12072020 - Uzodinma, Ngige, Nnamani others meet, vow Igbo united front

PAGE 2—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
Fireworks over
Magu’s demand for bail as Buhari defends ends probe
•Lawyers divided over continued detention
•Investigators storm Borno community, comb property – Source
•Grumbling in EFCC over successor
•‘How desperation for confirmation led him astray’
By Emma Nnadozie,
Johnbosco
Agbakwuru, DIrisu
Yakubu, Yinka Ajayi,
Tunde Oso & Nnamdi
Ojiego
he plea by the
Tsuspended acting
Chairman of Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission,EFCC, Mr.
Ibrahim Magu, for bail,
was, yesterday, greeted with
mixed reactions from
lawyers, who said the
Presidential Investigation
Panel lacks the power to
detain him.
They also faulted the
decision of Magu to write
the investigative body
demanding for his release,
saying he ought to have
gone to court to enforce his
fundamental human right.
This came as President
Muhammadu Buhari said
Magu was not immune to
probe, saying the weight of
allegations against him
demanded that he be
suspended for a proper
investigation to be carried
out.
The President, however,
added that Magu’s
investigation should not be
seen as a minus for the fight
against corruption, saying
the approval to probe him
was given following the
preliminary review of
allegations against him
and many of his
subordinates.
He said this in a statement
by his Senior Special
Assistant, Media, Mallam
Garba Shehu.
Salami, IGP
Magu, who is being probed
for alleged acts of
corruption and
insubordination, had last
Friday, separately written
the Inspector General of
Police, IGP, Mohammed
Adamu and Chairman of
Presidential Investigation
Panel, Justice Ayo Salami,
demanding to be granted
bail.
In the letter to the IGP by
Magu’s lawyer, Mr.
Oluwatosin Ojaomo, the
detained ex-EFCC boss,
demanded bail on “Selfrecognizance.”
The letter was copied to
President Buhari, Justice
Salami, Chairman of
Presidential Advisory
Committee on Anti-
Corruption, Prof Itsay
Sagay,SAN, and Deputy
Inspector General of Police
in Charge of Investigation,
Federal Criminal
Investigation Department,
Garki, Abuja, where he is
being detained.
In the letter, Magu said all
the allegations against him
are bailable, adding that he
is statutorily entitled to be
released on bail.
He also reminded the IGP
of his recent directives to all
police formations in
Nigeria, asking them not to
detain any suspect for
offences which are bailable
due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
In a separate letter to
Justice Salami by his
Counsel, Mr. Wahab Shittu,
Magu said he needed bail
because the media had
taken advantage of his
ordeal to smear his image.
Six other demands were
made in the letter to the head
of the panel.
However, interrogating
Magu’s continued
detention six days after he
was detained, lawyers, in
separate conversations with
Sunday Vanguard, urged
him to go to court and
apply for release.
They also affirmed that
the panel lacked the
statutory ground to keep
him, saying he should either
be taken to court or released.
Appeal for bail
is blackmail—
— Owonikoko
Speaking on the matter,
Mr.
Abiodun
Owonikoko,SAN, said:
“The police are detaining
Magu and not the
Presidential Panel
investigating the alleged
financial improprieties of
Magu. The panel has no
such powers to detain any
accused persons as its
functions are merely
administrative. Magu
should go to court if he feels
his rights have been
infringed on. His appeal to
be granted bail was an
attempt to blackmail the
panel and the Presidency
because he knows what to
do.”
FG should
charge him to
court or release
him —Ubani
Former 2nd Vice
Chairman of Nigeria Bar
Association, NBA, Monday
Ubani, urged the Federal
Government to either release
Magu or charge him to
court.
He said:” Nigerians
deserve to know the reasons
he is still in detention. We
need to know the reason the
panel is still holding him. Is
there a possibility of him
tampering with the evidence
if released? In that case, the
panel should apply to the
court to detain him. It is not
the duty of the panel to
convict. It can only
investigate and indict.”
Panel can’t
usurp function
of police
—Obayuwana
On his part, President of
Committee for the Defence
of Human Rights, Dr.
Osagie Obayuwana, said
Magu’s right to freedom of
movement should be
respected.
He said: “In the
discharge of its duties, the
panel can summon
witnesses to appear before
it and may exercise the
power of contempt over
those who show disrespect
by refusing to appear or
refuse to answer questions
posed or behave in a
disorderly manner.
“Nothing of such has
been ascribed to Magu that
we know. The panel cannot
usurp the powers of the
police and it is not
investigating a crime with
an eye towards
prosecution. It has no such
powers.
“The Constitution is clear
on the requirement of
probable cause before the
liberty of a citizen can be
interfered with, for what
purpose and by what
agencies of government. A
panel of enquiry is not one of
them. If the panel has no
general power of arrest why,
should it be conferred with
the authority to grant bail?
One would have thought
that the panel has the services
of a state counsel, especially
as the complaint being
investigated emanated from
the Office of the Honorable
Attorney General of the
Federation. Magu can
continue to appear before the
panel from home.”
He is not
immune to
probe —Buhari
However, while justifying
the suspension of Magu,
President Buhari, said: “A
series of documented
allegations were made
against the Acting
Chairman of Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).
Following a preliminary
review of the allegations
leveled against the
chairman and several other
members of his staff, there
were grounds for a detailed
investigation to be
conducted.
Hence, an investigative
panel was constituted in
compliance with the extant
laws governing the
convening of such a body.
“As is the proper
procedure, when allegations
are made against the Chief
Executive of an institution,
and in this case an
institution that ought to be
seen as beyond reproach, the
Chief Executive has to step
down from his post and
allow for a transparent and
unhindered investigation.
The EFCC does not revolve
around the personality of an
individual, and as such
cannot be seen through the
prism of any individual.
No sacred
cows
“Therefore, the suspension
of Mr. Ibrahim Magu,
allows the institution to
continue carrying out its
mandate without the cloud
of investigation hanging
over its head.
The EFCC has many
good, hardworking men and
women who are committed
to its ideal and ensuring that
the wealth of our country
isn’t plundered and wherein
there is an act of
misappropriation such
person(s) are brought to
justice.
“Meanwhile, Mr. Magu is
being availed the
opportunity to defend
himself and answer the
allegations against him.
This is how it should be, as
is the fact that under the
Laws of Nigeria every
citizen is presumed and
remains innocent until
proven guilty.
We must realise that the
fight against corruption is
not a static event, but a
dynamic and ever-evolving
process, in which the EFCC
is just one actor.
“What is however
important is that there must
be accountability and
transparency and our
people must realize that
they would be held to
account. This is the
building block in the fight
against corruption, the
establishment of the
concept of accountability
and the recognition of the
Rule of Law.
Those who see Mr.
Magu’s investigation, as a
signal that the fight against
corruption is failing, have,
unfortunately, missed the
boat.
There are no sacred cows,
and for those who think they
have a halo over their
heads, their days are also
numbered. Magu was not
immune – and regardless of
the obvious embarrassment
that potential acts of
wrongdoing by him, given
the office he held, may
appear for the government.”
Do not cover up
findings, PDP
tells Presidency
Also speaking on the
matter, the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, asked
the Presidency not to cover up
findings in the ongoing
investigation.
The party accused Magu of
reducing the anti-corruption
agency “to a house of
corruption and a partisan
witch-hunt organisation that
thrives in violation of rules.”
In a statement issued by its
spokesman, Kola
Ologbondiyan, PDP said: “
Magu should be made to
provide answers to
allegations in the public
space that he was more
interested in securing
politically induced
convictions rather than
justice, for which he allegedly
turned the EFCC into a terror
house where innocent
Nigerians are harassed with
trumped-up charges.”
Magu had no
regard for staff
—Source
Meanwhile, a source close
to the major institutions in
the controversy told Sunday
Vanguard that the
desperation to be confirmed
led Magu into making what
was described as false
declarations of seized
items.
The source said: “ He was
doing all he did just for him
to be confirmed as the
substantive chairman. That
Buhari writes S/African President: Corruption harming Africa
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
PRESIDENT Muham
madu Buhari, yesterday,
said massive corruption
is creating huge governance
deficit in Africa.
Buhari said such ugly development
had created negative
consequences that had
worsened the socio economic
and political situation in
Africa.
In a letter to South Africa’s
President, Cyril Ramaphosa,
Chairman of African Union,
•Buhari
as the continent celebrates
Anti-Corruption Day, July 11,
2020, the President urged African
leaders to ensure the
immediate actualization of
the Common African Position
on Assets Recovery (CAPAR).
The President, according to a
statement by his Special Adviser
on Media and Publicity,
Femi Adesina, asked for a recommitment
to the anti-corruption
war by leaders on the
continent to engender an “integrated,
prosperous and
peaceful Africa, driven by its
own citizens, representing a
dynamic force in the international
arena.”
•Magu
He lamented that “the
massive corruption being
was the only thing that was
driving him to declare what
he had not recovered.
“When the court gives
interim forfeiture, this is not
recovery as the court may
have not heard from the
other person, but he will add
it as part of recovery and the
amount will go up.
“Whenever he was going
to do the announcement or
write letters on recoveries or
seizures, he always
quarreled with his staff that
tabulate the figures. He will
abuse the staff and he did
not have regard for their
professional competence.
Once he is challenged by the
appropriate government
offices, he will abuse them
and begin to investigate,
saying they are corrupt.”
Recall that the EFCC was
said to have reported total
recoveries
of
N504,154,184,744.04 while
the actual bank lodgments
were N543,511,792,863.47.
These lodgment exceeded
its reported recoveries by
N39,357,608,119.43.
Grumbling
In a similar development,
it was gathered that there
were grumblings among
operatives at the EFCC over
Magu’s successor.
Sources at the EFCC
headquarters said the
leadership of the
commission is being
dominated by the police,
saying there are other
Nigerians from different
professional backgrounds
who can perform better
than police officers.
The aggrieved operatives
said the former Director of
Operations, Muhammed
Umar, who was appointed
by President Buhari to
oversee the activities of the
Commission, was brought
by the suspended
Chairman.
“Since the creation of
EFCC, only people from
North have been in charge
of its leadership, can’t
someone from other zones
head the Commission and
why must the Chairman
come from Police all the
time? “ the source added.
Search
Meanwhile, a top police
source told Sunday
Vanguard that investigators
stormed Magu’s village in
Borno State in search of
likely evidence to be used in
the investigation.
The source said some
incriminating items were
recovered after combing
his compound.
The former EFCC boss’
troubles started on July 6
when he was reported to
have been arrested by the
Department of State
Services, DSS.
The DSS later denied
arresting him after which it
emerged that he was invited
by the Presidential
Investigation Panel.
Magu is presently in
police custody at the FCID
Abuja.
Why 58 Nigerian medical doctors were traveling without UK visas
By Lawani Mikairu
acts emerged weekend
Fon why 58 Nigerian
medical doctors who were
denied departure to the United
Kingdom, UK, through
the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport, Lagos
by the Nigeria Immigration
Service, NIS, were traveling
without UK visas.
The medical doctors were
going to the UK for recruitment
at NES Healthcare. A
letter from the recruitment
director currently in circulation
shows that the medical
doctors had visa waiver letters
arranged by the NES
Healthcare.
The letter from the director
to the Nigerian medical doctors
reads: “I am the recruitment
director with NES
perpetrated across our national
governments has created
a huge governance deficit
that has in turn created
Healthcare and I will like to
inform you of an important
update.
“ As you are aware, the TLS-
Contact Visa centres are currently
closed and there is no
guidance as to when they will
be reopening. In addition we
are aware that there are no
immediate plans to reopen
Nigeria airspace to international
commercial flight.
negative consequences that
have worsened the socio economic
and political situation
in Africa.”
“We have therefore been in
discussion with UKVI ( UK
Visa and Immigration ) about
a potential solution that
would allow you to travel to
UK.
“ With their agreement, we
will issue you a visa waiver
letter - this will enable you to
travel to the UK and to then
apply for Visa once you are
here”.

2023: Uzodinma, Ngige, Nnamani, others
meet, vow Igbo united front
By Chris Onuoha
high-powered All Pro
A gressives Congress,
APC, South-East leadership,
comprising the five Ministers
from the region, a former
Senate President and member
of the National Caretaker
Committee of the party, Dr.
Ken Namanni, and Imo
State governor, Senator
Hope Uzodimma, rose from
a meeting at the Government
House, Owerri, yesterday,
and resolved to present an
impregnable and united
front ahead of 2023.
They also resolved to support
President Muhammadu
Buhari and collaborate with
the Federal Government to
ensure that the people of the
South-East derive maximum
benefits from the centre.
Uzodinma, who briefed
newsmen after the closeddoor
meeting, disclosed that
the leaders were more than
committed to work harmoniously
with the Federal Government
for the overall benefit
of Ndigbo.
The ministers at the meeting
were Minister of State for
Education, Hon. Emeka
Nwajiuba; Minister of Labour,
Dr Chris Ngige; Dr
Ogbonaya Onu, Minister of
Technology; Mr. Uche Uga,
Minister of State for Mines
and Steel, Development, and
Geoffery Onyeama, Minister
of Foreign Affairs.
According to the Imo governor,
the leaders were more
than committed towards
strengthening the APC in the
zone so as to make it a party
of choice for Ndigbo.
He disclosed that Imo is the
gateway of APC to the South-
East, adding that the ultimate
goal of the leaders was to ensure
that the people of the five
states of the region derive
maximum benefits from the
Federal Government.
“ We need to re-examine
our alliance strategies and
see for ourselves which alliance
trend has paid the South-
East more: The first and second
republics’ alliances we
had or the ones we are having
in this third republic”, the
governor said.
Nnamani, on his part, said
the choice of Owerri for the
meeting was strategic because,
as the only APC state
in the region, Imo provides
the launching pad for the APC
in the South-East.
According to him, the leaders
came to show solidarity
with the only governor the
party has in the region and to
congratulate him for making
the APC proud through his
laudable projects.
Ngige assured the people
of the South-East that those
of them in the federal cabinet
were alert to their duties and
that everything due to the people
of the region will get to
them. He announced that two
rail projects had been embarked
for the region and that
work would soon commence
on them
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State with former Interim National Chairman of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande; when the governor visited Akande at his
country home in Ila Orangun.
NDDC: Akpabio told me to do his bidding
or be removed, ex-MD alleges
The immediate past acting
Managing Director of the
Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC), Dr.
Gbene Joi Nunieh, has denied
that the agency spent
N22.6billion under her stewardship,
just as she alleged
that the Niger Delta Minister,
Senator Godswill Akpabio,
threatened her to do his
bidding or be removed from
office..
Nunieh spoke to journalists,
on Friday, after the final
session of the Senate Ad hoc
Committee investigating alleged
financial recklessness
and misappropriation of
N40billion by the Interim
Management Committee
(IMC) of the NDDC, between
October 2019 and May this
year.
She said no payment was
made by the NDDC under her
watch without the knowledge
of Akpabio.
According to her, only
N8billion was expended by
the agency from October
29, 2019 to May 31, 2020,
when she held sway contrary
to the figure being bandied
around.
The Chairman of the Senate
Adhoc Committee, Senator
Olubunmi Adetunmbi,
had said that based on record
supplied to the panel by the
*Says agency spent N8bn under her leadership
IMC, the agency had so far
spent N81.5billion.
He added that of the
amount, the IMC, led by Nunieh,
between October 2019
to February 18, 2020, spent a
total of N22.5billion while the
current one, led by Professor
Kemebradikumo Pondei, has
so far spent N59.1billion.
But Nunieh denied spending
such huge sum.
The ex-Acting MD of the
NDDC further alleged that
the Minister of Niger Delta
s coronavirus rages
Aacross the world, Emirates
airline has introduced an
air disinfecting mechanism
to enable passengers breathe
in uncontaminated air while
on board.
Emirates released an infographic
that explains how the
newly introduced High-Efficiency
Particulate Air Filters
(HEPA) works. The airline
introduced this as part of its
health and safety measures
enhanced to protect and
Affairs frustrated her efforts
during her tenure before she
was finally removed from office.
She alleged that Akpabio
told her on the day that her
committee was inaugurated
that she must always do his
bidding.
“Madam MD, if you don’t
do what l say, the same one
that l used in signing your letter
is the same one l will use
to remove you, “ she quoted
Akpabio as saying.
Nunieh also alleged that
she was instructed to write an
official report to implicate the
Chairman, Senate Committee
on Niger Delta Affairs,
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi,
over alleged fraudulent contract
awards and executions.
The offence of Nwaoboshi
was that he was opposed to
the NDDC being run by an
interim committee, but she
said she rebuffed all such entreaties
.
Nunieh said: “They did all
manner of things to forcefully
remove me from office”.
She said they finally succeeded
in getting her out of
NDDC for the sole purpose
of having their way, which ,
according to her, “ is to run
the place the way they like
under the present team of
IMC.”
Emirates installs HEPA filters in places to curb
Covid-19
By Chioma Obinna
boost the confidence of travellers
in the post-Covid-19
era.
While travellers are on
board, the cabin air is extracted
into the air conditioning
unit through HEPA. It removes
99.9 per cent of microscopic
particles like bacteria,
viruses and fungi viruses from
the cabin air.
The air is fully renewed every
two to three minutes. This
is as effective as the filters used
in hospital theatres.
All installed HEPA filters
are used during flight. For
instance, in the B777 aircraft,
8 filters are installed, while in
the A380 aircraft, about 18
or 19 filters (based on configuration)
are installed.
The cleaned and filtered
cabin air is mixed with fresh
air drawn in from outside.
The mixed air is circulated
back into the cabin at the
right pressure and temperature
for passengers’ comfort.
Air circulates downwards
from the ceiling to the floor
to minimize the movement of
particles along the cabin. The
air is completely changed
every two to three minutes,
even more frequently than in
a hospital.
With this development,
travellers can fly with peace
of mind that they are breathing
fresh, clean and filtered
air on their flight with Emirates.
Emirates operates a double-daily
flight from Dubai to
Lagos and a single daily flight
from Dubai to Abuja. The airline
will resume travels as
soon as the Nigerian government
gives International airlines
a go-ahead.
Paul Adefarasin, T.
D. Jakes, Creflo
Dollar, others for
Word Conference
he House On The Rock
T(HOTR) Church will be
hosting the seventh edition of
its annual Word Conference
from July 15- 19.
A statement by the organiser
of the event said: “Due to
the restrictions imposed by
the global Covid19 pandemic,
all five dates of this highly
anticipated conference will
hold, for the first time, exclusively
online.
“Participants can join the
conference on the church
website,youtube.com/hotrlagos
and Facebook. The audio-only
stream of the services
will also be available on
the Church website. “This
year’s conference is themed
‘Exceeding Grace In Uncertain
Times”.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 3
Cerullo, man who ‘ministered to one
billion people’, dies at 88
*Oritsejafor, Okonkwo, others mourn
By Sam Eyoboka
IGERIAN clergymen
Nhave taken to social
media to pay their tributes to
the late televangelist, Morris
Cerullo, who died, yesterday,
in San Diego, California,
United States at 88.
Senior pastor and General
Overseer of Omega Fire
Ministries International,
Apostle Johnson Suleman
took to the social media to
pay his tribute to the late
preacher.
“He started ministering as
a child but ministered to over
1billion people around the
world..made such huge and
undeniable impact..redefined
evangelism with great
passion..death is not a
tragedy,an unfulfilled life
is..goodnite DR MORRIS
CERULLO..rest in peace
sir..”, Suleman wrote.
Presiding Bishop of The
Redeemed Evangelical Mission
(TREM), Bishop Mike
Okonkwo, also paid his tribute
via a twitter post:
“My father – Dr. Morris
Cerullo!
“Like a good soldier of
Christ, you fought a good
fight, finished your course and
kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7).
“Our consolation is that you
lived an impactful life, raising
men across the globe for
Jesus.
“Adieu Papa Cerullo! We
will miss you dearly.”
Senior Pastor of Word of
Life Bible Church, and immediate
past CAN and PFN President,
Papa Ayo Oritsejafor,
had this to say about the late
man of God:
“My Father, mentor and
friend Dr Morris Cerrullo
has ascended to heaven.
My heart goes out to the
entire Cerrullo family.
Your legacy will forever be
remembered.
Rest on God’s General.
You will be greatly missed.
RipMorrisCerullo.”
Herdsmen-natives clash: Abdulrazaq
averts bloodshed in Kwara as farmer is
killed
By Demola Akinyemi
overnor Abdulrahman
GAndulrahzaq of Kwara
State, last week, nipped in the
bud a looming security crisis
between suspected herdsmen
and people of Baruten
when he ordered security
agencies, including the military
and police, to dislodge
emerging volatile camps
found in Baruten in Baruten
local government area.
Sunday Vanguard gathered
that some suspected
herdsmen from Zamfara and
Katsina states, aimed at taking
over the areas, built
camps at the farmlands. They
were with their cows, in large
numbers.
It was further gathered that
the Baruten indigenes were
already complaining about
herdsmen activities on their
farmlands which they found
destructive. They suddenly
found camps erected on their
farmlands with large number
of cows.
The farmers, according to
investigation, challenged the
herdsmen, following which a
scuffle ensued and a farmer
was allegedly stabbed to
death.
Another neighbouring
farmer, who reportedly
watched the incident from
afar, was said to have quickly
drawn the attention of the
larger members of Baruten
community to the development.
Trouble loomed before
the state government swung
into action to avert bloodshed.
The Speaker of the state
House of Assembly and
member representing
Baruten in the house , Rt.Hon
Yakubu Danladi Salihu, reacted
to the incident.
Dare-devil shooters storm Ekiti,
abduct three
By Rotimi Ojomoyela
Dnumbering are-devil
10, gunmen
on Friday
evening, reportedly invaded
Isinbode-Ekiti in Ekiti
East Local Government Area
of Ekiti State, and abducted
three persons.
It was gathered that the assailants
attacked a sawmill
located along Isinbode-Ode
road and dispossessed the
workers of their personal belongings
and abducted two at
the scene.
Eyewitness account revealed
that after they left the
sawmill, the kidnappers waylaid
a van conveying a top
government official and
rained bullets on the vehicle
and one of the occupants was
kidnapped.
Confirming the incident,
the state Police Public Relations
Officer, ASP Sunday
Abutu, disclosed that one out
of the victims had escaped
from captivity.
Abutu said the kidnappers
were now left with two persons
, including the senior civil
servant but he refused to
disclosed the identity of the
one that escaped.
The police spoke person
added that the police were on
the trail of the criminals,
promising that the captives
shall be freed unhurt.
He disclosed that the shot
driver had been taken to hospital
where he was receiving
treatment.
Three killed in their sleep as building
collapses in Lagos
By Bose Adelaja and
Olasunkanmi Akoni
wo persons and a yet-to-
police-
Tbe-identified
woman attached to the Ikoyi
Police Division lost their lives
yesterday when a three-storey
building collapsed on
Freeman Street, in the Lagos
Island area of Lagos State.
The state Police Public Relations
Officer, Bala Elkana,
made the confirmation after
emergency responders combing
the scene of the collapsed
building recovered three bodies
and rescued about nine
persons alife from the rubble.
While commiserating with
the bereaved family, Elkana
said, “A constable was part of
the people that died when the
building collapsed at Freeman
Street in Lagos Island.
The constable works with the
Ikoyi Police Division but lives
in the building. The building
collapsed around 3am.”
Our correspondent had reported
that the Director-General,
Lagos State Emergency
Management Agency,
Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu,
said the bodies were taken to
the mortuary, adding that the
tragedy struck while the victims
were asleep inside the
building.
He said, “The Agency responded
to emergency calls
on the collapsed building at
Freeman Street, in the Lagos
Island area of Lagos State.
Upon arrival at the incident
scene around 4am, a threestorey
building was discovered
to have totally collapsed
on people asleep inside.
“Nine victims have been
extricated from the rubble
alive while three bodies were
recovered dead”.

