23052021 - Reps others demand probe of military plane crashes

PAGE 2—SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021 

LAGOS MESSY FLOOD: 

Lekki estate where rain water mixes with sewage water 

• Developer shuns Lagos agency as residents beg Sanwo-Olu for help 

By Olayinka Ajayi 

Residents of Lekki Gardens Ajah Phase 

2, Lagos are lamenting what they 

described as infrastructural 

degradation at the estate. 

The residents took to the streets, last week, in 

protest against the developer’s alleged failure 

to fulfill the promise of making the estate 

habitable. 

When Sunday Vanguard visited the estate, 

our correspondent was shown water seeping 

out of leaking sewage in parts of the estate. 

Sewage water was everywhere and you could 

hardly walk without stepping on dirty water. 

Speaking on the ordeal faced since 

relocating to the estate, the General Secretary 

of the Residents Association of Lekki Gardens, 

Dr. Awolola Eniola, recounted how efforts to 

contain the challenges met with a brick-wall. 

“I have been in this estate for over five years, 

and it’s been one trouble after another. At some 

point, because of the sewage issue, we had to 

take the developer to the Lagos State Waste 

Management Authority (LAWMA) and the 

agency gave them a timeline to do the right 

thing while advising them on the appropriate 

thing to do”, Eniola said. 

“But to our surprise, most of the things that 

they were mandated to do, they haven’t done 

them. The agency even served them notice 

which expired 18 days ago. So we are at the 

risk of the agency coming to seal-up the entire 

estate because it’s considered not habitable. 

“They said for people to reside here, the 

developer has to put key infrastructures in 

place. We bought these properties upfront so 

we are like the developer’s partners and we 

had an agreement based on the things he 

promised to deliver to us. 

“If you look around you, an estate of over 

one thousand residents, is without a 

functioning sewage and clinic. 

“In the past three months, some incidents 

that could have been averted occurred because 

we don’t have a clinic. How can somebody 

build these and give us just two transformers? 

“We have to tax ourselves to get extra 

transformer to extend the 33KVA power line 

to go round”. 

Eniola stressed the 

need for Lagos State 

government to come 

to their rescue as he 

claimed the developer had 

started erecting other structures on “already 

overstretched structures”. 

The association General Secretary added, 

“If he cannot help us, he shouldn’t complicate 

our problem. The developer still comes in 

building more structures. 

“Now tell me what infrastructure are those 

structures going to use? There is nobody in this 

estate that has not done reconstruction in one 

way or the other due to dilapidation in a short 

while. 

“We have written countless letters to the 

developer but he ignored us. Information has 

it that he said there’s nothing we can do to him 

as he’s connected to the powers-that-be in 

Lagos”. 

Transformers 

On his part, the Chairman of the Water 

Committee for the estate, Olawale Hassan, 

who was obviously upset at the state of the 

estate, said: “We lost four transformers within 

six months. We had to tax ourselves to buy 

another set. 

“And the developer gave us a timeline on the 

transformers but he didn’t keep to it”. 

Leakage 

Another resident, Mr. Tony Igho, who is also 

the Road Coordinator for Roads 9b and 9c, 

said: “As you are aware that we 

are in the rainy 

season, in just 30 

minutes’ rain, you 

can see the level of 

flood in the 

estate”. 

“What we experience 

here is not ordinary 

rain, it is rain 

water mixed with 

sewage water. This is 

unacceptable. We 

have children going 

to school. “When they 

come back, they have 

to step into sewage 

water to get into their 

homes. Which health 

value are we giving to our 

children? 

“If rain should fall in a day, you won’t be 

able to come into the estate unless you are 

wearing rain boots. This is not what we paid 

for. We paid for a place where we can walk 

around freely, devoid of flood. 

“Road 9c is the epicentre of the leakage in 

the sewage system and the flood system in Lekki 

Gardens. 

“Electric power, as we speak, is not available 

and if they supply us electric power, it will 

destroy all our electrical appliances. 

“Nobody is happy living like this. Each time 

it rains, I put on my boots knocking on every 

door to know if they have other problems. 

“If you flush the toilet, the water comes 

back to you. It cannot go on like this. 

“We have made several demands from 

the developer and there has been no 

response that is satisfactory to us. 

“We expect a man at that level to come 

forward and discuss with the executives of 

the residents association. 

“At night it is dark here. So you can 

imagine how dangerous it is here for our 

families. How do we respond to our 

children that this is what we have provided 

for them?” 

Efforts made to reach the developer of 

the property, Mr Richard Nyong, via 

phone calls proved abortive as neither him 

nor officials of his company, Lekki 

Gardens Estate Limited, answered our 

phone calls.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021, PAGE 3


Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (left) and former All Progressives 

Congress Chairman in Rivers State, Dr. Davies Ikanya during the formal defection 

of the latter to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Port Harcourt, yesterday. 

RUMBLE IN CROSS RIVER: 

PDP kicks as Ayade, APC take over 

opposition party’s secretariat 

By Kennedy Mbele 

THE Peoples Democrat 

ic Party, PDP, in Cross 

River State has rejected 

moves by Governor Ben Ayade 

and his faction to convert 

its secretariat to the state secretariat 

of his new party, the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC. 

In a statement, Chairman, 

PDP Caretaker Committee, 

Effiok Cobham, alleged that 

armed policemen took over 

their secretariat in Calabar, 

AIB: Black boxes of ill-fated plane recovered 

•Probe begins 

By Lawani Mikairu 

NIGERIA Accident In 

vestigation Bureau, 

AIB, was, yesterday, given the 

mandate to lead the investigation 

into the cause of the Air 

Force Beechcraft 350 jet that 

killed the Chief of the Army 

Staff, just as the AIB disclosed 

that the two black boxes of the 

ill-fated plane had been recovered. 

Black boxes are crucial in 

Crash victims are icons of professionalism, 

bravery — Buhari 

•We remain unmoved — CDS 

By Kingsley Omonobi, 

Abuja 

PRESIDENT Muham 

mad Buhari has described 

the late Chief of Army 

Staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru 

and other officers who lost their 

lives in Friday’s plane crash in 

Kaduna as icons of professionalism, 

bravery and discipline. 

Speaking during the funeral 

ceremony, the President who 

was represented by Defence 

Minister, Major Gen. Bashir 

Magashi, said the officers will 

surely be missed, adding “the loss 

is irreparable and tragedy to our 

dear nation”. 

yesterday, and created a cover 

for alleged thugs to invade 

it with the intention of converting 

it to APC Secretariat. 

Cobham, who explained 

that the PDP’s vital documents 

in Ayade’s custody 

were destroyed by the invading 

thugs, expressed shock 

that their party building was 

being re-painted in the colours 

of the APC, even as the 

PDP still has a subsisting tenancy 

over the property; a development 

he said the lessor, 

whose hands appear tied, lamented 

thus: 

In his own address titled ‘Love 

for Country’, Chief of Defence 

Staff, General Lucky Irabor 

said he was deeply saddened 

by the loss of the Chief of Army 

Staff and other officers in the 

plane crash. 

“How did we get here? Love 

for Country’. What is the purpose 

for oath of allegiance? Love 

for Country’. The loss of these 

gallant officers is very painful 

but certainly not in vain.” 

Disclosing that the late 

Army Chief was in Kaduna as 

Special Guest of Honour at the 

Passing Out Depot Parade of soldiers 

that would tackle security 

“I understand that the 

property is right now being 

painted in APC colours and 

I am calling to say that I have 

no agreement whatsoever 

with the APC. I hereby state 

that PDP’s tenancy is still 

subsisting and they remain 

my legal and recognised tenant”. 

Recalling that the PDP delivered 

the mandate of Cross 

River to Ayade both at senatorial 

and gubernatorial levels, 

the Chairman described 

the action as as a criminal 

trespass, capable of leading 

From left: Amaka Bifom, Human Resource Director, CHI Limited; Zainab Balogun- 

Nwachukwu, Brand Ambassador, Hollandia Yoghurt; Israel Danauta, Head, Legal / Public 

Affairs and Corporate Communications, CHI Limited; Event Speaker, Amaka Okwesilieze 

Nwaora, Consultant Nutritionist / Council Member, Nutrition Society of Nigeria and Dr 

Imedimfon Okon, Event Panelist & Secretary, Nigeria Medical Association, Lagos Chapter 

during the Hollandia Dairy Day Conference in Lagos. 

to a breach of public peace 

and wondered why the 

governor,”who currently has 

the constitutional responsibility 

of protecting lives and 

properties in the state” is promoting 

such action. He 

stressed that Ayade has no 

right to impede the peaceful 

conduct of law abiding citizens 

and expressed optimism 

that President Muhammadu 

Buhari will prevail on him to 

respect law and order by desisting 

from conducts capable 

of adding to the security 

challenges across the country. 

the investigation of plane 

crashes as they help to determine 

the events in the last minutes 

of crews. 

The Black boxes are otherwise 

known as Flight Data 

Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit 

Voice Recorder (CVR). 

This is the first time in recent 

past that AIB is allowed 

to investigate a military plane 

crash in Nigeria. 

Disclosing this development, 

yesterday, Mr Tunji 

Oketunbi, General Manager, 

Public Affairs , AIB, said : “ 

Nigerian Accident Investigation 

Bureau, AIB -N, has 

been mandated by the Nigerian 

Air Force (NAF) to 

lead the investigation into 

the crash of a military aircraft 

that occurred on Friday 

in Kaduna, in which the 

Chief of the Army Staff died. 

“The Flight Data Recorder 

(FDR) and the Cockpit Voice 

Recorder (CVR) from the accidented 

Beechcraft 350 aircraft 

have been recovered and 

investigation has commenced.” 

“Investigators will download 

and analyse vital information 

contained in the recorders 

at the AIB-N’s world 

class Flight Safety Laboratory, 

in Abuja. 

“ The crash, which occurred 

on landing, claimed 11 lives 

including the Chief of Army 

Staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, 

his aides, and the flight 

crew. 

“The mandate given to AIB- 

N is based on the Memorandum 

of Understanding 

(MoU) signed between the 

two agencies on July 1, 2020 

covering areas of mutual assistance”. 

challenges confronting the country’, 

the CDS said but “We are 

undaunted. We are unmoved. Remember, 

it is love for country’”. 

Meanwhile, it emerged that 

the one of the victims of the 

crash, the co-pilot, Flight Lt. Alfred 

Ayodeji Olufade, consummated 

his wedding only two 

months ago. 

Olufade was the co-pilot to 

Flt Lt. Taiwo Olufemi Asaniyi, 

who also died in the crash. 

Constitution review is an exercise in futility — PFN 

By Ola Ajayi, Ibadan 

THE Pentecostal Fellow 

ship of Nigeria (PFN) has 

described the review of the 

country’s constitution currently 

being undertaken by the National 

Assembly as an exercise 

in futility. 

Instead of the review, the 

Christian body called for the 

enactment of a brand new legal 

document for Nigeria that 

will be in sync with the reality 

on ground and capable of enhancing 

the growth of the nation 

on all fronts. 

The body stated this in a 

statement entitled, ‘Nigeria’s 

Constitutional Review: PFN’s 

Stand’ and jointly signed by its 

National President, Bishop 

Francis Wale Oke, National 

Secretary, Dr Cosmas Ilechukwu, 

and National Legal Adviser, 

Funmi Quadri, SAN. 

Delta 2023: Edjophe leaders give 

Mrakpor 30 days to declare 

interest 

ELDERS and leaders of Edjophe community, Ughelli 

South Local Government Area of Delta State, have 

given 30 days ultimatum to the Commissioner for Justice 

and Attorney-General, Mr. Peter Mrakpor (SAN), to declare 

his intention to contest for the governorship of the 

state. 

The elders and leaders, in a statement signed on their 

behalf by Mr. Vincent Sito, stated that their decision to give 

Mrakpor ultimatum was because he is the most qualified 

among those jostling for the governorship seat in the state. 

They stated that the people have so much hope in him to 

deliver dividends of democracy, hence there was urgent 

need to step up moves to ensure that Mrakpor agreed to 

contest in the coming election. 

Sito said: “Mrakpor has the requisite tools to enhance the 

developmental strides of Delta State and there is no doubt 

about that. “I urge elders, leaders, youths and women who 

are supporters of Mrakpor to help convince him to contest. 

Once he accepts, the rest will be history because everyone 

in Delta and Nigeria to know the capacity of the man we 

are talking about. 

“Mrakpor is a grounded politician who is very well known 

in the grassroots. Many may not know that the Edjopheborn 

legal luminary weathered through his own early 

storms and came out unscathed. That is the kind of man 

Delta needs, and that is the man we are championing today 

to take over governance in Delta”. 

Ex-agitators, others praise Buhari 

over peace in Niger Delta 

By Gab Ejuwa 

resident Muhammadu Buhari has been commended 

Pfor his government’s effort to secure Nigeria despite 

security challenges in some parts of the country as well as 

his peace efforts in the Niger Delta with the sustenance of 

the Presidential Amnesty Programme. 

In a statement in Warri, Delta State, after their general 

meeting, Itsekiri Ex-Agitators Forum and Itsekiri National 

Development Initiative commended Buhari for appointing 

Col. Dikio Milland who, they said, had brought his 

wealth of experience to bear on the disarmament, demobilization 

and reintegration (DDR) on the programme. 

In the statement, signed by Comrade Dennis Mene (National 

Chairman) and Comrade Akatakpo Omatseye (General 

Secretary), the group said: “We, indeed, commend Col. 

Dikio Milland for the reforms he has introduced into the 

programme within a short time such as the prompt payment 

of bush stipends, payment of in-training stipends to 

beneficiaries-in-training and the online application for all 

ex-agitators in the database of the Office.” 

The group said the online application will ensure fairness 

and equal opportunities to all beneficiaries in the programme. 

It, however, advised that the Amnesty Office should step 

up its service delivery to the beneficiaries by bridging the 

communication gap, particularly with the delegates in 

schools and also clear the remaining students with UN. 

It bemoaned the 1999 Constitution 

(as amended), saying 

it is fraught with irregularities 

that are not helpful to the 

growth of the country. 

“The PFN is aware of the ongoing 

constitutional review 

process being undertaken by 

the Senate of the Federal Republic 

of Nigeria and the public 

hearing sessions scheduled 

by the Senate for May 26th and 

27th, 2021 across the Six (6) 

geo-political zones of the country” 

the PFN noted. 

As a result, the Fellowship 

maintained that the current 

constitution which serves as the 

conveyor belt for the administration 

of the country, is antipeople 

and faulty. 

“We declare that the present 

Constitution is not a people’s 

constitution and does not, in 

anyway, reflect the aspirations 

and yearnings of the PFN and 

the people of Nigeria.”

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021, PAGE 5 

From left: SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapher; Minister for Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi; the Senate 

President, Senator Ahmed Lawan; the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; the 

Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and other dignitaries during the burial of the Chief of 

Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others in Abuja, yesterday. Photos by Abayomi Adeshida 

Gov. Nasir El Rufai (4th left) flanked by members of 

the Kaduna State Government delegation to the funeral 

ceremony 

By Our Reporters 

Friday’s crash of a 

military plane in 

Kaduna, which 

brought the number of such 

crashes to three in the last 

three months, has led to calls 

for a proper investigation of 

recent military plane 

mishaps since February this 

year. 

In making the calls, it was 

said that the rate at which 

military aircraft had crashed 

in less than 100 days 

necessitated a detailed 

probe. 

The calls were on the heels 

of the directive by the Chief 

of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky 

Irabor, that an accident 

investigation board be 

constituted to unravel the 

immediate and remote 

causes of the latest accident. 

Sunday Vanguard 

learned that all the crashed 

Beechcraft KingAir 350 

airplanes were of the same 

manufacturer, Beechcraft 

Aircraft Manufacturing 

Company, in America. 

No fewer than 17 military 

officers have so far died in air 

mishaps involving Beechcraft 

350 military airplanes since 

February 21. 

An aviation source told 

Sunday Vanguard that the 

Nigeria Civil Aviation 

Authority, NCAA, wouldn’t 

speak on the incident since it 

involved a military aircraft. 

He said every inquiry about 

the aircraft should be directed 

at the military authorities and 

the manufacturer. 

Meanwhile, the remains of 

the Chief of Army Staff, CoAs, 

Gen Ibrahim Atahiru and 10 

other Airforce and Army 

officers, who perished in the 

crash, were interred at the 

National Military Cemetery, 

Abuja, amid tears and 

eulogies. 

Military burial 

The fallen heroes were 

given a military burial at an 

event that had Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of 

Defence, Major-General 

Bashir Magashi, retd, Chief 

of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky 

Irabor, some top military 

officers, Borno State 

governor, Professor 

Babagana Umara Zulum, 

Senator Kashim Shettima, 

Senator Abubakar Kyari, 

Governor Nasir El-Rufai, 

Yobe State governor, Mai 

Mala Buni, Sultan of Sokoto, 

Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar, 

Chief of Staff to the President, 

Professor Ibrahim Gambari, 

Inspector General of Police, 

Usman Alkali, and 

Comptroller-General of 

Immigration, Muhammad 

Babandede, among others in 

attendance. 

A military convoy had 

earlier conveyed the remains 

of the deceased from the 44 

Nigerian Army Referral 

Hospital, Kaduna to the 

Nigeria Air Force Base in the 

Mando area of the town. 

Their remains had arrived 

at the Presidential Wing of 

Nnamdi Azikwe 

International Airport, Abuja 

at 11 am. 

The deceased military 

officers were on their way to 

Kaduna to attend the 

passing-out parade for 

recruits scheduled for 

yesterday at the Nigerian 

Army Depot, Zaria. 

As at press time, military 

authorities had cordoned off 

the site of the crash. 

Journalists and residents 

who were at the scene in 

Kaduna were not allowed 

access to the area. 

Amid the outpouring of 

tributes, yesterday, the 

Minority Caucus of the 

House of Representatives, 

called for an investigation 

into the military plane crash 

and two others that preceded 

it to ascertain the cause of the 

accidents. 

Investigation 

While calling for an 

investigation, the Minority 

Leader of the House of 

From left: Former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. 

Azubuike Ihejirika; Former Minister of Interior, Gen. 

Abdulrahman Danbazau; Minister for Women Affairs, 

Dame Pauline Tallen; the SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapher; 

Minister for Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi; 

Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan and the Chief of 

Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari 

TEARFUL BURIAL OF CoAS, 10 OTHERS: 

Reps, others demand probe of military plane crashes 

•3 mishaps, 17 deaths in 3 months 

•Victims buried amid tears, eulogies 

•Gbajabiamila, govs, Tinubu, Ekweremadu, others mourn 

•SOURCE: Why NCAA can’t speak 

•Army combs crash site for clues 

Representatives, Ndudi 

Elumelu, described the 

deceased as courageous 

soldiers. 

He said this in a statement 

made available to Sunday 

Vanguard. 

The statement reads:”The 

Minority caucus is griefstricken 

by this huge tragedy 

which has befallen our dear 

nation and we demand a fullscale 

investigation into the 

unfortunate incident. 

“Gen Attahiru and the other 

officers were very courageous 

and patriotic soldiers, who 

gave all in the defence of our 

dear fatherland. 

“The minority caucus 

charges the military not to be 

weighed down by the tragic 

event but to remain focused 

and undeterred to ensure that 

the heroes did not die in vain. 

“Our caucus calls for a 

system-wide investigation 

into the cause of the crash as 

well as the last two crashes of 

our military planes which 

also led to the loss of lives of 

our gallant and promising 

officers. 

“As representatives of the 

people, we stand with the 

Army, the entire military as 

well as the families of the 

Chief of Army Staff and other 

gallant officers and men who 

have paid the supreme price 

in service to secure our nation. 

“Our caucus prays to God 

to console them at this hour 

of grief. 

We urge the federal 

government to take urgent 

steps to ensure the safety of 

our fighting men and 

women, who are daily putting 

their lives on the line for the 

security of our nation.’’ 

Similar occurrences 

A human rights group, 

International Society for 

Civil Liberties and Rule of 

Law, Intersociety, said the 

death of Gen Attahiru should 

be thoroughly investigated 

and not treated like similar 

occurrences in the past. 

In a statement by its 

chairman, Board of Trustees, 

Emeka Umeagbalasi, the 

group faulted what it called 

the hasty and uninvestigated 

conclusion that the crash 

happened as a result of bad 

weather. 

According to the 

statement,” the sudden and 

suspicious demise of Lt Gen 

Ibrahim Atahiru, the recently 

appointed Chief of Army 

Staff, is likely going to end 

the same way others ended 

without any form of 

comprehensive, conclusive 

and satisfactory 

investigation. No credible 

inquiries have been launched 

and concluded to prevent 

future occurrences. Nigeria 

has in barely four months or 

since Feb 2021, lost no fewer 

than 20 military personnel 

mostly commissioned 

officers and till date, no single 

sanction has been meted or 

any form of detailed 

investigations carried out.” 

Air accident experts 

Similarly, Deji Adeyanjuled 

Concerned Nigerians for 

the Protection of Human 

Rights and Rule of Law 

Initiative called on President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

employ independent air 

accident experts to unravel 

the cause of the crash. 

This was contained in a 

statement made available 

to Sunday Vanguard. 

According to Adeyanju, the 

call became necessary 

following the manner the Air 

Force plane crashed upon 

landing at the Kaduna 

Airport. 

The statement reads in 

part: “Our heartfelt 

condolences are with the 

families of the Chief of Army 

Staff, the Air Force crew and 

other generals who lost their 

lives in the ill-fated crash that 

occurred in Kaduna. 

“We call on the President to 

launch an inquest into the 

cause of the crash that 

claimed the lives of some of 

our finest officers by 

employing the services of 

independent air accident 

experts. 

“It cannot be a coincidence 

that three Nigerian Air Force 

jets have crashed in a space 

of three months. Something 

is fundamentally wrong 

somewhere and the onus is on 

the President to uncover these 

mysterious crashes. 

“We have always 

condemned the idea of 

Widow of the late Chief of Army Staff, Mrs Fati Attahiru 

(2nd left), her daughter and others 

granting former Boko 

Haram fighters amnesty and 

the dire consequences of 

enlisting them into the army 

and other security forces.” 

Depth of sacrifice 

On his part, Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, said he 

received the news of the death 

of General Attahiru and other 

military officers in an air 

crash with great sadness. 

According to Osinbajo, 

“their death while in active 

service in the defense of our 

country reflects the depth of 

sacrifice our military officers, 

men and women of the other 

ranks are often prepared to 

make. 

“ We honour the service of 

the Army Chief and all those 

involved in this unfortunate 

accident even as we continue 

to demonstrate our profound 

appreciation to all in our 

military services and in harm’s 

way. The gallantry of these 

heroes would always be 

remembered.” 

Security challenges 

Speaker of the House of 

Representatives, Femi 

Gbajabiamila, said the death 

of the Army Chief was 

unfortunate coming at a time 

that the Nigerian military was 

finding solutions to the 

security challenges in the 

country. 

He said having taken over 

from the immediate past 

Chief of Army Staff, 

Lieutenant General Tukur 

Buratai, a couple of months 

ago, Attahiru has shown a lot 

of commitment in tackling 

the security situation in the 

country. 

Gbajabiamila, who said he 

had a few meetings with 

Attahiru in search of solutions 

to the challenges, noted that 

the late Army Chief came 

across as a core professional 

officer. 

On its part, House 

Committee on Airforce 

described the incident as 

painful. 

Chairman of the 

Committee, Shehu Koko, in 

a statement, said the news 

came to him as a shock. 

State governors were also 

unified by the incident as they 

described it as a national loss. 

Renewed 

confidence 

The governors under the 

aegis of Nigeria Governors 

Forum, NGF, said Gen 

Attahiru died at a time 

Nigerians were beginning to 

enjoy a renewed confidence 

in the Nigerian Army. 

In a statement yesterday by 

its Chairman, Governor 

Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti 

State, the governors described 

the late Attahiru as an 

exemplary soldier whose 

zeal, dedication and 

professionalism inspired his 

men in the ongoing war 

against terrorism. 

His words: “Lt. Gen. 

Attahiru, who was appointed 

Chief of Army Staff on 26th 

January 2021 by President 

Muhammadu Buhari, was an 

exemplary soldier whose 

zeal, dedication and 

professionalism inspired his 

men in the ongoing war 

against terrorism and to 

secure the peace and stability 

of the nation. 

“Already, all well-meaning 

Nigerians are enjoying a 

renewed confidence in the 

army, while the soldiers 

themselves are showing 

appreciation for their 

leaderships’ encouraging 

impetus in boosting their 

morale on the battlefields. 

“As governors, we will miss 

the gallant soldiers. We pray 

for the repose of their gentle 

souls in the highest recesses 

of Jinnatul Fiddausi, hoping 

that their contributions to 

bringing peace back to the 

lives of our people do not go 

in vain.” 

Surprised 

Some of the state chief 

executives also mourned the 

dead in separate condolence 

messages made available to 

Sunday Vanguard. 

Those who expressed 

surprise include Lagos State 

governor, Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu, Rivers State governor, 

Nyesom Nwike, Edo State 

governor, Godwin Obaseki, 

Benue State governor, 

Samuel Ortom, Ondo State 

governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, 

Kano State governor, 

Abdullahi Ganduje, Osun 

State governor, Adegboyega 

Oyetola, Ogun State 

governor, Dapo Abiodun, 

Taraba State governor, 

Darius Ishaku, Nasarawa 

State governor, Abdullahi 

Sule, and Ekiti State 

governor, Kayode Fayemi. 

They were unanimous in 

their description of the late 

CoAS as a courageous 

soldier, who paid the 

supreme sacrifice for 

Nigeria. 

Others who expressed 

sadness at the crash are 

Deputy Senate President, 

Sen Ovie Omo-Agege, 

former Senate President, 

Sen David Mark, 

National Leader of All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, 

and ex-Deputy Senate 

President, Sen Ike 

Ekweremadu among 

others. 

Finish the job 

Tinubu in a statement by 

his Media Office, said: 

“CoAS Lt. Gen. Attahiru 

and the others were 

stalwarts and brave 

soldiers who had 

dedicated their careers, 

and now their very lives, in 

the service of this nation 

and toward the realization 

of the noble aspirations 

this nation represents. 

“CoAS Attahiru had a 

most distinguished career. 

The army and the nation 

will miss his excellent 

character and fine 

leadership at this moment 

when we are fighting 

terrorism or banditry in 

many parts of the nation. 

“Lt. Gen. Attahiru, just 

like the others involved in 

this tragic incident, served his 

country with zeal and vigour. 

He was known as a soldier’s 

soldier. 

“Their untimely and sad 

departure hurts. However, 

we owe it to them and to the 

nation to gather our strength 

and fortitude. We must gird 

ourselves that we finish the 

job to which they dedicated 

and gave their lives. 

“Let us remember these 

brave patriots not with our 

tears but by achieving victory 

over the terrorism and 

violence that seek to rob our 

nation of its finest destiny.” 

Continues on page


From left: Seyi Edwards, COO, Babban Gona; Tope Ologunoye, COO, 

Autochek Africa; John Obaro, MD, SystemSpecs and Chief Launcher; Lanre 

Basamta, Author and Lampe Omoyele, MD, Nitro 121 during the official 

launch of the book 'My Crazy Attempt' by Lanre Basamta held in Lagos on Saturday. 

Photo by Lamidi Bamidele 

Stop witch-hunting opposition parties, PDP 

governors warn EFCC 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

overnors elected on the 

Gplatform of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, 

cautioned the Economic 

and Financial Crimes 

Commission (EFCC) against 

harassing opposition parties 

and their officials over phoney 

allegations. 

The warning came in the 

wake of the recent invitation 

extended to the party’s National 

Auditor, Adamu Mustapha, 

National Organizing 

Secretary, Col. Austin 

Akobundu, and the Director 

of Finance, by the EFCC over 

allegations of financial indiscipline. 

In a statement signed by the 

Director General the PDP 

By Gabriel Olawale 

erving Overseer, The 

SCitadel Global Community 

Church, CGCC, Pastor 

Tunde Bakare, has said 

that the youths need to be determined 

and focused with 

genuine intention of making 

the Nigeria of our founding 

fathers a reality. 

Speaking in Lagos at the 

maiden edition of The Conversation 

Africa Series organized 

by the Legacy Youth 

Fellowship, Bakare said that 

young people in their 20s and 

30s are responsible for the 

current situation in the country. 

In his keynote address titled: 

‘Pointing the way forward: 

if it is to be, it is up to 

me’, Bakare said that at Independence, 

Nigeria was 

considered Africa’s beacon of 

hope, a nation that would 

bring stability and peace to 

Africa, “yet, six decades later, 

our nation is break-dancing 

Reps, others demand probe 

of military plane crashes 

Continued from page 5 

Nigerian Navy 

Meanwhile, the Chief of 

Naval Staff, Vice Admiral 

Awwal Gambo, has directed 

the cancellation of the events 

marking the 65th 

anniversary of the Nigerian 

Navy. 

A statement by the Director 

of Naval Information, 

Commodore Suleman 

Dahun, said: “This decision 

followed the sad demise of the 

Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen 

Ibrahim Attahiru, some 

senior officers, other officers 

and personnel in the air crash 

of yesterday in Kaduna. 

“The CNS commiserates 

with the nation and offers the 

condolences of officers and 

Governors Forum, Cyril 

‘CID’ Maduabum, the PDP 

governors noted that the antigraft 

body should not be used 

to cow the opposition in the 

land. 

The statement read: “The 

recent invitation of officials 

of the PDP by the EFCC acting 

on a spurious petition by 

a disgruntled former member 

of PDP raises questions on the 

seriousness and impartiality 

of the anti graft agency to do 

its work. 

“While PDP as a political 

party is accountable to its 

members and the general 

public for its actions, we are 

however, concerned that the 

old tactics of using the EFCC 

to silence political opposition 

is creeping into our polity 

ratings of the Nigerian Navy 

to Mr. President, the Nigerian 

Army and Nigerian Air Force 

as well as families of the 

departed.” 

Engine failure 

Recall that on February 7, 

2021, seven people died after 

a Nigerian military plane 

crashed in the Federal 

Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. 

It was said to have crashed 

due to an engine failure. The 

plane was on its way to 

Minna, Niger State capital. 

Another incident happened 

on March 31, when an Air 

Force fighter jet, NAF 475 

went off the radar. It was said 

to have lost contact in Borno 

State while on a mission to 

support ground troops. 

once again. We had expected 

that the EFCC under a new 

leadership will learn from the 

mistakes of its predecessors. 

“It is a misplaced priority 

for EFCC to abandon revelations 

of monumental fraud by 

various officials and agencies 

of the federal government to 

pursue the PDP which is the 

main opposition party doing 

a yeoman’s job of preventing 

the descent into chaos and 

anarchy in Nigeria. 

“Perhaps, certain interests 

in government are worried 

about the increasingly assertive 

role the PDP is playing in 

calling out corruption in government 

and wants to weaken 

and silence it. 

“Even the petition in question 

did not make a single 

allegation of misuse of government 

funds , nor cheating 

of any individual or public 

From left: Hon. Oluyemi Adewale, President, Nigerian Minifootball 

Association (NMA), presenting a plaque to Mr. Achraf Ben Salha, President, 

African Minifootball Confederation and Prince Adesina Araoye, Chief 

Operating Officer (COO) Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, during a press briefing 

to announce the approval of Ilaji Sports Stadium for Mini-football African 

Nations cup to be held in Ibadan. 

authority by the PDP. It is 

therefore surprising that 

EFCC should use its scarce 

human and other resources 

to begin an investigation into 

PDP finances . 

“If EFCC is even - handed 

and non-partisan, it should 

also conduct an investigation 

into other political parties 

including APC, the ruling 

party. 

“PDP is up to date in making 

financial returns as required 

by the constitution to 

the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC and we are not aware 

that INEC made any complaints 

to EFCC on PDP’s returns. 

“The times are really perilous. 

We face existential threats 

as a nation and PDP shouldn’t 

be distracted from its main 

role as a political watchdog 

on behalf of Nigerians.” 

Youths responsible for Nigeria’s woes — Bakare 

on the tightrope of faulty 

foundations. 

“There is no gainsaying the 

fact that the present condition 

of our nation is a paradox of 

gargantuan proportion. We 

have the 8th largest proportion 

of arable land in the 

world with about 34 million 

hectares of land available for 

agriculture, yet we are 98th 

out of 107 countries on the 

Global Hunger Index. 

“We have the 11th largest 

proven oil reserves in the 

world and, at a point, Nigeria 

was the world’s 6th largest 

oil producer, yet we rely 

on imported refined petroleum 

products as our domestic 

refineries continue to attempt 

to fly with one wing. 

Over 34 commercially viable 

solid minerals deposits, with 

each state of the federation 

endowed with diverse mineral 

resources; yet, every month, 

the 36 states of the federation 

go to Abuja to receive “pocket 

money,” technically known 

as allocations from the federation 

account, without 

which they cannot survive. We 

are one of the most religious 

countries in the world, yet we 

are among the frontrunners 

in negative indices, from the 

Corruption Perceptions Index 

to the Misery Index. 

“Young Nigerian patriots, 

you can see from this brief 

recourse to history that Nigeria 

was brought to its current 

state, not necessarily by gerontocrats, 

but by mostly young 

Nigerians, some of whom 

had been actively involved in 

governance from their 20’s, 

S 

30’s and 40’s, and some of 

whom are relevant even now. 

It is why I say that youth, in a 

sense, brought us here.” 

We need radical set of 

values—Poju Oyemade 

Speaking during a panel 

session, Pastor Poju Oyemade, 

said the state of nation calls 

for a radical set of values; 

values that are radically different 

from those that created 

the problems people are 

faced with today as a nation, 

“It calls for a new set of ideas; 

superior ideas to the ones that 

led us to this wilderness”. 

Stak 

akeholder 

eholders s call for upgrade of 

infras 

astructure, others s at Warri rebirth 

takeholders from with 

in and outside Delta 

State, have called for urgent 

need to upgrade and build 

new infrastructures in Warri, 

to attract economic development 

to the area. 

The stakeholders who recently 

came together to 

brainstorm on the possibility 

of restoring Warri to its 

former socio-economic life, 

also called for full implementation 

of the Local Content 

laws. 

The online zoom event 

tagged, ‘Why Not Warri’, organized 

by Comrade Rex 

Anighoro, witnessed intense 

deliberations and exchange 

of opinions and ideas for the 

rebirth of the city. 

Anighoro noted that the 

mammoth attendance 

showed that the people were 

concerned and willing to play 

their part to record positive 

changes. 

He affirmed that a working 

document would be created 

to serve as a blueprint to 

derive robust interactions 

with, and record appropriate 

actions from relevant stakeholders 

in different sectors 

aimed at the Warri socio-economic 

rebirth. 

“This will be accompanied 

by a massive road-walk campaign 

to sensitize Deltans on 

the need to shun actions, practices, 

and vices that tarnish 

the Warri brand, and for relevant 

stakeholders to wake up 

to their responsibilities”, Anighoro 

stated. 

The speakers recalled 

when Warri was a mini Nigeria 

when companies littered 

the landscape of the city with 

various tribes and cultures 

domiciled and thrived without 

inhibitions. 

Contributing, the Special 

Adviser to Delta State governor 

on DESOPADEC, Hon. 

Evelyn Oboro, said it has become 

necessary for government 

at state and federal levels 

to upgrade essential infrastructures 

in Warri to enhance 

the living standard of 

the people. Dr. Barry Pere 

Gbe, former Delta State 

Commissioner for Economic 

Planning, harped on the 

need for a short, medium and 

long-term developmental 

plan for Warri, which must be 

followed by successive governments 

to actualise the 

city’s socio-economic rebirth. 

NASCO founder, Nasreddin, dies 

at 96, Lalong mourns 

By Marie-Therese Nanlong 

The founder of NASCO Group of Companies, Ahmed 

Nasreddin, has died at the age of 96. 

The company headquartered in Jos was 

established by the deceased in 1963 to produce 

household items. 

Reacting to the demise, Plateau State 

Governor, Simon Lalong, said the passing 

of the patriarch of the NASCO family is a 

great loss not only to the family but also to 

the people of Plateau and Nigeria at large. 

Lalong, in a statement by his Director of 

Press and Public Affairs, Makut Macham, 

said the late Nasreddin was a visionary 

leader who groomed his company from a 

little beginning to become a major conglomerate. 

Lalong, while consoling the 

family, Management and Staff of the 

NASCO Conglomerate, said the legacies 

of the late business mogul will continue to 

•Nasreddin 

prevail particularly when the company he founded many years 

ago is waxing stronger and being successfully run by his son, 

(Dr) Attia Nasreddin and other members of the family and 

assured the NASCO family of the support and collaboration 

of the Plateau State Government as he prayed God to grant 

the soul of the deceased eternal rest and comfort the family. 

Edo Varsity Uzaire free medical outreach 

begins in 12 communities 

Edo State University Uzaire College of Medical Sciences 

is starting a six – day free medical outreach on Monday, 

May 31. 

According to a statement by the university authorities, the 

outreach, under the first batch, will cover 12 communities 

across Edo. The outreach will cover free screening for hypertension, 

free blood stool and urine tests, free drugs, free surgeries 

and health talk on Covid-19 and other ailments. 

The programme will take place in the Town Halls of the 

following towns: Afuze (June 2-3), Agbede (May 31-June 1), 

Agenebode (May 31-June 1), Ehor (June 2-3), Fugar (May 31- 

June 1), Igarra (June 4-5), Jattu May 31-June 1), Okpella 

(June 4-5), Ososo June 4-5), Sabogida-Ora (June 2-3), Uromi 

(May 31-June 1) and Uzebba (June 2-3). 

It was learnt that the second batch of the outreach would be 

announced at a later date and would cover other communities 

across Edo State. 

