...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61621

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012**

Mr & Mrs

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DONUKOGBARA:Disappointedthoughts

•P. 17

•P.29

•The big and themighty on Big BrotherStarGame

•We are now ready for talks— V-P Sambo, Defence Minister•High rate of insecurity embarrassing — Govs•Police recover 20 bombs from BUK

TERRORISM:

PEACE SYMPOSIUM—From left, Representative of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ladi Thompson;Sultan of Sokoto, Sheik (Dr.) Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar 111; Primate (Church of Nigeria) Anglican Communion, Most Revd.Nickolas Okoh and Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and Guest Speaker at Nasrul-Lahi-Li-Fathi Society of Nigeria(NASFAT) National Symposium with the Theme: Islam and Peaceful Co-Existence in a Contemporary Multi Religious Society,held at Sheu Musa Yar’ Adua Center, Abuja yesterday.

FG opts for dialogue

NJC asksJonathan toreinstate Salami

•P 6

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI, BENAGANDE, HENRY

UMORU,ABDULSALAMMUHAMMAD &

CALEB AYANSINA

•P.7Lagos govt evictssacked doctors

Senate slashes drivers' licence,number plate to N4000, N8,400•P.7

ABUJA—IF thestance and

disposition of the FederalGovernment andgovernors of the 36 statesof the country wereanything to go by,peaceful resolution of theprevailing wind ofinsecurity unleashed by a

CMYK

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POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

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Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, FRIDAY,FRIDAY,FRIDAY,FRIDAY,FRIDAY, MAY 11, MAY 11, MAY 11, MAY 11, MAY 11, 2012—5 2012—5 2012—5 2012—5 2012—5

Terrorism: FG opts for dialogue

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

I am convinced my life belongs to the wholecommunity; and as long as I live, it is my privilegeto do for it whatever I can, for the harder I work,the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendidtorch which I got hold of for a moment, and Iwant to make it burn brightly as possible beforeturning it over to future generations —GeorgeBernard Shaw.

GEORGE Bernard Shaw says it is a privilegeto help others when you belong to a

community. I believe one of the greatest laws of lifeis to understand our responsibility to a communitymuch greater than ourselves and to learn tosacrifice ourselves for others. It’s fairly easy to serveothers with our hands but there are totally differentaspects of service that many people overlook. Serviceis not just helping an elderly woman with hergroceries or volunteering in a children’s ward at ahospital; service is something you do with everypart of your being. We must also have the ability tolisten. I feel that listening is the single best servicewe can provide to anyone. We must develop an earthat can listen not only to words but can truly hearthe strength, compassion, and humility to takeaction.

Have you done a kind deed today? Have you saida kind word to anybody today? If no, then you areholding back something that could be a veryvaluable contribution. There are many who are inneed of your kindness. Act now!

MISTAKES are fundamental parts of life.Everyone makes a mistake at one time or

the other. In fact, there is a strong belief that Godallows us all to make mistake because there is abenefit in the mistake. Can there be a benefit inmistake? Yes indeed! The lessons you learn are thestrength you develop, the pains you endure are thebenefits of your mistake. Don’t waste your mistakes,learn the lessons, enjoy the pain and develop thestrength. Make it useful for yourself and beneficialto others.

militant Islamic sect isin the offing.

The FederalGovernment, yesterday,sent an open invitation tothe sect for dialogue withVice President NamadiSambo reiteratingg o v e r n m e n t ’ scommitment to dialoguewith all aggrieved partiesin the country. A recentgovernment jaw-jaw withthe sect broke downfollowing allegations bythe sect that thegovernment leakedproceedings of themeeting to the media.

As a measure of theFederal Government’sreadiness, the Minister ofDefence, Dr. Bello HaliruMohammed said thegovernment was willing,in collaboration withsome traditional rulers, tobring the sect to thenegotiation table to haltthe wave of violenceunleashed on the polityby the group.

Aside the FederalGovernment, thegovernors were all for aquick resolution of therising security crises,saying that the pervadinginsecurity in Nigeria was

a national embarrass-ment.

Indeed, Gombe StateGovernor, IbrahimDankwambo, in clearterms, pleaded with thesect to return to thedialogue table, stressing“ we are ready fordialogue” just as hisBorno State counterpart,Kashim Shettima, warnedthat if nothing seriouswas urgently done toaddress the securitychallenges, the entireNorth might becomeinhabitable in the nextfive years.

Towards addressing theissue, the governors,who, yesterday, could notdiscuss deductions fromthe Federation Accountand the Immunity Clausebecause of poor turnout,will hold a securitysummit next month.

Meanwhile, the policeauthority in Kano hasrevealed that about 20Improvised ExplosiveDevices (IEDs) havebeen recovered at theBayero University Kano(BUK) in the last coupleof weeks.

The Commissioner ofPolice, Alhaji IbrahimIdris told reporters inKano that the anti-bomb

squad of the commanddrafted to the institutionwere compelled bycertain exigencies torevert to ‘controldetonation’ in order toavoid fatalities.

“After the bomb attack ofBUK on April 29, theCommand’s BombDisposal Unit recoveredIED’s, and 14 cannedIEDs at the Universitypremises. Likewise,another bomb wasevacuated from theFaculty of Sociology May1, while some other threebombs were recovered atvarious locations in theUniversity May 8 andwere detonated.

FG invites sect forfresh talks

Inviting the sect forfresh parley, VicePresident Sambo, whomade the call at theNational Symposium:‘Islam and PeacefulCoexistence in aContemporary MultiReligious State,’organised by Nasirul-Lahi-Faith Society ofNigeria (NASFAT) inAbuja, said “history hasproven that even warsthat are fought fordecades, at the end, areonly concluded bydialogue.”

His call came as theSultan of Sokoto andPresident General ofNigerian SupremeCouncil For IslamicAffairs, NSCIA, AlhajiSa’adi Abubakar III,called on the FederalGovernment to holdthose, who issued publicthreat to cause chaosresponsible and makethem face theconsequence of theiraction.

Sambo admitted thatthe nation was facing aninternal securitychallenge and said thegovernment was capableof addressing thesituation.

“It is clear today that theterrorist attacks areclearly against allsegments of our societyand this is uncalled for. Imust seize thisopportunity to call on thevarious militant groups tocease-fire and comeforward for dialogue.Government is ready todiscuss. History hasproven that even warsthat were fought fordecades were concludedthrough dialogue,” hesaid

He added that freshmeasures had beenintroduced in the areas of

power, agriculture andinfrastructure in order toimprove the nation’seconomy and enjoinedforeign missions in thecountry to join thestruggle againstterrorism.

Urging Muslims andChristians to live in peaceand tolerate one another,Sambo noted that Islamwas not a violent religionas it had been brandedby some people.

“Therefore, I find itvery thoughtful ofNASFAT to organize asymposium at this time inour national history - atime when negative forcesare seeking to hijack ourefforts to build a unitedand prosperous nation.They want to achieve evilends and portray Islam ina negative and evil light.Islam is a religion ofpeace; it is a way of life.It cannot promotesenseless killings andwanton destruction ofproperty.

“We are moving aheadwith the transformationagenda which is aimed ateliminating poverty,reducing unemploymentand creating wealth. Inorder to achieve this, weare investing heavily inthe power sector,infrastructure andagricultural developmentin order to providefavourable environmentfor investment and itsresultant value chain.”

Also speaking at theevent, the Sultan ofSokoto said those whoopenly issued threats tocause problem in thecountry must be made toface the music. Headvised religious andcommunity leaders to bemindful of theirutterances and desistfrom actions that arecapable of breaching thepeace of the society.

His words: “Those whotake to the public to issuethreat or ultimatumshould be held entirelyresponsible for theconsequences of theiractions. For the purposeof building the society,leaders on all sides of thereligious divide must actresponsibly, and shallultimately be moderate inboth their actions andutterances. They mustendeavour to resist theurge for exhibitionism; wemust as a nation, developa collectiveconsciousness, where thepain of any member of oursociety regardless ofcreed and ethnicity shallbe the collective pain ofall of us. Peace cannot befully established without

unflinching commitmentto equity and justice; wemust try to promote theseimportant values.Injustice and inequityinvariably lead tocorruption which in turnbreeds poverty. Nosociety can thrive orprosper when afflictedwith this virus.”

Also, NationalPresident of ChristianAssociation of Nigeria,CAN, Pastor AyoOritsejafor, who wasrepresented at theoccasion by Rev. LadiThomson, said that therewas a global resurgenceof extremism in Islamaround the world andNigeria was noexception.

However, he said as oneof the leading blacknations in the world,Nigeria should not allowherself to be torn apart bya terrorist group underthe guise of religion.

He said CAN wouldensure that families ofvictims of the recentbombings are pacified,but government must liveup to its responsibilityand bring the perpetratorsto justice.

Welcoming theparticipants to thesummit, NationalPresident of NASFAT,Alh. Sheriff Yusuf saidmore efforts and ideaswere still needed to stopthe ongoing killings inthe country. He added“the people of Nigerianeed to be reassured ofthe visibility of thesecurity agencies andtheir technical capacity toidentify and contain theperpetrators of violence.”

FG ready fordialogue– Defence Minister

Relatedly, the DefenceMinister, while receivingthe Italian Ambassador toNigeria, RobertoColamine in his office,yesterday, noted thatgovernment wascommitted to the speedyresolution of the crises.

Describing the securitychallenges as temporary,the minister insisted thatPresident GoodluckJonathan was determinedto make a difference inthe governance of thecountry with thetransformation agenda.

The minister said that aMemorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU,between the Nigerianand Italian governments,which would enhanceNigerian peace-keepingefforts, was awaiting theratification of the FederalExecutive Council.Earlier, while expressinghis courtesy, Colaminecalled for co-operationand dialogue to resolvethe security challenges.

North may not behabitable in thenext five years– Borno Gov

Also moving for aspeedy dialogue,Governor Ibrahim HassanDankwambo, said he wasready to dialogue withthe sect for peace to reignin the country.

According to him, it hasbecome imperative andvery important tobrainstorm with membersof the group if the state,the zone and the countrymust witnessdevelopment.

He spoke when thenational leaders of thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, led by NationalOrganizing Secretary,Alhaji AbubakarMustapha, paid him asympathy visit over theincessant attacks by thesect on North-Easternstates.

Dankwambo said: “A lotof lives were lost whichare irreplaceable,property were destroyedand many morechallenges. I want tothank you on behalf ofthe good people of GombeState for the concern andto assure our party, the

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6—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Gunmen kill 7, injure 10 in PlateauBY TAYE OBATERU

JOS — SUSPECTEDFulani herdsmen

again struck in RiyomLocal Government Areaof Plateau State early,yesterday, killing sevenpeople and injuringabout 10 others.

The gunmen were saidto have struck around12.30 a.m at Rinyam-Tahoss village when thepeople had retired to

bed, shooting sporadi-cally into the houses.

Those killed, amongthem three children,were said to have beenshot at close range by theattackers who were saidto have been numberedmore than 10.

Most of those injuredwho are now on admis-sion at the Vom ChristianHospital sustained gun-shot wounds or deep cutsinflicted with machetes

as they tried to escapeinto the bush.

It was further learntthat members of the Spe-cial Task Force arrivedthe village about an hourafter the attackers hadleft.

Member representingRiyom Local Govern-

ment in the state Houseof Assembly, Mr. DanielDem, said the attack onhis people had continuedunchecked, noting: “Theattack has become a dailyoccurrence. Today alone,seven people were shotdead and several othersare receiving treatment of

gunshots and machetecuts at the Vom ChristianHospital.”

The attacks have contin-ued despite the series ofdialogue organised by thePlateau State Police Com-missioner, Mr. EmmanuelAyeni, among communityleaders in the area aimed

at ending the hostilities.One of such meetings washeld, Wednesday, hoursbefore the latest attack.

Last week, an armouredpersonnel carrier and twosecurity operational vehi-cles were deployed to thearea as part of efforts tocheck the attacks.

From right: President Alli Bongo Odinmba of Gabon; President Goodluck Jonathan; Prime Ministerof Namibia, Hon. Nahas Angula and his Ethiopian counterpart, Meles Zenawi during the opening of2012 World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday.

Kidnap gang leader kills member,throws body into river

Over sharing of loot

ASABA— DELTAState Commissioner

of Police, Mr. IkechukwuAduba, yesterday, pa-

raded members of a no-torious kidnap gang,narrating how the leaderof the gang shot andkilled a member of hisgang and shot another on

the neck following disa-greement over the for-mula for the sharing oftheir loot.

Aduba said that thegang, which had been on

the wanted list “killed anArmy L/CPL Uman Asufawhile escorting Petro-leum Product MarketingCompany, PPMC Man-ager at Abraka on March24, this year as well asfour Police Inspectorsand rank and file inWarri and Abraka areas,”noting that one of thegang members escapedfrom Warri prison, re-cently.

“The gang was responsi-ble for most high profile kid-napping in Warri and dili-gent efforts are on to trackdown the die-hard animal-istic gang and their collabo-rators.”

Items recovered and dis-played at the state Policeheadquarters in Asaba, yes-terday, were three AK 47riles, $300, assortedjewelries carted away fromthe couple killed in theirWarri Centre marketjewelries shop on Decem-ber 19, 2011, 19 differenthand sets, 1416 rounds oflive ammunition, amongothers.

He said: “While Asabaand environs had beencrime-free in the last weeks,Warri and environs havecontinued to record spatesof kidnappings and armedrobberies.”

BY AUSTINOGWUDA

NJC asks Jonathan to reinstate SalamiBY IKECHUKWU

NNOCHIRI

ABUJA — REPRIEVEhas come the way of

the suspended Presidentof the Court of Appeal,Justice Isa Ayo Salami, asthe National JudicialCouncil, NJC, yesterday,asked President GoodluckJonathan to reinstate him.

It would be recalled thatJustice Salami held swayat the appellate rung ofthe Nigerian Judicial hi-erarchy till August 18,2011, when he was oustedfrom office by the NJC onallegation that he lied onoath against the immedi-ate past Chief Justice ofNigeria, CJN, JusticeAloysius Katsina-Alu.

According to NJC, “hav-ing, therefore, establishedthat the allegation/com-plaint by the President,Court of Appeal, Hon. Jus-tice Isa Ayo Salami,

against the Chief Justiceof Nigeria, Hon. JusticeAloysius Katsina-Alu, re-garding the Sokoto Gu-bernatorial Election Ap-peal was false.

“Council decided that itis misconduct contrary toRule 1(1) of the Code ofConduct for Judicial Of-ficer of the Federal Re-public of Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, nine-months after he was sus-pended, NJC, after astormy session in Abuja,urged President Jonathanto go ahead and recall thesuspended the PCA.

Though the session washeld in camera, sources atthe meeting who spoke toVanguard on grounds ofanonymity, said some NJCmembers loyal to the formerCJN, opposed recommen-dation that the embattledPCA be recalled.

The source disclosed that

in the meeting which wasattended by the retiringCJN, Justice Musdapher,and his likely successor,Justice Mariam AlomaMuhktar, some of those ag-grieved by the alleged in-decent conduct of JusticeSalami, insisted that the de-cision be put into vote.

It was gathered thatwhereas Justice Salami se-cured the sympathy of 10members of the NJC, eightothers, voted against hisreinstatement.

After the voting exercise,the CJN, JusticeMusdapher, who is by vir-tue of his position superin-tends over the activities ofthe NJC, endorsed recom-mendation that Jonathanshould re-instate the hith-erto sacked PCA.

Reactions to JusticeSalami’sreinstatement

In his reaction to the rec-ommendation of the NJC,former Attorney-General ofthe Federation, Chief AkinOlujumi, SAN said: “I thinkit was the most appropriatething for the NJC to do. Allfacts had pointed to the di-rection that the only way tocorrect the very serious mis-take that was made by theCouncil, was to agree thatJustice Salami be rein-stated, that indeed is whatwas done today (yesterday).

Meanwhile, this deci-sion, so far as am con-cerned, is a clear indicationthat the NJC is very muchaware of the error it com-mitted and has thereforecorrected it. So, I think thedecision was very much inorder.”

Amechi Nwaiwu, SANsaid: “If the NJC has intheir wisdom, thought itwise to recall the sus-

pended PCA, I think theymust have seen reasonablegrounds for it. The councilis made up of legalluminaries.I believe whathas happened is a lessonfor the entire judiciary. I willhowever expect a quick rec-onciliation process to movethe judiciary forward. Thewarring parties should bebrought to the roundtable.We should think of trans-forming the judiciary, thecriminal justice system, civilprocedure system and waysto reform the justice system,rather than the kind of feudthat culminated to the de-cision of the NJC today.

Chief ChukwumaEkomaro, SAN said: “I willsay that I am happy, andnot happy about the actionof the NJC. In fact, I wishto be indifferent. The quar-rel was really uncalled forin the first place."

Dana Air in emergencylanding at MMIA

BY DANIEL ETEGHE

LAGOS — DANA Air plane was, yester-

day, involved in an emer-gency landing at theMurtala Muhammed In-ternational Airport, La-gos.

The aircraft with regis-tration number 5N-SRIwas coming from Uyowith 86 passengers onboard.

Reacting, spokesmanfor the airline, Mr. TonyOsidamen, said the air-craft was forced to havean emergency landingdue to the discovery of anhydraulic pressure by thepilot while the aircraftwas still in the airspace.

He said:’’The pilot dis-covered an hydraulicpressure on the aircraftand immediately con-tacted the Air Traffic Con-trollers at the control

tower in Lagos airport,declaring an emergencylanding at the MMIAairport

"The aircraft was ableto land successfully atthe MMIA airport but therescue services like theambulances fromNACHO Aviance andother relevant agenciesto evacuate the passen-gers came a little bid lateas the delay createdpanic among the passen-gers.”

Osidamen, however,stressed that the aircraftlanded safely but addedthat it was yet to betowed out of the runwayat press time.

He said: "The aircraftlanded safely and the 86passengers were safelyevacuated but we are stilltrying to tow the aircraftoff the runway. It landedat exactly 4;59 p.m."

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—7

Senate c'tte slashes drivers’licence,number plate to N4000, N8400

From left: Dr. Peter Lamptey, President Emeritus, FHI 360; Ambassador Terence McCulley, UnitedStates Ambassador to Nigeria; Dr. Mansur Kabir, Director of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Healthand Prof. John Idoko, Director General of NACA during the launch of strenthening integrated deliv-ery of HIV/AIDS services, in Abuja, Tuesday.

Lifts ban on issuance of new licences, number platesBars FCT VIO from e-codingExtends deadline for number plates by six months

BY HENRY UMORU& INALEGWU SHAI-

BU

ABUJA— SENATECommittee on Fed-

eral Character has slashedprices for new drivers’ li-cences and vehiclenumber plates issued bythe Federal Road SafetyCommission, FRSC, fromN6,000 and N15,000 toN4,000 and N8,400 re-spectively.

The Senator DahiruKuta-led committee in itsreport on the new vehiclenumber plates and driv-ers’ licences yet to be sub-mitted to the Senate saidthe new price regime im-posed by the FRSC wasexploitative and arbitrary.

It directed the FRSC toforthwith reverse theprices downward in viewof the national outcry thatthe prices are too exorbi-tant.

Details of the reportwhich is yet to be consid-ered by the Senate alsoincluded the lifting of sus-pension on the issuanceof the new licence andvehicle number plates.

The committee alsourged the FRSC to adjustthe August 2012 deadlinefor replacement of newnumber plates by anothersix month to enable Nige-rians acquire the vehiclenumber plates at the newreduced prices.

The committee in thereport also directed theVehicle Inspection Office,

VIO, of the Federal Capi-tal Territory, FCT, Abuja tostop the e-coding of vehi-cles and collection ofN2000 from motorists.

The report further kickedagainst the overlapping offunctions between the Ni-geria Police Force, FRSCand VIO, noting that the

agencies need to pull theirresources together for thesafety of lives on Nigerianroads.

Part of the report reads,

Lagos govt evicts sacked doctorsNew doctors yet to resume

BY CHIOMA OBIN-NA & GABRIEL OLA-

WALE

LAGOS — DESPITELagos State Govern-

ment's claims that it is openfor negotiations with thesacked doctors, the affecteddoctors resident in officialquarters have been issuedeviction notice.

The eviction notice datedMay 8, 2012, and signedby Secretary, Staff HousingBoard for the Head of Serv-ice, Mr. L. A. Shoyemi, di-rected all doctors to imme-diately vacate their officialresidence with immediateeffect.

The letter stated: "Conse-quent upon your dismissalfrom the service of the La-gos State government witheffect from May 4, 2012 andin accordance with the CivilService Rule 13115, (a)'Noofficer shall continue to oc-cupy state governmentquarters after the date onwhich his resignation/dis-missal takes effect.'

"I wish to request you tovacate the state governmentstaff quarter allocated to youimmediately. In view of theabove, you are hereby re-

quested to submit the keysto the quarters to the Secre-tary of Staff Housing Boardto forestall forceful ejection."

It was also gathered thatthe affected doctors havebeen given up till 5 am to-day to vacate the staff quar-ters.

Reacting to the develop-ment, shortly after the Ni-geria Medical Association,NMA, congress at the La-gos University TeachingHospital, LUTH, the firsttVice Chairman of the statechapter of the NigerianMedical Association, Dr.Johnson Emene, criticisedthe move to evict the sackeddoctors from the officialquarters, saying they arecovered by the tenancy lawwhich the state signed ninemonths ago.

According to Emene, thestate tenancy law states thattenants should be given atleast six months' evictionnotice, adding that theNMA has instructed thedoctors to ignore the quitnotice.

Emene told Vanguardthat the leadership of thenational body of NMA wasat press time meeting withGovernor Babatunde

Fashola to find a lastingsolution to the current cri-sis in the state.

New doctors yet toresume

Meanwhile, the hope ofpatients to access care afterthe Lagos State Govern-ment claimed that it hasrecruited over 373 new doc-tors into the health serviceof the state after it sacked788 doctors may have beendashed as investigationyesterday revealed that thepresence of newly recruiteddoctors is yet to be felt aspatients have desertedstate-owned hospitals.

When our correspondentvisited some of the hospi-tals, no doctor was in sightto attend to the few patientspresent at the hospital.

At Gbagada General Hos-pital, nurses and someother health workers whowere at their duty posts saidattendance had sincedropped since the strikebegan. One of the nurseswho spoke to Vanguardsaid new doctors were yetto begin work at the hospi-tal.

NJC: Will Jonathanreinstate Salami?

BY DAYO BENSON

THE National JudicialCouncil, NJC’s, recom-

mendation, yesterday, thatembattled President Courtof Appeal, Justice Ayo IsaSalami, be reinstated isquite instructive legally andmorally. Earlier, the deci-sion on whether or not toreinstate him had divided

Katsina Alu, he headed forthe court.

Though the matter didnot go the whole hog in thecourts, many, however, be-lieved Salami had a goodcase.

The Salami versusKatsina-Alu face-off beganover the 2007 Sokoto Stategovernorship election peti-tion. The PCA had allegedundue interference in theoutcome of the petition be-tween All Nigeria’s PeoplesParty, ANPP, and PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, can-didates.

What followed was anunprecedented crisis thatconvulsed public confi-dence in the integrity ofnation’s judiciary. It was inthe heat of the crisis that theformer CJN bowed out ofoffice, leaving behind a ju-diciary with a tarredimaged.

Incidentally, the currentCJN Justice DahiruMusdapher, who curiouslywas a party to the suit Sa-lami filed against NJC hadcome to the rescue when heset up a panel to review thematter.

The CJN’s panel foundno wrongdoing against Sa-lami, hence it recom-mended his reinstatement.

Now that the NJC hasspoken, it remains to beseen whether PresidentJonathan will heed the ad-vice. This, to many observ-ers, is the only path of hon-our to follow.

the nation’s highest judicialadvisory body.

With this recommenda-tion, the onus is now onPresident GoodluckJonathan to do what is ex-pected, considering thehaste with which Salami’sreplacement was an-nounced when the NJCordered his suspensionfrom office.

For Justice Salami, theNJC’s long awaited recom-mendation is a twin victorymorally and legally. As asenior judicial officer whohad sworn to do justice inall matters before him, herefused to compromiseeven at the risk of his ca-reer. Salami believes in thesanctity of justice and heupholds it.

Legally, rather thanbuckle and apologise as hewas ordered to do by thecommittee that investigatedthe stand-off between himand ex-CJN Aloysius

FG ready to implement 2009agreement with NASU—Wogu

BY OKEY NDIRIBE

ABUJA — THE FederalGovernment has

agreed to implement its2009 agreement with theNon-Academic Staff of Uni-versities (NASU). This wasdisclosed in Abuja, yester-day, by the Minister of La-bour and Productivity, ChiefEmeka Wogu, while deliv-ering his speech at the com-missioning of the new sec-retariat complex of the un-ion built at Wuye District ofthe FCT.

The minister furtherpraised the leadership ofNASU for the maturity ithad displayed in handlingindustrial disputes betweenthe union and various pub-lic institutions from whichit drew its membership.

Wogu lamented over thehigh social cost of incessantstrikes, adding that theywere increasingly becom-ing unbearable to the na-tion.

In her speech on the oc-casion, National Presidentof the union, Mrs Ladi Iliyasaid the new national sec-retariat would serve as thehub for the struggle to pro-tect the welfare of membersof the union.

Giving reasons why theunion decided to relocate itsnational headquarters fromIbadan to Abuja, she saidthis became necessary af-ter the Federal Capital wasrelocated from Lagos toAbuja in 1991.

According to her, ”it be-came obvious to us that withthe movement of the seat ofpower of the Federal Gov-ernment from Lagos toAbuja, and NASU being apublic sector union, it wasonly a matter of time beforethe National headquartersof the union moved toAbuja. The movement com-menced with the openingof a Liaison office atGimbiya Street, Area 11,Abuja.”

NEWS ANALYSIS

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

They killed Oyerinde inmy stead — Oshiomhole

BY GBENGAOLARINOYE

OSOGBO—EDO StateGovernor, Mr. Adams

Oshiomhole, whose slainPrincipal PrivateSecretary, Mr OlaitanOyerinde, was buried inhis home town, Ede, OsunState, yesterday, said hewas brutally murdered byyet-to-be-identified gun-men because of theinability of the assailantsto eliminate him(Oshiomhole).

Oshiomhole, who spokeat the burial service for thelate Oyerinde at theNational Youth ServiceCorps, NYSC,Orientation Camp, Ede,ascribed whateverachievements he mighthave recorded in EdoState to his late privateadviser.

He said: “If we havechanged anything in EdoState since we came intooffice about four yearsago, it is probably becauseOlaitan is a privateadviser. It was a strugglebetween me and NLCwhich equally wanted toretain him as the AssistantSecretary General of theCongress.”

Oshiomhole pledgesto immortaliseOyerinde

Oshiomhole, whoarrived the venue of theburial at 2p.m. in a privatehelicopter, pledged toname a street after theslain labour activist andalso to take upkeep of thechildren and widow.

The governor, whodescribed himself as thechief mourner, saidOyerinde, though killed,would continue to live ashe had paid the service tolive after death.

Oshiomhole, whoexplained that heappointed him as hisPrincipal PrivateSecretary due to hiscourage and diligentattitude to work, said hehas lost a son and acompatriot who servedhim wholeheartedly withthe fear of God.

He said: “OlaitanOyerinde will continue tolive after death. Thekillers of Oyerinde haveonly succeeded inwasting their bullets. Thespirit of Oyerinde andthose things he stood forwhile on earth can neverbe killed. He will continueto live forever as long as

Nigeria remains.”Extolling the virtues of

the late labour leader,Oshiomhole, who calledfor justice on the murderof Oyerinde said: “Hewas a fighter to the core.He was an Edo fighter,though an Osunindigene. He lived a lifeworthy of emulation by alland sundry. There isnothing anybody can doto convince Oyerinde onwhatever he believed in.He was a great comradeand a freedom fighter.”

Nigerians demandjustice

However, before thearrival of the Edo Stategovernor, the burialceremony turned to aprotest rally as civilsociety organisations,students and humanrights groups high-jackedthe ceremony, demandingjustice on the murder ofthe late labour activist.

Human rights activists,labour leaders andstudents across thecountry stormed theNYSC OrientationCamp,venue of theceremony and gave sevendays ultimatum to theFederal Government andthe Nigeria Police toproduce the killers of thelate Oyerinde or face thewrath of the masses.

On the occasion, Lagoslawyer and rights activist,Mr. Femi Falana, in hiseulogy, describedOyerinde as a dependableperson who was anembodiment of disciplineand struggle for freedom,saying “the only thing thegovernment can do is toensure that justice is doneon the death ofOyerinde.”

He said: “Oyerinde wasa victim of recklesspolitical killings in thecountry. He was killed bythose who think they canmurder truth. He was asoul that representedmany things to us. Thecountry is no longer safefor any person. EvenPresident GoodluckJonathan admitted that hehimself is not safe again,so, who else is now safein Nigeria?

Falana, who demandedimmediate justice onunresolved assassinationcases in the country,called on securityagencies, especially thepolice to unravel thosebehind the killing of

Oyerinde, or face thewrath of Nigerians, sayingthe Federal Governmentmust produce the killersof Oyerinde forcontinuous peace in thecountry.

National President of theNigeria Labour Congress,NLC, Mr. AbdulwaheedOmar, who also called forjustice on the murder ofOyerinde, also gave aseven-day ultimatum tothe government toproduce Oyerinde’skillers, stressing thatlabour would protestacross the country shouldthe government fail tounravel the killers of thelate labour leader.

He said: “Though theyhave succeeded in killingOyerinde, they cannotsucceed in killing whatOyerinde stood for. Thegovernment and securityagencies fail to fish out hiskillers we will be on thestreet to look for hiskillers.”

A r e g b e s o l aeulogises Oyerinde

Also, Osun StateGovernor, Mr. RaufAregbesola, who wasrepresented by the state’sHead of Service, MrSegun Akinwusi, said thelate Oyerinde would beremembered as being oneof those who played nomean role in salvagingEdo State from the abyssof visionless leadership.

While describing theslain labour activist as aparagon of unalloyedloyalty, Aregbesola addedthat “at a time when it wasfashionable to sell out,betray good courtesiesand become a torn coat,our comrade maintained aprincipled stand.”

Senate President of theNational Association ofNigerian Students,NANS, who spoke onbehalf of students,stressed the need for theFederal Government tofish out the killers ofOyerinde, failure of whichhe said would lead tomass protest across thecountry.

The Secretary, EdeSouth LocalGovernment, whereOyerinde hailed from,Mr Lukman Afolabi,said the localgovernment hadconcluded arrangementto immortalise him bynaming an edifice afterhim in Ede.

MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL INNIGERIA BEAUTY CONTEST

HITS 25

OLAITAN OYERINDE BURIEDThousands of Nigerians witnessed the burial of Mr.

Olaitan Oyerinde, the slain Principal Private Secretaryto Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, in Ede,Osun State, yesterday. Pix: DARE FASUBE.

Labour to protest murder

Mr. Adams Oshiomole, delivering his speech. With him are the widow of thedeceased, Mrs Labake Oyerinde and her children, in Ede.

Mrs Olaitan (with mic) and her children duringthe service.

A cross-section of students and mourners at the ceremony.

Mrs Olaitan...Is that theend?

N L CPres ident ,M r .AbdulwaheedU m a r ,leading hisdelegates tothe venue.

Mr. Kayode Komolafe , left, and Mr Femi Falana.

Elder Segun Akinwusi,Head of Service, OsunState.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY II, 2012—9

Road accident victims deservepayout from govt — Oyebode

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH &

ONOZURE DANIA

BY EBUN SESSOU

From left, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, Lagos State Commissioner for Education; Mr Tunji Bello,Commissioner for the Environment; Governor Babatunde Fashola and Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire,Deputy Governor, at the fourth anniversary of Climate Change Club for Schools in Lagos State, organisedby Ministry of the Environment, with the theme, ''Our environment, Our Future'' in Ikeja. Photo: KehindeGbadamosi

Lagos Assembly warns butchers overin-fighting

BY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

Contempt:FAAN MDknows fateMay 30

BY INNOCENTANABA

Lagos issuesnew driver'slicence forN6,000

LAGOS—A LagosState High Court

sitting in Igbosere,yesterday, adjourned tillMay 21, for trial of formerChief Accountant ofVanguard Media Limited,Mr. Yisa Badmus, who isstanding trial alongsideJoseph Ezeobi, and

Ogbole Samuel, followingan application by thedefendants to consolidatethe charges against them.

Trial judge is JusticeCandide Johnson.

Badmus, in a separatecharge before the Ikejadivision of the court, isstanding trial alongsideJames Unoka.

Bhadmus' counsel, MrMoses Jessy, yesterday,

told the court that hisclient was on Tuesday,arraigned before JusticeLateefa Okunnu of anIkeja High Court on acharge related to the onebefore the court.

He said a letter toconsolidate the chargeshad been sent to theAttorney-General ofLagos State, Mr. AdeIpaye.

He said: “I was asked toreport this Friday (May11) at the office of theChief Judge in respect ofthe letter seeking theconsolidation of thematters.”

At that point, the courtasked, "what should thecourt in view of thecredible evidence fromthe Attorney-General do?Do we not wait for theAG’s decision before thiscourt would commencetrial?"

Ezeobi’s counsel,argued that the seconddefendant had been in thecustody of the Economicand Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, sinceJanuary 10, 2012 after he(Ezeobi) was invited by thecommission via phone call,noting that the seconddefendant was alwayspresent in court.

His counsel urged thecourt to allow him forwarda bail application forEzeobi, since the courtwould have to wait for theChief Judge’s decision onthe consolidation sought byBhadmus.

The court noted that it wasunwise to allow theapplicaton since ChiefJudge's decision on theconsolidation had not beenreceived by the court.

The court said “it is notunlikely to consider theissue of bail at this particularpoint in time looking at theconsolidation, but it will bewiser to wait for the ChiefJudge to decide one wayor the other?"

The court, however, ad-journed at that point.

L A G O S —P R O F E S S O R

Akin Oyebode of theU n i v e r s i t yof Lagos , yesterday, saiddue to deplorable

condition of roads in thecountry, auto crash victimswere entitled to receivecompensation fromgovernment.

Oyebode, at a lecture inLagos, called for thesetting up of a schemeunder which victims ofroad accidents would be

part of replacement forsocial security, that wasabsent in the country.

Also, Lagos StateGovernor, Mr. BabatundeFashola, who wasrepresented by his SpecialAdviser on RegionalIntegration, Rev. TunjiAdebiyi, said the state wascommitted to the safety oflife and property on theroads, stressing thatsame was why hisadministration accordedpriority attention to theconstruction of goodroads in the state.

The governoremphasized that thiswas why a l l roadsunder construction inthe s ta te weremonitored to ensurestandard and that theydon’ t becomeabandoned projects.

Oyebode spoke at the10th anniversary /annual lec ture o fCrusade for Justice, anon- governmentorganisation.

