nigerian observer 15 11 2014

1 -SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 2014THE NIGERIAN Weekend

Attractions ThatAdded Colour

Oshiomhole’s 6th Anniversary CelebrationPUBLISHED SINCE OCTOBER 6, 1990 • Vol.XI NO.3,262 • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014 • N100.00

• Harvest of campaign posters at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, venue of the celebration of Governor Adams Osiomhole’s6th year anniversary.

Continues on pgs. 4&5

By GEDU LONGLIFE/RICHARD IMHOAGENE/UFUOMA AGARREY

CM

YK

Incest: LegalRepresentation Stalls

Trial Of Farmer

NEWS Pg. 2

How Achebe SavedMe From JamesHardley Chase

Pg. 12LITERATURE

AS Edo people gradually recoverfrom the ecstatic celebrations thatcharacterized the event marking the

sixth year anniversary of AdamsOshiomhole as Governor of Edo State, andrelish the captivating and thought-provokingspeech of the Comrade Governor thatserenaded the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium,

it is right to highlightsome of thehappenings thatsurrounded the mainevent.

It is difficult to losesight of theexcitement, behind-the-scenes andresplendence thatenveloped the arena

when the SamuelOgbemudia turfplayed host to Who’sWho in the AllP r o g r e s s i v e sCongress (APC) partyloyalists, concernedmembers of the publicand admirers of theComrade Governor.

Government SpecialAnnouncement

The Continuous Voterís Registration in EdoState commenced from Wednesday, November12 and will last till Monday, November 17, 2014.

This exercise is for those who had not previouslyregistered or who just attained the age of 18.

However, it has come to the notice of the EdoState Government that INEC deployed only oneDirect Data Capture Machine per Ward across theState. We are aware that one Direct Data Cap-ture Machine is grossly inadequate to cater forthe needs of people who wish to register acrossthe State, a situation which has led to needlesstensions and in some cases the chasing away ofINEC officials in some Units.

The Government wishes to appeal to the peo-ple to remain calm in the face of this unwarrantedprovocation and take full advantage of this regis-tration exercise which will lapse on Monday No-vember 17, 2014.

We appeal to the people to be, calm queue up,remain orderly and register. Chasing away theINEC officials from conducting the exercise willonly lead to the loss of right of many people tovote in the forthcoming elections.

Signed:PETER OKHIRIA

Chief Press Secretary

CONTINUOUS VOTER’SCONTINUOUS VOTER’SCONTINUOUS VOTER’SCONTINUOUS VOTER’SCONTINUOUS VOTER’SDISTRIBUTIONDISTRIBUTIONDISTRIBUTIONDISTRIBUTIONDISTRIBUTION

Real DangerTo IsraelSecurity

NETANYAHU: Pg. 18

2 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15 2014THE NIGERIAN

Undergraduate Jailed For FraudeN ws

Dental Association Honours Ugbodaga

Alimikhena Scores Oshiomhole High

NGO Distributes Items ToOrphans, Widows In Auchi

LG Boss Consoles Hon AliuAnd Alhaji Shehu Families

AN Ikeja High Court hassentenced to 30 monthsimprisonment anundergraduate, RilwanAdedigba, for defraudingan American woman, ZenCariboso, of 1,100(N17600) dollars throughan internet love scam.

Justice Kudirat Josesentenced 26-year-oldAdedigba to 30 monthsimprisonment after hepleaded guilty to theoffences during his re-arraignment.

The judge convictedAdedigba, who claimed tobe a student of Universityof Cairo, Egypt, of fivecounts of stealing andpossession of fraudulentdocuments preferredagainst him.

She consequentlysentenced him to sixmonths imprisonment oneach of the counts.

A NON-GovernmentalOrganisation (NGO), theHallmark Advocacy,distributed food items andother materials to orphansand widows in Jattu-Uzairuein the Etsako-West LocalGovernment Area of Edo.

The items distributedincluded bags of rice andbeans, mattresses,stationeries, clothing, shoes,toiletries and provisions.

Speaking during thedonation, the founder of theNGO, Mr Mike Aliu, urgedwell-meaning Nigerians toassist in catering for the less-privileged in the society.

“Nigeria gives little attentionto the less privileged and thisset of people require muchattention.

“As a philanthropist, I deemit fit to help the orphans andthe widows by helping to

EDO North senatorialaspirant under the platformof All ProgressiveCongress (APC), ChiefMajor Barr. FrancisAlimikhena (rtf) hasdescribed the six yearsadministration led by thecomrade governor, AdamsAliyu Oshiomhole in thestate as eventful andpurposeful compared to thewasteful ten years of theopposition in the statewhere there was nothing toshow for it.

Major Alimikhena (rtd)made this assertion at theSamuel OgbemudiaStadium, the venue of the6 years anniversarycelebration of comradeOshiomhole onWednesday 12, 2014

He said Edo state was ina state of total decay foralmost 10 years depictingno remedy before thecoming of comradeOshiomhole in November12th, 2008 with the intentionof changing the entire cityfrom ancient city to modernone.

He stated further that Edostate as a whole haswitnessed unprecedentedachievements within the 6years of the presentadministration ranging frominfrastructural developmentsuch as roads construction,human empowermentgood health care delivery,electricity to communities

THE Executive Chairmanof Etsako West LocalGovernment, Hon. (Barr.)Hassan Kadiri has sent acondolence message tothe widow and family oflate Hon. Peter Aliu,Member representingEtsako East Localgovernment constituencyin the state House ofAssembly who passed onrecently.

Hon Kadiri who alsocondoled his friend andcolleague, the ExecutiveChairman of Etsako EastLocal Government, Hon.Suleiman Afegua and theentire people of the localgovernment over the deathof their illustrious son, Hon.Peter Aliu, described thedeath as a great loss notonly to the people of

and portable water amongothers.

The senatorial hopefulsaid the governor has beenable to bridge the gap thathad existed between thebourgeoisie and theproletariat in the stateespecially in the area ofgod fatherism. He notedthat the comrade governordeserves all the honourwhich was witnessed bythe caliber of people thatgraced the event.

Etsako East localgovernment but the entireEdo north in particular andthe state in general.

He said late Hon. PeterAliu was a gentle man ofgood character and with asense of purpose. He saidlate Hon. Aliu was one ofthe leading voices in theHouse of Assembly as hedisplayed his wealth ofexperience throughout theplenary. He added that thelate lawmaker will be highlymissed especially at a timelike this when he will beneeded most.

In the same vein, Hon.(Barr.) Hassan Kadiri hasalso sent a condolencemessage to the family ofAlhaji Shehu Mohammed,the leader of AllProgressive Congress(APC) in Etsako West andthe executive Director onprotection of Government

property over the death ofhis wife who just passedon.

Hon. Hassan Kadiri whois also the Dania of AuchiKingdom described thelate Mrs. Mohammed aswoman of virtue and a pillarto the husband in bothhome and political cyclethat will be greatly missed.

The council bosshowever prayed AlmightyAllah to grant the familyand the people of the localgovernment the fortitude tobear the irreplaceable loss.In his prayers, thechairman noted that “it isonly Almighty Allah thatcan comfort you in timeslike this, as words are notenough to console a manor children who lost a wifeor mother; He added thatthe good people of EtsakoWest share in their griefand pain.

meet their needs,’’ Aliu said.He said that he was

passionate about making apositive impact on peopleand the society as a whole,adding that this gestureoriginated from his concernfor the less-privileged in thesociety.

The Ogieneni of Uzairue,Chief Kadiri Imonikhe,responded by thanking thecharitable organization, forcoming to the aid of theorphans and widows in thearea.

Imonikhe urged othereminent sons and daughtersof the community to emulateMr Aliu.

Some of the beneficiariesalso thanked the HallmarkAdvocacy founder andwished him well in hisendeavours.

Secretary of the NigerianMedical Association, BeninChapter.

Meanwhile, a unanimousvote of confidence andendorsement has now beenpassed on comrade PhilipUgbodaga by members of theState Civil Society Groups torepresent Akoko-EdoConstituency II in the EdoState House of Assembly.

to him, but because of hisimmense contributions to OralHealth advancement inNigeria through his freemedical care services toNigerians.

He also noted thatComrade Ugbodaga hasidentified with the associationas a one time president of theassociation and has alsoserved as the General

By KINGSLEY MBADUGHA/RICHARD IMHOAGENE/

KINGSLEY AGESE

According to her, thesentence is to runconcurrently beginningfrom June 8, when he wasarrested for the offence.

Jose also ordered theconvict to refund the 1,100dollars to the victim asrestitution.

She also ordered him toforfeit the car he hadbought from the proceedsof his crime to the FederalGovernment of Nigeria.

The judge askedAdedigba to write anundertaking to theEconomic and FinancialCrimes Commission(EFCC) to be of goodbehaviour after his releasefrom prison.

The convict had entereda plea bargain agreementwith the EFCC.

Narrating the facts of thecase, the counsel to

EFCC, Mrs. OlubunmiBosede, told the court thatAdedigba committed theoffences on January 30 inLagos.

Bosede said the convictfalsely represented toCariboso that he wasMurphy Paul, a whiteAmerican living in Nigeria,

who was in love with her.She said Adedigba used

the scam to obtain themoney from the woman.

The prosecutor said that

the offences committedcontravened Sections 390and 318 of the CriminalLaw of Lagos State ofNigeria, 2011.

THE Dental StudentsAssociation of University ofBenin has on Thursdaypresented the Award of OralHealth Ambassador toComrade (Dr.) PhilipUgbodaga.

This presentation tookplace at the endorsement ofComrade (Dr.) PhilipUgbodaga for Akoko-Edoconstituency II House ofAssembly ticket by Edo StateCivil Society Groups.

Speaking with TheWeekend Observer, thePresident of Dental StudentsAssociation, UNIBEN

chapter, Hon. Ifidon Franklin,said “today being amemorable day in the life ofDr. Ugbodaga, we, theUniversity of Benin Chapter ofDental Students Associationhave decided to give him thisaward.

“As a matter of fact, theaward ought to have beengiven to him but due to histight schedule, he was notavailable. We have thereforeseized this opportunity at hisendorsement for Akoko-EdoConstituency II House ofAssembly, an endorsementwe believe he truly deserves”.

Hon. Ifidon also stated thatComrade (Dr.) PhilipUgbodaga received theaward not because theassociation decided to give it

A FEDERAL High Court inLagos has adjourned toNovember 18, the trial of a50-year-old farmer, YesiruOnajobi, charged with incest.

The accused, a resident ofBogije St., Ibeju-Lekki,Lagos, is standing trial on atwo-count charge ofunlawfully having carnalknowledge of his 14-year-olddaughter

He is being prosecuted bythe National Agency for theProhibition of Trafficking inPersons (NAPTIP).

The trial of the accusedcould not go on as earlierscheduled due to lack of alegal representation for him.

At the last adjourned date,the Prosecutor, Mr KehindeFalade, had informed thecourt that the accusedcounsel, Mr AustinAkpomretha, had withdrawnhis representation for theaccused.

The trial judge, JusticeChukwujekwu Aneke, hadthen ordered the accused tosecure another counsel to

He further described thegovernor as a doggedfighter who does nottolerate any act ofindiscipline but shunsfraudulent act displayed inother political parties in thecountry. He saidOshiomhole is a man whohas been fighting forhumanity even when hewas the NLC president andthat was the only time theNigerian workers knew

LAMAI CASSIUS/GEDU LONGLIFE

Incest: Legal RepresentationStalls Trial Of Farmer

represent him in the suit.When the case was again

mentioned, there was still nocounsel to stand in for theaccused.

Aneke therefore, furtheradjourned the suit to enablethe accused brief a newcounsel.

Reports states that theaccused was re-arraigned onJuly 8, 2013, before JusticeAneke, following the transferof the case from the initial trialjudge, Justice BarbaraMolokwu.

He had pleaded not guiltyto the charge, but Aneke hadordered his remand at theIkoyi Prisons, Lagos pendinghis bail application.

In the charge, the accusedwas alleged to havecommitted the offence in2010.

The prosecutor had told thecourt that after the death ofhis wife, the accused hadengaged in habitual sexualassault on his only daughterleft in his custody.

By OMEIZA ROBINSON/OMORODION LAWRENCE

they had a leader that carefor their welfare.

Chief Major Alimikhena(rtd) however called on thepeople to give moresupport to the comradegovernor and the AllProgressive Congress inthe state most especially aswe are approachinganother round ofelectioneering campaigntowards the 2015 generalelections in the country.

3 -SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 2014THE NIGERIAN

Why IKilled MyTeacher

C imer

Says A Teenager Who ExecutedHis Evil Act After 3 Years PlanTHE schoolboy who killedhis teacher had plannedthe murder for as long asthree years. Senior schoolstaff, parents and pupilswere all aware of theirrational hatred’ WilliamCornick harboured for AnnMaguire, but did notbelieve he would carry outhis deadly threats. Lastnight, police, prosecutorsand the council all insistedno one could haveforeseen the events in Aprilthat became the firstmurder of a teacher in aBritish classroom. But, asMrs. Maguire’s devastatedhusband Don eloquently

spoke of the void left by herfatal stabbing, it wasrevealed that:• Cornick, who admittedmurder, had repeatedlytold classmates about hisdesire to kill the 61- year-old;•In one Facebookmessage he told a friendthe teacher ‘deservedmore than death, morethan pain’;•Just two months beforethe killing he said MrsMaguire must die becauseshe had banned him froma bowling trip;• One parent claimedCornick had a list of

teachers and pupils andother people he wanted‘payback’ on;•Even when he showed offhis knife in class on themorning of the killing,saying what he planned todo, nobody acted;• He planned to murder twoother teachers —one ofwhom was pregnant;• The paramedic whotreated Mrs Maguire saidher stab wounds were theworst he had seen.Cornick stabbed theteacher to death in front ofhorrified classmates inApril this year — winkingat one before he struck.With chilling caimness, hethen strolled back to hisdesk, saying to shockedpupils: ‘Good times’. Hisrampage was stopped onlyby the heroic actions of afemale teacher, whodragged Mrs Maguireaway from him as pupilsfled screaming. Since the murder,Cornick, now 16, hasshown a terrifying lack ofremorse — even boastingthat he is ‘proud’ of themurder and didn’t ‘give as’”’ about Mrs Maguire’sfamily. After the murder hetold a psychiatrist: ‘I wasn’tin shock, I was happy I hada sense of pride. I still do.‘I know it’s uncivilised but Iknow it’s incrediblyinstinctual and human.Past generations of life,killing is a route of survival.It’s kill or be killed. I did nothave a choice. It was killher or suicide.’ Police and prosecutorssaid there was nothingthey could have done tostop the ‘inexplicable’

attack- saying there hadbeen nothing to suggestthe intelligent, middle classpupil who came from a‘decent’ and loving familyhad been capable of‘homicidal violence.’But the court was told of astring of warnings thatCornick’s hatred wasspiralling out of controlmonths leading up to themurder. Leeds City Councilrefused to answer anydetailed questions aboutthe case.Paul Greaney,prosecuting, told LeedsCrown Cowl thecalculating teenager wassetting up a psychiatricdefence to the crime healready intended tocommit. Then, in February,Mrs Maguire bannedCornick from a schoolbowling trip because hehad not done his Spanishhomework. He defied theorder not to go and hisparents were called in fora meeting at which theteenager made plain thathe hated Mrs Maguire’.Cornick was then made towork on his own in schoolfor the day as punishment.After this, he postedanother message onFacebook describing theteacher as a bitch thatdeserves more than death,

more than pain, torture andmore than anything that wecan understand’. Theweekend before themurder Cornick behavedas if all was well at hisfather’s house. He latertold psychiatrists he hadalready decided he wouldcommit homicide ratherthan suicide’. ‘I just knew Iwas going to kill her,’ hesaid. ‘I decided on theSunday it was going to bea knife. ‘I thought I was justgoing to go to school andwait for her lesson and doit. I wanted to get caught,that’s why I did it in school.I wanted to be in jail.’ Onthe morning of the murderhe showed his knives tosome pupils in school.Many didn’t take himseriously, but those whodid were threatened.Cornick said he would killthem if they revealed hisplan. So brazen was theteenager that he brought abottle of Jack Daniels toschool to celebrate’afterwards. Even when Cornick saidhe would kill head of year,Andrew Kellett and stabpregnant Languagesteacher, Sinead Miley,nothing was done.In police interviews withteenage classmatesplayed in court, they toldhow they had noticed

disturbing aspects to hispersonality. Julie Langton,whose two daughtersattend the school, saidpeople were aware ofCornick’s grudges againstMrs Maguire. ‘It wasknown he had some sortof issue with Mrs Maguire,about how she was beingwith him,’ she said.‘He didn’t like that she waspushing him. toconcentrate harder and todo his studies a bit morethan he was. She knew hewas capable and ittriggered a lot of what hefelt. ‘There were all sortsof things going aroundschool about what he wasplanning and the things hewanted to do in connectionwith that day; that he hada list and had people hewanted payback on.’Passing a minimum 20-year sentence, Mr JusticeCoulson said Cornick hadcarried out a relentless,brutal and cowardly’attack. ChiefSuperintendent PaulMoney, of West Yorkshirepolice, said in his view ‘noperson acting in authoritycould have reasonablyforeseen the events’ of thatday Nigel Richardson,Leeds City Council directorof children’s services, said:‘This was an isolated andunprecedented incident.’

Ann Maguire

William Cornick

Culled from Vanguard


the humility anddiligent service of theDeputy Governor ofthe State, Dr. PiusOdubu Egberamwen,who stooped to ensureeverything, was inorder. Clad in hiskhaki, trademarkclothing for Comrades,Dr. Odubu displayed ahigh level ofworkmanship andloyalty to the Governorand people of thestate.

Apart from movingabout in his sweatykhaki apparel,controlling the crowdand ensuring thatorder was maintained,the Deputy Governorwas scarcely guarded,moving about with justabout threepolicemen, whomerely aided him in

controlling the crowd.Another high point of

the event that couldnot go unnoticed wasthe shocking cordialrelationship betweenGeneral MuhammaduBuhari and Alhaji AtikuAbubakar, twocontesting aspirantsfor the presidentialticket of the AllP r o g r e s s i v eCongress. It showedthe unparalleled unitythat exists within theleadership of the party.

These two politicalstalwarts were not onlyfilled with smiles,whisperings, chitty-chats, and hugs foreach other, it got to aclimax when Buharistepped on thepodium, observednecessary protocol

Oshiomhole’s 6th Anniversary Celebration

AS expected, thestadium was packedfull with supporters ofthe All ProgressivesCongress (APC) whocame to show theirrespect to ComradeGovernor AdamsOshiomhole, leadersof the party, partychieftains, past andserving Governors,legislators, andaspirants to variouspolitical offices.

One could not helpbut notice the sincerityin the laughter andpleasantries shared bydignitaries who gracedthe occasion, some ofwhom included theNational Chairman ofthe All ProgressiveCongress (APC),

Chief John Oyegun,Presidential aspirantand former Head ofState, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari(rtd), presidentialaspirant and formerVice President, AlhajiAtiku Abubakar, andso on.

Also present wereAPC leader andformer Governor ofLagos State, AsiwajuBola Ahmed Tinubu,Speaker of the Houseof Representatives,Hon. AminuTambuwal, Governorof Imo State, RochasOkorocha, APCNational Treasurer,Alhaji BalaMohammed, and ahost of other partyleaders and loyalists.

One otherobservable sight was

Continued on page 5

and pleaded AtikuAbubakar to speak ontheir behalf as is thetradition between bothof them for one tospeak on theircollective behalf.

In a country likeNigeria where politicshas almost become aDo-or-Die affair, whereour democracy is stillbeing nursed byi n e x p e r i e n c e dcustodians, it was arare sight to see suchopponents displaysuch level of friendshipand co-operation,regardless ofindividual politicalinterests.

In an overwhelmingtwist of events,aspirants to differentpolitical offices seizedthe occasion to

reemphasize theirintentions to run in the2015 generalelections. Theirsupporters wereheavily mobilized andarmed with campaignposters and bannersof different forms andsizes, carryingdifferent names, faces,and messages.

These card-carrying partysupporters paradedthe entire arenachanting songs ofsupport for theircandidates. It wasamazing to see howefficiently thesepoliticians used theevent to theiradvantage to test eachother’s popularity andgarner support among

Attractions That Added Colour

eW ekend Cover

“Apart from moving about in his sweaty khaki apparel, controllingthe crowd and ensuring that order was maintained, the DeputyGovernor was scarcely guarded, moving about with just aboutthree policemen, who merely aided him in controlling the crowd.”

By RICHARD IMHOAGENE/GEDU LONGLIFE/

UFUOMA AGARREY


taking one’s mindaway from the seriouspolitical statement ofthe day, to reflect onthe pot-pourri ofsocial, socio-political

surrounding areas ofthe SamuelOgbemudia Stadium.

Undoubtedly, theseside attractions addedcolour to the event,

the teemingspectators at thevenue.

As is the custom inthis part of the world,where events serve asavenues for traders tosell their wares, thisparticular occasionmeant to congratulatethe State Governor onhis successful sixyears in office,became a choicelocation for tradersand hawkers to displayand sell their goods.

All manners ofwares ranging fromsnacks, bottled andsachet water and softdrinks, ice-cream, tohandkerchief, APCpromotional symbolsand items like brandedhats, T-shirts, mufflers,and so on, filled theopen field and

Continued from page 4

and socio-economicactivities that canemanate from a singlepolitical gathering.

The ComradeGovernor, Adams Eric

Oshiomhole thrilledthe crowd to aretrospective andchallenging speech,reemphasizing theconfidence of the AllProgressive Congressto defeat the mainopposition party in thefederal, state, localand legislative levels,and stating that EdoState will not “fall” tothe PDP as claimed byPresident GoodluckJonathan.

The Senior SpecialAdviser to theGovernor onprotection ofG o v e r n m e n tProperties, Hon.Ayuba Sedenu, whowas on ground tofacilitate with theGovernor, was filledwith praises andadmiration for the manwho he said has takenEdo State to a newlevel.

According to him,

Oshiomhole is the bestthing that hashappened to EdoState in the last sixyears. He said, “the sixyears that Oshiomholehas spent in officereveals to us clearlyhow much time andresources we lost inthe eight years thatPDP ruled the state”.

Continuing, he said,“with the way the 2015budget was passed,you will agree with methat it is a progressivebudget. We wish thathis momentum will besupported by thosearound him because Iam confident that hehas more plans for2015 that will furtherbring the dividends ofdemocracy to thepeople of Edo State”.

Like many others,Hon. Sedenu was alsoon ground to reiteratehis political intentionsas he wasaccompanied bysupporters who sangand danced aroundwith his banner inhand to seek thepeople’s support in theforthcoming electionsin the state.

Perhaps, as wesavour the momentsleading to the 2015General elections and2016 Governorshipelection in Edo State,it is important to payattention to therazzmattas and sideattractions that buildup the main event,because these issuestell more than theyappear to reveal.

eW ekend Cover“These two political stalwarts were not only filled with smiles,whisperings, chitty-chats, and hugs for each other, it got to aclimax when Buhari stepped on the podium, observed necessaryprotocol and pleaded Atiku Abubakar to speak on their behalf...”

• Harvest of posters

Oshiomhole’s 6th Anniversary Celebration


May we know yournames?

My names are AkhamieMomoh Abdulrama

You are aspiring to beelected into the EdoState House ofAssembly, what is yourmission?

My mission is to servethe people of Owan Eastlocal government and Ibelieve that my pastrecords as a localgovernment chairmanspeak for me. When Godgives you power to be inany position, you shoulduse it for the benefit of thepeople in the areas ofhuman capitalinfrastructural and socialdevelopments.

You must relate to yourpeople to know what theywant so you can workalong with them to ensuretheir happiness. As arepresentative of thepeople, you must beaccessible so that thepeople can get to know youand you can get to knowthem.

You once served aschairman of a localgovernment and you hadthe opportunity ofpresiding over agovernment that haspower to generate funds.Now you are aspiring tothe House of Assemblythat is just essentiallycharged with lawmaking. How do youintend to use theinstrumentality of lawmaking to do what youcould not do in the past

A pirationsEDHA 2015:

My Mission Is ToServe The

People- Abdulrama A. Momoh

or do better than whatyou did when you werechairman of the localgovernment.

Law making is for thebetterment of the peopleand you have to take intomeasure what are theselaws that will do good forthem. The executiveaspect is to execute theselaws to make sure thatthese things are done andexecuted so that thepeople can benefit fromthem. So the two armsmust work together toeffectively make sure thatthe people benefit. If youmake a law and there is nobody to execute it, will itwork? So if you are makinga law or people areexecuting your law, youyourself must follow tomake sure that the law isexecuted to the letter, sothat the benefit can be feltby the people.

How do you intend asa member of the house ofAssembly if you areelected to attractdevelopment to yourconstituency?

You see, government isa two way process. You

need to convince thepeople you are workingwith to help with what youwant. They need you too tohelp them with what theywant. So you must be ableto interact and liaise withyour people, your co-members and with theexecutive because thething is not left in oneman’s hand. You must beable to interact, you mustbe able to let them knowwhat your people want,you must be able to letthem know what yourfeelings are and that ofyour people.

