08052021 - Benue youths resolve to fight back

2 — SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8, 2021 

The freed 27 kidnapped students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, reunite 

with their families at the School premises yesterday. PHOTOS:OLU AJAYI. 

Alleged coup plot: Catholic Bishops urge FG to shun 

propaganda, blackmail against religious leaders 

*Say Nigeria’ll become ungovernable, if... 

By Luminous 

Jannamike, Abuja 

THE Catholic Bishops 

Conference of Nigeria, 

CBCN, on Friday, urged the 

Federal Government to shun 

all forms of propaganda 

against religious leaders who 

disagree with its performance, 

and step up actions 

towards addressing the pervasive 

insecurity in the land. 

The Bishops, who rejected 

purported plot to destabilise 

the country through a military 

takeover, however 

warned that the country will 

collapse and become ungovernable, 

if the government 

continued to ignore the constructive 

criticisms. 

The CBCN stated this in a 

statement signed by its President, 

Archbishop Augustine 

Akubeze, which was titled 

‘Urgent Call to the Federal 

Government to be Open to 

Criticism in Addressing the 

Pervading Insecurity in Nigeria.’ 

It reads in part, “Nigerians 

are tired of hearing of bandits 

taking youths at the University 

and executing some of 

them, while others are kept 

to be used to bargain for ransom. 

“The insecurity is leading 

to a daily loss of lives and 

properties in every part of the 

country. These facts are indisputable. 

A country where students 

are no longer safe in 

schools nor farmers safe in 

their farms does not have a 

future to look to. 

“In the midst of all these, 

the Presidency recently stated 

that some religious leaders 

and some Nigerian politicians 

are plotting to destabilise 

the country. The spokesperson 

for the Nigeria Army 

noted that there is no plan by 

the military to take over democratically 

elected persons. 

“While we reject any call 

for the destabilisation of Nigeria 

or military takeover, we 

nonetheless say to the Federal 

Government of Nigeria, 

led by President Muhammadu 

Buhari, there is no need 

to focus your energy, time and 

resources in any form of propaganda 

against religious 

leaders who disagree with 

your performance. There is 

no need to spend so much of 

your time trying to blackmail 

anyone who criticises your 

N21b cash withdrawal from Taraba LGA account: 

Perm Sect, DFA, cashier detained 

*More heads to roll over cash 

By Soni Daniel, Abuja 

AFTER detaining 

three top officials of 

the Taraba State Government 

over the suspicious 

withdrawal of N21 

billion from its treasury, 

the Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission 

is set to pick up 

more suspects for questioning 

over the huge 

cash draw-down without 

following extant financial 

rules. 

Saturday Vanguard 

learnt on Friday night 

that already, no fewer 

than three top officials 

of the Taraba State Ministry 

of Local Government 

and Chieftaincy 

Affairs had been taken 

into the custody of the 

anti-graft agency in 

Abuja in relation to the 

missing cash. 

Those already in 

EFCC custody according 

to competent source, 

government. 

“We speak out because we 

do not want Nigeria to collapse. 

We are not speaking out 

for the APC Government to 

fail. We are speaking out so 

that Nigeria will not fail. 

“APC is not the owner of Nigeria; 

Nigeria is owned by 

Nigerians irrespective of political 

affiliation. APC Government 

must learn to listen 

to every Nigerian, both political 

actors in other parties and 

non-political actors in Nigeria 

and the diaspora. 

“It is not out of place to call 

for a security summit in whatever 

form it may take as long 

as it leads to the unity, peace, 

justice, progress and protection 

of Nigerians. 

“The Federal Government 

must be transparent with every 

Nigerian in the struggle 

to revive our economy, industrialise 

the nation, objectively 

deal with corruption and 

significantly reduce the high 

level of insecurity and unemployment. 

In every democracy, 

the welfare of the citizens 

is of great concern to the President. 

“From time to time, Presidents 

address the people and 

give an account of the state of 

affairs in the country. Presidents 

of countries grant interviews 

to the media who are 

the watchdogs of democracy. 

But in Nigeria, we hardly 

hear directly from our President. 

Most of the time, we hear 

from “the Presidency.” 

“Nigerians did not elect 

presidential media spokespersons. 

Nigerians do want 

to hear directly from their 

President and hear words that 

are matched with actions. 

“To every religious leader, 

let us not use inflammatory 

words that distort the real 

message we are sending to 

this Government. We must be 

united in the fight for our 

common destiny as a people. 

“It must be clearly stated to 

the Federal Government that 

are a permanent secretary, 

a director of finance 

and Administration 

and a cashier all 

from the ministry of local 

government and 

chieftaincy affairs in the 

state. 

The Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission 

is reportedly 

miffed that the suspects 

connived and breached 

financial regulation by 

withdrawing the huge 

sum of N 21 billion in 

small tranches of N10 

million daily so as to escape 

scrutiny. 

A top source in the 

agency said that those 

in its custody have been 

quizzed by its operatives 

over their roles in 

the cash withdrawal, 

which was far beyond 

their limit and that it 

was not clear if they 

would be released after 

they were taken in on 

if they continue to ignore the 

constructive criticisms and recommendations 

of Nigerians 

from every sector, the country 

will collapse and become ungovernable. 

“We are speedily getting 

there. Police stations are being 

burnt, our gallant military men 

and women are being killed, 

barracks are attacked, IDP 

camps are attacked, farmlands 

are invaded, youth unemployment 

is at its highest, private 

sectors are not given enabling 

environment to thrive, and appointments 

to offices are not reflective 

of our diversities; the 

complaints are almost endless 

– could the sounds signalling a 

collapsing nation be louder than 

this? 

“In Nigeria, the Catholic 

Church wants the Federal Government 

to call for a meeting of 

all stakeholders to have a sincere 

discussion on the way forward. 

Such discussions must 

seek how to implement the much 

talked about restructuring and 

devolution of power down to the 

local government level. 

Wednesday. 

“The suspects need to 

clarify why such large 

sum of public fund was 

taken from the treasury 

and what it was used for 

in total breach of public 

service rules. Once they 

are able to do that they 

would be freed,” an 

EFCC source said. “Our 

men are still trailing 

more of the suspects 

and they need to give us 

more information about 

what they know about 

the withdrawal,” the 

source added. 

When contacted, the 

Head of Media and 

Publicity of the EFCC, 

Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, 

confirmed the arrest and 

detention of the three 

key Taraba officials but 

declined to give more 

details about the cash 

withdrawal and when 

the officials would be 

released or charged to 

court. 

We suffered a lot — Freed Afaka 

student 

By Ibrahim HassanWuyo 

ONE of the freed students of the Federal College 

of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna state, 

Sarah Sunday has recounted their ordeals in the hands of 

their abductors saying they suffered a lot. She however 

said they have forgiven their abductors. 

The students were abducted when gunmen attacked their 

school on March 12. Although 39 of them were kidnapped 

during the attack, 10 of the students were earlier released. 

However, on Wednesday, the remaining students were 

released — after seven weeks in captivity. 

The students, who had earlier been taken for medical 

check-up by the state government, were reunited with their 

family members on Friday. 

Speaking with newsmen after reuniting with her family 

on Friday, Sarah said they suffered a lot in the hands of 

their abductors, noting that they were made to embark on 

long treks. 

She said she was disturbed about her mother’s state of 

health as a result of the abduction, and appreciated 

everyone that worked for their release. 

“I will tell them (referring to the abductors) we forgive 

them all. That is all. That is only what I’m going to tell 

them. And God will give them the chance to change. We 

suffered a lot. Honestly speaking, we suffered through 

insults, through hard labour. We trekked throughout. I 

thought maybe my mother will pass away because of the 

shock, but I thank God. Thank you. I appreciate. Thank 

you to everyone that helped us in prayers and everything.” 

One feared dead as Iwo, 

Ile-Oogbo clash over land 

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo 

ONE person was reported dead during a clash be 

tween Iwo and one of its neighbouring communities, Ile- 

Oogbo yesterday over disputed land. It was gathered that the two 

communities were at loggerhead over a land located at Oke-Saji 

along Iwo-Ile-Oogbo road. 

Although, the identity of the deceased was yet to be ascertained, 

but a resident in the area, Afolabi Adepoju confirmed that one 

person, a commercial motorcyclist died during the rampage. 

Meanwhile, President, Ile-Oogbo Unity Forum, Mr Anthony 

Owolabi said some thugs from Iwo mounted road block on the 

road harassing motorists and passersby. 

He added that the hoodlums eventually moved towards Ile- 

Oogbo before they were repelled by residents. 

He said, “Earlier On Wednesday, some thugs from Iwo destroyed 

an Ile-Oogbo sign post on the disputed land and that of the state 

government close to it. The land was a subject of litigation up to 

the supreme court around 1950s and the judgement was later 

given in favour of Ile-Oogbo. The Area Commander in Iwo was 

with Olu of Ile-Oogbo before the thugs attempted to invade the 

town, but they were repelled by residents. 

“We have our documents to support our claim, we gave same to 

the Area Commander and we requested they bring their papers, 

but rather than presenting it, they resorted to using arm bearing 

thugs to cause crisis. Presently, the Olu of Ile-Oogbo is in the state 

capital in a meeting with the Deputy Governor on the matter. 

There is a casualty but I cannot ascertain whether the deceased is 

from Iwo or Ile-Oogbo”, he said. 

However, Oluwo’s spokesperson, Alli Ibrahim said the monarch, 

Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi has reached out to both parties 

with a view to ensuring that peace was restored in the community. 

Northern groups fault FG’s coup story 

•Say it’s desperation to conceal incapacity 

By Ibrahim HassanWuyo 

THE Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, has faulted 

the statement by the Federal Government on alleged 

planned incitement to mutiny, describing it as unhelpful and 

doubtful fabrication. 

The CNG observed that it was the height of ineptitude for 

an administration that has clearly failed on the manner it 

approaches sensitive matters such as security of citizens and 

glaring excesses of the administration’s officials to make 

such allegations. 

“ This confirms the extent of its incompetence and lack of 

political will,” they alleged. 

CNG in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Abdul- 

Azeez Suleiman, dismissed the news of an impending coup 

as a smokescreen intended to divert attention from the failure 

to acknowledge the huge demands being made for the 

President to address serious shortfalls in the nation’s policing 

and security institutions. 

According to the groups, “It is a sad commentary that 

government should choose a time when the verdict from 

every section of the country is that many things are seriously 

wrong with our economy, national unity and security to come 

up with such allegations of a planned military takeover. 

“It is ridiculous that this is coming at a time when there are 

many abuses that ought to have been checked by this 

administration, but were ignored or treated with levity owing 

to very low levels of respect for accountability, the statement 

is a signal that those charged with the responsibility of 

governance are only concerned with the perpetuation of 

power. “ The CNG said “rather than cooking up such 

pedestrian coup plot story, President Buhari ought to have 

reminded himself that hundreds of thousands of people in 

northern communities have been at the mercy of bandits, 

kidnappers and rustlers without any form of police protection. 

“ “That government should stoop as low as to contrive a coup 

story to cover its failure in relieving the widespread hardships 

and stresses faced by the nation, amounts to an admission of 

loss of capacity and political will to tackle the current 

challenges around economy, insecurity and national unity. 

C 

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C 

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K 

Supreme Court affirms INEC’s power to 

deregister political parties 

*Dismisses NUP’s appeal as lacking in merit 

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

ABUJA—The 

Su 

preme Court, yesterday, 

affirmed the powers of 

the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, to deregister underperforming 

political parties 

in the country. 

Consequently, the apex 

court, in a unanimous decision 

by a five-man panel 

of Justices, dismissed as 

lacking in merit, an appeal 

the National Unity Party, 

NUP, filed to challenge its 

deregistration by INEC. 

The apex court panel 

which delivered the judgement 

in a virtual proceeding 

that was led by Justice 

Mary Odili, said it found 

no reason to set-aside the 

concurrent findings of the 

Federal High Court and 

the Court of Appeal, which 

had earlier upheld INEC’s 

decision to deregister 

some political parties. 

It will be recalled that 

NUP was among 74 political 

parties that INEC 

deregistered on February 

6, last year for failing to 

win any seat in either 

Federal, State or Local 

Government level, during 

the 2019 general elections. 

The NUP, which was dissatisfied 

with INEC’s decision, 

subsequently lost its 

bid to be relisted as a political 

party by both the 

High Court and the Court 

of Appeal. 

It had among other 

things, contended that IN- 

EC’s action was arbitrary, 

unconstitutional and 

amounted to an infringement 

of its right as a political 

association. 

Meanwhile, in its lead 

judgement that was delivered 

on Friday by Justice 

Adamu Jauro, the Supreme 

Court, held that 

INEC acted within the law 

and in compliance with 

extant provisions of the 

Electoral Act. 

The apex court maintained 

that the lower 

courts were right when 

they held that section 

225(a) of the 1999 Constitution, 

as amended, empowered 

INEC to deregister 

any political party 

that failed to meet the 

statutory threshold of the 

registration requirement 

for political parties. 

It therefore dismissed 

NUP’s appeal and ordered 

parties in the matter 

to bear their litigation 

cost. 

Insecurity: High profile Nigerians ‘re involved 

in terrorism financing — FG 

*Says they are being profiled 

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru 

THE Attorney General 

of the Federation, 

AGF, and Minister of Justice, 

Abubakar Malami 

yesterday said that investigations 

have revealed that 

some high profile Nigerians 

were involved in terrorism 

financing. 

The AGF who, stated this 

in a chat with State House 

correspondents at the presidential 

villa, Abuja, said 

that such persons were 

being profiled for prosecution. 

He said the arrest of the 

undisclosed number of suspects 

followed the recent 

convictions of some Nigerians 

on terrorism financing 

in the United Arab 

Emirates, UAE. 

He said ongoing investigations 

have given reasonable 

grounds to prosecute 

the high profile Nigerians 

and institutions across the 

country. 

When asked to throw 

more light on the extent of 

prosecution, he said: “As 

you will actually know, 

sometime back there were 

certain convictions of Nigerians 

allegedly involved 

in terrorism financing in 

the United Arab Emirates 

(UAE). 

“That gave rise to a wider 

and far-reaching investigations 

in Nigeria and 

I’m happy to report that 

arising from the wider coverage 

investigation that has 

been conducted in Nigeria, 

a number of people, both 

institutional and otherwise, 

were found to be culpable. 

“I mean reasonable 

grounds for suspicion of 

terrorism financing have 

been established, or perhaps 

has been proven to be 

in existence in respect of the 

transactions of certain 

higher profile individuals 

and businessmen across 

the country. 

“I’m happy to report that 

investigation has been ongoing 

for long and it has 

reached an advanced 

stage. 

“Arising from the investigation, 

there exists, certainly, 

reasonable grounds for 

suspicion that a lot of Nigerians, 

high-profile, institutional 

and otherwise, are 

involved in terrorism financing 

and they are being 

profiled for prosecution. 

“In essence, it is indeed, 

true that the government is 

prosecuting and it’s indeed, 

initiating processes of prosecuting 

those high-profile 

individuals that are found 

to be financing terrorism. 

It is indeed, true.” 

SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8, 2021 — 3 

Two abducted as another war 

brews between Aguleri, Umueri 

By Vincent Ujumadu, Awka 

AFTER about 20 years of the end of the communal 

war between Aguleri and Umueri in Anambra East 

Local Government area of Anambra State, which claimed 

many lives and led to the destruction of property worth 

millions of naira, tension has heightened in the area again 

following the recent alleged abduction of two persons at 

Ugume village of Umueri. 

A statement by a group which calls itself the ‘Concerned 

Citizens of Umueri’ gave names of the abducted persons 

as Oforma Nnalue from Irueke Adegbe and Chukwuemeka 

Nwakalor from Iruozobia Umueri and urged 

their neighbouring Aguleri people to release the two persons 

dead or alive. 

According to the group, several appeals made through 

some Aguleri leaders and some good-spirited sons of the 

community for the release of the abducted persons had 

fallen on deaf ear, warning that the latest incident might 

stir another hostility in the area. 

The statement said: “While Umueri awaits for the official 

response from Aguleri—positively or negatively — 

the news making the rounds from Aguleri seems provocative 

and negating our efforts to calm down our youths. 

There is threat and the rumour of impending war and 

name calling of our illustrious son, who incidentally is 

related paternally and maternally with the two missing 

persons. 

“Let it be on record that Umueri has no plans or agenda 

to wage war against Aguleri or any other community 

for that matter. All the threats of war are the imagination 

of those whose breads are buttered through the crisis. 

“We enjoin Igbo people all over the world, the leader 

of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Southeast governors forum, respected 

clergymen, well-meaning Nigerians and those 

in the private sector to help us drive our demands to ensure 

continuous peaceful coexistence between our two 

communities. 

“Specifically, we demand immediate release of our 

abducted brothers, dead or alive. If they are no longer 

living, effort should be made to toe the traditional line to 

atone for those murdered in cold blood, so that the issues 

could be resolved once and for all”. 

While commending Governor Willie Obiano for ensuring 

that one of their daughters, who was also allegedly 

abducted at Isiokwe, Aguleri had since reunited safely 

with her family after two days of traumatic experience, 

they appealed to the governor to also ensure that justice 

was done in the matter by instructing security agencies to 

fish out the perpetrators of the act and punish them accordingly. 

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. 

Ikenga Tochukwu said he was not aware of the abduction, 

even as he promised to investigate the allegation.


Enugu community celebrates 

N50m water project 

Military on secret mission to de-populate 

Igbo youths, S’East youth leaders allege 

*Demand prosecution of killer soldiers 

By Steve Oko, Aba 

COALITION of South 

East Youth Leaders 

COSEYL, has alleged that 

the Nigerian military is on a 

secret mission in the zone to 

depopulate Igbo youths. 

The group, in a terselyworded 

press statement, 

asked the Federal Government 

to pull out troops deployed 

in the zone for special 

operation, accusing them of 

extrajudicial killings of Igbo 

youths. 

COSEYL was reacting to 

the killing of a 39-year -old 

Owerri businessman, Mr. 

Noel Chigbu by the military 

at Amakohia junction, for allegedly 

“ violating their 

checkpoint rule” on Friday, 

April 30, 2021; and the unlawful 

killing of a first -year 

law student of Imo State University, 

Divine Nwaneri at a 

military checkpoint close to 

Imo State Governor’s Office. 

The group demanded immediate 

prosecution of the 

soldiers behind the extrajudicial 

killings. 

“We demand that the military 

must identify and handover 

those soldiers involved 

in the unlawful killings of Mr. 

Noel Chigbu, Divine Nwaneri 

and others to the police for 

From left:Onigboho of Igboho, Oba John Oyetola Bolarinwa Ajagungbade1 

and Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji during thankyou 

visit by Onigboho to Olubadan's palace for his support during his corronation 

as Oba. Photo:Dare Fasube. 

immediate prosecution.” 

The coalition in the statement 

entitled:“Nigeria military 

deployed to South East 

on a mission to exterminate 

Igbo youths,” expressed rage 

over the rate of extrajudicial 

killings of Igbo youths particularly 

in Imo and Ebonyi 

States. 

COSEYL in a joint statement 

by its President General, 

Hon. Goodluck Ibem; and 

Secretary General, Comrade 

Kanice Igwe asked the Federal 

Government to stop provoking 

Igbo youths. 

The statement made available 

to Vanguard in Aba read 

in part:“These killings and 

more that happened in recent 

times are a tangible proof 

that the military are on a secret 

mission to exterminate 

Igbo Youth in the South East. 

“The killing of unarmed 

Ex-Minister, Mama Taraba, dies at 61 

By Femi Bolaji and 

Victoria Ojeme 

FORMER Minister of 

Women Affairs, Aisha 

Jummai Al-Hassan, popularly 

known as Mama Taraba 

is dead. She reportedly 

died in Cairo, Egypt at the age 

of 61. 

An official of the People’s 

Democratic Party, PDP, in the 

state, confirmed the report. 

He also said an official statement 

by the party would be 

released on Saturday, May 8. 

When Saturday Vanguard 

visited the family house of Alhassan 

Friday night, the entire 

residence was in a sober mood. 

Sympathizers, including 

politicians, trooped in and out 

of the house to sympathize with 

them. 

Younger brother to the 

former minister who got emotional 

when newsmen approached 

him for comment 

said the deceased was the backbone 

of the family. 

He however delegated a 

family brother to speak to the 

press. 

Speaking to Saturday Vanguard, 

the family brother, Onyeama 

Edeh described Alhassan 

as a lover of people who 

would be remembered for 

good. 

According to him, “Aisha is 

a pillar in this family and second 

to none. We have lost a 

hero to death. 

“I am a family brother to her 

and we grew up together in this 

house even though I am not 

the same tribe with her. “She 

would be remembered for a 

lot of the good things she has 

done for the people of the state 

especially on empowerment 

for the youth and vulnerable.” 

About Aisha Jummai Alhassan 

Aisha Jummai Alhassan 

popularly known as Mama 

Taraba is a prominent politician 

not only in Taraba state 

but the country at large. 

She represented Taraba 

North in the Senate and was 

also a former member of President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s 

cabinet during his first tenure. 

She was the flag bearer of 

the All Progressive Congress, 

APC, in the 2015 gubernatorial 

election in Taraba, which she 

eventually lost to Governor 

Darius Ishaku. 

She left the APC in 2018 after 

she was screened out by the 

party before the primary election 

that would determine its 

flag bearer for the 2019 gubernatorial 

election. 

She immediately pitched 

her tent with United Democratic 

Party, UDP, where she 

contested to be governor of 

Taraba state in 2019 and lost 

for the second time. 

She however decamped to 

the People’s Democratic Party, 

PDP, in September 2019. 

Atiku mourns Aisha Alhassan 

Former Vice President of 

Nigeria, Atiku Abubabar has 

said Nigeria has lost yet another 

impactful female politician 

in our recent memory. 

Reacting to the death of the 

former Minister of Women 

Affairs and gubernatorial candidate 

in Taraba State, Sen. 

Late Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan 

Aisha Alhassan, Atiku said in 

a statement in Abuja on Friday 

evening that “Aisha Alhassan 

was a reliable political 

ally and a foot soldier who was 

passionate about her political 

convictions.” 

“I am grieved by the loss of 

former Sen. Aisha Alhassan. I 

asked about her condition this 

(yesterday’s) afternoon after I 

called her number without a 

response!”, Atiku said. 

“I can’t forget her dedication 

and how she stood by me 

through thick and thin in the 

course of my political career,” 

the former Vice President recalled 

adding, “I really have 

lost a sister and loyalist.” 

According to the former 

Vice President, Aisha Alhassan 

was not only sincere, but also 

worked very hard for the 

achievement of whatever 

cause he (Atiku Abubakar) 

set himself to accomplish. 

He said that Mama Taraba, 

as she was popularly 

known, was an accomplished 

civil servant, astute 

politician and patriot. She 

was compassionate, loyal 

and deeply committed to a 

better Nigeria. 

agitators while pampering of 

Boko Haram terrorists is a 

clear testimonial that Ndigbo 

have been marked for extinction 

by the Nigerian military. 

“How can the soldiers paid 

with tax payers money kill 

unarmed youths just for one 

flimsy excuse ? This is absolute 

madness and it must stop 

forthwith!” 

He pointed out that one of 

the qualities he admired 

about her is that she was a 

determined fighter who never 

gave up to despair. 

Bus somersaults, bursts into flames, kills 

14 on Lagos-Ibadan expressway 

By James Ogunnaike 

NO fewer than 14 pas 

sengers, among 

them 11 adults and three 

children, were on Thursday 

night burnt to death in an 

accident on the long bridge 

on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. 

The spokesperson, 

Traffic Compliance and 

Enforcement Corps 

(TRACE),Mr Babatunde 

Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident 

to newsmen in 

Abeokuta yesterday. 

Confirming the incident, 

Akinbiyi said the accident 

involved a silver Toyota 

RAV 4, with registration 

number, LND 13 GS, a silver 

Toyota Camry marked, 

GGE 369 GJ, and a Mazda 

bus with an unidentified 

number. The TRACE 

spokesman said the accident 

occurred at 8:20 p.m. 

on Thursday night. 

He added that the commercial 

Mazda bus was allegedly 

involved in wrongful 

overtaking before it hit 

a parked faulty Toyota Rav 

4. 

Speaking on the number 

of casualties, Akinbiyi explained 

that 17 passengers 

were in the bus when the 

accident happened, saying 

that 14 persons were 

burnt to death beyond recognition. 

“The burnt commercial 

bus was involved in wrongful 

overtaking before it hit 

a stationary vehicle (Toyota 

By Chinedu Adonu 

TO boost access to portable water supply in Enu 

gu State, the state government yesterday commissioned 

a water project and an ultramodern hall 

worth over N50 million in Umulaligbo, Egwu Achi 

autonomous community, Oji River Local Government 

Area of the state. 

The project was built by a group under the aegis 

of Sons of Umulaligbo Progressive Association, 

SUPA built the borehole in accordance with the programme 

of Replenish Africa Initiative, RAIN, to 

provide access to sustainable clean water, sanitation 

and hygiene services to over four communities 

in Egwu Achi and Achi in general. 

Commissioning the borehole, the Commissioner 

for Rural Development, Hon Emeka Mamah commended 

the leadership of the association for providing 

portable water to the community which is in 

line with the state government agenda considering 

the importance of water to life. 

2023: INEC creates 924 

additional polling units in Ondo 

By Dayo Johnson, Akure 

THE Independent National Electoral Commis 

sion (INEC), has created additional 924 polling 

units across the 18 council areas of Ondo State. 

With this the total number of the polling units 

across the state has increased to 3,933. 

The state Residents Electoral Commissioner, REC 

, Dr. Rufus Akeju, said this at a stakeholders meeting 

for the implementation of the expansion of voter 

access to polling units in Nigeria. 

Akeju said the increased polling units would be 

available for 1,822,346 voting population. 

According to him the commission arrived at the 

figure by converting existing Voting Points that meet 

the minimum threshold of 750 or maximum 1000 

voters per polling units. 

Two dead, 10 injured as smugglers 

attack Customs officers in Ogun 

By James Ogunnaike 

NO fewer than two persons were confirmed dead, 

while ten others sustained gunshot injuries as 

hoodlums suspected to be smugglers allegedly attacked 

officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun 1 

command at Oja-Odan in Yewa North Local Government 

Area of Ogun State on Thursday. 

A statement issued by the command spokesman, DSC 

Bukoye Oloyede, said, based on credible intelligence, 

the patrol team intercepted about 320 of bags of foreign 

parboiled rice of 50kg each out of the large number stockpiled 

in a building around the said area. 

The statement read, “at 0200 hours of Thursday, May 

6, 2021, Officers and Men of Nigeria Customs Service, 

Ogun I Command Military personnel were on information 

patrol to Oja-Odan, Yewa North of Ogun State.” 

“Based on credible intelligence, the patrol team intercepted 

about 320 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg 

each out of the large number stockpiled in a building 

around the said area.” 

Rav4), parked on the middle 

of the road due to breakdown, 

and also hit a Camry 

car. 

“In the process, it lost control, 

somersaulted severally 

before it burst into 

flames,” he said. 

Akinbiyi explained that 

two of the victims who sustained 

injuries were rescued 

and taken to Lagos 

State Accident and Emergency 

Centre and another 

one to the General Hospital, 

Gbagada for treatment. 

He commiserated with 

the families of the dead victims, 

warning drivers to 

desist from speed, wrongful 

overtaking and attitude 

that exposes other road users 

to risk and danger. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

UKUNE 

I, formerly known as JERRY 

JAMES, now wish to be 

known as JAMES JERRY 

UKUNE. All former 

documents remain valid. 

General public please take note. 

FESTUS MUSA 

I formerly known as 

Musa Ramat Now wish to 

be known, Called and 

addressed as Olowokere 

Joy Ramat. Former 


Public note. 

BASEL 

This is to certify and confirm 

that Sam Basel Okon and Sam 

Basil Okon is one and same 

person but henceforth wish to 

be known and addressed as Sam 

Basil Okon. All former 

documents remain valid, General 

public and authority concerned 

please take note. 

ANYANWU 

I formerly known as 

ANYANWU ANGELA 

CHINENYE, Now wish to be 

known, Called and addressed 

as IHEDIOHA ANGELA 

CHINENYE. Former 


Public note. 

OKERUM 

I, formerly known and 

addressed as OKERUM 

CHIDERA JUSTICE, now wish 

to be known and addressed as 

CHINEMEREM CHIDERA 

JUSTICE. All former documents 

remain valid. General public to 

take note. 

CHANGE OF NAME 

AISHA 

I, formerly known as 

ABDULRAHAMAN AISHA, 

now wish to be known as 

AISHATU ALKALI 

ABDURRAHMAN. D.O.B 15/ 

10/1986 NOT 29/03/1984. All 

former documents remain valid. 


SOSAMI 

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND 

ADDRESSED AS MISS SOSAMI 

OLAWUNMI DEBORAH NOW 

WISH TO BE KNOWN AND 

ADDRESSED AS MRS 

POPOOLA OLAWUNMI 

DEBORAH. ALL FORMER 

DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. 

GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE 

TAKE NOTE. 

FOM 

I formerly known as PATRICK 

FLORENCE FOM, Now wish to 

be known, Called and addressed 

as FLOURENCE THANKGOD. 

Former documents remain valid. 

Public note. 

DEBORAH 

I formerly known as ODO 

DEBORAH CHIAMAKA, Now 

wish to be known, Called and 

addressed as ODO 

CHIAMAKA NWONYE. 14TH 

DAY OF FEBRUARY 1998. 

Former documents remain valid. 

Public note. 

NTIAJU 


addressed as Ntiaju Andrew N. 

now wish to be known and 

addressed as Ntiaju Andrew 

Nkwachukwu. Former 

documents remain valid. General 

public take note. 

ARIT 

This is to notify the 

general public and all 

banks that former miss 

Arit Edem Okon is now 

known and should be 

addressed as Miss B. 

SAMSON 

I formerly known and 

addressed as Ogunse Samson 

Omotoyosi Omotuyole now 

wish to be known and addressed 

as ADEODUN Ogunse 

Omotoyosi . All former 


General public should please 

take note. 

ALI 


Addressed as MUHAMMED 

ABBAS, now wish to be known 

and Addressed as ALI 

MOHAMMED ABBAS. wrong 

date of birth 19/4/1994.correct 

date of birth 4/5/1993. Former 

documents remain valid. First 

bank PLC and general public to 

take note. 

OKERUM 


addressed as CHISOM ANDREW 

OKERUM, now wish to be known 

and addressed as 

CHINEMEREM CHISOM 

ANDREW. All former documents 

remain valid. General public to 

take note. 

EZEOKEKE 

I,formerly known and 

addressed as Miss Ezeokeke 

Fortunater Oluebube now now 


as Mrs Fawole Fortunater 

Oluebube.All former documents 

remain valid. General public take 

note. 

AGU 

ITORO 

DESTINY 

I, formerly known and I, UMOREN. ITORO I, formerly known as 

addressed as Miss Agu RAPHAEL (WAEC). confrim 

Christiana Chinwendu now now 

Ezechukwu Chidozie, now wish 

that my correct date of birth is 05 



as Mrs Obodoechi Christiana 

05 1985, Wrong DATE OF 

Chinwendu.All former BIRTH is 05 05 1981. Former 

Ezechukwu Destiny Chidozie. All 

documents remain valid.General documents remain valid. General former documents remain valid. 




MUSA 

NSEOBONG 

MIHIL 

This is to confirm that NSIKAK 

I, formerly known as 

I, formerly known as Mihil 

NSEOBONG BASSEY AND 

CHRISTIAN MUSA, now wish NSIKAK IMOH BASSEY is one Daniel Bingham, now wish to 


and same person but now wish to be known and addressed as 

be known and addressed as 

MUSA CHRISTIAN SECHAP. NSIKAK IMOH BASSEY my Bernard Bingham Mihil. All 

All former documents remain correct date of birth is 29th former documents remain 

August,1984. All former documents 

valid. General public please take remain valid, General public take valid. General public please 

note. 

note 

take note. 

OKPETU 

ALFA 

ENEMONA 

I, Formerly known and I, formerly known as Alfa I, formerly known as Williams 

addressed as OKPETU Ishaka, now wish to be known Joshua Enemona, now wish to 


GABRIEL (4th April 1992) and addressed as Ishaka 

Williams Joshua. My correct 

now wish to be known and Alhassan Alfa. All former 

date of birth is 20/05/1995 not 

addressed as PAUL documents remain valid. 

20/05/1992. All former 

GABRIEL and 19th October General public please take documents remain valid. 

1996, general public to note note. 


FATIMAT 

YUSUF OT 

NWOHA 

I formerly known as YAKUBU I, formerly known as I, FORMERLY KNOWN 

Habila Yusuf, now wish to AS NWOHA MALACHI 

FATIMAT OSHEIZE, now wish 

NOW WISH TO BE 

be known and addressed 


KNOWN AND ADDRESSED 

as Joel Eze. All former AS 

MALACHI 

SHAIBU MARIAM OYIZA, all documents remain valid. UGOCHUKWU NWOHA 

former documents remained valid 

D.O.B 30-03-2000. ALL 

General public please 

FORMER DOCUMENTS 


take note. 

REMAIN VALID. 

MOHAMMED KAMAR KURMI 

I, formerly known as I, formerly known as Kamar I, formerly known as Binta 

Badeko Aminat Mohammad, Felicia, now wish to be known Sharubutu Kurmi,now wish to 

now wish to be known and 

addressed as Badeko Aminat and addressed as Kamah Felicia. 


Binta Sharubutu. All former 

Muhammad. All former All former documents remain 


documents remain valid. valid. General public please take 

General public please take 

General public please take 

note. 

note. 

note. 

OKOLO 

OKOLO 

BO 


addressed as Okolo Eugenia 

Obiageli now wishes to be known 

and addressed as Eze Eugenia 

Obiageli. All former documents 

remain valid. Public take note. 


addressed as Okolo Obinna 

Emmanuel now wishes to be 

known and addressed as Eze 

Obinna Emmanuel. All former 

documents remain valid, public 

take note. 

SPACE 

FOR 

SALE 

SATURDAY VANGUARD, MAY 8, 2021 — 5 

From left: Ogun State Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Oyedepo; Ogun 

State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Group Head, Corporate Communication, 

BUA Group, Otega Ogra; Commissioner of Health, Dr Tosin Coker and 

Managing Director, ASR Africa Initiative when the BUA Group presented 

three ambulances to the State Government yesterday. 

Igbo presidency will end Biafra 

agitation — Ohaneze Ndigbo 

By Anayo Okoli 

Abductors of ABSU students have made 

contacts; one student still held captive —VC 

By Steve Oko 

THE Vice Chancellor of 

the Abia State University 

Uturu, ABSU, Professor 

Maxwell Ogbulu, has said 

that the yet-to be identified 

armed men who abducted 

students of the university 

along with some other passengers 

have made contacts. 

The VC who disclosed this 

during a press briefing on 

Friday, however, declined 

from giving details of the contact, 

citing security reasons. 

He said that efforts were on 

top gear by the security agencies 

in collaboration with the 

Abia State Government and 

the university security architecture 

to track the perpetrators 

and rescue the victims 

unharmed. 

The VC further explained 

that only one student of the 

university is still in captivity 

as two students had escaped 

OHANAEZE Ndigbo 

yesterday declared 

that Igbo presidency would put 

an end to the agitation for Biafra 

nation in the South Eastern 

part of the country. The 

Chidi Ibe led Ohanaeze Ndigbo 

made the declaration while 

responding to a statement credited 

to Kaduna State governor, 

Nasir El-Rufai that Igbo can 

not get the presidency by 

threatening secession. 

The group in a statement 

signed by Mazi Okechukwu 

Isiguzoro described El-Rufai’s 

comment as laughable”, saying 

Igbos were not losing sleep 

over myopic views of El Rufai 

and his likes. 

According to the statement, 

“Nigerians are aware of the 

backstage activities of Governor 

El Rufai as the “idi Amin” 

of the North, whose interests 

are contradictory to the collective 

Northern interests but are 

only pushing the selfishness of 

the few cabal deceiving President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

without any solutions to the insecurity 

challenges in the north 

and now spreading to the 

south. “We urge El Rufai to fix 

the Kaduna State insecurity 

challenges before discussing 

the 2023 elections. 

“We call on Governor El Rufai 

to address the remote causes 

of secessionist movements 

in the south east which is anchored 

on the marginalization 

and structural imbalance 

of the country. Southeast is not 

alone in the secessionist movements, 

we have seen Oduduwa 

and Middle Belt ethnic 

groups displaying flags of 

Oduduwa and Middle Belt 

from the abductors shortly after 

the abduction. 

He however, noted that it 

was not yet clear the exact 

number of victims still in 

captivity as other passengers 

and commuters abducted 

along with the students are 

yet to regain their freedom. 

Asked if the two escapees 

had been interrogated to possibly 

get a clue on the identity 

of the perpetrators, the VC 

said the security operatives 

had interacted with them 

and had the necessary information. 

The VC who said 

that the university management 

had already taken 

some steps to prevent similar 

occurrence in the future, 

added that security had been 

beefed up around the campus. 

