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Vol. 10 No. 37 Tuesday, February 19, 2013 Rabiul Akhir 9, 1434 AH N150 . . . putting the people first

From left: Governor Umaru Al-makura of Nasarawa state; his deputy, Dameshi Luka; Speaker, Ahmed Mohammedand Chief Judge, Suleiman Umaru-Dikko at the submission of Agyragu crisis report, yesterday in Lafia.

Ansaru claimsresponsibility for

kidnap of 8 foreigners>> PAGE 3>> PAGE 3>> PAGE 2

One killed inLagos explosion

Jonathan orders securityagencies to rescue

abducted expatriate

Presidency has lostcredibility – ACN

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From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Mrs Jonathan’s revelation

Contd on Page 2

The Action Congress ofNigeria (ACN) hascongratulated First Lady

Patience Jonathan for hermiraculous return from the dead,while slamming the presidencyfor losing whatever is left of itscredibility over its handling of theFirst Lady's illness saga.

In a statement issued in Lagosyesterday by its NationalPublicity Secretary, Alhaji LaiMohammed, the party said therevelation by the first lady on theextent of her illness, especially thefact that she passed out for sevendays before she said Godmiraculously brought her back tolife elicits joy among Nigerians,irrespective of their politicalleanings.

However, Nigerians must bewondering why the governmentthey elected into office chose to lieto them that the first lady washolidaying abroad when indeedshe was gravely ill in a foreignhospital.

“While we felicitate with thefirst lady of the Federal Republicof Nigeria on her recovery fromwhatever illness it was that

By Miriam Humbe

Contd on Page 2

The Minister of Works Arc.Mike Onolememendisagreed with a Senate

position yesterday over a claim ofa contract sum of N33 billionallegedly paid to a contractor forthe maintenance of the thirdmainland bridge in Lagos.

Also, contrary to fears that theThird Mainland Bridge in Lagosmay soon collapse due to thevibration experienced around itby road users, the Minister

assured that the bridge is safe.The minister said these

yesterday at the InvestigativeHearing before the SenateCommittee on Works at theNational Assembly led by itschairman, Senator Ayogu Eze.

The Investigative Hearing

which was held in respect of theThird Mainland Bridge and theFirst and Second Niger Bridgeswas fallout of the motion recentlyraised on the floor of the senate tothe effect that the bridge wasunder threat of imminentcollapse.

Senator Ayogu Eze whochaired the hearing said, “It wasmade known to senate that exceptsteps are taken fast, the ThirdMainland Bridge may collapseany time soon”.

Senator Eze also raised the

Minister, senators disagreeover N33bn bridge contract

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-10

Editorial 12

Op.Ed 13

Letters 14

Opinion 15

Metro 16-18

Business 19-22

S/Exchange 23

S/Report 24-25

Newsxtra 26

Feature 27

Agric 28-29

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After stealing billions,grounding NigeriaAirways, indicted

officials still enjoy loot,Page 4

WE WANTTO HEAR

FROM YOU

Int’l 31-34

Strange World 35

Digest 36

Politics 37-39

Sports 41-45

Leisure 47

Columnist 48

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013PAGE 2

afflicted her, we will be remiss ifwe fail to recollect how thepresidency denied 'rumours' of herillness and poured scorn on themedia and the imaginaryenemies of the government forfuelling the 'satanic rumours'.

“We will also like to remind thepresidency that its denial, insteadof full disclosure that would haveelicited nothing more thanfervent prayers from Nigerians,fuelled the rumours that the FirstLady suffered from sundryafflictions or the consequences oftummy tuck!'' ACN said.

The party said that in one ofthe many rebuttals, the firstlady's spokesperson, Ayo Osinlu,was quoted to have said she (MrsJonathan) travelled abroad totake a 'moment's rest', given thatshe had not taken a rest sincePresident Jonathan's election.

Osinlu had told Nigerians inthe heat of the illness saga: ''If youlook at her itinerary in August

(2012), you will be wonderinghow she was able to accomplishthat. In the course of this week,she will be back home. Butremember, it all depends on herplans.''

ACN also recalled that theSpecial Adviser to the Presidenton Media and Publicity, Dr.Reuben Abati, dismissed Mrs.Jonathan's reported illness as arumour, saying ''there is nothinglike that.''

It said that amid all the denials,the President himself maintaineda stoic mien and carried on withhis duties as if all was well, therebylending credibility to the lies anddeceit.

''The issue here is simple If thepresidency can so shamefacedlylie on an issue of such publicinterest as the health of the FirstLady, why should we not believeit can lie on any other issue,whether it is economy, politics,social development or any othermatter? For how long has this

Presidency has lost credibility – ACNContd from Page 1

Jonathan orders security agencies torescue abducted expatriate

issue of an alleged contract sum ofN33 billion which was expectedto have been paid to a consultant,Nigerian Submarine Divers[NSD] Limited, by the ministry.

To this, the minister promptlyresponded by saying that “no

consultant has said we should payN33 billion. The memo came tome but I refused to approve itbecause ideally, it would have costno more than N5 billion”.

Committee member, SenatorBarnabas Gemade who hadlistened to the minister’s defence

Minister, senators disagree over N33bn bridge contractContd from Page 1

presidency been misleadingNigerians on critical issues,since we now have reason todoubt its credibility? Does itoccur to this presidency that ithas turned Nigeria to a laughingstock by its now routine denialsof the truth?

''Like we have said time andagain, any government needs tobe credible to win the trust of thecitizens, without which it cannotgovern effectively. With therevelation by our back-from-the-dead First Lady, it is clear that theJonathan Presidency has egg onits face, and must apologise toNigerians for lying to them. Also,the spokesmen for thisgovernment have lost totalcredibility, hence their words willhenceforth be taken with a pinchof salt,'' the party said.

It reiterated its earlier standthat the health of public officialscannot and must not be a closetaffair, because it is of publicinterest. While it may be argued,

though not conceded, that theFirst Lady is not a public officialby virtue of her position, she is apublic official by virtue of herbeing a Permanent Secretary inBayelsa State!

''It is sad that despite what weand many Nigerian groups andindividuals have said on thisissue, the Jonathanadministration took its scriptdirectly from the Yar'adua group'sbook of deceit when the latePresident was ill and flownabroad. Now, Governors SullivanChime of Enugu, Danbaba Suntaiof Taraba and Liyel Imoke of CrossRiver are all playing according tothe Jonathan script.

''We are therefore renewing ourcall for openness and full disclosureon the state of health of publicofficials. Life itself is transient, letalone positions. And as a spiritualleader of the calibre of PopeBenedict has shown recently, nooffice is more important than lifeitself,'' ACN said.

By Abdurahman Abdulraheem,with agency reports

President GoodluckJonathan has orderedsecurity agencies to take all

necessary action to locate andrescue foreign constructionworkers abducted from their campby gunmen on Sunday in BauchiState.

The directive is contained in astatement issued on Monday inAbuja by the Special Adviser to thePresident on Media and Publicity,Dr Reuben Abati.

According to the statement,the president commiserated withthe family of the guard reportedlykilled in the attack.

Jonathan assured therelatives of the kidnapped foreign

workers as well as thegovernments of their countriesthat the security agencies weredoing everything possible to findthem.

The president, who said thatthe government would ensurethe safe release of all thoseabducted, condemned thekidnapping of the workers andreaffirmed the government’s

total commitment to stampingout all forms of terrorism andcriminal abduction in thecountry.

Jonathan also urged Nigeriansand foreigners in the country tocontinue to go about their normalbusiness, adding that securityagencies were working to curbthreats to security in all parts ofNigeria.

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

The Federal High Court inLagos has awarded N10million in favour of Capital

Oil & Gas and its Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Mr Ifeanyi Ubah over hisillegal detention in police custodyfor 10 days.

The sum was awarded asdamages against the Inspector

General Of Police, MohammedAbubakar, the Commissioner ofPolice of the Special Fraud Unit,Tunde Ogunsakin, the Chairmanof Access Bank, Mr Aig-Imokhuede,and the CEO of Coscharis Motors,Cosmas Maduka jointly for breachof the fundamental human rightsof Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah.

In his judgment, JusticeChukwujekwu Aneke quashed and

set aside the Presidential Report onFuel Subsidy by Aig-Imokhuedeand the Police Interim Report thatindicted Ifeanyi Ubah on fuelsubsidy.

In quashing the report, thecourt held that it was not obtainedunder a favourable condition asthere was conflict of interestarising from the report of Aig-Imokhuede.

The court also faulted the policereport compiled by Mr. TundeOgunsakin who is also a memberof the presidential task force whichindicted him on the fuel subsidy.

The court held that they wereboth investigators and prosecutorsat the same time and alsorestrained the police from re-arresting or investigating thecapital oil boss.

Subsidy Scam: Court orders IG, others to pay Ubah N10m

said the hearing arose as a result ofa disagreement between theministry and its consultant whichled to the motion on the floor of thesenate.

“Someone might have blownthe whistle prematurely on thisissue”, he said.

The minister said the First NigerBridge at Onitsha was also not likelyto collapse soon adding that whencompleted, both the First and SecondBridges will be used simultaneouslywith the first Niger Bridge beingreserved for local runs betweenAmambra and Delta states.

By Umar Muhammad Puma

The crisis rocking the AllProgressive Grand Alliance(APGA) took a different

dimension yesterday as the ActingNational Chairman, Alh. SadeeqMasalla rejected the outcome of theSaturday's National Caucusmeeting.

At the meeting in Abuja, MaxiOkwu and Alh. Sani Shinkafi wereelected in acting capacities as the

National Chairman and NationalSecretary respectively, followingthe removal of Sir Victor Umeh ina judgment by the Enugu ChiefJudge, Justice InnocentUmezulike.

The meeting was attended bythe Anambra State Governor,Peter Obi, who said APGA is not inthe merger arrangement.

But addressing journalists inAbuja yesterday, Masalla said heremains the authentic Acting

National Chairman as appointedby the National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC) of the party onJuly 16, 2012.

He also disagreed with Obistating that APGA was not opposedto merger but that due processmust be followed. With him wasthe Acting National Secretary,Ifedi Okwenna.

Citing APGA's constitution,Masalla said the National Caucus"has no power to elect and give to

APGA interim National WorkingCommittee (NWC) and NECmembers".

According to him, thecaucus "is an advisory bodythat receives financialstatements from NEC fordiscussion and advise" and aplatform for the reconciliationof differences between seniorparty members and to ensurethat there is peace in the partyand the nation".

I'm the authentic national chairman of APGA - Massalla

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 PAGE 3

Islamist group, Ansaru, claimsresponsibility for kidnap of 8 foreignersA group known as Jama’atu

Ansarul Musilimina FiBiladis Sudan, popularly

referred to as Ansaru, has claimedresponsibility for Sunday’s kidnapof seven foreign workers inJama’are Town of Bauchi State.

In a statement made availableto journalists yesterday, the groupsaid “By Allah’s grace, we have thecustody of seven persons, whichinclude Lebanese and theirEuropean counterparts workingwith SETRACO ConstructionCompany, an online newsmedium said.

They said the men werekidnapped because of the

“transgressions done to the religionof Allah by European nations inmany places such as Afghanistanand Mali.”

Gunmen in the early hours ofSunday stormed a compoundhousing Setraco expatriate staff inJama’are where they killed asecurity guard and abducted oneBriton, an Italian, a Greek and fourLebanese workers.

The Ansaru, helpers in Arabic,group emerged in June last year;and in a video message posted toYoutube by their leader, AbuUsamatul Ansar, pledged to defendthe interest of Islam and Muslimsin Africa.

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi,with agency reports

They had already claimedresponsibility for the November2012 attack on the office of theSpecial Anti Robbery Squad, SARSAbuja where one person wasreportedly killed and severalprisoners freed.

The group also claimedresponsibility for the bombexplosion that claimed the lives oftwo Mali bound soldiers on January19, 2013 at Itape, Ekehi LocalGovernment Area of Kogi State.

Meanwhile, the managementof SETRACO ConstructionCompany in Jamare hasevacuated all foreign workers justas the whereabouts of 7 foreigners

kidnapped in Bauchi state lastSaturday remain unknown.

The Public Relation Officer ofthe company, Abu Malik disclosedthis to newsmen in a telephoneinterview saying all the foreignworkers have been evacuated toAbuja temporarily.

He said the operation of theSETRACO Construction Companyin Jamare has been shut downtemporarily pending on wheninvestigation is concluded andwhen everything is calm

Speaking on the where a boutsof the victims, the spokes man ofthe company said they were yet toestablish any contact with the

kidnappers.Meanwhile, the Bauchi state

Police Commissioner, MohammedLadan said investigation was stillongoing on the abduction of theexpatriates.

It would be recalled thatgunmen attacked the camp ofSetraco Construction Company inJamare killing a security guardin the company before abductingthe seven expatriates. Amongthose kidnapped are 2 Lebanese, 2Syrians, an Italian, a Briton and aGreek.

Police also confirmedinvestigation is ongoing over theabduction of the foreign nationals.

SETRACO evacuates expatriate workers to Abuja

Trading activities on theNigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) yesterady opened on

a negative note as some major bluechips companies recorded losses inshares price.

According to the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN), the All-ShareIndex also depreciated by 6.95 basispoints, representing a marginaldrop of 0.02 per cent to close at33,251.51 points.

This was against 33,258.45recorded on Friday.

Also, the market capitalisationwhich opened at N10.642 trilliondepreciated by N2 billion to closeat N10.640 trillion.

NewGold led the losers’ chartwith a loss of N15 to close at N2,474 per unit.

Julius Berger came second withN5 to close at N61 per share, whileGlaxoSmithKline dropped byN2.75 to close at N52.34 per share.

Dangote Cement lost N1.20 toclose at N143.80, while Guinnessdipped by N1 to close at N289 pershare.

On the other hand, Nestle ledthe price gainers’ chart gainingN24.77 to close at N860 per share.

Dangote Sugar followed with39k to close at N880 per share,while BOC Gas grew by 32k to closeat N6.87 per share.

Stock marketdips by 0.02%

It was moment of despair for marketersand commuters under the bridgelinking Festac Town to Amuwo

Odofin Housing Estate, when a bombexploded killing one Oladele Pius andinjuring a police officer.

Eyewitness said Oladele died instantlyon the spot while the legs of a policeman whovisited the deceased were shattered.

Oladele was the chairman Sand DealersAssociation met the untimely death fewmetres away from his office.

In swift reaction, commissioner of policeLagos State Command, Mr. Umar Mankoand Head of Public Relations, NationalEmergency Management Agency, YushauShuaib denied that the expulsion is thehandy work of the Boko Haram sect.

Describing the assumption as needless,Shuaib played down speculations that theblast may have been an external attack.“People should please not speculate sinceinvestigations are on,” he said.

Manko also in a press briefing last nightsaid the expulsion was caused by anabandoned electronic, killing one andinjuring an inspector of police.

One killed in Lagos explosionPolice, NEMA dispel fear of Boko Haram

Tragedy struck in Katsina, yesterdayas five person perished in anaccident involving a Golf Car and a

Trailer along Malumfashi-Hayin Gadaroad.

The Katsina State Commandant of theFederal Road Safety Commission, FRSC,Alhaji Habu Dauda who confirmed theincident to our correspondent, noted theGolf car has registration number AG 119KKY while the Trailer has a registrationnumber, XM 437 FST.

Dauda noted that the accidentoccurred when the driver of the Golf carloaded with passengers attempted to dodge

potholes as a result of which he crashedinto the trailer.

He noted that among the dead includefour males and one female passengers ofthe Golf car.

Due to the increase in spate of accidentin the state, the state commandant notedthat he has mobilized his officers to thedreaded Malumfashi-Funtua-Kano routeto educate drivers on the need to avoidreckless driving.

Dauda lamented that Katsina Statewas now included in the high riskaccident states of the federation, addingthat they would soon organised astakeholders forum to discuss on ways toreverse the trend.

Five perish in Katsina auto crashFrom Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

Outgoing Commissioner of Police, Rivers state Command, Mohammed Indabawa (right) handing over a cheque toMrs. Faith Paul and her son, Godswill, at the presentation of cheques to wives and relatives of police officers whodied in active service in Rivers state, yesterday. Photo: NAN

From Ayodele Samuel and MatthewArumade, Lagos

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY, 19, 2013

After stealing billions, grounding NigeriaAirways, indicted officials still enjoy loot(I)While the Federal

Government hasconcluded plans to

spend N75 billion ($500million) to procure 30 aircraftfor airlines, none of thoseindicted, by a governmentWhite Paper ten years ago, forthe fraud andmisappropriations that led tothe collapse of the NigeriaAirways has been prosecuted ormade to return the money theystole.

A PREMIUM TIMESInvestigation revealed thatsome of those indicted are stillactive players in the aviationindustry and may directlybenefit from the government’sintervention. Nobody has beenprosecuted or convicted for his/her role in the scam.

In 2002, outraged that thenational carrier that had 32airworthy aircraft in the early1980s has only two functionalairplanes, former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo set up acommission of inquiry toinvestigate the management ofthe Nigerian Airways. Thecommission was mandated,amongst other things, to“examine all books of accountand records and determinewhether there has beencompliance with appropriateregulations.”

After a year’s work, thecommission submitted a four-volume report that revealedmind-boggling fraud,misappropriations and wantonrecklessness running intobillions of naira involvingseveral officials of the airline,administrators, travelagencies, financial institutionslocal and foreign companies, aswell as one prominentdevelopment organisation.

On December 11, 2002, theFederal Executive Council,FEC, the country’s highestdecision making body, met andapproved a draft White Paperon the commission’s report anddirected the Ministry of Justiceand the police to prosecute andrecover the stolen funds. It alsodirected the office of Secretaryto the government to gazettethe recommendations of theWhite Paper.

Nobody remembers whathappened afterwards, butneither did the police, JusticeMinistry or the Secretary to theGovernment of the Federationfollow through the FEC’sdirectives.

If they know whathappened, officials of thePresident Goodluck Jonathanadministration are unwillingto tell Nigerians. Media aide tothe president, Reuben Abati,did not respond to our questionsabout the status of the WhitePaper. Ambrose Momoh, the

media aide to the AttorneyGeneral and Minister ofJustice, could also not get hisboss to respond.

Mr. Momoh did not respondto our enquiries several weeksafter they were sent to him.

Just before he took ill andwas taken to Saudi Arabia fortreatment, the late President,Umaru Yar’Adua, had vowed,to those close to hisgovernment, to prosecute thoseindicted. That was the last thatwas heard of the report.

An orgy of fraud Findingsby the Justice Nwazota ledCommission of Inquiry revealedthat Nigerian Airways was runlike a repulsive orgy ofcorruption.

In total disregard for alldecency, huge sum of monieswere stolen andmisappropriated by the airlineofficials. Administratorsarbitrarily signed shadycontracts with agencies andcompanies without recourse toregulations, funds weredubiously deposited and lost inmoribund financialinstitutions; and airworthyairplanes were sold as junksand the money embezzled. Also,huge loans were taken on behalfof the airways and pocketed byprivate individuals.

The report painted abacchanal of fraud where everyadministration was jostling toout-steal the one before it.

Between 1997 and 1999“every project and contractwas conceived with fraudulentintent,” the report noted. TheManaging Director of theairline during the period, JaniIbrahim, was described as“fraudulent and highhanded.”It revealed that Mr. Ibrahim

treated the airline’s accountlike his personal wallet andsummarily sacked those “hethought were threats to hisfraudulent practices.”

Between 1997 and 1999,Mr. Ibrahim spent$4,052,234.00 (N607.84million) rental due to theairways without recourse to laydown regulations.

Also, he single-handedlypaid $1.78 million (N267.8million) without guarantee toa travel agency, AlpineAviation, for the 1999 Hajjoperation. Only $560, 000(N84 million) was recovered.The balance of $1.22 million(N183.75 million) was neverrecovered.

From 1997 to 1999, Mr.Ibrahim appointed a thirdparty company to collectrevenue on behalf of NigerianAirways even when the airlinehad the capacity to carry outthe job. He subsequently paid acommission and handlingcharge of $928,895 (N139million) to Hak Air, the agencyhe recruited for the purpose.

Mr. Ibrahim also presidedover the overpayment of $1.45million (N222 million) to Hak

Air for the overhauling of twoaircraft – DC10-30 and B737,the report stated.

Mr. Ibrahim also spentN607.84 million($4,052,234.50) being rentdue to the airline “withoutregard to laid downregulation.”

During the first C-Check ofan Airbus in Nigeria by Revilo,Mr. Ibrahim made an over-payment of N92.4 million($616,052.26). He also “single-handedly signed and disbursedN156 million ($1,039,439.00)without the signature of theairline’s financial director asregulation required.”

Between 1996 and 2001, healso unilaterally allotted 24plots of land belonging to theairline in Ayobo, a suburb ofLagos to non-staff members.

In keeping faith with hisauthoritarian approach toleadership, the committeefound that Mr. Ibrahim wentinto a Wet Lease agreementwith Al-Mahfooz that was to lastfor a year, but the venturecollapsed because Mr. Ibrahimexcluded the airline’s technicaldepartment. The failure of theagreement cost the airlineN247.28 million.

Mr. Ibrahim could not bereached for comment as hiswhereabouts remain unknown.

Banned from holding publicoffice Perhaps the biggestdamage done to the NigerianAirways by an individual wasdone by its former ManagingDirector of the company,Mohammed Joji.

Mr. Joji, a retired Air ForceCaptain and the currentSecretary General of AirlineOperators of Nigeria, AON, wasso unabashedly corrupt asstated in the report, that theFEC banned him from holdingpublic office in Nigeria.

The White Paper revealedthat in March 1993, Mr. Joji,who is the owner of Sky PowerExpress Airways, “unlawfullyapproved” N2 million to oneGrace Hembah as imprestaccount.

In the same year, Mr. Joji“collected and spent” N1.8billion ($12 million) royaltyfrom Swissair without

approval.Also in 1993, Mr. Joji

claimed that he paid N1.62billion ($10.8 million) toSabena Airline but it was laterdiscovered that he only paidN150 million ($1million), thepanel discovered.

In 1992, Mr. Joji also paidNICON Insurance Plc, N361.7million ($2,458,064) lesspremium due. This fraud waseven made worse by the factthat N 33.5 million($2,230,357) being discounton premium that accrued tothe airline had vanishedwithout a trace, the whitepaper stated.

It was also revealed that hewould willingly choose foreignconsultants for jobs that theairline staff could handle. Thecommittee found “he wouldhire them in with all expensespaid.”

In 1993, Mr. Jojioutsourced the maintenance ofa Boeing 737 aircraft toconsultants from Brazil andpaid them fully even after staffof the airline has completed 75per cent of the maintenance.The airline lost N176.56million ($3,531,358.50) in theprocess.

In a telephone interviewwith PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Jojidenied any wrongdoing. Hesaid the White Paper was aproduct of a “witch-hunt”orchestrated against him byformer Aviation Ministers,Babalola Borishade and KemaChikwe.

“There were several panels.Nwazota was just a consultant.Is that what you call a panel?They didn’t do a proper job,”he claimed.

“Do your research. Thequestion you have to ask is whowrote the white paper? Was itgazetted? Was anyonecharged?”

Mr. Joji also uttered asubtle threat of litigation toPREMIUM TIMES. He wonderedwhy we were interested in thestory 10 years after:

“At that time, no newspaperwrote about it. The White Paperwas published 10 years ago,why are you just writing aboutit now,” he queried.

When told we recentlystarted publishing, he replied:

“You are starting on a badnote. They will charge you tocourt. The White Paper is notgazette. You’re playing adangerous game. Ten years agosomething was written and youjust came over night and wantto write something about it.”

“It just a wishy-washything by Mr. Borishade andKema Chikwe. It wasn’tgazetted and I wasn’t charged,”he said.

Mrs Stella Odua, the minister of aviation

“An orgy of fraud Findings bythe Justice Nwazota led

Commission of Inquiry revealedthat Nigerian Airways was run

like a repulsive orgy ofcorruption.

PAGE 5PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

A Senior Advocate ofNigeria, SAN, YahayaMahmood has observed

that section 189 of theconstitution provides procedurefor the removal of Taraba state Governr Danbaba Suntai if heis confirmed to be mentallyincapacitated.

Yahaya said it won’t be amajor issue if the governor is justsick and will recover in 2-3months, but if the governor is assick as it is claimed, then it isnecessary to legally remove himfrom office.

Yahaya made this

Suntai can be removed if mentally incapacitated-SANobservation while answeringquestions from media men inkaduna. Yahaya added, if he isso sick section 189 of theconstitution provides procedurefor his removal or mentallyincapacitated.

According to him, “ I will notsay more on this as we have fileda case in court for an order ofmandamus compelling the state

exco to act and we have joinedthe Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, and state house ofassembly who have aresponsibility to Taraba people”.

Commenting on MajorAlmustapha’s case, Yahayapointed out that, the case ofAlmustapha appears both legaland political, saying that, ‘let’ssee how the court will decide the

L-R : Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark, former President OlusegunObasanjo, former Ghana President John Kufor and Minister of Water Resources Sarah Ochekpe, during the Presidential Summit on Water( Innovative Funding of the Water Sector in Nigeria ) held at the State House Abuja yesterday. Photo: Joe Oroye.

Stakeholders at apresidential dialogue, puttogether to mark the silver

jubilee anniversary of theFederal Road Safety Corps(FRSC) in Nigeria, yesterday, inAbuja, stressed the need forgreater awareness on road safetysigns among road users inNigeria, as critical to enhancingroad safety in the country.

The dialogue which was partof the FRSC InternationalConference with the theme:“Road safety in Africa-the next25 years” to mark thecommission’s establishment waschaired by Gen. IbrahimBadamasi Babangida (rtd).

The stakeholders, whoattributed the cause of mostcrashes in the country toavoidable human errors,

identified over speeding bydrivers as the number oneprimary cause of the menace onthe nation’s roads, howevercommended the efforts of theFRSC towards tackling the issuessince its creation.

Speaking at the forum,President Goodluck Jonathan,who was represented by theSecretary to the Government ofthe Federation, Senator AnyimPius Anyim, noted that the needfor proper cautiousness on roadsafety on the part of the roadusers cannot be emphasized, asit is key to making roads saferfor commuters.

According to the president

with the coming of FRSC, a lot ofawareness needed for road safetyin the country has increasedover the years; ‘but all citizensand stakeholders must activelybe involved in propagating theneed for ensuring safety practiceson our roads’.

Similarly, Colonel HabbibuShaibu(rtd), who representedGeneral Babangida at the event, despite the challenges, that theFRSC has transformed itself intoa world class agency and areference point for road safetymanagement in the world.

On his part, Ekiti stateGovernor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi,lamented the habits of average

FRSC @25: Stakeholders advocategreater awareness on road safety

legal angle”.“More pressure on the

government will influence thepolitical angle, justice delayed isjustice denied,” he said.

On the position of theNigerian constitution on therecent merger of politicalparties, Yahaya explained that,sections 221-228 of the 1999constitution provides for

From Nasiru Mu’azu Isa prohibition, restriction andconstitution of political partiesamong others.

He further said that theElectoral Act provides formerger of political parties, theparties must formally apply toINEC, they must have specialresolution at nationalconventions proposing to mergeand approving the merger.

By Stanley Onyekwere

Nigerian road users especiallypublic officers in convoys, tomost often than not violate roadsafety sign in the country;however attributed the rootcause to what he described as“an internalized culture ofintimidation the militarybequeathed to the nation.”

“Because most accidents area product of human factor, ifthere is a lot of awareness on roadsafety signs, it would help reduceroad crashes in the country”, hestressed.

Another panelist, Dr. KitMitchell, of Chartered Instituteof Highewyas andTransportation, RACfoundation, London, howeveremphasised on the need forgovernments at all levels tobeyond constructing strongroads, to as well see to theirmaintenance irrespective of thecost, considering the healthimplications arising fromhardships from bad roads on thepopulace.

Earlier in a remark, the FRSCCorps Marshal, Osita B. Chidoka,who explained that the event isorganised to chart the wayforward to ensuring that roadsafety is brought to the forefront,disclosed the commission hasdeveloped a strategic road mapto make its plan actionable.

“Speed limit violation stillremains a challenge to the as itis responsible for 35 % of roadscrashes in Nigeria; but by 2020,the FRSC intends to reduce thecurrent rate of five thousandaccidents on our roads twohundred or even zero level”, heexpressed.

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

Air crashes:NCAAdefendsmanagementof complicity

Reactions have continuedto trail the reports of theAccident Investigation

Bureau, AIB, which indictedairlines and regulatoryauthorities for their culpabilitiesthat resulted in variousincidents in the country’saviation sector some years ago.

The agency responsible foroversight function in theindustry, the Nigerian CivilAviation Authority (NCAA)yesterday exonerated thepresent management of any rolein the accidents captured in thereport.

Director General of theagency, Dr. Harold Demurentold reporters that NCAA hasreached a milestone in its effortsto revamp the lapses outlined inthe AIB reports explaining thatthe change of guard after theaccidents that resulted in a morerobust oversight function.

“In NCAA today, the agencyhas been able to attain theprestigious US Federal AviationAdministration, US FAACategory One status, theInternational Civil AviationOrganization audit, ICAO Auditand other major reforms whichhave help in ensuring zerotolerance of accidents andincident in the aviation industryin Nigeria.” He said.

The crashes of 2005 and2006 he pointed out ensuredthat the NCAA was totallyoverhauled to meet up with thetask of effectively supervisingthe activities and operations ofthe airlines.

According to him, it was duethe crashes that had occurred intime past that has made theNCAA up to the task inregulating the airlines properly.

Meanwhile, Chairman of AirTransport Services Senior StaffAssociation of Nigeria(ATSSSAN) FAAN Branch,Comrade Ekamen Ekanem alsodebunked claims by themanagement of Bellview airlinesthat the report on its airline wasdoctored.

The National ProjectDirector CommunityServices, Women and

Youth Employment (CSWYE)programme of SubsidyReinvestment andEmpowerment programme(SURE-P) Mr. Peter Papka haslamented that youthunemployment is one of thegreatest challenges of themillennium not only in Nigeriabut in Africa and globally.

Declaring open a three-daytraining programme workshoporganized by the FederalMinistry of Finance, ProjectImplementation Unit of SURE-Pon effective implementationof the Community Services,Women and Youth Employment(CSWYE) programme of SURE-P with the theme “EngagingCommunications for an Effective

CSWYE Service Delivery”, heldat the new Keffi hotels, NasarawaState, Papka said that theinterest of government is to buildthe capacity of the Nigerianyouth, who he said, are thepillars of today.

“Our youths of today are thepillars of this country, I don’tknow of tomorrow, but they arethe pillars of today, becausewhatever you make of the youthtoday is the reflection of ourtomorrow.”

“So, it behoves on all of us tofind ways and means to build thecapacity of the youths in thesectors that would drive theeconomy” he said.

Also speaking, the DFIDCommunication’s Advisor on theproject, Mrs. Mary Ikoku saidthat communication is criticalto the success of the CSWYEunder the SURE-P, and as suchthe State Information Officers

who are closer to thecommunities require proper andadequate training to enablethem communicate effectivelywith the locals.

She expressed satisfaction atthe degree of involvement of theparticipants, stressing that theywere good ambassadors. Mrs.Ikoku further urged them toreturn with the zeal by puttinginto practice their workshopexperiences.

The workshop focused oncommunication strategies,modern day challenges of themedia and the effectivereportage of the projectactivities. The forum providedopportunities of interactions andideas sharing on how to ensurethat the various programmesunder the CSWYE project aresuccessfully implemented andfully communicated toNigerians.