When you are relayingyour ideas to your people,they will then realize thatyou are really working fortheir benefit. So you mustco-operate with everybodyin order to achieve all thesethings.

Let us look at theOshiomhole governmentcelebrating six years ofbeing in office What isyour generalassessment?

Oh! Wonderful, you knowI had the opportunity ofbeing a local governmentchairman and by the Graceof God, the foundation Ilaid for my localgovernment, Owan Eastlocal government,successive localgovernment chairmenhave been building on it.And today, I think the localgovernment is one of the

best in the state.Today, in Edo State, any

government that is going tocome after Oshiomhole isgoing to have a mountainthat he is going to climb onand the sky is going to be

the limit for the state. SoOshiomhole’s governmenthas done wonderfully wellconsidering the indices onground. You know whatEdo State is and what theman has done. You see,one thing I want to tellpeople is that when a manis doing something good,you shouldn’t say becauseyou didn’t get yourpersonal effect from it thenhe is not doing well. Thisis because the road youare talking about today,without it can you move?Without water can you doanything? So let us give itto Oshiomhole because hehas done wonderfully well

for these past six years.With our co-operation

and prayers, he can domore for the state.

As you go in for theelection, what is yourmessage to yourconstituents?

My message to myconstituents is that theyshould look at who they arevoting for. It is not a matterof tribe or whatever, it is amatter of who can deliver.You have tested this man,you know who he is, hiscapability and virtuallyeverything about him. Thatis my message to themthat they should look atwho they are voting for.

IN this chat with WEEKEND OB-SERVER through UCHEOKONYE, Hon. Momoh explainswhy he wants to go to Edo House ofAssembly

My message to my constituentsis that they should look at whothey are voting for. It is not amatter of tribe or whatever, it is amatter of who can deliver.


Obasanjo And His Funny MessiahComplexFORMER President

Olusegun Obasanjo has aknack for speaking uponce in a while, as if he’safraid that by maintainingthe quiet dignity expectedof an elder statesman hewill be forgotten. His latestforay into the publicdomain comes by way ofa charge that hissuccessors in office,namely the late PresidentUmaru Musa Yar’Aduaand President GoodluckJonathan, are to blame forNigeria’s continuingchallenges with electricity.

What must beunderstood from theformer president’scomments is this: not onlydid Yar ’Adua andJonathan, in Obasanjo’sopinion, “fail” to provideNigerians with electricity,if he had remainedpresident beyond theconstitutionally-limitedtwo terms, he would haveturned Nigeria to anEldorado where electricityis concerned. It is thispredilection to see himselfas the only one who cansolve Nigeria’s problemthat has led somecommentators toconclude that Obasanjohas a Messiah Complex.

As far back as April2000, Special Adviser tothe President on Mediaand Publicity, ReubenAbati, who was then acolumnist with TheGuardian, tried todeconstruct Obasanjo’s

Messiah Complex. In anarticle simply titled‘Obasanjo’s Problems’,Abati wrote: “The firstplank of the Obasanjophilosophy ofgovernance is tointroduce a new way ofdoing governmentbusiness: to re-orientategovernment, and re-condition the Nigerianpsyche for performanceand competition in ademocratic and globalcontext. It is this rescue-mentality that manyObasanjo critics havedismissed as themessianic complex.Messianism is in itselfdesirable in a societysuch as ours at this timebut that phrase cannot flybecause thegovernment’s strategyattacks the veryfundaments of theNigerian society.”

It is not the point herewhether Abati succeededin deconstructingObasanjo’s MessiahComplex. What is of theessence is to note howlong Nigerians have

been grappling with theidea of an Obasanjo whobelieves he is the only onewho can save the country.

In October of the sameyear that Abati wrote histreatise, another publiccommentator, WaleAdebanwi, wrote: “Inmany ways, Obasanjo isthe Lugardian incarnate.He is re-living thetemperament andpersonal aggrandizementof Lord Lugard, not to talkof his (Lugard’s) messiah-complex… But, ifObasanjo is messianicand Hossanah-prone inhis conduct in power, is heto blame?”

Adebanwi’s conclusionsabout Obasanjo’sMessiah Complex wouldsurely resonate with manyNigerians, for thecomplexities of thiscountry is such that manyyears are wasted increating problems, andyet as soon as someonelike Jonathan becomesPresident, there is theunrealistic expectation

By FRANCIS EHIGIATOR

that he must solve all theproblems overnight.

As regards the chargeon electricity made byObasanjo, it is best toexamine the matter byreferencing the historicalbasis of the formerpresident’s criticisms.Obasanjo said: “When Iwas military head of state,I developed the JebbaDam. I also developed theShiroro Dam. I startedEgbin. Shagari came andcompleted Egbin andcommissioned Jebba andShiroro. Between Shagariin 1983, until I came backin 1999, there was nosingle dime invested inpower generation. Ifanything, the ones thatwere there were allowedto go down.”

The contest ofObasanjo’s charges aretherefore that, other thanhimself, no other Nigerianleader, for the better partof two decades, did asingle thing to improve thecountry’s power situation.This may be true, but that

Obasanjo himself is onceagain bringing this to thefore is indicative ofsomething that is beyondthe scope of a newspaperarticle to deconstruct.Nonetheless, MaxAmuchie, another publiccommentator, tried inMarch of 2011 to interpretwhat some have nowtermed Obasanjo’shubris.

Amuchie wrote: “Ascivilian president from1999 to 2007, Obasanjodeveloped a messiahcomplex… As part of thatcomplex, he encouragedpraise singers and cheerleaders in his governmentto proclaim him ‘Father ofmodern Nigeria’, anhonour that arguablybelongs to NnamdiAzikiwe, first president ofNigeria. It was also thismessiah complex that ledhim to the ill-advisedattempt to amend theconstitution to make itpossible for him to havea third term in office.”

There we have it!Having been denied athird term in office sevenyears ago, Obasanjo, in2014, is still smarting

from that rejection. Thatis why, the simple factthat under PresidentJonathan Nigeria isgenerating moreelectricity than it has evergenerated in her historycannot encourageObasanjo to indulge in alittle humility and giveeven the slightest creditto someone else.

Meanwhile, the Ministerof Power, ProfessorChinedu Nebo,responded to Obasanjo’scharge by saying: “Thisadministration has beenworking hard to makesure these issues areresolved. By the grace ofGod, they are gettingresolved. For instance,we are generating morepower now than Nigeriahad ever generated in thepast and it is part of thepolicies of thisadministration that ismaking that possible.”

Would this be enoughfor Obasanjo to assumethe composure expectedof an elder statesman? Itis highly doubtful. Butthen again, if it is notObasanjo that is doing it,then it means nothing isgetting done.

V ewpoint i

Obasanjo

“The contest of Obasanjo’s charges are therefore that, other than himself,no other Nigerian leader, for the better part of two decades, did a singlething to improve the country’s power situation. This may be true, but thatObasanjo himself is once again bringing this to the fore is indicative ofsomething that is beyond the scope of a newspaper article to deconstruct.”


I suessWhy Jonathan Cannot Continue In 2015

ALL the history booksI have read tell me thatwhen a Nation is in crisisa great leader mustemerge to repositionand restructure thesystem for the better. Irecall the greatdepression in the 1930sin the United States andhow Mr. Franklin D.Roosevelt had a turningpoint in his politicalcareer when he waselected the President ofthe United States in1932. The 1929/30great depressionprovided an opportunityfor him to emerge.America was in deepeconomic crisis. Millionslost their jobs asfactories closed down.The banking systemcollapsed. There wastotal loss of faith inAmerica. They neededa great and strongPresident. They voted inRoosevelt. He gaveAmericans the NEWDEAL.

All things considered,Nigeria is today at crossroads and somethingneeds to give way. Fromall indications, from allangles and from allcalculations it is obviousnow that if we continuewith PDP and PresidentJonathan, the Titaniccalled Nigeria may hitan iceberg. PresidentJonathan’s ambition tocontinue to seek re-election aftercompleting the latePresident Yar ’Adua8years portends gravedanger for Nigeria. Thatambition if it becomes areality means thatSouthern Nigeria wouldhave ruled Nigeria for18years by 2019. This isnot what we struggledfor from 1984 to 1999.

dire them.As I write this,

insecurity has becomethe greatest problemfacing Nigeria. BokoHaram has killed nearly12,000 Nigerians, youngand old in the past sixyears, and yet the endis not in sight. Theinsurgents have madeour security Agenciesincluding our once

hear of recruitsdisobeying Generals inthe Army. Thisnonsense must stop.This national drift muststop now or Nigeriagoes under.

In 1999, PDP ledFederal Governmentmet more than ThreeThousand Megawatts ofelectricity and afteralmost sixteen years

Nigeria has gone underthree thousand MegaWatts despite theobvious and painful truththat we have investedbillions of dollars in thepower sector. Comparethis with GovernorFashola’s Lagos whichhas built its five PowerStations; Akute IPP,Alausa IPP, MainlandIPP, Island IPP, andLekki IPP in a very shorttime, with a minimumamount of money topower critical sectorslike Courts, Hospitals,Schools, Governmentoffices etc. we need newcompetent and stronghands to run Nigerianow before it is too late.

Again, never in thehistory of this countryhas a sitting Head ofState played up ethnicand religious politics theway President Jonathanhas done. He hascompletely dividedNigeria along religiousand ethnic lines, pitchingChristianity againstIslam, leaders againstleaders, youths againstyouths, fathers againstfathers and mothersagainst mothers. Hehardly visits theNorthern part of Nigeriaas Commander-In-Chief. He goes aboutwith corrupt Bishops andethnic chauvinists anddisplay hate to otherreligions. His bodylanguage suggests thathe is telling the worldthat Nigeria is no longera secular State. Thisdangerous drift muststop.

Crude oil theft underPresident Jonathan hasassumed a frighteningdimension. Reportshave it that never in thehistory of this countryhave we had it so bad.This year alone thiscountry lost huge crudeoil to oil thieves, morethan what we have lostin the five-years. Weheard it from reliablesources that thePresident seems topretend to be looking theother way while peoplemainly from his ethnicstock steal the country

By JOE IGBOKWE dry with recklessabandon. He seems tobe telling them that “thisis your time, go and takeas much as you canbefore I go. If I go youmay not have thisopportunity again inyour lifetime”

Abuse of power andprivileges is anothertangible reason whyNigerians must rejectJonathan as Presidentbeyond 2015. We sawthis in Ekiti State, wesaw it in Ondo State. Wesaw it in Anambra State,Adamawa, Osun,Nasarawa, Niger Statesetc. These are Stateswhere PDP has interestand they are ready tosink the boat to get whatthey want. The SpeakerHouse of Reps justmoved from PDP toAPC and IGP hasordered the withdrawalof his Security details.Now, did IGP withdrawSecurity details fromMimiko, Peter Obi andthe National Legislatorsfrom Anambra Statewho moved to PDP?This is doublestandards! This isexecutive lawlessnessand at best, executivedesperation.

We have seen AsariDokubo and ChiefEdwin Clark abusingand threatening andcursing other Nigeriansbecause they criticizedtheir President, and yetPresident Jonathanlooks the other way.Now the President mustknow that he is thePresident of 160millionNigerians and notPresident of Ijaw peoplealone.

I can just continue buttime and space will notpermit me. I suggestthat elder statesman,Council of States andstakeholders must lookfor a strong President in2015 if they still believein the project Nigeria.President Jonathancannot just continue.We want a strong,disciplined andcommitted leadership in2015.-

This is threat to nationalstability and nationalcohesion, and adistortion of Nigeria’spolitical equation andequilibrium. It will atonce bring to the forethe North and Southdivide and politicaldichotomy. Theexplosive North/Southreligious tensions willrise. Consequently, thisinordinate ambition willput a knife on things thathave held us togetheras one political entity.

Nigerians who areworried by the level ofcorruption and openstealing in Nigeria maynot want PresidentJonathan to continue foranother four years.Corruption isthreatening our political,economic and sociallife. Investment fundsare in private pockets,the system is notworking and people whodeserve nothing arepocketing billions andare asking us to go tohell. They abuse us ona daily basis,threatening our livesand dare us tochallenge them. Greatcountries all over theworld have been builtthrough discipline andhard work but corruptionhas torn great nationsdown.

Another great reasonwhy President GEJcannot continue in 2015is the inability of hisgovernment to stopimpunity, and politicalbrigandage. PublicServants and ordinarycitizens have causedcolossal damage toproject Nigeria andasked us to do our

worst. Wanted criminalsand Drug Barons useour law enforcementagents to oppress,repress and suppressthe poor and steal ourvotes, and challenges to

highly rated standingArmy to look like a ragtagged Army. Oursoldiers now run awayfrom these insurgents.Today we hear ofmutinies, we hear of oursoldiers being capturedand disarmed and we

“I suggest that elder statesman, Council of States andstakeholders must look for a strong President in 2015if they still believe in the project Nigeria. PresidentJonathan cannot just continue. We want a strong,disciplined and committed leadership in 2015.”

President Goodluck Jonathan


B auty & HealtheTattooingAnd MedicalTattooing (3)

By OMEIZA ROBINSON

IT was in Tahiti abroadthe endeavour, in July1769, that Cook first notedhis observations about theindigenous bodymodification and is the firstrecorded use of the wordtattoo. In the ship’s logbook recorded this entry;“both sexes paint theirbodies, tattoo, as it iscalled in their language.This is done by inlaying thecolour of black under theirskins, in such a manner asto be indelible.” Cook wenton to write, “this method oftattooing I shall nowdescribe…… as this is apainful operation,especially the tattooing oftheir buttocks, it isperformed but once in theirlife times.”

Cook’s science officerand expedition botanist,Sir Joseph Banks,returned to England with atattoo. Banks was a highlyregarded member of theEnglish aristocracy andhad acquired his positionwith Cook by putting upwhat was at the time theprincely sum of some tenthousand pounds in theexpedition. In turn, Cookbrought back with him atattooed Raiatean man,Omai, whom he presentedto King George and theEnglish court. Many ofCook’s men, ordinaryseamen and sailors, cameback with tattoos, atradition that would soonbecome associated withmen of the sea in thepublics mind and the pressof the day. In the process,sailors and seamen re-introduced the practice oftattooing in Europe and itspread rapidly to seaportsaround the globe.

By the 19th century,tattooing had spread toBritish society but was stilllargely associated withsailors and the lower oreven criminal class.

Tattooing had howeverbeen practiced in anamateur way by publicschool boys from at leastthe 1840s and by the1870s, had becomefashionable among somemembers of upper classes,including royalty. In its upmarket form, it could be alengthy, expensive andsometimes painful process.

Tattooing spread amongthe upper classes all overEurope in the 19th century,but particularly in Britainwhere it was estimated inHarmsworth magazine in1898 that as many as onein five members of thegentry were tattooed.Taking their lead from theBritish court, where EdwardVII followed George V’slead in getting tattooed; kingFrederick IX of Denmark,the king of Romania, KaiserWilhelm II, king Alexanderof Yugoslavia and even TsarNicholas II of Russia, allsported tattoos, many ofthem elaborate and ornaterenditions of the royal coatof arms or the royal familycrest. King Alfonso XIII ofmodern Spain also had atattoo.

A marked class divisionon the acceptability of thepractice continued for sometime in Britain, with theupper and lower classesfinding it attractive and thebroader middle classesrejecting it.

Since 1970s, tattoos havebecome more sociallyacceptable, andfashionable amongcelebrities. Tattoos are lessprominent on figures ofauthority, and the practiceof tattooing by the elderly isstill considered remarkable.

In the period shortly afterthe American Revolution, toavoid impressments byBritish navy ships, sailorsused government issuedprotection papers toestablish their American

citizenship. However, manyof the descriptions of theindividual described in theseamen’s protectioncertificates were so general,and it was so easy to abusethe system, that manyimpressments’ officers ofthe Royal Navy simply paidno attention to them. Inapplying for a duplicateseaman’s protectioncertificate in 1817, JamesFrancis stated that he hada protection granted him bythe collector of this port onor about 12 March 1806which was torn up anddestroyed by a Britishcaptain when at sea.

On way of making themmore specific and moreeffective was to describe atattoo, which is highlypersonal as to subject andlocation, and thus use thatdescription to preciselyidentify the seaman. As aresult, many of the officialcertificates also carriedinformation about tattoosand scars, as well as anyother specific identifyinginformation. This alsoperhaps led to an increaseand proliferation of tattoosamong American seamenwho wanted to avoidimpressments. During thisperiod, tattoos were notpopular with the rest of thecountry. Frequently the“protection papers” madereference to tattoos, clearevidence that individual wasa seafaring man; rarely didmembers of the generalpublic adorn themselveswith tattoos.

In the late 18th and early19th centuries, tattoos wereas much about selfexpression as they wereabout having a unique wayto identify a sailor’s body,should he be lost at sea orimpressed by the Britishnavy. The best source forearly American tattoos isthe protection papersissued following a 1796congressional act tosafeguard American

seamen fromimpressments. ThesePrato passportscatalogued tattoosalongside birthmarks,scars, race, and height,using simple techniquesand tools, tattoo artists inthe early republic typicallyworked on board shipsusing anything available aspigments, even gunpowderand urine.

Men marked their armsand hands with initials ofthemselves and lovedones, significant dates,symbols of the seafaringlife, liberty poles, crucifixes,and other symbols.Sometimes, to protectthemselves, the sailorsrequested not only that thetattoos be described, butthat they would also besketched out on theprotection certificate aswell. As one researchedsaid, “clerks writing thedocuments often sketchedthe tattoos as well asdescribing them.”

The position that holds itthat tattooing wassomehow “reintroduced” tothe “western world” is amyth. Tattooing has beenpresent in Western societyconsistently from thebeginning of Westernsociety in Ancient Greece.Although captain JamesCook’s voyages to thesouth pacific imported thePolynesian word “tatau” (as

“tattow,” later changed to“tattoo”), tattooing was notnovel at the time. A longhistory of European tattoopredated these voyagesincluding pilgrimagetattooing in the Holy landand at site in Europe andtattoos on travelingexplorers among NativeAmericans.

The first documentedprofessional tattoo artist inthe USA was MartinHildebrandt, a Germanimmigrant who arrived inBoston, Massachusetts in1846.Between 1861 and1865, he tattooed soldierson both sides in theAmerican civil war. The firstdocumented professionaltattooist in Britain wasestablished in Liverpool inthe 1870s.

Tattooing was anexpensive and painfulprocess, and by the 1870shad become a mark ofwealth for the crownedheads of Europe. Since the1970s, tattoos havebecome a mainstream partof global and westernfashion, common amongboth sexes, to all economicclasses, and to age groupsfrom the later teen years tomiddle age. For manyyoung Americans, thetattoo has taken on adecidedly differentmeaning than for previousgenerations.

The tattoo has

‘undergone dramaticredefinition’ and has shiftedfrom a form of deviance toan acceptable form ofexpression. In 2010, 25percent of Australiansunder age 30 had tattoos.Mattel released a tattooedBarbie doll in 2011, whichwas widely accepted,although it did attract somecontroversy.

Tattoos haveexperienced resurgence inpopularity in many parts ofthe world, particularly inEurope, Japan, and northand South America. Thegrowth in tattoo culture hasseen an influx of new artistsinto the industry, many ofwhom have technical andfine arts training. Coupledwith advancements intattoo pigments and theongoing refinement of theequipment used fortattooing, this has led to animprovement in the qualityof tattoos being produced.

During the 2000, thepresence of tattoosbecame evident within popculture, inspiring televisionshows such A and E’s inkedand TLC’s Miami ink. Thedecoration of blues singerJanis Joplin with a wrist letand a small heart on her leftbreast, by the SanFrancisco tattoo artist LyleTuttle, has been called aseminal moment in thepopular acceptance oftattoos as art. Formalinterest in the art of thetattoo became prominent inthe 1970s through thebeginning of the 21st

century. In addition, manycelebrities have madetattoos more acceptable inrecent years.

Over the past threedecades, western tattooinghas become a practice thathas crossed socialboundaries from ‘low’ to‘high’ class along withreshaping the powerdynamics regardinggender. It has its roots in‘exotic’ tribal practices ofthe native Americans andJapanese, which are stillseen in present times.Although tattooing hassteadily increased inpopularity since theinvention of the electiontattoo machine in the1890s, it was not until the1960s that the place oftattooing in popular cultureradically shifted.

The tattoo renaissancebegan in the late 1950s,and was greatly influencedby several artists inparticular Lyle Tuttle, CliffRaven, Don Nolan, Zeke

1 0 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15 2014THE NIGERIAN

diversified, exploring thehuge potentials of othersectors of the economy.

I want to build a nationthat has a decent,passionate, and patrioticpolice force that is truly thefriend of the common man, anation whose justice systemis not leaning on the whimsand caprices of the highestbidder, but which solidlyupholds the principles offairness, equality and equity.

I want to see a Nigeria thatboasts of quantitative andqualitative education withavailable basic infrastructure,and equipped with moderneducational, laboratory andlibrary facilit ies. A placewhere the Nigerian child canlearn to read and write undera roof that protects him fromthe harsh elements of rainfalland excessive sunlight.

Nigeria can be great. Ibelieve it. She can truly bethe giant of Africa, not just byvirtue of numerical strength,but politically, economically,socially, and diplomatically.We can purge our land of itspresent dirty state and renewour image in the eyes of theglobal community.

Until that is done, until aleader emerges that canachieve sanity in our polity,redress the situation andtransform the fortunes of thenation, my passion tobecome president will burnmore intensely becauseperhaps, it may suggest thatmy vision for Nigeria shouldbe run and accomplished byme.

I suessAddressing Disunity In Nigeria

When I Become PresidentBy RICHARD IMHOAGENE

Nigeria is 54 years plus asa nation yet nothing much toshow for many decades ofself-government. Manyyears ago, Chinua Achebe,one of the Nigerian literarygiants, got disturbed with thesituation in the country andcame up with a book titled“The Trouble with Nigeria.”Before and after he wrote thebook, many people haveequally written on thesituation in Nigeria.Unfortunately, the situationhas not improved except forthe enthronement ofdemocracy and civil rule inrecent years. So thequestion remains, what iswrong with Nigeria?

Is it structural balance,corruption, bad leadership,bad followership, lack ofpatriotism, nepotism andfavouritim, northernhegemony? Marginalization,disunity, religious and ethnicdifferences, recoursescontrol, rotationalpresidency? Or what is thatthing that has hinderedNigeria from developing in

terms of infrastructuredevelopment and integrationof her people as citizens ofone united country?

To my mind, the problemwith Nigeria is squarelydisunity. Nigeria is not theonly country that is populatedwith people of diversecultures, languages andreligions. Some countrieswith similar composition likeNigeria have been able tosurmount evils of ethnicchauvinism, religious bigotryand such other divisivetendencies to grow into acohesive entity. But why isthe Nigerian fate different?

Nigerians are yet to seethemselves as one people.As far back as 1947, the lateYoruba leader, ChiefObafemi Awolowo made thefollowing statement in hisbook, Path to Nigerianfreedom, “ Nigeria is not anation. It is a meregeographical expression.There are no Nigerians in the

same sense as there are“English, Welsh or French.The word Nigeria is merelya distinctive appellation todistinguish those who livewithin the boundaries ofNigeria from those who donot.”

Chief Obafemi Awolowowas not the only Nigerian tosee things this way. The lateSir Abubaka Tafawa Balewa,the first and the only PrimeMinister Nigeria ever had,said this in 1948. “since1914, the British governmenthas been trying to makeNigeria into one country, butthe Nigerian peoplethemselves are historicallydifferent in theirbackgrounds, in theirreligious beliefs and do notshow themselves any sign ofwillingness to unite. Nigerianunity is only a British creationfor the country.”

These two great Nigerianshave longed passed away,one can just imagine what

they would have said in thelight of how things have goneworse. Crisis everywhere,while some are motivated byreligious bigotry, others arepolitical or ethnic killings.Presently, mindlessgenocide is taking place inNigeria with the menace ofBoko Haram’s attackespecially in the northernpart of the country, as aresult of disunity whichmanifest in different areas ofour national life.

In proffering solutions toNigeria problems, peoplehave made multifarioussuggestions. Some havecalled for the convocation ofsovereign nationalconference; some call forreturn to parliamentarysystem; some othersdemand a devolution ofpowers among the tiers ofgovernment; some havealso called for stateautonomy, while someothers demand for the breakup of the country.

According to J. Isawa

Elaigwu, and eminentprofessor of political sciencein his paper tit led “theNigerian federation itsfoundation and futureprospects” stated that “thecolonial state washeterogeneous. But theBritish were creating a unionand not unity amongNigerians.

So the problem withNigeria is foundational. Asthe holy book says, “if thefoundations are destroyed,what can the righteous do?”The foundations of Nigeria isfaulty and this explains whyall programmes and jinglesfashioned to promotenational integration, whichwe need to work towards acommon purpose as apeople, have not yieldedcommensurate results.

Unity was not in the mindof the colonial master thatcreated Nigeria. UnlessNigerians are united, thiscountry cannot moveforward. Though the unity ofa country size like Nigeriacannot be attained overnight;

OFTEN in moments ofcomplete solitude, myreminiscent mind takes me toan incident in my primaryschool days. My teacher hadasked; “who would like to bethe President of Nigeria?”Instinctively, with little or noknowledge of what thepresidency or governanceentails, almost every pupil inthat class raised an arm, littleas we were between agesseven and nine.