ALLEGED N7.9M FRAUD:

Ex-Vanguard staff's trialadjourned till May 21

IKEJA—LAGOS StateGovernment said the

issuance of new unifieddriver's licence willcommence next month asall logistics required for itstake-off had been put inplace.

Commissioner forTransportation, Mr.Kayode Opeifa, said this,yesterday, at a briefing inLagos, as part of activitiesto commemorate the firstyear in office in thesecond term of GovernorBabatunde Fashola.

The National Drivers’Licence is a tripartitearrangement between theMotor VehicleAdministration Agency,MVAA, VehicleInspection Office, VIO,and the Federal RoadSafety Commission,FRSC.

According to Opeifa,who assured that allarrangements had beenconcluded to kick-start thescheme, the licence willcost an applicant N6,000.

The commissioneradded that in the last oneyear, though, the physicalcapture and issuance ofdriver's licence had beensuspended by FRSC, 45,644 applicants hadregistered with theministry for the newlicence.

He explained that whileMVAA, which is the firstcontact, was in charge ofprocessing theinformation of theapplicants, VIO conductsproficiency tests on theapplicants and only thosewho were cleared andcertified fit to drive afterthe test are referred toFRSC for physical photocapture and biometrics.

LAGOS—A FederalHigh Court sitting in

Lagos, will on May 30 ruleon the contemptproceeding initiatedagainst Federal AirportsAuthority of Nigeria, FAAN,Managing Director, Mr.George Uriesi.

The court adjourned forruling after hearingargument from counsel toMaevis Limited, FAAN’sconcessionaires and FAAN.

Maevis had initiated thecontempt proceedingagainst Uriesi over allegedbreach of contract for theprovision of the AirportOperations ManagementSystem platform in fourinternational airports inLagos, Abuja, Kano andPort Harcourt.

Maevis' counsel,yesterday, urged the courtto commit Uriesi to prison,contending the allegeddisobedience to of the courtorder by FAAN’s MD wasan affront to the court.

But FAAN, through itscounsel, described thecontempt proceeding asincompetent for notcomplying with the rules ofcourt, which required thatthe order of courtaccompanying Form 48 besigned and not attached.

He urged the court todismiss the application,contending that the saidalleged disobedience tocourt order must be provenbeyond doubt.

FAAN argued that therewas a legitimate doubt inthe order as the court wasnot exact in ordering partyto maintain the res,(subject-matter).

The authority argued thatit did not know whethermaintaining the res meantsustaining the suit, sincethe plaintiff did not seekany restraining reliefs in itssuit.

Urging the court todiscountenance Maevis'argument, FAANcontended that what it didby terminating the contractwith Maevis wasexercising its constitutionalright and therefore did notviolate any court order.

FAAN also challenged thejurisdiction of the court toentertain the contemptproceeding against Uriesion the ground that therecord of court proceedingdid not show that there wasan order stopping thedefendant to terminateMaevis contract.

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI & MONSUR

OLOWOOPEJO

IKEJA—LAGOS StateHouse of Assembly

has warned factionalmembers of the statebutchers association toset t le thei rdifferences, so as notto create problem inthe state.

Chairman, HouseCommit tee onA g r i c u l t u r e ,Cooperative and RuralDevelopment , Mr

Ibrahim Layode, gavethe warning during ameet ing wi th theassociation, yesterday,adding that thegovernment would notallow any individual,group or association tocause breakdown oflaw and orders, that iscapable of disruptingpeace in the state.

He sa id: “I f bothparties cannot cometogether and resolvethei r d i f ferences ,government will not

hesitate to deal withthe group andassociation that maywant to endanger theexisting peace in thestate.”

Factional leadercomplains

Leader of a faction ofthe association, Mr.Rafiu Elewide, saidthey had beenmarginalized in thedecisions taken by theassociation.

CMYK

10—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

6 days after, kidnappers freeOgun doctorBY DAUD OLATUNJI

PRESENTATION: Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; Mr. Kevin Gagerand Special Assistant to the Governor on Community Development and Non-Government Organisation Matters, Mrs. Bolanle Olafunmiloye, at thepresentation of gift to Mr. Gager, guest lecturer, during his courtesy visit to theGovernor's Office ahead of Ondo State 2012 Summit on Sustainable Developmentin Akure.

Customs arrest smuggler that raninto Amosun's convoy

Ekiti agencyt h r e a t e n sbanks overwaste disposal

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

recur in our state anylonger, at the same time,we just want to imploreour security agencies thatthey should beef upsecurity around OgunState citizens.''

When asked if ransomwas paid before she wasreleased, Alayaki said:” Imay not be able to talkabout that, because, evenif I ask them they will nottell me that. I am not sureif any ransom was paid ornot. I cannot talk aboutthat”.

However, the stateChairman of Medicaland Dental Consultants’Association of Nigeria,MDCAN, Dr. OlusojiJagun, explained that thewoman was dropped onthe road in Ijebu–Odeabout 10 pm before shewas found and taken toher house by familymembers.

Jagun aded that thekidnapped-doctor hasbeen taken to anundisclosed hospitalwhere she was receivingtreatment.

He said: “We are excitedabout her release. Shewas released between 10and 11 pm yesterday. Sheis presently under goingmedical examinationbecause of the trauma shehad past through.Kidnapping has beeninstitutionalized in OgunState, especially inSagamu”.

While condemning thedevelopment, the

MDCAN Chairmanwondered why thesecurity agencies couldnot rescue her within fivedays that she wasabducted.

He said: “Kidnappingis already a burden to us.Government shoulddouble its efforts before itis out of hand.

''It is a shame that sincefive days when the womanwas in captivity, nobodycould do anything. Evenfederal security agencycame to us and could notdo anything, becausethere was nothing to workwith.”

ABEOKUTA—MEN ofthe Nigeria Customs

Service, NCS, in OgunState, yesterday, said ithad arrested one suspectand recovered four of thesmuggled vehicles thatbroke into the convoy ofGovernor IbikunleAmosun during his tour toIpokia Local GovernmentArea last week.

The Area Controller,Ogun State Command ofthe Customs, Mr.Bamidele Akande, at abriefing at the CustomsSentry in Idiroko, said his

men arrested one of thedrivers of the smuggledvehicles, identified as Mr.Omolegbe Toyosi.

He said the suspectwas on admission at theNigeria Customs StaffClinic in Idiroko where heis being treated for thegunshot injuries hesustained in his right legduring the incident.

Vanguard learnt that,Toyosi was shot after heallegedly knocked downa Customs officer,Adeyemi Fatai, with oneof the smuggled vehiclesthat broke into thegovernor’s convoy whenhe was stopped.

It will be recalled thatsmugglers drovedangerously in about 30fairly-used cars of variousbrands popularly called‘Tokunbo’ and forcefullybroke into the governor’sconvoy, which caused astir and almost leading toa serious accident in anattempt to escape arrestby customs patrol officerspursuing them atAjegunle, near the Idi-Iroko border town lastFriday.

Gov. Amosun had goneto Ipokia as part of histour of the localgovernment areas in thestate and was returning toAbeokuta, the state capitalin the evening when theincident occurred.

Akande said efforts wereon to recover theremaining smuggled

vehicles involved in theincident involvingAmosun’s convoy.

He displayed therecovered vehicles whichincluded a Toyota Camry,a Golf 4, a Nissan Almeiraand a Nissan Pathfinderjeep before newsmen,adding that the arrestedsuspected smuggler,Toyosi, would soon becharged to court.

He said: “We haveapprehended four of thecars that intercepted thegovernor’s convoy.''

ADO-EKITI—THEauthorities of Ekiti

State WasteM a n a g e m e n tAgency,EKWMA, hasvowed to seal off anydefaulting bankoperating in the statethat has failed to pay theN5,000 monthly wastedisposal fee

Mean time, theagency has completedarrangement to drag232 persons to a mobilecourt for allegedlydefying the payment ofmonthly N500 wastedisposal fee to thecontractors handling thework in Ado-Ekiti

Chairman of theagency, Mr.Morakinyo Adebayo,said this at briefing inAdo-Ekiti, yesterday.

Morakinyo, a formermember of the stateHouse of Assembly,expressed disgust overthe non-challantattitude by some of theprivate organisationsand individuals overthe payment of therefuse disposal fees

He, however, pledgedthat no defaulter wouldbe treated as sacredcows, stressing that theagency had concludedarrangement to drag thedefaulters before themobile court to try theoffenders.

The chairman notedthat banks operating inLagos pay withenthusiasm, N50,000 toLagos State WasteManagement Agencymonthly for the sameservice, which thebanks in Ekiti State hadrefused to value.

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

...seizes 4 vehicles

NBC to ban importation ofnon-digital TV, radio

BY OLA AJAYI

Ondo ACN aspirants in battle of wits overguber ticketBY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE—ATTEMPTby two Action

Congress of Nigeria, ACN,governorship aspirants inOndo State to outwit oneanother ahead of the party’sprimaries is tearing theparty apart in the state.

This is coming as the over25 aspirants await thedecision of the leaders of theparty on the primarieswhere the candidate thatwould fly the flag of theparty in the October 20election in the state wouldbe picked.

First to fire the salvo wasa leader in the camp ofSenator Ajayi Boroffice whosaid that over 5000members of the ruling LPand PDP had defected toboost the chances of thegovernorship aspirant.

Mr Jimi Adekanle saidthat the defectors decidedto join ACN because ofBoroffice's ambition.

According to him, thepopularity and acceptanceof Boroffice was making the

number of those defectingto swell daily.

Reacting to the claim inBoroffice camp, anotherchieftain of the party, ChiefTaye Orimoloye, a staunchsupporter of anotheraspirant Dr. Olu Agunloye,said the purported defectionwas fraudulent and neverhappened.

Orimoloye described it asan “unwholesomedevelopment” and warnedthat “such fraudulent claimscould cripple ACN highfortunes in the SouthSenatorial District.”

He said: ''The purportedrally was not held anywherein Irele. The rally whichwitnessed mass decampingof LP and PDP was the oneorganised by Agunloye’sOmoluabi Platform of ACNand Agunloye himself hasvisited the area to identifywith us several times whileBoroffice only come onceand not to attend any rally.”

CMYK

A B E O K U T A —DOCTOR Taibat

Otulana of OlabisiOnabanjo UniversityTeaching Hospital,OOUTH, Sagamu, OgunState, who was abductedsix days ago by unknownpersons, was released onWednesday night, inIjebu-Ode.

Ogun State Chairman ofNigeria MedicalAssociation, NMA, Dr.Adewunmi Alayaki, saidthis yesterday inAbeokuta.

Otulana, who is aC o n s u l t a n tOphthalmologist andsenior lecturer at OlabisiOnabanjo UniversityTeaching Hospital,Sagamu, was kidnappedlast Friday between Imotaand Ijebu-Ode whilereturning from Ikorodu inLagos State.

The abductors werereported to havedemanded N50 millionbefore she could bereleased, but laterchanged their mind andreleased the doctor afterthe protest by doctors whoshut down the state capitalon Wednesday morning.

Speaking with newsmenAlayaki, said:” I want totell you formally that afterthe rally we hadyesterday, around 8:30pmthe woman was releasedand we have spoken withher and we haveconfirmed that she hasbeen released.

“We thank God that shewas released safe withoutany physical injury. And,we pray that such will not

I B A D A N — T H EN a t i o n a l

B r o a d c a s t i n gCommission, NBC, hasconcluded plans to banimportation of used non-digital television andradio sets from the UnitedStates and Europe to meetup with the 2015 deadlineset by the InternationalTe lecommunica t ionUnion, ITU, for fulldigitisation of thebroadcasting industryfrom analogue to digitalUHF and VHF by 2020.

The Director-General ofNBC, Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa,

said this , yesterday, at alecture organised by theNigeria Union ofJournalists,NUJ, OyoState Chapter.

To actualise this,NBCadded that it would soonput all machinery inmotion to get the backingof the National Assembly.

Warning Nigeriansagainst buying electronicsets that are non-digital,he said after thedigitalisation of thecountry’s broadcastingstations, many of the TVand radio sets would notbe able to receive signalsfrom the stations.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—11

Insecurity: Blame FG, notgovernors—Tinubu

BY SIMON EBEG-BULEM & GABRIEL

ENOGHOLASE

Chevron opens economic centre forN-Delta devt

C-River Assembly indicts task forceon anti-deforestation

BY EMMA ARUBI &AKPOKONA OMA-

FUAIRE

BY JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

Bayelsa community solicits FGassistance over erosion menace

BY SAMUEL OYA-DONGHA

PDP chieftain lauds Uduaghanover Asaba Airport

BENIN—EDO StateGovernment, yes-

terday, launched its N10billion Security Appealfund with the former Gov-ernor Lagos State, Asiwa-ju Bola Tinubu, sayingthat the Federal Govern-ment had failed to tacklethe security challengesin the country.

The national leader ofAction Congress of Ni-geria, ACN, who decriedthe Federal Govern-ment's poor funding ofsecurity agencies in thecountry, maintained thatit would be misleading todescribe governors aschief security officers oftheir states, when in ac-tual fact, they do nothave the wherewithal toprotect their citizens dueto the over bearing na-ture of the Federal Gov-ernment.

Tinubu, who was the

chief launcher at the EdoState N10 billion Securi-ty Appeal fund, regret-ted that "the Federal Gov-ernment had failed toprovide state governorswith the desired fundsthat will enable them ef-fectively secure the livesof their citizens.

“States have had tofund from their scarceresources effective polic-ing in their states. In thisyear’s budget, for exam-ple, the Federal Govern-ment allocated N921 bil-lion for security, whichamounts to a paltry 19.4percent of the total budg-

etary outlay of N4.749trillion. Yet, no state orcountry can attract in-vestments and develop-ment without assurancesof security of lives andproperty.

“Hence, I supportwholeheartedly your(Edo) initiative to estab-lish the Security TrustFund to provide fundsneeded to enhance andensure effective statepolicing. The timingcouldn’t have been moreperfect in view of thesecurity situation in thestate and nationwide.Indeed, the rapidly de-

teriorating security situ-ation across the countryneeds to be confrontedand prevented. A fundlike this will equip thesecurity forces to confrontthe challenge and equipthe Police force with ar-mored vehicles,” he said.

On the killing ofOlaitan Oyerinde andthe death of three jour-nalists in an accident,Asiwaju said: “I have amessage for those whowant to distract you fromthe urgent task at handand turn Edo State intoa theater of war; youhave failed. You need notworry because you havethe people behind youand with their support,you will overcome theforces of destruction anddeath.”

WARRI—DETERMINED to im-

prove the living stand-ards of people of the Ni-ger Delta region, Foun-dation for PartnershipInitiatives in the NigerDelta, PIND, establishedby Chevron Nigeria Lim-ited, has commissioned

its regional office at Ug-bokodo in Warri SouthLocal Government Areaof Delta State.

PIND's mandate is toprovide support for so-cio-economic develop-ment in the regionthrough dynamic, inno-vative programmes andmulti-stakeholder part-nership focused on pov-erty alleviation and thepromotion of peace.

Mr. Dennis Flemming,PIND Project Director,while unveiling the EDCcentre, yesterday, said:“Chevron established a$50 million fund thatPIND administers andcoordinates to support aportfolio of socio-eco-nomic development pro-grammes and partner-ship for a five year peri-od.”

Y ENAGOA—P E OPLE of the riverside

town of Anibeze in Sag-bama Local GovernmentArea of Bayelsa State,have appealed to theFederal Government tocome to their aid by pro-viding a lasting solutionto the erosion menacethreatening the commu-nity.

Anibeze, a predomi-nantly farming and fish-ing Isoko community,had lost farmlands, fish-ing grounds, ponds andlakes as well over 50houses including a pri-mary school compoundand sports field to the

erosion menace.Chairman of Anibeze

Patriotic Front, ChiefWalter Akeni, who spoketo newsmen in Yenagoa,yesterday, said the situ-ation had gone from badto worse and that thepeople were now livingin fear as nobody knowswhose building would bethe next to be swallowedby the erosion caused bythe rampaging ForcadosRiver, a tributary of theRiver Niger.

Chief Akeni, noted withsadness that unless ur-gent steps were taken tohalt the erosion menace,the community may belost when the dredgingof the Lower River Nigercommences.

BY FESTUS AHON

U G H E L L I — ACHIEFTAIN of

Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Delta State, Mr.Jesutega Onokpasa, yes-terday, commended thestate governor, Dr Em-manuel Uduaghan, overthe ongoing upgrading ofthe Asaba InternationalAirport.

Onokpasa, in a state-ment, charged Uduaghannot to be distracted by sidecomments, adding thatthe airport, if built to in-ternational standard,would boost the socio-eco-nomic life of the state.

He said: “I commendUduaghan on the ongo-ing upgrading of AsabaInternational Airport andurge him not to be distract-ed from undertaking theproject.

"What is worth doing atall is worth doing well,and there is no point

building an internationalairport that wide-bodiedaircraft cannot land in ortake off from.

“In the past, we heardthe ridiculous protests bythe opposition that the air-port wasn’t complete, asif any pilot could possiblyland an aircraft in an un-completed airport. Nowthat upon the require-ments of regulatory agen-cies, the airport had to beupgraded to stipulatedinternational standards,they are at work again cry-ing fowl over issues theyclearly do not understand.

“I hope that by now,Uduaghan has learnt notto take these habitual crit-ics seriously. Rather thanaccord them the attentionthey do not deserve, thegovernor should simplyforge ahead with the de-termination to bring de-velopment to the massesof Delta."

Uduaghan mournsex-Commissioner Enueme

EDO STATE SECURITY APPEAL FUND LAUNCH: Dr. Pius Odubu, Edo State Deputy Governor (left)and Justice O. Uwaifo (rtd), Chairman, Appeal Fund Committee, during the launching of the N10billion Edo State Security Appeal Fund, in Benin, yesterday. Photo: Barnabas Uzosike.

CALABAR—CROSSRiver State House

of Assembly has indictedthe state Task Force onAnti-Deforestation, over

alleged fraudulent prac-tices, involving the sale oftimber.

The indictment followeda petition written by a tim-ber merchant, Mr. Samu-el Awusa, against the con-duct of members of the

Task Force.Awusa had petitioned

the House of Assemblythrough the Committeeon Judiciary, Public Serv-ice Matters, Public Peti-tions, Human Rights, Eth-ics and Privileges over al-leged corrupt practices bythe task force.

Meanwhile the stateCommissioner for Infor-mation and Orientation,Chief Akin Ricketts, hasdenied media reportscredited to the GeneralManager of the CalabarFree Trade Zone, Mr.Sadiq Kassim, that the banon logging of wood hasencouraged corruption inthe state.

Rickets said: “The un-sustainable logging,harmful agricultural prac-tices, inefficient use of firewood for domestic energy,and many other factors,propelled the state gov-ernment to take action in2009 to halt the continueddevastation of the forest."

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

A S A B A — D E LTAState Governor,

Dr. Emmanuel Udua-ghan, has described aformer governorship as-pirant in the state, lateDr. Joshua Enueme whodied recently in Asaba, asan astute politician, wholeft his footprints on thesands of history, espe-cially as a commissionerin the Olorogun FelixIbru and Chief JamesIbori administrations.

The governor, in a con-dolence message tomembers of Enueme'sfamily, by his Chief PressSecretary, Mr. SunnyOgefere, said: “I re-

ceived the news of thedeath of Enueme withshock and grief.

“I am shocked and sadover the death of Dr.Enueme, who until re-cently, was very vibrantand politically active inthe politics of our dearstate. Enueme was forth-right and constructive inhis criticisms on govern-ment policies even as amember of governmentor an opposition voice.”

Uduaghan added thatthe deceased would beremembered as a leaderof the Anioma people,who proudly identifiedwith the people andtouched the lives ofmany while alive.

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

BY FESTUS AHON

Suspected kidnapper ofWarri journalist arraigned

Anti-terrorism bill: Delta Assemblydares UduaghanBY AUSTIN OGWUDA

Delta School of Health studentson rampage

VISIT: From left: Mr. Mideno Bayagbon, Editor, Vanguard Newspaper; Chief Solomon Edebiri, coa-lition aspirant for 2012 governorship election in Edo State and Mr. Olushola Ojo, Acting InternalAuditor, Vanguard, during Edebiri's visit to Vanguard Newspapers in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: SholaOyelese.

A S A B A — D E LTAState House of As-

sembly is on a collisioncourse with the state gov-ernor, Dr. Emmanuel Ud-uaghan over his refusalto assent to the bill pre-scribing death penaltyfor kidnappers in thestate, which was passedsince 2009.

Uduaghan had, at dif-ferent fora since the billwas passed by theHouse, consistentlyvoiced his opposition tometing out death penal-

ty on those convicted forthe offence of kidnap-ping.

The earlier bill, whichthe governor sat on andrefused to assent to, wassponsored by Mr. DanielMayuku, and unani-mously passed by theHouse.

The bill provides that,any person on “demandfor payment of a ransomin order to effect the re-lease of the person soconfined or detained ordeprived of his personalliberty, commits a felonyand is liable upon con-

viction to be sentenced todeath.”

Following the gover-nor’s insistence not tosign the bill into law, 28members of the Houseexcept the Speaker,sponsored a similar billentitled: “Delta StateAnti-kidnapping andAnti-Terrorism bill,2012.”

The Bill during the sit-ting of the House,passed through its sec-ond reading and was re-ferred to the House Com-mittee on Peace, Securi-ty, with the mandate to

turn in their report in twoweeks.

At plenary, membersexpressed worry over themenace caused by kid-napping, wondering whythe issue should be treat-ed with kid gloves.

Ironically the bill whichis being resurrectedcame after the recent kid-nap of the younger broth-er to the Speaker of theHouse. Also some mem-bers of the House hadnot been spared eitherdirectly or indirectly inthe kidnapping saga.

Governor Uduaghanon his part had con-demned kidnapping butstuck to his gun that hewould not allow deathpenalty for the offence.

An insider in theHouse, told Vanguard oncondition of anonymitythat “in as much as werespect our governor, wehave no option than toveto him, if he still de-clines assent whenpassed. Just watch andsee.”

Health workers urged to calloff strike

COMMITTEE ofRegistrars of the

Health Professions,CRHP, has appealed tomembers of the JointHealth Sector Unions tocall off their on-goingstrike and embrace theoption of further con-structive dialogue withthe management of theFederal Ministry ofHealth.

A statement at the endof the Committee’s meet-ing in Lagos by its Pub-licity Secretary, Dr. Sam-uel Ntem, urged thestriking unions to call offthe strike and continuewith dialogue in the in-terest of the public, whowould suffer untoldhardship as a result of thestrike.

Agbarho monarchjoins ancestors

BY SAM EYOBOKA

BARELY 24 days after the death of par-

amount ruler of Urhoboethnic nationality in Ni-geria, HRM BenjaminOkumagba, another tra-ditional ruler, the Osuiv-ie of Agbarho Kingdom,HRM OgheneruemuArubi Omamohwo II, hasjoined his ancestors. Hewas aged 76 years.

Chairman of AgbarhoTraditional Council ofChiefs, Brigadier-Gener-al Dominic ObukadataOneya (rtd), addressingnewsmen at the palace ofthe traditional ruler, yes-terday, formally an-nounced the transition ofthe 17th Osuivie of Ag-barho Kingdom inUghelli North Local Gov-ernment Area of Delta

State, who joined his an-cestors on Friday, Febru-ary 10, 2012.

Until his death, HRMOmamowho II occupiedthe traditional stool ofOsuivie of Agbarho fromJune 1991, in addition tobeing a member of thehighest traditional advi-sory body, the Delta StateCouncil of Chiefs in1992.

According to Oneya,the late Osuivie’s reigncan be said to be one ofthe most peaceful as hehad to his credit the en-viable record of achieve-ments in the history ofthe Osuivieship in thekingdom.

He said the period ofmourning had been de-clared and “we are nowfaced with the task of abefitting burial.”

BY EMMA ARUBI &AKPOKONA OMA-

FUAIRE

U G H E L L I — S T UDENTS of Delta

State School of HealthTechnology, Ofuoma-Ughelli, yesterday, wenton rampage over non-payment of their yearlyallowance of N104,000.

The students were alsoprotesting a N10,000levy for computer train-ing, N6,000 levy forsports and N4,500 forschool uniform and themonthly allowance ofN5,000 being paid to 300level students of the in-stitution.

The students locked outthe Provost of the School,Mr. Ben Ogheneroro andother staff, after sacking

the institution’s securityguards.

Attempt by the schoolauthorities to use armedsoldiers and other secu-rity agents to stop the stu-dents from carrying outthe protest, were unsuc-cessful.

A student of the insti-tution, who spoke tonewsmen on condition ofanonymity, said the stategovernment was owingtwo years of theN104,000 allowance,adding that all attemptsto get the school author-ities to take up the casehad failed.

He said the school au-thorities had in the earlydays of their agitation forthe payment of the mon-

ey and the N5,000monthly allowance,threatened to expel anystudent seen champion-ing for or demanding thepayment of the arrears.

WARRI—THE suspected master-

mind of the kidnap ofPrince Monday Whiskey,a Warri-based journalistand former Senior Spe-cial Assistant at DeltaState Oil Producing Are-as Development Com-mission, DESOPADEC,was, yesterday, ar-raigned before an Orhu-whorun MagistrateCourt, Udu Local Gov-ernment Area of Delta

State.The accused person,

James Okporua, is facinga three-count charge ofunlawful kidnapping andarmed robbery.

The trial Magistrate,Eruvwo Mesiri, adjoinedthe case till May 31, 2012and the suspect remand-ed at Okere maximumprison, Delta State.

According to thecharge, the accused withfour others now at largeon March 19, 2012 at7pm forcefully abductedPrince Whiskey from hisOrhowhorun residenceat gun point.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—13

Attack on varsities: Educationminister cries to FG for solution

BY FAVOURNNABUGWU

Vandals destroy PHCN'sN5m equipment in Enugu

Akanu Ibiam Fed PolyAkanu Ibiam Fed PolyAkanu Ibiam Fed PolyAkanu Ibiam Fed PolyAkanu Ibiam Fed Poly

BY TONY EDIKE

BY PETER OKUTU

Onokpite: Family vows to bringkillers to justice

YOUNGER brother ofslain Citizens Popular

Party, CPP, chieftain, ChiefOgbe Onokpite, has de-bunked rumours makingthe rounds that the familyhad compromised its strug-gle to bring Ogbe's killersto justice.

Speaking to journalists

in Lagos, DiemoOnokpite revealed thatcontrary to rumours, theOnokpite family was stillfighting to get justice. Heaffirmed that it was thesame people that killedhis brother that were ped-ding rumours to discred-it the family.

COMMISSIONING—From left: Managing Director, Enugu State Water and Rural Sanitation Agency,Mr Mike Oguama; representative of igwe of Uba-aka community, Chief Cyril Agodom; representativeof Enugu State Commissioner for Water Resources, Chief Charles Eze, and Special Adviser to EnuguState Governor on Treasury, Mr Victor Atuonwu, during commissioning of water project in the com-munity, yesterday. Photo: NAN

As students protest bombings of campuses

on Nigerian students, thestudents urged the FederalGovernment to urgently nipthe situation in the bud.

Falling standard ofeducation

Nonetheless, Prof Rufailamented the falling quality

of standards in theeducational system, sayinglack of genuinecommitment by parents,teachers and students wasresponsible for thed e v e l o p m e n t . She said government wasno longer desirous ofproducing redundant

graduates who sooner thanlater would storm the streetsin search of non-existentjobs.

According to her, thenew thinking by theministry is to churn outgraduates that would inturn become employers ofl a b o u r .

...throw 35 communities into darkness

ENUGU—FOUR localgovernment areas in

Enugu State have been cutoff from the national grid,following vandalisation ofthe second power lineinstallation of the PowerHolding Company ofNigeria, PHCN, in Udilocal government area. The 3-KV power line builtsince 1954 to link the fourcouncils with the NewHeaven, Enugu powertranmission station, wasvandalized by unknownpersons Monday, throwingabout 35 communities intodarkness and disruptingwater supply from Ajaliwater intake to Enuguurban centre. Power equipment worthover N5 million were cartedaway in the incident whichofficials of Power Holding

Comany of Nigeria, PHCN,in Enugu suspected to be asabotage.

The Udi, Ezeagu, OjiRiver and parts of Uzo-Uwani local governmentareas are seriously affectedby the vandalism. Chief Executive Officer ofElectricity DistributionCompany, Engr. SuleimanYahaya, who led somesecurity chiefs and officials

of the state government tothe scene to assess theextent of damage,expressed shock at themagnitude of damage doneto the power line.

He wondered whypeople should embark onsuch economic sabotagewithout minding theconsequences on thepeople living in the affecteda r e a .

A B A K A L I K I —RECTOR, Akanu

Ibiam Federal Polytechnic,Unwana, Ebonyi State, ProfFrancis Otunta, yesterdaydisclosed that the TertiaryEducation Trust Fund,TETFUND, had so farapproved N1.2 billion forexecution of specialintervention projects for useby the polytechnic.

He added that theinstitution had equally gotgrants amounting to overN300 million from theSecretary to theGovernment of the

Federation, Senator AnyimPius Anyim, and senatorrepresenting Ebonyi Southsenatorial zone of the statein the National Assembly,Sonny Ogbuoji, as part oftheir contribution towardsthe development of theinstitution.

Prof Otunta, who madethe disclosure while briefingnewsmen on some of theactivities lined up for the12th convocation of thepolytechnic tomorrow,commended the Minister ofEducation, Mrs. RuqayyahAhmed Rufai, forapproving funds for theexecution of numerousprojects.

NYSC DG appeals to Imo govt

BY CHIDI NK-WOPARA

OWERRI—DIRECTORGENERAL, National

Youth Service Corps,NYSC, Brigadier-GeneralNnamdi Okore-Afia,yesterday appealed to ImoState government to assistin upgrading facilities inthe establishment’ssecretariat in Owerri.

The DG, who made theappeal, whilecommissioning the ultra-modern office block built bythe NYSC in Owerri, also

pleaded with GovernorRochas Okorocha to furnishthe new building.

“During my first visit tothe secretariat, I describedthe office as first centuryshrines. I am howeverhappy that the newbuilding has changed myimpression”, Okore-Afiasaid.

Earlier in her welcomeaddress, the State NYSCCoordinator, Mrs. ChinweOjukwu, described theevent as “an importantmilestone in the annals ofthe NYSC scheme in ImoState”.

Omooba Ademiluyi passes onOmooba Ademiluyi passes onOmooba Ademiluyi passes onOmooba Ademiluyi passes onOmooba Ademiluyi passes on

OMOOBA TenidadeAdemiluyi, one of the

wives of the Alake ofAbeokuta, Sir LadapoAdemola II, has passed onat the age of 90. She diedon April 26, 2012, andwould be remembered for

her dedication, hard workand meticulous attention todetail. Ma Ademiluyi wasborn on March 21, 1922.She is survived by twochildren, a daughter,Adedapo and son,Adegboyega.

ABUJA—WORRIED byrecent attacks on

universities, particularly thebombing of BayeroUniversity, Kano, whereover 15 died and severalothers injured, Minister ofEducation, RuqayyatuRufa’i, has cried to theFederal Executive Council,FEC, for solutions. Rufai, at the ongoingMinisterial Platformorganised by the FederalMinistry of Informationyesterday, lamented thatthe new wave of attacksdeployed by the insurgentgroup on tertiaryinstitutions, called forgreater concern bys t a k e h o l d e r s . The minister said shetabled the issue atWednesday’s FEC meetingwhere government assuredthat it would work with othersecurity agencies to forestallfurther attacks andstrengthen security inuniversity campuses acrossthe country. Before the minister couldfinish expressing herconcern over the bombattack on universities, agroup of students, under theaegis of South WesternStudents Association,stormed the National PressCentre, protesting bombattacks on universities. Wielding placards withsuch inscriptions as “SouthWestern students totallyagainst bombing ofcampuses and gun attack

14—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

BY ANAYO OKOLI

Bizman slams N1bn suit onpolice

BY IKECHUKWUNNOCHIRI

A B U J A — T H EEconomic and

Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC,yesterday, docked two bankmanagers and five othersbefore an Abuja High Courton a 3-count criminalcharge bordering onconspiracy, fraud, forgeryand obtaining under falsepretence.

Those arraigned beforeJustice Patrick Afen wereMr Napoleon Obaje Adofuwho was the BranchManager of defunctOceanic Bank in Karu,Abuja, AugustineOdinawor, BranchManager, Fidelity Bank,Gwagwalada branch, and astaff of Equatorial TrustBank, Mr PatrickOnyekachi.

Others include MrReuben Omotayo who is astaff of Federal CapitalDevelopment Authority,FCDA, and Mr AbdulmalikIsa Teina, staff of AbujaGeographic InformationSystem, AGIS.

They were dockedalongside two corporateentities, Yombor VenturesLimited and Aicoor TaoNigeria Limited, forallegedly defrauding oneMrs Juliet Uzor to the tuneof N25.4 million.

Meanwhile, shortly afterthey took turns to plead notguilty to the charge, thedefence counsel, MrOluwafemi Adetusi, prayedthe court to grant them bail

pending the hearing anddetermination of the caseagainst them.

He urged the court to takeinto consideration theconstitutional right of theaccused persons, insistingthat in the eyes of the law,they ought to be deemedinnocent until their guiltwas ascertained.

He said: “My Lord, withthis application, we arerelying on the provisions ofSection 35 (1) and Section36 of the 1999 Constitutionof the Federal Republic ofNigeria. And also we baseit on the jurisdiction of thiscourt. We urge the court togrant our prayers bygranting the accusedpersons bail. We also praythat the conditions will be

on the most liberal term.”.However, counsel to the

EFCC, Mr SalisuMajidadi, said he wasserved with a formal bailapplication of one of theaccused person right insidethe court room, even as hesought time to respond,adding that he opposedoral applications by theother accused persons.

After listening toarguments on both sides,the trial judge ruled thatapplications for bail must beformal and will be ruledupon on May 17.

Consequently, the judgeordered the remand of theaccused persons in Kujeprison, pending thedetermination of their bailapplications.

Meanwhile, travails ofthe bankers began when aN25,460,000.00 bank draftpayable to AbujaGeographic InformationSystems, AGIS, washanded to them and insteadof paying the draft into theproper account, theyconspired with their friendswho are bankers to open afake AGIS corporateaccount and paid the draftinto it.

EFCC said itsinvestigations revealed thatafter the draft was cleared,the accused personstransferred the amountelectronically to twocompany accounts fromwhich they withdrew andshared the funds amongstthemselves.

...alleges assault, torture

UMUAHIA—LAGOS-based businessman,

Chief Marcel Eze, hasdragged the NigerianPolice to court, asking forN1 billion as generaldamages for allegedassault, deprivation ofliberty, torture and otherdehumanizing actsinflicted on him by policeagents in November lastyear.

