COLLAPSE OF CEASEFIRE: MEND issues two-week ultimatum

17

PAGE 2 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016 

From left: Coordinator, Association for the Prevention of Infertility and 

the Promotion of Reproductive Health and Right[ASPIRE], Ebele Onwuagbaizu, 

Chief Executive Officer, Occupational Wealth and Safety 

Managers[OHSM], Mr. Ehi Iden, founder of Beibei Haven Foundation, 

Omotade Alalade and Coordinator, Corporate Marketing and Corporate 

Communication, Bridge Clinic, Dr. Ekundayo Omogbehin, during the 2016 

ASPIRE Fertility Walk, tagged: Demystifying Infertility, organised by the 

Bridge Clinic, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez 

Herdsmen on the rampage in 

Benue communities 

*Five feared dead 

By Peter Duru, 

Makurdi 

NO fewer than five per 

sons were feared dead 

on Saturday morning in a 

fresh attack on parts of 

Chambe and Anawah settlements, 

at Gaambe-Tiev, 

in Logo Local Government 

Area of Benue State, by suspected 

herdsmen. 

Sunday Vanguard 

gartherd that the affected 

communities were invaded 

at about 9am when most of 

the locals were already in 

their farms. 

According to a source 

who claimed to have witnessed 

the attacks, the 

armed herdsmen stormed 

the villages, singing war 

songs, shooting sporadically 

and torching houses, huts 

and food barns in the affected 

communities. 

He said, “like the cases 

before now, this latest attack 

was unprovoked, the 

armed herdsmen stormed 

the settlements shooting 

sporadically and singing at 

the same time. 

“People started running 

for their lives but unfortunately 

about five persons 

were gunned down and several 

persons sustained machete 

cuts and bullet 

wounds. 

“As if that was not 

enough, after chasing the 

people away, they took over 

and occupied the affected 

settlements while some 

houses and huts were also 

set ablaze as I speak with 

you. 

“That is the situation we 

have found ourselves in this 

part of the country; we are 

completely helpless, our 

women and children are 

being tormented almost on 

a weekly basis. Maybe the 

herdsmen want us to vacate 

Benue State for them. 

“At the moment most of 

our people are also moving 

in their numbers from villages 

nearest to the attacked 

communities. Majority 

of them are fleeing to 

Anyii, the local government 

headquaters where most of 

the wounded are also receiving 

medical attention.” 

When contacted the Police 

Public Relations Officer, 

PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, 

ASP, Moses 

ABIA GOV. CONTROVERSY 

Ex-Ohanaeze boss seeks 

security beef up 

Yamu, said he was yet to get 

the details of the latest attack. 

By Nwabueze 

Okonkwo 

A 

former President-Gener 

al of Ohaneze Ndigbo 

and Chairman of Anambra 

Elders Council, Dr Dozie Ikedife, 

has asked the Federal 

Government to deploy more 

security personnel to Abia 

State to avert possible break 

down of law and order arising 

from the on-going governorship 

crisis in the state. 

Ikedife, who made the call 

in Nnewi, Anambra State, 

yesterday, while speaking on 

the way forward concerning 

the political crisis in the state, 

asked state elders supporting 

Governor Okezie Ikpazu and 

his challenger, Dr Uche 

Ogah, who a court has been 

asked to be issued a certificate 

of return by the Independent 

National Electoral Commission, 

INEC, to be careful 

not to allow the situation to 

disturb the peace. 

He said his fear was that 

miscreants might hijack any 

chaotic situation to unleash 

mayhem, adding that it was 

quite unfortunate that many 

elections in the country ended 

up in the tribunal or court 

where three, four, five or more 

judges would take a decision 

and pronounce judgement on 

who won an election instead 

of the mandate of the people 

who chose their leader. 

Ikedife, who stated that such 

a system was untidy and 

should be changed, however, 

insisted that court orders, 

when pronounced, should always 

be obeyed to avoid contempt. 

He said he would not blame 

the INEC for issuing the certificate 

of return to Ogah, going 

by the court judgement, 

adding that INEC had no 

right to withdraw it from 

Ogah. He lent his opinion to 

those who said that the judgement 

of a higher court of 

competent jurisdiction 

should prevail. 

Also, yesterday, a legal 

practitioner, Mr Kayode Ajulo, 

argued that the matter 

will be resolved at the Supreme 

Court. 

He told Sunday Vanguard: 

“I don’t think there is any 

controversy on that. The constitution 

is so clear about our 

adjudicatory system. If there 

is a presumption of error on 

the lower court, that is why 

we have the court of appeal. 

If there is still that possibility 

of irregularities and error 

at the court of appeal, that is 

why we have the Supreme 

Court.” 

Plot to attack Lagos averted 

*Police arrest two suspects 

LAGOS State Police 

Command said it had 

arrested two suspected militants, 

who attempted to attack 

Igando community, a 

suburb in the state. 

Spokesperson for the 

command, Mr Dolapo 

Badmos, a Superintendent 

of Police, disclosed this in 

Lagos, yesterday. 

Badmos said that the suspects 

were nabbed on 

Thursday and three guns 

and ammunition were recovered 

from them. 

She said that some residents 

of Igando alerted the 

police of the attempted attack 

by the suspected militants, 

who came in a boat 

through the waterways. 

“Immediately, the Commissioner 

of Police, Fatai 

Owoseni, deployed his men 

to the area. Two suspects 

were arrested with some 

weapons”, the spokesperson 

said. 

“The security of the area 

has been beefed up; the 

command has begun investigation 

into the attempted 

attack. 

“The police will find out 

who they are, where they 

came from and their mission. 

“We advise members of 

the public in the area and 

other parts of the state not 

to panic as the police are 

on top of the situation.” 

Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, with chiefs and 

members of the family of the late literary icon, Capt. Elechi Amadi, when he 

paid a condolence visit to the family 

A cross section of indigenes and non-indigines of the State of Osun boarding the 

free train provided by the Osun government, from Osogbo to Lagos, after the Eideil-Fitr 

celebrations at the Railway station in Osogbo. 

Drama as Arik Air cancels PH/Abuja flight 

*Airlines blames ILS, technical hitch 

By Peter Egwuatu & 

Lawani Mikairu 

ARIK Air, yesterday, 

blamed the Instrument 

Landing System, ILS, at 

Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, 

Abuja and technical problems 

on its plane already 

boarded by passengers at Port- 

Harcourt International Airport 

for delay and eventual 

cancellation of its Abuja 

bound flight. 

The airline, on Friday, at 

the Port Harcourt airport, 

kept its passengers on board 

stranded before announcing 

the cancellation of the flight. 

The Arik plane had been 

scheduled to depart Port Harcourt 

as the last flight of the 

day on Friday. 

Mr. Achienevu Okafor, a 

passenger on board, who 

spoke to Sunday Vanguard, 

said: “I am stranded here at 

the Port Harcourt airport. It 

is like we are going to sleep 

inside the Arik plane as they 

have just announced the cancellation 

of the flight at about 

11.30 pm. This is a flight we 

have boarded since . They announced 

the cancellation 

without giving any reason to 

the passengers on board. 

Look at some passengers they 

are already sleeping here”. 

Continuing, he said: “ How 

can this airline allow us to 

pass the night inside aircraft. 

At least an effort should have 

been made to give us hotel accommodation 

since it is not 

the passengers fault.” Later, 

Sunday Vanguard gathered 

that the passengers were 

forced out of the plane and 

taken to the waiting lobby to 

pass the night. 

Reacting to the incident, the 

Communication Manager, 

Arik Air, Mr Ola Adebanji, 

said, “The flight was initially 

delayed out of Abuja because 

of the faulty ILS at Nnamdi 

Azikiwe Airport which led to 

total blackout on the runway 

Amaechi visits Elechi Amadi’s family, 

promises to fund funeral with friends 

MINISTER of Transpor 

tation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike 

Rotimi Amaechi, has 

promised to sponsor the funeral 

ceremony of the late 

literary icon, Captain Elechi 

Amadi. 

Amaechi made the promise 

when he paid a condolence 

visit to the family of 

for several hours on Friday 

evening. This led to the 

grounding of outbound 

flights while inbound flights 

could not land. 

“Thus, the flight arrived Port 

Harcourt at about 10.30pm, 

later than scheduled. Then 

after boarding the Abuja 

bound passengers, the aircraft 

had technical issues and all 

efforts by the Captain to reset 

the engine was futile. The aircraft 

was declared AOG and 

the flight rescheduled for Saturday 

morning .” 

Amadi in Mbodo, Aluu 

community in Obio /Akpor 

Local Government Area of 

the Rivers State. 

Amaechi said his decision 

to sponsor the burial of the 

late literary giant was to reciprocate 

his sterling contribution 

to the development 

of Ikwerre ethnic nationality 

in particular and Rivers 

State in general. Amaechi, 

like Amadi, is from the Ikwerre 

ethnic group in Rivers 

State. To achieve this, the 

minister said he would set 

up a burial organizing committee 

with his wife to liaise 

with the Amadi family in 

order to give the late literary 

icon a befitting burial.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016, PAGE 3


Guild of Editors expresses 

concern over state of economy 

*Elects Funke Egbemode as Acting President 

The Nigerian Guild of 

Editors has expressed 

concern over the poor 

state of the Nigerian economy 

just as it condemned the 

continued vandalization of oil 

facilities in the Niger Delta 

region. 

The body also elected Mrs 

Funke Egbemode, the Managing 

Director/Editor in Chief, 

Telegraph Newspaper, as its 

Acting President after its 

former president, Garba Deen 

Muhammad, voluntarily relinquished 

his position following 

his appointment as the 

Group General Manager, 

Group Public Affairs Division 

of the NNPC. 

In a communique issued at 

the end of its 2nd quarterly 

Standing Committee meeting 

of the year on Friday, July 8, 

2016, in Abuja, the Guild resolved 

as follows:- 

1. The Guild notes with 

concern that the economy is 

Quarter Page 

largely in a bad shape showing 

signs of recession, as statistics 

of unemployment is 

worsening while the future 

looks bleak. It therefore urges 

the Federal Government to 

take urgent steps to revitalise 

the economy in the area of job 

and wealth creation in order 

to alleviate the suffering of the 

masses. 

2. The Guild condemns in 

strong terms the vandalism of 

oil facilities in the Niger Delta 

region and calls for dialogue 

by creating avenues to 

engage the various agitators 

in order to address their concerns. 

In the same vein it also urges 

the agitators to embrace dialogue. 

3.The Guild also notes with 

concern the increasing spate 

of kidnapping across the 

country and calls sn the new 

Inspector-General of Police to 

come up with more proactive 

measures to curb the menace. 

4. It, however, commends 

the gallantry of the Nigerian 

military in its fight against 

terrorism in the north east 

and the recovery of territories 

from the insurgents and urges 

government to pursue the 

anti-terrorism fight with more 

vigour until peace is fully restored 

to the troubled area. 

5. The Guild expresses 

concern over the pathetic living 

condition of IDPs and 

calls on government, corporate 

organisations, individuals 

and international agencies 

to come to their aid. 

6. The Standing Committee 

elected Mrs Funke Egbemode, 

the Managing Director/Editor 

in Chief, Telegraph 

Newspaper, as its Acting President 

after Garba Deen Muhammad 

voluntarily relinquished 

his position following 

his appointment as the Group 

General Manager, Group 

Public Affairs Division of the 

NNPC. 

The communique was 

signed by Mrs Egbemode and 

Victoria Ibanga, its General 

Secretary. 

L-R: Product Mananger, OTC Fidson Healthcare Plc,Mr Femi Ajala;Permanent 

Secretary,Education District 2,representing Deputy Governor of Lagos State,Mrs Magarth 

Titilayo; Astymin School Programme coordinator ,Mrs Yetunde Adesola; Representative 

of co-corricular department ,SUBEB, Mrs Ismail Magareth Morenike, and General Manager, 

Fidson Healthcare Plc,Mr. Ola Ijimakin, at the 5th Edition of Astymin Brilliance 

Reward held at Ikeja, Lagos,at the weekend. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor. 

FATAL ACCIDENTS 

Police, FRSC exonerate PMT from blame 

BY FRANCIS IGATA, 

ENUGU 

The police in 

Umuahia, Abia and 

Bayelsa States have 

absolved Peace Mass Transit, 

PMT, a leading road transport 

company, of wrong doing in 

accidents that claimed the 

lives of 24 passengers and two 

of its drivers within one 

month. 

This was even as the Chairman 

of Peace Group,Chief 

Sam 

Maduka 

Onyishi,sympathized with 

families of affected victims 

while assuring the public that 

the firm has, since 2009, 

adopted the use of speed limiters 

in over 4,000 vehicles in 

its fleet aimed at ensuring that 

the vehicles do not speed 

above 100KMH. 

Similarly, the firm unveiled 

its ultra-modern vehicle assembling 

plant situated at its 

headquarters, in Enugu. 

While speaking during the 

launch of the firm’s drivers 

retraining exercise, tagged 

,”Defensive driving 

technique”,Onyishi 

said,”After the last two fatal 

accidents that involved our 

buses, along Umuahia expressway 

and Bayelsa road, 

which claimed the lives of 

many passengers and drivers, 

the board and management 

of Peace Mass Transit,PMT, 

has decided to launch a campaign 

tagged, ‘’Defensive Driving”, 

for her 3,000 drivers. 

“This has become necessary 

as there is a great outcry and 

negative press against the 

company, as a result of these 

accidents that try to relegate 

to the background all safety 

records and achievements of 

PMT for over 20 years on Nigerian 

roads. 

“The police and eye witness 

reports have exonerated PMT 

drivers from the cause of these 

accidents. But, as a matter of 

duty, the company, in order to 

retain the confidence of the 

public who patronise her services, 

decided to retrain her 

drivers on defensive driving in 

conjunction with the Federal 

Road Safety Corps, and some 

consultant psychologists. 

“At the point of employment 

of drivers, PMT follows a set 

standard. Her prospective 

drivers must have valid driver’s 

license, medical certificate 

of fitness from a government 

hospital, visual certification 

report, and drug test 

report; must be 31 years of age 

but not more than 40 years. 

And such person must have 

driven commercial vehicle for 

at least five years; amidst all 

these, priority is on married 

men. 

“Furthermore, prospective 

drivers bring guarantors 

among who must be his immediate 

family member, religious 

head and community 

leader. A local government ID 

letter is also a prerequisite. We 

take time to verify all submissions 

before short listing anyone 

for interview. After our 

oral test, a practical test is conducted 

by a committee made 

up of a Retired FRSC officer, 

two retired drivers, a psychologist, 

a retired traffic officer, 

and a mechanical engineer. 

A police report issued on 

one of the accidents involving 

PMT bus, with reference 

number AK:1000/RVS/AK/ 

VOL.3/06 , dated July 5, and 

signed by the Divisional Police 

Officer,DPO,Akinima 

Division of Bayelsa State, 

read: “The Mercedes Benz 

truck, with registration number 

NZN 109 XA and driven 

by one Samuel Kalu,had a 

head-on collision with PMT 

Toyota Hiace Bus with registration 

number,ENU 586 XB 

as a result of the truck drive 

r ’ s 

negligent,recklessness,dangerous 

driving and over-speeding. 

“In view of the above, the 

truck driver,Samuel Kalu, is 

culpable. He will be charged 

to court as soon as he recovers”. 

Zonal Commander, FRSC, 

Mr. Samuel Obayemi, confirmed 

the police stance on 

the second accident in 

Umuahia,Abia State, heaping 

the blame on the driver of the 

truck with registration number 

JTN 782 XB. 

“The driver of the Man Diesel 

Truck was over speeding 

and drove recklessly which 

caused the accident that led to 

loss of lives. We are here to identify 

with PMT because they are 

safety compliant. They were 

the first to introduce speed 

limiters in 2009. All year 

round, they have met with 

minimum safety standard”, he 

stated. 

“The need for defensive driving 

is key inorder to avoid reckless 

road users. If you take 

cognizance that some road 

user maybe reckless, you will 

then drive consciously inorder 

to return home safe and 

sound”. 

•Chief Sam Onyishi, addressing newsmen on the launch 

of defensive driving technique. 

I’m not Ekpan monarch 

— Agbofodoh 

By Emma Amaize 

WARRI- 

THE 

Unuevworo (Head) 

of Ekpan community, Uvwie 

Local Government Area, 

Delta State, High Chief Newton 

Agbofodoh, JP, seized by 

the police over the crisis in 

the town, has clarified that he 

was neither the monarch nor 

traditional ruler of Ekpan. 

Agbofodoh, who spoke 

through his personal assistant, 

Mr. Paul 

Ememeriuwan, objected to a 

recent publication, which referred 

to him as Ekpan monarch, 

saying that he “is a 

loyal subject of the revered 

Uvwie Monarch, HRM 

Emmanuel Sideso, Abe 1, JP, 

OON, Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom.” 

“He also stated that he is 

not a warlord because he has 

never fought a war nor has 

been convicted of any crime 

by a court of competent jurisdiction. 

He is a law-abiding 

citizen of Nigeria. 

“Lastly, High Chef Newton 

Agbofodoh, JP, did not 

dissolve the CLOs, rather 

the tenure of office of the 

CLOs elapsed on 11th 

June, 2015, and they were 

appropriately replaced in line 

with the Ekpan Community 

guidelines on appointment 

of CLOs,” Mr. 

Ememiruwan asserted.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016,PAGE 5 

For Shinkafi 

(L-R)Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, with former Head of State, 

General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), when the latter paid a condolence visit to Sokoto over 

the death of Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi. 

MONGUNO’S PASSAGE 

Buhari, Saraki pay glowing tributes 

Monguno, one of finest statesmen, politicians in Nigeria-Buhari 

By Henry Umoru, 

Levinus Nwabughiogu 

and Joseph Erunke 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari has described the 

late Minister of Mines, Power 

and Petroleum, Alhaji 

Shettima Monguno, who died 

last Friday, as “one of the finest 

statesmen and political 

actors Nigeria ever had and 

who would always remain a 

fountain of inspiration in life 

and death.” 

In a related tribute, 

President of the Senate, 

Senator Bukola Saraki has 

described the late elder 

statesman as a detribalised 

Nigerian and worthy 

ambassador. 

He was one of the finest 

statesmen - Buhari 

The President’s tribute was 

contained in a statement 

issued by a federal 

government delegation led by 

National Security Adviser, 

NSA, Major General 

Babagana Munguno (rtd) to 

the burial in Maiduguri on 

Saturday. 

President Buhari said the 

late elder statesman from 

Borno State “ranked among 

the most respected public 

figures in Nigeria while in 

office and while in private 

retirement life.” 

The President recalled that 

in the course of his public 

service as a parliamentarian 

and a Federal Minister of Air 

Force and Internal Affairs 

during the First Republic, the 

late Shettima Monguno “had 

left behind a legacy of 

untainted and unblemished 

career”, which he said should 

be emulated by Nigerian 

leaders at all levels. 

According to President 

Buhari a “man’s greatest pride 

is to leave behind a good 

name and that the late 

Monguno had achieved that 

desire.” 

The President prayed the 

Almighty God to grant the 

soul of the deceased eternal 

rest. 

Other members of 

government delegation 

included the Minister of 

Education, Malam Adamu 

Adamu, the Minister of the 

FCT, Mohammed Musa 

Bello, and the Senior Special 

Assistant to the President on 

Media and Publicity, Garba 

Shehu. 

MONGUNO was a 

detribalised Nigerian - 

Saraki 

(First right) Wife of the President, Haji Aisha Buhari, greets Governor Aminu Waziri 

Tambuwal of Sokioto State (first left) and other dignitaries at the airport when she arrived 

Sokoto on a condolence visit. 

According to Senator 

Saraki, the former Minister 

of Mines and Petroleum in the 

First Republic who is one the 

last sets of Nigeria’s founding 

fathers, would be sorely missed 

considering his giant political 

strides and contributions to 

the building of the Nigerian 

nation, starting from his birth 

place, Borno State, to all the 

nooks and crannies of the 

country. 

In a statement yesterday in 

Abuja by his Special Adviser, 

Media and Publicity, Yusuph 

Olaniyonu, Saraki described 

Monguno’s death as painful 

especially coming at a time 

when the Federal 

Government has successfully 

turned the tide against 

insurgents in the North East. 

He said, “The late politician 

was a victim of the insurgency 

when he was abducted by 

gunmen at a mosque before 

he was later rescued.” 

Saraki said, “Elder 

Monguno was a special breed 

who contributed immensely 

to the attainment of the 

nation’s Independence in 

1960, became a 

parliamentarian in the First 

Republic and thereafter a 

Federal Minister. His 

disposition towards effective 

nation building remains 

unparalleled. He lived for the 

welfare and security of the 

common man.” 

He urged the family of the 

deceased, the government 

and people of Borno State, 

to be comforted by the fact 

that Monguno served Allah 

and mankind diligently 

and worked hard to make 

his country great. He said 

the deceased left a worthy 

legacy of selfless service and 

a good name. 

Saraki prayed that 

Almighty Allah should 

grant the late leader a 

place among the righteous 

ones in Aljannah Firdaus. 

“May Allah also grant 

members of his immediate 

family, the people and 

government of Borno State, 

the fortitude to bear this 

irreparable loss.” 

Ambode orders immediate completion of abandoned road projects 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

G 

o v e r n o r 

Akinwunmi 

Ambode has directed 

Lagos State Public Works 

Corporation, LSPWC, to 

complete Isaac John 

Street, Government 

Reserved Area, GRA, 

Ikeja, road project, among 

others, abandoned four 

years ago. 

The Chief Executive 

Officer and Special 

Adviser, LSPWC, Engr. 

Ayotunde Sodeinde, said 

upon last week directive 

by the governor, the 

corporation mobolised to 

the site. 

His words: “Following 

the directive of Governor 

Akinwunmi Ambode on 

the reconstruction of the 

terribly bad stretch of 

Isaac John Street, which 

is a beehive of business 

activities, the LSPWC has 

since moved to site to fix 

the road. 

“The road measuring 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

The 

National 

Coordinator of the 

Oodua Peoples Congress, 

OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, 

says recent killing of the 

Yoruba in some Lagos and 

Ogun communities by 

suspected Ijaw militants was 

unfortunate but said the OPC 

about 1,650m, which links 

Joel Ogunaike and Sobo 

Arobiodu, is presently 

undergoing major 

scarifying and base 

preparation work by the 

LSPWC gangs.” 

Sodeinde, during the 

inspection of the road 

project, yesterday, 

explained: “The governor 

directed us to move in six 

days ago. It is a busy road 

and when we moved in, 

it was in a terrible state 

which impeded vehicular 

movement around the 

area. 

Ikorodu massacre: Why OPC won’t 

confront militants —Gani Adams 

will not confront them. 

He, however, assured that 

the OPC has the capacity to 

repel them. 

Adams, who spoke in Lagos, 

said: “With what has 

happened now, we have 

realised that there is a lot of 

threat confronting the South 

West.” 

Condemning the wanton 

killings and destruction of 

property, the OPC leader said: 

“We are still talking about the 

menace of herdsmen and 

some hoodlums 

masquerading as kidnappers 

or militants started to kill our 

people to the extent that the 

Ogun State deputy governor 

came to the area and they 

chased the security of the 

“The road project was 

awarded four years ago 

and His Excellency was 

not satisfied with the pace 

of work on site which 

looked almost abandoned 

and directed that the 

LSPWC should 

immediately fix the road.” 

deputy governor and the 

police could not do anything. 

The law enforcement agents 

should tell the whole world 

how many of the criminals 

that they have arrested after 

more than 50 people have 

been massacred.” 

Assuring that the group has 

the wherewithal to confront 

the hoodlums, he called on 

leaders from the South West 

to support the OPC to fight 

for their interest. 

Two soldiers, 16 terrorists killed as troops repel Boko 

Haram attack in Borno 

By Kingsley 

Omonobi-Abuja 

The Nigerian Army 

said last night that 

remnants of Boko Haram 

terrorists in their numbers 

attacked troops location at 

Rann, Kala Balge Local 

Government Area of 

Borno State and that, after 

a heavy gunfire 

confrontation, 16 of the 

terrorists were killed. 

A statement by Col Sani 

Usman, Acting Director, 

Army Public Relations, 

said, “The terrorists came 

with motorcycles borne 

improvised explosive 

devices (MCBIED), antiaircraft 

guns and other 

weapons at about 5.00pm 

and the exchange of fire 

lasted for some hours 

before they were 

overwhelmed by the 

troops firepower. 

“Unfortunately, one of 

the suicide bombers 

detonated himself at a 

gun truck, killing the 

driver and the gunner. 

