27062020 - Oshionoles sack dims Tinubus chances

2—SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 — 3

4—SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020

2023: Oshiomole’s sack dims way 

for Tinubu 

By Emmanuel Aziken 

THE sack of close asso 

ciates of Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu in the just dissolved 

National Working Committee, 

NWC of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC is the first 

step towards redesigning political 

interests ahead of President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s exit in 

2023, Saturday Vanguard has 

learnt. 

While the move has seen the 

significant tilt of power from 

Tinubu towards the governors, 

the new dispensation according 

to Saturday Vanguard sources 

will set the template for the political 

re-balancing of both political 

and public offices ahead 

of 2023. 

Despite assertions of a legal 

challenge to the decisions of 

the National Executive Committee, 

NEC, Saturday Vanguard 

gathered yesterday that 

the resolve of many of the 

former NWC members was 

weakening as a number of 

them were beginning to back 

out. 

Besides the former NWC 

members, a few of the governors 

that had significantly 

backed Oshiomhole, including 

two Northwest governors 

were also said to be having second 

thoughts given the domestic 

political challenges they are 

presently confronted with. 

The most significant development 

from the envisaged rebalancing, 

it was learnt, would 

be the rezoning of the office of 

National Chairman to the 

North with the prospect of shifting 

the presidency to the South 

in 2023, a source privy to the 

working of the president’s inner 

circle told Saturday Vanguard. 

“Asiwaju’s people are not seeing 

the big picture,” one of the 

sources said yesterday in reference 

to reported muttering 

from associates of the national 

leader of the party that his 

influence had been curtailed 

with the sack of the Comrade 

Adams Oshiomhole led executive. 

Pursuant to the rebalancing 

of the offices, the newly inaugurated 

caretaker committee 

is expected to initiate a nationwide 

mobilization of party 

members from the ward levels 

in the period leading to the election 

of the new national executive. 

The exercise is expected to 

open up the party through membership 

renewal at the ward levels, 

a move a source said would 

loosen the tight control some 

political godfathers now have 

over the present structure. 

“There would be a shaking 

from the ward through the local 

government level to the zonal 

before the National Convention,” 

the source said. 

Under the blueprint for the 

caretaker committee as drawn 

out by the president’s inner circle, 

political party positions 

would be rebalanced as a way 

of fitting in with the 2023 plans, 

a source said. 

“The new national executive 

to be elected is to be in office for 

four years and would guide the 

party through the next General 

Election. It is as such expected 

that the offices would be zoned 

in a way to fit in with the party’s 

*APC to rezone office of national chairman 

*Tinubu still pillar of APC 

From left: Director of Development and Delivery, Internationa lnstitute for Tropical 

Agriculture (IITA), Dr Alfred Dixon; Project Administrator, Building an Economic 

Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System Phase 2 (BASICS II), Ezinne Ibe; 

and Project Manager, BASICS II, Prof. Lateef Sanni, at the launch of BASICS II 

casava project at IITA, Ibadan on Thursday. 

2023 posture,” one source said. 

While that plan of getting a 

northern national chairman 

would be reassuring for the national 

leader’s presidential aspiration, 

it was, however, gathered 

that the writers of the script 

did not necessarily have him in 

mind. 

One source revealed that even 

Tinubu’s hold in Lagos is now 

becoming a matter of debate 

among some of the associates 

in the inner circle of the president. 

“You can imagine that before 

the moves against Oshiomhole 

that many of his associates were 

sounded out and they did not 

object to the moves that were 

taken,” the source said. 

Tinubu has been praised for 

his political acumen in keeping 

Lagos under his control 

since leaving office in 2007. 

However, the Governor’s Advisory 

Council, GAC the group 

which dictates the pace and 

pattern of politics within his political 

realm was recently forced 

to ban all political groups within 

the APC including the Mandate 

Group and Justice Forum. 

The ban echoed fears that 

political adversaries of the national 

leader were aiming to 

breach his Lagos fortress 

through some of his reliable 

lieutenants. 

However, a key actor in the 

scheme against Oshiomhole 

differed on the outcome of the 

NEC in respect to Tinubu, saying 

that it was not directed 

against him. 

“You have Governor Oyetola 

in the new executive and you 

also cannot say that the National 

Secretary and the new caretaker 

chairman are opposed to 

him,” one source said in respect 

to Senator John Akpanudoedehe 

and Governor Mai Mala 

Buni, respectively. 

Another source said that 

Tinubu has sacrificed and 

helped the party so much 

that he remains a pillar 

nobody can ignore, assuring 

that President Buhari 

has tremendous respect 

for him. The source confirmed 

that although 

Oshiomhole had great 

understanding with Tinubu, 

the sacking of the party 

chairman was not targetted 

at Tinubu whom he 

said would always enjoy 

support from many quarters 

and members of the 

party. 

SATURDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 27, 2020 — 5 

COSON loses bid to stay judgment 

striking down its incorporation 

*MCSN to reclaim all looted repertoire, 

launches GOCREATE APP 

By Innocent Anaba 

COPYRIGHT Society of Nigeria, COSON, has lost its 

bid to stay the execution of judgment of a Federal High 

Court sitting in Lagos, striking it down as an incorporated 

company in Nigeria. 

The court declined to stay the judgment on a day, Tony Okoroji, 

the Chairman of COSON was in court with others to 

receive the decision of the court. 

In the suit, Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte vs. 

Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte and Ors, the Federal 

High Court described the approval of COSON as an anomaly 

and ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, to 

strike out the name of COSON from the Companies’ Register 

in Nigeria. 

The implication of the March 25, 2020, judgment is that 

COSON never existed in law and anything that has been done 

in its name was illegal, null and void. 

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of MCSN, Mr Mayo 

Ayilaran, has commended the court for resolving the suit it 

brought against COSON. 

Following a plethora of judicial decisions spanning from 

the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court in its favour, 

MCSN, has declared that its large repertoire of musical works, 

sound recordings and even audio visual works as owner, assignee 

and exclusive licensee is intact and therefore, users of 

such works should be careful who they deal with over them. 

APC Crisis: Oshiomhole’s men divided over moves to challenge Buhari 

*Support Buni-led C’ttee, says Issa-Onilu 

*Our hurried formation, cause of crisis -Engr Oyedele, Party’s Logo designer 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

PLANS by members of 

the dissolved Adams 

Oshiohmole-led National 

Working Committee, NWC 

of the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC to legally 

challenge their dissolution 

by the National Executive 

Committee NEC on Thursday 

appeared threatened 

following the decision of a 

few to move ahead. 

On Thursday, 18 members 

of the dissolved NWC 

had faulted their purported 

sack, saying while they were 

watching the ‘unfolding 

drama’, they were also consulting 

with their lawyers 

and other stakeholders to 

know the next line of action. 

A statement to that effect 

was signed by Hilliard Eta 

and Arc. Waziri Bulama, 

factional acting National 

Chairman and acting National 

Secretary in the dissolved 

NWC. 

Although, the group was 

said to have resolved to institute 

a lawsuit against the 

party, Saturday Vanguard 

gathered that the decision 

was however not unanimous 

as a few of the affected 

members have decided 

to let go. 

At Thursday’s emergency 

meeting of the NEC, President 

Buhari had with the 

support of the body dissolved 

the factionalized 

NWC, replacing it with a 

caretaker/national convention 

committee headed by 

Governor of Yobe State, 

Mai Mala Buni, a former 

national secretary of the 

party. 

Oshiomhole was accused 

of “narrowing the party to 

himself” and taking decisions 

without recourse to 

constitutional organs of the 

party. Although, Oshiomohle 

had the support of majority 

of his NWC members, it 

was gathered that majority 

of the APC Governors had 

supported the president’s 

move to support his ouster. 

Few of the governors who 

were either undecided or 

supportive of Oshiomohle 

were said to have had no 

choice in the matter when it 

dawned on them that some 

powerful stakeholders in the 

party had convinced the 

president on the need to dissolve 

the NWC. 

President Buhari had 

consequently directed party 

member to discontinue 

all litigations connected to 

the affairs of the party, stating 

that: “The directive had 

been issued before, unfortunately 

some members failed 

to heed the directive. Thus, 

at this time, it must be made 

a resolution of the party 

which must be effectively 

enforced with dire consequences 

for members who 

choose to ignore the directive.” 

However, hours after the 

NEC meeting, 18 members 

of the dissolved NWC faulted 

their purported sack, saying 

while they are watching 

the “unfolding drama,” 

they are also consulting with 

their lawyers and other 

stakeholders. 

A statement to that effect 

was signed by factional acting 

National Chairman, 

Hilliard Eta and acting National 

Secretary, Arc. Waziri 

Bulama. 

“While the National Working 

Committee is studying 

the unfolding drama, it will 

be consulting with stakeholders 

and team of lawyers 

on the next line of action. 

“Therefore, all members 

of our great Party and concerned 

Nigerians are urged 

to remain calm pending 

outcome of the consultations”, 

the sacked NWC had 

OGONI CLEANUP: 70% of contractors 

handling 1st phase to complete work in 

August — HYPREP 

stated. 

Hurried party formation 

Meanwhile, the man who 

designed the logo of the APC 

in 2013 preparatory to its 

registration, Engr. Ifeoluwa 

Oyedele has attributed the 

crisis in the party to the 

short time available to the 

various blocs who formed 

the party to completely fuse 

together before taking over 

power in 2015. 

Noting that the first 10 

years of a marriage were often 

turbulent, Engr Oyedele 

who was a member of the 

Board of Trustees BoT of the 

defunct Congress for Progressive 

Change CPC, one 

of the legacy parties that 

formed the APC in 2013, expressed 

optimism that the 

ruling party would emerge 

stronger from its current 

wave of crisis. 

Engr. Oyedele spoke with 

Saturday Vanguard at the 

National Secretariat of the 

party in Abuja shortly after 

submitting his expression of 

interest and nomination 

forms ahead of the July 20 

APC Governorship Primary 

Election in Ondo State. 

“As the designer of the 

party logo, am I worried? 

By Joseph Erunke 

THE Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation 

Project,HYPREP,has hinted that about 70 percent of the 21 

contractors handling first phase of remediation work in Ogoni 

cleanup project, consisting of 21 sites, were expected to complete 

work by end of August, 2020. 

The 21 sites,according to the Project Coordinator of 

HYPRED, Dr. Marvin Dekil,were the less complex ones designated 

according to the implementation report of the United 

Nations Environment Programmes, UNEP,submitted on the 

Ogoni cleanup project. 

Dr. Dekil told newsmen, Thursday, in Abuja,that the remaining 

30 percent of the contractors in the same phase were also 

being expected to complete work by November ending. 

Recall that in January 2019, 21 contractors having resolved 

issues of land disputes and chieftaincy tussles, were handed 

over 21 sites located in Tai, Eleme, Gokana and Khana local 

government areas of Ogoni,to begin work. 

Dr Dekil,who was giving assessment of work so far carried 

out in the Ogoni cleanup project, in the last three years,said, “At 

present, about 70% of the contractors are expected to complete 

work by ending of August 2020”, the other 30% are expected to 

finalize by end of November 2020.” 

Yes I am, but again I am not 

worried. Look, when you 

marry your wife, you have 

been together for five years, 

the first 10 years could likely 

be turbulent. Remember 

that during the merger process, 

I said that we were going 

to go through a rough 

patch. One was the fact that 

we admitted a lot of strange 

people who did not share in 

the dream, in our vision for 

us. You can see what happened 

in 2015. 

“Now unfortunately for us 

because we were five different 

groups coming together, 

we had not blended enough 

before we got into government. 

And when you get into 

government in this part of 

the world, there is a lot of 

struggle for people to want 

to take advantage or to hold 

positions. That is what we’re 

going through now, but it is 

a human process and we are 

going to go through and 

emerge stronger. I am sure 

that all these too shall pass 

away and APC will once 

again move in the right direction”, 

Engr. Oyedele said. 

He lamented the state of 

affairs in Ondo State, pledging 

to revive the education, 

sporting and all other sectors 

of the state economy 

should he make it to the 

Alagbaka Government 

House.

6 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 27, 2020 

COVID-19 fatalities likely to rise in 

July, August in Lagos — Abayomi 

*As state remains epicentre with 42% reported cases, 23% deaths in Nigeria 

*Over 35, 000, tests conducted so far 

*2,381 patients in Lagos not in isolation centres 

*FG, LASG to establish COVID-19 community Care Centres 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

and Chioma Obinna 

LAGOS State Govern 

ment has said the reported 

positive cases of COV- 

ID-19 as well as fatalities are 

expected to increase in the 

next two months as it continued 

to battle with the spread 

of the ravaging virus in the 

state. 

The deputy Incident Commander 

who is also the state’s 

Commissioner for Health, 

Professor Akin Abayomi stated 

this during a press briefing 

on Friday, while giving 

an update on COVOD-19 situation 

in the state. 

According to the Commissioner, 

“We have not reached 

the peak period of the reported 

cases and deaths of COV- 

ID-19. But within the next two 

months we are likely to see 

increase in cases in Lagos. Lagosians 

who feel unwell with 

symptoms suggestive of 

COVID-19 are increasing 

but not dramatically out of 

control.” 

He explained that the Ministry 

would commence home 

based treatment and deployment 

of tele Medicine for 

mild cases, while only severe 

cases will be taken to the isolation 

centres, adding that 

there were plans to increase 

the numbers of accredited 

private hospitals for the treatment 

of COVID-19 cases. 

Abayomi said the government 

was providing psycho 

social support to front line 

health workers and patients 

while appealing to residents 

against stigmatising the patients. 

He stated that the state was 

going through community 

transmission and called on 

residents especially the vulnerable 

to always adhere to 

social distancing and other 

preventive measures in order 

to flatten the curve. 

While revealing strategies 

to flatten COVID-19 curve, 

he stated that the number of 

test conducted by the state was 

not enough and that to boost 

it, five private laboratories 

would be accredited for testing 

of samples. He said 

“what is left is logistics to 

Sympathisers trooping to the Oluyole residence of former Oyo State Governor, 

Sen. Abiola Ajimobi. Pix shows left the APC Secretary in Oyo State, Alhaji Taofeek 

Olaoya and the former Commissioner for Local Government, Mr Bimbo Kolade 

addressing sympathisers on the burial arrangement. By Dare Fasube 

complete their registration 

and when those facilities start 

work next week, we would be 

testing more than any state 

in the country.” 

The commissioner, who 

raised concerns over the 

number of cases recorded in 

Alimosho Local Government, 

said that the five additional 

facilities would increase 

the number of private 

firms accredited for treatment 

to eight. 

Abayomi, disclosed that a 

total of 2,381 COVID-19 patients 

in Lagos were yet to be 

admitted in any isolation 

centre in the state adding that 

the state contributed 42 per 

cent out of the 58 per cent of 

coronavirus burden in Nigeria. 

Giving the summary of 

COVID-19 cases, he said the 

state accounted for only 23.6 

per cent of the recorded 

deaths due to COVID-19 in 

Nigeria. 

He said: “Under the distribution 

of cases by local government, 

Eti-Osa Local Government 

continues to have 

the highest number of reported 

cases of COVID-19 in Lagos 

State, followed by Mainland 

and Ikeja councils respectively. 

“Lagos has 9,497 confirmed 

COVID-19 cases. 

5,064 are believed to have 

recovered in the community, 

1,470 admitted and discharged, 

447 currently admitted 

while 2,381, yet to be 

admitted due to wrong information 

and or preference for 

self care at home,” Abayomi 

added. 

He also revealed that five 

private healthcare facilities 

have been shortlisted for accreditation 

and that five private 

testing facilities have 

also been identified to assist 

the state gain control over 

COVID-19. 

In a related development, 

the Lagos state government 

is collaborating with the 

Federal Government to establish 

Community Care 

Centres (CCCs) in four Local 

Governments to test-run the 

healthcare model in the country 

as part to efforts to flatten 

COVID-19 curve in Lagos. 

Abayomi and Permanent 

Secretary, Lagos State Primary 

Healthcare Board, Dr. 

Olugbenga Aina, explained 

that the aim behind the strategies 

was to ensure that the 

state became free from the 

virus. 

The permanent secretary 

said: “People with the mild 

infection of the virus would 

be able to receive basic curative 

and palliative care in 

these centres rather than 

wanting to visit the major isolation 

center before getting 

isolated in Lagos. 

“The facility would be provided 

in conjunction with the 

Federal Government, they 

will be within communities 

where these cases are prevalent 

and the community must 

be ready to take responsibility 

for the centers.” 

Insecurity: Obasanjo calls for the reorganisation of 

security architecture 

By James Ogunnaike 

FORMER President, 

Chief Olusegun 

Obasanjo on Friday called 

for the re-organisation of 

the nation’s security architecture, 

saying that this 

would make the country to 

overcome her security challenges. 

Obasanjo, who said this 

in a lecture he delivered at 

the 2020 Sobo Sowemimo 

Annual Lecture organised 

by the Abeokuta Club, 

maintained that the handling 

of security situations 

by the present government 

did not give any individual 

or group any assurance of 

a secured nation. 

The former President, 

while speaking on the lecture 

titled “COVID-19 and 

Nigeria Security Issues: 

The Way Forward”, posited 

that the issue of fighting 

insecurity in any part of the 

country, must be collective 

responsibility of all. 

He said, “federal security 

architecture as organised 

and operated by the 

present government cannot 

give any individual or 

group hope, let alone assurance 

of security within Nigeria”. 

“Our destiny is in our own 

hands. In reform and restructuring, 

security architecture, 

structure and arrangement 

must devolve 

more security responsibility 

on the community, local 

and state authorities”. 

“Unfortunately, I have 

recently observed from 

some writers on the security 

situation in the North, 

the feeling or attitude of ‘it 

serves them right’. We 

must not gloat at the difficulties 

or misfortune of 

others, rather we must emphathise”. 

“Wherever there is insecurity 

in Nigeria, it must 

be of concern to all of us. 

It should not be the attitude 

of ‘am alright Jack’ 

or ‘it serves them right’. I 

believe it should be ‘we are 

all in one bad boat and we 

must put all hands on deck 

to fix it’. Maybe now that 

we are all feeling the 

pinch, the collective fixing 

will be understood and be 

easy to accomplish”, 

Obasanjo said. 

COVID-19: Osun threatens fresh 

lockdown as state records single 

day highest figure 

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo 

FOLLOWING the confirmation of single day high 

est record of coronavirus cases of 22, Osun State 

Government on Friday threatened to imposed another 

lockdown on the state if residents continued to flout the 

relaxation guidelines. 

The state’s Health Commissioner, Rafiu Isamotu in a 

statement said recording another 22 cases barely 24 

hours after discovering 17 cases showed that residents 

were not taking responsibility. 

The Commissioner also revealed that 11 of the new 

cases were from the ongoing contact tracing within the 

Ede community, while the remaining are from the previous 

cases in Osogbo and its environs. 

“On Thursday, we announced the discovery of 17 new 

cases in our dear State. Sadly, today again, we have 22 

new cases. Considering where we are coming from, this 

is worrisome. We must, therefore, take responsibility. 

The battle against Coronavirus is not over yet. 

“The virus is still very much with us. We must observe 

precautionary measures if we must avoid community 

transmission. 

“With the latest development, the number of our active 

cases as at today, Friday, June 26, is 54. We have 106 

confirmed cases, out of which the State has successfully 

treated and discharged 47 patients while five deaths have 

been recorded,” Dr. Isamotu added. 

Eight medical staff of FMC, Abeokuta 

test positive for COVID 19 

By James Ogunnaike 

NO fewer than eight staffers of the Federal Medi 

cal Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta have tested positive 

for the novel coronavirus. 

The affected staff consisted of Medical Doctors, Nurses 

and an Administration staff. 

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by 

the hospital’s Head of Public Relations and Information, 

Segun Orisajo. 

Orisajo said the affected staff were part of the team 

which had contact with a two and half years old coronavirus 

positive toddler currently receiving treatment 

at the Centre’s Isolation ward. 

He added that the covid-19 positive status of the affected 

staff was detected during the round of contact 

tracing carried out by the hospital Infection Control 

Team. 

Nonetheless, none of the staff had so far showed the 

symptoms of corona virus. 

The Medical Director, Prof. Adewale Musa-Olomu 

said although none of the staff was asymptomatic, but 

they have been asked to proceed on self isolation and 

basic treatment commenced for them. 

Nine passengers abducted in Ondo, 

N100m ransom demanded 

By Dayo Johnson, Akure. 

SUSPECTED herdsmen have reportedly kidnapped 

nine passengers aboard a commercial bus along 

lsua highway in Akoko South East area of Ondo state. 

Consequently, the abductors have demanded N100m 

ransom from the families of the victims. 

The passengers according to reports were heading to 

Lagos from Abuja 

A family member of one of the victims, Bamidele Ojo 

who confirmed the abduction to newsmen in Akure said 

that the kidnappers have demanded the ransom before 

the victims would be released. 

The victims were said to be aboard a Toyota Sienna 

space bus when they were ambushed by the suspected 

Fulani herdsmen. 

They were reportedly marched into the forest by their 

abductors after their vehicle was stopped on the highway. 

Contacted, the state police spokesperson, Tee-Leo 

Ikoro who confirmed the incident however said one of 

the victims has been rescued. Ikoro said efforts were on 

to ensure the release of other victims. 

He pointed out that the the police detectives in the 

state were working with hunters, local vigilante and other 

agencies to effect the release of the victims. 

NNU ends controversy, holds stakeholders 

meeting June 27 

T 

HE apex pan-Ndokwa socio-cultural organisa 

tion in Delta State, Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU) 

has scheduled leaders and stakeholders meeting for 

Saturday, June 27, 2020, with a view to resolving 

the stalemate plaguing the body. This was contained 

in a statement issued by the Secretary to the Board 

of Trustees (BOT) of the Ndokwa umbrella body, 

Chief Henry Okechukwu. 

According to the statement, the meeting is scheduled 

to hold at the Palace of the Eze-Emu of Emu 

Kingdom, HRM, Johnson Ekpechi Ullu, who is also 

the Chairman of the BOT of the NNU. 

Invitees to the meeting include BOT members, 

representatives of NNU affiliates and branches, 

political and business class with traditional rulers.

Edo 2020: How I almost quit from the race 

— Obaseki *Hails Edo people, assures of victory in guber poll 

By Ozioriva Aliu, BENIN 

CITY 

GOVERNOR Godwin 

Obaseki of Edo State said 

yesterday that he almost quit 

on his second term bid at the 

peak of the crisis with his predecessor, 

Comrade Adams 

Oshiomhole but for the encouragement 

he got from fellow 

governors of the Peoples’ 

Democratic Party (PDP). 

Speaking at the Samuel 

Ogbemdia stadium where he 

was declared winner of the 

PDP governorship primary 

having scored 1,952 votes of 

the total 2024 delegates that 

voted in the election, Obaseki 

also claimed that the three 

aspirants who stepped down 

for him “did not ask for a 

dime”. 

Shortly before the commencement 

of voting, the trio 

of Gideon Ikhine, Hon Omeregie 

Ogbeide-Ihama and 

Barr Kenneth Imansuagbon 

announced that they were 

stepping down for Governor 

Obaseki. 

Obaseki said: “Today, history 

is being made in Nigeria 

because the victory we are 

celebrating today has been a 

long and strenuous one, strenuous 

one to political freedom 

which has culminated in my 

election as the flag bearer of 

our great party and by the 

grace of God I will be governor 

again for another four 

years. 

“I wholeheartedly accept 

this responsibility which has 

been entrusted on me by the 

representatives of our great 

party and this responsibility 

will enable me to continue 

and consolidate on our 

achievements, it will help to 

give good governance in Edo 

state. It will help us to restore 

the pride of Edo people and 

make Edo state one of the best 

places to live and to do business 

in Nigeria. Today marks 

a defining moment in the political 

history of our state and 

indeed our country. Our story 

is one of courage in the midst 

of contrived crisis and ultimate 

triumph over retrogressive 

forces that were determined 

to hijack our state for 

their own selfish endeavours. 

“I must admit that there 

were moments during this 

recent struggle when as a 

mere mortal I was almost 

tempted to quit but I thank 

God for my family, friends, 

my colleague governors, my 

brother governors”. 

In a statement, the governor 

reassured that his administration 

would continue to 

pursue programmes and policies 

aimed at improving the 

lives of the majority of Edo 

people. According to Obaseki, 

“This victory is our collective 

victory and I urge our 

people to remain vigilant as 

we kick-start our campaigns 

for the main election. I appeal 

to you to remain steadfast 

in your convictions to enable 

us win the war ahead just 

as we have won several battles 

together.” 

The statement further 

reads, “My dear people of 

Edo State, leaders and members 

of our great party, the 

Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP), I thank you all for your 

support and for electing me 

as the flagbearer of our party 

in the September governorship 

election. 

“How could I have survived 

the epic political battles that 

I was dragged and forced into, 

in the last one year, without 

you my people, solidly behind 

me? I thank my party 

delegates, who stood all 

through the day and night, to 

vote me as the party’s candidate. 

“I salute leaders of the party 

who set aside their ambitions 

in the interest of party 

unity and the progress of our 

state. 

“I thank every Edo man, 

woman, our resilient youth, 

home and abroad for making 

the fight for my emergence, 

their own. You invested 

your resources and raised 

your voices to support my aspiration 

even in the face of 

threats and intimidation”, he 

added. 

Obaseki had on Thursday 

emerged the flagbearer of the 

PDP in the 2020 governorship 

election, polling 1,952 votes 

to win the party’s primary 

election. A total of 2,234 delegates 

from the 192 wards 

and 18 Local Government 

Areas of Edo State participated 

in the election, with the 

governor as the only candidate 

on the ballot, after three 

other candidates stepped 

down for him. 

Ajimobi's death will be felt by 

APC — Lawan, Omo-Agege 

By Henry Umoru 

President of the Senate, 

Senator Ahmad Lawan, 

said yesterday that the death 

of former Oyo State 

Governor, Abiola Ajimobi 

would be greatly felt by the 

ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, especially at 

this time that the party 

needed to steady its sail. 

In a statement yesterday 

by his Special Adviser, 

Media, Ola Awoniyi, the 

President of the Senate said 

that Oyo State would always 

remember him for his 

numerous achievements over 

which the people rewarded 

him as the first governor to be 

re-elected in the history of the 

politically sophisticated state. 

Lawan said, “We, at the 

Senate, mourn Senator 

Ajimobi who also served with 

merit at the upper legislative 

chamber between 2003 and 

2007 during which time he 

was the Deputy Senate 

Minority Leader.” 

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 — 7 

Ajimobi, most prolific politician 

in Nigeria — Ajanaku 

By Adeola Badru 

THE demise of the former governor of Oyo State, Senator 

Abiola Ajimobi has triggered a wave of shock and grief among 

leaders cutting across political spectrum, paying glowing 

tributes to the astute leader. 

Among the personalities who visited the Oluyole country 

home of the late former governor, was a Chieftain of the All 

Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Asiwaju Rotimi 

Ajanaku, who described the late governor as a political giant, 

towering intellectual and astute administrator as well as an 

articulate leader who made great impact in the state. 

“I’m deeply anguished by the demise of our extremely valued 

political leader, a seasoned political brain, sharp mind, astute 

strategist, exemplary parliamentarian, exceptional 

communicator and outstanding governor after much battling 

to return to life within the short time he contracted the terrible 

virus.” 

“We have lost a great man blessed with mental cleverness, a 

superb sense of humour and charisma. He was a proficient 

administrator by profession and an efficient politician by 

passion. He made Oyo polity better and I am honoured to 

have been in the same party with him. We have today lost a 

Tiger of democracy and a powerful ally in the fight for the soul 

of our dear Pacesetter’s state,” he lamented. 

...big blow to Nigeria, South- 

West, Oyo State — Ngige 

By Victor Young 

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator 

Chris Ngige Friday, described the death of 

immediate past governor of Oyo State, Senator 

Abiola Ajimobi as a big blow to Nigeria, South-West 

and Oyo State in particular, saying that South West 

and Nigerian politics will surely miss him. 

Ngige, in a statement signed by his media aide, 

Emmanuel Nzomiwu, recalled that in very tense 

occasions in political meetings, Ajimobi’s jokes and 

humour came handy, noticing that he exhibited so 

much wittiness in his interaction with people. “Ajimobi 

was a bundle of jokes and humour. In very tense 

occasions in political meetings, his jokes and humour 

came handy. His jokes were embedded in humour. 

It is rare to find such politicians who spice up politics 

with humour in Nigeria. His jokes and humour will 

be missed in the entire political landscape of Nigeria. 

The politics of South West, especially Ibadan, the 

hotbed of the region’s political manoeuvrings will 

definitely take a new colour. 

40m Nigerian women at risk of cervical cancer, , says 

ys 

Ehanire 

•Why FG can’t implement prevention, control plan now 

By Joseph Erunke 

MINISTER of Health, 

Osagie Ehanire, Friday, 

raised the alarm that a total 

of 40 million women in 

Nigeria from the age of 15 

years and above were at risk 

of developing Cervical 

Cancer. 

This was even as he said the 

National Strategic Plan for the 

Prevention and Control of 

Cancer of the Cervix (2017- 

2021) has been affected by 

the coronavirus pandemic, 

saying government cannot 

fully implement it anymore. 

Ehanire stated this at a 

virtual stakeholders forum 

on elimination of Cervical 

Cancer in Nigeria, held in 

Abuja. 

Regretting that the cancer 

of the cervix was not only the 

second commonest cancer 

in women globally but also 

the leading cause of cancer 

mortality in Nigeria, he said 

there were national response 

and key activities that 

government was embarking 

on for the attainment of 

cervical cancer free Nigeria 

by the year 2030. 

“ With a total population of 

about 200 million people, 

Nigeria has about 40 million 

women aged 15 years and 

older who are at risk of 

developing cervical 

cancer,”he said. 

According to 

Ehanire,”available data 

indicates that the incidence 

of cervical cancer in Nigeria 

is about 33/100,000 and an 

estimated 14,089 are 

diagnosed every year, with 

eight out of every ten of them 

presenting at an advance 

stage resulting in a mortality 

rate of about 25%.” 

“ In order to reverse this 

trend, we have made efforts 

to increase our national 

capacity for prevention, 

early detection, diagnosis 

and treatment of 

Osun police parades father for raping 

daughter 

By Shina Abubakar Osogbo 

The Osun state 

Commissioner of 

Police, Undie Adie has 

disclosed that the command 

would not relent in ensuring 

that rapists were made to face 

the full wrath of the law. 

He disclosed this while 

parading five suspected 

rapists at the state police 

command headquarters in 

Osogbo on Friday. 

According to Mr. Adie, the 

command arrested one 

Adeleye Fayemiwo, 50, who 

raped his 13 years old 

daughter in Ibokun in 

Obokun Local Government 

Area of the state. 

Adeyeye, who lives at B50 

Agbongbe Street in Ibokun, 

while fielding questions from 

journalists said it was 

intoxication that led him into 

committing incest with his 

daughter. 

“She is my daughter from 

my other wife that left me 

and I have had sex with her 

like twice under the influence 

of alcohol. But on the day I 

was arrested, I did not have 

sex with her. I punished her 

for refusing to cook as I 

instructed and she went out 

to tell neighbours that I was 

having sex with her. 

My wife at home had 

precancerous and cancerous 

lesions of the cervix in 

Nigeria,”he said. 

The minister also said the 

pandemic had distorted the 

federal government’s plan to 

fully implement some of the 

strategic plans in the health 

sector, especially those he 

noted,were time bound. 

He tasked relevant 

stakeholders to review the 

implementation of the strategic 

plan, identify gaps and 

recommend ways forward. 

warned me that I should not 

allow my daughter access to 

my room to avoid 

temptation but I did not listen 

to her”, he said. 

According to Adeleye, 

who claimed to be a farmer 

and commercial 

motorcyclist, the girl was 

staying with her mother’s 

relatives in Ibadan, Oyo state 

before she relocated to 

Ibokun and she was learning 

tailoring. 

Meanwhile, the police also 

paraded one Makinde 

Adeoye, 30, who claimed to 

have had sex with another 13- 

year-old girl at his Isona 

street resident in Ilesa. 

Also, a 19-year-old Isiaka 

Afolabi of Adekunle area in 

Ila-Oragun defiled a 7-yearold 

minor of the same 

address, wShile Oyerinde 

Oyeniyi, 28, was said to have 

illegal carnal knowledge of his 

11 year-old landlord’s 

daughter at Mokuro road in 

Ile-Ife. 

Death of Ogbaburhon, painful loss 

of another Urhobo brother —Otuaro 

By Emma Amaize 

Deputy Governor of Delta State, Deacon Kingsley 

Otuaro has described the death of former Member, 

House of Representatives, Chief Austin Ogbaburhon as “a 

painful loss of another brother in Urhoboland”. 

Otuaro had recently bemoaned the deaths of General 

Orho Obada, ex-acting Chief of Air Staff and Chairman, 

former Commissioners, Joyce Overah and Chief Tom 

Amioku and wife of Archbishop Goddowell Avwomakpa, 

Victoria. 

He told newsmen in Asaba: “I know Chief Austin 

Ogbaburhon to be a strong, grassroots, go-getter politician 

who worked hard for the welfare of his people. His 

contributions to the development of Delta State as 

Chairman, Okpe and Udu council areas, Chairman, Delta 

State Waste Management Board and House of 

Representatives member, would project him as model 

beyond his death.” 

“My heart goes out to his family, Orhuwhorun 

community in Udu local government area, where he 

hailed from and the people of Delta State for the loss. I am 

partly from Emadadja in Udu , so Ogbaburhon is more like 

a brother whose death strikes the heart,” he said.

8 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 27, 2020 

Expel sacked NWC members if they go to 

court, DG PGF tells APC 

*Says, dissolution of NWC not an indication of Presidential bias 


DIRECTOR General of 

the Progressive Governors’ 

Forum PGF, Salihu 

Moh. Lukman has advised the 

Gov. Mai Mala Buni-led 

Caretaker/Convention Planning 

Committee of the All Progressives 

Congress APC to activate 

relevant constitutional 

provisions to expel any member 

of the dissolved National 

Working Committee NWC 

who challenges their dissolution 

in court. 