Eze , in the suit instituted

at the Federal High Court,Umuahia, presided over byJustice GarubaMuhammed Umar, ispraying that his “assault,dehumanization andeventual arrest anddetention by the police atthe Nigeria Police Zone 9Umuahia cell fromNovember 16, 2011, whenhe was arrested toNovember 21 2011, whenhe was released,constituted an infringementon his fundamental rights”.

DELTA STATE POLICE PARADE CHILD STEALING SYNDICATE

The child stealing syndicate suspects being parad-ed by the Delta State Police Command in Asaba.Pix: Nath Onajoke.

The eight-months old baby, Destiny Umeh with hisfather after the released.

N25m fraud: Court remands 2bank managers, 5 others in prison

NUJ President laments killing ofjournalists

BY CHIDI NK-WOPARA

O W E R R I — T H ENational President of

Nigeria Union ofJournalists, NUJ, AlhajiMohammed Garba,yesterday condemned thesenseless killing ofjournalists in the country.According to him, the NUJhas lost no fewer than 25journalists in 2012 alone.

Garba also announcedthat NUJ had reconstitutedthe Governing Council andAcademic Board of theInternational Institute ofJournalism, IIJ.

Garba, who stated thiswhile addressing newsmenduring his campaign tourof Owerri, also saidconstruction work hadstarted in the permanentsite of the NUJ Nationallheadquarters.

“Zenith Bank hasguaranteed N100 millionfor the accreditation of thecourses in IIJ, as well asrenewed the institution’saffiliation with theUniversity of Maiduguri,Borno State,” Garba said.

He said efforts were on tofloat a radio station inAbuja, adding that veterans

would be engaged in theestablishment when fullyoperational.

Garba said journalistsmust support the probesgoing on in the NationalAssembly by following upthe issues already in publicdomain.

Speaking earlier, theZonal Vice Chairman(East), Sir AmbroseNwachukwu, describedGarba as “a great leaderand a man of honour thathas piloted the affairs ofNUJ in contemporary timesto the satisfaction of alljournalists”.

Rehabilitation of roads

BY ENYIM ENYIM

ORAIFITE people inEkwusigo local

government area ofAnambra State have calledon the state government tocome to their rescueconcerning dilapidatedroads and collapsed bridgethat linked them with othern e i g h b o u r i n gc o m m u n i t i e s . President General of thetown, Chief Raph Nwike,

and lawmaker representingthe community in the StateHouse of Assembly,appealed to Governor PeterObi to save the people fromextinction as they found itdifficult to interact withother communities. According to them,dilapidated roads in thearea need urgent attention,especially Nwo Edo road,popularly called unity road,linking Oraifite from Nkwoto Nkwo up to Afor Ukwu.

3 NGOs launch appeal fund

THREE Non-G o v e r n m e n t a l

Organisations, Project Alerton Violence againstWomen, Centre forO r g a n i z a t i o n a lDevelopment, COD,Nigeria, and ZaharaWomen Foundation, havelaunched an appeal fund tosave the life of a housewife,Mrs Mercy Nnadi, whosuffered third degree burnswhen her husband, HenryNnadi burnt her with hotiron for allegedly sleepingwith his 65-year- old father.

In a joint statementsigned by Josephine Effah-Chukwuma (ExecutiveDirector, Project Alert);Nkiru Okoro (ExecutiveDirector, COD); andRosemary Mukoro (ZaharaWomen), the groups said

Mercy is still inexcruciating pains as aresult of the intensity ofburns she sustained whichhave done extensivedamage to her body andthat “she urgently needsfinancial assistance to helpher get specialized medicaltreatment like skin graftsurgery”.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—15

COUNCIL MEETING: From left— Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, GovernorIdris Wada of Kogi State, and Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State at the opening of the National Economic Council meeting atthe State House, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: Abayomi Adeshida.

2013budget: Repsto inspectFG's capitalprojects

EFCC to arraign Hembe, Azuboguover SEC's N44m bribery scandal

ABUJA—AN AbujaHigh Court,

yesterday, granted theEconomic and FinancialCrimes Commission,EFCC, leave to arraign Mr.Herman Hembe, the formerChairman of the House ofRepresentatives Committeeon Capital Market andOther Institutions, over hisalleged complicity in a N44million bribe scandal.

Justice Abubakar SadiqUmar, who gave the leaveyesterday, said he shouldappear in court on May 17to enter his plea to a two-count criminal chargepreferred against him bythe anti-graft agency.

Besides, the trial judgeequally ordered theerstwhile Vice Chairman ofthe Reps Committee on

Capital Market probe, Mr.Chris Azubogu, to appearin court alongside Hembe.

The court order wassequel to an applicationEFCC filed against them,pursuant to Section 185(d)of the Criminal ProcedureCode, CPC.

Moving the saidapplication yesterday,counsel to the prosecutingagency, Mr. OnejekwuObe, told the court thatEFCC uncovered sufficientevidence capable ofsecuring the conviction ofthe two lawmakers onallegations bothering onbribery, financialrecklessness andmisappropriation of publicfunds.

He said: “My Lord, Ihereby apply for leave toprefer criminal chargeagainst the above namedaccused persons who are

sitting lawmakers.“Further attached

herewith are the followingdocuments: a copy of thecharge in respect of whichleave is sought, as well asthe verifying affidavit.

“Other annexures arenames and addresses of thewitnesses billed to testifybefore this court; statementsof the witnesses; statementsof the two accused personsand other documentaryevidences which EFCCintend to rely upon inprosecuting this case.”

Justice rulesRuling on the application,

Justice Umar said he wassatisfied that the anti-graftagency successfullyestablished a prima-faciecriminal case against theaccused persons.

Describing the EFCCmotion as meritorious,

Justice Umar ordered theaccused lawmakers toensure that they appearedbefore him on May 17 forarraignment.

SEC's accusationIt would be recalled that

the Security and ExchangeCommission, SEC,Director-General, DG,Arunma Oteh, had in theheat of the ongoing probeinto alleged rot in theNigerian Capital Market,insisted that Hembe was“unfit” to superintend overthe investigative panel,accusing him of bribery andcorruption.

Oteh had alleged thatHembe and his paneldemanded money totalingN44 million from SEC tofund the public hearing onthe unhealthy state of theNigerian Capital Market.

She alleged that SEC

gave Hembe estacode anda first class ticket to attenda capital market conferencein the Dominican Republicbut did not travel for theevent.

‘SEC offered us N30m'In a swift reaction,

Hembe, who subsequentlydisqualified himself fromheading the probe panel onthe basis of the allegations,presented documents to thelower legislative Houseindicating that it was SEC,with Oteh’s approval, thatoffered N30 million to thecommittee, contrary to herallegation that thelawmakers demandedbribe.

In a counter move, theSEC DG responded with aletter detailing requests shesaid was sent to thecommission by the Housecommittee.

BY IKECHUKWUNNOCHIRI

A B U J A — I Npreparation for the

2013 Appropriation Act,members of the House ofRepresentatives, yesterday,moved that all FederalGovernment capital projectsin the country should beinspected within 60 days.

Members of all standingcommittees in the Houseare expected to verify thestate of abandoned and on-going capital projects invarious states of thefederation.

The motion, entitled Needto verify capital projectsexecuted by Ministries,Departments andAgencies, MDAs, ofgovernment across thenation, was brought to thefloor of the House by LeoOgor, representing IsokoFederal Constituency inDelta State.

Ogor said: “Sec 81 (1)and (2) empowered thePresident to prepare andlay before each house of theNational Assembly anAppropriation Bill.”

Abike Dabiri-Erewa,Action Congress of Nigeria,ACN, Ikorodu Federalconstituency, Lagos, threwher weight behind Ogorwhen she said there was alot to learn from Lagos Stategovernment that hadimbibed the culture ofcontinuity hence “you donot see abandoned projectsin the state.”

BY EMMANOVUAKPORIE

Meadowhalltrainsteachers

AS part of the activitiesmarking its 10th

anniversary, MeadowhallSchool, through its consult,has organised a trainingseminar for Lagos StateEducation District IIIMathematics andEnglish Languageteachers with the theme,Towards EffectivePerformance in WAEC/NECO— a focus onMathematics andEnglish Language.

Director of the school,Mrs Kehinde Nwani,said: “The training,which formed part of theschool’s Corporate SocialResponsibility, wasimperative due to theprevailing poorperformance of studentsin WAEC/NECO.”

Terrorism: FG opts for dialogueContinues from Page 5

PDP, that we will doeverything possible toshun violence; we woulddo everything possible totolerate dialogue and callon whoever is ready todialogue with us in linewith the principle of PDP,to bridge the gap ofmisunderstanding, so thatthere would be peace,there will be progress andthere will bedevelopment.”

Indeed, GovernorKashim Shettima of Bornowarned that if nothing

serious was urgently doneto address the high rateof insecurity , the entireNorth would becomeuninhabitable in the nextfive years.

“For now, we have to doit in our enlightened selfinterest because nobodywould stay in northernNigeria, believe me, in thenext five years! Believeme, nobody!! None of ushere is prepared to.

Insecurity isnationalembarrassment

– Govs

Gathering on thebanner of the NigeriaGovernors Forum, NGF, atthe Rivers StateGovernor ’s Lodge,Asokoro, yesterday, thegovernors described theinsecurity situation in thecountry as a nationalembarrassment andcondemnable.

The governors notedthat as part of moves toaddress the lingeringsecurity challenges, anenabling environmentwould be created foreconomic development as

well as channel moreresources towards theempowerment of thecitizenry, especially theyouths, women and thevulnerable.

Reading theCommuniqué at the endof the meeting, Governorof Rivers State andChairman of the Forum,Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi,while pleading forunderstanding amongNigerians forgovernment’s efforts ataddressing the insecuritysituation, disclosed thatthe governors would in

June organize a securitysummit to brainstormsession on the issue witha bid to nipping it in thebud.

Meanwhile, thegovernors who were billedto discuss the proposedremoval of the immunityclause from theconstitution could not doso because less than 30governors attended themeeting.

Present at the meetingwere governors of Rivers,Sokoto, Abia, Ebonyi, Imo,Kaduna, Bayelsa, CrossRiver; Anambra, Borno;Kogi, Kebbi and theDeputy Governor of LagosState.

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

CMYK

Donu Kogbara SSSSSwwwwweeteeteeteeteet & & & & & SOURSOURSOURSOURSOUR

CMYK

Responses to:donzol2002@yahoo.co.ukor to 0802 747 6458 (textsonly). PLEASE KINDLYNOTE THAT UNLESSYOU SPECIFICALLY

REQUEST ANONYMITY,YOUR COMMENTS MAY

BE PUBLISHED INVANGUARD, WITH YOURNAMES AND NUMBERSOR EMAIL ADDRESSES

ATTACHED.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 — 17

,,

I’M on a bus in the UnitedStates at the moment,

travelling from Washington toNew York; and the ticket costme next to nothing, but talkabout value for money! Thebus is extremely comfortableand has internet facilities andlittle desks and power socketsattached to each seat, so thatpassengers can charge theirphones, use their laptops andbrowse or send/receiveemails.

When I travel, shopping forbaubles is the least of myinterests. What I really love isto explore foreignenvironments and chat to thepeople who inhabit them andlearn as much as I can aboutdifferent lifestyles,landscapes, cultures, etc.

However, almost every silverlining has a cloud attached toit; and my enjoyment of thesetrips to distant locations isconsiderably marred by thefact that my mind won’t let mehave peace and allow me to

Disappointed thoughts

AN American professorfriend of mine recently

met a Nigerian professorneither of us know at anacademic function on the WestCoast and was very takenaback by a remark theNigerian made.

The American had tried tostrike up a conversation withthe Nigerian by asking himhow things were going inNigeria. And he wasexpecting the Nigerian toeither provide a short, polite,superficial response or anintellectual analysis.

But the Nigerian just angrilyblurted out the followingwords: “The only solution toNigeria’s problems would beto invite every singlepolitician to a Town HallMeeting in Abuja and thenthrow a bomb at the venue towipe them all out!”

My American friendexpected me to be as shockedas he was by what hedescribed as “an extremelyalarming reaction.” But Ishrugged and told him that I

Last night in Washington, a fellow Nigerian accused me ofhaving an unpatriotic mindset because I frequently criticise

Nigeria. I don’t know about you, but I don’t define a patriot assomeone who sweeps rubbish under the carpet and makespositive remarks about seriously bad situations purely to be“loyal.”

To me, a REAL patriot is someone who identifies a problemthat is undermining the nation’s wellbeing and image…andkeeps making noise about the problem until it is solved.

Unpatriotic? Thoughts

Nasty thoughts

e a g e r l yanticipating thejourney ahead. Butmy mood hasgradually changed.

As I am drivendown a solid un-potholed Americanhighway in a cosyh i g h - t e c hAmerican bus andpass countlessmodern Americantowns, well-tended

wasn’t remotely surprisedbecause I’ve heard severalNigerians making this kind ofcomment about Nigerianpoliticians over the years.

Most Nigerians bow andscrape in front of governors,ministers, local governmentchairmen, etc. But it’s all eyeservice based on the fact thatthese guys control theeconomy and will, as ageneral rule, only dish outpatronage to those who kisstheir feet.

If anyone requires evidencethat political praise-singersare being utterly insincere,

you need look no further thanthe shabby treatment theymete out to these VIPs whenthey are eventually toppledfrom their powerful perches.

And you know what? WhileI think it unhealthy for peopleto have nasty thoughts abouttheir fellow human beingsand while I acknowledge thefact that some Nigerianpoliticians are decent, mostNigerian politicians are badand largely responsible for thevenom that is directed at thembehind their backs and shouldask themselves why so manyof their compatriots hate themso much.

Reader’s reaction

Let me sign off byapologising to the readers

whose emails and textmessages have not beenacknowledged or published.I am sometimes sooverwhelmed by numerousresponses and cannotpersonally attend to everyrespondent or publish everyinteresting comment you sendme. But please know that yourcontributions are muchappreciated.

In the meantime, here is alast word from Peter Udosen(fazclean_ventures@yahoo.com)who wrote to comment on myhigh opinion of HenrySeriake Dickson, the newBayelsa Governor, and myprayers that he will do a greatjob.

New beginning for Bayelsa?

My dear, never mind, all thebeauties of a new bride

totally forget about Nigeriawhile I’m wallowing in thesights, pleasures andfascinations I encounterelsewhere!

Wherever I go, I aminexorably drawn intocomparing whatever I amseeing or experiencing withwhat prevails back home. Andit has to be said that viewingthe overseas world through aNaija prism is never anuplifting exercise.

Why?

Because Nigeria is one ofthe most disappointing

places on the planet! Becausewe have abundant naturalresources, many clevercitizens and so much potentialbut have chosen to settle forcrudity, corruption, mediocrityand failure.

Because although nowhereoutside Heaven is perfect,

nearly everywhere I’ve evervisited is better than Nigeria

overall. Because the very fewplaces that are worse than

Nigeria are so rock-bottom-awful that there is no pridewhatsoever to be derived fromcoming from a nation that issuperior to such hellholes.

Anyway, dear Readers, Istarted this week’s columnfeeling quite cheerful and

disappears over time! I wishhim well on your words. Butif you will ever believe me,some educated andintellectually sound personsin our clime, make betterthieves because they cansteal you 'neat' withoutleaving a fingerprint. In thispart of the world, thedifference between a thief anda non-thief is that one hasbeen caught, while the otheris praying not to be caught.

American fields that look likepretty patchwork quilts andneat American factories thatmake lots of useful things, myheart is heavy and tears cometo my eyes.

I yearn for a day whenNigeria will be like this.

President Obama’s Made-in-Canada bus.

A bus terminal in the US.

As I am driven down a solid un-potholed American highway in acosy high-tech American bus andpass countless modern Americantowns, my heart is heavy and tearscome to my eyes; I yearn for a day when Nigeriawill be like this

OPINION

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

BY CHIBUZO ONWUCHEKWE

*Mr. Onwuchekwe, former chairman of World IgboCongress, wrote from Houston, Texas, USA.

SENATOR Ike Ekweremadu: This amiable andphotogenic Enugu State-born politician is the

Deputy Senate President and can occupy Aso Rock, ifgiven the chance. He is dynamic and profoundlyintellectual. He also has the resources and broadnational connections that can assist to propel him towinning the presidency. However, Ekweremadu isviewed with suspicion among some South Easternersin general and some Igbos in particular. Criticsportray him as a self-centered politician and someeven describe him as a well-lubricated wind vane.His friends and associates defend him religiouslyand contend that he has been misunderstood andunfairly characterised. Further, since he is also fromEnugu State, Ekweremadu first has to contend withthe wishes of his state governor, who has shown moreovert commitments to the 2015 presidential project.Political observers are still guessing who will bevanquished if and when Senator Ekweremadu getsinto a political contest with his state governor who hasan intimidating resume of always standing whetherthe dust settles or not.Governor Peter Obi: As a two-time Governor, Obi hasimpeccable credentials to aspire for the Nigerianpresidency. He is a dogged politician, has the

needed resources, and can fight the fight. In fact,Governor Obi can fight any fight to a logicalconclusion. Also significant is the reported closenessbetween the Governor and the current occupant ofAso Rock. Yet, Obi’s challenges regarding any questfor the presidency remain daunting. To begin with,the jury is still out regarding the Governor’s handlingof the political capital and/or mandate that was givento him by the people of Anambra State in 2003. Obiwon the governorship of Anambra State flying theflag of his current party, APGA. Since assumingoffice, he has not apparently done much to direct ordevelop the party. In sum however, Governor Obicannot be taken lightly by any standards. ShouldGovernor Obi decide to enter the presidentialsweepstakes, it will be interesting to watch himmanoeuvre once more from a state that is filled withpolitical lions, tigers, foxes and lambs. The biggestobstacle for Governor Obi is that, like RochasOkorocha, he is not a member of the PDP.

SENATOR Pius Anyim: This Ebonyi State-bornpolitician shot into political limelight in Nigeria

in 2003 when he won a seat in the Senate andsubsequently became the Senate President. Anyim

seems to have a rich pedigree. The former SenatePresident is currently the Secretary to the FederalGovernment. Most importantly, he is viewed by someas independent minded and trustworthy. However,like other Igbo Senate leaders before and after him,Anyim has little or nothing to show the Igbos for theyears he was at the helm. Also, it is believed that anychancy moves on his part can irritate his current boss,President Jonathan, whose second term agenda andplans for 2015 remain unclear. Senator Anyim mayfind it difficult to bite the fingers that appear to befeeding him.All things considered, the year 2015 remains achallenge for the Igbos in the Nigerian presidentialquest. In the turbulent political landscape of Nigeria,laced with political landmines, achieving the Igbopresidency will not come on a platter of gold. Thus, itis absolutely incumbent on every prospective Igboleader to make the desired efforts to ensure that nostone is left unturned from now till the Nigerianpresidency returns to the South East after eluding thezone for over 50 years. There is no question that theIgbos can achieve this desired objective with aconcerted effort, and there may be no better time than2015.

Concluded

Continued from yesterday

Ndigbo and 2015: Now is thetime (2)

WHEN in 1987, a presidential order wasissued to the Inspector General of Police to fishout a notorious criminal, few days after,Lawrence Anini, the criminal who wasterrorising Benin City, was arrested. PresidentIbrahim Babangida had asked the then IGMohammed Gambo-Jimeta in public, “Myfriend, where is Anini”.Many are awaiting the result of President

Goodluck Jonathan’s order to IG MohammedAbubakar to find killers of Oyerinde Olaitan,Principal Private Secretary to the Edo StateGovernor.The order is even taller. Abubakar is to re-

open investigation of other assassinations. Thelong – though inexhaustive list include:. Garba Bello, an official of the State Security

Service, murdered in Kano in 2010 with hiswife and three children.. Abdulahi Muazu, Head of the Forensic

Unit of the Economic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, in his Kaduna home in2010, the sixth EFCC operative to die in twoyears.. Chief Funso William, a Lagos State

governorship aspirant was murdered in 2007.. Gunmen, in 1983, fired many shots on the

former Speaker of the House of

Find The KillersFind The KillersFind The KillersFind The KillersFind The KillersOr …Or …Or …Or …Or …

Representatives, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke,leaving him for dead.. Chief James Bola Ige was assassinated as

the Attorney General of the Federation inDecember 2001 in Ibadan.. Chief Marshall Harry of the All Nigerian

Peoples Party was murdered in 2003.. Chief Aminosoari Dikibo, a PDP chieftain,

killed in 2003.. Chief Andrew Agom, former Managing

Director of Nigeria Airways, a PDP chieftain,was shot dead.. Ogun State AC governorship candidate Dipo

Dina killed.. Dr. Ayo Daramola, PDP gubernatorial

aspirant in Ekiti State killed.. Out-spoken pilot Jerry Agbeyegbe was shot

dead on a Lagos bridge.. Mr. Barnabas Igwe, chairman of the NBA

in Onitsha and his wife Abigail were killed inOnitsha.. Mr. Victor Nwankwo, a publisher, was killed.. Hajiya Abubakar Rimi was killed in Kano.. Dele Giwa, a journalist, was killed with a

letter bomb in 1986.. Omololu Falobi, journalist, was killed in

2006.. 22 December 2006, Chairman of the

Editorial Board of Thisday, Godwin Agbroko,was shot dead on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.. Bayo Otu of The Guardian killed in 2009.. In 1996, Bagauda Kaltho, a reporter with

The News, disappeared in the custody ofsecurity agencies who later announced hekilled himself trying to bomb a Kaduna hotel.. Less prominent Nigerians have been killed,

some by the police at checkpoints and othersby the unknown killers who prowl the land.Which of these murders would Abubakar

resolve? What happens if he fails to findOlaitan’s killers? Nigerians expect that allcrimes are considered unacceptable. It is onlywhen a prominent fellow is murdered that thepolice spring into action as if their purpose isto wait for such moments.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAYFRIDAYFRIDAYFRIDAYFRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 —, MAY 11, 2012 —, MAY 11, 2012 —, MAY 11, 2012 —, MAY 11, 2012 — 19 19 19 19 19

*Dr. Mbadiwe, is a member of the Houseof Reps, representing Ideato North andSouth federal Constituency, Imo State.

BY EDDIE MBADIWE

,

,

,

,

"It is better to remain silent and be thought afool than to speak out and remove alldoubt”.-- ABRAHAM LINCOLN

SOCCER, also known as football iscertainly the most popular sport in

the world as more than 60 percent of theworld’s population tune in (both radio andtelevision) during major World Cupcompetitions.

Some emerging stars of this highlylucrative game such as Nigeria’s andEverton’s Victor Anichebe sometimes boastof how many goals they will score before amatch. Many a time, their target is off themark. The games master (Lionel Messi ofFC Barcelona, readily comes to mind) keeptheir game plan close to their chest and onthe day exceed all expectations and receivethe plaudits thereafter. That is the way itshould be. That also is the beauty of silence.

Nigeria is the third fastest growing worldeconomy after China and Mongolia - that iswhat the statistics show. Some Nigerianprofessionals - Prof. Pat Utomi in the leadare in total disagreement.

Everyday in Nigeria, especially inthe cities of Lagos and Abuja, there isa flurry of activities with people criss-crossing from pillar to post, shovingand oftentimes bumping into oneanother in pursuit of the powerfulNaira.

There is so much motion with littlemovement. Often, false shouts ofEureka! precede deep brain-stormedresults. All this effort which sometimeslooks like madness has generated verylittle improvement in the living

The beauty of silencestandards of our people. The much-vaunted transformation in our lives isstill many miles away.

Our people moan, whine and gripeand yet there is no solution in sight.The waiting game goes on but for howlong. The quantum of noise in thesystem is so much. Apart from itsnuisance value, it has triggered offallergic reactions in the faint-hearted.Many have been stressed to death.

A few days ago, I was at a forumwhere an honourable member of theHouse of Representatives encapsulatedhis vision of representation with thesewords: "To be relevant in the House ofRepresentatives, one has to shout,struggle and maybe fight to be heard”.To him, there is no place forintellectual and indepth contributionbased on research. His assertionmakes parliament a joke. I was sorevolted by this and wasted little timein letting him know his thoughts wereproducts of deranged epilepsy. Hisview does not represent AminuTambuwal’s Seventh Assembly.

Empty vessels make the most noiseand there is no way any sane personcan be productive in that cacophony ofsounds called din, which this personrelishes. Even God himself said: “Bestill and know that I am God”. All Hewas commanding is that we keep calmin order to plan and appreciate beautyin silence.

Each time we hear a governmentminister or top officials make a publicstatement it usually is predicated bycuing into the Transformation Agendaof President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.You hear this all the time. Whether thisis mere sloganeering to ensure job

security or true conviction is anothermatter. Sycophancy is one hydra-headed monster we must all identifyand destroy. Transformation is apassion and anyone not soaked in itcan never factually project it. Youbreathe, live, sleep your passion.

A Hebrew proverb says that if afarmer becomes a king, he will stillcarry a basket on his back. At thispoint, it is also necessary to draw asubtle distinction between the person,Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and PresidentGoodluck Ebele Jonathan. The two‘persons’ initiated Transformation.

Transformation can be either positive ornegative. The person, Dr.

Goodluck Jonathan, I know, is passionateabout transformation and has goodintentions for Nigerja - whether PresidentGoodluck Ebele Jonathan with the retinueof advisers and security operatives, some ofwhom shield him from reality and even fromhimself is a transformer, has to bedetermined. That metamorphosis of twopersons to a transformed President has tohappen for peoples’ lives to be impacted bythis agenda.

When transformation arrives, nobody canhide it. Everyone will know. The daily mienof the people will change. There will be asurfeit of smiles on faces. People willidentify with and protect governmentproperties as their own. Security challengeswill diminish considerably as people willtake their destiny in their hands, smoke outmiscreants and secure their communities.Even strikes and labour disputes will moveto the back burner. There will be prosperityin the land.

Genuine volunteering along the lines ofRotary International will work not becauseof any stipends to be received but because ofour collective commitment to a bettersociety. It will naturally follow thatcorruption will take a dive. The realNigerian nation where we will all be ourbrothers’ keepers. That is transformation.

One may ask how all this ties up withsilence and beauty. Of course they do.To plan effectively, one needs anenabling, serene and beautifulenvironment to meditate in-depth.

That is why all major religions of theworld have a RETREAT in one form orthe other. I recommend this life ofretreat to a transformed President whowill work in silence in the beauty of histransformed room. He will be able toscreen all his appointees and show theexit door to those not yet transformed.He may perhaps be able to understandthat a country in which anything goeswill ultimately become a country inwhich nothing goes.

As a parting shot, he will probablycome to terms with the immortal wordsof the Iron Lady - former British PrimeMinister Margaret Thatcher who saidthat: “To be a good leader, you must bea good butcher". You got to cut sharplywhen necessary.

A DOCTOR I know onceopined that persons who

grow into adulthood withexcessively bowed legs oughtto sue their parents.

Naturally I was shocked—until he explained the causeof this very common deformityand how easy it is to correct orprevent it.

I still don’t believe offspringshould sue their parents. Butthe more I learn aboutrickets—the scientific namefor this affliction—the more Iunderstand why my doctor-friend feels so strongly.

Not only is rickets curableand preventable, but in mostcases, the recommendedtreatment is nothing morethan regular exposure tosunlight and a diet rich incalcium and phosphorus—themain materials in bones,which makes them hard andstrong.

Yet there is hardly any dayyou will move about PortHarcourt, or other cities, townsand villages in Nigeria, andwon’t see a child hobblingabout on bent legs—oftenfollowing behind anindifferent and unashamedadult. I travel the world and I

Let's eradicate rickets

don’t see it anywhere.The implications are

indicting and depressing.Scientifically, rickets is duemainly to vitamin Ddeficiency, arising either frommalnutrition or not enoughsunlight. But in Nigeria, it isa socially imposed disorder—a deformity which ignorant,callous and irresponsibleparents inflict on their ownoffspring.

It is a sad reality indeed thatmany parents do not evenbother to consult a physician,to find out why the legs oftheir child are severelycrooked. The answer aninquiry often draws is: “That’sthe way God intended for it tobe”.

As an engineer, I possessonly a layman’s knowledge ofrickets. But insight from mymedical friend, combined withwhat I have read, suggeststhat such a rationalisation is acrass perversion of religion—a lame excuse that borders onblasphemy.

Referred to colloquially as“bow legs” or “K-legs,” as wasfamously used by Obasanjoduring Amaechi’s nominationdebacle, rickets is the softening

of bone in children (andoccasionally adults), usuallydue to poor mineralization. Inthe absence of vitamin D, thecalcium and phosphorusingested in food cannot movefrom the intestines to thebones.

Medicinenet.com explainsthat: “Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that isessential for the normalformation of bones and teethand necessary for theappropriate absorption ofcalcium and phosphorus fromthe bowels”.

It is thus the job of vitaminD to carry calcium and otherminerals to the site of boneformation. If these buildingmaterials come up short inearly childhood, bonedevelopment is impaired.

This causes the long legbones (femurs) to bend underthe child’s weight—creatingthe characteristic deformity(“marked genu varum,” inmedical jargon) we know as“bow legs”.

Health scientists list fourmajor types of rickets,

plus two sub-types. An infant

is born with the congenitalform, when its pregnantmother is vitamin D deficient.Vitamin D dependent rickets,types “I” and “II,” aretransmitted genetically, whilethe vitamin D resistant varietyalso has a genetic component.

Another name for nutritionalrickets, NR, is osteomalacia,meaning “soft bone”. It is theform that afflicts adults and isdietary in origin. Developinglargely due to insufficientintake of calcium orphosphorus or both, NR occurswhen these minerals are notreplenished in mature bones.

“Regardless of the type ofrickets, the cause is alwayseither due to a deficiency ofvitamin D, calcium, orphosphate”. These nutrientsare easily obtainable from localfoods: Phosphorus from fruits,nuts and green vegetables andcalcium from egg, meat andfish.

Vitamin D comes in twoforms. Ergocalciferol (vitaminD-2) is found in fungi andcertain fish oils. But the mosteffective anti-rachitic (ricketsmedicine) is cholecalciferol(D-3). It is produced in oilysaltwater fish, such as salmon,herring and tuna as well as inbutter, egg, margarine, fishliver oils and milk.

The problem is, vitamin D-3can only be obtained fromthese sources in very smallamounts—too small tometabolize enough calciumand phosphorus to sustainrapid bone-growth inchildren. This is especiallytrue of those six to 24 monthsold: Which makes them morevulnerable than others torickets.

Ordinary sunlight is bothabundant and a highlyeffective anti-rachitic. Itconsists of about four percent

ultraviolet radiation, whichyour skin uses to synthesizevitamin D-3. Ultraviolet-B, inparticular, emitted when thesun is directly overhead, is thebest source of energy forpowering cellular reactions.

Health specialists advisethough, that dark-skinnedchildren need longerexposure, to reap the samebenefits. The melanin in theircells absorbs much ultravioletradiation, leaving fewerphotons available tosynthesize vitamin D.

Says Wikipedia: “A sufficientamount of ultraviolet B… eachday and adequate supplies ofcalcium and phosphorus inthe diet can prevent rickets.Darker-skinned babies need tobe exposed longer... Thereplacement of vitamin D hasbeen proven to correct ricketsusing these methods...”.

Rickets, therefore, can, andshould, be eradicated. It is asocial rather than a biologicalaffliction—a condition whichindifferent parents, togetherwith public apathy, haveimposed on many of ourchildren.

It’s time to make amends.Schools, religious bodies,affected government agenciesand civil society groups, suchas the Parent TeachersAssociation, PTA, need toorganise a Rickets AwarenessCampaign.

Bow-legged adults don’thave to sue their parents. Butgovernment certainly musttake a lead and act. I havealways been an advocate ofschool meals. The wordquality in Free QualityEducation has meaning to me.The sooner it starts to havemeaning to those that matter,the better for our children. Inthe meantime, for God’s sake,let’s eradicate rickets.

Rickets is asocial ratherthan a biologicalaffliction—acondition whichindifferentparents, togetherwith publicapathy, haveimposed onmany of ourchildren

I recommend retreatto a transformedPresident who willwork in silence in thebeauty of his room;he will be able toscreen all hisappointees and showthe exit door to thosenot yet transformed

CMYK

20—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

CMYK

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 10/05/2012

112.76 +0.03

96.38 -0.63

175.15 +0.20

2,335.00 +9.00

20.42 +0.05

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 — 21

CMYK

Procter & Gamble CEO, Robert McDonald (left) handing over the U.S. Secretary of State Award for CorporateExcellence (ACE) he received on behalf of P&G Nigeria to Managing Director of P&G West Africa, Manoj Kumarduring his visit to Nigeria.

NIGERIA Airline operators havealleged that the purported

remodeling of the nation’s Airport bythe Federal Airports Authority of Ni-geria (FAAN) was rather destructive,even as they called on the Economicand Financial Crimes Commission

EFCC urged to investigate N44bn paid byairlines to FAAN

(EFCC) to investigate the amount be-ing spent on the remodeling process.

They also urged the graft agency toinvestigate the N44 billion paid bythe Nigerian Airlines operators toFAAN through Maevis NigeriaLimited which the Airport authorityclaimed it has not received.

Speaking on behalf of the body,

Assistant Secretary General, AirlineOperators of Nigeria, AlhajiMohammed Tukur, said “After acritical check on the airports, whatwe found is not what we areexpected, especially in some Airportlike Kano, Lagos and Abuja. If aMinister is really serious about thisparticular renovation, the regional

Managers and other people involved,especially the engineeringdepartment, at the three airportsauthorities should all be involved.From all indication, they are takingus back, because when you ask anyofficial, he tells you that they knownothing about what is happening andthat is the way they see it.

“Go to Murtala MuhammedInternational Airport, and I giveeverybody an assignment, go and seethe renovation that is going on there.Murtala Muhammed InternationalAirport has a map, that map has planA and B, there is nobody introducingplan A or B; what they did is that theyare just starting100 meter, withoutlooking into the map. When you lookat the renovation that is going on atthe Murtala Muhammed InternationalAirport, the Mutala MutalaMuhammed International Airport thatwe know, any passenger or anybodycan go there and see

“In the 60’s, during MurtalaMuhammed period, we did not findthings happening this way. When youcome everything was functional, nownothing is functioning.

“The terminal Managers, AirportManagers, International and CivilServants, I had the opportunity totalk to them and I think the Ministerneed to know because we hold herresponsible for what is happening thatshe is destroying that terminal. If itis temporary, that when renovation isfinished, they will come back and doit again, then it is waste of money,there is no need to remove the old tilesand replaced them with inferior type.

“So I want to use this opportunity totell the Federal Government thedamage they are doing to our airportinstead of doing the right thing,because I believe that particular workis not temporary, that is in one area.

“If you go to Kaduna airport thewhole terminal building has beendestroyed in the name of renovation,so if they have not completed the jobon time, an Airport without a terminal,what do you call that, Airfield? Byestimate you need about N30 billionin other to build a new terminal.

“If you want to renovate MurtalalaMuhammed International Airport,you can easily close the Arabians,then, renovate it first, put all thenecessary things. When you finish,then you open and go back to the otherC.”

