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PAGE 2—SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020
PAGE 3—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
From right: Dr. Henry A. Adimula, Acting Principal and Chief Executive of<br />
Petroleum Training lnstitute (PTI); Dr. Famous S. Eseduwo, Director, Human<br />
Resource Management, Ministry of Petroleum Resources; Mrs. Mercy O. Omoifo<br />
- lrefo, President, American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Nigeria<br />
Chapter; Mr. Onobrorhie C. Siakpere, Registrar (PTI); Mr. Alhassan Lawal,<br />
Deputy Director, Ministry of Petroleum Resources;shortly after the signing of<br />
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between PTI and ASSP on the establishment<br />
of Occupational and Health Safety E - Library, at PTI, recently.<br />
Boko Haram terrorists kill 66 farmers, fishermen<br />
in Borno<br />
By Ndahi Marama,<br />
Maiduguri<br />
ABOUT 66 people,<br />
mostly rice farmers<br />
and fishermen were<br />
killed by suspected members<br />
of Boko Haram sect in<br />
Koshobe village near<br />
Zabarmari, Jere Local<br />
Government Area of Borno<br />
State, reliable sources have<br />
said. The attack also left scores<br />
of people injured from gunshot<br />
wounds. The incident<br />
happened on a day Borno was<br />
conducting its first local<br />
government election after<br />
more than a decade.<br />
A security operative not<br />
authorized to talk to the press,<br />
APC plotting to destabilise<br />
us — PDP<br />
By Dirisu Yakubu<br />
THE Peoples Demo<br />
cratic Party, PDP, has accused<br />
the All Progressives<br />
Congress, APC, of plotting to<br />
destabilise the party, describing<br />
the alleged plan as a sign<br />
of desperation to remain in<br />
power.<br />
It also accused the party of<br />
abandoning governance, focusing<br />
on 2023 general election,<br />
barely two years into the<br />
second term of President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari.<br />
The leading opposition party<br />
also alleged, “the frenzy by<br />
the APC to commence the<br />
2023 election campaign, just<br />
a year into President Buhari’s<br />
second tenure of four years in<br />
office, is an indication that its<br />
leaders are now looking beyond<br />
its current structure and<br />
government, having realized<br />
Port Harcourt agog<br />
as Tres Bien holds<br />
10th annual show<br />
he rich industrial city of<br />
TPort Harcourt was agog<br />
again as Tres Bien Events, a<br />
front line event management<br />
consultancy in Rivers State<br />
organised the 10 th edition of its<br />
yearly show.<br />
The show with theme:<br />
Reinvent, said the Chief<br />
Executive Officer, Izobe Spiff,<br />
was carefully chosen because<br />
of the impact of COVID 19 on<br />
the industry globally, adding<br />
that thinking outside the box<br />
becomes necessary to sustain<br />
the industry.<br />
Continuing, she called on<br />
participants and admirers to<br />
follow her brand<br />
www.theballroom.live,<br />
stressing that Tres Bien had<br />
remained top in the industry<br />
because of her creative<br />
initiative and ability to reinvent<br />
to meet the current challenge<br />
posed by the global pandemic.<br />
The 2020 event also saw the<br />
launch of the Octopus series,<br />
featuring online learning<br />
courses developed by Tres Bien<br />
Events for event planners.<br />
Convener Izobe Spiff<br />
with host of panellists: (L-<br />
R) Oby Ivy, Itohan Asibor,<br />
Izobe Spiff (Convener)<br />
and Joyce Daniels<br />
that the next three years under<br />
the Buhari-led APC administration<br />
would be a waste.”<br />
In a statement by its spokesman,<br />
Kola Ologbondiyan,<br />
yesterday, the PDP alleged that:<br />
“the underground moves by<br />
APC leaders to disown the Buhari<br />
administration, given its<br />
failures; the conversation<br />
about possible change of their<br />
party’s name as well as the<br />
plot to destabilize the PDP, are<br />
signs of desperation to hold<br />
on to power despite APC’s failures<br />
and explicit rejection by<br />
Nigerians.”<br />
confirmed the incident, saying<br />
the attack took place yesterday.<br />
Koshobe, located north east,<br />
an a village under Mafa Local<br />
Government Area, mostly a<br />
Hausa and Saurian settlement<br />
who engage in farming and<br />
fishing is about 25kilometres<br />
drive from Maiduguri, the state<br />
capital.<br />
Sources said, the attackers<br />
armed with Ak47 rifles<br />
surrounded the Koshobe River<br />
when victims were busy fishing<br />
on the banks of the river and<br />
opened fire, leaving 66 persons<br />
including women dead.<br />
Others sustained gunshot<br />
wounds.<br />
“No fewer than 66 people have<br />
been killed this morning in<br />
Koshobe, a community under<br />
Mafa LGA after Dusuman. the<br />
victims were reported to have<br />
been slaughtered in a rice farm<br />
while other were fishing in the<br />
nearby river. So far, 43 bodies<br />
have been recovered and<br />
currently in Zabarmari town<br />
of Jere Local Government<br />
Area.<br />
From left: Mr. Kola Adeoye, Operations Manager,<br />
Institute of Management Consultants presenting<br />
a certificate of Certified Management<br />
Consultant to Mr. Ezekiel Isidahomen, CEO,<br />
Thems Security Systems Limited during an<br />
event where the latter was also conferred Fellow<br />
of the Institute.<br />
The attackers were more than<br />
100 who came on motor bike<br />
numbering about 50,” one<br />
fleeing resident, Adamu<br />
Abdullahi said.<br />
Another resident of Zabarmari,<br />
who gave his name as Haruna<br />
Isa said he saw some security<br />
vehicles including that of the<br />
Civilian Joint Task Force<br />
(CJTF) conveying the remains<br />
of the slain victims to an<br />
undisclosed hospital in<br />
Maiduguri yesterday evening.<br />
“Yes, there was an attack by<br />
insurgents on some fishermen<br />
in Koshobe village yesterday,<br />
although, I don’t know the<br />
actual number of casualties, but<br />
I saw some security vehicles<br />
conveying remains of the<br />
victims to Maiduguri this<br />
evening,” Isa stated.<br />
All effort to get confirmation<br />
from the Police Public Relations<br />
officer, DSP Edet Okon proved<br />
abortive as his phone could not<br />
be reached at press time. But<br />
the House of Representatives<br />
member, representing Jere<br />
Federal Constituency, Satomi<br />
Ahmed, confirmed the incident.<br />
No agreement yet to suspend strike —ASUU<br />
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru<br />
HE Academic Staff<br />
TUnion of Universities,<br />
ASUU, has denied reports<br />
that it agreed to call off the<br />
ongoing strike after meeting<br />
with the Federal<br />
Government’s negotiation<br />
team led by the Minister of<br />
Labour and Employment,<br />
Senator Chris Ngige.<br />
The team had reportedly<br />
increased its offer for Earned<br />
Allowances EA to universitybased<br />
unions and funding for<br />
the revitalization of public<br />
universities from N65 billion<br />
to N70 billion.<br />
World Bank urges Enugu to set up road maintenance fund<br />
By Chinedu Adonu …constructs 330km roads<br />
WORLD Bank, through<br />
Rural Access and Mobility<br />
Project, (RAMP-2) has<br />
completed construction of<br />
330km out of 385.419km rural<br />
road in Enugu State.<br />
The National Coordinator<br />
of RAMP, Ubandoma Ularamu,<br />
made this known during<br />
a stakeholders’ workshop for<br />
the dissemination and adoption<br />
of Low Volume Road<br />
It was reported that ASUU<br />
had agreed to call off the<br />
strike.<br />
According to the report, the<br />
university teachers agreed to<br />
call off the strike after<br />
government pledged to pay<br />
N40 billion for Earned<br />
Allowances and N30 billion<br />
for the revitalization of the<br />
university system bringing<br />
the total payment to N70<br />
billion.<br />
It was further reported that<br />
government agreed to settle<br />
the arrears of salaries of the<br />
lecturers before December<br />
31<br />
Ṫhe report also noted that<br />
ASUU was expected to report<br />
the agreement to its organs<br />
and then communicate their<br />
decision to the government<br />
after which a date for the<br />
calling off of the strike would<br />
be announced.<br />
But ASUU President, Prof.<br />
Biodun Ogunyemi, denied<br />
knowledge of any agreement<br />
to call off the strike, stressing<br />
that at the meeting, it was only<br />
agreed that the union should<br />
convey the position of the<br />
government to their organs.<br />
He said : “ I am not aware<br />
of that. All I know is that we<br />
had a meeting and we are<br />
going to report to our<br />
members. But I don’t know<br />
about suspension of strike.”<br />
Six die in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway road crash<br />
By James Ogunnaike<br />
SIX persons were<br />
confirmed dead<br />
while one other sustained<br />
injuries in an accident<br />
involving a truck and a Honda<br />
Pilot Sports Utility Vehicle<br />
( SUV) around Ogere on<br />
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.<br />
The Ogun State Sector<br />
Commander, Federal Road<br />
Safety Corps (FRSC), Ahmed<br />
Umar, confirmed the incident<br />
to newsmen in Abeokuta yesterday.<br />
According to Umar, the incident<br />
happened around 7 am<br />
and was caused by excessive<br />
speeding which led to loss of<br />
control on the part of the SUV<br />
driver.<br />
The sector commander explained<br />
that eight male<br />
adults and one female adult<br />
were involved in the accident,<br />
pointing out that five male<br />
and one female died.<br />
Umar stated that the Honda<br />
Pilot marked LSR 525 FY<br />
was on excessive speed, lost<br />
control and rammed into the<br />
moving truck with registration<br />
number KRV 716 ZV.<br />
He added that the only injured<br />
victim was taken to<br />
Idera Hospital, Ogere for<br />
medical attention, while the<br />
deceased were deposited at<br />
FOS Morgue, Ipara.<br />
The Sector Commander<br />
advised the public to drive<br />
cautiously and obey traffic<br />
rules and regulations.<br />
Dry Season: Enugu takes<br />
safety measures against fire<br />
outbreak<br />
Enugu State Fire Service<br />
said it would commence sensitization<br />
on possible fire outbreaks<br />
on December 1, 2020.<br />
In a statement by the State<br />
Chief Fire Officer, Okwudiri<br />
Daniel Ohaa, it said the fire<br />
safety campaign, which will<br />
focus mainly on indiscriminate<br />
bush burning, would begin<br />
in markets such as the<br />
popular Ogbete Main Market<br />
Enugu, Timber Shed Enugu<br />
and 42 other markets<br />
across the state.<br />
Manuals (LVRM), held at<br />
Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu.<br />
Ularamu urged the state<br />
government to set up a rural<br />
road maintenance fund to<br />
ensure that roads constructed<br />
by RAMP in the rural areas<br />
are adequately maintained.<br />
He said the LVRM would<br />
be used as a guide for engineers<br />
and other stakeholders<br />
in designing and maintaining<br />
roads in the state and Nigeria<br />
in general.<br />
He said the maintenance<br />
of an already constructed rural<br />
road would propel the<br />
state towards participating in<br />
the next phase of World Bank<br />
project, Rural Access and Agricultural<br />
Marketing Project,<br />
RAAMP.<br />
ALLEGED EJECTION OF MOTHER, CHILD:<br />
LUTH dismisses viral video<br />
By Nnamdi Ojiego<br />
THE management<br />
of Lagos University<br />
Teaching Hospital (LUTH)<br />
has dismissed an online video,<br />
which it claimed maligned<br />
the hospital.<br />
“According to the hospital,<br />
the attention of LUTH<br />
management has been<br />
drawn to a video posted online<br />
by a lady to malign our<br />
Hospital. The video is a total<br />
misrepresentation of the<br />
event that happened yesterday,”<br />
it said in the statement.<br />
“This video was posted by<br />
a social media-obsessed individual<br />
who hid her face.<br />
“On the 25th November<br />
Chief Ene<br />
dies at 62<br />
T<br />
he Ezeudo 1 of Umuaga,<br />
Ohazulume 1 of Umuabi, Chief<br />
Godson Chukwuma Ene is dead,<br />
aged 62.<br />
A statement by the family said the<br />
burial ceremony of Chief Ene, who<br />
died on 15th Oct 2020, begins on<br />
December 3 with a Christian wake<br />
keep at Umu Ukulu Umueze<br />
Umuaga by 7.00pm. Funeral service<br />
will hold at St John’s Anglican<br />
Church Umuaga Udi by 11.00am.<br />
Burial will hold on 4th Dec, at Chief<br />
Godson Ene<br />
Compound, Umu<br />
Ukulu Umueze<br />
Umuaga Udi,<br />
while thanksgiving<br />
service will be held<br />
on 6th December at<br />
St John’s Anglican<br />
Church Umuaga<br />
Udi by 9.00 am.<br />
He is survived by<br />
wife, children,<br />
grandchildren, brothers and others.<br />
This is the perfect season<br />
for Nigerians to travel<br />
—Michaels, Forbes Global Project CEO<br />
he CEO of Forbes Global<br />
TProject and tourism<br />
expert, Olushola Michaels<br />
has said this is the perfect<br />
season to travel.<br />
Michaels, CEO of the<br />
leading travel and tourism,<br />
well-known for its moneyback<br />
guarantees, explained<br />
that unknown to many, this<br />
season is the perfect time for<br />
Nigerians to venture into the<br />
diaspora as many countries<br />
of the world are waiting for<br />
Nigerians.<br />
According to Michael, who<br />
is also a Nollywood actor,<br />
“When the economy newly<br />
re-opened, we didn’t do<br />
much. But now that<br />
embassies are opening up,<br />
now is the time to apply for<br />
visas. A lot of countries need<br />
people now to work. People<br />
are afraid to go and work for<br />
many reasons including<br />
COVID-19. Countries are<br />
looking for immigrants,<br />
from Canada to New<br />
Zealand, to Australia, even<br />
US, UK and a lot of them.<br />
Their citizens won’t go to<br />
work because they know that<br />
•MICHAELS<br />
they will get paid irrespective<br />
of whether they go or not. I’m<br />
a global citizen, so I know this<br />
for sure. They pay their<br />
citizens because they don’t<br />
want them to resort to crime<br />
to survive. If you are getting<br />
that, why would you want to<br />
risk your life with a pandemic<br />
in play? All these have created<br />
a shortage in the workforce,<br />
so this is the time to apply for<br />
a visa,” he said.<br />
Michaels, who shot and<br />
produced over 15 movies<br />
within a year of breaking into<br />
Nollywood, and has been in<br />
the visa assistance business for<br />
the past 18 years also revealed<br />
why Forbes has remained a<br />
leading factor in the visa<br />
procurement business.<br />
Lagos East bye-election: Electoral<br />
College organises debate for Abiru,<br />
Gbadamosi, others<br />
Ahead of next Saturday's<br />
senatorial bye-election<br />
in Lagos East, the Electoral<br />
College Nigeria, said it will<br />
hold a debate for candidates<br />
of seven political parties vying<br />
for the senatorial seat.<br />
The senatorial district seat<br />
became vacant at the Senate<br />
following the death of Senator<br />
Bayo Osinowo in June.<br />
In a statement issued by the<br />
Executive Director, Electoral<br />
College Nigeria, Mr. Kunle<br />
Lawal, the non-partisan<br />
organisation said the<br />
purpose of the debate was<br />
to provide a credible platform<br />
for an effective interface<br />
between candidates and the<br />
people of the senatorial distric.<br />
Lawal further disclosed<br />
that the virtual debate will<br />
hold live on Sunday, November<br />
29, at 3pm on Zoom platform<br />
and other social platforms<br />
of the Electoral College.<br />
While stating that the candidate<br />
of the All Progressives<br />
Congress (APC), Mr. Tokunbo<br />
Abiru, his Peoples Democratic<br />
Party (PDP) counterpart,<br />
Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi,<br />
and five other political<br />
parties have confirmed<br />
their attendance, he listed<br />
other parties as Social Democratic<br />
Party (SDP), African<br />
Democratic Party (ADP),<br />
New Nigeria Peoples<br />
Party(NNPP), African Action<br />
Congress (AAC) and Action<br />
Alliance (AA).<br />
2020, we had some challenges<br />
with the place where mothers<br />
stay. This place also houses<br />
a Crèche illegally attached<br />
to it.<br />
“We needed to evacuate the<br />
crèche to create more space<br />
for mothers to stay. Our neonatologist<br />
had even syndicated<br />
some money to improve<br />
and expand the place for the<br />
comfort of mothers.<br />
“There was a challenge<br />
during the evacuation of the<br />
crèche. The attention of<br />
LUTH management was<br />
called to this. The CMAC,<br />
Head of Neonatology Unit<br />
and her team members went<br />
immediately to the place to<br />
clarify issues,’’ the statement<br />
added.
Y<br />
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PAGE 4—SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and the PDP National Legal Adviser,<br />
Mr. Emmanuel Onoidem, during the burial of Sir A.S. Akpan at Primary School, Utu Nto<br />
Obio Ekop village, Etimekpo LGA. Akwa Ibom State.<br />
•From left: Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero; Alaafin of Oyo,<br />
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi and Sultan of<br />
Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; at the 5th Coronation Anniversary<br />
Lecture of Ooni of Ife, in Ibadan.<br />
How Amotekun rescued kidnapped wife of Akeredolu’s Chief of Staff<br />
By Dayo Johnson, Akure<br />
Kidnapped wife of the<br />
Chief of Staff to Ondo<br />
State governor, Chief Olugbenga<br />
Ale, has been rescued<br />
by the personnel of<br />
Amotekun Corps in the<br />
state.<br />
Some of the kidnappers<br />
were reportedly arrested by<br />
the security outfit.<br />
Mrs. Olubunmi Ale was<br />
kidnapped at Owena in<br />
ldanre last Thursday while<br />
travelling from Lagos to<br />
Akure by the bandits who<br />
laid siege to the highway.<br />
It was gathered that the incident<br />
happened very close<br />
to a military checkpoint in<br />
the town.<br />
Vanguard learned that<br />
men of the Amotekun Corps<br />
swung into action immediately<br />
after the incident was<br />
reported to them.<br />
The security outfit in collaboration<br />
with local hunters<br />
and vigilante in the area<br />
reportedly combed the forest<br />
in ldanre.<br />
A source in the office of the<br />
security outfit confirmed to<br />
newsmen that some hoodlums<br />
were apprehended in<br />
connection with the crime.<br />
The source added that they<br />
have been transferred to the<br />
state capital, Akure for interrogation.<br />
The source said: “I can<br />
confirm to you that the wife<br />
of the Chief of Staff has secured<br />
her freedom and she<br />
is on her way to Akure.<br />
“She was rescued by<br />
Amotekun and local hunters.”<br />
Contacted, the commandant<br />
of the Amotekun<br />
Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye<br />
confirmed the release of<br />
the victim.<br />
Adetunji promised to brief<br />
the press on how the victim<br />
was rescued.<br />
Ale could not be reached<br />
for comment but a family<br />
source told Vanguard that<br />
the victim has reunited with<br />
her family.<br />
Recall that the abduction<br />
of the wife of the governor’s<br />
aide came barely 24 hours<br />
after a first-class monarch,<br />
the Olufon of lfon, Oba lsreal<br />
Adewusi, was murdered<br />
by suspected kidnappers at<br />
Elegbeke in Ose council<br />
area of the state.<br />
His vehicle was riddled<br />
IMO: Doctors abandon patients to die — Panel<br />
* Govt plans mass burial<br />
#ENDSARS: FG demands apology from<br />
UK over claim that Gowon looted CBN<br />
The Federal Government<br />
has demanded an apology<br />
from the British Government<br />
over what it described<br />
as an unsubstantiated claim<br />
by a member of its parliament<br />
that a former Head of State,<br />
Gen Yakubu Gowon, retd,<br />
looted Nigeria’s treasury.<br />
A report on TheCable, reported<br />
Ferdinand Nwonye,<br />
spokesman of the Ministry of<br />
Foreign Affairs, as saying that<br />
Nigeria also demanded that<br />
the statement be retracted.<br />
Tom Tugendhat, Chairman<br />
of the UK Parliament Foreign<br />
Affairs Committee, had accused<br />
Gowon of looting half<br />
of Central Bank of<br />
with bullets while his driver<br />
attempted to escape from<br />
the kidnappers.<br />
The traditional ruler was<br />
the hospital as their liaison<br />
office from where they allegedly<br />
poach patients to their<br />
clinics.<br />
It was also alleged that patients<br />
who don't have money<br />
to attend the private clinics<br />
are abandoned to die.<br />
"Because of this anomaly,<br />
almost 80 percent of patients<br />
who go to IMSUTH end up<br />
dying. That is why the mortuary<br />
is filled to the brim and<br />
mass burial is contemplated',<br />
returning to his domain after<br />
attending the council of<br />
Obaship meeting in Akure,<br />
the state capital.<br />
Victoria Ahuakagha<br />
for burial<br />
Ambassador Victoria<br />
Chinenyenwa Ahuakagha<br />
is dead.<br />
She was 57-years-old.<br />
Ahuakagha died after a protracted<br />
illness in Enugu. She<br />
will be buried on December<br />
4, 2020, at her home town,<br />
Orogwe, Owerri West Local<br />
Government Area of Imo<br />
State. She is survived by her<br />
husband, Sir Goddy O. Ahuakagha,<br />
MD/CEO, Premier<br />
Insurance Brokers, Enugu,<br />
children, sisters, brothers,<br />
mother-in-law, and a grandchild.<br />
•Ahuakagha<br />
Public Relations Officer,<br />
PRO, of Ondo State Police<br />
Command, Tee-Leo Ikoro,<br />
could not be reached to<br />
confirm the release of the<br />
wife of the governor’s aide.<br />
#EndSARS: Stray bullet fired by SARS operatives shattered my leg — Hairdresser<br />
By Henry Ojelu<br />
More revelations on the<br />
atrocities allegedly<br />
committed by the disbanded<br />
Police Special Anti-Robbery<br />
Squad, SARS, emerged, yesterday,<br />
at the Lagos EndSARS<br />
panel, as a 35-year-old hairdresser,<br />
Mrs. Hannah Olugbodi,<br />
narrated how her left leg<br />
was shattered by a stray bullet<br />
fired by SARS operatives.<br />
She told the panel led by<br />
Justice Doris Okuwobi,retd,<br />
that the incident took place<br />
in June 2018, at the Ijeshatedo<br />
area of Lagos when SARS<br />
operatives were attempting to<br />
arrest a young man with tattoos.<br />
Olugbodi said she was at<br />
Ijesha Market trying to buy<br />
pepper to prepare food for her<br />
children when she was hit by<br />
a stray bullet<br />
According to the petitioner,<br />
the SARS operatives who<br />
fired the bullet were at Ogun<br />
City Hotel, to demand money<br />
to fuel their vehicle when<br />
they saw the young man with<br />
tattoos among a group of persons<br />
watching a football<br />
match at the hotel.<br />
According to her, the owner<br />
of the hotel, one Abu, who<br />
usually gave the SARS operatives<br />
money, was not around<br />
to attend to them.<br />
She said the SARS operatives<br />
labelled the young man<br />
with tattoos a Yahoo Yahoo boy<br />
(cyber fraudster).<br />
She said an attempt by the<br />
SARS operatives to arrest and<br />
In what could be de<br />
scribed as a betrayal of<br />
their Hippocratic oath,<br />
doctors in lmo State University<br />
Teaching Hospital Orlu<br />
are alleged to be abandoning<br />
patients to die.<br />
It was alleged that the mortuary<br />
in the tertiary health institution<br />
is overwhelming<br />
with corpses such that government<br />
is planning mass<br />
burial.<br />
According to a report of the<br />
panel set up by government<br />
to investigate the institution,<br />
the patients were allegedly<br />
left to their fate because they<br />
refused to patronise private<br />
clinics owned by the doctors.<br />
The panel's report alleged<br />
that many of the doctors use<br />
Nigeria,CBN, when he left<br />
office.<br />
Speaking during the parliament’s<br />
recent debate on<br />
the #EndSARS crisis, Tugendhat<br />
said: “Some people<br />
will remember when General<br />
Gowon left Nigeria with<br />
half of the Central Bank, so it<br />
is said and moved to London.”<br />
However, the MP did not<br />
provide any evidence or<br />
source to support his claim.<br />
Nwonye said the ministry,<br />
upon learning of the claim,<br />
“immediately sought an<br />
apology and retraction of the<br />
unsubstantiated allegation<br />
from the British Government”.<br />
take the boy with tattoos away<br />
was resisted by the other boys,<br />
making the SARS operatives<br />
to resort to firing gunshots.<br />
The petitioner said she was<br />
eventually taken to the Lagos<br />
University Teaching Hospital<br />
where they said there was no<br />
bed space and she was given<br />
four bags of intravenous flu-<br />
id<br />
Ṫhe panel adjourned the<br />
case till December 8 for further<br />
hearing.<br />
Meanwhile,a widow, Mrs.<br />
Silifat Adeyemo, wife of Mr<br />
Rotimi Adeyemo, an officer<br />
of Lagos State Traffic Management<br />
Authority (LAST-<br />
MA), allegedly killed by the<br />
the report indicated", the report<br />
said.<br />
Angered by the development,<br />
the government dismissed<br />
the chief medical director<br />
and also ordered his<br />
prosecution.<br />
Among the alleged fraud in<br />
the hospital is the padding of<br />
salary from N147m paid in<br />
December 2019 to N236m in<br />
January 2020 when Governor<br />
Hope Uzodinma assumed<br />
office.<br />
Also, a top official of the<br />
hospital allegedly awarded<br />
disbanded Special Anti-Robbery<br />
Squad (SARS), yesterday<br />
pleaded for scholarship for<br />
her children.<br />
Silifat made the request to<br />
the Lagos State Judicial Panel<br />
of Inquiry for Restitution<br />
for Victims of SARS Related<br />
Abuses and Other Matters.<br />
himself monthly salary of<br />
N1.6m contrary to extant<br />
laws while he allegedly<br />
caused to disappear N10m<br />
monthly IGR.<br />
Imo State Commissioner<br />
for information and Strategy,<br />
Chief Declan Emelumba,<br />
announced to newsmen in<br />
Owerri that government took<br />
the measures to save the hospital.<br />
He disclosed that government<br />
was also going to punish<br />
all staff members indicted<br />
in the report.<br />
NAFEST: I invested in security in Plateau — Lalong<br />
Governor Simon Lalong<br />
of Plateau State reechoed<br />
the return of peace to<br />
Jos, noting that his government<br />
invested in security and<br />
welfare of the people.<br />
He spoke glowingly about<br />
the tourism and hospitality<br />
economy of Plateau, adding<br />
that Nigerians and foreigners<br />
alike must return and invest,<br />
recreate in a safe, secured<br />
and temperate city of Jos.<br />
Joined by the governor of<br />
Yobe State, Mai Bala Bunu,<br />
and Minister of Youth and<br />
Sport, Mr. Sunday Dare, Lalong<br />
explained that God has<br />
been in the forefront of the<br />
restoration of peace in the<br />
state and therefore deserving<br />
all the glory.<br />
After an awesome state -by<br />
-state colourful parade, with<br />
heavy drummings and songs<br />
from the diverse tongues and<br />
people of Nigeria, Dare disclosed<br />
that culture will help<br />
drive national sports and<br />
youth development across the<br />
nation.<br />
Otunba Segun Runsewe,<br />
the Director-General of the<br />
National Council for Arts<br />
and Culture (NCAC), in his<br />
remarks, explained that Plateau<br />
State is now the medical<br />
tourism capital of Africa due<br />
to its uniqueness, peace and<br />
tranquility.<br />
He further stated that culture<br />
will be the fulcrum of<br />
enterprenual rediscovery and<br />
empowerment among young<br />
persons and women in rural<br />
areas. Over 25 states and FCT<br />
participated in the week-long<br />
iconic cultural festival which<br />
had been at the forefront of<br />
promoting National unity<br />
and cohesion.<br />
Bayelsa won the overall<br />
best participating state, with<br />
Ekiti and Rivers States sharing<br />
the second spot.<br />
Toni Kan buries mum<br />
December 16<br />
Mrs. Patricia Oyibo<br />
Onwordi, nee<br />
Okonkwo of the family of<br />
Louis Onwordi, Umudike<br />
Quarters, Ibusa, Delta State<br />
is dead.<br />
According to burial arrangement<br />
by the family,<br />
Mrs. Onwordi, who will be<br />
buried on December 16,<br />
2020 in her home town,<br />
Ibusa, was a trained sculptor<br />
and talented ceramicist.<br />
She is survived by her husband,<br />
Mr. Louis Ozulonye<br />
Onwordi, and five children<br />
among whom is celebrated<br />
writer and PR man, Toni Kan.<br />
•Onwordi<br />
C
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 5
PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL UNITY: Imperative<br />
of restructuring, true federalism<br />
By Adelegan Adegbola<br />
Awolowo paid minimum wage of five<br />
shillings in the West but in the East, they<br />
paid three shillings and six pence, while they<br />
paid three shillings in the North People have<br />
the right to self-determination. And by the<br />
virtue of that, they freely determine their<br />
political and economic status economic,<br />
social and culture development. It has become<br />
an axiom that, in a democracy, people get the<br />
kind of government they deserve. There can<br />
be no peace or security in Nigeria without<br />
political freedom. Nigeria is presently<br />
operated on wrong principles. As long as one<br />
group dominates others, as long as one group<br />
oppresses others, there would be strife and<br />
conflict. Man is selfish and the ideals of selfish<br />
interest and domination are perpetrated by<br />
man against man. Therefore, to live together<br />
in peace, there must be an acceptable<br />
agreement for people to follow. Hence it is<br />
imperative to restructure the country to enable<br />
her move forward.<br />
Humanity cannot stand on one leg. All forms<br />
of domination, exploitation of one section over<br />
another must be abolished. And new<br />
productive relations must be established.<br />
Our effectiveness is predicated upon certain<br />
inviolate principles of natural laws in the<br />
human dimension that are just as real as<br />
unchanging as laws such as gravity is in the<br />
physical dimension.<br />
These principles are woven into fabric of<br />
every civilized society and constitute the roots<br />
of every family and the country that endured<br />
and prospered.<br />
Fundamental moral principles are the laws<br />
of God.<br />
Authority<br />
Principles are not invented by man or any<br />
society; they are the laws of the universe that<br />
pertain to human relationships and human<br />
organizations.<br />
Federalism is the distribution of power in<br />
an organization (as a government) between a<br />
central authority and the constituent units.<br />
Federalism is ensuring “unity through<br />
federation”. It allows ethnic groups to live<br />
together without jeopardizing each of the<br />
groups cultural setting and allowing them to<br />
develop at their own pace. The sheer territorial<br />
size of Nigeria necessitated the adoption of<br />
“federal form of constitution” and hence the<br />
division of the country into regions even when<br />
the inhabitants were linguistically or<br />
ethnically homogeneous. Meanwhile the<br />
diversity of the country was a formidable<br />
obstacle to unity without a federal constitution.<br />
The people controlling the government were<br />
of widely different origins, beliefs and interests.<br />
All the linguistic groups in Nigeria lived in<br />
harmony with one another but linguistic<br />
distinctions posed fundamental questions on<br />
how to live with one another, sharing natural<br />
resources, sharing political power and<br />
authorities. Patriotism was not love of the<br />
country or nation but loyalty to tribe or<br />
commune. The gentry and peasantry hated<br />
and feared one another and even the peasants<br />
were suspicious of each other.<br />
Nigeria should have as many provinces or<br />
zones, regions of states as there were linguistics<br />
or ethnic groups in the country, and each<br />
region should have a legislature and<br />
government of its own. There would be a<br />
central or national parliament and<br />
government on which the various linguistic<br />
groups in the country would be represented.<br />
Under this arrangement, each ethnic group<br />
could develop its own peculiar culture and<br />
institutions in accordance with its wishes and<br />
the inter-tribal acrimony and jostle for<br />
leadership which were rearing their heads<br />
would cease. The government of each<br />
linguistic group would be led by one of their<br />
members and Nigeria would be led by any<br />
Nigerian acceptable to all or to the majority<br />
of the country.<br />
The colonial governments were preoccupied<br />
with day-to-day concerns of<br />
administration of commercial interests. From<br />
their perspective, social change involved the<br />
adjustment of conquered people of life under<br />
colonial rule. The British, who had not given<br />
much thought to the heterogeneous character<br />
of Nigeria peoples in formulating their<br />
administrative arrangements, had been<br />
compelled to divide the Protectorate of<br />
Southern Nigeria into two for administrative<br />
purposes – because it was becoming more and<br />
more enlightened and articulate. In the main,<br />
language lay at the root of racial differences:<br />
•Buhari<br />
be they differences in culture and custom, in<br />
philosophy of life and political institutions, in<br />
national characteristics and social concept<br />
and practices. For example, Obaship and<br />
chieftaincy have been established from time<br />
immemorial in Yorubaland whereas the<br />
northern people had been living their lives as<br />
the traditional institution of Emirship<br />
permitted. The system is different in the Eastern<br />
part of Nigeria where the British had<br />
experimented with varying degrees of success<br />
and failure with “Warrant Chiefs”<br />
Ethnicities and people’s diversities are the<br />
cultural pride in Africa. The world itself is an<br />
assemblage of numerous ethnic groups of<br />
people clustered together on the planet to form<br />
a global village for the purpose of human kind.<br />
Nigeria’s project is a donation and<br />
contribution of numerous of ethnics, different<br />
cultures and different peoples lived in around<br />
themselves. And later parts of their lives were<br />
“forced together by foreign influence and<br />
forces simply for their economic gain.<br />
The Amalgamation of the North and South<br />
of Nigeria without their knowledge, the<br />
European just negotiated the destinies of<br />
people without the conscience of the people.<br />
The arrangement was against the ethos of the<br />
people. It was full of awkwardness, tangled,<br />
awry to the fundamental social life of the<br />
people.<br />
Unitary constitution with only one central<br />
government would only result in frustration<br />
to the more dynamic ethnic groups whereas<br />
division of the country into ethnic lines would<br />
enable each linguistic group to develop its<br />
own peculiar culture and institutions and move<br />
at its own pace without being unnecessarily<br />
pushed or annoyingly slowed down by others.<br />
The assumption that the present standards of<br />
common leadership which have been the<br />
“bone of contention” have been the basis of<br />
Nigeria nationalist activities was grossly<br />
misconceived. Nigeria needs a system in<br />
which the various linguistic units will federate<br />
to form a single nation and that is the way it<br />
was when Chief Obafemi Awolowo paid<br />
minimum wage of five shillings in the Western<br />
Region but in the East, they paid three shillings<br />
and six pence, while they paid three shillings<br />
in the North. But it is now we are saying<br />
everybody must do the same thing. That is not<br />
a ‘federation’. When Awolowo wanted to start<br />
the minimum wage, they said it was<br />