Youth unemployment Nigeria’s greatest challenge -SURE-PFrom Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013PAGE 6

Niger State budgets N55 billionto 25 local government areasTwenty five local

government areas ofNiger state are to receive

a whooping sum of N55 billionfor the 2013 fiscal year.

This was contained in thebudget approved by the stateHouse of Assembly for the 25local government councilswhich is made up of N38.2billion for recurrentexpenditure and 17.3 billion forcapital expenditure.

Presenting the report on thefloor of the house, the chairman,

Joint Committee on LocalGovernment Affairs, Financeand Appropriation, PublicAccounts and WardDevelopment Project, Hon. JacobGana stated that the committeecarefully checked all thesubmission of the proposedbudget submitted to the houseby the entire councils on thestate.

He said, the committeeadopted standard ideas of budgetscrutiny in order to enhancestrict budget implementationtowards rural development.

He said the committee also

From Iliya Garba, Minna

Adamawa to fund secondary education with tax deductions from contractsAhmadu Fintiri, has directed theHouse Clerk to prepare a clean copyof the bill for the Governor's assent.

Speaking to newsmen shortlyafter the passage of the bill, thesponsor, Alhaji Abubakar Jarengol(CPC-Mubi North) said thedevelopment would go a long wayin tackling the problem ofdilapidated structures in secondaryschools in the state.

Adamawa State House ofAssembly has passed a lawproviding for the deduction

of senior secondary school educationdevelopment tax to be made fromall contracts awarded by the Stateand Local Governments.

The law was passed at theplenary of the House shortly afterthe submission of a report on the billby the chairman of the House

Jarengol observed that unlikeprimary schools, junior secondaryschools and tertiary institutions whohave ÜBE and TETFUND assistancealongside state government inimproving their facilities, seniorsecondary schools only depend onstate government for its needs.

" With this development wewill have another source of fund totake care of our senior secondaryschools structures, library andlaboratories among others",Jarengol said.

He also explained that theusage of the tax to pay forstudents examinations such asNECO and WAEC was alsocaptured in the bill.

" I am happy over this billwhich is just the beginning asI have other bills coming,among them is the bill for a lawto give financial autonomy toGeneral and Cottage hospitalsin the state to utilize 70 per centof their internally generatedrevenue to run the healthinstitutions.

"The bill has passed first reading",said Jarengol.

Benue Govtdemolishesover 200illegalstructures

Over 200 illegal structureswere at the weekenddemolished in Zaki-Biam by

the Benue State Government aspart of a renewed bid to restore themaster plan of its major towns.

General Manager of Benue SateUrban Development Board, BSUDB,Mr. Musa Ujor, who conducted thedemolition exercise told newsmenthat "the structures were developedwithout necessary approvals.

He intimated that the action ispart of the renewed effort of theBoard to rid most urban centres inthe state of illegal structures andunauthorized land development.

Ujor vowed that the Board willcontinue to demolish alldevelopments by local governmentcouncils and individuals in the 23local government areas of Benuestate which are erected without theprerequisite approvals of the Board.

"I can assure you that we willnot spare anyone who, irrespectiveof his or her social status willinglyflout the laws of the state as regardsland development. Whoeverviolates the law would do so at his orher own peril because what wehave done here today should serve

Al-makuraswears in newChief Judge,receivesAgyaraguCrisis report

Governor Umaru TankoAl-makura of Nasarawastate has appealed to the

people of the state to toe the pathof brotherliness, love, peace andharmony for the socio-economicdevelopment and overallprogress of the state.

Al-makura made the appealyesterday at a function toswear-in the newly appointedChief Judge of the state, JusticeSuleiman Umaru Dikko, as wellas receive the report of the highpowered commission of inquiryconstituted to investigate theAgyaragu crisis.

While urging the people ofthe state to remember that theyhad no other state to call theirown except Nasarawa, calling onthem to join hands with oneanother in love and togetherness,as according to him, "nothing lesswill justify our existence", thegovernor congratulated the newChief Judge, stressing that as thehead of the judicial arm ofgovernment, "you are thesymbol of fairness, equity,justice and objectivity."

He assured the people thatgovernment will thoroughlystudy the report with a view toimplementing it.

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

Tertiary institution unions threaten Indefinite strike in Plateauleft the institutions for greenerpastures.

The Union also said that the stategovernment is silent on the 27 monthsarrears of salary owed it's members ,saying that its a major causediscontent even when it has appealedseverally to the state government topay the money.

In his words, " we are worried thatwhile we are trying to address pendingissues between us and government ,the state governor Jonah Jang wentahead to merge the college of Arts , theScience and Technology , Kurgwi withthe Plateau state University Bokkos.

" We view this move as a setback in

education because this institutionsprepares students for university entryas well as award certificates to students,and not an SSCE coaching center asthe whole world is meant to believe ,we doubt governments intention inthe merger plan , we must make itclear here that the institution is aproduct of law and it should be allowedto subsist until such law is repealed oramended

"We also view the merger asgovernment's plans to reduce the workforce of the institution and to lay offour members . We are appealing togovernment to have a second thoughtand respect the institution."

The Joint Unions of all tertiaryinstitutions plateau state havethreatened to embark on an

indefinite strike action from Friday,February 22 if their unpaid salariesare not paid by the state government.

This was revealed in Jos yesterdayby the chairman of the body in thestate Comrade Victor Dawuringduring a press conference at Joscampus of the plateau statepolytechnic.

He said due to poor remunerationby the plateau state government, nofewer thn 150 of their members have

By Musa Pam, Jos

studied the areas of revenuegeneration and expenditure ofboth capital and recurrentexpenses as well as amendedwhere differences in figuresnoticed.

Hon. Gana pointed out thatthe ministry for localgovernment, chieftaincy affairsand community developmentprovided a breakdown of thebudget estimate, adding there isneed for constant training for thedirectors of planning and budgetofficers with a view to enhancingproductivity and servicedelivery.

The chairman said the budgetpreparation was guided by aresource projection to be financedthrough statutory allocation, 10percent local government duefrom the state and two percentfrom local government areas.

Others are internallygenerated revenue (IGR) capitalreceipts and SURE-P.

Meanwhile, the houseunanimously adopted the reportof the committee while thespeaker Hon. Adamu Usmandirected the clerk to prepareclean copies of the bill for thegovernor to assent.

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

L-R: Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius, Niger State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Musa Ibeto, ChiefExecutive Officer Via Netherlands, Mr. Eric Donkers and Corps Marshal Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Osita Chidoka duringInternational Conference to Mark the 25th Anniversary of Federal Road Safety Commission, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

committee on Finance,Appropriation and Budget, AlhajiUsman Lamorde (PDP-Mubi South).

The law which was passed aftersome amendments provided fordeduction of one per cent tax on allcontracts awarded by the state andlocal governments for use inenhancing facilities in seniorsecondary schools in the state.

The Speaker of the house, Alhaji

PAGE 9PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The National EmergencyManagement Agency,NEMA has mapped out

strategies to improve on itsframework to face continuouschallenges of human and naturaldisasters in the country.Coordinator of North -WestNEMA, Alhaji Musa Illellah whostated this during an official visitto some disaster managementagencies in the North West regionsaid that management ofdisasters such as, ethno-religiouscrisis, political chaos, floods,

d r a u g h t , f o o di n s e c u r i t y , m a l n u t r t i o n ,population, internally displacedpersons and refugees needed to beenhanced with collaborationwith other sister Agencies. Thezonal coordinator lamented that,the multiple humanitarianchallenges posed by thesedisasters could have farreaching impact on people’slives. Alhaji Illellah said "In viewof these challenges, the agencywas given signals of a newcommitment by the authoritiesto work with respectivestakeholders to tackle the

NEMA outlines strategiesfor disaster management

L-R: Former Chairman, Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State, Hon. Emeka Woke, Monster of State for. Education, Barrister EzenwoNyesom Wike, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. MacJohn Nwabiala, Acting Executive Secretary, Universal Basic EducationCommission (UBEC), Professor Charles Onocha and Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, during the Minister'sInspection of. Special Girls Child. Schools Project, yesterday at Aluu, River State. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

17 electricity towers vandalised alongKaduna-Shiroro Power line –TCNThe Transmission Company

of Nigeria (TCN) said onMonday in Kaduna that said

17 of its electricity towers had beenvandalised along Kaduna-Shiroropower line.

The TCN General Manager, MrMike Ezendenna, told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kadunathat the vandalism against powersupply line might hamper effectivepower supply in Kaduna and itsenvirons.

“We thought it was only somevegetation that were hamperingeffective power transmission toKaduna but while inspecting TCN

country's humanitarian issueswhich the United Nation hasbeen requested to providesupport to address and assist inthe elaboration of policy"

According to him, "despite alleffort being put in place to tackledisasters in a timely manner themultiplicity of crisis affectingthe zone overstretces itscapacity while criticalchallenges remain". NEMA, hesaid, faces several constraintshaving to take on responsibilitiesof other agencies in some criticaldisaster management who lackthe capability to do so.

installations, we saw that a totalnumber of 17 electricity towers hadbeen vandalized.”

He decried the frequent attackson TCN staff and its installations,adding: “All these may hamperpower generation in KadunaState”.

Ezendenna urged traditionalrulers to help to protect TCNequipment to increase its currentgeneration level. (NAN)

By Muhammad Adamu

Fashola inaugurates panel ofinquiry on Jankara fire incident

Lagos State Governor , MrBabatunde Fashola (SAN), onMonday inaugurated a three-member panel of inquiry toinvestigate the Dec. 26, 2012, fireincident in Jankara, Lagos Island.

The members of the inquiryare retired Justice OladokunIshola, Chairman, as well as Mr .Okunola Wasiu and Mr Richard

Ohuanuaruogo as members.The News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN) recalls that the fireincident, reportedly caused byexplosives stored in a building,razed many other buildings anddestroyed goods.

Fashola said that the panelwould assist government to discoverhow explosives got into the buildingand to evolve steps that could betaken to forestall a reoccurrence.

ECOWAS appoints Nigerian Police Officer to lead African mission to Mali

The ECOWAS Commission hasappointed Mr Subair Kamar,a Deputy Police

Commissioner, to take charge ofthe African-led InternationalAssistance Mission to Mali(AFISMA).

This is contained in a statementissued on Monday in Abuja by CSPFrank Mba, the Deputy ForcePublic Relations Officer.

The statement said theappointment followed therecommendation of the Inspector-General of Police, and that untilhis appointment, Kamar was inthe Department of Training at theForce Headquarters, Abuja.

It said that Kamar had servedin various strategic positions inNigeria and in the United Nations.

The statement said theCommissioner distinguishedhimself in the UN PreventiveDeployment Force (UNPREDEP) inthe Republic of Macedonia and theUN mission in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo (MONUC).

It said that Kamar wouldassume duty at the end ofFebruary.

In a related development, theInspector-General of Police hasauthorised the deployment ofseven Individual Police Officers(IPO) and One Formed Police Unit

(FPU) comprising of 140 personnelto Mali in support of the AFISMAoperation.

The operation is aimed atrestoring peace and security to theSahelian country.

The statement said the FPUwould be self-sustaining and self-supportive and would be made upof highly trained and seasonedpolice personnel skilled in counter-terrorism and crime detectiontechniques.

It said the unit would have itsown trained engineers andmedical support team.

“It is expected that thepeacekeepers would support the

Sacked National Auditorof PDP seeks stay of order

capacity development of theMalian law enforcement agencies.

``The deployment is infulfilment of the pledge of theFederal Government to continueto work with relevantdevelopment partners at tacklingterrorism both at national andinternational levels,’’ the

statement said.Nigeria Police currently have

800 international peace keepers inseveral countries.

They included Liberia, Haiti,Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia,East Timor, Cote d’Ivoire,Democratic Republic of Congo andGuinea Bissau. (NAN)

The sacked National Auditorof the PDP, Mr BodeMustapha, on Monday

urged an Abeokuta High Courtto stop the party from removinghim.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) recalls that Mustapha,former Gov. Segun Oni of Ekiti andsome party stalwarts were sackedon Friday by the NationalWorking Committee (NWC) of theparty.

The NWC cited some courtjudgments which nullified theemergence of Mustapha, Oni andsome state executives, insistingthat removing them was in theinterest of the rule of law.

But Mustapha's counsel, MrGboyega Oyewole, prayed thecourt to stop the PDP from effectinghis removal and replacement.

He argued that the office ofthe National Auditor Generalcould only be filled through anelection at a NationalConvention and not at the Zonal

Congress of the party.“The National Auditor or any

member of the NationalWorking Committee can only beelected at the NationalConvention and not ZonalCongresses like these people aretrying to insinuate.

“But now that they havepurportedly removed our client,we are seeking redress in court,''he said.

The presiding judge, JusticeAbiodun Akinyemi, adjournedhearing on the application toThursday.

The leadership of PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)has lauded President

Goodluck Jonathan and theMinister of Works, Mr MikeOnolememen, for the rapiddevelopment of the nation'sinfrastructure, particularlyroads.

This is contained in astatement signed by Mr OlisaMetuh, PDP National PublicitySecretary, and made available tonewsmen on Monday in Abuja.

It said that the party wasimpressed by the feat.

The statement noted thatprojects executed by the presentadministration included dualcarriage ways, and rehabilitationand maintenance of trunk "A'roads, adding that the secondNiger bridge was underway

It said that President GoodluckJonathan was on the upswing ingrowing all sectors of theeconomy.

The statement said thevolume of work done in the roadsector had eased transportationand boosted economic activitiesacross the country.

It said that the interventionprior to the last yuletide infulfilling "the zero-pothole policy"was no less impressive.

The party lauded the repairscarried out on the third MainlandBridge in Lagos in addition to therecent plan to convert the Lokoja-Benin-Auchi road into a dualcarriage way.

Metuh said that Jonathan haddemonstrated hisadministration's commitment todeliver on its promises to turnaround the road sector in line withthe transformation agenda.

He appealed to Nigerians tosupport the Jonathanadministration as it was workingto improve the quality of life of all.(NAN)

Jonathan'stransformation ofthe Nigeria's roadsmanifesting -- PDP

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY, 12, 2013PAGE 10

Tanker drivers threaten strikeover unjust arrest of members

L-R: Chief of Staff to the GOC, 1 Div., Brigadier-General Ohifeme Ejemai, President of the Examination panel, Brigadier-General Abdul Mustapha, and, Director of Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Brigadier-General Ugwu Chima,during the 2013 Promotion Practical Examination for Army Lieutenants, Captains and Majors, yesterday in Kaduna. Photo: NAN

Kaduna to beef up internal revenue

By Abdulwahab Isa

Abuja metropolis and itsenvirons may experienceanother fuel scarcity

should the threat of strike bymembers of the PetroleumTankers Drivers (PTD)materialise as planned.

The Union, in a statementreleased over the weekend by itsNational Chairman, ComradeTimothy Ogbu, decried themishandling and maltreatmentof its members by personnel ofthe Nigeria Security and Civil

Defence Corps in Lokoja, theKogi state capital.

It said seven of its trucks andthirteen of its members havebeen taken into the custody byofficers of civil defence corps inLokoja on trumped up charges .

"The trucks were impoundedeven after tendering theirgenuine weigh bill among otherparticulars to prove they loadedfrom Lagos. Members of the CivilDefence not only intercept,effected arrest of the tanker

drivers but also handcuffedthem like common criminals,just because they refuse partingwith their monies", said thestatement.

The association also said that,the action of the Civil Defence

operatives has already triggeredan effect that could lead toscarcity of fuel products in Abujaand its environs.

For instance, the union said,there had not been any loading sincelast week Wednesday at Suleja depot.

Governor MuhktarRamalan of Kaduna Statehas expressed

disatisfaction with the currentlevel of the state's InternallyGenerated Revenue (IGR) andwill henceforth reinforce therevenue generating drive tooptimally utilise its resources.

He expressed thisdisappointment while playinghost to senior partners of C2GConsulting and SAP Africa led by

From Nasiru Mu'azu Isa,Kaduna

Onyekachi Uzukane who were inGovernment House, Kaduna topay him a visit.

In a statement madeavailable to newsmen in Kadunaby Ahmed Maiyaki, DirectorGeneral, Media and Publicity,Yero said the State Governmentwould partner with allstakeholders to improve on theIGR.

He stressed that instead of thestate IGR improving annually, itis on the decline while the statehas all the potential to raise theIGR. Yero said he would like to

know what are the causes andchallenges.

He asserted that thegovernment is going to fullyconcentrate on revenuegeneration through prompt andregular payment of tax as well asother revenues due to the state.

He urged the public tocooperate with the governmentas the IGR would be used toprovide basic social amenities tobetter their lives.

Earlier, Mr OnyekachiUzukane has expressed theresolve of their firm to partner

the state government throughsustained working relationship toensure all necessary avenue ofrevenue generation in the stateare utilised in the interest of themajority.

In a separate development,Governor Mukhtar Yero haschallenged Development AreaAdministrators on improving thelives of the people at the grassroot. He told them while on acourtesy visit to Sir KashimIbrahim House to embark onminor but life improving projectsat their levels.

Soldiers not desperate to leave Borno- JTF

The Joint Military Task Force,(JTF), said Sunday thatsoldiers deployed to the

troubled city of Maiduguri, theBorno state capital to quell the BokoHaram insurgency, are notdesperate to leave.

The JTF was reacting to areport by section of the media(excluding Peoples Daily), allegingthat some soldiers deployed to thestate from others parts of thecountry for peace mission arecomplaining of 'over stay' sayingthe three-month mandatoryduration has elapsed, without

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

The ongoing 2012/2013First SemesterExamination has added a

positive twist as theManagement had engaged thepersonnel of the University'sInformation andCommunication TechnologyResource Centre (ICTREC) in theapplication of Computer BasedTest (CBT) for students.

The innovation is not only avast improvement on the conductof examinations in the Universitybut better still, a drastic and radicaldeparture from the past where theinstitution hired contractors toconduct the examination.

The Acting Head, ICTREC, Dr.Olutayo Ajayi revealed this in anexclusive chat with FUNAABBulletin.

He described the innovation asunique and a landmarkachievement.

His words, "in the past fiveyears, we have been usingexternal company to conductComputer Based Test and this hasbeen causing us fortune. We havedropped that idea, the ProfessorOyewole-led management is nowengaging members of staff toconduct the examination.

FUNAAB acquirescapacity toadminister e-ExamsFrom Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

being rotated. However, in a swift reaction,

spokesman for the task force, Lt-Col. Sagir Musa, in a statementissued to newsmen Sunday night,described the report as misleading.

" Rotation of troops on operationis a normal military practice, nota rigid exercise, but a situationaland circumstantial. Exigency ofduty, challenges on the groundcan warrant appropriate superiorauthority to delay or extendrotation schedule without any ifsor buts", the statement said.

"We don't have Civil SocietyGroup(s) and there is noFundamental Human Rights in

the profession of arms - these aretendentious if the JTF/militarymust be effective in performing itsconstitutional responsibility ofdefending the nation fromexternal and internal enemies.

"Here in JTF, rotation iscontinuous and is currentlyongoing. Remember, troops arebeen moved to Mali, Sudan andLiberia. All the troops cannotconcurrently be rotated", it furtheradded.

The task force, also urgedjournalists to avoid nosing intostrategic, tactical and operationalmatters as well as military justicesystem.

Minister describes killing ofWoman as shameless, cowardly

Minister of Women Affairs,Hajiya Zainab Maina hasdescribed the recent

killings of female health workerson Kano as shameless, cowardly.

The women were said to bekilled by unknown gunmenduring a polio exercise.

Hajiya Zainab, in a statementissued yesterday in Abuja, addedthat the situation wasunfortunate because women andchildren being the mostvulnerable members of anysociety, are supposed to beprotected.

By Maryam Garba Hassan "These dastardly terroristkillings are not only an attack onour collective responsibility tosecure a healthy future for ourchildren through elimination ofthe polio virus but also an attackon humanity.

"It is most disheartening thatinspite of efforts by Governmentat all levels to come to the aid of itspeople, especially vulnerablegroups, there still exist heartlessand insensitive individuals andgroups who are bent onunleashing mayhem and painespecially on those dedicated to theprotection of lives and property aswell as well-meaning Nigerianswho innocently go about theirbusinesses", the statement said.

PAGE 11PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY, 19, 2013

The only honest measure ofyour success is what you aredoing compared to yourtrue potential.Paul Meyer

Is it time to refinance your mortgage?

Quote

Now is time to review your finances…

Are you just on a recession diet?

Now might be just the righttime to refinance yourmortgage. Even if you

already have a low interest ratemortgage, you could still benefit,thanks to the record-low rates thatare present right now. Indeed,even someone with a 5 percentinterest rate on a mortgage couldsave money, since rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are evenlower.

Consider an adjustable ratemortgage, and you could end upwith an even lower interest rate.With financial policymakers stilltrying to keep interest rates andtreasury yields low, there is a goodchance that you will be able totake advantage of low rates forsome time. However, since no onetruly knows what's coming, ithelps to consider your options now.

Just remember: If you havecosts associated with closing yourrefinance, you want to make surethat you will be in the home longenough for your interest savingsto matter.

Fixed rate mortgage

When refinancing yourmortgage, you will have to decidewhether you want a fixed ratemortgage, or whether you wantan ARM. Some might argue thatan ARM is always a bad idea, butthis is not so. In some cases,

refinancing to an ARM can besmart and save you money. If youcan afford to pay a little more ifinterest rates rise, an ARM cangive you big savings right now. Itis also possible to apply for a hybridARM. You will have a low fixed

rate for the first three to sevenyears, and then have a variablerate after that. As long as you paydown your loan principal, youshould be able to refinance to afixed rate before rates rise toomuch.

However, if you know thatyou might not be able to handle ahigher interest rate later, or if youare concerned about an adjustablerate affecting your finances, afixed rate mortgage with a knownamortization schedule that letsyou know exactly how much youwill have to pay each monthmight be preferable.

Mortgage termBefore you refinance, you will

also need to decide on a mortgageterm. While you can lower yourmonthly payment by refinancingto a longer term (for example,refinancing a loan with 18 yearsleft for 30 years), you could endup paying more in the long run,and you will be in debt for longer.With mortgage rates as low asthey are right now, it is quitepossible that you could refinance

to a shorter term and pay only alittle more each month. It's a waythat can help you save thousandsin interest, and be done with yourmortgage that much sooner.

Qualifying for a refinanceWhile lending standards have

eased somewhat in the last coupleof years, they still aren't as looseas the standards seen prior to the2008 financial crisis. Indeed, youwill need good credit and sufficientequity in your home to qualify fora refinance. Some homeownerscan get help from governmentprograms like HARP, but manyneed to bring up their credit scoresand reduce their mortgage debtbefore gaining approval.

If you want to refinance, it'sbest to consider your options andplan ahead. It's especiallyimportant to make sure yourfinances are in order, and yourcredit score is sufficient to allowyou access to the best interestrates.

Now might be the time torefinance. You can't earn a highyield on your cash, but you can

It's that time of year again,already time to make yourNew Year's resolutions -

believe it or not!This time of year is a time for

reflecting on the previous year,so that you can look ahead to anew and better year, witheverything from your diet tofinances.

Starting out the year withthe best of intentions gives an airof excitement and hope thatmakes it easy to turn the oldcalendar to the new with abuoyant spirit. Yet, for mostpeople, that hope fades aroundMarch. By starting now, youcan have your new goals setfirmly in place so that whenJanuary rolls around, you'realready well ahead of all yourfriends who are only starting torecord their goals, rather thanmarching toward them a day ata time.

Why do we need resolutions?The year has been crazy.

You've let your financialstatements get out of control, andyou don't know where you'respending your dollars. You can'tmake the mistakes from lastyear, spending more than youhave as you head into theholidays.

This year you can take it astep at the time, gettingeverything sorted and in orderso that when the end of the yearfinally arrives, you've improvedyour money habits and made itthrough the hardest part of thespending year, establishing acontrol that will give you theconfidence to know you've gotthe coming year covered.

Spend the month trackingyour spending.

Use Mint.com, a spread sheetof your own, or the software ofyour choice to track everythingyou spend during the month. At

the end of the month, take a lookat where you've needlessly spentand make it a point to findanother solution immediately.Make sure to analyse yourspending habits at the end ofeach month, so you can tweakand conquer the next.

Bonus assignment thismonth - Use one of the popularcalculators online to help youcalculate your retirement'sfinancial needs so you can startsaving for them immediately.Meet those needs each payperiod, starting now.

Organise your files too.You will need a couple of tools

for this, starting with a shredderand a couple of three ringbinders with folders or pageprotectors. Sort through yourmoney paperwork, and move asmuch as you can online. Forthose things that can't be moved,

create a three ring binder (thismight include retirement fundstatements, insurance, stockpaperwork etc.) Shredeverything else.

If you're really serious,invest in a Neat Digital Filingsystem so you can scan and fileyour paperwork once finished.Make it a point to handle thepaperwork as it arrives, ratherthan letting them lie around andconsume space you don't have.

**Note: You will want tocontinue the month's habit ofrecording your expenses whilegetting into the habit of sortingpaperwork as it arrives in themail. Make sure you're filing itin its proper place immediatelyto prevent the molehill fromturning into a mountain. Don'tforget to set aside your necessarysavings that you calculated withthe online retirement

calculator.The end of the year is gift

time!But, you have a plan. You

want your finances to be in thebest possible shape for thecoming year, which means beingsmart through the biggestspending month of the year. Givethe gift of you. When you offeryour time, you're giving a specialgift that can't be bought in astore. This eases the burden onyour wallet while strengtheningthe quality of yourrelationships.

Prepare attractive cards andtrinkets at home, and thenattach a simple note that sendsthe message: "I'm thinking of youtoday, but I want to spend timewith you tomorrow." Recipientswill love the simple gesture morethan the scarf that you thoughtof getting them.

If you are a chronic dieter,you know that long term,diets don't work. You do

really well for a while, pushingto lose the weight, but once youreach your goal, you gleefullygo back to the habits that gotyou in trouble in the first place.I know. I've been there. In orderfor a diet to work, it has to bemore than a, well, diet. It has tobe a healthy lifestyle change.And that sometimes means thatyou make more gradualchanges that you can live with,developing long term habitsthat stick with you long afteryou have reached your goals.

The recent recession hasprompted many to save moreand spend less. However, theworry is that this is more of a"recession diet", rather than along term lifestyle change.Which means that as theeconomy comes back online,people will slip back into theirold ways? If you don't want thisto be you, the key is to look atthings you have been doing tocreate a better financialfoundation during this recessionand hold on to them. Here aretwo of the major concernsassociated with the end to arecession diet, and how you cancombat them:

"Spending moreAs signs of economic

recovery emerge, it is likelythat you will feel moreconfident. This means that youcould start feeling morecomfortable with spendingmore money again. The fact that

this is the holiday season onlyreinforces the idea of openingone's wallet a little wider. Itdoesn't mean that you can't doa little extra spending onoccasion, but you do need to keepthe impulse under control.

Below are some suggestionsfor keeping your spendingunder control as the economyimproves:

Set aside "splurge" money:Once that money is gone for themonth, it's gone.

Avoid places that are moretempting to you. Once yoursplurge money is gone, stayaway from temptation and focuson

Think of what you could dowith the money instead.Consider how you could growthe money for retirement; helpyour child pay for college orgoing on a nice trip in sixmonths. Set goals so that the"extra" money you feel

comfortable spending has apurpose.

"Saving lessWith high unemployment,

less hours and open enrolmentfor health insurance remindingyou that things are a bit tight,it's easier to remember to save.But as the economy improvesand you feel more financiallysecure, you might be temptedto put a little less away. In orderto avoid this, consider makingyour savings automatic. Havea portion of your pay checkautomatically deposited into asavings and/or retirementaccount. That way, the moneyis not even considered as part ofyour discretionary funds.

Realize that economic cyclesare natural. Every time there isa boom, it is followed by a bust.Things can't go on growingforever. Remind yourself of thisrecession, and prepare for thenext. You don't have to stopenjoying yourself, but youshouldn't abandon the goodhabits you have started

developing. Make the shift to alifestyle of good financial choices,and you will find that when thenext recession hits, you won't beas susceptible to the moneyproblems that come with it.

( S o u r c e :www.moneyning.com)

PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Once again, Jonathan foot-drags on corruptionLast week, the Senate let President

Goodluck Jonathan know that hecould not continue to ignore its

resolutions calling for action againsterrant officials of his government. Lastyear, he got away lightly with ignoringthe upper chamber's call that MsArunma Oteh, the DG of the NigerianSecurities and Exchange Commissionthat supervises the nation's capitalmarket, should be dismissed from office.She practically ran the market aground,resulting in an unprecedented capitalflight from the country. The senatorswere angered by her allegation that someof them asked for a bribe but sherefused. The governing council of thecommission subsequently indicted herfor financial recklessness and suspendedher from office. But a month later shewas back at her desk with fullpresidential pardon. The reaction of theSenate was to refuse to appropriatefunds for the commission in this year'sfederal budget. In doing so, the senatorsundoubtedly took the battle against Otehtoo far. They went over the edge, as itwere.

The Senate and the Presidency wereto clash again as we entered the NewYear, this time over the disappearance ofover N460 billion from the federalpension fund. A presidential task forcewas set up in 2010 to recover that moneyand tidy up the management of the fund,with Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, anAssistant Director, at the head.Specifically, The Presidential PensionReform Task Team was to “restructureand cleanse the system throughbiometrics capturing, processing ofpayments of genuine pensioners andblocking loopholes that are prone tocorrupt practice.” As it turned out,rather than “block loopholes”, the task

“We are not surprised bythe Jonathan

government's mishandlingof the Maina corruptionsaga, given its knownweakness in the fightagainst corruption inpolitical high places.

team let N195 billion slip though its hands.Fingers pointed at the head of the team,Maina. The Senate "invited" him severaltimes to clear his name but he didn't. Awarrant was issued for his arrest and theIG asked to execute it. That did nothappen; instead the police said the manhad gone into hiding and declared himwanted.

The senators immediately smelt arotten dead rat and last week, Senate

President David Mark declared, duringplenary, ‘war’ on the Presidency. He saidJonathan must choose between keepingMaina as head of the task team andworking with them. The presidencythought it could sit out the gathering stormover Maina, just as it did in the case ofOteh. It was wrong. First, it said it was notshielding Maina, but it would not order hissack either. Realizing that its tactic didn'twash with the senators, the Jonathanadministration asked the Head of Serviceof the Federation to "punish" Maina for

"absconding from office" under the civilservice rules. "Maina is a civil servant. Ifhe has done anything wrong thatamounts to a breach of civil servicerules, the appropriate office to do theright thing and ensure that due process isfollowed is the office of the Head ofService of the Federation...It is not anissue for the President," said Presidentialspokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati.

We believe this excuse of thePresidency for not sacking Maina, notonly as the head of the Pension ReformTask Team but from the civil servicecompletely, to be lame. The issue is notthat he has breached any service rules butthat he had helped himself to money thatisn't his and he must be penalized.Besides, the government found itconvenient to ignore the same rules thatemphasize seniority in appointing peopleto sensitive positions and picked anassistant director over the heads of hissuperiors to head the task team. Why nowcan't it ignore the rules and fire him forhaving been found wanting? The demandof the Senate is simple: remove the manbecause he has been compromised andthen prosecute him. Why the footdragging now if the purpose is not to letthe man get away - which he has done,anyway? He was due to appear in courtyesterday but failed, and the unofficialreport we have received is that Maina is inDubai, the rendezvous of Nigerianfugitives.

