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>>Pages 9 & 10

Politicians areresponsible for our woes— Sheikh Ahmad Lemu

>>Page 34

A couple’svision forqualitativeeducation

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Beyondthe flood

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VOL. 2 NO. 9 SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 ZHUL-QADAH 12 - 13, 1433 AH N150. . . putting the people first

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JTF arrests SecurityOperatives forterrorism in Borno

>>Page 4

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Lateef Adegbitedies at 79

>>Page 4

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 2

Special Report

When in 1996p h a r m a c e u t i c a lgiants, Pfizer got

wind of the outbreak ofmeningitis epidemic in Kano,Nigeria, the company wastedno time in coming to Kanoostensibly to offer a helpinghand to the unfortunatechildren who constituted thelarger number of the victims.

Unknown to many,especially parents of thevictims who were rushing tothe hospital for medicalattention, Pfizer came to thescene with an ulterior motive,to test an unregisteredpainkiller ‘trovan’ which thecompany was developingthen.

Pfizer arrived the ancientcity with active connivance oftwo sons of the soil, one ofthem a senior medical officerwhile the other, a senioradministrative officer in theKano state Ministry of Health.The gentlemen who are stillvery much alive and walkingthe streets of Kano freely areyet to explain themselves onthis matter, whether they didit deliberately or otherwise.

Pfizer which was treatingvictims of meningitis side byside with ‘Doctors WithoutBorders’ (DWB) or MedicinesSan Frontiers personnel at theInfectious Diseases Hospital,which is a government ownedhospital in Kano, during theepidemic was said to have beencarrying out its owntreatment in utmost secrecyas opposed to DWB.

It was until when peoplebegin to realise that most ofthe patients taken to Pfizer’sside during the exercise werecoming out dead while not asingle death was beingrecorded by Doctors WithBorders that some of thehospital’s staff attached withPfizer started to bar peoplefrom carrying their patientsto Pfizer secretly.

The activity was blownopen with increased deathsand it was then that it dawnedon Pfizer officials that theyhad failed. They stopped thetests abruptly and hurriedlypacked and left the hospitaland soon they were out of thecountry.

But as they were packing,it was alleged that theircohorts here helped them bydestroying some of theevidences of their destructiveactivity and piled them insidean old well in the hospital witha view to obliterating anytrace of the horror committed.

It was learnt that whileMedicines San Frontiers cameto Kano to offer help to the

Issues surrounding stalledcompensation of Pfizer victims

victims of meningitis with fullknowledge of government,Pfizer however, did not seek orget any permission to carryout the infamous test whichlater claimed several lives.

As if nothing happened atall, the matter was sealed andnobody was talking about itagain until in 2001 when theUS based newspaper,Washington Post reported theunfortunate result of Pfizer’stest on some innocentNigerian children who wereadministered with anunregistered drug by no othercompany than Pfizer.

It was then that the matterwas given a follow-up by theWeekly Trust newspaperwhich traced the matter andreported all that occurredthroughout the period andwhat transpired thereafter.

Then the matter became anational issue and manypeople in the country came toknow about it and there werecalls for investigation into thematter from many quartersespecially the associationformed by parents of thevictims.

Then two cases were filedby Kano state governmentagainst Pfizer, one civil andthe other criminal and thecourt processes continued tolinger until Pfizer asked foran out of court settlement onthe matter with acompensation package for the200 victims.

The out of court settlementhowever brought about the

issue of agreement which wassigned between Kano stategovernment and Pfizer. Theagreement reached betweenthe two parties provided inpart that Pfizer will pay thesum of $30 million ascompensation. This amountwas to take care of thevictims.

According to theagreement, the 200 victimswill receive the sum of $5million, a state of the arthospital will be built in Kano

by Pfizer which will consumethe of $20 million while theremaining $10 million will beused to settle litigationcharges incurred by the Kanostate government.

While work on the hospitalbuilding has already beencompleted and the $10 millionlitigation fees settled, only asmall fraction of the victimshas received theircompensation to this date.

The Board which wasestablished to identify and

evaluate how much eachvictim will receive has beenable to pay only 14 out of the200 victims.

There is however acontroversial angle to thecrisis which is saying that thevictims may be more than200 afterrall.

Out of the over 355 whoreturned their claim forms tothe Board, only 14 of themhave so far received theircompensation and out of thisnumber, only very few ofthem received the $75,000compensation fully.

This could be due to the somany intricacies of the wholecompensation issue inaddition to the relegation ofthe Trovan VictimsAssociation (TVO) to the rearby the Board from day one.

Knowing the role theassociation played before theagreement could be reachedbetween Kano stategovernment and Pfizer, TVAwas therefore seemed to havemaintained an indifferentattitude towards the matter.All attempt to dividemembership of the associationfailed.

Some people believed thatthe agreement reachedbetween the two parties seemto have favoured Pfizerwhich is the reason why theUS based company had a fieldday to decide on every issueat will to the extent that itlooks like the company nowdictates the content of theagreement.

This problem according toTVA chairman, Mustapha

By Bala Nasir, Kano

Contd on Page 3

Chairman of the Trust Board, (Rtd) JusticeAbubakar Wali

A victim's saliva being taken by Pfizer officials for the DNA test last year.

Chairman of the Trovan Victims Association,Alhaji Mustapha Garba Maisikeli

Compensation of Pfizer victims

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 3

Special Report

Maisikeli might haveemanated from the activitiesof some officials in the previousadministration of Kano statewho believed to haveconnived with Pfizer to doctorthe content of the agreementreached so as to give Pfizer anedge.

“Content of the agreementreached were never divulgedto me” said Maisikeli, in spiteof the fact that he saved thesituation at the most criticalperiod of reaching theagreement. He is of the beliefthat many articles could havebeen changed before theformal endorsement by thetwo parties.

Prior to thecommencement of their work, the Board was said to havestudied the agreement only tofound it to have favouredPfizer. The only thing aboutthe agreement is that it wasreached between Kano stategovernment and the drugcompany, so it is not bindingon the victims.

That could have been thereason why the victims haltedthe activities of the Board inthe beginning by seeking aninjunction in an Abuja highcourt which the courtgranted. It took another roundof out of court settlementbefore they stopped theircourt action against theBoard.

That could have been thereason why the victims haltedthe activities of the Board inthe beginning by seeking aninjunction in an Abuja highcourt which the courtgranted. It took another roundof out of court settlementbefore they stopped theircourt action against theBoard.

The length of time fromthat time to date gave theBoard an opportunity to havefind time to concentrate onwhat it was essentiallyestablished for, that isbuilding the hospital with theamount provided in theagreement and also to identifyand assess the amount eachvictim should receive ascompensation.

While the hospital has beenbuilt, compensation to victimsis yet to be completed. In fact,compensation payment is farfrom completion as only 14out of the 355 victims have sofar received their own. This,to some observers, could beattributed to the seriousmisgivings existing betweenthe victims and the Boardcourtesy of the inherentproblems in the agreement.

A lot of hitches areattributed to the inability ofthe Board of the Trust Fund tocomplete the payment oreven make a significantprogress towards settling the

victims. Parents of thevictims claim that people onthe list are now more than2 0 0

This, however, is in disputewith Pfizer’s position that thetotal number of the victims itused the trovan drug on wereexactly 200 children. Butthere were so manyarguments earlier on theexact number of victims assome of the hospital staff thatworked during the exercisesay the number is far greaterthan 200.

Even the Trovan VictimsAssociation (TVA) which is agroup of 192 victims out of the200 is of the belief that thenumber is more than 200 butthey stopped this numberbecause they were only ableto identify 192 during theirvictims identificationexercise.

Even Pfizer itself hadtestified to this assumptionaccording to a particularTVA write up that it waswhen it had unveiled itsmembership strength whichput it at 192 during thepreliminary negotiationtalks between Kano stategovernment and the US druggiant. “As soon as TVAmembership figure was madepublic, Pfizer advanced thefigure of its victims to 200immediately. And since the192 TVF membership is quitewithin that claimed by Pfizer,it was compelled to accept it.

However, prior to thistime, the company put thenumber at 1,441 through acourt submission in 2007

where one Ms Ada Okarafor adefense lawyer of Pfizer in thecivil case brought to thecompany by the TVA at anAbuja high court the totalnumber of the children testedby Pfizer was 1,441.

It is not yet known whenfor certain will this issue ofcompensation be over due tothe intricacies of theagreement that guided thecompensation which wassigned by the Kano stategovernment and Pfizer.

When the incumbentGovernor of Kano state,Engineer Rabiu MusaKwankwaso came to powerlast year, he was veryoptimistic that he will do allhe can to resolve the matterso that Trovan victims couldget their compensation onceand for all.

But it appeared that theagreement signed is a majorhindrance to anybody whowants to help the situationand it seems Pfizer is watchingfrom afar and laughing at thenaivety of those whorepresented the people insigning the agreement.

Kano State Commissionerof Justice and AttorneyGeneral, Barrister MalikiKuliya told Peoples DailyWeekend that, the stategovernment has employed theservices of a law firm with aview to broker a convenientsettlement with Pfizer so as tohave all the remainingvictims paid.

He stated that right nowthey have written to Pfizer onthis and are still waiting for

its response which willcertainly form the basis of thenext action the stategovernment will take.

He however, explainedthat in the event of failure byPfizer to respond to the lettersent to it, the state

government will therefore askits lawyers to advise it on thenext move to take.

According to the AttorneyGeneral, two options are leftfor the state government oneof which will be slammingfresh court action both civiland criminal against Pfizer.

While all that is going on,the victims are however,fervently hoping for paymentof their compensation soonestfor them to get the matterover as it had taken them toomany years fighting.

One good thing aboutmembership of TVA is theirresilience and hope for a truesettlement of the matter. Theyresist all forms of divisionswithin them despite thehumble background of almostall of them.

They found a way ofhelping themselves out of somany social problems thatmany marriages wereconsummated between itsmembers just in order to helpthemselves out against theprevail ing economichardship that pervades thecountry.

The victims especially themost seriously deformed bythe Trovan drug are also takencare of collectively thoughsome of the victims have losttheir lives during thestruggle, yet they aredetermined to continuepressing for their rightsagainst all odds.

A victim, Farida

One of the victims to have received compensation duringthe ceremonial presentation of his cheque last year.

PAGE 4 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

NewsJTF arrests security operativesfor terrorism in Borno

Hajj impasse: Tambuwal summonsPresidential intervention C’ttee meeting

Katsina deporteeslament humiliation

carrying $7,049,444 (Sevenmillion, Forty Nine Thousand, FourHundred and Forty Four UnitedStates Dollars).

He confessed that he was a courierfor twenty individuals who hired himto courier the money for them toDubai.

Investigations by the EFCCshowed that Sheriff is a regulartraveller and one of several couriersof illegal cash suspected to be proceedsof crime. His claims in respect of hisaccomplices are still beinginvestigated by the Commission.

According to EFCC actingspokesman, Wilson Uwujaren,travellers leaving the country arestatutorily required to declare cashin excess of $10,000. “However, it isnot sufficient to declare excess cash,under the provisions of the MoneyLaundering Act, the onus is on theperson making the declaration toexplain the source of the excess cashand the reason for the export,” headded.

He continued: “Experience haveshown that bulk cash smuggling, theworld over, are usually associatedwith proceeds of crime as legitimatelyearned funds are usually processedthrough the banking system.”

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

S p e a k e r of the House ofRepresentatives, AminuWaziri Tambuwal, who

chairs the Presidential InterventionCommittee set up by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to interface withthe government of Saudi Arabia onthe seeming face-off resulting intodeportation of the nation’s pilgrimsin that country, convened ameeting of the members todeliberate over the impasse.

The meeting which began in theSpeaker’s office yesterday eveningwas yet to be concluded as at thetime of filling this report.

Briefing newsmen on theagenda of the meeting, SpecialAssistant to the Speaker on Mediaand Public Affairs, Imam Imam, saidthe Intervention Committee was todeliberate on outcome of theinteraction the officials of theForeign Affairs Ministry with theSaudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj.

He said “The InterventionCommittee is deliberating on theinformation coming from theoutcome of the meeting the officialsForeign Affairs Ministry are havingwith Saudi’s Ministry of Hajj with aview to forging ahead in theresolution of the impasse.”

He added “You will recall that

By Lawrence Olaoye the Speaker met yesterdaymorning with the Saudi Arabia’sAmbassador to Nigeria KhaliedAbrabuh, over the issue; this is thecontinuation of the engagement andwe are hopeful that the resolution ofthe meeting would put an end tothe impasse.”

Asked whether it would still bepossible to resolve the matterwithin the 24 hours periodstipulated by the SaudiAmbassador, Imam said it was stillpossible as the Tambuwalcommittee was, as at the time of itsmeeting, getting signals of possibleresolution of the matter within thetime frame.

T h e Katsina State AmirulHajj to this year’spilgrimage and former

president of the Court of Appeal,Justice Umaru Abdullahi hasadmitted that the deported femalepilgrims from the state returnedwith stories of how they werehumiliated in Saudi Arabia.

Justice Abdullahi who stated this

while briefing the state governor onthe recent deportation of the statepilgrims from Saudi Arabia, notedthat the first batch of the deporteeswere 87 while a total number of 76were deported in the second batch.

He noted that although thedeportation was worrying but thestate Hajj committee according tohim was working round the clockto explore all options available inmaking sure the pilgrims performthe Hajj rites.

Similarly, Abdullahi disclosedthat so far a total number of 3668pilgrims out of the 6065 from thestate were already in Saudi Arabia,adding that those who were affectedwere those that were particularlyin flights number six and seven.

Responding, the state governor,Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shemadescribed the ordeal of the pilgrimsas sad and unfortunate, assuringthe pilgrims that the federal andstate governments are workinground the clock to ensure amicableresolution of the impasse.

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua,Katsina

Protesters have no caseagainst us —NIMC boss

T h e Director General ofNational IdentityManagement Commission

(NIMC), Barr Chris Onyemenam hasreacted to the series of protestsembarked upon by former staffmembers of the commission in the lastfew days over the way and mannerthey were disengaged from service.

The protesters had stormed theNational Assembly a few days andalso the gate of NIMC headquartersyesterday calling for the sack of the

DG for allegedly disengaging themwithout paying their dueentitlements.

The NIMC boss however toldjournalists yesterday that thedisengagement exercise he carriedout followed due process and involvedthe workers' union, insisting that theexercise was in the best of the country.

He also informed newsmen thatall the entitlements of the disengagedworkers which includereinstatement benefits, promotionallowance and severance benefitshad been fully paid, contrary to what

the protesting workers were saying.Barr Onyemenam revealed that

the management under him carriedout several staff audits since it tookover the assets and liabilities of thedefunct Department of CivicRegistration (DNCR) and uncovereda lot of integrity deficit in most of staffmembers that were inherited. Casesof ghost workers, absenteeism andredundancy were discovered andmost of the staff inherited were juniorstaff who did the Sagem Identity cardsystem and who had been idle sincethe close of the exercise.

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

EFCC nabs 24-year oldsmuggling 1.1bn out of Nigeria

Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

Lateef Adegbite dies at 79

T h e death of the SecretaryGeneral of the NigerianSupreme Council for Islamic

Affairs, Alhaji Lateef Adegbite hasbeen announced.

The governor of Ogun State, in astatement signed by his Senior SpecialAssistant on Media, Funmi Wakamaon Friday, announced the death of DrAdegbite, who was also the SarkinMusulmi and Baba Adini of Egbaland.

According to the statement, Dr.

Adegbite “passed on Friday eveningin Lagos, at the age of seventy nine.”

The statement described the lateSarki of Egbaland as one of the iconsthe state has produced for Nigeria.

“Dr. Adegbite shone like a star inthe field of law and was well knownacross the world as the mouthpiece ofIslam in Nigeria”, the governorstated, adding that “the late Sarki wasa man who usually offered wisecounsel to governments at Federal

and State levels.”“The demise of Dr Adegbite is not

just a loss to Ogun State but to Nigeriaas a whole” the governor mourned.

Dr. Lateef Adegbite, CON, PhD(London) was an Attorney General ofthe Western State of Nigeria. He servedas Secretary-General of the NigerianSupreme Council for Islamic Affairsand belonged to several national,international, professional andbusiness organisations. He was the

Principal Partner of Lateef Adegblte &Co., a leading Law Firm, whichspecialises in Commercial LawPractice. He had wealth of knowledgeand experience and availed to the IGIboard. Until his death, Dr. Adegbitealso served as Director of JaizInternational Plc and Industrial AndGeneral Insurance Company Limited.

The Islamic cleric would be laid torest on today, according to Islamicrites.

T h e Economic andFinancial CrimesCommission (EFCC) has

arrested a bulk currencysmuggler, one Abubakar TijaniSheriff for attempting to smuggle$7million (about N1.1 billion) outof the country.

The 24-year-old was arrested atthe Murtala MohammedInternational Airport in Lagos en routeDubai, United Arab Emirates. He hadescaped security scrutiny from otheragencies at the airport but wasapprehended at the point of boardingthe plane by operatives of theCommission.

When he was arrested, he declaredthat he had a total sum of $4.5millionon him but thorough screening andsearch showed that he was actually

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

The Joint Military Task Force,(JTF) yesterday madeshocking revelation as it

announced the arrest of somesecurity personnel, alleged to haveparticipated in various terroristattacks in Borno and Yobe states.

However, the task force did notdisclose the identity of those involvedor from which security sections theywere attached.

It also added that several othersecurity agents, who were involvedin such attacks were at large, whileeffective surveillance has been put inplace to trail them.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lt-Col.Sagir Musa, in a statement issued tonewsmen, said the arrest of the

suspects followed earlier arrest of animmigration officer, who doubled asa high profile member of the BokoHaram sect.

The statement explained that theimmigration personnel, AhmedGrema Mohammed, attached toNengere ECOWAS office, Yobe statewas apprehended at the JTF securitycheck-point for impersonating a Lt.in the Nigerian army.

It added that preliminaryinvestigation later indicated thatMohammed, who was on thewanted list of terrorists, washeading to Maiduguri on amission to kill a special adviser tothe past governor of Borno state.

"The suspect has been an activemember of Boko Haram long beforethe 2009 clash between securityagents and followers of the sect. Upon

interrogation, he revealed the namesof some security personnel thatparticipated in terrorist attacks inBorno and Yobe states", the statementfurther claimed.

Similarly, JTF noted that theman has confessed to activelyparticipating in the killings of securityagents, senior civil servants andpoliticians in the two states, includingthe former chairman of Damboa localgovernment council of Borno state,late Lawan Kawu.

"He also took part in severalattacks in Damaturu comprising thatof the old police headquarters,Damaturu prison, CID office andpolice safety vehicles, among others",the statement declared.

The suspect also told the JTF thathe and 15 other members of the secthad traveled to Niger Republic andreceived intensive training on G3 andAK 47 rifles, assassination and otherspecial combat operations.

EFCC Boss, Malam IbrahimLamurde

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 6

News

P r e s i d e n t GoodluckJonathan declared lateWednesday in New York

that attracting greater foreign di-rect investment to accelerate do-mestic growth and create morejobs for unemployed Nigerians isnow the major focus of Nigeria’sforeign policy.

Speaking at a dinner organisedin his honour by the CorporateCouncil on Africa, PresidentJonathan said his administrationwas wholly committed to promot-ing the development of a knowl-edge-economy that will enhancethe security of lives and property,thereby accelerating growth to

surance Corporation to assess suchlosses or damage for possible insur-ance.

He however decried a situationwhereby farmers affected by natu-ral disaster delay such report un-til when there is no visible effect ofthe loss or damage in a desperatebid to claim cheap insurance.

The Manager added, “Anyfarmer that has any problem, beit flood, death of animal if he is arearer or fish or bird, insurancewill definitely redeem that, butthere are conditions, he has to re-

Our foreign policy nowfocused on foreigninvestments – JonathanBy Abdulrahman Abdulraheem provide more employment and re-

duce youth restiveness.The President told the gathering

of leading American businessmen

and investors that attracting foreigninvestment to support the realisationof the Federal Government’s agendafor national transformation was nowthe topmost priority of Nigeria’s di-plomacy.

“Let me restate here thatNigeria’s foreign policy is now an-chored on the realisation of thisTransformation Agenda throughthe attraction of Foreign Direct In-vestment. Under the new policythrust, our diplomatic missionsabroad have been directed to fo-cus more on attracting invest-ment to support the domesticprogrammes of government witha view to achieving not only ourVision 20: 2020, towards be-queathing an enduring a legacy

of economic prosperity,” he said.President Jonathan assured

guests at the dinner that adequatesafety nets have been establishedto protect all foreign investors inNigeria. Such measures, he said,included the establishment andstrengthening of the Infrastruc-ture Concession and RegulatoryCommission and the Bureau ofPublic Procurement.

The President further assuredthe gathering that the governmentwas dealing decisively with Nigeria’ssecurity challenges. “We have somesecurity challenges now, but let meassure you that the Nigerian gov-ernment is on top of it. We are deal-ing with the issue decisively; it willsoon be a thing of the past,” he said.

Oil field: Kogi youth urge elders to speak outBy Augustine Aminu

Youths in Kogi state underthe umbrella of Ufedo Clubof Nigeria, have called on

the Federal Government to ur-gently wade into the disputed oilfield between Kogi and Anambrastates to avoid a violent uprisingin the region.

The group also urged elites inthe state to rise up and speakagainst what it described as injus-tice being meted to the people ofKogi state.

In a bid to stir up indigenes of

Kogi state to rise in support of ef-forts to reclaim the disputed oilfields which have been ceded toAnambra state, the Ufedo Club ofNigeria urged leaders and stake-holders in the state to put up a goodfight to enable the state reclaimthe oil fields which duly belong toit.

A statement signed by the co-ordinator of the club, TairuShuaibu, said the club in an effortto reverse what it referred to as“daylight robbery”, urged indi-genes especially those in govern-ment to rise and say ‘No!’ to this

injustice being meted to the state.The statement further said the

executives of the club will also visittraditional rulers of the state overthe issue to avert consequences ofprotest by youths of the state pres-ently going on. It also called on theFederal Government to interveneso that the protest going on now willnot result to restiveness in the area.

It said ‘now is the time for theelites in the state to stand in uni-son to fight for the future of thestate’, stressing that posterity willjudge those who refuse to speak outnow.

H u m a n Rights Writers’Association of Nigeria(HURIWA) will on Octo-

ber 3, 2012 hold a solemn publiclecture to mark its 5th anniver-sary and also hold a memorial inhonor of late Mr. Delight Igali ofthe Bayelsa State House of Assem-bly who died in an auto crash inBayelsa a year ago.

A statement made available toPeoples Daily in Abuja by thechairperson of the organising com-mittee of the event, NwamakaAsuzu, said late Delight wasknown as, “Mr. sincerity ofBayelsa politics because of hisavowed commitment to theinstitutionalisation of transpar-ency, accountability and goodgovernance”.

The occasion, the statementsaid, would be chaired by thechairman of the National Electric-ity Regulatory Commission(NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, whilethe Attorney General of the Fed-eration and Minister of Justice,Mr. Mohammed Bello Adokeamong other dignitaries areinvitees.

Human Rights Writers’ Asso-ciation of Nigeria is a registerednongovernmental, non-profit andnon religious association of Nige-rian creative writers, philoso-phers, journalists and humanethinkers dedicated to deployingtheir talents to promoting and pro-tecting human rights and goodgovernance through constructivedialogue.

M edic al and laboratorytechnologists yesterdaycharged government at

all levels to ensure the regulation ofantibiotic consumption lamentingthat indiscriminate recommenda-tions of such was responsible for resis-

tance to antimicrobial agents.The association stated its position

in a communiqué in Jos at the end ofa five day workshop on Laboratorysafety, Quality Assurance andBaseline studies held at the Jos Uni-versity Teaching Hospital, JUTH.

In the communiqué signed byValentine Wuyep, chairman, draft-

ing committee, they stated that en-hanced development if resistanceusually affects quality of results ob-tained in labs, thereby complicatingtreatment to patients'.

They commended the "transforma-tion agenda of government" in the healthsector and observed that as vital as it is,laboratory was neglected and urged gov-

ernments at all levels to fast track infra-structure development of labs by pro-curing standard reagents andconsumables for quality health services.

The participants used the forumto implore government to ensure that"innovative instruments and equip-ment to be imported for use in Nige-ria, manufacturers of such products

must be compelled to have indig-enous professionals trained as resi-dent biomedical system applicationspecialists and biomedical field ser-vice engineers for such equipment.

The workshop was organised by theFederal School of Medical LaboratoryTechnology in conjunction withMedicom Laboratories Nigeria Limited.

Lab scientists advocate legislation against abuse of antibioticsFrom Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

Agency wants farmers affectedby floods to come for assessment

B a u c h i state Credit Finance Agency has counseled farmers whose farm-

lands were washed away by therecent flood in the state or anyother natural disaster to immedi-ately contact the agency for assess-ment of the damage.

The General Manager of theAgency, Alhaji Ibrahim AbubakarSadiq, said prompt report of suchdisasters by the farmers would en-able the Nigerian Agricultural In-

port at appropriate time, not justsit down and relax until we goround for loan recovery for him totalk about flood or any other dam-age”.

Sadiq who was speaking whilefielding reporters’ questions inBauchi, explained that the agencywas saddled with the responsibil-ity of ware-housing the N1 billionfarming loan accessed by the statefor this year cropping season andalready disbursed to selected farm-ers, hence the advice on loss in cropproduction.

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

HURIWA tocelebrate5th yearanniversary

Gunmen shoot Edo legislator

Yet to be identified gunmen, onThursday, shot Hon RazakMomoh, the member repre-

senting Etsako West 1 state constitu-ency in the Edo State House of As-sembly.

The lawmaker reportedly drovehimself from the Legislative Quar-ters on Ihama to visit a friend alongAkenzua Street in Benin City wherethe gunmen ambushed and attackhim at about 9:30 pm.

It was learnt that Razak drovehimself without his driver and po-lice orderly; when the assilants askedhim to lie on the floor, he resisted.

Soon afterwards, an argumentensued and he got shot on the left side

of his abdomen and was left in thepool of his own blood as his assailantsdrove away recklessly.

Passersby who heard the gun shottook the lawmaker who is the chair-man, Committee on Finance to a nearbyhospital where he was referred to theAccident and Emergency Unit of theUniversity of Benin Teaching Hospital.

A family source told newsmen thatthe legislator is responding to treat-ment having received needed atten-tion from medical personnel on duty.

Reacting to the development, anACN chieftain from the lawmaker’sconstituency, Prince SuleimanKadiri, expressed shock at the shoot-ing and called on security agenciesto wake up to their duty of safeguard-ing lives and property.

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

President Goodluck Jonathan

Gov. Idris Wada

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, AUGUST, 2012 PAGE 7

FocusPoliticians are responsible for ourwoes —Sheikh Ahmad Lemu

Sir, what is your take onthe state of unity andsecurity in the north?