“The truck and the 

mounted weapon were 

also damaged beyond 

repairs. In addition, two 

soldiers were wounded in 

action while three others 

sustained minor injuries. 

“The troops killed seven 

of the attackers instantly 

while quite a number 

escaped with gunshot 

wounds. 

“During clearance 

operations this morning, 

the troops discovered nine 

more Boko Haram 

terrorists dead bodies in 

the surrounding areas. 

Therefore the total 

number of terrorists killed 

was 16. 

“The troops also 

recovered a General 

Purpose Machine Gun, 

Rocket Propelled 

Grenade, ammunitions 

and captured two of the 

terrorists alive. 

“The bodies of the two 

fallen heroes and the 

wounded in action 

soldiers have been 

evacuated to Maiduguri, 

while reinforcement was 

sent from Gomboru 

Ngala”.


Transformer explosion kills 3, injures 

5 in Abuja•NERC orders Abuja Disco to compensate victims 

By Gabriel Ewepu 

ABUJA- A 750kV trans 

former explosion has 

killed three persons and injured 

five in a suburb called Tudun- 

Wada, in Abuja, along the popular 

Airport Road of the Federal 

Capital Territory, FCT. 

The explosion, which occurred 

according to members of 

the community during the last 

week, was traced to electrical 

fault resulting from poor power 

infrastructure in the community 

and inadequate maintenance of 

electricity cables by the Abuja 

Electricity Distribution Company, 

AEDC. 

By Agharowu E. E. 

Honsbira 

ONE may not name the 

names of those who, in 

attempts to prove Aribisala 

wrong in his “David did not kill 

Goliath” contestation; instead 

one may frown at their 

unacademic responses against 

academic papers like 

Aribisala’s. “Aribisala is a 

Satan.” How, really, is 

Aribisala a Satan? “Aribisala 

is Antichrist.” How is he 

Antichrist? This discourse, 

fighting against calling him 

names, seeks to prove him 

wrong. 

To begin with, here are the 

highlights of the Aribisala 

controversy – the object of this 

contestation: 

Wrongful crediting of the 

killing of Goliath to David in 

place of Elhanan. 

* Says 2 Sam 21:19 means 

David did Not Kill Goliath, 

that the whole account is faulty. 

* Says NKJV account of 2 

Sam 21:19 is faulty. 

* Say 1 Ch 20:5 radically 

departs from 2 Sam 21:19, 

meaning David did not kill 

Goliath. 

* Says David took the credit 

of Joab capturing Rabbah, as 

if he (David) did the capture (2 

Sam 12: 26-31). 

* Says when David first met 

Saul is controversial, that 

therefore, the whole story of 

David killing Goliath is false. 

* Description of David as a 

man of war, 1 Sam 16:18 (that 

David, too small, cannot be so 

described). 

* Says David was at the time 

not yet a man, but called so in 

1 Sam 16:18. 

* Says (1 Sam 17:38-39) 

David had been introduced as 

an armour bearer of Saul, but 

that, later, Saul’s armour “was 

too heavy for David.” 

* That at the battle front, 

Saul says he did not know 

David before, 1 Sam 17:55. 

David killed Goliath; 

Brother Aribisala, only that the 

story of how he did is wrapped 

in seemingly confusing 

renditions: but far from it. 

Whether, or not, the Bible 

contains contradictions is not 

the issue here; rather, the issue 

is whether its story of David 

killing Goliath is true. 

The Bible narrative that 

David killed Goliath, 1 

Samuel 17: 50-51, shall 

remain one of those stories of 

the Bible that Bible believers 

can brag of; for, laden with 

truth, its adequacy stands tall 

among the rare miracles of the 

Old Testament that can be 

allied with not only the New, 

but also with Reason in the age 

of Science through which the 

During a visit to the scene of 

the explosion yesterday (Saturday) 

and to commiserate with 

survivors and families that lost 

their relations to the incident, 

Acting Chairman, NERC, Dr. 

Anthony Aka, decried the poor 

power infrastructure and dangerous 

connections made under 

the nose of AEDC. 

He said: “What necessitated 

the visit of Nigerian Electricity 

Regulatory Commission, 

NERC, is as a result of the accident 

that happened in this 

community(Tudun-Wada). It 

was said that a transformer got 

blown and there was electrocution 

and some injuries. 

Re: David did not kill Goliath 

world is passing. What is 

more, which giant can 

withstand the thrust of a 

heavy, round stone, well 

directed, well pressured? 

When Goliath approached 

David, David counterapproached 

and with a sling 

and a stone, had Goliath fulllength 

on the ground (1 

Samuel 17:48-49). Then, 

running quickly and standing 

astride the Philistine and with 

Goliath’s own sword, he had 

his head removed (1 Samuel 

17: 50-51). One would hope 

there is no contradiction here, 

only that the deed, in addition 

to being spiritually wrought, 

is also physical. This is the 

presence of the spirit in the 

physical, like the presence of 

heat in a molten lead! 

On whether or not the 

account of the death of 

Goliath and the role of David 

is erroneous, consider these. 

There are no errors here; but 

viewed with the eyes of 

moderns, after a span of over 

thousands of years, there are 

verisimilitudes of errors and 

contradictions. One of such 

verisimilitudes of error is in 2 

Sam. 21:19 comingled with 

1 Chronicles 20:5. In the 

former “And there was again 

war with the Philistines at 

Gob, and Elhanan the son of 

Jaare-oregim, the 

Bethlehemite, slew Goliath 

the Gittite, the shaft of 

whose spear was like a 

weaver’s beam.” This, 

paralleling the account of 1 

Chronicles 20:5 that 

“Elhanan the son of Jair 

slew Lhami, the brother of 

Goliath, the Gittite, the shaft 

of whose spear was like a 

weaver’s beam,” produces a 

mirage of difficulty. These 

are i. David and Elhanan 

could refer to the same 

person since David, a 

Hebrew word meaning 

“favour” or “Beloved” is 

synonymous to Elhanan, a 

Hebrew word meaning 

“favour” or “beloved.” ii. 

Elhanan, the son of Jaare- 

Oregim and Elhanan the 

son of Jair could mean the 

same person since Jaare, 

occurring only once in the 

Bible, could be a variant of 

Jair, with the attachment 

“Oregim,” meaning 

“weavers.” It could be an 

additive to “Jaare” from the 

semblance of the weaver 

arsenal and the shaft of 

Goliath’s arsenal. 

Oregim in Hebrew 

means weaver while the 

weaver uses an instrument 

that looks like the shaft of 

the spear of Goliath. This 

can be a stand-point since 

no literary work houses 

more figures of speech than 

“As a sector regulator who is 

saddled with the responsibility 

of ensuring that we have safe, 

reliable, affordable electricity we 

felt that we should come here 

and assess what happened and 

also commiserate with the victims 

and to make sure that the 

survivors have the best medical 

treatment immediately. 

Meanwhile, the NERC boss 

has ordered the management 

of AEDC to adequately compensate 

victims of the explosion. 

The management of AEDC 

has since accepted to foot the 

bills of those who got injured 

and continue their treatment at 

the National Hospital and other 

hospitals of the victims’ choice. 

the Bible! 

That is not all. Aribisala 

says the NKJV having “the 

brother of Goliath” in italics 

shows the phrase was added 

by its translators to effect a 

selfish manipulation of the 

Bible. Even then other 

versions do not render “the 

brother of Goliath” in Italics. 

Is this also to manipulate the 

Bible for selfish reasons? 

“Those who eat do so in 

order to live; those who 

forbid do so in order to live” 

is an Isekirian adage. Thus, 

while the NKJV italicizes 

the portion to mean “also a 

giant,” the RSV does not 

have it italicized in its belief 

that even the fool is expected 

to feel that “brother of 

Goliath is much likely to be 

a giant (like Goliath). 

Another explanation can 

be given to this 

verisimilitude of confusion 

– where David is Elhanan. 

Where David is Elhanan, the 

Goliath referred to in his 

respect would be one, while 

that killed by Jonathan is 

another, making one to 

think of two Goliaths. Where 

he is not, the Goliaths, who 

are hired giant fighters (1 

Chronicles 20:8) are more 

than one and each person – 

David, Elhanan, Sibbecai 

and Jonathan – have each 

killed a Goliath (1 

Chronicles 20:8). The 

Goliaths were many – not 

one – because the Goliaths, 

who were giants, were 

originally Raphaims whom 

the Jews met in Canaan on 

arrival from Egypt (Gen. 

15:18-20).When 

Chedorlaomer took Lot 

captive, he fought with these 

Raphaims at Ashterothkarnaim 

(Gen. 14: 1,5). 

These various Goliaths were 

remnants of the Emim 

giants (Deut 2:10) and the 

Zamzumim (Deut. 2:20), the 

original occupants of the 

sworn land. Finding 

themselves as mercenaries 

in the Philistinian army 

(perhaps to retaliate 

dispossession by the Israelic 

invaders), their invincibility 

was only first broken by David! 

A probable conclusion from 

here is that David (beloved, 

favoured), being one David, 

looks like Elhanan (favoured, 

beloved) while Goliath, far 

from being one, were many 

from whom David and his 

men of valour each killed a 

number (1 Ch. 21:8). David 

was not Elhanan. 

*Honsbira can be 

reached via 08073603926; 

e m a i l s : 

Yorubaancienths@yahoo.com, 

warriancienths@yahoo.com 

From left: Prof. Funso Akere, bride’s father, Mrs. Sola Adesina, representing bride's 

mother, with the new couple, Mr. Osayiware Mannix and his wife, Oluyemisi 

Omotola, during the wedding ceremony between former Miss Oluyemisi Omotola 

Akere, daughter of Prof Funso Akare, and Mr. Osayiware Mannix, son of Mr/Mrs. 

M.Y. Okundaye, held yesterday at Daystar Christian Centre, Ikosi, Oregun, Ikeja, 

Lagos. 

Mr and Mrs. M.Y. Okundaye, parents of the groom. Photos: Joe Akintola, Photo 

Editor. 

Diamond Bank Reaffirms commitment to 

Quality Service 

DESPITE the harsh op 

erating environment 

and strict regulatory framework 

which calls for caution 

in the financial industry, Diamond 

Bank has reaffirmed 

its commitment to quality service 

delivery, sustenance of 

strong fundamentals and 

stable profitability for its 

shareholders. 

In the Bank’s Q1 2016 result 

presented to the NSE 

and SEC, Diamond Bank resiliently 

buoyed itself above 

sundry industry turbulences 

and posted PBT of N6.7bn, 

averaging monthly PBT of 

N2.3bn, thus scaling industry 

expectations and meeting 

the minimum target for its 

shareholders for the period 

under review. 

Diamond Bank’s Capital 

Adequacy Ratio submitted to 

the the NSE and SEC for 

Q1, 2016 stood at 16.2%, 

which is 1.2% higher than the 

CBN minimum requirement 

of 15%, with the Bank’s liquidity 

position standing at 

52.4%, higher than the 30% 

minimum requirement set by 

the CBN. The Bank also recorded 

an asset base of 

N1,821.6 billion at the end 

of Q1, 2016, making the 

Bank one of the 10 most solvent 

banks in Nigeria. 

As a “systemically important 

bank” in Nigeria, Diamond 

Bank Plc has continued 

to maintain its global relevance 

as a financial service 

provider with a strong and 

focused management; and 

is rated one of the biggest 

banks in the world in the latest 

Top 1000 World Bank 

ranking by Financial Times. 

Diamond Bank Plc, standing 

as the 6th biggest bank 

in Nigeria, 20th biggest 

bank in Africa and 711th biggest 

Bank in the world, according 

to the latest ranking, 

is one of the most liquid and 

capitalised financial institutions 

in Nigeria. 

According to the Bank’s 

chief spokesperson, Ayona 

Trimnell, “Diamond Bank in 

the last half decade, has continued 

to sustain strong fundamentals, 

expand its operational 

offices across the 

country, improve on its service 

delivery, increase its revenue 

yield and maintain 

stable profitability for its 

shareholders.” 

Wabara mourns Maduekwe, 

Amadi’s demise 

FORMER Senate presi 

dent, Adolphus Wabara, 

has lamented the nation’s loss of 

two patriotic and eminent citizens, 

Chief Ojo Maduekwe and 

Elechi Amadi. In a press statement 

signed by his Special Adviser 

on Media, Wabara said the 

late Chief Maduekwe was his 

close and long standing political 

associate who shared with him 

a great deal of concern about 

good governance in their native 

Abia state and the country at 

large. 

He said Maduekwe’s passage 

was particularly painful to 

him as both of them were working 

closely at the level of the 

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 

board of trustees to bring the current 

crises in the party to an end 

and reposition it as a vibrant and 

credible opposition party. 

Wabara described the late 

politician as a man of very high 

intellect who served with integrity 

and clarity of purpose in all 

the assignments that were 

given to him, some of which 

included but we’re not limited 

to his appointment as minister 

in various ministries, Special Adviser 

on constitutional matter 

to the president, National Secretary 

of PDP, Ambassador to 

Canada and Secretary of PDP 

Board of trustees. 

Chief wabara equally lamented 

the passage of the great 

literary icon Amadi. He said 

Amadi was an accomplished 

writer, poet, novelist and a cultural 

icon who made positive 

contributions towards the nation’s 

educational developments and 

the cultural emancipation of black 

Africans.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016, PAGE 7

PAGE 8—SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 

By Kayode Tani-Olu 

The governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele 

Fayose, recently deployed a militia 

of local hunters to hunt down 

“Fulani” herdsmen in reaction to a 

recent incident in Ikole Ekiti, where 

some local people were killed as a result 

of clashes between “Fulani” herders and 

the local agrarian community. I have 

been trying to follow the arguments of 

those supporting the governor’s reaction 

to this unfortunate - but avoidable - 

incident. 

CAVEAT EMPTOR 

Please allow me to shed a bit of light on 

this subject which is currently generating 

so much debate within the Nigerian 

community. I wish to begin by saying, 

without equivocation, that I write this 

piece as a Nigerian patriot and as a 

former Nigerian career diplomat. Least 

of all, I write as a human being. 

THE FACTS ABOUT HERDSMEN 

The so-called cattle-herders are the 

Bororo or the Wodaabe. They are 

ethnically related to the Fulani - 

although some of the Fulani people will 

not agree they are Fulani. They are 

made up of many clans which are 

spread all over West Africa. Their 

relationship to the Fulani is similar to 

what the Itsekiri have with Yoruba. Their 

culture is so similar. Some others 

describe the Fulani, Fula or Peul as the 

town or “settler Fulan”i and the 

Wodaabe as the “cattle Fulani”. My 

personal opinion is that both cultures 

and languages are mutually intelligible, 

hence the similarity. In this write up, I 

would like to refer to them as the 

Wodaabe. 

The Wodaabe have never been educated, 

they have never owned land, and they 

don’t even have an ancestral home. For 

those of us that do, not having an 

ancestral home is incomprehensible - I 

can understand that. 

The Wodaabe often migrate north and 

south, east and west, and have done so 

for centuries within a very large area, 

criss-crossing the borders of more than 

15 countries in the search for pasture 

(they move anywhere from Chad in the 

east, to Mauritania in the west, 

depending on the movement of the dry 

season). 

CONFLICT 

In every country where they exist, their 

itinerant lifestyle has often put them in 

conflict with agrarian communities. In 

the last few decades, they have been 

victims of cattle rustlers and of recent 

Boko Haram. They probably carry 

AK47s to protect themselves. I 

personally know of instances when even 

local communities have stolen or killed 

their cattle and they have reported to the 

police, and the police had done nothing. 

Their cattle are their lives and they will 

kill defending their livestock. 

It is a wrong assumption to think that 

these cattle herders are working for “big 

men”, like some people have been 

saying. I can understand why some 

people think this way – how can such 

“uneducated” people have so much 

wealth in cattle and livestock? However, 

we own homes, cars, books, electronics, 

investments, etc. Those cattle are simply 

what the Wodaabe own. A Wodaabe will 

never hold or care for another man’s 

cattle. It’s anathema to their culturethey 

simply don’t do it. 

Their itinerant lifestyle has also not 

allowed them to mix with other tribes in 

marriage - in fact they never intermarry 

with other groups - hence resulting in 

much inbreeding, and the side effects of 

this. I believe every Wodaabe in this 

world is related, hence in the event of a 

vendetta against a local community, it is 

easy for them to rely on reinforcement, 

support and logistics of other Wodaabe. 

Whenever you see them with a large 

herd (sometimes in thousands) of cattle, 

it’s usually because a whole clan – 

grandfather, husbands, cousins, brothers, 

etc – are herding together. The strange 

thing is each animal knows his master’s 

voice - just the way Jesus Christ 

described his sheep – that they know 

Fayose, the 

Fulani and 

herdsmen’s 

killings 

HIS voice. For the Wodaabe, while many have 

embraced Islam, most are still for the most part 

predominantly “animists”. 

THE RANCHING QUESTION 

Some have said, since they have no homeland, 

why don’t we ranch them in Sambisa Forest? The 

problem with that is that Sambisa Forest spans 

more than five states in Nigeria. We all know 

every inch of terra firma in Nigeria is owned by 

at least one tribe or ethnic group, so to give away 

any part of Sambisa Forest will be giving away 

land that belongs to another ethnic group to the 

Wodaabe. 

However, the British colonial administration 

provided for the Wodaabe (especially in the 

Northern Region which now comprises at least 

24 states) in the various colonial constitutions, 

including the one Nigeria inherited at 

independence. In those constitutions, “grazing 

areas” were provided for them in many 

locations. Those areas have since vanished – 

since various states governments, over the years, 

have “stolen” or appropriated the land meant for 

them. Even when the government in the spirit of 

the various colonial institutions that we 

inherited, recently tried to revisit the issue of the 

grazing areas in order to address the problem, 

most Nigerians from the southern states said it 

was a ploy to establish the Fulani hegemony 

over locations outside the northern states of 

Nigeria. Hence, the Wodaabe had no other 

choice than to look for pasture wherever they can 

find it – bringing them into endless clashes with 

just about every agrarian community they come 

in contact with. 

CRIMINAL ELEMENTS 

Like in every civil society, town and country, the 

Wodaabe also have vagrants and criminal 

elements who commit violent crimes against 

local communities under the guise of herding 

their livestock. These vagrants need to be 

identified and made to face the full wrath of the 

law. 

Another point worthy of note is that because of 

the Woodabe lifestyle, it is 

very hard to tell who 

amongst them is Nigerian, 

and who is not. They have 

no homeland, they have 

never had one and 

international boundaries 

have no meaning to them; 

neither do they have ID 

cards or passports. I doubt 

if they have representation 

in the parliament of any 

West African country let 

alone Nigeria. These 

people are still many 

centuries behind the rest of 

us. 

I have related all these 

things in the hope that we 

can begin to properly 

examine this as a complex problem, 

and put it in its proper context. I have 

also tried to put the Wodaabe under 

the periscope so that as we continue 

this debate, we can take some of these 

things into account. 

THE FAYOSE SOLUTION 

The Federal Government, no doubt, 

has a complex problem, but Fayose’s 

solution is certainly not the right one. 

I know it is easy for some people to go 

after the low hanging fruit by just 

concluding that I am pandering to the 

Wodaabe in this write up. However, I 

am not Wodaabe. But the fact is that 

sometimes we attempt to turn a blind 

eye to the truth, even when it is staring 

us in the face; and when you make a 

different contribution in a debate or 

hold a different point of view, some of 

us get so unreasonable. 

We as Nigerians make a claim for 

democracy, but we do not want the 

dialogue and debate (and contrary 

views) that come with it. The officials, 

whom we freely elected to represent 

and govern us, have decided to start 

acting like despotic rulers and we see 

nothing wrong with that. As a matter 

of fact, we have continued to cheer 

them on. In the light of this, has it 

occurred to those supporting Fayose 

that we are yet to see the section of the 

Nigerian law that permits a state 

governor to arm and maintain a 

militia, even when the constitution 

does not allow state police? 

As a side note, can the flintlock rifles 

Fayose’s militiamen (local hunters) 

are armed with compete against the 

herdsmen’s AK47s? And when the 

local hunters find themselves 

overpowered by the superior 

firepower of the herdsmen, what is he 

going to do? Is he going to start 

importing ammunition for the local 

hunters – especially when he has told 

It is very hard to tell who 

amongst them is Nigerian, 

and who is not. They 

have no homeland, they 

have never had one and 

international boundaries 

have no meaning to them; 

neither do they have ID 

cards or passports 

them he would give them anything they 

need? The fact of the matter is, Fayose 

has raised an armed militia even when he 

lacks the constitutional power to 

establish a state police force! The 

Nigerian constitution only allows for a 

federal police force and federal law 

enforcement agencies. 

WARNING 

Lastly, what do you think the Serbian, 

Radovan Karadzic, was found guilty of 

by the International Criminal Court, 

ICC, regarding the war in Bosnia- 

Herzegovina? In case you do not 

remember, he was convicted for arming, 

enabling and maintaining a Serbian 

militia (just like Fayose is doing with 

local hunters), to kill ethnic Bosniaks. 

Karadzic claimed he was protecting 

Serbs. Now, Fayose says he is protecting 

the people of Ekiti by commissioning a 

local militia to hunt down “errant” 

herdsmen. He went as far as saying that 

he could no longer guarantee their safety 

in Ekiti – he actually said he did not want 

to see them in his state. Do you remember 

the time when former Gov. Fashola of 

Lagos State “deported” (ok … I found a 

better word…”repatriated”) some people 

back to the South East? Remember how 

people from those areas reacted? How 

come people are not reacting the same 

way this time? 

Therefore, to those encouraging Fayose, I 

hope they are aware that they are 

encouraging ethnic violence –even if 

there are criminal elements within the 

migrant herdsmen. I also hope they are 

prepared to continue their support for 

him all the way to the ICC when he faces 

charges of “crimes against humanity”. 

THE SOLUTION 

Unfortunately, I am not in a position to 

recommend a comprehensive solution to 

this complex problem, which is also ongoing 

in many other West African 

countries at this time. One person cannot 

have all the facts – I am not an exception 

to this rule. 

Some have talked about ranching. I have 

lived in the United States for the last 20 

years; and not many states in the US can 

afford or have the capacity to establish 

and support ranches. It is usually very 

capital intensive and the cost of entry (to 

establish them) is huge. Apart from cost, 

in Nigeria, we currently lack the capacity 

in infrastructure, technology, science and 

support services to do it on a massive 

scale. Ranching could yet be a long term 

solution. 

For an immediate solution, a good place 

to start will be the identification, repossession 

and re-establishment of the 

previously established grazing areas. To 

accomplish this will require 

collaborative effort on the part of our 

elected officials at the local, state, and 

federal levels; our elected officials can, in 

good time, fashion and execute policies 

that address the root of the problem, 

because we need to avoid further 

bloodshed on all sides - violence begets 

more violence. 

*Tani-Olu lives in Brookeville, Maryland 

He is an Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure 

Architect and is the CEO of Acethia, LLC 

http://www.acethia.com 

private email: wzframed@gmail.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016, PAGE 9 

THE COLLAPSE OF CEASEFIRE 

How Buhari dumped 

dialogue with 

N-Delta militants 

By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, South-South 

& Perez Brisibe 

When Nigerians 

woke up, last 

Monday, to find 

that Niger Delta 

Avengers, NDA, 

had bombed about five oil 

facilities belonging to the 

Nigeria National Petroleum 

Corporation, NNPC, Chevron 

Nigeria Limited, CNL, and 

Nigeria National Petroleum 

Development Company, NPDC, 

they were aghast, as there was 

supposed to be a ceasefire in the 

Niger Delta. 

The incidents occurred 

between July 1- 4, but when the 

militant group claimed to be 

blown up yet again blew up an 

NPDC manifold, close to Batan, 

and two NNPC/PPMC crude oil 

trunk lines, also in Delta State, 

on Tuesday, it was palpable that 

there was fire on the mountain. 

Since then, the NDA and other 

militant groups have, according to 

them, intensified bombings in the 

region, blowing up NNPC pipeline in 

Eleme, Rivers State, on Wednesday, 

another three Chevron manifolds at 

Diogbolo, Dibi Oil Field, Warri North 

Local Government Area in Delta 

State, on Thursday, and Nembe 1, 2 

and 3 crude trunk lines in Bayelsa and 

Rivers states on Friday. 

President’s changing tone 

The militant group did not give 

reason for the resumption of 

hostilities, but President 

Muhammadu Buhari, in his first 

major statement after the renewed 

bombings, while receiving some 

eminent Nigerians, mostly Muslims, 

who paid him sallah homage, insisted 

the Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable. 