impossible. But he did it and also introduced<br />
free education. He did it because he had the<br />
leverage within the economy to generate the<br />
income and move in accordance with his own<br />
priority and at his own preferred pace.<br />
Exploitation, domination of man by man<br />
has been the social problem of humanity. The<br />
fundamental; problem is that of an unjust,<br />
distorted federation which has been<br />
manipulated to favour one section against the<br />
other by the military intervention to the polity<br />
of Nigeria. There is no way such an unjust<br />
arrangement can endure or generate peace<br />
and stability. Therefore change is inevitable.<br />
The world has entered a new stage of<br />
historical development.<br />
Continues on www.vanguardngr.com<br />
•Adegbola, FCPA, is Founder and<br />
President, Oduduwa Cultural Foundation,<br />
and Fellow, Chartered Institute of Local<br />
Government and Public Administration of<br />
Nigeria.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 7<br />
COMMON MAN:<br />
How this<br />
recession<br />
will affect<br />
you<br />
By Dele Sobowale<br />
“To know that which before us lies in daily<br />
life is the prime wisdom…” -John Milton,<br />
VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS,<br />
VBQ, p 275.<br />
Nigerians now know the truth. Nigeria is<br />
in a recession. The dreadful result was<br />
summarized for us this way in PUNCH,<br />
November 22, 2020.<br />
“The NBS, in its Gross Domestic Product<br />
report for Q3, said the GDP, the broad<br />
measure of economic prosperity, fell by 3.62<br />
per cent in the three months till<br />
September…For the first time in more than<br />
three years, the Nigerian economy shrank<br />
in Q2 by 6.10 per cent..”<br />
The World Bank (WB) added two bits<br />
of information to make the situation<br />
more depressing. First, the bank<br />
pointed out that this is the worst recession<br />
in 36 years. Second, WB followed that up by<br />
telling us that per capita income in 2020<br />
and 2021 could fall to 40-year low. For<br />
Nigeria, acknowledged world poverty<br />
capital, things cannot possibly be worse. It<br />
means that we will not soon relinquish the<br />
title of poverty capital; we only have our<br />
own dismal record to beat.<br />
A RECESSION FORETOLD<br />
IN MARCH 2020<br />
“For every folly of their [rulers], Nigerians<br />
feel the lash” - Horace, 65-8 BC, VBQ p 61.<br />
Grim as all these revelations might appear<br />
to Nigerians, they represent a tragedy<br />
already foretold, as usual by VANGUARD.<br />
While the rest of Nigeria was still<br />
wondering what would be the repercussions<br />
of COVID-19 on our economy, we<br />
presciently made the forecast of a recession.<br />
Read:<br />
“COVID-19 HAS CLOBBERED BUDGET<br />
2020 INTO A COMA<br />
‘Coronavirus: FG Considers Reviewing<br />
2020 Budget’ - DAILY INDEPENDENT,<br />
March 5, 2020, p 1.<br />
‘55 Nigerian oil cargo unsold as demand<br />
tumbles’ - PUNCH, March 6, 2020, p 23.<br />
Shakespeare, 1564-1616, must have had<br />
a situation like the one in which Nigeria<br />
now finds itself before pronouncing: ‘All<br />
things do help the unhappy man to fall.’<br />
President Buhari, during one of his many<br />
trips abroad, once described himself as the<br />
most unhappy leader. He has a right to claim<br />
that title. Nigeria under him became the<br />
poverty capital of the world and that is a<br />
title that will not be relinquished soon. On<br />
four indices included in the Misery Index,<br />
MI — children out of school, maternal death,<br />
infant mortality and per capita income –<br />
Nigeria is ranked first in all of them. Nigeria<br />
is also home to two of the world’s five worst<br />
terrorist groups: Boko Haram and<br />
herdsmen.<br />
Although it is the poorest country among<br />
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting<br />
Countries, OPEC, and it is only the eighth<br />
largest producer, more crude oil is stolen in<br />
Nigeria than any other country. Thus, the<br />
Federal Government of a nation, which<br />
needs every dollar it can get from oil, stands<br />
and looks on while a few selfish but powerful<br />
crooks consign the rest of Nigeria to<br />
prolonged poverty and endless destitution.<br />
None of the big oil thieves has been<br />
apprehended and prosecuted. Instead of<br />
protecting our own most important source<br />
of funds, we are contented to make requests<br />
for $22 billion loan package.<br />
These observations are meant to provide<br />
background to what will follow in this article<br />
because Nigerians need to understand the<br />
disaster that awaits us on account of COVID<br />
– 19 and our near total dependence on oil.<br />
Perhaps the place to start is what was<br />
predicted last year when<br />
the 2020 Budget was<br />
presented to the<br />
National Assembly,<br />
NASS. Unfortunately<br />
for us, the demand for<br />
crude was less than<br />
expected from January<br />
1, 2020. It remained low<br />
throughout February<br />
and, as we move into<br />
March, we discover that<br />
COVID-19 has rendered<br />
Budget 2020 totally<br />
untenable.<br />
BUDGET<br />
OF SELF-<br />
DELUSION<br />
“The most obstinate<br />
illusions are ultimately<br />
broken by facts” - Trevor<br />
Round two<br />
of global<br />
lockdown<br />
means that<br />
Nigerian<br />
recipients of<br />
money from<br />
abroad are<br />
in for a<br />
tough time<br />
Roper, VANGUARD<br />
BOOK<br />
OF<br />
QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p<br />
100.<br />
“Budget of Continuity<br />
was based on a<br />
benchmark oil price of<br />
$60 per barrel, oil production of<br />
2.3mbpd…government projected a deficit<br />
of N1.91tn. The revenue performance is only<br />
58 per cent of the 2019 budget’s target due<br />
to the underperformance of both oil and<br />
non-oil revenue sources. Specifically oil<br />
revenues were below target by 49 per cent<br />
as at June 2019" - President Buhari, Budget<br />
2020 presentation to the NASS, October 8,<br />
2019.”<br />
That was the 2020 Budget summarized.<br />
Below was my own reaction to it.<br />
STARTING ON THE<br />
WRONG FOOT; STAYING<br />
ON THE WRONG TRACK<br />
‘Morning shows the day’ according to an<br />
old adage.<br />
The disaster of the 2020 Budget actually<br />
had its origins in 2015. The first three<br />
appointments every modern Head of<br />
Government makes in today’s global village<br />
are: the Ministers of Defense, Finance and<br />
External Affairs. Those are the people other<br />
countries appraise most critically. And the<br />
appointments are made very quickly after<br />
elections are over. Bearing in mind that “a<br />
week is a long time in politics” (Harold<br />
Wilson, British Prime Minister 1970s),<br />
Buhari waiting for five months to make those<br />
key appointments had already sent a signal<br />
to the global community; and<br />
not a good one. To then turn<br />
around and hand the economy<br />
to people totally unknown in<br />
global financial institutions<br />
for the five months sent<br />
another signal. Mrs. Adeosun<br />
might be a good accountant;<br />
but, she is not and cannot be<br />
an excellent Finance Minister.<br />
The results showed very<br />
quickly. A recession followed<br />
in 2016.”<br />
The rest of the analysis of the<br />
2020 Budget went on to predict<br />
that it will never be<br />
implemented as it is. That was<br />
before COVID-19 gatecrashed<br />
into our lives and is<br />
now going to cause a lot of<br />
havoc to the budget of every<br />
country on the planet. The first<br />
signal of the problems ahead<br />
is the turmoil in global oil<br />
trade. OPEC is now in<br />
disarray. Saudi Arabia, the<br />
largest exporter, after failing<br />
to get Russia, a non-member<br />
to agree to a cut in production<br />
and supplies, had unilaterally<br />
reduced crude price and is now<br />
set to increase output. Those steps spell<br />
economic doom for countries like Nigeria<br />
which are more heavily dependent on oil.<br />
From the evidence available at the moment,<br />
the average price of crude oil on the global<br />
market is unlikely to exceed $50 per barrel<br />
for the next three months unless an<br />
emergency meeting of OPEC is held to<br />
establish a new quota and production level<br />
acceptable to all members.<br />
Even then, any agreement by OPEC<br />
members will not be binding on nonmembers<br />
– who now control a larger<br />
percentage of global oil output than OPEC.<br />
The cartel has lost the clout which in the<br />
past made it possible to dictate global oil<br />
prices. While there are several uncertainties,<br />
there is one certainty, which cannot be<br />
ignored. COVID-19 has devastated<br />
Nigeria’s 2020 budget. It was not realistic<br />
before COVID-19; it is totally in shreds now.<br />
It requires no high intelligence to realize<br />
that a budget review is urgently needed.<br />
BUHARI APPOINTS<br />
BUDGET REVIEW<br />
ADVISERS<br />
For once President Buhari did not waste<br />
time in approving a budget review<br />
committee of advisers. That is a step in the<br />
right direction. Other steps must necessarily<br />
follow – and quickly too because time is one<br />
of the variables they must bring into<br />
consideration. In that connection the most<br />
important matters to be decided include the<br />
following:<br />
•Bench mark crude price to adopt in the<br />
recommendations for the budget review<br />
•Time to start operating the new budget.<br />
•The impact on the Federal and State<br />
Governments<br />
•How to handle the inevitable recession<br />
In the second part of this series, I will<br />
elaborate on the four issues listed above.<br />
But permit me to be the bearer of bad news:<br />
ANOTHER RECESSION IS LOOMING<br />
ON THE NIGERIAN ECONOMIC<br />
ENVIRONMENT.”<br />
That was published in the second week of<br />
March – long before the FG started to<br />
address its mind to the possibility of a<br />
recession.<br />
If the Federal Government had reached<br />
out for information, it would have been able<br />
to reduce the decline in GDP growth<br />
considerably. Second quarter might not<br />
have slumped to -6.10 per cent and Q3 not<br />
as bad as -3.62.<br />
WHERE WE STAND NOW<br />
“Hell hath no limits; nor is it<br />
circumscribed in one self place, for where<br />
we are is hell…” - Christopher Marlowe,<br />
1564-1594, VBQ p 89.<br />
Food insecurity and famine in 2021 now<br />
certain.<br />
For Nigerians living today, the closest<br />
Continues on page 10
PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
‘Why we may not<br />
exit recession in<br />
first quarter of 2021’<br />
By Peter Egwuatu, Assistant Business Editor<br />
A<br />
chartered stockbroker and Executive Vice<br />
Chairman, HIGHCAP Securities Limited, Mr.<br />
David Adonri, in this interview, speaks on how<br />
Nigeria got into recession, the implication and possible<br />
way out among other things.<br />
Nigeria found itself in another<br />
recession in five years. Could it have<br />
been avoided?<br />
Nigeria’s economy is prone to recession due<br />
to its fragility. The economy has not been built<br />
to last. It has inherent structural deficiencies<br />
preventing it from withstanding stress.<br />
Recession in Nigeria’s economy is an accident<br />
waiting to happen. The last time Nigeria’s<br />
economy entered recession was when GDP<br />
contracted in 2016. Then, it contracted by -<br />
0.67 percent in the first quarter and fell into<br />
recession in the second quarter when GDP<br />
contracted by -1.49 percent. At the end of 2016,<br />
GDP had contracted by -1.73 percent. The<br />
recession eventually ended when GDP grew<br />
by 0.55 percent in the second quarter of 2017,<br />
after a negative position in the first quarter of<br />
2017. That recession lasted for one year.<br />
For the second time in five years, Nigeria’s<br />
economy has fallen again into recession. The<br />
country’s GDP contracted by -3.62 percent in<br />
the third quarter of 2020, after contracting by<br />
-6.1 percent.<br />
Several factors contributed to the 2016<br />
recession, the most important being crash in<br />
crude oil price. The economic boom of 2013,<br />
which saw inflation rate at single digit and<br />
GDP growth rate of 5.49 percent, fizzled out<br />
in July 2014 as a result of crash in crude oil<br />
price from USD111.8 per barrel continuously<br />
to as low as USD30.7 per barrel in January<br />
2016. That drastic drop put serious pressure<br />
on Nigeria’s foreign reserve, causing scarcity<br />
of forex, high inflation rate and devaluation<br />
of the naira. The tapering of Quantitative<br />
Easing by US Federal Reserve Bank in 2014<br />
also complicated issues for the Nigerian<br />
economy which was already reeling from the<br />
tension soaked build-up to the 2015 general<br />
election. The economic decline from 2nd<br />
quarter of 2014 intensified amidst laxity by<br />
government to take necessary remedial<br />
measures to avert the recession of 2016. The<br />
current recession is not surprising because of<br />
the devastating impact of COVID-19<br />
pandemic. Almost every country in the world<br />
suffered COVID-19 induced recession. If the<br />
Nigerian economy was more resilient,<br />
perhaps the impact would have been milder,<br />
considering the slower rate of transmission of<br />
the disease locally. Before the onset of the<br />
pandemic in February 2020, signs of weakness<br />
in Nigeria’s economy were apparent. Due to<br />
its fragility, early in January 2020, a global<br />
rating agency, Moody’s & Fitch had<br />
downgraded the Nigerian economy from<br />
stable to negative. The widespread<br />
devastation of the pandemic, whose intensity<br />
surpasses 2008 global financial crisis, only<br />
worsened the country’s steadily deteriorating<br />
economy. Other than disruptions to global<br />
trade and financial flow caused by COVID-<br />
19, Nigeria’s economy has been terrorised by<br />
•Prof. Adonri<br />
worsening insecurity and debilitating selfinduced<br />
trade containment.<br />
Experts have predicted hard times.<br />
Would the times really be as hard as<br />
they predicted?<br />
Recession is a backward movement of the<br />
economy from a previous position. It is a<br />
difficult time for a country when there is less<br />
trade and industrial activity than usual and<br />
more factors of production are unemployed.<br />
During recession, national and household<br />
incomes drop. Non-performing debts escalate.<br />
Government, corporations and households<br />
are unable to meet their financial obligations.<br />
Recession escalates poverty and provokes<br />
social unrest.<br />
The present case of Nigeria is more pathetic<br />
than recession. Simultaneously, the economy<br />
is faced with galloping inflation. This terrible<br />
condition is known as<br />
Stagflation.<br />
Inflation rate has risen<br />
in Nigeria for fifteen<br />
straight months, moving<br />
steadily from 11.02<br />
percent in August 2019 to<br />
14.23 percent in October<br />
2020. It is projected to<br />
reach 15 percent in<br />
December 2020<br />
according to the forecast<br />
made in recent Nigeria<br />
Economic Sustainability<br />
Plan (NESP 2020).<br />
Hyperinflation reduces<br />
the buying power of<br />
money, weakens<br />
domestic currency,<br />
constricts the disposable<br />
income of households,<br />
deepens poverty and<br />
escalates the cost of<br />
projects. Economies<br />
crave non-inflationary<br />
growth for development<br />
to be meaningful.<br />
All the<br />
adverse<br />
consequences<br />
of<br />
population<br />
explosion on<br />
the socio<br />
economy<br />
are already<br />
evident<br />
How<br />
can<br />
g o v e r n m e n t<br />
e n c o u r a g e<br />
production and exports to earn foreign<br />
exchange and boost the economy?<br />
Stagflation means that the economy is<br />
shrinking while costs are increasing. Domestic<br />
industrial and agricultural outputs are falling.<br />
Nigeria’s fiscal economy (production and<br />
trade) has suffered a series of setbacks since<br />
independence which has weakened its<br />
foundation. It is highly import dependent.<br />
Nigerian industries rely heavily on imported<br />
capital goods and raw materials to survive.<br />
Any time there is shortage of forex, their<br />
production is crippled. Nigeria also lacks the<br />
engineering infrastructure to sustain the<br />
productive momentum of industries and make<br />
the economy competitive and internally selfregenerating.<br />
This is a structural defect that<br />
cannot be fixed overnight.<br />
Nigeria’s inflation is essentially caused by<br />
her deficient supply-side economy, worsened<br />
by insecurity and scarcity of forex. Boosting<br />
inflow of hard currency through export may<br />
not be immediately feasible as a second wave<br />
of COVID-19 hamper the demand for crude<br />
oil and diaspora remittances wane. Other<br />
than crude oil which is the mainstay of<br />
Nigeria’s export economy, now in limbo,<br />
insecurity has already dented the country’s<br />
economy. Additionally, Nigeria’s<br />
manufacturing sector lacks the capacity to<br />
compete in global market, thus limiting<br />
available options for a leap in foreign income.<br />
This is why government is running from pillar<br />
to post trying desperately to secure foreign<br />
survival loans.<br />
What could have been done by<br />
government to avert recession?<br />
The high frequency of Nigeria’s economic<br />
bust is not surprising. Whenever the economy<br />
is subjected to little stress, be it political, social,<br />
trade dislocation, or natural disaster, it falls<br />
into immediate crisis. Between independence<br />
and the 1970s, Nigeria’s four years<br />
development plan cycles planned and built<br />
the economy to pro-actively forestall threats<br />
in future. They were geared towards the laying<br />
of a solid foundation for self-reliance. That<br />
objective became a mirage after the fourth<br />
national development plan was jettisoned by<br />
the next federal administration. The<br />
subsequent strategic plans which ended in<br />
2000, 2010 and ending 2020, were more of<br />
sloganeering rather than<br />
genuine attempts at building a<br />
resilient economy that lasts.<br />
Nigeria’s economy rests on a<br />
shaky structural foundation,<br />
hence the resort to short term<br />
panic measures to tackle<br />
economic crisis. If the necessary<br />
economic structures were in<br />
place before onset of COVID-19<br />
pandemic, there would have<br />
been enough inventory of<br />
consumer goods and financial<br />
reserve to see us through the<br />
period of lockdown. Now, we<br />
would only have been grappling<br />
with recession like Europe, Asia<br />
and America and not the<br />
harshness of Stagflation. Credit<br />
must be given to government for<br />
early lockdown and timely<br />
reopening of the economy<br />
otherwise, the economic crisis<br />
would have been worse. Apart<br />
from China, no other country<br />
succeeded in averting current<br />
recession. China’s world-class<br />
engineering infrastructure and<br />
early stern measures to curtail<br />
spread of COVID-19, enabled<br />
the country to sustain its fiscal<br />
economy. Although Nigeria was<br />
still functioning at low rate internally, drastic<br />
decline in demand for crude oil and decline of<br />
imports overwhelmed the economy. These are<br />
factors beyond the control of government and<br />
they are still prevalent.<br />
Can the monetary and fiscal policies<br />
proposed by government yield positive<br />
GDP?<br />
The dichotomy between fiscal and monetary<br />
policies has almost disappeared in Nigeria.<br />
In addition to formulating and executing<br />
monetary policies, Nigeria’s monetary<br />
authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, now<br />
also formulates fiscal policies presumably to<br />
plug fiscal gaps. It engages in formulation of<br />
trade policies and dishes out stimulus<br />
packages to industries. Government engages<br />
in an administrative method which<br />
misallocates public hard currency in a manner<br />
detrimental to the integrity and efficiency of<br />
Nigeria’s macro economy.<br />
The federal government said Nigeria<br />
will exit recession in first quarter of<br />
2021 while the World Bank maintained<br />
that the nation is at a critical<br />
juncture…<br />
It will be miraculous if Nigeria exits<br />
recession in the first quarter of 2021. The<br />
headwinds against the economy are not likely<br />
to disappear fully in first quarter of 2021. It is<br />
not likely that farm security will be restored<br />
early next year as Boko Haram, bandits and<br />
herdsmen are increasing their rampage.<br />
Despite the euphoria surrounding the<br />
emergence of effective COVID-19 vaccine,<br />
disruptions by the pandemic may persist<br />
beyond first quarter of 2021, hampering<br />
Nigeria’s crude oil export and affecting<br />
diaspora remittances adversely. Agriculture<br />
and crude oil are the main drivers of the<br />
economy. Their probability of recovery in<br />
early 2021 is remote. There is also no<br />
indication that the land borders will reopen<br />
soon to facilitate intra African trade. Nigeria’s<br />
structural deficiencies cannot be corrected<br />
within such a short period warranting an<br />
optimistic view that manufacturing can close<br />
any gap. The social environment remains<br />
charged as law and order have broken down<br />
in parts of the country. Consequently, the basis<br />
for government’s optimism that the economy<br />
will exit recession in first quarter of 2021 is<br />
difficult to understand. Government appears<br />
to be concerned only about recession. They<br />
are oblivious of the dire consequences of<br />
galloping inflation.<br />
What options do you think should be<br />
explored?<br />
Nigeria’s economic crisis is deeper than<br />
recession. It is Stagflation which is a deadly<br />
crisis that is difficult to eliminate. The<br />
macroeconomic policies so far enunciated<br />
by government are principally targeted at<br />
combating the recession but may also<br />
intensify the galloping inflation. The<br />
situation can degenerate into a serious<br />
hyperinflation if CBN’s expansionary<br />
monetary policy fails to stimulate<br />
production. Stagflation is not an economic<br />
crisis you can just spend your way out from.<br />
It requires careful identification of the<br />
specific factors slowing the economy and<br />
those fueling inflation and acting to<br />
eliminate them one by one. This is an<br />
opportunity to address the long term<br />
structural deficiencies and imbalances that<br />
make the economy fragile and import<br />
dependent. If we do not start addressing<br />
them now, the environment that provokes<br />
recession will continue to hound the<br />
economy. A critical imbalance in the<br />
economy is the ever increasing demand<br />
pressure piled by uncontrolled growth of<br />
the population. Purpose of economy is to<br />
meet the needs of people. Between<br />
independence and now, Nigeria’s<br />
population has increased by 390 percent.<br />
All the adverse consequences of population<br />
explosion on the socio economy are already<br />
evident. Excessive growth of population has<br />
orchestrated consumption and hampered<br />
savings accumulation in the economy.<br />
Incidences of recession can be minimized<br />
in Nigeria if demand management through<br />
population control is also factored into<br />
macroeconomic policies.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 9<br />
RECESSION:<br />
Quick implementation<br />
of fiscal policies<br />
needed for recovery<br />
—Prof.Uwaleke<br />
By Peter Egwuatu, Assistant Business Editor<br />
Professor Uche Uwaleke, a Financial Economist, is<br />
the President of Association of Capital Market<br />
Academics of Nigeria. In this interview, Uwaleke<br />
speaks on Nigeria’s plunge into recession and the<br />
likely paths to recovery<br />
Do you agree with the reasons<br />
given as being responsible for this<br />
recession?<br />
Unlike the recession of 2016 chiefly<br />
caused by the sudden crash in crude oil<br />
price resulting in a significant fall in<br />
government revenue to the extent that<br />
several state governments could not pay<br />
salaries thereby weakening aggregate<br />
demand, the current economic recession<br />
in Nigeria is the result of twin shocks<br />
coming first from the health crisis<br />
occasioned by COVID-19 and government<br />
attempts to contain it by imposing<br />
restrictions in movements and lockdowns.<br />
As you know, international flights were<br />
banned by most countries including all<br />
forms of public gatherings.<br />
Expectedly, there were disruptions in<br />
supply chains, production and exchange<br />
which hurt several sectors of the economy<br />
such as manufacturing, agriculture,<br />
transport, trade, construction, hospitality<br />
and education to name just a few. You<br />
recall that even schools were shut due to<br />
COVID-19.<br />
The second shock came from the<br />
collapse of crude oil price given the<br />
country’s dependence on the oil sector. I<br />
must equally mention that the OPEC+ cut<br />
agreement in response to the fall in crude<br />
oil price, led to a reduction in the country’s<br />
daily oil production.<br />
You recall that the 2020 budget was<br />
predicated on an oil output of about 1.8<br />
million barrels per day. The real GDP<br />
contraction of -3.62 per cent recorded in<br />
Q3 of 2020 was partly caused by the poor<br />
performance of the oil sector which<br />
witnessed a reduction in average daily oil<br />
production to 1.67 million barrels per day.<br />
So, in summary, this recession was caused<br />
by COVID’19 and collapse in crude oil<br />
price. I say this because before the<br />
pandemic, the economy was already on<br />
the path of growth recording about 2.27<br />
per cent in 2019.<br />
What is the implication of the<br />
recession for the ordinary Nigerians<br />
and the country as a whole?<br />
Recession as you know is simply the<br />
downturn in economic activities. Even<br />
before the release of the NBS report, it was<br />
obvious even to government that the<br />
economy, like many other economies of<br />
the world, was in a recession.<br />
The NBS report merely gave it an<br />
official status since the economy had gone<br />
through two consecutive quarters of<br />
negative growth in GDP. Unlike in many<br />
other countries also in a recession, that of<br />
Nigeria is made worse by the fact that the<br />
inflation rate is also on the rise. So, in the<br />
Nigerian context, it is actually stagflation.<br />
Against this backdrop, the implication is<br />
grave for the common man and for<br />
Nigerians in general who have been<br />
grappling with high cost of living, lower<br />
living standards, and for firms’ high cost<br />
of production and weak productive<br />
capacity. I wish to note that the<br />
disappointing performance of the<br />
agriculture sector in Q3 2020, at a mere<br />
1.39% growth, worse than the Q2 growth<br />
rate, gives cause for concern. The negative<br />
impact of food prices is capable of<br />
worsening poverty and the health crisis<br />
occasioned by poor nutrition.<br />
So, by and large, the twin<br />
impact of recession and<br />
rising inflation otherwise<br />
known as stagnation will<br />
only impoverish the<br />
common man.<br />
Inflation is on the<br />
rise, a foreign reserve is<br />
dropping and the<br />
manufacturing sector is<br />
shrinking. How can<br />
government encourage<br />
production and exports<br />
to earn foreign<br />
exchange to boost the<br />
economy?<br />
Inflation rate was on the<br />
rise even before the pandemic<br />
hit the economy primarily due to the<br />
continuous border closure, increase in<br />
Value Added Tax, VAT, and pump price of<br />
fuel as well as the scarcity of forex. As you<br />
know, inflationary pressure is coming<br />
more from food index due in part to<br />
insecurity in the food-producing areas of<br />
the country. As you rightly noted, the<br />
country is experiencing foreign reserves<br />
depletion. This is due largely to the point I<br />
mentioned earlier about the collapse in<br />
oil revenue as well as the exit of foreign<br />
investors and reduction in capital<br />
importation. Not<br />
surprising, therefore, the<br />
manufacturing sector, in<br />
particular, challenged by<br />
lack of forex to import raw<br />
materials,<br />
is<br />
underperforming. For<br />
several months now, except<br />
for this month, the<br />
Purchasing Managers<br />
Index, which is an<br />
indication<br />
of<br />
manufacturing activity, has<br />
been below the 50 point<br />
threshold.<br />
Therefore, to answer your<br />
question against this<br />
backdrop, government can<br />
encourage production and<br />
exports by investing in<br />
infrastructure, especially<br />
power, roads, rail and IT<br />
infrastructure in<br />
partnership with the private<br />
sector. The current plan by<br />
the government to have a<br />
N15 trillion Infrastructure<br />
Fund to be financed by the<br />
Central Bank of Nigeria,<br />
CBN, AFC, Sovereign<br />
Wealth Fund, SWF, and other private sector<br />
players, is a step in the right direction. It is<br />
also important that the insecurity which<br />
hampers production, especially in the<br />
agriculture sector should be tackled.<br />
Doing so will help diversify the revenue<br />
sources and attract foreign investments<br />
which will ultimately shore up foreign<br />
reserves.<br />
Was this recession avoidable?<br />
Regarding what the government could<br />
have done to avert the economic recession,<br />
it is my opinion that given the structure of<br />
I would like to<br />
see speed<br />
and a sense<br />
of urgency,<br />
especially<br />
concerning<br />
the<br />
implementation<br />
of fiscal<br />
policies<br />
•Uwaleke<br />
the Nigerian economy, which you well<br />
know is a legacy issue, the present<br />
economic recession was inevitable.<br />
No one doubts the fact the pandemic and<br />
the sudden collapse of oil prices were<br />
unexpected. In particular, the pandemic<br />
caught many countries including Nigeria<br />
unawares. Expectedly, these countries,<br />
both developed and developing, have<br />
recorded bigger contraction in real GDP<br />
growth.<br />
I think government through the Central<br />
Bank responded swiftly<br />
with various stimulus<br />
packages and<br />
interventions which have<br />
gone a long way in<br />
reducing the size of the<br />
recession below<br />
projections by<br />
international agencies<br />
including the<br />
International Monetary<br />
Fund,IMF.<br />
I must mention that a<br />
number of economic<br />
policies being<br />
implemented now, such<br />
as the increase in VAT<br />
could have been deferred<br />
till 2021 due to its impact<br />
on aggregate<br />
consumption and<br />
inflation.<br />
Recall that I said earlier<br />
that the real challenge the<br />
economy faces now is<br />
stagflation. There is also<br />
the issue of insecurity<br />
bedevilling the country,<br />
which I think could have<br />
been better dealt with. On<br />
the part of monetary policy, I think the<br />
right steps were taken.<br />
Can our monetary and fiscal<br />
policies yield positive GDP?<br />
I think, overall, fiscal and monetary<br />
policies are in the right direction. In<br />
response to the pandemic, government has<br />
scaled up the social investment<br />
programmes. It has also provided cash<br />
support to some households that were<br />
seriously affected by COVID-19.<br />
In addition, government came up with<br />
an Economic Sustainability Plan, outlying<br />
bold measures aimed at helping economic<br />
recovery including mass agriculture,<br />
housing and investment in infrastructure,<br />
especially solar energy.<br />
The major challenge now is its<br />
implementation to ensure a quick return<br />
of the economy to the growth path.<br />
On its part, the CBN has been deploying<br />
its development finance function, beyond<br />
the use of the traditional monetary policy<br />
tools, to support economic recovery.<br />
I think the policies are in the right<br />
direction. I would like to see speed and a<br />
sense of urgency, especially concerning the<br />
implementation of fiscal policies.<br />
Do you agree with federal government<br />
that Nigeria will get out of recession in<br />
the first quarter 2021?<br />
I am quite optimistic the Nigerian<br />
economy will weather the storm and pull<br />
out of recession by the first quarter of next<br />
2021.<br />
My optimism is predicated on the fact<br />
that unlike in Europe and America, the<br />
country may not have to grapple with a<br />
second wave of COVID’19 on a scale<br />
similar to what was experienced in Q2<br />
2020.<br />
Consequently, I don’t foresee another<br />
round of nationwide lockdowns and<br />
movement restrictions.<br />
Secondly, the economy is fast opening<br />
up and business confidence is gradually<br />
returning. I am sure you are aware of<br />
relative improvements in the Purchasing<br />
Managers Index which has now crossed<br />
the 50 point threshold. You must equally<br />
be aware of the current boom in the stock<br />
market, especially in recent times. Indeed,<br />
the entire financial sector has been<br />
resilient with positive performance as<br />
indicated in the NBS Q3 2020 report.<br />
Again, the early submission of the 2021<br />
budget proposal and the expectation that<br />
its implementation will commence in<br />
January hold a lot of promise for<br />
economic recovery.<br />
As I mentioned earlier, the impact of the<br />
raft of COVID-19 interventions by<br />
government should begin to manifest from<br />
the first quarter of 2021. Also, the<br />
implementation of the government<br />
Economic Sustainability Plan will go a<br />
long way in assisting economic recovery.<br />
It is equally important to mention that a<br />
critical assumption in all these is that the<br />
economy will not experience any major<br />
shock either coming from the external<br />
sector such as another crude oil price<br />
shock or another crisis in the magnitude<br />
of the one witnessed during the #End<br />
SARS nationwide protests.<br />
Is government getting it right in<br />
the area of diversification since the<br />
petroleum sector still accounts for<br />
the huge revenue earned?<br />
With respect to diversification of the<br />
export base and creating multiple sources<br />
of revenue for the country, this<br />
government, like many others before it,<br />
has articulated the roadmap in the<br />
Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.<br />
The key challenge has been the<br />
implementation of the lofty ideas<br />
contained in that plan especially in the<br />
area of diversification especially through<br />
Agriculture, Solid minerals and Tourism.<br />
This is not unconnected with bottlenecks<br />
in revenue generation for the purpose of<br />
executing developmental projects.<br />
In what ways do you think<br />
government can do better to take<br />
the country out of recession?<br />
Government projects the economy to<br />
recover next year with a real GDP growth<br />
rate projected at three percent. While I<br />
have no doubt a positive GDP growth rate<br />
will be recorded in 2021, I think a growth<br />
rate of three percent, though desirable,<br />
appears a little ambitious given the<br />
present state of the economy.<br />
To quicken economic recovery, the<br />
implementation of the 2021 budget,<br />
especially the capital component must<br />
start quite early next year. A lot more<br />
attention should be paid to the<br />
agriculture sector, which contributed<br />
about 30 percent of GDP in Q3 2020 but<br />
recorded a very weak performance. The<br />
CBN can also scale up its interventions in<br />
the agriculture value chain as doing so<br />
will not only bring down food prices but<br />
will also support economic recovery.<br />
Above all, government should move fast<br />
to tackle insecurity in the country, which<br />
is detrimental to the production and<br />
exchange of goods and services.