African textiles on display on Glo-sponsored 

African Voices Changemakers 

Two respectable artistes will, this week, be guests onAfrican 

Voices Changemakers, Cable News Network’s(CNN) 30- 

minute magazine programme sponsored by telecommunications 

solutions provider, Globacom. 

The guests include South African Justice Mukheli, artist, 

filmmaker, and fine art photographer as well as Mariama 

Camara, a New York—based founder of a leading African 

handmade sustainable textiles and accessories company. 

Mukheli is popular in the South African commercial 

industry for creating “intellectually and emotionally 

dense work” which focus on the genuine African experience 

and harbouring the continued intention to deconstruct 

the negative narrative of Africa and Africans 

on the global stage. 

On her part, Camara emerged from a family of traditional 

tie dyers from the, Kinda Region of Guinea in West 

Africa. Her label, Mariama Fashion Production, a New York 

City-based African handmade sustainable textiles and accessories 

company doubles as a humanitarian agency with a 

consuming interest in textiles and handmade products. 

Through her non-profit organizationThere Is No Limit 

Foundation, Camara has successfully projected the efforts 

and contributions of female tie-dyers from her roots to the 

international market.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021, PAGE 7


BIAFRA: 

Injustice against 

Igbo started under 

Obasanjo 

— Gen Alabi-Isama (2) 

•‘Killing of IPoB leaders won’t stop violence in S/East’ 


In this second part of his interview with Sunday Vanguard, Brigadier General Godwin Alabi- 

Isama (rtd), Staff Officer in the Third Marine Commando during Nigeria’s Civil War, speaks 

on how injustice against the Igbo started in the polity. Alabi-Isama warns that the secessionist 

bid in the South-East is an idea that cannot be eliminated with the killing of the leaders. He 

relives some segments of the Civil War, including how the highest number of casualty was 

recorded under then General Olusegun Obasanjo as war Commander. 

Are you suggesting that banditry, 

Boko Haram insurgency and other 

forms of insecurity in Nigeria can 

end in 15 days? 

Many people may be wondering how 

banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and 

other forms of insecurity can end in 15 

days. I didn’t say I will end it in 15 days. I 

said it can end in 15 days if… Some have 

asked why I am getting involved in the 

Nigerian project despite all they did to 

me. But six years of my military training 

were on tactics and strategy. It was this 

country that trained me and I am still 

passionate about the nation. When I 

discuss issues like that, it is because I am 

concerned. I fought for Nigeria, not for 

Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, or anybody. 

The first point is, if an appreciation of 

what is happening in the country today is 

made, there won’t be Operation Lafiya 

Dole, meaning peace would be achieved 

by force. Rather, what we would have is 

Operation Lafiya. With what is happening 

today, Operation Lafiya is enough. The 

President went abroad and said the money 

for weapons was shared 

as if those in charge 

were going for dinner. 

Senator Ndume, who is 

Senate Committee 

Chairman on Army, also 

said bandits have 

captured many of the 

weapons belonging to 

our military. The 

economy is struggling 

and there is no political 

stability. When you put 

all these together, you 

would do it exactly as I 

did it during the Civil 

War. During the war, I 

told my boss, Gen 

Adekunle, it would take 

only 30 days to finish the 

war. He didn’t believe 

me. The second one, 

Obasanjo, didn’t believe 

me. But as soon as they went away, we 

started the plan. Not only that we were 

able to finish the war within that time 

limit, but we also finished it on the 24th 

day. People couldn’t believe it. The same 

thing happened in the case of Maitatsine. 

People didn’t believe me when I said we 

would end the crisis in 30 days, but I went 

there and finished it in 15 days. In this 

case, I am saying we should forget about 

the fighting. The economy is struggling. 

And it’s in big trouble. There is no political 

stability. Everybody is unhappy. We 

started from militants to Boko Haram , 

kidnapping and banditry. They are now 

kidnapping foreigners. A judge was 

kidnapped while sitting in court. This is 

called a dirty war and the answer to a 

dirty war is very simple: diffuse the project 

completely. Whether we like it or not, we 

would still discuss with Boko Haram 

insurgents. We would still discuss with 

herdsmen. We would still discuss with 

every element in the crisis. 

Re-strategise 

Why don’t we discuss it now? Let 

government call everybody together and 

hold a meeting anywhere it wishes. They 

should tell government what their pains 

are so that government would see what it 

can do about that. The more weapons you 

buy, the more weapons the bandits would 

steal from you, according to Senator 

Ndume. Since the President said people 

had stolen money for weapons, let us restrategise. 

Therefore, let us call Boko 

Haram leader, leader of bandits, herders 

and everybody concerned because the 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

•OBJ didn’t end Civil War, he lost 1, 

500 soldiers to Biafrans in one hour 

•How Akinrinade ended war 

•Women, party in Justice Aniagolu’s 

house & how life returned to Enugu 

after battle 

•Gowon feared Adekunle might 

organize coup after war 

money we are voting for weapons can be 

used to rehabilitate these people and their 

victims. We would achieve more results 

that way and achieve more political 

stability and economic growth. I have 

done it before and I am telling them to do 

it. I am 80 years old. There is nothing I 

am looking for in Nigeria. There is 

nothing that I wanted in Nigeria that I 

haven’t got. I am an old man and I am 

interested in having the issue resolved. And 

•General Alabi-Isama 

the issue is: how do we do it? Who is 

benefiting from the chaos? The whole 

country is experiencing food crisis 

because farmers can no longer go to 

farms. The farmers are afraid to go to 

their farms. That will also affect the 

economy. That is why government should 

diffuse the whole system. And I am 

assuring you that this dirty war would end 

immediately. There is no need to blame 

anybody again. It has been 11 years of 

destruction and deaths. 

Don’t you think dialoguing with 

the elements that have taken up 

arms against the state would mean 

admittance of failure on the part of 

government? 

The Vietnam War lasted for so long. The 

people of Vietnam defeated America and 

France. They still went to Geneva to 

discuss. These people are Nigerians. You 

can’t kill all of them. It is an idea. You 

can’t kill an idea with weapons. The more 

people die, the more people will pity them 

and join them. There is a need for a 

strategy for trust and peace. The situation 

does not require buying more weapons. 

You should pity the soldiers and the police, 

they are tired. As an 80-year-old man and 

a war veteran, I have never seen the way 

they are killing policemen and soldiers 

before. It is a disaster. There are deaths 

everywhere. Let us diffuse the whole 

system, let our economy start to grow and 

let people believe in our country. Because 

it is a dirty war, you now find IPoB, you 

now find some people in the Niger Delta 

and others in the South-West. And the 

pattern would continue to multiply. We 

can’t continue to fight a dirty war. This is 

not the time of ego. This is the time of 

understanding. Let their emirs and 

religious leaders bring them for 

discussion. Let us have Operation Lafiya 

and not Lafiya Dole. The dialogue should 

include IPoB, Oduduwa agitators, 

bandits, Boko Haram, kidnappers and 

others. Let us talk now before it is too late. 

11 years of fighting are enough because 

it doesn’t look as if the conflict will end 

next year. Many people are criticising 

these suggestions, but they are not coming 

up with better suggestions. What are they 

suggesting to ensure there would be no 

war? Let us listen to whatever they are 

asking for. We are spending so much on 

this dirty war because the centre of gravity 

of any dirty war is logistics. 

Former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo did not reply to your claim 

that he didn’t win the Civil War for 

Nigeria but he only claimed credit. 

It is like he accepted the claim or 

Continues on page 9


'OBJ didn’t end Civil War, he lost 1, 500 soldiers to Biafrans in one hour' 


what do you think? 

I think you already answered the 

question. He could not reply for many 

reasons. The first one was that he was not 

at the war front with us. General Adekunle 

worked so hard as Commander. He would 

pick the dead. He would pick the 

wounded, remove his shirt and attend to 

them. He was a busy Commander. He was 

somebody I would always like to work 

with. At one point, I told my boss, 

Adekunle, “You are getting tired.” It was 

just like me driving from Ilorin to Lagos 

for my 80th birthday celebration. What 

did I do when I arrived in Lagos? I was 

just drinking and dancing. Many people 

of my age would have collapsed having 

driven six hours from Ilorin. Adekunle 

and Obasanjo were two different people. 

I didn’t know Obasanjo very well but 

Akinrinade did. We went to General 

Gowon and suggested changing Adekunle 

because of his tiredness. But you see, in 

my new research, I discovered they didn’t 

trust him anymore. They thought he was 

an officer that could organise a coup after 

the war because he had so many Yoruba 

officers around him. They did not trust 

any of us, particularly I. I have found 

some letters and other documents 

Adekunle wrote to Gowon and almost 

everybody, including the Chief of Staff, 

but they starved him of supplies. It was 

too late for the North. I think they wanted 

to capture Nigeria through the war but it 

was too late. The Chief of Staff and 

Akinrinade had enough reserve to finish 

the war. When we went to brief Obasanjo 

in Ibadan, it was a very difficult situation. 

Akinrinade asked me to do the talking. 

We told him the war would end in 30 days. 

After talking for about two hours, the man 

didn’t offer us a drink. He asked us, “How 

do you know that Ihiala is the center of 

gravity of Biafra?” I said, “I don’t know 

the training school you attended but the 

one I attended showed me that Ihiala is 

the center of gravity of Biafra.” I asked 

Akinrinade to continue with the talk 

because I was tired. We had told him that 

it will take 30 days to end the war. 

Anytime the battle was hot, Obasanjo 

would go and brief Gowon. We told him, 

“Oga, we don’t need to capture Ohoba to 

end the Civil War”. We didn’t want to run 

the Marine Commando like One Division. 

We didn’t want to go from village to 

village. We just wanted to capture key 

areas and end the war. He didn’t quite 

understand. He even told us he wasn’t 

going to the war front. He said we 

suggested his name so that he will die on 

the war front. We told him that we were 

also peoples’ children. We just told him to 

remain where he was and let us finish the 

war in 30 days. The man was there for six 

months and people were dying. We 

advised him against going to Ohoba, but 

he went to Ohoba and lost 1, 500 soldiers 

in one hour of battle. 

Have you seen Obasanjo of late…? 

I was one of the speakers at his 80th 

birthday in October 2014 in Abuja. After 

my speech, he said “Alabi, you didn’t even 

mention your being Kirikiri for 15 days. I 

didn’t put you in Kirikiri.” I replied, “Your 

Excellency, God put me in Kirikiri, but 

He had to use somebody and He used you 

to keep me there and I am alive today. 

Where are the other soldiers? Everybody 

died except me talking to you now. It is by 

His grace, favour and mercy that I am 

here in front of you.” To end that story, 

Gowon sent an order and we briefed him 

that it will take 30 days to end the war 

and that we were tired as it was our third 

year at the war front. Anyway, when 

Obasanjo arrived, he thought we were in 

the barracks and said he wanted to 

“inspect this and that”. And our soldiers 

were dying. The Biafrans defeated us at 

Ohoba with his plan after we told him 

not to go. Biafrans were emboldened by 

their success and were also coming to 

capture Port Harcourt. If they had 

captured Port Harcourt, I would have still 

defeated them. We made a plan. As he 

(Obasanjo) left for Lagos to brief General 

Gowon, Akinrinade called Yoruba officers 

namely Anifowoshe, Obade, Oni, Tuoyo 

and Isemede. Akinrinade was not a 

Commander but a staff officer. He took 

the officers and they went. Innih (George 

Innih) had 3,000 troops that were 

supposed to join Akinrinade’s 4, 000 

troops to make 7,000. Obasanjo now took 

Innih to Arochukwu. We didn’t need to 

capture Arochukwu to end the war. That 

was where we were going. It was such a 

diversionary movement. Anyway, 

Akinrinade was not happy. He told 

Obasanjo that he would kill Innih if he 

saw him but it was not Innih’s fault, it 

was the Commander that gave him the 

wrong order. Akinrinade ended the civil 

war with 4, 000 soldiers. 

General Akinrinade ended the war? 

That was how the Marine Commando 

ended the war. In line with our plan, I was 

sent to Enugu. When I got to Enugu at 

One Division, there was nobody in Enugu 

town. The war was still on. I went there as 

Quarter Master General and saw the way 

they were fighting. I didn’t like it. I went 

to Shuah who was the Commander and 

requested that I wanted to organize a 

party. He asked if I was crazy. He said I 

was thinking One Division was like 

Marine Commando. “This is One 

Division, the heart of Igboland”, he said. 

I answered, “Sir, I captured Afikpo in 24 

hours. If you permit me to organise a 

party, you will see how it will go.” “Who 

are you going to dance with?” he 

asked and I told him there were 

women around. He said there was 

nobody in town but I insisted, 

saying “just permit me to 

organize the party and you 

would see what I will 

achieve”. It was in Justice 

Aniagolu’s house. We went 

out looking for women 

and got about four of 

them. They were 

crying that we came 

to capture them. We 

told them they 

were not 

captives. When 

we got to the 

house, I served 

them the food I 

had prepared 

and some 

drinks. They 

were too shy to 

eat the food and 

I said, “Look I 

am going out for 

five minutes, if I 

come back and 

you still have 

not eaten the 

food, I will take 

away my food 

and drink”. 

Before I came 

back, they had 

finished the 

food. Then I 

played music 

and we began 

dancing. Then I went and called Shuah, 

the Commander. He opened the door and 

saw what I had arranged and said “Alabi, 

you again?” I said “Oga, no problem, if I 

do anything wrong, sack me from the 

Army”. Afterwards, I took the women to 

their various homes. They were shocked. 

One Nigeria 

Before the death of Justice 

Aniagolu, I went to his 

house with one lady called 

Perpetual Onyejekwe and I 

greeted him. He had a lot of 

drinks. I painted the picture 

of his house and how I 

cleaned it up after the party. 

He said they told him it was 

one Yoruba man that did it 

though I am a Delta man. 

When we dropped the women 

off they said, “Don’t come to 

capture us next time but if 

there is a party, inform us so 

we can bring our sisters.” 

From then, I could just send 

my driver to pick them up 

whenever there was a party. 

Remember the war was still 

on and Marine Commando 

was still moving on. There 

was a lady called Maria. 

There was no toothpaste, no 

toothbrush. In fact, there was 

nothing in Enugu. We sent 

this girl to Lagos, gave her some money 

to buy things and she started selling in 

Enugu. Within 24 hours, she sold 

everything she bought. At the time, there 

was a band in Nigeria called 

Geraldopino. That was the best band in 

Lagos at that time. We brought it to Enugu 

to play. This is just to tell you how we got 

people back in Enugu the Marine 

Commando way. We were saying we could 

have one Nigeria. We were not fighting to 

kill Biafrans but to achieve one Nigeria. 

Biafra defeated us at Ohoba, Aba, Owerri 

and Orlu. We had to sit down and think 

about what caused it. The cause of the 

defeat was more important than anything 

else. Why should we lose Aba? The same 

thing happened at Ohoba where we lost 

1, 500 soldiers in an hour. That was the 

highest number of soldiers we ever lost. 

From Calabar to Port Harcourt, only eight 

soldiers and two officers were lost in one 

hour battle, but we lost 1, 500 soldiers 

under Obasanjo in one hour. The Marine 

Commando was moving, but One Division 

was not moving. Marine Commando had 

no arrangement for spending the night 

anywhere but was always on the move. 

That was how we got 

people into Enugu. 

My mother came to 

Enugu at the time. 

When Akinrinade 

called Obasanjo 

and said “Oga, e 

done finish o, 

Biafra say dey no 

fight again”, 

Obasanjo got lost. 

He didn’t know 

where to go 

Your mother came 

to Enugu? 

My mother was in 

the war front, 

advancing with us. 

She felt that “if this 

boy should die, the 

next bullet should kill 

her. This boy must not 

die”. When the war 

ended, we hugged 

each other. That was 

how the Nigerian 

Civil War ended. 

When Akinrinade 

radioed Obasanjo to 

say the war had ended, 

the Biafran officers 

who gathered with 

their soldiers did not 

surrender with their 

hands up. The officers 

said, “We are not fighting anymore. What 

are the terms and conditions? We have to 

go and meet Gowon.” That was how they 

came to meet Gowon and that was how 

the war ended. When Akinrinade called 

Obasanjo and said “Oga, e done finish o, 

Biafra say dey no fight again”, Obasanjo 

got lost. He didn’t know where to go. If 

you were the Commander, where did you 

send your troops? Obasanjo could not 

argue with me. He didn’t know but he was 

the boss. There is nothing wrong with you 

being the boss. I was telling him “don’t 

do it that way”, but he did it his way and 

so many soldiers died. 

The issues then are the same issues 

troubling Nigeria now with calls for 

Biafra rising in the South-East. How 

do you feel? 

Igbo want to bring Biafra back because 

they didn’t get justice from 

Nigeria. You journalists 

know. I wish I were a 

journalist because you 

report news, you don’t 

make it. If it is fake news, 

government will step in 

and give us the real 

news. Let me give 

you an example of 

the injustice I 

mentioned. Joint 

Admissions and 

Matriculation 

Board, JAMB, was 

established in 1978 

by the Obasanjo 

administration, not 

the 

Buhari 

administration. But we 

blame Buhari for 

almost everything. For 

instance, the railway to 

Maradi was not started by the 

Buhari administration. It was 

started during the Jonathan 

administration. RUGA wasn’t created 

by Buhari. The Land Use Decree was 

promulgated by the Obasanjo 

regime. When you are talking 

about justice, it started 

from JAMB. They said 

10 percent will come 

from town A, 50 

percent will come 

from town B. 70 

percent will 

come from 

Town C and all 

that. These 

children 

attended the 

same Law 

School. They 

knew one 

another and 

t h e n 

government 

promoted 

30 judges 

out of 

which 24 

came from 

•General Alabi-Isama 

the North, 

according 

to the 

story we 

r e a d . 

F o u r 

c a m e 

from the South-West and two from the 

South-South. No single one was from the 

South-East. This South- East was the one 

that made 60 percent in JAMB. How do 

you justify that? 

IPoB 

They felt that it was wrong. There is 

injustice. This is just one of the numerous 

examples. But, if that story is not correct, 

government did not say anything. Maybe 

if we look at the totality of all the lawyers 

in Nigeria, we will discover that the North 

had less. Easterners felt aggrieved among 

many other reasons. For instance, there 

was a piece of news, whether fake or not, 

that the Army and Police killed IPoB 

leader. If it was that easy to kill IPoB 

leader, why has Shekau (Boko Haram 

leader) not been killed? Everybody will 

begin to wonder why things are happening 

like this. In 11 years, we could not defeat 

Boko Haram. It is not Buhari’s fault. He 

didn’t start it, he inherited it but he could 

end it. The painful part of it was that he 

granted an interview to a white lady at CNN 

in London during which the lady asked 

about the civil war in Nigeria and Buhari 

told her that his officers and Commanders 

shared the money he gave them to buy 

weapons as if they were sharing cake. Today, 

nobody has refuted that report with its video 

clips as evidence. But the same President 

dismissed a journalist on arrival with a 

wave of hand even after a very warm 

greeting aimed at getting his attention. You 

will go abroad and respond to a white 

journalist’s question by disclosing to her the 

information you should have given us at 

home so that we can understand your 

problem. 

What do you think of IPoB, 

MASSOB? 

I think they are doing what they are doing 

as a result of pain. You know that pain 

speaks. Killing their leaders will not prevent 

them from their operations. Osama Bin 

Laden was killed several years ago but Al- 

Qaeda is still there. It is an idea that has to 

be defeated with a superior one. That was 

what happened to the Nigerian Civil War. 

The people started to trust Nigerian troops. 

Government said they are capable of 

handling the situation. But people are dying 

in the North and crying in the South.


OPEN GRAZING BAN: 

Benue educates 

southern govs 

• ‘We legally confronted rogue herdsmen 

who massacred our people, you too can do it’ 

By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

When on May 22, 2017 Governor 

Samuel Ortom signed into law the 

Benue State Open Grazing 

Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Bill, 

he was castigated by many, particularly 

powerful forces in Abuja, and some of his 

fellow governors who took out time to bash 

him on all fronts. 

But the governor stood his ground, 

insisting that the will of the people would 

never be subverted to satisfy the forces 

irritated by the collective resolve of the 

people to introduce ranching in the state to 

curb the menace of rogue herdsmen in 

several communities across Benue. 

Recalling why the law came into being, 

the state Attorney General and 

Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Mike Gusa, 

had noted that between February 2013 and 

May 13, 2017, Benue experienced 46 

attacks by suspected armed herders. 

The attacks, according to him, among 

others, “resulted in the death of over 1,541 

people and massive destruction of farmland, 

food and cash crops as well as property worth 

over N400billion in 15 out of the 23 LGAs 

of the state.” 

It was against that backdrop that the 

massive plundering of the state could not be 

left to continue unchecked and, with the 

support of the people of Benue, the 

administration sent an Executive Bill to the 

State Assembly to have the law prohibiting 

open grazing in the state enacted. 

Ortom was vilified by very powerful forces 

for that valorous initiative just like the salvo 

fired by the Minister of Justice and Attorney 

General of the Federation, Mallam 

Abubakar Malami, castigating southern 

governors for banning open grazing in their 

respective states. 

In the case of Benue, there was immediate 

gang-up against the governor to ensure that 

the process was aborted. 

But Ortom remained adamant, saying the 

bill, which was a product of the majority of 

his people who earnestly desired to put an 

end to rouge herdsmen killings in the state 

would not be undermined. 

And after a six months window period, 

which allowed owners of cattle in the state 

to get acquainted with the provisions of the 

law and to comply accordingly, the state 

government, in November 2017, 

commenced the full implementation of the 

law. 

But that notwithstanding, the resistance 

to the law, especially by groups like Miyetti 

Allah Cattle Breeders Association of 

Nigeria, MACBAN, and Miyetti Allah 

Kautal Hore, MAKH, gained momentum. 

They vowed to resist the provisions of the 

law. 

Massacre 

And on New Year day of 

2018, the unexpected 

happened. 

Communities in Logo 

and Guma Local 

Government Areas, LGAs, 

came under coordinated 

attacks by suspected 

herdsmen which claimed 

about 100 lives in what 

many believed was the 

darkest day in the history 

of Benue. 

That massacre marked 

the commencement of 

serial killing of defenseless 

Benue farmers after the 

law came into force. 

While this went on, 

Ortom was disparaged by forces both from 

within and outside the state. 

Benue stood alone at the mercy of armed 

herders. 

But the people were resolute and the 

governor never budged even when it became 

obvious that his life might be at risk if he 

refused to succumb. 

The people across tribal and political party 

lines on their part rallied round him. 

They took turns to embark on protest 

marches against the attacks fired at the 

governor. 

In fact, half nude Benue women had to 

step into the fray. 

But the killings in Benue continued 

unabated. 

The governor and stakeholders 

demanded for a military operation to end 

the killings and ensure that the law was fully 

I advise the governors 

of the southern states 

to understudy Benue, 

key into what they have 

done and replicate 

same in their 

respective states 

enforced. 

That demand was approved after so much 

outcry and hot exchanges between top 

federal government functionaries and the 

people of Benue. 

Operations 

Then-Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. Tukur 

Buratai, in February 2018, flagged off a 

military operation in the state, code named 

Exercise Ayem 

K’Akpatuma (cat race), to 

stem the attacks and 

killings despite the extant 

law. 

But the military 

exercise failed to contain 

the rogue herdsmen and 

due to persistent outcry, 

on May 18, 2018, the 

military announced its 

replacement with 

Operation Whirl Stroke. 

Then-Acting Director 

of Defence Information, 

Brig. Gen. John Agim, 

said the operation, which 

had the components of all 

the military services, the 

police and Department of 

State Service, DSS, had 

began. 

That operation, led by 

Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, no doubt, ensured 

that relative peace returned to Benue 

communities. 

The security personnel also, to the limit of 

available personnel and hardware or 

weapons, strived to ensure that the grazing 

law was respected and those who flouted it 

arrested and prosecuted accordingly. 

And in a rare show of love for a sitting 

governor seeking a second in office, the 

people fell head over heels to demonstrate 

their unanimity to have Ortom back in office 

during the 2019 general elections when they 

overwhelmingly gave him a resounding 

victory in the governorship poll despite the 

gang-up by very powerful forces to deny him 

re-election. 

Today, the governor has been venerated 

for introducing that law. 

Benue is enjoying relative peace, though 

there are still records of attacks in 

communities across the state but certainly 

not in the magnitude witnessed in the past. 

The state has also become a reference 

point and a model for other states which 

saw no reason or justification for the 

enactment of a grazing law in any part of 

the country. 

Just recently, governors of southern states 

at a meeting in Delta State resolved to adopt 

the Benue model by banning open grazing 

in their respective states to stem rouge 

herdsmen crisis. 

Lessons 

The pertinent question is if there are 

lessons the southern governors can learn 

from the Benue experience. 

According to the President of Benue Youth 

Forum, BYF, and Interim Coordinator of 

Forum of Presidents of Youth Organisations 

in the Middle Belt Region, Comrade 

Terrence Kuanum, the resolve of the 

governors was the best lesson available to 

them to stem rogue herdsmen menace in 

that part of the country. 

Kuanum was also of the opinion that the 

governors have lots to take away from the 

Benue experience if the ban on open grazing 

in southern states would turn out a success 

as well as achieve its purpose. 

“The governors must show sincerity of 

purpose and tenacity to ensure that their 

position is not compromised”, he said. 

“They must ignore whatever threats and 

outlandish remarks that come from the 

forces in Abuja like the recent one by the 

Attorney General of the Federation who said 

the ban was illegal and comparable to a 

ban on the sale of car spare parts in the 

North. 

“We passed through the same road in 

Benue, in fact they conspired to impeach 

the governor of Benue and, when that failed, 

they turned to the general elections and 

made efforts to stop him from getting a 

second term in office after they gave him a 

red card and chased him away from the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, for standing 

with the people of Benue. 

“But in all his travails, Benue people stood 

with him and demonstrated their love for 

him during the 2019 general elections 

because he did not sell out and was prepared 

to stake his life for them. That is true 

leadership that is rare in this part of the 

world. 

“So the southern governors must avoid 

anything that would break their ranks and 

resolve to ensure that open grazing is banned 

in that part of the country. 

“They must ensure that the people of their 

respective states are in the picture of their 

decision. 

“And finally, they must take a step further 

by sending a bill to their respective Houses 

of Assembly to enact a law backing their 

decision in order to give that decision legal 

teeth just like we did in Benue.” 

On his part, Chairman of the leaders of 

Benue socio-cultural organisations and 

President General of Mzough U Tiv, MUT, 

Worldwide, Chief Iorbee Ihagh, cautioned 

that history would not be kind to any of the 

governors who, for whatever reason, 

betrayed the joint resolution of the people 

of the South to ban open grazing. 

He advised the governors to formalize the 

decision by borrowing the Benue grazing 

law, prepare and send a similar bill to their 

respective state Houses of Assembly for 

deliberation during which public hearings 

would be conducted as done in Benue to 

carry the people along and get their inputs 

before passage. 

“That was what Benue did and, today, we 

have a law that fully represents the wishes, 

aspirations and desires of our people who 

see the law as their own”, he said. 

“And that is why our people would remain 

ever grateful to Governor Samuel Ortom 

who ensured that the wishes of the people 

were captured in the Executive Bill that was 

sent to the state Assembly for passage into 

law. 

“The governors should simply reenact the 

Benue example in their respective states by 

giving the people the law that would ban 

open grazing and allow whoever wants to 

compare the ban to car spare parts sale to 

continue to have his say even when 

exhibiting his primordial sentiments.” 

On his part, the Convener of Middle Belt 

Movement for Justice and Peace, MBMJP, 

Comrade Joe Bukka said, “Is it not strange 

that just three to four years ago the Benue 

state governor said someday, just like June 

12, Nigerians would embrace ranching and 

it is happening so soon? 

“No doubt Nigeria is facing one of the 

worst security challenges and the menace 

of herdsmen is fueling the crisis. 

“It is not lost on anyone that Benue, which 

had suffered most from the menace of these 

marauders, opted to legislate against open 

grazing and it is working for them. 

“I advise the governors of the southern 

states to understudy Benue, key into what 

they have done and replicate same in their 

respective states to protect the lives and 

property of the people from arms wielding 

herdsmen on a mission plunder our 

country.”

Email:biolasobowale@yahoo.com 

Phone Number: 07081372829 

Twitter:@DrDeleSobowale 

Instagram:delesobowalefranklyspeaking 

Website: www.delesobowale.com 

Wada Nas,Buhari 

needs you 

“What experience and 

history teach is that people and 

governments never have learnt 

anything from history; or acted 

on principles deducted from it” 

- George Hegel, 1770-1833, 

VANGUARD BOOK OF 

QUOTATIONS, 

B 

VBQ, p 92. 

abangida read a lot of 

history. I know that 

because I spent weeks in his 

library at Minna and saw the 

books he read; the notes he 

wrote on the margins of great 

classics. Obasanjo hates 

history. He abused his 

presidential powers by having 

history removed from schools 

curriculum. No greater crime 

can be committed by a leader 

against his people. Some 

philosophers have argued that 

the opposite of love is not 

hatred; but indifference. In 

that case Buhari is indifferent 

to history. In six years as 

elected President, he has 

demonstrated that his 

decisions are not guided by 

any reference to historical 

precedents and their 

repercussions. He and his 

closest aides, especially 

spokesmen, have repeatedly 

fallen into the same manholes 

as governments before 

their own. Enter Wada Nas. 

WHO IS WADA NAS? 

“Those who do not 

remember the past are 

condemned to repeat it” - 

George Santayana, 1863- 

1952, VBQ p 93. 

You are forgiven if you are 

less than 30 years old or if you 

don’t know Wada Nas. But, 

Joyfulhomes 

2015@gmail.com 

A season of love for children 

Brethren, in a couple of 

days it would be 

Children’s Day. It 

doesn’t matter what type of 

childhood experience you 

had, the fact is, you were once 

a child. 

What was the attitude of our 

Lord Jesus to children? 

Matthew 19 vs. 13 -15 

(KJV) is our reference point. 

It states: “ Then were brought 

unto him little children, that 

he should put his hands on 

them, and pray: and the 

disciples rebuked them. 

But Jesus said, Suffer little 

children, and forbid them not, 

to come unto me: for of such 

is the kingdom of heaven. 

And he laid his hands on 

them. and departed thence”. 

Our Lord Jesus loved 

children though he didn’t have 

any biological child. His 

mission on earth was not to 

come and bear children. 

If we are to live a Christ - 

like life, it shouldn’t matter if 

you have a child or not. Show 

love to children. 

God loves children and 

wants us to have them. 

Psalm 127 gives us a broad 

those over 40, and who have 

been reading these pages since 

General Sani Abacha’s 

draconian and extremely 

corrupt rule, should 

remember Wada Nas. He was 

Abacha’s Senior Special 

Adviser for Special Duties. In 

less than two years after his 

appointment I changed his 

name on this page to Wada 

Nasty. We, Wada and Dele, 

were regular customers during 

the Abacha years. Wada was 

known for one thing while in 

Aso Rock. He could detect 

plots to overthrow the Abacha 

regime hatched on the moon 

by unnamed men without 

leaving Abuja. 

On one occasion, Wada 

called a Press Conference to 

announce that the Federal 

Government had uncovered a 

plot by some dissidents who 

met for three days in Ghana 

at a hotel he named. Nigerians 

were asked to be careful; 

otherwise Abacha’s transition 

to civil rule could be aborted. 

I was only two years on the 

Sunday paper. But, I had a job 

to do. 

Sensing that Wada was 

lying, I went to the Ghana 

High Commission in Lagos 

and asked the lady at the 

tourism desk how to book 

accommodation at the hotel 

mentioned when I reach 

Ghana in a week’s time. She 

brought out a Directory of 

Hotels in Ghana; looked 

several times and then 

informed me, “There is no 

hotel by that name in Ghana”. 

The following Sunday, on this 

very page, I informed 

perception of what children 

mean to the Lord. Verses 3-7 

are specific: “ Lo, children 

are an heritage of the LORD: 

and the fruit of the womb is 

his reward. 

As arrows are in hand of 

mighty man; so are the 

children of the youth. 

Happy is the man that hath 

his quiver full of them: they 

shall not be ashamed but they 

shall speak with the enemies 

in the gate”. 

Brethren, the arrival of a 

child into the home brings joy. 

That is why people 

congratulate parents of a 

newborn baby. 

However, a delay in child 

bearing does not mean that 

God’s commandment that we 

should bear children has 

failed. 

The Lord’s command in 

Genesis 1 vs. 28 is 

unambiguous. “ And God 

blessed them, and God said 

unto them, Be fruitful, and 

multiply, and replenish the 

earth, and subdue it: and have 

dominion over the fish of the 

sea, and over the fowl of the 

Nigerians that Wada had lied 

to us about a meeting in a 

hotel in Ghana which does 

not exist. The next day, I was 

at Awolowo Road being 

grilled by Security Officers. 

“Are you saying the Federal 

Government is lying?” 

“No, I am saying there is 

no hotel by that name in 

Ghana; and here is a 

photocopy of the names of 

hotel starting with “P” in 

Ghana which I got from the 

High Commission”. 

After four hours in an 

isolation room the call came. 

“You can go; but, stop writing 

nonsense about government.” 

Wada Nasty continued with 

his tall tales about coup plots 

against Abacha until the 

General was divinely 

removed from office. I 

continued to address him as 

Wada Nasty. 

FAST FORWARD TO 2021 

“History does not repeat 

itself; man does” - Prof. 

Barbara Tuchmann. 

The African seldom wrote 

his own history. Incidentally, 

I am just putting the finishing 

touches to The History of a 

Community in Omuo-Ekiti. 

It is my first attempt to try and 

help a Nigerian community 

write its history up to 2021 as 

a foundation for future 

updates. Perhaps, if we write 

and study our own history, 

governments will stop 

repeating the same costly 

mistakes – which impede our 

progress. We simply cannot 

continue this way. 

More than two weeks ago, 

a very senior spokesman for 

the Buhari administration 

made this press release: 

“Further unimpeachable 

evidence shows that the 

disruptive elements are now 

recruiting the leadership of 

Deny yourself some 

sleep, make it habit to 

pray anytime between 12 

midnight and 4 a.m, It 

provides you an 

opportunity to pour your 

heart unto the Lord 

air, and over everything that 

moveth upon the earth”. 

Deuteronomy 14 vs. 12-14 

also gives an insight into the 

mind of God with regards to 

child bearing. We are told of 

what the attitude of God would 

be to us if we “ hearken to his 

judgements”, obey him and 

keep his covenant. 

Verses 13 &14 “ And he will 

love thee, and bless thee, and 

multiply thee: he will also 

bless the fruit of the womb, 

and the fruit of thy land, thy 

corn, and thy wine, and thine 

oil, the increase of thy kine, 

and the flocks of thy sheep, in 

the land which he sware unto 

thy fathers to give thee. 

Thou shalt be blessed above 

all people: there shall not be 

male or female barren among 

you, or among your cattle”. 

No doubt God wants us to 

have children. 

Women like Sarah, 

Hannah, Rebecca, Elizabeth 

the mother of John the Baptist 

and Rachael, just to mention 

a few had delays with childbearing 

but with the Lord on 

their side and they on the 

All governments, 

especially the FG, know 

they cannot afford to 

maintain their bloated 

civil service; but are 

afraid to say so 

some ethnic groups and 

politicians round the country, 

with the intention of 

convening some sort of 

conference, where a vote of no 

confidence would be passed 

on the President; thus 

throwing the land into further 

turmoil.” 

Wada was not an Editor 

before he started issuing 

rumours and outright lies as 

official report. But, today we 

have people working for 

Buhari, an elected President, 

writing the same sort of stuff 

as Wada Nas, a spokesman 

for a dictatorship. Their own 

is even worse. At least, Wada 

forced me to hot-foot it to the 

Ghana High Commission to 

expose the falsehood. These 

guys have produced no real 

evidence in two weeks to 

substantiate their bogus 

claim. The recruiters have not 

been arrested; those recruited 

have not been apprehended 

and the recruiting agents are 

still at large – apparently free 

to create havoc with FG’s 

permission. What is wrong 

with us? Or what is wrong with 

the people in governments? 

THE IN-LAW AS OUTLAW 

“Man wanted for $65m 

fraud no longer Buhari’s sonin-law” 

– Presidency 

Just as I was wondering 

what Nigerians have done to 

enter into this “one chance” 

entrapment called Buhari 

administration, this heartrending 

bit of bad news 

arrived to end a dreadful 

second week in May. This 

time, it was another 

presidential spokesman who 

was addressing us. His 

comments are reproduced 

Lord’s side, they broke 

through. 

You too can have a break 

through. You must realize 

that delay in childbearing 

didn’t begin with you and it 

will not end with you. 

What is sure is that with you 

on the Lord’s side, you will be 

a mother. 

If only you believe. Psalm 

119 vs. 89: “ For ever, O 

LORD, thy word is settled in 

heaven”. 

Hebrews 11 vs. 11: “ 

Through faith also Sara 

herself received strength to 

conceive seed; and was 

delivered of a child when she 

was past age, because she 

judged him faithful who had 

promised”. 

I don’t need to be told that 

you are not as old as Sarah, 

so why get depressed? 

In the name of Jesus, the 

days of waiting for you will 

soon be over. 

Do we also realize that there 

are some people who have a 

child and are still craving to 

have more? Some have a 

girl and want a boy. Others 

want a boy and desire to have 

girls. 

As Christians, we must 

realize that God gives us the 

gender of the child; HE 

knows is best for us. 

However, for those who 

have none at all, the attitude 

should not be that of hostility 

towards children. Rather, 

show them love, care for them. 

You may mark children’s 

day with a visit to an 


first – because that is fact and 

sacred. My comments will 

follow. 