The truth of the matter is that theycan remove two to three aircraft andask them to be checking-in throughany of the terminals in our countryhere, especially in GO2O, MM2.They are part of Nigeria property; partof the property of the Federal AirportAuthority, they can reconcilethemselves, put a deadline, six monthstwo months, and then make sure yourenovate and you transfer thepassenger, you can take yourpassenger, the handling company canmove the vehicle to the International.”

LACK of Air and Sea Transportsystem coupled with lack of

banking connectivity are obstacles todoing business between the twocountries, says Indian Highcommissioner to Nigeria, Mr. MaheshSachdev.

Weakness of an enabling framework,

Transport deficiencies hamper India-Nigeria tradefinancial constraints and insufficientleveraging of the Diaspora, the envoyfurther lamented are also majorhurdles.

He made the observations at theKaduna Trade fair in Kaduna State,organised by Kaduna Chamber ofCommerce, Industry, Mines andAgriculture (KADCCIMA) saying, “Iwant to state clearly that some of theproblems to businesses betweenNigeria and India includes; the lackof air, sea, banking connectivity,financial constraints and weakness ofenabling framework.”

He said Nigeria was India’s secondlargest trading partner with a volumeof trade of $16.4 billion in 2011,adding that it invested $5 billion inNigeria in 2010,

“There are around 35,000 Indiansresiding in Nigeria and has beenparticipating in different economicactivities, ranking second largestemployers of labour.”

In the same vein, wife of the VicePresident, Amina Namadi Samboseized the opportunity to call on localand foreign investors to take theadvantage of untapped opportunitiesin the non-oil sectors, such asagriculture, mining tourism andpower, soliciting support for womenand the teeming youth that are eco-

nomically disadvantaged.Sambo said that women accounted

for more than 51 per cent of thepopulation and about 70 per cent ofthem were involved in trade, smallscale industries and agriculture butlacked the financial backings and theskill to improve their status.

“These explain why about 65 percent of the 100 million Nigeriansliving below poverty line are women,”he said.

She appealed to KADCCIMA to setaside a special day for womenentrepreneurs and traders to givethem a voice and window to showcasetheir goods and services.

In his address, Former Head ofInterim National Government, ChiefErnest Shonekan added that for thecountry to improve its economicstatus, there must be improvementsin transportation and resolution of thecrises in the labour market and energysector.

“Apart from crude oil, Nigeria isblessed with vast mineral andagricultural resources,’’he noted.

He said proper exploitation andutilisation of the resources wouldmake them to compete with crude oilin contributions to the nationalrevenue.

STORIES BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

CFA 0.2883 0.2983 0.3083KRONER 26.991 27.0782 27.1654EURO 200.8036 201.4524 202.1012POUNDS 249.3332 250.1388 250.9444RIYAL 41.2623 41.3956 41.5289SDR 238.2841 239.054 239.8239FRANC 167.0986 167.6385 168.1784DOLLAR 154.75 155.25 155.75WAUA 237.8338 238.6023 239.3707YEN 1.9458 1.9521 1.9584RENMINBI 24.5221 24.6018 24.6815

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

BY MICHAEL EBOH

GTBank emerges most capitalised bank on NSE

GUARANTY TrustBank, GTB, Plc, has

emerged the most capi-talized bank on the Nige-rian Stock Exchange,NSE, for the month ofMarch 2012.

According to the NSEreport for the month ofMarch 2012, GTBank,with a market capitalisa-tion of N397.03 billion,

dominated in the bank-ing sector, while ZenithBank Plc and First Bankof Nigeria Plc came sec-ond and third respective-ly.

Zenith Bank recorded amarket capitalization ofN389.32 billion whileFirst Bank recorded amarket capitalization ofN327.3 billion.

Despite coming tops,GTBank’s share price

dipped by 4.05 per centfrom the previousmonth’s figures while itrecorded a year-to-datedecline of 5.33 per cent.

The share price ofZenith Bank Plc dippedby 6.98 per cent from theprevious month’s figure,while it recorded year-to-date gain of 1.81 percent.

First Bank, on the otherhand, recorded month-to-

month decline of 7.04 percent and year-to-dategain of 12.7 per cent.

With this development,GTBank emerged thethird most capitalizedcompany on the NSE,trailing Dangote CementPlc and NigerianBreweries Plc.

Dangote Cementrecorded the highest mar-ket capitalization ofN1.763 trillion while Ni-

pay dividend if it has neg-ative reserve. We havemanaged to get out of thenegative reserve margin-ally ahead of 2012. Youwill recall that some in-vestors refused to buyinto our Rights Issuebecause of the projectionswe made in theprospectus that dividendwill not be paid until2012. What I will promiseis that going forward;shareholders will berewarded for theirfaithfulness to thecompany through thetrying period.”

He further stated thaton the profit realisedduring the year wouldbe ploughed back intothe business to sustainthe renewed momentumand higher profitability.

He explained that thesituation where thecompany’s profit before

tax rose by 160 per centfrom N1.953 billion inthe corresponding yearto N5.083 billion in theyear under review was asign of its keeping to thecompany ’s corporateglobal vision andcredible platformcreated by customers forits sustained growth

He stated that thegroup recorded aturnover of N34.111billion in the financialyear ending December2011, a growth of 17 percent from N29,170,534billion recorded in thecorresponding year2010, while operatingprofit grew by 165 percent to N4.608 billion.With this, the companyrecorded a profit aftertax of N3.7 billion asagainst N1.168 billionin 2010, thisrepresenting a 217 per

gerian Breweries followedwith a capitalization ofN737.35 billion.

Other banks in the top-ten most capitalizedcategory are EcobankT r a n s n a t i o n a lIncorporated – N138.34billion and Access BankPlc - N135.04 billion.

Market capitalisation isused to determine the sizeof a company. It is the totalmarket value of acompany’s outstandingshares.

Market capitalization iscalculated by multiplyinga company’s sharesoutstanding by the currentmarket price of eachshare.

According to the NSEreport, the total marketcapitalization of the 259listed securitiesappreciated by 3.26 percent or N377.83 billion inMarch 2012 to N11.95trillion from N11.54 trillionrecorded in February 2012.

The 199 listed equitiesaccounted for N6.55trillion, up by 3.34 per centfrom the N6.35 trillion re-corded in February 2012.

The increase in the Mar-ket capitalization duringthe month under review,according to the NSE, re-sulted from the listing of

CHAIRMAN of Cadbury Nigeria plc,

Mr. Atedo Peterside, hasassured that barring anyunforeseen circumstance,shareholders of the com-pany would be rewardedwith dividend payout inthe current financial yearas the management hassuccessfully navigatedthe company out of thenegative zone.

Addressing sharehold-ers at the 47th AnnualGeneral Meeting(AGM), in Lagos, Peter-side stated that the man-agement was able to pullout of the N3.5 billionnegative reserves in 2010to about N2.20 millionpositive reserves in theyear under review.

Explaining the inabilityof the company to paydividend in the year, hesaid, “In Nigeria, it isillegal for a company to

Cadbury promises better returns, to paydividend in 2012

one Federal Governmentof Nigeria, FGN, bond,two State/local govern-ment bonds, two corporatebonds, one Preferencestock, some supplementa-ry admission and appre-ciation in prices.

On the other hand, theincrease in equity marketcapitalization in March2012 was attributed toappreciation in prices ofshares.

The Financial Servicessector emerged the mostcapitalized sector, withN2.043 trillion; ConsumerGoods sector followedwith a marketcapitalization of N1.973trillion; Industrial Goodssector recorded N1.958trillion; Oil and Gas sector– N188.589 billion, whilethe Construction/RealEstate sector recordedmarket capitalization ofN124.982 billion.

Others are theInformation andC o m m u n i c a t i o nTechnology, ICT –N65.10 billion; Servicessector – N56.436 billion,Healthcare sector – 32.14billion, Agriculture –26.895 billion andNatural Resources –N8.068 billion.

cent growth.He added that the com-

pany’s gross profit wentup by 21 per cent tostand at N11.159 billionas against N9.249 bil-lion recorded in 2011.

“In 2011, the companyposted growth inrevenue, profit andmarket share despiteoperating in a challeng-ing environment mademore difficult by disrup-tions in several parts ofthe country. The re-launches of our corebrands, notably, Bourn-vita and TomTom re-es-tablished our brand port-folio as firm consumer fa-vourites nationally. Theseresults and a sustainedimprovement across sev-eral indices confirm ourrebirth among the elitecompanies of the Nigeri-an Food & Beverage in-dustry,” he added.

From left: Mr Bona Okhaimo, Regional Manager (South), First City Monument Bank, FCMB; SirInnocent Iyalla Harry, MD/CEO Rivers State Micro Finance Agency and Mr Sody Peterside, AssistantVice President, Bayelsa/Rivers FCMB, during the presentation of a Hilux Pick-up van by FCMB to theRivers State Micro Finance Agency [RIMA] in Port Harcout. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.

THE Sokoto StateGovernor, Alhaji

Aliyu M. Wamakko, hascommended Fidelity BankPlc for its commitment tothe less-privilegedthrough robust CorporateSocial Responsibility(CSR) programmes

Governor Wamakkowas speaking at theweekend at thecommissioning of twoclassroom blocks at theAbdul Rashid Raji SpecialSchool Sokoto which wererenovated by the staff ofthe Sokoto Area of theFidelity Bank.

The School has apopulation of about 2500pupils comprising thedeaf, dumb, physically-challenged, as well asable-bodied students. Theschool is said to be the onlyone in the country with anadmixture curriculum thatintegrates the physically-challenged and able-bodied students in asymbiotic learningenvironment.

Wamakko expressedhappiness that people andorganizations in theprivate sector had begun

Sokoto governor commendsFidelity Bank on CSR

to recognize that theburden of the provision ofeducation should not beleft to the governmentalone. He particularlypraised the staff andmanagement for beinggood members of thecommunity.

In the address of theManaging Director, MrReginald Ihejiahi, whichwas read by the ExecutiveDirector, NorthDirectorate of the Bank,Mr BalarabeMohammed, heexpressed happiness thatthe bank is touching thelives of people through theFidelity Helping HandsProgramme. “Our joy isnot only that we have onceagain made a differencein the lives of the peopleof this community, butalso that to a large extentthe vision of the HelpingHands Programme isbeing realized in the sensethat the moment our staffbegan to work on the twoclassroom blocks, twoother organizations tookinterest and began to workon the other needs of theschool”.

CMYK

CMYK

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—23

Stories by BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

THE Bankers Committeehas voted N500 million for

the development of skills andcompetencies in the bankingindustry for implementation ofInternational FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS).The Bankers Committeecomprise of banks’ chiefexecutives and managementof the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) .Director, Banking SupervisionDepartment, Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN), Mrs TokunboMartins disclosed this at apress briefing at the end of theCommittee’s 307th meeting inLagos on Tuesday. She spokein the company of Director/Chief Executive, Access BankPlc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Director/ChiefExecutive of UBA Plc, Mr.Phillip Oduaza, ManagingDirector/Chief Executive,Standard Chartered BankLimited, Mrs. Bola Adesola,and Director, CorporateCommunications, CBN, Mr.Ugo Okoroafor.IFRS is a set of accountingstandards developed by anindependent, not-for-profitorganization called theInternational AccountingStandards Board (IASB). Thegoal of IFRS is to provide aglobal framework for howpublic companies prepare anddisclose their financialstatements. Banks in Nigeriaare required to adoptIFRS by end of this year. Threebanks namely GTBank, AccessBank and FirstBank haveadopted the new standard.Martins said that theCommittee has decided toensure that the transition toIFRS is done correctly andhave engaged a consultant forthis purpose. She said, “Wehave some processes in placetowardshaving a more

Bankers Committee to developIFRS competences with N500mtransparent and accountablebanking sector. To that end, weinvited a consultant Ernst andYoung, tocome and brief thebankers committee meeting onhow they intendto midwife thetransition to , because bytheend of this year, all bankswill be rendering theirfinancial statement to

regulatory bodies, our self andSECusing IFRS. So they madepresentation and the outcomeof that is that we all going towork together to make surethat bank is done correctly.And the banks and CBN havesome of money to IFRSacademy and the objective ofthat is to make sure that there

From left: Executive Director, Finance and Operations, Asset Management Corporation ofNigeria, AMCON, Mrs. Mofoluke Dosumu; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, and Managing Director,AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, during AMCON roadshow meeting, in Lagos.

arethe competencesandskillsin the industries to getthis project moving forward.The IFRS Academy itself hasa large budget but what I cantell you is what we havecontributed, the banks and theCentral Bank, we contributedN500 million.

UNION Bank of Nigeria Plchas dragged aggrieved

former staff who retired from

Union Bank drags aggrievedretirees to court over gratuity

By BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

the bank between 2006 and2008 before a NationalIndustrial Court in Lagos,seeking an interim injunctionto stop them from carrying outany activity capable ofparalyzing its bankingactivities.In a charge marked as Suit No.NIC/LA/140/2012, filed by itslawyer, Yomi Adeniran, theClaimant (Union Bank ofNigeria Plc) stated that formermembers of its staff were paidall their entitlements and otherbenefits, including theirgratuities at the time they leftthe service of the Claimant.The bank noted that at themoment, the Respondentshave given notice to theClaimant that all theClaimant’s branchesnationwide would be picketedif their demands were not metby the Claimant, saying “thethreat by the Respondentswould definitely paralyze allthe commercial activities of theClaimant nationwide and leadto a colossal loss on the partof the Claimant.”Respondents in the suit wereMr. Victor Adefisan, Mr.Samson Nnabuchi, Mr. J. N.Onuoha (sued on their behalfand as representatives of allmembers of the aggrieved

retired Union Bank of NigeriaPlc staff 2006-2008),Registered Trustees of theAssociation of Senior Staff ofBanks, Insurance andFinancial Institutions,including Trade UnionCongress of Nigeria (TUC).Adeniran informed the Courtthat the third Respondent(Onuoha) is yet to be serveddue to double addresses usedby the third Respondent. Hesubsequently urged the Courtto grant leave to the Claimantapplicant to be served bysubstituted means, throughcourier, and such service to bedeemed as proper service.The Claimant stated that on 29March, 2012 a letter signed bythe 1st to 3rd Respondents wasreceived, demanding that analleged outstanding gratuityshould be paid to some formermembers of staff of theClaimant referred to as“Aggrieved Retired UnionBank of Nigeria Plc Staff 2006-2008”.According to the Claimant, theRespondents stated in theirletter that they would resort to“do or die picketing” in theentire Claimant’s branchesnationwide thereby disruptingthe banking operations of theClaimant, if their demand isnot met within 21 days.

Unity Bankwins CBN,KADCCIMAawards

THE Kaduna Chamber ofCommerce, Industry,

Mines and Agriculture(KADCCIMA) has rated UnityBank as the most functionalbank among participatingbanks at the just concluded33ndKaduna Internationaltrade fair. Several other banks wereamong about 60 otherorganizations that participatedin the ten-day businessexhibition. Unity Bank also wonrecognition as bankers to theFair, the role the bank hasplayed in the last five years atthe fair regarded as one of thelargest business gathering inWest Africa. At its special day of the bankat the fair, the ManagingDirector, Ado Y. Wanka whowas represented by ExecutiveDirector, North West spokeabout the ongoing promo tothe banks’ current customersand prospective ones on thechance of being rewarded withcars, LCD TVs fridges andN1million scholarship for theirchildren if you open or growany Unity Bank SavingsAccount to a minimum balancefor 45 days. In another development, UnityBank also won an OperationalEfficiency Award in the 2011Banker’s dinner get togetherheld on March 3, 2012,organised by CBN at the CivilService Auditorium Uyo, AkwaIbom State. The event was wellattended by CBN and DepositMoney Bank officials. Theevent was organised toencourage banks to improveon their accuracy and efficacyin the performance of bankingoperations.

THE Institute of CharteredAccountants of Nigeria

(ICAN) has reaffirmed itscommitment to the war againstcorruption in the country bycertifying 125 charteredaccountants as forensicaccountants.“This effort of the Institute isnot only timely but also areaffirmation of its commitmentto the war against corruption,fraudulent and other socialvices that have impeded thenations match todevelopment”, said ProfessorFrancis Ojaide, President ofthe Institute.Ojaid said this during the 3rd

induction ceremony forgraduates of the Institute’sForensic AccountingCertification Programme inLagos.

Anti-corruption war: ICAN certifies 125members as forensic accountants

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH He stated, “Given thelingering crisis in the financialservices sector and thegovernment challenges at alllevels, the need for forensicaccounting knowledge andexperts by regulators, lawenforcement agencies andchartered accountants actingas external auditors, chieffinance officers and heads ofinternal control departments ofcorporate entities cannot beover-emphasized.“As a scientific process forgathering, analyzing anddocumenting financialinformation that can stand thetest of time in the courts,forensic accounting is at theheart of the crusade againstfraud and sharp practices.Forensic accounting is thechief mechanism for the globalwar against corruption, moneylaundering and terrorismfinancing.”

“I therefore warmlycongratulate the one hundredand twenty-five candidateswho are being inducted todayfor warmly embracing this newknowledge area beingespoused by the institute.Given the acknowledgedcredibility of the institute’scertification process, I dare saythat these candidates willdefinitely impact the processof value creation of theiremployers and clients. I saluteand confidently hold them asworthy Ambassadors ofForensic Accounting andInvestigations in Nigeria. Icharge you all as a newgeneration of forensicaccounting professionals, tocontinue to consistently act notonly in the public interest butalso to discharge your dutiesto the best possible universalstandards with great ethicaldisposition.

24—24—24—24—24—VVVVVanguard,anguard,anguard,anguard,anguard, FRID FRID FRID FRID FRIDAAAAAYYYYY, MA, MA, MA, MA, MAY 11, 2012Y 11, 2012Y 11, 2012Y 11, 2012Y 11, 2012

BY DANIEL GUMM

CASHEW — From left: Capt. Idris Wada, Kogi State Governor; Tola Faseru, National President, Na-tional Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) and Sontoye Anga, National Public Relations Officer,NCAN, presenting a gift of value-added cashew nuts to the governor, recently.

THE Export-Import Bank of the United

States (Ex-Im Bank) hasannounced a three-yearrenewal of the Bank'sShort-Term AfricaInitiative (STAI) thatprovides export-creditinsurance for U.S.exporters selling to 18

Eximbank renews $100m insurance initiative

West Africa inter-regional trade stands at 10% — UNIDOTHE United Nations

IndustrialD e v e l o p m e n tOrganisation (UNIDO)has lamented thatamong over 70 per centof trade by the EuropeanUnion countries isamong themselves, theinter-regional tradebetween the WestAfrican sub-regionstands at abysmally 10per cent.

The CountryRepresentative ofUNIDO in Nigeria,Patrick Kormawa madethe remarks in Abuja atthe meeting of theRegional SteeringCommittee of the WestAfrica QualityProgramme (WAQP)-transition phase.

The WAQP is a capacitybuilding programmeexecuted by UNIDO onbehalf of the ECOWASCommission and theUEMOA Commissionfunded by the EU toprovide support tocompetitiveness andharmonisation ofTechnical Barriers toTrade and Sanitary inWest Africa.

The specific objectives ofthe programme is to createan environment thatfacilitates compliance

with international traderules and technicalregulations through theestablishment andstrengthening of nationaland regional qualityinfrastructure thatprovide effectives t a n d a r d i s a t i o n ,conformity assessmentand accreditation thatmeets internationalstandards.

The UNIDO CountryRepresentative inNigeria said that inter-regional trade withinNorth America stands at30 per cent, Asia 40 to 50per cent while LatinAmerica stands at 30 percent.

He said: "This meansthat we need more workto ensure that wepromote trade within oursub-region and qualitystandard metrologycertification and the restof the issue that thisprograme deals with arethe prerequisite topromote such trade.

"Trade is a veryimportant aspect in theeconomic developmentand we cannot trade inthis sub-region if we arenot able to bring ourproducts to quality andstandard that are requiredon the internationalmarket and even alsohere in the regional

market."Speaking, the

Representative of theEuropean Union, Mr.Manuel Iglesias said thatregional integration is nothappening in reality inWest Africa, adding thatthe programme will helpin the integration processand improve trade withinthe sub-region as well thenational economies.

countries in sub-Saharan Africa, up to aprogramme limit of $100million. The initiative isrenewed through March31, 2015.

The bank alsoanticipates expandingthe availability of itsexport financing in three

sub-Saharan Africancountries: Cameroon,Ethiopia and Tanzania.Ex-Im Bank's board ofdirectors is expected toauthorise cover-policyexpansions for eachrespective country inMay.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—25

(Presentation to the House ofRepresentatives Committee onCapital Market)

Introduction

THE 2008 global financialcrisis spared no nation. Itimpacted every country

with ferocious intensity, spiral-ing into lukewarm confidenceand untold economic misery forpeople across the globe. Yet, foreach country, depending on thepotency of its unique counterprescription, the aftermath dif-fered vastly. Some countries,either out of misguided intentor for lack of will to look beyondthe frails of sentiments, calledupon themselves the full wrathof the crisis. Other countrieswaged war against it, reachingfor every imaginable policy toolto confront the crisis. As ex-pected, the latter countriesaverted the full fury of this glo-bal calamity.

The U.S Response

As the U.S. considered the sur-vival of its capital market cru-cial, it tailored its counter poli-cies to methodically extinguish,at every intersection, the threatsposed to this sub-structure. Withthe capitulation of LehmanBrothers and its damning ef-fects on other U.S. financial in-stitutions as well as on the realsector, the U.S. Federal ReserveBank rallied to the experienceof its immediate history.For a competent regulator,Lehman’s demise proved ascary glimpse of the catastrophethat lay ahead in the face of in-action or flawed prescription.Therefore, reacting like a savvyregulator that it is, the U.S. Fed-eral Reserve Bank, in collabo-ration with the White Houseand the Congress as well as alltheir respective organs andcommittees, swung into action,invoking unbiased, evidencebased, research driven eco-nomic therapies, including thebailout option, interest rate cutand various tax relief measures.While on one hand, this collabo-ration facilitated the rescue ofsuch mammoth financial insti-tutions and other strategic com-panies as Citibank and Ameri-can International Group (AIG)through bailout funds, on theother hand, it downsized quar-terly rates to historical lows, butnot to the neglect of such othersectors as automotive industry,which also received bailoutfunds. In consonance, these ef-forts and collective measuresspared the U.S. economy of pre-dicted disaster, as inflation hikewas tamed and job gains accel-erated by 3%.

Specifically, to restore liquidityto the financial markets and re-suscitate confidence, team USA,including President Obama andthe U.S Federal Reserve andother governmental agenciestook the following actions:Launched the Toxic Asset Pur-chase Programme (TARP),which was estimated at US$700billion for lending to banks inexchange for dividend payingpreferred stock; Approved aneconomic stimulus packageworth US $168 billion in the formof tax rebate checks.Following the outcome of stresstest conducted by the FederalReserve Bank, 10 of America’s

A capital market in coma

19 largest banks did not mea-sure up and as such requiredUS$75 billion within a periodnot exceeding 6 months. TheUS Federal Reserve, unlike theCBN took the followingreflationary economic steps asfollows: Mandated the strug-gling banks to orchestrate a res-cue plan within 1 month andalso within 6 months, execute

the plans; Authorized ailingbanks that required funds toraise new common equity eitherfrom existing shareholders ornew investors, convert pre-ferred shares held by privateinvestors or the governmentinto common equity or sell ad-ditional assets; Approved, uponapplication, bail-out funds tobanks that required furtherfunds after exhausting othercapital raising avenues listedabove. It is mindful to note thatmuch more important than thesecollective tactics, was a rathercalm, confidence building atmo-sphere ushered in by FederalReserve Bank. With terse, re-

served and well intended pro-nouncements, Federal ReserveBank deferred any decision toremove CEOs/MDs of wantingbanks, to the affected banks’shareholders whose fate areclosely tied to the banks’ for-tune, drawing on the simpleanalogy that those who stand tolose the most will go the extramile to protect their stake.

Nigeria’s Response in compari-son to U.S. Response

As was experienced in the U.S,some banks in Nigeria did notlive up to the stress test thresh-old of the CBN. However, un-like in Nigeria, where the regu-lator pronounced the outcomesof the stress test 45 days aheadits completion date, the stresstesting in the U.S was an objec-tive scoring of the banks’ healthwith the overall motive of alle-viating the burden of banks, re-injecting funds (if need be) intothe banks and as such re-ignit-ing banking lending again inorder to spur the economy. Inaddition to pre-maturely insti-gating the outcomes of the stresstest, the Nigerian Central BankGovernor faulted the memorycapacity of the initial examinersbecause the outcome of their testdid not qualify the banks fortake-over.

THE well thought out, coordinated responses of the

U.S. Federal Reserve, which arereflective, albeit in different dos-age, of confidence buildingpolicy measures enabled suchcountries as Canada, Brazil,Chile, South Africa, and theEuro-zone to weather the storm.Unfortunately, Nigeria did notmake this list. So, one wonderswhat the stress test so executedin Nigeria has achieved. Hadthe test been aimed at boostingconfidence as was intendedelsewhere in the globe, howcome the outcome of our owntherapy has been different?Rather than resuscitate confi-dence, our regulator’s strategyviciously attacked capitalismand destroyed value and confi-dence beyond redemption.From an initial value of N13 tril-lion in 2008, the Nigerian capi-tal market fell to N6.3 trillionin the aftermath of the crisis,after which it rallied to N9.0 tril-lion on June 26, 2009. Sincethen, despite additional listingsof N 2.3 trillion by DangoteGroup, amongst other sizeablelistings, the market is stagnatedat N 6.5 trillion. As such, it ap-pears that the market may havelost at least N 5 trillion.The reasons are not far-fetched.Our regulator’s actions were tothe contrary, and so were thebroad outcomes. Rather thanwage war against the loomingcrisis, it may have ignorantlypaired with the storm, to tumblethe economy. Without doubts,as the stress tests revealed,some of the Nigerian banks hadliquidity challenges amongstother problems, which resultedfrom a culmination of factors,including but not limited to thesudden global collapse inprices, including crude oilprice, the mass exit of foreigninvestors who due to the glo-bal crisis, pulled out of Nigeria

in order to cover their short-fallsin their home countries and thesimultaneous crystallization ofcross country liabilities acrossthe globe.But given the disproportionatelylarge size of the Nigerian bank-ing industry, which stood at 60%of the market then, and the vastramification of its demise on thebroader Nigerian economy, thebanking industry, ought to havebeen treated with utmost care.But the Nigerian CBN insistedon taking a rather expensiveroute.

FOR 50 years, no CBN Governor had issued far-reach-

ing penalties on banks on thebasis of a purported draft stresstest report that was never dis-cussed with the audited banks.Can this honorable house verifythe reason(s) the CBN sidestepped such crucial due pro-cess? The CBN not only aban-doned its most urgent mandateto restore confidence in such try-ing times, it also sent shivers tothe Nigerian capital market,striking at the heart of marketconfidence as shareholdersgrappled with the possibility ofa sudden loss of their stake. Forthose resilient shareholders anddaring investors who neverthe-less held their stakes, their con-fidence was destabilized, andpossibly eroded following fre-quent misguided pronounce-ments of the CBN Governor,who largely portrayed our finan-cial system as hopeless. Suchreckless utterances hit a cre-scendo when CBN Governorreferred to our stock exchangemarket as a casino and opinedthat those who placed moneythere, and initially saw theirstock price rise, have lost theirmoney. And as a testament toeroded confidence, despite theover N4 trillion so far disbursedto both recapitalize the rescuedbanks and also purchase badloans of other banks, we are allwitness to the painful aftermath:a battered economy and bank-ing sector beleaguered in uncer-tainty, as the country bleedsaway all the gains of good poli-cies of the past.

Proposed Solutions

As a citizen of Nigeria, I owe itto my country to suggest mea-sures that will ease us out of thecurrent lock-jam in our capitalmarket.First and foremost, the nation-alized banks must be returnedto their original owners, whoare the prime losers in thiswhole collapse and whosestakes are closely tied to the for-tune of the banks. Such selec-tive victimization on one handand breach in due process onthe other, casts doubt on ourability to regain the confidenceof investors. Until the anxietyof investors that another waveof take-over will occur again isextinguished, these investorswill not take further risks.

BY FRANCIS ATUCHE,former Managing Director,

BankPHB

Francis Atuche

First and foremost, thenationalized banks must

be returned to theiroriginal owners, who arethe prime losers in this

whole collapse and whosestakes are closely tied tothe fortune of the banks

CMYK

26—26—26—26—26—VVVVVanguard,anguard,anguard,anguard,anguard, FRID FRID FRID FRID FRIDAAAAAYYYYY, MA, MA, MA, MA, MAY 11, 2012Y 11, 2012Y 11, 2012Y 11, 2012Y 11, 2012

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 —27

The big and theThe big and theThe big and theThe big and theThe big and themighty on Bigmighty on Bigmighty on Bigmighty on Bigmighty on BigBrBrBrBrBrother Sother Sother Sother Sother StttttarGamearGamearGamearGamearGame

BIG Brother StarGame kicked off onSunday night with a big bang!“Fromcelebrities to uber hot Downvillehousemates and a performance by American

Star J Cole, it was definitely a star-bright beginningfor the new season of Big Brother Africa.

Seven celebrity housemates entered Upville and areconsidered the VIPs of the set-up. They're living thelife that the Downville housemates need to aspire to.

This year, the contestants are divided into twogroups, namely the VIPs and the wannabes. The VIPshave been put into the snazzy Upville house whilethe wannabes are in the not- so- snazzy DownvilleHouse.

This year’s Housemates are from Angola, Botswana,Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria,Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambiaand Zimbabwe.

While they sink themselves into the walls of theirnew homes, here's a Who's Who to tuck into:

Oluchi joinsAsa, Nneka onTwitter’sverification list

INSIDE

BENJAMIN NJOKU

BARBZAge: 34Country:South AfricaBabalwa entered Big

Brother StarGame becauseshe loves competing inchallenges, both physicaland intellectual. The model,events manager and hairsalon boss from KingWilliam’s Town in theEastern Cape says the factthat she will be pushed tothe limit in the house excitesher and that she loveswinning – “losing ain’t forme!” she says.

Barbz is single and saysthat she won’t sell her morals

UPVILLEUPVILLEUPVILLEUPVILLEUPVILLEshort for money – viewersshouldn’t expect any hankypanky from her in the house,but she’s game for anythingelse! She loves samp & beanswith oxtail and her favouritebooks are “Nice Girls Don’tGet Rich” and “The Secret”.She enjoys most reality TV –she’s a huge Big Brother fan– and also likes watchingnews channels like CNN andAl Jazeerah.

DKBAge: 26Country: GhanaComedian, TV presenter,

event organizer and talent

manager DKB hails fromAccra. He entered Big BrotherStarGame because it’s aplatform for people fromdifferent cultures andsocialization to meet andbring the best out ofthemselves. He describeshimself as sociable, kind,trustworthy, entertaining andadaptable and promisesviewers “non-stopentertainment”.

DKB’s role model is TylerPerry because of the way he’sused his talent to empowerblack people. He says hisUncle has had the biggestinfluence on him “because he

has taught me how to be aresponsible man”.

GOLDIEAge: 28Country:NigeriaGoldie is a musician and

singer from Lagos, Nigeriawho is hoping to use herinnate generosity, humility,culinary abilities, style andkind heart to win Big BrotherStarGame. Promising thatviewers can expect “never adull moment”, she hopes touse the game as a learningexperience and a personalchallenge.

When she’s not performing,

Goldie loves reading books,watching ManchesterUnited, playing consolegames and Scrabble – as wellas sewing, knitting, drawingand designing. She likesMills & Boon novels andsupernatural romance booksand likes watching E!Entertainment, Sky News andthe Crime & Investigationchannel. Asked about herfavourite musicians, she says“myself, thank you verymuch!” before includingMadonna, Whitney Houston,Michael Jackson, Adele,2Face, D’Banj and PSquare.

Continues on page 31

OlaChris

Samsung releases new Galaxt Tab2 series

Continues on page 31

I sing forwomen—J ROC

CMYK

28— Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Hurricane Fasholavisits Apapa...Demolishes illegal structures, displaces illegalimmigrants, criminals under bridges

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

The Joint Task Force,comprising statesecurity agencies and

the military, led by the LagosState Commissioner of Police,Umar Manko, last Mondayswooped on Apapa and itsenvirons, removing over 60trucks and other articulatedvehicles, parkedindiscriminately around thearea, following the expirationof a 72-hour ultimatum issuedby the state government toremove them.

Lagos State Governor,Babatunde Fashola, hadsometime last week, afterleading a delegation on athree-day inspection tour ofthe area, directed the Ministryof Transportation to issue afour-day ultimatum to ownersof trucks and other vehiclesparked along the expresswayto vacate or have theirvehicles impounded.

In a manner similar to theOshodi operation, the exercisebegan around 12.00 midnightwith the Commissioner leadingtask force officials, militaryofficers and officials of theLagos State TrafficManagement Authority,

LASTMA and the Kick AgainstIndiscipline, KAI, officers andother security agencies todislodge the truckers.

For over five years, tankerand trailer drivers had takenover the expressway andconverted same to a parkinglot, leaving a single lane tomotorists to ply resulting, inmost cases, to severe trafficgridlock in the area.

Before now, motorists plyingthe route end up spendingseveral hours between BergerYard, Marine Bridge andWharf for a journey thatshould last for about 15minutes. Before now, everyone,apart from motorists, preferredto steer clear of the Apapa areaowing to the chaotic trafficsituation but today the storyhas changed for the better.

The state government hadearlier lamented theenvironmental nuisancescaused on Apapa-OshodiExpressway, such as repairingof vehicles on the roads,excreting in the drainage andon the roads, blocking of thedrainage system with purewater sachets and selling ofservicing oil right in thedrainage system, amongstothers.

Evacuation exerciseThe evacuation exercise,

which lasted for over 13 hours,commenced at 12 midnightfrom Tincan to Creek road,Liverpool and Marine Beachand environs. As a result ofthe cleaning enforcement, theusual traffic gridlock oftenexperienced disappeared withmotorists driving unhinderedto their destinations. AtMarine Beach Bridge, over 10trucks were impounded. Alsoduring the exercise, differentkinds of guns, axes, cutlassesand other dangerous weaponsunder the Ijora-Marine Bridgewere recovered by the JointTask Force.

Several foreign nationals,believed to be illegalimmigrants from neighbouringcountries, such as Chad,Niger were also displacedfrom the shanties.

However, following thediscovery of structural defecton the portion of the bridge,the state government hascalled on the FederalGovernment to direct relevantauthorities to carry-out animmediate structural integritytest on the Ijora-MarineBridge in order to preventimminent collapse as well aslikely loss of lives and

handed over to the relevantauthorities for furtherinvestigation and action.

He explained that theongoing clearing exercisewas part of measures by thestate government to ensuresecurity of life and property inthe area, which used to be aden for criminals and otherundesirable elements.