PAGE 10—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
Recession ‘ll trigger withdrawals of<br />
FDIs, FPIs — Sanni<br />
•Urges govt to open borders for regional trade<br />
By Nkiruka Nnorom<br />
Group CEO, Emerging Africa<br />
Capital Group, Mrs. Tonyi<br />
Sanni, speaks on Nigeria’s entry<br />
into the second recession in five years and<br />
the way forward..<br />
COVID-19 pandemic and even<br />
#EndSARS protest have been blamed<br />
for the recent recession, but beyond<br />
these two things, what other<br />
mistakes do you think led the nation<br />
into this second recession?<br />
Although the novel virus and EndSars<br />
protest have been blamed in some quarters<br />
for Nigeria’s current economic situation,<br />
from an analytic point of view, our<br />
challenges began long before the<br />
#EndSars protest. Recall that Nigeria had<br />
recorded a significant decline in GDP (-<br />
6.1%) even before the protest started in<br />
October.<br />
Africa’s biggest economy slid into<br />
recession due to the reduction in revenues<br />
following the crash in oil prices and other<br />
negative impacts of the virus in the<br />
country.<br />
For example, the lockdown brought<br />
about reduced consumption and<br />
production, disruptions in supply chains<br />
as producers could not produce during the<br />
period.<br />
Again, increased pressure on the naira<br />
due to falling reserves also affected our<br />
currency price whilst protracted border<br />
closure contributed to the rise in inflation<br />
rate and reduced purchasing power for<br />
household economies.<br />
With complete shutdown in<br />
business activities as curtailment for<br />
the COVID-19, do you think Nigeria<br />
could have escaped this considering?<br />
It is unrealistic to compare a fragile<br />
economy like Nigeria which had only just<br />
come out of a recession four years ago<br />
and has other structural challenges such<br />
as commodity dependence and import<br />
dependence to developed economies with<br />
more established financial systems. There<br />
are, however, steps we could have taken<br />
to ease the pressure on the populace<br />
including more impactful stimulus<br />
and palliative measures. However,<br />
we have the challenge of low fiscal<br />
headroom.<br />
In what ways do you<br />
think the situation will<br />
affect the ordinary<br />
Nigerian and the entire<br />
nation?<br />
The National Bureau of<br />
Statistics (NBS) reports are<br />
historical in the sense that they<br />
are recorded in the period of<br />
reference. So, it reflects the actual<br />
effect of the nation’s economic<br />
stance.<br />
The actual confirmation of the recession<br />
may further affect Nigerians by triggering<br />
further withdrawal of already reduced<br />
Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and<br />
Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) into<br />
our economy and could discourage<br />
domestic investment in the short term.<br />
Inflation is on the rise, foreign<br />
•Sanni<br />
reserves are dropping<br />
and the manufacturing sector is<br />
shrinking, how can the government<br />
encourage production and exports to<br />
earn foreign exchange and boost the<br />
economy?<br />
Government can encourage production<br />
by improving the security environment for<br />
farmers to boost the agriculture sector.<br />
Second, government can also improve<br />
access to finance for manufacturers, re-open<br />
the borders to encourage regional trade and<br />
also manage our currency transparently and<br />
realistically.<br />
The federal government has said<br />
that Nigeria will get out of the<br />
recession in first quarter 2021, do you<br />
think we have the right monetary and<br />
fiscal policies to navigate out of this<br />
so soon?<br />
I believe this projection is hinged<br />
significantly on expectations of the<br />
availability of Covid-19 vaccine in major<br />
economies by Q1 which is expected to<br />
trigger increased demand for oil and<br />
correspondingly the recovery of our oil<br />
revenue dependent economy.<br />
Is government getting it right in<br />
the area of diversification?<br />
We must not only diversify our<br />
income source beyond crude oil sales<br />
revenue to other exports of agricultural<br />
products and solid minerals, we must<br />
also drive the process of conversion of<br />
primary produce to finished products.<br />
Our policies must encourage investment<br />
in production and in job-creating<br />
ventures. Security, political stability,<br />
rule of law and a transparent judicial<br />
system and financial inclusion are<br />
equally essential to our economic<br />
recovery and growth.<br />
What is the way forward?<br />
Political stability, good<br />
governance, transparency and<br />
elimination of corruption, fiscal<br />
prudence and responsibility and<br />
continuous building of trust of<br />
both domestic and international<br />
investors are the way forward.<br />
We also need the consistent<br />
implementation of balanced, even-handed,<br />
and consistent policies that create a<br />
conducive environment for investment.<br />
Property rights must be protected and so<br />
must human rights.<br />
COMMON MAN: How this recession will affect you<br />
Continued from page 7<br />
thing to hell is here. For millions of our<br />
people, especially rural subsistence farmers,<br />
hell is definitely here. Hell is here, not only<br />
because COVID-19 might trigger another<br />
lockdown, but because criminals –<br />
herdsmen, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and<br />
bandits – have now shut down a significant<br />
percentage of Nigeria’s farmlands.<br />
Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Sokoto<br />
and Borno states together accounted for<br />
about 30 to 35 per cent of our annual food<br />
production. Today, even two battalions of<br />
soldiers cannot guarantee the safety of<br />
farmers and their harvests in Borno State<br />
where the governor had escaped two<br />
assassination attempts. In Zamfara and<br />
Katsina states, the governors openly<br />
announce their negotiations with bandits in<br />
order for farmers to be allowed to work in<br />
peace. Invariably, the armed hoodlums<br />
break their promises and still attack farmers.<br />
Recent kidnap of senior police officers, on<br />
their way to Gusau, at the border of Katsina<br />
and Zamfara states, revealed what ordinary<br />
people suffer on those routes.<br />
The atrocities committed daily on the<br />
Abuja-Suleija-Kaduna highway only tell<br />
some of the story of food high-jacking by<br />
bandits in Kaduna and Niger States. Going<br />
to farm in many parts of the North has<br />
become a suicide mission; none but the<br />
bravest and most desperate now attempts it<br />
anymore.<br />
Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the<br />
Federal Government, former Minister of<br />
Finance, serves proxy for all farmers in the<br />
South besieged by suspected herdsmen.<br />
Herdsmen had been visiting Falae’s part of<br />
the South from time immemorial without<br />
creating havoc. Change came in 2015 when<br />
suspected herdsmen openly dropped their<br />
shepherd’s staffs and picked up AK-47s.<br />
Falae was kidnapped and ransom was paid<br />
and nobody was apprehended for it. A few<br />
days before I started to write this special<br />
report, suspected herdsmen devastated parts<br />
of Falae’s farm once again. If Falae had<br />
depended exclusively on farming for his<br />
livelihood, herdsmen would have forced him<br />
to stop farming as hundreds of thousands<br />
had done in the South.<br />
When criminal herdsmen went on the<br />
rampage, it never occurred to the powersthat-be<br />
that widespread famine would result.<br />
Large scale famine is now a reality with<br />
which government must now deal with. It<br />
will remain with us for a while because it is<br />
easier to destroy than to build. Millions of<br />
Nigerians have been forced to leave farms<br />
they have taken years to cultivate and turn<br />
into food machines for all of us.<br />
The devastation of farms and the<br />
impoverishment of millions of farmers have<br />
contributed in large measure to the current<br />
recession. As aggregate personal income has<br />
plummeted with the recession, demand for<br />
meat has also dropped sharply. Shortly after<br />
receiving call from the Sunday Editor to<br />
write this article, Head Butchers in seven<br />
Lagos markets were contacted to ask about<br />
demand for beef, goat and ram meats. The<br />
result was startling. On the average, there<br />
has been about 25 per cent drop in cows,<br />
goats and rams slaughtered and sold. A stop<br />
at the cattle market – Kara – revealed that<br />
there is a strong correlation between what<br />
the butchers reported and the reduction in<br />
cattle sold. Lagos cattle dealers are now<br />
sending back cattle. The tragedy has come<br />
full circle.<br />
Unfortunately, reduced demand is not the<br />
only problem facing herdsmen. Some of the<br />
cattle rustlers carrying off their animals were<br />
once farmers whose farms were devastated<br />
by suspected herdsmen. Information<br />
reaching us indicates that some displaced<br />
farmers are now imposing a sort of rural<br />
jungle justice – suspected herdsmen destroy<br />
farms; farmers seize their cattle in<br />
retaliation. Paradoxically, the cattle rustlers<br />
have discovered that it is more profitable to<br />
rustle cattle than to farm. Few of them will<br />
return to farming until government finds a<br />
way to restore security to rural areas.<br />
Agriculture, which was always the first<br />
sector to lead economic recovery after a<br />
recession, might not play that role now. The<br />
sector is in bad shape. Consequently, food<br />
prices will continue to rise.<br />
Manufacturing mauled<br />
“Consumption is the sole purpose of<br />
production.”<br />
This is an axiom in economics which<br />
pertains more to manufacturing than any<br />
other sector. Despite its importance,<br />
manufacturing will be touched only briefly<br />
in this write up. The situation here is not<br />
different from that in agriculture.<br />
Warehouses are full of finished products –<br />
unsold; and selling slowly. The demand for<br />
manufactured goods naturally lags behind<br />
request for food. With many Nigerians<br />
struggling to feed; manufactured goods are<br />
not top priority now.<br />
Hospitality and<br />
Entertainment<br />
This sector was simply wiped out during<br />
the lockdown. Many of the investors might<br />
never recover. And just as some people were<br />
looking towards the Yuletide to, at least, reopen<br />
shop, another lockdown is threatened.<br />
Millions of Nigerians have lost their jobs<br />
from the first lockdown. Another one will<br />
dash all hopes of getting re-engaged any<br />
time soon. Ali Baba and comedians will have<br />
to wait.<br />
Remittances<br />
reduced<br />
Close to twelve per cent of foreign<br />
exchange coming into Nigeria is from legal<br />
and illegal remittances. The foreign<br />
exchange coming through that source has<br />
helped to moderate domestic exchange<br />
rates. Global COVID-19 and universal<br />
lockdown had dealt a mortal blow to<br />
remittances. Nigerians abroad who were<br />
just barely surviving had little left to send<br />
home. Round two of global lockdown<br />
means that Nigerian recipients of money<br />
from abroad are in for a tough time in the<br />
early months of 2021 at least.<br />
IMMEDIATE<br />
FUTURE IS BLEAK<br />
“There are no desperate situations; only<br />
desperate men” - Joseph Goebbels, 1897-<br />
1945, VBQ p 38.<br />
Worldwide government officials are<br />
desperate as this year’s global recession<br />
appears likely to continue till at least the<br />
first half of next year. Aggregate demand<br />
for crude will remain low; so will the<br />
average price. Nigeria lacks any other<br />
exportable commodity which will provide<br />
the revenue we need to achieve the targets<br />
set out in the 2021 budget – which is already<br />
demolished even before the year starts.<br />
Try as the Central Bank might, it is going<br />
to be difficult to keep exchange rates from<br />
deteriorating in 2021. Galloping inflation<br />
will follow and a greater percentage of the<br />
national revenue will go into debt-servicing.<br />
SEVEN IMPERATIVES<br />
TO GET NIGERIA’S<br />
ECONOMY GROWING<br />
“Well my friend, get me out of danger. You<br />
can make your fine speech afterwards” -<br />
Jean De La Fontaine, 1621-1695, VBQ p<br />
68.<br />
As a friend of Nigeria, I feel duty bound to<br />
obey the French writer by offering some (only<br />
some) of the ideas that will help us out of<br />
crisis.<br />
Most economic “miracles” in history have<br />
hinged on the countries involved selecting<br />
and removing certain obstacles to progress.<br />
Each was unique and cannot be totally<br />
duplicated elsewhere. To me, Nigeria will<br />
progress rapidly if:<br />
•Government checks the activities of<br />
herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers of<br />
farmers. Without this the exodus from farms<br />
will continue.<br />
•Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has made<br />
credit facilities available for expansion of<br />
agriculture. But, farmers are not able to<br />
access the funds because there is a bottle<br />
neck which must be removed.<br />
•Government should concession<br />
everything that can possibly be.<br />
•Federal and state governments should<br />
consider and introduce toll gates. Toll is a<br />
user’s surcharge. If you don’t use, you don’t<br />
pay. Non-users should not be subsidising<br />
users.<br />
•Downsize governments; there are too<br />
many ministries and agencies.<br />
•Federal and state governments should<br />
aim at cost recovery for services provided;<br />
while making special allowance for the aged<br />
– 70+<br />
• EVERY LOAN TAKEN MUST BE FOR<br />
A SPECIFIC PROJECT WHICH WILL<br />
REPAY THE LOAN WITH INTEREST. NO<br />
MORE LOANS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO<br />
FUND CONSUMPTION.
Fellow Nigerians, jawjaw<br />
is better than warwar<br />
“War is only a cowardly<br />
escape from the problems of<br />
peace” - Thomas Mann, 1875-<br />
1955, VANGUARD BOOK<br />
OF MQUOTATIONS, p 267.<br />
ikhail Gorbachev,<br />
born in 1931, of<br />
mixed Russian and Ukrainian<br />
parents, was the last President<br />
of the Union of Soviet<br />
Socialist Republics, USSR,<br />
the Communist bloc<br />
forcefully created by Russia<br />
after World War II as a rival<br />
to the power of the United<br />
States. But, by 1991, the Union<br />
had passed into history as<br />
each of the nations brought<br />
under the USSR umbrella<br />
went their separate ways –<br />
along ethnic lines based on<br />
language. The USSR military<br />
was powerless to prevent the<br />
break-up of the country<br />
because the forces themselves<br />
were sharply divided along<br />
ethnic lines. Today 15 different<br />
countries exist in the same<br />
geographical space occupied<br />
by only one until 1991.<br />
There is a lesson for all<br />
Nigerian leaders as they<br />
gradually and inadvertently<br />
push our country to the brink<br />
of blow-up and break-up<br />
similar to that of the USSR.<br />
As an incurable optimist who<br />
believes that we can still<br />
renegotiate our collective<br />
existence as one Nigeria, I<br />
must confess my increasing<br />
alarm concerning the slide<br />
towards the brink of national<br />
disaster. Indeed, this will<br />
Email:biolasobowale@yahoo.com<br />
Phone Number: 08055069026<br />
Twitter:@DrDeleSobowale<br />
Instagram:delesobowalefranklyspeaking<br />
Website: www.delesobowale.com<br />
constitute the Mother of all<br />
Disasters to befall Nigeria in<br />
our own life time and it will<br />
usher in a period of instability<br />
which will overwhelm all of<br />
the Economic Community of<br />
West African States, ECOWAS<br />
– as well as other African<br />
countries. We urgently need to<br />
find our way back to peace;<br />
before the horrors of an<br />
endless civil conflict overtakes<br />
us. Then, peace will be more<br />
difficult to achieve – if it is ever<br />
attained. The break-up of<br />
India into India and Pakistan<br />
and the perpetual conflict<br />
between the two countries<br />
should caution us.<br />
“In times of victory,<br />
prophets are unnecessary<br />
distractions” - Professor<br />
Trevor Roper, 1914-2003,<br />
VBQ P 204.<br />
This article could easily<br />
have been titled, PRESIDENT<br />
BUHARI, NIGERIA IS ON<br />
THE BRINK OF NATIONAL<br />
CIVIL WAR, and it would have<br />
been appropriate. But, I have<br />
chosen instead to approach<br />
the matter from the angle of<br />
promise – the possibility that<br />
disaster can still be averted.<br />
The conflicts, which will erupt<br />
nationwide, will certainly<br />
consume most of us in one<br />
form or another.<br />
The reader is entitled to ask<br />
at this point if I am a prophet.<br />
The answers are Yes and No.<br />
Permit me to address the No<br />
first. Nigeria, today, is<br />
inundated with ‘prophets’ –<br />
With only a<br />
few weeks left<br />
to the end of<br />
2020, Nigeria,<br />
instead of<br />
being among<br />
top 20, is now<br />
the poverty<br />
capital of the<br />
world<br />
Christians, Muslims and<br />
traditional religion adherents.<br />
Invariably, the well-advertised<br />
ones, unlike the prophets of<br />
old, are in business to make<br />
money out of their<br />
predictions. Almost always<br />
their predictions are so vague<br />
(“Someone among my<br />
listeners will get a new job this<br />
month”, “A lady will get<br />
married before the year<br />
ends”) they constitute nothing<br />
more than spiritual 419. And<br />
they quickly pass the envelopes<br />
for donations or provide bank<br />
account numbers to which<br />
gullible followers will pay. I<br />
don’t belong in that class.<br />
The prophets of old never<br />
asked for a kobo. Elisha<br />
rejected the offer of reward<br />
after finishing his task. He,<br />
like all true prophets, was<br />
specific about his predictions<br />
and the consequences that<br />
would follow if ignored. Yes, I<br />
belong to that class and it will<br />
require several articles to<br />
remind our readers of the<br />
specific warnings given on<br />
these pages which have turned<br />
out to be true. Three will help<br />
before moving on to the<br />
substance of today’s article.<br />
In 1992, when the<br />
Babangida administration<br />
initiated VISION 2020; and<br />
everybody jumped on the<br />
bandwagon of forecasting<br />
that Nigeria would become<br />
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 11<br />
one of the world’s top 20<br />
economies by 2020, there was<br />
one lone voice saying “it won’t<br />
happen”. The voice was mine.<br />
With only a few weeks left to<br />
the end of 2020, Nigeria,<br />
instead of being among top<br />
20, is now the Poverty Capital<br />
of the World. Nobody else can<br />
now repeat what he said<br />
about VISION 2020.<br />
Early in 1998, shortly after<br />
my fourth trip to detention<br />
under General Sani Abacha,<br />
and when the media was<br />
under siege by the regime, I<br />
wrote the following in one<br />
article in May 1998: “We, the<br />
media, shall write the obituary<br />
of all those in power today –<br />
whether they like it or not.”<br />
Abacha died on June 8 of that<br />
year. We are still writing the<br />
obituaries of those who<br />
collaborated with him.<br />
The third warning is more<br />
recent than others – as recent<br />
as 2016 as a matter of fact. In<br />
that article, Nigerians were<br />
warned about how the<br />
Governor of Kaduna State<br />
had deliberately ignited unending<br />
conflict in the state and<br />
had fractured Kaduna along<br />
religious and tribal lines as<br />
never before in the state’s<br />
history. Please read:<br />
‘EL-RUFAI TAKING<br />
KADUNA TO ALEPO AND<br />
NIGERIA TO SYRIA – 1’<br />
“It makes a great difference<br />
by which causes and under<br />
what authorities men<br />
undertake the wars that must<br />
be waged” - Saint Augustine.<br />
Foreword<br />
It is probably the first time<br />
that a column appearing on<br />
this page would start with a<br />
foreword. There is an urgent<br />
reason. It is also probably the<br />
first time in Nigerian history<br />
that a columnist would be the<br />
first to alert all Nigerians to a<br />
war, already underway in<br />
Kaduna State which might<br />
eventually engulf at least the<br />
entire North and perhaps all<br />
of Nigeria.<br />
It is a religious sectarian war<br />
that had its origins in the<br />
Middle East since the death<br />
of Prophet Mohammed<br />
(Peace Be Unto Him) and<br />
which is at the bottom of a<br />
great deal of the blood-letting<br />
in Syria and Iraq today.<br />
President Buhari has been<br />
criticized for his silence on the<br />
events in Kaduna since the<br />
clash between the army and<br />
Shi’ites which claimed<br />
thousands of lives. The Head<br />
of State has my sympathies,<br />
for reasons you will read later.<br />
But, his chief handicap lies in<br />
the fact that he is a Sunni<br />
called upon to take a stand in<br />
the conflict between Sunnis<br />
and Shi’ites.<br />
One elected official who<br />
had not been reluctant to act<br />
is El-Rufai, the self-righteous,<br />
self-adulating Governor of<br />
Kaduna State. Last week, he<br />
called some reporters and<br />
handed them a bundle of<br />
partisan sectarian half-truths<br />
about the Shi’ites. He had<br />
earlier proclaimed the sect<br />
banned in Kaduna State. By<br />
so doing, El-Rufai had<br />
brought to our door steps in<br />
Nigeria the main cause of<br />
Islamic sectarian wars in<br />
Syria and Iraq. The rest of us<br />
innocent bystanders will feel<br />
the heat of battle.”<br />
That article was published<br />
in December 2016. Since<br />
then, Governor El-Rufai has<br />
added ethnic partisanship to<br />
the religious conflict<br />
engulfing Kaduna State. The<br />
once most congenial state<br />
capital in the North and the<br />
former regional capital is<br />
now a hell on earth for its<br />
dwellers. The carnage was<br />
foretold. Attention has been<br />
drawn to the warnings on<br />
Kaduna for the obvious<br />
reason.<br />
Kaduna State is not only<br />
central to any effort to achieve<br />
peace in the North in<br />
particular, it points to the<br />
problems Nigeria as a whole<br />
will have to restore peaceful<br />
co-existence. It is daunting<br />
task but not an impossible<br />
undertaking if we want to<br />
continue as a united country.<br />
I remain an optimist that we<br />
can avert disaster. But, the<br />
windows of opportunities are<br />
closing gradually. What<br />
happened to the USSR under<br />
Gorbachev becomes relevant<br />
as a lesson for us which we<br />
ignore at our own peril under<br />
Buhari. Here is why.<br />
‘IBB, Abdulsalami Declare<br />
Support for North-Central<br />
People’s Forum’ - DAILY<br />
INDEPENDENT, November<br />
19, 2020, P 2.<br />
Unlike most Nigerians, I<br />
read several newspapers every<br />
day. Until that report by DAILY<br />
INDEPENDENT was<br />
published, nobody could have<br />
convinced me that former<br />
Heads of State – Babangida<br />
and Abubakar – would ever<br />
enlist in any sectional or<br />
regional forum. In fact, in the<br />
concluding part of my article<br />
two weeks ago – ‘FACED<br />
WITH IMMINENT<br />
DISASTER, WHERE ARE<br />
THE NIGERIAN LEADERS’<br />
– the two former military<br />
leaders had been suggested<br />
along with some others who<br />
might help Buhari to rescue<br />
us. I laboured under the<br />
impression that they have both<br />
successfully warded off<br />
requests to join the North<br />
Central of Middle Belt<br />
crusade for fairness. The<br />
DAILY INDEPENDENT<br />
report and the statement<br />
credited to IBB in particular<br />
broke my heart as it revealed<br />
how close we are to the brink<br />
of disaster. Here is part of what<br />
he said:<br />
“I have always wondered<br />
when I hear groups from the<br />
North-West, North-East,<br />
South-South and South-West,<br />
and I kept wondering where<br />
we in the North-Central<br />
belong…”<br />
Babangida was speaking to<br />
a delegation from the North-<br />
Central People’s Forum led by<br />
Lt General (rtd) Jeremiah<br />
Useni. The Forum, which has<br />
been busy lately, is the<br />
indisputable proof that the<br />
North has become openly<br />
divided.<br />
Get ready to be free<br />
Congratulations! We<br />
made it to the last<br />
Sunday in<br />
November, Glory be to God.<br />
Why is it necessary to<br />
mention this? It’s simply<br />
because in a few days, we’ll be<br />
counting down to Christmas.<br />
As we begin to count down<br />
to the yuletide season, may the<br />
Lord give us gifts that He<br />
alone can give us.<br />
Brethren, at this time, we<br />
must thank God. It doesn’t<br />
matter what one is passing<br />
through, we have to thank<br />
God for life. Why? We are not<br />
alive because we are<br />
righteous.<br />
Lamentation 3 vs. 22&23 (<br />
NIV) reminds us : “ Because<br />
of the LORD’S great love we<br />
are not consumed, for his<br />
compassions never fail.<br />
They are new every<br />
morning; great is your<br />
faithfulness”.<br />
You know the rest either as a<br />
song or a prayer point.<br />
In our previous edition, we<br />
mentioned, prayer, praise and<br />
patience as three factors that<br />
are crucial for anyone<br />
desirous of a miracle.<br />
In this edition we’ll<br />
consider another factor that<br />
has more to do with the<br />
individual seeking a miracle<br />
than with the Lord Almighty.<br />
That factor is your “<br />
determination to be set free”.<br />
Brethren, you need to ask<br />
yourself, do you really want<br />
an end to that affliction? Do<br />
you desire to sing a new song?<br />
Do you really want to testify<br />
to a miracle?<br />
If the answer is yes. It would<br />
reflect in your prayer life.<br />
How do I mean? I mean if<br />
you have been lackadaisical<br />
with prayer, it is time to put in<br />
more effort. Review the time<br />
you spend praying upwards.<br />
Spend more time singing<br />
praises to the Lord. Increase<br />
your contribution and<br />
commitment to the work of<br />
God.<br />
Above all raise the level of<br />
your faith. Let the woman that<br />
is called barren begin to see<br />
herself as a mother of children<br />
particularly while praying.<br />
For the single lady, let her<br />
see herself settled in her<br />
matrimonial home.<br />
Brethren, these are steps that<br />
you have to take yourself. No<br />
Pastor can make you<br />
determined to have a break<br />
through. You have to show<br />
determination to be set free<br />
from bondage first, then the<br />
Holy Spirit will lead you to<br />
the steps to take physically<br />
and you can be sure of the<br />
intervention of God to put an<br />
end to the challenge.<br />
Do you know that<br />
challenges have been with<br />
Man for long but<br />
determination to set yourself<br />
free is so crucial to your<br />
liberty?<br />
Let’s consider one or two<br />
examples in the Holy Bible.<br />
We look at the activities of a<br />
King Herod as recorded in Act<br />
12 vs. 1-6. ( KJV) Here King<br />
Herod had killed James the<br />
brother of John. Then he<br />
went on to arrest Peter.<br />
Verses 4-6 gives us details of<br />
what Herod did with Apostle<br />
Peter .” And when he had<br />
apprehended him ( Peter), he<br />
put him in prison, and<br />
delivered him to four<br />
quaternions of soldiers to<br />
keep him; intending after<br />
Easter to bring him forth to<br />
the people.<br />
Herod planned to kill Peter<br />
as he did James because the<br />
death of James pleased h<br />
people.<br />
Peter therefore was kept in<br />
prison; but prayer was made<br />
without ceasing of the church<br />
unto God for him. And when<br />
Herod would have brought<br />
Determine in your<br />
heart that 2020 will<br />
not roll away<br />
without you<br />
receiving your<br />
miracle<br />
him forth, the same night Peter<br />
was sleeping between two<br />
soldiers, bound with two<br />
chains: and the keepers before<br />
the door kept the prison”.<br />
Verse 7 of the same chapter<br />
tells us : “ And, behold, the<br />
angel of the Lord came upon<br />
him, and a light shined in the<br />
prison: and he smote Peter on<br />
the side, and raised him up<br />
saying, Arise up quickly. And<br />
his chains fell off his hands”.<br />
Brethren, from this passage<br />
we see the power of prayer<br />
how it moved Divine<br />
intervention.<br />
In the name of Jesus,<br />
whatever the enemy has used<br />
to hold you down, physically<br />
or spiritually, the power of<br />
God will set you free in Jesus<br />
name.<br />
If the church prayed for Peter,<br />
you must imagine that Peter<br />
too must have prayed<br />
earnestly. Why? Peter would<br />
not want to be killed like<br />
James. Secondly, he couldn’t<br />
have enjoyed staying behind<br />
bars. Therefore, he too must<br />
have prayed.<br />
Are you saying that you<br />
have no intercessor? You have.<br />
Luke 4 vs. 18 ( KJV)Our Lord<br />
Jesus said : “ The Spirit of the<br />
Lord is upon me, because he<br />
hath anointed me to preach<br />
the gospel to the poor; he hath<br />
sent me to heal the broken<br />
hearted, to preach deliverance<br />
to the captives, and recovering<br />
of sight to the blind, to set at<br />
liberty them that are bruised”.<br />
Are you broken hearted<br />
because of inability to<br />
conceive, is yours because<br />
medical science has written<br />
you off, is it because of series<br />
of miscarriages? .<br />
Is your challenge related to<br />
series of broken<br />
relationships? Have your lost<br />
the peace in your marriage?<br />
Whatever it is, you have an<br />
intercessor in the Lord Jesus<br />
that is always around to heal<br />
the broken hearted.<br />
However, you must ask. You<br />
must be desirous to be free.<br />
Blind Bartimaeus is a good<br />
example of someone who was<br />
tired of his situation .<br />
Mark 10 verse 47 states of<br />
the action of blind<br />
Bartimaeus. “ And when he<br />
heard that it was Jesus of<br />
Nazareth, he began to cry out,<br />
and say, Jesus , thou son of<br />
David, have mercy on me”.<br />
His desperate cry got the<br />
attention of the Lord Jesus .<br />
As you spend quality time<br />
in prayer pouring out your<br />
heart to the Lord as Hannah<br />
did, you will receive the<br />
attention of the Lord in Jesus<br />
name.<br />
Note that there were people<br />
around the Lord who felt that<br />
the cry of blind Bartimaeus<br />
was a distraction to them and<br />
to the Lord.<br />
Nevertheless, he got the<br />
attention of the Lord.<br />
Verse 49- 52 tells us how<br />
Jesus reacted and the result<br />
that blind Bartimaeus got.<br />
“ And Jesus stood still, and<br />
commanded him to be called.<br />
And they call the blind man,<br />
saying unto him, Be of good<br />
comfort, rise; he calleth thee.<br />
And he, casting away his<br />
garment, rose, and came to<br />
Jesus . And Jesus answered<br />
and said unto him, What wilt<br />
thou that I should do unto<br />
thee? The blind man said unto<br />
him, Lord, that I might receive<br />
my sight.<br />
And Jesus said unto him, Go<br />
thy way; thy faith hath made<br />
thee whole. And immediately,<br />
he received his sight, and<br />
followed Jesus in the way”.<br />
Brethren, make up your<br />
mind to be free from bondage<br />
like Hannah, like blind<br />
Bartimaeus and the Lord<br />
will set you free.<br />
You may experience some<br />
discomfort while crying unto<br />
the Lord, you may even be<br />
mocked , just remain focused<br />
as you cry unto the Lord that<br />
can set you free.<br />
Determine in your heart<br />
that 2020 will not roll away<br />
without you receiving your<br />
miracle.<br />
Be prepared to sacrifice time<br />
and some of the pleasure of<br />
life. Spend more time,<br />
praying. Fast if your health<br />
permits and the merciful Lord<br />
will grant your heart’s desires<br />
in Jesus name.<br />
Whatever you lack today, be<br />
assured that Jehovah El-<br />
Shaddai is able to give you<br />
more than enough.Very soon,<br />
you that is being called<br />
barren will soon be called<br />
mother of twins.<br />
Your testimony shall be<br />
better than that of Hannah.<br />
Only believe and act your<br />
faith.<br />
It is well in Jesus name.