“To set the records straight, 

the person declared wanted by 

the ICPC is not an in-law to 

President Buhari. While at 

some point in time, the said 

fugitive from justice had been 

linked to a family member in 

marriage, that relationship 

had ended some years ago. It 

is therefore unfortunate to 

bring the President’s family 

into this case. It is, in our view, 

an attempt to generate views 

and sell copies of sensational 

reporting” - Garba Shehu, 

Senior Special Assistant to the 

President 

Let me start with the last line. 

In which country – USA, 

China, Japan, Germany, 

South Korea to mention a few 

– is the embezzlement of $65m 

not front page news? Would 

Garba as Editor have tossed 

it in the dust bin as sensational 

and unworthy of publication? 

Furthermore, what is wrong 

with selling copies of papers? 

It is unpardonable ingratitude 

for someone who, for years, 

fed on copies sold and rose to 

prominence to now turn 

around to ridicule others 

wanting to climb to stardom 

the same way. Absolutely 

detestable! 

Meanwhile, what are the 

facts available to the media 

on which to base their reports; 

which Garba considers 

“sensational”? First, Mr 

Kumo, whose name Garba 

could not even bring himself 

to call, was or is a son-in-law 

to the President. Garba knows 

that he was married to Fatima 

– Buhari’s daughter - in 2016. 

This is May 2021. So, for 

Garba to say the relationship 

“ended years ago” is 

deliberately deceptive. Four 

and a half years cannot be 

described that way. That, 

however, is a minor issue 

compared to what Garba 

knew but left unsaid. 

“Even God cannot change 

the past” - Agathon, 447-401 

BC 

Was the fraud committed 

while the couple was still 

married? If so, he committed 

it as a son-in-law to the 

President. All the attempts to 

muddy the waters with 

puerile words will not erase 

orphanage with gifts or sow a 

seed in the children’s 

department of your church. 

While waiting, I was a 

worker in the Children’s 

department. Nearly all of us 

there were women waiting on 

the Lord for children. 

It was during one of those 

services that the first sign of 

pregnancy manifested. I 

experienced what doctors 

call ‘ morning sickness’. 

To the glory of God every one 

of us that worked regularly in 

that department are now 

mothers. 

There are several ways that 

we can sow seeds for childbearing. 

A couple may decided 

to financially and morally 

support a couple blessed with 

multiple babies especially 

those who do not have the 

means to fully take care of 

such babies. The LORD that 

sees what we do in secret will 

surely reward in a manner 

that all eyes would see. 

Brothers and sisters, the time 

of waiting could be the Lord’s 

test of your faith. Don’t fail 

yourself, don’t fail God. 

Remain steadfast, pray, 

praise the Lord, make 

sacrificial offerings and be 

guided by the Holy Spirit. 

A piece of advise for would 

be mothers. 

Deny yourself some sleep, 

make it habit to pray anytime 

between 12 midnight and 4 

a.m. It provides you an 

opportunity to pour your heart 

unto the Lord like Hannah 

and the Lord will give you a 

that truth. Furthermore, who 

appointed Kumo as 

Managing Director of the 

Federal Mortgage Bank of 

Nigeria, FMBN? If Buhari, it 

is totally irrelevant whether he 

is or was an in-law. He is now 

an outlaw – who was once 

husband of Fatima Buhari. 

One might as well ask, when 

did the marriage end? And, 

was it legally terminated? 

Mere separation, for a few 

years, does not constitute a 

divorce. So, unless the 

marriage had been 

terminated according to 

Sharia Law, he is still Buhari’s 

son-in-law. 

Without telling Nigerians 

when the marriage ended, how 

does Garba expect us to 

believe it was “many years 

ago”? What if Kumo disputes 

that there has been a divorce? 

We also were not told how 

long Kumo was at the bank. 

Were the annual accounts 

presented to the Presidency? 

What was done about them? 

If the Presidency had ignored 

warnings, they might have 

allowed the fraud. 

“Men make history, but not 

just as they please” - Karl 

Marx 

I am aware that under the 

circumstances, Buhari wants 

to distance himself from 

Kumo. But, it is a historical 

fact that he once willingly 

gave his daughter to a fellow 

who later allegedly robbed 

Nigerians and is now a 

fugitive from the law. 

D E C E I V I N G 

OURSELVES; PURSING 

MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE 

GOALS 

Government is reluctant to 

stop fuel subsidy and increase 

fuel price. All governments, 

especially the FG, know they 

cannot afford to maintain 

their bloated civil service; but 

are afraid to say so. Labour 

wants FG to continue to 

support the so-called 

refineries and still pay 

Minimum Wage. All are 

mutually exclusive. We 

deceive ourselves. Something 

has to give. We are in deep 

trouble. 

Only God can save us. 

similar reward. 

She had more children than 

Samuel that she asked for. 

God can bless you too with 

more children than you are 

asking for. 

The Holy Bible tells us that 

the Lord will “ bless the fruit 

of thy womb”. Every womb is 

created to bear fruit what may 

differ is the time of the 

manifestation. 

Sister, do not be deceived by 

suggestions of people who 

think they know better than 

the Lord by asking you to seek 

other means. 

If you do, you may have 

temporary relief but the end 

will be bitter. 

May you not have a child of 

sorrow in Jesus name. 

It is often difficult to take 

one’s mind off the challenge 

especially with pressure from 

relations and in-laws but once 

you hand it over to God 

and establish a relationship 

with the Lord, motherhood is 

guaranteed for you. 

Brethren, let your inner 

mind see you have children 

and care for them. 

The Lord is still on the 

throne. God has not given up 

on you don’t give up on 

yourself. Cheer up and the 

Lord will cheer you up. 

Women feel the pressure of 

childbearing delay, so do men. 

May the Lord guide and 

uphold your marriage. 

Very soon, as the Lord lives, 

cries of babies would soon be 

heard in your home. 

Enjoy the Peace of the Lord.

PAGE 12 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021 

•Mimi 

Whyte-Femi 

•Hi-Speed 

Beauty without 

style, classless 

—Mimi Whyte-Femi 

Foremost Nigerian skin therapist and 

aesthetician, Mimi Whyte- 

Femi, 

who 

runs Skin Therapy Beauty and 

Spa is a popular figure in the 

entertainment sphere known 

primarily for making people 

beautiful. Her business is all 

about beauty. And when she talks 

about ‘beauty’ many listen. In a 

chat with Potpourri, the delectable 

entrepreneur speaks on beauty and 

style and how they relate. 

“Beauty and style go hand in hand but they 

are not essentially the same. Beauty 

compliments style. Of course, you can be 

beautiful without style. Beauty to me, is of the heart 

and an’even glowing skin.’ 

“Style on the other hand, is your preferred expression 

of your appearance or how you do things. There’s just 

this added glow and sparkle when your skin is 

flawless and you have got a good style sense. 

“Style is the basis of acceptability in the society. It 

is a style that maintains beauty. Beauty vanishes 

and becomes ordinary when there is no style. Style 

is elegance, style is grace, style is sophistication 

and style is that thing that makes beautiful people keep up their class. 

Beauty without style is classless,” she said. 

Mimi Whyte-Femi founded Skin Therapy Beauty and Spa in 2012. 

Over the years she has grown the brand and taken it to the top of the 

ladder in the beauty industry. Apart from resolving skin issues she 

offers other ancillary services such as body massages and more. 

eauty therapist, Akinbode Aminat 

B Opeyemi, founder of Rhiks Place 

Beauty, who parades notable celebrities 

like Anita Joseph and Bobrisky among her 

A-list of brand ambassadors and clients 

has revealed what makes her brand ‘the 

darling’ of top celebrities in Nigeria. 

According to her, “I am happy that the 

With ‘Everything Good 

EP’, Hi-Speed gets back 

into limelight 

A 

fter the dark night comes sunshine that gives hope 

and a better life. This statement aptly describes 

how fast-rising singer and songwriter, Dauda 

Suleiman, popularly known as Hi-Speed, is feeling 

at the moment with the release of his much-talked 

about EP, entitled: ‘Everything Good’. 

After he lost his brother and singing partner to 

the cold hands of death about two years ago, 

Hi-Speed’s music career experienced a lull that 

silenced him for a while but the singer said the 

sober moment was necessary to mourn his good 

brother and friend. 

Describing the ‘Everything Good’ EP as a music 

project that signals the birth of a new beginning 

for his career after the troubled times, Hi-Speed 

expressed his joy, saying this is the moment he has been 

waiting for and he could not wait to share the good 

vibes with his loyal fans. 

“This new work means a lot to me. I went through 

some sad times when I lost my brother and partner 

two years back, but the best has to come out of the 

rest one has, and that is why I have put up this EP to 

tell my fans that everything is good now and I am 

excited that they are already showing me love, and 

they should expect more good music from Hi- 

Speed” he said. 

Why celebrities associate with 

my brand —Akinbode Opeyemi 

Anita Joseph 

•Akinbode 

Opeyemi 

celebrities are part of the growth of my 

company. I’m doing fine and my brand 

is growing. Having celebrities endorse 

your brand does not come cheap or easy; 

it took me months to settle down with 

the celebrity that fits the bill for me. 

Their endorsements have been a plus 

to my brand as they foster enthralling 

growths.” 

On how she has been combining her 

beauty regimen with her busy schedule, 

she said: “I have to focus on my 

business because I have a good brand 

manager who happens to be my 

husband. He keeps tabs on everything 

going on in my brand while I focus on 

other important aspects of the job. I pay 

attention to how I appear a lot because 

people are convinced by what they see, 

not what they hear”. 

Akinbode has undoubtedly 

understood the dazzling roles that 

fascinating hairstyles play in bringing 

out the beauty in any woman. And this 

aura of finesse laced with penchant for 

quality has endeared many illustrious 

women and celebrities in the country 

and beyond to her fast-rising brand. 

•Kayode Oluwapelumi 

•Fanti 

Tukuwei 

Love cannot grow 

without money 

—Kayode Oluwapelumi 

n-the-rise, voluptuous Nollywood actress, 

OKayode Arameedey Oluwapelumi who stirred 

up heated reactions on the social media with 

the twerking video of her ‘Shedi Balabala’ 

challenge has given her candid position on 

the issue of money and love in a 

relationship and marriage. 

The Mass Communications alumnus 

of Olabisi Onabanjo University, stated: 

“Money and love work together for me. 

Let’s not deceive one another, if there’s 

no money, love cannot grow. Take it or 

leave it. Even between parents and 

their kids, when the parents don’t 

have money they start having 

problems with their kids, when the 

kids start having needs to meet. 

Believe me, love cannot grow without 

money, not in this generation we are. 

If I can have my cake and eat it, I will 

have both but I pray I see the two 

together. There is no sweeter thing than 

a marriage blessed with love and money.” 

The actress also stated that money is very 

important to gain any appreciable relevance 

in the industry. She said without money, one 

cannot grow reasonably well in the industry, 

adding that it is only when you are seen to be a bit 

affluent that you are appreciated and given 

recognition. 

Her latest film produced by her, ‘Oba Opor ‘ is 

currently showing on YouTube, YorubaplusTV. 

She also featured in many other films. 

I’m no longer independent 

woman, I need a man 

—Fanti Tukuwei 

f the recent Instagram post by content 

Icreator/ fashion/beauty blogger and 

influencer, Fanti Tukuwei is anything to go by, 

the sensationally beautiful Bayelsan girl may 

have delisted herself from the list of feminist, 

independent women who claim they can take 

care of themselves without help from men. 

She writes, “I just want to relax and be taken 

care of. I have washed my hands off anything 

concerning independent women. I’m not a party 

to that anymore.” 

Fanti Tukuwei known on Instagram as 

@Curvygirljournal, once revealed her ordeal with 

men in a chat with Potpourri, saying, “ Anytime a 

guy tries to get my attention or asks me out and I don’t 

bulge, I end up receiving insults from that guy and 

these are well-respected guys. The first time it 

happened I thought it was a mistake,then another guy 

repeated it and then another, so I’m out here confused. 

Is it just me or does this happen to other women too?” 

Fanti doesn’t name her Instagram handle ‘Curvy girl journal’ for nothing, she’s 

an embodiment of ‘sexiness’. She’s a perfect example of the phrase ‘figure 8’ for 

her hourglass shape. She graduated from University of Lagos where she was 

the Miss Curves UNILAG in 2013. 

Nigeria’s problem spiritual 

—Kalu Ikeagwu 

PNollywood opular 

actor, top-notch 

Kalu 

Ikeagwu has labelled the 

prevailing situation in the 

country occasioned by 

insecurity and agitations for 

secession as a spiritual 

problem. The actor spoke 

with Potpourri at a movie 

premiere in Lagos last Sunday. 

“Our problem is a spiritual 

one. It is very deep. The change 

has to start from inside. When 

I say spiritual, I mean the way 

we have misplaced our values. 

All this rot came with 

prosperity gospel, jettisoning 

the real thing about following 

God. We are no longer our 

brother’s keepers. The African 

communal love and values 

have been lost. We have 

abandoned God and gone back 

to worshiping deities who 

encourage human sacrifices. 

How do you expect this country 

to grow when we are 

enmeshed in blood sacrifices. 

That is why I said our problem 

is spiritual. If you are morally 

bankrupt where you don’t care 

about your neighbour, your 

society is going to crumble. 

Everything that is happening 

here comes from the 

invisible. That’s why I said 

it is spiritual. This is not 

about prayer but serious 

awakening. 

On calls for secession by 

various groups and tribes, 

Kalu opines, “I don’t think 

secession is the way to 

solve the problem of this 

country. If we secede now, 

who’s going to rule? The 

infighting will just start 

again and where is it going 

to stop? What has to be 

addressed is human nature. 

I will only advise we go back 

to the regional system 

where every region controls 

its resources and 

contributes to the centre. 

This will engender 

competition and in no time 

there will be national 

prosperity. I will also 

suggest state police where 

each region is responsible 

for its own security.” 

The lanky actor however 

distances himself from ever 

joining politics. Almost with 

a note of disdain he 

emphatically stated he 

would never join politics.


B udding 

Yoruba 

actress and 

model, 

F u n s h o 

Zarumi aka Iya 

Iya Ereko from 

Kwara State has a 

combination of 

beauty and talent 

going for her in the 

industry which she has 

displayed in some 

movies. She’s one of the 

generation of glamour girls 

who are redefining the 

landscape with glamour, 

attitude and extraordinary skills. 

Funsho Zarumi has featured in 

Rukayat by Mama Ereko, Damilola 

Dagogo by Mimiano, Enimi by Mama 

Ereko, Jaiye Ola Ni Monje By Jaiye 

Kuti, Yeye Oge Akanke by Mimiano, 

Awolu Goes To Skool by Kunle Afod, Curb It 

by Late Gbenga Ajumoko (AJU), Ale Ojo fan 

by Mama Ereko and a lot more. In this 

interview she opens up to Potpourri on her 

acting, private life and more. 

Acting as a career 

I can’t figure out why I chose acting really, 

all I can say is, I’ve loved acting since I was 

a child, like when we watched movies back 

then, I imagined myself on the screen. I even 

joined my primary school cultural group 

and proceeded in my high school too before 

I officially joined the Yoruba movie 

industry in 2008. 

Unforgettable memories 

as an actress 

Well, I get sidelined a 

lot, if it’s not because I’m 

too thin, it is that my face 

doesn’t just fit and all 

sorts of excuses. I 

could remember a 

particular one when I 

lost my mum a week 

before we started the 

production. I was 

supposed to be the lead actress, to my 

surprise, they didn’t even ask me if I’d be 

able to continue with the shooting, they just 

gave the role to another person - all because 

I lost my mother a week before. 

Fantasies while growing in the industry? 

The fantasies I harboured while growing 

in the industry are many but would mention 

Ordeal of kidnapped, raped 

girl in 15 years captivity 

captured in ‘Elina’ 

A 

new Nollywood movie titled ‘Elina’ 

premiered on Sunday, May 16, 2021 and hit 

the cinemas from May 21, 2021, has given a new 

dimension to the harrowing experience of 

kidnapping and rape which is presently plaguing 

the country. In the film, an eleven year-old girl 

called Elina, was kidnapped, kept away from her 

parents for 15 years while being repeatedly raped 

in captivity. 

Elina’s mum had taken her to an eatery, but as 

she’s about driving out, she realised that her phone 

has been left behind. She rushed back to the eatery, 

leaving young Elina in the car with the engine still 

running. At this point, a man emerged from 

nowhere, got in the car and drove off with a fearstricken 

Elina. Could it be a case of robbery or 

kidnapping? 

For 15 years, Elina remained missing. In fact, 

her parents had given up on her, thinking she was 

dead. However, fate smiled on now grown-up 

Elina, as she finally reunited with her family. But 

this was after recording some deaths in her name 

and ultimately serving prison sentence. 

Shot with high-definition camera, which 

reflects in its picture quality, Elina is directed 

by Ambrose Tobias Udeh having been 

produced by Editha Chiewuzie with Michael 

Austin as executive producer. The lead cast 

of the movie includes, Eucharia Anunobi, 

Kalu Ikeagwu, Jibola Dabo, Winner 

Edward, Felix Omokhodion, 

•Funsho 

Zarumi 

•Editha Chiewuzie, 

Elina's producer 

I’m attracted only to 

hardworking men 

—Funsho Zarumi 

•Funsho 

Zarumi 

few. I always had this big 

dream of becoming a well 

known actress , where 

everybody would learn 

from me and learn 

from each role I play, 

seeing me as a role 

model. 

Women flaunting 

their sexuality 

Well for me, 

women flaunting 

their sexuality on 

social media is a 

thing of choice. 

Second, not all 

women that 

flaunt their 

sexuality mean 

harm, some 

are models 

while some 

are brand 

ambassadors, 

so it’s how 

the world 

sees it. 

Attraction to 

opposite sex 

What attracts 

me to the 

opposite sex is 

how hard 

working you 

are. If you are 

hardworking 

and your job is 

legal I would be automatically attracted to 

A 

new Nollywood movie, a political actiondrama 

titled ‘The New Patriots’ produced 

by Dr. Rotimi Adelola, former SSG of Ondo 

State for Number 9 Film Studio has the 

trapping of the tonic Nigeria needs as the 

movie captures the mood of the nation in this 

troubled times of insecurity and agitation for 

secession. Set in a fictitious Republic of 

Aruguna, ‘The New Patriots’ exposes a malign, 

corruption-infested political reality of a 

leadership gone wrong. It is a country at the 

mercy of evil political powers pulling the 

strings of the government and 

tormenting the 

you. I love hard working men, men that go 

any length to make their women smile ( I 

mean legally). 

Making the first move 

I have never made the first move to any 

man in my life. Men make the first move to 

me. Every hardworking man is always 

attracted to a hard working lady. 

Love or money 

Love goes for me because I believe when 

there is love, money comes into play. Two 

people in love can make the best moments 

on earth and money will just be flowing in 

because they would share in love. They 

would share awesome ideas that would 

make plenty of money and my slogan is, 

“to love and to be loved.” 

Quitting a relationship 

When a relationship starts to claim my 

peace I will quit, I don’t accommodate 

anything that claims my peace of mind. 

Beauty 

Beauty is the definition of who you are, 

the way you look is how you will be 

approached and sexiness gives my soul joy 

because I am what I take in. I am always 

cautious of what I take in. I love to remain 

sexy, so sexiness to me is happiness. 

Industry turn-off 

I hate the fact that money rules everything 

in the industry. Even if you don’t have the 

skills or talent, once you have money or 

some connections, you get the roles. That’s 

the annoying status quo that rules the 

industry and it really pisses me off. 

New political film ‘New Patriots’ 

highlighting Nigeria’s problems, 

premieres June 12 

•Akin Lewis 

and Bimbo 

Oshin in The 

New Patriots 

people. 

However, ‘The New Patriots’’ consisting of 

the youths rose to the occasion, demonstrating 

positive and nonviolent revolution to bring 

about change. 

The movie which embodies the core values 

of true democracy screened at Number 9 Film 

Studio on Saturday, May 15, 2021 and will 

be hitting the cinemas from June 12, which 

is Nigeria’s Democracy Day. 

‘The New Patriots’ has been widely adjudged 

as a top quality film in terms of picture and 

sound, plus the storyline which is laden with 

revolutionary message and wake-up call to 

people on the seats of power. Little wonder it 

has already won many accolades and 

recognition worldwide. 

Among accolades for the film is 

being the winner of the Best Feature 

Film at Five Continents International 

Film Festival 2020; Official selection 

at the African Film Festival 2021; 

Official selection at Montreal 

Independent Film Festival 2021; 

Official selection at Berlin Flash Film 

Festival and more. 

The movie parades top stars, 

including the legendary Akin Lewis, 

Lateef Adedimeji, Bimbo Oshin, Dele 

Odule, Taiwo Ibikunle, Bimbo 

Sunday, Damipe Adekoya, Bimpe 

Oyebade, Motilola Adekunle and other 

talented thespians. The movie is codirected 

by Adebayo Tijani and Terry 

Ayebo.

PAGE 14 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021 

APC disrespected 

me 

—Former Governor Segun Oni 

By Olalekan Bilesanmi 

Mr Segun Oni, a former governor of Ekiti State, was the Deputy 

National Chairman, South of the All Progressives Congress 

(APC), the ruling party at the federal level as well as Ekiti. Now 

back in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and 

nursing an ambition to return to Ado Ekiti Government House 

for a second term, Oni, in this interview, speaks on the 

circumstances surrounding his exit from APC among other 

issues in the polity. 

On herdsmen, farmers’ 

conflict 

It is the responsibility of government to 

ensure the security of its citizens, to 

ensure that nobody takes the law into 

their hands, and to ensure that everybody 

can practice whatever trade, occupation he 

engages in, in peace. That is not negotiable. 

That is the purpose of government. Any 

government that cannot guarantee that is 

a failure. I noticed that recently the 

President has woken up; he has given very 

direct and serious orders. I hope that will 

convey the message to criminals that there 

is no hiding place. We have been living 

together in this country since 

amalgamation. I know that farmers in the 

South before now were doing their farming 

while herdsmen were rearing their cows. 

And herdsmen weren’t rearing their cattle 

into the farms of farmers at that time. That 

was when there was mutual respect. Now, 

we hear that herdsmen divert their cattle 

into the farms of farmers, their investment. 

That is wickedness. It wasn’t so before. 

There was mutual respect and mutual love. 

It is no longer so. And herdsmen are now 

involved in crimes like kidnappings, rape 

and murder among others. It takes the kind 

of message the President is sending now to 

put the criminal activities in check. Now 

the President has said that security agencies 

should deal with them. We are waiting to 

see where such crimes will be committed 

and security agencies won’t be able to deal 

with them effectively. 

On ranching 

Ranching is supposed to be a personal 

business and not a charity organisation. 

Whoever wants to establish a ranch should 

approach the host community, and if the 

host community feels it is safe and 

profitable for them to give out their land, 

they would do. Government cannot be the 

spokesperson for those who want to do 

ranching. No. Who says only the Fulani can 

own ranches? In the days of the late Chief 

Obafemi Awolowo, you saw our people 

owning ranches. It does not mean that only 

people from the North can own ranches. 

Everybody can own ranches. But then, those 

wishing to own ranches should talk and 

negotiate and agree with the owners of the 

land. Government cannot be proxy for 

them. Ekiti Obas are right in their decision 

not to give out land to herdsmen; you cannot 

give your land to people you don’t know 

and trust. For government to be acting as 

proxy for herdsmen, government has 

•Segun Oni 

already conveyed a wrong message. 

Whoever wants to do business must be able 

to convince the host that they mean well. 

Apart from that, by now, we should have 

seen some model where ranches have 

worked. Nigerians are smart people. If 

somebody establishes a model ranch in 

Kaduna and makes money there, his friend 

in Ogun State will not need to be persuaded 

before he sets up one for himself. But the 

way these people are carrying it out raises 

suspicion. First, their body language is so 

opaque. They are not showing transparency 

enough. Ranching can be for anybody. But 

it is an individual decision, because it is an 

individual business and they would have to 

agree with the owners of the land if they see 

the transparency shown. Nigerians have 

never been the hostile to one another. Can 

the people in government think that before 

now, Nigerians were not 

this hostile to one 

another? There must 

have been something 

they are doing wrong 

and unless they can 

retrace and ensure that 

we get it right, they are 

putting Nigerians in 

hard security risk. 

On President 

Buhari getting 

medical 

treatment 

abroad 

If people need 

medical care anywhere 

and they have the 

wherewithal, once they 

have the economic 

power to do it, you can’t 

deny them. But it morally 

wrong. I think that is the 

message Governor Wike was trying to 

convey. He is saying if we need medical 

facilities and we are in government and we 

take decisions, why can’t we take such 

decisions that would make it available even 

for our own people here in Nigeria? After 

all, if Nigerians are going to Port Harcourt 

instead of going to India, they will pay. It is 

not free. It is one of the indices of bad 

management of our government. If we have 

government that can manage properly, all 

those challenges will reduce, not that it 

won’t be there, but if it is properly managed, 

it will reduce but I still believe in one 

Nigeria. 

My disagreement 

was aired on 

national television 

where I said I was 

being disrespected 

and I value respect 

On accusation and counter 

accusation over aborted byeelection 

in Ekiti 

You saw others with guns. Was that why 

you also went to the polling booth with gun? 

Ordinarily, security agents were supposed 

to move few meters away from voting area. 

I think people should stop to think and listen 

to their own voice before making utterances. 

If they make mistakes, they should go back 

and rethink as there is no excuse for what 

they have done. 

On APC, PDP blame game 

Are they not the same? The people who 

brought guns were identified, they were 

known and they all belonged to APC and 

they are the party in power. Some of them 

are in detention. We know the people who 

brought guns to the venue. I expect, just as 

the governor said, that these guys would be 

prosecuted. I expect the prosecution 

eventually would serve as example to others. 

On unity in Ekiti PDP 

ahead of governorship 

election 

PDP is prepared to work together as seen 

during the bye-election 

in Omuo. Did you hear 

of Senator Olujimi 

people arguing with 

former Governor 

Fayose people? That 

should tell you we are 

going to every battle as 

one united family. That 

is the message we are 

relaying to people. 

On relationship with 

Fayose 

Nobody will say 

anybody should not be in 

a party. I don’t think that 

was what former 

Governor Fayose meant 

anyway. The press has a 

way of wanting to create 

division. I am in PDP, 

former Governor Fayose 

is in PDP, other people 

are in PDP. We are not the 

only people in the party. 

If there is anywhere 

anybody is not wanted, if that person contests 

an election, the people will vote against 

him. Wait until that happens. I don’t see it 

from the perspective you are seeing it. Yes, I 

left the PDP. I am not the only one who has 

left a party. Some left the PDP for other 

parties to contest election and they are back 

in the PDP. The fact that I left PDP does not 

mean I left at night and I returned at the 

dead of the night. I was a member of the 

APC. I left because of disagreement. My 

disagreement was aired on national 

television where I said I was being 

disrespected and I value respect. I believe I 

communicated very strongly something 

that should also be a mantra for political 

party management people. That there are 

three arms that people of substance would 

look out for. Reward may not be for the 

leader, but for his/her supporters. If you are 

disrespected, of course, it will be for 

everybody because however small it may 

be, we all value respect. If your party is 

doing something and you are hearing it 

from a third party when you are supposed 

to be part of the decision making body, we 

should know that a political party is a 

human organisation and members have 

feelings. No sooner than I laid my 

complaints and left that the same issue |I 

was complaining about became the trap 

that took out the number one man in the 

same party. 

Who is that? 

You people, you will say you don’t know 

that it was former Governor Oshiomhole. 

He was suspended by his ward and that 

started everything. That is disrespect. And 

that is because the party had not structured 

out in such a way that people cannot just 

wake up in any village in Nigeria and 

disrespect the number one man/woman 

because he belongs to their ward. That 

would tell you that there is still a lot of work 

to be done everywhere, to make political 

party really what it should be in Nigeria. 

The party disrespected me and I won’t stay 

where I am disrespected. 

On unseating APC 

You can feel the pulse of the community 

better than I can do. Come to Ekiti, take a 

commercial vehicle, raise the issue with 

passengers in the vehicle and you can make 

your judgment. Take Okada, raise the issue 

and you can make a judgment from 

whatever the Okada man says. It is when 

people pretend and over-pretend that you 

create problems for the polity because the 

person who is not popular pretends; 

unfortunately, you journalists will not tell 

him the truth. If he goes for election, he 

goes with thugs and there and then claim 

that it is the other party. Let me tell you, we 

know one another. We had one of the most 

acrimonious elections in this country so far 

which was the Ekiti rerun. It was the worst, 

expensive and the ripples of that election 

are still with us. Go and read Senator Ojudu 

speech on Sunday Igboho, we all know 

ourselves. 

On the performance of the 

federal and Ekiti State 

governments 

I have said a few things in the course of 

this interview that should convey the way I 

feel about the government of the day. I’m 

not a vicious critic. Whatever I believe is 

not going right, I say it that it is not going 

right. There is no way anybody can describe 

this government as competent either at the 

national level or state level. I hope there 

would be a turnaround so that we can be 

happier.

Governor Ayade’s theory of 

political nomadism 

To a lay person, the 

term ‘theory’ sounds 

technical but in 

reality it simply refers to the 

idea of giving a title or 

name to an observable 

phenomenon for the 

purpose of explaining the 

relationships between 

concepts. More pointedly, 

theory allows people to 

explain what they see and 

to figure out how to bring 

about change. One 

inexplicable trend in 

Nigeria has been the 

frequent decamping of 

politicians from one 

political party to another. 

Last Thursday, Governor 

Ben Ayade of Cross River 

State, espoused a theory to 

validate his political 

nomadism when he 

decamped from the Peoples 

Democratic Party (PDP) to 

the All Progressive 

Congress. (APC).Those 

who listened to what Ayade 

said influenced his 

movement must no doubt 

have come to the inevitable 

conclusion that Nigerian 

politicians are independent 

candidates at an election 

with an option of belonging 

at the same time to all the 

political parties in the 

country. 

One of the governor’s 

uppermost plans 

warranting his defection, 

wasin his words,to move 

PhD,Department of 

Philosophy, 

Universityof Lagos 

08116759758 

opuruiche2000@gmail.com 

Ifeel a strong emotional 

connection to the great, 

upwardly mobile, 

University of Lagos, Akoka 

because, among other 

things, I have spent the 

greater part of my 

productive adult years there 

with great memories. But 

like most members of the 

university community I 

really did not know in detail 

until recentlythe relevant 

laws that established the 

institution especially as they 

pertain to the relationship 

between the Management 

team led by the Vice- 

Chancellor and the 

Governing Councilchaired 

by the Pro-Chancellor. 

Generally, it isduring crisis 

particularly between the two 

groupsthat most staff and 

students realise that a 

harmonious working 

relationship between them 

is a desideratum. In the last 

thirty-seven years the most 

turbulent and rancorous 

period in the relationship 

between the Management of 

the University of Lagos and 

the Council was from May 

2017 to August 21, 2020 

when Dr. Wale Babalakin, a 

lawyer and businessman, 

was Pro-Chancellor and 

chairman of Council. About 

two years ago I attended a 

Senate meeting addressed 

by Dr. Babalakin. He spoke 

to Senate members in an 

arrogant condescending 

manner that I had to ask a 

colleague sitting nearby why 

the Pro-Chancellor was 

addressing us in that way.He 

replied that that was his 

usual attitude even to the 

Vice-Chancellor, Prof. 

Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, and 

Cross River State to the 

centre. Ayade was perhaps 

convinced that Nigeria’s 

centre is the APC. A 

confirmation of this was 

reflected in his declaration 

speech that he moved to the 

ruling party so as to support 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari. The governor’s 

theory is that any non-APC 

politician in Nigeria who 

wants to support Buhari to 

effectively handle the 

nation’s problems must 

begin by decamping to the 

APC. Did Senator Abaribe 

and other opposition 

legislators hear Ayade’s 

sermon?What about those 

of us who are not politicians 

but who are willing to play 

patriotic roles to save the 

nation - do we have to first 

become politicians and 

then join the APC before we 

can qualify to contribute to 

nation building? The theory 

appears strange to the 

principle of collaborative 

federalism whereby 

different arms and tiers of 

government cooperate to 

ensure successful execution 

of public policy in the 

interest of the governed 

President Buhari was 

declared winner of the last 

Presidential election - a 

declaration that was 

presumed valid because it 

was made by the legally 

authorized body- the 

Independent National 

The University of Lagos is back 

his team. From then on I 

started thinking that the Pro- 

Chancellor’s big man 

messianic attitude must be 

the main cause of the 

unnecessary and avoidable 

friction between the 

Management and Council. 

Any doubt in my mind about 

that was completely erased 

whenCouncil at the 

instigation of Dr. Babalakin 

cancelled the convocation 

ceremonies slated for March 

2020 before covid-19 

became a serious public 

health concern. Because of 

that singular error of 

judgment, Dr. Babalakin 

lost significant goodwill 

both within the university 

and beyond it. The major 

reason given by Council for 

the cancellation, that 

management did not carry 

it along in the preparations, 

even if true seems to be an 

after thought and pales into 

insignificance when 

juxtaposed with the huge 

emotional and financial 

cost of the ill-advised 

cancellation. In other 

words, it appears that Dr. 

Babalakin merely wanted 

to show his power, in this 

instance to prove that he has 

the capacity to abort a 

largely ceremonial but 

important event without 

considering the negative 

repercussions for all those 

concerned, including the 

UNILAG brand which Prof. 

Ogundipe and his team 

have been working 

assiduously to upgrade and 

consolidate. Let me say it as 

it is: the frosty relationship 

between Management and 

Council since 2017 has had 

detrimental impact on the 

Electoral Commission 

INEC. The law gave room 

for anyone to dispute the 

declaration through an 

election dispute which the 

appropriate body, the 

judiciary resolved in favour 

the APC candidate. Having 

exhausted the election 

process the winner became 

the President of Nigeria 

and not that of the APC. No 

one needs to belong to the 

APC to enjoy good 

governance at the end of the 

election. It is unfortunate 

that fake democrats who 

always behaved as if every 

government position, 

project or benefit including 

covid 19 palliatives must be 

snatched by the APC have 

successfully convinced 

many people including 

some governors like Ayade 

that anything APC is what 

everyone must fight for. 

Painfully some people in 

Cross River State may have 

been deceived into 

believing that with Ayade’s 

movement to the APC, their 

state might soon be added 

to the list of oil producing 

states. If there is oil in the 

state and she is unlawfully 

excluded from any benefit, 

the place to go is the 

judiciary, not APC except of 

course if someone has 

convinced Ayade that it is 

only an APC state that can 

win a case in our courts. But 

it is an open secret that the 

APC’s previous body 

language of “join us and 

your sins are forgiven” has 

changed. Consequently, if 

Governor Ayade thinks that 

joining the APC could help 

cover-up any activity, he 

needs to be reminded that 

the man who used to claim 

to have power to forgive 

sins is no more in charge. 

Besides, there is nothing in 

the last six years of this 

I believe his mistakes 

are the unintended 

result of his obsession 

to leave an enviable 

record and legacy in 

the university 

smooth functioning of the 

university, including 

missing out on investments 

and research grants from 

both local and foreign 

organisations. There is 

credible information that 

Prof. Ogundipe and other 

concerned prominent 

individuals tried hard to 

appease Dr. Babalakin; yet 

he rebuffed all of them. Now, 

the former Pro-Chancellor 

probably had good 

intentions for the university 

but lacked the appropriate 

emotional intelligence to 

interact cordially with the 

Vice-Chancellor and other 

principal officers who could 

have assisted him actualise 

his vision. By his persistent 

disrespect of, and obloquy 

against, Prof. Ogundipe in 

the media, Dr. Babalakin 

created the unmistakable 

impression that he was on a 

vendetta mission to malign 

and remove the Vice- 

Chancellor at all cost. That 

was a big mistake because 

in the process he threw away 

the baby with the dirty birth 

water, so to speak.The 

former Pro-Chancellor 

apparently did not heed the 

aphorism that you can throw 

mud and hit your target; but 

your hand will be soiled in 

the process. Surely, his 

allegations against the 

Vice-Chancellor and others 

may not be completely 

groundless. Unfortunately, 

his approach was reckless, 

revanchist, and 

administration in which the 

current President has 

assisted APC chieftains to 

escape prison terms. 

What Ayade could 

gain or lose in the 

PDP will not be 

different from the 

fate that awaits 

him in the APC 

What Ayade could gain or 

lose in the PDP will not be 

different from the fate that 

awaits him in the APC. At 

his declaration last week, 

the APC officials who 

received him assured the 

governor of becoming the 

leader of their party in the 

state. Was that not what he 

also was in the party he just 

left? If so, Ayade may not 

be fully certain of the game 

he has just entered into. He 

explained on national 

television the other day that 

he moved with a large 

following from the PDP to 

the APC and that indeed, he 

left no one behind. We are 

tempted to believe that the 

statement is no more than 

a declaration speech 

because he seemed to have 

borrowed the template of 

Governor Dave Umahi of 

Ebonyi state who gave 

similar assurances some 

months back when he 

moved from PDP to APC. 

Today, powerful Ebonyi 

disingenuous. Moreover, 

majority of Senate members 

including myself rallied 

around Prof. Ogundipe 

because he is a humble, 

compassionate, and 

hardworking administrator 

very committed to making 

the University of Lagos the 

citadel of first choice not just 

as a mere slogan but in 

reality as well. I believe his 

mistakes are the unintended 

result of his obsession to 

leave an enviable record and 

legacy in the university. 

To deal with the crisis the 

federal government 

inaugurated a Special 

Presidential Visitation 

Panel on August 26, 2020 

and asked both the Vice- 

Chancellor and the Pro- 

Chancellor to vacate their 

positions pending the 

outcome of the 

investigation. After 

reviewing the Panel’s report, 

government dissolved the 

Council, removed Dr. 