PAGE 4—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
B/Haram Ambush: Pray for our son, his fate
is unknown – Family of missing soldier
ENUGU: Why we are focusing on digital economy
– Chilo-Offiah, Special Adviser on SME
By Kelechi
Okoronkwo
Arinze Chilo-Offiah is the
Special Adviser, SME Development
& Investment Promotion,
and Head, SME Center,
Enugu State. Since his appointment
in 2019, he has
worked to refocus the interest
of the youths in the state, train
and empower them to earn
good living and impact the
state economy. In this interview,
Chilo-Offiah speaks on
feats at the SME Centre, the
novel e-YES initiative, among
other empowerment schemes
in the state.
Offiah
How has it been at the
SME Centre and what is e-
YES all about?
The SME Centre is all
about job creation and empowerment.
It has been a
wonderful experience engaging
and helping people to realize
their ambitions.
Moreover, since the commencement
of my tenure in
November 2019, we decided
to refocus our strategies on
the following impact areas:
Access to credit (Enugu
Loan), access to job creation
schemes (Enugu Jobs) and
access to capacity development
programs.
The Enugu Youth Employ-
ment Scheme (e-YES), is one
of the many programs in our
result-oriented Enugu Human
Capital Development
Loan scheme. The e-YES
program is a partnership with
Wild Fusion Limited, an IT
firm, through its Digital Center,
to up-skill hundreds in
several certified digital marketing
capacities. It is expected
to run for 4 weeks and consists
of in-class sessions and
offline sessions. However, after
the training period, some
applicants would be assisted
for job placements. Others
would be supported
through the Gig economy
where the program would
provide access to jobs for
these “entrepreneurs”, tracking,
and enabling repayment
of the human capital development
loan (HCDL).
Why the focus on youths
and digital economy?
The youths constitute almost
half of the state's population
and engaging them
productively implies more
productivity, positive impact
on the gross domestic product
(GDP), and most importantly,
reduction in crime and
restiveness in the state. Governor
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
(Gburu Gburu) has the interest
of the youths in mind and
the initiative has been part of
his critical human development
projects. We are also focusing
on the digital economy
because we are a forwardlooking
government and we
have also recognized the place
of technology and digitization,
which are obviously the
new global currencies today.
As well, the digital world offers
limitless opportunities
and space to everyone to work
from anywhere and earn a living.
What makes e-YES different
and how sustainable is it
beyond the first phase?
The difference is our realistic
approach and the commitment
of Governor Ugwuanyi
to the empowerment
of youths across the state.
Also, we are not going the
whole mile alone. We are partnering
a renowned technology
company, but the HCDL
program will definitely make
the scheme work because it is
practical and deliverable.
Many youths from the
state may be interested in
the initiative. How do you
ensure that those who really
need it are engaged in the
empowerment programme?
We run an open system devoid
of any form of nepotism
and the training is open to all
youths from the state with free
registration. Again, it is limited
to jobseekers and youths
who are interested in acquiring
digital skills in areas such
as: Advertising, Digital Marketing,
Internet Promotion,
SMS Marketing, Search Engine
Optimization (SEO),
Analytics and Content Marketing.
Moreover, Wild Fusion
is a competent partner
and it is helping us to get the
right people and the best out
The Ndokwa Union crisis story – Imegwu, ex-Delta House Speaker
Honourable Olisa Imegwu,
a former Speaker of the Delta
State House of Assembly DT-
SHA, has since leaving office
been involved in community
development, with focus on
improving the lives of Ndokwa
people. Hon Imegwu, in
this interview with Victor’
Tunde Oso, spoke on the crisis
that once bedeviled the Ndokwa
Neku Union NNU and
expressed confidence in the
latest efforts of the secretariat
and BoT to restore peace in the
pan Ndokwa socio-cultural
apex body. Excerpts:
The apex Ndokwa sociocultural
group, NNU has
been embroiled in crises,
what are your thoughts
about the situation?
Until statesmen, not tied to
•REMILEKUN
the apron strings of politicalinstitutional
god-fatherism,
tribal and ethnic cleavages
mount the saddle, our growth
and advancement will continue
to be circuitous and
stunted. Our upcoming and
potential leaders, men, women
and youth should be courageous
enough to step up the
plate to prove themselves.
They should disentangle
themselves from the grip of
the current elite/political
leadership who have their biases.
Asa one-time highest political
office holder in Ndokwa
nation, proffer solutions
to the controversies plaguing
the NNU?
There must definitely be a
paradigm shift from fascism,
By Adesina Wahab
he entire members of
TWakil Family of Mogbelerin
Compound, Iwo,
Osun State ,are now fervently
praying for the safety of
their son Olamilekan
Remilekun Wakil, who was
among those attacked by
Boko Haram insurgents in an
ambush last Monday.
Their apprehension is accentuated
by the fact that it
was barely 48 hours after he
left them for his duty post that
the news frittered in that his
team had been attacked.
Lekan, as he is fondly
called, joined the Nigerian
Army in 2016 after completing
a course in Building Technology
at the Osun State College
of Technology, Esa Oke
and became a non-commissioned
officer in the military.
At least, that is a better way
to serve his fatherland than
becoming an internet fraudster
that would dent the nation’s
image.
When he was given a twoweek
break from the battle
front in Borno State late June,
what was his top priority was
to reconnect with his family
members and friends. He
surely did that, but no one, not
even him, envisaged what was
to follow after.
Lekan was among the Nigerian
soldiers that were
ambushed by Boko Haram
insurgents last Monday in
Borno State.
His cousin, Moshood
Isamotu, a former journalist
and banker, who brought his
matter to public knowledge
in a post on his Facebook
wall, said after the attack on
Lekan’s team, his whereabouts
have remained unknown
up until now.
He wrote: “Lekan, as popularly
called, was on a twoweek
break from the war front
which ended last Saturday,
July 5. He was in Iwo for the
holiday and stayed closely
with his parents and relived
scary encounters with the
Boko Haram beasts and several
misses and escapes.
“The mother was worried
that Lekan should not go back
again. The love of a mother.
But that would amount to absconding,
he told her. On Saturday,
July 5, Lekan left for
Maiduguri. On Friday, July
4, at the Jumat Service, her
mum stayed long in the
mosque to pray for her first
son, who had chosen a profession
where you are trained
to kill. The mother said her
spirit was “troubled” for her
son’s safety. The father calmed
the mother and urged her to
continue her supplications.
“He got to Maiduguri safely
on Sunday and that was
even enough answered
prayer. He called home and
the parents were happy. They
prayed for him again,” he
wrote.
Later speaking on the
phone with Sunday Vanguard,
Isamotu said the family
members got a call from
some of Lekan’s colleagues
who intimated them of the
attack on Lekan’s team. “Lekan
was part of a team that
was sent to replenish the food
stock of their colleagues in
the war front and they were
ambushed. Some of them
were killed, some wounded
and some are yet to be seen
as we talk. His colleagues
have tried repeatedly to get
him on phone and it was
only on Thursday that I was
told a text message to his
phone was replied. The reply
was “I am coping.”
“Since his body was not
among the corpses recovered,
we don’t know whether
he is in captivity of the insurgents
or hiding somewhere.
If he is somewhere hiding, we
hope he will get across to us
soon. Now, we are praying seriously
that he returns to us
alive.
“Lekan is a promising guy
and is yet to marry at 26. He
studied Building Technology
at Esa Oke Poly and graduated
in 2016. He decided to join
the Army immediately. He
was said to have excelled at
several trainings so well that
he became a favorite for leading
assaults against Boko
Haram since 2016 with much
success,” he said.
His relatives, friends and
well-wishers are on their
knees making supplications
to the Almighty that Lekan is
seen alive to later reunite with
his family and live up to his
middle name, Remilekun
(console me) and be a consolation
to his family.
DELTA: Aghigho, Ugbokoko part
of Obodo community
Leaders of Obodo com
munity in Warri South
Local Government Area of
Delta State have said that
Aghigho and Ugbokoko
communities do not belong
to Omadino Federated
Communities, OFC.
The leaders said the clarification
became necessary
against insinuations in a
newspaper publication by
the leadership of OFC.
Obodo, which consists of
Aghigho and Ugbokoko
communities stated that
they neither belonged to nor
were they constituents of the
OFC.
Their position was contained
in a statement jointly
signed by Pa Samson Amadedon,
for Olara Aja Obodo
community; Secretary, Elders
Council, Obodo community,
Pa John Izuagie; Chairman,
C.W.C Obodo community, Julius
Obah; and Secretary,
C.W.C Obodo community,
Egbemiye Stanley.
They said as much as they
commended the efforts of the
Itsekiri communities in fighting
for their rights in that publication
titled “Delta Communities
To Buhari: Address
Our Demands Within Nine
Days Or Face Shut Down Of
Oil And Gas Industry”, the
inclusion of Aghigho and
Ugbokoko communities in
the OFC was wrong and false.
Ahead of first anniversary, Ogieh
unveils DESOPADEC Tower
Ahead of the first anniversary
of the current Board of
the Delta State Oil Producing
Areas Development
Commission, DESOPADEC,
the Managing Director/
CEO, Bashorun Askia Ogieh,
has performed the ceremonial
ground breaking for an
ultra modern 4-storey office
complex.
Accompanied by the Executive
Director, Finance & Administration,
Hon. Chief
John Obukowho Nani, the
Executive Director, Planning,
Research & Statistics,
Comr. Amb. Shedrack Lucky
Agediga and Heads of Departments
and Units, the
commission’s helmsman expressed
delight at the formal
take off of the current project
essentially designed to address
the problem of office
accommodation once and
Groups present
starter packs to
Iyara, Warri youths
To stem the tide of youth
restiveness in Warri and environs,
Gboko Association
and Pa Matthew Ogbevire
Uwhubetiye Foundation
have presented starter packs
worth over N2 million to artisans
under an apprenticeship
program to empower
youths in Iyara, Warri, Delta
State.
Making the presentation
at St. Paul’s Catholic Church,
Iyara, the Chairman of Gboko
Association, Engr. Frank
Ibi, charged the artisans not
to sell the starter packs but
use them wisely to improve
themselves and the trade they
have learnt.
He said, “Learning a trade
will lift you from poverty and
empower you to feed yourself
and family.
dictatorship and imposition
to obedience to due process
and rule of law, key tenets of
true democracy. A few leaders,
unknown and unaccountable
to the ordinary Ndokwa
citizenship, can’t just sit and
foist on the people a point of
view or solution without their
consent and in contravention
of the constitution we all
swore to uphold. Thus, all actions
towards enduring peace
and conducting an election
must be in sync with the provisions
of NNU constitution.
You actively participated
in the meeting held on June
27 at the Eze Emu
Palace;does that meeting
signal an end to the crisis?
The resolutions from 27th
June, 2020, at Emu,presided
over by the Chairman of the
Board of Trustees, HRM
Johnson Epechi Ulu, the
Obuewe of Emu, is in compliance
with the provisions of
the NNU Constitution, see
Article 12. Anything short of
that meeting will breed a
culture of political brigandage,
thuggery and avoidable
rascality.
You stated that but for the
meeting of June 27 that
Ndokwa East bloc would
have pulled out of the Union;
do you see the outcome of
that meeting as solution?
Certainly, you cannot expect
a people so disenfranchised
by the dilution of their
votes by 50% without justification
or a reasonable explanation
to remain in such
bondage. As it is now, there
appears to be 3 Constitutions
and the mostly so called
amended Constitution is
for all.
He stated that the project
concept, from architectural
design to structural engineering
and ancillary requirements,
was done by the inhouse
technical team of the
Commission. He said this feat
has changed the hitherto jaundiced
perception of the professional
staff for which he is
so proud.
Highpoint of the brief ceremony
was the ground- breaking
of the multi-storey office
project by the Ogieh who also
gave assurance of a quality
finishing hopefully within the
3rd quarter of 2021.
It will be recalled that the
Managing Director/CEO and
his executive team had an interactive
session with staff
members yesterday for the
purpose of putting them in the
picture of the ambitious
project which has received the
approval of Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa.
Ogieh, in that meeting, had
disclosed the start off fund for
the project was the proceeds
of a dedicated account from
absentee staff as revealed by
the biometric data capture.
Bashorun Askia Ogieh performing
the foundation laying
of DESOPADEC Towers, in
Warri, yesterday.
of the training.
The state is said to be providing
training loan. Why
loan and how are the beneficiaries
going to repay the
loan?
At the agency, we have taken
the radical step of identifying
human capital as the most
important sector for funding.
We have prioritized human
capital development and employment
as key to achieving
sustainable economic development
in the state. The Loan-
For-Jobs Scheme is for
youths, unemployed and underemployed
to access training.
In conjunction with a private
sector anchor, we shall
conduct intensive up-skilling
training programs across various
competencies in all sectors.
These newly evolved human
capitals will be retained
by the private sector firms that
have partnered with the program.
We then recover the
loan for their training through
small monthly deductions
over 6-10 months (depending
on the cost of the training)
from their monthly salaries.
Continues on
www.vanguardngr.com
note asily accessible. In the
old Constitution, Ndokwa
East LGA (NE) delegates
strength in the Electoral College
by Clan was 66, Ndokwa
West (NW) 18 and Ukwuani
27 UK, in the so-called
amended and the one published
by defunct NNU as a
Electoral College Register for
2020 Election as per Article 12
termed Electoral College, NE
delegates strength was diluted
from 66 to 23, Ukwuani
increased from 9 to 20 and
NW from 6 to 12. Thus, while
NE Clan delegates were reduced
by 50%, NW and Ukwuani
were increased by 50%,
a clear violation of Article 1,
Section 5, which discourages
monopolistic or selfish political
tendencies amongst
Ndokwa people.
Continues on
www.vanguardngr.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 5
Hurdles before PDP candidate
as campaign begins
By Victor Ajihromanus
As Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki,
prepares for his re-election, he appears
oblivious of more traps that may scuttle
his ambition
He started what was seen as the process of
removing impediments to his re-election by
defecting from the All Progressives Congress
(APC) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
That was a few days after he was disqualified
by the APC screening committee.
Obaseki’s disqualification was the climax
of what was seen as a battle between him and
the immediate past National Chairman of
APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
The disqualification was occasioned by
discrepancies in the certificates presented.
It was a factor the committee believed could
compromise his chances.
Error
Such an error had cost the APC a state in the
past. No serious political party would risk the
implications of such a grave error in an attempt
to please its members.
Although Obaseki and his deputy, Philip
Shaibu, made the disqualification from the
contest look like a witch-hunt by Oshiomhole,
it was obvious the APC was not ready to allow
itself win the election for another party. This is
bearing in mind its experience in Zamfara and
Bayelsa states.
“In our interaction with issues raised, we
concluded that his HSLC was defective. And
based on the party’s constitution, this has made
us recommend that Obaseki is not eligible to
participate in the election,” Chairman of the
committee, Prof. Jonathan Ayuba, said in
defence of the action.
Governor Obaseki’s spokesman, Crusoe
Osagie, described the outcome of the screening
as a mockery of the democratic process, which
he claimed Oshiomhole was superintending
over in APC.
“It has been an unfortunate, disheartening
and dreadful spectacle,” Osagie said. While
Osagiesaw Obaseki’s disqualification as a
show of shame, illegality, and travesty of justice,
he failed to see the obvious.
Showdown
n years past, prior to Governor Godwin
IObaseki’s administration in Edo State,
there was a massive job deficit in the state,
which hadcascading effects on the society.
Countless youth in the state hadtaken to
irregular migration, thuggery and other
uncharitable actsand vices in the society as
the unemployment rate soared.
But Governor Obaseki has steadily changed
the narrative, usingthe Edo State Skills
Development Agency led by Mrs. Ukinebo
Dare as Managing Director. Thus, the
economic landscape of the state isbeing
impacted positively with regards to the creation
of jobs whichhas geared up an
hitherto moribund economy.
Rightfrom the onset, there was
a clear-cut mission by the
administrationof Godwin
Obaseki, centred around
creating 200,000 multisectoraljobs
in four years, an
initiative that has almost been
achieved inthe past three years.
Therewas the EdoJobs Project,
whose early phases involved
registration ofover 200,000 job
seekers in all local government
areas (LGA) in thestate. The
demographic data generated was
layered with an in-depthanalysis
of each LGA to design demanddriven
interventions that
havetransformed the job
landscape in Edo State and
influenced variousprogrammes.
Keyfocus
Keyfocus areas were itemized based on the
core competitive strengths ofthe state and its
people. For instance, Agriculture is a key part
•Obaseki
When Obaseki defected in his desperation
to clinch to power, not a few people said his
road would be rough, especially with the
absence of Oshiomhole, who brought him
into politics.
In 2016, he was one of the most unpopular
candidates, but Oshiomhole’s image covered
that deficiency. Now that the former APC
chairman has withdrawn his support,
Obaseki is back to unpopularity.
He faces grave hurdles that are most likely
to stop him from coming back as governor of
the state in September.
Pitching his tent with the PDP offers him
some semblance of stability or leeway to
succeed in the coming election. But in the
real sense of it, Obaseki’s candidature is like
a structure built on nothing.
By making him its candidate, the PDP has
settled for defeat.
Obaseki is currently like a general without
a command. He has no political structure to
drive his ambition.
Opposition
The governor is still facing stiff opposition
within his new party, the PDP. Many PDP
members area verse to his emergence as the
party’s standard-bearer in the governorship
election.
Except for the intervention of top interests
from within and outside Edo State, picking
the ticket would have been a shadow chase,
largely because he was not proactive enough
ofthe state’s potentials, with its rich oil palm
and other crops,well suited for export.
GovernorGodwin Obaseki recently said: “If
the state must move on after theCOVID-19
pandemic, we must improve capacity,
knowledge and skills ofour people. Our focus
is on creating an agriculture-based
postCOVID-19 economy. After the COVID-19
pandemic, we would not have themoney to
rely on import but rather grow what we need
to consume andprocess our produce for export.”
The governor said this during theinspection of
ongoing construction work at the state-owned
Edo StateCollege of Agriculture which he says,
is being transformed into aworld-class school
of agriculture. The college is
expected tospecialise in extension
services, run short and intensive
courses,and train young men and
women to support farmers in
variouscommunities.
Apartfrom the College of
Agriculture, the state has
implemented programsthrough
Edo Food and Agric. Cluster as part
of its job creationefforts. The project
connects farmers to aggregators of
farm produceand provides training,
inputs and processing facilities. The
statealso has the Agripreneurs
Program and the Independent
FarmerInitiative which also create
jobs in the sector under the purview
ofthe Ministry of Agriculture.
Thereare four other focus areas for
the Edo Skills Development
Agency,namely Information
Technology, Manufacturing, Construction and
theCreative Industry. These are areas that Edo
citizens are learning andgetting better.
Edocreative hub
to build friendship across party lines like his
predecessor.
Many still see his coming into the party as
an imposition by those who want to take over
leadership of the state at all costs.
A former Commissioner for Information in
the state, Kassim Afegbua, is among the PDP
members, who are opposed to the adoption of
Obaseki.
Like Afegbua, who has
vowed to join forces with the
APC to ensure the defeat of
Obaseki, many PDP members
are not happy over his coming
into their party. Obaseki will
need to work harder to
convince such opposing
voices, to be able to get their
votes at the polls.
How Obaseki creates
jobs through ESSDA
Governor
Obaseki has
steadily
changed the
narrative,
usingthe Edo
State Skills
Development
Agency
But the
general belief
across the
state is that
the decision
of APC may
later haunt
the party
Step
down
Those who belong to that
group wonder how Obaseki
the PDP once branded a
failure, suddenly merited the
ticket so much that all three
aspirants stepped down for
him.
“We will join hands
collectively with the APC candidate to ensure
that Godwin Obaseki does not return. I am a
PDP member, but I will vote for APC. A man
with the humility of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu
is better than a governor who fights everyone
who disagrees with him,” Afebgua said.
On the flip side, without Oshiomhole’s
support, Obaseki is standing on an empty stage
without followership or congregation to call
his own. That is the truth. Not a few people
would agree that he now faces his toughest
political battle.
He rode on the popularity and goodwill of
APC in Edo State to become the governor in
2016.
Apart from the overwhelming support for
the APC in the state, Obaseki’s access to
Government House was also largely aided by
the legacies of his predecessor, who took the
state to higher heights.
Oshiomhole made Edo one of
Withstrategic
direction coming
from Dare, Edo
Creative Hub
h a s
beenunleashing •Ukinebo Dare
g r e a t
potentials
in the
people of
the state. T h e
UnitedNations Conference on Trade and
Development’s Creative Economy Report2008
defined the creative economy as “the interface
betweencreativity, culture, economics and
technology as expressed in theability to create
and circulate intellectual capital, with
thepotential to generate income, jobs and
export earnings while at thesame time
promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity
and humandevelopment.” This is what the
governor and the strategic team ofthe agency
are working towards. The United Nations
further listed thegermane productive sectors
which include:
Cultural expressions
Culturalsites like archaeological sites,
museums, libraries, exhibitions,among others,
including visual arts like paintings,
sculptures,photography and antiques, as well
as Publishing and printedmedia like books,
press and other publications, are other areas
ofdevelopment in the state that are geared
towards state developmentand job creation.
Otherareas include Design like interior,
graphic, fashion, jewellery andtoys; Performing
arts like live music, theatre, dance, opera,
circus,puppetry; Audiovisual like film,
television, radio and otherbroadcasting; New
media like software, video games,
digitalisedcreative content; and Creative
Nigeria’s fastest-growing states in terms of
road network, education, job creation,
economic growth, youth empowerment and
security, among others. As it stands, he has
destroyed the legacies of his predecessor and
elevated politics above governance.
Ize-Iyamu
Obaseki is actually walking a tightrope at
the moment.
There are indications that he is not even as
popular as his major rival, Ize-Iyamu, among
the Benin people.
Those, who described him as a political
weakling, are quick to recall that on February
23, 2019, he lost his ward, local government
area, federal constituency and senatorial
district in the
Presidential/National Assembly elections.
On March 18,2019, he
purportedly suspended Gen.
Charles Airhiavbere (retd) from
APC. That aside, on October 6,
2018, the governor was accused to
have allegedly imposed his
preferred candidates for National/
House of Assembly elections on the
party in several local government
areas.
At the height of his political
adventures, on July 3, 2019, to be
specific, he sacked those he
believed were loyal to Oshiomhole
while accusing the state APC
leaders of fighting him for access
to the state treasury.
Governor Obaseki sacked eight
commissioners, Special Advisers
and many Local Government
Chairmen believed to be
Oshiomhole’s loyalists.
On July 4, 2019, Chris Okaeben, was
suspended from the APC by the Oredo Local
Government chapter of the party.
On July 23, 2019,Obaseki was fingered in
the fight against the ministerial nomination
of Clem Agba by President Muhammadu
Buhari.
On July 31, the chairman of Etsako West
LG, Yakubu Musa, was suspended.
Disqualification
Another factor that will make it harder for
Obaseki to win the election is the growing level
of unemployment and its resultant effect on
security.
Afegbua aptly captured the situation when
he said as a solution to the myriad of challenges,
Edo need snew leadership.
How the governor hopes to win the people’s
confidence remains to be seen.
services like architectural,advertising,
creative research and development,
cultural andrecreational.
Accordingto Dare, “This is what the
Edo Creative Hub encompasses,
withblistering ideas on film and other
audio-visuals to tell the Africanstory.
This has been developed through
collaborations with top mediabrands
like Trace, Iroko TV, Tatafo HQ and
Benin Film Academy.
Someprojects executed by Dare and
her team in Edo Creative
Hubinclude: Film production and
acting training for returnees
andother Edo youth; Co-
Funding Edo Youth to produce 10
Edo-Centricmovies through the
Film-In-Edo Competition;
Developing theEdoJobs
Documentary Squad; Africa
Magic Auditions for
aTelenovella; Placing Libya
returnees in jobs with the support ofIrokoTV
Libya
Allof these projects, Dare said, have created
employment for youth inthe sector, as results
are always a vindication. Hence, a
clearvindication of the Edo Innovates
program is the victory at theRosatom Atoms
for Africa competition conducted by the
Russiangovernment. A team groomed at the
Edo Innovation Hub, Benin City, wonthe
Rosatom Atoms for Africa competition,
defeating over 65participants from across
Africa.
Edo innovates
EdoInnovates is an intervention from the
Agency, to create jobs in thetech sector. It boasts
of robust programs like: CovenLabsArtificial
Intelligence and Data Science Training;
Google TeklyCode; Girls Can Code;
Robotics programs for kids;
SiemensPower4Edo Hackathon; HP Life
Entrepreneurship Training programand
Amazon Web Services Training.
Othersare Edo Bits ICT and Digital Design
Academy; Laptop and MobilePhone repair
programs and 3 Startup Incubation Hubs
includingthe South-South Innovation Hub
from the office of the Vice Presidentamong
others.
Read more online
@www.vanguardngr.com

PAGE 6 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 7

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
By Adesina Wahab
In Yorubaland, there is what is
called ‘magun’ (thunderbolt) and
a married woman, suspected of
infidelity, is usually laced with it by
her husband, who probably is no
longer able to tolerate the woman’s
excesses. ‘Magun’, which also means
don’t climb, is of different types, but
the commonest comes into effect
when a man climbs the woman
laced with it and has sexual
intercourse with her.
As the Yoruba would say: Orun ni
ero’, that is the man who breached
it would die.
The suspended Acting Chairman of
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu,
initially seemed to be like the
Did Magu Hit ‘Magun’ (thunderbolt)?
proverbial cat with nine lives going
by events that followed his
appointment about five years ago.
Repeatedly, attempts were made to
get him confirmed as substantive
Chairman of the anti-graft agency,
but the attempts failed as the
National Assembly rejected his
confirmation based on a report by
the Department of State Services
(DSS). Some felt then-leadership of
the National Assembly, especially
Senate President Bukola Saraki,
was opposed to him for some
unknown reasons. Saraki left office,
but the situation for Magu did not
get better.
Findings by Sunday Vanguard
showed that perhaps the major
undoing of Magu, apart from the
allegations leveled against him,
was taking the welfare of the
majority of his workers for granted.
He seemed to have not taken note
of one of the witty sayings of the late
Zimbabwean President, Robert
Mugabe, who was quoted to have
said: “Take good care of your towel
because the part that wipes your
anus today may be the part that will
wipe your face tomorrow.”
Sources in the agency said staff
welfare was generally poor under
Magu. That he did not make most
of his workers happy, except some
privileged few dubbed ‘Magu
Boys.’ Some of his workers also
accused him of delaying their
promotion for years and allowing
his exalted position to go into head.
There is no doubt that Magu did
some commendable things, but who
knows whether the materials being
used to nail him were sources from
some ‘disgruntled’ elements in the
agency. At least we have witnessed
how an Inspector General of Police
was brought from grace to grass
because of information provided his
traducers by a low ranking police
officer.
Magu has
bigger problems
– Amachree, ex-DSS chief
By Chris Onuoha
r. Dennis Amachree left the Department of State Services
M(DSS) as Deputy Director. Amachree speaks, in this encounter
with Sunday Vanguard, on the linkage of the DSS to the invitation
extended on the street to EFCC’s Ibrahim Magu to appear before
Salami panel.
•Magu
What do you make of the manner the
Acting Chairman of the EFCC Ibrahim
Magu was invited to face the Salami
panel on the street and the initial
insinuation that he may have been
arrested by the DSS?
People must have thought about what
happened two years ago when the EFCC asked
their people to go and search the house of a
former DG of a security outfit. When this
happened, they saw security agents in plain
clothes and they believed they were DSS
operatives. And they were actually sent by
Magu’s former boss, Larmode, who is AIG in
charge of the FCID. When you listened to the
spokesman for the EFCC, the first thing he
said was that his boss was arrested and he later
came back to say he was not arrested but
invited. All the same, it was not the DSS that
invited him; it was a panel that wanted him to
explain certain allegations that came out.
In the midst of these, it wasn’t too
clear at that time what happened.
Officials of the EFCC didn’t even have
details. It was said that a combination
of DSS operatives and policemen
blocked Magu’s convoy. Why do you
think had to be invited to the panel on
the road and forced to go to the
Presidential Villa?
It was an investigative panel and I think
Magu also has some blame on his part because
apparently he was operating as a law unto
himself. He must be reporting to someone
which he was not doing. Even in the United
States, the FBI reports to the Department of
Justice.
….and in this case, he should have
been reporting to the AGF…
Of course, the AGF was the originator of the
report and the allegations. So, when these
things came up, he had a case to answer.
The allegations are the subject of the
current grilling of the Acting EFCC
Chairman and we may not be able to
ascertain the veracity, but there was a
certain report by the DSS upon which
the 8th Senate rejected his
confirmation…
Well, I don’t know if the panel is actually
investigating that report. But whether or not
they are going to investigate it, questions are
going to come out of it. And he (Magu) knows.
But I think he has bigger
problems in the sense that, being
the anti-corruption czar, so to
say, there has been this problem
of successfully prosecuting
certain high profile cases by the
EFCC. We find out that many
international or high profile
cases are being lost in court
because of lack of evidence or
improper investigation. You can
see what happened in the case
concerning Hushpuppi; before
they arrested him, it took them
(FBI and Dubai police) time,
and after the arrest, within 24
hours, he was in court. But here,
we are very good in parading
suspects, doing media trials,
and when cases go to court, they
are lost.
Each of these security agencies now
at loggerheads is directly under the
Presidency. What’s the problem?
When you look at the EFCC, you could even
say that it is a department of the police because
all the heads of the EFCC have been police
officers. And of course the EFCC is under the
Attorney General because if they have any case
to investigate, they consult the AGF before
going to court. If you are not following that
channel and you go to court on your own, when
you lose a case, it becomes a problem.
So the problem borders on poor
collaboration…
Some of the agencies report to the President.
This does not happen only in Nigeria. Even in
the United States, they do it. But that’s where
the problem comes in. The national security
adviser is the clearing house to get all these
intelligence services to work together.
We can say
that it does not
speak well
about us
especially in
the international
scene
In the Salami panel probing the
EFCC Acting Chair, there are
representatives of several security
agencies. When you are faced
with this kind of scenario,
what are the chances of
you coming out
unscathed?
If you are to occupy
such a position, you must
have an impeccable
integrity in dealing with
things. Nigeria has •Amachree
corrupt people all over
the place. Sometimes,
you don’t get very clean individuals, so, when
you look at the EFCC itself, Nuhu Ribadu (a
former EFCC Chairman) was bribed and he
brought out the money and confronted the
people who bribed him. If you are fighting
corruption, corruption will also fight back. But
if your hands are not clean, it becomes a
problem.
Would you say the Magu probe is a
blow to the fight against
corruption or a win?
We can say that it does not
speak well about us especially
in the international scene that
the head of our anti-corruption
is being investigated for
corruption. That is not a very
good picture also when you
look at it among Nigerians. But
it also tells us that no matter
where you sit in Nigeria, the
long arm of the law or the
accountability part of it must
happen, whereby no matter
who you are, you can be
brought to question. They are
still investigating the
allegations, but, at the end of
the day, let us see what result
will come out.
Is there any possibility that
corruption is fighting back?
Corruption will always fight back because
some of these people that EFCC is fighting are
billionaires and millionaires. That is why you
have to be very diligent when you are
investigating people like these. That is why we
have not succeeded. I remember when Magu
was once asked about Hushpuppi and he was
like ‘we are on it’. And this did not happen
until FBI and Dubai police arrested him after
their investigation and took him to United
States. That’s an opportunity that we lost.
Because if there is a suspect like that who is
also a Nigerian that we are very much aware
of, why don’t we bring it to book? I
know that the FBI has been very
helpful to the EFCC. It would
have been us instead of the
Dubai police arresting
Hushpuppi.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 9
'System that produced suspended
EFCC boss is weak'
By Chris Onuoha
r. Ivie Richard, an activist, is
MExecutive Director of
Corruption Observatory. Richard, in
this interview, analyses the Ibrahim
Magu probe. Excerpts:
Some people have described what
happened as power play. What do you
make out of it?
I have no doubt that a lot of
Nigerians may have been
jolted by the seeming arrest of
Magu. But so many other
Nigerians would not be that
surprised, judging from what
has been going on for a while
now. Magu as the Chairman
of EFCC has done quite some
good work while in office by
convicting some high profile
politicians, and he is also an
ardent expert in anti-fraud and
anti-money laundering issues.
Magu was the team leader of
the Special Finance Unit of the
Nigeria Police. He was
promoted as Chief
Superintendent of Police in
2003 and appointed the
Chairman of EFCC in 2015.
In 2010, Magu had an
altercation with the Police
Service Commission. He was
The primary
agencies that
ought to fight
corruption are
not doing their
job
warned because he was withholding some
EFCC files. Curiously, the 8th Senate refused
to confirm the appointment of Magu based
on intelligence report from the DSS. Part of
the intelligence report from the DSS said
Magu was occupying a residence rented for
N20million per annum, and paid for by one
Retired Air Commodore Umar Mohammed
and not the EFCC as would be expected. And
this same residence was furnished at the cost
of N43million by the FCTA through a contract
awarded to Messrs Africa Energy allegedly
owned by the same Umar Muhammed. Magu
is also said to have travelled for official duties
in a private jet owned by this same retired Air
Commodore. And that in one of those trips to
Maiduguri, both of them were in the company
of the MD of a bank allegedly complicit in the
case of the money allegedly traced to Diezani
Alison Madueke. And the icing on the cake of
By Emma Nnadozie
He was the National Coordinator of
‘I believe in President Buhari’, a
group that sprang up during
Buhari's first campaign for the presidency
and he waxed so strong that he was able to
garner huge followers from almost all the
states of the federation. Frank Ramsey
Ezike, who also prides himself as an activist,
in this interview, says he remains undaunted
in his belief in Buhari, stating that his anger
is that enemies are casting the Igbo in bad
light before the President.
Buhari’s 5th anniversary
During the campaign of President Buhari
in 2019, it was very tough being on his side,
because I am Igbo; and
most Igbo were made to
see him as very harsh. We
knew that we will have a
herculean task and we
went to a great extent to
correct that erroneous
impression of Buhari. We
chose the slogan, ‘I believe
in Buhari 2019’, with a
view to correcting that
impression and we are
happy to say that, at the
end of the day, we were
vindicated. I know that he
is working hard, only that
those who surround him
blocked a lot of things for
us the citizens to see the
benefits of his regime.
Achievements
He has achieved a lot.
Let me start from the
South-East because what
President Buhari has achieved in the
region, no President has ever done that. His
achievements are glaring and
unquantifiable to discerning Nigerians. For
the 16 years that PDP ruled Nigeria, the
South-East did not benefit anything in spite
of the fact that they dominated almost all
the key positions under Goodluck
Jonathan. For instance, Obasanjo
the saga is that the AGF had also come out to
say that Magu diverted part of the recovered
loot which Nigerians have been questioning
for a long time about what is happening to the
loot. Another story is that he has recklessly
and fraudulently engaged the sale of the seized
assets. Now, the case of Magu has to be
approached with a lot of caution because of
all these allegations are at the realm of
speculation. Yes, a lot of people say it is power
play. But for me, Magu is a close friend of the
Presidency and so is Malami. I
think it is a good that a high
profile panel is finally put in
place to unravel all of these
allegations and see if there is
any iota of truth.
When you say finally,
were you expecting
something like this before
now?
That is what I am telling you.
Imagine that Magu was
appointed in 2015, and he has
not been confirmed. At that
time, it was speculated that
then-Senate President did not
have good rapport with the
Presidency. But now, we have a
Senate that has good rapport
with the Presidency, and his
name has not been submitted
for confirmation even though
several high profile appointees
have been confirmed since the
9th Senate came into office.
What does this mean for the fight
against corruption?
The anti-corruption commission head has
to have an impeccable character and should
undergo a lot of sting operations before being
appointed and confirmed. And if you confirm
an appointee that has not passed those stings
operations, it means that you are putting the
country at risk. That is not in any way to say
that Magu is guilty. But I know that when you
go against people, people will certainly come
after you. But my point is that this issue must
be scrutinized and the truth unraveled, so that
Nigerians would know exactly what is at play
if it is just power play or if there is truth that
Magu is corrupt. Larmode (a former EFCC
Chairman) had similar experience, so also
was Waziri (another EFCC Chairman). In far
promised to repair the
Second Niger Bridge, but
we did not see anything.
Under Jonathan, the
situation was the same.
But, behold, it is a reality
today, almost 80 per cent
completed, courtesy of
Buhari. Talk about all
South-East roads or are
we going to talk about the
agricultural aspect?
Buhari developed the
attitude of investing in
agriculture, because, if
not for it, during the
outbreak of Covid-19,
Nigerians
would have
perished.
Had it been
that we
depended on
importation
of rice and
some other
things in
Nigeria, it
would have •Ramsey
b e e n
disastrous,
but the reason the masses are
eating today is because many
people are investing in local
production in agriculture. We
have been able to patronize our
local farmers; without that, a
bag of rice would have been sold
for N100, 000 during this Covid-
19 era. So, what I am saying is
that the Igbo love Buhari, and I
know that he loves us. But, the
problem is that the communication link we
are supposed to have is not there. It is so
yawning that it has created doubts. They
should make him accessible to most of us
who worked for him. I started the campaign
in 2018 before electioneering campaigns
even started. I inaugurated my state and
zonal coordinators for all the 36 states of
Nigeria. The event took place in a hotel at
Anthony village, Lagos, where I brought all
•Richard
away America, the head of FBI had similar
experience. So, in all of these things, it is always
proper to investigate if there was truth or it
was just power play or somebody was just
trying to be mischievous somewhere.
At this point, if Magu comes out of
this episode unscathed, could it still
be business as usual thereafter?
It will be an embarrassment to the country
if any of the allegations, no matter how small,
is proven to be correct. The truth of the matter
is that a commission like EFCC needs a
character that has impeccable integrity. But
my major worry is not this investigation that
is at play, it is the fact that the foundation of
our anti-corruption drive, the system is weak.
Now, imagine that Waziri also had this
problem, Larmode had it too, and a myriad of
Nigerians in public service have the same
problem; it all tells us that the systems are not
strong. I have been close to a committee of
this government and have opened up to them
that this government is not fighting corruption
the way it should be fought. There is no harm
in pursuing people who steal money and
making them to return the money and you jail
them, but if that’s what the government is
going to do, they have to jail about the three
quarter of Nigerians.
I understand that the EFCC does not
need petitions to swing into action.
the 36 states coordinators
and took care of their flight
tickets,
hotel
accommodation and their
welfare. We had all
coordinators, down to the
grassroots across all the 774
local governments and
powered by ‘Savers
E m p o w e r m e n t
Ambassadors Initiative’,
which I happened to be the
coordinator. I still believe in
President Muhammadu
Buhari, knowing full well
that Nigeria will not be good
overnight. They say that a
journey of a thousand miles
begins with a bold step.
Allegations of
marginalization
What I am saying is that
all the six geo-political
zones should be given a
clear sense of belonging
and nobody should feel
marginalized. We the Igbo
love him, there were lots of
people that voted President
Buhari in the South-East.
So, the erroneous
impression being created that easterners
hate Buhari is not true. There is something
I want to tell you, during the presidential
election, one political party offered me one
billion naira to sell my structure through
one of my zonal coordinators from the
North, and I rejected it, without even getting
a dime from Buhari or APC as a
government, but, because I love Buhari, I
refused to sell that structure to them, and I
thank God he won after everything, and I
know he will do a lot.
The structure
‘I believe in Buhari’ structure is still there
and intact. Any time our services are needed
by Buhari, we are ready to provide it.
Advice on how to carry everybody
along
Regarding that angle, is that an issue
of shortcomings on the part of the
EFCC?
I think it is a part of the national problem.
By the law setting up of the EFCC, if you have
linkage to the tune of about N3million, EFCC
is supposed to investigate it. But today, if you
take the case of N30million to the EFCC, you
will be wasting your time because there are
cases running into billions of naira to
investigate. And that is because the primary
agencies that ought to fight corruption are
not doing their job; anti-corruption is a proactive
activity. It is not reactive. EFCC is a
reactive agency and so also are the police and
the DSS. The real anti-corruption agencies
are the SON, the procurement body, the Code
of Conduct Bureau, the Public Complaint
Commission, they ought to be at the front
burner. But all of these are like they are
comatose. So, the EFCC is overwhelmed;
when every day, people come up with this case,
that case, they only look at the cases that bother
the country most to investigate. That’s not a
pass mark on part of the EFCC. I think the
administration and especially the committee
advising the President should do a lot more
work on how countries now battle corruption.
Corruption is not fought reactively. Anticorruption
is proactive; for instance, there are
some frameworks that should be but we don’t
have here. Number one is the framework that
would make Nigerians to be able to speak out
and be protected: The Whistleblowers Act. We
don’t have the Act, we only have a policy.
Number 2 is the service provider and receiver
framework – Servicom, we don’t have. We only
have a policy. We can go on and on. The most
important one that most countries don’t joke
with at all is the standard that the ordinary
and corporate citizens willingly abide by.
Talking about this investigation,
perhaps something that is important
is transparency. Just like the Minister
of State for Labour asked ‘how can you
expose corruption without cameras?’
How can we ensure transparency in
this case?
This is just the beginning. If you bar pressmen
from the primary hearing I am sure it will not
end without what happened there coming out
one way or the other. But ensuring
transparency would have meant that at least
one or two media agencies should have been
allowed into the place. But in the wisdom of
government, I don’t think it is all that bad; we
have to watch and see what comes out of it.
•Interview first aired on Channels
TV
Those saying the Igbo hate Buhari are enemies of progress – Ezike
All the six geopolitical
zones
should be given
a clear sense of
belonging and
nobody should
feel marginalized
I believe that Mr. President will carry
everyone along, at least this outbreak of
Covid-19 has taught everyone a lesson that
we are one. He has been doing so, but he
should put more efforts. He should put more
effort into security. The police, the DSS and
our soldiers are working, but more should
be done on security. In terms of corruption,
he deserves accolades for his steadfastness
and tenacity of purpose in spite of the odds.
On Boko Haram
Boko Haram has been there before Mr.
President came, and he has been doing
everything he could to stop the threat. So,
we believe that in due time, everything will
return to normalcy.
Convincing the Igbo on Buhari
I keep talking to my people, like during
the campaign time in my LGA in Nnewi
South, I made sure that I explained the
objectives of Buhari to our people who had
not been opportune to listen to news, and
many of them believed and voted for him.
On northern groups fleeing to the
South
What I know is that some people are trying
to create panic in our people, it is cheap
politics. I believe that our governors are
not sleeping. Do you think they will fold
their arms and watch the people they are
governing to just perish? We have security
agencies over there, we have
Commissioners of Police, we have army
barracks, so I don’t think what they are
saying is true.
On compensation for Buhari
supporters
They should believe what Buhari told us,
that people should vote for him based on
his credibility, which was what he told us
when we visited him. He doesn’t believe in
giving out money to campaign for him. We
should not look at the material things we
would benefit from him, what we should be
talking about is the infrastructures and
good things we would benefit from the
government.