I remember it vividlybecause a similar eventoccurred in the university,when a lecturer asked thesame question ratherjokingly. Only two hands wereup, mine and that of a studentwho is usually categorized inthe NFA (No Future Ambition)section of the class, as it isknown in the “Akadaparlance”.

As I continued to reflect onthe cause of that attitudinalchange in my little consumedmind, it struck me that a lothad actually changed in-between both periods. Thekind of knowledge andpredisposition that we gainedovertime had caused achange in the different wayswe perceived our politics andgovernment. It completelydawned on me when myfellow President-Wannabewas asked why he wouldwant to rule Nigeria. Hesimply replied, “to take my

own share of the nationalcake”.

Growing up as a child(and I believe a lot of personsmy age shared this vision),the office of the Presidencywas the most revered. Idreamt and wished it daily,especially as the cliché’“leaders of tomorrow”continued to ring in my head.I have only come to realizethat perhaps our tomorrow isnot yet come.

Those young enthusiasticand patriotic minds like methat once burned withpassion have beensuppressed over time,trampled underfoot bysuccessive failed regimes,anchored by the samedeceitful smiles who assuredus since the 1960s that weare the leaders of tomorrow.54 years after, that cliché hasnow been directed to ourchildren, and for some of us,grandchildren.

The harsh realities of ourtime where political officeshave become the exclusivepreserve and right of a “rulingclass” – a group of personswho now see Nigeria as apatriarchal inheritance, havegreatly discouraged the zealwhich once burnt inside ofthem. The office of thepresidency is now seen as aheight way beyond theirreach.

Having seen how a

Military Head of State cameback 22 years later to ruleNigeria for eight years, a one-time Military Governor nowsits as the head of theNational Assembly, PastGovernors now reign asPresident and Vice President,while others flood theNational Assembly, theExecutive Cabinet, and serveas heads of GovernmentCorporations, we are left towonder when our tomorrowwill come. The same set ofpersons continue to revolvearound the corridors ofpower.

Frustration has now set inthat young people no longerconsider governance aplausible career. Those whostill do, are on a mission toenrich themselves, theirfamilies and “committee offriends”. They have learnt therope of corruption from themasters, men and womenwho have held the peopleransom, converted thenational treasury to personalpurses, and shut our mouthswith the same laws ofimmunity they created.

But I refuse to despair.When that lecture ‘asked whyI would want to be president’I simply said. “I believe inNigeria, and I want to makea difference”. The entire classjeered on, as some

whispered “story, for Naija?”“That is what they all say”. Itmade me realize the damagethat the current spate ofleadership has done to ourimage, dreams, andmentality.

That response wasexpected. Even though Iknew a large number of theclass would react that way, Irefused to be cowed into astate of cowardice where mymentality and philosophywould be affected andconformed to fit into thegeneral psyche.

Unlike many others, Ibelieve Nigeria can only getbetter when the generalpsyche is affected positively,and when the mindset of thepeople is totally reoriented torefit into the vision of ourfounding fathers so that theNigerian dream can bepursued to its actualization.

So yes, I want to bepresident. I want to lead anation where the commonman would not have to go tobed hungry, where theaverage child does not haveto hawk pure water becausethe parents cannot affordbasic education, even whenit is free.

I see a Nigeria filled withjoy and laughter where peaceand unity abound. I see anation where the people can

lay hold of their dividends,because greed,aggrandizement andcorruption will be flushed outof the very marrow of everyNigeria.

The Nigeria I see isviolent-free, a people ofmutual understanding withoutrecourse to tribal or ethnicbigotry, where love and peacereign, and where there is nodivide between partisan,religious, ethnic, social orfinancial affinity.

This is a country free fromblood hounds, the blood-sucking beasts who haveheld the nation spell bound byperpetrating the highestforms of violence and evil,killing thousands of peacefulordinary Nigerians,destroying our property andlooting our military arsenaland weapons.

This is the Nigeria of mydreams-the Nigeria Iconceptualize in my mind’seye. A nation with a boomingAgricultural sector with plentyto eat and export, a healthyhealth sector where there isaccessible health serviceswith global-standardequipment.

A truly self reliant nationwith only necessaryinterdependence with otherparts of the world. I see aNigeria that has broken freefrom the chains of a mono-products economy, but has

By KINGSLEY AGESE/PIUS ABAHAn average Nigerian puts

the interest of his ethnic orreligious group before thenational interest. Nigeriansare too factionalized to formand developed politicalentity.

Lack of unity has costNigeria progress, economicgrowth and development,political stability, nationalintegration and credibleinternational image. Thequestion now is what is theway forward for Nigeria?

Nigeria cannot afford toremain on a sport, forwardshe must move and to attainthis the people of Nigeriamust be united and ready totake unpopular decision thatenvices some hope andantidote to our longstandingchallenges as a people. Theissue of Boko Haraminsurgence should betackled, problems of ethnicand inter-tribal war should beaddressed and lastly theproblem of bribery,bureaucracy, favoritism andnepotism in public servicesshould be discouraged.

1 1 -SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 2014THE NIGERIAN

By COMRADE EDWIN UHARA

P litics & Securityo

Boko Haram Fighters

2015Now That Jonathan Has Decided To Run

Bring Back Our War Against Boko HaramBy DR. PEREGRINO BRIMAH

AT a meeting with theleadership of the rulingPeoples Democratic Party(PDP) at the PresidentialVilla, Abuja, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan officiallyinformed them of his intentionto seek reelection next year.He made good his promise bypicking the party’sNomination Form as well asthe Expression of InterestForm at the party’s NationalSecretariat in Abuja on the30th of October this year.

Earlier, the President hadset up a committee that wouldwork out the modalities for hisdeclaration. The Committeeis headed by the formerMinister of Defense, Dr.Haliru Bellow as Chairmanand former Senate President,Senator Ken Nnamani asDeputy Chairman, while theSecretary to the Governmentof the Federation, SenatorAnyim Pius Anyim is to serveas the Secretary to theCommittee.

While throwing morelights on what prompted themeeting of the party leaderswith Mr. President, a nationaldaily quoted a source assaying: “We met with the

have been abducted forrape and forcefulconscription and severalmore towns have fallen tothe terrorists. Latest to fallwas Mubi in Adamawa statewhere Boko Haram havehoisted their flags andbegun open preaching.

The sight of Nigerians

President at the State Houseand explained to him the needfor the party to strictly adhereto the Electoral Act and theguidelines issued by the partyat the last National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC) meeting…At the meeting with him, thePresident’s attention wasdrawn to the IndependentNational ElectoralCommission (INEC) report onthe 2012 National Conventionof the party which wasnullified because it did notfollow due process. So, ourmeeting with the Presidentunderscored the need toensure that due process isfollowed.”

It was therefore agreedthat the Electoral Act and theguidelines for the PDPPresidential Primary shouldbe followed. And in followingthe guidelines, the Presidentwill buy the Presidentialnomination form as well asthe expression of interestform and pay all thenecessary fees which about44 groups made donations tothe President for him topurchase the form. It willhowever be recalled that agroup had sought to purchase

both the Nomination and theExpression of Interest Formsfor the President.

However, before differentdonations to the Presidentwas made public by theSpecial Adviser to thePresident on Media andPublicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, aPresidential Fund RaisingCommittee had already beenset up by the President. TheCommittee headed by theformer Minister of Informationand National Orientation,Professor Jerry Gana as theChairman, SenateCommittee on Aviation,Senator Hope Uzodinma,BUA Group of CompaniesChairman, Ishaku Rabiu,Minister of Aviation, OsitaChidoka among others asmembers.

It will be recalled that over8, 000 different socio-politicalgroups had gathered at theEagle Square Abuja in themonth of September, callingon the President to seekreelection next year with anassurance that, they would allvote for him.

Nonetheless, now thatthe President has agreed torun and has added flesh tohis bone promise by pickingthe party’s Nomination andExpression of Interest Forms,what is going to be the nextface of the campaign? In myview, the next battlegroundshould be on grassrootsmobilization, sensitizationand voters education. Wehave about 8,812 electoralwards in the country, so if themore than 8,000 groups thatcalled on the President toseek reelection shouldestablish the kind of presencethey have in Abuja in thesewards, there is no way thePresident and the partycannot win in more than 30states out of the current 36states in the country. Why Isay so is because, mosttimes, some voters don’tknow PresidentialCandidates by their names.Instead, they only vote for thecandidates through theirparties and logos.

In fact, at this stage thatthe opposition All

Progressives Congress(APC) is fuming at the rulingparty, the real challenge thatshould face any of the 8,000groups that are truly workingfor President Jonathan’sreelection is to start printingthe prototypes of the ballotpapers and start teaching andshowing the electorates howto cast their votes on electionday.

In similar vein, since thePDP has adopted thePresident as its solePresidential candidate, thereal thing expected fromthese groups is to startcarrying both the President’smessage and the party’slogos cum manifestoes to theelectorates.

It is not enough urging thePresident to run when we aregoing to leave him and theparty at the mercy of theopposition. Hence, we shouldtake the support of thePresident as well as the partyto the 8,812 electoral wards,774 Local GovernmentAreas, 360 FederalConstituencies, 109Senatorial Districts and the36 States of the Federation.

For those NGOs who don’thave the capacity to do so,there should merge or go intoalliance with stronger ones.They should build formidablestructures in key states likeKano, Lagos and RiversStates. This is one of thesecrets PDP ProjectReloaded used in returningEkiti State back to the PDPin the June 21 Governorshipelection held in the state. Andwith our formidable structuresin these key states which iscomplementing the existingstructures of the PDP in thosestates, President Jonathanwould be returnedunopposed come February14, 2015.

But then, experience hasalso shown that some of theelectorates who pledged theirvotes for the President did noteven come out to vote in the2011 Presidential Election, letalone voting for thecandidates of their choice.So, another major challengeis how to inspire or motivatethese voters to come out andexercise their franchise onElection Day. I leave this partfor now until we get in toelection mood proper.

IT is now two weekssince the meaninglessceasefire with, or betterput, cessation of fireagainst Boko Haram wasannounced by theJonathan-led governmentof Nigeria. Since thenhundreds more have beenkilled, dozens of youth

fleeing the Boko Haramonslaught against Mubiwas tearful. The imagecourtesy of a good fellow,shows cars piled upstruggling to drive away toa safe place. This has beenthe predicament in the

north. Over a dozen townsare Boko Haram territory;the citizens have eitherbeen forced to live and dieunder a slave mentalitybarbaric government; orhave fled and left behindtheir livelihood, somefamily and their property.

Why has the Jonathangovernment stopped our#VictoryForNigeria? Whyare our Presidency andmilitary Chiefs nowdesperately and openlyp r o m o t i n g#VictoryForShekau? Thisis the second time in thelast two years that justwhen Nigeria had victoryagainst these terrorists athand; the governmentsuddenly stopped its attackon terror and reversed thetrend. In both cases it wasjust when the armyannounced the killing of the“Shekau,” leader figure,that the governmentsuddenly stopped themilitary onslaught andallowed Boko Haramregroup. Is this not agovernment of terror?

We the people ofNigeria want our war back.Jonathan has receivedapproval for a loan of $1billion to fight this war. Thearmy recently decided to“turn the Civilian-JTF intoan armed professionalfighting force” to helperadicate Boko Haramtotally and completely;what is happening to that?

We never had faith inthe so-called ceasefire.When two evil peoplenegotiate, it will be suicidalto anticipate good out of it.And why are thenegotiations betweenNigeria and Boko Haram inprivate? Is it not our livesthey kill? Is it not our sonsand daughters theyabduct? Will we not beinformed of/if any of theirmembers will be released?If by some wickedness,some money is to be givento them, and someammunition as Cameroondid, will it not be our moneyand our arms andammunition? Nigeriansdemand that for anynegotiations with BokoHaram, let them all comeand do it in the open. We

deserve absolute control ofour destiny. What part ofterror negotiations is asecret? We demandtransparent opennegotiations if any, now!

You are either with us orwith the terrorists. We askJonathan now to decide: ishe going to spend his lastcouple of months as astubborn sponsor andsupporter of terror andthese terrorists who in 2012defended as his “siblings,”or is he going to join the willand collective desire anddetermination of the peopleof Nigeria to combat BokoHaram fire for fire and showthem the superior power ofthe Nigerian military knownfor its success acrossAfrica?

Jonathan should pleaseallow good a chance andstop being an agent of eviland obstruction in thewheel of peace andpositive change.

Stop begging andbribing Boko Haram. Stoplying to the world.

#BringBackOurWar!Bring back#VictoryForNigeria


L teratureiHow Achebe

Saved MeFrom James

Hardley ChaseBy OKEY NDIBE

TWO Saturdays ago, Ihad the privilege of givinga keynote at aninternational conferenceorganized at the SenateHouse of the University ofLondon to celebrate the50th anniversary of ChinuaAchebe’s Arrow of God.

The two-day celebrationwas an impressivegathering of scholars whohave devoted time to thestudy and explication ofAchebe’s work as anovelist, cultural activistand intellectual. Among theluminaries who offeredstimulating papers wereJohn Gikandi of PrincetonUniversity, Harry Garuba(who travelled from hisSouth African location),and T. Vijay Kumar. Thefirst day of the conference,Femi Osofisan, a polyglotwho is at once an incisivescholar, extraordinarydramatist, and novelistdirected a dramatization ofArrow that brought home ina powerful way themillenarian tension inAchebe’s most important—even if not most wellknown—fictive work.Akachi Ezeigbo, a novelistand professor at theUniversity of Lagos,capped off the second andfinal day of the event byperforming an Igbo dirgefor Achebe.

The two-day conferencewas altogether moving.The brilliance of many ofthe presentations wasmatched by theconference’s festive air. Itall showed the potentialpower of rich, deep culturalproduction. In their wide-ranging, multidisciplinaryengagement with Achebe’sgrandest novel, severalpresenters sought tounderscore how literarycreativity can illuminate apeople’s social experienceand embody a broad rangeof their dreams.

To pay attention to thepresentations was to comeaway with a deepconviction that the bestartists and writers possessthe power to offer timelessinsights, contained inworks that are of their timewithout being contained byit.

Numerous speakers,including Garuba and thepassionate ObiNwakanma, illustrated theways in which Achebe’sthird novel, though set in apast in which the outlinesand effects of colonialsubjugation wereundeniable, neverthelessanticipates Africa’sc o n t e m p o r a r ypredicament. Ezeulu, theprotagonist in Arrow ofGod, in his fascination withthe exercise of power andhis refusal to “eat death”that his people may bespared from collectivedemise, buttresses thebehavior of many African“leaders.” These leaders, abunch Fanon wouldcategorize ascontemptible, are oftenunwilling to rein in theirappetite for self-aggrandizement in order toserve more humanistic orvisionary goals.

Years ago, a Nigerianpublisher friend of minewas fond of describingculture as an index ofpower. At the time, I did notfully grasp the power of hisassertion. Its fullimplications began to dawnon me only after I movedto the United States. I cameto a growing awarenessthat—Nigeria’s oil wealthno tw i t hs tand ing—thecountry’s true and abidingassets (her image, identityand cultural currency)depended on theenterprise of her mostgifted artists.

Wherever one goes in theworld, one is apt to

encounter a somewhatunderstandable butreductive image of Nigeria.That image is of a landteeming with 419 scamentrepreneurs. But anarrative of theextraordinary creativity ofher writers, musicians, fineartists, and moviemakersserves to counter theunflattering face of Nigeria.

Let me cite an exampleor two. Some years ago, Iwas speaking with ClaireGaudiani, who was thenthe president ofConnecticut College inNew London, when sheasked about my country oforigin. When I answered,she exulted, “Oh, I just metand heard a fascinatingNigerian writer in London,Wole Soyinka.” Ourconversation took anenthusiastic turn. When awriter-in-residence at hercollege took a sabbatical,Ms. Gaudiani persuadedthe English Department toinvite me as a stand-inteacher.

I can’t count the numberof times I have met peoplein the US who—onlearning I’m from Nigeria—would affectionately saythey had read Achebe’sThings Fall Apart. Onfinding out that I knewAchebe personally, theywould be transfixed withawe.

Despite its enduringtechnical challenges,No l lywood—Niger ia ’seffervescent answer toBollywood—has capturedthe curiosity of peoplearound the world. Fouryears ago, I made my firstvisit to Kenya. ManyKenyans, from cab driversto academics, talkedexcitedly about a weeklongvisit to Nairobi of aNollywood actress.Incidentally, I had neverheard about the woman!But that gap in myknowledge merelydemonstrated an importantfact of cultural production.

Whether I knew her or not,that actress embodied andrepresented me as far asthe Kenyans wereconcerned. If she acteddisagreeably in Kenya, sherisked tainting all Nigerianswith the broad brush of hercharacter. In the same way,her positive carriage rubbedoff on all Nigerians, even onthose of us who didn’t knowwho she was.

A year ago, I was inAustin, Texas to attend abook festival. One night, Iwas walking the streets ofthe city with a few of my USpublisher’s staff, looking fora joint that offered beer andbooks. As we turned acorner I heard Fela’s musicblaring from a backyard. Afew people stood around,swaying. I immediatelywent in, introduced myself,and told them I was not onlya Nigerian I also knew Fela.They gave me a gushingwelcome, apologized thattheir party was windingdown, but invited me toshow up the next night at aclub they said playedmarvelous African music.

When my turn came tospeak at the Achebeconference in London, Iknew what I didn’t want todo. I wasn’t going to read a

conventional scholarlypaper that teased out somearcane aspect of the text.Numerous other speakershad done a terrific job inthat respect. I chose,instead, to tell stories of theways in which Achebe’swork had enchanted mefrom the first moment I hadread it.

In my secondary schooldays, I told the audience,many of my schoolmatestook to reading books byJames Hadley Chase andBarbara Cartland. Chase’sbooks, I recall, carried suchtitillating titles as Do Me AFavor: Drop Dead and TheWay The Cookie Crumbles.I remembered a particularclassmate, a fanaticalaficionado, who had“consumed” more than 50titles by Chase. One day,he asked me why I wascontent to read “bush”novels, a reference to thefact that some of the fictionI relished reading were set,in part at least, in Africa’spre-colonial ruralcommunities. He fanciedhimself a scion ofEnlightenment, engagednot with machetes butguns, not with elders withtheir proverb-rich speechbut with jacket wearing,

gun-wielding mobstersdripping with “gonna” and“wanna”.

I never read even a singlebook by Chase. Thereason: I was fortunate toread Achebe’s Things FallApart quite early. The bookleft me entranced, seducedme, fi l led me with aninsatiable appetite for otherwriters who articulated theAfrican experience. OnceAchebe had set the hunger,I went searching for otherAfrican writers.

What a treasure I found.For, while many otherstudents fattenedthemselves on Chase’spabulum, I was discoveringNgugi, Beti, Soyinka,Awoonor, Nwapa, Armah,Nagenda, Ousmane,Ouologuem, Emecheta.

I credit Achebe withsaving me from Chase.And I believe that he andour other great writers canhelp save Nigeria if only wewould pause in our frenetichankering after materialephemera—to read andponder their words. Let’sfind the time to reflectdeeply on the import ofAchebe’s imperishable artand that of his fellowlaborers in the vineyard ofAfrican letters.

“I never read even a single book by Chase. Thereason: I was fortunate to read Achebe’s ThingsFall Apart quite early. The book left meentranced, seduced me, filled me with aninsatiable appetite for other writers whoarticulated the African experience. OnceAchebe had set the hunger, I went searchingfor other African writers.”

Chinua Achebe


Don’t Kill The SoldiersON 16th September

2014 the news broke tothe world that 12 soldierswho reportedly mutiniedin the Army in Bornostate have beensentenced to death bythe military tribunal. Theway of the Military isstrange and differentfrom civilianunderstanding . A soldieris expected to obey thelast order –no more ,noless without debate orquestion. So when agroup of soldiersdecided to point and firetheir guns at their ownCommander rather thanthe ungodly members ofBoko haram they Knewthey were violating acherished professionalnorm with weightyconsequences. Thispiece is not about thelegality or soundness ofthe military’ judgmentbut outright appeal onmoral and humanitariangrounds that the affectedsoldiers should not beexecuted. Too muchblood already has beenspilled.It was good thatthe ‘unruly’ soldiers havebeen investigated andtried according tomilitary rules to remindall rules of engagementand reign of extant lawsbut the official killing ofany soldier will not serveany useful purpose. Itwill not only be swellingthe number ofunwarranted death butalso unwittinglyadvancing the sadisticand unholy intention andagenda of the ungodlyand blood- thirstymembers of the Boko-Haram sect. The sect

does not deserve suchhonour.

The soldiers are to mevictims of unusualcomplex situation. TheBoko –Haramphenomenon is unusualin many respects and itconjures ugly andfrightening images andill-feeling. Though therehas been a generalbelief that the currentsecurity challenge hasbeen poorly handled, thesect’s guerilla tacticsappeared to overwhelmthe security agencies. Infact it requires moreintelligence than brawl towin the day. In a way, thealleged mutiny can beseen as an attempt toexpress the frustration ofthe men in the battlefield. According tonewspaper reports theBoko haram were betterarmed than our soldiersand some people wereresponsible for thedereliction ofresponsibility. We thankGod that theircommander was not hitand alive to tell the story,be immediately changedand retired their killingthem shall add no ounceof value to nationbuilding. Truly to makescapegoat out of themfor what is generally acollective failure andgreat embarrassment ofthe nation will becounter -product ive.This is because thesoldiers did not say no tofighting but to be betterarmed and motivated toget cracking on theinsurgents- thoughexpressed in theextreme unconventional

including soldiers whoforemost are human –beings with love of loveand instinct for self-preservation. But nowthat it has made thetactical mistake ofdeclaring some area itscaliphate within theNigerian space thenthings should be easierto handle. Rather thankilling some of their ownin the name of discipline,the military should beunited in dealing with thetremor on our body.

Recollection of thecircumstances leading

had been brought fromthe field dead as a resultof some ambush. Couldtheir action be aninvoluntary response toshocking event, anexpression of sympathyand a statement ofconcern and-a wake-upcall the appropriateauthority that time wasrunning out and thesooner more arms wereprovided the safer

for the soldiers andbetter for the country?.Recall too that the wivesof soldiers later stage apublic protest

of the urgent need forpositive action. Theactions were patrioticand they subsequentlyjogged some action.

Too much blood hadalready been sucked bythe vipers. Thesummation is mindboggling. According toFemi Fani-Kayode about8000 lives had been lostwithin the last3years.while 130churches burnt. NEMAreports that 1000 peopledied within the last threemonths and 250,000citizens displaced byinsurgents (TheGuardian 26/3/2014).Tothe federal government13000 Nigerians hadbeen lost to the BokoHaram crisis within thelast fiveyears(Leadership25-9-2014).

These could appalland cause a even lionheart to recoil. It was notmilitary might ordiscipline or couragethat was on trial, but the

collective will of thepeople to stand up to eviland chase it out of ourshores. It will be wrongtherefore to sacrificethese soldier for a faultnot entirely theirs. Whatwe have at hand isunreason againstreason, misguidedpeople with misinformedfaith and belief againstthe tenets of the holybook, darkness versuslight, intelligence versusphysical, a sectariangroup’s view againstmajority view of aparticular faith- In shorta minority group againstmajority citizens. Beforethe alleged mutiny whatwas more required toarrest the situation waspopular participation ofthe citizens, superiortechnology inintelligence gathering tohelp identify and isolatethe insurgents and niptheir plan early in the budand adequate weaponsto combat the enemies.

The age of innocenceappears to have gone.Decency and respect forhuman life have givenplace to one ofb a r b a r i s m ,shamelessness anddarkness-uncivi l izedacts. Our collectivesense of humanity hadtaken flight. Vipers,cannibals, sadists etcare on stage spillingblood indiscriminatelyand creating caliphatesat will on a determinedprogram ofextermination of thehuman race in Nigeria.This was the background to the soldiersa c t i o n - i n s e c u r i t yeverywhere including thebarracks. The littlemustard seed ofyesterday has grown bigand almost beyondcontrol. Understandablythere is a sense ofdesperation and evenfrustration in the land.The blaming gamescontinues but the errantsoldiers should not bekilled. Killing add sorrowto our already depressedcondition-nothing more.

way. Certainly the sect’s

guerilla tactics made itmore difficult for themilitary to strikeeffectively therebyendangering everyone

RoadmapDr. JOHN ABHUERE

With

to the unlawful action ofthe soldier could behelpful here. It was atale of blood, deaths andfrustration. The day oftheir offending act,some of their colleagues

• Gen. Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Army Staff

threatening to disallowtheir husbands fromgoing to war if therewere no adequatepreparation. It may lookqueer but it sendsmessage to the authority

The soldiers are to me victims of unusual complexsituation. The Boko –Haram phenomenon is unusualin many respects and it conjures ugly and frighteningimages and ill-feeling. Though there has been ageneral belief that the current security challenge hasbeen poorly handled, the sect’s guerilla tacticsappeared to overwhelm the security agencies.