We are not surprised by the Jonathangovernment's mishandling of the Mainacorruption saga, given its knownweakness in the fight against corruptionin political high places. But for howmuch longer does it think the country'spoor majority will stomach the looting ofthe common till by government-backedrogues?

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 PAGE 13

How Odemwingie won AFCON title for Nigeriaattitude. This is why he took overfrom the wobbling Bonfrere Jo in2001 and dramatically qualifiedNigeria for the 2002 AFCON andWorld Cup, He came again in 2008and qualified the country for the2010 AFCON and World Cup,winning his first seven matches(home and away) scoring twelvegoals and conceding none! Thatwas the world of the one whose twoWorld Cup postings in only asmany attempts with two AFCONbronze medals as fringe benefits,was described by French legend,Alain Giresse, as "massive feat."

Another World Cupqualification series and FIFAConfederation Cup are around thecorner and Keshi is in trouble!Amodu's soldiers were 'big boys' whorose through the ranks en-route tobecoming big boys. Keshi's soldiersare overnight big boys. (There willalways be big boys, you know?)Take a peep into the Nigerianculture and assess the difference inthe attitude of Nigerian millionairesand that of emergency-cum-overnight millionaires. No wonderAmodu opined that dealing with

A fter Nigeria's SuperEagles' first matchagainst Argentina in the

on-going football World Cup (SA2010), some writers andanalysts were quick to impressit on enthusiasts that they sawsignificant impact of coaching onour boys. Personally, I sawmuch less of that. What I sawwas much more the impact ofsome marginal shift in attitude.Imagine a Super Eagles teamplaying with the same zeal,commitment, uncompromisingattitude and dogged spirit as ourpoliticians and rulers deploy inelection rigging and treasurylooting!

That was the openingparagraph in my piece "SuperEagles and spirit of a failed state" ofJune, 2010 which trailed theeventual (ignominous?)elimination of the national teamfrom that year's World Cupcompetition in Mandelaland. I hadsubmitted that the Super Eagles'acclaimed above averageperformance in the opening matchagainst the world giants was notbecause of the presence, on the bench,of any "world-class foreign coach," orany such theory being propoundedat the time. It simply had to do withthe temporary resurgence of theright attitude in the circumstance.Unfortunately, but notunexpectedly, the momentumcould not be sustained. The requiredspirit again took a routine flight!

When the current Super Eaglestechnical regime took over, it wasthe usual familiar song. Then itbecame Vision 2014 World Cup.

Just before the commencement ofthe just concluded AFCON 2013which the Super Eagles, againstall expectations, won, itmetamorphosed into Vision 2018World Cup because, according toCoach Stephen Keshi, he wouldneed five years to get to the promiseland. Now if by Keshi's theorem, ittakes five years to build achampionship-winning side, howthen was he able to achieve the featwith a team he himself describedas "just five-week-old"? Magic?

It could be! But the magic wandlies in what I described as the 'Osazespirit' in my tribute titled "OsazePeter Odemwingie!" of January,2010. I had submitted inter alia:"Osaze has demonstrated, beyondquestion, that he is an epitome ofthe dream spirit, the spirit of giveand give, the spirit long departedfrom the polity of the Nigeriannation… Osaze has demonstrated,in his own little way, that evenwithin the decadent system, thespirit of asking not what yourcountry can do for you but whatyou can do for your country couldstill be nurtured to thrive".

The proof! According to Russianfootball chief, Alexie Sorokin,Locomotiv Moscow FC supporters'problem with Odemwingie, hadnothing to do with racism but thatthey had often accused him ofplaying better for his country thantheir team. Rashidi Yekini ofblessed memory never played forany giant club in Europe. ButNigerian strikers who plied theirtrade in "big" clubs were no matchfor him in the green and whitecolours because he was a nationalteam player. These rare attributesthe "gangling" former African

Player of the Year shared withever-recurring decimal GarbaLawal, bulky but astonishinglyswift Danny Shittu (unarguablyNigeria's best defender at AFCON2010) and Odemwingie who wereand are always at their bestplaying for their national team.

Coach Keshi won AFCON 2013because he had bestowed on himthe grace of an unusual collectionof boys possessed (temporarily?) ofthis Osaze spirit. Perhaps for thefirst time, John Obi Mikel playedfor his national team with greatercommitment than he does for hisforeign club.

At any point in time, Germanywill present a machine-efficientsoccer squad because they arenever "rebuilding" a structure thatnever collapsed but onlymaintaining. For any occasion itis required, the US will present aformidable basketball teambecause they are never "buildinga new team." That is workingphilosophy. That was thephilosophy of Shaibu Amodu whosemajor undoing was dearth ofplayers with sustained right

By Dele Akinola super-star footballers on nationalassignments for a nation no one isenthusiastically willing to blowhimself up for requires tact andspirit of accommodation and notna-me-be-oga showmanship, hewas accused of taking bribes fromthe players.

But how long will the Osazespirit in the Super Eagles last?What happens when the Omeruos,the Oboabonas, the Emenikes andthe Onazis suddenly remembertheir uncles who slumped and diedwhile waiting endlessly for theirwell-deserved pension that hadbeen captured and swallowed by"patriotic Nigerians" now expectingtheir own share of the notoriouscake national honours? Thank Godfor the Osaze spirit in Victor Moseswho magnanimously agreed toserve, with his heart, a nationwhose hands are soiled in thecallous murder of his preciousparents, even as a little boy!

Thank God for the spirit of arebel, an enfant terrible, who,even as a 'big boy', would still begenuinely bitter at being stoppedfrom serving his nation. He almostsingle-handedly qualified thecountry for the 2010 World Cup.At the finals, he was made aspectator! Which genuine patriotwould not be cross in thecircumstance? He might be goingthrough some terrifyingpsychological trauma on accountof such unfortunate events leadingto his current infection by thedeadly disease of Twitter-rant-tiasis, but to him goes the credit ofthe new-found spirit. May hesavour quick deliverance.Dele Akinola is CEO, ClipsCommunication, Nigeria.

The Yoruba, like other typicalAfrican tribes, love topreserve wisdom in

beautifully woven words. A casein point is the recent judgment onJanuary 29 of a Federal HighCourt, Abuja, presided over byJustice Abubakar Talba, in thecorruption case filed by theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) against JohnYakubu Yusuf, a former assistantdirector at the Police Pension Office,who connived with others to stealN27.2 billion police pension funds.As we like to do in science, my firstreaction was to get all the facts (atleast those ones in the publicdomain) so as to be well informedand in order not to follow themultitude to commit the folly ofmisinformation. According tovarious reports, the amount theEFCC traced to Yusuf and for whichhe pleaded guilty was N3.3billiondescribed "as his share of the loot".

His fellow travellers are beingtried for their various shares of theN27.2bn loot. In the judgement,Justice Talba ordered the forfeitureof all choice properties, 32 housesin all, traced to Yusuf in Abujawhich were considered theproceeds of his crime as well as asum of N325million traced to bankaccounts owned by him. The judgethen pronounced him guilty(Yusuf so pleaded anyway) andsentenced him to 2 yearsconcurrent prison terms for thethree offenses with an option of afine of N750, 000.

The reactions that followedwere predictable. The judge hasbeen blamed for the judgment and

has been called names. A protestwas quickly put together by Hon.Dino Melaye to compel the ChiefJustice of the Federation tointervene and ensure 'the injusticewas corrected' while one report bythe International Centre forInvestigative Reporting (ICIR) waseven titled "How Judge TrickedEFCC To Free $203 Million PensionFund Thief", effectively casting thejudge as the mastermind. The factshowever violently disagree withthe position of these individualsand groups. It is even credible tosurmise that the story isdeliberately being told this way,taking advantage of thepredictable mood of the people, inorder to hide the real culprits.Unfortunately for judges, nobodytells their stories - especially in ajudicial system that we all know ishardly independent or designed forjustice.

Section 309 of the NigerianPenal Code under which the EFCCelected to try Yusuf states:"Whoever commits criminalmisappropriation shall bepunished with imprisonment fora term which may extend to twoyears or with a fine or with both."Having been charged under thePenal Code, the EFCC comfortablytied the hands of Justice Talba. Thejudge could have even decided tosentence the felon to 3 days inprison if he so desired or give himthe full two years or an option of afine. It is thus elementary that thejudgment was legitimate i.e., it is

not a miscarriage of justice withinthe meaning, letters and intent ofthe laws of Nigeria. Whether ourlaws should be like this or not is,however, a different issueentirely. That the judge ordereda confiscation of all choiceproperties traceable to Yusuf, 32houses in all, indicates that healready retrieved for thepensioners the portion of theirmoney stolen by the convict.

Curious Nigerians can onlycontinue to speculate as to why theEFCC decided to prosecute theaccused person under the PenalCode as against the EFCC Act. In acountry of 'nothing goes for nothing'such speculations and conjectureswould be appropriate and sensible.Having claimed that it hadsmoking gun evidence against theculprit, it is commonsensical toexpect that the EFCC would bringits full weight upon the culprit. Itcannot claim it opted for the PenalCode because it was saving moneyfor the federation since the agencyis not known to return unspentmoney to the purse of the FederalGovernment.

Also, the EFCC cannot claimthat the judge breeched a prior pleabargain deal because the currentrule on plea bargain requires theauthority of the Attorney Generalof the Federation which has beenreported to be absent in thisinstance. So, the EFCC, for reasonsbest known to it, hobnobbed withthe felon, set up a deal andapproached the Judge on its own

Is Justice Talba a bad guy?freewill with the plea to amend itscharges. The ICIR report confirmsthis when it says "Our sourcedisclosed that when the two parties(EFCC and Yusuf) reached anagreement on the details of thedeal, they approached JusticeTalba."

Judges are humans. If theprosecuting agency is begging ajudge that it wanted less penaltiesnot more than two years or anoption of a fine (this is the correctand non-emotional interpretationof the EFCC action when it chose totry the accused under the penalcode), then the worst the judgecould do was to order a seizure of allthat Yusuf made from the moneystolen from pensioners, if only tosecure justice for those pensioners.Perhaps if other previous convictswho took refuge under the'arranged in the dead of the nightplea-bargain deals' were made toforfeit all they acquired as JusticeTalba ordered in this case, theywould not have mansions in SouthAfrica where they could continueto host top governmentfunctionaries.

The law is often said to be anass. It is, however, my opinion thatthe real ass is the entire Nigerianjustice system. By the justicesystem, I mean the judiciary, theexecutive's role in making of rulesand the legislature's duty oflawmaking - and not just thejudiciary. The judiciary is areflection of what the Executiveand Legislative arms of

government have made of it. Oursis a judicial system that is onlysuitable for the Stone Age. The lawsthe judges are expected to workwith are laden with so manycontradictions that a judge is forcedto rely on his wit most of the time.In saner climes, the laws aredesigned in such a way that therules are applicable across theboard equitably.

It is because the Nigerianjustice system is such an ass thatan agency like the EFCC can decideon its whim to try culprits as itdeems fit using double standardbased upon the ability of eachsuspect to negotiate a deal. Whathappens to accused persons that donot have the right connection orability to negotiate? By tacitlybegging the judge to tone downjustice against the culprit when itsought a trial under the penal codewhich only empowered the judgeto convict the culprit for a few days(if he so desired) or fine him, theEFCC set the judge up from thebeginning - creating a ceiling orlimit of justice for the Nigerianpeople.

Attempts by the EFCC todistance itself after the judgmentwere mere well calculated highwire PR stunts targeted atdeceiving the people and castingthe judge as the villain in a scriptwhere the EFCC is unquestionablythe bad guy.Tunji is Ariyomo can bereached on oariyomo@nd-i.org

By Tunji Ariyomo

“Coach Keshi won AFCON 2013 becausehe had bestowed on him the grace of anunusual collection of boys possessed

(temporarily?) of this Osaze spirit. Perhapsfor the first time, John Obi Mikel played forhis national team with greater commitment

than he does for his foreign club

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013PAGE 14

Pitfalls and opportunities for the new partyPeoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text

messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All writtencontributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name anda valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed

to:

The Editor,Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza,

35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.Email: opinion@peoplesdaily-online.com

SMS: 07037756364

WRITE TO USOpposition unity has been

the common graveyard ofNigerian politics. In 1963/

4, Nigerians watched helplessly asthe NCNC/Awo-AG unitedopposition - UPGA got trouncedacross board as their seeming lackof cohesion gave way to the NPC/NNDP governing alliance. Thetales of that failed opposition wasmany years later echoed as a lastminute coalition between Awo'sUPN and Zik's NPP crumbled asNPP was offered dregs ofministerial appointments, andNPN rode gallantly to two electionvictories no matter howcorrupted. The fourth republic alsohad it shares of presidentialalliances and failed mergers; infact it is so common, that the publicwas not holding their lungs whenthe current dalliances started.

The obvious benefit of analliance is evident for all to see, butthe pitfalls are equally lurking.First the urge by the definition todescribe its existence strategicallyalong the lines of the traditionaldivide of conservative versusprogressive ideologies. Truth isNigerian politicians are not ripe forthis ideological description. As suchI will not hide my disdain for aperpetual attempt by the emptybrained elites of Nigeria to describethe current metamorphosis assuch.

How for example can anopposition die-hard religious viewsfrom CPC and ANPP (the party thatbirthed Sharia) claim to beprogressive? How can a party forlaw and order, and public-privateprojects of Fashola's ACN(remember Lekki concession)claim to be liberal when the thrustof its economic policy is industryin private hands? Honestly,perhaps an establishment (now

PDP) versusreform ideologybest describesthe ideologicaldivide in ourwinners-take-all politicalarena of theday.

If thei d e o l o g i c a ld e s c r i p t i o n swere signs oftrouble to come,the latestreports ofi n f i g h t i n gbetween thec o n s t i t u e n tparties and thejostle for prime positions whichmay soon ensue may be theAchilles knees of the arrangement.Given the extreme egoisticalnature of the average Nigerianpoliticians, only a revamped andtransparent party admission andcandidate/officer selection processcan save the new All ProgressCongress arrangement fromcertain death.

First, the idea that the partywill and should admit any PDPmember seeking to cross carpet isinsane and will indicate the firstmajor mistake of the alliance. PDPmembers including Governorsseeking membership will destroythe party's brand, ensure thepublic lose quick faith and the samepolitician will soon run right backafter fulfilling their goals ofdestroying a potent opposition.Nigeria's contemporary history isfilled with the Atiku's of PDP thatrun out and no sooner run backwhen their larger ambitions arenot fulfilled. APC is better off settinga high bar for official membership,including banning all PDP past-officials or members within twoyears of exiting the den of

that allowsNigerians tohave a say as towho itscandidates willbe, ensuringl e g i t i m a c ybefore going tothe polls. A seriesof energeticdebates amongits senatorial,governorshipand presidentialc a n d i d a t e sacross the landwill also engagethe political publand ensure itscandidates are

murderers they currently callhome.

Secondly, in order to flourishAPC, must insist that itsmembership be grassroots basedand automatic for currentmembers of the constituent partieswhile expanding rapidly toaccommodate new entrants to thepolitical space. Prominent citizensand professionals currently on thepolitical sideline must beencouraged to join and stand asbulwark against the corruptiveinfluence of PDP. Also, the selectionof officers of the party must betransparent and non-discriminatory against any of theconstituent parties. The era of"godfatherism" has to be bided good-bye, but the integrity of politicalflag bearers must be subject to vetodecision of an elders committee tovet contestants before they face-offin primaries. This will ensurebalance between quality andinclusion.

Furthermore, the new partymust undertake a total rethink ofpolitical campaign andelectioneering strategy. It canpursue an open primary strategy

By Michael Oluwagbemi

battle ready when the D-day ishere. Asiwaju Tinubu was anobservant of the DemocraticConvention, I'm certain suchconventions can be delivered inNigeria as well ensuring that thePDP's old school conventionrepresents its image of old and past,as Nigeria welcomes a new partywith a new image. Optics iseverything in politics!

Aside from Optics, there is greatneed for hard hitting politicaladvertisement and publicitycampaign against the rulingparty. If NBC will not approvetough political Ads for TV, the weband YouTube can be utilizedoutside the boundaries of theirrealm to hit PDP hard andblackberry network can be used todistribute these clips locally. APCmust deliver an interestingcandidate, and stand out in orderto win. It cannot try to out-PDP thePDP itself. The PDP will haveenough rogues to run with, hitthem hard!

Last but not the least, themanifesto writing process that hasbegun better is substantive anddirect in its recommendations to

Christian Lent season, historyand our moral conscienceThe Christian Lent season is

often a time of completespiritual retreat to be

reunited spiritually with ourcreator. With a deep sense ofhumility before God and arealization of our mortality, Lentis a period of deep, intense,internal and interiorized spiritualsurrender to God in order to be inunion with Him and know Himmore. A period of prayer andspiritual giving, the Lent period isalso a private and public spacefor us to live, know, and feel theunjust and immoral class divisionamong us. Thus in going withoutfood for forty days and fortynights we put ourselves in theposition of the poor and needy andwe know in practice what it is tobe in NEED because for forty daysand forty nights HE, Jesus fastedand HE knew what it means tobe without food. And in fastingwe are gently enjoined not to lookgloomy for it is a private andinteriorized spiritual act donebecause of who our God is. Giventhe diversity of the Christianpaths, Lent is often observeddifferently. But the history datesback in centuries and sometimesneeds to be re-told. Hence, thisweek I request for the indulgenceof our readers to allow mepresent the history of Lent as toldby a historian of church history.We will surely be back with ourregular conversations for we aredevoted always to the ethical andmoral path. Please kindly allowme to present:

The origins of Lent and AshWednesday

By Joseph F. KellyWhen Catholics begin their

observation of Lent on AshWednesday [Feb.13], they will becontinuing a tradition that goesback to the earliest days of thechurch. Jesus' immediate disciplescelebrated only one day, the Lord'sDay (Sunday), which theyobserved weekly in honor of Jesus'resurrection. But by the earlysecond century, as the church hadspread throughout much of theRoman world and had grownimmensely in size, the bishopsdecided that they should set asideone Sunday for a specialremembrance of Christ'sresurrection. This, of course, is thefeast we call Easter, a word derivedfrom "eostre", an Old English wordfor "spring". The bishops soonrealized that the Gospel Passionnarratives did not provide enoughinformation to determine the exactdate of Christ's crucifixion andtherefore of the resurrection, so theyworked out a liturgical formula forits celebration, which is why thedate of Easter can occur during aperiod of several weeks. This newfeast caught on quickly and thatcaused the bishops to considersomething else. The Old Testamentrecounts how the ancient Jewswould fast on several occasions, for

example, to make themselvesworthy for the Day of Atonement.The bishops thought it would bebeneficial for Christians to dolikewise. Initially the fast lasted foronly three days, the triduum ofHoly Thursday, Good Friday andHoly Saturday. By the thirdcentury it had extended to what wenow call Holy Week. But in 325,when the bishops of the Romanworld met at the first ecumenicalcouncil at Nicaea, theyrecommended a fast of 40 days.Why? The decrees of the council donot say, but there are severalpossible explanations. Scripture tellsus of three 40-day fasts, one byMoses, one by prophet Elijah and,most importantly, one by Jesus inthe desert during his retreat beforecommencing his public ministry.All these fasts has importance, nutJesus' had a special one because hisoccurred after his baptism in theJordan River by John the Baptist.

Keeping the link by revising theprocess, by the third centurybishops were requiring a 40-daypreparatory fast for candidates forChristian baptism. This practiceprobably influenced the Episcopaldecision at Nicaea. Anotherpossibility might have been thepractices of the monasticcommunities. The Christianmonastic movement began in latethird-century Egypt, and it caught

on quickly as hundreds and thenthousands of believers joined desertcommunities. These monksobserved a40-day fast beforeEaster. Whatever reason or reasonsmoved the bishops, the 40-day fastbecame universally observed bybelievers. We know this period asLent, but, like Easter, this is not aword from early Christianity."Lent" comes from the Old Englishword "lencten", a word for "spring".This is a sensible name not onlybecause Lent occurs mostly in thespring but also because Christ'sresurrection coincided withwarmth and brightness and newlife.

So, now the church had a 40-day fast? Not exactly. The bishopsbelieved that all Christians shouldfast for forty days before Easter, butwas it reasonable to ask people to gofor so long with so little food? Such ademand could deprive farmers andherders of the strength to work theland and care for flocks. There alsowas the issue of health: Some peoplemight find it strenuous to fast for solong. Combining prudence withpastoral care, the bishops decidedto keep 40 days while modifyingthe fast to allow people to eat food oncertain days of the week.

The Western, Latin-speakingchurches suspended the fast onSundays - as is still done in RomanCatholicism today. The Eastern,

Greek-speaking churchessuspended the fast on Saturdaysand Sundays. But this approachmade it impossible to have 40 daysof fasting in a 40-day period, sobishops lengthened the tenure ofLent to include those days when thefast was suspended, thus preserving40 days of fasting. The Easternbishops chose a preparatory periodof seven weeks, excludingSaturdays and Sundays. TheWestern bishops, led by popes, chosea period of six weeks, excludingSundays.

But even this step did not settlematters completely. Because Jesusrose on a Sunday, the bishopsinaugurated the period with theSunday exactly six weeks beforeEaster Sunday, that is, what wenow call the first Sunday in Lent.But six weeks of six days of fastingled to only 36 days of fasting. To besure, that is not a small amount,but it loses it loses the symbolism ofthe 40-day fast of Jesus. By theseventh century, several Westernchurches, including Rome, restoredthe 40-day symbolism by adding 4extra days of fasting before theinitial Sunday. This meant that thefasting, that is, Lent, started on aWednesday.

Scholars cannot be sure whenmarking believers' forehead withashes as a sign of penitence started,but it began no later than the 10thcentury. Soon this day becameknown as Ash Wednesday, whichnow commences the Lenten season.Kelly the author of thisunabridged essay is aprofessor of church history atJesuit-run Carroll Universityin Cleveland, OH, USA.

By Adeolu Ademoyo

get a resounding acceptance byNigerians. The era of big soundingpromises are over. The new partycan adapt one or more radicalreform program including:

A constitutional amendmentthat will allow the currentconstitution to be replaced whollyafter a summit to rethink Nigeria'sstructure as is (If CPC's Buhariagrees the 36 states areunworkable, I think this is a reallyeasy one). A constitutionalamendment to remove immunityfor executive immediately andretroactively Commitments toPublic Service Reforms, to reducepay of political appointees, limit thesize of cabinet and hangers-on andspecify the bureaucratic structureand size. A battle ready plan to fightcorruption proactively with stingsand investigation A commitmentto tax reforms, ensuring no oil/gasrevenue is used to pay salaries Acommitment to infrastructuredevelopment utilizing funds fromoil, gas and mining An immediatecommitment to allow State Police,and reform the Nigeria Police (getrid of those barracks & uglyuniforms, insist on universitygraduates only, and split theenforcement and investigativearms) If the opposition has ears, letthem hear. They should notattempt to solve all problems, butthe most fundamental ones; theirfocus should be on implementingenduring change in the polity notapplying Band-Aid. They mustproject confidence and eliminatebrand dilution to match the PDP inthe field. Only when they do these,will the electorate take their bidseriously and perhaps the darkclouds that current hang above ournation begin to shift. God BlessNigeria.Michael Oluwagbemi is onwww.facebook.com/oluwagbemi

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 PAGE 15

Arsenal: Giant with clay feetTo win, you take what you have,where are, and get the most out of it.You milk it for all it’s worth. You do acommon thing uncommonly well.And, all the time, you keepremembering that winners look forways to win while losers look forexcuses for losing — MartinLuther King

How are the mighty fallen!Only but yesterdayArsenal football club of

England bestrode the scene like agiant. One of the giants of English,nay European, football. Asidefrom their might on the footballfield, the Gunners’ playing style isa beauty to behold. They were, inmany ways, like Barcelona. Fleet-footed, inventive, and stylish. Somuch so that even those who, likeme, are not Arsenal fans, woild castadmiring glances at them.

How are the mighty fallen!From the Olympian height theyoccupied until barely eight or nineyears ago, Arsenal have become ashadow of themselves. Like a flowerfading away after its season ofbloom, the Gunners havedegenerated to “gonners”. From agiant that sparkled and glitteredlike a thousand stars, Arsenal havediminished to a Lilliputian thathuffs and puffs like an old horse, inmatch after match.

Witness, for example, whathappened last Saturday at theEmirates Stadium. Right there intheir own backyard, Arsene

Wenger and his ‘gonners’ stumbledand staggered throughout their FACup match against a lowlyopponent in the shape of BlackburnRovers. Yes;Blackburn, a smallteam languishingsomewhere in thelower cadre ofEnglish football.

Had it been inthose days whenArsenal were trulyArsenal, theywould have “Arse-sinated” Blackburnwith a bombs(sorry, goals) within a fewminutes. But, alas, the Arsenal onparade these days is like acaricature of “our” good oldGunners. Come and see them

running from pillar to postaimlessly. Come and see Blackburntoying with them as they pleased,eventually delivering the sucker

Nigerians are outraged,justifiably so, at theshenanigans of the

country's judiciary which led tothe ridiculously light sentence andeventual freedom last month of aman who pled guilty of robbing thecountry's police pension scheme ofbillions of naira.

The facts of the case speak forthemselves. John Yakubu Yusuf,a former assistant director in thefederal civil service, and six othersare implicated in the theft ofN32.8bn ($218ml) of policepension fund. They go on trial on a20-count charge. Under a pleabargain agreement withprosecutors, Mr. Yusuf pleadsguilty to three charges, includingthe 19th and 20th offences relatingspecifically to him (betraying trustand fraudulently convertingN2bn ($13ml) of police pensionfunds to private use).

The maximum penalty foreach offence is two years. JusticeAbubakar Talba of the FederalHigh Court, Abuja, finds Yusufguilty on three counts and ordersthat the sentences should runconcurrently. He gives Yusuf anoption of N250,000 ($1,700) fineon each of the three counts. Inaddition to the fine, Mr. Yusuf isordered to forfeit to the State, 32property, in Abuja and Gombe,and the sum of N325 ($2.1ml) inrestitution.

In his plea for leniency, Yusuf'slawyer, Theodore Bala Maiyakim,claimed his client had a seriousheart condition. "He has saved thetime of my Lord and being a firstoffender, with no previous recordof conviction, I urge the court totemper justice with mercy andsentence him with least possibleterms," Maiyakim said. Anotherversion of this tale noted thatMaiyakim had "urged the court tobe lenient on his client as he hasailing aged parents andresponsibility to pay the school fees

of his children".There are conflicting reports

about what transpired and theexact amount involved in thiscriminal enterprise. According tothe International Centre forInvestigative Reporting, "Theprosecution and defence lawyersactually had an agreement onspecific outcomes of the case whichincluded a custodial sentencewhich was breached by the judge.Although no formal agreementwas written or signed by any ofthe parties, the two sides agreedwith the judge that first, theaccused person would declare andforfeit all assets he acquired withproceeds of the funds he stole.Secondly, the parties agreed thathe would be given custodialsentence with no option of fine".

It is really difficult to know howmuch Yusuf and his daredevilgang stole. We may never knowhow high up this fraud goes; thevery senior government officials,ministers, maybe, senators andreps, bank managers and sundryother perfidious criminalsinvolved in what clearly is a well-coordinated plot. What is not hardto see is the effect of their bare-faced thievery. We can see it inthe "untimely death" of manypolice pensioners; the families thathave been ruined andimpoverished; the thousand,perhaps millions of children whocouldn't go to school because theperson responsible for payingtheir school fees is dead or has beendenied his paltry income.

But all this is now academic. Ina way, the Yusuf saga has becomea byword for all that is wrong withour laws, criminal justice system,notion of crime and punishmentand national psyche. Our mind-set is that when you steal publicfund, you are stealing from nobodyin particular; you are merely

getting your share of theproverbial national cake. After all,those before you did the same andnothing happened. We have awarped sense of nationhood andhardly realize, or couldn't care less,if our actions bring the country toher knees. The refrain is thateveryone has a price. So, when yousteal, you have to steal enough tobribe or pacify everyone, includingjudges, prosecutors andjournalists.

Since the Yusuf judgement, themedia (mainstream and social)have been awash with examplesof how the country's broken legalsystem has succeeded inshortchanging the masses. Wehave been reminded of the six-month imprisonment of TafaBalogun, a former InspectorGeneral of Police, for corruption andmoney laundering; the two-yearimprisonment of ex-governorDiepreye Alamieyeseigha ofBayelsa State for corruption andmoney laundering; James Ibori,former governor of Delta State,who appeared before JusticeMarcel Awokulehin on 147charges, was set free, only for thegovernor to be found guilty andsentenced to 13 years in prison inBritain; the six-monthimprisonment (or goldenhandshake) given to rogue banker,Cecelia Ibru, for defrauding herbank to the tune of $1bn; the six-month imprisonment with anoption of N3.5ml ($23,000) finefor ex-governor of Edo State, LuckyIgbinedion, for corruption; and the30-month imprisonment of BodeGeorge, former Chairman of theNigerian Ports Authority, andnational vice-chairman,southwest zone, of the People'sDemocratic Party for contractfraud. The examples are endless.

The Tafa Balogun case is,indeed, instructive considering it

No country for petty thievesinvolves the head of a lawenforcement agency. How is itpossible for the chief lawenforcement officer of the countryto steal so much money? I shallreturn to this. I raised this questionin my book, Time to ReclaimNigeria, where I documented TafaBalogun's exploit as a criminalmastermind. He became IGP inMarch 2002, and oversawsecurity during the April 2003national elections. By the time TafaBalogun was convicted in late2005, he had over N5 billion ($33million) of money meant for thepolice in his private accounts. Withmore than ten property around theworld worth over N3 billion ($20million) - property he acquired asa police officer - you won't be wrongto think that Mr. Balogun was anestate agent.

The former IGP was forced toresign in January 2005 afterallegations of bribery, corruptionand dalliance with corruptpoliticians and criminal elementsbecame public. In April 2005, Mr.Balogun was put on trial on 70charges and found guilty ofembezzling about N20 billion($133 million) of police fund. Aftera plea deal, he was sentenced to sixmonths in prison, part of which hespent at the Abuja NationalHospital. We can juxtapose thesesweet deal convictions with the(in)justice for ordinary citizens.About the same time that Yusufwas walking home a freeman withproceeds of his crime, someone wasbeing sentenced to three years inprison, without an option of fine,for stealing a cell phone. InAbeokuta, Ogun State, amagistrate court headed by IdowuOlayinka sentenced 49-year-oldMustapha Adesina to two years inprison for stealing vegetablesvalued at N5,000 ($33) with anoption of N10,000 fine ($66).

By Chido Onumah In Asaba, Delta state, a youngman, Emmanuel Michael, wassentenced to five years in prisonwith hard labour by a ChiefMagistrate Court for stealing goldearrings worth N25,000 ($166).In sentencing Michael, PresidingChief Magistrate, SylvesterEhikwe, stated: "He does notdeserve mercy as burglary is nextto armed robbery." It was reportedthat Michael who had earlier pledguilty to the two-count chargepreferred against him wept in thedock, saying, "I was hungry".There is the gut-wrenching storyof a woman in Suleja prison inNiger State who has beenawaiting trial for over two years,and is forced to live in prison withher six children, for stealing agoat.

