent but the lady knew from first ladies, be it federal
or state making Nata-
better. She established that
since she, was not found sha Akpoti easily the most
wanting, she deserved to be outstanding Nigerian politician
of the moment.
allowed to pick a replacement.
More importantly
Nigerians still believe that the
APC government is fighting
corruption. Of course, not all
Nigerians are naïve and stupid:
some perceptive commentators
have consistently
drawn attention to Buhari’s
negative triumphalist nepotism.
For instance, in a rare
moment of courage, one of
the most outspoken foot-soldiers
of Fulani caliphate colonialism,
Dr. Junaid Mohammed,
complained that
the number of President Buhari’s
relatives working in the
presidency or Aso Rock is too
high. Even more telling are the
recent articles by Dr. Farooq
Kperogi, Associate Professor
of Journalism and Emerging
Media at Kennesaw State
University, USA. Incidentally,
Dr. Kperogi was one of
those intellectuals who naïvely
thought that Buhari would
be a better President than Dr.
Jonathan, before the scales
fell from his eyes. In two essays
entitled “Buhari’s Nepotism
on Steroids” and “Buhari’s
Government of His
Family, by His Family, and
for His Family,” Kperogi disclosed
the unprecedented
familocracy of Buhari, which
has meteorically catapulted
his relatives such as Sabiu
‘Tunde’ Yusuf from the ranks
of those managing to survive
to the class of nouveaux riches.
Kperogi also uploaded a
video in which Mamman
Daura, President Buhari’s
nephew, was celebrating his
eightieth birthday with more
than thirty family members
and top government officials
at a posh London hotel while
Nigerians wallow in poverty,
disease, disillusionment and
death. Reading through Dr.
Kperogi’s writings, the overall
picture one gets is that of
an insensitive President unperturbed
by the negative psychological
effects of ostentatious
wealth displayed by his
family members on the suffering
masses who defied so
many odds to vote for him. According
to Kperogi, this was
the same person who, “before
he was sworn in as President
in May, 2015…publicly told
his immediate and extended
family members to stand back
from his incoming government.
He even warned that
any family member who used
his name to peddle influence
would face dire consequences.”
Now, why should anyone
be surprised by President Buhari’s
philosophy of do as I say,
not as I do, considering that he
had tacitly abandoned most
of his pledges shortly after he
became President in 2015?
The handwriting had always
been clearly written on the
wall but people refused to see
what was before them, namely,
that Buhari is probably a
closet Machiavellian who is
willing to tell messiah-hungry
Nigerians what they want to
hear in order to secure their
votes, while his real intention
is obscured in a carefully
crafted smokescreen of integrity.
Several examples can be
cited to show that on many occasions
Buhari does not keep
his word, but two of them
would suffice to make the
case. First, after losing the
presidential election for the
third time in 2011, he told Nigerians
with a voice dripping
with anguish and disappointment
that he would not contest
for the position again. But
what happened? In less than
two years he allowed politicians
like Bola Tinubu and
Rotimi Amaechi to drag him
into the presidential election
once again. Two, during the
2015 electioneering campaigns
Buhari lamented the
frequency with which top political
office holders embark
on medical tourism abroad
and pledged to do everything
in his power if elected President
to discourage the wasteful
practice. We now know
that Buhari is the medicaltourist-in-chief
- he did not really
mean what he said.
To be continued

PAGE 34—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
OYO GOV’SHIP POLL:
‘S/Court will not give
victory to candidate
who won only 5 LGAs’
By Olayinka Ajayi
Dr. Nureni Adeniran, a lawyer, was the Collation Officer for the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 9, 2019 governorship election in
Oyo State. Adeniran, who is the Chairman of the State Universal Basic
Education Board (SUBEB), in this interview, speaks on the implications of
the recent Court of Appeal judgment on the election among other issues.
The Appeal Court recently gave a
judgment on the Oyo State
governorship election but some people
say the judgment is confusing as the
election of Governor Seyi Makinde
was upheld while the court also said
the election petition tribunal verdict
on the election was set aside because
the opposition party was not given fair
hearing. Based on this, members of the
opposition party in the state are
celebrating that they have a chance.
As the collation officer of the PDP in
that election, what is your perspective?
I want to believe that the judgment, though
some people are saying is controversial, is
straight forward.
Unfortunately, people don’t know the
difference between judgment against an
election and pronouncement against the
conduct of tribunal. The Appeal Court, in their
wisdom, said the appellants were not given
fair hearing. But I have the opportunity of
reading the judgment. When you go into the
nitty-gritty of the judgment, you will realize
that they were even given fair hearing; the
tribunal listened to them. They listed about
60 witnesses but called about 27 witnesses.
In the process, they could not, with their
witnesses and testimonies, establish their case.
So, what the Appeal Court was saying was
that some of the facts or some of the testimonies
elicited through cross-examination were not
evaluated. In other words, what they were
saying is that the witnesses called by the
respondents, may be they said something that
was in support of what the appellants were
saying and the Court of Appeal said that the
tribunal only evaluated the testimonies,
witnesses and evidences of the appellant and
not those of the respondents. And as a result of
that, they believed that they
were one-sided, asking ‘how
can you evaluate the
testimony of a particular
party and you don’t do the
other?’ Unfortunately, the
burden of proof is on the
appellants. They should
prove their case. It is not for
the respondents to help them
establish their case. One
cannot now imagine how few
witnesses, may be in the
process of their testimonies,
were partly in support of what
the appellants were saying.
That, to me and other rightthinking
persons, is not
substantial enough to
override over 150,000 votes.
Secondly, the Court of Appeal
said that, in spite of that, they
believed that the appellants
were not given fair hearing.
Therefore, they set aside the
judgment of the tribunal,
because the appellants were
not given fair hearing. In a
normal litigation, what
would have been expected is
to order for a retrial if the
appellate court discovered
that fair hearing was not given to either of the
parties. But they have been caught up by
effluxion of time because election petition is
sui generis. It is in a special class in which the
Electoral Act clearly states that the issue
concerning the election is to be handled by
the tribunal and it must be concluded within
180 days. And the 180 days had elapsed. That
is why the Appeal Court said they could not
order a retrial. That shut them down. And they
went further to say that they could not also
nullify the election, because there is nothing
on ground to use for them to nullify the
election results. It is only when the election is
nullified that they can either declare the
appellant or order a rerun. But the election
could not be nullified because there was
nothing on ground to nullify it. And the Appeal
Court, towards the end of their judgment, said
that they even evaluated the evidence and had
nothing to say; that the election could not be
nullified. As far as I am concerned, it is a closed
matter. I also want to remind you that in the
Electoral Act, there are only four grounds on
which an election can be nullified. The first
ground is if the winner of the election was not
qualified. The second is if the winner of the
election won not by lawful majority votes. Also
an election can be nullified on the basis of
corrupt practices. And the last ground is if the
appellant has not been validly nominated.
Many people don’t understand. The APC didn’t
say they won the election. They failed to
establish their case and they were making
attempt to use part of the testimonies of some
of our witnesses to establish their own case. I
was a star witness at the tribunal and my
testimony was very clear. There was nothing
to suggest that there was unlawful deed or any
malpractice during the election. Being the
state collating agent for the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship
candidate in that election, every right-thinking
person knows that the people of Oyo came
out in droves to reject the APC at the poll. It is
not imaginable for somebody that won in five
local government areas, as against someone
that won in 28 local government areas, to say
they are going to get it. And I am sure no court
will attempt to do that. Oyo people have spoken
and their voice was heard loud and clear. Oyo
people are enjoying dividends of democracy
as provided by the Seyi Makinde government.
So, I don’t think anyone, even the Supreme
Court, can see this and declare someone with
only five local
governments’ winner of
the election. To declare a
person winner of an
election, he must be
ascribed with votes. So,
It is not imaginable
for somebody that
won in five local
government areas,
as against someone
that won in 28 local
government areas,
to say they are
going to get it. And I
am sure no court
will attempt to do
that
where is the vote? In the
election, everybody
knows that the people of
Oyo came out joyfully to
vote against APC. The
election was peaceful and
the violence that could
have happened was
perpetrated by the APC
and the people resisted
them. The election that
was very peaceful, free
and credible. Nobody
should think he could use
the back-door to get it. I
also want to warn that we
are not unaware that
some people, because of
their selfish ambition,
want to pocket the entire
South-West and they
know the influence of
Governor Makinde is
being felt in the whole
South-West. So, if
someone is having a
presidential ambition and he believes that
because Oyo is not an APC state, he must do
everything to capture it, such person has failed.
Oyo is different from other states. Oyo State is
not Kogi, Kano or Osun. What they did in those
states and got away with cannot be done in
Oyo. They can’t get away with it here.
You were a witness at the tribunal.
What did the APC pray for?
What they were saying was that in some
places, there was over-voting, violence and so
on. Admitting without conceding, even if all
the areas were given to them as challenged,
they still don’t have enough to cancel over
157,000 votes. There is nothing in the petition
to override the margin.
In 2011, former Governor Abiola Ajimobi
defeated the incumbent governor then, Chief
Adebayo Alao-Akala, by just 33,000 votes. In
2015, Ajimobi won, though in a controversial
manner, with 70, 000 votes. If you add it, it is
just about 103,000 votes. But here is an election
won with 157, 000 votes and the winner won
in 28 local government areas out of the 33 in
the state. I know nobody will attempt to set
Nigeria ablaze on account of this kind of thing.
The APC and its governorship
candidate say they have a date with
history at the Supreme Court. Does
this not signify that there is something
they
are banking on?
They are banking on nothing to give them
victory. In the first instance, some of them were
expecting the Appeal Court to do abracadabra
for them. But the justices didn’t go where they
wanted. The result of the election could not be
tampered with. Maybe they are thinking that
they would be able to manipulate the Supreme
Court. That is why Nigerians are saying the
Supreme Court justices cannot be
manipulated
against the good people of Oyo, because if
they attempt it, the result will be unthinkable.
I don’t mind if anybody says they want to give
me Sowore treatment; I am here to say the
truth. If they try any nonsense in Oyo State, it
will be met with high level of resistance by the
people. I was at a radio station where I went
to discuss this issue and people were calling
in, saying “we voted for Seyi Makinde; if
anybody attempts to do anything untoward,
the wrath of God will be visited on them.” So,
you can’t run against the people. That is
impossible.
Everybody in APC knew that they had a bad
day; they lost that election outright. They are
bad losers. They cannot buy over Oyo State.
They cannot buy the mandate Oyo people gave
to PDP and Makinde.
Are you saying the pronouncement
of the Appeal Court is a mere academic
exercise to deepen legal knowledge?
It is an academic exercise, because they said
they (APC) were not given fair hearing. Okay.
How can a serious-minded litigant, having
failed to establish his own case, rely on the
shortcomings of the witnesses of the
respondents to establish his own case? The
tribunal was not wrong by saying “you have
not been able to establish your case and with
what you have brought to court, there is nothing
to suggest
that all you are asking will be given to you.”
That was on the basis that they dismissed the
petition at the Tribunal.
So, the judgment is not against the victory of
Governor Makinde, rather it is against the
conduct of the tribunal. They appealed and
we also cross-appealed. Their own appeal is
that since they said they were not given fair
•Adeniran
hearing, they should just declare them. On
which ground will they be declared or get a
rerun? And we are saying that the fair hearing
they said they were not given is not true. They
were given fair hearing. So, the essence of our
appeal is that they were given fair hearing.
Let the Supreme Court now determine if they
were given fair hearing or not.
As the parties approach the Supreme
Court, is there any reason to fear,
especially against the background of
the belief that the APC, being in control
at the centre, could influence the
judiciary?
As I said earlier, I don’t think that anybody
who resides in a house would like to be
responsible for setting it on fire, because the
fire will consume him too. President Buhari
became Head of State in 1984 and one of the
reasons he gave for coming was that the 1983
election was massively rigged. And one will
be wondering now that he is presiding over a
process that is so falsified, so corrupt. Look at
what happened in Kogi. Was that an election?
There was a video on Facebook and
Instagram where they were saying “them go
hear ta ta ta,” meaning they would take over
the place with guns, which is exactly what they
did. If Buhari is the President of Nigeria today,
and he is presiding over the country and
allowing those kinds of things to happen, those
things he condemned when he was coming as
military Head of State, he didn’t have
justification to overthrow Shehu Shagari’s
government in 1983. It was not as bad as this.
What I am saying is that the Supreme Court
justices are Nigerians. They know what is
happening. And the APC cannot take over
everywhere.
In the case of Osun, for instance, the
decision was affected by the fact that
one of the tribunal members who did
not appear at a sitting read the
judgment. As a lawyer, don’t you think
technicality could be exploited against
your party?
The court is not a Father Christmas; it does
not give what you don’t ask for. Secondly, the
court bases its pronouncements on facts
available before it. The situation in Osun was
quite different from this. One, the man was
the incumbent. Two, they actually visited the
scene at the Appeal Court on the litigant then,
because he didn’t come. All that didn’t happen
here. They have not said they won election.
They have not said they have justification. All
they said is that no fair hearing and no fair
hearing does not mean they didn’t allow them
to make their case.
They presented their case and if your case is
presented and you are not able to establish
your case, you don’t rely on others to establish
your case for you. Though, the rule allows
that you can elicit evidence from the opposing
party in litigation to support your argument;
even if that is done, will it be substantial enough
to override the difference?

Move from lamentation to victory
Compliments of the sea
son and welcome to
the month of joy. As
you begin this month, please
be expectant, God is about to
give you something that will
make many people congratulate
you. Many will rejoice
with you and join you to praise
the Lord in Jesus name.
Brethren, it is time for appraisal.
What do I mean? At
the end of the year in many
offices, appraisal forms are
sent out to evaluate the performance
of employees.
In the same vein, you can
evaluate yourself. Ask yourself,
what has been your relationship
with the Lord since
the beginning of the year.
Has there been a change
from what it was in 2018?
How many times were you
able to wait on the Lord?
As you ask yourself these
questions, do not forget to appreciate
God for your going
out and coming in. Thank
him especially for life. When
there is life, there is hope that
you can receive your miracle.
Brethren, in this last month,
it may be necessary to change
the mode of communicating
with the Most High God.
Often times, we are so self-
Joyfulhomes2015@gmail.com
ish when we pray. Most of us
do not give enough time to appreciate
God. Rather, we
spend more time asking God
to do so many things that are
personal to us. It may not be
wrong asking one’s father for
one’s needs but the Father also
wants to be appreciated for
what has been done.
We’ll look at someone in the
Holy Bible who prayed in an
unusual way and got an unusual
result. The man we are
considering is Job. Job like
many of us had challenges, the
devil dealt with him in a way
that he was completely shattered
but God did not allow
the devil to take his life.
No wonder it is written Job
14 vs. 1 “ Man that is born of
a woman is of few days and
full of trouble”. Brethren, if
you do not invite trouble into
your life by your actions, other
people especially friends
and relations may plant the
seed of trouble into your life.
The good news is that we
have the power to overcome
all evil seeds in the name of
JESUS.
Job said to us in Job 16 vs.20
“My friends scorn me: but
mine eye poureth out tears
unto God”. Ask yourself to
Glued to the Television
hat is your favorite past
Wtime activity? For quite
a few people sitting in front of
the television watching a favorite
series, documentary,
movie or musical video is the
ideal way to relax and while
away the time. For others this
is the only way to relax when
at home. We have discovered
also that television watching
can be addictive most especially
for young children and
youth today. Are you a television
addict glued to the TV?
I have seen unfortunate incidences
where the young children
below the age of 5years
insist on watching certain TV
programs before having a
bath and getting ready for
school, the same pattern occurs
when they return from
school, when at a certain time
they must watch TV before
doing homework or even before
going to bed at night. As
much as the TV is a platform
to learn so many new things,
discover what is trending,
what is in the news and learning
new knowledge, it is important
that you cut any excesses
to avoid health issues,
mentally, physically, and psychologically.
Advantage of the TV
1. The television can encourage
unity in a family,
neighborhood or community.
Everyone watching a certain
program, competition or
football match will enjoy it
more while watching with
family members.
2. News information is a
favorite for many when
watching TV. Many adults will
tell you that they only watch
news presentations to know
the latest news around. This is
the fastest way to know what
is going on around your
neighborhood, your community,
state, country and the global
world. It is imperative you
stay abreast of what is happening
for safety, security, and
proper local and international
awareness.
3.Knowledge is power the
TV shows multitudes of programs
from Art, Creativity,
whom have you been crying
over that challenge. Is it the
godfather, herbalist, false
prophets, friends or who? If
you have been crying to God
like Job, then your victory is
certain.
Our major focus is found in
Job 42 vs.10 “ And the LORD
turned the captivity of Job,
when he prayed for his friends:
and the LORD gave Job twice
as much as he had before”.
Note- “ And the LORD
turned the captivity of Job,
when he prayed for his
friends”.
Brethren, that challenge
that has been with you for so
long is not a reason for you
not to pray for others. Sometimes,
it is when we remember
to pray for others that God
remembers us.
Let’s see what the Holy Bible
said about the turn around
that Job experienced.
Job 42 vs.12 is our witness “
So the LORD blessed the later
end of Job more than his beginning:
for he had fourteen
thousand sheep, and six thousand
camels, and a thousand
yoke of oxen, and a thousand
she asses”.
Of course you know that
God blessed him with children,
indeed special children.
Job 42 vs. 15 states: “ And in
Monarch admonishes students against drug abuse
The Orovworere (tradi
tional ruler) of Effu
run-Otor Kingdom,
Ughelli South Local Government
Area of Delta State,
HRM Rotarian Johnson King
Duku, Duku 11, has admonished
students of Effurun- Otor
Secondary School, Effurun-
Otor against drug abuse.