Lukman also exonerated 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

of allegation of bias regarding 

Thursday’s dissolution 

of the National Working 

Committee NWC of the ruling 

All Progressives Congress 

APC by its National Executive 

Committee NEC. 

Expel recalcitrant members 

He said the new committee 

should not tolerate the excesses 

of party leaders who may 

want to deviate from Thursday’s 

resolutions of the NEC. 

“With the NEC successfully 

held, has the crisis been resolved? 

No, but at least it can 

be said the ugly period is over. 

To the extent that we have a 

Convention Working Committee 

that will manage the 

party for a period of six 

months and organise a National 

Convention to elect a 

new leadership, it can be said 

that the crisis will be resolved. 

Given that a section of the dissolved 

National Working 

Committee (NWC) is threatening 

legal actions against the 

decision of the NEC, what does 

this mean? It simply means 

that a section of the dissolved 

NWC is working against the 

party. Perhaps the Convention 

Traders and customers in an Open market in Abuja where social distancing 

and use of face mask were not observed. 

Working Committee should 

consider invoking provisions 

of Article 21: Discipline of Party 

Members of the APC constitution 

by taking advantage 

of the now discovered micropowers 

of ward leaders. 

Based on that those members 

of the dissolved NWC who attempt 

to institute legal actions 

against the decisions of NEC 

should be appropriately sanctioned. 

“It is the responsibility of the 

Convention Working Committee 

to ensure that all the 

rascally conduct of party leaders 

that characterised the APC 

leadership conflict are 

brought under control. We 

should on no account tolerate 

conduct of any leader of the 

party, which makes them 

more associated with activities 

of bandits who don’t respect 

any rule or any leader”, 

Lukman stated. 

Buhari not biased 

There had been allegations 

that the anti-Oshiomhole forces 

in the party wanted a dissolution 

of the NWC and that 

the president’s acquiescence 

to such demands was an indication 

of his bias against a 

national leader of the party, 

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 

who is seen as one of the strong 

pillars of Comrade Adams 

Oshiomhole, erstwhile National 

Chairman of the APC. 

However, Lukman in a personal 

statement issued Friday 

in Abuja lamented that partly 

because of the approach of 

reducing everything around 

the NEC to so-called 2023 

projections and what its decisions 

represent, vital lessons 

that have emerged are hardly 

the focus. 

“For instance, how President 

Muhammadu Buhari was 

able to exercise his responsibility 

as the moral authority 

of the party, get reduced to 

whether his actions and recommendations 

demonstrate 

support for some of the leading 

actors in the APC leadership 

crisis. If moral authority 

is about adhering to truth, why 

should any moral leader take 

sides? If anything, President 

Buhari would have lost his 

moral authority if he had taken 

sides. 

“Largely because President 

Buhari was able to discharge 

the responsibility of being the 

moral authority in APC, although 

members of APC NEC 

went into the meeting sharply 

divided, they came out united 

and were resolute to work for 

the unity of the party. They 

went with problems and came 

out with solutions. 

Edo: PDP governors task INEC, security agencies on 

free, credible poll ...Congratulate Obaseki 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

AHEAD of the Septem 

ber 19 governorship 

election in Edo State, the 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, Governors’ Forum, has 

advised the Independent 

National Electoral Commission, 

INEC, and the nation’s 

security agencies, and other 

stakeholders among others 

government agencies to 

ensure that the election was 

free and fair. 

The PDP Governors’ Forum, 

chaired by Sokoto state 

governor, Aminu Tambuwal, 

made the call in his congratulatory 

message to Governor 

Godwin Obaseki on 

his emergence as the flag 

bearer of the PDP in the Edo 

State governorship election. 

In a statement signed by 

its Director General, Cyril 

Maduabum, Friday in Abuja, 

it also urged Nigerians 

and civil society groups to 

do everything legitimately 

possible to make the election 

hitch-free. 

The forum described 

Obaseki’s emergence as the 

flag bearer of the party as a 

testament to his leadership 

skills, even as they urged 

him to make the most of his 

time in office in uniting the 

people ahead of the election. 

The Forum thanked the 

leadership of the PDP, particularly 

the National Working 

Committee, under the 

National Chairman, Prince 

Uche Secondus, “the constructive 

and supporting role 

played by the Edo state chapter 

of the PDP and the rank 

and file members of the party, 

for their exceptional conflict 

resolution mechanism 

and cooperation employed to 

achieve the seamless rancour 

- free outcome of the 

primaries.” 

The statement reads in part: 

“The PDP Governors’ Forum 

under the leadership of His 

Excellency, Aminu Tambuwal, 

congratulates Governor 

Godwin Obaseki on his 

emergence as the flag bearer 

of the PDP in the Edo state 

governorship election, 

scheduled for September 

2020. “His victory in the primaries 

is an affirmation of the 

confidence the people of Edo 

State has in his ability to steer 

the ship of Edo state positively 

for another four years and 

on the record of his sterling 

performance in office in his 

current term. 

“This victory should be a 

humbling one as it has been 

achieved on the backdrop of 

a grave injustice done to him 

by his former Political party, 

the All Progressives Congress, 

APC, and a demonstration 

of the role of God in 

the affairs of men. It is indeed 

a call to continue faithfully 

serving the good people of 

Edo State. 

Dissolution of Oshiomhole-led NWC 

a relief to Buhari – APC Governors 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru, Abuja 

GOVERNORS elected 

on the platform of the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC, on Friday said that the 

alleged threat by some members 

of the dissolved National 

Working Committee, 

NWC, of the party to challenge 

their dissolution in court 

was a mere media creation. 

The APC Governors operating 

under the umbrella of 

Progressive Governors Forum, 

PGF, also said that the 

proposals made by President 

Muhammadu Buhari for the 

dissolution of the rancorous 

NWC has reduced distraction 

for the President. 

Speaking to State House 

correspondents, after meeting 

with the President, Chairman 

of the PGF and Governor of 

Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, 

explained that they were at 

the State House for a ‘thank 

you’ visit to appreciate what 

President Buhari has been 

doing for the progressive family. 

He also said that the delegation 

was at the seat of power 

to introduce the Chairman 

of Caretaker/Extraordinary 

Convention Planning Committee, 

Mai Mala Buni to the 

President. 

The PGF Chairman said 

that the President at the Emergency 

NEC demonstrated to 

everyone in the country that 

he will never sacrifice due 

process for expediency. 

Okowa, wife on isolation as 

daughter tests positive 

By Festus Ahon, ASABA 

APPREHENSION, yesterday enveloped Del 

ta State as the State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi 

Okowa and his entire family have been advised to 

go on self isolation after one of his daughters tested 

positive for COVID-19. 

The daughter was among the 106 positive cases 

in the State announced by the Nigeria Centre for 

Disease Control, NCDC Thursday night. 

Okowa in his verified Twitter handle, said: “Earlier 

today, Edith and I received the news that one 

of our daughters has tested positive for COVID- 

19. 

“Hence, in-line with the laid out procedures, we 

are both going into isolation for the next 14-days. 

We will continue to keep you all updated” 

Meanwhile, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, 

Mr Olisa Ifeajika in a statement, said: 

“consequently, the Governor and his family members 

will immediately commence self-isolation for 

14 days”. 

“It is again pertinent to stress that COVID-19 is 

real, and citizens are advised to be disciplined and 

comply with the protocols of wearing Face Masks 

and maintaining physical-distancing while in public 

places as well as basic hygiene of hand-washing 

with soap in running water and use of alcoholbased 

sanitisers as NCDC regulation demands”. 

Ilaboya congratulates Gov 

Obaseki as he emerges PDP 

standard bearer 

...Expresses appreciation to Owan 

West delegates for voting massively 

for Obaseki 

OWAN West local government Council Chairman, 

Hon. Frank Ilaboya, has congratulated Edo State 

Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki on his emergence as the 

standard flag bearer of the ruling People’s Democrats Party 

(PDP) in the just concluded Primary election in Edo 

State. 

Ilaboya, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, 

Mr. Hassan Otinau, which was made available to 

journalists in Benin City, shortly after official announcement 

of the results, stated that the governor’s victory was a 

sign that the PDP delegates had implicit confidence in the 

Governor’s ability to provide adequate representation for 

the people of Edo State. 

The Council Chairman noted that the outcome will be 

replicated in the September 19 polls, saying Obaseki will 

be duly returned as Governor of the State. 

“I am very delighted to congratulate our amiable Governor 

on his emergence as the standard bearer of our great 

party, PDP. We are proud of what he has been doing for the 

state and the people and this victory will be told for a very 

long time. 

“We wish him the very best as he prepares for his reelection, 

which by the grace of God and the will of Edo 

People, victory is sure as his emergence will propel the 

state into a glorious future. 

“The journey before now was long, but God has made it 

possible. “On behalf of the people of Owan West Council, 

accept my esteemed congratulations.” Ilaboye said. 

UNIJOS, making progress in 

developing herbal remedies for 

tropical diseases — VC 

By Marie-Therese Nanlong 

THE University of Jos has disclosed the institu 

tion was intensifying research efforts to develop 

herbal remedies for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, 

antimicrobial resistance and neglected tropical diseases 

as well as the COVID-19 disease. He said already, 

the institution’s Centre of Excellence for Phytomedicine 

and Development, was engaging in cutting 

edge researches and has produced anti-venom 

called COVIP-Plus which is currently undergoing 

clinical trials. Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor 

Sebastian Maimako, who spoke on Friday with 

journalists as he marked his 4th year in office as Vice 

Chancellor also stated that President Muhammadu 

Buhari has approved the establishment of a TETFUND 

Centre of Excellence in Food Security in the University. 

He said already, TETFund has awarded the 

sum of N45 million to the University as its intervention 

towards inaugurating the Centre. 

Maimako stressed that the proposed Centre would 

“engage in impactful multidisciplinary research that 

will impactfully contribute to the current Agricultural 

Transformation Agenda and ensuring food security 

in Africa.” Speaking on issue of security, he added 

that despite the huge successes the institution has 

recorded so far, it has been confronted with several 

challenges along the way".

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020—9 

Covid-1 

vid-19: 9: How our ‘hands’ can make e or mar us 


One of the safety protocols against 

Covid-19 is avoiding handshakes 

and washing of hands regularly 

because, to some extent, Covid-19 could be in 

our hands. Also, the responsibility of taking 

the virus off our hands or even disallowing it 

from getting to our hands, also lies in our hands 

by virtue of the fact that individually and 

collectively, we have to make a conscious effort 

to respect all safety procedures to avoid 

contracting the virus. 

As of 11:43pm on Friday, there were 594 

new cases of COVID19 in Nigeria. The total 

confirmed cases were 22, 614 while 

7, 822 had been successfully treated and 

discharged. There were 549 deaths. By that 

same time last week, there were 475 deaths, 

meaning that within one week, the nation 

recorded 74 deaths due to Covid-19. 

For many Nigerians, these are just figures as 

they cannot put a face to any of the figures. But 

to the families of those who have lost loved 

ones to Covid-19 or who currently have 

relations undergoing treatment, the pandemic 

is real. 

Yes, some countries are lucky to be dealing 

with only the Covid-19 Pandemic unlike in 

Nigeria where we have had the misfortune of 

dealing with clearly what is a Pandemic and 

what I will term a Scamdemic, perpetrated by 

opportunists who take delight in profiting off 

the misfortunes of others. These opportunists 

range from the manufacturers of fake hand 

sanitizers, those who recycle surgical face 

masks to even those in government who inflate 

contracts on medical supplies or even certify 

medical products that are below standard. 

The cynicism with which citizens view 

anything coming from the government has also 

helped to fuel doubts in the minds of citizens 

regarding government’s handling of the 

pandemic. 

The inconsistent claims by the World Health 

Organization WHO with regards to the use of 

face masks and the infectious nature or 

otherwise of asymptomatic persons have also 

made many to continue to puncture the 

existence of the virus. 

Back home, the face off between some state 

governments especially Kogi and Cross River 

States and the Nigerian Centre for Disease 

Control NCDC also made many to conclude 

By Stella Odife 

Today, the voices of hunger, the voices 

of insecurity and the voices of 

COVID-19 have been almost drowned 

with the voices of rape. At least within the life 

period of this administration, no demonstration 

has thrived without being met with brutal 

force by both the Police and the Army, except 

that of the cry for help for rape victims. No 

wonder everyone is demonstrating, calls are 

made during the protest, which seems to be 

same, for stiff penalty against the rapist. 

For once, the whole country is in unison in 

the cry for justice for the victims and stiff penalty 

for the rapists. The media houses are awash 

with news on rape. 

I congratulate those who have come to demonstrate, 

those who have spoken about it and 

the media houses who have made it possible 

for it to be heard. The question is this: Is the 

Rape Law going to be like others, where the 

masses either do not know of its existence or 

what to do to get justice? 

The child’s Rights Act has been in existence 

since 2003. How many states have domesticated 

it to make it enforceable? What is the 

reason for the refusal for its domestication? 

Will the rape law not suffer the same fate as the 

Child’s Rights Act? These are issues that must 

be identified and spelt out to give the law on 

rape we are all clamouring for the teeth it deserves. 

Let us leave the enforcement of the law until 

it is made and its subsequent awareness creation 

for the time being. The good thing is that 

the problem has been identified, and the worrisome 

aspect of rape in Nigeria today is “the 

increase in the number of cases recorded” since 

the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 

According to the police report, from the time 

of the COVID-19 lockdown till middle of May, 

717 rape cases were recorded. Surprisingly 

again, from that May till the middle of June, 

799 cases have been recorded. And we are only 

talking of the reported and recorded cases! 

The fear now is that rape is becoming a “pandemic” 

competing with COVID-19 in Nigeria. 

To stop this pandemic we must ask the 

following questions? 

First, what is the cause of the increase in 

rape? Could it be as a result of pornography, 

mental health crisis situation etc? 

Why should we concentrate our drug addiction 

regulations only or Marijuana, Tramadol, 

that there is a conspiracy of figures regarding 

the Pandemic. On its part, the refusal of the 

NCDC to open up on how it got samples from 

Kogi State which led it to declare three cases 

for the state did not also help matters. Cross 

River only yesterday rejected the one figure 

declared for them by the NCDC. 

But what has cast more doubts in the minds 

of some Nigerians is purely ignorance. How 

for instance, does one query why some images 

of Covid-19 patients in some developed 

countries showed people on ventilators while 

the ones in Nigeria even had enough strength 

to embark on street demonstrations? 

The truth is that while Covid-19 might not 

kill people en masse, it has the ability to infect 

a mass of people at the same time, thereby 

crippling a country’s healthcare system. 

In spite of these high level of cynicism among 

Nigerians, the Presidential Taskforce PTF on 

Covid-19 headed by the Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss 

Mustapha has continued to carry on without 

being discouraged. Though sometimes 

frustrated, as he rightly conceded, he said if it 

were within his powers, this is the right time to 

declare a lockdown. Unless we adhere to the 

rules, the implication of that statement is that 

we are going to have another lockdown pretty 

soon. 

To a large extent, the government has tried 

to contain the spread of the virus but going 

forward, the responsibility of halting the wave 

of community transmission rests with the 

people. 

It was therefore with utter consternation that 

Nigerians woke up to the news of a Naira 

Marley concert in Abuja penultimate weekend. 

Assuming that the organizers were crass 

capitalists who wanted to make quick bucks 

through the concert, how about the residents 

of the area around the Jabi Lake Mall, venue 

of the concert? Couldn’t they have alerted 

relevant officials? But even more condemnable 

were the security agencies whose Operatives 

provided security cover for the event. 

The work of the Taskforce and the media in 

the last three to four months respectively were 

rubbished within few hours of pleasure by 

revellers who thought more of themselves 

without sparing a thought for the nation. 

The good news is that the Mall was sealed 

for two weeks while the Federal Capital 

Territory Administration FCTA vowed to bring 

to book all those involved in putting the event 

together. 

The bad news however is that assuming 

without conceding that there was one person 

with the virus at the concert, there is a high 

possibility that many other people would have 

been cross-infected with the way the rules of 

social distancing and wearing of face masks 

Voices of rape drowning the voices of COVID-19 

•Rape as another pandemic 

Cocaine, etc, without extending it to sex desire 

enhancement and sex organ enhancement 

drugs, which circulate freely with pornography 

among the populace, who are incapable 

of controlling themselves after taking drugs 

and watching the films? 

Secondlyly, Is there really an increase or is it 

because records are now being kept and culprits 

apprehended more as a result of more 

whistle blowing? Why exactly is the spike? 

It has also been notice that cases of suicide 

have increased showing mental health deterioration 

in the society. Could this be attributed 

to the increase on rape? And in what environments 

do we have rape most prevalent? 

Is it in open places, family settings, IDP 

camps or what? 

It is most interesting to note that places like 

school environments are excluded due to 

lockdown. Same applies to churches, recreational 

grounds, night clubs, so where are the 

rape cases coming from? 

Answer to these questions will go a long way 

to sort out our problem on rape. 

So based on the following, our legislators 

must get to work to present a Bill on rape and 

pass it with immediate effect. 

The security agencies on their part must also 

investigate and carry out a forensic research 

to ascertain why rape cases have increased and 

the most prevalent locations. 

Prosecution of such cases must be in the State 

High Courts, and a reasonable time limit must 

be given to Judges and Lawyers for the dispensation 

of justice on rape cases. 

Most importantly the public must be sensitized 

on the desired attention that a “Rape 

Case” deserves and for the collective search 

for the solution of rape problem in our country, 

Nigeria. 

*Odife is National Coordinator, Women’s 

Organisation for Gender Issues (WOGI) and 

writes from Abuja 

were breached. 

Like the SGF quoted Dr. B. Calinawagan 

the other day; “The War has shifted to the 

community and it is up to you. This cannot be 

won in the confines of the hospital.. We the 

healthcare workers are not your front liners 

any longer. We are your LAST LINE OF 

DEFENCE. You, my fellow people, are the front 

liners now”. 

If these words do not resonate well with us in 

the light of the increasing number of infected 

persons each day, I do not know what will. 

As we wash Covid-19 off our hands, let us 

not wash our hands off the battle against 

Covid-19, for in our hands lies the 

responsibility of restoring Nigeria’s 

epidemiological situation back to the days 

before February 24 when an unnamed Italian 

man brought the virus to our shores. 

Appoint a Delta 

Ijaw as new Amnesty 

Coordinat 

dinator 

or, , Ex-General 

Oputu begs Buhari 

n Ex-Militant General known as Ex- 

AGeneral Hon. Aroni Oputu, yesterday 

strongly appealed to President Muhamadu 

Buhari to appoint an Ijaw man from Delta State 

as the new Presidential Amnesty Coordinator, 

saying since the appointments of Amnesty 

Coordinators at the Presidency, Delta Ijaw has 

never been appointed. 

In a statement personally signed, Ex-General 

Oputu who is also the Niger Delta Co-ordinator 

Leadership Forum of Ex-agitators, Delta State 

Chapter noted that Bayelsa, Ondo and Rivers 

States have clinched that position since 

inception leaving Delta Ijaw behind. 

The statement reads; “We the Ex-Militant 

Generals in Delta State wish to strongly beg 

Mr. President to appoint one of us (an Ijaw Man 

from Delta State) as the Presidential Amnesty 

Coordinator because it is the turn of Delta State 

to produce the new Presidential Amnesty 

Coordinator. It will interest President Buhari to 

know that the first Niger Deltan to be appointed 

as Coordinator was Timi Alaibe from Bayelsa, 

then Kingsley Kuku from Ondo before the 

appointees from Rivers State respectively but 

none has come from Delta Ijaw whereas we 

were the Originators of the amnesty 

programme and we lost so much lives and 

properties in the amnesty struggle; and till date 

Delta Ijaws have not recovered from the lost in 

fighting for the freedom of Niger Deltans” 

Onuesoke hails Okowa 

over dualisation of 

Ughelli-Asaba road 

By Ephraim Oseji 

eoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, 

PChief Sunny Onuesoke has commended 

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa 

for the fast pace in the dualisation of the Ughelli- 

Asaba road. 

The PDP Chieftain who is the Special Project 

Director of Sector A of Ugheiil-Asaba Road 

Project made the commendation while 

speaking with newsmen during an inspection 

tour of the project by Officials of Project 

Implementation and Evaluation, Project 

Monitoring, Governor’s Office, headed by Hon 

Raymond Edijana. 

Onuesoke assured that the Ughelli-Asaba 

dual carriage way would be completed before 

the end of 2021 as the Delta State Government 

has approved the completion of the road. 

“Government is vigorously pursuing the 

completion of Sector A of this project, which is 

48 kilometres out of the total length of 148.9 

kilometres. The sections C1 and C2 of the road 

handled by China Civil Engineering 

Construction Company, CCECC is equally in 

progress. The quality of jobs done is impressive, 

especially with the reassurance by the site 

engineer of delivering on schedule by end of 

2021. 

“This is a major trunk road and vital link 

road between the Warri/Port Harcourt East-West 

road and Benin/Asaba dual carriage way and 

will facilitate improved access between Delta 

Ports and the Onitsha/Nnewi industrial hub. 

This is why Governor Okowa is ensuring that 

the project is completed on time to facilitate 

easy flow of goods and passengers not only for 

the socio-economic development of Delta state, 

but for the nation in general,” Onuesoke 

explained. 

According to Onuesoke, “Okowa remains a 

promise keeper, who is committed to even 

development of Delta state, if there is one area 

the governor’s administration has excelled, it is 

in the development of road and physical 

infrastructure in Delta State.

10—SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 

•Buhari 

•Jonathan 

•Obasanjo 

•Yar'Adua 

Why Presidential 

system is holding 

Nigeria down! 

Clamour begins for or Parliament 

arliamentar 

ary System of government 

Apparently, the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), a pandemic that has shrunk 

the economic fortunes of most countries of the world, Nigeria inclusive may have 

also provoked a thought amongst the political elites and power brokers to revisit 

Nigeria’s governance structure and perhaps, return it to a less expensive and 

cumbersome type of government. Then, enter calls for a reversal to the parliamentary 

system as opposed to the current Presidential system. But before the calls were 

clamors for restructuring. The clamor and calls have almost reached a crescendo. 

Now, can the emerging narrative pull the country out of the economic quagmires and 

political doldrums? Saturday Vanguard in this special feature aggregates views of 

some Nigerians on the subject-matter. 

By Levinus Nwabughiogu 

Although the conversion has been 

ongoing in hushed tones in many 

circles, it however gained 

appreciable traction recently 

when it fully dawned on some 

elites within and outside the corridors of 

power that Nigeria cannot sustain the 

current system. 

The system may be rich in lofty ideals and 

ideation but its cumbersomeness and 

exorbitant nature had been the inherent flaws 

which had also deflated all favorable 

arguments hitherto. The system is the 

Presidential type of government the country 

borrowed from the United States of America 

in 1979 and has continued to practice it for 

40 years now. 

No doubts it has its gains but from the 

pundits’ perspectives, its losses and liabilities 

on the nation are a legion. From duplication 

of offices to humongous bills down to 

contract inflation, bloated civil service and 

financial recklessness, the system stinks with 

corruption. Right now, these are a worrisome 

lot for the Nigerian government. 

Incidentally, the coronavirus (COVID-19) 

pandemic has roundly exposed the poor 

financial state of the country, calling for 

urgent drastic, out-of-the-box measures to 

pull it up from a total economic collapse. 

Prior to 1979, the country had at the dawn 

of independence in 1960 taken to the 

Westminster type of Parliamentary system 

of government from the British colonial 

masters. The government was then headed 

by late Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Belewa as 

the Prime Minister while late Dr. Nnmadi 

Azikiwe was the President. 

The system, though at embryonic stage, 

permeated its own uniqueness until it was 

suddenly toppled and jettisoned by the 

military in 1966. The country was to 

continue in that dictatorial trajectory until 

1979 when there was a democratic 

government which introduced the almighty 

Presidential system copied from the US. 

Incidentally, those who promulgated the 

presidential system were only loud in one 

fat point to convince their compatriots: the 

size and largeness of the country. But, the 

informed minds knew that ego, 

complacency, quest for association affinity 

with the US and a somewhat euphoric glitz 

occasioned by oil proceeds then were the 

subtleties, the latent reasons for that sudden 

move. And since then, the country has had 

to journey through a debilitating route to 

economic growth and infrastructural 

developments. 

Now, the chickens have come home to 

roost and the realities are staring the 

country in the face, expressly and glaringly 

indicating that a Presidential system is too 

expensive and so, cannot continue to 

accommodate and sustain the current 

economic state and its gluttonous demands 

on the national purse hence a need for a 

reversal to the parliamentary system. 

The conversation for a return to 

parliamentary system 

To give this new quest and narrative a 

head, 71 members of the House of 

Representatives at the twilight of the 8th 

National Assembly took some steps to 

actualize the restoration. Coming from 

across party divides, the lawmakers 

unanimously opted for a bill to enact a new 

law for a reversal to status quo. The bill was 

introduced in December, 2019. 

Led by Hon. Kingsley Chinda representing 

Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers 

State, the lawmakers bemoaned the flaws 

in the current presidential system. 

They had this to say: ”Studies have shown 

that countries run by presidential regimes 

consistently produce: lower output growth, 

higher and more volatile inflation, and 

greater income inequality relative to those 

under parliamentary ones. 

“Presidential regimes consistently 

produce less favourable macroeconomic 

outcomes which prevail in a wide range of 

circumstances for example in Nigeria. 

“Due to the excessive powers domiciled to 

one man under the presidential systems, 

consensus building that is often required for 

economic decision is always lacking. 

“The level of liability and volatility of 

presidential systems makes it difficult to 

achieve economic objectives.” 

Lending his voice also, Chinda said: “If 

you ask some legislators of some 

government policies, it is difficult for them 

to clearly understand because the interface 

between the executive and the legislature is 

not as it should be. 

“The parliamentary system will ensure that 

the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are 

on the same page. The system will iron out 

all these things; that is why we have thrown 

it up for Nigerians to look at, discuss and 

see that it will help us in proffering solutions 

to some of the problems of our country. 

“What we have proposed in that bill is that 

the exclusive list should be pruned down and 

so issues of devolution of power are taken 

care of and I can assure you that you will 

see healthy competition and this country 

will grow for all of us. 

“I am from Rivers, why can I not go to 

Sokoto to do my business there when I see 

myself as a Nigerian? It is because of the 

constitution and the laws that we have; you 

fill forms and you have to indicate your tribe, 

your state of origin etc. We should begin to 

remove that mentality and begin to think of 

Nigeria first”. 

Other Favorables 

Voices 

Since then, the conversion has taken a 

new dimension and today, more prominent 

Nigerians have joined in the circle. 

One of them is the elder statesman and 

the President of Northern Elders Forum, 

NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi. In a recent 

interview with a national daily, former Vice 

Continues on page 11


em of government 

Responding to Saturday Vanguard 

enquiries on the subject matter, a former 

member of House of Representatives, Hon. 

Victor Ogene who represented Ogbaru 

Federal Constituency of Anambra State in 

the 7th National Assembly said that a return 

to parliamentary rule was inevitable for 

Nigeria judging from the dwindling 

economy. 

He said: “Let us understand that the 

parliamentary government as opposed to 

the presidential system of government, is 

the form of government in which the 

political party that wins the majority seats 

in the legislature or parliament forms the 

government and elects the President and 

the Prime Minister through a collegiate 

responsibility. Its merits include 

accommodating the 

interest of diverse 

groups; promoting 

harmony and more 

cordial relationship and 

Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, 

ABU called for a return to the 

parliamentary rule. 

He said: “We should move away from the 

presidential system of government to 

parliamentary system. This is because the 

presidential system that we have tried for 

almost 40 years now has not worked; the 

parliamentary system was adopted for only 

five years and we abandoned it without any 

reason. We didn’t give any reason it was 

less efficient or less effective than the 

presidential system that we now run. 

Presidential system is too expensive for a 

poor country and this is responsible for the 

corruption, incompetence and lack of 

accountability in Nigeria. So, let us go back 

to parliamentary system of government. I 

am one of those who would vote for a 

parliamentary system of government in a 

referendum, if there is a referendum 

tomorrow for a change of system from 

presidential to parliamentary.” 

Enter Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo 

Also joining in the conversion last week, 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while 

responding to questions from the former 

Emir of Kano State and Governor, Central 

Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido 

Sanusi during a webinar event organised 

by the Emmanuel Chapel, themed, 

‘Economic stability beyond COVID-19’ on 

Nigeria’s governance structure called for 

reduction in government expenditures. 

He said: ”There is no question that we 

are dealing with large and expensive 

government, but as you know, given the 

current constitutional structure, those who 

would have to vote to reduce (the size of) 

government, especially to become parttime 

legislators, are the very legislators 

themselves. So, you can imagine that we 

may not get very much traction if they are 

asked to vote themselves, as it were, out of 

their current relatively decent 

circumstances. 

“So, I think there is a need for a national 

debate on this question and there is a need 

for us to ensure that we are not wasting the 

kind of resources that we ought to use for 

development on overheads. At the moment, 

our overheads are almost 70 per cent of 

revenues, so there is no question at all that 

we must reduce the size of government. 

“Part of what you would see in the 

Economic Sustainability Plan also and 

several of the other initiatives is trying to 

go, to some extent, to what was 

recommended in the (Steve) Oransaye 

Report, to collapse a few of the agencies to 

become a bit more efficient and make 

government much more efficient with 

whatever it has.” 

Rep. Ogene expands 

the discourse 

•Tafawa Belewa 

better coordination 

between the executive and 

the legislature since the 

executive is a part of the 

legislature; the other good 

attribute of the 

parliamentary system is 

that since there is 

entrenched harmony in the 

system and acrimony 

between the executive and 

legislature is reduced, it 

becomes faster and easier 

to pass legislation and 

make laws. Moreso, as the 

majority party or coalition 

of parties in the legislature 

possesses more votes 

required to pass 

legislation; prevents 

authoritarianism; the 

President is responsible to 

the legislature unlike the 

presidential system. The 

members of the 

parliament can ask 

•Azikiwe 

questions, move 

resolutions, and discuss 

matters of public importance to pressurize 

the government. Such provisions are not 

available in the Presidential system. 

“It also provides for alternate 

government, makes provision for change 

in power without an election. Besides 

these global attributes of the 

Parliamentary system, the case for it’s 

reintroduction, in the particular case of 

Nigeria, is perhaps bolstered by several 

factors. These include low cost of running 

Government, as the Executive and 

Legislature is somewhat intertwined, with 

Ministers drawn from the Legislature. In 

addition, Party supremacy would be 

enhanced, as each legislative seat, as in 

the South African case, belongs to the 

political party based on percentage of 

votes secured at a general election. Given 

such a scenario, the cut-throat struggle 

for elective office would reduce 

considerably, as the parties would be 

•Awolowo 

Clamour begins for Parliament 

arliamentar 

ary 

System of go 

Continues from page 10 

Studies have 

shown that 

countries run by 

presidential regimes 

consistently 

produce: lower 

output growth, 

higher and more 

volatile inflation, 

and greater income 

inequality relative to 

those under 

parliamentary ones 

compelled to send only their best stalwarts 

to Parliament. What is more, the tension, 

brigandage, acrimony and enormous state 

resources deployed in presidential 

contestation, and re-election would be 

eliminated. 

“Additionally, leaders of Parliament will 

emerge naturally, thus taking care of the 

ceaseless clamour by geo-political zones 

to have their scions as leader of the country, 

at every point in time. To achieve the above, 

a Constitution amendment process needs 

not only be put in place, but also a 

referendum of the Nigerian people, to get 

the buy-in of the majority of our people”. 

What happens to clamour 

for restructuring? 

One prominent feature at the time Nigeria 

first practised the parliamentary system was 

the splitting of the country into regional 

spheres. And so, there 

were the Eastern Region 

for core Igbo speaking 

States; the Northern 

Region for the Hausas, 

Fulanis and other 

minority tribes; the 

Western Region for the 

Yorubas and later, the 

Mid-Western Region for 

the Benins in the old 

Bendal State. 

Till date, the regions 

still stand strong and tall. 

But seeing the parlous 

state of the Nigerian 

economy, the regions 

have become louder with 

calls for restructuring. 

Consequently, the country 

is now sandwiched 

between going back to the 

parliamentary system 

and adopting the 

restructuring mechanism. 

Asked if he wanted 

restructuring, Abdullahi 

said “What is 

restructuring? You have to 

give me the content of the 

restructuring with the 

details of the 

restructuring the country 

requires. Is it the 

political system it operates vis-à-vis the 

system it operated before independence 

or after independence? And for me, this 

country really was working before 

independence with the regions. The 

regions were virtually independent. Each 

region had a constitution – northern, 

southern and western; this is the region 

we inherited from the British and we used 

it for only four or five years. For me, if we 

had kept these regional structures 

(because they were working for us), we 

would have been better. The Western 

Region was doing very well with free 

education without oil money. The 

Northern and Eastern regions had their 

trades too. But now, we have got into what 

you called presidential system of 

government and you have billions coming 

from petroleum. But where are the 

services, schools, universities, health 

services and security despite the billions 

of dollars coming in from the oil sector? 

So, what I am saying is that the basic 

structure you want to change is the basis 

for restructuring. And this is it – go back to 

the parliamentary system and you will see 

a lot of differences between this present 

system which is unaccountable, full of 

indiscipline and corruption. But the 

government does not want to change – each 

governor thinks he should be a governor 

forever in his state. We can be five regions 

but the structures will be working betterschools, 

amenities, hospitals, and other 

places will be working well. So, we need 

to go back to that political structure 

because the political structure we have 

now (the presidential system of 

government) is not working. And the 

simple challenge we have for everyone 

who is talking about restructuring is that 

we need to have a referendum and make 

a decision to return (to Parliamentary 

system). This is where we should go. We 

should not waste time talking about an 

imaginary restructuring.” 

On the contrary, Hon. Ogene’s input in 

the return bid to the parliamentary system 

did not drown the restructuring talks. 