Babalakin, and reinstated 

Prof. Ogundipe. As far as I 

know, to his credit the Vice- 

Chancellor has not engaged 

in any negative 

triumphalism against his 

traducers, particularly the 

former Pro-Chancellor. He 

has continued to work with 

his characteristic diligence, 

graciousness, and humility. 

Prof. Ogundipe’s consistent 

fortitude despite Dr. 

Babalakin’s hyperbolic 

belligerence is inspiring. 

On April 19, 2021, the 

federal government 

reconstituted the Governing 

Council of the university. At 

its inaugural meeting held 

in the Council Chambers on 

Tuesday May 4, 2021, the 

new Chairman and Pro- 

Chancellor, Dr.Olanrewaju 

Tejuoso, extended a hand of 

fellowship to the 

Management team led by 

Prof. Ogundipe. He recalled 

with nostalgia his days as a 

medical student in the 

university and promised to 

tap into his longstanding 

relationship with the 

institution to promote its 

continued growth and 


PDP leaders like former 

Senate President Pius 

Anyimhave since shown 

that Umahi was on his own. 

One can only hope that 

those who might initially 

move with Ayade would be 

more than his 

commissioners. But 

whether any of them would 

remain with him after his 

governorship tenure is a 

different ball game. In fact, 

there is no evidence that 

Cross Riveris now an APC 

state. If we follow Nigeria’s 

electoral system that it is 

political parties and not 

their candidates that win 

elections, it is simplistic to 

say Cross River is now APC 

simply because the 

governor decided to defect 

from the party the people 

voted for. Is it good 

democracy for a governor 

to use his executive fiat to 

change the wishes of the 

people without due 

process? If not, Ayade may 

be his own problem because 

wise Nigerians know that 

PDP and APC are the same. 

There is no real attraction 

in moving from one to the 

other especially if the 

condition for defecting 

from one party to another 

was not followed. Alas 

Ayade was not smart 

enough to create factions 

in the party so as to have 

valid reasons for 

decamping. 

An indigene of Cross 

River State told me a few 

days ago that what is 

happening now may not be 

the handiwork of a man 

previously known as Ben 

Ayade. This viewpoint is 

premised on a sworn 

declaration once made by 

the governor that if after 

four years in office he was 

unable to complete his two 

legacy projects consisting 

development. Dr. Tejuoso 

made some optimistic 

remarks which indicate a 

welcome departure from the 

traumatising problematic 

chairmanship of Dr. 

Babalakin. For example, he 

said that “I have come to you 

all with an agenda entitled 

‘1C for 3C,’ meaning One 

Council for Cooperation, 

Creativity, 

and 

Consolidation. This agenda 

shall form the bedrock of my 

operations and dealings 

with the various organs of 

the university that I am 

expected to relate with, 

under that Acts establishing 

our dear university. Let me 

assure you that I shall be a 

Pro-Chancellor who 

presides over a united house 

with cohesion of purpose 

that is targeted at 

engendering unwavering 

cooperation and innovative 

creativity in all facets of the 

university community to 

enable us as a Council build 

on the works of the founding 

fathers of our great 

university and take it to an 

enviable height.” The Pro- 

Chancellor explainsfurther 

that he would “not 

accommodate dichotomy in 

Council in any form, but I 

will ensure ONE COUNCIL 

irrespective of whether 

[member] are appointed by 

the federal government, 

Senate, Congregation 

orConvocation. The 

Council, as one, has the 

responsibility to achieve the 

3Cs together.” 

It must be reiterated that the 

tenor of Dr. Tejuoso’s speech 

is a refreshing departure from 

the divisive, I-command-andyou-obey, 

posture of his 

immediate predecessor. 

Therefore, there is realistic 

expectation in the university 

that the new chairman of 

Council will work seamlessly 

with Management to 

reposition the university 

whose enviable brand name 

was somewhat tarnished 

during Dr. Babalakin’s 

turbulent tenure. Since 

human beings are fallible 

because they are 

of a 275km super highway 

at a cost of N648billion and 

a $2billion Bakassi deep 

sea port, no one should 

recognize him any more as 

Ben Ayade. With those 

projects still undone, 

should anyone bother 

about the change of party 

instead of demanding 

accountability? There are 

many more reasons why 

Ayade should be made to 

account for his 

stewardship. Between 2016 

and today, Ayade turned 

governance into comedy 

captioning his annual 

budgets differently without 

substantive progress in the 

fortunes of the state. Many 

would indeed remember 

him as the man with the 

budgets of deep vision; 

infinite transposition; 

Kinetic Crystallization, 

Qabalistic Densification 

a n d O l i m p o t i c 

Meritemasis. 

Wait a minute, let’s recall 

that today’s article actually 

concerns the same Cross 

River state that Donald 

Duke between 1999 and 

2007 fancifully inserted 

into the new map of the 

rising world economic 

order. Oh yes, thosegolden 

years of the authentic 

Calabar Carnival; the 

innovative and colossal 

Tinapa Free Zone and 

Resort valued at N60bllion. 

Those were years of 

tangibleeconomic 

gainswhen several flights 

indicated boom. Today, the 

world’s former largest 

forest reserve is no more; in 

its place are theatrical 

projects like the Spaghetti 

flyover and CALAVEGASa 

new city that was to 

become the centre of 

tourism in Nigeria. Let us 

hope and pray that APC 

turns Ayade around. 

incompletely evolved bipedal 

primates, there will be 

mistakes and areas of 

disagreement between 

Council and Management 

once in a while: such issues 

can be dealt with successfully 

without acrimony in the spirit 

of camaraderie or give-andtake 

as long as the ultimate 

objective is to make the 

university one of the best. 

From the outset the new 

Council is already making a 

positive impact. For instance, 

at the conclusion of its first 

meeting which began on May 

4, 2021, for the first time since 

2017 the Council dealt with 

every item on its agenda 

docket,Audit Reports of the 

university for 2017 and 2018 

budget were extensively 

debated and approved, the 

2020 budget was also ratified 

whereas that for 2021 was 

slated for consideration and 

subsequent approval at the 

next meeting scheduled for 

May 31. A member of 

Council told me that the 

atmosphere during the 

meeting was jovial and 

rancour-free, starkly different 

from what obtained during 

Babalakin’s time when 

members of Management 

attended meetings with 

trepidation because of 

uncertainty about the next 

unsettling decision the Pro- 

Chancellor might 

take.Through the efforts of Dr. 

Tejuoso, Lagos State 

Commissioner for Health, 

Prof. Akin Abayomi, 

collaborated with the 

university to inoculate staff 

and students against covid-19 

virus. Given all this, it is 

gratifying that our great 

University of Lagos is steadily 

emerging from the slough of 

despond to consolidate its 

status as the primus inter 

pares in the country. The 

Governing Council, 

Management, and the entire 

university community must 

sustain the momentum 

towards lifting our university 

to the zenith in the pursuit of 

The True, The Good and The 

Beautiful. Concluded.

PAGE 16 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021 

RESTRUCTURING: 

There are 

dangers ahead 

—British High Commissioner to Nigeria 

•2023: Projects two young presidential 

candidates with female running mates 

•On insecurity: Why Britain will not 

send military to Nigeria 

•‘History won’t be kind to Wike, Amaechi 

if Rivers 2023 poll turns bloody’ 

•Catriona Laing 

By Egufe Yafugborhi 

British High Commissioner to Nigeria 

and Permanent Representative, 

ECOWAS, Catriona Laing, in this 

interview with Sunday Vanguard during his 

maiden visit to Port-Harcourt, Rivers State 

capital says it’s up to Nigeria government and 

her people to find common ground to resolve 

the worsening insecurity in the country. Laing 

also speaks on other issues in the polity. 

On British government impression of the 

security situation in Nigeria 

That indeed is one of the main reasons of 

my visit to the South. I’ve been in office for 

two and a half years now, but, because of the 

Covid-19 situation, I haven’t been able to 

travel as much as I would’ve liked. I am very 

pleased now to be able to visit Rivers State 

and to understand details of the security 

situation here. Security affects everything. 

Obviously we want to support this economic 

base of the country and with insecurity it 

becomes very difficult. Investors are concerned 

about the deteriorating security situation 

because it’s costing them money alongside 

other costs. And the first thing to notice is that 

the security situation has got worse following 

Covid-19 as the economic shock the country 

faced was significant. The situation is worse 

for an oil exporter like Nigeria; the crash in 

oil price in the globe at some point had 

massive immediate impact on Nigeria’s 

revenue knowing the vast of Nigeria’s revenue 

comes from oil. That makes it very difficult 

for the government to prioritize services to 

the people. It also threw many people out of 

work with the ripple effects on the economy. 

Businesses are losing income. They can’t 

employ people. Obviously for many in the 

informal sector, it’s been extremely difficult. 

An entirely family, as has been described in 

some cases, could be out of jobs. So, this is one 

of the things that have been driving massive 

insecurity all over the country in the last six to 

nine months. Here in Rivers, we’ve always had 

cult violence, but it does seem to be getting 

worse and the IPoB issues right on your borders 

is perhaps making this part of the world even 

more dangerous. There’s no question that it’s 

a serious problem. What can be done, I think 

for the government, is, first of all, getting better 

economic policies in place so that businesses 

can respond and invest for the growth of the 

economy, particularly outside the oil sector, 

in agriculture, manufacturing, ICT. This 

country, you know, has lots of potentials, a 

huge market, with vast natural resources, got 

very talented people, basic ingredients that 

can aid transformation, but you’ve got bad 

policies and too dependent on oil. So the first 

thing is for the economy to be turned around. 

On the security side, the government is clearly 

trying to do a better job, but so far has not 

found a way to it with the massive problems 

across the country. I do have sympathy, because 

if we, as UK, have one of these problems, we 

will be really struggling. Here you deal with 

everything, from insurgency to kidnapping to 

piracy off the Gulf of Guinea and it’s not such 

a large army and police force for a country of 

this size. 

On right approach at saving the situation 

So it’s by having a much more human 

security approach. The only way you can turn 

this thing around is that government has to 

build the trust of its people, to have the people 

working with government to deal with 

criminality. People willingly report those 

committing crime, working with the police to 

identify criminals, same with the military on 

the insurgency situation. It’s only when the 

community is on the side of the police and 

security services that they can turn around the 

situation. 

On the onerous task of a complex nation 

sticking together 

To start with the positive, it’s remarkable in 

Nigeria, how it has stuck together. We, as 

British, weren’t as comfortable in bringing this 

enormous kind of complex country together. 

Since 1999, you’ve had democracy and it’s 

been a very complex settlement to enable the 

expectation that the presidency rotates. The 

oil revenue sharing arrangement is not seen 

by anyone as fair, but it’s an attempt to try and 

keep the country together. So 

through series of political 

checks and balances, you 

have kept the people 

together. Many people, 

before I came to Nigeria, 

would say Nigeria always 

gets to the brinks; then pulls 

back. The question we’re 

asking ourselves is, are we at 

that brink now? There are 

certain things to support that 

theory, but back to what I said 

earlier, that it’s the 

combination of a really 

serious economic shock with 

what you might call a rising 

identity politics, people 

feeling like from where they 

sit, it’s unfair. I hear it from 

everybody: Yoruba think it’s 

unfair, North thinks it’s 

unfair, IPoB thinks it’s unfair, 

nobody is 100% satisfied. So 

these moments count for the 

agitations for restructuring. 

I think the pressure is 

mounting, so we think that the Constitution 

document has to be revisited. But there are 

dangers in that, whether on each of the different 

voices, can you find a new settlement? What 

will also be seen to be fair with this range of 

voices? On the positive side, I saw some 

narrative by Southern governors putting their 

voices together to say “we Southern governors 

want the country to stick together”. That’s a 

very positive, powerful statement of intent and 

to see that some of the governors are working 

together. So, there’s a sense of injustice among 

the various groups but there’s also a sense that 

a number of people are very wealthy and 

majority of people very poor and that’s just 

simply not fair. So, a basic fairer settlement of 

the economic wealth of the country needs to 

be properly addressed. 

On how Britain is helping to resolve the 

deteriorating confusion 

Obviously we (Britain) have a huge long 

partnership with Nigeria. Nigeria is probably 

the most important country for us in Africa, 

our biggest mission in the continent. I am the 

most senior ambassador in the African 

network. We have four Ministers already 

visiting this year, so there’s a real interest in 

Nigeria on fostering the relationship. 

Particularly, post-Brexit, pulling out of 

European Union, there’s a feeling we need to 

reinvest in our traditional partnerships in the 

Commonwealth, Africa in particular, and 

within Africa, Nigeria in particular. So the 

desire and intent is there. We have a security 

investment partnership. On operations in 

military training, we’ve been here since Chibok 

girls were taken. We’ve provided training in 

counterinsurgency, counter IED training. We 

trained teams deployed to the North-East. 

We’re working at many levels with the military. 

We’ve been working for years with the police, 

much lately around 

community police which is 

how we do policing in the 

UK. So, we are working 

hard on the security side you 

I hear it from 

everybody: Yoruba 

think it’s unfair, North 

thinks it’s unfair, 

IPoB thinks it’s 

unfair, nobody is 

100% satisfied. So 

these moments 

count for the 

agitations for 

restructuring 

may say, but we also work 

in terms of humanitarian 

support, trying to help 

people return to normal 

life in the North-East by 

creating Islands of 

Stability so people can go 

home. We have big 

prosperity investment here, 

over £4billion in trade 

investments, obviously in 

the traditional oil 

companies, but also in 

technology. We have a 

number of UK/Nigeria 

partnerships, obviously a 

huge prosperity 

partnership. There’s 

massive education links for 

Nigerians, many go to the 

UK for university, have kids 

there, go through many 

opportunities and I want to do more of that. 

We’ve got about 300,000 Nigerians in the UK, 

one of the biggest Diaspora. What I like to do 

is make it easier for Nigerians to live and work 

in the UK but also learn to come back and 

support the country. That’s one of my 

ambitions, to make it a little bit easier. 

On the extent to which UK can offer 

security support 

We must recognize that this (Nigeria) is a 

sovereign nation, so it hasn’t gotten to sending 

in our military as a priority consideration. I 

think what the country can do is probably to 

step support on intelligence, equipment and 

we are in discussion around that lane. But I 

will be very surprised if Nigeria asked for 

intervention from any country. This is not a 

failed state. You have a strong powerful 

sovereign government. We are all here to help 

but we need Nigeria to set out what she needs 

and we are ready to support. 

We do want more Nigerians to study in the 

UK. We recognize there’s competition now. 

We’ve already changed our visa policy so that 

students who graduate can now stay up to two 

years in the UK. They used to barely have 6 

months, so that’s going to make things much 

easier. PhD students can stay even longer, three 

years. What we want to do is track the best 

talents. What we like to do is what we are 

doing with India: make the visa process easier 

for professional Nigerians with skills, 

expertise to come to work. But then you have 

to balance it, because you don’t want to 

commit brain drain, just taking all the talents 

away. So it’s about you come and go back at 

some point and reinvest your skills in Nigeria 

to make it better. 

On the choice of ticket for Nigeria’s 2023 

presidential election 

2023 is not alright. What happens in these 

elections is very crucial, not just for Nigeria, 

but also Africa and the world. You (Nigeria) 

are a huge democracy. It doesn’t have to be a 

perfect election. There would be problems, 

but we want it to be better than the last one. 

We want it want to be secure, the process 

should be run well; you need to get people to 

register. My ideal candidate would be two 

(for the two leading parties) younger 

presidential candidates, both picking female 

vice presidential candidates. I say to all. The 

candidates, the ones who select female running 

mates would most likely win this election. 

On Wike, Amaechi and the next Rivers 

election 

It is essential that there’s peaceful election 

in Rivers State. It’s going to be a crucial part 

of his (Governor Nyesom Wike) legacy, how 

the election goes in this state. It will really 

damage his reputation and legacy if this 

election is insecure. We’ve been saying same 

thing to Amaechi. It isn’t just the governors 

who control security in this country, but the 

incumbent has, probably, more means, pretty 

positive means, to take responsibility. 

No visas for anyone indicted for inciting 

violence in 2023 polls 

Another thing we will be saying is to remind 

people that if they incite violence or act 

violently (in the coming elections), we will be 

prepared to deny them visas to the UK. We 

will make that statement perfectly clear and 

say over again, particularly for those 

Nigerians that have assets, houses in the UK, 

children study in the UK, that are powerful in 

Nigeria.


DELTA 2023: 

Intrigues as Delta 

Central-23 lines 

up 6 contenders 

to succeed Okowa 

•Gbagi kicks, vows to release Amori video 

•Gov’s statement rattles Urhobo group 

By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, South-South 

MANEUVERINGS for 2023 

governorship among Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

challengers and indigenous assemblages in 

heterogeneous oil-rich Delta State have been 

dramatically altered, in the last few days, 

following a nifty masterstroke on political 

power merchants and alliances by Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa, who left no doubt that he calls 

the shot. 

Gov’s warning 

Before penultimate Saturday when he 

literally rumbled, the governor had, in a 

statement by his former Senior Political 

Adviser, Chief Funkekeme Solomon, in May 

2020, barred political appointees from 

constituting consultation groups ahead of 

2023 general elections. He had presaged: 

“Such early politicking is hasty, premature 

and is capable of undermining the unity of 

purpose of this administration.” 

Sunday Vanguard learned that contrary to 

the forewarning of Okowa, many of the 

political office holders, though more 

surreptitiously, continued with their 

campaign. 

Last month (April), Delta Central (Urhobo) 

leaders, led by Chairman, Governing Board 

of Asaba Capital Territory Development 

Agency, ACTDA, Chief Ighoyota Amori, 

floated a pressure group, Delta Central-2023 

(DC-23) to objectify the district’s ambition to 

produce the governor’s successor in 2023. 

In attendance at the group’s inaugural 

meeting were Amori; a former Minister of 

Information and Culture, who Okowa refers 

to as his ‘political father’, Prof Sam 

Oyovbaire; Speaker of the state House of 

Assembly, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oberovwori; Chief 

of Staff, Government House, Asaba, 

Olorogun David Edevbie; Attorney General 

and Commissioner for Justice, Peter 

Mrakpor; Commissioner for Urban Renewal, 

Barrister Arthur Akpowowo; Commissioner 

for Special Duties, Henry Sakpra; 

Commissioner for Environment, Chief Chris 

Onogba; Special Adviser to the Governor and 

former Managing Director, Niger Delta 

Development Commission, NDDC, Senator 

Emmanuel Aguariavwodo; former 

Secretary to State Government, SSG, Chief 

Strategist to the State Government, Rt. Hon 

Festus Agas; and Commissioner for Works, 

Hon James Augoye, among others. 

The state Chairman of the ruling party 

(PDP), Mr Kingsley Esiso, who hails from the 

area, did not attend. At the third meeting of 

the group in Asaba where May 22 was fixed 

for the inauguration of the executive and 

board members at Effurun, near Warri, six 

aspirants under PDP platform were said to 

have signified their intention to contest the 

2023 governorship election in Delta to the 

leadership of the DC-2023. 

Among them were Edevbie, Augoye, 

Aguariavwodo, Chief Kenneth Okpara, 

former Commissioner for Finance, and Dr. 

Abel Esievo, a former Auditor-General, Local 

Government. 

Gbagi tackles Amori, DC- 

23 

Barely 24 hours after the supposed 

declaration, a top-ranking governorship 

aspirant in the state, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, 

who tactically rebuffed the group, disclosed 

that it was automated by a former governor 

of the state and Amori to produce Edevbie as 

candidate of Delta Central. He lambasted the 

group for setting up parallel structure against 

the party and generally undermining the PDP 

leadership in selecting governorship 

candidate. 

Asked if he had stepped down from the race, 

he stated unequivocally: “The issue of me 

stepping down is like saying the name of Jesus 

Christ has changed. 

“I saw the composition, I even saw and have 

a copy of a proposed constitution that 

members were being forced to sign. That again 

is an illegality. 

“With all that happened to me in PDP, if there 

is anybody who would have jettisoned the PDP, 

it ought to be myself and I quote the former 

governor, Chief James Ibori, when he said 

‘with all that had happened to you in PDP, 

with all the time I spent in prison, you kept 

this party going, you are a man of character.’ 

“What has happened is a meeting of men 

and women seeking relevance, and making it 

very funny to me is that they are producing a 

constitution, forming a board of trustees, plan 

to inaugurate a chairman and all of that, you 

are putting up a quasi-political party and of 

course, everybody knows 

that I am a law-abiding 

citizen, I am not going to join 

such a charade because it 

does not exist in law and 

cannot find its place. 

“Talking about Amori, 

who is the Chairman, I am 

going to release a video 

about Amori and myself 

when I met him, Amori 

reached out to me first when 

he was seeking to be a 

senator here in my house and 

when I wanted to start 

reaching out to the entire 

country that I am running for 

governorship, I met Amori, 

his comments are there. 

“If in 1998/1999, Amori 

came to me and pleaded with me profusely 

that I should come and govern the state and 

said I was not interested at the time, you should 

know that nothing compared to what I am 

today was the case at that time. 

“As he said when I informed him about 10 

months or so ago, it was that I have even gotten 

better and stronger. It was after meeting and 

I said no at that time that he went to look for 

Chief James Ibori, 

“In any case, quoting him, he said he does 

not know anybody who has ‘my kind of 

qualities to run the state better’ the way I will 

run it.” 

Reprimand 

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the 

I want to charge our 

leaders and people 

to be cautious 

because politics is 

such that if you 

don’t read it rightly, 

you will directly 

throw your people 

into fire 

leadership of the PDP in Delta Central also 

sneered at the activities of groups that incline 

to take over the function of the party in the 

senatorial district. 

But speaking Saturday, May 17 at the 

empowerment of constituents of Aniocha/ 

Oshimili Federal Constituency by their 

representative and Minority Leader of House 

of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ndudi Godwin 

Elumelu, in Asaba, Okowa, exploded: “We are 

politicians and politics will have to be played. 

I can see that a lot has been on in our dear 

state, especially the scramble on who will 

replace Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa come 2023. 

“Unfortunately, some were not even patient. 

They started their campaigns in the first three 

months of my second term in office. 

“I want to charge our 

leaders and people to be 

cautious because politics is 

such that if you don’t read it 

rightly, you will directly throw 

your people into fire. 

“I am not all-knowing, but 

at the appropriate time, 

leaders must be ready to sit 

down for us to do a proper 

analysis politically, before we 

take decisions so that we will 

not lead our people into 

darkness. 

“I want to caution our 

leaders who are jumping the 

ship because of the very little 

thing that has been provided 

for them. It is not about self, 

it is going to be about the 

people”. 

The governor did not specifically mention 

DC-23 but many decoded he was referring to 

the group, which had assigned itself the 

responsibility of producing a governorship 

flag bearer from the district. 

On Tuesday, May 18, the governor shocked 

many when he announced the dissolution of 

the State Executive Council, sacking the 

Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mr. 

Chiedu Ebie, all commissioners, special 

advisers among others. 

We’re not against 

Okowa – Akpowowo 

One of the discharged commissioners and 

•Okowa 

National Publicity Secretary, DC-23, 

Olorogun Arthur Akpowowo, in a reaction, 

said: “The group as constituted has no 

intention to fight anybody let alone our 

governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa or his 

government on politics of 2023. 

“Being a pressure group, we are not the party; 

neither are we taking the place of the party. 

Fourthly, DC-23 is not set up to propagate any 

individual ambition but the collective 

ambition of the Urhobo people in Delta 

Central. 

‘This we intend to achieve through lobbying, 

engagement and building bridges of 

friendship within and across the entire state. 

“Finally, nobody or group of persons should 

try to pit this group against the governor or 

any institution and other stakeholders in the 

body politic of the state. Such will be exercise 

in futility and dead on arrival”. 

Misconception 

Back to DC-23, the governor’s outburst 

unnerved the power negotiators and entire 

leadership of DC-23. Many were of the opinion 

that they should put the inauguration of the 

executive on hold until they sort things out 

with the governor, who is seemingly displeased 

with the goings-on. 

A Delta Central leader corroborated the 

claim that Okowa ruffled DC-23, saying: 

“Indeed, we were frightened by the governor’s 

proclamation, and many of us suggested that 

we should shut down the group and abandon 

the inauguration, but some insisted that if we 

do that, it would be clear that we actually had 

an ulterior motive, so it was decided that we 

continue with the inauguration scheduled for 

Saturday (yesterday).” 

Parallel groups 

If there was improbability about the 

governor’s body language, his Executive 

Assistant on Communication, Dr. Fred 

Latimore, cleared the air when he disentangled 

himself from the group, Tuesday, maintaining 

that it was in compliance with the Delta 

Central PDP leadership, which recently 

frowned at parallel groups that tend to 

commandeer the functions of the party in the 

senatorial district. 

“When I was invited to join the group, there 

Continues on page 18


Okowa's statement on 2023 creates ripples 


were glaring indications that the permission 

and approval of the governor was sought and 

obtained, but recent developments and 

consultations across board, revealed that the 

introduction of a written constitution and 

national leadership structures in DC-23 seem 

to have complicated issues”, Latimore said. 

“This development had in some ways 

fractured the rules of political pressure or 

lobby groups which in most cases only serve 

the purpose(s) of mobilizing the people for 

electioneering campaigns. 

“In the light of the above, I wish to 

respectfully and humbly disengage myself 

from the activities of DC-23, and to wait for 

further directive of the governor and party 

leadership”. 

Amori declines comments until… 

Amori declined comments when contacted 

by Sunday Vanguard, saying: “No press 

interview from me until after our (DC-23) 

inauguration at Petroleum Training Institute, 

PTI, come this Saturday, 22nd. Be there if 

chanced.” 

Gauntlet 

Oyovbaire, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard 

on the developments, punctured the allusion 

by Latimore that Okowa was against DC-23, 

saying: “No, no, no, I do not drop names, in 

my usual interactions with the governor after 

one of our meetings, I discussed with the 

governor what happened at DC-23, he did not 

say he was opposed to the group. 

“Chief Amori forwarded me a text message 

by Latimore literally begging for appointment 

into an office in DC-23 and I counseled that 

offices were not given on the basis of 

individuals, but shared among the eight local 

government areas of Delta Central Senatorial 

District. 

“Therefore, the leaders of these local 

government areas brought the names they 

want and, from Ethiope East where he hails 

from, the leaders brought the name of a serving 

commissioner as publicity secretary of the 

group”. 

Oyovbaire said he advised Amori to ignore 

Latimore’s request, adding: “Less than 11 

hours or so afterwards, he resigned, resigned 

from what? What were you before, you were 

just attending meeting like myself and others. 

“So, I think it is his personal problem and 

he is now bringing the governor into it and all 

that. He was invited as a media person to the 

meeting but it was not an office to be given to 

him. 

“Following a little bit of what is happening, 

I, personally, rejected appointment into any 

office in DC-23, I am not an officer of the 

group, I am a believer in DC-23. 

“I have attended about three meetings of 

the group and my primary message is that 

DC-23 should appeal and show 

understanding to our counterparts in Delta 

North and Delta South that rotation of or 

whatever you call it has been very helpful in 

creating relating peace and stability in the 

state, and now that it has gone round from 

Central to South and now North, we want 

their support for Central to produce the next 

governor.” 

The former minister, however, explained: 

“Impressions were unduly created about the 

proposals about having the structure of the 

group from the wards, local governments and 

I think it is absolutely not necessary because it 

will create impression that we are going to 

run structures parallel to the party. So that 

was generally accepted and that is where we 

are.” 

Asked if the group was going ahead with its 

inauguration, he responded: “Yes, to the best 

of my knowledge. I thought there are some 

people who are concerned and I said ‘if you 

do not do it on Saturday (yesterday), the media 

will talk, so do it on Saturday and drive home 

the point that it is not against the party’. It is a 

lobby group; not even a pressure group, and 

we do not need all these structures to make its 

point.” 

Okowa spellbinds power brokers/blocs the 

more 

Meanwhile, at a media briefing, last 

Wednesday in Asaba, Okowa further 

confounded power brokers and screaming 

power blocs in Delta when, in answer to a 

question on zoning/rotation of governorship 

and if he was planning to handover to an Ijaw 

person, he said: “There was no formal meeting 

where gentleman agreement was reached to 

decide where the governorship be zoned to. 

Only God can decide who becomes governor.” 

On why he disbanded the State Executive 

Council, he stated: “Exco dissolution was as a 

result of distractions in governance among 

some members of the state executive council. 

“If care is not taken, I will have an exco that 

is divided and this will derail the stronger Delta 

vision of the administration, hence the 

decision was taken.” 

With his latest affirmed position, and the 

DC-23 demand that power shift continues 

from Delta Central and Ijaw ethnic nationality 

insistence that a fresh round of rotation starts 

from the ethnic group in Delta South, power 

brokers are even more confused on where 

Okowa, who deflected inquiry on his future 

political ambition, is going. 

Zidora Group promises superlative service, celebrates seven years 

idora Group, a household name 

Zwhich specializes in the area of 

travels, foreign education placement, 

media and Information and 

Communication Technology (I.C.T), rolls 

out the drum to celebrate seven years of 

excellent service delivery to her teaming 

and esteemed clientele. 

Established in 2014 within the confines 

of a single room space by High Chief Dr. 

Arinze Madueke, a US trained Doctor and 

serial entrepreneur, the conglomerate has 

now transmogrified into a symbol of 

success in the rapidly growing Nigerian 

service industry. 

Today, Zidora Group has grown in leaps 

and bounds,facilitating the successful 

applications of hundreds of Nigerians to 

their preferred destinations around 

different continents of the world. 

In seven years, Zidora Group has 

established corporate offices in no fewer 

than eight major cities across diverse 

regions in Nigeria, including Lagos, 

Portharcourt, Abuja and Onitsha. 

Over this period, Zidora Group has 

equally diversified into other business 

sectors and service industries, such as 

;Media, I.C.T, Pharmaceuticals ,Real 

estate, Oil and gas inter-alia. 

One of the packages offered by the 

company (The Zidora study abroad 

services)has grown to become one of the 

best foreign education placement service 

provider in Nigeria. 

Hundreds of Nigerians seeking foreign 

education have been professionally 

guided to actualize their desire for 

foreign education and given an 

opportunity to elect any discipline of 

choice in world class universities across 

the globe. 

The company’s foreign maternity 

service is another topnotch service 

exclusively designed for pregnant women 

seeking to give birth abroad. 

Through the use of this service, 

hundreds of pregnant women have been 

assisted to realize their nativity dreams 

of giving birth abroad while concurrently 

providing an alternative citizenship for 

their new born. 

Analogous to this is the Zidora medical 

tourism service, where people with 

medical conditions who desire to seek 

foreign medical treatment are 

backstopped to locate a suitable hospital 

and also facilitate their incidental travel 

needs,working around their budget. 

In a nutshell, Zidora Group has changed 

the landscape of foreign education, 

medical tourism, travels and tours in 

Nigeria. 

With its array of experienced 

professionals dedicated to actualizing the 

core values of the Zidora brand, the team 

interprets the dreams of her very revered 

clients and makes it come to fruition. 

From a two man, one room business 

structure, Zidora Group has experienced 

commendable spread/expansion in terms 

of outreach and staff strength as the 

company today has over two hundred 

employees nationwide, thereby 

contributing its quota towards addressing 

the intractable problem of 

unemployment in Nigeria. 

As part of its Corporate Social 

Responsibility and as a way of giving back 

to the society, the Zidora Aid Foundation 

was setup to help indigent children to 

remain in school and this is done through 

it’s back to school programs which holds 

in Lagos and Anambra States for now 

with a plan to expand its area of coverage 

in the nearest future. 

The foundation equally has a regular 

medical outreach where people with 

certain medical conditions and pregnant 

women are attended to,free of charge. 

Not leaving the less privileged behind, 

the foundation regularly organizes 

forums where the needy are fed, given 

food items, cash and Clothings. 

Such notably, roundly successful feat in 

seven years is worth celebrating. Zidora 

Group has been telling the African story 

of resilience and excellence in service 

delivery in the last seven years. 

NIGER DELTA: The Positive Evolution of the Amnesty Programme 

By Mary Oyibocha-Agbajoh 

The Niger Delta Presidential 

Amnesty Programme (PAP), after 

its establishment in 2009 by the 

late President Musa Yar’Adua, has under 

gone series of evolution which had yielded 

positive results at resolving the unrest in 

the volatile oil producing environment 

and consequent improvement of the 

nation’s economy. 

Recall that, on the assumption of office 

of Yar’Adua as President on May 29, 2007, 

there were threats to lives and property 

as a result of the activities of militant 

groups in the Niger Delta. These threats 

bordered not only on the people of the 

region, but also on the oil producing 

companies and the Nigerian state as a 

whole. 

More importantly, militants in the 

region were constantly involved in 

killings, kidnappings, hostage-takings, 

destruction of oil installations and 

facilities, and confrontations with law 

enforcement agencies. Their action 

affected oil production in Nigeria to the 

extent that, on a particular day in 2008, 

Nigeria was only able to produce only 

700,000 barrels of crude. 

Thus, in order to restore peace to the 

region, Yar’Adua introduced PAP by 

granting amnesty to restive youths and 

purging them of all records of accusation, 

trial, conviction, imprisonment and 

granted them the opportunity of starting 

life on a clean slate. 

To achieve its objectives, government 

introduced 

disarmament, 

demobilisation, rehabilitation and 

sustainable reintegration. 

Since the establishment of the 

programme, it has evolved from 

demobilization, which is disarming the 

youths of weapons of destruction, to 

rehabilitation and finally sustainable 

reintegration. 

Currently, the programme is in the 

reintegration phase which largely entails 

providing the restive youths with either 

vocational training or formal education. 

Of course, there is also the re-insertion 

part of reintegration which entails adding 

processes of returning already trained exagitators 

to civil society. The quickest 

way to achieve this is through provision 

of jobs to already trained delegates. But, 

unfortunately, the situation of the country 

has changed with many of the educated 

youths being unemployed. 

The good news, however, is that, after 

twelve years, PAP, to a large extent, has 

created a remarkable improvement in the 

Niger Delta from what it was and what it 

is now. 

It has stopped incessant attacks and 

sabotage of oil facilities which resulted 

in the restoration of peace to the region. 

This has made it possible for the Federal 

Government to have a free flow of oil 

thereby increasing revenues. And Nigeria 

has been able to attain 

the Organisation of 

Petroleum Exporting 

Countries, OPEC, 

quota of 2.2 million 

barrels of crude per day 

compared to the 

production of 700,000 

barrels per day in the 

pre-2009 period. 

As for training and 

education, it is on 

record that the 

programme has 

trained no fewer than 

30,000 people who 

agreed to lay down 

their arms. 

It is also on record 

that these trainees have 

been educated and 

given vocational skills 

in various fields. 

Besides, there is 

evidence that no fewer than 1,050 of the 

ex-agitators have so far graduated from 

the programme, while no fewer than 

thirteen of them have studied up to the 

PhD level. 

The programme has equally trained 

several pilots, lawyers, engineers, welders 

and the likes. 

Despite that the programme has 

achieved relative successes in the 

aforementioned areas, a lot still has to be 

done in their reintegration. After training, 

the youths need to be effectively absorbed 

and reintegrated into the society by 

keeping them busy so as to erase the 

mentality of hostility from their thoughts. 

Like I earlier explained, in the earlier 

stages of the PAP scheme, ex-agitators 

were trained in skilled within the oil and 

gas sector, some sent abroad for 

educational programmes and some 

within the Nigerian university system to 

acquire quality education. But with the 

challenge of high unemployment and 

limited job opportunities in the formal 

sectors, PAP proactively designed schemes 

to make the ex-agitators economically 

self-sufficient. 

Among such scheme is the Refresher 

Training and Empowerment in 

Commodity Shop. Commodity Shop is a 

scheme where the ex-agitators are trained 

to manage small/medium scale 

enterprises (MSMEs). These MSMEs are 

focused on trading in Fast Moving 

Consumers Goods (FMCG) wherein the 

ex-agitators can be gainfully employed 

and equally be employers of labor. 

Consequently, a company, Omerald 

Limited, under the leadership of seasoned 

vendors, was engaged to train and 

empower 43 ex-agitators in Delta and 

Rivers states. For seven days, these exagitators 

were trained by experienced 

business managers on operating FMCG 

business in Port Harcourt and Warri. 

After exhaustive training and 

mentorship, the ex-agitators were 

provided starter pack in form of cash to 

rent shops in their local communities. 

Thereafter the vendors, alongside 

representatives of PAP, would convey 

goods to each of the delegates at their 

rented shops. 

My candid advice is that the FMCG 

should be sustained because it will take 

majority of PAP trainees out of the streets 

of the Niger Delta by making them 

managers of their own businesses and 

subsequently employers of labor. 

The long term effect is that it will keep 

idle Niger Delta youths busy and reduce 

the rate of crime in the region and create 

peaceful atmosphere not only for those 

in the region but also give corporate 

organizations operating in the Niger 

Delta an opportunity to do their 

business in a peaceful environment. 

•Oyibocha-Agbajoh, a legal 

practitioner, lives in Abuja


•Rev. Benebo 

Fubara-Manuel 

By Sam Eyoboka 

OR good health, especially during 

Fpandemics in Africa, religious 

By Nnamdi Ojiego 

n recognition of quality teaching and 

Ilearning at Corona Secondary School, 

CSS, Agbara, Ogun State, five students of the 

school have been awarded scholarships worth 

over two $2 million by both local and 

international organizations. 

The awards were as a result of sterling 

performances by the students in the 

competitions. 

Though this is not the first time the school 

was winning awards and scholarships, the 

latest laurels only revalidated the foremost 

secondary school as a citadel of excellence 

where the best brains are being groomed. 

Three students, Master Jay Esemudje, Miss 

Tamara Akika, and Master Kenechukwu 

Ozoemene, bagged the Council of British 

International Schools, COBIS, award. Others 

are the recipients of the National History 

Award, NHA, Toluwanimi Sonuga and Miss 

Oyindoubra Akika, who emerged the overall 

winner of the competition in Nigeria. 

