20062021 - Student thrown out of vehicle by fleeing attacks survives

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SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021, PAGE 3

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021, PAGE 5 

From left: Mr. Tunji Shonekan, Mrs. Adesinbo Olayinka Oni, Rear Admiral 

Anthony Okanlawon Oni, retd, and President Worldwide St. Gregory's College 

Old Boys Association Justice Adeniyi Ademola, retd, at a recent function in 

Lagos. 

2021 UTME: Technical hitches mar exam 

•Heavy security presence in states 

By Adesina Wahab 

(with additional agency 

reports) 

he two-week 2021 

TUnified Tertiary Matriculation 

Examination 

(UTME), which took off 

nationwide yesterday, was 

marred by technical hitches 

and tight security 

checks, thus delaying the 

examination from taking 

off in many Computer 

Based Centres (CBT). 

In the Federal Capital 

Territory, FCT, candidates 

complained of technical issues 

and outages at their 

centre, while others complained 

that they were made 

to sit for the examination 

after being thoroughly 

checked by JAMB officials 

and security agents. 

At the Royal Midland 

CBT Centre in Maraba, a 

candidate, Ayuba Perez, 

said the centre experienced 

power outage, which delayed 

the examination. 

“The examination was 

calm as the environment 

was conducive. The way the 

examinations was arranged 

coupled with the invigilating 

was okay. But there was 

a slight computer problem 

when the power was shut 

down and they have to start 

the generating set to put on 

the power. So this delayed 

the progress of the examination,” 

he said. 

Anita Haruna, also at the 

Royal Midland CBT centre 

said the examination went 

smoothly but only experienced 

delay when the power 

was shut down. 

Haruna said she finished 

her examination successfully 

but only started late while 

praying that she comes out 

Ola Ajayi, Ibadan 

ollowing the fracas be 

Ftween members of the 

Oodua Peoples Congress 

(OPC) and a gang which 

claimed lives in Ibadan, Oyo 

State capital, the leader of 

OPC in the state, Mr Rotimi 

Olumo, has broken his silence, 

saying two of his men 

were killed during the incident. 

There have been contradictory 

death figures while the 

crisis which engulfed 

Oopoyeosa, Inalende and 

Abebi lasted. Some claimed 

11 people were killed whereas 

others said it was only four 

that died. 

Olumo, who said his men 

did not kill anyone, alleged 

that one Jalaruru led the attack 

on his men. 

According to him, the violent 

clash started after a 

gang robbed some motorcyclists. 

But the robbers, he 

said, were traced to their hideout 

and the matter reported 

high flying. 

However, Mrs Queen 

Obepa , Supervisor for Royal 

Midland CBT Centre, lamented 

that the examination 

did not commence as 

scheduled but every technical 

hitches were fixed. 

Obepa said that not all the 

candidates were able to start 

at the same time because of 

the technical hitches saying 

that 27 candidates were delayed 

in writing as they did 

not start on time. 

Speaking with newsmen, 

Mr. Abdulrahman Balogun, 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

he Electoral Appeal 

TCommittee of the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC, Lagos chapter, has 

recommended a consensus 

process as provided for by 

the party’s constitution in 

resolving allegations of 

electoral fraud in the last 

Local Government primary 

polls of the party across 

the state. 

Recall that primary polls 

were held across the 20 Local 

Government Areas, 

LGAs, and 37 Local Council 

Development Areas, 

LCDAs, of the state on 

Saturday, May 29, 2021, 

elect the chairmanship and 

councillorship candidates 

of the party for the forthcoming 

general council 

elections in the state, slated 

for July 24. 

Crisis subsequently 

trailed the shadow election 

JAMB High Power Opinion 

Leader, said some centres 

he monitored had technical 

issues while some 

were free from technical issues. 

Balogun, who is also the 

Special Assistant Media to 

Mrs Abike Dabiri, the 

Chairman of Nigerians in 

Diaspora Commissions 

(NIDCOM), commended 

the progress of the examination. 

In Lagos, candidates 

urged government and 

other stakeholders to 

strengthen security around 

schools so as not to jeopardise 

young peoples’ quest 

as aggrieved members accused 

party leaders of circumventing 

the decision 

of the APC hierarchy and 

imposing their candidates. 

It was gathered that the 

party leadership, after deliberations 

decided to give 

first term chairmen automatic 

second term tickets 

in order to douse the tension 

that greeted the primaries 

in several councils 

in Lagos. 

Lagos State Independent 

Electoral Commission, 

LASIEC, subsequently, 

distributed nomination 

forms to APC’s preferred 

candidates as submitted 

by the APC as flagbearers 

in the general council 

polls. 

The distribution of the 

forms, however, was said 

to be contrary to earlier 

claim by the APC of collating 

candidates’ results 

Lagos LG primaries crisis: APC Electoral 

Appeal C’ttee okays consensus 

•Receives 125 petitions 

his week’s edition of the 

TGlobacom-sponsored 

television magazine programme, 

CNN African Voices 

Changemakers, will be celebrating 

two Africans who 

have been doing exploits in 

Aviation and Space engineering. 

The guests who are experts 

in Science, technology, engineering 

and mathematics, 

otherwise called STEM education 

include Botswana’s 

Kgomotso Phatsima 

and Ernest Teye Matey from 

Ghana. 

Phatsima is an ambassador 

of Aviation and Aerospace. A 

social entrepreneur, she empowers 

youth in aviation and 

aerospaces, as well as STEM 

education awareness and 

who emerged winners 

from the primary elections 

after leaked results appeared 

and widely circulated 

on social media. 

The development came 

amid series of petitions 

from aggrieved aspirants 

and supporters over reports 

of violence and electoral 

malpractices in some 

councils while party registers 

were not available in 

other councils, among other 

discrepancies against 

particular aspirants. 

Results were also said to 

have been cancelled by 

APC, where violence were 

recorded. 

Meantime, in a statement, 

yesterday, Lagos APC 

spokesman, Seye Oladejo, 

said the Electoral Appeal 

Committee, headed by Lawal 

Pedro (SAN), to entertain 

all petitions concerning 

the council primary polls of 

the party, had officially submitted 

its report to the state 

Chairman, Tunde Balogun. 

OYO FRACAS: OPC breaks silence, narrates how its men were shot dead by thugs 

at Mokola Divisional Police 

Station. 

The OPC leader said, “The 

boys involved are our boys. We 

only heard of the matter Thursday 

midnight. The gangsters 

gathered around 12midnight 

(Thursday) and our boys 

called to say the gangsters, 

since the previous Sunday, 

had been terrorising the area, 

snatching phones, robbing 

and stealing motorcycles and 

they were youths from Oopo. 

“But in the evening the gang 

attacked the house of one of 

our men in Oopo and he had 

a narrow escape. After he escaped, 

he called our men to 

help him rescue his wife and 

children and that was how 

another round of fight started. 

“We didn’t know how the 

gangsters got guns and attacked 

our boys in their homes. 

“They shot three of our men 

namely Akin Aluko, Quadri 

Omitola and Opeyemi. 

“They were rushed to hospital, 

but, by day break on Friday, 

two of them died. The 

third person is still in coma. 

That is what thugs in Oopo 

and Inalende did overnight. 

“But I have appealed to 

our boys to be law abiding 

From left: Onisabe of Igbobi-Sabe, Oba Owolabi Adeniyi; Lagos Deputy 

Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Managing 

Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. 

Abimbola Akinajo; Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde 

and CEO, Quattro Alchemy, Prince Aderoju Ademoroti, during the cutting 

of the tape to commission the Yaba Bus Terminal, Yaba, on Tuesday 

and not engage in reprisal 

attack as a law abiding organisation. 

I told them to allow 

the police to take up the 

matter. I have ordered all my 

boys to vacate their area so 

for education. 

Miss Emmanuela Onah, 

who hoped to study Medicine 

at the Babcock University 

in Ogun, expressed worry 

about the increasing level 

of insecurity bedeviling 

the country, adding that increasing 

attack on schools 

is becoming worrisome 

and could affect the quest 

for knowledge acquisition 

among youths of school 

age. 

Another candidate, 

Chidera Mbagwu, remarked 

that education 

was the right of every child 

and, therefore, constant 

attacks on schools by gunmen 

must be tackled headlong. 

There was heavy security 

presence at various CBT 

centres in Imo and Ebonyi 

states owing to the security 

situation in the zone and speculations 

that gunmen would 

attack some of the centres. 

About 1.4 million candidates 

are estimated to be writing 

this year’s UTME, a significant 

drop from last year’s 

2 million figure. While some 

blamed the drop on challenges 

encountered by some candidates 

in linking their National 

Identification Number, 

NIN, to their applications, 

JAMB still gave such candidates 

a two-week window to 

register at its offices nationwide. 

At the end of the day, less 

than 50,000 candidates took 

that opportunity. 

Joint Admissions and Matriculation 

Board (JAMB) 

Registrar, Prof. Is-haq 

Oloyede, said the huge figures 

of the past could be attributable 

to double registration 

by some people or even 

registration by proxies that 

the NIN has helped to 

eliminate. 

While the examination 

for early registrants would 

end on July 3, this year, the 

Board is expected to conduct 

a mop up examination 

for candidates who 

registered late at a later 

date. 

How we captured Owerri 

jailbreak suspect, ‘Match 

and Die’ – Imo CP 

that they won’t be provoked. 

“I have begun my own investigation 

and I haven’t 

heard that our men killed seven 

of the gang members.” 

By Chinonso Alozie, 

Owerri 

ne of the suspected 

Omembers of the gang 

which attacked and freed 

thousands of inmates from 

Owerri Correctional Centre, 

one Godwin Chukwuemeka, 

popularly known as 

‘Match and Die’, has been 

apprehended. 

Imo State Commissioner 

of Police, Abutu Yaro, disclosed 

this yesterday in Owerri 

while parading the suspect 

at the state Police Headquarters. 

According to him, 

‘Match and Die’ was arrested 

along Owerri /Nekede 

Road in his hideout. 

The police boss said the 

suspect was arrested based 

on the intelligence they gathered 

on his alleged activities, 

saying from their preliminary 

investigation 

‘Match and Die’ had confessed 

to be part of the hoodlums 

who attacked the Owerri 

Correctional Centre. 

Yaro said: “Following a 

reliable information, tactical 

teams of the Imo Command 

stormed the hideout 

of a suspected criminal 

along the Owerri Nekede 

axis where one Godwin 

Chukwuemeka aka ‘Match 

and Die’, male, 35years 

old, was arrested inside the 

ceiling compartment of his 

residence. 

“The suspect is alleged to 

be a dismissed soldier of the 

Nigerian Army. On interrogation, 

he confessed to be 

part of the hoodlums who 

attacked Imo State Police 

Command Headquarters 

and Correctional Centre 

Owerri, early this year. 

“Meanwhile, the following 

items were recovered 

from the suspect: A cut to 

size double barrel gun, a 

black browning pistol, two 

live cartridges, one expended 

cartridge, military camouflage 

and desert boots”. 

Glo-sponsored African Voices parades female pilot, space engineer 

*Celebrates with Nigerian fathers on ‘Fathers Day’ 

equipping the upcoming generation 

with business entrepre- 

two-part, fifteen-minute re- 

Monday at 4.00 a.m., while a 

neurial skills. 

peats will be shown on Tuesday 

and Wednesday at 6.45 

Phatsima who won the 

Botswana Youth Awards Best p.m. on both days. 

Female of the Year 2017, is Meanwhile, the firm has 

among the first female military 

pilots in Botswana De- 

the country on this year’s In- 

congratulated fathers across 

fence Force. In 2018 she ternational Father’s Day. 

emerged as one of the exceptional 

young leaders in Africa 

in the Obama Foundation 

Africa Leadership Program. 

The second guest, Matey 

was part of the trio that built 

and launched Ghana’s first 

satellite, GhanSat-1. He is the 

co-founder and outreach 

manager of the All Nations 

University – Space Systems 

Technology. 

More repeats come up on 

The company’s felicitation 

was contained in a press statement 

issued from it’s Lagos 

office. It stated that “the occasion 

of Father’s Day reminds 

us all of the pivotal role of fathers 

in every home,” adding 

that fathers are the bedrock 

of society and the basic building 

block of any nation.

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021 

Buhari tells agitators: Nothing to restructure 

*’Those calling for restructuring naïve, dangerous 

*El-Rufai: Nigeria won’t break 

ting pressure on National 

By Ibrahim Wuyo 

Assembly members to 

forefront of the campaign for 

P 

make sure that that autonomy 

as enshrined in our Con- 

resident Muhammadu the restructuring of the countrystitution 

is respected and 

Buhari virtually foreclosed 

the restructuring of Nigeria, 

yesterday, when he said a meeting they had, last week, “So if that were to be done, 

In a communique issued at implemented”, he said. 

there was nothing to restructure. 

Nigeria’s restructuring. security, you will find a situa- 

they restated their demand for some of these issues like in- 

“And again those who are They opposed the ongoing tion where local government 

disscussing restructuring, my review of the 1999 Constitution 

(as amended), demand- 

with traditional rulers, will 

chairmen, in collaboration 

question is, what are you going 

to restructure? If you ask ing a brand new Constitution form a chain of communication 

to figure out what is 

many Nigerians what are produced by the people themselves. 

really happening.So these 

they going to restructure, you 

will find out that they have Represented by the Executive 

Secretary, Revenue Mo- 

calling for agitation to do. 

are the things I expect those 

nothing to talk about. Some 

of them have not even studied 

the 1999 Constitution. Fiscal Commission, Alhaji ty of those calling for restrucbilization, 

Allocation and “And I said also that majori- 

The 1999 Constitution is almost 

70 to 80 per cent 1979 the Zaria event, the President afraid to go into partisan pol- 

Mohammed Bello Shehu, at turing are people that are so 

Constitution”, Buhari said explained that for peace to itics. And even if they were to 

during the launch of Kudirat reign in any society, people go into partisan politics they 

Abiola Sabon Gari, Zaria must be involved actively. will not win. 

Peace Foundation which “It is okay to demand for “There is no government in 

took place at Ahmadu Bello restructuring ,renewal of the world that will cede their 

University Hotels, Zaria. Constitution, but what is most authority to the people that 

Southern and Middle Belt important now is how can are not elected. You are telling 

us to resolve a system and 

Leaders Forum (SMBLF), Nigeria state make local government 

functional, how can call for an obscure confer- 

comprising Afenifere, Ohanaze 

Ndigbo and Middle Nigeria states make judiciary 

independent? Rather we we can move forward as a 

ence to come and discuss how 

Belt Forum, have been at the 

ask Nigerians to focus on put- 

nation, that can never be 

From left: Elder Yomi Agbolade, Elder Fatai Ajetunmobi, Mr Kehinde, Wasiu Lawal, Mrs 

Ayanshola, and Ayinde (Taskforce), Mrs Abiola Titilope (Secretary), Elder Adebiyi Alao, 

Elder Ojoro Olubukola, Mr Onifade Sabur, Alhaji Oseni Jimoh (Oluwalolese), Elder Babalola 

Titilayo, Elder Izeabu Esther, Mr Taofeek Olamilekan (Chairman), Mrs Osibajo 

Folashade (Chairlady), Mrs Yusuf Adewale (Treasurer), Mr Olutayo Joseph (Vice Chairman) 

and Mrs Abiola Titilope, Mrs Nofisat, (Secretary), during the inaguration of the 

Nigerian Union of Tailors (NUT) Meiran Branch held at Model College Lagos 

OPIC Plaza fire avoidable — Abiodun 

By James Ogunnaike 

Governor Dapo Abio 

dun of Ogun State says 

the gas explosion at the OPIC 

Plaza, Ikeja, Lagos was 

avoidable, if necessary 

checks had been made. 

Abiodun, therefore, called 

for extra safety measures to 

be put in place for the transport 

of liquefied petroleum 

gas across the country. 

He urged regulators in the 

gas and petroleum downstream 

sector, to ensure that 

trucks conveying petroleum 

products and gas are in perfect 

working condition. 

The governor made the call 

while speaking with newsmen 

shortly after an on-thespot 

assessment of the premises 

of the state-owned 

OPIC Plaza in Ikeja, Lagos, 

Friday evening, which was 

gutted by fire on Thursday 

night as a result of Liquefied 

Petroleum Gas, LPG, truck 

explosion after the vehicle 

broke down in front of the 

plaza. 

Abiodun, who expressed 

sadness over the loss of lives 

and destruction of property 

caused by the inferno, said 

that promotion of LPG for 

domestic use in the country 

shouldn’t be at the expense 

of the people’s lives. 

“We must learn something 

from this incident, and the 

first thing is to begin to look 

at all these trucks carrying 

petroleum products. How 

can we ensure that they are 

safe for our roads? Can you 

imagine if this incident had 

happened while this truck 

was in the traffic, a rush hour 

for that matter? Can you 

imagine the level of damage 

and casualty?,” he stated. 

“We must sit down with the 

management of the Department 

of Petroleum Resources 

to determine how we can introduce 

extra safety measures. 

Yes, we want to promote 

the penetration of LPG as 

against the use of kerosene, 

but we cannot afford to do 

that at the expense of the safety 

of human lives”. 

done and no country will 

agree to that. 

“So those who are doing 

that should go back and meet 

their representatives in the 

House of Assembly and ask 

for whatever amendment of 

Constitution. Due process 

should be followed. 

“The other issue is that those 

who are calling for restructuring 

and confrence, on what 

they call ethnic nationality, if 

you go to Southern Kaduna, 

Taraba, who is to represent 

them? We have different combination 

of ethnicity in many 

states. Even Kano and Kaduna 

Igbo have properties. The 

same goes with Yoruba. There 

are Fulani in Port Harcourt 

.So those calling for whether 

separation or restructuring, 

some of them I will say they 

are very naive or even mischievously 

dangerous. Those 

agitating for restructuring 

are ignorant of war and its 

consequences. Because Nigeria 

is a dominant force in West 

Africa. 

“My appeal to each and 

everyone here is to try and 

educate their children. We are 

better as a nation, there is no 

way we can be separated, separation 

of the country would 

not help matters.” 

Governor Nasir Ahmed El- 

Rufai, who was represented at 

the occasion by the state 

Commissioner for Education, 

Dr. Shehu Usman Mohammed, 

said Nigeria had 

grown beyond separation. 

While urging Nigerians to 

tolerate to live together,the 

governor said those calling 

for separation should come 

back to their senses because 

Nigerians are now in every 

part of the country. 

The Guest Lecturer, Professor 

Mohammed Tukur, spoke 

on the way out to end crisis 

among divergent citizens of 

Nigeria. 

“In as much as we want 

peace to reign amongst us ,we 

must tolerate one another and 

respect our various norms 

and values”, he said. 

Tukur said mutual understanding 

and inter tribal marriage 

would also play significant 

roles in the promotion 

of peace amongst 

citizens,adding that there 

must be a policy to revamp 

the economy and review the 

nation’s security structure. 

ONITSHA: Mbanefo family holds thanksgiving 

service to mark 100- year-old title 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

The renowned Mbanefo 

Odu family of Onitsha 

yesterday held a special 

thanksgiving service to mark 

the centenary of the Odu – 

Osodi title in the ancient town. 

The thanksgiving service, 

which was held at the Immanuel 

Anglican Church, Inland 

Town, Onitsha, attracted 

many friends of the family. 

Head of Mbanefo family, 

Chief Arthur Mbanefo , a 

former Nigeria permanent 

representative at the United 

Nations, who was installed 

the Odu III by the late Obi 

Ofala Okabue in 1995, led the 

family members to the special 

church service. 

Preaching a sermon during 

the service, the Vicar of Immanuel 

Anglican Church, 

Venerable Joseph Nweke, 

said it is always good to appreciate 

God’s favours and 

commended Mbanefo family 

for remaining steadfast in 

the service of God. 

The cleric said gratitude is 

a culture that is supposed to 

be sustained in people’s lives 

adding “today, we join 

Mbanefo family in saying 

thank you God for the grace 

you have shown to us”. 

According to him, the fact 

that their great grandfather 

became the Odu of Onitsha, 

one of the highest titles in the 

ancient town in 1919, showed 

that he was already an influential 

person before then. 

He observed that the fact 

that Mbanefo family had 

produced many firsts in Igbo 

land was by the grace of God 

and it was therefore not surprising 

that the family decided 

to identify with the 

church. 

Nweke recalled that it was 

Mbanefo family that provided 

the solar that gives light 

24 hours in the entire church 

environment and built the 

church tower with electric bell 

that wakes people up for 

prayer everyday. 

Speaking during the service, 

Chief Arthur Mbanefo, 

the Odu III of Onitsha, who, 

apart from being Nigeria’s 

Permanent Representative at 

the UN also served as pro – 

chancellors for Obafemi 

Awlowo University, Ile-Ife, 

University of Lagos, Akoka, 

Lagos and Ahmadu Bello 

University, Kano, at various 

times, thanked the people for 

joining them in the thanksgiving 

service and promised that 

the family would continue to 

support the church in many 

ways. 

From left: Ms. Vivien Okeyia, Editor TV, EnergyDay Nigeria; 

Mr.George Etomi, Principal Partner, George Etomi & 

Partners; Mr. Omoruyi Akpata, Publisher, EnergyDay Media 

Group, and Mr. Festus Okoromadu, Editor, EnergyDay, 

during a courtesy visit to the office of George Etomi & Partners, 

in Lagos. 

Bishop tasks FG on national devt 

The Diocesan Bishop of 

Ihiala, the Rt Rev. Prof 

Israel Chukwukelue Okoye 

has called on the federal government 

to create an enabling 

environment for the youths to 

contribute their quota to social 

and national development. 

He made the clarion call 

during a one-day maiden edition 

of the Diocesan Youths 

YCRI’s Global Theatre for Peace kickstarts 

in Lagos 

From left: A former Chaplain, Lagos State Secretariat, 

Very Revd Ayo Olu Oyadotun, Assistant Chaplain, the Light 

Bearers, Wesley Cathedral Olowogbowo, Lagos, Sis Dorcas 

Solubi, Chief Launcher, 2021 Annual Harvest Launch 

of the Church, Prof Adewale Solarin, Chairperson, Harvest 

2021 Planning Committee, Sis Toyin Egbesola, and 

the Presbyter, Very Revd John Olanrewaju Solubi, during 

the 2021 Annual Harvest Thanksgiving Launch of the 

church. 

NDDC: Only someone from oil community 

can represent us — Warri group 

By Nnamdi Ojiego 

The Youth and Conflict 

Resolution Initiatives, 

YCRI, says it has concluded 

plans to host its Global Theatre 

for Peace project in Lagos. 

The event, scheduled for 

September 2021 will feature 

peace and conflict management 

activities with leading 

personalities in the theatre 

and dispute resolution in attendance. 

Highlights of the global 

peace programme will include 

drama, songs, comedy, 

talks and charitable distributions 

based on the theme of 

peace. 

A statement by Edwin Mabamije, 

the national secretary 

of YCRI, said over the years, 

the organisation has been 

partnering with communities 

and security agencies to curb 

violence and social challenges. 

By Kennedy Mbele 

Warri Consultative 

Forum,WCF, has 

challenged various groups 

establishing that Mr. Barnard 

Okumagba is from an oil 

community to tell the world 

if Okere Urhobo community 

in Warri South Local Government 

Area is among oil communities 

in the area. 

It said Niger Delta Development 

Commission, NDDC, 

was founded to ensure development 

in oil-producing 

communities. 

According to the Secretary 

of WCF, Mr. Amachi Ogbonna, 

“only someone from the 

oil-producing community 

that feels the direct effect of 

oil pollution and environmental 

degradation can truly 

support the aim behind the 

formulation of the commission. 

“We are appealing to Mr. 

President to be fair while considering 

someone for the 

chairman of the NDDC 

board from Delta State because 

the oil-producing 

communities are truly in bad 

shape as a result of oil pollution 

and environmental degradation. 

“We urge those paid by politicians 

to misinform the public 

to also be fair in their submission 

because the Warri 

South Local Government 

Area is an oil-producing area 

those not make Okere an oilproducing 

community.” 

Advancement Rally tagged 

‘Equipping the Youths for a 

Fulfilled Life’ held on June 

12, 2021, at The Cathedral 

Church of Saint Silas, Diocese 

of Ihiala Anglican Communion 

in Ihiala Local Government 

Area of Anambra 

state. 

He lamented the state of 

the nation as it hinders youth 

productivity and self ambition. 

Bishop Okoye who identified 

the high spate of unemployment 

as a major contributing 

factor to youth restiveness, 

insecurity and banditry, 

however, noted that if the 

youths must advance at a time 

as this, the tendency to be selfreliant 

must be the youths’ top 

priority. 

Taking their turns to equip 

the youths on steps and strategies 

to attain a required fulfilled 

life, Dr. Mrs. Faith Ogechukwu 

Okoye, wife of the 

Bishop, (Mama Ihiala) spoke 

on the hazards of living on 

wishes.


Secret of my 35- 

year survival in 

military despite 

coups 

•We watched Johnson kill Liberia’s 

Samuel Doe 

•’I saw children jubilating in barrack 

when Abacha died’ 

By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor 

A 

dmiral 

—Retd Admiral Oni 

Anthony Oni, retd, retired from the Nigerian Navy as Chief of Policy and 

Plans, a position next to the Chief of Naval Staff in hierarchy. He is a former Flag 

Officer Commanding Western Naval Command. Prior to his retirement, he had 

acted as the Chief of Naval Staff when Admiral Samuel Afolayan voluntarily retired 

from service. In this interview, Oni, who recently clocked 70, x-rays Nigeria’s security 

challenges, submitting that solution is not with the military but the civilian authorities. 

Oni, the first Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, ECOMOG, 

Navy Task Force Commander in Liberia, also provides a glimpse into the high wire 

politics that characterised military rule, revealing why he didn’t have his career cut 

short in an era of military coups. He also gives an eyewitness account of the murder of 

then Liberian President, Samuel Doe, an incident regarded as one of the immediate 

causes of the seven-year-Liberian Civil War. 

•Oni 

What does attaining 70 mean to 

you? 

I like to celebrate my days. I noticed that 

many people around me attached 

importance to my 70th birthday. I am sure 

it is because 70 is a biblical age. I don’t 

know if I prayed to attain the age of 70 but 

I always prayed to get old in good health. 

There is no gain in getting old without good 

health. I became more interested in my 70th 

birthday because I found out that many of 

my classmates, who I thought were my 

mates, were actually older than me. As they 

were clocking 70 before me, I became so 

much interested in 

attaining 70. My 40th 

birthday was also eventful 

maybe because it was the 

first time I built a house of 

my own. I didn’t know 

when 50 and 60 came, 

though I celebrated them 

by playing golf. Because I 

am a sociable person, 

many looked forward to 

my 70th birthday but 

COVID-19 prevented us 

from having a big event. 

You were in the 

military at the time 

Nigeria witnessed many 

military coups that led to 

premature retirement 

and death of many 

officers. In view ot this, 

was there any time you 

were rattled by the fear 

of not living this long? 

Apart from the coup of 1966 and 1967, 

others happened during the time I served in 

the military. I joined in December 1970 and 

served up to the time I retired in 2005. These 

were periods that it was only by luck that 

you may not be involved in any coup in any 

way. Those were very difficult periods. I went 

to Liberia where we lost many officers. 

People died in my presence. Going to a war 

front changes your mind as a soldier. It also 

strengthens you because you watched 

people die while you survived. But one 

shouldn’t be afraid of death when it has not 

come. Even when death comes you should 

face it. I learned this more in Liberia 

because I saw instances where I spoke to 

people who later died a few hours later. Also, 

religious teachings made us realise that 

death is not in our hands. It is only when 

God wishes. I was never afraid of death 

neither was I ever in doubt that I will get to 

70. I am just conscious of doing what would 

keep me safe always. I recall a coursemate 

of mine, who interrupted a statement I was 

making by asking if I was sure I would live 

up to 50. I dismissed his interjection and 

It was only by 

luck that you will 

not be involved 

in any coup in 

any way. Those 

were difficult 

periods 

said I knew I would live. We had been in 

difficulties at sea and we survived them. The 

only thing I was scared of was getting 

maimed. I never prayed for that. 

You have an imposing physical 

structure, could that have been the 

reason you joined the military? 

My father was serving in the Nigerian 

Navy. He was a paymaster in the Navy 

during the Civil War. He joined the Navy 

from the Royal Marines. I had seen military 

people during the Civil War but I wasn’t 

interested in the military. 

My dream was to become 

an engineer. That was the 

reason I studied sciences. 

After the second coup of 

1967, I was reading the 

newspapers and saw the 

biography of newly 

appointed governors. I 

read Diete-Spiff ’s 

biography and was 

amazed. Before then, I 

knew him as someone 

who usually came to visit 

my dad. He had just 

returned from Britannia 

Royal Academy at the 

time. He had an open-roof 

green car he drove then. 

When the coup happened, 

he was appointed as the 

governor of old Rivers 

State. I read through his 

biography and I saw that he attended 

Britannia Royal Naval Academy. I just wrote 

to the school that I wanted to join. The 

institution replied, saying I must come to 

write the examination in the UK. They said 

I would return to Nigeria if I failed. After 

then, I saw an advertisement by the Nigeria 

Defence Academy, NDA, and applied. I 

didn’t tell my dad. I took the form and went 

to Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu , who was 

Chairman of Lagos City Council. He 

signed, attesting that I am a Lagosian. I 

was invited for the interview. The late Gen 

David Ejoor was the Commandant of NDA 

at the time while Gen Ike Nwachukwu, retd, 

was the Secretary of the interview board. I 

reported in December 1970. Three months 

later, they said the British government 

wanted three cadets. That was how I was 

sent to the same institution I had written to 

earlier. When I got there, I was feeling 

homesick. And I was told that if I was going 

to study engineering, I would spend extra 

three months. I didn’t agree and had to 

change my course to executive. I was just 

attracted by the sight of Spiff in uniform. 

People like him and Ike Nwachukwu 

looked good in uniform and you couldn’t 

help but like them then. The fear of dying in 

the military didn’t occur to us. 

Tell us about the command positions you 

held and some notable experiences you 

had... 

I retired as the Chief of Policy and Plans, 

Navy Headquarters, in 2005. Anybody who 

is Chief of Policy and Plans must have been 

there for two or three years and must have 

mastered the plans of the Navy. The person 

is automatically the next man to the Chief 

of Naval Staff. And he can succeed the Chief 

of Naval Staff because it would be easy for 

him to implement the plans of the Navy. 

That was my last position. Before then, I 

was the Flag Officer Commanding the 

Western Naval Command in Lagos. The 

position is called General Officer 

Commanding, GOC, in the Army. I was the 

Flag Officer Sea Training and Chief of 

Operations and Training at the Navy 

Headquarters. It used to be Chief of 

Operations. I was the first Chief of 

Operations and Training. I was also a 

moderator at the Nigeria Institute for Policy 

and Strategic Studies, NIPPS, Kuru. I 

attended Course 19 there. I was the first 

Naval Task Force Commander, ECOMOG. 

I was the one in charge of landing the first 

3000 troops in Liberia. We brought them 

from Free Town, Sierra leone to Free Port 

in Monrovia. We brought them on August 

24, 1990. I was waiting to be posted to Port 

Harcourt when the Liberia crisis started. 

Five ships were put under me to be taken to 

Liberia. Originally, our mission was to 

evacuate stranded Nigerians in Monrovia, 

but the story changed when we got there. I 

am grateful to God that we are alive today. 

Samuel Doe 

When they came to capture Samuel Doe, 

I was in Free Port. I was there when Johnson 

captured Doe. I witnessed the event. The 

next day, our Head of State, Gen Ibrahim 

Babangida, invited me to Lagos to report 

what happened. I was given a plane that 

flew me alone to Lagos for the purpose. 

Upon arrival, I went to Dodan Barracks 

where I faced seven generals. Babangida, 

Abacha, Aikhomu, Yusuf of the Air Force, 

Etim of the Police and two other persons. 

They were all members of the Armed Forces 

Ruling Council, AFRC. I told them what 

happened and went back. That was how 

the whole ECOMOG mission started. 

You just said you witnessed the 

capture and killing of Samuel Doe 

by Prince 

Yomie Johnson, who is now a serving 

senator in Liberia. Did you just stand by 

and watch a group of rebels capture and 

kill a serving Head of State? 

We were supposed to be peacekeepers. 

That is the reason our helmets were 

painted white. We had demarcated the 

area. At the time of his death, Doe had 

been pushed to the Executive Mansion, 

the presidential palace. Charles Taylor 

was manning the Upper North while 

Johnson was in charge of all the ports. 

What ECOWAS said was that everyone 

should maintain the status quo. It meant 

that no one should move from his area 

until all peace talks were concluded. I 

think Samuel Doe was getting too 

agitated. He thought when Nigerians 

came, we were going to strengthen his 

hold on power, but we said that was not 

our mission. It was advised that 

everybody should remain in his territory. 

But Doe woke up one day and said ‘’this 

is my country, you people came here to 

take over.” 

He assembled about 17 vehicles and 

moved to the port. I went with the ships to 

patrol at the port. I saw a fleet of cars and 

became surprised. I used my binoculars and 

discovered that Samuel Doe was the one 

coming into the Port. I knew we were going 

to have a violent situation. I told my crew to 

stay on their ships once we had berthed. Our 

headquarters where General Iweze and 

General Aquino were quartered was close 

to the scene. Johnson had men at the port 

who were giving him information. His men 

at the port gave him information that Doe 

was coming. When he cornered Doe at the 

port, we just told our troops to stand by and 

watch what they were going to do. They just 

started having hot exchanges in their dialect. 

We started hearing gunshots. I had to order 

my boys to open fire on containers at the port. 

It was simply to scare them. Johnson’s men 

replied, saying they were not fighting 

Nigeria but Doe. We told them not to come 

near our ship. 76 men were killed at the scene 

at the end. It wasn’t that I was told. We saw 

it happen. I asked my men to count the 

number of dead bodies. We also had people 

who ran into our ships from Doe’s side. We 

had to search them thoroughly because they 

were very fetish and had charms. We saved 

them from Johnson and later released them. 

It was the incident, killing of Doe, that led to 

the changing of General Aquino from Ghana. 