“There’s no one-size fits all approach 

to issues of nation building. Right from 

medieval times, the concept of nation 

states have been work in progress. Thus, 

while restructuring engendered by a 

return to Parliamentary mode of 

governance can take care of some 

agitations, it certainly won’t solve all our 

problems. Getting peoples of diverse 

tribes, language,culture and religion to 

co-exist under one sovereignty, would 

entail a give-and-take disposition. So, 

while we may win some today, others 

would come in due time. Change is a 

constant in the affairs of humanity. Take 

the Black Lives Matter campaign in the 

USA, for instance. Personal liberty is almost 

a given in American society, but as the 

George Floyd incident, like several others, 

has shown, a lot still needs to be done; hence 

the current agitations and the reforms it is 

engendering”, he said. 

Things to ponder! 

While the conversation 

and debate goes on, there 

are a few issues to consider. 

Now, imagine the presence of over 400 

federal agencies and parastatals, bloated 

mainstream civil service and their effects 

on the national treasury. 

Then factor in the political and governing 

institutions: the Legislature, the Executive 

and the Judiciary. Consider their 

components and appurtenances also. 

Nigeria runs a bicameral legislature and 

so, there are in all 469 Federal Lawmakers, 

109 in the Senate and 360 in the House of 

Representatives with an average of 5 staff 

each. Then add the over 4000 

parliamentary Staff in the National 

Assembly in a full civil service structure and 

cost it. This is just at the federal legislature. 

With this, one can imagine the burden on 

the country. 

Then cross over to the Executive Arm of 

government. Count the President, the Vice 

President, the 36 Ministers and then, hordes 

of appointees and aides from top to bottom. 

Check out their pecks and paraphernalia 

of office. What do you get? 

Now to the Judiciary. You have the Chief 

Justice of Nigeria and other justices of the 

Supreme Court. There is the President of 

Court of Appeal and his colleagues at the 

appellate court. Consider their salaries, 

maintenance and the utility costs. Then 

come down to the Federal High Court, 

the Magistrates and Area Courts, the list 

is the same. All these are just at the federal 

level. Imagine the duplication at the State 

and perhaps, local government levels. 

The summary of it all will tell one that 

the expenditure incurred by the 

government and the cost of running the 

cost is a Presidential system of 

government is subsumed in one word: 

huge! 

Lastline 

To large extent, most Nigerians don’t 

give heed to the system of government the 

country operates. To this school of 

thoughts, transparency, accountability 

and probity, equity, justice and general 

good governance should be the hallmarks 

of any system, be it unitary, parliamentary or 

presidential. Incidentally, Nigeria has tested 

and tasted both. What this means is that the 

country knows the best to suit its peculiarities. 

Will good governance be enthroned on the 

enactment and activation of a parliamentary 

constitution? Will the current members of the 

National Assembly vote to change the 

presidential constitution? Your guess is as 

good as mine. But only time will tell.


By Chioma Gabriel, Editor Special Features 

Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, former national chairman 

of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a former 

governor of Enugu State and currently, a member 

of the National Executive Committee and Board 

of Trustees of the party , in this encounter, answers 

questions on a myriad of issues going on in the country. Excerpts: 

What is your take on the Igbos and their 

politics in Nigeria? Many are already talking 

about 2023 but Igbos are loudely silent. 

I think the President of Ohanaeze, Chief Nnia 

Nwodo has been putting our case very clearly. 

We don’t need to make it a family affair. 

A lot of Igbo groups that have sprang up 

and are agitating for Igbo presidency 2023 

are making the point. Others have had it and 

it should come to the south especially the 

South East. 

Many Igbo seem to have taken it for 

granted that Presidency will just come to 

them but that is not how it works. One is not 

even sure whether the Igbo want Presidency, 

restructuring or Biafra. 

We have to fight for it. If we get our President, 

then the problem of restructuring will be 

addressed. Nigeria is like this because as long 

as the far North is president, they will not agree 

for restructuring because the current structure 

favours them. They will not abandon what 

favours them so easily. Just like if someone 

from the South becomes president, the 

possibility of restructuring will become easier 

which is what Nigeria needs more than 

anything now to survive, economically or 

otherwise. 

Are Igbos still agitating for Presidency? 

For now, what is important is awareness. As 

long as awareness is being created, people 

are being made to understand that for us to 

continue to have a Nigeria, we need a presence 

of the Igbo as president to reunite Nigeria 

and then, we have had two Yorubas compete 

for president, Obasanjo and Olu Falae. We 

have had Atiku and Buhari in the North. Why 

can’t we have the major parties zone their 

president to the South East and let us pick the 

best? If we think we are one country, then you 

should not isolate a group of people for 50 

years and you are still killing them and then 

you tell them that they cannot be Biafra and 

that they must remain here and you still 

continue to kill them and tell them they cannot 

be president. Is it fair? Which other part of the 

country have they treated like that? 

Is this not treating Igbos as defeated 

people? 

Of course, I think there are two major 

problems. They still feel that we lost the war 

and should be treated as those who lost the 

war and they should be treated as those who 

won. The second is that Nigerians are afraid 

of the Igbos. If you give a people 20 pounds 

after the civil war and they survived and you 

go to Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba, Enugu, you’ll see 

development more than you’ll see in any other 

city in Nigeria, then you would know these 

are not people to toy with. If you now give the 

Igbos presidency, nobody will see their back. 

So, it is partly fear and “oh, we have injured 

these people so much and if they become 

president, they may decide to take revenge”. 

So, I think it is all part of a phobia as well as 

“we conquered them, so we can do anything 

we like”. 

Is the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, 

helping the Igbo cause? 

Well, you see, if you are in a fight, you don’t 

start from where you want the fight to end. 

The Igbo leaders know that what the Igbos 

want is a united Nigeria in which they are 

recognized and given their rightful position 

and they need Nigeria because Igbos are the 

only ones who are everywhere in Nigeria doing 

business and surviving and therefore, that is 

what is good for the Igbos. However,we won’t 

stop the Indigenous People of Biafra from 

bringing out all the maltreatments, 

marginalization, killings, rapings and 

everything that is going on in Igboland against 

out people. We can’t stop them from saying so 

and their saying so has brought the whole 

thing out in the open, both to Igbos and other 

Nigerians. So, they have created massive 

awareness of what is actually going on. 

What do you think should be their approach 

to these issues? 

What can you do about youths? Youths will 

always talk the way they do. They will fight, 

they will talk. It is their style of doing things. It 

is not that we think it is the best but as fathers, 

we can appreciate where they are coming from 

and caution them not to abuse their elders 

and all. But we know that it is youthful 

exuberance. It is not a reason to kill them. 

2023: 

There is this strange invasion of south-east 

and south-south by northern youths. Nobody 

knows their intention but in the South West, 

there is Amotekun. Do you think the 

governors of southeast are handling the 

invasion well? 

I think from the beginning of 

your statement, everybody in the 

South East and South South are 

worried because at a time that the 

Federal Government and many 

State Governments said that there 

should be no inter-state travel to 

contain the corona virus, it 

becomes a time that young people 

are being smuggled into the South 

East and South South with cattle 

and rice and beans and all that 

hiding them. It calls for the 

questions: where are they going? 

Who is waiting to receive them? 

Who is waiting to house them? 

What is their mission? So, this is a 

very big question and we are 

worried for two reasons. One, the 

number of patients of corona virus 

in the north compared to the southeast 

and south-south is more and 

with these people coming in now, 

you can see the figures are rising. Two, before 

now, we were complaining that herdsmen are 

destroying our farms, raping our women, 

•Nwodo 

Leadership 

problems 

dimming 

Igbo chances 

.APC has never been a political party 

.Only a revolution will save Nigeria 

killing our people and so on and forth. And 

anyone who is coming into our place and 

doesn’t have a mission will possibly join those 

who are doing this kind of thing. Therefore, 

we have reason to be apprehensive. You can 

see what happened and how 

they raided Katsina State. The 

President called all the security 

chiefs and now put the national 

security chief adviser in charge 

to co-ordinate their efforts to 

stop these bandits. But for 5 

years, they have been killing 

us and no one has been 

arrested. Nobody has been 

prosecuted. Nobody has been 

jailed or punished for all the 

killings that have been going 

on in our part of the country. 

So, it is interesting to know 

that some people can be 

pained when their own people 

are killed but when other 

people are killed, you are the 

leader of everybody and you 

don’t give a damn. 

So, that means that we 

should defend ourselves and 

Danjuma made it very clear 

that if you are waiting for the Nigerian Army 

to defend you, you are wasting your time. So 

the Yorubas have organized themselves. The 

People are being 

made to 

understand that for 

us to continue to 

have a Nigeria, we 

need a presence of 

the Igbo as 

president to reunite 

Nigeria 

South East governors met and said they were 

going to do something similar and that their 

state Houses of Assembly should pass laws 

that will makes the region to have a common 

service that will defend our people but they 

have not been able to do so. 

Now, I think that what our people need to 

do, in Enugu, for example, our governor 

created a neighbourhood watch and 

empowered them with a lot of vehicles, 

motorcycles and so on and forth and the state 

House of Assembly passed a law to establish 

them and at least, give them some small arms 

that they can use to do their work.It is for 

traditional rulers and local government 

chairmen to make sure that in every local 

government, these people are actually working 

and leaders in every community should do 

everything to encourage them to do the work. 

They are being paid every month, they have 

vehicles to carry out their duties. If we go into 

the outskirts of the communities and make 

enquiries on whether those kind of people 

causing trouble have been seen, whether they 

are destroying crops anywhere or whether 

women are being raped by them anywhere or 

being killed; then the police is alerted so they 

can be arrested. So, if we can do this is every 

state, then we can co-ordinate information and 

work together like they are doing now in the 

south west. 

These killings are not just in the south east 

but all over Nigeria. The carnage happening 

in the North is indescribable... 

The truth is that when you allow something 

to happen somewhere, you don’t even know 

that by allowing it to happen elsewhere, you 

are making it possible to happen in your own 

place because if they had nipped this in the 

bud from the moment we started shouting 

about it for five years in Southern Nigeria, 

then it wouldn’t have started in their place. 

But while they were busy enjoying what was 

happening in the Middle Belt and Southern 

Nigeria, they can’t even contain Boko Haram. 

The next thing now is that the herdsmen began 

to attack Christian communities and to sack 

them and take their land. Then came the 

bandits who feel that there is a field day and 

ask themselves what they are sitting down for. 

They too, moved into a village, kidnapped 

people. When they don’t kidnap people who 

can pay the ransom, they sack the village, burn 

everywhere and steal whatever they can. So, if 

insecurity is allowed to germinate in one place, 

it will eventually spread everywhere and then 

the leadership in our country has made it 

possible for the entire country to be engulfed 

in insecurity because they didn’t act early 

enough to nip it in the bud. 

When the President said the best of the 

service chiefs, is not enough, shouldn’t it be 

a green light to them to start resigning or 

even have then all changed. 

I don’t even know whether the government 

should wait for them to resign. These people’s 

tenure expired 2, 3 years ago and they are still 

being kept in service. Well, the country will 

understand if they are still being kept in service 

because they are doing a great job but every 

day, the insecurity in this country is crying to 

high heavens. They are not providing the 

security that they are supposed to provide. Why 

are you keeping them in office? The National 

Assembly has cried out. People in Southern 

Nigeria have cried out. Now, their own people 

are crying out and asking why those people 

are still there. The whole country is asking the 

President; when somebody is not performing, 

why are you leaving him there? The President 

has not been able to explain to the country 

why they must remain there and the younger 

people who should have attained that position 

3 years ago have been frustrated out and have 

been retired without achieving their aim of 

getting to the highest position in their 

profession. It is not that the country is satisfied 

by what these people are doing, so it is a 

paradox as we don’t know why the President is 

keeping them and none of us can sack or retire 

them except the President. 

Many people are asking whether the 

President is even still there. Look at what is 

happening in Aso Rock, gun shots between 

the aides of the wife of the President and the 

aides of the President himself. It has never 

happened before and many people are 

disappointed that such a thing is happening. 

That is not the first time the wife of the 

President has challenged Nigerians saying, 

“millions of you voted for my husband but 

only four of the men are running this country.” 

She has always raised alarm about what is 

happening in the Villa but she has no executive 

power. She is like a woman in a family where 

things are not happening the way she wants it 

to. The only thing she can do is to raise alarm 

and then the men will stand up and say “yes, 

our wife is saying the right thing, so let us do 

the right thing” but every time she raised an 

alarm, nothing happened. In this particular 

incident, if what we are hearing is true, we 

hear they are still investigating. They haven’t 

Continues on page 13


APC has never been 

a political party 

Continues from page 12 

told us exactly what is going on. But we will 

pray for Nigeria. We don’t have another country. 

So they better get it right or they get out. 

When you look at APC as a political party 

now, what do you foresee? Do you think it 

will survive with four national chairmen and 

with what is happening in Edo State? 

Well, those of us in PDP are very happy with 

what is happening in APC. APC was never 

really a party. There were various political 

parties that came together to form APC. They 

have never merged into one party. Two, the 

President has not been a party man because 

when the President is involved in the party, 

most of the time when there is a crisis and the 

president steps in, everybody will sit up and he 

will be able to reconcile everybody. Look at 

Obaseki, Oshiomole and the National 

Working Committee of the APC went to the 

Villa. When they got to the Villa, they saw the 

Chief of Staff. When Obaseki went there, he 

saw the Chief of Staff. Where is the President? 

This is a party that lost elections in Rivers State, 

lost elections in Zamfara. They have been 

having this problem everywhere and losing 

election, so why can’t they get their acts 

together? But the more they don’t present 

candidates, the better for us. But in trying to 

address the problem, I believe that democracy 

has been slipping through our fingers and if 

we allow it to continue like this, we will just be 

enjoying dictatorship. Democracy has rules 

and regulations which should be observed and 

because of the way it is being observed, both 

parties bring up wrong candidates and then, 

we end up with the wrong leaderships. But if 

we do internal democracy and organize 

transparent primaries, each party will come 

out with credible candidates and Nigeria will 

end up electing quality leaders in a free and 

fair election but we practise godfatherism. We 

use all sorts of considerations to present our 

candidates and these candidates are not 

representing the party because they were not 

selected by the party and then, they go to 

general election and the security agencies and 

INEC will connive and write results for 

whomever they like. We cannot produce first 

class leadership using these kind of methods. 

So, until we do things right, we cannot expect 

correct answers. Let there be revolution that 

will enable us produce quality leaders for the 

country. 

What is your idea of revolution? 

Revolution is when people are tired of the 

wrong things, that is, when it is biting into 

their skin and they say no because they cannot 

take it again and they decide to do the right 

thing. You revolt against something that is 

wrong to bring about something that is good 

and pure. The people are the ones who revolt 

because the people suffer and not the 

politicians. The people should partake in the 

selection of their leaders. 

In 2023, what do you think is the future of 

PDP? 

Our future depends on us being able to 

choose the right candidates. If we choose the 

right candidates, Nigeria is waiting for us. If 

we do the wrong thing, we leave Nigeria where 

it is. I don’t see APC leaving Nigeria in a better 

place than it is now. They don’t have the 

capacity or the organization. They don’t have 

a party. If PDP can just get its acts together, 

Nigeria is waiting for us. We will just do the 

right thing and bring out the right candidate 

and they will vote for him 

In Nigeria, many believe corona virus has 

become politicised. As a Medical Doctor, 

what do you think? 

I think corona virus is real. What is making 

people say it is politics is because are not seeing 

people having severe symptoms like in Asia 

and other places. So they don’t see why you 

should isolate someone who is well because 

he tested positive. They feel there is no 

treatment because he isn’t even sick. Or they 

give him malaria tablets. So if people are 

seeing the severity like they are seeing in other 

countries, maybe they will believe that it is 

real but then when you now see the people 

dying of covid-19 in Nigeria, you see it is killing 

more of the elderly people who have health 

problems like hypertension. Those who have 

these diseases have been managing them for 

years but once they get covid-19, within one 

week, they are dead. Now you see health 

workers who are exposed testing positive and 

you see doctors and nurses dying. So definitely 

there is covid-19 here and if measures are not 

taken, more and more people will be infected 

•Nwodo 

and no one knows whose own will be serious 

or who will die from it. I think that the 

government is doing the right thing in trying 

to educate people to protect themselves and 

to protect others. We shouldn’t take it as 

something that is not severe here and so 

therefore, everyone should go about their 

business. 

You were once the national chairman of 

PDP and you are not heading anything about 

the leadership of PDP anymore. What is 

happening to the man from Rivers? 

Of course, before the shutdown caused by 

covid-19, we had started our reorganization 

of the party because the executives have done 

their… (30:00) for 4 years so we had done 

the elections in the…, the local governments 

and just when we were about to do the state 

elections, the country was shut down so when 

people don’t know their fate,… (30:30) because 

of covid-19 what we normally do in a situation 

like this in politics is that you go underground 

and do your campaign. And so far, we don’t 

seem to have our candidates creating too 

much trouble in Edo and… so there is no 

reason for too much noise. We are an 

opposition government and the government 

in power is not doing well. The voice of the 

opposition should be heard loud and clear. 

Even though the elections are still far away, 

when the party in government is not doing 

well, it is the best for the opposition to begin to 

win the conscience of the people. You don’t 

wait for the election time to approach. And 

that is one place that I think that we are not 

doing well. The people that won that we expect 

to say more are the governors who have 

immunity. Let’s say that the government 

decides to clamps down on critics, whether it 

is a press person or a person who is there, 

injured and demanding for justice, they have 

not been fair to the people. They go to the 

church and kill reverend fathers and kill 

worshippers and then they will complain. 

When these complains are coming from 

governors protecting their people who voted 

them in to protect them, it is more weighty. So 

one would have expected the governors to be 

speaking more but I don’t know why. If I am a 

governor, the only people I owe my allegiance 

to are my people and my house of assembly 

that can impeach me and if I am saying 

something that will protect the people who 

voted me, anybody who wants to remove me 

can come and remove me. 

I think some governors are afraid because 

of when they leave office, EFCC will come 

after them or some people will start making 

some allegations and before you know it, 

they will lose their freedom. 

A clear conscience fears no accusation. If 

your hands are clean, you don’t need to fear 

the EFCC. I was governor for 20 months. 

Before I became the governor, I said I wanted 

to become the first governor in Nigeria to be 

probed after serving. When Abacha did the 

coup, the press said “this thing you told us, are 

you ready to be probed now?” And so from 

this time you are asking this question, until I 

die, I don’t need more than 1 hour notice for 

my government to be probed. So we can have 

more governors say that kind of thing and if 

they are not there, embezzling the people’s 

money, what will the EFCC do to you? You’ll 

say your mind. 

You have not retired from active policies, 

right? 

Well, there is nothing to be active about now. 

If we start elections again, we’ll hit the road 

with our candidates and help them and 

campaign with them. I have not retired. I am 

still a member of the PDP, member of the board 

of trustees, a member of the national executive 

committee. 

LAGOS: Greenfield Estate residents protest presence 

of heavy trucks, containers, poor electricity 

By Jacob Ajom 

Residents of Greenfield Estate, 

located off Ago-Palace Way, 

Okota in Isolo LCDA are gearing up 

for a public protest over what they term as 

“the invasion” of articulated vehicles(trailers 

and tankers) in their once serene estate. 

Residents now find it difficult to drive in or out 

of the estate. Recalling the psychological and 

mental torture they experience on a daily basis, 

some of the residents who work in Apapa, 

where traffic logjam has become a norm, said 

should the Apapa experience be replicated on 

their stretch of Ago Road, then their lives could 

be shortened. “The tankers have covered the 

entire road and are making life unbearable 

for most of us. When you talk to the drivers, 

they would feign not to understand what you 

are saying,” a worried resident told this writer, 

adding that the earlier the state government 

intervened in the matter the better for them. 

In a chat with our correspondent, Chairman 

of the Greenfield Estate Landlord Association, 

High Chief Nnana Achiugo (KZW) lamented 

the situation thus: “People are dying on that 

road on a daily basis. That road was not built 

for heavy duty trucks. It was meant to provide 

an access road for residents of Ago-Palace Way, 

Isolo, Ejigbo and Ikotun residents. Indeed, it 

provides an alternative route for Oshodi and 

airport bound motorists, whenever there is a 

problem on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. 

But for sometime now, that is no longer the 

case because of the large presence of 

articulated vehicles. They park along the road. 

After the first protest, we witnessed a respite, 

but they are back in full force.” 

The chairman of the Landlord association 

wondered why a container terminal was 

licensed to operate in a residential estate. He 

asked, “who is issuing operating licenses to 

•Estate chairman queries approval of 

container terminals in residential area 

Inside Greenfield Estate 

these terminal operators?” 

He appreciated the efforts of the Isolo LCDA 

Chairman. He said, “the chairman of Isolo 

LCDA has done so much in this respect. He 

has been here physically to talk to them and I 

remember how one of the terminal operators 

insulted him on one of his visits to the place. 

He has done more than enough, but the 

menace remains.” Chief Achiugo threatened, 

“should the problem persist, we(the residents) 

would have no alternative than to march on 

the streets of Lagos to protest.” 

Apart from the menace posed by the 

indiscriminate parking of trucks and tankers 

in the estate, the residents are also complaining 

about poor power supply. Said the Landlord 

Association chairman, “in terms of 

electricity, we have not been having it rosy 

at all despite the fact that we have provided 

everything including cables, transformers, 

etc. I expect Ikeja Distribution 

Company(IKDC) to step up their game and 

provide the needful, based on their 

agreement with government. They should 

step up so that people will not continue paying 

for what they did not consume. Although some 

of the residents have got pre-paid meters, 

majority of us are yet to get the meters. I expect 

the IKDC to collaborate with us and we will 

tell them who and who have not been metered. 

I don’t think they expect us to provide 

everything they need to operate. They have a 

major role to play and we are ready to 

collaborate with them.” 

High Chief Achiugo noted with 

sympathy that IKDC was understaffed. “It 

is a big problem as it takes them over one 

week to fix a simple problem. I expect 

they do something about their staff 

strength.” However, the chief said, “in as 

much as we blame the IKDC, the monster 

that has been consuming much of the 

electricity in the estate is the container 

terminal located there. The same reason 

we have the rampant and indiscriminate 

parking of trucks in the estate.” 

Another problem, which poses 

imminent danger to the residents is that 

of flooding. Due to the absence of an 

effective drainage system, parts of the 

estate witness serious flooding each time 

there is a heavy rain. “Flood is a very 

serious problem. Talking about drainage 

and flood, that is far above what we can 

handle. We want to use this medium to 

beg the government of Lagos state to 

please, come to our aid. We are asking 

government to step in, so that in 

collaboration we can channel the water 

into the canal behind the estate. It is a 

massive estate and there is no way we can 

do it on our own. It is a massive project 

which we are ready to work with 

government to see it through,” Chief 

Achiugo said.


OPINION 

Adesina and Onyema: 

Different Str 

trok 

okes for Different Folks 

By Chidiebere Nwobodo 

When news of Dr Akinwumi Adesina’s 

probe as president of African 

Development Bank (AfDB) hit the 

media, I became worried, not only as a 

Nigerian, but as one of the admirers of the 

trailblazing technocrat. Adesina has 

distinguished himself in his chosen career as 

one of the great sterling reformists Nigeria 

has gifted to Africa and the world. 

As minister under President Goodluck 

Jonathan, if he missed the best-performed 

minister, he could not have missed the second 

most-outstanding appointee of that 

Administration. I strongly believe that he does 

not only possess the leadership qualities to be 

given second term at AfDB, but a potential 

African candidate for the exalted seat of World 

Bank president! Only less than a week ago, 

the highly respected Standard & Poor Global 

Ratings, affirmed AfDB’s ‘AAA/A-1+’ long and 

short term ratings on the AfDB. And it is undrr 

Adesina’s sterling leadership. 

This is why the non-African interestsspearheaded 

witch-hunt of his stewardship 

came as surprise to some of us; judging by his 

stainless strides of excellence in public service. 

Worse, even after he was cleared by the Ethics 

Committee saddled with the responsibility to 

investigate the allegations of unethical 

conduct, even after the Committee’s report was 

upheld by the board, the US Treasury 

Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, wrote the Bank’s 

Board rejecting the clean bill of health given 

to Mr. Adesina and requested an independent 

probe against the rules and regulations of the 

bank. 

Patriotically, Nigerians, including their 

former and present leaders have risen in unison 

in defense of Akinwumi Adesina, Nigerian 

media have being consistent in defending this 

illustrious son of ours against the imperialists 

bent on truncating his second term in office. 

While this is highly commendable, my 

contention in that what is good for the geese is 

equally good for the gander. And on that 

ground, I think Chief Executive Officer of Air 

Peace was not fairly treated by a dominant 

section of Nigerian media and political elites, 

and social media when the accusation by the 

US authorities broke. And this despite that 

Onyema has severally and selflessly come to 

the rescue of Nigerians and Nigerian 

government when it mattered most. I cannot 

forget in a hurry how he saved Nigerians 

•Allen Onyema 

trapped in South Africa during xenophobic 

attacks—at his own expense. 

Yet, when Allen Onyema was accused by 

America’s Justice Department of financial 

infractions and unethical conduct bordering 

on money laundering, etcetera, while he was 

yet to put up his defense or response, some 

sections of Nigerian mainstream media, 

descended heavily on him as if they were long 

awaiting his downfall. To my utter 

consternation, these elements nearly went 

overboard just to scandalize his personality. A 

lot of falsehood and malicious stories started 

flying in the social aspect of Nigerian Media, 

with the ignoble intention to damage 

Onyema’s hard-earned reputation. 

Indeed, this detribalised Nigerian and 

philanthropist of repute, who has weathered 

the storm in the turbulent Aviation Industry, 

to build the biggest domestic airline and West 

Africa’s fastest growing International airline, 

was literally convicted by dominant section 

of Nigerian media in a manner that appeared 

•Akinwumi Adesina 

bothering on tribal on tribal supremacism 

cum bigotry. It was like a media jungle justice. 

The illusion was even created, especially in 

the online media that Allen Onyema could 

have been in jail by now. Instead of defending 

Onyema—at least in the spirit of patriotism, 

demand fair hearing for the highest employer 

of labor in the nation’s airspace, Allen Onyema 

was an orphan. 

I can vividly recall how some sections of the 

Nigerian media were falling on top of 

themselves with their so-called “Exclusives” 

and “Breaking”, just to crucify him to please 

imperialistic forces, which might not be 

comfortable with the entrance of AirPeace in 

the international routes, to compete with other 

foreign airlines. The belligerences towards 

Onyema nearly erode my faith in the nation. 

In the spirit of objectivity, I don’t support 

corruption and abuse of rules and regulations. 

No. But if truth is to be told, it seemed as though 

to a session of the media, Onyema was guilty 

until proven innocent instead of innocent until 

proven guilty. Imagine how non-Nigerians 

watched with utter disdain, how some of us 

practically failed one of our rising stars of 

business world, probably because of where he 

comes from. At a point, a media house (which 

I won’t mention), declared that Onyema was 

“wanted” by American government. The next 

morning, another newspaper published a 

misleading story that the Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had 

seized his passport. That was very unfair, for a 

personality like Onyema. Some fabricated 

stories on “how Onyema looted Amnesty 

Program and NDDC Contracts”. I could not 

but wonder what these people were doing with 

all these findings before the American Justice 

Department came up with their allegation 

But when the same imperialist overbearing 

influence came knocking on the doors of 

Akinwumi Adesina, the same section of the 

media became ardent patriots and defenders 

of AfDB President. They suddenly 

remembered that Adesina is “our own” that 

needed to be protected. And I ask: Is Onyema 

not also our own? Why different strokes for 

the same folks? 

Again, AirPeace was given the contracts by 

the governments of Chinese, Indian and Israeli 

to airlift their citizens from Nigeria back to 

their respective countries. These foreign 

governments with head and shoulder higher 

than Nigeria in technology and economy had 

absolute confident in the capacity of the airline. 

But, guess what? It took the intervention of the 

House of Representatives Committee on 

Aviation headed by Hon. Nnoli Nnaji for 

Nigerian government to include AirPeace as 

one of the airlines to evacuate Nigerians 

abroad back home. What an unjust treatment! 

Some say that if AirPeace was being run by a 

non-Igbo Nigerian, he would have been given 

the Right of First Refusal! This type of attitude 

to a man that freely airlifted Nigerians trapped 

in South Africa can actually discourage others 

Nigerians from future acts of patriotism. 

Meanwhile, I pray that Akinwumi Adesina 

comes out of the whole trial and imperialist 

persecution unscathed and stronger. But I also 

pray Nigerians, especially the elites and the 

media to treat all Nigerians equally no matter 

where they come from. We need both Adesina 

and Onyema to put Nigeria on global map, 

and what is good for the goose is good for the 

gander. 

•Chidiebere Nwobodo writes from Abuja 

Saving the judiciary y from itself 

By Chidi Nkwopara, OWERRI 

The social space has been inundated with 

varying opinions and if you like, media 

war, on who should take over from any 

retiring state chief judge, or any other one in 

the federation. 

This “media war” had previously, and at 

various times, taken place in some states of 

the federation, including, but not limited to 

Imo State. 

In Cross River State, the lawmakers have 

bluntly refused to confirm the National 

Judicial Commission’s nominee, Justice Akon 

Ikpeme, as the substantive Chief Judge of the 

state. 

Let me concede immediately that I am not a 

lawyer, but in handling this issue, excerpts from 

some documents, including the Nigerian 

Constitution and people’s views will become 

very handy. 

Section 271(1) of the Nigerian Constitution 

provides that “the appointment of a person to 

the office of the Chief Judge of a state, shall be 

made by the Governor of the state, on the 

recommendation of the National Judicial 

Council, subject to the confirmation of the 

House of Assembly of the state.” 

From the foregoing, it is clear that this 

Section did not specifically mention the 

particular person to be appointed by name or 

office, even as it also follows that nobody can 

claim any exclusive right to be appointed the 

Chief Judge of a state. 

From this same quoted Section, the principal 

actors are the National Judicial Council, NJC, 

which recommends a named person to the 

Governor of a state, who then makes the 

appointment, subject to the approval of the 

State House of Assembly. 

The issue now is: How does the NJC find the 

person to be recommended to the governor 

for appointment as the Chief Judge of a state? 

The answer lies in the powers given to the State 

Judicial Service Commission, JSC, by the 

Constitution to recommend persons to the 

NJC for appointment as judicial officers of 

the courts established for a state, by the 

Constitution, which includes the Chief Judge 

of a state. 

Again, how does the JSC of a state find the 

person to be recommended to the National 

Judicial Council, NJC, for appointment as 

the Chief Judge of the state? This can be found 

in the 2014 revised NJC Guidelines and 

Procedural Rules, for the appointment of 

judicial officers of all superior courts of record 

in Nigeria. 

The guidelines make provisions for the JSC 

to shortlist a number of persons as it deems fit, 

which usually, are serving judges in order of 

seniority, not by any specific provision of the 

Constitution, by practice and write to the 

judges to submit their curriculum vitae, 

medical certificate of fitness and credentials 

to the JSC. 

Thereafter, the JSC forwards the shortlisted 

names to all former heads of the particular 

court to which the appointment is to be made, 

as well as all branches of the Nigerian Bar 

Association, NBA, in the state and the 

Department of State Service, DSS, in the state. 

At the end of the consideration of the reports 

and comments by members of the JSC, a 

decision is taken on which two of the shortlisted 

judges or persons, should be forwarded to the 

NJC, as preferred and alternate candidates 

for consideration and recommendation of one 

of them, to the governor for appointment as 

the Chief Judge of the state. 

Apart from the foregoing, and in all cases, 

good character and reputation, diligence and 

hard work, honesty, integrity and sound 

knowledge of law and consistent adherence 

to professional ethics, are also considered. 

It was also gathered that any of them shall 

not be recommended for appointment if found 

to have been involved in canvassing or 

lobbying for the appointment directly or 

indirectly in any form and through any person 

or persons, including politicians, royal 

fathers,public officers and other judicial 

officers. 

Similarly, bad behaviour, whether in or out 

of court, influence peddling, display of lifestyle, 

which indicates that the candidate has been 

living above his or her means. 

Submission of false credentials and/or 

deceitful or fraudulent curriculum vitae, as 

we as any act of dishonesty or corruption or 

•CJN Tanko Muhammad 

corrupt practice, either on behalf of himself 

or any other judicial officer or professional 

colleague. 

By virtue and essence of the independence 

of the JSC, as envisaged by the provisions of 

Section 202 of the Constitution, the JSC is not 

bound by any directive from any authority 

whatsoever, in arriving at the two candidates 

to be recommended to the NJC. 

It must be put on record that the shortlisting 

of up to four or more judges, as the case may 

be, shows that seniority of judges is only but a 

factor in the entire process. The shortlisted 

judges are then considered along the 

qualifying and disqualifying factors listed 

above. It is only if the most senior of the judges 

is found to be the best of all shortlisted judges 

or at par with the rest that the most senior is 

nominated or recommended by the JSC and 

NJC, to the governor for appointment as Chief 

Judge of a state. 

It is axiomatic and a principle of equity that 

“where the equities are equal, the first in time 

prevails”_ but where the equities are not equal, 

the first in time or most senior judge, can never 

prevail over a more competent judge. 

This position was vividly captured by a one 

time Attorney General of Imo State, D. C. 

Denwigwe, SAN, on the irrelevance of 

considering seniority as a criterion for the 

appointment of a Chief Judge of a state. 

His legal opinion to the Military Governor 

of Imo State, dated December 9, 1998, reads: 

“The Chief Judge must possess good judicial 

temperament. He must not exhibit a highly 

flammable temperament or an automatic 

readiness to bring his office low. Whether in 

military regime or in a civilian democracy, 

times come when the great learning, full 

experience and level headedness of the Chief 

Judge are what it takes to sustain the state. 

“Against the immediate foregoing 

background, it is easy to see why seniority 

should neither be the only yardstick nor rise 

above other measures of merit.” 