It seems our prisons are meantfor and are full of petty thieveswhile high profile criminals strutaround and wine and dine in thepresidency. What happens if ourgoat-stealing mother is later foundnot guilty? How much did it costthe government to prosecute JohnYakubu Yusuf? I am not a learnedfellow so I have left the legalese ofthese matters, particularly thecases involving Justices AbubakarTalba and Sylvester Ehikwe, tolegal minds.

For me, the fundamental issueis the question I raised earlier:What kind of system makes itpossible for public officers to stealso much of our collective wealthwith impunity? The only answerI can come up with is that it is asystem that lacks leadership; onein which the leadership wouldcommit hara-kiri rather than letthe public know what it is worth.When you have a functionalgovernment and the man incharge not only gives a damnabout fighting corruption butleads by example, then the tribe ofJohn Yakubu Yusuf would be theexception rather than the rule.Chidi Onumah is onconumah@hotmail.com

the Capital One Cup by an even muchlowlier team, without a whimper. Inthat match, like in last weekend’sshowdown with Blackburn, and like

in most of their games inrecent years, Arsenalplayed like a teamwithout a spine. Withoutsteel. Without leadership.Without direction.

Needless to say,things started fallingapart for the London-based club when theircoach, Arsene Wenger,put money above everyother thing.

Accordingly, Wenger started sellingArsenal’s best players with recklessabandon. Even if you wereArsenal’s direct rivals (Chelsea,Man United, Liverpool, Man City,

etc) Wenger wouldn’t hesitate to sellhis best boys to you, as long as areloaded with a few dollar notes. Hewould, for instance, sell a Fabregasor van Persie or William Gallas toKaduna Babes at N390 and rush toa Nursery school in Ajegunle to buya so-called “talented” boy at N5.

“Armed” with a legion of suchplenty-for-a-penny youngsters,Arsenal would storm the PremierLeague, FA Cup, and ChampionsLeague fooling themselves thatthey can outwit the likes of RealMadrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, ManU, and other serious clubs whoinvest heavily in world classplayers. The result is evident foreven the blind to see: in the past 8years Arsenal have not been ableto win any competition. Not eventhe lowly Capital One Cup.

This free fall is most likely tocontinue for as long as Wenger sitstight at Arsenal. Every season hechurns out silly excuses and alibisinstead of trophies and glory. Whilehis fellow coaches like Ferguson,Mancini, and Mourinho look forways to win, Wenger look forexcuses to explain his criminalfailure. My heart bleeds for thelong-suffering Gunners. AlthoughI am a “Man U 4ever”, the show ofshame going on at the Emiratessickens me no end.

SONDE’SSONDE’SSONDE’SSONDE’SSONDE’SDIARDIARDIARDIARDIARYYYYY

By Sonde Abbahasonde@yahoo.com

0803-2159-249 (SMS only, pls)

punch which knocked Arsenalfrom the FA Cup unceremoniously.

It would be recalled that barely acouple of weeks earlier Arsenal hadbeen ignominiously bundled out of

“Needless to say, things started falling apart for the London-based clubwhen their coach, Arsene Wenger, put money above every other thing.Accordingly, Wenger started selling Arsenal’s best players with recklessabandon. Even if you were Arsenal’s direct rivals (Chelsea, Man United,

Liverpool, Man City, etc) Wenger wouldn’t hesitate to sell his best boys to you,as long as are loaded with a few dollar notes

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013PAGE 16

Court grants N2mbail to EFCCemploymentracketeer

Justice Mohammed Talba ofAbuja High Courtyesterday granted bail to

Ifeanyi Obiora standing trial foralleged impersonation and obtainingmoney under false pretext.

The accused was arraigned bythe Economic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) for allegedlydefrauding job seekers by claimingthat he could offer them jobs at theEFCC.

Talba, in his ruling on theapplication, granted him bail in sumof N2 million with two sureties, oneof whom should be a civil servant notbelow Grade Level 12.

He also ordered the accused tosubmit his international passport tothe registrar of the court.

EFCC’s Counsel, Mrs. DeborahAdemu-Eteh, had told the court thatObiora was accused of defraudingpeople by offering them EFCC jobsopportunities via Website addressEFCCrecruitment@gmail.com.

At the resumed hearing, theEFCC counsel said the case was slatedfor continuation of trial within trialto determine the authenticity of theaccused’s statement while in EFCCcustody.

Mrs. Tinoye Kehinde, aprosecution witness, led in testimonyby the EFCC counsel, said the accusedallegedly made his statementvoluntarily.

The accused, through hisCounsel, Mr Chukwu Okafor,however, said that his statement wasallegedly obtained under duress.

The judge then adjourned thematter to April 9, 2013 forcontinuation of trial within trial.(NAN)

2 men arraigned foralleged conspiracy, forgeryThe Police yesterday

arraigned two men,Ahmed Oladapo, 35, of

Niger State , and BonifaceEkeocha, 37, of Kubwa,Abuja, before a Wuse Zone 2Magistrates ’ Court foral leged conspiracy andforgery .

Oladapo and Ekeocha are

standing trial on a two-countcharge of cr iminalconspiracy and forgerycontrary to sections 90 and367 of the Penal Code.

Oladapo and Ekeochadenied the allegations.

Pol ice Prosecutor AmbiAyuba told the court that thePol ice Force Headquarters

A soldier taking photographs of interest at NYSC camp, in Kubwa, Abuja, recently. Photos: Justin Imo-owo

Aisha Galadima, 25, ofZamani village, Lugbein Abuja yesterday prayed

a Lugbe Area Court, Abuja, todissolve her marriage following herhusband’s decision to marry herbrother’s ex-wife.

Galadima said she was fed upwith the 3-year-old marriage dueto irreconcilable differences withher husband, Nasiru Yakubu.

She told the court that sheadvised her husband against his bidto marry her brother’s former wife,when he briefed her on hisintention, but he refused to listento her.

“I told him I cannot put up withsuch a sacrilege. I would rather optout of the marriage and go back tomy parents if he goes ahead tomarry her, but he refused to listento me.

“Besides, My Lord, I am alreadyfed up with the marriage due to so

many irreconcilable differenceswith my husband. I want to leavehis house and have my peace,’’she said.

When the Presiding officer,Haruna Masanawa, askedYakubu to defend the allegationsagainst him by his wife, he deniedthem.

Yakubu said he was notaware that his new wife was anex-wife to his wife’s elder brother,adding that he was, however,aware that she was from thesame village with the plaintiff.

Masanawa, after hearingboth sides, directed the parties tobring their witnesses and

Woman seeks divorce following her husband’salleged decision to marry her brother’s ex-wife

adjourned the case to March 4,2013 for continuation of hearing.

“This case is hereby adjournedto March 4, 2013 and the courtorders that summons be issued towitnesses to both parties toappear before this honourablecourt on the adjourned date,”Masanawa said. (NAN)

got a tip off on November 13,2012 and that the twoaccused persons were foundin possession of a forgedpolice letter

head which they could notaccount for duringinvestigation.

Senior Magistrate RamatuGuma granted each of them

bail in the sum of N1 millionand a surety each in like sum.

Guma said that the suretymust have a defined addresswithin the court ’sjurisdiction and swear to anaffidavit of means andadjourned the matter toMarch 11, 2013 for hearing.(NAN)

Man, 42, dockedfor allegedcriminal breachof trust, cheating

An Abuja Grade Two AreaCourt, sitting at Kado,Abuja has granted bail to one

Kenneth Akubude, 42, of AsoMararaba in Nasarawa Statearraigned over an alleged criminalbreach of trust and cheating.

The Police Prosecutor, Mr. SimonIbrahim, told the court that one Mrs.Nelly Madukwe of NNPC Area 11, SBIFlat 10, Garki, Abuja, reported thematter at the Calimour Police Out-station on February 2, 2013.

He said the complainantentrusted N120, 000 to the accusedperson to buy raffia palm for her.

Ibrahim said the accused personbought raffia palm worth N82, 000and converted the remaining N22,000 to his personal use.

He told the court that the offencecontravened the provisions of sections312 and 322 of the Penal Code.

The accused, however, pleadednot guilty to the charge. The PresidingJudge, Mr Ahmed Ado, granted theaccused person bail in the sum of N20,000 with one surety in like sum.(NAN)

The absence of thecomplainant, Mr PhilipAnigbo, at a Senior

Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, onMonday, stalled the trial of one RuthUsangu, who allegedly stole N1million entrusted to her.

Usangu, a sales girl, is accused ofcriminal breach of trust and theft ofN1 million from an Abuja-based

company, Bicu and Sons Ltd, Wuse,Market, Abuja.

Police prosecutor Francis Tankotold the court that Usangu was giventhe amount to deposit in thecompany’s account with ZenithBank.

“Instead of depositing the money,she converted it to her personal use.’’

Tanko said the matter was

reported at the Wuse Police Station,Abuja, by Anigbo on December 12,2012. Tanko said the offencecontravened the provisions of sections314 and 287 of the Penal Code.

He urged the court to adjourn thematter to enable the complainant tobe in court.

Senior Magistrate CelestineObinna adjourned the matter toMarch 12 for continuation of hearing.(NAN)

Absence of complainant stalls trial of a womanaccused of stealing N1m

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013PAGE 18

Expert calls forbalancebetweenwater demandand supply

In water provision, a balancehas to be struck betweendemand and supply, a professor

emeritus and Chairman,Technical Committee, WestAfrican Water Partnership, Prof.Lekan Oyebande, has said.

West African WaterPartnership is the regional branchoffice of Global Water Partnership(GWP), an international networkthat offers advice for sustainablemanagement of water resources.

The Emeritus professor atUniversity of Lagos told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abujathat more water from the surface,the river and undergroundsources should be harnessed forincreased water availability.

“So many people want water,and so much water is needed andwhat we are able to supply is short,even the quality of this may notalso be right so, these are theproblems.

“The way to solve it is to providemore water from the surface, fromthe river and from the ground, butthat is not the only problem.

“We also need to look at thedemand to try and use it effectivelybecause water is finite, water is notsomething you can continue totake; it has a limit and quantity.

“We need to manage ourdemand to use it effectively andnot to waste it,” Oyebande said.

He said that it was importantto bring these two issues of demandand supply together for bettermanagement of water throughGlobal Water Partnership.

“So the two heads have to gotogether but of course, themanagement via this global waterpartnership is about managementof water, to manage it in a waythat the two sides can achieve ahappy balance

“And in doing so, people haveto look at the whole resources andalso realise that water is not just asocial gold but it has a cost to bringit to people.

“Those who are too poor to paycould be assisted but those who areable to pay should pay the rightprice, these are some of the thingswe need to do,” he said.

He urged Nigeria to takeadvantage of water harvest whichis in accordance with Internationalpractices and carried out byInternational Non-GovernmentalOrganisations (NGO), incollaboration with countries.

“Rain water harvesting is theidea of collecting rain water as it isfalling immediately before itreaches the ground and to store itand to use it.

Oyebande said that there wasalso the need to understand thestate of water governance,management and constraints inorder to create appropriate tools foruse in the solution of waterchallenges in Nigeria.

He further said that access tosafe drinking water and sanitation,irrigation and watershedmanagement were the four areasof challenges.(NAN)

NGO wants proper sensitisationto restore reading culture

maybe he has graduated and islooking for job.

“If we are to talk about what isto be done; the problem has to beholistically resolved, the economicchallenges facing the youth is amajor issue.

“There is also need foradvocacy, to let the youth knowthat when you develop yourselfintellectually through reading,you are able to face challengesbetter.

“A mind that is developedthrough reading is more potent toface challenges of daily survival,than a mind that is so shallow,because of lack of reading.

“When you read, you would

The Executive Director ofSociety for YouthResearch in Nigeria, Mr

Olawale Rasheed has called forproper sensitisation, to restorereading culture in Nigeria.

Rasheed told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN)yesterday in Abuja that failureto imbibe good reading habitcontributed to the fallingstandards of education in thecountry.

He said that poor readinghabit was common among adultsand young people; saying that ‘’itaffects them negatively,especially in terms of being selfemployed’’.

He identified harsh economiccondition and lack of propersensitisation as some of the causesof poor reading culture. He calledfor proper sensitisation bygovernments at all levels andurged parents to inculcate intheir children reading habits.

“Growing up in those days,you are encouraged to read anddevelop yourself educationally;but this days people prefer shortcut and hardly read, expectingthat there will be miracles duringexams.

“And that is why you see a highlevel of examination malpractice.An average youth is preoccupiedwith economic issues; survival,

The Deputy Director,Aesthetics and Amenityin the Federal Capital

Territory (FCT), Malam AdamuAbuja, says the FCTadministration has removed a billboard worth N12.5million fromthe city centre.

Abuja told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Abujayesterday that the bill board wasremoved because it was affecting

the aesthetics of some magnificentbuildings in the city centre.

According to him, the billboard sited along Sheraton Hotelroad is a stumbling block to somevital buildings like the PTDF andSilver Bird Gallery among others.

He explained that the FCTExecutive Council ordered theremoval of the board erected in2009 to create a conduciveenvironment for the public and

private building in the area.“The owner of the bill board

paid N12.5 million to FCTA for itserection site in 2009, but erected90 x 18 metres, which was twicethe size approved for him”, he saidadding that, “Although, whenthe approval was given to him,some of the buildings were notthere; that was why it wasapproved”.

“But now, it has to leave

FCTA removes N12.5million bill boardbecause of the major buildingsbehind it and due to its size,’’ headded.

According to him, the owner ofthe bill board will be given anotherspace along Airport Road becausesuch, “a magnificent board canonly be erected in the satellitetowns”.

He said that the FCTA hadvarious regulations and standardsfor approving space for bill boards.

create a world of your own andwhatever crisis or problem you arefacing in the outside world, theywould appear so small.

“People don’t read; when youread you learn from other peoples’experience, you would gain newideas.”

He advised governments at alllevels to overhaul the educationsector, by equipping school librarieswith internet facilities, toencourage reading culture.

He also advised parents to equipthe home libraries withmotivational and intellectualbooks, to encourage children toread, outside the schoolenvironment.

Physically challenged people begging at Kubwa, in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

An Upper Area Court atGudu in Abujayesterday granted a

N200,000 bail to a businessman,Ibrahim Umar, for allegedlyreceiving stolen property.

The offence is contrary toSection 317 of the Penal Code. ThePresiding Judge, Mr AdamuWakili, in granting bail to theaccused person, whose address

was given as Jabi Garage inAbuja, said “you

must present a reliable suretywith a fixed address and who isresident in the FCT.

“The surety will forfeit thebonded sum to the FederalGovernment should the accusedjump bail,’’ he said.

The Police Prosecutor, MrBitrus Dauda, said that one Cpl.

Lucky Okpe, attached to theMaitama Police Station arrestedone Dan-Alhaji Baballo and ArmaYau, both of Panteka in Dutse,Abuja on Feb. 11, 2013.

“The accused persons werearrested in Maitama area of Abujain possession of NITEL cables,’’ hesaid.

Dauda said the matter waslater transferred to the CID in the

Court grants N200, 000 bail to businessmanFCT for further investigation.

He said that during policeinvestigation, it was discoveredthat Umar received the stolencables belonging to the FederalGovernment at the spot of thecrime.

The accused, however, deniedthe charge and the matter wasadjourned to March 9, 2013 forhearing. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 PAGE 17

Recently, the government of Nasarawa state announced its decisions to embark on demolition ofillegal structures at Mararraba, Karu local government. The exercise began yesterday and ourphotographer, Mahmud Isa was there and he captured the events with his lenses.

PAGE 19PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Management Tip of the DayLearn from your rivals

INSIDE

Competing with a workcolleague can feel like awaste of time. Why do you

care so much about what she does?Why is she obsessing about youraccomplishments? But rivalrieslike these can help answer twoimportant questions:· Whatare my weaknesses? Rivalry is

Lagos T/fair complexhost Africa’s largest

jewellry market

- Pg 21BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSEmail: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk Mob: 08033644990

often a form of envy: Yourcompetitor has a trait or skill you(sometimes grudgingly) admire.If you find something incrediblyirritating about him, think aboutwhether it’s because you lack thevery competency you’recriticizing.· Am I thinkingbig enough? Stalking a rival can

unlock breakthrough possibilitiesfor growth. If she is inventing anew product or launching a newinitiative, is there something youcan do that would have an evenbigger impact?

Source: Harvard BusinessReview

L-R: Director of Finance and Management Services, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr. ChrisIwuagwu, Director-General of BPP, Engineer Emeka Ezeh and Director, Special Procurement of BPP, Mr.Ayo Aderibigbe, during the BPP Follow-up Procurement Planning Workshop for Ministries Departmentand Agencies, in Abuja, yesterday.

BPP threatens MDAs with sanctionon fake procurement docs

The Bureau of PublicProcurement (BPP) said itwill deal with Ministries,

Departments and Agencies(MDAs) found submitting fakeprocurement documents .

The agency's boss, Engr.Emeka Ezeh, represented byDirector, Special procurementMr. Ayo Aderigbibe handed overthe warning yesterday at theopening of the 2013stakeholders’ workshop for MDAsin Abuja.

He stressed that apart fromthe cancellation of suchdocument, the bureau wouldimpose stricter sanctions on theaffected MDA.The warningcame against the backdrop offindings by BPP that MDA

frequently violate procurementprocedures.

He said the MDAs are in thehabit of interjecting othermaterials after the originalplans and this makes it difficultin the procurement process.Hesaid the bureau is poised anddetermined to rise above thechallenge posed by MDAs thatindulge in the subversion ofprocurement process.

He said the bureau isdrawing its strength from thezeal and determination of thepresent administration to fightcorruption through ensuringbest public procurementpractices,According to him, it isthe plan of the agency to takeNigeria to a level where the bestpractices in public procurement

are implemented in the overallinterest of nationaldevelopment.

“It is the belief of the agencythat if the public contractingsystem is governed by theprinciples of integrity,transparency, competence asnational ethos, a good groundwould have been provided for thesocial, cultural andtechnological advancement ofthe country”the DG, said.

Ezeh said when corruption inpublic procurement gives wayto open, transparent andcompetitive federalprocurement system that isintegrity driven, the nationwould no longer be in doubt whatthe benefit of an ideal publicprocurement is.

64m Nigerians excluded from financial services - Sanusi

By Abdulwahab Isa

The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Governor, SanusiLamido Sanusi has disclosed

that 64.8 million Nigeriansrepresenting 46.3 per cent of theadult population are excludedfrom financial and other bankingservices in the country.

Speaking at the apex bank’sflag-off the implementation of apilot National FinancialInclusion Strategy (NFIS) inMaiduguri, the Borno statecapital on Friday, Sanusi said thehuge exclusion gap wasoccasioned by long distanceaccess points, cumbersomeeligibility requirements, lowfinancial literacy, and highcosts of financial services.

He noted that to achieve theCBN’s mandate and overalleconomic development of theNorth-East sub-region and thecountry, the barriers to financialservices are to be overcome andremoved.

“The four barriers toaccessing financial services inthe urban and rural centresunderscored the need to developand implement this NationalFinancial Inclusion Strategy(NFIS),” he stressed.

He said the primary aim orobjectives of NFIS, was to reducethe financial exclusion rate ofadults to 20 per cent by the year2020.

On how to ensure that everyadult Nigerian has access tofinancial services, Sanusi said,“the key initiatives in theStrategy include a tieredapproach to KYC agent banking,a cash-less policy, a financialliterary framework, consumerprotection, and theimplementation of creditenhancement schemes andprogrammes.”

He said specific targets havealready been set for paymentservices, credit, income,pension, DMB and MicrofinanceBanks branches, ATMs, POS,banking agents, youths, andwomen.

He added: “A variety ofstakeholders have beenidentified to support the fullimplementation of this strategyand their roles and

responsibilities have beendefined.”

The stakeholders, accordingto the CBN chief, would need tocommit sufficiently tosupporting the strategy and theCBN would need to take a lead incoordinating and promoting thestrategy in order to achieve itsgoals and objectives.

In his remarks, GovernorKashim Shettima stated that inBorno state, a total of four millionadults are being excluded frombanking services. He, however,noted that insecurity to lives andproperty in the state is notunconnected to poverty,unemployment, and illiteracy.

He also assured the CBNgovernor that maximumsecurity would be provided to allthe base-stations of telecomfirms, as they are core and basicinfrastructures needed forproviding financial services tothe people.

The National Association ofMicro-Finance Banks(NAMB) has called on state

governments to establish moreMicro-Finance Banks (MFBs) toprovide employmentopportunities at the grassroots.

The national president of theassociation, Mr. Jethro Akun,made the call in an interview withnewsmen in Abuja. Akun said theMFBs would serve as a veritablemeans of channelling micro-creditfacilities to low income earners andthe poor at the grassroots.

He also urged states to considerthe importance of financialinclusion to help people withlimited or no access to formalbanking services.

According to him, it is a legalrequirement for states and localgovernments to set aside one percent of their annual budget formicro-credit scheme. He said thatthe association would encouragethe states to use their one per centfor the establishment of MFBs toencourage financial inclusion.

Akun commended the Kanostate government for taking thelead in establishing MFBs at thegrassroots and urged other statesto emulate the Kano model.

He also commended the

Central Bank of Nigeria forgranting licences to 37 MFBs at astretch in Kano State.

“To us as NAMB, it is a gooddevelopment. Looking at it fromthe surface, it will look as ifgovernment is now coming in torun MFBs. But what governmentis doing is driving development inthe sub-sector because of thepassion government has to reduceunemployment, poverty at thegrassroots level.’’

The NAMB national presidentsaid it was instructive that KanoState Government planned tosubsequently divest from the banksand allow the communities orcitizens within that localgovernment area to run theestablishment. He expressed thehope that the establishment of moreMFBs at the grassroots would bringdown the interest rate.

According to statistics from theCBN, about 56.3 million or 64.1per cent of Nigerians had no accessto formal banking services. Theapex bank, which recently issueda new set of guidelines for the MFBsin the country, believes the sub-sector has the potential tocontribute to poverty reduction,economic growth anddevelopment.(NAN)

NAMB wants moremicrofinance banks

DMO offers N105bn worth of bonds

The Debt ManagementOffice (DMO) has issuedthree tranches of Federal

Government’s bonds totallingN105 billion to investors. The bondshave tenors of between five and 20years.

In its February bond auctionsummary posted on its Website, theDMO said that the five and seven-year tenor bonds would maturein April 27, 2017 and June 29,2019, respectively.

A breakdown of the offersshowed that the five- year andseven- year bonds worth N5 billioneach, while the 10 and 20-yearbonds worth N15 billion and N20billion, respectively.

The five and seven-year bondshave a coupon rate or a total yieldrate of 10.68 per cent and 10.96per cent respectively. Also, the 10and 20-year bonds are pegged at10.80 per cent and 10.90 per centeach.

PAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

COMPANYNEWS

SMEDAN

The Small and MediumEnterprises DevelopmentAgency of Nigeria

(SMEDAN), and the SwissGovernment-backedInternational Organisation forMigration (IOM) have fortifiedtheir existing collaboration bysigning a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) for therehabilitation of AssistedVoluntary Returnees (AVRs),trafficked persons and othermigrant beneficiaries of IOMprogrammes in Nigeria.

IOM’s Chief of Mission, Mr.Martin Ocaga, signed on behalfof the organisation, while theDirector-General of SMEDAN,Alhaji Muhammad Nadada Umarsigned on behalf of SMEDAN at aceremony held at SMEDANHeadquarters in Abuja.

Ocaga noted that IOM is anorganisation that is committedto assisting in meeting theoperational challenges ofmigration, encourages socialand economic developmentthrough migration, and workstowards effective respect ofhuman rights and well-being ofmigrants.

Apapa terminal

Port terminal operator,APM Terminals ApapaLimited, has introduced

satellite-based containerlocation system capable ofensuring 99.5 per centaccuracy of container locationand inventory in the terminalyard to aid prompt servicedelivery at the port.

The equipment includes asatellite-based GlobalPositioning System (GPS) forcontainers, and a multi-levelcontainer inspection facility forphysical examination ofcontainers by Customsoperatives.

The Managing Director ofAPM Terminals Apapa, Mr.Dallas Hampton, made this knownin Lagos, saying thatmanual systems cannotachieve more than 90 percentaccuracy.

Indorama

The management ofIndorama ElemePetrochemicals Limited

had affirmed on Friday that allplans have been concludedtowards setting up one ofAfrica’s largest fertiliser plantsin Eleme, Rivers State.

Disclosing this during a visitby the National GoodGovernance Team to thecompany in continuation of itsproject tour in the state, the MDsaid that the plant would bedesigned to produce 1.4 milliontonnes of fertiliser annually,and would start production bythe fourth quarter of 2015.

He said the plant would beinvolved in the production ofUrea, NPK and other types offertilisers if work is concluded asplanned.

Effect of Okada ban oncommercial activities in KadunaTransportation is one of the

basic dividends ofdemocracy, which Nigeria

is still struggling to provide forit’s citizenry despite the hugesums of money budgeted everyyear for the development of agood transport network.

While the government isstill struggling to provide thisparticular dividend across thenation, inter-citytransportation has becomechaotic and a daily grind forthose who patronize publictransport system.

In many of the major citiesin Nigeria, the most commonmode of transportation withinthe city is motorbike transportpopularly known as Okada.

With the recent rise interrorism in the country, publictransport system has become adaily task most people wouldrather avoid by using Okada.

Of recent there has been aseries of Okada bans across thenation due myriad of reasonsdepending on which state youreside in.

Commercial motorcycleservices have been banned instates like Enugu, Anambra,Delta and Bayelsa states

While in places like Bornoand Yobe the major reason forthe ban is the growing and onending issue of terrorist attacksusing Okada, places like Lagosare concerned about safety oftheir citizenry and restoringsanity to their roads as well assecurity.

In Kano and Kaduna wherethe business of Okada is mostvisible and lucrative in theNorth, the ban of commercialmotorcycle services is a recentpolicy of the state governmentas a direct result of an attack onthe Emir of Kano.

While Kano has implementedthe ban, in Kaduna thegovernment is in talks withOkada associations and otherstakeholders.

One of the direct effects of theban will be on commercialactivities in the state.

Mal. Usman, a clothesmerchant on the busy AhmaduBello Way says, “it is not a goodidea, if they ban it, I will spendtwo hours before I get to themarket, while on an Okada only15 mins”.

Oga Rashid an electronicsdealer says there is nothing thathe can do about it so he isalready planning on how toadapt. “ I employ eight peopleand they all use Okada if theyare to get here on time but it’sgovernment and what can youdo”.

Most shop owners across theAhmadu Bello Way complainedof the difficulty of getting towork and how the ban will makeit more difficult for them to opentheir shops on time.

From Nasiru Mu’azu Isa

of this boys were criminals butthe Okada changed them andnow you take it from them,what do you think will happen”he asked?

Aisha who sells kitchenutensils observed that it is alegitimate means of income,“they are not stealing, it is asource of income and thegovernment should worryabout what those boys will dowithout it”.

Alh. Bala said a largenumber of Okada riders parktheir bikes on his street and asa result have made the streetmuch safer, “they park on mystreet and since then we nolonger have problems, they arelike the vigilante of the street”.

Some also worried abouthow the ban will create atransportation nightmare forall involved. “I was in Kano afew days ago and I know howmuch I suffered because therewas no Okada, people aresuffering and the Keke Napepis not enough”, said John a shoedealer.

Though there are pressingsecurity concerns about theOkada, clearly there is still aneed for them in the societyuntil an alternative solution isfound.

This can be a goodopportunity for thegovernment to revamp thetransport system in the stateby providing massiveinvestment and soft loans orsubsidized hire purchasevehicles.

Ms. Helen a boutique ownersaid if the government canprovide an alternative to thepublic, then the ban can bejustified.

Alhaja, a buka owner saidher customers are mainly theOkada riders who stop duringtheir breaks to eat, “ah mybusiness don finish be dat; nadem be my customers”, shelamented.

Usman, who runs apurchase hire business for

Okada riders said he has over20 boys running Okada forhim, “this ban will close mybusiness down” he observed.

As a large number of peopleworry about the direct impactof the ban on their businesses,an equal number worriedabout the security impact ofthe ban.

Mal. Bashir who runs abusiness centre worried aboutwhat will happen to all theyouths riding the Okada, “some

Governor of Kaduna state, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero

Before the ban, Okada rider waiting for passengers

PAGE 22 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Lagos Trade Fair Complex hosts Africa’s largest jewelry marketFrom Suleiman Idris, Lagos

Six years after relocating outof Idumota to commenceoperations at its ultra-

modern “Super Plaza” inside theInternational Trade Fair Complexalong Lagos - Badagry ExpressRoad, the Association ofProgressive Traders of Nigeria(APT) has grown tremendouslyin size and in activities, to becomethe biggest jewelry andaccessories market in Africa.

The APT president, JudeOkeke who revealed this tonewsmen during their 6thanniversary celebration inLagos, also hinted that thecurrent value of the jewelryedifice is over N18 billion, whilethe traders’ population nowstands above ten thousand.

“As you can see, this is the APTSuper Plaza. It is a whole salemarket where you find the bestand finest grades of jewelry andaccessories at cheapest prices. Weare still expanding, work willsoon begin at our new officecomplex and everything here isworld standard.In the meantime,we still have enough space forshowcasing our goods,warehousing, parking lots,shopping and vehicularmovement. Our business isflourishing and members are allhappy. No wonder we call here

our own promised land. Theconcession of Trade Fair Complexto Aulic Nigeria Limited ishowever a major challengefacing the traders at themoment”. According to APT’ssecretary general ObioraChijioke, the traders arecontesting the alledgedfraudulent acquisition of LagosInternational Trade Fair Complexwith no regard to theirmultibillion investments whichexisted long before theconcession.

“We had an agreement withthe then Federal Ministry of

Trade and Commerce that thealready commercialised portionsshould be excluded fromprivatization. Despite all effortsby the consortium of tradersoperating in the complex whichinclude Balogun BusinessAssociation, Auto Spare PartsAnd Machineries DealersAssociation, Association ofProgressive Traders, Call ParkVentures, Lakeview Hotel, andother stake holders, to receive fairhearing during the concessionexercise, the Bureau of PublicEnterprises (BPE) still wentahead and sold the entire

complex to Aulic Nigeria Limited.“Their aim is to colonize and

enslave over sixty thousandNigerian traders and their hugeinvestments at the complexwhich is worth more than N85billion. We are calling on theFederal Government of Nigeriato please protect our rights asresponsible and law abidingcitizens of the country, byreviewing this fraudulentacquisition of Lagos Trade FairComplex by Aulic NigeriaLimited,” he said.

The APT image maker UcheChinweze, listed bad access roads,

L-R: Bello Salihu (advisor), Rev. sis Jovita Owolabi Juliana (advisor) Hajiya Falilat (advisor), Ruth Grace Osula (mentor) Nasiru Yusuf(advisor) and the SAGE Global crystallites of Junior Secondary School, Area 10 Garki, during their recent visit on Valentine's Day to theVictorine Foster home, Gwarimpa, Abuja, to extend and share love with the children.

The African DevelopmentBank (AfDB) is to spend$1.5 billion (N240 bn) on

projects in the Niger Deltaregion, Abuja and some states,the bank’s representative inNigeria, Dr. Ousmane Dore, hassaid.

Dr. Ousmane Dore said thatthe projects include theconstruction of East-Westhighway in the Niger Deltaregion, financing of Abuja urbantransportation programmes andagriculture. He said: “We are

developing new operations forNigeria to enable us to financeroad projects in the Niger Deltaregion, Abuja urbantransportation programmes,and agricultural initiatives.