He couldn’t handle the situation. Gen 

Joshua Dongonyaro was brought in as a 

replacement. People were expecting that 

Nigerians would have fought to save Doe. 

But that was not the issue because 

everybody had been given an order not to 

go beyond certain boundaries. 

Continues next week


INSIDE STORY! 

200 BANDITS VS 21 SECURITY Y MEN IN KEBBI: 

Student thrown out 

of vehicle by fleeing 

attackers survives 

•How 17 others escaped abduction 

•LAWMAKER LAMENTS: Rice production 

by displaced villagers in jeopardy 

How did it all happen? 

It all began about three weeks ago when 

bandits were on their way to a 

target in a location bordering 

Niger State in Yauri local 

government area of Kebbi State. 

They wanted to kidnap a Chinese 

in one quarry station. So, they 

were in a location in my own 

constituency where they stayed 

for some time. They killed a 

police officer at that time and 

went along with his gun. Since 

that time they had made that 

place their route of operations. 

So, eight days before the school 

abduction, they were also in my 

constituency and had a house-tohouse, 

room-to-room operation 

in Timor, Kuliho, Kambuwal, 

Laka and many other villages. It 

was a field day they had. 

Subsequently, they left a message 

that they would be coming back. 

That led to a lot of the villagers 

moving from those villages to 

Yauri, the capital of the emirate, 

and also the headquarters of 

Yauri local government area. 

However, they were assured of 

their safety and some of them had the courage 

to go back home. Now, some days later, there 

was a speculation that the bandits were on 

their way to the villages. But sincerely 

speaking, government beefed up security 

around the Federal Government College, 

Binin Yauri. That may be the soft target they 

were aiming at. But they had a very strong 

gun duel with the counterterrorism unit there, 

about 21operatives or so of them that were 

guarding the school. There was an exchange 

of fire for about three hours following which 

they overpowered the operatives, killed one 

By Levinus Nwabughiogu 

Hon. Tanko Sununu is the lawmaker representing Ngaski/Shanga/Yauri Federal Constituency of Kebbi 

State in the House of Representatives. In this interview, Sununu narrates to Sunday Vanguard 

exclusive account of the abduction of students of the Federal Government College, FGC, Binin 

Yauri by bandits last week. As of Friday, the number of students taken by the bandits, according to Sununu, 

was yet to be ascertained even as reports said about 80 could not be accounted for. The lawmaker also 

said the military responded swiftly to the kidnapping and rescued about eight victims, made up of six 

students and two teachers. Excerpts of interview: 

policeman, had access to the school and went 

straight to the students’ hostel where they 

kidnapped unspecified 

number of students along 

with five members of staff. 

There were 

about 200 of 

them carrying 

AK-47 rifles. 

Obviously 21 

security men 

could not 

match 200 

bandits 

As they were fleeing after 

the abduction, one of the 

students they had 

kidnapped and had 

sustained gun injury was 

thrown out of the vehicle. 

But a Good Samaritan 

took her to hospital. We 

thank God that she 

survived despite her 

injuries. They also had a 

situation where one of their 

vehicles broke down; they 

abandoned the vehicle and 

took the children into the 

bush. Some of the children 

escaped from their captors 

in the process. As of 

yesterday (Thursday, June 

17), there were 17 of the 

escaped children on 

admission at General 

Hospital Yauri. Then, we 

made contact with the 

military. In response, air and ground troops 

of the military were there and as of this 

morning (Friday, June 18), we heard that six 

of the students and two teachers had been 

rescued. But the operation is ongoing and we 

are hoping that the remaining abducted 

students will be rescued very soon. 

Have the authorities of the school 

given the number of missing students? 

It is very difficult to ascertain the number of 

the students that were missing because 

immediately after the bandits left the school, 

parents, on hearing what had happened, 

rushed to the school and the school authorities 

could not control them and it was difficult to 

take inventory. So, parents were just picking 

their wards and taking them away from the 

school. So, it was difficult to know who and 

who were missing. But with parents reporting 

that they have not seen their children, it is 

possible for us to now have the actual figure 

of those missing. Some of the teachers rescued 

may also know the number of students the 

bandits picked along with them. So, that may 

give us a clue about the exact number of 

students abducted. But because of the roll call 

of the teachers, we were able to know that five 

teachers were not around. 

How’s the situation at the moment? 

At the moment, parents have gone home 

with their wards and the PTA and the 

management has closed the school. But 

when you talk about the communities, there 

is a lot of apprehension, tension here and 

there, with everybody running helter-skelter. 

The villagers have now become internally 

displaced persons in Yauri. That has 

brought a lot of hardship in terms of 

accommodation, feeding and others 

things to support their daily needs. That 

is the situation now and, unfortunately, 

we are in a situation where the villagers 

are supposed to be in their farms because 

of the rainy season. They are supposed to 

start planting. But they can’t even prepare 

their farms talk less of planting. We think 

that this incident, in the long run, will 

affect the position of Kebbi in rice 

production in Nigeria. Not only that, 

schools are closed in the emirate and 

environs and that will affect the overall 

performance of students especially when 

most of them are about writing their exams. 

But the major issue now is the emergency 

•Hon. 

Tanko 

Sununu 

situation that we 

have in terms of 

accommodation, 

feeding, getting 

the trust of the 

people. But, in the 

last 17 hours, I 

want to assure you 

that the hope of the 

people is being 

restored because 

they have seen now 

the military 

engaging the 

bandits. So, the 

villages where 

the bandits 

have base, the 

military is 

getting a 

stronghold. 

So, with that, 

people are 

gradually 

regaining 

their hope that 

if they can be 

dismantled, 

things will get 

better and we 

must salute the 

courage of the 

military in the 

last 17 or so hours for what they 

have done. If it can be extended to other 

places, we are surely not going to lose hope. 

Any arrest so far? 

From unconfirmed sources, there are and 

also casualties on the part of the bandits. 

Also, 800 cows that were rustled by the 

bandits have been recovered and in the 

custody of the military now. 

Kebbi had been relatively calm 

before now even though many parts 

of the North have been witnessing 

attacks by bandits. Do you wonder 

why this happened? 

Nobody can wonder why because 

something can start and later expand like a 

wild fire. If you cannot nip it in the bud, 

definitely, it is likely to spread. And that’s 

why we should take this as a national and 

not a regional problem. It is just like Boko 

Haram. When it started, people thought it 

was just a Borno State problem. It later 

spread to Yobe, Adamawa and many other 

places. It is the same with banditry. When it 

started in Zamfara, people thought it was 

only about the Zamfara gold mining issue. 

But it is now becoming a national calamity. 

I think we should look at it holistically and 

not just take it as a northern problem or 

Hausa/Fulani issue. Let’s take it as a 

national problem. These people don’t 

differentiate whether you are Hausa or 

Fulani and let’s not also give it a religious 

coloration to say this is a Muslim or 

Christian problem. Those bandits don’t 

differentiate. Ask people who have 

established contacts with them. As far as 

they are concerned, anybody on their way is 

an enemy. It is either they get what they want 

from you or you pay with your life. Let’s see 

it as a criminal act, unite and collectively 

fight it. And so, northern governors have 

tried, especially those in North-West. They 

started fighting them in Katsina, pushed 

them to Niger State, Kebbi and then to 

Kaduna. At a time, they moved to Sokoto, 

thereby bringing a lot of fatigue to the 

military. I think it is uncalled for. Let us all 

have a united fight so that each and every 

state will contribute a certain quota that 

will collectively fight them. What is needed 

now is unity among states, security agencies 

and collective will. We should also learn to 

engage the local people as to the 

information, environment knowledge and 

routes that are commonly used by bandits. 

Earlier, you said the bandits gave 

notice of their coming. So, why didn’t 

you take a proactive measure? 

We should look for subtle signs. They have 

their base in part of Niger State. Once they 

pass a village, people should have called to 

say that these people are on their way. They 

said they were coming and they were not 

going to harm anybody. They came the first 

time. Their targets were phone, money, 

motorcycles and cows. They said they were 

coming again and they fulfilled their 

promise. There were about 200 of them 

carrying AK-47 rifles. Obviously 21 security 

men could not match 200 bandits. And they 

came with superior weapons. We should 

have boosted security to match them in terms 

of number. But in the last 21 hours, we must 

give credit to the military personnel, security 

agencies and all the stakeholders who were 

actively involved in this mobilization. 

Aren’t you afraid of your own life, 

conscious of your personal security? 

I am conscious of my personal security 

but it’s either you do the needful or you drop 

the ball. I went out and campaigned to 

people. If I went out and I was voted for, 

then I should be able to serve as a 

spokesperson for my people. It is a 

responsibility I must carry out.

Email:biolasobowale@yahoo.com 

Phone Number: 07081372829 

Twitter:@DrDeleSobowale 

Instagram:delesobowalefranklyspeaking 

Website: www.delesobowale.com 

Next Level is selfdestruction 

with Twitter 

“The rate of change in our 

time is so swift; that an 

individual of ordinary length 

of life will be called on to face 

novel situations which have no 

parallel in the past. The fixed 

person for the fixed duties, who 

in the old society was such a 

God-send, will, in the future, 

be a public danger” - Alfred N 

Whitehead, 

T 

1861-1947. 

he rate of change before 

1947, which Whitehead 

called “so swift”, would today 

be regarded as standing still. 

He died two years after World 

War II ended. During that war, 

the earliest reports of combat 

would reach the developed 

countries three days after they 

took place. African countries 

got to know a month or so 

after. Even then the details 

were sketchy. The world’s 

latest conflict between Israel 

and Palestinians in Gaza was 

brought to us as the bombs 

and rockets were flying– on 

television, on GSM sets, on the 

go and wherever we were. 

Whitehead, in his wildest 

imagination, could not have 

foreseen such eventuality. The 

rate of change now is simply 

bewildering. Nobody can 

keep pace with all the changes 

taking place globally 

everyday anymore. That 

invariably means that even 

the best prepared, welleducated 

and up-to-date 

leaders are frequently caught 

on the wrong foot with respect 

to certain events. British Prime 

Minister Boris Johnson is as 

brilliant as anyone would 

expect of a head of 

government. He was in 

Joyfulhomes 

2015@gmail.com 

It’s the third Sunday in 

June, commonly 

observed as Father’s Day. 

It’s a day to celebrate 

Fathers. A day to 

acknowledge the role of 

fathers. 

A day to appreciate fathers. 

Who is a Father? The 

dictionary defines Father as, 

“ a male parent”. That is for 

biological fathers. 

We also have Spiritual 

fathers. Those who lead the 

congregation are also 

regarded as Fathers. 

Beyond these and the 

greatest of Fathers is God the 

father. The first personality in 

the trinity of God the Father, 

God the son and God the 

Holy Spirit. 

Our concern today is the 

earthly father who is the male 

parent. Every one has a father 

even in cases where some 

women have been so indecent 

with their sexual life, and are 

unable to identify the child of 

the father. 

That is a topic for another 

day. Today, we are looking at 

the Biological and Spiritual 

fathers and why their blessings 

are important. 

The very first blessing of a 

parliament for years before 

becoming PM. So, he could 

be presumed to be totally 

familiar with the major issues 

confronting our world. 

COVID-19 almost clobbered 

him. He is still struggling with 

the consequences of BREXIT. 

“A man cannot gradually 

expand his mind; as he does 

his house” - Alexis De 

Tocqueville, 1805-1859. 

By contrast, Nigerians went 

back to 1985 to resurrect a 

leader who had demonstrated 

no interest in issues affecting 

our lives since he was forced 

out of office then. With his 

known educational 

qualification on which 

nothing had been built, he 

could not rightly be expected 

to understand global 

economics and finance, 

environmental issues and the 

internet in all its ramifications. 

Majority of voters in 2015, and 

again in 2019, voted for a 

leader who could only be 

described as “the best General 

for another war” – not the ones 

we are now fighting. 

Some of those who got us 

into what can only be 

described as “Buhari trap” 

acted with good intentions. At 

least, I can vouch for the late 

Prince Tony Momoh from 

conversations with him when 

he was Chairman of Congress 

for Progressive Change, CPC, 

that he believed strongly that 

Buhari was ready to govern 

with respect for the rule of law; 

that he would be a President 

of all Nigerians; and he would 

appoint Advisers and 

Ministers who will help to 

Receive your Father’s blessings 

Father came from God the 

Father after the Lord 

completed the work of 

creation. 

Genesis 1 vs. 28 (KJV) is our 

authority: “ And God blessed 

them, and God said unto 

them, Be fruitful, and multiply, 

and replenish the earth, and 

subdue it: and have dominion 

over the fish of the sea, and 

over the fowl of the air, and 

over every living thing that 

moveth upon the earth”. 

Why is a blessing necessary? 

Or what is the effect of a 

blessing? A blessing is a 

command to progress. It is a 

pronouncement that brings 

joy. It is necessary to propel 

one forward. 

Who then can bless? The 

Lord Almighty God. A 

biological father and a 

spiritual father. Other 

relations especially mothers 

can also bless but our focus is 

on the blessing of the Father. 

Let’s consider a few Fathers 

that blessed their children and 

the effect of such blessings. 

Isaac blessed Jacob. In 

Genesis, 27 vs. 27-29. For our 

purpose, we’ll consider verses 

28 and 29: Isaac while 

blessing Jacob said“ 

correct his deficiencies. 

Virtually all the members of 

the six legacy parties – Action 

Congress of Nigeria, ACN, All 

Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, 

Congress for Progressive 

Change, CPC, All 

Progressives Grand Alliance, 

APGA, Democratic Peoples; 

Party, DPP, and the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP - 

labored under the same 

collective delusion that they 

could create a modern leader 

of a democracy out of Buhari. 

We are all witnesses to the fact 

that their dream has turned 

to a national nightmare – 

which is now tending towards 

national self-destruction. 

Here is why. 

FOUR PILLARS OF 

BUHARI’S PERSONALITY 

“Personality is to a man 

what perfume is to a flower” - 

C M Schwab, 1862-1940, 

VANGUARD BOOK OF 

QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 186. 

I first became uneasy about 

Buhari’s personality in 2010 

when called upon to help 

develop the CPC Economic 

Blueprint for governance. 

Four pillars of the candidate’s 

character gave me serious 

concern. First, he is a Fulani 

feudalist. Second, he is a 

Muslim fundamentalist who 

might, under the right set of 

circumstances, join or lead a 

Jihad. Third, his only known 

career was the military. 

Fourth, by today’s standards 

among world leaders, he was 

badly-educated and had very 

little experience in democratic 

governance. Given my 

personal experience and 

readings while compiling the 

book of quotations, I asked 

his promoters questions in 

2010-2011 and 2014-15 

about all these and received 

When last did you 

attract a blessing 

from your biological 

or spiritual father? 

Therefore God give thee the 

dew of heaven, and the fatness 

of the earth, and plenty of corn 

and wine: 

Let people serve thee, and 

nations bow down to thee: be 

lord over thy brethren, and let 

thy mother’s sons bow down 

to thee: cursed be every one 

that curseth thee, and blessed 

be he that blesseth thee”. 

If we reflect on the blessings 

of Isaac on Jacob, we’ll see that 

those words manifested in life 

of Jacob. He was exceedingly 

rich, he was favored, and he 

had many children that 

became the 12 nations of 

Israel. 

Having enjoyed the effect of 

blessings, Jacob did not fail 

to bless his children 

Genesis 49 vs. 1: “ And Jacob 

called unto his sons, and said, 

Gather yourselves together, 

that I may tell you that which 

shall befall you in the last 

days”. Specifically, we’ll 

consider Jacob’s blessings for 

his beloved son, Joseph. 

Genesis 49 vs. 22-26: Jacob 

said to Joseph “ Joseph is 

fruitful bough, even a fruitful 

bough by a well; whose 

Without realising it in 

2015, the majority of 

Nigerian voters had 

elected a “fixed person” 

for duties which were 

no longer fixed 

the same answer. The party 

will curb his tendencies. At any 

rate he had agreed to be 

subjected to party supremacy. 

I was sceptical. It is almost 

impossible for an individual 

to change his behavior after 

the age of 40. The man was 

70. But, the fact that he led the 

CPC, the smallest party 

among the six, gave room for 

optimism. In the end it was 

false hope. 

“Habit is stronger than 

reason” - Prof. Dorfmann. 

Obviously, it was easier for 

candidate Buhari to promise 

his political associates that he 

had embraced democracy 

and would respect the rule of 

law than for President Buhari 

to honour his pledge. His first 

40 appointments in 2015 

revealed the Fulani feudalist, 

the pro-Muslim leader, the 

military leader and the slow 

thinker on account of 

education and lack of 

preparedness. 

Without realising it in 2015, 

the majority of Nigerian 

voters had elected a “fixed 

person” for duties which were 

no longer fixed, had become 

more complex in fact, and 

which required leaders with 

boundless creativity who 

acquire new knowledge 

virtually daily and who read 

a lot. It was not Buhari’s fault 

that he was of limited quality 

and cannot cope with the 

rapid changes we now 

experience. The fault was ours. 

It was not Buhari’s fault that 

while all other elected leaders 

submitted their list of top level 

appointees within three or four 

days, it took five months 

before we got the list. The fault 

was ours. His better educated 

spokespersons even excused 

the unprecedented and odd 

branches run over the wall: 

The archers have sorely 

grieved him, and shot at him, 

and hated him: 

But the arms of his hands 

were made strong by the 

hands of the mighty God of 

Jacob; ( from thence is the 

shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 

Even by the God of thy father 

who shall help thee; and by 

the Almighty , who shall bless 

thee with blessings of heaven 

above, blessings of the deep 

that lieth under, blessings of 

the breasts, of the womb: 

The blessings of thy father 

have prevailed above the 

blessings of my progenitors 

who unto the utmost bound 

of the everlasting hills: they 

shall be on the head of Joseph, 

and on the crown of the head 

of him, that was separate from 

his brethren”. 

All these pronouncements 

manifested physically in the 

life of Joseph and generations 

of his children. 

The question now is who 

deserves a blessing? Is it 

everybody that should be 

blessed? No. Giving often 

provokes blessings. 

You don’t believe? Isaac 

blessed Jacob after he ate his 

favourite meal that Jacob 

prepared and presented to 

him. Jacob blessed all his sons 

but that of Joseph was 

outstanding. Why. Joseph 

received those special 

blessings not just because he 

was the child of Rachael who 

opened his mother’s closed 

womb, nor because he was 

Jacob’s favourite child but 


delay by saying that “the 

President did not want to 

make a mistake”. Did we end 

up with better quality 

Ministers? 

Four years of the empty 

“Change” slogan, during 

which we became the poverty 

capital of the world and added 

nearly 20 million more 

Nigerians to those living in 

serious deprivation should 

have been enough reason to 

send the man back to Daura. 

But, by then the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

had become a one-man party. 

Those who assured me that 

the party will curb Buhari’s 

tendencies were begging for 

appointments at Aso Rock – 

only to go and pledge their 

loyalty. 

FROM FULANI 

HERDSMEN TO TWITTER 

BAN – A SHORT STEP 

“I have not changed” - 

President Buhari in TV 

interview, June 2021. 

Now, let us fast forward; 

because time is not on our 

side. Nobody can bet a kobo 

that a major conflict will not 

follow the current anarchy – 

which was predicted when 

APC adopted NEXT LEVEL 

as its campaign slogan in 

2018-19. I warned Nigerians 

then that the “Next Level Is 

Pure Anarchy”. We are in it 

now. The Next Level might 

also bring self-destruction. Let 

me quickly explain. 

But, before that, permit me 

a small diversion. As soon as 

Buhari finished that interview, 

I called one of his most ardent 

supporters in 2015. 

“Did you hear that 

statement “I haven’t 

changed”? 

“Yes, Dele, you were right in 

2015, the man can never 

change.” 

That is precisely the heart 

of the problem. The world and 

Nigeria have changed several 

times since 1985; and a 

coalition of desperate 

politicians had gone out to 

drag into leadership a person 

still firmly stuck in the last 

century. President Buhari had, 

in the last six years, 

demonstrated how we were 

headed for self-destruction in 

possibly because in the hour 

of need when Jacob’s family 

would have died of hunger, 

God used Joseph who was 

assumed to be dead to save 

Jacob’s family. 

More importantly, Jacob 

must have observed that 

despite the hatred shown by 

his siblings, Joseph forgave 

them and showed them love 

in their time of need. He did 

not revenge. 

Brother and Sister, have you 

ever been blessed by your 

biological and spiritual 

father? Have you also been 

blessing them with gifts that 

can provoke their blessings for 

you? 

If you haven’t, start today. 

Many use excuses such as “ 

father was so irresponsible, he 

didn’t care so much for us 

when we were young”, or that 

the Spiritual father has so 

much and it doesn’t matter 

what I give, it would be a drop 

in an ocean. 

All of these excuses are not 

tenable. 

In one of the 

commandments of the Lord 

to us, it was stated in Exodus 

20 vs. 12: “ Honour thy father 

and thy mother that thy days 

may be long upon the land 

which the LORD thy God 

giveth thee”. 

There was no exception. 

The judgment of a father or a 

mother who failed in his or her 

duties is not to be executed by 

the child. 

When last did you attract a 

blessing from your biological 

many ways. Read his June 12, 

2021 address, packed full of 

absolute falsehoods (“we 

lifted 10 million Nigerians out 

of poverty” for instance); and 

read the latest World Bank 

report on poverty in Nigeria 

(7 million Nigerians went 

below the poverty line in 2020 

alone). It is easy to see how far 

removed from reality our 

leader is. He now heads a 

government of people so 

blatantly wedded to 

spreading false news when it 

serves their purpose, you must 

wonder if the officials realise 

that they will leave office one 

day and confront the lies they 

are telling the public. But, that 

is only a diversion. The main 

point here is grazing routes 

and Buhari’s position on it; as 

well as what it reveals about 

the herdsmen menace to the 

rest of us non-Fulani. 

“What I did was to ask him 

[Minister of Justice Malami] 

to go and dig the gazette of 

the First Republic when 

people were obeying laws. 

There were cattle routes and 

grazing areas…”, President 

Buhari announced. With that 

pronouncement, all the four 

pillars of Buhari’s profile were 

presented intact. His deficient 

grasp of history and logic was 

clear. 

That he was defending 

Fulani herdsmen’s right to 

unlimited access to lands in 

every part of Nigeria might 

not be so obvious to most 

people. But, his emphasis on 

Fulani tradition of animal 

husbandry made it very clear 

that, as far as the Fulani 

President of Nigeria is 

concerned, his first and 

perhaps only priority is to 

force the rest of the 250+ 

ethnic groups to accept 

occupation of their ancestral 

lands as a condition for peace 

everywhere. It is now clear that 

the massive invasion of other 

parts of Nigeria, while the 

Federal Government turned 

a blind eye, was deliberate; 

and it was tacitly encouraged. 

The mass murder of people, 

starting with Agatu, now 

nationwide was also ignored 

because it served a hidden 

agenda – which has now been 

made known to us. 

or spiritual father? 

No gift is too small. What is 

important is the spirit of love 

that makes you to give. 

When a father blesses, it is 

God the father that has 

blessed. 

As father or father-in-law 

you have a duty to pray for 

your children that are waiting 

on the Lord. It is not the duty 

of the spiritual father alone. 

Note the first blessing of the 

Lord to mankind “ And God 

blessed them, and God said 

unto them, Be fruitful and 

multiply…..”. 

That is a blessing for you to 

have children. 

We tend to focus so much on 

mother’s blessings that is not 

bad but in many instances in 

the Holy Bible, emphasis was 

on Father’s blessings. 

This is because the Holy 

Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, 

directs a genuine blessing 

from a God fearing father. 

This is the major reason that 

such blessings manifest 

physically. 

As we mark Father’s Day 

today, do something to attract 

blessings from your 

biological father, father –inlaw 

and Spiritual father. It 

may be the word that you need 

to change your life. 

For those yet to be married, 

you are a father in waiting. 

Make sure you bless your 

Fathers, biological or 

Spiritual and very soon, God 

will give you children that will 

also seek your blessings on a 

day like this. 

Happy Father’s Day!

PAGE 10 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021 

•Tiwa 

Savage 

Tiwa 

Savage’s 

big revelation 

Nigerian Afrobeat queen, Tiwa Savage has 

revealed why she left the international music 

scene to come back to Nigeria to continue 

her music career. In an interview with Afrobeats 

and Chill Radio, the mother of one said she saw a 

vacuum not being adequately filled by women 

even as the Nigerian music industry was on an 

upward trajectory. 

“So many talented female artists in Nigeria. I 

mean incredibly talented female artists; vocalists, 

MCs, rappers. It was the major motivation for me to 

move back. I saw the scene growing, from 2Face, 

D’Banj, P-Square, 9ice, and I realised there weren’t 

too many female artists and I said to myself I really 

need to go back. For me it is really important, for my 

success story or legacy not just for me but for others. If 

I could break the door or break the barrier, it would 

make it easier for other people who would come after 

me,” she said. 

Tiwa Savage (41) was a backup singer to 

international artists like George Michael, Mary J. Blige 

and others. She participated in The X Factor, UK and 

schooled at the prestigious Berklee College of Music 

She made her inroad into the Nigerian music industry 

through Mavin Records in 2012. 

I know I am 

immature, Wunmi 

Toriola confesses 

By Sylvester Kwentua 

ollywood actress and producer, Wunmi 

NToriola, has confessed to whoever 

cares to listen, that she is immature, but 

very happy about it. She made this 

known recently on social media, while 

also informing that she was not ready 

to prove her maturity. 

“I don’t drag maturity, I am that 

immature happy soul”, she 

revealed. 

Olawunmi Toriola, popularly 

called Wunmi Toriola, is an 

emerging movie producer and 

actress. 

She was born and raised in 

Lagos State. After her first 

movie role in Odunfa Caucus 

in 2009, Toriola has gone on to 

feature in over 100 movies and 

has also produced 13 movies 

in that time. 

In 2018, she won the 

Fastest Rising Actress 

(Yoruba) award at the City 

People Awards. 

•Uriel 

•Wumi 

Toriola 

i n 

Don’t judge me by what I wear 

—BBNaija Uriel 

Former BBNaija Housemate and music 

artist, Uriel Oputa has called on people not 

to judge her by the kinds of dresses she 

wears, saying what she wears doesn’t define 

her or her personality. 

She says, “If I post a bikini picture or even a 

video wearing shorts or so, don’t say Uriel is no 

longer a good girl. I’m a bloody woman. Even 

people who wear long skirts can be the most 

evil. If you judge people by their outward 

When I fall in love, 

I fall for real 

—Festina Peters 

N 

ollywood actress and producer, Festina Peters is 

single and searching. It is almost 

unbelievable that a woman as beautiful as she is 

could be single and worse, not in any romantic 

relationship. 

The Edo State movie maker made the revelations 

a recent chat with Potpourri. Excerpts: 

Are you married; If not, why? 

I am not married, you have to be in a relationship before 

you can get married, so right now I am not in any 

relationship, I am still searching. 

Is there something about you that scares men away? 

I don’t know , I leave it to God, I can’t say if they are scared 

of something or not. A friend of mine once said that I look 

bossy but I am a very simple lady, I am free and playful, I 

accommodate friends, it’s just that I don’t joke with my 

work. 

What kind of woman are you when in love and have 

you really loved someone romantically in the past and 

what was the experience like? 

I could love when I’m in love, I don’t really fall in love but 

when I finally find love, I love for real. I dated my secondary 

school sweetheart, his name was Osas, he was my first 

love, we had a misunderstanding and broke up, and this 

made me have the wrong opinion about love. I fell in love 

over and over again with Kelly and West but all didn’t 

work out well, I was left with a painful heart as they all left 

me the same way. 

•Femi 

Branch 

appearances then you are not exposed. I 

have learnt to live by my own experience, 

not by the expectations of others.” 

She adds, “Don’t box me, I am not my 

clothes. Judge by deeds not by what the 

eyes feed on. I know some souls who wear 

long coats but to give 50 naira is a problem. 

Just be open-minded, love knows no 

garment.” 

Uriel got her break in 2017 when she 

was one of the Housemates that got into 

the Big Brother Naija House after several 

stints in the media and making music. 

Learn how to conduct elections 

from Lagos AGN —Femi Branch 

Lagos State Chapter of the Actors Guild of 

Nigeria, recently held it’s election and the 

executive committee headed by Emeka 

Rising, was sworn in last Wednesday. 

Speaking at the oath taking 

ceremony, AGN vice president 

South West, Femi Branch noted 

that the election conducted by the 

electoral committee (AGNEC) 

headed by Oluwaseyi 

Copperfield, taught the entire 

nation how to conduct free and 

fair elections. 

Sworn alongside Mr. Rising 

are Bukola Fagbuyi,Vice chairman; 

Babajide Ogunlana, State Secretary; 

Olamilekan Mohammed Ojoora-Akanbi, 

State PRO; Emmanuel Onyika, Director of 

Socials; Shedrac Itua, Chief Whip; Julius 

Omijie, Treasurer; and Joan Chioma Obi. 

“Before the Lagos election, there were 

prediction that the election may be the 

beginning of the end of the chapter, But Lagos 

has spoken for herself for despite all the 

premonitions, threats and nay-saying, AGN 

Lagos has just successfully schooled the entire 

Nation on how to hold a free and fair election, 

said Chief Branch. 

World Music Day webinar: PMAN, 

MCSN partner Banwo-Ighodalo 

The Performing Musicians Employers 

Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and 

Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria 

(MCSN) are partnering in conjunction 

with Banwo and Ighodalo to host the 

second edition of World Music Day Webinar 

on Monday June 21, 2021 starting from 12 

noon to 2pm. 

Anchored by Olisa Adibua and themed: 

Collective Management Organization In 

A Digital Age, the webinar will feature 

keynote speakers like the Director General, 

Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC), 

John Assien; MCSNs CEO, Mayo Ayilaran; 

and Femi Olubanwo, partner at Banwo and 

Ighodalo; while MCSN’s chairman, Orits 

Williki has been given the task of welcoming 

participants to the virtual event. 

Music industry expert, Efe Omoreigbe has 

been penciled to deliver a speech at the 

webinar, while Chris Ubosi, CEO of Beat 

•Festina Peters 

FM, Naija FM, Classic FM and Lagos Talk FM will 

team up with Nigezie boss, Olufemi Aderibigbe 

(Kwame); PMANs Vice President, Zaaky Azzay; 

Director, Nigerian Copyright Academy, Michael 

Akpan; Asha Gangali, Mathew Ohio and Samklef 

on the panel of discussion. 

•PMAN's Pretty Okafor & MCSN's Mayo 

Ayilaran


F 

•Denrele 

emi Bello, US-based Nigerian show promoter who has 

organised shows for top Nigerian music stars over the years 

has affirmed that any Nigerian artiste would thrive with any 

show in the US provided the right route 

is taken and proper structure in place. 

“In the US, I worked with Wande Coal, 

Wizkid, Psquare, Olamide, Tiwa Savage, 

Davido, Yemi Alade, Mr Eazi and even 

Sarkodie. These are top African artistes 

whose concerts I packaged in the US. 

They are big concerts in their own right 

and there is always a different approach 

to every show, but I can tell you that 

Nigerian artistes will sell out any show 

in the US as long as we put proper 

structure in place ahead of the event,” 

he said in a chat with Potpourri 

According to Bello, dealing with 

Nigerian artistes can be very 

challenging, because most times 

they are always after the money 

they would make at the end of 

the show and not necessarily the 

fans base and more popularity 

the shows will fetch them. 

“The truth is that most of these 

artistes don’t understand how 

things work here, especially when 

they bring their shows to the US. 

•Femi Bello 

They have a wrong impression 

about the way we make the shows 

work. So I always tell them that their 

approach towards show promoters is 

bad. Some of them don’t open up to the 

show promoters; they try to be smarter. 

They don’t understand the business aspect 

of the job. What they always care about is 

the money they want to make at the end 

of the show. They make the job hard for 

you when they don’t speak up,” he further 

explained. 

How my lifestyle cost my sister a job 

—Denrele 

parents find out Denrele is your brother, 

they will withdraw their wards from the 

school, and it is something I cannot 

T 

risk. When she called to tell me, I was 

here are many things weird about the saddened. Her knowledge, skills and 

entertainment personality known as competence were not in question, just 

Denrele (born Adenrele Oluwafemi the simple reason of being related to 

Edun). And since he broke into the me. I felt so bad that my name would 

entertainment world, people have not ruin things for her, and so sometimes 

•Femi Kuti 

stopped talking about his strange she even denies knowing me.” 

bohemian lifestyle. But Denrele Even though Denrele is said to have 

doesn’t give a damn! Probably set the foundation for the expression 

except for one time when his of individualism in Nigeria, he still 

sister was the one at the finds himself at the receiving end of 

receiving end 

intense backlash and trolls, especially 

Recounting the story of on social media. He says he deals with 

how he was responsible for this by understanding that social 

his sister’s dismissal from media is not a validation for his 

her job, Denrele said, “My existence and one has to remain true 

sister recently lost her job just to oneself against all odds. To him, 

because her employer found that is key to happiness. 

out she is related to me. This Denrele made the revelation at last 

happened in a primary school. week’s episode of #WithChude 

The head teacher randomly called 

her to let her go with the reason that if 

My only dream is to inter 

ervie 

view Kim 

Kardashian, Drake —OAP, Manosky 

TV/ radio personality, Chigozie Anumudu better 

known as Manosky has declared that there’s 

no Nigerian true celebrity he hasn’t interviewed. 

Speaking with Potpourri in a chat, the newly 

appointed Senior Special Assistant to Abia State 

governor on entertainment reveals that 

interviewing Kim Kardashian and Drake would 

be the icing on the cake to his splendid career. 

In his words: “In Nigeria here, I’ve practically 

interviewed all the celebrities from the music to 

the movies and on to the dance world. There’s no 

one left to be interviewed. The likes of Wizkid, 

Davido, Olamide, Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Tekno, 

Mercy Johnson, in fact the list is endless. Time 

shall fail us if I continue mentioning names but 

that one person I crave an interview session with 

is Kim Kardashian. After her, it would be Drake. 

The reason is that I can be spontaneous on the 

carpet so when I meet them, I’ll have things to 

play around with and get them stunned. Let’s leave 

it at that until the interview is staged.” 