The traditional ruler gave
the warning in his speech in a
one day seminar on drug
abuse held by a Non Government
Organization ( NGO),
Hauz of Elnathan Initiative,
Warri at his palace in Effurun-Otor.
The traditional ruler who
traced the causes of most vices
that were committed in the
country to drug abuse, blamed
parents and guardians for juvenile
delinquencies in the
society.
The monarch also strongly
advised principals, teachers,
staff and students of Effurun -
Otor Secondary School to al-
janet.adetu@gmail.com
ways see discipline as their
watch word.
While commending Hauz
of Elnathan Initiative, for the
seminar, he remarked that the
seminar was meant to address
a fundamental problem that
was affecting " our youths and
the society at large"
He further charged the
NGO to hold a seminar or
campaign against cultism.
A spokesman of the NGO,
Enaruke Peter in his speech
noted that drug abuse was a
national problem, " that is why
we decided to take the campaign
against drug abuse to
communities. We appreciate
HRM Duku 11 for this warm
reception and words of encouragement
"
Similarly, a beauty queen,
Miss Rejoice Onyemachi who
is also an ambassador of the
Campaign Against Drug
Abuse in Nigeria in her brief
speech spoke on the dangers
of drug abuse .
An officer of the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
Mrs. Adeosun Olabisi ,who
was a resource person at the
seminar gave a detail lecture
on drug abuse as she displayed
some substances of
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 35
all the land were no women
found so fair as the daughters
of Job: and their father gave
them inheritance among their
Sometimes, it is
when we remember
to pray for others that
God remembers us.
brethren”.
My prayer is that God will
give you a miracle that will
make others envy you even before
this year ends in the name
of Jesus.
As Christians, we are told to
look beyond the challenge
and focus on the solution. The
more your spiritual eyes focuses
on challenges, for so
long would it remain but if
your spiritual eyes are focused
on the solution, it will manifest
sooner than you think.
The key message for us in
today’s article is to change our
prayer focus. Begin to sing
victory songs. When you sing
victory songs, you are thanking
the Lord for what he has
done and also exercising your
faith for what you hope to receive.
For someone trusting God
for the fruit of the womb or
someone who has had series
of miscarriages, be assured of
the word of God according to
Exodus 23 vs. 26: “ There shall
Cooking, Dancing, Wildlife,
Talk shows Music and much
more. It forms the basis of
learning new things, building
IQ, perspectives and communication
skills.
4.If you are looking for the
latest trends in fashion, finance,
business, leadership,
country specific data the TV
will surely give you that and
more.
How do you behave or conduct
yourself when it comes
to the usage of the TV. I have
devised a few etiquette tips for
your perusal, happy reading.
Television Etiquette
Technology
When buying a new TV today
we see that they come in
all sorts of forms, shapes and
sizes this creates the price determining
factor along with
all the features. Technology
has advanced; understanding
the features of a TV before
buying sis very important
so that you do not get stuck
on how it operates or the technical
gadgets attached to the
packaging.
Positioning
When placing a TV on a
stand or on the wall it is important
you take into consideration
the positioning. A TV
on the wall should be placed
at eye level not too high up
that will strain the neck, head
and eye view of the viewer. The
TV should be placed parallel
to the average viewers’ eye
level for convenience. The TV
should also be at a reasonable
distance away from the
sitting view of watchers.
Volume
When watching TV the volume
should be sufficient for
those watching TV at that
time. The moment others can
hear the TV from outside or
another room then this creates
a nuisance to them. Ensure
the volume is placed at a
comfortable level for the listening
ear. With television
there is more watching the act
of listening compliments what
is being watched. Control the
hard drugs and photographs
of victims of drug abuse.
The Secretary General of
Effurun-Otor Traditional
Council of Chiefs, High Chief
Ijabor in his speech expressed
appreciation to the NGO for
choosing Effurun- Otor as the
venue of the all important
seminar.
The Orovworere (traditional ruler) of Effurun-Otor, Ughelli
South Local Government Area, HRM Rotarian Johnson King
Duku (middle),with members of Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement
Agency and Ambassadors of the Campaign
Against Drug Abuse shortly after a seminar on Drug Abuse
held by Hauz Elnathan Initiative, Warri, at his palace in
Effurun Otor .
nothing cast their young, nor
be barren in thy land: the
number of thy days I will fulfill”.
Since God has said you will
not be barren, begin to sing
songs of joy. Babies are commonly
called “ bundles of joy”.
Sister and brother, very soon,
you will carry your bundles of
joy in your hands in the name
of Jesus.
Sing aloud, if no one hears
you, if no one pays attention
to you, it doesn’t matter. What
is certain is that heaven hears
your voice and your reward
will surely be blessings.
When you sing, you are keeping
the devil and his demons
away.
Philippians 1 vs.6 reminds
us: “ Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ”.
Life is the first evidence that
God has begun a good work
in you.
Therefore, chase the devil
away with your victory songs
and God will give you a pleasant
surprise.
Are you feeling frustrated
that you haven’t been promoted
all these years because you
don’t have a godfather, don’t
worry, be strong.
You have a Father that can
promote you beyond anyone’s
imagination. By the grace of
God, this year will end to your
benefit.
For a man or a lady who is
in a relationship but is uncertain
about the relationship, the
LORD that knows the beginning
and the end will reveal
something to you. Only ask
joyfully.
Brethren, it is good to cry
our hearts out to the LORD
but even as we do that, joy of
what we expect must be in our
hearts.
If Hannah wasn’t expectant,
she wouldn’t have made a vow.
Ist Samuel 1 vs. 10& 11 “
And she was in bitterness of
soul, and prayed unto the
LORD, and wept sore. And she
vowed a vow, and said, O
LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed
look on the affliction of
thine hand-maid, and remember
me, and not forget
thine handmaid, but wilt give
unto thine handmaid a man
child, then I will give him unto
the LORD all the days of his
life, and there shall no razor
come upon his head”.
Fear not, God has not
stopped miracles. It will soon
be your turn in Jesus name.
Brethren, a great turn
around is imminent for you
and I.
Connect with the 2019 Holy
Ghost Congress of The Redeemed
Christian Church of
God ( RCCG) with the theme
“ The Great Turnaround”.
Venue is the Redemption
Camp, Km. 46, Lagos-
Ibadan Expressway. It’s a
weeklong programme running
from Dec. 9 to December
14, 2019.
Ministering is the General
Overseer, Pastor E.A. Adeboye
and other ministers of God.
You don’t have to be a member
of RCCG to receive a miracle.
Once you are in Christ
and Christ is in you, you are
qualified for a miracle.
Invite others too so that souls
can be saved.
Shalom!
volume of your TV with the
remote control or from direct
source.
Duration
It becomes a health hazard
when you watch the Television
from morning to evening over
12 hours at a stretch. If your
watching is intermittent and
at intervals you alternate the
time to watch and listen this
is fine. It is not expected that
you sit glued to the TV but
catch up with information as
required. Constant TV watching
at a long stretch can be
detrimental to the eyes and
sight.
Posture
How do you sit while watching
TV? Do you tend to lie
down for comfort or draw a
high chair very close to the TV
for a better view. To manage
your posture it is important
that while sitting you are mindful
of the way you position
yourself. Sitting in a comfortable
chair while watching a
movie or your favorite series
can help a lot. Be careful while
watching TV lying down; it
can be strenuous without you
knowing. Your posture may be
affected when you lift your
head back and forth. Be careful
of your spinal cord, your
legs and your back while
watching TV.
TV Dining
Eating in front of the TV is
called binging, it may not entail
a proper meal but the constant
non -stop eating. It is
smarter to eat first then watch
TV, to avoid choking, mishaps
or more. Snacking in front of
the TV is a favorite, which is
acceptable but all in moderation.
Do not encourage yourself
to have a full meal, eat
while eat and play while you
play.
As much as I will say enjoy
your TV, learn lots from it I
will also say:
i. Recognize what your kids
are watching
ii. Control the viewing power
from your kids
iii. Limit your duration in
front of the TV
iv. Your health and welfare
is influenced by the TV watch
how you sit
v.Your eyes are your treasure
protect them from too
much light keep a distance
from the Tv while watching
Goodluck
APC: Oshiomhole has stabilized,
strengthened party – Emokpaire
A
aki and Hon
Yakubu Dogara
emerged
Senate Presi-
N All Progressive Con
gress (APC) chieftain,
Chief Ibrahim Emokpaire
has declared support for the
leadership style of the national
chairman of the party,
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Emokpaire stated this in a
chat with newsmen in his Abuja
office yesterday. According
to the former scribe of the APC
in the United Kingdom said
since Oshiomhole’s election
as the national chairman of
the party, he has brought discipline,
stability and global
respect for the party.
“Oshiomhole is in the process
of institutionalizing party
supremacy within the ruling
All Progressive Congress,
having gone through turbulent
times and purged the party
of indiscipline that characterised
the previous era when the
likes of Senator Bukola Sar-
dent and
Speaker of
House of
Emokpaire Reps respectively
against the party's wish”.
Emokpaire, who is also the
founder of Progressive Solidarity
Forum (PSF), blamed
the loss of Rivers and Zamfara
states on the selfishness,
greed and indiscipline of certain
individuals in the party.
Emokpaire said Oshiomhole
has now brought back
some discipline to the party
and has put in place ground
rules of no-go areas for the
party. Since he took over the
affairs of the party, he has not
lost any isolated election, referring
to Ekiti, Osun and just
recently Kogi and Balyelsa
states.

PAGE 36— SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 1, 2019

By Sam Eyoboka
HE Christian Social Movement of Ni
Tgeria (CSMN) and the National Christian
Elders Forum (NCEF) have admonished
Nigerian Christians to desist from acts capable
of derailing current democratic experience.
In a statement titled: “Christians must not
destroy democracy from within,” chairman
of both organisations, Elder Solomon Asemota,
SAN, warned that Christians in Nigeria
have no chance of surviving the jihad of
the Islamists and this makes advocacy not
only necessary but also important and urgent,
especially when Nigerian Christians do not
have a political party to protect democracy.
Arguing that Judas is the treacherous attempt
to turn Nigeria from a democracy to a
Sharia country as a result of her membership
of the OIC, Elder Asemota said: “The attempt
to replace thumbs with bullets, the murders of
innocent Nigerians and the sham elections of
2019 are all symptoms of the disease caused
by the ideology of Sharia or Islamism.
“In the concluding paragraphs of my paper
titled A Case for One Nigeria, One System,
presented to the Catholic Bishops Conference
of Nigeria (CBCN) in Benin City on October
25, 2019, I wrote: ‘Christians do not have an
Army or a Police Force of their own but Muslims
do,’” he further stated.
Continuing, he urged Christians to advocate
for themselves because if they don’t, no
one will do it for them, stressing “it is time that
Christian South began to trumpet its contribution
to the national coffers since Amalgamation
of 1914 especially in oil and gas.
“Christians must prevent war crimes, crimes
against humanity and genocide. Christians
do not want the Sudan experience that resulted
in its breakup into two countries. Nigeria
must therefore not be carved out in the image
of Sudan,” he pleaded.
Accordingly, Elder Asemota emphasizes that
“Nigerian Negro Christians have a superior
right to these positions as indigenous Nigerians
over and above those Arab Negroids who
through indirect rule, have been made to colonize
Nigeria as proxy of the British.
“As a lay faithful, I know that the Church is
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic and, that
Democracy is the secularized residue of
Church doctrine, of the people of God, and in
our social thoughts the choice of the political
regime and the appointment of rulers are left
to the free decision of the citizens," the Senior
advocate of Nigeria further averred.
He maintained that silence in the circumstance,
is not golden, because Sharia principle
is that “God makes the rightful leaders
win” which suggests that humans have no free
will, which is the bedrock of Christianity.
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
BISHOP WALE OKE
He will redeem you from all troubles
“O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles”
E(Psalm 25:22 NLT).
veryone of us knows that there are
troubles in this world. If it is not
about health, it is about career or
finances or family or the children or relationships
or about some other challenges.
Sometimes we are faced with a multitude
of troubles, all at the same time. That you
are a child of God, righteous in Christ, does
not shield you from the troubles of life. It
only guarantees that the troubles cannot
overcome you, and that in the midst of it
all, God will make you more than a conqueror.
As a matter of fact, the Bible says
that “many are the afflictions of the righteous;
but the Lord delivereth him out of
them all” (Psalm 34: 19).
In seeking solutions to the troubles of life,
people try so many things. Some run to
other people for help, some turn to institutions
and establishments. Some turn to
demonic and diabolic devices for help and
solutions. But the Bible is very clear that
true help comes only from God, the Lord.
The prophet testified that “The LORD is
good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
and he knoweth them that trust him”
(Nahum 1: 7).
sam.eyoboka@gmail.com
08023145567 (sms
Christian Elders to Christians:
Don’t help destroy democracy
•Asemota
On the subversion of democracy from the
Church, Asemota drew attention to a book
titled Soldiers of Fortune: Nigerian Politics
from Buhari to Babangida 1983-1993, he contended
that the military regimes established
by deliberate policy, a group of Pastors and
Christians that are “Sharia compliant” just
We are encouraged to trust in
the Lord for deliverance from all
our troubles. All those who did,
find Him to be true, faithful and
reliable.
David said:
I waited patiently for the LORD;
and he inclined unto me, and
heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of
an horrible pit, out of the miry
clay, and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in
my mouth, even praise unto our
God: many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in the LORD
(Psalm 40: 1-3).
Our God is ready to do for you
what He did for David. He will
deliver you out of all your troubles.
Just trust Him with all your
heart, and then call upon Him in
faith and in truth. He will deliver
you, and you will glorify His name.
And call upon me in the day of
trouble: I will deliver thee, and
thou shalt glorify me (Psalm 50:
15).
•PASTOR IGHODALO
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019 , PAGE 37
as University and Secondary Schools students
were introduced to cultism.
“This group of pastors and students, over the
years, are now in positions of authority and
seem determined to accommodate jihad -
stealth and conventional, as necessary instrument
for conversion to Islam and that Christians
should be concerned about this awful
state of affairs, in addition to Boko Haram,
Fulani herdsmen and banditry.
“Today these sets of Christians are the mouth
piece of Islamism.
At the inception of Christianity in Nigeria,
the rivalry between Catholics and Protestants,
between British and the Irish were imported
into Nigeria in addition to local complex towards
indigenous Churches.
“As a result, the foundation for Christian unity
intended to be achieved with the establishment
of CAN North in 1965 and CAN National
in 1976 have proved unsuccessful because
Christians in Nigeria have failed to appreciate
the danger that Islamism posed over the
years.
“Islamism is determined to reverse the Negroid
Nigerians acceptance of Christianity,
Western culture and way of life and to make
Nigeria a modern day Sharia Islamic State
with a Sultanate,” he further noted.
CKC Dedicates New Church Building
Christ The King Catholic Church, an
outstation of St. Cyril Catholic Church, Okota,
Lagos, last Sunday celebrated the feast of
Christ, a day Catholic worldwide proclaims
Jesus Christ as king of the world and at the
same time dedicated and move to their new
church building
Speaking on the significance of the day, the
Parish Priest, Rev. Father, Martins Uwakwe,
WCC observes 30th anniversary of UN Children Rights
By Sam Eyoboka with
Agency reports
HE World Council of Churches Execu
Ttive Committee, in a statement, observed
the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
"By adopting the CRC on 20 November
1989, world leaders made a promise to all
children, to respect, protect and fulfil their
rights,” the statement reads. “The CRC has
gone on to achieve almost universal consensus,
with only one country having refrained
from ratifying it.”
The Churches’ Commitments to Children
have provided the ecumenical movement with
a new framework for churches’ own action
for the rights and wellbeing of children, the
statement observes, further inviting churches
said: ‘’Today is the Christ the King, the day
Catholic Church proclaims Jesus as the king
of the universe. It comes once in a year.
Secondly, today being the feast of Christ the
King, this outstation is celebrating their feast
day. So it is a big day for us. Thirdly, we are
crossing over to our new church building. For
the first time we are worshipping in our new
building. Today is the first day we are
to “take up their role in ensuring the full range
of obligations in the CRC and the ‘Churches’
Commitments to Children’ are fulfilled in the
lives of children around the world.”
The full statement on the 30th anniversary
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
reads: “Whoever welcomes this child in my
name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes
me welcomes the one who sent me; for the
least among all of you is the greatest.” (Luke
9:48) Every child, for the full and harmonious
development of his or her personality, should
grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere
of happiness, love and understanding
(UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
preamble), and with full respect for and protection
of their God-given human dignity and
rights – “for it is to such as these that the kingdom
of heaven belongs” (Matthew 19:14).
*Ituah Ighodalo is
the Senior Pastor,
Trinity House, Trinity
Avenue, Off Ligali
Ayorinde Street,
Victoria Island,
Lagos.
+234-808-895-6162
info@trinityhouseng.org
God is faithful to save
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you
from evil. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you,
that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 KJV
Let it be known, whether you believe it or not, there is
nothing we can do without God. Our life can never be on
track without that quotient called God. Faithful is He
who will do what he says He will do. There are some areas
where God insists on being faithful and one of them is in the
fulfillment of His promises. He is also faithful in ensuring that
we get solutions to problems as they come so long as we wait on
Him and are patient in letting Him lead the way.
God’s desire is not to make things unbearable for you and He
is always looking for how He can make a way out of the challenges
that you are faced with. Eventually somehow or the other
God will open the door of opportunities for you. He will lead
you on that path that leads to fulfillment of destinies.
When God decides to not make a way out of a situation, it is
not because He does not love you but because He knows that it
is not the right time or He is preventing you from one situation
or another.