From the time Mr. Presidentappointed me Chairman of thepresidential panel ofinvestigation following the crisesand violence that followed hiselection, I began to see thingsdifferently. Northerners are notas divided or as balkanized alongreligious and ethnic lines as weare being made to believe. It is notlike that. It is the politicians morethan any group that are doinghavoc to this country whether inthe north or south. Not all of themare devils definitely, some of themare very good people and aredoing things sensibly but a goodnumber of them have startedforming private armies to fighteach other in the course of whichsuicide bombers have come toplay a role and then claim that itis Boko Haram.

In the effort to win an electionin a certain community, if thepolitician knows that it is religiouscrises that will give him followers,he converts political issues toreligious issues. If it is tribalismthat he will whip up amongcommunities that will give himan edge, he does that.

That is what is going on, andcertainly why we still have pureanti-religious crises is due to theterrible ignorance of the trueteachings of each of the religionsfrom among the general public.Majority of Muslims are terriblyignorant of the true teachings ofIslam, we are not talking ofmechanical practice of Islam, “Iknow how to pray, the Sunnah,Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,Assalamu Alaikum, bye bye Ifinish my prayers.” What is theprinciple of prayer, what is thespirit of prayer, what is theobjective of prayer, how did theProphet Muhammad (SAW) prayand preach and advise that weshould pray in order to get thespirit of Allah mentioned in theQur’an as the objective of prayer.“inna salat naha anil fahsha’I walmunkar wala zikrul lahi akbar”,that’s what Allah says aboutprayer. Prayer is there to preventall acts of abomination and alsoencourage remembrance of God,and fahsha, things like adulteryand fornication, crime ormanslaughter, murder and soforth, prayer stands to preventthe occurrence of that from theheart of the individual.

How do I pray in order to getthat spirit, how do I preparemyself even through ablution to

Sheikh Ahmad Lemu is a former Grand Khadi and an Islamic scholar of great repute. He has beeninvolved in the educational system of northern Nigeria for a long time, and was also Chairman of thePresidential Panel of Investigation into the 2011 post-election violence. In this encounter with NasiruMu’azu Isa, he bares his mind on the controversies surrounding the detention of Nigerian female pilgrimsin Saudi and the state of security and education in the country as well as other national issues.

make myself pure and treat myfellow human and even treatanimals and the environment, beconscious of God in all that I’mdoing or saying and behaviorgenerally, that is what the fivepillars of Islam are to inculcate inus, but that is not how it is taught,people don’t know it, call a so calledmallam now and face him with aquestion, “what is the spirit ofablution”, very few of them know.Most will say it is cleanliness,purity, if so why don’t you do itwith soap? Oh, I’m sorry, okay,what did the Rasullulah say aboutablution, until you start to drawhis attention to what theRasullulah said as you areperforming ablution your sinscome off with the first drop ofwater or the last drop of waterprovided you perform theablution in the right manner,same thing with prayer but weare not doing all that.

We have had 14 years ofdemocracy and yet nothing to

show for it. Rather, we are stillcelebrating the past efforts of lateSardauna to uplift the north. Thisseems to show how bad our presentnorthern leaders are?

You are too young to know thevalue of what he did, we know andthat is how we won the civil war.Gowon, Danjuma, Babangida,they were not thinkingthemselves I’m a Muslim with

gun in my hand, not at all. Thespirit of Northernisation and thekilling of Sardauna pained all ofthem. The thought of you are aMuslim, I’m a Christian wereaccentuated later, and when theythemselves unfortunately startedplaying havoc against each othercoup after coup, that is how theNorthernisation spiritdisappeared. So what we are after

are leaders who are God fearing,who love their people, love thenation, love their communityand unity, and love their nation,love transparency. What do youhave now, one, those who are afterpersonal selfish interest, two,after huge sums of money, notthousands or millions but billions,three, people who have a quest forpower influence and followershipby all means, so those threeobjectives have eaten deep intothe hearts of nearly everypolitician. And they use theirinfluence and the money theyacquired in one means or anotherto promote those three objectiveswithout God’s consciousness,without fear of God, withoutthinking of accountability beforeGod and without shame. That iswhat is bothering us, I pity youthe young ones, the youths, we asI have mentioned many times arelike passengers that have alreadycollected their boarding passwaiting for call to board theplane. That is why I pity you,because what sort of future willyou have, but all hope is not lost,if you people are ready to faceanother movement that is nowcoming out little by little of ethicalreform movement we can rescuethe nation.

The Saudi authoritiesdetained our female pilgrimsbecause they don’t haveMaharam, what is thereligious injunction on awoman travelling for Hajj,can she go alone or must shego with a Maharam?

It is not a question of what isportrayed by the Saudiauthority, is it today that womenstarted going to Hajj from Nigeriawith or without a Maharam? Whydidn’t they raise this issue allalong, the hajj commission peopleevery year will discuss thestipulations, rules, andregulations with Saudiauthorities, did they raise thisissue or not? And under presentcircumstances, as far as thepilgrims commission isconcerned, they have appointedpeople who will take care of thesewomen, whether on behalf of theirhusbands, fathers, brothers, sonsand so forth and ensure that theydon’t misbehave and do notengage in wrong behavior or badconduct. They have taken allthese measures and they havebeen taken these measures foryears, it is not a question of tenyears and so forth that they have

Contd on Page 8

In the effort to win an election ina certain community, if thepolitician knows that it is

religious crises that will give himfollowers, he converts political

issues to religious issues.

“

Sheikh Ahmad Lemu

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 8

Focus‘Politicians are responsible for our woes’

wrong with looking for the moonwith binoculars or telescope?The main thing is has the newmoon been really born? Thepoint to bear in mind, is with allthe emphasis to try and see itwith your naked eyes, you haveso many crooks and mischiefmakers who even last year somepeople were brought to thesultan who informed us thatafter close interrogationapologized that they did not seethe moon. If the Sultan hadfollowed those people, he wouldhave announced that the newmoon had been sighted.Nowadays there are variousways of sighting the moon,scientist and technology havedeveloped that they can nowsend people to the moon andbring back rocks from the moon,they can forecast eclipse daysand weeks ahead and when thetime comes it will happen. Sowith all these developments, theissue of when will the new moonbe born is no longer secret or amatter of ignorance. Butanother element is the so calledmallams, the three factors Iearlier, the quest for money,power and influence is therewith many mallams. So if onlyto demonstrate that he ispowerful and has got followers,Sultan has announced and Idisagree. And since there isnothing in the constitution thatallows the sultan to impose it,he gets away with his rebellion.

Is it right to ignorepronouncements from therecognized religiousleader?

Of course it is just to causemischief; “Hold fast to the rope ofAllah and let nothing pull youasunder” is a direct injunctionfrom the Qur’an. Another thingto bear in mind is that there arehundreds of satellites in theatmosphere that can be mistakenas the new moon. What do you dowith that? These are the issuesnow. And then there are thosewho say if I don’t see it with mynaked eyes I will not believe, yetthat person is most likely readingthe Qur’an with glasses, whydon’t you throw away thoseglasses and read the Qur’an withyour naked eyes? It isinconsistent. If we choose a leaderlike the Sultan and say we areputting the whole load on you,take all the necessary measuresbearing in mind all the factors,and guide us and let us knowwhen the full moon has appeared.Every month I receive a text fromthe committee the Sultan set upfor the sighting of the new lunarmonth appears. The sultan is notcareless about this matter but theproblem is those who lie to theirEmir or deceived by satellites intothinking it’s a new moon and willswear they have seen it, or whowill put heads together and saylet us go and tell them we havesighted the new moon just tocause disunity among Muslims.

Is it right to protest theinsulting film with violence?

Common sense will tell youthat is not how the Prophet foughthis enemies, no; peaceful protestyes but not violence. The onus ison the government of the peoplewho did the film, I can’t claim thatit is the government of Americathat prepared the man to do thisfilm but now it is up to them toknow what they are going to dowith such people.

We are currently facingthe Boko Haram issue inNorthern Nigeria whilepeople in the south believeMuslims are not doingenough to condemn theiracts. Is it true?

Are you not aware and it wasin the papers, where the so calledBoko Haram suicide bombersturned out to be Christians? If thatis the situation and a dog canappear and claim he is BokoHaram, apart from that like Isaid, some businessmen,politicians, individualstakeholders etc are now formingprivate armies. We told Mr.President in our report thatpeople are forming private armiesand they will go and do havoc inthe name of Boko Haram, this isthe state of affairs presently andthese people are fighting eachother and if they can buy a suicidebomber to go blow up a bomb inorder to kill one particular person,they are not concerned if ahundred people are killed. Peopleare so heartless now.

The north is seriouslylagging behind in education,why do you think this is so andwhat is your suggestion on theway out?

Very fortunately for me I wasa stakeholder in the field ofeducation in the north westernstate, fortunately also we had avery good governor, AlhajiUsman Faruk. There was a timewe in the north west particularlySokoto were backward in

been going for Hajj under the careof pilgrim officials. And theyensure they appoint adequatenumbers and it is so organizedthat every state has its ownAmirul Hajj in addition to thefederal Amirul Hajj, are all thesepeople blind, they can’t hear whatis going on, don’t they walkamong the pilgrims to know theirproblems? If it is fear ofmisconduct, is it now the Saudiauthority is knowing Shariainjunctions about the issue ofMaharam, were they ignorantbefore? But the realities of thesituation has brought about allalong has allowed women to gounder the protection of those whowill take care of them to ensurethat they behave well, no harmis done to them, in one way oranother and to ensure that theyperform their hajj peacefully,soundly and successfully. If theyhave taken all these measures,there is an ulterior motive thanthe one they have announced tothe public. So it is up to ourauthorities, the pilgrim’s board,and the government to take upthis matter at the diplomaticlevel between Nigeria and SaudiArabia, after all are we the onlycountry, so why are we beingsingled out for this kind ofhumiliation? I don’t want tocomment more than that.

Do you think it isnecessary for the Nigeriangovernment to take a strongstand like boycotting Hajj fora year?

That will be childish, what dothe Saudis lose by that, nothing.Already there is the issue of overpopulation and if we decidestupidly to say we are not goingto Hajj and not going to allow mypeople to go, who will face thecrises? The whole Muslims inNigeria will fight the governmentif they take such a stand, it isimpossible. No government inNigeria will fare well if they takesuch a stand, right now it is theSaudi’s fault that we can see butif the government should decideto boycott Hajj, who will regret?It is a compulsory part of thepillars of Islam.

Is it necessary to startRamadan at the same time,must we start and endRamadan with SaudiArabia?

No, we have nothing to dowith Saudi Arabia or any othercountry. The question is, try tosight the moon to the best ofyour ability, if you decide to useinstruments, as far as I’mconcerned there is nothingwrong with that. If you useinstruments like telescopebecause of bad weather and forone reason or the other tosupport your naked eyes and forthose who kick against it, then Isay don’t use glasses to read theQur’an. Try to read the Qur’anwith only your naked eyes, butif you read the Qur’an withdifferent lenses, then what is

education, so I remember one ofmy colleagues, Alhaji MammanKaoje, the two of us went to SokotoTeachers College and drew up amemorandum, a way forward forthe north west. In fact ourmemorandum was page one inthe file of Advanced TeachersCollege, Sokoto for solving theproblem of backwardness ineducation. We passed it to thecommissioner of the North Weststate, then it was passed to thegovernment, debated in theexecutive council, adopted andwithin three years onwards, westarted solving all our problemsregarding shortages of teachers.It is still possible and it can stillwork, but some people just carryon with the development,building more schools, it is not likethat. It is better to get ten highquality schools than fifty that areuseless. Critical success factors ofeducation are five, well trainedand dedicated teachers and wellpaid is one, number two isadequate teaching and learningmaterials, three is goodmanagement whereby the headteacher and his or her assistantsare well trained and dedicated,number four is conducivelearning environment, numberfive is effective supervision. That

is what we did in the former northwestern state to catch up like amiracle.

Sir, there is the issue offemale participation inpolitics and some peoplebelieve it is religiously wrong.What do you say?

What you must remember iswe haven’t got an Islamicconstitution, it is a secularconstitution except for thepreamble that indicates we areunder God, but all the content tookinto consideration what we havebeen practicing during colonialrule and independence andcontinued to amend theconstitution and basically itremains a secular constitution, sowhy should we single out one caseand say according to Islam it isthis and that, alright you wantto tell me Muslims should notparticipate in Nigerian politics?So we surrender ourselves towhomever wins, whether anatheist or non-Muslim whoeverhe is, a crook or thief and say it isunislamic, think over it anddecide for yourself the wayforward. As far as I’m concerneduse the same thing, attain the keypositions, and change what youcan in the right method. Look atthe question of Islamic bankingthere it is, even under a Christianpresident. We went about it theright way and now it is inNigeria, Jaiz Bank. We use thesame sensible way of going aboutthings, if there is peacefulcoexistence, mutualunderstanding and respect,ultimately we shall get there.

Talking about goodrelations and peacefulcoexistence especially withnon-Muslims, there arecontroversies like going intoa church for a wedding, is itallowed for a Muslim to into achurch?

If he is allowed why not, youare not going to worship withthem why not? You are givingmoral support and celebrating awedding for one of their youths,so what? If you are notcomfortable then you use yourdiscretion to inform the person. Ifyou are interested and they saythey can allow you, you can go.Personally I don’t see what iswrong with it, if the prophet(SAW) can allow Christians fromNajran to enter his mosque inMadina, what next?

Contd from Page 7

This bill also can enhancejournalism especially those

who are engaged ininvestigative journalism, it

helps them in getting enoughinformation.

“

Sheikh Ahmad Lemu

PAGE 9PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Beyondthe floods

Cover

Contd on pages 10&11

W i t h the forecast, what shouldthe country do to avoid theimpending menace? The

answer would stem from how well theflooding across the country is beinghandled, and the disaster managementagency NEMA and other agencies arealmost drowning in the business ofsalvaging the nation.

Disaster management in Nigeria datesback to 1906 when the Police Fire Brigade(now Federal Fire Services) was establishedto function beyond fire fighting role tosaving of lives, properties and provision ofhumanitarian services in emergencies.

Since then disaster management hasexperienced various challenges, whilenatural disasters were sweeping throughother nations; man-made disasters weresweeping through Nigeria with the climatechange taking serious toll on the country.According to the Director General of the

National Emergency ManagementAgency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani-Sidi,the present situation of flooding remains aserious environmental issue this year inNigeria, from the North to the West andSouth to East where heavy rainfall iscausing havoc everywhere. Theinevitability of changes occurring due tothe climate change is now a well-established reality. Scientific evidence hasshown that as a result of climate change,extreme weather events like floods,windstorms, droughts and epidemics havebecome more frequent and severe. Theyoccur in areas where they were previouslyeither unknown or extremely rare. For usin the developing world, climate changeportends greater danger. Virtually allstates in Nigeria are grappling with flood.This is a clear reminder that we can nolonger ignore disaster risks. Disastersconstitute the greatest threat todevelopment and socio-economic wellbeing

Jamila Nuhu Musa and Sam Egwu,Lokoja

Flood can be interpreted as a mystical allegory conveyinga powerful message to a people, like in a spiritual senseas conveyed in the several variants of the story of theGreat Flood, which was about a great destruction thatonce befell the earth, according to the scriptures. Likethe Great Flood, massive flooding in Nigeria hasassumed a worrisome dimension with thousands ofcommunities being submerged across the country everyday. Tales of victims of flood are awesome; climbing upthe trees and cooking on rooftops are few examples.Numbers of internally displaced persons are rising andloss of lives and properties are the lots of Nigerians,and now the Director General, Nigerian MetrologicalAgency, (NIMET), Dr Anthony Anuforum has warnedNigerians that after the floods there will be dry land, butpowerful winds during the coming Harmattan, withdevastating consequences.

CoverPEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 10

Beyond the floodsContd from page 9

Contd on page 11

of Nigerians.In the face of the flood disaster

currently experienced, it isrecommended that a disastermanagement Action Plan thatmay have been put in place bydisaster management agenciesand other be moreoperationalised by variousdepartments and agencies of theNigerian government and otherN o n - G o v e r n m e n t a lOrganisations which have beenparticipating in disastermanagement in Nigeria.

Practices such as diversion ofwater into farmlands instead ofreservoirs and deforestationcoupled with nature's wrath haveled to flooding in various states.Though other problems suffice asregards flood disaster, it is believedthat one of the biggest failuresduring flooding incidents ismismanagement and lack ofcommunication between themedia, government and otherstakeholders. The people have alsobeen blamed for contributing toflood situations with blockeddrainages and dirty environment.

However, the NigerianMetrological Agency (NIMET)which monitors the weather andclimate conditions on acontinuous basis and issuesforecasts and early warninginformation to the public haslived up to expectation in the wayit has been issuing warnings,some quite scary. For instance, ithas warned about strong orviolent winds in the period ofHarmattan, after the rains.Similarly, another warning hasbeen issued that the Lake Nyos, adam in Western Cameroon is atthe point of potential collapse dueto gradual erosion. It is predictedthat over one million people maydie with livestock according toreports. While the NationalEmergency ManagementAgency (NEMA), has swung intoaction to avert the Nyos threat,

NIMET believes that despite itsefforts in recent years to create thenecessary awareness, the level ofapplication of the early warningweather and climate informationto these economic sectors inNigeria is still low. Anuforum saidthere is; therefore, need to go foran enduring policy framework forthe application of the weather andclimate information provided byNIMET in the activities of suchsectors so as to achieve thenational goals in agriculture, roadconstruction, housing, health andconservation of the environment.

It was discovered however,that some strategies are being putin place to curb the menace asinvestigations showed thatHunkuyi dam in Kaduna state forinstance is to undergo remedialwork to check flood disaster. Andthe Lagos state government hasalso taken proactive measuresagainst flood with other statesgearing up to battle flooding intheir domains.

NEMA's technical team andcritical stakeholders in disastermanagement have also visitedareas devastated by the massivefloods along the banks of RiversBenue and Niger and theirtributaries in Benue and KogiStates to assess the damages andidentify suitable interventionrequired to address the problem,as well as providing victims withrelief materials.

Director General of NEMA,Muhammad Sani-Sidi, said victimsof flood who now sleep and cook onrooftops are being encouraged torelocate; this is aside the remedialstrategies of appealing to the peopleliving along the flood plains to moveto the high ground. Dam operatorsare also regularly monitored tomaintain the dams and only releasethe water where it is verynecessary.

There's no doubt that theagency is overwhelmed and thecost of flooding to the nation isquite enormous, forcing theFederal Executive Council and the

National Assembly tounanimously agree that morefunds are required to address theproblems as many states,especially in the Northern partsof the country are adverselyaffected and the situation ismoving towards the southernparts along the reverine areas asthe water level also increase.

Giving his opinion on thechallenges of the country's disastermanagement agencies, aConsultant Traumatologist andHead of Department Accident andEmergency Department, LUTH,Dr. Kunle Badmus regrets thatmost states do not even haverequired equipments, such as,ambulance, fire extinguisher andhost of others, for disastermanagement.

He reportedly called formanpower capacity building atall levels of government. Dr.Kunle Badmus also identified thebest ways to prevent disaster.According to him, it could be

achieved only through educationand proper legislation.

"Anybody can respond todisaster including thecommunity in which it occurredand organisations withingovernment agencies, privatesectors, fire services and so on". Hehowever urged communities to becontributing in managingdisasters as it is multisectoral.

Ordeal of victims of Kogiflood

The Kogi floods have beendescribed as the worst eventhough flooding has occurred inother states, namely Edo, Lagos,Ibadan, Adamawa, Kaduna,Taraba, Jigawa among others.Though water as it is said, is lifeand is supposed to be of great helpto humanity, when it becomesdestructive, like what happenedin those states, one is tempted toask several questions aboutwater's essence to humanity inthat respect.

Gory tales trail the Lokojasurge recently. A victim of theflood Aliyu Umaru who got caughtup in the Lokoja incidentwitnessed how one of the twinchildren of a man in Ibaji area ofKogi fell into the water and wasswept away in the twinkle of aneye. Some had to climb up treeswhile other climbed hilly areas ortheir rooftops to save their lives.

According to reports, waterstarted surging from RiversBenue and Niger on MondaySeptember 17, 2012 withferocious speed through villagesand farmlands putting theancient city of Lokoja, capital ofKogi state and its environs to test.The water virtually turned thecity into a mourning state withunspeakable destruction ofproperties. Elder Ichapi Musa ofGadumo Housing estate waswailing and that was justifiable,all he was able to save with hismeager salary, over a couple ofyears, had been destroyed.

When water entered his houseat midnight of Wednesday

September 19, it sent a wholefamily scampering for safety. Hecould not hold back his tears whenhe was showing reporters whocame to the spot in a canoe, theonly means to get to the area,formerly undertaken by cab, hisformer house which had sunk intothe water.

The worsening period of theflood started Friday September 21,during the visit of Senate President,David Mark to the state to see forhimself the situation on theground, but after the assessment,from NATACO, Kpata, throughOlusegun Obasanjo way, to Ganajavillage and entering the campwere displaced people were housed,he agreed that the destructioncaused by the flood wasunimaginable and that billionshad gone under the 'sea'. Beforeany help could get to the displacedpersons at the camp at Saint Lukeprimary school, Adankolo, Markhad personally released N500.000 to the victims.

The water did not only bringLokoja to a standstill as a result ofits devastating effect, within theLokoja metropolis commercialactivities were paralysed as intracity movement was also broughtto a halt. Ganaja village residentscould not move to the market fortheir house needs, because theroad was flooded.

The International School ofMerchant Seaman along Ganajaroad opposite 500 Housing Unitand other buildings on that axiswere flooded. The proprietor ofInternational School of MerchantSeaman who brought such schoolto Kogi state, Engineer SylvaDavid estimated property lost inthe flood belonging to the schoolat N160 million. Most residentialhouses in the area were underwater. Alternative ImpressionLimited had all the houses oppositethe school, estimated at N10million destroyed, the managingdirector of the company, HonAduku Ojodale told Peoples Daily

PAGE 11PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Cover

Contd from page 10

Beyond the floods

Y ou have been in thebusiness of canoepaddling for

sometimes how do you see thebusiness in this situation offlooding?

Well, all we need now isprayers because my father whomI inherited this profession fromsaid in 1969, that flooding hasbeen happening but it was not asdevastating as it is now, that waswhy people dared to build theirhouse near the river banks,especially in Kogi state.

Your canoes were out ofbusiness until now, what

were you doing before now?We were not really out of

business but the transportion onthe water was grossly affected bythe opening up of so many outletsfor people to pass. In our own days,staying close to water was neverallowed, except for people whocould swim but today everybodyis building near the water areas.

How have you been able tohelp in transporting floodvictims?

People who are not doing thejob with us cannot operate theway we do because many peoplewho had no business in the canoe

work tried to influence us, but theMarine police brought thestandard that you must havebeen in this job for some timebefore you are allowed to ferrypeople across the water. So I willurge the Marine police tointroduce license for canoe men,we have been fighting for this forlong and it will help sanitise thebusiness even after the floods.

Are you talking about newcanoes in the river?

No there are no new canoes inthe river but because operatorswere not properly registered weare facing challenges. The canoewhich capsized and killed 9 peoplerecently was not registered, thisis exactly what we are saying.

When this flooding is overwhat do you wantgovernment to do.

I want government to registercanoe operators in Kogi state.

'Government should register canoe operators'

Isah Abdullahi Ibrahim, (standing) soliciting forpassengers

As the flood continues to ravage Kogi state, a canoeoperator has asked government to view their role astransporters with seriousness, even after the floods with aview to registering them to enhance transportation in theriverine areas. Isah Abdullahi Ibrahim, who conveysvictims of flood, spoke with Sam Egwu in Lokoja. Excerpts.

Weekend at the site.A three star hotel owned by an

honourable member and Coniolfilling station in front of the hotelwere covered with water. Kogistate owned Confluence Beach wassubmerged. As the watercontinued to surge so were liveslost. Two youth corpers whoseidentity could not be determinedwere picked on SaturdaySeptember 22, while eight otherbodies were recovered by marinepolice on Monday, September 24.

According to the water boardmanager of Lokoja Greater Works,which is still under the watchfuleyes of a Chinese firm, C-company, the board had to closedown the water treatment plantwhich he explained was underthreat of releasing contaminatedwater for consumption.

Electricity supply wasrestricted to avoid electrocution,Auditor General of the Lokoja

business office of PHCN, SundayUloko stated this in Lokoja.

The community in Ibaji,Oguma in Bassa and Bagana inOmala local government areashave been trapped with little orno efforts to bring them out. Ibajiis in a marshy area, it could notbe reached by canoe or flying boat.Igbobe along the water Benuehave been submerged and evenShintaku to Gboloko cannot beassessed. Adanu, a resident saidthis is the worst disaster in Nigeriain recent times

At the count of this uglyincidence, interstate and intercitymovement through Lokoja becamea nightmare. A place called Banda,along Lokoja-Abuja expresswaywas completely submerged, wheresome boys made brisk business ofhelping to ferry vehicles across thewater at the cost of N3, 000 andsometimes if the traffic becomesheavy, N5,000 to cross from eitherend. Travelers through thisgateway to the nation's capital

Abuja, had things wasted as severaldays of no movement hadhampered their goods along withtheir vehicles which were trappedin the water. Some travelers had tosell their personal effects to be ableto eat and sleep in any availablespace.

To move even in the metropolisthrough the effort of a canoe orflying boat you must cough outsome amount ranging from N200,N500 and N1,500. These amountgradually increased fromWednesday, when N12, 000 wascharged to ferry a car from Kpatain Lokoja to Banda the exit way toAbuja but by Friday, it had goneup to N15. 000 for similar trip.Within Lokoja, it costs N200 tomove from Kpata to Abuja motorpark for an individual and N500from Kpata to Banda. Shehu Aminuwho spoke with our correspondentin Lokoja said since there wasnothing to explain what we areexperiencing today, we cannotblame anybody for the floods.

Alhaji Sule who stated thatsince 1964, Lokoja had notexperienced the magnitude ofthe disaster, maintained thatthe level the water had reachedwas not only disgusting but alsoan affront to nature of the cityas when moving upwards fromthe water front, one would alsobe challenged by the hills. Sulestated that the danger peopleshould be worried about could bereptiles, crocodiles, pythons andeven hippopotamus. Accordingto him, the authorities shouldkeep appropriate securitymeasures against sudden attackof these wild animals as ithappened in the sixties.

Complimenting Alhaji Sule'sassertion, an environmentalist,Jibril Sani said that the habitat ofthese animals have been invadedby the high rise of the water withhigh current inclusive, theywould certainly look for a shallowplace to live, which is crawlinginto the houses.