“These projects are containedin the new developmentalstrategy being mapped out forNigeria. They are projects thebank is preparing for thecountry. “We will go to theboard of the bank for approvalsoon. Immediately the boardapproves it, implementation ofthe projects would start as partof our ongoing concern to

improve infrastructure in thecountry.”

He said the projects wouldhave a gestation period of fouryears (2013-2016), adding thatthey are short term. He said thedecision to evolve a newfinancing strategy for thecountry was borne out of theneed to encourage growth ofsome sensitive areas. He said theprojects are new and differentfrom the ones earlier approvedand executed by the bank.

The projects, he said, are notonly developmental, butunderscore the bank’s plans and

AfDB plans N240 bn projects for Niger Delta, FCTprogrammes for member states.Dore said the bank had earlierapproved $2.2 billion forinfrastructural projects inNigeria, adding that the moneywas meant to finance privatelyand publicly-driven projects inthe country.

He said $1.3 billion wasearmarked for private projects,while the public projects got$900 million. “Altogether, weare spending $2.2 billion onprojects in Nigeria. We havestarted implementing someprojects, while others have notbeen executed.”

By Aminu Imam

illegal check points by the policeand customs, as well asdilapidated infrastructureswithin the Trade Fair Complexamong the current challenges ofthe market.

“Our relationship with thestate and local government arevery cordial. But the newmanagement of the complex is nothelping matters. Despite all therevenue collected daily from thetraders and our customers,nothing is done to reduce oursufferings, at least by upgradingthe roads and infrastructureswithin the Trade Fair Complex.”

Some of the biggestcompanies listed on theNigerian Stock Exchange

(NSE) are to be fined millions ofnaira for filing their financialstatements for the years 2011 and

2012 after the regulatory duedates.

In its X-compliance reportreleased yesterday, managementof the exchange says the sanctionsare in accordance with provisionsof Section 14 of appendix onehundred and eleven of its listing

rules.While there are 32 companies

involved, some of the mostprominent named in the reportinclude: Dangote Flour Mills,Oando, Conoil, Union Bank, WemaBank, and Mutual BenefitsAssurance.

NSE fines companies for late filling of financial statementFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos Those to pay the highest fines

are Linkage Assurance, EquityAssurance, Standard Alliance,Mutual Benefits Assurance,Costain, Unic Insurance, GuineaInsurance, Wema Bank, IPWA andJohn Holt.All 32 companies are topay a total sum of N56.3 million.

Firms involved in the sales ofthe nation’s crude oil havedemanded that the Federal

Government increase theallocations granted to them, as away of encouraging local capacity.

The local oil firms haveappealed to the government toreserve specific percentage of thecrude mainly for indigenous firms.In an interview with the group,the Chief Executive, Oando Plc,Mr. Wale Tinubu said that it wasvery possible for the government

to considerably grant such localcompanies some incentives inrelation to tax.

Tinubu said, “We are inabsolute support of growingindigenous capacity in every facetof our oil and gas industry. This isbecause the local companies are

Indigenous firms call for higher allocation on crude lifting By Etuka Sunday paying their taxes, reinvesting

their capital and creatingenormous job opportunities for thelarger community.” Statingfurther, he said that suchencouragement was capable ofboosting local industries.

Microsoft has announced itson-going commitment todriving opportunities for

African youth through its ‘YouthSpark’ initiative.

Microsoft Youth Spark is aglobal initiative that aims to createopportunities for 300 millionyouth in more than 100 countriesduring the next three years.Theinitiative includes Corporate SocialInvestment , Computer Training,which is aimed at empoweringyouth to imagine and realize theirfull potential and connecting themwith greater opportunities foreducation, employment andentrepreneurship.

“It is a sad reality that whileyoung Africans are more literatethan their parents, more of themremain unemployed,” said DjamBakhshandegi, CSI ProgramManager at Microsoft in Africa.Our Youth Spark and other CSIactivities is our belief that relevantinnovation holds the key tounlocking the answers to our mostpressing challenges in the region.

“Through Youth Spark, in sub-Saharan Africa alone, we havealready reached over half a millionyoung people and made $1.1million worth of softwaredonations to non-Government-organisations. In addition we havetrained almost 30, 000 teachersthrough our Partners In Learningtools as well as equipping hundredsof small & medium businesses withrelevant start up skills.

Microsoft toengage youthson AfricaneconomicgrowthBy Chris Alu

PEOSPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 PAGE 23

Report as at Monday, February 18, 2013

PAGE 24 PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

How gunmen outwitted security to takecaptive Setraco’s foreign workers in BauchiGunmen attacked a

camp for ac o n s t r u c t i o n

company in northernNigeria, killing a guard andkidnapping seven foreignworkers from Britain,Greece, Italy, Lebanon andthe Philippines,authorities said Sunday, inthe biggest kidnapping yetin a region under attack byIslamic extremists.

The attack Saturdaynight happened inJama’are, a town in Bauchistate. There, the gunmenfirst attacked a localprison, burning two policetrucks, Bauchi state policespokesman HassanMuhammed told TheAssociated Press.

The gunmen thentargeted a workers’ campfor Lebanese constructioncompany Setraco, which isbuilding a road in the area,Muhammed said. Thegunmen shot dead a guardat the camp beforekidnapping the foreignworkers, the spokesmansaid.

“The gunmen came withexplosives, which theyused to break some areas,”Muhammed said. He didnot elaborate and an APjournalist could not

immediately reach thetown, which is about 125miles north of the statecapital, Bauchi.

One British citizen, one

Greek, one Italian, threeLebanese and one Filipinowere kidnapped, saidAdamu Aliyu, the chairmanof the local government

area that encompassesJama’are. He said one of thehostages was a woman,while the rest were men. Heinitially had said four of thehostages were Lebanese.He blamed the confusionon incorrect informationhe received from his staff.

Italian news agencyANSA later said authoritiesconfirmed an Italian hadbeen kidnapped. It quotedForeign Minister GiulioTerzi as saying the safety ofthe hostage must be given“absolute priority.”

Greece confirmed oneof its citizens wasabducted. A statementfrom Greece’s foreignministry said authoritieshad a plane on standby tosend investigators toNigeria and that its foreignminister had been incontact with Terzi.

“Two Greek policeofficers, liaisons inGreece’s Nigerian Embassy,are in contact with theircolleagues of the countriesinvolved and the Nigerianauthorities,” the statementsaid.

Britain’s Foreign Officesaid Sunday it was lookinginto the kidnappings. CBSNews partner network Sky

News reported that,according to unnamedsources in the U.K., one ofthe hostages was a Briton.

No group immediatelyclaimed responsibility forthe abductions, thoughNigeria’s predominantlyMuslim north has beenunder attack by the radicalIslamic sect known as BokoHaram in the last year anda half. The country’s weakcentral government hasbeen unable to stop thegroup’s bloody guerrillacampaign of shootings andbombings. The sect isblamed for killing, least,792 people in 2012 alone,according to an AP count.

Boko Haram, whosename means “Westerneducation is sacrilege” inthe Hausa language ofNigeria’s north, hasdemanded the release of allits captive members andcalled for strict Shariah lawto be implemented acrossthe entire country. Thesect has killed bothChristians and Muslims aswell as soldiers andsecurity forces.

The group, whichspeaks to journalists intelephone conference callsat times of its choosing,could not be immediatelyreached for commentSunday.

Foreigners, longabducted by militantgroups and criminal gangsfor ransom in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta, havebecome increasinglytargeted in Nigeria’s northas the violence has grown.However, abductions offoreigners in the northhave seen hostagesregularly killed.

In May, gunmen inKaduna state shot and killeda Lebanese and a Nigerianconstruction worker, whilekidnapping anotherLebanese employee. Laterthat month, kidnappers shota German hostage deadduring a rescue operation.

Gunmen who authorities

IGP Mohammed Abubakar

UK Prime Minister David Cameron

“One British citizen, one Greek, one Italian, threeLebanese and one Filipino were kidnapped, said

Adamu Aliyu, the chairman of the local governmentarea that encompasses Jama’are. He said one of thehostages was a woman, while the rest were men. Heinitially had said four of the hostages were Lebanese.He blamed the confusion on incorrect information he

received from his staff.

Nigerian Foreign Minister, Ashiru Olugbenga

say have links to BokoHaram also kidnapped anItalian and a British manlast year in northernKebbi State who were laterkilled during a rescueoperation by Nigeriansoldiers backed up byBritish special forces. Thesect later denied taking

part in that abduction,which left Italianauthorities angry that thenation was not consultedbefore the failed rescueattempt.

In December, more than30 attackers stormed ahouse in the northernNigeria state of Kaduna,killing two and kidnappinga French engineer workingon a renewable energyproject. That attack wasclaimed by a Boko Haramoffshoot, the jihadistAnsaru group. Ansaru haspurported links to al Qaedain the Islamic Maghreb(AQIM), the larger terrornetwork’s North Africafranchise. Cooperation andcontact between BokoHaram’s leaders and AQIMhas been a subject ofconcern for Westernsecurity and intelligenceagencies, but has not beenproven at an operationallevel.NSA Sambo Dasuki

Chinese constructionworkers also have beenkilled by gunmen aroundMaiduguri, thenortheastern city in Nigeriawhere Boko Haram began.

In the most recentattack, assailants attackedNorth Korean doctorsworking for a hospital inYobe state, stabbing two to

death and beheading athird. No group claimedresponsibility.

Foreign embassies inNigeria have issued travelwarnings regardingnorthern Nigeria formonths. Worries aboutabductions have increasedin recent weeks with theFrench military

intervention in Mali, as itstroops and Malian soldierstry to root out Islamicfighters who took over thatnation’s north in themonths following amilitary coup. Last week,the U.S. Embassy inNigeria’s capital, Abuja,put out a warningfollowing the killings ofpolio workers in thenorthern city of Kano andthe killing of the NorthKorean doctors.

“The security situationin some parts of Nigeriaremains fluid andunpredictable,” theembassy said.

© 2013 CBSInteractive Inc .TheAssociated Presscontributed to thisreport.

“The security situation insome parts of Nigeria

remains fluid andunpredictable

PAGE 26 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

But fishermen are often at risk because the lake’s erratic weather conditions cause frequent accidents

Lethal weather on ‘world’smost dangerous lake’Straddling three East

African countries —Uganda, Tanzania and

Kenya — Lake Victoria has forcenturies been a vital resourcefor the millions of people livingalong its vast coastline.

The massive lake, whichstretches some 70,000 squarekilometers, is the world’s second-biggest freshwater body and thebiggest of its kind in Africa, aswell as the chief reservoir of theNile. Home to a stunningarchipelago of more than 80islands, Lake Victoria provides alivelihood for the fishermennavigating its waters and thebusinesses dotting its shores.

But for many that comeswith a risk.

According to local officials,about 5,000 people are killedevery year on the lake, victimsof erratic weather conditions anda mix of poor communicationsand lack of resources.

The high death toll makesthe lake “arguably the mostdangerous stretch of water in theworld in terms of fatalities persquare kilometer,” according toThe National Lake RescueInstitute, a group launched in2002 to improve safety on LakeVictoria and provide educationand training in maritime safety.

“It’s very dangerous,” saysSam Kabonge, a fisherman fromthe Bugala island in Lake

Victoria, a tropical patch of landboasting sandy shores and lushforests. “You sit on top of waternot knowing the depth of thepitch you are sitting on so in anycase of accident ... even if you do[know how to swim], you mightbe far away in the lake.”

Kabonge says not allfishermen can afford life jackets.At the same time, their smalland often dilapidated vessels caneasily succumb to the wind-whipped waves formed in the

lake by its volatile microclimate.“There are times when you

may leave the landing site whenthe lake is still,” explainsKabonge. “As you are in themiddle of it, it starts gettingrough — rain, winds, clouds, andyou know what happens nextbecause ... our boats, cannotresist the strength of the wave.Sometimes they break; otherscapsize.”

Ugandan meteorologistKhalid Muwembe says the lake,

which lies on the Equator, has adistinct effect on the region’sweather.

“Because the lake is generallywarm and has a lot of moisture,we find that it generates thisvery big, what we call,convective potential energy,which generates a lot of cloudnessand this unique nature ofweather characterized by heavythunderstorms whichsometimes can be dangerous,”he explains.

Muwembe is part of a teamtesting a new mobile alertsystem aiming to improve thedelivery of weather forecastsand help vulnerable fishingcommunities in Lake Victoriaprotect themselves fromdangerous conditions.

Under the free pilot program,locals receive tailor-made textmessages on their mobile phones,providing them with dailyweather forecasts, warningsabout potential hazards andadvice on what action theyshould take.

Muwembe says the mobilealert weather system is helpingfishermen to plan safer outings.

“For a long period of time, wedidn’t have a very good weatherservice to try and guide andpromote safety of all thosenavigating over the lake,” hesays. “So because of that — andalso daily reports of accidents

over the lake — we thought it wasvery important that we have aweather system where we aregiving the users of the smallvessels over the lake at least someguidance on what kind of stormsthey expect to find over the lake.”

“We provide thisinformation on a daily basis astexts on their mobile phones andin a situation where we see thatthere is a very dangerous stormwhich is developing, we also givethem an additional message,which we call an alert. We saythat ‘this is happening, pleasetake action, or hold position,’ orwhatever it is that will at leastpromote safety,” he adds.

For fishermen like Kabonge,who is among those involved inthe pilot program, the localizedweather information is a vitalservice that can help people inthe community stay safe.

“We need it because eversince it came, at least the deathtolls have reduced,” saysKabonge, who calls for theprogram’s expansion. “The lakeis too wide — if it [the program]could go across the whole lake,our brothers also may get use ofit.”

And for Kabonge that is whatis most important — to use newtechnology to help protect thelives of Lake Victoria’sfishermen.

cnn.com

The massive lake, which stretches some 70,000 squarekilometers, is home to more than 80 islands, where fishing is thebiggest industry.

PAGE 27PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2012

Will Benedict’s successor come outof Africa as the first black pope?

After the resignation of Pope Benedict, African and LatinAmerican cardinals could emerge as candidates to succeedhim. Catholicism’s European power base is under threat andthe election of a new pope could be a historic moment for thechurch. Observer correspondents report from around the world

The muted light of an Africansunset filters into the high,pointed roof of Christ The

King church in Accra, a wide,understated building just metresaway from the seat of governmentin Ghana’s capital city. Outside isone of the longest traffic jams inthe country, but the rush hourchaos of filthy exhaust fumes,street hawkers and traffic police issomehow blocked out in thechurch, where densely packedpews of worshippers are cooledsoothingly by the whirring of twodozen fans.

It is evening mass on AshWednesday and smart Accraresidents have trickled towardsChrist the King until even thechairs outside are full. Each onedips their fingers in holy water atthe door, bows or curtseys beforethe statue of an alabaster VirginMary, and sits quietly in prayer orcontemplation waiting for theservice to start.

When it does, Father Campbell– the Irish priest who leads worshipat Christ the King – speaks of thefirst day of Lent in the distinctivetones of his home country: “Lentin old English means ‘spring’ –spring is always beautiful. After awet, cold winter, or early nightsand cold, sombre days, springcomes with new life, birdsreturning from Africa, andbuttercups…”

The scene painted by the priestis a world away from Ghana’s year-round tropical heat, thedestination for the birds whoseflight from a wintry EuropeCampbell describes. But no oneseems to mind. For many ofGhana’s 2.5 million Catholics, faithis unshakable.

“Here in Africa, we centreeverything on God,” says Akua, a25-year-old fashion designer whohas been attending mass at Christthe King all her life. “This wasalways in our African culture, butnow that we have gotten to knowso much about God and experiencehis works, we will never go back.”

Ghanaian Catholicism is in thespotlight as never before followingthe tumultuous events in Romelast week, when Pope Benedictannounced he would step down atthe end of the month.

Shock at the announcement ofthe first papal resignation since1415 immediately gave way tostrong feelings of optimism thattwo cardinals from West Africa,Ghanaian Peter Turkson andNigerian Francis Arinze, werefrontline contenders to be next inline.

For worshippers such as Akua,it’s a difficult thing to get one’s headaround. “For us it’s strange thatour Christianity is growing, whiletheirs is declining in Europe,” shesays. “They are the ones whobrought Christianity to Africa! Arethey trying to tell us that what we

are doing is not the right thing? Ifeel that if they took the time to getback to God, most of their problemswould cease.”

At a large house set deep in apalm-tree laden garden in one ofAccra’s smartest suburbs, not farfrom Christ the King, one of thechurch’s most prominentmembers describes his view thatthe Catholic church is anunshakable institution in this partof the world.

John Kufuor, former presidentof Ghana, is one of the country’sbest-known Catholics and displayshis faith proudly, a large framedpicture of Christ on the crossadorning his living room wall,nestled among pictures of himwith George Bush and CondoleezzaRice, the King of Asante and otherdignitaries from his time in officea decade ago.

“We Africans, even before weknew Christianity, have alwaysbelieved in God. There is an adagein the Akan language – ‘obinkyere akwadaa Nyame’ or‘nobody teaches a baby to believein God’,” he says. “We are bornwith the knowledge that there isa supernatural force –I believe itis inborn in us.”

The belief for many that to beAfrican is to be religious is one ofthe cultural factors which hashelped the Catholic church togrow across the continent. Thereare now 30 million Catholics inthe Democratic Republic of Congoalone – the 11th biggest Catholicpopulation in the world – where50% of the population is Catholic.There are almost 18 million

Catholics in Nigeria, 10 millionin Angola and 2.5 million inGhana. The strength of the churchis reinforced by an increasinglycentral role in education, healthand other aspects of development.

“All churches in Africa aregrowing, and the Catholic churchis the biggest and certainly thebest organised and moststructured and disciplined,” saysPaul Gifford, a Senegal-basedemeritus professor of religion atthe School of Oriental and AfricanStudies, part of the University ofLondon.

“In terms of its socialinvolvement, it must be the singlebiggest development agency onthe continent, with 12,000 infantschools, 33,000 primary schools,10,000 secondary schools, and 20universities in Africa. There areparts of DRC where anything thathappens is because of the Catholicchurch, the state doesn’t functionthere at all. Looking at thecontinent as a whole, I don’t knowof any other organisation that cancome near that. It is withoutquestion one of the most salientsocial forces on the continent.”

Many in Africa feel that, as thesignificance of the Catholic churchin Africa continues to grow, soshould the role of Africans withinits centre of power, the Vatican.

“It would be very good to havean African pope,” says Akua. “Itwould make people realise howmuch we Africans are gettinginvolved in the Catholic church.People would realise that incountries like Nigeria and here inGhana, we are not just about

voodoo, we know about God too.”“I know Cardinal Turkson, and

I would say he is a man ofdistinction,” says Kufuor. “For himto have to have made it to the levelhe has in the Catholic church athis age is a phenomenalachievement. I’m a human being,I suffer from the frailties of man,including vanity, so naturally Iwould be very proud if a Ghanaianbecame the pope. But the selectionof a pope is a phenomenon that Icredit to God’s destiny.”

But not everyone agrees thatthe ever-higher profile of thechurch in Africa is a good thing.Some critics, even within theCatholic church, fear that thechurch is exceeding its proper roleand attempting to act as asubstitute for functioninginstitutions of state.

“The problem in our situationis that religion has become anexcuse for the total collapse of thearchitecture of state,” saysMatthew Kukah, Bishop of Sokotoin Nigeria.

“In Nigeria the judiciary, thelaw enforcement agencies, theentire ruling elite is corrupt. Theopening of the political space at theend of military rule has beenaccompanied by the insatiableexpression of greed by politicalelite, who have turned out farmore corrupt than the militaryever were. And people like me arebeing called upon to help rebuildthe society. I am not an electedofficial, this is not my role.

“There were times whenreligion responded to the socialsituation such as we found in

South Africa under apartheid.But overthrowing apartheid isnot the same as ridding thecountries of corruption. Those arenot things religion has thecapacity to do.”

“I think there’s quite a dangerthat the Catholic church is tooinvolved in development,” saysGifford. “It’s not just schools andclinics, but I imagine half the Aidscare on the continent is providedby the Catholic church.

“It is so involved in thoseissues, that for so many Africanpeople their religious needs – thespirits, curses and witches thatform their religious world view –the Catholic church is not so goodat meeting. That is where thePentecostal churches step up.Pentecostal church on a Sundaywill identify a spirit that’s causingyour bankruptcy and cast it out.”

The threat – or to use the oldmissionary terminology, “sheepstealing” – posed by the newPentecostal and charismaticchurches is something whichyoung Catholics say troublesthem deeply.

“We have a unique way ofcelebrating our mass. Whereveryou are – Ghana, Nigeria, US orLondon, it’s the same routine. Butmany of my Catholic friends havediverted to other churches. Theyenjoy the whole vibe, thecharismatic way offellowshipping, the whole noisething,” says Anthony, 27, also amember of Christ the King. “Theythink the Catholic church is tooroutine, they want the noise-making.”

“It’s very common in manyparts of Africa that the Pentecostalchurches have been ‘sheepstealing’,” says Matthew Engelke,senior lecturer in anthropology andan expert on African churches at theLondon School of Economics.

“One of the reasons is that thePentecostal churches are seen tospeak better to local culturaltraditions and ideas of the spiritworld. They take seriously the ideasof spirit possession, witchcraft andother things which – at least in sometraditions of Catholicism – have beendownplayed and denied.”

But the fear among Catholicsthat their church is beingovershadowed by newer, noisierchurches still occurs within a contextwhere the main complaint aboutCatholicism is that it is too powerful–something which church leaderselsewhere in the world may viewenviously.

“The church here is strong, it isnot going to decline, and I think it istime we had a black pope,” saysAnthony. “It’s not that it matters ifthe pope is black or white, it’s thatso many ideas about God comefrom here. If we had one of our ownin that position, those ideas mightstart to affect the church.”

Guardian.co.uk

Cardinals: Ghanaian Peter Turkson and Nigerian Francis Arinze

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRAURY 19, 2013PAGE 28

on the condition of anonymity,added “while I can’t speak on theother projects, I know that work onthe Ugboha project has since beencompleted in 2011 and ready forcommissioning.

“The much I can say is that theonly thing remaining is thereticulation of water to some of thebeneftting communities.’’

NAN investigation also revealedthat Vice President Namadi Sambohad aborted his planned visit in2011 to inaugurate the projectfollowing protests by the people ofUgboha community where theproject is sited.

The protesters had in Novemberof 2011, stormed the pumpingstation in protest against theplanned inauguration, saying thatdespite being the host community,Ugboha was not listed as one of thebenefitting communities in thewater project.

According to them, thecommunity river which used toserve as source of water for itspeople had been dammed for thewater project, leaving them with nosource of water.

They complained that theirfarm lands and economic cropswere destroyed in the course ofconstructing flow stations, and thatwere not compensated in spite of anearlier pledge to do so.

The placard carrying protesters,who condemned the exclusion oftheir community, said it was strangeto find communities being deniedthe right to benefit from projectslocated in their domains while far

Farmers, rural dwellers decryabandoned water projects in Edo

away communities benefit.Sources told NAN that the

Federal government took over theOjerami dam project during the firsttenure of Gov Adams Oshiomholeafter unsucceful attempts by thesuccessive state administrations torehabilitate it.

The ministry sources said thework was about 80 per centcompleted and ready for re-inauguration.

Meanwhile, Farmers in EdoNorth have appealed to FederalGovernment to complete theabandoned Warranke Dam toimprove food production in thearea.

Alhaji Abdulahi Mohammed,the Coordinator, All FarmersAssociation of Nigeria (AFAN), told

NAN that the Dam whichconstruction work started in 2003was conceived to boost foodproduction in the state.

Mohammed said constructionof the dam was collaborationbetween the World Bank, Federaland State Governments.

He expressed regret that thegovernment abandoned the projectin 2005.

Though, Moammed could notspecifically give the capacity of theDam, he however said it was meantto take care of Owan East and Westcouncil areas and some parts ofEtsako west local government.

“The purpose of this dam waswell conceived and was meant toempower farmers in the areasmentioned but its non-completion

is really disappointing.“The pipes meant to connect

various communities were alreadysupplied well over 300 water pumpswere also supplied.

“The project was part ofNational Programme on FoodSecurity (NPFS) and about 300farmers were already registered forthe programme in the area.

“Its non-completion has been asetback for these farmers. But it isnot too late, if the government canstill ensure its completion,’’ he said.

At the state Ministry of Waterresources, the acting PermanentSecretary, Mr Andrew Olobor,refused to volunteer any commenton the matter, saying he was notcompetent to speak as a civilservant. (NAN)

Kogi State Government hassaid it has given theapproval for the survey of

land that will lead to the gazettingand declaring of the Agbaducommunity in Kabba, Bunu LocalGovernment Area of the State as anAgricultural Industrial andProcessing Zone.

The Kogi State Governor, Capt.Idris Wada, stated this when hereceived a delegation fromDepartment for InternationalDevelopment (DFID) officials ledby Mr. Tony Egba, an AgricEngineer from the FederalMinistry of Agriculture.

“Very soon the laws towardsmaking the area an AgricProcessing Zone, would be enactedand sent to the State Assembly,”the governor explained.

Represented by the DeputyGovernor, Yomi Awoniyi, Wadanoted that looking into the idea ofbuying earth moving equipmentto reduce the cost of land clearingfor farmers was necessary.

He therefore assured thecommunity where the processingzone is to be located of adequateattention, promising that “thegovernment will not shy awayfrom its responsibilities inproviding necessaryinfrastructures.”

The governor described hisstate as investor friendly, assuredthat the raising issues of water,erosion, clearing of pebbles andstones would soon be looked into.

Wada also commended theefforts of the Federal Governmentand the Ministry of Agriculture inthe Kogi State Cassava value chaininitiative.

In their separate speeches,Tony Egbe, James Shepherd, AdeDavid and Peter Charles of theFederal Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development,described Kogi State as “haven forCassava if the prospects can bewell harnessed towards theCassava transformation initiative

of the nation.”They called for the gazetting,

documentation and passage intothe law of the Agbadu Communityas an Agriculture IndustrialProcessing Zone to enable forsustainability of the programme.

According to the team leader,through feasibility study, the areahas the capacity to produce 25tones per hectare of Cassava inview of the good nature of the soil.

In his remarks, Commissionerof Agriculture, Dr. Femi Abolarin,said the team was in the state forfurther evaluation of the starchproject located at Agbadu in KabbaBunu Local Government Area ofthe State.

Kabba community to declared Agric zoneFrom Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Farmers and rural dwellers inEdo have lamented the severalFederal Government

abandoned water projects in thestate.

An investigation byCorrespondents of the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) across the threesenatorial districts of Edo South,Edo Central and Edo Northrespectively on Friday, showed thatonly the Ughoha water project hadbeen completed and awaiting.

NAN reports that the Ugbalowater project in Esan Central localgovernment had been abandoned.

However, the Warrake Damproject in Owan West localgovernment area and Ojerami Damproject in Akoko-Edo localgovernment are at different stagesof completion.

NAN learnt that the Ugbalowater project was first constructedby the Western region governmentin 1955 but became moribund andhas since been abandoned bysuccessive governments.

But Mr Ajibade Ijasan, theacting Managing Director of theBenin-Owena River Basin authorityat Obayanton, near Benin , couldnot be reached for his commentwhile several calls and SMSmessages put across to his phonewere not answered.

However, a senior staff at theRiver Basin authority couldconfirmed to NAN that theauthority had completed work onthe Ugboha water project awardedby the Federal government in 2005.

The source who spoke to NAN

Kaduna State AgriculturalDevelopment programme(KADP) said it has registered

more than 687 women groupsunder the KADP cooperativesproject, to address the challenges offood security.

The Head of Women inAgriculture in the KADP, Mrs.Debora Bakut, told the journalistsin Kaduna that the cooperativegroups were registered to be able toaccess farm inputs and financialsupport.

Bakut said the groups wereeligible to benefit from both theFederal and State Government softloans to smallholder farmers andthe newly introduced e-walletfertiliser scheme, to enhance foodproduction.

She said that some of the groupswould also benefit from the Bank ofAgriculture loans as well as theWorld Bank CommercialAgriculture programme in the state.

According to her, the groups willbe able access improved seeds andseedlings from both the state andFederal Government to boost theiryields.

Bakut listed some of the womencooperative groups to includeTomato growers Association, Ricefarmers association of Nigeria,poultry farmers, fish farmers,

livestock, ginger farmers andpepper growers cooperative groups.

Meanwhile, the KADPProgramme Manager, Mr KassimAbdulkadir had told NAN that theregistered farmers had been issuedwith identification cards.

This would to enable them tobenefit from packages under theFederal Government’s AgriculturalTransformation Programme.(NAN)

KADP registers 687 womencooperatives – official

A farmer proudly displays his harvest

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRAURY 19, 2013 PAGE 29

Delta Govt to commence land mapping for commercial Cassava

The Delta State Governmentsaid it would commenceland mapping for the

proposed Federal and Stategovernment commercial cassavaproduction in Abraka.

State Commissioner forAgriculture and Natural Resources,Mr Misan Ukubeyinje, disclosedthis in an interview with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) during ajoint inspection tour of the 6,000hectares allocated for the project inAbraka.

According to him, the stateMinistry of Lands, Survey andUrban Development will commencethe mapping of the land areasquickly to enable the planting of

Firm to erect Africa’s largest fertiliser plant in RiversBy Mohammed Kandi

A petrochemicals companyknown as Indorama ElemePetrochemicals Limited has

said that it had concluded plansfor the construction of Africa’slargest fertiliser plant in Eleme, inRivers State.

The Managing Director of thecompany, Mr Manish Mundra,made the disclosure recently whenthe National Good GovernanceTeam visited the company incontinuation of the assessmenttour of projects in the state.

Mundra, who stated that theplant was designed to produce 1.4million tonnes of fertiliserannually, added that it would startproduction by the fourth quarterof 2015.

According to him, the plantwhen concluded, would engagelargely in the production of Urea,NPK and other types of fertiliser.

He said that the project, whichwould cost the company about1.20 billion dollars was part of thecompany’s programme of makingNigeria the largest petrochemicalhub in Africa by 2017.

Mundra said that the fertiliserplant project would be handled bya Chinese company, ToyoEngineering Ltd. and would get its

feed stock from natural gas.Mundra, who stated that the

project would be funded throughlending from a consortium ofNigerian and foreign banks, saidthe project had already been over-emphasised by 480 milliondollars.

He put the lendingrequirement for the project at 800million dollars and said that bankshad already shown interest toinvest in the project.

On the progress made by thecompany since privatisation, theMD said that the company hadrecorded steady growth andimprovements in all its operationssince its take-over.

He said that over 2.5 billiondollars of foreign exchange hadbeen saved since 2007 while theircumulative investment amountedto about 575 million naira.

Mundra added that thecompany had contributedimmensely to the growth of theeconomy through the distributionof dividends to the shareholdersof the company.

He said that the company haddistributed 229 million dollars tothe Federal government, 115million dollars to Rivers StateGovernment, 38 million dollars tosix host communities and 13

cassava commence on target inApril.

Ukubeyinje said that theFederal Government would beestablishing 18 of such farmprojects across the country, addingthat the state government wasfortunate to be one of thebeneficiaries.

He said that although apartnership project, the stategovernment was responsible forproviding access roads to link thevarious location of the farm becausethe 6,000 hectares may not beconcentrated in one location.

Ukubeyinje said that themodalities and cost of running theprojects would be spelt out, adding

that it would be managed by expertsin the private sector. “The Federalgovernment will soon commencethe process of land clearing andpreparations for the planting tocommence in April while thecassava processing mill will becompleted before the end of thisyear.