God can save. Save you from difficulty and eventually save
your soul. Isaiah 59: 1-2. The only way God does not save is if
there is iniquity in your life. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
Beware of false teachers, Okoh
warns Christians
By Olayinka Latona
UTGOING Primate of the Church of
ONigeria (Anglican Communion), Most
Rev. Nicholas Okoh has bemoaned the increasing
number of false teachers in Christendom
and enjoined Christians to be wary of
them.
The primate gave the warning during a
thanksgiving service at the Archbishop Vining
Memorial Cathedral Church, Ikeja, Lagos to
mark the 20th anniversary of the Diocese of
Lagos West.
According to Primate Okoh, it is disheartening
that some Christians, for whatever purpose,
augment Jesus with a practice of secretism,
whereby they introduce un-Christian practices
into the Church of God.
In his words: "Beware of false teachings as
well as false teachers, whether they are from
Nigeria or abroad. In the next 20 years, false
teachers would increase, including those who
are breaking away from the Anglican Church
in search of daily bread.
"Many of us today are augmenting Jesus with
a practice of secretism, where you bring in alien
practices at variance with biblical teachings.
You adorn certain strange objects around your
waists; you have things like bangle you wear
to appear pious but you know what you are
wearing. You can deceive people, but you cannot
deceive God,” he cautioned.
Okoh therefore admonished Christian leaders
to remain steadfast in teaching the truth of
the gospel, and not be afraid, stressing that
those who know the truth, the truth shall set
them free.
To the celebrating diocese of Lagos West, the
primate enjoined them to maintain a missionary
drive which has been the hallmark or the
vision of the diocese over the years.
worshipping here and we are not going back
to a rented hall where we used to worship
before.’’ Also, the Coordinator of the Church,
Sir Ike Okafor, expressed his satisfaction and
excitement over the completion of the new
church. He said: ‘’Today is the feast of Christ
the King and today we are leaving here to our
permanent site to the glory of God. We have
been here for over ten years. It is a day of joy
and thanksgiving; it took us time, energy and
sacrifice to get this place.’’
Children are not however merely passive
subjects of protection; they also have voice
and agency for their own lives and wellbeing.
For example, millions of children around the
world are marching peacefully in the streets,
demanding that adults change our economic
and social systems in order to preserve God’s
creation and their future.
Children and youth of today have become
prophetic voices for the issue that affects them
most deeply: the survival of the planet and its
people. Meeting in Bossey, Switzerland, on
November 20-26, 2019, the executive committee
of the World Council of Churches joins
in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
as a leading international instrument for the
promotion and protection of children’s dignity
and rights.
come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 KJV
It is God’s desire that everyone of us should
make it to heaven, that we all live a good,
wonderful and peaceable life. Some people
have foundation problems, some have committed
so much sins, and some are embroiled
in the snare of the enemy but is always there
ready to accept us and shower us in His love
and promises of grace.
I want to tell you today; God will be faithful
to you this day as you look to Him.
God is faithful to save you from trials and
tribulations, from circumstances that are
seemingly unbearable. I want to encourage
you and reassure you that God is faithful to
save you. He will bring you out of that situation
that you are going through, so long as
you are alive and breathing, that situation
shall become history.
Let nothing frighten you, do not be afraid of
whom you shouldn’t be afraid of, these gives
you the peace to think and do things right.
God is faithful to establish. 2 Tess 3:3; But
the God of all grace, who hath called us unto
his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you. 1 Pet 5:10. KJV.
God takes us through a period of suffering to
make us perfect. God made Joseph perfect
through the suffering he went through. In these
trials, we get experience, strength, immovable,
tolerant and powerful with a deep understanding
and knowledge that you will use to fulfil
your destiny. One of the great things of life is
to learn the “experience of pain”. He expects
that we settle into the pain, learn from it, pray
our way out of it. There are certain things
that we must learn, experience and retain while
we go through our hard times. Until we learn
the experience of pain we will keep going back
into that trial or challenge until we have
learned that which we want to learn.
Our prayer is that God brings us out of the
trials better, stronger and after it all, that He
will settle us.

PAGE 38 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Supernatural transformation by God (3)
Sin will usher in sickness
and suffering, sorrow and
shame, poverty and pain, lack
and loss, oppression and depression
because sinners
have failed to apply the
knowledge of the word of
God in their lives. That is why
you should understand that
people go through suffering
because they allowed sin to
reign in their lives, which has
now caused them terrible ruins.
By Pastor Kumuyi
Because you have refused to accept what God loves and denounce
what He hates, He decided to let Romans 1:28 get
fulfilled in your life, which says that,
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over..."
Nevertheless, things could still change for the better, and your
prison doors would open today, if you let the power of God
dictate the narrative for your life and family. This can only
occur when you humble yourself before God and come to Him
for answers. Because you have the problem that needs solving
and He is the solution you need in solving that equation. Do not
let your day of supernatural transformation pass without the
proper encounter with the God of possibilities.
Also, you should understand that your problems have lingered
for such a long time because you pitched your expectations
on false hopes that would not bring the right result. Therefore,
it is in your own best interest to know that your solution is
not in the riverside nor is it in the hands of idols. Neither is it in
occultism nor Satan the despicable devil.
Come to grips because your help is on high in heaven above
and you are better suited with the Maker and He knows what is
best for you because He is the best life insurance policy that can
ever happen to you. This is because while others promise to pay
after you must have died, He pays dividends ever day; and there
is no salvation with Satan, except doom and gloom.
May be you are there thinking those alms giving, tithes and
offerings, and the generous contributions together with your
relentless commitment in the service of the Lord must have
carved a niche for you and helped cleared a path for you to
meet with the LORD; but the bad news is that your self righteousness
and enviable fits before men, in the house of God, are
like filthy rags before the LORD.
Is it not unfortunate that nowadays religion is fast becoming
the opium of the people and that there are so many churches in
our land, but the word of God has no landing in their midst, and
the law of God, and the word of God, has been relegated to the
backburner. Churches are now becoming disco halls and comedy
centres. The church, which was once a beacon of light in a
sin infested world and a holy ground for our feet, is quickly
assuming the role of nightclubs, where adultery and fornication
is rife and waiting to implode.
Honestly, majority of the people who claim to be churchgoers
and or who attend Christian meetings and gatherings, take
it from me, are not there to seek the face of the Lord.
To be continued
I
Rev. Emmanuel Awazie
*Assemblies of God Church Nigeria,
111 Clegg Street, Surulere,
Lagos.
The purpose of the Cross of Christ
— Propitiation(6)
t ought to be established that the only justification for the
forgiveness of God and of the inexplicable extent of His
forgetting of sin, is the Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross - "And
I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember
their sins."*Heb 8:12 (NLT). Propitiation simply means satisfaction;
it implies that which fulfils a need, claim or craving.
Propitiation is that which provides the satisfaction demanded
by God's justice, whereby the removal of sins or offensive issue
is attained. It has to do with the appeasement or pacification of
a crime.
Sin is an enigma that has disfigured and ruined the Divine
creation in humans - "For the mystery of lawlessness is already
at work; only He* who now restrains will do so until He* is
taken out of the way." 2 Thess 2:7; it twisted the genetic code of
the normal man, creating in its stead an abnormality that is
offensive to God. Sin is the outcome of the relationship contrived
in the Garden of Eden between man and the devil, whereby
man is to become independent of God his Creator. Jesus
Christ is the ONLY Answer to that horrifying, overwhelmingly
horrendous, and unmitigated destructive power of sin and the
devil. We know that the mystery and power of any relationship,
is to come into a oneness - "And don't you know that if a man
joins himself to a prostitute she becomes a part of him and he
becomes a part of her? For God tells us in the Scripture that in
his sight the two become one person." 1 Cor 6:16 (TLB). That is
exactly what took place in Eden, man became one with the
devil.
There must, therefore, be a satisfactory resolution of the sin
problem, for there to be the restoration of relationship between
God and man. Again, Jesus Christ is the ONLY Answer - "...for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His
blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because
in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were
previously committed,..." Rom 3:23-25. Because all else is contaminated
by sin, nobody and nothing else qualified to satisfy
the just requirement of a holy God, for a relationship with sinstained
humanity. Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, took
up the human flesh and entered into all the details of the human
life and vicariously expiated our sin -
It is, therefore an insult to God if we think we can be forgiven
just because we are sorry, and have done some form of penance
for our sins, or if we assume that any other religious act or
activity qualifies us before God. We cannot evade the Death of
Jesus Christ; it does not matter who or what we are, the death of
Jesus Christ, provides absolute satisfaction, and reinstates us
into harmonious relationship with God. It is not earned, it is
only accepted by faith. All the pleading which deliberately refuses
to recognize the Cross is of no avail; it is like battering at
another door, other than that which God Himself has opened
through Jesus Chris. Please accept God's offer of reconciliation
and forgiveness through Jesus Christ today, you will have
boundless access to all that God gives.
Faith in the Redemptive names of God (22)
JEHOVAH –ELYON (THE
LORD MOST HIGH)
TEXT: GEN 14:18-19
INTRODUCTION
ronounced ‘El-yon, the
Pword “elyon” is an adjective
and derives from the Hebrew
root ‘lh, meaning to “go
up” or “ascend”. In each case
in which the adjective occurs,
it denotes that which is highest
or uppermost. It is also used
to describe the following
things.
•The height of objects:
2 Kings 15:35 — “However,
the high [elyon] places were
not taken away. The people
still slaughtered and burned
incense on the high [elyon]
places.
•The prominence of persons:
Psalm 89:27 — “‘I will also
appoint him my firstborn, the
highest [elyon] of the kings of
the earth.’” (WEB)
•The prominence of Israel
as a nation:
Deuteronomy 28:1 — “And
it shall be, if you diligently
obey the voice of your Elohim,
to guard to do all His
commands which I command
you today, that your Elohim
shall set you high above [elyon]
all nations of the earth.”
(WEB). When applied to Yahweh,
the name “Elyon” stresses
His highest supremacy.
When the two names “El” and
“Elyon” are combined, the resultant
name can be literally
translated as “the Extremely-
Exalted, Sovereign, High
God”, as in Psalm 57:2 He is
the Most Excellency. Amen.
Astory was told of a na
tion that declared war
against witchcraft
practices in their country and
in the end many of the witches
were killed in order to sanitize
the nation from evil and
abomination. It means then
that the people of this nation
in question understood that
before their destiny could
move forward, all their enemies,
all the witches and wizards,
have to die. This is interesting
indeed. (This happened
in European country).
But you may want to ask
‘why would God, the lover of
men pass death penalty on
witchcraft? Let us see the reason
for this in the following
scriptures:
• They eat up people’s
Text: Genesis 37:7 – 10
here is a seed of greatness
Tin every of God’s creation.
The seed of greatness sown in
a person makes him successful
and destines him for a
bright future. Joseph, the
dreamer, was such a person.
His father loved him more
than his brothers. Joseph repeatedly
dreamt about his
greatness which, despite all
odds, came to pass. This vividly
shows that God does not
keep his people in the dark.
One key sign of greatness is
conspiracy even from members
of one’s family. Joseph experienced
this from his brothers.
His brothers so hated him
that they tried to block his way
to success. In a bid to truncate
his destiny, Joseph’s brothers
planned to get rid of him (Genesis
37:18).
• J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor)
Hallelujah!
DO WE REALLY HOLD
GOD DEAR IN OUR
HEARTS AS OUR MOST
HIGH ?
Understanding God as our
Jehovah-Elyon is the way to
our utmost worship and reverence
of His Holiness. He becomes
our utmost desire
above everything else.
The Bible tells us that God is
the Lord Most High, if He is in
our hearts as the highest desire
then our life is both blessed
and is also a blessing. There
is none greater or higher than
He, and therefore there is no
greater blessing! Our devotion
may reflect how high
in our hearts He truly is!
GOD OR MAMMON?
WHO DO YOU SERVE?
(Luke 16:13)
You can tell what a man
or woman holds highest in the
hearts by the devotion and sacrifices
they give to whatever
that is! How we decide our
budgets and our priorities says
a lot about us … and these
things are more than just secular
pursuits. It only takes a
small amount of silver to obscure
our view of others and
Pastor Isaac O'biyi Owolabi
*God's Own Sanctuary Gospel
Church, Nigeria. 101, New Ipaja
Road, Off Alimosho B/Stop, Lagos.
godsownsanctuary@yahoo.com
08067607671, 08180260444
Witchcraft and wickedness
By Pastor G.C. Osuigbo
CAC Madaiyese Regional Headquaters
Plot 701/702 Durumi District
P.O. BOX 2577
Garki, Abuja.
Contact us on: 08155555048, like us on
facebook @cacdurumi
Carrier of the seed of greatness
Naturally, people have nothing
to do with a seed that has
no fruits. This explains why
people with bright future are
always being attacked. If you
are experiencing any form of
antagonism in your family,
workplace or neighborhood,
it means you are a carrier of
greatness. You may not be there
when people are conspiring
against you but the omnipresent
God will fight for you to
ensure that your destiny is not
hindered.
Biblical characters whose
greatness were attacked include:
1. David: Nobody conspired
against David when he was a
shepherd feeding his father’s
flocks; or when he killed a lion.
However, as soon as Saul saw
the seed of greatness in David,
he sought to kill him(I Sam-
their needs and what God
wants us to see, we must be
careful to remember that material
things are simply temporal
in nature, not eternal.
The lure for the “stuff” of
this world can quickly obscure
our view of spiritual realities
no matter how well intended
we are.
BELONGING TO THE
MOST HIGH GOD (EL-
ELYON)
It is a great privilege to belong
to the Most High God. It
confers upon you the status of
peculiarity, which the world
does not know anything about.
We need to cherish and jealously
guide this enviable position
at all times, just like the
3 Hebrew children, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego in
Babylon.
The world can only offer us
temporal things, like food,
money, buildings & things, etc.
On the other hand, God offers
us better belongings, He
makes us rich in Mercy, Love,
Forgiveness, Joy, Faith, and
Eternal life!
ABRAHAM AND EL-ELY-
ON (Gen 14:21-24)
Abram didn’t even want the
world to think it could make
him rich! Only God could
really do that. God’s riches
are different than this world’s
stuff.
flesh, Psalm 27:2
• They rise up against God,
Psalm2:2
• They are disobedient to
God, Neh 9:26
• They smite people with
works of creation Psalm 91:5
• They steal, kill and destroy,
John 10:10
• They set traps for innocent
soul, Psalm 91:3
• They make people to
fall, Psalm 91:7
• They are serpent and
scorpions, Luke 10:19
• They cut short people’s
lives, Psalm 91:16
• They make families, cities
and nations to bleed,
Nahum 3:1
• They destroy maximally,
Nahum 3:3
• They sell people, families,
nations, Nahum 3:4
• They kill servants of God
and the saints, Rev 6:9-10
• They weaken and pollute
nations, Isaiah 14:12
• They are proud and arrogant
oppressors and adversaries,
Isaiah 14:13-14
There is hardly any family
whether living or dead that has
not suffered from the pains
and agony of witchcraft. They
have no respect for God, they
mock God and his anointed,
they defile and pollute. All their
evil enterprise is unlimited.
They explore and seize all opportunities
to destroy all men.
Mercy is a word far distant
from them in their operations
because their heart is seared
with hot iron.
In today’s world, they initiate
people into their fold
forcefully and control them at
will. They use all kinds of channel
to perpetrate and establish
themselves always trading on
people’s ignorance. This testimony
of a Christian sister in
Nigeria will help. There was
a whirlwind coining with terrific
speed to attack a lady but
a native doctor living close to
the place of the incident ran
out from his shrine to challenge
the evil whirlwind.
uel 19:10). Saul exerted a lot
of effort in order to end David’s
life but he never succeeded
(I Samuel 20:25-31).
2. Jesus: King Herod was
never troubled until the birth
of Jesus. He even ordered that
all the children of that time be
killed (Matthew 2:16). The
devil also tried hard to ensure
that Christ’s destiny did not
come to pass but failed (Matthew
4:1ff).
Practices that break the
walls that protect greatness
Greatness is jealously
guarded by God. However,
certain activities can break
this wall of protection. Some
of these are:
1. Sin: Sin is an enemy of
greatness. Do not allow sin to
overcome you. Joseph would
have rot in jail if he had yielded
to the advances of
Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:6-
8). Samson was a victim of
this kind of circumstance. Instead
of looking for a shortcut,
simply look unto Jesus, the
maker of destiny. Like Joseph,
flee from sin and temptation.
2. Unforgiving Spirit: It is
not wise to keep grudges. The
sons of Jacob did not forgive
Shechem, the son of Hamor,
who defiled Dinah, their sister.
Despite his repentance,
a. Abram wasn’t saying he
didn’t need earthly things,
b. He was just saying by refusing
the King of Sodom’s
offer of the world’s goods that
the things of this world can’t
make a man truly rich.
c. This is demonstrated by
the fact he allowed the other
men to receive the goods.
He was happy however with
just God!
d. Abram wasn’t interested
in the wealth of this world, his
confidence and trust was in
God Himself.
e. When Abram could have
the blessings of God through
His servant the King of Salem,
why settle for the wealth
of Sodom which will soon
pass away!
BELONGING TO GOD,
MOST HIGH (EL-ELYON)
The Lord Jesus said, “Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God and
His righteousness…” (Matt.
6:33). What are you seeking
for in this life? If our happiness
lies in our relationship to
God, then we belong to Him
and we find our happiness in
Him. So, Abraham said he
wouldn’t take anything less
than the best! God Most
High! How about you ...
are you settling for something
less? Accept Jesus Christ into
your heart today, and El-Elyon
will be dwelling with you
as Emmanuel. We will conclude
on this Name next episode.