Man beaten to death by friends in 

Delta for stealing N3,000 

By Festus Ahon & 

Ochuko Akuopha 

T 

HE Police in the Del 

ta State command have 

arrested one Mr. Efe Lucky 

and Mr. Ramson Akpojibu 

for beating their friend to death 

on allegation of theft of their 

N3,000 and phones. 

Police Public Relations Officer 

of the command, Mr. Bright 

Diri condoles with Pastor 

Adeboye 

BAYELSA State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has 

commiserated with General Overseer of The Redeemed 

Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and 

his family over the death of his son, Pastor Dare. Diri, who 

expressed shock over the news of the sudden demise of the 42- 

year-old son of the respected cleric, said the will of God was 

often difficult for man to comprehend. 

The governor said he shared in the grief of the Adeboyes as the 

RCCG leader, known as Daddy GO, was like a father to him 

and a spiritual counsellor and guardian. 

“I received the news of the sudden passing of Pastor Dare 

Adeboye, son of our Christian leader and father, Pastor Enoch 

Adejare Adeboye, with great shock and sobriety. Over time, 

Daddy GO has become like a father to me offering his wise 

counsel, prayers and spiritual guidance. So, I share in the grief 

of the family and their loved ones at this time,” Governor Diri 

said. He however urged the family to be consoled by the fact 

that Pastor Dare was a true ambassador of Jesus Christ, whose 

life reflected what he preached and taught. Diri prayed God to 

grant the family the grace and strength to bear the painful loss. 

Nations, as both groups are in 

the same self determination 

like the Igbos”, not all igbo 

are demanding Biafra. 

“We are aware that in 1999, 

Nigerians voted for Yoruba 

presidency based on the injustices 

meted against MKO Abiola 

which brought Obasanjo 

Presidency. We are aware that 

Niger Delta struggles brought 

Former President Jonathan to 

Power in 2011. We are also 

aware that Governor El Rufai 

and other Northerners used 

the Northern insurgency to 

push President Muhammadu 

Buhari to power in 2015. It’s 

time to use 2023 Igbo Presidency 

project to end the Biafra 

agitation. Any attempt by El 

Rufai and co travellers to 

blackmail Igbos with secessionist 

movements is dead on 

arrival”, the group said in a 

statement. 

Edafe confirmed this yesterday, 

in a statement. 

“On the 3/5/2021 at about 

1430hrs, information was received 

from a distress caller 

that a good Samaritan reported 

that one Efe Lucky and Ramson 

Akpojibu both males of 

Ughoton community Okpe 

LGA brought a patient, one 

Mr Christain, male Surname 

unknown” to one of the clinics 

in Warri “As soon he was certified 

dead, the duo with blood 

stains on their cloths was about 

to abscond. The DPO Orerokpe 

Division deployed detectives to 

the clinic. Corpse was viewed 

and signs of violence was seen 

on the body of the 

deceased. “Corpse was photographed 

and deposited at Orerokpe 

General Hospital mortuary. 

The police arrested the 

two suspects Efe Lucky ‘m’ and 

Ramson Akpojibu ‘m’, and the 

premises of the suspects were 

searched. Blood stained cutlass, 

hammer and blood 

soaked towel were recovered. 

“They confessed that they were 

five and they beat up the deceased 

to death over allegation 

of stealing their three thousand 

naira (N3,000.00) and 

phones. “Effort is on to arrest 

the three other suspects.


INSECURITY: Some people ‘re mercilessly 

against this country— Buhari 

*As Economic Team tells President to be decisive in fight 

against insecurity 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

PRESIDENT Muham 

madu Buhari on Friday 

lamented that some 

people who he described as 

unscrupulous elements 

have tried to undermine 

every policy of his administration, 

irrespective of the 

good it was meant to 

achieve for the country. 

The President declared 

that some people were mercilessly 

against the country. 

This is as the Professor 

Doyin Salami-led Presidential 

Economic Advisory 

Council, PEAC, has told 

President Buhari to be decisive 

in the fight against insecurity 

to ensure that the 

menace was brought to an 

end. 

Speaking during the 6th 

regular meeting with the 

PEAC, in Abuja, the President 

promised that the Federal 

Government will focus 

on greater development of 

irrigation facilities in the 

country, and encourage 

more people into agriculture. 

President Buhari said agriculture 

was a good way for 

the country to overcome economic 

challenges confronting 

it, stressing: “We need 

to go back to the land. Technology 

is doing away with 

petroleum, but we are lucky 

we have other resources; 

Gas, vast arable land, which 

we are not using enough.” 

The President according to 

the statement issued by his 

Special Adviser on Media 

and Publicity, Chief Femi 

Adesina was responding to 

disclosure by Prof Salami, in 

his presentation, that only 2 

per cent of land under cultivation 

was irrigated, recommending 

that apart from 

government efforts, incentives 

are needed for private 

people to enter the sector. 

On the security challenges, 

which PEAC said was 

having great repercussions 

on the economy, President 

Buhari charged leadership 

at every level to go back to 

the basics, noting that a bottom-up 

approach was necessary, 

from ward, to local 

council, states, and federal. 

He decried the situation in 

which some unscrupulous 

people tried to undermine 

every policy of government, 

irrespective of the good it 

was meant to achieve for the 

country. 

He said, “Some people 

are mercilessly against this 

country. We closed the borders 

to control the smuggling 

of petroleum products, 

and check the influx of 

smuggled goods, arms and 

ammunition. 

“That was when the 

Comptroller General of Customs 

called me, saying 40 

tankers laden with petrol 

had been impounded. I told 

Corruption, major cause of 

insecurity—ICPC 

By Alice Ekpang, Abuja 

CHAIRMAN, Inde 

pendent Corrupt 

Practices and Other Related 

Offences Commission, 

ICPC, Professor 

Bolaji Owasanoye, has 

identified corruption as 

the most potent factor responsible 

for rising security 

challenges in the 

country. 

Owasanoye stated this 

while delivering a goodwill 

message at the 

opening ceremony of a 

capacity-building workshop 

for the House of 

Representatives’ Committee 

on Anti-Corruption 

with the theme, 

“The role of the legislature 

in the fight against 

corruption” organized 

by a German foundation, 

Konrad-Adenauer- 

Stiftung in partnership 

with the House Committee 

on Anti-Corruption. 

Owasanoye noted that 

proper legislature, appropriation, 

oversight 

and scrutiny of public 

accounts would have 

him to sell the fuel, sell the 

trucks, and put the money 

in the treasury. 

“They still brought arms 

and ammunition into the 

country, brought in rice in 

vehicles and motorcycles. I 

said shoot anyone found illegally 

with AK-47, yet they 

haven’t stopped. People 

must show consideration for 

their own country.” 

PEAC submitted that the 

global economy has continued 

to improve as COVID 

infections drop and roll-out 

of vaccination intensifies, 

adding that the Nigerian 

economy, though out of recession, 

remains fragile with 

inflation rising, unemployment 

high, and external account 

weak. 

prevented the drift into 

the kind of insecurity 

that presently engulfs 

the nation. 

He said: “Through 

legislation, appropriation, 

investigation, oversight 

and the scrutiny of 

public accounts, the legislature 

implements a 

very crucial fundamental 

objective in fighting 

corruption of power and 

also by doing so, it prevents 

the drift into the 

kind of insecurity that 

we have found ourselves 

in. 

“Corruption is Nigeria’s 

greatest challenge 

and a singular push factor 

of national security 

challenges, the expansion 

of poverty, the reduction 

of life expectancy, 

the high mortality 

rate we suffer and the 

deteriorated livelihood 

experienced by our citizens. 

He added that graft 

has also diminished the 

promotion and standing 

of democratic institutions 

and national accountability 

which has 

promoted the creation of 

unnecessary projects, 

and the funding of such, 

thus diminishing the 

funding of the necessary 

projects and to see them 

to completion. 

Owasanoye emphasized 

that the role of the 

legislature ultimately is 

to ensure that “we do 

not go in that direction 

but to keep us on the 

path of restitution by 

promotion of good governance 

through their 

legislative process. 

“Now the big question 

and the elephant in the 

room is how well has the 

legislature played this 

role over the years? 

There is a perception out 

there that the legislature 

is rather reactive, trying 

to put out fires rather 

than preventing the fires 

from going out and 

sometimes dramatic in 

its approach to oversight 

functions.” 

Police asked us to have 

minimal activities on 

campus — Veritas varsity VC 

By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja 

THE Vice Chancellor of Veritas University Abu 

ja, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, on Friday, said the 

police authorities told the management of the school 

during a security meeting that the tension in the 

nation’s capital over the presence of some unknown 

armed men were real. And so, they should maintain 

minimal activities on campus in order to forestall 

mass abduction of students and staff of the Institution. 

According to the VC, who featured as a guest on 

AIT’s breakfast show, Kakaaki, there have been in 

the past few days, sporadic shootings and kidnappings 

in Bwari Area Council where the university 

and the Abuja campus of the Nigerian Law School 

were located 

He said, “A few days ago, there was a kidnapping 

incident that happened not too far from Veritas University. 

There was also an attempted kidnapping 

three days ago within Bwari. There are also stories 

about shootings closer to the Nigerian law school. 

“All these incidents have heightened tension in 

the place. People believe something is happening. 

Of course, we also had a police intelligence report 

telling us the tracing of some unidentified armed 

men around the lower Usman dam. These things 

have indeed heightened tension in the place. 

Kidnapping, killing now a 

norm in Nigeria— Wike 

*Say APC-led has taken Nigeria 

50yrs back 

By Davies Iheamnachor 

THE Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, 

decried the surge in insecurity in the country, regretting 

that kidnapping and killing have become a 

norm in the country under the All Progressives Congress, 

APC, led Federal Government. 

Wike said the APC controlled FG has dragged Nigeria 

50 years backwards due to its poor performance, 

maintaining that APC has mismanaged the opportunity 

Nigerians gave them to make a difference in 2015. 

The governor disclosed this in a statement by his Special 

Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, after the Vice President 

of Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, Rotarian Obiageli 

Ejezie led other leaders of the association to the Government 

House, Port Harcourt, to confer on Wike the 

“2019/2020 Good Governance Award” for his outstanding 

achievements in project execution in Rivers State. 

Speaking, Governor Wike told the delegation that in 

2015, APC convinced Nigerians that they were going to 

offer better governance than the former President Goodluck 

Jonathan. But having taken over the realm of political 

leadership, the APC have continued to drive the 

country on the path of retrogression. 

Wike said: “There can’t be good governance without 

security and this is based on rule of law. All of us are 

living witnesses in 2015 when it was alleged that the 

government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, 

could not perform. So Nigeria needed a change. What 

has happened to the change? They have taken Nigeria 

back by 50 years.” 

Ebubeagu South East Security 

Outfit arrest 8 robbery suspects 

in Ebonyi 

By Peter Okutu 

NO fewer than eight robbery suspects among other 

criminals, were on Friday arrested by Ebubeagu South 

East Security Network in Ebonyi state. 

The suspects who were arrested in various locations 

were brought to Old Government House, Abakaliki, located 

opposite the headquarters of Ebonyi State Police 

command. 

Speaking to Journalists in Abakaliki, the Commissioner 

of Internal Security, Border Peace and Conflict Resolution, 

Mr. Stanley Okoro Emegha explained that Ebubeagu 

Security Network had become operational as they 

arrested robbery suspects and other criminals who were 

terrorizing the people of the state. 

He stated that Ebubeagu, since its formation in the 

South East, especially in Ebonyi state has recorded a lot 

of breakthroughs by restoring peace and order in the 

state. 

One of the suspects, Igwe Paulinus who hails from Ikwo 

Local Government Area confessed to the crime, saying: 

“I have a gun called 1 Npa, so according to what is happening 

in Ebonyi state, I decided to bring it out and surrender, 

that I will not do it again. I will not do anything 

about stealing again and I promise. That’s why I bring 

the gun out and I promise sir. 

C 

M 

Y


Taraba Elders rebuke Bwacha for 

linking Gov Ishaku, brother to 

detention of 14 youths 

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (middle) with his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo (2nd 

left), Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi (right), former Governor Sullivan 

Chime (2nd right) and the Chairman, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), 

Chief Ikeje Asogwa, during the funeral ceremony of Asogwa’s late mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Nwakego 

Asogwa (Nee Duhu), held at Iheaka, Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state, yesterday. 

FG borrowed $5.9 b to fight COVID-19, 

implement budget — Ahmed 

…Says Supplementary Budget ‘ll fund 29.588 m doses of 

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine 

By Emma Ujah, Abuja 

Bureau Chief 

THE federal govern 

ment borrowed about 

$5.9 billion in 2020, to tackle 

the COVID-19 pandemic 

and implement its budget. 

The Minister of Finance, 

Budget and National 

Planning, Mrs. Zainab 

Ahmed, revealed this yesterday. 

A statement issued 

by her Special Adviser, 

Media and Communications, 

Mr. Yunusa Abdullahi, 

yesterday, indicated that 

the minister told the Collaborative 

Africa Budget Reform 

Initiative (CABRI) 

General Assembly during a 

webinar, that the federal 

government had to move 

quickly to save the economy. 

Speaking on Nigeria’s fiscal 

response - short term 

interventions and impact on 

public finances, as an immediate 

fiscal response, 

Mrs. Ahmed said: “We did 

the following: Procured a 

$3.4 billion loan from the 

International Monetary 

Fund (IMF) and about $2.5 

billion in local currency 

from the domestic capital 

market to support the 2020 

budget implementation), 

among others.” 

She noted that the government 

then packaged a 

N500 billion for COVID-19 

Crisis Intervention Fund in 

the 2020 revised budget, as 

part of a N2.3 trillion Economic 

Sustainability Plan. 

Mrs. Ahmed said that the 

government had begun the 

process of moving the 

economy away from its primary 

dependence on oil for 

revenues and foreign exchange, 

and making 

steady gains in addressing 

infrastructure and human 

capital challenges, before 

the pandemic hit global 

economy. 

With COVID-19, Nigeria’s 

Bonny Light crude oil 

price fell from a peak of 

US$72.2 per barrel on January 

7, 2020 to below US$20 

by April 2020. 

She said, “In effect, the 

US$57 crude oil price 

benchmark approved in the 

2020 budget became unrealistic 

triggering the need to 

adjust the following variables: 

reduction of crude oil 

benchmark price from 

US$57 per barrel to US$28 

per barrel; reduction of daily 

crude oil production 

benchmark from 2.18 million 

barrels per day (mbpd) 

to 1.9 mbpd; adjustment of 

the official exchange rate to 

N360/US$1 from N305/$.” 

Mrs. Ahmed revealed 

that part of the federal government 

Supplementary 

Budget on COVID-19 

would be spent on the procurement 

of 29. 588 million 

doses of the Johnson & 

Johnson vaccine. 

Oyo LG dissolution: S-Court declares 

Gov Makinde’s action illegal 

...orders payment of salaries, allowances of 

sacked Chairmen, Councillors 

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

THE Supreme Court, 

yesterday, declared 

the dissolution and sack of 

elected Local Government 

Chairmen and Councillors 

in Oyo State by Governor 

Seyi Makinde, as unconstitutional 

and illegal. 

The apex court, in a 

unanimous judgement by 

a five-man panel of Justices, 

held that governor 

Makinde acted beyond his 

powers, when on his assumption 

of office on May 

29, 2019, he sacked the 

Chairmen of the 33 Local 

Government Areas, LGAs, 

as well as 35 Local Council 

Development Areas, 

LCDAs, in the state. 

Stressing that no governor 

has the constitutional 

power to illegally terminate 

the tenure of democratically 

elected LG Chairmen 

and Councillors, the Supreme 

Court, in its lead 

verdict that was read by 

Justice Ejembi Eko, noted 

that Governor Makinde 

took the action despite a 

subsisting court order. 

It held that Governor 

Makinde acted “invidiously 

and in contemptuous disregard 

of a High Court 

judgement”, when he dissolved 

the democratically 

elected Chairmen and 

Councillors, and appointed 

Caretaker Committees 

in their stead. 

It held that his action was 

in breach of section 7(1) of 

the 1999 Constitution, as 

amended. 

The Supreme Court held 

that governors were duty 

bound to preserve democratically 

elected Local Government 

Councils. 

Consequently, it invoked 

its original jurisdictionon 

under section 22 of the Supreme 

Court Act and vacated 

the judgement of the 

Court of Appeal in Ibadan, 

which earlier validated governor 

Makinde’s action. 

It held that the appellate 

court was wrong when it 

held that there was no reasonable 

cause of action in 

the suit the appellants filed 

to forstall their sack. 

By Femi Bolaji 

CONCERNED Southern Taraba Elders have 

faulted the claim by the Senate minority leader 

and senator representing Taraba South, Emmanuel 

Bwacha, that a fracas with Governor Darius 

Ishaku’s brother led to the detention of 14 youths by 

the police. 

The elders who addressed the press Friday, in Jalingo, 

Taraba state capital, explained that the motion 

raised by the senator on the floor of the Senate on 

May 5, 2021, was only meant to distract the police 

from doing their job. 

Recall that Senator Bwacha in a motion at the floor 

of the senate said 14 people from his constituency 

have been in detention after a quarrel with the brother 

of Governor Ishaku. 

Leader of the elders, Sale Pimtim who spoke for the 

group, dissociated the elders from the action of the 

senator, which he claimed was borne out of malice for 

the state governor. 

He said, “as Stakeholders from Southern Taraba, this 

is not the time to remain silent when the exalted office 

of a Governor is being desecrated or painted in 

the negative over issues involving persons reasonably 

suspected to have committed serious offenses. 

“To drag the Governor’s name or his alleged brother’s 

name in this matter shows the level of malice that 

Senator Bwacha has developed against the Governor. 

Adeleke bags Bachelor’s 

degree, Osun PDP describes 

him as courageous 

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo 

THE Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State has de 

scribed the party Governorship candidate in the last 

election, Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke as a man 

of rare courage following his graduation from the Atlanta 

Metropolitan State College, USA. 

The Party in a Statement issued by the State Chairman, 

Hon. Sunday Bisi noted that in spite of the vicious 

political manipulation which robbed Adeleke of the Governorship 

position he vied for in 2018 and the several 

harassment against him, the former Senator deemed it 

fit to use the period after the election in a very productive 

and rewarding manner. 

It noted that while others in similar positions may resort 

to whining in bitterness or even creating mischief to 

protest the controversial decision of the courts after the 

2018 elections, Senator Adeleke stayed focused on personal 

self development and positive engagements as a 

true democrat. 

The Party therefore described Adelekes decision to enroll 

in school and obtain a degree in such a record time as a 

great motivation for the young and old who truly desire 

to play meaningful role in development activities at any 

level of the society. 

Police repel attack on 

station, kill eight hoodlums, 

recover seven vehicles 

By Chidi Nkwopara, OWERRI. 

A 

spirited attempt by unidentified armed hoodlums, 

to destroy the Divisional Police Headquarters, Orlu, 

was Thursday night, foiled by a combined team of security 

operatives. 

The first information report that reached our correspondent, 

had it that the security personnel killed no fewer 

than eight of the invaders and recovered seven vehicles 

said to belong to the armed hoodlums. 

Reports from residents of Orlu township showed that 

the gun battle between the attackers and the joint security 

operatives virtually lasted throughout the long night, 

while a competent source confirmed that a reinforcement 

from the 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, was sent, to beef 

up the fighting force in Orlu. 

“The build up to the eventual gun battle, started in the 

early evening. People scampered into safety but some 

were caught unawares. 

“Orlu roads and the adjoining communities were deserted. 

We didn’t find it easy at all, throughout the night. 

It was very traumatic. There was palpable tension and 

panic in the town.” 

An unconfirmed story had it that an Armoured Personnel 

Carrier, APC,was torched by the hoodlums at Umuna 

Junction, Orlu. 

Although, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, 

Mr. Orlando Ikeokwu, could not be reached for comments 

on the development, another reliable source in 

the Police Command that didn’t want his name in print 

however, confirmed the story. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

8—SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8, 2021 

•Bode George 

Insecurity: 

Nigeria now headless, wobbling, 

Bode George raises alarm 

.Says, I’ll cease to be a Nigerian 

if Tinubu becomes president 

.Coup talks irresponsible, senseless, treasonable —Oshiomhole 

.Says, ‘We don’t want unelected angels’ 

.Corrupt elements fuelling insecurity —Buhari Support Groups 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA: Former Military Administrator 

of Ondo state, Chief Olabode George 

has lamented the growing wave of 

insecurity in the country, calling for drastic 

measures to drag Nigeria from the brinks, 

saying the country is currently headless and 

wobbling. 

George who was also a former Chairman 

of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA and 

National Vice Chairman, Southwest zone 

of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP made 

his position known in a television interview 

monitored Friday in Abuja. 

His position came as the immediate-past 

National Chairman of the ruling All 

Progressives Congress APC and former 

Governor of Edo state, Comrade Adams 

Oshiomhole opposed any call for a military 

take over of government, describing it as 

irresponsible, senseless and treasonable. 

Oshiomhole spoke on Friday when he 

received the leadership of Law Students 

Association of Nigeria LAWSAN led by its 

president, Mr Blessing Agbonmhere. 

Aside the former party leader, the Forum of 

Buhari Support Groups FOBSG also rose in 

support of President Muhammadu Buhari, 

saying the current wave of insecurity in the 

country is being fuelled by corrupt elements 

in the polity. 

Oshiomhole who was reacting to a call by a 

senior lawyer, Chief Robert Clarke to the effect 

that the military should take over and 

restructure the federation, the former APC 

National Chairman said; “Incidentally, I 

watched on a national television one of your 

very senior colleagues, Chief Robert Clarke. I 

was shocked when I saw him calling on the 

President to handover to the military, I thought 

that was the height of irresponsibility, given 

his knowledge, given his age and a very senior 

member of the bar and what is it that he 

wanted? He wants a military that will 

restructure Nigeria? It is again, for me, 

senseless because the structure as it is today, 

who put it in place? Who overthrew the 

parliamentary system? 

“The parliamentary system was overthrown 

by the Nigerian military, that is on record. 

Who created 12 states from the four regions 

by decree? It was the military. The current 36 

states and FCT who created it by military 

decree? It was the military. How can anybody 

who has lived through and who is familiar 

with our journey as a nation think that the 

solution to our problems as a nation is to 

handover to the military? I thought, talking 

about the rule of law, that is treason. 

“You know we have freedom of speech but it 

does not include the freedom to canvass 

unlawful means to effect a change. When you 

canvass unlawful means, then you should be 

arraigned before a court of law and dealt with 

according to the law. Ignorance is not even an 

excuse in law not to talk of a Senior Advocate 

of Nigeria. I think that even in our moment of 

distress and regardless of what anybody 

thinks, the world is resolved and Nigeria is 

part of it that never again shall we be governed 

by an unelected government, never, we don’t 

want unelected angels. 

“Robert Clarke, I have a lot of respect for 

him. When I see him on television, I like to 

watch him because you can’t take it away from 

him because he has made his own 

contributions but I was shocked that he could 

resort to unlawful suggestions as to how to 

solve our problems. Even his prescriptions did 

not benefit from his own experience in life, if 

the military had solution, Nigeria would have 

been the greatest country on earth, if 

dictatorship is the answer. 

“I think when it comes to the rule of law, it 

does not flourish under dictatorship. The first 

thing that suffers under military is the rule of 

law because the process of making laws will 

be appropriated by the military. The thing that 

we will be missing is parliament where you 

can canvass your input to dispute to agree or 

disagree. So, for anyone who is familiar with 

this to think that the Nigerian Army should be 

entrusted, I thought Clarke owns Nigerians 

an apology.” 

Nigeria headless 

Speaking on the breakfast show, George 

began in pidgin, saying; “I believe we dey, 

but we no dey kankpe”, adding that; “I believe 

that for over 75 years that I have lived on this 

mother earth, I had never experienced or seen 

my nation in this situation. It is like we are 

headless. Nothing is going on and I feel that 

the insecurity in the land, the lack of 

employment in the land and so many vagaries 

of inactivities jumpstarting, encouraging 

people to move from A to B peacefully to carry 

out their normal jobs and make their money 

at the end of the day and keep their families 

alive. We cannot guarantee that anymore. So, 

I keep wondering because this is no longer a 

matter of Party A or Party B. Nigeria is in dire 

straits. The president must rise to the level 

where...well, I cannot teach him because he 

was my boss in the military. There are so many 

•Tinubu 

ways, I believe from my military training, that 

you can approach the situation. We have what 

we used to call aid to civil power, that is, if the 

police action is not working, is not efficient, 

then the Commander in Chief can get the army 

out in an operational order that can secure 

lives and property because the first 

responsibility of any government is the security 

of lives and property of its people. Once you 

don’t get that going, the National Assembly 

can shout from here to Timbuktu but the 

country is wobbling and something has to be 

done and done very quickly. It is our nation. 

The heavens are going to fall. Nobody is secure. 

When you get out of your house whether you 

are a rich man or poor or middle class, you 

keep looking left and right and watching your 

head for security. What is this? 

“The platform is wobbling and wobbling so 

badly. So, what can you do? The lawmakers 

are talking. There is so much anger in the 

land. People are displeased and unhappy. 

Presidency’s position accusing 

critics of nursing a coup, a thrash 

“The statement by the government on coup 

plot is an absolute trash. What are you talking 

about taking over government. An elected 

government? Are you saying if we feel 

something is going wrong, we cannot talk? 

Talking is our birth right and our fundamental 

human right. Are you saying we are zombies 

to be quiet and start working around silent? 

The president must have a feedback and that 

feedback is the fact that all is not well. Femi 

Adesina can be deceiving himself there but all 

is not well. He must have relations, friends or 

his own children too who are going from 

location A to location B. It is heart-wrenching 

and this talk about trying to take over 

government, to do what? When Jonathan was 

there, the current minister of information was 

the greatest spokesman, talking from all sides 

of his mouth and head, blasting the 

government. In fact, I remember one time, 

Bola Tinubu called Jonathan a drunken Ijaw 

fisher man. He didn’t get offended. So, you 

are now telling people to be quiet because you 

are planning to do what? You are elected to 

serve the people and you must ensure that 

there is security of life. It is non negotiable. Let 

them move away from this scary and 

unfathomable statements”. 

On the statement by Chief Clarke, the former 

National official of the PDP said military rule 

is an aberration. 

“Let me advise our people. It is not the 

responsibility of the military to get involved 

in governance. I was in the military and I knew 

what it was when we had the normal civilian 

governance and what it was when the military 

took over. The impact it has on the military 

itself, we are yet to completely get back to 

normal operations. People who are talking 

about the military, that is not our responsibility. 

It has never been and it will never be. 

Everybody is designed, trained to do his own 

function so that the collective responsibility is 

to make sure that A and B can move in one 

direction that is reflective of civilised 

behaviour. 

“Please, those who are 

talking about having the 

military should dance 

away from it. It is not 

acceptable. It will 

completely roll this 

country back many 

centuries. I don’t 

subscribe to it. The 

system we are 

running is akin to a 

m i l i t a r y 

organization. You 

have one man sitting at 

the top of government 

and his orders percolate 

to the bottom. No, in a 

democratic dispensation, 

power must come from the 

bottom up. The power of the 

people is what will drive our 

politicians and our leaders in taking decisions 

because you were elected based on your 

promise to manage the resources on behalf of 

the people. It should not be the other way 

round. 

Devolution of powers 

“Another thing is that the system that was 

handed over since 1999 is not working and 

you will know that the lack of communal 

security is what is being transported and it is 

expanding and completely consuming this 

country. It means that the issue of total 

centralization of the power of the presidency 

is not working. You have to devolve powers to 

the states so that the states and local 

governments will also have their own powers 

so that from unit to unit the people in such 

places can hold their immediate leaders to 

account. But to leave it that one man will sit 

and the powers will percolate from top to 

bottom in this massive nation? That system 

has not worked. We have tried it, it is not 

working. 

“Let us not deceive ourselves and there has 

been a national conference. A report was 

submitted, that report is still there. We have 

another one year of the grace of God to let us 

sit down and discuss the report of that 

conference and let us move forward. It is not a 

matter of hating anybody. The consequence is 

that you are now perpetrating the lack of 

cohesion among tribes. They are no longer 

talking to themselves. What is the problem? 

Why are we having so much tension among 

ourselves? I think the devil has entered this 

country. Maybe we have offended God and I 

think we need a lot of prayers and sincerity of 

purpose and commitment”. 

I’ll cease to be a Nigerian if... 

Chief George also slammed a national 

leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress 

APC and former Lagos governor, Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu for his presidential ambition, 

saying he would cease to be a Nigerian should 

the APC leader become president. 

“Let me say it in very clear language, to me 

it is an insult to the civilised people of this 

country, those who are committed to national 

development that the likes of him will aspire 

to take over the mantle of this government. I 

am of the opinion that the system we are 

running now is completely ineffective. It is so 

militarized in its structure and nature. We 

cannot be waiting for the orders of one person. 

Let the powers be devolved. To sit down in one 

place with somebody barking orders like a 

military organization is not working. So, for 

this man saying he wants to be president, you 

should ask him what did he do where he 

governed before? 

“He is junketing all over the place and it is 

an insult to civilised minds who have worked 

so hard in this country. Please, this nation must 

survive. If by whatever yardstick he becomes 

the Head of State, I will cease to be a 

Nigerian”, George declared. 

On its part the Forum of Buhari Support 

Groups FOBSG said the president is not 

sleeping on the wheels, adding that he is on 

top of the nation’s security challenges. 

National Chairman of the forum, Dr. Abiso 

Kabir stated this at a news conference Friday 

in Abuja. 

He said; “When you consider the relentless 

fight against corruption, which was at its peak 

when the Buhari presidency came on board, 

compared with the present situation, you 

cannot but give an above average mark to 

this government in tackling the hydra- headed 

monster. 

“Though, it is true that the current state of 

security in our country is less than satisfactory, 

there is a practical demonstration by the 

government to address it. 

“While we do not intend to give excuses for 

the unfortunate security challenges we are 

facing as a nation, there are indications that 

some of it are being contrived and fuelled by 

bad belly politics of those who don’t wish the 

country and its people well. 

“As support groups for this administration, 

we are of the firm conviction that these are 

temporary setbacks, and trying periods for our 

nation, and we shall overcome”, they added.

•Angry Benue youths demanding for justice after the Abagena IDPs attack 

After shedding so much blood, 

losing our people, farmlands 

Benue youths 

resolve to fight 

back 

•State Govt to legally arm 

newly formed Community 

Volunteer Guards 

By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

It’s been three weeks of bloodbath in 

what seemed a coordinated attack on 

communities in neigbouring Makurdi, 

Guma and Gwer West Local Government 

Areas, LGAs, of Benue state where armed 

herdsmen mindlessly bared their fangs on 

helpless farmers leaving close to 70 

people dead and more than double that 

figure injured. 

The marauders also razed houses, food 

barns, and farmlands in some of the 

besieged communities leaving in their 

wake trails of devastation that may take 

the communities several years to recover. 

Perhaps the period under review may 

best be described as one of the worst in 

the history of the state in the gory 

slaughter of defenseless farmers and their 

family members by the bloodthirsty 

marauders aside the 2018 new year’s day 

coordinated massacre in Logo and Guma 

LGAs that claimed close to 80 lives 

sparking widespread outrage both locally 

and internationally. 

The timeline of these attacks clearly 

indicated that the state has daily been 

recording an average of four deaths in 

attacks unleashed on the farming 

communities by the armed herders who 

have suddenly turned Benue communities 

into theaters of blood, sorrow and tears. 

Available records of these attacks 

indicated that on April 14, 2021, the 

armed herders invaded Goh community 

a suburb of Naka, Headquarters of Gwer 

West LGA and murdered about eight 

persons. Goh community is less than three 

kilometers from Naka town. 

Next on the line was Makurdi LGA 

where a family of four and three others 

including children were gruesomely 

murdered at Mbamondu community, 

Makurdi Modern Market Council Ward 

on April 17. 

And on April 21, a traditional ruler and 

five others were also killed in three 

separate attacks on Tse-Zoola village 

Agan Makurdi LGA, Odugbeho in Agatu 

LGA and Mbayer-Yandev in Guma LGA. 

In fact Governor Ortom ran into the 

victims of Tse-Zoola attack while 

returning back to Makurdi after an 

official engagement and had to 

personally intervene to ensure that the 

area was not thrown into a turmoil 

following the murder of the traditional 

ruler. 

The Governor was also compelled to 

cancel most of the events organized in 

his honor by individuals and groups to 

mark his 60th birthday anniversary in 

show of solidarity and concern for 

families who lost loved ones in the spate 

of attacks. 

And less than 48 hours after, came the 

coordinated invasion of 

Tse Ukor, Tse Gborigyo 

and Tse Uhembe 

communities all in 

Mbayer-Yandev 

Council Ward of Guma 

LGA on April 23 which 

claimed 17 lives and left 

scores injured. 

Following that attack, 

Governor Ortom had to 

visit Guma and the Tse 

Uikpam IDPs camps 

where he raised the 

alarm that the attacks 

on Benue communities 

by the marauders were 

taking their toll on the 

people and creating a 

huge humanitarian 

crisis for his 

government. He 

appealed to spirited 

individuals, foreign and 

local organisations to 

come to the aid of the 

state. 

And while the 

Governor was still 

lamenting the fate of the 

hapless Benue 

populace, came the 

mother of all attacks on 

April 27 which jolted the entire state and 

sparked outrage both within and outside 

the country. 

The Abagena IDPs camp located in the 

outskirts of Makurdi town came under 

the ferocious attack of the herdsmen 

The marauders also 

razed houses, food 

barns, and farmlands 

in some of the 

besieged communities 

leaving in their wake 

trails of devastation 

that may take the 

communities several 

years to recover 

which left seven 

of the inmates 

dead and 

several others 

badly injured. 

It again took a swift intervention of the 

Governor, who though broke down after 

seeing the corpses of the murdered IDPs, 

prevailed on the thousands of youths who 

had mobilized to the scene, to bury their 

thoughts of embarking on reprisal attacks 

after they had taken over the very busy 

Makurdi - Lafia road where they laid the 

corpses of the butchered IDPs, chanting 

wars songs. 

The angry youths 

yielded to the appeal of 

the Governor but made 

demands on President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

The youths through their 

leader Amos Amo 

dropped a hint of what 

lay ahead in the days 

and weeks to come if the 

federal government 

failed to act fast to calm 

frayed nerves and 

reassure the people of the 

state of its commitment 

to put an end to the 

herdsmen menace. 

Amo called on 

President Buhari to 

ensure justice by 

allowing Tiv youths bear 

AK47 riffles to defend 

themselves like the 

herdsmen who are 

allowed to move around 

the country with the 

weapon unhindered. 

Hear him: “Mr. 

President, we want justice 

and justice must prevail. 

We want you to allow us 

also use AK47 riffle the 

same way Fulanis are using it. 

“Yesterday we saw them with our eyes 

and heard them speaking Fulani. They 

killed some people and injured some 

others. Some are in the hospitals right 

now. Mr President, if you know you are in 

SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8, 2021—9 

power, if you know you are the President 

of this country and we voted for you, you 

must rise up and do something, else we 

will do our best. We must do our best,” he 

exclaimed. 

Despite the outrage that greeted the 

Abagena invasion, the marauders again 

struck at Udei branch in Mbabai Council 

Ward of Guma Local Government Area, 

LGA, same April 27 killing a man and his 

wife. 

Then came the April 29 twin attack on 

Imandeakpu and Mbatyough Saghev 

communities in Guma and Gwer West 

LGAs respectively that claimed the lives 

of five persons. 

That attack was followed by the May 

2nd and 3rd attacks and sacking of 

Agbanu, along Naka-Agagbe road, 

Saghev Council Ward and Tse Amgbem 

close to Aondoana the home town of the 

Benue First Lady, Dr. Eunice Ortom which 

left 17 persons including women and 

children dead. 

The attackers who reportedly burnt 

down Tse Amgbem sacked the 

inhabitants of the community and also 

left scores injured and many fleeing 

to nearby Aondoana community. 

Bothered by the silence of the 

presidency on the unending attacks 

on Benue communities, Benue youths 

under the aegis of Benue Youth Forum, 

BYF, vowed to defend the state and its 

extant laws. 

President of BYF Comrade 

Terrence Kuanum warned for 

the umpteenth time that 

the youths of Benue may 

not fold their hands 

anymore and watch 

the marauders 

annihilate their 

people and their 

ancestral land. 

“For us as a 

people we are not 

going to fold our 

arms and allow 

ourselves be 

consumed by 

these people. So 

now that they 

have taken this 

attack to where 

w e 

reside and have 

our 

seat of power, it has 

gotten to our neck and 

w e are going to respond with 

commensurate measure of 

what they are going to bring to 

u s . 

o u r 

•Ortom addressing 

the angry youths 

We are not going to fold 

hands and be killed by 

these people. 

“We must make this loud 

and clear that the entire 

Benue State is fully 

mobilized to defend its 

laws and land against 

any threat posed by 

members of Miyetti 

Allah Kautal Hore and 

any other violent Fulani 

group,” Kuanum said. 