“We have inspected the landneeded for both the cassavaprocessing mills which is about 20hectares and that for the cassavacultivation. “We can also partnerthe neighbouring communitiesaround Abraka if we need more landfor the projects,’’ Ukubeyinje said.

The commissioner lauded theMonarch, His Royal Majesty, Air

Vice Marshall Lucky Ararile, theOvie of Umiaghwa-AbrakaKingdom for his understanding andsupport.

He said that the monarch didnot only approve the use of the landfor the projects but and was workingahead of the team by engaging theInternational Institute for TropicalAgriculture to produce out growers.

Ukubeyinje said that when theprojects fully commence, it wouldensure food security, create jobs,and revenue for the government.

Also, Ararile told NAN that nofewer than 600 youths in Abrakacommunity had indicated interestto participate in the cassava farmproject.

He said that the choice ofAbraka was apt because thecommunity ranked number one interms of quality garri production inthe country.

He expressed willingness todonate additional land if thegovernment needed more, addingthat the people of the communityhad given their full support for theprojects.

Ararile thanked the visitingteam and enjoined them not torelent in their promise tocommence activities by April asproposed, adding that such projectswere vital for the reduction ofemployment challenges in country.(NAN)

million dollars to staff of thecompany.

The MD said that the companyhad also remitted taxes to the tuneof 168 million dollars to theFederal Inland Revenue Service,Rivers State Inland RevenueService and the Local RevenueService.

He said that the expansionplan also included theestablishment of a 1.75 metrictonnes Methanol plant and the

construction of an 84-kilometrepipeline linking the Onne port by2017.

Mundra said that thecummulative direct job creationcapacity of his company’sinvestments would be about6,000 people.

In his remark, InformationMinister, Mr Labaran Makucommended the company’simpressive performance andcontributions to the economy

A rural woman in action at a farm in Africa

between 2007 and 2012.“We should not be importing

fertiliser into this country; weshould also not be importingpetrochemicals.

“So many of the businesses runby government, which have beenprivatised, are really not doingwell but this company is theleading example of how publicprivate partnership can work wellif properly managed,’’ he said.

The successfulimplementation ofsustainable agricultural

practices (SAPs) in Sub-SaharanAfrica is linked to improvementsin women’s education, accordingto a study.

SAPs are often touted as asolution to land degradation, lowagricultural productivity andwidespread poverty in the region.

The new study is the result ofresearch conducted in ruralEthiopia that aimed to identifyinterdependent factors affectingthe adoption of SAPs in Sub-Saharan Africa and their impact

on incomes and livelihoods.It was carried out by a team

from the School of Business,Economics and Law at theUniversity of Gothenburg,Sweden, and the InternationalMaize and Wheat ImprovementCenter.

The researchers analysed ahousehold survey — conductedbetween October and December2010 — of 900 farm householdsworking on 4,050 farming plots inthree maize-growing regions ofEthiopia.

They identified the factors thatinfluence the adoption of threekey SAPs: using improved seeds;conservation tillage; and maize-legume crop rotation systems. Theyalso compared how incomes wereaffected by the three differentpractices.

“We found that each year ofeducation for women increases theprobability of adopting more thantwo of the SAPs by 12 per cent,” saysHailemariam Teklewold, the leadauthor and a research fellow at theUniversity of Gothenburg.

“The impact of women’seducation was relevant in bothmale-headed and female-headedhouseholds,” Teklewold adds.

The study says that, “in almostall cases, the adoption of acombination of SAPs provides moremaize income compared toadopting them in isolation”.

Farmers who adopted all threepractices earned the largest netincome of 5,580 birr (aroundUS$300) per hectare per year, butthose who adopted only one of thepractices — intercropping,conservation tillage, or improvedseeds — earned about US$100,US$128 and US$154 per hectare

per year, respectively.Solomon Jemal, an agronomist

at the Ethiopian Institute ofAgricultural Research, says thestudy provides concrete evidence ofthe importance of mainstreaminggender issues in SAP efforts inAfrica.

He tells SciDev.Net: “Thestudy’s findings should makestakeholders consider theimportant role of women inadopting SAPs, and of designinginterventions that will be favourableto women smallholder farmers.”

John Achieng’, an agronomist atthe Kenya Agricultural ResearchInstitute, says the findings relatingto women’s education are highlyrelevant to Sub-Saharan Africa.

“About 70 to 80 per cent offarming activities in Sub-SaharanAfrica are done by women, and,because girls drop out of schoolfaster than boys, governmentsshould ensure more women aregiven an education,” says Achieng’.The higher one’s level of education,the higher the

rate of adoption of a technology,he said.

But Achieng’ warns thatimplementing conservationagriculture also poses somechallenges that are unfavourableto poorer farmers. For example,yields are usually lower for thefirst two years afterimplementation, although theypick up considerably insubsequent years.

Also, “many smallholderfarmers grow crops and keeplivestock, and will prefer to givecrop residues to their livestockrather than keep them in the soilas SAPs require,” Achieng’ said.]Source: SciDev.Net

Educating women key tosustainable farming in Africa- Study

PAGE 30 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY, 12, 2012

L- R: Executive Director/ CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad with Director, Planning Research andStatistics of the agency, chairing a technical session, during the Strategic Planning Retreat, recently in Markurdi, Benue State.

L-R: National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay, Ms. Faith Nwadishi ,Senior Programme Officer, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy, Mr. KolaBanwo and Coordinator, Partner for Electoral Reform, Mr. Ezenwa Nwagu,during a Press briefing on NNPC and NEITI Oil and Gas 2009-2011 AuditReports, yesterday in Abuja.

L-R: Chairman, Kebbi Community Development Projects, Alhaji UmarAhmed (left), presenting the annual report on projects to Kebbi stateGovernor, Saidu Dakingari in Bernin Kebbi, yesterday.

Commanders of various security operatives putting heads togetherduring the re-opening of River Benue at Ibi Local Government Area inTaraba for commercial use, yesterday, after three months of closure dueto communical clashes in November.

Photo:Mahmud Isa, Justin Imo-Owo & NAN

R-L: President, Saint Paul Old Boys Association (SPOBA), Dr. StephenKitchener, his Wife, Mrs Gloria Kitchener, Treasurer SPOBA, Dr. HarunaSamaila and the Chairman SPOBA and Chairman, Code of ConductBureau, Mr Sam Saba, during SPOBA 60th Founders Anniversary andAnnual Genertal Meeting, over the Weekend In Abuja.

PAGE 31PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

In Timbuktu, al-Qaidaleft behind a manifestoIn their hurry to flee last

month, al-Qaida fighters leftbehind a crucial document:

Tucked under a pile of papers andtrash is a confidential letter, spellingout the terror network's strategy forconquering northern Mali andreflecting internal discord over howto rule the region.

The document is anunprecedented window into theterrorist operation, indicating thatal-Qaida predicted the militaryintervention that would dislodge itin January and recognized its ownvulnerability.

The letter also shows a sharpdivision within al-Qaida's Africachapter over how quickly and howstrictly to apply Islamic law, withits senior commander expressingdismay over the whipping of womenand the destruction of Timbuktu'sancient monuments. It moreoverleaves no doubt that despite atemporary withdrawal into thedesert, al-Qaida plans to operate inthe region over the long haul, and iswilling to make short-termconcessions on ideology to gain theallies it acknowledges it needs.

The more than nine-pagedocument, found by The AssociatedPress in a building occupied by theIslamic extremists for almost a year,is signed by Abu Musab AbdulWadud, the nom de guerre ofAbdelmalek Droukdel, the seniorcommander appointed by Osamabin Laden to run al-Qaida's branchin Africa. The clear-headed, point-by-point assessment resembles amemo from a CEO to his topmanagers and lays out for hisjihadists in Mali what they havedone wrong in months past, andwhat they need to do to correct theirbehavior in the future.

Droukdel, the emir of al-Qaidain the Islamic Maghreb, perhapssurprisingly argues that his fightersmoved too fast and too brutally inapplying the Islamic law known asShariah to northern Mali.Comparing the relationship of al-Qaida to Mali as that of an adult toan infant, he urges them to be moregentle, like a parent:

"The current baby is in its firstdays, crawling on its knees, and hasnot yet stood on its two legs," hewrites. "If we really want it to standon its own two feet in this world fullof enemies waiting to pounce, wemust ease its burden, take it by thehand, help it and support it until itsstands."

He scolds his fighters for beingtoo forceful and warns that if theydon't ease off, their entire projectcould be thrown into jeopardy:"Every mistake in this importantstage of the life of the baby will be aheavy burden on his shoulders. Thelarger the mistake, the heavier theburden on his back, and we couldend up suffocating him suddenlyand causing his death."

The letter is divided into sixchapters, three of which the APrecovered, along with loose pages,on the floor of the Ministry ofFinance's Regional AuditDepartment. Residents say thebuilding, one of several the Islamicextremists took over in this ancientcity of sundried, mud-brick homes,was particularly well-guarded withtwo checkpoints, and a zigzag of

Associated Press/Rukmini Callimachi - In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 photo, neighborhoodresident Mohamed Alassane sifts through documents left behind at the Ministry of Finance's Re-gional Audit Department

barriers at the entrance.Droukdel's letter is one of only a

few internal documents betweencommanders of al-Qaida's Africanwing that have been found, andpossibly the first to be made public,according to University of ToulouseIslamic scholar Mathieu Guidere. Itis numbered 33/234, a systemreserved for al-Qaida's internalcommunications, said Guidere, whohelps oversee a database ofdocuments generated byextremists, including Droukdel.

"This is a document between theIslamists that has never been putbefore the public eye," said Guidere,who authenticated the letter afterbeing sent a two-page sample. "Itconfirms something veryimportant, which is the divisionsabout the strategic conception of theorganization. There was a debate onhow to establish an Islamic state inNorth Mali and how to applyShariah."

While the pages recovered arenot dated, a reference to a conflict inJune establishes that the messagewas sent at most eight months ago.

The tone and timing of the lettersuggest that al-Qaida is learningfrom its mistakes in places likeSomalia and Algeria, whereattempts to unilaterally impose itsversion of Islam backfired. They alsoreflect the influence of the ArabSpring, which showed the power ofpeople to break regimes, and turnedon its head al-Qaida's long-held viewthat only violence could bring aboutwholesale change, Guidere said.

The letter suggests a change inthe thinking, if not the rhetoric, ofDroukdel, who is asking his men to

behave with a restraint that hehimself is not known for. Droukdelis believed to have overseennumerous suicide bombings,including one in 2007 where al-Qaida fighters bombed the UnitedNations building and a newgovernment building in Algiers,killing 41 people. The same year,the U.S. designated him a globalterrorist and banned Americansfrom doing business with him.

In a video disseminated onjihadist forums a few months ago,Droukdel dared the French tointervene in Mali and said his menwill turn the region into a"graveyard" for foreign fighters,according to a transcript providedby Washington-based SITEIntelligence.

The fanaticism he exhibits in hispublic statements is in stark contrastto the advice he gives his men onthe ground. In his private letter, heacknowledges that al-Qaida isvulnerable to a foreign intervention,and that international and regionalpressure "exceeds our military andfinancial and structural capabilityfor the time being."

"It is very probable, perhapscertain, that a military interventionwill occur ... which in the end willeither force us to retreat to our rearbases or will provoke the peopleagainst us," writes Droukdel."Taking into account this importantfactor, we must not go too far or takerisks in our decisions or imagine thatthis project is a stable Islamic state."

According to his own onlinebiography, Droukdel was born 44years ago into a religious family inthe Algerian locality of Zayan. He

says he enrolled into the technologydepartment of a local universitybefore turning to jihad, and his firstjob was making explosives forAlgerian mujahedeen. In 2006, thegroup to which he belonged, knownas the GSPC, became an arm of al-Qaida, after negotiations withAyman al-Zawahri, bin Laden'slieutenant.

As Droukdel rose through theranks, he came into direct contactwith bin Laden, Guidere said.

In the document found inTimbuktu, he cites a letter hereceived from bin Laden about theal-Hudaybiyah deal, a treaty signedcirca 628 by the ProphetMuhammad and the Quraish tribeof Mecca, an agreement with non-Muslims that paved the way forMuslims to return to Mecca.

"The smart Muslim leader woulddo these kinds of concessions in orderto achieve the word of God eventuallyand to support the religion," he says.

Perhaps the biggest concessionDroukdel urges is for his fighters toslow down in implementingShariah.

When the Islamic extremists tookover northern Mali 10 months ago,they restored order in a time of chaos,much as the Taliban did inAfghanistan, and even created ahotline number for people to reportcrimes. But whatever goodwill theyhad built up evaporated when theystarted to destroy the city's historicmonuments, whip women for notcovering up and amputate the limbsof suspected thieves.

"One of the wrong policies thatwe think you carried out is theextreme speed with which you

applied Shariah, not taking intoconsideration the gradual evolutionthat should be applied in anenvironment that is ignorant ofreligion," Droukdel writes. "Ourprevious experience proved thatapplying Shariah this way, withouttaking the environment intoconsideration, will lead to peoplerejecting the religion, and engenderhatred toward the mujahedeen, andwill consequently lead to the failureof our experiment."

Droukdel goes on to cite twospecific applications of Shariah thathe found problematic. He criticizesthe destruction of Timbuktu's WorldHeritage-listed shrines, because, ashe says, "on the internal front weare not strong." He also tells thefighters he disapproves of theirreligious punishment for adulterers- stoning to death - and their lashingof people, "and the fact that youprevented women from going out,and prevented children fromplaying, and searched the houses ofthe population."

"Your officials need to controlthemselves," he writes.

Droukdel's words reflect thedivision within one of al-Qaida's mostruthless affiliates, and may explainwhy Timbuktu, under the thumbof al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb,experienced a slightly less brutalversion of Shariah than Gao, one ofthe three other major citiescontrolled by the extremists. Therewas only one amputation inTimbuktu over their 10-monthrule, compared to a dozen or more inGao, a city governed by an al-Qaidaoffshoot, MUJAO, which does notreport to Droukdel.

Droukdel's warning of rejectionfrom locals also turned out to beprescient, as Shariah ran its coursein Timbuktu. The breaking point,residents say, was the day last Junewhen the jihadists descended on thecemetery with pickaxes and shovelsand smashed the tombs of theirsaints, decrying what they calledthe sin of idolatry.

Many in Timbuktu say that wasthe point of no return. "When theysmashed our mausoleums, it hurtus deeply," said Alpha Sanechirfi, thedirector of the Malian Office ofTourism in Timbuktu. "For us, it wasgame over."

Droukdel's letter also urges hisfollowers to make concessions to winover other groups in the area, andin one case criticizes their failure todo so. For several months, the Islamicextremists controlling northernMali coexisted with the secularNational Movement for theLiberation of the Azawad, or NMLA,the name given to Mali by Tuaregrebels who want their own state. Theblack flag of the extremists flutteredalongside the multi-colored one of thesecular rebels, each occupyingdifferent areas of the towns.

In late May, the two sidesattempted to sign a deal, agreeing tocreate an independent Islamic statecalled Azawad. The agreementbetween the bon vivant Tuaregrebels and the Taliban-inspiredextremists seemed doomed from thestart. It fell apart days later. ByJune, the Islamic extremists hadchased the secular rebels out ofnorthern Mali's main cities.

"The decision to go to war againstthe Azawad Liberation Movement,after becoming close and almostcompleting a deal with them, whichwe thought would be positive, is amajor mistake in our assessment,"Droukdel admonishes. "This fightingwill have a negative impact on ourproject. So we ask you to solve theissue and correct it by workingtoward a peace deal."

Associated Press writerBaba Ahmed in Timbuktu, Mali,and the Associated Press NewsResearch Center contributed tothis report.

While the pages recovered are not dated, areference to a conflict in June establishes that the

message was sent at most eight months ago.

“

ANALYSIS

PAGE 32 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Mamphela Ramphelelaunches challenge toSouth Africa's ANC

Pistorius case: 'bloodied cricket bat found'

Uncertainty inTunisia aheadof political talks

Tunisian Prime MinisterHamadi Jebali,yesterday said he is set to

resume talks with politicalparty leaders to form a newgovernment of technocrats,despite strong oppositionwithin his own ruling Islamistparty Ennahda.

On the eve of the talks withTunisian media urged politicalgroups to reach a consensus fortackling the crisis that hasgripped the country since theFebruary 6 assassination ofleftist opposition leader andvocal anti-Islamist ChokriBelaid.

However Ennahda partychief Rached Ghannouchi hasstrongly reiterated his party'srefusal to relinquish power inline with an initiative proposedby Prime Minister HamadiJebali, the party's number two,to form a government oftechnocrats.

"Ennahda... will never giveup power, as long as it benefitsfrom the confidence of thepeople and the legitimacy of theballot," Ghannouchi toldthousands of supporters whorallied Saturday in Tunisagainst Jebali's plan.

Belaid's murder came aftermonths of failure by the rulingcoalition to overhaul thegovernment, and sparkedbloody clashes betweenopposition supporters andpolice, as well as attacks onEnnahda offices.

Jebali has threatened toresign if he fails to secure thesupport he needs to form hisnew government.

After meeting the leaders ofthe main parties on Friday,Jebali said talks on the newadministration had beenrescheduled for Monday andthat a previous Saturdaydeadline for its formation hadbeen cancelled, with no newdate set.

A revered activist who waspolitically andromantically involved

with the late Steve Biko haslaunched a party to challengethe governing AfricanNational Congress (ANC) and"rekindle the South Africa ofour dreams".

Mamphela Ramphele saidthat dream had faded for peoplewho endured poverty andinequality, the threat of areturn to traditional rule inrural areas and a brokeneducation system that had

gone backwards since the endof racial apartheid.

"Our society's greatness isbeing fundamentallyundermined by a massivefailure of governance," shesaid at a launch event onMonday at the historicwomen's jail at ConstitutionalHill. "Our country has lost themoral authority andinternational respect itenjoyed when it became ademocracy."

The 65-year-old said hernew organisation would be

The mystery over SouthAfrican sprinter OscarPistorius's role in the killing

of the model Reeva Steenkamp hasdeepened amid a series of claimsand counter-claims about whathappened at his home in Pretorialast week.

South African newspapersreported a series of dramaticrevelations about the case, inwhich Steenkamp was shot fourtimes. Police denied leaking thedetails and Pistorius's agentrefused to comment.

A police spokeswoman could

Mamphela Ramphele speaks at the women's jail on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Photograph: Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/GettyImages

called Agang - "Let us build", inthe Sesotho language - andwould contest national electionsnext year.

Ramphele, who spent sevenyears under house arrest duringwhite minority rule, wasamong the founders of Biko'sblack consciousness movement.The pair fell in love and had adaughter, who died aged twomonths, and a son, who wasborn after Biko was killed byapartheid police in 1977.

What Biko would thinkabout today's South Africa if he

had lived, and how he wouldrespond, is a perennial subjectof debate. "He would have beendisappointed, as I am, that thecountry of our dreams is yet tobecome a reality in the lives ofordinary people," Rampheletold the Guardian.

"He would have been ascommitted as I am to put up hishand to make sure that wemobilise South Africans tobuild this country of ourdreams and to make ours amodern, thriving 21st-century democracy."

not explain how the claimsemerged but did not deny them."We are not commenting onanything in the newspaperstoday as the case is still before thecourt," she said. "They areinsinuating they got theinformation from the police.They did not."

Medupe Simasiku, of thenational prosecuting authority,said the alleged leaks did notnecessarily affect the court caseas "the evidence [published]might be wrong".

The well-respected City Press

newspaper reported that a cricketbat covered in blood was found atPistorius's home and is the centralpiece of evidence against him.Citing sources close to theinvestigation, the paper saidSteenkamp's skull was crushedand police requested Pistoriusundergo drug tests.

City Press also reported thatPistorius called his father soonafter 3.20am on Thursday andasked him to come to the house.When the family arrived, Pistoriuswas allegedly carryingSteenkamp down the stairs, her

head and arms "dangling"."Steenkamp was still breathing

and Pistorius tried to resuscitateher in the foyer," the reportcontinued. "Paramedics and policearrived on the scene and, minuteslater, she was declared dead.

"Steenkamp was wearing hernightie at the time. When thepolice inspected Oscar's bedroom,they found her overnight bag andiPad on the floor. A holster for a9mm pistol was found on Oscar'sside of the bed."

All sources dismissed thetheory that Pistorius mistook

Steenkamp for a burglar, thepaper added. "The sources agreedthat the state had a 'rock-solid' caseagainst the popular athlete."

Peet van Zyl, Pistorius's agent,said he had "not read a lot of themedia" on Sunday so could notcomment. He added that therunner had received"overwhelming support" fromfans all over the world.

Later, van Zyl confirmed hehad cancelled all of the athlete'scommitments, including a race inthe UK, so he could "concentrateon the legal proceedings".

PAGE 33PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Quetta: Shia Hazaras refuse tobury Pakistan bomb dead

Hezbollah has denied sending fighters to help the Syrian regime

Ethnic Hazara women in the Pakistani city of Quetta are refusing to bury the bodies of scoresof people killed by a huge bomb in a Shia commercial area.

Shia Muslim Hazaras are furiousat what they see as a lack ofprotection from local and

national forces, in the face ofrepeated attacks.

Saturday's bomb rippedthrough a busy market district,

killing at least 84 and injuringsome 169 people.

The huge attack - the secondthis year - was carried out bySunni militants.

As many as 4,000 womenbegan a sit-in in Quetta, in south-west Pakistan, on Sundayevening.

The blocked a road and

refused to carry out thetraditional ritual of burying theHazara dead until action wastaken against the bombers, theAFP news agency reported.

Reports said thousands of angryHazaras moved the bodies to a localmosque but then began chanting andprotesting instead of proceeding withthe burials.

Asia andMiddle East

DavidCameron: UKand India canhave greatpartnership

David Cameron has said theUK can forge one of "thegreat partnerships of the 21st

Century" with India, as he arrivedin Mumbai to begin a three-day visit.

With business the main focus, heis leading what Downing Street saysis the largest trade delegation takenon an overseas trip by a UK primeminister.

Those represented include BAESystems, Rolls-Royce, and LondonUnderground.

Meanwhile, Mr Cameron hasindicated the UK's visa process couldbe made easier for Indian businesspeople.

When David Cameron says hewants Britain and India to forge oneof the great partnerships of the 21stcentury, he knows he has some workto do"

Speaking at a question-and-answer-session at Unileverheadquarters in Mumbai, the firststop on his trip, he told the audience:"India's rise is going to be one of thegreat phenomena of this centuryand it is incredibly impressive to see.

"Britain wants to be your partnerof choice. We've only just started onthe sort of partnership that we couldbuild. As far as I'm concerned, thesky is the limit."

Mr Cameron promised up to £1mto help fund a feasibility study intousing British expertise to develop a"business corridor" between Mumbaiand Bangalore.

"I'm really excited about thisproject," he said. "It's an ambitiousvision which could truly be apartnership for the next generation.

"It would unleash India'spotential along the 1,000 kilometresfrom Mumbai to Bangalore,transforming lives and puttingBritish businesses in prime positionto secure valuable commercialdeals."

He added the projectencapsulated "the spirit of this visit"and would "mark a new chapter inthe UK-India economic relationship".

Among the businessmen joiningMr Cameron on the trip is the chiefexecutive of the English PremierLeague, Richard Scudamore, whotold the BBC that football was thefastest growing sport in India.

He said interest in the leaguehad been growingexponentially.

"Ten years ago it was verysmall, and it's grown and we'vejust concluded our deals for thenext three years, and we've hadexponential growth here both inaudience and revenue terms, so it'san increasingly important marketfor us."

Hezbollahcondemnedfor 'attack onSyrian villages'

Syrian rebels and theopposition have accusedthe Lebanese Shia group

Hezbollah of attacking Syrian villages.The Syrian National Council (SNC)

said Hezbollah fighters attacked threevillages near the Lebanese border insupport of the Syrian government.

Hezbollah said three Lebanese Shiawere killed in the clashes. Hezbollah hasconsistently denied it has sent itsmembers to fight for the Syrian regime.

The UN meanwhile has saidhuman rights abuses in Syria have gotworse.

In a report issued on Monday, a UN-appointed inquiry team said the conflicthad become "increasingly sectarian...radicalised and militarised", accordingto AFP news agency.

The panel said war crimes by bothsides were growing, although it saidabuses by rebels were not on the samescale as those committed bygovernment forces.

UN human rights investigatorCarla del Ponte said it was time the UNSecurity Council referred the issue ofwar crimes to the InternationalCriminal Court.

EU foreign ministers meeting inBrussels renewed sanctions - includingan arms embargo - against Syria, whilstagreeing to provide more non-lethalsupport to rebels "for the protection ofcivilians".

Protest in WestBank for Palestinianhunger strikers

Protests have been held in theWest Bank in solidarity withPalestinian hunger strikers in

Israeli jails.The Middle East Quartet (UN,

US, EU and Russia) has recentlyissued warnings about the conditionof the strikers.

The EU's foreign policy chiefCatherine Ashton said she was "followingwith concern" the deteriorating health offour Palestinian hunger strikers.

One, Samer Issawi, has been on anintermittent protest for 200 days and issaid to be in a critical condition.

The three other hungerstrikers are Tariq Qaadan, JafarEzzedine and Ayman Sharawna.

On Monday, Israeli forcesdispersed several dozen protestersin Bethlehem who had blocked aroad.

In Ramallah, the administrativecentre of the West Bank, about 50 activistsdemonstrated at a United Nations office,the Associated Press reported.

"We want to tell Israelis and therest of the world that we won't acceptfor Palestinian prisoners to come outof jail in coffins. They deserve to befree and live a dignified life," he said. Protesters carry a banner showing hunger striker Samer Issawi

PAGE 34 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

RichardBriers, TheGood Lifestar, diesaged 79

Ecuador election: PresidentRafael Correa wins new term

Hugo Chavez returns to Venezuela after Cuba cancer careIn three messages posted on

Twitter, Mr Chavez, 58,thanked Cuban President and

ex-leader Raul and Fidel Castro.He also thanked Venezuelans

for their support and said hewould continue treatment in hishome country.

He has been president for 14years and was re-elected for

First elected in 2007, thesocialist leader is widely creditedwith bringing political stability toa nation that suffered decades ofprotests and coups.

But critics accuse Mr Correaof being a dictator in the making.

The 49-year-old US-trainedeconomist has been accused of

Actor Richard Briers, bestknown for his role in TV'sThe Good Life, has died at

the age of 79, his agent has said.The star, who was also an

accomplished stage actor, hadbeen battling a serious lungcondition for several years.

Briers died "peacefully" at hisLondon home on Sunday, hisagent added.

Briers recently blamed yearsof smoking for his emphysema.

"It's totally my fault," he said."So, I get very breathless, which isa pain in the backside. Trying toget upstairs... oh God, it'sridiculous. Of course, when you'rebloody nearly 80 it's depressing,because you've had it anyway."

His agent, Christopher Farrar,said: "Richard was a wonderfulman, a consummate professionaland an absolute joy to workalongside.

"Following his recent discussionof his battle with emphysema, Iknow he was incredibly touchedby the strength of supportexpressed by friends and thepublic.

"He has a unique and specialplace in the hearts of so many. Hewill be greatly missed. Ourthoughts and deepest sympathygo to his family at this sad time."

In 1970s BBC sitcom The GoodLife, Briers and Felicity Kendalplayed a married suburbancouple who try a self-sufficientlifestyle.

Briers also starred in showsincluding Marriage Lines, EverDecreasing Circles, Monarch OfThe Glen plus a role in DoctorWho and Torchwood.

He appeared in many films,most recently in Britishcomedy film Cockneys versusZombies, plus a cameo role inRun For Your Wife, based onRay Cooney's 1980s stagefarce.

Briers narrated the 1970schildren's cartoon seriesRoobarb And Custard and alsoprovided the voice for thecharacter of Fiver in the animatedfeature Watership Down (1978).

another six-year term in October2012, but his swearing-in wasdelayed because of his illness.

Mr Chavez went to Havana forsurgery on 11 December, hisfourth operation in an 18-monthperiod for cancer first diagnosedin mid-2011.

Last week the first images ofhim since the operation werebroadcast by Venezuela'sgovernment.

He was pictured smiling as helay in bed reading a newspaper,with his two daughters by his side.

Mr Chavez announced hisreturn to Venezuela to his 3.9million Twitter followers in aseries of tweets that werebombastic in tone but short ondetail.

"We have arrived back in theland of Venezuela. Thank youLord!! Thanks to my beloved

Rafael Correa thanked his supporters outside the presidential palace

Israel secretly imprisoned anAustralian man who workedfor its Mossad spy agency

because it believed he haddivulged details of his work, anAustralian news programme hasreported.

He was reported to havehanged himself, months after hiscase surfaced in 2010.

Restrictions were later easedand some Israeli members ofparliament have called for an endto the practise of media censorshipin the country.

According to the latest ForeignCorrespondent report, Mr Zygiermet Australian SecurityIntelligence Organisation (Asio)agents and told them about secretoperations he was involved in.

The programme said one of the

operations was a top-secretmission in Italy, for where MrZygier had applied for a work visa.

Foreign Correspondent said MrZygier changed his name severaltimes and obtained numerouspassports, which he used forMossad work in Europe and theMiddle East.

It said he set up acommunications company inEurope for Mossad, which exportedelectronic components to Arabcountries and Iran.

Israel, along with Western andother powers, has accused Iran ofseeking to develop nuclearweapons, a charge Iran denies.

He is believed to have beenarrested in 2010 and held insecret in Israel's maximumsecurity Ayalon prison. His case

people!! We will continue ourtreatment here."

There was no informationabout when or why he returned,and no details about whether hewould actively take up the dutiesof office.

He is yet to be sworn in for hisnew term, and doubts remainabout whether his health willallow him to return to activepolitics.

Instead he thanked Cuba'sleaders and people and said he hadconfidence in his doctors.

"Onwards to victory!! We willlive and we will overcome!!!" hewrote in his final tweet.

Local media quoted Vice-President Nicolas Maduro assaying that Mr Chavez landed at02:30 local time (06:30 GMT)before being transferred to theMilitary Hospital in Caracas.

Israel Prisoner X: Ben Zygier 'leaked Mossad secrets'

Vice-President Nicolas Maduro has been the key player inVenezuela with Chavez out of the country Venezuelan Presi-dent Hugo Chavez has returned to the country after receivingtreatment for cancer in Cuba.

came to light when an Israelinewspaper website broke the storythat year, but the reports wereremoved after a gagging order

Europe andAmericas

Ecuador's President RafaelCorrea has been re-electedfor a third term with more

than 50% of the vote. His mainchallenger has admitted defeat.

Addressing his supporters inthe capital, Quito, Mr Correacalled for "another four years ofrevolution".

was imposed.Mr Zygier is reported to have

hanged himself, aged 34, in theprison in December 2010.

implementing policies that haveserved to strengthen his hold onpower and erode the influence ofpolitical opponents and privatemedia.

But his so-called "citizens'revolution" has made him popularwith many ordinaryEcuadoreans and has won him

friends among other LatinAmerican left-wing leaders.

Partial results give Mr Correa56.7%, ahead of 23.3% for hisnearest rival, former bankerGuillermo Lasso. The third-placedchallenger was poised to take6.6%, with four others trailingbelow 5%.

To avoid a run-off, thepresident needs to win 50% of thetotal vote or 40% plus a 10-pointmargin over the second-placedcandidate.