Politician Charges Electorate To ExerciseFranchise

DELTA WATCHWith

JOEL CHUKWAGHONIMMarket Women Leader

Charges Women ToParticipate In Election

Cleric Advocates Love AmongNigerians

Ejeme Aniogbor Holds 2014 NewYam Festival

Vigilante Boss Calls For Support

Remember Your Constituents,Aniemeke Charges Newly

Elected Leaders

THE Ejeme AniogborPalace in Aniocha SouthLocal Government Area ofDelta State recently hostedthe people of the area in thisyear ’s celebration of itsannual new yam festival.

The traditional ruler whowas the Chief Celebrant,HRM Obi Anthony OgboiOnwelikwu, and the Obi ofEjeme Aniogbor in AniochaSouth L.G.A of Delta Stateappreciated the presence offamily members, friends andwell wishers who came fromall parts of the country tofelicitate with him on theauspicious occasion.

In a speech, HRM ObiOnwelikwu remarked thatthe new yam festival offers

CHIEF (Dr.) VincentEbohon Oloton of Okalo, inIgueben L.G.A in Edo State:A political stalwart of the AllProgressive Congress (APC)in Okalo has stated that it istime for the electorates tocome together to dulyexercise their franchise.

Speaking with newsmenin an interview in his countryhome in Igueben, he notedthat it was time for the peopleto get tangible developmentin the place of gift items,stressing that what thepeople in the communityneed is infrastructuraldevelopment.

He further assured thepeople that his party, the APCwill provide a level-playingground for all candidates,while he thanked them forregistering during the votersregistration exercise,

THE Market WomenLeader in Igbanke West,Orhionmwon LocalGovernment Area of EdoState, Mrs. Theresa Oligie,has called on all marketwomen in the area toensure they register tovote in the forthcoming,elections, so as toexercise their right offranchise.

Speaking withnewsmen in her countryhome, Mrs. Oligie chargedall political aspirants andthe entire political class toadhere to the dictates ofthe constitution in theforthcoming elections,stressing that politics is nota do or die affairs but agame like football.

She added thatpoliticians should desistfrom using Nigerianyouths as thugs tomanipulate electoralprocesses, while sheurged all youths in thearea and the entire nationnot to be lured intothuggery and violence.

Speaking further, Mrs.Oligie pointed out that EdoState needs candidatesthat can sustain themomentum by picking upthe legacy of the Comrade

THE chairman, vigilantgroup of Nigeria in AniochaSouth Local GovernmentArea of Delta State, Mr. AlexOkpala has appealed toGovernment, philanthropists,N o n - G o v e r n m e n t a lOrganisations and wellmeaning citizens of Ejeme,Aniogor Community to cometo the aid of the vigilantegroup in the area.

According to Mr. Okpala,the vigilante group is avoluntary organisation that isendeared towards combatingcrime and other crime related

THE Onyedozihen ofEkuku-Agbor in Ika SouthLocal Government Area ofDelta State, Chief PhilipChukwunweiken Aniemeke,has appreciated thesuccessful local governmentelection in the area.

Speaking with newsmenin his country home Ekuku-Agbor, Chief Aniemekecharged the successfulcandidates to alwaysremember their bearings andthey should always visit theirconstituencies, know theproblems in the areas andfind ways to address thembecause one good turnsdeserves another. ChiefAniemeke, who is also theAkurunor of Ejemeaniogor inAniocha south localgovernment area of the statefurther advised the electoratenot to allow any member of

THE Rev. Father of SaintDominic Parish Otolokpo inIka North East LocalGovernment Area of DeltaState, Dr. Steven Ayogbehas urged Nigerians to loveand show kindness to oneanother irrespective ofreligious beliefs to move thecountry forward.

In a chat with newsmen inhis office at Saint DominicParish Otolokpo, Rev.

empowering them to ensurethat they will come out to votefor the right candidate thatwill work with the legacy ofthe current GovernorComrade Adams AliyuOshiomhole.

Chief Oloton urged theyouths of the community tobe tolerant, and enjoined

them to shun violence,stressing that whatever theydo might make or mar thearea.

He added that all what thepeople want is peace in thearea and someone credibleto represent them in theforthcoming election.

The Oloton assured all of

his commitment to the partyadding that as party faithfuls,they will ensure responsiblerepresentation in theconstituency, Edo State ingeneral, and in the three tiersof government.

Father Ayogbe made theappeal by urging the peopleto exhibit what is calledgoodness which should beexpressed naturallyirrespective of the religionpractice or belief of thepeople.

He said there is onenatural attribute that God

has deposited in each oneof us to enable man relateand fit well into the society,making the society good andliveable for all.

He further stated, if allNigerian Christians andMuslims will exhibit anddemonstrate the goodnessthat God has planted in us,our moving forward will takeus to the promised land.

The Rev father said that inspite of the current securitysituation and otherchallenges facing the nation,Nigeria is moving forward,adding that God in heavencontrolling the affairs of menwill not allow us remainstagnant as man is alwayson motion, the world is onmotion and Nigeria ismoving forward.

“Moving forward is alwaysconstant, it is alwaysperpetual but our direction inmoving forward always“matter”, he said.

The clergyman furtherstated that other factors thatdetermine the positivemovement of man or societyare the belief of the peopleand respect for a nation’sconstitution. He called onthe political leaders at thevarious levels to governaccording to the rule of lawand respect the peoples’fundamental rights for thewell being of the society.

He went further to say thatcorruption, hatred,assassination andunemployment are ravagingthe country but the leadersshould think of what theconstitution says concerninghumanity and the right ofhuman beings.

bountiful opportunity for thepeople to give thanks toGod for all he has done rightfrom the planting season tothe harvest time.

HRM, Obi Onwelikwu,also noted that the event

provide the rare opportunityfor families to unit andfraternize an atmosphere ofjoy, celebration andmerriment.

The Obi stated that thenew yam festival is not

associated with fetishpractices or idol worship. Hesaid the new yam festival isone of those cultures of thepeople that is not devilishbut celebrated as a commontraditional features of thepeople.

HRM stressed theimportance of mothertongue, the need to re-invigorate traditional folktales both at home and inthe diasporal; He said thecreation of job opportunityfor the youth in thecommunity is a step towardseradicating social illness inthe society.

Dignitaries who gracedthe occasion are; Chief (Dr)Raphel Okwuokegen, theUgbala of Mbiri Kingdom inIka North East LocalGovernment Area of DeltaState, Dr. Engr. AustineIyamah, HRM (Dr) ValentineAkpatin, the Oselukwu ofOgume, the Obi-bu-Agu theAmbassador of UnitedNation, Chief NkworIgwebueze-the PrimeMinister (Iyase) of Ejeme inAniogbor Kingdom, and ahost of others.

issues in order to forstallpeace in any community andas a result, should not beallowed to face danger.

He added, that these arepeople who have volunteeredtheir lives to do the job buthave no money to financethemselves.

Mr. Okpala while solicitingfor support pleaded withphilanthropists who aresecurity conscious to donategenerously to help the grouppurchase securityequipments such as patrolvan, uniforms, rain boots,and monthly stipends to

enable them cater forthemselves and also tocommunicate effectively intimes of emergency in orderto combat crimes in theareas.

He therefore enjoined thetraditional rulers in the areato encourage the group bycontributing their quota toassist them, adding thatsince the inception of thevigilante group, people couldnow walk freely without anymolestation by criminals ascrime rate has been reduceddrastically to its bearest

minimum.In another development, a

member of the vigilantegroup, Mr. RobinsonOnwumah in his speech,charged all okada riders tostop operation any momentfrom 9:00pm unless onemergency to avoid beingembarrassed by policeofficers or vigilante men.

He also advised the groupnot to use the vigilanteinfluence to intimidate thepeople stressing that anyonecaught would be seriouslydealt with.

Governor which he will laydown for the nextGovernor of the state.

She thanked the EdoState Market WomenLeader, Mrs. JosephineOmoregie (JP) aka Blacky,for her good leadership incarrying all market womenin the state along. Sheprayed for God’s wisdom,strength, and resources topilot the affairs of themarket women in the stateto greater heights.

the political class to influencethem with material things toenable them exercise theirfranchise during theelections. In additions, hecharged the candidates notto use the youths as thugsduring the forthcomingelections to enable theelectorates vote for thecandidates of their choice.

Chief Aniemeke thankedthe former council chairmanof Ika South LocalGovernment Area, Hon.Festus Emuebie, the PDPleader in ward five (5) for hisopenness towards hisfollowers and his charitablegesture to the less-privilegedwho come close to him andprayed to God for wisdom,strength and resources, topilot the affairs of EkukuAgbor Community to agreater level.

• HRM Obi Anthony Ogboi Onwelikwu, Obi of EjemeAniogbor


• Prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC Chairman

Mass Media to deliver wellarticulated messages totarget audiences. Thesituation say in terms oflevel of l iteracy,geographical locations, etc,shall help in making achoice. However, given thetendency for violence, highlevel of i l l i teracy andpeculiar problems ofminority groups such as theelderly, women, disabled,

youths, rural dwellers, it issuggested that as much aspossible direct interactionapproach be explored morethan the use of the media toreach audience.

This has implicationfor cost and logistics- raisingmen to transverse thebreadth and length of thecountry for voters’ educationand funds to support thecause. We strongly believethat the problem of thecountry is not with lack ofknowledge of what is to be

done, but elite’s lack of duevalue premium on voterseducation, resources,capacity and will. But let meconfess: This is not adiscussion of the lead paperwhich I could not get beforenow but a reasonedresponse to the topic whichI found to be very relevantto our journey to the 2015General Elections.

WHAT IS VOTERSEDUCATION ALL ABOUT?

Broadly speaking voters

Strategies And Methods Towards Improving Voter’s Education

By JOHN ABHUERE Ph.D, FNIM

THE year 2015 is ageneral election year inNigeria. Elections in thecountry are often very tenseand characterized by someunholy and irresponsiblebehavior betraying povertyof knowledge on the part ofthe electorate. Apart fromcomplaints of rigging, therehave been violence, manyvoided ballots as a result ofwrong marking, apathy,sales and buying of votes,etc. These and othersthreaten the integrity ofelection, cast doubt on theoutcome, make votersapathetic and hopeless inthe belief that their votes do

not and will not count. It tookmuch efforts to check thespate of riots that brokefollowing the announcementof the last presidentialelection results. Many wentto court to seek redress.There is no doubt that awell- articulated andeffectively delivered Voters’education could make apositive difference. Man is alearning animal and can betaught to do election betterby voting well. This is the

purpose of voterseducation.

In this discussion, someof the strategies forimproving voters’ educationwill be explored forrelevance. Understood asplan of action for achievinga given task, the strategiesshall take two steps: namelydirect interaction with votersor prospective voters orindirect contact using the

DISCOURSEWeekend

Continues on pg. 16

2015 ELECTION• Sulaiman Abba, IG-P • Gen. Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Army Staff

“Apart from complaints of rigging, therehave been violence, many voided ballotsas a result of wrong marking, apathy,sales and buying of votes, etc. These andothers threaten the integrity of election...”


education is aboutempowering the voters withappropriate knowledgeaimed at making them‘ready, willing and able toparticipate’ in elections withconfidence. The goal is toenable the voter to makewell informed decisionabout an impendingelection, becomeknowledgeable andenthusiastic about thecoming elections, provideinformation about theelectoral process, promotepositive attitude to elections,explain the essence ofdemocracy, motivate thevoter into positive action –in short inform the voterabout the importance ofelection and why he shouldparticipate in it.(www.orsam.org .tr/tr/tr/upload/secimler/3…).

IMPORTANCE OFVOTERS’ EDUCATION

Voter’s Education is partof the general effort aimedat deepening and sustainingdemocracy, promotingmaximum votersparticipation and holdingelected membersaccountable after election. Itcovers activities connectedwith the election includingregistration, voting, the useof ballot papers, the rolesof individual citizen, sanctityand secrecy of the ballotand security of the voter,etc. Against this backgroundthe importance of Voters’Education cannot be over-stressed. This is much moreso in a country like Nigeriajust emerging from a longperiod of military rule anddictatorship. Citizens needa learning process indemocracy and democraticpractice and as justobserved, voters’ educationpromotes a body ofknowledge for effectiveparticipation in elections. Itnot only inducescommitment to ‘free and fairelection’, it also providesnecessary voters’information and otherknowledge-based materialswhich enable them to casttheir votes on election day.Also it helps in buildingconfidence by stressing theimportance of participatingin election, observance ofthe rule of the game, fairplay, knowledge of the keyactors, acceptance ofelection result etc.

POVERTY OF VOTERS’EDUCATION IN NIGERIA -CONTEXT OF MAKINGSTRATEGIES

In Nigeria today, there aremany signs of poverty ofvoters’ education and we

need to identify some ofthem as contextual basis formaking strategies. Theseinclude thuggery, rigging,rabid support for the wrongreasons, complacency andfailure of law enforcement,tribe-based political choice,violence, intolerance,corruption (stomachinfrastructure), insecurity,youth negative participation,disorderliness, late arrival ofelection materials, impropermarking of ballot papers,slow redress system, poorconsequence management.They are symptoms of aserious malady in voters’education in Nigeria. Thetask is to work out strategiesto check them as weprepare for the 2015elections. For instanceviolence is very prevalenthere warranting thedeployment of soldiers andthe youth are ready recruitsfor it and become victims inthe end. In the developeddemocracies many of theseanomalies do not happen asoften as seen in Nigerialargely because of longentrenched effectivesocialization process – civiceducation.

YOUTHS The role of the youths in

elections has been bothimpressive and depressing.While the educated ones –the corps members havehelped in promoting theintegrity of elections, manyof the poorly educated helpin defiling it by serving asthugs and agents ofviolence. During the lastgeneral election in America,the youth - first term voterswere seen looking for theirvoting station patientlywithout resort to violence. InNigeria the reverse wouldhave been the case. In thepast, youths have beenseen in Nigeria helping inthe snatching of ballotboxes and visiting violenceon other voters as partythugs. Also the averagevoter was easily cajoled tosell his vote for a smallamount of money or somebag of rice and salt whichsome polit ician nowelegantly refer to as‘stomach infrastructure’- aeuphemism for corruption ordefilement of the electoralprocess. Why the gap?

The truth is that suchpeople have little or noknowledge andunderstanding ofdemocracy. Their valuepremium on voting is lowand the importance of theballot is lost to them, theyare ignorant of the fact that

D scourse ii t is with their vote agovernment is formed andelected representatives arecontrolled. All these happenas a result of poor politicaleducation thereby allowingroom for such flaws. In otherwords the level of voters’education is low and thusthe need for voterseducation campaign evenbeyond the 2015 election topromote information onelectoral process, cause‘positive attitude towardselections and motivatepeople to participate in themmeaningfully’ in aresponsible and acceptableway. This calls for largerissue of civic and charactereducation requiring theattention and intervention ofschools, family and faithbased organizations. One ofthe ways to check violence,enlighten groups isappropriate educationwhich voters educationcould afford citizensincluding the youths.

CONTENTS OFVOTERS EDUCATION

Based on the Nigerianexperience especially ofmisuse of ballot andproclivity for violence, thecontents of Voterseducation program shouldcover rules and expectationof elections, roles andfunctions of government/state, essence ofdemocracy, importance ofelection and citizenryparticipation, basics of theconstitution, the electoralframework –theconstitution, electoral lawsand other regulations,voters’ information, security,free and fair election,patriotism need fortolerance, healthycompetition, sanctity ofvotes based on the idea thatone’s vote counts, vote issecret and security isguaranteed after voting-vote as source of power,good governance anddevelopment, leaders’tolerance of others,decorum of contestants,morality, ethical conduct,access to justice,assurances that ballot issecret, election free and fairto all parties, how, whereand when to vote, role andright of the voter, humanright, benefit of voting, thecurse of violence, role of thecitizen in democracy etc.Educators’ impartiality,universality of educationalcampaign and clarity ofmessage, etc, should beobserved.

PACKAGING Depending on the

audience-target group,

Strategies And Methods Towards

voters information dwellmore on good conduct,tolerance, patriotism,danger of violence, dutiesand responsibilities of agood citizen, acceptance ofresult, the need to followdue process for redress,etc, while audience with the

apply in voters educationprogram but as expertsinsist, the educators’ firststep is to ‘consider thetarget audiences and useappropriate methods toreach them bearing in mindtheir location, level ofl iteracy and access to

advertising, distancelearning, teaching methods,films, Audio Visual Aids, etc.VOTERS EDUCATIONAND INFORMATION,ALTERNATIVE METHODSOF COMMUNICATINGVOTER EDUCATION,METHODS OF VOTERS

some of the contents wouldbe given more focus andemphasis than others. Thisis a kind of ‘different strokesfor different folks’ - usingappropriate method. Apackage for the ruraldwellers cannot be same asthat of contestants forpolit ical positions. Forinstance, a sensitizationsession with contestantsand youth will in addition to

poor vil lagers or ruraldwellers will stress thebenefit of voting, secrecy ofballot, security after voting,how, where and when tovote and the like. We mayfind the use of mass mediabetter for one , while townhall meeting moreappropriate for the other.

STRATEGIES There are many

strategies and methods to

information’. In short identifyaudiences and use differenttypes of media such as TV,Radio, Press, Internet toreach them based on thecontext of the audiences.Others include use ofprinted materials, posters,flyers, lectures, town hallmeeting, market shows, artsand culture, face to faceinteraction, use of thetelephone, commercial

“Voter’s Education is part at deepening and sustainimaximum voters participmembers accountable aft


D scourse iImproving Voter’s Education

populated country such asNigeria, an important task isthe selection of appropriatestrategies and methods.They must be cost effectivein addressing the issues athand such as the onesidentif ied earlier. Forinstance how effective is

must be considered inchoosing any strategy. Itcalls for creative thinking,hard work and commitmentto best practices includingthe proper segmentationand identification of targetaudiences now in ourjourney to 2015 elections.

should be able to addressleading problemsassociated with elections. Agood understanding of thecountry including obstaclesto elections, nature ofproblem and their sourceswill help in identifying targetgroups for voters education.This will include voters and

non voters alike for generalapproach. In particularyouths, students, first timevoters, urban youths, ruralyouths, illiterate voters, theaged, disabled women andother minority groups canconstitute different targetgroups.

NIGERIAN POLITICALELITE

As hinted earlier, thegreatest threat to electionsis violence with itsassociated forms of riggingtraceable to the Nigerianpolitical elites who recruitthe youths for so manyunholy and uncleanactivities that are inimical tothe integrity of the electionprocess. The political elitehave not shown goodexample so far and theyneed some education. Manis a learning animal and withproper education or traininghe can be made to do thingsbetter. In this regard thefocus of voters educationshould also be on thepolitical class with emphasison code of conduct,patriotism, healthycompetition and the like.The polit ical parties,contestants, etc, can beeducated to behaveresponsibly and assist in thetask of voters’ educationand the youth to abhorviolence. The role of corpsmembers on election daywhich has had salutaryeffects, attests to the goodservice the youth can renderwhen properly socialized.Youth violence depicts theugly side of the unculturedcitizen. Sensitization of keyactors in the electoralprocess such as INECofficials, Security agents,Civil Society groups, VotersEducators with emphasis onpatriotism, fair-play, bestpractices, impartiality, etc, isequally desirable.

Today there aremarginalized people in thecountry including theyouths, the elderly, thedisabled, etc, and the taskof the educator is to reachout and bring such groupsof people to the electoralfolds. We must not only tryto find out why the Nigerianyouth are so vulnerable toviolence and why theaverage Nigerian citizen iseasily manipulated by theelites, also we must use thevoters’ education programto empower them withcorrect information andknowledge to resisttemptation.

WHO WILL BELL THECAT? – NEED FORVOTERS’ EDUCATIONFUND

Who will bell the cat?The first reaction is to shoutINEC- the electionmanagement authority inNigeria. The task isenormous and far beyondthe resources of INEC interms of men and materials.In my view, the problem ofNigeria’s election is not withthe lack of knowledge ofwhat to be done but the lackof capacity and political willto do the needful. Thesituation of Voters’education is deplorable andneeds much injection of duefunds to attract the rightmen/women and attain thedesired reach. Also, there isthe problem ofunderestimation of theimportance of voters’education in the country.Consequently there hasbeen inadequate resourcesdevoted to it. Towards thisend there is the need forVoters’ Education Fund tobe supported by the politicalparties, businessorganizations andinternational bodies. WhileINEC can spear-head andcoordinate the sourcing ofresources, all hands mustbe on deck to raise thetempo of voters’ educationin the country.

CIVIC ANDC H A R A C T E REDUCATION

Some would rather wantINEC to restrict itself tovoters’ information andvoters’ education only.However as things looknow, the execution of voters’education program cannotbe very successful unless itis grounded on civiceducation which is acontinues exercise aimed atpromoting citizenryparticipation, goodcharacter education, civicresponsibil it ies, soundknowledge of theconstitution, democracy anddemocratic practices.Unfortunately as notedearlier, this like the study ofhistory, has become one ofthe neglected areas of oureducational system to thedetriment of voters’education. Also, theelectoral body has to beready with voters’information for theeducators to use with otherrelevant materials in thevoters’ education programs.The task at hand is tooenormous for the electionauthority to do alone inNigeria.

COLLABORATION This leads to the next

obvious strategy - that ofcollaboration with

competent organizationssuch as the Civil Societiesto prepare and take wellarticulated voters’ educationpackages to all the nooksand crannies of the country.As indicated earlier, thevoters’ education has to belocal government basedand driven. It is suggestedthat at least 5 five welltrained voters’ educators beappointed for each of thelocal government to becharged with promotingcivic education, voters’education anddissemination of voters’information to citizens to becoordinated by INEC.Though civic education isnormally left to schools tohandle, there is nothingwrong with INEC showingmore than ordinary interestin deepening democracy inNigeria by engaging theappropriate educationauthority to energize thataspect of our education.

BORROWING FROMOTHER COUNTRIES -IDEA OF MOCKELECTION

Some countries havetended to focus attention onchildren and youth byconducting mock electionsfor children to participate,having parallel voting duringelection that would not becounted, encouragingcampaigns for schoolpositions and organizingseminars, workshop,special lectures for youngpeople for purpose ofpolitical/ voters education.The NGOs could comehandy here in lending ahelping hand to the causeof voters’ education in thecountry.

CONCLUSION - NO ONEBEST WAY

There is no one beststrategy or method : theprevailing situation say thetarget group for instancemay help in deciding themethods. There is no usethrowing flyers, radio andTelevision adverts in Englishat the stark illiterates in therural areas. Directinteraction may be betterwith eyes on costeffectiveness. Creativethinking, commitment todemocracy, patriotism, costconsideration are ofessence here. The LocalGovernment area should bethe hub of Voters’ Educationwith INEC coordinating,monitoring and evaluatingfor necessary action.

VOTERS EDUCATIONAND INFORMATION,ALTERNATIVE METHODSOF COMMUNICATINGVOTER EDUCATION,METHODS OF VOTERSEDUCATION-ECP VOTERHAND BOOK- PAKISTAN)

EDUCATION-ECP VOTERHAND BOOK- PAKISTAN)

The strategies arebased on the idea ofeffective communicationand as already noted forpurpose of easy referencethe methods can be sub-divided into two: namelydirect contact activities andindirect contact through themass media activities. Thusin a highly i l l i terate

the use of mass the mediain a society with highill iteracy rate such asNigeria and how easy is itfor educators to transversethe length and breadth ofthe country in order to havedirect interaction say withthose in the Creeks, Highlands and the vast majorityof rural dwellers most ofwhom are illiterates? Theseare practical issues that

Whatever is the case, thevoters’ education programshould be conducted ateach of the localgovernment areas of thecountry.

TARGET AUDIENCES A good voters’ education

should not only be able tomake the voter to becomemore knowledgeable andknow how, when and whereto vote and why, also it

t of the general effort aimeding democracy, promoting

pation and holding electedter election.”


Netanyahu:Real Danger To Israel’s

SecurityBy ALON BEN-MEIR

AS Prime Minister,Netanyahu has consistentlyinvoked his solemn duty toprotect Israel’s nationalsecurity. Ironically, he hasbecome the single mostreckless individual who isimperiling the very securityof the state. One need notlook far and wide to discernN e t a n y a h u ’ sdisingenuousness andmisguided policies that haveonly undermined Israel’sfuture security.

He uses his political skillsto deceive and mislead inorder to ‘protect himselffrom political defeat’ whiledisregarding what is best forthe future of the state. Hesurrounds himself withcronies blinded by theirskewed ideological zeal withno morals or scruples tosupport his sinister politicalagenda.

To be sure, Israel underNetanyahu’s stewardship isglobally on the defensive,isolated, threatened fromwithin and without, loathedand criticized by friends andfoes alike, and with noprospect to achieve peace,which jeopardizes not onlyIsrael’s security but its veryexistence.

By what measure canNetanyahu claim that theoccupation of the WestBank enhances Israel’snational security? Nearlyfifty years of occupation didnothing but poison thePalestinians, intensify theirhatred and animosity towardIsrael, and drive them toextremism, which gave birthto Hamas and anassortment of other jihadistgroups.

How does the building ofsettlements and theirexpansion under thepretense of securing theborders provide Israel withbetter security? Thousandsof soldiers are stationedthroughout the West Bankto protect the settlers,making the settlements asecurity liability rather thanan asset.