After mentioning the name of the judge he 

was unable to vouch for, he also stated that 

“no well practiced lawyer in Imo State, can 

dispute the scholarship of either Hon. Justice 

L. C. Alinnor or P. C. Onumajulu.” 

He then added: “Harmonious relationship 

within the judiciary thus outweighs seniority. 

In my candid view, the judge who appears most 

preferred by his brother judges, if he also 

possesses the other qualities listed earlier, is 

the best.” 

The point to be made here is that there is 

nothing wrong or extraordinary if objections 

and petitions are raised or made against the 

suitability of any judge for higher judicial 

appointment, including that of a Chief Judge 

of a state. 

Instances abound where the JSC of a state 

and NJC appointed judges who were not the 

most seniors as heads of courts, both at federal 

and state levels and those appointments never 

generated any furor or agitation, because they 

were made on solid and sound basis. 

Therefore, whenever the appointing 

authorities deviated from appointing the most 

senior judge as head of court or as Chief Judge, 

as were done in states like Abia, Ebonyi, 

Enugu, Imo, Rivers and Bornu States, to 

mention but a few, they must have had solid 

grounds to do so. 

It is suggested that we should allow those 

charged with such duties under the 

Constitution, to do so without undue 

interference and rancour. 

However, it is truly disturbing when it is 

discovered that some of the victims of these 

failed choices are women, who are denied the 

position because of being married outside 

their state of birth!

C 

M 

Y 

K 

“THEY came in numbers, wielding 

dangerous weapons. I heard my late 

husband reciting prayers from the 

Qur’an. They shot and killed him….in 

our presence. Oh Allah!!! Where is the 

government? Who will take care of our 

numerous children? Is this how the 

government will allow these bandits to 

be killing us? Oh Allah, where is 

government? Where….’ This was the 

anguished submission of a wailing 

woman whose husband, a local 

monarch, was killed by bandits in the 

‘Yantumaki Community’ of Kaduna 

State recently according to a Sunday 

Vanguard report which took the story 

from VOA Hausa service. 

I can just picture the scene. You are 

surrounded by ferocious bandits whose 

sole mission is to loot, rape and kill. You 

are begging with everything you have 

but they are acting deaf and 

contemptuously because they know 

you have nothing to bargain with. 

Everything you have – including your 

body and those of your young 

daughters – is already theirs to take if 

they so desire. An hour stretches into 

eternity as you hope for a miracle, any 

miracle. The waiting is in itself torture. 

The bandits take their time, prolonging 

your humiliation, your torture. You 

both know help is not going to come 

until it is all over when their thirst for 

blood and hunger for flesh would have 

been satiated. They leave after stripping 

you of everything; property, dignity 

and faith – if you are lucky to be spared. 

Even then you know it is not all over. 

They can come at will; in the brightness 

of day, or in the darkness of night. And 

who is to say if you will survive the next 

time. So the vigil starts. You see them 

in the shadows of night; you hear them 

in the faintest of noises. They dominate 

your thoughts. They dominate your 

dreams. They become your nightmare. 

Oh Allah, where is government? 

This is the story of many villagers in 

certain areas of the north as we speak. 

They sleep with the proverbial one eye. 

They have become rootless and are 

completely at the mercy of bandits. 

The question as to whether 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

and other members of his inner 

team were justified in humiliating 

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole out of the 

office of national chairman of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC is one that 

will endure for some time. 

After lending himself to the ferocious 

campaign that returned Buhari to office, 

Oshiomhole was easily dispensed with, 

in a way that was not contemplated 

against any of his two predecessors. Yes, 

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was with 

Oshiomhole in tow, spitefully stopped 

from a second term, but he completed 

his first term. 

Oshiomhole, however, suffered worse 

indignity in the sense that he was not 

even allowed to attain up to half of his 

four-year term. 

Indeed, your correspondent has been 

appraised on how the last move against 

Oshiomhole was about the last of several 

attempts in the past. At least three of 

those attempts in November 2019, 

March 2020, and the last successful 

attempt all had significant prodding 

from within the president’s inner circle. 

After being given the mandate to 

initiate the moves to remove Oshiomhole, 

the operatives were embarrassed as the 

Villa repeatedly removed the carpet from 

under their feet. The last move in March 

was particularly embarrassing. The 

adventurists had scented victory; the 

Court of Appeal had put Oshiomhole’s 

matter off indefinitely. They were 

shocked to hear that same day that the 

court allegedly on the prompting of a 

very high official in the Villa reconvened 

to reinstate Oshiomhole. 

But the Oshiomhole chairmanship was 

a disaster long foretold. 

But was it right to use him for second 

term and dump him so resentfully after 

his grueling campaign outings? 

That is a moral question that political 

practitioners hardly bother themselves 

Oh Allah, where is the 

government? 

Some of the bandits are from outside the 

country. Some from within. Like a 

Northern Governor said in the Vanguard 

report ‘it is becoming 

harder and harder to 

distinguish us from our 

enemies’. This is because 

the jobless, roaming 

youths have teamed up 

with outside marauders 

to terrorise the land. It 

is a classic situation of a 

failing State where law 

and order has collapsed 

and crime pays. The 

cause of the present 

situation in the north is 

complex and 

multifaceted. I don’t 

pretend to have all the 

answers but if I may 

summarise, I will opine 

that it has to do with 

religion and the 

manipulation of it.It has 

to do with population 

and the manipulation of 

it. With ethnic divisions 

and the manipulation of 

them. It has to do with 

education and the neglect of it. With 

grinding poverty and the denial of it. It 

has to do with governance and the abuse 

of it.It all boils down to the leadership 

style which the north has chosen. This 

An hour 

stretches into 

eternity as you 

hope for a 

miracle, any 

miracle. The 

waiting is in 

itself torture 

same governor put it succinctly when he 

said ‘there was no shortage of early 

warning signs but we ignored them all. 

We are paying for our 

collective negligence. 

As it is, we are 

trapped in a prison of 

mirrors where lies 

are answered with 

new lies. Violence is 

taking root because 

our leadership model 

SATURDAY Vanguard, , JUNE 27, 2020—15 

has been exposed as 

a lie, an empty 

ideology used to 

satiate greed instead 

of addressing social 

inequality and 

injustice’. 

Even when some 

bandits were 

infiltrating some 

parts of the north like 

Benue and Taraba 

and could have been 

dealt with swiftly and 

decisively, 

leadership was still 

using other 

considerations. The 

time so called Fulani herdsmen started 

using AK47 to kill and destroy farmlands 

would have been the time to be decisive 

with crime and criminals. But 

government stayed its hand until other 

groups joined to enjoy the spoils of crime 

Was Buhari right to humiliate 

Oshiomhole out of office? 

with. 

If anything, those who campaigned with 

Oshiomhole to enthrone change in the 

country using the APC as vehicle may 

have now come to the conclusion that after 

five years in power that the 

APC has not produced the 

change they promised. 

If any, in the matter of 

impunity, the APC even fares 

worse with the party failing 

to hold regular meetings and 

such. 

Oshiomhole was chased 

out of office in the same way 

that the majority of PDP 

national chairmen were 

chased away. 

However, Oshiomhole’s 

role in bringing about his 

downfall must also be 

examined. 

One may overlook the 

probable claim that it was 

retribution from Chief Tony 

Anenih hitting at 

Oshiomhole from the grave. 

Some would also rightfully 

guess that the House of 

Igbinendion, papa and pikin, were behind 

the moves after Oshiomhole spat on them 

after helping him to power? 

So, if the law of karma is set aside, but 

the former chairman’s impunity will not 

be forgiven. 

When he was suspended whether 

justifiably or not, Comrade should have 

immediately 

addressed it. 

However, just as a 

Buhari has with it 

set the tone for 

2023 politics; 

how he will be 

replaced and 

who will NOT 

replace him as 

president is now 

emerging 

politician who 

descended from the 

top and operated at 

the top, he rather 

neglected to address 

the issues at home. 

Newspaper 

executive, Mr. Chuks 

Akuna who was a 

close friend of the late 

Chief A.K. Dikibo told 

your correspondent an 

interesting story of 

how the late PDP 

chieftain addressed 

almost a near similar 

situation. 

Dikibo had some 

time in 2003 boarded 

a plane in Port- 

Harcourt. As he sat 

waiting for takeoff, a fellow passenger 

walked to him and whispered to him about 

mutterings in his ward in Okirika, asking 

and the situation became hydraheaded. Oh 

Allah, where is government? 

Unfortunately, indecisive or outright 

dearth of governance is everywhere you 

turn. It starts from Aso Rock itself where 

there was reportedly an incident involving 

gun shots between First Lady’s security 

details and a President’s aide. It goes on to 

the President’s party where the Chairman 

played jury and judge in a case that also had 

him as a litigant. It is compounded by the 

resultant undisciplined scramble for the 

chairmanship position. One gets the 

impression in the three scenarios, of people 

grabbing power because there is no control, 

no line in the sand and the more brazen you 

are, the more you can get away with. Another 

area of our lives is COVID 19 which is 

threatening to get out of control; where all 

the guidelines that should lead to a better 

containment are observed more in the 

breach. You find people travelling from the 

farthest part of the north to the deepest part 

of the south in spite of inter-state travel 

restriction. Yet the roads are littered with 

law enforcement officers. A governor from 

the north recently gave up and opened his 

borders because he said he was merely 

making money for the border patrol officers. 

The officers are not punished for gross 

dereliction of duty. You find people 

congregating in large numbers without 

respect for face masks or social distancing. 

There are no sanctions or even the will to 

sanction. Even the rank and file senses the 

absence of authority in the country. This also 

reflects in the way we are treated by foreign 

countries. I can’t imagine what happened in 

South Africa and Ghana recently happening 

under Murtala Mohammed and Joe Garba, 

his Foreign Minister. Oh Allah, where is 

government? 

I don’t know whether it is apt or not, but 

my mind keeps going to Genesis 1 vs 2 in the 

bible where the account of creation was 

mentioned. This portion claimed the earth 

had no form and was void until God put it in 

order. Nigeria seems to be in that state of 

void andcrying for a leadership that will put 

it in order; that will care for her. She needs 

men and women on a salvage mission. Then 

the bereaved lady’s plaintive cry of ‘Oh 

Allah, where is government?’ can be 

answered in a more positive way. 

him when last he visited. 

Dikibo replied that he was there two weeks 

ago, but his fellow passenger told him of 

muttering at the ward. 

There and then, Dikibo aborted the journey 

and proceeded to Okirika where he met his 

ward chairman, asking him ‘hope everything 

is fine.’ The ward chairman muttered that it 

had been difficult to reach him on phone. 

He told him of how he needed N100,000 to 

address a particular family situation. Dikibo 

responded by giving the ward chairman, 

N200,000 and then returned to Port-Harcourt 

before coming back to Abuja. 

The fact that every politics is local is one 

that Oshiomhole easily scorned. 

His entry into the politics in 2006 was from 

the top through the Igbinendions and Pastor 

Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Albeit, his national 

reputation as a successful labour activist may 

have helped him. However, the niceties of 

dealing with politics at the local level were 

not transmitted to him hence when Godwin 

Obaseki set trouble for him at home, he 

overlooked it to his cost. 

Another development from the removal is 

the power of the president in determining 

party positions. 

The Thursday NEC meeting was attended 

by many associates of Aswiaju Bola Tinubu 

who were known supporters of Oshiomhole. 

However, the president did not give them 

any room to defend Oshiomhole. In our 

presidential style of politics once the president 

sets the tone as he did on Thursday everyone 

else takes the cue. Unfortunately, none of the 

officials at the NEC raised the issue of how 

Victor Giadom as a Deputy National Secretary 

became acting national chairman even with 

Senator Lawali Shuaibu, available as Deputy 

National Chairman (North). 

The import of the development on Thursday 

as has been variously reported and 

commented upon is the decapitation of 

Tinubu’s political clout in the party. 

It may be more than that. Buhari has with it 

set the tone for 2023 politics; how he will be 

replaced and who will NOT replace him as 

president is now emerging.


The president said the party was in 

jeopardy and he intervened to give it 

a chance to live. 

But did he let the sores become gangrenous? 

Is the party salvageable? Only time will tell. 

The problems of the APC have existed from 

birth. Mutual suspicions and incompatible 

ambitions. If Buhari had lost in 2015, the 

party would have died then. The emergence 

of Buhari and the power of the center kept 

the party strung loosely together. After 

2015, the president looked away and the 

party floundered. He didn’t seem bothered 

by the fortunes of the party . 

When 2019 approached Buhari sought 

more cohesion. He had run into strong anti 

Fulani headwinds coming from the south 

and middle belt. He couldn’t risk going into 

the contest with a fractured party. He 

courted Tinubu who had shown signs of 

disaffection and tilted the party in his 

direction. That was how Oshiomhole came. 

And that was why many expected President 

Buhari to defend Oshiomhole more stoutly. 

So that he wouldn’t be seen as another 

opportunist. Oshiomhole was his battle axe 

when he needed a warrior. 

But the president said he didn’t want to be 

meddlesome. Perhaps 

his meddlesomeness is 

seasonal. 

Oshiomhole came in 

unwanted by those who 

believed he was the idea 

of one of the competing 

sides. By the time he took 

over in 2018 the party 

wasn’t in tatters, but it 

was riven by deep cracks 

. In half of the states the 

war between the 

governors and other 

stakeholders had 

become almost 

irreconcilable. That was 

Oyegun’s legacy. 

Oshiomhole wasn’t a 

saint and perhaps wasn’t 

the best of ‘panel 

beaters’. He approached 

the conflicts sometimes 

with bias and some other 

The 2023 

presidential 

ambition of the 

major players in the 

party is the terminal 

illness the party is 

suffering from. The 

president has 

intervened at last 

times with firmness 

equity. In a few cases he 

simply vacillated until 

one side knocked out the 

other. 

With 2023 hovering 

over 2019 , everything Oshiomhole did had 

multiple political interpretations. He met 

Rivers almost on the hands of Abe. He 

handed it to Amaechi. The mess created by 

Oyegun meant that Abe’s intransigence and 

courts intrusion would excommunicate APC 

from Rivers. Amaechi wanted Oshiomhole 

to punish Abe. It didn’t happen. In 2020 

APC Caretaker Committee : A 

mere life support t machine? 

Oshiomhole was blamed by everybody 

for the loss of Rivers and for being 

unforgiving. The president who has given 

Abe an NNPC board appointment didn’t 

offend Amaechi. 

Oshiomhole was pugnacious but he had 

won the war for the party. It wasn’t 

Oshiomhole who 

contrived the 

Zamfara war 

between Gov Yari and 

Senators Yerima and 

Marafan; the war 

between adults which 

made the party lose 

Zamfara. The 

president watched the 

Governor threaten to 

murder Oshiomhole. 

Zamfara was the 

presidents home 

territory. He did 

nothing to salvage the 

confusion. 

Was it Oshiomhole 

that staged the war 

between El Rufai and 

Shehu Sani? Who but 

the president could 

have resolved it? Some 

of those who wanted 

Oshiomhole out were 

more dictatorial than 

him. Could Amaechi or 

El Rufai have 

condoned a motormouthed 

Obaseki in 

their ranks? 

Once 2019 was sorted, the fierce battle 

for the soul of the party resumed in 

earnest. Buhari once again had little 

motivation to stamp his authority. So it 

seemed. The party drifted again. Those 

who didn’t want Oshiomhole planted 

booby traps and laid wait. And like in 

the Bible an apostle was used to betray his 

master. When Oshiomhole was 

suspended by a minority in his ward in 

March, it seemed a joke. But when an 

Abuja court one late evening granted one 

Giadom permission to take over the party 

alarm bells began to ring. Such a 

subterfuge. 

Many had expected the president to 

intervene and stand by his party 

chairman. He could have offered firm 

directions from behind. But he stayed 

aloof. Perhaps he wanted Oshiomhole to 

condone the activities of an Obaseki who 

seemed a PDP mole, judging by his 

utterances. Folks who took the party and 

its national chairman to court were let off 

and encouraged. Some said Oshiomhole 

should have made peace with Obaseki to 

save himself. Oshiomhole couldn’t have 

saved himself even if he worshipped an 

Obaseki who wanted to cripple him 

politically . 

The 2023 presidential ambition of the 

major players in the party is the terminal 

illness the party is suffering from. The 

president has intervened at last. The party 

was on the brink of crumbling. The party 

had four days to submit Ize Iyamu’s name 

to INEC. The submission had to be done 

by a chairman whose authority couldn’t 

be challenged in court. The president had 

to act. 

Some of the governors were on the verge 

of forming another party. The rumor that 

the CPC was making a comeback was 

everywhere. The president moved the 

National Executive Committee to dissolve 

the national working committee. A new 

caretaker committee could, on paper, 

usher in a new leadership that could unite 

the party 

The problem, however, is that the 

prominent players in the party have 

mutually incompatible 2023 ambitions. 

Tinubu referred to the onslaught of anti 

Oshiomhole forces as a coup plot. And openly 

branded the move to remove Oshiomhole as 

a sting piece of ingratitude. He might sheath 

his sword, but the battle lines are clearly 

drawn. The president’s action is supposed to 

be a ‘no winner no vanquished’ temporary 

ceasefire. The caretaker committee is filled 

with Tinubu’s loyalists. That could be a smart 

attempt to appease him. But everyone knows 

things are going to be feverish. 

No side seems willing to concede the 

presidency in 2023. If the president stays aloof 

in the name of observance of 

constitutionality, only to use the excuse of an 

illegal Giadom maneuver to carry out 

intermittent surgeries , he will have more 

problems to solve. He must seek to prevent 

and not treat. He has to be proactive. 

The president must understand that he has 

a duty to steer the party . Mandela knew the 

ANC could be torn apart if he left office or 

died abruptly. He didn’t plead impartiality, 

and let the ANC’s sails be torn by violent 

winds of the personal political ambitions of 

its leaders. He helped it decide its leadership 

question in advance. That was proactivity. 

Some ugly footprints were left by the 

presidential intervention. Buhari allowed 

many ugly precedents be set. 

The APC held a party meeting in the council 

chambers. That is new, and even if lawful, 

it’s immoral, distasteful. 

The second is more frightening. A PDP friend 

called me. He said though he wanted the APC 

to unravel, he couldn’t believe Buhari ,the 

disciplinarian ,would allow Giadom sit in the 

chambers with him. In the name of 

constitutionality, Buhari endorsed the funny 

idea that seven men could emerge from the 

bush in Daura, after a bad hunting day, and 

suspend the president from his party. Our 

politics is dying daily. Buhari might have 

put the party on life support , but that he left 

no words for Giadom was an endorsement of 

crude opportunism. 

One more foot print. A nice piece of 

hypocrisy. After perhaps using Giadom and 

his funny court orders as excuse for 

intervention, the president without 

compunction warned that people who took 

the party to court would suffer severe 

sanctions. The same man who had condoned 

court actions against his party by its 

members as political freedom. 

The party would live if the president sees 

himself as an intensive care physician, and 

show more interest in its affairs. If he chooses 

to continue his brand of constitutionality, his 

party will be dead next year. Another Giadom 

from one aggrieved cohort can always take 

out a national chairman by throwing 

sufficient tantrums. 

Only the president matters now. 

In this era, as the world 

grapples with scapegoating 

the digital citizens, this 

caveat seems necessary and 

compelling. All internet users 

starting from the digital natives 

(the iGeneration) through the 

digital pioneers (Millennials or the 

Generation Y) to the digital 

migrants (Generation X) should 

bear in mind that the Internet 

neither forgives nor forgets. 

Similarly, the digital strangers 

(Gen. Boomers) can and do also 

experience the boon or bane of the 

Internet. 

Everything one enjoys in life has 

a price. There is no free lunch even 

in Freetown, for, generally, 

someone pays. This reality 

informs why we need to be careful 

in our indulgence with the 

Internet. Every action has its 

consequence; nothing is free. 

Except for the Christian faith, 

which teaches that salvation is 

free because Christ has paid in full, 

every other thing in life has a cost. 

Therefore, one pays for 

everything else, somehow, 

somewhere and sometime; and 

the Internet is no exception. You 

pay! The Internet has no debt 

cancellation program. It never 

forgives. It never forgets. Beware! 

Besides the fact that someone 

sees and can locate whoever is 

using any device that has a tiny 

front camera (cell phone, tablet, 

laptop or desktop), you leave 

digital footprints each time you 

use the Internet. Is it not 

surprising that often the search 

engines and online marketing 

platforms suggest to you things 

similar to what you have already 

searched for or bought? This fact 

is possible because you leave 

digital footprints. These footprints 

are indelible on the Internet so 

long as the Internet exists. Deleting 

is a pure scam because it gives you 

the impression that the stuff is 

Digital Foo 

ootprints: The interne 

ernet 

neither forgives nor forgets 

gone. But it remains. It is gone 

from one level of internet 

operations but remains at other 

deeper layers. All our digital 

footprints and records are all stored 

in the cyber cloud. A simple 

analysis of your activities on the 

Internet for the past ten years will 

shock you the extent the Internet 

remembers. 

With artificial intelligence, the 

Internet can write your 

biography with surprising details 

probably only known to your 

intimate circles, especially your 

confessors and best friends. The 

Internet keeps tracks; it follows 

you and introduces you to your 

interviewers, prospective 

employers, suitors and contract 

awarding authorities. It acts like 

a spell that spells the lives of 

unsuspecting fellows. 

Undoubtedly, the Internet has 

assumed the status of a critical 

stakeholder in the lives of many, 

who, often, are not mindful of its 

character. 

God always forgives, humans 

forgive sometimes, but the 

Internet never forgives. While the 

human mind is a faculty that 

forgets, the Internet never forgets. 

With its alluring charm, the 

Internet ruins the lives of some 

who, out of youthful exuberance, 

depression, the euphoria of 

pleasure or power, untrained 

emotion or sheer indiscipline, 

engage in shameful, 

reprehensible and disgusting acts 

online. Some of these 

unwholesome acts could be 

criminal and fraudulent 

transactions or even uploading of 

nude pictures and videos, thus 

succumbing to exploitation 

through cyber-sex. In so doing, 

they barter their peace and 

happiness. 

It is common knowledge that 

those behind the internet 

platforms engage in a sort of 

digital voyeurism, thus 

unethically prying on users. The 

hi-tech guys and digital 

eavesdroppers follow you about 

such that cyber-world is not a 

haven. Each time you visit any 

site, you leave footprints and can 

always be located. These footprints 

cannot be erased. Any website you 

have visited is retained and kept 

in memory for you. Deletion is a 

scam; it is deceptive. It is also a 

fact that with digital technology, 

ubiquitous online spies and 

hackers have made worthless the 

concepts of obscurity and privacy. 

The internet voyeurism by the 

proprietors of the cyber-tech 

companies and smart guys out 

there has made the Internet not 

safe for any person with 

disreputable intents. They use 

data from you to advance their 

businesses. 

The Internet makes users, many 

of whom firm their lives on the 

pillars of social media, easily 

susceptible to blackmail. The 

young ones innocently abandon 

themselves to various forms of 

atrocities ignorant of their 

repercussions and ramifications. 

The Internet tells the world of your 

deeds, good or evil. As such, the 

consequences of stripping or 

dancing naked for money or 

engaging in online fraud (yahoo) 

on one’s personality in later life are 

dire since the Internet remembers. 

Not a few have missed dream jobs, 

wonderful opportunities or 

privileges because of 

unconscionable acts like lying in 

connection to politics, uploading 

nude pictures, and engaging in 

all manners of evil online. The 

Internet leaves them devastated. 

Yet responsible use of the 

Internet can be a boon for a young 

person such that it is unlikely to 

have a smartphone and be poor. 

A stitch in time saves one from 

falling prey to the gripping 

destructive ramifications of the 

abuse and misuse of the Internet. 

Rightly said, unexamined use of 

the Internet and irresponsible 

indulgence with the social media 

stages psycho-socio-emotional 

turbulence that upsets progress 

and ruins a person. While 

engaging the Internet, be mindful 

that your activities today can 

work against you in near, distant 

or eternal future when you might 

have grown or changed. What you 

do with and on the Internet when 

you are unknown can promote or 

destroy you when most people 

know you. Refrain from doing or 

writing stupid things. And avoid 

foolish and silly trends to prevent 

shame, regret, defamation and 

pain in future. The Internet never 

forgets; so be cautious of your 

activities on Instagram, YouTube, 

Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, 

Snapchat, Whatsapp and 

Pinterest. While engaging in social 

media, project into the future, so 

as not to allow the Internet doom 

your dream. Indeed, some suffer 

dire consequences because of their 

naivety, carelessness or 

ignorance. Keep in mind always: 

the Internet neither forgives nor 

forgets. 

Pray for my dad, Patrick 

Adimike, who died on the 11th of 

June. May he find peace and 

happiness in the embrace of the 

Eternal Father’s welcome, amen.

The persons I’m focusing on today may 

not change the world; in all truth, I don’t 

expect them to. They are just ordinary 

folks trying to make a difference in their own 

ordinary lives, living it to the hilt, taking on 

challenges and climbing above them. Then, 

this is added charm; that young people can 

learn from Miss Veronica Chika Iweanya and 

Mr. Toby Okwuokei that despite all the 

distractions of telephony and teenage 

hormones, to remain focused, make the 

necessary sacrifices needed to rise above their 

average abilities, give their lives a meaning, 

and excel at something. Here we go: 

VICTORIA CHIKA IWEANYA: 

This Master’s Degree student in Business 

Management, with a focus on 

Entrepreneurship and Innovation 

Management (MSc Financial Markets) at 

EDHEC Business School, Lille, France, 

ranked #1 worldwide by Financial Times in 

2017, earned six A’s in school certificate 

exam and a First Class at the Covenant 

University. Yet, that plus the likelihood of 

her topping her class in France or that full 

board academic scholarships funded her 

undergraduate, and is funding her Post- 

Graduate, studies, is just one aspect of why 

you are reading about her. The other aspect 

is that she is also dreaming of playing 

basketball for Nigeria’s National team, D’ 

Tigress. 

A tall dream? Not when Miss Iweanya, 

from Onitsha, Anambra state, is involved: 

She is a starting forward for her undefeated 

present school team, this season, leader in 

the Departmental (Nord) and Regional 

Champions (Hauts-de-France) just before 

the Covid-19 lockdown and were supposed 

to head to the National FFSU Championships 

and the French Universities National Cup 

Tournament in Toulouse and Lyon 

respectively. This basketball power-house 

has humiliated another university, 112-10, 

and usually won games by 50 points this 

season. 

Remarkably, Iweanya only discovered 

basketball in her final year at Regina Pacis 

College, Abuja. Before then, she played 

football. Then, she entered Covenant 

University to study Electrical and Electronics 

Engineering. Read her: “I knew there was a 

basketball team, but I also knew that my 

first years in university needed to be good 

for me to graduate with a First Class Degree 

and that was my only goal at that time. So I 

focused on my studies until I had gotten the 

hang of academic and university life. Also, 

to be honest, I was also scared that I wasn’t 

good enough for the team at first since I did 

not have a great foundation for the sport. 

But, in my third year, with a solid academic 

Ver 

ero Chika Iwean 

eanya a And Tob 

oby 

Okwuokei 

foundation already set, I walked unto our 

basketball court in school and I never 

looked back”. 

She attended the Nike Giants of Africa 

(GOA) Camp in Nigeria 

2018. It was a Masai Ujiri 

(current NBA GM for the 

NBA Champions, the 

Toronto Raptors) -led camp 

that brought NBA and 

WNBA coaches as well as 

other highly qualified 

coaches from all over the 

world into various cities in 

Africa to teach and inspire 

the next generation of 

basketball players. in 2018, 

it was their 15th 

anniversary of the camp and 

thankfully, this time, girls 

were invited. The top 50 boys 

and girls from all over the 

country assembled at the 

National Stadium in 

Surulere. Iweanya was 

there! 

She said: “Usually, the 

basketball camps we were 

used to, focused only on 

basketball skills 

improvement but this was 

different. In between 

challenging physical 

sessions, we sat in groups to speak of life 

skills. They focused on teaching us 

basketball as a means to an end; the 

importance of education, effective 

communication, goal-setting, sacrifice, 

community building, respect for 

diversity, and pride and confidence in 

being African. Masai would point at you 

and you had to 

scream from the 

top of your lungs, 

your name and 

where you come 

from. For me, “My 

name is Veronica 

Chika Iweanya, I 

Remarkably, Iweanya 

only discovered 

basketball in her final 

year at Regina Pacis 

College, Abuja. Before 

then, she played 

football. Then, she 

entered Covenant 

University to study 

Electrical and 

Electronics 


knowing that all that you need was already in you”. 

After a game in France, Stade Roubaisien Basket 

Club of FFBB RF2 League in France, recruited her. 

Now, she combines club level basketball and 

academics. 

am from 

Anambra, 

Nigeria and I am 

a Giant!”. You 

dare not let your 

voice shake or 

waver, You beat 

your chest and you 

beam with pride 

in your name and 

your origins. You 

are a Giant of 

Africa and nobody 

could make you 

feel any less. 

Alongside the 

training, that was 

one thing that has 

stuck with me till 

today.” 

She added: 

“Coming to France, I now understood 

why he emphasized on standing tall and 

unwavering, being proud of who you 

are and where you come from, and 

TOBY OKWUOKEI: 

Born June 2000 in the USA, he was billed to 

complete his two-year Junior College, Friday 

June 12 but for Covid-19 lockdown, and with an 

impressive 3.02 GPA in academics, too. No 

matter; this Rancho Cucamonga, Calif, USA, 

resident is already bound for the San Francisco 

State University, part of the 23-campus 

California State University to complete his 

university education. Just as he attended the 

two-year Junior College on full scholarship, his 

stay at San Francisco for a degree is on full 

scholarship, too, earned through his basketball 

prowess. 

His name and picture are on the university’s 

website “Gator Basketball officially welcomes 

Toby Okwuokei: Status: Signed LOI with San 

Francisco State. Position: PG; Height: 6-0; 

Weight: 190, etc. I googled LOI; “Letter of Intent”, 

“a legally-binding contract which says that you 

will attend that college for a minimum of 1 

academic year in exchange for an athletic 

scholarship. Once you sign a LOI, the recruiting 

process is over. No other college is allowed to 

recruit you” 

May 13th this year, Citrus Junior College, 

Citrus College, located in the Los Angeles suburb 

of Glendora, California, named their point guard, 

Okwuokei (for Basketball) and Zeanna Silva (for 

female soccer), the Athletes of the Year. Okwuokei 

led the men’s basketball team to its fourthstraight 

Western States Conference 

Championship, finishing the year with a 20-10 

overall record, 11-3 in conference and was named 

into the All-California Community College Men’s 

Basketball Coaches Association team and earned 

All-Western State Conference South Division first 

team honors, too. The NBA is already beckoning 

on him even as he begins year three of his fouryear 

university programme. 

Toby Okwuokei, from Udo quarters, Ubulu- 

Uku, Delta state, has been described as “one of 

the best competitors to ever put on a Citrus 

jersey”, to quote head men’s basketball coach 

Brett Lauer. “Over the last two years, he 

consistently led our team by example on the 

court and, more importantly, in the classroom. I 

will miss competing with him but I am excited to 

watch him as he continues his career in San 

Francisco.” Yes, basketball career!!! 

Okwuokei finished the year averaging 17.6 

points per game and shooting at a 42.3-percent 

clip. He scored in double figures in all but four 

games for the Citrus Fighting Owls, including 11 

games of 20 or more points. His future is very 

bright. USA should watch out for this young 

Nigerian. 

Quite an interesting story when you 

stumble on a Boardroom game 

changer who abandons all the 

glamour and grandeur of corporate life only 

to dive into the murky waters of Nigerian 

politics. Valentine Chineto Ozigbo’s new 

world sounds like a puzzle which delves into 

the realm of absurdity. 

Ozigbo ,will be 50 in July and has seen the 

world. He quit with full honours as President 

and Chief Executve Officer of Trans National 

Corporation [Transcorp]. In the last 20 years, 

this University of Nigeria trained accountant 

has been involved in shuttle academic and 

professional pursuit. Ozigbo has dined with 

Presidents and wined with leading global 

personalities of diverse backgrounds. 

The peculiar trait here is that this erstwhile 

CEO did not see the best of life while growing 

up. His grandfather 

was a man of means 

and was dubbed 

‘Ozigbo Eze Ego [King 

of money]. That was 

history to the boy 

whose father chose 

teaching as career 

and never lived far 

from their Amesi, 

Anambra locality. 

Money was hard to 

come by and you 

could see him doing 

odd jobs. Ozigbo 

became a teacher , 

like his father, after 

secondary school, 

prompted by his 

principal while 

waiting to advance 

to the University. 

The University of 

Nigeria Nsukka 

[UNN] became the 

turning point and by 

It is strange that 

Ozigbo who once 

managed 

Transcorp Hotel 

visited these men 

of timber and 

calibre without the 

traditional Igbo 

package of, at 

least, drinks 

the time Ozigbo graduated in 1994 as the 

Best in Accountancy and also in Business 

Administration, jobs were waiting. And 

education continued. An MBA from Nsukka, 

another post graduate degree in Finance from 

Lancaster University turned this Chevening 

scholar into a global brand in the hospitality 

industry. 

Here was a young man who began as a 

Val’s day loading in Awk 

wka 

banker at NAL Merchant Bank, moved 

round the industry from Diamond to 

UBA, CTB, STB, FSB and to Bank PHB. 

When Ozigbo joined Transcorp Hotel as 

Managing Director, the story changed. 

The transformation was out 

of this world. Ever since, the 

story has been up the hill, no 

downward journey and he is 

recognized globally as one of 

the leading innovators in the 

hospitality business. 

This is the man that has left 

the good things of the world to 

join Nigerian politics. It does 

not add up that while decent 

people try as much as their 

frame can carry them, to dine 

with politics using a long 

spoon, a global citizen is 

diving head on into it. 

Ozigbo entertains no fear, he 

rather sees change as the 

necessary tool for the 

country’s development. This 

is what he has and wants to 

offer. Bubbling with 

confidence, it was a thriller 

listening to him. 