J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor)
The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), Living
Word Cathedral, Oluyole Estate, beside Total Petrol Station,
off Ring Road, Ibadan. (Telephone: 08033376660,
08055405095)
Physically the native doctor
started wresting with the wind
attacking it with his own power,
at the end, fresh human
blood littered the spot to the
amazement of onlookers. The
next day, a woman whose
house is not far from the incident
died physically, this
means that witches have the
power to transform into wind
to attack unsuspecting persons
or targets. They transform
at will, they have the entering
power into any living or dead
man or woman, youth or baby.
They can even materialize self
or dematerialize self. Where
do witches get these powers
from? It is from Satan their
father, who was with God in
the beginning. Rev 12: 7-9.
WAY OUT OF WITCH-
CRAFT
There is only one way to be
delivered from the plague of
witchcraft and it is through the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that the name
of the Lord is a strong tower,
the righteous runs into it and
he is safe. It is only by the name
of Jesus Christ that you can
receive liberty, deliverance,
victory, healing, dominion and
authority over massive network
of witchcraft pollution.
Shechem and his family
members were killed due to
lack of forgiveness (Genesis
34:1ff). Therefore, Jacob’s
curse brought Simeon and
Levi down (Genesis 49:5-7).
Do not allow unforgiving spirit
to hinder your success in life.
Weapons for fighting the
attackers of greatness
1. The word of God: The
Bible enjoins us to gird ourselves
with the word of God,
the sword of the spirit, so as to
be able to fight spiritual battles
(Ephesians 6:17).
2. The infilling of the Holy
Ghost: You must be spiritfilled
to be able to crush the
attackers of your destiny.
3. Prayerfulness: As a
Christian, you must labour in
prayers for your greatness to
be delivered to you.
Everybody has a seed of
greatness in him. Just as the
enemies of Joseph and David
failed, your enemy’s efforts
against your life will be futile.
The destiny of Jesus himself
was attacked. Since Jesus
overcame all obstacles, your
case will not be an exception.
You will not die until the seed
of greatness manifests in your
life to the fullest in Jesus name
(Amen).

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019 , PAGE 39
Rejoicing over counterfeits
The kingdom of men is
the antithesis of the
kingdom of God. In
the kingdom of men, the successful
man is that man that
has achieved something for
himself. In the kingdom of
God, the successful man is
that man for whom Christ has
achieved everything.
Success in the world is measured
by wealth, prestige and
status. Success in the kingdom
of God is determined by
“the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians
4:13). Worldly success
is temporal and ephemeral.
Godly success is eternal and
real.
Those who recognize the
godly despise the worldly.
They realise that the worldly
is counterfeit and quickly reject
it. Thus, Paul says: “What
things were gain to me, these
I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all
things loss for the excellence
of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I
have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them as rubbish,
that I may gain Christ.”
(Philippians 3:7-8).
Jesus presents this in an
even more challenging manner.
He says: “The kingdom
of heaven is like treasure hidden
in a field, which a man
found and hid; and for joy
over it he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant seeking
beautiful pearls, who, when
he had found one pearl of
great price, went and sold all
that he had and bought it.”
(Matthew 13:44-46).
The million-dollar question
is whether Christians
have you found this treasure
of inestimable value hidden
in the field. If so, what have
we sold, or what are we prepared
to sell, in order to acquire
it?
Counterfeit joy
The 70 disciples of Jesus
returned from their evangelical
mission full of excitement.
They eagerly reported back
to Jesus that even the demons
were subject to them in his
name. However, Jesus quickly
poured cold water on their
excitement. He said to them:
“Do not rejoice in this, that
the spirits are subject to you,
but rather rejoice because
your names are written in
heaven." (Luke 10:20).
This statement is loaded.
Jesus says, in effect, the only
thing that is worth rejoicing
about in this world is salvation.
That means we have got
it all wrong, even in Christendom.
Like the Chaldeans:
“who rejoice in their ships”
(Isaiah 43:14); we have been
guilty of rejoicing in our cars,
and in our houses and children.
We rejoice when we are promoted
at work. We rejoice
when we excel at some human
endeavor or the other.
Sin is the only
legitimate
cause for
sorrow in the
world.
We rejoice when we win the lottery.
We rejoice; oblivious to the
reality that there is nothing worth
rejoicing about in this world. We
rejoice, ignorant of the fact that
the only true joy is the joy of the
Lord.
Exceeding joy
When barren Hannah finally
had a child, she did not rejoice in
Samuel; she rejoiced in the Lord.
(1 Samuel 2:1-10). The psalmist
says God himself is our “exceeding
joy.” (Psalm 43:4). The joy of
the Lord is not limited or temporal.
It is “the joy of the whole
earth;” (Psalm 48”2); “a joy of
many generations.” (Isaiah
60:15).
Paul says: “Rejoice in the Lord
always. Again I will say, rejoice!”
(Philippians 4:4). Significantly,
Paul wrote this to
the Philippians while he
was in prison. He was
incarcerated and yet he
says we should rejoice in
the Lord always. Then
he repeats it again for
added emphasis.
This is because the
man who rejoices only in
Christ can do so always.
The Lord does not
change. He is not good
today and bad tomorrow.
He is not kind today
and mean tomorrow.
He is the same yesterday,
today and forever
Ḃut if you rejoice in
anything or in anyone
outside of the Lord, you
cannot do so always.
The joy of the world is
transient; it does not last.
The same thing that
brought you this counterfeit
joy can bring you
grief because it can be
lost, stolen or destroyed.
But the joy of the Lord is
the blessing of the Lord.
He makes one rich, and
he adds no sorrow with
it. (Proverbs 10:22).
Practical
Christianity
So, what should we
do? Thank God for
earthly things, but please don't
feed your soul on them. Rejoice
only in the salvation of
Jesus Christ. Enjoy the things
of this world but don't let them
get into your heart. Don't set
your heart on them. Reserve
your heart for the Lord.
You cannot be a citizen of
the kingdom of God and continue
to thirst for the things of
the world: “for we are the circumcision,
who worship God
in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3).
Nothing else but Christ
should matter to the believer.
Only Christ is needful. Nothing
else is of any significance
whatsoever, save Christ and
him crucified. That is why
God, in his favour of life, has
made Jesus our life; so that we
may have a life that cannot be
lost. Rejoice in the Lord always,
confident that nothing,
absolutely nothing, can separate
you from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus. (Romans
8:39).
But if Christ is not everything
for you, you can be sure what
you consider to be something
will be taken away from you
at one time or the other. Martha,
Martha, you are careful
about too many things. And
all the things that you are careful
about will be taken away
from you. But no one can take
Christ away from you.
Fullness of joy
The gospel should give the
believer a totally new perspective
of life. While it
might not change his outward
condition, it should
have a salutary effect on his
state of mind. It is not so
much about saving a man's
life as it is about saving his
soul. Therefore, it refreshes
the soul even if it might not
refresh the body. Received
in prison, on death row, in
affliction or even in bereavement,
the gospel provides
great comfort.
Thanks to the gospel, sorrow
no longer has a basis in
the believer. Since Jesus has
borne our grief and carried
our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4),
we no longer have any
grounds to be sorrowful. Sin
is the only legitimate cause
for sorrow in the world. Being
godless is the only legitimate
cause for grief.
The principal problem of
life is not, as many presume,
lack of a job, or of money or
of means. The principal
problem is sin. Once Jesus
dealt conclusively with the
sin problem, he declared
that: "it is finished." Jesus
came, not to provide jobs or
to put money in people's
pockets, or to find husbands
for wives. He came to reconcile
man back to God.
Beyond that, nothing else is
valuable.
There is nothing that God
can do for us in this lifetime
that can exceed what he has
already done in Christ. He
cannot give us a more superior
Holy Spirit. He cannot
appoint us to a better
inheritance in heaven. God
gave us the best first by giving
us himself and everything
that pertains to him.
Therefore, our joy is already
full.
Setting your house in order (2)
ICORINTHIANS 3:16-
17 says: “Know ye not
that ye are the temple of
God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man
defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are.”
Brethren, our hearts including
our physical church are
the holy places of God. The
purity, wholesomeness and
sanctity of the temple of God
in you should be of paramount
importance to you
and if that is not the case in
your life, the Lord is asking
you today to, ‘set your house
in order’ make it the way it
should. You must not take for
granted the temple of God
because God’s presence is in
everywhere His temple is
found. And you are carrying
the temple of God, even your
brother, sister, and members
of your local church. Today,
God is asking you what attention
you are giving to His
temple so that it will be in the
form it ought to be.
If your house is in order in
relation to your soul then the
temple of God in you is in order.
But if not, God is telling
you through this message to
set your house in order. Those
that defile at will the temple
of God, either by wilful sin:
fornication, adultery, stealing,
abortion, kidnapping,
robbery, are provoking God
to anger them.
Acts 17:28: “For in him we
live, and move, and have our
being; as certain also of your
own poets have said, For we
are also his offspring.”
The scripture says, it is in
God that we live and have
our beings. God lives inside
us and we live inside Him.
He is the original Fountain
of our life. That we live at all
is His gift and our continued
and prolonged existence is
also His gift. He lives in every
one of us, so where we are,
there He is.
Mathew 18:20 says: “For
where two or three come together
in my name, there am
I with them.”
Wherever two or more assembled
for His service, for
the purpose of doing anything
connected with the advancement
of His kingdom,
in the place of prayer, worship
and praises, in obedience
to His command, and with a
desire to promote His glory,
He is present to quicken their
prayers, guide their counsels,
and answer their petitions.
So when we call upon Him
or gather in His name, He is
there with us. Therefore,
where you gather to pray is
the house of God and it is
your duty to keep it in order.
You must ensure the house of
God is set in order, because
no matter where the house of
God is located, the presence
of God is assured.
John 20:19 says: “Then the
same day at evening, being
the first day of the week,
when the doors were
shut where the disciples
were assembled for fear
of the Jews, came Jesus
and stood in the midst,
and saith unto them,
Peace be unto you.”
At the pick of persecution,
after Jesus was
buried, when all hope
was lost in seeing Him
again, the disciples
gathered in a closed
door and Jesus appeared
in their midst.
No obstacle can hinder
the presence of God. It
does not matter whether
the doors where the
gathering takes place
are closed or not,
whether it is in the cave
or in prison, as long as
the meeting is a desire
to promote His glory,
His presence is assured.
No door can
shut out Christ's presence
in a house where
His people gathered,
but that house cum
heart must be an abode
set in order. Any house
that is not set in order
cannot host the holy
presence of God. It is
therefore pertinent that
we must ensure that our
house is set continuously
in order so that the
presence of God will
not depart from us. And
as we do this we shall
be blessed in Jesus
name.
Pastor Oloruntimilehin
Joshua Daramola
LOT of people have died
A while others have perished
or in bondage just as many are
begging and praying for death
to come.
Anyone who takes his/her life
shall be blamed by God. Imagine
Judas Iscariot did not allow
himself to be judged before he
hanged himself. A wealthy businessman
in India committed
suicide because his business
crashed and he was unable to
offset his debt despite his wife’s
advice to improvise and turn
around the business. This man
had lost all hopes and judged
himself to be a failure.
A person who thinks he or she
will die in sickness has already
submitted himself or herself and
lack the faith that healing can
come.
Brethren what is the problem
confronting you, is it lack of job,
Childlessness, sickness, no husband
or wife, are your children
wayward or any problem whatsoever
that will make you decide
to commit suicide? Remember
that all these are temporary set-
Don’t give in to setbacks
backs. Don’t think these setbacks
can never be changed
for good.
Have lost your job? Remember
that your life is not lost even
if it lost, it can be restored as
Jairus’ dead daughter (Luke
8:49-55) and Lazarus’ four
days dead body were revived
(John 11:1-16). It is my strong
conviction that if Judas Iscariot
did not hang himself and instead
cried for forgiveness,
Jesus would have appeared to
him and forgiven him because
he is merciful and compassionate.
Peter and Judas committed
similar offence: betrayal.
What is betrayal? Betrayal is
when two or more parties are
in understanding of something
and one of the parties negates
on it. It was during the Lord’
Supper that Jesus told his disciples
that one of them would
betray him. At that point all the
disciples knew who was to betray
Jesus because of Judas’ response
to that allegation and
Jesus’ reply in Matthew 26:25
says “...Surely not I, Rabbi, Yes
it is you.”
In another occasion, Jesus
told his disciples that all of
them will fall on account of
him (Matthew 26:31-35) Peter
replied that if all fall that he
will never fall. Then Jesus told
Peter that he will deny him
three times before the cock
crows. Therefore there was
similarity in what Jesus said
to both Peter and Judas. While
Jesus was being subjected to
BSN holds Bible Quiz for the Deaf
By Sam Eyoboka
LL is now set for the maiden edition of
ABible Quiz for the Deaf organized by The
Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN).
The Bible Quiz, which will be conducted in
Nigerian Sign Language, holds at the Christian
Mission for the Deaf, Shomolu, Lagos on
December 5 in fulfillment of the Society’s mission
to meet the scriptural needs of every Nigerian,
including the Deaf, and to help people interact
with Word of God.
Contestants are expected to answer questions
from the 32 out of the 110 Chronological Bible
Stories translated for the Deaf in Nigerian Sign
punishment and torture in
cold weather, Peter was
warming himself beside a
bonfire. As Jesus was being
taking away Peter was following
them until he was
identified and alleged to be
one of Jesus’ disciples.
Eventually he denied
knowing Jesus thrice to an
extent that he cursed himself
(Matthew 26:7). After the
third denial, a cock crowed
and immediately he realized
what Jesus told him and he
wept bitterly in the manner
with Judas. He had the opportunity
to repent before the
third denial but he failed. In
fact Peter was supposed to
commit suicide. However he
felt all hopes were not lost.
Brethren, as there was
similarity in both cases also
there was a difference and
the difference was that Peter
had wisdom and Judas did
not. The wisdom is the fear
of God. If a person has fear
of God he or she has wisdom.
The day a person falls, the
fear of God will lift him or
her up.
Psalm 111:10 says: “The
fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom…” Imagine it
was the same Peter and other
disciples Jesus appeared
to after resurrection to help
them to catch fish miraculously
and reinstated Peter as
leader of his followers. (John
21:1-23).
Language by the Bible Society of Nigeria.
The BSN has a Deaf Translation Centre in
Ibadan, Oyo State where the Bible is being translated
into Nigerian Sign Language for the Deaf.
The Bible Society of Nigeria is a not-for-profit
interdenominational Christian organization
that translates the Bible into local languages,
publishes, distributes and raises funds for the
Bible work. It also organizes life-transforming
programmes that help people engage with Word
of God. So far, BSN has complete Bible in 26
Nigerian languages and 110 Chronological Bible
Stories in Nigerian Sign Language for the
Deaf.

PAGE 40—SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Why is there so much hate in
the land? (1)
"To hate, to love, to think, to
feel, to see, all this is nothing
but to perceive," by David
Hume.
shifted on the sofa,
I stretched out my legs and
adjusted my head to allow a
clear breathing passage. I
have a few more minutes to
waste before I start the arduous
work. Nigeria has been
on my mind for quite some
time, and I thought to myself
it was time to visit the motherland.
I am always excited
about the probability of going
to Nigeria. This is not only
for the opportunity to meet
long-time family members
and friends but also to catch
up with new developments.
So on this day, the thoughts
came strongly to me as I sat
in my lounge. I stared at the
laptop in the corner and there
was a strong urge to grab it
and search for a cheap ticket.
This, I recognised, was the
hard work. I narrowed my eyes
for a moment. I needed taking
in the excitement and the
expectations of the journey. It
would be several weeks of
preparations, purchases,
packing of bags and setting
priorities. I sighed as I reflected
on how I would be able to
My season of miracle and testimony
The 3 days Annual Con
vention and Thanks
giving 2019 of the
Church started with a great
prophetic declaration and deliverance
section by the woman
of God on 29th Nov 2019.
MESSAGE- Luke 21 vs 12-
13
"But before all these, they
shall lay their hands on you
and persecute you, delivering
you up to the synagogues, and
into the prisons, being brought
before Kings and rulers for
my name sake.
And it shall turn to you for a
TESTIMONY"
Testimony is when you testify
in the midst of challenges,
it is not what you say after you
have gone through challenges
but what you say in the
midst of those trials, temptations
and troubles. Just like
Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego who in the midst of
difficulty refused to bow and
worship the golden image of
Nebuchadnezzar; their testimony
was
that they were not consumed
by the burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3 vs 16-17
"Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego answered and said
to the king. O Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not careful to answer
thee in this matter;
If it be so, our God whom
we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us
out of thine hands, O king".
squeeze these into my day to
day tasks. Not to worry, I
thought to myself, I would be
waking up with renewed
spring in my steps looking
forward to the trip.
The many positive stories I
have heard about Nigeria in
recent times galvanised me to
desperately want this trip. I
need seeing for myself. I narrowed
my eyes for a moment
as I placed my right fist under
my chin to discover a more
comfortable position for my
head. I needed this “wee” me
time before I reached for the
laptop to start the search for
the "cheap" return ticket. So I
allowed my thoughts to go
wild as I slipped into a “controlled
unconsciousness." The
type we experience when we
crawl into beds in the night.
”Do you have anything to
declare, sir?” a distinct earpleasing
feminine voice revived
me. ”No,” I replied.
”Please follow this other
queue,” she said as she signalled
me in the appropriate
direction. ”Thank you,” I said
and moved on. I looked
around me as the queue progressed.
I grabbed my trolley
and pushed on in an attempt
to catch up with the last individual
on the queue. Earlier
on I had noticed the staffs at
the immigration counters
were polite and business-like.
An officer professionally attended
to me and greeted me
with a cheerful smile. He said,
"have a nice stay.”