PAGE 10— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
MAGU:
How Obasa
created EFCC
– Gen. Ishola Willi
•Gen Ishola Williams (retd)
By Charles Kumolu,
Deputy Editor
eneral Ishola Williams (retd) was
Gnot a frivolous officer when he was
in the Army. Stories have been told
about how upright he was that he had
to quit the military when the rot
became unbearable during the Abacha
regime. So outspoken, there were
instances when he reportedly
confronted the powers-that-be on the
ills in the society and the role of the
military in creating them. Not done
with his campaign to rid Nigeria of
bad leadership, he has continued his
activism in retirement. Unlike many
Nigerian leaders who have benefited
from the rot in the system, Williams
has left nobody in doubt about his
conviction that corruption ranks high
among the nation’s challenges. Among
other positions he held in the military,
he was the Chief of Training,
Operations and Plans (CTOP) at the
Defence Headquarters and retired as
the head of Nigerian Army Training
and Doctrine Command, TRADOC. He
is presently on the faculty of Pan
African Strategic and Policy Research
Group, a conflict resolution forum. A
former head of global anti-corruption
body, Transparency International,
Nigerian Chapter, Williams, in this
interview, speaks on the probe and
suspension of ex-acting Chairman of
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu,
saying the agency was structured to
have leadership crisis.
He suggests how the EFCC can be
restructured to ensure that its
Chairman does not often have the kind
of issues Magu is having today.
As a strong voice in the global anticorruption
space, what does the
interrogation and suspension of the
former acting Chairman of EFCC
mean to you?
The suspension and investigation of Magu
make sense to me because people have always
wanted to know who is watching the watchdog.
Nobody is sure of who the anti-corruption
agencies in Nigeria report to. Everybody
believes the Presidency can tell them what to
do or stop them from doing what they didn’t
want them to do. People also believe the
Presidency can stop them from investigating
anybody it didn’t want them to investigate. It
is obvious from what happened that there
seems to be a crisis or disagreement between
the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF,
and the suspended Acting EFCC Chairman. I
think the suspended EFCC boss took things
for granted to have believed that the AGF
cannot remove him and only the President
can remove him. It is true that only the
President can remove him but he forgot that
the AGF is the legal adviser to the President.
Though Magu said he is a lawyer, from the
way he speaks, I doubt him. I would like to
know his teacher and the university he
attended. The point is that he ought to have
understood that the AGF is the chief lawyer of
Nigeria and has more clout than he had. To
prosecute people, the EFCC head has to pass
his files through the AGF, who would tell him
to go ahead. Magu seemed not to have
understood that and the AGF has established
that he has more powers.
Are you saying the grounds upon
which he is being investigated are
acceptable?
There have been a lot of petitions written
against him. Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN,
wrote a letter about Magu. There were so many
like that, but nothing was done. How could
•‘I doubt if Magu is a lawyer as he claims’
•Says suspended Acting Chairman did nothing ab
they have allowed the man to remain in office
after being rejected twice by the National
Assembly, NASS? They quoted the
Constitution while defending the
retention of Magu as EFCC
Chairman despite being
rejected. They were backing
him instead of finding
out why the NASS
refused to confirm
his appointment.
The lawmakers even
gave reasons he should not be
confirmed. They told us that the
Department of State Services, DSS, had
written a security report about him and,
therefore, could not confirm him. Are the
President and his lieutenants telling us that
they couldn’t find a Nigerian who is honest
enough to be the Chairman of EFCC?
With your experience in anti-graft
issues, what does the impression that
the head of EFCC is being probed
mean to Nigeria’s anti-corruption
profile?
The plus is on the side of the President or
Presidency for saying that he should be
investigated to know if the
allegations are true or not.
For saying that the law
should take its course is a
plus for the President and a
minus for those who had
supported him. Events have
proven to us know that they
were backing the wrong
person. Whether Magu is
guilty or not is a question he
can answer. I would say that
he knows that he has not lived
up to expectations. The
media had reported some of
the activities of his boys, but
nothing was done about it.
There was a recent case
where some of his boys were
reported to have demanded
and given marked dollars
from the EFCC. They were
reportedly caught redhanded
but nothing was done
about the issue. What is
happening to him is right.
Those who
have been
heading the
place came
from the
police and we
know the
culture of the
police
This is not the first time the head of
the EFCC is leaving the position
unceremoniously. Nuhu Ribadu,
Farida Waziri, and Ibrahim Lamorde
left under controversial circumstances.
What could be the problem with EFCC
leadership?
From inception, the structure was wrong.
The structure created a bad organisational
culture. Why was the structure wrong? If you
have any agency, you must separate the board
from the operational people. In all the
agencies we have in Nigeria, any time a new
President assumes office, he appoints board
members and Director-Generals. In doing that,
the operational aspect is separated from the
board. But in the case of anti-corruption agencies,
the board and operational people are together.
Such a system makes the Chairman of the EFCC
or the Independent Corrupt Practices
Commission, ICPC, the Director-General of the
respective agencies. It is wrong. There is nobody
except the President who can watch over the head
of EFCC and ICPC. It is wrong. Selecting the
Chairman of the EFCC from the police alone is
also absolutely wrong. It was the fault of General
Olusegun Obasanjo when he was President. He
deliberately did it because he didn’t want
anybody to watch over him. Therefore, that
created a culture for Ribadu at the time to believe
that apart from the President, he didn’t need to
be answerable to anybody. In the end, he was
pushed out because he was becoming political.
When Ribadu was leaving he too had issues. He
was just a Deputy Commissioner of Police at the
time. When Farida came, she was recommended
by a former state governor. Lamorde came and
was happy to leave as soon as Buhari came on
board because of issues that were already being
raised about him at the time. The culture has
been bad from the beginning. Those
who have been heading the place
came from the police and we know
the culture of the police.
Recruitment of the EFCC
Chairman should be open and done
through head-hunting. Police or
soldiers should be not be recruited
into the commission to avoid what
is happening now. The recruitment
shouldn’t be done by government
but a reputable recruitment agency.
The board should be separated
from the Director-General. The
board should be a non-executive
board and its members should not
be appointed by government. The
South African model should be
copied here. An advertorial should
be in the papers advertising that a
board is needed for the anticorruption
body. The message
should be that government believes
the people know the honest citizens.
Therefore, such people should be
recommended for membership of the board. If
the people now send the names of those they
think are honest, the DSS would go through their
background to know if they are truly people of
integrity. In fact, it should even be made a selfless
service that does not attract sitting allowance. I
know that many people would run away from
such an arrangement if Nigeria uses the method.
If the members of the board are selected through
that process, they can now meet later to choose
their Chairman. The names would now be sent
to the NASS for final approval. What is good
about such a board is that it is the board of the
people and not the board of the government.

njo
crisis
ams
out his reckless ‘boys’
ICPC
and EFCC
It is meaningless having the ICPC and EFCC as
different entities. They should be merged. It is also
important for us to have the Office of the Public
Defender. People have been telling the AGF about the
need for that. The Public Defender should be
independent of the AGF, who is the legal adviser to the
President. The Ministry of Justice should be headed
by a Solicitor-General. We should have a separate
prosecuting agency. They were trying to set up that
before. About 40 young lawyers were recruited for the
purpose and someone from abroad was brought to
train them on the prosecution of anti-corruption cases.
What happened to them? We should have a separate
Ministry of Justice, Public Defender and a separate
prosecuting agency. The police should stop
prosecuting people. It should be applicable to
criminal and anti-corruption cases. For the civil
service, they should have administrative tribunals.
That means that a law needs to be made by the NASS.
What the tribunal would do is this, if someone is giving
a bribe to a civil servant and takes a photograph of
the receiver, he can take it before the tribunal. The
administrative tribunal may not send the person to
jail, but it would make the person pay more than the
amount of money received as bribe. The Ministry
would also pay the whistleblower while the civil servant
is punished according to civil service rules. That will
reduce corruption to a large extent in the civil service.
Code of Conduct
Tribunal
Since 1999, Obasanjo created a wrong culture at
the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT. There is a bill in
the NASS which has not been passed into law because
lawmakers are part of the problem. The bill says that
all disclosures must be published openly. But what the
law says now is that they can only be published at the
discretion of the NASS. The lawmakers have refused
to pass the bill which should have strengthened the
CCT. The tribunal should be like a court of law with
equal powers with the conventional court. Nigerians
KEY TAKEAWAYS
encourage the culture of corruption. Why
should people not question the source of wealth
of a Permanent Secretary who organises a
multi-million naira wedding for his daughter?
How much does he earn? Corruption is now
systemic and endemic in government agencies.
There are so many corruption stories today
that can’t be published owing
to interest. How can the NASS
justify the payment of salaries
to former Governor Joshua
Dariye who is serving a jail
term? If that is the case, who
would not like to be imprisoned
like that? This type of culture
makes the world to see us as
unserious people. That is why a
former British Prime Minister,
David Cameron, said we are
“fantastically corrupt”. Some
Nigerians felt bad, but it is true,
we are fantastically corrupt.
Four professions
If things are going to change,
four professions need to change.
First is the media. If Gen
Williams is a crook, it should
be stated that I am a crook
without fear. I shouldn’t be
painted to look like Pope
Francis if I am a crook.
Unfortunately, so many
journalists, who are out of job
create online sites where they
do public relations jobs and
write nonsensical stories. For instance, a former
Chairman of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust
Fund, NSITF, Ngozi Olejeme, who is being
investigated today, had the best publicity when
it was obvious that she was not doing well.
Nobody ever mentioned that this lady was not
doing well. How can one person own 47
houses? If it were in China, she would be
tortured before being shot. The funds she is
being accused of embezzling belong to workers
and their families. Lawyers are the second set
of people. Lawyers are judges, prosecutors,
defence counsel, legal draftsmen and they are
everywhere. They are the people who defend
the crooks. What we need in Nigeria is a law
that makes anyone guilty once he is caught.
The person now needs to prove that he is
innocent. That will help us to deal with endemic
corruption.
Don’t you think such a law could be
dictatorial and misapplied?
No. One of the allegations against Magu is
that he was asked to release seven billion naira
to someone after investigation, but he refused.
When you have a situation as we have in
Nigeria, something drastic is required. There
was a time someone was identified in Lagos as
an EFCC agent, who allegedly collects bribe
on behalf of the agency. It was reported by a
national daily but nothing was done. If such a
person is caught, what do you do? Are we going
to say that we would be waiting for the rule of
law before taking drastic action? In the kind
of situation that we have found ourselves, we
need new laws that would take care of the
desperate situation. After lawyers, accountants
come next because they know how to cook the
books. Accountants and auditors are part of
the corruption network. The last group
includes religious clerics, who do not speak
truth to the rich people who come to them. If
these groups I have mentioned genuinely
support the fight against corruption, Nigeria
would change for the better.
Police
The EFCC is wrongly structured. Its
recruitment method is also wrong. The same
applies to ICPC. In a paper I delivered during
the early years of EFCC, I told them to separate
the board from operational people. Ribadu
was made the Chairman of the board and I
told them it was wrong. I said he should just be
the Director-General while someone else is
made the head of the board. At the time, 70
percent of the members of staff were from the
police and I said it was wrong. I told them that
if I had my way, there shouldn’t be a single
policeman in the EFCC. I told them that every
position should be advertised. Some people
out there have knowledge of anti-corruption
work having studied related courses. They don’t
have to be policemen before working for the
EFCC.
Among the accusations against
Magu, he was said to have been unable
We all know
that the
President often
says “I am not
aware” when
some things go
wrong. If we are
in that kind of
situation,
something is
wrong
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 11
Okowa, aphenomenon
at 61
to give a proper account of seized
properties. Going forward, how can
the Commission have what can be
accepted as a transparent way of
disposing of seized properties?
They know what to do. In every country,
there is a law that states how to handle seized
assets. This is not the first
time that assets are being
seized in Nigeria. What we
have today shows that
nobody has been
questioning the EFCC. The
agency was just doing what
it liked. Somebody like the
AGF is supposed to be
supervising their activities.
That is why he was able to
write the memo he wrote,
claiming that Magu was
not doing the right thing.
For instance, if we had
Office of Public Defender
and a petition is written to
it, the Public Defender
would have been able to
question the EFCC all these
years. Unfortunately, they
make a lot of noise about
investigation after which
nothing happens. It is
saddening that anyone with
the ability to correct the
system is never appointed
the Chairman of EFCC.
The same thing applies to
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC.
When you juxtapose the Magu case
with others that have been happening
in the anti-graft war in the last five
years, would you say appreciable
gains have been made?
It appears to me that the President wants to
leave a legacy as someone, who wants to
reduce corruption to the barest minimum in
Nigeria. To be able to do that, he needs to be
as strong as Obasanjo, but Obasanjo didn’t
fight corruption in his second term despite
the strong will he had. He could have
succeeded if he did. We have a President who
does not have the energy that Obasanjo had.
Fighting corruption requires intellect for any
leader to be able to follow all the issues.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of deficiencies
in that regard at the moment. Only a few
people are trusted to be able to convince the
President about many things. If not, there are
so many changes that could have taken place,
which could have helped to correct all the
anomalies going on. Sadly, it seems those
around him do not know about happenings.
We all know that the President often says “I
am not aware,” when some things go wrong.
If we are in that kind of situation, something
is wrong. Because of some of these
deficiencies I have pointed out, he may not
have known some of the things happening in
EFCC. It is not encouraging that we have
that kind of challenge at that level. We could
see that from the appointments being made.
The Federal Character Commission was
supposed to have been questioning the
appointments. But the reverse is the case.
However, we need to congratulate the Socio
Economic Rights and Accountability Project,
SERAP. The organisation deserves an award
for doing a good job in the fight against
corruption. The Centre for Social Justice in
Abuja is also doing well. They are taking
government to court on auditors’ reports. One
is hoping that the President can take the bold
step and make the structural changes that I
have suggested. The bill for disclosure of assets
should be passed into law.
The perception in some quarters is
that corruption is fighting back…
Corruption can never fight its own back.
How is corruption fighting back? The noise
about stepping on toes shouldn’t come in here
because many ex-Presidents have been sent
to jail in Latin American countries. I don’t
see the reason we can’t do that in Africa. South
Africa set a good example in that area. The
African National Congress, ANC, is supreme.
It has terminated the tenure of two Presidents
without allowing them to conclude their
tenure. They went to Mbeki and told him
that his time was up. When Zuma was being
accused of corruption, the party asked him
to step aside. Even if they don’t want to
prosecute a former President, all he
embezzled can be collected.
•Anti-corruption agency will continue to have leadership issues
•Magu probe, a plus for Buhari, minus for backer
ers
•EFCC chair should stop heading board of the Commission
•We need separate prosecuting agency
•Why policemen should cease working for agency
at 61— Onuesoke
P
eoples Democratic Party (PDP)
chieftain and former Delta State
Governorship candidate, Chief Sunny
Onuesoke expressed gratitude to Delta
State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa
as he added a new age to his life, describing
him as a phenomenal leader as he attains
61
Ȯnuesoke, in a statement made
available to our correspondent, said
Okowa’s activities since his birth revealed
a trait of a remarkable and extraordinary
person, with superior intellectual talents
and an outstanding qualities that have
paved the way for him as a leader.
He stated that at 61, Okowa had
displayed inherent leadership traits, sharp
mind, strong will and determination,
boundless energy, outstanding
organizational skills and especially,
willingness to take responsibility.
While wishing the governor a happy
birthday, long life and prosperity, as he
celebrates, the PDP chieftain highlighted
Okowa’s leadership history, which makes
him stand out.
According to him, “In 1991, Okowa
served as Secretary to Ika Local
Government Area, 1993, he became
Chairman Ika North East Local
Government Council, 1999 he served as
Commissioner for Agriculture and
Natural Resources, in 2001, he served as
Commissioner for Water Resources
Development and in 2003 he served as
Commissioner for Health.
Monarch
congratulates Okowa,
prays for his quick
recovery
By Jimitota Onoyume
vie-elect of Idjerhe Kingdom,
OEthiope West Local Government
Area of Delta State, His Royal Majesty
Angos Agofure Omasoro, Uduvwie the 1st,
has congratulated Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa on his 61 st birthday anniversary,
praying God to grant him, his wife and
daughter quick recovery from the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The monarch, who spoke in Jesse said
he was impressed with the success of the
Okowa-led administration, prayed to God
to make the governor finish very strong
“May God Almighty grant our performing
governor many more fruitful years. He has
been doing great since he came on board.
It is my fervent prayer that he will finish
strong. We are all proud of him,” he said
Continuing, he commended Okowa for
the vigorous way he had continued to fight
spread of the dreaded COVID - 19, saying
Deltas should comply with measures put
in place by the state government to curtail
spread of the virus.
“The state government has been very
committed in the fight against COVID –
19, as Deltans, our duty is to comply with
measures in place to achieve the target. I
pray for quick recovery of the governor
and members of his dear family”, he
prayed.
Kontrolla Debuts
With 'E Get Why'
I
t is not particularly unusual to see a
young lad make an entry into the Nigerian
music industry with all the buzz
that greets the coming of a new kid on the
block.
For Kontrolla, it is a case of being young,
being super talented, being smooth and
coming to the scene with an amazingly
cool, calm and collected character for his
age.
Making a foray into the music industry
on the stables of fast growing, global feel
record label- Cruz Nation, Kontrolla
brings to music a rich repertoire of life's
experiences and lessons of childhood; going
beyond jive and jamboree to actually
reel out life changing, turning point messages
in his songs, and of course a huge
dose of club bangers that keeps everyone
dancing.
Born Christopher Akhigbe on December
18th, 2000 in Jos Plateau State, Kontrolla
hails from Edo State and is the last in
a family of 3. He had his primary and secondary
education in Benin-City, Edo State
from where the passion for music took flight
in his heart.
As the world continues to relish good
music, we can only tell all and sundry to
brace up for the mind blowing music and
the unique blend of
the genres with
which the coming of
Kontrolla signals as
he Debuts his First
Official Single 'E
Get Why', Produced
by one of Nigerians
most talented beat
maker, Vybo (mixed
and mastered by
Sean Stan).

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
How w pornography y could ruin healthy y relationships
“
In my early teens, I vividly
remember sneaking into our
father’s bedroom from time to
time, my heart always in my throat
for fear of being caught. I was drawn
to a stack of playboy magazines my
dad had surreptitiously hidden
amongst files he always brought
from the office”, said Ephraim. He’s
now 28, has a fantastic job and a
string of girlfriends – but is not
thinking of marriage yet. He is now
a member of millions of online
pornographic junkies. As I
salivated over the `full frontal’
centrefold, with those glamorous
models spread-eagled across
pages with come-to-bed eyes and
staples through their midriffs – I
rushed to my room and
masturbated.
“Only, as a I grow older, my
experience of porn has been very
different from my dad’s. I’m part
of the new generation of men to
grow up with internet pornography
as part and parcel of everyday life.
I’ve never had to pay for it nor faced
the embarrassment of asking for
it. When I get tired of one imagine,
there’s always another … and
another … and another. All I need
do is type the words: `free porn’
into an internet search engine and
there’s be thousands of hits, with
most sites containing hundreds of
pornographic images.
Internet porn was part of life
throughout my early 20s and now
at 28, I’m increasingly aware that
I have a problem. I’m not yet ready
to admit I’m an addict, but there’s
no denying that internet porn has
become a deeply ingrained daily
habit. As it is now, I struggle to get
through a day without at least one
visit to one of my favourite sites.
I’m sure a lot of your readers will
be mouthing a silent ‘Yuk!’ As they
read this and I entirely understand
their reaction. But what they need
to know is that I’m certainly not
alone – I’m convinced that virtually
every man of my age with access to
the internet will log on to internet
porn sites on a reasonably regular
basis. You see, men, by and large,
like porn and enjoy using it – it is
getting caught using it that they
don’t like.
“Today, soft-core porn barely
exists. Internet porn is now almost
entirely `hard-core – which involves
female and male models graphically
engaged in an extraordinary variety
of real sex acts. For years, I thought
my internet porn habit was having no
effect on my relationships in real life.
Was confident I could keep internet
sex and real sex separate. After all, I
was aware that most women don’t
like porn and that they are not the sort
of overly-make-up sexual athletes I
was watching n the net. But now I’ve
realised that I’ve been deluding
myself. Internet porn is undoubtedly
beginning to damage my real life
relationships big time! In fact, I can
confidently say that it’s why I’m not in
a relationship today.
“My last girlfriend dumped me
when she found out how keen on
pornography I actually was –
especially when I made the mistake
of asking her to watch one or two
with me. But it’s causing other
problems too. Although I’ve had
sex with dozens of women, I’ve
had only four `serious
relationships since I was 18 – and
they’ve all ended because I’ve
cheated on them. I’m convinced
this is because using internet porn
is a form of cheating – after all,
I’m lusting after the body of a
stranger, rather than my
girlfriend – and that once you’ve
grown accustomed to this online
infidelity, real-life cheating
becomes much, much easier.
“Sadly, I now realise that the
buz I get from using internet porn
is diminishing my ability to
emotionally invest in a woman.
It’s not that I don’t want to fall in
love, but I’m beginning to feel
like I don’t need to. If the sex life
I’m having online is better than the
sex life I might be having in he real
world, then I’m not sure what the
incentive is. I don’t want to sound
too cynical, but men have always
seen relationships as a means to
regular sex, while women have
always used regular sex to
consolidate an emotional
relationship ...”
The more Ephraim admitted to
his ‘problem’ with brutal honesty,
the more apparent is the toxic effect
of pornography on relationships
today. One wonders why young
marriages don’t last, why infidelity
is no longer viewed with outrage
and why romance has lost a bit of
its magic. Why was Ephraim being
this honest? He explained: “I think
it’s about time we were all aware
of the dangers of too much porn. I
may be a slightly heavier
consumer of porn than some of my
peers, but I’m not atypical, and I
think it’s important that women,
parents and society generally are
aware of that. The well-behaved
teenager your 17-year-old
daughter has just brought home for
the first time will have seen things
online that you barely knew were
legal or physically possible. So too
will the good-looking hunk from
accounts who’s just flashed you a
smile across the office canteen, or
will the handsome divorcee that
you’ve just met through a friend
bent on match-making.
“Internet porn is worryingly
widespread and has become an
element of the modern world. I don’t
expect women to understand or
approve of that, but it’s important
that they know it. Men are changing,
and while I don’t know what the
answer may be, I do know what the
problem is ...”
A bit of black magic!
(Humour)
“Doctor, doctor”, said the
anguished white man. “I can’t satisfy
my wife in bed any more, what shall
I do?” The doctor sent him along to
see a big black man who specialised
in helping couples with this type of
problems. “When you’re making
love”, he was told, “the black man
will wave a fan above your heads
and this will stimulate your wife into
having an orgasm”.
So the scene was set for the
following evening. As the black an
waved the fan, the couple did their
bit, but alas the woman remained
unsatisfied. Heartbroken, the
embarrassed husband said to the
black man, “I bet you couldn’t do
any better!” So they exchanged
places and, as the husband waved
the fan, the couple writhed beneath
him,. In no time at all, the woman
had a marvellous orgasm, and the
husband told the black man bitterly,
“you see, that’s how you’re supposed
to wave the fun!”
Lucky wife! (Humour)
The simple-minded men stopped
for a meal at a motor way cafe and
discovered it was running a special
competition. If you picked the correct
number from that day’s menu, you
won a session of free sex. “Come on
Jude, let’s have a go!”, urged Dan.
“I’ll have number 14, the tomato
soup”, said Dan, “and my mate will
have number 5, eggs and chips”.
The waiter took down the order
and looked at their expectant faces.
“I’m sorry”, he said, shaking his
head, “you’ve picked the wrong
numbers”. During the following two
weeks, the men went back on six
occasions but failed every time to
pick the winner. “I think this whole
competition is fake!”, complained
Jude on his seventy try. “Oh no!”
replied Dan, “It’s on the level. My
wife won twice last week”.
Joyfulhomes2015@gmail.com
When faith isn’t enough
Brethren, I’m sure you are still
expressing gratitude to God
that kept you alive till now.
You made it to the month of
perfection, the month of divine
fulfilment. The beginning of the
second half of the year. That we
made it, isn’t by our power but for
the mercy of God.
Lamentations 3 vs. 22 (KJV)“ It is
of the LORD’S mercies that we are
not consumed, because his
compassions fail not”.
Verse three of that chapter tells us
more about the mercies of the Lord.
It states: “They are new every
morning and great is thy
faithfulness”.
It is on this note of his mercies that
I start today’s edition of Joyful
homes.
I share with you the testimony of a
lady, Funmilayo . She has been
married for 10 years without
children. Last month, God showed
up for her and she had a set of triplets;
two girls and a boy.
Also last week, I received the news
of a lady, who had also been married
for 10 years that God blessed with a
baby boy.
Brethren, I have also heard stories
of women who gave up because the
doctor declared them “ infertile”.
Some women have confined
themselves to the state of barrenness
based on the scientific
pronouncement of the doctor.
Brethren, ask yourself, did the doctor
create you? The one that didn’t
create you, cannot have the final say
over your life. You may listen to
what the doctor said to you but the
crucial issue is do you agree? If your
spirit agrees with it, then you are
unlikely to have a miracle but if you
disagree physically and in spirit, then
you are bound to receive a miracle.
Show me a doctor that can tell you
how and when he will die.
If you are sure that the doctor didn’t
create you, then, trust God. When we
talk about trusting God, it is not about
faith declaration alone. Faith
declaration without action taken in
faith may never produce miracles.
You need to build you faith and
demonstrate it and this is one of the
reasons testimonies are a apart of
church services.
Only believers can act in faith. You
may ask yourself, what is she saying?
If you believe that you will
overcome barrenness, declare to
yourself , “I am the mother of Samuel,
I am a mother of twins, I am a mother
of triplets”.
Whenever, you pray you must
declare this and the hosts of heaven
will honour your words in Jesus name.
Let me tell you that no doctor can
declare a womb closed. Only God
can.
Have you ever reminded yourself
of the words of God for you in
Deuteronomy 7 vs. 14 “ Thou shalt be
blessed above all people: there shall
not be male or female barren among
you , or among your cattle”.
If you believe God’s words which
is further affirmed in Exodus 23 vs.
26 “ There shall nothing cast their
young, nor be barren in thy land:
the number of thy days I will fulfill”.
In other translations, it simply
means, you will not suffer
miscarriages. You will complete
your pregnancy term and put to bed
safely. Anyone who has put to bed
a baby cannot be called barren.
May I share with you the story of
a couple. They went to see a popular
gynecologist in Lagos. He told
them that the chances of the wife
having a baby is remote because,
she wasn’t producing quality eggs
and may never produce such eggs
because, of her age. The couple
left with the woman dejected but
her husband said to her, “ The
doctor is not God”.
As I write today, the same woman
is a mother of three children, a boy
and a set of twins.
Why are we sure that only God
has the final say? Our authority is
found in Matthew 19 vs. 26: “ But
Jesus beheld them, and said unto
them, With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are
possible”.
The problem with many
Christians today, is that we go to
church hear the word of God but
do not act in faith.
Acting in faith might make you
look stupid but what is stupid to
man is a path to your miracle.
Some years ago, a popular
church told couples that are been
barren to go and buy baby cots .
This came as a Word of Knowledge
from the Lord. Some couples did,
some didn’t. A particular woman
bought a cot and put baby clothes
inside. Every day, while praying she
will say “ my baby will sleep in this
cot. I will not give it out to
anybody”.
Artisans who had cause to work
You need to build you
faith and demonstrate it
and this is one of the
reasons testimonies
are a apart of church
services
in their bedroom saw the baby cot.
Many of them must have left saying
to themselves that the woman was
not normal.
Within a few years, they knew the
meaning of her action when the
woman who had been barren for
over 20 years gave birth to a baby
boy.
Brethren, do not be discouraged.
As human beings, we are
sometimes low in spirit but couples
should encourage each other in the
Lord.
When we pray, the words we utter
must reflect our faith in God. We
must remind God of his word, that
we shall not be barren. Remind the
Lord of the blessings pronounced
in Genesis 1 vs. 28: “ And God blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over
every thing that moveth upon the
earth”.
Brethren, you have heard of the
words of the Lord in Romans 10 vs.
17: “ So then faith cometh by
hearing and hearing by the word of
God”.
What are the words you hear? Are
you truly hearing the word of God?
The words that you hear, do they have
their roots in the Holy Bible? You
are the only one that can answer this.
If the words you hear are not in
agreement with the word of God,
you may not have your faith lifted
up and may be far from receiving a
miracle.
Are the words you hear like those
mentioned in Mark 4 vs. 14&15: ? “
The sower soweth the word. And
these are they by the way side, where
the word is sown; but when they have
heard, Satan cometh immediately,
and taketh away the word that was
sown in their hearts”.
Or are they like the words that fell
on good ground like the word in
verse 20 of the same chapter? Mark
4 vs. 20 states: “ And these are they
which are sown on good ground;
such as hear the word, and receive it,
and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold
, some sixty and some an hundred”.
Brethren, the words that your spirit
receives is what will manifest
physically. If your spirit accepts that
you are a mother, no devil can stop
you.
Receive the word, act in faith, you
will see the end of that challenge
sooner than you expect.
As it is for childbearing matters ,
so it is for all other challenges of life.
Be it poverty, indebtedness, sickness,
loneliness, failure etc. .
God is able to put an end to
whatever makes you to shed tears of
sorrow.
Welcome to the month of
perfection. Welcome to the month a
new beginning.
My prayer is that the Lord will visit
us this month and meet us at the point
of our needs in Jesus name.
Shalom!