Meanwhile, Esemudje was the only student 

awarded the Association for International 

Schools Award, AISA, in the whole of Africa 

with over $600,000 worth of scholarship. 

Pastors bar Christians from 

taking HIV/AIDS treatment 

•CCN, NASFAT, others seek change 

organisations in Nigeria are collaborating 

to tackle HIV/AIDS. 

At a meeting organised by the Christians 

Council of Nigeria, CCN, with several 

denominations in attendance, it was 

resolved that religious leaders who believe 

in faith healings should endeavour other 

sources of interventions including retrovirus 

to manage/cure such diseases. 

Religious leaders were told not to dissuade 

members from taking anti-retroviral 

therapy (ART) as some religious leaders are 

discouraging HIV/AIDS patients who are 

Christians from utilising ART, saying doing 

so would compromise their faith. 

This was the admonition of participants 

at the five-day workshop organised by the 

World Council of Churches in 

collaboration with CCN which invited 

several groups, including NASFAT and 

even traditional healers. 

They noted that poor adherence to 

treatment by HIV patients has the potential 

to negatively impact outcome of treatment 

efforts. 

Speaking at the event in Lagos, tagged 

‘Consultation for religious leaders on HIV 

treatment adherence’, West Africa Regional 

Coordinator, World Council of Churches, 

Ayoko Bahun-Wilson, said the body had 

shown leadership by creating safe spaces 

for its communities to deepen their 

knowledge and engender reflections on 

ART. 

She encouraged stakeholders to find ways 

to increase HIV treatment adherence and 

address challenges brought by faith leaders 

who discourage people living with HIV 

from utilising ART thereby compromising 

their adherence. 

“We can’t change the past, but what we 

can do is to chart a future guided by our 

collective love for those we could not safe. 

But allow us to do everything in our power, 

to save those that we can,” she said. 

CCN President, Most Rev. Benebo 

Fubara-Manuel said, in recent years, there 

exist contradictions in Christendom on 

issue of healing, noting that many now 

believe that when they pray, it is more 

effective than taking medications. 

“They are forgetting the old traditional 

philosophy that ‘to work is to pray’. And 

this is the vision of the Church. Show me 

your faith or your life, show me your work 

and I will show you your faith”, Manuel 

said. 

“Our churches on the pulpits preach 

healings by prayer only and our testimonies 

are weak when we speak about healing 

through medical science, or through 

counseling, community support and we are 

forgetting that God works in mysterious 

ways”. 

He called for concerted efforts in ensuring 

adherence to treatment by changing 

theologies, saying clerics should let people 

know that prayer alone is sometimes 

wonderful, but treatment, is sometimes the 

path that God has chosen for His people. 

“If the Church or faith based community 

failed to collaborate, then we will be going 

in a retrogressive manner and we would 

not achieve as good success as we ought to 

achieve,” the CCN leader said. 

Community Support Adviser, UNAIDS 

Nigeria, Gabriel Undelikwo, said the fact 

that COVID-19 exists does not undermine 

other problems such as HIV in existence 

before it. 

“So we have problems of HIV/AIDS, 

poverty, human rights abuses and inequality 

that COVID-19 has accentuated”, 

Undelikwo said. 

“These are things that have for a long 

period acted as structural barriers to 

ending HIV/AIDS and ensuring people 

have access to better health services. 

“We need to ensure that we end HIV/ 

AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 

that is the target that we have given 

ourselves.” 

A representative of Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi 

Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Alhaja 

Ganiat Babalola, said stigmatisation was 

making many people to fear declaring 

their HIV/AIDS status. 

She urged religious leaders to use the 

pulpit to enlighten members on 

adherence to HIV/AIDS protocol and 

treatment. 

Ilesanmi Adebola of Network of People 

Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria said 

based on research and feedback, there 

exists high level of stigma in the country. 

She said many Nigerians still doubt the 

existence of the virus and those that 

declare their status are stigmatized. 

Dollar rain at Corona College as students win $2m scholarships 

Speaking at the award presentation held at 

the CSS premises recently, an elated Principal 

of the school, Mrs. Chinedum 

Oluwadamilola, said the recognition and 

awards didn’t come as surprise. She said the 

institution has always provided a good 

platform for students to achieve outstanding 

academic results. 

According to her, the institution is living up 

to its vision and mission of providing worldclass 

education to children by inculcating high 

moral and ethical values and preparing them 

for lifelong learning, service and fulfilment. 

Oluwadamilola said: “We are celebrating 

our students today who have done us proud. 

They have made the school proud through 

their diligence and commitment to their 

studies. This is an event where we are 

celebrating excellence. This is excellence has 

been validated by international organisations 

and not the one we say to ourselves, ‘’we are 

doing well.’’ 

“What we do in CSS is to give our students 

that enabling environment to be the best in 

whatever they are doing. We don’t only read 

here, we also do all social activities because 

we believe it is the totality of human beings 

and that it brings up abilities. Let us learn to 

encourage our children to be the best in every 

way.’’ 

The principal further recalled: “We have 

been participating in the National History 

competitions for the past six years. We have 

been winners at both the senior and the junior 

categories but this is the first time we are 

combining both at the national level with one 

of our students emerging the overall winner.” 

On the COBIS, she explained that the award 

cuts across various nations of the world and it 

is not judged base on academic performance 

alone but also on the impacts of the 

participating students on their larger 

community. 

Down with cancer, housewife begs for lifeline 


rs Olanrewaju Tunde Adegoke is 

Mcritically ill after being diagnosed with 

cancer. In this interview, Adegoke speaks about 

the excruciating pains she is going through 

while soliciting for help from kind hearted 

Nigerians to enable her complete treatment. 

How did you know you could be 

having cancer and what steps did you 

take? 

I knew I stood the risk of having cancer 

because I had three lumps in my left breast 

several years ago but the moment the lumps 

were removed, I erased the possibility of cancer 

from my mind because they were examined 

in the laboratory and it came out to be fibroid 

adenoma and cyst; that was when I turned 33 

years, about 13 years ago. 

What happened thereafter? 

The doctor who removed the lumps told me 

I had nothing to fear since the lumps had been 

examined and confirmed to be ordinary 

fibroid adenoma. There were no more lumps 

in my breast for many years, but suddenly five 

months ago, I felt a hit on one of the scars and 

within a week I started itching at that point 

and within four weeks something tiny like 

tumor started growing from under the scar. I 

was no longer comfortable at that point. 

Within two months, the tiny growth widened 

to like 2cm and this made me to go to hospital 

to report my feelings. 

When and where was it confirmed that 

the ailment you have is cancer? And 

what were your immediate reactions? 

In February this year, I went to the National 

Hospital Abuja to see my doctor and 

immediately a biopsy was performed and the 

tissues were sent to the laboratory. The result 

indicated that what I have is cancer. My first 

reaction was, why will lumps removed, tested 

to be ordinary fibroid adenoma and cysts 

suddenly turned out to be cancer after 13 years. 

I shed tears of sadness, but immediately I 

wiped the tears because God spoke to me right 

there in the hospital that I will survive even 

though I was not aware then that the financial 

commitments for the treatment were very 

high. 

Can you tell us about the doctor’s 

report confirming cancer? 

According to the doctor’s report, 

immunohistochemistry was carried out and I 

was diagnosed with Histologically confirmed 

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the left breast, 

that is ER Positive, PR Negative and HER2 

Neu Positive. This cancer, according to the 

doctor, is highly aggressive, yet highly 

treatable. 

How is the treatment going? What 

stage are you in now and what is next? 

Treatment started immediately cancer was 

confirmed to shrink the tumor and it is stage 2 

cancer. Next is surgery and I will be due for it 

in June (next month). 

People generally believe cancer 

treatment can be painful and 

expensive. Tell us your experience? 

Cancer treatment is actually very painful 

and expensive. I do not wish an enemy to have 

such ailment. It is advisable to go to hospital 

where there are oncologists on ground for 

international standard of diagnosis and 

treatment otherwise it can turn out to be a 

mess. At the time I was diagnosed, I was given 

about two weeks’ appointment to come back 

to see the oncologist at the National Hospital 

Abuja due to long queues of people waiting to 

see oncologists too. As I was waiting for the 

day to come, even in serious and unbearable 

pains, doctors went on strike. I was only left 

with no option than to go to a private cancer 

center here in Abuja where I commenced 

treatment immediately and the pains 

disappeared. My experience is very 

encouraging because the tumor has reduced 

in size but it will take a long time and so much 

money to complete treatment. Doctors say I 

may need about N26million to complete 

treatment. 

What kind of help have you received 

and what help do you need now going 

forward? 

I have received assistance from close friends 

and family members. But we have spent so far 

all the immediate family savings of N6.5m 

and we are totally out of funds now but we still 

have a lot way to go. I need contributions from 

people with compassionate hearts so that I 

can continue the treatment.


How to convince your daughter she’s bett 

tter off f as a second wife! 

At 49, Jubril was thought 

to have an enviable 

marriage by his married 

friends – a 22-year 

partnership with beautiful 

Tumi who bore him three 

lovely children. They met in 

college and were almost 

inseparable. 

Then she became a mother 

of three, and gradually her 

appearance at parties with 

him began to fade. “When 

Jubril started staying out late 

and at most weekends, I 

warned my daughter of its 

implications”, Miriam, 

Tumi’s mother said. “As a 

Muslim, Jubril could be 

polygamous if he desired, but 

Tumi seemed to trust him not 

to take another wife. Well, he 

did. Not only that, he had said 

that since they lived in a 

sprawling accommodation, 

the new wife could have one 

of the chalets. At his age and 

with his position, Jubril said 

he wouldn’t want to be 

running from one woman’s 

house to the other if his new 

wife were to live on a different 

premises. Tumi was 

devastated to say the least. 

She’d invested so much into 

her marriage, and to be 

replaced with a new model in 

her life as if she was an old 

car, was too hard for her to 

take. 

“I had to counsel her all of 

the time, to tell her that she 

too was a product of 

polygamy, but she believed 

her husband was throwing 

away all they’d both worked 

for, all the investments in 

emotions and their home for 

a gold-digger. She was sure 

her husband would soon 

regret his decision. When I 

eventually met Yosola, the new 

wife, I was a bit taken aback 

by her simplicity. She was 

young and fresh-faced all 

right, but you could hardly call 

her a gold-digger. She came 

from a very strict Muslim 

background. Her parents 

were rich and she turned out 

to be a successful business 

woman. 

“She deals in household 

goods and is a major 

distributor for a few 

manufacturing companies. 

She also imports some of the 

items she sold wholesale. 

“I was ready to dislike her, 

but you just couldn’t help 

admiring her resolve. 

You could see she was 

prepared to do anything to 

make the relationship work. 

She was very polite to Tumi 

and the children. When she 

learnt that I dealt in some of 

the things she sold, she 

compared her prices with 

where I bought mine from, 

and she needn’t twist my arm 

before I agreed to be buying 

from her. My daughter was 

livid. She thought Yosola was 

trying to buy my affection, but 

I told her she was being silly. 

The prices she quoted were lot 

less than I was currently 

paying and she even said I 

could pay her after I’d sold the 

goods! It was too good to be 

true but because I got the 

goods for less, I was able to be 

a small distributor in my own 

right! Small stall-owners 

started patronizing me and in 

two years, I was able to rent 

another shop – a bigger one 

at that! 

“It took a long time for my 

daughter to see that one could 

sometimes benefit from a 

seemingly bad situation. 

Since I started dealing with 

Yosola, I no longer ask for any 

material things from my 

daughter. I was able to help 

my other children and I now 

have a pick-up van I use for 

my business. 

Jubril is happy at the turn of 

events and Tumi is also 

learning to live with the 

situation. Her children are 

grown and doing well in 

school while Yosola’s two 

children are in primary 

school. 

“It is not really a thing one 

looks forward to when one 

has to share one’s affection 

with another partner, but it 

could be worse. What if my 

daughter’s husband had 

ended up with one of these 

desperate women who are 

bent on unseating the 

incumbent wife?” 

When Eno met her son-inlaw’s 

new wife, she was 

determined to hate her. The 

fact that Bukky, the new wife, 

met her husband after he was 

widowed; had nothing to do 

with how Eno felt. “He 

married her too quickly after 

my daughter died”, Eno 

fumed. “Though she’s as nice 

as wives come, every time I 

look at them together, see how 

happy they are, I just can’t help 

thinking she’s a poor 

replacement for my darling 

daughter. She’s also almost 

twenty years younger than 

Dominic.” 

“But your so-called son-inlaw 

is in his late forties and 

his new wife is no teenybopper 

– she is 30 years old”, 

I pointed out. “And breeding 

like a rabbit”, snapped Eno. 

Gently, I reminded her that 

even though she tried, her late 

daughter only had a child. 

Surely, Eno would want 

Dominic to have more; 

children? He has always 

encouraged Eno to visit her 

grand-daughter more often 

but she wasn’t having any of 

that. “My blood boils any 

time I see that woman in my 

daughter’s former home, 

using her things and my 

grand-daughter calling her 

mummy. I mean, she’s not her 

mother and what would she 

be to me? A daughter-in-law? 

I’m sure she too wouldn’t 

want “me around, cluttering 

up her newly arranged 

matrimonial home!” 

What You See Is What You 

Get! (Humour) 

Unbeknown to his family, a 

man joined a nudist colony. A 

few months later, he received 

a letter from his mother who 

wrote that she hadn’t seen him 

for a while and would he send 

a recent photograph? 

Unfortunately all the photos 

of himself were in the nude so 

he cut one of the pictures in 

two and sent her the top half. 

A couple of days later, 

another letter arrived from his 

mother thanking him for the 

photo and asking him to send 

one to his ageing 

grandmother! The poor old 

dear’s nearly blind, he 

thought to himself. I’ll just 

send the other half of the 

photo, she’ll never know the 

difference! Some time passed 

and one morning, a letter 

arrived from his 

grandmother. “Dear Ernest,” 

it read, “thank you for the 

photo, though I must say that 

your new hairstyle makes your 

nose look much longer.” 

Time For Everything? 

(Humour) 

A man was riding through 

the desert when he saw an 

Indian lying naked on the 

ground with his penis sticking 

up in the air. “What are you 

doing?” he asked. “Me telling 

time,” the Indian replied and 

sure enough his willy acted 

like a sundial, casting a 

shadow over a cross his body. 

“It’s 4 o’clock,” he said. A little 

further on, he saw another 

Indian lying naked on the 

ground, with his penis up in 

the air. 

“Me tell time,” said the 

Indian as the man rode by. 

“It’s 6 o’clock,” he said. Then 

five minutes later, he saw a 

third Indian lying naked on 

the ground but this one was 

masturbating. To hide his 

embarrassment, the rider 

remarked, “Telling the time 

are you?” “No, winding 

watch,” came the reply 

Anambra community petitions Obiano over 

traditional stool crisis 

By Chinedu Adonu 

People of Umuotti Ajalli 

town, Orumba North 

Local Government Area of 

Anambra State, have 

appealed to the state governor, 

Chief Willie Obiano, to 

intervene in the chieftaincy 

crisis in the community. 

The community, in the 

petition through their counsel, 

Jerome Chukwudozie Okolo 

SAN, appealed to Obiano, in 

the interest of peace in the 

community, not to recognise 

a rival traditional ruler in the 

community, Emesinwa 

Nwosu but rather the 

incumbent traditional ruler, 

Ikechukwu Nwosu, the Eze 

VII of Umuotti, Ajalli. 

They posited that Eze 

Ikechukwu Nwosu has been 

their royal father since August 

18, 2018, when he was 

installed and wondered why 

some prominent persons in 

the community are projecting 

Emesinwa Nwosu to edge 

Ikechukwu Nwosu aside. 

In the petition to the 

governor, the counsels stated 

as follows: 

"We have been retained by 

the Umuoti Dynasty Kindred 

Community of Ajalli Town, 

Orumba North Local 

Government Area, who are the 

Judgment Creditors in Suit 

No: AG/117/2005, in which 

the High Court of Ekwuluobia 

on 14/8/2018 decreed their 

'ACAEDF rescued, transformed over 234 children' 

Africa’s leading child 

rights protection 

organisation, African 

Children’s Aid Education and 

Development Foundation 

(ACAEDF), a not-for-profit 

and non-governmental 

organisation, would 

commemorate its seven years 

of impactful existence in 

Nigeria and across Africa. 

The event which will take 

place on May 25, 2021, in 

Akwa Ibom State, would have 

top dignitaries, industry 

captains and notable child 

rights promoters across the 

continent in attendance. 

The organisation said it has 

rescued and transformed over 

234 children across the 

country with the help of its 

team of experts and 

caregivers. 

The event titled: Children 

for Change Celebration, is 

designed to also raise funds 

for the establishment of 

schools and ICT learning 

centres in Riverine 

communities. 

Since its inception in 2014, 

ACAEDF has been mobilizing 

people and resources to 

advocate, protect, and 

proactively provide 

interventions especially 

against child witch branding 

and other forms of abuses. 

The foundation’s provable 

track records especially within 

its community of practice 

include rescue and sheltering 

homeless children accused of 

witchcraft, provision of quality 

education to sheltered 

children, and reunification 

and reintegration of rescued 

children. 

exclusive right of succession 

to the Ajalli Town Community 

Traditional Stool, pursuant to 

which an incumbent Town 

Traditional Ruler -Eze VIl of 

Ajalli in the person of HRH 

Eze lkechukwu Nwosu was 

on 18 August 2018 duly 

installed and Crowned, now 

awaiting HIS Excellency's 

due approval under the extant 

State Traditional Rulers Law. 

Celebration of Africa Day: MultiChoice launches 

Colours of Africa short film series 

Film aficionados hungry 

for African stories can 

indulge in a feast of curated 

short films in celebration of 

African cinema. 

MultiChoice and the 

MultiChoice Talent Factory 

(MTF) are proud to celebrate 

the love of African cinema 

with the Colours of Africa film 

series. 

The series will feature 16 

films shot and directed by the 

MTF Academy’s Class of 

2020, available on Showmax 

on Africa Day and M-Net 

Movies AfroCinema pop-up 

channel from 21 – 30 May 

2021. Viewers will get to sink 

their teeth into a selection of 

films from East, West and 

Southern Africa and marvel 

at the results of the talent 

honed by the MTF Academy’s 

distinctive curriculum. 

“The Colours of Africa film 

series is one of the many ways 

that MultiChoice celebrates 

young film talent in Africa. We 

are proud to honour Africa 

Day by celebrating the work 

of the MTF Class of 2020 in 

this way. The film series also 

speaks to MultiChoice’s 

commitment to developing 

and nurturing the abundance 

of young talent who represent 

the future of our industry,” says 

John Ugbe, CEO, 

MultiChoice Nigeria 

The M-Net AfroCinema 

pop-up will also feature films 

from the inaugural class of the 

MTF Academy, as well as 

public 

service 

announcements (PSAs) shot 

by the Class of 2020 for the 

United Nation’s 

#PledgeToPause campaign 

as part of their academic 

course. 

The COVID-19 pandemic 

set a precedent for the Class 

of 2020, but their resilience 

culminated in a successful 

second year of the MTF 

shared-value initiative. While 

the students’ academic course 

was extended from 12 months 

to 18 months, the additional 

time allowed for an online 

accredited course through the 

partnership with the New 

York Film Academy. 

“The theme of the 

collections of films is 

‘Connecting generations 

through storytelling’ and 

what is particularly beautiful 

about the series is that the 

MTF students produced the 

short films in their home 

countries adding local 

context, voice and visuals to 

their cinematic expression •Elsiein 

the Colours of Africa series. 

Hamtajak boss empowers Eti-Osa 

residents 

By Victor Arjiromanus 

Acommunity youth 

leader in Ojomu 

Royal Communities, 

Eti-Osa Local Government 

Area of Lagos State and the 

Chairman of Hamtajak 

Group, Mr. Hammed 

Tajudeen, has distributed 25 

commercial vehicles, 

hairdressing equipment, N15 

million and other items to 

elderly people in the 

community. 

Speaking with journalists at 

his office residence in Agungi, 

Lekki, the businessman said 

his inspiration to support 

people was drawn from his 

past experience. 

His words:" This 

community, Igomu in Eti- 

Osa, is where I was born and 

started my struggle. My 

parents were very poor that it 

was so difficult for us to feed 

and live well. It was so tough 

for us, so I did many odd jobs 

to survive, I was once a bus 

conductor here in Lagos. I 

hawked on the streets, and I 

did welding jobs and other 

manual labour jobs to survive 

and support my family until I 

had my breakthrough when a 

friend introduced me to 

property business. Whenever 

I remember what I passed 

through in life, I am moved to 

help people reduce their 

struggles.’’ 

Hammed, however, urged 

other leaders of communities 

and anyone occupying any 

position of leadership to 

embrace philanthropy. 

Speaking at the event, 

Lagos Commissioner for 

Home Affairs, Mr. 

Olanrewaju Elegushi, said 

Hammed should be 

emulated. 

Chairman of Hamtajak Group, Mr Hammed Tajudeen, 

presenting a cash gift to one of the beneficiaries of his 

empowerment programme in Lagos.

Blaming the Fulani… 

Nigerians must be 

careful, and must 

never participate in the brutal, 

blanket demonization of any 

ethnic group of Nigerians or 

isolate them for 

recrimination, hate or any 

form of selective obloquy. 

Why? Take the Igbo for 

example. They have been 

there. They have been the 

targets of ethnic cleansing and 

specific forms of selective 

hatred and discrimination in 

Nigeria. The Igbo have borne 

the brunt of their own 

perceived successes or even 

ambitions. Yesterday, it was the 

Igbo. 

Today, it is the Fulani. 

Having experienced group 

discrimination and hatred, 

the Igbo must adhere to the 

injunction of that old man who 

said to Okonkwo, “Do not 

have a hand in the death of 

this child who calls you father.” 

Yet Okonkwo went ahead and 

struck that deadly blow 

against Ikemefuna. That 

blow triggered the events that 

led to Okonkwo’s tragedy. 

Karma, they say, is a bitch! In 

the same sense, no Igbo 

conscious of history must 

have a hand in the general 

recrimination against the 

Fulani today simply because 

what goes round often comes 

round. Today, the Fulani, 

through the actions of a few 

deeply embedded interests, 

some of whom do not actually 

speak for the Fulani people 

in general, are in power, and 

are working with interests 

outside of Nigeria, which are 

also deleterious to Nigeria’s 

general interests. My point is 

that the Fulani of Nigeria as 

a people must never be the 

targets, as it now seems to be 

the case, of wide hatred and 

recrimination on account of 

the actions of a few Fulani. 

When we examine it closely, 

the Fulani too are the victims 

of some of the worst 

government policies under the 

administration of 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

Among some of the worst 

victims, in this divide which 

sometimes take the colors of 

religion, are the indigenous 

Fulani Christians. Yes, there 

are Fulani Christians. They 

are silenced, persecuted, 

discriminated against and 

often rendered invisible by 

some of the highly 

essentialized forms of 

descriptions that Nigerians 

have been misinformed into 

accepting. We must always 

keep this minority population 

in view. 

There are also many 

progressive Fulani who 

understand that the only way 

to escape the poverty trap is 

to properly educate and 

prepare the next generation, 

and remove them from the 

grip of feudal over-lordship, 

and the culture of 

enslavement and servitude 

that continues in some form 

or the other in parts of the 

North where governments 

Loud Whispers 

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender 

Specialist, Social Entrepreneur 

and Writer. She is the Founder 

of Abovewhispers.com, an online 

community for women. She is the 

First Lady of Ekiti State, and she 

can be reached at 

BAF@abovewhispers.com 

Mama Tayo’s journey 

Many years ago, I 

had 

a 

conversation with 

a school mate, let me call her 

Tayo, who told me that she was 

one of six children her mother 

had with five husbands. I was 

shocked to hear this. We are 

brought up to believe that this 

is normal for men, who are 

entitled to a polygamous 

lifestyle. A woman with five 

husbands was something 

people would seriously frown 

at and such a woman would 

be labelled with every 

unsavoury name in the 

dictionary.Tayo summarised 

the circumstances under 

which her mother ended up 

with five husbands during the 

course of her life. I do not 

recall all the details I was 

given, it was years ago, so 

please allow me to fill in the 

blanks with some literary 

license plucked from my 

imagination. 

Mama Tayo married 

Husband 1 when she was 

seventeen. The family was 

poor and Husband 1 was a 

young school teacher in his 

twenties. He was single and 

seduced the naïve young girl 

and she became pregnant. He 

married her and she had two 

children with him. Husband 

1 was a drunken brute who 

beat his wife non-stop, so she 

left with her two children after 

he threatened all of them with 

a cutlass. Husband 2 was 

much better. His first wife had 

died just after childbirth. 

Mama Tayo became Step- 

Mother to his young daughter 

and they all lived happily 

together. Then Husband 2 

died suddenly in a car crash. 

Poor Mama Tayo was left 

with four children to care for 

– her first two, her Stepdaughter 

and the one son she 

had for Husband 2. Husband 

2’s family took the Stepdaughter 

off her hands, but 

when she refused to give up 

the child she had with him, she 

was thrown out. Mama Tayo 

struggled on with petty 

trading till she was introduced 

to a middle-aged Engineer in 

church whose first two wives 

had left him. According to his 

story, they were infertile. He 

needed a family and Mama 

Tayo, with three biological 

children, was at least proof 

that she could give him one. 

That is how Uncle Engineer 

became Husband 3. Three 

years later, and with nothing 

to show for the Engineer’s 

‘investment’ Mama Tayo 

have failed people badly. 

There are modern, 

enlightened, progressive and 

nationalist Fulani. Let me put 

this in some context: this idea 

that the Fulani have ruled and 

over-determined Nigeria is 

false and exaggerated. 

In the history of Nigeria, 

true, four Fulani have been 

Presidents of Nigeria: 

Murtala Muhammed, Shehu 

Aliyu Shagari, Umaru Yar 

‘Adua and Muhammadu 

Buhari. True, for its population 

of less than five million people, 

that is a most remarkable 

percentage. But how did the 

Fulani do this? Their 

population is small. They do 

not have a high number of 

combatants in the military. 

They do not command 

enough skilled workforce 

which alone can govern a 

complex country such as 

Nigeria. They did it by 

building and controlling 

alliances. The mystery is in the 

myths and legends we have 

created about the Fulani 

power. It is more in the abstract 

than in reality. 

Nigerians are still trapped 

within a colonial myth which 

tended to frame Nigeria’s 

imperial history through a 

mythical North-South divide. 

In this divide, anthropologists 

have hidden the fact that the 

Igbo people of Nigeria, for 

instance, once occupied lands 

stretching to beyond what we 

now call Niger State, up till 

the middle of the 19th century. 

Many of these places still bear 

Igbo names, and you could 

still see the cultural 

boundaries between where the 

Igbo and the Nupe shook 

hands and intermingled as far 

as places like Bussa (Igbo- 

Uzo) where the great Niger 

met the Kwora. But that is a 

different story. I am just saying 

that contemporary Nigerian 

national narrative is built on 

many falsehoods. But I shall 

found herself alone again. 

Uncle Engineer and his family 

could not justify him spending 

money endlessly on the 

children of other men while 

he did not have his own. 

Perhaps no one was willing to 

point out that Uncle Engineer 

ought to have had his sperm 

count checked, but remember, 

this was a long time ago. 

Husband 4 was a musician 

who was quite popular and 

liked to have a good time with 

women, his two wives at home 

were not a hindrance. Uncle 

Musician was Tayo’s father. 

He met Mama Tayo when she 

was working in a restaurant. 

Their dalliance led to a 

pregnancy and since Mama 

Tayo needed security, she 

demanded that he marry her 

as one of his wives. He 

grudgingly obliged, but he 

agreed to rent a suitable place 

for her and the children, better 

than the one room she was 

‘managing’ in a compound 

with other tenants. This 

arrangement worked till 

Uncle Musician became 

ill. Whatever the ailment 

was, it affected his 

livelihood. This in turn 

affected his small harem 

and poor Mama Tayo 

found herself spending 

whatever little she had 

nursing Uncle Musician, in 

collaboration with the 

other wives.During the 

period of his illness, the 

wives set aside their 

rivalries and pooled 

financial, material and 

spiritual resources to get 

him back on his feet. When 

Uncle Musician got better, 

he repaid their efforts by 

sending away two of the 

three wives, keeping the 

first one. His excuse was 

that he could not afford to 

look after more than one 

wife. He should have 

come to this a little later. What 

is clear is that the Fulani have 

never been the overlords of 

modern Nigeria. This is a 

contemporary myth that, if 

allowed to harden, will lead 

to many Fulani deaths, 

because Nigeria is far too 

complex to be mastered by a 

single ethnic group, much less 

No Igbo conscious of 

history must have a 

hand in the general 

recrimination against 

the Fulani today simply 

because what goes 

round often comes 

round 

a very minority ethnic group. 

Balewa was not Fulani. Even 

so, he was not Head of State 

of Nigeria. Nnamdi Azikiwe 

was. Indeed, by 1963, 

following the Republican 

Constitution, the Prime 

Minister of Nigeria was 

reduced to the Chief Adviser 

of the President, and head of 

his Council of Ministers. The 

emphasis here is ‘Council of 

Ministers’. Every minister 

under the parliamentary 

system had “ministerial 

responsibility” and acted 

alone. However, the 1963 

Constitution had established 

the executive power of the 

state, not on the Prime 

Minister and the Council of 

Ministers, but on the President. 

This constitutional change 

was the move of the 

nationalists against British 

interests in 1963, and it led 

eventually to the face-off of 

1964, and to the coups of 

1966. But this is another story 

which I shall tell in a different 

context. Suffice it to say that 

Balewa was not Fulani. 

Gowon was not Fulani. 

Abacha was not Fulani. 

Babangida was not Fulani. 

Life has different 

things in store for 

people, regardless 

of dreams and 

aspirations 

thought of that before. The 

two wives affected were 

probably relieved, since his 

fortunes had taken a turn 

for the worse. He promised 

to continue looking after 

his children, a promise he 

never kept. Tayo was very 

protective of her mother 

and decided that the only 

way she could repay her 

for years of suffering and 

sacrifice was to do well in 

her studies. 

Husband 5 was an 

elderly ‘returnee’ from 

Germany. He had grown 

up children who stayed 

back there and he was 

divorced from his German 

wife. Mama Tayo was by 

now in her early forties, 

but still quite pretty and 

presentable. She was also 

hard working, and had 

done a good job of looking 

after her children on her 

own. Uncle Germany 

wanted companionship 

and a housekeeper, not 

necessarily another family. 

However, due to an 

‘unexpected blessing’ Mama 

Tayo had another child with 


Abdusalami Abubakar was 

not Fulani. But even as I say 

this, the Fulani have played a 

fantastic game of alliances, 

and used a history of their 18th 

century Jihad to craft a 

narrative that sustains them in 

power. 

What is currently playing out, 

however, is Muhammadu 

Buhari’s overreach. Two 

factions of the Fulani political 

leadership, one intent on 

consolidating power in 

Nigeria through a West 

African Fulani revanchist 

movement, and the other 

through an old form of 

horizontal Islamic alliancebuilding, 

have emerged. 

These are the two Fulani forces 

which are creating a power 

cult that is today, isolating a 

vast area of Nigeria’s ‘Islamic 

belt’. That belt, covering what 

we now call the North-East 

and the N-West of Nigeria, and 

once known as Nigeria’s 

‘upper North’, stretches 

vertically from Kaura 

Namoda to Lake Chad. It is 

the new Islamic frontier. 

That is the area Buhari as 

President has chosen to 

concentrate his sources of 

power, rather than the 

traditionally horizontal North, 

which would have included 

areas we now call the Middle 

Belt. Why is this? It is quite 

simple. Muhammadu Buhari 

is not a Nigerian nationalist. 

Nigerians mischaracterize 

this movement as a Fulani 

movement. That is a very 

simple way of looking at it. The 

Buhari-led movement is a 

more ambitious movement of 

radical Islamic political and 

cultural resurgence. It is 

beyond the Fulani. Its models 

may be the Fulani Jihad and 

the Mahdist movements of the 

18th century Sudan, but its 

goals are to link to an Islamic 

globalism with ambitions to 

conquer Nigeria step-by-step. 

This is a fierce religious 

movement. It had recruited its 

foot soldiers North and South. 

Secret new Muslim converts 

and many others who are 

operating under the radar. 

One of the most critical 

him. Uncle Germany didn’t 

mind, and to the best of my 

knowledge, that is where 

Mama Tayo’s extraordinary 

marital journey ended, with 

her own version of a happy 

ever after. Five husbands and 

six children! 

Recently, I was at a Gender- 

Based Violence Town Hall 

Meeting. During the 

interactive session, one of the 

female participants said that 

one of the reasons why there 

is so much dysfunction with 

young people today is because 

some mothers have multiple 

marital partners and fathers 

of their children. She said 

when women move from 

husband to husband, their 

children end up as miscreants. 

I flinched when I heard a 

woman say this about other 

women. There were gasps 

from some women in the 

audience and I could see 

frowns on the faces of many 

others from where I was 

sitting on the high table. The 

speaker had struck a nerve 

with her insensitive remarks. 

We are used to men saying 

those things, but a woman 

to other women? When it 

was time for me to respond, 

I told her that every woman’s 

story is different. It is not for 

us to pass judgement on how 

a woman has lived her life. 

We don’t know the 

circumstances of everyone, 

we don’t know what they 

have been through and we 

should have the humility to 

accept that some are simply 

luckier than others. 

As I was thinking about 

this encounter, I decided to 

reconstruct the fragments of 

Mama Tayo’s story that I 

could still recall. I 

remember being quite 

alarmed when I first heard 

the story, and even though 

evidence of Buhari’s government 

is that, for the first time 

in Nigeria’s modern history, 

every aspect of government is 

controlled by Moslems: from 

the Head of State, the Chief 

Justice of Nigeria, the President 

of Senate, to the Speaker 

of the House of Representatives 

who is a Yoruba Muslim 

convert – basically, every 

arm of the government of Nigeria 

is now controlled by 

Muslims, including, of course, 

its key legal and security apparatus. 

This is unprecedented. 

This is not a Fulani movement. 

This is Islamic conquest. 

It is North and South. 

The only problem is that its 

current base of power is 

concentrated at that familiar 

zone of Islam in Nigeria. 

Some of its victims are also 

Muslims who do not fit into 

the program. They are 

casualties of this Jihad now 

unleashed in Nigeria. That is 

why a new kind of 

interpretation must suffice on 

this question of the blanket 

victimization of the Fulani, 

some of whom are equally 

casualties of this on-going 

battle for the soul of Nigeria. 

Nigerians must begin to 

understand the broader 

question and the global 

implications of the 

occupation of Nigeria 

between Islam in West Africa 

(ISWAP) and their affiliate, 

Boko Haram. Once again, 

last week, reports in Nigerian 

newspapers indicate that the 

head of Boko Haram, 

Abubakar Shekau, has been 

killed. This is possibly the 

tenth time he has been killed. 

He must have more than nine 

lives. No matter. What is 

apparent however is that, that 

report marks a new chapter; 

a configuration which has 

arrived in the Islamic 

movement’s campaign for the 

conquest of Nigeria from their 

Sambisa holdout. 

Tayo ran through the 

different reasons and 

characters, it still sounded 

rather strange to me. Now, I 

know better. Life has 

different things in store for 

people, regardless of 

dreams and aspirations. I 

am sure Mama Tayo did not 

set out at 17 planning to 

have six children with five 

husbands. Her choices were 

limited, and women back 

then (and right now) were 

socialized into believing 

they could not survive 

without being under a man’s 

roof. There are so many 

Mama Tayo’s out there 

forced to make desperate 

choices for survival. I do not 

blame them as individuals, 

I blame a system that does 

not provide the requisite 

information, protection and 

guidance for adolescent 

girls. I blame our inability 

to enforce laws (in States 

where we have them) which 

make sex with minors under 

18 a crime. I blame all those 

who still consider marriage 

as career options for young 

women instead of 

prioritising education and 

skills acquisition.I also 

blame all those who heap 

the responsibility of 

bringing up children on 

mothers when they did not 

bring these children into the 

world on their own. Mama 

Tayo’s marital experiences 

were far from ideal, but that 

was her story. That was her 

journey. She made choices 

based on her own context, 

no matter how poor those 

choices might have been. 

Instead of passing 

judgement, let us be sensitive, 

learn, and try and help the 

vulnerable women and girls 

who we meet on our own 

journey.

PAGE 22—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 23, 2021 

The strange ways of God 

When we come to Christ, we must forsake 

not only our ways but also our thoughts. 

Isaiah says: “Let the wicked forsake his way, 

and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” (Isaiah 

55:7). We must also jettison the traditions of 

men. Jesus berated the Pharisees for teaching: 

“Man-made laws instead of those from God.” 

(Matthew 15:9). 

God says: “My thoughts are not your 

thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, for as 

the heavens are higher than the earth, so are 

My ways higher than your ways, and My 

thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). 

Therefore, child of God, forget your logic, 

your conspiracy theories, and your principles: 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean 

not on your own understanding; in all your 

ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct 

your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

You ask a Christian a question and he answers 

by saying: “I think…” Nobody cares what 

you think. The question is: What does God 

think.” 

You seek someone’s counsel, and he tells you: 

“In my opinion…blah, blah, blah.” Nobody is 

asking for your opinion. Your opinion is irrelevant. 

We are only interested in the opinion of 

God. What do the scriptures say? 

We never need man’s advice. We only need 

God’s advice. The counsel of man is irrelevant. 

It is designed to land us in the ditch. 

Stranger than fiction 

The ways of God are strange. Indeed, in so 

many instances, God’s ways are foolish. But 

the scriptures tell us that: “The foolishness of 

God is wiser than men, and the weakness of 

God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 

1:25). 