He said: “We have to concentrate on 

the militants to try to know how many 

of them, in terms of groupings, try to 

get in touch with their leadership to 

try to persuade them to please give 

Nigeria a chance. 

“I assure them that when were very 

junior officers, we were told by the 

Head of State, who was General 

Gowon, that to keep Nigeria one is a 

task that must be done, we never 

thought of oil. 

“What we were after is one Nigeria. 

Please, pass the message to the 

militants that one Nigeria is 

not negotiable. And I pray 

they better accept it. The 

constitution is very clear as to 

what they should get and I 

assure them that there would 

be justice”. 

His mien, July 6, was 

different from his tone 12 

days earlier, June 24, at 

a dinner with 

leaders and 

chieftains of the 

All 

Progressives 

Congress, 

APC, at the 

Presidential 

Villa, 

where 

he 

pleaded 

•President 

Buhari 

with the Niger Delta militants in the name 

of God to reconsider their destruction of oil 

and gas installations. 

Dashed hope 

The NDA and other militant groups were 

said to have waited patiently for the 

President, who just returned to the country 

from his medical trip in London, to point 

the way forward two days after the 

expiration of the two-week ceasefire 

declared by government, June 6. 

Nevertheless, he remained taciturn. 

The expectation of many was that Buhari 

would make definite declarations on the 

peace talks, given that the Minister of 

State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwku, 

who undertook a preliminary tour of the 

region and met with some stakeholders to 

prepare grounds for the jaw-jaw, would 

have briefed him on his trouble-shooting 

mission. 

However, the President chose to remain 

silent on the critical matter. The NDA, 

during the period, urged him to call a 

referendum for Nigerians to decide if they 

would continue to stay together, just like 

his counterpart in Britain, David Cameron, 

did. 

Unsolicited invitation 

It also invited him to the Niger 

Delta to see things for himself. 

According to the group’s 

spokesperson, Mudoch 

Agbinibo: “The Nigeria 

President Buhari should 

visit Ugborodo, host to 

Chevron crude oil export 

terminal/EGTL gas plant, 

Ogulagha, host to Shell 

Forcados crude oil export 

terminal/tank farm and 

Bonny Island, host to Shell 

Bonny crude oil export 

terminal/NLNG gas 

terminal…” 

Agbinibo went on: 

“He (Buhari) should 

also visit Brass, host 

to Agip/ENI export 

Continues on 

page 10

PAGE 10—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016 

Continued from page 9 

terminal and Ibeno, host to 

ExxonMobil Qua Iboe crude export 

terminal. 

“These are just the export terminals 

not talking about the numerous oil and 

gas flow stations and the oil wells that 

crisscross the length and breadth of the 

Niger Delta. 

“Mr. President, come and see for 

yourself what the host communities are 

going through in the hands of Nigeria 

government and the multinationals”. 

Buhari, who had sent the Vice President 

to flag-off the Ogoni clean-up exercise, 

declined the offer. However, no sensible 

security team would advise him to visit 

the areas on the invitation of a militant 

group. 

How Buhari dumped dialogue with N-Delta militants 

Ultimate Warriors, others open up 

If NDA was being evasive on the 

reasons for breaking the ceasefire and 

Buhari not forthcoming on dialogue, the 

Ultimate Warriors, one of the militant 

groups in the region, broke the calabash. 

Its spokesperson, Sibiri Taiwoh, stated in 

an electronic mail to Sunday Vanguard 

before the ceasefire broke down that 

Buhari was kidding about Niger Delta, 

saying his policy would boomerang. 

The group stated: “It is utterly 

unfortunate that today Nigeria has a 

President that is just there enjoying the 

propaganda machinery of his party the 

APC, to the detriment of the economy and 

the purposeful governance that he 

promised during the electioneering 

campaigns. 

“Under Buhari regime, like in 1985 

when he was thrown out because of this 

kind of archaic economic policy, 

Nigeria’s economy has finally slide into 

recession. This is because of your 

hopeless economic policies tailored to 

favour political associates and family 

members to the detriment of the entire 

country, particularly the Niger Delta 

region that sustains the nation with its oil 

resources. 

“How can the President claim that he 

will rebuild the Niger Delta region; 

whereas he is doing everything to 

annihilate us; whereas he is fanning 

the embers of discord in the region using 

his lieutenants. We are aware that this 

government is anchored on deceit and 

propaganda, but if they continue to 

shamefully pay lip service to us, we will 

surely protest by any crude means we 

can, including totally grounding the oil 

economy”. 

Dismissive strategy 

It went on: “Mr President, your 

unserious policy about the Niger Delta 

will soon boomerang on your head 

because the goodwill you have been 

enjoying has expired. You said you 

needed time and you declared a ceasefire 

to come out with something. We gave 

you time, but you did nothing… 

“What we saw is that you started 

deploying and redeploying soldiers to 

wage war the Niger Delta communities. 

You set up a Dialogue and Contact 

Committee and at the same time started 

deploying security agents to the Niger 

Delta. To do what? 

“You are using the money that you 

ought to use to fast-track already started 

projects in the region to empower 

committees, political jobbers, who are 

deceiving you and security agents in a bid 

to hunt down agitators, instead of doing 

the needful. That is a miscalculation. 

Ploy 

“Stop deceiving us because we are 

aware of every move the government is 

making. We do not want any committee, 

we are aware it is a diversionary tactic of 

the government because for weeks now, 

no tangible thing has come out of the socalled 

committee. We want concrete 

action, we want direct federal 

government pronouncement to our 

demands”. 

“We are, therefore, saying this to let the 

world know that President Buhari 

government is unserious about the Niger 

Delta and he should be held responsible 

for all incidents in the region for his 

missteps. 

Findings by Sunday Vanguard, 

however, showed that Buhari 

was initially excited about the 

Federal Government 

dialoguing with militants and 

stakeholders in the Niger 

Delta, but, along the line, 

seemed to have changed his 

mind, as he is no longer 

disposed to dialogue 

“If the Buhari government thinks 

approaching the Niger Delta conflict 

by divide and rule tactics is the best 

approach, let them continue to feast 

on the propaganda machinery of the 

APC, but we are assuring him 

(Buhari) that we will make sure he 

suffers bad luck since he sees us as 

conquered territory.” 

I don’t care attitude 

Speaking in similar vein, July 5, the 

Reformed Egbesu Boys of Niger 

Delta, in a statement, said: “Since 

we called off hostilities in 

collaboration with the Niger Delta 

Avengers, although reluctantly… we 

have observed the `I do not care’ 

attitude of the Federal Government 

on its much flaunted and publicized 

dialogue option with key actors of 

the crisis.” 

The group’s so-called General Tony 

Alagbakereowei said: “The 

Secretary to the Federal Government 

alleged that there are numerous 

groups and interested parties, who 

want to negotiate with the Federal 

Government and that there is no clear 

leadership that the Federal 

Government could trust and 

negotiate with. This is not only 

preposterous, but smacks off a 

predetermined mindset. 

“In as much as this could be true to 

some extent, we wish to state that the 

Federal Government allowed 

miscreants and meddlesome 

interlopers seeking relevance in Abuja 

to gain pipeline contracts and 

appointments to deceive key actors of 

the government.” 

Meanwhile, on Buhari’s stand that 

Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable, the 

Ijaw People Development Initiative, 

IPDI, a non-governmental 

organization, said: “Our attention has 

been drawn to a statement made by 

Mr President while breaking fast with 

Muslims leaders in Aso Rock, that 

Nigeria ‘s unity is not negotiable. He 

even went down memory lane on how 

General Yakubu Gowon handled the 

civil war.” 

Anger spreads 

National President of the group, 

Austin Ozobo, in a statement, said: 

“He then handed down a threat, 

which will further aggravate tension 

in the region when he said that he is 

passing a message to the militants 

that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable. 

This does not go down well with 

some of us. Nigeria’s false marriage 

is now incompatible; it is not the duty 

of President Buhari to decide whether 

it is negotiable or not, and that can 

only be determined through a 

referendum, and that power rests 

with the electorate, not the 

President.” 

“His threat only implies that, in a 

nutshell, if the people of the region 

fail to see reason with him regarding 

his rigid position, Armageddon shall 

descend on the region. 

“We find Mr. President’s statement 

not only repulsive, but totally 

disrespectful to the millions of 

Nigerians, who, on daily basis, have 

been calling for restructuring, true 

federalism and self-determination, a 

fundamental right as clearly stated in 

United Nations Charter and Africa 

Charter and People’s Rights. 

I”President Buhari’s voice most of 

the time polarizes the country more. 

As a leader, listening to the cries of 

your people is far better than forcing 

your opinion based on ethnic and 

religious sentiment down our throats. 

“Nigerian state came into being 

through forcefully marriage under 

Sir Lugard, without the consent and 

input of Niger Deltans on how they 

should be governed and how they 

want to live with other ethnic 

nationalities. 

“We reject this ‘monkey dey work, 

baboon dey chop treatment’ from the 

Nigerian state. We once again join 

progressive minds calling for true 

federalism because this is the only 

way out of the currrent agitations 

from several quarters”. 

Buhari’s metamorphosis 

Findings by Sunday Vanguard, 

however, showed that Buhari was 

initially excited about the Federal 

Government dialoguing with 

militants and stakeholders in the 

Niger Delta, but, along the line, 

seemed to have changed his mind, as 

he is no longer disposed to 

dialogue. 

A source said some top security 

officials and politicians around the 

President convinced him that 

negotiating with Niger Delta 

militants would mean that 

government succumbed to their 

blackmail. 

The different interest groups 

mounted pressure on Buhari, who 

shifted from his earlier position. 

The militants, who were, according 

to sources, suspicious of government 

negotiators all along, reportedly saw 

the President’s latter-day 

reorganization of Operation Pulo 

Shield, now Operation Delta Safe, 

redeployment of security personnel 

from the North to the Niger-Delta on 

the grounds that those in the region 

were incompetent and the crackdown 

on militants, as a sign that 

government was no longer interested 

in dialogue. 

Our dependable source said: “The 

truth is that there were intrigues and 

power play, involved the details of 

which are better classified in national 

interest. But the President chose to 

hold his grounds against militants 

than yield to them in the name of 

dialogue.” 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, 

however, hit the nail on the head, on 

Friday, when he said government 

deliberately refused to discuss with 

NDA. 

Osinbajo, who delivered the second 

foundation lecture of Elizade 

University,Ilaramokin, Ondo State, 

said NDA members are not 

freedom fighters but economic 

warriors fighting for their own 

private pockets. 

“The so-called Avengers are not 

freedom fighters but fighting for their 

own economic benefits. They are 

avenging for their private pockets and 

that is why government is not talking 

with them”, he stated. 

The Vice President, however, said 

that the Federal Government had 

concluded arrangements to tackle 

the menace of pipeline vandalism in 

the Niger/Delta. 

While condemning the activities of 

the militants who claimed 

responsibility for the vandalization 

of petroleum pipelines in the oil-rich 

region, said “The previous 

government neglected the region for 

several years, hence the current 

challenges”.. 

Osigbo said government had put 

the machinery in motion to curtail 

the activities NDA. 

.He also lamented that attacks by 

the group on oil and gas pipelines 

were responsible for the epileptic 

power supply in the country as well 

as the inability of state governors 

to pay workers’ salaries due to the 

low revenue generated in the oil 

sector. 

Nwuche’s advice 

Meanwhile, a former Deputy 

Speaker of the House of 

Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, 

has appealed to the NDA and all 

militant groups in the Niger Delta to 

sheath their swords. 

In a statement in Abuja, Nwuche 

appealed to the militants to cease 

campaigns of destruction of oil 

facilities in the region as that 

would have far- reaching negative 

effect on the people of the region, 

pointing out that the average 

Niger Deltan depends on farming 

and fishing for sustenance.


By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, South-South 

THE Movement for the 

Emancipation of the 

Niger Delta, MEND, 

yesterday, gave the Federal 

Government a two-week 

ultimatum to respond to the 

demand for dialogue on the 

Niger Delta question or it 

would safely assume that 

government only responds to 

threat of violence and 

industrial action. 

This came on a day the Ijaw 

Youth Council, IYC, accused 

the Federal Government of 

inconsistency in its bid to 

resolve the problem of renewed 

militancy in the Niger Delta. 

Also yesterday, Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo’s statement that 

the Federal Government would 

not discuss with the Niger Delta 

Avengers, NDA, and other 

militant groups in the Niger 

Delta to resolve the issues 

connected to renewed military 

in the oil-rich region, triggered 

a response from some militancy 

groups who said they would 

step up the bombing of oil and 

gas installations in their 

respective towns and villages. 

One of them, Niger Delta 

Revolutionary Crusaders, which 

claimed responsibility for the 

attack on the Brass Creek 

manifold at Peretorugbene 

community, Bayelsa State, last 

week, said it had given security 

personnel and expatriates 

working in Beni-seide and 

Ogbotebe , Tunu flow stations 

in Bayelsa an ultimatum to 

vacate the area or face its 

wrath. 

MEND, in a statement by its 

spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, 

gave the reason it opted for 

dialogue and constituted Aaron 

Team 2, including ex-militant 

leader, Government 

Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, to 

discuss with the federal 

government and others on the 

way forward for the region, but 

regretted that government was 

obfuscating the Niger Delta 

crisis. 

It indicated that the group 

was not prepared to dialogue 

with the National Security 

Adviser, NSA, because his office 

does not have executive power, 

saying the issues surrounding 

the Niger Delta question were 

on the exclusive legislative list, 

and the proposed dialogue was 

not an interrogatory session. 

The statement read: “The 

attention of the Movement for 

the Emancipation of the Niger 

Delta (MEND) has been 

drawn to an article titled: 

‘President Buhari Sharpens 

Focus On Niger Delta,’ written 

by Mr. Garba Shehu, the Senior 

Special Assistant to the 

President on Media and 

Publicity. 

“We have carefully studied 

and analyzed the article. We 

wholeheartedly applaud and 

welcome President Buhari’s 

sharpened focus on the Niger 

Delta even though, in our 

estimation, Mr. Shehu’s article 

ironically did more to obtuse 

the focus. 

“Mr. Shehu’s piece was 

unfortunately marred by 

sweeping assumptions; hasty 

generalization; illogicality and 

poor analysis of the Niger Delta 

question and, above all, the 

article merely provided lame 

excuses for Government’s 

inability to proffer sustainable 

solutions to the Niger Delta 

FG’S NO DIALOGUE STANCE WITH AVENGERS 

MEND issues two 

-week ultimatum 

•Militants threaten more attacks 

crisis. 

“It was tactless of Mr. Shehu to 

arrive at a conclusion in his article 

that, Niger Delta militants were 

behind the killings of prominent 

individuals and attacks on some 

coastal communities in Lagos and 

Ogun states. This casual but hasty 

generalization from a presidential 

spokesperson is, to say the least, 

steeply divisive and capable of 

sparking a tribal war of 

unimaginable consequences 

between the Ijaw (whose youth are 

perceived to constitute a large 

number of the rank and file of Niger 

Delta militants) and the Yoruba. 

“Quite apart from the fact that 

none of the Niger Delta Avengers 

(NDA) operatives has, so far, been 

arrested by security agencies to 

establish Mr. Shehu’s sweeping 

assumption, the comment by Mr. 

Shehu is regrettable and infra dig 

his office. 

The problem with Buhari 

“Going forward, three salient 

issues which clearly reveal the 

seeming inability of President 

Buhari’s government to find 

sustainable solutions to the Niger 

Delta crisis can be distilled from Mr. 

Shehu’s article. 

“Firstly, he made heavy weather 

about the Punch newspaper editorial 

of July 1, 2016 as a basis to justify 

government’s reluctance to 

negotiate with the NDA and other 

militant groups. Thereafter, he cited 

National Security Adviser (NSA) 

General Babagana Mongunno’s 

alleged encounter with about 14 

different militant groups who were 

all ‘claiming leadership to the 

renewed onslaught on the nation’s 

economic jugular vein.’ 

“Secondly, Mr. Shehu revealed in 

his article, the reluctance of 

government to take ‘the strongest 

possible military action’ against the 

NDA and other militant groups 

Going forward, three 

salient issues which 

clearly reveal the 

seeming inability of 

President Buhari’s 

government to find 

sustainable solutions to 

the Niger Delta crisis, 

can be distilled from Mr. 

Shehu’s article 

while appealing to elders and 

traditional rulers from the Niger 

Delta such as HRH King Alfred 

Diette-Spiff, the Amanyanabo of 

Twon-Brass in Bayelsa State, to beg 

the militants to ceasefire. 

“Thereafter, Mr. Shehu informed 

that President Buhari would take 

action (presumably, military action) 

after receiving reports from the 

Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. 

Ibe Kachikwu, who was interfacing 

with stakeholders; Special Adviser on 

Niger Delta/Co-coordinator, 

Presidential Amnesty Programme, 

Brigadier General Paul Boroh (retd); 

and the new management of the 

Niger Delta Development 

Commission (NDDC). 

“Thirdly, Shehu, in his article, 

bemoaned the proliferation 

ofsolutions to the Niger Delta crisis 

while asking rhetorical questions, to 

wit: ‘How many of those agreements, 

joint statements, ceasefires and peace 

declarations do we have on record so 

far? Why have they not given us peace? 

What is wrong with those agreements 

that they do not last? 

Pot calling kettle black 

“Mr. Shehu failed to proffer answers to 

his own questions. He also failed to 

apportion blame on successive 

governments and the international oil 

companies (IOCs) who have repeatedly 

reneged on agreements entered with the 

people of the Niger Delta. For instance, 

Mr. Shehu needs to be reminded that 

government and the IOCs are owing the 

NDDC billions of Naira in withheld 

funds. But that is a discussion for another 

day. 

Negotiation different from dialogue 

“There is a marked distinction between 

negotiation with criminals and fraudsters 

who force concessions from government 

using the strategy of attacks on oil 

installations, on the one hand; and 

dialogue with genuine militant groups 

such as MEND who are committed to 

meaningfully engage government on the 

vexed Niger Delta question, on the other 

hand. 

“While the former engage in militancy 

for their personal aggrandizement, the 

latter are patriots who are fighting a just 

cause and are equally desirous of peace, 

stability and development of the Niger 

Delta region for the common good. 

“As unfolding events in Nigeria have 

since revealed, the major challenge of 

President Buhari’s government lies in its 

inability to distinguish between 

NEGOTIATION (emphasis supplied) 

with criminal elements, such as the NDA, 

who are sabotaging the nation’s economy 

and whose demands range from the 

mundane to the outright ridiculous, on 

the other hand. And DIALOGUE 

(emphasis supplied) on the Niger Delta 

question with a serious-minded group, 

such as MEND, on other hand. 

“The way and manner criminal gang as 

the NDA hold government to ransom and 

force concessions is exactly the same way 

pressure groups such as PENGASSAN, 

NUPENG or even the National 

Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), 

oftentimes, hold government to ransom 

regardless of the risks posed by their 

actions to the national economy and to 

the lives of ordinary Nigerians. 

“The only difference here is that, NDA 

ups the ante with their senseless and 

unprovoked 

attacks on oil installations. Willy- nilly, 

government must negotiate with them 

even though their belligerent and 

bellicose conducts may be inimical to the 

national interest”. 

Threat 

Also yesterday, Vice President Yemi 

Osinbajo’s statement that the Federal 

Government would not discuss with the 

Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and other 

militant groups in the Niger Delta to 

resolve the issues connected to renewed 

military in the oil-rich region, triggered 

a response from some militancy groups 

who said they would step up the bombing 

of oil and gas installations in their 

respective towns and villages. 

One of them, Niger Delta 

Revolutionary Crusaders, which claimed 

responsibility for the attack on the Brass 

Creek manifold at Peretorugbene 

community, Bayelsa State, last week, said 

it had given security personnel and 

expatriates working in Beni-seide and 

Ogbotebe , Tunu flow stations in Bayelsa 

an ultimatum to vacate the area or face 

its wrath. Osinbajo, who delivered the 

second foundation lecture of Elizade 

University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, on 

Friday, had declared that the Federal 

Government will not dialogue with the 

NDA or any militant group for that 

matter saying, “The so called avengers 

are not freedom fighters but fighting for 

their own economic benefits. They are 

Continues on page 12


I foresee crisis of catastrophic dimension in the N-Delta 

— Pere Ayemi-Botu, ex-TROMPCON Chairman 

By Emma Amaize 

AFORMER National Chairman of 

the Traditional Rulers of Oil 

Producing Communities of Nigeria, 

TROMPCON, and paramount ruler of 

Seimbiri Kingdom, Delta State, His 

Majesty, Pere (Dr) Charles Ayemi-Botu, 

says he foresees “looming crisis of 

catastrophic dimension and uneasy 

tension” in the Niger Delta. 

The monarch, who spoke to Sunday 

Vanguard, pleaded with President 

Muhammadu Buhari to nip the looming 

disaster capable of throwing Nigeria 

into serious in the bud. 

Ayemi- Botu, aka Lion of the Niger, 

said: “Wise counseling suffice that both 

the Federal Government and the Niger 

Delta Avengers (NDA) and other 

militant groups should, as a matter of 

urgency, embrace peace without further 

delay and resort to dialogue in order to 

save Nigeria from avoidable crisis.” 

Only true and massive development can resolve N-Delta crisis – Pa Uvwoh 

President Buhari has been urged to 

jump-start the resolution of the 

Niger Delta crisis by initiating tangible 

development of the embattled region. 

“For the past months the oilproducing 

Niger Delta has been 

embroiled in renewed multiple crises 

with oil/gas installations being the main 

targets in an avowed attempts by 

rampaging militants to bring Nigeria to 

its knees with zero-oil production. This, 

no doubt, has brought more hardships to 

a country that is not only reeling in 

dwindling oil prices but is now 

hemorrhaging from untoward 

destructing of oil/gas pipelines and 

installations from several sides, all at 

the same time”, a community leader/ 

political activist, Pa Sandys Omadeli 

Uvwah, said in an open letter to the 

President. 

He made this plea, according to him, 

in the spirit of finding a mutually 

acceptable solution to the crisis in the 

region despite several attempts in the 

He warned that Nigeria should not 

turn itself to an object of ridicule in the 

international community or create an 

avenue for some countries to sell 

weapons, adding that before his last 

medical trip abroad, Buhari ordered a 

two-week ceasefire and instantly set up 

a negotiation committee for dialogue 

with Avengers and other militant 

groups. 

The monarch, who held a press 

conference with the United States of 

America Consul General, Mr. John 

Braye, when he visited him in his palace 

annex in Warri in May 2016, calling on 

the Federal Government and NDA to 

embrace dialogue, said he was 

disturbed at the emerging signals in the 

region. 

He said the expectation was that, on 

his return to the country, the President 

would put the machinery in motion to 

kick-start dialogue with the NDA by 

nominating people, after consultation, 

with governors of the affected states 

past. To Sandys, the past was never 

ready for the resolutions of the 

problems because there were selfserving 

interests built in by several 

stakeholders which he called ‘the 

dubious and suspicious triangle’ – past 

Federal Governments/NNPC, the 

International Oil Companies, IOCs, 

and greedy, self-centred community 

leaders who collectively undermine the 

overall interests of the indigenes of the 

hosts communities. 

Amongst others suggestions of 

ground-breaking initiatives that can 

quickly and rapidly take the Niger 

Delta out of the woods, Sandys told 

Buhari, is to continue works on the 

multi-billion Dollars Ogidigben, 

Ugborodo (Escravos) Export Processing 

Zone, EPZ, which has been commenced 

by the Federal Government with site 

clearing. This dream project, which has 

been classified as one of the largest in 

both Africa and the world, is proposed 

to be home to several oil/gas facilities 

and inaugurate the committee with a 

deadline to submit their report. 

“It is highly likely that he will not 

renege from his avowed promise to 

implement the peace process in the 

Niger Delta as he had already started 

cleaning up the long awaited 

environmental pollution in Ogoni 

and hopefully extend it to other 

affected areas such as Delta, Bayelsa 

and Akwa-Ibom states”, he said. 

“But a situation whereby the 

media is being used to canvas your 

(Buhari) terms of settlement 

demonstrates a high degree of 

unseriousness in such a complex and 

volatile issue. It seems like a child’s 

play”. 

The royal father added: “We had 

some rays of hope when the Minister 

of State for Petroleum and former 

Group Managing Director, GMD, 

NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, went on 

consultative mission to Akwa Ibom, 

Bayelsa and Delta states, and 

that can drive both domestic and 

export markets thereby reviving the 

backward Nigerian economy in very 

many telling ways. 