Bello, who said that theongoing clearing exercisewould last for about threeweeks, assured residents thatthe state government wouldensure sustenance on thereclamation of the area likethat of Oshodi.

He decried the state ofinsecurity posed byindiscriminate parking ofarticulated vehicles anderection of illegal structuresand shanties before they wererespectively unlocked anddemolished.

Bello, who listed the armsand weapon recovered toinclude different types ofguns, daggers, axes andcutlasses, among others,which, he said, were used toterrorise innocent residents,expressed displeasure at thehigh level of environmentaldegradation and nuisancethose living under the bridge

illegally had caused in thearea.

“The occupants are mostlyillegal immigrants who arefrom Nigeria’s neighbouringcountries such as Chad andNiger, among others.

He added that a goodnumber of businesses “haveclosed down in this axis purelybecause of the situation ofApapa. With this, no investorswill be interested to come tothe country.

“This has become a hideoutfor miscreants and criminals.During demolition of shantiesand illegal structures,dangerous weapon and armswere recovered. I do not havedetails of the recovered armsand weapons yet”.

Bello said the stateprogramme of action for ApapaCentral Business Districtwould bring aboutregeneration andtransformation of the area,including landscaping andbeautification projects.

Meanwhile, during theinspection of the area, thedelegation which included thestate Commissioner forTransportation, Mr. KayodeOpeifa, discovered a badlydistressed portion under thebridge, believed to have beendegraded by the displacedillegal occupants.

He assured that trafficgridlocks and unauthorisedparking by drivers of tankers,trailers and trucks wouldbecome history, saying thestate “is working with theFederal Government to ensureunhindered traffic flow inApapa and its environs”.

The delegation alsodiscovered huge illegaldumpsites along the rail-lineof the Nigeria RailwayCorporation by theHeadquarters of Western NavalCommand, Dockyard Street.

According to the Chairman ofthe Task Force, SuperintendentBayo Sulaimon: “This actionwas based on the ultimatumgiven by Governor Fasholathat all vehicles parkedindiscriminately, shantiesconstructed under the bridgeshould be removed. So afterthe expiration of the date, wemoved in to restore sanity tothe area.

“This effort is to make thisplace look the way it was 20years ago. Apart from theenvironmental benefit, therewill be safety of life andproperty within this area”.

Sulaimon added: “There wasarrest at the early hours of theday when some occupiers ofthe shanties attacked our menduring the evacuation of thevehicles and the demolition ofillegal structures. We had nooption than to arrest the menas they intend to halt theexercise.

“We made a lot of vehiculararrest and they have all beenparked at LASTMA Yard,Oshodi.

“We met them right on theroad flouting the law of thestate. We know where we aregoing and we are gettingthere”.

property.The state

Commissionerfor theEnvironment,Mr. TunjiBello, saidthe weaponsw e r erecoveredby the JointTask Forcecomprisingof federalsecurity ands t a t ea g e n c i e swithout anyarrest.

B e l l omade ther e m a r k sduring theinspectiontour andunveiling oft h e“RegenerationProgrammeof ApapaArea”.

Accordingto him, therecoveredw e a p o n swould be

*Operation remove shanties and illegally parked vehicles in progress in Apapa. INSET: Some weaponsrecovered during the operation.

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—29

Pure Flour Mills enters market with Power Pasta STORIES BY

PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

ANOTHER pastabrand, Power pasta

from the stable of PureFlour Mills Limited, asubsidiary of DUFILPrima Foods Plc hasbeen introduced into themarket.Power Pasta is a spa-ghetti product approvedby the National FoodDrugs Administrationand Control (NAFDAC),and duly certified by theStandards Organisationof Nigeria (SON). Pre-

senting the new PowerPasta Spaghetti brand tothe press at a medialaunch organised by thecompany, Mr. KaranChecker, General Man-ger of the Pasta Divisionof Pure Flour Mills Lim-ited, said that with thebrands entrant into themarket.He went ahead to saythat Power Pasta is set tochallenge for consumersmind and market sharein the competitive Pastamarket.Checker declared thatPower Pasta Spaghetti is

set to change the gamein the Pasta segment ofthe Nigerian food sectorby changing the percep-tion about Pasta being asupplement or alterna-tive meal, and launchingit into culinary menulists as a staple and regu-lar meal in Nigeria.Mr. Deepak Singhal,Managing Director /Chief Executive OfficerDufil Prima Foods Plc inhis speech described thelaunch of the Power PastaSpaghetti by Pure FlourMills as anotherremarkable milestone in

Unity Bank activatespromo in Bauchi

the history of the com-pany which is regardedas a leader in theNigerian food sector.Singhal explained thatthe company has in-vested several millions ofNaira into the productionof the new product byinstalling a plant that isequipped with an ultra-modern and fully auto-mated production pro-cess to ensure best qual-ity product for its es-teemed consumers.Distinguishing PowerPasta Spaghetti fromother brands, Singhal

UNITY Bank Plc hasactivated a roadshow

in Bauchi state to begin apromo tagged; ‘Aim, Saveand Win’ promo via aroadshow and marketstorms.Earlier, Alhaji UsmanAbaji,Unity Bank’s North

East Zonal Director at theenlightenment campaignin Bauchi about the promo,assured the public that thepromo has been designedto be very transparent andthat the whole idea behindthe ‘Aim, Save andWin’ promo is to rewardthe bank’s new and alreadyexisting customers for theirsteadfast patronage andalso to encourage savingsculture amongst Nigeri-ans.The Unity bank Aim, Save& Win promo activationtrain has been to Abuja,Lagos Port Harcourt andthe train will be moving toKano city at a later date yetto be announced. The firstzonal draw will take placelater this monthsimultaneously in the en-tire geo-political zoneearmarked for thecampaign.

Maltina promo:Electrician wins3-bedroomhomeA 27-year-old

electrician, MrOluwasola Akinsanya,has emerged the thirdlucky winner of a fullyfurnished 3 bedroomhome in the ongoingMaltina “Sharing Hap-piness Promo”. Thenewly built home is anall en-suite 3 bedroomapartment situated at aserene location in theheart of the Lekki axisof Lagos. He waspicked at the seconddraw held in Lagos onMay 6 2012 and con-tacted on phone by thehostess of the draw,Kemi Adetiba on behalfof Maltina.Akinsanya, who hailsfrom Ode Remo,Ikenne in Ogun Statesaid he was busy fixingsome electrical fault onan electric pole for aneighbor when he gota call informing himthat he had won abrand 3 bedroom housein Lagos. “I was atopan electric pole fixingelectricity for aneighbor when I got aphone call from a ladywho told me that I hadwon a house. The mes-sage was so suddenthat I almost fell fromthe pole.”

said, “With all sense ofmodesty, we make bold tosay that Power Pasta Spa-ghetti is Nigeria’s finest

pasta brand made fromquality American Wheatproviding energy with adistinct great taste and awhole new unique expe-rience for the consum-ers”.

30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11 , 2012

Mo Mo Mo Mo Movie Scvie Scvie Scvie Scvie Schedulehedulehedulehedulehedule

Movie of the week

The Vow: 12:20pm, 2:30pm, 4:40pm, 6:50pm, 8:55pm.American Reunion: 11:50am, 2:10pm, 4:25pm, 6:40pm, 9:10pm.The Hunger Games: 12:10pm, 3:00pm, 5:50pm, 8:40pm.Dr Seuss: The Lorax: 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm, 8:00pm.Osas: 12:50pm, 4:30pm, 8:20pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, CEDDI PLAZA, ABUJA

Machine Gun Preacher: 6:30pm.21 Jump Street: 2 :40pm, 6:40pm.Seeking Justice: 12:20pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, PORT HARCOURT

The Vow: 11:50am, 2:20pm, 4:40pm, 7:00pm, 9:10pm.The Hunger Games: 12:10pm, 3:10pm, 6:00pm, 8:50pm.American Reunion: 11:30am, 4:20pm, 9:00pm.Dr Seuss: The Lorax: 12:50pm, 3:00pm, 5:10pm.Osas: 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm, 8:40pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, UYO

Man on a Ledge: 12:45pm, 2:45pm, 4:45pm, 6:50pm.Machine Gun Preacher: 11:30am, 1:55pm, 4:20pm, 6:45pm.The Land: 2:00pm, 6:35pm.Seeking Justice: 12:30pm, 2:35pm, 4:45pm, 6:55pm.I’ll Take my Chances: 12:00pm, 4:30pm.

GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS, LEKKI

The Vow: 10:10am, 2:45pm, 6:15pm, 10:45pm.American Reunion: 12:25pm, 5:00pm, 7:20pm, 9:40pm.The Hunger Games: 10:00am, 12:45pm, 3:30pm, 6:15pm, 9:00pm, 11:45pm.21 Jump Street: 10:30am, 3:05pm, 7:20pm.Dr Seuss: The Lomax:10:10am, 12:05pm, 2:00pm, 5:25pm.

GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS, PORT HARCOURT

The Vow: 12:20pm, 4:35pm, 8:50pm.American Reunion: 10:10am, 2:25pm, 6:40pm, 10:55pm.The Hunger Games: 2:20pm, 5:40pm, 8:20pm, 11:00pm.Dr Seuss: The Lorax: 10:20am, 12:15pm.

GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS, ENUGU

The Vow: 10:00am, 2:05pm, 6:10pm, 8:10pm.American Reunion: 10:00am, 2:20pm, 4:35pm.The Hunger Games: 10:00am, 12:40pm, 5:20pm, 8:00pm.Man on a Ledge: 12:00pm, 4:05pm.21 Jump Street: 12:15pm, 6:50pm, 8:55pm

Top 5 films for the week

Synopsis

1. American Reunion2. The Vow:3. Seeking Justice:4. Jump Street:5. Man on a Ledge

Temitayo George set to release second album

St-Rémy to kick off monthly Gbedu slam jam

Marvel's The Avengers(titled AvengersAssemble in the UK andIreland is a 2012American superhero filmproduced by MarvelStudios and distributedby Walt DisneyPictures1, based on theMarvel Comicssuperhero team of thesame name. It is the sixth installmentin the Marvel CinematicUniverse. The film iswritten and directed byJoss Whedon andfeatures an ensemblecast that includes RobertDowney, Jr., ChrisEvans, Mark Ruffalo,Chris Hemsworth,Scarlett Johansson,Jeremy Renner, TomHiddleston, ClarkGregg, Cobie Smulders,Stellan Skarsgård andSamuel L. Jackson. InThe Avengers, Nick Fury,director of thep e a c e k e e p i n g

o r g a n i z a t i o nS.H.I.E.L.D., recruitsIron Man, CaptainAmerica, the Hulk andThor to form a team thatmust stop Thor's brotherLoki from enslaving thehuman race.Development of TheAvengers began whenMarvel Studios receiveda loan from MerrillLynch in April 2005.After the success of thefilm Iron Man in May2008, Marvelannounced that TheAvengers wouldbe released inJuly 2011.With the signingof Johansson inMarch 2009, thefilm was pushedback for a 2012release. Whedon

was brought on boardin April 2010 andrewrote the screenplayoriginally written byZak Penn. Productionbegan in April 2011 inAlbuquerque, NewMexico, before movingto Cleveland, Ohio, inAugust and New YorkCity in September. Thefilm was converted to3D in post-production.“The Avengers” isbased on the ever-popular Marvel comicbook series.

NOT many Nigeriansknow that ebony

black Temitayo Georgewho emerged 2006 secondrunners-up at the WestAfrican Idols had nurseda childhood dream ofbecoming a world classperformer in the mould ofWhitney Houston,Mariah Carey and JanetJackson.

According to the sultrysinger, as early as 9, shehad nursed the dream ofbeing a performer; “atbirthday parties I wasfond of taking the centrestage, dancing andsinging with friends. Ibelieved that one day Iwas going to perform on abig stage like my idolsWhitney Houston,Mariah Carey and JanetJackson with lots ofadoring fans.”

The 2006 West AfricanIdols provided her firstbreak into the internation-al arena, but certainly itwas just a stepping stoneas she is currently perfect-ing plans to launch a fol-low-up to her 12-trackerdebut titled, Love Re-vealed produced by Ed-mond Benson, Mosadolu-wa Adegboye, Wale Oniand Cobhams Asoquo.

The youthful singer whotook the industry by stormin 2006 by her electrifyingperformance at the 2006edition of West African

BY SAM EYOBOKA Idols, is alreadyplanning tolaunch her realc o m m e r c i a lwork after therelease of herLove Revealedwhich she ded-icated to theLittle Saints inher mother’sLittle Saints Or-phanage.

Te m i t a y o ,who describedher brand ofmusic asInspirationalR&B, told ourreporter thather debutwhich wasr e l e a s e dduring Febru-ary Joy Nightwas an attempttowards giving hope to thehopeless, and impact posi-tively on the society, partic-ularly ladies who are hav-ing undue challenges intheir relationship.

“I sowed it as a seed tothe Little Saints Orphanagebecause most of the songswere inspired by my love forthem. So I saw it as anothergood way of raising fundsfor their education,maintenance and generalwell being,” she said,adding that she has beganwork on her second album.

According to her, theincoming album would alsobe in the form of gospel

music and inspirationalworks, assuring her numer-ous fans across the nationsof the world to exercise somepatience, pointing out thatwhen she eventually comesout later this year they willnot be disappointed.

“I have taken my time tomake sure that I come outwith the right inspirationalsongs for my fans who, haveactually waited so long forthis album. So, I wasdetermined to dish outsomething that will worth thewaiting,” Temitayo Georgesaid.

LEADING Frenchbrandy in Nigeria, St-

Rémy is poised to kick off aseries of hot, exciting andhighly entertaining monthlyparties which would be held

at different choiceclubs, hotels andlounges across thecity of Lagosstarting this monthof May.

Tagged the “St-Rémy Gbedu SlamJam”, this initiativeis one of many stillto be unveiled bythe brand as itlooks to reward its loyalconsumers who over theyears have stayed true tothe truly authentic No1French brandy.

Rita Lori Hotels, Surulere,Lagos is definitely the placeto be on Friday May18,2012, from 10pm as theinternational brand inviteseveryone to come join theexclusive party with DJAtte on the wheels of steel,and Phenom, Orezi, GeneralPype and JJC Skills all in thehouse on a night thatpromises to be a start of anunforgettable series the cityof Lagos and its environsis bound to look forward toon a monthly basis.

St-Rémy has conqueredmarkets around the globe

The Avengers hithithithithitsssssNigerian cinemasNigerian cinemasNigerian cinemasNigerian cinemasNigerian cinemas

from USA to Vietnam, fromCanada to Finland, fromNigeria to Australia. Thebrand met with immediatesuccess in France andbegan to be exported tothe rest of Europe in1920s’. As it becamereadily availablethroughout the world, theessence of this unique andauthentic French Brandyhas remained unchangedfor over a century, makingSt-Rémy Authentic theworld’s favourite Frenchbrandy.

The St-Rémy GbeduSlam Jam monthly party isproudly supported byNaija FM 102.3 andTRACE Urban TV.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11 , 2012—31

GROOVE Extra

OREZI needs nointroduction as a

rising act. He has beendoing some massivecollaboration where hehas continued to provehis mettle.With his vocal and lyricalpresence on Emoti, acollaboration with DJDebby, Orezi is surelygunning for the top.

This fact is sealed withthe collaboration withDJ Jimmy Jatt on theheavily rotated trackKomije where Orezitook the shine on thechorus. Now he is hereagain with a very hotvideo coming out of thestables of CulbeedMusic directed by oneof the best music videodirector in the country

Orezi drops booty bouncemusical video

I g h o .The video hasappearances from manyindustry movers andshakers like Karen(winner Big brother

2011), Wande Coal,Bovi (the comedian),Vina (big brotherhousemate 2011),KSwitch, Igho, Skukiand General Pype.The video which isalready causing a lotof stir in the industryhas a lot ofbootylicious girlsdancing to the rythm,which has raised theu n a v o i d a b l equestion of whetherit will be banned ornot. But going by thewords of the CEOCulbeed Music MrKolade Ajayi(Ronkay), thecensored version ofthe video is availablefor local TVchannels, signallingthat there is no issuesto settle with NBC.

CORPORATE socialresponsibility is

bound to take a newdimension on Monday,May 28, as the lateChristy Essien IgbokweMemorial Foundationrolls out the drums tocelebrate this year ’sMay Day with the less-privileged andphysically challengedpersons.

Tagged The Festival ofLove, the event which isthe maiden edition forthe foundation, willfeature various Culturaldisplays, Singingcompetitions, Fashionparade, Arts and craftsexhibition and holds atthe indoor hall of theNigerian ConservationFoundation, in LekkiLagos State from 10am.

In addition to thevarious side attractionslined up to enliven thechildren, the eventorganizers have alsoincluded a talk showwith the theme. Abilityin Disability at the event

And chosen as guestspeaker at the talkshow, is Bishop PeaceOkonkwo, wife of theGeneral overseer of TheRedeemed EvangelicalMission (TREM) andDr. (Mrs) Stella Okoli ofEmzor Pharmaceutical.

Addressing journalistsat a media briefing heldTuesday at theFoundation’s office inOgba, Lagos, PastorRomeo Obika, theCoordinating Directorand Chief OperatingOfficer of theFoundation said the

Xty Essien-Igbokwe Memorial Foundationhosts children, May 28

“The late Christy EssienIgbokwe MemorialFoundation was set up

to relive the ideals andphilanthropic activitiesof the late Lady of Songswhich is, to add valueand empower some ofthe less privilegedpersons in our society.This will be achievedthrough the set up ofskill acquisition centersin various states of thefederation”.

According to him, theMay 28 festival which isone of the severalphilanthropic activitiesplaned by theFoundation is beingorganized to show loveto the less privilegedand physicallychallenged persons inour society”.

BY OPEOLUWANIAKINTAYO

Joining the likes ofAsa, Nneka and

footballer, Odemwingewho recently had theirTwitter accountsverified, internationallyacclaimed model,Oluchi, has also got heraccount on point.

Showtime gatheredthis when we caught upwith the model onTwitter, where shetweeted about the goodnews of Twitterauthenticating herTwitter account.

The model tweeted,showing her joy andhappiness, which meansthat the operators of thesocial network, Twitterrecognizes her

Oluchi joins Asa, Nneka onTwitter’s verification list

personality andcontributions to theglobe.

My Twitter Account@OLUCHI isV E R I F I E D ! ! !*Wooohooo*’, shetweeted.

It would be recalledthat just recently,Showtime reported thatsocial network, Twitter,had verified

•Christy Essien

•Orezi

•Oluchi

CMYK

32—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—33

Failure to address economicproblems feeds terrorism— Azazi

Delta Poly commissions ICT centre, lab

DELTA State Polytechnicgot a boast recently

with the commissioning ofan ultra-modern enginee-ring laboratory built by thestate government coupledwith an Information andC o m m u n i c a t i o nTechnology, ICT, complexbuilt by Petroleum TrustDevelopment Fund, PTDF,at the institution’spermanent site.

Speaking at theceremony, Prof. H.Eghagha, Commissionerfor Higher Education, who

performed the ceremony onbehalf of Delta StateGovernment, said: “The Dr.U d u a g h a n - l e dgovernment embarked onthe construction of theprojects to enable theinstitution produce world-class graduates who cancompete favourably intoday’s technology drivensociety.”

He commended PTDFfor the ICT centre, saying“it will, among other things,link the institution to theelectronic library as well as

enable students to haveaccess to information fromall parts of the world.”

He ordered the contractorhandling the construction ofthe main Auditorium toensure the completion ofthe project or face sanction.

Earlier in her welcomeaddress, the Rector, Dr.(Mrs.) Nneka Mogekwu,thanked PTDF and theState Government for theICT complex andengineering laboratory. Shepromised to put them tomaximum use.

K A D U N A —N A T I O N A L

Security Adviser, Gen.Andrew Azazi (rtd), said inKaduna, yesterday, thatcitizens are vulnerablerecruitment targets forextremist groups due tohardship and the lack ofeconomic opportunitywhich are the root causesof unrest, dissatisfactionand disaffection.

The security chief,represented by Prof. SojiAdelaja, spoke at theNorthern Impact Summitorganised by the ArewaTransformation andEmpowerment Initiative withthe theme, Northern Nigeria,the Prosperity Agenda andNational Security.

He said: “From a practicalperspective, evidence ismounting that some of theroot causes of unrest andthe feeling of dissatisfactionand disaffection amongstcitizens are economichardship and the lack ofeconomic opportunity.

“This is the case, not onlyin the north, but all overNigeria. The failure toaddress these root causesof unrest tend to createfertile ground for therecruitment, indoctrination,brainwashing and trainingof terrorists and otherinsurgents.

“As we have learnt fromthe recent events in theMiddle East and NorthAfrica region, long termfailure to address longstanding economic pro-blems help erode nationalcohesion and the ability toadvance as a nation.

“Some may think that theprosperity of northernNigeria is not a nationalsecurity issue. However,those that are more infor-med realise that the longterm stability and securityof Nigeria is intrinsicallylinked to the socio-economicperformance of every singleregion.

“One glue that holds our

great nation together is theexpectation that in theaggregate, we are better offtogether than in isolationfrom each other and that theachievement of prosperityis easier when we pursue itcollectively.

“Within this framework,we cannot as a nation affordto leave any region behind.If we solve some of the keyhindrances to our economicdevelopment, Nigeria willbe one of the leadingeconomies in the world inthe next 10 years.

“We owe it to ourselvesand future generations tofinally occupy our rightfulplace within the comity ofnations. Nigeria can illafford to leave any of itsstates or region behind inthis march towards a longoverdue achievement ofprosperity.

“I can certainly assureyou that the lopsidedeconomic growth is not inthe best interest of ournational security. I applaudthe Arewa Transformationand EmpowermentInitiative (ATEI) forrecognizing that uniqueattention needs to be paidto the north; that a credibleagenda is critical to thenorth’s success and thatleadership is needed inadvancing such anagenda.

“But the process wedefine to advance oureconomic ambitions mustbe based on bestpractices and what is wellproven in economicdevelopment.

“No meaningfultransformation canhappen without clearrecognition that there isa problem; without clearunderstanding of thenature of the problem,without a clear vision ofthe future, withoutmotivated leaders andfollowers to implementthe plan and without theability to sell the visionand plan to all partnersand stakeholders in the

i m p l e m e n t a t i o nprocess.”

It's alien— SamboVice President Namadi

Sambo, who wasrepresented by the DeputyGovernor of Kaduna State,Alhaji Ramalan Yero, in hisspeech, said: “The recentsecurity challenges in thecountry, particularly in thenorthern part is alien to ourcountry and erode culture.Please let us embracedialogue, not violence tosolve our differences.

“This administration’sconcept is to transform thecountry positively to ensurethe security of lives andproperty of all Nigeriansand the transformation of itseconomic position that willmake us one of the 20 mostdeveloped countries in theworld by the year 2020.”

On his part, GovernorPatrick Yakowa of KadunaState said it was regrettablethat the north, which boastsof more than 60 per cent ofNigeria’s landmass withabundant natural resourcesin the agricultural and solidmineral sectors, has beenunable to turn suchadvantages into economicgrowth and developmentfor various reasons.

North leads in poverty,unemployment,illiteracy, insecurity— Yakowa

Yakowa, who wasrepresented by hisCommissioner forEconomic Planning,Timothy Gandu, said: “Theincongruity in this wholesituation is that the northseems to be rather leadingin poverty, unemployment,illiteracy and only recentlyinsecurity.

“The stability, growth,unity and economic boostthat we all crave for in thenorth are precariouslydangling before our eyes. Iurge you all to firmlyensure that the drift incertain sectors of thisregion is halted.”

BY LUKA BINNIYAT

34— Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Though she reached thegolden age of threescore and a decade last

year, legendary actress Taiwo-Ajayi Lycett is far fromretired, let alone tired. Hersignature easy elegance stillintact, she shuttles betweenher two homes in Lagos andEngland, seeing to familyaffairs, state affairs and ofcourse cultural affairs. Ourdate- under the century oldtrees of her Lagos garden-begins with her decrying thenew threat of terrorism on themedia.

It was not until the subjectof acting was brought up thather eyes were lit up with thisincandescent glow. Shespeaks of the age oldprofession, as of herupcoming reality show, therealities of acting in everydimension and the reasonsshe endorses Nollywood.Excerpts:

What is this reality showgoing to be about?

It is my thesis that if you trainactors in the act of stage, allthe disciplines involved in thatwill feed television, becausethey will be skillful.

Are great actors made orborn?

Are great doctors made orborn? People have innatetalents. I always liken actors/performers to a roughdiamond. It’s just like glass,then you give it to a polisher,they polish it, they work on it.Men kill one another for it.Women hate themselves for it.That’s what a true actor is:innately gifted like thediamond, crafted by nature butuntil it is cleaned and polishedit remains like a piece ofbroken glass.

You made the analogy of thedoctor, but I would say theyare rather different, becausea doctor was not born with atalent to be a doctor. Maybesomeone who iscompassionate might thenwish to be a doctor...

So, why do you think that isdifferent? If you get a childwho is listening to music, sheis partial to art, has a specialflair, sensitivity to literature,articulate, wanting to engage,wanting to communicate withsomeone, very young, veryvoluble and always wanting toentertain- there is somethingthat child wants to say, not somuch, “look at me!”. You findsome fine doctors, not only thetechnical training to be adoctor. You have to have fellowfeeling. You have to wake upin the morning and say, I wantto heal somebody. That’s atalent. They know there’s adifference between a vocationand avocation. Anybody canbe an actor. You don’t reallyhave to be talented. There area lot of people who are

Merit Alway—Taiwo Ajayi-Ly

,

,exhibitionists. They don’tnecessarily have talent. A truedoctor has not embraced avocation. It’s an avocation, adedication that is made at theinnermost part of his mindwhen he was growing up.Something must havetriggered it.

Would you say acting is anart, science or commerce?

It’s show business. It’s gotto be all. Of course, it’s ascience. Just because you aretalented doesn’t mean youhave the skill. The skill is thescience. You have to learn allthe sciences. You have to bean informed actor.

You have to learn about lifeso you must know somesociology. You have to knowcurrent affairs, you have to bean observer, what makes adoctor tick. What does a doctordo to be a doctor? Not justwear a coat and say I’mplaying a doctor. What takesover somebody’s mental statefor them to be insane. This ison the realm of science. Youhave to have this knowledgeso you can wear their shoes,illuminate their concerns andlives. What a true actor isdoing is putting a mirror to life.You have to know how yourbody works, know the linkbetween your body and yourmind. You have to know howto recall memory. These arebearing on metaphysics so itis science.

You have to package these tosell to people. You don’tnecessarily have to have abusiness sense but you haveto commercialize because ifyou do not you cannot drawpeople’s attention to it. Youhave got to make money inorder to improve the serviceyou are giving to perpetuateit. Metropolitan opera house.People will travel to New Yorkfrom all over the world just togo and see the opera so theyare planning five, ten yearsahead for the bill they aregoing to run. They draw abudget. Commerce is a verystrong engine that runs thisbusiness. Without that incomethey are expecting from localconsumers . Above all in ourcase we have to let them seewhat our culture is all about,our own perception of life, ourown brand of thinking; and

earn money. We are educatingthe world, developing ourskills and the ripple effects onthe economy is immeasurable.When you have people cominghere spending euros, pesos,dollars and the ancillaryservices that go with that:lighting designer, stagedesigner, director, stagemanager, producers, cleaners,front of house staff, printing.Commerce is absolutely vital,and support of the arts. Thesummer is coming, the UK willbe brimming with tourists anda lot of them are visiting thetheater. They are promotingtheir culture, bringing money,hotels are doing well. That iswhat I will like to happen toNigeria. This acting that wetake so lightly, these are someof the things we haven’t reallyseen clearly because we thinkit’s, in the main, just anindulgence on some people’spart who don’t have anythingpractical to do. The businessis supposed to be airy fairyand not really structured. I amhoping that in my time we willget more and more interested.We just had Ujaama fromSouth Africa. How many of ourown shows can we takearound?

The other time the Fela showhad to come from New York...

I would like to change thatdirection.

What are the differencesbetween acting on stage andfilm?

A world of difference. Actingis more organic than anythingelse in the sense of its beingorganic. You are on stage, youare dealing directly with theaudience . In film you learn abit of lines, they shoot it and ifyou don’’t get it right they say,take one, take two! Night afternight you have to stand upthere, you cant afford to forgetyour lines. You have to getyour characterization right.There are no excuses. Onceyou are on stage, either youare prepared or not. You can’tsay you are sorry, no! It hasparticular discipline, ability tocommunicate directly with theaudience whatever you arefeeling. You have to use yourvoice in a way you don’tnecessarily have to do in film

because they are using mics.I went to a stage play and sawthey were carrying mics- that’sa new one to me. You aretrained to be able to projectyour voice very well. Thetraining you get to perform onstage is much more rigorousand that is why I want to teachpeople on voice elocution,voice production, dance,acting itself. Exactly where tostand- back stage, stagecenter, etc. people do not haveto know these in film. Filmalso has its own skills. It’sdealing with your face; thecamera can almost get intoyour head and read yourfeelings. You have to be sure

what you want tocommunicate. It’s all veryintimate with the camerabecause now it is youraudience. Everything issubtler, quieter, moredeliberate, because the cameracannot bear big gestures andloud voice so you have to scaleup your acting skill totelevision and film.

,

,

Is it possible to be good at both?

Oh yes! If you know how to act youcan modulate. If you know how toact on stage you can traverse allthese. Radio is another one thatpeople don’t often talk about becauseyou don’t see anybody.

Taiwo-Ajayi Lycett

Taiwo-A

Just because you aretalented doesn’t meanyou have the skill. Theskill is the science. Youhave to learn all thesciences. You have to bean informed actor

Acting is more organic thananything else in the sense of itsbeing organic. You are on stage,you are dealing directly with theaudience . In film you learn a bitof lines, they shoot it and if youdon’’t get it right they say, takeone, take two!

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 — 35

ys Winsycett

People would not rate it as actingsince you cant see anybody.

I would have thought it is probablya very powerful medium. In radioacting you paint pictures for theaudience and they can use their ownmind to see the picture- nothing morepowerful than that. To use your voiceto create a situation, a town, a person,

so much so that people thinkthey know that person. Haveyou never heard of a radioplay in England aboutfarmers? They believe thefarmer exists for some fortyyears. All of them are trainedactors.

What was your experience

as an actor working abroad asa woman as well as a blackperson?

I had a great time. At the timewe were working, ostensibly,there was supposed to bediscrimination (laughs)

I recall in Mind YourLanguage,there was a lot ofthat...

Mind your Language waswhat it was called here. Iforget what they called it inEngland. They had all theracism in that one. That waswhen they were trying to beinclusive and everything.When we were working- and Istarted work in the 60s- whenthere were not many Africansworking on the English stageor television for that matter- itdidn’t stop me. I didn’t findany handicap. That was whenI had my major experience inthe business. I worked all overthe country, at the Avant Gardetheater in London, Royal Courttheater, Sloane square,Mercury Theater in Colchesterall of them English plays, nospecial black characters, butthey gave me parts.

So, are you saying that skilland talent will overcome allmountains?

I think merit always wins. Ithink meritocracy is real.

What do you think ofNollywood?

It’s started,and it’sworking

Is it?On a level,

yes. We don’thave toreinvent thewheel. We’vegot the talent,we’ve openedthe door to theidea of apossibility. Alot of them arenow trainedbut generallyit’s gloss Weh a v eNigerians allover the worldand they arebuying thetapes andthat’s a levelof success. Iwould like forthem to buysome of ourN o l l y w o o dp r o d u c t sbecause reallythat is whatinternationaltrade is allabout. I don’tmind buying Hollywoodproducts but I’d like them tobuy mine as well. Everyday weare reading how much we owethem. It’s called Balance ofTrade.

Could it be that there are justso many of us so we do notfeel the need to look

outwards?Are we more than America?

That is the largest country inthe world yet they havedominated the artisticconsciousness of the wholeworld. What is wrong withwanting to- if you like-colonize everybody’s views?

MATERNAL MORTALITY:

Countdown to 2015In September 2010, at a

UN General Assemblysummit to assess

progress on the MGDs,Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon launched the GlobalStrategy for Women andChildren’s Health, a plan tosave 16 million women andchildren by 2015. This wasfollowed by theestablishment of aCommission on Informationand Accountability forWomen and Children’sHealth, charged withdeveloping an accountabilityframework to monitor andtrack commitments made tothe global strategy. After thestudy of the commission, itidentified the following coreindicators to use asbenchmarks: Maternalmortality ratios, under 5mortality with the proportionof newborn deaths, Childrenunder 5 who are stunted,demand for family planningsatisfied, antenatalcoverage, anti retroviralprophylaxis amongst HIVpositive mothers andtherapy for women who aretreatment eligible, skilledattendant at birth, post natalcare for mothers and babieswithin two days of birth,exclusive breastfeeding,

three doses of DTP3 immunization coverage and antibiotictreatment for pneumonia.

40%Thirty five countdown countries experienced a decline of

forty percent or more in maternal mortality between 1990and 2008

60%Although maternal mortality has dropped in the majority

of countdown countries, sixty percent still has very high orhigh mortality rates

6Six countries are now on track to achieve MGD5½About five of all under-5 deaths occur in only five countdown

countries: Nigeria, India, China, Democratic Republic ofCongo and Pakistan

4Number of countdown countries with data on postnatal care

for newborns within two days of birth

Ajayi Lycett

Taiwo-Ajayi Lycett

CMYK

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

CMYK

With PRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUprinceosuagwu@gmail.com

Nokia seemsundeterred in itsdesire to connect the

next billion, as it just recentlyunveiled its most affordablemobile phone , the Nokia 103in Nigeria. Nigeria is the firstmarket to launch this phone,which is designedspecifically for people buyingtheir first phones.

The Vice President NokiaWest Africa, Mr. JamesRutherfoord, said the choiceof Nigeria as the lead marketfor this device underscoresthe importance of theNigerian market and theneed to empower millions ofNigerians who are yet toacquire a mobile phone. Thephones seems to havepractical offerings andessential features needed tohelp the new entrantsprogress economically andsocially withoutcompromising on design and

NNNNNokia’s new entrokia’s new entrokia’s new entrokia’s new entrokia’s new entryyyyylelelelelevel smarvel smarvel smarvel smarvel smart det det det det devicevicevicevicevice

quality.Apart from its fresh look

and durable anti-scratchcover, the Nokia 103 isdesigned with long lastingbattery life of up to 11hours talk time and 27days standby time. Otherfeatures include built-inflashlight, FM radio,speaking clock and MP3grade ringtones.

Nokia said itdiscovered that of theworld’s 7 billion people,3.2 billion don’t have aphone yet due largely toeconomic constraints.And Rutherfoord, feelsthat “Nokia hasdeliberately andprogressively loweredthe entry barrier to themarket while continuallyincreasing the capability ofour devices and deliveringphones with contemporaryfresh designs”. Nokia is

Nokia 103,

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 &Samsung galaxy tab 2 on stand

Apparently giving Apple a run forits innovations, Samsung hasannounced the release of newversions of its Galaxy Tab Androidtablet computer and two newportable media players. BothGalaxy Tab 2 devices run onGoogle’s Android 4.0 tagged the IceCream Sandwich operatingplatform.