The danger in the whole affair,were that crocodiles and otherdangerous reptiles are alreadydaring people as people crossingfrom worst hit areas to gettemporary reprieve elsewhere,had their canoe capsised killing 9people. But the Minister of WaterResources, Mrs. Sara Ochekpe isoptimistic that the flooding wouldsubsidise around November.

Although relief materials suchas mosquito nets, blanket,medicare and some food itemshave started trickling in from theState Emergency ManagementAuthority, SEMA and theNational EmergencyManagement Authority, NEMA,a visit to a camp showednauseating condition of theinternally displaced persons astheir present living condition wasvery poor, the roofs of some of thecamps were leaking and thewindows and doors were faulty,these poses health hazards, reportsour correspondent in Lokoja.

Cover InterviewPEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 12

Community sleeps and cooks on rooftop butare reluctant to relocate —NEMA DG, Sani-SidiPlease give an update

on the flood situationin Lokoja and how far

you have gone in tackling it?It should be recalled that before

the incident we had sent warningalerts to most of the states thatcould be affected by impendingflood disaster and on the need forthem to take proactive measures.In fact our annual early warningon flood commenced early in theyear, as far back as February, afterwe got weather predictions fromthe Nigeria Metrological Agency(NIMET).

Against the warning onprolonged flooding in Lokojaas issued by your agency, howdo you plan to safeguard thecommunities in the riverbelts that are still battlingwith the menace?

In fact we had moved oursearch and rescue officers to thestate to mobilize the stakeholderslike the Kogi State EmergencyManagement Agency KOSEMAand other response agenciesincluding the Civil Defence Corps,Fire Service, Nigerian Red CrossSociety, the Police and volunteers.In addition we engaged insensitisation of the public throughthe mass media and jingles. Oneof the telecom operators inNigeria, Airtel also freely sentbulk text messages to people livingalong the plains. Presently we areevacuating the willing victimsliving along the plains to highground. Ibaji Local Governmentcouncil of Kogi State is also affectedby the flood as the entirecommunity is submerged inwater.

What are the measuresthat have been put in placein flood prone areas to controlthe menace?

Apart from taking theremedial strategies of appealingto the people living along the floodplains to move to the high ground,we also ensure that our damoperators regularly monitor andmaintain the dams, and onlyrelease the water where it is verynecessary.

With the overwhelmingsituation of flooding andother disasters in Nigeria,would you say NEMA 'smandates have been

surpassed?Though we are aware that the

natural phenomena is not onlyrestricted to Nigeria, manyadvanced countries are also facingthe same challenges of flooding.For instance in China, Japan, USand United Kingdom the news arethere. As coordinating agency fordisaster management in thecountry, our major mandates isto coordinate all disaster related

activities and mobilise theresponse agencies to manage suchoccurrences.

What could have been thecauses of this devastatingflood this year especially inthe North?

Climate change remains aserious environmental issue thisyear in Nigeria from the North tothe West and South to East whereheavy rainfall is causing havoceverywhere. The inevitability ofchanges occurring due to theclimate change is now a well-established reality. Scientificevidence has shown that as aresult of climate change, extremeweather events like floods,windstorms, droughts andepidemics have become morefrequent and severe. They occurin areas where they werepreviously either unknown orextremely rare. For us in thedeveloping world, climate changeportends greater danger.Virtually all states in Nigeria aregrappling with flood. This is a

clear reminder that we can nolonger ignore disaster risks.Disasters constitute the greatestthreat to development and socio-economic wellbeing of the people.We must all be prepared for it.

Could you give the cost offlood control on the nation'seconomy so far?

The cost is quite enormous asthe Federal Executive Counciland the National Assembly haveunanimously conceded to the factthat more funds are required toaddress the problems as manystates, especially in the Northernparts of the country are adverselyaffected and the situation ismoving towards the southernparts along the reverine areas asthe water level also increase.

Disaster management isall encompassing, how haveyou been able, together withgovernments to enforcestandard regulation onurban planning anddevelopment?

We have been holdingstakeholders meetings, seminars,simulations exercises andconference on way to address someof the challenging problems. Wein NEMA strongly believe thatvarious institutions in the publicand private sectors have roles toplay in enforcing the regulationsespecially on building inappropriate places rather onwaterways and flood plains asregards mechanism againstflooding

How would you rate therole of governments atvarious levels in dealing withflooding given the warningsissued earlier?

We are impressed that somestates actually took somecommendable initiatives andpreventive measures to mitigatethe flooding and thecollaborations of some of thegovernment especially in heedingthe warning from NEMA as wellas engaging other stakeholdershave been encouraging.

In rescue operations, wouldyou say Nigeria has been able tomeet global practice despite ourown peculiarities?

I must admit that we aretrying our best to meet thechallenges though Nigerians willstill expect us to do more. We areencouraged by those sentimentsto do more. If you consider the factthat NEMA only has six zonaloffices and one operation office inAbuja and yet we are reaching allthe states that are adversely

affected promptly in rescue andrelief distribution, we believe suchefforts should also be acknowledgeby Nigerians. For instance whilewe don't have offices in Benue,Kogi, Niger, Anambra, Adamawaand Edo States, you may say it isonly by miracle that we could bein those locations. But we are theredeploying appropriate officersfrom our zones to assist the affectedcommunities. Don't also forget wealso mobilise and collaborate withstakeholders to discharge ourresponsibilities.

Many have complainedabout inadequate reliefmaterials in camps of IDPs, isthe NEMA facing challengesof funding in this respect, andothers, like health hazardsetc?

As a government institutionwe operate within the annualbudget and the federalgovernment is doing its best toensure that we meet thechallenges of our mandates. Butlike Oliver Twist, especially asregards to the alarming flooddisasters we witness this yearcouple with other incidents thatwe tackled like bomb blast, tankerexplosion etc, more funding couldfurther enhance our operation.We are thinking about the needfor the creation of additionaloperational offices from theexisting seven regional zonlaoffices. We are also working toacquire more equipment. Onearea we never ignore is in trainingand retraining of our workforceto improve their capacity andcompetent as skilled rescueofficers.

Can you give a roughfigure of internally displacedpersons of flood in the countryso far?

I could not give an estimatenow as more figures are comingin from various sources workingwith NEMA. In NEMA ourstatistics must be verifiablemostly through physical headcounts. Don't also forget thenumber of affected peoplethroughout the federation is alsoincreasing.

Is it true that canoe ownersare making brisk business inrescue operations by localitiesin flooding situations?

While NEMA too employs theservices of the local canoe ownersfor rescue and evacuation oftrapped victims, we paidexorbitantly to recruit thatservice but the job is necessary.We have to do it. But it maysurprise you to also note that aswe appeal to the affected people tomove to higher grounds, some oftheir elders and leaders areadamant refusing us fromevacuating and relocating themto safety. That of Ibaji were a wholecommunity submerged ispathetic. They sleep and cook onrooftop but are reluctant to leave.

The Director General of the National Emergency ManagementAgency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani-Sidi, has been in the newslately leading his team to various scenes of flood-affectedcommunities and providing victims with relief materials. In thisinterview with Jamila Nuhu Musa, he talks about the variousconcerns of NEMA as regards the overwhelming national disaster.

While NEMA too employs theservices of the local canoe

owners for rescue andevacuation of trapped victims,we paid exorbitantly to recruit

that service but the job isnecessary.

“

Director General of the National Emergency ManagementAgency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani-Sidi

Interview

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 13

'You can spend two hours lookingfor parking space in Central market'When was the

m a r k e testablished?

The market wascommissioned twice; thefirst time was on the 7/02/75 under the militaryadministration of Brig. Gen.Abba Kyari. It wascommissioned again on May2002 after a fire incidentthat razed most of themarket in 1997. It wasformerly called Centralmarket, and then renamedSheik Mahmud Gumi marketin 1992 after his death.

Is this market knownfor sale of particularproduct?

We are a general purposemarket, we have differentsections for all the goodssold here, I don't think thereis anything we don't sell. Wealso have subsidiaries, likewhere it 's only provisionsthey sell. This is the biggestmarket in the state. All themarkets in the surroundingarea are under this market,like Chechnya, vetinary,Doka shopping complex,Rahma shopping complex,Royal market, Kantin Kwari,Mangal Plaza, Kura plazaand Amal Plaza. They are allunder the management ofthis market.

Who manages themarket?

Kaduna stategovernment established acompany called, KadunaState Market Developmentand Management Companythat manages the market.

What are thechallenges of traders?

One of our majorproblems is lack of parkinglot. The old market hadparking spaces but this onedoesn't, and it is a majorproblem for people whopatronize us, becausesometimes you can spendup to two hours looking forspace to park, and thisdiscourages a lot of peoplefrom coming to the market.There are other challengesthat require governmentattention though sometraders themselves takecare of it. We used to havesolar light in the market butthey no longer workanymore, even the nozzlefor the hydro system in caseof a fire outbreak no longerworks, the overhead tanksthat should always havewater are not functional andthere is not a single tap thatwoks in this market, we hadto beg the then Gov. NamadiSambo, who built someboreholes within the

market. We also facedsecurity problems in thepast, there was a time wehad only 10 security meninstead of more than 50security men that shouldman the market. But we nolonger face such problems,because the newmanagement has been verydiligent in taking care ofsome of these problems.

How do you preventor control fire outbreakswith the lack of facility?

We had the last fire in2010, as the leaders of themarket we are doing thebest that we can to avoidany inferno. There was atime we invited the exgovernor, who is thepresent vice president,Namadi Sambo for ameeting where werequested for theestablishment of a policestation, the digging ofboreholes and also therepair of the solar light. Wehave the police station andthe borehole but the solarlight has not been fixed eventhough Namadi Samboinstructed that they be

fixed. We also complainedabout the lack of adequateparking space, andsuggested governmentshould buy the cinemasituated in the market andconvert it to parking lot,government tried itspossible best but the thenchairman did not follow upand that was how the matterdied.

Most markets facecriminal activities ofpick pockets androbbery, does thismarket record suchvices?

In the area of securityand safety of the public wehave no complaints,because it is very rare tohear of incidences ofrobbery or pick pockets. Wehave security men thatpatrol visibly everywhere intheir uniforms, and theyhave the right to stop anysuspicious person within themarket and if they are notsatisfied with yourexplanation they hand youover to the police.

Where do customerstake their complaints to

in case of a disputebetween a seller and abuyer?

We have a dispute andresolution committee officethat handles conflictresolution between a buyerand a seller or between twomarketers and if it can't beresolved then we take it tothe police station.

Are you electedofficials?

Yes! Any official in thismarket is elected and wehave four year tenure, ourtenure ends at the end of thismonth and those that areinterested will step down anda caretaker committee willtake over. But you are onlyallowed two tenures. Thecaretaker committee takescare of elections and othermarket issues in the interim.This present leadership hashad no problems with themarketers, new innovationshave been introduced andwe keep proper records ofwhat we have done andachieved. An example is,there was a fire outbreak inthe palm oil section of themarket, and the organizationwas able to contribute overN30m to help those thatwere affected by the fire. Thecontribution was frommembers of the associationand NEMA. NEMAcontributed buildingmaterials and a committeewas set up to sell the itemsabout N14 m was realizedand was shared amongst thevictims of the fire incident.The money was released tothem in phases and we havedocuments and photos toshow for it.

Is the market insuredin case of hazards?

Initially, no, that was thereason why there was nocompensation for tradersduring past fire outbreaksbut now it is insured, thecompany managing themarket has ensured that,and we as the exco of themarket have broughtinsurance companies likeNICON insurance andSIGMA pensions, who areworking with individualmarketers to insure theirindividual properties.

There have been a lotof crises in this state; didany of the violenceaffect the market at anytime?

We have never had anyproblems relating to thecrises. Anybody who hasany type of problem be itreligious, ethnic or politicalwill have to drop it at thegates of the market becausewe do not allow those kindsof issues to affect themarket. A very goodexample is, during the lastcrisis in the state, once wenoticed burning and otherviolent going on outside themarket, we lock it up with allthe costumers inside. Wehad people of differentbackgrounds in the marketand everybody sat downpeacefully until we were surethat things had calmed downbefore we let them out.

But we had instanceswhere traders had theirshops vandalised and burnt.It happened in Sabon Tasha,a lot of our people werekilled and their shopsvandalized, and their onlycrime was that they were attheir shops at that point intime. The last electionviolence in the state in 2011,the whole of Kafanchanmarket was razed to theground and some of thosepeople didn’t even vote,elections took place andsome people won but it wasthe innocent market manand woman that bore thebrunt of the violence.

Mallam Yusuf Ahmad Aliyu

Mallam Yusuf Ahmad Aliyu is the Public Relations Officer (PRO),of the Sheik Abubakar Mahmud Gumi market, formerly known asthe Central market Kaduna. In this interview with Nasir Mu'azuIsa, he talks about the many problems of the biggest market in thestate.

“We have the police station andborehole but the solar light has

not been fixed even thoughNamadi Sambo instructed that

they be fixed.

InterviewPEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 14

State police issynonymous withdisintegration—Justice Akanbi(Rtd)

Corruption is still a thrivingindustry in Nigeria. As aformer ICPC boss, what can

you say on that sir?During our time, we grew up in a

society where there was no greed andthis attitude of wanting to acquireeverything. The rat race for grab, graband grab was nonexistent. We werecontented with what we had. So, Nigeriawas not like this before. I came to Nigeriafrom Ghana in the colonial era and Idiscovered that people were contentedwith the little they had. But after themilitary took over, people began to thinkof what we called skyscrapers, thencorruption crept in.

At that time, people who had athousand naira in their accounts wereheld in high esteem, but today we aretalking of billions, trillions and in essencewe are making the younger generationbelieve money is everything.

I always wonder when Nigeria willproduce the likes of Nelson Mandella inSouth Africa, Kwame Nkrumah ofGhana, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania etc.What is it that made Abraham Lincoln aname? What is it that made WinstonChurchill a name? When will Nigeriaproduce this kind of leadership? Acountry that is corrupt is incapable ofhaving good leaders or role models. Iwant to believe that along the line wederailed. We placed too much premiumand value on money. We startedcelebrating corrupt people. When youare appointed to a position, people rollout the drums to celebrate you, forinstance when I was appointed as thechairman of the Independent CorruptPractices and Other Related OffencesCommission (ICPC), some people weresaying it is my turn to make it. Ourpeople need reorientation.

Sir, what is your position on statepolice?

I was a state counsel, I worked withthe police. I was in private practice, Iconfronted the police. As a judge I dealtwith matters relating to the police.Honestly, even JP Dawodu whileadvocating state police said ‘when we set

it up we can now study the parametersand see how we can put it through.’ Youdon’t take a dangerous risk. We shouldstudy the parameters first and seewhether the thing is workable or not. Ilived in the era of the Yandokas (localgovernment police). The operation thenwas phenomenal. If you saw theoppression the local government policemeted out to people then, you will thinktwice about state police.

Most of the states cannot even payworkers’ salaries. When states cannotpay workers’ salaries then how wouldthey fund police? How do you get a policethat will look at the governor in the faceand say ‘no’ I can do what you said Ishould do. By the time they put somenaira notes in his pocket, he is finished.

State police is not the way out. Whatwe need is an effective federal police,police reorientation. We need a federalpolice that will be committed to thegeneral good of all and the oneness ofNigeria.

I don’t support state police. It is agradual disintegration of society. Thosepeople who are not thinking of a unitedNigeria and those people who are notthinking of how we will develop thiscountry are the ones advocating statepolice. When they divide the police, theydivide the customs, divide the judiciary,divide the immigration etc, at the end ofthe day, there will be no Nigeria.

Do you agree that both EFCC and

ICPC are incapable of fightingcorruption in Nigeria?

When I was in ICPC, we did our best tolay a solid foundation for thecommission. But the person who tookover from me believed more inenlightenment and public educationwhich I believe National OrientationAgency (NOA) should be doing.

In my time, the Attorney-Generaland Minister of Justice was late Bola Ige,and he gave me absolute support, hegave me the first team of lawyers toprosecute my cases. He never for oneday interfered with my work. ThenOlujimi came on board and did the samething. Olujimi had appeared before meon several occasions on the Ibadanbench. He has tremendous respect forme.

Agabi never interfered. None of theminterfered with my job. Section 13 of thelaw says that we will not be subjected tothe control of any authority.

I learnt that the present Attorney-General said they cannot do anythingunless they get clearance from him. If itwere my time, I would pack my bag andbaggage and come back to Ilorin.

Whoever wants to head the ICPC orEFCC must not be a person looking for

Eminent jurist and former ICPC boss, JusticeMustapha Akanbi celebrated his 80th birthday inIlorin recently. As part of the celebrations, he baredhis mind on various burning national issues in aninteraction with some reporters, saying the agitationfor the creation of state police is an invitation toanarchy and disintegration. He also spoke on theSalami saga, state creation, corruption in the judiciaryand in the larger society. Olanrewaju Lawal was there

money. The person must not be the typethat is afraid to leave the job. The personmust not lobby to get the job. If you lobby,there must be an ulterior motive.

Whoever is going to be appointed asthe head in the ICPC must be a man whois prepared to deny himself, must be aman whose character is above board, hemust be able to sell integrity, preachintegrity, drink integrity, whether inthe EFCC or ICPC. I have said it severaltimes and over that all the other crimesare the bye-products of corruption -kidnapping, robbery, stealing,smuggling, what have you. It iscorruption, if you want to smuggle goodsthrough the border and you succeed inbribing the custom officers, you willsmuggle, am I right? If you killsomebody, look at the number of peoplewho are being killed and yet till todaywe don’t know the source, even the BokoHaram thing is all part of the problem.So corruption should be first andforemost our concern to clean upNigeria, if we are able clean up thecorruption, we will do well. We can’tproduce a nation of saints but we canproduce the nation of honest individualswho can be a pride to our country. Godloves Nigeria.

Government itself must have thepolitical will and commitment to makethe anti graft agencies work.

What Nigeria needs now is leadersthat will eschew religious bigotry.Leadership who will work for our unity,people who will not discriminate, but betheir brother’s keepers, leaders who willensure unity and oneness of our people.

The Salami saga remainsunresolved, what is your advice tothe President on it?

I don’t know whether the Presidentneeds my advice, he has an advisercalled Mohammed Adoke, he has somany advisers around him, let themadvise him. I have had the chance of

Justice Mustapha Akanbi

Those people who are not thinking of aunited Nigeria and those people whoare not thinking of how we will developthis country are the ones advocating

state police.

“

InterviewPEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 15

sitting on that panel at the NJC to decidewhether Salami was guilty of any wrongdoing under the chairmanship of JusticeBola Babalakin. We also had JusticeWali, Justice Egwu, Justice Ayoola andwe exonerated Salami that he had notdone anything for which he can bechastised. Well, we left the scene, we wereno more members of the NJC, a new bodywas set up and it was chaired byCustomary Court Judge which is wrong.Then the body said Salami was guilty,while the CJN we indicted was said to beinnocent.

Then they set up a review panel, allthese are contrary to what obtains in theNJC. They set up a review panel andappointed one Justice Auta, who cameup with a different issue, saying becauseSalami gave interview to the press andtherefore, he was guilty. Then NBAinvestigated the whole affair andconcluded that Salami had not done anywrong.

When Justice Dahiru Musdaphercame in as CJN, we thought he was goingto resolve the matter finally. He set up a29-man committee on law reform and Ihappened to be one of the members whocame out with a report exoneratingSalami and he said he was going to makesure that Salami was exonerated. Alsoduring his tenure, the number twoperson, Justice Alooma Mukthar, headedanother team set up by the NJC whichalso cleared Salami. You can nowunderstand what I mean, yetgovernment has not deem it fit to restoreSalami to his position, what advice can Igive contrary to what these categoriesof learned men had given and more sowhen I was part of most of thecommittees?

My take is it has reached a stagewhere I believe the Salami matter is inthe court of Almighty Allah and thepeople of Nigeria. I don’t have any adviceto give Mr. President, he has notappointed me as an adviser and thegratuitous advice which we gave on theplatform of the NJC had been rejected,so it means it will be like just pouringwater into a basket, it will not hold.

What is the implication of Mr.President’s refusal to yield to theadvice of NJC?

Justice Lewis, after a conference, wasinterviewed by the press and he said thatafter the report of Justice Alooma, therewas no need for the NJC to write to thePresident about Salami’s reinstatement.All they needed to do was to call Salamito go back to his position because there isno provision which empowers thepresident to suspend the judge. The NJCwhich recommended the suspensionlater corrected itself, what it means isthat Salami is supposed to be recalledautomatically.

If that is not done, like I said it is notfor me to talk of any repercussion, it isnow a matter for the nation to speak, it isnow a matter for the NJC to do what isright.

What is your view on therecommendations of former CJN,Dahiru Musdapher that morejudges should be appointed to theSupreme Court to speed up the trialprocesses?

State police is synonymous withdisintegration —Justice Akanbi (Rtd)

Well I don’t know, if he said so, heknows where the shoe pinches morethan I do, I have not been in the supremecourt but what I know is that it is not somuch the number of judges appointedbut the quality of judges that areappointed, how hardworking they are;how committed they are to theadministration of justice, if they aremany and they are good, so be it, if theyare few and they are good, Nigerians willknow. I know that the Supreme CourtJudges have been working hard but Ithink they should be able to assess thevolume of work they have against thenumber of cases they do in a year. If onbalance, they feel they need moreJudges. Of course their President is atliberty to do so.

Do you think Special Courtsshould be set up to try corruptioncases?

Well, I don’t think specials court arenecessary and I also know that thecurrent CJN had said so when she wasinterviewed for her appointment, shesaid there is no need for special courts.The practice when I was there was thatwe designate Judges in various courtsthroughout the country and assign tothem corruption cases, if that system isfollowed to the letter, corruption caseswill go on very well because if you goand appoint lower court, they will arguethat these courts are not superior courtsof repute, then an action will be filed inthe High Court and they will condemnthat court, that it is not a court of record,it is an inferior court and it will beupheld, so you go back to square one, infact, I used to have a diary where thedesignated Judges names are. In Benin,I asked the Chief Judge to give me twoJudges, in Ilorin, two Judges and so on,and so I vet them to find out whetherthey themselves are above corruption,so any case we have in those states will

be held by those Judges.Former EFCC boss, Farida Waziri

once accused the judiciary ofdelaying corruption trialsunnecessarily.

When it comes to judiciary, it is myconstituency and I don’t want to runthat institution down but there is theneed for those in authority to look at theJudges they have now. There was a casewhen we arrested a gentleman and tookthe person to court, after we sought leaveof the High Court to prosecute thegentleman, I don’t want to mention hisname, we were granted leave and he wasasked to be locked up so that later thematter will be taken up. When thematter came to court the following day,after being locked up, the gentlemanapplied for bail, the same Judge whogranted leave for us to prosecute him,instead of deciding the application forbail, he just discharged and acquittedhim when there was no application fordischarge and acquittal. Is that Judgeacting in ignorance? Or has he gotulterior motive? Or did he claimignorance of the law on application forbail? Instead of deciding it, he dischargedand acquitted the person. We appealedand the appeal was allowed, thegentleman was rearrested before I leftoffice. I don’t know what happened afterthat anyway.

The judge who discharged andacquitted him should have been dealtwith because even a first year lawyerknows that bail application is different,so you don’t discharge and acquit peoplewhen you have not heard evidences. Wehave countless cases of bad judges likethat.

Do you agree with a PresidentialCommittee recommendation thatthe EFCC and ICPC should bemerged?

When two people are operating and

you say they are not doing well, if youmerge them, will they do better? If thepolice were doing well in theinvestigation of crime and corruption,would there be need for ICPC in the firstplace or EFCC?

Let me use this opportunity to correctone thing, you know, Oronsanye in hisreport, the newspapers reported that hesaid they should scrap the ICPC and allthat, so I challenged him in Abujarecently . He said: ‘My Lord’, I never saidscrap, it is the pressmen who wrote it.’

I don’t think it is wise to mergethem, what is important isstrengthening the bodies, funding themadequately and getting the right type ofpeople to man them.

Sir, what is your take on statecreation?

I would have thought that by nowall the various ethnic groups and tribesin Kwara (for example) will seethemselves as brothers and sisters, worktogether, if you are helpful, you getthings done, I have heard people, likesomeone was telling me, somebody wassaying Ilorin people are difficult, theydid this and that to other groups, the ladywas complaining to that chap, then thischap said but you told me that JusticeAkanbi helped you to get into theuniversity, so you see we don’tdiscriminate in our family. You see theconcept, even when Ogbemudia was inBendel in those days, he didn’t handleEdo people alone, he helped everybodyfrom that area, even for Judgeship, hewill be fighting for them for anything.Now, we are creating states, apart fromthe fact that we will not have thewherewithal and finances, people arecomplaining about salary and all thosethings, the more states you have, themore problems you have. But if we saythrough state creation we aredeveloping, but if I may ask: are wereally developing? I sit here now, I wantto see any Kwara man as my brother,any Nigerian as my brother, I used totell my children that I am a Nigerianfather and I mean it and I can stand andcount the number of people who God hasused me to help.

Justice Mustapha Akanbi

When states cannotpay workers’

salaries then howwould they fund

police? How do youget a police that willlook at the governorin the face and say‘no’ I can do whatyou said I should

do.

“

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 16

TourismZimbabwe: Tourist village whichstarted as palmwine jointThe popular Zimbabwe Tourist

Village in Uke, Nasarawa statebegan as a palm wine joint,

according to some residents who spoketo Peoples Daily Weekend.

“It started on the outskirts of Uke ata detached location as a palm wine jointover twenty-five years ago before it wasrelocated to its current location becauseits former location could not contain thepeople who came for relaxation. Itscurrent location was donated by thechief of Uke” said Dan Asabe.

Speaking with the Dan Masani ofUke, Lo-Africa Vani, it was gatheredthat the tourist village was namedZimbabwe by a former teacher who wasfond of the place decades ago. Accordingto him, the stranger, as he was fondlycalled, later became a senior officer inthe Nigerian Army.

“The name came as a result of thesettlement of people at Uke decades ago.There were petty markets where palmwine and a local brew, burukutu weresold. There was this palm wine jointlocated at an isolated area. People whowent there were few but seemedresponsible. Farmers used to supplypalm wine to dealers at the minimarketwithout it being adultrated. With timethe place began to develop. Later itshifted to another place because of lackof space.

“It is named Zimbabwe because ofthe influence of a secondary school herecalled Government Secondary School,Uke. Teachers in the school then werealso involved in drinking palm wine.One of them used to drink bothburukutu and palm wine. This teacheralways told his colleagues that he wasgoing to Zimbabwe. He would jokinglysay he was going to another country.That was how the name of the jointbecame Zimbabwe.”

Mr. Africa Vani said the market hasbeen in existence for the past 20 years.