With a proposed capacity to 

improve the formal and informal 

business sectors and engage hundreds 

of thousands of formal and informal 

labour, the EPZ will not only raise 

national revenue tremendously in the 

face of dwindling oil revenues but 

mop up for good the ‘idle minds’ that 

voluntarily and involuntarily put fire 

to issues in the region. 

Other projects Sandys 

recommended to Buhari are: The 

resuscitation of the comatose Delta 

Steel Company, DSC, Aladja; the 

revitalization of the dying Warri Port, 

the commercialization of the 

standard railway line between Itakpe 

in Kogi State and Aladja in Delta 

State, in a North and South 

passengers/goods movement; the 

quick delivery of the railway route 

proceeded to meet other stakeholders in 

the creeks to interface with them 

through the President’s directive. 

“Though, some positive development 

was in the making, suddenly, he was 

dropped as GMD NNPC, apparently 

it’s a mission unaccomplished. 

“There are rumors in the print, 

electronic and social media that 

militants will deploy or launch 

missiles on targeted cities and the 

Federal Government, on its part, has 

supposedly concluded plans to engage 

Saudi Black Water Mercenaries to 

fight pipeline vandalism. 

“I do not know how true the report is 

but that would cost millions of dollars. 

Apparently, all these are unnecessary 

beating of the war drums. It is a proven 

fact that it is better not to war-war but 

to jaw-jaw and no problem can be 

completely resolved through the barrel 

of the gun but through intensive 

dialogue”. 

between Calabar and Lagos; the 

resolution of the controversy and 

commitment to the establishment of the 

Maritime University in Okerenkoko; 

and the initiation of a holistic 

orientation programme for the Niger 

Delta region. 

On the issue of whether to dialogue 

between the stakeholders of the Niger 

Delta, Sandys called for the quality 

exercise of discretion on the part of the 

Federal Government that holds the 

majority stake in the matter. He stated 

that the absence of dialogue can only 

lead to ‘violence begetting violence’ and 

‘blood calling for blood.’ He, however, 

did not give the direction the required 

dialogues should take especially with 

the benefits of the failed attempts to do 

this in the past. 

He requested Buhari to pay a 

GOODWILL VISIT to the people of the 

Niger Delta and connect directly with 

them for their good and that of Nigeria 

as a whole. 

MEND issues two-week ultimatum 

Continued from page 11 

avenging for their private 

pocket and that is why 

government is not talking with 

them”. 

In an electronic mail to 

Sunday Vanguard, the Niger 

Delta Revolutionary Crusaders 

said: “ What has just happened 

now is to let the entire world, 

the Nigerian nation and the 

Niger Delta nation to know 

that it is no longer business as 

usual. We want to tell the Niger 

Delta region that we are proud 

of the Niger Delta Avengers 

and urge all Niger Delta to 

reciprocate the same in their 

respective towns and villages 

that oil exploration is going 

on. 

“We are sounding it as a 

warning to the military 

personnel and sympathizers 

working with the Nigerian 

nation residing in the Beniseide 

region that their safety is 

no longer guaranteed. We are 

warning them because our 

mission is not to take innocent 

souls, but if they take our 

warning as an act of weakness, 

we feel very sorry for their 

wives and children whom they 

shall leave behind to mourn 

them.” 

“As revolutionary crusaders, 

we believe in God for true 

justice and equity, which is why 

we are giving them the 

opportunity to evacuate from the 

area (Beni-e seide flow stations, 

Ogbotebe, Tunu) immediately 

because of their wives and 

children. Our seal team will not 

spear any act of defiance by the 

federal troops or expatriates after 

the expiration of this ultimatum.” 

“We are conscious and 

conversant with all escape routes 

and hideouts, so please be warned, 

as we are always in your midst. 

“We stand with the Niger Delta 

Avengers to say we want a lasting 

peace in our oil-rich region, or 

what just happened is just a tip of 

the iceberg. We are in solidarity 

with the Niger Delta Avengers 

whose sole aim is the 

emancipation of the Ijaws the total 

control of their God-given black 

Gold, resource control.” 

Govt contradicting itself 

– IYC 

Spokesperson for IYC, Eric 

Omare, in a statement, yesterday, 

said: “The Federal Government, 

in the past week, has displayed 

obvious inconsistencies and lack 

of commitment towards finding a 

solution to the renewed hostilities 

in the Niger Delta. 

“It would be recalled recently 

President Buhari while meeting 

with some political and religious 

leaders pleaded with militants to 

give peace a chance and in 

another occasion said that the 

federal government was in the 

process of identifying the leaders 

of the different militant groups 

with a view to dialogue with them. 

“Also a few days ago, the 

Commandant General of the 

Nigeria Security and Civil 

Defence Corps, Abdullahi 

Muhammadu told Nigerians that 

the issue of militancy would soon 

be a thing of the past as 

government was already 

discussing with the militants. 

“However, it shows obvious 

contradiction and lack of 

commitment for Vice President 

Osinbanjo to state on Friday, July 

8, 2016 at Akure that the Federal 

Government is not discussing with 

the militants because they are 

economic saboteurs and not 

freedom fighters. 

“The IYC is constrained to ask: 

What is the correct position of the 

Federal Government on efforts at 

resolving the current hostilities in 

the Niger Delta? Is the Federal 

Government of Nigeria a boat 

without a captain for different 

officers of government to take 

different position on same issue? 

“These contradictions clearly 

show that the Federal 

Government lacks any 

commitment towards resolving 

the current hostilities in the Niger 

Delta. The two-week ceasefire that 

was earlier declared seems to be a 

smokescreen to create the 

impression that government is 

committed to resolving the issues 

through dialogue whereas there is 

no such commitment. 

“The IYC wishes to state for 

the umpteenth time that for 

there to be any meaningful 

resolution of the renewed 

militancy in the Niger Delta, 

President Buhari like his 

predecessors must provide 

leadership. 

Clash of centrifugal, 

centripetal forces 

“ The clash of centrifugal 

and centripetal forces within 

his government supporting 

and opposing efforts at 

resolving the current Niger 

Delta hostilities are playing 

out because of his failure to 

provide leadership. 

“For any federal 

government effort at 

resolving the impasse to 

achieve the desired result, 

President Buhari must give 

a clear direction in order to 

gain the confidence of the 

people of the Niger Delta 

region and for officers of his 

government to key in.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016, PAGE 13 

C 

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royalty 

C 

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K 

Day I found myself as Oba without kingdom 

By Bashir Adefaka 

Oba Adesesan Afolorunso 

Oguntayo, Ogbagba 

Agbatewole I, Ajagungbade 

Ajagunla, the 42nd Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife, 

Ogun State, was born on April 25, 1937 to 

the family of Prince Raji Osibadewa 

Oguntayo and Princess Alhaja Safuratu 

Omolade Oguntayo, nee Ashiru, and 

ascended the throne on June 22, 1996. 

A first class Oba in Ogun, he is a 

former councillor representing Ijebu-Ife 

in Ijebu East Local Government Area of 

the old and professionally a chartered 

accountant. A former National 

President, Independent Petroleum 

Marketers Association of Nigeria 

(IPMAN) until 1996 when he ascended 

the throne, he spoke on the occasion of 

the celebration of his 20th anniversary as 

the Ajalorun during which he touched 

on several issues bordering on his 

kingdom and Nigeria. He said with 

President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria 

is back on track. Excerpts: 

When exactly did you become the 

Ajalorun and by what administration? 

I was elected in 1995 by the Iyepute 

Ruling House where I belong, but the 

Aladejobi Royal Family within our ruling 

house took us to court after the election. 

Their grandfather was the 39th Ajalorun, 

who reigned between 1922 through 

1942. Then another ruling house 

reigned between 1943 through 1960. Yet 

another ruling house reigned between 

1961 and 1994. Then it came to our turn, 

Iyeapute Ruling House. Six of us were 

nominated at the meeting but these 

members of the Aladejobi Family went to 

court to challenge my nomination. We 

got judgment in 1996 and I was 

coronated on June 22 1996. 

Notwithstanding, they still went to 

court. The matter went to the Court of 

Appeal. We won again and it moved to 

the Supreme Court where we won and, 

in fact, the last judgment was given in 

2009 even though I had been reigning 

already. So, it wasn’t an easy journey. 

But why is it in our society, particularly 

in Yoruba land, that who becomes an 

Oba is subject of litigation? 

In Ijebu-Ife, there had never been any 

litigation on the stool of Ajalorun 

before. Mine was the first experience 

in the kingdom. 

Was there any issue of the governor in 

office for one to say those against you 

might have been sponsored by 

government? 

Not at all. That was the time of Lt. 

Col. Daniel Akintonde as Military 

Governor. And as soon as we got 

judgment, he approved my appointment 

and I became the Ajalorun on June 22, 

1996. 

As a professed Christian, how are you 

able to handle the belief that an Oba 

belongs to all kinds of cults and secret 

societies? 

Religion is a way of life. I recognise 

Christianity, I recognise Islam. But the 

third religion you are talking about, we 

can’t see them. They are fetish people: 

babalawos, diviners. If you say you are 

a follower of something, Sango was a 

person. These were traditional people 

who had reigned and who were known. 

It is just like Oduduwa, our ancestral 

father, how can you say we worship 

Oduduwa? We do traditional festivity 

annually in 

remembrance of those people. But to 

turn them into a religion is wrong and 

that is why some of the so-called 

worshippers perpetrate evil because 

there is no guidance, no guideline. 

But you came in through those 

traditional religions, didn’t you? 

What do you mean? 

Was it not the same means you got to 

the throne? 

Installing an Oba has been codified in 

—Oba Oguntayo, Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife 

•Oba Oguntayo ....Opponents said I would die within three days of ascending throne 

the law. You become an Oba through the 

declaration which is subsidiary law. In 

coming an Oba, go and see the law, nothing 

is created by the babalawo or any diviner, 

that is why I came with the declaration. Go 

and read it, you won’t see anything about 

tradition. The only tradition is that the 

family, which turn it is to nominate a 

candidate, must meet to select one or many of 

them and the names of all those selected will 

be sent to the kingmakers, who will then 

elect one from among them. Whoever the 

kingmakers elect will then be approved by 

government. That is the tradition that is 

involved in the installation of an Oba. 

Where then is the place of Ipebi in all of 

this? 

Ipebi is not part of the system to install an 

Oba. It is just a ceremony. Once you get 

your letter of approval from government, you 

are already an Oba. My being Oba had 

been decided by God and so, being Oba does 

not make you to be fetish. An Oba must have 

his own faith and, as I told you, my faith has 

sustained me as a Christian. I don’t say 

they should not practice all that they want to 

practice or celebrate our festivals. We have a 

programme which outlines our festivals from 

January to the end of the year and I approve. 

Ogun is celebrated as the god of iron. I am 

Oguntayo and I don’t say my name should be 

“Christtayo”. Your name is your name and 

has nothing to do with your faith. 

But what people do which is not good is to 

mix religion with tradition and those 

herbalists would want to take over the whole 

thing from you. Those people don’t 

understand what they are doing. In those 

days before we had Christianity, herbalists 

were the ones directing the Oba but now, the 

Oba too has his own religion and there is a 

law that guarantees individual rights to 

aspire to the position of Oba and also 

guarantee his freedom to practice his own 

religion. 

But is there no more to this than meets the 

eye? 

Traditionally, in those days, our people 

were barbaric and there were many barbaric 

things they did at the death of an Oba. 

Government has codified the election of an 

Oba into law, but they refused to codify the 

burial of an Oba. So, some traditionalists 

will take it upon themselves to say they want 

to perform burial rites and so they close the 

roads, Isede, to do Oro and all that. 

These are illegal activities. 

In Ijebuland, we tried it under the 

leadership of the Awujale in 1997 

that, “Let an Oba be buried 

according to his religion. If he 

wants to be cut into pieces, let him 

be cut into pieces but not for you to 

force burial rites on him.’ I am a 

Christian, I go to Church. Why 

should I have lived a credible 

lifestyle and one certain person, 

who is not even part of the royalty, 

will come and be making noise 

whereas he doesn’t even know 

what is happening’. That is the 

problem in Yoruba land because 

those people, themselves, have no 

religion, they have no faith. They 

don’t know God because if they 

know God, they would have known 

that it is He that they should be 

worshipping. So, it is God that 

makes king not by the power of 

anybody. That is why I worship in 

that faith. 

I am thanking God for what He 

has done for me for over 20 years, 

all the struggles I have gone 

through, all the court cases and the 

rest of them. When I ascended the 

throne 20 years ago, they said I 

would last for only three months. 

Were they the traditionalists that 

said you would last for only three 

months? 

I don’t know them but that was 

the rumour in town. Later, some 

said I would last three years, some 

said seven years but the least is to 

say that you would last for only 

three days. Here I am, 20 years. 

Some of them are dead now. But I 

have faith and I worship my God. 

How did this kingdom come 

about the title, Ajalorun? 

Ajalorun is the appellation of 

Oduduwa. He was believed to 

have come to life through Aja 

(whirlwind) as nobody could say 

this was the way he was born and 

returned to heaven. So, we are of 

Oduduwa and that is why we bear 

his appellation. My great, great, 

great grandfathers were direct 

descendants of Oduduwa and every 

year we organise a programme in 

memory of Oduduwa in Ijebu-Ife. And 

the reason we are called Ijebu-Ife is that 

we are of Ife extraction but live in Ijebu 

whereas Oduduwa reigned in Ile-Ife. He 

is our progenitor and he gave instruction 

to all his children to go and found 

settlements and my forefathers left Ile-Ife 

for this place and that was how Ijebu-Ife 

was founded in 1460 in fulfillment of the 

dictate of Oduduwa. 

What is your brief story of the Ijebu-Ife 

crisis and how were you able to 

surmount it to now say you want to 

celebrate 20 years on the throne? 

The story you want me to tell is the story 

of a day I found myself as a king without 

a kingdom as my people had all gone 

remaining only me in town. The sorry 

case about the Ijebu-Ife crisis is that, as 

well trained as the Nigeria Police people 

are, up till today, they have not been able 

to track down the people behind the 

crisis. The only man they charged is still 

in court. But the devil has more 

followers than the saint. If we say we 

should send evil people out of town, there 

will be nobody to live with. 

Nonetheless, the truth is constant and if 

truth is not on ground, you can’t solve 

problems. Until you are truthful in 

everything you are doing in life, you 

cannot solve any problem. Yes, we are 

human beings, nobody is perfect, but the 

truth will always sustain you. As far as I 

am concerned, those people who caused 

the trouble, most of them are dead. Even 

if they were alive, you couldn’t see them 

in the streets because they had their 

result and 

judgment of God on them. There is 

nothing darkness runs away from other 

than the light. Let us allow light in 

everything we are doing so that darkness 

will automatically disappear in the 

society. 

Exploiting the anniversary of your 20 

years on the throne, you have seen much 

about Nigeria from the past to the 

present. How would you advice the 

present government and the people of 

Nigeria in moving forward? 

Let me start with the people and my 

advice to them is that they should imitate 

our current leader, President 

Muhammadu Buhari. The people should 

copy his example, his endurance, his faith 

and so on. Three times he contested and 

failed. 

Now, miraculously and, despite all the 

odds, he is now the President of Nigeria. 

Despite all the problems from the 

National Assembly, governors, 

politicians, he is fulfilling his mission and 

vision for Nigeria. He has convinced us 

that he was elected by us alone to be the 

President and to fix things in this country. 

Even those members of his party that 

still have the tendency of other politicians 

should change and emulate him. And 

they should make sure that the Nigerian 

people are more important in their 

administration than they see themselves. 

They should know that whatever they are 

able to do for those that elected them into 

office is what they will leave behind as 

legacy when they leave office. 

Whereas many traditional rulers have 

many wives, you have one. Does it 

mean because you are a Christian you 

can’t have more than one wife? 

Polygamy is not a sin. I have read 

Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I have 

not seen where it is written, “Don’t marry 

more than one wife.” The only thing that 

I see is that in heaven, you don’t remarry. 

It is only Paul that talks about marrying 

one wife. In fact at a point, I don’t’ even 

understand what Paul is talking about. 

So, it is not a sin to have more than one 

wife and it is not of any value or a means 

to enter the kingdom if you have only one 

wife neither will it be of any reason for 

you enter hell fire if you have more than 

one wife. So, polygamy is not a sin. 

I believe in the gospel of Jesus and I 

believe in Paul who explained further. 

But you will get to heaven through your 

faith in God and according to Paul, by His 

grace you shall be saved.


royalty 

100 year 

ears s of Nanna of Itsekiri’s ‘Living 

Histor 

ory’ 

C 

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“ 

By Egufe Yafugborhi 

Of all his contemporary 

traditional rulers, 

particularly around the 

Niger Delta, that fought intruder 

British imperialists, got tried and 

exiled in his time, Chief Nanna 

Olomu was the only one who 

returned home to re-establish his 

throne and pre-eminence before 

he died. All others died in 

captivity.” This was one of the 

measures of the exceptional 

greatness of the legendary Itsekiri 

ruler, highlighted by Wilson 

Onime, Curator at the Nanna 

Living History Museum, Koko, 

Warri North Local Government 

Area, Delta State while taking 

visitors through the museum last 

Sunday in celebration of the 

100th year of Nanna’s death. 

The Nanna Living History 

Museum, the nucleus of the 

celebration of Nanna’s centenary 

remembrance, was, until the 

Federal Government accorded it 

that status, the palace the 

venerated colonial era traditional 

ruler of the Itsekiri people built, 

lived, died and was buried upon 

gaining freedom from captivity of 

the British imperialists who 

deported him to Accra, Ghana. 

The palace was declared by 

Federal Government as a 

National Antiquity in 1979 before 

the upgrade into the Nanna 

Living History Museum, 

dedicated by Gen. Sani Abacha in 

1996 for the preservation of 

Nanna’s legacy as an outstation 

of National Commission for 

Museums and Monuments. 

Nanna, born in 1840 and 

enthroned by the colonial 

overlords as Gofena (Governor) 

of Benin River (1885-1894), 

faced many trials in conflict with 

colonialists from the Nanna 

(Ebrohimi) War in 1894 through 

his trial and detention in Calabar 

(1894-1895) to his deportation to 

Accra, Ghana (1896) before his 

return to Nigeria in 1906 and 

death in Koko, Delta State: July 

3, 1916. 

The centenary celebrations, 

inspired by Pa J.O.S Ayomike, 

foremost Itsekiri historian and 

husband to a granddaughter of 

Nanna, Utsaghan, began with a 

visit by Ayomike and associates, 

including Edward Ekpoko, 

Secretary, Itsekiri Leaders of 

Thought and Chairman, Warri 

Study Group, to the home of 

Chief Victor Nanna, eldest 

grandson of Nana who now leads 

his famed grandfather’s 

descendants and also holds the 

larger capacity as Olare-Ajao 

(Communal Head) of Koko, 

Nanna’s final settlement and 

present day headquarter of Warri 

North council. 

Activities then shifted to the 

Nanna Living History Museum 

where each visitor had the 

privilege of conjuring a personal 

sense of the historically 

documented majesty of Nanna 

with tour the home he lived. On 

display aside his tomb were the 

remainder of Nanna’s treasures – 

his private boat, regalia, swords, 

jars and dishes set on his private 

dining, lamps, decanters, silver 

rays, spectacles, pendants, clocks, 

and water filters as well as 

pictures of his siblings, extended 

family as well as those of his 

contemporaries, particularly 

King Jaja of Opobo, Oba 

Ovonranmwen and his British 

friends among the imperialists 

•Chief 

Nanna 

Olomu 

who sacked him fall from Ebrohimi, his first 

throne where he was assumed Gofena 

(Governor) of Benin River. Inside the Nanna 

museum were also a treasured rifle and a 

cannon, a fraction of the arsenal he 

employed in the failed resistance of the 

imperialists invasion. 

Tributes 

A candle light session was held at Nanna’s 

tomb where Onime, the museum’s Curator, 

pledged commitment of the National 

Commission for Museums and Monuments 

to sustained preservation of the Itsekiri 

sage’s legacy. Ayomike led the observance of 

a moment of silence in his honour and a 

requiem service at the museum’s hall and 

dance entertainment by Itsekiri cultural 

groups followed simultaneously. 

In a statement Onime read to Nana 

descendants, signed by its Director General, 

Yusuf Usman, the commission praised 

Ayomike as a friend and “a strong pillar”of 

the Nana Living History Museum while 

identifying with the Nanna family on the 

centenary of his death. 

Ayomike, in a recount of some of the 

memories that defined Nanna’s greatness, 

said, “Nana was buried with a giant diamond 

ring and lay in death on a regal catafalque 

fabricated by his own children who learnt the 

sophistry of carpentry and other vocations 

while studying in Ghana where their father 

was deported. In Accra he became a 

Christian, but Ralph Moor, Actg Governor 

and Consul General who placed a £500 

reward for his arrest, tried and pronounced 

life sentence on him and seized his entire 

wealth, went back to Britain, got lunatic and 

took his own life.” 

He also shared fellow historians’ thought 

on the greatness of Nanna in his reprinted 

work, ‘Nanna, British Imperialism At Work’, 

where he quoted Michael Crowder as saying, 

“The importance of Nanna at this stage of 

Nigerian history was considerable. Like Jaja, 

he stands out as one of the few who were able 

to offer serious resistance to the encroaching 

British and as Cook has pointed out, this led 

to the British practice of removing native 

chiefs who opposed British penetration rather 

than seeking their cooperation.” Prof. Obaro 

Ikime, who Ayomike acknowledges as 

foremost authority on Nanna history, added 

his own assessment: “Far from derogating 

from his importance and reputation, the 

humiliation and exile he suffered have served 

to further enhance his prestige in the eyes of 

•Foremost historian, Pa J.O.S Ayomike (l) and Chief 

Victor Nanna, eldest grandson of Nanna Olomu and 

Olare-Aja of Koko. 

•Nanna stool at his Koko palace where he lived 

and died upon return from deportation in Accra, 

Ghana 

his countrymen and to win for 

him a worthy place in the history 

of the country.” Tributes also 

came from Prof. Aborime 

(Abuja), Prof. Johnson Ekpere, 

Joseph Ayomike and Prof. 

Ogbemi Omatete. 

No apathy -Eyengho 

Film and stage play maker, 

Alex Eyengho, who is passionate 

about projecting the Itsekiri 

culture through his works, would 

rather stick his neck out to any 

length to debunk the notion of 

Itsekiri apathy to the greatness 

of Nanna. He said, “There is no 

apathy. Nanna is a great African 

hero. No right thinking Itsekiri 

would hear about the 

celebration of Nana and won’t 

want to be part of it. As an 

activist and arts practitioner, 

who has also done certain things 

about Nanna, I think the Nanna 

family narrowed this celebration 

as if it was a family affair. 

“They did not reach out to the 

larger Itsekiri and Nigeria at 

large. Making it a Nanna 

descendants’ affair was where 

they got it wrong. Everything I 

have heard about this centenary 

event were on the pages on 

newspapers. One would have 

expected the family to set up an 

all embracing committee of 

resource persons of diverse 

callings bringing their 

experiences to the table for an 

earthshaking celebration. 

“This Nanna was a great hero. 

He was before Oba Ovoranmwen. He 

was the first to resist the British 

imperialists and was fought and 

overpowered before Ovoranmwen. I 

would have expected that at this 

point of his history, we would have 

staged a play to reenact how big 

Nanna was, as I have done for 

Itsekiri on such auspicious 

occasions. I put the blame squarely 

on the Nanna family who don’t seem 

organized themselves. If there is any 

apathy, they created it.” 

Barring the sentiments over an 

apathetic Itsekiri to the greatness of 

Nanna, not all his folks loved him in 

his time and history has it that the 

hate within escalated the imperialists 

resolve to bring his empire down with 

fingers pointed to Nanna’s rival and 

extended relative, Chief Dore Numa, 

who became the leading Itsekiri 

figure at the capture of Nanna. 

J.O.E Sagay in ‘The Warri 

Kingdom’ on the trials of Nanna, 

pointed out: “Since no other Itsekiri 

chief came to give evidence against 

Nanna, it can be assumed that only 

Dore and Dudu, inspite of their 

claims to the contrary, were behind 

the Bristish action. And no peace 

came to Itsekiri land after the 

removal of Nanna.” 

Love or hate him, “the great man 

today lies buried in the bosom of his 

palace in Koko. Nanna died and a 

chapter of Itsekiri history closed. A 

fulfilled life it was, but one pierced and 

riddled with a dagger of hate –hate that 

has been dissolved by seeming 

irrelevance caused by time”, Ayomike 

moved on the great Nanna of Itsekiri.