I smiled to myself as I recollected
how my friend tried to
persuade me everything has
changed from what I had experienced
before. No matter
how much I attempted to suggest
to her that the many negative
stories about my destination
were “uncheery,” she
was unperturbed. Her praise
of the progress and developments
made in the space of
five years was very convincing.
She was adamant the negative
stories on social media
were planted and sponsored
by opposition parties. She argued
that despite the "seeable"
achievements of the present
administration, the opposition
leaders remain blind they
could barely see beyond their
noses.
This was not the first time I
have heard this. In fact, it has
become a trend every time I
discuss with sympathisers of
the current government.
What surprises me is that they
struggle to point to any meaningful
development. More
willingly, they concentrate
their energy on educating me
of the fact that "haters" of the
government are habitually
out to discredit the splendid
works.
As I walked towards the exit
of the airport, I experienced a
little bit of shame for doubting
all the "hailers." There is
no need for any extra convincing
that the era of change had
indeed come. I looked around
The reality on the
ground was altogether
different from what was
painted on WhatsApp
groups and various
forums. I cautioned
myself that maybe I
was a bit hasty in my
conclusion
again; the paints on the walls
were sparkling while the floor
was glistering, as if polished.
"There is something unusual
about this place," I muttered
under my breath. The Arrival
Hall was devoid of the usual
buying and selling atmosphere
that was commonplace
there. There were no blackmarket
operators or the everpresent
SIM card sellers or
cab drivers that delight in hustling
travellers out of their
money.
I was taken aback when I
stepped outside the Murtala
Muhammed International
Airport, Lagos. The brightness
of the street lights shocked me
as I walked towards the taxi
rank. There was no hustling
or hassling from the usual
touts at the airport. I could not
resist admiring the serenity of
the airport as the driver pulled
out towards the city centre.
"This is unbelievable," I said
to myself. But the driver picked
It is your time to testify in
Bishop Dr (Mrs) Chioma Grace Dauji the midst of your sicknesses,
problems and challenges; so
AMAZING GRACE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH stop lamenting, stop worrying, class on unity
Worldwide (Solution Ground).
stop complaining but rather
say "Many are the afflictions
1 Bakare Avenue, Palmgroove, Lagos. The Chairman of Patani Lo-
of the righteous but God delivers
us from them all".
I want you to know that your
present situation is for people
to glorify God, and what you
are going through will surely
end in TESTIMONY. You
don't have to listen to what
people say about you, what
matters most is what God says
about you, your testimony will
bring people to God. If you
can hold on to the Lord your
God, the Testimony in your life
will announce you.
That will be the end of discussion
about you, even those
who laughed at you, shall be
no cause to worry because
God will give you a Miracle
that will surprise your enemies
and which will silence
those who make mockery of
you.
I want you to believe that
the challenges you are going
through are the stepping
stones to your Miracle. God
bless you.
ANAMBRA 2021: Ike Oligbo declares for governorship
By Tony Nwankwo
•Oligbo
Like a long awaited eastern
star, United Kingdom-based
businessman, lawyer and politician,
Chief Ike Oligbo (Ike
Edeke), has come to test the
political landscape of Anambra
State.
He has indicated plans to
contest the 2021 governorship
election of the state on the platform
of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP).
Making his quest known recently,
at a press conference
in Awka, Oligbo said he would
return Anambra to the path of
growth and development by
providing quality education.
With a compulsory Nine-year
education programme to improve
the rate of literacy in the
state Oligbo says he will provide
a formidable platform for
PDP to win the governorship
election in Anambra State in
2021.
Addressing his supporters in
his first public declaration,
after donating and commissioning
party offices for grassroots
campaigns in Idemili
North LGA, Oligbo said: “My
dear good people of Anambra
State, I feel highly privileged
to publicly declare to
serve you as the chief steward
for Anambra State in 2021.
God keeping us alive, I promise
to follow in the footsteps of
former Governor Peter Obi, to
match and infact surpass his
laudable achievements in this
State”, he said. Unveiling his
development plan tagged
`My Contract with Ndi Anambra’,
Oligbo continued:
“Let me say, with all sense of
responsibility and modesty,
that I am very much aware of
the enormity of work we must
do to put our dear state back
to work, to harness the many
bright minds that we are blessed
with, in the areas of education,
civil service, entrepreneurship
and sports, amongst
others.
He recalled that while some
of the administrations in the
state, had performed poorly,
others had recorded average
performances, but he singled
out the administration of Mr.
Peter Obi, whom he said, made
the most appreciable impact
in building the state through
his integrated approach to
governance, predicated on the
highest degree of probity and
accountability – the most vital
ingredients, he said that
are necessary to pull Anambra
back from the woods. “It
is my intention to reinvent that
administration and improve
on the standard already set by
Obi”, he said.
“My administration will
make quality education a priority,
ensuring that adequate
facilities are provided together
with an enabling environment
to assist pupils and students
in their quest for excellence.
We will rehabilitate
schools and recruit qualified
teachers to enhance learning.
I will ensure a full implementation
of the national minimum
wage and pay salaries
as and when due, provide firefighting
trucks and adequate
funding and training for fire
officials in the state.
He revealed: “We will ensure
that new inter-state and
local roads are constructed
it and replied in a deep eastern
accent: "Everything has
changed. We are immensely
enjoying these 'change' leaders."
I nodded in agreement
with him as we sped off towards
the flyover.
The journey was remarkably
smooth. No potholes and
no street or traffic light 'misbehaved'.
As we descended the
flyover, I looked in the direction
of the popular Aswani
Market/Iyana Isolo. The
whole stretch was properly lit
and you could easily mistake
it was daytime. I smiled to
myself as I recollected how
risky it was for me to walk the
few metres from the Rutam
House to Toyota Bus Stop after
the close of work in years
gone by. A few colleagues were
robbed there.
I could see people walking
"carelessly" on the streets. I noticed
nice public transport
buses pull in and out of the
well-constructed bus stops.
The commuters stepped
aboard and disembarked with
ease. There were no pushes or
shuffles thereby making it difficult
for pickpockets to operate
viable businesses.
In the corner of my eyes, I
spotted a few police cars, vans
and officers casually patrolling
the streets. They were immaculately
dressed and surprisingly
interacting with
members of the public. I
smiled and said, "Indeed, the
police is your friend." I looked
to the left where a fire engine
and an ambulance were stationed.
I was extremely overcome.
I shook my head repeatedly
to erase the picture of poverty,
terrible roads, break down of
social infrastructure, and
many negatives I had been
exposed to on social media.
The reality on the ground was
altogether different from what
was painted on WhatsApp
groups and various forums. I
cautioned myself that maybe
I was a bit hasty in my conclusion.
I looked out of the window
again and reassured
myself that ”indeed change
has come.” Why is there so
much hate on social media?
Why couldn't all citizens just
raise their hands and praise
the government, the various
agencies, lawmakers and political
appointees for the good
works they are doing?
I couldn't wait to find answers
to these questions. Suddenly
I felt the longing to get
to my host — my cousin — to
discuss these and how proud I
was of the developments I witnessed.
In the past, driving to
his upper-class estate at the
outskirt of the city would have
been quite a journey. We would
have picked our way through
slow-moving traffic with car
headlights been the sources of
lights to houses around the
major motorway. Everywhere
would be in darkness while we
held on to our bibles praying
no brain dead armed robber
came our ways. The sigh of
relief at the entrance to my
cousin's estate was always
loud and uncontrolled.
Things were different on this
trip. Electricity was no longer
a preserve of just a few people.
It was free to all. There
were no noises or black smoke
from various sizes of electricity
generators. Everywhere
was lit. There was also an orderliness
that was very calming.
Change is for real.
To be continued next week.
Otuaro commends Omoun, tasks Patani political
cal Government Area, Hon.
Perekebena Perez Omoun,
has been commended for his
developmental strides as well
as tackling insecurity in the
area.
Deputy Governor of Delta
State, Deacon Kingsley Burutu
Otuaro who made the
commendation spoke at an
interdenominational Birthday/Thanksgiving/Reception
ceremony of illustrious sons
and daughters of Patani LGA
origin, led by His Royal Majesty,
Shedrack Peremobowei
Erebulu, Aduwo III, Pere of
Kabowei Kingdom. Other
celebrants on roll call include
Chief Engr. Dr. Pius Sinebe,
Hon. Basil Ganagana, Hon.
Barr. Raymos Guanah, Hon.
Engr. Emmanuel Amatare
Sinebe, Comrade Godspower
Asiuwhu, Engr. Jude
Sinebe, Chief (Mrs.) Jose-
and the dilapidated ones rehabilitated
to aid commercial
activities in the state. We will
pay attention to electricity
generation and distribution
which has become a leech on
how businesses are done in
the state. “We are a proud
Udensi emerges 'Most Outstanding
Security Expert'
The founder of Sheiks
and Bishop Limited
Security Limited, Sir
Chikwe Udensi, has emerged
as the most outstanding security
expert in 2019.
He emerged as the winner
at the Prestigious Leadership
Excellence Award of Igbere
TV in Abuja.
Sheiks and Bishop Limited
is a foremost security expert
and Interpol Systems consultant
in Nigeria.
Udensi was honoured after
a thorough process of evaluation
and assessment, considering
every security anatomy
of international standards.
Udensi was honoured
alongside Dr. Godwin Maduka,
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,
Senate President,
Ahmed Lawan, Dr. Sam Onyisi
, Dr. Linda Ayade (Cross
people, and Anambra will
stand tall again under my
watch”, he said, promising to
build hospitals and clinics in
every community and provide
state-of-the art medical equipments
in hospitals. “A situation
where Anambra people
go out of the state or even
abroad for medical attention
will be a thing of the past”, he
stressed.
River State First Lady), Rt.
Hon. Chinedum Orji (Abia
Speaker), Engr. Ajibola Abiola,
(Director Nigeria Broadcast
Academy), Femi Adesina,
Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejiocha,
ex-Governor Ibrahim
Dankwambo, and Satguru
Maharaj Ji.
Others include Rt. Hon. (Dr)
Cosmos Ndukwe, Engr. Ndukwe
Iko, Gordy Uche (SAN),
Dr. Nkem Chibogu Kenneth,
Sir Daniel Chukwudozie, and
Senator Godswill Akpabio
among others.
Udensi, before now, has won
several awards both locally
and internationally.
His company won gold at
the INTERPOL Innovation
Conference in Singapore as
the firm with Most Innovative
Ideas in Systems Security
around the World.
phine Abeki, Hon. Brave Enodeh,
Hon. Austin Wari-Ebi
Bebeteidoh and Mr Akpibere.
"It is necessary for us to
celebrate our leaders while
they are alive and not only
in death", Omoun had said
while delivering his welcome
address.
But tasking the political
leaders on unity, peace and
development, Otuaro
said:"Patani LGA is blessed
with many political leaders
many of whom are in the
same age bracket. Whatever
misgivings and misunderstandings
may have arisen
over last politicking season/
elections should be completely
left behind, using this platform,
for Patani to be in the
front row of development".
"This Thanksgiving service
should be a springboard for
building greater bridges of
peace, understanding and collaboration
for development",
Otuaro advised, adding: "Like
the Council chair, Hon
Omoun, had said: "We need
to celebrate our leaders while
we are alive. I want to say that
we need to appreciate God's
blessings and his grace which
has kept us alive so we can
contribute to development of
the local government and
the state at large".
"I thank the Council
Chairman, for his developmental
strides. I can see from
the programme brochure the
road projects and his partnership
with security agents
which has brought the reported
security challenges in the
local government area to the
barest minimum. Please continue
to do more".
Pa Obatuase for
burial Dec 6
THE Obatuase family
has announced the burial
arrangements of their patriarch,
Pa Emmanuel
Folarin Obatuase, aged 89.
A statement by Mr. Olumide
Obatuase says the body will
lie in state, December 5, at his
residence, 174 Araye, Uro
Quarters, Igbara-Odo Road
by Nitel, Ikere-Ekiti. Service
of Songs will hold same day
at Chief Wole Olanipekun
(SAN) Bar Center, High
Court Premises, Igbara Odo
Road Ikere-Ekiti.
Funeral Service is fixed for
the following day December
6, at St. Stephen Anglican
Church by Eleyo High
School, Araye Uro Quarters,
Igbara Odo Road, Ikere with
interment to hold at his residence,
Reception is schedule
for Demonstration Road, Oke
Osun, Akure Road, Ikere Ekiti.
•Late Pa Obatuase

Photos: KEHINDE SHONOLA
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 41
Queen’s College Old Girls Association Anniversary
The 1969/71 Set of Queen’s College Old Girls Association celebrated its anniversary with the donation of science laboratory
equipment to their alma mater
•From left: Eniola Yonwuren, Prisca Soares and
Dr. Mrs. T. Yakubu -Oyinloye, Queen’s College
Principal
•Cross section of the 1969/1971 Set
at the event.
•From left: Dr. Yinka
Lambo, Mrs. Eriwu Rewane-Molajo,
Hon. Justice
Funmilayo Atilade a
former Chief Judge of
Lagos State and Hon.
Justice Dotun Adefope-
Okojie.
•From right: Mrs. Gbemi Coker, Mrs. Marian Onuzo and Dr.
Yinka Sobamowo
•From left: Dr Teresa Bassey, Chairperson, 50th anniversary Organizing
Committee, Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, President, Queen's College
Old Girls Association, and Bolanle Izilein
Senator Remi Tinubu Orientation Programme for Interns. Photos: KEHINDE GBADAMOSI
Senator representing Lagos Central, Oluremi Tinubu (r), addressing participants
at the Orientation for 260 Interns of her Work Experience Programme (WEP),
in Lagos.
Divine Ewulomi Evangelical Church Harvest Thanksgiving
The Harvest Thanksgiving of Divine Ewulomi Evangelical Church of
Christ, Mende,Lagos, took place recently.
From left: Chairman, Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area, Mr
Kamal Salau-Ashua; Prince Tajudeen Olushi; Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Chairman,
Lagos Mainland Local Government, Mrs Omolola Essien.
From
left: Senior
Mother-in-
Israel O.
Akpata,
Mrs. Iyad
u n n i
Gbadebo
and Bishop
O.O. Akpata
at the occasion.
From left: Bishop Ajiboye,
Prophet Akpata,
Archbishop Adeleye,
Mrs. Adeleye, Bishop
Ogunlere, Chief (Mrs.)
Omotayo Omotosho,
Dr. Bola Omotosho,
Mrs. R. Omotosho,
Mother Akpata, Mrs.
Kenny Nortey and
Bishop Nortey.

PAGE 42, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Zenith Lifestyle Fair in Lagos
Life Style Fair organised by Zenith Bank Plc is holding at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. Faces at the
occasion as captured by Bunmi Azeez
From left: Adebimpe Adebambo, film producer
and moderator, Umisu Eri, Speaker Animator, Henry
Dunkun, Speaker Studio owner, and Brian Wilson,
Speaker co-founder, at the screening of animation
film
A scene from the exhibition segment
Another scene from the fashion exhibition
segment
Participants during fashion parade
Inside the Gamaes Arena
Another scene from the fashion parade segment
Cross section of participants A scene from the fashion segment
The Managing Director of Klick Konect Networks Group and Convener of
IBI GIGA AMBASSADORS, Chief Alex Ajipe (left), receiving the NUJ 2019
Award of Excellence in Corporate Service and Industrialization from Mrs Ifeoluwa
Oyedele yesterday in Akure, Ondo State capital.
Olojudo rallies Ido-Ekiti natives for development
he Olojudo of Ido-Ekiti,
TOba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro,
has called on sons and
daughters of the ancient
community to join hands with
him to bring more progress
and development to the town.
Ilori-Faboro, who made the call
yesterday at the this year’s
edition of Ajodun Ido
Oganganmodu and his 10th
Coronation Anniversary, said
Ido-Ekiti needed unity now
more than any other period in
history if the community was
to have a pride of place in the
fast developing global
community.
The monarch noted that the
past giant strides of the of Ido-
Ekiti were made possible as a
result of oneness and unity of
purpose displayed by her
indigenes.
Earlier in an address, the
Chairman Planning
Committee of Ajodun Ido
Oganganmodu 2019, Mr
Babatunde Akilo, observed
that lack of industries in Ido was
a challenge that required
private-public collaboration
and urged Ido Progressive
Association to set up an action
committee to fashion out a
strategy to industrialise the
town.
This, he said, would not only
have a spiral effect on the local
economy, but also engage the
teeming unemployed youth
that were easily recruited into
crime to engage their
preconscious minds and
boundless energies.
The intra-city roads,
according to Akilo, were an
eyesore which made it
difficult to believe that Ido
is a local government
headquarters and pleaded
with the state’ ministry of
T
HE legacy of the
pioneer Principal of
Anwar-ul-Islam Grammar
School, Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo
State, Alhaji Jimoh
Gbadamosi, is one that has
continued to have farreaching
impacts on
successive generations of
students in the school.
The President of Ahmadiyya/
Anwar-ul-Islam Grammar
School Old Students
works and Ido/Osi Local
Government to assist in this
regard and made
appropriation for it in next
year’s budget.
The event, chaired by the
Director-General, Lagos State
Emergency Agency, Dr. Femi
Oke-Osanyintolu, attracted
other dignitaries like Asiwaju
Segun Oni, a former governor
of Ekiti State. Ido Progressive
Association President, Jomo
Olofinlade; Lagos branch IPA
chairman, Dr. Rufus Familoni,
and Segun Adekuajo, Ido
Country Club President.
By Nwabueze Okonkwo
hief Hyman Udemba is
Cone of the cabinet
members of the traditional
ruler of Obosi in Idemili
North Local Government
Area of Anambra State, Igwe
Chidubem Iweka III.