Moreover, the settlementsbecame the source of thePalestinians’ resentmentand violence, and theircontinuing expansioncloses the window for a two-state solution. Thesettlements diminish theprospect of establishing aPalestinian state whilerisking Israel’s security andnational identity and

alienating the internationalcommunity.

Instead of embracing theArab Peace Initiative (API),especially now that theentire region is in turmoil andthe Arab states are moreeager than ever before tomake peace, Netanyahu stillrejects it irrespective of thefact that many current andformer Israeli political andmilitary leaders beseech himto embrace it.

By rejecting the API,Netanyahu has yet againforfeited another historicopportunity to negotiate,with some give and take, alasting peace which morethan anything else couldradically enhance Israel’slong-term national security.

Netanyahu habituallyignored Israel’s Westernallies’ pleas to moderate hispolicies toward thePalestinians and end theoccupation. Frustrated andangered by his continuingviolation of Palestinianhuman rights while usurpingtheir territories inch by inch,the European countrieshave abandoned him.

The loss of the West’smoral and political supportwill have long-term securityimplications on Israel, as thecountry becomesincreasingly isolated andever more vulnerable tooutside threats.

Engrossed by his self-grandeur and lack ofsensitivity, Netanyahubetrayed Jordan’s KingAbdullah, Israel’s closetArab ally and the custodianof the Muslim Holy Sites, byusing the Temple Mount—the most sensitive area toboth Jews and Muslims—toassert Jewish right to thesite at a time of extremetension.

To galvanize and furtherstrengthen his political base,Netanyahu provoked thePalestinians by hisrestriction on their mobility,night raids, and arbitraryincarceration, deliberatelyinstigating them to resist,often violently.

He then uses thePalestinians’ resistance tothe occupation to justify hisharsh treatment to thecheering of the growingright-of-center segment ofthe population. AsAristophanes onceobserved, “You[demagogues] are like thefishers for eels; in still waters

Israeli Arabs has alienatedthem to a point where theynow stridently andvociferously condemn theIsraelis’ inequality andopenly side with theirbrethren in the West Bankand Gaza.

The continuation ofNetanyahu’s policy towardthe Israeli Arabs could havedisastrous national security

Bank and Gaza.Rather than working in

earnest in the search forpeace under US auspices,Netanyahu nevernegotiated with thePalestinians in good faith.He recklessly defiedAmerica’s call to freezesettlement building, whichthe US considers a majorimpediment to peace.

By defying his country’sclosest ally, whosecommitment to Israel’snational security is central toits very survival in a sea ofhostilities, Netanyahu mustnow take blame for the crisisbetween Israel and the USand for the deterioration oftheir bilateral relations,which have never stoopedso low in Israel’s history.

By not reining in his loose-tongued ministers,Netanyahu has becomecomplicit in their outrageousverbal attacks on USofficials. The absurdity ofthese ministers, includingDefense Minister MosheYa’alon, Foreign MinisterAvigdor Lieberman, andEconomy Minister NaftaliBennett, is surpassed onlyby their blindness to graspthe indispensability of the USto Israel.

What makes mattersworse is that the Netanyahugovernment has lost itscredibility in the US, whosepolit ical, economic andmilitary support helped Israelbecome a formidableregional power, whichNetanyahu and many of hissupercilious ministers takefor granted.

The irony is thatNetanyahu invokes nationalsecurity concerns evenwhen he personally cameunder intense criticism fromAmerican officials, one whoanonymously called him“chickenshit” and a “coward.”“I am under attack,” he toldthe Knesset last week,”simply because I amdefending the State of Israel.If I didn’t stand firm on ournational interests, I wouldnot be under attack.”

Finally, what has andcontinues to adverselyimpact Israel’s nationalsecurity is the country’spolitical factionalism that

prevents the emergence ofa cohesive policy toward thePalestinians which hasplagued Israel.

Netanyahu’s governmentis no different than previousones; it consists of disparatepolitical parties with differentpolitical agendas, led by self-conceited individuals.

Every minister believesthat he or she should be thenext prime minister, but nonehas the courage, vision, andthe leadership qualities tolead, and none have a cluewhere Israel should be in 10or 15 years down the line.

This includes the other twoparty leaders, JusticeMinister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua)and Finance Minister YairLapid (Yesh Atid). Althoughboth hold moderate viewstoward the Palestinians, thefact that they neverchallenge Netanyahu tochange course and did notleave the coalit iongovernment means theyhave become complicit inNetanyahu’s i l l-advisedpolicy and its direimplications to Israel’snational security.

Leave it to Netanyahu tosuccessfully manipulate andplay one party leader againstthe other, knowing that theycherish their jobs and titlesmore than taking realresponsibility to serve thenation.

Although Israel has legitimatenational security concerns,Netanyahu subordinates it tohis narrow ideological agendaand uses it as a tool tomanipulate the public.

His unwill ingness todevelop a genuine nationalsecurity strategy, which mustrest on peace and besupported by all politicalparties, ensures that whatfollows is at best paralysisand at worst a misguidedpolicy that will lead todisaster.

I TERNATIONALn

they catch nothing, but ifthey thoroughly stir up theslime, their fishing is good.”

Netanyahu and hisgovernment’s systematicdiscrimination against

consequences as Israelcannot count on the loyaltyof nearly 20 percent of itspopulation, especially intimes of intense conflict withthe Palestinians in the West

“By what measure can Netanyahu claimthat the occupation of the West Bankenhances Israel’s national security? Nearlyfifty years of occupation did nothing butpoison the Palestinians, intensify theirhatred and animosity toward Israel”

• Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli PM


W rld Reporto

By BENJAMIN ADUBA

U.S White House U.S President, Barack Obama

A Republican Reward For U.SIs AwaitedTHAT the Republican

Party won these mid-term elections is firmlyestablished exceptpossibly in the minds ofthe most partisanDemocrats and eventhey would have somedoubts about their party’sdirection. Elections arefought on promises andideas and now thatRepublicans have wonfair and square theyshould proceed withspeed and deliver to theAmericans what theywere promised.Americans shouldexpect no less than a fullimplementation ofrepublican agenda. Thisshould start from the firstday of the next congressand will be much easiersince the party wouldcontrol both Houses withclear majorities.

The party should goahead and repealObama Care. This wouldbring back the old andtried system of the pastwhen insurancecompanies would deny

care for pre-existingconditions. If one is bornwith a problem whyshould it be the businessof insurance companiesto provide coverage thatthe patient was stupidenough not to insureagainst? There areserious problems withObama care. It wouldcost jobs, it wouldimpose the governmenton an unwilling people. Itis big government atwork. Less than fullimplementation would bea betrayal of theAmerican people.

America is in theimminent threat by ISIS.It is time to teach theIslamic radicals who is incharge. America doesnot take lightly any threatto its corporateexistence. On the firstday of congress of thepeople they willcommand theCommander-In-Chief toput booths on the groundin Iraq and Syria andpush back the Muslimlunatics back to whence

they came; back to theOthman Empire. This isthe 21st century andAmerica is King. Whileover there they shouldabolish Iran and herdreams of WorldD o m i n a t i o n .Republicans can killthree birds with onestone. Now in the Mid-East they should go forthe final solution of thePalestinian question byensuring the safety ofIsrael forever byannihilating theremnants of Palestiniansand other insolent Arabs.Israel is God’s promise toAbraham and America isGod’s enforcer. Mr.McCain should be incharge of this project.

America is a nationgoverned by laws andnobody who entersAmerica by breaking herlaws should be alloweda breathing space in

America. So in the wordsof that great republicanpresidential flag bearerMr. Mitt Romney the livesof all illegal immigrantsshould be made sounbearable that theywould self deport andthose who fail to get themessage should be putin concentration campsjust as was done to theJapanese during the war.And to make sure thesituation did not recurhundred foot wallsshould be built along allUS borders which wouldbe policed by borderguards at the rate of onearmed guard per a yardof territory and withauthority to shoot atsight.

Africa had beenceded to the Europeansfor the longest time andthe Europeans havemade a mess of thingsover there. America

needs to take Africaback. A super Powerought to make sure thatthe world sees itfootprint. ThereforeAmerica’s presencemust be felt in Africa.China should be beatenback to her Asia territoryand not allowed toexpand its influencebeyond the Orient. Africawas discovered by theWest and to the West itmust belong. Travels tothe Ebola infested WestAfrica should berestricted and no WestAfrican should beallowed into the UnitedStates to infect itshonorable people. Stupidnurses and doctors whofoolishly went there tocure an incurabledisease should bequarantined and made tosuffer for theirfoolishness. Radical EastAfrica should be civilizedand told to reject theungodly Muslim religionwhich has beendesperately seeking afoothold in East Africa.Al-Qaida, Boko Haram,and every known orunknown terroristsshould be attacked byair, land, and sea. NorthAfrica should not be aspring board ofradicalism.

The business ofAmerica is business, andeverything possible tohelp businessmen andwomen to succeed

would be done.Concepts such asminimum wage, healthbenefits (which mostoften benefit laborleaders), taxes whichprovide big governmentwith funds to waste, arethings of the past.Republican party willonce more live the truemeaning of its founding:limited government;government of the few,for the few, by the few;upward mobility bypeople of Europeandescent; women shouldbe told that the Bibleconfers leadership to themasculine gender andthat their place is in thekitchen; not in the pulpitsor as governors.Minorities should beeducated to understandthat God appointedpeople to be apostles,ministers, cooks, janitorsand that each personshould understand theirplaces and be content.Janitors should notaspire to be the presidentof these United States.

There are many morethings to be done. Doingthe above would beregarded as downpayment on thepromises to a brave NewWorld. In 2016 with thecapture of thepresidency, America’sdignity in the world wouldbe fully restored. AndAmerica’s Age will last fora thousand years. Godbless America.

“So in the words of that great republican presidentialflag bearer Mr. Mitt Romney the lives of all illegalimmigrants should be made so unbearable that theywould self deport and those who fail to get themessage should be put in concentration camps”


Matters Arising

Withdrawal Of Tambuwal’sSecurity Aides

By RAHAMAN ONIKE

By INIBEHE EFFIONG

THE recent invasion ofthe Koto-Kariffi FederalMedium Security Prison inKogi State by unidentifiedarmed men was the secondof such occurrence in the lasttwo years and at the endabout one hundred and fortyinmates were set free. Therecent Kogi jail break wascarefully planned andexecuted with impunity. Theincidence has really causedserious embarrassment to thenation, while there are signsof agony in the voices of thepeople of the communitywhere the prison is situated.From all indications, there arereasonable grounds to linkthe onslaught to powerfulexternal forces either within oroutside the state. Whateverthe motive of the breakers,the action was ill – motivatedand condemnable.

In 2012, similar

reasoning is not onlydeceitful and hypocritical,but a desperate attempt torig history.

There is no singularprovision in either theConstitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria 1999 (asamended), the LegislativeHouses (Powers andPrivileges) Act Cap. L12LFN 2004 or even under theStanding Orders of theHouse of Representativesthat states that the Speakerof the House shall comefrom the party with themajority of members in theHouse.

Based on politicalpractice, it is usually in aparliamentary system ofgovernment that the politicalparty with the majority ofmembers usually producethe head of the parliamentand form a government.Even in countries practicingparliamentary system,instances abound wherepolitical parties have to forma coalition for theemergence of the head ofthe legislature to beachieved.

On the other hand,presidential system erodesthe influence and role ofpolitical parties in theemergence of the head of

Kogi Jail Break:

occurrence was recorded inthe same prison when abouttwo hundred awaiting trialinmates were set free bysome unidentified persons.Such cases are becomingrampant under the presentdemocratic order. The reportfrom the Authorities of Kogistate prison services hasindicated that fifteen out ofone hundred and forty fourescapees have been re-arrested. It was learnt theattackers operated for overthree hours unchallenged bythe police, prison guards orany other intelligence service.By implication, the securitypersonnel attached to theprison could be suspected ofcompromises or probablythey are ill-equipped to resistthe invasion of the prison by

the armed men.When the jail break first

occurred two year ago, publicneed to know what the prisonAuthorities found throughinvestigation as theimmediate and remotecauses of the security breach.Who were actually found to beculpable when investigationwas conducted? Anotherimportant issue forconsideration is thepsychology of the inmates ofthe prison. In my view, theway the inmates escaped tothin air shows that an averageNigerian prisoner alwayslooks for an escape routeprobably due to poorcondition of the prisons inNigeria.

Again, the remaining onehundred and twenty nine

inmates that are still at largeare potential threats toresidents of the Communitywhere the prison is located.The outcry of the people ofthe Community has alsoindicated that except theescaped prisoners are foundand re – arrested, the peacecurrently enjoyed by thevarious Communities in theArea will be in jeopardy. Giventhe possible securityimplications of the jail break,it is high time full investigationbe conducted to really identifythe motive and the sponsorsof the onslaught with the viewto prevent future re –occurrence of the malady.

The critical question,however, must be who in factare breaking the prisons. Theabove notwithstanding, theresidents need to be morevigilant to prevent future re –

occurrence. Strikingly, the civilsociety owes the nation theresponsibility of reporting anystrange movement as part ofmeasures to rid the society ofthe criminals who frequentlymastermind the jail break.The reality is that suchdangerous assignmentcannot be undertaken by asingle person rather it oughtto have involved conspiracyamong several persons. It isdifficult to completelyexonerate the prison officialsof being accomplices in theconspiracy leading to theattack on the prison.

Besides, the Authorities ofthe Nigerian prisons needtraining and re – orientationon emotional intelligence andeffective strategies to managethe psychology of theinmates. The use of coercionin handling the inmates by theprison officials could at timesmake the prisoners tobecome fallible in a situationwhere there is an attack onthe prison. Apart from KogiState experience, jail breakand riots by the inmates seemto have become commonphenomena in Nigeria.

This justifies the call forNigerian prison reform. In the

developed countries of theworld, prison service is acorrective and rehabilitativeInstitution. Whereas theoperation of the Nigeria prisonservice are both brutish andburdensome. Withoutnecessary reform, there maynot be an end to protests andother forms of barbarismamong the inmates of theNigerian prisons.

Radical reforms in thepersonnel quality, adequatebudgetary provision for theinmates and enablingenvironment for genuinerehabilitation should form thebedrock of the reformprocess.

I am not under the illusionthat attack on prison could betraced to Boko Haram.However, it is difficult todismiss the rationale behindthe insinuations which formthe basis of linking the attackto the insurgents. Thereshould be search light pointedin the direction, given theunconfirmed report that someof the inmates are membersof Boko Haram. Exceptproper investigation is carriedout, a lot of people willcontinue to ask questions.

ON Tuesday, October28, 2014 the Speaker ofNigeria’s House ofRepresentatives, AlhajiAminu Tambuwal formallyannounced his defectionfrom the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) tothe All ProgressivesCongress (APC) at theplenary of the House.

The newly confirmedInspector General of Police,Mr. Suleiman Abba, orderedthe withdrawal of the officialpolice security aidesattached to Mr. Tambuwalon Wednesday October 29,2014-a day after hisdefection, allegedly incompliance with Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria (asamended).

The State SecurityService (SSS) and theNigerian Security and CivilDefence Corps (NSCDC)are said to have followedsuit.

I have read a lot ofuninformed andindefensible commentarieson the effect of Mr.Tambuwal’s defection fromthe ruling PDP to theopposition APC. Some haveargued that by defecting tothe party in the minority,Tambuwal has lost his officeas Speaker.

Others have contendedthat it is morally wrong forTambuwal to defect to theAPC without first resigningas the Speaker. This line of

the parliament, therebygiving much leverage to themembers of the parliamentto individually andindependently elect theprincipal officers withoutmuch regard to the interestof their respective politicalparties on whose platformthey were elected.

How can we forget sosoon? This is the sameTambuwal whosespeakership aspiration thesame PDP never supported.PDP never made himSpeaker. As a matter of fact,his election was an act ofrevolt against the PDPwhich had preferred Mrs.Mulikat-Adeola Akande- thecurrent Majority Leader ofthe House to be theSpeaker.

Tambuwal was electedSpeaker by his colleaguesbecause of his charismaand acceptability, not reallybecause he was a memberof the PDP. So what is theongoing cacophony about?PDP cannot eat her cakeand have it. He who comesto equity must come withclean hands and he whoseeks equity must do equity.

By the provisions ofSection 50 of theConstitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria 1999 (as

amended), the Speaker ofthe House ofRepresentatives can ONLYvacate his office-

(a) if he ceases to be amember of the House ofRepresentatives otherwisethan by reason of adissolution of the House; or

(b) when the House firstsits after any dissolution ofthat House; or

(c) if he is removed fromoffice by a resolution of theHouse by the votes of notless than two-thirds majorityof the members of thatHouse.

For Mr. Tambuwal to bevalidly removed from office,at least 240 (which is thetwo-third of the 360members of the House) willhave to vote in favour of hisremoval. Anything otherthan this is and will benakedly unconstitutional,null and void.

It is only a court ofcompetent jurisdiction thathas the power to make apronouncement on theconstitutionality ofTambuwal’s defection.Whether the much citedprovisions of Section68(1)(g) of the Constitution

is in favour or against hisdefection is exclusively forthe court to say.

It amounts to a violentrape on the letters and spiritof the 1999 Constitution forthe Inspector General ofPolice to declare the officeof the Speaker vacant; it isclearly an arrogantusurpation of the judicialpowers of the courts underSection 6 of the 1999Constitution and it shouldnot go unchallenged.

Were Nigeria a sanecountry where rule of lawprevails over tyranny, theInspector General of Police,Mr. Suleiman Abba, wouldhave honourably tenderedhis resignation havingdisplayed a clear politicalpartisanship which isunbecoming of his office asthe head of the nation’sprimary security agency -thepolice.

But then, this is Nigeriawhere any idiot can justwake-up and do whateverhe or she likes with atavisticimpunity. A country wherethe law is disregarded andviolated by those who sworeto uphold it.

This is not about Mr

Tambuwal or the APC, Ihave no links with either ofthem. This is about theongoing threats against ournascent democracy. Wedeserve a police system thatdoes not dance to theprimordial melodies of thepowers that be. We cannotcontinue like this as anation.

President Jonathanshould see maintenance oflaw and order as hisresponsibility. He should riseabove pettiness andegregious considerations.Jonathan should bereminded timely that hisoath of allegiance is to theFederal Republic of Nigeriaand not to his party. Wehave had enough ofimpunity under hispresidency and the time tostop it is now.

The security aides of Mr.Aminu Tambuwal, theSpeaker of the House ofRepresentatives should berestored immediately.Should anything happen tohim, there will be noguessing as to thoseresponsible.

The Time to end thisunholy culture of impunity isnow.

V ewpointi


THE role of Science,Technology andInnovation (ST&I) in anynation cannot beoveremphasized. As partof efforts to rescue thefuture of Nigeria and itspeople from poverty anddeprivation, the FederalGovernment in 2012approved the nationalpolicy on science,technology and innovationwith the belief that theoutputs ST&I would havepositive implications forthe transformation agendaof the presentadministration.

In the words of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan twoyears ago, when heundertook to be thechairman of the NationalResearch and InnovationCouncil (NRIC), thePresident said, “I amconvinced that science,technology and innovationremain the key that willhelp us to achieve thedesired transformation. Ihave undertaken to be thechairman so as to providethe leadership needed bythis policy to drive ournational development onall fronts, while preservingand respecting theindividual mandates andresponsibilities of the lineministries and agencies ofgovernment.”

There is no doubt thathis conviction stems fromthe resourcefulness of theNigerian people, apartfrom the fact that the gainsof the application of theresults from researchwould have beneficialeffect for the quick turn-around of the economy.

The NRIC, of which Mr.President is the Chair, willbe involved in facilitatingFederal, Sectoral,Regional, State, and Locallevel innovations throughthe creation of innovationCouncils. Undoubtedly,the development willmake Nigeria a globalinnovation outsourcingdestination.

Since the policy was

has consistently featuredin the agenda of both the12th and 13th meetings ofthe National Council ofScience and Technology(NCST) is the Triple HelixConcept, which has theWard Based ClusterConcept (WBCC) as itsdriver. The concept, nodoubt, has snowballedinto Ward Based Clusterproject (WBCP) which isinherent at the grass rootlevel.

This year’s meeting heldin Minna, the Niger Statecapital has the theme‘Science, Technology andInnovation Policy:Prospects andChallenges of itsImplementation at theGrassroots’.

At the courtesy visit toGovernor Babangida Aliyuof Niger State, thePermanent Secretary ofthe Ministry of Scienceand Technology, Mrs.Winifred Oyo-Ita told herhost that the FederalGovernment had beenlaying emphasis onresearch as one of theways to improve theeconomy, adding that theWard Based ClusterProject, a technologicalprogramme introducedrecently by thegovernment to bring updevelopment from thegrass-roots level, wouldsoon commence inselected states as pilotprojects at the six geo-political zones of thenation.

The WCBP is a projectwhere emergingtechnologies developed inthe urban areas areimpacted to the peoplewithin the localcommunities so that theycan make good use oftheir raw materials tocreate capital investment.

It basically aims atimpacting the requiredskills to residents at theward level- which iscluster of villages- to drawpeople from differentlocalities to acquire skilland developentrepreneurs.

Stakeholders at the lastMinna meeting believethat clusters can be usedto create jobs andpromote socio-economicdevelopment in the ruralareas. This informed thedevelopment of a blueprint for the establishmentof clusters in Nigeriathrough synergy amongstakeholders.

This is based on thetriple helix concept ofbringing research,industry and governmenttogether to promotecompetitiveness inproduction. The blueprintproposes the promotion ofraw materials-basedindustrial cluster in each ofthe 774 local governmentsin Nigeria by 2020.

With the use of the triple

helix model of innovationin our nationaldevelopment strides,Nigeria stands to gainfrom bringing together thepublic, private andacademic sectors thusrefocusing the researchinstitutes to be responsiveto specific and identifiedindustrial needs.

As a demonstration ofseriousness andcommitment bygovernment, severalinterventions have beenmade for thetransformation of the ruraleconomy through theinjection of technologiesdeveloped by FederalMinistry of Science andTechnology (FMST).

These include, but notlimited to thedevelopment of conceptnote and blueprint for theWBCP, study of rawmaterials on localgovernment areas andward basis completed,baseline studies onclusters have beencompleted, apart from thefact that pilot wards havebeen designated.

Furthermore, visits havebeen undertaken by theMinister of Science andTechnology withdelegates from FMST tostate governors wherepilot wards are located,

D velopmente

pilot wards communitieshave been sensitized,projects teams have beenset up in institutions fromwhere technologies are tobe deployed just as someof the institutions haveachieved more than 80percent completion oftechnologies to bedeployed.

It is worthy of note thatthe technologies deployedby the Raw MaterialsResearch andDevelopment Council(RMRDC) for BayelsaState is ready, while theskills acquisition centresare being constructed.

In the words of theMinister of Science andTechnology, Dr. AbdulBulama “ stakeholdersshould as a matter ofdeliberate policy useScience Technology andInnovation to transformNigeria into one of the top20 economies in year2020, stressing that anation that is unable todevelop its STI system,will sink further down,while those with strongSTI will mount up, as STIprovides the basis forindustrialization andsustainable development.

In reinforcing thecommitment of theFederal Government Dr.Bulama recently hintedthat President GoodluckJonathan is set to

replicate the successstory of Small andMedium-sized Enterprise(SME) clusters in 9,555wards across the country.

According to theMinister, the aim of theseprojects is to promote rawmaterials processingclusters, which is aninitiative of the RawMaterials Research andDevelopment Council.“The success story of theOtigba cluster; IkejaComputer Village; NnewiAutomotive SME cluster,the Kano Leather Cluster;Aba Fashion andGarments cluster; KanoLeather Cluster, Aba,Abeokuta and Osogbo tieand dye industry haveproved beyond doubtsthat the cluster concept isone of the potentstrategies required forenhancing speedydevelopment of the non-oil sector,”.

The concept hasreceived the approval ofthe Federal Governmentfor implementation in allwards across the country.“For this reason, it wasnamed the Ward BasedCluster Project.Consequently, it would bereplicated in all 9,555wards in the country,based on each ward’scomparative advantage interms of naturalresources endowment.

By EWACHE AJEFU

Ward Based Projects As Strategy For Rural Empowerment

approved, there havebeen tremendous stridesas exemplified by aplethora of breakthroughsin biotechnology, spaceresearch, energydevelopment andinformation andc o m m u n i c a t i o ntechnology (ICT) and ahost of others.

However one importantaspect arising from thepolicy approval and which

“With the use of the triple helix modelof innovation in our nationaldevelopment strides, Nigeria stands togain from bringing together the public,private and academic sectors thusrefocusing the research institutes to beresponsive to specific and identifiedindustrial needs.”


Function Of TheSchool Counsellor

THE major functions of acounsellor depend on anumber of factors amongwhich are the setting inwhich the counseloroperates and the peculiarproblems or concerns ofindividuals in that setting.A school counsellorprofessionally guides andcounsels individuals aloneand in groups, helpingthem to understandthemselves and theirsituations with a view tomaximizing their personaleffectiveness andsatisfaction, as well as,their usefulness to thesociety in which they live(Adegokeetal, 2004).