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 13
Tinubu and the Latter-Day Nostradamus
By Tunde Rahman
ome people never learn but I
Swill tender to them a word of
sound advice in hope that some
degree of civility and good sense will
find its way to them. It is not wise to
continuously pass judgment on a
person or to repeatedly predict a
person’s demise, politically or
otherwise. Worst, are those who lurk
in the shadows to pass calumny and
stir falsehood against someone
because you believe that person may
one day seek the same high office
you so irrationally and desperately
covet. The same measure you use
shall ultimately be weighed against
you and you shall be found lacking.
Political carpetbaggers and their
hired mercenaries have strained and
tugged so hard to paint recent
developments within the All
Progressives Congress to be what
they are not. With the legal disputes
regarding the national
chairmanship, the party was
certainly going through a rough
patch. However, we know much of
that turbulence was due to the covert
machinations of a troubled minority
in the party that wanted to take over
the party leadership. Since they did
not have the requisite popularity
within the party, they tried to do
through the court what they could
not achieve through the workings of
internal democracy. They learned
this tack from their former mentor
Atiku Abubakar who used the same
ruse to try to grab though specious
legal argument what President
Muhammadu Buhari handily won
through the democratic ballot. Victor
Giadom would never have laid
claim to the APC chairmanship if
not that certain figures were
instigating his actions from their
lairs in the shadows. He was not
really an independent leadership
figure. He was but the improvised
explosive device of those who paid
him to do their destructive work so
that they may seem to keep their
hands clean. Their motives were still
soiled and sordid.
The turmoil this minority caused
indeed was hurting the party. The
president waited patiently hoping
matters would be resolved. However,
when it became clear that the
usurpers would not stop, he wisely
determined to put an end to their
penchant for confusion.
The action taken at the recent NEC
meeting placed the party on an even
keel. Victor Giadom gloatingly
waltzed into the meeting thinking
•Tinubu
himself chairman of the party. He
was escorted out before the meeting
ended. The court cases were to end.
The party was to stand united
behind the Edo primary winner,
Osagie Ise-Iyamu. A caretaker
committee comprised of leading and
highly respected party members was
formed to guide the party through
elections in Edo and Ondo states and
to schedule a national convention in
6 months.
The minority usurpers were denied
the core of what they had been
plotting to achieve. Party leadership
was moved as far from their hands
as ever. They reacted predictably by
vainly depicting this as a setback for
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. But Asiwaju’s
statement on the matter set the
record straight. If this were a defeat,
it is one of those defeats so
advantageous as to be
indistinguishable from victory. In
their dissections of events, some
writers have, however, attached
themselves to the empty conjecture
and propaganda of the anti-party
usurpers.
Posturing as latter-day
Nostradamus, these people are not
trying to predict what will be; they
are predicting what their sponsors
want to happen. They see only what
they and their biases have been
financed to see. What they claim to
be their crystal ball are nothing but
their leaden hearts and dense
ambitions. They see nothing because
they cannot see beyond themselves.
This brings us to the existential
question: why all the furore over
Tinubu? They want to rule this nation
but deep down they know the nation
does not really want them. They also
know that their ambitions far
outpace their abilities. They have no
qualms in making a mash of the
party because they merely view the
party as a platform for their
unbridled selfishness.
Tinubu on the other hand is
different. He joined with President
Buhari to form this party. He sees
the party as an essential institution
to provide Nigerians the democratic
good governance and progressive
reform needed. He also established
a fine track record as a creative and
innovative governor, one of the
nation’s best and most productive.
Those who snipe at him
from the shadows and
through proxies know
they cannot equal his
resume nor do they have
his knowledge and
vision. Thus, they must
do the only thing they
have mastered in their
long careers. They must
seek to destroy a man
who has in one way or
another helped them
during their times of
need. While such
destructive talents may
seem potent in the shortterm,
they offer no
enduring solutions to
building a great nation
or establishing a vibrant
political party.
These people are so scared of
Tinubu’s shadow that they constantly
attack him although he has yet to
declare an interest in the 2023 race.
As such, this ambition exists only in
the imagination of his enemies.
Tinubu has shown himself to be
clearly of a different personal
constitution than these people. He
does not engage in backbiting and
sniping. These people do these things
because it is all they now. At this
juncture, with so many challenges
facing us, these people should be too
occupied with the daily welfare of
the nation than in what might
happen three years from now. Their
perception of time and what is
important are sorely warped. This
should give the public pause as to
whether they want such people to
lead them.
While believing the expression and
naked pursuit of any presidential
ambition would be highly distasteful
at the moment, Asiwaju has devoted
himself to trying to assist the party
and the administration. Showing a
supportive relationship with
President Buhari, he has offered
policy suggestions and ideas during
the COVID-19 crisis. Abridged
versions of some of these ideas have
been published to help explain to the
population the need for novel
approaches during this uncertain
time.
While Asiwaju has devoted himself
to such constructive efforts, his
assailants have done nothing of the
kind for they cannot offer what they
do not have. What they lack is
statesmanship and economic
knowledge. What they have in
abundance are cheap tricks,
intrigues and cynical politics that
speak of nothing but their individual
ambitions. Such
people are not of the
kind that Nigeria
needs, particularly
now.
Tinubu has spent
his time trying to
better the lot of the
average person
during this
straitened moment
of global
emergency. These
others give not a
thought to the
common person.
They would rather
sacrifice the
collective interests of
all Nigerians to
satisfy their thirst.
Whatever you want to say about
Tinubu you cannot say he has been
afflicted with this malady. He has
sacrificed his own ambitions more
than these other men ever could.
As a last ditch effort, the usurpers
and their hired columnists have tried
to create some rupture between
President Buhari and Tinubu. Their
efforts, though creative, have not
worked. They have tried to stoke the
President by saying Tinubu is trying
to undermine him. They have tried
to stoke Tinubu by saying the
President is attacking him. The two
men and their political partners are
wiser than the conspirators think. The
President sees how hard Tinubu has
worked and, I believe, knows the
sincerity of Tinubu’s suggestions and
recommendations. Tinubu trusts
that the President is always seeking
the national interests. Such a
foundation cannot be destroyed by
unfounded rumour and tales.
From his response to President
Buhari’s intervention, Asiwaju clearly
demonstrated his support. Not only
did he support the decisions taken
by President Buhari to restore order,
he restated his unwavering belief in
the Buhari administration to
continue to reform this nation for the
better.
This is not the response of a man
bemoaning his fate. Moreover, the
APC Caretaker Committee led by
Governor Mai Buni had visited
Asiwaju Tinubu and former Interim
National Chairman of the party,
Chief Bisi Akande. During their visit,
the panel thanked Asiwaju for his
support of the NEC decisions.
Governor Buni stated that the visit
was to seek support, guidance and
wise counsel for the committee’s
assignment.
Those mindlessly pursuing a 2023
presidential ambition at present to
the point of fomenting disunity to
gain control of the party structure
need therapy. They have been driven
to mad obsession by their
ambitions. Asiwaju has taken a
different path.
In his most recent statement,
Asiwaju said: “To those who have
been actively bleating how the
President’s actions and the NEC
meeting have ended my purported
2023 ambitions, I seek your pity. I
am but a mere mortal who does not
enjoy the length of foresight or
political wisdom you profess to have.
Already, you have assigned colourful
epitaphs to the 2023 death of an
alleged political ambition that is not
yet even born.
“At this extenuating moment with
COVID-19 and its economic fallout
hounding us, I cannot see as far into
the distance as you…I have devoted
the last few months to thinking of
policies that may help the nation in
the here and now. What I may or may
not do 3 years hence seems too
remote given present exigencies”.
In addition to thinking of policies
and ideas that can help the country
at present, Asiwaju, at every point,
has been counseling Nigerians to
stay safe by engaging in personal
hygiene and embracing social
distancing measures. Only in this
way may we get through this
moment without adding to the
tragedies that have already come.
Every other matter including what
happens in 2023 is for the future and
as such in the hands of God, not the
clever devices of man.
*Rahman, former Editor
Thisday on Sunday
Newspaper, is Media Aide to
Asiwaju Tinubu.
Adamu Adamu and President Buhari’s education agenda
By Olive Obi - Udeh
n his second term,
IPresidentMuhammadu Buhari
nominated nine priority areas for his
administration.Education is one of
these areas. Others are: building a
thriving andsustainable economy,
enlarging agricultural output for
food security andexport, attaining
energy sufficiency in power and
petroleum
products,
expandingtransport and other
infrastructural development,
expanding
business
growth,entrepreneurship and
industrialization, enhancing social
inclusion andreduction of poverty,
providing affordable healthcare,
building systems tofight corruption
and improve security for all. In the
education sector, thePresident also
set a sector agenda otherwise called
the mandate of the Ministryof
Education, namely:
Ensuring countrywide compliance
with the President’s June12
Declaration on the enforcement of
free and compulsory basic education
forthe first 9-years of schooling;
Implementing advocacy and
prioritizefunding to increase
enrolment and completion rates in
primary and secondaryeducation;
Implementing every child counts
STEAM curriculum; Executingwith
all the states a proactive teacher
training plan; Updatingnational
minimum standards for education
outcomes; Reviewingthe operation
of specialized education funds and
implementing reforms tooptimize
their benefit; Developing
curriculum for promoting values that
shapecitizens’ mindset and
character; Preparing at least
sixuniversities to be among the first
1,000 universities in the world;
Activelycollaborating with the
private sector to create a large
number of well-payingjobs for
Nigerian youths; and
Implementing strategy for the
realizationof the President’s June 12
promise of lifting 100 million people
out of povertyin the next 10 years.
Mallam Adamu Adamu, a
consistent advocate of
educationalreform in his Daily Trust
column was re-appointed Minister
of Education toexecute the above 10-
point agenda of the President, which
if successfully done,would change
the face of education in the country
and by extension the
economicfortunes of the nation. The
10-point agenda constitutes a
performance bondbetween the
minister and the President, ditto the
nation. The Minister
largelyprosecutes the President’s
agenda through the 22 agencies of
his ministry. Thiswrite up focuses on
how the Minister has prosecuted or
executed the first itemof the
agenda:
Ensuring
countrywidecompliance with the
President’s June 12 Declaration on
the enforcement of freeand
compulsory basic education for the
first 9-years of the Nigerian child.
The Universal Basic Education
Commission (UBEC) helps
theMinister to deal with the first item
of the agenda – the subject of
thisarticle. By the 2004 Universal
Basic Education Commission Act,
UBEC has theresponsibility of
assisting states, local government
•Mallam Adamu Adamu
areas and communities todischarge
their obligations of funding primary
and secondary education.
Localgovernments have the
responsibility of funding primary
school education whilestate
governments, with the exception of
Federal Government Collages
otherwisecalled unity schools, have
the responsibility of funding
secondary schooleducation. UBEC
was established to assist both local
and state governments becausethey
were not meeting their funding
obligations. What this means is that
theprimary obligation of funding
primary and secondary education
remains withlocal and state
governments even after the
establishment of UBEC. UBEC is
thereforean intervention agency for
the realization of access by all
Nigerian childrento qualitative,
functional and free basic education.
Adamu Adanu therefore hasto push
These
people are
so scared of
Tinubu’s
shadow
that they
constantly
attack him
President Buhari’s June 12
Declaration through the agency of
UBEC.
Pursuant to actualizingthe
President’s first agenda item, Adamu
Adamu pursues implementation
ofNational Enrolment Drive
Activities across the thirty-six States
of thefederation and the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT). The Ministry
of Educationthrough UBEC equally
runs advocacy and sensitization
programs involvingpolitical,
religious and community leaders on
the reduction of Out-of-School Boy
Child Syndrome, earlychildhood
education and Girl Child education.
Because of the attention given
toexpansion of access to education,
the number of Out of School
Children – the so-called Oosch,
dropped from 12,700,000 to
10,193,918within the first two years
of Adamu Adamu serving as
Minister of Education in
PresidentBuhari’s first. This drop
represented 19 percent reduction in
the number of Out of School
Children in the country.This is a
positive development that can be
described
as
significant,unprecedented and
momentous. To achieve this, the
Ministry under Adamu
Adamuconducted a National
Personnel Audit (NPA) field work and
mop-up activities inall public and
private schools in Nigeria to
ascertain the number of Out of
School Children in the thirtysixstates
of the federation and the
FCT. His ministry has also carried
out highlevel meetings with the
organized private sector in Lagos,
and coordinatedenrolment drive at
the national, state and local
government levels.
To create a conduciveenvironment
for teaching and learning, the
Ministry of Education under
AdamuAdamu acting through
UBEC and other agencies of the
ministry
constructed
2,493Classrooms, 2,457 Ventilated
Improved Pit (VIP) toilets, 19
Laboratories, 91Boreholes;
renovated 1,266 classrooms,
procured 192,985 pupils and 10,
038teachers furniture, procured and
distributed millions of
instructionalmaterials in all the
thirty-six states of the federation and
the FCT.
As part of its strategyto give
secondary education a facelift, the
Ministry of Education under
AdamuAdamu has also provided a
comprehensive framework for
enhanced access toqualitative
educational resources that will add
impetus to teaching andlearning.
The Ministry has also constructed
classrooms for Second
ChanceEducation Opportunities in
the six northeast states; constructed
68 JuniorModel Girls Schools for
Girl ChildEducation nationwide,
introduced OpenSchool System
in Adamawa, Niger, Katsina,
Kaduna, Kano and Kebbi states,and
developed National Policy on
OpenEducational
(OER).
Resources
Olive Obi - Udeh writes
from GwarimpaAbuja.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com

July 12, 2020
5
Foods
For Healthy
HAIR
Brighten
Up Your
Day With
Yellow
sex:
LightS On
Or Off?
...continued from previous week
Toyin Abraham:
Nollywood’s Darling

8
6
3
IN THIS ISSUE
email: allurefortheworld@vanguardngr.com
HAPPINESS
4 Cover: Toyin Abraham:
Nollywood’s Darling
6 Sexmatics: Sex: Lights On Or
Off? (2)
CELEBRATION
3 Fashion : Brighten Up Your Day `
With Yellows
7 Fashion : 5 Foods For Healthy Hair
12 JULY 2020
8 Instagram Moments
WELCOME...
Quotes
We now live in a world where
everyone wants to make it big, be
celebrated and have followers on
social media. Those who make it
to the big screen followed a
process. Behind every successful
personality we read about whether
in the movie or music industry,
there is always a story, a story
those with the get-rich-quick
mentality never want to hear. But
those days of small beginnings are
what truly make a man’s story worth reading and inspiring
enough to ignite others to good works.
The story of our cover personality is one such story.
Fondly loved by her colleagues in the movie industry, hers
is a tale of grass to grace, laced with hard work, humility
and a can-do-spirit.
Moving to Lagos from Ibadan with no family to live with
describes the deep passion she had to pursue her dream.
Today, not only has her dream come true, but she is living
the life many dream of today. Not one given to airs, she
talked with Rita Okoye candidly and simply about her
work, marriage and motherhood. Pg. 4-5.
It’s been days of rain with no sunshine. The dull
weather has a way of dampening one’s spirit. On our
fashion pages, we bring some sunshine into your day with
the colour yellow. It’s the colour associated with optimism,
laughter and good times. Pg. 3
The weather is great for two. On Sexmatics this week,
our Columnist Adesuwa
Ewoigbokhan writes about J . E
how a couple can bond with or
Jemi Ekunkunbor
without lights on. Pg. 6
lookposh2017@gmail.com
08052201126
“A bank is a place that
will lend you money if
you can prove that you
don’t need it”.
- Bob Hope
“Many people die at
twenty five and aren’t
buried until they are
seventy five”.
- Benjamin Franklin
“You can suffer the
pain of change or
suffer remaining the
way you are”.
- Joyce Meyer
“If you are going
through hell, keep
going”.
- Winston Churchill
EDITOR
JEMI EKUNKUNBOR
ASST. EDITOR
YEMISI SULEIMAN
REPORTER
Josephine Agbonkhese
CONTRIBUTORS
LINDA ORAJEKWE
ADESUWA EWOIGBOKHAN
BAMIYO ISELEMA EMINA
CONT. EDITOR
LATASHA NGWUBE
TEAM
6
COPY EDITOR
DODOIYI WILLIAM-WEST
LAYOUT / DESIGN
OLAYIWOLA AJAGBE
PHOTO
OSCAR OCHIOGU
(08034746487)
HEAD MARKETING
JANET NAJOMOH
(08037156911)
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
CHARLES KAMMA
Printed and published by Vanguard Media Ltd
Vanguard Avenue Kirikiri Canal; P.M.B 1007 Apapa, Lagos.

Brighten up
your day with
yellow
By - Temitope Ojo
Yellow remains popular as an accent colour.
Yellow is associated with laughter, happiness,
optimism, and good times.
As the world is going through some tough
times right now, anything to bring some
cheerfulness can only be a good thing. All the
more reason to wear it
wholeheartedly.
Here are simple tricks to
HANDBAG
help you to put together
flattering yellow outfits.
BELT
scarf
Accessories
Yellow is very nice with an
all-white outfit or a black
and white combination.
Just add a yellow bag,
belt, scarf, or necklace
and you’re good to go.
YELLOW
TOP
Yellow Top
Yellow can be easily worn as a top.
Fabulous with neutral bottoms like blue
jeans, white or black.
Look out for options in chiffon, linen or
cotton to keep you cool in the warmer
days, or go for a beautiful silk shirt in a
deeper yellow to create a high-end feel.
Yellow
Blazer
A blazer can be
flattering as well as
versatile. You can
wear over skirts,
jeans, pants or a
dress for a more
formal event.
FOLAKE
KUYE
YELLOW
DRESS
INI EDO
Yellow
Jeans
For a more casual
approach to yellow
pants, you could
always opt for jeans
instead.
A pair of crop or
skinny style would
be a perfect outfit.
You can keep the
rest of your look
clean and simple,
pairing with a white
cotton shirt or T-shirt.
YELLOW JEANS
Perfect
Yellow Dress
If you want to make a
statement with your yellow,
then wearing a dress can
be the perfect way to do
so.
Keep it relatively simple
and team with neutrals like
blacks, whites, metallics,
or browns.
Try a printed yellow dress
with sandals.
YELLOW SHOES
Yellow Shoes
Shoes can make a big impact
to your outfit and adding a
bit of yellow here is very hip.
Yellow shoes look perfect
with neutral outfits or any
other outfit that has just
a little bit of
yellow in
it.
July 12, 2020 / 3

INTERVIEW
Toyin Abraham:
Nollywood’s Darling
Words By -Rita Okoye
Nollywood actress, filmmaker and producer, Toyin Abraham, began her acting career
in 2003 when she starred in the movie Dugbe Dugbe Nbo produced by Bukky
Wright. Since then, she has continued to feature in best of Nollywood movies and has
also ventured into movie production.
After 17 years in the movie industry, the mother of one has acquired a reputation for being
very down to earth and not given to the flamboyance often associated with screen celebrities.
The actress’ versatility and knack for perfectly interpreting roles has earned her several
awards including; Best Actress award at this year’s African Magic Viewers Choice Awards
(AMVCA) for her role in the movie, Elevator Baby , which she shot while she was 7 months
pregnant.
She is also an entrepreneur who recently ventured into different businesses.
In this interview, the newly-married, speaks on her career, challenges, effect of COVID-19
pandemic and lessons gained as a first time mother.
As a new mum, how have you been coping since
the emergence of COVID-19?
It’s not easy, trust me. I can’t even work. You know
it’s easy for older children to say ‘mummy, I have a
headache’ but for a baby, she cannot tell you how she
is feeling. As for work, it’s just my husband who has
been working for now. But when I have shoots and
some endorsements, I go. When I do, I go with my
thermometer and hand sanitizer. Once I get home, I
quickly take my shoes off and wash my hands. I must
confess it hasn’t been easy at all.
How would you assess the effect of COVID-19 on
the entertainment industry?
It has really affected us in the movie industry. My
new movie Fate of Alakada which I shot in collaboration
with Filmone, cost close to 45 Million. I put almost all
my money into that project which was an investment:
and now, they said the cinema can’t open. So, my
whole investment is stuck somewhere and we are not
shooting like before. Everybody is just being careful.
Some production outfits, when you want to work
with them, they would insist on you taking a
Coronavirus test and I heard the test is painful. So, it
has really affected us.
Have you considered other alternative to
promoting your new movie, like Netflix?
Obviously, we are still going to take it to Netflix but
you know how it is; you first of all make the cinema
money before selling to Netflix. That way, you earn in
two places. Taking it to Netflix will mean earning from
just one source. But if you take it to the cinema, before
taking to Netflix, that’s double money.
Many producers and actors are back on set, do
you think the time is right seeing the increasing
number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria?
I heard some are doing tests before you come on
their production, but for me, I can’t resume filmmaking
at this time because of my baby. That’s why I have
been venturing into other businesses. I just launched
my hairline, Plush Hair by Toyin.
You are becoming very versatile with your roles.
How did you get into character with your ghetto
roles especially on The Ghost and The Tout?
I have always been versatile. The problem really is
that, most times, the Nigeria entertainment industry
stereotypes one. When they see you in a movie, and
see how well you interpret role, that’s what they would
be calling you for. I actually feel there’s no role I can’t
play except of course, roles where I have to speak
other languages like Hausa. But if I do get a
challenging role like that, I would definitely learn
Hausa.
So on how I got into character with ghetto, my dear
I’m ghetto! But seriously I am very versatile. I just feel a
lot of directors have not really exploited me enough.
At the AMVCA, you were awarded the Best Actress
in Drama (Movie/TV series) category for your role
in Elevator Baby, did you see that coming?
I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know I was going to
win best actress for Elevator Baby because that
category was so tight; but I know I did well, owing to
the fact that I was 7 months and few weeks pregnant
during the shoot. Truthfully, I didn’t see it coming at all.
How were you able to cope with shooting while
pregnant?
I love acting, It is my passion. It wasn’t easy though
but thanks to the cast and crew of Elevator baby and
my husband, Kolawale Ajeyemi. He was on set with
me all through. There was also a nurse from LUTH
who was on standby. It wasn’t easy but we give God
the glory.
What has motherhood changed about you?
Motherhood has really changed a lot about me.
Even before I had my baby, my husband had already
changed me. Motherhood is like icing on the cake. It
has really changed my mentality, my thinking; in fact it
has changed everything about me. Now I know I am
living for someone. I am living for something.
Can you share some interesting labour room
experience?
I actually recorded everything because I had
caesarean section. I was given an injection that
numbed my back. I know I was having an operation but
didn’t feel it, I was just talking. I remembered the
moment they brought my baby out, my husband saw
him and fainted. It was a sweet experience. It wasn’t
easy but we thank God.
Going under the knife after birth seems to be the
new beauty regimen for some actresses, what are
your thoughts?
It is a matter of choice. Anybody can decide to go
4
/ July 12, 2020

INTERVIEW
under the knife; it’s their choice. I don’t see any big
deal in it; you don’t tell people what to do with their
bodies.
You launched a herbal product after the birth of
your baby, what was the inspiration?
About the herbal product, I launched it because
I felt the need to help women. I had to stop it after a
while for some reasons, but I’m still doing the
Slimming Tea. I don’t know for now if I would
relaunch the herbal product. It is still under
probability.
Marrying a colleague is not quite common in
your industry, was it love at first sight?
Yes, it was. Because I love my job and I’m
passionate about it, I knew that the only person that
would understand me, would be a person in the
same industry with me especially, coupled with the
fact that I have had some not- so- good
experiences in the past. So, I just wanted someone
that would understand because things would
happen that I may not have to explain because he
knows and understands.
Looking back, what were those major challenges
you faced at the early stage of your career and how
did you overcome them?
I was born and brought up in Ibadan. I didn’t have
any family in Lagos at that time. I just had friends.
Finding a place to live wasn’t easy. I was moving from
one place to the another until I was able to raise
enough money to get my own accommodation. My
family didn’t like my job initially but they have no option,
they had to accept.
I also had challenges with some roles. I come from
a good Christian home. Everybody is a devoted
Christian. Because of that background, some roles
were challenging for me to play but I had to.
What’s the most interesting part of being an
actress?
The fact that I have to play someone else. I have to
act who I am not, I have to act who I am. I have to do
what I’m not in the mood to do. It’s fun and crazy all at
the same time.
What does Toyin Abraham look forward to?
In my career, Oscar Awards and in my marriage,
more kids.
Which Nigerian designer is your favourite?
They are all good but, I would choose Tolubally for
obvious reasons; she’s family. I would also choose
Toyin Lawani Tiannah for same reason but they are
both good.
How would you describe your style?
I am not really a fashionable person. My
husband helps me with that. I also have people who
help style me. You can’t know everything, so you
have to hire people for things you don’t know. I have
people now helping me with fashion, so, I’d say that I
am trying.
What won’t you be caught wearing?
Bodysuit. I can’t wear it because I don’t have the
body. It is people like Tiwa, Toke, Annie Idibia and co.
I don’t have fine body to wear such.
Your most expensive accessory?
A gold chain my husband bought for me. I wear it
once in a while because it’s very expensive.
Anybody can
decide to go
under the knife;
it’s their
choice...you
don’t tell people
what to do with
their bodies.
July 12, 2020 / 5