PAGE 12 , SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
•Nkechi<br />
By Funmi Ajumobi<br />
emember the story of Mrs. Nwadise<br />
RNkechi Philomena, Visually impaired<br />
widow who hails from Ogwashi-Uku in<br />
Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta<br />
State.<br />
On August 23, 2020, Sunday Vanguard<br />
published the story of how she was given quit<br />
notice from a church property where she had<br />
resided and the new pastor who did not know<br />
her story threatened to bring the police to<br />
throw her out?<br />
The situation of the widow, popularly known<br />
as Mummy Favour, was disclosed to us by an<br />
NGO, Dew Drops Development Foundation.<br />
Narrating her story at that time, she cried to<br />
kind hearted Nigerians and Governor Ifeanyi<br />
Okowa of her home state, Delta, to rescue her.<br />
After the publication, a man of God who<br />
read the story in the far away Ireland came to<br />
her rescue.<br />
No one needs to ask her if she was happy<br />
with her new status because she was full of<br />
smiles when Sunday Vanguard visited her in<br />
her new home provided by the man of God in<br />
Ikorodu, Lagos State.<br />
Her way to victory<br />
“I don’t know how to say thank you to<br />
Vanguard and my sister (reporter). You are<br />
For over N12trn abandoned projects, new day beckons<br />
By Nnamdi Ojiego<br />
For ages, the story of project<br />
management in Nigeria hasn’t been a<br />
cheering one.<br />
It is nothing short of moderate success as<br />
many projects across the country hardly record<br />
100 percent completion.<br />
Owing to systemic failure, poor planning,<br />
and inefficient management, projects in<br />
Nigeria record about 60 percent failure.<br />
This is a fact that practitioners and outsiders<br />
hardly disagree on.<br />
Given that billions are invested with little<br />
results, the situation, which isn’t peculiar to<br />
Nigeria, is saddening.<br />
Project management is an innovative<br />
management practice that tends to achieve<br />
stated or specified objectives within a specific<br />
time and budget limits through optimum use<br />
of resources.<br />
Sadly, the reverse is obtainable in Nigeria<br />
where abandoned infrastructural projects such<br />
as houses, school buildings, power plants,<br />
dams, rail lines and roads among others litter<br />
its length and breadth.<br />
Trillions<br />
A presidential committee in 2011, had<br />
reported that the number of abandoned federal<br />
government projects in Nigeria were<br />
11,886.<br />
The 20-man Ibrahim Bunu-led Projects<br />
Assessment Committee put an estimated<br />
cost of N7.78 trillion on the abandoned<br />
projects.<br />
Also, in 2017, the Chartered Institute<br />
of Project Management of Nigeria,<br />
CIPMN, based on its survey, put the<br />
number of abandoned projects in the<br />
country at 56,000.<br />
According to the institute, the projects<br />
were worth over N12 trillion.<br />
Yet, with every change in government<br />
comes fresh promises of infrastructure<br />
development and completion of abandoned<br />
projects.<br />
Large sums of money are allocated for this<br />
purpose and contracts are awarded to different<br />
local and multinational companies.<br />
This has become a big problem for Nigeria<br />
as the cost of the abandonment does not only<br />
Visually impaired: Man of God helped<br />
me after church threw me out of home<br />
my sister for life”, she said when Sunday<br />
Vanguard arrived at the home.<br />
“I have nothing but what you have done,<br />
you don’t know it. Only I know. The night<br />
before Mrs. Bakare, the founder of an NGO,<br />
introduced you to me, I cried till morning for<br />
God to intervene in my situation so I won’t be<br />
thrown out of the house.<br />
“I didn’t know God had already prepared<br />
someone somewhere for me.<br />
“The moment I asked God had answered<br />
but fear of the unknown nearly killed me.<br />
“In the morning, Mrs Bakare came to say<br />
someone was coming from Vanguard to<br />
interview me and that was when I quickly<br />
prepared and you were asking me questions<br />
which I didn’t know the outcome until August<br />
23, 2020 which I will never forget in my life.<br />
“A woman, a church member<br />
rushed down and asked why I had<br />
to talk to a newspaper about my<br />
situation and the husband also<br />
called about the publication.<br />
“I told them that I had to cry to<br />
good hearted Nigerians to help me<br />
because they (church members)<br />
could not help me.<br />
“I also asked them where the<br />
church wanted me to go. The man<br />
said it was okay but I shouldn’t have<br />
done that and that since I had<br />
money for publication that was<br />
worth N600, 000, I should have<br />
used it to rent an apartment. They<br />
didn’t know it was God that did it<br />
for me.<br />
“Anything that is your heart’s<br />
desire, before you ask it, God will<br />
supply to you because you have<br />
done this for me. Vanguard will<br />
continue to grow from strength to<br />
strength.<br />
“I’m sleeping very well now. No more one<br />
eye closed and one eye opened.<br />
“I now live in a self -contained apartment,<br />
well tiled with burglary proof everywhere for<br />
my safety, it is like I am dreaming.<br />
“I always ask my daughter whenever I feel<br />
something to tell me what it is and how does<br />
it look? The colour of the tiles.<br />
“Aunty Funmi, you need to check the kitchen<br />
and the room well tiled. It’s like I’m in heaven<br />
affect the economy, it retards growth and<br />
development.<br />
Causes<br />
This mass failure of public projects over the<br />
years was blamed on inadequate budgetary<br />
provision, poor project conceptualisation,<br />
institutional weakness, and corruption by the<br />
Bunu-led committee.<br />
Other factors identified include lack of<br />
accountability, inadequate monitoring<br />
instruments, political instability, non-usage of<br />
accurate data, and inconsistent economic<br />
planning.<br />
Multiplier effect<br />
Over the years, experts have also observed<br />
that project abandonment has been left without<br />
adequate attention for too long, resulting in a<br />
multiplier effect on the construction industry<br />
in particular.<br />
To proffer a lasting solution, or at least,<br />
drastically reduce abandonment of projects<br />
in the country, President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari, recently, signed into law, the Chartered<br />
Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria,<br />
CIPMN.<br />
12 months<br />
The institute, which was established in line<br />
with Act 3, 2018, of the National Assembly, is<br />
the only statutory Project Management body,<br />
empowered by law in the country.<br />
compared to the former place. We moved in<br />
on October 30".<br />
Testimony<br />
Speaking on her good fortune, Mummy<br />
Fortune said, “A pastor from Ireland sent<br />
somebody to me at Surulere where I was<br />
staying and told me his pastor called him<br />
after reading a story in Vanguard and that<br />
he should come and confirm if it was true<br />
and if I was still staying there.<br />
“The man then called the pastor and<br />
gave me the phone to talk to him. “The<br />
pastor told me that he saw the story on<br />
the internet and he just scrolled past it<br />
but the Holy Spirit told him to read the<br />
story and make sure he took care of me<br />
and that was why he called to confirm.<br />
“He collected my phone<br />
number and that was how<br />
my turnaround started. “He<br />
instructed his church<br />
members in Ikorodu to look<br />
for an apartment for me<br />
and he paid.<br />
“He told me I shouldn’t<br />
bother about rent and<br />
promised to pay the rent<br />
every year. So, as I’m here<br />
now, it is like I am the<br />
landlady of this apartment.<br />
“He even told me to be<br />
managing this place for<br />
now and that he was going<br />
to get a better place for me<br />
when he returns to Nigeria.<br />
“Can you imagine what<br />
God has done for me?<br />
“I want all the people who<br />
know me in Surulere and<br />
my former church people to<br />
come and see where God has put me.<br />
“The kind hearted pastor even told me<br />
he will be giving me N15, 000 every month<br />
to maintain myself.<br />
“And he has given me two months<br />
already. He gave me in September and<br />
October. I’m now expecting the money for<br />
November like a salary earner.<br />
“Concerning my eyes, he said he will<br />
arrange for medical treatment which he<br />
Anything that is<br />
your heart’s<br />
desire, before<br />
you ask it, God<br />
will supply to<br />
you because<br />
you have done<br />
this for me<br />
Members of CIPMN Council and Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce,<br />
Otunba Niyi Adebayo, (4th right) during a courtesy visit to the minister.<br />
It is saddled with the responsibility of<br />
registering and disciplining members,<br />
licensing all practitioners; withdrawing of<br />
license of erring members, prohibiting nonregistered<br />
members from engaging or<br />
practicing Project Management in Nigeria,<br />
prohibiting non-registered members from<br />
being appointed, engaged or head any project<br />
management of any organisation, in private<br />
and public sectors, and to within 12 months<br />
after the commencement of the Act, register<br />
all Project Management professionals from<br />
abroad, who reside in Nigeria and wish to<br />
practice in the country.<br />
Act<br />
The Act also mandates CIPMN to accredit<br />
institutions of higher learning offering courses<br />
in Project Management leading to the award<br />
of a degree, supervise, regulate and train<br />
Project Management bodies and practitioners<br />
in Nigeria, and mobilise students who<br />
graduate from the Chartered Institute of<br />
Project Managers of Nigeria, after the final<br />
professional qualifying examination for the<br />
National Youth Service Service ,NYSC,<br />
among others.<br />
The institute has a council headed by Dr.<br />
Victoria Okoronkwo, to govern its affairs.<br />
Other members include the chairman, vice<br />
chairman, registrar, immediate past and<br />
present presidents and vice presidents of the<br />
institute, representatives of federal ministries<br />
of Finance, Works and Housing, Education,<br />
Industry, Trade and Investment, NACCIMAA,<br />
said he was going to pay for too when he<br />
returns to Nigeria after Covid-19 is over.<br />
“I thank God for how He has used him<br />
for me and what Vanguard has done for<br />
me. “Do you know how many stories are<br />
on the internet? Do you know how many<br />
stories Vanguard published that day and how<br />
many millions of people read my story that<br />
day and just flipped through?<br />
“But it took God to touch a person to help<br />
me. It is not that he is the richest man in the<br />
world or the richest man of God in the world<br />
but God touched his heart for me and I thank<br />
God that He yielded that day for my sake.<br />
“May God bless him. It is a sign that God<br />
knows and sees him in his little corner as a<br />
pastor.<br />
Help from<br />
former church<br />
The blind widow also spoke on the<br />
intervention of the General Overseer of<br />
her former church after reading her story<br />
in Vanguard: “Our General Overseer sent<br />
an elder from the church to come and see<br />
me after the publication and he said I<br />
should not worry as they will get a better<br />
place for me.<br />
“I waited and later they came and told<br />
me that they got a place for N400, 000<br />
but I told them to give me the money so I<br />
can get a place and pay after the rent<br />
expires.<br />
“They were holding meeting upon<br />
meeting and in the midst of this, God sent<br />
this pastor from Ireland to take care of<br />
me. “The kind hearted man of God had<br />
paid my rent when my church finally<br />
decided to give me N300, 000. I thank<br />
our General Overseer for the kind gesture.<br />
May God bless him”.<br />
Mrs. Nwadise thanked all kindhearted<br />
people that sent tokens to her account<br />
when they read her story, but still pleaded<br />
with them not to leave her alone.<br />
She needs upholstery, fan, radio to listen to<br />
news and television to keep her neighbor’s<br />
children who come to play with her busy.<br />
Her account is Nwadise Philomena Nkechi,<br />
GT Bank Acct 0114691234<br />
and members from the six geo-political zones<br />
of the county. Like every other professional<br />
body, membership of CIPMN includes fellow<br />
members, reserved for those with high<br />
professional or administrative standing,<br />
chartered, associate, graduate and student<br />
members.<br />
There are also honorary fellowships,<br />
awarded at the institute’s discretion for persons<br />
of distinction, and corporate members for an<br />
employer of labour.<br />
Speaking on what CIPMN holds for<br />
Nigeria, the Registrar of the institute, Mr.<br />
Henry Mbadiwe, said to achieve the lofty<br />
objectives of the agency, CIPMN has created<br />
a new Project Management delivery<br />
methodology.<br />
He said it is unique to Nigeria and would<br />
ensure the days of abandoned projects are over.<br />
According to him,”this is a methodology that<br />
takes into consideration Nigeria’s unique<br />
ethnic, religious, political and cultural<br />
diversities and how it impacts project delivery<br />
within Nigeria. Our DUCAP Methodology has<br />
been developed with insights from Project<br />
Managers, consultants, subject matter experts<br />
in different project delivery sectors,<br />
educationalists and other project delivery<br />
stakeholders in Nigeria.<br />
”The methodology has also seen a wealth<br />
of experience from contributors as regards the<br />
challenges of delivering projects in Nigeria<br />
and Africa at large and it is underpinned by<br />
four key elements namely pillar element,<br />
activity element, process element and vision<br />
element. The learning has also been taken<br />
from the PRINCE 2, PMP and Agile<br />
methodologies.<br />
”A full saturation of this methodology will<br />
see the days of abandoned projects in Nigeria<br />
come to an end. This project delivery<br />
methodology was wholly developed in<br />
Nigeria by Nigerians for Nigeria and Africa<br />
at large.”<br />
Meanwhile, the regulatory body would on<br />
December 3, 2020, hold its annual training<br />
and induction of new members in Abuja.<br />
The event is scheduled to commence at 9:<br />
am at the Aso Hall, International Conference<br />
Centre. Paper presentation and training would<br />
centre on adapting Project Management<br />
methodologies to suit Nigeria’s unique<br />
environment.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020,PAGE 13<br />
RECESSION:<br />
NASS may reduce 428 federal<br />
ministries, depts, agencies<br />
-- Reps spokesperson<br />
•Says those querying legislature’s budget<br />
of N128bn, lawmakers ‘jumbo’ salaries<br />
unintelligent<br />
•‘How we will review Constitution’<br />
•#EndSARS: Our position on protesters<br />
By Levinus Nwabughiogu<br />
The National Assembly is contemplating a reduction in the number of federal ministries,<br />
departments and agencies (MDAs) in the country to save cost of running government,<br />
according to Hon. Benjamin Kalu (Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State), spokesman for<br />
the House of Representatives.<br />
There are at least 428 federal MDAs in Nigeria. Kalu spoke to Sunday Vanguard on<br />
the heels of the second economic recession in Nigeria in five years.<br />
“To be honest, some of the MDAs are mere duplications and the National<br />
Assembly is looking at them. We can consolidate on the functions of<br />
the MDAs to reduce cost”, he said.<br />
The spokesperson also speaks on how NASS will carry out<br />
constitutional amendment, the legislature’s budget of N128billion,<br />
lawmakers’ ‘jumbo’ salaries, the backlash against protesters<br />
involved in #EndSARS and the role federal lawmakers will play<br />
in rebuilding states where properties were destroyed by hoodlums<br />
in the course of the protests among other issues. Excerpts:<br />
What’s your assessment of the 2021<br />
budget defense sessions? Do you<br />
entertain any misgiving?<br />
I must commend the executive for taking<br />
the budget presentation and defense<br />
seriously the same way the head of<br />
government took it seriously and kept to<br />
the calendar of presenting it early enough<br />
for us to work on it and get it back to the<br />
public at the beginning of next year and I<br />
am impressed that they took a cue from there<br />
and they have been coming. We just met with<br />
the Minister of Agriculture who did not send<br />
his perm sec to us. He came himself. The<br />
other day we met with Works and Housing<br />
Minister Fashola who did not send anybody<br />
but came himself and I can go on and on.<br />
The Minister of Health was with us the other<br />
day. All hands appear to be on deck to reverse<br />
the budget calendar from what it used to be<br />
to January to December in 2021 which is<br />
healthy for our economy.<br />
On the other side, what I have not observed<br />
so well is the impact of what COVID-19<br />
brought on the budget. I have not seen the<br />
MDAs integrating the innovations<br />
introduced by COVID-19 in their budgets<br />
which include the use of technology to reduce<br />
cost especially on virtual meetings to reduce<br />
trips and travels. If you put the amounts in<br />
the MDAs together and the amount<br />
appropriated yearly on local travels and<br />
international travels, you will see that it is<br />
very huge and with technology we can save<br />
50% of the amount we are currently spending<br />
on local trips and the rest of them. I have<br />
also not seen reductions in international<br />
travels. Most of the universities across the<br />
world, Harvard, Oxford, have gone online<br />
for their trainings, it doesn’t reduce their<br />
credibility, it doesn’t reduce the efficiency<br />
of the work they are doing with their students<br />
and so why are we not adopting that<br />
approach to training?<br />
I have also seen that some people come to<br />
us not prepared. They come with the mindset<br />
that the National Assembly don’t know what<br />
to look out for, they are not as thorough as<br />
they ought to be and so they will do any<br />
garbage in, garbage out and they expect us<br />
to accept it, the numbers are not adding up,<br />
their extra budgetary expenses, we don’t do<br />
that; we call them to order and make sure<br />
those things are taken care of. So, generally,<br />
there is a big cooperation between the<br />
National Assembly and the executive in this<br />
budget defense.<br />
There are four hundred and something<br />
agencies. In the course of this budget<br />
presentation, was there any thoughts by<br />
law makers to tinker with the number?<br />
To be honest, some of the agencies are<br />
Do you know that<br />
lawmakers borrow<br />
money to add to what<br />
they get here to be<br />
able to solve the<br />
needs in their various<br />
constituencies?<br />
mere duplications and the National<br />
Assembly is looking at them. We can<br />
consolidate on the functions of the agencies<br />
to reduce cost. The present economic<br />
leadership philosophy is to block leakages<br />
of revenue and reduce cost of governance<br />
and also finish up projects that are ongoing<br />
as against getting involved in brand new<br />
ones. Now based on that, it calls for<br />
restructuring where necessary to achieve<br />
cost reduction expectations of this<br />
government. There are two or three agencies<br />
that could come under one, it is one of the<br />
things the House is going to look at through<br />
motions and resolutions or the Acts that<br />
established some of the agencies and see<br />
how we can collapse them by repealing or<br />
amending the Acts for the sake of better<br />
control, efficient work and higher<br />
productivity as well as reducing cost and<br />
that is the yearning of Nigerians because<br />
we have so many petitions telling us that we<br />
have too many agencies doing similar jobs.<br />
But you know, it takes time and the situation<br />
was not created by this government.<br />
The budget of the Presidency; of the<br />
President and his Vice on travels is still<br />
high as it used to be in previous years. So<br />
talking about cost reduction, would you<br />
want to reduce that as a parliament or leave<br />
•Kalu<br />
it as it used to be?<br />
Our job as the National Assembly is to be<br />
the watchdog and we have oversight<br />
functions. Our job is to look at the numbers<br />
before us, it doesn’t have to be the President<br />
and the Vice President or the agencies of<br />
government, nevertheless, we deal with the<br />
judiciary as well as the executive, we look at<br />
the numbers that they are bringing to us and<br />
see how workable those numbers are in view<br />
of the challenging times and, if they are<br />
workable, we allow it, but if they are not<br />
sustainable, we say no to them and I am<br />
sure that is why the electorate elected us and<br />
this is for the interest of the people. It is not<br />
an attack, or to create acrimony or rancor;<br />
no, it is for the interest of the tax payers who<br />
have given us that confidence of overseeing,<br />
looking after their hard earned money.<br />
Constitutional amendment is here again<br />
and many Nigerians feel that the<br />
recommendations of the 2014 National<br />
Conference which many think may have<br />
the solution to the clamor for restructuring<br />
should be adopted. How is this<br />
constitutional amendment going to<br />
incorporate some of these yearnings as put<br />
together in the 2014 National Conference?<br />
In amending a Constitution, so many<br />
things come into play and information is<br />
harnessed to educate the framers of the<br />
Constitution, to educate the drafters of the<br />
Constitution, to educate the people<br />
amending the Constitution or reviewers of<br />
the Constitution. Constitution review is not<br />
something you just do, there is a template. It<br />
is a matter of understanding the wishes of<br />
the people. How do you harvest the desires<br />
of the people? It is by going into what has<br />
happened before that was documented. So,<br />
the report of the Constitutional Conference,<br />
if need be, would be called into use, the<br />
opinion of the public, if need be, would be<br />
called into use. Remember, people are going<br />
to send in memoranda and they will be<br />
collated, analyzed and incorporated into the<br />
process. So, no stone is going to be left<br />
unturned during this constitutional<br />
amendment. This constitutional review<br />
committee which I am a member of will<br />
reflect that.<br />
The #EndSARS protests that erupted<br />
recently in parts of the country rattled the<br />
National Assembly and the Presidency,<br />
and the Federal Government appears<br />
poised to prosecute some of the promoters.<br />
Does that sit well with the House?<br />
I don’t think you got the Federal<br />
Government right. The Federal Government<br />
will never prosecute those who are expressing<br />
their rights constitutionally. There is a<br />
difference between those who protested and<br />
those who were vandals. There is a<br />
difference between those who protested and<br />
the honour of what they believe in for there<br />
to be change and as citizens they own that<br />
right; freedom of expression, freedom of<br />
association as allowed by the Constitution.<br />
Nobody can deny them that right. But if in<br />
the expression of that right, you stepped on<br />
the toes of the law, the limitation of your<br />
right is the commencement of the right of<br />
the other person. Therefore in exercising<br />
your freedom of association or freedom of<br />
expression you must have at the back of your<br />
mind the dictates of the law.<br />
So the National Assembly will never<br />
support any attempt to silence those<br />
expressing their rights under the<br />
Constitution, no. But the National Assembly<br />
will support every move against hoodlums.<br />
The real protesters did not destroy<br />
properties, the real protesters did not burn<br />
down houses, the real protesters did not<br />
cause havoc but those ones who came and<br />
infiltrated the camp and started destroying<br />
cars, houses and all the rest of them, they<br />
should be prosecuted and the National<br />
Assembly will support their prosecution.<br />
In rebuilding the worst hit states, what<br />
role will the House play?<br />
It is taking interventions that will enable<br />
the executive to have the backing of the law<br />
to specially intervene where was greatly<br />
impacted. So any collaboration that the<br />
executive may demand from the House, we<br />
are willing to do it to make sure we rebuild<br />
our nation.<br />
How much does an average lawmaker<br />
in National Assembly take home as salary?<br />
I am not the institution. The institution is<br />
sitting on a tripod; the Senate, the<br />
Management and the House of<br />
Representatives. My answer will be different<br />
from the answer of a senator and the answer<br />
of the person that is working in<br />
Management. The Revenue Mobilization<br />
and Fiscal Commission; these things are<br />
tabled there. Go to the Management, the<br />
Clerk of the National Assembly is here and<br />
request for it and it will be given to you. But<br />
suffice to say it is very painful that Nigerians<br />
are not asking the right questions. We are<br />
known all over the world as very smart<br />
people and how come when it comes to this<br />
topic we pretend unintelligent? Why do we<br />
have this question coming up over and over<br />
again because of N128billion allocated to<br />
an arm of government, not a ministry, not a<br />
department of government, not an agency<br />
of government, a full arm of government?<br />
The budget of Nigeria, if shared to the three<br />
arms of government, do you think the<br />
National Assembly will be getting<br />
N128billion? This arm is the same as the<br />
executive arm and the judiciary. They are at<br />
the same level, on the same platform. None<br />
is greater than the other and Nigerians have<br />
not deemed it right to look at the percentage<br />
representation of their money, where it is<br />
going to and they are focusing on<br />
N128billion out of N13trillion. N128billion<br />
is about 0.8% of the entire national budget.<br />
Now tell me, you are looking for your money<br />
and you leave 99.02% of the money and you<br />
are spending two, three years looking at<br />
0.8%? Nigerians should start asking the right<br />
questions. They should ask what is<br />
happening to the 99.02% which is with the<br />
executive and these agencies that you<br />
mentioned.<br />
Do you know that law makers borrow<br />
money to add to what they get here to be<br />
able to solve the needs in their various<br />
constituencies because the expectations<br />
are high and the resources are low?<br />
•In part two of interview next week, the<br />
House spokesperson speaks on the<br />
defection of Governor Dave Umahi of<br />
Ebonyi State from PDP to APC and the<br />
politics of Igbo presidency among other<br />
issues
PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
Senate screening of INEC<br />
chairmanship nominee<br />