He said : “I want to introduce 

myself as somebody who 

hungers for a better Nigeria and who 

hungers for a better place for the black 

man in the world. We need to make sure 

we start to entrench competency in 

everything that we do. We have to make 

it our mantra, our culture.” 

Ozigbo’s eyes are on Government 

House, Awka and he has chosen the 

Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] as 

platform. This is the party of billionaires 

and godfathers. For a man very much 

at home with merit and expertise, it 

looks a daunting task to play in the same 

league with seasoned politicians known 

for all kinds of tricks from, intimidation 

to impeachment. 

The new Czar in town does not foresee 

any obstacle. He is close to the wards as 

he is to Abuja. Ozigbo recognizes the fact 

that there are powerful stakeholders 

who cannot be ignored and has already 

paid homage to some of them. Peter Obi, 

Chris Uba, Linus Ukachukwu have been 

thoroughly briefed and may have given 

their blessings. 

It is strange that Ozigbo who once 

managed Transcorp Hotel visited these 

men of timber and calibre without the 

traditional Igbo package of, at least, 

drinks. Funnily enough, he was well 

received. This comes from years of 

interaction with the politicians who see 

him as a whiff of fresh air in a state full of 

political camps and intrigues. What 

Ozigbo has going for him is a clean slate. 

Yes, Ozigbo comes with no political 

baggage. He is a brand new product 

waiting to be marketed. And the 

environment is accepting him already. 

The All Progressives Congress knows 

him as one who made name in the 

corporate rings. The All Progressives 

Grand Alliance could have patronized 

his Hilton. And there is no trace of this 

man in any PDP register. Therefore, he 

is free as air. 

This is one candidate who has a game 

plan ready and is willing to make the 

desired change. He adopts the Japanese name, 

‘Kaizen’, which stands for improvement. And this 

change , Ozigbo believes, will begin from 

Anambra, spread to the South-East, affect 

Nigeria, uplift the black race and eventually 

touch the entire world. Coming together, is the 

key to development. 

I love this talk of Japan because there is so much 

to gain from the Japs. This is an archipelago 

without no visible natural resources, yet they 

have come out from the ashes of war and are so 

technologically advanced that until China rose, 

Japan was the second largest economy in the 

world. Ozigbo believes the South-East can also 

grow if the right leaders are identified. 

However, while others talk of foreign 

investment without creating the necessary tool 

to attract it, Ozigbo has a different perspective. 

Instead of mouthing foreign investment like some 

governors do, he thinks of cleaning the ground 

as a means of encouraging local industries which 

will in turn woo foreign investment. 

This according to him is “ because in my world 

and I have seen it, the local investors must be 

comfortable first before the foreign ones would 

come. It’s the local investors that would attract 

the foreign ones.” 

As an expert in taxation, Ozigbo advises against 

the prevalent mode of burdening citizens with 

multiple taxes in what appears to be a foggy 

means of boosting Internally Generated Revenue 

by state governments.” If you want to generate 

more revenue, the best thing to do is to grow the 

pie, because if you enforce too much taxation, 

people would revolt especially when we haven’t 

done enough to show how responsible 

government should be.” 

In sports and entertainment, bold steps are 

underway. Ozigbo is known in Nollywood as a 

producer and has drawn artistes like Flavour, 

Zoro and Simi to shows. In football, he runs Feet 

‘N’ Tricks International, a sports promotion 

company, with Nwankwo Kanu. They are 

promoting Freestyle Football which has gained 

momentum in this COVID-19 era. 

In Bayelsa, their governors call themselves 

Valentine Governors because they were sworn 

in February 14. Anambra may take the shine off 

Bayelsa as a real Valentine gears up for service 

at Government House, Awka. And this Valentine 

is loaded with degrees, decorum, designs and 

development. His supporters are awaiting the 4- 

D Governor. And like Japs say, ‘Nanika 

Chigaimasu’ [something different] is coming.


•NDLEA boss Col. 

Muhammad Abdallah 

•Amb. Sunny 

Irakpo 

REVEALED: Drug use behind 

Nigeria’s high suicide rate 

•Cannabis, most widely abused substance in Nigeria 

•Drug users at risk of COVID-19 

•9,444 drug related offenders arrested only in 2019 

By Evelyn Usman 

Drug trafficking and substance abuse 

have reached an alarming level all 

over the world. In Nigeria, substance 

abuse has become a threat to public health, 

national stability, peace and security, as well 

as an embarrassing scourge afflicting both 

individuals and the society at large. 

It has destabilized families, truncated the 

promising future of most Nigerian youths, 

some of whom are seen roaming the streets as 

lunatics. 

Substance abuse has remained a negative 

force driving anti-social behavior and the 

increasing deterioration of societal values and 

norms. 

For instance, the escalating wave of crime 

and criminality such as banditry, kidnapping, 

armed robbery, militancy, terrorism and other 

forms of societal decay which are confronting 

Nigeria, today, are rooted in the pervasive 

consumption of drugs. 

Before any robbery operation or violent 

crimes take place, perpetrators would have 

inhaled a large proportion of substances into 

their system, as they believe it emboldens them 

during operation. Sometimes, they kill at will. 

They are high on drugs. 

The challenge is further compounded by 

the ever increasing number of Psychoactive 

Substances of abuse and use of prescription 

drugs such as Tramadol, Cough syrup with 

Codeine, Rohypnol and the locally blended 

Skushi drink by youths between 18 and 35 

years. This has become worrisome indeed, 

owing to its devastating effect on the health of 

users. 

Drug use 

Global prevalence of drug use is 5.6% but 

in Nigeria, it is 14.4% (14.3 million people) 

One in seven persons in Nigeria between 

the ages of 15 and 64 years use at least one 

psychoactive substance as against the global 

average of one in 20 persons, according to a 

report. 

Study has shown that one in five persons 

who use drugs in Nigeria are suffering from 

drug use disorders, a figure considered higher 

than the global average of one in eleven 

persons. 

Drug use in Nigeria cuts across gender and 

age , as one in every four drug users in Nigeria 

is a woman. 

Report shows that an average of 2.5% 

women use cough syrup containing codeine, 

more than men (2.3%) are involved. This 

portends grave danger even to the generation 

yet unborn. Women involvement in substance 

abuse has more implications than men, 

especially considering the critical role of 

women in child nurturing from the womb 

One of five high risk drug users inject drugs, 

using needles and syringes. The most common 

drugs injected are known as pharmaceutical 

opioids. Unfortunately, this method had its 

multiplier health consequences. 

Nigeria ranks 5 th in suicide rate 

Reports recently ranked Nigeria as 5th in 

the world with the highest suicide rate of an 

average of six suicides per month. Substance 

use has been attributed as a major factor which 

leads people to commit suicide. 

Also, the increase in cases of sudden deaths 

among youths in the country is reportedly 

connected to opioid overdose, which is the 

most common drug injected by youths. 

Going by the recent trend, and if nothing is 

urgently done, Nigeria, stands the risk of 

losing more than 100 youths daily to opioid 

overdose. This is because Nigeria’s 

population is said to be about 3% of the world 

population but 6% of the world population 

of cannabis users. 

Again, report has also revealed that 

14% of the world population who misuse 

pharmaceutical opioids are reportedly in 

Nigeria, thereby making Nigeria one of the 

countries in the world with 

the highest population of 

people who misuse tramadol 

and codeine cough syrup 

.From the foregoing, 

substance abuse may 

become one of the leading 

causes of deaths in Nigeria. 

Also worrisome is the 

increasing drug supply via 

the internet including the 

anonymous online 

marketplace known as the 

“dark net”. 

Drug manufacturing 

Another frightening 

dimension is drug 

manufacturing in Nigeria! 

Not too long ago, some 

Substance abuse has 

remained a negative 

force driving anti-social 

behavior and the 

increasing deterioration 

of societal values and 

norms 

laboratories where 

Methamphetamine were 

manufactured, were uncovered by the 

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency , 

NDLEA. 

As if that was not enough, a new version 

of manufacturing has reared its head, with 

the introduction of Hydrophonic outfit, 

where Cannabis is manipulated into the 

production of Hashish and Canaboil, both 

of which are illegal, since they contravene 

the extant NDLEA Act. Surprisingly, these 

laboratories which were uncovered in Jos , 

Plateau and Lagos states, were discovered 

to be owned by a Chinese, a German 

and a Nigerian. 

•Dr. Martin 

Agwogie 

NDLEA and drug war 

In its bid to discharge its constitutional 

responsibility of eradicating illicit 

trafficking in narcotic drugs and 

psychotropic substances, the National Drug 

Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA 

disclosed that 9,444 persons were arrested 

for drug related offences in the year ending 

2019. 

Out of this figure, 584 offenders were 

arrested in Lagos State alone. So far, the 

agency said it had convicted 1,195 persons 

while 795 drug dependants were counseled 

during the period under review. A total of 

612, 903.484 kilograms of drugs, out of 

which Cannabis was 310.1 tons, were 

recovered. 

Cannabis mostly abused 

From the statistics, Cannabis, ranked the 

most used and trafficked by Nigerians. The 

lockdown and restriction on interstate 

movement, due to the Codvid-10 pandemic 

ravaging the world, did not stop those who 

indulge in the illicit business from 

trafficking them to other states of the 

country. 

For instance, operatives of the 

anti narcotic agency apprehended 

6,465.23 of Cannabis which were 

been conveyed from Kano, to 

Kogi. Another seizure of 3, 962 

kilograms of Cannabis was 

made enroute Kano at Benue; 

another seizure of 1, 960 

kilograms of Cannabis was made 

in Edo. 

Also, 621. 0857 kilograms of 

Cannabis was recovered in Imo 

and 267.123 kilograms of 

Cannabis in Abia state, all 

during the lockdown period. 

Arrest 

Records further showed that 

between 1990 and 2017, 

59,173,798 cannabis were seized 

, a figure that also placed it as the 

highest seizure among other substances. 

Cocaine, ranked second in seizure between 

1990 and 2017, with a seizure of 22,242.79, 

while heroin ranked third with a seizure of 

3,6458.9 tons . 

In 2018 , Cannabis seized were 273,249.08 

tons; Cocaine was 124.86 tons and Heroine, 

59.62tons 

Last year 602,654.49 tons of Cannabis, 

112.996 tons of Cocaine and 23.894 tons of 

Heroine were seized. 

So far, 157,879 offenders were arrested 

between 1990 and 2017, out of which 

147,825 were males and 10,045, females. 

In 2018 , 9,831 suspected drug traffickers 

were arrested and an additional 9,444 

suspects in 2019. 

Drug day 

In order to collectively fight this scourge, 

June 26, was set aside as International 

Drug Day, by the United Nations, to 

highlight to the global community the 

dangers associated with drug trafficking 

and abuse. It is also a day when nations of 

the world are required to assess their 

performances in drug control and are 

expected to re-invigorate their efforts at 

curtailing the drug menace. 

In his address during the 

commemoration of this year’s event, 

themed ‘Better knowledge for Better 

Care’. the Chairman/Chief Executive , 

NDLEA Col. Muhammad Abdallah rtd, 

explained that this year’s “Commemoration 

encourages on and all to get involved in 

campaign against the illicit consumption 

and use of drugs not administered by 

Clinicians. This opens the channel for dry 

dependent persons to access interventions, 

including health care, social support and 

education”. 

He attributed ignorance, as the major 

impediment militating against the lofty 

goals set by the UN. The absence of 

information, misinformation and outright 

disinformation, according to him, had each 

played parts in varying degrees. 

He said, “ Effective responses to the extant 

problem, require many more and varied 

hands on deck : Policy makers, NGOs, 

CSOs, Corporate World, Community 

Leaders, Religious Leaders, Educators at all 

levels and increasingly service providers. 

All of these diverse assemblages of groups 

must work together to understand drug 

disorders are a multifactor health issue. 

Summarily, it is a health related issue 

desirous of compassion and help, rather than 

a moral stigma to be punished”, Abdallah 

said. 

COVID and drug 

dependants 

In the light of the prevailing atmosphere 

of COVID 19, drug dependent persons, 

according to the agency’s boss, were more 

acutely at risk because of their usually 

attendant underlying health issues, social 

stigmatization, and the death of access to 

health care. 

“Making matters worse, is the fact that 

the front burner currently, is the exclusive 

pressure of COVID 19. That is why there 

has never been a time much worse for drug 

dependent persons. The lock down merely 

accentuated the dilemma. 

“Chances are newer forms of addictions 

hitherto unknown may be contended with. 

Remember also withdrawal Syndrome 

might occur having cut short the supply 

chain as a result of the lock down”, 

Solution 

He therefore called for the need for 

stakeholders to identify and aggressively 

mobilize the public and private sectors and 

other strategic partners for a holistic 

response against the trafficking in, and use 

of illicit substances. The essence he 

explained, would be, to complement the 

Federal Government’s funding in the light 

of competing national interests. 

On his part, Founder/Executive Director, 

Global initiative on Substance Abuse ,GISA 

and Global Trainer , Drug Demand 

Reduction, Dr. Martin Agwogie, emphasise 

on the need for evidence based substance 

use prevention through capacity building. 

Substance use prevention measures in 

Nigeria according to him, should be 

community driven, adding that to avoid 

more harm in Nigeria drug control efforts, 

only those who had received adequate 

training in evidence based substance use 

prevention should provide prevention 

services 

He also called on the need for 

collaboration across board, as well support 

to the professionalization of drug demand 

reduction in Nigeria, adding that there was 

also the need to introduce substance 

addiction as a course of study in Nigeria 

higher institutions of learning. 

Also on his part, Founder/President, Silec 

Initiatives, who attributed abuse of drugs to 

the spate of rape and murder of defenseless 

victims in the country, called for the need to 

declare a state of emergency in drug abuse 

and rape in Nigeria. 

He said, “. If a boy or girl of four months 

can be molested , we are doomed as a people. 

As a civilized society, we must not go to sleep. 

Therefore, all hands must be on deck to stem 

the tide of rape in our society. We hereby, call 

on the federal government of Nigeria to 

declare a state of emergency in tackling drug 

abuse and rape in the country 

Also, families, schools, churches/mosques, 

civil society organizations, the police and all 

concerned Nigerians, must all play pivotal 

roles in this collective fight to restore sanity 

and moral to our society. We must all come 

together to fight this societal scourge to save 

the future for our children”.


•Air Vice Marshal Kingsley 

Lar, Commandant NAFRC 

•Cross section of retiring officers 

•Master Warrant Officer 

Adeshina Peters 

By Evelyn Usman 

June, 19, 2020. As early as 8am, they 

were already seated inside Buhari 

Hall, at the Nigerian Armed Forces 

Resettlement Centre , Oshodi, Lagos, 

awaiting the arrival of the Special Guest of 

Honour, Air Vice Marshal Kingsley Lar. 

While some of them were lost in reverie, 

others exchanged banters, from their social 

distance sitting arrangement. 

From the expressions on their faces, it was 

obvious they had long waited for the day 

to come. Unfortunately, some of their 

colleagues who also looked forward to that 

day, had fate dictate otherwise. 

The occasion was the Passing Out 

Ceremony of Military personnel of 

Course 01/20, drawn from the Nigerian 

Army , Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Airforce. 

Thirty-five years ago, they took an oath 

to lay down their lives if need be, and to go 

anywhere by land, air or sea, in protection 

of the sovereignty and strategic interest of 

Nigeria, as demanded. 

407 personnel die 

About 750 of them were enlisted into the 

Military in 1985. However, along the line, 

half of the number, died either in the 

course of defending the territorial integrity 

of Nigeria, or through natural causes. 

In this interview with some of them, they 

gave chilling accounts of their face-to-face 

encounter with enemies of the country and 

those of other war torn countries. 

While some of them had different medals 

attached to their left breast pockets, 

to show for their participation in different 

wars, the feat , however, left indelible scars 

and disfigured body parts , as memories of 

their sojourn in the military. 

Hear them: 

According to Olateju Sunday, a Master 

Warrant Officer , ” These 35 years are 

indescribable. I did not expect that I would 

spend up to this year in the Army, but 

because God has destined me to be there, I 

was able to scale through despite the 

hurdles. There were times when I was 

sober over my colleagues death”. 

“Asked how many colleagues he has lost, 

he replied, I cannot tell you all. But we 

were 750 that started in 1985, but 343 

are passing out today. So, if you subtract 

the number from those alive, you should 

know that it is the grace of God that saw us 

through. 

Disguise to attack 

“I participated in the United Nations 

ECOMOG operation in Liberia, Sudan, 

Sierra-Leone and other countries. The 

experience I can never forget, was during 

the fight against Boko Haram sect in the 

North-East. 

”On that fateful day, precisely in 2014, 

Boko Haram members disguised as 

friendly forces by flying the Nigerian flag 

on their helicopter. Our Commandant 

thought the helicopter was our 

colleagues’ that were coming to give us 

support. Instead of landing in front of us, 

the helicopter landed behind us. 

“ As they were landing, they released 

smoke bomb so that we would not be able 

to see them, until they would be able to 

take over. When they took over, they 

started taking our fire powers, which were 

our supporting weapons, on the field. We 

started losing some of our people. 

“ Even in the face of that confrontation, 

we did not chicken out , we had to fight 

with the last ounce of blood .We did 

not give up until we were able to overcome 

them. 

“My advice to those still in service is that 

they should be prayerful. Tactics or no 

tactics, it’s God that saves lives. Somebody 

can die from the left or right sides, or even 

near or far from you, it’s only God that 

will not allow the bullet targeted at them 

to penetrate. They should not try to leave 

training, because it’s not the day you are in 

the war front that you’re supposed to prepare 

for war. You prepare for war in peace 

Our close shaves 

with death 

– retiring Military personnel 

·We lost t 407 colleagues in a set 

·Per 

ersonnel missing inside bush during operation 

·How insurgents posed as colleagues to launch attack 

time so that when war comes, you are not 

scared to do anything”. 

I joined Army at 23 

For Master Warrant Officer Adeshina 

Peters, who was 60 years old on Monday, 

he said he joined the Nigerian Army at 23. 

Though he described his 35 years in the 

Military as challenging, he boasted that he 

would encourage his children to join the 

Military if they showed interest. Like 

others, he shared his close shave with death. 

He said, “ I’ ve had close shave with enemy 

forces. That was January 15, 

2015, in Kangarowa, the 

Lake Chad region. 

We were at our defence. 

Normally, the enemy attacks 

as from 4pm till 8pm. So, if 

we were in the warfront, we 

always observed that time. 

On that fateful day, we saw 

them coming right from our 

observation post. Everybody 

got into the trench to wear 

our fragmental jackets. Then 

, they started shelling, as 

they were shelling, they were 

advancing and we were 

returning fire. I was 30 to 

45 meters close to them. How 

I managed to escape remains 

a miracle till date. 

Colleagues die, missing in 

bushes 

On his part, Army Warrant 

officer, Sadam Ezekiel, was 

full of praise to God Almighty 

for the privilege of being 

among those who have 

war stories to share. 

Narrating his, he said, 

“There were lots of 

challenges. We swam troubled waters and 

peaceful environment, we experienced 

hardship and rain storm. 

I have participated in four wars in the 

African continent. They include : Sudan, 

Mali, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, and I have 

my medals to show for them. Some paid the 

supreme price, but God helped me 

triumph. 

“I had close shave with death in Sudan 

and Mali, when the enemies threw missiles 

He recalled how 

they were 

attacked by 

militants in the 

course of trying 

to restore peace 

in the Niger- 

Delta region 

to our camp, but fortunately, it did not reach 

us. Rather, it fell in their neighboring camp. 

Many people died in our camp in Sierra- 

Leone. Some were shot and died right in 

front of me and by my side. Some colleagues 

got missing in the bush”, Ezekiel, stated. 

For Warrant Officer Anyanwu Vitalice, the 

tales were not different. As an Electrical 

Electronic Engineer with the Nigerian 

Navy, he said the war he fought was mainly 

in the sea. 

According to him: ”Within these 34 years, 

I have experienced all the wars you can think 

of, both inside and outside 

the country. I participated 

in the Niger Delta, the 

Boko Haram activities in 

the North-East , as well as 

the fight in the south. I also 

fought in ECOMOG war 

in Liberia for almost two 

years. 

“While the war was on, 

our job was to maintain all 

the weapons onboard and 

ensure our ships were in 

order, in terms of being 

seaworthy, operational 

and gun power readiness. 

At one time or the other, we 

escaped death by the 

whiskers through God’s 

grace”. 

Encounter with militants 

For Nandon Dashe, a 

naval personnel, he said 

he had the good, bad and 

ugly experience in his field 

of operation. He recalled 

how they were attacked by 

militants in the course of 

trying to restore peace in 

the Niger-Delta region. 

He said he could count 20 

of his colleagues who died during operation 

. 

He also expressed concern on the 

perception of the public on Military 

personnel. 

He said, “ at times, civilians see us as 

enemies, as if we are not humans. We are 

welcomed anywhere we go and seen as 

people who have given their lives to serve 

this nation. But in Nigeria, it is always the 

•Master Warrant officer, 

Sadams Ezekiel 

•Master Warrant Officer 

Olateju Sunday 

•Nandon Dashe 

other way round. People frown at us”. 

Reintegration 

As part of preparation to disengage these 

military personnel from service and 

reintegrate them into civilian life, they 

underwent six months training at the 

NAFRC, where they were trained on 

vocational skills that would enhance 

meaningful post service life. 

The Special Guest of Honour/ 

Commandant of the Centre, Air Vice 

Marshal Kingsley Lar, while 

congratulating them, informed that 365 

of them turned up for the six-month course 

but that some of them had to be returned for 

various reasons, leaving 343 of them . 

Unfortunately, he disclosed that one of them 

died last month. 

He gave special recognition to wives and 

children of the retiring personnel for what 

he described as their sacrifice, love and 

prayers throughout the years of service. 

“ Indeed, they had to bear the brunt of 

our absence over the years. The sacrifice is 

over and it is now time to return to their 

warm embrace”. 

To the retiring personnel, the 

Commandant, charged them to continue to 

make positive contributions to the country. 

He reminded that “ as ambassadors of the 

Nigerian Armed Forces, you are to remain 

dedicated , disciplined and maintain the 

highest level of integrity with which you have 

served in the past 35 years. The training you 

acquired is to enable you contribute 

positively to your various societies and thus, 

helping to build a greater nation”. 

Some of the personnel were given awards 

for their exemplary leadership and 

outstanding performance during their six 

months stay at the centre.

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, , 2020 

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 

Why age shouldn’t 

be a barrier to 

meaningful sex 

Do you dread the thought 

of reaching middle age? 

Wearing sensible shoes? 

Worrying about your wrinkles? 

Going off sex? Tutting at what 

young people get up to? You had 

better forget it right now. 

According to Psychoanalyt – Gail 

Saltz in an in-depth analysis on 

erotic fantasies, middle age is when 

you forget how you’ve been 

brainwashed over the years and 

revamp your sex life. Recalling 

her encounter with the 

Psychoanalyst, Nina Burleigh 

writes: 

“An editor at a National 

Magazine once called me into his 

office to discuss a story about aging 

female movie stars. With a picture 

of his much younger wife and 

toddler on the shelf behind him, 

this 50-something man said he 

hoped each star would talk to us 

about a very specific moment. I 

want to know what it feels like 

when she realized she’d reached 

an age where no man was ever 

going to want her again. Although 

I never wrote the story, I’ve never 

forgotten that middle aged man’s 

casual assumption that women 

inevitably become undesirable. It 

offended me and as I passed my 

40 th birthday, I feared it might 

have some truth in it. 

“Then I met Gail who begs to 

differ. At 44, she exudes a sexy, 

healthy lady in a trim suit, 

tastefully low-cut blouse, and light 

make up. “Women become less 

sexually active as they age,” she 

says, “it’s more likely because 

they have lost their desire, not 

their desirability, that’s the most 

common issue I see in 40 and 50 

year olds”. Saltz says statistically, 

it affects one out of three women. 

She cites a conspiracy of forces 

that diminish libido: anxiety, 

depressions, exhaustion, and 

relationship conflicts. Middle-aged 

women face some disturbing 

challenges. They have elderly 

parents and worries about their 

own health and life changes. We 

are talking about loss, which is 

exceptionally stressful. Less often 

lust is zapped by hormonal 

changes. When a woman comes 

to Saltz with no sex drive, she sends 

her first to a gynecologist. Low 

testosterone can be the culprit, 

but she contends it’s rare. 

Likewise, dropping estrogen thins 

the vaginal wall, but of the vast 

number of women with 

diminishing drive, there’s only a 

small percentage of cases where 

it’s due to hormones alone. 

Saltz advises women to tend to 

what she calls the biggest female 

sex organ, the brain, by indulging 

in more fantasies and allowing 

themselves to explore new, 

possibly unorthodox erotic 

avenues. What you like when you 

were 20 may not be what you like 

in your 40s. I see women who say, 

I liked to do it standing up on the 

table, and now it’s so much effort. 

I prefer it on my side, or something 

more relaxed, and I’m having a 

hard time saying what I want. 

I’ve also seen the opposite, women 

who were inhibited in young 

childhood are now thinking: I 

would try doggy style, now oral 

sex, but they’re embarrassed to 

ask. They good news is that as men age, 

they’re usually more willing to listen. 

So you probably have a more receptive 

partner. 

Saltz who has been married for 17 

years and has three kids, says when it 

comes to sexual requests, direct is 

always best. If you can’t bear an explicit 

conversation, then write a note, draw 

a carton or leave out a toy or prop you’d 

like to use. Bear in mind that your man’s 

desires and ability may be changing 

too. He might wish he could hold you 

up against the wall but he can’t 

anymore. Maybe he used to enjoy 

having you on top, but now he 

needs a different position for his 

erection to hold. If a woman doesn’t 

know that some loss of erectile 

strength is normal, it can start a 

whole cycle of not wanting to be in 

bed because it’s humiliating. 

Fantasy is crucial to 

maintaining a healthy sex life 

over time. Saltz contends that a 

lot of women lie there, 

contemplating what they should 

make for dinner because they’re 

afraid to imagine domination or 

the guy down the street. But it’s 

fine to fantasize – if it works in the 

service of your sex life with your 

partner, great. There’s a big 

difference between thinking about 

soccer coach and settling dawn in 

a motel room with him. 

If you have so many distraction 

at work, at home, and the mere 

idea of sneak sex with a soccer coach 

is laughably exhausting, Saltz 

recommends topping up your 

collection of fantasies. Women 

should also masturbate more, she 

says, it’s hugely important, 

because your body is changing, 

your tastes are changing and you 

need to figure out what 

stimulation works for you. 

Vibrators are a must have as only 

20 per cent of women reach 

orgasm through intercourse 

alone. 

Mechanical problems that 

sometimes come with age are, 

surprisingly, easier to resolve 

than emotional ones. Surgery or 

medication can help incontinence, 

urine prolapsed, and other 

medical issues that make sex 

difficult or embarrassing. The 

most common complaint in 

menopausal women is vaginal 

dryness. Saltz recommends 

having a lubricant on hand and 

not being shy about applying it. 

“Women are really nervous now 

about taking estrogen. That 

means they are struggling with 

dryness and atrophy, and let me 

say, if it’s dry and it hurts you’re 

not going to feel like having sex,” 

she says. 

“In short, you have to use it or 

lose it. The vagina is a muscle. I 

urge women without a partner to 

insert something. Otherwise, the 

vagina shrinks and might never 

get back to its original elasticity. 

Women need to know this. They 

need to take care of their bodies. 

Saltz is adamant that women 

should not give up. When people 

come to my office complaining 

about general unhappiness in life, 

I almost invariably discover that 

they’re not enjoying sex anymore. 

They’ll say, I’m okay with that 

and I’ll say, lack of good sex is part 

of the reason you’re depressed”. 

When asked whether she isn’t 

putting yet another pressure on 

aging baby boomers by insisting 

they continue to romp in the sack, 

she roundly disagrees. If someone 

told you to do exercises with your 

mind to avoid dementia, you’d do 

them, right? If you put in the effort 

with sex, life will be better in 

many respects, including how you 

feel about yourself and your 

relationship, and how you deal 

with the world. The bottom line is 

it’s not all gloom, yes there are 

changes. But many women do find 

How to cope with various food allergies 

Cases of food allergies keep on 

going up especially with 

varieties of processed foods 

imported into the country. If 

you’re suffering from a rash, 

feeling a bit nauseous or your skin 

is itching, you might put it down 

to being under the weather or 

stressed. But experts believe it 

could be that you actually have a 

food allergy. ‘Allergies can affect 

more than one in five people 

during their lives, and new ones 

can be developed,” says Dr. 

Tarlochan Toor of the Medic Stop 

digital clinic. He then look out for 

these symptoms: 

Is it an allergy? An allergy will 

trigger an immune system 

reaction that affects vital organs 

in the body. It can cause a range of 

symptoms. For example, if you’re 

allergic to a specific ingredient or 

type of food, you may experience 

vomiting and diarrhoea. You can 

also suffer from red and itchy 

watering eyes, shortness of breath, 

stomach ache, swollen lips, 

tongues, eyes and face. 

Most allergic reactions are mild 

and can be largely kept under 

control. But in rare cases, an 

allergy can lead to a severe 

reaction called anaphylaxis shock 

which can be life – threatening. 

This affects the whole body and 

usually develops within minutes 

of exposure to something you’re 

allergic to. 

Signs of anaphylaxis include any 

of the above symptoms plus 

swelling of the throat and mouth, 

difficulty breathing, confusion, 

collapsing and losing 

consciousness. If someone is 

suffering from these symptoms, 

call an ambulance immediately. 

Anaphylaxis is treated with 

injectable adrenaline, and people 

considered to be at high risk may 

be advised to carry an Epipen. 

Allergy Intolerance? It’s 

thought that one or two per cent of 

adults and five to eight per cent of 

children have a true food allergy. 

In a true allergy, the offending 

substance of food should be avoided 

entirely, whereas with 

intolerance, foods may be 

tolerated in low amounts. A food 

intolerance has less serious 

symptoms, which are often 

related to the digestive system. 

Testing for allergies: Dr. Toor 

says: “Do not try test yourself for 

the allergy. See your doctor, who 

may carry out patch testing to 

find out what you might be 

allergic to, in a controlled way.” 

He also suggests avoiding the 

suspected allergy in case of 

anaphylaxis. Keeping a food diary 

is one way to help your doctor 

identify a potential allergy. But 

he adds that if you suspect it’s an 

intolerance, there’s no reliable 

way to confirm this, unless it’s a 

lactose intolerance. 

Allergies and alternatives: 

The most common food allergies 

are reactions to gluten and wheat 

– containing grains, milk 

products, eggs, soy, shellfish, 

peanuts and tree nuts, but there 

are many others. Some people 

cannot tolerate certain fruit 

vegetables, nuts and spices due to 

an allergy to pollen residue left on 

them. But there are simply food 

swaps that you can take. 

Nuts and seeds: A nut allergy 

can be extremely severe and 

likely to cause anaphylaxis. Many 

products may have come into 

contact with nuts during 

manufacturing, so need to be 

avoided. Check labels carefully. 

Nuts provide good fats and are a 

great source of protein. If you have 

nut intolerance, you can 

supplement your diet with 

alternatives such as olives, 

avocado and seeds, all of which 

contains good fats. 

Diary:Allergy or intolerance to 

dairy products may leave you 

deficient in important nutrients. 

Milk contains Vitamin B12, 

magnesium, phosphorus and 

calcium, which plays a vital role 

their ways. They have figured 

themselves out and have seen that 

sustaining an evolving sexual 

relationship is extremely 

gratifying. It makes you closer and 

closer to your partner. Women 

who like sex and have worked to 

make it good for themselves tend 

to be very confident people. 

in building and maintaining 

strong bones and teeth. Adults 

need up to 100mg of calcium per 

day. This can be achieved through 

eating whole grains, pulses and 

leafy green vegetables. Look out 

for foods fortified with calcium. It 

is also vital to receive enough 

vitamin D which plays a key role 

in transporting calcium to your 

bones. 

Eggs: Eggs are full of nutrients 

and vitamins, including iron, 

biotin, folacin, riboflavin, 

vitamins A, D, E B12 and are an 

excellent source of protein. A 

balanced diet with less meats, 

poultry and fish can help to make 

up for the loss in protein along with 

legumes and dairy. Eat plenty of 

whole-foods, fruits, vegetables and 

leafy greens and enriched rains for 

essential nutrients and vitamins. 

Fish and shellfish: These 

provide Omega-3 fat which keep 

the heart healthy. Fish also 

contains vitamin D, and shellfish 

provides selenium, Zinc, iodine 

and copper. If you are allergic it 

will be to certain types, so choose 

the others to enjoy those benefits. 

Avoid fish supplements. Eat 

walnuts, flaxseeds and rapeseed oil 

which contains Mega-3. 

Wheat: When removing wheat 

from your diet, make sure that 

there are still enough fibre and 

calories, as well as vitamins and 

minerals such as B1, B3, iron, 

calcium, which are used to fortify 

wheat flour. Avoid processed 

products marketed as gluten-free, 

which tend to be high in sugar and 

additives. Instead eat naturally 

gluten-free nutritious foods. 

Potatoes, rice and porridge are all 

wheat-free alternatives. 

Soy: Soy products are a good 

source of protein. Soy can be 

replaced by lentils, beans or eggs. 

Be careful to check labels on 

vegetarian foods as they often 

include soy protein. Meat, fish 

poultry and diary products are 

good protein sources for nonveggies.

Vanguard, SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2020—21 

Mary Noel-Berje, was a 

newscaster with the 

Nigeria Television 

Authority, (NTA), Minna, Niger 

State, but the newly appointed 

Chief Press Secretary to the State 

Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani 

Bello is already missing her Beat 

in the Newsroom. 

She joined the Authority 21 yrs 

ago,(1998) and has worked in the 

Programmes department before 

crossing over to the Newsroom 

and became a Principal Staff. 