According to him, the relocation toits current place was as a result of itsexpansion. “Its current location is about15 years ago. The land was donated byDanladi, one of the chiefs of Gwari inUke.”

Since then the tourist village hasgrown in leaps and bounds. Today, itslandmass has grown into hectares. Ithouses over 300 shops.

The Zimbabwe Tourist Village is stillbooming with its original pride, palmwine. As early as 6am on a daily basis,palm wine tappers are already doingtheir business. The retailers buy fromthem and sell to consumers.

A litre of palm wine in the place issold for between N150. 00 andN200.00. Other food items being soldat the centre are meat (both preparedand raw), pepper, tubers of yam,foodstuff, tomatoes, live chicken,roasted chicken to mention a few.Pounded yam and other African dishesare also sold.

“We have good pounded yam, bushmeat and other sea foods because thisplace is located in the riverine area.Currently there are plenty ponds hereand they are where we get fish. Manypeople have come to invest in fishery.During festivities, a lot of tourists comearound to catch some fun. White menalso come here. This place is highly

ventilated. Everything is natural,”says trader Mama Hasana.

It was gathered that land allocationat Zimbabwe is no more as easy as itused to be.

A source who did not want hisname mentioned said: “Before now, itwas free. But later more traderswanted stalls. That was whenallocation started. People now partwith some token to acquire a piece ofland for business. This market now hasan administrative office. It is the bodythat allocates plots to traders. Theyalso pay some token for the upkeep ofthe market.”

The Zimbabwe Tourist Village,Uke, is always a beehive of activitiesespecially at festive periods andweekends. At least, ten thousandholiday makers visit it at weekendsalone. A handful of tourists also restin the place on a daily basis.

The security situation at Uke is alsovery firm. It is taken care of by themarket administration.

“There are traders’ unions at themarket. Cars are parked at owners’risk. It is the unions that administer

reports. The police at Uke are also upand doing in the maintenance ofsecurity at Uke which housesZimbabwe,” says the Mai angwa. Hefurther said that the traders needgovernment assistance.

“The government should providesecurity here. This is a tourist centre.This place also requires a bigger gate.By so doing people will pay to come inand go out. This place requires a fence.Also rainy season is not homely toholiday markers. We need permanentstructures here.”

He added that the donation of theland for tourism business was by thechief because of his love for tourism.

“Mai angwa loves tourism. He alsowants people to be engaged to avoidsocial vices. His gesture has createdjob opportunities for the people.”

A holiday maker, Ando Yusuf, saidhe goes to Zimbabwe to relax.

“Any time we are on break, I comehere to relax. The environment isconducive. Another aspect is theabundance of fresh air in Zimbabwe.Fresh fish, palm wine and chickenabound,” he said.

Another tourist, IBB Adamawasaid: “I was introduced to this placeby a friend. There is an abundance ofchicken, palm wine and fresh fish. Theenvironment is also quiet. Here thereis privacy. I am a product of a villageand this place simply depicts myvillage setting. So it is a homecomingfor me.”

The tourist centre now has acapital called Swamphill Harare. Aworker at the place, Energy JamesIna, said Harare is akin to a statecapital.

“This is unique and qualifies to bethe capital of Zimbabwe. It is the homeof influential people that come toZimbabwe. Our watchword is Africanhospitality. There is an element ofabsolute freedom at Zimbabwe. Thisunguarded freedom has brought somecases of violence to the centre. But itis different here. The selected few thatcome here are different. Things are notmore expensive than what is sold inZimbabwe. The difference is veryminute. This place is mainly for theelite class. We sell drinks, fish andchicken.”

By Augustine Aminu

the security situation here. Themarket starts from afternoon to lateevening. For now there are no ugly

In Zimbabwe, roasted chicken abound.

Swamphill Harare gate named after the capital of Zimbabwe.

The now-bubbling touristcentre began as a palm winejoint.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 17

Weekend Cocktail

Bondwouldn't be

Bond withoutattractivewomen

>> Page 26

CUISINECUISINECUISINECUISINECUISINESavour your breakfastwith toast bread and jam

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PAGE 18 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Emotional Infidelity:Why you're vulnerable

Relationship

S h e had stopped off at thelocal supermarket on theway home from work and

saw her husband's car in theparking lot. She was excited tosurprise him, but once she foundhim she witnessed her husbandplayfully engaging with anotherwoman (the woman is an"attractive" wife of a colleague).She stood watching for a fewminutes and then left.

Why was this so upsetting toJanell, and what exactly did shesee?

Here's the breakdown of herhusband's behaviour whileinteracting with this otherwoman:

-He touched the woman's armseveral times;

-He smiled and laughed;-His demeanor was playful,

and at times he appearedexuberant (Janell described himas "giddy");

-He was very talkative;-He was focused and

emotionally present.You might be thinking, so

what's the big deal, he was justbeing social. And since his wifecouldn't hear what they weretalking about, how does she knowhe said anything inappropriate oruntoward?

Janell was upset because thebehaviour she witnessed wasdifferent from her husband's"normal behaviour" -different fromthe way he interacts with Janell.In fact, on several occasions, Janelland her husband had socializedwith this woman and her husbandat work parties, and he'd behavedquite differently from what Janellsaw at the supermarket. It's

With A'isha Biola Raji

Heart MatterzE-mail: rajia39ishabiola@yahoo.com

Phone: 08082071393

If you have any relationship story you want to sharewith our esteem readers, please send to the aboveaddress. Let's share your love story.

disconcerting to see our spouse/partner act very differently withsomeone else-it's especiallyupsetting to have another personbring out a side of your partner thatappears more enlivened andengaging, a side that you'd like toexperience for yourself.

And that is part of the problemfor Janell: she wants her husbandto touch her more, she has wantedto have more fun together, andshe's longing for her husband'sattention and emotionalpresence. She wants everythingher husband gave this otherwoman during their briefencounter. And because he gavethis to another woman (and notJanell), she felt betrayed.

Relationship Help: We'reall vulnerable to infatuation

Whether you feel sympatheticto Janell's reaction or not, I want tohighlight what I frequently see withthe couples I work with; somethingwe should all be mindful of. Despitethe love and commitment you havefor your spouse/partner, it's not thatdifficult to become infatuated withanother person. There will alwaysbe someone (other than yourpartner) who you feel has the "rightlook" or the "right" amount of charmor caring or the "right" amount ofanything to make you feel special.And too often, rather than realizingwe're all vulnerable to feelings ofinfatuation, we end upmisinterpreting our elevated moodor increased excitement as evidencethat we're with the wrong person.

Many affairs (and ruinedmarriages/relationships) haveresulted from this commonoccurrence.

The short of it is that you needto protect your relationship fromyour own vulnerability; you needto take ownership of your

I am recently divorced and had a relationship with an athlete for4 months. He was very keen in the beginning. I had to put onthe brakes as I don't rush into matters. He was just three weeks

out of a relationship himself and I could not understand why he was insuch a hurry! He lives about 45 minutes away but would never visitme. I had to go to his place. Then he mistreated me, and said I had a badattitude and was far too sensitive! Before this he called less frequentlyand the invitations were also less frequent. I discovered he was seeingsomeone else. Why do men do this? I really feel used and abused!

—Anonymous

Re- Not all men do this. While you are willing to spend anotherminute with one who has already mistreated you, you will keep meetingsuch men.

The first red flags waved, when he expected you to do all the drivingto his house! If it is not mutual, respectful, and equal it is not worthhaving.

Forget trying to understand him, it is no longer your business. Tryto understand healthy men - study strength, not pathology and try toforgive yourself. You blew it so learn and move on.

—Mope

Why do men do this?vulnerability, realize that it isrelatively easy to feel emotionallydrawn to someone other than yourpartner/spouse. The importantthing to remember is that thesefeelings aren't necessarily anindication that your relationshipis troubled or lacking;

And ultimately, it's what youdo with these feelings that mattersmost.

It's easy to feel feelings foranother person, to make decisionsthat fuel the fires of infatuationby:

-Spending greater amounts oftime with this person

-Finding ways to be alone withhim/her

-Flirting and acting charming(having the "best" you on constantdisplay)

-Confiding your secrets,struggling or dreams with him/her (***a MAJOR red flag is if youdiscuss your relationshipproblems with this person***);

-Offering him/her Gandhi/Mother Teresa-like amounts ofconcern, empathy and support(which s/he should be gettingelsewhere).

The above actions are a recipefor emotional infidelity (whichoften precedes a physical affair).

Steps to protecting yourmarriage/relationship

One suggestion I often tell thecouples I work with is thatwhenever you are interactingwith someone you are (or mightbe) attracted to, or who you findengaging/charming, you shouldimagine your partner standingnext to you. This will allow you tofeel your partner's presence andto realize the appropriateboundaries you should bemaintaining for the sake of yourmarriage/relationship.

I hope someone can shed some light on my situation.I was involved in a stormy 2 year relationship. I always had

trust issues with this girl from the start.I am 35 and she is 23. I am planning to get married to her in

the near future and asked her to move in with me that was 3months ago, so recently, I started having second thoughts. Iexpressed those thoughts to her. This was last Thursday, aftersharing my concerns with her the status of our relationship wasup in the air. However I did not think the relationship was overall together, I just needed time to collect my thoughts and decidewhat I really wanted. So I left that night for an out of town trip.I came back on Monday to find out that, while I was gone, she hadmet her "soul mate" and she is getting married to him thisweekend. Just 10 days ago, she was telling me she loved me andI was the only person she cared about.

My question is - is this girl really crazy after all? Or is shereally in love with this guy just after one week?

Re-You were leaving, and you did not invite her along. Then youexpress doubts. You left town to come back and find out that shehas met her soul mate and she is getting married.

Personally, I think it's a bluff. I think it is merely a test on herpart to force you to confront how you feel about her.

Want to have some fun with her? Offer to be the best man to herand see how real this "soul mate" is.

Aside from that, it is possible that she simply can't relate to youin the same way. You may want to see her as crazy, but how oftendo we label the people we don't understand with derogatory titles?If it is an attempt to make you come to grips with how you feelabout her, then it is a sadly misplaced attempt. If anything, it mightreflect a lack of maturity on her part, and that may be enough of asignal for you to get out.

Based on what little you've told us, my guess would simply bean attempt at controlling a situation that she isn't in control of.

—Charles

What is this girl thinking?

Janell was shocked and hurt by what she saw.

By Dr. Rich Nicastro

PAGE 19PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Fixing makeup mistakesBeauty Tips

1: Wearing the wrong foundationshade

"Blue eye shadow works for somepeople," Patel says. "Little girls, andsupermodels for instance may look goodwith other accessories. If you aren't one ofthe aforementioned people, don't wear it.Enough said." Harsh, but truer words havenever been spoken.

4: Trying to "plump" your lips

one shade, across your lid.

We'd rather know (and fix!) our makeup mistakes than strut around looking like clowns. And when we know, we can share these mistakes withothers, so don't ever walk out of the house with bad makeup. Plus, in the spirit of sisterhood and community, we have each 'fessed up to themakeup mistakes you might have committed. Join in and share which ones you're guilty of. No judgment, just adjust.

Foundation isn't supposed to give yourskin a bit of a tan," Patel says. After all,that's what bronzers are for. Instead, "it'ssupposed to create a perfect, smoothcomplexion and cover-up anyimperfections. This is why you shouldalways use a foundation which blends inwith your skin." Patel recommends testingon your jawline (not your hand!) beforebuying, and when possible, ask for asample first. That way you can try it athome and look at your skin in variouslighting situations to make sure the shadeyou choose looks natural.

2: Applying makeup on dry flakyskin

Patel describes the results of slatheringon foundation over chapped skin as"horrific," and we have to agree.Foundation will only emphasize the flakesby sitting on top of them instead of blendingin with your skin. Fix the dryness byexfoliating regularly (to get rid of flakes)and following that up with a richmoisturizer. Smoother skin means a muchsmoother application and finished look.

Mistake No. 3: Wearing blue eyeshadow

You've probably heard, or tried, thetrick of lining just outside your natural lipline to make your lips look bigger. But it isa way easier said than done. One wrongmove and you'll end up looking like PamelaAnderson circa 1993. If you are going toattempt it, Patel says to use a lip liner thesame shade as your lipstick on the outerline of your lips, without passing over it.Fill in your lips as well -- that way if yourlipstick fades, you don't wind up with onlya line around your mouth.

5: Over-tweezing (or ignoring)your eyebrows

"When [brows are] well groomed theycan enhance your eyes and your entirelook," Patel says,so head to a professionalto get an ideal shape. While you do want totame overgrown brows, Patel stresses thatyou don't want to tweeze too much. "As weget older, our brows naturally becomesparser, so if you tweeze your brows toothin they might never fully grow back,"she says. So just stick with cleaning up thearea around your brows and follow theirnatural arch for your best shape.

6: Wearing an entire eye paletteon your lids

"Just because your compact came withfour or more colors packaged togetherdoesn't mean you have to paint them allonto your eyelids at once," Patel says.Instead, she recommends wearing no morethan three shades at a time: a mediumone on your lids, a lighter one near yourbrow bone and a dark one as liner. But forevery day, you really only need a sweep of

7: Trying to "sculpt" your faceYes, we would all love chiseled

cheekbones and a dainty, ski-slope nose,but if nature didn't deliver, makeup isn'tgoing to help. Patel says contouring is bestleft to professionals, and only forphotography or film. "No matter howskilled you are with the makeup brush,it's nearly impossible to use dark colors thataren't glaringly obvious when viewed inperson, especially in broad daylight," Patelsays. "Focus instead on pretty, soft makeupthat plays up your best features."

8: Using pen: Using pencil on youreyebrows

"A penciled eyebrow looks painted andweird," Patel says. Nevertheless, manywomen still go this route to fill in brows. Abetter option: "Choose an eye shadow colorthat matches your hair color and applywith a thin, stiff, angled brush using tinystrokes," Patel says.

9: Wearing black eyeliner in the

daytime"Here is a general rule: dark colors

shrink and recede," Patel says. "Light colorsadvance and bring forward." That's whyshe recommends skipping black eyeliner(especially underneath eyes) during theday, so your eyes look more open andawake.

10: Wearing glitter

"The thing that bothers me the mostabout glitter in makeup, besides the factthat it shouldn't be worn by anyone overthe age of 14 (fabulous club kids get anexception here), is that it travels on yourface, leaving strange sparkly spots wherethey shouldn't be," Patel says. Instead ofchunky glitter, she recommends shadowswith finely milled shimmer usedsparingly, of course.

11: Going nuts with "luminizing"products

"Luminous particles have been addedto everything in the past few years, mostnotably foundations, powders, andhighlighting products," Patel says. "One ortwo such products can make a woman lookfresh and glowing. Too many can makeher look very, very strange." Thinkglowing head on a matte body, or like youspent your morning leaning over an oilvat -- not exactly sexy. Patel suggestslimiting your illuminating products tothese areas: cheekbones, inner eye corners,and (if used sparingly) under the eye.

LearningPAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Short story With Augustine Aminu07038749120julius2001_a@yahoo.com

Genetic study challenges theorythat modern humans came fromjust one place in AfricaThe Honourable

Minister (II)The principal, in

particular, wasnot finding it

funny. Cold drops ofsweat were tricklingdown behind her ears.

Mr. John wasconfused; he did notknow whether to feelembarrassed or elatedby the wonderfulperformance. Heglanced at the principalto see how she was takingit. But the fire in her eyeswas eloquent enough todiscourage him fromtaking a second glance.

The last scene in thedrama was a pressbriefing by the Minister.He began by reading thespeech presented at theoccasion by theInformation Minister,which read in part:“Children are the leadersof tomorrow, they musttherefore learn from thepresent leaders. Theymust respect elders andconstituted authorities...As for the achievementsof this government, a lothas been done.

Today alone I haveinaugurated over tencommittees. And I’mscheduled to inauguratemore tomorrow. Wehave also providedboreholes, increased thecapacity of our

electricity supply,increased workers’salaries despite the riskof inflation, made itpossible for everyone tohave access to mobilephones...”

When it came to thequestion and answersession, almost all thequestions were based onthe contents of thespeech. At the tail end ofthe session, three of thejournalists posed whattheir colleagues agreedwere the most relevantquestions.

“Honourable, youmentioned the NationalPoverty EradicationProgramme and theGlobal System for MobileCommunications as yourachievements. How havethese impacted on the lifeof the common man ofthis country?”

The Minister loweredhis dark spectacles,scratched his forehead,glanced at the PermanentSecreatary, and spat:

“I’m sure you werenot among thejournalists whoparticipated in the mediatour.” And to thePermanent Secretary, headded; “He would haveseen things for himself;wouldn’t he?”

“Sure,” said the

Permanent Secretary,“he would have seen theu n p r e c e d e n t e dachievements in theseareas... Next question,please... Yes, you overthere...”

“Sir, this lingeringindustrial crisis betweenthe Academic Staff Unionof Universities and...”

“The issue has beenaddressed!” snapped thePermanent Secretary.“Next question please.And this should be thelast question. Yes, you...,no... You in fadedjeans...”

“The National ElectricPower Authority...”

“What about it?”asked the Minister. Hewas visibly running out ofpatience.

“The epileptic supplyof electricity...”

“Mr. man, if you don’tknow, you are nowhearing it from me, theMinister of Information,that NEPA is no longerNEPA, but PowerHolding Company ofNigeria, PHCN! And it isnow re-positioned to...”The entire hall wentblank—solid darkness!

By the time PHCNrestored power aboutthirty minutes later, thegathering had dispersed.

-Everythingliterature

Stark landscape: A Sanbushwoman standsbefore the vast Saharadesert

Rich genetic data: Two San bushmen on the dunes of Africa’s Kalahari desert

Tribe: A young girl and an old woman of the San people

The theory thatmodern humanscame from one place

in Africa has beenchallenged by newresearch.

A study showed theKhoe and San peoples of thesub-Sahara aredescendents of the earliestdiversification event in thehistory of all humans,some 100,000 years ago.

The findings,involving 220participants representing11 populations acrosssouthern Africa , revealedaround 2.3 million DNAvariants per individual,according to the journalScience

This was thought to bedue to interbreeding andgenetic stratification - non-random mating betweengroups. A group ofinternational scientistsfrom Sweden and SouthAfrica conducted thelargest genomic studyever among the click-speaking Khoe and San

groups.Researchers estimate

that the San populationsfrom northern Namibiaand Angola separated fromthe Khoe and Sanpopulations living inSouth Africa as early as25,000 — 40,000 yearsago.

Dr Carina Schlebusch,of WitwatersrandUniversity inJohannesburg, toldScience: ‘There isastonishing ethnicdiversity among the Khoe-San group.

‘We were able to seemany aspects of thecolorful history that gaverise to this diversity intheir DNA.’

Many scientists believemodern humansoriginated from one regionin Africa before spreading

into Europe and Asia about60,000 years ago.

Others theorise therewere several ‘movements’out of Africa.

‘It is possible thatmodern humans emergedfrom a non-homogeneousgroup,’ said MattiasJakobsson from Sweden’sUppsala University, one ofthe authors.

The genetic data alsoshowed how generations ofKhoe-San adapted to theirenvironment whichinvolved muscle function,immune response, andUV-light protection.

Farming skillsdeveloped and spreadacross southern Africawith genetic contributionsbetween a southern Sangroup and people in eastAfrica.

The Science journalreported how researchersfocused on signals acrossthe genome of ancientadaptations thathappened before thehistorical separation of the

Khoe-San lineage fromother humans. Co-authorPontus Skoglund, fromUppsala, said: ‘Although allhumans today carrysimilar variants in thesegenes, the early divergencebetween Khoe-San andother human groupsallowed us to zoom-in ongenes that have been fast-evolving in the ancestors ofall of us living on the planettoday.’ The study is to bemade freely available forfuture disease-relatedstudies. -MailOnline

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 21

HHHHHealthy ealthy ealthy ealthy ealthy LLLLLivingivingivingivingiving10,000 Nigerians exposed to rabies yearly

Rabies is a viral diseasespread through thesaliva of infected

animals. Humans that areinfected with the virus have ashort time to receive treatmentbefore the virus becomes fatal.When the symptoms of rabiesbecome evident, it is too late fortreatment. Any child bitten byan animal must be treated ortested for rabies. If the animalis found, it should bequarantined and evaluated forthe rabies virus. Childrenshould be treated immediatelyif rabies is suspected or theanimal is unknown.

Signs and symptomsTingling of the bite-Some patients experience

tingling or itching at the site ofthe bite. The bite may bepainful or numb after a rabiesinfection. Not every child willexperience this symptom aftera bite from a rabid animal. Allanimal bites should be takenseriously and evaluated for thepossibility of rabies if theanimal is not known.

Early stage symptoms-Symptoms in the first stage

of the virus are vague anddifficult to pin down as rabies.Fever, fatigue, headache,vomiting and a decrease inappetite may indicate the earlystages of rabies. Childrenshould be tested for the virusas soon as possible.

Late stage symptoms-Children infected with

rabies in the later stages havedifficulty swallowing. This

symptom is often reported asfoaming at the mouth, but it isthe patient's inability toswallow his saliva that causesthis disturbing symptom.Children and animals becomefrightened at the sight of waterduring this stage of the virus.

Agitation anddisorientation occur duringthis stage of rabies. Somechildren become paralyzedfrom the virus. At this stage ofthe virus, death can occursuddenly. Some children gointo a coma before death occurs.There is no cure for rabies whenthe virus has reached thecentral nervous system.

The chance of becominginfected with the rabies virusis very low, but precautionsmust be taken to ensure thatfamily pets and children are

Signs of rabies in children after bitesnot exposed to rabid wildanimals. Keep pets undersupervision at all times to avoidcontact with wild animals.

Children should never be leftalone with a pet or wherecontact with strange animalsis possible.

By Luanne Kelchner, eHowContributor

O v e r ten thousandNigerians, especiallychildren are susceptible

to rabies on yearly basis as theyare likely to be bitten by rabidanimals.

The Permanent Secretary ofMinistry of Health, Mrs. FatimaBamidele made this knownyesterday in Abuja where sherepresented the minister, ProfOnyebuchi Chukwu at theministerial press briefing on theWorld Rabies day.

She emphasized that, rabies

By A'isha Biola Raji is a fatal viral zoonosis whichspread to humans through bites,broken skin or scratches. Thezoonosis according to her, aretransmitted by infected wild anddomestic animals commonlydogs. The infection begins tomanifest between 2-6 weeks."Rabies is caused by Rabies virus,the average incubation periodbetween infection and firstsymptom is 2-6," she said.

She said Nigerians are muchexposed due to large populationof dogs most of which are notvaccinated and there is need tovaccinate dogs and other

domestic animals like cats sincethere is no effective treatmentfor rabies. "The most costeffective strategy for preventionis by elimination of rabies in dogsand other animals throughvaccination and potent vaccinelast 2-3 years," she called.

She further stressed that, theglobal concern for rabiesprompted the world rabies daywhich started in 2007 as it werebefore then, a neglected zoonoticdisease. "Since then, the WRDhas been marked as an annualglobal event to raise awarenesson the disease," she said.

She said recently in Nigeria,reports indicated 8 deathssuspected to be rabies from straydogs in four local governmentareas of cross River state. "This hasno doubt called for the need for thegeneral public and governmentto give desired attention to rabies,"she concluded.

In the words of Prof. ABOgunkoya from Ahmadu BelloUniversity Zaria, the nation ishelpless concerning the issue ofrabies as there is no substantialdata to describe the actualdamage the disease is causing."It is not the numbers that die

but when one see the deathcaused by rabies, it is a terribleexperience," he described.

He however commended theministry for making its firstachievement by joining the restof the world in commemoratingthe WRD. "It can be avoided andcontrolled through vaccinationof pets," he advised.

The WRD involves majorstakeholders from state and localgovernment levels, humanhealth partners at the nationaland international levels as wellas veterinary, medical and otherspecialized professionals.

Okello helped recalled Nigeriato WHO board —Chukwu

T h e minister of health,Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwuhas described the

exemplary leadership of Dr.David Okello as what brought thecountry back to the list of Worldhealth Organisation (WHO)board.

The minister mentioned this

yesterday in Abuja during alunch organized by ministry ofhealth for the send forth of Dr.Okello to his new place ofassignment in Zimbabwe.

According to the minister, thelunch was organized as a symbolicway of letting Nigerians know thecontributions of Dr. Okello toNigeria's health sector as a whole."Nigeria was recalled to WHOboard and we now relate betterwith our partners," he said.

He said during the WHR'stenure, Nigerian governmentstarted spending more money inthe area of donation of drugs tomaternal and child healthprogram and also the SURE-Pprogram were actualized.

As regards MDG6, he said theCountry Representative tenurehas had a stabilized HIVprevalence which has reducedfrom what the country recordedsome years back. "In the area ofpolio, we have nothing more to dobut work on the structure wehave. "The organization of taskforce with minister of state for

health, Dr. Ali Mohammed Pateas head will go a long way toexiting the virus," he assured.

In her welcome address, thepermanent secretary, ministry ofhealth, Mrs. Fatima Bamideledescribed Dr Okello's stay as apositive change in the healthsector. "Though you had onlyspent eighteen months, thosemonths have witnessed greatnumbers of achievement in allaspect of public health and polioeradication," she said.

Dr. Okello in his remarks calledon government to remain incharge of partners. He said, "Whenpartners start setting agenda bytheir selves, there is a problem."

On the issue of polio, he saidthe number of cases presently inrecord did not just emerge but hadbeen there from the time of electionand there is hope that, Nigeriawill exit polio. "The initiativegovernment had put in place willsolve polio problem. I am notworried about polio but otherhealth issues people are nottalking about," he called.

By A'isha Biola Raji

Group blames NMApresident for calling forprivate ownership of gunsBy Augustine Aminu

T h e Society of NigerianDoctors for the Welfare ofMankind (SNDWM) has

kicked against the recent call bythe Nigeria Medical Association(NMA) President, Dr. OsahonEnabulele, for demanding forprivate gun ownership in Nigeria.

The NMA president recentlyexpressed his desire to see arelaxation of gun ownership lawsas a way to reduce crime, but in aswift reaction, the SNDWM said ifsuch is allowed, it will only lead toanarchy in the country.

In a signed statement by Dr.Emmanuel Oga made available toPeoples Daily Weekend, theSNDWM said access to guns ofprivate individuals will worsen thesecurity problem in the country.

The statement reads in part:"The gun control debate is one thathas been around for decades, andis unlikely to go away; it is oneissue we must continue to dialogueon. It is our opinion that the NMAremarks were wide off the markand portrays a one-sided view of

the problems in Nigeria."As rife as gun violence is in

Nigeria, there is reason to believeit could and would not be abatedwith easy accessibility of guns. Itsaid further, "Another aspect ofprivate gun ownership which heoverlooked is that, guns can causedomestic harm even amongintimate partners. "Anunsuspecting child, a carelessadult relative or indeed the ownerof such a gun might in a momentof curiosity inflict permanentinjury on loved ones."