For the first time in<br />
Nigeria’s recent<br />
political history, the<br />
Senate of the Federal<br />
Republic appears to have<br />
placed commensurate<br />
premium on the importance<br />
of screening nominees of<br />
the President for certain<br />
positions. The assignment is<br />
indeed crucial because it is<br />
a constitutional<br />
requirement which is<br />
designed to ensure that any<br />
such nominee is a fit and<br />
proper person to occupy the<br />
office for which he/she has<br />
been nominated. Last week,<br />
the Senate committee on<br />
INEC was busy screening<br />
the former chairman of the<br />
Independent National<br />
Electoral Commission,<br />
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu<br />
who has been re-nominated<br />
for another term as INEC<br />
chair. From media<br />
coverage of the screening,<br />
it is observed that some of<br />
the issues bothering the<br />
general public about free<br />
and fair elections were<br />
interrogated. The benefits<br />
derivable from the<br />
screening are many. To start<br />
with, if the nominee scales<br />
through the exercise, the<br />
issues he had to explain<br />
would to a large extent<br />
serve as a veritable guide to<br />
his conduct in office.<br />
Secondly, the exercise<br />
would also sensitize all<br />
other nominees in future on<br />
the need to be conscious of<br />
the essence of<br />
accountability in office.<br />
One can therefore conclude<br />
that if Yakubu is given<br />
another term of office, one<br />
of the things he would<br />
guard jealousy would be<br />
postponement of elections.<br />
The high level of remorse<br />
he exhibited during the<br />
screening over the<br />
postponement of the 2019<br />
general elections by one<br />
week depicted a man who<br />
learnt a major lesson. We<br />
hope he would extend that<br />
to all elections irrespective<br />
of their nature, scope or<br />
level. Bearing in mind that<br />
there were cases where<br />
election postponement was<br />
foisted on INEC, like the<br />
2016 Edo governorship,<br />
Yakubu will have no option<br />
than to acquire greater<br />
strength and foresight to be<br />
up and against big men in<br />
the corridors of power who<br />
can use their connections<br />
with security agencies to<br />
contrive postponements. It<br />
is also hoped that INEC<br />
would no longer be<br />
pressurized into indulging<br />
in the game of plotting<br />
inconclusive elections.<br />
Against this backdrop, we<br />
commend the Senate for<br />
presenting an ending signal<br />
to its obnoxious ‘bow and<br />
go’ approach which it<br />
normally invokes when the<br />
person concerned is well<br />
known to many senators. As<br />
we have always argued<br />
here; that approach is more<br />
or less an abuse of office<br />
because a constitutional<br />
assignment is not expected<br />
to be subjected to a<br />
discretion that cannot stand<br />
the test of time. For<br />
example, to excuse a<br />
particular nominee from<br />
screening on the ground<br />
that he or she was once a<br />
legislator makes little sense<br />
because the new office<br />
necessitating a screening<br />
exercise, is different from<br />
lawmaking. An outstanding<br />
former legislator may not<br />
be a good minister or<br />
chairman of a sensitive<br />
agency. Therefore, every<br />
nominee ought to be<br />
thoroughly screened and<br />
found to be satisfactory<br />
before approval. It is only<br />
under such circumstance<br />
that the senate can acquit<br />
itself creditably as working<br />
in harmony with the<br />
executive for the public<br />
good. Whenever it acts<br />
otherwise, the senate is<br />
usually seen as a mere<br />
stooge to the executive. But,<br />
if the senate establishes<br />
empirical criteria for<br />
screening nominees, the<br />
idea of a group of lobbyists<br />
often in the form of ‘rent a<br />
crowd’ as we saw last week<br />
purporting to be canvassing<br />
the successful screening of<br />
Prof Mahmood Yakubu as<br />
INEC chair would become<br />
superfluous.<br />
There are many<br />
Nigerians who are opposed<br />
to the continuation of Prof<br />
Yakubu as INEC chair.<br />
Many of them may have<br />
strong reasons for their<br />
position. But it would be<br />
wrong to assume that the<br />
man does not have his own<br />
strong points. One of the<br />
things Yakubu did<br />
admirably in his first<br />
As events have<br />
shown, our<br />
desperate<br />
politicians can<br />
tempt angels and<br />
make them falsify<br />
election results<br />
tenure was his ability to<br />
resist pressures from the<br />
ruling party on the fake<br />
party primaries which she<br />
claimed to have held in<br />
Zamfara in preparations<br />
for the 2019 elections.<br />
Many politicians and their<br />
political parties must have<br />
realized from the tough<br />
stance of the INEC chair<br />
that election rules and<br />
guidelines are not meant to<br />
be experimented upon.<br />
Thus, this writer and other<br />
Nigerians who are neither<br />
for nor against Yakubu’s<br />
reappointment, should<br />
commend him on that and<br />
call on him to endeavour to<br />
remain so and in ALL cases.<br />
In other words, our position<br />
is to be positive at all times<br />
and expect Yakubu to<br />
surprise those against him<br />
by putting forward a<br />
superlative performance if<br />
reappointed. With a<br />
previous 5-year tenure, the<br />
learned professor would<br />
come into office for the<br />
second term with a<br />
quantum of experience to<br />
turn around our electoral<br />
fortune.<br />
What we have said so far<br />
suggests that he has to be<br />
quite innovative as he<br />
cannot afford to do the<br />
same things he did before<br />
and expect different results.<br />
For instance, it is not<br />
enough to recruit vice<br />
chancellors and university<br />
professors as returning<br />
officers and assume that<br />
all will be well. As events<br />
have shown, our desperate<br />
politicians can tempt<br />
angels and make them<br />
falsify election results. This<br />
is why all efforts must be<br />
made to fortify the system<br />
with modern methods of<br />
election management.<br />
Hence, the most enduring<br />
pledge Yakubu made<br />
during his screening was his<br />
determination to<br />
meticulously follow the<br />
incremental introduction of<br />
technology to the conduct<br />
of elections during his<br />
tenure. We have no doubt<br />
whatsoever that Nigeria is<br />
overdue for that. Already,<br />
we have seen how the<br />
introduction of the election<br />
viewing portal transformed<br />
INEC performance in the<br />
recent governorship<br />
elections in Edo and Ondo<br />
states. The numerous<br />
experts in election rigging<br />
sent packing by that piece<br />
of technology is a pointer<br />
to the fact that INEC needs<br />
to progressively discard the<br />
old analogue election<br />
monitoring system of<br />
gathering thousands of<br />
security operatives who<br />
often further complicate<br />
our election process.<br />
Accordingly, in the next set<br />
of elections well before<br />
2023, INEC must embrace<br />
the use of Z-pad and never<br />
again allow anybody<br />
including legislators to<br />
distort her well-organized<br />
template<br />
Such a template must no<br />
doubt include a greater<br />
assertive attempt at dealing<br />
with the issue of election<br />
offences. While we<br />
recognize that INEC may<br />
not have gotten all the<br />
support, she requires from<br />
the law enforcement<br />
agencies and the judiciary,<br />
we are not convinced that<br />
she has on her own evolved<br />
a uniform robust platform<br />
for the subject. This is the<br />
only way to interpret the<br />
trend whereby the only<br />
place where some work<br />
appears to be going on now<br />
is Akwa Ibom where the<br />
indefatigable Mike Igini is<br />
in charge. What about other<br />
areas where many election<br />
officials were found to have<br />
colluded with politicians to<br />
obstruct free and fair<br />
process? If the prosecution<br />
of election offenders going<br />
on now in Uyo is also<br />
happening elsewhere, it<br />
needs to be publicized for<br />
effect. If not, INEC officials<br />
in all the states must rise up<br />
and adopt a zero-tolerance<br />
approach to election<br />
offences to dissuade those<br />
who believe in winning<br />
elections through rigging.<br />
As more and more people<br />
continue to point accusing<br />
fingers at our politicians for<br />
leading those frustrating<br />
free and fair elections in<br />
Nigeria, we join Prof<br />
Mahmood Yakubu to<br />
appeal to our legislators to<br />
without further delay, give<br />
INEC a better Electoral Act<br />
to operate with.<br />
PhD,Department of<br />
Philosophy,<br />
University of Lagos<br />
08116759758<br />
opuruiche2000@gmail.com<br />
Futility of shaming the<br />
shameless<br />
That the creation of<br />
Nigeria by imperialist<br />
Britain is founded on a grossly<br />
flawed moral foundation and<br />
that perpetuation of the<br />
colonial amalgam entails<br />
prolongation of one of the<br />
grossest historical instances<br />
of British political<br />
gerrymandering in Africa is<br />
beyond dispute. One does not<br />
need to be an erudite historian<br />
like Kenneth Onwuka Dike,<br />
J.F.K. Ade-Ajayi or Tekena<br />
Tamuno to arrive at that<br />
conclusion after reading<br />
historical source materials<br />
containing details of how<br />
British colonial officials<br />
assisted by efulefus and ndi<br />
iberibe in the local<br />
populations treacherously<br />
brought together multiply<br />
plural ethnic nationalities to<br />
form the unwieldy amalgam<br />
initially called Niger area. On<br />
that basis, it is largely correct<br />
to claim that the intractable<br />
problem of transforming<br />
Nigeria into a united, strong<br />
and prosperous country is<br />
traceable to the faulty<br />
foundation on which she was<br />
constructed. Again, just as the<br />
rustic Islamic education<br />
introduced into what later<br />
became northern Nigeria by<br />
the arch jihadist, Usman Dan<br />
Fodio, and the one brought<br />
into the south by European<br />
missionaries were intended to<br />
keep the indigenous peoples<br />
mentally enslaved, Britain<br />
created Nigeria to serve the<br />
interests of the British Crown.<br />
The ugly situation has<br />
remained relatively<br />
unchanged after she attained<br />
what is essentially a flag<br />
independence more than sixty<br />
years ago. To bring this point<br />
into prominent relief,<br />
remember that the United<br />
States of America was a<br />
British colony until July 4,<br />
1776 when the thirteen<br />
American colonies defeated<br />
Britain and regarded<br />
themselves as sovereign states<br />
no longer under colonial rule.<br />
Presently, Britain is behind the<br />
US in terms of power,<br />
influence and prestige at the<br />
international stage whereas<br />
Nigeria, still battling with the<br />
teething problems of nationbuilding,<br />
is tied to the<br />
exploitative neo-colonialist<br />
apron-strings of her former<br />
colonial master to the extent<br />
that the Nigerian ruling class<br />
dominated by Fulani<br />
caliphate colonialists and<br />
their lackeys from the south<br />
continuously take dictations<br />
from number 10 Downing<br />
street, London. Therefore, it is<br />
not surprising that the current<br />
federal government of the All<br />
Progressives Congress (APC),<br />
like a child with severe<br />
congenital abnormalities,<br />
relies a lot on the British<br />
establishment for protection<br />
and support, which partly<br />
explains why Nigeria has<br />
It is largely correct to<br />
claim that the<br />
intractable problem of<br />
transforming Nigeria<br />
into a united, strong<br />
and prosperous<br />
country is traceable to<br />
the faulty foundation<br />
on which she was<br />
constructed<br />
regressed considerably since<br />
2015 when the ageing retired<br />
soldier, Maj. Gen.<br />
Muhammadu Buhari,<br />
replaced Dr. Goodluck<br />
Jonathan as President. It must<br />
be mentioned in passing that<br />
under Buhari the APC has<br />
almost mutated completely<br />
into what the Northern Peoples<br />
Congress (NPC) represented<br />
in the First Republic, that is,<br />
the undisputed champion of<br />
northern interests above all<br />
else.<br />
Unrelenting leadership<br />
blizzard in Nigeria was the<br />
focus of the little but forthright<br />
book, The Trouble with<br />
Nigeria, written by the late<br />
distinguished African novelist,<br />
Prof. Chinua Achebe. In that<br />
book, Achebe placed the<br />
problem of arrested<br />
development in the country<br />
squarely on the doorstep of<br />
successive incompetent<br />
political leadership whose<br />
principal actors were<br />
motivated primarily by the<br />
craving for selfaggrandisement<br />
and<br />
primitive accumulation. Prof.<br />
Achebe reiterated the same<br />
theme very briefly in There was<br />
a Country, but it appears that<br />
key players in Nigerian<br />
politics either have not read<br />
Achebe’s works or merely read<br />
through them for reading<br />
sake without seriously<br />
engaging and internalising<br />
the serious points he raised<br />
therein considering that the<br />
quality of leadership has<br />
grown progressively worse<br />
since Achebe’s books were<br />
published. I suspect that<br />
amongst those occupying top<br />
political positions at the<br />
moment President Buhari is<br />
not the only one that does not<br />
read, as the loquacious<br />
Rotimi Amaechi unwittingly<br />
revealed in a video footage<br />
that went viral last year or so.<br />
On the contrary one can<br />
safely bet that from the<br />
President through the top<br />
leadership of the three arms<br />
of government down to the<br />
local government level none<br />
of them have read from cover<br />
to cover any great book on<br />
political philosophy and<br />
leadership written by<br />
transformational leaders<br />
such as Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe,<br />
Chief Obafemi Awolowo,<br />
Julius Nyerere and Lee Kuan<br />
Yew. In other words, at the<br />
highest levels of governance<br />
Nigeria is ruled by men (and<br />
few women) whose minds are<br />
bereft of deep knowledge and<br />
wisdom derivable from great<br />
literature, of relevant<br />
pragmatic ideas, policies and<br />
efficient implementation<br />
strategies that can transform<br />
the country from the poverty<br />
capital of the world into<br />
Africa’s version of Japan or<br />
the United States.<br />
It is evident to any<br />
discerning mind not<br />
beclouded by the deadweight<br />
of ethnicity, religion and other<br />
intellectual toxins that<br />
members of the ruling elite at<br />
all levels of governance are<br />
shameless. Now, the word<br />
‘shame’ describes the<br />
uncomfortable feeling one<br />
experiences when he (or she)<br />
knows that he has done<br />
something wrong or<br />
embarrassing, or when he<br />
knows that someone close to<br />
him has. When someone does<br />
not feel ashamed of a wrong<br />
or immoral act either<br />
committed by himself or<br />
someone close to him, the<br />
person is rightly described as<br />
‘shameless’ which, in the<br />
relevant context, is the<br />
opposite of ‘shame.’ It is clear<br />
from the foregoing that the<br />
feeling of shame is connected<br />
to the capacity for self-censure<br />
derived from the innate<br />
human capacity for morality<br />
activated and given practical<br />
significance in the course of<br />
socialisation within the<br />
family, educational and<br />
religious institutions etc. This<br />
means that the feeling of<br />
shame, when genuine, is an<br />
inward acknowledgement<br />
that one has fallen short of<br />
expected standard of<br />
behaviour which is a<br />
prerequisite for sincere<br />
remorse. On the other hand,<br />
anyone that is incapable of<br />
feeling ashamed or habitually<br />
pretends to be is a moral<br />
degenerate who cannot be<br />
relied upon to act in<br />
accordance with the<br />
fundamental principles of<br />
right and wrong. This<br />
becomes a matter of great<br />
concern if the person in<br />
question occupies leadership<br />
position in any sphere of<br />
human endeavour, especially<br />
politics. Keep in mind that<br />
shameless politicians are<br />
enabled, aided and abetted by<br />
journalists who, probably<br />
because of bribes or are unduly<br />
afraid of the repercussions for<br />
reporting or publishing<br />
unpalatable truths about<br />
those in power, use their<br />
vantage positions to suppress<br />
such information.<br />
In the months and weeks to<br />
the presidential elections in<br />
2015, there was a hurricane<br />
of allegations against the<br />
government of President<br />
Goodluck Jonathan. Chief<br />
Olusegun Obasanjo was at the<br />
forefront of the anyone-but-<br />
Jonathan crusade or jihad<br />
(depending on whether you<br />
are a christian or muslim),<br />
which included prominent<br />
Nigerians like Prof. Wole<br />
Soyinka, Bola Tinubu, Sanusi<br />
Lamido Sanusi, and a motley<br />
crowd of senior academics,<br />
the clergy, top players in<br />
different professions,<br />
celebrities, self-styled activists,<br />
and a cross section of<br />
Nigerians particularly in the<br />
north and south-west. On top<br />
of all this, the American<br />
government under President<br />
Barak Obama actively<br />
supported Buhari to the<br />
extent that Obama himself<br />
publicly endorsed APC’s<br />
propaganda of change,<br />
refused to sell arms to the<br />
Nigerian army to fight Boko<br />
Haram, and David Axelrod,<br />
Obama’s campaign<br />
manager, served as a<br />
consultant to Buhari’s<br />
campaign organisation.<br />
Even, prominent members of<br />
Jonathan’s party, the Peoples<br />
Democratic Party (PDP),<br />
decamped to Buhari’s APC all<br />
in a bid to return power to the<br />
north. And the shenanigans<br />
worked, although there were<br />
credible reports of massive<br />
underage voting and failure<br />
to use smart cards readers in<br />
most polling units in northern<br />
Nigeria. Let us be forthright<br />
about this: Muhammadu<br />
Buhari emerged President<br />
through an election that was<br />
marred by serious verifiable<br />
allegations of voter fraud and<br />
irregularities which became<br />
amplified in 2019 when he<br />
was re-elected for another<br />
four years in office.<br />
To be continued
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 15<br />
Marriage is no<br />
shopping mall<br />
—Dayo Amusa<br />
Delectable filmmaker and<br />
singer, Dayo Amusa, has<br />
undoubtedly propped up<br />
her credential as one of the box<br />
office queens of Nollywood as she<br />
has wowed movie lovers with<br />
blockbusters after blockbusters but<br />
the downside to the glowing story<br />
of the Lagos-born talent and<br />
Moshood Abiola Polytechnic<br />
graduate is her inability to replicate<br />
same in matrimony.<br />
For those who may be in the dark<br />
concerning the marital status of the<br />
screen goddess, she told Potpourri<br />
all about it in a recent interview.<br />
“No, I’m not married. I believe<br />
marriage is blessed by God and<br />
should be honoured by man but<br />
then it is not something one should<br />
rush into. It is not a shopping mall<br />
where you can just go into and buy<br />
or do some window shopping and<br />
leave when you are tired. Marriage<br />
should be done right. Don’t worry,<br />
you will hear a wedding bell soon.<br />
Concerning sex, the actress<br />
expressed her opinion on one of her<br />
numerous Instagram posts and it<br />
does appear she’s rather worldly<br />
•Purfcie Conna<br />
TN Nigeria unveiled a new campaign for<br />
Mits youth proposition, MTN Pulse at an<br />
exclusive listening parley on Friday, November 27,<br />
2020.<br />
The campaign tagged #DoYou features a<br />
television commercial and radio jingle which<br />
encourage Nigerian youths to embrace authenticity<br />
and push for their dreams. Singing sensation,<br />
Joeboy was also unveiled as a brand ambassador<br />
for MTN Pulse.<br />
The well-attended event was hosted by media<br />
personality and event host, Biodun Laaro with<br />
appearances by celebrities including popular<br />
musician JoeyBoy, BB Naija’s Ozoemena Chukwu<br />
and Nengi Hampton, YouTube personality, Fisayo<br />
Fosudo, personal finance expert, Tosin Olaseinde<br />
among others.<br />
•Dayo Amusa<br />
about it.<br />
“I just wrote all I understand about<br />
sex in that Instagram post. I wrote<br />
that sex is good and unique. If you<br />
are lucky to have very good sex you<br />
will come alive. It boosts confidence<br />
of a woman because she will be<br />
happy and smile from<br />
inside,” she said<br />
When asked how<br />
often she gets laid, “I<br />
wouldn’t talk about<br />
that, lips sealed” she<br />
jokingly replied.<br />
Ghanaian actress,<br />
Purfcie Conna’s<br />
booty pictures that<br />
shook internet<br />
G<br />
hanaian actress who also doubles as<br />
marketing and business executive, sent<br />
the Internet into a meltdown when she released<br />
a series of raunchy booty-flaunting pictures<br />
to mark her birthday a week ago. The<br />
pictures set adrift a wave of<br />
comments that were as wild<br />
as they were untoward.<br />
But interestingly,<br />
Purfcie is still a<br />
virgin, if a<br />
statement she<br />
made to Potpourri<br />
a couple of years<br />
back is anything<br />
to go by.<br />
“Yes, I’m a<br />
virgin. I know<br />
people don’t<br />
believe it but it’s<br />
true. I have never<br />
had sex before. I just<br />
don’t do it,” she stated<br />
emphatically. You can say I<br />
attached religion to it because<br />
Bible wise ,God said we<br />
shouldn’t have sex before<br />
marriage. And that’s my<br />
policy till I marry,” she had<br />
said and she is still very<br />
single.<br />
MTN revamps “Pulse” Proposition, unveils<br />
Joeboy as brand ambassador<br />
Leveraging the diversity of the Nigerian youth,<br />
their varying interests and strong desire for<br />
significance, the revamped Pulse proposition<br />
empowers young people with lower call and data<br />
rates with social media bundles starting from<br />
N200.<br />
While unveiling the revamped Pulse plan,<br />
Oluwole Rawa, General Manager, Consumer<br />
Marketing, MTN Nigeria, reaffirmed the<br />
company’s commitment to provide Nigerian<br />
youths with the required support to showcase their<br />
creativity. He added that, “At MTN Nigeria, we<br />
fully comprehend the need for youths to express<br />
their creativity and use their voices.”<br />
MTN Pulse is a prepaid tariff plan that allows<br />
customers to enjoy a flat rate of 11.26k/sec for calls<br />
across all local networks in Nigeria and nightlife<br />
bundles of up to 2GB for N200.<br />
•Joeboy<br />
Many think actresses<br />
prostitute —Joke Lawal<br />
n-the-rise actress, Joke Lawal, is<br />
Oliving up to the title bestowed<br />
on her in 2016 as Nollywood New<br />
Bride by White Cowry Awards, as the<br />
one-time City People Awards<br />
nominee is rapidly becoming a force<br />
to reckon with in the makebelieve<br />
world. The Moshood<br />
Abiola Polytechnic graduate<br />
who dumped her degree in<br />
Business Administration in<br />
pursuit of her passion for<br />
acting in a chat with<br />
Potpourri has revealed<br />
what she hates about<br />
being an actress and what<br />
she would love to see<br />
change in the movie<br />
making landscape.<br />
“I would like to<br />
c h a n g e<br />
people’s<br />
perception of<br />
actresses. A lot<br />
of people<br />
think of<br />
actresses as<br />
prostitutes, they see<br />
us as people who are<br />
not worthy of<br />
marriage and<br />
having a<br />
family. If I<br />
•Joke Lawal<br />
•Julie<br />
Akpan<br />
have the power,<br />
this is something I will like to<br />
change. I will also like to see a<br />
change in the way our stories are<br />
written and interpreted, and in the<br />
quality of our film productions.<br />
Another thing I would like to<br />
change too is, how poorly actors<br />
are paid. As a producer I will like a<br />
situation where I can pay every<br />
actor that works on my project even<br />
if the person acts in just one scene.<br />
As an upcoming actress I acted in<br />
movies and didn’t get paid but<br />
because I was still new in the<br />
industry I didn’t have a choice. God<br />
help me, these are things I will like<br />
to change in the movie industry,”<br />
she said.<br />
The actress also explained why<br />
actors in the English-speaking<br />
sector appear to be more affluent<br />
and comfortable than their Yorubaspeaking<br />
counterparts<br />
“In the Yoruba part of the<br />
industry, some people have the idea<br />
of doing what I call padi<br />
padi, where, for example, I work<br />
on your production for free and you<br />
will do the same for me. I don’t<br />
really like that idea but then I have<br />
some people that I work for without<br />
collecting money because it is my<br />
way of appreciating them for giving<br />
me opportunities in the past.<br />
Meanwhile, I have acted in some<br />
English series like Hustle,<br />
Battleground and others and I got<br />
paid for my work.<br />
Joke Lawal began acting in 2009<br />
and has featured in films like<br />
‘Alayaki , Aye La Bowo and many<br />
others, but, it was the movie<br />
‘Campus Life’ that shot her into the<br />
limelight.<br />
Beauty has<br />
nothing to do<br />
with being sexy<br />
—Julie Akpan<br />
J<br />
ulie Akpan has a lot of reasons to<br />
cheer and be happy about as<br />
a Nollywood actress. In spite of<br />
having been just five years on the<br />
scene Miss Akpan has entrenched<br />
her footprints on the landscape<br />
in pomp and pride. In a matter<br />
of days, two films produced by<br />
her, titled Sister’s Plot and<br />
Intimacy, will go live on<br />
YouTube. Recently she spoke<br />
with Potpourri on some<br />
topical issues.<br />
On beauty and being sexy,<br />
she opines, “I don’t think<br />
being sexy has much to do with<br />
appearance alone or beauty because while<br />
beauty attracts, beauty in itself is not sexy.<br />
Many women tried to be sexy but failed<br />
because this isn’t something that can be<br />
practiced or faked. In my opinion, being sexy<br />
is more than just the appearance or the body of<br />
a person. Being sexy means being genuinely<br />
confident and positive, intelligent and proud<br />
of being who you are, and being able to take<br />
control of your life.”<br />
On her opinion on sex, marriage and<br />
relationships, she said, “ For me, sex is an<br />
exercise one gets to enjoy with your partner,<br />
someone you have feelings for, basically for<br />
adult, that is when it’s enjoyable. Marriage,<br />
on the other hand is a good thing but I must<br />
say is not meant for everyone because<br />
marriage is a necessity but not compulsory.<br />
On the other hand, a relationship is a normal<br />
thing,but it also depends on the kind of<br />
relationship we are talking about here, but<br />
whichever, it’s good for one to get involved.”<br />
Julie Akpan was born Juliet Akpan Daniel<br />
and has featured in films like Princess River,<br />
Against the Odds, Spiritual Wife, Material<br />
Wife, Impotent Alhaji, Sensation and many<br />
more.