She served as the Niger State 

Government House 

Correspondent under the 

administration of Dr. Muazu 

Babangida Aliyu for eight years 

before she was recently 

appointed by the present 

administration of Alhaji 

Abubakar Sani Bello as the 

Chief Press Secretary, thereby 

becoming the first Female Chief 

Press Secretary in Niger State. 

How she received the 

news… 

It was the Chief of Staff that 

invited me to his Office to 

inform me about the 

appointment. It was like seeking 

my consent and the first thing 

that came out of my mind were 

some questions-Do you people 

find me capable enough, do you 

think I can meet up your 

expectations, do you think I can 

do it and do you think I am good 

enough? 

These questions came out 

from me not because I doubted 

my ability but it was an 

appointment never envisaged at 

all. 

There are processes that come 

with this but I just never 

envisaged that this could come 

to me and probably, this was 

what forced the questions out 

from me. 

Honestly, it has been a task 

but I really thank God from 

where I am coming from and 

that is NTA family because as 

women, we have also worked 

like men and no doubt, my 

strength so far is from my 

experience in NTA so it had been 

a good journey so far. 

Any role of god fatherism in 

your appointment? 

No, no no. Heaven knows. It 

is something I did not lobby for 

or ever knew how it came about. 

However, one will always want 

to get better in life and you want 

to be up there or at the peak of 

your profession and you might 

not know how this thought 

would come to fruition. 

Remember that the destiny of 

anybody is in the hands of God 

but when you work into your 

destiny, it will just come right 

into your palm and probably, 

that is what has happened in my 

case. God did it. 

Do you believe in god 

fatherism? 

(Long pause) God fatherism is 

working in Nigeria but in my 

own case, though I will not stop 

thanking the present 

administration, but I don’t think 

my Principal-Governor 

Abubakar Sani Bello works with 

that because in the first 

instance, where is the father I 

really went through but God just 

used him to bring me on board. 

I wasn’t the best out of all the 

Candidates on ground but also 

remember that God will never 

come down to do anything for 

you. He will channel it through 

somebody and Governor 

Abubakar Sani Bello is the tool 

God used for me to attain this 

goal. 

I still miss my Beat in the 

Newsroom—Kogi CPS 

Nursing ambitious of going 

into politics in future? 

(Laughs) You know as it is, 

my eyes are now open to some 

things. When we were 

operating from outside, there 

are lot of things one did not 

know about. Hmm... My 

destiny is really in the hand 

of God. However, I think if 

politics is practised in 

truthfulness, some of us may 

really want to go into politics 

because it is about service and 

I think I am someone that will 

want to serve my people the 

more if given the opportunity 

but then, I call myself now a 

Professional Politician. 

Nigeria ripe for a woman 

Governor or President? 

From the little experience I 

have, there are things that are 

not rocket science. We as 

humans especially Nigerians 

are the ones making it look 

very dicey or something like 

that. What stops women from 

being governors? Certainly, 

when the right things are put 

in the right place, governance 

will have its effectiveness for 

whoever finds his/herself in 

governance. 

It is about putting the right 

thing in the right place and 

having the operational 

mechanism in place. 

Definitely, things will move 

smoothly so woman governor 

is not a Rocket Science just 

like it is not rocket science 

that a female is a journalist. 

To be a woman governor is a 

thing that can be achieved, 

attained and it is doable. We 

have very intelligent Nigerian 

women that can aspire and 

attain the post. At Central 

Bank level, we have a female 

To be a 

woman 

governor 

is a thing 

that can be 

achieved, 

attained 

and it is 

doable 

Deputy Governor and if a 

female is running the Economic 

Sector, why won’t she succeed 

as a governor because most of 

these offices have to do with 

economy and if you can put 

your Economy in good shape 

and human resource, then you 

should be able to have good 

governance so, a woman being 

a governor is not something that 

we should be doubting or 

arguing at this point because 

we have gone a long way. 

Women not supporting 

themselves in politics…. 

(Voice raised).Forget it. The 

men should be magnanimous 

enough in their own thinking to 

see that we can analyse this 

woman that if put her in this 

position, she will do something 

new and we should give her a 

trial so if we think it is the 

women that are not really 

supporting themselves, let the 

Men support them and you will 

see how it will be. We are 

supporting the men now and let 

the men now turn to the 

women and give them full 

support. 

Can a woman really 

weather the political storm? 

What stops a woman from 

weathering the storm? It is the 

same intelligence applied by 

men in putting up measures 

that the educated woman will 

also use to put things right. The 

women went to school too and 

they are ready to put what they 

acquired in school to 

governance and it will work 

especially when they get the 

right people to work with. 

Is the Minister of Finance 

not a woman and is she not 

performing? We also have so 

many women all around who 

have done well in the past and 

many of them are still holding 

more sensitive posts across the 

country and even outside. 

Few could have some dents 

but the men have dents equally 

and so that is not enough to 

castigate or hang the women. 

Did you bargain what you 

are seeing in office now? 

Political terrain is another 

school of its own. 

When I first met my Boss after 

the appointment to appreciate 

him, he empowered me with 

this words-”just do your work, 

do not be intimidated, just 

know your work and do it.” 

Each time I wanted to be 

intimidated in the course of 

discharging my duty, the 

challenge from my boss just 

comes into my mind and 

energises me. 

It is just like hearing the voice 

of God, because you cannot run 

away from it and some people 

when they see me now doing 

some things challenge me by 

saying, you are doing this 

because you are a woman and I 

tell them back that I am not only 

a woman but I know my job so 

sometimes, I want to fight back. 

You know sometimes in the 

Newsroom, you will beat table, 

insult yourselves just to make 

things work and achieve our goal 

because we are members of the 

same family. 

Comparing working as a 

journalist and press 

secretary…. 

Honestly, I miss, my job 

especially presentation but then, 

if you have to go ahead, you do 

not have to look back. Anytime 

you are progressing, you do not 

need to look back much. 

I thank God that what I am 

presently seeing here is what I 

have seen before as a journalist 

who covered this same 

Government House for years but 

the only difference is that I was 

on the attack then than now that 

I am on the defence. 

I call on my subordinates here, 

put heads together just like in the 

Newsroom before dishing any 

information out in order not to 

misinform the public. 

Here, my job is more politically 

inclined but however, I still have 

my conscience guarding me. 

Relationship with my Boss 

(Governor)/shying away from 

the press…. 

My relationship with my boss 

is very cordial. We talk over 

issues generally and often and 

that is why we come out with 

immediate solutions about what 

has to do with publicity. 

The perception of keeping 

away from journalists is a thing 

of the past because since I came 

on board, we have made drastic 

moves and we have been able to 

speak aloud to the Press. 

He is not shy. He is just himself. 

He is not a propagandist by 

nature and would not want to 

talk every time even when he is 

working and achieving. He is a 

realist. If he says he is doing this, 

he wants to see that he has done 

it. He does not want you to go 

and say what is not because it is 

not part of him. 

However, as the image maker, 

we know it goes beyond this and 

we are seriously working to make 

things better. As a Governor, he 

gives a lot of directives and how 

the person given the directive 

carries it out matters. 

Looking at governance closely, 

you will discover that it is we 

people that fail governance 

because the Governor must have 

played his own role by giving 

directive and we as the public or 

implementors are left to carry 

out our own responsibilities. 

Governance is not easy at all. 

My clarion call to the people 

is that we should see Governance 

as a collective responsibility and 

not that of the Governor alone. 

For my immediate 

Constituency, (Journalists), I 

hope to work collectively and 

effectively with them so as to see 

to the success of this 

administration in particular and 

the success of the State in general 

especially through publicising its 

numerous achievements to the 

world.


08116759759 

China’s notorious dog-meat fair opens 

for what could be the last time 

China’s notorious dog-meat 

festival has opened once 

again but activists are 

hoping it will The annual 10-day 

festival in the southwestern city of 

Yulin usually attracts thousands of 

visitors, many of whom buy dogs 

that are on display in cramped cages. 

However, campaigners are 

hopeful its days are numbered and 

said attendance has dwindled this 

year. 

The government is drawing up new 

laws to prohibit the wildlife trade and 

protect pets, and campaigners are 

hoping that this year will be the last 

time the festival is held. 

“I do hope Yulin will change not 

only for the sake of the animals but 

also for the health and safety of its 

people,” said Peter Li, China policy 

specialist with the Humane Society 

International, an animal rights 

group. 

“Allowing mass gatherings to trade 

in and consume dog meat in 

crowded markets and restaurants in 

the name of a festival poses a 

significant public health risk,” he said. 

Coronavirus, which is believed to 

have originated in horseshoe bats 

before crossing into humans in a 

market in the city of Wuhan, has 

forced China to reassess its 

relationship with animals, and it has 

vowed to ban the wildlife trade. 

In April, Shenzhen became the first 

city in China to ban the consumption 

of dogs, with others expected to 

follow. 

The agriculture ministry also 

decided to classify dogs as pets rather 

than livestock, though it remains 

unclear how the reclassification will 

affect Yulin’s trade. 

Zhang Qianqian, an animal rights 

activist who was in Yulin on 

Saturday, said it was only a matter 

of time before the dog-meat festival 

was banned. “From what we 

understand from our conversations 

with meat sellers, leaders have said 

the consumption of dog meat won’t 

be allowed in future,” she said. 

“But banning dog-meat 

consumption is going to be hard and 

will take some time.” 

Last week, puppies destined for 

slaughter at the festival were been 

rescued at the 11th hour. 

Activists saved 10 pups from being 

boiled and sold as meat. Over 10,000 

dogs have been killed for meat in 

previous years. But now the pups are 

on their way to a shelter where they 

will be safe. 

Most of the dogs killed for the 

meat trade in China are stolen 

pets, stolen guard dogs, as well as 

street dogs grabbed from towns 

and cities. 

The 10-day festival has been 

running since 2009 and celebrates the 

summer solstice. 

Some dogs, and also cats, who were 

going to be killed for meat have found 

forever homes in the UK. 

Builder gets 5-foot metal rod stuck up 

his bum after slipping off roof in a storm 

Abuilder slipped off a roof 

during a storm and landed 

on a metal rod which went 

up his bottom. 

Labourer 

Teerawat 

Choeykul, 19, 

was repairing 

the roof of a 

building in 

Bangkok, 

Thailand, when 

strong winds hit 

on June 7. 

Teerawat 

stepped onto old 

roof tiles which 

broke. He then 

plunged onto the 

ground below 

and landed on a 

5ft long metal 

rod, which went 

straight up his backside. 

Eye-watering pictures show how 

the metal penetrated his body 

before emerging in his lower back. 

The steel pole that inserted into 

his rectum can be seen pressing 

against the skin in Teerawat’s 

lumbar region. Blood can be seen 

on the ground around him. 

Shocked colleagues at the 

construction site called the 

emergency services who arrived to 

find Teerawat in agony as he lay 

around on the ground. 

Firemen cut off about 1.9ft of the 

stick protruding from his anus on 

the site so they could transport him 

easier to a nearby hospital and 

receive treatment. 

Teerawat’s friend, Apichai, said: 

“He was fixing the broken roof that 

was hit by the heavy storm from the 

last few weeks. He stepped onto 

the old roof tiles. They cracked and 

he fell down.” 

Teerawat is being treated in 

hospital and is stable. He is expected 

to make a full recovery. 

Rescue worker Jakchai 

Banyensakul from the 

Ruamkatanyu Foundation said: 

“The young man is lucky to to have 

survived this as the pole could 

have caused much worse damage. 

The wounds will be sore for a 

several weeks but he will recover. 

“Safety 

at work is 

especially 

important 

o n 

construction 

sites and 

w h e n 

there is 

wet and 

windy 

weather. 

So, I hope 

t h a t 

people 

will see 

this case 

and be 

reminded 

to be 

careful.” 

The gruesome accident comes just 

days after a Chinese man was 

hospitalised with a dead fish up his 

bum, after claiming he had sat on it 

by accident. 

Horror Plunge 

A 

BOY has been left in a critical 

condition after his stepfather 

“threw him out of their apartment 

window for disturbing his TV show”. 

Sergey, 5, was placed in intensive 

care with a fractured skull following 

the shocking events in the city of Bila 

Tserkva, central Ukraine. 

Local reports say the boy woke up 

after having an afternoon nap and 

approached his stepfather where he 

asked to sit on his lap. 

The 39-year-old man, who has not 

been named, was watching TV and 

reportedly “pushed the child away” 

in response. 

But when the young boy 

approached him and asked him 

again, the angry man allegedly 

grabbed hold of the child and threw 

him out of the window of their home 

in an apartment block. 

The boy landed on the tarmac 

headfirst and was see bleeding from 

his head by horrified neighbours, 

according to the reports. 

Next door neighbour Inna Bieva 

said: “I heard the sound of broken 

glass then sobbing. When I looked 

out of my window, I saw the boy. 

“He was lying on the tarmac and 

bleeding. He had a huge cut on his 

head. I called an ambulance and the 

police.” 

According to witnesses, Sergey’s 

mother carried the injured child 

home before the emergency services 

arrived on scene - but she tried to 

cover up the incident. 

When paramedics eventually 

turned up, she refused to let them into 

the apartment to examine the child - 

but police officers entered the 

family’s ground floor flat through 

the broken window and rescued the 

boy. 

Natalia Bigari, the head of the 

Second Kyiv Regional Children’s 

Hospital said: “The boy’s condition 

is severe. He sporadically regains 

consciousness then passes out again 

and is under constant monitoring. 

“He has closed head injury, 

fractures to his skull, abdominal 

injuries, cuts and bruises all over his 

body.” 

The stepfather, who has not been 

named, fled the scene just after the 

incident but was found and arrested 

within the hour. 

Cops have launched an attempted 

murder investigation against the 

man, who currently remains in 

custody. 

Police spokeswoman Alina 

Zadorozhna commented: “The 

stepfather was watching a TV show 

when the boy asked to take him on 

his lap. After being distracted, the 

man went into rage and threw the 

child out of the window.” 

Sergey has a twin brother, who 

witnessed the whole episode. 

The suspect faces up to 15 years in 

prison if found guilty.

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 — 23


By AYO ONIKOYI 

08052201215 

onikoyi68@gmail.com 

•Katung 

Aduwak 

Big Brother Naija: 

How past winners faring 

The first season of the Big Brother 

Naija reality TV show aired from 

March 5 to June 4, 2006. It then 

went off-air for 11 years until it made a 

comeback in 2017. Since it first aired as 

‘Big Brother Nigeria’ in 2006, there have 

been four successful seasons of the show. 

Each season takes on a new theme that 

speaks to the pop-culture of the time in the 

country, current happenings and the type of 

characters (housemates) in the house. 

Aside from being wildly successful as a 

show, the MultiChoice Nigeria-owned 

series has also become one of the surest 

ways to attain celebrity status. For every 

year it has aired, it has produced at least 

two major celebrities in the entertainment 

industry. Some of whom are winners of the 

show and others who simply caught the 

attention of fans. 

We take a quick look at the lives of the 

four winners the show has created since its 

inception. 

Katung Aduwak: 

He emerged the winner of the first-ever 

Big Brother Naija in 2006, running 

alongside people like Ebuka Obi-Uchendu 

and Gideon Okeke. Today, he is a major part 

of the Nigerian entertainment scene, despite 

preferring to work behind the scenes. He 

was only 26 years old when he won the 

$100,000 prize money but he knew exactly 

what he wanted to do with the money. He 

quickly went off to Digital Film Academy, 

New York to pursue a directorial degree. 

Since then, Katung Aduwak has piled on 

an impressive resume that includes 

working in leadership positions in places 

like Cool FM, Chocolate City and Viacom 

International Media Networks Africa. He 

has multiple directorial credits on movies 

like ‘Unwanted Guest’ and ‘Heaven’s 

Hell’. And he is currently a filmmaker at 

One O Eight Media and the chairman of 

the board of directors at Hashtag Media 

Fuji star, Obesere 

becomes grandfather 

•Obesere 

•Efe 

•Obesere's 

daughter and 

grandchild 

UK-based daughter of popular Fuji 

Icon, Alhaji Abass Akande, fondly 

called Obesere, Susan Akande was 

delivered of a bouncing baby boy in the 

early hours of Wednesday June 24, 2020, in 

the United Kingdom. 

It was gathered that the good news got to 

the Agbaakin Abobagunwa of Yorubaland, 

who is presently in Nigeria.. 

Confirming the good news via a telephone 

call the Paramount King of Fuji expressed 

profound gratitude to God. 

"I am very happy to have received such 

good news this morning from the United 

Kingdom. I thank God for her life and her 

husband, and that of the baby. I already gave 

the baby a name but I won't reveal it now." 

•Miracle 

House. 

•Mercy 

Lambo 

Michael Efe Ejeba: 

Popularly called ‘Efe Money’, Michael 

Ejeba won the 2017 Big Brother Naija 

after its massive comeback to the 

screens. He walked away with 25 million 

naira, an SUV and what seemed to be the 

beginning of a massive music career. 

However, his music career hasn’t picked 

up so much since the release of his hit 

song, ‘Warri’ featuring Olamide. He is 

still pursuing music fervently and has 

released several other singles including, 

‘Yeba’, ‘Campaign’, and ‘Somebody’. 

In 2019, he told Yaw during an 

interview on Wazobia FM that despite 

pursuing his music career, he is also a 

businessman. Efe who is an Economics 

graduate from the University of Jos 

surprised the OAP when he said he had 

been investing in different businesses and 

now has more than the initial 25 million 

Naira saved. He recently dropped his 

new playlist, ‘Non-stop’. 

Miracle Ikechukwu Igbokwe: 

Miracle claimed the title of winner in 

the 2018 ‘Double Wahala’ edition of Big 

Brother Naija. He was one of the most 

loved contestants throughout the show, 

but he has opted to stay out of the 

limelight. Positively obsessed with the idea 

of becoming a commercial pilot, Miracle 

who calls himself ‘Flyboy’ left for the 

United States after receiving his cash 

prize. He soon enrolled in Epic Flight 

Academy, Florida, United States to 

complete his aviation training and obtain 

his Commercial Pilot License (CPL). 

He has refused to get dragged into 

petty issues from other housemates and 

has remained focused on the concluding 

parts of his aviation certification. He is 

still in the United States. 

Mercy Eke: 

Mercy created a new record when she 

became the first-ever female to win the 

Big Brother Naija show at the end of last 

year’s ‘Pepper Dem’ season. She has 

remained at the centre of conversations 

and continued her career as a reality star 

with ‘Mercy and Ike’ on Africa Magic. 

Lambo, as she is fondly called, has 

become a fashion icon, influencer and 

businesswoman. 

The fashion powerhouse is currently 

the brand ambassador to brands such as 

Ciroc, Just Furniture, Patricia NG, and 

Mr Taxi. She also runs her own 

businesses, a fashion outfit - M&M 

Luxury and a real estate firm, Lambo 

Homes. 

Big Brother Naija returns this year and 

one lucky person will join this elite hall 

of fame 

BET Awards 

unveils 

entertainers for 

20th edition 

BET (Black Entertainment 

Television) has announced the first 

group of performers for the 20th 

annual “BET AWARDS” including Alicia 

Keys, Chloe X Halle, DaBaby,D Smoke, 

Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Jonathan 

McReynolds, Kane Brown, Lil Wayne, 

Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, SiR, 

Summer Walker, Usher, Wayne Brady and 

more. BET Amplified Artists, Masego 

and Lonr. are set to take the BET 

Amplified Music Stage, a platform for 

emerging artists. 

Hosted by comedian and actress 

Amanda Seales, the “BET AWARDS” 

2020 will simulcast LIVE at 01:00 WATon 

June 29th making its international 

broadcast premiere on BET Africa (DStv 

Channel 129). Repeat TX details include 

the BET Awards Pre-Show on June 29th 

at 18:00 WAT and BET Awards Main 

Show Repeat June 29th at 19:00 WAT. 

Amanda Seales is a comedian and 

creative visionary. You know her as, 

“Tiffany DuBois” of HBO’s Insecure and 

her debut stand up special, “I Be 

Knowin”. She is a former co-host on the 

daytime talk show, “The Real”, host of 

NBC’s “Bring the Funny,” creator/host of 

the hit live, and now virtual, music/ 

comedy game show, “Smart Funny & 

Black”, speaks truth to change via her 

wildly popular Instagram, weekly 

podcast, “Small Doses”, and book by the 

same my name, recently launched her 

membership community app, “SFB 

Society”! A Jedi Khaleesi with a 

patronus that’s a Black Panther with 

wings, she keeps audiences laughing, 

thinking, and living in their truth! 

In the final countdown to the BET 

Awards, Terrence J and Erica Ash will 

host the first interactive pre-show 

featuring celebrities, nominees, and 

special guests who will be participating 

in Black Entertainment’s biggest night. 

This follows the nominees 

announcement in the Best International 

Act and Viewers' Choice Best New 

International Act categories. This year, 

unstoppable Nigerian act Burna Boy, 

South African superstar Sho Madjozi 

and Congolese singer-songwriter 

Innoss’B have been nominated in the 

"Best International Act". Rounding up the 

list of African nominees are Nigerian 

singer and rapper Rema and 

Zimbabwean songstress Sha Sha who 

have been nominated in the Viewers 

Choice Best New International Act 

category. 

•Amanda 

Seales for BET


After my recovery, I now believe 

COVID-19 is real — Damilare Ojo, survivor 

By Chioma Obinna 

Despite the guidelines in place by the 

Federal Government to contain the 

spread of COVID-19, Nigerians have 

carried on with their lives as they did before the 

advent of coronavirus in the country. Despite 

recording more than 20,000 confirmed COVID1- 

19 cases, many Nigerians still say the pandemic 

is a scam to perpetuate corruption. Recently, 

statistics revealed that 60 percent of Nigerians 

in the southeast zone consider the pandemic a 

hoax. 

Just last week, a COVID -19 survivor, Mr. 

Damilare Ojo narrated his experience 

to Saturday Vanguard. For him, COVID-19 

is not a respecter of persons. 

Read his experience: 

If Damilare had been told he was going to be 

one of the victims of COVID-19, he would have 

never believed it. This is because 

Damilare was one of numerous 

Nigerians that had a reservation 

for the pandemic since the 

confirmation of the index case of 

COVID–19 virus in Nigeria in 

February 2020. 

However, soon after the Federal 

government resolved to announce 

the initial two weeks total 

lockdown, Damilare became 

more cautious and conscious of 

his environment, particularly, with 

his interaction with the people 

around him. 

“I stopped touching surfaces at 

random except for going to the 

market during market days and 

taking regular long walks in the 

evening with friends,” he said. 

But as the lockdown was further 

elongated by another two weeks, 

Damilare began to doubt the numbers being 

released by the Nigerian Centre for Disease 

Control, NCDC. 

According to Damilare, since he personally 

did not know anyone that had contracted the 

virus in Nigeria, it was difficult for him to believe 

the virus was real. 

“This was my huge mistake,” he 

told Saturday Vanguard. 

At this point, Damilare began to carry on with 

If Damilare had 

been told he 

was going to be 

one of the 

victims of 

COVID-19, he 

would have 

never believed it 

his life as if nothing was at stake. “I began to 

visit some friends within my neighbourhood 

whom I felt had been home during the 

lockdown. I continued to go to the market.” 

Sadly, precisely on the 9 th of May 2020, his 

temperature began to rise and he started feeling 

feverish. “It was difficult getting through the 

night, the high temperature and fever made me 

very uncomfortable. On the morning of Sunday 

10 th May 2020, I went to Garki Hospital, Garki, 

Abuja to do a malaria test. The results came out 

negative but I was advised to take anti-malaria 

medication. Upon completing my medication, 

I felt better. 

“I was still worried about the fact that I had 

no malaria but was very ill. My fears heightened 

when I lost my sense of smell and couldn’t taste 

the delicious jollof rice my friend made for me. 

”Upon discussion with my friend who 

accompanied me to the hospital, I resolved to 

contact the FCT sample collection Centre 

having surfed the internet and I was 

directed to call back by 9am on 

11 th May 2020.” 

“I called the Collection Centre in 

Federal Capital Territory, FCT and 

a form was sent to me via text message 

asking me for various information 

including my name, age, symptoms, 

whether I had met a confirmed case, 

etc., all of which I answered. 

Upon evaluation, the team at the 

Centre, he was directed to come for 

my COVID-19 test. His worst fears 

were, however, confirmed on the 

17 th May around 3:24 pm. 

“I received a call from Hajia 

Fatima Ahmed of the Public Heath 

team of the FCT, who informed me 

that my test result was positive. I 

informed Hajia that I needed to speak 

with my mother as I was totally 

confused and did not know what to 

make of the situation. 

“On the 18 th of May 2020, I was picked up by 

the NCDC team to the Gwagwalada Isolation 

Centre. Despite being anxious, I was comforted 

by the uplifting response that I received from 

my family and friends and decided to remain 

positive.” 

Upon his arrival at the Centre, Damilare 

was received by the doctors who collected his 

blood samples and conducted a briefing of how 

the Centre operates including the discharge rate 

at the Centre., nature 

of drugs to be 

administered, 

feeding, his 

next COVID- 

19 test among 

others. 

One thing 

that worked 

for Damilare 

was the fact 

that all 

through the 

period he 

remained 

optimistic 

and did not 

see himself 

as one with 

any ailment. 

”I was listening to my music, working as I 

had my laptop and my internet with me whilst 

remaining active on social media and 

engaging with friends and family who 

continued to encourage me. 

“I also participated in the Hallelujah 

Challenge by Nathaniel Bassey and joined 

various Instagram Live sessions of my Church, 

RCCG Throne Room, Abuja.” 

Just like a miracle in the old, exactly 5 days 

after he arrived at the Isolation Centre, a 

COVID-19 test was carried on him and others 

in the centre to determine their status after 5 

days of treatment. The samples were collected 

for him and a number of people at the Centre 

who were due for the test. 

Damilare continued with his regular life of 

positivity at the Centre and by the morning of 

Monday 25 th May 2020 after joining the 

Instagram Live Session of his Church, the doctor 

informed him that his result was negative. 

Lo and behold, Damilare was discharged 

from the Centre. 

Damilare burst into tears after the news was 

broken to him; the news of his result was indeed 

an emotional one as he had barely spent 7 days 

at the Centre. 

Unlike other COVD-19 survivors who faced 

stigmatisation after they were discharged from 

the isolation centre, Damilare was received with 

joy by friends and family on getting back home. 

Based on videos/pictures from various 

isolation centres on social media, Damilare, 

prior to his testing positive to the virus had 

•Damilare 

Ojo 

lacked faith in the way the 

Government had been handling 

COVID patients but he was highly 

impressed by the response when he 

was infected. Damilare said the 

process of his test at the first instance 

was indeed seamless and the 

manner of evacuating him 

from his house to the 

Isolation Centre was done 

in a very good manner as 

the health officials were well 

guarded in their PPE’s. 

“All cares given to me and 

all persons at my Centre 

including feeding, contact 

racing, ’medications, etc. 

were at no cost to me or any 

patient but the Government, 

he said. 

He, however, condemned 

the process of 

communicating the result of 

lab tests to patients as the 

test results are 

communicated via 

telephone call only. I 

would propose that 

results are 

communicated via e- 

mail or text messages 

in addition to the phone calls.” 

Damilare also condemned the fact that 

survivors upon discharge, are not taken back 

home. Worse still, the patients were not properly 

briefed. 

“This I feel is unsatisfactory as I am sure many 

other patients, are not familiar with most of the 

centres having been driven there. 

“I was only given a face mask and was told 

that I was free to go home. This arrangement is 

sub-standard and I would suggest that Centres 

properly brief recovered patients on how exactly 

they are to interact again with society and to 

know whether recovered patients can contract 

the virus again.” 

Damilare who felt that the disease has shaped 

his understanding of the pandemic said: 

“COVID-19 is real. The myth that the virus 

could affect only aged persons is not true in its 

entirety. The virus affects all persons regardless 

of race, age, health issues, etc. I also learnt that 

the virus is not really a death sentence per se but 

it sure can take life and one will be indeed lucky 

if it does not take our life” 

According to Damilare, having survived the 

dreaded virus, he has decided to engage on 

Nationwide advocacy to enlighten the people 

at all levels especially those in the hinterlands 

on the existence of the coronavirus and the 

impact it can have on health. 

“I will be calling on all persons and 

organizations including all recovered COVID- 

19 patients interested in this campaign and 

hope to collaborate to please contact me via 

email on ojodamilare93@gmail.com or call 

me on +2349099993465.” 

How 10-yr-old twins became my sex 

partners —House help 

Their mother has forgiven me; if police 

release me I’ll immediately find a wife 

By Emma Nnadozie 

A 

26-year-old male house help, 

Chinedu Obi stunned detectives at 

the Gender Unit of Lagos State Police 

Command, Ikeja, last week when he confessed 

that he had been sleeping with his employer’s 

10-year-old twin girls since 2019 after offering 

them N200. He stated boldly that he dedicated 

his whole life to his job without having an 

opportunity to befriend other girls and that 

was why he pounced on the primary five twins. 

The Imo state born house help was arrested 

on June 16, 2020 after the mother of the twins 

suspected foul play when she returned from 

the market and overheard the twins fighting 

over how to share the N200 he gave them after 

sex. She told the police that after much pressure, 

her daughters confessed to her that the suspect 

who was her sales boy had sex with them on 

different occasions. She lamented that she 

treated the suspect as part of the family which 

was why he became close to her children. 

Suspect’s confession 

“My name is Chinedu Obi. I am 26 years 

old from Umuaka in Imo state. Sometime in 

2018, I relocated to Lagos in search of greener 

pasture. Luckily, I met one Calabar woman 

who owned a restaurant at Soluowu Street in 

Surulere area, Lagos. She employed me as a 

sales boy and the agreement was that she would 

pay me N400 everyday and feed me. I would 

resume work at 6 am everyday and close at 

8pm. My whole life was dedicated to that job 

and I did not have the opportunity of making 

friends with any woman. I am a man with 

needs, that was why sometime in June last year, 

I decided to try my luck with my madam’s 

daughters. They used to come to the shop to 

stay after school and during this Corona virus 

period, they were always around. It all started 

sometime in June last year while they were in 

primary 5. I was so close to the family that the 

children were free with me and took me as 

their elder brother. One day, they came straight 

to the shop and one of the twins, not minding 

that I was there, removed her school uniform 

and changed into another one. That was when 

the devil took over my senses. I had not had sex 

for so long, so I was moved. I waited for an 

opportunity when she was alone and told her 

that I would be giving her plenty of money if 

she would allow me to have sex with her. I was 

surprised that she agreed without making 

noise. We quickly did it in one corner after which 

I gave her two hundred naira. I was shocked 

when her twin sister came to me and pulled up 

her dress. She said that I should do the same 

thing because she also wanted her own money. 

I had no choice but to also have sex with her 

for fear that she would tell her mother. All I did 

was to always divide the money into two and 

gave them. I even wanted to stop when my 

madam started suspecting that I was having 

sex with her daughters. The twins started 

•Suspect 

bleeding and I did not understand what was 

happening to them. I thought it was because of 

the sex and asked them to use tissue paper to 

clean the blood. My mother only gave birth to 

boys. When their mother noticed the blood, 

she was surprised because they were only ten 

years then. She confronted them but they kept 

quiet and she warned me to stop if that was the 

case. I denied it and the matter ended there. I 

actually stopped till the twins started throwing 

themselves at me again. Their mother would 

not give them money so they were always 

coming to me. I became very careful because 

I knew that they could get pregnant and I used 

to give them one drink to prevent pregnancy. 

Conspiracy of silence 

While were at it, the mother did not catch us 

because the twins were working together. I 

could only have sex with them in the shop and 

what we normally did was that one of them 

would be watching while we were doing it. As 

soon as we were done, they would switch and 

the money would be divided by them. During 

this pandemic, I normally did it early in the 

morning when their mother had gone to 

Oyingbo market or later in the evening when 

customers had stopped coming to the shop and 

my madam must have gone home to prepare 

food for her husband. She would leave the twins 

with me to help me clean up the place and that 

was when I would take advantage to have sex 

with both of them. 

How the burble 

burst 

One day, my madam decided to go to Ijesha 

market with one of the twins, leaving behind 

the other one and her 7-year-old son. I then 

asked the boy to watch over the shop, that we 

were busy inside and we quickly did it. 

Unfortunately, when my madam came back, 

the boy told her that I was playing inside with 

his sister. But the other twin who knew what we 

were doing rushed in and started shouting that 

she wanted her own money but her twin sister 

refused and the noise attracted my madam’s 

attention. She started beating the twins to tell 

her what the argument was all about and they 

told her. This was how we got caught. I begged 

my madam to forgive me but she raised alarm 

which attracted the people around and they 

alerted the police. If I were in the shoes of my 

madam, I would feel very bad because if I found 

out that anyone was touching my daughter, I 

would deal with that person. My madam had 

forgiven me but the police were not ready to 

let me go. I can not marry the twins because 

they are still young. In the next eight years they 

will be 18, but I cannot wait that long. As soon 

as I am released, I will go and find a wife. 

Suspect to be charged to court 

Lagos state police command spokesman, 

DSP Bala Elkana who confirmed the incident 

said the suspect would soon be charged to court.


IMO: Emelumba relives Uzodimma’s 

fight in Customs, Aviation; assures 

on pension payment 

Imo State Commissioner of Information 

Mbadiwe Emelumba fielded these 

questions on recent happenings in the state. 

Excerpts: 

Some pensioners protested recently in 

Owerri, claiming they were being owed four 

months arrears. Why is it taking long to pay 

them? 

First of all, I don’t think that all those 

who demonstrated in Owerri were 

pensioners. The Nigeria Union of Pensioners 

(NUP), Imo State chapter came out strongly, 

through their President, Dr. Josiah Ugochukwu, 

to say that his Union does not know those 

who went on that protest. So one can rightly 

say that they are not Pensioners. The NLC 

Chairman in the state, Comrade Austin 

Chilakpu also disowned them. Both Unions 

called them impostors and mercenaries. It was 

not government that did that. Those who 

engaged in that show of shame were sponsored 

by the opposition to score cheap political 

points. I will even go further to say that those 

who used to benefit from the old order of 

stealing the people’s patrimony hired those old 

men just to embarrass the government. But the 

plot failed because they were 

exposed. Second, It is only about two months 

of pensions that has been delayed because of 

on going verification exercise 

This government came on board in January 

and started paying Pensions immediately. In 

fact the governor sacrificed his February and 

March security vote to pay Pensions. But when 

it was clear that there was monumental fraud 

in both the payroll and nominal roll of 

Pensioners, government had to pause a while 

to cleanse same. 