Manosky also gave an account of his journey 

into the media world and how it all started in 

London to the Southeast and ultimately to Lagos. 

I started as an attache announcer on BBC 

Portland Place, London, more or less an 

internship if you like. After that, I got back to 

the country and had a brief stint with the 

defunct 105.5 Cosmo FM, Enugu, after which I 

got poached by Enugu State Broadcasting 

Service in 2006. I was called by the Federal 

Radio Corporation of Nigeria and 

posted to Heartland 100.5FM, 

Owerri. I was the youngest 

OAP at the time. In 2011, Hot 

99.5FM came to Owerri and 

snapped me up. It was a brief 

stay there as Radio Nigeria 

came back calling. They 

had promoted me in my 

absence when a new 

General Manager, Mr 

Anthony Okofu came on 

board and heard I left with 

my vast fan-base to Hot 

FM. Then in 2013, Magic 

102.9FM Aba opened and 

I was called and made 

Chief Presenter/ 

Programmes Manager, a 

position I held until I left 

the East for Lagos in 2014. 

What Nigerian artistes going abroad 

for shows should know —Femi Bello 

•Manosky 

•Mr Marcaroni and Lateef 

Adedimeji at Ayinla premiere 

My career was never 

built on winning 

awards, Grammy’s 

—Femi Kuti 

Afrobeats superstar, Femi Kuti has been 

nominated for a Grammy award four times but he 

has never won. In a radio chat with Beat FM 99.9 

the “Stop The Hate” star explains his music and 

the importance of Grammy to it, citing what is more 

important to him than winning awards or the 

Grammy’s. 

“My career was never built on winning 

awards,” he said. “ It was based on talking about 

social and political issues. If my career were 

built on winning the Grammy’s, I would 

probably not be based in Nigeria. I would set 

up somewhere in America and be lobbying 

for it. It’s really political, you must be there, 

they must see you and you must be fighting 

for it. I would be working with the best 

musicians to put a big image of my people 

out there.” 

“If I use big American artistes to distribute 

my music it is already a Grammy nominated 

album. The Grammy already knows who I 

am. Most important for me and my career, 

is, if I can wake up and have electricity 

forever, if we have good salaries for 

everybody, pensions are paid, the roads 

are good, and Africa is a big party where I 

can drive my car from Lagos to Nairobi, 

Johannesburg and the place is booming with 

love, no award can bring me such 

satisfaction,” he added. 

Femi Kuti was nominated in 2003, 2010, 2012 

and 2013 in the World Music category of the 

Grammy’s. 

‘Ayinla’ the movie, 

premieres amid 

cultural razzmatazz 

Last Sunday, June 12, one of the most anticipated movies of the 

season, ‘Ayinla’, was premiered at the Ebonylife Place, Victoria 

Island, Lagos, and aside from being a cultural explosion, it was a 

gathering of entertainers, captains of industry, filmmakers and 

entertainment industry investors. 

The star-studded event, themed “Cultural Extravaganza” served 

as a hub for the most culturally adventurous outfits of the season 

aside being a celebration of the African-Yoruba culture, which the 

movie richly represents. 

‘Ayinla’ follows the story of Apala music maestro, Ayinla 

‘Omowura’ Yusuf, popularly called Egunmogaji (Anigilaje). 

Produced by Jade Osiberu, the movie is directed by movie 

virtuoso Tunde ‘TK’ Kelani and stars talents like Adedimeji Lateef 

as Ayinla, and Debo Marcaroni as the murderous Bayowa. 

Others include Kunle Afolayan, Omowumi Dada, Bimbo Manuel, 

Ade Laoye, Jumoke Odetola, Bimbo Ademoye and many others. 

The sponsors of the movie and event, Trophy lager beer and 

First Bank were on hand to reward guests for their presence. As 

the drinks flowed, so did First Bank reward the best dressed for 

the evening in male and female categories with a cash prize of 

N500,000 each. Nollywood stars, Akah Nnani and Osas Ighodaro 

took home the gold.

PAGE 12 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021 

Much Ado about INEC 

nominations 

This column- Nigeria 

Today, opened this 

month with a call on 

government to speedily fill all 

vacant statutory positions in 

our electoral body to stop her 

from continuing to operate 

with half engine, asshe had 

done in the last 7 months. A 

few days after the call, a list of 

nominees which government 

had previously sent to the 

Senate for clearance and 

which had been put on-hold 

resurfaced. Although it may 

have been a coincidence that 

both actions occurred 

simultaneously, one is still 

encouraged to believe that 

perhaps there are times when 

those in authority listen to 

people. In which case, there is 

merit in drawing attention to 

issues calling for action. That 

call however had a second 

segment which was a plea for 

government to not only make 

appointments but to ensure 

that any such appointment 

capable of derogating from 

the impartiality of INEC is 

never made. The high level of 

criticism which greeted the 

inclusion of Lauretta 

Onochie, a presidential 

media aide, in the list seems 

to show that our second plea 

was discountenanced. 

There are two immediate 

reasons why the supercriticisms 

occurred. The first 

is the general feeling that 

PhD,Department of 

Philosophy, 

Universityof Lagos 

08116759758 

opuruiche2000@gmail.com 

On the increasing possibility of 

Nigeria’s disintegration (4) 

It is a notorious fact that 

northerners have more oil 

blocks than their southern 

compatriots in whose areas 

the crude oil is located. Now, 

the practice of individuals 

owning such an important 

source of national income is 

wrong; it is even abominable 

that non-indigenes from parts 

of the country without a drop 

of oil (and as a result their 

communities do not 

experience the serious 

environmental problems that 

arise from crude oil 

exploration and extraction) 

are benefiting more than 

those from oil-bearing 

communities. Make no 

mistake about it: the civil war 

was essentially a war about 

the control of the revenue 

from crude oil, which explains 

why Harold Wilson, Prime 

Minister of the United 

Kingdom, supported Nigeria 

in order to retain and expand 

existing lucrative oil deals that 

lubricated British economy. 

Generally speaking, with 

what has been going on in the 

country since 1970 typified by 

the senseless recycling 

ofmediocrity in leadership 

especially at the federal level, 

one can be forgiven for 

thinking that Nigeria was 

designed to fail. 

Considered retrospectively, 

the eagerness with which Lt. 

Col Yakubu Gowon and the 

hawks in his government 

declared war on the new 

nation, Biafra, had very little 

to do with preserving a 

when constituting an umpire 

for elections, anything that 

candiminish public 

confidence in INEC must be 

avoided. The second is the 

long-standing assurances of 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari that he would 

personally distance himself 

from any breach of the 

constitution. Even when the 

ruling party had crisis with its 

executive and people 

proffered simple political 

solutions, Buhari insisted on 

following the party’s 

constitution. On this note, 

there is the suspicion that the 

President’sattention was not 

drawn to an amendment to 

our constitution which now 

expressly provides in 

Paragraph 14 of Part 1 of its 

Third Schedule that a 

member of the Independent 

National Electoral 

Commission “shall be nonpartisan.” 

Government 

officials who have defended 

Onochie’s nomination are 

probably on the same page 

with lawyers who are quoting 

the old law which only 

required such appointees to 

simply be persons of proven 

integrity. 

From the provisions of the 

law stated above, there is no 

basis for the heated debate in 

the country over who qualifies 

to be an electoral 

commissioner. The only 

country that works for 

everybody. So whenever 

former military dictators 

from northern Nigeria 

claimed that the Biafran war 

was fought to preserve the 

country’s unity, they 

deliberately omit to tell 

Nigerians that the real reason 

for it was to maintain northern 

political dominance which 

allows Fulani caliphate 

colonialists and their enablers 

to appropriate economic 

resources from the south. 

There is documentary 

evidence that right from the 

very beginning northern 

Nigeria has been 

economically dependent on 

the south, as late Prof. B. 

C.Ijoma conclusively proved 

some time ago in his wellargued 

riposte to the 

falsehood by one of the 

theoreticians of Fulani 

caliphate colonialism, Prof. 

Ango Abdulllahi. Indeed, one 

of the major reasons for the 

amalgamation was that 

British colonial officials 

wanted to shift the financial 

burden of administering 

northern protectorate from 

the British treasury to “the 

southern lady of means,” as 

explained in 1913 by Sir 

William Harcourt, Secretary 

of State for the colonies 

(1910-1915). Of 

course,northern dependency 

syndrome has not gone down 

at all since that time. On the 

contrary, it has grown worse, 

to the extent that the northern 

ruling class will go to any 

reason for the controversy is a 

current trend in the country 

where everything is 

politicized. In other countries 

no one needs to find a legal 

provision for supporting or 

defending the appointment of 

a politician to serve as 

impartial umpire in an 

election between his party and 

other parties or other 

positions requiring 

institutional neutrality. In our 

pioneering days at the 

National Orientation Agency 

(NOA), we found that that if a 

partisan official was 

appointed to sensitize people 

on the correct political culture, 

opposition politicians never 

listened to such an official 

hence we canvassed that the 

Chief Executive of NOA must 

never be partisan. Although 

the law reflected that, it has 

never been obeyed right from 

the PDP days. Indeed, in all 

sectors, politicians lobby to 

appoint non-professionals 

into technical positions in 

public organizations thereby 

deprivingsuch bodies of 

viability. Is Nigeria the only 

country with political parties? 

Arguments in support and 

against the nomination of 

Lauretta Onochie have been 

taken to a level that makes it 

look as if it is the only issue at 

stake right now in our 

electoral process. Apart from 

party officials, there are 

several support groups falling 

on each other on this subject 

just to be noticed for 

patronage. One of them said 

the other day that impartiality 

was unnecessary because 

after all, everybody is a 

political animal. He 

obviously didn’t know the 

subtle difference between 

politics and partisanship. 

Another said anyone could be 

an electoral commissioner 

It is unfortunate that up 

to this moment most 

prominent southern 

leaders have not learnt 

the most important 

lesson from the civil war 

and its aftermath 

length to maintain the 

colonial amalgam staunchly 

supported by the former 

colonial master. Therefore 

once the northern continuing 

quest for political domination 

and economic exploitation of 

the south are inserted in the 

Nigerian equation, the 

rationale for the shibboleth 

“One Nigeria” by Yakubu 

Gowon, his successors and 

“useful idiots” from the south 

since the civil war ended leaps 

into bold relief. 

In all this, southern 

Nigerians (particularly 

Ndigbo and their immediate 

neighbours) should stop 

blaming northerners alone 

for dominating the country 

even if their divide-and-rule 

strategy for sustaining One 

Nigeria which gained 

traction when Gowon carved 

the eastern region into three 

states on March 27, 1967has 

aggravated the forces of 

disintegration. Why? Because 

Dr.Azikiwe, Chief Awolowo 

and their successors at 

various times had the 

opportunity to alter the 

trajectory of Nigerian 

political evolution but they 

blew it. As I have already 

argued, British colonial 

officials were not really keen 

to hand over Nigeria to the 

best hands and brains from 

the south. Incontrovertible 

Almost every lawyer in 

Nigeria purporting to 

throw light on the 

subject is now 

described by the media 

as a constitutional 

lawyer; some are 

probably 

unconstitutional 

provided he subscribes to the 

oath of impartiality. As for the 

learned segment of society, the 

long period of the judiciary 

workers’ strike may have 

rendered 

some 

redundantmaking them opt to 

comment on every topic 

within several media 

discussion slots. Almost every 

lawyer in Nigeria purporting 

to throw light on the subject is 

now described by the media 

as a constitutional lawyer; 

some are probably 

unconstitutional. In reality 

however, we are only 

distracting INEC with a 

fundamental topic that 

requires no contentions if only 

we can allow our societal 

institutions to do their work. 

The impartiality of an 

election umpire is too critical 

to be subjected to debate.But 

we can hardly prevent that 

considering the number of 

people who are so carefree 

about the implications of a 

compromised INEC. In 2019, 

different groups had to cry out 

to the Senate to disallow one 

Raheem Olalekan who was 

nominated to represent Osun 

state. As it turned out, he was 

an active member of the APC 

in his local community. His 

colleague Alalibo Johnson 

proof of that can be found in 

Prof.Omoruyi’s work cited 

earlier where he details how 

and why the last British 

governor-general, Sir James 

Robertson,anointed 

TafawaBalewa as Prime 

Minister even before results 

of the 1959 federal elections 

were fully in for reasons that 

have nothing to do with 

competence and proven track 

record of performance. 

Moreover, Islam the 

dominant religion of the 

Fulani ethnic group, 

mandates muslims to rule 

wherever they find themselves 

in furtherance of the long term 

aspiration of those who wrote 

the Koran regarding Islam’s 

global domination. At any 

rate, without the One Nigeria 

ideological political praxis 

championed by Dr.Azikiwe 

and other prominent 

southern politicians of the 

First Republic, probably there 

would have been concerted 

move by the first two southern 

regions to form a country of 

their own or, at the very least, 

their political leaders would 

not have made 

concessionsany time northern 

leaders threatened to secede, 

concessions that eventually 

helped Fulani caliphate 

colonialists to consolidate 

their stranglehold on power 

with the passage of time.It is 

ironic that the north 

whichclamoured for a 

federation with very weak 

centre and strong federating 

units later embraced 

completely a highly 

centralised political system or 

unitarism. For those 

conversant with Nigerian 

history, the change in 

approach is not puzzling at 

all: the northern volte-face 

occurred after the revanchist 

coup of July 29, 1966, an 

indication that key figures in 

the northern military-civilian 

establishment executed the 

representing Bayelsa state 

was cleared and deployed as 

Resident Electoral 

Commissioner in Edo state. 

During the governorship 

elections in the state, there 

were petitions that he had 

earlier been involved in 

partisan politics. INEC issued 

a formal state which instead 

of denying the allegation 

blamed the public for not 

providing the information at 

the appropriate time. We insist 

that it is never late to deal with 

any electoral commissioner 

who presents a likelihood of 

bias. It was for such reason 

we supported the 

redeployment of a rather 

hardworkingofficial- Amina 

Zakari before the 2019 

presidential election. 

The crusade against 

politically tainted though 

prospective election 

personnel is not restricted to 

the Buhari era. During the 

Goodluck Jonathan 

administration, the 

Independent Election 

Monitoring Group(IEMG) 

urged the President to 

withdraw the nomination of 

Ambassador Lawrence 

Nwuruku as a National 

Electoral Commissioner. It 

also called on the Senate to 

not confirm Nwuruku’s 

nomination because it 

breached Section 156 of the 

1999 Constitution as 

amended which seeks to 

insulate the commission from 

undue political pressures. The 

group which was incidentally 

led at the time by popular 

activist, Festus Okoye 

persuasively argued that “the 

injection of a person with 

clear partisan inclination into 

the top hierarchy of INEC will 

create an unfortunate 

atmosphere of suspicion and 

fear as other commissioners 

may perceive such a person 

coup not just as a repulsive 

payback for the so-called 

“Igbo coup” six months 

earlier but also as a means of 

seizing and retaining political 

power in line with Ahmadu 

Bello’s vision of using 

minorities of the north as 

willing tools and the south as 

conquered territory. 

Ken SaroWiwa and top 

federal civil servants from the 

south such as Solomon 

Akenzua, H. A. Ejueyitchie, 

Phillip Asiodu, and Allison 

Ayidaunwittingly played a 

key role in furthering Bello’s 

subjugationist intention by 

persuading Gowon not to 

implement the Aburi accord 

that probably would have 

saved the country from the 

devastating Biafran war. 

During the civil war proper, 

the Yoruba led by Chief 

Awolowo and minorities of 

the middle-belt fought 

against Biafra. Even, 

prominent indigenes from the 

old Rivers and South-Eastern 

states abandoned Biafra and 

switched sides. Betrayal of the 

Biafran cause by fellow 

southerners was part of what 

the iconic novelist, Prof. 

Chinua Achebe, tried to 

explain when he said that 

resentment of Ndigbo by 

compatriots from other parts 

of Nigeria was caused by 

ekwolo (envy and jealousy) 

triggered by the unsurpassed 

success of Igbo people 

nationwide made worse 

through crude and noisy 

exhibitionism. It is 

unfortunate that up to this 

moment most prominent 

southern leaders have not 

learnt the most important 

lesson from the civil war and 

its aftermath, namely, that the 

muslim Fulani ruling class is 

committed to making 

Nigeria the homeland of all 

Fulani in West Africa and 

beyond. That is why since 

1970 several notable 

as a mole deliberately 

planted by the government to 

checkmate independent 

decisions and initiatives.” 

There is therefore nothing 

special about public 

disapproval of the 

nomination of Onochie who 

had become famous as the 

president’s defender and 

attacker of the opposition. Of 

course, if she is eventually 

appointed it would be a 

minus for the current 

administration just as it would 

entrench public disbelief in 

the ability of the Senate to 

have the guts to check the 

executive branch. While the 

fight against the nomination 

is rational, I believe the 

campaign against her should 

not have been so ferocious 

because we need to remember 

that belonging to a political 

party is not an offence; it only 

bars the person from a 

referee’s position. 

The lady is a very widely 

educated Nigerian both at 

home and abroad, who has 

distinguished herself in 

previous assignments. An 

educationist, pastor, mother 

and grandmother, her tweets 

were always to the point and 

often helpful in clarifying 

issues. For instance, when the 

Accountant General 

mistakenly informed the 

nation that the recovered Ibori 

loot had been sent to Delta, it 

was Onochie who promptly 

corrected the story while at the 

same time offering 

explanation for why it was not 

sent to the state. She is 

therefore proficient in her job 

and can be considered for 

higher positions in 

government otherwise, with 

the raging war on social 

media, her doggedness in her 

present position is a major 

plus for government. 

Nigerians from the south 

have actually helped midwife 

policies that entrenched 

northern domination, with the 

Sokoto caliphate as the 

invisible government or 

puppeteer controlling the 

visible puppet governmentsin 

both military and civilian 

dispensations. Remember, 

Justice Akinola Aguda, a 

Yoruba, headed the panel that 

recommended Abuja in the 

north as the new federal 

capital to replace Lagos, while 

Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was 

the military head of state when 

the 1979 constitution was 

packaged and promulgated. 

Groundwork for that very 

document was spearheaded 

by late Chief Rotimi Williams 

and Prof. Ben Nwabueze, 

chairman of the constitution 

drafting committee and a subcommittee 

chairman 

respectively. Needless to say, 

the 1979 constitution 

reaffirmed the overcentralised 

or unitary system 

which the north leveraged on 

to enhance its control at the 

centre and also opened the 

door for recognition of sharia 

hitherto categorised under 

customary law as a full– 

fledged distinct legal system 

applicable in both civil and 

criminal cases. Since the 

gravely flawed 1999 

constitution now in operation 

is a mutant or clone of the 

1979 version, Obasanjo, 

Williams and Nwabueze are 

jointly responsible for 

abandoning what is 

sometimes euphemistically 

referred to as “true 

federalism” in favour of a 

highly centralised political 

arrangement that has 

crippled the federating units 

particularly in southern 

Nigeria notwithstanding the 

fact that successive 

administrations in the 

southern states with few 

exceptions have taken 

mediocre leadership to 

unprecedented low levels. 

To be concluded.

AKEREDOLU: 

100 Days Of ‘Talk 

And Do’ In Ondo 

•‘The governor’s lodge built by the immediate 

past administration has several defects which 

pose huge threat to human living’ 

By Dayo Johnson Akure 

•Akeredolu commissioning 

new patrol vehicles purchased 

for Amotekun 

No doubt, since taking the oath of office 

on February 24, 2017, Arakunrin Rotimi 

Akeredolu has, in no small measure, moved 

Ondo State to enviable heights as governor. 

Doing a critique of how Akeredolu has 

fared in his journey to a greater Ondo 

showed that he has not only left his imprints 

on the sand of time, he has equally engraved 

his nickname ‘Aketi’ in the minds of the people 

of the ‘Sunshine State’. 

Popularly referred to as governor “talk 

and do”, Akeredolu has truly fulfilled his 

electoral promises to the people of the state 

in the last six years that he has been in the 

saddle. One of these was the payment of the 

six out of the seven months unpaid workers 

salary by the immediate past administration 

in Ondo. 

Akeredolu, by this singular action then, 

won the hearts of civil servants. But paucity 

of funds has made the governor to now resort 

to payment of percentage salaries. 

In a fair assessment of his performance, 

Akeredolu has measured up to standard in 

many areas and scored low marks in few 

areas. 

A quick rundown of his achievements in 

various sectors of the Ondo economy shows 

that he would be remembered by the legacy 

projects initiated by his administration. 

That aside, his first 100 days of his second 

term in office has further punctured the belief 

that second term governors go to sleep 

after inauguration as Akeredolu has not 

stopped breaking new grounds in taking 

the ‘Sunshine State’ to higher heights in the 

various sectors of the state economy. 

The governor has made it a point of duty 

to distribute projects executed by his administration 

across the three senatorial districts 

of the state. 

Water 

Ondo, over the years, had suffered inadequate 

supply of potable water that led many 

individuals into seeking alternative from 

unhygienic water sources which, invariably, 

exposed the majority to waterborne diseas- 

es 

Ṫo ensure water security in the state, Akeredolu 

introduced ‘Kamomi Aketi’, a water 

project is designed to solve the need of 

potable water supply across the 18 local 

government areas of the state. 

Also, over 2, 000 boreholes have been constructed 

in 15 council areas of Ondo. 

The Kamomi Aketi water scheme expanded 

the story of water supply in the state in 

2017 from four per cent to about 30% 

This led to the commissioning of the Kamomi 

Aketi accelerated water scheme in 

Owo and water treatment plants at Ile-oluji 

Okeigbo, Oba Akoko and Ido Ani. 

Bursary 

No fewer than 7, 000 students 

of Ondo extraction were 

given bursary in the 100 days 

of the Akeredolu administration. 

N10, 000 was disbursed to 

regular students while their 

counterparts studying law as 

well as medicine got N50, 

000 each. 

Roads 

The Akeredolu’s magic 

touch on roads rehabilitation 

and construction does not 

discriminate against federal 

or local government roads. 

This is the case of the Owo- 

Ikare Road and several other 

roads spread across the three senatorial 

districts of the state. Those commissioned 

include the Orita Obele Road, Adetade 

Road, Akure, Omolayo Street, Akure, Ijapo 

Estate Road network, St. John’s Road, Oba- 

Ile and Araromi-Obu Township Road. 

Governor’s Lodge 

Although his predecessor constructed a 

new governor’s lodge, Akeredolu said the 

building had structural defects hence the 

urgent need to construct a new lodge. He 

noted that “it would take a superman” to 

live in that defective building. 

The governor 

said the construction 

of the 

mosque inside 

the Government 

House 

exemplifies the 

essence of unity 

in diversity, 

love and peaceful 

coexistence 

Akeredolu 

said his administration 

is embarking on a new governor’s lodge 

because the state does not have one, adding 

that shelter cannot be abrogated in human’s 

scale of preference. 

“The governor’s lodge built by the immediate 

past administration has several defects 

which pose a huge threat to human 

living”, he said, noting that the poorly constructed 

building appears to be weak and 

may collapse anytime. 

“The new aesthetic governor’s lodge was 

conceived with the best expectations of any 

governor’s lodge in Nigeria”, he added. 

“The structure sits on approximately 

2,000 square meters of land and measures 

about 18 meters from the ground floor to 

the tip of the iconic roof. 

“The facilities will house a banquet hall 

to sit about 250 guests, basement parking, 

indoor and outdoor kitchen, swimming 

pool, sitting lounge, atrium sitting room, 

bedrooms and other functional 

spaces. 

“Information Communication 

Technology (ICT) software 

and gadgets will be applied 

in the finishing of this 

edifice while the entire environment 

will be adorned 

with both soft and hard landscape”. 

Mosque 

The construction of the 

first government house 

mosque within 100 days 

earned Akeredolu accolades 

from Muslims within and 

outside the state. 

Akeredolu named the 

mosque after the erstwhile 

Chairman of the state Muslim Welfare 

Board, the late Alhaji Khaleel Fawehinmi, 

who died last year. 

The governor said the construction of the 

mosque inside the Government House exemplifies 

the essence of unity in diversity, 

love and peaceful coexistence. 

“The commissioning of the mosque would 

now afford public servants in this environment 

the opportunity to perform their religious 

obligations with much ease”, he said. 

“It would also avail our Muslim visitors 

the opportunity of a conducive place of 

worship.” 


The mosque has an office accommodation 

for the Imam, adequate ablution facilities 

for male and female faithful with attendant 

conveniences, ramp for special persons, 

terrace tiles among others. 

•Ground 

breaking of 

new governor’s 

lodge 

Amotekun 

Akeredolu, being the Chairman of the 

South-West Governors Forum, spearheaded 

the inauguration of the regional security 

outfit codenamed Amotekun despite opposition 

and high level conspiracy against 

the outfit to stem the activities of the ravaging 

herdsmen across the region. This outfit 

has been helping to curb crime in Ondo. 

Within his 100 days in office, the governor 

purchased 20 patrol vehicles to boost 

the operations of Amotekun and equally 

ensured that over 530 new personnel were 

employed for the outfit. 

Not only that, in a bid to provide conducive 

working environment for the management 

and staff of Amotekun, the administrative 

headquarters and control room was 

built by the administration. 

Consequently, the impact of Amotekun in 

Ondo has been remarkable and has given 

hope in the management of security. 

It has also reinforced the long time view 

that state and community-based policing 

are the panacea to the country’s security 

challenges. 

Training for 3, 000 unemployed graduates 

in digital programme 

To address the challenge of teachers deficit 

in public primary schools in the state, 

Akeredolu employed over 1, 200. 

He equally flagged off a Digital 

Training Programme 

tagged 

‘Ondo-Engage’ for 3, 

000 unemployed graduates 

in the state as part 

of the activities marking 

the first 100 days of the 

second term in office. 

The training, which 

will last nine months, will 

focus on digital economy 

and was organised 

through the State Information 

Technology Agency 

(SITA) in partnership 

with Envivo Communications 

Limited and Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Participants 

will be paid 

monthly stipend throughout 

the period of the training and 

get laptops and data. 

Also, to demonstrate his commitment to 

the welfare of the state workforce, the governor 

approved the promotion of 3, 000 

teachers in the State Teaching Service. 

Red Gold Project 

The governor said that the Red Gold 

Project was designed to revolutionise the 

Ondo oil palm sector, noting that the dwindling 

economy of the country predicated 

upon the monolithic nature of its earnings 

had made diversification inevitable 

“Dwindling and erratic market of crude 

oil globally has made it imperative for Nigeria 

as a nation to diversify our revenue 

sources”, Akeredolu said. 

“We have over-relied for too long on fossil 

fuel revenue. The need to diversify the 

economy is imperative for any hope of a 

future for our country”. 

The governor highlighted the various value 

chains of oil palm to include domestic 

consumption and industrial uses. 

Piggery 

A piggery project located at Ilutoro in 

Akure North is expected to employ 4, 000 

youths and women in value chain process. 

Akeredolu’s reason for the piggery project 

was to address capital flight on meat consumption, 

describing as mind boggling 

millions of naira that leave the state weekly 

on beef consumption in form of capital 

flight. Other feats achieved within 100 days 

include the groundbreaking of the first privately 

owned Inland Terminal LPG Storage 

Facility in the country. 

The facility, sited within the Ore Industrial 

Hub by Alles Charis, will gulp over 

#5.5Billion with over 300 jobs to be created 

initially. 

Findings showed that over 2000metric 

tones of Liquefied Petroleum Gas will be 

produced when the first phase is completed 

within the last quarter of this year. 

Akeredolu also extended the celebration 

of the season to over 720 elderly people and 

widows across the state by treating them to 

a sumptuous meal and presentation of special 

packages to them. 

The widows and the aged, 40 from each 

of the 18 local government areas of the 

state, were given N5,000 each.


When the wife’s scared of intimacy... 

It was one of the few 

weddings I just had to 

attend. Feeling a bit bored, I 

turned off, mentally 

calculating other things that 

needed my attention when the 

Reverend Father climbed on 

to the pulpit to give his 

wedding sermon. 

Yawn...Then I sat up when he 

said pompously that the best 

way to keep the furnace of love 

burning in a marriage was to 

have sex, not as often as the 

couple wanted, but as often as 

the man did! Even if he didn’t 

seem quite interested, the wife 

should offer it on a platter! I 

took a curious look at the 

preacher and the glee with 

which he carried on left no 

doubt as the sort of sexual 

demands he must have put on 

his poor wife during the 20 odd 

years of their marriage. He 

looked really smug, as he 

carried on about the main duty 

of a wife to the husband. 

It is sad that in this day and 

age, there are mothers who, 

just like this preacher, warn 

their daughters never to say 

no to their husband’s demands 

in the bedroom no matter how 

reluctant they feel at the 

moment when sex is being 

demanded. The poor wife is 

to just lie there like a piece of 

meat and grit her teeth for the 

duration of the assault on her 

person! Shortly after this 

‘sermon on the mount’, I had 

a visit from Jonpo, now in her 

late 30s and on the verge of 

divorce. Her reason – the 

husband’s insatiable appetite 

for sex. According to her: “We 

both met at the same law firm 

where we once worked and we 

had a lot in common. When I 

got pregnant a year after we 

started dating, we decided to 

get married. I gave birth to 

our lovely son almost 

immediately after the 

wedding, then everything 

began to change. 

“It was obvious we had 

different sex drives. Where 

mine was normal, my new 

husband’s was obsessive and 

compulsive. He constantly 

pestered me for sex, groping 

me and putting his hand 

down my bra. I was a bit 

embarrassed. Was this the 

same man that was a 

complete gentleman when we 

were courting? When I 

became pregnant a few years 

later, he actually came with 

me to my doctor’s when I was 

six months gone to find out if 

it was safe for us to continue 

to have sex. It was all he 

thought about. I didn’t have 

an easy birth this time around 

and needed an emergency 

caesarean. I was still 

recovering from surgery a few 

days later when my husband 

bought me sexy under-wearsinappropriate 

gifts 

considering the stitches were 

still in! 

“As time went on, his desire 

for sex became relentless and 

suffocating. He had girlie 

magazines opened on 

suggestive pages and left them 

on the bed. He even suggested 

we should film each other 

having sex with his I-phone. 

He had a one track mind and 

I was sick and tired of him 

complaining all the time that 

I was starving him of sex. The 

love I once felt for him was 

evaporating fast. I didn’t even 

want him to touch me and he 

started accusing me of seeing 

other men. He even hinted I 

should change to a female 

doctor because my current 

one was always leering at me. 

It got to a point where I started 

dreading his coming home. 

He had become a bully who 

bombarded me with threats, 

sarcasm and comments 

about imaginary men 

whenever I said no to sex. 

“In the end I’d had enough, 

I discreetly looked out for an 

alternate accommodation 

and moved out. Thank God I 

had changed jobs as it was our 

former firm’s policy that 

husband and wife should not 

work together. For the first 

time in years, I had peace of 

mind and could enjoy 

watching my kids grow up 

without a sex-sick husband 

breathing down my back. He 

bombarded me with sick calls 

when he discovered I had left. 

Even when I stopped, 

answering his calls, he sent 

threatening texts. He even 

came to my office to cause 

trouble and my boss told him 

if he showed his face again, 

he would get him arrested.” 

It is said that these days, 

there is an increase in cases of 

domestic violence with the 

men brutally beating up their 

wives when such wives don’t 

obey their demands. The 

men’s twisted obsession 

towards sex had been 

encouraged by mothers who 

tell their sons “Your wife’s duty 

is to give you as much sex as 

you want.” This is a doubleedged 

sword. What happens 

when the man’s sex drive is low 

and his wife’s normal? Night 

after night, he becomes 

frustrated as his willy seldom 

rises to the occasion. 

After tuning and revving up 

his wife and she’s rearing to 

go, she looks down at the 

unco-operative willy and 

nearly dies of frustration. The 

husband is humiliated. In 

time he becomes suspicious 

of his wife. Is she getting it 

somewhere now he’s not able 

to give her as much sex as he 

was advised to do? He can’t 

bear to think of her with 

anyone else and the bullying 

starts. 

The fact is that, sex is one of 

the ingredients that cement a 

relationship. Lack of it, or too 

little of it could ruin it: if you, 

don’t know how to solve your 

relationship problems. 

Dialogue has to be a 

continuous process in a 

marriage – or any good 

relationship. Sexual 

problems can be looked into 

and cured 

most of the time. About time 

we stopped giving our 

daughters the wrong advice 

about sex. If a woman doesn’t 

want sex at a particular time, 

the confidence to tell her man 

why, should be there and he 

owes it to her well-being to 

listen – not punch her face. 

Unfortunately, the number of 

men with dwindling libido is 

now on the increase. The 

reason why this is so could be 

physical as well as 

psychological. Putting, a 

great expectation on man’s 

sexual prowess could put a 

huge dent on his confidence. 

As good as sex is, it has to be 

mutually agreed to by the 

couple in the most mature 

way. 

Why Saying Sorry 

Won’t Hurt You 

The capacity to repair our 

relationships by opening our 

hearts to forgive (or 

apologize) is an important 

measure of emotional 

development, but I am wary 

of making forgiveness a 

yardstick by which we can 

judge ourselves and others. 

Forgiveness can happen in an 

instant or it can take a lifetime. 

The struggle is very different 

if there is an apology than if 

there isn’t. The capacity to 

forgive varies greatly 

according to the depth, or 

absence of it in the 

relationship, that preceded the 

offence,” observed Laura, a 

psychologist. 

“People’s process and 

creativity in this regard need 

to be respected. Even nursing 

a grudge, which is clearly 

anti-forgiveness, may serve a 

vital purpose at certain times 

in certain lives. In short, I don’t 

want to tell anybody – 

especially somebody I don’t 

know – that forgiveness is the 

right path for them. Life is too 

complex for that. 

“Indeed, I think we need to 

remember that not forgiving 

ourselves, not forgiving others, 

is a part of who we are. It is as 

natural to us as our defences, 

our repression, our 

dissociation, our denial. No 

one is so evolved as to deal 

creatively with every loss and 

insult. No one is free 

themselves, positive and 

negative. No one is immune 

to the joys of being vindicated. 