The devices come with full accessto Google Play and are poweredby a 1GHz dual-core processor.They also have built-in GPS, andboth front- and rear-facing cameras.The Galaxy Players also run onAndroid’s Gingerbread (2.3) flavorinstead of the usual ICS.

The new Galaxy Tab 2 tabletsunveiled by Samsung are availablein two sizes. The larger 10.1 x 6.9 x0.38-inch, 1.28 pound which isabout 581 grams.

The device features a 10.1-inch,1280 x 800 pixel (WXGA) resolutionTFT multi-touch display, whichsupports video playback at up to1080p HD quality at 30 frames persecond. It comes with 16GB of solidstate storage, but the unit’smicroSD media card slot caters forup to 32GB of expansion.

The tablet benefits from 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0, as wellas USB 2.0 physical connectivityand sports a 30-pin dockingconnector.

SamsungSamsungSamsungSamsungSamsungreleasesreleasesreleasesreleasesreleasesnew Galaxynew Galaxynew Galaxynew Galaxynew GalaxyTTTTTab 2ab 2ab 2ab 2ab 2SeriesSeriesSeriesSeriesSeries

NikNikNikNikNikon gives new cameron gives new cameron gives new cameron gives new cameron gives new cameraaaaahigheshigheshigheshigheshighest DSLR megapixt DSLR megapixt DSLR megapixt DSLR megapixt DSLR megapixelselselselsels

committed to helping tomobilize the next generation– the next billion and beyond– and ensure they have access

At a time when analystshad predicted that no

camera manufacturer mayneed more than 16megapixels in a digitalsingle-lens reflect, DSLRcamera, Nikon has jumpedabove the predictionannouncing a24.2_megapixel entry_levelDSLR, Nikon D3200.

This is coming at the footof also a recently launchedNikon D800 which spots 36.3megapixels. The new D3200camera is a HD_SLR andcomes with a DX_formatCMOS sensor that shoots full

Nikon new D3200 & Nikon Wi-Fiadapter

HD and is being releasedwith an optional WiFi unitsupporting image upload andremote viewing/shutterrelease.

The new Nikon’s24.2_megapixel gadget, has6,016 x 4,000 pixel sensorand is an upgrade from 14.2megapixels which the D3100has.

Nikon said that the reasonfor equipping the gadgetwith such high megapixelwas for its ability to allows forincredibly sharp and detailedimages, meaning users canget high quality shots even

when having to crop heavily into an image.In addition to the jump in megapixels, the D3200

boasts a native ISO range from ISO 100 to 6400and is a touch faster than the D3100. It also featuresan 11_point AF system and the same EXPEED 3

image processing engine as the Nikon D4, whichpromises to produce life_like images with

vivid colors and smooth tonal gradationswhile also cutting image noise.

Video recording modes include Full HDat 1,920 x 1,080/30p/25p/24p as well as720p at 60 frames per second. In additionto the built_in mono microphone, Nikonhas also added a 3.5mm mic input withadjustable sensitivity to vastly improve theaudio quality of your recordings.The camera has an improved 3_inch

921k_dot screen with a 160_degree viewingangle and brightness adjustment. The shutter

unit is tested for 100,000 cycles and the D3200HD_SLR has a Nikon F mount with AF contacts,meaning it is compatible with NIKKOR lenses.

A new easier_to_use guide mode is thereto teach DSLR new users how to achievedifferent styles of image – like how to freezemotion, soften backgrounds or reduce blur –and talks them through the process of whatto change before giving them the choice totake the photo in the viewfinder or with LiveView. A retouch menu also allows forin_camera editing and adding functions likeselective color, miniature effect or colorsketch.

Also released alongside the Nikon D3200is the new WU_1a wireless adapter. It’s aclever little device which can be used forimage upload and remote viewing/shutterrelease via a free Android app – with an iOSversion due to follow later this year.

to the advantages ofmobile technology. Withthe Nokia 103, Nokia ismaking mobileconnectivity a reality forl o w e r - i n c o m econsumers

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 11 , 2012—37

38—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

By JIMOH BABATUNDE

NCF: where man lives inharmony with nature

“ You start here. It will takeyou about one and half

hour to go round. Go instraight through this trail. Thetour guides seem to havegone in with some students”Evans Airhekholo, an Assis-tant Media Officer at theLekki Conservation Centre ,points toward the forest be-fore turning is back at me.

To say I was scared was anunderstatement, but I stillstepped onto the boardwalkthat enables tourists view theplants and animals of thereserve situated in amangrove terrain. Hardly Ihad taken two steps when Iheard the chattering ofmonkeys.

I look under the canopywith little rays of light makingit visible to see the troop ofmonkeys . This made me tobeat a retreat for fear of beingattacked.

Evans Airhekholo wassurprise to see me in his officeso soon. “Has there been his-tory of monkey attacking tour-ists here?” I asked. “ Is thatwhy you came back.?” Heasked me before adding “No,they don’t, if you don’t havefood with you. That is why weask people not to feed them.”

With that assurance, I wentback to resume my journey bysteping on the 2km trailboardwalk that will enable mehave a view of the plants andanimals of the reservesituated in a mangroveterrain.

As I walk alone, I wasregurgitating over my discus-

sion with the media assistantearlier when he told me howthe conservation centre cameabout to be in Lekki

Lekki Conservation Centrestarted in the mid 1980s as adiscussion on preservationrelics of nature in Lagos stateagainst the backdrop of rapideconomic development. Inaddition, NigerianConservation Foundation(NCF) which established theLCC wanted to have a locationin Lagos that will serve asenvironmental icon toshowcase its activities inremote parts of Nigeria.

The 78 hectare naturereserve traverses a mosaic ofvegetation types, namely:secondary forest, swampforest and savannahgrassland.

I soon came across aplaque with inscription of

direction in the reserve to di-rect tourists on what to watchout for at each point at a par-ticular time. There was also arest shop that serves as restpoints and picnic spots forsmall groups.

I later discovered that theserest shops are located at every250m on the nature trailboardwalk in the reserve.

The arrow pointing to theswamp lookout was fascinat-ing as it says you should lookout for crocodile; monitorlizards; crabs and snakes.

Snakes? My fear becamepalpable again. What hap-pens if a snakes jumps outfrom no where and nobodywith me in the forest. Amongthese rushing thoughts, one

or two monkeys jumped fromone tree to the other. It wasthe jumps that brought meback to ‘life’.

I made up my mind to bracethe odds as I moved on anddiscovered that the swamparea has mangrove trees thathave special stilt roots whichkeep the tree above water andprevent it from beingdrowned when the forest isflooded.

Near by was the bird hidefor bird watching. I took a walkinto the house quietly fromwhere I saw a cleared placewhere crocodile is said tosunbath, but was not lucky to

see any during my visit.I spent sometime here to

snipe at unaware birds thatmight be wading through theperennial pool overlooked bythe hide or those foragingwithin the vicinity. Don’t askif I was luck to see any.

As I walk on the trail, Idiscovered there were lots ofpalm kernel , some eaten halfway and dumped on the trail,some completely eaten.

This was the first question Iput to a guide I later met afterabout thirty minutes ofwalking in the forest alone.The guide introduced himself

as John. “The forest is domi-nated by species of palmtrees, because the forest issecondary , meaning that ithas been logged in the past.Many of the large broad-leafed trees that previouslyexisted in the forest havebeen cut down for timber.”

On our way further throughthe trail, the guide said “ wehave come to a junction, youhave a choice of returning tothe reception, either byturning right via the treehouse or move to the naturestation.”

I opt to continue as I wascurious to see what it lookslike to move down from thetrail onto bare land. It wasinteresting to note that thatpart of the forest receiveslittle sunlight. The guidecame to the rescue again withexplanation that the little sunlight is due to the fact that thecanopy there is denser thanin other parts of the reserve,“ this is more of typical ofprimary forest.”

Standing at the naturestation and looking aroundthe children’s play area andthe hall built for party, youwould never suspect that suchstructure exists, neitherwould a visitor realise that thisforest could abhour such arecreation island in themiddle.

Getting fatigued by thetrekking, one’s spirit waslifted by the sight of the TreeHouse constructed in one oflargest trees in the reserve.“The tree is built to givetourists a bird view of theforest canopy.” the tour guidesaid.

A well protected ladder isruggedly mounted behindthe tree to enable natureenthusiasts reach to treehouse to savour the panoramicview

As I made attempt to climbthe 32 feet high tree

house is stylishly seated on astout Dawadawa tree houseand one of the mostfascinating features in thereserve, I sighted a Monamonkey which are claimed tobe sighted often around thearea.

Immediately I made my waydown the ladder half way , Iquickened my steps towardswhere I heard some humanmovement which turned outto be that of some schoolchildren who visit the centreregularly on excursion.

“This centre has hosted overone million students fromacross Nigeria.” The tourguide said with happiness onhis face .

Approaching the end of thetrail boardwalk, I heardintruding noise from the Lekkiexpressway, this led me todeeper thoughts of what willbecome of the future of LekkiConservation Centre to be atpar with renowned eco-tourism destination by thetime development on the ex

Entrance to the Lekki conservation centre

,,

The 78 hectare nature reservetraverses a mosaic of vegeta-tion types, namely: secondaryforest, swamp forest and sa-vannah grassland

Bird Hide at the nature trail

BIRTHDAYS are observed orcelebrated for various reasons. Isuspect that Sam’s birthday is be-ing marked by his friends, col-leagues and associates not neces-sarily because of the quantum of50 years per se but because thereis ample evidence to show that allor part of these 50 years have beenwell spent far beyond the needsof Sam and his immediate familyand friends. I guess the exertionsof Sam in the last 15-20 years inthe service of “God and Country”are already being recognized andappreciated. The fact that I am fa-miliar with these efforts especial-ly in the last 12 years is the reasonwhy I did not hesitate tojoin hisnumerous well- wishers today. Italso informs my choice of the top-ic Nigeria - 1914 To Date– A Che-quered Journey So Far. This top-ic may sound over-ambitious forthe time and space which couldnormally be allowed on this kindof occasion. Without being a polit-ical scientist or historian manycould justifiably question my in-tellectual competence to handlethe subject(s) involved in thisbroad topic. Be that as it may Ifeel very strongly about theprogress (or lack of it) so far re-coded by the Country in the last98 years, and I would rely mainlyon my personal experiences in thelast 50 years and what I learn fromprofessionals like Sam Nda Isiahwho try to analyze events and is-

try: Notwithstanding persistentreservations about its legitimacyand efficiency, Nigeria has had,at various points in its history,constitutions which provided theframework of its claim to being aSovereign State vis-vis othercountries around the world. Thelatest in use is the 1999 Constitu-tion. A cursory examination of the1999 Constitution especially itsChapter II on “Fundamental Ob-jective And Directive Principle ofState Policy” would show how theFederal Republic should be or-ganized and operated in the in-terest of justice, peace, unity andthe well being of Nigerian citi-zens. Weather we are succeedingin the letter and spirit of the pro-visions of our Constitution is themain subject of this presentation.

52 years ofindependence

Nigeria will observe 52 years ofIndependence from Britain nextOctober. Like in previous Inde-pendence anniversaries, Nigeri-ans will, as usual, debate issuesconcerning the economic, socialand political development beingachieved by the country over thepast years. Tools for measuringeconomic development of coun-tries have over the years evolved.These tools are not themselvesperfect and, in fact, may not al-ways have easy universal appli-cation at all times. Nevertheless,most countries, especially thosewith political and economic sys-tems in the image of the so-calledWestern Capitalist democracieshave accepted the current param-eters of measuring economic de-velopment of countries aroundthe world. The early concept ofmeasuring economic progressrelied on the index of Gross Do-mestic Product (GDP) as the onlytool.

More recent thoughts have ar-gued, more correctly, that GDPalone is not a sufficient indicator.It has, therefore, become impera-tive to add new variables and ob-jectives in order to objectively testor assess progress (or lack of it)in the socio-economic develop-ment of Countries. By mid 1990s,the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) succeededin introducing a more compre-hensive concept it called “HumanDevelopment” as a more realisticmeasure of economic progress. Itis the components of Human De-velopment concept which wereadopted as “Millennium Devel-opment Goals” (MDGs), mostcountries including Nigeria, haveadopted for monitoringprogress

towards achieving their socio-eco-nomic objectives. This shift in con-cept is justified from experiencesin many countries which recordstupendous growth in their GDPswhile the majority of their citizenswallowed in abject poverty. Thisis a classicalexample of what isoften termed as “economicgrowth without human develop-ment.”

It is against this background weshould further examine in somedetails, the current state of theNigerian economy after five de-cades of efforts to develop it. Us-ing these Human Developmentindices, ie the Millennium De-velopment Goals, various recentsurveys conducted by Nationaland International Agencies haveconcluded, rather sadly, that Ni-geria’s socio-economic progressremain very unsatisfactory. Theirmajor findings and conclusionsare summarised as follows:

•Nigeria is presently groupedamong the 20 poorest countriesin the world, and among the 30least developed countries in SubSaharan Africa.

•Of Nigeria’s estimated 160 mil-lion population (projected from2006 census) about 100 millionpeople live on less than US$1.0 aday. That is an estimated 70 percent of all Nigeria’sare classifiedas poor.

This unfortunate state of affairs is as paradoxical as it

is embarrassing to Nigerians es-pecially in view of all known in-dicators that Nigeria would be-come a great African country with-in a very short time after inde-pendence in 1960. The remain-ing part of my address will at-tempt to explain the various fac-tors which alone or in inter-play,brought us to our sorry situationtoday, and hope that some usefulideas might be incorporated inour future development policies.

Nigeria -1914 to 1960Like most parts of Africa, Nige-

ria was also colonized by an im-perial foreign power. The presentday Nigeria (plus or minus someterritories) came into existencewith formal amalgamation of con-quered territories of the North and

South by the British ColonialGovernor - Lord Lugard in 1914.By this historic action the numer-ous diverse peoples who consti-tute the new country willy-nillybegan the difficult and arduousjourney towards building a mod-ern nation. The justifiable suspi-cions and mistrust between thediverse ethnic groups were in-deed real and palpable. Howev-er, over the years, after the amal-gamation, through the spirit ofgive and take by the pioneer lead-ers and people at large, a nation-al spirit began to manifest to thepoint when the leaders agreed to

The chequeredjourney so farBy ANGO ABDULLAHI

ing its neo-colonial hold on Ni-geria mainly through the follow-ing instruments:

•Education System: Through t-heir education legacies they suc-ceeded in entrenching a mentalcondition which to-date contin-uesto deprive Nigerians of theirself esteem, self confidence andself-reliance.

•Political Legacy: They also leftbehind a political system whichto-date perpetuates national in-stability and the resultant poorgovernance by few selfish elite.

•Economy: Through the fail-ure of our education and politicalsystems, the British and, now itsnumerous Capitalist countriesallies in the West, have been ableto remain in control of the com-manding heights of Nigerianeconomy.

Nigeria - 1960 to-dateAs already alluded to in the

above paragraphs, it was antici-pated that political freedom at in-dependence would ushers in newthinking and new policies whichtogether would bring rapid trans-formation of Nigeria from exploi-tation and under-development asa former colony. Nigerians wereso optimistic about the bright pros-pects of Nigeria becoming a coun-try where its citizenry will live injustice peace and prosperity ascould be found anywhere else inthe world. Now that these aspi-rations have been dashed 50years after independence the

present generation of Nigeriansmust be confused as they shouldbe justified in asking the oldergenerations for explanation.

The rest of this paper will at-tempt to offer some explanationseven if many of them are merereputations and have been sub-ject of endless arguments over theyears. I believe Nigeria’s poor de-velopment performance could beexplained from a number of per-spectives including:

•Political instability: From 1960to date Nigeria had not experi-enced the kind of stable politicalatmosphere necessary for order-ly continuity of good governancefor development and growth ex-pected in truly democratic societ-ies. Within a relatively short pe-riod of 52 years, Nigeria has had14 heads of state (an average ofthree years each), and of thisnumber nine were not elected,and of the remaining five only ontwo occasions were their electiondeemed free and fair. The politi-cal instability which retarded Ni-geria’s rapid development sinceindependence in 1960 is rootedin the following main factors:

work together, if only to kick outthe British in 1960.

In the 46 years of direct colo-nial rule, as would be expected,the British designed and orga-nized how the huge economic re-sources of the colony should beharnessed and exploited. It is fairto assert that the economy of Co-lonial Nigeria was organized pri-marily to serve the interest of theimperial power. The incidentalbenefits to the natives came in theform of residuals of some out-moded infrastructures like thepresent narrow gauge railway,port facilities and some road trans-port mainly used for easy exploi-tation and export of agriculturaland mining products as well asimports and marketing of manu-factured British goods.

As soon as the British realizedthat at some point, they wouldhave to relinquish direct politicalcontrol to the natives, it becameimperative for them to plan a longterm strategy to ensure continuedcontrol and exploitation of theirformer colony long after attain-ment of political independence.The British succeeded in achiev-

•Map of Nigeria

,

,In the 46 years of direct colonial

rule, as would be expected, the Brit-ish designed and organized how thehuge economic resources of the col-ony should be harnessed and ex-ploited

NIGERIA- 1914 TO DATE:

sues concerning the country.For an objective assessment of

our journey as a country of theBritish imperial powers’ dreamtowards true nationhood, the ob-vious starting point should be totake stock of our present position.It is from the present position weshould be able to learn from whatwent right or wrong in the earlypart of the journey. And then fromlessons of the past and thepresent we should be able to chartthe way for a better future.

The current state of the coun-

PROF ANGO ABDULLAHIPROF ANGO ABDULLAHIPROF ANGO ABDULLAHIPROF ANGO ABDULLAHIPROF ANGO ABDULLAHI

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—39

IT is now more than threeweeks that the Farouk Lawanled ad-hoc committee on the

utilization of fuel subsidyreleased its report to the Houseof Representatives. The releaseof the report had in the daysfollowing, fueled a nationwidefrenzy for the prosecution of themarketers, thier politicalcollaborators and merchants whowere demonized for reportedlymilking the nation of trillions ofnaira.

Inevitably, presidency officialshad initially sought to be on theright side of public opinion witha pledge from senior presidencyand Peoples Democratic Party,PDP officials joining the clamourin the demonization of thesubsidy beneficiaries.

However, days after as dustsfrom the report began to settle,the clamour for the prosecutionof those indicted by the Housereport began to ebb.

An indication that thegovernment may not be in ahurry to deal with the allegedculprits is amplified by thecacophony of voices in whichgovernment officials arespeaking.

The damaging reportIn its report submitted on April

18, the Lawan-led House probecommittee submitted that whilethe sum of N245 billion wasbudgeted for subsidy in 2011, the

The cabal fights backFUEL SUBSIDY REPORT:

WEEKS after the House of Representatives released the damning report of itsinvestigations into the utilization of fuel subsidy by oil importers expectationsfor quick government action on the report are increasingly mired in politics.The cabal is even fighting back!

Continues on page 41

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE,DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

government paid out N2.5871trillion.

The report said that subsidyfund totaling N1.7 trillion wasillegally paid to somegovernment agencies and oilmarketers. It identified theagencies as the NigerianNational Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) and the PetroleumProducts Pricing RegulatoryAgency (PPPRA) andDepartment of PetroleumResources (DPR). The report alsolisted the Office of theAccountant- General of theFederation and 72 oil marketingfirms as authorising andreceiving the illegal payments,respectively.

Given the bitterness ofNigerians over the way andmanner that the administrationhandled the removal of subsidyfrom petrol at the beginning ofthe year it was understandablethat many Nigerians would callfor the prosecution of thoseindicted by the report.

“Contrary to the earlier officialfigure of subsidy payment of N1.3

trillion, the Accountant-Generalof the Federation put forward afigure of N1.6trillion, the CBNN1.7trillion while the committeeestablished subsidy payment ofN2.587.087trillion as at December31, 2011 amounting to more than900per cent over theappropriated sum of N245billion.

The figure of N2.587.087trillionis based on the CBN figure ofN844.944b paid to NNPC inaddition to another figure ofN847.942billion reflected aswithdrawals by NNPC from theExcess Crude Naira Account aswell as the sum ofN894.201billion paid as subsidyto marketers,” the House reportdisclosed.

Jonathan’s pledgeFollowing the nationwide

clamour on the issue, PresidentJonathan on April 22 through hisSpecial Adviser on Media andPublicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, saidhe would act in the best interestof Nigerians and ensure that anyperson found wanting isprosecuted irrespective of the

person’s standing in the society.“Nigerians can be rest assured

that President GoodluckJonathan will act in the bestinterest of Nigerians in thismatter. After the report isproperly laid before the FederalGovernment, President Jonathanwill not condone anywrongdoing and he will act inthe best interest of all Nigerians,”Abati said.

SNG ultimatumWith all those indicted walking

free so far, the Save NigeriaGroup (SNG) penultimateMonday gave the governmenta two week ultimatum ending onMay 13, to prosecute the culpritor face mass protests

Convener, SNG, Pastor TundeBakare, said in Lagos thatconsidering the low confidenceNigerians have in the anti-graftagencies in dealing withcorruption in the country, thegroup would want a privateprosecutor to deal with the issue.

Bakare spoke at a pressconference organised by the

group on the fuel subsidy scamwith a theme “KleptocracyUnlimited.”

FG officials speak in

diverse tonguesSince the promise was made,

no culprit has been charged tocourt. The only action taken todate is the sacking of the auditingfirms of Akintola Williams andCompany and Adekanola andCompany, by the Minister ofFinance and the CoordinatingMinister of the Economy, Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The twofirms reportedly certified thedocuments and claims of themarketers before payments weremade.

With those indicted walkingfree, actions of governmentagencies and different positionstaking by government officialsindicate that little or no progressmay be made on the matter interms of refund of the money andprosecution.

For a start, some members ofthe House of

Representatives during thepresentation of the reportabsolved the then AccountantGeneral who allegedly made thecontroversial payments of anywrong-doing.

The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has also picked holes inthe report and washed its handsof most of the allegations leveledagainst it by the panel. In a four-page letter dated April 27, 2012with reference number: BPS/DIR/GEN/DOL/01/028 and signed byits Deputy Governor(Operations), Mr Tunde Lemo,addressed to Lawan, the CBNclaimed that there was no timeCBN paid any money to theNNPC in respect of subsidyclaim. The apex bank also faultedthe committee’s report whichaccused the CBN of creating anavenue for falsification of recordsof quantity of petroleum productsdischarged through its forexpolicy.

Relatedly, Political Adviser tothe President, Alhaji Ali Gullack,said on Wednesday that theprobe lacked credibility because“it looks like the probe is targetedat some individuals.”

Gullack’s comments are insharp contrast to those of thePresidential Adviser on NationalAssembly Matters, Senator JoyEmordi, who like Abati, saidPresident Jonathan was on thesame page with the lawmakers.

According to Gullack, themanner of invitation of persons,who appeared before the panelfuels beliefs the probe was meantto advance the political ambitionof some individuals.

“Why did they not inviteRilwanu Lukman? He was theMinister of Petroleum Resourcesduring the period of the probe.Where is Mohammed Barkindo,who was the Group ManagingDirector, NNPC at the time?Where are the other key actors,

CMYK

40 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

who were at the vanguard f thesubsidy regime? The House ofRepresentatives must probethese individuals before we cantruly say they are doing the rightthing, otherwise the report willlack credibility,” he said.

Gullack’s comment was againstthe backdrop of allegations thatthe President was sitting on thereport because implementing itwould hurt some loyalists andfinanciers of the ruling PDP.

Saraki: The cabal fights backPenultimate Thursday, the

Attorney General of theFederation and Minister ofJustice, Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN) in his first response to thedevelopment rattled the activistswhen he disclosed that thePresident had not okayed anyculprit for trial because there was“need to ensure that thoroughinvestigations are carried out byrelevant law enforcementagencies.”

While asserting that the reporton the investigations carried outby the House had not beentransmitted to the executive, thechief law officer of the federationdid not mince words in sayingthat conclusive evidence on theguilt of the subsidiarybeneficiaries had not beenproduced.

The dithering procrastination

as stated in the AppropriationAct 2011.”

”Although N20bn was set asidefor subsidy on a monthly basisin the Appropriation Act 2011, inAugust 2011 the total figureexpended was N165bn of whichNNPC was N88bn andIndependent MarketersN7.7bn.”

“observes that althoughN240bn was budgeted for theentire year, so far as at the endof August 2011 N931bn has beenspent. This is a varianceofN771bn or 700 per cent abovebudget in the first three monthsof the year both NNPC and theIndependent Marketers did notexceed N62bn monthly, butwithin the last three monthsfigures have ranged betweenN150bn and N186bn.”

The senate in upholding theSaraki motion mandated itscommittee on downstreampetroleum to uncover the issuesraised in the motion by Saraki.

Remarkably, while the SenateCommittee headed by SenatorMagnus Abe was stilldeliberating on the issue, theHouse of Representatives lastJanuary empowered the Lawancommittee on a similarassignment. There is a deep

suspicion in some quarters thatthe subsidy beneficiaries could befighting back against Saraki whowas the first to make a publicdisclosure of what was going onin the sector.

So, when the Police penultimatebared its fangs on Saraki’salleged complicity in a bank loangone sour, it was not difficult forSaraki’s sympathizers to make aconnection between the issue andthe senator’s role in the subsidyprobe.

But then, the matter of Saraki’squizzing is beside the issue of theallegations raised against him bythe police on the alleged illegalwrite off of a substantial part of aloan given a company, JoyPetroleum plc.

The loan was written offreportedly at the behest of aformer top shot of the legacyIntercontinental Bank whoremarkably, at one time anemployee of Kwara State duringSaraki’s time as governor of thestate.

Irrespective of the substance ofthe case, critics point to the factthat the authorities had kept muteon the allegations against thesenator until after the clamour forthe prosecution of the subsidybeneficiaries.

Continues from page 40

Who will fight corruption?by the executive in acting on thereport has inevitably led to claimsof a fight back by the allegedbeneficiaries of the subsidy scam.

In the most notable case of whatsome allege as a vicious fightback by the subsidiary cabal is thecase that has been brought upagainst Senator Bukola Saraki.

Saraki it would be recalled hadfirst blown the whistle on themisuse of the subsidy regimethrough a motion he broughtbefore the senate last October.

Remarkably, that motion wasonly brought to the senate floorafter some extended delay whichno one was able to explain.

In the motion, Senator Sarakihad urged the senate toinvestigate how the N240 billionappropriated for fuel subsidy inthe 2011 budget had as atSeptember exceeded thatprovision and was headingtowards N1.5 billion.

In the motion which wassupported by at least twelve othersenators, Senator Sarakirepresenting Kwara CentralSenatorial district had noted thus:“notes that the N20bn monthlyallocation, N11.2bn was allocatedto Domestic Fuel Subsidy(NNPC) and N8.8bn forDomestic Fuel Supply (Market)

*Saraki: Is he a target?

So, given how past reports hadbeen swept under the carpet,reported attempts by somepowerful forces in the polity tostop the report from beingpublished, and moves to dividethe Reps with the goal of gettingof Speaker Aminu Tambuwalremoved, as well as varyingpositions of government officials,it is to be seen if the fuel subsidyreport would be treateddifferently.

POL SNIPES

THE National DemocraticParty, NDP when it wasformed just before the 2003

elections became a rallying pointfor many discontented membersof the ruling Peoples Democrat-ic Party, PDP.

The party as its founders pro-claimed at every opportunity,was a purpose built vehicle con-ceived by aficionados of formermilitary president, General Ibra-him Babangida to accomplish aromantic return to the Aso Villaby Babangida. As it turned out,Babangida consistently shunnedthe NDP choristers.

In 2003 when Babangidaturned deaf to the passionatepleas of the party officials, theparty at the last minute assignedits presidential ticket to Gen. IkeNwachukwu with Alhaji HabuFari, the national chairman fix-ing himself in as the runningmate.

The party’s visibility at that timewas helped by one of the coun-try’s most articulate political pub-licists, Prince Kassim Afegbua,the party’s pioneer Director ofPublicity. After Gen. Nwachuk-wu’s run, the baton was passed

Fari, Afegbua: Where is the NDPcarcass?

on to Fari himself in 2007 at thelast minute after Gen. Babangi-da again shunned the NDP’seternal offer of its presidentialticket.

Fari ran the race albeit unsuc-cessfully. After he picked up thepresidential ticket, the office of

the national chairman becamevacant and Fari’s longsufferingdeputy, Prince Chudi Chukwua-ni, himself another Babangidaapologist assumed Fari’s office.

After the contest Fari posi-tioned himself as Chairman ofthe Board of Trustees of the par-

ty with Chukwuani formally tak-ing the position of national chair-man.

But that was not to be for long.The erstwhile Director of Publici-ty of the party, Prince Afegbuawho by 2007 had risen to becomethe Director-General of the party,

demurred and led a rebellion.Afegbua led a faction of the

party to wrest control of the partyas he assumed the office of na-tional chairman. Afegbua was toengage the duo of Fari andChukwuani in a media war overthe control of the party.

Afegbua was to subsequentlydistinguish himself as thespokesman to General Babangi-da successfully running a briefthat saw him take political oppo-nents of the General to the clean-ers.

Remarkably, while Afegbuawas distinguishing himself inarticulating the thoughts from theMinna hill top of Babangida, Fariwas also reinventing himself inpushing the national chairman-ship aspiration of the PDP of busi-ness mogul, Alhaji BamangaTukur. While the campaign last-ed, Fari was all about Tukur, plan-ning strategy and settings forTukur’s campaign to become na-tional chairman of the PDP.

Today, after helping Tukur tosuccessfully push out all other 11contenders for the national chair-manship of the PDP, Fari, theerstwhile national chairman ofthe NDP, the chairman of the BoTof the NDP is the Chief of Staff tothe national chairman of the PDP,Alhaji Tukur!

His one time friend turned foe,Prince Afegbua is also today, theDirector of Media to the Oshi-omhole Gubernatorial Campaignin Edo State!

So, what happened to the of-fice of national chairman of theNATIONAL DEMOCRATICPARTY? The two men have anexplanation for the party’s fol-lowers.

*Fari: First Chairman of NDP *Afegbua: Former chairman

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—41

BY FESTUS AHON

IT'S been over eight monthsnow since GoodluckJonathan assumed the

leadership of this country asPresident, are you satisfiedwith the pace of developmentin the Niger Delta region?

Indeed I wouldn’t use theword satisfied even though weare encouraged by some of hispolicies towards the NigerDelta. But we want to see a verysignificant spate ofdevelopment in the NigerDelta. We want to see anextensive development of theNiger Delta. If the Presidenthappens to come from thatarea, it doesn’t necessarilymean he should be partisan indispensing public resources.God has already given us thatedge economically by puttingthe resources that can sustainthis nation within the territoryof the Niger Delta. So I see noreason why government willnot comply with the 30%derivation and give room forinfrastructural development forour people. My belief was thatthe late President, UmaruMusa, may his soul rest inpeace, did very well by settingup the Ministry of the NigerDelta. Now we are expectingthe ministry in collaborationwith other Niger Deltaagencies to now harmonizeand significantly develop thisregion which has suffered forover 50years of oil explorationand even despoliation.

Today one of your sons isthe President of this countrybut then not much work isbeing done on the East/Westroad?

That thing beats ourimagination hollow; that withthe resources we have, andindeed with the contribution wemake everyday to this nation,the Nigeria state cannotconcede to allow us develop,just to create a road, East-Westroad to link us to civilization, itpains me. I want to use thisopportunity to call on thePresident that he should triplehis effort not double it to ensurethat, that road is completed sothat he could liberate thepeople of the Niger Delta frombackwardness and the state ofpoverty. Indeed, East Westroad, is just a minute aspect ofthe problem; the developmentof the region is in the masterplan, that is the real challengeand we believe that he shoulddo this with pragmatic speedto enable us have a sense ofbelonging in this nation.

Some Northerners are of theview that the 13% oilderivation should be reduced.What is your reaction to it?

No state in the Niger Deltahas ever received 13%derivation: quote me. SinceMay 29, 1999 till date, no stateof the Niger Delta has receiveda full 13% derivation. FromJune 1, 1999 to September,

The voodoo about 13% derivation toN/Delta — Mudiaga-Odje

2004, President OlusegunObasanjo was paying 13%derivation, but left offshore. Sofor Delta State which has 75%onshore and 25% offshore,Obasanjo was only paying 13%of 75% onshore.

In September 2004, Obasanjocreated the Excess Crude oilAccount into which he paid theexcess money above the benchmark of the budget.

For example, the budget nowis based on $72 and it is now$111. The $39 excess times 2.46million barrels is being paidinto what they called SovereignWealth Fund or the so calledthe Excess Crude oilAccount. $72 times 2.456million barrels is now beingpaid into the account for 13%derivation so what we get is 13%of $72 and not 13% of $111, theactual price in the internationalmarket. So how could you saynow that we are receiving 13%.In other words, we arereceiving less than 10%. Andyou are telling us that you wantto further reduce thederivation. Governmentshould not even waste its timein listening to such agitation. As we speak now, no statefrom May 1999 till date has everreceived 13% derivation in full

Dr Akpo Mudiaga-Odje is human rights activist and a constitutional lawyer. In thisinterview he speaks on the raging issue of resource allocation to the Niger Deltaregion, the inclinations of the President towards the region and the permutations ofa second term for President Jonathan.Excerpts:

because of the manipulation ofgovernment towardsappropriation, the resources ofthe people of the Niger Delta.And again, remember ourleader at the bar and one of thefinest lawyers of our time, FemiFalana drew attention to the factagain that government receives

money paid for the crude oil indollars but they pay themoney to us in naira; furtherreducing 10% percent again toabout 8%. You can see what Imean. This is exactly thevoodoo and policy ofgovernment that havemanipulated against the people

of the Niger Delta for over 50years.

So what is your view on theExcess Crude Oil as a legalPractitioner?

It goes without saying it isunconstitutional. There is nowhere in the constitution wherethat word is mentioned. If thereis, I beg someone to tell me inmy little knowledge. There isno where like that. Section 162says pay all revenue into thefederation account. So it is anaberration.

Do you support anotherterm for President GoodluckJonathan?

There is no question aboutthis. He has the right to do so.The question that may arise isthe nature of the tenure,whether it will go beyond eightor nine years as the case maybe. He has the right to go fortwo terms and if we go by theSupreme Court judgment, itmeans he will spend eightyears. Even if he wins theelection if he contests, he willspend eight years because theconstitution does not envisagehim to get more than what heactually intended to get. So ifyou look at the judgment thatsacked the five governors at theSupreme Court and you applyit, he is entitled to eight yearsand nothing more. So he isentitled to have a second termif the people desire to vote him.