And do you know why both the NLC and 

NUP disowned those mercenaries? Simple! 

The leaders of the Unions know exactly how 

serious the Governor is working hard to ensure 

that only genuine pensioners get paid at the 

end of the day and not some cabals who had 

infiltrated the pension scheme to commit all 

manner of fraudulent acts. 

You were reported as saying that eight 

persons have been collecting N300M from 

the pension scheme annually. How did that 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

Mr. Simon Ebegbulem is the 

Commissioner for Special Projects in 

Imo state and was the Chief Press Secretary to 

the former National Chairman of the All 

Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams 

Oshiomhole. He spoke shortly after the APC 

governorship primary election in Edo state. 

Assessment of the Edo APC governorship 

primary 

It was a very successful one and we are happy 

that today, the APC in Edo state now has a 

candidate for the September 19 governorship 

election. Before now we had a lot of threats 

and there was tension, particularly after the 

gazette was published by the state government 

but the party sent a very powerful committee 

led by distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma, 

the governor of Imo State who ensured that 

the primary election was well organised. A lot 

of people defied the early morning rain 

because of the enthusiasm which was an 

indication that APC is still solid in Edo State 

and we are very optimistic that APC will retain 

the state. 

Some members who are still opposed to 

the process of the primary election 

There is no division in Edo APC, but we had 

some people who were desperate and were 

trying to destroy the party due to their personal 

interests. These people you are talking about 

are now in PDP, the APC in Edo state is one led 

by Col David Imuse (rtd) who is recognized by 

the NWC. Today, you can see that APC is 

moving forward, we have a solid candidate 

who will beat Governor Godwin Obaseki of 

the PDP at the next general election. 

Waiver for Ize-Iyamu which Obaseki 

opposed 

Obaseki mobilized opposition against the 

defection of Ize-Iyamu who was coming into 

the party, he made his ward chairman to deny 

that he issued Ize-Iyamu membership card and 

resisted the waiver granted to him to contest. 

Yet, the same Obaseki went to PDP and in less 

happen? 

You will be shocked if you were to see the 

atrocity being committed by a few against the 

state. Some current employees of government 

are receiving both pensions and salaries. There 

are multiple BVNs linked to few persons 

collecting pensions for hundreds of pensioners. 

There are multiple account numbers for non 

existing pensioners. The most intriguing is that 

the number of pensioners is stagnant every year 

even when people are retiring and dying. To 

make matters worse, we did not inherit any 

credible payroll scheme from the past 

government. Everything was in shambles 

giving the perpetrators of the pension fraud a 

field day. It was in a bid to clean the mess of the 

past that His Excellency, Senator Hope 

Uzodinma ordered that the system be sanitized 

to produce a credible and transparent payroll 

system for our pensioners. The organized 

labour is working with the government to 

achieve this. That is why they were shocked 

that some unconscionable people dragged frail 

men to the streets of Owerri in the name of 

protests against the government. 

But it appears as if your governor is fixated 

with this idea of sanitizing the payroll system 

while both workers and pensioners are 

complaining of hunger? 

That is not true. The governor that I know is 

the most compassionate leader ever to rule 

Imo state. No less a person than Chief 

Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu described him as a 

very kind man concerned with the welfare of 

the masses. Even before he became governor, 

his house had always been a place where 

people gathered daily to receive one form of 

help or the other. Having said that, it will interest 

you to know that Uzodinma is also a thorough 

and painstaking man who is averse to any 

form of indolence, tardiness and corruption. 

If there is anybody who wants workers and 

pensioners to be paid before 25th of every 

month, it is Hope Uzodinma. But given his 

track record as a man who wants things done 

the right way, he insisted that the rot in the 

system must be cleansed for the government 

to start on a clean sheet. Let me give you an 

example of what happened in the Customs just 

few years ago. When Senator Uzodinma was 

•Gov 

Uzodimma 

appointed the Senate Committee Chairman 

on Customs and Excise, many thought it 

would be business as usual with the agency 

periodically “settling” the Committee. But they 

were in for a surprise. In the course of his 

oversight functions, Uzodinma, with his 

committee members, unearthed monumental 

fraudulent activities being perpetrated in the 

Customs. The Federal Government was losing 

billions of naira in revenue to a fraudulent tariff 

regime. Officers conniving with companies 

and others were reaping off the federal 

government. He sought the approval of the 

Senate for a thorough investigation. At the end 

of the exercise, that committee saved billions 

of naira for the government and also recovered 

billions for those who were manipulating 

duties and excise The sanitization of the 

Customs gave room for the quantum leap in 

revenue for the government from that sector 

up till today. He did the same thing when he 

was Senate Committee Chairman on Aviation. 

So, the man has a track record of performance 

and zero tolerance for corruption. So what he 

is doing with the pension scheme in Imo State 

is for the good of the pensioners and not for 

himself. Although he is human, susceptible to 

human frailties, Uzodinma abhors corruption 

and fraud in whatever colour. He is 

scandalized to know that a few people have 

been feeding fat on the common patrimony of 

Imo State. That is what he wants to stamp out 

and he owes no apology to anybody. He is not 

keeping the money for himself. He is not moved 

by materialism. He loves money and wealth 

only in so far as they are used for the common 

good and for the majority. That is why you 

cannot see any estate anywhere in Nigeria or 

abroad to his name, unlike some of his peers. 

But when will this endless verification end 

for the pensioners to be paid? 

I assure you that the cleansing exercise is 

almost at the end. It will be over very soon and 

the Pensioners will be happy with the outcome 

because they will be receiving their pensions 

regularly as and when due. 

But those whose names were fraudulently 

inserted will not be paid. Those who have 

multiple account numbers, dubious BVNs and 

discrepancies in their records using such to 

siphon N330million annually from the purse 

of the state will not be paid either. 

The other day in a Radio programme 

monitored in Owerri, you were quoted as 

saying that government will recover all the 

monies and property the pension fraudsters 

acquired. Is that correct? 

Very correct my brother. In fact, I can say 

that it is the position of Imo leaders who 

mandated the governor to do so. During the 

Democracy Day Celebration on June 12, the 

governor gave a graphic account of what was 

happening. The leaders were so incensed that 

if they laid hands on any of the perpetrators, he 

would have been stoned to death. I think it was 

the Chairman of Imo Elders Council, Dr. 

Edmund Onyebuchi who moved it as a motion 

that the government should do everything 

possible to recover such loots from the pension 

frauds. So the government is carrying out that 

directive as it were. The government will 

prosecute all those behind the payroll fraud in 

the state in addition to recovering the property 

they acquired with the money they fleeced from 

the public treasury through fraudulent 

manipulation of the payroll. 

What is your advice to pensioners in the 

state? 

Let me start by saying that they should believe 

in this governor. Imo is safe in the hands of 

Hope Uzodinma as our governor. What is 

instructive here is that this government has 

been paying pensions since January, when it 

came into office. Some pensioners had been 

paid up to March and April as they admitted 

themselves. But along the line, there was need 

to cleanse the rot discovered in the pension 

regime so that was what caused the delay in 

paying the few outstanding months. So I will 

appeal to our senior citizens, our dear fathers 

and mothers, to exercise a little more patience. 

In no distant time, every pensioner in Imo State 

will receive his or her pensions promptly as at 

when due. 

Oshiomhole inherited the crisis in APC says Ebegbulem 

•Simon 

Ebegbulem 

than three days he was granted waiver. Today, 

if you conduct an election hundred times in 

any of the wards on the platform of any party 

he has decamped to, you will find out that he 

cannot win. 

Oyegun’s position on the crisis 

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun is one of the elders 

of this country that I respect so much, he has 

been there before as National Chairman of 

APC and it is funny to hear some of the things 

he says today. Most of the things he says today, 

he couldn’t do them when he was National 

Chairman of the party. He actually created 

the mess Oshiomhole was trying to clear. Most 

of these crises they are talking about in several 

states were created by the Oyegun-led NWC. 

There was no party when Oshiomhole came, 

Oshiomhole came to manage the crisis that 

was created. But for Oshiomhole, a lot more 

people would have left the APC as at the time 

Saraki and others left. He held down a lot of 

them down and negotiated with them. Look at 

Rivers, the crisis was there before Oshiomhole 

came in, the crisis in Imo state APC was there 

before Oshiomhole came, the crisis in Zamfara 

was already there before Oshiomhole came, it 

was just that they now became manifest and 

escalated because the party 

was already going into 

elections when 

Oshiomhole came in and it 

now looked as if these crises 

arose when he was the 

National Chairman. That 

is not true at all. 

Oshiomhole inherited all of 

them and had been 

managing them. These 

crises were created by 

individuals due to their 

ambitions in the various 

states. APC under 

Oshiomhole was intact 

apart from some few selfish 

individuals who were 

already thinking about 

2023 presidential election 

and started this plot 

immediately President 

Muhammadu Buhari was 

sworn in for his second 

term. They don’t mean well 

for the party, they don’t 

Even if Oshiomhole 

is in America and 

you conduct an 

election, his 

candidate will beat 

Obaseki, so we are 

not scared at all 

mean well for Mr. President, they are the ones 

trying to distract the president and 

Oshiomhole was saying no, we must run the 

party according to the constitution and ensure 

that we support our president to deliver what 

he promised Nigerians. 

Hope for Edo election 

APC will reclaim Edo state. With the 

emergence of Ize-Iyamu as our candidate, APC 

will come together in the state, the party will 

be united. Just watch, you will find out that 

most of the local government chairmen are 

with Ize-Iyamu and few weeks to the election, 

they will abandon him (Obaseki). Most of them 

are not ready to go to PDP. At the end of the day, 

he will be a loner because all these people 

that he is trying to force into PDP are 

originally children of Adams Oshiomhole, 

these are people the Comrade groomed 

over the years politically. Oshiomhole 

made the APC very strong in the South– 

South and in Edo state and his 

children are still here intact. 

Even if Oshiomhole is in America 

and you conduct an election, his 

candidate will beat Obaseki, so 

we are not scared at all. 

Those close to Obaseki but still 

claiming to be part of APC causing 

more crisis 

Obviously that is their game 

plan, they planned it in a way that 

some of them would go and some 

would stay and continue to cause 

trouble in APC but APC is too 

formidable that they will not 

succeed. That was why they have 

instituted several court cases both 

at the state and national level 

against our candidate but they will 

still fail. Most of the cases they 

took to court showed that they 

don’t even understand the 

workings and the constitution of 

our party but we are optimistic 

that the court will interpret to these 

people, the constitution of the 

APC; how one becomes a member, how 

primary elections are conducted in the party. 

These people want to foist their illegal pattern 

on us but we are ruled by laws and we believe 

that these laws supersede their personal 

interests. They are just there on destructive 

mission but they will fail. They failed in 

stopping the primary election and they will 

also fail in all their evil plots to make sure we 

don’t have a candidate in Edo state. If not for 

Comrade Oshiomhole, who is Godwin 

Obaseki in politics? Oshiomhole brought him 

to government to rehabilitate him, his 

company was not doing well, he was broke, so 

I am shocked when he claimed that he 

sponsored Oshiomhole’s election in 2007.

BRT SERVICES: 

We’re not 

making profit, 

our fare still 

the cheapest 

— Fola Tinubu 

•Insists Lagos govt has no 

stake in the business 

•Wants FG to reduce interest 

rates to single digit 

By Ishola Balogun 

Against the backdrop of ill-feelings 

among commuters occasioned by 

the increase in fares for the use of 

BRT services in Lagos state, the 

Managing Director/Chief Executive 

Officer, Primero Transport Services 

Limited, Fola Tinubu has said the 

company was not making profit now but 

poised to sustainability and delivering 

qualitative service. In this interview with 

Saturday Vanguard, he spoke on 

enhanced services such as wifi system, 

back up SIM on buses, as well as efforts 

towards reducing the waiting time of 

commuters to 10-15 minutes. He also 

called on the Federal Governments to 

assist in sourcing foreign exchange and 

to reduce interest rate to a single digit. 

Excerpts: 

How has it been in the last five years in 

the transport sector? 

It has been very challenging for Primero. 

In the last five years, the company has 

not been profitable. The cost of operation 

has been on a steady rise and our revenue 

has been static. The banks are charging 

us commercial rates. When we started, the 

cost of diesel was about N130 per liter 

and it went up to about N260 per liter, 

though it has come down 

slightly now. Again, when we 

started, the exchange rate 

was about N169 to a dollar, 

it is now N450. 

Unfortunately, we don’t 

manufacture any of the parts 

in this country; all the spare 

parts are imported. You can 

imagine the additional cost 

of tires, and other parts we 

bear. It has been very 

challenging. 

Maybe the investors need to 

put in more money to tackle 

these challenges? 

The investors put in billions 

of naira when we started and 

it is tough going back to them 

to bring in more money when 

they have not taken a kobo 

out in terms of dividends or 

profit in four years. They are very 

reluctant in parting with money again. 

This is purely understandable, if I invested 

billions of naira and I have not got one 

kobo and you are asking me to bring 

more, of course I will be very reluctant to 

do that. But we believe as management 

that what we are doing in last few weeks 

will put the company in a better financial 

footing. You cannot survive by paying over 

23% interest on loan. Government can 

also help to source foreign exchange in 

order to buy parts for the buses. 

In May last year, we closed our bonds and 

put some money aside to buy some parts 

in July. We spent over N400million worth 

The cost of 

operation 

has been on 

a steady rise 

and our 

revenue has 

been static 

of spare parts. It came in December and 

it will soon finish. We are about to buy 

exactly the same spare parts now. Without 

adding anything, the same quantity of 

spare parts is now going for over 

N600million because naira has gone 

from N360 to N450. I have no choice, we 

have to buy it. If we refuse to buy them, 

the buses will not operate. So, the 

government can really help us in sourcing 

foreign exchange. Yes, we agree that there 

is a social element to our service, but we 

have to continue to be in business and 

also make profit to render social 

responsibility services. 

This is the second time you will increase 

your fares since you started and 

commuters are complaining, how did we 

get to this point? 

During the 5-week lockdown, our revenue 

dropped to zero. When we resumed work, 

government said we should carry only 20 

passengers, which meant that we were 

using three buses where we were supposed 

to use one on a normal day. Yet, our cost 

of operations remained the same. We still 

use the same amount of diesel and pay 

the same number of staff, the wear and 

tear of the buses were exactly the same. 

This affected us tremendously. We know 

it is not only Primero, it is a worldwide 

phenomenon. It affected 

everybody in different ways. 

Now, we have been making sure 

we keep all our employees and 

provide the same service. That 

was why we went to the 

government and we showed 

them that for the company to 

survive we need an increase in 

fare. Thank God they agreed 

with us and also approved that 

we can carry 42 passengers. 

This is even against the 70 

passengers per bus we used to 

carry before, so, our revenue 

dropped to about 40%. I have 

been saying the same thing for 

the past four years now, and 

nobody seems to be listening 

to me. Primero is not profitable 

right now. The fares we are 

charging are too low and 

unfortunately for us the cost of 

operations keeps soaring. 

Primero is not a monopoly in the 

transport sector, there are other 

alternatives. We have Red buses, White 

buses, Danfo, and there is ferry especially 

the Ikorodu-Island axis. Check out what 

other operators charge. None of them is 

cheaper than Primero even with the 

increase we have just done now, not to 

talk of where we were before. Right now 

with the increase, we are still charging 

below all other alternatives. Yet our cost 

of operation is a lot higher than anyone 

of them. Most of them, if not all of them 

don’t pay taxes, they don’t provide 

insurance for their passengers and 

workers, they don’t disinfect their buses 

everyday like we do, they don’t provide 

sanitizers like we do every day. Nobody 

provides the kind of service we provide, 

except may be the new ferries that the 

Lagos state just bought recently. Yet, even 

with this increase we charge less than any 

one of them. People sometimes want to 

rationalise it and say, “Oh you have a 

dedicated lane, it makes you go faster” 

but I tell them the dedicated lanes are 

only 60% of the lanes, you still have to 

come back to the main road which is the 

remaining 40%, so the traffic affects us 

too. Even the dedicated lane is 

encroached on by other road users and 

causing a traffic snarl for our buses. 

Everybody wants to move faster in Lagos 

but it needs to be paid for. It is a political 

decision who pays for it. My job is to 

ensure the survival of the company, 

Primero. If we are not making profit, at 

least we should balance our books and 

not record losses. You can have a 

philosophical decision on who pays for 

what, but there is no free lunch even in 

Freetown. We travel all over the world, 

and we see services being provided here 

and there, but they are not provided by 

magicians, they are paid for. People pay 

for them either from their pocket, or via 

taxes, or government subsidy. Even 

subsidy comes when people are able to 

pay taxes from which government has 

money to subsidise. It is only in Nigeria 

that we always want everything for free. 

What is therefore the true cost of 

carrying passengers from Ikorodu to 

Lagos Island for instance? 

You will know the true cost by what the 

Danfo buses charge because they are not 

regulated at all. They go with the law of 

demand and supply. They charge between 

N1000 and N1500 from Ikorodu-to Lagos 

Island. But our own, with the statistics 

available to us, it is going to be about 

N700. 

So, should Lagosians who patronise your 

services be bracing up for further 

increase? 

I don’t know. The biggest challenge which 

I hope everybody should be wary about is 

the position of the naira at the foreign 

exchange market. You know we don’t 

manufacture anything in this country. 

Everything we use in those buses is 

imported and naira affects it negatively. 

If I know what naira will be in a year’s 

time, I will be a billionaire. So, the value 

of the naira drives everything. 

Unfortunately, that is the reality. There 

are two things Lagosians need to know, 

one is that the last increase was three 

years ago and we got another increase 

three years after. Lagosians have been 

enjoying a relatively low charges. Even 

with this increase, our charges are still 

the cheapest on that axis. 


What is the position of Lagos State 

government in the business because a 

lot of people believe the state 

government also invested in the 

business? 

Lagos state government does not have a 

single share in Primero. They do not have 

a single kobo invested in Primero. I have 

said it at every forum; the company is 

hundred per cent privately owned. I 

believe God that next year when we get 

our finances together, we will go public 

and everybody will know that we are 

public quoted company. But if Lagos 

state wants to buy shares when we go 

public, I will be very happy. However, 

there are lots of policy formulation which 

the government, not just the Lagos state 

government but also the federal 

government, can do to cushion these 

challenges. What happens in Lagos 

affects all Nigerians. Government can 

look into areas of helping us to get 

cheaper loan. The Lagos state 

government is currently doing that for 

us, but the federal government can do 

more in order to reduce it to a single 

digit. I understand it is somewhat 

difficult right now because of the slide in 

oil price world over and the IGR going 

down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

I also know they are trying to slash their 

budget, but there are lots of areas they 

can come in to help. Right now, Lagos 

State is trying to assist in one area I don’t 

want to disclose now. So, I believe the 

government can come to our rescue in 

one way or the other. 

So, you mean the business is not 

attractive to investors? 

A bus cost about $125,000, if you bring 

in 100 buses, you are talking about 

$12.5million and if you put that in naira, 

it is about N5.6billion. That does not 

include customs, clearing and other 

money needed to start off the business. 

So, you may need nothing less than 

N20billion to start the business. How 

many people will want to invest that kind 

of money, charge what we are charging 

and for four years will still be grappling 

with how to make profit? How many will 

consider that when you can put the money 

in the bank and get about 7% returns on 

your money, and go to sleep, people will 

not abuse you that you are a crook, 

calling you names that in five years they 

can do better than you. So, if we want 

private sector to come in, it has to be 

profitable. We can decide to say we don’t 

want more than 10% profit or anything 

but it has to be profitable. 

How many buses do you have on the 

road daily? 

We have about 300 and 320 buses on the 

road right now. We can really put more 

out if we need to. 

But the waiting time at the bus station is 

still not encouraging, many commuters 

who want value for their money will be 

discouraged if they have to wait much 

longer. 

The waiting time has reduced now, but 

why it is still so is that we are the cheapest. 

People still have to wait because it is 

economically better. In any case, you can 

do a survey; the waiting time has crashed 

significantly now. My goal is that I don’t 

want any passenger to spend more than 

10 to 15 minutes before they go. 

The card system you introduced was 

good, but its availability is still an issue 

to contend with 

Yes, I agree with you to some extent, it 

was because the vendor that was supposed 

to produce the cards disappointed 

blaming it on high cost of production. But 

all that have been fixed. What we also did 

during the shutdown was to camp about 

200 of our maintenance people in the Busyard 

to work on our buses and the wifi to 

make sure everything works well. We have 

also put a back up sim on the buses. 

Anywhere you are in the bus, if the wifi 

does not work, then the sim picks up. The 

system works about 99% right now. We 

have also worked with Sterling bank and 

they are pushing about 500,000 cards out. 

So cards are available now. 

Your final word to the people 

My advice to them is to understand that 

we are trying to ensure the survival of the 

BRT system. I understand the economic 

situation of the country right now and I 

fully understand what people are going 

through. But it is better to take this short 

term pain and ensure the system is always 

available than to bury our heads like 

ostrich and pretend as if everything is rosy 

and the whole thing collapses, then we 

start paying a lot more in the long run. 

They should rather work with us to make 

their lives better, so that they will know 

we have their interest at heart, and we are 

not trying to punish them by reaping huge 

profits.


Kogi: APPEALS begins distribution of 

N633m agro-alied incentives es to women, 

rice farmers 

By Boluwaji Obahopo 

The Agro Processing, 

Productivity Enhancement 

and Livelihood 

Improvement Support, APPEALS 

has commenced the free 

distribution of agro -allied 

incentives for rice farmers in Kogi 

State. 

The state coordinator of the 

programme, Mr. Sani Ozomata 

who disclosed this during the flagoff 

scheme in communities in Lokoja, 

said, “697 rice farmers will benefit 

from the commenced incentives”. 

He said that N633 million has 

been earmarked to benefits the 

women and rice farmers who are 

spread over a 1780 hectares of land 

across the state. 

According to him, this period is 

farming season and this is the right 

time to reach out to farmers but the 

convid-19 pandemic will make us 

to redouble our efforts to make sure 

our farmers are back to farm and 

ensure food security not just for our 

local government or the state, but 

the country at large. 

“APPEALS project had 

development objectives of 

enhancing small and medium scale 

farmers and also support their value 

addition. We have identified the real 

farmers, mapped out their land and 

we want them to take the advantage 

of this grant to support their 

farming. 

“APPEALS in Kogi state is taking 

the lead because we want to make 

sure that farm inputs get to the 

farmers at the right time. We are also 

avoiding lateness of the incentive. 

We are starting the first phase with 

rice farmers because we are 

following farming calendar. We 

start with rice then cassava which 

will be followed by cashew. 

For the rice farmers first, we have 

mapped out 1780 hectates of land 

for rice production this farming 

season alone in Kogi state, and a 

total of 633 million naira will be 

used to fund the ‘Value Chain 

Investment Plan’, VCIP, to be used 

by the farmers. 

“Some of the input we are 

distributing includes certified 

improved rice seed obtained from 

TNT Wazobia show promo 

omotes cultural values in Nigeria 

Considering the role of 

culture in our ethnic 

groups, TNT television station 

known as Tiwa ‘N’ Tiwa on Gotv 

channel 111 and Startimes 

channel 171 has introduced a 

special TV musical platform 

called TNT Wazobia which 

showcases and encourages 

cultural ethnic groups in Nigeria 

through individual talents and 

cultural display. The platform is 

concerned and interested in 

ensuring that cultural values 

winding up in most African 

regions especially Nigeria for 

western culture and civilisation 

is revitilised, sustained and 

maintained in the region. 

Speaking on this unique 

programme offered on TNT 

Wazobia platform, the Group 

Managing Director, Executive 

Producer, TNT Television, Dr. 

Damilola Adefemi said that the 

platform is specially designed to 

Nigeria’s 

leading 

financial services 

provider, Stanbic IBTC 

Holdings Plc, a member of 

Standard Bank Group, has 

announced the change of its 

tagline from “Moving 

Forward” to “It Can Be”. 

Unveiling the new slogan, 

Yinka Sanni, outgoing Chief 

Executive, Stanbic IBTC 

Holdings PLC, said that these 

special times require a stronger 

connection with the 

From right: Kogi State Coordinator, APPEALS projects, Dr. 

Sani Ozomata; State Deputy governor, Edward Onoja and a 

woman rice farmer receiving incentives from the Deputy 

Governor in Lokoja recently. 

national seed (faro 44) council. We 

have pre-emergence and post 

emergence chemicals, chemical 

sprayers and protective kit for 

farmers. 

The farmers were able to start land 

preparation through our 

collaboration with ministry of 

agriculture for the use of tractors. 

So far, we have cleared and harrow 

over 500 hectares of land for rice 

cultivation and it is still on going. 

We have procured over 25,000 litres 

of chemicals ,50,000 kg of rice 

seedlings, 690 chemical sprayers 

which will be distributed to farmers 

in their farm and the items are 

branded not for sale. 

The aim of the grant is to enable 

farmers grow so that they can be 

source of employment to others, 

since they are not paying back the 

money. We will continue to support 

them on production, processing and 

marketing. We will also continue to 

allien with the state government 

policy on agriculture.” 

Ozomata eulogised the state 

government for not politicising the 

showcase different ethnic 

cultural groups in Nigeria 

through individual talents. 

According to her, Nigerians 

should not abandon our cultural 

values anywhere we are, so that 

our future generations can queue 

into it because African culture 

serves as our identity both home 

and abroad”. 

Dr. Damilola said that the show 

runs every day for the relaxation 

of Tiwa ‘N’ Tiwa viewers and it 

is viewed across 26 states and 50 

cities in Nigeria. 

Continuing, she said that the 

uniqueness of the show is the fact 

that viewers are able to learn our 

cultural values of different 

region in Nigeria as all ethnic 

group cultures in the country is 

represented. “Our children can 

be taught our cultural values, 

languages, attire, appearance, 

marriage, behaviour and 

Firm unveils new tagline, “It Can Be” 

organisation’s customers. “As 

we continue to provide 

innovative banking solutions to 

give better customer 

experience, ‘It Can Be’ reflects 

the gradual and consistent 

transition from a previous stage 

of growth to a new stage of 

possibilities. 

According to Sanni, the new 

catchphrase represents Stanbic 

IBTC’s unwavering support to 

its customers. “Over the years, 

we have built a reputation of 

project. 

“I want to categorically state here 

that no single rice farmer was 

suggested by the governor nor his 

deputy to benefit from this 

programme.” 

The state deputy governor, who 

doubles as the State Steering 

Committee Chairman for the 

Project, Edward Onoja said that the 

state government refusal to 

lockdown the state over Covid-19 

has given lee way to the farmers to 

prepare their land in advance for 

the seed incentives. 

Onoja who said 70% of the state 

population are farmers, said, “soon 

the state will overtake Benue to 

become the ‘food basket’ of the 

nation. “Kogi state farmers have 

been on their farms preparing the 

land, planting their crops without 

restriction from the out break of 

Covid-19 pandemic that is ravaging 

the world since January. 

“We must appreciate the initiative 

of Gov. Bello for not allowing Kogi 

to be lockdown like some states. 

manners then assume 

responsibilities. When cultures 

are in display, it gives one a sense 

of belonging and makes you feel 

originally and it commands 

proud. 

She said further that the 

essence of this show on TNT 

Wazobia is that we strongly 

believe that by showcasing out 

cultural value, it would help our 

children develop interest on our 

culture, understand their 

originality and become proud 

that they are Africans and 

represent the region well without 

being biased or sentimental on 

particular ethnic group. 

TNT Wazobia is a musical 

show that connects the whole 

Nigerian ethnic groups together 

with love from one and only TNT, 

Tiwa ‘N’ Tiwa television station 

channel111 Gotv and 171 

Startimes. 

providing quality and topnotch 

banking experience. This marks 

a significant milestone in our 

journey with our customers, as 

we reflect on everything the 

“Moving Forward” tagline 

stood for, we are assured that 

what we aspire to become ‘can 

be.’” 

He further reiterated that the 

‘It Can Be’ mantra is an 

assurance that with Stanbic 

IBTC, everyone can achieve 

greater things with endless 

possibilities. 

COVID-19: Interswitch Group 

donates equipment, kits to Lagos 

In furtherance of its efforts to assist the government in ramping up the testing 

capacity for the coronavirus across the country, integrated digital payment and e- 

commerce company, Interswitch Group, has donated personal protective equipment 

(PPE) and rapid diagnostic test kits (RDTs) to Lagos state government. 

The donation, which was presented to the state by representatives of the Interswitch 

Group, was received by the Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Frederick Oladeinde, on 

behalf of the Governor at Alausa, Ikeja, recently. 

This is part of Interswitch’s on-going support for the numerous local intervention 

initiatives between state governments and the National Centre for Disease Control 

(NCDC). 

Speaking at the donation ceremony, Divisional CEO, Interswitch Financial Inclusion 

Services Limited (IFIS), Titilola Shogaolu, said that as the coronavirus continues to 

spread across the country with increasing numbers of reported cases, it is imperative to 

increase the testing capacity in Nigeria. She reaffirmed Interswitch’s commitment towards 

supporting governments at all levels in the fight against the deadly pandemic. 

Shogaolu disclosed that Interswitch, through its health-tech subsidiary, eClat, has 

developed a COVID-19 pathway software platform. “The platform allows members 

of the public to perform remote self-assessment exercise to determine their risk status 

and pre-disposition to the virus. The platform analyses users’ information from a series 

of questions around risk factors, recent exposure, observed symptoms, health and 

travel history. Users are thereafter advised whether to self-quarantine, visit a healthcare 

facility for further testing, or just keep safe. 

She added that the self-assessment platform is being deployed across the 23 states in 

Nigeria. Currently, the platform has been deployed in eight states, with unique USSD 

codes. 

Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, Hon. Commissioner for Transportation, Lagos State, 

commended Interswitch Group for the donation of the protective equipment and test 

kits. He acknowledged the Group’s support in boosting the testing capacity in the 

State. 

COVID-19: Mouka, NSP advocate 

quality sleep to boost immune system 

As the country and the world wakes up to the present reality of life 

w i t h 

coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Mouka in collaboration with the 

Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP), has urged Nigerians to imbibe 

the culture of quality sleep which helps in boosting the immune system 

against diseases. 

The partnership on a healthy sleep culture came on the heels of the 

advocacy by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and health institutions 

across the globe, that people should live a healthy lifestyle that would enhance 

their immune system, especially in this period of the pandemic. 

As an advocate of healthy sleep, Mouka, the foremost manufacturers of 

mattresses and beddings in Africa’s most populous nation, has a portfolio 

of quality products which cater for the needs of the different segment of the 

society to make quality sleep attainable. 

Managing Director of the company, Raymond Murphy, said in it’s marketleading 

range are the Wellbeing orthopaedic mattresses and Mondeo Spring 

From left: Mr. Olakunle Lasisi, Secretary, Nigerian Red Cross Society (Lagos 

Branch); Mrs. Adebola Kolawole, Chairman, Nigerian Red Cross Society 

(Lagos Branch); Miss. Oyinkansola Olude, Assistant Manager, Legal, Chi 

Limited and Mrs. Caroline Olalu, Matron, Nigerian Red Cross Society (Lagos 

Branch) during CHI Limited’s donation of cartons of Hollandia Evap Milk to 

the Nigerian Red Cross Society (Lagos Branch) as part of the company’s 

continued support towards COVID-19 relief efforts. 

Orange juice intake essential for 

boosting immunity, , says Expert 

A 

strong immune system is needed for combating the rampaging 

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, just as regular intake of 

orange fruit juice is essential for building the immune system. This was the 

view of an expert, Olusola Malomo, the Publicity Secretary of Nutrition 

Society of Nigeria. 

The expert who stated this in his monthly health dialogue, an initiative 

supported by CHI Limited, observed that though there are still relatively 

few studies on the effect of nutrition on the human immune system, Harvard 

Medical School said that deficiency in Zinc, Iron, Copper, Folic Acid, Vitamins 

A, B6, C (which is contained in large quantity in fruit juice) and E have 

negative impacts on immune responses. He added that fruit juice contains 

the vital micronutrients needed to boost immunity. 

He also said that there has been a sharp increase in the demand for pure 

fruit juice, especially the orange category, which he said could be attributed 

to the immune-boosting power of orange juice. “Peter McCaffery, a professor 

of biochemistry at the University of Aberdeen, said Vitamin C, which is 

contained in orange juice, helps to strengthen the immune system to fight 

off bacteria and virus infections like the one the world is currently grappling 

with,” he stated. 

Malomo added that the shopping lists of households across different 

parts of the world, including Nigeria, have revealed remarkable changes, 

with CNN reporting that the United States retail sales of orange juice 

jumped about 38 percent in the four weeks ending on March 28, 2020, 

when compared to the same period last year. 

Narrowing it down to Nigeria, he said that there has been surplus demand 

for pure fruit juice in the country, pointing out that “during the five weeks the 

Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun were on lockdown, shops and 

supermarkets had run out of orange fruit juice.”

Is there ‘Juju’ in sport? My Baptism! 

Juju exist at all? Does it work? 

DDoes it exist in Sport? 

I do not have any of the answers to 

the three questions but I have 

experiences that span almost 50 years 

since I played my first serious football 

competition as a teenager in my first 

year in Ibadan after leaving Jos at 18. 

These past two days foremost African 

Cinematographer, Tunde Kelani, have 

been discussing those experiences and 

he can’t hold back his fascination and 

the possibility of a movie coming out 

of it! 