...continued from previous week
Sex: Lights On Or Off?
Body positivity can be promoted: for some spouses
the idea of being fully naked under a bright light can
be a bit scary. Putting the lights on while getting
intimate might initially seem incredibly intimidating if
you are not sexually confident about your body. One
percent of the Boost survey respondents said they
felt less self-conscious in the dark. Despite the fact
that you may have some hang ups about
undressing without the lights off, the chances are
that your significant other will deeply appreciate the
preview or full show. It might surprise you that they
won’t focus on the so-called ‘flaws’ you perceive
your body to have. It’s a pity we rarely see ourselves
as admiringly as others do.
*Helps you admire the sight of your partner and
vice versa: It is a well known fact that men are
visual creatures when it comes to getting carnal.
Many ladies also like to feast their eyes on their
partners’ bodies in the bedroom. Of those surveyed
who said they liked lights-on during liaisons, a
quarter reported that it made things feel more
exciting.
*Light adds colour to create enabling atmosphere.
“‘Chromo therapy’ is the art of using colour to
create or enhance particular physical and emotional
sensations – and using different hue of bulbs are a
brilliant way of bringing it into the boudoir. Red light
is said to boost desire and energy, while a blue bulb
can be calming, encouraging relaxation and
sensuality. Angling lights to cast sensual shadows
on the walls and watching your silhouettes play
together can be intensely erotic. It is also a good
beginner’s introduction to observing yourself having
sex if using mirrors seems too nerve-wracking.”
*With the lights on, you are sure of staying awake
after a long stressful day at work, making love is
what most people do. “Switch the light out, and
you’re more likely to pass out, without having gotten
round to sharing a close moment together – and if
this happens repeatedly over time, it can lead to
resentment, dissatisfaction or sexual stagnation.
Keeping the lights on can give you that extra burst
of energy you need. And then afterwards, you’ll
sleep deeper than an all-bass choir transported to
the bottom of the ocean in a submarine whilst
discussing philosophy. Deep.”
*There is a level of mystery to having sex in the
dark. It can create instant seduction, sultry mood,
with Adesuwa 07011289316 | adesuwaewoigbokhan@hotmail.com
can be hot and physically flattering for everyone
involved, thereby giving couples a heightened sense
of confidence. Whereas, shying away from the light
can mean cheating yourself and your spouse out of
a mind-blowing sack session.
“It’s a myth that only men are visually oriented
during sex,” says New York City sex therapist, Ian
Kerner, Ph.D. and author of She Comes First. If you
can’t see your partner, you’re missing out on a huge
aspect of sensory stimulation, he says.
“With lights on, you expose yourself more to your
partner and create the opportunity to generate even
greater trust, and get to know one another even
better,” says Dana Weiser, Ph.D., an assistant
professor of human development and family studies
at Texas Tech University. It can be incredibly sexy,
she adds, because you get to make eye contact and
see your partner’s reactions to the pleasure you’re
giving them.
Hesitating about lighting it up in the bedroom, try
easing into it by flipping the switch after foreplay,
says Kerner. “As you get more aroused, your
inhibitions are lower and you might be more open to
letting in some light,” he says.
It is cool, do it any time whereas the tough thing
about only doing it in the dark is quite limiting, and
you are aware it is fun to get down any moment you
feel the mood is right. Having the lights on or doing it
in daylight opens up a little different world of new
sexy times of locations to explore.
*With the lights on, you are sure of him not
accidently putting It In your butt since that is not our
idea of a fun surprise. For those that are into
exercise, this is the time to show off the fruits of your
gym labour. Your butt looks good in those yoga
pants, it’s definitely going to look even better out of
them.
*It’s Basically Free Porn: Lights off sex are nice,
but you can’t watch yourself do it in pitch black. This
will give you the chance to know whether your guy
is a squinter or a jaw-dropper plus the fact that you
will like to witness the very moment when he
climaxes. The same is applicable to your guy
seeing your achieving orgasm too.
*You Avoid Sex Injuries:This is especially helpful
after a night of drinking. No one wants to make a
post-coital trip to the hospital.
Ensure to always keep your line of
communication open as you get to work together to
boost the physical intimacy in your relationship.
Constantly check with each other where you are in
your sex life. Continue to compromise with one
another by maintaining a generous spirit, as you
give and take on both sides.
Be open and honest with each of your sexual
desires. Gladly enjoy the journey and you can
always seek a professional to help deconstruct
limiting or unhealthy beliefs about intercourse in
marriage. Don’t forget that the investment you put in
your marital health and intimacy, are worth every bit
of your time and effort. You will definitely reap the
benefits for the rest of your lives.
Make tonight a show time by making out with
the lights on.
Talk
SPOT
By - Rita Okoye
What some of your favourite
celebrities said and we listened.
“Don’t trust everything you see
on social media, even salt
looks like sugar. Some people
aren’t really all they “post” to
be. So, live your life and be
content with whatever it is you
have and have achieved for
yourself. Do not wish to be like
anyone else. Secret of social
media is; Packaging is
EVERYTHING!”
Juliet Ibrahim hammers
on negativity of social
media.
“In the last 4 years I have
been done done with the
rat race of industry and
unrealistic hype to show
up. I quickly learned that
sometimes, the glitz came
no value and I craved
more substance than what
a repost on a blog could
get me. Change is hard
and this last season of
transformation has been a
blessing”.
Zainab returns to Social
media after a break.
“My arms no longer have the strength
to carry around narratives that do not
belong to me. Who I was before and
who I am now are two very different
people, and I will not give life to older
versions of me that you don’t
recognize anymore to make you feel
more comfortable”.
Diane Russets’ note to all.
“Hey sis, do not do wife
duties for girlfriend prices.
And in case you’re
wondering, wife duties
include; having a baby for a
man. Living with a man
you’re not married to. Being
there for him when he is
down. Cooking and doing
chores for him. If you gave all
that already, why would he
be in a hurry? Why buy the
cow when the milk is free?”
Princess writes open
letter to women.
6
/July 12, 2020

Five Foods
1
For Healthy
Hair
By - Linda Orajekwe
2
In the midst of a pandemic like the one we are
facing, one healthy rule many of us live by is to
ensure we eat immune boosting foods. While we
are trying to stay healthy, we also want to look as
beautiful despite COVID-19 and one way to do
that, is to intentionally take in foods that are good
for your looks like the hair for example.
Here are some healthy food to take to help your
3
hair while keeping your immune system in check!
4
CARROT - We’ve
heard over time that
carrot, which is rich
in Vitamin A is good
for the skin, well, that
is a limitation. You
should know that It is
also good for your
hair. You can dice it
into your meal or
blend it to take as
smoothie.
Egg: Your hair is largely made up of
protein and for that reason, it is important
you have enough protein in your meal. Try
including eggs in your food because eggs are
one of the richest natural sources of protein.
BEAUTY
Spinach & Dark
Leafy Green: Many
unintentionally eat colourless
meal, with zero green. Aside
from how that doesn’t help your
immune system, it also doesn’t
help you look pretty as your hair
is losing vital nutrients like the
iron it needs to survive. Most of
the iron is largely derived from
the green you avoid. Lack of iron
in your body may cause hair loss
and we know we don’t want to
look bald.
Avocado: This provides
Vitamin E which improves the
blood circulation and helps
your follicles work efficiently.
You can easily add avocado
to your breakfast or make
a delicious green
smoothie with it.
5
Nuts: These Omega 3 fatty acid givers
should be your go-to for silky hair and
hair-loss treatment. They are high in
protein and zinc, and are also great for
promoting strong and slinky hair. Some of
the nuts you can add to your diet include;
walnuts, cashew nut, almond to mention
but a few.
mbong amata
July 12, 2020 / 7

INSTAGRAM
MOMENTS
With Yemisi Suleiman
In case you missed, these were the most Interesting
pictures and stories on Instagram last week, as
posted by your favourite celebrities.
Shaffy Bello’s
message to son on
birthday
Aston
Akinrinmisi
Actress Shaffy Bello was one happy
mama last week, as her style consultant son,
Aston Akinrinmisi clocked 22 on Thursday. The
ever glamorous mother and actress in celebration of the special
day, took to her Instagram handle to pen this lovely message
for her son.
“On this special day 22yrs ago, I was blessed a second time
by the Almighty. What a blessing you have been. What joy it is
to call you “my son”.
You excel in everything you do. You are focused and
purpose-driven. Loved by anyone who comes in contact with
you. A gentleman to the core.
I am most proud of the kind of man you’re becoming; kind,
loving , respectful and God fearing.
May your light continue to shine. Men will favour you.
Protocols will be broken for your sake and blessed shall you be
amongst men In Jesus name.
Happy Birthday my darling. Mummy loves you.”
Richard Mofe-
Damijo looks
cool @59
Veteran actor
Richard Mofe Damijo
clocked 59 last
week. For him, age is
certainly just a number,
as the actor continues
to age like fine wine,
just as reflected
in this photo and
caption posted on his
Instagram handle.
“Just when you
thought I was done...
don’t let them see you
coming!
2020 no falling of
hand.”
Kunta Kite is Lipton’s brand ambassador
It was another win for Nollywood actor and popular Instagram influencer,
Okiemute Ika, also known as Kunta Kite, as he joined the league of brand
ambassadors. Kunta Kite was recently welcomed to the Lipton ice tea Nigeria
family with an endorsement deal as one of their brand influencers.
The brand influencer broke the good news to friends and followers on his page,
tagged with an appreciation note.
“I am glad to announce that I have been signed as one of the brand influencers
for Lipton Ice Tea Nigeria. Congrats to me. God bless those behind the scenes that
choose to be anonymous. And God bless you all too. We continue to push.
Kehinde Bankole’s pretty makeup look
Nollywood actress Kehinde Bankole’s latest makeup look is
as cool as the weather. The centrepiece of the entire look are
the lips-- a soft gloosy pink lipstick that complements her brown
cheeks and smokey brown eyes. We absolutely love the look that
reminds the award-winning actress of her late mother.
“I hope this photo gets your most likes, I look like my mother
here so much. Rest on mum.”

PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
•Judith Nneji
Jaybytee
on mission to redefine
dancehall music
By JOSEPH UNDU
he Nigeria music industry is set
Tto explode once again amid
Covid-19 pandemic as another fast
rising dancehall singer and
songwriter, Obiajulu Kachikwuru
Okeyokafor, better known as
Jaybytee, is out with his
explosive dancehall music.
His jaw-breaking vibe,
according to industry observers,
is in a class of its own, as no such
quality of lyrics and production
is found anywhere in the country
at the moment.
According to the wonder boy
from the East of Nigeria, whose
music is currently rocking the
nation’s airwaves and sending
music lovers to frenzy, he is “out
to redefine dancehall music.”
Born on January 21, 1994 and
raised in different parts of
Eastern Nigeria, Jaybytee, an
indigene of Anambra State,
started his music career doing
underground collaborations with
other up and coming artistes while in
the seminary where he was enrolled by
his father with the hope of becoming a
reverend father.
His parents later moved to Lagos after he
graduated from the seminary. In 2011, he did a song
titled “Kolo” with Kidco and in 2016, he did another
song titled “Thank you Lord” ft reggae dancehall artiste,
S.B Mogom which gained massive airplay around the
world.
His recent song titled, “Wayo” ft Wale Kwame is now a
club banger and delight to music lovers around the
world.
Why I consider sex
sacred
—Judith Nneji
In the fast-paced world of social media
and social excesses that come with it, it is
almost out of place to tell anyone not to
flaunt what Mother Nature has endowed
them with. The mantra these days is,
“Flaunt it if you have got it” and on social
media it is a wildfire raging with little
restraint. But in the interpretation of
•Kim Manana
•Jaybytee
Nollywood damsel, producer of “Royal
Mirage” and “Eleventh Hour”, Judith
Nneji, flaunting one’s endowment is wrong.
In a one-on-one session with Potpourri,
she gave her reason as thus,”Being sexy
should be a thing between a man and his
woman in private. It is wrong for a woman
to flaunt her endowment because it can
attract the wrong set of people like rapists.”
Judith also gave her opinion on sex,
marriage and relationship. While many
have sex purely for procreation; some for
emotional balance; some for intimacy sake;
South African plus size model and
Instragram sensation, Kim Manana who
became a brand influencer on account of her
mammoth breasts has shared her experience
on living with big breasts. The beautiful
woman via a video she shared on her
Instagram page educates her followers
on issues around having big breasts.
“I really struggled because having
big breasts come with stigma,” she
said. “You are seen as thick, a sex
symbol, even promiscuous. A
typical male couldn’t see me as a
normal female with feelings but
just a sex object. It became really
hard for me to have a serious
relationship, it was always really
about my looks. Relationships are
something I found very difficult to
keep because of my looks,” she
added.
She also revealed that having
big boobs automatically makes
you look obscene, adding that
dresses that would have meant
nothing to anyone on a slim girl
and others for health reasons or just to
keep a relationship alive and some just for
the hell of it. But in the actress’ opinion,
sex should be sacred and treated as such.
She said, “Sex is meant to be sacred.
Youths of our days should avoid premarital
sex. Marriage is a legal relationship
ordained by God and should be respected
by both parties. Relationship, t
here should be a courtship before
marriage so that both parties can
understand each other better before
marriage,” she said in response to the
question on her opinion on sex, marriage
and relationship.
The beautiful actress who has won many
hearts with her beauty, charm and talent
started acting in 2011 when she debuted in
a film titled “Sin of the Flesh”. She has
since featured in many films, producing 5
of her own, namely; Royal Mirage,
Eleventh Hour, Goodbye, Splits and
VIMSA.
Big breasts come with
stigma —Kim Manana
What excites
me about
black men
—Angela Eguavoen
n-the-rise sultry Nollywood actress,
OAngela Eguavoen who has
developed an unshakable reputation
for her frankness has dropped another
line that may have many look at her
with a difference. The actress, in one
of her latest posts, shares her opinion
on what excites her about black men.
According to her, “There’s something
about black men, the feeling you get when
you’re wrapped in their arms is something else.
You know what they say about “when you go black
you ain’t going back”. It’s a special kinda feeling. I
love them strong yummy brown.”
The actress, who is also a movie producer after
debuting with the film “Stillborn” starring stars
like Frederick Leonard, Chelsea Eze, Hadiza
Abubakar and many others, in another post let
off hint that her heart might have been broken
before and has a word to the prodigal boyfriend
who appears to be very much hanging on her
radar.
“My Romeo, this would have been us, but
you’ve decided to be a play boy, forming
frosh and hot bop daddy up and down,
Ozuor! Just know that I’ll flog you koboko
when you finally decide to have sense in
this life. When the time is right, I’ll gladly
have you in my embrace and we’ll create
something way more beautiful than this (a
picture of a man and a woman in warm
embrace).
Angela started acting in 2013 but she
was still in the university then.
Combining academics with acting
was a major problem for her that
she had to halt acting to face
academics squarely. She just
only recently returned to the
screens.
becomes a bomb on her as many would see
it as inappropriate.
“Anything I wear, no matter how it is, there
seems to be a sex stamp on it. If a skinny or
normal slim girl wears what I wear they
wouldn’t even be noticed but for me it’s a
different story. A lot of people think of your
looks, forgetting it is just basically genetic
and has nothing to do with your person.
Another thing about having big breasts is
sleeping positions. I always liked to sleep
on my stomach but because of my big
breasts I have to stop and sleep on my back.
It’s been a real struggle accepting myself.
What defines me is
what I have
inside not
outside. My
relations with
people and not
my looks is
what defines
me,” she said.
•Angela
Eguavoen

Femi Adesina: Buhari
and Arthur who?
Femi Adesina, the
President’s
Chichidodo – you all
remember the bird in Ayi Kwei
Armah’s grim novel, The
Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet
Born? – well, he came again
last week with a whopper: a
big fat shit; an essay he titled,
'Buhari and the South-East:
Arthur Eze nails it.' I really
expect nothing less from
Adesina. After all, he works for
Buhari. And the Igbo have a
saying, it takes a lizard to fall
from the heights, look around
and whether or not anybody
is impressed, nod its head in
self-praise. But Adesina went
a little further, into Igbo land,
to recruit acolytes; those who
would nod their head when he
says, “Buhari done try na!” He
talks of Arthur Eze. And I was
genuinely curious. Arthur
who? I knew Arthur
Nwankwo. Polemicist of the
Igbo and Nigerian causes.
Writer, intellectual, publisher
of the Fourth Dimension
Press, and Chancellor of the
Eastern Mandate Union. A
man of consequence. God
rest his great Igbo spirit. I
mean to write a proper
memorial to that memorable
Aro-Igbo son when I free
myself of the cloying cobwebs
of the mind. But another
Arthur? Well, I dunno, but
there has been told the story
of an Arthur of Dunukofia,
who is said to have so much
money he sleeps atop of it. But
folks bear in mind, that money
is good, it just does not buy
sleep. A man who has money
and wants to sleep must
constantly appease the gods
of money. If Arthur Eze indeed
said, as reported by Femi
Adesina, that “Buhari has
demonstrated uncommon
goodwill towards the people
of the South-East,” and I
really doubt that Onye Igbo
(not the “Khaki Igbo”) would
say this; but if indeed Mr.
Arthur Eze said such a thing,
it is either he did not fully
suckle the breasts of an Igbo
woman, or he is compelled to
appease the gods of sleep
which all men of mindless
wealth must. In a Nigeria, with
a prebendal culture, where
Arthur Eze is said to get his
wealth from that tireless
orifice of the iron pipe that
vomits oil, and Buhari is
minister of oil, and with his
famous antipathy to the Igbo,
what does anybody expect
Arthur Eze to say? That Buhari
has demonstrated the most
vicious hatred of the Igbo of
any known President in
Nigeria? A man who makes
Obasanjo look so good, many
even have bouts of nostalgia
for his time, has no lower
mark to reach. But Arthur Eze,
the wealthy “oil man of
Dunukofia”, will not say that.
He will lose his oil license and
his wares, straight away, if he
dares. He is playing the game
of survival. He is what the
American Henry Louis Gates
Jr. will call a “Signifying
Monkey” who is using the
trick of Logos. In the language
of double speak, what you
think you hear is not what you
have really heard. I dare say,
Mr. Arthur Eze, knowing his
precarious situation as a
contemporary Igbo is
“signifying.” He is, after all, a
man of stupendous wealth.
And he has many gods to
propitiate. If Buhari told him
now to jump from the Ukpor
heights, he would jump. No
one ever admits publicly that
their mother’s cooking does
not come up to scratch. But
right now, if this President says
to Mr. Eze to face the East and
declare that his mother could
not cook worth a damn, you
can bet that our man Arthur
might be compelled to say so,
and his tongue might be in his
cheek. He is basically under
the blackmail of an oil
license, and a President who
will without compunction,
sooner ruin him, just because
he is Igbo. The evidence is
before us. Femi Adesina
should wait, one year after
Buhari leaves office, as he will,
thank God, someday soon, and
ask Arthur Eze to repeat
himself. If it is the Dunukofia
Eze, he is known to be amoral,
when it comes to power. He is
a man of wealth, and as I have
said, the only god he appeases,
or propitiates, is the god of
wealth. And the Igbo also have
a saying, “Onwere ego abughi
ogaranya.” A man may have
all the wealth in this world but
might still not belong to that
great conclave of the
aristocracy of the land. It is the
aristocracy of service and
forbearance. The Nze is
Ogaranya. He is often the
man who has roamed the
world, sought wealth, made
visible wealth, then gives up
on the pursuit of wealth, and
seeks his place among the
great titled of the land. He
swears the oath of truth, of
forbearance, of purity, and of
One of the great
Buhari projects in the
East is a painted
sepulcher! But where
is the Onitsha River
Port project? Where
are the rail projects?
justice; and to defend the
weakest of the land – orphans
and widows – and to keep the
sanctity of the earth. He is no
longer startled or seduced by
wealth or desire. The real Igbo
title of the Nze or the Ozo is
“taken,” it is never
“conferred,” because it comes
with serious individual
responsibilities and duties. No
true titled Igbo stands for
another man, or bends to be
conferred with a title. The
process begins when a man
first takes a bull to his kinsmen
to announce his preparedness
to enter that conclave of Ndi
Nzere – the sacred ones. Then
he follows up with a visit on
an appointed day to that
conclave itself called, “Otu
Ndi Nze na Ozo.” On the
anointed day, he sits on a very
low stool when the oldest of
the Nze, (Onye Isi Nze) leads
the invocations, and then the
feather of the Eagle is placed
on his cap, and the Akara –
the sacred bracelet is placed
on the heels signifying
servitude to the goddess of the
land. Then he enters into a
period of isolation, and
emerges thereafter with
authority. Such a man speaks
for the land. A Man like Nnia
Nwodo is Ogaranya, because
he has taken the title. He is
retired and no longer seeks
wealth; he has given up on the
pursuit of personal glory, and
has sworn the oath to defend
Ala-Igbo. If such a man were
to say what Arthur Eze is
reported to have said, the
earth itself on which he stands
will split into two. But he would
not dare, because the oath he
has sworn forbids him from
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 15
speaking in double tongues on And what else? The Owerri
matters concerning the Igbo. interchange that comes with
A violation of such an oath the bridge; the upgrade of the
carries consequences long Akanu International Airport
after him; down to those who in Enugu, some nameless
survive him. Those are the roads and bridges, and then,
people Femi Adesina should wait for it, the Zik
ask. And there are many such Mausoleum! By God, a
men among the Igbo, seen mausoleum! One of the great
and unseen. That invisible Buhari projects in the East is
conclave of the ancient Igbo a painted sepulcher! But
aristocracy sworn to its earth where is the Onitsha River Port
is the very secret strength of project? Where are the rail
the Igbo. And so, a man like projects? Where is the Oguta
Arthur Eze “nwere ego, ma Deep Lake Port project?
oburo ogranya.” That is, Where is the Aba Inland Port
Arthur Eze has stupendous project? What about all the
wealth, but he is not Ogaranya. broken, unbuilt federal roads
He has not eaten the true that connect the East with her
leaven of truth. The Igbo do South-South neighbours?
not close their shops because The Owerri-Umuahia-Ikot
Arthur Eze has said it. And Ekpene road; the Owerri Aba
what again did Femi Adesina road; the Owerri-Onitshasay
he ”nailed”? That Buhari Lokoja-Abuja highway; the
is the best thing to happen to Abakiliki to Gboko-to Jos-to
the Igbo since the discovery of Abuja, etc? Where are the
“Mai-Mai Oka”? And how is productive industries that
that? Well, for one, Buhari he should absorb highly skilled
said, built a police office in but wasting Igbo labour? The
Dunukofia, Arthur Eze’s town. South-East suffers the highest
For a moment, I thought this level of unemployment in
was a joke! When did building Nigeria. Every year, the Southa
police HQ mean East produces the highest
development; an institution number of university
meant to garrison the people graduates in the country.
of Dunukofia? Not a library; How many of these young,
not the headquarters of the talented Igbo of the South-
National Space Research East has the Buhari
Agency; not the National administration offered
Defence Production Plant; not employment since 2015? In a
a Tools and Fabrication Plant; place where trained nuclear
not the National Livestock scientists, Lab technologists,
Research and Production Chemists, Physicists,
Center, but the police Biologists, etc have become
headquarters! A garrison for petty traders, or are riding
an already over-garrisoned Okada, or just suppurating in
part of the country. This is sick! restless unemployment? How
The Dunukofia people many young Igbo businesses
themselves will beg for that did this administration
police office to be removed. support with credits and loans
Now Femi Adesina adds and contracts? How many
among the other things Igbo does Buhari have in his
Buhari has done for the East, presidential administration?
for which he is a great friend How many young Igbo did
of the South-East: first, the this administration kill with
Second Niger Bridge. For the its “Operation Python
records, Buhari did not begin Dance”? Femi Adesina should
nor has he completed this stop insulting the Igbo. Here
bridge. President Goodluck is the bottom line: the years of
Jonathan commenced work the Buhari presidency are
on this bridge, and it was wasted years for the Igbo. But
already budgeted for before change will come, whether the
Buhari assumed office. But, likes of Femi Adesina want it
again, if a perennially or not. Adesina has apparently
uncompleted bridge is the enjoyed throwing the Igbo
major federal infrastructural under the bus. Good for him!
project in the South-East since But Buhari is no friend of the
1999, then the Federal Igbo. Will never be. And the
Republic of Nigeria is sick thing is, the Igbo are past
beyond measure. A bridge! caring. They look to the future.
Maybe I am
turning into one
of those prickly
Aunties we used to avoid
when we were young. The
ones who always had
something to say about
what, when, why and where
we said or did something. I
am usually quite easy going,
even if I say so myself. I don’t
believe I take myself too
seriously, and I do not stand
on ceremony. I don’t do
many of the expected
‘Excellency’ or ‘Big Madam’
things. I do not like to keep
people waiting, and on the
rare occasions when I am
late, I apologise. I respond
to calls, texts and WhatsApp
messages, maybe not
immediately, but I try. Now,
these days, I am prickly. It
all began during the
Covid19 lockdowns in April.
I started to get more calls
than usual, all from
strangers claiming to be
hungry and needing help. I
would refer them to my PA
who would ask for their
account details to send them
money. That seemed to have
Loud Whispers
With
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi
She is the Founder of
Abovewhispers.com, an online
community for women. She is the First
Lady of Ekiti State, and she can be reached
at BAF@abovewhispers.co
Prickly Auntie
been a mistake. The more
people we helped, they more
they told, passing my
number from one person to
the next. I stopped picking
calls from numbers I did not
know, and when someone
called more than five times
without sending a text, I
would save the number as
‘Unknown Caller 1, 2, 3’ and
so on till there is now
‘Unknown Caller 127’. I
have been able to sort out
roughly a quarter of them
and I hope to be able to do
them all, but they keep
coming! A particularly
persistent woman called
245 times, believe me, I
counted and I had a witness.
We sought her out and when
she was asked why she
called so many times she
responded that she thought
the network was preventing
her calls from getting
through. Please do not ask
how they got my number in
the first place. I am always
saying that if people can
have our numbers when we
are campaigning, we
should not change them
when we vote them in, that
is a breach of trust.
Unfortunately, I am one of
those people who is unable
to manage more than one
telephone number, not for
lack of trying. I simply can’t.
So perhaps I shouldn’t
complain when I am called
245 times. In fact, I am not
complaining at all, I am
grateful to be in a position
to help, but it does get quite
tiring, which makes me
prickly.
During the lockdowns, I
was also busy with the Ekiti
State Food Bank, making
sure that we could help as
many people as possible. We
managed to get food packs
to over 60,000 households in
the State. Then there were
the sexual and gender-based
violence cases we had to deal
with during that period, and
it still continues. You can
imagine my exasperation
and dismay when I heard
that because I had not been
seen in public for many
weeks, people were
speculating that I was ill!
Some of my aides where
even ready to bundle me into
a radio studio so that people
could hear my voice! What
part of ‘Stay at home’ do
people not understand? Even
if I had indeed been ill, what
would have been the big
deal? As I mentioned, I like
to think that I am relatable,
but this is misread as being
available or open to all kinds
of things. So, I hereby
present a list of things that
can aggravate my
‘prickliness’. Things might
change, but till further
notice, this is the list:
You don’t need to use
your wife and new
baby/babies as an
excuse to get my
attention. You can just
inform me of your new
blessing and see
whether I will do the
needful or not.
•Invitations to attend a
wedding, birthday,
launching, or any such
celebration that is not on
Zoom. The COVID19
experts have advised that
those of us over fifty should
avoid crowds and be careful
as we go about. I am quite
happy to support the event,
but I am unavailable till
further notice. Yes, this is one
time I am happy to dance
around singing, ‘I am over
fifty, I am over fifty, I am over
fifty, well over fifty, well over
fifty, lalalalalalala….’.
•WhatsApp messages
and letters about products
that your company is
selling and would like
endorsement for from Ekiti
State, or investors you
would like to bring to Ekiti
State. Kindly go to the Ekiti
State website and contact
the Ministry of Trade and
Investment. There is also a
Special Adviser on Trade
and Investment. The day he
offends me, I will put his
number in the public
domain, but he hasn’t so I
will not release it for now.
•Information concerning
my husband Dr Kayode
Fayemi and his politics –
kindly send the information
to the Chief of Staff, c/o
Governor’s Office, Ado
Ekiti. I would love to deliver
all such messages, but
because there is so little time
available for conversations,
forgive me if I choose not to
spend my politicallytruncated
time in the ‘other
room’ on things that are
outside of my lane. Please be
assured that the day the
Chief of Staff ‘runs into
barbed wire’ with me, I will
make his number available
on Facebook and Twitter.
•This is for my numerous
sons and younger brothers.
As ‘Mother-General’ I am
always willing to help.
However, there is a persistent
request that baffles me. The
one about ‘Excellency, your
wife has just delivered a
baby/twins and I don’t have
money for the hospital bill’.
This is not the same as your
car having an accident or
your home being burgled or
you breaking your limbs.
This is something you had
nine-months notice of. You
don’t need to use your wife
and new baby/babies as an
excuse to get my attention.
You can just inform me of
your new blessing and see
whether I will do the needful
or not.
•If you would like to see
me, kindly book an
appointment. Believe me, it
works. What does not work
is trying to ‘ambush’ me.
When I ask why people do
not book appointments
before showing up, I am told
that they are afraid you will
say no, but if they show up
unannounced, you will have
no choice but to attend to
them. I am sorry, no please.
If I give you an appointment
I will keep it. The only people
who can get away with the
‘ambushing’ tactic are my
elders. If the issue is very
urgent, even if I can’t attend
to you, I will make sure
someone does, and that you
are treated with the respect
and dignity you deserve.
Now, the people who stress
you out the most are the
ones around you, and I am
sure some of them will read
this, they know themselves.
You who waits till there is
only one drop of honey in the
bottle before you replace it.
You who is always so
nervous, you almost need a
diagram for everything. You
who will come and ask me
in front of the person I want
to give money to how much
should you give the person.
You who sneaked away to
Lagos during the lockdown
and was calling as if you
were right here in Ado-Ekiti,
you think I did not know?
You who posts on Facebook
everyday about all your
enemies, real and imagined,
can’t you give it a rest? You
who called me to complain
that you heard I said you are
getting too old to drive from
Ekiti to Lagos and you can’t
see well at night, even if I
said so, would I tell you I
said so? You all know
yourselves. Be careful, don’t
turn me into a prickly Auntie!