IT is barely three weeks tothe first anniversary ofGovernor Emmanuel

Uduaghan’s commemorationof his second term as governorof Delta State andstakeholders expectedly arerushing to judgment on theimpact of the mega projects ofthe administration.

While one of the foundingfathers of the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party PDP, ChiefIghoyota Amori, presently aSenior Political Adviser to thegovernor, said that thegovernor was on course, aprivate legal practitioner andleader of Civil Rights group,demurred.

According to Amori, “thegovernor is a very focusedpersonality who knows hisonions. His developmentalstrides have taken the stateinto the next level through histhree point agenda. TheAsaba international airport,the teaching hospital inOghara, the dualisedUghelli-Asaba road, Koko EkuEffurun, refinery other majorroads across the state the freematernal care, the successrecorded in the micro creditscheme, the street light and

UDUAGHAN: DifDifDifDifDifffffferent serent serent serent serent stroktroktroktroktrokes ones ones ones ones onfirfirfirfirfirssssst annivt annivt annivt annivt annivererererersarsarsarsarsaryyyyy

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

scholarship scheme and ofcourse the IPP project andhuman developmentprogramme are some of thesuccess stories of theUduaghan administration.You cannot take that from him.

He is on course”, said Amori.But Mr. Oghenajabor Ikimi,

the national co-ordinator forthe Forum and Human RightsDefence, FJHD noted thatgovernor’s performance “incandid assessment has notbeen felt by the downtroddenmasses of the State as officialcorruption, inequality andinjustice remains the biggestobstacle to the development ofthe entire State and as suchwe state without fear ofequivocation that there isnothing to celebrate about.

“We call for the umpteenthtime on all well meaningDeltans and indeed Nigeriansto henceforth cultivate theidea of asking their leadersquestions by monitoring theiractivities and holding themaccountable for their actionsand inaction”, he added.

Governor Uduaghan hadshortly after his re-electionfor a second term in officesaid although running twoelections within a space offour months was challenging

as pressure was mounted onhim to still go to court overtenure elongation which henarrowly missed.

“It is an electoral process inwhich I happen to be aguinea pig and that is the wayI feel. First, we had a scenariowhere for three and halfyears, we were still in thetribunal. The normal processshould not take that long andI am happy that it has beencorrected now in the newElectoral Law that ensuresthat after the election, it takesabout 180 days within whichthe case will be disposed off.

“I have to contest anotherelection and another legalissue arose and that is shouldthe time spent in the officebefore, which was termedillegal form part of my tenurein the office. Of course, wewent to court and the lowercourt ruled that it should beadded based on a newelectoral law that was signedon the day I was sworn in”,he said.

*Mudiaga-Odje: Jonathan can contest 2015

*Uduaghan: Delta Gov

CMYK

42 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

I HAVE consistently advocatedin this column for theadoption of common sense

economic policies and sensiblepolitics as necessary toolstowards the eradication ofpoverty and the growth of wealthin our country. I have also beenpreaching the sermon of goodmanagement of the country‘senormous economic resources forthe eradication of poverty and thepromotion of wealth andprosperity. My conviction is thata sound budget religiouslyoperated could help in bringingjoy to the hearts of manyNigerians. As a critic of theCentral Bank‘s harsh monetarystance, and as an advocate ofliberal fiscal policy of the FederalGovernment, I remainincorrigibly optimistic that soonerthan later, a ‘trial and error‘method of reforms wouldsucceed. I breathe fresh air fromthe provisions of the 2012 Budgetrecently passed by theLegislature and assented to bythe President. I discovered thatthe Budget manifests in itsintentions bold measures totackle some of the endemicproblems of the country – twinevils of famine and poverty.

Some analysts perhaps believethat hunger and poverty wouldpersist unless something drasticis done to increase the nationalincome and wealth of thecountry. Thus the fiscal policyof the federal government couldbe interpreted as an attempt toincrease domestic foodproduction, raise rural incomeand impact positively onemployment. Attention wouldfocus on large scale productionof cassava to reduce the relianceon wholesale importation ofwheat for bread, which is ourstaple food. By the end of theyear 2012, the total duty and levy

on the importation of wheat flourwould be 100%. Also, theimportation of agriculturalmachinery would attract zero dutyand levy (as before).

The seriousness of this intentionwas recently highlighted by theMinister of Agriculture whoenvisaged that the transformationagenda in the agricultural sectorwould create more than 3 millionjobs and would also provideabout N300 billion to Nigerianfarmers. Relying on the speechof the Minister, ‘thetransformation agenda sets tocreate over 3-5 million jobs fromrice, cassava, sorghum, cocoa andcotton value chains. With manymore jobs to come from othervalue chains underimplementation‘.

In another breath, the Ministerof Agriculture, Dr. AkinwunmiAdesina stated that, ‘Theprogramme aims to provide overN300 billion of additional incomein the hands of Nigerianfarmers. Over N60 billion is tobe injected into the economy fromthe substitution of 20% of bread

shake their heads and utterdisdainfully that they are familiarwith ministerial rhetoric andpaper policy which nobodywould execute. The beauty ofany budget lies in its execution,which is subject to many factors.‘The economics of development,according to a commentator, isnot very complicated. It rests onsensible politics and good publicadministration. The failures ofthe past could be traced toinadequate political andadministrative institutions. If thetransformation agenda of theFederal Government is to besuccessful, it has to go deep down- states and local governmentshave to be carried along or, ifpossible, dragged along theroute of success. Also, themethods of improvingagriculture have to be moreimaginative and importantly too,innovative. The idea of bringingin the private sector (this time,established companies inproduce business) isacceptable. In the past,companies like UAC; PZ, UTC,John Holt, bought agriculturalproducts through their accreditedbuying agents and maintainedtheir storage depots. Farmerswere encouraged throughimmediate cash payment fortheir produce.

However, the successfulimplementation of agriculturaltransformation policy woulddepend on gradual process. The most important point is thatefforts should be made toincrease production by peasantfarmers in the rural areas. Mechanization of rural farmingis of no advantage if the farmerscannot realize immediate cash forits produce. His main concernis planting his main crops ontime, weeding them properly andharvesting them promptly and

wheat flour with cassava flour. Wewould have enabled Nigeria tobe food secure by increasingproduction of key food staple by20 million tons; rice 2 millionmetric tons; cassava 17 millionmetric tons and sorghum 1million metric ton‘.

The envisaged glorioustransformation agenda

would be based on activeparticipation with the privatesector in the handling of seedsand fertilizers to the farmers – aprovision of 50% support forfarmers. The private sectorwould also be empowered to selltheir inputs directly to farmersand build their ‘supply chains‘to get to rural areas; there wouldalso be provision of ‘risk sharingguarantee‘ to leverage loans frombanks for seed and fertilizercompanies and agro dealers‘. No analyst who has digested thestatements of the Minister on itsface value would not beconvinced by the elegance ofthose statistical figures and theconfidence behind them.

However, many analysts might

Sensible policiesrevisited

getting them to the market atlittle cost. Introduction of betterseeds, fertilizers and simple farmimplements would follow toincrease productivity, betteryields and more income. Fortunately, we have in thecountry a large pool ofunemployed Agriculturegraduates who could bedeployed to rural areas to effectthe necessary changes.

It is desirable that Nigeriansshould be encouraged tomanufacture simple farmimplements which are suitable tothe environment rather thanresort to importation of farminggadgets which would be difficultand require power to operate,even if these are not subject toany import duty. In the past, theNigerian manufacturers ofsimple farm implements had notbeen encouraged under anyagriculture reform programme;this is the time to bring them intothe reformation agenda. If theintention is to increaseagricultural production, the bestplace to start is in the ruralbackground where actual farmersare getting old and hoes andcutlasses are still in vogue.

Since it is generally believedthat the most direct and effectivemethod of improving thestandard of living of a greaternumber of Nigerians andspreading an appreciativeamount of prosperity is toincrease agricultural income, thereform programme should notfail. However, it is possible forany progressive fiscal initiativeto be jeopardized by a hostilemonetary environment. It isgood news that the Central Bankis poised to support the policy ofdomestic agriculturalexpansion. A warning is –provide enough supply at homebefore toying with importation.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

SENATOR Ike Ekweremaduwho has represented theEnugu West Senatorial

district since 2003 wouldordinarily have been rolling outthe drums this weekend on hisattainment of the golden age.However, the naturalintervention of the demise of hisfather curtailed plans for pompand pumping of hands in thesenatorial district.

The five local governments inthe constituency include Aninri,Awgu, Ezeagu, Oji-River andUdi. Before the inception of thefourth republic in 2003, a little washeard about the senatorial districtin terms of urbanization andprovision of moderninfrastructure.

The zone which had contributedimmensely to the politicaldevelopment of Enugu stateremained under-developeddespite the emergence ofrenowned politicians and topmilitary officers from the area.Although such politicians andmilitary officers, some of who hadserved as military administratorsin different states across thecountry, were seen as veryinfluential during their time, theywere unable to attract basicinfrastructure that were neededto uplift the status of the zone.

EKWEREMADU: Giving succour toEnugu West constituents

BY TONY EDIKE

The people of the zone continuedto lament their woes undersuccessive administrations withno good roads, portable waterand electricity in most of thecommunities.

Through the instrumentality ofhis office, Ekweremadu facilitatedthe construction of roads, erosioncontrol, water and electricityprojects across the five localgovernment areas in his EnuguWest senatorial district. Beyondthe expectations of many, theSenator extended hisconstituency projects outside hisconstituency as many projectswere also sited in Enugu Eastsenatorial district between 2009and 2010. Some of the projectsinitiated and completed from hisfirst tenure in 2003 to date includeconstruction of Oji-Achi-Mmaku-Ndeabor-Mpu-Okpanku-Akaeze road with bridges;rehabilitation of Ohaozara-Uburu-Ishiagu road; constructionof Enugu-Onitsha express road;Ninth Mile-Enugu-Port Harcourtexpress road; Obollo-Affor-Ehamufu-Nkalagu road, secondNiger Bridge across River Niger;and rehabilitation of Nenwe-

Oduma road.In the area of electricity and

energy, Ekweremadu alsofacilitated the construction ofSolar Plants and streetlights invarious communities in Aninri,Awgu, Udi, Ezeagu and Oji-River in addition to constructionof Ivo Dam project. Erosion

Obeagu erosion control; RosaryHigh School, Awgu erosion site,Amoli Junction to Enyimba Achierosion site; Isu Awaa-Agbudu-Ihe erosion control site; Mpu-Oduma erosion control, Nenwe-Oduma erosion site andAmokwe erosion control site.Over 15major erosion projects

were executed within the fivecouncils through the assistanceof the Deputy Senate President.

Mindful of the fact that majorityof Enugu people are farmers whoare regarded as low incomeearners, Ekweremadu got thefederal government to providesome irrigation and dams in thestate. His Aninri localgovernment which is regardedas the food basket of the state gotan irrigation project whileanother was sited at Amagunzein Enugu East. He also attractedanother project for Ada Rice inEnugu North to boost riceproduction.

Many communities alsobenefited from water projectsthrough the assistance ofEkweremadu who hasdemonstrated strongcommitment towards alleviatingpoverty among his people.Ndeabor, Nenwe, Oduma, Ihewater extension schemes andAku, Obeagu, Udi, Ezeagu,Agbada Ani, Amoli, Isuawaa exitschemes were facilitated byEkweremadu and executedduring the period under review.He also attracted some waterprojects to communities whichhad over the years suffered lackof portable water.*Mr. Edike is a staff ofVanguard Newspapers,Lagos.

control projectswere alsoattracted toameliorate thesufferings of hisconstituents inm a n ycommunitieswhose landedproperty andfarmlands hadbeen ravaged bygully erosion.E c o l o g i c a lprojects attractedand executed inv a r i o u scommunitieswithin thesenatorial districti n c l u d e dU g b o n a b o -U g b o k p a l a -

*Ekweremadu

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012 — 43

HOW will yourespond toclaims that you

don’t have sufficientpolitical andadministrative experienceto manage affairs of astate?

When they say publicsector experience, all mybusiness was done withgovernment, as acontractor. Secondly, I havebeen advising politiciansover the years. However,public administrationexperience in Nigeria hasbeen a colossal failure andeven if you have that kindof experience, it is theexperience of failure. Theydo not have what we callrelevant anddevelopmental experience.For somebody like me, atechnocrat bringingexperience from the privatesector that is calledinnovation, I have the kindof experience that ChiefAwolowo brought to theWestern Region. He wasnot in public administrationbefore he became theLeader of GovernmentBusiness in the region in1952. Fashola was not inpublic administrationbefore, Tinubu was not inpublic sector before, I was

YOU are aspiring forthe gubernatorialseat of Ondo State,

what will you do that theLabour Party has not donein the state?

Labour Party has beenthere for three years.Looking at the amount ofmoney that is coming fromthe federation account andinternally generatedrevenue to the state,coupled with the fact thatLP inherited about N38billion, what has been donein Ondo State is notcommiserate with theamount of money theyhave received. So ACNcan do much more better.

Unemployment is veryhigh. When ACN takesover the state, we willdefinitely do somethingabout it. We can say thatfor the past three years,there has been noemployment for teachersand promises are leftunfulfilled. There is nosingle industry in the state.The Labour Party promisedto revive some of the ailingcompanies, like OluwaGlass, up till now nothinghas been done.

Our roads are very bad.If the government is notable to construct new ones,it should be able torehabilitate the ones wehave. If you go to Akoko inthe North, where I hailfrom, the roads are so bad.The government is notconstructing any new roadbut just to beautify them.This is not what we want.The schools which they arenow building called megaschools, are not enoughand are far away from thestudents. You don’t expectchildren to walk aboutseven or more kilometresbefore attending school.That is why we say the oldschools which are nearer tothe pupils should be putright.

Because of what we haveseen done in Lagos, Ekiti,Osun, Ogun and EdoStates, we cannot allowOndo State to be doingsomething else. ACN musttake over Ondo State.

We have asked thegovernor to join the Oduagroup so that we can joinhands to construct betterroads, have joint thinkingand progress that way, buthe said no. He wants to bealone, we know what isgoing on in our state andothers, we know what weare receiving from theFederation Account. Oursis much more better thanwhat some others arereceiving. Productivity inOndo is low, that is why

ONDO ACN GUBER

ACN must takeover — Ajatta

BY DANIEL GUMM &ETOP EKANEM

TWO-TIME member of the House ofRepresentatives, representing Oshodi-IsoloFederal Constituency II in Lagos State, ChiefJaiyeola Ajatta, is now a gubernatorial aspiranton the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) in Ondo State. In this interview withVanguard, Ajatta speaks on how his party, ACNwill take over in Ondo State at the 2012governorship election as well as his programmesfor the state. Excerpts:

we say there must be achange.

Could you please listyour achievements in theHouse of Representativesduring the eight-yearstint?

The NNPC road at EjigboLocal CouncilDevelopment Area whichwas very bad, I moved amotion that the road shouldbe rehabilitated. I thankGod that my motion wasaccepted in the House.NNPC was asked torehabilitate the road butthey said it was not theirresponsibility. So we tookthe matter to the FederalMinistry of Works andthrough my efforts, theMinistry of worksrehabilitated the road at thecost of about N1.4 billion. Ialso moved a motion for abridge to be built at Ilasaarea of Lagos. Iconcentrated more onwhat I can do for myconstituency. I was able toexecute more than 50projects for myconstituency.

Your party is noted forselection of candidatesinstead of real primaries,how can you musterenough resources toclinch the candidacy inOndo considering thenumber of aspirantsalready?

That is not true. There isno election that is beingconducted in Nigeria byACN that does not fulfill theconduct of primaries. Whatwe know is that every partyhas to screen everycandidate that wants tocontest for any position. Ifsomeone comes up andsays he wants to contest theposition of a governor andthis person has just beenreleased from the prison,will they allow such aperson to go through thiselection? You assess theaspirants, allow them to gothrough the primaries,because the primaries areeven done openly. So, I willsay that ACN allowsprimaries because no partyallows people to come andtake position withoutassessing the type ofpeople they are. ACN hasprinciples guiding it. Thatmeans it is progressive.

Like now, we have a lotof people who want tocontest. When I got there,there were only fewaspiring for thegovernorship position buttoday we have about 30aspirants. We haveresolved that we will rallyaround anybody who willbe elected to represent theparty. All of us will worktogether to win thegovernorship election. Continues on page 50

BY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

not also in the public sectorbefore. Those who arearguing about the need forpublic sector before arepeople who are contentwith failure, people whohave been part and parcelof the system and thatsystem has been failing.

How do you intend toincrease internalgenerated revenue inOndo state?

The people ingovernment are used totaking money everymonth, so they don’t thinkhow they can generatemoney. But, for somebodylike me who knows verywell that we cannot andshould not solely dependon income from the federalgovernment because itshows that we are all idle,we are going to turnaround the state.

First and foremost, weare going to train ourpeople, our youths, ourprofessionals to therelevant needs of ourenvironment because thefirst thing is that you mustbe able to conquer yourenvironment to be able tosurvive very well. We shallnot allow our environmentto dictate to us.

How do you intend toplug the leakage pointsthat breed corruption?

When the leader isgood, the followers willtend to be good, that is thelaw of goodness. If the headis bad the whole of the bodywill be bad, and if the headis good, then most parts ofthe body will be good, sothe little part of the bodythat remains will be able totrust them. The people Iam going to appoint will bepeople of integrity, peoplewho have the interest of thepeople in mind.

It is alleged that all thenoise in Ondo is

propaganda and thatACN is not on the groundin Ondo. How do youreact to that?

Why did the chairman,deputy chairman, andother key officials of theLabour Party defect toACN? People are troopingin to join ACN. So, if weare not popular, why arepeople coming to join us?Don’t forget that our partyhas been restructured, andmembers can be found inall the nooks and cranniesof the local governmentareas of the state. Can youimagine that people aredecamping from thegovernment in power?Why are they notdecamping in Lagos andEkiti? Why are they notdecamping in Edo andOsun? So, if thisgovernment is popular, willit be losing its members tothe party that is not ingovernment, especially ina state where there are noindustries and peopledepend on government.

Are you afraid that ACNmay be its own enemy atthe end of the day; that itis a divided House thatmay not stand after theelection?

I normally use history forwhat is happening, toguide us. From pastexperience; we have neverhad a divided house in theACN. In Lagos we didelection there withoutdivided house, in Osunthere was no dividedhouse, in Ekiti there wasno divided house, in Edothere was no dividedhouse, in Oyo and Ogunthere was no divide house.As democrats, ourmembers believe in thesupremacy of the party; ifthe party leaders say theseare the people that wechoose to deliver thedemocracy, we will allsupport them.

Are you saying that thecontest is unlikely to leadto exodus from the party?How would youpersonally react if anotheraspirant gets the nod of the

I count onexperience — Abrahams

CHIEF Segun Abrahams, an engineer andbusiness mogul is one of the aspirants on theplatform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACNin the forthcoming gubernatorial election in OndoState. Abrahams who had in the past helped inenthroning the past civilian governors of the statein this interview with newsmen in Lagos explainswhy he is entering the fray himself this time. Heexplains the issues that would define the contestand explores his chances ahead of the partyprimaries. Excerpts:

*Ajatta: Ondo is in bad shape *Abrahams: It's over forLabour

44—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—45

CMYK

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

AMAH – I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AmahOgochukwu Judith,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Umunna OgochukwuJudith. All former docu-ments remain valid.Institute of Manage-ment and Technology,(IMT), NYSC and gen-eral public please takenote.

NWAFOR – I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissEdith IfeyinwaNwafor, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Ifeyinwa UgochukwuKenechukwu.Allformer documents re-main valid. UNIJOSand general publicplease take note.

EMILLIA – I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissEmillia NjidekaO d e n i g b oOzonnedum, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ibezim EmilliaNjideka. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

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AGBEDO – I, for-merly known andaddressed as MissEdith NwakaegoAgbedo, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Edith NwakaegoAli. All formerdocuments remainvalid. ESUT, NYSCand general pub-lic please take note.

MARTINS – I, for-merly known andaddressed as MissMartins IreneNneka, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Onuorah IreneNneka Amaka. Allformer documentsremain valid. Gen-eral public pleasetake note.

INOKOBA – I, for-merly known andaddressed as MissAnthonia DisereInokoba, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Anthonia DisereIdahosa-Ogie. Allformer documentsremain valid. Gen-eral public pleasetake note.

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ANOZIE – I, for-merly known andaddressed as MissAnozie ChinyereNkiru, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.U m e k u l u m eChinyere Nkiru.All former docu-ments remainvalid. General pub-lic please take note.

MUOLOO – I, formerlyknown and addressed asMiss Muoloo OluchiDoris, now wish to beknown and addressed asDr. (Mrs.) NwankwoOluchi Doris. . All formerdocuments remain valid.University of NigeriaNsukka, Federal Teach-ing Hospital Abakaliki,National Youth ServiceCorp and general publicplease take note.

EMESIANI – I,formerly knownand addressed asMiss TheresaNkiru Emesiani,now wish to beknown and ad-dressed as Mrs.Offiah TheresaNkiru. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General pub-lic please take note.

OBIANODO – I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissAdaobi UkamakaLynda Obianodo, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Adaobi UkamakaAziagba. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Rockview HotelApapa and generalpublic please takenote.

ALIKPE – I, formerlyknown and ad-dressed as Miss RitaSewuese Alikpe, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Iorkyase Terfa RitaSewuese. All formerdocuments remainvalid. University ofA g r i c u l t u r e ,Makurdi, NYSC andgeneral public pleasetake note.

SAALAKA– I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissSaalaka Erdoo Amina,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. Jato ErdooAmina Anysia. Allformer documents re-main valid. BenueState UniversityMakurdi and generalpublic please take note.

WOGWU – I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss PrincessRuhuoma Wogwu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs. Prin-cess RuhuomaA k p e v w e o g h e n eUsino. All former docu-ments remain valid.N.Y.S.C and Generalpublic please take note.

EZENOGHA - I,formerly known andaddressed as MissOtejiri Ezenogha,now wish to beknown and ad-dressed as Mrs.Otejiri Ibi. All formerdocuments remainvalid.General publicplease take note.

KUMANE - I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as Miss KateAwenayeri Kumane,now wish to beknown and ad-dressed as Mrs. KateAwenayeri Ejiduobo.All former documentsremain valid.Generalpublic please takenote

OJEH – I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Ojeh RachaelElohor, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Adeaga RachaelElohor. All formerdocuments remainvalid .Nakus Re-sources Ent.Ltd andgeneral Public pleasetake note.

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OJOBON – I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissOjobon EyinmisanJesse, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.A k i n s e f o l uEyinmisan Jesse. Allformer documentsremain valid.Generalpublic please takenote.

OKOJIE – I, for-merly known andaddressed as MissOkojie .I. Patience,now wish to beknown and ad-dressed as Mrs. Pa-tience AnthonyAkhuetie. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKOLEGBA-I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissOkolegba EwomaJoyce, now wish to beknown and ad-dressed asM r s . O l a r i n o y eEwoma Joyce. Allformer documents re-main valid.Generalpublic please takenote.

OMATIGHENE-I,formerly known andaddressed as MissOmatighene UhiElohor, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Odjebene Elohor.All former docu-ments remain valid.Jolotex Nig.Ltd. andgeneral publicplease take note.

UCHEKWE-I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Uchekwe GiftNkechi, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Odheisa GiftNkechi, All formerdocuments remainvalid. Juwadate Inter-national ltd, JualightOil Resources Ltd. andgeneral public pleasetake note.

OGODO-I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Grace EseOgodo, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Grace OgodoEbite. All former docu-ments remain valid.Local GovernmentService Commission,Asaba and generalpublic please takenote.

ADALUMO-I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissAdalumo Anuoluwa,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. AyodeleAnuoluwa. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Primary Edu-cation Board andgeneral publicPlease take note.

DURU-I, formerlyknown and ad-dressed as MissDuru Juliet, nowwish to be knownand addressed asMrs. OgeneJuliet. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Generalpublic please takenote.

IGENE-I, for-merly known andaddressed asMiss FlorenceIgene, now wishto known and asMrs. FlorenceAdekunle Job.. Allformer documentsr e m a i nv a l i d . G e n e r a lpublic please takenote.

JAFARU-I, for-merly known andaddressed as MissJafaru GloriaOjevwe, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Gloria OjevweKoenig. All formerdocuments remainvalid.General pub-lic please takenote.

EYIFOMA-I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissEyifoma Roli, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Menekpo Roli. Allformer documents re-main valid.WarriSouth Local Govern-ment Council andgeneral public pleasetake note.

O G B A I D E -I,formerly knownand addressed asMiss Zino HopeOgbaide, now wishto be known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Zino Hope Tedeye.All former docu-ments remainvalid.General publicplease take note.

EHEGUA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EheguaAyonomon Beauty,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrsE j i g b e r e r i m uAyonomon Beauty. Allformer document re-main valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

ENOGHASE-I, for-merly known and ad-dressed asOmorogbe OsazuwaStanley Enoghase,now wish to be knownand addressed asOmorogbe OsazuwaStanley. All formerdocuments remainvalid.UNIBEN andgeneral public pleasetake note.

ONAKPODHOMA-I,formerly known andaddressed as MissCaroline OvokaremeOnakpodhoma, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Oboh CarolineOvokareme. Allformer documents re-main valid.Generalpublic please takenote.

OTIOTIO-I, formerlyknown and ad-dressed as MissOtiotio Philippa, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Philippa OtiotioTemile. All formerdocuments remainvalid.General publicplease take note.

OLUWATOBA-I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissOluwatoba OmolayoBolatito, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Babalola OmolayoBolatito. All formerdocuments remainvalid.General publicplease take note.

ECHEHUM- I, for-merly known and ad-dressed as MissEchehum LilianChinyere, now wish tobe known and ad-dressed as Mrs. IhimLilian Chinyere. Allformer documents re-main valid. Nursingand Midwifery Coun-cil of Nigeria and gen-eral public please takenote.

IBEH- I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss ChinweotitoPatricia Ibeh, now wishto be known and ad-dressed as Mrs.Chinweotito PatriciaOnyegbula. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Nursing andMidwifery Council ofNigeria and generalpublic please takenote.

EJIMADU- I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AmarachiMaryjoan Ejimadu,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Amarachi MaryjoanAjoko. All former docu-ments remain valid.Nursing and Mid-wifery Council Of Ni-geria and general pub-lic please take note.

NNAMDI- I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss NnamdiGloria Nkemakolam,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ogbuji GloriaNkemakolam. Allformer documents re-main valid. Nursingand Midwifery Coun-cil of Nigeria and gen-eral public please takenote.

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HOW would you appraisethe present

administration in Lagos?Well, so far I still hold very

strongly to some of the views Iexpressed during theelectioneering campaign,particularly with regards tomaking the government, peoplefriendly. Government is about thepeople and it is not about thepeople in government.

That is what democracy is allabout. As you will recall, theprinciple of democracy is aboutgovernment of the people, bypeople and for the people and

Lagos govt should bepeople-friendly — Dosunmu

BY LAJA THOMAS

*Dosunmu: It's the most expensive tollgate in the world

every political actor, particularlyin the executive arm shouldremind themselves of thisprinciple of democracy. You cannot operate the system as if youare on your own.

All over the world, leaders haveshifted their emphasis and focusto the people; here too we shouldshift our emphasis and focus tothe people and we should stopthinking that government is forourselves, when government isfor the people.

One of the ways by which youassess any government, is to seehow well that government’spolicies and programmes haveimpacted positively on the

people.It is only on that premise that

you can adjudge whether thegovernment of Lagos State hasreally done well or not and youneed to go out there to make anassessment of the perception ofthe majority to know how wellhave they impacted positively bythe various governmentprogrammes.

For instance, Lagos StateUniversity (LASU) wasestablished to make educationaffordable to Lagosians; at a pointthe university was virtuallyoperating free but because of thecost of administration and what

but only about 1,800 matriculated.I am predicting and saying it withall sense of responsibility that inthe next admission, LASU will noteven have up to 500 people thatwill choose the university.

The issue of tollgate in Lekki,is also one area that I feel thegovernment has not really takeninto consideration, the plight ofthe masses of the people of Lagosstate.

I want to tell you, that that isthe most expensive tollgate I amseeing anywhere in the world.Don’t forget that, that is an intra-city road; it is not even inter. Thattollgate, cuts across Lekki, Eti-

begin to give government policiessome human face.

The Lagos state governmentis at loggerheads with the

Medical doctors. How do youthink this impasse can beresolved.

Well you see in industrialrelations, there is something wecall collective bargaining, andcollective bargaining is a process,whereby all the parties indispute, will come to a table andagree on how to resolve whateverthe issue is.

I remember last year they wereon strike for some months andone would have expected thatgovernment by now, shouldhave resolved what ever theissues are. But I am surprisedthat up till now, they are stilltalking about the same issues. Isit that somebody is not doinganything or is it that theproblems, defies all solutions orwhat because I can not justunderstand why it has to beLagos State doctors, every timegoing on strike. It is very, verysad.

The House of Representativesad-hoc committee recentlyrevealed the alarming fraudperpetrated in the name of fuelsubsidy. What is your take onthis report?

The government has taken abold step by even allowing theprobe in the first place. That acthas clearly shown that the federalgovernment is up and doing inensuring the system is rid ofcorruption. We all know what wewent through during the fuelsubsidy protest and the protestremains the longest strike thecountry experienced in recenttimes. I believe the governmentis going to do something aboutit, to ensure that the system iscleansed of corruption and thatsuch abuses do not repeat itselfagain.

The Action Congress ofNigeria recently labeled therecent PDP convention asundemocratic. Do you agree?

Well, I don’t know what theymean by undemocratic, becauseconsensus is part of democracyas far as I’m concerned. Howmany of the opposition partieshave held this type of conventionthat PDP held? In ACN, whatthey do is anointment andimposition.

A candidate will just beanointed and everybody will goand adopt. PDP as the largestparty in Africa has gone beyondthe expectation of the oppositionparties. They were waiting for aconvention that will be rancorous,that will lead to crisis; so most ofthem were disappointed thatPDP despite its size, can manageitself.

DR. Adewunmi Dosunmu was the candidate of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP in the lastgubernatorial election in Lagos State. Dosunmu was atone time Director-General of the Nigerian Maritimeand Safety Agency, NIMASA before his politicaladvent. In this interview, he gives his appraisal of thepresent administration in Lagos State and othercontemporary issues. Excerpts: ,

,

have you, they introduced feesand the fees got to a point ofabout N25,000 or N30,000 beforethe present Lagos Stategovernment increased it tobetween N190,000 to N350,000.

That is the most expensivepublic university in this countryand when you do the rating ofbest universities, I am not sure itranks amongst the best. So whatcan be responsible for that andhow many Lagosians can affordto send their children to LASU?You can now see that we arebeginning to feel the negativeeffect of that policy.

At the last admission in LASU,about 4,900 people were admitted

Osa local government , Ibeju,Lekki and Epe. So people livingwithin that axis, have to pay inand out of their residence andthese people are Lagosians, whoare also paying taxes to thegovernment. And when you paytax to government, there arecertain things that you expect.

One, infrastructure is the basicresponsibility of government, toprovide road, public education isa basic responsibility ofgovernment and public health.

So I don’t know where they gottheir own idea about governancefrom where people have to payabout N 300, daily to move toand from to work. I think we must

In ACN, what they do isanointment and imposition, acandidate will just be anointed andeverybody will go and adopt, PDPas the largest party in Africa hasgone beyond the expectation of theopposition parties

IS it not possible for apoliticians to hijack your

organisation and use it fortheir own interest?

It is possible, and we haveconsidered the possibility. Wehave put at the core of theleadership of Mezi Obodo menand women who are gainfullyemployed and cannot be easilyswayed.

Those in the group are not

Our constitution is treated asmere contraption — Ikoh

BY DOTUN IBIWOYE

*Ikoh

THE President of Ohajia Improvement UnionIncorporated, Lagos State, Mr. Ndukwe Ikoh, hasrecently been in the news on account of his formationof the Mezie Obodo, an interventionist organisationwith interests in the South East. In this interview hespoke on the organisation's roles in upholdingdemocracy, security challenges and other issues in thecountry. Excerpts:

political jobbers. I concede thatsome people, no matter howmuch they already have, couldstill sell out, but we want tothink that majority of themembership of the group is notlike that.

Our organisation, MezieObodo is not a politicalmovement. It means ‘be goodto the community’.

What’s your comment on thestate of the nation?

Two words, in my opinion,

still have hopes in the country’sability to pull through; if not foranything else, but for the factthat we still have democracyhere.

would describe the state of thenation today: confusion andcrisis. Confusion in the sensethat you’re not sure what wouldhappen the very next day; youwake up one day and findsomething different from whatyou’d expected.

The crisis concerns thesecurity challenges the nationis presently grappling with.Boko Haram has happened,and now it has assumedinternational dimensions andattracted global consciousness.

Kidnapping is still very muchthere even though other crimeshave dwarfed the attention onkidnapping. High levelcorruption has subsisted and ison the rise. That is the state ofthe nation today. Despite thescenario I have just painted, I

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L E I S U R ETHOUGHT FOR TODAY

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Commen3 by Lawrence Akapa

By Richard Eromosele TAURUS; Monetary Venus makes an ingress into yourStar sign with good luck to you. Financial success iscloser to you than you can imagine. Give it a big push.

GEMINI; Here is a good day when influential person-alities around you will be willing to assist you but youwill need to take the initiative. Take good advice.

CANCER; This is your day. The more ambitious youare along your career line the better for you. And friendsare willing to give the needed supports.

LEO; Your mind is truly active and if you’re more prac-tical about it success’ll crown your efforts. Reasonwith your tried and trusted friends.

VIRGO; Coming of monetary and loving into a posi-tive angle to your Star sign is a big plus. On a day likethis the more ambitious you are the better. It’s good tobe loving

LIBRA; The more willing you are to listen to your part-ners and/or spouse the better for you today. Friendsare trying to convince you that the are reliable.

SCORPIO; The more push-ful you are along your ca-reer/business lines the better. Embrace new method atwork. Don’t neglect your love life.

SAGITTARIUS; Here is a day you are not meant toignore new ideas that come suddenly. It’s good to takematters of the heart more seriously. Listen to your spouseplease.

CAPRICORN; Monetary and romantic Venus is join-ing mighty Sun at positive angle to your Star and bring-ing you good influence. Be more ambitious.

AQUARIUS; Although your being co-operative can en-hance your scope, your personal ideas and initiativeare guarantee for a bigger do.

PISCES; Those of you who are more consistent willhave more to gain. Good ideas on monetary issues willenhance your finances. Be more family minded.

ARIES; Entrance of monetary and romantic Venus intoa positive angle is meant to enhance your finances.The more willing you are to take good advice the bet-ter. Be loving.

According to the date I was born I should be a Libran bymy star but most of the time when I read horoscopes writtenby both yourself and foreign Astrologers Scorpio alwaysapplicable to me, why?