Does this mean God is foolish? How can He 

Success in life, ministry: Persevering to succeed (7) 

INTRODUC- 

TION 

In this session, we 

shall be considering 

some additional 

sub-components 

that will help in the 

process of perseverance. 

During the 

process of Perseverance, 

the Lord unearths, 

develops Pastor Akinola 

and enhances cer- 

tain characters and gifts in us which will be 

necessary for our overall success. This was 

the kind of situation that Joseph went 

through, before he reached his divine destination. 

We must discover, develop and deploy 

the gifts of God in our lives and use them 

for humanity. That your gift was given to you 

that you might use it to minister to someone 

else you will come across in life, and who 

might need it. God now works His perfect 

timing for you to achieve your goal as you 

minister to such persons with those gifts in 

your hands. 

THE VISION AND YOUR S-H-A-P-E 

When God gives a vision to you, He accompanies 

it with certain gifts in your life 

that will help you in running with the vision. 

You must discover these gifts, develop 

them and deploy them during the course 

of your journey to fulfilling purpose. It’s 

all part of your overall success rating before 

God. God will always find the right 

mind to which He can send His vision, even 

if it looks like an impossible dream to the 

man. The person with the right mind is the 

one who understands his S-H-A-P-E as being 

compatible with the vision of God for 

his life. 

S-H-A-P-E is an acronym which stands 

for your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, 

Personality and Experience. You must patiently 

and prayerfully discover these, de- 

Abiding in Christ’s doctrine (1) 

THE doctrine of Christ is the doctrine of 

God, His Father who sent Him into this 

world. (JOHN 7:16) 

Anyone who transgresses and abides not in 

the doctrine of Christ, has not God, but he that 

abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both 

the Father and the Son. (2 JOHN 9) 

For example, the doctrine of Christ about 

Sanctity of Marriage, is that marriage must 

be honourable, without defiling the bed before 

marriage. God will judge whoremongers/ 

fornicators and adulterers and adulteresses, 

as written in HEBREWS 13:4: “Marriage is 

In so many instances, 

God’s ways are foolish 

be? On the contrary, the bible affirms that 

we serve the only wise God. (1 Timothy 1:17). 

But for God to be able to relate to man, he 

must become foolish. For God to fellowship 

with man, he must come down to our 

level. 

You cannot dangle a baby on your knees 

and discuss Quantum Physics with him. No! 

You might start making idiotic cooing 

sounds and might even start making stupid 

faces. 

God is El Shaddai: The Almighty and 

the all-Sufficient. But surely, the all-sufficiency 

of God must include the ability to 

come down to man’s level to relate to us, 

communicate with us and interact with us. 

If he is unable to do this, then He is not 

God, for surely God is able to do all things. 

And so there must be foolishness to God 

and that foolishness must be to man’s advantage 

and justification. Certainly, the wisdom 

of God must be far beyond man. 

Therefore, there must be a foolishness of 

God to accommodate man’s foolishness, 

so that the all-wise God can also be the 

God of foolish man. 

For as David said: “O God, you know so 

well how stupid I am, and you know all my 

sins.” (Psalm 69:5). 

The incarnation 

velop and deploy them as the opportunities unveil for 

you in reaching out to others. Discouragements and deterrents 

may come along the way, but we must look up to 

God as a steward of His boundless grace, using that gift 

He has given you, or that Rod of Moses in your hands, to 

part the Red Sea, thereby making way for multitudes to 

fulfill their destiny. 

THE VISION AND GOD’S TIMING 

Habakkuk2:3, says “…the Vision is yet for an appointed 

time; But at the end, it will speak, and it will not lie. 

Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely 

come…” This is the situation that Joseph found himself 

before he became the Prime Minister in Egypt. Initially, 

everything seemed to be turning upside down and virtually 

opposite to the vision God gave him. One quality 

that helped Joseph in holding the fort and waiting upon 

the Lord is his belief in God’s timing. You may want to 

challenge my claim on this. I can prove it through his 

plea to the butler of Pharaoh after he interpreted his dream 

and he told him to remember him when it is well him 

back in the palace. Since the butler didn’t remember him 

immediately he was restored, it didn’t affect Joseph’s relationship 

with God. How do I know? His God-given gift 

was still intact and sharpened! That means, his trust in 

God didn’t waver, and he was still undeterred in readiness 

to deployhis gifts for humanity. When the timing of 

God came, he was promoted from prison to palace. This 

is called “kairo’s timing”, as opposed to “chronos timing”. 

“Chronos” is our human calendar, but “Kairos” is 

God’scalendar. He makes all things beautiful in His time. 

(Eccl. 3:11).When God’s timing comes for you, a journey 

of hundred years is covered in one day! If Joseph had 

been released according to man’s calendar as he earlier 

appealed to the butler, he would no longer have been 

available to interpret the dream of Pharaoh that made 

him to become the Prime Minister, in God’s timing for 

his manifestation. 

CONCLUSION 

What a great and exciting lesson we are learning on this 

subject of Perseverance as related to good success. Keep your 

fingers crossed as we continue on this same topic in the next 

session. Grace be multiplied to you. 

J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor) 

The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), 

Ibadan, Nigeria. Email: flprofenassociate@gmail.com, 

08033376660, 08055405095 

Pastor (Dr). E.O. Abina – General Overseer. 

honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: 

but whoremongers and adulterers God will 

judge.” Unfortunately, majority of our 

youths, supposedly brought up in Christian 

homes, defile the bed before marriage. And 

most clergymen in ignorance, receive partners 

in fornication into “the house of God” 

to join them together in an UNHOLY matrimony, 

thereby partaking of the judgment 

of God on whoremongers, as written in 2 

JOHN 10-11: “If there come any unto you, 

and bring not this doctrine, receive him not 

into your house, neither bid him God speed: 

The God who created the earth decided to 

visit His creations on earth. In His foolishness, 

He then decided to come as a man. He did not 

fly down from heaven like an angel. Instead, He 

came in through the womb of a woman. 

Can you imagine how foolish that was? 

And so, God was born of a woman as a baby. 

God sucked a woman’s breast. God crawled on 

the ground and learnt to walk and to talk. In 

His foolishness, God grew in wisdom and in 

stature. God then died a shameful death on the 

cross as a man. But in His divinity, He rose from 

the dead with power and glory. 

Isaiah asks: “Who has believed this report?” 

Without the help of God, we would not have 

believed it either. 

In conversation with God the Father: “Jesus 

answered and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of 

heaven and earth, that You have hidden these 

things from the wise and prudent and have revealed 

them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it 

seemed good in Your sight’” (Matthew 11:25- 

26). 

I did not believe the story of Jonah spending 3 

days and 3 nights in the belly of a fish until one 

day God demonstrated it to me. He took me by 

revelation under the sea and kept me in an air 

bubble. I looked up and fishes were swimming 

all around me. 

•Pastor Kumuyi 

Psalms 145:9 "The LORD 

is good to all: and his tender 

mercies are over all his 

works." 

How many people is the 

LORD good to today? Okay. 

Since the LORD is good to 

everybody, including you, 

then erase those thoughts 

and feelings, which makes 

you to confess in the negative 

and begin to confess 

things in the positive because 

you are no more miserable. 

You are no more 

unlucky, but lucky. No, you 

are no longer unfortunate, 

but fortunate. This is because 

you have come to a 

kind and generous God and 

you will no longer be the 

same. You will begin to experience 

songs and testimonies 

of joy, because He will 

do you good. 

Acts 10:38 "How God 

anointed Jesus of Nazareth 

with the Holy Ghost and 

for he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker 

of his evil deeds.” Bidding them God speed is 

the offering of prayers of blessing during the 

joining together of such fornicators, who are 

already under God’s judgment. 

Desecrating the altar of God under the guise 

of “church wedding” by clergymen, is a transgression 

of this Doctrine. The conduct of marriage 

in the house of God, is unscriptural, because 

Jesus says His Father’s house shall be 

called the house of prayer. Unfortunately, His 

house has been made a den of thieves by most 

ministers of the gospel. (MATTHEW 21:13) 

These thieves are the demons of all the unscriptural 

ceremonies and commercialization 

that go on in most churches today. (JOHN 2:16) 

Peculiar goodness 

The God of the bible is not nice as men define 

niceness. He could not have been because His 

kingdom is not of this world. 

What kind of father tells his son to marry a 

prostitute? What kind of person tells Ezekiel to 

announce to the world that his wife would die 

the next day in order to prove a point, and he 

tells him that he is not allowed to cry? What 

kind of person tells the Levites to carry a sword 

and kill members of their own family and relations? 

What kind of person instructs Isaiah to go 

around without his trousers for three years? What 

kind of person instructs Saul to attack Amalek 

and kill all the men, women, children, babies, 

sheep, camel, and donkeys? What kind of person 

kills off the Israelites one by one over forty 

years in the wilderness? What kind of father 

sends his children into captivity in order to 

teach them a lesson? 

God is that kind of person 

David sinned by numbering Israel. For this, 

God killed 70,000 Israelites without including 

David. Was that fair? The Ark of God was 

falling down, Uzzah tried to prevent it and 

God killed him. Was that nice? 

If God were a man, He would not be a nice 

man at all. God’s concept of goodness is different 

from that of man. 

Rock of Offense 

When through Jesus, God became a man, 

the bible describes Him as a rock of offence. 

As a twelve-year-old, Jesus stayed all day 

and night in the temple for three days without 

telling his parents where he was. He called 

Peter “Satan.” He made a whip, beat the people 

in the temple, and smashed their wares. 

He did not just lecture them or tell them that 

what they were doing was wrong. 

He called a woman who came to request 

healing for her child a dog. He encouraged 

Judas to go and betray him. He refused to 

help John the Baptist when Herod arrested 

him. When told that his good friend Lazarus 

was sick, he said he was glad. He refused to 

budge until the man died. 

He always kept company with disreputable 

people. He took sides with a woman caught 

in adultery. He asked a woman who had been 

sick for 38 years if he would like to be healed. 

In a crowded scene of the sick, He only healed 

that one man and left all the others unhealed. 

He pronounced woe on the Pharisees and 

abused them, calling them white-washed 

tombstones. He called people fools. He told 

the Jews that the devil was their father. He 

denied his own mother and brothers. 

Nevertheless, this same Jesus is now our 

righteousness: “For (God) made (Jesus) who 

knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might 

become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 

Corinthians 5:21). 

Salvation is free (6) 

with power: who went about doing 

good, and healing all that were oppressed 

of the devil; for God was 

with him." 

Jesus went about doing good. 

Has he changed? Because His power 

and promise has not changed 

He will locate you with His goodness 

right there where you are in 

Jesus name. When He locates you 

be rest assured to experience a relocation 

because His wonders will 

come upon you. His grace and salvation 

will rest upon your life and 

His forgiveness will come to your 

life. 

But you must apply for relocation 

from sin, if you would want the allocation 

of God for your life in heaven 

to get to you. That is why you 

would need to apply for the forgiveness 

of your sins by accepting that 

you are a sinner and require pardon 

for sins you have committed. 

The all important moment for your 

salvation has come. Close your 

eyes and begin to confess your sins 

as you ask for forgiveness and accept 

Jesus into your life as your personal 

Lord and Saviour. Promise 

Him that you would never go back 

to sin again. 

The two marriages in Scripture were consummated 

in the bride’s father’s house and NOT 

in any Jewish Synagogue. (GENESIS 24:50- 

54; JOHN 2:1-2) Majority of the people of 

God, even the honourable men of God 

amongst them, are famished and dried up with 

thirst and have gone into captivity because 

they have no knowledge of the doctrine of 

Christ. (ISAIAH 5:13) 

Christian Gospel Church (The Truth Centre), 

4 Christian Gospel Avenue, Beside Psychiatric 

Hospital, Uselu, Benin City, Edo 

State. Email:cgc.com.ng@gmail.com 

Telephone: +234(0) 7052061135, 

+234(0)9030731406 Website: 

www.cgc.thetruthcentre.com

Remember mercy Oh Lord (3) 

Eph. 2: 1-5 says, 

“And you hath he 

quickened, who 

were dead in trespasses 

and sins; 2 Wherein in 

time past ye walked according 

to the course of 

this world, according to the 

prince of the power of the 

air, the spirit that now worketh 

in the children of disobedience: 

3 Among 

whom also we all had our 

conversation in times past 

in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling 

the desires of the 

flesh and of the mind; and 

were by nature the children 

of wrath, even as others. 4 

But God, who is rich in 

mercy, for his great love 

wherewith he loved us, 5 

Even when we were dead 

in sins, hath quickened us 

together with Christ, (by 

grace ye are saved;)” 

Beloved, no matter your 

evil deed in the past and 

its consequences which 

are currently haunting 

you, I am assuring you, 

when God’s mercy is upon 

you; all those effects of 

the cause shall be no 

more. It doesn’t matter 

the degree of trouble you 

are passing through, the 

fact is that the mercy of 

God triumphs over judgment. 

Even if you have 

lost your job, and God has 

allowed it as a result of 

what you have done or 

there is no progress at all 

in whatsoever you are doing 

and as a result you 

are wondering when you 

will become delivered 

from such yoke of stagnancy. 

I want you to know that 

with the mercy of God you 

shall be delivered. It could 

be you have resorted to 

committing sin, stealing, 

doing yahoo yahoo, prostituting, 

drinking alcohol, 

etc and thinking you are 

going to make it through 

the sinful act, of course the 

Scripture warns that there 

is a way that seems right 

to a man, but the end 

thereof are the ways of 

death. (Prov. 14: 12). Instead 

of asking God for 

mercy which is what you 

needed to vacate the 

wrath of God upon your 

life, you want to provoke 

God the more. You must 

know there is no help from 

any other than God, if you 

repent and ask God for 

mercy, am assuring you 

that He will show you mercy. 

All you have to do is to 

cry out for mercy and God 

will show you mercy and 

cancel the judgment in 

Jesus name. Remember 

the Scripture says that 

mercy rejoiceth over judgment. 

Lamentation 3:22-23 

says, “It is of the LORD’s 

mercies that we are not 

consumed, because his 

compassions fail not. 23 

They are new every morning: 

great is thy faithfulness.” 

Our God is always ready 

to show mercy regardless of 

what we have done provided 

we approach Him for 

mercy. The degree of your 

wickedness does not stop 

God from showing mercy 

if you can repent, renounce 

and return to accept 

Jesus as your Lord 

and Saviour. This message 

is another medium 

through which He advertizes 

His benevolence of 

mercy. God, instead of 

dealing with us according 

to our iniquities, rather 

deals with us in mercy, 

though He allowed affliction 

but He ensures we are 

given room to repent and 

ask for mercy. If you consider 

the wickedness of 

man, you will marvel that 

any remains alive but 

God for His own mercy’s 

sake and faithfulness will 

ever give a chance for repentance 

and cry for mercy. 

You may be suffering 

now but the fact that you 

are still alive is because 

God want you to repent 

and ask for mercy. 

That health challenges 

that have defied all medical 

solution may be as a 

result of your past evil deed 

or the effect of your parent 

wickedness and you have 

been praying without result. 

I want to let you know 

that it is not that God’s 

hands are shortened that 

He cannot deliver you, neither 

His ears heavy that He 

cannot hear your prayer 

but your iniquities have 

separated you from Him 

thus you need mercy. If you 

can take advantage of the 

advertisement of His mercy 

today, and ask for your 

share of mercy, the Lord 

will deliver you. 

John 14: 13-14 says, 

“And whatsoever ye shall 

ask in my name, that will 

I do, that the Father may 

be glorified in the Son. 14 

If ye shall ask any thing 

in my name, I will do it” 

Beloved, if you can ask 

in the name of our Lord 

Jesus Christ and cry for 

mercy today, I am assuring 

you that you will have it. 

Christ has paid for everything 

including mercy, our 

Is there 

anything that is 

worrying you, if 

there is, I want 

you to 

understand 

that Christ who 

purchased us 

with His blood 

had paid for 

everything? 

duty is to go to the Father 

and demand for what He 

has paid for. As we go to 

the store of heavenly Kingdom 

today, with the name 

of our Lord Jesus Christ as 

our receipt, and ask for 

mercy, God will grant our 

prayer. He said whatsoever 

we shall ask the father 

in His name that the Father 

will not deny us. Why, 

because Christ has paid for 

everything including our 

freedom, good health, success, 

promotion, cars, 

houses, happy marriage, 

Children, deliverance, new 

kidney, new heart, sanity, 

healing and wealth to 

name but a few. The only 

duty required from us is to 

ask in His name and it will 

be done. Is there anything 

that is worrying you, if there 

is, I want you to understand 

that Christ who purchased 

us with His blood had paid 

for everything? It wasn’t a 

part payment or some deposit 

but a full down payment. 

Mercy is yours, compassion 

is yours, sanity is 

yours, good health is yours, 

and etc, ask, I implore you 

to ask, again ask and you 

shall receive. “For every 

one that asketh receiveth; 

and he that seeketh findeth; 

and to him that knocketh 

it shall be opened. 11 If 

a son shall ask bread of any 

of you that is a father, will 

he give him a stone? or if 

he ask a fish, will he for a 

fish give him a serpent? 12 

Or if he shall ask an egg, 

will he offer him a scorpion? 

13 If ye then, being evil, 

know how to give good 

gifts unto your children: 

how much more shall your 

heavenly Father give the 

Holy Spirit to them that 

ask him?” (Luke 11: 10-13) 

David understood the 

importance of mercy and 

never forgot asking for it 

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 23, 2021,PAGE 23 

A brother with two years partial stroke healed at 

the last Thursday deliverance service at the 

headquarters in Lagos. 

throughout his relationship 

with God. The Book of Psalm 

opened our eyes to understand 

that he made mercy the 

basics of his association with 

God. 

He says in Psalm 4: 1, 

“…Hear me when I call, O 

God of my righteousness: 

thou hast enlarged me when 

I was in distress; have mercy 

upon me, and hear my 

prayer”. 

Psalm 57:1 says, “Be merciful 

unto me, O God, be 

merciful unto me: for my 

soul trusteth in thee: yea, in 

the shadow of thy wings will 

I make my refuge, until these 

calamities be overpast.” 

Psalm 6; 2, “Have mercy 

upon me, O LORD; for I am 

weak: O LORD, heal me; for 

my bones are vexed”. 

Psalm 9:13, “Have mercy 

upon me, O LORD; consider 

my trouble which I suffer of 

them that hate me, thou that 

liftest me up from the gates 

of death” 

My sisters and brothers 

God will hear your cry for 

mercy today, so begin to cry 

for mercy and He will show 

you mercy and bring you out 

of trouble and put new songs 

in your mouth. God who did 

it before to David will do it 

again. Those who are sinners 

and backsliders should 

repent and give their lives to 

Christ, make Him their Lord 

and personal Savior and He 

will show mercy. 

Romans 3:23 says, “For 

all have sinned, and come 

short of the glory of God;” 

As long as you are not 

born again you are sinners 

regardless of the good work 

you are doing, the only 

thing that makes you a child 

of God receiving Jesus 

Christ and begin to live a 

righteous life. The Bible assertion 

that all have sinned 

is because of sin of Adam 

and Eve but I want to let you 

know that as Adam brought 

sin into the world, likewise 

Jesus brought righteousness 

into the world. 

John 3:16 says, ”For 

God so loved the world, 

that he gave his only begotten 

Son, that whosoever 

believeth in him should 

not perish, but have everlasting 

life.” So Jesus is 

the way out of sin and He 

is the way to reconcile with 

God Almighty. 

My friend when you receive 

Jesus Christ as your 

Saviour, you will be dead 

to sin for the Spirit of 

Christ destroys the nature 

of sin and makes you a new 

person. It makes you 

speak, act and do right and 

that is why if you are living 

in sin, something must 

be done. You must repent, 

ask for mercy and God will 

show you mercy. 

32-year speech impaired man healed at the Enugu 

2021 Crusade 

One of the recipients of instant miracle being lifted shoulder high.

PAGE 24—SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 23, 2021 

Kingdom succession building(2) 

Driven by passion, 

Freddie started 

training other young boxers 

while still doing odd jobs to 

make ends meet. He devised 

his own strategy of training 

and would later become the 

most prominent coach in his 

generation. The truth is that, 

at times our greatness might 

not be in ourselves but in 

others that we raise. 

The Holy Spirit is the 

Master builder who builds us 

all towards attaining the full 

measure of the stature of 

Christ. We must partner with 

Him to also build others. This 

is our greatest contribution to 

PASTOR O.C. CHUKWUEZIE. 

CAC Madaiyese Regional Headquaters 

Plot 701/702 Durumi District 

P.O. BOX 2577 

Garki, Abuja. 

Contact us on: 08155555048, like us on 

facebook @cacdurumi 

the kingdom of God. We 

must, however, be careful that 

we build on the right 

foundation, which is Jesus 

Christ. That is, we should not 

seek to build for ourselves. We 

must also have in mind that 

it’s not what we build that will 

be rewarded on judgement 

Day, but what remains after 

our work has been set on fire. 

Whatever we build for self will 

be destroyed but what we 

build for the glory of the Lord 

will stand. 

David in (in 1Chronicle 

22:5), recognised that 

succession building is a 

responsibility that outlast 

Be being filled in the Spirit (5) 

Rev. Emmanuel Awazie 

*Assemblies of God Church 

Nigeria, 111 Clegg Street, 

Surulere, Lagos. 

ALWAYS keep in mind 

that whatever the Holy 

Spirit was at the beginning 

He is now, for as God He cannot 

change. Correspondingly, 

whatever He did then He 

is able to do still, for His power 

is by no means diminished. 

As the prophet Micah stated, 

"You who are named the 

house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit 

of the Lord restricted?...." - 

Micah 2:7. The Holy Spirit 

is here, and we should expect 

His divine working among us 

today just as at Pentecost. If 

that is not our experience, we 

should search ourselves to see 

what it is that hinders. 

The Holy Spirit is a Person 

that can be sinned against; we 

must take heed lest we sin 

against Him either consciously 

or unconsciously. 

When we say or write things 

that are calculated to downplay 

the work of God we blaspheme 

and grieve Him. Our 

Lord Jesus Christ warned that 

"...the blasphemy against the 

Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven" 

Matthew 12: 31-32, 

also read Mark 3:22-30. This 

is because we have ascribe the 

work of the God to Satan by 

so doing. Again, to refuse the 

atoning Sacrifice of Jesus 

Christ, is to insult the Holy 

Spirit. He is the Person who 

reveals the redemptive work 

of Christ to the sinner, and to 

reject or turndown the offer of 

salvation through atonement 

is to despise the witness of the 

Holy Spirit, and " trodden underfoot 

the Son of God...." 

Heb. 10:29. The life of rebellion 

and disobedience displeases 

the Holy Spirit, this is 

more grievous when the child 

of God, like the backslidden 

Israel, repudiates divine counsel, 

and "...rebel(led), and 

one’s own career. In most 

cases, your work will continue 

after you have moved on 

(whether by promotion, 

retirement, or taking a 

different job). You have a duty 

to create the conditions your 

successor needs to be 

successful. 

David had shed so much 

blood as king. God 

determined not to allow him 

build a house for Him. 

Instead, David’s son, 

Solomon, was given that task. 

So David accepted that his 

final task was to train 

Solomon for the job of 

kingship and to surround him 

with a capable team. Hence, 

kingdom succession building 

mentality. David provided the 

vast stock of materials for the 

construction of God’s temple 

in Jerusalem. He publicly 

passed authority to Solomon 

and made sure that the 

leaders of Israel 

acknowledged him as the 

new king and were prepared 

to help him succeed. 

vex(ed) His Holy Spirit." Isa. 

63:9-10. 

At conversion the believer 

receives the justified life; he is 

made righteous by the propitiatory 

work of Christ on the 

Cross. This must be followed 

by a life of consecration where 

you acknowledge that "ye are 

not your own, ...ye are bought 

with a price." 1 Cor. 6:19-20. 

Here the flesh and its deeds 

are mortified and emptied of 

its evil and selfishness, read 

Rom. 6:11 and Col. 3:8. The 

life is now ready to be "...filled 

with the Spirit." Eph. 5:18. As 

we yield the control of our 

lives, He fills us more and 

more with Himself. Every believer 

has the Holy Spirit, but 

the Spirit does not control 

each believer. The crowning 

act of faith is for the believer 

to abdicate his life to the Holy 

Spirit. The infilling is received 

when the believer consciously 

recognizes the Holy Spirit 

as being in full control of his 

life, completely governing 

every detail of life. This is the 

feast of Pentecost; I welcome 

you today to God's unending 

celebration of PENTECOST. 

Why are Christians not on top of their game? 

*Ituah Ighodalo is the Senior 

Pastor, Trinity House, Trinity 

Avenue, Off Ligali Ayorinde 

Street, Victoria Island, 

Lagos.+234-808-895-6162 

info@trinityhouseng.org 

“And it shall come to pass, 

if thou shalt hearken diligently 

unto the voice of the 

Lord thy God, to observe and 

to do all his commandments 

which I command thee this 

day, that the Lord thy God 

will set thee on high above 

all nations of the earth” Deut. 

28:1 

I 

KJV 

f you look around the 

world today, who are 

those people in position of authority? 

The richest men in the 

world, the ones in the corridors 

of power. The people serving 

as role models, teaching, 

and inspiring people on being 

the best they can be, these 

people at the top that youths 

of this day look up to are 

mostly not born-again Christians. 

Some may even go to 

church but in all sense of the 

word are not followers of 

Christ. Why is it that Christians 

are not at the top of 

their game? 

We don’t find serious bornagain 

Christians in commanding 

heights of the economy. 

Why is this? Why is it that 

no born again, spirit filled 

person is in a place of authority 

in the Nigerian government? 

This is due to a variety 

of things but in this part, we 

will look at one of the major 

reasons behind 

this. My 

people are 

destroyed for 

lack of knowledge: 

because 

thou 

hast rejected 

knowledge, I will also reject 

thee, that thou shalt be no 

priest to me: seeing thou 

hast forgotten the law of thy 

God, I will also forget thy 

children. Hosea 4:6 KJV. 

The lack of knowledge of 

God and who we are in God 

has limited the growth of 

Christians and stopped us 

from getting to the top. We 

rely on what word comes 

from the pulpit and refuse to 

search the scriptures ourselves. 

Our founding Christian fathers 

didn’t have the right 

knowledge and taught us 

based on their own understanding, 

in most cases this is 

still happening. Some taught 

doctrines that is not in the bible 

or things that are just a 

part of the Bible and they 

leave others out to suit themselves. 

This lack of knowledge 

has sent people out of the fold 

and stopped some from 

coming in. As a creation of 

God who seek him, we should 

do it right. Doing it right 

means seeking out the knowledge 

of God for ourself and 

to authenticate every word 

that comes from the pulpit 

using the Bible as the control 

and check. 

It is the duty of the Christian 

to read the Bible, hold on 

to it and live by it. It is our 

responsibility to seek knowledge 

for ourselves. Christian 

leaders over the years teaches 

us to believe that we are 

irrelevant to the world,but 

heaven bound, so we should 

focus on heaven only. The 

truth is that our purpose here 

on earth is linked to us making 

heaven. We are created to 

be a blessing to others. Make 

sure that our life has an impact 

on the life of others and 

makes their life 

better.Nobody has the monopoly 

of anointing or rhema 

from God. We are to know 

for ourselves what God says 

and want of us, because it is 

in this knowing that we would 

be able to be who God wants 

us to be. 

What do you need? Seek 

God for yourself! Seek out the 

secrets of God. Find out what 

you need to become, what 

make you who you are or 

should be. How can you as a 

person be a Christian in truth 

and be influential in the government 

of the day? The 

knowledge of this would go a 

long way in bridging the gap 

for us and bringing people to 

God. The knowledge of who 

you are would open your eyes 

to truly see God and take you 

closer to Him. 

Two critical questions to 

ask yourself are: 

1. Who does God 

want you to be? 

2. What can I do to be 

who God wants us to be? 

Ibru Group boosts fight against malaria in Delta 

with medical equipment 

By Henry Ojelu 

The fight against malar 

ia moved a step further 

in Delta state recently with the 

donation of Urine Malaria 

Testing kits and ACT medications 

to be distributed to 

households through governnent 

Primary Health Centres 

in Agbarha - Otor, Ughelli 

North Local Government 

Area. 

The roll out of the kits was 

facilitated by the IBRU 

Group, through public - private 

partnership and private 

sector driven efforts to promote 

proper malaria case 

management in the target 

area. 

Receiving the kits on behalf 

of the Delta State Government, 

the Secretary to the 

State Government (SSG) Mr 

Chiedu Ebie, said government 

would continue to encourage 

collaborative effort 

with the private sector in driving 

people - oriented programmes, 

particularly in 

health care delivery. 

Ebie commended the IBRU 

Group and the other partners, 

Women Are Beautiful In And 

Out, WABIO Foundation, Nigeria 

and Entrepreneurship: 

Summit and Honors, NESH 

Foundation for coming together 

to fight malaria. 

In his remarks at the roll 

out ceremony, the Chairman 

of the Ibru Organization, 

Olorogun (Dr) Oskar Ibru JP, 

Methodist Church canvasses parliamentary system, 

restructuring 

By Olayinka Latona 

THE Methodist Church 

Nigeria, has advocated 

return to parliamentary system 

of government in Nigeria, 

explaing that the presidential 

system is too expensive 

for developing countries 

like Nigeria. 

The church, however, stated 

that the United States of 

America’s type of democracy 

which features communi- 

said the donation of the Urine 

Malaria Testing kits was to 

promote the fight against 

malaria which had claimed 

many lives due to ignorance, 

as many people were no longer 

willing to go to hospitals 

to run malaria test and get 

properly treated. 

Olorogun (Dr) Oskar Ibru, 

the Ochukorovie of Agbarha 

kingdom and Odomose of 

Olomu kingdom, who was 

represented by a former 

chairman of Ughelli North 

Local Government, Mr Kenneth 

Ibru, said the organization 

decided to partner with 

WABIO and NESH Foundations 

in realization of the fact 

that the fight against malaria 

should not be left for the 

government alone, particularly 

with the similarity between 

the symptoms of malaria and 

COVID - 19. 

ty police and instruments is 

enviable and worthy of emulation 

developing nations in 

the world. 

The call was made in a 

communiqué issued at the end 

of 38th Council of Bishops of 

Methodist Church Nigeria 

held at Wesley Methodist Cathedral, 

Calabar under the 

leadership of Prelate of the 

church, His Eminence, Dr. 

Samuel Chukwuemeka 

Uche. 

The council also urged 

Federal Government to take 

bold and intentional steps to- 

The Ibru organization boss 

promised that the Group 

would continue to support 

initiatives aimed at improving 

the quality of life of the 

people and urged health care 

providers in the target communities 

to put the Urine 

Malaria Testing kits to good 

use. 

The Founder of WABIO 

Foundation, Mrs Ebele Enemchukwu, 

said Delta was 

chosen for the Test and Treat 

Malaria Charity Outreach 

Programme because Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta 

State was a medical doctor 

and the Chairman of the 

IBRU Group, donors of the 

kits, a patriotic Nigerian and 

citizen of Delta, adding that 

the partnership was aimed at 

achieving zero malaria by 

the year 2030 with the do - it - 

yourself Urine Malaria Testing 

kits. 

Ighrakpata makes case for geophysicists' approach to challenges 

The Deputy Provost of 

College of Education, 

Warri , Dr. Fidelia Ighrakpata, 

has suggested solutions to 

man's challenges through 

geophysicist approach 

She made the suggestions 

during a lecture at the 6th inaugural 

lecture, titled: A Physicist 

/ Geophysicist Approach 

to Solving Man's Challenges, 

at College of Education, 

Warri. 

According to her, some of 

the solutions include electricity 

generation, providing a 

cooling system, using solar 

energy and designing a solar 

dryer among others. 

Ighrakpata also posited 

that physicists/geophysicist 

has helped mankind in solving 

the problems of environmental 

management and 

pollution control 

Some of the problematic 

areas she mentioned include 

soil degradation, water contamination, 

deforestation 

and overexploitation of natural 

resources among others. 

On the way forward, she 

recommended that: " Government 

at all levels should invest 

hugely in the energy and 

power sector, especially energy 

from biomass. 

"As part of efforts to 

strengthen the local content 

policy of the Federal Government, 

oil companies should 

be encouraged to patronise 

indigenous institutions in the 

From left: Chief John Idogun, Emeka Ugwu - Oju, Hon 

Kenneth Ibru, Mrs Ebele Enemchukwu of WABIO Foundation, 

Mr Chiedu Ebie, SSG Delta, Dr Mordi Ononye, Hon 

Malik Ikpokpo at the flag-off of Test and Treat Malaria Outreach 

Program in Asaba, Delta State recently. 

area of quantitative interpretation 

by providing required 

data, software and work stations. 

" There should be training 

and retraining of physics 

teachers at all levels in ITC.'' 

The Provost of the College, 

Professor Mary Edema, had 

earlier remarked that Ighrakpata 

delivered the lecture 

as a lecturer and a professional. 

Kellogg's introduces newly improved cornflakes 

Kellogg Tolaram has un 

veiled the newly improved 

Kellogg’s Cornflakes 

to the Nigerian market 

which has been specially 

fortified to match up with 

the global quality standards 

in response to consumers' 

preferences. 

Speaking at the unveiling 

in Lagos, Mr. Girish Sharma, 

Chief Marketing Officer, 

Tolaram Group, said: 

“We want to appreciate everyone 

instrumental to this 

auspicious launch ceremony, 

especially the Nigerian 

consumers. The product was 

first introduced in 2018, 

then it was immediately 

withdrawn following consumers’ 

feedback on taste 

which was causally linked to 

technology and other local 

restraining factors. 

“The team went back to the 

drawing board and have now 

come back to introduce the 

proudly made in Nigerian 

cornflakes, which by every 

means matches up to the international 

quality standard 

in terms of taste, texture, look 

and feel, and nutritional benefits.” 

Girish assured Nigerians of 

the commitment towards 

creating another success story 

out of the newly launched 

product.“We hope it will be 

readily accepted by Nigerians 

as much as how the previous 

others were embraced”. 

Also speaking at the 

launch, Professor Wasiu 

Afolabi, President, Nutrition 

Society of Nigeria, said: “We 

are excited to be a part of the 

launch of Kellogg’s Cornflakes 

which has come with 

the proposition of healthy alternative 

breakfast packed 

with essential nutrition for 

everyone". 

“Kellogg Tolaram has certainly 

proven to be a manufacturing 

entity, which operates 

with the interest of its 

consumers at heart. The Nutrition 

Society of Nigeria is 

proud to identify with such 

an organization, always willing 

to go back to make modifications 

as expedient for the 

satisfaction of the public without 

compromising the global 

quality standard of 

Kellogg’s.” 

wards restructuring the Nigerian 

state through the recommendation 

of the 2014 National 

Conference report. 

It said: "The council urged 

the Federal government to 

systematically and meticulously 

uphold the Constitutional 

Policy and provision for 

the practice of True Federalism 

and Federal Character in 

appointments of all offices 

and agencies of Government; 

and especially in the Security 

Sector as this will give a 

sense of belonging and inclusiveness 

to all Nigerians."


Does your wife think you’re a good lover?! 

Ike was feeling damned 

pleased with himself. As he 

parked the car, he whistled a 

cheerful tune, gathered the 

’treat’ he’d bought for his 

family and trotted to his flat. 

Amidst squeals of welcome 

from his kids, he dolled out 

his presents; meat pies and 

doughnuts for the .kids”, a 

peppered quarter chicken for 

his wife, Remi and of course, 

the same piece of chicken for 

himself too. Remi sighed. She 

knew what would follow. She 

would be expected to fry chips 

to go along with the ’treats’ so 

that she would spend less time 

on the family dinner. Her 

husband would then wash his 

chicken and chips down with 

a big bottle of stout and she 

would be expected to do the 

same with a small stout of her 

own. 

The next state would be the 

bedroom. Naturally, Ike 

would have had a shower and 

as soon as Remi got into bed 

he would pounce on her. “It is 

nice to feel wanted by your 

husband but sex should not be 

a routine.” Remi sighed. “Ike 

would deftly put out the light. 

reach for my nipples and 

kneed them in turn and expect 

me to be instantly aroused. But 

it is always irritating. 

I hate my nipples to be 

twiddled and if my husband 

wants sex. I want to be flattered 

by being asked. 

“On days when I’m not in 

the mood and I tell him so, 

he looks so wounded that I 

feel guilty. Unfortunately. I 

seldom initiate sex. When I do, 

it is the same hasty preamble 

before he goes into the real 

thing. After doing it the 

predictable way all these 

years, sex with my husband 

has become a necessary evil. 

1 have to grimace and bear 

it. “ 

Unfortunately, a lot of men 

believe that as long as you can 

make a go of love- making 

for say 10 to 15 minutes nonstop, 

you are a super stud. 

Recounting a recent 

experience at a high powered 

conference where he met a 

married legal practitioner. 

Bernard, another lawyer who 

delivered a paper said. “Don’t 

let me bore you with details. 

The chemistry when we met, 

was right and we both found 

ourselves in bed in her hotel 

room on her own turf so to 

speak. She was the most 

liberated woman I’d ever 

seen. I switched off the bed 

side light so that only the TV 

light was on and we made 

what I thought was beautiful 

love. 

“You make love 

beautifully,” she said and I 

glowed only for her to crash 

my ego by adding “for 

yourself. Now make love for 

me.” I looked at her a bit 

puzzled. “You did not say a 

word about how beautiful you 

thought my body was or how 

tantalising you found parts of 

my body. Do you read the Bible 

often? You’ve read the Songs 

of Solomon and the bit about 

‘How beautiful are thy breasts, 

like twin doves?’ If a man could 

be as romantic 

as that all those centuries 

back, then why are you making 

love mechanically? Is that how 

you make love to your wife?” 