PAGE 16—SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 12, 2020
SECURED ANCHORAGE:
Concerns over fresh bid to
resuscitate settled matters
By Nnamdi Ojiego
The recent marine notice issued by the
management of Nigerian Port
Authority (NPA) to shipmasters,
shipowners and other operators whose
vessels currently enjoy some level of security
at designated anchorage, seems to be a
signal of fresh battle in the Secured
Anchorage Area, SAA, matter.
The latest move is coming despite the
intervention of the National
Assembly,NASS, on the issue which had
almost torn apart frontline operator of the
Lagos area Secured Anchorage Area, Ocean
Marine Solution Limited and the
management of NPA.
At the peak of the dispute between the
operator and the authority, the Senate
intervened and ordered that the status quo
remained.
The intervention restricted the
management of NPA from taking any action
that will stop OMSL from carrying out its
activities.
But the new move, which is the issuance of
a marine notice on the anchorage, is seen as
not only controversial but also capable of
generating a fresh crisis.
Above all, it is perceived as an attempt to
undermine the institution of the Senate.
Hence, concerned stakeholders think it is
uncalled for and may further impact the
nation’s economy negatively.
Senate
While striving not to repeat facts that are
already in the public domain and have been
stated severally, it is important to emphasise
that the collaboration between the Ocean
Marine Solution Limited and the Nigerian
Navy predates the emergence of the current
management of NPA .
Some industry watchers have attributed
the unfolding scenario to a lack of
understanding of the importance of the
services being rendered by OMSL to the
nation’s maritime industry in particular and
the Gulf of Guinea, others believe that it is
propelled by the Nigerian factor.
Those who hold the latter view wondered
why the NPA management after the decision
by the Senate, is insisting that it is not bound
by such. The NPA administration had while
explaining the latest marine notice it issued
stated that, “A Committee of the National
Assembly can only play an advisory role in
this matter. NPA is not compelled to abide
by their directive.”
What this portrays in its entirety is an
attempt to create a face-off between the
agency and the National Assembly. Those
knowledgeable about such confrontations
argued that the outcome is usually not
favourable to national interest.
National
interest
The management of OMSL has remained
calm over the controversy as it has refused
to join issues with anybody except for the
invitation of the National Assembly it had
to honour.
Moreover, in what some have described
as working for national interest, OMSL has
continued to provide security services at the
anchorage. This is to the admiration and
acceptance of ship owners and operators
who anchor their vessels at the designated
area.
The latest development is perceived as
despising the National Assembly and trying
to flex muscles with the lawmakers. The
move appears to be a violation of the stand
of the lawmakers as reflected in the
committee’s submission.
While it is a fact that NPA is the
agency responsible for the
administration of the ports across
the country, it is not statutorily
powered to provide the muchneeded
security for the maritime
sector. More so when it comes to
secured anchorage areas under
dispute.
Worst still, it becomes more of
a concern when the Nigerian
Navy that is saddled with the
constitutional responsibility of
providing the required security is
in collaboration with OMSL in
the situation on the ground.
Partner
Meanwhile, there are
indications that the management
of OMSL is willing and ready to
partner with the NPA on the
secured anchorage area for the
larger interest of the nation.
Stakeholders are however of the opinion
that if the security arrangement in the Lagos
Pilotage District is replicated in the Eastern
ports, it will curb the issue of insecurity
currently being experienced in that axis and
boost the economy of the Eastern flanks.
Stakeholders want the NPA to be reminded
that OML engagement with the Nigerian
Navy is purely for security purposes and not
port operations. Therefore, they urged the
agency to busy itself with the challenges of
bad port access roads, port congestion, and
putting in place an efficient system that
should also be cost-effective.
They maintained that as a result of the
collaborative effort of both OML and the
Navy, vessels at the anchorage cannot be
arrested.
Recall that the NPA, late last year warned
vessels against anchoring at the Secured
Anchorage Area, SAA, and threatened to
arrest any ship found within that axis.
In a notice to mariners, the NPA told all
shipping agents, ship owners and charterers
to ensure that vessels are anchored anywhere
within the nation’s territorial waters with
no financial commitment.
Sea
territory
Recall that Nigeria was recently saved
from the negative publicity of being reputed
to have unsafe sea territory. That was as a
result of piracy and other criminal activities.
One was the rescue of a Chinese cargo
ship in the Gulf of Guinea by a combined
team of Nigerian Navy and OMSL.
According to reports obtained from
FleetMon Explorer, an
international news agency,
a general cargo ship
‘Huanghai Glory,’ which
left the Lekki Port, on
Thursday, March 5, 2020,
was reported to have been
attacked and boarded by
pirates at 1820 UMT some
85 nautical miles (NM)
south of Lagos Nigeria.
The report stated that the
ship and its 23 crew
members (all Chinese) were
said to have been under the
siege of the pirates for about
24 hours after the matter
was reported to the
Nigerian authorities.
Independent investigation
revealed that neither the
NPA, nor the Nigerian
Maritime Administration &
Safety Agency (NIMASA),
whom reliable source said were adequately
informed could render any rescue efforts
until a patrol boat (NNS SPARROW) owned
and operated by the joint team of Nigeria
Navy and OMSL under the Safe Anchorage
Area (SSA) of Lagos port rose to the
occasion.
At the peak of
the dispute
between the
operator and
the authority,
the Senate
intervened
Patrol
operations
Although FleetMon Explorer did not give
the details of patrol boat NNS SPARROW
which rescued the ship and its crew members,
our investigation confirmed that it belongs
to OMSL, as it is part of the vessels purchased
by the firm and hitherto deployed to the Lagos
water coast.
It was done to assist the Nigerian Navy to
carry out patrol operations as part of the SSA
agreement.
Recall that the move to cancel operations on
the SAA was perceived by some industry
stakeholders as an attempt to further increase
the level of unemployment in the country, as
well as frustrate a good idea put in place to
secure the nation’s maritime space.
Further findings showed that the ship
‘Huanghai Glory,’ which was rescued by the
‘NNS SPARROW’ is not under any contractual
agreement with OMSL before it offered to
intervene.
A source at the firm who confirmed the
incident said: “The vessel is not our client but
the Navy beckoned on us to assist considering
the amount of bureaucracy it would take for
them to execute the operation.”
Piracy
The first quarter of 2020 saw a spike in
piracy around the world, with 47 attacks
compared to 38 for the same period last year,
according to the International Maritime
Bureau (IMB).
The Gulf of Guinea, a key production hub
surrounded by eight oil-exporting countries
in West Africa, has emerged as a global hot
spot, accounting for 21 attacks so far this
year and 90 percent of all kidnappings at
sea in 2019.
Most attacks still occur in Nigerian waters,
but piracy is expected to rise in 2021 and
expand further into neighboring states,
posing serious concerns for shipping and
international oil companies, according to
research by political risk consultancy, Verisk
Maplecroft.
The number of crew kidnapped off the
Gulf of Guinea increased to 121 in 2019. It
was 78 in 2018. The gulf has now surpassed
well-known areas such as the Strait of
Malacca – a waterway that separates
Malaysia and Singapore from Indonesia to
become the global hotspot.
Risks
While pirates traditionally limited their
operations to raiding oil tankers to sell their
hold on the black market, the collapse of oil
prices in 2015 forced them to alter their
strategy, refocusing their efforts on abducting
crews for ransom, Raymakers highlighted.
Unlike their Somali counterparts, pirates in
the Delta do not use secured ports or beaching
areas for captured ships, which limits their
ability to hold a vessel or its contents. It means
operators in the region rarely lose ships or
cargo. However, they do face delays and
increased costs due to the disappearance of
the ship’s crews and subsequent ransom
payments.
Given the recent collapse in global oil prices
due to falling demand, Verisk anticipates that
pirates are likely to attempt to board static
tankers used as offshore storage facilities for
unsold production.
The ships’ crews and cargo represent “ideal
and relatively simple targets for pirates.
The indiscriminate nature of abductions
means pirates are likely to target IOCs’ supply
chains and oil shipments leaving export
terminals in the Niger Delta, as evidenced by
the abduction of seven crew members on the
ExxonMobil-contracted supply vessel Zaro off
the coast of Equatorial Guinea in December
2019.
IOCs will also have to contend with the risk
that pirates will seek to abduct workers,
particularly expatriates, directly from oil
platforms in the Niger Delta.
Recall that three oil workers from a Niger
Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR) oil
platform, Ogbele, were kidnapped in April
2019.
Three employees of Acme Energy Integrated
Services Limited, which owned and managed
the rig, were kidnapped and nine others injured
when unknown gunmen attacked on April 26,
2019. The three kidnapped workers were
released without harm on May 28, 2019,
NDPR confirmed.
Considering the dangers posed by the
activities of pirates, stakeholders are worried
that the SAA matter, which had been settled, is
now being revived.
Shipping companies
An industry expert, Chief Chike Egbenu, told
Sunday Vanguard that: “What the NPA
management is trying to do could make
shipping companies to start diverting Nigerian
goods to other African countries. Should that
be the case, our economy will suffer.
‘’ OMSL has ensured security in the
waterways. The company should be allowed
to do its job. Never break the pot that once
gave you water. Never bite the hands that once
fed you. Never despise the home that once
sheltered you. Never punch holes on the
umbrella that once gave you cover. If for now
you have outgrown their usefulness, leave them
intact.”
Another stakeholder, Mr. Rotimi Moyegun,
said: “Given how OMSL has satisfactorily
carried out its duties, commending the firm is
not a bad idea. The company has been
working tirelessly against piracy in
collaboration with the Nigerian Navy at no
cost to government. It is rendering services to
desired clients who are happy with the
services.”

After Buhari, who is next?
Okonjo-iweala (2)
“In the beginning of a
change, the patriot is a scarce
man, and brave, and hated and
scorned. When his cause
succeeds, the timid joins him;
for then it costs nothing to be a
patriot” - Mark Twain, 1835-
1910, in NOTEBOOK, 1935.
Iwas prepared for the
objections which came
through text messages in
response to the first part of this
advocacy for radical change
which was proposed. Three
main objections were clear. The
first said the power elite in
Nigeria will never allow a good
person to rule Nigeria. The
second asked a question: Which
political party will field her? The
third repeated the tiresome
complaint that Nigeria will not
allow an Igbo to be President.
These are powerful objections
which must be acknowledged;
because they have merit. And
since they are very strong, they
must be answered fully; if not
for any other reason than to reassure
those who after reading
are now prepared to join the
campaign early. I will name
groups which should join the
campaign sooner or later. I only
hope it will be sooner.
Having been involved in
some changes considered
impossible in the past, I want to
start with that observation by my
favourite American writer –
Mark Twain. Let readers be
reminded again that when that
series of articles titled, LAGOS
STATE GOVERNORSHIP -
2015 CHRISTIAN AGENDA,
first started in December 2010
and ran to January 2011, calling
for a Christian governor, I was
like the lone voice crying in the
wilderness. I was called a day
dreamer to my face by even
sages and unbelievers. The
earthly powers in Lagos had no
plans for a Christian to succeed
Fashola. The rest is history.
Lagos had Ambode in 2015
after an election in which the two
political parties featured
Christian candidates. Today
Sanwo-Olu is governor. One
with God is always a majority
anytime.
Part one ended with the
statement “You are not God” –
as my answer to those who
declare that something is
impossible. Each time I hear
someone say something new is
impossible, what comes to my
mind is the observation by
Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-
1821, who said the word
“impossible” does not or should
not exist. I agree with him. Until
all those who desire a particular
change put all their hearts and
souls into the struggle, nobody
knows what is “impossible”. At
any rate, there are other reasons
why the doubters are wrong.
“From factions, APC will
break into pieces” - Buba
Galadima, SUNDAY
VANGUARD, July 4, 2020.
Galadima was one of the
founding fathers of the political
party called All Progressives
Congress, APC. He has since left
the party. That is part of the story.
APC, at its birth, could not have
qualified as a political party
based on the definition by
Edmund Burke, 1729-1797:
“Party is a body of men united
for promoting by their joint
endeavours the national interest,
based upon some particular
principle in which they are all
agreed.” There was no
agreement.
“Alliances are held together by
fear; not by love”, Harold
Macmillan, 1894-1986,
VANGUARD BOOK OF
QUOTATIONS, p 9.
By contrast, the APC was a
mere conspiracy to seize power
based on the hidden ambitions
of two of the founders. First, we
know that the four legacy parties
which fused in April 2013 were:
Action Congress of Nigeria,
CAN; All Nigeria Peoples Party,
ANPP; All Progressive Grand
Alliance, APGA, and the
Congress for Progressive
Change, CPC. They were joined
in November of that year by n-
PDP – a faction of the Peoples
Democratic Party. There is no
need at this point to go into more
details about the formation of
the APC. It was an alliance of
groups which had few, if any,
“principle in which they are all
agreed”. The grand alliance was
formed out of fear that most of
them will spend their days out of
the corridors of Aso Rock.
Nothing more elevating united
them. But they successfully
peddled the lie of a progressive
change to Nigerians and to
themselves. But history never
allows any contraption based on
fraud to last.
“All political parties die at last
of swallowing their own lies” -
Dr John Arbuthnot, 1667-1735,
VBQ p 191.
While the others were busy
working on the “constitution”,
two of the leaders stepped aside
and forged their own separate
agreement – unknown to other
members of the alliance. The
leader of the ACN would support
the leader of the CPC to emerge
the presidential candidate. In
turn, the other party would select
his partner in alliance betrayal
to be the Vice President. But, how
many times have we repeated it.
“Men make history; but not just
as they please (Karl Marx, 1818-
1883, VBQ 93). Thus, right from
its birth, a faction consisting of
The monumental
corruption we now
experience has
demolished Buhari’s
anti-corruption
credentials
two was created in the political
association. It would not be the
last time factions will develop
which now threaten the party’s
existence. Mark my words; the
APC is finished as a formidable
political party. The current
Caretaker Committee charged
with re-constituting the party will
labour in vain. The factions
within the party are so deeply
antagonistic, henceforth any
meeting will resemble that of
Sicilian Mafia which everybody
attends by packing a revolver
under his belt.
“The most common and
durable source of factions has
been the various and unequal
distribution of property.” That
was the verdict of James
Madison, 1751-1836, one of the
founding fathers of America.
While the APC handled
opposition admirably, it was
unable to manage victory as
well. The cracks are now too
deep to paper over. The factions
which will destroy the APC are
here to stay. Buhari, as agreed,
became presidential candidate.
The attempt to present his vice
presidential candidate met stiff
resistance ostensibly on account
of the rejection of a Muslim-
Muslim ticket. One party to the
conspiracy got his wish; the other
failed. That was not part of the
original script – despite all the
attempts to put up a brave face.
It was not the last time the loser’s
party will be treated badly.
The APC won the election –
mostly on the strength of the
funds and media support
provided by the southern
members of the coalition, mostly
ACN, and one major northerner.
Hardly anybody from Katsina
State or Daura was seen among
the frontline warriors
throughout the campaign. 16 of
the first 20 appointments by the
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 17
newly-elected President went to Buhari’s dismal record. Yet, no
the North; and most of the APC candidate can distance
appointees were either from himself from the disasters
Katsina State and Daura or their created in the eight years of
in-laws and associates – starting Buhari rule. That, in a nutshell,
with the all-powerful posts of is the situation with APC.
Chief of Staff and Director Anybody who believes that the
General of DSS. The monkeywork-baboon
chop business was must have a different crystal ball
PDP will return to Aso Rock
the beginning of a lot of monkey than mine. But, bear in mind that
business which formed the mine had been tested for
pattern of “unequal distribution accuracy of prophecy. PDP can
of property” – meaning our only win on one condition; and
national wealth.
it is not my business to tell them.
“All animals are equal; but Just remember that APC did not
some are more equal than exist until two years to the 2015
others” - George Orwell, 1903- elections. The PDP is now just as
1950, in ANIMAL FARM. fractured as the APC.
The President, inadvertently or “Let us not seek the
deliberately, created the biggest Republican answer or the
factions ever in any elected Democratic answer, but the right
government from the start of his answer”- Senator John
tenure – which lasted for the first Kennedy, 1917-1963, in
four years. Some astute Maryland, USA, Feb. 1958.
members of the conspiracy Kennedy became the first
accurately read the hand writing Catholic to be US President two
on the wall. Without waiting for years after delivering that
the party and the President, they address. A lot of his fellow
seized control of the National Catholics told him he had no
Assembly, NASS; and held it chance of winning. But,
successfully for the four years Americans thought differently.
despite all attempts to dislodge Like Kennedy, this is actually not
them. There was an irony in that. a campaign for an Igbo woman
While Jonathan lost control of per se as President for Nigeria.
the NASS towards the end, It is a campaign for the right
Buhari lost it right from the start. candidate who just happened to
That was the first major sign that be both. Further, it is not a partybased
campaign. The most
this coalition would not last long.
Remarkably, it survived to gain important things in life often
power for a second term. But, like have nothing to do with party.
the first term, the only The monumental corruption
beneficiaries have been Buhari we now experience has
and his close associates. The rest demolished Buhari’s anticorruption
credentials. Our
are now in the wilderness. The
dissolution of the National cardinal problem in 2023 will
Working Committee, NWC, by be the debt burden. If anybody
the President has now sent the has any other candidate who
conspiracy back to its beginning can help us better, they should
without a good candidate to rally bring him/her out. Until then, our
round and with the members a future points to Okonjo-Iweala.
lot wiser. None of the legacy “In the end it will not matter
members will again concede the to us whether we fought with
presidency to another without a flails or reeds. It will matter on
serious fight. Buhari has taught which side we fought” - GK
all the other parties, especially Chesterton, 1874-1936, VBQ p
the ACN, a lesson their leader(s) 60
will never forget. Somebody in I am under no illusion that
that group is ruing the day he male politicians will give up
made a deal with Buhari. power easily. Power has to be
Nothing has turned out the way fought for by those desiring real
he envisaged.
transformation of our society.
I went to this great length to Strategies are required; so are
draw the attention of those foot soldiers. Next week, I will
doubting the chances of a fresh close this series by pointing out
candidate to the fact that APC, those I expect will be on the
as a “party”, is finished. Buhari frontline of this struggle. They
will definitely want to choose his must be sick and tired of our
successor in the faction which present crop of politicians who
will still call itself APC. But, only have nothing more to offer.
a desperado will want to run on
APC National Convention: 'Why S/South should retain chairmanship'
head of All
AProgressives Congress (
APC) national convention, a
Non- Governmental
Organization( NGO), Power
Arc Media (PAM), has
drummed up support for the
retention of the position of
national chairman in the
South-South geopolitical
zone.
The Power Arc Media , an
advocate of unity in the
country, is of the view that
retaining the chairmanship of
APC in the zone is the way to
go. Immediate past National
Chairman of the party
,Adams Oshiomhole, and his
predecessor, John Odigie-
Oyegun, are both from the
South-South .
The Power Arc Media in a
statement by its Director of
Operations, Mr. Tedd
Avindigh, said such a move
would create disharmony
and adversely affect the party.
It added that taking the
national chairmanship
position out of South -South
zone, would create a sense of
loss and would ultimately be
counterproductive to the
party.
In the spirit of fairness,
equity, justices and even
development , they stressed
that the position should
remain in the South-South
geopolitical zone.
The organisation said: “ It
was the wisdom of the
stakeholders of the party to
zone the office of the national
chairman of the party to the
South-South geopolitical
zone in particular after the
emergence of President
Muhammadu Buhari and
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
“If the agitation by the South-
East geopolitical zone to have
a shot at the number one
position in 2023 is sustained
and the South -West zone
already had the Vice
Presidential slot for eight
years, it is only logical that the
South-South zone retains the
position.
"This would balance the
political equation and give
every section of the country a
sense of belonging .
Ani declares for Uvwie LGA chairmanship position
ajority Leader of
MUvwie Legislative
Arm and two terms councillor,
who is also a chairmanship
aspirant in Uvwie Local
Government Council, Mr Efe
Ani, has confirmed his
intention to contest the
forthcoming local
government election in the
state.
He, therefore, urged his
supporters not to be
intimidated or afraid of
others, assuring that he will
emerge victorious.
Ani, who addressed a
pressure group, TEAM ANI
For Chairman, Uvwie Local
Government Area,
canvassing support for his
ambition, said he was
seriously in the race, adding
that he will be contesting on
the platform of Peoples
Democratic Party. PDP.
He said: “I’m not declaring
my intention formally but I
want to tell you that I’m
seriously in the chairmanship
race and I’m going to win.
They have been using my
father’s name to clear their
way and find themselves in
positions."
He urged the group not to
be intimidated by anybody.
Earlier, Chairman of
Ighwuvie of Uvwie, and his
The South-South would
also be expected to do a further
micro zoning which arguably
favours Cross River State . Edo
State has had two consecutive
chairmen , Rivers State just
had the national chairman ,
Victor Giadom and Delta
State has the incumbent
Deputy President of the
Senate. Akwa Ibom State has
vice, said most Uvwie
politicians are direct and
Shutting down oil operations may
halt gains of dialogue — Otuaro
The shutting down of oil
operations threatened
by the Itsekiri and the
Ijaw in the Warri area of Delta
State may halt already
trickling gains of dialogue
with the Federal Government,
Deputy Governor of Delta
State, Deacon Kingsley
Otuaro, said.
Otuaro, who said the Delta
State government has not
closed dialogue with Federal
Government on behalf of the
communities, stressed that
"result-oriented dialogue was
Value Investing ting Limited ed hosts ts public presentation of a book July 21
By Victor ‘Tunde Oso
n integrated financial
Aand investment advisory
service firm, Value Investing
Limited, will host the Zoom
Presentation of a newly
published book titled,
F I N A N C I A L
INTERMEDIATION:
Operations and Practice. It is
a guide book for financial
the Minister of Niger Delta
Ministry as well as Special
Adviser on the Niger Delta
Affairs while Bayelsa has the
Minister of Petroleum.
Cross River State seems to
be the virgin land to produce
the next national chairman of
APC.''
indirect beneficiaries of the
foundation laid down by the
late Friday Meyawhe Ani.
market operators and
practitioners.
The author of the book is
Seye Adetunmbi, the Chief
Responsibility Officer of Value
Investing Limited and the
convener of Capital Market
Roundtable in Nigeria. The
public presentation of the book
will hold virtually on July 21st,
2020.
Mr. Bola Ajomale, the Chief
Executive Officer of NASD
Hondred Ghost Billionaire signs new artistes
Nthe OTWITHSTANDING
lull in the music
industry as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic,
Hondred Ghost Billionaire
Records has signed two new
artistes to the record label.
Co-owned by biological
brothers, CEO of Stelmat
Nigeria Limited, Mathew
Moses Oluwafemi, popularly
known as Ghost and CEO of
Hondred Ghost Luxury Night
Club, Mathew Peter
Oladipupo, better known as
Hondred, Ghost, the record
label boss said that the signing
of Ikhumhen Jeffery Ehis,
a.k.a Jeff South and Momoh
Paul Oshokie also known as
Alhaji Sweetest is a strategic
move in nurturing and
marketing the amazing
talents to global audience.
Oladipupo said, “The
Nigerian music industry is set
PLC will review the book at the
zoom presentation. Chairman
of the zoom presentation is Dr
Alimi Abdulrazaq, the
Chairman of Forte Oil -
Upstream Services Limited
while Mr Atedo Peterside,
Chairman of ANAP
Foundation and Dr. Uduimo
Justus Itsueli, Chairman of
Dubril Oil Limited are the
Special Guests of Honour.
to witness the finest of talents
from the stables of Hondred
Ghost Billionaire Records.”
Jeff South, singer and
saxophonist hails from Benin
City and his genre of music is
an alternative, with a fine
blend of Afro Pop, while Alhaji
Sweetest is an indigenous rap
artiste from Bauchi, who
effortlessly dishes out lyrics in
Hausa.
Alhaji Sweetest and Jeff South
are set to release a
collaborative single featured
by the record label titled ‘No
Balance’ on the 18th of July,
2020.
a process, not an event". He
appealed to oil bearing areas
of Ijaw of Gbaramatu
Kingdom and the Itsekiri who
had issued ultimatum via
statements by Chief
Godspower Gbenekama and
Mr. Samuel Besidone for Ijaw
of Gbaramatu Kingdom and
Itsekiri respectively, to shelve
the planned shutdown for a
win-win dialogue option.
"I personally appeal that
the oil communities
consider jettisoning the
idea of shutting down oil
operations, as a birthday
gift to our Governor,
Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa,
and to enable his team
more time to deepen
discussions with the
a p p r o p r i a t e
authorities,"Otuaro
pleaded, while
appreciating their peaceful
approach so far.
Holding out a progress
chart which he said
justified need for the
people to "keep the peace
and the faith", Otuaro said
"The federal government
has awarded the
electrification project that
will benefit about 50
communities in the said
Escravos area and work is
ongoing.
"Delta State Government
Committee on the
Modular Floating
Dockyard chaired by
myself, Commissioner of
Finance, as well as Bosin
Ebikeme, and Kelly
Penawou, amongst others,
has not closed discussions
on sending the Modular
Floating Dockyard to
Okerenkoko area for
intended purpose.''

PAGE 18—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
Expressions of Grace in the ministry
of Jesus (2)
Paul says: “By grace you have been saved
through faith,and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyoneshould
boast.” (Ephesians 2:8).
This agrees with Jesus’ expressions of grace.
He says: “No one can come to me unless the-
Father who sent me draws them to me.” (John
6:44-45). “People can't come to me unless the
Fathergives them to me.” (John 6:65). “The-
Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort
accomplishes nothing.” (John6:63).
That means the grace of God is unmerited.
“Who then can be saved?” asks His disciples
inbewilderment. Jesus says to them: “Withmen,
it is impossible, but not with God; for
with God all things are possible.”(Mark 10:26-
27).
So, when some Jews ask Him: “What shall
we do, that wemay work the works of God?”
Jesus says to them: “This is the work of God,
thatyou believe in Him whom He sent.” (John
6:28-29).
God’s grace is 100% the work of God. However,
we can only enter into this blessing byfaith.
That is why Paul says we aresaved by
grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8). At its most
fundamental, God is not arespecter of persons.
(Acts 10:34). His grace is available to all men:
“The graceof God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men.” (Titus 2:11).
However, not all men receive it. Even some
who initially receive it fall fromgrace because
they fail to abide by the principles of God’s
grace. The grace of God that brings salvation
isreceived by faith without merit. But itis perfected
by works.
He that shall receive from
the Lord (1)
The grace of God that
bringssalvation is received by
faith without merit. But it is
perfected by works
Foundational elements for success: Faith
to succeed (13)
E shall press on with this,
Wbecause of it’s importance
in life and destiny. Moses,
that great man of God once said,
“If thy presence go not with me,
carry us not up hence.” (Exodus
33:15) He understood the importance
of God’s presence in
achieving anything meaningful
in life. He could not afford to
trade it off with anything, not
even the temporary comforts of
Egypt (The then known world
Pastor Akinola
superpower!). (Hebrews 11:25-26). Let’s explore
these two words further in this section.
May we truly enjoy both of these qualities from
God.
ENJOYING GOD’S PRESENCE ALL THE
TIME
If you prove your love to God by following
closely His Word, you will experience the presence
of God all the time. “Jesus answered and
said to him, “if anyone loves Me, he will keep
My word, and My Father will love him, and
We will come to him and make Our home with
him. ” (John 14: 23).
A man who has God’s presence is living in
peace, and he has things perfectly under control.
The Bible says, “Keep your heart with all
P
SALM 24:1-5 says: “The earth is the
LORD's, and the fullness thereof; the world,
and they that dwell therein; For he hath founded
it upon the seas, and established it upon the
floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the
LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He
that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from
the LORD, and righteousness from the God of
his salvation”.
Beloved, it is one thing to ask blessing and
favour from God but it is another thing to receive
from God. This is because our state of
righteousness as at the time we are expecting
answer from God will to a large extent determines
the degree and promptness of the answer
we will receive from God. Our attitude
Grace through faith
In the first place, God does not give grace
to thewicked. Isaiah says: “Though grace
isshown to the wicked, they do not learn
righteousness; even in a land ofuprightness
they go on doing evil.” (Isaiah 26:10).
Therefore, in order to show grace to a
man,God first has to give him the gift of
repentance from sin. (Acts 11:18). This
means even repentance is a gift of
God’sgrace.
This gift of repentance is one of the things
God promisedin the past that is now “Yea
and Amen” in Christ. He says: “I will pour
on the house of Davidand on the inhabitants
of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and
supplication; thenthey will look on Me
whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn
for Him as onemourns for his only son, and
grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
(Zechariah12:10).
But God’s grace does not come to an end
after werepent. John the Baptist says Jesus
hascome to give us one grace after another.
(John 1:16-17). Through the way Jesus
made for us, we can nowcome again and
again to God’s throne of grace to receive
diligence, for out of it are the issues of life”
(Prov. 4:23). The heart is the control seat of
man’s personality, and hence his eventual
success. Those who are careless
with the condition of their hearts
may tend to have temporary success,
but at the end, it is not a good
success. (Joshua 1:8). God has offered
to take His place of abode in
our hearts according to the above
passages, so that His presence continually
with us will make all the
while waiting for God’s answer can mar
our chances of receiving an answer as we
expected. That is why the Psalmist is asking
who is qualified to receive God’s blessing.
Providing answer to the above contextual
Scriptural question, the Psalmist said,
they are such that keep themselves from all
the gross acts of sin. Those that have clean
hands, whose lives have not been stained
with the pollution of the world and the flesh.
Those that make conscience of being really
as good as they seem to be outwardly.
Those that have pure hearts, and have not
allowed themselves to be corrupted by secret
sins.
Those that will ascend to the Lord’s holy
place must be those that do not set their
affections upon the things of this world, that
do not lift their souls unto vanity, whose
hearts are not after the wealth of this world,
the praise of men, or who do not choose
these things for their portion, nor reach forth
after them, because they believe them to be
vanity. They are such as deal honestly both
with God and man. In their covenant with
God, and their contracts with men, they have
not sworn deceitfully, nor broken their
promises, nor taken any false oath. But
those that have no regard to the obligations
of truth or for the Sovereign God cannot
boastfully be assured to ascend to God’s
more and more grace: “Let us, therefore, come
boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy andfind grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16).
However, unlike the grace of God that brings
salvation,what we receive from the throne of
grace is not only accessed by faith, it mustbe
perfected by works. This grace ismerited because:
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to
the humble.” (James4:6). It is only given to those
whoagree to be: “created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we
should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10).
It is not given to those who despise the grace
of God andcontinue in sin. The psalmist says:
“TheLord will give grace and glory; no good
thing will He withhold from those whowalk
uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11). Believers who drawback
and are notupright can fall from grace.
(Galatians 5:4). But true believers grow in this
grace. (2Peter 3:18).
Grace with works
difference
FAILURE LAMENTATIONS FOR
SOME PROMINENT PEOPLE WHO
LACKED GOD’S PRESENCE
As human beings, our thinking has always
wired around physical success here
on earth. However, experiences of people
down the road of life has proved us wrong!
The Lord Jesus said that “…a man’s life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth” Luke 12:15. Unfortunately,
today, even many Christians who
should have understood this better, have
also joined the people of the world in the rat
race of pursuing worldly possessions.
To underscore this fact, we shall see a few
end-of-life lamentations of some well
known, world-acclaimed ‘successful’ leaders
of their times, which shows that they did not
have good success afterall.
Sir Thomas Scott, one time President of English
Parliament. Just before he died, said:
“Up till this time, I thought there was no God,
neither Hell. Now I know and feel that there
are both, and I am delivered to perdition by the
righteous judgment of the Almighty”. And he
died! What a late hour for him to know! This
was no good success.
Sir Winston Churchill, English Statesman,
British Prime Minister during World War II,
former Freemason and Druid member: said,
“What a fool I have been! I’m bored with it
all.”
Immediately after this statement, Sir
Churchill slipped into coma and died nine days
later on January 24, 1965. Shall we call this
success? Certainly not! Going by his own words.
David Hume, the Atheist:
In his last minutes, he cried out, “I am in
flames!”. His desperation was a horrible scene!
Jean Paul Sartre, Existentialist philosopher:
His last words: “I failed!”. What a categorical
statement!
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)
holy place or receive from God except they repent.
Anyone who keeps to the above tenet and principle
shall be made truly and forever happy. He
shall be blessed with all the fruits and gifts of
God's favour, according to His promise and
above all he shall be justified and sanctified.
The person shall receive the reward of his righteousness,
the crown of righteousness which the
righteous Judge shall give. He shall be saved. If
you want to be sure of an answer to your prayer,
you must first seek God and His righteousness
in order to obtain His favour.
Some people that prayed without result may
be because of their negative attitude. Sometimes
they blame God and even Satan for their unanswered
prayers. What they do not know is that
their problem originates from them.
Isaiah 59:1-3 says: “Behold, the LORD's hand
is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his
ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God,
and your sins have hid his face from you, that he
will not hear. For your hands are defiled with
blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips
have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered
perverseness”
Beloved, it is your sin and not God or the Pastor
or that man that is responsible for your problem.
The Scripture says it is your iniquities and
life that is not pleasing to God that are responsible
for your troubles.
That is why James cautions us saying: “But
do you want toknow, O foolish man, that faith
without works is dead? Was not Abraham ourfather
justified by works when he offered Isaac
his son on the altar? Do yousee that faith was
working together with his works, and by works
faith was madeperfect?” (James 2:20-22).
The example of Abraham is very instructive.
God called Abraham and made some promises
tohim entirely by grace. He told him: “Iwill
make you a great nation; I will bless you and
make your name great; andyou shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will
curse himwho curses you; and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis12:2-3).
Abraham did absolutely nothing to deserve
theseblessings. But: “He believed in theLord,
and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
(Genesis 15:6).
However, much later, God tested Abraham by
telling him tosacrifice his only son, Isaac. When-
Abraham obeyed, God repeated to him the same
promises He had earlier made tohim by grace:
“By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because
you havedone this thing, and have not
withheld your son, your only son blessing I willbless
you, and multiplying I will multiply your
descendants as the stars of theheaven and as
the sand which is on the seashore; and your
descendants shallpossess the gate of their enemies.”
(Genesis 22:16-18).
In this manner, the same promise that was
made to Abrahamby grace that he received by
faith was now perfected by the works ofAbraham.
Word made flesh
In 1996, I had a video shop in Victoria Island,
Lagosthat was making, on average, 7,000
naira a day. But one day, God gave me a dream
where I opened the account book of the shopand
discovered to my surprise that it made
23,000 naira in one day. I immediately received
this prophecy by faithand then set out
to work.
The psalmist says: “Since we have the same
spirit offaith, according to what is written, ‘I
believed and therefore I spoke,’ wealso believe
and therefore speak.” (2 Corinthians 4:13).
Therefore, I told everybody that my VictoriaIsland
shop would make 23,000 naira in one
day. But Ernest, my assistant, did not believe.
However, I did more than just talk. I filled
the shop with goods far above the levelof business.
I did this so persistentlythat God spoke
to me. He said: “Femi, becauseyou believe
me, I will tell you when this prophecy will be
fulfilled. It will happen on 29th December
1996.”
On that appointed date, it was my unbelieving
assistantwho brought me the news.
But,paradoxically, the shop did not make
23,000 naira: it made 29,000. When I asked
the Lord the reason behind thediscrepancy, He
said to me: “Femi, you exceeded the prophecy.”
And so, this gift of grace also ended up with
asurprise. Although it was unmerited and Ireceived
it by faith, I perfected it by works (also
by God’s grace.) But it did not end there. I kept
going back for more and more grace andthe
income kept growing until it peaked at 55,000
naira a day in 2002.
*Ituah Ighodalo is the
Senior Pastor, Trinity
House, Trinity Avenue, Off
Ligali Ayorinde Street,
Victoria Island, Lagos.+234-
808-895-6162
info@trinityhouseng.org
A new season is here
Now upon the first day of the week,
very early in the morning, they came
unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices
which they had prepared, and certain others
with them. And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulchre. And they entered in,
and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke
24: 1-3 KJV
The story of our Lord Jesus Christ is true,
because everything about Jesus worked exactly
to perfection and there enough proofs to
evidence this.. The timing was perfect, the environment
was beautiful and everything went
per plan.
Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes as
would a lamb set aside for sacrifice. The second
thing was that where Jesus was born was
Bethlehem in a place where Lambs are reared
mostly for sacrifice. The Shepherds went in to
see Jesus and saw him wrapped like a lamb
set aside for slaughter. Then He was born in a
place where lambs are kept.
Jesus went through all the stages that the
lamb, unblemished, goes through before it is
sacrificed. Your belief in Christ and all that
He went through to connect us back to God
the father sets us on that part that leads to life
eternal. It also means that we as the new testament
of the death and resurrection do not need
to perform animal sacrifice because Christ
has done it once and finished the work at Calvary!
On the day of resurrection, it was the start of
a new season. The women went to the tomb
where Jesus was buried expecting to see a dead
body but they saw there a risen Jesus. And as
they were afraid, and bowed down their faces
to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye
the living among the dead? He is not here,
but is risen: remember how he spake unto you
when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son
of man must be delivered into the hands of
sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day
rise again. Luke 24: 5-7.
They met the stone that covered the tomb
rolled away and an angel waiting to tell them
the good news of Christ’s resurrection. This
news they took to the Disciples of Jesus Christ.