“We all have this in us. We 

are all enmeshed to some 

degree in our inner dramas 

and the unimaginable 

passions and loyalties they 

represent, which hold sway 

over us in ways not even we 

can know. If we can see some 

of this in ourselves, accept it, 

be concerned about it, it is less 

likely to control or overwhelm 

us. We will have a better 

chance to stay connected, to 

dissolve whatever scar tissue 

we can from a life of hurt and 

conflict, and move on to the 

goodness of love.” 

Aledeh berates Emezi over comments about Chimamanda 


TV presenter, Sulaiman 

A Aledeh, has berated a 

Nigerian writer, Akwaeke 

Emezi, for alleged unfriendly 

comments against renowned 

author, Chimamanda Ngozi 

Adichie, over what she 

described as the latter’s 

intolerance. 

Emezi had called out 

Chimanda on social media for 

allegedly being transphobic. 

Ever since the comment was 

made, supporters of both 

writers have been engaged in 

controversy on social media. 

s part of familiarization 

Atour to all parishes of 

United Apostolic Church of 

Christ, UACC, across the 

globe, the President of the 

church, Dr. James Owoyemi, 

has visited UACC parishes in 

Ekiti State. 

Rev. Owoyemi and his 

entourage also visited some 

traditional rulers in the state 

where he prayed for peace in 

the country. 

According to Pastor Paul 

Erakhifu, spokesman for 

UACC, ‘’Rev. Owoyemi also 

used the occasion to solicit the 

support of the traditional 

rulers in his efforts of 

propagating the gospel of our 

Lord Jesus Christ’’. 

Among the traditional rulers 

visited are Ajero of Ijero 

Kingdom, Oba Joseph 

Adebayo Adewole; Obanla of 

IjeshaIsu Ekiti, Oba Gabrilel 

Oso Adeniyi; Ewi of Ado 

Kingdom, Oba Rufus 

AdeyemoAdejugbe; and 

Elekole of Irole Kingdom, 

Oba James Adewumi 

Ajibade. 

Others include Elemure of 

Emure Kingdom, Oba 

Emmanuel Adebowale 

Adebayo; and the Ogaga of 

The matter has also 

generated international 

interest with the Guardian of 

London and New York Times 

writing on it. 

However speaking on the 

issue, Aledeh said: “ In recent 

months, I’ve had more 

intellectual conversations with 

my friends on WhatsApp 

because we hold those opinions 

and can judiciously explain 

what we mean without being 

‘cut’ by the waiting teeth-sharp 

verbal incursions of people 

who have no ideas of who we 

are 

“To see Chimamanda Ngozi 

Adichie express the same views 

is somewhat relieving, but her 

revelations are disturbing. 

They are pointers to our 

gradually buried humanity. To 

the ease with which people are 

pushed towards being 

individualistic on media, we 

tag “social”. 

Whether one agrees or 

disagrees with Adichie, she 

took that long to reveal the level 

and extent of emotional 

volatility expressed towards her 

from people who once sought 

favours is a sign of patient 

maturity. She took her time. 

And I am sure she asked herself 

the questions one only asks in 

a state of regret. “What have I 

UACC president visits chur 

hurches, hes, traditional rulers 

Rev. Dr. James Bayo Owoyemi (3 rd right) during 

his visit to His Royal Highness, Oba Adetunji David 

Ayodele Ajayi, Aweloye III, Arinjale of Ekiti (4 th 

left) with other members of the church. 

Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi 

Samuel Adu. 

All the traditional rulers 

visited were glad to receive 

Owoyemi, who is also an 

indigene of the state, assured 

the delegation of their 

support. 

Meanwhile, it was jubilation 

galore in all parishes of the 

church visited as the 

memberss were glad to host 

their new president. 

Some of the parishes visited 

by the delegation include 

UACC Oke Aanu, Oke Oro, 

UACC Koseunti, Ara Ekiti, 

UACC Omi-naira Kan 

(Temidire), Ijero Ekiti, UACC 

Iyanu, IjesaIsu, UACC Oke 

Ibukun, Ado Ekiti, UACC 

House of Prayer, UACC New 

Covenant Capel, Ado Ekiti, 

UACC Oke Imole, UACC 

IgbalaIwusan, Ise Ekiti, and 

UACC Oke Ayo, Ise Ekiti 

amongst others. 

The team also visited the 

management of a radio 

station, 92.7 FM (New Cruise 

FM), Ikere Ekiti. 

The presidential visit would 

be rounded up with a revival 

and trustees meeting at Ikere 

local government with a 

special thanksgiving service 

on Sunday. 

done wrongly?” 

“To bring people under 

one’s wing comes with 

sacrifice. The sacrifice, I’ve 

heard, can be excruciating at 

times. It is even more 

dangerous when you have 

little or no idea of who they 

are. Asking if she wants her 

name removed from 

“acknowledgements” left me 

boiling. 

The fact that one of them, a 

Nigerian writer, Akwaeke 

Emezi, has said that people 

should attack Chimamanda 

Adichie with machetes 

because she is allegedly 

transphobic; and also set off 

others to say that the recent 

sudden loss of Adichie’s 

parents within months of each 

other was a deserved 

punishment for her supposed 

transphobia is a further sign 

of this dehumanisation. 

“These statements are 

abominations. Nothing 

justifies them. Adichie suffered 

a devasting tragedy. Whether 

she is indeed transphobic or 

not, to say that the death of her 

parents was deserved is 

immoral and downright 

deplorable. Inciting people to 

attack her or anyone for that 

matter- with machetes is 

barbaric even if they claim it 

was not meant to be literal.” 

he Executive chairman 

Tof Ika South Local 

Government Area of Delta 

State, Hon. Sunny 

Tatabuzogwu, has stated that 

he had remained focus in his 

drive to make a difference in 

the lives of the electorates 

who freely gave him their 

mandate. 

Tatabuzogwu who made 

this known while speaking to 

journalists on his 100 Days in 

Office, said “no doubt, the 

challenges at this level of 

government are enormous, 

considering the fact that it is 

the closest government to the 

grassroots.” 

He however, posited that he 

had remained courageous 

and resolute in his quest to 

Omatseye @ 60: He’s Itsekiri's gift 

to the literary world — Ijaw leader 

COORDINATOR of Ijaw 

Monitoring Group, 

IMG, Comrade Joseph Evah, 

yesterday, described 

Chairman of the Editorial 

Board of The Nation 

newspaper, Mr. Sam 

Oritsetimeyin Omatseye, 

who clocked 60, as a special 

gift from the Itsekiri to the 

literary world. 

In a statement, the Niger- 

Delta activist said the people 

of the region are proud of the 

renowned journalist as one of 

100 Days s In Office: Ika South Council boss 

promises more development projects 

the highly sought after in the 

media world for his brilliant 

advocacy, courage, research 

acumen and doggedness. 

Evah said: "It is not a mistake 

Omatseye comes from our 

homeland (Niger-Delta) like 

the legendary Ernest Ikoli 

(Ijaw), who was the first Editor 

of the Daily Times, the gamechanger 

in Nigerian 

journalism, using the most 

powerful newspaper in the 

British Empire in Africa 

during the colonial era". 

ensure that the story changed 

for good, hence he has been 

able to installed maximum 

security guarantee in the area 

by putting all the security 

agencies on the alert, so that 

the good people of Ika South 

would always sleep with their 

eyes closed. 

He further said, he has been 

able to embark on repairs of 

all vehicles and earth moving 

equipments, (payloader, 

roller and grader) that were 

in bad shape, tax free for Edike 

market traders, abolished 

multiple tax in Abavo market, 

completion of public toilet 

inside the headquarters and 

donation of correctional 

facility to Delta State 

Correctional Service. 

Vivo launches V21 Series Smartphone 

eading global technology 

Lcompany, Vivo, has 

launched the V21/V21e 

smartphone to make 

professional smartphone 

imagery accessible to all 

users. 

According to the company, 

the V21 Series was the latest 

in its longstanding V-series 

of smartphones, which has a 

long history of providing 

consumers with fashionforward, 

camera-focused 

devices at competitive 

prices. 

In a statement, Vivo noted 

that the V21e features a 

44MP AF front camera which 

combines AI night portrait 

for a rich photography and 

videography experience. 

The V21 also boasts of a 

unique Optical Image 

Stabilization (OIS) on the 

front and rear cameras all 

designed to enhance everyday 

life for users. 

“The powerful 44MP front 

camera with f/2.0 aperture 

allows for greater light 

exposure even in 

environments where lighting 

is limited. 

“Through the hardware and 

software integration, the 

Super Night Selfie features 

multi-level exposure and 

multiple high-quality image 

frames, enhancing the 

brightness and details of night 

scenes, as well as ensuring 

better clarity of portraits.


RISING POVERTY: 

No end in sight to high 

food prices – MAN, others 

•Cite disruption of raw materials to food manufacturing segment by insecurity as a problem 

•‘Huge losses suffered as a result of borders’ closure’ 

By Tunde Oso 

There is no end in sight to high food 

prices as long as the conflict between 

crop growers and northern cattle 

herders seeking grazing pasture in the 

South continues, economic experts have 

said. 

Costs started increasing in 2019 when the 

Federal Government shut Nigeria’s borders 

to curb the smuggling of rice and other 

products. 

Food prices rose 17.4 percent in October 

from a year earlier, the biggest increase in 

three years. 

As prices rose, the United Nations, in late 

2000, warned that violence had 

compounded food production challenges 

arising from factors such as climate change 

and the coronavirus pandemic that placed 

Nigerians at risk of famine. 

The World Bank, in a report, had said, 

last week, that high food prices had pushed 

about seven million Nigerians into poverty 

in 2020. 

“Food prices accounted for over 60% of 

the total increase in inflation. Rising prices 

have pushed an estimated 7 million 

Nigerians below the poverty line in 2020 

alone,” its report published last Tuesday 

said. 

The World Poverty Clock, which uses UN, 

IMF and World Bank data to monitor 

progress against poverty, reports Nigeria 

had 41 percent of its population or nearly 

87 million people living in extreme poverty 

on less than $1.90 per day. 

“Nigeria faces interlinked challenges in 

relation to inflation, limited job 

opportunities, and insecurity,” said 

Shubham Chaudhuri, the World Bank 

Country Director for Nigeria. 

“While the government has made efforts 

to reduce the effect of these by advancing 

long-delayed policy reforms, it is clear that 

these reforms will have to be sustained and 

deepened.” 

Nigeria needs urgently to reduce inflation 

by promoting inclusive growth and job 

creation and helping small and medium 

businesses gain access to finance, 

Chaudhuri said. 

The Covid-19 pandemic and the oil price 

crash have hammered Nigeria’s economy, 

which gets 90 percent of foreign exchange 

earnings from petroleum exports, pushing 

it into its second recession in four years. 

As well as inflation, a rise in joblessness 

has left a third of Nigeria’s workforce 

unemployed at the end of 2020, according 

to the statistics office. 

Sunday Vanguard spoke to economic 

experts on the way forward. 

Food inflation not surprising 

– Ajayi-Kadir, MAN D-G 

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director General of 

the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria 

MAN, said the association is not surprised 

that inflation, especially in the food sector, 

continues to spiral upwards. 

“The manufacturing sector has remained 

in recession even after the technical exit of 

the country’s economy”, Ajayi-Kadiri said. 

“As you are probably aware, the 

manufacturing sector posted a growth rate 

of -1.51 percent in the Q4 2020 from -1.52 

percent in Q3 of the same year. 

“The current 

inflationary condition is a 

major contributor to the 

low-export penetration of 

goods manufactured in 

the country, some of which 

are largely in the 

agricultural sector of the 

economy into the 

international market. 

“Note too, the disruption 

by insecurity of the feeder 

i.e. supply of raw 

materials to the food 

manufacturing segment 

of our association”. 

The MAN boss urged 

government to, among 

others, pursue consumer 

price stabilization 

measures that will 

stimulate growth in 

agricultural output; 

deliberately support the 

manufacturing sector to 

guarantee improved 

output that can engender 

the reduced intensity of 

too much money chasing after fewer goods; 

further diversify the country’s revenue 

sources; action a CBN sustainable plan to 

improve the external reserves to a defensive 

capacity that will raise the months of 

imports of Nigeria to a dependable level. 

These, he said, can be achieved by 

deliberately and sincerely partnering the 

productive sector to grow non-oil exports. 

Ajayi-Kadir said: “In particular, the 

Export Group of the association clearly 

suffered huge losses due to logistics issues 

occasioned by the closure of the borders 

as it takes an average of eight weeks for 

the carriers to ship and move goods 

within countries in the same region vis-àvis 

moving the goods through the land 

border, which takes an average of seven to 

10 days. 

In particular, the 

Export Group of 

the association 

clearly suffered 

huge losses due 

to logistics 

issues 

occasioned by 

the closure of the 

borders 

“Nigeria, as the largest economy in West 

Africa and one of the largest in Africa, needs 

to step up in engaging her neighbors 

meaningfully in order to improve our trade 

balance, curb smuggling and stop the trend 

where other countries are having free lunch 

at the expense of the Nigerian economy. 

“Government should sensitise citizens to 

patronise and consume locally produced 

goods, imbibe the benefit of consuming 

local goods and government should set a 

good example by patronising local products 

in all government purchases”. 

Food trucks & items should 

be tax-free - John 

Isemede, ex-DG, 

NACCIMA 

Dr. John Isemede, a 

former Director General of 

Nigerian Association of 

Chambers of Commerce, 

Industry, Mines and 

Agriculture (NACCIMA), 

said what is fuelling 

inflation are weak 

production base, lack of 

value addition, lack of 

export culture; more 

money in circulation and 

fewer goods /perishable 

goods without storage 

silos and cold room etc. 

Isemede, a United 

Nations Industrial 

D e v e l o p m e n t 

Organization (UNIDO) 

consultant on value 

chains, added that if 

government is saying it is 

diversifying into 

agriculture, there ought to 

be substantial government interventions 

to move the farming community away 

from the old worn-out and archaic 

subsistence farming to commercial and 

large scale agriculture. 

He went on, “Subsistence farming is what 

we have been relying upon. We are a country 

that doesn’t have commodity boards 

compared to what we have in Cote d’Ivoire 

and some other West African countries; how 

can we feed ourselves? Where are the silos 

for storage? 

“Government should also look at 

centralizing the taxation system. You can 

imagine the number of taxes a food truck 

coming from Jos, Maiduguri, Makurdi – 

the North - will pay to revenue agencies 

before arriving in the southern market. 

“This is part of the reason food prices 

are escalating. Government should find 

a way of harmonizing and centralizing tax 

collection by these revenue collecting 

organs of government. 

“In fact, government should completely 

exempt food trucks or locally-grown, 

produced food items from tax or levies. 

“Government interventions have been 

wrong-headed: like the closure of borders. 

It breached ECOWAS Agreements. 

“Government ought to have used tariffs 

to discourage Nigerians’ unbridled 

appetite for imported goods and re-invest 

the gains in its diversification efforts into 

agriculture. 

“Before the ban too, government ought 

to have taken the organized private sector 

into confidence so as to prepare them for 

the policy whereby they can fully look at 

reaping the gains: growing local capacity 

and production. 

“Any time government bans any 

product, it should discuss with private 

sector concerns that could maximize and 

reap from such a policy. 

“Ban here and there without local 

capacity, no plans in place /trend to be 

self-sufficient unknown - is dangerous. 

“Low production of such goods after 

ban would automatically jerk up both 

price and lead to hoarding. 

“We are a nation that is import-based 

not export-thinking”. 

Funds can never be enough 

for agripreneurs – Gimba 

Ahmad Suleiman Gimba, lecturer at 

College of Administration, Management, 

& Technology, (CAMTECH) Potiskum, Yobe 

State, said the report released by the World 

Bank is alarming and most disturbing to 

realize that additional seven million 

“Nigerians have plunged into poverty. 

Therefore this is an indication that the 

poverty ratio has risen once more”, Gimba 

said. 

“Both the private and public sectors need 

to take agricultural business as a priority 

and inject funds substantially”, he added. 

“The agric products, whose production has 

collapsed in the last two years, are the 

consequences of the agric products that have 

vanished perhaps ten or more years ago. 

“Because of successive governments 

neglect, food crops first like wheat, maize, 

cassava and some few have suffered with 

consequential low output. “Mostly, farmers 

view their expenses, other challenges and 

difficulties; then they migrate to a more 

profitable farming venture with higher 

yields. 

“Cash crops have suffered a similar issue. 

Nigeria has lost wheat, barley, cotton 

among others. 

“Farming output has diminished and has 

completely changed the agricultural 

environment. Therefore, the Nigeria society 

has to reflect the changes. 

“Some of the effects that can be seen 

generally are the cumulative rise in prices 

attached with increase in the cultivation of 

rice, soya, sweet potato, millet and few other 

crops. 

“This clearly attributes the practical 

increase of their quantities with their 

respective prices. 

“But all these are caused by the systematic 

high prices of fertilizer, farm inputs, 

implements and tools, surrounded by very 

poor agric mechanization. 

“Food prices in Nigeria have been 

rising every day without control, 

regulation or soft pedaling because 

government cannot stop spending on the 

critical agricultural sector. 

“In fact, governments in advanced 

countries have continued to provide 

subsidies to farmers and agripreneurs. 

“Furthermore, those perishable food 

items cannot be given clear explanations 

because of its poor, local and unimproved 

methods of storage, transportation and 

handling. Their prices vary depending on 

the everyday market, i.e. daily price effect. 

“When the market becomes 

uncontrolled in manner and attributes, it 

is government that can dominate it and 

bring it to under control; otherwise it may 

take longer than expected for it to 

stabilize. 

“As a follow-up, the Federal 

Government needs to ensure that local 

governments are functional especially in 

agricultural services. 

“As a matter of fact, the National 

Assembly needs to amend the local 

government services and make them fifty 

percent agricultural. This will indeed help 

Nigeria out of food crises in the medium 

and long term”.

PAGE 16 —Vanguard, SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2021 

Access to credit drives resilience 

— Nkem Okocha, Founder, Mamamoni 

Nkem Okocha, is the founder of 

Mamamoni, a FinTech social enterprise 

that provides financial services 

to rural and poor women in Africa. In 

this interview she speaks on access 

to credits as it affects resilience in 

business. 

What does it mean to be financially 

included? 

Most people think financial 

inclusion means access to a 

bank account. For a person to be 

truly included, they need to have 

access to a range of affordable, accessible 

financial products and services 

that are fit for the realities of 

their everyday life. From facilities 

to enable transactions to savings to 

affordable credit, insurance and 

pension facilities. Most Nigerians 

are only partially included and only 

have access to one or two of the services 

listed. 

We have seen how the shocks 

presented by COVID-19 affected 

our vulnerable population. In your 

experience working with these 

groups what measures would have 

helped to mitigate the effects? 

We saw how quickly governments 

across the world moved to cushion 

the effects of the pandemic on their 

citizens, especially vulnerable 

groups through several social interventions 

that provided access to 

credit, stimulus checks/packages 

and government-funded furloughs. 

The private sector, social enterprises 

and individuals also delivered 

some support here in Nigeria, but 

we still recorded devastating effects 

most especially among micro-business 

owners in the informal economy. 

We will continue to see these effects 

long after we have curtailed 

Nkem Okocha 

the pandemic. Mitigating the continued 

impact will require a multipronged 

approach that constitutes 

structures to help in the event there 

are future economic shocks. 

There are many systems and structures 

that help build resilience in 

businesses - and I will take one of 

those structures. Access to affordable 

credit and loans can often determine 

whether a business survives during 

an economic downturn. Access to 

credit also helps businesses scale and 

grow- making them less vulnerable 

to these downturns in the first place. 

The financial services industry 

needs to revisit the way in which it 

builds credit products for this segment 

of the population. The risks 

associated with giving loans to the 

informal sector cannot be evaluated 

with the same matrices as with 

advantaged groups and criteria like 

high-value collateral form barriers 

many are unable to meet. Any financial 

product or service should 

first consider its audience, if we are 

determined to go beyond lip service 

If we are serious about 

deepening resilience in our 

informal sector, credit access 

solutions need to be tailored 

to their needs 

2023: True federalism will end separatists' agitations 

By Chinedu Adonu 

A 

presidential aspirant, Teach 

er Collins Amalu, has said true 

federalism is the solution to the current 

agitations for secession in the 

country. 

Amalu said with true federalism, 

states would be manning their resources 

without depending on the 

Federal Government. 

He made this known while briefing 

newsmen on his ambition in 

Enugu. 

His words: “True federalism will 

solve all the problems in the country. 

Since 1914, we have been one 

but now people are not allowed to 

exercise their rights. That is why 

there is insurgency and agitations. 

"I appeal to Nigerians to liberate 

themselves from mental slavery. We 

are Nigeria's problems. Until we 

are able to inculcate moral values 

in our people, we will remain where 

we are. 

"I will not be addressed as His 

Excellency if elected. I will be addressed 

as Mr. President." 

and truly support the informal economy- 

then we need to walk the walk 

when designing facilities targeted 

at them. 

How does access to credit improve 

the outcomes of vulnerable 

groups and improve their resilience? 

A simple definition of resilience is 

how well individuals are able to 

withstand shocks and how easily 

and quickly they are able to recover 

after a setback. For many in the informal 

sector, resilience levels are 

low. This is so because even at the 

best of times, they have limited access 

to resources and struggle to 

make ends meet- this is exacerbated 

by downturns. This forces them 

to adopt risky coping mechanisms 

like lending from loan sharks making 

a dire situation considerably 

worse. Access to credit and loans, 

that considers their circumstances, 

presents one of the most sustainable 

ways to improve their resilience. 

They are able to start businesses and 

can scale to generate income for 

themselves, create jobs and contribute 

to society. 

Take the example of one of our 

beneficiaries who lost her source of 

income following the outbreak of 

COVID-19 in Nigeria. Our low interest 

rate and grant provided a lifeline 

to withstand the challenges. The 

resilience driven by access to credit, 

combined with skills and capacity 

building, create a ripple effect of 

growth and improved wellbeing 

across these micro-businesses, their 

families and wider communities. 

What are some of the factors that 

serve as barriers preventing vulnerable 

groups from accessing 

credit? 

The lack of accurate identification 

data is a major barrier to financial 

inclusion, without it, the task of allocating 

support or access to credit 

becomes increasingly difficult and 

inefficient. Systems that don’t seek 

to understand consumer peculiarities 

and behavior exclude them. 

From my experience working with 

low-income women, these groups 

would rather explore unconventional 

forms of credit than take loans 

with repayment almost double the 

amount borrowed. There is also a 

lack of trust in financial institutions. 

High-interest rates, hidden charges 

and a system that has historically 

failed the bottom of the pyramid 

discourage vulnerable groups from 

accessing credit. High-value collateral 

requirements are deterrents - 

many of the low-income and vulnerable 

groups simply cannot meet 

the requirements. If a vulnerable 

individual had access to that type of 

collateral, they would not be vulnerable 

in the first place. Other barriers 

include limited education, limited 

financial experiences and in 

some cases, an outright refusal of 

financial institutions to support vulnerable 

groups with loans due to 

perceived risks to their businesses. 

What can be done to deepen access 

to credit for Nigeria’s working 

poor and in turn improve their 

ability to withstand shocks? 

Creating better systems of identification 

and leveraging digital technology 

to create access in rural 

communities that are usually not 

catered to by traditional financial 

Ogulagha Kingdom: Council of chiefs cautions 

Gbeneyei over chieftaincy 


The Ogulagha Kingdom Tradi 

tional Council of Chiefs in 

Burutu Local Government Area of 

Delta State, has disowned Mr. 

Lucky Akara Gbeneyei for alleged 

false claim of being a chief in the 

kingdom. 

In a joint statement yesterday in 

Warri, Delta State, signed by Chief 

William Igere, Acting Chairman, 

Chief Prefugha Karawei JP, PRO/ 

Senior Palace Admin, and Chief 

Emaye Benidiwei, it said Gbeneye 

was never conferred chieftaincy title 

in Ogulagha Kingdom by His 

Tejuosho property, Silverbird sign agreement to set up cinema 

By Onozure Dania 

General Manager of Tejuosho 

Property Development Company, 

Mr Edward Stevenson and 

President of Silverbird Group, Mr 

Guy Murray Bruce have signed an 

agreement to set up a six- screen cinema 

at the Tejuosho Shopping Centre, 

Yaba, Lagos. 

Tejuosho Shopping Centre being 

a magnet of the people of Lagos 

State (a people’s centre) and Silverbird 

Group being the pioneers of the 

big screen in Nigeria means that this 

innovative collaboration aims to 

revolutionise value systems by creating 

new opportunities for lasting 

wealth from existing industries.## 

Chairman of Silverbird Group, 

Senator Murray Bruce; Board of Directors, 

Tejuosho Property Development 

Company; and the Architecture/Engineering 

team to bring this 

mammoth project to life are quite 

dedicated to creating a masterpiece. 

The cinema is going to be built on 

the 3rd floor of the Tejuosho Shopping 

Centre with the full culinary 

concessions of movie watchers (Popcorn, 

drinks, Shawarma, ice cream 

and other snacks) available. 

Sterling Bank supports Nollywood, advocates 

monetisation of intellectual property 

Sterling Bank Plc is dimen 

sioning the creative sector of 

the Nigerian economy in a 

bid to upscale and monetise the intellectual 

property of creators in the 

industry. 

Mr Lanre Olalusi, Head of Creative 

& Entertainment Business Financing, 

Sterling Bank, disclosed 

this while addressing participants 

at the 2021 edition of Legends of 

Nollywood Awards held in Lagos 

recently. 

According to him, “We have realised 

that this sector is crucial to the 

Nigerian economy because of its 

significant contribution to the Gross 

Domestic Product (GDP) and provision 

of employment for many Nigerians. 

So we are looking into the 

sector to see how we can upscale it 

There will be a food court of 21 

prime restaurants with a sitting area 

for about 400 people. ##The stakeholders 

who have made this great 

day possible with their continuous 

support, include: Iyaloja General of 

Nigeria, Chief Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo; 

Alhaja lyabode Amisu 

(lyaoja Tejuosho Phase 2); Dr Okechukwu 

Anorue (Babaoja Tejuosho 

Phase 2). Being the glue binding the 

people to the corporations, for 

them, it is indeed a millennium 

dream come true. 

and to see how we can monetise intellectual 

property by partnering 

with artists to create long-term value 

through their works. .” 

Olalusi affirmed the need to put 

together the existing catalogues created 

by industry legends and assign 

value to them such that royalties 

received from these works can become 

revenue for the creators in the 

later parts of their careers. 

The Head of Creative & Entertainment 

Business Financing also 

introduced Specta to the artists, urging 

them to take advantage of its 

unique features. 

He explained that Specta is an 

instant online lending platform that 

offers consumer loans of up to N5 

million in five minutes. 

Royal Majesty, the Paramount Ruler 

of Ogulagha Kingdom. 

The statement reads: '' It is necessary 

to present the facts to the public 

that His Royal Majesty, the Paramount 

Ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom 

never conferred chieftaincy title on 

Mr. Lucky Akara Gbeneyei. It is offensive 

and sanctionable for any indigene 

of Ogulagha Kingdom to 

parade or impersonate as a titled 

chief, whereas he or she was not conferred 

the Ogulagha Kingdom traditional 

title. 

''We had earlier issued a statement 

on this, but also felt we should 

present more facts to the public. We 

reiterate that Mr. Lucky Akara 

Gbeneyei, is not a titled chief in 

Ogulagha kingdom, and he is cautioned 

to desist from claiming to be 

a titled chief in Ogulagha Kingdom. 

'' Ogulagha Kingdom, in Burutu 

Local Government Area of Delta 

State, is a respected oil-rich kingdom 

in Niger Delta and Nigeria. We 

are known for peace. We are law 

abiding and disciplined people 

''We urge the governments, relevant 

agencies and the public to disregard 

the claim by Mr. Lucky Akara 

Gbeneyei, as the Gbeneyei 1 of 

Ogulagha Kingdom, which was 

published in Vanguard newspaper 

of Thursday, June 3 and page 21, 

2021. 

''All titled chiefs in Ogulagha kingdom 

were conferred the traditional 

chieftaincy title by the paramount 

ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom, and 

became members of Ogulagha 

Kingdom Traditional Council of 

Chiefs.'' 

service providers is mandatory. Extensive 

public-private partnerships 

are needed to fill these gaps. There 

is a need to redefine how we evaluate 

risk and target this demographic. 

Highly collateralized loans or 

loans that require extensive financial 

records provide barriers that are 

impossible for many within the informal 

economy. Policies and the 

way they are rolled out need to be 

inclusive. Things like Bank Verification 

National Identity Numbers 

drives have not been implemented 

in a way that makes it easy for people 

in hard-to-reach areas to register. 

Interest rates are still high and 

do not serve this group. If we are 

serious about deepening resilience 

in our informal sector, credit access 

solutions need to be tailored to their 

needs. Lastly, the willingness of players 

to design solutions that serve 

vulnerable groups. Ultimately, it is 

the duty of the government to champion 

this through incentives that 

encourage the private sector to provide 

appropriately designed loans. 

How effective is the loans and 

grants that @mamamoninigeria 

provides to low-income women as 

a support for starting a business? 

Through the work we do at 

Mamamoni, I have seen many issues 

that have helped me better appreciate 

the challenges of vulnerable 

groups. I remember one of our 

beneficiaries, Mrs Mary, whom we 

met during one of our training outreaches 

in Mushin. I had encouraged 

her to get further training in 

the production of used tire tables. I 

later discovered that she had completed 

the training but was unable 

to scale due to a lack of funds. We 

gave her a loan and I am happy to 

share that she is doing very well. One 

of the major lessons from this experience 

is the need to empower vulnerable 

groups with the right skillsset 

to run their businesses so that 

loans provided can be invested into 

businesses to yield results. 

Agbeyi pledges cooperation with Conoil, hails 

Olu of Warri Regent, stakeholders 

By Gab Ejuwa 

CHAIRMAN of OML 150 

Communities’ Consultative 

Forum, Hon. Monday Agbeyi, has 

pledged the total cooperation of his 

executive members with Conoil Producing 

Limited in ensuring the rapid 

development of the seven Itsekiri 

host communities in the oil firm’s 

area of operation. 

Agbeyi spoke to newsmen after his 

election as chairman of the forum 

was upheld at an enlarged stakeholders’ 

meeting at the Olu of Warri 

Palace in Warri, Delta State, on 

Thursday, June 17, 2021. 

He promised to “rejig the OML 

150 Communities’ Consultative 

Forum as well as bring everyone on 

board to pave way for a smooth administration 

and development of 

the member-communities.” 

He assured that never again will 

there be disputes at the end of the 

tenure of each exco. 

Agbeyi praised the Regent of Warri 

Kingdom, Prince Emmanuel 

Okotie-Eboh; Iyatsere of Warri and 

Chairman, Olu Advisory Council, 

Chief Johnson Amatserunleghe, the 

seven communities’ OlareAjas, Itsekiri 

leaders and elders and other 

stakeholders who stood for justice 

and resolved the dispute in his 

favour. 

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed 

to the Group Managing Director of 

Conoil Producing Ltd. which was 

signed by Prince Okotie-Eboh, 

Chief Amatserunleghe and the Director 

of Palace Administration, 

Chief Clement Malegbemi, it said 

the meeting resolved that the Agbeyi-led 

exco which was introduced 

by the Palace to Conoil on January 

12, 2021, should continue in office. 

It said: “All dues accruable to the 

OML 150 host communities since 

January 2021 should be paid to 

Comrade Monday Agbeyi-led Executive 

Committee accordingly.” It 

added that: “This letter supercedes 

all other letters earlier issued on 

matters concerning the leadership 

of the forum.”


HORROR IN AKWA IBOM: 

Five beheaded, 70-yr-old 

pastor murdered, houses 

of ex-IGP, lawmaker razed 

...as ..as communities fight over farmlands 

•Warring party petitions DSS 

•Dep gov, , SSG sue for peace 

By Harris Emanuel 

“My house was burnt down and I lost 

everything I had worked for. I am like a 

fugitive in my homestead. My children are 

scattered everywhere because we don’t 

anywhere to stay as a family.” 

These were the words of Monday Effiong, 

a carpenter whose house was among those 

destroyed when armed youths allegedly 

from Uko Nteghe, a neighbouring village, 

invaded Uko Akpan in Enwang, 

headquarters of of Mbo local government 

area of Akwa Ibom State, over disputed 

farmlands. 

Monday’s words echo the pains, anguish, 

sorrow and trauma many people in the Uko 

Akpan Enwang community are passing 

through as a result of the attacks which they 

described as unprovoked. 

When this reporter visited the area, some 

of the houses there had been overtaken by 

weeds and tall grasses. Gone was the 

vibrancy for which it was famed. The town 

seemed desolate and it was hard to believe 

this was the once bubbly community. 

Although calm may have returned to the 

warring communities, a pall of uncertainty 

and utter suspicion is, however, hanging 

menacingly over it like a sword of 

Damocles. 

The conflict reportedly resulted in the 

killing of no fewer than 15 persons while 

four were beheaded and 25 wounded, 

according to documents obtained by 

Sunday Vanguard. 

Several houses were either vandalized or 

burnt down even as shops looted and 

thousands of people forced to flee their 

homes. 

Iconic structures such as the residences of 

a former Inspector General of Police, the 

late Sir Etim Inyang, a former member, 

House of Representatives, the late Chief 

Martin Effiong, and Clan Head, Ovong 

Baasey Atabia, among others, were torched 

by the rampaging invaders, even as death 

toll included a 70-year-old catechist of 

Catholic Church, Sir Emmanuel Nkuda. 

The attacks not only provoked outrage 

across the state, they also heightened tension 

in the oil rich state. 

It was gathered that before the attacks, 

cases of rape of Enwang women in their 

farmlands were reported to law 

enforcement agents, but the victims alleged 

that they did nothing. 

Inter-communal issue is not new in the 

area as clashes between Uko Akai, Uko 

Nteghe and Uko Akai, and Uko Akpan, 

which centered on the ownership of 

common family farmlands, festered over 

the years. And the issue, in recent times, 

assumed a long drawn and refractory 

history of bitterness and bloodbath. 

According to reports, each side had 

sought redress in the court of justice but 

rather than conflict abating there were more 

hostilities. 