PAGE 16–SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 

The Powers Of The 

National Assembly 

The much vaunted 

but inefficient fight 

against corruption 

has become the basis for 

which the executive branch 

under the presidency of 

Muhammadu Buhari has 

embarked on the most 

extensive power grab in the 

history of civil rule in 

Nigeria. Well, Nigerians 

made the first mistake in 

1999, when they did not 

back their legislators in 

checkmating President 

Obasanjo’s attempts to 

muscle the National 

Assembly. But let me 

proceed from where the 

“Orbit” ended last week by 

making the following 

observations. The greatest 

threat against democracy 

and the survival of the rule 

of law in Nigeria is an 

indolent and a badly 

informed citizenship. Most 

Nigerians have never 

bothered to read the 

constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria. This 

includes, many Nigerians 

who are literate enough to 

absorb the letters of the 

constitution, and 

understand it. 

But without informed 

citizens, who are prepared 

to engage the civic and 

constitutional process, the 

nation will continue to be 

politically underdeveloped, 

and may slip into tyranny. 

An informed citizenry 

could organize, petition, 

and constitute the basis for 

effective representation in 

rexmarinus@hotmail.com 

the National and State 

Assemblies. They would be 

in a position to push the law, 

and compel their 

legislators to press their 

oversight powers 

effectively to check public 

corruption and other forms 

of misgovernance. But it is 

quite clear that many 

Nigerians take their rights 

of citizenship for granted. 

Nigerians have grown used 

to blaming “our leaders” 

rather than challenging 

“our representatives” and 

pushing them through 

engaged action to act in the 

public interest. Because 

“our leaders” are not afraid 

of us, because they think 

they are elected by God, and 

not by us to rule us, they act 

with impunity against the 

public interest. Let me here 

say this for the benefit of 

doubt: corruption is a 

terrible thing. Nigerians 

must help push for a system 

that will be self-accounting 

and transparent. But the socalled 

fight against 

corruption should never 

become the excuse for the 

executive branch to 

attempt an illegal powergrab. 

Corruption is not only 

about individuals 

embezzling public funds. 

Corruption includes the 

utter misuse of the 

constitution for political 

expediency. For instance, I 

think that President Buhari 

broke the law in 

authorising, without 

recourse to the National 

Assembly, the so-called 

“bail-out” for the states. He 

has no constitutional 

powers to authorise such a 

bailout. It is a corrupt 

misuse of presidential 

power in so far as the 

president did not procure 

the authority of the 

National Assembly as 

required by the 

constitution. The president 

also has no authority under 

the constitution to 

investigate a former 

administration. Such a 

power lies with the 8th 

Assembly, which is the only 

institution given the power 

to investigate a 

government, and if in their 

investigation they reveal 

criminal activity, they 

would make a referral to the 

Attorney-General for 

criminal investigation and 

prosecution. This is the rule 

of law. The Attorney- 

General of the Federation 

is the Chief Law officer of 

the federation with 

enormous prosecutorial 

powers. In his position, he 

advises both the president 

and the National Assembly. 

He guards both executive 

privilege as well Legislative 

sanctity. That is the unique 

position he occupies. The 

Attorney-General ought to 

know that the issue of the 

violation of senate rules 

cannot be entertained in 

court, it can only be 

investigated by the senate 

ethics committee. The 

senators who took the 

matter before a court 

showed absolute lack of 

regard to their legislative 

mandate, and ought in fact 

to be sanctioned 

appropriately by the 

senate. The constitution 

grants the National 

Assembly incredible 

powers. By ignoring the 

provisions of the 

constitution we rupture the 

institutional order that 

protects us all. The 

Attorney-General who 

oversteps his privileges 

must earn the reprimand of 

the president, if we must 

ensure the harmonious 

conduct of the three arms of 

government, and the 

principle of the separation of 

powers. For whereas the 

legislature cannot compel 

the executive to prosecute, it 

however falls within the 

proper conduct of legislative 

power to sanction any public 

officer who misuses his office 

or abuses powers granted 

The greatest threat 

against democracy 

and the survival of 

the rule of law in 

Nigeria is an 

indolent and a badly 

informed citizenship 

such office by the constitution 

by impeachment. The 

National Assembly is granted 

the constitutional power of 

oversight, and in matters 

regarding expenditure and 

accountability, inquisitorial 

power. Here is what the 

constitution of the Nigeria 

says about the power of the 

National Assembly: “88. (1) 

Subject to the provisions of 

this Constitution, each 

House of the National 

Assembly shall have power 

by resolution published in its 

journal or in the Official 

Gazette of the Government of 

the Federation to direct or 

cause to be directed 

investigation into - 

(a) any matter or thing with 

respect to which it has power 

to make laws, and 

(b) the conduct of affairs of 

any person, authority, 

ministry or government 

department charged, or 

intended to be charged, with 

the duty of or 

responsibility for - 

(i) executing or 

administering laws 

enacted by National 

Assembly, and 

(ii) disbursing or 

administering moneys 

appropriated or to be 

appropriated by the 

National Assembly. 

(2) The powers 

conferred on the National 

Assembly under the 

provisions of this section 

are exercisable only for 

the purpose of enabling it 

to - 

(a) make laws with 

respect to any matter 

within its legislative 

competence and correct 

any defects in existing 

laws; and 

(b) expose corruption, 

inefficiency or waste in the 

execution 

or 

administration of laws 

within its legislative 

competence and in the 

disbursement or 

administration of funds 

appropriated by it. 

89. (1) For the purposes 

of any investigation under 

section 88 of this 

Constitutional and 

subject to the provisions 

thereof, the Senate or the 

House of Representatives 

or a committee appointed 

in accordance with 

section 62 of this 

Constitution shall have 

power to - 

(a) procure all such 

evidence, written or oral, 

direct or circumstantial, 

as it may think necessary 

or desirable, and examine 

all persons as witnesses 

whose evidence may be 

material or relevant to the 

subject matter; 

(b) require such 

evidence to be given on 

oath; 

(c) summon any person 

in Nigeria to give 

evidence at any place or 

produce any document or 

other thing in his 

possession or under his 

control, and examine him 

as a witness and require 

him to produce any 

document or other thing in 

his possession or under his 

control, subject to all just 

exceptions; and 

(d) issue a warrant to 

compel the attendance of 

any person who, after 

having been summoned to 

attend, fails, refuses or 

neglects to do so and does 

not excuse such failure, 

refusal or neglect to the 

satisfaction of the House or 

the committee in question, 

and order him to pay all 

costs which may have been 

occasioned in compelling 

his attendance or by reason 

of his failure, refusal or 

neglect to obey the 

summons, and also to 

impose such fine as may be 

prescribed for any such 

failure, refused or neglect; 

and any fine so imposed 

shall be recoverable in the 

same manner as a fine 

imposed by a court of law. 

(2) A summons or 

warrant issued under this 

section may be served or 

executed by any member of 

the Nigeria Police Force or 

by any person authorised in 

that behalf by the President 

of the Senate or the 

Speaker of the House of 

Representatives, as the case 

may require.” 

The above is self-evident. 

Although executive power 

resides with the president, 

that power is not absolute. 

The president cannot play 

God. The president is 

subject to the constitution 

and to the laws made by the 

National Assembly. The 

National Assembly is the 

arm of government 

constitutionally 

empowered to oversee- that 

is supervise – president in 

the execution of the 

governance of the land, not 

the other way round. That 

is why the current attempt 

by the president to use the 

Attorney-General to 

subvert the leadership of 

the senate is not only a 

subversion of the 

constitution, but it amounts 

to an attempt at a civilian 

coup. 

Come Rain, Come Shine 

‘Umbrella Etiquette’ (Part 1) 

We have now 

officially 

entered the 

raining season after so 

much extraordinary heat. 

At the time the heat was 

so unbearable that we 

yearned for the rain; just 

to cool down the 

atmosphere and heat 

wave. Today the rain has 

come with a vengeance, 

so unpredictable at times 

causing havoc. One good 

thing about the rain for 

me though is seeing my 

beautiful orchid’s 

blossom as they receive 

the rain with love – this 

is my special hobby of 

collecting a rare species 

of flowers that thrive in 

only charcoal. 

Most times you are able 

to tell when it will rain 

so that you can go out 

prepared for the weather. 

At times the weather 

forecast is not always to 

be relied upon; we have 

seen many a times when 

it is nice and sunny in 

the morning, it then 

starts drizzling in the 

afternoon and depending 

on where you are, you 

might just see a thunder 

storm or even hail stones. 

As much as we see the 

changing unpredictable 

weather, should it be the 

practice that we carry an 

umbrella everywhere we 

go? 

Well it is a smart move 

today to have an umbrella 

in your office, your 

vehicle and depending 

on the weather also your 

bag. In some countries 

umbrellas are like gold 

because it rains 

constantly. It is funny as 

we all go about on daily 

lives suddenly it pours 

down with rain, we start 

running helter shelter 

looking for an umbrella 

at all cost. 

How many times have 

seen people enter a shop 

or an office after coming 

Most times you are 

able to tell when it 

will rain so that 

you can go out 

prepared for the 

weather 

in from the pouring rain, 

just to leave their 

umbrella at the entrance? 

Of course the umbrella 

develops legs and 

vanishes by the time you 

come out. Umbrellas are 

assets but can be a 

nuisance at the same time 

when you have to carry 

them around. It is not 

surprising that many 

umbrellas are reported lost 

and found everywhere you 

go after a rainfall as 

nobody likes the 

additional burden of 

carrying it around. 

As simple as it may 

sound umbrellas as cheap 

as they are can cost you – 

I remember going for an 

important meeting and 

from nowhere the rain 

came down like thunder 

and lightning, 

unfortunately as I arrived 

my destination I asked my 

driver to bring out the 

umbrella. To my utmost 

surprise we discovered 

that he forgot to place 

an umbrella in the car. 

I had no other choice 

but to sit and wait for the 

rain to die down a 

period of 45minutes. It 

cost me my time, my 

appointment and host 

of other important 

things that day. 

It is a good place to 

state here that 

umbrellas are assets not 

just for the rain but also 

during extreme sunny 

conditions, or when you 

are protecting for health 

reasons. We see 

umbrellas in hotels by 

the poolside, at the 

beach in an outside café 

or external restaurant. 

Umbrellas really are a 

temporary measure for 

the moment, nobody 

likes to be beaten come 

rain, come shine. With 

umbrellas you can go 

cheap and cheerful and 

constantly buy a new 

one each time as they 

will spoil in no time. 

Otherwise I have seen 

very expensive 

umbrellas of high 

quality come in all sorts 

of shapes and sizes and 

fabrics; both the 

collapsible and long 

handled. If you know 

how to look after 

umbrellas it is wiser not 

to be pennywise and 

pounds foolish as the 

saying goes. 

Umbrella Quick Tips 

i. Keep an 

umbrella around for 

contingency no matter 

the weather 

ii. Keep a minimum 

of a short and long 

umbrella in your car 

iii. Keep used 

paper and nylon in your 

car boot during raining 

season 

iv. Ensure all the 

tines are in good 

condition and non are 

dangerously poking out. 

v. Use a branded 

umbrella to market your 

services. 

vi. Go by your 

instincts carry an 

umbrella when you feel 

it may rain 

vii. During all 

travels social and 

business add an 

umbrella in your suitcase 

viii. Remember your 

umbrella wherever you 

take it 

ix. Fold your 

umbrella back properly 

after use, if not it will 

easily get destroyed 

x. The first 

assignment of your 

umbrella is to protect you 

- use it wisely 

Watch out for more 

strategic guidelines on 

using an umbrella! 

C 

M 

YK


metro 

SORDID TALES OF FOUR BENUE SCHOOL GIRLS IN CALABAR 

‘For six months, ‘Chairlady’ 

forced us to have sex 

with 20 men daily’ 

•Say y they were tak 

aken from their homes after being hypnotised 

By Emmanuel Unah 

Four schoolgirls have narrated 

how they were recruited into 

prostitution by a suspected human 

trafficker, Abigail Nweke Alo, in an alleged 

brothel located in Calabar business area. 

Felicia Nzuworgar, 17, Patience Williams, 

18, Angela Benjamin, 17 and Charity 

Nkwogor, all from Okun and Vandeikya 

Local Government Areas of Benue State, 

said Abigail, who they called ‘Chairlady’, 

took them from their homes, in January, 

under the pretense that she was taking them 

to Lagos where she had a drinking spot to 

work as sales girls but ended up as sex 

workers in Calabar. 

“I was selling oranges in our market in 

Okun when she tapped me on the shoulder 

and I turned thinking she wanted to buy 

oranges but she told me she had a business 

in Lagos and wanted me to follow her. I did 

not know what came over me. I just 

followed her without even telling my parents 

and friends where I was going”, Felicia told 

Sunday Vanguard. 

Patience, a senior secondary school 2 

Student in Vandiekya, on her part, narrated 

that she was plating a friend’s hair in front 

of her grandmother’s house where she lived 

when Mike, a commercial motorcycle rider, 

who lived in her neighbourhood, came to 

inform her that a lady was looking for 

someone to work in a beer parlour in Lagos, 

and wanted to know if she would like to go 

with her. 

“I told Mike that I was still in school and 

could not go with the lady and that she 

should look for someone else. But instead of 

looking for somebody else, Mike went and 

brought the lady and when she looked into 

my eyes, I simply went inside and packed 

my clothes and followed her without 

waiting for my grandmother who went out 

to come back”, she stated. 

Everyday we slept with an 

average of twenty men for 

N500.00 each and, because 

we were young and new, men 

would line up and wait for us 

till about 12 midnight when 

the hotel closes and then 

‘Chairlady’ will come in and 

collect the money 

Recounting her own experience, Angela 

said she was on her way from school when 

the lady met her and told her she wanted to 

take her to school in Lagos and also assist 

her (Abigail) in her beer parlour business 

and she went with her into the bus where 

other girls were waiting. 

They girls, on their way from Benue to 

‘Lagos’, stopped in Enugu where they spent 

the night in the house of a man who, 

according to her, had seven wives. The man 

was said to have given them concoction to 

drink after which they were warned that if 

they tried to run away, their private parts 

would rot and they would die. 

“The man took us into his medicine hut 

and gave us the concoction to drink and, 

when we refused to drink, he beat us. He 

told us that if we went out without drinking, 

we will die. After we drank, he said that if 

we ran away from ‘Chairlady’, our private 

parts would rot and we will die”, Felicia 

said. 

According to her, after the encounter with 

the man, the next day, they continued their 

journey. “We got to Calabar in the night and 

when I asked ‘Chairlady’ if this was Lagos, 

she said yes”. 

The next day, at the alleged brothel where 

they were lodged, the girls said Abigail gave 

them boxer shorts to wear and begin to 

‘hustle’ for men like other girls in the place 

were doing. When they refused, ‘Chairlady’ 

descended on them and beat them 

mercilessly. 

“We arrived Calabar in the night and, the 

next morning, she collected our phones and 

brought boxer shorts to us that we should 

wear and, when we asked her where the 

drinking parlour was so that we could start 

work, she said we should hustle like other 

girls were doing by sleeping with men and, 

when we refused, she beat us up 

mercilessly”, Patience narrated. 

According to her, nobody came to their 

rescue as all the prostitutes in the brothel 

were afraid of Abigail because she was their 

head. “Everybody in the hotel was afraid of 

her because she was their boss and, if 

anyone dared to challenge her, she will send 

the person out of the place”, she said. 

They had to agree to begin sleeping with 

men after some days as ‘Chairlady’ 

allegedly went on beating them ceaselessly 

and denying them of food. 

“You can see marks on our bodies because 

of the beating we got”, Angela said. They 

recounted how each of them slept with an 

average of twenty men every day while 

Abigail collected the money they made, 

leaving them with N500.00 as feeding 

money. 

The girls explained that when they started 

the commercial sex work, it was very painful 

as they were not used to sleeping with such 

a large number of men daily. 

“ It was very painful when we started. 

Everyday we slept with an average of 

twenty men for N500.00 each and, because 

we were young and new, men would line up 

and wait for us till about 12 midnight when 

•Suspected human 

trafficker... Iam innocent 

the hotel closes and then ‘Chairlady’ will 

come in and collect the money and, since 

she used to count the condoms she was 

giving us, if you did not give her all the 

money, she will beat you mercilessly”, 

Patience said. 

The girls said Abigail had male aides 

who searched their rooms and their bodies 

at the close of work each day to ensure 

they had not hidden any money and, if any 

money was found with them, they would be 

beaten up. 

They said Abigail, on arrival in Calabar, 

having collected their phones, did not allow 

any of them to step outside the alleged 

brothel for fear that they might run away 

and that, two of them, Angela and Charity, 

who attempted to escape, were severely 

beaten by the woman and her male friends. 

“ When I tried to run away, she brought a 

soldier and a policeman who were her 

friends who beat me up and poured tear gas 

in my eyes and, because of that, I became 

very sick and could not stand up for many 

days”, Angela recounted. 

On why they followed the woman without 

letting their parents know even as they were 

still in secondary school , the girls said once 

the woman touched them on the shoulder, 

they became hypnotised and went with her. 

Abigail, who claimed to be from Ebonyi 

State, said her arrest by operatives from 

Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Cross River 

State Police Command was due to jealously. 

She said she was not the one who brought 

the girls to Calabar. 

Mr John Eluu, Cross River State Police 

Command Public Relations Officer, said the 

suspected human trafficker will face the law 

and warned young girls to be cautious of 

promises of jobs in Lagos or any other town 

by human traffickers without proof. 

‘Chairlady’ has since been charged to 

court for alleged kidnapping and engaging 

in prostitution.

PAGE 18, SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 

How father missed 

son’s one-day 

governor meeting 

with ambode 

Winner of the 2016 Spelling Bee Competition, Master 

Olaseinde Olufemi Joshua, on Friday, narrated 

how his father, Mr. Olaseinde, missed the meeting 

with Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and 

members of the State Executive Council. 

Joshua, a student of Shasha Community Senior High 

School in Alimosho area of Lagos, who spoke at the Lagos 

House in Ikeja, while being hosted as the 16th One-day 

Governor of the State, said his father would have loved to be 

present at the event but was unable to attend due to some 

health challenges. 

Joshua described, Ambode as the most labour-friendly 

governor in Nigeria. 

He said despite the dwindling allocation from the Federal 

Government, the governor has remained committed to the 

prompt payment of workers salary. 

He said: "While over 29 states of the federation cannot afford 

to pay their workers, I really commend the Governor's hard 

work and determination to take Lagos State to the highest level." 

Joshua added that so far, Governor Ambode had lived up to the 

true meaning of the acronym of his name which he described 

as "AMBODE - Ambassador of Meritorious, Brilliant, Organised 

and Dedicated Entity." 

Responding, Ambode ordered that Joshua's father be treated 

at the medical facilities of the state government. 

A deeply touched governor said: "It is unfortunate that his 

father could not make it for this very special occasion in the life 

of his child but will be attended to in the health facilities of the 

state government." 

Joshua was given a laptop, printer and generating set courtesy 

of the Governor's Office while other winners of the competition 

were given a tab each. 

Wife of Senate President, Mrs. 

Toyin Saraki, says, as a 

committed supporter of the 

United Nations Secretary 

General’s Every Woman Every 

Child Effort, and champion of 

#HeForShe and Let Girls 

Learn, every nation should 

empower its daughters with 

education as their weapon 

through life. 

She spoke on the occasion of 

the Girls Education Forum 

organised by the Global 

Citizens Chime For Change 

and the UK Department for 

International Development. 

“There is a critical need for all 

of us internationally to come 

together and empower women 

and girls. Education is the key 

to this and should be 

championed as the vital 

08116759757 

Master Olaseinde Olufemi of Shasha Community 

Senior High School sitting as One-Day Governor of 

Lagos State at the Exco Chambers, Lagos House, Ikeja. 

We must t empower our girls with education — Toyin Saraki 

aki 

By P.Z. Aginighan 

His Majesty Major L M Erebulu 

(retd), the departed monarch of 

the Kabowei Kingdom was a symbol of 

Ijaw ethnic consciousness and reawakening. 

On Saturday, November 

23, 1991, His Majesty hosted the 1 st 

pan-Ijaw Convention jointly convened 

by Ijaw Peoples Union, headed by Chief 

George Albert Weikezi, and the Delta 

Ijaw Consultative Committee, led by 

Chief Ferminus Hausa Brisibe, (both of 

blessed memory ). This convention, in 

which Chief Dr Harold Dappa Biriye(of 

blessed memory ) delivered the key note 

address, provided the trigger for the 

subsequent establishment of the Ijaw 

National Congress(INC), the apex Ijaw 

nation’s socio-cultural organisation. In 

the days of General Sani Abacha 

solution to many gender equality 

issues such as under aged brides, 

sexual violence, the inequities of 

access to quality health and the 

overriding conditions of poverty”, Saraki 

said in a statement. 

Ijaw will miss His Majesty Erebulu 

military dictatorship, it was clear 

mark of courage that His Majesty 

opened the gates of his palace to host 

the Ijaw nation. Ever since, His 

Majesty has made himself and the 

facilities of his palace available for 

several meetings of the Ijaw nation. 

As the Kabowei Kingdom prepares to 

give His Majesty a befitting burial, I 

join millions of Ijaw within and 

outside Nigeria to mourn the passing 

on to eternal glory of a courageous, 

patroitic and honest leader who gave 

his best for the freedom of his people, 

the Ijaw. His Majesty deserves to be 

immortalized by the Ijaw National 

Congress the establishment of which 

commenced in his palace. Equally, it 

will not be asking for too much for 

the government of Bayelsa State ( the 

creation of which had a strong 

“Beyond the primary challenge of girl child 

retention in education, at home in Nigeria, in 

Africa, and around the world, girls miss 

school, interrupting their education, due to 

the unavailability of information, secure 

sanitary infrastructures, and products to 

guarantee menstrual hygiene; we can 

change this by engaging skilled 

midwives in adolescent health, through 

the adoption of the Midwifery Services 

Framework espoused by the International 

Confederation of Midwives, whose goals 

I support as Global Goodwill 

Ambassador, with my Wellbeing 

Foundation Africa matching our words 

with concrete actions, to engender better 

global outcomes for girls education. 

“Transforming the world is as simple as 

transforming the present and future lives 

of every single girl, that #SheWill 

survive, thrive, and transform her life; we 

must take actions now to 

#LetGirlsLearn”. 

backing of the Ijaw National Congress) to name 

a monument after the late Pere of Kabowei 

Kingdom. It is my prayer that God will grant 

our departed monarch perfect rest and give the 

Kabowei Kingdom and the Erebulu family to 

fortitude to bear this monumental loss. 

•Aginighan and other Ijaw leaders during a 

condolence visit to the family of Erebulu 

Okowa at 57 

metro 

Edijala commends 

Delta Gov v on 

visionary y leadership 

As Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi 

Okowa marks his 57th birthday, the 

immediate past Chairman of Udu Local 

Government Council of Delta Delta and a 

Board Member of Delta Development and 

Property Authority (DDPA), Chief Raymond 

Edijala has described him as a great visionary 

administrator. 

Speaking with correspondents on his arrival 

from a conference on organizational 

behaviour in the United Kingdom, Edijala 

disclosed that Okowa’s successful 

implementation of his SMART Agenda in 

the face of low revenue receipts is legendary 

which has put him ahead of other governors, 

adding that the agenda has not only 

touched on the lives of Deltans, but had also 

conformed with the United Nation’s eight 

characteristics of good governance which 

are consensus oriented, participatory, 

following the rule of law, effectiveness and 

efficiency, accountability, transparency, 

responsiveness and equity and inclusiveness. 

He maintained that in Okowa’s steady 

progress as visionary leader those who knew 

him a long time ago would testify to how he 

rode on the back of humility through all his 

professional and political career to his 

present status as Governor of Delta State. 

He therefore wished the Governor and his 

family prosperous years ahead and urged 

Deltans to give him the needed support 

Filename: Edijala, July 9 

Okowa’s aide settles 

NPDC, communities' 

contract 

actor 

ors s rift t over jobs 

Ambassador Godwin Okporoko, Ex 

ecutive Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa on Security Matters at the weekend 

brokered peace between the warring 

Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, 

NPDC and host communities’ contractors 

over subletting of jobs. 

The dispute among the contractors was 

resolved at a meeting convened by Okporoko, 

where he urged the contractors to maintain 

a cordial working relationship and be 

mindful of the security and peace agenda 

of Governor Okowa. 