C<br />
M<br />
Y<br />
K<br />
PAGE 16 —SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
Who would a husband defend – His wife or the mistress!?<br />
Lately, I’d been regaling<br />
Dolapo, a former<br />
colleague’s FWB (friends with<br />
benefits) of decades, with tales<br />
of the escapades of some of my<br />
darling friends in recent<br />
months – especially in the last<br />
few weeks when a couple of<br />
them had virtually burnt their<br />
fingers with the spouses of their<br />
‘bits-on-the-side’. A few weeks<br />
after one of them, Kadijat had<br />
her annual birthday bash, when<br />
she almost got into hot water<br />
when Rex, her husband, who<br />
travelled showed up<br />
unexpectedly. It was a miracle<br />
that her friends helped her save<br />
her face. Two weeks later, she<br />
visited Jake, her lover and the<br />
‘co-sponsor’ of her party.<br />
He had conveniently<br />
disappeared from the scene as<br />
soon as he saw Rex, to avoid<br />
any embarrassment. “It was the<br />
first time we would have a<br />
decent chat after the party”,<br />
Kadijat explained, “and we<br />
were theorizing on what could<br />
have happened if we’d been<br />
caught red handed by Rex, when<br />
Jake’s wife virtually burst into<br />
his office. I’d seen her vaguely<br />
at one or two parties, sullenly<br />
looking my way as if daring me<br />
to say something untoward. But<br />
what could I have to say to her?<br />
I scarcely knew her, though her<br />
face looked vaguely familiar.<br />
`Good afternoon’, she snapped<br />
as she breezed in and sat down<br />
on the chair next to me, almost<br />
breathing fire.<br />
“Jake was making a<br />
semblance of introduction<br />
when she cut in: `I know<br />
senior Kadijat now, she was<br />
four years ahead of me in<br />
secondary school’. No<br />
wonder she looked familiar.<br />
I instantly remembered she<br />
was one of the pests that were<br />
always making trouble in the<br />
school dorm in those days.<br />
She was constantly being<br />
punished by her seniors,<br />
myself inclusive.<br />
“How was I to handle this<br />
tricky situation? I tried to<br />
make small talks and, in<br />
fairness to her, she tied to be<br />
polite until she suddenly<br />
asked; `Senior Kadijat,<br />
what are you doing in my<br />
husband’s office?” She made<br />
me feel so old by her `senior\<br />
tag even though Jake is only<br />
two years older than I am. I<br />
didn’t have an immediate<br />
answer but Jake quickly told<br />
his wife I was a friend’s sister.<br />
`I know whose sister she is’,<br />
she sneered on the verge of<br />
being rude. `That still doesn’t<br />
explain why she is here. I also<br />
heard of her 50th birthday<br />
bash and the role you played<br />
in it. If you don’t mind,<br />
Senior Kadijat, I want to<br />
have a word with my<br />
husband. I think you should<br />
leave’.<br />
“I was shocked but it was<br />
obvious on whose side Jake<br />
was as he squirmed<br />
uncomfortably in his seat. I<br />
stood up in anger and as I left,<br />
Jake’s wife’s threat rang after<br />
me: `Don’t bother to show up<br />
here ever again. I have people<br />
watching you, and if you don’t<br />
want any embarrassment,<br />
hands off my husband!’ It was<br />
a very humiliating experience.<br />
I didn’t know how I made it to<br />
my car!”.<br />
Kadijat’s experience jogged<br />
the memory of a few friends<br />
who’d experienced a similar<br />
‘affront’. Joko recalled some<br />
years back when she’d gone<br />
to a thanksgiving party of Bob,<br />
a boyfriend who’d survived an<br />
attack by armed robbers. “I<br />
don’t often like to dine with<br />
the enemy”, Joko said. “so I<br />
told Bob I wasn’t interested in<br />
making his wife<br />
uncomfortable by showing up<br />
at such a private party. He<br />
assured me his wife didn’t<br />
know who I was, so I attended<br />
with a friend. The luncheon<br />
was self-service and as I<br />
hovered over the fried rice<br />
heating tantalizingly under a<br />
burner, Bob’s wife came over,<br />
pretending to see to the<br />
effective running of things.<br />
Ignoring her, I took the serving<br />
spoon and as I made to scoop<br />
some rice, she was at my side<br />
in a flash, pressing the spoon<br />
and my outstretched hand<br />
deep into the hot rice. I gave a<br />
painful yelp! ‘What are you<br />
doing here?’ she whispered<br />
furiously into my ears, trying<br />
not to make a scene. ‘Just put<br />
down your plate and walk out<br />
or you will be in deep trouble’.<br />
My friend was virtually<br />
shaking with nerves.<br />
Unfortunately, Bob was<br />
amongst friends and didn’t<br />
realise what was going on.<br />
My friend and I simply<br />
disappeared as quickly as we<br />
could! I’m sure Bob must have<br />
been told what happened but<br />
when he called a few days<br />
later, he feigned annoyance at<br />
my leaving so quickly. I told<br />
him his wife virtually hounded<br />
me out of the party, and he<br />
sounded shocked. The swine!<br />
Of course, he later made up<br />
generously for the<br />
embarrassment but the fact<br />
remains you shouldn’t take a<br />
fight to the enemy’s camp. A<br />
wife is a wife, no matter how<br />
hard the husband tries to<br />
convince you the marriage is<br />
now in name only. She can<br />
never be ‘the other woman’,<br />
no matter how much in love<br />
you are with her husband -<br />
and no matter how the<br />
husband assures you she’s no<br />
threat to your relationship”.<br />
I’m sure it was some of these<br />
hair raising experiences that<br />
prompted Dolapo to invite six<br />
of my friends to a New Year<br />
get-together. When I protested<br />
the year was well on its way,<br />
he said there was always .a<br />
reason to have a good natter.<br />
And any time Dolapo extends<br />
his once-in-a-blue moon<br />
invitation, my friends jump.<br />
So, there we all were in our<br />
expensive ‘casuals’ with a<br />
handful of Dolapo’s friends<br />
trying to recapture their<br />
fading youths with clothes<br />
they must have borrowed off<br />
their grown up sons! It was<br />
whilst the conversation verged<br />
on the antics of wives and their<br />
husbands’ girlfriends that<br />
Dolapo told me his wife<br />
wasn’t like that. “How would<br />
you know?”, challenged Bisi,<br />
his FWB. I’d often tried my<br />
best to respect her by behaving<br />
like the good employee who<br />
had nothing but professional<br />
affection for her boss and his<br />
wife. She was at my wedding,<br />
remember? She even gave me<br />
one of the loveliest presents I<br />
got”.<br />
He smiled wryly. “You<br />
believe that in a company as<br />
big as the one we both worked<br />
with, no one would have told<br />
my wife about us? When<br />
virtually everyone knew what<br />
was going on? Of course, she<br />
knew about our `little<br />
arrangement’, as she called it.<br />
She came to the office several<br />
times to see the type of<br />
relationship we had and even<br />
encouraged you to bring your<br />
ex-husband to the house under<br />
the pretext of being a caring<br />
big `Aunty. It was after you<br />
got married that she told me<br />
she knew I was bonking you,<br />
but didn’t mind because you<br />
were a sweet lady who wasn’t<br />
particularly interested in<br />
husband-snatching! On top<br />
of which you were polite and<br />
not confrontational”. Bisi was<br />
lost for wards.<br />
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Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in or outside the<br />
country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does so at his/her own risk. Our mission<br />
is only to provide a platform for social networking.<br />
Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of requests which may<br />
result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore request that text must be sent through at least<br />
one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different style. You<br />
can send your requests to 33055. For enquiries, text or call 08026651636, or 08054700825<br />
FUPRE VC lauds FG on commercialisation of Gas Project<br />
The Vice Chancellor of the<br />
Federal University of<br />
Petroleum Resources, FUPRE,<br />
Effurun, Uvwie local<br />
government area of Delta State,<br />
Prof. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, has<br />
commended Federal<br />
Government policy on<br />
commercialisation of gas,<br />
stating that the Ajaokuta-<br />
Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline<br />
project will reduce drastically<br />
gas flaring in Nigeria.<br />
Speaking at the annual<br />
International Environmental<br />
Management Stakeholders'<br />
Conference organised by the<br />
Chartered Institute of<br />
Environmental and Public<br />
Health Management of<br />
Nigeria at the institution, Prof.<br />
Rim-Rukeh stated that the<br />
discovery of oil in Oloibiri in<br />
1958 was a welcome<br />
development, but lamented<br />
that the interest was only on<br />
crude oil, with gas was left to<br />
flare without considering<br />
environmental pollution.<br />
He, however, commended<br />
the present Federal<br />
administration in efforts at<br />
ensuring that the<br />
environment is safe for the<br />
citizens, especially those<br />
who reside in such areas of<br />
exploration with the<br />
initiative of the Ajaokuta-<br />
Kaduana-Kano Gas<br />
Pipeline project.<br />
He maintained that the air<br />
the people breath in, the food<br />
they eat and water they drink<br />
are very sacrosanct to good<br />
health and commended the<br />
organisers, especially for<br />
choosing notable topics on<br />
how to manage the<br />
environment with lectures<br />
delivered by Engr. Prof. S. A<br />
Olagoke and Engr. Prof.<br />
Olagoke amongst other<br />
guest speakers.<br />
The highpoint of the<br />
ceremony was the induction<br />
of the Vice Chancelor into<br />
the institute and investiture<br />
of executive committee<br />
members of the Delta State<br />
Chapter of the Institute.<br />
Vice Chancelor, FUPRE, Prof. (Engr.) Akpofure Rim-Rukeh (right),with<br />
members of the International Environmental Management during the<br />
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Chairman of Gladtrico Intl,<br />
Ebozele loses mother<br />
Mrs. Elizabeth Itosoa Idahosa (Nee<br />
Okogie), the mother of Chairman/<br />
Managing Director of Gladtrico Intl Limited,<br />
Chief Eric Ebozele, is dead.<br />
The deceased died at the age of 83.<br />
A statement by the Gladtrico boss said:"The<br />
families of Okogie , Ebozele and Idahosa, of<br />
Ewohimi, Esan South East Local Government<br />
Area of Edo State, has announced the death of<br />
Deaconess ( Mrs) Elizabeth Itosoa Idahosa<br />
(Nee Okogie).<br />
She died in a London hospital on October 9,<br />
2020, at the age of 83.<br />
"She is survived by seven children including<br />
Chief Eric Ebozele, Chairman / Managing<br />
Director, Gladtrico Intl<br />
ltd, sisters , brothers,<br />
grandchildren and<br />
great grand children<br />
and other relations.<br />
She was a retired and<br />
trained Nigerian and<br />
UK nurse.<br />
Burial arrangements<br />
will be announced later •Late Mrs. Elizabeth<br />
by the family. " Idahosa
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 17<br />
Walking by faith and not by sight (2)<br />
Although God is invisible, when we walk<br />
by faith, we know He is with us and<br />
can see Him with our hearts. I once<br />
caught God looking through my eyes. He was<br />
not looking at me. He was looking through<br />
the window of my eyes.<br />
We have two eyes, but they must be single. We<br />
must see the physical in the light of the spiritual.<br />
We must see the visible in the light of the<br />
invisible. Even as we only fully understand the<br />
Old Testament in the light of our understanding<br />
of the New Testament, even so, we must<br />
interpret the physical by the invisible.<br />
In all cases, our focus must always be on<br />
knowing what God is doing. It means we are<br />
interrogating situations and circumstances. We<br />
are asking God questions. We know He is behind<br />
everything. So, we ask: “Daddy, what are<br />
you doing?” “Daddy, what do you mean by<br />
doing this?” “Daddy, why are you doing this<br />
like this?”<br />
The answer is always to trust God. The answer<br />
is always in knowing that no weapon fashioned<br />
against us can prosper. Knowing that<br />
all things work together for our good. Confident<br />
that God always causes us to triumph in<br />
Christ. Recognising that Jesus has overcome<br />
the world.<br />
Spiritual warfare<br />
Living by faith means we are always engaged<br />
in spiritual warfare. It means our physical and<br />
spiritual lives are lived as one. We know what<br />
is happening in the physical is being controlled<br />
or manipulated by what is going on in the spiritual.<br />
We know the devil, who often manipulates<br />
the physical, is a liar. Therefore, we don’t<br />
believe our lying physical eyes. We rely on our<br />
The new Heaven and new Earth (3)<br />
Everlasting gospel delivered by<br />
the Holy Father, The<br />
Supernatural Teacher and Sole<br />
Spiritual Head of the Universe,<br />
Leader Olumba Olumba Obu<br />
(BCS) WHQ 34 Ambo Street,<br />
Calabar, Nigeria<br />
From that moment, they have opted for<br />
eternal condemnation. Their desires for<br />
wealth will not be met and they will forever not<br />
have peace, joy and freedom.<br />
This same reason explains why you see people<br />
wandering from one church to the other<br />
and from one hospital or juju priest shrine to<br />
the other yet do not have peace. But a true child<br />
of this Kingdom has no problem; he is ever<br />
blooming with joy every minute.<br />
At times many people begin to wander why<br />
My life was saved by<br />
my faith in God who<br />
is my eyes<br />
spiritual eyesight.<br />
If we walk by sight, we can only do the<br />
possible. But if we walk by faith, we can do<br />
the impossible. We can even walk on water.<br />
This is because we know that the God with<br />
whom nothing shall be impossible is with<br />
us. He is the doer of the work. David acknowledges<br />
that God Most High: “performs<br />
all things for (us).” (Psalm 57:2).<br />
Peter got out of the boat to walk on water<br />
by faith in Christ. But he started to drown<br />
when he started walking by sight. This is<br />
because walking by sight brings anxiety.<br />
But walking by faith brings peace. Therefore,<br />
child of God, don’t believe your eyes.<br />
Believe your God.<br />
Eye of faith<br />
Do you see with your natural eyes? See<br />
what eyes cannot, and have not, seen. See<br />
with your eye of faith. The scriptures say of<br />
the men and women of the Hall of Faith in<br />
the book of Hebrews: “These all died in<br />
faith, not having received the promises, but<br />
having seen them afar off were assured of<br />
them, embraced them and confessed that<br />
they were strangers and pilgrims on the<br />
earth.” (Hebrews 11:13-14).<br />
we converge here every blessed day singing,<br />
dancing and receiving the word of God,<br />
and get surprised that we do not spare a<br />
time for rest. Of course, the reason for their<br />
thought is lack of adequate knowledge<br />
about our hope and expectation. They do<br />
not know that we are desirous of sharing in<br />
the new heaven and a new earth. Already<br />
we are in the Kingdom of God where righteousness<br />
and peace dwell.<br />
God’s word is true and ever sure. We have<br />
read that it was written that this generation<br />
would not pass away until all the words of<br />
God come to manifest. Read St. Matthew<br />
24: 34. “Verily I say unto you, this generation<br />
shall not pass, till all these things be<br />
fulfilled”.<br />
Today have you not seen all that was written<br />
about this age manifesting? The limiting<br />
factor for very many of you in this King-<br />
The bible tells us that our God Himself is not<br />
constrained by the visible. Paul says God, who<br />
gives life to the dead: “calls those things which<br />
do not exist as though they did.” (Romans 4:17).<br />
Therefore, he prescribes the same approach for<br />
us. He says we should stop looking at the things<br />
that are seen and start looking at the invisible:<br />
“For the things which are seen are temporary,<br />
but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2<br />
Corinthians 4:18).<br />
dom is that you are still walloping in sins; so<br />
long as you are still in sin, you are blinded against<br />
God. The truth is that no sinner can see God.<br />
For you to see God and be in close communion<br />
with Him, you have to sanctify yourself. Furthermore,<br />
for you to benefit from your call into<br />
this Kingdom, you have to re-order your priorities.<br />
Stop henceforth to ask God for mundane<br />
things, rather focus your hope in this new heaven<br />
and a new earth where righteousness and<br />
peace dwell. This is the Kingdom of God. For<br />
you to merit it you have to refrain from sinful<br />
acts and frivolous demands, after all, these are<br />
not what brought you into this Kingdom.<br />
You came here principally to inherit the new<br />
heaven and new earth – anything outside this is<br />
secondary and appendage. Many people have<br />
this misconception that when they are told to<br />
love one another and embrace peace, it is because<br />
in so doing people will love them back, so<br />
that they will have to utilize that avenue to establish<br />
links that will aid them to acquire wealth.<br />
Blessing of faith<br />
When the disciples told Thomas that Jesus<br />
had risen from the dead and appeared physically<br />
to them, he would not believe. He said to<br />
them: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the<br />
nails, and put my finger into the print of the<br />
nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not<br />
believe.” (John 20:25).<br />
Therefore, Jesus appeared in his presence:<br />
“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger<br />
here, and look at My hands; and reach your<br />
hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be<br />
unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered<br />
and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’<br />
Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have<br />
seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those<br />
who have not seen and yet have believed.’” (John<br />
20:27-29).<br />
In the world, they say: “seeing is believing.”<br />
However, believers in Jesus believe to see. If we<br />
say seeing is believing, we cannot walk with God<br />
for God is invisible. But if we believe to see, we<br />
will receive a great blessing. Only those who<br />
believe to see can see the glory of God.<br />
Thus, Jesus said to Martha before He raised<br />
Lazarus from the dead: “Did I not say to you<br />
that if you would believe you would see the glory<br />
of God?” (John 11:30). David expressed the<br />
same sentiment: “I would have lost heart, unless<br />
I had believed that I would see the goodness<br />
of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm<br />
27:13).<br />
The bible says: “The just shall live by his faith.”<br />
(Habakkuk 2:4). When we do, the word of God<br />
defines reality for us. That means we not only<br />
believe in the promises of God, we walk according<br />
to them. We also talk about them, confident<br />
of their fulfilment for: “From the fruit of<br />
his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the<br />
harvest from his lips he is satisfied.” (Proverbs<br />
18:20).<br />
Indeed, those who walk by faith see things<br />
in the past tense, knowing God’s promises are<br />
fulfilled in the spirit long before they manifest<br />
in the flesh and in the world.<br />
So, if God says he is going to make you rich,<br />
what should you expect? You should expect<br />
the evidence of what you do not see. Expect<br />
the contradiction first. Expect to become poor<br />
and then you will become rich. Remember<br />
this: “The Lord makes poor and makes rich;<br />
He brings low and lifts up.” (1 Samuel 2:7).<br />
Saved by Faith<br />
Recently, I decided to walk from my office<br />
to my bank rather than go by car. To do that,<br />
I had to cross a major road, Adetokunbo<br />
Ademola. It was a one-way street, divided in<br />
the middle by a big intersection. I waited patiently<br />
for the cars coming on the road to pass<br />
by. When it was free, I decided to make a<br />
move.<br />
But God cautioned me. “Femi,” He said.<br />
“The fact that it is a one-way street does not<br />
mean you should not look on the other side.<br />
Look on the other side before you cross.”<br />
I obeyed immediately. I looked on the other<br />
side, only to discover that there was no impediment,<br />
then crossed the road. But I completely<br />
forgot about this injunction on my way<br />
back. I had to cross again the same one-way<br />
road from the other side, so I waited again<br />
patiently until there was no car coming.<br />
But as I took a step to cross over, a motorcycle<br />
moving at top speed on the wrong side<br />
of the road whizzed past me. I had forgotten<br />
to look at the other side because it was a oneway<br />
street. Had the motorcycle been just fractionally<br />
slower, it would have killed me because<br />
I would have moved right in front of it.<br />
My life was saved by my faith in God who is<br />
my eyes.<br />
Far be from this; the fact that you are told to<br />
practice righteousness is to qualify you to inherit<br />
the new heaven and a new earth. Therefore,<br />
brethren, whatever is done here is not to<br />
please man or acquire wealth. It is for the<br />
sake of the new heaven and the new earth that<br />
we are awaiting. Ipso facto, it behoves us all<br />
to be without blemish.<br />
The people of the world see Brotherhood<br />
members as a group of insane fellows, why<br />
this impression? It is because we do not want<br />
the things of this world, our hope is in the new<br />
heaven and a new earth and our lives depend<br />
on its arrival because it is our treasure. For it<br />
is said that where one’s treasure lies his heart<br />
is there. The reason why we opt for the new<br />
heaven and a new earth as opposed to the<br />
material lust of their world is that the material<br />
things of this world will soon fade away<br />
with time, whereas the new heaven and earth<br />
is forever. To be continued<br />
Dr. William Orakwue Egbuna<br />
Healing Disciple of God<br />
And Knight of The Holy Grail<br />
08055765207<br />
What is killing Nigerians!(2)<br />
Continued from last Sunday<br />
CLINICAL PATHOLOGY AND<br />
FEATURES<br />
The syphilis germs from the mother<br />
through the placenta invade all the or<br />
gans and tissues of the foetus. The bony<br />
deformities persist after birth and constitute<br />
the stigmata. The damage continues after birth<br />
and causes progressive destruction of many<br />
organs and tissues. The secondary rash appears<br />
at about two years of age and often mistaken<br />
for and termed late measles epidemic. The<br />
early tertiary rash appears between the ages of<br />
12 and 15 years i.e. the Pimples. Almost every<br />
Nigerian has gone through the adolescent pimples.<br />
GENERAL SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS<br />
Symptoms arise from many organs and tissues.<br />
They are varied and at times weird in<br />
nature that the average Nigerian with his simple<br />
intuition calls it spiritual attack, witchcraft<br />
or juju. He is frequently amazed when after<br />
successful treatment lasting about one<br />
month that he recovers often fully! The<br />
symptoms include generalized itching and<br />
"pins and needles". Numbness and "things<br />
crawling round the body. In children, persistent<br />
fever, catarrh and cough, inability to<br />
gain weight and vomiting. Those cervical<br />
and axillary glands are prominent. Chestx-ray<br />
may show "Tuberculosis". At times pericardia!<br />
effusion occurs. Bone pains is a<br />
common symptom and with the associated<br />
skull bossing, raises the question of Sickle<br />
Cell Disease differential. Pain in the muscles<br />
is also common. Individual peripheral<br />
nerves are also affected, most commonly<br />
the sciatic nerves, at times causing severe<br />
pain and pseudo-paralyses (Sciatica).In<br />
many older children and adults these symptoms<br />
and signs persist. In the rest, the BCG<br />
infection burns itself out but the syphilis<br />
progresses to death unless treated and the<br />
organ and tissue damage arrested medically<br />
or corrected surgically.<br />
ILLNESSES AND DISEASES<br />
These include persistent or recurrent headaches,<br />
dizziness, amnesia, insomnia, dementia,<br />
twitching, convulsion, epilepsy, blindness,<br />
deafness, dumbness, asthma, catarrh,<br />
cough, haemoptysis, weight loss, stroke, heart<br />
failure, kidney failure, liver failure, ulcer, abdominal<br />
pains and discomfort, tendency to constipation,<br />
frequency of passing urine, infertility<br />
in both men and women, various forms of cancer<br />
and insanity!<br />
APPLICATION<br />
The recognition by a discerning physician that<br />
these two chronic diseases i.e. Congenital Syphilis<br />
and "Tuberculosis" are present in almost all<br />
Nigerians from birth, affords him a fantastic<br />
advantage. Any other illness is superimposed<br />
on these. Even very bad kidney cases and crippling<br />
heart diseases recover within a few weeks<br />
of management1. And infertile couples become<br />
blessed with children!<br />
SOLUTION<br />
A good Basic Heath Structure for the Country<br />
will eradicate both Syphilis and Tuberculosis<br />
simultaneously within a couple of years.<br />
The Secondary and Tertiary Health Institutions<br />
will join in managing the major organ<br />
damages and complications. In a decade or<br />
two, a healthy and vigorous Nigerian population<br />
will emerge and Medical Tourism will<br />
become history!<br />
Bishop Ore goes home in a blaze of glory<br />
By Sam Eyoboka<br />
THE General Superintendent of Deeper<br />
Life Bible Church, Pastor William Ku<br />
muyi, former General Overseer of Foursquare<br />
Gospel Church, Rev Wilson Badejo,<br />
founder of Christ Life Church, Bishop Francis<br />
Wale Oke and the immediate past chairman of<br />
Lagos Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria,<br />
Apostle Alex Bamgbola were among several<br />
dignitaries who graced the final burial ceremony<br />
of Bishop Sola Ore who died on October<br />
26<br />
Ḃishop Ore was the chairman of the Lagos<br />
Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria,<br />
PFN.<br />
The burial ceremony which held at the LAW-<br />
NA Territorial Headquarters, Ketu Lagos also<br />
witnessed a large gathering of Pentecostals<br />
and members from other blocs of Christian<br />
Association of Nigeria, CAN across Nigeria.<br />
Speaking at the ceremony, Bishop Oke who<br />
described Bishop Ore as his spiritual son said<br />
believers don’t die. He added also that when a<br />
believer dies he has only changed residence.<br />
Describing Bishop Ore as a jovial and engaging<br />
personality, he said there was nowhere<br />
Bishop Ore entered that would not be lightened<br />
up.<br />
In his words: “He was a man of high-level<br />
integrity though he cracked jokes, he was highly<br />
principled. In all my years of relating with<br />
him, I can tell you that he was a Christian<br />
indeed. He never told a lie to my knowledge<br />
all through the time I knew him.”
PAGE 18 —SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
sam.eyoboka@gmail.com<br />
The wonders of freedom from sin (7)<br />
He believed the Lord and<br />
received the Saviour cheerfully<br />
and Christ went to his<br />
home so that he would be able<br />
to go to the heavenly home of<br />
Christ. If you do not take the<br />
Saviour to the home of your<br />
heart, He would not take you<br />
to His home in heaven: it is a<br />
two way thing!<br />
John 14:2-3 "In my Father's<br />
house are many mansions: if<br />
it were not so, I would have<br />
told you. I go to prepare a<br />
place for you. And if I go and<br />
prepare a place for you, I will<br />
come again, and receive you<br />
unto myself; that where I am,<br />
there ye may be also."<br />
Let Jesus forgive your sins<br />
so that all the guilt of sin would<br />
be taken away too. Then, when<br />
life is ended here on earth, He<br />
would take you to heaven.<br />
Where are you? The much<br />
awaited time for your salvation<br />
has arrived and the moment<br />
when your name will<br />
come into the record book of<br />
God has finally arrived.<br />
If you want Jesus to be your<br />
Pastor William Kumuyi<br />
Saviour today, bow your head<br />
and let us pray together.<br />
Father in the name of Jesus,<br />
I pray for all these my friends<br />
who have come to give their<br />
lives to Jesus Christ. According<br />
to your promise that cannot<br />
fail, set them free from sin.<br />
Forgive their sins, change their<br />
lives and give them your redemption<br />
and let there be the<br />
witness of your Spirit in their<br />
hearts that their sins are forgiven,<br />
their lives turned around<br />
and their names written in the<br />
book of life.<br />
Thank you LORD because I<br />
know that you have answered.<br />
In Jesus name I pray! Amen!<br />
Temperance: Regaining the<br />
mastery over the unruly self<br />
DISCIPLINE is the Di<br />
vine instrument that<br />
tames, tampers, moderates<br />
and instills temperance,<br />
“...God’s discipline is always<br />
good for us, so that we might<br />
share in his holiness.” Hebrews<br />
12:10. Discipline<br />
makes us do what we do not<br />
want to or enjoy, in order for<br />
us to achieve what we have<br />
ever dreamed of in life. Temperance<br />
is the Godly quality<br />
we acquire through the discipline<br />
He gives in His Word; it<br />
ensures proper behavior. It is<br />
the practice or method of<br />
training that God adopts to<br />
enforce acceptable patterns of<br />
behavior for our good or advantage;<br />
“...God uses it to prepare<br />
and equip his people to<br />
do every good work.” 2 Timothy<br />
3:16-17.<br />
There is a terrible vice in the<br />
human nature, a spiritual<br />
monstrosity; even the holiest<br />
believer must each moment<br />
agree and confess that he has<br />
sin within his fleshly members,<br />
as was the realization of<br />
the apostle Paul who exclaimed,<br />
“...I know that in me<br />
(that is, in my flesh) nothing<br />
Rev. Emmanuel Awazie<br />
*Assemblies of God Church<br />
Nigeria, 111 Clegg Street,<br />
Surulere, Lagos.<br />
good dwells;....” Romans 7:18.<br />
At the fall of Adam and Eve,<br />
our primal parents, the human<br />
nature acquired the nature<br />
of Satan and assumed a<br />
monstrous dimension that led<br />
to their expulsion from the<br />
Garden. That was the same<br />
disposition that expelled Lucifer<br />
from Heaven, Scriptures<br />
record “...you are fallen from<br />
heaven, O Lucifer,...you are cut<br />
down to the ground,... you have<br />
said in your heart: ‘I will...exalt<br />
my throne above the stars of<br />
God;....’” Isaiah 14:12-13. This<br />
prideful nature remains within<br />
us even after conversion and<br />
continues in rebellion, opposition<br />
and sabotage against<br />
God’s purpose, “...For the sinful<br />
nature is always hostile to<br />
God. It never did obey God’s<br />
laws, and it never will....” Romans<br />
8:6-8, also read Gal.<br />
5:17.<br />
God is however, never intimidated<br />
by our wild and riotous<br />
nature because He has put<br />
in place a spiritual system and<br />
technology that can checkmate<br />
and overrule our sinful<br />
human nature, this He<br />
achieves by His love and<br />
Made in His image<br />
TEXT: Genesis 1:26-27<br />
These are very interesting<br />
times, times when technological<br />
advancement have come<br />
to stay and have advanced the<br />
course of the average human<br />
life.<br />
We seem to forget that there<br />
was an era when wood technology<br />
was principal. Then,<br />
everything man built revolved<br />
around the use of wood. I once<br />
read the story of a farmer who<br />
And it came to pass,<br />
when Moses came down<br />
from mount Sinai with<br />
the two tables of testimony<br />
in Moses’ hand, when<br />
he came down from the<br />
mount, that Moses wist<br />
not that the skin of his<br />
face shone while he<br />
talked with him. Exodus<br />
34:29 KJV<br />
Why do you come to<br />
church? A lot of people<br />
come to church for different<br />
reasons. Some people<br />
come to church to do business,<br />
some come because they are<br />
on the look-out for a spouse,<br />
others come to worship, and<br />
lots of other reasons.<br />
The bible says the face of<br />
Moses shone, why? His face<br />
Success in life and ministry: The knowledge of God (7)<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
It had been an interesting<br />
adventure in previous serials<br />
learning about the success<br />
of Moses the Man of God<br />
in life and ministry. Last week,<br />
we considered the Rod of<br />
Moses as God’s strategy for<br />
turning an ordinary fugitive<br />
herdsman into an extraordinary<br />
instrument for performing<br />
miracles, signs and wonders<br />
towards the deliverance<br />
of Israel from Egyptian bondage.<br />
In today’s episode, we<br />
shall be considering some of<br />
the other feats performed<br />
through the Rod of Moses. It<br />
must be borne in mind at this<br />
point that Moses had known<br />
now that it was the Rod of God<br />
in his hands and not just Rod<br />
of Moses (Exod. 4:20). Let<br />
God take over that thing He<br />
had put in your hands, and it<br />
will become an instrument for<br />
miracles, breakthroughs,<br />
signs and wonders. Remember<br />
that it was also when Peter<br />
gave Jesus Christ His boat to<br />
preach, that he caught the largest<br />
quantity of fish ever in his<br />
history! Turn that thing over to<br />
Jesus, and you can smile your<br />
way into the good success<br />
promised by God. (Joshua 1:8)<br />
THE ROD OF MOSES<br />
AND THE RODS OF THE<br />
EGYPTIANS<br />
The first assignment to be<br />
carried out by the Rod of<br />
Moses was to confront the<br />
worldly rods or staffs. We can<br />
call these rods the worldly standards<br />
and value systems,<br />
which are many and varied.<br />
However, God’s Standard is<br />
only one – Holiness! (2 Tim<br />
2:19). At God’s instruction,<br />
Moses was to cast down his<br />
Rod first, and it became a serpent.<br />
The essence of this is to<br />
lay the foundation and standard<br />
for others. That is our<br />
calling as Christians. We are<br />
to set the standards and value<br />
systems for the society to follow.<br />
Not surprisingly, the Egyp-<br />
08023145567 (sms only)<br />
We are not meant to eat more than twice a day —Adeboye<br />
By Sam Eyoboka<br />
Pastor Akinola<br />
tians too have their own several<br />
standards through their<br />
“wise men and sorcerers”,<br />
which they also cast down.<br />
To God’s glory, the single Rod<br />
of Moses swallowed up all the<br />
rods of the Egyptian sorcerers!<br />
The implication of this for us<br />
is that we should boldly confront<br />
the society’s value systems<br />
with the Word of God,<br />
which has been delivered to us.<br />
These worldly values and standards<br />
will surely capitulate<br />
before God’s Word!<br />
God’s Standard or wisdom<br />
is far above the world’s own.<br />
The Bible says that God’s wisdom<br />
had made foolish the wisdom<br />
of this world (1 Cor. 1:20).<br />
The Bible states further that<br />
THE General Overseer of<br />
the Redeemed Christian<br />
Church of God, RCCG, Pastor<br />
Enoch Adejare Adeboye<br />
has said if we are to follow the<br />
Bible example of how God fed<br />
Elijah, we are not meant to<br />
eat more than two times a day.<br />
Pastor Adeboye gave the<br />
opinion during a live broadcast<br />
on his Facebook wall.<br />
Making reference to the Bible<br />
story of Elijah and how he<br />
was fed by the bird at the east<br />
of Jordan, he stated that God<br />
would have commanded the<br />
birds to feed Elijah seven or<br />
more times because there was<br />
no indication that the bird<br />
could be tired of bringing food<br />
to him.<br />
In his words: “From what<br />
we saw, the birds fed Elijah<br />
twice. So, if we are to follow<br />
By Pastor G.C. Osuigbo<br />
CAC Madaiyese Regional Headquaters<br />
Plot 701/702 Durumi District<br />
P.O. BOX 2577<br />
Garki, Abuja.<br />
Contact us on: 08155555048, like us on<br />
facebook @cacdurumi<br />
*Ituah Ighodalo is the<br />
Senior Pastor, Trinity<br />
House, Trinity Avenue, Off<br />
Ligali Ayorinde Street,<br />
Victoria Island, Lagos.+234-<br />
808-895-6162<br />
info@trinityhouseng.org<br />
was doing some cleanup work<br />
on his farm land. He saw a<br />
log of wood lying carelessly<br />
which was of little or no value<br />
to him. He had decided to burn<br />
it when a woodcarver who was<br />
passing by saw the wood and<br />
appealed to the farmer to give<br />
him the wood.<br />
The farmer told him to take<br />
it. When the wood carver got<br />
to his workshop. He began to<br />
work on the wood and for<br />
about a week he chopped and<br />
carved at the wood as if there<br />
was a great eagle trapped within<br />
it that he wanted to let out.<br />
After very tedious work, he had<br />
sculptured out an eagle which<br />
he put on display for passersby<br />
to see.<br />
A week later the same farmer<br />
was passing by the wood<br />
carver’s workshop when he<br />
saw the bird. He loved and<br />
approached the wood carver.<br />
The carver told him the price,<br />
which the farmer paid for<br />
gladly and carried away his<br />
prized possession.<br />
The farmer did not know<br />
that the wood from which the<br />
eagle was carved was at one<br />
time a log of wood condemned<br />
to be burnt on his<br />
farm. God sees in you what<br />
no other person sees. Man<br />
was made out of very precious<br />
material.<br />
His Spirit and Soul bear<br />
Gods likeness and nature and<br />
man is designed to act and<br />
Do you need a makeover/ (where<br />
is your shine?<br />
shined because he had an encounter<br />
with God. When we<br />
have an encounter with God,<br />
we have a shine that is visible<br />
for everyone to see. Just as the<br />
children of Israel were not able<br />
to look at the glory of God that<br />
shone on Moses’s face, we<br />
would also have that shine of<br />
God reflected in all we do that<br />
none of the princes (wise men)<br />
of this world know this wisdom<br />
of God, because if they knew,<br />
they would not have crucified<br />
the Lord of Glory. (1 Cor. 2:8).<br />
If God allows them to harden<br />
their hearts, it is because He<br />
wants to show more of His glory.<br />
TEN TIMES BETTER<br />
IN a rare display of divine<br />
intelligence versus worldly<br />
wisdom, Daniel demonstrated<br />
that with God’s wisdom, which<br />
sounds foolish to the world, he<br />
would be ten times better than<br />
his contemporary Babylonian<br />
magicians and astrologers<br />
(Dan. 1:20).<br />
Continues on<br />
www.vanguardngr.com<br />
darkness would<br />
not be able to<br />
have its way in<br />
our life.<br />
Is your face<br />
shining? Can<br />
people see the<br />
glory of God<br />
reflected in<br />
your life?<br />
Why do you come to church?<br />
Basically, we have come to<br />
church to seek God for ourselves.<br />
We are supposed to seek<br />
God by ourselves, whether the<br />
choir sings well or not, whether<br />
the minister’s sermon is<br />
good or not. We must have a<br />
personal relationship with<br />
God, spend time with God. We<br />
need to learn how to spend<br />
Magistrates and judges are ministers of God unto men<br />
The most High God, rules<br />
in the kingdom of men<br />
and gives it to whomsoever<br />
He wills-Daniel 4:17. Hence<br />
he sets up governments, to enforce<br />
law and order in the<br />
kingdom of men, so that the<br />
kingdom of men will not be<br />
like animal kingdom. The<br />
most important arm of the<br />
Government, in the sight of<br />
God, are the HIGHER POW-<br />
ERS, that are made up of<br />
magistrates and judges. All<br />
souls are commanded to be<br />
subject to these magistrates<br />
and judges, because they are<br />
ordained of God-ROMANS<br />
13:1. Every judge or magistrate<br />
bears the sword of God,<br />
to execute judgment upon the<br />
evil doers in the society.<br />
For every judge or magistrate<br />
is the minister of God to<br />
the people, for their good. But<br />
if they do that which is evil, then<br />
they should be afraid; for the<br />
judge or magistrate beareth<br />
J.K. Akinola. (Senior<br />
Pastor) The Gospel Faith<br />
Mission International (GO-<br />
FAMINT), Ibadan, Nigeria.<br />
(Telephone: 08033376660,<br />
08055405095)<br />
Pastor (Dr). E.O. Abina –<br />
General Overseer<br />
not the sword in vain: for he is<br />
a revenger to execute wrath<br />
upon anyone that doeth evil-<br />
ROMANS 13:4-5.<br />
Therefore, any government<br />
in Power, or the citizenry, who<br />
refuse to obey any court injunction,<br />
are resisting the ordinance<br />
of God, and shall receive<br />
to themselves, greater<br />
that example, we should be<br />
eating twice a day.”<br />
He said further that believers<br />
should cultivate the<br />
habit of fasting and praying<br />
noting that when one is fasting<br />
and the person feels like<br />
going to eat to break the fast,<br />
the person should understand<br />
that it is time to pray.<br />
“When you are fasting and<br />
you feel like going to eat, it<br />
shows it is time to pray. Fasting<br />
without praying is like going<br />
on a hunger strike.”<br />
Beyond fasting, the RCCG<br />
leader counseled that food<br />
should not be a controlling<br />
factor in the life of the believer.<br />
Quoting Paul in the Bible he<br />
said, anybody who is being<br />
controlled by his stomach is<br />
an enemy of the cross: “People<br />
should learn to keep their<br />
stomach under check”, he<br />
said.<br />
work like God. The ignorant<br />
do not know this and so have<br />
allowed sin and this world to<br />
degrade their true value. Like<br />
the log waiting to be burnt, the<br />
end of such people is destruction.<br />
Like the wood carver<br />
passing by, Jesus sees in each<br />
of us what we don’t not see in<br />
our selves. His greatest desire<br />
is bring out the beauty in us<br />
and to make us a spectacle<br />
before all of God’s creation.<br />
Do you know that you were<br />
made in Gods image? Do you<br />
know that you are fearfully<br />
and wonderfully made? Do<br />
you know that you have the<br />
life of God in you? Do you<br />
know that even the angels are<br />
envious of what constitutes<br />
you? To bring out the real you,<br />
you must accept and acknowledge<br />
Jesus as your lord<br />
and Saviour. Choose him today<br />
and live.<br />
time with God.<br />
Seeking God for yourself ensures<br />
that we are internally regenerated,<br />
and the glory of<br />
God in us is eternally proclaimed.<br />
As you come out everybody<br />
would know you have<br />
had an encounter with God.<br />
Why is it important to spend<br />
so much time with God? To get<br />
answers to questions that are<br />
bothering us and seems difficult<br />
for us. To worship God. To<br />
have a focal point in life, so<br />
that we can achieve much, succeed,<br />
and excel in life. Spending<br />
time with God gives us<br />
control and puts us in a place<br />
of dominion.<br />
Do you know that God is<br />
waiting for you?<br />
He wants you to have an encounter<br />
with him, so that you<br />
can have that change you desire<br />
from the inside of you.<br />
damnation from God- Romans<br />
13:2.<br />
Judges and magistrates, on<br />
their own part, are warned to<br />
take heed what they do, for<br />
they judge not for man but for<br />
the lord who is with them in<br />
any judgment.<br />
Continues on<br />
www.vanguardngr.com<br />
Knights of St. Mulumba inaugurates<br />
youth arm<br />
By Cynthia Alo<br />
he Knight of St. Mulum<br />
Tba, Lagos Metropolitan<br />
Council has inaugurated the<br />
Youths of St. Mulumba (YSM)<br />
group.<br />
Speaking at the inauguration<br />
ceremony in Lagos recently,<br />
Deputy Metropolitan<br />
Grand Knight, Sir. Don Ezeh,<br />
said the formation of YSM was<br />
informed by the need to keep<br />
the church strong, vibrant and<br />
resilient through the coming<br />
years.<br />
According to him, the decline<br />
of Catholic Church in the<br />
United Kingdom and Europe<br />
from where the missionaries<br />
came with the holy gospel to<br />
Nigeria 150 years ago, holds<br />
great lessons for the catholic<br />
youths.<br />
He said, “Thinking about the<br />
future of the church and our<br />
society, we must invest time<br />
and treasure in our youths of<br />
today. We will nurture and<br />
groom them to take over from<br />
us and continue the laudable<br />
journey of providing strong<br />
leadership in various Catholic<br />
Laity organisations, supporting<br />
in a special way the<br />
Catholic Church and the Society.”<br />
He enjoined the youths to see<br />
the YSM initiative a worthy<br />
mission that needs strong commitment<br />
and sacrifice to make<br />
it work.<br />
He disclosed the mission’s<br />
commitment to the spiritual<br />
formation and growth of<br />
youths, saying, “we plan to ensure<br />
by design that our YSM<br />
programme activities will reinforce<br />
spiritual formation and<br />
growth in a manner that will<br />
prove spiritually enriching for<br />
our youths.<br />
“Spiritual formation/growth<br />
activities and focus on reinforcing<br />
strong morals and ethics,<br />
and key catholic training perennial<br />
habits such as mastery<br />
of the Rosary/Mysteries and<br />
regular Catholic prayers and<br />
songs, the habit of visitation to<br />
the Blessed Sacrament, active<br />
participation in Adoration,<br />
Station of the Cross, Confessions,<br />
informed dialogue and<br />
the search for inspiration in<br />
meditation and the exemplary<br />
lives of the saints and the lives<br />
of iconic world leaders that<br />
have impacted and inspired<br />
humanity.”