Quest for justice, peace 

Documents obtained by Sunday 

Vanguard show that four judgments had 

been delivered on the disputed land which 

directed all parties involved to restrict 

themselves to the cultivation of only their 

ancestral farmlands. 

‘’After the several judgments, everyone 

thought the ghost of the conflict had been 

laid to rest, but the ensuing period was 

characterized by lack of faith, 

misunderstanding and utter suspicion on 

both sides’’, an indigene of the area who 

spoke on condition of 

anonymity said, while 

also alluding to the 

resolution by a former 

Oro monarch, HRH, the 

late E. O. Isemin, who 

stated that ‘’the age long 

rights of ownership of 

the units’ farmland 

should still hold without 

hindrance and that no 

unit should trespass, sell 

or cede any portion of 

their common heritage 

without the concurrence 

of the other in mutual 

agreement.’’ 

Notably, a judgment of 

a High Court in Suit No 

HOR/1/13/2013, 

delivered by Justice 

Theresa Obot on 

February 19, 2020, 

required Uko Akai Uko 

Akpan in Enwang and 

Uko Akai Uko Nteghe in 

Uda , as plaintiff and 

Spokesman 

for the Enwang 

community, Chief 

Ita Awak, using 

power point, 

highlighted the 

conflict, 

underlining past 

efforts at 

reconciliation 

defendant respectively, to submit 

themselves to the Council of Oro Traditional 

Rulers to administer traditional oath to 

enable each party continue to farm and 

enjoy their original farmlands as a result of 

their common patrimony. 

The judgment also stated “that the Uko 

Akai Uko Akpan people and Uko Akai Uko 

Nteghe people shall continue to share and 

cultivate their communal land as they have 

been doing since time immemorial.’’ 

Based on the court ruling, the Council of 

Oro Traditional Rulers was said to have, on 

three occasions, invited the parties involved 

for the administration of the traditional 

oath, but the Uko Akai Uko Nteghe 

community allegedly refused to comply, a 

document obtained by this reporter stated. 

Lawmakers, Oron Union, 

traditional rulers wade in 

Worried by the renewed hostilities, a Joint 

Panel on Peace and Conflict Resolution of 

Oron Union and Council of Oro Traditional 

Ruler (COTR), on March 5, convened a 

meeting aimed at resolving the conflict. 

President General, Oron Union, Bishop 

Etim Ante, who was upset by the wanton 

destruction and killings, warned that it 

could snowball into a conflagration. 

“Oro is concerned and, if the crisis is not 

checked, it would affect the entire Oro 

nation. You should not have 

any doubt about the capability 

of COTR and Oron Union to 

handle the matter amicably. 

We are not subservient to any 

authority”, he said. 

Paramount Ruler of Urue 

Offong/Oruko, HRH Effiong 

Matthew Unanaowo, 

corroborated him, stressing, 

“The crisis is having a 

psychological effect on the 

traditional institution. We, 

therefore, appeal for calm to 

avert a major catastrophe. 

Fight will not solve the 

intractable problem. I know 

that truth will definitely 

prevail”. 

Also, a Joint Committee on 

Security, Youth and Sports 

and Boundary and Conflicts 

Resolution of the Akwa Ibom 

State House of Assembly, on 

March 16, 2021, invited the 

warring parties to appear 

before it. 

The invitation was sequel to the motion 

on matter of urgent public importance 

tabled by the member representing Mbo 

State Constituency, Hon. Effiong Johnson, 

on the floor of the House. 

Spokesman for the Enwang community, 

Chief Ita Awak, using power point, 

highlighted the conflict, underlining past 

efforts at reconciliation: ’’Uko Nteghe 

intransigently refused to comply and this, to 

all intents and purposes, is the why and how 

this issue has degenerated to this current state.’’ 

The former Commissioner for Information 

noted that ‘’in the course of time, they have 

extended the dispute beyond Uko Akai to other 

ancestral farmlands of Enwang community 

which include Uko Ateni, Uko Urua-Orok”, a 

ploy to sack his community from its ancestral 

land. 

The presentation, titled, ‘The unprovoked 

invasion and plot by Uko Nteghe Uda people 

to sack Enwang people from their ancestral 

land’, was signed by the Clan Head, Ovong 

Bassey E. Atabia; President General, Enwang 

Development Union, Ovong Effiong Abia; 

Secretary General, EDU, Comrade Eteyen 

Imisim; Council Chairman, Ovong Okon 

Omoh; and Council Secretary, Chief Joseph 

Anwana, . 

Other community leaders who endorsed the 

document are, Engineer Ita Awak, Engineer 

Anietie Effiong, Barrister Effiong Abia and 

National President, Enwang Youth Council, 

Emmanuel Effah. 

However, leader of Uda delegation, E. O. 

Moses, alia Abia the Rock, at the meeting, 

prayed the committee to adjourn sitting to 

enable his team get more facts as they were 

not prepared, but insisted that the farmlands 

in dispute belong to them. 

Appeal 

Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor, Mr. 

Moses Ekpo, whose office is charged with the 

onus of settling boundary issue, equally 

summoned a meeting in his office where he 

expressed displeasure over the crisis which he 

acknowledged had claimed innocent lives and 

property. 

“I called this meeting as a warning because 

you lose so much anytime you inflict yourself 

with crises”, Ekpo said. 

“Destroying lives and properties because of 

land which originally belongs to God and only 

held in trust by government is wrong." 

Secretary to the State Government, Dr. 

Emmanuel Ekuwem, a native of the area, who 

visited the two communities, also lamented 

about the conflict and called on them to resort 

to the status quo ante. 

Meanwhile, no fewer than five suspected 

militants arrested in connection with the 

carnage are facing prosecution, but the police, 

in a statement by Akwa Ibom State Police 

Command Public Relations Officer, Macdon 

Odiko, urged the political class to step in and 

resolves the conflict. 

Be that as it may, the Enwang community 

has petitioned the Department of State 

Service, DSS, over the alleged killing of her 

people. Titled, 'A petition and passionate 

appeal for the investigation of the unprovoked 

invasion and attacks on the Enwang 

community, headquarters of Mbo LGA of 

Akwa Ibom State by their Uko Nteghe Uda 

neighbours', it was signed by the National 

Coordinator of the Society for the Promotion 

of Human Rights and Justice, Mr. Udo Eke- 

Okon. "We hereby most respectfully appeal to 

the DG of DSS to use his good office to direct 

a thorough investigation into the matter with 

the aim of bringing the perpetrators and their 

sponsors to justice. 

"This is the only way to bring about closure 

of this sad event and the ugly scars it has left in 

the psyche and memory of Enwang people". 

They also want government to compel the 

people of Uko Nteghe Uda to submit 

themselves to the administration of the 

traditional oath as ordered by the Oron High 

Court in its judgment as this is only the way 

to end the conflict.

PAGE 18 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021 

IPOB: Buhari must 

create opportunity for 

dialogue – Obi, House 

of Reps member 

…Says 1999 Constitution skewed to 

favour North 

*’Let Uzodinma convene security 

summit’ 

CHAIRMAN, House of Representatives Committee on Health In 

stitutions, Dr. Paschal Obi, in this interview, urges the Federal 

Government to create avenue for dialogue with the Indigenous 

Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, as a step to solving the security challenges in 

the South-East. Obi, a member of All Progressives Congress, APC, representing 

Ideato North/ Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State 

at the National Assembly, opines that the 1999 Constitution was skewed 

to favour the northern part of the country, calling for a return to the 

1963 Republican Constitution. Excerpts: 


What do you think is the cause of 

worsening insecurity in the South- 

East especially, in Imo state? 

By my current position as a member of the 

House of Representatives, I now reside in Abuja. 

So, to some extent, I may not know vividly, 

what caused the very terrible security situation 

in the region especially, in my state, Imo. Most 

times, we rely on the information we gather 

from people who are in the state which most 

times, you may not be very sure of the veracity 

of such information. But the truth of the matter 

to the best of my knowledge is that the members 

of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, 

are clamouring for a referendum and other 

things. When you go down to the South-East, 

you will discover that about 80 to 90 per cent 

of the people mostly, the artisans, mechanics, 

vulcanizers and the traders, have bought into 

the IPOB project. 

Equal Treatment 

However, I don’t know what made them so 

convinced that through that process, their 

dreams will be actualised. But one fact you 

must not rule out is that the IPOB members 

that are clamouring for the referendum have 

their reasons. All we need in Igboland, in the 

South-East, is to be given equal treatment, justice 

and fair play. I don’t think that there’s anybody 

against our belonging to Nigeria but if 

we must remain in Nigeria, let us remain in 

Nigeria with equality, a Nigeria that is guided 

by justice and fair play where we will participate 

equally with other federating units. And 

not a Nigeria where out of six political zones 

of the country, only the South-East has five 

states, while others have six states each, except 

for the north-west, which has seven states. Why 

should we have five while other zones are having 

a minimum of six? Why should our own be 

different? Those are part of the things that are 

causing the problems. 

Appointment 

Again, when it comes to appointment, the 

South-East always takes the last position when 

it is the zone that parades the greatest number 

of intellectuals and technocrats, but it doesn’t 

reflect in the sharing at the centre. So, I believe 

that if the federal government grants opportunity 

to this group, and dialogue with them, the 

issues will be x-rayed and if adequate attention 

is given to them by way of addressing them, 

there won’t be trouble in the South-East. I believe 

that it is in the interest of us all that such 

an opportunity is created so that we can have 

peace in the region. So, the earlier the government 

of the day gives attention to that the better 

for everybody. 

Are you asking the Federal Government 

to dialogue with IPOB? 

I think there is a need for dialogue and even 

though the Federal Government had since proscribed 

IPOB, let that opportunity for dialogue 

be created so that issues will be pointed out on 

the table of dialogue. Of course, when you see 

injustice staring at your face very glaringly, 

you cannot deny that there is no injustice. Let 

us come together and address those cases of 

injustice, give equal opportunity to all the federating 

units or geopolitical zones so that there 

will be equal participation. 

Do you support clamour for the president 

of Nigeria to come from the 

South-East in 2023? 

Yes. I’m in firm support of that because the 

South-East is the only political zone that has 

not been given the opportunity of producing 

the president of this country. The zone must be 

given the opportunity this time around and if 

Nigerians agree that it is the turn of the South- 

East, then all the political parties must field 

their presidential candidate from the region. 

So, I believe it is the turn of the South-East to 

produce the next president of this country in 

the spirit of equality and fair play. 

Can restructuring help in solving 

myriads of problems plaguing the 

country? 

Restructuring will help to some extent but 

not to a very large extent. That thing we called 

the 1999 Constitution is about the worse constitution 

ever created in this entity called Nigeria. 

That constitution is completely skewed to 

favour northern Nigeria. We have nothing to 

call ours as south easterners in that constitution. 

That is the constitution that reduced the 

number of Federal House members from the 

South-East from where it was down to 43. Kano 

state alone has 24 members of the House of 

Representatives and Jigawa has 16. So when 

you put Kano and Jigawa together, they will 

almost be the same as what we have in the 

entire South-East. And when we talk about 360 

members of the House of Reps, you have 191 

from the north and 169 from the south. So 

where lies that equality? Also in the Senate, 

even though there is equality of states such that 

each state produces three senators, we still have 

a greater number of states in the north than in 

the south. When you add one senator from 

Abuja, you now have about 7 or 8 senators in 

favour of the north and against the south. And 

those are creations of the 1999 Constitution. 

1963 Constitution 

So if we are talking about restructuring, to 

what extent can we restructure? How do we 

have all these statistics, these imbalances equalised? 

We have a greater number of states, 

local government areas in the north than in 

the south. We also have a greater number of 

state houses of assembly in the north than we 

have in the south. So, where are we going to 

start 

from? 

I 

think, 

All we need in 

Igboland, in the 

South-East, is 

to be given 

equal treatment, 

justice 

and fair play 

*Dr. Paschal Obi 

t h e 

best is 

for us 

to return 

to 

t h e 

1963 

R e - 

public 

a n 

Constitution, 

with 

some 

relevant 

amendments so that states will now translate 

into federating units and the interest of 

minority will also be addressed. So returning 

to that constitution with necessary amendments 

will be the best bet for this country. With 

that, all the regions will be allowed to develop 

at their own pace. And that is the only thing I 

think that can save Nigeria. 

Concerning the worsening security 

situation in Imo state, what do you 

suggest the governor should do? 

My suggestions to the governor who is chief 

executive and chief security officer of the state 

were contained in a press release I issued a few 

days ago. In that release, I sued for peace, asking 

all the parties to sheath their swords and 

embrace peace. I also urged the state governor 

to convey a security summit, that will be 

all-embracing, in which all stakeholders will 

be invited so that we can come to a table and 

resolve all the issues for the sake of peace in 

our dear state. There is no other state we can 

call our own. So if Imo is burning, nobody will 

be happy. So, we are all interested because we 

are all affected by the debilitating security situation 

in the state right now and we are willing 

to do everything to support the state government 

restore normalcy in the state. 

As chairman of the House of Representatives 

Committee on Health Institutions, 

what is your committee doing 

to ensure federal health facilities 

are well equipped to serve the people? 

The promise I made to Nigerians when I 

took over as chairman of this standing committee 

was to bequeath health institutions that 

are much better than what we inherited in 

2019. To make that possible, I embarked on 

an oversights function with my members where 

we took a tour of all the federal health institutions 

in the country. This is to enable us to ascertain 

the status of each of the institution to 

know the kind of intervention they needed. After 

the tour, we made a presentation to the government 

through the Federal Ministry of 

Health and alerted them on the very deplorable 

conditions of our health institutions and 

the need to improve funding both capital and 

otherwise. From my observations so far, Nigeria’s 

health institutions especially at the tertiary 

level, have very qualified manpower. However, 

the greatest problem we have is the lack 

of equipment, facilities and environment under 

which doctors and other healthcare professionals 

operate. 

We also discovered that the kind of budgeting 

system we have is part of the reasons our 

hospitals are in a deplorable state. The budgeting 

system we have is a situation where budgetary 

provisions for hospitals and others were 

made without visiting the affected establishments 

to ascertain their peculiarities. However, 

it is gladdening to note that we have started 

tackling that problem and what we achieved 

this year in the 2021 budget is about a 200 per 

cent increase than what was budgeted in 2020. 

That means the government put into considerations, 

the recommendations of my committee. 

I commend the government for that and 

plead with them to do more. 

Having spent two years as a lawmaker, 

can you say you have given 

your people purposeful representation? 

Well, it is not my duty to rate or assess my 

performance. I think it is for my constituents, 

who are the beneficiaries of my representation 

to do so. I think my duty is to concentrate on 

doing everything that is within my power to 

do, using my ingenuity and my knowledge as 

a technocrat, and somebody who has been a 

permanent secretary at the state level, to attract 

dividends of democracy to my federal 

constituency. During my electioneering, I 

promised my people that I would change the 

narrative and I have been very busy doing that. 

c o n t i n u e s . 

www.vanguardngr.com/


NDDC BOARD: 

APC leaders 

battle for 

control 

•Omo-Agege, Akpabio, Sylva, Amaechi 

may find middle ground 

•Stakeholders adamant on Odubu board 

By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, South-South 

STAKEHOLDERS of the Niger Delta 

are enthusiastically awaiting the 

end of this month (June) or latest 

July 5, which the Minister of Niger-Delta 

Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, under 

pressure, promised ethnic nationalities of 

the region and ex-militant leader, 

Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, 

that the long expected Board of the Niger- 

Delta Development Commission, NDDC, 

would be inaugurated, when he visited the 

creek of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta 

State, early this month. 

What the people want 

Consensus of opinions among 

concerned parties appears to be that the 

Governing Board with a former Deputy 

Governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu, as 

Chairman and a former Commissioner for 

Finance, Delta State, Mr. Bernard 

Okumagba, as Managing Director, 

screened and approved by the Senate since 

November 2019, be sworn- in by President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

But, it is not as straightforward as that 

as top officials, including 

Deputy Senate President, 

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, 

Akpabio, Minister of State 

for Petroleum, Chief 

Timipre Sylva, and 

Minister of Transportation, 

Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, 

are said to have delegated 

interests in who runs the 

interventionist agency 

fashioned to boost 

development in nine oil 

states crisscrossing the 

South-South, South-East 

and South-West regions. 

A rights group under the 

auspices of the Niger Delta 

Movement for Peace and 

Justice, NDMPJ, 

accentuating the 

contemplations of a crosssection 

of Niger-Deltans, in 

a statement by the National 

Coordinator, Comrade 

Etifit Nkereuwem, last week, said: “Niger 

Delta Movement for Peace and Justice 

aligns itself with the people of the Niger 

Delta region to call on Mr. President to 

inaugurate the Governing Board of NDDC 

without further delay. 

“However it is sad to hear that the 

Senate is currently contemplating 

screening of fresh nominees for the NDDC 

Governing Board. 

“It appears that you (the President) have 

bowed to pressure from some selfish 

individuals in the Niger Delta to ignore 

members of the Board that have already 

been constituted, awaiting swearing-in. 

“This has never happened in the history 

of democracy in Nigeria. No President of 

this country has had his screened and 

confirmed nominees replaced even before 

they were sworn-in. 

“We, therefore, demand Mr. President to 

demonstrate that he is a true democrat, 

principled politician and a man of proven 

integrity by going ahead to inaugurate the 

15 nominees already screened and 

confirmed by the Senate in November 

2019 for the NDDC Governing Board”. 

Before Akpabio took over as Minister 

in 2019, Amaechi swayed prominent 

appointments in NDDC, but Omo-Agege 

exerted the power of the Senate with the 

support of former National Chairman of 

APC, Comrade Adams Oshimohole, to vet 

the substantive Board headed by his 

erstwhile deputy, Odubu, of course with 

the imprimatur of Mr. President. 

Akpabio stamps authority 

In some way, Amaechi lost grip, but 

Akpabio, armed with the authority of 

supervising minister of the NDDC, threw 

down the gauntlet over the inauguration 

of the Board for almost two years, until 

last month, when a leader of the Niger- 

Delta struggle, Government Ekpemupolo, 

alias Tompolo, joined 

forces with the Ijaw 

Youth Council, IYC, 

and 

other 

stakeholders, 

including South- 

South governors, to 

demand the 

inauguration of the 

Board in a jiffy. 

The body language 

of Akpabio, who was 

said to have already 

m a d e 

recommendations to 

Buhari on the Board 

inauguration, even 

before his visit to 

Tompolo, appears to 

be that he wants an 

outright new Board 

with the Managing 

Director coming from 

Bayelsa instead of 

Delta State and 

taking into account the wide-ranging 

designs of APC leaders. 

Hardly had Akpabio sent his 

recommendations to the President than 

tales sprung up that he and Sylva, 

Minister of State for Petroleum, were at 

daggers drawn over the reconstitution of 

the Board. 

In fact, a group of monarchs from 

Ekeremor local government area of 

Bayelsa State, comprising HRH 

Perekebina Alfred, paramount ruler of 

Koromotoru Kingdom, and Chief 

Alexander Daunemighan, paramount 

Once these 

four agree and 

confirm their pact 

to President 

Buhari, they think 

they are good to go, 

but that is not what 

the people want 

•Akpabio 

•Omo-Agege 

•Sylva 

•Amaechi 

ruler of Peretorugbene Federated 

Communities, petitioned Buhari, 

claiming that Sylva was meddling with 

Akpabio’s nominee as substantive 

Managing Director from Peretorugbene 

in Ekeremor, Bayelsa West. 

No rift with Akpabio - Sylva 

News was everywhere that Akpabio 

nominated Elder Denyanbofa Dimaro, an 

illustrious son of Peretorugbene 

community as Managing Director, while 

Sylva was allegedly promoting Maxwell 

Okoh from Bayelsa East to become NDDC 

Managing Director, but Sylva in a retort, 

June 8, entitled, ‘No rift between Sylva and 

Akpabio,’ signed by his Special Assistant 

on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Julius 

Bokoru, denied any disagreement with 

Akpabio over the reconstitution of the 

substantive Board. 

The statement read in part, “The story is 

false and nothing more than a string of 

poorly thought-out and poorly crafted lies 

that should be totally disregarded and 

discarded. 

“Sylva has maintained excellent 

relations with Senator Akpabio through 

the years. The duo considers themselves 

brothers and comrades in the quest of 

building a more prosperous Niger Delta 

and a stronger Nigeria”. 

High wired machinations 

With Sylva’s confirmation that there was 

no crack, sources familiar with the 

ongoing intrigues said the way forward 

was for the “big men” to find the middle 

ground. Sunday Vanguard learned that 

Akpabio, indeed, tipped a Bayelsan as 

Managing Director in the new 

arrangement with his associate, Mr. 

Effiong Akwa, currently the Interim 

Administrator, programmed for Executive 

Director, Finance and Administration. 

Whether Akpabio and Sylva, in the light 

of their new understanding, have brokered 

a pact on Managing Director since Sylva 

hails from Bayelsa is unclear. 

As undistinguishable as it is, there is 

report making the round that the 

Managing Director-designate in the 

substantive Board, Bernard Okumagba, 

powerfully supported by Omo- Agege, is 

the Chairman in the new Board, while 

Transportation Minister, Amaechi, is to 

produce Executive Director, Projects. Our 

source said Omo-Agege is disposed to the 

substantive Board, not a new Board. 

A Niger-Delta leader, Chief Tom Ofosu, 

meanwhile, said: “What you are talking 

about is the scheming of the officeholders 

you mentioned, but what the stakeholders 

want is inauguration of the Odubu Board 

with Bernard Okumagba as Managing 

Director. 

“But, it is true that since Oshiomhole, 

who nominated Odubu, has lost power, his 

voice no longer counts. 

“What matters now are the interests of 

Senator Omo-Agege, Akpabio, Sylva and 

Amaechi. 

“Once these four agree and confirm their 

pact to President Buhari, they think they 

are good to go, but that is not what the 

people want.” 

Militants warn leaders 

Corroborating Ofosu’s standpoint, a 

militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary 

Crusaders, NDRC, in a statement, 

Thursday, by its spokesman, W. O.I Izon- 

Ebi, said: “It has come to our attention 

that leaders of the region are fighting over 

who produces the MD of NDDC, thereby 

diverting attention away from the main 

issues of injustice, marginalization, 

underdevelopment and deprivation of the 

people of the region. 

“It is sad that leaders of the region are 

themselves the problems of the region. 

“They are playing politics with the 

destiny of the people for personal and 

selfish interest without the region at heart. 

“We will not sit back and watch them 

destroy the future of the people of the 

region. 

“We are sternly warning those who dare 

to fiddle with the future of the people of 

the region that they should be ready for 

hostilities taken to their door steps. 

“The people of the region do not expect 

anything short of credible, competent, vast, 

and experienced with maturity and the 

stint as well as who truly understands the 

yearnings and aspirations of the people 

of the region to drive the Commission. 

“With the current state of affairs in the 

region, the NDDC needs such maturity 

and strong hand grounded with the issues 

of the Niger Delta to lead the Commission 

if the Federal Government means well for 

the region. 

“Therefore, the Buhari government and 

the National Assembly should be cautious 

in the appointment of the MD and do the 

right thing, else be ready to receive a gift 

from us. “It will be a huge joke and we 

will resist the appointment of any 

charlatan that is a puppet to a politician 

who will turn the Commission into a 

conduit pipe. 

“The Presidency has ignored the genuine 

cry of people and has continued to 

asphyxiate and stifle the growth of the 

Niger Delta while hobnobbing and 

satisfying the interests of this set of leaders 

to the detriment and progress of the 

region. 

“We view the NDDC and the Presidential 

Amnesty Programme, PAP, that are in their 

current state of comatose, as the handiwork 

of selfish individuals from the region and 

the cabal in the Presidency to undermine 

the people of the Niger Delta. 

“We will not hesitate to speak the language 

the Federal Government understands”.


Perverted dad turned on by his sons’ love-life! 

Nearing 50, Victor had 

thought his sex life 

was normal for his 

age. Married for 22 years to 

his childhood sweetheart and 

mother of his four children, 

sex had been a once-a-week 

exercise and the wife wasn’t 

complaining. I guess she was 

grateful for whatever peace 

and quiet she could get in the 

night after a hard day’s work 

and the stress of looking after 

four boisterous children, three 

of them boys. But all that 

changed some few months 

ago. Victor has always looked 

after himself and is as fit as 

any man in his age group if 

not fitter. He’s had the odd 

affair too, but had always run 

back home whenever things 

looked like getting out of 

hand. Then, all of a sudden, 

his love-life was back with a 

bang. What happened? 

“You wouldn’t believe what 

happened to beat the 

Viagra!”, he chuckled. “As you 

well know, it’s our last child 

that is female. As soon as the 

children hit their teens, we’d 

encouraged them to be very 

open about sex. We’ve 

answered their questions 

directly and honestly, and 

though we didn’t flaunt 

nudity, everyone occasionally 

sees everyone else in the nude. 

My boys and myself have all 

seen each other naked 

hundreds of times – and they 

all have handsome, average 

size organs and I am grateful 

for that. What triggered off 

my ‘problem’ happened 

with my middle son, Mike 

who is 19. I came home 

early one day and when I 

walked by the room that 

Mike shared with his elder 

brothers, I saw that the door 

was open. Looked in, 

intending to have a chat 

when I saw him lying on the 

bed naked, masturbating. 

He was engrossed in a soft 

porn movie and didn’t hear 

or see me. The size of him 

was a surprise now that it 

was erect – much larger 

than I’d seen on him. I was 

still mesmerized by what I 

was witnessing when he had 

an orgasm – and it was a 

powerful one! Then he 

noticed me standing in the 

doorway. “My first words 

to him were: ‘that must have 

felt pretty good’. He was so 

embarrassed I really felt 

sorry for him. I went over 

and sat on his bed and 

handed him some tissue to 

clean himself up. I told him 

not to worry, that what he 

did was perfectly normal 

and that every male did it. I 

did warn him that the next 

time, he should close the 

bedroom door because of his 

sister. 

“The incident happened 

months back and I’m sure that 

Mike has practically forgotten 

all about it. Unfortunately, I 

haven’t. Every time I look at 

him, my own son, I think of his 

muscular body lying on the 

bed, masturbating and I get 

so aroused thinking about this 

that I have an almost instant 

erection. Naturally, it is my 

wife that I reach for whenever 

this happens. In fact, she 

recently told me that I have 

been hornier lately and that 

we have had more sex in the 

past few months than we’ve 

had since we were first 

married. She was 

exaggerating of course, but I 

can’t tell her that whenever we 

are making love, I am 

thinking about Mike. I 

fantasise that my bits are as 

good as my son’s. 

“A few weeks ago, I came 

home early again, and this 

time, Mike’s door was locked. 

To my shame, I peeped 

through the keyhole. I was 

excitedly anticipating 

catching Mike at it again. But 

it wasn’t him I saw on the bed 

– it was his elder brother and 

he was making love to a girl 

I’d never seen with him. ‘My 

eyes were on stalk as I 

watched them at it. My 

goodness. These youngsters 

were more adventurous than 

I was at their age! Barely in 

his twenties, I couldn’t believe 

my son’s prowess. Did he get 

the experience watching porn 

like his brother? Or did that 

experienced-looking partner 

of his teach him all these 

tricks? 

“That night, I pounced on 

my wife again. She was not 

complaining, mind you and 

she’s started to spruce herself 

up more. She thinks my 

increased libido is down to her 

looks. If only she knew, I feel 

a bit mean not being able to 

share the secret in my sudden 

increased excitement in sex 

with my wife. She would 

probably have a fit if she knew. 

But I’ve never felt better – the 

sex is doing me a would of 

good and is the consolation 

that I’m far from being a oncea-week 

man!” I told Victor 

this was the first time I’d heard 

anything as weird as the 

experience he was gleefully 

revealing. I told him he was 

living in fantasy land if he 

thought his sons were not 

already aware of his obsession 

with their sex life. That it was 

unlikely Mike would have 

forgotten the masturbation 

incident. How did he think 

the poor kid felt at being 

disturbed by his father while 

engaged in what was an 

essentially ‘private activity’. 

And for the dad to even 

participate in cleaning him 

up? If he knew what was good 

for him, he had better stop 

snooping round his sons and 

get his kick somewhere else. 

He assured me he was already 

planning to stop before it 

turned into a family 

embarrassment, but would 

he?’ 

It’s been observed that 

father-son incest feelings are 

by no means unheard of – 

though it’s not as common as 

that of father-daughter incest. 

A son’s burgeoning 

adolescent reminds a father 

of how he used to be and brings 

back days of his sexual 

escapades enough for him to 

delude himself he hasn’t ‘lost 

the touch’, that as a matter of 

fact, he could be as randy as 

his son, if not randier! I 

warned Victor he might need 

to look for other methods of 

arousal besides his sons. 

Could he ‘re-awaken’ this in 

his wife may be? 

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Credible census possible despite insecurity — Odibo 

The Delta State 

representative at the 

National Population 

Commission (NPC ), Sir 

Richard Odibo, has stated that 

if elections can hold under the 

present security challenges 

then census should hold 

also. 

He explained that the EAD 

exercise goes beyond the 

conduct of the next 

population and census. 

" As we plan to establish 

and maintain a national 

frame locality list and house 

numbering for future 

censuses and surveys in line 

with the mandate of the 

commission under section 

24 of the third schedule of 

the 1999 constitution. " he 

added 

Odibo also warned against 

manipulation of the exercise 

as he stated that the next 

population and housing 

census would be more 

technical 

"Any hope of gaining 

advantage through 

manipulation of EAD will at 

best be an illusion that 

cannot be realized as only 

persons physically seen will 

be counted during the 

census, " he warned 

Odibo stated stated all 

these in his key note 

address at the flag of phase 

15 of Enumeration Area 

Demarcation ( EAD ) 

exercise of NPC on Ethiope 

East, Okpe and Ughelli 

South local government 

areas at Ethiope East 

Local Government 

Council Secretariat, 

Isiokolo , headquarters of 

Ethiope East Local 

Government Area. 

He had also appealed for the 

necessary assistance from 

local government chairmen 

and other stake holders to 

enable the commission 

succeed in its one month 

assignment in the affected local 

government areas. 

Delta State representative at the National Population 

Commission , Sir Richard Odibo at the flag off of Phase 15 of 

Enumeration Area Demarcation ( EAD ) exercise at Ethiope 

East Local Government Council Secretariat, Isiokolo. 

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Urhobo youths want appointment 

of indigenous Principal/CEO in PTI 

Youths of Urhobo 

kingdoms of 

Petroleum Training 

Institute ( PTI ) of Uvwie , Okpe 

and Udu have called for the 

appointment of an indigenous 

Principal/Chief Executive 

Officer (CEO) in the 

institution. 

This was contained in letter 

to the Director of Department 

of Petroleum Resources (DPR) 

and Chairman of The 

Governing Council, PTI, 

Effurun, Mr. Anwalu Sirki. 

In the letter that was signed 

by Comrades Patrick 

Ejumudo, Daniel Eradajaye 

and David Ojigbo on behalf 

of Uvwie, Okpe and Udu 

youths, respectively, stated that 

PTI is a federal institution and 

as such any qualified Nigerian 

was free to gain employment 

into the institution. 

" But this is not to undermine 

the fact that any host 

community under Nigeria 

practice and regulations enjoy 

a quota structure in the staffing 

of any federal institution. 

" Like it is the practice in 

other places, the Urhobos 

cannot be different." If it is not 

acceptable elsewhere, it 

cannot be acceptable in 

Urhobo land", the letter added. 

The youths also alleged that 

non indigenous Principal/ 

CEO of PTI in recent times 

showed no interest in the 

development of the institution 

and were non-chalant on 

community relations matters 

with the host communities 

"Compared to the 

achievements recorded by the 

immediate past indigenous 

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who executed many visible 

projects from the first day he 

assumed office to the day he 

was 'forced' out through 

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with lies from the non 

indigene cabals in PTI." 

While maintaining that the 

Urhobos have more qualified 

candidates for the position, 

they made it clear that they 

will not accept anything less 

than the appointment of an 

indigene for the substantive 

Principal /CEO position of 

PTI from Urhobo extraction 

in the interest of peace. 

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Ogbolu for burial 

June 25 

S 

ir Francis Njokanma 

Ogbolu,aged 89, is dead. 

His burial rite begins on 

Thursday, June 24, at 5p.m 

with a vigil mass at St 

Michael’s Catholic Church, 

Abuedo Quarters, Ubulu- 

Uku, Aniocha South LGA, 

Delta State. 

A Requiem Mass holds on 

Friday, June25 at St. 

Michael’s Catholic Church, 

while interment follows 

immediately after mass at his 

family compound. 

Reception takes place 

thereafter at Abuedo Primary 

School,Abuedo Quarters, 

Ubulu-Uku. On Sunday, June 

27, at 9am, a Thanksgiving 

Service will hold at the above 

church. 

He is survived by children, 

grand and great grand 

children, relations , among 

others. 

•Late Sir Francis Ogbolu

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021,PAGE 21 

Don’t worry about a thing 

In the 1990s, I owned a profitable chain of 

video-rental shops. Early on, I got the busi 

ness computerized, Nevertheless, I lived 

in constant fear that suddenly, without warning; 

the system would break down, leading to 

loss of valuable data and income. 

One day, the very thing I feared came upon 

me: the system broke down. Worst of all, it happened 

in my most profitable shop in Victoria 

Island. I tried all the different “fixes” prescribed 

by the program manual but to no avail. 

After a while, somebody put on a children’s 

Christian video, and, at the end of my wits, I 

just stood there staring vacuously at the film. 

Don’t worry 

Suddenly, my attention was drawn to precisely 

what I was watching. A man was dancing 

around with a bunch of kids, and the song 

they were singing went something like this: 

“Don't worry, about a thing; 

Everything is gonna be all right. 

I say don't worry, about a thing; 

Everything is gonna be all right.” 

Then they ended the song with this telling 

line: 

“This is my message to you oh oh.” 

I got the message all right. I told my staff to 

continue with manual rentals. “God,” I declared, 

“has solved this problem.” While they 

looked at me incredulously, I waltzed out of 

the shop and went home. 

The next morning, I woke up singing the same 

song: “Don't worry about a thing. Everything 

is gonna be all right.” I walked into my study 

God creates success out 

of failures, He creates life 

out of death 

and opened a drawer. In it was written on a 

piece of paper a command in my handwriting. 