“Leave my wife out of this,” 1 

spat at her. 1 was enraged. But 

she assured me she meant no 

harm. She was happily 

married to a sexually 

adventurous man but their 

works kept them apart for long 

periods and she was sure her 

husband too took his pleasures 

wherever and whenever he 

could find them. “And he 

doesn’t mind the possibility of 

your sleeping around,” 1 was 

a bit curious but she flared up: 

‘So it is alright for him and not 

for me? “That’s what all 

husbands want to believe. 

Even so, I act with discretion 

and I have never endangered 

his good name. In public, I am 

a loving and devoted wife. Take 

the two of us as being together 

now, for instance. It is no more 

than a diversion as far as I am 

concerned. You live in Lagos, I 

am based in Benin, we might 

never meet again. So you’d 

better make the most of this 

opportunity so you could go 

back to your wife and show 

her what real love-making is 

all about. I mean if your 

performance now is what 

you’d been offering her all your 

married life, I bet she must be 

feeling sexually frustrated by 

now.’ 

“I was far from feeling 

humiliated. I wanted to learn 

if she was willing to teach me. 

For the remaining days of the 

conference, we were almost 

inseparable. Every time we 

tried anything new, I would 

think how my wife would feel 

if I tried it on her. The last night 

of the conference, on our way 

to the end of conference 

banquet, she dragged me to 

one of the hotel shops and 

asked me to buy a present for 

my wife. I looked around the 

shop, lost. The items were 

ridiculously expensive, 1 

made to pick a nice looking 

inexpensive scarf but she 

steered me away from that 

and picked a bottle of perfume 

that cost over NIO,OOO. I 

looked alarmed but she said 

1 should trust her, it would be 

worth it. Women like to be 

surprised by very feminine 

gifts. Our last night was a 

memorable experience and as 

she left my room, she said I 

shouldn’t bother to see her in 

the morning as her husband 

would be sending a driver. So 

that was it. But she was worth 

my meeting her. To me, it was 

an honour. 

“My wife’s eyes nearly 

dropped off when I gave her 

the present when 1 got back 

home. She thanked me with 

my favourite meal and when 

we got to the bedroom, I didn’t 

switch off the lights or 

anything of the sort. Of course, 

1 wasn’t as crazy as to put her 

through all the things I had 

learnt about sex from my trip, 

but over the next few weeks I 

did. In the end, she told me 

she was sure I had a bit on the 

side when I went away for the 

conference but that she didn’t 

mind. It was a small price to 

pay for the sexual pleasures 

we now enjoy. ~ A small 

miracle don’t you think? What 

married couples should 

realize, however, is that erotic 

life of people who have been 

married for years is bound to 

be a bit humdrum. “After all,” 

said a “happily married” lady, 

“it’s been sealed off from 

outside influence for too long. 

Sometimes it seems to me 

that a long-standing sexual 

relationship becomes like a 

diplomatic treaty between two 

hostile countries, the 

boundaries get fought over 

and marked out - no French 

kissing in the morning, no 

nudity except in semidarkness, 

no excessive 

fondling of breasts and once 

these terms have been laid 

down, it’s impossible to 

renegotiate them. At least, not 

without a violent struggle. 

Happily, a lot of couples make 

the effort of bringing romance 

back to their marriage; an 

almost impossible feat after 

the trauma of raising kids and 

holding down jobs. But if you 

don’t make time for love, 

come retirement age when 

you finally have time, the 

magic would have been gone. 

Lovers 

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Ikemefuna urges Nigerians to show love to less privileged 

The President of 

Sharma Women 

Educational 

Foundation, Dr. Onyi 

Ikemefuna, has urged 

Nigerians to show love to the 

less privileged in the society. 

Ikemefuna, who is the 

proprietress of Sharma 

Schools, Enerhen , Uvwie 

Local Government Area, 

Delta State, made the call in 

her speech during an award 

of excellence in her honour by 

a media outfit, Frontline 

News. 

She noted that putting 

smiles on the faces of the less 

privileged would make the 

world a better place to live in. 

She also charged the 

governed to assist 

government in the areas of 

security and sanitation. We 

should not depend on 

government to clean our 

environment for us. We should 

also be mindful of the fact that 

security is the business of all," 

Ikemefuna added. 

While expressing 

appreciation to the media 

outfit for the award, she 

dedicated the award to her 

husband, Greg Ikemefuna. 

She added that her 

husband has been very 

supportive to her and also to 

the less privileged in the 

society. 

She vowed that the award 

would spur her to do more for 

humanity, saying it is more 

blessed to give than to receive. 

Presenting the award, the 

Publisher / Editor - In -Chief of 

Frontline News, Dr. Dan Dike 

Awana, said the honour was 

given to Ikemefuna due to her 

philanthropic gestures. 

The Publisher / Editor - in - Chief of Front Line News Dr . 

Dan Dike Awana ( left ), presenting an award of excellence 

to Dr (Mrs ) Onyi Ikemefuna at Sharma School, Enerhen , 

Uvwie Local Government, Area, Delta State. 

man, employed and resides in 

Benin city, needs a Godfearing, 

gentle,employed or 

selfemployed lady, aged 28- 

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JIK,50's,average height,fair 

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Francis 37, handsome, dark 

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State, needs a goodlooking 

and employed,lady for 

Delta community appeals to govt, NDDC 

over abandoned road project 

As the rainy season is fast 

approaching, residents 

of Ugwhe Quarters, 

Otovwodo-Ughelli, in Ughelli 


Area of Delta State, are 

apprehensive of the havoc the 

rains may cause due to the 

abandoned road project 

allegedly awarded by the 

Niger Delta Development 

Commission, (NDDC). 

Speaking to newsmen, 

Chairman, Christian 

Association of Nigeria (CAN), 

Ughelli North chapter, Apostle 

Charles Okpacha, disclosed 

that the road was allegedly 

awarded to an unknown 

contractor by NDDC over two 

years ago. 

According to him, the 

contractor did not erect any 

signpost but just told them t 

the road project was awarded 

to him and began excavation 

work on the road only to 

abandon it. 

"If you look at the road, what 

is happening to us is terrible 

and now that the flood is 

coming again we are scared. 

"We are appealing to Delta 

State government to save us 

from this danger and if 

NDDC actually awarded the 

contract, the Commission 

should prevail on the 

contractor to come back to the 

marriage, aged 20-30s she 

must be Igbo. 08038712955 

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looking, needs want a 

beautiful,caring,loving,romantic, 

lady who is employed or into 

business,with good character, 

for a serious and lasting 

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Joseph 36, 6ft tall, dark in 

complexion, genotype AS, 

plump, handsome, gentle, a 

graduate and a Pastor, from 

Delta State, needs a God 

fearing, pretty lady, aged 30- 

37, who is government 

employment or into good 

business, for marriage. 

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Kunle 44, 6ft tall, an 

engineer, genotype AA, God 

fearing, a graduate, employed 

and resides in Lagos, needs a 

matured lady for a 

relationship. 08028560237 

site," he said. 

The chairman of the area, 

Pastor 

Michael 

Onomuodeke, said the place 

now looks like a swamp. 

One of the landlords in the 

community, Comrade Believe 

Eyamunu, said the continuous 

flooding had caused so much 

health hazard to residents. 

Some of the residents of Ugwhe Quarters, Otovwodo-Ughelli, 

in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State

PAGE 26— SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021 

How PDP will dislodge APC in S/West in 2023 

— Owokoniran, Zonal Secretary 

Rahman Akanni Owokoniran is the new South-West Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, Secretary. But he has been around— since the Second Republic. Owokoniran 

was part of the formation of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, and became a member 

of Lagos State House of Assembly in 1983. He became Chairman of the Congress for 

National Consensus, CNC. He moved to Action for Democracy, AD, and was appointed 

Chairman, Lagos State Local Government Council Creation Committee, which created 

20 LGAs and 17 LCDAs. He was Director-General of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign 

organisation for a second term. He was appointed Commissioner for Housing(2003) 

and then Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Boundary Affairs (2006). He spoke about 

rebuilding PDP for 2023 elections and the failings of APC in this interview with 

Agbonkhese Oboh. 

How popular is the newly-elected 

South-West PDP exco? 

We have every reason to be thankful. The 

congress was successful. There were no 

winners or losers. Our internal democracy 

is very much intact. At the same time, the 

leadership of the party in 

the South-West has been 

engaging themselves to 

bring unity to the party 

and carry everyone along. 

We all have the same 

goal and that is to win 

elections. We also 

recognise the huge task 

ahead of us, which is 

taking over come 2023, in 

order to salvage Nigeria. 

As the new South- 

West PDP Secretary- 

General, what new 

ideas and changes you 

will like to see? 

The changes I would 

love to see are already 

taking shape: internal 

democracy, restoration of 

confidence and legitimacy, and enabling 

people to have a sense of participation. This 

is what I would like to see more in all our 

primaries and elections, so that there will 

be no doubt when a candidate emerges at 

the end of the day. This way it is easier to 

resolve differences than when candidates 

are imposed. 

It is good when people participate in the 

due process. As the people’s party, I also 

want to see more activities and involvement 

with the people in the local government and 

President 

Goodluck 

Jonathan 

achieved a lot for 

Nigerians. But 

unfortunately, 

people did not 

realise it until 

after he left 

office 

ward levels. This will enhance the 

confidence and trust the people have in 

PDP. 

Even as the opposition party, 

you have crises. Especially in 

the South-West. 

Are there specific 

plans to 

restructure the 

party? 

Yes. In Lagos, 

for instance, we 

are fortunate 

that we have not 

done our congresses. 

This will be a very good way 

to heal the party. Also, we are 

talking with all the 

stakeholders; that we should 

be more focused on building 

the party rather than just 

contesting for the sake of it. 

And, hopefully, those who 

are doing their congresses 

will bear in mind that 

everybody has a role to play. 

Having different groups 

within the party is a thing of 

the past as everyone has recognised the fact 

that unity is key to our success— from ward 

levels to the top. 

We have a government that is nonfunctional 

and a country in serious crisis. 

For these reasons, it is important that PDP 

put their house in order. The last six years 

of APC have been frustrating to Nigerians. 

So if we, PDP, want Nigerians to trust and 

have confidence in us as a party, we have to 

earn it. And the way to earn it is to 

demonstrate the 

seriousness of purpose 

and sell our package— 

what we have to offer 

them. 

You’ve seen it all 

(UPN, SDP, NCP, 

APP, AD and PDP). A 

lot of Nigerians 

believe there is no 

difference between 

PDP and APC. As a 

political scientist, 

how do you respond 

to 

that 

perception? 

I don’t know 

what APC’s 

ideology is. 

B u t 

certainly 

is not the 

s a m e 

w i t h 

PDP’s. 

We are 

•Owokoniran 

v e r y 

much 

leftcentre. 

W e 

work for 

the interest of the common man, so I believe 

we just have to sell our programmes so that 

people can see what we have in store for 

them. 

For instance, President Goodluck 

Jonathan achieved a lot for Nigerians. But 

unfortunately, people did not realise it until 

he left office. So I believe PDP needs to 

project the image of the party and not 

individuals. When we sell the party, people 

will realise that PDP is a party working for 

them and distinguish it from other parties. 

PDP is about the people. But we can’t say 

same about APC. Nigerians have come to 

realise this fact. 

2023 elections are not too far off. 

What is PDP’s strategy for the South- 

West? 

First, we need to unite, which we are 

making great progress in achieving. The 

PDP has been a party with delivery records, 

but unfortunately the challenge has been 

the division in the leadership. However, we 

have learned from others that suffered same 

fate that if we are divided we stand no 

chance. Therefore, we are successfully 

working on uniting everybody. That’s how 

we can come up with the best programmes 

to salvage Nigeria. 

What is the Federal Government 

doing wrong concerning insecurity? 

I have said this before, Government is not 

attracting the best of hands to tackle 

insecurity. We are not in the 70s. Things are 

happening differently now. This is a 

technological era. Government should pay 

for the right services. There’s no reason for 

Ghana and Togo to be safe while Nigeria is 

not safe. It is either there is internal 

sabotage or the government is sabotaging 

itself. There is something fundamentally 

wrong. Abacha said any government that 

cannot arrest insurgency within 24 hours is 

responsible for that insurgency. 

Would you say the present Lagos 

State government is doing well? 

I rate them three out of 10. Governance is 

about the people. But I have not seen propeople 

governance in Lagos. Everybody is 

a local government of their own: you 

generate your own electricity and provide 

your own water. Where does the government 

come in? Even the roads they said they are 

constructing have become deathtraps. In 

Lagos today, you can’t go to three places. 

People go to work and come back home. 

Anything else, you will sleep on the road. 

The Lagos State government is insensitive 

to the need of the people. They say they are 

spending money on roads, but the traffic 

situation is getting worse, then what kind 

city is that? No good health services. The 

rate of inflation and unemployment is 

unbelievable. So in my opinion, the state 

government is doing very badly. 

If Nigerian politicians want to serve, they 

should act it. If the money is available, pay 

the people well. If it is not, reduce your own 

salaries. That’s why we are losing talents 

and professionals. They are acting like 

CEOs. They should stay at home and allow 

people who want to serve to take over. People 

who want to make money in government 

should be discouraged. 

Nigerians are fed up with politicians 

failing to deliver on promises. How 

does PDP intend to win back their 

confidence? 

The people have tried APC and the 

difference is now very obvious. PDP had a 

government that listened and took decisions 

based on what the people desired. The people 

want a government they are sure they can 

be part of. That’s one major reason I believe 

PDP should be given a second chance. We 

will improve and fix the shortcomings of 

the past. 

We are all in this together. I do trust that 

the people are yearning for PDP to come 

back in 2023. The fact remains that as it 

stands PDP is the only party that is peopleoriented 

and will take Nigeria out of our 

present economic disaster. 

BOOK REVIEW: Akinyemi harps on man’s 

mental strength in Everybody Don Kolomental 

By Tunde Oso 

FOR Tolu Akinyemi, speaking on 

his freshest work: Everybody Don 

Kolomental, everyone deals with 

mental health struggles and could be 

“a god in a human body”, as he explores 

themes of spirituality, divinity and the 

enormous power that we possess while 

we traverse this earthly passage, in the 

collection of poems. 

Akinyemi weaves his exuberant latest 

collection of poems around the themes 

of depression and mental health 

problems. With candour and verve, he 

captures the pain of living with mental 

illness in “Mental,” as he writes: “How 

do I find healing in tranquillity? / 

Without being judged through a blurry 

lens.” “Mood Swings” explores the 

protagonist’s struggle with maniac and 

depressive phases that relentlessly 

wreak havocs in their life. 

“Therapy” examines the stigma 

associated with seeking help for mental 

health problems. These poems are 

unforgiving in their portrayal of mental 

health sufferings (“Checkmate,” 

“Burning”), envy and bitterness (“Best 

Friends,” “Bitterness”), and violence (“A 

Single Story”); yet there is hope and selfawareness, 

a wish to get out of 

depression and do better, even if it feels 

like the odds are stacked against you 

(“No Pity,” Self-Doubt,” “My Girls,” and 

“Don’t Snap It yet”). 

In “People of the World,” the 

protagonist contemplates the futility of 

passing friendships and fleeting 

attachments. “Gone with the Wind” 

exudes melancholy as the protagonist 

remembers a long-dead friend. Crafted 

on similar lines, “Conversation with the 

Dead” is replete with longing. 

“Therapist in Need of Therapy” studies 

mental health professionals’ struggles 

with mental illnesses. 

The book’s title poem, “Everyday Don 

Kolomental” conveys resolve while 

maintaining a sort of crude optimism. 

The final poem, “The Tenth Chapter” is 

a congratulatory nod to self. Most poems 

suggest despair, sadness, and 

loneliness, that accompany depression, 

but moments of hope permeate others, 

making sure the overall mood never 

stays dark for long. This is an impressive 

addition to Akinyemi’s compelling body 

of work. 

Tolu’ A. Akinyemi (also known as 

Tolutoludo & Lion of Newcastle) is an 

award-winning Nigerian author in the 

genre of poetry, short story, and essays, 

which include: Dead Lions Don’t Roar 

(Poetry, 2017), Unravel Your Hidden 

Gems (Essays, 2018), Dead Dogs Don’t 

Bark (Poetry, 2018), Dead Cats Don’t 

Meow (Poetry, 2019), Never Play Games 

With The Devil (Poetry, 2019), Inferno 

of Silence (Short Stories, 2020), A 

Booktiful Love (Poetry, 2020), Black ‘“ 

Inferior (Poetry, 2021), Never Marry a 

Writer (poetry, 2021), Everybody Don 

Kolomental (Poetry, 2021) and a god in 

a human body (Forthcoming - Poetry, 

January 2022). 

Tolu’ has been endorsed by the Arts 

Council England as a writer with 

“exceptional talent”. 

A former headline act at Great 

Northern Slam, Crossing The Tyne 

Festival, Feltonbury Arts and Music 

Festival. He also inspires large 

audiences through spoken word 

performances, he has appeared as a 

keynote speaker in major forums and 

events and facilitates creative writing 

master classes to many audiences. 

His poems have appeared in the 57th 

issue (Volume 15, no 1) of the Wilderness 

House Literary Review, The Writers Cafe 

Magazine- Issue 18, GN Books, Lion 

and Lilac and elsewhere. 

His books are based on a deep reality 

and often reflect relationships, life and 

features people he has met in his journey 

as a writer. His books have instilled 

many people to improve their 

performance and/or their circumstances. 

Tolu’ has taken his poetry to the stage, 

performing his written word at many 

events. Through his writing and these 

performances, he supports business 

leaders, other aspiring authors and 

people of all ages interested in reading 

and writing. Sales of the books have 

allowed Tolu’ donate to charity, allowing 

him to make a difference where he feels 

important, showing that he lives by the 

words he puts to page. 

He is a co-founder of Lion and Lilac, 

a UK-based arts organisation and sits 

on the board of many organisations. 

On his personae, Tolu Akinyemi said, 

“As a writer, my goal remains 

unchanged, to inspire as many people 

as possible through my writings to 

always strive for the best. I infused my 

poetry collections with humour, wit and 

doses of inspiration to a great extent in 

the collection of poetic wisdom for the 

Discerning series, which includes Dead 

Lions Don’t Roar, Dead Dogs Don’t 

Bark and Dead Cats Don’t Meow. 

As a Poet and Creative, my works 

thrive on originality and its ability to 

wake up the lethargic in spirit. In 

Unravel your Hidden Gems, I provided 

practical steps to help people fast-track 

their growth in all areas of life and in 

my poetry collection ‘Never Play Games 

with the Devil’ I address societal ills 

without fear and varied themes on love 

and Personal Growth makes the 

collection a classic. 

Proud of his origin, Akinyemi 

explained: “My works find their roots 

in Nigerian culture and heritage. I view 

writing as therapeutic and the only way 

I can escape from the chaos that clouds 

my sanity.

Herdsmen kill monarch, 7 others in Benue 

By Peter Duru, 

Zaki Uzua, the para 

mount ruler of Tse 

Ancha, near Makurdi, 

and seven others have 

been killed allegedly by 

herdsmen, who invaded 

the Benue community. 

Youths however, mobilised 

to repel the invaders. 

Sunday Vanguard gathered 

from eyewitnesses 

that among those killed 

was a woman, while five 

others sustained severe 

injuries. 

The sources disclosed 

that the marauders invaded 

the community, which 

is less than one kilometer 

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left) with Hon. Justice Centus Chima Nweze 

of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, at a public function, in Enugu, yesterday. 

Igboho storms Akure palace, says S/West 

monarchs back Yoruba nation struggle 

… as self-determination rally spreads to Ondo 

By Dayo Johnson 

Yoruba activist, Chief 

Sunday Adeyemo, popularly 

known as Sunday Igboho, 

says the agitation for 

self-determination by some 

Yoruba of the South-West 

have the blessing of their traditional 

rulers. 

Meanwhile, Akure stood 

still as the self-determination 

agitation spread to the Ondo 

State capital. Oyo, Ogun, and 

Osun States had previously 

played host to the pro-Yoruba 

nation activists. 

The agitators, under the 

auspices of Ilana Omo Oodua, 

converged on lsinkan 

Roundabout, Akure before 

marching to other parts of the 

state capital, causing gridlock. 

Masquerades, market 

women, youths, Okada riders 

joined in march in the state 

capital. 

Security agencies deployed 

their personnel to guard 

against the hijacking of the 

march by miscreants. 

Igboho, who was in Akure 

for the event, insisted that no 

amount of threat and intimidation 

will thwart the actualisation 

of the Yoruba nation. 

He spoke at the palace of 

first class traditional ruler in 

the state, Deji of Akureland, 

Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi. 

“We don’t want one Nigeria 

again, but Yoruba nation. 

There is no essence for one 

Nigeria. We are being marginalised. 

We say enough is 

enough,” the activist said. 

“Enough is enough, no going 

back… we are not scared 

of anybody, these killer herders 

are taking over our land 

and they are killing us, raping 

our wives, female children 

in our presence and 

would also take over our land. 

“We are not safe in our own 

country, we can’t sleep in 

peace, we can’t travel in 

peace, we can’t go to our farm 

in peace, what have we done? 

Is it a sin or are we slaves in 

our fatherland? 

“Please what have we done 

wrong?. We have chosen the 

wrong leaders and we are now 

tired and saying enough is 

enough”. 

Igboho, who apologised to 

those he may have offended 

during the struggle, said: “ we 

have now realised that all our 

traditional rulers are with us 

in this struggle. 

“The traditional rulers in 

the South-West and all our 

governors in the region are 

united with us in the agitation. 

Speaking on the role of traditional 

rulers, lgboho lamented 

that they have been 

relegated by the political 

class and turned to errand 

boys and in some cases 

threatened for not dancing to 

their music. 

“This is demeaning and we 

are saying enough is a 

enough. Traditional rulers 

should be accorded their 

rightful places in decisionmaking”, 

the activist added. 

Disruption in two LGAs as Oyo holds council poll 

By Ola Ajayi 

Election into the 33 lo 

cal government areas 

of Oyo State held yesterday 

amid pockets of disruptions 

in two councils of the state. 

The election which also experienced 

low turnout of voters 

was earlier disrupted by 

downpour which prevented 

eligible voters from performing 

their civic duty. 

Sunday Vanguard gathered 

that the election did not 

commence as fixed as handful 

of people who were at their 

polling units had to wait for 

over two to three hours for the 

arrival of voting materials. 

At Ido Local Government 

area of the state, one of the 

political parties, Zenith Labour 

Party, was omitted by 

the Oyo State Independent 

Electoral Commission, 

OYSIEC, on the ballot papers. 

This generated some ripples 

when the election began. 

The omission compelled the 

State Chairman of 

OYSIEC, Aare Isiaka Olagunju, 

to suspend the voting 

exercise in the local government. 

Olagunju, who admitted to 

the error, promised to print 

new ballot papers that would 

include the omitted party. The 

election in that local government 

was shifted to today. 

This also would prevent 

announcement of results of 

the election as earlier promised. 

The OYSIEC chairman 

said the results of the election 

would be announced after 

election had taken place in 

all the councils. 

Also, in Ibarapa East, there 

was a little disruption as 

youths allegedly prevented 

security agents from entering 

the town. 

The same scenario played 

out at Oke Ola in Eruwa 

where youths allegedly 

blocked the State Commissioner 

of Police, Mrs Ngozi 

Onadeko, from entering the 

town after violence broke out 

when some bandits tried to 

snatch ballot boxes. 

In Ogbomosho, as a result 

of violence, the state chapter 

of the African Democratic 

Congress (ADC) announced 

that it would pull out of the 

election. 

In Ibadan metropolis, Oyo 

capital city, the election was 

peaceful. Voting was peaceful 

at Ring Road, Adeoyo, 

Oluyole, Dugbe, Challenge, 

Mokola, Ojo areas of the city. 

Sunday Vanguard also 

gathered that the restriction 

order imposed by the governor 

was partially complied 

with. 

At Beere, Oje, Labiran, 

Oja’ba,Ojoo, Ajibode, 

youths were seen playing football 

in the middle of the road 

from the Abagena Internally 

Displaced Persons, 

IDPs camp, where a similar 

attack few days back 

left seven of the IDPs 

dead, at about midnight. 

They disclosed that a 

bank ATM card of one 

Abdullahi Sabo, suspected 

to be one of the invaders, 

was recovered from 

the scene of the attack. 

Chairman of Makurdi 

Local Government Area, 

Mr. Anthony Dyegeh, who 

confirmed the incident, 

lamented that the marauders 

were gradually 

making their way into the 

heart of the state capital. 

According to Dyegeh, 

“the armed men invaded 

Tse Ancha community 

around 11:55 pm and 

started shooting indiscriminately 

and also 

hacking anyone they 

caught up with. 

“Eight persons were 

killed including the Chief 

of the area, Zaki Uzua, 

while five others sustained 

injuries. The injured 

and bodies of the 

dead have all been recovered 

by a combined team 

of the police and troops 

of Operation Whirl 

Stroke, OPWS, and deposited 

at the Benue State 

University Teaching Hospital, 

BSUTH, Makurdi. 

“Because of the way 

they were battered, three 

of the deceased will be 

buried now, four others 

will be buried tomorrow 

morning but the Chief 

would be kept till traditional 

rulers sit and decide 

when he will be buried. 

“I am pained because 

the Chief who was killed 

was among the people 

that accompanied me 

that same day (Friday) to 

the burial of the seven 

people that were killed at 

Abagena IDP camp. We 

parted ways around 9.00 

pm only for him to be 

killed at about midnight, 

alongside others. 

“It would have been 

worse but for the intervention 

of the youths of 

the community, who mobilized 

and repelled the 

attackers, who were obviously 

out to wipe out the 

community because they 

came in their large numbers 

and were marching 

through the community 

into neighbouring villages. 

Luckily at the time of 

the attack, there was a 

wake keep at a nearby 

primary school for a 

member of the Benue 

Livestock Guards, who 

was killed within that 

same community at Tse 

Iyagwa village. And because 

they are displaced 

from the village the wake 

keep was held at a primary 

school. 

“When the information 

reached the youths at the 

ceremony, they quickly 

mobilised, responded and 

repelled the attackers 

who fled into the forests. 

“The victims told us that 

the armed men came in 

large numbers through 

the bush in Mbalagh 

Council Ward, which is 

deserted because they 

have already displaced 

the people. They are on a 

mission to push the people 

away from their ancestral 

homes. 

“They operated in a 

commando fashion and 

after about 10 minutes 

disappear. They are pushing 

into Makurdi main 

town. In recent times, 

communities in the outskirts 

of Makurdi have 

come under severe attacks 

and it is unfortunate,” 

the chairman lamented. 


Anambra 2021: Valentine Ozigbo 

rated high on clinching PDP ticket 

By Chris Onuoha 

The gubernatorial candi 

dacy of Valentine Ozigbo, 

a Nigerian business mogul 

and philanthropist, received 

a fresh boost over the 

weekend when he emerged 

top on the list of his Peoples 

Democratic Party’s (PDP) sixteen 

aspirants. 

There is no doubt that the 

upcoming Anambra State 

gubernatorial elections will 

be one of the most keenly contested 

elections in the history 

of the southeastern state. 

A few months to the poll slated 

for November 2021, there 

is a long list of aspirants from 

five political parties vying for 

the #1 seat in Anambra. As 

the election date draws near, 

various news platforms, political 

analysts, and public 

affairs commentators have 

carried out analyses on the 

aspirants, the chances of the 

political parties at the polls, 

popularity with the electorate, 

and the aspirants’ chances of 

clinching. 

Elombah TV, a popular 

first-generation online news 

platform in Nigeria, has taken 

the lead in presenting the 

Anambra gubernatorial aspirants 

and the issues surrounding 

the November governorship 

polls to their audience. 

On Saturday, May 15, 

2021, the influential news 

platform turned the spotlight 

on the Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP), the main opposition 

party, and its 16 gubernatorial 

aspirants. 

The interactive session was 

broadcast on Zoom and livestreamed 

on Facebook and 

YouTube was anchored by Mr 

Daniel Elomah, a UK-based 

Anambra-born journalist and 

the publisher of Elombah 

News and Elombah TV. The 

main discussant was Chima 

Christian, a famous political 

analyst, an on-air personality, 

and media practitioner 

based in Awka, the capital of 

Anambra. 

According to Elombah, the 

program aims to run an indepth 

analysis of each of the 

PDP aspirants, present their 

profiles, and assess their candidacy 

and their capacity to 

win their party primaries, as 

well as win the general elections. 

In what has been generally 

adjudged as the most objective, 

indepth, and straightforward 

analysis so far, Valentine 

Ozigbo, the immediate 

OIL FIRMS: Oboko tasks FG on Ijaw 

freedom 

*Commends Okowa for driving Ibori's 

roadmap to peace in Warri 

President of the Feder 

ated Niger Delta Ijaw 

Communities, Dr. Bello 

Oboko, has asked the Federal 

Government, FG, to prevail 

on oil companies to show 

respect for human dignity and 

freedom. 

Oboko spoke at a ceremony 

by indigenes of Gbaramatu 

Kingdom to mark this 

year's Gbaramatu Freedom 

Day, in Warri, calling for payment 

of the Federal High 

Court, Asaba, fine of 

N99billion against the Federal 

Government over its May 

2009 Major-Gen Sarkin 

Yarki Bello-led military JTF 

killing of innocent citizens 

and destruction of several 

communities in Gbaramatu 

Kingdom, including Okerenkoko, 

Oporoza, Kunukunuma, 

Kurutie and Kokodiagbene. 

past President and Group 

CEO of Transcorp Plc, 

emerged as the most likely to 

clinch the PDP gubernatorial 

ticket in June 2021 with 

the high score of 90%. 

While speaking on the qualities 

of Mr Ozigbo that made 

him the most rated among 

the PDP aspirants, Mr Chima, 

the forum discussant, 

described the accomplished 

business leader as “an intellectual” 

and remarked that 

“excellence is what you see 

all around him”. 

According to Mr Christian, 

Mr Ozigbo has distinguished 

himself through 

record-breaking exploits in 

the Nigerian financial sector 

and then in Transcorp Plc, 

one of the largest conglomerates 

in Nigeria with 

300,000 shareholders with 

interests in power, oil and 

gas, agribusiness, energy, and 

hospitality. 

“Val Ozigbo has been an 

accomplished businessman. 

He was sitting at the top leadership 

of Transcorp Plc. He 

has a nice profile and CV cut 

out there,” Christian said. 

“He has three degrees and 

one is from Lancaster University. 

I have spoken to him 

and he seems nice and 

smooth sailing. For one perceived 

as a newcomer, Val is 

doing exceedingly, exceedingly 

well. 

“He has competent people 

around him, and by the way, 

he is a sound intellectual. And 

what he is doing with his campaign 

is exactly what he did 

with Transcorp. Excellence is 

what you see all around 

him,” he enthused. 

The platform use ten criteria 

to assess the aspirants – 

name recognition, church 

advantage, popularity in Anambra, 

ability to finance their 

campaign, key PDP stakeholder 

support, Anambra 

elite support, youth support, 

their chances of winning the 

party’s ticket, image and discipline 

in the public view, and 

chances of winning the general 

election. 

All the other aspirants were 

analysed through the same 

lens as Mr Ozigbo and only 

federal federal lawmaker, 

Engr. Chris Azubogu, 

clinched a similarly high 

score. Trailing in second 

place was Hon. Tony Nwoye 

with a score of 70%. In 3rd 

position was Dr Ifedi Okwenna 

and Dr Winston Udeh who 

got 50% each. 

Oboko, however, commended 

Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa of Delta State for driving 

the Warri roadmap to 

peace designed by former 

Governor James Ibori, by 

"supporting emergence of 

Chairman of Ijaw extraction 

for the first time in Warri 

North local government area 

in the last council polls". 

"FNDIC and the good people 

of Gbaramatu Kingdom 

declared May 15th every 

year to mark/celebrate 

Gbaramatu Freedom Day 

and to condemn the scourge 

of slavery across the globe. 

We request authorities in Nigeria 

to uphold and promote 

acts of freedom", Oboko said. 

Oboko recalled: "Militarization 

of oil operations which 

provokes fear and death does 

not promote human dignity 

and freedom and remained 

condemned”.


By Bashir Bello 

AKatsina monarch, 

Sarkin Pawwan Kat 

sina, Alh. Yusuf Lawal, 

has been dethroned for 

allegedly abetting banditry. 

Lawal, who doubled as the 

district head of Kankara, was 

removed by the Katsina 

From left: Representative of the Chairman, Lagos State Health Management Agency 

(LASHMA), Dr. Tunji Akintade, Chairman, Mosan Okunola Local Council Development 

Area, Hon. Princess Olabisi Adebajo, Honourable Commissioner, Local Government and 

Community Affairs, Dr. Wale Ahmed, General Manager, LASHMA, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, 

and Honourable Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, at the official flag-off of 

ILERA EKO/ Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) held at Rauf Aregbesola Primary 

Health Centre, Mosan, Alimosho.Photo : Akeem Salau 

Why we are celebrating Isaac Adaka Boro 53 years after 

– Ijaw in Lagos 

By Ephraim Oseji and 

Juliet Ebirim 

he Ijaw community in 

TLagos celebrated the heroic 

exploits of the late Major 

Isaac Adaka Boro, 53 

years after his death. 

Speaking at a rally held in 

his honour in Lagos, the 

Chairman of Ijaw Youth 

Council, Lagos Chapter, 

Harry Yinkere Matawa, said 

the event was aimed at marking 

his 53rd remembrance. 

“We are celebrating our father 

today, a hero who handed 

a philosophy, an ideology 

to the entire Ijaw nation and 

the Niger Delta”, Matawa 

said. 

“He’s the first ever in the 

history of Nigeria to fight for 

the liberation of his people. 

He died as a soldier 53 years 

Katsina monarch dethroned for allegedly 

abetting banditry 

Wike vows to resign if... 

...as two former APC chairs, others join PDP 

By Davies Iheamnachor 

Governor Nyesom Wike 

has offered to resign 

from office if the Minister of 

Transportation, Chibuike 

Amaechi, can mention any 

federal project he has attracted 

to Rivers State since 2015. 

Wike, in a statement by his 

Special Assistant on Media 

PDP expels Afegbua 

*’It’s a lie; I wasn’t invited by any committee’ 


Against the backdrop of 

their frosty relationship, 

the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, weekend, expelled 

former Edo State Commissioner 

for Information, Prince 

Kassim Afegbua. 

Sunday Vanguard reports 

that a fortnight ago, Afegbua 

petitioned the Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, praying the antigraft 

body to investigate the 

financial stewardship of the 

PDP National Chairman, 

Prince Uche Secondus. 

The ex-commissioner accused 

Secondus of sundry 

misdeeds including alleged 

failure to account for the sum 

of N10 billion which Afegbua 

claimed accrued to the party 

from the sales of nomination 

forms for the 2019 general 

elections; a claim the party 

dismissed, insisting that it realized 

the sum of N4.6 billion 

and not N10 billion. 

However, in a letter addressed 

to Secondus yesterday 

and signed by the Edo 

State Chairman of the PDP, 

Tony Aziegbemi, the party announced 

Afegbua’s expulsion, 

saying it took the decision 

after the former Commissioner 

failed to honour the party’s 

disciplinary committee to 

clear himself of allegations 

of anti-party activities. 

Reacting to the development, 

Afegbua denied receipt 

of any invitation, adding that 

ago in the struggle to keep 

Nigeria one. “This celebration 

is a yearly ritual which 

has come to stay among the 

Ijaw, Niger Delta and Nigerian 

people. 

“This is the spirit of the 

struggle of resource control 

and Isaac Boro believed in 

resource control. 

“This is a reminder for the 

Ijaw to keep the struggle alive. 

“The era of armed struggle 

is fading away as the society 

is changing. It is time the Ijaw 

youths place themselves strategically 

so as to peacefully 

achieve their goals.” 

The Ijaw youth leader 

called on lawmakers from 

Niger Delta to move a motion 

towards the restructuring 

of Nigeria. 

His words: “We are calling 

on lawmakers representing 

the Niger Delta at the national 

level to move a motion to 

restructure Nigeria so that all 

Emirate Council after he 

was found guilty of all allegations 

leveled against him. 

The emirate spokesman, 

Sarkin Labarai, Alh. Ibrahim 

Iro, said the Katsina 

Emirate Council under the 

leadership of Emir of Katsina, 

Abdulmuminu Kabir Usman, 

ordered the sacking of 

Kelvin Ebiri, after the formal 

defection of two former 

chairmen of All Progressives 

Congress (APC) in Rivers 

State, Dr. Davies Ikanya and 

Hon. Igo Aguma, as well as 

other chieftains of the opposition 

to the Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt 

yesterday, cited several 

projects he attracted to Rivers 

while he was Minister of 

State for Education under the 

Jonathan administration. He 

challenged Amaechi to emulate 

him by reviving the moribund 

Port Harcourt seaports 

in order to create employment 

opportunity for Rivers’ 

youths. 

The State PDP Chairman, 

Ambassador Desmond Akawor, 

said the defection of 

Ikanya, Aguma and others 

marked the formal interment 

of the opposition party in Rivers 

State. 

the said expulsion was orchestrated 

by Secondus to 

sway public attention from 

the issues he raised in his petition. 

He vowed to challenge 

his expulsion in court upon 

receipt of the Aziegbemi’s letter, 

saying, “once I get the letter, 

I will immediately instruct 

my lawyers to seek legal 

redress of this absurdity, 

just to make the point that illegality 

should not endure.” 

Lawal. 

“The Katsina Emirate 

Council removed Sarkin 

Pawwan Katsina, district 

head of Kankara, Alh. Yusuf 

Lawal, based on allegations 

leveled against him for abetting 

banditry. 