On his part, the 

President General of Tiv 

Youth Organisation, 

TYO, Mr. Timothy 

Hembaor warned that 

the youths of Benue had 

been pushed to the wall 

and might resort to self 

help with its dire consequences. 

The TYO President General appealed 

to prominent Fulani personalities who 

were equally friends of the Tiv tribe to 

speak up to help calm frayed nerves as 

the situation was getting to a boiling 

point. 

“We also have some of them who are 

honorific title holders in Tiv land. This is 

the time for them to speak out to avert a 

looming backlash that will not do anyone 

any good,” he said. 

Meanwhile given the increasing spate 

of attacks on communities in the state by 

the armed herders, Benue leaders from 

across political parties at the end of 

stakeholders/security meeting on 

Thursday commended the efforts of 

security agencies in the state to stem the 

tide. 

The leaders however observed that the 

agencies had been overstretched hence 

resolved to immediately set up a 

Community Volunteer Guards which 

should be made up ex service men and 

able bodied men of not less than 18 years 

and not more than 50 years. 

Part of the resolution of the meeting read 

by the Governor Ortom stated that “Benue 

State Government should fully enforce 

the “Law to Provide for the Establishment 

of Community Volunteer Guards 

(Vigilante) and for the Purposes 

Connected Therewith” which were 

enacted in the year 2000. 

“The State Government has been 

mandated to support the Vigilante with 

logistics as provided in the Law. 

Recruitment of the Vigilante should be 

carried out in the 23 LGAs of Benue 

State,” he said. 

The meeting also resolved to arm 

members of the guard with legally 

recognized weapons for the defence of 

themselves and their various communities 

in order to put a halt to the armed 

herdsmen induced killings in the state.


Val Ozigbo out with project KA ANAMBRA CHAWAPU 

•Val Ozigbo 

•Ifeanyi Uba 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

rs. Chidi Onyemelukwe, the daughter 

Mof the late second republic vice 

president of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme is 

among the 16 governorship aspirants of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, recently 

cleared by the party to contest the primaries 

of the party next month in preparation for 

the November 6, 2021 governorship 

election. Onyemelukwu is not new in politics 

as she was the running to Mr. Oseloka Obaze 

during the 2017 governorship poll in the 

state.Besides, she had served as the Senior 

Special Assistant to the President and was 

also chairman of the Federal Housing 

Authority. In this interview, Onyemelukwe 

said her main objective, if elected governor, 

is to restore confidence in leadership and 

correct the infrastructure deficit in the state. 

What are your plans for the state as 

governor. 

My manifesto says it all. Our dear state needs 

restoration in all facets because over the past 

eight years people have experienced 

leadership and infrastructure deficits. My 

priorities are to restore trust and confidence, 

in both leadership and government; to get our 

state infrastructure working again; sustain 

and protect existing public infrastructure and 

public properties; complete viable abandoned 

projects and place Anambra State on the path 

to greatness, It is easy to see that things are not 

working optimally. The situation could get 

lot worse if we fold our hands. I am moved by 

a strong desire to serve selflessly to sustain 

our legacy. 

What motivated you to join the race? 

Service. I am privileged to have been well 

traveled. I have been to places where things 

work and are taken for granted. Even here in 

Nigeria, in the so-called good old days, potable 

•Plans to attract $15billion investment in four years 

•Raise IGR to N130billion by 2025 

‘I believe that united, Ndi Anambra will take our rightful place of 

pride, not just in Nigeria, but also in the entire world. I believe we 

can, and we will make it happen.’ 

This is an introductory passage in the manifesto of Valentine Ozigbo 

who wants to be governor of Anambra State. He is among the 

leading contestants for the gubernatorial ticket of the People’s 

Democratic Party. 

Val Ozigbo is the immediate past President and Group CEO of 

Transcorp Plc, a conglomerate with interests in hospitality, power 

and oil and gas. He has a rich resume that boosts his confidence. 

Ozigbo says that Anambra, under him as governor, will be the 

shinning star of Nigeria. It is in pursuance of his lofty dreams for 

the state that he titled his manifesto KA ANAMBRA CHAWAPU, 

meaning let Anambra blossom or let Anambra shine. ‘Ka Anambra 

chawapu’ may become the new lexicon in the politics of Anambra 

State if Ozigbo wins in November election. But he has to battle for 

his party’s ticket first. He is hopeful and has been speaking about 

his plans for Anambra. He had this to say about ‘Ka Anambra 

Chawapu’ as stated in his manifesto: 

“Project Chawapu is our plan to revitalize the Anambra 

economy, through deliberate, strategic partnerships, in order to 

grow employment and productivity, increase internally generated 

revenue, and ultimately boost the ability of the government to 

spend on the things that matter to our citizens. “As a frontline 

business leader in Nigeria, I’m uniquely placed to leverage these 

networks, provide the humble, down to earth leadership that will 

build the enabling environment for entrepreneurship to thrive in 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

HE Anambra PDP Renaissance Group, a body of loyal Peoples 

TDemocratic Party, PDP, members committed to the re - emergence of the 

party in the state, has endorsed Senator Ugochukwu Uba to fly the ticket of 

the party for the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State. 

President of the group, Dr. Mczikit Ukadike and secretary, Chief Kingsley 

Odibendi said they have carefully scrutinized all the party’s aspirants in 

this year’s governorship election and came to the unconditional and 

unequivocal conclusion, that Sen. Ugochukwu Uba is the best suited 

aspirant that would deliver the expectations of the party on November 6. 

According to the group, Senator Uba possesses requisite professional 

knowledge and competence, more than any other aspirant and would be 

seen by the electorate as a new face of hope. 

They said: “Uba has been Senior Lecturer in the Faculties of Public 

Administration at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN and the University 

of Abuja. He had maximized these opportunities to engage in effective 

researches in government and public administration and to impart practical 

knowledge of these disciplines to others. 

“The lack of practical knowledge in the dynamic subjects of Government 

and Public Administration has been the bane of good leadership and our 

reasons for believing that a genuine search for a competent and generally 

accepted aspirant would reveal the Distinguished Senator as the true face 

of hope in the state. 

“The two-time Director-General and two-time Commissioner in the state, 

who had in the earlier years of his political career, served as Executive 

Assistants to governors and military administrators in the state, has a rich 

repertoire of political experience that cannot be presently equaled. 

“This rich background of political experience is a compelling credential 

for the salvation of the state, which is already in distress and in urgent need 

water was available in most urban areas, the 

roads were few but well maintained. Public 

properties were well maintained by the Public 

Works Department (PWD). If we improve the 

quality of life, give our people hope and better 

life, that ought to be sufficient motivation. As 

the saying goes, to whom much is given, much 

is expected. I want to give back. I want a state 

that our children are proud to call home. As a 

child growing up, holidays in the village were 

always the highlight of my year. These days, 

the young ones are mostly looking for a way 

out. A lot has gone wrong. We need to get back 

on the right track. 

What will you do differently as a governor? 

Our approach to doing things differently will 

be dual-tracked: create opportunities and an 

enabling environment to make governance 

seamless and reform and strengthen our 

public institutions. So we will bring experience 

to the table, follow due process, and 

accountability anchored on the fear of God. 

Our governance mantra, which is ethics and 

values, will be premised on accountability and 

transparency. We shall offer opportunities for 

our people to get affordable healthcare, good 

education, gainful employment and dividends 

of democracy. We will engage in gender 

mainstreaming at all levels, bureaucratic and 

political. Elective and appointive positions will 

be based on a 60:40 ratio. If given the 

opportunity, we will reform and strengthen 

our governance institutions to serve the public 

interest and the common cause, guarantee 

investors’ interest and confidence, restore 

capital inflow and sustainable development. 

Our budgetary process shall be transparent 

and results-based. Our policies will be peopledriven. 

Anambra State will be fiscally secure 

and solvent under my watch. 

What do you think the state lacks that you 

will provide? 

Like Nigeria, Anambra State is blessed with 

human and material resources. Really, 

we lack nothing in that sense. What 

we need is focused, transformative, 

adaptive and purposeful 

leadership that will deploy its 

energy and the state’s finances 

and resources in promoting 

the common cause, welfare 

and giving our people a better 

life. Of course, in doing so, one 

would strive to provide 

facilities that would address 

the unmet needs in housing, 

healthcare, education, food 

sufficiency, potable water, 

power, employment and general 

infrastructure. 

thestate. A cornerstone of Project Chawapu is the spending on critical 

infrastructure that is necessary to boost the productivity of the state. 

“We will launch a flagship investment programme, Aku Rue Uno to 

mobilize investment across local and international investor and donor 

networks, as well as leveraging Ndi Anambra in the Diaspora, to 

invest in key value chains crucial for the state’s future resilience and 

strategic autonomy in the context of local and global competitiveness. 

“Anambra State’s economy is built on a foundation of skilled labor, 

considerable entrepreneurial ability, and relatively easy access to 

nearby natural resources. Moreover, large established markets within 

the state’s borders provide investors with nearby locations and opportunities 

for both procurement and commercial activities. 

Strategic Levers 

Together, our initiatives will attract a total of $15 billion in new 

investments into Anambra between 2021 and 2025. 

Boost Internally generated revenue to N130 billion by 2025 under 

our best case scenario. 

Position Anambra as the most competitive state in national competitiveness 

rankingsby 2023. 

We will build on the fiscal responsibility of previous government, 

funding programmes and fulflling our manifesto with minimum debt, 

instead, leveraging the productivity of Ndi Anambra to raise revenue 

internally. 

Design and implement targeted technical training to build capacity 

for the key sectors of our government and economy. 

Overhaul, automate, and increase transparency of processes for 

registering businesses, obtaining permits and paying taxes. 

Group endorses Senator Uba for PDP ticket 

Anambra in dire need of restoration 

of transformational leadership, which is what Sen. Ugochukwu Uba 

aptly represents. 

“As a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 2003 - 2007, the 

Senator distinguished himself as an empirical transformer, when as the 

Senate Committee Chairman on Marine Transport, his committee timely 

initiated a bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Maritime 

Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and ensured the passage 

of the Bill with dispatch. “The pivotal role which NIMASA plays in the 

Nigeria Maritime Industry today greatly pays tribute to the farsightedness 

of the men and women led by Sen. Ugochukwu Uba, who saw the future 

in 2004 and moved in time to draft an appropriate legislation and got 

same passed in real time. 

“Above all, Senator Uba’s undivided loyalty and whole commitment 

to the PDP since 1999 is worth rewarding as a deterrent to party members 

who often abandon the party in difficult times and move on to other 

parties, only to return after the party had survived without their help, just 

to use the party to further their ambitions. 

“Since 1999, when he served as a member of the Presidential Advisory 

Committee on the transition from military to Democratic rule, the 

Distinguished Senator has fervently pitched his tent with the PDP.. 

“ Even after serving out his first term in the Senate, ambition or 

desperation of it was not enough to lure him away from the party. In 

good and bad times, but he has remained a vocal supporter and fierce 

loyalist of the party he was one of the chief conveners in 1998. No other 

aspirant vying for the party’s ticket in this year’s election can boost of 

anything near this record. 

“In our commitment to the renaissance of our great party in Nigeria 

and especially in Anambra State, we sincerely believe that the best 

aspirant that will lead PDP is Senator Ugochukwu Uba, who was there 

at the birth of the PDP in 1998 and had remained faithful and loyal to the 

ideals on which the party was founded.” 

oration —Ekwueme’s daughter 

Many believe 

Anambra is not yet ripe 

for a woman to be 

elected governor. What 

gives you the 

confidence that you can 

overcome that 

perception? 

Such perception 

could 

be 

•Chidi Onyemelukwe 

misinterpreted as 

being sexist; but I 

won’t go that route 

since I know there is a cultural angle to it. 

Anambra needs a female governor because 

we need to do things differently. Moreover, in 

Nigeria we have had a female Chief Justice, a 

female Admiral, a female Army General, 

female senators - indeed Anambra has two 

presently- and female captains of industry. We 

have also had a female Deputy Governor and 

Governor in Anambra State. So, where is this 

‘not being ripe’ coming from? I think we 

should leave the perception and deal with the 

realities. My confidence comes from God and 

from my God given abilities. 

Do you think your party can 

win the November 6 poll? 

PDP is in the race to win. I 

am in the race to win. Many 

believe that the ruling 

parties, both at the central 

and state levels have not 

acquitted themselves 

creditably and therefore 

traditional and 

primordial sentiments 

alone, cannot return or 

put them in power in 

Anambra state. It’s time 

for a reality check. The 

outcome of the 

November 6 election, 

barring 

anything 

untoward, will be in the 

hands of the 

A n a m b r a 

electorate, and of 

course, in the hands 

of God. 

What is the 

influence of 

former governor 

like Peter Obi and 

others in the 

choosing of the next governor? 

PDP is the longest and presently the only 

active party amongst those founded at the cusp 

of the return to democracy in 1999. We have 

institutional capacity, institutional memory, 

and sagacious stakeholders and leaders. These 

leaders, like Peter Obi, are highly respected 

and wield sufficient influence to advise the 

party on how to do things right in the interest 

of the party, and to ensure equity, credibility 

and transparency. Insofar as their individual 

and collective influence are germane and in 

tandem with the aspirations of the party, their 

respective roles remains critical.

•Jim-Ovia 

•Alex Otti 

By Magnus Onyibe 

Part of the legacy of Sanusi Lamido 

Sanusi , SLS as the governor of the 

Central Bank of Nigeria , CBN (2009 

-2014) is the introduction of Good 

Corporate Governance policy stipulating 

10 years only as the maximum tenure for 

bank Managing Directors, MDs. 

Ostensibly, it was set up as a guarantee 

against self perpetuation by bank 

Managing Directors, MDs, some of whom 

were also founders of banks after the CBN 

, (under the watch of Chukwuma Soludo as 

governor) opened up the banking industry 

for more private sector investments and 

consolidation in 2004. 

Apart from the likes of Jim Ovia of 

Zenithbank, and Tony Elumelu, UBA who 

also doubled as majority owners of equity 

in the banks that they founded , and 

therefore returned to assume the 

chairmanship positions after hibernation 

for about five (5) years , the former Chief 

Executive Officer , CEO of IBTC , Atedo 

Peterside, start ed a private airplane leasing 

company ANAP- Jets and ex Access bank 

MD/CEO, Aigboje lmokhuede,became the 

chairman of WAPIC insurance -a subsidiary 

of Accessbank as well engage himself in 

the activities of some international 

academic and climate change focused 

organizations . Femi Akinfenwa, former 

MD of Skye bank also swept off by the 

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s Good Corporate 

Governance tsunami had migrated to oil/ 

gas sector as the MD of Femi Otedola’s 

Forte Oil. 

Unlike the others , UBA’s Philip Oduoza 

(who took over the reins of leadership from 

Elumelu) has set up Nova merchant bank 

as he completed his ten years tenure as MD. 

Likewise for the immediate past GMD of 

Zenithbank , Peter Amangbo (who 

succeeded the current CBN governor 

Godwin Emefiele) and has also set up a 

bank-Globusbank where he serves in the 

role of chairman, after retirement. 

Emeka Emuwa, had also recently exited 

Union bank where he had served as MD 

since 2012. But he might be in hibernation 

as his whereabouts or what he is doing in or 

outside the financial services sector is 

currently not in the public domain. 

The most recent retired MD of a bank is 

Nnamdi Okonkwo , formerly the CEO of 

Fidelity bank. He is currently in hibernation 

•Tony Elumelu 

•Peter Amangbo 

•Philip Uduoza 

•Aigboje Imokhuede 

Where Do Ex-Bank 

MDs In Nigeria Go 

When They Retire? 

too-taking a deserved break. 

Would he also set up a bank as Oduoza 

and Amangbo have done, or would he make 

a foray into a related sector such as the 

Fintech business, as a former deputy CBN 

governor and former Wema bank MD, 

Tunde Lemo did by setting up Flutterwave, 

the wave making money 

transfer platform ? 

Recently, the services of 

Flutterwave got suspended 

by the CBN as part of the 

apex financial institutions 

strategy to cut off the 

source of funding to 

#Ensars youth protesters 

last October? But it is back 

in business now as a 

unicorn-$1b by valuationhaving 

raised series C 

capital of $170m. 

The path from banking 

to politics was led by 

Femi Pedro, former 

managing director of 

First Atlantic bank who 

later became deputy 

governor of Lagos 

state, with Bola Tinubu 

as governor , 2003-7 

Gtbank’s MD/CEO, 

Segun Agbaje is due to go 

into retirement in a couple 

of months-June 

specifically. 

He is already a board 

member of PepsiCo of 

USA. 

Would he also remain in 

the financial services 

sector or would he pivot 

into the real sector -manufacturing and 

production of goods instead of remaining 

in the services sector where he was as a 

banker ? 

The first founder and Chief Executive 

Officer of a bank to hand over the reins of 

leadership to his co-founder, Tayo 

Aderinokun is Fola Adeola. 

He made a clean break from the banking 

sector by not becoming the chairman. 

Rather he went into other areas of 

endeavors. 

He set up FATE foundation, a 

philanthropy and later joined politics by 

contesting as vice presidential candidate 

with the pioneer EFCC chairman, Nuhu 

Ribadu as the presidential 

candidate of the defunct Action 

Congress of Nigeria , ACN. 

Alex Otti, a former MD/CEO 

of Diamond bank retired from 

the role to contest for the 

governorship seat of his 

state,Abia. After two 

unsuccessful attempts at being 

the helmsman in government 

house Umuahia, Abia state , he 

is still pushing the ante on the 

political path with the hope that 

he might be third time lucky. 

Also recently, Tokunbo Abiru, 

resigned as MD/CEO of 

Polarisbank to contest for the 

senatorial seat in lagos. He is 

now a serving senator, perhaps 

with eyes on the governorship 

seat of Lagos state, upon the 

completion of the tour of duty 

of the current governor, Jide 

Sanwo-olu. 

Curiously, no ex bank CEO has retired 

into the academia in Nigeria as Pat Utomi 

did when he retired from Volkswagen of 

Nigeria as acting MD/CEO into Pan 

African University where he is now a 

professor of practice. Not even Chukwuma 

Soludo , ex CBN governor that appears to 

be intellectually inclined but has not had 


his eyes on the academia. Instead , he is 

coveting the governorship seat in Anambra 

state which had eluded him in the past when 

he contested to be the governor of a state, 

as opposed to just being the governor of the 

CBN-also known as governor of money. 

In the absence of intellectually inclined 

bankers, there is bound to be a lot of 

practical knowledge lost as those who are 

repositories are not sharing or passing them 

onto the new generation in our higher 

institutions of learning. 

I doubt if senior bankers (like the MDs 

and EDs) who are the centers of gravity in 

their respective banks , some of whom have 

helped grow their banks balance sheets 

phenomenally (Zenithbank, Gtbank, UBA 

,Accessbank) even have time to go and 

impart their knowledge on the future 

generation of bankers via lectures in any of 

the industry training platforms such as 

Financial Institutions Training Centre, 

FITC , how much more spend time serving 

as part time lecturers in universities etc. 

Unlike bankers , some major real sector 

players have transited from industry to 

diplomacy. 

When he retired as chairman of Cadbury, 

Christopher Kolade was appointed to the 

post of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the 

United Kingdom, Uk. 

Apart from 

Bank CEOs, some bank EDs such as Elias 

Akenzua, exited Acessbank to co-found 

Globusbank in 2019. Fidelis Anyabae, also 

a former Director in Citibank Nigeria 

pivoted into the world of manufacturing 

with focus on the pharmaceuticals sector 

when he quit banking to set up Fidson 

pharmaceuticals . Remarkably, before the 

recent phenomenon of ex bank MDs setting 

up their own banks , and prior to the 

avalanche of private sector investments into 

the banking sector leading to ownership of 

banks by individuals in Nigeria , most ex 

bank MDs either got appointed into the 

CBN (because they were essentially public 

servants) or were really old, and as such 

became fully retired. 

That’s particularly so because all the 

banks at that time were owned by 

government. 

The banking juggernauts that readily 

come to mind are Ola Vincent, ex CBN 

governor and Joseph Sanusi, one time 

FirstBank MD and later CBN governor, 

while not also forgetting victor Odozi who 

also served as deputy governor of the CBN. 

Who knows if they too would have applied 

and obtained banking licenses if the 

financial services sector had been opened 

to participation by private investors in their 

time. That’s assuming they still had the 

energy to cope with the rigors associated 

with ‘MDship’ of banks. 

When he retired as MD of FirstBank, 

Oladele Olashore , had set up a bank , Lead 

merchant bank which is now defunct. He 

had also established Olashore 

International School in Iloko-ljesha, Ekiti 

state. 

Mrs Cecelia lbru, first female Managing 

Director of a major private bank in Nigeria 

, Oceanic bank, (in memory of her husband 

who was a renowned industrialist) has also 

set up Micheal lbru university in Agbaro- 

Otor , near Ughelli in Delta state. 

Jim Ovia, the banking titan, and founder 

of the most profitable bank in Nigeria, 

Zenithbank which recently dolled out 

nearly N100b to shareholders has also 

ventured into the social investment arena 

in the education sector . 

He started by providing a platform for 

the development of knowledge of our 

offsprings, (who are the proverbial leaders 

of tomorrow) via the founding of James 

Hope College in Agbor , Delta state. 

He took his investment in education a few 

notches higher when he recently received a 

license to establish a university by the same 

name-James Hope in Lagos. 

In recent history, there are some bank 

directors, although not managing directors, 

who pivoted into the murky waters of 

politics when they got co-opted by political 

mentors. 

The path from banking to politics was led 

by Femi Pedro, former managing director 

of First Atlantic bank who later became 

deputy governor of Lagos state, with Bola 

Tinubu as governor , 2003-7. But he was 

dropped from being part of the second term 

team owing to some irreconcilable 

differences between him and his principal. 

The next is Abdulfatah Ahmed, the 

immediate past governor of Kwara state. 

He was drafted by an ex governor of the 

same state and immediate past senate 

president , Bukola Saraki who was himself 

briefly a an executive director in Societe 

General bank- owned by his father, the late 

Olusola Saraki. Abdulfatah first joined 

politics from his executive director position 

in societe general bank to serve as finance 

commissioner during Saraki’s tenure as 

governor. 

Thereafter he inherited the governorship 

from his boss, Bukola Saraki who became 

a senator after being a two term governor . 

Saraki too was a bank director with Societe 

Generale bank before he made his entrance 

into politics as Special Assistant to former 

president Olusegun Obasanjo. 

The next bank executive director to 

become governor of a state is Willie Obiano, 

who is the current governor of Anambra 

state. 

Continues on page 12


LAGOS: We hustle in the day, rob at night 

Tales of homeless Lagos youths turned robbers 

*Broken down vehicles, Stranded passengers, our targets 

We pay N100 to sleep in market 

• The suspect of the second story on the youths who sleep in market 

By Evelyn Usman 

Due to its economic and socio- political 

importance in the country, Lagos State 

keeps attracting the highest migration 

of people from other states of the federation , 

a trend that has made it to have its fair share 

of security challenges. 

Investigation by Crime Guard has revealed 

that a good percentage of people who migrate 

to the acclaimed mega city, did not make 

effort to address accommodation issue before 

embarking on the journey. 

Majority of them, both males and females, 

live in the markets and other open spaces. In 

the day time, they go out to hustle and retire 

to places like Oshodi market, Ladipo market, 

Aswani, Agege market, Ojuelegba, Ijora 

Olopa, Ijora Badia, Ojota , among other at 

areas. They are also seen at railway lines, 

under bridges and on kerbs, at night . 

Investigation has revealed that most of 

them are responsible for robbery attacks 

around the areas they pass the night, . They 

are also responsible for the attacks on workers 

and traders who leave their houses between 

4.30 am and 5am, for their respective work 

and business places. 

Their targets are also stranded 

commuters at bus-stops at night, as well as 

motorists who are unfortunate to have their 

vehicles break down at night. 

Arrest 

Last week, the Lagos State Police Command 

arrested two different groups of these youths. 

Where Do Ex-Bank MDs In Nigeria Go When They Retire? 

Continues from page 11 

He was an executive director in Fidelity 

bank before he was co-opted by Peter Obi, 

then governor of Anambra state and co-owner 

of Fidelity bank where Obiano was serving as 

ED. 

Another ex banker that became a governor 

of a state is Emmanuel Udom, the incumbent 

in Akwa Ibom state. He too was dragged into 

politics by the immediate past governor of the 

state, Godswill Akpabio . Udom was serving 

as ED in Zenithbank before he joined 

Akpabio’s cabinet as Secretary to State 

Government, SSG. Thereafter he inherited the 

throne as the governor of Akwa Ibom state 

since 2015 from his political mentor,Akpabio. 

Evidently, it was a trend for politicians to 

bring their bankers into political offices, 

especially as commissioners of finance , SSGs 

or deputy governor. 

This is reflected by the political trajectories 

of Femi Pedro, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Willie 

Obiano and Udom Emmanuel amongst 

others. 

Currently, Fidelis Tilije , the current 

commissioner for finance in Delta State, is 

the only ex MD of a bank that’s in that role 

today. The bank where he was the helmsman, 

Fortune bank , is now defunct and l had worked 

briefly under Tilije before l was appointed a 

commissioner in Delta state in 2003. 

But it is not fashionable anymore for 

governors to appoint their bankers into 

political offices as commissioner or SSG as 

the model has not worked out as perfectly as 

envisaged by the inventors of the political 

strategy. 

Hence no bankers appear to be in the 

pipeline of those that would become governor 

in the forthcoming governorship elections in 

2023 . The exception may be Tokunbo Abiru , 

Seven members of the first group had 

assisted owner of a 2016 Model Sienna to 

push his vehicle which was involved in a 

minor accident to somewhere considered 

safe near Charity bus- Stop, Oshodi, with a 

promise to come pick it the next day. 

Out of trust , the motorist dropped keys 

of the Sienna to one of the boys , Chibuike 

Ekwe. 

However at midnight, Ekwe, and two 

others , drove the car to Coconut, in Apapa 

area of the state , where it was being 

dismantled with the intention of selling it 

in parts, when luck ran against them. 

Ekwe, in the interview, said he had never 

stolen all his life. He blamed his indulgence 

in his inability to resist the temptation , after 

the idea was sold to him by one of the boys. 

According to him , “ After pushing the vehicle 

to a safe place, some of the boys said if they 

were the ones with the keys , they would move 

it immediately to the East , and sell it, since 

the owner did not know me.. 

“ By 3am, I informed Dalinton Ohia and 

one other boy to accompany me to where the 

vehicle was parked and I drove it to Coconut, 

where one man named Container, dismantled 

it. He said it was easier to sell it in parts. 

While he was on it , some members of OPC 

accosted us and asked who owner of the car 

was. When we could not provide a convincing 

answer, Mr Container escaped, leaving me 

behind”. 

Asked where he lived and did for a living, he 

responded, “ I am a panel beater at Ladipo 

market. I hustle in the morning and sleep in 

the market at night, with other boys. I have 

never stolen before, this is my first time”. 

who just transited from being the MD of 

Polaris bank to being a senator representing 

Lagos state in the National Assembly, NASS. 

Information in the grape vine indicates that 

the newly ‘minted’ senator is being prepped 

for governorship of Lagos state after the very 

hard working and ground breaking governor 

, Jide Sanwo-Olu’s time is done. 

God willing , the highly driven and super 

performing governor, Sanwo -Olu would be 

allowed to complete his two terms , if he is 

spared the fate that befell the immediate past 

governor, Akinwunmi Ambode. 

There are also a couple of ex Zenithbank 

and UBA alumnus that became governors in 

the northern states whose identities l can’t 

readily recall. But notably , there has been a 

steady flow of bankers into politics, including 

Isa Yuguda -a two term governor of Bauchi 

state who had served as the MD of both Inland 

bank and NAL merchant bank(both banks 

are now defunct) at different points in time. 

Readers may wonder why politicians not 

entrusting or handing over the reins of state 

governments to their hand picked acolytes in 

the banking sector any more? 

In my reckoning, the presumption of 

competence as prudent managers of financial 

resources; confidence in their banker’s 

ability to hide possible financial malfeasance 

of their predecessors ostensibly for continuity 

of policies and programs of outline governor 

; presumed capacity to adroitly manage state 

funds, (an expectation underscored by their 

experience as bankers) and the anticipation 

of political naivety from the bankers whom 

their political godfathers assume would 

facilitate their continued control the political 

levers of the states even after they have exited 

as governors, are all contributory factors. As 

it turned out, it was a miscalculation and 

•The Stolen 

Sienna 

On his part, Darlington Ohia said, “ My 

role was to accompany him(Ekwe) to where 

the vehicle was parked. He did not tell me he 

was going to butcher it. He only said he was 

going to re park it at Toyota. When we got 

there the guard ( Danladi) refused him from 

carrying the vehicle. While Danladi was 

discussing with me, Ekwe drove the vehicle 

away. We went to Toyota where he claimed he 

was going to park it in a well lit place , but 

didn’t see him”. 

.For Yemi Joseph, Chinoso Isiguzo and 

Innocent Ikeaguru and Dalandi, they claimed 

to have only assisted owner of the vehicle to 

push it to a safe place till the next day when he 

(owner ) promised to pay them for their service, 

only to be arrested . 

Unfortunate for those who claimed to be 

innocent , no relative had come to effect their 

bail, as requested by the Police , since their 

arrest. 

Invasion 

therefore based on false hope which in almost 

all the cases referenced have collapsed like a 

pack of cards. 

That’s mainly because as the bankers 

became governors overnight, they also learnt 

the political ropes very fast. 

Hence in Anambra state, Willie Obiano 

allegedly ditched Peter Obi his mentor before 

the ink used by INEC in signing his victory at 

the polls could dry up. 

Ditto for Emmanuel Udom in Akwa Ibom 

who also decoupled himself from the 

stranglehold of his former boss, Akpabio, who 

was allegedly still acting as if he was in his 

3rd term with Udom as his surrogate. Ex-bank 

MD ,Isa Yuguda also fell out with his bosom 

friend , the former governor of the state, 

Adamu Muazu and later chairman of the PDP 

from whom he took over the mantle of 

leadership of Bauchi state. 

There are those who may wonder how come 

ex bank MDs would be so financially liquid 

to set up their own banks soon after leaving 

office? 

Well, they earn hefty salaries, emoluments 

and perks. 

In addition to their salaries, which range 

from N80-N100m per annum, bank MDs 

are also rewarded with a certain percentage 

(let’s just say 10% ) of the Profit After Tax, PAT 

earned by the banks annually. 

For instance , the MD of a bank that earned 

one hundred billion naira (N100, 000, 

000,000) as PAT in one year would have earned 

10% of N100, 000, 000, 000b which would 

amount to N10,000, 000,000b. 

If a bank MD earns that consistently in 10 

years which is the CBN approved maximum 

tenure for bank MDs , he would have earned 

at least a hundred billion naira. That’s even 

without adding similar income in the periods 

For the second group of four boys , they 

attacked a driver whose vehicle broke down 

at Toyota bus-stops , too, last weekend. The 

vehicle conveying refrigerators and other 

electronics gadgets was vandalized and the 

goods carted away. 

The suspects are: Somto Chukwu, 22; 

Chibogu Nweke, 29; Ezekiel Egbe, 29 and 

Chikodi John, 24. 

Ezikiel who claims to be a vulcanizer at 

Ladipo market, Mushin, explained his role. 

He said , “ I had closed for the day and was 

going to watch foot ball match , when I saw 

two boys with refrigerators. They were taking 

them towards the canal. A friend who was with 

me, Sunday, said we should follow them so as 

to collect our share from the sale of the item, 

but I refused. 

“ I went straight to the expressway where the 

boys said the vehicle conveying the goods 

broke down. I saw a big size refrigerator by 

the pavement of where the truck broke down. 

I took the refrigerator to Oshodi, where I used 

to sleep . Unfortunately for me, the person 

who saw when I was carrying it brought 

policemen to the shop at Oshodi where I 

sleep. 

“ We pay N100 to sleep there at night. We 

sleep at the veranda of shops at Oshodi. Some 

people sleep inside the shops but their fee is 

higher. I only go to Ladipo to sleep if i don’t 

have N100 to pay for the night. 

I just came to Lagos from Anambra . My 

parents are dead and I am an only 

son”, he said in an emotional laden 

tone. 

Cry for help 

His partner in crime, Nweke, said, “ 

That night, driver of the truck ran to 

me to help him beg some boys that 

invaded his truck. He said they 

demanded for money from him but that 

he had only N1000 on him. He said 

the boys attacked him when he told 

them he had no money , collected his 

phone from him and that he had to 

run for his life. 

“ I went to meet the boys and they told 

me since the man was not ready to give 

them money, they would collect the 

goods. Some of them carried car battery, 

while others carried brand new Samsung 

refrigerators . Those I saw with batteries 

were Chikodi and Ebere. 

“I followed them to the canal by the 

market where they met one aboki who told 

them to wait till morning before he would buy 

the goods. But they insisted they wanted to sell 

them then. At the end, aboki bought the two 

brand new refrigerators for N30,000. They 

sold the battery for N6000 and I was given 

N5,000. 

For Chikodi John, he said he got N4000 

from the sales of the stolen items. 

On his part, Somto, claimed to be innocent. 

He said “ I am just suffering for what I know 

nothing about . I was arrested because I sleep 

in the same place ( Ladipo market ) with them. 

I was sleeping when the policemen stormed 

the place and picked me . We sleep inside an 

empty container in the market” he said. 

Like others who claimed innocence, none 

had come to secure his bail from Police 

custody since his arrest. 

The suspects who were among those 

paraded by the Commissioner of Police, CO 

Hakeem Odumosu, would be charged to court 

soon, according to him. 

that the MDs were EDs or DMDs. 

The analysis above is just a hypothetical 

straight line calculation for the purpose of 

putting things in perspective. 

But, one can imagine that a smart MD (more 

often than not, they are) would be re-investing 

such incomes consistently to boost his/her 

wealth . 

So it’s not impossible that a handful of the 

ex bank MDs can bring in equity of at least 10 

billion naira out of the N100b required for a 

universal banking license and a good chunk 

of the N25b for a national bank and over half 

of the N15b for regional or merchant bank 

license . 

Other strategic investors, whom the bank 

MDs must have identified in the course of their 

‘MDship’ usually provide some of the 

additional equity contributions and the rest 

can be borrowed funds. Thus most banks, like 

most business ventures are set up with equity 

and debt with varying ratios of debt to equity. 

Now, the Bank MDs whose retirement are 

in the horizon are Herbert Wigwe of Access 

bank who entered the role in 2014. Going by 

CBN rule he is due to retire in 2024, all things 

being equal. 

Others are Mrs Oluwatoyin Somefun of 

Unity bank who became MD of the bank in 

2015. 

The next is Kenedy Uzorka, the current MD 

of UBA who took over the mantle of leadership 

from Philip Oduoza in 2016. He has spent 

only a little over 5 years in the saddle and may 

have less than 5 years ahead of him. 

But since unlike Wigwe, both Uzorka and 

the MD of Unity bank,Somefun are not coowners 

of the respective banks that they work 

for, their tenure is at the pleasure of the boards 

of the banks. 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com

SATURDAY Vanguard,MAY 8, 2021—13 

•Recovered weapons 

By Evelyn Usman 

In a move to nip activities of kidnappers, cultists and other 

criminals in the bud, the Delta State Police Command has 

rejigged its crime fighting strategies. Kidnap and killing 

in different communities in the state by herders and some 

youths as well as attacks on policemen by gunmen have been 

a major challenge confronting the state. 

As first step in addressing these 

challenges, the Commissioner of 

Police, CP Ari Alli , upon assumption 

of office five months ago, charged 

all Divisional Police Officers,DPO to 

guard their areas of jurisdiction well, 

with a threat to remove any one in 

whose jurisdiction cases of kidnap, 

cultism or armed robbery were 

recorded three times. 

This strategy seems to be paying 

off, following the arrest of 132 

suspects, over various offences 

ranging from kidnap, robbery, 

cultism and murder, between 

January 2021 to date. 

During the period under review, 

seven kidnap suspects were killed 

during shootout with the Police while 

nine victims were rescued from 

kidnappers’ dens. 

A breakdown of the arrest showed 

that cultists ranked highest with 78 

suspects while robbery suspects 

numbered 33, with 15 robbery 

operations foiled. Thirty arms of 

different caliber and 370 

ammunitions were also recovered 

during the period. 

Murder of policemen 

One of the arrests was that of a suspected 

member of a robbery gang, Akpos James 

a.k.a General last Friday, by a team of 

the Special Anti Kidnapping and Cyber 

Crime Squad, SAKCCS. 

He was arrested in connection with the 

killing of three policemen whose rifles 

were also carted away, in an eatery along 

East-West road, Ughelli, on January 10, 

2021. 

The command alleged that members of 

his gang were also responsible for several 

kidnaps and armed robberies within 

Abraka, Ughelli and Sepale environs. 