Rev. Emmanuel Awazie
*Assemblies of God Church
Nigeria, 111 Clegg Street,
Surulere, Lagos.
Developing the kingdom life mindset (9)
O develop the Kingdom
Tmindset, the believer
must understand his future in
Christ. Whatever you think
about the future will affect
how you live today. In the
same way, the Kingdom
mindset is developed through
constantly thinking on our future
in Christ. The Apostle
Paul says, “When Christ, who
is your life, appears, then you
also will appear with him in
glory.” (Colossians 3:4) The
believer who truly understands
this and focuses on
Christ’s second coming and
our future glory with him will
be consumed with it. Yes, "...
our citizenship is in heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior
from there, the Lord Jesus
Christ...." (Philippians 3:20-
21)
To eagerly await is a strong
language (in the original) to
express the earnest expectation
of something believed to
be imminent. It means literally
to thrust forward the head
and neck as in anxious expectation
of hearing or seeing
something. It means to focus
on something to the exclusion
of everything else. Those who
understand the second coming
are consumed with it. Developing
a focus on the second
coming is crucial to a
heavenly mindset.
The second coming of
Christ and our future glory
should make us purify our
thoughts, our conversations,
and our daily endeavors, for -
"Behold what manner of love
the Father has bestowed on
us, that we should be called
children of God!..it has not yet
been revealed what we shall
be, but we know that when He
is revealed, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as
He is. 3 And everyone who has
this hope in Him purifies
himself, just as He is pure." (I
John 3:1-3.) A consummate
thought of being like Him, has
a powerful transforming effect
on the human mind and life.
This is probably the reason
many Christians do not have a
Kingdom mindset and do not
have holy lives. They have lost
(or never had) hope in the second
coming of Christ. Christ
described this unfortunate reality
in a parable about a master
and his unfaithful servant:
"The Lord answered, ‘Who then
is the faithful and wise manager,
whom the master puts in
charge of his servants...It will
be good for that servant whom
the master finds doing so when
he returns...But suppose the servant
says to himself, “My master
is taking a long time in
coming,” and he then begins
to beat the menservants and
maidservants and to eat and
drink and get drunk. The master
of that servant will come on
a day when he does not expect
him and at an hour he is not
aware of...." (Luke 12:42-48)
This servant lost the expectation
of the master’s coming.
This encouraged him to cast
off restraint as he lived in discord,
waste, and blatant sin.
This parable is about the fruits
we will find in our lives if we
lose our expectancy of Christ’s
coming. Discord, wasteful living,
and blatant sin will mark
our lives as well. For this reason
Satan is always after our
minds. He realizes that if he
can turn them away from heavenly
things, he can turn us towards
earthly things. “For as
he thinks within himself, so he
is” (Proverbs 23:7) The more
earthly we think, the more
earthly we become. Satan is
especially after the believer’s
mind as it concerns the future.
He Satan, understands that
anybody who has this hope
purifies themselves (1 John 3:2-
3.) What you think about the
future affects how you live today.
To be continued
The day of supernatural power
encounter (2)
nfortunately, the same
Ufate will await all those
who would spurn the offer of
God for their salvation simply
because they rejected
Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Saviour and chose to remain
in sinful pride, self-will and
inordinate affections, which
Satan the devil is using to lure
multitudes into his kingdom
because he loves company
and has determined to take
as many sinners, including
you, down with him to the hell
whole of eternal destruction.
If you know and deserve
better than what the devil has
prescribed for you, then it is
time to come back to the Almighty
God because that is
the only escape route left for
you at these times.
You should outgrow playing
religion because it is too
expensive a joke to be engaged
in; and the matter of
fact is that, it is only one life,
and how you spend it on earth
matters most because the
heart of the matter is the matter
of your eternal destiny:
hence, you cannot afford to
let your life slip away from
you simply because there is
mounting pressure on you to
belong and or impress some
few friends and family members
whose life is already in
the line of destruction.
1 Kings 18:21 " ...How long
halt ye between two opinions?
if the LORD be God, follow
him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And the people answered
him not a word."
Those yearly incessant resolutions
to turn a new leaf on
life, which never happened,
will not save you from the
wrath to come neither would
your piled up bags and baggage
of excuses become a
Pastor William Kumuyi
safety net that would bring you
forgiveness and pardon for sins
committed.
Acts 4:12 "Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there
is none other name under
heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved."
Jesus is calling you to repent
because it is time to halt that
endless search for the satisfaction
of your thirsty soul; and
you are the only one that can
put a stop to the habit of dillydallying
around with sin and
Satan.
If truly you want to take that
decision God is expecting from
you, then you have to make it
genuine, well informed, and
with the very foundation cast
in the infallible word of truth
so as to make the devil
ashamed of you.
1 Kings 18:30 "And Elijah
said unto all the people, Come
near unto me. And all the
people came near unto him.
And he repaired the altar of the
LORD that was broken down."
Your life has become shattered
and disorderly in a state
of mess because sin permeates
and pervades all over it. And
your heart is defiled, disorganized
and destabilized. In
other words, there is a broken
altar in your life that needs to
be repaired and when that is
done repentance would be consummated.
To be continued.
sam.eyoboka@gmail.com
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
Your season of joy and gladness
shall materialize
TEXT: Psalm 51:8
The word Season in the
Greek is the word Kairos,
which connotes a defined period
or a specially designated
time. It carries the weight
of a special occasion. The life
span of everything created by
God has been divided into
times and seasons. These
times and seasons have been
programmed to either occur
sequentially or in some instances
randomly.
It takes the proper understanding
of times and seasons
to reap the full harvest of such
periods; there is a season of
Joy and gladness allotted to
men, and yet it is expected that
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 19
08023145567 (sms only)
Rape: Moral outrage in the sight of God and man
By Benedict Hart
NCIDENTS of rape have
Iassumed a new dimension
in Nigeria – what, with
the stories of infants/minors
being raped and fathers raping
their daughters with violence
and of the victims been
killed in some cases! What
have come to light are so sickening
that one is, perforce,
impelled to reflect deeper on
the statement of St. Paul that
“it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done
of them in secret”. (Ephesians
5:11-13)
Nannies, caregivers, attendants,
neighbours, step or foster
fathers have in the past
been implicated in these moral
enormities; but what does
one make of a student being
raped inside a church building?
What does one make of
a father repeatedly raping his
two daughters "at gunpoint"?
As many as 11 men taking
turns to rape a 12-year-old
girl? A landlord raping the
PFN commends Nweke, Ogbonna, congratulates Yakubu Pam
By Sam Eyoboka
Are all marriages ordained by God?
A TRUE marriage is the
joining together by God, not
by clergymen, of a man and
a woman to become one flesh,
and such a marriage must not
be put asunder by any man.
(Matthew 19:6.) And the man
that is so joined to a woman,
must leave father and mother
and cleave to his wife. (Genesis
2:24; Matthew 19:5). The
wife also must leave her own
people and her father’s house.
(Psalm 45:10) This means
that parental or family interference
in the matrimonial
affairs of those whom God
has joined together, is condemnable
before God.
two-year-old daughter of his
tenant? Invariably, nen and
women of godly disposition
are becoming more and more
apprehensive as to where the
world is heading for. We are
indeed living in perilous times.
(II Timothy 3:1-5)
It has been alleged that some
men use talisman or other supernatural
means to hypnotize
girls and women so as to rape
them. And some of these people
claim to be Christians.
Shame on them! Both the resort
to occultism and the act
of rape are violations of the
law of God. They are evidences
of lack of faith in Him. The
Bible says: “There shall not be
found among you any one that
... useth divination, or an observer
of times, or an enchanter,
or a witch, Or a charmer, or
a consulter with familiar spirits,
or a wizard, or a necromancer.
For all that do these things
are an abomination unto the
LORD...” (Deuteronomy
18:10-12).
THE Pentecostal Fellowship
of Nigeria (PFN) has
commended Mr. Ikenna
Nweke, the Nigerian PhD
Student in Japan for his exemplary
act of honesty in returning
to the police a wallet
he found containing huge
sums of money and then turning
down an offer to be compensated
for his action by the
authorities.
The National President of
the PFN, Rev. (Dr.) Felix
Omobude in a statement by
Simbo Olorunfemi on behalf
of Rev. Felix Omobude described
Mr. Nweke as a pride
to Nigeria and a testament to
the fact that Nigerians are essentially
good people.
Omobude commended
him for being a great Ambassador
for Nigeria in a foreign
land, commending to young
Nigerians as a worthy example
to emulate.
The Pentecostal Fellowship
of Nigeria assures Mr. Nweke
of her prayer that the Lord will
grant him success in his study
and encompass with grace and
favour to enable him achieve
the goals he has set for himself.
The National President of
the PFN also commended Mr.
Chidiebere Ogbonna who
found N1.8miilion in a carton
he had purchased and returned
it to the place he got the
product from.
“He is proof that, even in the
face of the challenges all
around, the values of integrity
and honesty are still highly
cherished by many Nigerians.
He is an exemplar deserving
of recognition and reward to
encourage more people to
continue to follow the precepts
laid down by our faith,"
Omobude contended.
In a similar development, the
The law of God
The Bible condemns any
kind of sexual activity involving
the exposure of the nakedness
of another person who is
not a lawful wife or husband.
“None of you shall approach
to any that is near of kin to
him, to uncover their nakedness:
I am the LORD.” (Leviticus
18:6) In the Christian era,
one has sinned already if one
lusts after a woman or harbours
the earnest desire of having
illicit sexual relations with
her. (Matthew 5:27-28) Men,
but women especially, should
therefore not do anything that
would excite sexual lusts in the
opposite sex. Dr. Donald C.
Stamps, in his notes on the text
just cited, states, among other
things, “In the area of maintaining
sexual purity, the
woman as well as the man has
a responsibility. The Christian
woman must be careful not to
dress in a way that attracts attention
to her body, thereby
creating temptation for men
PFN congratulates the former
National Vice President
(North-Central) of the PFN,
Rev. Yakubu Pam on his ap-
even when the season is otherwise,
joy and gladness
should still materialize out of
our lives. This is why the last
message published was titled:
The right source of Joy,
so that we can channel our
desires for joy to the right
source.
Joy and gladness have been
designed by God to be the
trademark of Christianity. In a
layman’s term, Joy can be defined
as unconditional and uncircumstantial
happiness.
Gladness I define as a feeling
of pleasure which is characterized
by the demonstration of
cheerfulness, and in some instances
the display of delightful
utterances.
Our text says “Make me to
hear Joy and gladness; that
the bones which you have broken
may rejoice”
This is a prayer request from
the Psalmist to God. He identified
Joy and gladness as necessary
and mandatory pivots
around which human desires
rotate. People embark on various
endeavors such as marriages;
carrier journeys, etc all
because they seek Joy and
gladness. And yet many do not
enjoy such because such fail
to materialize.
Satan’s grand plot has always
been to rob man of his
Joy during the defined seasons
of his life. However, God will
not allow Satan’s plan to materialize.
He is not a sadist
waiting in the heavenlies, intending
to beam down his
wrath on the Earth; rather he
is a God who takes pleasure
in seeing his creations fully
enjoy their creative and existential
possibilities. In John
15:11, Jesus deliberately told
his disciples several things, so
that their Joy and gladness
may materialize (be full), and
The first marriage ordained
by God took place in the Garden
of Eden, between Adam
and Eve, and the two became
one flesh. (Genesis 2:22-23)
Therefore, the original plan of
God, in marriage, is one man,
one wife. The other marriage
approved and ordained by
God, in answer to the prayer
of Abraham’s servant, was between
Rebecca and Isaac.
(Genesis 24:11-15, 50-51)
The most important purpose
of marriage, as written in I
Corinthians 7:2, is to avoid
fornication. Hence, believers
in Christ are warned in I
Corinthians 6:18, to flee fornication,
and marry, so that
their marriages can be honourable
in the sight of God,
otherwise God shall judge
whoremongers and adulterers,
who defile the bed before
marriage. (Hebrews 13:4)
Most storms in marriages, can
be the result of the judgment
of God upon such marriages,
whose beds have been defiled!
Any true church is a mixed
multitude, of both the good
seed and the tares. The good
pointment by President Muhammadu
Buhari as the Executive
Secretary, National
Christian Pilgrims Commission
(NCPC).
MFM moves to another prayer retreat
By Sam Eyoboka
ENERAL Overseer of
GMountain of Fire and
Miracles Ministries (MFM)
worldwide, Dr. Daniel
Olukoya, has directed that
members move from the ongoing
third session of the 30
Days Prayer Retreat which
ended on Tuesday, 7 July to
another session.
According to a statement
signed by the Chairman,
MFM Media Committee,
Pastor Oladele Bank-Olemoh,
the members will, from
Wednesday, July 8, start the
July Power Must Change
Hands (PMCH) until August
PMCH.
and encouraging lust. Dressing
immodestly or sensually
is associated with lust and
therefore should be scrupulously
avoided (I Timothy 2:9;
I Peter 3:2, 3).”
St. Paul warns that no one
should “go beyond”, that is,
take advantage of or overreach
another “in any matter”,
warning that “the Lord
is the avenger of all such”. (I
Thessalonians 4:6) People
who commit such moral enormities
as rape are referred to
by St. Paul as those “Who being
past feeling (because of
dead consciences) have given
themselves over unto lasciviousness,
(lechery, debauchery)
to work all uncleanness with
greediness”. (Ephesians 4:19)
Continues on
www.vanguardngr.com
*Brother Benedict Hart is
a Senior Executive Minister
and Publicity Secretary of
God’s Kingdom Society,
(GKS) the Church of the Living
God
"The prayer points for the
Special Power Must Change
Hands programme will be
distributed through our social
media platforms.
"We start with aggressive
praise/worship songs, then
confess Psalms 91 and 46.
This is followed by the singing
of three choice songs on
the Blood of Jesus and then
the prayers. This should be
done daily," Pastor Bank-Olemoh
stated.
It would recalled that
MFM directed her members
to embark on a 30-day prayer
retreat, which ran from Sunday,
March 22, through Monday,
April 20.
I believe that as you read this
message today, your joy to
shall materialize in Jesus
name.
Joy and gladness is the effervescence
of true Christianity.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16,
the Bible says “Rejoice always
“, in other words you must perpetually
reproduce Joy, no
matter how unpalatable the
circumstance may be.
In Mark 10:46-52, we see
how a poor despondent beggar
arose from the dunghill
of life, to a position and state
of liberty and memorableness
simply by the declaration of
Jesus. His sorry state and sorrow
was turned into gladness
and rejoicing. This shall be
your testimony this week, in
Jesus name.
This second half of the year
has been programmed by
God to perpetually materialize
Joy and gladness for you,
this we can see in the book of
Acts 2:46. Here we see that the
Apostles and disciples who
were representatives of the
early Church ate their meat
with Joy and gladness of heart.
You shall eat and drink in Joy
and gladness this year.
seed are the children of the
kingdom, while the tares are
the children of the wicked one,
the devil. (Matthew 13:38b)
A child of the kingdom who
continues in sin, is of the devil.
(I John 3:8a) Such a child
of the kingdom, shall be
caught in marriage, to a child
of the devil, who now becomes
a snare to his soul. (Ecclesiaste
7:26)
CHRISTIAN GOSPEL CHURCH
(The Truth Centre)
Email: cgc.com.ng@gmail.com
Telephone: +234 (0) 7052061135, +234 (0) 9030731406
Website: www.cgc.com.ng
Website address: www.cgcthetruthcentre.com

PAGE 20—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
Keyamo’s Saga: NASS
needs to watch it
For one week, I tried in
vain, to understand the
purpose of the invitation by
the National Assembly to
Chris Ngige, Labour and
Employment Minister, after
having a shouting match
with another Minister, in the
same ministry, Festus
Keyamo. I had hoped that
the federal legislators were
not planning to report
Keyamo to Ngige in the
belief that the former was
junior to the latter, but that
appears to be what played
out. Why would that occur to
the law makers – does the post
of junior minister legally exist
in Nigeria? Did the Senate
clear Festus Keyamo or any
other person for the post of
junior minister? If the purpose
was to employ divide and rule
in their conflict with Keyamo,
did they expect him to tremble
before Ngige? In fact, did they
expect one minister to support
legislators against another?
After all, is it not an open secret
in Nigeria that if a legislator
is found to be part of any
corrupt practice, the usual
response of the Assembly, is to
hurriedly set up a committee
to exonerate their colleague?
To my mind, the invitation to
Ngige, was misplaced.
The open confrontation
between the legislators and
Keyamo generated ample
concern among analysts,
some supporting and others
opposing each of them. One
interesting commentary
came from Ayo Arise, a former
Senator, Ekiti North, who on
national television called for
a political rather than a legal
solution ostensibly because
his former colleagues are not
likely to get legal victory over
the tussle. Many of those who
condemned Keyamo did so
because they saw him as a
long-time trouble shooter.
One cannot blame them as it
is customary for lay persons
to often resort to character
evidence. Unfortunately, the
issue at stake was not about
Keyamo’s antecedents or
even mannerism, rather, it was
a case of two bodies laying
claim to a public project whose
success ordinarily requires the
cooperation of both parties.
The project which is a Special
Public Works Programme
involves the employment of
1,000 Nigerians in each of the
nation’s 774 local
government areas. Having
approved the project by
appropriating a huge sum for
it, the legislators had
concluded the first phase of
their own involvement,
leaving the executive to work
out the logistics and
implementation strategies for
the project.
During and after
implementation, legislators
have fresh opportunities to get
further involved in the project
which is their power of
oversight that is, the power to
monitor the implementation.
But if the legislators insist on
being part of the
implementation, then they can
no longer objectively monitor
the project. In ordinary day
parlance, what we are saying
is that if a teacher partakes in
the writing of an examination
by a student, then, it would be
irrational for the same teacher
to mark the same paper. In
other words, as in all issues, it
is always wise to allow for
division of labour and in the
case of government, the
separation of powers among
the arms. Accordingly, the
National Assembly should
allow Minister Keyamo to
play the part assigned to him
both by the President and by
the relevant law while the
legislators ensure that the
project is implemented as
conceived.
As to who is blame-worthy
in the open confrontation,
Sections 60, 88 and 89 of our
constitution have been
correctly quoted to support the
argument that Keyamo
The clamour to be
‘carried along’ in every
subject often beyond
constitutional limits, is
becoming suffocating
cannot question the manner
of hearing determined by the
legislature. We think the
argument is simplistic
because the issue at stake was
again not fully understood. If
the relevant committee
wanted a private session, it
would have said so ab initio
but to publicly indict a
minister and thereafter direct
him to answer in private, does
not appear neat. Same is true
of the directive for the minister
to hands-off from his official
duties as the supervising
minister of the National
Directorate of Employment
(NDE)- the Agency mandated
to implement the project in
issue. Even the committees set
up by the minister which the
legislators were
uncomfortable with, is
backed by law. In the words
of Section 16 of the relevant
law, “the minister may from
time to time, constitute a
committee to be known as the
special committee of the
directorate for deliberation on
special matters.”
In like manner, to direct the
chief executive of the agency
to report directly to the
legislature is patently
objectionable because
Section 6 of the same
enabling law says “the
Director-General and Chief
Executive of the Directorate
SHALL be responsible to the
Minister for the day-to-day
management of the affairs of
the Directorate.” This is still
the law till today and if as a
result of its fall-out with
Keyamo, the legislature
wishes to overpower him, it
cannot capriciously do so.
Instead, it must in line with
the dictates of the rule of law,
first amend the law setting up
the NDE. But because this is
Nigeria, the legislature can do
so in the twinkle of an eye, by
adopting the same
provocative procedure by
which the 7 th senate on the eve
of its departure in 2015,
passed 46 bills in 10minutes!
Even then, such a step is not
likely to help the subsisting
image of our National
Assembly.
There is indeed, no doubt
that many Nigerians do not
think well of their law makers.
While those in the states are
generally known for only
doing the bidding of their
governors, not many know
who the federal legislators
actually represent, just as they
are perceived to be ever selfserving.
Each time federal
legislators pursue benefits
allegedly in the interest of the
grassroots, the claim arouses
covetousness. Do federal
legislators know or relate with
the grassroots? Who do the
grassroots know and see
more, local councillors or
Abuja based political office
holders? Why do we run a
third-tier level of government
if things meant for the
grassroots are best sent to
them through far away party
leaders? Do our politicians
know that after elections,
those elected are expected to,
as statesmen, serve everyone
and not only members of their
respective political parties?
Answers to these questions are
best sourced from the way and
manner, covid 19 palliatives
were hoarded and diverted far
away from the ‘most-needy’
in society.
Over the years, the Nigerian
legislature has sufficiently
attracted too much power to
itself to the discomfort of
many sectors of our society.
The clamour to be ‘carried
along’ in every subject often
beyond constitutional limits,
is becoming suffocating. What
many people expect now is for
our legislators to use such
powers and privileges, like
constituency projects
judiciously. Oversight should
now be better organized to
put an end to the misadventure
of the power probe or how the
subsidy scam became a
celebration of corruption or
how corruption fought back
through tendentious oversight
behaviour in the capital
market. The on-going
accusations between the
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC and
legislators, past and present,
are distasteful. Our
legislators will do well to
enable societal institutions
utilize their initiative,
discretion, age-long expertise
and established processes to
carry out their functions.
The NDE is sufficiently
widespread enough and
well-tested in the execution
of its nationwide functions
without daily routine
supervision.
E
ven our revered erudite
Emeritus Professor
Chinua Achebe failed to
appreciate the bold divide
between Awolowo’s, call it
local patriotism if you like,
and Zik’s manifest egomania
and selfishness. Because of the
Igbos’ blind, crass and
uncritical evaluation of our
Igbo leaders, I am writing a
book with title, ZIK IRONSI
OJUKWU – WRECKERS
AND GRAVE DIGGERS OF
IGBO
NATION
DEMYSTIFIED. At 79 years
plus, I hope I will complete
writing the book before I pass
on. Achebe said in his booklet,
The Trouble with Nigeria, “As
a student in Ibadan I was an
eye witness to that
momentous occasion when
Chief Obafemi Awolowo
“stole” the leadership of
Western Nigeria from Dr.
Nnamdi Azikwe in broad
daylight on the floor of the
Western House of Assembly
and sent the great Zik
scampering back to the
“Niger” whence he came.” In
that same book, Achebe
correctly and rightly stated as
follows, “Here was a true
nationalist (Zik) who
championed the noble cause
of “one Nigeria” to the extent
that he contested and won the
first general election to the
Western House of Assembly.
But when Chief Awolowo
“stole” the government from
him in broad daylight he
abandoned his principle
which dictated that he should
stay in the Western House as
Leader of the Opposition and
give battle to Awolowo.
Instead he conceded victory
to reactionary ethnic politics,
opuruiche2000@gmail.com
Zik is the trouble with Nigeria! (2)
“
PhD,Department of Philosophy,
University of Lagos
08116759758
fled to the East where he
compounded his betrayal of
principle by precipitating a
major crisis which was
unnecessary, selfish and
severely damaging in its
consequences.
“Professor Eyo Ita, an
urbane and detribalized
humanist politician who had
just assumed office as Leader
of Government Business in
Enugu saw no reason to
vacate his post for the fugitive
from Ibadan. Neither did most
of his cabinet which in sheer
brilliance surpassed by far
anything Enugu has seen or is
likely to see again in a long
time. Using his privately
owned newspapers and
political muscle, Azikiwe
maligned and forced Eyo Ita
and his team out of office and
proceeded to pack his own
cabinet with primary school
teachers, ex-police corporals,
sanitary inspectors and
similar highly motivated
disciples who were unlikely to
dispute anything he said. So
the rule of mediocrity from
which we suffer today received
an early imprimatur in Eastern
Nigeria of all places! And that
was not all. Professor Eyo Ita
was an Efik, and the brutally
unfair treatment offered him
in Enugu did not go
unremarked in Calabar. It
contributed in no small
measure to the suspicion of the
majority Igbo by their
minority neighbours in
Eastern Nigeria – a suspicion
which less attractive
politicians than Eyo Ita
fanned to red-hot virulence,
and from which the Igbo have
continued to reap enmity to
this day.”
Zik probably thought that
everybody was on mental
holiday when he wrote in his
autobiography- MY
ODYSSEY on page 305 as
follows-”Before the end of
1952 a crisis loomed in the
ranks of the NCNC as a result
of the unwillingness of certain
NCNC-appointed Federal
and Regional Ministers to toe
the party line.(This is a long
story which I hope to expand
in a later volume.)
Consequently, I was drafted to
contest an election into the
Eastern House of Assembly
and regularize this
irregularity.” According to Dr.
Okechukwu Ikejiani, in his
autobiography, Zik did not
write the later volume and I
am aware that there was no
crisis in the ranks of the
NCNC anywhere at that time,
except that introduced by Zik
when he fled Ibadan, stormed
Enugu and sacked Professor
Eyo Ita, and his brilliant team
even though Professor Eyo Ita
was his party man and fellow
easterner! Zik deliberately
and knowingly caused his
party the NCNC to lose the
government of Western
Nigeria to Awolowo’s Action
Group, created the eternal
minority problem for the
Igbos in Eastern Nigeria and
above all, handed the fruit of
independence struggle to
feudalists who contributed
nothing to the struggle, save
delays and obstructions.
Some Nigerians, mostly
Igbos contend that Awolowo’s
action which was legal and
constitutional was unfair and
below the belt, even though he
fought for the Yoruba nation
and Westerners. Accepting
this proposition as correct for
the sake of argument as the
Since the end of the
civil war, Igbos have not
been accepted as
partners and equal
citizens in the Nigerian
Project
professors say, for whom was
Zik fighting when he drove
away Eyo Ita, his party man
and fellow easterner out of
office? I entered Ibadan
University in 1964 with my
advanced level papers in
Physics and Mathematics to
study Physics. During my
second year in 1966, Major
Chukwuma Nzeogwu and his
men struck. After the long
vacation of 1966, I packed my
things from Ibadan and
sought safety in flight at the
Physics Department of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka,
where I graduated with a B.Sc.
hons. degree, in Physics,
University of Biafra 1967
because Biafra had been
declared while we were doing
our degree examinations and
everything Nigeria in former
Eastern Nigeria changed to
Biafra. While we were doing
our degree examinations, Oil
Companies and others
interviewed us for possible
employment on graduation
only to be confronted by a war
of survival which was imposed
on Biafra by Nigeria,
therefore dashing our hopes
of a greater tomorrow. I am
proud to say that I served as
an officer in 12
COMMANDO BRIGADE,
BIAFRA ARMY during the
war. Though Biafra did not
survive, Biafrans to the
discomfiture and against the
expectations of the Nigerian
establishment survived in
large numbers. This made the
Nigerian government to
device new methods of giving
the final solution to the Igbo
problem by repressing,
suppressing and oppressing
us. For example, of the six
geopolitical zones in the
country, only the South East
Zone where the Igbos are
located has five states. The
other zones have six states
with one northern zone having
seven states!
The alternating of the
presidential seat between the
north and south has been
holding. For the 2023
elections when the
presidential slot will go to the
south, Ahmed Bola Tinubu
from the South West zone is
warming up to take the slot
even though the South West
and South South have had
their turns. Bola Tinubu is
planning to do to the Igbos
exactly what Awolowo
prevented Zik from doing to
the Yorubas in the Western
House of Assembly in 1951.
Perhaps it is convenient for
Tinubu to forget that many
Igbos such as Commodore
Ebitu Ukiwe, Rear Admiral
Ndubisi Kanu, late Mokwugo
Okoye, Echukwu myself and
many others were his
compatriots in the
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
COALITION, NADECO,
under the bold and brave
leadership of Chief Anthony
Enahoro which valiantly
resisted the autocratic
maximum leader, General
Sani Abacha. Anyway, to me,
without restructuring the
Nigerian polity, the
presidency is not a worthwhile
occupation for any patriotic
southerner save the shameless
lackeys of the northern feudal
establishment. I do not agree
with those who ask God to
bless Nigeria without their
leaders working hard to
attract God’s blessing; for the
ancient Romans said,
“laborare est orare” which is,
to work is to pray.
Since the end of the civil war,
Igbos have not been accepted
as partners and equal citizens
in the Nigerian Project. What
MASSOB and IPOB are
saying is, since you don’t
accept us, PLEASE LET US
GO IN PEACE. In the
concluding part of his
broadcast to the nation
during THE GLORIOUS
JANUARY REVOLUTION as
Comrade Ikenna Nzimiro,
Emeritus Professor of
Sociology , termed it, Major
Chukwuma Nzeogwu said,
“….WE PROMISE THAT
YOU WILL NO MORE BE
ASHAMED TO SAY THAT
YOU ARE NIGERIANS.
Since October 1960 till now,
excepting the brief
excruciatingly herculean but
exciting time we spent in
Biafra, I have always felt
ashamed to say that I am a
Nigerian.”
Mazi Chike Chidolue’s
indictment of Dr. Nnamdi
Azikiwe is quite interesting.
But I will not engage in
detailed critique of his main
arguments now. Obviously,
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s
obsession with One Nigeria
compelled him to take
decisions that eventually
proved extremely radioactive
to southern Nigeria, on the
one hand, and quite
congenial to the stifling
northernisation of the country,
on the other. Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, who had been
excoriated for introducing
ethnic politics in Nigeria,
seemed to have understood
better than Dr. Azikiwe that
forging a stable, harmonious,
and egalitarian democratic
country with the Fulanidominated
Muslim north is a
mission impossible and
wisely advocated a highly
decentralised system of
regional government. But no
matter his justification for
joining Lt. Col. Yakubu
Gowon to destroy the eastern
region, that singular decision
entails that Chief Awolowo
cannot be genuinely regarded
as a committed democrat and
humanitarian. In all this, the
extremely nauseating
duplicitous role of British
officials in handing over
political power to Alhaji
Tafawa Balewa who lacked
the philosophical sagacity to
govern has remained an
albatross in Nigeria’s
chequered history. One thing
is clear though: great political
leaders make great mistakes.
Of course, Dr. Azikiwe was a
great political leader and he
made great mistakes. But to
claim that “he is the trouble
with Nigeria” is an
unwarranted exaggeration.
CONCLUDED.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 21
Stranger than fiction – Could some men get this low!?
Are today’s women
trying to out-do the
men in their quest
for sex? When we accuse
some men of being lechers,
isn’t their success to do with
the connivance of their
‘victims’? When I came
across a recent story of the
nightmare a young man
Andy went through in the
hands of her fiancee’s mum
and grandma, I was lost for
words. According to him: “I
had a wonderful fiancee and
we were saving up to buy a
flat together. I was very
happy with my wife. Then
something happened to
change that.
“It began when my fiancee
asked me to help her
decorate her mother’s house.
We both took the day off
work and threw ourselves
into the job. Halfway
through, she got a phone call
from the office, asking her to
go in. I felt bad leaving her
mum to decorate alone, so I
offered to stay and finish it
off. I worked hard all day.
My fiancee’s mum was
delighted and suggested
toasting her new-look home
with a drink. She opened a
bottle of wine, we both had a
couple of glasses and I
began to feel tipsy. What
happened next took me by
surprise. One minute we
were admiring the room,
the next we were kissing
passionately. We stumbled
upstairs to the bedroom
and into bed.
“A little while later, I
heard a creaking sound. I
glanced up to see my
fiancee’s grandmother
popping her head round
the door. She looked
shocked but put her finger
to her lips, then
disappeared. Her
daughter didn’t notice a
thing. A few minutes went
by, then the front door
opened and shut loudly
and we heard my fiancee’s
grandmother calling
hello. Her daughter leapt
out of bed, threw her
clothes on and told me to
come down in 10 minutes.
I did as she asked and said
I’d better be off. My
fiancee’s grandmother
insisted on giving me a
lift. I couldn’t refuse.
“As we got into her car,
she started to laugh. She
told me not to worry, that
she wouldn’t say a thing.
She said if I did her a
small `favour’ then she’d
lose her memory”. We
arrived at her home and
went inside. I asked where
she wanted me to start
decorating but she ignored
me. Instead, she began
telling me that she hadn’t
been with a man for many
years. That even though she
had vibrators, she missed
the `human touch’. She
might be a grandmother,
but she was in her early 60s.
“Suddenly, I realised what
she was asking of me. I was
horrified but knew she\d tell
my fiancee if I didn’t agree.
I thought that once it was
over, I could put it all to the
back of my mind and forget
about it. I was wrong. Now
I have two women
constantly pestering me
for sex. They won’t give
up. They keep inventing
excuses for me to go to
their homes to `help out’.
It looks mean if I don’t go,
but once there, I’m
cornered. My fiancee is
starting to suspect that
something is wrong but
she’d never guess the
truth. The guilt is
overwhelming. I
desperately want to tell
her but I know it would
spell the end of our
relationship. I love my
fiancee so much and I’m
desperate not to lose her.
Is there a way out for me,
or have I ruined any
chance of a happy future
with the woman I love? ...”
My first reaction was to
laugh. Who did this
adventurer think he was
kidding? Did he genuinely
believe that if he didn’t
bonk his fiancee’s grandmother,
she would let it
slip about his being
caught in bed with her
own mother? And risk
being condemned by both
daughter and granddaughter?
Please!
I recently shared Andy’s
experience with a male
friend of mine, expecting
him to be appalled by
Andy’s recklessness. He
told me he was actually
bemused by my
indignance. “Women are
equally wayward when it
comes to the grand
seduction”, he told me
flatly. “You hear of the
devoted wife and mother
who constantly sleeps
with her father-in-law, or
the disgruntled ex-wife
who still bonks her ex-s
much older uncle years
after the break up of her
marriage. The uncle
makes sure she never
wants for anything
financially and even if the
ex finally got a whiff of the
scandal, there’s nothing
he could do except make
a lot of noise”.
When it comes to sex, he
affirms, your best bet is to
get it wherever you can
and with whoever you can
as long as the chemistry if
right! I’m still trying to
get that round my head!
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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
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Agbarha Warri communities distance selves from threat
to oil firms
The Agbarha Warri riverine
oil communities of
Ukpokiti and Oteghele in Warri
South Local Government Area of
Delta State have disassociated
themselves from a threat to oil and
gas companies in Warri South ,
Warri South- West and Warri
North local government areas in
a petition to President
Muhammadu Buhari written by
one Roland Oti Yomere.
The inuovwodo (representatives
of Agbarha Warri) of the two
communities, High Chief Victor
Usiakpor and High Chief Samuel
Itu in their reaction made
available newsmen in Warri at the
weekend, noted that the news item
could destabilize and cause
pandemonium in the area
The two Agbarha-Warri high
chiefs made it clear that Ukpokiti
and Oteghele are Urhobo
communities of Agbarha-Warri
autonomous kingdom and not
parts of Omadino federated
communities as claimed by
Yomere. They said Yomere cannot
speak on behalf the two
communities.
The two Agbarha Warri chiefs
insisted that the two communities
were never consulted before the
threat was issued and therefore
added "If there is eventually a shut
down of oil well and gas locations
in our area, government should
hold him responsible ".
Chief Usiakpor and Chief Itu
maintained that Ukpokiti and
Oteghele are peace-loving
communities and therefore
cannot be part of any action that
would be inimical to the revenue
generation of Delta State and
federal governments.
They however appealed to
President Buhari to prevail on
Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) contractor
handling the Omadino/Ukpokiti
and Okerenkoko Escravos
Bridge project to return to site,
adding that the completion of the
project would attract meaningful
development to the area.
WASC Bible varsity holds maiden matriculation
ASC Bible University, Ekete,
WDelta State of the Celestial
Church of Christ has held its maiden
matriculation for students of the 2019/
2020 academic session.
The institution also used the
occasion to honour some
distinguished personalities with
honorary doctorate degrees and
award of honour.
Some of the recipients include;
Chief (Dr.) Freeman O. Ikpen; Engr.
(Dr.) Moses Eyewubokan; Chief (Dr.)
Dickson M. Najomoh. Also among the
recipients of Award of Honour was the
first female bishop in Uvwie, Bishop
(Dr.) Ileleji Felicia, founder of God's
Command Ministry, Effurun.
In a welcome address, the Registrar,
WASC Bible University, Sis. Gloria
Novughakpo, stated that WASC Bible
University is the work of Celestial
Church of Christ Welfare
Association of Shepherds and
Clergies with the intention of
preparing and equipping
ministers for the propagation of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The registrar while presenting
the 14 matriculating students,
congratulated them for taking a
decision to receive knowledge
and divine impartation in the
institution. According to her, the
vision of WASC is to raise
kingdom messengers.
Mr. Akhabue-Airiede Matthew
and Bishop (Dr.) Ileleji Felicia
who responded on behalf of
recipients of the awards
commended board members of
the Bible University for the
recognition and award bestowed
on them.