According toAdegokeetal 2004), aschool setting function of acounsellor includes thefollowing:

• Orientation of newstudents (i.e, JSS 1 andtransfer studies)

• Educational counselling• Vocational counselling• Personal Counselling• Referral Services• Follow-up Service

(individual) and alumniassociation)

• Liasion and PlacementServices

• Keeping studentRecords – Especially,continuous Assessmentand other features of theNational Policy onEducation.

• References andTranscripts Services

• Research, Planning,Students statistics andconsultancy services.

• School ExaminationsCommunity services.

Orientation Serviceaccording+Ad

• Welcomes newstudents

• Talks to them on thehistory, philosophy, status,p r o g r a m m e s ,achievements, problems,rules and regulations,clubs aspirations, etc. ofthe school and exhortsthem to identify themselveswith the progress of theschool.

• Provides them withskills for self management.

• Takes them round theneighbourhood of theschool

• Serves as a parent,especially, to those whoseparents or guardians are

counselling services.• Takes up cases referred

to him for counselling,assessment, placement,consultations etc and givesfeedback on them to thereferring agencies.

Follow-up services• Follows up students’

progress after leaving theschool.

• Liaises with the AlumniAssociation for progress,news and up dateinformation.

• Links students with thecurrent school communitywith programmes likealumni week, newsletters,visits etc.

• Encourages contributionby alumni to schoolprogress and programmes.

Liaison And PlacementServices

• Liaises with outsideorganisations which havestudent chapters.

• Helps in streamingstudents eg, transition fromJSS to SS 1.

• Arranges exchangeprogrammes visits,

reception for visitinggroups and so on.

• Liaisons betweenstudents job seekers andprospect we employersincluding location forvacation job experiences.

• Helps in arranging forlearning facilities outsideschool programmes

With

O.C.Madu

GSM: 08056379608

experiences attachment,pilot schemes, etc.

P e r s o n a l / s o c i a lcounselling

• Counsels students ontheir personal and socialmatters and problems.

• Administers, scores,interpretes test on mattersand problems and usesthe results for counselling.

• Consults and liaiseswith teachers and parents,as occasion requires, onstudents, person/socialmatters and problems andinvolves them withcounselling programmes.

• Fosters personal andsocial developments instudents, throughindividual and group-programmes, schoolsocieties, exchangeprogrammes, hobbies, selfmanagement skills, socialskills, training in-assertiveness etc.

Referral services.• Refers clients to other

professionals as occasionrequires, that is, to medicaldoctors, specialists in

from the school setting.• Helps explain students,

and Nigerians long abroad,adjust to the school and thesocial environment.

Education Counselling.• Supervises the studies

of students• Monitors students

academic performance atregular intervals.

• Administers tests onpsychological matters,scores them, interpretsthem and uses them forcounselling interventions.

• Counsels students withstudy problems.

• Guides students onsuch academic matters asto the choice of subjectsand the completion of JSSor SS exams or JAMBforms

• Consults with teachersand liaises with parents onstudents academicperformances and involvesthem in the counsellingprogramme

• Handles disruptive orproblematic students, ingroups or classes

• Keep records ofstudents progress or lackof it.

• Equips students withstudy skills and providesthem with necessaryresources for studying.

• Identifies specialstudents for necessaryattention – eg gifted pupils,handicapped ones, under-achievers, repeaters.Frustrated students, etc.

• Guides and counselsteachers and parents onacademic matters.

• Helps in placing transferstudents in appropriateclasses.

• Arranges remedialtuition for appropriatestudents in consultationwith parents or at that theirrequest.

• Provides information onacademic and educationalmatters.

Vocational Counselling.• Provides students with

occupational information• Administers vocational

test, scores and interpretsthem and uses them incounselling students andparents on vocationalchoice and combination ofsubjects Guides andcounsels students andparents on vocationalchoice, combination of

computer literacy, self helpprojects, vocational skillsetc.

A d m i n i s t r a t i v eFunction

• Helps in theimplementation of theNational Policy onEducation especially, suchfeatures of the policy ascontinuous Assessment(C.A), Reporting systems,record-keeping andguidance and counsellingservices.

• Sees to the practice ofC.A in schools.

• Ensures up to daterecord-keeping scores.

• Keeps othersappropriate records onstudents.

• Sees to the safe custodyand integrity of C.A andother records.

• Liaises with educationalagencies and authoritieson educational matters andrepresents the schoolbefore them.

• Benefits from,participates in andcontributes to educational

C unsellingosubjects and helps inresolving conflicts in suchmatters.

• Fosters vocationaldevelopment in students:Arranges career talks,vocational visits toprofessional andvocational centres,promotes vocational

various disciplines, otherprofessional colleaguesetc.

• Processes, evaluatesand uses data and otherinputs for referrals forcounselling.

• Invites resourcespersons for specialistsinputs into the school’s

programme –workshops,seminars, lectures, tours,committees, in and out ofschool.

• Provides informationeducational matters tostudents, staff, parent andothers in and out of school,within and outsides thecountry.

• Provides transcriptsand references onstudents.

• Liaises with othersschool officers in theissuance of testimonialsregisters students forexaminations JSCE,SSCE and others in theNational Policy onEducation and ensurescompliance with laid-downpolices on them.

• Sees to the smoothconduct of suchexaminations collection ofmaterials, invigilationschedules, parceling anddispatch of scripts andsubject reports, etc.

• Liaises withexamination bodies andcommunicates with themon matters of examinationothers are: Research,Planning, statistics,consultancy services andlast but not leastcommunity services.

The counsellor upholdsthe moral tone of theschool. Peace and love.


MR. President, since thebeginning of this year, isnot Air Chief Marshal AlexBadeh the highest-rankingmilitary officer in Nigeria?

Is this not the same manwho in May of this year toldthe nation and the worldthat he knows thewhereabouts of severalhundred kidnapped girlsbut cannot reveal theirlocation and cannot useforce to rescue them, but“We will get the girls back.”

In October of this year, isthis not the same manwhose military told theNigerian people and theworld that the Islamicextremists from BokoHaram have agreed to aninstant cease-fire?

So, Mr. President, weknow you are in talks withhim. Is he still blaming“people from outside” and“some people from thiscountry” over the state ofNigerian security forceshelplessness against theinsurgents?

Mr. Jonathan, didn’tBadeh tell us some monthsago that, “We want our girlsback, I can tell you that ourmilitary can and will do it,but where they are held,we cannot go there withforce.” Okay, this isunderstood. But as each ofthe hundreds of thekidnapped schoolgirlstaken out from theirlocation to be married off,were their movements notbeing monitored throughmilitary surveillance?

Sir, is he still in distressover his recent statement,“Nobody should sayNigerian military does notknow what it is doing,” and,were you perturbed whenyou heard him state that,“We are not happy at all,because we are killing our

own kinsmen and we arekilling mostly the youths.We cannot afford toeliminate our youths, whoare we going to hand overNigeria to, we can’t killthem.”

Mr. President, what isthis man telling you nowabout the supposedcease-fire? And the veryrecent mayhem in his veryown hometown where theinsurgents reportedly

The nation would like toknow. Does he still think themilitary “knows what it isdoing?” Or is he stil lblaming “people fromoutside” and “some peoplefrom this country.”

Now that Air MarshalBadeh, a man from Vimtim,is directly a victim of terror,and the rebels are insearch of the “family of

God forbid! Of course, wewill not die of sorrow, but iftruth be told, the parents ofthe girls are in traumaticgrief, the surroundingpeople are traumatizedfrom fear and you, Mr.President, may be in astate of traumaticconfusion; as to Badeh,only he can tell us!

Badeh boasts that the

fundamental law whichalways represents theestablished and deliberatewill of the people, which theactions of the insurgentsare tantamount to beingagainst, period.

If the Nigerian military isup to its task as part of ourdemocracy, where werethey at the checkpoints, asthe Boko Haram forcestravelled in a convoy of

What’s Chief Of Defence Up To?borders so loose thatinsurgents’ trucks andarmories can come inopenly?

If the Nigeria military is upto its duty as part of ourdemocracy, why are oursoldiers always resorting torunning when they seeBoko Haram forces?

If the Nigeria military is upto its mission as part of ourdemocracy, how comepatriotism on the part of oursoldiers seems weak, andwhat is the reason behindtheir running? Is it that theyare unwilling to kill our“brothers” and “youths,” inthe words of Badeh?

Now, we hear, as always,that the military leadershiphas arrested some seniorofficers for fleeing? What ajoke! Is this the first timethe soldiers will take totheir heels?

Mr. President, enough isenough. On apsychological level, as theelection draws nearer andnearer, you should beworried about the level ofmotivation of the military tomeet their task ofprotecting all of us.

Mr. President, in asociety that is heavilydriven by ethnic, linguisticand corrupt mentalities, theunusually high level ofongoing crises as we gointo the 2015 is worrisome.Here is the pain; who andwhat is fomenting andinflaming these nationalcrises is the trillion nairaquestion, and, sir, you willnot find the answer here;sorry.

And, good luck, on yourtendency to run soon; Idon’t mean run away; Imean run for the nextpresidency. Let’s hope allstays well in our nation.

By DR. JOHN EGBEAZIEN OSHODI

Badeh for slaughter,” howsoon will you be sendinghim to protect what is left ofthe people?

Mr. President, the leaderof the Islamic extremists,Abubakar Shekau, in asneering manner,addressed the nation, “Ifyou knew the state yourdaughters are in today, itmight lead some of you …to die from grief.”

“military in Nigeria is thestrong arm of democracy,”and that it “holds theconstitution very dear,”adding that the constitutionis “represented by thepresident”.

Sir, is he actually sayingthis? I ask because theconstitution is neverrepresented by apresident; instead, theconstitution is the

trucks with multiplearmored personnel carriersas reported by the press?

If the Nigeria military is upto its task as part of ourdemocracy, where werethey when the great townof Mubi was captured andthe residents had to run fortheir lives?

If the Nigeria military is upto its job as part of ourdemocracy, why are the

S curitye

Air Marshal Alex Badeh, Chief of Defence Staff President Goodluck Jonathan Boko Haram fighters

killed the dear son of theEmir of Mubi. But most ofall, what about the burningof the house of the Chiefof Defence Staff, thehighest-ranking militaryofficer in Nigeria, Air ChiefMarshal Alex Badeh?

Mr. President, tell usplease. What is his newresponse about his houseand the clinic he built onhis late mother’s behalf?


P liticsoMusing

Jonathan/LamidoJoint

TicketBy MUHAMMED IDRIS

AS we prepare for the2015 general elections, inwhich the president, Dr.Goodluck Ebele Jonathanis certain to contest forconsolidation of hiswonderful achievements, itis pertinent to brainstormthe possibility of havingGovernor Sule Lamido ofJigawa State as hisrunning mate in view of histremendous sacrifice in thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP), coupled with hisenviable achievementssince he assumedleadership some sevenyears ago.

It is the laudableachievements of Mr.President Jonathan thatthe entire PDP membershave endorsed him for asecond term in order toconsolidate suchachievements as increasein per capital income,reduction in inflation andpoverty rate, creation ofsovereign wealth fund,increase in the NigerianStock Exchange value,reduction in food import,increase in foreign directinvestment, increase in lifeexpectancy and increasein crude oil production.Other achievements ofJonathan administrationinclude the attainment ofthe local content, increasein Nigerian-owned crudeoil transportation tankers,NPDC exploration andproduction, railpassengers, developmentand implementation ofNational Aviation MasterPlan and road map andphone line.

This is not all, Jonathanrecorded more modestachievements asconstruction of 25,000Kmmotor able federal roads,remodeled and renovatedairport infrastructure,almost 100% access tofertilizer and placing the

country as net exporter ofcement. In sport, Nigeriahas never had it so good.What about theestablishment of Federaluniversities in sixgeopolitical zones, therebyincreasing the intakes ofstudents in federaluniversities admission andhis deep commitment inthe battling of theinsurgency for the securityof the nation. This is just tomention but few.

Likewise, thetransformation of JigawaState under the able anddedicated leadership ofAlhaji Sule Lamido in thelast seven years islegendary and has stoodthe test of time. WhenLamido resumed officesome seven years ago, heleft no one in doubt that hecame to work and notbusiness as usual. Thebasic ingredients of humandevelopment are health,education andi n f r a s t r u c t u r a ldevelopments. These havebeen the focal points of theJagora talakawa, AlhajiSule Lamido, in JigawaState.

The government of SuleLamido has ensured thepayment of monthly socialsecurity allowance todisabled persons, freematernal and child healthcare, payment of monthlyallowances to students ofschools of nursing andhealth technology, generalrenovation, equipping,supply of medicament andrecruitment of qualifiedhealth personnel, as wellas establishment of Jigawastate medical supplyorganisation (JIMSO). Thehealth achievements ofGovernor Sule Lamido arealso in the areas of freeMedical Care for All PrisonInmates, Free medicalcare for boarding students,

rehabilitation, renovation,completion, equipping andconstruction ofadministrative Block atRasheed ShekoniSpecialist Hospital,distribution of free treatedmosquito nets to thepeople of the state andIntroduction of “Ask JigawaPeople” health initiative.Indeed, the health sectorhas been revamped tomeet the health needs ofthe teeming populace,focusing on primary healthcare delivery which hasalso been ranked the bestin northern Nigeria by theWorld HealthOrganization’s standards.All these were done for thegood people of the statebecause the government ofSule Lamido believes in thegnome, which says “healthis wealth.”

The Sule Lamido ledadministration has alsogiven much importance tothe promotion of educationin the state. Under theeducation sector, GovernorLamido provided free girlsand disabled education,introduced public privatepartnership programme“PPP” on schoolsimprovement, introductionof “rescue our schools”programme forimprovement of all learninginstitutions in the state, re-introduction of schoolsinspection and monitoringand recruitment of qualifiedteachers and training forthose already employed.His government equallyprovided learning

materials, schoolsfurniture, beds andbeddings and hundredpercent increment onstudents scholarships,students’ feeding, e-payment of scholarshipallowances, construction ofthirty-one new hostelsblock for 6,200 boardingstudents (secondaryschools), construction ofthirty-eight new blocks of 3classrooms each,construction of seventyblocks of sciencelaboratories andcompletion of renovationworks in forty-eight schoolsand construction of onehundred and sixty-nine andsix new toilet blocks. AlhajiSule Lamido governmenthas also sponsored onehundred and three studentsto study ICT in Singaporeand restored overseaspostgraduate scholarshipprogramme. This is not allas Lamido administrationstill made giant strides ineducation throughconstruction of new lecturetheatres, classroom blocksand Administrative officesin all tertiary institutions ofthe state, Provision ofthirty-two sitter buses for allgirls boarding schools,introduction of excellencemerit award to graduatesthat excel in their firstdegree and award ofautomatic scholarship forpost graduate studies,annual sponsorship of onehundred best students inthe state to study inoverseas and re–

introduction of mockexaminations for final yearstudents.

Governor Lamido equallymade fundamentalachievements in thecommissioning of anultramodern edifice built tohouse the state’s Ministryof Land, Housing, Urbanand Regional Planning bythe President of Nigeria’sSenate, MostDistinguished SenatorDavid Mark. Similarly, inMay, 2013, the formerPresident OlusegunObasanjo commissionedso many projects executedby Governor Sule Lamido.In view of thisdevelopment, the formerhead of state, GeneralAbubakar had alsorecommended that leadersacross Africa borrow a leaffrom Sule Lamido’sexcellent initiative.

The people of JigawaState are agrarians thus;Governor Sule Lamidoprovided farming incentivessuch as fertil izers andirrigation for the farmers.He ensured the vaccinationof animals againstepidemics so that the statecan supply the requiredmeat and hides to Nigeriaand neighboring nations asNiger Republic. The Jagoratalakawa empowered theyouths and engage overseventy thousand of themin direct employment, skillsacquisition anddevelopment, making themhighly productive. The SuleLamido administration has

also witnessedtransformation of goodroad networks andelectrification ofmetropolitan to the likes ofpeople in the state andvisitors to the state.

The administration ofAlhaji Sule Lamido in thepast seven years hasdrastically reduced thehitherto high level ofunemployment through theestablishment of ten MicroFinance Banks thatprovide succor to the lessprivileged in the state.

Ordinarily, Sule Lamidoought to have been therunning mate of PresidentGoodluck Ebele Jonathanin the first dispensation in2011 but for some highranking political decision,which Sule Lamido himselfdid not dispute andaccepted it in good faith.Now that Jonathan is beingcalled for second term toconsolidate his laudableachievements, he shouldconsider the governor ofJigawa State as hisrunning mate based onachievement, loyalty anddedication to the aspirationof Jonathan in particularand Peoples DemocraticParty in general. Indeed,This is in spite of somecalculated attempt tohoodwink him to otherside. Lamido remaincommitted to aspirations ofJonathan and PDP.Jonathan/Lamido ticket iscollective achievers thatwill further resolve thenation’s economic, politicaland social problems.

• President Goodluck Jonathan • Alhaji Sule Lamido

“Ordinarily, Sule Lamido ought to have been therunning mate of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathanin the first dispensation in 2011 but for some highranking political decision, which Sule Lamido himselfdid not dispute and accepted it in good faith.”


Does God Know TheEnd Of Man?

Infallible Truth About LifeBy GEDU LONGLIFE

MAN, the Biblerecorded was speciallymade, probably becauseof the exceeding loveand grace the LORD hasfor mankind. Gen. 1:26-28, Gen. 2:7. God mademan to be above all thatHe created. He formedman to be Hisambassador on earth.And He never failed tosee to his welfare. Gen.3:8 states, “And theyheard the voice of theLORD God walking in thegarden in the cool of theday” to visit His own thatinhabited His Vineyardbut found that they hadveered out to scuttle theend result of their live!Gen. 3:23-24:- Theywere ejected from theircomfortable abode to theharsh weather of life.

We could also seethat Adam and Eve were

given two great children,of which, one of themwas a keeper of sheep,and the other a tiller of theground. Gen. 4:2.

This was thebeginning of their lives.Both knew and probablybelieved that it wasimperative to appreciateGod with theirsubstances. Cain, beinginfluenced and poweredby the spirit of ingratitudetook to God, an offeringthe LORD consideredunworthy, He and hisofferings were outrightlyrejected, but for Abel His,was accepted. Gen. 4:1-6.

Cain being insane wasin propelled and inducedby demon to kill his ownbrother for no just cause.

The LORD, who isalways aware of everyactivity of life visited Cainto ask after Abel. Cain,probably unaware of theomnipresence power ofGod at all time and in allplaces, tried to lie aboutthe whereabout of Abel.

He, however, pleadedfor mercy when theLORD poured His wrathand what would befallhim Gen. 4:10-16.

Beloved, it is importantto know that every actdone, good or bad is notunknown to God. Theywill be accordedjudgement as the casemay be at theappropriate time. ForGod shall bring ever workinto judgement, with

every secret thing,whether it be good orwhether it be evil. Eccl.12:14.

Let us know that Godis never interested inyour failure in life. Hedesires you and I tosucceed and reach ourexpected end to the gloryof His name. Jerem.29:11. whoever He givesassignments, He ensureis endued with power toexercise it to the end.But, whoever decides todeviate from Hisinstructions is lift tonavigate in the sea offailure till he is eitherconsumed or retraces hissteps back to Him. 1st

Kings 3:1-14, 1st Kings13:1-6. The Bible

admonishes us that Godis the Alpha and Omega,the beginning and theEnd, the First and theLast” Rev. 22:11. No onecan be compared withhim. He knows everyoneand He assignsresponsibilities accordingto one’s ability. Andanyone that facts shouldbe held responsible.

I have observed thatman decides on his ownto fail in life for diversereason borne out ofperceived ignorance,knowledge of the world,pride of life, lust of life,inability to bear thechallenges of life, lack ofknowledge of the God’sword and many others.

Many fail to know thatthere is time for everything in one’s life. Nowonder the Bible states

DO you know that life is aspirit and everything thatexists in it is all spirits? Ihave discovered an infallibletruth about l ife and itsinhabitants. All that we do inthis life is all controlled by aspirit. In other words, everyliving and non living creaturehas a spirit attached to it.

Man is a spirit which has asoul and lives in a body. Thebody is the building or thehouse that serves as aprotective mechanism toboth the soul and spirit. Isincerely believe that somepersons might not agree tomy discovery but keep yourfingers crossed and comealong with me as I unravelthe mystery of the spiritbehind every creature.

Do you know that there isa spirit behind every book?And that is why when anindividual picks up a bookand reads for 1, 2, or 3times, what he/she has readin the book sticks into themind of the person if not allbut some parts. The truth is,no one puts the entire bookor bury it in the person’s lifebut the moment your eyesgets in contact with thebook, you can easily recallwhat your eyes have seenin the book eitherconsciously orunconsciously.

Another thing that spreadeasily like a striking goats isthe spirit at music. A spiritalso controls music. All, an

individual need to do is tohear or allow it sway throughthe ear. Don’t allow it stay,do all you can to avoidhearing or singing it but inas much as your ear hasheard it partially or totally, berest assured that the spirit ofthat particular song hasentered you.

It will be very gleaning thatat a later moment when youintend taking a rest, yourspirit man would begin toplay back what has beeninstalled in it. It would be soamazing that after all yourdodging and various attemptto ignore the song, but dueto the fact that man’s spiritget connected easily to anykind of spirit, it easily paveway for penetration. Man’sspirit is vulnerable thereforewhat you feed your spiritwith will determine what itwould vomit back to you.

Whatever, your look has along way in affecting the lifeof an individual positively ornegatively.

When a guy looks at a ladytoo much, the spirit of thatlady will enter him. Becausebehind every looking, thereis a spirit involve and behindevery hearing, there is alsoa spirit involved. Whoeverdisagrees with me shouldcheck the book of Jobchapter 31vs1.it says, “Imade a covenant with mineeyes, why then should I thinkupon a maid?

Now what Job is saying

here is, that he has madecovenant with his eyes notto behold a maid, whichmeans, he does not want tolook at a lady at all. Then thequestion follows “… whythen should I think upon amaid?

This question simply givesor point to the fact that whata man thinks about is directlyproportional to what he hasseen or looked upon orheard.

Many humans are underthe influence ofmasturbation and excessivehuge for sex due toexposure of nude picturesand pornography whosespirits have entered intothem.

As a result, these sets ofpersons cannot do withouthaving sex almost every daybecause of the encountersuch persons have had withthe spirit of pornographywhich has becomeacceptable to their spirits.

A young man that had sexwith dogs was under theinfluence of the spirit of thedog because I sincerelybelieve that, that young manmust have being looking atthe dog for a very long timeand had been imaginingwithin himself that, if thesedogs were to be humans, Icould have done this. Andeven because he could not

take off his eyes from thedogs, the spirit entered himand made him do what anormal human being shouldnot do.

A mad man or woman isalso under the influence ofan unclean spirit and sowhatever, that spirit wantsthe individual to do is whatthe fellow would do becausehe/she is under the controlof a strange spirit.

Money is another spirit thatis so strong and powerfuland that is why people candie to have it. The robbersengage in stealing and killingpeople because of theinfluence of the spirit ofmoney.

They can’t just look atmoney and take their eyesoff it. And so by theircontinual looking at otherpeople’s money, the spiritentered them by makingthem take what does notbelong to them. Also in orderto have much at it, they jumpinto carrying all kinds ofdangerous weapons to scarepeople in order to takeforcefully what does notbelong to them. And if therecomes any suspicion, theykill to cover up.

There is a spirit in football.The more you play football,the more you become betterand accumulate more skills.Because football has a spirit,

whatever comes the way ofa footballer, be it a stone,orange, can, empty waterbottle and many more, isliable to be kicked if it getsto the foot or hand of afootballer.

There is this urge to alwayskeep the legs busy becausethat is the language of thespirit in football.

The reason why somepeople read and they find itdifficult to comprehend, isbecause the spirit of whatthey are reading has notentered into them. As soonas the spirit enters them,what they are reading beginsto sink and theunderstanding comes easily.

This can be ascertained bywhat the book of Job chapter32 vs 8 “but there is a spiritin man: and the inspirationof the Almighty giveth themunderstanding.”

Having said all these, thegateways to contactingthese spirits into the life of aman is made possiblethrough the instrumentalityof the eyes and the ears. Itcould make a whole lot ofsense if I have told you thathuman ears and eyes haveunlimited memory card. Andbecause the memory card ofhumans is unlimited, he/shecan never be tired of seeingor hearing things in life aslong as he/she lives.

But in order not to beentangled with our wrong

looks, there is a directionGod wants us to look so asto get it right. Hebrewchapter 12 vs 2a which says“looking unto Jesus theauthor and finisher of ourfaith:”

It is only Jesus that we canlook at and we would not getit wrong neither will thewrong signal get into us.

Lastly: James 1 vs 25 saysthat “but whoso looketh intothe perfect law of liberty andcontinueth therein, he beingnot a forgetful hearer, but adoer of the work, this manshall be blessed in hisdeed”.

Therefore the man whoseblessing is sure is the onewho looked into the perfectlaw of liberty which is theword of God and a doer ofits works, not just a hearer,this kind of man is certainlyblessed in his deed not inanother man’s deed.

I therefore so urgedeveryone to get connectedto the Holy Spirit which tendto life to be their saviorpartner because where theHoly Spirit is, there we haveGod the Father and the SonJesus Christ.