Oga said, "as doctors, we havethe responsibility of not onlycaring for the sick, but makingsure that whatever causes illnessand harm is eliminated orreduced to the barest minimum."

It would be recalled that theNMA president's call for liberalgun ownership policy was amongresolutions NMA reached after itsexecutives, met early this monthin Owerri amidst concerns that"several doctors have beenkidnapped even while onemergency and call duty withinhospital premises."

Minister of health,Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu

PAGE 26 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

HHHHHollollollollollywywywywywoodoodoodoodood/////BBBBBollollollollollywywywywywoodoodoodoodood

D r e a m W o r k sand 20thCentury Fox

officially announced TomRothman will produceRobopocalypse withSteven Spielberg stillattached to direct. Andwhile that's interesting,what's even moreinteresting - and biggernews to moviegoers whodon't really care aboutproducers - is that AnneHathaway is circling theproject and could bejoining Chris Hemsworthas one of the film's leads.

Robopocalypse isexpected to begin filmingin early 2013. The studioshave set an April 25, 2014day release date.

Commenting on theoutgoing Fox studio head'sinvolvement as producer,Spielberg stated: "Whensomeone like Tom is a freeagent, you snatch him upfast. He has proven himselfto be a necessity of thisindustry. At Fox he hadalready been anenthusiastic partner onRobopocalypse, and it is toour advantage that hewould come produce thisfilm with me. Tom hasbeen a wonderful friendand colleague over theyears and DreamWorks isincredibly lucky to havehim on board."

Added Rothman: "If youare in politics, you dream ofa call from the White House,in baseball, from the

Bond wouldn't be Bondwithout attractive women

Yankees, in movies, fromSteven Spielberg.Robopocalypse is the kind ofimportant epicentertainment, a big moviewith big ideas, that Stevendoes better than anyfilmmaker on earth. I amhonoured beyond measurethat he asked for my helpon it and fired up to dowhatever I can for him,Stacey, the outstandingDreamWorks team, and allof my friends at Fox. Ienjoyed the idea of beingunemployed for a week, butthis will be way more fun."

The synopsis for DanielH. Wilson's bestsellingnovel: "They are in yourhouse. They are in yourcar. They are in theskies...Now they're comingfor you.

In the near future, at

transportation to utilities,defense andcommunication. In themonths leading up to this,sporadic glitches arenoticed by a handful ofunconnected humans - asingle mother disconcertedby her daughter'smenacing 'smart' toys, alonely Japanese bachelorwho is victimized by hisdomestic robotcompanion, an isolatedU.S. soldier who witnessesa 'pacification unit' gohaywire - but most areunaware of the growingrebellion until it is too late.

When the Robot Warignites -- at a momentknown later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be bothdecimated and, possibly,for the first time inhistory, united."

Some facts about Bollywood

Aishwarya appointed UNAIDSGoodwill Ambassador

T h e song "MehandiLagane Rakhna" ofDilwale Dulhaniya

Le Jayenge was originallywritten for another movieand was a bit differentstarting with "PayalChankate Aa Jana".However the Choprabrothers liked the song andincluded it in the moviewhich became a hit track.

Raj Kapoor launcheddream girl, Hema Malini inthe lead role for 'Sapno KaSaudagar' opposite himselfin 1968.

The Big B (AmitabhBachchan) was to be named'Inquilab' when he was born,before his father, the famouspoet Harivansh RaiBachchan finally agreed toname him 'Amitabh', whichmeans brilliance unlimited.

Not a single outside thecast and crew of 'Aks' wasallowed on the sets of the filmas per strict orders. Evendirector Rakesh Mehra'sbrother was also not allowedin.

Meena Kumari has sixfingers on her right hand.But she tries not to show it inany of the scenes of the filmsshe has done.

Dharmendra in hisyouth was such a big fan ofactress Suraiya that he

walked miles to watch herfilm 'Dillagi' over 40 times.

Of all the characters inhis directorial debut 'DilChahta Hai', FarhaanAkhtar definitely wantedSaif Ali Khan as Sameer,Dimple as Tara and Preityas Shalini.

In the songs 'Dil Ne YehKaha Hain' from 'Dhadkan',title song of 'Deewane' and'Neend Churayi Meri' from'Ishq' we see the comingtogether of arch rivalsKumar Sanu and UditNarayan.

Sanjay Leela Bhansalihad written the script of'Khamoshi 'with AmitabhBachchan in mind.

The 'Khalnayak' songCholi Ke Peeche wasprotested by as many as 42political parties.

Film Main Hoon Na wasoriginally named 'TheOutsider' and the actor didnot initially approve ofchange in the movie's titleby director Farah Khan.

Bobby Deol's first brushwith film acting was veryearly, when he was onlyseven years old. He playedDharmendra junior inManmohan Desai's 'DharamVeer'.

The only time in thehistory of any Indian award,

when the best femaleplayback singer award wasshared was between Ila Arunand Alka Yagnik for 'Choli KePeeche' in 'Khalnayak'.

Shamita Shetty is deeplyinto Sports and Bodytraining and holds aDiploma in FashionDesigning.

Akshay Kumar issuperstitious. He will neverwrite anything on a pageunless he first heads it withan "Om".

Vibrant Talent ManojBajpai of the "Bhiku Mhatre"fame failed several screentests before finally getting abreak in filmdom.

Salman Khan likes tocollect soaps. In hisbathroom, there is acollection of all kinds ofhandmade and herbal soaps.His favourite are soaps madefrom natural fruit andvegetable extracts.

Hrithik Roshan lovescollecting photographs. Hewould never travelanywhere without hispersonal camera even as achild. He has a vastcollection of photographsand special scrapbooksmarking each occasion.

Aishwarya Rai's petname at home is 'Gullu' andSalman's is 'Sallu'.

I n d i a n actressAishwarya RaiBachchan has been

appointed as the newinternational GoodwillAmbassador for UNAIDS,the joint UN programme onAIDS and HIV.

The announcement wasmade at the UNheadquarters by UNAIDSexecutive director MichelSidibe on the sidelines of the67th session of the UNGeneral Assembly.

In her new role, she willhelp raise awareness onissues related to stopping newHIV infections in childrenand advocate for increasedaccess to anti-retroviraltreatment.

"I am honoured to acceptthis appointment. Spreadingawareness on health issuesspecially related to womenand children has alwaysbeen a priority for me andnow as a new mother I canpersonally relate to this - thejoys and concerns of everymother and the hopes thatwe have for our children,"she said.

Her main focus will be toadvocate for the global plantowards the elimination ofnew HIV infections amongchildren and keeping their

mothers alive. This plan waslaunched at the UN in June2011 and focuses on 22countries including India,which account for morethan 90% of all new HIVinfections among children.

Rai said she stronglybelieves that every babyshould be born free from HIV."I promise that with UNAIDSI will do my utmost to makethis happen," she said.

Sidibe said throughAishwarya's global outreachhe is convinced that she willbe able to help UNAIDS reachits goal of eliminating newHIV infections amongchildren by 2015.

UNAIDS, which is

focused on workingtowards universalaccess to HIVt r e a t m e n t ,prevention, careand support, said34.2 million peoplewere living withHIV in 2011.

The newappointment willbe one of Rai's firstand mosti m p o r t a n tassociations withthe United Nations.Last week, she had

B o n d wouldn't beBond without anattractive woman

by his side and, during hisfifty years on the bigscreen, 007 had morethan his share of femalecompanions. But whohave been the best Bondgirls?

When Honey Ryderemerged from the oceanin a soaking-wet whitebikini, the first Bond girl

was born.The only woman pre-

Daniel Craig 007 has everfallen in love with; Tracyeventually goes from Bondgirl to Bond wife.However, Bond'sdangerous lifestylecatches up with them atthe wedding ceremony,where she is shot dead.

In the last Bond film,Bolivian agent CamillaMontes joined Bond

(Daniel Craig) on his questfor revenge, whileStrawberry Fields - a lowlyMI6 agent - ends upaccompanying 007 on hismission (and in bed), butpays the ultimate price.

Berenice Marlohe andNaomie Harris are theactresses accompanyingBond in his nextadventure, but will theylive up to the standards setby Bond girls gone by?

Anne Hathaway May Join ChrisHemsworth in Robopocalypse

the moment no onewill notice all thed a z z l i n gtechnology thatruns our world willunite and turnagainst us. Takingon the persona of ashy human boy, achildlike butm a s s i v e l ypowerful artificialintelligence knownas Archos comesonline and assumescontrol over theglobal network ofmachines thatr e g u l a t eeverything from

joined UN Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moon and renownedHollywood actor MichaelDouglas at a ceremony tocommemorate theInternational Day of Peace.

She had also addressed alarge group of students fromvaried backgrounds duringa panel discussion on'Sustainable Peace for aSustainable Future'.

She would also meetIndia's PermanentRepresentative to the UNHardeep Singh Puri.

Her father-in-lawAmitabh Bachchan hadserved as the InternationalGoodwill Ambassador forUNICEF.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 27

Dealing with floodingHomes

W i t h the worrisometrend world-wideconcerning floods

owing to heavy rainfalls withrivers over flowing their banks,and other related causes. Whenthis happens, the extent ofdamage can only be imagined.It has become imperativetherefore, to take adequate stepsto secure your building fromflood disasters.

The natural role of a floodplain is to channel excess waterduring periods of heavy rainfallto rivers and other biggerchannels. But where you haveflood channels being blocked orwalled off, then the artificiallynarrowed or blocked water mustrise higher to compensate for thenarrow channels, often times, itbecomes an embarrassment to acommunity.

Causes of floodingDeforestation- As activities of

man becomes more intense, thetrees around are being fell andthese lands are claimed for otherpurposes. These areas will beexposed to flood as time goes on.

Development, jobs andaffluence- like in every part ofthe world people love to live closeto the river because of economicand leisure gains, for farming( i r r i g a t i o n ) , w a t e r ,transportation and even wastedisposal.

Poverty- When you have toolittle to pay for a conduciveaccommodation in a befittingenvironment, then you are mostlikely to settle for anywhere youfind yourself, also constructinga drain gutter may be tooexpensive for you.

However not only areas closeto rivers are prone to flooding,Unnecessary blocking of publicdrain channels and overbuiltenvironment may causeflooding.

In some houses, badfoundation of buildings couldlead to flood right inside your

house. Areas with loose soilswhen building houses on themare expected to have waterprotecting membrane laid downround the foundation to preventwater rising to the floors throughthe walls from foundation. Alsoover site concrete or Germanfloor ought to be done for suchareas and infact, for everybuilding, but the cost of doing it

makes virtually anybody withlow budget to ignore thisimportant part of building.

For those with considerablystrong soil, you can use themethod I used to at least savesome money, though it may notbe the best alternative.

What to do:After raising all the blocks to

foundation level, it makes some

sense to look for a carpenter tonail planks around the top ofblocks (both internal andexternal) with about 100mmspace to accommodate concretedirectly on top. You may askwhy it is necessary to do justthat. The essence is to savemoney and most of the waterfrom ground will seep into thewall to the top and soon you maybegin to see the effects.

Major steps to take toprevent flooding:

You can raise the foundationlevel of your building. This willmake your building to be higherbut will probably save you fromflood when the runoff is high.Although it may tend to cost youmore to raise the house fromground, it may perhaps be moreeconomical at the long run;besides a well built housestanding alone gives it anelegant look.

When paving thesurrounding environment,make sure the pavement orwhatever slopes along waterrunway is done so that waterentering your environment willnaturally follow the gradient orslope of the land.

If you found out that yourhouse was usually flooded afterrainfall because the pavementor screening of yourenvironment was not done toslope towards the natural waterflows, you can channel waterfrom the roof of your house with

a pipe to water channels,underground tanks or draingutters.

Replace damaged pipesaround the house, the ones frompublic utilities and your own.

You can erect a retainingwall or fence made of concrete toblock strong rushing water.

If erecting a retaining wallor fence made of concrete isexpensive, you can use sandbags.

The most important of all,when carrying out your buildingproject, consider drainage gutterif you envisage future floodingproblems.

In large scale buildingconstructions done byorganisations and governments,Dams, large water channels, andlevees are provided to furtherfight flooding. Levees areembankments composed of soiland earthen materials that areused to prevent annual floodingin many areas just like what isobtainable in Victoria Island andBar Beach as presently beingdone by the Lagos stategovernment. With a levee, itrequires very high volume ofrain water before flooding canoccur. But the drawback is thatif the water level is high enoughto pass through the fence, (levees)then the flooding will be mostlikely to occur and will causeseveral times more damage.

If all fails, it is advisable tojust move out. Leave thevicinity.

A community in Kaduna submerged in the recent flooding

Some of the submerged houses in the recent Benue floods in Makurdi

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 28

Pots & PansWith

Hajiya Ramatu Usman DorayiCuisineSavour your breakfastwith toast bread and jam

I f you need help makingtoast, here are some stepsand tips that should help

you. Toast can be made withany type of bread, and isusually served with butter orjam.

Steps1. Choose the kind of bread

you wish to use. You can usejust a regular white bread, orspecialty bread like rye, wholewheat, and brown or French.

2. Slice your bread to fit thetoaster unless it is pre-sliced.Put your slices of bread intothe bread slots of the toasteror rack of a toaster oven.

Choose the settingdepending on how brown orcrunchy you want it. If you areunsure, put on a low settingand if necessary after, repeatat a higher setting.

Push down the toasterplunger to turn it on. Carefullyremove the hot toast from thetoaster after it pops up. Placethe toast on a plate, removeyour oven mitt and spread

toast with butter, peanutbutter, jam or whatever youprefer on one side.

Place the toast on a plate,remove your oven mitt andspread toast with butter,peanut butter, jam orwhatever you prefer on oneside. Slice in half, quarters, orleave whole.

Ingredients2 slices multigrain bread1tsp softened butter

(optional)1tsp Dijon mustard2 oz cheddar, gruyere, or

other cheese for melting,sliced

2-4 slices fresh tomatoesSaltPreparation:Put a small skillet (with lid)

over medium heat.If desired, butter one side

of each slice of bread.Smear mustard on the

unbuttered side of the breadslices.

Arrange cheese slices overone mustard-covered slice ofbread.

Cover cheese with tomatoslices.

Sprinkle with salt, ifdesired.

Cover with the other sliceof bread, mustard side down.

Place the assembledsandwich in the skillet, andcover to help the cheese melt.

When the bread is golden onone side, flip the sandwich.

Continue cookinguncovered until the other sideis golden.

Cut diagonally into twotriangles and serve hot.

A seasonal jam recipewithout pectin orother thickeners, just

fresh fruit and a hint of agavesyrup cooked over an openflame.

Ingredients1 - Pineapple (ripe),

peeled and cored3 tablespoons agave

syrup (optional)1 food processorSome water to loosen

things up if need bePinch saltInstructionsChop the pineapple into

manageable chunks. Place allchunks into a hi-speedblender or food processor

Pineapple Jamand puree until smooth.

If the pineapple will notliquefy add a bit of water toloosen things up.

Place a heavy bottomsauce pot on your stove andheat over a medium heat.

Add the pureed pineappleand cook down until thick,about 40 minutes, stirring toavoid scorching.

(Optional) Add the agavesyrup and continue to cookuntil your desired thicknesshas been achieved.

Remove from the heat andcool.

Spoon it on a piece of yourfavourite crepe or toast andsavour your breakfast. Pineapple jam

Toasted bread with omelettes

PAGE 29 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Prepare your childfor arrival of baby

Womanhood

T he arrival of a babybrother or sister couldpose a stressful

experience in the life of a youngchild. It is common for childrento feel anger and jealousytowards a new baby.

Research indicates that thegap in age between siblings canhave an effect on the intensityof jealousy between children.Sibling rivalry tends to begreatest when the agedifference is 18 months to 2years. It tends to be lowestwhen there are more than 2years between children or lessthan 18 months.

Regardless of the age of anolder brother or sister, a parentcan play an important role inhelping a child cope with thearrival of a new baby in thefamily. Use the time before thebaby arrives to help your childgain an understanding of"babies" and begin to feel theimportance of being a "bigbrother" or "big sister."

Here are some activitiesyou can do to help prepareyour child:

-Share with your childmemories of her infancy. Showher pictures of when she was ababy. Talk about how little shewas, and how she couldn't sit

or walk or feed herself.-Sort through baby clothes

with your child. Together,choose the clothes that will fitthe new baby soon after he orshe arrives. This activity willhelp your child develop an ideaof how little the baby will be.

-Talk to your child and showher all the items the baby willbe using: a crib, a carriage, ababy bath, a car seat. Don't besurprised if your child crawlsinto the carriage or crib. She istrying to figure out this newevent!

-Help your child take careof a doll. Slowly introduce theidea that babies need lots oftime and care. Let him give thedoll a bath in the new baby'stub. This will be a good time totalk about how gentle you haveto be when caring for a baby.

-Read stories with yourchild about being a big sister orbig brother. Choose books thathelp your child cope with thenormal feelings of jealousy.

-Visit a friend with a newbaby to see the size of the infant.

-Make something togetherfor the new baby. Choosesomething simple and easy tocomplete, like a "Quiet!" sign forthe door or a picture to go overthe crib.

-Teach your child a simplelullaby to sing to her newbrother or sister.

-Plan the baby's roomtogether and take him on ashopping trip to buy someitems for the new baby.Remember to buy somethingfor him as well.

- If you plan to breastfeed,try to arrange for your child tosee a woman breastfeeding herbaby. Your child will adjustmore easily if she knows whatto expect.

-If the baby will be born in anearby hospital, visit thehospital with your child.

-Tell your child who will becaring for him while mother isin the hospital or while motherand/or dad is receiving a babyto be adopted. Let him know theactivities he will do with hiscaregiver while you are gone.

-If your child is staying witha relative or friend, involvehim in packing the suitcase forthe trip. Also, let your childhelp you pack your suitcase orthe suitcase of your spouse orpartner. Help him understandthat you will come back andwon't be away for long.

-Answer all questions aboutnew babies and the birthprocess or adoption as simply as

possible, but truthfully. Read abook to your child aboutpregnancy, birth and/oradoption that is appropriate toyour child's age anddevelopment.

-Be careful not to make anyunrealistic promises, forexample, "You're going to havesomeone to play with."

Here are some additionalhelpful hints:

-Have a special presentready to give to your olderchild when you arrive homewith the baby.

-Let someone else carry thenew baby into the house soyour arms will be free to hugthe new "big" sister or brother.Together, you can go to meetthe new baby.

-Once in awhile, hold yourchild in the new baby's rockingchair. Talk about howsometimes it's fun to be a bigbrother or sister, andsometimes its fun to pretend tobe a baby.

-Be sure to spend specialtimes with each of yourchildren before the babyarrives. Continue to do thisafter the baby comes. Let yourchild know there will be timeswhen he or she is unhappy orangry with the new baby.

Jealousy is a normal feeling.Talking about feelingssometimes helps childrenaccept and deal with theirnegative feelings.

Remember, older brothersand sisters must be told overand over that they musthandle babies gently. It isnormal for older children torevert to "infant" ways when anew baby arrives home. Forexample, they may begin totalk like a baby or want to drinkfrom a bottle. They may revertto bedwetting, whining, andcrying instead of talking. Thisbehaviour will go away fasterif you don't pay much attentionto it.

Some young children willshow feelings of jealousy whenthe baby begins to movearound and compete withsiblings. Watch for behavioursthat show that older siblingsare feeling angry orthreatened. Accept andrecognize your older children'sfeelings. Spend time with eachof them on an individual basis.The arrival of a new baby is nodoubt stressful. With yourhelp, however, siblings will beable to adjust successfully tothis important family event.

extension.unh.edu

Allow her feel baby's movement in your bulgy tummy

Take her for walks to learn partnership

PAGE 30

ArchivesPEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Do you have old pictures for memories?Send them to julius2001_a@yahoo.com

Ladi Kwali at Howard University

President Shagari visits Ogunpa flood disasterarea in Ibadan where two hundred and fortypeople died during a twelve hour rainstorm

Nigerian President Shehu Shagarivisited the scene of flash-floodingat Ibadan, about one hundred

miles (160 kilometers) north of thecapital Lagos, on Sunday (7 September,1980) where two hundred and fortywere killed during a rainstorm theprevious week.

SYNOPSIS: It was the heaviestdownpour the topical city of Ibadan had

suffered in four years. In twelve hours,ten point seven nine inches fell on theOgunpa region swelling in OgunpaRiver until it burst its banks.

The floodwaters raced across the landcrushing houses and catching manypeople unprepared. Among thosedrowned were children and pregnantwomen. Many thousands more were lefthomeless.

Head Of State, Lt. - General OlusegunObasanjo, launches Universal FreePrimary Education Programme in 1976

Nigeria entered a new era onMonday (6 September, 1976)with the launching of its

universal primary educationprogramme.

It was launched by Head-of-State,Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo inthe capital, Lagos. Under the programmetwo and a half million Nigerian childrenfrom the age of six will be able to go to schoolfree of charge. And as some of the newstudents arrived to enroll on MondayLieutenant Obasanjo was there to sign theminto the register.

At present primary school education isoptional, but after 1980 it will becomecompulsory.

At the official launching of the

programme Lieutenant General Obasanjooutlined the aims of the plan.

It also demonstrates the determinationof the Federal Military Government toprovide equal educational opportunities forall children of school age, irrespective of thecircumstances of their birth.

Every Nigerian child should regardbasic education as his natural heritage, rightand not a privilege.

It is the civic obligation of the children toattend classes regularly and punctually, tostudy diligently, to be obedient and lawabiding, to become good and patrioticcitizens who will serve their fatherlandfaithfully and loyally in whatever positionsthey find themselves in the years that lieahead.”

Candidates in Nigerian presidential electionpetition to have election results declaiming Alhaji Shagari president, annulled

In Nigeria the hearing of the petition filedagainst Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the thencivilian President, began on Tuesday (4

September, 1979). Chief Obafemi Awolowois challenging the declaration by the FederalElectoral Commission (FEDECO) that Shehuwill become the country’s President on thefirst of October.

SYNOPSIS: Lagos and all of Nigerian hasspent the last few months preparing for theformation of the first civilian governmentsince 1966. But the result of the Presidentialelection has been disputed by several of thecandidates, though the new government isdue to be installed on the first of October.Three candidates for the Presidency contendthat Alhaji Shehu was not duly elected. Policeat the Federal Court of Appeal were out inforce as the instigator of the petition andleader of the Unity Party of Nigeria, ChiefObafemi Awolowo arrived for the hearing.

He was joined by the leader of the GreatNigeria People’s Party, Alhaji WaziriIbrahim. In his petition Chief Awolowocontends that Alhaji Shehu Shagari scoredless than the number of votes required byelectoral decree to win office. Chief Awolowoalso asked the tribunal to order the Secretaryof FEDECO Alhaji Kurfi and the FederalReturning Officer Frederick Menkiti toarrange an electoral college election todetermine who should be President. This hesays, is in accordance with provision in the1978 Electoral Decree. But Alhaji Shehuinsists he was duly elected. And he says thatif an Electoral College had been called itshould have been arranged within sevendays of the August sixteen results. ChiefAwolowo took the stand on the first day of thehearing which was expected to last threedays. He gave evidence on the election resultsbut it was disputed under cross-examination.

Ladi Kwali making pots on a wheelchair in 1959.

PAGE 31

LeisurePEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

WORD SEARCH With Augustine Aminu

Wise saying" A man who is trampled to death byan elephant is a man who is blindand deaf.

"A hunter who has only one arrowdoes not shoot with careless aim.

"A mouse that removes the palm-nutthat turns out to be the bait of a trap,would already have known that thepalm-nut does not ripen on theground.

"When a palm-branch reaches itsheight, it gives way for a fresh oneto grow.

"A bottle of oil warmed over the firehas no means of producing oil byitself.

"One cannot go back to the farmerfrom whom one borrowed seed-yamsto plant to say that the beetles haveeaten up the seed-yams.

"If one were to remove everysmoking wood from a fire andcondemn it as bad, one would bekilling the fire itself.

"It is wisdom to prevent someonefrom whom one cannot acceptrepayment to have access to one'svaluable possessions.

"It is the brutally outspoken manthat earns enmity.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Find the words about appetizers, listed below, in the wordsearch grid. Circle each letter one by one. Each letter of thefood word search grid may be used in more than one word.

I N I N I H C C U Z D E I R F

E N B R U S C H E T T A G L Q

S K C I T S E S E E H C L I U

G G D E V I L E D E G G S A E

N A S H C S E K A C B A R C S

I R A C L A M A R S S I H I A

W L S A A T H E H O C E U M D

O I L L I V N R H A E R Y U I

L C W A O R I C D S F O M S L

A B R M S M A A E Q O P U H L

F R I A P N D S R D L U I R A

F E S R H E S L I I K E P O F

U A P I D H C A N I P S R O I

B D E S C A R G O T E D S M Q

U I S N I K S O T A T O P S D

BRUSCHETTABUFFALO WINGSCALAMARICAVIARCHEESE STICKSCHEESESCRAB CAKESDEVILED EGGSDUMPLINGSESCARGOT

Quotes

Appetizer Word Search Puzzle

"Be a listener only, keep within yourself, andendeavor to establish with yourself the habit ofsilence, especially in politics."-Thomas Jefferson"Politics are a labyrinth without a clue."-John Adams"All great changes are irksome to the humanmind, especially those which are attended withgreat dangers and uncertain effects.

"The ruling quality of leaders adaptive capacity,is what allows true leaders to make the nimbledecisions that bring success. Adaptive capacityis also what allows some people to transcendthe setbacks and losses that come with ageand to reinvent themselves again and again."-Warren G."I will not regret leaving what has become atotally dysfunctional institution. I will not missthe thrill of making well-researched speechesin a virtually empty room. I will not miss workinglong hours on irrelevant ministerial guidedcommittees.

"Ten people who speak make more noise thanten thousand who are silent."- Napoleon Bonaparte

APPETIZERSWORD LIST

FRIED ZUCCHINIGARLIC BREADMUSHROOMSNACHOSPOTATO SKINSQUESADILLASALADSHRIMPSOUPSPINACH DIP

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

CARTOON OF THE WEEK

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 32

Fashion World’s most expensive dressworth £3.5m unveiled in UkraineThe saying, diamonds are a girl’s

best friend has been taken to awhole new level as the world’s

most expensive dress has been unveiled.The dazzling dress, which received

mixed reviews from onlookers atUkraine Fashion Show, is encrustedwith 50 two carat black diamonds andweighs a staggering 29lbs (13kg).

The gown is one of seven diamond-covered dresses created by Britishdesigner Debbie Wingham’s collection -but with its hefty £3.5m price tag, it isher most extravagant to date.