In his pre-Iwaji 2019 annual
cultural festival press briefing
held on Thursday at his
compound in Ugamuma
village, Obosi, Udemba
speaks on his achievements.
Excerpts: “My challenges are
as enormous as expected
because of the fallout of semiurbanization
of Obosi
community which tilted
towards crime and cultism,
unemployment of our youths
and lack of educational
qualifications. When I came on
board, I and other cabinet
members assisted Eze Iweka,
our young and energetic royal
father, in fighting these vices
and bringing them down to a
minimum level.
“If you asked me how we did
it, I will tell you right away that
we, first of all, identified the root
of crimes, the criminals
themselves, their hideouts and
their modus operandi and
uprooted them. At a stage, some
of them fled the community
when we closed-in on them and
the atmosphere became
inconducive environment for
them to operate, while at the
same time, we created
employment for some youths
and that was how we achieved
the 30 percent feat that is
Emotions as old students celebrate 92-yr-old ex-principal
Association (AGSOSA),
Captain Tajudeen Alao (retd),
stated this last weekend when
he led different sets of former
students of the school on a visit
to Gbadamosi at his Surulere,
Lagos residence.
Alao said the purpose of the
visit was to spend time with the
92-year-old man who laid the
foundation of their alma mater
and made it a moulder of great
minds.
Fashion parade participants
How we fought crime, cultism in Obosi —Udemba
According to him, the
accomplishments of the
“distinguished” school
administrator are legendary
and have continued to
reverberate within and outside
the school from generation to
generation.
“It is an honour on our part
because our source, the root, is
this man. He established that
school from scratch. We want
to sustain his legacy,” he added.
prevalent at the moment.
“Since I became Ndi Ichie, I
saw the performance of Eze
Iweka of Obosi as quite
challenging. Like I said earlier,
Obosi is an urban community
and, as such, all those
challenges are expected. Before
I became Ichie, the challenges
were so enormous but, as of
today, almost every ugly
situation is under control,
courtesy of Igwe’s hard work
and other cabinet members.
“I am celebrating my 5th
annual Iwaji cultural festival
today. Since I was installed as
Akamkposi Obosi in January,
2015, I have been celebrating
my Iwaji festival on yearly
basis.
We celebrate Ifejioku in March
every every which is a
celebration of appeasing our
gods to make our crops yield
fruitfully at which time Ndichie
will receive yam seedlings from
Eze Obosi to go and plant.
Each Ndichie will pray in their
respective domains for the land
to yield. In summary, Ifejioku
is celebrated after the first rain
in the year to usher in farming
season.
President of Ahmadiyya/Anwar-ul-Islam Grammar
School Old Students Association (AGSOSA), Captain
Tajudeen Alao (retd) (second left); the National Public
Relations Officer, Alhaji Kamorudeen Aderibigbe
(left) and other members of the association with the
pioneer principal of Anwar-ul-Islam Grammar
School, Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo State, during their visit
to the nonagenarian at his residence in Lagos
Also, the first Vice President of
AGSOSA, Alhaji Olanrewaju
Hussein, said: This visit is very
significant because some of us
were not born and others were
very little when this man was
the Principal of our alma
mater.
“Whatever success I have
made of my life today, this
school was the basis. Seeing the
person who pioneered the
school is a fantastic feeling for
me. I am grateful to God to be
here today.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 43
FROM CHURCH TO SHRINE
‘My son will
be found’
...mum of boy stolen during service vows
after oath-taking at Akure shrine
• Church officials also take oath
• Police dismiss claim of foot-dragging
By Dayo Johnson, Akure
It is 21 days since one-year-old Gold
Kolawole went missing during a Sunday
service at Sotitobire Prayer University in
Solagbade area of Osinle Quarters, Oke-Aro,
Akure.
But the police seem to have lost steam in
finding the missing boy while members of
the public ponder on the mysterious
disappearance of the toddler at the church
creche where 14 minders kept watch.
Last Thursday, minders and parents of the
missing boy, Temitope and Modupe
Kolawole, took part in oath-taking at Odoro
Shrine within the palace of the Deji of Akure,
Oba Adelusi Aladetoyinbo.
Palace sources informed Sunday Vanguard
that the General Overseer of the church,
Prophet Samuel Babatunde Alfa, did not take
part in the oath-taking
He was said not to have been implicated in
the statements made by the parents of the
missing boy at the palace.
The sources said Ondo State Police
Command took over the case after the oathtaking.
It was, however, not known what would
happen after the oath had been taken by the
minders and parents of the missing boy.
Confirming that the oath-taking had been
done, the Chief Press Secretary to the Deji,
Michael Adeyeye, said the exercise took place
on Thursday.
“The children’s teachers alongside the
parents of the missing boy
took part in the oath-taking
at the palace”, Adeyeye said.
On why the General
Overseer was left out of the
exercise, Adeyeye said he
was not indicted by the
parents of the missing boy in
their statements at the palace.
On the next line of action,
the spokesperson said, “That
is all for now. The police have
taken over the matter”.
Sunday Vanguard gathered
that, traditionally, days after
oath-taking in situations like
that, perpetrators would be
revealed.
The sources declined to be
specific on when this could
happen but “within a number
of days the whole truth would
be revealed traditionally and
the whereabouts of the boy
would be known”.
One of the sources added,
“It would further be revealed
Nothing is
impossible for
God to do. I
have absolute
faith and still
hopeful that I
will still see
Gold, my dear
son. I won’t
lose hope no
matter what
anybody does
on this matter
if the boy is still alive or dead”.
Meanwhile, tongues kept wagging over the
protest by half naked women in support of
the General Overseer of the church.
The old women who wore only bra
wrappers stormed the church auditorium and
spoke one after the other exonerating their
prophet of wrong doing.
They vowed to go to any
length to ensure that “the Man
of God was not rubbished and
his ministry’s image rubbed in
the mud”.
According to them, the
enemies were jealous of the
growth of the church and
wanted to frustrate the good
work of the prophet.
“We are behind you. You are
unmovable and unshakeable.
They have failed. We will
triumph. It is outright blackmail
and mudslinging by agents of
darkness”, they said.
Critics alleged that some top
police officers who are
members of the church may
have been suppressing
investigation into the case of the
missing boy hence the nonarrest
by police detectives three
weeks after the incident.
Meanwhile, a human rights
group, the Sunshine for
Integrity and Justice, has
frowned at the way the police were handling
the matter.
Its coordinator, Odion Matthew, alleged that
the police command was lackadaisical in its
investigation into the matter.
“It would be a thing of shame and ineptitude
for Ondo State Police Command not to have
taken any serious step on the matter. A whole
human being was missing, not an object and
the police seem to have kept quiet about it; it
is unfortunate”, Matthew said.
“For over two weeks now, nobody has been
arrested or interrogated among the care givers
in the church under whose care the boy was
missing.
“How could a boy have gone missing
among many children at the juvenile section
of the church and the police are keeping
quiet?
“This is not good enough for a country like
Nigeria. We believe we are not in a jungle.
So the police must act on this matter.
“The perceived silence of the police on the
matter, and the experience in the past in this
country, is luring one to believe that there is
an attempt to let the matter suffer a natural
death.”
He called on the Inspector General of
Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, to order for a
full investigation into the matter.
Sunday Vanguard reliably gathered the
state Police Commissioner, Adie Udie, has
ordered that the mobile phones of the General
Overseer and the father of the missing boy
be seized by police detectives investigating
the incident.
It was said that the command was desperate
to get to the root of the matter hence the
seizure of the phones.
The police, it was learnt, may have
commenced a forensic
analysis of the calls
received before the
kidnap incident and
after on the mobile
phones of the
General Overseer
and the father of the
missing boy.
The police have
however denied that
they were foot
dragging on the
case.
Police spokesman
Femi Joseph said, “lt is
not when police arrest
people indiscriminately that you know that
we are working.
“The Commissioner of Police invited all
those concerned including the General
Overseer of the church, the children’s teachers,
ushers and parents of the missing boy.
“They were drilled personally by the state
Police Commissioner for over three hours. So
the allegation that we are not doing anything
is far from being true.
“The matter has been handed over to the
Criminal Investigative Department for proper
investigation.
“The police are no magician. We are sad
about the incident and would unravel those
behind the kidnapping of the boy during
church service.
“We are digging deep into the mystery
surrounding the disappearance of the boy and
l want to assure you that we will come up with
the facts and will make them open to the
public”.
The General Overseer of the church where
the boy went missing, Prophet Alfa, had
insisted that his hands were clean on the case.
“I was on the altar when the ushers informed
me of what happened in the children church.
I immediately dispatched my pastors and
leaders to attend to the situation”, he had said.
“We finished service that Sunday around
5pm and I invited them and after I heard their
story I invited the police. This is the first time
such incident will happen since we started
this church”.
The mother of the missing boy, Modupe,
while speaking to Sunday Vanguard, said she
was still worried that the police were yet to
make any arrest.
“l am highly disappointed that nobody has
been arrested since my son disappeared in
that church”, she said.
“Our telephones were seized and they just
returned them. The police said they have
interrogated the children’s teachers but no
arrest made since.
“But l have faith and hopeful that I will still
see my son. The devil will be put to shame at
the end of the day”.
When told it was going to three weeks, the
mother of the missing boy said, “Nothing is
impossible for God to do. I have absolute faith
and still hopeful that I will still see Gold, my
dear son. I won’t lose hope no matter what
anybody does on this matter.
“Those expected to act are foot-dragging
because we are not well connected. But God
is still on the throne and would fight for us,
the down trodden.
“Let them continue to use their power to
suppress the matter. The truth will surely
prevail”.

PAGE 44— SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
...as Multichoice unveils content offerings for 2020
The latest MultiChoice Media Show
case reviewed the company’s activities
in the outgoing year and offers glimpses
into 2020.
The head office of the MultiChoice Group
in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 21 November,
hosted a large group of television executives,
celebrities and journalists from across the African
continent.
The occasion was the video entertainment
company’s annual Media Showcase, an event
that provided more than a sneak peek into
what its subscribers should expect in the coming
year as well as a review of its offerings in
the outgoing year.
Yolisa Phahle, Chief Executive Officer of the
group’s General Entertainment arm, told the
gathering that the outgoing year has been
marked by numerous accomplishments since
MultiChoice was listed an independent media
company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
(JSE) in February 2019.
She described the JSE listing as “an important
milestone in our exciting journey of
growth”.
Phahle explained that the company noticed
that the interest of its 18.9 million continentwide
subscriber base on its DStv and GOtv
platforms is more tuned towards general entertainment
and sporting content.
According to her, the production of local
reality television programmes continues to
gain traction across the continent, as evidenced
by the 240 million votes received in the just
concluded fourth edition of the Big Brother
Naija.
She revealed that the reality shows are tailored
towards the culture of the specific countries
where they are produced.
“We are committed to bringing you the best
local and international content, anywhere,
anytime and in a sustainable way”, she said.
“We are rooted in the countries in which our
customers live and, at our last media showcase,
we committed to launching some local
formats in other regions and I am happy to
say we have done just that. Date My Family,
Botswana and Our Perfect Wedding are two
new shows, which have really spoken to audiences
in those countries”.
Phahle also disclosed that following the successful
launch of Trackers, its first international
co-production drama, which has “broken all
records” and increased “(DStv) Catch-Up and
The quest to satisfy consumers’ demand
for improved service delivery,
affordability and quality content may
have moved Multichoice Nigeria to offer its
subscribers across its Digital Satellite
Television (DSTv) and Gotv platforms five new
packages from December 1, 2019.
The new packages, Dstv Confam, Dstv Yanga
and DStv Padi, while on the Gotv platform
are Gotv Jolly and Jinja, all at price range of
N4, 500 and N1, 800 for the Dstv packages,
and Gotv for N2, 400 and N1, 600 are
responses to consumers’ demand.
The Chief Executive Officer of Multichoice
Nigeria, John Ugbe said the new introduction
will see subscribers to the platforms have more
options to choose from.
“These new packages are exclusively created
for the Nigerian market and upgraded with
new channels, fresh content and Naija centric
names that contribute to a more enhanced
viewing experience.”
In addition he stated: The GOtv max
package will be revamped to include more
channels, thus offering more value at an
affordable price.
He went on, “We are constantly driven to
ensure that customers are satisfied with the
overall quality of our services.”
”With improved package options
available to our valued customers, they can
choose a subscription plan that best fits their
needs and budget. We remain committed to
give millions of television viewers in Nigeria
the opportunity to enjoy world class
entertainment. The new packages come
loaded with the recently-launched channels –
Da Vinci, TNT Africa and Real Time – as well
as other top local, sports, movies and general
entertainment channels.”
“For the new DStv packages, DStv Confam
is a brand-new package designed for the whole
family with over 120 channels. It is the home
for BET, Da Vinci Learning, TNT Africa and
more, and the subscription price is N4, 500
monthly. DStv Yanga has over 94 channels.
He stated further, “The brand new GOtv
Jolli offers 68 plus channels for family
entertainment from top Naija and
international channels. Subscribers will get
to enjoy exciting Naija drama, reality shows,
news and kid’s shows on brand new channels
such as ROK2, CBS Reality, Fox, TNT Africa,
and Davinci Learning.
GOtv Jinja provides 47+ exciting local and
international channels, with entertaining
ShowMax numbers”, MultiChoice teamed
up with international producers, Mannequin
Pictures, to co-produce Rogue.
The new production, will air on ShowMax,
MultiChoice’s online video-on-demand service,
from next year.
“This movie combines the expertise of Hollywood
talent and our local talent, elevating
local production content in Africa, using African
stories and African backdrops to bind global
audiences which can only be a good
thing,” she said.
She announced that the locally-produced
drama, The River, was nominated for Emmy
Award, while MultiChoice won an award at
the Seoul International Drama Awards in
Korea for The Herd.
Among the new channels launched, according
to Phahle, are Newzroom Afrika, a channel
for African news; and Hell Magic, a channel
exclusive to Ugandan subscribers.
At the event, live activation of three new channels
was announced.
They are CuriosityStream, which will deliver
a world of factual entertainment in one
place; CBS Justice, which will air true crime
documentaries; and EuroNews, which will
add a European flavour to the already extensive
portfolio of news channels on offer.
As the year 2020 approaches, Gideon
Khobane, Chief Executive Officer of Super-
Sport, MultiChoice’s sport broadcaster, said
subscribers on DStv and GOtv platforms
should expect live broadcast of numerous top
sport events, including the tennis showdown
between two of the greatest players in the sport,
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Dubbed “The Match in Africa”, the match
between the two legends will hold in the South
African city of Cape Town on 7 February, 2020.
Also to be broadcast is the Tokyo 2020 Olympics,
scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9
August, 2020. According to Khobane, five dedicated
SuperSport channels will broadcast the
quadrennial sporting spectacle.
Speaking on the importance of innovation
and its technological platforms, Phahle said
MultiChoice will continue to drive user engagement
and provide compelling content on
its technological platforms, DStv Now, Showmax
and BoxOffice in the coming year.
According to her, innovation remains a key
driver of the business, the reason the company
has made a commitment to the continuous
update of its platforms to ensure the provision
of top-tier service to subscribers.
Phahle noted that the introduction of Show-
Max is already yielding positive results and
expressed confidence that the trend would
continue.
“This year (with) Showmax, we were also
able to have exclusive content, which performed
incredibly in Nigeria and overall, we
have seen significant growth in the use of our
OTT (Over the Top) platforms. Almost 50 per
cent increase of our user base year-on-year,
which means more people are going there
and the good news is that they are spending
longer and going there more frequently,” she
said.
Candice Fangueiro, Head of Content,
ShowMax, disclosed that new kiddies' programmes
will be launched on the platform
soon.
"We are shaking things up. We have new,
first, bigger, better, local and international
movies. We have exciting Show Mini on our
ShowMax kid session; we are raising a digi-
What BBN’s 240 million votes mean
tal generation. We have our kid profile launching
soon; a lot of fantastic shows for the kids
coming up soon. We have a content line-up
that nobody else can replicate," she said.
Fangueiro also announced that the productions
from the MultiChoice Talent Factory
Academies in West, East and Southern Africa,
a 12-month fully funded programme initiated
to create a pipeline of skilled and talented
movie professionals, will be aired on
ShowMax.
Earlier in the year, noted Phahle, MultiChoice
introduced the DStv app, GOtv
app and DStv Self Service platform on
WhatsApp. These, she said, were introduced
to bring about improvement in
customer service by helping subscribers
to resolve basic challenges.
“Ultimately, it is about improving our
customers’ viewing experiences by offering
value for money, understanding customer
preferences, delivering high-quality
entertainment and sports content and
tailoring platforms for diverse audiences.
This also means we need to stay ahead
of technology, ensuring that our customers
get access to their favourite shows,
anytime and anywhere,” she said.
From left: Wanghi Mba-Uzoukwu, Regional Director, M-Net West Africa;
Timothy Okwaro, Director, Channels East and Southern Africa, Mnet; Nkateko
Mabaso, Group General Manager, M-Net South Africa, and Yolinda Phahle,
CEO, General Entertainment, at the MultiChoice Group Media Showcase
held in Johannesburg, South Africa
... Why we’re offering five new packages to subscribers
channels such as with Fox Life and Real Time;
educative kid’s channels like PBS Kids, local
drama on Africa Magic Epic and lots more”.
Assuring subscribers, Ugbe said:
“MultiChoice will give customers with active
subscriptions on DStv Access, DStv Family,
GOtv Plus and GOtv Value a glimpse of the
exiting entertainment lined up on these
exciting new packages with a two-week
Alibaba, George-David hold 2019 ‘market square’ edition on Dec. 21
enowned philanthropist, Dr. Yolanda N.