This is why people say “ifyou look anyhow, you seeanyhow.

Be mindful of what you payattention to,hear or watchwith your eye for they are thegateways to a man’s destiny.

RUMINATIONWith

Ernest Ikhureigbe“in Eccl. 9:11 “I returnedand saw under the sunthat the race is not to theswift, nor the battle to thestrong,…………but timeand chance happenethto them all”.

Beloved, God knowsit all from the beginningto the End. He isomnipotent, omniscienceand omnipresent. Noevent in life happenswithout His knowledge.Nothing happens withoutHim knowing, Lam. 3:22,John 1:3.In Him all thingsCol:1-16-17. So,brethren, that JudahIscariot, King Saul andmany others failed intheir assignment wasborne of crass ignoranceand greed. Take heedand learn from it. 1stCorith 10:12.


Will The MeekInherit The Earth?

A ribizg

By DR YOSSEF BEN-MEIRTHE practice of organicagriculture combinestraditional methods withtoday’s knowledge ofhealth and environmentalsustainability. In Moroccoit is generally observedthat the more remote thefarming communities –and most often the moredisadvantaged – the lessthey apply pesticides andother chemicals to growtheir crops. That is simplybecause their economicstatus, unlike that ofcommunities closer to thecities and with moreavailable access toinformation in regard toagricultural trends,results in their not havingthe means to transition tocash crops that dorequire the application ofchemicals.

Thus for example inMorocco’s High Atlasmountains, whoseinhabitants produce 35percent of the nation’swalnut crop, it is the

communities furthest upthe valleys – the mostmarginalized and mostdifficult to access – thatcan secure organiccertification. This is incontrast to the villages inlower-lying areas whichgrow not only walnuts butalso apple, pear andother trees requiring theapplication of pesticidesthat prevent them fromacquiring organiccertification for years tocome.

Market trends in nationsaround the world thathave demand for organicproduct can be a directboon for the poorest offarming communities anddeveloping nations. Byadopting methods toensure their agriculturalproduct does not becomecontaminated, farmingfamilies – who representthe highest proportion ofthe world’s poor – can

dramatically increase theprice of their raw andvalue-added products.

Will it be the case thatpublic, civil, business andinternational agenciesassist these communitiesin the certificationprocess, in the provisionof the training that isnecessary and in thepurchase of their certifiedproducts? If so, then themeek (or the leastwealthy) shall inherit theearth; that is, attaingreater income ande n v i r o n m e n t a lsustainability from therewards of organicagriculture.

A successful organicagricultural enterpriseand the new profit itgenerates can have atwofold effect, increasinghousehold income andenabling communalreinvestment in humandevelopment projects in

education, health and theformation of further newbusinesses. In this wayan organic initiative canactually be an engine notonly for a green economybut also for broader socialchange.

What will furtherbuttress the agriculturaleconomy of the rural pooris the creation ofadditional value-addedactivities – for example,pressing walnuts into oil,introducing greater waterefficiency, tree and plantnurseries, buildingcooperatives andestablishing direct linkswith international buyers.

In undergoing thistransformational processin Morocco with the HighAtlas Foundation’s socialenterprise, HA3 (HighAtlas Agriculture andArtisanal), one can

readily understand theenormity of the challenge.In order to achievesuccess, the necessaryoutside partners mustgain the trust of ruralpeople – somethingwhich is not given away,but earned over monthsand years. Withincommunities there canbe discord and thus theprocess of buildingcooperatives must alsobe one of buildingconfidence.

From the otherdirection, even as theorganic movementchampions traditionalagricultural approaches,there are stillmethodological changes,particularly at harvesttime, that need to beadopted by the farmers,who have undertaken thesame procedures for

g e n e r a t i o n s .Concomitant to this is therequirement for training tobe both ongoing andexperiential; the deliveryof such workshopsrequires constantproximity to the people,something whichagencies too often do nothave the capacities orinterests to do.

Even with the greatdedication ofcommunities andpartners, there stillremains a strong elementof what can only becharacterized as goodfortune. Project viabilityand persistence areprobably the majordeterminants to raisingthe necessary financing,for example.Nevertheless, individualdonors are in unchartedwaters as they make thenecessary investment ina start-up that begins asan untested value chain.In sum, the financingaspect must be far moresystematized andavailable, and lessseemingly up to chance,in order for organicagricultural production totake-off in marginalizedrural communities.

With all the hurdles tothe achievement of thesegoals, those people longdedicated to the practiceof community organicagriculture and localhuman developmenthave good ideas of whatmust be done. Thereward of helping torealize relative prosperityand the fulfillment ofhuman potential, while atthe same time nourishingand replenishing the soil,provide an undyingenergy. Through this, themeek shall experiencegreater social justice.

Organic Agriculture:


Today’s Diet

Arise Now!WHEN God speaks, it

can be in various forms:it can be an advice, aninvitation, anencouragement, awarning, a declarationor a command. Theword “Arise” in thedivine statement oftoday’s Bible reading ispurely a command. Justlike in Genesis 1:3,where God commandedlight to appear in themidst of prevailingdarkness, “Arise”, is acommand from theCommander-in- ChiefHimself to you today.

Your spiritual positionor posture, prior toreceiving this commandto arise, will determinethe type of responseexpected of you. Hence,to an already deadfellow, arise meanscome back to life. Ifyour spiritual case canbe said to be a deadsituation, this day, youwill come back to life inJesus’ Name. To the onewho is asleep, arisemeans wake up. If youhave been spirituallyasleep, by God’s mercyyou are being awokenfrom your slumber inJesus’ Name. To the onewho is sitting down,arise means stand up. Tobe sitting is betterspiritually than to beasleep, yet this is farfrom what God expects.If you have beenspiritually sitting or youare spiritually a lame

person (Hebrews12:13), your spiritualfeet receives strengthnow and I commandyou to be upstanding inJesus’ Name. To thefellow standing, ariseimplies that he shouldjump into action, thiswas the situation ofSamuel in the house ofJesse (1 Samuel 16:12-1 3). If however you arealready walking, arise toyou means that youshould begin to run.David was already inaction against Goliath,but a time came hestepped up his action byrunning towards Goliathbefore releasing thestone from his sling (1Samuel 17:48). Thisimplies you need to addspeed to your action.Suppose you arerunning already, arise toyou means that you

Memorise:And make straight paths for your feet lest that

which is lame be turned out of the way; but let itrather be healed. Hebrews 12:13.

Read: Isaiah 60:1-3

should begin to flyPossibly, you arealready in the air flying,then arise to you impliesthat you should begin tosoar (2 Corinthians 3:18).

All these changes inposition are possibilitieswith God, not just byyour own strength.Once you are willingand you trust in Him,you will experienceyour desired change.However, you have torecognise your currentstate. A dead fellowfeels nothing, for suchpeople, no matter whatthey hear they are nottouched, they don’t feelit. Unfortunately thereare even some ministersof God like that; they areimpervious to the voiceof God. “Arise now”may be the last chancefor such to come alive.Whatever your statemay be, a change for thebetter is possible, and itis coming your way thisseason in Jesus’ Name.

WithPastor E. A. Adeboye

“Sincerely assess your spiritualposition and pray accordingly.”

ACTION POINT

“Your spiritual position orposture, prior to receivingthis command to arise,will determine the type ofresponse expected of you.Hence, to an already deadfellow, arise means comeback to life.”

Importance Of Vigilante Group StressedBy

JOEL CHUKWUAGHONIM

NEWS-XTRA

CHIEF Suny Efi, theOnyewebuodaeson I ofEjeme – Unor Kingdom inAniocha Local GovernmentArea of Delta State, hascommended the efforts ofthe people in Ekuku – AgborCommunity in assisting thevigilante men in the area.

Speaking with newsmen inhis palace Ekuku – AgborChief Onyewebuodaeson I,who is also the ChairmanVigilante Group of Nigeria(V.G.N) Ekuku – AgborDivision said since theinception of the outfit, thegroup has been facing threemajor challenges, ChiefSuny Efi, said some adultsand youths in the area wereinvolved in criminal activitiesand that the culprits werebeing arrested and handedover to the police.

The chairman said in

cases involving juveniledelinquents, parents and theChiefs in council wereinvolved in the settlement.

According to him, he hasorganised series of symposiato educate traditional rulersand parents on how todiscipline their children,adding that in the same veinhe organised seminars for hisvigilante outfit in his division(Ekuku – Agbor) and invitedarmy and the police officersas resource persons.

He said the relationshipbetween members of thevigilante group in Ekuku –Agbor and the police is verycordial because without thepolice “we cannot settlecriminal cases in the area, sowe need the police, also asthe police need us to easetheir job”.

Chief Efi advised okada(bike) riders in the area to stayoff the road by 9.00pmbecause anyone caughtwould be arrested andhanded over to the police. Hesaid most crimes are carriedout at night.

Explaining his crime combatstrategy, he said the grouphas introduced a patrol unit.

According to him the teamconsists of members fromdifferent units in Ika SouthLocal Government Area ChiefEfi said there was a greatdifferent between a youth

movement and a vigilanteoutfit.

According to him, to be amember of a vigilant groupone must be screened first byone’s community which willrecommend one to theDivisional Police Officer(DPO) in the area, who ifsatisfied, will give theprospective member someorientation.

The chairman appealed tothe three levels ofgovernment philanthropists,N o n - G o v e r n m e n t a lOrganizations (NGOs)churches and meaningfulcitizens of Ekuku – Agborcommunity to come to theiraid in providing securitylogistics, such as patrol van,rain boots, rain cap touchlights, uniforms and monthlystipends.

• Chief Sunny Efi

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAMECHANGE OF NAMECHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

IYOHA – I, formerlyMiss. Iyoha Catherinenow wish to be knownand addressed asMRS. UBAHO B O K H A F U ACATHERINE. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Concernedauthorities and thegeneral public pleasetake note.

ADERINTO – I, formerlyknown and addressedas Aderinto PaulOyekanmi is now known,called and addressed asMR. ADERINTOOYEKANMI OLAYIDE.All former documentsremain valid. Concernedauthorities and thegeneral public shouldplease take note.

AGBAJOH – I, formerlyMiss Shirley EyitemiOnome Agbajoh, nowwish to be known, calledand addressed as MRS.SHIRLEY OSEGHALE.All former documentsremain valid.Concerned authoritiesand the general publicshould please take note.

YESUF – I, formerlycalled Miss YesufLatifah Ilunuamhie isnow known and calledMRS. ILEOGBENLATIFAH YESUF I. Allformer documentsremain valid.Concerned authoritiesand the general publicshould please takenote.

OGHAGBON – I,formerly called MissJoy Ekoren Oghagbonis now known andcalled MRS JOYEKOREN OSAHONOMOSEFE. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Concernedauthorities and thegeneral public shouldplease take note.

AKHABUE – I formerlycalled Miss. BlessingAkhabue is now knownand called MRS.BLESSING ESEOHEABAI. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Concernedauthorities and thegeneral public shouldplease take note.

The above named Association has applied to theCorporate Affairs Commission for Registration underpart “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of1990.

The Trustees are:1. Mr. Joseph Sunday - Patron2. Mr. Otu Daniel - Patron3. Mr. Boniface Cypian - President4. Mr. Emmanuel Akpausoh - Member5. Mrs. Chijere Godwin - Member

Aims and Objectives:1. To promote unity, love and progress among

members2. To preserve, project and uphold the dignity of

Akwa-Ibom3. To promote general understanding and

peaceful relationship with other groups. Any objection to this registration should beforwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate AffairsCommission, Plot 420, Tigirs Crescent, Off AguiyiIronsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of thispublication.

Signed:PATRICK IBEKWE

PUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICEASSOCIATION OF AKWA-IBOM INDIGENES,

OKADA BRANCH


I suessWhat Jonathan Said On Power Supply

Africans Can Only Get Credit For AfricansBy FAROUK MARTINS ARESA

SPEAKING with UnitedNations diplomats onMonday, 31st January 2011in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,President GoodluckJonathan made this promise:

“If I’m voted into power,within the next four years, theissue of power will become athing of the past. Four yearsis enough for anyone inpower to make a significantimprovement and if I can’timprove on power within thisperiod, it then means I cannotdo anything…”

Three years later, inJanuary 2014, in anticipationof his 2015 presidential bid,the same Goodluck Jonathanissued a six-month ultimatumto power companies tohurriedly address the powersituation in the country. Sixmonths came, and sixmonths went, and today,Nigeria’s power generationand supply is at an all timelow.

Fifteen years ago, whenNigeria’s democracy was stillrelatively new, the People’sDemocratic Party toldNigerians that we had a6000mw installed capacity ofelectricity, and “within a year,

this would go up to10,000mw.” Fifteen yearslater, with over $50billionspent on the power sectoralone, we are now being toldby the Goodluck Jonathanadministration that powergeneration in Nigeria has“increased from 3000mw to4000mw.” With thisinconsistency in question, it isclear that instead of Nigeria’spower generation and supplyincreasing and progressingunder the leadership ofGoodluck Jonathan, it hasgotten worse.

However, regardless of theinconsistent figures, let ussearch our hearts and askourselves: has powerimproved in our homes? Dowe have more light that weused to have? Or is thegovernment spending ourcollective money on invisiblepower generation projects,while quoting fabricatedpower generation figures?

Sometime in 2013, alegislative delegation led bySenate President, DavidMark, went to inspect theMambilla Plateau, that hosts

one of Nigeria’s hydro-electric dams. With overN160billion ($1billon) spenton this project, the delegationwas expecting to find a facilitythat had up to 2000mwgenerating capacity. Instead,what the delegation foundwas that next to nothing hadbeen done on the project –the dam site had not evenbeen cleared; making themedia speculate that themoney for this much-neededproject had lined the pocketsof associates of the rulingparty.

Earlier this year, theFederal Government againannounced that an additionalN752bill ion has beenearmarked for the powersector over the next fewyears. In the atmosphere ofthis report, recent studieshave shown that due to thegovernment’s inability toprovide light for the people,today, everyday Nigerianshave been forced to spendN796.4billion of their ownhard-earned income to fueltheir generators annually.

What this means is that overthe next four years, ifGoodluck Jonathan is re-elected, based on his track-record (or a lack thereof) ofnot being able to solve thepower situation in thecountry, cumulatively,everyday Nigerianhouseholds will be forced tospend $19.2billion on fuel,which is equivalent toN3.1trillion.

Another 2009 study onelectricity distribution amongthe six geo-political zones inNigeria showed that onaverage, these days,Nigerians enjoy only four tosix hours of power supply perday. However, in 2009, theFederal Government and thePower Holding Company toldNigerians that of the 10National Integrated PowerProjects (NIPPs), four hadbeen completed, and sixwere 80 to 90 per centcompleted.

More than 24 months later,and $8billion spent on theseprojects alone, WHAT DOWE HAVE TO SHOW FORIT?

In this regard, it is time thatas a nation, we begin to ask

AFRICA is the only placeleft for Africans to get fullcredit for their efforts. UntilAfricans wake up andpresent themselves asmasters of their own destinyin Africa, no black mananywhere in the world will berespected. As long as thoseof us that have opportunitiesto excel as individuals or asa group rely on thesecomfort zones outside as ourlast refuge, the incentive tomake Africa a comfortablehome will elude our children.Think mass deportation toEurope, Asia and Africa Eh?

Most Africa countriesstarted out on the right footimmediately afterindependence since mostrealized the roles and valueof education, healthcare,industrial estates andagriculture. Farmers wereorganized throughcooperative boards withprice stability. FreeEducation was promoted asa goal to awareness inpursuing expertise thatwould be inadequate withoutskill labor on the farm.Teaching, Law and Medicinewere the leadingprofessions. (Iwe kiko, lai sioko, koi pe o).

We have made our shareof success everywhere butthe credit will always eludeus unless it is to further theprogress of AfricanContinent. Since oursuccess outside Africa is like

playing and sometimeswinning away game fromhome. Unfortunately, evenAfricans do not credit ourown until outsiders sodecided. It is not a matter ofa prophet without honor athome, it is a case of admiringwhat others say, do andvalue. Even if most claimsdid not originate or made inAfrica.

There are three types ofDiaspora Africans. Many thatleft after school andexperience, some stayedinvesting heavily at homeand those that could not bebothered or got lost after twoor many bad experiencesswearing never to go backthere. One of our 1stgeneration children thatmade it: Obama contributedmore to Africa than he wouldhave, had he been born inAfrica.

If Romney had deliveredthe world from the worsteconomic recession sincethe last depression, reducedunemployment from over10% to below 6%, killedOsama Bin Ladin and givenAmerica Romneycare as inMassachusetts, he wouldhave been hailed as a hero.Despite trumpeted fear ofinflation and deficit, both arerunning lower to thedisappointment ofunrepentant critics. No oneadmitted the wise decision toremove chemical weapons

from Syria before ISIL gotthem.

Africans’ faults areexaggerated or punishedmore than those of whites.Dismiss our empathy withObama because he is ourson. Call it common attacksin all mid-term elections.After all Bill Clinton thinks hegot worse attacks thanObama just as RichardNixon thought he got theworst attack. The differencehere is what offence or moralturpitude has Obamacommitted?

We have a friend; he usedto say he and his childrenwould go back and live in hisvillage, when asked. If herefused to go back, no oneknows why he thought hischildren would ever livethere. As our children gotolder and becameteenagers, professionals orlosers; the same police,gangs and street violencethat had fallen nativechildren started to fall ours.In Chicago one weekend, 23black children fell to gangs’bullets. Biko, it is not thatdreadful in Johannesburg orLagos.

Nowhere is this notionbetter displayed than in twoinstances: judicial processand religion. The two mayexplain why we have fallenbackwards in other fields for

which we lack credits. Whilegrowing up, we often hearour elders that had travel farand wide starting theirsentences with: In civilizedcountries, that would neverhappen. It became adisappointment when wesaw what happened incivilized countries that wouldnever have happened inAfrica. Before you ask what?

An alien from space will beshocked to understand howpeople interpret cold bloodedmurders in the daylight. Notonce or twice but on a regularbasis. It has always been thecase and books or witnesseshad always told their stories.What are different these daysare cameras all over theplace, even from mobilephones. Please note thatwitnesses have always seenthe same events slightdifferently depending fromwhich side it is viewed.

The jury system is theconscience of westerndemocracy on which ourlegal system is based. It isstill evolving and dynamiccompared to ancient Sharialaws. Unfortunately, in manycountries outside of Africaboth whites and blacks wouldview the same situationdifferently and renderjudgment according to theirbiased views. Stackdifferences based on ethnic

and political biases aredifferent from motives. Thelaw takes care of motivesthat are argued byadversaries.

Justice also variesbetween the poor and therich, in Africa not only outsideAfrica. Most of the disparitieshave to do with ability toafford legal representation.Even legal aid employslawyers the system allocatedmoney can only cover for thepoor. But to turn a pin on itshead, what used to be calledcopious lie is now calleddifferent views. Just to justifycold blooded murders.

More important is the waypeople are judged andcredited differently. In thecase of children growing upin a society, they seesituations in black and whiteand question any improprietyas if they are born with innateability to judge right fromwrong. So they wouldquestion a parent and verifyfrom the other why a brother,sister or friend is treateddifferently from them. As weget older, we begin to losethe objectivity and ourprejudice grows.

This is the reason youngmen and women areidealistic in their youths andbecome more conservativeas they grow older. Cases inpoint are returning Africansand hippies of yesterday asconservatives of today. Aswe grow older, we tend to

By TIMI FRANK

inherit the prejudice of ourcommunity with the fear oflosing our old ways of lifethat is being threatened bynew thinking or new comers.Ingrained in these areprivileges we stand to lose ifthe old system is notretained.

If that is the case, onewould expect theconservatives in Africa tohold on to our norm andcustom. But remember thatthe only norm and customthat survive are those thatcan stand up to changes inthe society. If the old normand custom label you a brutefor retaining religion thatsacrifice human blood,unless you sacrifice goat orchicken instead, you are abrute. The way many rejectthe label is by baptism intoChristian, Muslim or Hindu ofmass destruction.

Africans must fight not justcry for justice, fairness andright to equal justice on landwe labored or were cheated.But, simply put, it threatensthe existence of new ownersthe same way the AmericanIndians were threatened anddisplaced. Indeed,entrenched powers will befoolish to yield land andpower back to originalowners. Mind you, it is thecredit Mugabe of Zimbabwedemanded in his Countryand what has brought himand his people so mucheconomic misery.

ourselves: WHAT HAS THEPRESIDENT BEEN DOINGWITH ALL THE MONEYTHAT HAS BEEN SPENTON POWER GENERATIONSINCE HE TOOK OFFICE?

We must also question thesignificance of the

President’s statement,especially when he said thatif he cannot improve powerwithin four years, it meansthat he cannot do anything…

The results (or a lackthereof) have begun to speakfor themselves…

• President Goodluck Jonathan


Origi WantsLiverpoolReturn InJanuary

Everton Demand £60mFor Ross Barkley

Ferguson Backed Me To TakeReal Sociedad Job - Moyes

£32m Defender May Save United

• David Moyes

• Origi • Nastasic

Manchester City OutcastNastasic offered to Arsenal

EVERTON want a vast feefrom Manchester City forRoss Barkley, ManchesterUnited are upping theirinterest in a defender valuedat £32 million; David Moyestook the Real Sociedad jobon the advice of AlexFerguson; and Liverpool arewilling pay over £10m tospeed up Divock Origi’sarrival at Anfield - the mainstories making headlines intoday’s newspapers.

Everton demand £60mfrom Manchester City for

MANCHESTER Unitedare upping their interestin a defender valued at£32 million; David Moyestook the Real Sociedadjob on the advice of AlexFerguson; and Liverpoolare willing pay over £10mto speed up DivockOrigi’s arrival at Anfield -the main stories makingheadlines in today’snewspapers.

United eye up big-money defender:Manchester United arestepping up their efforts tosign Athletic Bilbaodefender AymericLaporte in January,according to the DailyMirror. The France U21centre-back is one ofEurope’s most promisingdefenders and is also onthe radar of Chelsea andArsenal. The reportclaims United have made

THE Belgium internationalstriker, who was loaned backto Lille after his summertransfer, says that he is inregular contract withBrendan Rodgers and wouldlove to move early

Divock Origi says that he“would love to move toLiverpool sooner rather thanlater” if it is possible that hecould cut short his loan spellwith Lille.

The Belgium internationalmoved to Anfield from theFrench side in the summerbut was loaned back for theseason as part of the deal.

Origi has impressed inLigue 1 this season, scoringfive goals already, and wouldlike to head to Anfield whenthe transfer window reopens,with reports suggesting thatthe Reds’ struggles to get thelikes of Mario Balotelli firingcould prompt an early returnfor the Belgian.

“Maybe January, whoknows? It is not me whomakes the decisions but, ifthe club choose to let me goin January, I would go,” hetold reporters.

“I would like to joinLiverpool then. I said that Iwould stay for the wholeseason and I wish to remainhonourable in that, of course,but, if there was a decisionby the clubs, I would not saythat I would not like to go toLiverpool in January.”

Liverpool have struggledfor goals this season thanksto Luis Suarez’s departurefor Barcelona and DanielSturridge’s injury problems

The Manchester Unitedlegend had recommendedMoyes to the Red Devilsbefore a disastrous 2013-14 season at Old Traffordsaw his successorsacked, with Louis vanGaal now in control.

The Scottish pair haveremained in contact since,with the 72-year-oldbacking up his friend’sbelief that a move to Spainwould do him good.

“I spoke to Alex and said‘this is the opportunity thathas come my way, whatdo you think?’,” revealedMoyes to reporters in SanSebastian, “and Alex saidhe felt it was a greatopportunity for me.

“I mentioned theopportunities I had hadback in the UK and I feltthat probably, after theway things had gone [atUnited], I should moveaway.

“We talked about theopportunity, which hethought was a greatopportunity. I felt it was theright move for me and hebacked me up.”

Still adamant that he wasnot given enough time forhis methods to succeed atUnited, Moyes now says

much as possible of the+15m they paid for him andthe 21-year-old’s refusal toaccept a drop in his +94,000-a-week salary blocked amove away from the EtihadStadium.

The Premier Leaguechampions are, however,prepared to let Nastasicleave on the cheap in theJanuary transfer window,with the Serbian now outcastunder Manuel Pellegrini.

Nastasic has not even beennamed as a substitute in anyof City’s matches this seasonsince playing in theCommunity Shield defeat toArsenal in August.

that la Real will benefitfrom the Premier Leaguegiants’ lack of patience.

“I always believed I wasthe right person for the joband I still believe that wasthe case,” the Scotdeclared.

“I don’t know abouthaving to repair my imagebecause there wasnothing wrong with howwe worked [at United]. Ithink everybody could seethat, whoever is in chargeof Manchester United, it’squite a long job to dothings and obviously ninemonths would never beenough time for anymanager.

“I do think that most realfootball people understandthat there is a period atManchester United oftransition. I took over fromSir Alex and it was alwaysgoing to take time,whoever was in charge.The manager needs to begiven the opportunity toget on with his job and begiven that time that heneeds.

“I don’t think anything willchange. I will work thesame way I have alwaysdone. I had a great time atEverton when I was there

and came away from thatwith a lot of high regard. Iwould not have beenoffered the ManchesterUnited job if I had not donewell at that club so I stillstand by what I said at thetime: I wasn’t givenenough time to succeed orfail ... so Sociedad aregoing to get the benefit ofthat.”