The dress boasts 25 two carat blackdiamonds adorning the peplum and afurther 25 two carat black diamonds onthe shoulder shrug, while morediamonds frame the detachableshoulder line.

On the bustier part of the handmadedress - which is the result of six months’work - is a centrepiece of five carats ofblack diamonds.

‘The rest of the embellishment is finebeading and delicate white diamonds setin white gold with a very fine chainmaildetail to add more individuality,setting the embellishment on this gownapart from any other world’s mostexpensive gowns,’ Debbie says on herwebsite.

The dress was launched officiallyat the Billionaires’ Club in Monte Carlobefore going on a tour that ended atUkraine Fashion Week.

Debbie Wingham, a self-taughtdesigner whose mother was aseamstress, started her trading atGreenwich market at the age of 18before opening her first boutique inHoxton.

A year later she crossed the capital,opening a showroom on the KingsRoad.

In 2005, one of her gowns wasworn to the BAFTAs, prompting arenowned fashion columnist to write:‘the best dress at this year’s BAFTAswas a dress designed by an unknowndesigner, but watch this space’.

Seven years on, her designs havebeen worn by a client list includingKate Winslet, Hilary Swank, AmySmart, Catherine Jenkins, RebeccaFerguson, and Dita Von Teese. Source:DailyMail.co.uk

Gowning Glory: Making ofthe black diamond dress

Dress boasts 25 two carat blackdiamond’s adorning the peplumand a further 25 two carat black

diamond’s adorning the shoulder shrug More diamonds frame the shoulder

line Bustier part of the dress has a

centerpiece of five carats of blackdiamonds

Dress weighs a staggering 29lbs(13kgs)

Hand-finished detail is the result ofsix months’ work

More embellishment comes in formof fine beading and delicate whitediamonds set in white gold

Fine chainmail detail adds moreindividuality

Dress joins diamond jeans and sixother diamond gowns in Debbie’s designarchive. Source: Mailonline

By Bianca London

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 33

Business

FG’s revenue to rise to N6.2 tr in 2013, says Ngama

T h e Minister of state forFinance, Dr Yerima LawanNgama has disclosed Federal

Government's plan to raise itsrevenue profile from N5.4 trillion toN6.2 trillion in the 2013 fiscal year.

Ngama gave the hint during aninteractive session with joint Housecommittee on Finance, LegislativeBudget and Research, NationalPlanning and Loans, Aids and Debtheaded by Abdulmumin Jubrin onthe 2012-2015 Medium TermExpenditure Framework and 2013Fiscal Strategic Plan.

He assured that FederalGovernment's plan to generate N32trillion for provision of criticalinfrastructure as contained in the Vision20:2020 in the next eight years outsidethe national budget, is sacrosanct.

The Minister who expresseddispleasure at the high interest ratemanaged by Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), insisted that reduction theinterest rate will reduce the domesticborrowing of the FederalGovernment.

Ngama disclosed that the moveto beef-up the Excess Crude Accountto $10 billion is on course andrealisable by end of 2012, adding thata board that will manage theSovereign Wealth Fund will workwith the National Assembly beforedisbursing the fund.

He added that the budget deficitis fixed at 2.12 percent for 2013 asagainst three percent in 2012 budgetwhile domestic borrowing is toreduce from N744 billion in 2012 toN500 billion by 2015.

The Minister howeveremphasised the need for the country

The Centre for InformationTechnology andDevelopment (CITAD), a

nongovernmental organisation, hascalled for the streamlining of thecomposition of the councilsestablished under the PublicProcurement and FiscalResponsibility laws of Bauchi state.

To this end, CITAD hassummoned the Bauchi stategovernment to immediatelycommence the processes of thereview and amendment of the twolaws by sending bills to the stateHouses of Assembly for theamendments.

The executive director of CITAD,Malam Ya’u Zakari Ya’u at a pressconference in Bauchi, also describedas outrageous the 30-membercomposition on each of the councilsestablished under the two laws.

Ya’u recalled that such councilsestablished under similar lawsenacted by the Federal Governmentwere each composed of only 12members who were mainly civilservants and technocrats unlike theinclusion of politicians as in the caseof Bauchi state.

He noted that Bauchi was one ofthe first states in the federation tohave domesticated both the FiscalResponsibility and PublicProcurement laws which would havemade it to claim leadership positionin that regard.

Ya’u also called on the stateHouses of Assembly to initiate aspeedy process for consideration ofthe amendment to the two laws,saying the press is paying more thancasual interest in the implementationof the laws and to the generaldevelopment profile of the state.

to obtain multi-lateral loansincluding Islamic Bank, IDA that arezero interest rate, which are 40 yearsrepayment period and seven yearsmoratorium for development ofinfrastructure.

The lawmakers, who expressedconcerns over the non-provision ofverifiable indices for fixing the $75barrel per day oil price benchmark,called for upward review of thebenchmark to $85bpd in 2013budget proposal and tie the $10bpdexcess to provision of specificinfrastructure.

They also called for details ofmoney released to ChristopherKolade's Subsidy Re-investmentEmpowerment Programme (SURE-P) committee, stressing that therelease of N15 billion monthlywithout spelling out specific projectsto be executed is unacceptable.

Some of the lawmakers hadprotested against lopsidedness in thespecific capital projects across thecountry, noting that South-South gotN113 billion, South-west got N66billion, North Central got N65billion, North West got N56 billion,South-East got N46 billion whileNorth-East got N40 billion in thisyear’s capital projects.

The aggrieved lawmakers hadexpressed disgust over the country'sover-dependence on oil revenue andnon-provision of policy frameworkon how to embark on local refiningof crude oil in the MTEF.

They also frowned at the floatingof Federal Government bond whichhas stifled the private sector fromdriving the economy as financialinstitutions solely invest in FederalGovernment bonds and fail to lendto the private sector.

The Federal Government hascalled on the OrganizedPrivate Sector to support

government’s efforts in the growthof small and medium enterprises(SMEs) in the country.

Minister of Trade andInvestment, Olusegun Aganga gavethe charge yesterday while declaringopen the 7th Abuja InternationalTrade Fair.

The minister who representedby the Director of Trade in theministry, David Adejuwon believedthat SMEs was the engine room ofthe economy of a nation, adding thatits development require joint effortsfrom both government and theprivate sector.

He said the administration ispoised to pursue policies that willenhance productivity and transformNigerian economy.

FG wants private sector to support SMEs growthHe said government is

committed to the industrial growthas part of its transformation agendato create wealth and millions of jobsfor the teeming populace.

Aganga called on theentrepreneurs to key into thesectoral reforms of PresidentJonathan’s Administrationespecially in telecommunications,power generation, infrastructureand customs to further boost theeconomy.

The minister said he was pleasedwith the theme of the fair“transforming and repositioningSMEs as growth drivers foreconomic development”

He noted that theme was timelyas it portrayed the mind of thegovernment towards economicdevelopment.

He said the government hasprovided stimulant packages foreconomy development by

encouraging SMEs in Nigeria forincrease productive capacity.

Aganga who said “governmenthas approved the new industrialstrategies such as setting up ofindustrial banks, micro finance etc,called on the OPS to take advantageof this to achieve economictransformation.

The National President of theNigerian Chambers of CommerceIndustries, Mines and Agriculture(NACCIMA), Adeomla Ajayichallenged the government toenhance and develop OPS withappropriate enabling policymeasures and programmes.

He urged governments at alllevels to formulate policies that willeffectively remove numerousconstraints being faced bybusinesses such as the provision ofinfrastructural facilities and accessto funds.

The President of Abuja

Chambers of Commerce Industries,Mines And Agriculture(ABBUCIMA), Solomon Nyagbasaid the fair holding in its permanentsite for the first time offer unrivalledopportunities for businessdevelopment.

Nyagba who described thefair as a hub for all participantsto showcase their goods andservices posited that the fair willultimately woo more investorsto Federal capital Territory(FCT)

This he said will in turn createmore job opportunities and furtherreduce the growing ofunemployment and poverty in thecountry.

The fair according to him willalso encourage business networkingand exchange of ideas, and isexpected to promote informationsharing for manufactured productsand services.

CITAD calls forstreamlining of lawson fiscalresponsibilityFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

By Lawrence Olaoye

Abubakar Rimi Market, Kano

The EntrepreneurPEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 34

A couple's vision for qualitative education

What FAMA stands forFAMA is the abbreviation of

her mother and mother in law'snames, Fatima and Maryam.These two women mean a lot toher, thus the initiative tosymbolise their names througheducational venture by Aminaand her husband.

Multi-religious schoolThe school is open to pupils of

all religions. In the school, thereare both Christians and Muslims.The administrative officer, Ms.Helen is a Christian. There isequal number of Christian andMuslim staff. The school runsnormal conventional schoolcurricula in the morning, andafter school, it runs Arabic classesfor those pupils whose parents areinterested. It is purelyconventional school, and usesboth the UK and Nigeriancurriculum side by side in themorning and after schoolrespectively. So it is not strictlyIslamic, as the name implies. Theschool has three levels; thereception, that is the sunshineclass from one and a half yearsold, and the nursery orkindergarten level as well as theprimary level.

Motive for establishingthe school

Her family in September lastyear, established the school butnot for profit making. They haveother businesses but this is theirpassion. "We wanted tocontribute and give back to thesociety, so my husband has beenvery supportive of me", she said.

It is not enough to establish aschool but the standard matters.One of the school's values is toensure that its pupils have strongmoral values, which bothChristianity and Islam advocate,so as to make the children growup as good citizens. "Why do we

Hajiya Amina Salisu Ingawa is the proprietress of FAMA Islamic International School Abuja.The school is barely one year old. Its establishment, her strong belief in the value of sound educationand good moral foundation, she says, while speaking with Nasir Mu'azu Isa.

have religious crises, because wehave abandoned those valuesthat our religions teach us, greetelders, love your neighbours,trust and believe in God. We alsotake these kids to visit orphanagesand we make sure they havesmall gifts and toys to give otherchildren, teaching them thevalue of sharing", Hajiya Aminasaid. The school also does mentalarithmetic, which boost thebrain's capacity and they love it,it requires these kids to docomplex calculations with no aidand most times even when usinga calculator, they give you theanswer to the question before youdo, and the children love it.

Pupil and staff strengthThe school has teachers in:

English, Mathematics, Socialscience, computer and othersubjects, regardless of thenumber of pupils in a class. Whenit opened for the first term, therewere about 17 students, andbefore the term ended they wereup to 27 students. The schoolboasts of high standards. With thegood performance of thechildren, the parents tell theirfriends and that helps inadvertising the school.

Challenges of starting anew school

There are lots of challengesbut with passion, nothing stopsyou from achieving your goal.The biggest challenge facing theschool is funding. Mostentrepreneurs face that problem.There is need for funding supportfrom individuals and corporateentities, without financialsupport from anywhere, theideas just die away. Leaders andwell to do Nigerians shouldsupport entrepreneurs. There isrisk in doing business andfinanciers should learn to takerisks. The banks are always

there, but most entrepreneursare weary of the interestsespecially for school businesswhich in most cases is driven bypassion and not profit making."When setting up a school, youare required to have a budget forfive years or more on ground; Idid my research and visited a lotof schools to see how they weredoing it. Imagine a school isspending 1.5 million everymonth, calculate the amount forfive years and you will see thatit's not small money and if youtake a loan from the bank, howwill you pay back with interestand also break even?" Thefinancial aspect involved inopening a school is also a majorfactor that discouragesentrepreneurship in this area.

Financial and child carechallenges

Without challenges you can't

move forward, challenges makeus strong, example is the issue offeeding, parents complainedabout having to come back todrop lunch for their children,especially those that will stayback for Islamiyya. "We sat downand came up with a menu, butwe made them understand thatwe can't satisfy all the needs ofparents especially when it comesto feeding, everyone has apreference, eventually we cameup with a menu that satisfieseveryone", she added.

Assessing hercontribution to education inthe country

"We are trying to fill in thegaps that parents, due to theexigencies of life can't fill, so weare here to ensure that ourstudents get the full value ofproper education. We want togive back and also help ournation in doing the little we canto help. There is nothing betteryou can give a child than propereducation".

Gains ofentrepreneurship

The school has some supportfrom its bank; which extendsoverdrafts for them to take careof immediate needs at the end ofthe month and before the end ofthe month, it generates moreincome which goes to the bank.They also extend facilities forbuses and other things, thegenerator marketers also have adiscount for schools.

On government efforts ineducation

The proprietress saysgovernment is trying its best butthere is a lot of room for greatimprovement. "I heard that inEdo state, people arewithdrawing their children fromprivate schools and taking themback to public schools because thegovernor is paying attention toeducation and the fact that the

cost is much less, it helps", shesaid.

View on girl-childeducation in the north

To this she said, "Education isthe foundation for properupbringing. We had to help andgive back; my husband and Idecided to help by sponsoringthose that can't afford it, to payschool fees in our hometown,Ingawa. I think enough is notbeing done especially with thegirl-child". She decried povertyas strong barrier. She expressedhappiness with what is going onin Katsina state because"education is free, when I lastvisited, nobody was coming forschool fees so I asked and I wastold the state government hasmade everything free and nowthere is no excuse for not going toschool", she added. The Almajirischools have started working andare doing well as more than 70schools are being converted forthat programme. She saideducation funding should not beleft to governments alone. Wellto do Nigerians should getinvolved and give back to theircommunities.

Advice to women whowant to start businesses

"If you have a passion forsomething, harness it and makeit work for you. Package youridea well and createinnovations, and make itunique, do not be discouragedby the challenges you'll facebecause they make you onlystronger. Think about it, look atwhat other people are doinglearn from them and have focus,this is my advice to all thoseinterested in starting a newbusiness. You'll also be able tosupport your husband.Husbands should support theirwives in what they want to dotoo by giving them advice andencouraging them" she said.

Hajiya Amina Salisu Ingawa with some of her pupils

Pupils of FAMA at their playground

PAGE 36 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Re: Sovereign wealth fundPeoples Daily Weekend welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text messagesand ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written contributions should be concise. Wordlimits: Letters - 150 words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and

a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed to:The Editor,

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WRITE TO US

Gov. Dankwambo and his patriotic approach to governance

OUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSION OUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLECHAIRMAN

MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

ALI M. ALI

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION

HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

EDITOR, DAILY

ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND

JAMILA NUHU MUSA

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING

HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

“To be the marketplace of ideas and theleading player in the

industry by putting thepeople first, upholdingthe truth, maintaining

the highestprofessional andethical standards

while delivering valueto our stakeholders”

“To be a reputable,profitable,

innovative andtechnologically

reliant mediacompany offering

world classservices and

products”

OUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISION

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEFRUFA’I IBRAHIM

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU

ADESOJI OYINLOLA

When Governor Ibrahim HassanDankwambo, OON, TalbanGombe was sworn in on May 29

2012, expectations were so high, thatmany feared the degree of expectationwould not hamper the success of hisadministration and stand in the way ofwhat he stood to achieve. His calmness andapproach to governance was reassuringand baffling, to say the least. It took monthsof careful scrutiny and vetting for him tocome up with the names of hiscommissioners and a blueprint for GombeState.

A year and some months down the line,Dankwambo has done excellently for agreenhorn in governance, displayingremarkable sense of judgement andproving what a shrewd mind he has. Proofof his above performance was underlinedin May 2012, during the Thisday SpecialReport on Governance, where he was rateda 'performing governor '. True, his first goat governance has, so far, not been a perfectrun but his touchdowns have beenconvincing and profitable to the people ofhis state.

Between May 2011 and April 2012,with a Federal allocation of N51.768bn,Talban Gombe has weathered the stormcalmly, making conscious efforts to put thestate on the path of infrastructuraldevelopment, despite security challenges.

He swung into action, flagging off theconstruction of more than 50 roads (allstretching more than 158km), set upprocesses for agricultural revival in thestate; set the ball rolling for improvedperformance from students in the state andgot specialists in the education sector to aidtheir academic development; propelled theimprovement of the economic and revenuegeneration within the state improving powergeneration within the state to complementthat of the nation's grid; restructuring ofthe civil service and local governmentauthorities; and the health sector, which hasworn the governor lots of accolades bothwithin and outside the state.

As part of his people-oriented servicedelivery, the governor compensatedindividuals whose shops were affected by theinferno from a truck which exploded in the

area in 2010, by paying the victimsN150m. He alleviated their long overduesuffering; most of them had lost millions andother sources of livelihood. Besidesdistributing fertilisers to the farmers in thestate, Dankwambo lightened the burden ofthe farmers in the state by acquiring 60tractors and making them available for hireby the farmers. This will enhance farmingoperations in the local government councilsand enhance their reach in state. At the lastcheck, 200 more were settled to be importedfrom China. Moreso, thousand tonnes of bagsof fertilisers were distributed to the farmersin the state.

To boost education and help producemore teachers, Talba okayed theestablishment of the Gombe StatePolytechnic. Presently, the College ofEducation, Biliri is under construction.

The affable governor also signed amemorandum of understanding, MoU,with the Bank of Industry to create jobsfor SMEs, as well as the people of the state.Besides that, he purchased 50 brand newtransformers (200 more are on theirway), and he paid the PHCN N125m toensure that a dedicated line carries waterto the people of the state daily.

The N4.5bn water reticulation projectis at an advanced stage. When completed,it will connect a lot of villages and localgovernments.

Feasibility study regarding theconstruction of a hydro-electric powerplant in Dadinkowa has reached advancedstages. This will help boost powergeneration in the state, control floodingand aid irrigation agriculture in the state.

For a man who rose through the ranksto become the Accountant General of theFederation and is experiencing his first forayinto politics, for a first timer who beat allothers at his party primaries to emergethe sole candidate, for a man who beat not-so-green contenders at the polls to emergegovernor of his state, Talba has not donebadly as his critics expected. But one thingis clear - Dankwambo has the potential tothump his challengers again come 2015.Junaidu Usman Abubakar is a specialassistant on media matters, to theGombe State governor.

“It is in our best interest to…embark ona revolutionary change that will lead us awayfrom oil dependency rather than drag ourfeet and suffer the cost of becominggrowingly dependent on a diminishingresource. True words were never written.”

- Albert Marrin.

A u g u s t 30, 2012 will remainindelible in the mindsof Anambrarians as it marked the

official admission of the state into theleague of oil producing states. Oilproduction in Nigeria is what every statein Nigeria is seriously craving for hence,the search for oil all over the federatingunits even at the oddest places hoping forthe stroke of luck. The states of Rivers,Akwa Ibom, Delta, Abia, Bayelsa, Ondo,Imo, Cross River, and Edo are all enjoyingwhat they referred to as unsatisfactory13% while berating the North for seekingevenness in federal allocation. Thenorthern states who oppose the present

Oil: Illusion to wealth creationallocation system are not relenting in theirinextinguishable search for any drop ofcrude or natural gas in their various states.

Kwara state not long ago, came up withthe news that crude has been found in theirdomain. News has also filtered sometime inthe past that Borno state also has some oildeposits at Lake Chad basin, and Benue tooclaims they also have some unexplored oildeposit. The question for all Nigerians is whatrole does oil play in the prosperity, progressand development of a people and theirenvironment? Does inflow of oil wealthguarantee a secured future? Villages,communities, local governments and Statesare searching and praying for oil discoveryin their areas of authority. Nigerians andtheir government now eat oil, drink oil, sleepoil and wake oil, nothing makes sense to themexcept that which relates to oil and gas.

Early this year, I was discussing with

my friend from Rivers state and he wasthanking God for endowing crude oil in theirsoil. “I can’t imagine the level of poverty wewould have been in if not for oil” he said. Heargued that their region and not north eastwould have been the poorest in the sixgeopolitical zones in Nigeria if not for oil. Toknow where his conviction is coming from Iasked him. Why he believed poverty wouldhave been their lot if not for oil. His responsewas tactlessly direct, “black men can’tcreate or handle wealth” he says. In him Isaw that with brilliance, education andexposure, environment still holds overseventy percent of what influences ourbeliefs. Currently nine states are enjoying13% proceeds from the oil exploration goingon in their back yards yet poverty walkswith two legs on the streets of these states.Lagos state has no drop of oil yet, apart frominfrastructure which many will argue that

federal government built, no area of lifeapart from agriculture can we point anystate in Nigerian federating units that isfaring better than them. Japan, Korea,Singapore and most other Asian Tigers aresuccess stories without oil wealth.

Drums were rolled out and uniformswere sewn as President Jonathan libratedthe Anambra oil which Anambra peoplebelieved past governments hadinhumanly padlocked in redundancyunder the guise of “strategic reserve”.There was unusual atmospheric gladnessin the air even with the sacking of Prof.Bath Nnaji. Oil dominated the discussionsand many believed that Anambra cannow reflect collective affluence as opposedto individual success which the state isknown for. The mentality of people that

Contd on Page 37

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 37

Opinion

Abia and its new lookOn assumption of office, Governor T.AOrji's first priority was on tackingsecurity challenges bedeviling the

state. This, he did by putting in placenecessary machinery in place tocheckmate the ugly trend. Logistics andresources needed by the security agentswere provided including various brands ofoperational vehicles.

Today, the cases of armed robbery andkidnapping are now very minimal.

Education sector was not left out. Freeeducation was given to Abia indigenes toenable them acquire basic education tooverall benefit of the state.

On the area of infrastructuraldevelopment, His Excellency has donetremendously well. Over one hundrededifices, structures covering every arm ofgovernment are on going. Two world classnew secretariats going on at the same time.This is the fastest project in the history ofNigeria. The twin secretariat is nearlycompleted and he has initiated and gonefar in the actualization of the Umuahia and

Arochikwu road in Arochuwu LGA, theUruruka road, the Umuahia- Ohiafia-arochukwu roads Osima/wrope roads areamong the many road projects scatteredall over the state

The civil and public servants areamong the highest and regularly paid inNigeria.

Not minding the meager resources ofthe state, free education at both primaryand secondary school level is on course.

Ochendo has built, equipped and staffedtwo hundred and ten primary healthcenters spread across the nooks and crannyof the state together with two diagonisticcentres, one at Aba and the other atUmuahia.

In the area of housing, Ochendo hasdone well with Isieke Housing Estate, theAbia state Teaching Hospital Auditorum,the Amaokwe Housing Estate, the AmubaHousing Estate, the new Timber marketstructure located along Umuahia-

By Christian Nwachukwu Jr.

Abia metropolis without borrowing a koboto finance the project.

Ochendo has in the last few yearscompleted the following road projects: theObikabia road, Igwubuike Street, Ohankuroad, Ukwu mango, Ole Express road bySamell, Port Harcourt road, Abia Owerriroad, Tonimas Umuocham road, A-Line toF-line in Ariaria, Osisioma-Exkeakpararoad, Danfodio by East, Our Lady of Lourdesby East and Umuojima.

In Umuahia, the following roads havebeen completed and wearing a new look,Ikot Ekpene road, Bende road, Nkata Alike-Umuahia road, Iyienyi-Okwoyi road, theAgbama-World Bank road, Okwuta-Umuafai road, Amuzukwu-Umuezagwuroad amongst others. The dualization ofTower-Isieke Ubeku roads including theprovision of Street Lighting are on.

Outside the metropolis, the Nunya-Eluama road in Isukwnato LGA, amackpu-Okagwe road in Ohofia LGA, Abam-

As the torch bearer, he has deliveredon his campaign promises ofpurposeful, transparent and

masses-oriented leadership.Governor Saidu Dakingari has

delivered on his promises ranging fromeducation, health , transportation,infrastructural facilities to civil servicereforms.

The government has been doingeverything to overhaul the comatose stateof schools and for the past few years andhas revamped, resuscitated and rebuiltmost of their dilapidated structures.

The government has takled somemajor hurdles in social infrastructures likepipe borne water , housing for civilservants, electricity in urban and ruralareas including the provision of goodmotorable roads.

Courtesy of the presentadministration's efforts, Kebbi has thehighest health dispensing units in thecountry coupled with a low mother/infant

Dakingari: A result-oriented leaderBy Mahmud Bello mortality rate.

The civil service reforms is ongoing interms of remuneration, payment ofpensions, working environment,computerization, promotions, trainingand the uplifting of the morale of civilservants in the state.

Just recently, the government signeda contract with a German company onequity cement production at Katangawhere Kebbi government has 25 percentof the total shares.

Transportation has been broughtnearer to the door steps of the ordinarypeople as motor cycles, bicycles and othermotorable incentives including buses fortransportations are given to localgovernments, the youths and marketwomen for easy access to and from therural areas with good network of ruralroads.

The present administration is makingsure that every settlement with about 350persons is connected to the main road ortrunk road for movement of farm andagriculture produce from the local area to

the urban areas. Most of the roads havestreet lights while religious tolerance andharmony is the watchword of the people.The security of lives and property is now amajor concern of government as a lot offunds have been spent on the state’ssecurity apparatchik on armoured cars,ambulances, bullet proof vests, includingtraining and retraining of the securitypersonnel in the state.

The political life of the state is on trackwhile the government is daily winningmembers to its fold from the opposition tothe PDP family due to the leadership styleof carrying everybody along in itstransparent and open door policy ofadministering the state.

The pundits are of the belief that thereis a paradigm shift from the old order to anew Kebbi that is devoid of rancour,dipping of hands into the public till,favoritism to publication of financialaccounts, due process regime and opennessin every business of government.

Kebbi state is now in the mainsteam ofpolitics and everybody is of the view that

Dakingari’s administration has earned thestate enormous glory and name and thatis why a lot of Kebbi indigenes are wellrepresented today at the federal level.

Nevertheless,the government is awareof the numerous challenges includingdesert encroachment, floods and othernatural disasters, it has set up a committeeto look at how these challenges can bemitigated and is working with NGOs andother support groups to prevent the statefrom being caught unawares and as suchhas initiated free tree plantingmechanisms , discourages de- forestationand is doing everything possible throughirrigation to assist farmers by giving themimproved seedlings, farming techniquesand credit schemes. It takes a governmentwith foresight and vision to overcome allthese moribund infrastructures which hasmade Kebbi state a reference point as skillacquisition and capacity building is ongoing to corpers, teachers and the civilservants in the state.Mahmud Bello is of Mungani A KasaInitiative.

Umudike road and the Ultra Modermbuilding he is erecting at the Umuahiamain Market which is being relocated fromIsi-gate to Ubani-Ibeku in order to decongestthe city Center.

State High Courts buildings are not leftout, Customary Courts, BroadcastingCorporation of Abia state, AmacharaGeneral Hospital , a new Cenotaph Arcadeand an Ultra Modern Auditorium andOffices at Ministry of local Government andChieftancy Affairs as well as new structuresat the commissioners quarters, WomenDevelopment Centre complex has beencompleted with skill acquisition workshopsand several halls together with two state ofthe Art-Diagnostic centers Aba andUmuahia have been completed and wouldremain an Indelible legacy of chief T.AOrji’s administration.