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 19<br />
There is an end to<br />
believers’ affliction<br />
Cross section of overflow during the last church programme.<br />
2Tim. 2:12 says, “Yea, and<br />
all that will live godly in Christ<br />
Jesus shall suffer persecution”.<br />
Brethren, without<br />
doubt we all can at<br />
test to the fact that<br />
they who are devoted Christians<br />
standing on holiness and<br />
righteousness, preaching the<br />
gospel in season and out of<br />
season, who regularly observe<br />
the precept and tenets<br />
of the Scripture, are bound to<br />
experience persecutions. This<br />
persecution is worse when the<br />
victim is at the forefront of the<br />
campaign winning souls for<br />
Christ. When this is the case<br />
the devil will unify all his<br />
kingdoms in all realms of existence<br />
for the purpose of inflicting<br />
injury to the believers’<br />
feelings, families, reputation,<br />
properties, and liberties. All<br />
these is to ensure the propagation<br />
of the gospel is frustrated.<br />
Any believer who aspires to<br />
live a godly life, must expect<br />
to be subjected to such persecution.<br />
So, they who have<br />
chosen to preach to all creatures,<br />
should come prepared<br />
to be persecuted. And when<br />
you are persecuted for the<br />
sake of the gospel, it is an evidence<br />
that you are a true disciple<br />
of Christ. Any genuine<br />
believer who has not been<br />
persecuted in any way, should<br />
inquire whether it is not an<br />
evidence that he is not faithful<br />
in evangelism.<br />
Although, we have been<br />
warned to expect tribulation<br />
while we are in this body.<br />
However, one thing that is assured<br />
is that there is an end to<br />
the believer’s affliction or<br />
persecution, and a joyful end<br />
indeed. The same Lord who<br />
allows the tribulation/ afflictions<br />
will also recall them<br />
when His purpose of allowing<br />
it is accomplished. God<br />
will never allow persecution<br />
and affliction of the enemy to<br />
rend and devour the righteous.<br />
None of his trials can<br />
destroy him neither can the<br />
furnace hold him for a moment<br />
after the Lord bids him<br />
come forth of it.<br />
Brethren, in the year 2013,<br />
The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic<br />
Revival Church and his<br />
members suffered fears persecution<br />
that could only be<br />
compared to what the disciples<br />
experienced in the Bible<br />
days. We were hounded, battered,<br />
derided, ridiculed, despised,<br />
abused, deprived of<br />
our rights and privileges, just<br />
because somebody somewhere<br />
from the pit of hell alleged<br />
that Chosen is demonic.<br />
This is despite the fact that<br />
we are consistence in preaching<br />
absolute holiness and<br />
righteousness as the criterion<br />
for making heaven and the<br />
need for repentance. We were<br />
mocked and disrespected by<br />
everybody included some<br />
members of the body of<br />
Christ.<br />
But such persecution never<br />
discouraged us in pursuing<br />
our three-folds vision of<br />
grassroots revival all over the<br />
world, revival of the apostolic<br />
Christian experiences<br />
among the body of Christ and<br />
revival of heaven consciousness<br />
in the heart of believers<br />
and a mandate of ten billion<br />
soul for the kingdom of heaven.<br />
Indeed God is on our side<br />
from the inception of the ministry<br />
and now at His appointed<br />
time, we are vindicated.<br />
Today, in all ramification it is<br />
very clear that Chosen was established<br />
by God.<br />
Christ says, “I will build my<br />
church; and the gates of hell<br />
shall not prevail against it”<br />
No degree of campaign of<br />
defamation can scuttle the<br />
will of God, for only the counsel<br />
of the LORD, that shall<br />
stand. (Prov. 19: 21). The restitution<br />
cum confession of bro<br />
Usman published below and<br />
many others yet to be published<br />
have vindicated us.<br />
This is a happy moment<br />
and a celebration for the Chosen<br />
people. God established<br />
The Lord’s Chosen for the endtime<br />
revival. When we started<br />
16 years ago, there was apprehension<br />
particularly in<br />
places where people were<br />
hoodwinked in the name of<br />
the Lord. Devil thus decided<br />
to package an agent and<br />
brought her to Nigeria to discredit<br />
the power of God. And<br />
many churches joined her in<br />
envy because their members<br />
were joining Chosen in torrents<br />
and supported by demonic<br />
kingdoms who felt<br />
threatened because of the<br />
truth and righteousness in<br />
Chosen. Their aim was to stop<br />
what God is doing or close<br />
The Lord’s Chosen.<br />
When the lady in her evil<br />
revelation mentioned seven<br />
churches and Chosen was not<br />
included, nobody made a<br />
cassette, no one propagated<br />
it, but as soon as Chosen<br />
which was their target was<br />
mentioned CDs and Cassettes<br />
were quickly made and freely<br />
distributed. But it is written,<br />
“Take counsel together,<br />
and it shall come to nought;<br />
speak the word, and it shall<br />
not stand: for God is with us”<br />
Psalms. 33: 10 says, “The<br />
LORD bringeth the counsel of<br />
the heathen to nought: he maketh<br />
the devices of the people<br />
of none effect”. God overrules<br />
the thoughts and wills,<br />
and actions of men, whether<br />
single or united. He frustrates<br />
and makes their plots to end<br />
Any believer who<br />
aspires to live a<br />
godly life, must<br />
expect to be<br />
subjected to such<br />
persecution<br />
in nothing. He holds satanic<br />
malice in check by boundless<br />
power and makes their persecutions,<br />
slanders, falsehoods,<br />
against His people to<br />
produce no result at all.<br />
Chosen is blessed and shall<br />
not be cursed<br />
CONFESSION OF PAS-<br />
TOR JOSHUA USMAN<br />
Area view of Chosen Revival ground showing a section of the auditorium and the overflow<br />
during a church programme.<br />
My name is Pastor Joshua<br />
Usman, I reside in Abuja<br />
(FCT). I want to confess the<br />
role I played ignorantly in the<br />
persecution of the General<br />
Overseer Pastor Lazarus<br />
Muoka and his church, The<br />
Lord’s Chosen Charismatic<br />
Revival Movement. The<br />
whole thing started when I left<br />
Deeper Life Church to establish<br />
my own ministry. Within<br />
same period a movement<br />
called HOLINESS REVIV-<br />
AL MOVEMENT WORLD-<br />
WIDE sprang up. It happened<br />
that the director of this movement<br />
invited me to join the<br />
movement and I became a<br />
member and by extension got<br />
my ministry involved in the<br />
activities of that movement.<br />
About 2012 a lady from Sierra<br />
Leon called Linda visited<br />
and shared a revelation of<br />
what she saw when she visited<br />
heaven and hell fire. Afterward<br />
she was asked by the<br />
director of the movement to<br />
repeat her testimony in a larger<br />
congregation and when<br />
that was done she returned to<br />
Sierra Leon. In the following<br />
year being 2013, she visited<br />
again and before we knew it,<br />
we heard she was getting<br />
married to the director.<br />
And on the wedding day<br />
when it was time to testify<br />
about the life of the bride, two<br />
Sierra Leoniens made up of<br />
a lady and a man who<br />
claimed to be her relations<br />
appeared. We also were informed<br />
that these people purposely<br />
accompanied her to<br />
Nigeria to witness the wedding.<br />
As they came out to testify<br />
the director interrupted<br />
them and instructed that they<br />
should be taken aside and<br />
interviewed while the wedding<br />
continued.<br />
After the wedding and before<br />
the reception, the director<br />
inquired about what the<br />
two relatives of Linda said.<br />
We told him that the duo were<br />
alleging that Linda was not<br />
just active in marine kingdom<br />
but was still a powerful agent<br />
that should be avoided. That<br />
the whole revelation she gave<br />
was fake. That she (Linda)<br />
shared same revelation in<br />
Sierra Leon which caused<br />
sharp division among the<br />
body of Christ of which has<br />
not abated hitherto. And that<br />
the HOLINESS REVIVAL<br />
MOVEMENT should not<br />
uphold her revelation otherwise<br />
what happened in Sierra<br />
Leon would be a child’s<br />
play in Nigeria. But the director<br />
swept the matter under<br />
the carpet and said we should<br />
forget about their allegation.<br />
And that was how these people<br />
was shut up from exposing<br />
the deception of that agent<br />
of Marine kingdom called<br />
Linda.<br />
During further interrogation,<br />
these duo from Sierra<br />
Leon told us that when Linda<br />
firstly shared her revelation<br />
in Sierra Leon, she told them<br />
that she saw in hell fire a popular<br />
Archbishop from Sierra<br />
Leon and other renowned<br />
men of God. This claim<br />
sparked contention, bitterness<br />
and division among the<br />
body of Christ. Some people<br />
who were jealous and envious<br />
of those mentioned ministries<br />
gave credence to her<br />
revelation while others who<br />
considered it slanderous debunked<br />
the story. Meanwhile<br />
when she shared her revelation<br />
to us, the director and<br />
almost all the members of the<br />
movement upheld it. So we<br />
aligned ourselves with the position<br />
of the director as nobody<br />
would want to oppose<br />
what the director had accepted<br />
to be the truth.<br />
During our annual 2013<br />
conference held in August, the<br />
director told the coordinators<br />
which comprised mainly of<br />
those who were overseers of<br />
various ministries that joined<br />
the movement that Linda has<br />
gotten another revelation and<br />
would be sharing it during the<br />
conference.<br />
On that D-day, she mentioned<br />
seven churches in Nigeria,<br />
which their overseers<br />
and members will not make<br />
heaven, and these included<br />
Redeemed Christian Church<br />
of God, Deeper-Life Ministry,<br />
Mountain of Fire, Living<br />
Faith (aka Winners), Omega<br />
fire ministry, T.B Joshua (Synagogue<br />
Church), Love World<br />
Ministries (aka Christ Embassy)<br />
and TREM (The Redeemed<br />
Evangelical Mission).<br />
Her testimony was the<br />
high point of the conference<br />
and there was no reaction<br />
from those ministries but it<br />
was talk of the town.<br />
Then in December same<br />
year, when we had another<br />
convention, she shared revelation<br />
again but this time she<br />
included The Lord’s Chosen<br />
Chosen church among the<br />
people that will not make<br />
heaven. She emphasized that<br />
Chosen is a satanic Church<br />
and everything should be<br />
done to bring out their members<br />
from that satanic bondage<br />
otherwise they would perish<br />
and God will require their<br />
blood from our hands. So,<br />
after the convention, the director<br />
hurriedly summoned<br />
emergency meeting of all the<br />
coordinators and told us that<br />
the part of the revelation concerning<br />
the Chosen has been<br />
documented in a cds and cassettes<br />
and ready to be distributed<br />
freely across the nation.<br />
That it was our (coordinators)<br />
duty to ensure quick circulation<br />
of it to all churches, market<br />
square, schools, buses, etc.<br />
He said we should also organize<br />
crusades and share the<br />
cassettes. To meet the demand<br />
of this instruction we went to<br />
churches and told them to<br />
come together so that we<br />
present to them the CD of an<br />
end-time church so that they<br />
will know and be wise.<br />
So, after they had gathered<br />
and watched the CD, every<br />
participant would be falling<br />
upon one another to collect<br />
his/her own free copy.<br />
Through this means, we distributed<br />
thousands of the CDs<br />
and many after watching got<br />
hoodwinked and ignorantly<br />
believed, that Chosen is an<br />
evil church.<br />
I was assigned to cover western<br />
states of Nigeria comprising<br />
Osun, Ibadan, Ondo,<br />
Ogun, Ekiti, etc while others<br />
were sent to the North, East<br />
and South respectively. That<br />
was how the evil CDs spread<br />
like wild fire. We were just like<br />
Saul of Tarsus who was persecuting<br />
the church, and<br />
thinking he was working for<br />
God. We were very zealous<br />
distributing the CDs thinking<br />
we were working for God. But<br />
somehow, I observed that<br />
whenever, I finished carrying<br />
out this assignment there<br />
would be no peace in me and<br />
I would be worried and dejected.<br />
However, within a short<br />
time, confusion set in and<br />
about 18 coordinators resigned.<br />
It was at this juncture<br />
we started reasoning that<br />
those two Sierra Leonians<br />
who gave us exposition about<br />
Linda were really saying the<br />
truth, but because the director<br />
did not give us chance and<br />
Linda has been married to<br />
him, we could not act against<br />
his will. Before I could know<br />
what is happening, I began<br />
to hear a voice, telling me,<br />
“my son leave that place”,<br />
come out from them”. However,<br />
I ignored the voice and<br />
continued in my foolish zeal.<br />
I have two Chosen friends<br />
and two of them had a revelation<br />
almost at the same<br />
time and told me that God<br />
said I should leave the evil<br />
movement called HOLI-<br />
NESS EVANGELICAL<br />
MOVEMENT WORLD-<br />
WIDE, that if I disobey I<br />
would die. As they continued<br />
to pressurize me, I told them<br />
if actually what they were<br />
saying was true, that God will<br />
do it at the appointed time.<br />
Later, in my dreams angels<br />
started confronting me to renounce<br />
the Movement and<br />
go to that Chosen and do restitution<br />
but I refused to give<br />
heed to the instruction.<br />
However, in 2018 when I<br />
eventually made up my mind<br />
to come out, I visited Chosen<br />
headquarters but received no<br />
attention and went back.<br />
Then early this year I visited<br />
again and put all efforts to do<br />
restitution but to no avail. At<br />
this juncture the angel of God<br />
appeared again in my dream<br />
and said to me “my son why<br />
are you delaying? Why are<br />
you still there, if after you<br />
shared this cassette and later<br />
found out it is fake, what will<br />
you do?.”<br />
Again I had another dream<br />
were we were in a congregation.<br />
And the angel mentioned<br />
my name and asked”<br />
“are you here? And I said yes,<br />
He asked again “have you<br />
come out from them? I said<br />
yes! He said “ok, God will<br />
bless you”. As he finished talking<br />
to me and turned to go, I<br />
saw angels escorting him,<br />
and when they reached the<br />
pulpit and took position as<br />
ushers, the G. O of The Lord’s<br />
Chosen appeared and<br />
climbed the pulpit and I woke.<br />
Brethren from that moment,<br />
I became fully convinced that<br />
the presence of God is in Chosen<br />
and that I have been in<br />
the wrong place.<br />
Then I decided I must as a<br />
matter of urgency make restitution<br />
on the alter of the<br />
Chosen. Although, it wasn’t<br />
easy but the grace of God was<br />
there to help me to expose the<br />
campaign of calumny and<br />
wickedness committed<br />
against the chosen people<br />
and the General Overseer<br />
through sharing the revelation<br />
of Linda.<br />
Brethren, if God had not<br />
been in Chosen what we have<br />
done, would have pulled<br />
Chosen down. In fact, there<br />
wouldn’t have been anything<br />
like Chosen but truly God is<br />
with them. No church would<br />
have survived such campaign..<br />
I pray that God<br />
should by His benevolence<br />
have mercy on me. Many who<br />
have watched the cassette are<br />
in trouble today, I pray that<br />
God will deliver them.<br />
Once again, I want to ask<br />
God for forgiveness, I also<br />
want the General Pastor,<br />
members and those who by<br />
the account of what I did had<br />
left chosen to forgive men.<br />
Praise the Lord.