Sunderland hit with FAcharge

The charge relates to thereaction of Sunderlandplayers to referee LeeMason’s decision to awarda penalty for the visitorsafter Seamus Colemanwent down under achallenge from ConnorWickham.

Sunderland playerssurrounded referee Masonas they claimed Wickhamhad won the ball as he slidin on the Republic ofIreland right-back.

Leighton Baines scoredthe resulting spot-kick toensure Roberto Martinez’sside salvaged a 1-1 drawat the Stadium of Light.

A statement on the FA’sofficial website said:“Sunderland have beencharged by The FAfollowing their gameagainst Everton on 9November 2014.

“It is alleged that in oraround the 76th minute ofthe game, the club failed

to ensure its playersconducted themselves inan orderly fashion.

“The club has until 6pmon 17 November 2014 torespond to the charge.”

THE former Manchester United boss has challengedhimself by taking the reins at Anoeta and says that theSpanish club will benefit from the patience not shown bythe Red Devils.

Barkley: The Toffees aredetermined to hold on to keyplayer Ross Barkley - and arewilling to play hardball withManchester City in order todo so according to theManchester Evening News.The paper reports that, “Citywill have to shell out £60m toland Ross Barkley - and thebig question is when theBlues will make their record-breaking bid for the Evertonand England superstar... Cityremain at the forefront of thesuitors and are poised to atleast double Barkley’s wage- and match the asking pricethat would make Barkley arecord for an Englishman,and that potential deal wouldbe the biggest between twoBritish clubs.” The other clubskeen, the report adds, areManchester United andChelsea. As for Barkley’sview? Well, a “source closeto the player” told the paperthat, “It’s a Wayne Rooneysituation all over again... heis ambitious and wants to beat a club on the biggeststage.”

enquiries about the 20-year-old through anintermediary, who couldsave their season, with aview to securing a deal inJanuary. Laporte isapparently high on Louisvan Gaal’s wish list but hehas a £32 million releaseclause, given his age andpotential.

Paper Round’s view: Byall accounts Laporte isindeed a useful playerwith a bright future, but£32m does seem ratherexcessive for a 20-year-old defender. Yes, he hasLa Liga and ChampionsLeague experience, buthe is yet to feature atsenior level for hiscountry and in terms ofrisk, when talking aboutthat kind of money he canonly represent a big one.The thing is, though,United are that desperatefor defenders, they maywell pay that kind ofmoney. It is noexaggeration to say thathe really could saveUnited in the short term,such is their crazy needfor anyone at the backwho is solid and reliable.

THE Serbian defender hasnot featured for the PremierLeague champions and isavailable for around +6.3million in the January transferwindow

Manchester City defenderMatija Nastasic has beenoffered to Arsenal andTottenham in the Januarytransfer window for a cut-price +6.3 million, Goal canreveal.

Nastasic was told to find anew club over the summerbut remained at City despiteinterest from a host of Italiansides.

City’s desire to recoup as


I’m Getting Mental Help

Murray Looking For Answers After Being Thumped By Federer

Juventus Want ToWin The Treble

-Pepe

Andy Murray

MURRAY looking for answers after being thumpedby FedererAndy Murray admitted he has a lot ofthinking to do following his thumping loss to RogerFederer at the World Tour Finals.

However that never lookedlike happening as the Scotwon just eight points in thefirst set and didn’t win agame until he was 6-0 5-0

THE 27-year-old is takinghis anger issues seriously andhas sought specialist help in abid to ensure the red mist neverdescends again

Barcelona star Luis Suarezhas revealed how he is receivingpsychological help in a bid toovercome the anger problemsthat have seen him suspendedtwice in 15 months for bitingopposition players.

The Uruguay international’smost recent offence occurred

during the World Cup, where hewas caught sinking his teeth intoItaly defender GiorgioChiellini’s shoulder.

That incident saw himhanded a four-monthsuspension from all football,after he had been banned for 10games for doing the same thingto Chelsea defender Branislav

THE versatile attacker isdetermined forMassimiliano Allegri’s sideto make an impact in Europeas well as Italy this season

Simone Pepe has stressedthat Juventus are no longersatisfied with just winningthe Serie A title, but have settheir sights on an historictreble.

The Turin outfit havedominated domestically inrecent years, but have notwon the Champions Leaguesince 1995-96 and wereknocked out in the groupstages last season.

Despite anotherinconsistent campaign todate, which has seen themlose two of their first fourgroup games, Pepe isdetermined to end theirEuropean drought.

“We have many targetsthis season because we’reout to win all three

competitions – Coppa Italia,Serie A and ChampionsLeague,” Pepe told JTV.

“I’d never won anythingbefore coming to Juventusand when you start winningyou always want more.Three league titles aren’tenough, you want four, thenfive. It’s only natural.”

The attacker has beenplagued by injuries in recentyears, but he is raring to goagain after a longrehabilitation process.

“I’m in good shape andhave been for the past fourto five months. I’m trainingwith the team every day andthat’s important as far as I’mconcerned.

“I had a long and seriousinjury but you need to keepgoing. I wanted to get backin action and put this periodbehind me.”

down.World number two

Federer wrapped up the 6-0 6-1 victory in 56minutes, leaving Murraywith plenty to ponder ashis World Tour Finals

involvement came to adisappointing end.

It has not reallyhappened to me beforelike that where winninggames has been an issue,”said Murray, who last lost

Murray faced off againstFederer knowing that heneeded a straight sets winto advance to the semi-finals.

I’m Played Out Of Position At Real MadridTHE former Monaco star

has admitted that he prefers amore attacking role at clublevel but is prepared to adoptany role he is given underCarlo Ancelotti

James Rodriguez says he isnot fully comfortable with hisrole at Real Madrid as hewould prefer to play in a moreattacking position.

The 23-year-old impressedfor Colombia at the 2014World Cup playing close tothe striker, but he has beenutilised in a more central roleat Madrid due to the presenceof attackers such as CristianoRonaldo, Gareth Bale andKarim Benzema.

He has admitted that hewould rather play a bit higherup the pitch, but is ready tofeature wherever the coachneeds him.

“It’s true I play a little deeperfor Real Madrid. I can push alittle further forward forColombia,” James toldreporters.

“I hope to play where I feelmost comfortable and help theteam to win. I feel morecomfortable where I play forColombia because I like to becloser to the goal; that worksbetter for me. I can score andpass from there.

“But as a player I have to beprepared to play in any

position.”James has been in excellent

form for Madrid so far this

season, scoring six goals in19 appearances in allcompetitions.

Ivanovic in a Premier Leaguematch against Chelsea in April2013.

Now a Barca player followinghis summer move fromLiverpool, the 27-year-old iskeen to prove that he is a changedman by talking about the steps hehas taken to banish hisdisciplinary problems once and

for all.He told El Observador: “After

the suspension I had some reallyhard times. I’m gettingpsychological help and the clubhave been a constant support.”

As he moved ever closer to hisreturn to football against RealMadrid on October 25, Suarezwas also accused of being fat bysections of the press, but he hasnow spoken out against thosewho questioned his fitness.

“I was never overweight,” headded. “It was just as LuisEnrique said on one occasion:‘Tell me when you see LuisSuárez thin’. The doctor whocarries out the medicals at theclub said that I was one of the sixplayers at Barcelona who had thelowest percentage of fat andlowest weight. It was all part ofthe newspapers’ game.”

His inability to control histemper has seemingly been thefactor behind Suarez’s omissionfrom the list of candidates for thisyear’s Ballon d’Or, but ratherthan protest against the snub, theformer Ajax man is remainingphilosophical, while targeting hisfirst league goals for his newclub.

Wales Hope To Take Advantage OfKompany’s Absence In Brussels

WALES hope to takeadvantage of Kompany’s absencein BrusselsBelgium could giveanother outing to a three-prongedstrike force laced with pace andpower as they look to make up forthe loss of defensive leaderVincent Kompany against GroupB pacesetters Wales in Sunday’sEuro 2016 qualifier in Brussels.

Third place Belgium are threepoints behind the Welsh but haveplayed one game fewer and canmove above their opponentsthanks to their superior goal

difference, while Israel aresandwiched between the two insecond place.

Marc Wilmots’s side will againbe without captain and centraldefender Kompany, who was badlymissed as their fragile defence wasfrequently exposed in the friendlyagainst Iceland on Wednesdaydespite a 3-1 win.

This prompted goalkeeperThibaut Courtois to lay into histeam mates at the end, saying thata repeat of that performance wouldsee them beaten by Wales, whose

manager Chris Coleman was atthe game.

Belgium coach Wilmotsadmitted that his defence had notbeen at their best, but said thathe had been busy trying outdifferent options.

One such tactic was a three-pronged attack of ChristianBenteke, Romelu Lukaku andDivock Origi, the latter being thepick of the bunch with a crackingleft-foot shot for his thirdinternational goal.

by the same margin againstNovak Djokovic in Miamiback in 2007.

“I’ve had tough lossesand heavy defeats butnothing quite like that.

“It’s very frustrating,

when I’m trying my best.I’ve never been in thatposition before in mywhole career.

“Maybe I need to makesome changes to my game,but that’s the one goodthing - I have time now todo that.”

Luis Suarez


FernandezOut For

Three Weeks

Australia Conducted Clean Bid ForWorld Cup - FFA Chief

England Players ’ll Welcome Hodgson - Baines

FranceAlways

Want To Win- Deschamps

Federico Fernandez

Dominique Malonga (left) tries to disposse hisopponent during a match.

AFCON 2015: Malonga Set For CongoDebut Against Nigeria

Bayern Don’t Need Schweinsteiger

HIBERNIANS ofScotland forwardDominique Malonga is setto debut for Congo againstNigeria in a crucialAFCON 2015 qualifiertoday.

Congo Red Devils aresecond in Group A withseven points from fourmatches and shockedAfrican championsNigeria 3-2 in the first

encounter in Calabar inSeptember.

Malonga said he will bedelighted to help hiscountry qualify for theNations Cup 12 years aftertheir last appearance at thefinals.

“I am happy to play inmy country,” said the 25-year-old forward.

“I am going to help myteammates so we canqualify in front of oursupporters on Saturday.We will give our best. Weknow that it is a crucialgame for us.”

Reims midfielder PrinceOniangue has called fortotal support for the 11,000fans who will be at theStade Municpal in Pointe-Noire.

“We are based on theHoly Scriptures. Rejoicewith those who rejoice;mourn with those whomourn. In good days andbad days we are asking tothe fans to be with us as weare only three points away,even may be one pointaway from qualification,”said Oniangue, whoopened scoring for hiscountry against Nigeriathree months ago.

THE Argentine missed hisside’s 2-1 win over Arsenal onSunday and will be out for atleast the rest of November.

But in some good news forGarry Monk’s men, WayneRoutledge and Nathan Dyer areset to return to training nextweek.

Swansea drew 0-0 in abehind-closed-doors friendlyagainst Cardiff City onThursday, and Monk waspleased to give some playersmuch-needed game time.

“It was a good chance to givea few players some minutes,” hetold the club’s website.

“It was important for the likesof Leon [Britton], Jordi [Amat]and Dwight [Tiendalli], who arecoming back from injury, andalso for some of the boys whohaven’t played as many minutesrecently.

“During the internationalbreaks, it’s nice for the playersthat remain here to have a focusat the end of a week’s training.

AUSTRALIA conductedclean bid for World Cup -FFA Chief FederationFootball Australia (FFA)chief Frank Lowy hasrejected criticism ofAustralia’s failed bid for the2022 World Cup, saying thecountry ran a “cleancampaign”.

A report by FIFA’s ethicscommittee cleared Russia

and Qatar of any wrongdoingbut criticised the activities ofthe government-funded A$43million ($37.43 million)Australian campaign.

“FFA did its best to run acompetitive and compliantbid and to do it whereverpossible hand-in-hand withthe Australian Government,

with the customarygovernment oversight,”Lowy said in a statement onFriday.

The FIFA report summarywas undermined soon after itwas published on Thursdaywhen the former U.S.prosecutor who led theinvestigation said it hadmisrepresented his findings.

IT must be with enviouseyes that Joachim Low watchesBayern Munich these days. Notonly do the Bavarians have theclass and leadership of PhilippLahm, but the former Germanyskipper and his team-mates aremaking light of the absence ofBastian Schweinsteiger.

The post-Lahm era wasalways going to be tough for theworld champions. His untimelyinternational retirement left agaping hole not only on thepitch – the 30-year-old isundoubtedly the game’s bestfull-back and a very ablemidfielder – but in the dynamicof the squad.

Per Mertesacker andMiroslav Klose, both 100-capstars, called it a day at the sametime and Low was shorn ofthree key members of hissquad. Schweinsteiger, stillbruised and battered from hisheroics in the World Cup final,was handed the captaincy, thelogical choice for the armband.

But, despite the midfielder’squalities as a leader, he rarelyrepresents his country due thestring of injuries that haveplagued him in recent years.Indeed, he has only just startedtraining again after his anklescame in for brutal treatmentfrom the likes of JavierMascherano and PabloZabaleta in the final in Brazil.

Manuel Neuer, ThomasMuller and others have beencharged with leading the team inSchweinsteiger’s absence but itis all too evident that the worldchampions are in dire need oftheir skipper.

Torn apart by Argentina inSeptember in a repeat of theWorld Cup final, they limpedpast Scotland before a disastrousOctober saw them lose to Polandbefore throwing away two pointslate on at home to Republic ofIreland.

The recurring theme of allthose losses has been silly goalsconceded on the counterattackand one cannot help but look atthose who have been manningthe deep-lying midfield position– Toni Kroos, still far from adeptat the defensive side of his gameand Christoph Kramer, hugelytalented but still painfully raw.

Schweinsteiger is far moresecure at the back, havingblossomed as an anchor manover five years ago. As a WorldCup winner and one of the mostdecorated players in BayernMunich’s history, he would havebeen able to steer his teamtowards victory as the nextgeneration of Germany stars areblooded.

Borussia Dortmund legendLars Ricken believes theMannschaft are merely goingthrough a period of transition andwill emerge from it all the

stronger. “Klose, Lahm andMertesacker have retired but theteam is still very young and wehave a pool of talented youngplayers,” he told Goal.

“We are looking towards thenext European Championship.The team is hungry and they playto win more titles and show thatthe World Cup didn’t happen byaccident. The future is great forGerman football.”

THE Three Lions manager is due to remain incharge until the end of Euro 2016 but the Evertonfull-back says that he can continue to offer thesquad a lot with his experience

The England squadwould be delighted to

see manager RoyHodgson’s contract

extended beyond Euro2016, according toLeighton Baines.

Hodgson’s present dealis set to take him throughto the tournament inFrance, which his side arewell positioned to reachafter winning their firstthree qualifying matches.

The 67-year-old hasresponded well afteroverseeing a poor WorldCup campaign in Brazilearlier this year, in whichEngland were eliminatedfrom the group stageswithout winning a match,and Baines says that all theplayers are keen for him toremain in charge.

“The players would allbe delighted with that[Hodgson extending hiscontract],” the left-backtold reporters. “We allenjoy working with him.He’s a good guy, a goodperson to speak to.

“He’s got a lot ofknowledge about football,has had a lot of differentjobs, worked in differentcountries. Us, as a bunchof players, would be reallyhappy if he extended.”

Baines also believes that

England captain WayneRooney is the ideal rolemodel for his Evertonclub-mate, Ross Barkley.

Barkley has beencompared by some to theManchester Unitedskipper, who started hiscareer at Goodison Park,and the defender feels thatRooney - who is set to earnhis 100th cap againstSlovenia - can continue tobe an example to follow.

“Wayne’s always beensomeone that people havefocused on and we’veasked a lot of him over theyears as well and he tendedto produce,” he observed.“He’s now moved onto hisrole as captain and rightlyso - he earned that right tobe leading the team now,he’s a leader among thesquad.

“He’s great for all theplayers but particularly forpeople like Ross and theother young players whohe’s often offering adviceto so I think it was thenatural fit once Steven[Gerrard] retired forWayne to step up and fillthat role.”

THE 46-year-old has made itclear that les Bleus are desperateto keep up their good form intheir friendly with Albania

France coach DidierDeschamps has insistedmotivation is no problem for hisside ahead of their friendlyagainst Albania on Friday.

As Euro 2016 hosts, France donot need to qualify and arepreparing for the tournamentwith friendlies.

However, Deschamps hasstressed his team are still hungryfor wins as they look to extendtheir unbeaten run following theWorld Cup.

“Of course we want to win,even though it doesn’t count,” hesaid at a press conference.

“These will be our 14th and15th games, and this year we lostonly once, against Germany, theworld champions. So we needcontinue this ambition to win.

Hodgson and Baines


Cranes Target Win Over GhanaOnyango. In theabsence of Gyan,Olympiue Marseille’sAndrew Ayew isexpected to captainthe Black Stars at theMandela NationalStadium, Namboole.

M i d f i e l d e r sE m m a n u e lA g y e m a n g - B a d u ,Christian Atsu andSolomon Asante couldhave a great part toplay for the Black Starswho need a clear winto qualify for the Afconfinals before their lastGroup game nextweek against Togo.

UGANDA Craneswill be eager to pickmaximum points whenthey host Ghana in a2015 Africa Cup ofNations (Afcon)qualifier today.

Head Coach Milutin

THE Super Eagles of Nigeria will today in faraway Port Ivoire in Congo engage their Congolesecounterparts in a make or mar match in the on-going Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Super Eagles players acknowledging cheers from fans during a match.

CMYK

...Ojiesehoba DeclaresVictory For Eagles

goals. It is expected thatother players willcontribute their quotaby scoring goals sincethe Congolese mayconcentrate and mountpressure on Ike Uche. Keshi must also knowwhat is at stake and usethe correct strategiesthat can beat thestubborn Congolese tothe game. Even though thematch appears dicey,some football followersbelieve that theNigerian team is

The Super EaglesCoach, Stephen Keshihave come underserious criticisms in thelast few weeks after theforemost Nigerian teamlost two first matches inthe continentalcompetition. The Eagles have wonone match and drewone. They need 2-0 orhigh score result to winhead-to-head battle

Ike Uche

Eagles In Make Or MarCracker With Congo

FORMER Ace NTA’sSports Broadcaster,Dele Ojiesehoba hasdeclared victory for theSuper Eagles intoday’s match withCongo. According to DeleOjiesehoba, the SuperEagles have what ittakes to beat theCongolese on theirhome soil. “The Congolesecame to Nigeria tobeat us, why can’t wedo same by defeatingthem in Congo? It hasto do withdetermination tosucceed. It is verypossible in football!” he explained that

capable of defeatingtheir host on theirhome soil if they arereally determined to doso. Nigerians neednothing other than thedesired victory in thiscrucial match An outright win in thismatch and that againstSouth Africa will giveNigeria the ticket toAfrican Cup of Nationsbilled for 2015.

against Congo. The dicey encounteror situation had forcedthe Eagles big boss(Keshi) to inviteNigeria’s rave of themoment and villarrealstriker, Ikechukwu Ucbeto the National team. All eyes are thereforeon Ike Uche not only toignite the team but todeliver the goods byproducing the desired

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there have beendissenting voicesagainst CoachStephen Keshi as tohis tactics andinvitation of players,saying that he knowswhat to do to give thedesire results. “You see, the Coachknows his players! Heknows the in-tricksconcerning his teamand the strategies hewill use in winning aparticular match. He said he is veryoptimistic that Nigeriawill succeed in Congo. He asked Nigeriansto support the teamwith prayers instead ofcritising the coach andthe players adding thatfootball is not an easygame.

Mweene Confident OfThree Points In Maputo

‘Micho’ Sredojevic toldMTNFootball.com thatalthough the BlackStars will be minusinspirational coachAsamoah Gyan, hestill thinks the visitorswill be a toughopponent.

“We cacnot takeGhana for grantedbecause they topGroup E with eightpoints and also haveseveral professionalplayers featuring in bigLeague around theworld,” added theCoach. In their first legmeeting in Kumasi,the Black Starsneeded a second halfpenalty to cancel outTony Mawejje’s goal tosettle for a 1-all draw.

But Sredojevicthinks the match onSunday is a must winif his team is to have achance of qualificationfor Afcon which haseluded them since1978. “We are third inthe Group with fourpoints and another winwould put us in a goodposition before wetravel to face Guineanext week,” reasonedSredojevic.

Skipper AndrewMwesigwa is expectedto lead the Cranestogether with SouthAfrican basedGeoffrey Massa andgoalkeeper Dennis

GyanLands

Award InAsia

Keshi Warns His Squad Ahead Of Congo Clash

GHANA’S strikerAsamoah Gyan hasbeen awarded theForeign Player of theYear in the AsianConfederation.

The Black Starscaptain wins thecontinental awardfollowing his exploits inthe just ended AsianChampions League.

Gyan emerged the topscorer of the competitionwith 12 goals in Al Ain’scampaign which endedat the semi final stage.

The 28-year-old’saward will be handedover to the UAE FA foronward transfer to theformer Sunderlandhitman who is currentlywith the Black Starsdespite being ruled outdue to injury.

“Al Ain’s Ghanaianplayer Mr. AsamoahGyan’s consistent andexcellent performance inthe AFC ChampionsLeague scoring a total of12 goals and helping histeam reach the semifinals of the competitionis an achievement to beproud of,” a letter signedby the AFC GeneralSecretary Dato Soosayto the UAE FA read.

“On behalf of AFCPresident and the AFCExecutive Committeemembers, it is ourhonour to present theAFC Foreign Player ofthe Year 2014 accoladeto Mr. Asamoah Gyan.

“The award will besent to your associationthis month and we wishall the best to Mr.Asamoah Gyan for thefuture.”

Gyan has beenracking up awards afterawards since his arrivalin the UAE in 2011.

The Black Starsleading scorer shockedthe whole world with hisinitial loan move fromSunderland to Al Ain.

Many believed themove was backward andwill not inure to thebenefit of the 28-year-old.

But Gyan’s scoringrecord for both club andcountry has beennothing short ofphenomenon.

qualification.Mozambique spoilt

Zambia’s opening dayGroup F qualifying raceafter holding their hostson September 7 to astuttering draw in Ndola.

Zambia’s Group Ffortunes have sincechanged and are nowsecond only on goaldifference to third placedMozambique and tied onfive points from fourrounds of matchesplayed.

“Going to the AfricaCup is important foreveryone of us becausewe would be gettingcloser to retaining ournames on the map,”Mweene said.

“But first, we have toconcentrate inSaturday’s game. CapeVerde will be coming (OnWednesday) but it will benice to seal a place at the2015 Africa Cup inMaputo.”

SANI Kaita has saidNigeria are condemnedto beat hosts Congo inPointe-Noire in a crucialAFCON 2015 qualifiertoday.

The Africanchampions are third inGroup A and in danger ofmissing out on theNations Cup with tworounds of matches left tobe played.

And Saxan ofMoldova star Kaita hasnow said the Eaglesknow how importanttoday game is to theiraspiration to defend theAFCON title next yearand so they must be attheir best against Congo.

“This is a very crucialgame for Nigeria, a makeor mar game againstCongo. It is a gameEagles must win in orderto keep their hope ofplaying in the AFCONnext year as defendingchampions come topass,” said theexperienced midfielder.

“The players areprofessionals and knowhow important this gameis to them and Nigerians.I believe they will put intheir best and go all outto win.

“It is not going to beeasy, but I am upbeat theguys are good enough tobeat Congo at theirhome.”

NigeriaCondemnedTo Win -Kaita

The Super Eagleswill travel to point noireto take on their GroupA rivals Today, with theRed devils currentlysecond in thestandings, threepoints clear of theNigerians, who haveendeared a rock startto qualifying. The Congolese canbe hostile, we haveexperienced it severaltimes but we don’tknow how it is going tocome today,” he toldfootballer. But we have beentalking to the playersbecause AfricanFootball requires theAfrican mentality. Keshi’s continuedpresence with Nigeriaremain steeped incontroversy, with thetactician not officiallycontracted as headcoach following theexpiration of hisprevious deal earlierthis year. He explained: I havenot had any meetingwith NFF. I have had

By NICHOLAS EBOIGBE

meeting with theminister, that’s all. Theminister was the one-that asked me tocome. You all knowthat we don’t havecontract, we are justdoing what we can forour country. We alsowant our country toexcel, that’s why weare here.

when the two sidesclash in 2015 AfricaCup of Nationsqualifying actiontoday.

NIGERIA’S CoachStephen Keshi haswarned his squad toexpect nothing lessthan hostile Congo

KENNEDY Mweenesays Zambia is hoping toset the record straightagainst Mozambique onSaturday to edge closerto 2015 AFCON

2015 AFCON Qualifiers... 2015 AFCON Qualifiers... 2015 AFCON Qualifiers... 2015 AFCON Qualifiers...

Team P W D L GF GA GD PTSS/Africa 4 2 2 0 5 0 +5 8Congo 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 7Nigeria 4 1 1 2 5 5 0 4Sudan 4 1 0 3 2 8 -6 3

How They Stand In Group A

By NICHOLAS EBOIGBE

nigerian observer 15 11 2014

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