RGeorge-David, aka Aunt Landa and
renowned comedian, Alibaba have fixed this
year’s edition of Aunt Landa Market Square
tagged the H.O.P.E “Hold On Pain Ends” for
December 21, 2019 at Festac, Lagos.
The Aunt Landa's Market Square is a free
Market Square where the needy gets everything
absolutely free will feature different exciting
activities including comedy, gospel music,
games, dance, food, drinks, as well as doctors to
attend to those in need of medical attention at
the Aunt Landa Market Square clinic.
"We are delighted about this year's Market
Square as it promises to put a smile on the faces
of the needy family and remind them to Hold
On because Pain Ends.
According to recent report, Nigeria currently
have about 90millon people living in extreme
poverty which means roughly half of the Nigeria
population are living on less than N700 a day.
The root of poverty lies in the deprivation of
people’s access to basic necessities such as food,
healthcare and sanitation, education and assets".
"At Aunt Landa Bethel Foundation... We can't
fold our arms and pray for a miracle and because
LOVE is an Action Word, in our own little way
we are constantly contributing our quota by
creating an avenues where the less privileged
can gain access to basic supplies such as food,
clothing, shoes and other items free of charge.
This we believe will go a long way in putting a
smile on their faces this Yuletide season," says
Dr. Yolanda N. George-David.
Over the years, thousands of women and their
families in need have hugely benefitted from the
Only Market Square in the world where the
needy get to buy food, clothes, medicine and
almost every other thing they need to survive for
Free using the "Aunt Landa Love Currency”
(Zero Naira wrapped in God's love) to purchase
all items . With this currency, dignity has been
infused into charity as people can be strategic
about their needs and be responsible on what
they spend their aunt Landa love currency on.
preview from 1-15 December at no extra cost.”
When Sunday Vanguard spoke to some
subscribers, a rental agent, Aberdeen Ukoh of
Strive Agents said: “Multichoice is always
thinking ahead of competition, may be because
it has been in operation for years that may be
an edge over competition.”
A subscriber, Sunday Agbaja of Techhub
Nigeria, who is also a satellite installation
In addition, the needy are also empowered with
the necessary skills required to commence a
small scale business for themselves and basic
tools such as sewing machines, grinding
machines, and other business equipment are
being given out. Children also are not left out as
they benefit from the Aunt Landa scholarship
study grants.
Other major highlights of the Aunt Landa
Market Square will be the graduation ceremony
of students from the Aunt Landa Tertiary
Academy.
Speaking on this, the King of Comedy, Alibaba,
Vice-Chancellor of the Aunt Landa Free Tertiary
Academy, explained that in the last training cycle,
over 1, 000 Nigerians who needed second
chances have taken various vocational training
courses for free.
"Every Graduating Student has a Story; Widows,
Single-Mothers, Unemployed Graduates, Ex-
Prostitutes, Ex-Prisoners, Survivors with
Engineer said: The improved content depends
on the broadband width at which the
operator’s signal is coming in from, that will
tell the quality of the High Definition (HD)
signals they are receiving, that is why
Multichoice is hammering on quality content
because they know what they are offering
Nigerians.”
Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse in the
history and a collection of very determined
survivors. I am proud of them that in spite where
they were when they met me, they chose to fight
and rewrite their stories" says Alibaba.
The Aunt Landa Free Tertiary Academy is aimed
at improving the basic living standards of
individuals by equipping them with the necessary
skills needed to start up something on their own.
The previous market square tagged
‘Intervention Edition’, which took place in 2018
witnessed a massive crowd with thousands of
beneficiaries and attendance from some of the
Foundation’s ambassadors, Ufuoma
McDermott popular on-air personalities like
Lolo 1, Cheche Smith, comedienne Lepacious
Bose, Seyilaw, Ace Gospel Ministers Efe Nathan,
Laolu Gbenjo and a host of other A-list
celebrities. It is expected that this edition will
witness more known personalities passionate
to help.
From left:Team member, iStore Nigeria, Precious Aludo; Team Member, iStore
Nigeria, Kolapo Arogundade; Team Member, iStore Nigeria, Dami Adediwura;
Country Manager, iStore Nigeria, Sachin Verma, Operation Manager, iStore
Nigeria, Kolapo Agunloye and Team Member, iStore Nigeria, Williams Ogoke
at the launch of iPhone 11 series in Lagos, recently.

Viewpoint
By Collins Adaka
he turning point for Senator
TIfeanyi Okowa is his zeal and
capacity to develop Delta State since
his assumption of office for second
term. His re-election, therefore, was
indeed a recognition of the delivery
of the dividends of democracy.
Subsequently, the massive votes
from the electorate from all the
nooks and crannies of Delta in the
March 9, 2019 election that ushered
in his second tenure were an
expression of appreciation by the
people for the glaring numerous
projects that dot the landscape of
the state. Thus, it becomes a clarion
call for him to accelerate the
infrastructural development and
human empowerment in sincere
appreciation of his mandate.
The victory was indeed expected
because of Okowa’s exemplary and
inclusive leadership style of
carrying almost everybody along
faithfully and not in obscurity.
Therein, Delta continues to enjoy
transformational strides in job
creation through the job creation
By Peter Adeshina and
Goodluck Okechukwu
n times past when education was
Ia luxury afforded only by the
rich, communities and towns
observe their children from early
days, finding those who are
remarkable, who at last, will
through the financial contribution
of the kindred and clans, be sent to
school.
These children, often
extraordinarily brilliant, go to
school bearing in mind that they are
representing their communities,
that they carry the ambition of a
generation, of a town.
Most of them come back later and
repay the community in good
measures.
But those days are gone forever as
our societies are fast becoming
individualistic. They are gradually
abandoning the communalism that
once held us together.
Yet even as our cultural values
By Tony Alile
he controversy between Edo
TState governor, Mr. Godwin
Obaseki and the National
Chairman of All Progressives
Congress (APC), Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole, is heating up the polity
in ways many didn’t envisage.
It is getting messier daily as the
2020gubernatorial election
approaches.
The battle is not only a source of
distraction to the governor but also
has made more Edo people
interested in politics than
governance.
The people, especially the youths,
have now been forced to take sides
in support of any of the feuding
leaders. The romance between the
former friends, which went sour
some years back as a result of
conflicting interests, is keeping Edo
State in the news for the wrong
reasons.
This shouldn’t be the case for a
By Isaac Olusesi
n Nigeria, the failure of State of
I Osun in resource utilization,
youth employment and poverty
alleviation while the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) was in
power in the state, provoked the
Economic & Investment Summit
held November 19-21 in Osogbo,
the state capital. It never occurred
to the conservative PDP that
government –private sector
investments could grow the state
economy and raise the living
standards of the people. Neither was
the party persuaded to explore and
develop the rich economic potential
of the state for growth and
development. The governing APC
in Osun has demonstrated profound
progressive understanding of the
social and personal costs of
economic growth, summed up in
the dictum: “present consumption
is to be reduced so that future
consumption can be raised.” Good!
The Audacity of Okowa’s Triumph…
officer of the state, enterprise
development, education, road and
physical infrastructure, urban
renewal, affordable and quality
healthcare as well as Okowa’s
penchant for peace and security of
the state.
Okowa listens to counsel, he is
accountable, he accepts reproof,
takes suggestions, respects
experience and follows a worthy
example. To this end, he effortlessly
closes the religious and ethnic gaps
to bring the various groups together.
Furthermore, he is so deeply rooted
in his cultural and religious heritage
but still remains utterly opposed to
all forms of social, ethnic or
religious in tolerance.
No doubt, it is lonely at the top. A
leader will pay the cost in time,
thought and trust. It involves
visionary thinking, diligent working
and problem solving. The big cost,
however, is dealing with people. One
great attribute of Okowa is that he
has the ability to define issues
without aggravating the problems.
John Mayaki and import of foreign education
erode or evolve, what remains
constant, however, is the presence
of these remarkably intelligent
individuals who even though
communities no longer sponsor
their education, are nonetheless
spurred by their deep convictions
and intrinsic aspirations to go on
and on, to distinguish themselves on
the global stage. They still return to
give back to their different
communities. John Mayaki, the
effulgent son of Edo, is one of them.
John, a very charismatic man who
is always faithful to his self-dictated
principles, has before now displayed
excellence. Like all Nigerian
academic degree certification
reads, “having been found worthy
in character and learning”, John is
a man of imitable mien and
admirable pedigree. This is evident
in his public and private life. And
yes, he again has been found worthy,
excellently, in a foreign land,
governor who is determined to lift
Edo from penury to Eldorado.
It is commendable that despite the
unpredictable and disruptive
political environment, Obaseki has
repositioned the state as a reference
point for good governance.
How then do we sit and watch an
aggrieved godfather distract the
governor? Through the EdoBEST
initiative, Obaseki has revived the
basic education sector, ensuring
improved learning outcomes by
training over 11,300 teachers in 918
public primary schools across the
state on digital teaching methods.
It is painful that in the face of all
these transformational
achievements, the glaring reward is
more troubles from those who
should support him.
Obaseki is said to have not only
gone off the control of the party
leader but also destroyed his ‘remote
The cross Okowa carries as a
leader sometimes alone, he moves
out ahead of the flock and goes out
in a new direction, confident that he
is leading his people the right way.
Perhaps, Okowa’s early
disposition to politics and
administration in yonder years firstly
as a secretary to his Ika Council,
then Chairman, Commissioner
twice in Delta State, SSG, Senator
and now Governor on his second
tenure makes one to conclude that
he is indeed a leader of leaders, the
living example of Spartan lifestyle,
professionalism having
ecclesiastical values, a detribalized
Deltan with a cosmopolitan outlook
and urbane orientation,
effervescent, with an audacious
capacity to tell it as it is: blunt.
Dr. Okowa is a consummate
administrator, who has been
walking the talk these past years.
Douglas McArthur said a true
leader has the confidence to stand
along, the courage to make tough
They still return to
give back to their
different
communities; John
Mayaki, the effulgent
son of Edo, is one of
them
proving his mettle on the global
stage.
On November 20, John Mayaki
stood illustriously on the soils of
Coventry University, London, UK,
where he was meritoriously
control’. The result is what is
happening in Edo State, where a
disgruntled few are striving
unsuccessfully to make the state
ungovernable and chaotic. It is
more troubling because the rebels
belong to APC.
Like a child expecting a Christmas
gift, we had all thought that like
other godfather-godson tussles, the
fisticuff would end with war of words
on the pages of newspapers. Rather,
it has degenerated into purported
physical attacks with Oshiomhole
alleging that his residence was
attacked in Benin City home by
thugs. Interestingly, the state
Commissioner of Police
immediately dismissed the
allegation, describing it as a false
alarm.
Another incident played out at the
convocation ceremony of Edo
University, Iyamho. This time, it
SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 1, 2019, Page 45
decisions and the compassion to
listen to the needs of others. He does
not set out to be a leader, but
becomes one by the quality of his
actions and the integrity of his intent.
Okowa’s cautious optimism
towards “a Stronger Delta” is no
doubt endearing him to the people,
even the riverine communities and
the remote villages. The skyscraper
of Senator Okowa’s life is built on a
firm foundation, boundless energy
and health and a quick mind and a
strong spirit.
Okowa’s radical change in
governance and society comes with
a revolution that is at best
encapsulated in his “SMART”
agenda towards uplifting Deltans
out of the shackles of poverty to
prosperity for all Deltans.
His “can-do” attitude has
inevitably put the state on a high
pedestal. The almighty God has
been with this illustrious son of Delta
State every step of the way. He
knows where he wants the state to
celebrated for his studious labour.
Today he joins a host of men and
women from diverse cultures,
countries, and continents,
graduating from a period of
intensive MA, Communication,
Culture and Media study. But even
though he graduates with a host of
people, John Mayaki is today
distinguished, honoured, and
differentiated, because he had made
himself, his origin, his friends,
readers, and fans proud, because he
made a Distinction.
Reasons for celebration goe
beyond the glorious feat of making
a Distinction, rather it is because we
know John Mayaki and we know
what will follow this achievement.
All his life, he has devoted the
energies of his talent to the
improvement of society, to the
betterment of the common man’s
plight. That was why he went into
journalism, seeking to use his writing
gift as a tool for advocacy and
was Governor, Obaseki, Oba of
Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu,
Chancellor, Edo University, Dr.
Aderemi Makanjuola, Edo State
Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu
and other dignitaries, who were
victims of an attack by thugs.
The attack came as a surprise
because Oshiomhole, before the
convocation applauded the
governor for building on his
legacies. While we were thinking of
a possible end to the rift, the incident
happened.
Luckily there were no casualties.
Oshiomhole could not deny that this
happened as there were video
footages but he instead chose to
point accusing fingers. Till date, no
one has been punished or invited by
the police for the terrible incident.
Recently, there were suspensions
and counter suspensions. While the
Edo PeoplesMovement (EPM)
be in terms of infrastructural
development and sports et al.
Okowa has a vision and a passion
and the motivation to catapult Delta
State to an enviable height in the
comity of states of the federation.
He, being a political moralist
doesn’t take advantage of the poor,
the orphans, the widows, the
downtrodden, the indigent, in fact,
the less privileged with his Godgiven
stature and status as a
politician.
I am tempted to say that his victory
is right, just and fair. And so, it didn’t
come as a surprise when the fiveman
panel of Justices of the
Appellate Court dismissed the
appeal that was lodged before it by
the governorship candidate of the
All Progressive Congress, APC,
Chief Great Ogboru for lack of
merit.
We hope Okowa will finish strong.
*Adaka is resident in Port-
Harcourt, Rivers State, and can
be reached via
collinsadaka@yahoo.com
justice—this he has for long been
doing.
Now, having studied the nittygritty
of Communication, Culture
and Media in a standard setting,
added a certificate in Strategic
Management and Leadership from
Chartered Management Institute
(CMI); an award in Professional
Consulting; Cambridge’s
Certification in Rewiring
Leadership for High Impact; and
Oxford University’s qualification in
Leadership and Entrepreneurship,
there is no doubt that John will
continue to innovatively contribute
in shaping the society and
influencing the thoughts of the
commonest man in the community
for active participation towards
progressive development.
Congratulations Mr. John
Mayaki, we join the host of your everincreasing
fans to celebrate you on
your special day.
•Adeshina and Okechukwu sent
this piece from Lagos.
Obaseki reforms, Oshiomhole, APC: Warnings ahead of 2020
claimed to have suspended
Governor Obaseki and the state
chairman of the party, Anselm
Ojezua, the 18 APC Local
Government Area ,LGA, chairmen
subsequently passed a vote of no
confidence on Oshiomhole and the
state secretary, Lawrence Okah,
suspending them forthwith.
In the midst of the internal
wrangling, it is necessary to call the
attention of the party chairman to
what happened in Zamfara and
Rivers State in the 2019
governorship election. It should be
taken as a warning against what
may befall the state party in 2020 if
he doesn’t do the right thing.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com
Osun Economic Summit: Move to drive growth, prosperity
The resolve of the state Governor
Gboyega Oyetola, the heirs
apparent to the former governor
Rauf Aregbesola, now Minister of
Interior is the growth of Osun
economy as the overriding goal of
his APC government, engineering a
massive shift of the untapped
abundant resources of Osun for the
development of industries,
commerce and infrastructure in the
state. The Oyetola economic indaba,
premiered in Osun, ended last
Thursday and identified specific
barriers to growth and prosperity of
the state from research into the
backlog of Osun potential in
mining, agriculture, culture and
tourism the summit de-generated
very useful ideas on how the
entrepreneurial activities in
resource utilization could be
undertaken and sustained by
development –driven investors,
partnering Osun government to
cause large-scale new businesses
pay off substantially in the Osun
economy.
The ultimate objective of
Oyetola’s efforts at the Osun maiden
economic congress is to drive
prosperity in the state by increasing
the percentage of resource
utilization, aimed at reducing
unemployment, improving
standards of living, redistributing
income and sustaining conducive
business environment for further
investments . ‘’I am happy to inform
you that Osun recently executed a
MoU with a renowned international
mining firm- The Badger Mines –
for the exploration and
development of one of our mining
titles with a signature bonus of a
N100million already paid,’ Oyetola
revealed at the inauguration of the
summit, adding that the state ‘’is an
investment haven.”
Discussants at the Osogbo
economic congress did not agree
less on the re-distributing investment
to make life and living better off in
Osun. Of course, yes. The behavior
of such effects will sure be
augmented by direct subsidies on
land and other investment requisites,
tax incentives, low-interest
investment grants and the extant
integrated physical infrastructure in
rural electrification, rural access
roads, revitalized rail network in
Osogbo and aesthetic urban
renewal with urban roads to
facilitate mass production and
productivity of Osun potentials.
Others include extant up-graded
science and technology schools and
specialist Mechatronic Institute at
Esa-oke, RLG Computer Assembly
Plant, Ilesa, turning out digitalhuman
capital and increasing
access to technology enabled
economic reconstruction agenda of
the state; extant up-equipped health
facilities with O’ Ambulance
*Alile, a commentator on
national issues, lives in Benin-City.
complement to give care to
accidental victims of industrial,
farming, and mining mishaps. State
investment regulation laws in terms;
extant social inclusion expressive in
the Osun Youth Empowerment
Scheme (O’ Yes) as on-hand
invaluable tool to unlock speed of
the gross domestic product in the
state, Freedom Park to spot quality
relaxation, Power Park to supply
uninterrupted power, at least 18
hours daily and Industrial Park
serviced to be the state commercial
corridor; and extant public security
that guarantees safety of life and
investments in the state.