PAGE 20 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
APC panel on restructuring (II)<br />
Majority of Nigerians want<br />
devolution of powers<br />
…oppose merger of states<br />
•S/East strong on demand for additional state<br />
•Weak demand for regionalism across country<br />
In the second part of our<br />
serialization of the report of<br />
the panel raised by the All<br />
Progressives Congress (APC) on<br />
restructuring, the committee found<br />
that, although there are divergent<br />
views on devolution of powers,<br />
majority of Nigerians favour it.<br />
The panel was headed by<br />
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of<br />
Kaduna State but since the report<br />
was submitted in 2018, it has been<br />
in the cooler.<br />
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:<br />
Creation of states<br />
Opposition to creation of new<br />
states is strongest among<br />
respondents from the northern<br />
states and online. North-West in<br />
particular is very strong in this<br />
regard.<br />
On the other hand, North-East,<br />
North-West, South-East and online<br />
respondents are fairly strong in<br />
their advocacy fo r the creation of<br />
more states. South-East in<br />
particular is seeking the creation<br />
of an additional state to achieve<br />
parity with other geo-political<br />
zones.<br />
The demand for regionalism<br />
exists but in a low key. The demand<br />
came up in the FCT, North-West,<br />
South-West and among electronic<br />
respondents. The low intensity of<br />
the demand does not warrant a<br />
major consideration at this time.<br />
It would seem that the preference<br />
in general is for retaining what we<br />
have.<br />
Overall across the country, 48%<br />
of respondents are opposed to<br />
creation of new states while 36%<br />
are in support. The demand for<br />
return to regions enjoys support<br />
from 7% respondents while only 9%<br />
are actually in favour of<br />
maintaining the status quo.<br />
Recommendation<br />
It is the considered opinion of the<br />
committee that creation of more<br />
states is not expedient because to<br />
do so will merely create new subnational<br />
bureaucracies and their<br />
attendant costs while reducing the<br />
share of federal statutory<br />
allocation accruing to existing and<br />
proposed new states that are<br />
already grappling with the high<br />
cost of governance, payment of<br />
salaries of workers and bringing<br />
development to their people.<br />
The creation of states could<br />
further weaken the federating<br />
units and thus run contrary to<br />
popular demands for “true<br />
federalism” which the APC stands<br />
for.<br />
The creation of new states would<br />
weaken rather than strengthen<br />
true federalism in the sense of<br />
denying federating units enough<br />
resources and ability to discharge<br />
additional responsibilities that<br />
would be thrust on them.<br />
However, there may be a need to<br />
attend to the isolated case of South-<br />
East zone where there is a demand<br />
to balance states to be equal to<br />
other geo-political zones. Since<br />
there are clear procedures already<br />
spelt out in the constitution should<br />
the need arise in<br />
future, and such<br />
demand enjoys<br />
widespread<br />
support, deserving<br />
cases cannot be<br />
ruled out. Indeed,<br />
the Nigeria<br />
constitution<br />
should and does<br />
leave room for<br />
creation of states<br />
in future provided<br />
the laid down<br />
requirements are<br />
met.<br />
Merger<br />
of states<br />
Three views<br />
were variously<br />
expressed here namely opposition,<br />
support and status quo.<br />
Opposition to merger of states is<br />
clearly very strong in North-East,<br />
North-West and North-Central<br />
while the support was low key in<br />
FCT, South-West and South-South.<br />
There is some support for the idea<br />
in the North-Central, North-West<br />
and South-West although at low<br />
key. Some others in the North-<br />
Central and South-West simply<br />
prefer the status quo. In general,<br />
the consensus is clearly in<br />
opposition to merger of states.<br />
Overall, 78% of respondents are<br />
opposed to merger of states while<br />
only 16% are in support. 8% are in<br />
support of maintaining the status<br />
quo.<br />
Recommendation<br />
There is no widespread support<br />
for merger of states. Merger would<br />
entail the fusion of two or more<br />
states into one state while the<br />
previous entity or entities would<br />
cease to exist as states.<br />
This does not enjoy wide support<br />
as hardly<br />
anyone would<br />
want their state<br />
abolished or<br />
be replaced<br />
The Committee<br />
recommends that<br />
the party put its<br />
political weight<br />
behind the<br />
overwhelming<br />
popular demand for<br />
devolution to states<br />
by the federal<br />
government<br />
with a higher<br />
or different<br />
political<br />
leadership and<br />
authority.<br />
Nonetheless<br />
the committee<br />
strongly<br />
recommends<br />
that the<br />
Constitution<br />
should provide<br />
for legal and<br />
administrative<br />
frameworks for<br />
states that<br />
might in future<br />
wish to consider this option<br />
provided this does not threaten the<br />
authority or existence of the<br />
federation. This recommendation<br />
is based on the growing regional<br />
economic cooperation that is<br />
being witnessed among states in<br />
various geopolitical zones of the<br />
country in order to maximize their<br />
potentials and opportunities.<br />
Devolution<br />
of powers<br />
Nationwide and based on<br />
weighted data, 74% of respondents<br />
are in favour of devolution of<br />
powers while only 7% are explicitly<br />
opposed to it. Of all stakeholders<br />
who submitted memoranda, 19%<br />
did not offer any opinion about<br />
devolution.<br />
Responses on devolution of<br />
powers are overwhelmingly in<br />
favour of devolution of powers<br />
across all geographical zones and<br />
online respondents. There is some<br />
notable opposition among<br />
stakeholders from the North-East,<br />
North-West and South-West even<br />
though more are still in support<br />
than those opposed to the idea of<br />
devolution of powers in those<br />
zones.<br />
Items to devolve<br />
The 74% that support devolution<br />
is further analyzed to see the<br />
specific items that stakeholders<br />
are advocating for devolution.<br />
More than 30 items were<br />
identified by stakeholders for<br />
devolution from federal to state<br />
governments across the six zones<br />
and online submissions. Among<br />
these items, police and community<br />
policing topped the list. Other<br />
items that were identified by a<br />
significant number of stakeholders<br />
include education, prisons, health,<br />
road, security, agriculture, railway,<br />
mineral resources, trade and<br />
commerce and housing.<br />
Most stakeholders are<br />
demanding devolution of security<br />
(state/community Police, 19%),<br />
social services (education, health<br />
and housing, 11%), commerce<br />
(9%), natural resources (land,<br />
water, fish and fisheries, 8%),<br />
transportation (roads, railways<br />
and maritime, 8°/0).<br />
Those asking for devolution of<br />
powers in respect of roads are<br />
actually of the opinion that<br />
management of most roads should<br />
be ceded to state governments<br />
while the federal government be<br />
limited to only a few cross country<br />
inter-state roads.<br />
It is important to note that<br />
stakeholders in Sokoto and Uyo<br />
locations did not identify specific<br />
items which they wanted to be part<br />
of devolution of powers to other<br />
stakeholders.<br />
FCT<br />
In line with the national<br />
viewpoint, Police/Community<br />
Policing was most widely<br />
mentioned in FCT as an item for<br />
devolution. Other items that<br />
enjoyed most of the stakeholders’<br />
support for devolution are<br />
railways, airport, defense, prisons<br />
and price control.<br />
Ilorin<br />
Police/Community Policing is the<br />
number one item the stakeholders<br />
in Ilorin wanted to be transferred<br />
to other tiers of government. In<br />
addition, education, health,<br />
agriculture, mineral resources, fire<br />
service and market are other<br />
preferred items.<br />
Jos<br />
With Police/Community Policing<br />
topping their demand,<br />
stakeholders in Jos location<br />
identified twelve items among<br />
which are education, prisons,<br />
health, security, agriculture,<br />
railway, mineral resources,<br />
customs & excise, labour, airport,<br />
maritime, License and mining<br />
Bauchi<br />
Police/Community Policing,<br />
mineral resources, trade and<br />
commerce are the three most<br />
important items the stakeholders<br />
from Bauchi wanted for devolution<br />
to the states, followed by railway,<br />
prisons and taxation.<br />
Adamawa<br />
Police/Community Policing tops<br />
other preferred items such as<br />
education, prisons, health, road,<br />
security, agriculture, railway,<br />
mineral resources, trade and<br />
commerce, water, military/<br />
intelligence and judiciary for<br />
devolution.<br />
Kano<br />
Just like most of the locations,<br />
Kano stakeholders agreed that<br />
Police/Community Policing should<br />
be number one on the list of<br />
various items identified for<br />
devolution of powers. Also,<br />
demanded are prisons, health,<br />
road, security, agriculture, railway,<br />
custom & excise, labour and<br />
military/intelligence.<br />
Edo<br />
For stakeholders in Edo, only<br />
three items were specifically<br />
mentioned for devolution of<br />
powers namely, security, customs<br />
& excise and citizenship.<br />
Akure<br />
Among the nine items proposed<br />
for devolution of powers in Akure<br />
location, Police/Community<br />
Policing emerged top on the list.<br />
Other items identified include<br />
education, prisons, road,<br />
agriculture, railway, mineral<br />
resources, maritime and<br />
transportation.<br />
Ibadan<br />
The position of Ibadan<br />
stakeholders is in favour of seven<br />
items with Police/Community<br />
Policing top of the list. Other items<br />
include education, prisons, road,<br />
water, labour and military/<br />
intelligence.<br />
Devolution of<br />
powers items<br />
Online<br />
The number of items identified<br />
by online respondents for<br />
devolution of powers is more than<br />
any of the locations. Also, online<br />
respondents reaffirmed the<br />
general position by identifying<br />
Police/Community Policing as<br />
number one. Others are education,<br />
prisons, health, road, security,<br />
agriculture, railway, mineral<br />
resources, trade and commerce,<br />
customs & excise, external affairs,<br />
housing, water, military/<br />
intelligence, airport, defense,<br />
immigration, fire service and rural<br />
electrification.<br />
Recommendation<br />
The Committee recommends<br />
that the party put its political<br />
weight behind the overwhelming<br />
popular demand for devolution to<br />
states by the federal government.<br />
This would entail the transfer of<br />
items on the Exclusive Legislative<br />
List, some to Concurrent List and<br />
others residual to the states to<br />
enhance and localize the demand<br />
side of governance and make states<br />
more accountable to the electorate<br />
thereby freeing the federal<br />
government to concentrate on<br />
regulatory functions and as a basis<br />
for incorporating diverse local<br />
political interests into the national<br />
policy priorities.<br />
A major issue with the Nigerian<br />
federation is the enormous<br />
exclusive legislative powers of the<br />
federal government with resultant<br />
over-centralization of power and<br />
authority. It is generally believed<br />
that a further decentralization of<br />
some of these powers by devolving<br />
more powers, autonomy, and<br />
resources to the federating units<br />
will foster efficiency and subnational<br />
responsiveness and local<br />
accountability.<br />
Based on the views expressed by<br />
stakeholders consulted and view<br />
point from the consultation<br />
centers, the committee hereby<br />
recommends the following<br />
schedule of distribution of roles or<br />
powers between the federal, state<br />
and local government for<br />
consideration for constitutional<br />
amendment.<br />
To be continued
SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 21<br />
When the cash-cow dies!<br />
About a fortnight ago,<br />
I ran into an old friend<br />
on the Island. I was<br />
really glad to see him. He’d<br />
simply disappeared from the<br />
social scene with his family.<br />
After the usual pleasantries,<br />
he told me he had to leave the<br />
country when he did as his life<br />
was virtually falling apart. He<br />
explained: “I was thinking of<br />
what to do with my life after I<br />
was made redundant when I<br />
heard the good news that a<br />
bosom friend Leke, was being<br />
made a top dog in one of the<br />
local governments. What a<br />
stroke of luck!<br />
“After series of meetings<br />
with him, he agreed I wasn’t<br />
really the businessman<br />
material. But if I could<br />
provide fund, the fund would<br />
be invested with contractors<br />
who had little or no cash to<br />
effectively execute their<br />
contracts, and regular returns<br />
would be made to me on my<br />
capital. I was ecstatic. All my<br />
redundancy pay and the little<br />
I’d put by from some of the<br />
petty contracts I’d done in the<br />
past were handed over to him.<br />
Talk about watching your<br />
money grow! Since he was<br />
the over-all boss, my cheques<br />
were paid and my investment<br />
almost tripled. My Camry<br />
car had had its share of<br />
refurbishing. This was the<br />
time to buy another car. And<br />
none of the tokunbo variety<br />
either.<br />
“I went round a few car<br />
dealers and collected prices<br />
Seplat flaunts the potentials of Oben Gas Plant<br />
…as firm pays courtesy calls on Edo governor, community leaders<br />
The Seplat team with Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State<br />
Governor Godwin<br />
Obaseki, on Friday,<br />
November 20,<br />
received a team of SEPLAT executives<br />
who were on a visit to<br />
Edo State government as<br />
well as host communities of<br />
the Oben Gas Plant facility<br />
sited at Oben Field situated<br />
in the state.<br />
SEPLAT has deepened its<br />
business and investment in<br />
energy infrastructure in Oben<br />
Field with its construction,<br />
years ago, of a massive state<br />
of the art ultra-modern gas<br />
plant which today supplies gas<br />
to energy companies and<br />
industries across Nigeria.<br />
The Oben gas plant<br />
provides gas that facilitates<br />
the provision of over thirtyfive<br />
per cent of electricity in<br />
the country. According to<br />
Roger Brown, who recently<br />
assumed office as Seplat new<br />
Chief Executive Officer, "it was<br />
pertinent to pay courtesy visit<br />
to critical stakeholders who<br />
are our hosts in these areas<br />
where our significant gas as<br />
well as oil assets are located".<br />
The SEPLAT team,<br />
comprising the Chairman, Dr<br />
ABC Orjiako; Chief Executive<br />
of cars that would now suit my<br />
new status. My capital was<br />
still in my friend’s outfit – all<br />
that I would be spending<br />
would be the interest and this<br />
was after my friend had taken<br />
his share! I also had money<br />
to buy my round of drinks at<br />
the Club and at parties. Life<br />
was good.<br />
“Out of greed, I told my<br />
friend I wanted a really showy<br />
car. Could I lump my savings<br />
with the capital and re-invest<br />
so that the returns would be<br />
high? He was agreeable to<br />
this but when next I saw him,<br />
he told me some nosey<br />
external auditors were<br />
looking through the books<br />
with a tooth-comb. He,<br />
therefore, suggested that we<br />
cool things for about six<br />
months. Since he complained<br />
that the company we used<br />
featured too frequently in<br />
their books, I suggested we<br />
register a new company. He<br />
reluctantly agreed. His<br />
reluctance led me to pump all<br />
the money I had into this new<br />
company knowing the returns<br />
would be higher. After that, if<br />
my friend wanted to take<br />
things easy, I would be gone<br />
with my nice windfall. I was<br />
stuck in one of the long queues<br />
that were the norm in those<br />
days, and was getting really<br />
impatient by the long wait<br />
when a friend spotted me and<br />
walked over to my car. “Isn’t<br />
it sad about Leke?”, he asked.<br />
I spluttered, “What happened<br />
to him?”`Didn’t you hear/ He<br />
died this morning.<br />
“This conversation took<br />
Officer, Brown, and other<br />
executives, began the visit with<br />
a courtesy call to Obaseki and<br />
later to His Royal Majesty,<br />
Felix Mujakperuo, Orhue 1,<br />
the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom,<br />
and His Royal Highness,<br />
Odoligie Frederick Ogiemwonyi,<br />
the Enogie of Oben<br />
community.<br />
During the courtesy visit to<br />
Obaseki, the SEPLAT CEO<br />
congratulated the governor<br />
on his re-election and<br />
successful inauguration for<br />
another four years in office.<br />
He said SEPLAT would<br />
continue to create value for<br />
the federal and state<br />
governments through the<br />
payment of royalty, taxes and<br />
levies; communities through<br />
robust corporate social<br />
investments especially in<br />
capacity development, sustainable<br />
community infrastructure<br />
projects and<br />
economic empowerment programmes.<br />
Brown reaffirmed that<br />
SEPLAT has continued to<br />
drive up its commitment to<br />
increasing the country's energy<br />
security and boosting<br />
Nigeria's gas to power<br />
initiative through deliberate<br />
place late in the night. As soon<br />
as I filled my tank, I drove<br />
straight to Leke’s house. It was<br />
a bit quiet but the night guard<br />
confirmed what I just learnt.<br />
I didn’t know how I made it<br />
back home. I woke my wife<br />
and was crying like a lunatic.<br />
My tears were for all the<br />
fortune I would be losing by<br />
Leke’s death. What would<br />
happen to my five children for<br />
goodness sake? My landlord<br />
had also reminded me that<br />
my annual rent would be due<br />
soon. Now this, my wife was<br />
really upset that I took things<br />
so much to heart. I hadn’t told<br />
her the shady deals we did and<br />
how much Leke and I were<br />
making on the side.<br />
“He was buried a week<br />
later. His remains were laid<br />
in his house for about two<br />
hours before he was taken<br />
away for burial. I wanted to<br />
be there. To see his body. To<br />
really confirm that he was<br />
now helpless to retrieve my<br />
STEP will<br />
develop the<br />
competencies<br />
of teachers<br />
to improve<br />
the quality of<br />
their<br />
teaching<br />
significant investment in its<br />
gas business.<br />
He added, "To date, Oben<br />
remains a major gas hub and<br />
that the company has recently<br />
drilled additional new gas<br />
wells in Oben to increase<br />
further our production and<br />
our ability to meet growing<br />
demands".<br />
The CEO elaborated the<br />
numerous benefits of the Oben<br />
Gas Plant to the immediate<br />
communities, the state and<br />
the country.<br />
He also harped on the<br />
different activities and<br />
programmes of the company<br />
in Edo. Brown listed a few to<br />
include the provision of<br />
medical equipment/items to<br />
the state government to<br />
support containment of COV-<br />
ID-19 pandemic and also<br />
provision of palliatives to<br />
communities to cushion the<br />
effects of the lockdown arising<br />
from the COVID-19 pandemic<br />
Ṫhe SEPLAT CEO added:<br />
"As a responsible corporate<br />
organization, we are<br />
committed to contributing to<br />
the development of Edo State,<br />
economically and otherwise.<br />
“Since the commencement<br />
money for me.<br />
“His body wasn’t the most<br />
pleasant sight I’d seen. He<br />
looked grotesque and almost<br />
unrecognisable. How could<br />
you? I screamed at him silently<br />
as I paid my bogus last<br />
respect. How could you die<br />
now with all that money at<br />
stake? I staggered out of the<br />
room and went back home.<br />
There was no point going for<br />
any funeral service or the<br />
actual burial. I didn’t feel up<br />
to it at all.<br />
“About a week later, I went<br />
back to his office. Because<br />
Leke and I were very close, I<br />
never dealt with his staff<br />
directly. It was Leke who<br />
always collected the cheques<br />
and he always promised to<br />
take care of the `boys’. It was<br />
one of them who told me,<br />
along with the contractor we<br />
always used, that the auditors<br />
were around if I wanted to talk<br />
to them. The auditors told me<br />
after I’d said my piece that my<br />
of operations in the state, the<br />
company has undertaken important<br />
health, education and<br />
numerous community<br />
development projects to<br />
support sustainable development<br />
in Edo”.<br />
He highlighted that, in<br />
addition to the yearly Seplat<br />
PEARLs Quiz programme for<br />
Secondary Schools, which<br />
has helped students' academic<br />
performance in Edo, Seplat<br />
just introduced a new<br />
programme targeted at<br />
teachers.<br />
The new programme,<br />
called SEPLAT Teachers<br />
Empowerment Programme<br />
(STEP), was scheduled to<br />
debut in Benin on November<br />
24. It will systematically<br />
support and encourage<br />
Science, Technology,<br />
Engineering, Arts and Mathematics<br />
(STEAM) in schools.<br />
STEP will develop the<br />
competencies of teachers to<br />
improve the quality of their<br />
teaching.<br />
The select teachers will in<br />
six months, undergo a<br />
customized programme.<br />
A total of hundred teachers<br />
from Edo and Delta will be<br />
the first beneficiaries in the<br />
first instance.<br />
Obaseki, in his remarks,<br />
welcomed the SEPLAT team<br />
and commended the<br />
company and its partner,<br />
NPDC, for the significant investment<br />
made in Edo.<br />
He pledged the state<br />
government’s continual<br />
support of the company in its<br />
quest to drive development in<br />
Edo.<br />
The governor assured of the<br />
state and communities<br />
collaboration with SEPLAT in<br />
providing the enabling environment<br />
for the company to<br />
operate.<br />
Obaseki expressed his<br />
appreciation for Seplat's<br />
money was a small drop in<br />
the ocean of<br />
misappropriation they were<br />
trying to sort out. They said I<br />
should write a formal<br />
complaint in triplicate and<br />
bring them back to the office.<br />
They would look into my case<br />
after they’d dealt with the big<br />
ones.<br />
“I never went back. What<br />
was the point? I was now in<br />
my late fifties. What sort of job<br />
would I be looking for at my<br />
age? And since all my savings<br />
were now wiped off leaving<br />
me in debts, what capital<br />
could I boast of to start a new<br />
business with? I finally<br />
relocated to Britain. We are<br />
all British citizens and my<br />
pensions were being paid<br />
already. Life was bearable but<br />
I missed home. It was at this<br />
point my wife started talking<br />
back whenever I scolded her.<br />
She said I was a tyrant and a<br />
bully. That she stuck it in<br />
Nigeria because I refused to<br />
encourage her to work. Well,<br />
that was over, she threatened.<br />
“One more violence from<br />
me and she would deal with<br />
me! She’d never in her life<br />
spoken to me like that before.<br />
I was blind with rage and I<br />
struck her. She rushed out of<br />
the house and came back<br />
with the police! They told me<br />
politely that my wife feared<br />
for her life and didn’t want me<br />
around her and her children<br />
as I was a dangerous man.<br />
Could I pack a few of my<br />
things and leave? I felt really<br />
defeated, I’d forgotten that<br />
you don’t get away with<br />
domestic violence in Britain.<br />
If a family were to break up, it<br />
social programmes.<br />
He noted that the goals of<br />
educational initiatives of<br />
SEPLAT align with that of the<br />
state which emphasizes<br />
improving the standard of<br />
education.<br />
The governor continued:<br />
"We are focused on education,<br />
retooling and resetting our educational<br />
system.<br />
“Thank you for your quiz<br />
programme. Our children are<br />
now learning because we<br />
have retooled our educational<br />
system in Edo State.<br />
“We would like to work with<br />
you on the teachers'<br />
employment programme<br />
because as a state, we have<br />
experimented a lot in terms<br />
of teachers' reforms.<br />
“I just reviewed the progress<br />
we have made in the threeyear<br />
teachers' programme<br />
that we have just introduced<br />
in Edo State."<br />
Obaseki requested to<br />
partner with Seplat in the<br />
construction of roads in some<br />
parts of Edo. He also charged<br />
the company to provide<br />
electricity to some immediate<br />
communities within its<br />
operations.<br />
During the courtesy visit to<br />
the Orodje, Mujakperuo,<br />
Seplat Chairman, Orjiako,<br />
thanked the monarch for the<br />
cordial working relationship<br />
between the company and its<br />
communities in Okpe<br />
Kingdom.<br />
He expressed appreciation<br />
for the support given to the<br />
company since inception regarding<br />
its operations,<br />
adding that Seplat is committed<br />
to the development of<br />
Okpe Kingdom.<br />
In his remarks, Brown also<br />
expressed appreciation to the<br />
Orodje for the support given<br />
to the company for its operations.<br />
The CEO assured that<br />
s the husband that is asked to<br />
leave. So I left and that was<br />
the end of my marriage! My<br />
wife has found some caring<br />
jobs to do, my children are in<br />
good schools so they don’t<br />
really need me.<br />
“I found a modest<br />
accommodation and have<br />
since picked up the pieces of<br />
my life. I have a British<br />
passport, so girls are no<br />
problem as they believe I<br />
would re-marry and make my<br />
new wife a citizen. I don’t<br />
intend to do any of such thing.<br />
And I don’t intend to tell them<br />
either. Since women are deft<br />
hands at deceiving and using<br />
men, I intend to play them at<br />
their own games ..”<br />
Too much of a good<br />
thing (Humour)<br />
Mrs. Kelly is at the shops<br />
when she bumps into Father<br />
Flaherty. “Hello, Mrs. Kelly!”<br />
he says. “Didn’t I marry you<br />
and your husband two years<br />
ago? “Yes, Father”, she replies.<br />
“And any wee ones yet?”, “No,<br />
not yet”. Father, “Well, I will<br />
light a candle for you and your<br />
husband”. `Oh, thank you’,<br />
she says.<br />
Some years later, they meet<br />
again. The priest asks: Mrs.<br />
Kelly, how are you these days?<br />
Oh, very well, Father, she<br />
replies. “So, have you any wee<br />
ones yet?” `Yes, Father’, she<br />
tells him. `Three sets of twins<br />
and four singles 10 in all’.<br />
“That’s just great”, the priest<br />
says. “And how’s your<br />
husband? Mrs. Kelly replies<br />
curtly. `He’s gone off to Rome<br />
to blow out your blasted<br />
candle’.<br />
Seplat is committed to the infrastructural<br />
and capacity development<br />
of communities in<br />
the Okpe Kingdom.<br />
Mujakperuo, who gladly<br />
received the Seplat team,<br />
commended the company for<br />
its commitment and support<br />
to host communities, stressing<br />
that the relationship must remain<br />
a win-win situation for<br />
the people and Seplat.<br />
He urged the company to<br />
continue its good works while<br />
enjoining it to provide<br />
additional support in healthcare<br />
infrastructure, employment<br />
of graduates from the<br />
area and award of contracts<br />
to Okpe vendors.<br />
At the palace of the Enogie<br />
of Oben, Brown commended<br />
Oben Field Communities for<br />
providing the enabling<br />
environment for Seplat to<br />
operate.<br />
The CEO emphasized the<br />
importance of Oben to the<br />
company's business and the<br />
nation with the colossal gas<br />
infrastructure in Oben<br />
Community. He stressed that<br />
the firm would sustain the<br />
working relationship with the<br />
Oben Field Communities and<br />
continue to execute sustainable<br />
community development<br />
projects and programmes for<br />
the benefits of the communities.<br />
The Enogie and other Oben<br />
Field Community leaders,<br />
while expressing their appreciation<br />
on the Seplat visit and<br />
activities in their locality,<br />
requested the company to<br />
employ its teeming youth;<br />
provide uninterrupted electricity<br />
and patronage of<br />
indigenous contractors from<br />
the communities.<br />
Brown pledged the<br />
company's willingness to<br />
sustaining the cordial<br />
working relationship between<br />
it and the communities whilst<br />
reiterating the commitment<br />
to contributing to their socioeconomic<br />
development<br />
through Seplat's continued<br />
sustainable community development<br />
activities and<br />
programmes.
PAGE 22 —SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020
Maradona’s “Hand Of God” shirt goes on<br />
sale for $2 million<br />
T.<br />
he shirt worn by Diego<br />
Maradona when he<br />
scored his famous “Hand Of<br />
God” goal against England<br />
at the 1986 World Cup in<br />
Mexico could be available<br />
for $2 million following the<br />
Argentine’s death on<br />
Wednesday, says an American<br />
sports memorabilia expert.<br />
The shirt is owned by<br />
former England player<br />
Steve Hodge, who got it<br />
from Maradona after the<br />
match in which his attempted<br />
back pass led to the controversial<br />
goal that helped<br />
dump England out of the<br />
tournament which Argentina<br />
went on to win in Mexico.<br />
“I was walking down the<br />
tunnel and Maradona was<br />
coming in the opposite direction.<br />
I just tugged my<br />
shirt and we swapped<br />
there and then,” Hodge,<br />
who had been delayed on<br />
leaving the pitch doing a<br />
TV interview, told British<br />
media.<br />
The shirt is currently on<br />
display at England’s National<br />
Football Museum<br />
in Manchester.<br />
“It’s very difficult to<br />
gauge (the value) with the<br />
“Hand Of God” jersey, but<br />
I know that the owner was<br />
looking for a $2 million<br />
private sale,” David Amerman<br />
of Goldin Auction in<br />
New Jersey told Reuters.<br />
“It certainly could be a<br />
possibility, the values<br />
have jumped quite a bit in<br />
soccer.”<br />
… Police launch investigation into Maradona’s death<br />
*Okoku,<br />
SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020, PAGE 23<br />
Diego Maradona’s<br />
death will be investigated<br />
by Argentinian police<br />
to decide whether it was a<br />
case of medical negligence,<br />
judicial sources have revealed.<br />
Recordings from neighbourhood<br />
security cameras<br />
have been requested<br />
by three prosecutors<br />
working on the case.<br />
Maradona died of<br />
‘acute lung edema and<br />
chronic heart failure’,<br />
according to a preliminary<br />
autopsy report, in his<br />
sleep at noon while resting at<br />
his home in Tigre, Buenos<br />
Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday.<br />
His laywer, Marias Morla,<br />
had earlier called for an investigation<br />
into claims ambulances<br />
took more than half<br />
an hour to reach the football<br />
star’s home in response<br />
to a call on the day<br />
of his death.<br />
The prosecutor’s office<br />
in Buenos Aires has opened<br />
a file entitled ‘Maradona,<br />
Diego. Determination of<br />
the cause of death.’<br />
Okoku lauds mandate to have four<br />
NPFL stars in Eagles<br />
E x-international,<br />
Paul Okoku, has<br />
welcomed the decision to<br />
mandate Technical Adviser,<br />
Gernot Rohr, to include<br />
four players from<br />
the Nigeria Professional<br />
Football League in future<br />
Super Eagles squads.<br />
Speaking against the<br />
backdrop of the recent<br />
poor showing of a wholly<br />
foreign-based Eagles<br />
squad against Sierra Leone<br />
in a 2022 Africa Cup<br />
of Nations qualification<br />
Dennis faces fine of 100,000<br />
Euros<br />
Emmanuel<br />
Dennis<br />
should be fined at least<br />
100,000 Euros after he<br />
stormed off the team bus for<br />
a UEFA Champions League<br />
tie, according to a former star<br />
of Club Brugge.<br />
This week, Dennis caused<br />
a huge uproar when he got<br />
off the team bus heading for<br />
a Champions League clash<br />
after he was not allowed to<br />
sit where he wanted.<br />
He was dropped for the<br />
game at Borussia Dortmund,<br />
which Club Brugge lost 3-0.<br />
Former Club Brugge star<br />
Gert Verheyen has now said<br />
the player ought to be hit seriously<br />
in the pocket for him<br />
to come round to his<br />
senses.<br />
“The board has to resolve<br />
this matter. The<br />
only way to check such<br />
behavior is with a heavy<br />
fine”, Verheyen told Het<br />
Nieuwsblad<br />
Aribo not suffering from<br />
corona virus, Rangers reveal<br />
Glasgow<br />
Rangers<br />
have disclosed that<br />
striker, Joe Aribo was not<br />
suffering from corona virus<br />
as was being speculated,<br />
but only a stomach<br />
infection.<br />
A tweet from the club<br />
said: “Rangers can confirm<br />
that Joe Aribo is currently<br />
being treated for a minor<br />
illness and is being monitored<br />
accordingly over the<br />
weekend. We expect Joe to<br />
rejoin the first-team squad<br />
*Dennis<br />
early this week.”<br />
On Thursday, coach<br />
Steven Gerrard had<br />
said: “Joe was unwell.<br />
He had a stomach<br />
complaint last night.<br />
Hopefully he will be<br />
available for the weekend.<br />
“It’s important to say<br />
it is not Covid-related.<br />
He was negative on<br />
his test, before people<br />
start putting two and<br />
two together”<br />
*Maradona<br />
double-header earlier in the<br />
month, Okoku frowned at the<br />
reluctance of Rohr to have<br />
home-based players in his<br />
squad.<br />
A member of the Eagles team<br />
that won silver at the 1984 Africa<br />
Cup of Nations under Coach<br />
Adegboye Onigbinde, Okoku,<br />
said that it was commendable<br />
that the Minister of Sports and<br />
Youth Development, Sunday<br />
Dare and top officials of the Nigeria<br />
Football Federation, led<br />
by President Amaju Melvin Pinnick,<br />
were in agreement on the<br />
need to have at least four NPFL<br />
stars in the country’s elite team.<br />
Speaking further, Okoku, a<br />
former vice-captain of the first<br />
Flying Eagles team to qualify<br />
for the 1983 FIFA U-20 World<br />
Cup in Mexico, said that, ‘’this<br />
decision will encourage our<br />
players in Nigeria to be at their<br />
best in all games because they<br />
know that somebody is watching<br />
them and if they excel, they<br />
will most probably get an invitation<br />
to the Super Eagles team.<br />
‘’It is a morale booster for the<br />
players playing at home and<br />
serves as an impetus to<br />
reach for heights never<br />
reached before and increases<br />
the competitive spirit in<br />
the players, the local teams<br />
and the Super Eagles.<br />
‘’This is the way to go because<br />
no meaningful and<br />
sustainable development<br />
can be attained in our football<br />
if we neglect the homebased<br />
players in our Super<br />
Eagles squad.<br />
“Players like my humble<br />
self, Tarila Okorowanta, the<br />
Olukanni brothers, Segun<br />
Odegbami, Adokiye Amiesiamaka,<br />
Taju Disu, the late<br />
Stephen Keshi and a host of<br />
others, were discovered<br />
from the local scene and<br />
going back to that model of<br />
football development is the<br />
way to go for the success of<br />
the Super Eagles’’, added<br />
Okoku, winner of the first<br />
Tessema Cup with Nigeria<br />
in 1984.<br />
Going forward, Okoku<br />
said that, ‘’I would love to<br />
see the number of homebased<br />
talents in the Eagles<br />
rise, without putting a cap<br />
on the number’’.<br />
Piqué wants Messi at Barca for<br />
years to come<br />
*Piqué and Messi<br />
Gerard Piqué hopes<br />
Barcelona can convince<br />
Lionel Messi to stay<br />
at the club for years to<br />
come.<br />
Messi, 33, sensationally<br />
requested to leave the La-<br />
Liga giants during the close<br />
season, but ended up staying<br />
at the club.<br />
However, the six-time<br />
Ballon d’Or winner is<br />
linked with the likes of<br />
Manchester City, Paris<br />
Saint-Germain and Inter<br />
with his contract expiring<br />
at the end of the<br />
season.But Piqué hopes<br />
Messi will remain at<br />
Barça, where he has spent<br />
his entire professional career.<br />
“We will have to ask Leo.<br />
It is his personal decision<br />
… and we will see what<br />
happens,” the defender<br />
told Radio Marca.<br />
“I believe that as long as<br />
he continues to wear the<br />
Barça shirt there is always<br />
hope.<br />
“We hope they can seduce<br />
him so that he stays<br />
more years.”<br />
Outrage as Edo 2020<br />
postponement hits athletes,<br />
coaches hard<br />
By Ben Efe<br />
Nigerian athletes and coaches have been pouring out<br />
their hearts after the Presidential Task Force on Covid’19<br />
and the Sports Ministry threw the spanner in the works<br />
of the National Sports Festival.<br />
“Edo 2020” was postponed for the second time last week<br />
with just a few days to the start of the festival and it set off<br />
alarm bells among athletes and coaches around the country.<br />
Though the sports fiesta has now been rescheduled for<br />
January 3-17 in Benin City, the main actors are not impressed<br />
by the seeming lack of understanding of how much<br />
work they have put into preparations, only for the powers<br />
that be to pull the plug.<br />
“It is very demoralising, the zeal to focus on training and<br />
performance has been thwarted,” coach Johnny Igboka fired<br />
from Awka, Anambra State.<br />
“Athletes have targeted time for training and each time<br />
the festival is postponed, time and money are lost and who<br />
is going to bear the cost in these hard times?”<br />
“It’s devastating, discouraging and disappointing,” high<br />
jump coach, Kola Adebayo gushed out, as he let down his<br />
stopwatch during a competition at the Teslim Balogun Stadium<br />
in Lagos.<br />
“It seems our governament doesn't have the interest of<br />
the athletes at heart. We devote so much energy preparing.<br />
This is the life of many of our youths.<br />
“Is the government trying to sabotage our efforts? Because<br />
I don’t want to believe that it is because of coronavirus<br />
they are doing this. Other countries that are hardest hit<br />
by the virus have moved on. Even in midst of the pandemic,<br />
sports is going on in those countries, so why is Nigeria doing<br />
this to us?<br />
“We have only a few athletes who have qualified for the<br />
Olympics. Those who are eager to meet the standards are<br />
looking to use the narrow window to earn qualification<br />
before the Games next year.<br />
“And then as a country you now shut down such an opportunity.<br />
Nigeria does next to nothing for her athletes<br />
and now you are slowing down the efforts of athletes who<br />
are struggling to meet world standards. Is this not sabotage?<br />
“This thing is even more than what we are seeing,’’ sprinter<br />
and coach, Prince Adegboyega Emmanuel concurred.<br />
Most parents are even so discouraged and have urged<br />
their wards not to come into athletics.<br />
“I can’t even look at some of the parents in the face anymore,<br />
because it hard to convince them athletics will help<br />
them achieve their aims in life,”said coach Isaac Osagie-<br />
Ikhabome.<br />
Deji Aliu, who won the world junior in 1992 couldn’t<br />
hide his feelings.<br />
“I feel so ashamed to call myself a Nigerian. They don’t<br />
have any regard for how the athletes and their coaches<br />
feel.<br />
“We worked so hard in training and then what do we get,<br />
postponement after postponement. Is this how it is done in<br />
other countries? And we are aiming to match their results?’’,<br />
he asked rhetorically.<br />
NWFL: Edo Queens target success<br />
Edo Queens Football Club of Benin-City captain Os<br />
ahenoma Igbinovia, has reiterated the club’s commitment<br />
in winning laurels in the forthcoming 2020/21<br />
Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) season.<br />
Captain Osahenoma, told her colleagues during a training<br />
session in Abuja to brace up, adding that the only way<br />
to get the State government’s attention is by winning<br />
matches.<br />
“We must know that it is no longer business as usual,if<br />
we must enjoy full support of the State government, it is<br />
mandatory for us to win matches, because the only way<br />
to draw government’s attention to meet our demands is<br />
for us to show total commitment to our job and doing<br />
very well.” “We should remember that Edo Queens FC is<br />
highly rated among female clubs in the country, and alot<br />
of female league players want to come to Edo Queens<br />
because of the commitment of the State government towards<br />
the club and rebranding that has taken place. So it<br />
is our collective responsibility to ensure that Edo Queens<br />
do what is expected of them as professional league players.”<br />
Liverpool fans angry over Salah’s<br />
disallowed goal<br />
Liverpool fans have questioned how pedantic VAR<br />
should be after Mohamed Salah had a goal against<br />
Brighton and Hove Albion ruled out.<br />
The Reds thought Salah had put them into the lead against<br />
Brighton when the attacker ran through and slotted past<br />
Mat Ryan.<br />
It was a devastatingly efficient attack which was ultimately<br />
ruled out by the narrowest of offsides.<br />
It prompted fans to question why VAR decisions with offside<br />
should not be clear and obvious like it is with penalties.<br />
Despite the decision, pundits Peter Crouch and Joe Cole<br />
praised the build-up play for the disallowed goal.<br />
Cole said it was an example of the quality Liverpool have<br />
in their side and praised Salah’s finish, which bounced over<br />
the goalkeeper after initially hitting the ground.<br />
He said: “When you play for Liverpool and you have that<br />
quality, you can make things out of nothing.<br />
“They were poor, Liverpool, but this is exquisite, this is<br />
divine. The finish, he’s bearing down on goal, it’s on his<br />
weak foot, and he’s hit it into the ground, Salah, and you<br />
can’t discount the fact that, a player of his quality, I think<br />
he’s done that on purpose.”
SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 29, 2020<br />
SEE SOLUTION PAGE 5<br />
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