At midnight the same day, the operatives 

reportedly stormed the gang’s hideout at 

Patani water side, Delta state, where they 

engaged members of the gang in a gun 

duel. But the gang members were said to 

have plunged into a nearby river and 

swam their way to escape. Two AK 47 

Rifles with 114 rounds of 7.62mm live 

ammunition and six magazines were 

recovered at the end of the gun battle, 

according to the Police. 

Murder of Delta prince 

Another major arrest was that of four 

suspected members of an armed gang 

that murdered Prince Eric Tekere and his 

Police escort, on April Aril 3, 2021, in 

Warri, Delta State. The suspects who were 

arrested two weeks after the incident by a 

Police team and Military, confessed 

during interrogation to have participated 

in various crimes among which was the 

bank robbery at Udu Micro Finance Bank 

. Exhibits recovered from the gang 

included one Pump Action gun, an English 

double barrel gun, one cut-to-size single 

barrel gun, three locally made pistols and 

27 live cartridges. 

Confrontation with Police 

Some of these arrests did not come easy 

as members of deadly gangs engaged 

teams of policemen at different times in 

a shoot-out. One of the instances was the 

recent shoot out between men of the 

Command Rapid Response Squad, RRS 

and a robbery/kidnap gang, opposite 

Road Safety , Asaba, during which one of 

the suspects who sustained bullet wounds 

•Suspects 

War against 

kidnappers, 

cultism in Delta: 

•132 cultists, kidnap, robbery suspects arrested 

•Seven kidnap suspects killed, policemen injured in cross fire 

•Nine kidnap victims rescued 

gave up the ghost. 

An AK Rifle with Breech number 19567 

Double Magazines with eighteen 7.62mm 

live ammunition was reportedly 

abandoned by fleeing members of the 

gang. 

Another instance was a recent attack on 

a team of Anti- Kidnapping operatives led 

by ASP Achem Collins. Members of the 

police team were reportedly on their way 

to Warri, on investigation activities with 

some arrested kidnap suspects, when they 

were ambushed by gunmen who 

attempted to rescue their arrested 

colleagues, along Abavo - Urhonigbe 

road. 

In the ensuing gun fire, the suspects with 

the policemen were fatally injured . A 

back up team reportedly forced the 

gunmen to flee into the bush. One of the 

policemen, ASP Celestine Collins 

sustained gun shot wounds. 

The Delta State Police Command said 

when the bush was combed, one K2 

Assault Rifle and one Pump action gun 

with six cartridges were recovered from 

some of the injured gunmen who could 

not escape. 

Botched cult initiation 

One major challenge in the state is the 

activity of cultists who use the weapon of 

fear and intimidation to forcefully initiate 

members into different confraternities. 

These cultists as gathered are also 

members of different robbery gangs. 

Acting on intelligence report that the 

Aiye confraternity would be carrying out 

initiation of new members, the 

Commander, State Anti-Cult Unit 

reportedly mobilized operatives to a bush 

in Ubulu-Unor, Aniocha South Local 

Government Area , last week, where 40 

persons, all male, were arrested . 

Surprisingly, the command said when 

the policemen reached the initiation 

venue, some armed men who claimed to 

be members of Ubulu-Unor Vigilante 

group , were seen keeping watch and 

aiding the cultists to carry out their 

initiation. They were also arrested. 

The command said a revolver pistol 

with 11 live ammunition, one locally 

made single barrel gun, one pump action, 

eight vehicles and one Mitsubishi pickup 

with the inscription Ubulu-Unor 

Vigilante, were recovered . Other arrests 

of suspected cultists were made during a 

clash between members of Aiye and 

Supreme Vikings in Warri, Agbor and 

other parts of the state. 

Rescue of kidnap victims 

Within the period under review, kidnap 

victims rescued included one Emmanuel 

Piopio. The 21-year-old victim according 

to his girlfriend, Precious Omoloyo, was 

driving in his Lexus car , when two 

armed men on a 

motorbike intercepted 

him. 

She explained that , “I 

went out with my 

boyfriend around 11.30 

pm that fateful day, to 

collect food from my 

sister at Ehwerhe road 

Agbarho. The armed men 

pushed me out of the car 

and drove away with my 

boyfriend “. 

The car was later traced 

to Eku town, where one 

Evans Emojariemu was 

arrested. The 

suspect led a 

combined team 

of policemen and 

soldiers based at 

Ughelli, to a 

forest behind 

O p h o r i 

Community 

Agbarho , where 

one Ogaga 

Champion and a 

female identified 

as Oghogho 

Dedekior , were 

arrested with one 

•CP Alli locally made 

double barrel 

Muhammed gun with four live 

cartridges , two 

phones and the 

g a n g ’ s 

operational 

motorcycle. The 

victim was subsequently rescued. 

Other kidnapped victims rescued from 

different kidnappers’ dens and subsequent 

arrest of the suspects, within the period 

under review included six passengers of a 

Sienna vehicle with plate number BWR 

301 SU, at Okutolo Warri Sapele road, 

on April 3, 2021; Peter Okologo, who was 

kidnapped right in his house by some men 

clad in military camouflage, on April 24 

and 57-year-old Williams Aduenwomah , 

who was traced to a bush at Aradhe area 

of Delta , among others. 

CP Alli reacts 

Attributing the arrests to a proactive 

anti-crime strategy in the enforcement of 

law and order without infringing on the 

rights of citizens, the command boss, CP 

Alli, boasted that the tempo would be 

sustained. 

He explained that “In the course of 

taking over from my predecessor and 

interactions with my management team, 

I was briefed on the plethora of peculiar 

security challenges in the state and 

inadequate logistics which hampered 

effective service delivery. This is in 

addition to the seemingly low morale of 

officers arising from the #EndSARS 

protest. 

“Having received a full brief on the 

challenges facing officers in the 

Command and the trend in criminalities 

in the state, my assignment to provide 

adequate security for the people of Delta 

State was clearly cut-out. Although the 

challenges are obvious and enormous, 

they are nevertheless not insurmountable. 

We will continue to be the hallmark for 

more-friendly and result-oriented 

policing”.


The symbolism 

of CAMP NEYA 

By Sufuyan Ojeifo 

Last week, a friend sent to me, via 

WhatsApp, a video on YouTube entitled: 

“CAMP NEYA: The home of Dr Orji 

Uzor Kalu,” showing his expansive and 

palatial residence in his Igbere village in Abia 

state. My friend must have decided to share 

the video with me knowing that I enjoy some 

friendship with the former governor of Abia 

state (1999 -2007) and current Chief Whip of 

the Nigerian Senate (where he represents the 

good people of Abia North Senatorial zone). 

I was not too eager to watch the video simply 

because I had a rare privilege of visiting the 

place in 2004 with the former governor while 

he was in the leadership saddle. I was 

travelling with him to Abriba en-route Igbere 

to the country home of Commodore Ebitu 

Ukiwe (retd), who was celebrating his 

retirement from Abriba community service 

in a grand ceremony, called Ime Uche or 

Igboto Mma, that marked the handing over 

of certain responsibilities of the community 

by his Akanu age group to the next. 

Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, as he then was, 

had directed his convoy to make a stopover at 

CAMP NEYA. To be sure, CAMP NEYA was 

inaugurated on May 28, 1999 (the eve of his 

swearing in as governor) by the then State 

Military Administrator, Col Tony Obi. The 

stopover at the Camp was short and sharp 

like the Angel’s visit. CAMP NEYA presented 

an idyllic scenery, somewhat positively 

violated by the construction of beautiful 

buildings, the handiwork of man’s creation, 

worthy only of Ozymandias. That was my 

takeaway as of that time. Even then, in its near 

pristine form, it was clear that CAMP NEYA 

would turn out to be an ambitious, audacious 

project that would continue to inspire the brain 

behind it and, of course, its funder-a 

prodigious businessman of the very shrewd 

genre. 

I decided to watch the video two days later 

and I discovered there was a world of 

difference between what I saw then and what 

is sitting pretty on the sprawling land on which 

the country home of Orji Kalu is 

circumscribed. The different dimensions of 

the buildings on the estate present a composite 

picture of distinctiveness. It is simply aweinspiring. 

Little wonder, the country home was 

reported elsewhere as one of the most 

expensive residences, yet, of Nigeria’s 

billionaires. 

But then, it is not the amount of money 

pumped into the actualization of the CAMP 

NEYA project that is my concern here; nor is it 

the sheer size of it. This is my interest: with 

CAMP NEYA, Orji Kalu has 

reconstructed a mini-Nigeria where 

the philosophy of unity is replicated 

in an environment of limitless 

possibilities, limitless possibilities 

in the transformation of a forest 

into CAMP NEYA. Let me 

briefly digress- just to situate 

the Orji Kalu persona in 

the context of a 

transformational 

restlessness that defines 

visionary leadership 

globally; and to state that 

the road from Umuahia 

to Igbere village where 

CAMP NEYA is constructed 

in its inimitable grandeur 

had first benefitted from 

Kalu’s rehabilitative or 

constructional imprimaturs. 

Such was the development touch that Kalu 

gave to roads and other infrastructure projects 

while in the saddle as governor. Without a 

doubt, he is replicating his passion for projects 

delivery and infrastructure 

development-related 

motions and bills through 

his good offices as senator 

to the discomfiture of 

political forces whose 

ideas and political 

missions are not in pari 

materia with Kalu’s pan- 

Nigeria outlook. Perhaps, 

they wonder how Kalu was 

able to seamlessly take 

Abia’s political terrain by 

storm, especially in 1999, 

becoming governor, in the 

first instance, and has since 

remained an issue in Abia 

politics! To be sure, he had 

been immersed in politics 

and political cross currents 

before 1999. I remember 

he won election into the 

House of Representatives 

in the ill-fated Third 

Republic. 

CAMP NEYA 

presented an idyllic 

scenery, somewhat 

positively violated by 

the construction of 

beautiful buildings, 

the handiwork of 

man’s creation, 

worthy only of 

Ozymandias. 

Indeed, having 

profoundly and 

munificently infused rare 

courage into the processes 

of defining his political 

engagements in the 

unfolding eon of Abia and, by extension, 

Nigeria’s politics, Kalu has earned his badge 

and is now sufficiently recognized as a 

politician of national significance and hue. 

No one, not even in Abia, can validly challenge 

that perception. The Orji Kalu politics 

transcends Abia, even though 

it is solidly rooted in the 

southeast state. From his 

home base, he has 

strengthened his hand of 

fellowship to the north and 

shown love to the south. He 

has constructed and 

reconstructed bridges of 

friendship and political 

accommodation that is 

region, tribe and religion 

blind. 

This is the summation of the 

substantial approbations that 

Kalu has given to friends and 

political associates who are 

all leaders in the 

conceptualization, design 

and actualization of the 

ambitious idea that CAMP 

NEYA typifies. As I watched 

the video and CAMP NEYA 

unraveled in its sheer 

splendor, I saw the OUK (Orji 

Uzor Kalu) Lawn, dividing 

the dualized road that leads 

to the main mansion. 

Thinking that was all to the 

CAMP, I realized 

immediately that there was 

more. Then I saw the following delineated 

areas, halls and buildings: Abubakar Atiku 

Flower Garden, Bola Tinubu Square, Aguiyi 

Ironsi Drive, George Bush (Jnr) Square, 

Nelson Mandela Square, Aminu Kano 

Lawn, J.C. Menakaya Orchid, Ebitu Ukiwe 

Lawn, Yemi Osinbajo Fountain, Ike 

Nwachukwu Lawn, Amadi Ikwecheghe 

Lawn, George Bush (Snr) Hall, Sam 

Mbakwe Lawn, General Abdulsalami 

Abubakar Square, Achike Udenwa Centre, 

Jaja Nwachukwu Lawn, James Ibori 

Circle, Alex Ekwueme Lawn. Wait 

for more, and this will give you a 

sense of the extent of CAMP 

NEYA: Rilwanu Lukman 

Fuel Dump, James 

Ukaegbu Prayer Centre, 

Professor Chinua Achebe 

Walkway, Nnamdi 

Azikiwe Building, Wole 

Soyinka Lawn, 

Muhammadu Buhari 

Lawn Tennis Court, 

Sir Dr Ogala Osoka 

Swimming Pool, 

G e n e r a l 

Ibrahim 

Babaginda 

Building, 

Joseph 

Tarka 

Coconut 

Plantation, 

Alvan 

Ikoku 

Barbecue Spot, Okechukwu Ikediani Lawn. 

I saw Zina Children Playground and a Gold 

field. 

I have confirmed that there are 127 

tastefully-furnished rooms in the buildings 

and all the states of the federation have rooms 

named after them in the CAMP; likewise all 

former Nigerian leaders, especially in the 

massive Nnamdi Azikiwe Building. 

I believe there could be more of such 

demarcated or allocated areas on the CAMP, 

which obviously seeks to reconstruct the 

narrative of the possibility of a revalidated 

commitment by Nigerians to the quest for 

Nigeria’s unity amid the diversity of its 

boundless opportunities that require a 

visionary leader to harness for the good of 

all. 

It is in this context that I see Orji Kalu’s 

message through the prism of his CAMP 

NEYA country home as being in apple-pie 

order. It strikes at the very heart of the matters 

of friendship, association, accommodation, 

love, unity, and selflessness in the effort to save 

and strengthen our nation, which needs 

redemption currently more than any other 

time in its annals. This is the significant 

message, the essential symbolism of CAMP 

NEYA. Whereas Kalu has also extended his 

friendship beyond the shores of Nigeria in the 

CAMP NEYA exemplification, it is important 

that we build on the message inherent in the 

overarching CAMP NEYA exemplar as we 

relate with contending national issues between 

now and 2023 general election. 

Mr Ojeifo writes 

via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com 

•Orji Uzor Kalu


The leg works 

2023 PRESIDENCY: 

Hurdles before 

South-East 

• Zone may not produce president till 2039 

• Why APC, PDP, others should nominate Igbo 

candidates —Obiozor 

On January 2, 2021, eminent South-East 

sons and daughters rose from the 5th 

World Igbo Summit, WIS, with a 

demand for Igbo to produce the President and 

for urgent restructuring of Nigeria. 

The leaders argued that both demands were 

not mutually exclusive and were necessary to 

ensure peace and the continued harmonious 

existence of the country. 

Held at Gregory University, Uturu, Abia 

State, the summit was attended by the likes of 

Chief John Nnia Nwodo (then presidentgeneral 

of Ohanaeze Ndigbo); Commodore 

Ebitu Ukiwe, retd (former Chief of General 

Staff); Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, former 

Senate President and Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation); Professor 

George Obiozor, former Ambassador to the 

United States of America and now Ohanaeze 

president-general; Chief Chukwuemeka 

Ezeife, former Governor of Anambra State; 

Professor Okwesilieze Nwodo, former 

Governor of Enugu State; Professor Chinedu 

Nebo, former Minister of Power and Vice- 

Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; 

and Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, president, 

Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, among 

By Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor 

AMONG the six geo-political zones, none, arguably, is angling to produce the 

president in 2023 like the South-East. 

In the other five zones one or two aspirants have declared their intentions but 

no zone is collectively seeking the nation’s topmost seat like the South-East, the 

Igbo heartland of Nigeria, is doing. 

In the last five months leaders of the zone, cutting across party and sociocultural 

lines, have held series of meetings and consultations to drum home the 

quest of the South-East to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor. 

others. 

In a keynote address, Ambassador 

Humphrey Orjako, former Permanent 

Representative of Nigeria to United Nations 

and Ambassador to Switzerland, called on 

Ndigbo to lead the call for the restructuring 

of the country as it was the only way to 

guarantee harmony and continued survival 

of the country. 

In turns, participants dissected the 

challenges the Igbo face in Nigeria and 

proffered solutions. At the end of discussions, 

the summit, in a communiqué by Obiozor and 

Dr. Ifedi Okwenna, national coordinator, WIS, 

noted among others that in the interest of 

equity and national cohesion, Nigerians of 

other ethnic nationalities should support the 

emergence of a president of South-East 

extraction in 2023 since the zone remains the 

only one of the tripod that make up the country 

that is yet to produce a president. 

Also, on January 21, 2021, Igbo leaders 

drawn from major divides including political 

parties met on the banner of South-East 

Political Leaders at Senator Orji Kalu’s Camp 

Neya country home in Igbere, Bende Local 

Government Area of Abia State and agreed 

that a president of Igbo extraction would be 

“in the interest of justice, equity and national 

unity.” 

Two months later, specifically, on March 28, 

2021, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Elders Council, 

met in Owerri, and mandated Ohanaeze 

President-General, Professor George Obiozor, 

to begin consultation with other ethnic groups 

in Nigeria, in order to actualise Nigeria 

president of Igbo extraction in 2023. 

This decision was contained in a 

communiqué they issued after the meeting 

hosted at the Government House, Owerri by 

Governor Hope Uzodimma alongside his 

Ebonyi State counterpart, Dave Umahi as well 

as representatives of other governors. They 

argued that 2023 would be the turn of the 

Igbo to occupy the plum position, and warned 

some Igbo politicians to desist from speaking 

against zoning. 

In furtherance of the quest, Professor Obiozor 

and other Igbo leaders met in Abuja on April 

19, 2021, where they restated their position 

that it is the turn of the South-East zone to 

produce the president based on equity, unity 

and natural justice. 

Ohanaeze called on all the ethnic 

nationalities to support Ndigbo on this 

mission and also urged the two major political 

parties – the All Progressives Congress, APC, 

APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to 

help Ndigbo achieve this noble objective by 

zoning their tickets to the South-East. 

The apex Igbo socio-cultural body also 

tasked all sons and daughters of Igbo land 

not “compromise in our quest for a President 

of Nigeria from the South-East.” 

At the interactive session according to a 

statement by Ohanaeze Publicity Secretary, 

Alex Ogbonnia, were Chief Guy Ikokwu, Chief 

Osita Okechukwu, Hon. Irem Iboh, Chief 

Goddy Uwazurike, Chief Mike Okiro, Mrs. 

Chika Ibeneme, Chief Afam Nwanna, Igwe 

C. I. Ilomuanya, Prof Onyechefunabeya, Dr. 

Ogbonnaya Onu, Prof. Chinwe Obaji, Sen. 

Ike Ekweremadu, Sen. Ken Nnamani, 

Senator Chris Ngige, Ezeigbo Ibe Nwosu, 

Professor ABC Nwosu, Chief Dubem Onyia 

and Sharon Ikeazor. 

There were also Prince Gary Igariwey, 

Ambassador Eddy Onuoha, Hon. Uche Ogar, 

Prof. Maurice Iwu, Chief Sam Obaji, Paddy 

Njoku, Dr. Emeka Nwosu, Ambassador Okey 

Emuchay, Ichie Damian Okeke Ogene, Mrs. 

Beatrice Eze, Hon. Kelechi Chima, Cosmas 

Uzodinma, among others. 

High hurdles before South-East 

As South-East leaders angle to produce the 

next president, what appear as high hurdles to 

the quest have started emerging. As it is, the 

political road to Aso Rock is not paved. It is 

littered with the proverbial 

banana peels that the 

South-East must avoid or 

side-step. 

Weakness in APC, 

PDP 

One of the hurdles is 

political platform. 

Currently, the ruling APC 

and main opposition PDP 

are the dominant parties. 

Except a strong Third Force 

emerges before 2023, the 

next occupant of Aso Rock is 

expected to come from either APC 

or PDP. 

Now, the South-East zone is wielding 

little or no influence in the hierarchy of the 

APC and PDP. In other words, the South-East 

is weak in APC and PDP. This indicates it has a 

tough nut to crack to pick the presidential 

ticket of any of the two parties. 

Since 1999, the PDP has not given the South- 

East its presidential ticket. The closest it has 

gone was giving its vice presidential slot to 

Mr. Peter Obi in 2019. There is nothing on 

ground to show that the PDP will do so in 

2023 especially as the National Chairman, 

Prince Uche Secondus is from the South, 

which means the PDP Presidential ticket, 

according to party tradition, will go to the 

North. Consciously, the PDP hierarchy has 

refused to clear the air on this and has elected 

to dance around the issue of zoning. 

On the other hand, it looks more probable 

that the APC may zone its 2023 presidential 

slot to the South. This is one of the reasons 

some northern leaders are positioning 

themselves to become the national chairman 

of the ruling party. The APC National 

Convention and Caretaker Committee headed 

by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State is 

expected to organise a national convention 

soon. 

Recently, a host of South-East leaders, 

mainly from the PDP, defected to the APC, in 

what has been interpreted as moves to firmup 

South-East presence in the ruling party. 

Among the defectors is Governor Dave Umahi 

of Ebonyi State. Umahi’s defection means the 

APC controls two of the five states of the South- 

East with Governor Hope Uzodimma holding 

sway in Imo. The PDP controls two as well 

(Abia and Enugu) while the All Progressives 

Grand Alliance, APGA controls one- 

Anambra. 

If the APC cedes its presidential ticket to the 

South, the South-East will have the South- 

West zone to contend with. Principally, the 

South-West APC wing led by Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu collaborated with the North- 

West to get President Buhari elected in 2015, 

and morally expects 2023 as pay back time. 

Besides, APC controls five of the six South- 

West states. The exception is Oyo State. In the 

event of presidential primaries, delegates 

including governors, and control of party 

structure will become handy. With the scale of 

balance in favour of South-West on this score, 

it is to be seen how the South-East will outwit 

the South-West in the battle for APC 

presidential diadem. 

Zoning permutation, why South- 

East must get it in 2023 or wait till 

2039 

On face value, some pundits see 2023 as the 

best year for the South-East to produce the 

president taking into cognisance the 

argument of Ohanaeze and a host of South- 

East leaders. The argument is centred on 

equity, cementing national unity, and 

addressing socio-political and economic 

marginalisation of the South-East among 

others. 

In the last 22 years of the return to civilian 

rule, the South-West (eight years), North-West 

(eight years) and South-South (six years) have 

produced occupants of Aso Villa. South-East 

is the only southern zone that is yet to taste 

power. 

Since power rotates between the South and 

North, after President Buhari, power is 

expected to rotate to the South, and since 

South-East is yet to produce the president, it 

ought to be in the best position to benefit from 

power rotation. 

However, if the South-East fails to get it in 

2023, it may wait longer for the seat. How? If 

the South-West gets power in 2023 and does 

eight years, power may rotate to the North in 

2031, reside there for eight years and head 

southward in 2039 when the South-East may 

have another good opportunity to try. 

IPOB, ESN, violence in South- 

East 

Aside being weak in the dominant political 

parties, some stakeholders see the agitation 

for Biafra Republic by the Indigenous People 

of Biafra, IPOB and other pro-Biafra groups 

Continues on page 16


STATE OF THE NATION: 

Nigeria dancing perilously 

on precipice —Uwazurike 

•None of the six zones is safe 

•Uwazurike 

On the state of the nation 

The state of the nation is that of one 

floating perilously around a 

precipice. Today, the three arms of 

government are wallowing in confusion. 

Confusion because the judiciary and the 

legislature are behaving like departments 

of the executive. They look up to the 

executive for their financial provision. 

The executive treats them like 

as one of the stumbling blocks to South-East 

producing the president in 2023. 

Currently, South-East, which used to be the 

most peaceful zone in Nigeria, is ravaged by 

insecurity. Many police stations and security 

facilities have been attacked by gunmen in 

recent times with scores of security agents 

killed. Also, a host of youths considered to be 

members of the Eastern Security Network, 

ESN, established by IPOB to secure South- 

East forest and check murderous activities of 

armed herdsmen, have been killed by security 

agents. 

Some critics dismiss the rising wave of 

insecurity in the South-East as part of the 2023 

game-plan, warning that the zone cannot hold 

Nigeria to ransom like South-West (following 

June 12) South-South (Niger-Delta militancy), 

and North (Boko Haram insurgency and 

threat of violence if 2015 poll was rigged) did 

to get the presidency. 

Lack of unanimity among 

Igbo 

Though, a host of Igbo leaders are fighting 

for the South-East to produce the president in 

2023, there appears to be an unanimity on the 

issue. Currently, there are three positions. One 

is clamour for the presidency. Another is battle 

for outright secession; and some want 

restructuring of Nigeria in preference to Igbo 

presidency in a faulty polity. According to 

them, a president of South-East extraction in 

an unrestructured Nigeria will add little or no 

value and could further worsen the plight of 

the zone 

There is also the nagging issue of Igbo or 

South-East president. Going for Igbo 

presidency means an Igbo from Rivers, Delta 

and Igbo-speaking areas of Edo and Benue 

could become the president. 

On the other South-East means the five core- 

Igbo states. Can the South-East manage this 

in a way hat will not alienate their kit and kins 

in neighbouring states? 

Convincing other zones 

The South-East is the smallest zone in 

Nigeria in terms of landmass and voting 

strength. It therefore needs the support of other 

zones to produce the nation’s leader. In doing 

this, it must consult, woo and convince other 

zones to buy into its quest. South-East leaders 

have started doing this, and the move has 

started yielding results. Whether the dividends 

would be enough to catapult the South-East 

appendages. To 

the executive, 

independent 

arms will always 

be a mirage. 

Once upon a 

time, we had 

heads of the three 

arms of 

government 

standing up and speaking with authority. 

Not so any more. 

Economy in doldrums 

Today, the economy is in the doldrums 

and nobody seems to know what to do 

beyond blaming sabotage. The 

manufacturers are grinding their teeth in 

frustration. The banks, of course, do not 

finance manufacturing. They are only 

interested in financing state governments. 

to the presidency is another matter. 

EK Clark backs South-East 

Indeed, Elder statesman and South-South 

Leader, Chief EK Clark, last month, threw his 

weight behind the South-East quest, saying 

the time has come for the South-East region 

to produce the President of Nigeria and 2023 

is the time. 

“We are supporting the South-East region. 

Anybody from from Mid-West, anybody from 

Oshimili South and North, Aniocha South 

and North, Ika, Agbor or Ukwani, if you say I 

am ready to be the President of Nigeria 

because I am an Igbo, that is punishable 

because when you do something that people 

don’t like, it is abominable. 

“I have said it, all the Igbo in Anioma, Rivers, 

in Delta, where ever they are, this is the time 

for Igbo South-East President. We have the 

same problem, when we went to the 2014 

National Conference, we said that the South- 

East has five states, they should be given 

additional states so that everyone will have 

same states like in other zones. If that will 

stabilise Nigeria, create them,’’ Clark said. 

Noting that the South-South and South-East 

are united on the issue, the national leader of 

the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, 

PANDEF said:”We want the President coming 

after Buhari to come from the South-East, we 

are together. The era we have reached now is 

that we have agreed to work together. How do 

we go on, how do we move on? I think that is 

the stage we have reached.’’ 

Clark spoke at his Asokoro residence, Abuja 

when he received the leadership of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo and some South-East leaders led by 

Professor George Obiozor, on April 19. 

The Ijaw leader called for synergy, and 

sacrifice among the people, adding that the 

struggle may not be easy but the region must 

reach out to other geo- political zones of the 

country, woo and engage them. He also urged 

the South-East region must put its house in 

order, work in unison, and as one indivisible 

zone. 

It’s turn of South-East, says 

Unagha 

Speaking in like manner, Alhaji Mumakhai 

Unagha, a lawyer and 2019 presidential 

aspirant on the platform of the APC, 

told Saturday Vanguard , that he ism in 

support of the South-East. 

‘’As far as I’m concerned, it is the turn of the 

South-East to produce the next president. That 

is the only way to justify their sense of 

belonging,’’ he said. 

By Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor 

Chief Goddy Uwazurike, a lawyer, former president of Igbo 

think-tank group, Aka-Ikenga; a candidate for presidentgeneral 

of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the last January election, in 

this interview spoke on the state of the nation, rising wave of 

insecurity and way forward for Nigeria among others. 

Borrow, borrow and borrow more is the 

only answer the federal government 

knows. 

Rising insecurity 

The critical issue today is insecurity. As 

you know very well, the primary duty of 

the government is security and welfare of 

the people. In fact, this is lucidly provided 

in Section 14(B) in the Constitution of the 

Federal Republic of Nigeria. This 

onerous task is preformed more in 

aberration than in compliance. 

All the six zones are under one 

debilitating security crisis or the other. 

But the government now gives the 

impression that South-East is the worst 

affected. There is a general dissatisfaction 

in the country. The present campaign is 

“give a dog a bad name and hang it.” 

Today, the security agencies have alerted 

Zone may not produce president till 2039 

Continues from page 15 

Why APC, PDP, others should 

nominate Igbo candidates – 

Obiozor 

Speaking on the hurdles to the South-East 

producing the president in 2023, Professor 

Obiozor asked the PDP and APC and other 

political parties to zone their presidential 

tickets to the zone for equity, justice and 

fairness, noting that the 2023 was ripe for 

Nigeria as a country to get a President of 

South-East extraction. 

Asked how Ohanaeze Ndigbo would 

achieve its purpose in Nigeria’s multi-party 

system, Obiozor said: ‘’We have many political 

parties. We would appeal to them to nominate 

an Igbo man or woman as their presidential 

candidate. That would do. That would be 

wonderful. It is found in the Bible, ‘many are 

called, few are chosen. When the time comes. 

Politics is a matter of selection. We would sort 

ourselves. Just support us, including the press. 

I am soliciting the press. For now just support 

a president from the South-East. An Igboman 

or an Igbowoman. 

‘’During the last Presidential election, all the 

major candidates were from the same zone. It 

was also so in 1999. So why are we trying to 

break our heads because it is coming to our 

zone? Give us, our choice will be made by us 

and your cooperation. That is what the Igbo 

are demanding. We deserve it and it is 

reasonable.” 

The Ohanaeze President-General agreed 

that the South-East must consult other zones, 

adding that Igbo leaders have already started 

consultations on the realisation of Igbo 

presidency, and results are trickling in. 

On the need for the South-East to speak with 

one voice, Obiozor said: ”Other tribes are 

more divided than us but because all of a 

sudden there is possibility of Igbo Presidency, 

some people want to label Igbo a terrorist 

zone. Probability of Igbo Presidency in 2023 

has become a possibility. Igbo want peace, 

but not peace of the grave yard. Whatever 

every other citizens of Nigeria are enjoying, 

the Igbo need it too.” 

He dismissed the claim that South-East 

people are not united politically, arguing that 

the notion that the zone does not speak with 

one voice reflects the plurality of ideas by an 

egalitarian people which would be harnessed 

by Ohanaeze 

“Speaking with one voice is dictatorial and 

undemocratic. We won’t speak with one voice. 

Igbo will speak express themselves in different 

voices which will be articulated by a central 

leadership that knows.’’ 

us that IPOB is going to transport bombs 

and so on from Lagos to the South-East. 

My answer is that since there are police 

or military check points between Lagos 

and Igbo land, the government people 

will catch the transporters. Besides, the 

government has discovered the plan. 

Any act of bombing in the South-East is 

quickly and pre-emptily blamed on IPOB. 

For record purposes, Ndigbo are builders 

not destroyers. Igbo people on their own 

built most of the infrastructure you see in 

the East. An example is the Imo airport 

which Governors Sam Mbakwe, Ike 

Nwachukwu, Alison Madueke and Amadi 

Ikwechegh mobilized the people of Imo 

and Abia and Afikpo Senatorial zone of 

Ebonyi State to contribute money for it. 

The police station in Orieagu Ehime 

Mbano LGA of Imo State was donated to 

the police last December. It was burnt 

down, last week. As usual, IPOB is to 

blame. 

My point is that there is more than meets 

the eye in this blame campaign. 

Police station burnt in Sokoto, probably 

is also by IPOB. The former IG of police 

promptly blamed IPOB for the Owerri 

massive attack. Even his successor 

announced that South- East and South- 

South are his areas of concentration. 

Meanwhile, Yobe is haemorrhaging under 

ISWAP. Niger’s two LGAs have Boko 

Haram flags. By the way, the Kanuri 

dominated Boko Haram and ISWAP have 

crossed over to the Fulani dominated 

North West via Niger State. 

Today, kidnapping students in their 

schools is the fastest way to make millions 

but IPOB is the object of the attention of 

the security forces in Nigeria. Demonize 

the Igboland is the name of the campaign. 

Travelling from one state to another is 

hazardous. 

I condemn violence in its totality. A lot 

of killings are going on all over the 

country. Ohanaeze has called on the 

President to thoroughly investigate what 

is happening throughout the country. The 

sophistication and efficiency do not bear 

the hallmarks of local action. The 

perpetrators are well trained. They appear 

suddenly, do the devil’s work and 

disappear into the night. This is the 

hallmark all over the country. 

The tendency to instigate ethnic crises 

must be deployed. Igbo people are 

builders not destroyers. Police stations are 

destroyed all over the country. But 

searchlight is on the South-East. Latest 

news is that IPOB is transporting arms, 

bombs, etc. to the South-East from Lagos. 

Rumours of war and disinformation are 

terrible. The Igbo person is the one who 

invests all over Africa. He seeks a level 

playing ground, not a battle ground. 

Instigation of anti-Igbo action has been 

going on for months now. Anambra has a 

large population of northerners in the 

state. No harm, no threat except on the 

pages of a northern newspaper. People 

travel up and down and the only threat is 

from killer herdsmen. Igbo people are not 

killers. We love peace and love. 

What is the way out of the insecurity 

snarl and other nagging problems? 

Create a level playing ground and 

transparency. Happily, the northerners 

living in the South-East and South-South 

are still living in their homes, not in 

military and police barracks. Obey the 

Constitution whole heatedly. Re-jig the 

national cabinet and remove all those 

who have unsavoury baggage or are 

suffering from lethargy. State of 

emergency will be misused for detention 

without trial as it was in 1984. 

Be honest in appointment and 

promotion. Nobody should be promoted 

above his competence. Re-jig the economy 

by working with the real economic sector, 

that is the manufacturer. Implement the 

agreement reached on the Anti-SARS 

agitation.

Offa community declares support 

for Gov AbdulRazaq’s second term 

By Demola Akinyemi 

Ilorin...Political rumblings have resumed in 

Kwara state over the call by a revered 

monarch in the state, His Royal Majesty, 

Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi on 

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to 

contest for second term because of what he 

described as his exceptional performance in 

the last two years which no other governor in 

the history of the state had attained within the 

same period. 

But one of the arch political enemies of the 

governor who currently represents the 

community in the State House of Assembly, 

Hon Saheed Popoola, an indigene of Offa, 

tackled his monarch for this public 

declaration of support. However, some 

indigenes of the town, particularly from the 

ruling All Progressives Congress, who felt 

offended by the lawmaker’s attack gathered 

at their town hall on Thursday to reprimand 

the lawmaker. 

Recall that Hon Popoola, who was one of 

the arrow heads of “O to ge” (meaning 

“Enough is enough”) political struggle which 

brought the present administration in the state 

to power had his eyes on the Speakership 

position when the governor took over. 

Saturday Vanguard reliably gathered that 

the governor in his own wisdom of 

equity,justice and fairness denied him the plum 

office and zoned the office to Kwara North 

because his deputy came from the same 

Kwara South as Hon Saheed Popoola who 

had since then reportedly drawn a political 

battle line with the governor. 

The monarch, Oba Mufutau 

Gbadamosi,Olofa of Ofa had declared 

support for Governor AbdulRasaq’s second 

term last week when the governor went to 

inspect one of the ongoing projects in Offa 

and paid him a courtesy visit. The 

monarch,who had earlier given the governor 

the chieftaincy title of Soludero of Offa told 

him that he has performed exceptionally well 

in the last two years and that no governor in 

the history of Kwara state had beaten his 

record within the period. 

He asked the governor to ignore the few 

ones who were not supporting him, describing 

it as human nature because if Almighty God 

had come in person, people would still find 

fault with Him. 

Olofa also said that several residents in Offa 

loved the governor’s style of administration 

and his performance and that such people 

were many and would vote for him when the 

time comes. 

The monarch then prayed for the governor 

adding that he wanted him to contest for 

second term,so that he could continue and 

complete his good works because no sane 

person changes a winning team. 

He said,”I’m bold and confident to say that 

you have done very well and I want you to 

contest for another four years. Don’t mind the 

few ones, even here who are not supporting 

you for selfish reasons, they are noise makers. 

It’s human nature. Even if our almighty God 

comes in human form to rule us, some people 

will still castigate Him. It happened in our 

holy books, so, please remain focused, 

almighty God will continue to be with you.” 

But few days after, Hon Saheed Popoola 

representing Offa/Ojomu in the state house of 

assembly chose a Ramadan lecture in Offa to 

reply his monarch. Popoola told the gathering 

that since the governor had bitten the fingers 

that fed him, he would not win even if he 

contested for second term adding that Oba 

Mufutau Gbadamosi didn’t have the authority 

to say what he said. “Olofa didn’t have 

authority to say what he said and all the 

prayers he said won’t be answered “said 

Popoola. 

The lawmaker’s emphasis that all the 

prayers of the monarch for the second term of 

the governor would not be 

answered, stirred the 

political controversy 

which forced the 

friends of the governor 

and other stakeholders 

in Offa to come together 

on Thursday to condemn 

the action of the lawmaker. 

Speaking at a town hall 

meeting which had critical 

stakeholders in the affairs of Offa including 

representatives of Olofa, the Chief Imam of 

Offa, Christians Association of Nigeria( CAN) 

and Muslim leaders, youths as well as business 

community in attendance, the APC chairman 

in Offa local government, Abdullateef 

Afolayan, said, “come 2023, there’s no 

vacancy in Kwara Government House as we 

are determined as a people to return Governor 

Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for a second term 

in office”. 