Currently, an International ConferenceCentre and new Government House areequally ongoing.

Oil: Illusion to wealth creationContd from Page 36

oil wealth can change the lot of people stillbaffles me even with what we have seen inour over fifty-four years of having oil. Beforeyou misunderstand me, what I am tryingto say is that having oil wealth is not enoughingredients for success rather goodmanagement is, and that is where we arelacking the most. Before Anambra oildiscovery, there were states that had hadoil wealth for decades, for example, theneighboring Delta state. Removing the painsof oil exploration activities, official andunofficial corruption from the gains ofhaving oil, can any of them be said to besuccessful?

Some individuals from Anambra arealready big players in the oil industry andhave all beamed their commercial interestsin their state’s new found wealth. Typical ofAnambra, what and how this oil willtranslate into success story of the state is apuzzle only time will solve. The location ofthe oil wells and the Orient refinery used tobe the battle ground for Umu-eri clans inthe past and there is nothing to guaranteeabsolute calmness at the area except theright thing is done. Cutthroat politics has

been the hallmark of political activities inAnambra state since 1999 and the menaceis already rearing its ugly head in the waythe oil hawks are scamping for interest inAnambra oil sector. Many of whom arealready accusing Gov. Peter Obi of using theleverage of office to secure his own interestwithout investing from his pocket. From thepast, debate on whether crude oil is a blessingor a curse has remained unresolved and itstill continues to the present day, leavingus to use Anambra as a case study. We knowhow Anambra is today and in the nearfuture, we will see the impact of the oilwealth (whether negative or positive) inthe state.

Anambra west local government wherethe oil is deposited is one of the most neglectedlocal governments in Anambra state sincethe creation of the state in 1991. If AnambraWest local government will be turned intothe goose that lays the golden egg like otheroil producing communities in Nigeria or betransformed by oil wealth like “Texasian”and Californian oil producing communities

is left to be seen. Former governor Ngige, inhis recent interview reiterated the need toexplore huge hydro carbon whichUgwuagba in particular and Anambra ingeneral have been sitting on. All of themare looking at the gains of oil exploration andforgetting the pains that go with it and noneof these oil hawks is canvassing ways tomitigate the pains that might come with it.I doubt if most of them have been to oilproducing communities in the Niger Deltaand seen oil exploration havoc with theirtwo eyes.

I personally consider any project plannedwithout considering its possible countereffect as highly gratuitous. There maybeplans in that regard but to the best of myknowledge and I have followed Anambra oildiscovery with keen interest but I have notcome across any articulated plan towardsthat. Every focus is on the gains and not onhow to reduce the environmental hazard itmight cost Aguleri-Otu people in particularand Anambra people in general. If the rightthing is not done, Anambra West local

government will be another poignantreminder of how Niger Delta communitiesstarted. Personal interests as usual in somecapitalist environment appear to haverelegated community and environmentalwell being concerns to dustbin.

“A man always has two reasons for doinganything, a good reason and the real reason– J. P. Morgan. Governor Peter Obi has shownenough good reasons for striving to build onthe efforts of his predecessors with regard toexploring Anambra’s crude but withultimate finality, the real reason will beknown when the stakes in Orient will bemade public. With the springing back to lifeof Harbour industrial layout and Onitshariver port, one can conveniently say thatAnambra is waking up. It is good that finallyAnambra is now preparing to takeadvantage of its environment and locationbut it is bad that personal interest ofstakeholders is killing it when it has barelystarted.Obi Ebuka Onochiemac_godson@yahoo.com

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 38

FeatureHow children rendered deaf aftermeningitis regained hearing in Katsina

T o the families of ZainabMuktar and MuhammadNura, they would forever

remain grateful to all those whocontributed in assisting theirchildren regain their hearingafter they suffered frommeningitis which rendered themdeaf for about one year.

The two children, of differentparents, were born with theirhearing faculty until they lost itafter meningitis induced fever.

The parents of the childrenwere all smiles when theirchildren returned from Indiaafter undergoing ear surgery,implant and installation ofhearing device. The parents of thetwo children, Malam

Muktar and Malam Nurahave a common story to tell onthe plight of their children, whowent through the harrowingexperience of deafness.

In their accounts, related toPeoples Daily Weekend, they saidtheir traumatic journey begunwhen the children had high feveras a result of cerebral spinalmeningitis.

Narrating their separate butsimilar experiences to OurCorrespondent in Katsina, theparents of the two children noted

From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua,Katsina

that it was after the fever and theeventual treatment at theFederal Medical Centre,

Katsina that they noticed thattheir children were notresponding to sounds.

Malam Muktar, the father ofZainab disclosed that hisdaughter took ill when she wasjust seven years old and therefore,for the last one year he had beenbattling to save her hearingsenses. He added that FederalMedical Centre, Katsina.Muhammad's father also said hespent some amount out of hismeagre income to save his firstchild from deafness.

However, help came theirway when an Indianfoundation with interest inhearing repairs visited theKatsina Federal Medical Centreto conduct surgery on affectedvictims. The foundation incollaboration with ENTdepartment of the centreconducted operations free ofcharge for those with hearinglose. Zainab and Muhammadwere lucky to be among thosewho benefited from theexercise.

Presenting the two childrenafter their return from India, themedical director, Federal MedicalCentre, Katsina, Dr. AbdulmajidUmar Faruq noted that after

Muhammad nura and Zainab Muktar

undergoing surgery in Nigeria,the next step was the implantand the installation of thehearing aid device which he saidis not done in Nigeria. He notedthat to be able to make the twochildren hear and speak they hadto be taken to India for therehabilitation process.

The medical director saidseeking medication in India is notan easy task as it requires hugefinancial commitment.According to him, the sum of N5m was required for the implantand N2m for installation ofhearing device excludingtravelling expenses and feedingallowances. He added that thesefortunate children received thesupport of Katsina StateGovernor, Ibrahim ShehuShema, Katsina Emirate council,the Wazirin Katsina, Dr. SaniAbubakar Lugga and fromfriends of the hospital.

However, the medicaldirector has a message of hope forthose with hearing disability asaccording to him 'when theIndians came they discoveredthat we had 100 per cent of thefacilities required for ear surgery.Our only set back is that we needimplant facilities and hearingaid device'. Dr. Faruq said withall the facilities on ground theoperation can be conducted at

the cost of N2 million, addingthat at the medical centre theyconduct the operations at thecost of N50, 000.

Dr. Faruq disclosed that themedical centre is technicallyequipped and currently has twoENT surgeons while a nurse hasbeen sent to London to acquiretraining and expertise on speechtherapy and patientrehabilitation. He stated thatapart from the Katsina Medical

Centre there were other ENTcentres that specialize in theoperations.

The high point of thepresentation was when the twochildren who have been deaf anddumb for almost a year, wereasked to speak and answerquestions from the audience.People were amazed when theygreeted the gathering in Hausaand also entertained questionsfrom newsmen.

F o r Mrs. Abagail John, awidow and mother of two,of No. 3 Boniface Okoli

Street, Makurdi, Benue State,last week Thursday, the 20th ofSeptember will remain a darkday for her and her children astheir nightmarish experiencedeepens even after her husbandwas gruesomely killed bysuspected cultists.

On this day, persons suspectedto be cultists hacked down the jewelof the family, her husband andfather of children late Simon John,an indigene of Vandeikya localgovernment area, of Benue state.

Late Simon, 27 old, before hisdeath was a commercialmotorcyclist( popularly known as‘Okadaman’) he was said to be aquiet man who could not even hurta fly, hence his death has continuedto remain a big mystery not onlyto the family he left behind but toneighbours who knew him.

Abagail and Late Simon’smarriage was blessed with twolovely girls, Rejoice and Faith whosefuture is now uncertain with thebrutal sudden demise of theirfather at his prime.

Narrating the incident amidstuncontrollable tears, Abagail saidthe alleged cult members whonumbered over 30 laid ambush onher late husband, where theymurdered and dumped his corpsein a neighbour’s compound.

“He had just returned from hisokada job at about 8pm and wentout to buy something. Unknown tohim that these guys were watching

Cultism: We sleep with our eyesopen in Benue, says victim’s family

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

out for him. I had also gone out tobuy some food items and on return,I heard screams and cries comingfrom my compound. I got home tosee the lifeless body of my husbandon the ground”.

“My husband was a very quietperson who did not make troublewith anybody. Whenever hereturned from work, he remainedat home until it was time for him togo for vigilante work from wherehe closes at 2am. He did not keepbad companies so who could havedone this to me”, Abagail expressedin-between sobs.

Corroborating the widow’saccount, a neighbor and retiredcivil servant Martins Onah, whocame around to sympathize with

late John’s family, who only threeyears ago lost his father, recalledhow the alleged cult boys have for along time been terrorizing the area.

“We live in fear here becausethese boys terrorize us on a daily basis.I was almost a victim twice but fordivine intervention I escaped. Wesleep with our eyes open because theycould strike any time. They even goto the extent of laying ambush onyoung girls and raping them. Theyuse dangerous weapons like axe,cutlasses and guns”, he expressed.

The retired civil servantlamented the lackadaisical attitudeof the Police in handling thesealleged nefarious elements,accusing the police of colluding withthem.

“You could imagine where theyget sophisticated arms from. I thinkthe police aid them in this act. Andwhy do they always turn a blindeye to their activities? Proactivesteps should be taken bygovernment to nip the activities ofcult groups in the bud. And theseboys live amongst us”, Onahexplained.

Blaming the high rate ofcriminality and other social vicesin the society on poor parenting, hesaid most parents these days do notbother about the type of life theirchildren lead.

Cult activities in Benue State hasassumed a frightening dimensionas rival cult groups even engage ingun duel in broad day light.

Bodies of slain warring rivalcult group members are usuallyseen dumped in areas like the railcrossing, drainage systems and inthe bushes for days before they areidentified.

It would be recalled that earlierthis year, the Benue Policeembarked on raid of areas likeWadata, Angwa Jukun, Akpehewhich are suspected to be hideoutsfor the cult groups.

Late Simon John Mother of Simon John Wife of the deceased with her two kids.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 40

InsightWhen Nigerian Vice Chancellors met inKeffi over national security, educationT h e theme of the 27th annual

conference of the Association of ViceChancellors of Nigerian

Universities(AVCNU),"National Securityand Education in Nigeria", was indeedtimely, considering the prevailingsecurity challenges confronting thecountry.

The conference, which was attendedby no less than 124 universities from acrossthe country, held at the Nasarawa StateUniversity Keffi (NSUK), which will beattaining its tenth year of existence thisyear and was expected to serve as a forumwhere the egg heads would brainstorm onissues of national security as it relates tothe academia, as well as proffer workablepanacea to the plethora of securitychallenges bedevilling the country.

As was to be expected at a gathering ofmen of such uncommon intellect, jawbreaking vocabulary and high soundingwords, which may inadvertently confusethe layman, flowed freely, with thekeynote address delivered by no less aperson than the pioneer director of theUnited Nations African Institute for theprevention of Crime (UNAFRI), Kampala,Uganda, Professor Femi Odekunle,engaged in a tireless, in depth academicforay, whose import may yet have beenlost, to especially the politicians thatgraced the occasion.

Indeed the opening ceremony of theconference, which held at the convocationgrounds of the NSUK, was attended byseveral notable dignitaries, with the senatepresident, Senator David Mark, inattendance, as well as the Minister ofEducation, Professor Ruqayyatu AhmedRufa'i. Governor of Nasarawa state,Umaru Tanko Al-makura, founder of theuniversity and former governor of thestate, Senator Abdullahi Adamu,members of the national and stateassemblies, traditional rulers and a hostof others were also present.

In a welcome address, Vice Chancellorof NSUK, Professor Shamsudeen Amali,while expressing gratitude, on behalf ofthe students and the entire universitycommunity, to all that honoured theinvitation to grace the conference,described the theme of the event as "veryrelevant to the nation", stressing that"justice would be done to the theme by vicechancellors, experts on security and otherparticipant."

The Senate President, represented bySen. Ahmed Lawan, chairman, senatecommittee on Public Accounts, observedthat the organisers of the event had doneso well by bringing up the issue of nationaldevelopment, which he said was an issuethat needed to be addressed, urging theparticipants to proffer solutions to themounting security challenges.

On her part, the Minister of Education,represented at the event by Dr. ElishaKutura, director of higher education, in agoodwill message, said she was optimisticthe participants will come up with wellthought out recommendations that willaid the nation in resolutely addressing thescourge that "has so much militatedagainst the progress of our transformationagenda."

Prof. Ruqayyatu then went ahead tochallenge the vice chancellors, as leadersof the nation's academic institutions,where the character and intellect offuture leaders are moulded, to lead thesociety in search for enduring peace andequitable sustainable coexistence.

Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura,

officers are usually asking foradjournments; and court sentences forconvicts appear to have no corrective effectin most cases as the prisons regularlyreceive back a third of those they allegedlycorrected.

In accounting for the state of insecurityacross the country, Prof. Odekunle was ofthe view that most security challenges areactually developmental challenges,noting that even though there is no doubtthat the country is abundantly resourcedand has progressively witnessedphenomenal growth over the years, thereis also no doubt that there has been a patentincrease in the manifestation of theabsence of rural development.

On the political level, according tohim, the concept of democracy hasbecome, in practice, "government of thegreedy, by the greedy, for the greedy", andgovernance has become oligarchic andcorruption ridden, with the electionprocess becoming tainted with observablemanipulations and in some cases, heart-rending violence with able-bodied youthsemployed as thugs.

Prof. Odekunle further observed thatit is not an error that Nigerians are nowsuffering the lack of meaningfuldevelopment; that it is not an error thatpoverty and youth unemployment aboundin a rich economy, that also, it is not anerror the country suffers seriousinfrastructural deficits (e.g power, water,roads, etc); it is not an error that Nigeriais burdened with persistent corruption,explaining that all these are happening"because mere errors are random butbeyond a persistent and systematic error,there must be a cause other than error."

On the role of the academia inachieving optimal national security, theuniversity don, describe the academia asthe "brain box" of the nation, which isexpected to rise to the occasion in case ofany national emergency, as is the casewith the heightened level of insecurity inthe country.

In that respect, he outlined severalrecommendations, which he had earlierpresented before an appropriate technicalcommittee of the Vision 20: 2020, for aviable and enduring security enhancingstructure system.

Among these recommendations include;planning for security should be formulatedin the context of socio-economic developmentplanning and implementation; theleadership of the country should endeavourto ensure political stability and the economicand social security of the generality of thecitizens in order to counter potentialexploration of such divisive socio-economicand political cleavages for subversion ofoptimum security.

He also recommended for the adequatefunding of intelligence agencies and fortheir collaboration in sharing informationroutinely and promptly.

So, as egg heads from across thecountry converged in Keffi to contemplateissues relating to national security andeducation, it is to be expected that at theend of their deliberations, they wouldproffer practical, workable solutions to themyriad of security challenges afflictingthe nation.

in his address, observed that one of thecardinal responsibilities of the academiais to research into societal challenges andproffer possible solutions to them, notingthat it is heart-warming that insecurity,which he said, constitutes a bane of theNigerian society, has attracted theattention of the ivory tower.

While commending the initiative of theorganisers of the conference, Al-makurareasoned that without peace and security,no meaningful development can takeplace, decrying the rising crime andcriminality, which he said, have led to theproliferation of arms and ammunition"which are freely used by unpatrioticelements who are bent on destabilizing ournation."

Describing the cumulativeconsequences of these maladies, he statedthat the unfortunate situation has so farvisited economic hardship on innocentcitizens and the mortgaging of theeducational prospects of the youngergeneration.

Al-makura then challenged the ViceChancellors, as managers of the universitysystem, to ensure prudent managementof the meagre resources at their disposal,stressing that there is the need to alsoensure transparency and accountabilityin the administration of universities.

The high point of the openingceremony was the keynote addresspresented as earlier mentioned by Prof.Femi Odekunle, professor of criminology,presently at the faculty of social sciences,University of Abuja.

In an 18- page lecture presentationtitled, "national security and education inNigeria: an overview", Prof. Odekunle,while observing that in addition to largelyunattended existence of what he termed"chronic crime problem" in the country,noted that there is now the acute situationof violence unleashed by Boko Haram on

many parts of the north, deadly ethnic/communal clashes in the central region,and complements of armed robberies,kidnappings, assassinations, ritualkillings, etc across most of the geo-politicalzones.

While conceptualising nationalsecurity to mean "the actual or potentialfreedom and safely from physical/military, political, economic, socio-cultural; or psychological danger orattack", stressing that security is theprotection or defense of people against allkinds of victimisation from external/military attack, economic want, poverty,illiteracy, disease, political exclusion,social exploitation, criminality, etc, hehowever stated that it is a misconceptionto see security mainly in terms of statesovereignty and territorial integrity.

In analysing the security situation inthe country, the security expert opinedthat Nigeria's internal or domesticsecurity situation has been critical andremains critical, with the greatestindication of the dire situation exemplifiedby the existence of what he said is referredin criminology as a "crime problem", whenin" terms of incidence/prevalence,seriousness/quality, and recalcitrance toprevention and control, crime passes fromthe normal or tolerable level to thepathological and becomes a socialproblem."

He further posited that crime/insecurity continues to be on the increase,both in terms of volume and seriousness,the amount and quality of protection thepolice offers the citizens as a whole and thedegree of confidence and cooperation itenjoys from the average citizen continueto be far less than optimum; courts stilldelay and therefore, deny justice in themajority of cases as the police officers areusually "still investigating" and the poorlypaid prosecuting state counsels or police

Minister of Education, ProfessorRuqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i

Executive Sec. NUC, Professor JuliusOkojie

The 27th annual conference of the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities(AVCNU), was held recently at the Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK), with 124 universitiesin attendance. Participants at the conference deliberated on issues bordering on national securityand education. Ali Abare Abubakar, our Nasarawa state correspondent, attended the openingceremony and reports for Peoples Daily Weekend.

PAGE 42 PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

Radwanska facePetrova in Tokyo finalDefending champion

Agnieszka Radwanskaremains on course to

retain her Pan Pacific Open titleafter a semi-final win overAngelique Kerber in Tokyo.

The Pole, seeded third,thrashed the German fifth seed6-1 6-1 and will next meetsurprise finalist Nadia Petrova.

Russia’s 17th seed had animpressive 6-4 6-2 win overeighth seed Sam Stosur.

“Even if it was 6-1 6-1, I hadto run a lot to win that match”

Nine of the world’s top 10women began the week inTokyo, but the tournament losttop seeds Victoria Azarenka andMaria Sharapova on Thursday.

World number one Azarenkawithdrew before her quarter-final against Kerber citingfatigue, while Sharapova wasbeaten for only the second timein 12 meetings with Stosur.

The Australian could notcapitalise on that win, however,committing a string of unforcederrors as Petrova closed out theirsemi-final in one hour and 47minutes.

Radwanska was in superbform against Kerber, racing pastthe German in just 59 minutes.

“The games were long so Istarted to try somethingdifferent, mixing my game up.It worked. I’m just happy I couldplay my best tennis.”

Agnieszka Radwanska

Petrova

Goldie resumestraining afterpositive surgery

Javelin record-holderGoldie Sayers is set toresume full training in the

New Year after a positiveprognosis following elbowsurgery.

The 30-year-old failed toqualify for the Olympics finalin London after tearing aligament in her elbow.

Sayers broke the Britishrecord with a throw of 66.17metres at the London GrandPrix meeting in July.

However, she suffered theinjury as she made her fourththrow and it effectively endedher chances of an Olympicmedal.

She still attempted toqualify for the Games final butwent out after three no throws and then had to watch acompetition in which she wouldhave won a silver medal had shebeen fit to compete and able torepeat her Grand Prix throw.

Sayers intends to compete atRio de Janeiro in 2016, buthaving had various injuryproblems during her career, shedescribes it as a “tentative plan”and is taking nothing forgranted.

The second thing is if I wantto invest in the next four years,then taking the next couple ofmonths very easy is incrediblyimportant at this stage of mycareer.

Ricky Hatton will come outof retirement with a fightagainst former WBA

champion VyacheslavSenchenko in Manchester on 24November.

The Mancunian, 33, has notfought since his brutal IBO light-welterweight world title defeatby Manny Pacquiao in 2009.

In 33 pro fights spread overa 10-year career, Ukraine’sSenchenko, 35, has only beenbeaten once - a ninth-roundstoppage by Paulie Malignaggiin April.

Senchenko has only foughtoutside Ukraine or Russia once,when he beat Vincenzo Finzi inMonaco six years ago.

It will be Hatton’s first boutsince his second-round stoppageagainst Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

That was only the seconddefeat of his 47-fight career; thefirst coming at welterweightagainst Floyd Mayweather Jr in2007.

Hatton was IBF and WBAworld champion at lightwelterweight and also held thelatter governing body’s title atwelterweight.

Hattonset to fightSenchenko inManchester

World T20 cricket: Pakistan edge out South Africa

32 off 17 balls as Pakistanfought back to sneak a two-

wicket victory over SouthAfrica in the Super Eights ofthe World Twenty20.

When he came to the wicket,Pakistan appeared doomed with58 runs needed off 33 balls andthree wickets in hand.

But Gul’s cameo catapultedthem back into the game andalthough he was out with oneover left, Saeed Ajmal hit thewinning runs with two balls tospare.

Pakistan’s spinners hadlimited South Africa to 133-6on a turning track.

It was a total whichPakistan would have expectedto chase down with easefollowing dominant battingdisplays in their two groupgames.

The next over, delivered byAlbie Morkel, cost 20 runs, asUmar Akmal smacked the firstball for four before Gulplundered 12 off the last three.

Dale Steyn gave South

Africa hope with a tightpenultimate over, concedingonly six runs and having Gulcaught on the rope off the lastball to leave Pakistan needingnine to win from the last over.

Earlier, South Africa,comprehensive winners overZimbabwe and Sri Lanka in thegroup stage, faltered from thestart against Pakistan’s richand varied attack.

Paul McCloskey is being linkedwith a possible rematch with

Amir Khan following contactsbetween the respective fighters’managements.

Then WBA light-welterweightchampion Khan beat McCloskeyon a point’s stoppage win in Aprilof last year.

A clash of heads in the sixthresulted in a cut above McCloskey’seye and after consultation withthe ringside doctor the refereestopped the fight.

All three judges scored thescrappy fight 60-54 in Khan’sfavour although McCloskey’smanagement claimed that thebout should not have been stopped.

McCloskey edged out BreidisPrescott in a tight points verdictin his next bout four months laterbut then suffered a surprisestoppage by veteran AmericanDeMarcuis Corley in May.

However, McCloskey defeatedthe WBA’s eighth-ranked ManuelPerez in Belfast last weekend andis hoping that win will get himback into the world title picture.

Khan set forMcCloskey rematch

Umar Gul blasted 32 off 17balls as Pakistan foughtback to sneak a two-wicketvictory over South Africa inthe Super Eights of theWorld Twenty20.

PAGE 45PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

SQUASHDeveloping

mental agility

By Augustine Aminu withreports from Wikipedia

Squash is a high-speed racquetsport played by two players (orin doubles 4 players on court

at a time) in a four-walled court witha small, hollow rubber ball. For itsfast pace and requirement of mentalagility, it has been described as “jet-propelled chess”.

The game was formerly calledsquash racquets, a reference tothe “squashable” soft ball used inthe game (compared with the fatterball used in its parent gameracquets or rackets.

HISTORYIt is stated that “Squash, with its

element of hitting balls againstwalls, was for entertainment. Forexample, boys slapped their balls innarrow alleys and streets”. Religiousinstitutions in France, such asmonasteries, developed a similargame. Monks used gloves that werewebbed to hit balls against a fishingnet strung across the middle of thecourtyards of the monasteries. Thisdeveloped the early “racquets” usedin tennis and squash. Then in latefifteenth century, tennis wasdeveloped and spread to other

European nations. The next majordevelopment of squash took placein England where the game ofrackets was developed in FleetPrison, a debtor’s prison. Similar totennis, it involved racquets andballs, but instead of hitting over anet as in tennis, players hit a non-squeezable ball against walls. Avariation of rackets that also led tothe formation of squash was calledfives, similar to handball. Fives wasessentially the game of racquets,

without racquets. (The ball was hitwith the hand.) It is played againsta wall or walls.

Old and new style squashracquets

Squash was developed atHarrow School in England. The firstcourts built at this school wererather dangerous because they werenear water pipes, buttresses,chimneys, and ledges. The schoolsoon built four outside courts.Natural rubber was the material of

choice for the ball. Studentsmodified their racquets to have asmaller reach to play in thesecramped conditions. The racquetshave changed in much the sameway as those used in tennis. Squashrackets used to be made out oflaminated timber. In the 1980s,construction shifted to lighter,carbon-based materials (such asgraphite) with small additions ofsuch components as Kevlar, boronand titanium. Natural “gut” stringswere replaced with syntheticstrings.

Basic rulesThe squash court is a playing

surface surrounded by four walls.The court surface contains a frontline separating the front and backof the court and a half court line,separating the left and right handsides of the back portion of thecourt, creating three ‘boxes’ - thefront half, the back left quarter andthe back right quarter. Both theback two boxes contain smallerservice boxes. All of the floor-markings on a squash court are onlyrelevant during serves.

There are four walls to a squashcourt. The front wall, on which threeparallel lines are marked, has the

largest playing surface, whilst theback wall, which typically containsthe entrance to the court, has thesmallest. The out line runs along thetop of the front wall, descendingalong the side walls to the back wall.There are no other markings on theside or back walls. Shots struckabove or on the out line, on any wall,are out. The bottom line of the frontwall marks the top of the ‘tin’, a halfmetre-high metal area which ifstruck means that the ball is out. Inthis way the tin can be seen asanalogous to the net in otherracquet sports such as tennis. Themiddle line of the front wall is theservice line and is only relevantduring serves.

ServiceJust before the match, the

players spin a racket (usually up ordown of logo) to decide who servesfirst. This player starts the first rallyby electing to serve from either theleft or right service box. For a legalserve, one of the server’s feet mustbe touching the service box, nottouching any part of the service boxlines, as the player strikes the ball.After being struck by the racket, theball must strike the front wall abovethe service line and below theoutline and land in the oppositeback quarter court. The receivingplayer can choose to volley a serveafter it has hit the front wall. If theserver wins the point, the twoplayers switch sides for thefollowing point.

PlayAfter the serve, the players take

turns hitting the ball against the frontwall, above the in and below the outline. The ball may strike the side orback walls at any time, as long as ithits below the out line. It must not hitthe floor after hitting the racket andbefore hitting the front wall. A balllanding on either the out line or theline along the top of the tin isconsidered to be out. After the ball hitsthe front wall, it is allowed to bounceonce on the floor (and any number oftimes against the side or back walls)before a player must return it. Playersmay move anywhere around the courtbut accidental or deliberateobstruction of the other player’smovements is forbidden. Playerstypically return to the center of thecourt after making a shot.