Okporoko, who pointed out that there is 

no dispute without a solution, also urged 

the contractors and host communities to 

Otorogun gas plant to sustain the peaceful 

and enabling environment, protect all federal 

government’s assets in the area in the 

interest of the state and the country. 

He said despite the harsh economy, shortfall 

of federal allocation to the state, Governor 

Okowa was doing everything possible 

to spread development to all parts of 

the state, and urged them to give the performing 

governor the needed support and 

cooperation. 

Lagos City Chorale for World 

Choir Olympics in Sochi, Russia 

By Tony Nwankwo 

The Lagos City Chorale International – 

Nigeria’s Cultural Ambassador par 

Excellence were scheduled to leave Lagos for Sochi, 

Russia, yesterday, to participate in the world’s 

largest choral festival – 9th Choir Olympics. The 

group led by a leading Nigerian Music Director 

and Conductor of national and international 

acclaim - Sir Emeka Nwokedi - will contest in 3 

categories in the champions competition: Music 

of Spirit and Faith; Musica Comtemporanea and 

Folklore. The presentation by LCC in all 

categories will be best of Nigeria’s indigenous 

choral music with traditional musical instruments 

and choreography. 

The aim of the organisers of the World Choir 

Olympics “The Interkultur” among other things 

is to foster peace among nations of the world 

through choral music as world choirs sing in 

unison and in harmony. Emeka Nwokedi apart 

from directing choir is the Nigerian Representative 

in the World Choir Council and Official 

Representative (OR) of the Interkultur in Nigeria. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


metro 

Mystery murder, 

kidnaps-for-ransom 

come rock FMC to FMC Owo Owo 

Dayo Johnson, Akure 

(JUHWN), armed with abductors said to be Hausa 

placards, took to the streets where the management of 

to protest the abduction. the hospital went to convey 

ALL is definitely not 

The inscriptious on some him back to Owo. 

well with the Federal 

of the placards read: ‘Say no The incumbent CMD, Dr 

Medical Center, 

to kidnapping’, ‘ Save Ahmed Adeagbo, in an 

FMC, Owo, Ondo State. 

health workers’, ‘ Bring back interview, allayed the fear 

The tertiary health care 

our staff’. 

that the kidnappings had 

center, established 23 years 

The latest kidnapping of anything to do with the 

ago, has witnessed one 

the Acting Chief Accountant hospital. 

crisis after another in the 

of the FMC, Kayode Asaju, Adeagbo said the 

last two years, no thanks to 

heightened tension in the pharmacist was kidnapped 

the politicking in the choice 

hospital. 

while returning from a vigil 

of its Chief Medical 

Asaju was said to have led to her house in Owo while 

Director, CMD. 

three other officials of the the Acting Chief Accountant 

And certain events in the 

hospital to Abuja on official was abducted on his way to 

facility have been giving the 

engagement. 

Abuja. 

workers their worst 

•Oguntuase...killed in •Adeyeye...family paid 

Report had it that on 

According to him, one 

nightmares. 

mysterious fire 

ransom to kidnappers 

getting to the Lokoja/ Abuja person had been arrested in 

Some of the events have 

road, penultimate Sunday, respect of the abduction of 

been linked to powerful 

the driver noticed that many Adeyeye while the Acting 

forces within the hospital. disrupting the smooth foul, alleging that 

of the vehicles ahead were 

The forces dictate events in running of the hospital. Oguntuase was assassinated 

Chief Accountant was 

suddenly making u-turn. allegedly kidnapped by 

the health care institution. The ARD President , Dr before his clinic was torched 

He reportedly stopped the some Hausa-speaking 

In fact, they decide the fate Isaiah Oke, alleged then by his assailants. 

vehicle. 

of any CMD deployed to the that the interim 

The deceased has since 

hoodlums. 

Following the serious Adeagbo said security 

FMC. 

administrator was 

been immortalized by the 

shooting, the officials were agents were working to 

Findings by Sunday victimizing his members and state chapter of the NMA 

said to have alighted from 

Vanguard showed that denying them entitlements. which named its building 

unravel the two incidences 

the vehicle and ran into the of kidnap in the hospital. 

some three years ago, the Omotosho, who fingered after him. 

bush. 

Meanwhile, the question 

EFCC stormed the hospital members of the association While the death was still 

But the kidnappers, 

following a petition by some as his accusers, allegedly fresh, another doctor, 

on the lips of the FMC 

Sunday Vanguard was told, workers is, who is the next 

workers alleging 

turned the heat on them, Muyiwa Alonge, was to cry 

went straight for their victim victim? 

embezzlement of funds by hence the alarm raised by that some people were after 

and left the others to keep 

the then CMD, Dr Abiodun Oke. 

his life. 

running into the bush. 

Olufemi Omotosho. 

The cat and mouse 

Alonge alleged that 

How the kidnappers were 

Consequently, Omotoso relationship dragged until gunmen invaded his 

able to identify their victim 

was picked alongside four the Federal Ministry of residence located at Aule, 

remains cloudy. 

others and arraigned before Health replaced the CMD Akure on Christmas day. 

The FMC Acting Chief 

Justice M I Sani at the with Dr Adediran Kolajo. Then a pharmacist with 

Accountant was thereafter 

Federal High Court sitting The same ARD protested the FMC, Mrs Queen 

whisked away and, within 

in Akure on an eight-count against Kolajo, accusing him Adeyeye, was kidnapped by 

24 hours, the abductors 

charge. 

of being tyrannical in the five gunmen who ambushed 

opened negotiation with the 

The said petition 

administration of the FMC. her while she and members 

wife who works in the same 

chronicled how the former Then hired killers 

of her household were 

hospital. 

CMD allegedly 

reportedly stormed the returning from a vigil. 

Many see this as not a 

misappropriated funds private clinic of one of the Adeyeye was said to have 

coincidence but a planned 

meant for the training of hospital’s doctors, David been abducted in front of 

work from “ inside”. 

staff amongst other 

Oguntuase, located in her house located at Ishelu 

Asaju has since been 

allegations. 

Akure, Ondo State capital, quarters in Owo. She spent 

rescued after N2m was 

As if that was not enough, and allegedly murdered him five days in the kidnappers 

allegedly coughed out. The 

the Association of Resident before setting his clinic den before she was released 

kidnappers were said to 

Doctors (ARD) at the FMC ablaze. 

after allegedly coughing out 

have requested for N6m 

protested against his 

But his colleagues in Ondo some millions as ransom. 

ransom but the sum was 

continued stay as the head State chapter of the 

Workers, under the aegis 

negotiated downwards. He, 

of the institution. All this Nigerian Medical 

of Joint Union of Health 

it was learnt, was dropped •Adeagbo...don’t link 

went on for months thereby Association (NMA) cried Workers of Nigeria 

around Lokoja by his incidents to FMC 

C 

M 

YK


How star actress 

Bukky Ajayi 

battled breast cancer, 

cerebral malaria ---- Children 

By IYABO AINA and 

RONKE ADEYERI 

On Wednesday, July 6, 

Nollywood was 

thrown into mourning 

when the news filtered out 

that veteran actress and 

broadcaster, Ma Bukky Ajayi 

has passed on. It was a rude 

shock but not one too difficult 

to understand given that the 

legendary thespian has been 

battling ill-health for 

It is better to shoot 

music videos 

outside the 

country, Tuface 

declares 

By Imanuel Jannah 

N igerian 

singer 

and 

songwriter, 

Innocent 

Idibia, 

popularly known as Tubaba or 

Tuface, has explained why it 

is sometimes cheaper to shoot 

music videos outside the 

country. “We have quality 

video directors, producers in 

Nigeria but in terms of 

logistics, power and cost, it is 

better to shoot outside the 

country. You get everything in 

one place but apart from that 

reason, I think we shoot 

quality videos in Nigeria”. he 

said. 

The African Queen crooner 

added that he is impressed 

and at the same time “scared” 

about the quality of musical 

message coming out of the 

Nigerian music industry. 

The 40-year old entrepreneur 

shared his fears about the 

direction of Nigerian music as 

follows: 

“I am impressed and scared 

at the same time. I am 

impressed at the quality of 

the sound, they are so many 

guys coming out that are 

serious and are taking the 

music business serious. 

sometime. What will however 

be difficult to appreciate is 

the vacuum she has left 

behind. Because, she was 

undeniably one of the best 

and greatest talents to have 

ever graced the Nigerian 

creative arts screen. 

As a Muslim, she was buried 

the same day she died. In fact 

one of our neighbours 

confided in Potpourri that 

she gave the instruction that 

she should be buried same 

day she dies. But she wasn’t 

“We have so many 

professionals springing up 

but what I am scared of is the 

message and the direction 

because lately, most of the 

message and the direction is 

creating this fantasy world 

where everybody thinks they 

can hammer without working 

or following the due process. 

“There is no harm in doing 

entertaining music because 

entertainment is versatile. I 

am not trying to bring down 

somebody but what I am 

trying to say is that there 

should be a conscious effort 

not to make everything about 

partying or money without 

any moral guidance. 

“What I am scared about is 

that this message is sinking 

into our youths these days 

and they think it is all about 

flexing and that is not what 

life is all about.” 

born a Muslim, she converted 

to Islam in 1965 and adopted 

the name ‘Zainab’. 

Since the news of her death 

broke, there have been 

nothing but ovation for the 

late actress. Actors Guild of 

Nigeria declared two-day 

mourning, just as her 

colleagues, friends, 

neighbours and well-wishers 

are full of praises for her. 

How she died: Her 

last moments 

According to Claudius 

Akinwade Peter-Thomas, a 

musician and second son of the 

late icon, “There aren’t enough 

words to quantify Mama. She 

was an independent woman who 

shouldered the responsibility of 

raising three lions (sons) without 

raising her brows. I see her as a 

lioness. She was also able to 

combine and manage her 

situation (single 

motherhood) and her 

career. She was a good planner. 

To that effect, my elder brother is 

nine years older than me, and I 

am 11 years older than my 

younger brother. A good planner 

she was. Despite being in the 

public glare, she ensured her 

private life remained private. 

Many of my friends didn’t know 

I was the daughter of the 

popular actress. This is not 

because she wasn’t proud of her 

children, but because she was 

able to draw the line between 

her career and her family. People 

relate with me as Raz CPT and 

not the daughter of a celebrity, 

so to say. Mummy has been 

struggling with her health, she 

had cancer of the breast, 

diabetic and was also 

hypertensive.” 

Kunle Fawole, popularly known 

as Abounce and the last child of 

the family spoke about her last 

moments. “I and mama were in 

the living room with some of my 

friends when I noticed that her 

heart wasn’t moving, I mean like 

she stopped breathing. 

By KEHINDE AJOSE 

Delectable singer, Emma 

Nyra is not in the best 

of moods at the moment 

contrary to the bubbly 

persona she shows off on 

stage. The ‘For My Matter’ 

sensation is displeased over 

the recent killings of two 

African-American men by 

White police officers in 

America. In a series of 

emotion laden tweets, she 

declared that its difficult for 

Immediately, I checked her 

pulse and called my elder 

brothers. We felt her pulse and 

heartbeat, did everything 

possible. But alas, she has 

passed on. And that was at about 

11:23 am on Wednesday. She 

was a bit ill before this 

happened. She had been ill for a 

number of years now. She had 

stroke some couple of years 

back. There was a time she also 

had cerebral malaria. She 

became diabetic, hypertensive 

and also suffered breast cancer 

before now”, he explained 

mournfully. Mr Alfred Oluwole 

Shoga was Bukky Ajayi’s first 

son, a 60-year old man said they 

were shocked but thankful they 

are alive to bury her and not her 

witnessing their deaths. “At 60, 

my mother still gives me money 

each time I visit her and I will 

say, `Mum I’m suppose to 

give you money’ and she will 

say I should use it for 

transportation” he said, 

speaking as if she were still 

alive. 

Why I burst into tears on 

the internet — Emma Nyra 

her to get on the internet 

without bursting into tears. 

“I was born and raised in 

America. I moved to 

Nigeria in 2012. Although 

Nigeria is not perfect and 

definitely has its 

challenges, I feel safe. 

It’s getting harder and 

harder for me to get on the 

Internet without bursting 

into tears. Lord hear our 

cries and answer our 

prayers”.


Onikoyi68@gmail.com 

Oritsefemi Vs 

PuffyTee 

ee 

* Oritsefemi and his management should pay me my 

money — PuffyTee 

* `It is my manager, Danku that handles him, not 

me’ 

By ROTIMI AGBANA 

Ace producer and 

artiste, Babatope 

Temidayo, aka 

Puffytee, and 

Double Wahala crooner, 

Oritsefemi of MSN Gang, 

may soon come to blows 

over an issue of settlement 

regarding PuffyTee’s 

contribution to producing 

Oritsefemi’s album. 

Speaking with Potpourri 

recently the talented hitmaker 

who produced 

Mayorkun’s hit single, 

Eleko, said Danku, 

Oritsefemi’s manager was 

the one managing the affair 

at the time. 

“When this feud started, 

Danku told me not to worry 

that everything will be fine, 

so I left and continued 

working on my other 

projects. I’m asking for my 

money now because they 

have settled. I didn’t reach 

out to Oritsefemi because I 

and Danku have been 

working on other projects 

together. In fact, I didn’t 

even think of reaching out 

to him, basically it’s just 

time, I felt when the right 

time comes I will ask for 

my money, and the right 

time is now. If they don’t 

pay me I’m going to sue 

them straight up because 

it’s my money and I 

worked hard for it. To 

produce 15 tracks on 

someone’s album is not a 

joke, so they can’t tell me 

there is no money, they go 

for shows, the songs are on 

ITunes and caller tunes, 

and no matter how little it 

is, money is coming in. 

The money made from 

songs on caller tunes are 

meant to be shared 

between the artiste and 

producer because it’s not 

just the vocals that is 

downloaded but the beat. 

So, as long as he’s making 

money with those songs I 

produced, he can be 

sued”, he said sternly. 

Reaching out to 

Oritsefemi, the Double 

Wahala crooner said he 

had no knowledge of the 

situation, saying it is his 

management that handles 

all financial matters. 

“I don’t know about it, we 

had about 7 producers on 

the album, though 

PuffyTee produced for me 

but my manager, Danku 

has been the one relating 

with him. When it comes 

to financial issues it’s my 

management that handles 

it, it’s not my job”. 

Fans attack Brymo over 

Twitter goof 

By Kehinde Ajose 

Ara singer, Brymo has 

been criticised lately for 

his controversial views on 

Twitter. In his recent series 

of tweets, he made 

statements about Africans 

that made his fans angry 

and got them condemning 

his reasoning. He 

said:”Black man likes to 

suffer” 

His fans on Twitter didn’t 

mince words in 

condemning him over that 

statement. One user put it 

this way: 

“I’m a black man. I don’t 

like to suffer. Fucking 

generalizations & 

stereotypes! If it’s not fact 

don’t state it.” 

Another twitter fan 

adds:”Yes we suffer but that 

doesn’t mean we like to, 

doesn’t mean we enjoy it. I 

don’t like to suffer, we are 

just helpless” 

A certain villain says: ”See 

my favorite Nigerian artiste 

shaming me”. 

Brymo responds this way: 

”There are many of us, you 

can pick another. We need 

our music to stop being 

about swag and champagne 

and hoes. We need to make 

it a point to preach value in 

all that we do, not everyday 

money, money, money.” 

The anticipation of Imo 

State residents for the 

formal launch of Kingdom 

Lottery games in their 

environs was met last 

weekend when the 

company held its July 

Raffle Draw in Owerri, the 

state capital, from which 

Mr. Samuel Onumajuru 

smiled home with a million 

naira (N1,000,000) as 

winner. 

By KEHINDE AJOSE 

Roxanne Care Options 

and Derwin 

Productions are set to 

unveil their new movie 

titled ‘Deeply Cut’. 

The movie features a 

stellar cast and crew from 

Nollywood which includes 

Kiki Omeili, Eniola 

Badmus, Ashionye Raccah, 

Funky Mallam and 

others. 

The movie tells the story of 

Before the draw, Nollywood 

comic actor, Mr. Ibu, who is 

the company’s Brand 

Ambassador told the crowd 

that he is happy to identify 

with Kingdom Lottery, 

stressing that “We are here 

to bring this good tidings to 

you. Time has passed when 

people see lottery as chacha, 

Kingdom Lottery is here to 

change your fortune, and I 

encourage you all to take 

Mr Ibu headlines 

Kingdom Lottery 

draw as N1 

million winner 

emerges 

Eniola Badmus, Kiki Omeli and others star in ‘Deeply Cut’ 

Bili and her greed which led 

to her desperate measures to 

make extra money. Her 

desire led her to leaving in 

her trail a lot of possibly 

infected casualties, which 

include her bosses. It also 

sheds light on the virus 

Hepatitis B. It is directed 

and produced by Grace 

Edwin-Okon, while Kehinde 

Omoru is the executive 

producer 

advantage in playing their 

games and also becoming 

agents.” 

A statement issued by the 

company’s Head of 

Operations, Mr. Kingsley 

Ugwuanyi, disclosed that 

aside the Kingdom Lottery 

scratch and win game 

which had since the 

beginning of June been 

getting wide acceptance 

from people of the state, 

the company used the 

Raffle Draw event which 

held at Bongo Center on 

Saturday July 2 to launch 

its new offering - the 

Kingdom Lottery Sports 

Pool Betting.


Wanted in Nigeria: Interpreters 

for Court Decisions 

In the last few months, 

members of the main 

opposition party, the 

Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP) have been embroiled 

in squabbles to determine 

their true leadership. Is it 

former Borno Governor Ali 

Modu Sheriff? Some would 

say yes while many would 

say it is former Kaduna 

Governor, Ahmed Makarfi. 

Having failed to deal with 

the matter as a family 

affair, the factions have 

been in court and on a daily 

basis, they are getting 

different decisions which 

make it easy for each side 

to follow the judgment it 

prefers. The court decisions 

are not only at conflict with 

one another, they are all 

made by courts of 

coordinate jurisdiction. The 

rest of us are left with no 

option but to look for help 

from different interpreters 

to comprehend what the 

courts have said or are 

saying or intended to say or 

are likely to say about the 

subject. Why are the courts 

contradicting themselves? 

Could it be that the judges 

are grouped into two with 

one working for and the 

other against the prediction 

of one of the factions that 

the cases would run till 

2019? Any body’s guess is 

as good as mine because 

once it is a case involving 

our billionaire politicians; 

our courts amaze the 

ordinary man. 

On May 12, 2016, a court 

in Lagos reportedly ruled 

that the PDP convention 

slated for May 21, 2016 in 

Port Harcourt should not 

hold. Sheriff claimed that 

in obedience to the court 

order, he had to suspend the 

convention only for some 

members to conspire to 

remove him from office. 

Did the order stop the PDP 

from replacing Sheriff, 

himself an unelected 

chairman, with someone 

else? Perhaps the Lagos 

court felt so; hence it 

decided to outlaw the 

decision of the party to 

constitute a caretaker 

committee led by Makarfi. 

Some PDP members say 

that although they are yet 

to hold a convention, they 

have a right in the 

meantime to end the 

temporary mandate of 

Sheriff to hold brief for a 

proper chairman. His 

mandate had a May 2016 

expiry date. If so, what 

makes Sheriff superior to 

Makarfi and why can’t the 

former be changed with or 

without a convention when 

both leaders were similarly 

If court decisions are 

difficult to 

understand, the 

posture of the PDP 

factions is also a 

puzzle. It is not quite 

easy to know who 

actually belongs to 

which faction 

handpicked? Perhaps this 

explains the decision of a 

court in Port Harcourt to 

support the Makarfi 

faction in contrast to the 

posture of the Lagos court. 

The other week, another 

court in Abuja decided to 

give due recognition to the 

faction led by Sheriff. The 

court specifically directed 

the Independent National 

Electoral Commission 

(INEC) not to accept any 

list of candidates submitted 

by any other faction for the 

forthcoming governorship 

election in Edo and Ondo 

States. But because the 

Nigerian constitution 

provides for party 

chairmen to be elected and 

not appointed, a second 

court in Abuja nullified 

Sheriff’s purported 

appointment. The decision 

was particularly 

significant as it suggested 

that since the process which 

originally brought Sheriff 

to power was faulty, there 

was no PDP leader called 

Sheriff in the eyes of the 

law. Expectedly, this was 

not palatable to Sheriff, 

who promptly rejected it 

while announcing his 

readiness to continue to 

relate with INEC in line 

with the decision of the 

other Abuja court. Sheriff 

imagined that since 

decisions against him were 

given by courts of 

coordinate jurisdiction, he 

could remain in power. 

From what has been said 

so far, a number of posers 

present themselves. First, 

why are the factional 

leaders relying on 

conflicting high court 

decisions to pick and 

choose what to accept or 

not? Why has no one gone 

to the Court of Appeal ever 

since? Does it mean the 

high courts are more 

malleable? Second, what is 

the fate of INEC in the 

ensuing confusion? Which 

group should it recognize 

and for what reasons? 

Third, laymen are often told 

that courts deal with only 

those things before them. 

But with the high level of 

tension in the main 

opposition party of the 

nation, which can scuttle 

our democracy, shouldn’t 

our courts in the interest of 

society take judicial notice 

of some notorious facts to 

resolve issues rather than 

allowing themselves to be 

seen as part if not the ones 

fuelling the problem? Why 

indeed are our courts often 

in disarray whenever the 

subject before them 

concerns politics and 

elections? 

Meanwhile, if court 

decisions are difficult to 

understand, the posture of 

the PDP factions is also a 

puzzle. It is not quite easy 

to know who actually 

belongs to which faction. 

The case of Edo State 

makes the point clearer. 

Following the process for 

the election of the party’s 

Governorship candidate 

which commenced with the 

conduct of the Ward 

congresses for the elections 

of three Ad-Hoc delegates, 

the Makarfi faction 

garnered 713 delegates. 

The latter elected Pastor 

Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the 

party’s flag bearer on June 

20, 2016. Some days later; 

Sheriff ’s faction accredited 

677delegates in a second 

primaries to elect Mathew 

Iduoriykemwen as its own 

flag bearer. Considering 

that PDP has the same 

guidelines, the two sets of 

delegates are likely to be 

the same persons especially 

as the winner of the second 

primaries was also a 

contestant in the first one. 

If however, the second set of 

delegates were fresh, did 

Sheriff’s faction liberalize 

the guidelines for the 

primaries to allow hitherto 

unqualified delegates to 

vote? If on the other hand it 

was the same set of 

delegates why then did they 

not originally elect the new 

flag bearer when he first 

solicited their votes in the 

first primaries a few days 

earlier? 

The questions have 

elicited more allegations. 

One analyst imagined that 

while the judgments which 

favour Makarfi emanate 

from a location controlled 

by the PDP, the pro sheriff 

decisions are obtained 

from locations controlled 

by the rival All Peoples 

Congress (APC). What this 

suggests is that Sheriff has 

the backing of the APC. It 

would appear that both 

Ahmed Makarfi and his 

Edo state chapter leader, 

Dan Orbih believe it. If so, 

how come Justice 

Valentine Ashi who has also 

recognized the Makarfi 

faction is Abuja based? So, 

who will tell us in the 

layman’s language, what 

precisely is going on? 

Hopefully, not Icheoku! 

Take the current 

recrudescence of 

agitation for the 

establishment of Republic of 

Biafra in the South-east and 

some areas in the South-south 

more than four decades after 

the civil war ended. With the 

possible exception of former 

Presidents Olusegun 

Obasanjo and Goodluck 

Jonathan, Ndigbo, the people 

who have contributed more 

than any other ethnic group 

to national development, 

have been treated as third 

class citizens by previous 

leaders especially in key 

federal appointments. With 

the “second coming” of 

Buhari, the absurd situation 

has degenerated further. In 

fact, a plausible case can be 

made that President Buhari 

probably has a deep-seated 

dislike for Ndigbo, 

considering his unwillingness 

to appoint qualified Igbo sons 

and daughters to key 

positions in his government. 

To be sure, I am an Igboman 

but not an Igbo irredentist. Yet, 

even if I was not and another 

ethnic group is exactly in the 

same position as Ndigbo in 

the current dispensation, my 

argument would still have 

validly applied to that very 

ethnic group as well. In a 

highly diverse country such as 

ours, a sagacious leader must 

take decisions that give people 

from different parts of the 

country a sense of belonging. 