Afolayan’s declaration was greeted with a 

resounding applause by the Deputy Governor, 

Kayode Alabi, the Special Advisers on Political, 

Communication and Strategy, Gidado 

Alakawa, Bashir Adigun and Sa’adu Salau 

respectively as well as Senator Suleiman 

Makanjuola Ajadi who graced the event. 

The representative of Olofa, the Asalofa of 

Offa, Alh Isiaka Shittu, said that the ongoing 

development efforts in the state by the 

governor, especially in Offa town should be 

commended, mentioned renovation of the 

Offa general hospital, rehabilitation of Offa 


roads and Offa water works as some of the 

areas where the governor has impacted on 

the lives of the people in the town. 

He said,”Olofa did what many thought no 

oba should do, he called on the governor to 

contest for another term. He said what the 

governor had done in Offa in two years were 

enough to ask him to recontest. Unlike in 

previous administrations, the governor has 

filled all the pot holes in Offa, the tipper garage 

going to Igosun has been rehabilitated. He 

upgraded the state hospital under one year. 

There are so many things that we still want 

the governor to do for us in Offa. So,we stand 

by him in Offa, The Olofa said the almighty 

God has put the people of Offa in his care and 

he could boldly say whatever he has said.” 

The women, represented by the market 

women leader, Alhaja Idiat Yesuf, said that 

the people knew the state of development in 

the town and the level of development which 

the present administration has achieved since 

assumption of office. She commended the 

governor for financial empowerment, traders 

money, to support traders in the state. She said 

that Offa women backed the endorsement of 

the governor by the Olofa, “because, we 

know how the present administration 

met Kwara and how it is today” 

Idiat said their attendance at 

the town hall meeting which 

was a market day 

underscored her members’ 

resolve to declare their 

support for the governor and 

they had no option than to 

support the second term 

ambition of the governor. 

She said,”For us to have 

abandoned our markets to 

come here show that we 

•Governor appreciated the work the 

AbdulRazaq governor is doing in Offa and 

Kwara state. I’m impressed by 

the Social Investment 

Programme, Owo Arugbo and 

others, it’s unique and very effective 

and our elderly are better off. We supported 

our Olofa on his stand, all our elected and 

appointed members from Offa are working 

for us.” 

The APC women leader in Offa, Alhaja 

Folake Shittu, also canvassed support for 

governor’s second term in office, noting 

AbdulRazaq’s promotion of women inclusion 

in government as a unique reason for them to 

support him. 

Also in his remark, the Spokesman of APC 

in the state who is also a native of Offa, Hon 

Tajudeen Folaranmi said though his principal 

had not told anyone that he was contesting for 

second term but that his achievements that 

everyone could see are compelling them to 

call on him to contest for second term. 

He said,”The governor hasn’t told anyone 

he’s going for second term. But his 

achievements are compelling the stakeholders 

to be calling on him to go for second term. 

Very soon water will be running in our taps 

when the ongoing works in the dam are 

completed.” 

IGP Alkali vows to improve public safety 

•Commences overhaul of security architecture in volatile South East 

By Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor 

here were echoes of war in the South East 

Tbefore he was appointed the Acting 

Inspector-General of Police. The situation was 

such that policemen went about their lawful 

duties in mufti. They were also restricted in 

areas of operation as a result of attacks from 

gun men who invaded police stations, set them 

on fire, killed and maimed officers and men. 

Usman Baba Alkali had his first baptism of 

fire at the Police headquarters in Imo state. 

The hoodlums had attacked the nearby 

correctional center, released incarcerated 

criminals and set the place on fire. Thereafter, 

they invaded the nearby Police Command 

headquarters and unleashed mayhem. Not 

done, they also wrought more havoc by 

burning adjoining buildings in the area. 

Shockingly, they operated freely for hours in 

an area surrounded with security men 

including the police. 

The hoodlums then proceeded to the home 

of the governor of Imo state, Hope 

Uzodinmma, burnt his cars and part of his 

magnificent palatial home and killed the 

policemen who were on official duty there. 

Tragically, the ugly trend continued with more 

killings, looting and burning of police 

formations including the newly established 

Zone 13, Ukpo in Anambra state. 

There were also pockets of attacks at police 

formations and stations in Abia, Ebonyi, 

Enugu and other states in the South East. In 

fact, the then Inspector general of Police, 

Adamu Muhammed went to Imo state to see 

things for himself before he retired while 

Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG, 

Usman Baba Alkali was announced as the 

Acting IGP on 7th April, 2021. 

Upon his assumption of duties, Alkali took 

the bull by the horn by effecting changes in 

the leadership of the police in the areas with a 

view to strengthening their workforce and 

putting a permanent stop to the horrific stories 

being told from the east. The changes 

manifested in the immediate posting of 

commissioner of Police, Christopher A. 

Owolabi as the new Commissioner of Police 

• IGP Alkali 

(CP) in charge of Anambra State Police 

Command. Acting IGP alkali stated 

unequivocally that the deployment of the new 

CP was part of the ongoing efforts at reordering, 

overhauling and strengthening the 

security and policing architecture in Anambra 

State and other states of the South-East and 

South-South geo-political zones of the 

country. This, according to him, was ultimately 

designed to improve the operational efficiency 

of the command and enhance public safety 

and security. CP Chris Owolabi took over from 

CP Monday Bala Kuryas, who was 

redeployed to the Anti-Fraud Section of the 

Force Headquarters Annex, Lagos. 

In a similar vein, the IGP ordered the posting 

of other strategic and tactical commanders 

within the zones. A total of two Deputy 

Commissioners of Police (DCPs), 14 Assistant 

Commissioners of Police and other mid-level 

officers were affected. 

He charged the new Commissioner of Police 

in Anambra State to take adequate measures 

in consolidating and improving on the gains 

of his predecessor and further charged the CP 

•Stakeholders in Offa,in their 

townhall on Thursday to support 

Governor AbdulRazaq for second 

to rejig the security apparatus of the state, 

harness the full potential of the command – 

its workforce, assets and stakeholders - in 

advancing the collective safety of all citizens. 

The IGP equally enjoined the people of South- 

East and South-South zones to cooperate with 

the police and other security agencies to 

enable them succeed in the responsibilities of 

safeguarding them. Also, IGP Alkali ordered 

the posting of CP Abutu Yaro to Imo State as 

the new Commissioner of Police. CP Yaro was 

the immediate Commissioner of police in 

Zamfara state where banditry was raging and 

he was reputed to have put in his best in 

tackling the issue. His posting to Imo state 

was in furtherance of efforts by the Police 

leadership towards strengthening security, 

tackling violent crimes and enhancing 

optimal coordination of policing operations 

within the state and beyond. 

While the postings were taking place with 

firm promise of effecting more, the police in 

Ebonyi state intercepted 753 high caliber 

GPMG ammunition and recovered two AK47 

rifles, five Pump Action Guns, six pistols and 

other weapons from Abakaliki. The recovery 

which was made possible by the new security 

architecture set up by the Acting IGP assisted 

police in the area to intercept the ammunitions 

concealed in a sack being transported in a 

commercial vehicle from Abakaliki, Ebonyi 

State to Umuahia in Abia State. The 

intelligence-driven covert operation, which led 

to the interception and recovery of the deadly 

ammunition, was part of efforts by the force 

to identify and crack down on criminal 

networks and supply chains for weapons and 

ammunition in and around the country. 

Based on the new operational policy and 

tactical approach as directed by IGP Alkali, 

Enugu state police command, also swooped 

on the den of suspected kidnappers and killed 

a yet-to-be-identified suspects along Udi-Oji 

River Road during a gun duel with officers 

attached to Udi police division. The command 

also arrested one 26-year-old Samuel Felix 

suspected to be an armed robber along 

Akwuke Road, Gariki, Enugu. 

Police sources said the operations were 

carried out in synergy with the personnel of 

the vigilante groups in the said locations, 

adding that two cut-to-size locally-made 

double barrel guns, charm and other exhibits 

were recovered during the operations. 

It was gathered that irked by the prevailing 

security situation in the country, the IGP has 

also directed all Commissioners of Police to 

stop collecting bribe or mounting road blocks 

in order to make money. He also charged 

them to ensure that policemen under their 

respective commands do not violate the law 

of the land where they were serving assuring 

that he was ready to fight, protect and assist 

hardworking officers and men who do not 

depend on money collected from road block 

and other practices which can tarnish the 

image of the force. 

While charging the newly posted officers to 

bring to bear their professional experience in 

improving policing and restoring public 

confidence in their new places of assignment, 

he assured citizens of the determination of the 

force under his leadership to upscale its 

operations, improve public safety and tackle 

all forms of crimes in the country. 

The new IGP, who is the 21 st indigenous 

Inspector General of Police, a fellow of the 

National Defence College hails from Geidam 

in Yobe state. He was commissioned into the 

Nigeria Police Force on 15th March, 1988 

as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police 

at the Nigeria Police Academy (Annex), 

Kaduna. He holds a Masters degree in Public 

Administration (MPA) and a Bachelor of Arts 

degree in Political Science. 

An astute crime-fighter and versatile 

manager of men and resources, he has held 

several strategic positions in the past cutting 

across all the departments of the Force. These 

include: Ag. Deputy Inspector-General of 

Police in-charge of the Department of Finance 

and Administration, the Force Secretary, 

Assistant Inspector-General of Police incharge 

of Zone-5 Benin, Zone-4 Makurdi and 

Zone-7 Abuja. He was also a former 

Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital 

Territory (FCT) and Delta Commands 

amongst others.


These days, it is surprising the ease with 

which some people want to or walk 

out of marriage. It makes you wonder 

if they understood the marital institution 

before they got into it, or if there was ever a 

real marriage in the first place,or if it was 

just a sham. Examples of sham marriages 

are when some people get into marriage to 

enable them grab a chunk of their spouses’ 

wealth and walk out once they achieve their 

aim. Another example is when some people 

go into marriage to have children within 

matrimony and walk out after achieving their 

aim. Whatever the case is, couples in each of 

the categories above were never in each 

other’s lives. If they were, they could not have 

walked out of their marriages like people 

taking an evening stroll. Love, lust or deceit 

might bring people together, butthey need 

more than any of these to stay together. 

When God instituted matrimony, it was 

beautiful. But humankind has made it a 

minefield with trailer loads of reasons for 

marriages to fail if the couples do not commit 

to making it work. Every successful marriage 

is a product of deliberate 

actions: patience, 

understanding, love, 

tolerance, regular 

communication and wrestling 

cage mentality, among others. 

The other ingredients 

mentioned here are selfexplanatory, 

but I want to 

throw some light on wrestling 

cage mentality. Over seven 

years ago, I wrote an article, 

marriage is a cage, not an 

open ring. The conventional 

wrestling cage has an open top 

with ropes round it. During a 

wrestling match, if the 

beating gets too much, a 

wrestler can jump out of the 

ring to get some respite or 

abandon the fight entirely. 

Anyone with an open-cage 

mentality cannot have an 

enduring marriage; he/she 

will certainly jump out of 

marriage because tough situations aplenty. 

Unfortunately, that is the mentality of many 

people going into marriage today. They 

cannot bear any heat. I hear young married 

people say, “I don’t tolerate nonsense.” You 

cannot tolerate nonsense in your marriage, 

Are you in your spouse’s life? 

but you can tolerate nonsense driving 

on Nigerian roads and nonsense from 

colleagues at your work place. 

Tolerating nonsense is part of daily 

living. Even the best of spouses are full 

of “nonsense.” This is because they are 

humans and every human being is a 

combination of the good, bad and ugly. 

It is just that goodness predominates in 

some people, while 

“ugliness” 

Bad as being jilted 

is, young people 

must realise that 

being jilted is 

nothing new. It has 

been with man from 

time. Sometimes, it 

is just a mystery of 

the heart 

predominates in 

others. Sometimes, 

what one spouse sees 

as nonsense in the 

other is a product of 

d i f f e r i n g 

personalities. But the 

situation gets 

ameliorated with 

tolerance, patience, 

communication and 

understanding. 

Cage wrestling, on 

the other hand, takes 

place in an enclosure 

and the only entrance 

and exit is locked 

during fights. There 

is no escape until a 

winner emerges. You 

need a cage mentality 

to have a long lasting 

marriage. No retreat, 

no surrender. You confront every 

challenge head-on. You find solutions to 

all problems. Those problems you 

cannot solve, you learn to live with. There 

is no escape route until you are 

victorious. The only issues I will 

continue to preach against are marital 

abuse and threat to life. They are 

unacceptable and you should walk 

away once they rear their ugly heads in 

your marriage.Some of those who 

tarried have paid with their lives or 

suffered permanent deformities. 

But our topic is another ingredient 

necessary for marriages to endure: 

spouses being in each other’s lives. 

Often, we talk about parents being in 

their children’s lives and not enough 

about spouses being in each other’s 

lives. For Christians couples, being in 

each other’s lives has its foundation in 

the bible:”Therefore a man shall leave 

his father and his mother and hold fast 

to his wife, and they shall become one 

flesh” (Gen. 2:24). One flesh means a 

life that is incomplete without your 

spouse, two hearts that beat as one, two 

lives that are inextricably intertwined. 

These are broad descriptions. Every 

couple must evolve what will make 

their lives inseparable. Living 

intertwined lives is very important 

considering the fragility of modern 

marriages. 

While I was writing this column, a 

breaking news showed on my laptop 

screen: Bill and Melinda Gates to 

divorce after 27 of Marriage. That 

came out of the blues. Every marital 

breakup breaks my heart and this one 

certainly did. I thought it was going all 

well in their marriage. First, it was Jeff 

Bezos, the current richest man in the 

world, and his former wife, MacKenzie. 

Now it is Bill Gates, the former richest 

man in the world and current world’s fourth 

richest man, and his wife. Every marital breakup 

diminishes the marital institution and high 

profile divorces like that of Bill and Belinda 

Gates do have worldwide ripple effects. The 

Gatesare involved in so many charity and 

humanitarian activities and everything looked 

so normal with their marriage. 

Uwevwirohwofabeno (it is hard to understand 

inner workings of another person’s house. 

They did not say much in their divorce 

statement, but from their eldest daughter’s 

statement, the union seems to have been strained 

for a while. I cannot help but wonder if they were 

in each other’s lives; if one felt incomplete 

without the other. It does not look like they were. 

And apparently, the activities of the Bill and 

Belinda Gate Foundation were not strong 

enough to keep them togetheras husband and 

wife because they said they intend to continue 

working together in the foundation after their 

divorce. 

The divorces of Gate and Bezos clearly point 

to the fact that money is important in marriage, 

but it is grossly insufficient to make a marriage 

happy and enduring. Sometimes, the presence 

of money is the major source of problems in some 

marriages. Young people going into marriage 

must understand the place of money in marriage. 

Every man should work hard to earn enough to 

provide for his family. Food, clothing, shelter, 

school fees, rent, etc., costs a lot, especially with 

the hyperinflation we are currently going 

through. It is also wonderful if you can afford 

holidays and other luxuries. But money is not 

everything. Couples must learn the balancing act 

between economic pursuits and other aspects of 

their lives: creating time for God, their families, 

themselves, recreation, etc. Poor distribution of 

time on various aspects of their lives by many 

couples is a leading cause of divorce. You cannot 

spend all the time on economic pursuits; you 

cannot spend the whole day with your wife while 

your mates are out there working; you cannot 

spend all your time on recreation and you cannot 

spend all the time church. Good balancing is 

important. 

Like everything in life, being in each other’s 

life has downsides. One of the downsides of the 

lives of spouses being intertwined is that if one 

spouse dies, life can become tasteless, incomplete, 

complicated and no longer worth living for the 

surviving spouse. You would have seen or read 

about spouses who died shortly after they lost 

their spouses… some hours, days or weeks. Still 

it is good to be in your spouse’s life. 

Somalian dictator, Mohamed 

Siad Barre, found home in 

Nigeria following his ouster in 

1991 and rejection by Kenyan 

opposition when he arrived Nairobi for 

refuge. The maximum ruler died in 

Lagos five years later and it appears 

his blood soaked evil spirit is hovering 

all over the nation. 

I received the good news that 

President Muhammadu Buhari has 

asked for help from the United States 

to tackle the unprecedented flood of 

insecurity that may consume the 

country and perhaps create a mass of 

refugees all over the the West African 

Sub Region. 

Buhari bent backwards to ask America 

to move the headquarters of the United 

States Africa Command ( 

USAFRICOM) from Stuttgart Germany 

to Africa. His request was made 

through Secretary of State Anthony 

Blinken. 

It is a welcome development because 

the US courted Nigeria in 2008 when 

AFRICOM became operational. At that 

time, Abuja rejected plans to locate the 

Intercontinental military formation on 

Nigerian soil. There were less security 

issues to deal with. 

I join my voice with that of President 

Buhari and add that AFRICOM should 

move down to Nigeria as soon as 

possible before we find ourselves in 

another Somalia. I have a feeling that 

Port Harcourt will serve as a suitable 

headquarters. 

The Garden City hosts some of our 

Petro wealth and as a port, will be 

useful in the fight against sea pirates 

in the Gulf of Guinea which may 

become a bigger problem if not tackled 

at the same time as insurgency, 

banditry and other nascent forms of 

violence. 

AFRICOM is like a Nigerian project. 

It was established on October 1, 2007. 

A year later, October 1, 2008, it became 

operational. The United States Special 

Operations Command, Africa became 

effective on October 1, 2009. These 

dates are historic. Nigeria became 

independent on October 1, 1960 and a 

Republic on October 1, 1963. 

USAFRICOM: Burying Barre’s 

Ghost 

The first Commander of 

AFRICOM, General William ‘Kip’ 

Ward, served in Somalia as part of 

American intervention, known as 

‘Operation Restore Hope’. Nigerian 

troops were also in 

Somalia at the same 

time. Ward a bagged 

a Master’s degree in 

Political Science, from 

the Pennsylvania 

State University. That 

is the story of Dr. 

Nnamdi Azikiwe, our 

first president. 

Barre and Somalia 

should be eternally 

grateful to Nigeria. 

Unfortunately, we 

have been repaid in 

very bad coins. As AU 

Chairman, I guess 

Gen. Ibrahim 

Babangida tried to 

help a fallen 

colleague who was 

rejected at home and 

in Kenya. The man 

lived and died in 

Lagos. His body was taken back 

home for burial. 

Nigerian troops of the 23rd 

Brigade captured Mogadishu from 

Italy in February 1941, during the 

Second World War. In March, they 

took Degehabur and Jijiga, both in 

the Somali part of Ethiopia. Brave 

warriors of First Battalion, Nigerian 

Regiment, advanced to Harar and 

Dire Dawa. Barre was part of that 

East African campaign where 

Nigerians freed his country. 

The Nigerians returned to 

Somalia in 

1993 after 

granting Barre 

assylum. They 

were part of a 

United Nations 

Peace Keeping 

F o r c e , 

UNOSOM II. 

Twenty three 

other nations 

were involved 

with the United 

S t a t e s 

assuming 

leadership. 

T h e 

contingent of 

29 officers and 

621 soldiers 

from 245 

Reconnaissance 

Battalion, was 

led by Lt.Col 

Olagunsoye Oyinlola. On 

September 5, 1993, seven Nigerian 

soldiers were killed at Checkpoint 

Pasta in what drew reminiscences 

of the Second World War. 

Oyinlola accused Italian Peace 

Keepers under Gen. Bruno Loi of 

doing nothing while Somalians 

loyal to warlord, Mohamed Farrad 

Barre and 

Somalia should 

be eternally 

grateful to Nigeria. 

Unfortunately, we 

have been repaid 

in very bad coins. 

Aidid, fired at the Nigerians. The Italians 

had gone into a pact with the locals on how 

to man a particular checkpoint. That was 

unknown to ‘Ola Recce’ and his boys. 

Oyinlola was lucky to return to Nigeria 

in one piece and subsequently became 

Military Governor of Lagos and civilian 

governor of Osun State. Some of his soldiers 

came back with injuries. One of them had 

to plead for his life by telling Somalian 

captors that he was a Muslim like them. 

Somalia is an irony. The people are 

nearly united by one language and culture. 

Like the Fulani of Nigeria, they are 

pastoralists. At a time, Barre toyed with the 

idea of uniting all Somali in Somalia, 

Djibouti, Ogaden Ethiopia and North 

Eastern Kenya. He called the union 

Greater Somalia( Soomaaliweyn). 

And he embarked on war to achieve that 

lofty dream. In 1977, Somalia attacked 

Ogaden, Ethiopia. What began well for 

Barre ended in disaster as his erstwhile 

friends, the Soviet Union, abandoned him 

for Ethiopia and paved way for Cuban 

troops to join the fight. Somalians were 

beaten back. 

That was the Siad Barre that was later 

toppled by some of his former allies and 

forced to flee the country. He was a man of 

sorrow, tears and blood. Kenya rejected 

him. The Nigerian government welcomed 

the bloody man. In 1995, Barre died in 

Lagos. 

His evil spirit seemed restless. From a 

very peaceful nation, Nigeria has become 

a High risk location dreaded by investors. 

There is a subtle plan by the Fulani all over 

West Africa to settle in Nigeria something 

akin to Barre’s plan for the Somali in 

Greater Somalia. 

While on exile in Nigeria,Barre did not 

know that many Igbo who saw the Civil 

War detested him. Carl Gustaf von Rosen, 

the Swede who fought for Biafra with his 

five Malmo MFI-9 minicons, was killed by 

Somalian troops in Gode, Ethiopia during 

the Ogaden War. 

AFRICOM is the best thing to happen to 

Nigeria. The Commander, Gen. Stephen 

Townsend, was just 10 when Barre emerged 

as leader of Somalia in 1969. He was in 

service away from Africa, during the Battle 

of Mogadishu that consumed a platoon or 

more of American fighters. Nigeria will not 

become another Somalia.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

Iwill remember the scene until 

I die because scars don’t go 

away and this was a scar on the 

soul. The soul of a young boy. It was 

shortly before the Civil War. My 

school was on holidays and I was 

going home. The school bus took 

some of us who were travelling to 

the motor park and a senior ensured 

we were in the right bus. My bus – 

if you could call it that – was a 

wooden contraption that packed 

people like sardines. I was squeezed 

between adults in what looked like 

a long row. I knew it was going to be 

a long trip to Ibadan. Unfortunately, 

the trip was made even more 

uncomfortable by intermittent stops. 

If we were lucky, the armed soldiers 

who manned the checkpoints would 

wave us on after briefly stopping us. 

Occasionally, prying eyes peeped 

into the bus and scanned the faces. 

I noticed some people were 

uncomfortable. I noticed some 

people tried to avert their eyes. But 

what does a child know 

(kil’omodemo). Then 

came a stop where we 

were all ordered down. 

Apparently, some 

peering eyes were not 

satisfied with what 

they 

had 

scanned.Rude 

questions were asked 

by the armed soldiers. 

We were ordered back 

into the bus but 

without two 

squirming, shivering 

passengers. There 

were pleas for them by 

some passengers. But 

they were frightened 

pleas. They were led 

into the bush. The bus 

was waved on but the 

driver did not move; 

either from fright or compassion. The 

elders knew what was going to 

happen. I didn’t until years later 

when I was able to reconstruct the 

incident. This time, the driver was 

ordered to move. It was a menacing 

order. He obeyed. We hadn’t gone 

far when we heard gun shots. The 

Penultimate Monday night’s visit by 

All Progressives Congress, APC 

leaders Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and 

Chief Bisi Akande to President 

Muhammadu Buhari was perhaps the 

most visible show of concern by elements 

in the ruling party to the distress in the 

land. 

Tinubu came out of the meeting 

pleading with Nigerians to join hands 

with the government to address the many 

concerns about insecurity, economy, and 

other issues in the land. 

The call from Tinubu and his visit to 

the president undoubtedly reflected the 

unease he may have felt with the 

happenings in the land. 

Tinubu, of course had a duty 

to intervene. After all, he was 

a principal facilitator in the 

emergence of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC 

administration of 

Muhammadu Buhari. Even 

more, preserving Nigeria in 

one entity would also be to 

his advantage as his career 

goal of achieving the 

presidency of Nigeria would 

fail if the country were 

decimated. 

Campaigning with Buhari 

ahead of 2015, Tinubu had 

assured the electorate that 

more than President 

Goodluck Jonathan, that 

President Buhari was better 

positioned to address the issues that were 

prevalent at that time. 

At that time, Nigeria had just suffered 

the lamentable abduction of 276 

schoolgirls from Government Girls 

Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. 

Many Nigerians thought it impossible 

for such a kidnap to happen despite the 

fact the terrorist Boko Haram group had 

carved a niche for itself within Sambisa 

Forest in Borno State. 

Every ambitious 

politician – and 

ambition is another 

name for politics – 

had his own band of 

armed thugs. They 

became licensed to 

kill 

The growing list of Nigerians 

who are licensed to kill 

silence in the bus was deafening. 

Some eyes might have darted to the 

spaces left behind by the 

‘disembarked’ passengers. 

If I, a mere young onlooker, can 

remember this incidentso vividly after 

about fifty five years, what about 

people whose loved ones were killed 

in 

their 

presence?What scars 

are they carrying? In 

the intervening years, 

we have had a bloody 

Civil War, we have 

had coups and 

counter coups. They 

all claimed lives. It 

soon became 

established in the 

n a t i o n ’ s 

consciousness that 

soldiers were licensed 

to kill. They could kill 

anywhere and with 

impunity. If there was 

a campus protest and 

soldiers were drafted 

in, a few lives would 

be lost. If there was a 

street protest and 

soldiers were drafted 

in, a few lives would be lost. It didn’t 

take long before policemen joined the 

fray. They too secured the license to 

kill harmless and unarmed civilians. 

Soon, lives were being lost for ‘refusal 

to cooperate’. A fellow could lose his 

life for as little as fifty naira or simply 

for being at the wrong place at the 

wrong time. This licentiousness was 

too good to be limited to the Armed 

Forces. Politicians joined the unholy 

band. Whoever was deemed to be a 

clog in the wheel of their ambition was 

taken out. Every ambitious politician 

– and ambition is another name for 

politics – had his own band of armed 

thugs. They became licensed to kill. 

Religion felt it should not be left out 

as people felt the need to kill for God. 

Funny, this need to kill for God seems 

to be limited to a particular religion. 

And one that ironically calls itself a 

religion of peace.People were being 

dragged out and slaughtered for 

alleged blasphemy against the Quran. 

And because nothing happened to 

these self-styled ‘Army of God’, one 

can deduce that they are also licensed 

to kill. This army branched out to 

become more antagonistic towards 

education and modernisation. It also 

became deadlier. 

Herdsmen as we knew them were 

benign, harmless people who felt 

more comfortable with cattle than with 

humans. But they faced existential 

threat due to cattle rustling and desert 

encroachment. They were faced with 

two uncomfortable choices. They either 

change their age old way of life and 

adapt to a more sedentary lifestyle or 

force their ways into other people’s 

farms. They chose the latter. They 

needed guns to sustain this dated and 

unwholesome way of rearing cattle. 

The nexus between Hadiza, 

Tinubu and Pantami 

…while Ms. Bala Usman 

was suspended to allow an 

investigation into issues 

observed under her watch, 

Dr. Isa Pantami who has 

admitted with video evidence 

to have supported terror 

groups is given a wave of 

approval. 

The naira at that time 

exchanged for about 

170 to a dollar, a rate 

many Nigerians 

thought reflected the 

failures as we assumed 

of President Jonathan. 

The APC mantra was 

Changi! 

Six years into the 

Change phenomena, 

the worsening orgy of 

unimaginable violence 

is better reflected by 

international reports 

that Nigeria is about the 

third most terrorized 

nation on earth. 

Despite claims by the 

government that Boko 

Haram has been 

defeated, decimated, and degraded, the 

insurgency has grown to the extent that 

Nigerian soldiers and now policemen have 

become endangered species. 

After the kidnap of the Chibok 

Schoolgirls, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman 

turned into one of the most visible advocates 

for the return of the schoolgirls under the 

aegis of the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG 

group. 

Then only few outside the inside reaches 

of the Jonathan administration knew that 

she was also a fanatical trooper for the 

Buhari Change mantra. Though, she was 

not a member of the APC Presidential 

Campaign Council, she was like a secretary 

all about helping the members in their 

meetings. 

So, while she campaigned at the Unity 

Fountain in the daytime for the BBOG, in 

the night she was encamped with the Buhari 

campaign in laying strategies to remove 

Jonathan from power. 

Perhaps it was that intelligence that 

informed operatives of the Jonathan 

administration and Mama Patience into the 

folly that the Chibok abduction was a ruse. 

However, six years on, the comparison of 

school children’s abduction between the two 

administrations has turned sickening. 

Whereas Jonathan was smeared with only 

one major abduction, under Buhari, school 

children abductions have spread like cancer 

to the extent that it is no longer news for the 

international community. This week, the evil 

for the first time spread to the South with 

the abduction of students of the Abia State 

University, Uturu. 

After the abduction of more than 300 

schoolgirls of the Government Girls 

Secondary School, Jangabe, Zamfara State 

last February, Ms. Bala Usman on February 

27, tweeted thus: 

SATURDAY Vanguard, , MAY 8, 2021—19 

They were not only supplied guns by the 

high and mighty, they were protected. 

They joined those licensed to kill. One 

top politician either from inebriation or 

stupidity or both said the Fulani 

herdsmen could be excused because they 

grow up valuing the life of a cattle more 

that human life. So the killings continued 

unchecked.Soon, the line between cattle 

rearing and banditry became blurred. 

Cattle rustlers became bandits. 

Herdsmen became bandits. They soon 

found out what their bosses in the city 

have always known; that crime pays. 

Especially crime with little or no 

consequences. Even as we speak, Abuja 

has not made up its mind on what to do 

with armed herdsmen and bandits 

occupying our forests. There is still a lot 

of double-speak going on. Others, 

especially in the South-East are asking 

why they should not join the list of those 

licensed to kill. So they sack and loot 

police stations. And so the killing 

continues; and so the mayhem continues. 

What had started as military killing has 

over the years degenerated into street 

killing. And with every killing that is not 

met with dire consequences, Nigeria loses 

respect for the sanctity of life. It is a sad 

commentary that right now, the life of a 

cattle is more valued than a human life. 

Enough should finally be enough. Only 

soldiers are trained to kill and it should 

only be at the war front. Otherwise, it is 

extrajudicial. Even there, war crimesexist 

to deal with excesses. All other forms of 

killing, be it police, political, religious or 

from herdsmen should be treated as 

murder.It is good that the government is 

trying to mop up small arms. There are 

too many guns in the system. It should 

look into how these arms are entering the 

country. Those in charge of the borders 

should be sanctioned for negligence or 

complicity. 

However, in order to overcome the trust 

deficit that this government has built up 

in the minds of people, the mop up 

should start with the aggressors and not 

with people trying to defend their 

homesteads. Self-defence has never been 

a crime in international law; especially 

when applied with a commensurate 

force. When the bushes and highways are 

swept clean of guns, the home dwellers 

will have no reason to sleep with guns 

under their pillows. 

The state of insecurity in the country that has 

led to the kidnap of Kagara boys and Zamfara 

girls need to be addressed URGENTLY...We 

can’t go on like this! Rescue our children and 

Secure our country that’s all we ask Broken 

heartBroken 

heartBroken 

heart...#SecureNorth #SecureNigeria... 

That tweet according to conspiracy theories 

laid the ground for a witch hunt directed at her 

that led to her suspension as MD of Nigerian 

Ports Authority, NPA. 

As with such cases in which those in authority 

are questioned by subordinates, rumours were 

flying about on Friday morning about massive 

holes in billions of naira in the accounts of the 

NPA supposedly discovered by the Office of the 

Auditor General of the Federation. The alleged 

audit query according to sources is what led to 

Bala Usman’s suspension. 

Whatever, Ms. Bala Usman’s tweet about 

addressing the state of insecurity that led to the 

Kagara and Zamfara abductions have not been 

reasonably addressed by the APC 

administration. 

In any case, as some alleged on Twitter, while 

Ms. Bala Usman was suspended to allow an 

investigation into issues observed under her 

watch, Dr. Isa Pantami who has admitted with 

video evidence to have supported terror groups 

is given a wave of approval. 

Ms. Usman chose not to play the ostrich like 

some who would prefer not to see evil or hear 

any evil. Few would forget the fact that as 

Senator Smart Adeyemi lamented the anarchy 

in the land that Tinubu’s wife was widely 

reported to have heckled him for being 

unfaithful to the APC. 

If Adeyemi, Bala Usman and others who have 

the voice in the APC opt to keep quiet, the 

anarchy that we see would grow to consume 

them and their party. 

It was as such welcoming that Tinubu and 

Akande opted to see Mr. President. But having 

seen him, the outcome of the visit has largely 

remained intangible. Indeed, as Tinubu readies 

his political machine for 2023, a difficult 

question he would have to face is whether he 

would be sustaining the APC mantra of Change 

or Continuity. It is the devil’s alternative for 

him.


Taciturnity in trying times, when 

any president should mount the 

national dais and reassure the 

citizenry, has been the hallmark of the 

Muhammadu Buhari administration. 

His presidency, which has notably been 

fast in condolling other parts of the 

world, would grow reticent when 

disaster strikes at home, especially, 

when suspected Fulani killer herders 

are to blame. 

Then a change came just days ago. 

The presidency was speaking in quiet 

unmistakable terms and quoting the 

national constitution as the absolute 

law book on which our rights are 

grounded. 

Why? What brought about this change 

and a recourse to the Constitution? 

Answer: We have been told that 

security agencies have uncovered 

unconstitutional change of government 

plans. A coup is a coup, and it is 

condemnable and the security agents 

and agencies should do their work for 

which they are adequately primed with 

the needed cash; finish. 

What really bothers me is the 

newfound need to bring all the powers 

and strength and endowments of every 

government apparatus and war arsenal 

to ensure that this constitutional 

provision on how administrations can 

be changed, is not breached. No, my 

worry does not stem from the mere fact 

that this constitutional provision has 

been recognized and is being enforced. 

Sincerely, I applaud that fact, because 

for any group of persons, be they 

soldiers or politicians, to come 

unelected into the presidency, is to 

deny the citizenry their most basic of 

rights; that of choosing their leaders. 

Without it, the people are slaves. 

Even though I am being tempted to 

ask whether the constitution made any 

hints towards ensuring that the 

national character should be respected 

where necessary because of the very 

nature of Nigeria, and whether that has 

been obeyed by the Buhari 

administration, I have other matters to 

focus on now. Yet, it needs to be pointed 

out that the 1999 Constitution’s Section 

153 established the Federal Character 

Commission to check against undue 

bias and undue favouritism in 

appointments against or in favour of 

any section of the country. The 

The craftiness of the devil is well 

stated in his methods of operation. 

He chooses his tactics and strategies 

well and applies them to particular 

circumstances. Two streams feed these 

strategies, namely excess or defect. In his 

attack on religion, he employs both 

methods. The broader ramifications of 

these strategies include religious 

indifferentism, ungodliness and scepticism 

on one hand and fundamentalism, 

mercantile spiritualism and religious 

charlatanism on the other. The evil one 

sustains and corrupts the religiosity of the 

faithful and lets them derail by 

inappropriate use of religion, exploitation 

and manipulation. He rarely tempts the 

faithful ones with indifference or 

agnosticism because it might prove a hard 

nut to crack. Instead, he corrupts their zeal 

and sells the quest for money, power and 

fame to them. Seconding that, he changes 

the purpose and product, leaving alone the 

principle and practice. The result is a fullscale 

corruption, exploitation and abuse 

of religion in which worship changes from 

God-focused and centred doxology to 

affirmation, glorification and 

aggrandisement of man. 

This situation is evident in the 

understanding and practice of prayer. The 

evil one leaves the principle largely 

untouched. That is, prayer is necessary, 

valuable and potent. He ignores the 

practice; that is, people pray and request 

prayers, and alters the purpose by the 

emergence of prayer merchants and 

contractors whose stock in trade is prayer. 

They learn the art of prayer, accentuating 

its consolatory and awe-striking 

paraphernalia. They employ prayers as an 

amulet and object to curse, conjure, 

retaliate, manipulate and exploit but never 

as a relationship. To such persons, prayer 

is not communication with God but 

something we make that draws its potency 

from our skills. Thus, they place emphasis 

on man and never on God through grace. 

These prayer contractors are hired with 

exorbitant prices in kind or cash to visit 

families, towns or Christian communities. 

They give priority according to the 

attendant lucre. These contractors prevent 

the Abba relationship of each baptised 

with God and outsource our divine 

Buhari’s shocking priority, , Rober 

obert 

Clark’s terrible proposal 

constitution says: “…the 

government of the federation or 

any of its agencies and the conduct 

of its affairs shall be carried out in 

such a manner as to reflect the 

federal character of Nigeria and 

the need to promote national unity 

and also to command national 

loyalty, thereby ensuring that there 

shall be no predominance of 

persons from a few states or from a 

few ethnic or other sectional groups 

in that government or in any of its 

agencies.” 