*Olusesi is Assistant Director,
Directorate of Political Publicity,
Research and Strategy, All
Progressives Congress (APC),
Osun State.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com

PAGE 46, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
DOKUBO:
How we are
preparing exagitators
for life
after amnesty, oil
emmaamaize@yahoo.co.uk
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region Editor
One of the targets that was vigorously
pursued when the Federal
Government proclaimed general
amnesty for the rampaging Niger Delta
militants, on June 25, 2009, was to ensure
continuous flow of the black gold-oil- and
uninterrupted inflow of cash into the
nation’s treasury.
Of course, since the early 70s, oil has
largely powered Nigeria’s economy and
provided the fillip for growth and
development.
And when the late President Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua announced, in a
taciturn tone, that the
elements who caused
wanton destruction of oil
facilities and engaged the
military in war had been
unconditionally pardoned
and asked to drop their
weapons for rehabilitation
and reintegration as a sign
of acceptance of the offer, a
deadline of three months
was also put in place.
However, with the
cessation of violence and
the beginning of proper
negotiation with the exagitators,
it soon dawned
on all that the deadline for
the ‘Demobilization,
Rehabilitation and
Reintegration’ of the exagitators
would require
more than the initial three
months.
Things changed
dramatically also with the
entry of Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan, a fellow Niger
Delta son, as the first Niger
Delta man to become the President
following the death of Yar’Adua in 2010.
Thanks to the recommendations of many
experts who worked on the Niger Delta issue
and the favourable disposition of the
Jonathan administration, which saw the
need to establish a full office to manage the
Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta
ex-agitators, the impacted communities of
the region and other non-agitators who had
the potential to go to school at home and
abroad to horn their skills.
Without doubt, the Presidential Amnesty
Programme, PAP, has significantly changed
the narratives of parlous the Niger Delta,
given hope to the hopeless and raised the
skills and capacity of both ex-agitators and
non-violent youths as well as opened the
eyes of many to the need to take up
challenges and improve their lives rather
than continue to fight in the creeks for the
control of oil and gas-related activities.
With a well planned scheme of training,
capacity-building and empowerment
programme put in place by the PAP for exagitators
and youths from impacted
communities, many of the Niger Delta
people have now been able to access formal
education at home and abroad while many
have excelled in academics, industry and
vocational areas that had hitherto
remained unexplored.
Paradoxically, while many forwardlooking
Niger Delta youths have latched
on the PAP to become
experts in the areas of
aviation, aeronautical
engineering,
agriculture, business,
t e c h n o l o g y
Dokubo believes
Nigeria is on the
right path to
meeting the needs
of the Niger Delta in
particular with
focused vocational
and skills training to
develop and
empower the people
to work for
themselves and add
value to their lives
development and
general business
investments to become
masters of their own
enterprises and
employers of labour
and smiling to the bank
in the process, many
others are fixated on the
collection of the N65,
000 stipend doled out by
the Presidency monthly
as a means of appeasing
them not to further
engage in malevolent
activities.
Those who are
heavily dependent on
the stipend and would
not embark on any
venture have also lost
touch with the fact that
the Amnesty was
initially programmed
to end after three months.
What has also given this set of Niger
Deltans false sense of hope is the fact that
more and more elements continue to agitate
daily to be enrolled into the PAP so as to
collect the N65, 000 monthly stipend,
something the Presidency has stoutly
rejected after netting no fewer than 30,000
beneficiaries whose biometric it has
nonetheless been able to ascertain due to
the refusal of the ‘beneficiaries’ to physically
present themselves to be captured and put
in a database.
Ironically, too, the number of beneficiaries
has not declined despite the exit of many of
who have now been given start-up kits and
others who have been gainfully employed
by multi-nationals, private and public
institutions, raising the potential that,
perhaps, the PAP might be transformed into
a permanent institution to continue to pay
stipends to unseen beneficiaries.
But the Special Adviser to the President
on Niger Delta and the Coordinator of the
Presidential Amnesty Programme,
Professor Charles Dokubo, has played
down on the agitation over the terminal date
of the programme, saying that only the
Presidency, which set up the programme,
has the power to determine when the
programme will end.
“I want to say, categorically, that I will
not subject myself to any putative terminal
date for the Amnesty Programme. It is within
the purview of the Federal Government to
decide when it will end. They started the
programme and they are the ones who will
decide when it will end. I only continue to
do the work I was given to do,” Dokubo
explained in an interview.
Dokubo, a specialist on diplomacy and
international affairs, stated that the
training given to ex-agitators and youths of
the Niger Delta by PAP is to prepare them
to be able to set up their own businesses,
employ others and live independent lives.
Dokubo added: “What I have done
differently is quite clear. Before now,
delegates were just trained and allowed to
go but since I came into office, I have tried
to ensure that delegates are given jobs after
training.
“Also, the nature of training has changed
in the sense that we are now providing a lot
of vocational training centres in the Niger
Delta so that our people can easily go and
acquire basic skills that can make them to
be self-sustaining and stop depending on
anyone else or even government and be able
to live a decent life.
“There are some trainees we need to give
starter-packs once they complete their
training. This is because no government can
provide employment for all its citizens.
What government does at best is to provide
an enabling environment so that business
can thrive and allow the trainees to work
for themselves. That is why we are giving
those we train starter-packs and even rent
shops for them at the end of their training.
We want to see them to have functional
businesses that can give them a lee way in
life”.
Dokubo, who announced that he had so
far trained over 3, 500 natives of the Niger
Delta, pointed out that no fewer than 800 of
them had been given jobs by the PAP.
“I have trained no fewer than 3, 500 out
of which 800 have been placed on relevant
•Dokubo
jobs. It is not easy to get jobs these days
but, because of the nature of the training
we have given to them, the trainees were
able to get jobs after their vocational
training,” the presidential aide disclosed.
Although there are renewed agitations
by those who claimed to have laid down
their arms and embraced the Amnesty
Programme to be captured and pressures
from state governments for their
recalcitrant supporters, who have
‘accepted’ state-organised amnesty
programmes, to be admitted to PAP,
Dokubo has rebuffed new entrants into
the programme, insisting that only the
Presidency can engage new members due
to the rising wage bills and other
exigencies at a time the budget is running
low.
It is left to be seen how long the PAP can
hold on to its tough stance and how far
the Presidency can withstand the pressure
to sustain the programme and pay the cost
in order to use oil at a time other countries
are looking beyond oil in planning their
daily business.
But, perhaps, Nigeria is learning fast
and trying to latch on to the global
understanding that oil is a depleting asset
while the knowledge industry holds even
brighter prospect for growth and
development.
And, Niger Delta ex-agitators and
impacted community youths must however
bear in mind that one way or the other, the
Presidential Amnesty Programme which
currently caters for inelastic 30,000
beneficiaries will definitely come to an end
since no country in history has ever run its
amnesty scheme indefinitely.
Thus, those who are currently depending
on oil and the PAP monthly N65, 000 stipend
to directly or vicariously earn a living
should begin to learn skills and vocational
trades that can help them to live decently
and confidently as employers of labour and
creators of wealth rather than depend on
others as liabilities.
Dokubo believes Nigeria is on the right
path to meeting the needs of the Niger Delta
in particular with focused vocational and
skills training to develop and empower the
people to work for themselves and add
value to their lives.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 1, 2019 — 47
Dying Nigerian football league: Anijekwu
tasks ex-internationals
By Ben Efe
FORMER
Enugu
Rangers player,
Ebele Anijekwu has tasked
ex-internationals and footballers
to begin a revolutionary
change in the administration
of football in
the country.
Anijekwu, who is the
younger brother of late Herbert
Anijekwu, a former
Green Eagles player, stated
that football was dying
in the country, most especially
the once exciting Nigerian
league. He argued
that former football players
who have distinguished
themselves in the game
and other endeavours must
now brace up and form the
fulcrum of football administration
in the country.
“Right now what is going
on in Nigerian football is
Eagles at ‘war’ as Ndidi, Iwobi clash at Kings Power
Stadium
WILFRED Ndidi will
be on hand to stop
Super Eagles team mate
Alex Iwobi from doing any
damage as Everton FC
clash with Leicester City at
the Kings Power Stadium
this evening.
Ndidi has been a contributory
factor to the Foxes
strong showing in the English
Premier League this
season, a win today will
see them maintain their
second placing behind
League leaders Liverpool.
On ther hand Iwobi has
struggled with Everton a
good result against Leicester
will be like a short in
the arm in their campaign.
Leicester City midfielder
James Maddison said
Ndidi more than any other
defensive midfielder
has raked in more stats in
the English Premier
League.
“I think he’s the best in
the Premier League at tackling
and winning the ball
back, bar none,” Maddison
told Football Daily.
“I know [N’Golo] Kante
is a brilliant player and there
are players like that. But
actually winning the ball
back and taking the ball off
Ikeme hopes to return to football
FORMER Super Eagles
keeper, Carl Ikeme is
hopeful of returning to football
after he was forced out
of the game by leukaemia.
Ikeme who was former
Wolverhampton Wanderers
number one has made a fast
recovery from the disease
and he is looking to play
some active role in the near
future.
“With football, last year, it
was not something I envisioned
going back into. Now
this year, slowly, the taste is
coming back,” Ikeme told
Express and Star.
“It’s not fully there yet, I’m
not too sure, but maybe, eventually,
I’d like to be involved
at some level. I don’t know if
it would be full-on or fulltime,
but I’d like to do something
around the club.
“The club have always
been brilliant with me and
said the door is open when
I’m ready to come back. Everything
is settled in my life
at the minute, and I’m not
quite ready to make a decision.
“When I decide I want to
do it, I want to be able to do
it to my fullest. Maybe in the
near future, maybe into the
next year, possibly. I’d like
to be involved with the club.
I think I could help in any
sort of way.”
Ighalo, Brume win big at Nigerian Sports Award
By Jacob Ajom
AFCON 2019 highest
goal scorer, Odion Jude
Ighalo has won the prestigeous
Nigeria Footballer of the Year
Award. Ighalo warded off stiff
challenges from Samuel
Chukwueze and Assisat
Oshoala to cart home the top
gong of the Nigerian Sports
Award 2019.
Ighalo’s crowning moment
was announced at a ceremony
held at the Eko Hotel and
Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos,
Friday night.
In Athletics, it was a bountuous
harvest for rave of the moment,
Ese Brume who was the
difficult to comprehend,”
Anijekwu said.
“Back in our days there
were lot of good players and
they were passionate about
the game even as there
wasn’t much money.
“I remember when Rangers
used to come to Lagos to
play against Stores, the
whole stadium will be filled
to capacity, the same thing
when Stores goes to play
against Shooting Stars in
Ibadan.
“Now everything has
nose-dived. There is little
motivation for the players
and the football fans don’t
have much appetite to go
and watch the games, because
there is no talent to
behold.”
“The people in charge
must bring in the ex-internationals,
who know about
football administration. They
centre of attention at the event.
She bagged the Athletics Star
of the Year and the Sports Woman
of the Year Awards.
Brume floored the likes of
Blessing Okagbare and Tobi
Amusan to win the Athletics
Star of The Year category, while
famous female Basketball player
Evelyn Akhator and multiple
medal winning wrestler,
Odunayo Adekuruoye trailed
Brume in that order in the Sports
Woman of The Year Award.
Adekuroye, however, won the
Wrestler of the Year Award.
Other big winners on the
night of the 8th Nigerian Sports
Award include Folashade Lawal
as the Discovery of the Year,
*Anijekwu brothers
can come in and make a difference
in coaching and administration.
“Players like Jay Jay
Okocha and others should
come forward and contest
for the NFF position. If they
are voted in they have the
knowledge to turn things
around.
Speaking on the dwinthe
opposition, I don’t think
there is anyone better than
Wilfred.
“Sometimes you get a
Anuoluwapo Okpeyori as
Racket Sports Person of the Year
player like that and what
he does doesn’t get on the
back page of the papers,
doesn’t get talked about on
Match of the Day.
Ljungberg takes on Gunners job
game-by-game
ARSENAL’s interim
head coach Freddie
Ljungberg said on Saturday
he had not considered taking
the role on a permanent
basis and was focussed on
taking things game-bygame
and improving the
quality of the team’s performances.
Ljungberg, 42, was named
interim boss on Friday after
Arsenal sacked Unai
Emery following the Premier
League club’s worst
*Ebele
dling fortunes of Rangers,
Anijekwu who played
alongside Austin Okocha
in Rangers said: “In football
there are ups and
downs. Coaches will come
and go. The decision to
hire Salisu Yusuf is in order
I believe that he can
lead Rangers out of the
woods”.
*Ikeme
run in over a quarter of a
century, with the north
London side winless in
seven games in all competitions.
“They (the board) just
said concentrate on the
next game and do as good
as you can and we will see
from there,” the former
Arsenal midfielder told
Sky Sports. “I will just
concentrate on those
players... and I will try to
do the best I can.
“For me, it’s about the
team and the club.
and Emmanuel Appah as
the Individual Sports Person
of The Year.
The best male athlete, Sunday Akintan(Yewa
college) right and best female athlete, Praise
Ofoku,(Urhobo college) at the Government College,
Ughelli Relays 2019 showing off their prizes.
Jankara League
BEFORE any new visitor to Lagos knows that the Jankara
Market in the Idumota area of Lagos is the largest market
in the city and sells everything from tie-dyed cloth, trade beads
and jewellery to pirate cassettes, pottery and clothing, he or
she is made to believe that it is a haven for fake goods and
services.
That was how I got to know that there are people whose preoccupation
in that market almost always raided by security
operatives, is procuring fake visas for desperate Nigerians seeking
to travel out of the country in search of the proverbial greener
pastures.
The word Jankara has also been associated with things or
actions that are either not geniune or difficult to comprehend in
Nigeria which has turned into a country of absurdities. A country
where anything goes.
In politics, when our leaders want to cover up their misdeeds,
they will coin a name or slang to deceive the people.
Like describing their way of implementing the presidential
system of governance copied from the United States as “home
grown democracy”.
In sports and in football in particular, the way the league, the
Nigeria Professional Football League to be precise, is run by
the League Management Company, LMC is totally different
from other leagues around the world.
In the five major leagues in Europe which Nigerian football
fans follow like a religion, the English Premier League, the
Spanish LaLiga, the Italia Serie A, the German Bundesliga
and the French Ligue 1, their organisation are near perfect and
very professional.
As their season is on, they know when the league would be
on break for international engagements or for reasons related
to weather like during the thick of winter when playing surfaces
would be unsuitable for play because of snow. And they also
know when it will end.
It is unheard of in any of those serious leagues or even in the
less colourful leagues in the other European countries for any
club to change ownership or status during the season like the
LMC has been allowing in Nigeria recently.
It would be a surprise if Watford which lies pretty at the bottom
of the EPL or Liganes in the LaLiga, Brescia in Serie A, SC
Paderborn 07 in the Bundesliga or Nimes in Ligue 1 to suddenly
lose their place with the league still on and they go to
start campaigning in the lower divisions of their respective
country’s league.
But in Nigeria where we run the Jankara system in all spheres
of our national life, the LMC says it is possible and allows
desperate administrators to armtwist it, maybe for filthy lucre.
Or what else could cause a football management to allow such
absurd decision of selling off a club’s space in the Premier
League when the season has not ended.
It first happened during the absurd abridged league, another
anomaly contrived by the same LMC, when Delta Force of
Asaba, from out of the blues, came out to say that they have
acquired the slot of Kada City of Kaduna, one of the teams
promoted from the Nigeria National League to the Premier
League.
The football administrators from Delta state were desperate
to have a team in the Premier League obviously because the
government was not willing to ‘squander’ scarce resources
running a team in the lower division which its citizens hardly
watch.
That time their favourite team, Warri Wolves was still languishing
in the lower division following their painful relegation
after the huge resources expended by the state government
on it. Those managing Delta football, maybe never knew
that Warri Wolves would return to the elite league so soon.
So the Delta state government found itself managing two
clubs, Delta Force and Warri Wolves in the face of dwindling
resources caused by the economic downturn nationwide.
Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Tonobok
Okowa, who incidentally is the governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa’s
brother, has defended the sale of the slot of Delta Force in the
Premier League to another state government team desperate
for Premier League action, Kwara United because of a threat
from the LMC that no state government will be allowed to own
or run more than one club in the elite division. He hwever, did
not show the evidence of such a threat.
The Delta state Sports Commission boss also disclosed that
he was given an option to choose which club should be sold
out between Delta Force or Warri Wolves by the governor because
of the high cost of running three clubs including the
female team, Delta Queens.
Surprisingly, Okowa was beating his chest that they made
profit from the deals of buying the Premier League slot of Kada
City at N65 million and selling it to Kwara United at N80
million. In all these deals, nobody mentioned how the LMC
benefitted or the players who were forcefully moved to a lower
division they fought so hard to escape from.
Again how come the LMC suddenly woke up to the reality
that no state government should own or run more than one
team in the NPFL? Was it stated in the rules and regulations
governing the mangement of the league or it is just an after
thought?
This is the same league whose commencement for the new
season was doubtful until the sports minister, Mr Sunday Dare
gave the LMC a deadline to start. Unlike the leagues in other
climes, no one knows when the NPFL will end as matches
could be postponed for flimsy reasons.
Decisions are sometimes made without deep thinking. No
wonder, a club or player could be sanctioned for an inapproriate
action and before one could finish calling LMC, the sanction
is upturned and the culprits left off the hook.
And yet this is the league we were told was ranked the best
in Africa. One wonders who conducted the survey that ranked
the league,best described as Jankara League, as the best in
Africa.

SUNDAY Vanguard, DECEMBER 1, 2019
SEE SOLUTION PAGE 5
Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Advert Dept: 01- 7924470; Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024.
E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert:advert@vanguardngr.com. Internet: www.vanguardngr.com
(ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: WALE AKINOLA 08023145556. All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.