Speaking on TV after 40% ofthe votes had been counted, thehead of the National ElectoralCouncil said the final result wouldnot be significantly larger orsmaller.

President Correa was quick toclaim victory.

"Nobody can stop thisrevolution," he told a crowd ofsupporters gathered outside thebalcony of the Carondelet Palacein Quito. "The colonial powers arenot in charge anymore, you canbe sure that in this revolution it'sEcuadoreans who are in charge."

"We are here to serve you," headded. "Nothing for us,everything for you: the peoplewho deserve the right to be free.

A look back at the actor'scareer

Ben Zygier is reported to have travelled between Israel andAustralia

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 PAGE 35

Charlie the donkey landsacting role in Ipswich operaWe've seen many acting

performances wethought a donkey could

have done a better job with and inthis case one literally has after itwas cast in an opera at Ipswich'sRegent Theatre.

Charlie, who had already actedin nativity plays, answered thedesperate calls of a director toappear in Carmen, with its owner,Sue Field, replying to a newspaperadvert.

'He is such a good donkey, he isindependent, he is happy to go outand be on his own,' Mrs Field said.

'I think he knows he issomething of a superstar.

'He always rises to the occasionand everyone who meets him getshuge pleasure from him. He isworth his weight in gold.'

She even had to write Charlie'slikes and dislikes on an applicationform and also his previous actingexperience.

The animal is now gearing upfor its debut next week but we'renot sure if it will have a singing solo.

It will, however, be involved intwo scenes and be accompanied onstage by its owner, who has beencast as a peasant.

The 18-year-old donkey is notthe only one owned by Mrs Field.

She also has another eight andall of them are part of the RainbowDonkeys company inLeavenheath, Essex.

'World's most confusing trafficlights' finally taken down

Charlie the donkey will star in Carmen the opera (Picture: Masons)

were left in a muddle while trying tofigure out the 14 different lights atthe the Yangrenjie Theme Park inChongqing.

This seemed to be the final tipping

'The world's most confusing traffic lights' havebeen taken down at the in Chongqing (Picture:AFP/Getty)

A set of rather confusing faketraffic lights that were bafflingdrivers in China have finally

been removed.This past weekend commuters

point for the arti n s t a l l a t i o n ,which flashesd i f f e r e n tcoloured signalsat the same time,with officialsremoving them.

This was achange inattitude aftert r a f f i cauthorities hadc o n t i n u a l l ysaid the lightsadded to thebeauty of thearea and driversshould ignorethem.

'They arejust ford e c o r a t i o nbecause thejunction lookedbare,' an officialsaid last Maywhen they wereinstalled.

'They lookvery pretty atnight butdrivers shouldjust ignore them.'

It's not a bird or plane, it's a flying squirrel

A bird or plane wouldn'tb e a s e x c i t i n g , o r a sc u t e , a s t h e s e t w o

Siberian f ly ing squirrels .T h e w i d e e y e d t r e e

d w e l l e r s s h o w e d o f f t h e i ri m p r e s s i v e a b i l i t y t o g l i d eand hide in trees in front ofintr igued snappers .

The pictures, which alsos h o w t h e s q u i r r e l s i n c u t ep o s e s o n t h e b a r k , w e r ec a p t u r e d b y p h o t o g r a p h e rM a s a t s u g u O h a s h i o n t h eJ a p a n e s e i s l a n d o fHokkaido.

'The squirrels make thistree a nest every year wheni t i s w i n t e r . F i v e o f t h e mlive communally in the cold

A Siberian flying squirrel soars through the skies (Picture:Masatsugu Ohashi/Rex)

A pair of the wide-eyed squirrels play on a tree (Picture:Masatsugu Ohashi/Rex)

season,' Mr Ohashi said.'It i s ear ly morning and

i n t h e e v e n i n g t h e yb e c o m e a c t i v e .

' T h e y a r e a l m o s ta l w a y s i n t h e n e s t s oc h a n c e s o f p h o t o g r a p h i n gt h e m i n t h e d a y t i m e a r ed i f f i c u l t . '

T h e a n i m a l s , a l s ok n o w n a s R u s s i a n f l y i n gs q u i r r e l s , c a n e s c a p ep r e d a t o r s b y s t r e t c h i n go u t t h e i r l i m b s a n dg l i d i n g b e t w e e n t r e e s .

T h e y a r e n o r m a l l yquite shy and can sleep ford a y s o n e n d s o g e t t i n gthese shots o f the animalsi n action was rare.

PAGE 36 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Obesity can 'lead tolack of vitamin D'- studyObesity can lower vitamin

D levels in the body, astudy suggests.

The report, in the journalPLOS Medicine, analysed geneticdata from 21 studies - a total of42,000 people.

It found every 10% rise inbody mass index (BMI) - used asan indicator of body fat - led to a4% drop of available vitamin Din the body.

As vitamin D is stored in fattytissue, the authors suggest thelarger storage capacity in obesepeople may prevent it fromcirculating in the bloodstream.

BMI it is calculated by takingweight (in kilograms) anddividing it by height (in metres)squared. Those with a BMI of 30or above are considered obese.

Lead author Dr ElinaHypponen, from the UniversityCollege London Institute of ChildHealth, said the study"highlights the importance ofmonitoring and treatingvitamin D deficiency in peoplewho are overweight or obese".

Vitamin D is made in the skinafter sun exposure and can betaken in dietary supplements.

Healthy levels are about 50nanomole per litre - less than 30nanomole per litre can cause thesoftening and weakening of

Should obese people be treated for vitamin D deficiency?

Traffic fumes linked to lower birth weightPregnant women who live in

areas with significant airpollution risk having babies of

low birth weight, the largest study todate suggests.

The study, in EnvironmentalHealth Perspectives, looked at morethan three million births in ninenations.

The effect was small andindividuals should not be alarmed,but there was a notable impact onthe population as a whole, theresearchers said.

Low birth weight babies have ahigher risk of health problems anddeath.

The majority survive but have

an increased risk of developingconditions such as diabetes and heartdisease as adults.

The International Collaborationon Air Pollution and PregnancyOutcomes (ICAPPO), by Prof TraceyWoodruff and colleagues at theUniversity California, SanFrancisco, focused on airborneparticulate matter small enough topenetrate the human respiratorytract.

The findings indicated therelationship between birth weightand pollution was dose related - thehigher the exposure, the lower theaverage birth weight.

Prof Woodruff said: "What's

significant is that these are airpollution levels to which practicallyeveryone in the world is commonlyexposed."

Prof Kevin McConway, astatistician at the Open Universitysaid, based on the findings, ifNewcastle were to halve its currentparticulate air pollution level it wouldlead to two or three fewer low weightbabies out of the total 3,500 or so bornin the city each year.

He said: "That sort of reductionmight well be worth having, but it'snot something that pregnantmothers should lose sleep over, I'd say.

"Source: BBCNews.com

Underweight babies have an increased risk of developmental problems

bones, leading to rickets inchildren and osteomalacia inadults.

Prof David Haslam, from the

National Obesity Forum, said:"Food intake and genetics allplay a part in obesity - but thisresearch is a reminder that

physical activity, like walkingthe dog or going for a run out inthe sunshine, shouldn't beforgotten and can help correct

both weight and lack of vitaminD."

Source: BBCNews.com

Lenses found to 'curecolour-blindness'Scientists say they have

invented spectacle lensesthat cure red-green colour

blindness, which affects some womenand one in every 10 men.

The Oxy-Iso lenses weredesigned by an American researchinstitute to allow medics to spotbruising and veins that are difficultto see.

Tests suggest they can help toenhance reds and greens in thecolour-blind.

But they could not be worn bydrivers, because they reduce the

green colour-blind folk are deficient,"he said.

Daniel Bor, a colour-blindneuroscientist at the Sackler Centrefor Consciousness Science at theUniversity of Sussex, said they madered colours appear very vibrant.

But he had some reservations,because they also made yellow lightinvisible.

"My daughter's baby monitor hassome yellow lights on it and I couldn'tsee them at all," he said.

Source: BBCNews.com

ability to perceiveyellows and blues.

T h e o r e t i c a lneurobiologistMark Changizi,who developed theglasses with Oxy-Isolenses, believeshuman colourvision "evolvedabove and beyondthat found in otherm a m m a l s . . .allowing us to sensecolour-signals onthe skin, includingblushes, blanches,as well as sensinghealth".

"So the Oxy-Isofilter concentratesits enhancementexactly where red-

A typical colour-blindness test features a circleof coloured dots with a number or word insideit

PAGE 37PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

What is your opinion on the newmega party? Do you see itdislodging PDP in 2015?

The merger is a gooddevelopment for the country.We have about over 50

political parties at present. Of whatuse is that when some cannot evenwin councillorship position. Apolitical party in existence thatcannot win councillorship, how canit still call itself a political party?Left to me, I would have said we needonly two political parties or three.We should have not more thanthree political parties and if youwant to have more, they should notbe at least five. That is even toomuch because if you have five, somepolitical parties in some states cannever win even councillorship slot.And to be honest with you, in everystate there are two political parties.If you go to Imo, APGA and PDP; ifyou go to Anambra, either ACNand PDP; if you come to Benue, it isACN and PDP. If you go to Plateau,it’s the same thing. So when peopletalk about over 50 political partiesit is absurd. I’ll rather prefer fewerpolitical parties. The merger willgive a challenge to PDP to sit up.But it isn’t enough to merge; youmust have a focus. What are youmerging for? If you merge and startscrambling for leadership, if doesn’thelp anybody. So, as to whetherthey will dislodge PDP it all depends.You cannot dislodge a party thathas been in power for more than 13years easily. The only way you candislodge such a party is when it hasa leadership crisis. And today, thePDP has a leadership crisis and it isthat leadership crisis that themerging opposition parties aretrying to cash in on. Otherwise,either they merge or not, makes nodifference because some of thosewho have merged together, howmany of them have won. Howmany governorship position havethey won in 36 states of thefederation? When you put all ofthem together, you count thenumber of the people who arerepresenting them at the nationallevel; you will discover that PDP isstill the majority. The problem

APC may outwit PDP in 2015 – Shuluwa

with the PDP is the leadership. AndI think the problem of thisgovernment generally is theleadership and not just the party.Nigerians are unable to put goodleaders in position. Most people whohave emerged as leaders are notleaders. That is our problem. Andthen, we turn round to focus on theparty. Who is the party? Party isnot a human being. It is those thatare managing the party thatmatter. The people managing thatparty don’t have leadershipqualities. And if today, PDP puts abad leader, they will have a goodchallenge from this opposition.Mega party is good because we needthe checks and balances. Let megive you an example. When I wasgrowing up and I see a beautiful girland I go there and I don’t see anyyoung man coming today,tomorrow the same thing, I quit. Iwant challenges so that when I sendthe young men away, I can then bevery proud of my prowess. So, if wehave the merger and they arechallenging the PDP then thecountry will enjoy it; the electoratewill enjoy it. But when you havejust one party ruling this country,one party all the time, then theywould relax. That party will notsatisfy you with its promises. It willnever fulfill its promises becausewhatever you do, it would win andthere is nobody to challenge it. Ourproblem in this country is becausethere is no opposition. Andopposition is good because it isalways focusing on what you arenot doing right. During NPN andANPP or something like that herein Benue, the Radio Benue was opento the opposition. They would gothere and criticize Governor AperAku and in the end, Aper Aku wouldsit with his people and say whatwere these people saying yesterdayand then he would try to amend bydoing what those things theopposition were accusing him of notdoing right. But today, you cannoteven go to Radio Benue andchallenge the government inpower. You cannot do that. ACN hasno place in Radio Benue.

Are you comfortable with

the leadership of your party aspresently constituted at thenational level?

Which leadership? I have neverbeen comfortable with anyleadership of this party after 1999.Most of those who have come in tobe leaders came from anotherparty. They didn’t know when andhow PDP was formed. They go andall they do is to scramble for bigpayment, they go there toscramble to become chairmen ofbig Boards. They scramble tobecome members of board of big oilcompanies. That is not what shouldbe. If you are a leader of the party,you control the party and thereforeyou control the people you haveelected. These days the opposite isthe case. When we elect people,they now become the leaders of theparty dictating to the party whatthey want because he who pays thepiper dictates the tune. So, theyfinance the party and then theydictate such that the leadership ofthe party does nothing. I was aleader of a party in the State before;the SDP. I was the soleadministrator of the party that ledAdasu into the office after I hadcontested for the governorship ofthat party. I was called from Lagosand told to take over the leadershipof the party as a sole administratorand deliver the governorship to theparty. And within two weeks Idelivered. I took control and whenthe governor tells me this, I say no,go and do your job but as for theparty, I am responsible for it.Today, that doesn’t happen.Whatever the party does, they arewaiting for the President to tellthem; they are waiting for thegovernors to rule. In every state,the governor is running the partyand is running the administration.What are the executive membersof the party doing? Nothing. So, the

merger, to me is good because wewant a challenge. As at now, thePDP has no challenge.

How about the mainopposition party, ACN, don’t youthink they are enough challengeto the PDP?

There should be objectivecriticism. You don’t just opposebecause you are in opposition. Oncethe government is formed the ACNis supposed to be part of thatgovernment in a way. And I thinkthe problem of Nigeria is the winnertakes all posture which is not good.You would see that Obama isappointing people from otherpolitical parties too because they arerunning a government. It’s no morea party affair because the partycomes to life only during theelectioneering period. Once theelection is concluded, you allow thegovernment to function becauseevery government has its ownpriority. Even if the ACN are at thehelm of affairs today, it will have itsown priority separate; theirstrategies will be different. There arecases that can challenge thegovernment in power but noteveryone. Some of their challengesare okay but some of the challengesare not.

But if Jonathan decides toappoint people from theopposition, a lot of people wouldstill criticize him and say maybehe wants to bribe the opposition.

That is why I am saying weNigerians should be more open.Obasanjo appointed Ibrahim fromAdamawa as Adviser. He was inANPP then. Even top governmentposition, we can appoint people fromother parties if we know that theycan deliver. There are Nigerianswho have been in other partiesbecause they felt that the ideologyof that party is better for them. InNigeria, we do have ideology. No

political party has ideologybecause every political party istelling you that there are nohouses, they will build houses, buildschools, provide electricity and allthat. Is that ideology? Nigeriansshould be open-minded and desistfrom saying somebody should notbe appointed simply because he isnot a member of the ruling party.This winner takes all idea is whatis killing us as a nation such thatsometime, you find a very credibleperson in another party who couldbe appointed a commissioner; whocould be appointed whatever buthe is disqualified simply becausehe belongs to another party. Itshould not be like that.

What is your view about theproposed centenarycelebration?

We have been celebratingindependence every year, whathave we achieved from that? Whatare we celebrating? Hundredyears of our existence we are stillnot patriotic. We are only patrioticwhen Green Eagles or the FlyingEagles have won a trophysomewhere. The only thing thatbrings us together in this countryis football. When the Nigerianteam is playing, you would seeall Nigerians sitting down in oneplace. That is the only timeWAZOBIA disappears. Butgenerally for 100 years, some ofus in this country do not knowwhere Benue is. If you go to Lagosand you tell somebody you arefrom Benue, he would say oh, youare from Jos. That is not fair.Some people are staying in Benuewho are not indigenes but havelived here for more than 60 or 70years and they are stillconsidered as non indigenes. It’sunfair. There was one man calledOjo in my village a long time ago.The man came to my villagebefore I was born. I think he wasfrom Ekiti state. He came whenthe UAC were buying beni-seedon the road. He lived there,married, had children andeventually died there. In fact, hewas buried in my village. Weregarded him as one of us. Hischildren later left anyway. Buttoday, such cannot happen. It islike the more we are developing,the more we are getting educated,the more we are getting far apartfrom one another.

Are you saying that thecentenary celebration is awaste of time and money?

To me, where is the moneycoming from? From the privatesector? The private sector has notseen the graduates that areroaming about without any job?How much money do you thinkwill go into that celebration? Whyshould government be involved?If it is the private sector, then letthe private sector organize thecelebration. Why shouldgovernment get involved? Weshould not be deceived; they areusing our fuel subsidy money tofund the celebration.

Chief Abu King Shuluwa is an elder ofthe Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP inBenue State. In this interview, he frownedat the leadership of the PDP whilewelcoming the new mega party, AllProgressive Congress as a gooddevelopment for Nigerian politics. Heexpressed fears in this interview with UcheNnorom that the new party could wrestlepower from the PDP if, in 2015, the partypresents a weak candidate. Excerpts:

INTERVIEW

Chief Abu King Shuluwa

PAGE 38 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Following the increasingabduction of expatriatesacross the country, Katsina

State Government, yesterdayconstituted a high poweredcommittee to provide the neededsecurity protection for expatriateworking in the state.

The State Commissioner pfPolice, Alhaji Abdullahi Magajidisclosed this to newsmen shortlyafter State Security Council meetingin Katsina which was presided overby the state governor, Alhaji IbrahimShehu Shema.

The committee which has itsmembers drawn from the Army,Police, Civil Defence Corps, and theState Security Service was mandatedto identify the locations of suchexpatriate and their phone numbers.

The commissioner who statedthat the committee was the first of itskind in the state, urged the committeeto work hard to secure the expatriateagainst potential kidnappers thatmay attack them.

It could be recalled that fewmonth back some unknown gunmennumbering about 30 invaded Rimitown in Katsina State where theykidnapped a French expatriate Mr.Francis Colump, killed two of hisNigerian security guards and set thetown's police station ablaze beforefleeing.

Katsina beefs upsecurity aroundexpatriates

Al-makura swears in new Chief Judge,receives Agyaragu crisis report

Governor Umaru TankoAl-makura of Nasarawastate has appealed to the

people of the state to toe thepath of brotherliness, love,peace and harmony for thesocio-economic developmentand overall progress of the

state.Al-makura made the

appeal yesterday at a functionto swear-in the newlyappointed Chief Judge of thestate, Justice Suleiman UmaruDikko, as well as receive thereport of the high poweredcommission of inquiryconstituted to investigate the

Agyaragu crisis.While urging the people of

the state to remember thatthey had no other state to calltheir own except Nasarawa,calling on them to join handswith one another in love andtogetherness, as according tohim, "nothing less will justifyour existence", the governor

to ensure the establishment of thecentre and prevent foreign medicaltreatment.

The Vice-Chancellor, ProfAmbali while speaking during themeeting, said he was delighted tohave the Chief Executive Officer ofDelexis Healthcare Solutions, in theUniversity, pointing out that hewas looking forward to partneringthe American company in theareas of ICT and health.

The VC stressed that having adiagnostic centre that would saveNigerians from going to such

countries as United States, UnitedKingdom and Germany for medicaltreatments would be a very gooddevelopment.

He noted that PROJECTC.U.R.E. and Delexis are veryimportant to the University as theywould facilitate the procurement ofthe necessary equipment for theDiagnostic Centre.

In his remarks, the CEO ofDelexis Healthcare Solutions, Mr.Alaofin said that the objective ofthe project was to help healthinstitutions in developing countries

to be better equipped with well-trained personnel.

Alaofin said the twoorganisations would commencework on the project by first carryingout a needs assessment andinteracting with healthstakeholders in the Universityhealth institutions, adding that theVice-Chancellor and the Universitymedical team would later be invitedto the United States before theshipment of the requesteddiagnostic equipment wouldcommence.

US medical group set to establish diagnostic centre at Unilorin

From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua, Katsina

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

A United State of America(USA) based foundation,PROJECT C.U.R.E.

facilitated by another Americanhealth solutions company, DelexisHealthcare Solutions has promisedto establish a diagnostic centre atthe University of Ilorin.

The leader of the team, Mr.Tunde Alaofin and Vice -Chancellorof University,Prof AbdulganiyuAmbali in a meeting with hadagreed on the procedures to follow

L-R: Chairman House Committee on Appropriation Hon John Owan Enoh, answering some question, while the media adviser onappropriation, Mr. Kevin Orji listening, during a hot seat interactive program organized by the House of Reps Press Corps, recently atNational Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

The Zamfara House ofassembly has urged thestate government to

reconstruct the Birnin-Magajiroad connecting Magami-Gabakeroad to Mesa-Teke and Barkeji andterminating at Zurmi.

The House passed theresolution following the motion byAlhaji Rufai Chiroma (Kaura-Namoda north), saying the peopleof the area had suffered a lot dueto the poor condition of the road.

Chiroma further noted thatfarmers and business men inKaura Namoda LocalGovernment Area could hardlycarry out their activities duringrainy season owing to difficultyin transporting their goods andservices.

He said that the roads were notmotorable and that movementfrom Kaura Namoda to Zurmi aswell as Birnin-Magajii localgovernment areas for economic

activities was almost impossibleduring the rainy season.

Alhaji Hashimu Shehu(Gummi 2) expressed support forthe motion, urging his colleaguesto ameliorate the suffering of thepeople.

The Speaker of the House,Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji identified theaffected areas as commercialcenters of the state. (NAN)

He recalled that the volumeof the business and farming

Zamfara Assembly urges govt to reconstruct roadactivities going on in the past,caused the colonial overlords toconstruct railway from Gusau toKaura-Namoda.

He noted that the call was thefirst resolution on roadconstruction after the passage ofthe 2013 budget.

Meanwhile, the house hasadjourned its sittings to Feb. 28,2013, to enable members toundergo a legislative course inSouth Africa. (NAN)

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia congratulated the new ChiefJudge, stressing that as thehead of the judicial arm ofgovernment, "you are thesymbol of fairness, equity,justice and objectivity."

He assured the people thatgovernment will thoroughlystudy the report with a viewto implementing it.

Authorities of BayeroUniversity, Kano hasconcluded plan to hold a

special lecture in honour of thePresident, Nigeria Academy ofLetters, Professor Munzali Jibril.

The Public lecture titled"Northern Nigerian Renaissance:The Humanities in the Re-Engineering Agenda" is expected toidentify the role of scholars andstudents of the Humanities could playin reawakening the north which iscurrently facing serious of securityand underdevelopment.

A statement made available tonewsmen by the Chairman of theOrganizing Committee, Professor S BAhmad noted the. Professor IbrahimLawal Bashir, a professor of EconomicHistory, University of Jos will set thepace towards understanding thechallenges.

The Professor of EconomicHistory is also anticipated to come upwith strategies. To be employed inre-engineering the Northern regionand Nigeria as a whole.

Professor Shu'aibu ObaAbdulRaheem, executiveChairman, Federal CharacterCommission, Abuja will chair theoccasion slated for CIT theartre , NewCampus, Tuesday.

Our correspondent learnt thatProfessor Munzali Jibril, the formerVice Chancellor of Bayero UniversityKano is the first scholar from NorthernNigeria to be elected President ofNigerian Academy of Letters.

BUK to holdlecture in Honourof Academy ofLetters PresidentFrom Edwin Olofu, Kano

PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Over N76 million raised forDankwambo's 2015 bid

Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo

Friends and politicalassociates of Gombe StateGovernor, Alhaji Ibrahim

Hassan Dankwambo yesterdayraised the sum of over N76 millionfor his 2015 governorshipcampaign organization billed to belaunched in may 2013.

Donors at the occasion wereAlhaji Umar Farouk Bamusa N20million, Alhaji AbdulkadirHamma Salleh N50 million,Alhaji Umar Galadima N5million, Alhaji AbubakarAbubakar BD N1 million amongmany other donors.

A top notch of the People'sDemocratic Party (PDP) andconvener of the organization thatwill be named "Talba Neighbourto Neighbour", Alhaji Bala Tinkawho barely finished announcingthe proposed launching of the

Organization in May this yearbegan to receive monetarypromises for the organization.

According to Bala Tinka, a bigtime contractor in the state, theorganization would be formed withthe aim of impressing on GovernorIbrahim Hassan Dankwambo tobid for a second tenure in officecome 2015.

He told a very large gatheringof PDP supporters in Malala, DukkuLocal Government Area at the flag-off campaign of next Saturday'sLocal Government election forGombe North Senatorial Districtthat Dankwambo has done enoughto deserve a re-election for a secondtenure.

According to him, theconstruction of over seventy ruraland urban roads, staying in hispersonal house without collectinga kobo for rent, recruitment of1,000 secondary school teachers

and renovation and overhaulingof the education sector amongmany others are reasonsNeighbour to Neighbour would becalling on him to re-contest.

The occasion which was also acontinuation of the Governor'sconstituency tour aimed atmeeting the people at theirdoorstep, saw that Governorpresenting PDP's flag to five of theparty's chairmanship candidate'sin the zone which include Gombe,Nafada, Kwami, Funakaye andDukku Local Government Areas.

From David Hassan, Gombe

Senate Minority Leader,Senator George Akume,has lampooned the

Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) as lacking anyachievement profile,maintaining that the newmega party, All ProgressiveCongress (APC), remains thealternative to salvage Nigeria.

Senator Akume, who saidthis at the weekend whileaddressing his constituents onthe new mega party inMakurdi, posited that themega party is poised to betterthe lives of Nigeria and urgedthem to embrace it wholeheartedly.

He said the party wouldfight for the conduct of trueelection in 2015 that would bein line with international bestpractices, and appealed tosupporters to be resolute,adding “there will be light atthe end of the tunnel”.

“We are determined toensure success of this projectand I implore all of you to keyinto it. We will shoot downthese bats, PDP with ourarmors”, Sen. Akume said.

Former PDP nationalchairman and chieftain ofAction Congress of Nigeria,ACN Chief Audu Ogbe,regretted the bastardization ofgovernance of the country bythe ruling party, noting thatthe PDP has collapsed theNigerian economy as well asimpoverished Nigerians.

He accused formerPresident Olusegun Obasanjoof destroying the PDP whichthey had fought hard to build,boasting that the new megaparty will send PDP out of thepolitical atmosphere of thecountry in 2015.

“APC will lead the way. Wewill triumph. In APC thousandopinions will hold, there willbe no imposition of candidate.I urge you to interact withmembers of ANPP and CPC”,Chief Ogbe urged thesupporters.

Akume, OgbeSlam PDP as‘destroyingNigeria’

Supporters of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) waving brooms during a campaign rally at Gwagwalada, recently

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

The Congress forProgressive Change(CPC) Plateau state chapter

of the Party has accused theIndependent National ElectoralCommission of taken side with PDPfor refusing to put its logo on theballot paper during the plateauNorth senatorial seat bye electionlast year October 6th 2013.

CPC, in a Press statement madeavailable to Peoples Daily in Josand signed by its state secretaryPastor Dabit Joseph, said it readwith dismay the unfortunatestatement of the Public Affairs

Officer of INEC in the state , MrBencyn Ikpe which was publishedin a one of the National daily notPeoples Daily that the officer wasquoted as saying that INEC hasappealed the judgment of theAbuja high court that annulled theelection of Sen. Gyang NyamPwajok

He said from such misguidedstatements Mr Bencyn Ikpe isplaying the role as INEC publicRelations officer and as a PDPadviser and a judge

According to the statement, “INEC has taken sides with the PDPand as a party we believe in truejustice and we cannot give room

for injustice. We are aware thateven the Courts of Appeal andSupreme Court have frowned atINEC on matters that has to do withthe interpretation of the law andINEC has no power to refuse anycandidate to contest for elections.

“We therefore urge INEC in thespirit of fairness and justice to obeycourt order and straight away fix adate for the by election”.

It would be recalled that a bye-election was conducted last yearOctober 6 following the death ofSenator Gyang Dangtong, andSenator Gyang Nyam Pwajok, acandidate of PDP, was declared thewinner of the elections by the INEC.

Plateau North Bye - election: CPCaccuses INEC of siding with PDPFrom Musa Pam, Jos

The Governor who charged thecontestants not to fail the partyand the entire people of the state ifelected said they should allowfairness, justice and equity to betheir watchword.

Responding on behalf of thecontestants, the party's flag bearerfor Gombe Local GovernmentArea, Alhaji Ibrahim Sagirpromised to uphold the confidencereposed on them by the party whilethanking the Governor forallowing hitch free and democraticprimaries.

PAGE 41PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

MTNFootball.com lists 10 players who Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi should give a second look-in in his team.Michael Eneramo Sivasspor striker

Eneramo has been a prolific goal scorer wherever he has played. The 27-year-old is currently one of thebest African scorers in the Turkish top flight with eight goals in the league and five in the Turkish Cup.The former Esperance of Tunisia skipper is a bull on the pitch.

He is a powerful striker who uses his strength and pace to outwit opponents. First capped by Nigeria in2009, he has scored four goals in 10 caps for Nigeria. He last played for the Eagles in September 2011.

Chinedu Obasi Schalke 04 strikerTop-class striker on his day, but lately he has struggled with injuries which has limited his appearances for

his German Bundesliga outfit.At 26 he still has age on his side and can play as a second striker and as a right winger.Once he can establish himself at his club, he could again be given another chance with the national team.Victor Nsofor Obinna Lokomotiv Moscow striker Nsofor is a versatile forward who is known for scoring important goals for the Super Eagles.Injury and his form at his struggling Russian club have combined to keep him out of the international

team for over a year now.He is forceful and direct when he is fit. He has yet to get his chance under Keshi and so he should be recalled.Onyekachi Apam Rennes defenderOnyekachi Apam is a defender of great quality but injury has limited him in the last two years. Apam is

always rock solid in the heart of the defence or as right back.He has proved himself at U20 and Olympic team levels and was recently considered for a return to the

Super Eagles only to be stopped by injury. He is always calm, rugged and great tackler.With the impending exit of skipper Joseph Yobo from the international stage, there is need for extra cover

at the heart of the back four and this 26-year-old could provide it.Kalu Uche Kasimpasa midfielder or striker He is another proven goal scorer with Nigerian blood running through him.He currently stars for Kasimpasa in Turkish top flight, where he is the team’s top scorer and second top

scorer in the league with 12 goals.His versatility is an advantage to the Eagles as he could play as a point man, supporting striker and as an

attacking midfielder.Uche was Nigeria best player at the 2010 World Cup after he made his long-awaited debut on 21 June

2003, in an African Nations Cup qualifier against Angola, scoring in the process.Raheem Lawal Mersin Idmanyurdu midfielder He is an all round midfielder with power and skills. The former 36 Lion of Lagos player is a good tackler,

passer and dribbler.He also has a good vision for goals with long range shots. He was an important player for Adana Demirspor

before he was bought over by Mersin Ýdmanyurdu in the Turkish top flight.He was a surprise omission to the 2013 Nations Cup, but should now be recalled to stake another claim in

this squad.Obafemi Martins Levante strikerObafemi Martins has proved himself again in the Spanish La Liga with Levante since his transfer in the

summer from Russian club Rubin Kazan.He has fired eight goals in 19 matches thus far. He could not take his second chance in a friendly against

Venezuela in November, but that does not mean he cannot still add bite to the Eagles strike force even if itmeans coming off the bench to do so. He is an experienced player as he has featured in three Africa Cup ofNations in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and in the

FIFA World Cup in 2010. Joel Obi Inter Milan midfielder Enterprising defensive midfielder with a sweet left foot. His industry in the middle of the park will be

invaluable to the Super Eagles once he is over his injury problems. He posted a five-star debut performanceagainst Sierra Leone two years ago and a lot was expected of him before his injury problems set in.

Sidney Sam Bayer Leverkusen winger or strikerSidney Sam is a versatile player who could play as a winger or a striker. Born in Germany, he has decided

to feature for Nigeria as a full international after he represented Germany at U19, U20 and U21 levels. Goodenough Nigeria have begun processing his papers for this switch.

He scores goals 16 goals in 58 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen - and has pace to burn on the wings andso will be a valuable addition to Keshi’s squad.