Unfortunately, I have never 

heard those shouting about 

unconstitutional this and 

unconstitutional that rave against 

the unconstitutional disregard for 

the federal character principle. 

What brought about this shameful 

prioritization of constitutional 

dictates? Could it be that one issue 

of constitutionalism touches 

directly on the NUMBER ONE? 

That is shameful. 

Why? I answer thus: there are 

also rights so important that 

without them the right of electing 

a leader disappears. Please 

remember that Chapter 1, Section 

4 of the constitution states that in 

the country there have existed and 

shall continue to exist without 

discrimination by reason of race, 

origin, colour, religion or sex, the 

following fundamental human 

rights and freedoms, namely: the 

right to life, liberty, security of the person 

and enjoyment of property. 

And the Vanguard newspaper of 

Thursday, May 6, 2021 published this: 

“25, 452 persons sacked 

from 10 communities by 

armed herders in 

Monday’s attacks— 

Benue govt.” Hey, 

presidency people, the 

military, DSS and police, 

are those Benue 

unfortunates unworthy of 

constitution protection? If 

not, why has the hue and 

cry 

over 

constitutionalism not 

been raised over their 

plight? Why has the 

presidency kept quiet? 

From the same 

newspaper came this: 

“Tension in Abuja over 

influx of migrant herders 

from Niger Republic. 

Again, there has been no 

condemnations from the 

presidency, yet, when it 

suits it, it talks about 

protecting the territorial integrity of 

Nigeria. A country that non-nationals 

enter into and leave at will has no 

territorial integrity. 

This brings us to the awful, dreadful, 

outrageous and appalling thoughts 

Robert Clark (SAN) vented recently; that 

President Buhari should declare a state 

of emergency, call in the military for a 

Prayer contract 

actor 

ors,pr 

s,prayer merchants 

and spiritual Yahoo men 

filiation, the sonship, to so-called 

specialists. In any true prayer, 

intercessors are of second value 

because they are like Aaron and Hur, 

who supported Moses on the mountain 

during his hour of prayer while the 

battle with Amalekites lasted. Real 

intercession does not obstruct the filial 

relationship with God because it is not 

a substitute but support 

and an expression of 

fraternal spiritual 

solidarity. Let’s face it, 

which father will be 

enamoured by son or 

daughter’s outsourcing of 

relationship to another? 

What goes on in the name 

of ministry is 

unconscionable 

exploitation of the flock in 

the name of God. And it is 

nothing short of pastorpreneurship, 

through 

which so-called men of 

God or rather ‘gods of men’ 

feed fat on the fears, piety, ignorance 

and religiosity of the people, thus 

profiting through manipulation. 

Simply, many of the religious 

ministers’ activities have no better 

explanation than the spiritual Ponzi 

What goes on in 

the name of 

ministry is 

unconscionable 

exploitation of the 

flock in the name 

of God 

scheme in the name of the Gospel. Just 

like the ‘yahoo boys’ ply their business 

with a sophisticated application of 

intelligence in order to hoodwink their 

victims, many in religious garbs and 

under cover of religion prey on the flock. 

They milk them dry to their selfaggrandizement, 

often to 

the praise of their victims. 

Here, religion acts like 

opium, metaphysical 

tramadol, and a reality 

narcotic that prepares, 

disposes and sustains their 

incarceration, grip and 

slavish surrender to the 

fraud, without an atom of 

an idea that such happens 

not in God’s name. Indeed, 

they act their agenda in 

which fear is an 

investment, reaping so 

much mundane dividend. 

The craze to succumb to 

the god of mammon’s 

allure and idolise material 

possession that 

accentuates making money, irrespective 

of the means, portrays religion as an 

exploitative and manipulative 

superstitious system that serves the 

privileged and the establishment. As 

four-year dictatorship, because politicians 

have failed Nigeria since 1999. 

Dear, Robert Clark, please answer these 

questions: Have soldiers proved to be 

messiahs fully inoculated against political 

failures? What has earned this role for the 

military? Is it the institution’s past 

leadership records? Have military regimes 

not been overthrown by soldiers in the past 

for sheer ineptitude? Buhari was once a 

military head of state; his record whether 

as military or civilian leader is enough to 

give the military a bad name. Have you 

checked Buhari’s dis-unifying tendencies? 

What wonders has he wrought on the 

economic front? Has he lightened Nigeria’s 

foreign and domestic debts or cost of 

governance at the centre? What was the 

Naira’s exchange rate with any currency in 

2015 and what is it today? 

A retired Gen Buhari has so far failed on 

the national security front as Boko Haram, 

bandits and killer herders have collectively 

become Nigeria’s greatest danger. Obasanjo 

A retired Gen Buhari 

has so far failed on 

the national security 

front as Boko 

Haram, bandits and 

killer herders have 

collectively become 

Nigeria’s greatest 

danger. Obasanjo 

was there for eight 

years and nothing 

changed 

was there for eight years 

and nothing changed. 

Check the position 

Nigeria now occupies in 

all global indices of 

development and see to 

what depths we have 

plummeted. Now this: 

what if the military 

appoints Buhari or 

Obasanjo (retired 

Generals) to lead that 

N E W 

ADMINISTRATION? 

Would that make that 

administration angelic? 

“You can’t be wrong and 

get right” so sang Jimmy 

Cliff in the 1970s—when 

you were an enchantingly 

handsome up and coming 

lawyer. Despite your 

outlandish proposal, I 

don’t see you as down and 

going—but you presented 

a poor brief. And I condemn it. We might 

even end up with OBASANJO’s OR 

BUHARI’S THIRD TERM. Or, Another 

Abacha era!!! Most of all, the dire situation 

the constitution envisaged for a state of 

emergency imposition has not arrived. 

Another election is just around the corner. 

We might just get it right then. 

such, charlatans under the pretext of 

religion perpetrate noonday robbery and 

daylight fetishism in the name of the Gospel. 

While many of these men and women are 

proprietors of their so-called religious 

groups, many are found in various Christian 

denominations with varying degrees of 

preponderance. The situation makes many 

young people rethink religion and pay 

attention to the false and misleading antireligious 

narratives of the indifferent, 

atheistic and agnostic religion’s bashers. 

The commercialisation of ministry and the 

Gospel contribute to the erosion of the noble 

values of faith and its grip on the people. 

The broader ramifications of the 

spiritual Ponzi scheme through which the 

religious blackmail entrepreneurs 

hoodwink the pious into parting with their 

money with the hope of getting spiritual 

benefits are worthy of note. Through their 

activities, the abuse of religion advances a 

notch. Instead of forming the faithful in 

the proper understanding of the faith and 

its attendant attitude, they reduce it as an 

instrument for profit. Apart from the evil 

of the monetary and material exploitation, 

these prayer contractors and merchants 

make the believer neglect his or her 

relationship with God, the ‘Abbafiliation.’ 

Christianity needs to be rescued from its 

bad marketers, bad advertisers and 

opportunistic ‘egolators,’ who constitute 

obstacles to the faith and scandal to the 

weak. However, bad behaviours of key 

members of the faith cannot serve as enough 

warrant for the abandonment of faith. 

Precisely, no one abandons his/her mum 

because of the abuses meted out to her. 

Instead, the unjust treatment and rapacious 

abuse on her are supposed to ignite the fire 

of love, passion and compassion in any true 

child for the mother. Indeed, the religious 

yahoo men/women and prayer contractors 

have disfigured the beautiful and caring 

mother Church and no true children should 

abandon her. Rather, they should renew their 

love for her because we all are coresponsible 

for her wellbeing. No one should 

abandon the Christian faith because of 

some bad representatives since it is our 

patrimony. Our matrimony with grace gifts 

the gift of the Christian faith, and we can 

never abandon it because of the sin and 

misdeed of any person.

Buhari’s aura now belongs to history. Our 

lion looks castrated. 

Once tall, rigid and fearless. He is 

now slow and timid. The lion we had run to for 

protection now watches wild goats eat palm 

fronds on our head. Even with the fangs of the 

presidency, our bold lion now lets hyenas feast 

on our cubs. When he roars, we hear a whimper, 

the one who chased the wild dogs of Maitatsine 

into oblivion. Why does he watch our slow 

dismemberment? 

Our lion looks castrated. If the gods are not 

to blame, how did our lion become a lame 

squirrel? He had sworn he wouldn’t let 

corruption kill us. Let us say corruption is a 

ghost. But how can’t a General trained to protect 

by killing our enemies, watch bandits and 

terrorists desecrate our sacred educational 

temples, slaughter the young and the old? 

The devil has gone footloose. 

We pampered the bandits in Zamfara and 

Katsina and incentivised organised crime. We 

let Sheik Gumi trivialise terrorism and sow 

seeds of discord in the military. He even 

suggested the bandits were only asking for a 

piece of their denied national pie in ransoms. 

But had our lion not become drowsy and 

allowed cockroaches to grow teeth, who would 

have bothered with the apparent drunkenness 

of Gumi. 

After waiting in vain for a military onslaught 

to scorch the scourge, governors started 

cuddling terrorists. Schools in the north, out of 

caution, complied with the philosophy of Boko 

haram and shut down. We should hide our faces 

in shame. The ransoms we paid have instigated 

a bloom of evil. More groups have joined the 

gold rush. Who would have believed? But if we 

didn’t pay ransoms, how would we have 

collected 300 corpses of young school children 

of Kankara? 

We had thought a General would contain all 

such nuisance. We didn’t know a General could 

give written warnings to terrorists, let alone issue 

twenty such sissy notices in a single week. We 

are now surfeited with bafflement. They have 

beat their drums of war and taken the sleep of 

women and children but our lion can’t be 

startled. 

In Niger state, a certain community has taxed 

members and paid bandits for a slice of peace. 

Nobody knows when their payment would 

expire and if the bandits in Niger would renew 

the agreement, and at what fee? Niger, perhaps, 

has the fastest-growing terrorism industry in 

the world. Somewhere in Borno, some people 

had tried a brigade of prayer warriors. Now 

Our Olympus is falling: Who 

can rouse the General? 

our politicians are openly begging for 

foreign mercenaries. 

My grandmother used to describe certain 

absurdities as humorous evil. Under the 

watch of the great lion, a bunch of armed 

robbers, you can call them unknown 

gunmen, sourced and 

found the audacity to 

visit a governor’s home 

at 9 am on a Saturday. 

They killed police 

officers and burnt the 

house. When President 

Obasanjo allowed one 

funny chap in 

Anambra to kidnap a 

sitting governor, we 

said we had reached 

the depth. But 

perhaps, just perhaps, 

we could soon have a 

situation where a 

sitting president could 

be negotiating with 

some unknown 

gunmen to release a 

sitting governor 

kidnapped from a 

government house. 

These things would 

have made a blatantly 

But perhaps, just 

perhaps, we could 

soon have a situation 

where a sitting 

president could be 

negotiating with some 

unknown gunmen to 

release a sitting 

governor kidnapped 

from a government 

house. 

preposterous Nollywood script six months 

ago. 

The presidency is in a dithering mode. 

The picture of a scarecrow filled with air, 

fluttering in the wind, bobbing its head and 

watching some wild birds, accustomed to 

its impotence, defy its flailing hands, devour 

precious crops. 

Direct death threats have been issued to 

governors and traditional rulers, and 

nothing happened. Oh, sorry, somebody 

jumped out of the presidency to remind a 

bemused public that those crimes are not 

federal crimes. You need not laugh. Perhaps 

that’s why the federal 

Attorney General is 

aloof. The chief law 

officer of a nation sliding 

into anarchy. The foreign 

affairs minister is too 

urbane, too suave, to 

attend to threats against 

the country coming from 

foreign lands. So who 

would blame state 

governors who have 

become chickens? The 

rumours that some state 

governments have 

begun paying protection 

monies to organised 

crime groups 

masquerading as 

freedom fighters might, 

after all, not be 

unthinkable. 

If the government 

thinks the chaos is the 

handiwork of its 

political opponents, it has not fought like a 

schoolchild from whom a cookie is being 

snatched. By the standards of African cabals 

and kitchen cabinets, this Buhari cabal must 

be the most spineless. Even for self-interested 

reasons, why can’t they bring in muscular 

effort to protect their government against 


worms and pests. 

“Shoot on sight everybody found with assault 

weapons.” That was the president’s last whimper. 

Since then, an entire state police command and 

prisons have been sacked and burnt by hoodlums. 

A governors house burnt. But all he has done is 

issue warning criminals not to mess around with 

him. Is he now desperate to be seen as a bornagain 

democrat? Our fate is bleak. 

Who would have thought that we would see a 

respected legal luminary, who bears no 

animosity towards the president, come on a 

national TV and advise the president to hand 

over to a military regime stylishly? And he said 

with all the patriotism an 83-year-old man could 

conjure. Nearly a week after he made the strange 

plea, nearly a week after a National Security 

Council resumed a frantic meeting, nothing, no 

practical reassuring changes have been effected. 

The aura of the lion is what keeps his 

adversaries away. That aura is built by his 

conquests, muscularity, roars, mien and alertness. 

That aura deters the forest and saves him a 

thousand fights. The glory of our lion is fading. 

Not because he has tried to bite and failed to tear 

and crush. But because he has picked his teeth 

and watched goats eat palm fronds on our heads. 

So even scrawny hyenas are gathering and 

nibbling at him, on the tail. His time is running 

out. Our last hopes are crumbling. His legacy is 

in peril. We are in shambles. 

We know the goats eating palm fronds on our 

heads will grow canines. When the palm fronds 

are finished, they might chew our heads and tear 

us apart. Yet we hope. Because what would it 

take the lion to whom the gods had given all our 

fangs to ruse and pounce. 

Schools are shut in the north. Police stations 

are sitting chicks for hawks in the East. And now 

some university students in Okigwe have been 

abducted. At first sight of violence, we dint put 

our foot down. Perhaps we had left it to our lion. 

He deterred and deterred and whined about cattle 

right of way. He didn’t fume against people 

marching the forests with AK 47, massacring 

whole villages in reprisals for cattle. We 

legitimised militias when we made ordinary 

citizens feel helpless and hopeless. 

Today all our chickens are coming home to 

roost. We have been on the brink many times. 

Siddon-look looks dangerous. Many rural 

communities in the north are now desolate. The 

southeast is slipping. Fatwas are flying round. 

Anambra governorship election, due in a few 

months, is in clear jeopardy. 

Our last hopes are crumbling . Who can rouse 

the president? 

From Sita to Arlington Resa 

– Is FAAN “Born Again”? 

By Chris Aligbe 

ecently, the news of the divorce between 

RFederal Airports Authority of Nigeria 

(FAAN) and its long-standing business 

partner in airport management solution 

– SITA, a global brand of great repute, 

filtered into the industry. Since the news, 

many a stakeholder have engaged 

interrogating what they consider vital 

aspects in the relationship. Opinions 

varied and wandered from cost of FAAN’s 

move to the question of propriety of the 

move in the face of proposed concession 

of airports. Some others voiced fears 

about whether due process was followed 

both in SITA disengagement and the 

contractual agreement with Arlington/ 

RESA, given experiences of many poorly 

consummated contractual agreement that 

have plagued the industry, particularly 

FAAN over the years and indeed the 

aviation sector in general. 

All those who have expressed 

opinions and fears no doubt have basis 

although, one can question the strength. 

In this first piece, I will interrogate 

the Procurement Process of the 

Arlington -RESA Airport Management 

Solution beginning from the 

disengagement from SITA, whether due 

process was followed. 

The facts available reveal that the 5- 

year tenure of SITA contract entered 

into by FAAN in 2012 expired in 2017 

but continued till 2020, following a 2- 

year extension by FAAN and a 10- 

months extension of service by SITA in 

restitution for failure to provide some 

services that were part of the contract. 

The SITA contract covered only two 

International Airports; MMIA, Lagos 

and NAIA, Abuja. From information 

gathered, FAAN began evaluation of 

the services of SITA since 2018. In its 

assessment, it found out that SITA was 

deficient in-service delivery as what it 

offered did not cover; 

passenger self-check-in, 

baggage drop and 

baggage reconciliation, 

three vital services that 

were part of the contract. 

This appears why the 

restitutive ten months 

service was offered by 

SITA “pro bono” as it 

were. From the above, 

one thing is clear, FAAN 

avoided what had been 

the industry pitfall if the 

past occasioned by 

irresponsible termination 

of contracts before their 

expiration without respect 

to the terms;a situation 

that had caused the 

industry so much loss in 

money and image from 

litigation and 

unfavourable court 

rulings. The liquidated 

Nigeria Airways suffered 

this in the hands of a UKbased 

Travel Agent – CES 

Travels when a Minister 

directed mid-term 

cancellation of the 

contract and Capt. Joji 

who inherited the mess 

paid millions of pounds in 

out-of-court settlement to 

extricate the airline. 

Today, the albatross of the 

termination of Harry 

Akande’s Lagos International Hilton 

Hotel concession and Royal Sanderton, 

MMA 2 concession are still hanging on 

FAAN’s neck. 

Again, these two like many others were 

the handiwork of political leadership 

rather than FAAN Management. 

In its evaluation of SITA’s service 

delivery, FAAN had its mind on extending 

Airport Management Solution services 

beyond Lagos and Abuja Airports to 

include the other three International 

Airports at Kano, Port Harcourt and 

Enugu. It also had in mind the need to 

expand the services to be procured to 

include three new solutions that will level 

up Nigeria airports with global 

standards. 

Follow up processes led to 

advertisements as required by 

government extant Procurement Laws 

which include Bureau of Public 

Procurement (BPP) approvals of both the 

terms to be advertised and the evaluation 

and Bid analyses both Technical and 

Financial. And due to the fact that the RESA 

Solution is dependent on Information 

Technology, clearance was sought and 

obtained from Nigeria Information 

Technology Development Agency (NITDA). 

The engagement of Arlington Securitas 

Nigeria Limited and RESA was finally 

approved by the Federal Executive Council. 

The comforting thing is that this Contract 

seem to have avoided all the pitfalls of the 

past. First, there is evidence that both the 

relevant Technical Departments, Finance 

Directorate and the Management were all 

actively in the loop while, unlike in the past, 

where the political leadership or the 

Supervisory Minister/Ministry were 

arrowheads in determination of choice of 

processes, the Ministry/Minister seem to have 

left FAAN to own the project. 

One can here ask, who is Arlington Securitas 

Nigeria Limited and RESA their technical 

partner in this Project? What value are they 

bringing or adding and how do they compare 

with SITA of worldwide repute? What is the 

financial exposure to FAAN? These are valid 

concerns that need to be addressed. 

A due diligence conducted by both FAAN 

and independent sources reveal that Arlington 

Securitas Nigeria Limited is the Nigerian 

Representative of RESA. Arlington is a 

Sovereign Revenue and Monitoring 

Consulting firm based in Port Harcourt. Its 

operations are technologically based. 

Arlington was considered the most costeffective 

among the four Companies 

technically qualified. 

On the other hand, RESA Systems is a 

reputable airport management Solution 

Provider that has been in strategic partnership 

with IATA spanning over 30years and has a 

clientele of over 20 airports in Europe, Asia and 

Africa with remarkable track record. 

Available information indicates that 

Arlington – RESA Systems Services is on 

outright procurement unlike SITA which is 

not sold outrightly but on a renewable 

tenure arrangement as may be agreed and 

cost varies with volume of passengers 

airlifted. 

So far, from the level of compliance to all 

due process and extant laws, one can decipher a 

very careful avoidance of the pitfalls of the past. 

May be FAAN is now “born again”. But one 

thing is clear and that is, if professionals are 

left to do their job, excellence and due process 

will reign. 

In my next piece, I will evaluate the propriety 

of the movement and the question as to why 

when concession is on the bloc. 

•Chris Aligbe is an Aviation Consultant


08116759759 

Woman expecting seven babies gives 

birth to nine after two hid in the womb 

AMalian woman has given 

birth to nine babies in an 

extremely rare case of 

nonuplets. Halima Cisse, 25, was 

initially told she was expecting 

seven babies but doctors missed 

two on her scans. She had to be 

flown out of the poor West 

African state to Morocco to 

receive better care on March 30. 

There had been reports that 

doctors were concerned for her 

health but her government said 

she, and her five girls and four 

boys, were all ‘doing well.’ 

Cases of women successfully 

carrying septuplets to term are 

rare – and nonuplets are even 

rarer. Moroccan authorities have 

yet to confirm the case, with 

health ministry spokesman 

Rachid Koudhari saying he had 

no knowledge of such a multiple 

birth having taken place in one 

of the country’s hospitals. 

But Mali’s health ministry said 

in a statement that Halima had 

given birth by Caesarean section. 

‘The mother and babies are doing 

well so far,’ Mali’s Health 

Minister Fanta Siby said, adding 

that she had been kept informed 

by the Malian doctor who 

accompanied Halima to 

Morocco. They are due to return 

home in several weeks’ time, she 

added. Siby offered her 

congratulations to ‘the medical 

teams of Mali and Morocco, 

whose professionalism is at the 

origin of the happy outcome of 

this pregnancy’. 

‘Cannibal killer who cut his mother into 

1,000 pieces and fed her to the dog’ 

Hero, 24, climbs two storey building to save his neighbour, 80, 

from plunging to her death from the balcony of her flat in Spain 

Aman has been hailed as a 

hero for scaling a twostorey 

building to rescue an 

elderly neighbour who was about 

to fall from her balcony. 

Camilo Medina, 24, climbed up 

to rescue the 80-year-old woman 

who had gotten stuck on the 

balcony of a building in Calahorra, 

a city in Spain’s La Rioja region, 

on Monday afternoon. 

The woman, who has not been 

named, is believed to be suffering 

from Parkinson’s disease. 

A video of the dramatic rescue 

shows Medina balancing 

perilously on the rail of the firstfloor 

balcony while the woman 

hangs over the edge of the balcony 

above - almost 10 metres from the 

ground. 

Medina then uses a ledge to pull 

himself up onto the second floor 

and runs over to the woman. 

He scoops her up and lifts her off 

of the rail to safety as onlookers 

cheer from the street below. 

In the video, which appears 

to be shot from a window 

across the street, a man and a 

woman are heard 

commenting on Medina’s 

bravery. 

Medina, a psychology 

student, was passing by the 

woman’s building, which is 

located near his family’s 

business, when he heard her 

screaming in distress. 

I was in the store with my 

mother when my father came 

in saying that a lady was 

about to fall out of the window, 

Medina told local news outlet 

Diario La Rioja. 

Without thinking, I took the 

ladder from the store, climbed to 

the first-floor balcony and kept 

climbing up however I could. 

When I made it to her I felt very 

nervous and I remembered that she 

had told us this winter that she had 

Parkinson’s,’ he told the outlet, 

adding that the woman lives with 

relatives but was alone at the 

time. 

Police arrived shortly afterward 

the woman was rescued but could 

not enter the woman’s flat as it had 

been locked from the inside and 

Medina could not find the keys. 

Officers contacted the woman’s 

son-in-law who came and let them 

into the flat. 

The woman was later transferred 

to a local hospital for a checkup. 

Medina has been hailed as a hero 

by local media and social media 

users for his quick thinking and 

bravery. 

n alleged self-confessed can 

Anibal is said to have cut up 

his mother into more than 1,000 

tiny pieces. Jobless waiter Alberto 

Sanchez Gomez reportedly 

made the gruesome confession to 

officers and said he shared parts 

of the body with his pet dog. Gomez, 

26, was arrested when detectives 

turned up at his family 

home in Madrid to inquire about 

missing OAP Maria Soledad Gomez. 

Shocked cops found her body 

parts in at least six large Tupperware 

containers inside the flat 

near the Spanish capital’s famous 

Las Ventas bullring. 

Her vital organs were missing 

and part of her intestines were 

found mixed with domestic waste 

inside the flat. Macabre new details 

of the gruesome find 

emerged today ahead of 

Sanchez’s court hearing. Her son 

is expected to be charged with killing 

her, although police have not 

yet said how they believe he end- 

ed her life. The first photos of 

Sanchez emerged today as former 

friends told local media how he 

had become a problem for his 

family after becoming addicted 

to drugs. They said he used to 

spend time on a park bench opposite 

his home drinking with 

homeless people. 

It is not yet clear when his mum, 

66, died but police said they suspected 

it happened a month ago. 

Police sources say they believe the 

detainee, one of three children 

whose cabinet-maker dad died 

when he was 15, cooked part of 

his mum’s body parts before eating 

them or feeding them to the 

pet dog. He was well-known to 

officers because of a series of prior 

arrests thought to relate to domestic 

violence against his mum. Neighbours 

said she often had bruises that 

they initially thought had been 

caused by the dog. 

Sanchez, who has been named in 

Spanish media, has been undergoing 

psychiatric evaluation but is expected 

to be remanded in prison 

following his court appearance. 

A spokesman for the National Police 

in Madrid, which released footage 

showing them taking the suspect 

into custody, confirmed: ‘A 26- 

year-old man has been arrested in 

Madrid for allegedly dismembering 

his mum. ‘Officers have found 

part of her remains in Tupperware 

storage containers. ‘The victim had 

been missing for a month.’ They 

made no official comment on the 

local reports he had confessed to 

cannibalism.

BELINDA EFFAH: 

My encounter with 

God inspired me to 

change my name 

By JULIET EBIRIM 

Nollywood actress, Belinda Effah, 

has revealed that she will now be 

officially addressed as Grace- 

Charis Bassey. 

The actress recently announced this 

development on her Instagram page. 

Speaking at a press conference which 

held on the set of “Nollywood Queens” 

reality show during the week, Effah 

disclosed that she changed her name from 

Belinda Effah to Grace-Charis Bassey. 

According to the actress, her divine 

encounter with God prompted the name 

change. 

Her words; “I had to change my name and 

the only thing that can make me change 

my name will be the most supreme being 

which is God. A lot of people will not 

understand that. So I don’t bother to 

explain to people when they ask me why. 

On the 15th of August last year. I had a 

divine encounter with God to change my 

name to Grace. Nobody changed my name, 

God did.” 

“A couple of years ago, I wanted to change 

my name when I found out that I could not 

really grasp the meaning of my name. 

Some people said it meant ‘beauty’ some 

other people said it meant ‘beautiful 

serpent’. So I was caught in between not 

knowing what the right meaning is and I 

wasn’t quite comfortable with that. Also, 

Belinda was not the name my parents gave 

to me. My birth name is Uyu.” 

“I came across Belinda in secondary 

school, when my brother came up with the 

idea of changing my name and my sisters’ 

names because we were all bearing native 

names. He came up with different names 

and asked us to pick. Funny enough, I 

picked Melinda but I didn’t like the 

name because people started calling 

me Mirinda in school. So I decided to 

just go on with Belinda because they 

could not twist it to something funny 

like Mirinda. I didn’t check the 

meaning, I was just carried away 

because it sounded cool and funky”. 

The Calabar, Cross River Stateborn 

beauty, said she went soulsearching 

after feeling stuck 

in life “Having fully grown 

and matured, getting to 

discover myself I started 

asking a lot of questions 

about my life’s purpose. I got 

to a point in life where I felt 

stuck, nothing seemed to 

make sense to me anymore, 

not money, not people, not 

material things. I had to 

turn to my creator and 

asked him, what is your 

purpose for me in this 

life?” 

“Before then, on my 

own I wanted to 

change my name but 

when I thought 

about it, and made 

research about 

name change, it 

was too 

complicated. 

You have to 

change your 

w h o l e 

identity, you have to do the 

paperworks, of course I’m a 

brand, people know me as 

Belinda Effah. I actually 

changed it three 

years ago but not 

on papers. It was 

too tedious so I 

gave it up.” 

Continuing, she 

said “So after my 

encounter with God, 

I called my parents 

and told them not to 

call me Belinda 

anymore. The 

interesting part is that 

my mom said she 

named me Grace at birth. 

She said she had a friend 

named Grace who went through all 

the trouble with her during my 

delivery and she decided to honor 

her friend by naming me after her. 

But you know mothers really 

have little control over the 

naming of the children, the 

fathers do. So my father 

decided that I bear Uyu and 

it was final.” 

“Here I am standing as an 

actress, as a brand and 

whatever people know me for, to announce 

to the world that I’m changing my name 

after over 30 years. People have questioned 

me as to why will I be so mad to change my 

name. I’m like if God says move, I jump. I 

don’t care, if God gave it to me who am I to 

say no?” 

“I’m not here to fulfill man’s purpose 

because man’s purpose is limited. I’m here 

to fulfill God’s divine purpose and since he 

has asked me to change my name, I have 

changed my name. A lot of people will not 

understand but I don’t really care 

because I have gotten to the 

point where nothing really 

matters anymore. I have come 

to the realization that I want 

to be happy in life and my 

ultimate happiness is from 

God, and I only need 

directions from him, I don’t 

need man’s directions. I 

have an opportunity now 

to do things differently. It 

•Linda Osifo 

*Belinda Effah 

may not attract a large number of people 

because it’s not hip, it’s not flashy and all 

of that, but in the long run I have a 

foundation and that’s what matters to me.” 

“We hear on social media everyday that 

one person or the other has passed on and 

they didn’t go with the wealth 

they have amassed, they didn’t 

go with their acting career, they 

went with nothing. So why 

would I hold on to this because 

it gives me wealth, credibility, 

class and things that really don’t 

make sense.” The owner and 

founder of House of Belinda, the 

beautiful screen goddess also 

unveiled her new business logo 

and brand name now known as 

“Grace-Charis Bassey Empire”. 

“This is my representation now. 

A couple of people have asked 

me what Charis means. Charis 

means Grace, so I’m double 

dose of grace,” she concluded. 

Excitement is in the air as actress, 

Linda Osifo who started the year by 

pushing the creative envelope in the 

movie,’Tanwa Savage’ has continued to blaze 

the creative trail, this time in “Prevail”, a gripping 

story of breakthrough and triumph over life’s woes, 

which premiered yesterday, at Filmhouse Cinema 

IMAX, Lekki, Lagos. 

Written by Saviour Kings Bob and produced by 

Darlington Abuda, “Prevail” is an intricate story of a 

good dead turned complicated when Dr. Lanre, a 

devoted Christian and the best surgeon in a private 

hospital in a city where crime is the order of the day, 

offers a bruised woman, Tracy Williams, who claims 

to be running from her temperamental husband a 

ride; unaware that she’s on a dangerous mission. 

‘’Prevail’’ is a reverberating story of redemption 

and hopes of a better tomorrow as the story opens 

with a brutalized, hopeless, broken image of Linda 

who plays the leading lady ‘Tracy Williams’. In 

portraying a deeply troubled character such as Tracy, 

known in the gang as Queen T who grew up in the 

ghetto with lack of parental love; whose parents died 

months before her sixth year birthday, got raped at 

eleven repeatedly by a guardian, dropped out of 

SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8 , 2021—23 

Day Keystone Bank, 

Mediatent unveiled 

‘Adventures of a 

Nigerian Dude’ 

By JULIET EBIRIM 

Penultimate Friday, Keystone Bank Plc 

and Mediatent Nigeria Limited 

unveiled a mini drama series known as 

“Adventures of a Nigerian Dude.” 

The series, which was unveiled at a media 

parley in Lagos, had in attendance the 

president of Directors’ Guild of Nigeria 

(DGN), Victor Okhai and President, 

Association of Movie Producers (AMP), 

Peace Anyiam Osigwe, among others. 

The series which has thirteen episodes in 

its pilot phase, will be released on YouTube 

and other dedicated social media platforms. 

Leading the Keystone Bank representation 

at the event, Olaitan Ladigbolu said the web 

series was in line with the bank’s innovative 

values, adding that the bank was happy to 

support the movie industry. 

The AMP President, Peace Anyiam 

Osigwe, commended the bank for 

sponsoring the series “It is really about 

banks understanding how the movie 

industry operates and what the movie 

industry can bring to the economy. Our 

content is the new oil,” she said. 

“The Adventures Of A Nigerian Youth” is 

directed by renowned scriptwriter and film 

maker, Joe Dudun, who is also the CEO of 

House Of Ideas, the technical partner for the 

project. He stated that the drama series was 

aimed at discovering new talent and 

empowering the youths. 

“We made use of young writers for the 

script because it is about empowerment and 

that informed our use of young unknown 

actors,” he said. 

The series is based on the story of a 

streetwise young Nigerian graduate, who 

decides to use his knowledge, creativity and 

talent to create employment for himself and 

other young people around him. Though 

highly misunderstood by his parents and 

peers, he is determined to prove to all that 

there are many positive and productive 

pathways to success, especially using 

technology and the opportunities created by 

the financial services sector. It tells the story 

of resilience, ingenuity and 

entrepreneurship of the average Nigerian 

graduate. 

The cast includes Koko Ashley who played 

the role of Ufuoma, Andrew Ikwuobasi as 

Bernard, Chike Maduogbu and Silverlyne 

Asugo as Nan. 

Linda Osifo continues to blaze the trail in ‘Prevail’ 

secondary school and ran into the street to escape her 

predator; only to end up as an object of interest to the 

leader of a notorious gang of thieves who exerts his 

dominance over her; Linda throws herself into a role so 

challenging and stuns her audience with a side to herself 

so fierce, there is no difference between her as a person 

and Tracy, the character. 

The “Prevail” plot centres around an infamous encounter 

between two people which will forever make or mar them 

in this enigmatic film which has messages of redemption, 

freedom, and the ability to break through any obstacles 

life may throw at you. According to the thespian, ‘I decided 

to play this particular role for two reasons: first of all, I’ve 

been wanting something more challenging and different 

from the usual roles I get and secondly, the storyline 

behind the character attracted me to this role.’ 

Directed by Umanu Ojochenemi Elijah, the Edo stateborn 

talent is magnetic on the screen and her 

interpretation of ‘Tracy’ is flawless. For a character who 

comes from a complex place, whose professional 

swindling, thievery, and lying cause her to do any and 

everything, her carriage throughout this spectacle though, 

reflects a woman in control, Umanu does an impeccable 

job in subtly revealing her vulnerabilities through her 

nuances.


New York-based model-turned-actor, Boma Akpore is one of 

Nigeria’s biggest exports to the outside world. Now, he’s 

enthusiastic about coming back home to be part of the 

country’s ever flourishing film industry. An accomplished model, 

Akpore ventured into acting after an injury that cut short his 

professional football career, just before signing to play against the 

Scottish Premiership team. Since then, he has found solace in the world 

of make-believe, having began his acting career with a big break on 

NBC’s crime thriller, ‘The Blacklist.’ He also featured in episode 

616 of the critically acclaimed show. Recently, the New 

York Film Academy alumnus joined the cast of 

Hollywood’s first all Black Egyptian Film 

‘Protector Of The Gods.’ He describes his foray 

into acting as ‘ a dream come true.’ In this 

engaging interview, he talks about his 

dreams and aspirations, his fears as well as 

his plans to return home to invest in the 

country’s movie industry. 

By BENJAMIN NJOKU 

Since delving into acting, would say 

you have realized your dream? 

Since I cut the acting bug, it’s been 

amazing. Acting has given me a new 

sense of purpose , having had the 

opportunity to live in 20 countries. 

Acquiring all kinds of experiences which 

have helped broaden my knowledge. 

Since becoming an actor, any time I 

need an experience, I just bring it from 

my life experience. I love everything I 

have done from football, modelling. 

Now acting. I love every bit of it, it’s just 

been different. Acting has given a new 

sense of drive and purpose, been able 

to tell stories, been able to convince 

people, been able to play different 

characters and different parts in my my 

life. I have realized my dream. I 

definitely want to do this for a long time. 

I want to create my own stories and work 

on my own movies, which I’m definitely 

working on. I love it because it’s been a 

great feeling. 

How did you get into acting? 

A producer saw me at an event and told 

me she liked my look, and would love to 

cast me in her upcoming television 

series. Shortly after, I enrolled in the New 

York Film Academy and hit the ground 

running with acting since then. 

Was there any time you felt like giving 

up your dream as result of frustration 

and inability to have a breakthrough? 

Surely, there were times I definitely felt 

like giving up. Like they say, if your 

dreams don’t kill you., then your dreams 

aren’t big enough. You need dreams that 

will kill you, dreams that will look 

impossible to achieve. And you have to 

find a way to convince yourself and to 

all the people around you. 

In this kind of career I found myself in, 

you have to prove yourself everyday. 

There are some careers you can manage 

to maintain for a couple of years. But in 

my kind of career, you have to prove 

yourself on daily basis. They use the 

term, ‘you are as good as your last job.’ 

Today, you book this job, and tomorrow, 

you definitely got an audition for 

something else, and you book another 

job. In football, if you don’t play well you 

lose your jersey to somebody else. In 

some teams, when you play lower 

professional leagues, if you don’t 

probably play, sometimes, it affects your 

pay. It also affects your relevance. 

Sometimes when it’s tough for you, you 

feel like giving up. But that goes back to 

what inspires you. Why do you do what 

you do? Your ‘why’ is a big factor in 

everything you want to do. If you are 

doing it for the wrong reasons, it’s easier 

to give up. It’s not easier to quit because 

the reasons are wrong. If you don’t have 

enough in you to keep fighting when the 

times are not going in your favour... 