It said “del VRJR.dat.” 

I could not, for the life of me, remember 

when and why I wrote that. The Lord said 

to me: “Femi, go and type that into your 

system in the shop and then re-index your 

files.” 

When I did it, the problem was solved. 

This happened again a second time just 

like the first time. There was another major 

problem with the program in the Victoria 

Island shop. Immediately I got there, somebody 

mysteriously put on the same Christian 

video telling me not to worry about a 

thing. In no time, the wisdom of God came 

again, and the problem was solved. 

Silent treatment 

Nevertheless, I continued to live in fear of 

the possibility of computer breakdown in 

Videonet. Whenever any of my staff phoned 

or came to see me, I would brace myself for 

the bad news. 

Then one day, the bad news came again 

from my Victoria Island outfit. Something 

happened and the entire data disappeared. 

I went there and did all I could, but to no 

avail. I waited patiently for someone to put 

on the miracle video, but no one did. After a 

while I went home, still expecting to hear from 

the Lord; but he said nothing. 

After two days, the Lord finally spoke. “Femi,” 

He said, “I am not going to recover the data for 

you. The data is lost. You are going to have to 

start all over again by re-entering all the tapes 

and customers.” 

So I asked the Lord: “Will you help me to do 

that?” 

“I am glad you asked Me,” He replied. “Yes, I 

will help you.” 

The Lord gave me the wisdom whereby I reentered 

all the data in the shop with a team of 

seven people within two days. I imported data 

from other shops, gave them identifiable prefixes, 

and used them as the foundation for entering 

over ten thousand tapes. 

I operated at a level of wisdom I knew was not 

mine. In two days, the system was up and running. 

The Lord then provided the wisdom by 

which we were able to recover the late charges, 

despite the lost data. 

From that day forward, I was never anxious 

again about the possibility of system failure in 

my video shops. Much later, the Lord gave me 

the wisdom simply to install backup systems, 

but I never had to use them. 

The point I am making here is that the Lord 

used the adversity of system failure to cure me 

of the fear of system failure. Despite earlier assurances 

not to worry, I continued to worry. So, 

the Lord allowed the system to fail instead of 

safeguarding it from failure. 

Thereby, I discovered that system failure is 

not the end of a video shop, and I stopped being 

afraid. God does not kill the Goliaths in our 

lives. But he teaches us to overcome them by 

trusting in Him. 

Blessing of trouble 

One of the best things that ever happened to 

me was that I was shot by armed robbers, It was 

in the middle of the attack that I heard from the 

Lord for the very first time in my life, That attack 

laid the foundation for my present walk 

with God and my ability to hear and know his 

voice, 

Therefore, I can say like the Psalmist: “It is 

good for me that I have been afflicted, that I 

might know the Lord.” (Psalm 119:71), 

What does it take to know God? To know 

God, we must suffer. Nothing brings about 

the perfecting of the believer in the knowledge 

of God like suffering. 

How can I know God is a healer if I do not 

fall sick? How can I know He is “the Great 

Provider” if I am never broke? How can I 

know He is my Deliverer unless I have a crisis? 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, 

but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” 

(Psalm 34:19). 

At the feet of the Lord, I came to understand 

God creates success out of failures. He creates 

life out of death. He creates wealth out of 

poverty. He brings joy out of sadness. Everything 

about the kingdom of God is worked 

out in contradictions by faith. 

God does not just want us to read the scriptures. 

God wants us to experience the scriptures. 

God is determined to give us a testimony. 

God is determined to be glorified in us. 

One of the questions I ask myself because of 

my different experiences with the Lord is if the 

bible were to be written today, would I be in it? 

Am I determined to know the Lord and the 

power of His resurrection? 

If so, then I must be prepared to be a Lazarus. 

I must be ready to be killed and then rise 

from the dead. People will write me off and 

then hear about my promotion. Like Joseph, 

they will throw me down a well, sell me off as 

a slave, send me to prison and I will still emerge 

as prime minister of the nation. 

Trials and tribulations help us to develop 

godly character. We are never the same after 

we go through them. They move us into greater 

reliance and dependence on God. In the 

process, we lose those things in us that are not 

the planting of the Lord. 

James counsels believers: “My brethren, 

count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 

knowing that the testing of your faith produces 

patience. But let patience have its perfect 

work, that you may be perfect and complete, 

lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4). 

It is wrong to say Pentecostal pastors hated TB Joshua – Prophet Abiara 

Prophet Samuel Kayode Abiara, General 

Evangelist, Worldwide of the Christ Apostolic 

Church (CAC), speaks on the general state of 

insecurity, urging the Federal Government to 

embrace state/community policing as solution. 

The founder of the CAC, Agbala Itura, Lagos 

and Ibadan, also dispels the rumor of a division 

in the Body of Christ after reports that they 

haven’t sent a condolence message to the late 

Prophet Temitope Joshua’s family. Excerpts: 

By Tunde Oso 

As one of our leading spiritual lead 

ers, proffer solutions to the general 

state of insecurity like kidnapping, 

banditry and killings all over the country? 

About five years ago, I advised government 

that they should allow state police. I don’t know 

what to call it: whether Constitution amendment 

or restructuring or whatever; if each state 

recruits 10,000 youths into state or community 

police, insecurity will reduce because youths 

that are generally frustrated and angry because 

don’t have jobs will be enlisted and the dual 

purpose of fighting insecurity and employment 

would be served. God has blessed this country 

so much that there will be money: enough resources 

to pay them. So, I want to advise the 

government to immediately begin a process 

of instituting state police. 

You were once reported in a national newspaper 

that open grazing is old- fashioned. 

Can you explain that? 

Prophet Abiara 

You can never see cows or cattle on the 

streets of London, New York or in South 

Africa. And fortunately our leaders are widely 

travelled. The world is modernizing agriculture 

and an important sector of agriculture 

is livestock, so, why should we still 

continue in the century-old and archaic 

practice of cow or cattle wandering about. 

Government should embrace modernity, 

learn from advanced countries to find solution 

to this. It is not ok because our country. 

I want them to consider this. 

There seems to be division in the Christian 

community over the late Prophet T.B 

We did not have hatred for 

the late Pastor T.B. Joshua, 

he was a man of God and 

God used him mightily 

Joshua who recently died especially in the Pentecostal 

Fellowship of Nigeria. It is because 

there have been no reports of sending condolence 

messages to the family and to the church. 

What is your stand? 

There is too much fake news nowadays. I want 

to tell you that the leaders of the church and the 

Body of Christ are one, and, as far as I’m concerned, 

we did not have hatred for the late Pastor 

T.B. Joshua. He was a man of God and God 

used him mightily. He had the gift of signs and 

wonders and the spirit of giving and he helped 

people. Nigeria did not hate the ministry of that 

man; he boosted the economy of the country. 

Many people were coming from all over the 

world to worship and fellowship with him. He 

was a great man of God. It is not too late at all to 

offer condolences to his family and the church. 

You may not know that they have sent letters of 

condolences to the family and church, so don't 

judge anyone yet. 

The Federal Government recently shut 

down Twitter. Can we have your view? 

The Holy Bible says; give unto Caesar what 

is Caesars, which I interpret as “obey the authority.” 

So, if it has happened, what can we 

do than obey the government? 

There are separatist tendencies in Nigeria 

of today, with calls for Oduduwa nation or 

Biafra, do you support this? 

The Holy Bible says; ‘let us come and reason 

together’. The authority should institute 

a mechanism for dialogue to resolve all our 

differences and reduce tension in the land. 

The bloodshed is becoming too much. So 

can we come together and do that? Those 

that are planning war must sit down and 

think deeply because a war is not a good and 

acceptable solution to the present situation. 

So, I want to advise our leaders and youths 

that anything that can make a war happen 

should be avoided. And also I want to advise 

all our pastors in this country to comfort our 

people using what is in the Holy Bible in 

preaching, advice and in our prophecies and 

not inflame what is already a worst situation. 

There is a general decline in moral values 

in Nigeria, what can the youths especially 

learn from your humble beginning? 

Nowadays schools - teachers or lecturers - 

should teach their students the way of the 

Lord. The education sector that has the onerous 

task of transmitting the values that are 

germane to the society is now seriously enmeshed 

in serious moral value depreciation. 

Examination malpractices by the youths 

have become a regular decimal. 

COVETOUSNESS, which is idolatry, as written in CO 

LOSSIANS 3:5, transgresses Christ’s Doctrine of godliness 

with contentment, which in God’s sight is GREAT GAIN. 

(I TIMOTHY 6:6) And the love of money which many men 

of God, and majority of believers in Christ, covet after, has 

made them to err from the faith, piercing themselves through 

with many sorrows. I TIMOTHY 6:10) 

Believers in Christ, who are of corrupt minds, and destitute 

of the truth, believe that earthly prosperity or the gain of the 

world’s goods, is godliness. (I TIMOTHY 6:5) This is one of 

the doctrines of devils, which seduce believers in Christ into 

loving the things of this world. (I TIMOTHY 4:1) Whereas, 

the wicked and the ungodly also prosper in this world and 

increase in riches, as written in PSALM 73:12: “Behold these 

are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in 

riches.” 

In LUKE 12:13-15, Jesus warned one of His followers: “And 

one of the company said unto Him, Master speak to my 

brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And He said 

unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 

And He said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness: 

FOR A MAN’S LIFE CONSISTETH NOT IN THE 

Abiding in Christ’s Doctrine (4) 

ABUNDANCE OF THE THINGS WHICH HE POSSES- 

SETH.” 

By this revelation, Jesus made us to know that striving or 

struggling over family inheritance, is COVETOUSNESS. 

And that the life true believers in Christ does not consist in 

the abundance of their earthly possessions, but in the abundance 

of those spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 

Christ, as written in EPHESIANS 1:3: “Blessed be the God 

and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us 

with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” 

Above all, it consists in the abundance of the mysteries 

of the kingdom of heaven, possessed by believers in Christ, 

to whom these mysteries are given by Christ to know, as 

written in MATTHEW 13:11: “He answered and said unto 

them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of 

the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” Believers 

in Christ who are not of the truth, are not given to know 

these mysteries, hence they cannot possess them. Even 

though they are rich in worldly goods, and have 

need of nothing, yet they are spiritually poor, blind 

and naked. (REVELATION 3:17) 

These mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the 

hidden truths in the scriptures, are the gold, which 

all heaven-bound Christians, are advised by Jesus 

to buy, that they may be spiritually rich on earth, 

and in the end inherit eternal life in heaven. (REV- 

ELATION 3:18) 

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

PAGE 22—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021 

Taking the kingdom 

by force (2) 

One of the beneficiaries of instant miracles displaying her walking aid 

Everyone should know 

that whatsoever that 

needs to be done in 

order to be saved and escaped 

from the world and its entanglement 

should be done while 

there is still time. Whatsoever 

that should be done to cut off 

from the world pollution and 

defilement should be done because 

a time shall come when 

it shall not be done again. The 

Bible says since the days of 

John the Baptist the kingdom 

of God suffers violent and the 

violent takes it by force. We 

must forcefully defy every insinuation 

that could stop our 

disengaging from worldliness. 

Luke 16: 16 says, “The law 

and the prophets were until 

John: since that time the kingdom 

of God is preached, and 

every man presseth into it” 

Since the benefit of the 

Kingdom was unveiled to 

mankind by John the Baptist 

those that desire good and 

peaceful life after this world 

have being pressing at all cost 

to enter into it. This message 

is an invitation not to exclude 

yourself from the people 

pressing to enter the Kingdom. 

You must make haste to 

escape from the imminent destruction 

of your soul if you 

fail to repent. Are you a Christian 

and still dillydallying 

whether to be strong in the 

Lord or not, I want you to understand 

that it is difficult for 

a Christian that does not want 

to offend anybody to enter the 

kingdom. A Christian that is 

neither here nor there in his 

commitment to the things of 

the Lord is not qualified to enter 

the Kingdom. 

We should understand that 

things pertaining to the flesh 

are always sweet, and if you 

must overcome them, it must 

be by force given the fact that 

flesh loves sweet things of the 

world and it will be difficult 

to overcome the flesh if it is 

not by force. So if you consider 

the enjoyment of the flesh you 

will find it difficult to overcome 

the flesh. Consequently, anything 

that will make you to miss 

the rapture or not to serve God 

as you could, should be cut 

them off. 

2Corinth 6:1-2 “We then, as 

workers together with him, beseech 

you also that ye receive 

not the grace of God in vain. 

(For he saith, I have heard thee 

in a time accepted, and in the 

day of salvation have I succoured 

thee: behold, now is the 

accepted time; behold, now is 

the day of salvation.)” 

This is the right time to repent 

and renounce all forms of 

wickedness, you cannot do it 

after dead, for that will be medicine 

after death. I want to let 

you know that whatever that is 

needed to be done must be done 

in an acceptable time, and now 

is that time. If you look at the 

world, you will see that the acceptable 

time is rushing out, 

and we have come face to face 

with the rapture, thus any moment 

can be too late. So, now 

is the acceptable time, when 

grace is still available because 

after this time the grace will be 

no more. This is the time acceptable 

for your restitution, repentance, 

forgiveness and 

amendment. This is why you 

need to take it by force because 

delay is dangerous and tomorrow 

will be too late. Don’t say 

after today you will serve God 

very well for you do not know 

what will happen next hour. 

Every amendment has to be 

done within the grace when the 

time is acceptable. That is why 

you should take it by force otherwise 

you will be among many 

that will not make it. Do something 

now before it will be too 

late. 

Luke 13:1-5 “There were 

present at that season some that 

told him of the Galilaeans, 

whose blood Pilate had 

mingled with their sacrifices. 

2 And Jesus answering 

said unto them, Suppose ye 

that these Galilaeans were 

sinners above all the Galilaeans, 

because they suffered 

such things? 4 Or those 

eighteen, upon whom the 

tower in Siloam fell, and 

slew them, think ye that they 

were sinners above all men 

that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I 

tell you, Nay: but, except ye 

repent, ye shall all likewise 

perish”. 

My beloved, whatsoever 

you need to do so that you 

will not go to hellfire should 

be done now. Take note we 

must forcefully deal with 

anything that will hinder us, 

no matter how important 

that maybe, including anything 

that will make us not 

to be serious with the things 

of God. That death has not 

Knowing that our 

salvation is 

nearer than when 

we believed we 

must do 

everything not to 

be a guest of 

hellfire because 

there is no more 

time, we have 

very limited time 

knocked at your door doesn’t 

mean you have been exonerated 

from the wrath of 

God. You are not better than 

the people that have died but 

God is keeping you alive so 

that you can amend your 

ways. So, deal with those 

things that will make you 

miss heaven, instead of you 

to miss heaven cut it off, no 

matter how palatable or important 

that maybe. Don’t be 

obsessed with the things of 

this world for it passes away; 

don’t allow them to deceive 

you. Whatsoever it will cost 

you to secure freedom for 

your next world should be 

done now. 

Esther 4:15-16 “Then Esther 

bade them return Mordecai 

this answer, Go, gather 

together all the Jews that are 

present in Shushan, and fast 

ye for me, and neither eat nor 

drink three days, night or day: 

I also and my maidens will 

fast likewise; and so will I go 

in unto the king, which is not 

according to the law: and if I 

perish, I perish.” 

We should go on and fast 

and pray as Esther did so 

that the whole world and all 

the churches shall be saved. 

Remember a time is coming 

when repentance will not be 

acceptable. Just like the story 

of the rich man and Lazarus. 

The rich man did everything 

to ensure he gained 

into the kingdom of heaven 

to no avail, his pleading was 

not accepted, so do whatsoever 

you can do now, so that 

you will not go to hellfire, 

knowing that we have limited 

time. 

Romans 13:11-14 says, 

“And that, knowing the time, 

that now it is high time to 

awake out of sleep: for now is 

our salvation nearer than 

when we believed. The night 

is far spent, the day is at hand: 

let us therefore cast off the 

works of darkness, and let us 

put on the armour of light. Let 

us walk honestly, as in the 

A brother healed 16-month broken bone 

day; not in rioting and drunkenness, 

not in chambering and 

wantonness, not in strife and 

envying. But put ye on the Lord 

Jesus Christ, and make not provision 

for the flesh, to fulfil the 

lusts thereof.” 

Knowing that our salvation 

is nearer than when we believed 

we must do everything 

not to be a guest of hellfire 

because there is no more time, 

we have very limited time. You 

have to escape, waste no more 

time, take your salvation by 

force, cut off everything and 

rush to enter heaven before it 

is too late. Let us take everything 

about the kingdom now 

by force including kingdom 

service, kingdom righteousness, 

kingdom faithfulness 

and obedience to the word of 

God for, there is no more time 

after dead or rapture, it will be 

difficult for anyone to be 

saved. 

Luke 16:19-31 “There was 

a certain rich man, which was 

clothed in purple and fine linen, 

and fared sumptuously every 

day: 20 And there was a 

certain beggar named Lazarus, 

which was laid at his 

gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring 

to be fed with the 

crumbs which fell from the rich 

man’s table: moreover the 

dogs came and licked his sores. 

22 And it came to pass, that 

the beggar died, and was carried 

by the angels into Abraham’s 

bosom: the rich man 

also died, and was buried; 23 

And in hell he lift up his eyes, 

being in torments, and seeth 

Abraham afar off, and Lazarus 

in his bosom. 24 And he cried 

and said, Father Abraham, 

have mercy on me, and send 

Youth choir ministering during a Sunday service at the Lagos headquarters 

Lazarus, that he may dip the 

tip of his finger in water, and 

cool my tongue; for I am tormented 

in this flame.25 But 

Abraham said, Son, remember 

that thou in thy lifetime 

receivedst thy good things, 

and likewise Lazarus evil 

things: but now he is comforted, 

and thou art tormented. 

26 And beside all this, between 

us and you there is a 

great gulf fixed: so that they 

which would pass from hence 

to you cannot; neither can 

they pass to us, that would 

come from thence. 27 Then 

he said, I pray thee therefore, 

father, that thou wouldest send 

him to my father’s house: 28 

For I have five brethren; that 

he may testify unto them, lest 

they also come into this place 

of torment. 29 Abraham saith 

unto him, They have Moses 

and the prophets; let them 

hear them. 30 And he said, 

Nay, father Abraham: but if 

one went unto them from the 

dead, they will repent. 31 And 

he said unto him, If they hear 

not Moses and the prophets, 

neither will they be persuaded, 

though one rose from the 

dead” 

I don’t know what you are 

doing now with your life but I 

want to let you know that 

whatever you are doing will 

determine where you will be 

at the end of this life. If you 

are living anyhow and waiting 

to be preached to when 

you cross over then disappointment 

is waiting for you. 

Repentance is not accepted 

after death. It is only now that 

you have opportunity to repent. 

This is the only truth that 

can save you from imminent 

destruction.

Looking unto God of all 

possibility alone! 

TTEXT: ACTS 3: 1-10 

here was a certain lame 

man who was laid daily 

at the gate of the temple 

called beautiful. The man was 

positioned there daily to beg 

for arms. Despite the beauty 

of the gate, the man’s problems 

still remained. This 

means that in some instances 

our beauty, wealth or power 

might be unable to resolve 

our problems. This man only 

believed in the help of man 

and not in what God can do. 

When we put our trust in men, 

we would surely be disappointed. 

Peter and John were 

often found together in the 

Scriptures. They were partners 

in the fishing business 

(Luke 5:10); they prepared the 

last Passover table for Jesus 

(Luke 22:8); they ran to the 

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 

tomb on the first Easter Sunday 

morning (John 20:3-4); 

and they ministered to the Samaritans 

who believed on 

Jesus Christ (Acts 8:14). Now 

that they were filled with the 

Holy Spirit, the Apostles were 

no longer competing for 

greatness, but were at last 

working faithfully together to 

build the church (Ps 133). Peter 

and John were men of 

prayer that is why they took 

the hours of prayers very seriously. 

The Bible says: “At the 

ninth hour as they were going 

for prayer” lo and behold, 

before they entered the temple, 

God stirred them up to 

heal the lame man. Although 

the lame man was not anticipating 

this, he received divine 

intervention which was more 

than he expected. What are 

All noble things are difficult (3) 

Rev. Emmanuel Awazie 

*Assemblies of God Church 

Nigeria, 111 Clegg Street, 

Surulere, Lagos. 

All things good and beau 

tiful come from God - 

James 1:17. It behooves us, 

therefore, to identify and treasure 

them, and here are a few 

of them. 

Firstly, the greatest and 

most excellent gift that a soul 

can receive from God is salvation, 

through the propitiatory 

sacrifice of Jesus Christ 

on the Cross of Calvary. That 

came at an inestimable price. 

The Redemption we have in 

Christ has cost God His all; 

the Scriptures state that God 

“...spared not His Son, but 

delivered Him up for us 

all....” – Rom. 8:32. This act 

is the most demanding and 

gruesome of all of God’s undertakings. 

Yet Jesus “... is despised 

and rejected of men; a 

man of sorrows, and acquainted 

with grief:... Yet it 

pleased the LORD to bruise him 

....” – Isa. 53:1-5, 10. To obtain 

Salvation, our Lord Jesus 

Christ paid the ultimate price: 

rejection and a horrendous 

death - Mark 15:34. 

Secondly, the Christian life 

is gloriously difficult. You see 

what steps and efforts you 

must make to remain in tandem 

with your walk with 

Christ and in the faith. Consequently, 

you must have to 

“... put to death the sinful, 

earthly things lurking within 

you. Have nothing to do with 

sexual immorality, impurity, 

lust, and evil desires. Don’t be 

greedy, for a greedy person is 

an idolater, worshiping the 

The glory of His presence (1) 

*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 Moses said unto the 

Lord, See, thou sayest unto 

me, Bring up this people: 

and thou hast not let me 

know whom thou wilt send 

with me. Yet thou hast said, I 

know thee by name, and 

thou hast also found grace 

in my sight. Now therefore, 

I pray thee, if I have found 

grace in thy sight, shew me 

now thy way, that I may 

know thee, that I may find 

grace in thy sight: and consider 

that this nation is thy 

people. And he said, My 

presence shall go with thee, 

and I will give thee 

rest. Exodus 33:12-14 KJV 

God’s presence will al 

ways go with us and we 

shall have our rest. In the passage, 

Moses, a prophet of 

God was having a conversation 

with God, so much so that 

he heard God clearly. Moses 

was talking to 

God and he 

heard a 7- 

point agenda: 

1. 

Asked 

to 

bring up the 

people. We all have the mandate 

to lift the people. To 

change life 

2. God will send a 

helper our way; to help us fulfil 

our purpose and God’s assignment 

for our life 

3. God knows our 

name. He knows who we are, 

what we are and what our 

capabilities are. Therefore, it 

means we are not a mistake 

but a deliberate creation of 

God 

4. God’s grace and 

favour is always available to 

them who knows the ways of 

God 

5. Prayer is important 

if we want the presence of 

God to go with us. 

6. Asked that God 

show him the way. The ward 

says and we believe that Christ 

is the way. With Christ in our 

life, we would always walk 

on the path that leads to life 

you expecting from God today? 

God knows the best for 

your life, family, marriage, 

business and for this nation. 

God surprised the man and 

gave him testimony. Five new 

experiences for the lame man 

“Standing up by himself, 

walking by himself, leaping 

and jumping like a child, 

praising God in the temple 

(v8) and holding the Preachers” 

The cripple is a vivid 

illustration of the lost sinner 

in that: (1) he was born lame, 

and all are born sinners; (2) 

He could not walk, and no 

sinner can work so as to please 

God; (3) He was outside the 

temple, also sinners are spiritually 

outside God's templethe 

church; (4) He was begging, 

sinners are beggars, 

searching for satisfaction in 

vain. Peter performed this 

miracle, not only to relieve the 

man's handicap and save his 

soul, but also to prove to the 

Jews that the Holy Spirit had 

come with the promised 

blessings. Isa 35:6 promises 

the Jews that Israel would 

enjoy such miracles when their 

Messiah was received. The 

man's conduct after the miracle 

shows how every Christian 

ought to act. He entered 

the temple in fellowship 

with God's servants and 

praised God. 

things of this world.” – Col. 

3:5. As God Children, He is 

unrelenting, by His Spirit in 

laboriously working on and 

in us and “... going through 

labor pains, as it were, ... until 

Christ is fully developed in 

your lives.” – Gal. 4:19. We 

must, therefore, engage this 

life by the difficult path of divine 

disciplines, there are no 

shortcuts to God. We “... can 

enter God’s Kingdom only 

through the narrow gate. The 

highway to hell is broad, and 

its gate is wide for the many 

who choose that way. But the 

gateway to life is very narrow 

and the road is difficult, and 

only a few ever find it.” – Matt. 

7:13-14. 

The Salvation from sin and 

Satanic bondage, which we 

are given seems cheap and 

easy because it cost God everything; 

it cost God His own 

life - John 15:13, 15; Acts 

20:28; that was God’s own 

albatross, and all we have to 

do is to receive it by faith in 

the finished work of our Lord 

Jesus Christ. 

7. He asked that the 

presence of God go with the 

people. 

The presence of God does 

quite a few things in the life of 

his people. The presence of 

God in our life brings and 

opens the doors to prosperity. 

To prosper, just make sure that 

God is with you. Luke 5:1-12. 

The fortunes of Simon turned 

around because God got into 

his boat. That is why we are to 

dedicate all achievement and 

steps of success to God to 

make it sustainable. Anytime 

we talk to God, we are to always 

ask God to be with us; 

as God been with us will bring 

about a great prosperity. No 

one that has prospered has 

done so outside the permission 

of God. 

God been with you brings 

about grace and promotion. 

The bible says “Joseph found 

grace in his sight” because 

God was with him. Promotion 

does not come from the east 

or west, but comes from God 

alone. 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

MRS Loveth Iyonawan 

is a woman of many 

parts from the entertainment 

world, humanitarian, hospitality 

business and even evangelism 

as the wife of a pastor 

and founder and President of 

Miracle Invasion Ministries; 

Jeffrey Iyonawan who she 

helps in their glowing ministry. 

Never tired of new chal- 

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021,PAGE 23 

Success in life, ministry: Persevering to succeed (12) 

INTRODUC- 

TION 

Glory to God! 

The vision of 

your success and fulfillment 

is for an appointed 

time. But at 

the end, it will speak 

and not lie. (Habakkuk 

2:3). The 

process towards the 

vision’s success has Pastor Akinola 

to be appreciated as 

a compound one. In this serial, we shall see 

how God Himself shapes your life through 

this process, and makes you totally dependent 

upon Him. It is a humbling process for 

you to know that your network is your networth, 

hence you should not joke with people 

God brings your way. God can put you 

on the shoulders of giant to sit, and thereby 

take you to your land of promise. This is 

what makes you “more than a conqueror”. 

With this principle, you can continue conquering 

and possessing more territories for 

God. 

ASSESSING YOUR NETWORK 

Our understanding of our network or covenant 

helpers will also define our view of 

good success. If we think our covenant helpers 

are only those who help us do what we 

want to do, rather than what God really wants 

to do in our lives, we will not appreciate the 

level of success such destiny helpers have 

been designed to take us through. As a matter 

of fact, you don’t have the full picture of 

where God is taking you to until you get 

there, so you must avail yourself of all the 

opportunities and destiny helpers God brings 

your way, as well as take advantage of every 

lesson learnt for your life. It is when you get 

to the pinnacle of success which God has 

Pastor Loveth Iyonawan blazes the trail with innovations 

lenges and innovations, Mrs 

Iyonawan who just few days 

ago celebrated her birthday 

is also a life coach, marriage 

counsellor, singer and she has 

just been let in on a management 

deal with Spiritual 

Beatz. 

She signed the management 

deal with this entertainment 

outfit while she remains 

the CEO of Glospensla international, 

one of the many organisations 

she is not just a 

Akinlade wades into Tope Alabi, Yinka 

Alaseyori rift 

A 

cleric and Group Man 

aging Director of Suru 

Group, Edward Akinlade, 

waded into the social mediainfluenced 

rift between Gospel 

singers Tope Alabi and 

Yinka Alaseyori. 

It could be recalled that 

Tope Alabi was seen in a viral 

video, criticising a song by 

Yinka Alaseyori titled Oniduro 

mi”, attributing that 

God is the ultimate guarantor 

of life and He exceeds the 

title or position of guarantor. 

She made the remarks 

when she was invited to minister 

at an event, saying She 

the song does not explain 

God’s powers fully. 

Speaking about the rift, 

Lord’s Rabbi, Edward Akinlade 

revealed that the criti- 

part of, but leads. 

The pastor has been described 

severally as a dynamic 

leader with an unmatched 

vision, passion for raising 

champions and organizing 

healthier societies and 

groups. 

According to her close associates 

and acquaintances, 

what she does is not far from 

her childhood passion; “to 

reach out and build dreams.” 

DELTA SSG: Issele-Azagba Forum lauds Ukah’s 

appointment 

By Tunde Oso 

designed for you, that you begin to appreciate all 

those God has brought your way. Remember the 

case of Joseph earlier mentioned in previous serials. 

It was when he became the Prime Minister 

in Egypt that he understood God’s purpose in using 

his brothers the way they did against him. He 

said, “But as for you, you meant evil against me, 

but God meant it for good in order to bring it 

about as it is this day, to save many people alive” 

(Gen 50:20). Joseph saw the big picture in all that 

has happened to him. Certainly, they are now both 

destiny helpers to each other. What of Moses? At 

the tail end of his life, we read that, “Moses was 

one hundred and twenty years old when he died. 

His eyes were not dim, nor his natural vigour 

diminished”. (Deut. 34:7). If not that he took the 

counsel of Jethro, his father in law, by not looking 

down on him as someone not called like him, he 

would probably not have reached that age. Jethro 

became a destiny helper for him. 

YOU ARE RE-SHAPED BY YOUR VISION 

This is in itself a level of success in life, for you to 

be re-shaped as you navigate a vision to a successful 

ending. You look at yourself in the mirror, 

and you discover that you have been changed, 

shaped and moulded by it. A vision God gave me 

some couple of decades ago drove me to the point 

of navigating along with some ministry helpers, 

stayed doggedly with the vision until it became a 

reality, even in the midst of contradictions and 

distractions!. All my ministry helpers, both positive 

and critical, became joint celebrators with 

me, when the vision became a global success shaping 

the course of ministry associates in different 

parts of the globe where they are today. 

CONCLUSION 

Make yourself available to a God-ordained 

accountability partner.. 

J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor) 

The Gospel Faith Mission International (GO- 

FAMINT), Ibadan, Nigeria. 

Email: flprofenassociate@gmail.com, 

08033376660, 08055405095 

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

Jihadists: Babogha condemns threat on Okowa, Delta 

An Ijaw leader has con 

demned alleged 

threat by the Fulani/ 

jihadists on Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa of Delta State to renounced 

his stance to ban 

open grazing. 

The Ijaw leader and the 

GMD/CEO of Babsfield Corporate 

Ventures Limited and 

Tamfel Global Resources, 

Chief Julius Babogha, who 

spoke to newsmen in Warri, 

said any attempt on Delta is 

an attack on Niger Delta and 

it will be highly regretted by 

the entire North. 

A 

socio- cultural group, 

lssele-Azagba Premier 

Forum, has lauded the appointment 

of the immediate 

past Delta State Commissioner 

for. Basic and Secondary 

Education, Chief Patrick 

Ukah, as the Secretary to the 

State Government (SSG) 

In a statement signed by its 

Chairman and Convener, Mr. 

Patrick lsichei and Chief Augustine 

Ojei, respectively, the 

group on behalf of the Aniocha 

North Council community, 

also hailed Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa for Ukah’s 

appointment. The group 

added that the choice was 

well conceived and expedient 

given that the ex-commissioner 

had an enviable track 

record as a dedicated performer 

who was fully committed 

to the development of 

Delta State. 

It further stressed that 

Ukah had on several occasions 

identified with the Issele-Azagba 

community, 

adding that as the then Commissioner 

for lnformation,he 

ensured massive media coverage 

of the 50th coronation 

It was reported that yet to 

be identified Fulani group, 

which claimed responsibility 

for the fire outbreak at the 

Federal Secretariat Complex, 

Asaba, had threatened 

to attack the state capital and 

Agbor, if the Governor fails 

to withdraw his support for 

the ban on open grazing 

within 72 hours. 

Babogha while speaking 

commended Chief E.K. 

Clark and Movement for the 

Emancipation and the Defence 

of the Niger Delta for 

their quick response and reaction 

on the Fulani/Jihadists 

72 hours ultimatum, saying 

that no one starts what one 

cannot end, not to talk of daring 

any state in the Niger 

Delta region. 

He said they should be wise 

and heed to the reaction from 

E.K. Clark and Movement for 

the Emancipation and the 

Defence of the Niger Delta 

and drop their threats to 

avoid a mistake they will ever 

regret, pointing out jihadists 

or Fulani don't dare Delta 

state. 

anniversary of the community’s 

monarch, Agbogidi Obi 

Francis Jidouwa Ijei 11(JP) 

in December 2018. 

cism of Tope Alabi was divinely 

orchestrated by God to elevate 

Yinka Alaseyori, but most 

people don’t know how God 

works. 

He added that both Tope 

Alabi and Yinka Alaseyori 

are roses from God and one 

does not smell better than the 

other, for they are both vessels 

in God’s hands. 

•Akinlade

PAGE 24, SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021 

ADETUTU AUDU 

08023849036, 

08112662587 

Yewande Zacchaeus 

now a grandmother 

•Yewande 

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of one of 

the leading event planning and consulting 

companies, Yewande Zaccheaus, is now a 

proud grandmother. 

The latest addition to the family is courtesy of 

her son, popular rap artiste, Teni, fondly called 

Teezee. 

The rapper welcomed the baby boy with his 

partner, creative entrepreneur, Grace, 

daughter of former Oyo State governor, 

Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja. 

Alté pioneer Teezee, also known as Teni 

Zaccheaus JR, has always been the type of 

slightly below-the-radar artiste that fans connect 

with while Grace Ladoja is Creative Director who 

has worked with several brands like Vans and 

Thrasher to Samsung, Cottweiler and Nasir 

Mazhar. 

In 2018, she bagged a Member of the Most 

Excellent Order of the British Empire for her 

contribution to the arts. 