To start with, the use of the word Juju 

almost always connotes a local practice, 

an uncivilized trip into fetishism, or 

voodoo, or magic, or crude cultural 

practices. But look at it a little 

differently, as what people do 

physically in a quest to seek spiritual 

interventions in their affairs – fasting, 

sacrifices, incantations, routine rituals 

and so on, and the word takes on a 

new and more acceptable meaning. 

But Juju is Juju. It is the art of seeking 

of the favorable ‘face’ of metaphysical 

aid to achieve results that are often 

selfish and unmerited. 

Sport is powerful. Aside from winning 

games and enjoying the temporary 

orgasm of victory, and taking home 

medals and trophies, there is the power 

and ecstasy of fame and fortune to 

contend with. I do not think there is a 

bigger field in human affairs than in 

sports (with political power, a close 

second) where ‘Juju’ is being more 

practiced all over the world than in 

sport! 

Juju, by the bigger definition, is 

everywhere, and in every sport, in 

different forms, subtle and loud! 

Watch Messi when he scores a goal. 

He looks up into the sky two fingers 

raised and whispers something. Watch 

Nadal when he goes through his 

spiritual rituals before and during his 

matches. Watch Zamalek or Al Ahly 

Football Clubs of Egypt before they file 

out for their matches, what they and 

their supporters, their faces turned 

towards Mecca in special supplication. 

Go to the beaches of Copa Cabana in 

Rio De Janeiro, early in the mornings 

of any day, and see how the most 

Catholic of people (and players) 

worship and litter the beachside with 

idols in search of divine interventions 

and favours. I have been to the top of 

Mount Olympus in Greece. I observed 

what people did that you would also 

find on virtually every high ground or 

mountain in Nigeria, and observe the 

practices going there of people of all 

faiths, even the most popular, practice 

rituals that will be considered fetish as 

they try to touch the face of deity in 

the skies. 

By that simplistic definition, it is easy 

to conclude that most people believe 

in spiritual powers for interventions 

and often times, unmerited favours. 

Why should sports be different? 

There is the practice of Juju in 

football. It is everywhere and in every 

team but in different guises. Does it 

work? I absolutely do not know. It will 

surely be a matter of every person’s 

beliefs and experiences. But, without 

question, after almost 50 years of 

observing I can state that it is 

flourishing, albeit, less publicly 

because of the impact of modern 

Christianity than for any other reason 

I know. Pentecostalism has driven it 

underground. 

Having said that, I have had my own 

experiences in my short years on earth, 

I have seen and experienced many 

things first-hand that would make 

Tunde Kelani wish he had a camera to 

cover and make a movie of it. 

Permit me to tell you my own baptism 

into that world. 

I was born in Lagos, and spent the 

first 17 years of my life in the very 

cosmopolitan city of Jos. My father was 

one of the founders of the Ebenezer 

African Church in the city, so that’s 

where I had my childhood baptism. My 

mother was originally a Muslim. I went 

to primary school and secondary 

schools run by the Catholic Church, 

so I became baptised and confirmed 

in the faith. That means there was no 

dominant tribal or spiritual influence 

in my early life. Juju only existed as a 

word but never as a practice in my little 

world. 

Then I left Jos and went to Ibadan at 

almost 18. I spent the next 16 years of 

my life in the city thriving with deep 

Yoruba traditions and culture. Then I 

went into ‘serious’ football for the first 

time and had my baptism into the 

experience of spiritual intervention I 

now refer to as Juju. 

My story in Ibadan has been told 

very many times – how I arrived there 

and as a student started playing for 

The Polytechnic. I was seen by several 

coaches of local clubs and was invited 

to join them. The first major club that I 

joined at the instigation of my school 

captain and friend, Architect Tunji 

Bolu, was the small football club of the 

Nigeria Tobacco Company, NTC FC. 

So, I settled with NTC in my first year. 

It was very young team of some 

teenagers like us and one or two 

established players in the club. 

When the team registered to play in 

the 1971 national Challenge Cup, the 

thought of silverware did not even 

exist in their imagination. They 

registered to make up the numbers in 

the annual competition that had the 

great national teams, 1970 FA 

Champions WNDC, Water Corporation 

with its best collection of higher School 

students in one team in Nigeria at the 

time (Anthony Osho, Muyiwa Sanya, 

Ben Popoola, 

Olumeko, Segun 

Adewale, Wale 

Adedeji, etc), 

H o u s i n g 

Corporation, 

NEPA, Police 

Machine, CRIN, 

and so on, all giant 

clubs in the West 

in those days. In 

that field NTC did 

not exist. 

Anyway, let me 

cut a long story 

short. 

By the end of that 

season and at the 

finals of the 

Western State FA 

Cup, there were 

Water Corporation 

and NTC FC. All 

the giants had fallen and by the divine 

twist of fate one young, unknown, slow 

striker from Jos, had led some equally 

unknown young players, marshalled 

by old war horses ‘Alfa Joe’ in attack 

and Elija in midfield, in performing the 

impossible mission. I was the ‘damager 

general’. 

So, shocking was our success that 

even the owners of the club, NTC, were 

overwhelmed. The very next season 

after that huge success, they scrapped 

the team. It was too much to achieve. 

We won the FA Cup finals rather 

easily and qualified to represent 

Western Nigeria in Benin at the zonal 

rounds against Mighty Jets of Jos, one 

of the most reputable clubsides in 

Nigeria at the time, 11 times ‘visitors’ 

to the national finals of the FA Cup, 

with fresh experiences representing 

... after almost 50 

years of 

observing I can 

state that it is 

flourishing, 

albeit, less 

publicly because 

of the impact of 

modern 

Christianity 

Liverpool stars in crazy title-winning party 

•Liver pool players in celebration mood 

Liverpool won the Premier garden. Willian scored the 

League in dramatic fashion decisive penalty that gave 

as players were spotted having Chelsea the 2-1 win over former 

a wild party in someone's champions Man City and 

Oboh pleads with rich Nigerians to assist the poor 

•Oboh 

Former Commonwealth boxing 

champion Peter Oboh has 

expressed his appreciation to well 

meaning Nigerians who have 

spent some of their resources in 

helping the needy in this hard 

time occasioned by the Covid-19 

pandemic which has been 

ravaging the world. 

The ex-boxing champion who 

has on numerous occasions given 

out palliatives to the needy around 

the Olodi Apapa neighbourhood, 

in Lagos, has equally called on 

rich Nigerians who were yet to 

assist the poor to have a change 

of heart and reach out to them as 

a way of giving them a sense of 

belonging. 

“It is heartwarming when God 

gives us so much out of mercy, 

because we don't normally 

deserve what we get, so also will 

it be good to extend what God has 

given us to others.,” Oboh, who is 

now a preacher said. 

“It's good to put a smile on the 

ensured the Reds won their first 

title in 30 years. 

Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and 

Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain were 

seen jumping for joy after 

Willian's penalty. 

Andrew Robertson and Joel 

Matip were also seen in the first 

brief clip. Another video clip 

showed the likes of Adam 

Lallana, Sadio Mane and 

Roberto Firmino counting down 

to the final whistle at Stamford 

Bridge. Then after referee Stuart 

Attwell blew the whistle the trio 

erupted into cheers chanting: 

"Campiones! Campiones! Ole, 

Ole Ole!" 

Emotional Jurgen Klopp said 

on BT Sport: "It is unbelievable. 

faces of the less privileged and 

the very poor of the society.” 

Oboh who was also the ex 

British boxing champion said 

most Nigerians who are rich fear 

that if they give to the needy they 

would go broke. But truth is when 

you give to the needy regularly, 

particularly at this hard time of 

coronavirus, Gods favor will 

locate you.” 

The ex British boxing champion 

said he felt pained when he heard 

some people were commiting 

suicide because of lack. “I heard 

that a lady died because of 

hunger, while another lady 

commited suicide because she did 

not have food to feed her children 

all in Ajegunle. It's unfortunate.” 


Nigeria at a continental competition. 

That’s when our Juju trouble started. 

NTC was seen by the officials not just 

of the club, but also of the Sports 

Council, as a club that could not defeat 

Mighty Jets on its own. People we had 

never seen before, became advisers 

offering all manner of services 

including the topic of today’s article. 

I cannot state it all here, but the NTC 

camp became invaded by people who 

knew how and where to get the 

antidote to the myth of Mighty Jets. 

They came in droves with all manner 

of concoctions to be used, splashed on 

the body, blown in the wind, rubbed 

on shoes, worn inside socks, followed 

prayer sessions after prayer session – 

traditional. Muslim, Christian, white 

garment, pastors, imams. It was a real 

invasion. I was in shock, completely 

mesmerized by it all. 

The problem was that it was eating 

into our preparation time on the field, 

in the evenings before bed, our 

psychology and so on. 

Indeed, on the 

eve of our trip to 

Benin City Centre, 

during our last 

training session 

against WNDC, 

late Dauda 

Adepoju, that had 

suffered from my 

endless dribbles, 

gave me a dose of 

his ‘poison’. He 

kicked my right 

ankle and that 

small incident was 

to mark the end of 

my ‘journey in that 

year’s FA Cup, the 

defeat of NTC and 

the end of the 

club’s existence. 

But not before we 

arrived Benin City 

in readiness for the match. 

I could not train in Benin, of course, 

with my strapped ankle. Different 

things were applied to get it right 

again including local herbs and 

ointments, massage, injections to the 

spot, etc. In the camp the invasion 

continued with spiritual persons from 

everywhere with their concoctions, to 

rub, to blow, to do incantations to, to 

wear, and so on and so forth. I was in 

a trance, my little, innocent faith from 

Jos being tested and shaken to the 

brim. 

On match day, the team had been 

assured that my ankle would be 

healed and I would be able to play. I 

even dressed for the match and joined 

the ride to Ogbe stadium, singing with 

the rest of the squad, my ankle heavily 

and tightly bandaged. I could not even 

It's much more than I ever 

thought would be possible. 

Knowing how much Kenny 

supported us, it is for you. He has 

waited 30 years and it's for 

Stevie [Gerrard]. The boys 

admire you all and it's easy to 

motivate the team because of our 

great history." 

Writing on Instagram, former 

captain and club legend Steven 

Gerrard said: "Congratulations 

to all [Liverpool FC] on winning 

the Premier League. "Incredible 

achievement from a fantastic 

squad of top players, led by a 

world class manager and 

coaching team, also a special 

mention for the backing from 

FSG.” 

•Emir of Qatar 

feel any sensation in my legs. 

At the stadium, someone had come 

with a brown powdery stuff to be blown 

into the Benin City air as we exited 

our dressing room to enter Ogbe 

stadium pitch. The gust of the wind 

outside the door blew the powdery 

substance back onto our faces. 

Our last warm up in the dressing 

room saw another round of prayers, 

distribution of some water to be 

splashed on all, some incantation and 

so on. 

I called the coach aside and 

announced to him that the pain in my 

ankles were impossible to bear. I could 

barely walk. He called the team 

manager aside and told him. The man 

busted into tears. 

The TM later revealed that NTC lost 

that match because their own juju was 

hinged on my playing that match. I 

was the talisman ‘loaded’ to do the 

damage to Mighty Jets. 

I was the last to leave the dressing 

room. Now in mufti, I headed with 

another colleague through the back of 

the State Box extension near the tennis 

courts, to gain access to the terrace to 

watch. 

There was a small crowd gathered 

around a bare-chested man and with 

all paraphernalia of a traditional 

herbalist, charms, amulets and beads 

from his waist down to his ankles. a 

giant pot was in front of him bellowing 

fire. The rising smoke from the fire 

drifted into the air and spectators just 

walked past as if nothing was 

happening. I was curious and moved 

closer. The man burning some incense 

and throwing some pieces of paper in 

a small basket by his side. He was 

picking out those pieces of paper, 

chanting something and throwing the 

pieces of paper in the blazing fire. 

Initially I could not make out what he 

was saying. I was curious and moved 

even closer. His eyes were in a daze, 

totally oblivious of the few persons 

around him. 

Then I heard a little of what he was 

muttering. They were names. Every 

time he looked at the paper, he would 

call out a name, throw the paper into 

the fire and it would go up in a blaze. 

It was when I heard my name 

pronounced that I realized what was 

going on. It was the names of NTC 

players. 

I stared in shocked and mortal fear, 

rooted to the ground. This was Juju at 

work. My first encounter, live and 

direct! And people were just walking 

around normally! 

I checked myself. I was alive. 

Nothing was happening to me. 

I went through watching the rest of 

that match in a trance, deep in my 

private thoughts about the totality of 

my experiences. That moment was to 

have a profound influence on the rest 

of my football career and, probably, my 

life. 

Qatar, FIFA to 

stage 

pan-Arab 

tourney in 2021 

atar Football Association (QFA) 

Qand FIFA have announced 

plans to deliver a pan-Arab 

tournament that will be played in the 

Gulf state in late 2021, with the 

competition acting as a crucial 

preparatory event for the FIFA World 

Cup 2022, that kicks off on 21 

November 2022. The competition 

proposal was presented to FIFA 

Council members via 

videoconference by H.E. Hassan Al 

Thawadi, Secretary-General of the 

Supreme Committee for Delivery & 

Legacy (SC) and Chairman of the 

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC 

(Q22).The FIFA Council 

subsequently approved the 

formation of the competition. 

The 22-team invitational 

tournament for men’s national teams 

will be contested by Arab nations 

from Africa and Asia. It will be played 

outside the International Match 

Calendar. The tournament, which will 

be held in Qatar from 1-18 December 

2021, will be delivered by Q22 and 

will allow the organisers to use 

facilities and run operations that are 

also planned for the subsequent FIFA 

World Cup 2022. The tournament 

will take place during the same 

timeslot as the FIFA World Cup 

2022, with the final taking place 

exactly one year before the Qatar 

2022 final is scheduled to kick-off. All 

tournament matches will be played 

at Qatar 2022 stadiums. In 

addition to utilising Qatar 2022 

stadiums and training sites, the 

tournament will provide a vital 

opportunity for fans, players and 

officials to use host country facilities, 

including transport and 

accommodation.

30— SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 

By Nneka Ikem 

As the Nigerian government 

continues to evacuate its 

nationals stranded in 

various countries as a result of 

the Covid-19 lockdown, I look 

beyond the regular countries like 

Dubai, United Kingdom and 

United States of America where 

hundreds of Nigerians are 

currently being held up in the 

wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Airlines are currently laying off 

staff including pilots and 

grounding their aircraft, an 

indication that international and 

long haul air travels may not 

resume as soon as expected. 

India is one of those countries 

that closed their airspace after 

the Corona virus pandemic took 

so many nations unawares. 

There are many Nigerians living 

in India but my focus was on 

Nigerian legend and former 

Super Falcons goalkeeper 

Precious Dede who was one of 

those caught outside the country 

as the pandemic broke out. 

Dede is currently the 

goalkeeper’s trainer of the India 

U-17 team, a job she got shortly 

after leaving Nigeria’s Falconets 

as Goalkeepers’ Trainer. The 

national team is based in Goa, 

one of the popular cities in 

Incredible India as the CNN 

I can't even 

imagine and 

never dreamt 

of the 

treatment I 

have received 

from the 

Indians since I 

arrived 

promotion commercial describes 

the country of love and flowers. 

In a long no-holds-barred chat, 

( yes, I was on my phone chatting 

with Precious Dede from 1pm to 

1.10am) the 1’71 ft tall former 

international said everything 

happened so fast in India but it 

turned out to be a blessing in 

disguise. 

“Coach Thomas Dennerby and I, 

were to leave on March 14, 2020 

for the break period. They had 

already bought our tickets but 

because of the pandemic, they now 

asked us to hold on a while. We 

were now holding on until 

everywhere was locked down. We 

couldn't leave again. 

“The Swedes were lucky to move 

on April 1st because their 

government sent a rescue flight to 

pick their nationals. Coach 

Thomas and Mr Per left with the 

rescue flight. He didn’t want to 

leave because of me but I 

considered his age. I’m younger 

and I can cope but he is older so I 

told him to go. That was how I 

found myself all alone and the only 

guest in a very mighty hotel”. 

As I spoke with Dede, I thought 

she was reliving a movie... 

“They left only two chefs, one 

cleaner and gardeners in the hotel 

because of me. Already I was like 

a family with the hotel staff. The 

remaining guests left after coach 

Thomas left. They were couples 

from Britain. Their rescue flight also 

came and they left on April 5th”. 

The former Super Falcons 

Captain revealed that she had 

never experienced so much love 

and gratitude like what the Indians 

have shown her. 

“I can't even imagine and never 

dreamt of the treatment I have 

received from the Indians since I 

arrived here. When I was left alone 

in the hotel, they now got me a well 

furnished two-bedroom apartment 

and asked me to move in so that I 

can feel at home. 

“I just moved in on the 14th of 

April. They even went all the way 

to pay a chef to make my food three 

times daily, so you see the kind of 

love and care they are giving me. I 

wouldn't want anything to make 

them feel bad about me. They call 

me everyday, including the players 

to check on me and to ensure that 

I lacked nothing. 

Coach Thomas and his wife also 

do video calls with me everyday to 

be sure that I'm good”. 

Precious Dede said she owed 

India the best of her output for all 

the love they’ve shown her. 

“ I 

don't 

feel like 

sleeping. I just 

want 

to always go out a n d 

work. The Indians inundate me 

with calls to know if there's 

anything they can do for me. If I 

tell them I need this or that 

equipment, before I even drop the 

call, the equipment will be 

delivered.” 

The 99-capped international who 

appeared at four Women World 

Cups and three Olympic Football 

Tournaments is really precious to 

the India Football Federation and 

the people. She said she’s a 

household name now in India and 

I probed further to know how she 

coped emotionally, staying miles 

away from home and in a culturally 

different country. 

“Everyone knows me but I still 

don't have friends because I use 

every little free time I have to do 

some more work. I came to India 

to achieve results. I am here for a 

goal and I'm not resting on my oars 

or using my time for other things 

until that goal is achieved. 

“My boyfriend is in Nigeria, my 

siblings don’t give me space to feel 

lonely. When I chat with them or 

do video calls with them, you just 

need to see how I laugh out loud 

like a crazy woman. It’s as if they're 

here with me.” 

Precious Dede’s best relaxation 

spot is her bedroom. When she’s 

not coaching the girls especially 

now that there’s Social Distancing, 

she works out on her own and also 

sends training programs to her 

teenage players online and 

through video conferencing. She 

also plays lots of games and 

watches movies in her spare time. 

“I watch movies or play games. 

That's why you see me not really 

getting bored because that has 

been my life. I play all types of 

games. 

“I use my tab for Candy Crush, 

Temple run, Mario, Angry Birds 

.Pet rescue, jewel crush and bubble 

crush and use my PS4 for FIFA 

Games. However, my siblings make 

me happy. Anytime I remember I 

have them in my life I'm happy”. 

Dede expressed her unreserved 

respect for former African Women’s 

Player of the year, Perpetua 

Nkwocha, the 4-time 

Confederation of African Football 

Award recipient in 2004, 2005, 

2010 and 2011. Nkwocha was in 

the Super Falcons squad when 

Dede doubled as Captain of the 

team and goal keeper. 

Dede and Nkwocha were 

roommates and the former 

goalkeeper who stands at 171cm 

said she was glad to do her laundry 

despite being the captain of the 

team. 

“I was in the same room with 

Perpetua in our active days in the 

Super Falcons and I was doing the 

washing for her. I ironed her jerseys. 

I chose to do it because she's nice 

to a fault. When I started as first 

choice goalkeeper, though she was 

an attacker, I’d always call on her 

to come back and defend and she 

would run back without 

complaining. Most players were 

Dede so Precious in Indi 

finds true love in Goa 

•Says I used to wash clothes for African Footballer of 

•My mother's death was painful as she died on the da 

returned from Sydney Olympics 

my seniors so 

they’d usually 

complain at times 

or be reluctant 

to defend 

m e . 

Perpetua 

was the 

only one 

w h o , 

whenever I was 

in a tight 

corner, I would 

call her once 

and she 

would 

leave her 

role and come 

to my post. 

“You will never 

hear her complain or 

give excuses so, you 

see when I started 

respecting her person. I still see 

and respect her. If you ask for my 

best female player, I’ll give it to her. 

She has a great personality and 

she's a leader. Even when I was the 

captain, I used to go to her for 

advice”. 

Most embarrassing moment as 

Falcons Captain 

The longest serving goalkeeper 

also spoke on one of her saddest 

days as the captain of the team. 

“A sad moment for me was 

during the African Women’s 

Championship in 2012. We came 

4th in Equatorial Guinea . 

Everything went wrong right from 

the day we arrived because even 

the Jerseys we used for the 

competition were borrowed from 

the players and were numbered 

with ink and plaster. I was the 

captain then. 

“I had to borrow personal jerseys 

from the players. The team’s 

secretary pleaded with me to go 

round and get as many good 

jerseys from them as possible. 

They wouldn't have listened to 

anyone or agreed to bring their 

jerseys if I hadn’t gone to them by 

myself”. 

I asked her what happened to 

the original team’s jerseys for the 

competition. 

“They told us that the Airline 

mistakenly took our kits to 

another country and that they 

would send it back as soon as 

possible. Till the end of the 

tournament... till today, we are 

still expecting the jerseys. 

Saddest moment 

“However, my saddest 

moment was when I lost my 

parents. My dad first died in 

1999 and my mum in 2000. Mum 

died the very day I came back 

home from the Sydney 2000 

Olympics and that was my first 

outing with the Super Falcons. As 

I opened the door to her hospital 

room, she gave up... 

“When I arrived from the airport, 

I only kept my bag and my elder 

brother rushed me to the hospital. 

She was just waiting for me to 

arrive. I wished she had waited a 

little longer to speak to me. I had 

rushed home to show her the 

dollars I made and also replace her 

gold jewelry which I misplaced but 

she couldn't wait for me. 

“My mum was so close to my 

dad. Since my dad died in 1999, 

she was always saying she 

couldn’t live without her husband 

oo. Ha! That woman followed my 

dad oo! She really loved that man. 

In fact, they both loved each other 

as they always stuck to each other 

like chewing gum...as if someone 

will steal the other person”. 

She revealed that when both 

parents died, it was so difficult for 

the family. Dede was forced to 

temporarily quit the University of 

Uyo where she was a Diploma student in 

Theatre Arts. 

“I stubbornly combined my education 

with football. That was why immediately dad 

left us I quickly left school and faced football 

squarely. That was how I was able to break 

into the National team. Things became a 

bit rosy again but not really without my 

parents. They ensured that all of us got 

sound education at the higher level but 

when they both died, I dropped out and 

faced football. 

“It’s never too late to go back to school. I 

will and my friend is insisting I must go back 

to school in any country of my choice after 

the U-17 World Cup to be hosted by India. 

However, no one is sure of anything now 

with Covid-19. Personally, I will not even 

leave football for anything entirely. I will 

make plans for both. 

On the contrary, her happiest moment was 

when she lifted the African Women’s 

Championship trophy as the captain in 

2010. 

She recalled how she broke into the 

women’s national team at the age of 20. 

“Coach Ismaila Mabo came to watch 

Bayelsa Queens against Rivers Angels at 

the National stadium Lagos in 1999. Then 

I was the Goalkeeper for Bayelsa Queens. 

Immediately dad 

died, I quickly left 

school and faced 

football squarely. 

That was how I was 

able to break into 

the National team.

ia, 

the Year 

y I 

Rivers Angels 

trounced us 9-1 but I 

was the only player 

Coach Mabo picked 

from Bayelsa 

Queens. 

“Then, during camping in 2000, I 

was lucky to break in as a third choice 

goalkeeper at the age of 20 years behind 

Judith Chime and Ann Chiejine. By 2003, I 

was the first choice goalkeeper till I retired in 

2016. When I retired , I went to play in 

Dubai. 

“I never got tired of playing. However, I 

gave myself fifteen years to play football and 

when the fifteen years elapsed, I said it was 

time to move a step further because I had a 

plan for my career. 

“I wanted to go into coaching and other 

things. I have certificates in Basic and 

Advanced Football Courses acquired from the 

National Institute for Sports. Since I finished 

from there, we have not done any CAF 

licenced courses again but Coach Dennerby 

is also making efforts to send me for CAF 

Coaching License courses. 

“He was already guiding me on 

Goalkeepers Licenced courses online before 

he left for Sweden. He said I will get to the 

level he wants me to but with time. Same with 

Coach Ismaila Mabo and Barrister Isaac 

Danladi. They also call to see how I’m 

improving and they never get tired of guiding 

me”. 

Her mentors, according to her are Coach 

Ismaila Mabo, Coach Thomas Dennerby, 

Barrister Isaac Danladi and Genevieve Nnaji 

while she equally likes to mentor young 

women, teenagers and youths. 

Was there any ‘mafia’ in the Super Falcons 

team during her playing days? 

“I never allowed such when I became the 

captain. I met the coaches alone if there was 

any complaint from the players. We were all 

sisters and no one was bigger than the other. 

However, my best players at the time were 

Perpetua Nkwocha, Eberechi Opara, 

Florence Omagbemi, Mercy Akide and 

Patience Avre. Others were good too but these 

were my favorites at that time” 

Passion 

Precious, like her name connotes is an 

amazing pleasant lady and very funny too. 

She revealed that if she wasn’t 

coaching or playing football, she 

would have been in the 

entertainment world. 

“Aside football, acting and 

entertainment are my passion. 

Fashion and designing is a third 

choice. I am a comedian. 

Anywhere I am, they spot me 

easily. 

“First time I traveled with the 

Indian U-17 team to Turkey for 

International friendlies, I didn't 

know I was already acting and 

people started laughing out loud, 

clapping and gathering around 

me. They were actually struggling 

to catch a glimpse of me. 

“It was at the airport where I 

went to pick my phone from 

were I plugged it . Then I 

started walking like an old 

man. More than 50 

travelers at the airport 

gathered to watch me 

including my 

players who 

always want 

to be 

around 

me. 

I 

always 

m a k e 

them laugh. 

“Another 

time was when 

the team went to 

the beach. First 

time at the beach and 

I started dancing and 

everyone joined me immediately. 

Anytime Coach Dennerby wants 

the players to relax, he will ask 

them to go and dance with their 

mum. The players call me mum. 

You need to see them jumping and 

dancing around me because they 

love to dance with me”. 

There’s no dull moment for 

Dede whose best food is Fufu 

(cassava pudding) and okro soup. 

She loves to cook her own food 

and doesn’t like eating out. 

Dress sense 

During my long chat with the 

99-capped former international, 

Dede also spoke on the best 

dressed Nigerian women 

footballers. 

“I really can't say because I 

don't fancy female players who 

dress like men. Even if you are 

wearing the best and most 

expensive clothes I don't fancy it. 

I love girls to be girls. I will pick 

Francisca Ordega, Onome Ebi 

and Ngozi Okobi. 

“For me, I love to wear skirts, 

short dresses and long gowns. I 

like clothes from Zara, H&M, 

Forever 21 and Marks & Spencer 

but most time, I buy clothes from 

my friends too. In Nigeria, I buy 

clothes from Mango shop, inside 

Shoprite. I can't stay a whole 

week in Nigeria without visiting 

Shoprite. My best fragrance is 

Givenchy”. 

The 40 year old elegant lady is 

the 6th child of a family of 7 with 

four brothers and two sisters. 

According to Dede, age in just a 

number. 

“I’m not afraid of growing old 

and I’m not afraid of death 

because I try to make every 

second in my life count by doing 

everything that pleases God. In 

the next five years, I will like to 

be somewhere peaceful with my 

twin babies...by His grace. I love 

kids and pets to a fault and admire 

people who are verbally 

captivating. 

“My dad told me that I'm the 

most beautiful woman on earth. 

He’s late now but since he told 

me that, I have always felt like 

Miss World. I don't see any 

woman prettier than I am. My 

father has built so much 

confidence in me that makes me 

feel that I can do all things. As 

long as my father said so it means 

I am that and I can do all that I 

set out to do”, Dede said 

The former Ibom Queens, Delta 

Queens, and Arna Bjona of 

Norway shot-stopper won the 

African Women’s Championship 

in 2010 and 2014 and retired from 

professional football in October 

2016 after a meritorious service to 

her fatherland and a record of the 

longest serving player in the 

Super Falcons squad . 

*Musa 

Saudi Arabia premier league 

side club AL Nassr has 

confirmed their return of Super 

Eagles Captain Ahmed Musa back 

to the club. 

The club took to their social media 

handle to welcome the Super 

Super Eagles defender Leon 

Balogun has joined Sky Bet 

Championship club Wigan 

Athletic from Brighton & Hove 

Albion on a permanent deal. 

Balogun joined the Latics on 

an initial six-month loan deal 

from the premier league side 

back in January transfer 

window, following to lack of 

enough playing time with the 

Seagulls. 

However, since quitting the 

Amex in January, Balogun has 

become a mainstay in Wigan’s 

defense and he has helped the 

team moved out of the 

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 — 31 

Al Nassr confirm Ahmed 

Musa’s return 

Eagles winger back ahead of their 

restart of the campaign after 

spending the last eight weeks in 

Nigeria with his family. 

“Our Nigerian star, Ahmed Musa, 

=Ø›Üarriving earlier today in 

Riyadh! “ the club confirmed on 

their official Twitter page. 

It would be recalled that Musa 

flew into the country in private jet 

alongside his national teammate 

John Ogu after the Saudi league 

was suspended due to the 

coronavirus pandemic. 

Musa and his teammates will 

now resume training in the next 

coming days ahead of the 

resumption of the league after the 

Saudi government eased 

suspension on sports activities. 

Balogun joins Wigan Athletic permanently 

relegation zone. 

Brighton and Hove Albion 

have now confirmed Wigan 

Athletic has taken up the option 

to make the loan deal of the 

former Mainz 05 defender 

permanent. 

“Leon (Balogun) has always 

been extremely professional 

and good to work with during my 

time at the club, but he was 

finding it hard to get the game 

time he would have liked,” 

Brighton manager Graham 

Potter told the club’s official 

website. 

“So the loan move to Wigan 

FA Cup q-finals resume 

on StarTimes 

Soccer fans will be treated 

to live sporting actions on 

StarTimes this weekend as the 

Emirates FA Cup returns with 

four ties on Saturday and 

Sunday. 

The quarter-final ties of the 

2019-20 FA Cup have already 

been decided prior to the 

competition being halted in mid- 

March due to the COVID-19 

pandemic. 

Norwich City are due to face 

Manchester United on Saturday 

at 5:30pm. On Sunday, Sheffield 

United will play Arsenal at 1pm; 

Leicester City face Chelsea at 

4pm; and Newcastle United will 

play holders Manchester City at 

A 

series of exciting 

European football 

matches from the Premier 

League, La Liga and Serie A 

will be broadcast live this 

weekend on DStv and GOtv 

from 26-29 June. 

The weekend’s action in the 

Premier League begins today 

with Aston Villa hosting a key 

game against Midlands rivals, 

Wolverhampton 

Wanderers. 

The game 

which kicks 

6:30pm. All matches will air live 

on StarTimes World Football 

Channels 244 and 245. 

The semi-finals will take place 

across the weekend of 11-12 July, 

with the FA Cup Final scheduled 

for 1 August. 

There is no competition 

throughout the world that has 

the same allure as the FA Cup. 

Not only is it the oldest domestic 

football competition in the world, 

filled with a tradition of 

excitement, goals and giantkilling 

heroics, it is also a 

pathway for English clubs to the 

prestigious Europa League 

which airs exclusively on 

StarTimes. 

Exciting sporting weekend 

for DStv, GOtv viewers 

off at 12:30 pm will be 

broadcast live. 

Another key battle in the 

relegation fight occurs on 

Sunday as Watford host 

Southampton at Vicarage Road 

at 4:30pm. 

This weekend’s La Liga 

action is headlined by the 

continuing battle for the title 

between Barcelona and Real 

Madrid. 

Barcelona will be in action 

earlier than their rivals from 

the capital, as they go away to 

Celta Vigo at Abanca-Balaidos 

on Saturday. 

The defending league 

champions will want to avoid a 

repeat of their last visit to the 

Galician venue, which ended in 

a 2-0 defeat in May 2019. 

Real, meanwhile, will have to 

wait until Sunday for their 

clash away at Espanyol. 

In Serie A, Lazio will on 

Saturday host Fiorentina in 

Rome.. 

Inter Milan will have to wait 

until late Monday for their 

game at Parma, with Antonio 

Conte hoping his team 

continue to play with the 

intensity that has characterised 

their season thus far. 

*Balogun 

seemed to be a good move for 

everyone involved, and he has 

made a really positive impact 

there. 

“We would like to thank him 

for his contribution over the last 

couple of years and we wish 

him all the best for the next 

chapter of his career.” 

Since joining Wigan Balogun 

has helped the team to four our 

clean sheets in six 

Championship matches and he 

will be hoping to make his first 

post-covid-19 appearance 

against Blackburn Rovers on 

Saturday. 

Klopp sends 

brutal 

warning to 

Villa, others 

Jurgen Klopp has warned 

Aston Villa and the other 

Premier League teams still to 

face Liverpool not to expect an 

easy ride. 

Liverpool secured their first 

league title in 30 years Thursday 

night after Chelsea defeated 

Manchester City 2-1 at 

Stamford Bridge. 

Klopp’s side are already 

champions despite still having 

seven games to play - one of 

which comes against 

relegation-threatened Villa 

next weekend. 

Dean Smith’s side are in 

desperate need of points and 

will be hoping that Liverpool 

take their foot off the gas when 

they meet at Anfield on Sunday, 

July 5. 

But Klopp insists that won’t 

be the case. Discussing the 

possibility of teams forming a 

guard of honour for Liverpool in 

their remaining matches, Klopp 

said: “(Laughs) Oh my god! We 

will see. I don’t think we can 

influence that so if it happens, 

it happens. We are champions, 

good. 

“On the pitch we will behave 

like we have never won 

anything before.” 

Liverpool have only lost once 

in the league this season and 

could eclipse Manchester City's 

record points haul of 100 from 

the 2017/18 season.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 27, 2020 

CROSS WORD PUZZLE 

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE ON 6 

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

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

27062020 - Oshionoles sack dims Tinubus chances

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