Basically, because of the reason you are 

doing what you are doing, and you are 

determined, do not take no for an answer. 

Be prepared to fail. Failure is the mother 

to all success. You actually learn more 

in failure than in succeeding. 

Every successful person once failed 

*Boma Akpore 

Fear of failure 

keeps me on my 

toes 

— Boma Akpore, model-turned-actor 

especially, the bigger the success the 

more the failure. So, the bigger you are 

as a successful person, the bigger your 

failure you will encounter in life. Most 

times, we don’t really put our failures out 

there. No one celebrates his failure, 

everyone keeps his failure to himself. Yes, 

By Chris Onuoha 

Delectable actress and singer, Justina 

Emataibvo Ebozoje, popularly known 

as “Jhella” who’s a contestant in the 

ongoing reality TV show, “Star Reality 

Show” being produced by by Star 

Magazine 

is not only dreaming of making it big in 

her chosen career, but also, how she can 

make a difference in the lives of the 

vulnerable women and girl child in the 

society. 

The Edo State-born actress said her goal 

is to become a strong voice for the 

vulnerable women and children in the 

society through her non-government 

initiative. 

In a chat with Showtime Celebrity, the 

rising actress said she wants to want to 

leave a landmark with projects that will 

impact the vulnerable women in the 

society. 

My advice to the young ones is that they should 

not give up their dreams. Believe in yourself , know 

the reason you do what you do. Hold on to God and 

be sure everything gonna be alright at the end of the 

day. Keep your head up, stay focused and determined. 

Your eyes should be on the price. 

You started out as a model before delving into football and 

now acting, what would you say is your driving force? 

My driving force has been my environment because we are 

the products of our environment. Growing up, you see all kinds 

of things. You see what you want to become as well as what 

you don’t want to become. My environment and family 

have been my driving force. I take my family very 

seriously. I want to get the best version of myself for 

them. I just want to give them the best because I 

saw the sacrifices my mom and my grandmother 

made because of me. So, I want to go out of my 

way to be the best version of myself for them. 

Also, the fear of failure keeps me on my toes. I 

don’t want to live a life not fulfilling my full 

potential. I just keep going as much as I can. 

And none of us knows our last day, all we know 

is that we live today and we gonna see 

tomorrow. Who knows we gonna see 

tomorrow, only God knows. So, I try to live 

everyday like my last day. I go out of my 

way to give my all. I’m trying to leave a mark 

in the world in a positive way that will 

affect my generation. God, environment, 

family, background and fear of failure 

have been my driving force so 

far. 

I have had my ups and 

downs, but I just have to 

pick myself again and move on because 

I am determined to succeed. 

And what’s your advice to the young 

ones who are looking up to you? 

Becoming a voice for vulnerable 

women, girl child is my dream —Jhella 

“Women are special specie and when I 

realize what stuff they are made of, I feel 

the purse to be a voice among the 

voiceless,” she added. 

Speaking on the reality TV show, Jhella 

said her being selected as one of the 30 

contestants did not come to her as a 

surprise. The show has since started 

showing on Dstv and Startimes 

respectively. 

“It didn’t come to me as a surprise when 

I scaled through the strict selecting 

process. The reality show, which is in its 

season 3 has 30 participants contesting for 

the grand prize of N4 million, a car gift 

and trip to any choice place in the world. 

Aside, her love for acting, Jhella also has 

a musical live band called ‘Ematai Band.’ 

The band performs in night clubs and social 

functions in Lagos. As an ambassador for 

peace, Jhella has also devoted her time to 

reaching out to vulnerable women and girl 

child in Nigeria. 

Do you have plans 

of returning home 

some day to be 

part of the 

development of 

the country’s film 

industry? 

Definitely, I have 

plans of coming back 

home and doing some 

stories. I do come home 

once a year, usually to 

see my family and 

spend time 

with them. I 

want to 

bring some 

of the 

experiences 

back home 

to do some 

collaborations. 

Yes, I’d 

have such 

plans. 

Script for 

my short 

film has 

b e e n 

written 

already as 

we speak. I 

was supposed to be in Nigeria last 

December, but I couldn’t make it 

because of the fact that I was working 

on a show then. 

Justina


bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 

You might be the reason your man strayed! 

Mothers 

certainly 

know best no 

matter how old 

their children. Eccua, a 

younger friend, paid a visit to 

her mum some few months 

back, virtually bending her 

ears with tales of her 

husband’s latest escapades. 

“She always made a soothing 

noise whenever she realized 

all I needed to do was let off 

steam”, said Eccua, “but this 

fateful afternoon, my mum 

gave me a bored look, yawned 

and declared: ‘Aren’t you a bit 

tired of hearing your own 

moan? I mean look at you! A 

graduate we were all proud 

of now turned into a what? 

Look at the back of your feet. 

When last did you have a 

pedicure? Or a good facial? 

Or a fancy stint at the 

hairdresser’s? I scarcely see 

you in anything glamorous 

but a frumpy boubou. If I 

were your husband, believe 

me, I wouldn’t be interested 

either!” I glanced at her and 

she glared right back. Whose 

side was she on? I’m a 

mother of three for goodness 

sake, not some femme fatal! 

She ought to be more 

sympathetic. 

I hate to rob salt into Eccua’s 

wound but I told her gently 

that I agreed with her mum. 

She was really fashionable 

when she was younger and 

we weren’t surprised when 

she married into a respectable 

family. Now a couple of 

decades later, she’s settled 

into a rut. She’d become sort 

of ‘mum-sy’ and even 

mothered her husband. I told 

her that if she didn’t snatch a 

bit of her old self back, find 

some self-respect, her 

husband might not appreciate 

her. My harsh words 

obviously hit home. She 

looked at me as if I were a 

traitor, but I gently pointed out 

to her that she might be 

running a successful primary 

school, that didn’t mean she 

had to dress the part of a 

school ma’am! She’d put on 

more weight than necessary 

and in spite of her mum’s 

warning, she had on an 

unflattering boubou which 

seemed to be her trade mark 

lately. “Why don’t you give 

away your boubous and get 

some more flattering gears?”, 

I asked her gently. She 

nodded, then left, a bit 

dejected. Had I gone too far? 

She needed to be shocked out 

of her complacency, I 

consoled myself. Who best to 

do that but a well meaning 

‘aunty’ like me? 

When I next spoke with her 

on the phone, she told me 

excitedly that she’d started on 

a diet and joined a group of 

ladies that went for walks in 

their estate. Good for her, I 

encouraged, my conscience 

Tackling the monster of Insomnia 

You twist and turn every 

night, trying to get to sleep. 

Nothing seems to work – and you 

get more and more stressed. You 

snap at the kids, snarl at your 

partner and you can barely get 

through the day. It is estimated 

that a lot of the population is 

prone to insomnia with women 

more likely to suffer than men. 

All sorts of factors can affect our 

sleep – medical conditions like 

sleep apnoea, lifestyle issues 

such as poor diet, or the stress of 

bereavement, divorce or losing 

your job. But if insomnia is 

ruining your life, remember that 

your family may be suffering too. 

“However supportive your 

partner may be, seeing someone 

at your worst for much of the time 

is hardly a recipe for a happy 

domestic life”, says Lynda Brown, 

author of the Insomniac’s Best 

Friend: How to get a Better 

Night’s Sleep. And if you are an 

insomniac with kids, normal 

family life might seem impossible 

at times. How many insomniac 

mothers chide themselves for 

being irritable with their 

children? 

Advise about when you eat, 

what you eat, how you relax, and 

what you do and don’t do in the 

evening, all becomes more 

complicated when there are two 

or more to consider. But working 

out how your insomnia impacts 

on the people you love is just as 

important as tackling the problem 

itself. 

Lynda’s tips will make your 

days more bearable and 

hopefully good nights will follow. 

If you are an insomniac: 

Remember that your partner 

needs support too. Show your 

appreciation whenever you can. 

Don’t let insomnia rule both of 

your lives. Try to be more 

relaxed. 

“Be nice to yourself and you’ll 

be nicer to be one. Don’t blame 

yourself for not sleeping. Tossing 

and turning, it is usually more 

disruptive to partners than 

reading in bed or getting up. 

Train yourself to lie very still or 

go into the spare room. Failing 

that, head for the sofa. Sleeping 

in separate rooms can be a very 

touchy issue. Your partner may 

feel abandoned and you may feel 

guilty. But if your sleeplessness 

is getting both of you down, 

separate rooms may save your 

relationship. 

If your partner is an insomniac: 

Don’t tell them they had more 

sleep last night than they realise. 

It doesn’t help – an insomniac’s 

reality is the amount they think 

they’ve slept. Understand that 

when they have a go at you, it’s 

not really aimed at you. 

From right; Chief Festus Onigbinde, former CAF and FIFA technical instructor; 

Mr. Kehinde Ojelowo, representing Chief Sunday Dare, Minister for Youths and 

Sports Devt and Oyo State Football Association Secretary; Mr. Diego Martin, a 

FIFA licensed football agent; Mr. Marcos Antonio, Malaga CF Academy Coach 

and Mr. Adesina Araoye, COO, Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort during the Malaga 

CF Nigeria's coaching and scouting programme organised by Ilaji Hotels and 

Sports Resort, Ibadan. 

salved. When next I saw 

Eccua, I nearly flipped. She’d 

lost the right amount of 

weight, had a lovely and 

flattering dress on. She’d also 

put some fancy highlights in 

her hair. “Wow!” I yelled 

encouragingly. “Double 

wow!” she shrieked and then 

her phone rang. Her face 

instantly lit up as she checked 

the caller’s identity. She had 

on a smug smile after she 

finished her call. ‘That was 

Femi, one of my pupil’s dad’ 

‘Oh’, I gulped. She joked: 

‘Thanks to you and mum, I can 

now pull men!” “Heh, that 

wasn’t the idea”, I quickly 

told her, “we just wanted you 

to feel good about yourself, 

not start pulling men, left, 

right and centre!” Had we 

created a monster? 

“The good thing about 

having an inner glow is that 

other people notice,” she told 

me smugly. ‘Femi has two 

children in my school and 

sometimes comes for them 

instead of sending a driver. 

We’ve often chatted but it 

never even occurred to me 

that he could be anything but 

a parent. After I lost weight, 

he started staying longer and 

longer. When the staff 

decided to do a play and one 

of Femi’s sons was involved, 

he was excited, chipping in 

his bits at rehearsals and since 

I hadn’t forgotten my sewing 

skills I made some of the 

costumes. Femi praised my 

efforts to high heavens one 

evening after rehearsal. We 

were alone in my office and I 

thanked him. ‘What coud I 

have done without you!” I 

told him innocently until I 

saw the dirty look on his face. 

“Show me,” he declared as 

he moved closer to me giving 

me a kiss. He must have 

unlocked some hidden 

passion in me because I 

couldn’t stop myself – I was 

all over him and he was 

kissing me as if I was a much 

needed drug. We made love 

right there and then in my 

office. It was so daring, so 

passionate. And by the time 

I got home that evening, I was 

still smiling. Seyi, my 

husband, was waiting for me 

– he’d been coming home 

early since I changed. I felt 

like a teenager rather than a 

staid married woman! 

Instead of dashing to the 

kitchen, I asked the maid to 

rush to a lovely canteen a few 

doors away – that specializes 

in home-made meals and 

Seyi made a show of actually 

enjoying the meal. In the 

past, he used to moan about 

my penchant for buka foods 

and how I should take pride 

in serving home made meals. 

After the meal, he brought out 

my favourite wine, I was 

pleasantly surprised. My 

hard work at keeping fit had 

certainly paid off as we retired 

to the bedroom. Then it hit 

me! I would be making love 

twice with different men in 

the space of a few hours! 

Wicked! 

“I intend to sleep with Femi 

a couple more times. It is 

thanks to him that I got my 

sensual self back. After that, 

I intend to let him know deep 

down, it is my husband and 

my marriage that I really 

want. Thanks to my mum’s 

seemingly cruel jab at my 

appearance, and your backing 

her all the way, I was jolted 

into taking another look at 

myself. Now, I’ve virtually got 

my husband back and it is 

worth the effort. “We go out 

more often than we ever did 

in the last few years and we 

make love more. Once he 

asked suspiciously about why 

I decided to spruce myself up 

and I told him about my mum. 

He was amused Apparently, 

he had first thought I made 

the effort for a lover! “It’s only 

you I’ve told about Femi and 

I don’t feel guilty for cheating 

on Seyi, because my fling has 

made our marriage stronger. 

I’m glad I followed you 

people’s advice. By taking 

some pride in the way I look, 

I’ve found the respect I 

deserve.” 

Bichi 1: Abdulrahman Ado, Executive Director, Regulatory 

and Corporate Affairs; Juergen Peschel, AG. Chief Executive 

Officer, both of 9mobile; His Highness Alhaji Nasiru Ado 

Bayero, the Emir of Bichi; Alexander Okeke, and Imhoudu 

Mamudu, both Non-Executive Directors at 9mobile during 

a condolence visit by the management of 9mobile at the 

Emir’s Palace in Bichi, Kano State.


Mbaka opens up on his detention 

as Bishop calls for prayers on his 

violent followers 

By Dennis Agbo 

Leader of Catholic Adoration ministry in 

Enugu, Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka has narrated 

what transpired when he was allegedly 

detained for 24 hours by the Bishop of Enugu 

Diocese, Most Rev CVC Onaga. 

Mbaka stated that the Bishop did not 

kidnap him as speculated, but that the meeting 

he thought was a private one turned out to be 

a predetermined meeting with many 

consultants in attendance. 

He also disclosed that he went for the 

meeting with the Bishop so that his adherents 

would not become violent as it turned out, 

adding that the agenda of the meeting was to 

shut the adoration ministry and silence him 

over his altercations with the Mohammadu 

Buhari-led federal government that was once 

his fancied administration. 

Meanwhile, Bishop Onaga has asked all 

parishes, Chaplaincies and religious houses 

in the diocese to pray for atonement and 

reparation of violet protesters, who destroyed 

the Bishop’s court and parts of the Holy Ghost 

diocese cathedral in Ogui Enugu, on 

Wednesday. 

The protesters were suspected followers of 

Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka who unleashed violence 

on the catholic structures while searching for 

their leader, Fr. Mbaka, who was allegedly 

detained by the Diocese at the instance of 

Bishop Onaga’s summon on Tuesday. 

Fr. Mbaka was however released when the 

protesters turned violent and he rejoined his 

stream of followers. 

In a directive to members of the Diocese, on 

Thursday, Bishop Onaga said that “the 

followers of Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka violently 

broke into the diocesan cathedral and 

desecrated the holy altar of sacrifice. Over and 

above this, they vandalized the diocese 

Bishop’s residence, the cathedral parish house 

and the secretariat building complex. 

“Therefore, I hereby declare and call for one 

week union of prayer in reparation and 

atonement for this heinous act against our 

central place of worship and the sanctity of 

the church.” 

Bishop Onaga directed for the prayer to 

begin from Friday, 7 th May 2021 

and obliged every parish, Chaplaincy and 

religious community in the diocese to 

participate in the holy activity. 

He noted that in addition to the traditional 

May devotion prayers, such as daily 

benediction, prayers such as five decades of 

Holy Rosary, Act of Reparation to the most 

Blessed Sacrament, Psalm 51and 23 are to be 

offered for the purpose. 

“I enjoin you to remain sober and keep the 

diocese in prayer. With divine assistance and 

grace, we shall overcome this challenging 

moment. May our Lady Queen of Mary 

intercede for us, Amen.” 

Speaking after he rejoined his followers, 

Mbaka said: “I appreciate your patience, 

endurance, incomparable love, 

unquestionable solidarity and unique 

identification and commitment to God in this 

ministry. God will keep you; God will bless 

you and shall be well with you. This is a 

journey you people started in the morning. 

You people have been waiting for me, look at 

me here. We give glory to God for everything. 

“I wasn’t with my phone because I decided 

to go in and pray to avoid disobedience of any 

kind. The miracle is that it was the time I was 

with my phone that calls were coming from 

here and there that you people are heading 

from Adoration to Holy Ghost Cathedral and 

Bishop’s house and I immediately asked the 

group that I spoke with to please go back and 

they insisted that they must see me on video 

otherwise they will not go back. So they put in 

a video call and saw me blessing them. 

“I never knew that there were over 40 other 

groups. I thought that with the blessing of the 

first group, that it was over. I asked them to 

please go back and be praying for me. It was 

in the afternoon that I started receiving calls; 

I told them that I could not go anywhere unless 

I heard from my Bishop because the DSS 

people were not involved in what happened. 

Nobody should attack the wrong person and 

Bishop did not kidnap me either but the Bishop 

gave an order that I should not be coming 

here from yesterday, I should leave my house, 

the Adoration house, that there should be no 

program for 30 days that I should leave in 

silence for 30 days. 

“I am telling you the truth of what 

happened. So why I’m saying this is that 

Bishop eventually came and asked me to go 

and tell you people to go back and that you 

people have started destroying his house and 

things were getting out of hand. Then I asked 

him what did I tell you about the people 

yesterday? Because the truth of the matter is 

that no one should accuse the wrong person. I 

was invited for a meeting which I attended. I 

thought I was invited to be in a meeting with 

my Bishop, I never knew it was going to be a 

meeting with a team of consultants. 

“So, I went for the 

meeting so that you people 

should not destroy anything. 

This is Catholic Church, I am 

in charge of the church and 

we all belong to the church. 

So I would like everybody to 

adopt peace, love and with 

the Bishop telling me now to 

go and bring you people 

back to Adoration, but I 

asked him, my Lord Bishop, 

what will I tell them? So, he 

said I should take you people 

back to Adoration first. 

“This is why people 

should understand how God 

works. I never disobeyed the 

church. People are busy 

misquoting me, doing 

everything to close this 

ministry but by the grace of 

God they cannot do 

anything. Why I’m saying 

this is because if you don’t 

know the truth, you will not 

know how to defend yourself. 

I don’t know what happened 

in the background and what 

led to this but what I 

understand was after 

The protesters were 

suspected followers of 

Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka who 

unleashed violence on the 

catholic structures while 

searching for their leader, 

Fr. Mbaka, who was 

allegedly detained by the 

Diocese at the instance of 

Bishop 

summon on Tuesday 

meeting with a team of consultants, I won’t 

begin to tell you who said this and that but the 

Bishop asked me to stay out of Adoration 

ground for 30 days and be silent for 30 days. 

“The only thing I am not happy with is that 

if the Bishop wanted it to be secret he should 

have called me one-on-one. Did you know that 

before I reached Bishop’s house, the 

•Part of the Enugu catholic bishop's vandalized house 

•Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka 

conclusion of the meeting had already been 

reviewed and I came in there with hope that 

the meeting was to be held. Those who were 

there had already bragged that this is the time 

they will show Mbaka that the Adoration has 

been closed down, that Mbaka will not come 

here again. It was so painful and today was 

the day I was shot and I did not understand it 

because I thought it was a 

meeting of a father and son. 

“My question was, why am 

I being punished, because I said 

that insecurity is in the country, 

is it not true? And that the 

government should provide 

Jobs for the youths because it 

is the unemployment that led 

to bandits, terrorism, and a lot 

of people don’t see food to eat 

in the country. What did I say 

that is not happening in the 

country? 

“What did I say that 

brought the issue of stopping 

the ministry? What surprised 

me is for people to tell me who 

to bless and who not to bless. I 

am a priest ordained to bless. I 

can’t understand why people 

should be angry at me for 

blessing Nnamdi Kanu. Go 

and attack God who is giving 

Onaga’s him life, attack God who is 

blessing him. Go and kill and 

punish God for giving him life. 

The person accusing Nnamdi 

Kanu, are you better than him? 

Is it your blessings? If I bless 

him and you want to curse him, 

you can go ahead. 

“I can remember that on Sunday, I 

suggested that the federal government should 

summon the meeting of Bishops who have the 

capacity to bring the situation in the country 

to calm. What Am I being punished for? 

“I am saying this so that when the world 

hears this they will not say that I am attacking 

anybody. Now I 

asked a question, 

you know 

hundreds and 

thousands of 

people attend ”E 

no dey 

again” who will 

take care of them 

in the issue of not 

attending 

Adoration for 30 

days. The issue is 

go, no more 

Mass until 30 

days. The issue is 

that if you want to 

punish Fr. 

Mbaka, you 

should not give 

him the mask 

that is not his 

own. 

“I am using 

this opportunity 

to ask everybody 

to undertake what the Bible says, don’t touch 

my anointed and do my prophet no harm. For 

those talking about contracts, I have enough 

contracts from the Holy Ghost. I have 

contracts of healing, I have contracts of 

deliverance. I have the contract of inculcating 

holiness. I have the contracts of worshiping 

and praising God and the major contract is 

the contract of soul winning through charity. 

“I also have the contract of worshiping the 

Blessed Sacrament and the contract of giving 

hope to the people. I have the contract to 

perform miracles because God performs 

miracles here. I have the contract of making 

myself available to be used by God and to be 

an instrument of God in any possible way. 

“They will just sit down in their houses to 

say what they like without coming here to see 

what we are doing. It is an error. I will never 

support anyone who attacks the church and 

that’s why I heard the voice of Bishop Onaga 

and ran out from where I was to calm you 

people. So I asked him a question, what about 

going to my house, can I go, because I don’t 

want to disobey the church. But if you are 

punishing someone you should know the ripple 

effect of the punishment. 

“How can you say that Fr Mbaka is 

nobody? Someone who spends his life working 

for the church? Someone who spends all he 

has on charity, someone who stands as a 

magnet of souls. Everything I have is for 

charity and for the church’s progress. Then if I 

open my mouth and say that the youths are 

suffering then I will be punished. If I open my 

mouth to say that the government of the day is 

not doing well they will punish me. 

“All those who are criticizing me will get to 

see the effect of what I’m saying. If you say 

that good is evil and evil is good then you will 

reap the effect. That is why we are here tonight. 

We have never been here on Wednesday night. 

Please, if you want to bless anyone bless him 

or her. You don’t have to tell me who to bless. 

Why are you dictating for me who to bless? 

Are you the owner of the blessing? Do you own 

the blessing in my mouth? Do you know how 

many oil wells of blessings that I have? Will I 

finish releasing them before I leave this world? 

So if you love someone go ahead and bless 

the person. I am not you, you can never be me. 

I am a servant of the church; you are also a 

servant of the church.” 

It would be recalled that the Presidency 

reacted to Mbaka’s call for Buhari’s 

impeachment by saying that the Catholic 

priest was apparently angry for not bagging 

the jobs he asked for the people he took to 

President Buhari when he visited the President 

on his request. Spokesman to the President, 

Garba Shehu revealed that Mbaka asked that 

his friends be given contracts and that failure 

to secure the contracts must have informed 

his new position on the President. It was 

headline news in Nigeria which certainly 

embarrassed the Catholic Church. The church 

has not officially said they took exception to 

Mbaka’s actions because of what he said 

about unemployment and insecurity as other 

Catholics clergymen like Bishop Ignatius 

Kaigama and Bishop Kukah, among others, 

have said similar things in stronger words.

Sugary drinks linked to increased risk 

of colorectal cancer in women under 

50 —STUDY 

Colorectal cancer diagnoses have 

increased among people under age 50 

in recent years and researchers are 

seeking reasons why. A new study led by 

Washington University School of Medicine in 

St. Louis has found a link between drinking 

sugar-sweetened beverages and an increased 

risk of developing colorectal cancer in women 

under age 50. 

The findings suggest that heavy 

consumption of sugary drinks during 

adolescence (ages 13 to 18) and adulthood 

can increase the disease risk. 

The study, published in the journal Gut, 

provides more support for public health efforts 

that encourage people to reduce the amount 

of sugar they consume. 

“Colorectal cancer in younger adults 

remains relatively rare, but the fact that the 

rates have been increasing over the past three 

decades — and we don’t understand why — is 

a major public health concern and a priority 

in cancer prevention,” said senior author Yin 

Cao, ScD, an associate professor of surgery 

and of medicine in the Division of Public 

Health Sciences at Washington University. 

“Due to the increase in colorectal cancer at 

younger ages, the average age of colorectal 

cancer diagnosis has gone down from 72 years 

to 66 years. These cancers are more advanced 

at diagnosis and have different characteristics 

compared with cancers from older 

populations. 

“Our lab is funded by the National Cancer 

Institute (NCI) and the National 

Comprehensive Cancer Network to identify 

risk factors, the molecular landscapes, and 

precision screening strategies for these cancers 

so that they can be detected earlier and even 

prevented,” said Cao. 

“In past work, we have shown that poor diet 

quality was associated with increased risk of 

early-onset colorectal cancer precursors, but 

we have not previously examined specific 

nutrients or foods.” 

Compared with women who drank less than 

one 8-ounce serving per week of sugarsweetened 

beverages, those who drank two or 

more servings per day had just over twice the 

risk of developing early-onset colorectal cancer, 

meaning it was diagnosed before age 50. 

The researchers calculated a 16 percent 

increase in risk for each 8-ounce serving per 

day. And from ages 13 to 18, an important 

time for growth and development, each daily 

serving was linked to a 32 percent increased 

risk of eventually developing colorectal cancer 

before age 50. 

Sugar-sweetened drink consumption has 

been linked to metabolic health problems, such 

as type 2 diabetes and obesity, including in 

children. But less is known about whether such 

high-sugar beverages could have a role in the 

increasing incidence of colorectal cancer in 

younger people. 

Like early-onset colorectal cancer rates, 

consumption of such drinks has increased over 

the past 20 years, with the highest consumption 

level found among 

adolescents and young 

adults ages 20 to 34. 

While sugarsweetened 

beverages 

were linked to an 

increased risk of earlyonset 

colorectal cancer, 

some other drinks — 

including milk and 

coffee — were 

associated with a 

decreased risk. 

This observational 

study can’t demonstrate 

that drinking sugary 

beverages causes this 

type of cancer or that 

drinking milk or coffee 

is protective, but the 

researchers said that 

replacing sweetened 

beverages with 

unsweetened drinks, 

such as milk and coffee, 

is a better choice for 

long-term health. 

“Given this data, we 

recommend that 

people avoid sugarsweetened 

beverages 

and instead choose drinks like 

milk and coffee without sweeteners,” Cao said. 

Scientists discover how to trick 

cancer cells to consume toxic 

drugs 

New research led by a team at 

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) 

points to a promising strategy to boost tumors’ 

intake of cancer drugs, thereby increasing the 

effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments. The 

group’s findings are published in Nature 

Nanotechnology. 

Getting enough anticancer drugs into a 

tumour is often difficult, and a potential 

strategy to overcome this challenge involves 

binding the medications to albumin, the most 

abundant protein in blood. 


The strategy relies on tumours’ large appetite 

for protein nutrients that fuel malignant 

growth. When consuming available albumin, 

the tumours will inadvertently take in the 

attached drugs. 

A popular albumin-bound drug approved 

by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is 

nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab- 

PTX), and it has been successfully used to treat 

late-stage lung and pancreatic cancers. 

“Not all patients respond to nab-PTX, though, 

and the effectiveness of its delivery to tumors 

has been mixed, owing to an incomplete 

understanding of how albumin impacts drug 

delivery and actions,” says Dr Miles Miller, a 

principal investigator in the MGH Center for 

Systems Biology and assistant professor of 

Radiology at Harvard Medical School. 

To provide insights, Miller and his colleagues 

assessed the delivery of nab-PTX to tumors at 

a single-cell resolution in mouse models of 

cancer. Using 3D microscopy and what’s called 

tissue clearing technology, the team found that 

cancer cells can take up a significant amount 

of nab-PTX, and that the consumption of these 

drugs is controlled by signaling pathways that 

are involved in the cells’ uptake of nutrients 

such as albumin. 

“This discovery suggested that if we could 

manipulate these pathways, we might be able 

to trick cancer cells into a nutrient-starved state, 

thereby enhancing their consumption of nab- 

PTX,” explains Dr Ran Li, first author on the 

study and an instructor in the MGH 

Department of Radiology and the Center for 

Systems Biology. 

Indeed, treating tumors with an inhibitor of 

insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, an 

important component of one of the signaling 

pathways, improved the accumulation of nab- 

PTX in tumors and boosted its effectiveness. 

“These results offer new possibilities to 

improve delivery of albumin-bound drugs in 

patients with diverse types of cancer,” says 

Miller. 

Your saliva could reveal 

whether you’ve had a concussion 

A blow to the head may not only cause you to 

see stars, it could also leave you spitting 

evidence of a concussion. Scientists in the 

United Kingdom have shown they can detect 

whether someone has suffered a concussion 

by looking for certain molecules in the person’s 

saliva, Over two seasons, researchers studied 

saliva samples from more than 1000 rugby 

players in England’s top two professional 

leagues, including 156 who were subjected to 

a standard head injury assessment, of which 

106 were found to have concussions. 

The scientists also collected data from 102 

uninjured players and 66 players with nonhead 

injuries. Using data from the first season, the 

scientists identified 14 different noncoding 

RNAs that appeared to distinguish concussed 

from nonconcussed players. Data from the 

second season showed the tests works with 94 

percent accuracy, the researchers reported this 

week in the British Journal of Sports 

Medicine. 

The advance could someday open the way 

for a fast spit test to screen for concussion, 

although the method was not tested on women. 

Yetunde Arabi 

The black market of 

spirituality 

The fact that spirituality cannot be de 

ciphered by sight or more appropriately, 

the ordinary eyes, but by faith and 

nurtured by hope, many middle men (self 

or man appointed) do resort to trickery in 

their determination to convince their believers/followers 

of their great spiritual 

powers. Contending with their spirituality 

also in the human nature, which except 

by grace and strict discipline will always 

rear its head. After all, I want to be like 

Jesus, is not the same as I am Jesus. Daily, 

a flip through the Newspapers and other 

media will attest to the many nefarious activities 

of so called men of god. Many of 

the stories will leave your jaws hanging. 

From inability to manage personal and 

family matters to adultery, divorce, covetousness, 

aiding and abetting of crimes, 

armed robbery, kidnap, rape and even 

murder, our men of god have a finger in 

the pie. Yet these are not enough to deter 

patronage. The saying that you must buy 

lies in order to buy truth rules here. 

Ironically, women, especially married 

women, form a very large number of patrons 

of god's middle men. For their delicate 

necks and beautiful heads bear most 

of humanity's burdens, nay, their family 

problems. Almost everything that brings a 

woman joy, may also constitute a problem 

to her. Her husband, children, (if she has 

or not) marriage, business, job, in-laws, 

parents, siblings, friends and associates 

may become problems at some point in 

her life. Thus, her great need to be deep 

in spirituality also often makes her a target 

and prey in the hands of unscrupulous 

religious middle men. Many women 

have been conned into parting with huge 

sums of money, gold and precious ornaments, 

property, their total life's savings 

and pension. In some cases, their bodies 

have been used to settle payments for spiritual 

transactions or used as guinea pigs 

to test spiritual potency and efficacy. Some 

have had to compromise and sacrifice their 

loved ones,( same they wanted to save), 

and even paid ultimately with their lives. 

Sometime in the late 80's, a certain middle 

aged female lecturer in one of the South 

west universities sent tongues wagging 

furiously when she suddenly packed out 

of her matrimonial home to move in with 

a man of god. She left behind, though 

rented, the luxury of a lovely posh duplex, 

four children and a co-lecturer husband 

to shack up in the harem of an illiterate 

cleric. It was obvious for all to see 

that something bizarre had taken place 

and her friends and family would not 

stand for it. They got the police to harass 

the two love birds, sent emissaries to madam 

to come to her senses and to Alfa to let 

go of his clutches on their sister and friend, 

but all to no avail. The university community 

was shocked beyond words that a brilliant, 

educated and sophisticated woman 

of her ilk could fall prey to such a silly 

game of spiritual hypnotism, but the pertinent 

question on the lips of many and 

indeed her highly embarrassed husband 

was, "what did she go to do at his den?" 

Thus, the marriage she was probably trying 

to save came to an abrupt tragic end 

as her husband sought divorce immediately 

and forbade her access to the children. 

Not as if she could have cared a hoot 

at that period anyways. But those who 

cared watched in deep pain and agony as 

a once pretty woman began a steady deterioration 

into a dirty old hag, labouring 

and tending to her man's every need. It 

was obvious that she had surrendered her 

being and possessions to him as she began 

going out without her car while the 

new oga would be seen almost every day, 

cruising town in her car. Needless to say 

that madam was eventually debriefed, 

drained of all her juicy goodness and 

kicked out when there was nothing more 

to be gained as she'd also lost her job. We 

were young, but it's a story I will never 

forget and one of which helped formed 

my mindset about certain things in life. If 

you look for the extraordinary, you will see 

the extraordinary. What you see is what 

you get. 

Bisi, a friend once told me about how 

she almost fell victim of a prophet she'd 

been introduced to for prayers. Her problem 

at the time was inability to find a suitor 

at 35 years. She said she abandoned 

the scheduled three days bath the prophet 

recommended when she caught him 

peeping at her in the makeshift bathroom 

Twitter:@yetundearabi 

yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk 

08054700825 

of the church on the first day. She got married 

a year after. However, Beatrice, a 

friend's sister was not so lucky as she ended 

up being the third wife of a prophet 

she was taken to for prayers by her mother. 

The sad part was that the poor lady 

was summoned to Nigeria from the UK 

for spiritual cleansing when she could not 

get married as quick enough as her parents 

desired. The family still blame themselves 

for the unfortunate incident till date. 

It is clear to me that spiritual journeys 

are not for the lily-livered. If you must dine 

with the devil, you must possess a very 

long spoon. No matter the religion you 

profess, you must know whom you serve 

and how to serve him. You must know your 

destination, have a road map on how to 

navigate the terrains and the appropriate 

help to seek, should you encounter difficulties 

along the way. One cannot claim 

knowledge of anything if one is not familiar 

with it. You cannot become a professional 

if you do not study to become one. 

The holy books are there to give direction 

and if we sincerely follow them, it will be 

difficult to derail at all, and definitely not 

to the point of self destruction. No religion 

approves of evil, and everyone has been 

given the spirit to identify right from wrong. 

If humanity desists from evil in any form, 

the world would be a better place for us all 

and no one would be forced to run from 

pillar to post, seeking help where there is 

none. May we never be faced with a situation 

beyond our comprehension or endurance. 

And should it happen, may the 

creator grant us the grace to identify where 

our help is. 

Do have a wonderful weekend!!


Empire VIP House on Wheels 

Reality TV Show Season 1 

encourages career devt 

Stories by Moses Nosike 

Empire VIP House on 

Wheels Reality TV 

Show was born out of 

passion to promote careers of 

young Nigerians who are into 

entertainment, 

entrepreneurship etc to 

promote and empower the 

constants that will make it to 

end to build strong brand for 

future development. 

The CEO, Empire 

Entertainment, Dickson Aligbe 

who is a Nigerian living in the 

US discovered that there is a 

lot of talents in Nigerian youths 

that needed to be polished and 

showcased, hence Empire VIP Nigerians youths contesting to be winners of Empire VIP House on Wheels 

House on Wheels Reality TV Reality TV Show Season 1 

Show. In this show everybody 

will go home with something they are because it is called, Empire irrespective of whether they emerge 

whether you win or not. 

VIP House on Wheels. For you to as the winner or not. 

In a media chart with media men, create a VIP you have to start Joseph and Emmanuel Etim, twins, 

Aligbe said that most of reality somewhere, showing them what VIP is the project consultant to the Reality 

shows are about men and women, is all about, and they were grateful Show who have been in showbiz 

but this one we want it to be more of about it. 

business for some time said, “it is a 

business, lifestyle, public relation. On the prizes for winners, he said, unique reality show; first of its kind 

On how long the period of “we are giving out a car worth N10m in Nigeria. As you can see the bus, it 

camping would last, he said, “it is 4 and N5m for star winner. The 2nd is a house and like a home inside a 

weeks, and the show process started winner will get N3m while the third home. The concept is to take the 

with 25 contestants but now we have person will go home with N2m. That contestants on a tour for a month and 

17 left because we do couple of is the cash prize for the three winners. most of the activities are done in the 

eviction. We have next week Sunday Accessing the programme and the bus. This is also a show that teaches 

is the final and it will hold at process of camping, a US based contestants the business aspect of 

Oriental Hotel, that is where we will professional filmmaker, Kevin entertainment. 

host them and crown the three Luther Apaa said that the A contestant, Werhiavbe Egwolo 

winners. We are half way done on programme is a good platform, and Simeon aka (Simmy): A 

this show. Truly they are all happy whenever anybody puts together a photographer and singer narrates 

because we tried to create platform that allows young people his experience by saying, my 

something different. We have cook to actually make a positive use of punchline in the house is the fact that 

that cooks for them morning, their lives, we have to really see the I have come to love so many people 

afternoon and night, dry cleaner to positivity in them. “They are going 

wash their clothes. 

to be exposed to the screen and the 

read more on 

According to Aligbe, we made smart ones will use this platform to 

www.v 

.vanguar 

anguardngr 

dngr.com 

sure they are treated as VIP which start building themselves, 

Real Estate Group appoints Oba Olusegun 

Ebenezer Oyiri as patron 

Considering his fatherly role 

and support for development 

in Oshoroko, the management of 

Perfect Real Estate Group has 

honoured His Royal Majesty, Oba 

Olusegun Ebenezer Oyiri, the 

Oloshoroko of Oshoroko 

Kingdom as one of its patrons. 