Charles O’Tudor at 50 

Charles O’Tudor, brand strategist, public speaker and 

businessman, has clocked 50. 

A thanksgiving service was held in honor of the principal consultant 

of ADSTRAT Branding Management Consortium to celebrate the golden 

jubilee. 

This was a deviation from celebrations of the past five years. He had 

been engaged in a give-back initiative with the Charles O’Tudor Brand 

Master Class on his birthday. 

He, however, hinted of plans to hold this year’s give-back master 

class at a later date. 

•Charles O'Tudor 

Bolu Akin-Olugbade’s 

Rolls Royce cars for sale 

The late billionaire 

businessman and Aare Ona 

Kakanfo of Owu Kingdom, Bolu 

Akin-Olugbade, was a man who 

knew how to court attention 

where and when necessary until 

his death on January 13, 2021. 

Akin-Olugbade, who made his 

first millions at the age of 24, had 

one undying obsession, that is, 

his love for Rolls Royce cars. 

The late Aare Ona Kakanfo was 

a man of means and style so 

obsessed with the Rolls Royce 

brand that he bought every model 

of the exotic car. 

He strongly believed that if he 

wanted a car, then he should go 

for the wonder on wheels that 

will not only draw attention but 

also send tongues wagging. 

He even earned a global 

attention with his craving. 

He made the list of the 25 

selected rich men who were 

invited globally for a private 

viewing of the 2019 Rolls Royce 

SUV Cullian some years ago. 

The news making the rounds 

is that after the demise of the 

man of means, his Rolls Royce 

cars have been put up for sale. 

•Akin-Olugbade 

Olori Sola savors 

motherhood bliss 

•Olori Sola 

Former Managing Director of the defunct City Express Bank, 

Sola Adeoti, now Olori Olusola Alao, recently welcomed 

twins in the U.S. 

The new bundle of joy, two boys, was birthed in a hospital in the 

state of Maryland, United States 18 years after her last baby. 

Like a battle-hardened general, her exploits and scars command 

random tributes of interminable sighs. She is a champion no 

doubt. She has been rocked by one challenge or the other and, 

on each occasion, she emerged stronger and wiser. 

Olori Olusola is the daughter of Lagos billionaire, Chief 

Samuel Adedoyin, who remarried few years ago to the Deputy 

Chairman of Oyo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Olugbon 

of Igbon, Oba Francis Alao, after her first marriage crashed. 

Not one to dwell on any unsavory experience, she has had to 

battle the much-dreaded cancer disease twice. 

The first time was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 

and on the second occasion it was her son, Solomon, who was 

diagnosed with cancer of the brain that could terminate life. 

With faith and towering resilience, Olori Olusola survived the 

deadly disease on both occasions. 

She would later arrive into the waiting hands of the Economic 

and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for interrogation 

over her alleged involvement in financial malpractices at City 

Express Bank, then chaired by her father. But she remains strong 

and imbued with wisdom to deal with all that. 

Well, mother of twins is savoring motherhood and marital 

bliss and will not regale the social media on her motherhood 

experience.


Students of FUTA Secondary School presenting a gift to their former Head Boy, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, 

during the First NTA Akure Forum Lecture held at the International Culture and Event Center (Dome), 

Akure 

From left: Chairman, Total Grace Group, Dr. Henry Bolaji 

Akinduro, actress and producer, Funke Akindele, and veteran 

actor, Prince Jide Kosoko, during the commissioning of 

Total Grace Oil & Gas Investment filling station at Kilometre 

42, Lekki Epe Expressway, opposite Lagos Business School. 

S/East govs, leaders warn North: Protect Igbo in your domain 

•*Set up committees to meet S/West, S/South, IPoB, MASSOB 

By Peter Okutu & 

Chinadu Adonu 

Leaders of the South- 

East, comprising the 

governors of the five states, 

members of the National Assembly, 

Ministers, Speakers 

of the State Houses of Assembly, 

the clergy and traditional 

rulers, yesterday, rose from 

a meeting at the Government 

House, Enugu, urging leaders 

of other geo-political 

zones in the country to protect 

Igbo living in their regions. 

The South-East leaders, 

who made the request in 

view of what they described 

as “threats by some groups 

against our people”, promised 

to protect everyone, including 

Igbo and people 

from other regions, residing 

in the zone. 

There are five other geo 

political zones in the country 

but the three in the North 

have especially been critical 

of the ongoing secessionist 

agitation in the South-East. 

The latest in the brickbats 

between the northern geopolitical 

zones and the 

South-East came to a head 

last week when some elements 

in the North placed a 

bounty on the head of Nnamdi 

Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous 

People of Biafra, 

IPoB, which drew angry reactions 

from Igbo. 

In a communiqué read by 

the Governor of Ebonyi State 

and Chairman of South-East 

Governors’ Forum, Mr. David 

Umahi, the leaders of the 

zone reiterated their “commitment 

to one united Nigeria 

under a platform of justice, 

equality of rights, fairness, 

love and respect for one 

another”. 

They explained that the 

meeting was held “for articulation 

of our positions and 

further meet with the Presidential 

team”, sequel to the 

earlier meeting with the Presidential 

delegation, led by the 

Minister of Defence, Retired 

Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi, 

on June 11, 2021. 

The communiqué disclosed 

that the meeting consequently 

“set up committees 

under Ohaneze Ndigbo to 

articulate and address our 

positions on all burning issues 

to further meet among 

ourselves and thereafter meet 

with the Presidential team”. 

It added that South-East 

leaders condemned the killing 

of security agents, burning 

of strategic infrastructure 

and killing of civilians in 

South East and in other regions, 

and requested the security 

agencies to discharge 

their duties within the rules of 

engagement and the law. 

The South-East leaders also 

condemned, in totality, the 

activities of violent secessionist 

groups in the zone and elsewhere, 

proclaiming firmly 

that “we do not support them, 

they do not speak for South- 

East”. 

On the impression that 

South-East leaders are silent 

over agitations for secession 

by some youths of the region, 

they said that “is not correct”, 

stressing that “South East 

Governors, Ohaneze President, 

National Assembly 

members, notable leader had 

come out publicly many times 

in the past to speak against 

such agitations”. 

The communiqué revealed 

that South-East leaders, in 

order not to mismanage the 

unfortunate situation, “have 

set up a committee to engage 

such youths to stop and allow 

elders speak to address such 

fears”. 

On the safety of the Igbo 

indigenes in other parts of the 

country and the newly established 

regional security outfit, 

etc, the communiqué added: 

“The meeting directed 

our Governors and Ohaneze 

Ndigbo to liaise with indigenes 

from the northern part 

of Nigeria and indigenes of 

other regions to assure that 

the nation, Nigeria, and their 

people of their safety in 

South-East. 

“The meeting endorsed our 

South-East joint security outfit 

- Ebubeagu-and asked 

them to work with security 

agencies and to respect the 

rights and privileges of all 

those living in the South-East 

and our visitors. 

“We request our National 

Assembly from the South- 

East to support State Police 

creation in the on-going constitutional 

amendment.” 

The Committees set up, according 

to the communiqué, 

are “Agitation; engagement 

with other regions; those of 

our people in the North, 

South-East, South-South and 

South-West; IPOB, MASSOB, 

Youths and Market people, 

Okada and Keke; Diaspora; 

Advocacy; and Diplomatic 

engagement with Foreign 

Missions”. 

Those present at the meeting 

include the host Governor 

of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi, Abia State 

Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, 

Deputy Governors of Anambra 

and Imo states, Dr. 

Nkem Okeke and Prof. Placid 

Njoku respectively, the 

Senate Minority Leader, Senator 

Enyinnaya Abaribe, 

Minister of Labour and Employment, 

Senator Dr. Chris 

Ngige, the Minister of State 

for Mines and Steel Development, 

Hon. Uchechukwu 

Ogah, President General of 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Amb. 

George Obiozor, former President 

of the Senate, Senator 

Anyim Pius Anyim, former 

Governor of old Enugu State, 

COVID-19: We e tak 

ake e personal hygiene ver 

ery y seriously 

– Nwokike, CEO of Saftermobo, makers of KilRox Wipes 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru & Joseph 

Erunke 

BARELY two months after 

its deployment into the Nig 

e r i a n 

market having been launched 

in March, KilRox Disinfecting 

Wipes has become a household 

name in the country. 

The efficacy of the product, 

which was birthed in Nigeria in 

the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 

has given citizens the best 

choice in treating personal hygiene. 

Chief Executive Officer of 

Saftermobo Nigeria Limited, 

makers of KilRox Disinfecting 

Wipes, Mr Nnamdi Nwokike, 

told Sunday Vanguard how the 

product, with 99.9 percent efficacy 

in tackling viruses, bacteria 

and fungi, is fairing in the 

market, why KilRox Disinfecting 

Wipes is different and how 

efforts are being put in place by 

the company to launch another 

hygiene product. 

“Most wipes that we have are 

antibacterial, that is, they take 

care of bacteria, but we take care 

of beyond bacteria. 

“KilRox Wipes is different 

from any other wipes because 

the ingredients are different and 

that is why we went through proper 

scrutiny with NAFDAC and 

got approval for the product. 

“Our wipes take care of viruses 

and fungi. It is a product we 

call divine product.” 

He explained why KilRox Disinfecting 

Wipes was launched. 

His words: “As the COVID-19 

pandemic set in last year, we began 

to think of what to do to first 

raise the consciousness of hygiene 

in our country, given that 

By Akpokona Omafuaire 

HE Okpe people identi 

Tty project got a boost 

yesterday as the President of 

oil-rich Ugborhen autonomous 

communities of Okpe, 

Dr. Nelson Ukoko pledged 

his total support for the 

project which aimed to establish 

Okpe as a nation of itself 

and not subservient to any 

other. 

any form of germs coming in 

can spread if people are not conscious 

of hygiene. 

“With proper hygiene, experts 

say that 50 percent of diseases 

can be taken care of. 

“We focus on raising the 

awareness of Nigerians on hygiene 

and keeping it going because 

that is the key to the whole 

world order.” 

Nwokike attributed the 

launch of KilRox Disinfecting 

Wipes in Nigeria principally to 

the COVID-19 outbreak. 

His words: “Yes, COVID-19 

made us so vulnerable. As we 

began to think about it, we said 

this should be our own contribution 

to take care of the effect of 

COVID-19 but beyond COVID- 

19, we want to say that it’s our 

eternal contribution towards 

proper personal, industrial, 

•Nwokike 

household hygiene.” 

He spoke further: “As people 

use the product, they will see the 

efficacy level; it’s as good as instant. 

It’s like washing your 

hands before you do anything. 

“You wash your hands when 

you come out of the bathroom. 

If you touch anything, ordinarily, 

you should clean your hands 

so that you remain clean. 

“Most of the time, our hands 

are always moving, touching 

other things; so we need to constantly 

keep our hands clean; 

with our wipes, because it contains 

alcohol, you can wipe your 

hands and eat your food. 

“Catholic priests can also use 

our wipes to clean their hands 

before touching the Eucharist as 

against the water they currently 

use. “With our wipes, you can 

wipe your hands, you can wipe 

your table, you can wipe your 

phones, you can wipe laptops, 

ATM machines, elevator machines, 

hotels and hospitals 

On availability, Nwokike 

said:” Our distribution continues 

to increase every day. We 

launched two months ago, and 

we have sales people now in Abuja, 

Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, 

Onitsha and Awka.” 

Lagos community sacks chief for attacking pastor 

in palace 

* Meiran monarch says peace and security kingdom’s 

priority 

By Kennedy Mbele 

THE traditional ruler of 

Meiran Kingdom in Lagos 

State, Oba (Dr.) Samuel 

Awoyemi Adisa Oroja, says 

peace and security is a priority 

of his people. 

Explaining measures taken 

by the traditional council of 

Meiran to secure peace in the 

area, the monarch told Sunday 

Vanguard awareness programmes 

had been organized 

in the area. 

According to him, the traditional 

council mediated in disputes 

between members of the 

community while dismissing 

a high ranking chief for alleged 

misconduct. 

Oroja explained that one of 

the disputes the traditional 

council mediated is between 

Azeez Adekunle, a traditional 

leader, and Pastor Oluwarotimi 

Adeseha, Meiran Parish 

Pastor of Christ Church of 

New Testament. “The traditional 

council in a move to 

guarantee peace and security 

also decided to ban the dismissed 

chief from attending 

the meeting of the Association 

of African Traditional Religion 

which holds in the palace once 

in a week”, he said. 

“The chief was originally not 

a member of the association 

although his wife had been a 

member from the beginning.” 

Okpe Identity project gets support 

The declaration was made 

when the leadership of Okpe 

Peoples Forum, OPF, led by 

its President, Prof. Kenneth 

Eni paid a congratulatory visit 

on the Ugborhen President 

at Sapele, Delta State. 

According to Eni, "Firstly, 

we are here to congratulate 

you on your emergence as the 

President of Ugborhen autonomous 

communities, we 

had planned to come earlier 

but the Covid-19 lockdown 

hindered us. 

"Secondly, to intimate you 

on efforts toward achieving 

the Okpe Identity project and 

to let you add your support. 

You have set forth as a distinctive 

leader, you know that the 

youths are the future of the 

Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, 

former Governor of Ebonyi 

State, Senator Sam Egwu, 

former Governor of Imo 

State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim 

and former Military Administrator 

of old Anambra 

State, Rear Admiral Allison 

Madueke. 

“He had been coming to the 

palace on the basis of the 

membership of his wife. He 

had also been practising tradition 

healing in Meiran. 

“But since March this year, 

I approved the decision of the 

traditional council which 

banned him from practising 

traditional healing in Meiran 

and also banned him from 

coming to the palace for any 

meeting”. 

The monarch added that 

the offence the chief committed 

was that he beat up a pastor 

in the palace when the traditional 

council was trying to 

resolve an issue between them. 

community and should be 

supported. 

"Thirdly, to stand in solidarity 

with the Okpe Oil communities 

GMOU with SE- 

PLAT. There should be a 

Community Trust Fund for 

the community, the youths 

should be trained so they can 

fit into the oil industry. You 

should create a peaceful environment 

in Ugborhen and 

other communities”.

PAGE 26 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021 

Tribute 

There was a man I knew who helped 

a former Head of State’s wife gain 

access to her husband whilst the 

latter was in detention and when his life 

was in danger, even though he had never 

met him. 

There was a man I knew who gave 

100,000 USD to a leading traditional 

ruler who was in need and wanted to go 

on a trip to America with his delegation, 

even though he had never met him. 

There was a man I knew who bought a 

beautiful jeep for a former Nigerian/ 

British football star who spent much of 

the time in his Church. 

There was a man I knew who stood by 

the family of a leading SAN when the 

latter was kidnapped even though they had 

never met. 

There was a man I knew who stood by 

the family of a former Minister of Aviation 

when the latter was in detention even 

though they had never met. 

There was a man I knew who fed more 

poor people and paid the school fees of 

more young people than all the other men 

of God in Nigeria put together. 

There was a man I knew who read about 

how the entire family of a young boy from 

Delta state was wiped out by assassins 

whilst the boy himself was left for dead 

with a cut throat but who took the boy into 

his Church, treated him in hospital, 

counseled him, sent him to school, took 

care of all his needs and raised him as his 

own son. 

There was a man I knew who gave shelter 

to the homeless, food to the hungry, clothes 

to the naked and spiritual and physical 

succor to the needy more than any other. 

There was a man I knew who counseled 

and led millions of people all over the 

world to give their lives to Christ and 

become born again. 

There was a man I knew who filled 

football stadiums in South America, the 

Far East, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle 

East and indeed all over the world with 

his remarkable soul-winning and earthshaking 

crusades. 

Widows, orphans 

There was a man I knew who gave 

scholarships to thousands of young people 

to study all over the world and who took 

care of thousands of widows and orphans. 

There was a man I knew who footed the 

bills of many cancer patients and those 

that suffered from other terminal 

illnesses. 

There was a man I knew who hated 

GIRIKAN Art gallery, a boutique 

Oof arts for medium and miniature 

paintings and drawings by emerging 

artists hold a solo art exhibition to 

showcase Judah Jibrin’s visual notation 

on culture, unity, and identity themed 

“Riches of the Land” in collaboration 

with Iwalewa Gallery of Arts in Lekki, 

Lagos between June 12th -26th, 2021. 

Judah Jibrin, a Nigerian artist and 

graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, 

who specialized in paintings from the 

prestigious Zaria Art school has 

participated in several group 

exhibitions. 

Inspired by the need to tap from 

elements of Nigeria’s cultural diversity, 

the solo exhibitionist, Jibrin Judah 

creates works of arts that illuminate 

Nigeria’s culture to celebrate life and 

beauty, work and play, love and 

harmony through the visual 

configuration of ideas and beliefs within 

the conceptual boundaries of Nigeria’s 

unity in diversity. 

In a recent interview, the paint 

specialist and artist expressed delight in 

the exhibition reality and stated that 

he sees it as an opportunity to express 

and showcase his creativity beyond 

rhetoric 

In his word, “I have always been an 

artist from childhood. I went through 

scribbling and matchstick stages of my 

artistic development, passing through 

tests and experiments of formation. I was 

guided by that divine inspiration that 

all artists share in common as well as 

my personal drive”. 

Continuing “I am only interested in 

showing the grandeur of my country in 

historical festivities, women and 

children and local hawkers. I attribute 

little success I have to this fact. My works 

are series of colorful circles and I love 

them” he said. 

Commenting on Jibrin’s creativity, 

Mrs. Adeolu Tahouf, Managing Director, 

Ogirikan Art Gallery said “we are 

pleased to present a solo exhibition by 

Judah Jibrin whose remarkable 

attributes of art emanating from Nigeria 

is the multiple art styles that ranged 

from naturalism to abstraction and his 

FEMI FANI-KAYODE: TB Joshua helped wife of detained 

Head of State, gave top monach 100,000 dollars 

•Joshua 

injustice and persecution with a passion 

and who helped and supported the 

vulnerable, the weak, the persecuted, the 

oppressed and the misrepresented and 

maligned more than any other. 

There was a man I knew who set up the 

most popular and powerful satellite 

television station on the African continent 

to propagate the gospel of our Lord Jesus 

Christ and to display His glorious and 

remarkable healing and loving power. 

There was a man I knew who was a real 

patriot, who loved his country Nigeria, 

who loved his continent Africa and who 

loved the Church more than any other. 

There was a man I knew who flew more 

refugees from foreign lands back home 

to Nigeria and fed and gave them jobs 

more than any other. 

There was a man I knew who never 

responded to his detractors and critics 

and who preached nothing but love and 

forgiveness. 

There was a man I knew who was gifted 

in the prophetic, who worked many 

miracles in the name the Lord and who 

always gave God the glory. 

Foreigners 

There was a man I knew whose Church 

attracted 6 out of every 10 foreigners that 

come to Nigeria. 

There was a man I knew who was better 

known and more loved and respected than 

any other Nigerian living or dead in the 

nations of the world. 

There was a man I knew who prayed into 

power and counseled many world leaders 

and Presidents than any other. 

There was a man I knew who was more 

comfortable in the company of the poor 

than he was in the company of the rich. 

There was a man I knew who suffered 

more persecution and tragedy than any 

other man of God in Nigeria without ever 

complaining. 

There was a man I knew who derived 

more joy in giving than receiving and 

whose charitable works and humility was 

second to none. 

There was a man I knew who preferred 

to build prayer retreats with beautiful 

trees, beautiful animals and beautiful 

flowers than private universities. 

There was a man I knew who inspired 

more than any other, who always made 

time for those in despair, pain and anguish, 

who always allayed the fears of those he 

counseled and who offered the best advice 

that anyone could ever hope for. 

There was a man I knew who believed 

that kindness to even the cruel and loving 

even the unlovable was the duty of every 

follower of Christ. 


forgot his roots and who took pleasure in 

telling others about his humble 

beginnings. 


judged others, who prayed for his enemies, 

who loved those that hated him and who 

helped as many Muslims, Jews, Hindus 

and Buddhists as he did Christians. 

There was a man I knew who was closer 

to being an angel than any other person 

that I have ever met before in my entire 

life. 

That man’s name was Temitope 

Balogun Joshua the founder of The 

Synagogue Church of All Nations. 

He was a great Prophet of the Living 

God whose remarkable ministry and 

extraordinary works shook the entire 

world and brought solace and hope to 

several generations. 

He passed on a few days ago and we 

God glory for his life. Until the end of 

time he shall be remembered and 

celebrated for being the kind-hearted, 

loving, caring and generous soul that 

he was. 

Fare thee well 

He was one of God’s ‘end-time’ 

Generals and his fruits and works speak 

for him. 

Fare thee well brother and please rest 

in peace. You ran your course, you 

fought a good fight, you did us proud 

and you earned your crown. 

We will never forget you and the 

impact you made in our respective 

lives. 

We shall meet again at the marriage 

feast of the Lamb and until then we 

shall hold on to your words and 

remember your counsel. 

We shall be strong and bold in all 

things and at all times and we shall keep 

our flag of compassion, courage, honor 

and faith flying. 

This is not the end but only the 

beginning of our journey into eternity. 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave 

where is thy power? For even in the 

grave, Jesus is Lord! 

I close with David’s famous words 

when he learnt apart the passing of King 

Saul and his friend Jonathan. 

He said, “Tell it not in Gath, proclaim 

it not in the streets of Ashkelon lest the 

daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest 

the daughters of the uncircumcised 

triumph...How are the mighty fallen 

in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, 

thou wast slain in thine high places. I 

am distressed for thee, my brother 

Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou 

been unto me: thy love to me was 

wonderful, passing the love of women. 

How are the mighty fallen and the 

weapons of war perished!”- 2 Samuel 

1: 20, 25-27. 

I weep at your passing my brother TB. 

Adieu and shalom great Prophet of the 

Living God and great son of Nigeria. 

•Fani-Kayode is a former Minister 

of Aviation. 

Riches of the Land: A Solo Art Exhibition by Judah Jibrin holds in 

Iwalewa Gallery 

•Judah Jibrin 

single-minded devotion to creating good 

and quality artworks. Nigeria is known 

for its multiple and diverse artistic 

voices coming especially from its young 

contemporary artists and Judah is one 

of such young artists. It is with people 

like him that Nigeria is spreading its 

artistic language through authentic 

creations across the continent and the 

world”. 

The exploration of media is also an area 

where Nigerian artists have excelled, 

resulting in a variety of artistic 

creations that are nothing but exciting. 

S part of its effort to promote the 

Acountry’s culture, popular 

education provider, Chrisland Schools 

held its Language, Arts and Culture Day 

on Friday. 

This event, which held in the school 

premises at Opebi, was themed: ‘One 

Root, Many Branches’, an allusion to the 

country’s rich cultural diversity. 

The occasion featured pupils aged 

between seven and eleven, dressed in 

indigenous attires reflective of cultures 

from the six geo-political zones of the 

country. Also on display were local 

delicacies as well as cultural dances and 

dramas performed in Igbo, Hausa and 

Yoruba. 

Mr. Eric Van Der Merwe, Principal of 

the school, explained the importance of 

the event as it helps students develop an 

Judah’s experiments with acrylic, a 

western media in terms of its usage, he 

manipulates it to make beautiful 

artistic statements”. 

Chrisland Schools Celebrate 

Language, Arts and Culture Day 

appreciation for art and language as 

well as different cultures. 

“Nigeria has one of the best cultures 

in the world and this is what has kept 

me back in Nigeria for the past 11 years. 

As a school, we have discovered that a 

lot of students are not in touch with 

their background and culture, hence 

the reason for this occasion. This is an 

event the school has successfully done 

each year as a way of keeping students 

in touch with their roots,” he said. 

Special guest of the occasion, Hon. 

Olufunke Rekiya Hassan of Onigbongbo 

Local Council Development Authority, 

described the event as remarkable and 

praised Chrisland High School for it’s 

commitment to the promotion of 

culture. 

LAGOS LG POLL: APC Stakeholders seek nullification of primaries 

By Olayinka Ajayi 

LTHOUGH the primaries for local 

Agovernment election of the All 

Progressives Congress , APC, in Lagos 

State have come and gone, petitions 

continue to fly, alleging that the 

exercise was marred with 

irregularities. Members from various 

local governments across the state 

maintained that the primaries were 

manipulated in favour of some 

particular persons. 

They therefore appealed to the 

National Leader of the party, Asiwaju 

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene by 

reverting to the status quo, mandating 

the party leadership to do fresh 

primaries or disqualify those found 

wanting. 

The latest is the petition at Ikosi- 

Isheri LCDA where aggrieved members 

alleged that the manner the primaries 

were conducted could lead to party 

members engaging in anti-party 

activities during the main election. 

Those who purchased forms and 

cleared to contest the chairmanship 

election in the LCDA were Bada 

Abolanle Sammy with Form number 

0030; Martins Anna Abiodun- 0083; 

Bashkirs Kareem A. - 0095; Omoba 

Adeyinka Oyediran- 0194; Fasasi 

Abideen O. - 0085; Balogun Wasiu 

Oluwatoyin - 0277; Oromidayo 

Balogun T. - 0264; Jegede Oyekunle S. 

-0195 and Kareem Bola Fausat - 0360. 

The stakeholders stated that since 

the primaries scheduled for May 

could not hold due to fracas in the 

LCDA, the panel that should conduct 

the exercise should come back and do 

their job. 

They stated that Oyekunle became the 

consensus candidate supported by six 

other contestants. 

He, therefore, became the ideal and 

party 's candidate. The stakeholders 

believed that since nine contestants 

bought forms and six endorsed 

Oyekunle, the committee should 

conduct fresh primaries or hand over 

to him the flag of the party to fly in the 

election. They argued that it was 

Oyekunle who built and mobilised 

members for the party during his eight 

years as party Chairman with his 

outstanding records very conspicuous.

Vanguard, SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2021, PAGE 27 

Save my son, father of boy with kidney failure, cries for help 

•Boy needs N12m for transplant 

By Nnamdi Ojiego & 

Anthony Afolabi 

CERTAINLY, this is not 

the best of time for family 

of Ajayi Sunday Gbenga of Ado- 

Ekiti, Ado Local Government 

Area of Ekiti State, as one of their 

sons, Boluwatife Samuel, is 

down with kidney failure. 

Boluwatife, a JSS 1 student of 

Ado Community High School, 

Ado Ekiti, was diagnosed with 

kidney failure on the May 12, 

2021, at the Federal Teaching 

Hospital, Ido Ekiti. 

Medical reports from the hospital 

which was made available 

to Sunday Vanguard, showed 

that Boluwatife has “Acute 

Glomerulonephritis complicated 

with hypertension and end 

stage renal failure.” 

What this means is that the two 

kidneys have short down making 

it difficult for him to pass 

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. James had no objections. 

As promised, on a Thursday 

evening, after confirming that 

James was home by telephone call, 

she came, alone; Timo was not 

available to accompany her for 

some reasons. Incidentally only 

James and his house help were in. 

The outdoor service of a nearby 

eatery was contacted to bring some 

snacks. She was entertained and 

left after spending a couple of 

hours. 

Quite a number of other 

subsequent visits were made, prior 

to her to Kaduna where she was 

posted for her national service, 

without any incidence. However, 

on this rainy day when the weather 

was very cool, she visited again 

and both of them were alone in 

James’ apartment. After the 

usual pleasantries, the atmosphere 

became charged romantically. 

James’ wife had not been home for 

several weeks because the students 

at school where she was a teacher 

were taking exams and she needed 

to remain at Abuja to conclude the 

marking and grading exercise. 

Gradually and unobtrusively, 

James and Joyce began to reach 

out for each other, switching sitting 

positions and holding hands with 

little or no protest from either 

side. It was difficult to determine 

urine. 

The report further revealed 

that the boy “has had several 

sessions of Haemodialysis but 

recovery has not been remarkable. 

He needs renal transplant.” 

Mr. Ajayi, a civil servant with 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, said he 

has exhausted his meagre savings 

on treatment and called on 

Nigerians, corporate organisations 

and Ekiti State government 

to come to his aide. 

Narrating his ordeal, he said, 

“The sickness started on the 9th 

of May 2021 with symptom of 

fever and vomiting. We took 

him to hospital immediately 

and we have been on it till date. 

“Since then, he has been on admission 

at the same hospital. We 

have been taking him for dialysis 

two times a week and he has 

undergone about eleven sections 

of dialysis just to save his 

Errors of yesterday (2) 

who initiated the move, but 

caressing soon commenced, 

arousal ignited, official barriers 

broke down, serenity of the 

environment conspired, selfcontrol 

evaporated and without 

prior intention, they were crisscrossing 

beyond the forbidden 

boundary. At the end, it was a 

mixture of pleasure, sadness and 

anxiety. It was first time for the girl. 

She became confused. The father 

must never get to know that she 

would not be met intact on her 

wedding night. And in order to 

pre-empt unavoidable temptations 

during the national service period, 

the parents were arranging for her 

to get married before going for the 

NYSC program but she demurred, 

acceding to consummate the 

wedding only after the service 

year. The fiancé agreed with her 

time table. ‘ 

Meanwhile, preparations for 

departure to Kaduna were at 

advanced stage and two weeks 

later, she traveled to her station. 

By mutual consent, further 

visitations to James ceased though 

they spoke on telephone. Two 

months into the service year, she 

started to experience dizziness and 

general weakness. She presumed 

it must be a malaria attack and 

procured some OTC drugs for 

treatment. When the symptoms 

persisted after three days, she 

contacted her doctor who ordered 

for a medical test. The result was 

devastating. Two months old 

pregnancy. She was 

flabbergasted. But how? Just 

an innocuous, stray and awkward 

attempt? She had heard of 

married couples who engaged in 

almost daily and vigorous 

conjugal expeditions, and yet the 

women never conceived until 

life. 

“Doctors said the solution is 

to carry out a kidney transplant 

for my boy and N12 million is 

required for the surgery.” 

The distraught father, who 

said he has not received any 

form of assistance, stated that 

money is a major obstacle to 

his son’s treatment. “I am begging 

well-meaning Nigerians 

and Ekiti State government to 

please kindly help me to save 

the life of Boluwatife”, he pleaded. 

Samuel’s surgery would be 

carried out at Zenith Hospital 

in Abuja. Those who are moved 

to assist can do so through the 

following account details: Ajayi 

Gbenga Sunday, account number- 

3000166967, First bank. 

He can also be reached on his 

phone 

numbers: 

08033607780 and 

08136797493. 

600 benefit from free eye treatment in Ogun 

•Participants during the 2-day free optical and surgical 

treatment in Abeokuta, Ogun State. 

By James Ogunnaike 

NO fewer than 600 people 

benefited from a 2-day free 

optical and surgical treatment organised 

by the Treasure House of 

God, Abeokuta in partnership 

with Glorious Church, United 

States. 

The programme, which took 

place in Abeokuta, the Ogun State 

capital, included provision of eye 

glasses, medication and surgery. 

Set man, Treasure House of God, 

Pastor Seye Senfuye, during the 

occasion, said the project was one 

of the churches’ efforts to provide 

health facilities in support of government’s 

vision and drive towards 

providing quality medical 

services for the people. 

He said, “the churches, with this 

Optical and Surgical Treatment 

several years after. She refused 

to believe the result and went to 

another medical laboratory 

which confirmed the same 

thing. It was a disaster. She 

sobbed and wept. She became 

suddenly withdrawn and 

remained agoraphobic for 

several days. Her new friends 

were wondering what might 

have happened to an otherwise 

I am sorry about 

that; not much is 

happening here, 

and, guess who is 

with me; Timo, can 

you imagine, since 

all these days; or 

are you the one 

hiding him from 

us? I put my 

phone on speaker 

so we can all chat 

lively and active lady bubbling 

with excitement and vivacity at 

the orientation camp. 

Then, she became remorseful. 

What a demonstration of 

asininity. She could not just figure 

how everything happened so fast. 

How could she have been so 

naïve? Now, how would she break 

the news to her father the 

disciplinarian, her fiancé the 

quintessential, her friend the 

confidant and finally, her former 

boss the accomplice? 

She called her friend, Ajoke and 

persuaded her to visit Kaduna 

for comradeship and sightseeing. 

Ajoke agreed and on the 

•Boluwatife 

project tagged ‘Medical Mission 

2021’, will provide free eye glasses 

and on-the spot medication for 

a number of beneficiaries, irrespective 

of faith and clime”. 

Senfuye said the churches organised 

the event because of the 

need to provide medical service to 

the needy in the society. 

“We are focusing on the poor and 

vulnerable because we know the 

rich can take care of their medical 

bills. The needy in our society need 

a hand because we are aware that 

many of them cannot afford their 

medical treatment”, the pastor 

said. 

The Lead Pastor of Glorious 

Church, United States, Dr. Omot- 

night of her arrival, Joyce 

poured out her heart out but 

omitted James’ part. 

Abomination! How will she say 

it? That em.. em. our boss... She 

banished the thought instantly. 

Finally, she declared her 

intention to terminate the 

pregnancy. Her friend was full 

of sympathy, but expressed no 

opinion on the decision. She 

presumed Joyce’s fiancé, Timo, 

must be the expectant father of 

the unborn baby. However, 

within her, Ajoke questioned the 

rationale for wanting to abort the 

pregnancy when the duo could 

easily fast track their marriage 

arrangements. But Ajoke also 

knew that her friend could be 

resolute and unyielding when 

she had made up her mind on a 

sensitive matter like this. 

Whatever may be the motives 

driving Joyce, Ajoke would stand 

by her on any decision taken on 

the issue. After all, what are 

friends for. Ajoke returned to 

Ibadan on the third day 

At the point in time, Timo was 

also carrying out his national youth 

service assignment at Oyo town but 

regularly visited Ibadan where his 

parents resided. Timo, Joyce and 

Ajoke had been friends before 

Timo started dating Joyce. They 

all remained in contact. On one 

week-end, he decided to visit Ajoke 

at her parents’ house where she was 

residing. Both were happy to see 

each other. Discussions ensued, 

ranging from current political 

events to the deteriorating quality 

of life in Nigeria, an outcome of 

various inconsistent government 

economic policies. Finally, she 

asked: “why are you afraid of 

becoming a father?” Before he 

responded, her telephone rang. 