PhD,Department of 

Philosophy, 

University of Lagos 

08116759758 

Pachyderms and 

governance (2) 

This can be done in several 

ways, one of which is to ensure 

that key appointments are 

distributed fairly and 

equitably across the country 

without sacrificing merit. But 

President Buhari seems 

indifferent to the complaints 

that he is northernising the 

federal government, thereby 

unwittingly providing 

rationale for separatist groups 

such as the Mass 

Mobilisation for the 

Sovereign State of Biafra 

(MASSOB), Indigenous 

Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and 

the Niger Delta Avengers 

(NDA). Now, by showing 

obvious bias in favour of the 

north, is the President saying 

that there are more qualified 

Nigerians from the north than 

from the south, particularly 

the south east, to occupy most 

offices in his government? 

Since when did the north 

surpass the south in having 

highly educated and qualified 

personnel to fill vacancies in 

federal government agencies 

and parastatals? In my 

opinion, by his lopsided 

appointments, the President is 

actually playing into the 

hands of those that see him as 

an ethnic champion solely 

concerned with the interests of 

the ruling cabal or invisible 

government domiciled in 

Northern Nigeria. 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari’s recent reaffirmation 

of the combative assertion 

that Nigeria’s unity is not 

negotiable demonstrates 

beyond reasonable doubt that 

he is operating with the 

conqueror mindset typical of 

military dictators. 

Buhari probably has not 

learnt appropriate lessons 

from the civil war: he still 

believes that the quest for selfdetermination 

by any 

marginalised ethnic group 

can be destroyed through 

military action. But he is 

wrong. Biafra, like every other 

utopia, is an ideal that cannot 

be annihilated by brute force, 

even if the attempt to actualise 

it concretely had been crushed 

earlier. Therefore, shooting at 

mostly unarmed youths 

exercising their democratic 

right to protest unjust 

decisions by a 

pachydermatous leadership 

can halt agitations for Biafra 

temporarily - it cannot 

eradicate it as long as 

unfairness in the distribution 

of both benefits and 

responsibilities among the 

federating ethnic nationalities 

persists. It follows that the 

only reasonable way to deal 

with the centrifugal forces that 

threaten the continued 

existence of Nigeria as a 

sovereign geopolitical entity 

is for the ruling elite to address 

the root causes of discontent 

in different parts of the 

federation. 

It is amusing that some pigs 

in the big animal farm called 

Nigeria hastily dismiss 

agitations for selfdetermination 

as useless, as 

the handiwork of undesirable 

elements and unemployed 

youths either seeking 

opportunities for selfenrichment 

or serving as 

willing tools used by enemies 

of government to disrupt the 

rhythm of change promised 

by President Buhari and his 

party leaders. In the case of 

pro-Biafran movements, for 

example, some pseudointellectuals 

and cash-andcarry 

politicians some of 

whom are Ndigbo fail to 

understand that as long as the 

issues that led to the 

emergence and secession of 

Biafra in 1967 remain 

unaddressed, the quest for its 

actualisation by any means 

necessary will rear up 

periodically. The same thing 

applies, mutatis mutandis, to 

the agitation for selfdetermination 

in the Niger 

The APC government 

is making a huge 

mistake if it continues 

to ignore calls for 

reconstructing 

Nigeria in such a way 

that the generally 

accepted six 

geopolitical zones 

become the 

fountainhead or 

nucleus of a 

resurgent Nigerian 

nation 

Delta region. The Niger Delta 

area accounts for over seventyfive 

percent of our national 

revenue. Yet, the region has 

been horribly devastated for 

decades mainly due to the 

exploration and exploitation 

of crude oil and natural gas. 

Of course, the developmental 

crises there is also the result 

of greed, corruption, 

visionlessness and poor 

planning by political and 

community leaders from that 

region. That said, the desire 

by the people to control their 

resources and pay an agreed 

tax to the federal government 

is legitimate and proper: it 

should be supported by all 

Nigerians who desire to live 

in a federation where each 

federating unit can develop its 

natural resources to meet its 

developmental challenges 

and aspirations. 

There is no doubt that wellmeaning 

Nigerians abhor 

violence: the devastating 

Biafran war brought into bold 

relief the extreme negative 

consequences of using military 

force to subdue legitimate 

demands for selfdetermination. 

At any rate, if 

President Buhari were a good 

student of history, he would not 

be repeating the same 

threadbare rhetoric about 

Nigeria’s unity being out of 

bounds for negotiation and 

possible reconstruction to 

create a functional federation. 

The persistent demand for 

greater fiscal and political 

autonomy by the Igbo and 

indigenous population of the 

Niger Delta is largely due to 

the faulty foundation on which 

our political architectonic was 

build since the abolition of 

regionalism in 1966. Given 

that the basis of Nigerian unity 

hammered out during the 

constitutional conferences 

which led to independence in 

1960 envisaged a federal 

structure with a relatively 

weak central government and 

largely autonomous 

federating units, and that that 

very structure has been 

mutilated by military 

dictators, it is imperative for 

us to revert to a modified 

version of regionalism. As I 

have always maintained, a 

return to functional federalism 

in which the federating units 

are empowered by the 

constitution to exploit the 

human and natural resources 

in each unit to serve its people 

would not transform our 

country into an El Dorado 

overnight. Now, even the best 

political system cannot 

achieve sustainable positive 

results without good leaders 

supported by enlightened and 

alert citizens over a reasonable 

period. Yet, it must be 

acknowledged that for every 

society at a given point in its 

historical evolution, some 

political systems are more 

suitable than others for 

delivering quality political 

leadership and service to the 

people. In this connection, the 

APC government is making a 

huge mistake if it continues 

to ignore calls for 

reconstructing Nigeria in 

such a way that the generally 

accepted six geopolitical 

zones become the 

fountainhead or nucleus of a 

resurgent Nigerian nation. As 

I indicated earlier, President 

Buhari believes that he can 

use all the military might at 

his disposal to suppress nonviolent 

protests in Igboland 

and the new militant groups 

emerging in the Niger Delta 

region. However, he should be 

reminded that there is a more 

reasonable, less disruptive, 

cost-effective and peaceful 

option, that is, sincere efforts 

to reconstitute Nigeria using 

recommendations of the 2014 

national conference as a 

guide. 

I do not understand why the 

President is dogmatically 

fixated against devolution of 

powers to the six geopolitical 

zones. Perhaps such a 

measure negates the 

hegemonic agenda of some 

key conservative elements in 

the North and their British 

and American collaborators. 

Earlier, I alluded to the claim 

by Balewa that if British 

colonial administrators had 

left Nigeria, the northern 

people would have continued 

their uninterrupted conquest 

to the sea. Balewa’s vision of 

Nigeria mirrors exactly Alhaji 

Ahmadu Bello’s concept of a 

Nigerian state in which the 

north dominates the south in 

a master-servant relationship 

despite the economic and 

educational superiority of the 

latter. That grotesque vision, 

the silly notion that 

northerners are ordained by 

providence to rule other 

Nigerians, is the ideological 

compass that dictates the 

actions and reactions of a 

section of the Northern ruling 

elite to national issues up to 

this time. 

To be continued

08116759757 


the 

gallery 

Experts launch 

mobile App for 

Christian singles 

By Chioma Obinna 

Mere mention of Makoko, the 

first thing that comes to 

mind is usually the state of 

the environment. But this time, Makoko 

is in the news for good. Saturday, June 

25, will remain ever green in the minds 

of 50 women and 20 youths of Makoko, 

a slum area of Lagos State. Even in the 

midst of smoke which filled the air, their 

joy knew no bounds as the densely 

populated community rejoiced over a 

life-saving intervention brought to them. 

This was a day 70 members of the 

community, comprising women and 

youths, graduated from an 

entrepreneurship programme on solar 

energy installations courtesy of King's 

Domain, a non-governmental 

organisation, NGO, in collaboration 

with Global Environmental Facility, 

GEF, with support from the United 

Nations Development Programme, 

UNDP. 

It was a life-saver as beneficiaries were 

also equipped with tools needed to start 

off their businesses. 

The youths and women were trained in 

solar installation and clean energy 

By Bashir Adefaka 

T 

he 

leader shows the 

way while others follow. 

Since the regime of 

change, led by President 

Muhammadu Buhari, started in 

the country, every other sector of 

society has fallen in line. 

Livingspring Schools, Awoyaya, 

Lekki, Lagos is one of them. That 

was the journalistic 

understanding of all that 

transpired at the 2015/2016 

valedictory and prize giving 

ceremony the schools held, last 

Wednesday, where the school 

director, Barrister (Mrs) Abosede 

Obayomi, said she wanted to see 

the products of the faith-based 

group of schools be the change 

from the current state of 

corruption that moral decadence 

had since inflicted on the society. 

She said, “You will agree with 

me that we are having the 

problems we are having in this 

country today because of 

corruption. And it is corruption 

because we have lost it; moral 

values, fear of God, we have lost 

it. But for them (the children of 

our schools), I want to see a 

change. They are Daniels wanting 

Good news comes 

to Lagos slum 

Makoko 

entrepreneurship respectively. 

One unique thing about the day was 

that despite the rain that had messed 

up the environment, the people of the 

community trooped out in large 

numbers to witness the programme 

held at the popular Makoko Hot 

Spot. 

On what prompted the NGO to 

select Makoko as beneficiary of the 

project, Chief Executive Officer of 

King’s Domain, Mr. Segun Adaju, said 

after the investigation, their findings 

revealed that there was a great need 

for energy in the community. 

This reporter and others in Makoko 

for the first time could not but come to 

terms with the reality on ground. The 

thick smoke coming out from different 

shanties made the few hours spent in 

the area unbearable. Guests 

struggled to breathe and endure the 

stench coming out from the area. 

Open defecation was also the order 

of the day. 

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the 

smoke was inevitable because the 

major occupation of the people was 

fishing, while many of the women 

roast the fish by the same river where 

they defecate before taking them to the 

markets. 

“I am sure you can feel the smoke since 

you came here. They cook with firewood and 

the smoke is almost unbearable. At times we 

imagine how do they survive? Then we say 

let’s change the way they live, and do a lot of 

cooking with kerosene. They always use 

lamp, candles and a lot of fire incidences 

have happened here, Adaju said. 

He explained that the clean energy 

introduced to the community including 

solar energy and clean cooking stove would 

definitely improve how the people live. “The 

best way to develop a man is to teach him 

how to fish instead of just giving him food to 

eat. Then for the youths, we trained them on 

how to be installers and technicians in solar 

as well as how to assemble clean stove,” he 

said. 

“For the women, we have decided to raise 

small loans for them to start up as 

entrepreneurs selling these products. We have 

talked to our partners and some 

microfinance bank about the capital. We 

need small seed capital to let them start to 

trade”. He added that the grants for the 

training were from GEF, stressing that there 

is need for Nigerian government to support 

capacity building like this. 

At t Livingspring Schools, we train ain children to 

be the change we want to see —Obayomi 

to come and be the difference in 

this moral decadence world.” 

She went on: “We in 

Livingspring Schools have been 

enjoying the privilege and 

patronage of government. They 

have rules which we follow. But 

then they give us the latitude, the 

ambit that we can do something 

especially because of the moral 

decadence in the society. So the 

government is not opposed to our 

teaching children in the way of the 

Lord. And what we have done 

actually for parents coming is give 

them a form that they fill. They 

know us right from the beginning 

that we are a Christian school just 

like any other faith that also has 

an intervention in the education 

sector. Ours is just to make sure 

that the children that we have now 

are not manipulated by the devil 

and by all the gadgets that we 

have around for them to stand and 

be who God has ordained them to 

be now and in future. Also we 

want to see them become 

governors. We want to see them 

become Presidents. We want to see 

them become lawyers having the 

fear of God and then knowing 

what to do at every point in time”. 

Also speaking, the school’s 

Head of Administration, Mr. Adeniyi Gbogunloko, said the 

event was to mark the end of 2015/2016 academic session 

and seize it to honour the pupils graduating from reception to 

primary one and from basic six to secondary school for the 

work they had put in and to congratulate their parents who, 

he said, had invested in so much on their children so that 

they can become successful in life. Gbogunloko added 

that Livingspring Schools has staff members whose 

qualifications span first decree to doctorate degree. 

The Guest of Honour, Prof. Kayode Amund 

,presenting a prize to Ibukun Oluwa Ogunlewe during 

the prize giving ceremony of Grace High School, 

Gbagada, Lagos. 

By Yinka Ajayi 

To curtail the rising number of Christian 

singles, a group of relationship experts 

launched a Christian-based online 

application, known as `Believers connect'. 

Lead Pastor of The Elevation Church, 

Godman Akinlabi, said it had become 

necessary to help Christian singles find 

godly-spouse. 

“Believers Connect was created to ease the 

stress and pain some single Christians go 

through while trying to find a worthy life 

partner. There are so many hard working, 

matured Christian men and women out there 

that have become limited in their choices as a 

result of their daily routine, mostly influenced 

by their job, business or church engagements 

now desperate for a life partner. This is about 

to change with Believers Connect”, Akinlabi 

told journalists. 

Meanwhile, a relationship talk show host, 

Stephen Omojuyigbe, said there was hope 

for single Christians in finding life partners 

with the App. “The essence of Believers 

Connect is to bring together Christian 

faithful who are single and committed to 

finding a spouse from across the country. 

“Believers connect can be downloaded on 

all android smart phones from the android 

play store,” Omojuyigbe, the host of Deep 

Soul, stressed. 

Taiwan Alumni 

get new EXCO 

The Taiwan Alumni Association of 

Nigeria, TAAN, has elected new 

executives. The exco emerged during its 

annual dinner for members in Abuja. The 

new executives are Mr. Leon Aliboh, 

Director of ICT in the Federal Ministry of 

Science and Technology who is Chairman, 

while Mrs. Emi Ogunboye, an Assistant 

Director in the office of the Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation, is Vice 

Chairman. Mr. Aminu Sanni Yargaya of the 

Ministry of Budget and National Planning, 

is Secretary while the Head of Business and 

Economy Desk of Africa Independent 

Television, Mr. Emmanuel Imevbore 

Ohiomokhare, public relations officer. 

The Taiwan Alumni Association of 

Nigeria is a group of about one hundred 

professionals who have benefited from 

training programmes from the Republic of 

China, Taiwan in the last two decades. 

No going back on the 

dissolution of Itama 

Exco - NWA 

THE Nigerian Welders 

Association (NWA) says the 

dissolution of the Pius Itama-led 

National Executive Council and the 

appointment of a nine-man 

Caretaker Committee to run group's 

affairs is irreversible.“In a statement 

by Comrade Joseph Idjai, Delta 

Zone Chairman of the body, who 

presided over the special delegates 

conference that removed Itama on 

June 11 at the Zone D Lagos 

Secretariat of the NWA, said it 

resolved to take the action in line 

with the body's constitution and 

there was no going back.“"Itama 

single handedly expelled three of 

his cabinet members in total 

disrespect of Rule 14 Section 10. 

“"Consequently a Caretaker 

Committee has been put in place in 

accordance with the association's 

constitution. We urge oil and gas 

companies to be informed and avoid 

dealing with the past executive 

committee", the statement noted. 

C 

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PAGE 24, SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016 

By Emmanuel Una, 

Calabar 

The Minister of Niger Delta 

Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, 

says no project embarked upon by 

the ministry under his 

predecessors was completed, 

explaining that the worrisome 

development forced him to raise a 

technical committee to audit the 

billion Naira projects awarded by 

the ministry so far. 

“The ministry is new and so 

much is yet to be done. 

Unfortunately, we assumed office 

to meet the budgeting process and 

the budget has just been passed; so 

you should expect more action 

now. I am, however, worried that 

no project has been commissioned 

or completed since the 

establishment of the Ministry of 

Niger Delta Affairs except a 

cassava processing plant in Ondo 

State, which we commissioned 

recently, and not being re-focused. 

But this jinx of non-performance I 

want to immediately break. 

Recently, I raised a technical 

committee to audit all projects 

awarded by the ministry so far. 

Though the committee yet to 

submit the full report, the 

preliminary report will shock you. 

I think that’s the way to begin. 

Know what job was awarded to 

who, how much and what has 

been done. Does the percentage of 

completion conform to what has 

been paid? If not, when was the job 

supposed to be completed and all 

that?”, Usani said while speaking 

to Sunday Vanguard on the 

activities of his ministry. 

The projects under the 

jurisdiction of the Ministry of 

Niger Delta Affairs include the 

N560 billion East-West Road, 

water programmes and road 

construction traversing the oil-rich 

region. 

On the involvement of his 

ministry in the resolution of 

renewed militancy in the Niger 

Delta, he said: “My ministry is 

deeply involved while the 

operational action is performed 

by the security Agencies. So the 

ministry of Niger Delta Affairs will 

N-Delta billion 

Naira projects 

under probe 

• Preliminary findings 

shocking – Usani, Minister 

continue to do what we have been 

doing before now, but I must say 

that the environment is ours and 

destroying it will not do us any 

good. Imagine the Ogoni 

reclamation is going to take 30yrs, 

yet we have not learnt. Rather than 

support President Buhari to do 

more, we are adding to the 

destruction of the environment, 

our ecosystem, fresh water 

and aquatic lives. It is a 

condemnable and unthinkable 

approach that should be desisted. 

Imagine of all leaders that this 

UNEP report has been made 

known to, in just one year in office, 

this President has implemented it. 

I can say that the Niger Delta 

region is benefiting more under 

this APC regime led by President 

Buhari more than it benefited 

from any other regime”. 

Dismissing the claims that he 

was far from his people and did 

not accept people into the APC 

while he was the state Chairman 

and that he is not accessible as 

minister, he said: “I did welcome 

you into my private residence even 

when I did not know your mission. 

Didn’t I? When you came into my 

parlour, you saw all the people 

there or the ones I have attended 

to before. Didn’t you? I did say I 

wasn’t interested in all this 

because it is time wasting. You are 

journalists. There are questions 

you should have already scribbled 

down your answers before you 

came up here. I represent a 

people and I work for the entire 

Nigerians. So honest and good 

intentioned people can be sure 

that my doors, both in the office 

and at home, are open to them 

especially those with genuine 

problems and useful contributions 

as to how we can move the country 

and the affairs of the Niger Delta 

towards greater good. 

“On the second part of your 

second question, I had not become 

the Chairman of the APC when the 

membership registration took 

place. I only became Chairman 

during the revised congress and 

have since then followed the party 

guidelines to admit members into 

the party. Before the elections, I 

made deliberate and conscious 

efforts to woo some persons whom 

I knew we could midwife to 

victory into the APC but such 

persons, apparently feeling that 

they will be automatic winners if 

they got PDP tickets, rebuffed my 

overtures and went to wrestle it in 

PDP. Now tell me, are you talking 

about those who used all their 

might against APC? 

“I had at no point refused 

anybody membership of APC. 

Where a man comes because he 

lost election in PDP or any other 

party and begins to insinuate that 

there were no persons in APC, this 

is not fair to the foundation 

members of APC. As state 

Chairman of the party, I owe my 

party men a duty to protect them 

and fight for their benefits. How 

does it feel for a man who ate and 

broke the pot to immediately go 

to another man’s cooking and 

want to even be dished food 

ahead of those who have been 

patiently waiting and persevering 

starvation when the food has been 

prepared? I still maintain my 

stance, which is that benefits 

should be served first to those APC 

members who have suffered and 

worked because anything short of 

that will be a betrayal of the 

resilience and hard work of those 

who hoped when others scorned 

and some despised; this was also, 

the maiden pronouncement of the 

president after election. Let the so 

called “No names” be known. For 

example, I was PA and 

Commissioner before I became 

35. It means there are many 

talents untapped in APC that we 

can harness, because, out of 

conviction displayed in their 

resilience, these group of people 

have the integrity to drive this 

government’s agenda and 

ideology. I tell you sincerely, 

strengthen a small name with 

character and watch him become 

a giant”. 

BOREHOLE: 

Earthquak 

thquake e fear in Nigeria is unfounded 

—Uzoma, BOD 

ODAN AN boss 

By Funmi Olasupo 

Following the claim that borehole drilling could 

trigger earthquake in the country, President, Borehole 

Drillers Association of Nigeria, BODAN, Mr. Francis 

Uzoma, a geologist, in this interview, says it is untrue. 

For how long have you been the National President of 

BODAN and what are the activities of your association? 

I have been the President of BODAN for almost two years 

now after my election. The major activities of this 

association are bringing all borehole drillers across the 

federation under one umbrella, the advancement of 

drilling practice and betterment of drillers across the 

federation. 

As the President of the association, have you been able 

to carry your members along? 

Yes, we have been carrying our members across the states 

along and they are doing very well in their respective 

states. There is no faction. Borehole Drillers Association of 

Nigeria was registered in 1999. We have our members in 

almost all the 36 states of the federation; we partner 

government towards policies implementation. 

There was a publication on impending earthquake due 

to borehole drilling activities in Nigeria. What is your 

take? 

That publication was based on falsehood, and whoever 

made the claim has no knowledge of the geology of 

Nigeria because I have never heard in the world where 

borehole drilling has caused earthquake. Earthquake 

emanates from a deeper part of the earth, but the drilling 

we are doing does not reach such starter, so I think that 

information is baseless and should be discarded. 

There was a statement in the publication describing 

•Francis Uzoma 

some people in BODAN ‘errand members’. 

Who do you think it was directed to? 

We understand that there are some people who 

are somewhere trying to constitute themselves 

into another group, but it is quite unfortunate. 

We are the umbrella body that speaks for the 

borehole industry. The borehole drilling industry 

cuts across the casing manufacturers, the pump 

sellers, the rig companies and manufacturers. It 

is an industry that is contributing towards 

making sure Nigerians have water. In this 

situation where people appear to want to put in 

the public domain false information, we want to 

urge the public not to listen to them, that 

information is deceitful, only BODAN has the 

authentic information to work with. 

What is the proof that drilling activities are 

not sufficient to cause 

earthquake? 

I am a geologist and I did my 

research work on how to monitor 

and control earthquake. In that 

area, the earth is structured into 

three starters, the crust, the mantle 

and the core. The distance 

between the crust and the mantle 

is about 50,000 kilometres and 

most of the drilling we are doing 

now is on the crust and 

earthquake emanates usually 

on the boundary between the 

mantle and the crust. The 

drilling we do does not go that 

deep. Usually, we do a very 

shallow drilling of 30 meters, 

40 meters and in sedimentary 

areas we go as deep as 100 

meters, 200 meters. That 

information is not something 

anybody should worry about. 

Do you normally have 

training for your members? 

Yes, we train our members to 

build their capacities not just 

within Nigeria but also 

internationally. We have 

partnership with some 

international organisations 

where our members can be 

trained and here with the 

Ministry of Water Resources 

through its parastatals, 

National Water Institute in 

Kaduna where our members go 

and get trained on how to 

deliver potable water to the 

people of Nigeria. 

gallery 

Afenmai 

masquerades 

ades 

storm Benin 

By Simon Ebegbulem, 

Benin-City 

It was a cultural exhibition 

at the premises of the Nigeria 

Union of Journalists (NUJ), 

Benin-City, which paraded 

Afenmai masquerades and dance 

troupes. The colourful event was 

organized by the founder and 

Artistic Director,Afenmai Heritage 

and Cultural Studies, Prince 

(Alhaji) Usman Abuda. Different 

dance troupes from Afenmai land 

displayed their talents and it was 

quite entertaining. Afenmai is in 

Edo North. The groups which 

performed include Ogbona 

masquerade, Oyase (soloist), 

Ogbona female singers, 

Agbeloje Dance Troupe and 

Egbogio Dance Troupe. In his 

speech at the occasion, Abuda 

said: “This was a compelling 

decision taken at the last 

moment of assessing whether it 

was worth presenting or just 

making un-registered 

observations on the general 

handling of the creative themes of 

a people, whose gift in this aspect 

is mostly God-given thus 

establishing the differences 

between those who went to school 

to be taught how to dance, sing 

and play instruments to the 

university level and those who 

inherited the act down the family 

time. 

“The difference is clear between 

the two, the artificiality of the 

tutorial discipline and inherited 

one is easily unfolded”. The 

Artistic Director therefore 

appealed to government at all 

levels to “sincerely have a change 

of mind towards their attitudes to 

anything that has to do with the 

promotion, propagation and 

documentation of the creative 

artistry of the people”. He went 

on: “Government officials should 

try and stop the cheating attitude 

meted to traditional troupes when 

invited to participate at 

government functions by being 

given stipends that are not 

worthy of mention, but what is 

officially recorded as what was 

released to them is criminally 

offensive. It has to stop”. 