Speaking at the event, the 

President/CEO, Perfection Real 

Estate Group, Niyi Adeleye said, 

“the purpose of the programme 

is to honour the King of our host 

community for one of our 

development known as Perfection 

Estate Phase I that is in Oshoroko 

in Ibeju-Lekki. The Oloshoroko of 

Oshoroko, Oba Olusegun 

Ebenezer Oyiri is accommodating 

and honest. He is a man that 

wants things to go well with his 

people. So we came to honour him 

with the patronship of Perfection 

of Real Estate Group. We came to 

Oshoroko in the year 2017. If you 

go to our site there you will see 

that development is going on 

there. 

In addition, Director Business 

Relations of the real estate 

company, Tinu Layeni said, “we 

are having a very rear privilege 

as an organisation to come and 

honour His Royal Majesty, Oba 

Olusegun Ebenizer Oyiri, the 

Oluoshoroko of Oshoroko 

Kingdom, as a patron of 

Perfection Real Estate Group; 

reason is that over the years we 

have been around, we noticed that 

he has stood as a father, not just to 

us as an organisation but his 

impact on the community to be 

great and anyone who is 

From L:Director Business Relations,Tinu Layeni;Group Secretary, Barr. 

Celestine Nwankwo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Olusegun Ebenezer 

Oyiri, the Oloshoroko of Oshoroko; Group Project Director, Chief 

Olusegun Dave and CEO,Niyi Adeleye, all of Perfect Real Estate Group 

concerned about development of 

his people and place. He ise is 

commendable person. 

In the same vein, the Group 

Secretary, Perfection Real Estate 

Group, Barrister Celestine 

Nwankwo said that we are here 

for the sole purpose of giving 

honour to whom honour is due; 

recognising His Royal Majesty, 

the Oba Olusegun Ebenezer 

Oyiri, the Oloshoroko of 

Oshoroko Kingdom. As our 

patron, we came to formerly 

recognise and equally appreciate 

all his contributions towards our 

existence as Perfection Real 

Estate in this axis, indeed in 

Nigeria where we have spread 

our tentacle to make housing a 

thing of joy for every Nigerian. 

In response to the gesture, His 

Royal Majesty, Oba Olusegun 

Ebenezer Oyiri, the Oloshoroko of 

Oshoroko Kingdom, Lagos, 

expressed his appreciation to 

Perfection Real Estate Group in his 

appointment as patron of 

Perfection Real Estate Group, 

saying that he will give the 

organisation all the necessary 

support to ensure development of 

Oshoroko Kingdom in Ibeju- 

Lekki. He also pledged his support 

to the organisation in bringing 

development to his community 

and his people. 

Foundation offers financial support to SMEs 

affected by COVID-19 Pandemic 

Dr. Helen Oritsejafor, a business mogul, philanthropist and author of 

the book “You Too Can Become A Success”, has provided financial 

support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which were grossly 

affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, in fulfilment of her promise. 

Committed to the enhancement of these SMEs skills, Dr. Oritsejafor 

birthed the book with the vision and intention of inspiring individuals to 

visualize the reality of unending success despite the existing or impending 

challenges. 

This comes 

with a chapter 

dedicated to solid 

strategies of 

being successful 

in business, 

irrespective of the 

changes or 

challenges in 

government 

regulations and 

the economy. 

In a bid to 

further support 

these businesses 

to thrive, Dr 

Oritsejafor 

pointed out 

during her book 

launch that 50 

percent of the 

book sales will be 

given to 

entrepreneurs 

through her aidorganization, 

“Dr Helen a Hand to the Needy Foundation”. 

In pursuit of that, the beneficiaries who applied for this aid, got in and 

passed through highly intellectual business training, after which they 

received financial supports ranging from N300,000-N500,000 respectively 

to grow their ventures. 

One of the recipients from Lagos, Ms. Anita Brown, said had a severely 

difficult experience due to the pandemic and was immensely grateful to the 

author for her immeasurable support, and was looking forward to building 

her business under the author’s tutelage. 

Century Group celebrates new level 

of safety excellence 

Century Group, one of the 

promoters of the annual 

HSE Summit has hit a major safety 

milestone in one of its 

operations; 

specifically, the field 

development and 

production activities on 

going at OML 113, Aje 

Field which is the asset 

that formally inducted 

Lagos State into the 

league of oil producing 

states. 

According the 

company’s QHSE 

Manager, Mr. Idonbaa 

Egberipou, and content 

in circulation through 

the official social 

media accounts of the 

company, it on Thursday, April 29, 

2021 reached a stunning new level 

of safety excellence on both process 

and personnel safety. “The 

company clocked 1,862 days (5 

years) LTI free man hours on board 

the FPSO TAMARA NANAYE. 

The company which is heavily 

associated with the annual HSE 

Summit “HSE IN OUR DNA” 

through this laudable achievement 

has proven that its commitment to 

safety is not a gimmick. It will be 

interesting to see how far they can 

sustain this 

feat. 

CG has 

grown to be 

the largest 

indigenous 

operator of 

Floating, 

Production, 

Storage and 

Offloading 

Vessels 

(FPSO’s) and 

flow stations 

in Sub- 

Saharan 

Africa. 

I t s 

technical competence, access to 

finance, as well as domestic and 

international partnerships relevant 

to achieve rapid growth and deliver 

on her vision of solving problems, 

enabling people and creating value, 

makes this celebration a win for the 

Nigerian local participation policy 

and drive”. 

CHI Limited launches campaigns 

to celebrate Ramadan 

As the Muslim community in Nigeria usher in the holy month of 

Ramadan, Nigeria’s leading fruit juice, dairy brand and snack 

manufacturer, CHI Limited, has commenced communication 

campaigns to help support their spiritual journey and keep them 

healthy with quality fruit juices and dairy products during this fasting 

season.Nutritionists say it is important for people who will fast to be 

aware of the importance of healthy nourishment. During fasting hours 

when no food or drink is consumed, the body may become mildly 

dehydrated. The campaigns are tagged, “Start Iftar with Chivita”, 

“Hollandia Yoghurt Iftar Recipes”, and Hollandia Evap Milk “Right 

Nourishment from Sahur to Iftar”. While the “Start Iftar with Chivita” 

and Hollandia Evap Milk “Right Nourishment from Sahur to Iftar” 

campaigns will be executed across Digital platforms and Out-of-Home 

channels, the “Hollandia Yoghurt Iftar Recipes”, will be driven by a 

four-part recipe video series which will be deployed to digital platforms 

by 3 pm every Saturday for four weeks. 

The “Hollandia Yoghurt Iftar Recipes” features Popular Chef Asma, 

as she shares some of her favourite Iftar meals. Her recipes include the 

use of Hollandia Yoghurt in a variety of ways to be enjoyed for its 

nourishment, replenishment and importance to balancing the gut. 

CHI Limited Marketing Director, Mrs. Toyin Nnodi, stated that 

“Start Iftar with Chivita”, “Hollandia Yoghurt Iftar Recipes”, and 

Hollandia Evap Milk “Right Nourishment from Sahur to Iftar” are 

campaigns designed to remind consumers of the wholesome benefits 

these brands offer at this time.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

The Ministry of Youth 

and Sports 

Development obviously 

tugged at the tail of a tiger 

last week when the minister 

announced the dissolution 

of 31 National Sports 

Federation boards. It 

followed up almost 

immediately with the 

inauguration of caretaker 

committees to take care of 

the administration of the 

federations until after the 

Olympic Games coming up 

from July 23 to August 8, 

2021 in Tokyo, Japan. 

The Minister’s actions 

took everyone by surprise, 

particularly the board 

members across all the 

sports that must have been 

preparing for what had 

become a 4-yearly 

‘jamborèe’ to the Olympics. 

It did not matter that many 

of them had no athletes in 

their sport that qualify to 

participate, or not. The 

minister’s intervention 

halted their vacation. 

Many affected 

stakeholders started 

thinking that the world was 

going to end and started to 

prepare for the war of all 

wars in sports. 

They asked: how dared 

the minister dissolve 

independent boards two 

months to the Olympics? 

It now appears to be all 

smoke and no fire. 

The minister played a 

very deft hand with his 

cards. He pulled the ‘Joker’ 

in the pack and 

checkmated all possible 

opposition. How? 

Most of the key 

Presidents of the dissolved 

federations (except 

Athletics that is fighting to 

the ‘death’ with the sports 

ministry) were offered 

places in the Caretaker 

Committees established to 

temporarily replace their 

boards until new elections 

are held after the Olympics. 

The presidents, therefore, 

lose nothing. Indeed, as 

individuals, they actually 

gained a great deal - the 

guaranteed opportunity to 

go to the Olympics, plus 

being a part of preparing 

the grounds for their own 

possible re-election. 

In appointing them into 

the committees the minister 

may have provided a 

soothing balm to quench 

what could have been a 

raging fire by those that 

would have fought against 

the timing and justification 

for the dissolution. 

Indeed, a handful of 

those left out of this new 

arrangement, those that 

were not recalled to be a 

part of the caretaker 

committees, started to put 

up some fight that never 

gained any momentum. 

Writing under the 

umbrella of a non-existing 

Committee of Concerned 

Stakeholders, they signed 

and sent a petition to the 

Minister of Sports 

threatening fire and 

brimstone, requesting that 

the minister rescinded his 

action within 48 hours or be 

prepared to face their wrath 

through protests that will 

disrupt woUk in the 

ministry, or necessitate a 

legal ‘battle’ in the civil 

courts. They insisted that 

the boards’ 4-year tenures 

still had some months to go, 

and that the dissolution by 

the Minister was a clear 

case of ‘government 

interference’ in the internal 

affairs of their ‘private’ 

organisations. 

Europa Cup: 

I can’t wait for the final, 

says Chukwueze 

Villarreal reached the 

final of the Europa 

League for the first time 

in their history after a 

scoreless draw against 

Arsenal at the Emirates 

Stadium on Thursday 

night. 

With the Yellow 

Submarine winning the 

first leg 2-1, a goal would 

have been enough to take 

the Gunners to the final 

but they failed in their task 

as the post denied Pierre- 

Emerick Aubameyang on 

two occasions. 

An injured Samuel 

Chukwueze who played 

for only 29 minutes before 

he was stretchered out 

due to an injury still 

joined in post match 

Villarreal celebrations 

following their 

qualification for the 

Europa League final. 

Chukwueze took to 

Instagram after the game 

to celebrate reaching the 

final with Villarreal and is 

hoping to return to action 

before the showpiece 

against Manchester 

United. 

“To the finals. Can’t wait 

to be back soon Thank 

you all for your 

messages,” Chukwueze 

wrote. 

The post has been liked 

by 17,939 Instagram 

users, including Fulham 

defender Ola Aina, while 

Super Eagles stars Victor 

Osimhen and Kelechi 

Iheanacho, Barcelona 

center back Roger Riera, 

and former Manchester 

Sports Ministry versus 

Sports Federations - war 

after the Olympics? 

Does government ever go 

back on its vomit? What 

kind of unregistered 

private organisation can 

make government do the 

unthinkable? The 

federation’s statutes are not 

even domesticated and 

drafted into Nigerian laws, 

so where would they even 

start their fight from? Who 

funds most of the 

federations’ programmes, 

anyway? Can they actually 

c l a i m 

independence 

and noninterference 

from their 

b i g g e s t 

benefactor? 

Their fire was 

quenched even 

before it started. 

To even make a 

mockery of the 

entire exercise, 

shortly after their 

protestcommunique 

was released, 

some of those 

listed as 

signatories to the 

petition publicly 

disclaimed it 

and were wearing broad 

grins of satisfaction on their 

faces at the inauguration of 

the caretaker committees. 

That step by Mr. Sunday 

Dare, the Minister of 

Sports, deflated the 

already flighted balloon of 

the frustrated board 

members and their 

supporters. It was a 

masterstroke, a political 

movè that effectively 

checkmated the main 

opposition. The wind was 

cut off their floundering 

•Samuel 

United striker Odion 

Ighalo reacted to the post, 

congratulating 

Chukwueze on Villarreal 

making the final. 

Man City vs Chelsea: 

I won’t think about Champion 

League for now – Guardiola 

Pep Guardiola says 

he will not be thinking 

about the Champions 

League final when 

Manchester City face 

Chelsea at the Etihad 

today.. 

Victory over Thomas 

Tuchel’s side would 

guarantee City their 

third Premier League 

title in four years, 

irrespective of results 

elsewhere. 

The City boss said too 

much can happen for 

both sides between 

now and the final on 

May 29 to be using this 

fixture as an 

opportunity to prepare. 

‘There are a few 

things he should 

be thinking 

about: to quickly 

establish a new 

structure that 

will clear the air 

on the 

relationships 

that should exist 

between his 

ministry, sports 

federations and 

the Nigeria 

Olympic 

Committee’ 

sail. 

The Minister has 

survived the initial threat 

and danger. He will now go 

to the Olympics in relative 

peace. 

He, however, leaves 

behind, a festering sore, a 

handful of aggrieved 

persons that would require 

careful handling. He 

would need to apply 

wisdom and diplomacy to 

successfully wade through 

the waters that 

his decisions 

have surely 

churned. 

He would 

now have to 

navigate 

unclear 

terrain that lie 

in his path? 

What would 

be his 

roadmap into 

the future after 

Tokyo 2021? 

That is the 

inevitable war 

that will come 

and that he 

will have to 

fight. He has 

plenty to chew 

on his plate, plenty of 

unfinished business. 

There are a few things he 

should be thinking about: 

to quickly establish a new 

structure that will clear the 

air on the relationships that 

should exist between his 

ministry, sports federations 

and the Nigeria Olympic 

Committee; the structure 

shall define the different 

roles and responsibilities 

within those relationships 

and hopefully put to rest the 

matter of ‘interference’ that 

I’m everything Fury 

wishes he could be 

– Anthony Joshua 


always comes up 

when roles are in 

conflict. 

Already some 

aggrieved 

members have 

surreptitiously 

sent a petition to 

t h e i r 

international federations 

with that charge. 

Fortunately, even though 

the charge should not be 

dismissed, off-hand, by the 

minister, it will not have any 

effect on Nigeria’s 

participation at the 

Olympics this summer. 

Federations play only 

supportive roles to the 

ministry and the NOC 

enroute the Olympics. 

They play no official part in 

the registration of 

participants, and the 

responsibility for the 

training and welfare of the 

athletes is also entirely that 

of the government through 

the sports ministry. So, any 

claim of interference has no 

locus and can’t stop 

anything. 

Fundamentally, the 

Olympic Movement and 

International Sports 

Federations are two 

different bodies that only 

cooperate during the 

Olympics to the extènt the 

Olympic Committee 

chooses to involve the 

international sports 

federations. 

Their relationship has 

also been frosty, limited and 

guarded, the areas of 

collaboration being often at 

the discretion of the IOC. 

They do not interfere in 

each other’s business but 

are always exploring areas 

Anthony Joshua says Tyson Fury wishes he had a 

great body like his. Fury makes a big deal about 

how he drinks pints as if to let fans think that he 

doesn’t care about his physique, but he clearly does, 

according to Joshua. 

AJ says Fury knows he can’t slack off for their fight 

and expect to win, which is why he’s working hard 

trying to trim down. 

Not surprisingly, Fury let himself get out of shape 

during the pandemic, and he’s had to work hard 

recently to trim off all the pounds that he’s packed 

on. 

With the Joshua-Fury fight potentially taking place 

in July or August, Fury has a lot of catching up to do 

for him to get to the sharpness level that Joshua is at. 

“The man will talk about drinking pints, and he’s 

not interested, yet he wants to look chiseled,” said 

Joshua to Deeney Talks in analyzing Fury. 

•Sunday Dare 

of subtle cooperation. This 

is particularly true with the 

two biggest sports bodies in 

the world, FIFA and the 

IOC. The claim by some 

stakeholders that Nigerian 

athletes’ performance will 

be hurt by the dissolution of 

boards holds no substance. 

The athletes are as distant 

from the goings-on in the 

boardroom as Mars is from 

Jupiter. Incidentally, two 

thirds of them do not even 

have any athletes going at 

the games. 

The minister’s next 

challenge, post the 

Olympics, would be to 

ensure he is not caught in 

the web of ‘illegality’ when 

he finds that he has to 

extend the official tenures 

of the boards that he 

‘sacked’ because the 

caretakers cannot meet the 

time lines in the statutes 

used for the last elections. 

The minister might find 

himself doing exactly some 

of what he sacked the 

board for - indirectly 

legitimising elongation of 

tenure. 

Nothing was also said of 

the role of the caretaker 

committees in preparing 

the grounds for conducting 

fresh elections, even with 

incumbents serving in the 

committees. 

Continues online: 

www.vanguardngr.com 

Barca plot Ndidi 

swoop 

Barcelona are reportedly weighing 

up a possible move for Wilfred 

Ndidi, who is valued at around €50 

million by Premier League club 

Leicester City. 

According to a report by Spanish 

outlet El Gol Digital, Wilfred Ndidi 

is the subject of interest from 

Barcelona over a possible move in 

the future. The Catalan giants have 

identified the Nigeria midfield 

powerhouse as an alternative for 

N’Golo Kante, whose € 60 million 

valuation is unaffordable. 

Ndidi joined Leicester City from 

Genk in January 2017 and has since 

come leaps and bounds to establish 

himself as one of the best 

midfielders on show in the Premier 

League. 

Iheanacho is undroppable – Sherwood 

Former 

Tottenham 

Hotspur manager Tim 

Sherwood is of the opinion 

that Kelechi Iheanacho is 

now an important member 

of the Leicester City squad 

and Brendan Rodgers 

cannot afford to drop him 

from the starting lineup. 

For a while in his Leicester 

City career, it looked like 

Iheanacho won’t fulfill his 

talent or just be no more 

than a super sub, but he’s 

the player that has made the 

biggest impact for Leicester 

City in the last two months. 

Since the start of March, the 

Nigeria international has 

directly participated in a 

remarkable 15 goals in ten 

matches across all 

competitions for the Foxes, all 

of which he started, which is a 

testament to the player and the 

coaching that he has received. 

“It has been forced upon him 

(Brendan Rodgers) a little bit, 

there was no Maddison, there 

was no Ayoze Perez,” 

Sherwood said on Premier 

League Productions. 

•Iheanacho

30— SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8, 2021 

Thunder Teslim 

Balogun 

(1927-1972) 

•What Nigerians never knew about him 

By Hon (Barr) Femi Kehinde 

In this season of an omie and atrophy, 

it is better to remember with fondest 

and affectionate memory those people 

who had made us happy, and had 

impacted into our lives and essence, 

through their God given talents. 

Tesilimi Olawale Ayinde Balogun was 

one. He lived a 45 years that was laced and 

filled with soccer. After all, the Nigerian 

firmament is replete with stories of unsung 

heroes in commerce, politics, law, 

enterprise, education, sports, medicine, 

traditional institutions and so on. 

Football is arguably the world’s most 

important game. Football, that round 

leather ball, is mankind’s most beloved 

sporting game. Its love, transcends religion, 

ethnic or political divides. This was the 

game that Teslim Balogun devoted his 

entire life to serve. 

In the beginning 

Teslim Balogun was born in Lagos in 

1927. He attended St. Patrick’s Primary 

School, Oke-Awo, Lagos and St. Mary’s 

Catholic School, Port Harcourt, after which 

he moved back to Lagos to navigate his 

life, future and career growth. 

His father- Oseni, was an international 

cricketer, but soccer was in his blood. His 

soccer ingenuity was noticed in his 

elementary school days in Lagos and Port 

Harcourt. 

According to Teslim-”it must be because 

I even have to force myself to walk along 

the street ordinarily and not jog along, as 

if I had a ball at my feet “ 

It was this urge that developed a 

footballer in Teslim. According to him-, “I 

not only wanted to kick things; many lads 

do, I wanted to be able to control things 

with my feet. 

“I was a lad in Lagos long before I knew 

what the game was about, before I had 

even seen a football. 

“I didn’t have a ball, so I got a hard 

unripe orange and tied it to a piece of 

string, then in any spare moment, even 

when I was walking across the road, I 

would dangle the orange in front of me and 

juggle it from one foot to the other.” 

At the Saint Mary’s Primary School in 

Port Harcourt, his love for soccer became 

more than an interest but an obsession. His 

bow legs aided his skills as a footballer. 

Club career 

At an impressionable age of 18 years, 

Thunder entered big football competition 

in 1945, when he played for the PWD 

second team and the defunct Apapa 

Bombers that won the second division 

Championship that year. 

Early in the next season, he transferred 

to the UAC, and later Lagos Marine, where 

he was quickly spotted out as a 

prospective great centre forward. He was 

from 1948-1950, Centre Forward for the 

Railway Club. 

He was the live wire of the club, a 

forward line that knew no retreat. During 

that period, the club won all championship 

trophies. 

He had an outstanding feat. He scored a 

hat-trick against the Police Athletic club. 

This decided his soccer position as a centre 

forward. 

The match had an effect on Teslim’s 

football career. Referring the game was the 

Chairman of the Railway Club, who 

recommended him as a member. 

At this time, Teslim was an apprentice 

electrician, for a hobby. He took up 

printing, he became more interested in 

printing than in things electric, and was 

more interested in football than in 

anything. To an average Nigerian soccer 

fan, Teslim Balogun means the undisputed 

centre forward king, and the largest crowd 

puller of modern soccerdome. 

Teslim was quickly nicknamed 

“Thunder” and “Balinga,” the names that 

followed him around in the whole of his 

footballing career. To school children, he 

was “baba ball.” 

The Nigerian Football Association was 

formed in 1933; a Daily Times Article of 

21st August 1933 invited people to the NFA 

meeting held at the Sports Health Office, 

on Broad Street, Lagos and was open to a 

football interested public. 

As of the 1938-1939 football season, the 

NFA, had been recognised by the Football 

Association of England. The NFA was not 

formally inaugurated until 1945, when a 

national team was put together. 

In 1942, a cup competition, a world 

Memorial Challenge, limited only to 

Lagos based teams was started. The World 

Memorial Challenge was won by Zik 

Bombers in (1942), Lagos Marines, (1943,) 

Lagos Railways in (1944 and 1945) 

respectively. 

The NFA later inaugurated the 

Governor’s Cup to replace the World 

Memorial Challenge. The new competition 

became a national competition, and the 

first winners were Lagos Marine. 

How he became a member of the first 

national football team at 22 

In 1948, a National Team was built 

around players discovered at the 

Governor’s Cup. 

The star players in the national team 

were Dan Anyiam,(Lagos UAC)- a skillful 

player, who plays with his head as well as 

his feet. Anyiam was born in Nkwerre in 

the Eastern Region of Nigeria, in 1927. He 

had captained his primary school football 

team at the age of 12 years. Others were- 

Peter Anieke and Teslim Olawale Balogun 

(both of Lagos Railway). 

Nigeria’s first National Team was named 

UK Tourists and after a few unofficial warm 

up games, went to the UK. 

The team boarded the RMSS Apapa on 

16th August 1949, for a playing tour of 

England and arrived Liverpool 13 days 

later. The players who made the trip were 

- Goalkeepers, Sam Ibiam (Port Harcourt), 

Isaac Akioye (Hercules, Ibadan) ; 

Defenders: Justin Onwudiwe (Lagos 

Railway), Olisa Chukwura (Abeokuta), 

ATB Ottun (Lagos Marine), Isiaku Shittu 

(Lagos UAC), John Dankaro (Jos), Hope 

Lawson(Lagos Marine), Dan Anyian 

(Lagos UAC), Okoronkwo Kanu (Land & 

Survey) ; Forwards: Mesembe Otu (Lagos 

Marine), Peter Anieke (Lagos Railway), 

Titus Okere (Lagos Railway), Etim 

Henshaw (Lagos Marine) and Edet Ben 

(Lagos Marine). Etim Henshaw was the 

team captain, making him our first ever 

national team captain. Teslim Balogun was 

the star. The team had no shoes. 

Nigeria’s first ever official game was 

against Marine Cosby, which it won 5-2. 

During the next game, against an 

Athenian League XI, the English refused 

to play if the Tourists didn’t wear boots. 

The Tourists wore boots and lost, 8-0. The 

third game, which was generally agreed 

as the best, was a 2-2 draw with a 

Corinthians League XI. At the end of the 

tour of nine games, the team’s record was 

P9, W2, D2, L5. All five losses were with 

boots on. 

After the tour, Teslim Balogun was 

signed by Peterborough United, becoming 

the first ever Nigerian football export. On 

the return voyage home, the UK Tourists 

took on the new name- Red Devils and 

stopped in Freetown, Sierra Leone. During 

the stopover in Sierra Leone, Nigeria 

played her first official game against 

another country, defeating Sierra Leone 2- 

0 on the 8th of October, 1949. 

Interestingly, one of the members of the 

UK tourists, Olisa Chukura, a native of 

Asaba in present day Delta State, veered 

off football, read law, practiced law in 

Ibadan, became a Senior Advocate of 

Nigeria, and died on the 3rd of September, 

2001. He had a successful law practice. 

One of his most outstanding cases was 

the 1983 Governorship Election Petition, 

between Bola Ige and Omololu Olunloyo. 

He was Bola Ige’s Attorney. 

In the 1949 football tour of the United 

Kingdom, the English Soccer writers did 

not fail to see the qualities and soccer 

wizardry in Teslim Balogun. The Daily 

Graphics Sports Editor - Edgar Kail, 

remarked about him thus – “their 22 year 

old six foot three bow legged, giant centre 

forward, is a real artist and strange as it 

may seem in modern football, he holds the 

ball and uses it well.” 

After the successful London trip, he 

wanted to play soccer off shore and also, 

learn more about printing. 

He even as a spare time printer, ran into 

big trouble, when he sent a Nigerian 5 

pounds note, to a printer in England and 

asked him to quote on printing 100,000 of 

them. 

Going professional abroad 

Teslim Balogun approached Mr. 

Darby Allen, the Secretary of 

the Nigerian Football 

Association and asked him 

if he could help him to join 

a football team in England. 

Allen, introduced Teslim 

to the Peterborough 

manager-Mr. George 

Swindin, the former 

Arsenal goalkeeper. 

Mr. Swindin gave him 

a trial and signed him 

up. He became a 

professional footballer in 

1955. 

A coloured man in 

English soccer was a 

novelty! 

According to Teslim- 

“I didn’t score. But the 

fans were pleased with 

me, and perhaps more 

important so, was manager 

Swindin. The goals were to come later, 

quite regularly. In fact, I finished the 

season, top scorer with Peterborough’s 

reserves. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed the seasonand 

not only because I was top scorer; 

the club did all they could to help 

me settle down in England, and I 

got a job with a local printing firm. 

“I wanted to learn more about 

printing. On my return, I wanted 

to do two things: teach football 

and set up my own printing 

business. In fact, I wanted to 

combine the two and run my own 

football magazine.” 

“I arranged to study at the 

London School of Printing. This 

meant living in or near London. 

Peterborough is over 75 miles 

away. So I got accommodation in


London. To keep trim, I used to work out at the 

Paddington Recreation Ground. 

There I met a Queen’s Park Rangers supporter. 

He suggested I should contact the club. I thought 

this is a good idea” 

“Soon afterwards, I got a letter from the 

Queens Park Rangers manager, Mr. Jack Taylor, 

asking me to go along for a trial. I was accepted. 

My ambition was realised. I was to play in the 

English League football.” 

Not only was I to play, I was to score a goal in 

my first match against Watford.” 

Retirement, return to Nigeria to begin 

coaching career 

Thunder Teslim Balogun relocated back home 

in 1961 and became the first African to qualify 

as a professional coach. He was a coach for 

Nigeria at the 1968 summer Olympics. He was a 

member of the Nigerian National side for 12 

years. 

The 1954 edition, of Governor’s Cup, was 

renamed the FA Cup, in sync with the 

mood of the moment, after Anthony 

Enahoro had, in 1953, moved a motion 

for independence for Nigeria, at the 

Nigerian Parliament. 

The 1954 edition of the renamed 

FA Cup was won by Calabar FC, 

who beat Kano Pillars 3-0 in the 

final. Meanwhile, the Red Devils 

were still active, playing a series 

of friendlies against Ghana, 

including a 7-0 loss in 1959. The 

NFA finally joined CAF, then 

followed this up by joining FIFA, 

a year later as Nigeria 

approached independence. 

In 1960, Nigeria played 

against Egypt in a qualifying 

game for the Rome 1960 

Olympic Games, its first ever 

international competition. In that 

game against Egypt, the 

Egyptians trashed Nigeria. The 

team was made to wear green, rather 

than the red, they used to wear. It was 

from that moment that the name of the 

team was changed from Red Devils to 

Green Eagles. Also, in 1960, as 

independence approached, the FA Cup was 

renamed the Challenge Cup. The 1960 

edition of the Challenge Cup was won by 

Lagos ECN who beat Ibadan Lions 5-2 in 

the Final. 

Impact on Nigerian football 

This development was spurred by our 

first major triumph. Nigeria won the 

gold medal at 1973’s All Africa 

Games, which she hosted. In 

Teslim’s soccer career, there was a 

funny tale of a goal keeper, who 

died after trying to stop Thunder 

Teslim’s shot, that was usually as 

acerbic, as a Thunderstorm. 

The likes of Christian Chukwu, 

Emmanuel Okala, Muda Lawal, 

Segun Odegbami Sam Ojebode, 

Christian Madu, Joe Apiah, 

Kunle Awesu, Best Ogedegbe, Haruna 

Ilerika and many others, broke into the 

National team in the 1970s, the new 

generation of players, qualified Nigeria for 

the Second AFCON, which was hosted by 

Ethiopia in 1979. 

His demise 

Teslimi Olawale Ayinde Balogun died in 

his sleep, on the 30th of July 1972 at the 

age of 45 years and left 8 children- Kayode, 

Tunde, Tokunbo, Olamide, Jibola, Iyabo, 

Bioye and Oluwole. He was married to 

Mulikat- a Table Tennis Player. Mulikat 

recalled that in the early hours of the 30th 

of July, 1972, she spoke and chatted with 

her husband, till about 2:30am, without an 

inkling of an unfortunate death. He was 

hale and hearty, without any untoward 

medical history. The Queen of England, 

sent a condolence letter, when he died. 

As a befitting memorial and 

remembrance, the Teslim Balogun stadium 

in Surulere Lagos is named in his honour. 

The Teslim Balogun Stadium was 

officially opened in 2007, by the 

Government of Babatunde Raji Fashola as 

Governor of Lagos State. 

The stadium, conceptualized in 1984, 

under the Administration of Military 

Governor Gbolahan Mudashiru, crawled 

and suffered so many hiccups, for about 23 

years. As recently as 2006, it was occupied 

by homeless people and area boys. The 

stadium, with the capacity of 24, 325 people, 

sits adjacent to the Lagos National Stadium, 

Surulere Lagos. 

The Teslim Balogun Foundation was also 

founded after his death, to assist the 

families of Nigerian former international 

footballers, who may have suffered 

financial distress. 

Teslim Olawale Ayinde Balogun, may 

your soul continue to play soccer yonder, 

and also continually, find peaceful repose 

with the Lord. 

•Hon (Barr) Femi Kehinde, Former 

Member, House of Representatives, 

representing Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa 

Federal Constituency of Osun State, (1999- 

2003) & Principal Partner. 

Benin Club Golf Section: 150 for Captain’s tourne 

ourney 

TOP amateur golfers numbering 

over 150 are to feature at this 

year’s Benin Club Golf Section 

(BCGS) 2021 Captain’s Inaugural Golf 

Tournament which tees-off this morning 

in Benin City.. 

The 2021 edition of the tournament is 

being organised by the BCGS Captain, 

Mayer Ologbosere. The golfers will be 

competing for laurels in ladies and men 

events, veteran and super veteran 

categories, as well as guests cadre. 

Captain Ologbisere disclosed that the 

Dare’s missteps confuse stakeholders 

By Ben Efe 

The direction the Sports Minister, 

Sunday Dare is taking Nigerian 

sports came into focus during the 

week, when he summarily dissolved the 

boards of Olympics sports federations and 

others under his supervision. The sports 

minister’s dissolution of the boards at this 

moment was largely seen as a political move 

to settle scores with perceived ‘sports 

political’ opponents. 

A case that readily comes to mind is that 

of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, 

where surprisingly a lingering dispute that 

could have been tactfully resolved has 

ended in the files of 

Nigerian Supreme 

Court. 

“Though the tenure of 

the sports federation 

boards will expire in July 

2021, the minister seem 

to have jumped the gun 

to get at his perceived 

sports political 

opponents.” 

“The guys in the sports 

ministry do not run 

things professionally. 

Sometimes you have to 

prompt them to do things 

they ought to do, to get 

things moving. 

“The mess at the AFN would have been 

long resolved, if the minister and his 

lieutenants had foresight and were 

proactive in their approach,” said former 

Edo Commissioner for sports and member 

of the AFN board Brown Ebewele. 

Though Mr. Dare has some well thought 

ideas like the ‘adopt an athlete initiative’ 

and also supported some of the federations 

to run pre-Olympic competitions, those 

initiatives have been seen as a drop in the 

ocean. There has not been general 

coordination of the sports going to the 

Olympics. There was no camping of any 

sorts, neither was there any communication 

with the athletes that have qualified. It is 

only now that the Olympics is in plain sight 

that feeble attempts are being made to 

organise the teams. 

Nigerian quartets missing the World 

Athletics Relays last weekend in Poland, 

perhaps underscores the failure and 

unpreparedness of those at the helm of 

Nigerian sports to look beyond their noses. 

“We could have been in the World Relays 

to at least place in the last eight and qualify 

for the Olympics. 

“But the sports ministry was rather 

interested in taking the athletes to the USA, 

rather than pursue Polish visas, because the 

tournament was part of the yearly golf event 

hosted by the new captain. “The 

tournament is of great importance to golfers 

in Nigeria, so it is going to be an exciting 

tournament.” 

Moreover, the captain expressed 

confidence that the tournament would be 

organised in accordance with COVID-19 

protocols to ensure the safety of players and 

guests. 

“Many dignitaries such as Edo State 

Governor, Godwin Obaseki and Deputy 

Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu as well 

USA was their focus so that they can travel 

and get estacodes,” said another athletics 

official. 

Luckily football has been spared the 

snarl served the sporting federations by the 

sports ministry. This time around the 

Nigeria Football Federation President, 

Amaju Pinnick played his game well. Mr. 

Dare had wanted him to fire Super Eagles 

coach Gernot Rohr last November. But 

Pinnick, who must have garnered 

experience from his long drawn battle with 

Mr. Dalung navigated his federation out of 

murky waters. 

“I believe that we can have independent 

sporting federations. We can 

start with a few and after 

scale and grow organically,” 

said former AFN president 

Dan Ngerem. 

“The Sports ministry and 

honourable ministers are 

major impediments to our 

sports and sports business.” 

Talking of sports 

business, Mr. Dare has dealt 

a cruel blow to some of the 

investors at the National 

Stadium Lagos. The 

Sportscity remains under 

lock and key for a year plus 

to allow the Sports Minister 

pursue a grandiose project, which may not 

be completed within the remaining days 

of the present government. 

Abandoned for so years, the National 

Stadium became an attraction for sports 

men and women, keep fit enthusiasts and 

sports business owners after investors like 

Mr. Joseph Odubeatu renovated some 

sections. But when the Covid’19 hit all 

commercial activities were grounded as the 

Minister sent every business owner 

packing. Jobs have been lost, revenue due 

to the government gone with the wind and 

investors are reeling with shock. 

It took the intervention of national 

swimmers like Yellow Yeiyah for the sports 

minister to reopen the swimming pool 

complex which was revived after almost 20 

years of neglect. 

“We don’t know for sure the agenda of 

the sports minister. These are indeed 

confusing times,” said one of the affected 

business owners at the National Stadium 

Lagos. 

“At night the Stadium that was once well 

lighted courtesy of Ojez who also provided 

light to some of the sports federation offices, 

is now dark and a hang out for criminal 

elements. 

“Is this how the government treats people 

who are interested in keeping the facility 

busy and secured?” 

as other cabinet members will partake in 

the tournament on Saturday. 

“By my estimation, we are anticipating 

nothing less than one hundred and fifty 

golfers at the tournament. They are 

coming from Ibori Golf and Country Club 

(IGCC), Asaba; UBTH Golf Club, Benin 

City; Ogunnu Golf Resort, Warri; Port- 

Harcourt Golf Club; IBB Golf and Country 

Club, Abuja; Ikoyi Golf Club; Ikeja Golf 

Club, Lagos; Ibadan Golf Club and host 

of others.”

C 

M 

Y 

K 

SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 8, 2021 

CROSS WORD PUZZLE 

SOLUTION ON PAGE 7 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. 

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X). EDITOR: ONOCHIE ANIBEZE. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

08052021 - Benue youths resolve to fight back

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