Victor Anichebe Evertonstriker

An imposing, bullish striker withgreat power and pace, who couldalso feature on the right side ofmidfield as well as a supportingstriker.

He could become a key star forclub and country if only he couldstay away from the treatmenttable. The 24-year-old striker is theyounger version of EmmanuelEmenike after he made fullinternational debut for Nigeria in afriendly against Austria in May2008. He would most certainly be afantastic addition to the Eaglesattack. He already has 11 caps anda goal.

The Nigeria ProfessionalFootball League (NPFL) isexpected to be handed a

take-off grant by the country’sgovernment soon,supersport.com can report.

It is understood that theNPFL is working in conjunctionwith the National SportsCommission (NSC) in Nigeria,which also doubles as the sportsministry, to securegovernment subvention for thecountry’s top flight.

The Nigerian financeministry is also in the pictureof helping the top flight out ofits financial doldrums.

Nigeria’s top flight has beenmired in crisis including anumber of court suits andfinancial hiccups which theLeague ManagementCommittee (LMC) inherited.

But the LMC, saddled withrunning the NPFL and chairedby former Nigerian lawmaker,Nduka Irabor, is to get adevelopmental grant to help thetop flight get underway.

“We still can’t resolve theproblem (of title sponsorship)and government is willing tohelp. We have a smart sports

minister coupled with a financeminister who is willing to seehow to assist the league since itemploys a large number ofyouth through adevelopmental grant. Also, thepresident of the footballfederation is keen to see theleague back in operation.

“This is the reason we didn’t

start the league until we wereguaranteed that funds wascoming from somewhere,”said Irabor.

Last week, the LMCannounced a name change forthe country’s top flight from theNigeria Premier League (NPL)also known as the NigeriaFootball League to the NPFL.

The 2012/13 season of theNPFL is now billed to kick offon March 9 after a number ofpostponements.

NPLF to get take-off grant

10 stars Keshi should reconsider

Michael Eneramo

Chinedu Obasi

Victor Nsofor

Onyekachi Apam Kalu Uche

Raheem Lawal

Joel Obi

Sidney Sam

Victor AnichebeObafemi Martins

PAGE 42 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The International Baseball Federation, IBAF, theworld governing body for baseball has formallyinvited Nigeria for the forthcoming world U-12

Baseball Championship scheduled to take place in Taipei,China from July 20 to 28, 2013.

In extending the invitation to Nigeria, IBAFacknowledged the

developmental programme which the country hasembarked on in the

recent years adding that embracing the internationalscene will no doubt help in expediting the developmentof the game in the country.

IBAF has also invited 12 other countries from otherparts of the world to take part in this competition.

Meanwhile, the process of getting the best players thatwill represent Nigeria in the world tournament hasstarted with a camping in Ibadan starting 19 February2013 and to run for 8 days.

Best players have seen selected from teams in differentfrom every parts of the country with Oyo stategovernment playing a pivotal role in the national

camping event.In addition, an American Coach has been appointed

as the technical adviser of the national team and he isscheduled to be in Nigeria very soon to start working onthe team.

Commenting on the journey so far, the secretary ofNigeria Baseball and softball Federation (NBSF) Mr.Kehinde Laniyan praised the efforts of the internationalbody in making sure that the game of baseball grows inNigeria adding that the nation’s invitation among the12 participating countries was a clear indication thatthe national body is leaving no stone unturned inmaking sure that it takes the game tothe nooks andcrannies of this country.

“We felt fulfilled when we got the invitation. It showsthat somebody somewhere is closely following what weare doing here, “he said.

Nigeria is also playing host to internationalheadquarters of African Baseball and softball Association(ABSA) with Nigeria born Gen. Ishola Williams (Rtd)being the president.

Ejike Uzoenyi

Dominic Lorfa

Continental bound Nigeria Premier League (NPL)side; Lobi Stars of Makurdi and new top leagueentrant Nasarawa United have declared that their

respective clubs are battle ready for the incoming 2012/2013 football league season.

Lobi Stars finished third in the last Nigeria footballseason to book a continental ticket will confront BayelsaUnited in their first domestic league game scheduled forMarch 9 while Nasarawa United which gainedpromotion from division two league, the NigeriaNational League (NNL), will engage El-kanemi Warriorsof Maiduguri in another opening NPL encounter.

Technical adviser and vice Chairman of the Makurdi-based club Mr Dominic Lorfa while admitting that thenew kick-off date for the incoming football season wasvisible, was optimistic that his club will surpass previousperformance.

“I won’t predict exactly where we will be when theseason ends but I can assure you that we are wellprepared, Lobi is a good team, I promise you the clubwill not disappoint its fans starting from their first matchcome March 9.

“On his part, Nasarawa United Chairman BarristerIsaac Danladi said that his side is equal to the task ahead.

“Yes the challenges will be there, but I want to assureyou that my boys are equal to the task, besides we havedone a good recruitment and state government hasalways been there for us.

“Our first with El Kanemi will not be that easy eventhough we beat them at the Super Four contest. In all, Ibelieve we will go very far this league season.” saidDanlami.

Mike Idoko

An end to the crisisrocking the NigeriaPremier League

(NPL) which has broughtundue delay to the longawaited resumption of anew football season maynot have come followinglingering sponsorshiptussle that have ensuedbetween Clubs and the

league managementcommittee(LMC).

Sponsorship in recenttimes has remained amajor setback in the dayto day management of thecountry’s league.

Shortly after itsinauguration last year by theNigeria Football Federation(NFF), the league interim

committee mandated eachparticipating NPL Clubs toensure that they have up toN50 million in their bankaccount before thecommencement of theleague season earlierproposed to start February16.

The decision by the LMCmet stiff resistance bymost club owners whoclaimed they can’t affordsuch amount. And so it hassince resulted to continuedpostponement of the 2012/2013 league season.

The leaguemanagement body andclub owners engaged eachother for hours in aprotracted meeting whichalmost marred therescheduled league drawon Friday.

Fielding questions fromnewsmen on the lingeringissue, Chairman of theLMC Hon Nduka Iraborsaid the lingering issues

remained unresolved evenas he insisted that therewas no going back onmarch 9 which has beenfixed as the latest kick-offdate for the incomingleague season.

“We still can resolve theproblem but governmenthas promised to come toour aid. Governmentbelieves in the league justas we are trying to sort outthings.

“The league is needed tokeep people off the street.Luckily, we have a goodrelationship with topsports administrator whohave decided that we useour league as adevelopment ground.

“So one reason thatmade us not to have beenable to start the season wasto make sure money wascoming from somewhere.

“Most clubs hadcomplained that they can’tafford the money theywere asked to make sure isin their account but theycomplained won’t meet up.What we need now is tofind a way out of it.

Nigeria set for IBAF world U-20 baseball cupLobi Stars, Nasarawa Unitedready for NPL kicks-off

Uzoenyi seals Rennes deal

Nigeria inter-national, EjikeUzoenyi has sealed a

deal to join French side,Rennes.

The 24-year-old wingercompleted the movefollowing an impressiveouting with Nigeria at the2013 Africa Cup of Nationsin South Africa.

Uzoenyi who confirmedthe news over the weekend,explained that he would be

jetting off to France veryshortly.

“Yes, I have sealed the dealto join Rennes. I am verypleased with this because itis the dream of everyNigerian player to move toEurope. I hope to take mycareer to the next level,” hesaid.

He will now join anotherNigerian, Onyekachi Apamat Rennes. Uzoenyi has made11 appearances for Nigeria.

N50 million bonds: NPL interimboard, club owners still in tussle

Less than three weeksto the kick-off of the2012/2013 Nigeria

Premier League (NPL) now

regarded as NigeriaProfessional FootballLeague (NPFL).

The league managementinterim committee (LMC)has warned that the league

Violation of match rules may leadto sanction –NPLStories by Albert Akota

body will not spear anyclub found violating rulesand regulations guidingthe conduct of games as thefull weight of the law willbe allowed to take its fullcourse on defiant teams.

Chairman of the LMCHon Nduka Irabor whohanded down the warningwhile addressing Clubchairmen andrepresentatives duringrescheduled NPL drawsheld at FIFA Goal project inAbuja stated that reelingout warning before thecommencement of theleague season becamenecessary to enableparticipating clubs stick toexisting regulatoryframework guiding theconduct of both home andaway teams at any givenmatch situation.

“I need to emphasis on therules and regulationsguiding the game offootball especially as itconcerns club conductduring matches.

“The reason is that theleague interimmanagement committeewill not fail to allow the fullweight of the law takecause its cause wheneverwe receive report that anyclub did not comply withthe laid down rules.

The new football seasonhas been fixed for March 9with the 20 participatingclubs set to resumehostilities.

Hon Nduka Irabor

PAGE 43PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

CHANGE OF NAMEI, FORMERLY KNOWN AS MISS. ALTINEABDULLAHI NOW WISH TO BE MRS. ALTINETITUS DAUDA ALL OTHER DOCUMENTSREMAIN VALID. BOGORO L.G.A. AND GENERALPUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

For the fifth time in less than two years, ACMilan and Barcelona are ready to do battle in theChampions League.

The sides have met 15 times in the competition todate and Barça hold the slight edge, with six wins, fourdefeats and five draws. They are also unbeaten in theirlast seven meetings with the Rossoneri, winning fourand drawing three.

After a stuttering start to their Serie A campaign,Massimiliano Allegri’s youthful AC Milan side havefought their way impressively back into contention inthe top three.

Their recent form owes much to the blossoming strikeduo of Mario Balotelli and Stephan El Shaarawy, theformer having scored four times in his first three gamesfor the club.

Former Barcelona front man Bojan Krcic may alsofeature against his formative club. Bojan becameBarça’s youngest ever league goalscorer on 20 October2007 when he found the net aged 17 years and twomonths.

For Barça, coach Tito Vilanova is again absent as hecontinues to receive medical treatment in New York,but he will no doubt be in regular contact with assistantJordi Roura.

The Catalan side is running away with La Liga andremains on course to replicate their clean sweep oftrophies of two seasons ago, thanks in no small part tothe continued scintillating form of Lionel Messi. TheArgentinian has 56 goals in the Champions League andis edging ever closer to Raul’s all-time record of 71.

His brace in the club’s recent 2-1 win over Granada,meanwhile, moved him to an extraordinary 37 leaguegoals in 24 games this season.

Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup’s Round of 16by second-tier Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, havingexited the League Cup in similar fashion earlier in theseason.

That, coupled with the fact that they lie 21 pointsbehind Premier League leaders Manchester United infifth place, means the Champions League representstheir only hope of a first trophy since 2005.

First, however, the Gunners must overcome BayernMunich, who are cruising towards the Bundesliga titlewith a 15-point lead over second-placed BorussiaDortmund.

The Bavarians, whose Champions League away recordstands at 29 wins, 29 defeats and 24 draws, are spoiledfor choice upfront but must do without defender JeromeBoateng, who is suspended.

Arsenal, for their part, will take some heart from theirhome states in the competition, which show 24 winsand only two defeats to Manchester United and Schalke -in 31 games at the Emirates.

The north Londoners will also be keen to avenge theirdefeat by Bayern in the last 16 of the 2004/05

Outsiders eye ChampionsLeague upsets tournament.

Six Portuguese internationals, five Brazilians and fourArgentinians are in line to feature in this, the first evermeeting between the Iberian neighbours.

Malaga, this season’s revelations, is the only qualifiersleft in the competition, having gone through the groupphase unbeaten and finished top of their section, fourpoints ahead of AC Milan.

Hosts Porto, meanwhile, have reached the knockoutstages ten times, and go into this game on the back of a19-match unbeaten league run of 15 wins and fourdraws.

Argentinian pair Luis Gonzalez and JavierSaviola will be tasked with providing attackinginspiration for the hosts and visitors respectively.

But the two real game-changers are likely to be Porto’sColombian striker Jackson Martinez, who has 20 goalsin 19 league games in his debut season, and Spanishrising star Francisco Roman Alarcon Suarez, the 20-year-old more commonly known as Isco.

Galatasaray host Schalke in what is the pair’s firstcompetitive fixture. Fatih Terim’s Galatasaray startedtheir European campaign poorly with two defeats, beforerecovering to record three straight wins and seal secondspot in Group H

The Turkish side will be hoping their impressiveattacking trio of Wesley Sneijder, DidierDrogba and Burak Yilmaz can continue that positivemomentum against Schalke.

The Germans find themselves mid-table in theBundesliga, but have lost just one of their last nineEuropean away games.

That sequence includes a notable victory over Arsenal,and they are one of only four teams still unbeaten inthis season’s Champions League.

The game also marks the Champions League debutof Schalke’s new coach, Jens Keller, who replaced HuubStevens in December and will no doubt be preparing fora fiery first test in Istanbul.

Côte d’Ivoire striker Didier Drogba, 34, returns to theChampions League looking to add to his tally of 39 goalsin 77 games, which he amassed while at previous clubsMarseille and Chelsea.

After a brief stint in China with Shanghai Shenhua,Drogba is now starting a new adventurein Turkey with Galatasaray.

The forward made an immediate impact in his leaguedebut on 15 February, scoring five minutes after comingon in the 63rd minute to help his side to a 2-1 victoryover bottom-placed Akhisar Belediyespor.

The number of sides still unbeaten in this year’sChampions League. They are Borussia Dortmund andJuventus, who played the first legs of their last-16 tieslast week, Schalke and Malaga. The latter are the onlyremaining qualifiers in the competition.

Again, as it’s always special to meet your internationalteam-mates. They’re also a team I’ve never faced andit’s a stadium in which I’ve yet to play. We’re going toUEFA Champions League.

AC Milan’s reunion with southern Europeanrivals Barcelona takes centre stage in the secondset of first-leg fixtures in the UEFA Champions

League Round of 16.Two other former champions are also in action, with

Porto taking on surprise package Malaga, and BayernMunich facing eternal hopefulsArsenal.

G a l a t a s a r a y ,meanwhile, will seekinspiration from BurakYilmaz, who has six goalsin six outings in this year’scompetition, and DidierDrogba, who scored on hisrecent debut for theambitious Turks, as theylook to outgun Schalke.

For the Bundesliga side,striker Klaas-JanHuntelaar will be hopingto add to his tally of fourgoals in this year’s edition.

TODAY

FC Porto vM a l a g a

Arsenal vBayern Munich

TOMORROWGalatasaray v

Schalke 04AC Milan vBarcelona

Porto striker Jackson Martinez

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta

Barcelona striker Pedro Rodriguez AC Milan striker Mario Balotelini

PAGE 44 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Kunfu player in action

Bolaji Abdullahi,Sports Minister

The Lagos State FivesAssociation (LSFA)has said that lack of

sponsorship andcompetitions havecontinued to stall thegrowth of the sport in thec o u n t r y .

Nasiru Mohammed, theChairman of theassociation disclosedyesterday in Lagos that itwould not allow thesetback to deter itsp r o g r a m m e s .

Mohammed stressedthat LSFA, was set to

surmount all thechallenges it encounteredin 2012, by taking thesport to the grassroots.

He added that the bodywas currently on the vergeof taking its awarenesscampaign for the sport toschools, to identify, andgroom budding talents forthe sport.

“Part of our 2013agenda is to ensure thesport is publicised insecondary schools for morestudents to get acquaintedwith the sport for the

talents to bediscovered,’’he said.

Mohammed said thatthe association wouldstrive to raise the profileof the sport to whatobtained in the northernpart of the country whereit is very popular.

The chairman alsoappealed to corporateentities to lend theirsupport to the sport, bypartnering with theassociation to execute itsp r o g r a m m e s .

“I am appealing to

individuals and corporatebodies to help bankroll ourcompetitions; for the sportto grow,’’ he added.

Mohammed, who is alsothe Technical Director ofthe Fives Federation ofNigeria (FFN), complainedthat the national body wasalso facing the challengesof getting sponsors for itsp r o g r a m m e s .

“The Sardauna of SokotoCup is the only knowncompetition that we haveat the national level, andwe will need the support of

sponsors to come up withmore of such,’’thechairman said.

He urged the NationalSports Commission (NSC)to also include the sport inthe itinerary of the nextNational Sports Festival topropel its growth.

“The exclusion of thesports from the sportsfestival, is also affecting itsdevelopment. I want to usethis medium to appeal tothe NSC to consider thesport in the nextfestival,’’Mohammed said.

Uche Onwumeh,S e c r e t a r y ,N i g e r i a

Weightlifting Federation(NWF), says Nigeriashould be at theI n t e r n a t i o n a lWeightlifting Federation(IWF’s) World YouthChampionships, toincrease its chances ofbeing at the YouthOlympic Games.

Onwumeh told theNews Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on Thursday inLagos that the IWFchampionships wouldhold in Tashkent-Uzbekistan, Russia fromApril 6 to April 13.

“It will beadvantageous for theNWF to participate in thechampionships because itwill boost the country’schances of having manyslots at the YouthOlympics in China in2014,’’ she said.

Onwumeh said theathletes would also gainexposure that wouldenable them to excel atthe Games and otherinternational events.

According to her,athletes would be invitedto camp based on theirpast performances andpersonal records innational andinternational events.

She urged the stateassociations to renewtheir membership for theyear, including theregistration andlicensing of athletes, andreminded them that itwould end in February.

Onwumeh said that thefederation had not hadany major event sincethe year began, to allowstate associations andathletes to renew theirlicences.

The NWF has planneda National YouthChampionship for boysand girls in Calabarbetween March 15 andMarch 22.

Four Nigerian clubs unveiled their new kits for the2013/2014 season in Lekki area of Lagos by OWUSportswear on Wednesday.

The clubs include three Premier League teams, 3SC,ABS and Lobi Stars and National League outfit,Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) FC. Seven playersfrom the four clubs were on hand to model at theunveiling ceremony of the jerseys.

The players are 3SC duo of Mutiu Adegoke and SolaAdeboye as well as Tony Okpotu and Ezekiel Bassey, bothfrom Lobi Stars and ABS striker, Abdulrahman Bashir.

MFM FC duo of Femi Oladejo and Giwa Mayowa completedthe list of players who modelled the new jerseys. Bashirexpressed happiness over the new jerseys commending OWUSportswear for upping the quality of kits.

“It’s a good looking kit. At the same time I look how I

looked inside it with the tight-fit design that goes withit. Now I’m looking forward to wearing the jerseys whenthe new Premier League season starts,” said the ABS all-time leading scorer with 57 goals to supersport.com.

CEO of OWU Sportswear, Tunji Brown, has assuredthat the unveiling of the sets of jerseys for the clubs willlead to players of 3SC, ABS and Lobi Stars exchangingkits at the end of their games.

“OWU is synonymous with a lot of firsts. And in thecoming season I’m assuring that we will see players ofABS, 3SC and Lobi Stars exchange jerseys after theirgames. This is meant to foster friendship among the clubsand players,” explained Brown at the unveilingceremony.

OWU Sportswear unveiled home, away and alternatejerseys of the four clubs.

No fewer than 40players havebeen invited by

the Nigeria Baseball andSoftball Association(NBSA) to camp, for the2 n d I n t e r n a t i o n a lBaseball Federation(IBAF) U-12championship billed forTaipei, in July.

Olajide Abidoye, theteam Manager of NBSA,told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) onThursday on telephone,that the camp will holdfrom Feb. 18 to Feb. 26in Ibadan, Oyo State.

“The players are beinginvited to the first phaseof the camp, ahead of ourpreparations for theIBAF U-12 competitionscheduled for July inTaipei, Taiwan.

“The 40 players wehave invited areexpected to resumecamp in Ibadan on Feb.18, for the technical crewto work with,’’the NBSAteam manager said.

Abidoye told NAN that20 players would beselected out of the 40players at the end of thesecond phase of theprogramme in March.

“At the end of thesecond camp phase inMarch, 20 of the bestplayers will beeventually selected torepresent the country atthe competition,’’ headded.

The IBAF U-12championship is the 2ndedition of the primecategory (buddingtalents) to develop andfoster the growth of thesport around the world.

Fives Chairman says, lack of sponsors is stalling its growth

NWFexplains whyNigeriashould be atWorld YouthChampionships

Four Nigerian clubs reveal 2013 kit Baseballfederationinvite 40playersto camp

Wushu-Kungfu practitionershope sport will be at 2020Olympics

Michael Oladeinde, Technical Director, Nigeria Wushu- Kungfu Federation (NWKF),on Thursday said he was hopefulthat the International Olympic

Committee (IOC) would adopt thesport at the 2020 Olympic Games.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the ExecutiveBoard of the IOC on Feb. 12 de-listedwresting from the sports for the

2020 Games.It has shortlisted Wushu-Kungfu,

Karate, Baseball/Softball, Squash,Roller Sports, Wakeboarding Sport

climbing to replace Wrestling.Oladeinde told NAN in Lagos that the

decision would avail the International Wushu-Kungfu Federation with more time to push for the inclusion

of the sport in the 2020 Olympics.“This is good news for members of the International Wushu-

Kungfu Federation. I strongly believe the sport will take the slotat the 2020 Olympics,’’ he said.

Oladeinde said the sport was demonstrated at the 2008Beijing Olympics for the world to see and embrace.

The technical director said the body had started groomingyoung talents that would represent the country when thesport was eventually included in the Olympics.

“We already have young talents that we are nurturingto represent the country if the sport is finally in theOlympics,’’ Oladeinde said.

Also, the Secretary of NWKF, Solomon Mgbejume, saidthe federation would engage athletes in competitions toprepare them ahead of the 2020 Olympics.

He said that he was optimistic that the sport which hasmany medals, would be part of the 2020 Games.

“There are close to 100 medals to be won in Wushu-Kungfu and we will engage our athletes in competitions to

prepare them ahead of 2020.A Wushu-Kungfu judge, Felix Asemota, said the

development was an indication of the popularity of the sportacross the world.

He added that the NWKF should seize the opportunity toimprove its technical officials and promote the sport at the

grassroots.

PAGE 45PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

PICTORIAL

1] Serena Williams, a 15-time Grand Slamchampion, becomes theoldest woman to top theworld rankings.

2] AC Milan's reunionwith southern Europeanrivals Barcelona takescentre stage in thesecond set of first-legfixtures in the UEFAChampions League Roundof 16.

3] Phil Ball explains whyGareth Bale is moresuited to Real Madridthan Barcelona and howhe might be the tonicthey need.

4] Santos coachMuricyRamalho has toldNeymar he must learn tokeep out of trouble afterthe Brazil forward wasshown a red card duringthe team's 3-1 loss toPonte Preta on Sunday.

5] James Anderson isbacked to set morebowling records forEngland after surpassingSir Ian Botham's total ofwickets.

6] Flanker SamWarburton and lockAlunWyn Jones take afull part in Wales'straining ahead of theirSix Nations clash withItaly in Rome.

1

2

3 4

5 6

PAGE 47PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Don't mind us: Two lions roll around in the road bringing rush hour traffic in Nairobi, Kenya, to astandstill. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Say what?Some Interesting FactsSome Interesting Facts

Yesterday’s solution

SUDOKUSUDOKU

•The Earth weighs around6,588,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons.•The Eisenhower interstate system requires thatone mile in every five must be straight. Thesestraight sections are usable as airstrips in times ofwar or other emergencies.•The electric chair was invented by a dentist.•The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump.•The first Ford cars had Dodge engines.•The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung,used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.•The first toilet ever seen on television was on"Leave It To Beaver."•The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.•The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certifiedkosher.•The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than thelowest point in Colorado.•The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.•The international telephone dialing code forAntarctica is 672.•The katydid bug hears through holes in its hindlegs.•The "L.L." in L.L. Bean stands for Leon Leonwood.•The longest one-syllable word in the Englishlanguage is "screeched."•The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteenseconds.•The longest word in the English language,according to the Oxford English Dictionary, ispneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Theonly other word with the same amount of letters ispneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, itsplural.•The Main Library at Indiana University sinks overan inch every year because when it was built,engineers failed to take into account the weight ofall the books that would occupy the building.•The microwave was invented after a researcherwalked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar meltedin his pocket.

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

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Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako,Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office:No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 805 727 9862.e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTTTTTABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETEHow can you, as a Head of State, be removedfrom office and detained and then you say youhave forgotten? It’s a lie. If it’s forgiveness, I’ve

forgiven him. But it’s a lie, I cannot forget. — Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on the 1985

coup against his government.

Manchester City bossRoberto Mancini sayshe is currently "the best

manager in England" and is notfacing the sack.

City is out of Europeancompetition and face a battle toretain their Premier Leaguetitle, with Manchester Unitedcurrently 12 points clear.

They are in the FA Cupquarter-finals but former Cityplayer Danny Mills hassuggested Mancini will bereplaced at the end of the season.

“In the last 15 months I amthe best manager in England,"said Mancini.

Mancini took over atManchester City in December2009, replacing Mark Hughes.

“When you look at what hehas spent in the last threeseasons, £285m on players, thatalone means you are underpressure to succeed.

“The owners want to win thePremier League again and youhave to be competitive in theChampions League.

“I think he may well go(even if he wins the FA Cup),depending on who is available.Manchester City is looking toplay the Barcelona way theyhave brought in those guys.

“There are lots of rumblings,it is not always a particularlyhappy dressing room and whenyou have spent that amount ofmoney there is pressure. Whatwe haven't seen this season isany progression.

“A lot of people wantMourinho at the moment andMancini's job could depend onwho is available and who theycan get. Guardiola has nowgone, you assume there will bea position at Chelsea and afterthe weekend, who knows whatArsene Wenger may do.”

Last season Manchester Cityclosed an eight-point gap onUnited to win their first PremierLeague title with a dramatic 3-2 final day win over Queen'sPark Rangers.

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

Manciniclaims bestEPL manager

My abhorrence of suspensemakes me hate TV serialsor even series. The

realization that I have to makemyself free at an appointed time,and find fuel for my generator asbackup in case the PHCN's blackpower decides to strike, makes meavoid watching 'serialised soaps'.Whenever I find one that catchesmy fancy I have to wait till, atleast, a whole season's productionis available, get it, create time andconvenience (availability of chopmoney), and then proceed to watchthe soap.

This leads me to the currentsoap in town, produced anddirected by the PDP. They aredriving me crazy because of theirregularity in the release of theepisodes. The suspense is killing meand I don't find that funny. Thelatest offering is the muscle flexingbetween Bamanga Tukur, theparty's National Chairman, withPresident Goodluck as his cornerman, and Olagunsoye Oyinlola,the ex-National Secretary, withex-President Olusegun Obasanjo/governors in his corner. Thisparticular instalment has all themaking of a bestseller and that iswhy I am compelled to 'watch' tillthe end.

The spark for the currentstandoff may, to all intents andpurposes, be the Adamawa statechapter crisis, but the embers havebeen smouldering ever since thethird term ambition of Obasanjowas scuttled by 'unpatriotic'elements. To take his pound of flesh,Obasanjo foisted a sick presidentialcandidate (May he rest in peace!)and an incompetent, provincialpresidential running mate on thePDP, and by extension, the nation.With the late presidentincapacitated, Goodluck andObasanjo used every sentiment -religious, regional, ethnic - toenable the former assumeexecutive powers. After testingreal power and wanting more,Goodluck practically genuflectedto the clergy and the governors toachieve his goal. While the clergyturned the pulpit into a soapbox,the governors used the riggingmachinery at their disposal - policecommissioners, INEC residentcommissioners, the military and,of course, thugs, to make sureGoodluck Jonathan was "elected"the president of Nigeria. Knowinghis provincial worldview, thegovernors believed they had aweakling in the Aso Villa. Now thechickens are coming home to roost.

The dissolution of the Adamawastate executive council of the PDP,which the INEC had earlier calledfor along with those in eight otherstates, provided the governors witha perfect weapon with which to

On this issue of 'betrayal oftrust', I will vehemently disagreewith Bamanga Tukur. It is wellknown that one of the ingredientsthat oil the wheels of the PDP isbetrayal of trust, beginning withObasanjo himself who betrayedthe 'trust reposed' in him by thosewho risked all to transform himovernight from a jailbird to apresident; or closer home to AtikuAbubakar who betrayedBamanga, Professor Aminu,Wilberforce Juta and Joel Madaki,after it was agreed way back in1998 to give Atiku thegubernatorial ticket of the partyin Adamawa while the others arefree to pursue other interests at thezonal and national levels. Becauseof the party's unstated motto ofkilling off members withdemocratic principles or evenpretensions of democracy, the PDPis today shorn of all its originalfounders - not because ofretirement from active politics oras a way of handing over toyounger elements in the party.Obasanjo, the greatest beneficiaryof the aluta against the military,militarised the party and till date,the party remains more like theold Russian Communist Partythan anything resembling ademocratic institution.

The crisis in the Adamawa stateof the party is needless, to say theleast. At the conclusion of theparty's congresses in February/March 2011, the (Independent?)

strike at the president andNigerians. Or so they thought. Aftersuborning some members of theNational Working Committee(NWC) to reverse itself on theAdamawa case, the governors andtheir point man, Oyinlola, were soblinded by a sense of victory thatthey didn't see the fangs bared byGoodluck and his battering ram,the national chairman. Themuscle-flexing spearheaded byOyinlola consumed him as its firstvictim. The national chairman feltbetrayed by the 'gang of 10' as Dr.Umar Ardo, one of the arrowheadsfor the dissolution of the AdamawaState EXCO of the party, portrayedthem. Bamanga complained thatOyinlola and his cohorts - those inthe NWC doing the biddings of thegovernors and Obasanjo 'betrayedhis trust', whatever it means.

The PDP serio-comedy

babayolamtoungo@yahoo.com

Babayola Toungo

GUEST COLUMNISTNational Electoral Commissionadjudged the Adamawa congressesand eight other state congresses tobe flawed. This was well before thecurrent National WorkingCommittee (NWC) headed byBamanga Tukur was selected bythe party's "national leader"Goodluck Jonathan. The NWC'smistake was in allowing those stateEXCOs that emerged through afraudulent process to remain inplace for this long instead of sackingthem as advised by the (I)NECsince last year.

Leaving them in place anddealing with the illegal EXCOsmade the governors believe theyhave got away with the illegalityand in the process rubbing the noseof the electoral 'umpire' in the dust.Not that I blame them. The timewasted by the NWC in dealing withthis illegality made them appearto take on the garb of legitimacy.This is not any business of mine.What concerns me here is theinfrequency of the episodes. Sincethe one where the nationalsecretary of the party was kickedout of office by a Federal High Courtin Abuja, the soap seems to havecome to a noiseless halt. Except forthe trailers that we are shown - thepledge of fidelity by a group thatgoes by the name "NWC deputies" -we can't as yet with certainty saywhat the next instalment will be.

The national chairman of theparty may not be a saint but if oneis to go by what he has been sayingabout transforming the party,then he should be supported by allthe members that he fought. Imust confess here that the word"transformation" has taken on aneerie meaning for me in presentday Nigeria. If the chairman'stransformation agenda is in linewith the president's, then may Godsave us all. It is my friend who callsthe party Pat Dum Pewe, which inFulfulde language goes for "all islies"!

“The dissolution of the Adamawa state executive council of thePDP, which the INEC had earlier called for along with those in

eight other states, provided the governors with a perfect weaponwith which to strike at the president and Nigerians. Or so they

thought. After suborning some members of the National WorkingCommittee (NWC) to reverse itself on the Adamawa case, thegovernors and their point man, Oyinlola, were so blinded by a

sense of victory that they didn't see the fangs bared by Goodluckand his battering ram, the national chairman

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,PDP National Chairman

Roberto Mancini