Kindly tell me how the planets lined up when I was bornand the day of the week I was born but don’t publish my dateof birth.

Soji, Epe.

Dear Soji,You were born on a Sunday meaning that mighty Sun rules

your birthday. You were wrong to have taken Libra as your Sunsign because the Sun was placed in early degree of Scorpiotogether with many other heavenly bodies. Then with the Moonin Libra when you were born will equally be influential inyour characteristics build up but, you are mainly a Scorpioborn person.

You are both an intelligent and emotional person. And asthere was no planet at home when you were born, too manyideas will always struggle for prominent place in your mind,thus decision making is difficult but most times, your intelli-gence comes to the rescue.

Certainly, you appear to other as a gentle person who canbe mistaken for soft fellow but your inner-self is the personal-ity with a steel like will power.

You are the consistent type who may find it difficult tochange once you have made up your mind as indicated bydistribution of the planets as written out in paragraph two ofthis exercise.

One major challenge you have been battling for a very longtime is constant worries, some times, necessarily and the othertime, uncalled for, as indicated by conjunction Mercury andSaturn formed when you were born.

Placement of your natal Sun (basic self head) and Moon(your sub-conscious self) in Scorpio and Libra respectively areindications of your being mainly Scorpio born person andpartly in Libran. And that is to say basic characteristics ofboth Scorpio and Libra are highly pronounced in you.

Then, you are spiritually gifted; if you don’t develop it isanother thing.

What’s my birthdayruler?

Never be lessMAN has only

one enemy inhis life. I guess youwant to know whothat enemy is? Sup-posing I ask you to tellme who your enemyis, who would youpoint finger to? I ampretty sure your next

door neighbour willbe your target.

Supposing I tell you,your answer is far fromthe truth, what will beyou reaction? Thetruth is that you areyour own worst en-emy. Even if the whole

world is against you,if you don’t surrenderto them, you willmaintain your great-ness and dignity evenin death.

Only two things canhappen to a man inlife — he is either

greater or lesser, big-ger or smaller, in peaceor in pieces, but if hekeeps the good fight,remain loyal to hiscause, he will never bediminished. Truly, hewill be counted amongthe great.

Think about it!

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—57

VISIT: From right— Senator Nenadi Usman; Senator Boluwaji Kunlere;Senator Helen Esuene, Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Socialand Youth Development and Mr. Michael Fawole, Acting Director-General,Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, CLTC, during an oversightfunction visit by the lawmakers to CLTC Sea School in Lagos, yesterday.

Nigerian gynaecologist killedin Cameroon

Firm tasks FG on potable water

Uduaghan urged to honour selfless service

Hearing in Gbenga Daniel's N1bn suit forMay 31

AN Ogun State HighCourt, Shagamu, has

adjourned till May 31,further hearing in the N1billion libel suit by theformer governor of the state,Otunba Gbenga Danielagainst two of his formerpolitical associates.

Trial judge is Justice E.Osinuga. Defendants in thesuit are former chairman ofIjebu-East LocalGovernment Area, TundeOladunjoye and Daniel’sformer Chief PressSecretary, Wale Adedayo.

The court, beforeadjourning the matter, hadgranted Daniel’sapplication for substitutedservice on the defendants.The court also ordered thatthe defendants be servedeither personally or bypasting on their knownresidence or throughnewspaper advertisement.

Daniel, in the suit, is askingthe court to order defendantsto pay him N500 million eachas compensation over theiralleged role in an allegedlibelous publication againsthim.

He is contending thattheir strained relationshipled the defendants to

defection to the oppositionparty and resorted topublication of offensive andinjurious articles againsthim, especially through on-line network publications,which was calculated todamage his reputation andlower his estimation in theeyes of right-thinkingmembers of the public.

He argued: “Thedefendants resorted tomassive media onslaughtagainst me by publishingfalse, malicious, andunsubstantiated storiesagainst me with themalicious intent of doingincalculable damage to myreputation.”

BY INNOCENT ANABA

PORT HARCOURT—ACameroon-based

Nigerian gynaecologist, Dr.Samuel Ogoke, has beenfound dead in his home inGaroua, NorthernCameroon. Ogoke, 43,hailed from Ahiara inMbaise Local GovernmentArea of Imo State.

Chairman of Imo/AbiaAssociation in Garoua, Mr.Ibeabuchi Ololo, toldnewsmen on phone fromGaroua, Wednesday, thatOgoke was allegedly killedin his house on May 8.

He said: “Dr. Ogoke’slandlady came to me tocomplain, Wednesday, thathe had not come out. Isuspected foul play andwent with three othermembers of our associationto his house.

“We saw his doors andwindows opened, and onentering his bedroom, allhis electrical applianceswere on. We saw his deadbody. His hands and legswere tied with cello tape,

with wounds on his headand stomach.”

Ololo said members of theassociation did not touch hisbody and decided to reportto the police in Garoua. Hesaid the police went toOgoke’s house with adoctor who examined himand said he had died ofinternal bleeding.

“We have taken his body

to the mortuary and willmeet soon to decide whento bring his body home forburial,” he added.

Ololo said the police inGaroua had asked them tocome back for anothermeeting. He said Ogokereturned from Nigeria onMay 7, where he went tobuy equipment and drugswhich he supplies tohospitals in Garoua.

“We are still at a loss onwhat happened to Dr.

Ogoke. It is very unusualbecause we have not hadthis kind of experience inthe past,” Ololo added.

Ogoke, he said, had livedin Garoua for more than 15years, practising as agynaecologist and abusinessman. Ogoke wasof tremendous assistance tothe Dolphins FC of PortHarcourt when they playeda CAF Champions Leaguematch against Coton Sportsof Garoua on April 8.

Tanker drivers to FG: We won'tleave Abuja-Kaduna road until...

ABUJA—NIGERIANAssociation of Road

Transport Owners,NARTO, and Association ofPetroleum Tanker Drivers,PTD, have asked theFederal Government toprovide them with readyand conducive parking lotin Tafa town on Abuja-

Kaduna Road before theywould vacate the road.

National President ofNARTO, Alhaji KassimBataiya, said until FederalGovernment provided thenecessary facilities, such asflooring the ground withlaterite, mounting of entryand exit gates, amongothers and make the 15-hectare space on the Abuja-Kaduna Road ready,tankers could not vacate themajor road.

Bataiya, who briefedMinister of State for Works,Amb Bashir Yuguda, duringan inspection tour of theAbuja-Kaduna Road by theWorks Minister, yesterday,noted that it was difficult fordrivers to move theirtankers without provisionfor space to park.

He explained that 65 percent of tankers in thiscountry supply Abuja and

Lagos alone, adding thatthe owners of those tankerswere not based in Abuja,hence could not provideparking space for theirtankers.

However, the Ministerwarned that governmentwould not tolerateindiscriminate parking oftankers on the major roads,which he said leads to heapof refuse on both sides ofthe major road.

He said: “Governmentcannot ensure the safetyand health of the people ofthis town and other roadusers if we have tankersparked indiscriminately onthe expressway.

“The problem of Tafatown is not only the parkingof tankers, but the dumpingof refuse, which is notacceptable to governmentfor safety and the health ofthe road users.”

BY FAVOURNNABUGWU

NDDC boss advocatespoverty reduction

U G H E L L I —M A N A G I N G

Director of Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission,NDDC, Dr. Chris Oboh,has called for deliberatesteps to reduce poverty inthe Niger Delta region andmarch the citizens,particularly youths andwomen to prosperity.

Oboh, at a one-dayworkshop on the Role ofWomen in NationalTransformation Agenda,organised for women inDelta State, said: “Much isexpected from everystakeholder towards therealisation of set goals.”

Represented by thestate Coordinator ofNDDC, Dr. OmawumiUrhobo, Oboh stressedthe need for projects andprogrammes that havedirect impact on thepeople, assuring that theCommission was doingits best in that direction.

BY FESTUS AHON

Conference

F E D E R A LGovernment has

been urged to adopt thenew water treatmentsystem called MeckowAquapur to complement

G O V E R N O RE m m a n u e l

Uduaghan of Delta Statehas been called upon toappreciate those who haverendered selfless service tothe government either in thepast or present as a sign ofencouragement to people.

Former Chairman ofGbekebor community inBurutu Local GovernmentArea, Mr. Alapala Ebiton-mo, made this call in Warri.

He said in April 27, 2007,during Uduaghan’s cam-paign to Burutu council,Mr. Emmanuel Ogidi, then

state PDP Chairman’s boatcapsized in Burutu Ports.

He said: “I and my menrescued the boat and themen in it. We returned theguns belon-ging to themobile police. I was thenthe Commander of NigerDelta Freedom Fighters.”

Non-indigenes endorseMimiko for 2nd tenure

GOVERNOR OlusegunMimiko of Ondo State

has declared that noamount of propagandawould deter him fromserving the people becausehis government is divineand ordained by God, evenas the umbrella body of allnon-indigenes resident inthe state, The Non-Indige-ne Alliance, endorsed thehis re-election bid.

The group’s President-General, Mr. Frank Sheen,led members of the groupto the governor’s office todeclare support for hissecond-term bid. Mr. KingAdenuga, Chairman of theSouth-West zone andPresident of the Ogun Statechapter, read the Alliance’s

address in which he eulogi-sed Governor Mimiko forthe unprecedentedtransformation of the state.

Adenuga noted that allthe residents of the state,indigenes or non-indigenes alike, havecontinued to enjoy thedividends of democracy inMimiko’s administration.

He added that the motherand child hospital in Akurehas also continued toalleviate the suffering ofthe poor because allpregnant womenresident in the state, andfrom the neighbouringstates have beenenjoying qualitymaternal healthcare atno cost.

CMYK

THE Lagos State branchof the Old Boys

Association of EghosaGrammar School, Benin-City,will be holding its monthly

Eghosa Old Boys meetmeeting this Sunday.

The meeting will be held atthe residence of Mr. PhilipsonOkonobo at 1004 Estate,Victoria Island, Lagos.

VICTORY LeadershipInstitute is set to

organise an internationalleadership empowermentconference on Build theLeader; Build the Church,between May 15 and 18.

In a statement by theconvener, PastorEmmanuel Falodun, theconference, to be held atThe City of Light Church,Ijeshatedo, Lagos, isdesigned for capacitybuilding because thecapacity of leaders is thestrength of the Church.

its commitment toproviding safe drinkingwater for Nigerians as itworks towards achievingvision 2020.

Managing Director ofBGV Ltd, Mrs IyadunmiGbadebo, said thisyesterday in Lagos at aninteractive session withjournalists.

She said the MeckowAquapur watertreatment system, whichwas designed anddeveloped by Dr.Leighton James, aresearch scientist, isbasically used for thetreatment of non-salinewater from surfacesources such as ponds,lakes and reservoirs aswell as ground sourceslike wells, boreholesand spring.

58—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11 , 2012

GROOVE GROOVE GROOVE GROOVE GROOVE EXTRAEXTRAEXTRAEXTRAEXTRA

I sing fI sing fI sing fI sing fI sing for women – or women – or women – or women – or women – J ROCUPCOMING Afro Hip-

hop and dancehallartiste, J-roc, has revealed hisplans to release the video ofhis wave-making singletitled,“Flavour ” which isalready enjoying airplay inradio stations and dancehallsacross the country.

‘Flavour ’, a smoothsensational track for the ladieswas produced by Hcode, thebeat monster who is alsobehind the production of songsby some top artistes like 2face,Vector, Tiwa Savage andSauce kid. He is also featuredin the song.

The track Flavour is the firstin a series of singles he hasreleased. His other single MOFE LO, a dancehall musicwhich is also enjoying airplayis the second track in hispromo CD. It was producedby one of the world’s finestproducers, Nigerian-Americanproducer Mic1one, CEO,LHM records and based inUnited States.

BY EBELE ONUORAH

With mentors like 2face, BobMarley and Wyclef Jean, J- rochopes to unite all genres ofmusic and bring peace in themusic industry through hismusic.

Speaking to WG, on how he

came up with his hit single“flavour”, the rising act saidthat he never wrote the songas it was just freestyle. “ Inever wrote the song down,the first day I met with theproducer, Hcode was the sameday the song was made”

He had a meeting withHcode and when he got to thestudio, the producer listenedto some of his songs and gotstruck by one of the beats thatgave birth to Flavour.

“Flavour is all about theladies and knowing the thingsthat would put smiles on theirfaces”

Born Obi Austine Obimma,in far away France, to anAnambra State born father anda Congolese mother, J-roc isfrom a Christian family of sixBeing the third child of hisfamily, he received his primaryeducation at Pampers nurseryand primary school and hissecondary education at CMSGrammar school, Lagos, thesame school that produced thelikes of 9ice and EarnestShonekan.

CHRISAge: 25Country: Nigeria

Fashion designer Chris issingle and has a degree in Hu-man Kinetics. He entered BigBrother StarGame because hethinks the House is fun – andhe’s a fun-loving person. Hehopes to bring his own style tothe game and make a great im-pression. He’s looking forwardto partnering with fellow Nige-rian Ola because ‘he is one ofthe funniest individuals I havecome across and I think weshare the same sense of hu-mour. He’s a crazy guy, trustme!’

LADY MAYAge: 25Country: NamibiaLady May is an award-

winning musician who can’twait to have Africa’s eyes onher 24/7 on Big BrotherStarGame. She sums up whatviewers can expect from her inone word: “excitement!”. LadyMay says she doesn’t letanyone or anything bring herdown and loves people whopick themselves up from life’sknocks and never give up.

She entered Big BrotherStarGame for the opportunityto meet diverse characters andcome face-to-face withdifferent, unique challenges.Lady May feels that the house“brings Africa together”. Shehas watched previous seasonsof the show and lists StefanLudik and Cherise as herfavourite former housemates. If

she wins the grand prize, she’llspend some of it on ‘makingover’ her teeth and invest therest wisely. She says her “notso perfect” teeth affects hersmile and confidence and thatgiving herself a perfect smilewould make her dreams cometrue.

MAMPIAge: 25Country:ZambiaZambian R&B star Mampi

has made her intentions for BigBrother StarGame clear:“nothing will stop me fromgetting what belongs to me – Iam going all-out”. The “QueenDiva” from Lusaka wasinspired to enter Big Brotherby her fans. “They know whatI’m capable of doing and theyknow I am a go-getter who willraise my Zambian flag colourshigh,” she says. She is lookingforward to having Africa’s eyeson her 24/7, where she’ll showthe continent how much of anentertainer she is.

Mampi says the best thingabout Africa is that it’s abeautiful and rich continentwith friendly and culturedpeople.

Describing herself asspontaneous, unpredictable,sexy and as a diva, Mampi likesgood listeners and people whoare friendly, funny and free-spirited.

PREZZOAge: 32Country: KenyaMusician Prezzo was

inspired to enter Big Brother

StarGame because he sees it asa great challenge. He says heis looking forward to being onAfrica’s TV screens 24/7because he loves attention. Hehasn’t really seen much ofprevious seasons of the showand says that if he wins thegrand prize, he’ll “cross thatbridge when we get to it”.

He says he hardly watchesany TV but enjoys movies like“Scarface” on the big screen,listing Al Pacino and Mos Defas his top actors. He’ll eat justabout anything – except pork –and his favourite book is “48Laws of Power”.

ROKIAge: 27Country: ZimbabweHarare-born Roki is a

musician who describeshimself as creative, quick,attentive, productive and soft.He has been told that his softheart will be his downfall, buthe reckons “it’s just easier tolet go of stuff”. He likes caring,hard-working and cleverpeople and dislikes people whoare lazy and heartless.

He promises viewersentertainment and says that hisfamily is behind him 100%. Ifhe wins the grand prize, he’dfollow his dream and go toHollywood. Apart from themoney and exposure, he’shoping to open his mind bytaking part in Big BrotherStarGame and also develop hisunderstanding of all Africa. Hisfavourite Big BrotherHousemate from previousseasons is Vina.

Continues from page 27

The big and the mighty on Big BrThe big and the mighty on Big BrThe big and the mighty on Big BrThe big and the mighty on Big BrThe big and the mighty on Big Brother Sother Sother Sother Sother StttttarGamearGamearGamearGamearGame

SEYDOU - ANGOLAAge: 26Entrepreneur Seydou entered Big Brother StarGame “for the

money and the game as a whole”. He says he is willing to doeverything to win the grand prize and says, “I am a delivery man– I will make it happen!”

Seydou lists his favourite foods as steaks, seafood and carbonara.His favourite books are the Harry Potter series and Dan Brown’sAngels and Demons. On the small screen, his favourite show isChelsea Lately while his list of favourite movies includes Titanic,The Hangover, Pearl Harbour and Any Given Sunday. He saysthe best place in Angola is the beach in Luanda and says heenjoys the people and the warmth of Africa.

ESPERANCA – ANGOLAAge: 24Former M-Net Face of Africa Model Search Top 10 Finalist

Esperanca loves pizza, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, “America’sNext Top Model”, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and horrormovies. Her role model is Naomi Campbell, because she’s alwaysadmired her work – and people have told her that they look alike.Her mom has been a huge influence in her life, supporting her ineverything she does.

She entered Big Brother StarGame because she’s always wantedto be in the house and would be proud to represent Angola. Shesays it’s also a great opportunity for exposure – and the grandprize money doesn’t hurt either!

EDITH – BOTSWANAAge: 30Edith, a Personal Assistant from Francistown, entered for Big

Brother StarGame at the insistence of her friends, who told hershe is fun to be around and would make a good Housemate. Shesays that the opportunity to partner with her sister Eve on theshow makes them both feel like stars. Edith says she knows hersister like the back of her hand and chose her because “with hersense of fun and my wild character, we are bound to blast thecompetition!”

She won’t be compromising who she is to win the grand prize,though. “I will not put on a fake ‘Edith’ just to win,” she says.She is looking forward to being on screen across the continentand is excited at the chance to become a household name acrossAfrica. She warns viewers to expect her to “bring all the fun back”and says that if she wins, she will use her money to build herdeaf and mute sister a house.

OLA (29yr-Nigeria)Lagos resident and interior designer Ola Bakare is an impres-

sive 6’9’ tall. His favourite thing about Africa is that the land hasbeen blessed a great deal, while he also enjoys the people andculture. He says his Dad influenced his life the most because ‘healways worked hard for me and wants the best for me – he lovesme unconditionally

DOWNVILLEDOWNVILLEDOWNVILLEDOWNVILLEDOWNVILLE

Holy Man drops Okurin MejeGABRIEL Ayeni

a.k.a Holy Manhas dropped a newvideo, “Okurin Meje’with potentials ofinjecting newpersonality into theafro beat music genre.

According to HolyMan, the single ischaracterised by arhythmic sprinkling ofYoruba rap linescommon withsensational dancehall singles ruling theairwaves today. However,Holy man insist his song isdifferent.

“I have a song that isunique to me. I have been inthis business for years and Iam experienced enough tocarve out a distinct face formyself and my music whichis different from every othersong you’ve heard.”

Holy man told this writerthat his album Drop it holding

twelve tracks will hit fans soonwith big singles like Kaki nobe leather and Runawayleading the pack.

True, Holy man is not agreen horn in the business,having featured music iconBuzz Man from the defunctgroup Defoclan that alsoparaded stars like Azadus.

The singles were producedby AD 10 and Beatman. He isan administration graduate,married and based in Lagos.

Continues from page 27

CMYK

VVVVVanguard,anguard,anguard,anguard,anguard, FRIDFRIDFRIDFRIDFRIDAAAAAYYYYY,,,,, MA MA MA MA MAY 11,Y 11,Y 11,Y 11,Y 11, 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 — 59 — 59 — 59 — 59 — 59

Obama gambles with Presidency over same sex marriagePRESIDENT Barack

Obama’s history-making embrace of gaymarriage could send far-reaching political after-shocks through a presi-dential campaign de-fined by voter concernsabout the economy butlikely decided by sliversof the electorate in ahandful of battlegroundstates.

“The politics, it’s notclear how they cut insome places that are go-ing to be pretty importantin this electoral map. It

may hurt me,” Obama toldRobin Roberts of ABCNews in an exclusive in-terview Wednesday as heannounced his change ofheart. “I believe marriageis a relationship betweena man and a woman,”presumptive Republicannominee Mitt Romneysaid as he campaigned inOklahoma.

A Democratic senatorwho supports Obama’sre-election as well as gaymarriage told YahooNews that the presidentcould face “significant

electoral risk” if his an-nouncement is merely acheck-the-box exercisewith no follow-through.

“If the president simplymakes an important com-mitment to equality andmoves on, and does notchallenge the network ofpeople nationally, activ-ists and others, who fa-vor marriage equality, tospeak up from nowthrough the election, heis taking a significantelectoral risk,” said thesenator, who spoke on thecondition that he not beidentified by name.

Rescuers find bodies of wrecked plane

RESCUERS discovered the shattered

wreckage of a new Rus-sian-made passengerplane yestersday thatsmashed into the side ofan Indonesian volcanoduring a flight to impresspotential buyers. All 45people on board werefeared dead.

Due to the remotenessof the crash site and the

steep, rugged terrain, thebodies will be placed innets and lifted by ropesto a hovering chopper,national search and res-cue agency spokesmanGagah Prakoso said.Heavy mist was hamper-ing visibility, however,forcing the postpone-ment of evacuations untiltoday.

“So far we haven’t

found any survivors, butwe are still searching,”he said as teams of sol-diers, police and volun-teers continued to troopup the slopes. Russia’sfirst new model of passen-ger jet since the fall of theSoviet Union two de-cades ago — was in In-donesia as part of a six-nation tour of Asia aimedat drumming up new cus-tomers.

Libya begins trial of Gaddafi supporters

LIBYA began its firstcivilian trial of al-

leged supporters of Mua-mmar Gaddafi’s regimeas five men accused ofplanning to create insta-bility by “terrorist acts”appeared in the dock.

Judge Amer al-Turki didnot read out a chargesheet but adjourned thetrial, which is being heldin the western town ofZawiyah, for a week atthe request of defenselawyers. Ali Ashaab Mo-hammed, the head of the

•US President, Barack Obama campaigns for the November 6, 2012 election.court, said the men hadbeen arrested in Zaw-iyah, just west of the cap-ital Tripoli.

“Today ’s case ... isabout a group of formerregime loyalists. Theywere planning to conductterrorist acts and createinstability in the country,as well as carryingweapons,” he saidoutside the courtroom.“Some of them confessedthat they took part infighting battles in someareas.” The men were

behind bars in thecourtroom. Officials saidthese were the first suchcivil court proceedingssince the end of lastyear’s war. “This is thefirst trial (of suspectedGaddafi supporters),”Mohammed said.

An interim governmentwas appointed in Novem-ber to lead Libya to elec-tions in June but is strug-gling to impose order ona country awash withweapons left over fromthe fighting.

60 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Calabar to host Eagles!Continues from B/Page

respectively.“It is settled. Together

with the Director Gener-al, Chief (Dr) Ekeji, welooked at all the optionsavailable to us and wedecided Calabar is thebest choice for now. Al-though work has startedon the pitch of theNational Stadium, Abu-ja, it will not be ready tohost the match, especial-ly with FIFA wanting usto confirm a venue byFriday,” said Maigari.

Maigari was at theDG’s Office with Execu-tive Committee members

High Chief Emeka Inya-ma, Barrister ChrisGreen, Dr. Shehu Ada-mu and theGeneral Secretary, Bar-rister Musa Amadu.

“We have to expressheartfelt appreciation toGovernor Liyel Imokeand his cabinet, as wellas the good people ofCross River State, for ac-cepting to host the Su-per Eagles,” addedMaigari.

Nigeria take onNamibia on the openingday of the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup qualifyingrace on Sunday, June 3before flying to Blanty-re for a Day 2 match inthe series against theFlames of Malawi onSaturday, June9. The Eagles return toNigeria to clash with theAmavubi of Rwanda inthe return leg of a 2013African Cup of Nationsqualifying fixture onSunday, June 17.

Wigan, Moses to part waysWigan, Moses to part waysWigan, Moses to part waysWigan, Moses to part waysWigan, Moses to part waysContinues from B/Page

the £2.5m capture fromCrystal Palace to moveon — despite Wiganclinching PremierLeague survival.

His agent, Tony Finni-gan, declared: “I thinkwhat Wigan have doneis tremendous andshows it was the rightplace for him to go afterPalace. But now I thinkVictor is ready for thenext step.

“He still has lots of im-proving to do in terms of

scoring goals more reg-ularly. But I think thatwould come if he wassurrounded by betterplayers. That’s what hewants and is why hewon’t be extending hiscontract. I can’t see Vic-tor changing his mind.”

Wigan owner DaveWhelan would be will-ing to accept a fee ofaround £10m, with QPRboss Mark Hughes al-legedly preparing a bidif he succeeds in keep-ing his side in the topflight.

Blues will axe me— RDM

KKKKKeshi plaeshi plaeshi plaeshi plaeshi plays doys doys doys doys down Eagles slidewn Eagles slidewn Eagles slidewn Eagles slidewn Eagles slide

SUPER Eagles coachStephen Keshi has

said that was not dis-turbed by the steadyslide of his team on theFIFA rankings.

On Wednesday, Nige-ria dropped to number12 in Africa and 63 inthe world, the lowestever placing, in the lat-est rankings.

However, Keshi hasmaintained that he wasnot overly concernedwith the rankings as heis preoccupied withbuilding a formidableteam since he tookcharge in November.

”I am not concerned orworried over our contin-ued drop in the FIFArankings. You know wewere not at thelast Africa Cup ofNations and we are cur-rently building a newteam, so it’s understand-able when we drop,” ar-gued Keshi.

”My concern right nowis to win matches for mycountry and build a for-midable team that everyNigerian would beproud of. I am not wor-ried by the rankings be-cause I know we willclimb the ladder again.”

ROBERTO Di Matteoexpects to be axed

by Roman Abramovich— even if he wins theChampions League.

Chelsea’s FA Cup-winning caretaker bossfears the club’s billion-aire owner is ready todump him and appointa big-name continentalcoach in the summer.

But that will not stopthe Stamford Bridgefavourite going all outfor a remarkable Cup

double against BayernMunich in next Satur-day ’s ChampionsLeague final in Germa-ny. A senior Chelseasource revealed: “Rob-bie is determined to gofor glory against Bayern,even though he’s re-signed to leaving re-gardless of what hap-pens in Munich. He hastried to talk to the club’shierarchy about pre-sea-son training for next sea-son and been given veryshort shrift. “That con-vinced him he really isjust an ‘interim’ manag-er, filling the post untila full-time appointmentcan be made.

“He’s hugely disap-pointed after the mira-cles he has worked heresince taking over fromAndre Villas-Boas inMarch.

“Two Cup finals is anamazing success afterinheriting that mess.

Taiwo: QPR wQPR wQPR wQPR wQPR won’t defon’t defon’t defon’t defon’t defendendendendendagainst Cityagainst Cityagainst Cityagainst Cityagainst City

QPR defender Taye Taiwo has insisted they

will not defend in a “dif-ficult” final English Pre-mier League game atManchester City on Sun-day. London club QPRare two points above thedrop zone and wouldprobably need a draw toensure safety as closestrivals Bolton will be awayat Stoke City.

because this is the En-glish Premier League,where action swings backand forth like a game ofbasketball,” Taiwo said ina radio interview Thurs-day.

Nadal sNadal sNadal sNadal sNadal stunned btunned btunned btunned btunned by Vy Vy Vy Vy Verdascoerdascoerdascoerdascoerdasco•Taiwo

FERNANDO Verdasco caused a stun-

ning upset at theMadrid Open by knock-ing out favourite RafaelNadal in the last 16.

Verdasco triumphed 6-3 3-6 7-5 to end Nadal’s22-match winning streakon clay.

It was the first timeever he had ever beatenhis Spanish compatriotin 14 attempts.

In their six previousclaycourt matches, Ver-dasco had not even wona set but he soon putthat staistic to bed byclaiming a lengthy firstset on Madrid’s contro-versial blue surfacewhich again had bothmen sliding around.

However, despiteclearly being well below

his best, Nadal showedhis renowned fightingqualities to hit back inthe second and squarethe match.

The second seed ap-peared well set for vic-tory when he eased into5-2 lead in the deciderwith a double break ofhis opponent’s serve.

However, twice hefailed to serve out, pro-ducing a string of un-characteristic errors,none more cringeworthythan a smash into thenet which would havebrought him within twopoints of victory at 5-2.

NO JOB FOR ROB ...stand-in chief Di Matteodoesn’t expect to keeprole

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger with (R) ChiefCommercial Officer Tom Fox and Emirates' Divi-sional Senior Vice President Boutros Boutros atthe announcement of Emirates as the title partnerfor Arsenal' 2012 pre season tour.

Family tasks govt to immortalise YekiniBY DEMOLAAKINYEMI

Family of late RasidiYekinni, Tuesday

appealed to the federalgovernment and otherstakeholders in Nigerian

football to immortalize thelate football star who diedFriday May 4,in view ofthe immense contribu-tions the deceased madetowards the developmentof football in the country

and beyond. They rea-soned that it was the onlygesture that would con-sole them.

Spokesperson of thefamily, Mr. LateefAmolegbe, made the ap-

peal in Ira, Kwara statewhile receiving theKwara state governor, Al-haji Abdulfatah Ahmed,during the condolencevisit of the governor andhis entourage to the fam-ily at their Eesa com-pound on Tuesday.

City need to win to en-sure they are English Pre-mier League championsahead of rivals Manches-ter United.

“We cannot afford todefend for 90 minutes

Maigari leads NFF tMaigari leads NFF tMaigari leads NFF tMaigari leads NFF tMaigari leads NFF team team team team team to Yo Yo Yo Yo Yekini's praekini's praekini's praekini's praekini's prayyyyyererererer

NFF PresidentAminu Maigari

will be at the head of Ni-geria Football Federa-tion’s delegation to theeighth day prayer fordeparted Super Eagles’legend Rashidi Yekini.

The prayer holds in hisfamily compound in Ira,Kwara State in the morn-ing of Saturday, May 12.

Other members on thedelegation are NFF 1stVice President, ChiefMike Umeh, ExecutiveCommittee membersHigh Chief Emeka Inya-

ma and Dr.Shehu Ada-mu, Kwara FA chairmanBusari Ishola, NFFMatch Commissioners’Appointment Committeechairman KunleAdesiyun and former in-ternational

midfielder and NFFPresident’s personal as-sistant, Nasiru Jibril.

The NFF Presidentwas in the United King-dom when Yekini, Nige-ria’s record internation-al goalscorer, died aftera brief illness in Oshog-

bo, Osun State on Fri-day, May 4.

•Maigari

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—61

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62—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012—63

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Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470;Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com

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e-mail: rowolove@yahoo.co.uk

How to Play Sudoku THE VIGILANTE

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

QUICK CROSSWORD

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

TODAY'S PUZZLESTODAY'S PUZZLESTODAY'S PUZZLESTODAY'S PUZZLESTODAY'S PUZZLES YESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSYESTERDAY'S ANSWERS

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Calabar tohost Eagles!

Continues on page 60

THE Nigeria FootballFederation has con-

firmed the UJ EsueneStadium, Calabar as ven-ue for next month’s 2014FIFA World Cup and2013 AfricanCup of Nations qualify-ing matches involvingthe Senior NationalTeam,Super Eagles.

NFF President, Alhaji

Aminu Maigari said onWednesday evening, fol-lowing a meeting withthe Director General ofthe National SportsCommission, Chief (Dr)Patrick Ekeji that theCalabar venue will hostthe matches againstNamibia and Rwanda

Wigan, Moses tWigan, Moses tWigan, Moses tWigan, Moses tWigan, Moses to paro paro paro paro part wt wt wt wt waaaaaysysysysys

Continues on page 60

VICTOR MOSES hasturned down a new

Wigan deal and wants toquit the club.

Latics boss RobertoMartinez will try againnext week to persuadethe 21-year-old midfield-er to sign an improvedtwo-year extension to hiscurrent contract, whichexpires next summer.

But with Tottenham,Liverpool and QPR saidto be showing interest,the time looks right for

MikMikMikMikMikel misses trainingel misses trainingel misses trainingel misses trainingel misses trainingSUPER Eagles mid

fielder John ObiMikel, David Luiz andGary Cahill did not trainwith their Chelsea team-mates on Thursday aheadof Sunday ’s PremierLeague finale againstBlackburn. But, on amore positive note, Didi-er Drogba, Raul Meirelesand Petr Cech all tookpart in Thursday morn-ing’s session at the Blues’Cobham headquartersafter missing Tuesday’s 4-1 thrashing at Liverpool.

Centre-backs Luiz andCahill are in a raceagainst time to be fit forthe UEFA ChampionsLeague final a week onSaturday having beensidelined with hamstringinjuries.Sunday’s gameis their last chance tobuild up some match fit-ness ahead of the 19thMay showdown withBayern Munich.

Mikel also missedTuesday’s game at An-field through injury.

•Blues will axe me — RDM — P.60•Nadal s•Nadal s•Nadal s•Nadal s•Nadal stunned btunned btunned btunned btunned by Vy Vy Vy Vy Verdasco — Perdasco — Perdasco — Perdasco — Perdasco — P. 60. 60. 60. 60. 60

•Keshi

•Moses

TOPSHOT......Atletico Madrid’s Radamel Falcaocelebrates after scoring a goal during the EuropaLeague final against Athletic Bilbao on May 9 inBucharest. Madrid won 3-0. PHOTO: AFP

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ACROSS1 Temper (4)4 Whelp (3)6 Compassion (4)8 Count (6)9 Close (6)10 Agent (3)12 Repulse (5)14 Flat (5)15 Saltpetre (5)18 Tart (6)20 Save (6)24 Long (5)26 Rate (5)28 Spree (5)30 Tiny (3)32 Comfort (6)33 Reflect (6)34 Tolerate (4)35 Illuminated (3)36 Intense (4)

DOWN2 Fat (5)3 Fall (7)4 Go by (4)5 Tiny (4)6 Put (5)7 Scene (7)11 Equality (3)12 Massage (3)13 Untruth (3)16 Attempt (3)17 Epoch (3)19 Better (7)21 Stray (3)22 Scoffed (7)23 Fish (3)25 Stretch (3)27 Go in (5)29 Elicit (5)30 Healthy (4)31 Discharge (4)

ACROSS: 2, Messy 7, Bogus 8, Gloom 10,Stoop 12, Oar 13, Belie 15, Tactful 17, Educed19, Dot 20, Meddled 23, Raid 25, Dice 26,Opposed 30, Lot 31, Defile 34, Scraped 37,Satan 38, Toy 39, Debit 40, Voter 41, Remit 42,Breed

DOWN: 1, Poked 2, Music 3, Esteem 4, Spot5, Plotted 6, Forum 9, Oaf 11, Paddled 13,Beard 14, Lucid 16, Col 18, Demoted 21,Digit 22, Seven 24, Delayed 27, Pop 28,Desire 29, Actor 32, Fated 33, Latin 35, Rot36, Dear

CMYK