PAGE 22—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 12, 2020
Viewpoint
By Philip Otoide
Last year when Senator Daisy Danjuma
threw her weight behind Governor Godwin
Obaseki at an event in Lagos, the PDP hurled
all manner of invectives at the wife of General
TY Danjuma. The party criticized her for
supporting a failed governor, saying. “The
commissioned 5 star specialist hospital is still
home to reptiles, Tayo Akpata University of
Education an unfulfilled political Greek gift,
College of Agriculture Ogierieki, a victim of
policy lip-service, the Gelegele sea port project
is still a mirage and the industrial park is still
at the MOU level. The governor you are
endorsing have left 14 constituencies
unrepresented in the state house of assembly, to
mention a few.”
Swiftly and overnight, the same Obaseki’s
administration has become the toast of the party.
Some would ask at what point did they realize
that they made a mistake when they called the
governor a failure? Could it be the characteristic
influence of money on politicians? Like
Nigerians would say, where there is sharing there
is conspiracy.
Party leaders under any condition are the
repertoire of the collective will and interests of
the people. The interests of a few could sometimes
mischievously bandy the will of many. For
example, as Obaseki decamped to PDP, he threw
a bait at the leaders of Edo Central that he was
going to hand over to an Esan governor after his
By Onyema Dike
If you have been following the news lately,
on and off social media, you must have
been apprised of the N-power programme,
which has been described as a critical
component of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).
The ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social Development under
which the N-Power programme was domiciled
after it moved from the office of the Vice President
announced the transitioning and exiting of Batch
A& B beneficiaries beginning June 30 and
culminating on July 31 st 2020.
The announcement was greeted by vitriol and
anger on and off social media by the youthful,
extremely vocal and so, not surprisingly social
media savvy beneficiaries who did not wish to
exit the programmeeven though Batch A
beneficiaries had, somehow, managed to stay
for over 40 months, 16 months longer than the
programmes advertised 24 months.
When the Buhari administration took office in
2016, itshared the very ambitious vision of taking
100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
The vision was clearly an ambitious one when
viewed through the prism of available insights.
Statistics indicate that our institutions of learning
push out4.5 million young people annually into
the bulging job market. In 10 years that figure
Roadmap for Esanland: Lest we regret
Armed with the Obaseki
promise, some of these Esan
leaders have started
campaign structure ahead of
their 2024 governorship
ambition, when Obaseki was
still in the cold
next four years. The leaders in turn lured the
masses into a hype of Esan governor.
Some couldn’t hide their excitement and called
the governor’s coming to PDP as fortune on ‘a
platter of gold.’
Armed with the Obaseki promise, some of
these Esan leaders have started campaign
structure ahead of their 2024 governorship
ambition, when Obaseki was still in the cold.
The late Iyasele of Esanland, Chief Tony
Anenih, during a meeting with party faithful in
Ubiaja, preceding the 2007 election that
produced Governor Oserhiemen Osunbor, had
told his supporters that it would be extremely
difficult for Esan people to produce a governor
unless there was peace in the land.
Obviously, Obaseki does not understand this
political equation and neither do these Esan
leaders comprehend. If the governor was fair to
his promise to hand over to an Esan governor,
what structure and body language are there to
convince the people? How many Esan sons and
daughters are in his kitchen cabinet? His Chief of
Staff, SSG, and other politically strong officials
are not from Edo Central. Did he make up his
mind to hand over to an Esan man after he fell
apart with his party leaders? Even when he had
the chance to switch Philip Shuaibu for an Esan
deputy, he staunchly declined. Reasonable leaders
would have insisted on getting the deputy from
Esanland in PDP at the negotiation but the power
of money may have been too strong and they fell
timidly. Number one rule of sincere negotiation
is never to back down when you hold the aces.
What the Esans are failing to understand is that,
Obaseki will not be the determining voice of who
takes over from him even if feasibly that moment
comes to him, which frankly speaking will never.
Unknown to many, Philip Shuaibu is actually
Governor Obaseki’s leader. If perchance, the
scenario plays out for him in his 2024
imagination, he will turn his back on Esan people
and probably console them with deputy to
Shuaibu. And the waiting game could go on and
on. Why will anybody think Philip Shuaibu was
N-Power success stories validate programme
would be 45 million. Where were the jobs going
to come from?
The president’s vision, it turned out, was not
just a good-to-have election promise. It was a
well-thought out policy of engagement and
manpower development. In a technologically
advancing world the president and his advisers
had hit upon the idea of using the N-power
programme to upskill graduates and nongraduates
aged between 18 and 35 with skills
and attributes that would make them
employable for jobs of today and the future while
also preparing them to take up the mantle of
entrepreneurship.
The N-power programme was the
administration’s silver bullet and it proceeded
apace. In 2016, 200,000 beneficiaries were
enrolled in the programme while another set of
300,000were enrolled in 2018.
Four years down the line, as the Batch A and B
beneficiaries begin their transition, it is
imperative to undertake a cursory of audit of
how the programme has performed vis a vis that
presidential vision while also taking a hard look
at whether it is really needed.
The application portal for Batch C enrolment
opened on Thursday June 26 th 2020 to an
enthusiastic response. Figures from the ministry
indicate that the portal was receiving as much
as 100 applications per minute and in 48 hours
over 1 million young and eligible Nigerians had
registered. That number would climb to
3.9million in seven days.
If anyone needed proof regarding the
imperative of such a manpower building
programme that was proof positive.
But could the stampede to register have been a
function of that long queue of young people out of
jobs or was there something else?
A few weeks before the application portal
opened, the ministry had begun a sensitization
campaign and part of that included the sharing
of testimonial videos on social media. The videos
called “N-Power Success Stories”featured N-
Power beneficiaries who had exited the
programme voluntarily and had applied skills
gained and funds saved during their time on the
programme in setting up small and medium
scale businesses.
It was a delighted honourableminister, Sadiya
Umar Farouq, who announced a few days after
the Batch C applications began that 109, 829
beneficiaries from Batch A and B had become
entrepreneurs running small but thriving
businesses in their communities. These were aside
from those who had become gainfully employed
after passing entrance exams and psychometric
fighting the fight of his life over Obaseki? Within
his political clique, it will surprise you that he is
already being called “His Excellency come
2024,” which he replies with a wide beam.
Shuaibu is ambitious to the letter and there is
nothing anybody can do about that. It is only
wise that the Esans are not hoodwinked by the
ambition of a desperate governor mixed with
the greed of a few so-called leaders holding on
to your destinies unfairly.
I have also been piqued by the assemblage of
the PDP masquerades in Edo that have found a
new home in Dennis Osadebey Government
House in Benin City. If Obaseki could not
manage his APC members, even when many of
them got distracted to politics at the federal,
how much can he do with these career leaders?
Many of them primarily celebrated his entry
because he was another kind of “food is ready.”
Nothing else.
Now that the glamour of the decamping has
settled, what successes does Obaseki have to
flaunt his second term bid debate? Between
Obaseki, Oshiomhole and Lucky Igbinedion, it
is shameful that his administration occupies the
lowest rung of performance in 4 years as
governor. It will also be too pathetic for the
Esan man to revert to the negotiating table after
Obaseki flops at the September governorship
election. Time to redeem the people is now as it
is not good to put all your eggs in one basket.
That is how politics should be played.
*Otoide is resident in Benin-City.
tests set by companies.
The announcement was significant because it
underlined and highlighted the imperative of
the N-Power programme by showing that it was
not only bridging the unemployment gap by
upskilling young Nigerians for employability, it
was enabling and empowering them to become
entrepreneurs and employers of labour. Some
of the beneficiaries, the ministry announced, had
even been engaged as aggregators for the
National Home Grown School Feeding
Programme, another component of the NSIP.
Development experts tell us that SMEs are
the engine room of most developing and even
developed economies. Statistics from Nigeria
indicate that this is also true here. According to
the CBN, SME’s not only contribute 48% of
national GDP in Nigeria they make up 98% of
businesses in the country while providing
employment to 84% of gainfully employed
Nigerians.
A careful consideration of these statistics and
insights will show that the coming of N-Power
Batch C with a new set of young Nigerians who
will gain skills for employability and
entrepreneurship, Nigeria is gearing up
proactively for post-Covid-19 when battered
economies all over the world will be needing a
shot-in-the-arm.
This speaks eloquently to the imperative and
impact of N-power.
By Kayode Oshin
Nearly all human endeavors have been
impacted by technology.
From Agriculture to Aviation, from
Transportation to Communication, no sphere
of human activity has been exempted from the
positive effect of advances in technology.
To cite a few examples: Shale oil is a better,
cheaper and effective alternative to crude oil.
Manual driving will be eventually replaced
by driverless electric cars.
A solar powered supersonic jet that can travel
from Tokyo to New York has been tested.
Name the field, the impact of innovative
technology is far reaching.
Robotic engineering and drone technology
have influenced manufacturing processes and
production cost and war strategy minimizing
cost of airplanes and loss of human pilots
By Emmanuel Ajibulu
By all account, Dr Babatope Michael
Agbeyo whose 46th birthday anniversary
would be celebrated on Monday, July 13, 2020,
will no doubt be an instant toast of writers and
tribute-payers because there is much to say in
admiration of this extra-ordinary personality.
Even the most dyed-in-the-wool cynics will
find something complimentary to say about
the man, Agbeyo as the elements seem to be
well-mixed in this one ingenious and
quintessential individual.
Unarguably, one risks the temptation of
being carried away when faced with the task
of paying tribute to such a celebrated
personality, perfect gentleman and a
personification of excellence. This
notwithstanding, I hope will be able to
unravel the inner man of this distinguished
celebrant.
Here is a man with humble set of morals
Is telemedicine the next frontier of medical practice?
respectively are realities of modern times.
Medical field, an important component of
mankind existence, has benefited immensely
from technological development.
Laser technology has reduced the necessity
of general surgeries as body part specific
surgeries are being routinely done.
Bloodless surgery can be demanded without
risk of death. Nobody would prefer that these
trends be curtailed.
However, medical advancement, at least in
the developed world, is tilting toward
telemedicine.
Proponents of this new initiative are of the
opinion that that is the new highway which
medical field must follow.
It has been brilliant argued that the benefits
of this invention outweigh any drawbacks if
any.
These advocates of telemedicine posit that it
is cheaper and accessible to all and sundry.
Rurality of patients or complexity of operation
is no brainer as far as telemedicine is
concerned. They say it is the most suitable for
epidemics and pandemics especially as the
world is witnessing now.
These plusses of telemedicine are simply
indisputable.
However, strong and deliberate care must be
observed because life and death are involved.
The privacy of medical records and
confidentiality of doctor-patient relationship
guaranteed under the orthodox medical
practice may, however, be in jeopardy under
telemedicine.
Will telemedicine be priced out of the reach
Tribute to Tope Agbeyo @ 46
and an obsessive attention to details. Another
thing most people equally admire about him
is his neutrality when it comes to politics. Since
he has become one of the successful men in
the world, he has stayed away from the rigours
that come with politics.
Politics in Nigeria as we know is laden with
corruption and endless bickering between
parties. It is a witch hunt that never seems to
end. You, however, have simply minded your
own business and focused on what is more
important which is adding values to human
capital and building capacity through ICT
driven initiatives.
One could have preferred celebrating this
caring and amazing Ekiti born iconic brand
in a big way this year but the social distancing
guidelines and protocols occasioned by the
novel Covid-19 prevented that from
•Tope Agbeyo
happening.
However it is my prayer that the Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of Cornfield
of the common man and how the rural patients
will access telemedicine in the absence of
power and data and internet access must be
critically addressed.
Will telemedicine reduce the employment
of doctors while up skilling the teledoctors?
Will telemedicine obviate the need for
traditional medical practice or complement
it? Telemedicine must address this phobia in
order to ensure a sound footing in the medical
practice landscape.
Teething problems will surely arise but
telemedicine must be given the benefit of
doubt. Who knows, medical history and
practice may never be the same again if
telemedicine is nurtured and supported to
thrive.
An idea not tested may not be rightly
discarded. Let’s give telemedicine a trial.
•Oshin, FCA, is a Partner at KCBC
Partners and based in Abuja.
Group, comprising of Media Concepts
International Limited, Botosoft Technologies
Limited, Cornfield Transnational Limited
and FOAM Studio Nigeria Limited will
continue to attain more milestones in life and
as well fulfil his dreams and purpose without
regrets.
Happy birthday to a solution provider in
the education and ICT sectors, foremost
industrialist, inventor, investor, innovator and
philanthropist. As July 13, 2020 heralds a
new beginning in your life, I sincerely salute
your large-heartedness and deployment of
your wealth to the glory of God and for the
good of humanity. God bless your new age
and may your joy knows no bounds.
Congratulations.
•Ajibulu is a writer, online publisher,
infopreneur, unionist and a social media
influencer. He wrote from Lagos via
emmanuelajibulu@gmail.com

Antonio ‘Hammers’ Norwich into
relegation with four goals
West Ham midfielder
Michail Antonio
was on fire yesterday, scoring
all four goals as Norwich
dropped out of the
Premier League after a
meek 4-0 defeat at Carrow
Road.
The result saw Daniel
Farke’s side became the
first team to lose their topflight
status this season and
gave the Hammers’ own
survival chances and enormous
boost.
Norwich were already six
points adrift at the foot of
the table before the coronavirus
pandemic, and
their form since the restart
took a turn for the worse.
Five successive league
defeats followed, in which
last season’s Championship
winners could only
manage to score once.
Antonio’s two goals in the
first half put an end to Norwich’s
already slim hopes
of survival, but West Ham’s
emphatic victory was
sealed when he struck
twice in the second period
to become the first Hammers
player to net four in a
Premier League game.
Norwich had needed
their first win in the league
since February to avoid relegation,
but fell short from
the start against the London
club who were 10
points better off than the
Canaries at the start of the
game.
I’ll win trophies before I leave Tottenham,
says Mourinho
Tottenham manager Jose
Mourinho has said he is
confident he can win trophies
at the club before his threeyear
contract expires.
Mourinho was appointed
Spurs boss in November after
the sacking of Mauricio
Pochettino but the club have
already been knocked out of
the Champions League and
FA Cup during his tenure.
Spurs find themselves in
ninth position in the Premier
League table but Mourinho
said he needs time before he
can succeed at the club.
“How long it took for
Jurgen [Klopp] and
Liverpool?” Mourinho
said.”Four years, four seasons.
“Buying one of the best
goalkeepers in the world,
buying one of the best centrebacks
in the world and so on
and so on and so on.
“I’m focused on my threeyear
contract. I believe that
in my three-year contract we
can win trophies. If we don’t,
but the club does it in the new
era if I stay here only for three
years, I will be happy with
that.”Antonio ‘Hammers’
Norwich into relegation with
four goals
No panic if United miss Champions League — Solskjaer
•Odion Ighalo and Solskjaer
Failing to qualify for next
season’s Champions
League would not cause
Manchester United to panic
and alter their plans in the
transfer market, manager Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer said on
Saturday.
United are fifth in the
Premier League standings
with 58 points, one behind
Leicester City, who occupy the
final Champions League spot
with four games to play.
With second-placed
Manchester City facing a
European ban for breaching
UEFA financial rules, fifth
would guarantee qualification
for the Champions League
unless City win an appeal in
the Court of Arbitration for
Sport.
“I don’t think the club would
panic or go crazy with plans
that we’ve already talked about
Football family mourns as England’s World Cup
winner, Charlton dies
Jack Charlton, the
England and Leeds
United great and former
Ireland manager, has died
aged 85, his family
announced yesterday.
Here are some of the
reactions to his death:
England football team
“We are devastated by the
news that Jack Charlton, a
member of our World Cupwinning
team of 1966, has
passed away,” they said in a
statement. “Our deepest
sympathies are with Jack’s
family, friends and former
clubs.”
Geoff Hurst, 1966 World
Cup-winning team mate
“Another sad day for
football. Jack was the type of
player and person that you
need in a team to win a World
Cup,” he wrote on Twitter.
“He was a great and
loveable character and he will
be greatly missed. The world
of football and the world
beyond football has lost one
of the greats. RIP old friend.”
Football Association of
Ireland (FAI)
“The FAI is deeply saddened
to learn of the death of Jack
Charlton, the manager who
changed Irish football
forever,” it said on Twitter.
“Our thoughts are with Pat and
the family at this sad time.”
Gary Lineker, former
England striker
“Saddened to hear that Jack
Charlton has passed away,”
he wrote on Twitter.
“World Cup winner with
England, manager of
probably the best ever Ireland
side and a wonderfully
infectious personality to boot.
RIP Jack.”
for years to come,” Solskjaer
told reporters in a virtual news
conference ahead of
Monday’s Premier League
home game against 12thplaced
Southampton.
“You do have to have a longterm
plan but short-term some
decisions will be easier to
make if you get the
Champions League.”
United could also qualify for
the Champions League by
winning the Europa League,
where they hold a 5-0
advantage over LASK
heading into the second leg of
their last-16 tie.
Eto’o features on African Voices Changemakers omnibus edition
International
football
legend, Samuel Eto’o Fils
will be featured in the
omnibus edition of the CNN
African Voices Changemakers
airing this
Messi smashes assist record
Lionel Messi has smashed
yet another record with his
assist for Arturo Vidal in
Barcelona’s match against
Valladolid yesterday, the
Argentine reached 20 assists in
the La Liga season.
The significance of that is he’s
now equalled the La Liga record
of most assists in a single season
with Xavi, who registered 20
during the 2008/09 season. Not
only that, but it means Messi
now has 20 assists and 20 goals
in the league this season -
something that has never been
done in La Liga history. In fact,
the only time that feat has ever
been achieved was during the
2002/03 season when Thierry
Henry scored 24 goals and
provided 20 assists in the
Premier League for Arsenal.
•Mourinho
weekend.Eto’o, who won the
African Footballer of the Year
laurel four times will be
among other illustrious
personalities from the African
continent that will be
•Messi
•Michail Antonio
•Late Jack Charlton
showcased on the
programme, sponsored by
Globacom.Others that will be
showcased are Godfrey
Nzamujo, a regenerative
agriculture enthusiast, and
Yvonne Anuli Orji, a
Nigerian-American actress
who was catapulted to
continental reckoning
through her role as Molly in
the Home Box Office series
Insecure.It would be recalled
that Eto’o was featured on the
programme in May, 2020.
The programme
showcased his glorious
career, which started with him
playing for Kadji Sports
Academy in his country.
SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 12, 2020, PAGE 23
Iheanacho relishes chance
to play UCL with Leicester
As Leicester City struggle
to regain momentum after
the coronavirus break, Kelechi
Iheanacho is hopeful that
the club can finish in the top four
and clinch a champions league
spot.
The Foxes have won only one
game since the restart of the Premier
League, they have dropped
to the fourth place from third
before the break. Leicester are
a point ahead fifth placed
Manchester United. The Foxes
are away to relegation threatened
Bournemouth today and
Iheanacho believes they can get
a good result and fend off the
United challenge and aslo overhaul
Chelsea who are one point
above them in the third place.
“We’ve worked really hard to
get to this stage, so it would really
be a dream [to qualify for
the Champions League].”
Iheanacho has been in fine
form since the restart of the
league, scoring two goals in his
•Iheanacho
last three games and explained
how he stayed fit during the
coronavirus break.
“We’ve been training at home
and the coaches have been giving
us work to do. It’s gone well.
I was just keeping fit and training
every day,” he added.
Iheanacho has bagged 10
goals and provided four assists
for the King Power Stadium
outfit across all competitions
this season.
Ancelotti backs Iwobi to score
against Wolves
•Iwobi
Everton coach Carlo
Ancelotti, said he has
confidence that striker Alex
Iwobi, will live up to his
potential and score goals for
Southgate to make Saka decision after
Arsenal, City FA Cup clash
England
manager,
Gareth Southgate is set
to call youngster, Bukayo
Saka to the Three Lions, if he
makes a good impression at
next weekend’s FA Cup clash
between Arsenal and
Manchester City.
Saka, is currently having a
good run at Arsenal and has
become a subject of
speculation with regards,
which country between
Nigerian and England, he
would pledge his allegiance
to international football.
Southgate is prepared to
hand Saka an invitation for
England’s next international
games and has asked the FA
to take all necessary action to
have Saka in the squad, if he
does well in the FA Cup clash.
Southgate sees Saka as one
of his options for the left back
the Toffess.
Everton are away to
Wolverhampton today in the
middle of the table battle that
could have European club
contest implications for both
teams. A win for Wolves will
see them in strong position for
a top four finish, while Everton
will boost their Europa Cup
chances.
“It is true Iwobi he didn’t
score in our previous games,
it’s true that he can do better
sometimes but it’s also true
that I have a lot of confidence
in him.
“I changed him against
Tottenham because he had a
little problem with his
hamstring.
“Against Southampton, I
changed him to put more
energy on that side and above
all to change the system to a
line of five.
• Saka
with Leicester City defender
Ben Chilwell currently the
Three Lions’ only real choice
for that particular role.
Saka who was rewarded
with four year contract by
Arsenal is yet to decide which
country he wishes to play for
at international level.
Sheffield Utd humiliate Chelsea
Chelsea suffered their
worst defeat in the
Premier League this season
when they lost 3-0 to Sheffield
United yesterday, putting their
top four finish in jeopardy.
David McGoldrick scored
twice and Olle McBurnie
added another as Sheffield
United were ruthless and
Chelsea hapless defensively as
Frank Lampard was left
seething following a host of
defensive mistakes.
With the win, Sheffield
United move up to sixth place
and have 54 points for the
season, while Chelsea stay in
third on 60 points but have
given Leicester and
Manchester United an edge
in the Champions League
battle.
In the other game, Burnley
ended new champions
Liverpool’s hopes of
completing the season with a
100% Premier League home
record thanks to Jay
Rodriguez’s second-half
equaliser.
The draw means Liverpool
can now no longer beat the
Premier League record for
home wins in a season; they
need to beat Chelsea in their
last game at Anfield to equal
the league high of 18.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 12, 2020
SEE SOLUTION PAGE 3
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