Scoring systemsSquash scoring systems have

evolved over time. The original scoringsystem is known as English scoring,also called hand-out scoring. Underthis system, if the server wins a rally,they receive a point, while if thereturner wins the rally, only the servicechanges (i.e., the ball goes “hand-out”)and no point is given. The first playerto reach 9 points wins the game.However, if the score reaches 8-8, theplayer who was first to reach 8 decideswhether the game will be played to 9,as before (called “set one”), or to 10(called “set two”). At one time thisscoring system was preferred inBritain, and also among countrieswith traditional British ties, such asAustralia, Canada, Pakistan, SouthAfrica and India.

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012PAGE 46

City LifeAngwan Baba: Abandonedsettlement of Nasarawa

With Stanley Onyekwere08138559513

CITY BRIEF:

Got interesting stories about life or happenings in your neighbourhood? Contact CityLife, and let others readabout them. Send suggestions/comments with your names and phone numbers via mycitybeat2pml@gmail.com.

Abuja taxi driver winsSEC’s N2.5 m integrityaward

Mr. Imeh Usuah, a taxidriver, at the Nnamdi AzikiweInternational, Abuja, recentlyemerged the winner of theSecurities and ExchangeCommission's (SEC) maidenIntegrity Award.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Usuah wasawarded a plaque and N2.5million for his honesty.

Usua, accompanied by hiswife Mercy was celebrated by thecapital market community forreturning N18 million forgottenin his taxi cab in 2007 by acustomer.

Usuah a former workshopforeman with Julius Berger Plchad earlier been acknowledgedand commended by fourdifferent groups in the country.

In his response, Usuah, anative of Ubokudom in AkwaIbom, commended thecommission for the gesture anddevoted the award to the unsunghonest and committed Nigeriansacross the country.”

Court jails 4 guards forstealing plastic chairs

Four security guards havebeen sentenced to one yearimprisonment for stealingchairs valued at N500, 000 byan Abeokuta Chief Magistrates’Court.

The prosecutor, ASP PaulEtusi, had told the court duringtrial that Dauda Ganiyu (29),Owolabo Olanlokun, (42),Adewole Adekanmi (33) andAdamu Umoru (37), committedthe offence on April 24, 2012.

According to him, oneAdebayo Ayoade, who allegedlybought the stolen chairs, wasdischarged and acquitted on theground that he was not awarethat the chairs were stolen.

Etusi said the convicts conspiredto steal the chairs at about 6 .00a.m. at OK Events Centre, IbaraHousing Estate, Abeokuta.

The prosecutor, who said theconvicts stole 299 plastic and129 banquet chairs valued at N500,000, added that the offencewas punishable under sections516, 390 (6) and 427 of theCriminal Code of Ogun, 2006.

The defence counsel, MrBamidele Yusuf, had urged thecourt to temper justice withmercy while sentencing theconvicts who had pleaded notguilty to the two-count chargeof conspiracy and theft.

Chief Magistrate AyoadeleAyobolu, however, sentencedeach of them to one yearimprisonment with an option ofN10, 000 fine. (NAN)

L i f e in Angwan Baba, asmall settlement areanear New Nyanya, in

Karu local government area ofNarasarawa state, can best bedescribed as survival of thefittest. Heads sway ultimatelyas its common features paint thepicture of a primordial society;no thanks to serious lack of basicfacilities like electricity, water,access road, health care andsecurity. Located just fewmeters away from Karu localgovernment Secretariat, thelook of the deplorable entry oraccess points in a few words,tells anyone who cares to darethe place, what to expect.

Historically, the placederived its name from oneAgubi Baba, 80 years old famerwho first settled in the placewith his family in 2004, fromPlateau State. It is one out of themany yields of Abuja populationoverlap and causality ofdemolition exercise carried outin the FCT.

With an estimatedpopulation of about 200,000residents, the place appearsseemingly abandoned andrejected by the ruling glass,thereby depriving it of featuresof modernity.

Upon getting to the place, oneis left to wonder at the glaringnon -existence of developmentwhich most modern societies areaccustomed to in this lonelysettlement, giving its proximityto Abuja city. This hasremained a mystery over time.

With no tarred roads anddiverse unorganized structures,the area can be best describedas battle fields and refuge placesfor both visitors andinhabitants, who come incontact with the place almoston a daily basis.

In this lonely city, for watersupply, many rely on nature'sassistance through rain water;it is therefore a common sightto see containers litteringfrontage of houses, used to

collect rain falling from the sky.But things can get worse in thedry season as only a significantnumber of boreholes powered bygenerators provide water to itsteeming residents as othersources are no longerdependable at this period of theyear.

There is also boom in theactivities of water vendorspopularly known as Mai Ruwa,in the area for those who canafford to pay for their servicesas there is high demand for it.With acute scarcity of thisessential commodity tomankind's survival, thequality of life in this area canonly be imagined.

Also, the absence of policepost or patrol team assigned tothe area clearly depicts thefeature of disorderliness

associated with primordialsocieties, thus, unscrupulouselements in the community andother neighboring settlementsare having a free day. Thisfeature tends to make lifedifficult for residents since fromtime to time they unleash terroron innocent inhabitantswithout fear of arrest.

The result is the noticeablerising prevalence of social viceslike bag snatching, gangsterformation etc. by the marginal'strong ones' against themajority 'weak ones' in the area.

Although people are notoblivious of what the dangers ofthese extremely difficult andhardship ridden area pose forinhabitants, yet the placecontinues to record high influxof people settling there for onereason or the other.

At night, darkness envelopsAngwan Baba, due to theabsence of electricity, except forthe rays of bulb lights fromgenerators in few homes, tobrighten some parts of thesettlement. With the attendantunpleasant sounds from thisenergy source, giving theimpression of awkward animalsound in a jungle or a typicalprimordial village setting.

Interestingly during theday, most people leave the'jungle' for other orderlysocieties in search of their dailybread; only to return to theharsh realities of Angwan Baba.

As a way of relaxing, mostresidents rely heavily ongenerating sets to power theirelectronics and home appliancesto make life a little bitmeaningful in the 'jungle'.

CITY QUOTE

The catalogue of ormsis endless: until everyshape has found itscity, new cities willcontinue to be born.When the formsexhaust their varietyand come apart, the

“The city as a center where, any dayin any year, there may be a freshencounter with a new talent, a keenmind or a gifted specialist-this isessential to the life of a country. Toplay this role in our lives a city musthave a soul-a university, a great art ormusic school, a cathedral or a greatmosque or temple, a great laboratoryor scientific center, as well as thelibraries and museums andgalleries that bring past and presenttogether. A city must be a place wheregroups of women and men areseeking and developing the highestthings they know.”

—Margaret Mead

PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND SATURDAY 29— SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012 PAGE 47

From the PulpitWhy the word of God should be important to youG r e a t servant of God,

Dwight L. Moody said, "TheBible was not given to

increase our knowledge but to changeour lives" That is absolutely true.

In this message, I want to sharewith you reasons the Word of Godshould be important to you. These arepowerful truths you shouldn't jokewith.

-It is your power for salvation.(Rom 10:13-15, Ps119:41) No man canbe saved without receiving the Wordof God either by hearing or reading it.The Word is able to save a sinner andmake him a child of God. Why don'tyou invite Jesus into your heart now ifyou're not born again? Tell Jesus youare a sinner, confess him as yourSaviour and Lord, hand over your lifeto him and invite him into your heartnow. If you've done that sincerely, Icongratulate you. The next step for youis to join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church in your area whereyou'll be taught how to live your newlife in Christ Jesus. Meet the pastor, tellhim you've just given your life to Jesus,and he'll take you through the church'sprogramme for new converts.

-It is your power for reconciliation.(2 Cor 5:19) The only means by whichthe world can be reconciled back to Godis by preaching the Word of God tosinners. If you are born again, it is yourduty to see that others are saved just asyou have been saved. What are youdoing about that? He that wins souls iswise. (Pro 11:30)

-It is your nourishment for growth.(1Peter 2:2) The Word of God is milkfor new born babies and meat as well

GREENGREENGREENGREENGREENPPPPPASTURESASTURESASTURESASTURESASTURESBy Pastor T.O. Banso

cedarministryintl@yahoo.comGSM: 08033113523

as strong meat for mature believers. (1Cor 3:2, Heb 5:12-14) Without physicalfood, a human being will not grownormally. Without the Word of God, achild of God cannot grow spiritually.Because many Christians are nottaking balanced diet of the Word of Godthey are suffering from spiritualkwashiorkor! Feed on the Word of Godregularly - not on favourite scripturesbut on the entire Word.

-It is your access to the life of God.(1John 1:1-2, Phil 2:16, John 10:10,Ps119:50) The Word of God will giveyou life; it will revive you and refreshyou.

-It is your protection against sin.The Word of God will keep you awayfrom sin when you study it, meditateon it day and night, keep it in your heartand allow it to control both yourthoughts and your actions. "I havehidden your word in my heart, that Imight not sin against you." (Ps 119:11NLT) Exposing your mind to the Wordof God regularly and continuouslybrings about a renewal of your mindwhich results in your transformation.Then you won't be configured orconformed to the present age full of sin.The Word of God is the antidote to sin.(Heb 12:2)

-It is your pathway to faith. (Rom10:8,17) Faith comes by the continuoushearing of the Word of God not by anyother means. The more of the Word ofGod you hear, the more the faith youaccess. And without faith, it isimpossible to please God. (Heb 11:6)Without faith, there is very little youcan accomplish in life as a child of God,so don't cheat yourself by despising the

Word of God.-It is your creative power. (Heb 11:1,

Gen 1:1, John 1:1) When you put theWord of God in your mouth and youkeep confessing it, the Word will createfor you what you are speaking. Godframed the worlds by the Word of Hismouth. By the Word of God in yourmouth, you can frame your own worldto become what you desire accordingto God's plan for your life. Stopspeaking negative words; stopengaging in evil speaking - words thatGod has not said - and you will see greatchanges in your life.

-It is your key to good success. (Josh1:8) Regular meditation on the Word ofGod and consistent confession day andnight plus obedience will give you goodsuccess in life. You cannot fail when youdo this. You may get success throughother means but good success comesONLY through the Word of God.

-It is your light for illumination anddirection. (Ps 119:105, 133) The wordof God will illuminate your path andgive you direction in life. With the Wordof God, you cannot miss your way. HisWord brings light and direction.

-It is your medicine for healing andweapon of deliverance. (Ps107:20)There is healing anddeliverance in the Word of God. Do youneed healing or deliverance? Get thescriptures that promise you these andbegin to confess them regularly, andyour healing and deliverance willmanifest soon. But make sure you don'tgive up even if it looks as if nothing ishappening. Walk by faith and not bysight (2 Cor 5:7).

-It is your weapon of victory. (Rev

12:11) The Word of God is the Swordof the Spirit (Eph 6:17). By the Word,you will overcome every enemy andopposition. Don't joke with the Word.Why should you play with the weaponthat will guarantee your victory?

-It is your infallible prophecy. (2Peter 1:19) It is sure-fire. None of theWord of God shall go unfulfilled. It shallcome to pass. Don't trivialize prophecy.The Bible says not to despiseprophesying (1 Thess 5:20). Value yourinfallible prophecy for it shall come topass.

-It is your unfailing promise. Thereare exceeding great and preciouspromises in the Bible. You need tostudy the Bible and appropriate theminto your life. (2 Peter 1:4) His word toSarah was a word of promise and theLord fulfilled it; she gave birth to Isaac,the child of promise as God had said(Rom 9:9). "God is not a man that Heshould lie; neither the son of man thatHe should repent. Has he said, andshall he not do it? Or has he spoken,and shall he not make it good? (Num23:19) It is impossible for God to lie(Heb 6:18). God cannot lie; He will doas He has promised (Titus 1:4).

-It is your realizable hope. (Ps119:81, 114, 140) The Word of God givesyou hope that is realizable because the

Author (God) has no limitation. He hasthe power, the credibility, the integrityand the resources to do what He haspromised you. Therefore your hope isnot a misplaced hope. Let your hopenot be in mere human philosophywhich leads to frustration because itonly gives false expectation; it cannotdeliver.

-It is your water of cleansing. (Eph5:25) The Word of God has the powerto clean up your life no matter how dirtyyour life has been. As you are exposedto the truth of the Word of Godregularly, you are being cleansed. Themirror of the Word of God allows youto see what is wrong in your life andgives you the divine enablement tomake amends. (James 1:23-25) Butyour obedience is required.

-Having read this message, Godexpects you to cultivate and develop apositive attitude to His Word.Reverence God's Word, listen to it,study it, meditate on it, confess it andabove all obey it. Be a doer of the Wordand not a hearer or reader alonedeluding yourself. The blessing is to thedoer and not the hearer or reader(James 1:23). If you're willing andobedient, you shall eat the good (best)of the land (Is 1:19). This shall beportion in Jesus' name.

FFFFFAITHAITHAITHAITHAITHDISCOURSEDISCOURSEDISCOURSEDISCOURSEDISCOURSE

WITH

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

Hebrews 11:3

Faith is necessary, essential andindispensable to life – eternal life,abundant life, happy, healthy

and holy life, fruitful and fulfilled life.Faith – true, vibrant, dynamic, positivelyproductive faith – must be in the trueand living God. Faith in dead gods anddeceptive, impotent men isdisappointing and damning. Faith inself is deluding and destructive. Faith inman-made system and Satan’sfalsehood is dangerous and deadly. God,the true God, the living God, the eternalGod, the mighty and powerful God, thefaithful God, the unchanging andinfallible God, the loving and caring Godmust be the object, foundation and focusof our faith. This is the only true God,who “framed,” formed, made, created“the worlds” by His Word. The “thingswhich are seen were not made of thingswhich do appear.” Man has to usematerial things, which already exist tomake or manufacture new products.God created all things out of nothing.He is God of all power, of infinite ability.

God is who He is, whether we knowHim or not. God can do all things; willdo what He can do, whether we know itor not. A father is who he is and can dowhatever he can do, whether his childknows it or not. Knowing what thefather can do, who he is and what he iswilling to do gives the child trust,confidence and peace of mind. Knowingwho God is, what His power andauthority can accomplish, what He hasdone and promised to do, how faithful,loving and caring He is grants His childtrust, confidence and faith. We have fullassurance, firm confidence,unshakeable persuasion that our Godwill do all He said He will do. Faithpermits its possessor to rejoice in firmassurance while waiting for the

accomplishment of the promise givenby God. Knowing who God is, thebeliever is “fully persuaded that, whatHe had promised, He is able also toperform” (Romans 4:21).

1. THE POWER OF GOD’SSPOKEN WORD

Hebrews 11:3; Genesis 1:1-31;Psalms 33:6-11; 148:5,6; Isaiah 42:5;55:8-11; Jeremiah 32:17,26,27; Ezekiel12:25,28; Matthew 22:29; Luke 1:34-37;Romans 4:17; Revelation 4:11.

How mighty and powerful is ourGod! “The worlds were framed by theword of God.” The whole universe wascreated by God out of nothing. Theability to create belongs to God alone.The vastness of the created universeindicates that God’s power is infinite,without limits. Consider the vastness ofour universe. If you could somehow put1-2 million earths inside the sun, youwould still have room left for 4.3 millionmoons. The sun is 865,000 miles indiameter and is 93 million miles fromthe earth. Our next nearest star, AlphaCentauri, is 5 times larger than our sun.The moon is 211,463 miles away, andyou could walk to it in 27 years. A ray oflight travels at 186,000 miles persecond; so a beam of light would reachthe moon in only 1½ seconds. If wecould travel at that speed, it would take2 minutes, 18 seconds to reach Venus,4½ minutes to reach Mercury, one hourand 11 seconds to reach Saturn, and soon. To reach Pluto, 2.7 billion miles fromEarth, would take nearly 4 hours.Having got that far, we would still bewell inside our own solar system. TheNorth Star is 400 trillion miles away,

but is still nearby in relation even toknown space. Who created all these? Itcannot be an accident. Somebody hadto make it. Christ affirmed that God isthe Creator. And this great, almighty,omnipotent Creator-God is Father to allwho believe in Christ. Such a mightyGod can recreate, refashion, transformand renew your entire life.

2. THE POTENTIALS OFCHRIST’S SUPERNATURAL WORD

Hebrews 11:3; 1:1-3; John 1:3;Colossians 1:15-19; 2:9,10; Luke 4:32-36; Matthew 8:5-13;

Mark 11:12-14,20-24; John 5:1-9;11:39-45; Mark 4:39-41; 9:17-27.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour,was involved in the creation of “theworlds”. “All things were made by Him;and without Him was not any thingmade that was made”. “For by Him wereall things created, that are in heaven, andthat are in earth, visible and invisible,whether they be thrones, or dominions,or principalities, or powers: all thingswere created by Him, and for Him.”

Christ, our Saviour, our Sanctifier, ourHealer, our Deliverer, our Baptizer, ourDefender, our Provider, is powerful andmighty beyond any limit. In fact, thewhole creation, the entire universe isbeing upheld and sustained by Christ.“His Son, by whom also He made theworlds; Who being the brightness of Hisglory, and the express image of HisPerson, and upholding all things by theword of His power” (Hebrews 1:2,3).Everything in the universe is sustainedright now by Jesus Christ. By Hispowerful word or command, Heupholds or sustains all things – rocks,mountains, seas, animals, men, earth,stars, planets, all distant worlds, theuniverse – by the word of His power.Christ, with the prevailing word of Hispre-eminent power upholds andsustains all things. Nothing can resistHis Word. Surrendering your whole lifeto Him, all things will come under theirresistible power of His Word. Neithersin nor self, Satan nor evil spirit, sicknessnor satanic affliction, disease nor plague,

infirmity nor infertility, curses norbondage can resist His authority andpower. We have faith in Him becauseHe cannot fail.

3. THE POSSIBILITIES OF OURSPOKEN WORD

Hebrews 2:4; Mark 16:19,20; Acts3:1-10; 9:32-43; 13:6-12; 14:7-10;Matthew 17:20; 21:18-22; Mark 11:22-24; Luke 17:5,6; 2 Corinthians 4:13;Romans 4:17-21.

“Things which are seen were notmade of things which do appear.” God’screative words called all things intoexistence, calling “those things which benot as though they were” (Romans 4:17).God’s words are creative words; Christ’swords are miracle-working words. TheLord has bestowed divine authority andpower on His servants and His believingchildren. The spoken word of Moses,Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, David, Isaiah,Samuel, Jeremiah and many others in theOld Testament had power (Exodus14:13,28-31; Joshua 10:12-14; 1 Samuel12:18; 17:45-47; 1 Kings 17:1,8-16; 2 Kings7:1,2,16-20; Isaiah 37:33-38; Jeremiah28:15-17). The Apostles and NewTestament believers also did great exploitswith spoken words of faith, power andauthority. To possess and manifest suchauthority, let us fully give ourselves to theLord and receive the gift of faith. Then letus learn not to speak our own words.Speak God’s word. Give voice to God’ssupernatural Word. Say what Christwould have said to the mountain, to thesickness, to the situation. Speak only whatthe Holy Spirit says in every situation. TheAlmighty God will confirm His Word inthe believer’s mouth.

Faith in God’s spoken word

The Spirit of The WestSATURDAY 29 — SUNDAY 30, SEPTEMBER, 2012

BIG PUNCHBIG PUNCHBIG PUNCHBIG PUNCHBIG PUNCH

K a r e n Armstrong statesin Holy War that theCrusade introduced in

Europe a particular form ofdisease. The disease is neurosis,the disease was endemic, thedisease was genetic. 'TheMuslim,' she says, 'became thehated shadow-self of the WesternChristian, hated therefore withan irrational and neuroticintensity.' Europe, beingcollectively neurotic, beingchronically schizophrenic, founditself utterly unable to relatewith Islam rationally and with ahealthy and sane mind. Instead,it was relating to Islam on thebasis of, as Armstrong asserts, 'afantasy that had little to do withIslam,' and, as a result, 'theMuslim had acquired an identityin the West that was entirely aWestern creation and did notspring from real contact withMuslims.' And yet it was thisfantasy that eventually shapedthe mind and attitude of Europeand the West towards Islam fromthe eleventh century to this day.In short, in the words ofArmstrong: 'The relationshipwith Islam and the Arab worldwas too complicated for people tocope with in a balanced way.Crusading had made a blindhatred [of Islam] an essential partof the Western identify.'Armstrong quotes the Italianscholar and novelist, UmbertoEco's summation of the enduringinfluence of the Crusade onWestern Civilization, past andpresent: 'All our majorpreoccupation and passions wereforged at that time.' That isperhaps to say, as it were, theCrusade, as a culture, as anenterprise, as a cause, isintertwined with the destiny ofthe West.

But we must turn toMuhammad Asad to understandbetter the meaning of the West,first and foremost to Muslimsand, in the wider context, to thewhole world. We have seen thatin its infancy, the West had beenshaped by a neurotic andschizophrenic attitude to Islam,which, overtime, solidified as thevery foundation of European andWestern preoccupation, passion,character, in short, identity. Wealso know, however, that in thecourse of the centuries, the Westhad gradually disengaged itselffrom Christianity and had sincereverted, culturally, morally, infact, in almost every facet of life,

"I think Labaran Maku is a careless talker. He talksvery carelessly. He did not think properly. He is not aneducator and we need to educate him. I hope the Presidentcautions him and calls him to order. And I think the nexttime he does that, we will take resolution on any ministerwho talks carelessly to be removed."—Senate President, David Mark tearing LabaranMaku apart over his comments on Senateresolutions

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WEEKENDWEEKENDWEEKENDWEEKENDWEEKENDwith

Ibraheem Sulaiman

sa427420@gmail.com

British PM, David Cameron

to it's primordial origin, theRoman Civilization. WesternCivilization is intrinsicallyRoman, not Christian. RomanEmpire was firmly andunequivocally rooted inpolytheism and, as such, it waspagan in every respect, it wasunahamedly racial, itmaintained a zero, or perhaps, asub zero morality in its conduct,it manifested a deep-seatedaversion to the Supreme God.The empire's singular goal waspower: power for its own sake,and hence, the collosal it wassustained by subjugation,enslavement, exploitation andcolonization. The colonies, it isstated, were continuallyransacked to provide pleasureand comfort for the Romans.How close and intimate is thechild, the West, to the father,Roman Empire, is explained byAsad.

Asad depicts the essentialcharacter of the father asfollows:

'The idea underlying theRoman Empire was conquest ofpower and the exploitation ofother nations for the benefit of themother country alone. Topromote better living for aprivileged group, for the Romansno violence was too harsh, noinjustice too base. The famous"Roman justice" was justice forthe Romans alone. It is clear thatsuch an attitude was possibleonly on the basis of an entirelymaterialistic conception of lifeand civilization - a materialismcertainly refined by intellectualand aesthetic taste, but none theless foreign to all spiritual values.The Romans never in realityknew religion. Their traditionalgods were a pale imitation ofGreek mythology, merecolourless ghosts silentlyaccepted for the benefit of socialconvention. In no way were thosegods allowed to interfere with"real" life. When consulted, theyhad to give oracles through themedium of their priests; but theywere never supposed to confermoral laws upon men or to directtheir actions.'

Asad then describes theessential character of the son asfollows:

'But modern Westerncivilization does not recognize thenecessity of man's submission toanything save economic or socialor national requirements. Itsreal deity is not of a spiritual kind:

it is Comfort. And its real, livingphilosophy is expressed in a Willto Power for power's sake. Bothhave been inherited from the oldRoman civilization. The averageOccidental - be he a Democrat ora Fascist, a Capitalist or aCommunist, a manual worker oran intellectual - knows only onepositive "religion", and that is theworship of material progress, thebelief that there is no other goalin life than to make that verylife continually easier or, as thecurrent expression goes,"independent of Nature". Thetemples of this "religion" are thegigantic factories, cinemas,chemical laboratories, dance-halls, hydro-electric works: andits priests are bankers, engineers,film stars, captains of industry,record sportsmen. Theunavoidable result of thiscraving for power and pleasureis the creation of hostile groupsarmed to the teeth anddetermined to destroy each otherwhenever and wherever theirrespective interests clash. And onthe cultural side, the result is the

creation of a human type whosemorality is confined to thequestion of practical utilityalone, and whose highestcriterion of good and evil ismaterial success.'

The great majority of nationshave been at one time or anotherransacked and desolated in orderto satisfy the West's insatiableand never-ending quest forpower and comfort. And as longas this quest continues with thesame energy and intensity as hasbeen the case so far, the wholeworld and the whole of Mankindwill be perpetually imperiled:either the West controls theresources of all nations and allpeople to make its own nationsand its own people enjoy powerand comfort and pleasure or itgoes up in flames; either thenations and the people of theworld submit to hegemony orthey perish. The greatphilosopher, Bertrand Russel,[quoted by Noam Chomsky, inHegemony or Survival,] projectsa rather bleak outcome were thematerialistic civilization to

prevail. 'After ages during whichthe earth produced harmlesstrilobites and butterflies,' hewrote, 'evolution progressed tothe point at which it hasgenerated Neros, GenghisKhans, and Hitlers. This,however, I believe is a passingnightmare; in time the earth willbecome again incapable ofsupporting life, and peace willreturn.' Peace, in the Romanlogic, is attained when the earthis completely laid to waste, afterevery nation has been despoiled,every people have beendevastated, and every valuablepossession of others has beeneither plundered or destroyed.

Europe's journey back fromChristianity to Rome was longand turbulent. It began inearnest with the Renaissance, anintellectual and socialmovement which was to blossomlater into the ScientificRevolution, and subsequentlyFrench Revolution, andIndustrial Revolution. 'With theapproach of Islamic civilizationa new intellectual light dawnedon the skies of the West andinfused it with fresh life and athirst for progress,' MuhammadAsad observes. 'It is no more thanin just appreciation of its valuethat European historians termthat period of regeneration theRenaissance - that is, "re-birth".It was, in fact, a re-birth of Europeas such.' The Rennaissace, ineffect, brought about a cosmictransformation of the world. InEurope especially, it overthrewin one fell swoop the Church, theMonarchy and Aristocracy, andenthroned the scientific spirit, aswell as universal access toeducation, power and basicfreedoms. The tragedy for thenew world, however, was thatwhile the Rennaissace wastriggered by Islam, Europe wasdenied access to Islam - thanks torelentless campaigns againstIslam by the Church - in thespiritual domain and not just inthe scientific and philosophicaldomains. Ironically Islam hasbecome its main target for abuse,for aggression, for war. Inconsequence we are now saddledwith the excesses and delinquencyof a one-eyed civilization, perhapthe strongest material andtechnological power ever to gracethe earth, but perhaps also themost destructive to material andspiritual well being ofhumankind.