Noting that it was Joyce on the 

line, she put it on the speaker 

and sad “Gist me, my babe, 

ayo Orederu, said his church chose 

to partner Treasure House of God 

to give a hand of fellowship to the 

needy. 

According to him, he had been 

involved in medical missions in 

the United States and other parts 

of the world. “We have done it 

many times in some parts of Nigeria, 

including, Ikenne, but we resolved 

to collaborate with Treasure 

House of God this time 

around”, he added. 

Some of the beneficiaries in the 

2-day free optical and surgical 

treatment organised by the Treasure 

House of God, Abeokuta in 

partnership with Glorious 

Church, United States of America. 

what is the latest development? 

I have a surprise for you”. 

“Ugh, surprise sha?” responded 

Joyce. Anyway let me update 

you, the exercise was successful 

but very painful. I lost so much 

blood to the extent that I 

thought I was going to die. But 

for your work schedule, I 

actually wanted to suggest that 

you stayed behind to give me 

the needed moral and other 

support. After the evacuation, 

I was very weak. I plan to come 

home at the end of the month 

when I hope to have fully 

recuperated. What is 

happening at your end?” asked 

Joyce. Ajoke replied, “I am sorry 

about that. Not much is 

happening here, and, guess who 

is with me, Timo, can you 

imagine, since all these days. 

Or are you the one hiding him 

from us? I put my phone on 

speaker so we can all chat”. 

Alarmed, Joyce asked, “Which 

Timo, my own Timo. Is he still 

there with you? Oh my God. 

You have killed me.” Instantly 

she collapsed and the line went 

dead. “Hello, Joyce, are you 

still there? No response. Some 

of her fellow youth corps 

members who had her 

screamed rushed her to the 

nearest hospital, where she 

gave up the ghost. Timo and 

Ajoke waited for her to call 

back, all in vain. Timo asked 

Ajoke, “What is she talking 

about?” Ajoke was 

dumbfounded. What a price to 

pay for errors of yesterday. 

Post-script : Who is responsible 

for Joyce’ death? 

•Adegbite is a chartered 

accountant, farmer, 

management consultant and a 

retired petroleum oil 

marketing executive.


I control business worth 

2million pounds after 

You are the Founder of Property Wealth. 

What is the organization all about? 

Property Wealth is like a conglomerate, 

we have several businesses within it. 

Property Wealth Estates is a management 

company that uses control of properties 

and seeking permission to use the 

properties as a ‘House of Multiple 

Occupations’. To understand what this 

means, I would recommend people to 

read my book, Rent-to-Rent Made Easy. 

Property Wealth Capital is a company 

that acquires assets for further wealth and 

legacy building, while the Property 

Wealth Education trains, mentors and 

organizes seminars and events for 

everyone keen on getting their foot into 

the property investing market. 

By Ephraim Oseji 

Daniel Moses is the Founder of Property Wealth Education 

in the United Kingdom (UK) with interests in investment, 

training, management and property development. Moses 

has been featured on Fox News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance and many 

other media outlets for his contributions in the real estate market. 

In this interview, the author of ‘Rent-to-Rent Made Easy’ speaks 

on how he lost N87m in Nigeria in 2015 but overcame the 

challenges to becoming one of the rising property entrepreneurs 

in the UK. He also speaks on empowering others to become 

successful property investors. Excerpts: 

doing odd jobs in UK 

•Moses 

Why did you venture into property 

development? 

My journey for independence and to 

create my own economy started in 2004 

when I left Nigeria for the UK in search 

for a better and productive career. 

However, in 2012, I decided to relocate 

back to Nigeria to establish a business in 

oil and gas haulage. Unfortunately, 

towards the end of 2015, we had massive 

challenges in my arm of business whereby 

we had massive loss of around £150,000, 

an equivalent to N87m in today’s 

exchange rate. I went back to the UK and 

had to undertake odd jobs like a delivery 

man, Uber driver etc, before venturing 

into the property business in 2017. Within 

— Daniel Moses 

the last four years, I have managed to 

build a business in valuation of over £2 

million in operation. 

Investment decisions 

We train and guide people in making right 

property investment decisions in the UK. 

We offer this through our multiple 

training programs at Property Wealth 

Education. Many Nigerians can be 

involved by getting themselves educated 

through seminars, networking events, 

reading my property books or even 

following my social media pages. As you 

already know that many middle and 

upper class Nigerians love sending their 

kids to the UK for holiday or study from 

their personal savings and salaries, this 

affects their finances later. In the light of 

this, I would suggest that the first thing to 

do before sending your kids abroad to 

study or for holiday is to put up a viable 

business such as investing in properties 

in the UK to generate funds to shoulder 

the cost of the children’s education or 

vacation. This is so important especially 

now that the exchange rates are going 

crazy and the Naira continues to 

depreciate. 

Investors 

So what we do, first and foremost, is 

educating our prospective investors on 

available opportunities in the UK 

property market and how they can apply 

them to create considerable wealth. This 

is one of the reasons I launched my 

Podcast and wrote Rent-to-Rent Made 

Easy which teaches and gives the 

foundation information on getting started 

in real estate business with little or no 

money. 

Property owners 

There are many Nigerians who have 

bought properties in the UK. We can help 

them manage the properties through the 

management arm of our business. We can 

educate and train those who love to create 

wealth through property in the UK. You 

can invest/partner with us on our many 

projects and gain great returns on 

investment annually. 

Benefits 

Let’s assume you buy a 

land or property today at 

the right location, that 

property 

will 

automatically double in 

value in a matter of time, 

say 10 years. For me, that 

is already a great asset than 

saving the money in a bank 

or maybe starting other 

businesses. So, real estate 

investment doesn’t 

depreciate but appreciates. 

You always win. 

Success stories 

Over the last 18 months, we 

have worked with the likes 

of Temi Sanyaolu. He 

started with us in June 

2019 and, within 60 days, 

he used the Rent-to-Rent 

model to generate £1, 000 

profit. He has now built a 

portfolio of controlled 

properties that has 

replaced his income from 

full time job. Another 

mentee, Sandrine Maha, started her 

journey in January 2021 through our sixmonth 

Wealth Circle mentoring program 

and, within two months, she created a 

portfolio of two properties, generating 

just about £2, 000 net profit monthly. Nick 

I would like to 

say that when 

life knocks 

you down, try 

to land on 

your back 

because, if 

you can look 

up, you can 

get up 

Ifill is another very successful mentee who 

started during lockdown in April last year 

with zero capital and by 2021 has built a 

business generating £100, 000 gross 

income. 

Accessing UK citizenship 

Investing in properties in the UK does not 

provide faster access to becoming a 

British citizenship. But there are specific 

amounts you can invest in the UK that 

gives you the pathway to having a 

business permit. With that, you can walk 

through a path that can lead you to being 

a resident. However, I will highly 

recommend you seek the help of an 

immigration consultant as I am not an 

expert in that area. 

On Rent-to-Rent Made Easy 

I must say that I am super excited to have 

gained the title, an author, because, as 

much as I am a graduate from the 

University of Benin where I studied 

sociology and anthropology and 

graduated in 2004/2005, I wasn’t really a 

strong reader or someone who loved 

books. However, I started studying and 

reading books for personal development 

in 2017 and my passion has grown 

gradually. After a series of mindset 

development and personal growth, I 

discovered that I had greatness inside me 

to first transform myself and then others 

through what I have learnt. So, in May 

2019, I decided to write a book about 

property to help many start investing in 

property using the same steps I took, 

which involves very little money. The book 

was released on June 8, 2021 and will 

serve as a guide to readers to show how it 

is possible to be an entrepreneur in 

property investment without an overburdening 

sum of capital. I am thrilled 

to share it straight away, climbing on top 

of the chart as an Amazon Bestseller on 

Entrepreneurship Books. Rent-to-Rent 

Made Easy will help anyone discover how 

to start a property business with just £7, 

000 in the UK. However, that does not 

mean that the book only applies to people 

in the UK. It also applies to each and every 

country that has property. 

You will find all the valuable 

and meaningful 

information about starting 

from the scratch to what I 

built in four years in the 

book. Anyone can follow in 

my footsteps and do the 

same. 

Webinar 

People can sign up for my 

live webinar every Thursday 

from 6:30 pm to 8pm. It is 

where I take people through 

our various property 

strategies and how they can 

apply to get the step-by-step 

process to understand what 

the foundation of property 

investing looks like. I am 

also a Podcaster on Spotify 

Music and Google Music 

which is called the Property 

Wealth & Business Podcast. 

Anyone can listen to it from 

their phones by 

downloading the Spotify 

Music app. 

Price of success 

I would like to say that when life knocks 

you down, try to land on your back 

because, if you can look up, you can get 

up. Find your way back, rise and do it all 

over again. Success has a price, and the 

price is hard work.

Viewpoint 

Delta 2023: The Isoko question 

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. 

Working together is success” —Henry Ford 

BY FRANK EGBORO 

ONE is tempted to recall the words of 

Charles Dickens in one of his classics, 

The Tale of Two Cities, that, “it was the best of 

times, it was the worst of times, it was the age 

of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was 

the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, 

it was the season of light, it was the season 

of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was 

the winter of despair, we had everything before 

us. “ 

Yes, we have everything before us as a state 

and a people except political unity. Today, we 

see those who point the way forward as pariahs 

once it does not align with our interest just 

like the character Spurinna who warned Julius 

Caesar in the Shakespeare classics of impending 

danger which Caesar ignored to his 

peril. This is the bane of our current crop of 

political actors and vociferous restive elders. 

According to Trevor Roper, prophets are unnecessary 

distractions in times of victory. 

There is so much rascality amongst our political 

class breeding traits that smacks irresponsibility 

and internecine conflicts. 

Our leaders must lead by example ensuing 

bitterness and a high sense of responsiveness 

in their utterances and comments as we sail 

towards 2023. As some of them are spoiling 

for trouble, they should remember the words 

of Benjamin Franklin, who said:”If a man can 

have half his wishes he will double his troubles,” 

and the advice of John Mason, who 

said:‘No one should pray for rain if he will 

complain of the mud.” 

We have pretended over the years of our 

pyrrhic unity and the cracks are becoming 

obvious like a pregnant woman. 

The cracks appearing today have been there 

but we have refused to address them because 

of our ogogoro and agbata eeke political 

actors that have become our Achilles Heels. 

The hocus-pocus festering in our political 

space from our political gladiators currently 

can be likened to a circus rehearsal that reveals 

loss-of-control, fear, frustration, confusion 

and intransigence. And it reminds one of 

the words of former British Prime Minister, 

Harold Wilson, who said: “Alliance is held together 

by fear, not by love.” 

In the present political harum-scarum, the 

neanderthals and kindergarten politicians in 

alliance with our voodoo political players are 

rationalizing the issues of equity, fairness and 

zoning coated in ethnicity. They are displaying 

so much ignorance and naivety. This is not 

the time for macabre dance and buffoonery 

nor political correctness and mendacious unjustifiable 

medieval stone-age self-serving arguments 

that cannot fly in this millennium. 

According to John C. Maxwell, the Stone Age 

didn‘t end because people ran out of stones. It 

ended because people kept learning and improving. 

We must learn to extend a handshake 

across the three senatorial zones, building bridges 

of oneness, friendship, inclusiveness and commonality. 

Whether we accept it or not, we need 

each other. Disunity and bickering over who gets 

what instead of engaging one another will destroy 

us. Imagine what we can accomplish if 

we don’t care about who takes the credit according 

to Harry Truman. The time has come 

for a consultative forum, a round table conversation 

and sincere dialogue among the ethnic 

nationalities that make up Delta State to chart 

The governor cannot afford to 

leave behind a broken state with 

all its inherent gravitas for the 

sake of posterity 

the way forward. 

Enough of the hullabaloo and vituperations 

emanating from our people across all divides 

in the state. The threat that 2023 will be a fight 

to finish by one tribe, is political harakiri. 

And it is unacceptable because no one holds 

the monopoly of violence but we always stoop 

to conquer and it takes “wisdom to understand 

wisdom for the music is nothing if the audience 

is deaf” according to Walter Lippmann 

(1899-1974). 

We must talk to ourselves if not we may go in 

circles making little progress like the Israelites 

who covered a distance of 613km between 

Egypt (Kemet) and Isreal (Canaan) for 40yrs 

at the rate of 43 metres a day, a distance a sixyear-old 

can run in less than five minutes. Only 

Moses can explain this snail-speed waka 

waka. 

The state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, is the 

generalismo of Delta State today and his recent 

political opinion has become a barbiturate 

causing our political undertakers amnesia. 

In other words, the governor baring his 

mind on the ethos for future leadership has 

elicited wild reactions across various interest 

groups threatening the fundamental accord 

that binds the people over the years. So much 

as his views are deleterious to the interest of 

political bigot(s), the governor is entitled to his 

opinion as a stakeholder and also as the man 

on the saddle in the state. 

The power rotation principle so to speak in 


Delta State is an accidental design of the PDP 

political family and not binding on other political 

parties like APC and this is the limitation 

of the PDP power structure, notwithstanding 

that they are the dominant party in the 

state. The fact that APC is a formidable threat 

and hot on the trail of PDP, should be discomfiting 

enough for them to put on their thinking 

caps for a round table discourse. This is where 

I think the governor should take the driver‘s 

seat to steer the affairs of the state by calling a 

stakeholders’ dialogue for a jaw jaw. Such an 

event would be an avenue to discuss the much 

talked about agreement or understanding as 

it were for the progress of the state and peaceful 

co-existence. 

Put differently, the governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, 

should also realise that he is a beneficiary of 

the zoning arrangement. This point is without 

bias to the events and the horse-trading at the 

PDP primaries where Okowa emerged as a 

candidate. The hurly-burly of the PDP primary 

of 2015 notwithstanding, Okowa was duly 

elected by the three senatorial districts and 

now he is governor having emerged through 

the slot of Delta North. Why the foray into 

sentiments of ethnic higgledy-piggledy? Going 

forward, his recent utterances have become 

a template or a barometer, commentators 

are using to gauge the mode of political 

players and the thinking of the power vampires 

and extremists, especially those within 

the corridors of power. 

Yes, the time has come for the governor to 

call a conference as an elixir to calm frayed 

nerves, as a way of addressing mutual distrust, 

suspicion, anger, bitterness and ethnic 

disunity before the people start tearing each 

other apart. The governor cannot afford to 

leave behind a broken state with all its inherent 

gravitas for the sake of posterity. 

Isoko wadoooo! Isoko tolopia!! 

*Frank Egboro, President, Down 2 Earth 

Network, writes from Warri. 

earhdown126@yahoo.com 08023303339 

sms only. 

ECONOMY: Time to take diversification seriously 

BY CHRISTOPHER EKPENYONG 

THE untold hardship being experienced by 

Nigerians today due to the high cost of 

food items, goods and services and high rate of 

unemployment is an issue of serious concern. 

A recent World Bank report said the rising prices 

of food items pushed an estimated seven million 

Nigerians below the poverty line in 2020 

alone and accounted for over 60 percent of the 

total increase in inflation. 

Today, the economy of the giant of Africa is at 

the point of collapse. 

All over the world, no country has thrived on 

reliance on a mono-product economy. Therefore, 

like always, I am reiterating my stance that 

we must diversify if we must guide Nigeria’s ailing 

economy out of the woods. 

Agriculture must be accorded a top priority. It 

is time to return to agriculture. 

There is also the need to revive our moribund 

and abandoned industries littered in all parts of 

the country. 

Notable and critical examples among them 

are the Ajaokuta Steel Industry, the Paper mills, 

Tyres manufacturing companies, and even the 

Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria 

(ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area 

of Akwa Ibom State. 

The Ajaokuta Steel Company located in Kogi 

State was established in 1979 with the capacity 

to create over 600,000 jobs. Currently, the Steel 

industry in Nigeria is as good as dead with only a 

few workers left on the ground. It is pathetic! 

Also, as of 1986, Nigeria had three Pulp and 

Paper mills located across the country. There was 

the Nigeria Newsprint Manufacturing Company 

(NNMC), Oku-Iboku, in Akwa Ibom State, 

the National Paper Manufacturing Company 

(NPMC), Iwopin, Ogun State; and the Nigeria 

Paper Mill (NPM), Jebba, Kwara State. Those 

industries which had combine capacity to employ 

not less than 100, 000 people are all now 

moribund. 

It is disheartening that over the years Nigeria 

imports over N400billion ($1.2 billion) worth of 

paper annually. Even in 2020, I read a report by 

the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of 

Nigeria saying that Nigeria is importing printing 

papers at N3trillion. 

Unfortunately, the nation has no forest with 

pulpwood in sufficient quantities to meet the demands 

of the paper industry. A few decades ago 

Nigeria was into vehicle assembling. 

There was Volkswagen assembly plant in Lagos, 

the Peugeot assembly plant at Kaduna, Leyland 

in Ibadan and ANAMCO in Enugu that 

produced our buses and trucks then. 

Also, there was Steyr at Bauchi, producing our 

agricultural tractors and Exide in Ibadan, producing 

the batteries, not just for Nigeria but for 

the entire West African sub-region. 

Recall that Isoglass and TSG in Ibadan were 

producing windshields while Ferodo in the same 

Ibadan was producing brake pads and discs. 

The Dunlop in Lagos and Michelin in Port 

Harcourt were into manufacturing of tyres sourcing 

raw materials from our rubber plantations 

located in Ogun, Rivers and Cross River State. 

The clothes we wore then were also produced 

from the UNTL textile mills in Kaduna and Chellarams 

in Lagos with raw materials from our 

locally planted cotton. 

Also, Nigerian Airways which was the biggest 

carrier in Africa is no longer operational. Sadly 

most of these industries failed after Nigeria returned 

to civil rule in 1999 due to financial mismanagement, 

corruption-ridden system. 

Indisputably, past and present administrations 

have launched several reforms and Programmes 

aimed at improving the economic situation of 

Reality shows, poy-TV and what value means to a 24-year-old Nigerian 

BY GIFT WOGU 

IF you met me during the second season of 

the Gulder Ultimate Search, it would be all 

I talked about. The idea of people being adventurous, 

vulnerable, and providing premium entertainment 

for us was exciting. The second season 

was the first one I watched, and I loved the 

thrill. I remember, I was about 9, getting ready to 

be shipped off to a boarding school the next year 

and what was on my mind was, “how will I watch 

Gulder Ultimate Search from school?” 

When Maltina Dance All came, it blew me 

away too. A single mum raised me, so I remember 

telling my Nigerian mum that we should 

audition for the show. You need to see the way she 

looked at me. I couldn’t even dance to save a life, 

so what was I thinking? I watched the episodes of 

Maltina Dance All, and when I got to the boarding 

school, I was sad because missing it was not 

something I had envisioned. 

My love for these shows evolved as they churned 

out more of them. I loved Who wants to Be A 

Millionaire, Nigerian Idol, MTN Project Fame, 

and when I discovered Big Brother Naija, I fell in 

love with reality TV shows over again. I love it so 

much that people who miss any part would reach 

out to me for updates. I could talk about it in my 

sleep without missing a beat. 

Reality TV shows and I have a healthy romantic 

relationship where I pay my subscription and, 

in return, get premium entertainment. Acting is 

excellent, but you know what’s better? Unscripted 

shows where people get to be themselves and 

show us the good, the bad, and the nasty. 

Have you taken your time to wonder why 

Nigerians love reality TV shows? It is the relatability 

and the ability to see yourself in some 

of the participants. That’s why during the 

BBNaija show, we all have faves, and if you 

look closely, you’d realize that you love your 

fave because there are certain similarities that 

you can see in yourself. If you followed 

BBNaija on Twitter last year, you must have 

come across tweets like “I see myself in Laycon” 

or “Erica reminds me so much of myself.” 

That’s the beauty of reality TV shows. 

The participants have zero room to act because 

there are no scripts. 

Thankfully, Reality TV shows have become 

a staple in the Nigerian entertainment space. 

It has become so important that we look forward 

to it every year, and it trends effortlessly 

even when the shows have not begun. Do you 

know the exciting thing? We always say, “where 

una dey see this money?” But how come amid 

this money dry spell, we put some money aside 

to subscribe to our cable to watch reality TV 

shows? 

Do you know some people only watch reality 

TV shows? I am “people.” The only thing I 

watch on TV is reality TV shows. My DStv is 

permanently on E! Because E! does a great 

job at providing quality content. However, 

when it’s a new season for Nigeria’s finest reality 

TV show, I change the channel to 198 

because I want to see the whole action and 

start stanning a fave right away. Many Nigerians 

are like me; they are huge fans of reality 

TV shows. Most people pay attention to their 

TVs 24/7 during reality TV shows because 

they do not want to miss any part of the suspense 

and drama that comes with their favorite 

shows. 

Nigeria is hard enough, and with its neverending 

cycle of unfavorable news, people tend 

to turn away from current affairs, and that’s 

the country. 

Under the present administration we have 

programmes such as the N-Power, National Cash 

Transfer Programme but have not helped to get 

the country out of the woods either; hence, the 

untold suffering and rising unemployment and 

poverty rates in the country. 

Government and leaders at all levels, as well 

as the citizens, must wake up to the realities on 

the ground that if our industries are not working 

we cannot be talking about improving the economy, 

or eliminating poverty in our society. If 

they are not functioning how are we going to 

diversify our economy?. 

We must be thinking about returning to Agriculture. 

Nigeria fared well when Agriculture was 

the mainstay of the country. 

Then cocoa in the West, groundnuts in the North, 

and palm produce in the Southeast were the 

three major agricultural produce that sustained 

the economy of the regions from 1954 to 1966 

before the regions were balkanized after the 

Nigeria Civil War. 

*Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of 

Akwa Ibom State and current senator representing 

Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, 

writes from Abuja. 

continues.www.vanguardngr.com 

why I love DStv. 

Even though we are always up-to-date with 

the current happenings in society, there’s also 

quality entertainment at an affordable rate. 

Compared to others, DStv offers a wide range 

of options for a reality TV show lover like 

me. As a Keeping Up with The Kardashians 

and Botched fan, I like switching it up if I 

want to taste the Naija culture; DStv serves 

me in reality shows like Big Brother Naija is 

my all-time favorite and Ultimate Love. Also, 

if I’m interested in Keeping up with my favorite 

BBNaija stars, shows like Mercy and 

Ike or I am Laycon gives me the feels. 

No brand does it better than that, and it’s 

hard to compete with what DStv is offering 

for the price. You know how I complained 

about how sad I was about being shipped off 

to a boarding school as a child, I’m an adult 

now, and I carry my DStv everywhere on the 

DStv app. It’s on my iPad and my smartphone. 

So, I don’t have to rush back home to catch 

up with my favorite shows wherever I am. 

If there is one thing I love about having 

DStv in my home, it’s how it helps me block 

the noise outside, and with it, I find happiness in 

chaos. With the variety of relatable content DStv 

offers at a price that matches the value I am 

getting, I am not complaining!


FUNERAL SERVICE FOR OLU OF WARRI 

Photos: Akpokona Omafuaire 

Regent of Warri Kingdom, Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh, and Chief (Dr.) Charles 

Ikomi, at the Commendation and Funeral Service for His Majesty, Ogiame 

Ikenwoli, Olu of Warri, at the Church of God Mission Inc., Olu Palace, yesterday. 

Some members of the Royal family: Prince Babatunde Emiko, Dr. Andrew 

Ayu and Prince Eroro Emiko. 

Chief Winifred Agbejule, Chief Josephine Onemu 

and Chief Mercy Olowu. 

Chief Eugene Ikomi, Chief Solomon Arenyeka 

and Chief Fred Inoma Ogbe. 

Papa Ayo Oritsejafor, former CAN President, 

being welcomed by Bishop Curtis Fianu, New Warri 

Bishopric. 

Urhobo/Isoko Unity Conference 

Photos: Akpokona Omafuaire 

Urhobo/Isoko Unity Conference held at the Petroleum Training Conference Centre, Delta State yesterday. 

Ace comedian 

Godwin Komone, 

a.k.a Gordons, Dcn 

& Dcns Chris 

From left: Chief Ernest Oromona, representative of the Odiologbo of Owhe 

Kingdom, Olorogun Johnson Ukpeibo and Olorogun Martins Abu, at the event, 

yesterday. 

From left: HRM Thomas Egbi, the Okobaro of Ughievwen; 

HRM Isaac Ebube, Odiologbo of Igbuku Kingdom; 

HRM B. Delekpe Esq, Owhoru I, Ovie of Udu Urhobo/Isoko 

Unity. 

Cross section of Urhobo/Isoko people. 

HRM Johnson Duku, King Duku II, the Orovworere of 

Effurun-Otor Kingdom, and His Excellency, AVM Frank 

Ajobena, former MILAD.

Griezmann’s second half strike saves 

France from Hungary 

FRANCE need to 

thank Antoine 

Griezmann who grabbed 

their equalizer to ensure 

they shared the spoils 

against the very impressive 

Hungary yesterday. 

It was fight to finish at 

the Ferenc Puskas Stadium 

in Budapest, Hungary 

as the home team was 

able to show class 

against the world champions. 

The first real attempt 

came in the 14th minute 

when goalkeeper Peter 

Gulacsi did well to get 

down to Karim Benzema’s 

effort and then Antoine 

Griezmann had his 

effort from close range 

saved. 

And three minutes later, 

Mbappe came close 

yet again after Lucas 

Digne’s pinpoint cross 

from the left was met by 

the PSG striker, but the 

France forward guided 

his header just wide of 

the right post. Desperate 

for a goal, France had yet 

another chance to score 

in the 36th minute, as 

Paul Pogba attempted a 

near-post shot from an 

acute angle. Despite that 

France dominated the 

entire first half, it was 

Hungary that took the 

lead just before the halftime 

break. 

Varane pushed forward 

to win the ball and misjudged 

it, which allowed 

Roland Sallai to play it 

in behind and then Attila 

Fiola kept his composure 

before finishing 

past Hugo Lloris. 1-0 

Hungary. Didier Deschamp’s 

men came from 

the tunnel in the second 

half blazing from all cylinders. 

In the 59th 

minute, Dembele who 

came in moments away rifled 

a shot at goal that hit 

the post and went behind 

for a free kick. 

And somehow the 

French team pulled one 

back courtesy Antoine 

Griezmann who was not 

really involved in the 

game. A long ball by Lloris 

was picked up by 

Mbappe, who remained 

calm before crossing into 

the area and the Barcelona 

man Griezmann was 

there to fire in the halfcleared 

ball. Hungary 1-1 

France. 

Youth Ambassador: I feel highly honoured – Mikel 

STOKE City mid 

fielder John Mikel 

Obi has confirmed and 

accepted his appointment 

as Nigeria’s youth 

ambassador after meeting 

with the country’s 

Minister of Youth and 

Sports Development, 

Sunday Dare, on Friday 

Mikel Obi recently 

identified with the government 

in power in the 

West African nation 

when he paid a courtesy 

visit to the Governor 

of Kogi State, Yahaya 

Bello. 

Mr Bello is rumoured 

to be nursing a presidential 

ambition under the 

ruling party, All Progressive 

Congress. 

A modern-day legend 

of the game, Mikel Obi, 

in his new role, will be 

expected to champion 

the causes of the youth 

and inspire them to be 

better. 

And reacting to his appointment, 

the ex- 

Chelsea ace expressed 

his delight while promising 

to wield his influence 

far and beyond the 

beautiful game that 

brought him fame and 

riches. 

“I feel highly honoured 

to be appointed as Youth 

Onuachu 

BRIGHTON & Hove 

are the latest club 

in the English Premier 

League exploring ways 

to sign Nigeria international 

Paul Onuachu 

this summer,. 

*Griezmann 

Ambassador of this country. 

It is a great feeling,” 

the 34-year-old said. 

“I am happy with this 

partnership, and I promise 

to do my best to encourage 

and inspire the 

youths towards national 

development, not just in 

football but in other 

sports like Basketball, 

Boxing among others.” 

Mikel Obi remains one 

of the few Nigerians to 

have won the UEFA 

Champions League after 

helping Chelsea claim 

the prestigious trophy in 

2012. 

A year later, the classy 

defensive midfielder 

sealed his legacy in Nigerian 

football forever 

when he inspired the 

Super Eagles to her 

third continental triumph 

at the 2013 Africa 

Cup of Nations tournament 

hosted by South Africa. 

I’m Nigerian from Edo state, claims Wilder 

DEONTAY Wilder 

once claimed he was 

Nigerian and never stated 

where he is actually from. 

In a recent post ahead of 

the build up to his heavyweight 

clash with Tyson 

Fury claims, the Bronzer 

claims he is from Edo 

state. 

In the video, the former 

WBC champion who has 

never been to the country 

was being interviewed and 

he revealed that he hails 

from the heartbeat of the 

nation. 

In a video posted on 

Tunde Ednut’s Instagram, 

Wilder said: “Once I’m 

done with what I’m doing, 

I’m going back to see my 

tribe Edo. I want to go back 

and learn more about my 

culture and information with 

things about me. “I want to 

see my culture and my ancestors 

and learn a lot of 

things. We all have lots of 

things that we are connected 

to that we know nothing 

about. “I’ll love to go there 

and do research about my 

roots and my tribe” 

Brighton join race to sign Onuachu 

The Seagulls have contacted 

Onuachu’s agent 

through an intermediary 

and talks have started 

over a deal. 

The Super Eagles star 

is likely to leave Racing 

Genk this summer after 

putting himself in the 

shop window over the 

course of the 2020-2021 

campaign, with 37 goals 

combined for club and 

country. 

Though Brigeagulls 

have contacted Onuachu’s 

agent through an 

*Mikel 

Wilder 

intermediary and talks 

have started over a deal. 

The Super Eagles star 

is likely to leave Racing 

Genk this summer after 

putting himself in the 

shop window over the 

hton managed to beat 

the drop last season, they 

struggled in attack, netting 

40 goals, and only 

the teams that finished 

below them and Wolverhampton 

Wanderers 

scored fewer goals. 

In terms of Premier 

League clubs, Brighton’s 

pursuit of Onuachu is under 

threat from West Ham, 

who are also tracking the 

prolific striker. 

It is thought that Brighton 

would be in an advantageous 

position to sign 

the former FC Midtjylland 

man as they have a good 

relationship with Racing 

Genk. 

Racing Genk, who sold 

Leandro Trossard to the 

Seagulls in the summer of 

2019, are demanding a fee 

in the region of 30 million 

euros for Onuachu. 

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021, PAGE 31 

Abducted Rivers United’s 

coach, Eguma released 

THE coach of Rivers 

United Football Club 

of Port Harcourt, Stanley 

Eguma. has been released 

by his kidnappers. The 

news was confirmed by the 

team’s General Manager, 

Okey Kpalukwu but the 

club did not give any further 

details of his release 

and did not say if a ransom 

had been paid. 

Eguma was kidnapped 

last Tuesday on his way 

back from an away match 

against Adamawa United 

played in Gombe.. 

Two men who had been 

travelling with Eguma 

had alerted them to the 

ambush, which at the time 

they said was carried out 

by unidentified gunmen. 

The vehicle they were 

Onuachu 

travelling in had been 

forced to the side of the road 

and the pair were then 

forced out of the car and 

the kidnappers drove off 

with Eguma still in the vehicle. 

Eguma is the longest 

serving coach in the Nigeria 

Professional Football 

League. 

Bendel Insurance FC reject NNL’s 

decision against Remo Stars 

THE management of Bendel Insurance Football Club 

of Benin have rejected the decision of the Nigeria 

National Football (NNL) Disciplinary Committee on the 

case of assault, security breaches and encroachment established 

against Remo Stars. 

Media Officer of the club, Kehinde Osagiede in a statement 

yesterday described as “biased” the Committee’s 

judgement, stressing that it could be “an instrument for 

encouraging further violence in Nigeria football, a call to 

anarchy, and is therefore unacceptable”. 

“The only substance derivable from the judgment is the 

untouchable status vested on Remo Stars by NNL. Directing 

Remo Stars to pay N400,000 to Bendel Insurance FC 

as damages is a big insult to us and the people of Edo 

state. 

Banishment of Remo Stars with no option from their stadium 

over the encroachment and assault on our players 

and officials would have been the first action taken against 

Remo Stars. The failure of the disciplinary committee to 

mention that in their list of sanctions amounts to suffocation 

of justice”, the statement read. 

Maltina School Games: Dare hosts 

2021 Gold Medalists 

THE Minister for Youth and Sports Development, 

Mr Sunday Dare, treated gold medalists that 

emerged from the 2021 edition of the Maltina School 

Games to a special breakfast event last Thursday. 

The celebratory breakfast which was held at the Eko 

Hotel in doubled as the closing ceremony for the Maltina 

School Games 2021 which took place across Bauchi, 

Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. 

The event was aimed at recognising and celebrating 

top athletes that emerged in this year’s edition of the 

Games from the different participating schools across 

Lagos State. 

“For the past few years, the Maltina School Games 

has enriched and revived the dying national sport culture 

of our nation. The reception each edition has 

received is a testament to the need that exists in Nigeria’s 

sport ecosystem and we are truly honored to be at 

the forefront, ensuring this need is met.”Senior Brand 

Manager, Elohor Olumide-Awe said while speaking 

at the event. 

The also applauded the Brand for their immense contribution 

to school sports development in the country. 

Nigerian 4x400m quartets in last 

ditch qualification attempt 

Stories by Ben Efe 

NIGERIA’s men and women 4x400m relay team 

are desperate to secure qualification for the Olympics 

after several missed chances. 

They face teams from Cote d’ivoire, Senegal, Benin 

Republic and Cameroon who were being expected yesterday 

in today’s invitational relay at Athletics Federation 

of Nigeria Olympics trials in Lagos. 

Patience Okon-George, Yinka Ajayi, Glory Patrick, 

Imaobong Nse Uko Knowledge Omovoh and others 

were yesterday rehearsing for the task ahead. They are 

currently rated 17th in the world. The team must grind 

out at least a 3.29.10secs time to land a slot. 

The men’s team faces a herculean task, they stand at 

17th also and have to run at least 3.02.40seconds to leap 

frog teams that are ahead of them.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 20, 2021 

SEE SOLUTION PAGE 5 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Advert Dept: 01- 7924470; Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. 

E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert:advert@vanguardngr.com. Internet: www.vanguardngr.com 

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

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