“The Katsina State government 

mandated the Emirate 

council to set up a committee 

to investigate and upon 

which report was submitted 

to them. Based on the report, 

the government ordered the 

council to remove him,” Iro 

said. 

Recall that on December 

11, 2020, bandits invaded an 

all boys government secondary 

school in Kankara 

(boarding) leading to the kidnapping 

of over 300 school 

children. There have also 

been other attacks on residents 

of the area and the state 

as a whole. 

Attack on school 

Principal, teachers: 

Ekiti police identify 

erring cops 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

Ekiti State Police Command, 

yesterday, said it had 

uncovered the identity of policemen 

involved in Wednesday 

assault and harassment 

of teachers at Mary Immaculate 

Secondary School, Ado 

Ekiti. 

Four armed policemen had 

stormed the school where they 

allegedly harassed and assaulted 

the Principal and 

teachers. It was gathered that 

the policemen’s action was 

informed by the disciplinary 

measure meted to the daughter 

of one of them for improper 

conduct. 

The daughter reportedly 

came to school in weird haircut 

which was against school 

rule. 

Confirming the arrest of the 

policemen, the command 

spokesperson,Mr Sunday 

Abutu, said investigation had 

commenced as ordered by 

the state Commissioner of 

Police and the officers shall 

not be spared if found guilty. 

47 battle for 5 Federal Permanent 

Secretary slots 


The Federal Government 

has shortlisted 47 candidates 

for written examination 

to fill vacant positions of 

Permanent Secretary in the 

Federal Civil Service on May 

31, 2021. 

The 47 officers were shortlisted 

out of 51 candidates 

who faced a screening panel. 

The officers are contesting 

to fill vacancies of retiring 

Permanent Secretaries 

from Ekiti, Katsina, Nasarawa, 

Enugu and Lagos. 

•Some Ijaw people during the rally for the late 

Major Isaac Adaka Boro 

regions can manage their resources 

and contribute to the the Niger Delta will be halt- 

not put in place, activities in 

federal purse. 

ed. We are with him on this”. 

“That’s the essence of what On his part, the Treasurer 

we’re doing today. We are of Ijaw Youth Council, Lagos 

passing a message to our representatives 

at the state and Arigban, added that Isaac 

Chapter, Comrade Tikima 

federal legislative houses. Adaka Boro fought and died 

“Our national president, for the liberation of the Ijaw 

Peter Igbifa, has issued a onemonth 

ultimatum to the fed- 

“May 16th has become a 

ethnic nationality. 

eral government that if the national day for the Ijaw people 

to celebrate our icon,” he 

restructuring and the constitution 

of the NDDC board is said. 

Warri North LG boss, security agents 

read riot act to criminals 

CHAIRMAN of Warri 


Council, Hon. Captain 

Smart Yomi Asekutu, has 

threatened to wield the big 

stick against enemies of peace 

operating anywhere in the 

council area. 

Asekutu handed down the 

warning at an emergency security 

meeting he convened in 

his office in Koko, headquarters 

of the local government 

council, at the weekend. 

He explained that he convened 

the meeting to enable 

government, security agencies 

on ground as well as critical 

stakeholders in the peacekeeping 

efforts to deliberate 

and spring into action to arrest 

the ugly trend of kidnapping 

and other acts of criminality 

going on in the council 

area. 

The council boss said “in 

tackling this menace,” he 

Chief Responsibility Of 

ficer of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, 

Adenike Ogunlesi, has narrated 

how popular kids outfit hits 

a landmark of 25 years. 

Speaking on the milestone, 

Ogunlesi, enthused how the 

brand started in the boot of 

the founder and spreading to 

over 15 stores all over Nigeria. 

Mrs Ogunlesi revealed that 

Ruff n Tumble, has been at the 

forefront of advancing the 

Nigerian garment manufacturing 

industry, launching her 

would “not hesitate to ask security 

agents,” whom he said 

were “ever ready to swing into 

action to go all out after these 

bad guys, who wish to disturb 

the flow of investments into 

Warri North”. Asekutu 

warned that if anyone “was 

caught in the act,” he would 

never come in to save such 

person regardless of his ethnic 

affiliation, stressing that 

he is neither an Ijaw nor Itsekiri 

chairman, rather he is 

Warri North chairman. 

He added that he would 

not sit back and watch investors 

go elsewhere because of 

the activities of few criminals, 

even as he enjoined ex-agitators, 

who were critical elements 

in the quest to arrest 

the trend, to collaborate with 

government by volunteering 

information, which could 

help change the present dynamic. 

DELTA 2023: Urhobo inaugurate Delta 

Central - 23 

...as Oyovbaire drums support for power rotation 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

A 

pro-Urhobo governor 

for 2023 group within 

Delta State Peoples Democratic 

Party, (PDP) has been inaugurated 

in Uvwie local 

government area, with Senator 

Ighoyota Amori as National 

Chairman. 

Chairman of the ceremony 

and former Minister of Information, 

Prof Sam Oyovbaire, 

charged Urhobo to be united 

to produce the next governor 

of the state by 2023, adding 

that it was the turn of Delta 

Central to produce a successor 

to Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa. 

Oyovbaire enjoined the 

media to project the new platform, 

Delta Central 2023 (aka 

DC 23) in positive light , stressing 

that zoning was recognized 

in the PDP from the federal 

to the local government 

level. 

He further enjoined Urhobo 

leaders to work with other 

senatorial districts in the state 

to ensure the governorship 

seat goes to Delta Central. 

“The issue of power rotation 

is there in the PDP at the 

national , state and local government 

levels. But we have 

to still dialogue with others 

on the basis of rotation “, he 

said. 

Amori, in his acceptance 

speech, assured that he would 

not disappoint the Urhobo 

nation, adding that the body 

was a group within the PDP 

in Delta Central. 

Earlier, Professor Sunny 

Awhefeada, who gave the 

keynote address on Urhobo 

Delta 2023 and beyond, said 

Urhobo had respected power 

rotation in the past to enable 

other senatorial zones 

produce the governor so this 

time other zones should support 

the Urhobo to become 

governor come 2023. 

He said the DC- 23 was like 

an aircraft that would take 

Urhobo to Government 

House, 2023. 

Elumelu hails Okowa for granting full 

autonomy to Delta Judiciary 

By Levinus Nwabughiogu 

Minority Leader of 

the House of Rep 

resentatives, Hon. 

Ndudi Elumelu, has applauded 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa 

for signing the Judiciary Autonomy 

Law as passed by 

Delta State House of Assembly 

to grant full operational 

autonomy to the 

state judiciary. 

In a statement yesterday, 

Elumelu said the development 

will strengthen the 

judiciary and enhance 

quick dispensation of justice. 

“This laudable develop- 

ment has further distinguished 

Governor Okowa 

as a democrat, who is always 

at the forefront in efforts 

to entrench statutory 

practices of rule of law for 

good governance, not only 

in Delta state but also the 

nation at large,”he said. 

“It is imperative to state 

that the swift signing of the 

judiciary autonomy law by 

Governor Okowa is a sure 

step, within the context of 

statutory separation of 

powers, towards strengthening 

the judiciary to 

guarantee efficient, 

speedy and unconstrained 

dispensation of justice in 

Delta state. 

Ruff ‘n’ Tumble celebrates 25 years of 

kids’ fashion 

children’s clothing company 

Ruff ‘n’ Tumble after recognising 

the dearth of well-made 

children’s clothes suitable for 

our climate. 

“Today, our brand is at the 

centre of manufacturing kids 

essentials across West Africa. 

Ruff ‘n’ Tumble and has maintained 

a strong standing at 

the forefront of the children’s 

clothing market for two and 

half decades by providing 

quality, premium children’s 

clothing to over ten thousand 

Nigerian families.

20 year 

ears s memorial service 

vice 

vice Photos by Bunmi Azeez 


20 Years Memorial Service for the late Pa Samuel Olufunmilade Adeshina was held at Yaba Baptist Church, Yaba and reception 

at his residence in Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, yesterday 

From left: Mrs. Bimpe Adeshina, Modukpe Amuka, 

Mrs. Fadeke Onadele and Moyowa Amuka 

From left: Mr. Rotimi Funmi-Adeshina, Mr. 

Dayo Adeshina and Mrs. Olajumoke Funmi- 

Adeshina, widow 

From left: Mr. Olaniran Aloba, Dr. Remi Alo, Mr. 

Abayomi Adeyeye and Mrs. Kehinde Tugbobor 

From left: Mrs. Ibironke Aboaba, Mrs. Adeyemi 

Taire, Mes. Dope Omololu and Mrs. Bimpe 

Lalude 

Rev. Dr. Bayo Sola Aremu, Church Pastor, Rev. 

Dr. Samson Oluniyi and Pastor Gbenga 

Adeyemo 

Mrs. Oladepe Amuka-Pemu daughter of dieceased 

(left) and sister Miss Olalonpe Funmi-Adeshina 

Efe Amatosero 50th birthday Photos by Joe Akintola, Photo Editor 

The Financial Secretary of Omuge Iwere Society of Lagos, Efe Victor Amatosero, turned 

50 a forthnight ago and celebrated the occassion with members of his club and family at 

New Estate Baptist Church, Surulere, Lagos. 

From left: Mr. Tuoyo Amuka, Mr. Paul Adeshina 

and Martha Eni 

NEWS 

Ned Nwoko writes Buhari, says LG 

autonomy will check insecurity, 

promote restructuring 

By Yinka Ajayi 

INTERNATIONAL law 

yer and Antarctica explorer, 

Hon. Ned Nwoko, 

has called for full autonomy 

for the local government administration 

in Nigeria as 

the bedrock of restructuring 

and genuine democracy. 

In an open letter to the President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

on the state of the nation, 

against the backdrop of insecurity 

by bandits across the 

country and anxieties over 

the socio economic challenges 

facing the people, 

Nwoko said lack of independence 

in local government 

leadership had, over the years, 

produced weak structure 

that could not safeguard lives 

and inspire good governance 

at the grassroots. 

He said local government 

autonomy and direct funding 

from the Federation Account 

would embolden elected 

chairmen and councilors to 

work effectively with divisional 

police officers and traditional 

rulers to manage security 

as every crime is local. 

Nwoko faulted the prevailing 

situation where state 

governors control local government 

funds through the 

Federation Account, leaving 

the councils as appendages of 

the states. 

Local governments, according 

to Nwoko, deserve independence 

to attract experienced 

technocrats and successful 

business men who 

have the latitude and wealth 

of experience to perform as 

chairmen. 

He stated that such arrangement 

would herald real 

democracy as elections 

would be fought locally and 

popular candidate would 

emerge regardless of political 

parties and godfather phenomenon. 

Nwoko said Buhari had 

championed the move with his 

policy thrust of granting autonomy 

for local governments, 

House of Assembly 

and the judiciary. He said the 

president’s quest was a bold 

patriotic template that would 

strengthen separation of powers 

among the 

executive,judiciary and 

legislature,for the benefit of all 

Nigerians. 

Efe Victor Amatosero, Celebrant, cutting his 50th 

birthday cake. 

Efe Victor Amatosero, celebrant and his wife, 

Ngozi 

Celebrant and wife (centre) with members of 

Omuge Iwere Society, Lagos. 

Efe Victor Amatosero, celebrant, his wife, Ngozi 

(centre) with celebrant's father, Victor Amatosero 

Snr on celebrant's right.

PAGE 30, SUNDAY VANGUARD, MAY 23, 2021 

Viewpoint 

2023: Okowa and treachery of Delta politics 

BY RAY UMOKORO 

overnor Ifeanyi Okowa, a medical 

Gdoctor and former senator representing 

Delta north is not known to be the proverbial 

empty vessel that makes the loudest noise. A 

deft politician and grassroots man, he seldom 

talks politics. He prefers to engage his 

audience on issues of development, nationbuilding, 

and people empowerment. 

And he is not the gallivanting type either. 

Not in the class of politicians whose pastime is 

to junket from place to place in interminable 

travels that yield no fruits but drain the nation 

of scarce forex. However, recently, Okowa was 

drawn to the soapbox to talk politics and even 

serve notice of much bigger political 

shenanigans in the coming months. At the core 

of his message was 2023 gubernatorial election 

in Delta. Who succeeds Okowa? 

With a good two years left under his belt to 

complete his second tenure of four years, you 

would expect that matters of succession and 

treacherous politics would be kept in abeyance. 

You would expect members of his cabinet to 

concentrate on the job at hand: transforming 

Okowa’s vision of a greater, smarter and more 

prosperous Delta into reality. But, never! Some 

members of his cabinet have turned lecherous, 

at best chameleonic: Working for Okowa at 

day but turning against him at night. This is 

the way of some politicians. They lack 

character. They are shorn of decorum, lacking 

in honour and deficient in values. 

Unfortunately, they are working with an 

Okowa, a man of honour, who values his image 

far above lucre and lust for power. Okowa 

could not understand, neither stomach the 

noxious banal values that these politicians 

trade openly making them behave like snotty 

touts at motor parks. 

Thus, when Okowa mounted the dais while 

speaking at the empowerment of constituents 

of Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency by 

their representative and Minority Leader of 

the House of Representatives, Mr. Ndudi 

Elumelu, in Asaba recently, he was blunt, 

punchy and direct. He laid it bare. He simply 

passed a message to the discerning: He is fully 

aware of the mindless politics, needless 

alignments and even exchange and offer of 

money to appointees and by appointees. He 

did not mince words. He told Delta people that 

he was out to serve them, to bring development 

to the people who massively voted him into 

office. By the way, since 1999, Okowa holds 

the record of amassing the highest majority 

votes cast in favour of any gubernatorial 

candidate. His victory in 2015 was 

overwhelming. It got even more overflowing 

in 2019 when he trounced the opposition, 

collectively, with a wide vote margin. It’s a 

testimony to his popularity and state-wide 

acceptance. An indexation of his outstanding 

performance in his first term. 

Therefore, a man of such political stature 

cannot afford to fail the people who wholly 

trusted him with representative power. And he’s 

determined not to fail. To please his people, he 

needs equal measure of devotion to duty from 

his lieutenants. He desired their unalloyed 

commitment to the development of Delta, not 

fractious politics. He desired their buy-in to 

Okowa: Unraveling the face of successor 

BY NORBERT CHIAZOR 

overnor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State 

Ghas a stereotyped image- mellow media 

shy personage.That is where the puzzle 

begins.The perception in the public eye beggars 

belief. How come a man who speaks rarely 

sounds the loudest? Why is a man less forward 

to hug the cameras always the cynosure of 

attention? 

From party to people,the name Okowa has 

been resonating for years, reaching crescendo, 

since December 8 ,2014, when the PDP 

Returning Officer, Hon. Karim Sunday Steve, 

called him 406 times to declare the medical 

doctor winner of Delta gubernatorial primary, 

paving the way for his emergence as Governor 

on May 29th 2015. 

In party politics and comity of Governors, 

he bears the toga of official mascot unsolicited. 

He takes the lead in PDP critical affairs and 

conventions. He acts as a bipartisan pathfinder 

in the guber cycle, when Nigeria tethers on the 

brink of insecurity and unprecedented socio - 

political difficulties. He does these and more 

without drama but with deep resonance, 

stirring earth shaking ripples. 

Today,the man who is not presumed a 

frontline authority figure has been making 

headlines and front pages of the mainstream 

press, especially since the now famous Asaba 

declaration of Southern Governors on 

restructuring and true federalism. 

Then he gave Deltans something serious to 

ponder when he proclaimed at a recent 

empowerment gathering that the state needs a 

governor come 2023, who will see Asaba as 

home and remember Anioma people in a pan- 

Delta spirit of fairness. 

That was the curtain raiser to Okowa’s 2023 

Delta governorship roadmap,until he met with 

a horde of anxious journalists at Government 

House on Wednesday 19th May 2021. 

Dressed in milky dapper native ensemble and 

vintage eye glasses, he addressed the press and 

set a thorough going agenda on the power 

rotation question in Delta. He delivered his 

thoughts in spontaneity with witty unscripted 

decibel: 

“There was no formal meeting where a 

gentleman agreement was reached and that is 

his agenda carefully spelt out and anchored 

on prosperity for all Deltans. 

Alas, some of the appointees have other ideas: 

marking time when they should be redeeming 

the time; holding nocturnal meetings and 

plotting with outsiders on how to install the 

next governor of Delta at a time they ought to 

be tilling the ground with Okowa to ensure a 

prosperous future and a flourishing present for 

Deltans. 

Okowa spoke off the cuff but his message, as 

always, was lucid and graced with wisdom. 

His words were carefully chosen, neither 

acerbic nor caustic. He spoke like a good 

leader, counselling from his exalted 

observatory as the political father of his party 

in his state. His exact words: “Whoever is 

coming to rule this state, by the grace of God, 

must be somebody who is ready to ensure that 

there is fairness, equity and justice. 

“We want somebody who will come to Asaba 

and see Asaba as his home and not somebody 

who will come and feel that Asaba as 

headquarters is misplaced. 

“I can see that a lot has been going on in our 

dear state, especially the scramble on who will 

replace Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa come 2023. 

“Unfortunately, some are not even patient. 

They started their campaigns in the first three 

months of my second term in office. 

“I want to charge our leaders and people to 

be cautious because politics is such that if you 

don’t read it rightly, you will directly throw your 

people into fire. 

“I am not all-knowing, but at the appropriate 

time, leaders must be ready to sit down for us 

to do a proper analysis politically before we 

the truth as at today”, he said. 

“ It is only God Almighty that knows who 

will be governor after me. 

“You will hear a lot more things just as they 

There was no formal meeting 

where a gentleman 

agreement was reached 

said I want to handover to an Ijaw man; I don’t 

think that I have the strength to play God. 

“But as I said, at some point in time as a 

political party, because I can only speak for 

my party, we will sit down to look at issues to 

find out what truly will be fair, what truly will 

be justified and what should equity really 

mean.” 

Raging debates have trailed Okowa’s 

soundbites as Deltans and bystanders, loyalists 

and opposition read varied meanings to his 

viewpoints. 

take decisions so that we will not lead our 

people into darkness. 

“I want to caution our leaders who are 

jumping the ship because of the very little thing 

that has been provided for them. 

“It is not about self, it is going to be about 

the people. 

“I am the governor of the state and I 

appreciate it. I believe in equity and will not 

shy away from the fact that I am from Delta 

North Senatorial District. 

“By the grace of God, in our approach to 

governance, we have been fair in what we do. 

“Shine your eyes so that people will not come 

to lure you with N500,000 and N1,000,000 

and you sell the conscience of your people and 

you lure them into fire. 

“I believe in equity; it has shown that we are 

not inferior in Delta North. Please let us stay 

cautious, especially, the leaders. 

“So, I urge our people that this is the time to 

stay together; this is the time to think alike 

and I want to reassure you that in the next one 

month, we will start the politics.” 

Barely 72 hours after he made these 

statements, Okowa applied a political 

masterstroke. He dissolved his cabinet. To 

many, it came as a surprise. But to perceptive 

political watchers, it was inevitable. The 

governor must weed out traitors and political 

chameleons in his cabinet. The governor 

explained that he took the action to reduce 

the growing level of distraction and 

palpable over-heating of the polity by some 

gladiators in his cabinet. 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com 

•Umukoro, a public policy analyst, 

writes from Warri 

Delta 2023. What Okowa never said. In 

amplifying the place of Asaba in Delta, the 

Governor was not playing the ethnic card.The 

first elected Delta governor from Anioma 

meant that Asaba should continue to gain 

relevance after his tenure.That is neither 

misplaced nor incongruous to demand.His 

counsel was not an expression of favouritism 

but affirmation of truth. After all there is only 

one state capital in Delta, Asaba .Isn’t it? 

He never said or implied that other cities in 

the state should stand still while Asaba moves, 

developing and growing. His frank talk on 

Asaba is akin to Governor Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu of Lagos making case for Ikeja Capital or 

Godwin Obaseki, Edo canvassing the 

development of Benin city. What is there to 

attach sentiments? Is that nepotism? Won’t it 

be irresponsible ,if not ominous for any future 

Chief Executive of the state to abandon Asaba, 

a land he must stand to take oath of office? 

Everything is not politics. Somethings are 

sacrosanct, never to be sullied. 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com 

*ACHIAZOR is a Media Aide to Governor 

Okowa. 

Errors of yesterday 

BY MATTHEW FEMI ADEGBITI 

t started as a harmless visit, a former sub 

Iordinate trying to show appreciation and 

gratitude to her boss who was particularly 

helpful in stabilizing her emotions and normalization 

of filial differences at her home, 

during the short time she worked at the company 

as a temporary staff. Before long, the 

visits became more frequent, with growing intimacy 

during all successive visitations, although 

none of them expected the cordiality to 

progress beyond a platonic gesture. The boss, 

James Alatise, was the Managing Director and 

Chief Executive of ABC Insurance Company 

Ltd while Joyce was the temporary employee 

James retired from Federal Insurance Corporation 

at Abuja after serving for several years 

and decided to settle down at Ibadan to set up 

his own insurance company, ABC Insurance 

Company Ltd. He had a happy home: a beautiful 

wife and four equally beautiful, charming 

and intelligent daughters. He had built a 

tasteful house at the GRA part of the ancient 

city for his post retirement comfort and settlement 

of his family. When he finally relocated, 

the wife, still in paid employment as a 

school teacher, remained at Abuja, but visited 

home twice a month to take care of their new 

home and her husband. 

As for Joyce, she had been a bosom friend to 

Ajoke who came from a humble and modest 

family background Both of them grew up 

as children in their neighborhood and remained 

close all through their secondary 

school days till they found themselves together 

again at the polytechnic. Ajoke was admitted 

to read Marketing while Joyce was in 

the School of Vocational Studies, studying 

Town Planning. After successfully completing 

their National Diploma studies respectively, 

Joyce opted to proceed with her Higher 

National Diploma program immediately but 

Ajoke decided to search for employment to 

gather some working experience. Through 

the assistance of one of their lecturers, she secured 

an appointment as a sales representative 

with ABC Insurance Ltd. She was diligent, 

hard-working and focused, and contributed 

immensely to the progress of the Company 

Ȯn completion of her own HND program, 

Joyce needed to wait for about seven months 

before going for the compulsory national youth 

service corps program. During this interregnum, 

she offered to assist her mother in the 

running of her patent medicine store, a shop 

After a few more trials of job 

searching and frustrating negative 

responses from prospective 

employers, Joyce gave up 

the latter opened to supplement her earnings 

from the Local Government Commission 

where she was formally employed as an Audit 

Assistant. Joyce’s father was an Architect, a 

disciplinarian to the core, and had brought up 

all of his ten children from three wives in an 

environment that engendered moral values, 

hard work and spartanism. Joyce was the 

fifth child of the family, second from her mother, 

beautiful and attractive. She was particularly 

loved by her parents whose desire for her 

was to become a town planning professional 

and a responsible housewife. Although she 

had difficult time warding off amorous advances 

from her numerous admirers, both within 

their residential area and in the school, she 

remained chaste and shunned any act of promiscuity. 

She had thoroughly imbibed the 

tenets of excellent home training provided by 

her father. 

When the drudgery of staying at the mother’s 

shop everyday was becoming unbearable, she 

decided to find a temporary job at any of the 

medium-sized companies at Ibadan where 

they lived, in order to ameliorate the effect of 

boredom. On one occasion, she went to visit 

her elder half-brother, Kunle, at the hotel where 

he worked as the manager. Joyce had earlier 

sought his assistance with temporary employment. 

Meanwhile, on that same day, James 

also brought some business associates to the 

hotel for relaxation, to round up the day’s activities. 

Kunle related quite well with James, 

a regular customer. After the usual rapport, 

Kunle introduced his sister to James, and requested 

his assistance for job placement. 

Unfortunately, James had no vacancy in his 

company nor could he recommend her to any 

organization where she could be hired. 

After a few more trials of job searching and 

frustrating negative responses from prospective 

employers, Joyce gave up. She was at the 

mother’s shop one afternoon when Ajoke unexpectedly 

surfaced to pay her a courtesy visit 

and market life insurance policies. They 

embraced and hugged each other and tried to 

recount old memories. Joyce expressed disappointment 

at her inability to get a job and 

chronicled her unrelenting efforts including the 

failed attempt with Managing Director of ABC 

Insurance Ltd. Ajoke was surprised, given the 

extensive contacts possessed by Joyce’s father, 

but still promised to assist. Shortly thereafter, 

Ajoke left. 

Not quite long, there was a job opening at 

ABC Insurance Ltd. James’ secretary was due 

for a maternity leave and the company needed 

a temporary replacement. Ajoke approached 

the Administration Manager on behalf of 

Joyce who was contacted accordingly. In the 

meantime, Joyce had greatly improved her 

computer skills, using the available spare time 

to attend various programs. She was invited 

to take an aptitude test which she passed. 

Following that, she was requested to report for 

an interview and, upon an impressive performance, 

was employed as a relief secretary. At 

the interview session with James, there was a 

memory flash back, an intuitive feeling of having 

seen the girl before but when he could not 

recollect when and where and under what circumstances, 

he gave up but then asked: 

“Haven’t I seen this face before?” “Yes sir”, 

Joyce replied, “at the hotel when I went to see 

my brother, and he told you I needed ajob”. 

“That’s right What a coincidence. I 

apologize for not recognizing you right away 

and my inability to help at that time. In any 

case, all is well that ends well We are happy 

to have you around But I must stress that our 

work here is very demanding and requires 

people who are industrious and self motivated”, 

James concluded. “I will do my best to 

cope sir” Joyce responded. 

She performed exceedingly well on the job, 

even assisting in other departments where she 

could ably do so. She possessed a likeable 

personality that radiated to all her colleagues. 

She was quite affable and this quality 

endeared her to a lot of people within the 

company and beyond, like their customers and 

suppliers. 

Having done the job for about five months, 

it was time to resume for national youth service 

corps program and had to leave the company. 

The short period of her employment 

seemed like several years. For her diligence 

and devotion to duty James instructed that a 

befitting send-forth party be held in her honour 

to mark her contributions to the company’s 

activities and her departure. Joyce attended 

the party with her fiance, Timo. The 

get-together was warm, lively and enjoyable. 

Several farewell speeches were made, commending 

her pleasant disposition and wishing 

her well in her future endeavours. 

At the exit disengagement meeting with 

James, she expressed deep gratitude for his 

benevolence and other parental care during 

her brief stay at the company and inquired if 

she could stop by in his house at a subsequent 

date, with her intending husband, Timo. 

Continues next week 

*Femi Adegbite is a chartered accountant, 

farmer, management consultant 

and a retired petroleum oil marketing 

executive.

Juve eye Griezmann to replace Ronaldo 

•Ronaldo 

Iheanacho celebrates Goal of 

the Season Award 

Kelechi Iheanacho’s 

super strike for Leicester 

City against 

Crystal Palace has been 

voted Goal of the Season 

by his Premier League 

club. 

The goal was scored on 

April 26, 2021. And the 

Super Eagles striker is 

excited to win the award. 

“I am super excited to 

win the award and I thank 

my teammates and fans 

for their support’’, said 

Iheanacho. 

Iheanacho met a perfect 

cross from Johnny Evans 

deep inside the box, controlled 

it with a great first 

touch before he fired into 

the bottom corner to win 

the game for Leicester 

City 2-1. 

‘Seniorman Kelz’ has 

netted 12 goals in the Premier 

League this season. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ital 

ian adventure could 

come to an abrupt end if Juventus 

fail to seal a top-four 

spot today, and the club are 

reportedly lining-up Antoine 

Griezmann as a replacement 

already. 

The Turin side face Bologna 

today with Champions 

League qualification on the 

line, having already surrendered 

the Serie A title and had 

their nine-year dominance 

ended. If AC Milan and 

Napoli win their final day 

matches, it’s game over. 

Ronaldo’s three seasons in 

Champions League: Chelsea, Liverpool, 

Leicester battle for two tickets 

Leicester City will have 

plans in place for the 

different scenarios that 

could emerge during the 

final 90 minutes of the season 

today. 

City head into the last 

match of the campaign, 

against Tottenham 

Hotspur, sat in fifth place, 

below Liverpool on goal 

difference and one point 

behind Chelsea in the battle 

for a Champions 

League spot. 

Their most likely route 

into the top four is by beating 

Spurs and hoping that 

Chelsea fail to beat Aston 

Villa, or that Liverpool 

cannot get the better of 

Pacquiao to fight Spence on 

August 21 

Manny Pacquiao 

and Errol Spence 

Jr. have signed contracts 

for a super fight on 

August 21. 

WBA champion Pacquiao 

and WBC and IBF titleholder 

Spence Jr have 

been locked in discussions 

for some time and 

a Las Vegas bout between 

the pair has now 

been officially agreed. 

Pacquiao, 42, will now 

look to add to his already 

glittering legacy by overcoming 

Spence – who is 

undefeated in his previous 

27 fights. 

The bout would represent 

his biggest challenge 

since he came up 

short against Floyd Mayweather 

in May 2015. 

‘Pac-Man’ (62-7-2, 39 

KOs) has also hinted at 

a lucrative mega fight 

with Conor McGregor, 

who has insisted he 

wants to take on the Filipino 

in the ring before 

he retires from combat 

sports. 

African Mini-Football Nations Cup: 

16 countries confirm participation 

By Ephraim Oseji 

Sixteen Countries have 

confirmed their readiness 

to participate in the 

forthcoming Africa Mini- 

Football Nations Cup slated 

to hold between July 8 - 17 

at Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, 

Ibadan. This was made 

known by the President of 

the African Mini Football 

Confederation, Mr Achraf 

Ben Salha at a world press 

conference held on Wednesday 

at Ilaji Hotels and Sports 

Resort, Ibadan, Oyo State. 

According to Salha, the 

countries include the defending 

champion, Ivory Coast. 

Nigeria (the host nation), 

Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, 

Ghana, Benin and Zambia, 

The rest are Egypt, Somalia, 

South Africa, Djibouti, Libya, 

Burkina Faso, Mali and 

Algeria. 

•Griezmann 

*Spence Jr. 

Salha stated that the winner 

of the competition will 

represent Africa at the 

World Mini football competition 

Cup, to hold in Ukraine 

2022. 

Commenting on the level 

of preparedness and the standard 

of the facilities at Ilaji 

Hotels and Sports Resort as 

the venue, Salha rated the 

facilities as well as the newly 

built mini-football stadium 

at the Resort as good for 

the tournament just as he 

assures a hitch-free tournament. 

Salha disclosed, “The 

first time I met President of 

the Nigerian Minifootball 

Association (NMA), Honourable 

Oluyemi Adewale, he 

said to me, I want to start the 

activities in Nigeria by organising 

a Minifootball competition. 

He said we can do it 

which my presence here has 

confirmed.” 

Crystal Palace. 

However, there is a 

small chance that they 

can overtake Liverpool 

on goal difference, even 

if Jurgen Klopp’s side 

win. If the Reds are victorious 

by one goal, a 5-0 

triumph for City would 

be enough to overtake 

them. 

Brendan Rodgers has 

been in this scenario before, 

when Liverpool were 

trying to cut Manchester 

City’s goal difference 

Italy have been frustrating, despite 

two league titles. He’s got 

nowhere near a sixth triumph 

in Europe, and won’t be content 

with Europa League football 

next term. 

Barcelona look set to move 

Griezmann out of the Nou 

Camp this summer, and La 

Stampa are reporting that Juve 

will be at the front of the 

queue. 

The Frenchman hasn’t hit 

the kind of ruthless form he 

exhibited at Atletico Madrid 

before moving to Catalonia 

for £100m, and Barca’s financial 

trouble could mean 

he’ll leave frustrated. 

down in the 2014 title 

race, only for his side to 

give up a three-goal lead 

at Crystal Palace. 

Leicester are underdogs 

in the race for the Champions 

League, but there 

are still reasons for optimism. 

At Anfield, Roy Hodgson 

will want to bow out on a 

high with Crystal Palace, 

who have been able to pull 

off shock results away at 

the elite clubs in years 

gone by thanks to their 

counter-attacking talent. 

CAA puts Lagos on standby to 

host African Championships 

Stories By Ben Efe 

Lagos is in frame to host 

the 2020 African Athletics 

Championships as 

Confederation of African 

Athletics has placed Nigeria 

on standby. 

It was gathered that Confederation 

of African Athletics, 

CAA officials are expected 

to inspect the facilities 

of the Teslim Balogun 

Stadium in Surulere, Lagos 

on June 15 and if they are 

satisfied, Lagos will officially 

be announced as 

host of the 19th African 

Championships on June 

23-27. 

Algeria was originally 

penciled to host it last year, 

but it was put off because of 

the Covid-19 lockdown 

worldwide. 

“We are now gathering all 

that we can to get things 

started,” said Yusuf Alli, vice 

chairman Lagos State Athletics 

Association”, adding, 

“Hopefully, we should be 

able to pull it off considering 

the short window of preparations.” 

It was gathered that the 

Lagos State government and 

the Sports Ministry, desperate 

to get more Nigerian athletes 

qualify for the Tokyo 

2020 Olympics, are ready to 

guarantee funding for the 

event. 

Delta State hosted the 

2018 edition in Asaba. 

Tokyo 2020: Qualifying not enough 

for me, says Echikunwoke 

Annette 

Echikun 

woke who set a 

new national and African 

record last week in 

the USA has said that 

her target is to produce 

a podium performance at 

the Tokyo 2020 Olympics 

billed for July. 

Echikunwoke, heaved 

73.93m in the women 

hammer throw at a meet 

in Tucson, Arizona to be 

the 9th Nigerian athlete 

and the second thrower 

to clinch the Olympics 

ticket. 

“Qualifying is not just 

enough. I want to make 

more improvement and 

be on the podium,” the 

US-born Nigerian athlete 

said. 

She needs to land a 

•Echikunwoke 

big throw to stand a 

chance. Echikunwoke is 

rated ninth in the world. 

Denna Price of the USA 

leads the world with 

78.60m 

Former hammer thrower 

and Athletics federation 

of Nigeria liaison officer 

in the USA, Gabriel 

Opuana backed Echikunwoke 

to improve thus: 

“She is very ready in 

body and spirit to compete 

at the Olympics. She is 

very determined and I 

see her making some 

more improvements, she 

has been consistently 

moving up. 

“The WA has given her 

clearance to represent 

Nigeria and she is hoping 

to make a strong 

showing.” 

Opuana disclosed that 

Echikunwoke will lead a 

good number of US-born 

Nigerian athletes to the 

national trials and the African 

Championships 

likely to be hosted by Lagos 

State in June. 

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 23, 2021, PAGE 31 

Lewandowski breaks Muller’s 

goalscoring record 

•Lewandowski 

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski scored in 

the last minute of the season to break Gerd 

Muller’s 49-year record of Bundesliga goals in a campaign. 

Lewandowski looked poised to be frustrated but 

pounced in the 90th minute for his 41st goal of the 

season. 

The Poland striker now has 53 goals in 46 games 

for club and country heading into Euro 2020. 

The home side scored four times in the first half against 

Augsburg with Manuel Neuer also saving a penalty. 

Bayern, who had already wrapped up their ninth consecutive 

Bundesliga title, said goodbye to their manager 

and a number of star players who will leave this summer. 

Hansi Flick was appointed in November 2019 and 

claimed the Champions League, two Bundesliga titles, 

the German Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup 

during his spell in charge. 

David Alaba and Javi Martinez are soon out of contract 

and both played their final games for the side, as 

did Jerome Boateng - who left the field in tears when he 

was replaced on the hour mark. 

But the day belonged to Lewandowski, who was repeatedly 

thwarted by Augsburg keeper Rafal Gikiewicz 

before reacting quickest to a fumble to roll the ball into 

an open net. 

The striker took his shirt off in celebration before coming 

to the side of the pitch to embrace the departing 

Flick. 

Awaziem joins Boavista for 

five million euros 

Boavista have splashed out five million Euros to 

make Chidozie Awaziem their record signing and 

also help him end a difficult time at FC Porto. 

Boavista triggered off the buy-out option for Awaziem 

at the end of an impressive loan spell from Porto. 

The 24-year-old central defender played 27 games 

for the Portuguese club this past season, captaining them 

for many games and helping them to avoid relegation. 

He has been at Porto since 2015, when he came 

through the youth ranks, but was not given a decent 

chance to stake a claim for regular, first-team football. 

He was therefore shipped out on loan to France, Turkey 

and Spain at various times. 

Balogun, Okonkwo, Azeez, Oyedeji, 

Ogungbo train for Brighton clash 

Arsenal 

manager 

Mikel Arteta ran the 

rule over five Nigeria-eligible 

teenagers during Arsenal’s 

penultimate workout 

before taking to the 

pitch against Brighton today 

•Balogun 

The 19-year-olds 

Folarin Balogun and 

Arthur Okonkwo were 

joined by three 18-yearolds 

in Miguel Azeez, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and 

Mazeed Ogungbo in the training session held at London 

Colney on Friday. 

Okonkwo has climbed up the pecking order of goalkeepers 

for the fixture against the Seagulls as Mathew 

Ryan is forbidden to face his parent club because of 

the loan agreement between Arsenal and Brighton & 

Hove. 

It is looking likely that the talented Anglo-Nigerian 

glovesman will be with the squad at the Emirates Stadium 

on Sunday, however, being named in the matchday 

20 is another matter. 

With the exception of Azeez, none of the aforementioned 

players has been included in a matchday squad 

for a Premier League game. 

The Gunners have a remote chance of qualifying for 

next season’s Europa Conference League, meaning 

Arteta is likely to name his strongest possible squad 

against Brighton, which will limit the chances of the 

five teenagers tasting action. 

Azeez, Balogun, Butler-Oyedeji, Ogungbo and 

Okonkwo will wear the number 66, 38, 67, 73 and 53 

if they make an appearance against Brighton

SUNDAY Vanguard, MAY 23, 2021 

SEE SOLUTION PAGE 5 

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

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