While commending Governor 

Adams Oshiomhole for 

encouraging the sustenance of 

culture and tradition of the 

people, he noted that in 2013 “ 

the governor donated an 

amount of money which I put in 

a fixed deposit and the yield is 

what I have been utilizing to 

enhance other outings and that 

of today”. Abuda added: “Let 

me also use this opportunity to 

advise the Federal Government 

to hand over the running of the 

Skill Acquisition Centers built 

by the National Council for 

Arts and Culture (NCAA) 

located in various zones in the 

country to serious artistic 

disciplines to run for the 

benefit of the citizens in these 

areas. Needless to placate the 

people, none of the centers as 

at today is functional and I 

need to be challenged”. 

Speaking also, Edo State 

Commissioner for Arts, Culture 

and Tourism, Macdonal 

Obasuke, commended Alhaji 

Abuda for his efforts towards 

the growth of culture in the 

country and Afenmai land in 

particular, assuring that the 

state government will ensure 

that cultural troupes are well 

accommodated in its events. 

C 

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Diaspora Matters 

When Governing Councils Dissolve 

into Thin Air, What Next? 

Last week Nigeria's 

Honourable 

Minister of 

Education, Malam Adamu 

Adamu announced the 

immediate dissolution of 

the Governing Councils of 

the Obafemi Awolowo 

University, Ile Ife, and 

University of Port Harcourt. 

In a media statement first 

aired on the Nigerian 

Television Authority (NTA) 

network, the minister directed 

that the chairmen and 

members of the councils 

should immediately hand 

over the properties of the 

universities in their care. 

This new development in the 

education sector is to say the 

least very worrisome. It is 

indeed one that calls for 

greater concerns, considering 

the fact that this is the second 

time it would happen in the 

short life span of this 

administration. 

It is unfortunate that twice 

in recent months, the decision 

of the Minister on university 

education sector is being 

scrutinised. Earlier this year, 

there was disappointment 

among members of the 

academic community when 

the minister, in a short 

statement, sacked thirteen vice 

chancellors on the purported 

order of President 

Muhammad Buhari. What 

could have turned out to be a 

public relations disaster was 

however nipped in the bud 

when some of the affected 

VCs had to concede that they 

were almost through with their 

terms in office. Moreover, the 

were deemed political 

appointees of the immediate 

past government. 

The action, without doubt, 

exposed the Federal 

Government as not being 

afraid to "run with" illegalities 

to appease a few powers. Truly, 

the terms of offices of these 

VCs may be almost over at 

the time of announcement of 

their sacks, the FG could have 

handled it better and allowed 

individual universities carry 

out the selection processes of 

appointing their VCs. 

The action of the 

government was challenged 

in court, but apparently the 

step has not served as deterrent 

to our honourable minister. 

Probably finding it difficult to 

divorce himself from the 

impunity of the military era, 

the minister, by the sack of 

properly constituted 

Governing Councils, is in the 

news again 

With his recent directive we 

can conclude that the 

education sector is once again 

on a pitiful journey to the 

prehistoric days when it was 

treated with disrespect and 

disgrace. It has also brought 

the attention of the civilised 

world to the fact that Nigeria 

still has a long way to go in 

regards to varsity education 

management. 

It is disheartening that a 

time when Nigerian 

university graduates are 

struggling to get admitted to 

"quality"institutions abroad, 

due to perceived poor quality, 

this military-style action of the 

minister has further dented the 

image. The arbitrary manner 

in which the councils of these 

universities were dissolved 

would suggest to the outside 

world that the universities are 

appendages of the Federal 

Government. 

The directive of the minister 

came as a shock and surprise 

to the members of the 

academic community who 

thought they had seen the end 

to government intervention in 

the running of the system. 

Unfortunately, we are once 

again reminded of what the 

university system went 

through during the military 

era when uncertainties were 

the order of the day. 

The directive of the minister 

has allowed us to travel back 

in time to the administrations 

of Ibrahim Babangida and 

Sani Abacha when the ruling 

governments decided when to 

lock up or open university 

"gates". The pictures that came 

to mind immediately were 

those days when the academic 

community was literally 

dragged through the mud. 

There was no respect for them. 

If the minister of education 

or his surbordinates were 

good students of history, they 

will realise that "power 

invasion" of universities had 

not solved any problem on the 

campuses. 

The minister did not just 

take a step backward, he is 

also about to erase every 

decent achievements made by 

his predecessors in the last 

seven years. When the Federal 

Government-Academic Staff 

Union of Universities (ASUU) 

agreement was signed in 

It is disheartening 

that a time when 

Nigerian university 

graduates are 

struggling to get 

admitted to 

"quality"institutions 

abroad, due to 

perceived poor 

quality, this militarystyle 

action of the 

minister has further 

dented the image 

2009, observers heaved a sigh 

of relief that normalcy was 

coming back to the ivory 

towers. The agreement had 

stated in black and white how 

the autonomy of the 

universities will be achieved. 

However, this recent 

directive of the Minister has 

made a joke of the agreement 

that has over the years been 

the source of sustainable 

stability on Nigerian 

campuses. With a stroke of a 

pen, the Minister consigned 

into the bin the efforts of the 

parties involved in the 

drafting and modalities of the 

agreement. 

The most intriguing aspect 

of the media statement by the 

minister was his directive that 

the proceedings for the 

appointment of a substantive 

vice chancellor for OAU, Ile 

Ife, be suspended forthwith 

until a particular court case 

is disposed of. The minister 

cannot claim ignorance of the 

fact that a substantive VC had 

already been appointed for 

the university. Therefore, as at 

last week, the process of the 

selection had been concluded 

by the Governing Council 

who thereafter appointed 

Professor Ayobami Salami as 

the VC. 

Salami took over from the 

outgone VC, Professor Omole 

on the 24th of June. The 

appointment of Salami, after 

following due process, was 

ratified by the Presidency via 

a Certificate of Compliance 

letter issued on June 21. This 

certificate is a validation that 

the selection process was 

satisfactory and "passed the 

test" of appointing the new 

VC. 

It is interesting that the 

minister is hinging the 

suspension of the selection 

process on a court case. In the 

first instance, there was no 

injunction obtained which 

stopped the then governing 

council from going ahead 

with the selection process. In 

this age of 'open' judiciary, 

observers believe that rather 

than arbitrarily dissolve the 

councils, the government 

through the minister should 

have initiated a court 

proceeding against the 

councils. 

But it seems the powers 

behind the minister's decision 

really overpowered him. This 

is where the hearts of all lovers 

of freedom in citadels of 

learning should sink. It is on 

record that the Ile-Ife branch 

of NASU and SSANU had 

vowed not to allow a Salami 

"vice chancellorship" see the 

light of the day. Their activities 

on the campus during and 

after the selection process 

show how much powerful 

these unions are. 

Observers of developments 

on the campus are saddened 

by the fact that these unions 

could influence the action of 

the federal government 

without any investigations. 

Although the unions are 

alleged to be backed by 

powerful individuals and 

traditional rulers who have 

the ears of the President, they 

should not be allowed to 

"intimidate" the process. The 

powers of these unions in the 

selection process of vice 

chancellors are too unwieldy 

and should be cut down. The 

idea of god-fatherism in 

academic appointments 

should be discounted with 

henceforth. We should not 

play politics with education. 

The Federal Government 

should reason with members 

of the Ile-Ife branch of ASUU, 

who are demanding an 

investigation into the 

selection process that 

produced Salami. This 

should be a soothing 

suggestion for all the parties, 

especially the unions that 

believed the process was 

skewed in favour Salami. The 

unions should be mandated 

to produce evidences of 

favouritism on the part of 

members of the governing 

council. 

Dissolving the council is not 

the answer to the problem at 

hand. The question is what 

happens next in the 

appointment of a VC for 

the institution? Will the 

Federal Government 

sustain the illegality of 

dissolving the council and 

appoint a "caretaker" VC? 

Are we going back to the era 

of Sole Administrators in 

our university system? Will 

the president allow this 

illegal dissolution of of the 

councils to stand and in 

effect paralyse the 

universities? 

There are many questions 

that beg for answers from 

the Federal Government. 

And I think Mr President 

should wade in now without 

fear or favour of any party. 

Minutes after I 

concluded this 

column last week, 

I turned to my daily 

devotional manual, Open 

Heavens, authored by the 

General Overseer of the 

Redeemed Christian Church 

of God, Pastor Enoch 

Adeboye, and the topic for the 

day was “ Dancing unto the 

Lord”. I said to myself, 

definitely, the Holy Spirit is in 

charge. I had just written 

about prayer to praise and, 

now, a respected man of 

God has ‘ Dancing unto the 

Lord’ as his topic for us. 

This gave me the confidence 

that some people will soon 

dance as their sorrows are 

about to be turned to 

unspeakable joy. 

Praise and dancing are 

related, aren’t day? When 

you praise God with your 

whole heart, you dance even 

when no one is beating 

musical instrument. 

When this happens, you are 

already preparing for 

your celebration, physically 

and spiritually though you 

may not know it. 

By the grace of God, the one 

with whom nothing is 

impossible, in this second half 

of this year, you will dance in 

the mighty name of Jesus. 

Dancing as a spiritual 

step - Psalm 126 vs. 

1 and 2 states: “ When the Lord 

turned again the captivity of 

Zion , we were like them that 

dream. Then was our 

mouth filled with laughter, 

and our tongue with singing; 

then said they among the 

heathen, the LORD hath 

done great things for them”. 

In this season, the Lord will 

put laughter in your mouth 

in Jesus name. 

While praying, praising and 

dancing, we must be 

hopeful. Indeed, dancing 

is an exercise of faith. 

Adeboye wrote: “ The 

moment you begin to dance 

in the midst of your situation 

and circumstances , you are 

simply telling the whole 

world that you are not a 

victim. You are provoking 

God to action and, when he 

rises on your behalf, you will 

become the talk of the town”. 

Is someone sitting on your 

promotion? Has he or she 

vowed that as long as he/she 

occupies an office, you will 

not be promoted? If this is 

your situation, the solution is 

simple, strive to live holy, 

be prayerful, praise and dance 

to the Lord even in the 

presence of that person and 

the Lord will move in a way 

that will astound you. 

Throwing more light on 

dancing in the presence of 

God, Adeboye wrote, “ 

Dancing is loaded with 

blessings. When we 

dance unto the Lord, He 

turns our mourning into 

joy. There are people 

who only dance when the 

Lord has given them a 

testimony to share, but those 

who understand better will 

continue to dance even before 

the arrival of their miracles”. 

In 2010, when I had Samuel 

after 22 years of waiting, a 

friend, whom I will simply call 

Mummy T , attended the 

naming ceremony. She 

danced so well to the songs 

played at the party that she 

began to tell people that the 

next dancing will be in her 

house. 

At that time, she had a 

son who was about 17 years 

old and had been trusting 

God for another child. To 

the glory of God, barely nine 

months after the naming of 

Samuel, she had a baby girl 

and, just as she said, the next 

dancing was in her home. 

Barely a year after that, she 

had another baby girl. 


Get ready to celebrate 

Within two years, she had 

two babies. 

Brethren, what are you 

saying to yourself? Apart 

from prayers, what other 

steps are you taking? 

Impatience- A trend 

is developing in churches 

these days, which is 

absolutely not in line with 

the word of God. I’ll 

relate the story of a sister 

in a Pentecostal church. 

This lady and her 

husband had been 

believing God for 

children. They were 

regular in church and 

always seated close to 

God honours his 

word but we must 

also play our part. 

A person living in 

sin should not 

expect God’s 

words to be 

fulfilled in his or 

her life 

them on the same row was 

a single lady. The 

couple became nice 

enough to give this single 

lady a ride home. Before 

madam could say Jack 

Robinson, the lady had 

started dating her 

husband. It got so bad 

that on a particular day, 

the man left his wife 

behind and rode to the 

church with this lady. 

No one needed to tell 

madam that her marriage 

had become endangered. 

She didn’t fight the other 

lady, she only got more 

determined to see the end 

of her challenge. 

To the glory of God, 

about two weeks ago, I 

heard that she had given 

birth to a baby boy. 

Now, there are lessons to 

be learnt here. 

First is that we should 

not assume that everyone 

we find in the church is a 

true Christian. So, we 

need to be careful who we 

associate with. Of 

course, there are some 

single ladies who are 

decent. 

The unholy attitude of 

this single lady who 

wanted to break the home 

of a fellow sister shows 

that she no longer had 

confidence in God. 

Apart from this, she had 

simply delayed her miracle. 

I recall that Pastor 

Adeboye, in one of his 

sermons at the Holy 

Ghost Night, said when a 

married woman, who is 

believing God for a child, 

goes about dating other men 

out of desperation, she is 

simply delaying her 

miracle. The case of this 

single lady is no different. 

Worse still for her is that, 

with the birth of madam’s 

baby boy, she has been put 

to shame. This season, the 

Lord will put all your 

enemies and unfriendly 

friends to shame in Jesus 

name. 

As for the man, he too has 

a blame. For a person 

who claims to be serving God, 

why should he engage in an 

affair with a strange 

woman? He also has 

demonstrated that he is 

impatient with God. 

Let’s remember that there 

is always a price to pay for 

our sins except of course we 

repent. 

Babies at last 

The word of the Lord in 

Deuteronomy 7 vs 14 

states:” Thou shall be blessed 

above all people: there shall 

not be male or female barren 

among you , or among 

your cattle”. 

God honours his word but 

we must also play our part. 

A person living in sin should 

not expect God’s words to be 

fulfilled in his or her life. 

We must give our lives to 

God for him to manifest his 

powers in our lives. 

During the June Laugher 

Day at Laughter Foundation 

International Ministry, a 

couple, who had been 

married for 25 years, 

presented their set of twins, a 

boy and a girl, for 

dedication. Shouts of 

halleluiah rented the air. 

The couple told stories of 

what they had been through, 

especially from people related 

by blood who have vowed that 

they would not see them have 

children, but they remained 

firm with God who gave 

them victory over their 

enemies. 

Indeed, according to 

them, by the time the babies 

came, God had silenced all 

stubborn enemies. I mean 

they had all died. Some of 

these people did not only 

attack spiritually, they 

attacked physically. They 

openly boasted of their 

witchcraft power . The 

battle was long and tough but 

God gave the couple victory. 

I was still postponing 

this story when I saw God in a 

bigger dimension at the July 

Holy Ghost Night of the 

Redeemed Christian Church 

of God. A woman, who had 

been married for 35 years, 

presented her first baby to the 

Lord for testimony. 

How great is our God? Are 

you still in doubt that you will 

overcome 

that 

challenge? Don’t give up. 

God has not forgotten you. 

What I found noteworthy in 

this woman’s testimony is the 

fact that she said she bought a 

number of Daddy G.O’s books 

( Pastor Adeboye is called 

Daddy G.O.) and read them. 

Unknown to her, she was 

taking in the word of God. 

This, unknown to many, is 

beyond medication. It heals 

the spirit and flesh. How much 

time do you dedicate to 

reading the Holy Bible or 

reading books written by 

reputable men of God? 

If you haven’t started doing 

this, please begin now. Some 

are not so voluminous and 

can be read within a short 

time. As you do this, the Lord 

will minister to your spirit and 

flesh and, very soon, you will 

dance to the glory of God. 

Get ready for a new song. It 

is your turn to dance in Jesus 

name. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

PAGE 26–SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 

Before parents start 

eating their kids 

“Love and business and 

family and religion and art 

and patriotism are nothing 

but shadows of words when 

a man is starving.” O. Henry, 

1862-1910, VANGUARD 

BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, 

VBQ, P 233. 

Nigeria is 

descending to a 

new low in 

barbarism, which if left 

unchecked will define the 

new era of politics. Parents, 

presumed to be sane, but 

obviously callous and 

distressed, now sell their kids 

to procure food for the rest 

of the family. Whether the 

evil is perpetrated with a 

heavy heart is difficult to say 

until we conduct a study into 

the motivations of the few 

known examples to date. 

And, the sooner the better, 

because this trend might 

gain momentum and 

become irreversible for a 

long time to come. 

It is difficult to imagine 

how parents would 

determine which of their 

kids to be sold. That they 

don’t particularly care what 

fate befalls that child is 

obvious. That they don’t 

consider that the sale of one 

child for a pittance will not 

solve their problems 

permanently is also clear. 

They certainly don’t ask 

themselves what will happen 

when the food purchased 

with their own kids’ blood 

money is exhausted. Will 

they sell another one? Just 

as obvious to anybody who 

can think deeply is the fact 

that those who can willingly 

sell their own kids would 

think nothing about trading 

other people’s children for 

cash. Perhaps some are 

already into that business. 

We will never know until 

somebody conducts a study 

to find out if cases of missing 

children had risen in the 

communities where parents 

have been caught selling 

their own. 

However, before 

proceeding with this 

column, a diversion is 

necessary. 

Mr Femi Adesina, 

Presidential Adviser for 

Media, was once reported to 

have stated that he does not 

believe that Nigerians are 

suffering now. I sincerely 

hope he was misquoted. But, 

in the event he was not, that 

statement will go down in 

my own memory as one of 

the most callous and 

insensitive ever by an 

official of the Federal 

Government. It would also 

have gone a long way to 

prove my pet theory that 

there is a medical and 

mental phenomenon called 

ASO ROCK DISEASE. This 

is defined as an affliction 

experienced by some 

individuals who are 

appointed to great office in 

Aso Rock and who shortly 

after reaching there start to 

make pronouncements that 

are totally out of character 

with what they once 

pretended was their belief. 

Late Professor Herbert 

Marcuse, in 1967, in 

Waltham, Massachusetts, 

USA, had delivered a lecture 

in which he declared that 

“Existence determines 

consciousness; where you 

stand determines what you 

see”. People entering the 

world of power at Abuja 

from relative powerlessness 

can be forgiven if they 

suddenly talk and behave as 

part of the power elite. Late 

Chief Bola Ige became 

Minister under Obasanjo 

and quickly declared that 

there was no need for a 

Sovereign National 

Conference – something he 

had championed all his life. 

That led to a two-part 

column from me titled ET 

TU CHIEF IGE. I asked 

Uncle Ige if he had not 

contracted the Aso Rock 

disease. I certainly hope that 

Adesina had not contracted 

that disease which had 

consumed the reputations of 

ALL the journalists and 

columnists who served 

Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and 

Jonathan before him. None 

returned from Abuja with 

their reputations intact – 

although financially 

wealthy. Invariably, they 

have forgotten that “The true 

measure of your wealth is 

how much you will be worth 

when you have lost all your 

money”. Who now listens to 

Femi’s last three 

predecessors in the Rock? 

They have become the 

living-dead. 

It is a fact that it is almost 

impossible for someone who 

eats “free lunch”, at the Aso 

Rock cafeteria, to 

understand the problems of 

millions of his fellow 

Nigerians who have to pay 

for their own lunch and 

increasingly cannot find it. 

Tucked in the comfort 

Nigerian money can buy, it 

requires a lot of insight and 

deep wisdom to sympathise 

and empathise with those who 

are not sure of any meal for 

weeks to come. 

Empathy is here defined as 

“standing in somebody else’s 

shoes”; feeling the pinches. In 

fact, if Adesina wants to know 

if Nigerians are suffering, he 

should ask his former 

colleagues in the print media 

who have not received salaries 

for over four months. They 

will be the first to ask him to 

go and wash his mouth with 

soap. Enough said for now on 

that. 

Those not privileged to eat 

free food at the Rock know 

that these are the toughest 

times millions have known in 

a long, long, long, time. 

Unfortunately, the worst is yet 

to come. If people are now 

selling kids, will they start 

eating them when things get 

worse as they will inevitably 

do in 2016 and 2017? Yet, the 

signs of imminent famine and 

mass starvation are there for 

all to see. Two inescapable 

factors will serve to illustrate 

the point – imported and 

manufactured food items on 

the one hand and locally 

produced food items on the 

other. 

Floating exchange rate 

which had effectively 

devalued the naira had 

correspondingly set in motion 

a series of escalating price 

increases on imported food 

items and manufactured food 

items which rely on imports 

of raw materials. Price of 

bread will certainly soon go 

up and one hopes that 

somebody inside the Rock will 

not announce “Let them eat 

cake”, Queen Maries- 

Antoinette, 1755-1793). That 

stupid joke by an insensitive 

woman precipitated a 

revolution. 

Even local food production 

had been devastated by 

drought. We are in July and 

the rainfall this year had been 

the least in over fifty years. 

Crops are failing everywhere. 

New yam, which serve as 

proxy for harvest in 

general, is not yet out and 

a quick visit to some farms 

indicate that a disaster is 

underway with respect to 

yam harvest. Only the rich 

and wealthy will escape 

the consequences of poor 

harvests. 

The most urgent 

question now confronting 

Nigeria is 

descending to a 

new low in 

barbarism, which 

if left unchecked 

will define the 

new era of 

politics.... It is 

difficult to 

imagine how 

parents would 

determine which 

of their kids to be 

sold 

us is: what will happen to 

the kids as the calamity 

unfolds? Will they be 

served for lunch? Buhari 

has a whale of a problem 

on his hands – even if he 

doesn’t know it yet. 

ADVICE TO BUHARI 

ON SARAKI AND 

OTHERS 

“There are some 

individuals who are better 

kept on the inside pissing 

out, than on the outside 

pissing in.” Sam Rayburn, 

1882-1961. 

Sam Rayburn was 

probably the most powerful 

Speaker of the US House of 

Representatives. He was 

also regarded as a mentor 

to Lyndon Johnson, 1908- 

1973, who was Senator, Vice 

President and President of 

America. The story had been 

told about when Rayburn 

faced with some rebels in the 

House within his own 

political party and someone 

asked him why he did not 

use his enormous power to 

deal with them. Wise Sam 

made the statement above 

which has relevance for 

Nigerian politics today. As 

everybody knows now, there 

is a total breakdown in 

relationships between 

President Buhari and the 

Senate President. The heads 

of the Executive and 

legislative branches are 

literally at war. On both 

sides, the combatants are in 

the trenches; political, as 

well as real, lives are at 

stake. On paper the balance 

of power is with the 

executive branch; but it 

might turn out to be a costly 

blunder for anybody to 

assume that it is 

overwhelming. 

Unfolding events out of 

Buhari’s control are already 

reducing the power gap. The 

cases started including the 

forgery case will certainly not 

be concluded soon. They will 

wind their way to the Supreme 

Court after several trips to the 

Courts of Appeal and 

Buhari’s term might be over 

before we have heard the last 

words on these. Meanwhile, 

there are three more budgets 

to be presented to the Senate, 

appointments to be approved, 

ambassadors to interrogate, 

inevitable economic recession 

to address – all of which need 

Senate support. To make 

matters worse the Minister of 

Justice who approved the 

prosecution of Saraki and 

Ekweremandu is already 

involved in conflict of interest 

controversy. Saraki on the 

outside is dangerous…. 

The young shall grow 

I have done the three 

things which a man must 

do – I have planted a 

tree; I have fathered a 

child, and I have written 

a book. I have done 

more; I have seen the 

world and enjoyed 

largely a good part of my 

71 years. — Kola 

Animasaun 

Ido not know those 

who have been 80 

years old but I know 

it’s been something to be 

77years. When my 

daughter,Denrele asked 

me to put my thoughts on 

paper to mark my birthday, 

I do not know where to 

begin. It has been a very 

eventful journeyfrom my 

primary school in Abeokuta 

and Ibadan; from my school 

in Fiditi and the Abeokuta 

Grammar School to my 

professional colleges in 

London. 

It was a stage that old 

Shakespeare called seven 

stages or is it ages? I have 

lived 55 years of journalism 

and that will take some 

telling and that will be for 

some other time. Now, I 

want to remember people 

who have been good to me 

and/ or have helped my 

career. 

Chief Bisi Onabanjo, 

journalist and politician 

would be my first port of 

call. I went to see him in 

Daily Express to ask him for 

a job. Chief Onabanjo was 

the editorial director of the 

paper but then, he wrote 

one of the most powerful 

columns in Nigeria. Most 

people do not know him for 

the job he held but do for 

his ‘Aiyekoto’ column. Most 

people read him but most 

decision makers listen to 

what he had to say. I 

learned in his stable even 

as a sub-editor. Chief 

Onabanjo was a governor 

of Ogun State. 

Uncle Sam, a soft-spoken 

man also contributed to the 

making of the man, Kola. 

He was one of the heavy 

writers of his age. At 

school, we burrowed from 

the library Sam, Allah De 

and Ebenezer Williams. I 

did not meet Uncle Sam 

when I went to work for the 

Express but I heard of him 

and he had gone to the 

Daily Times. 

I heard and saw of him 

in the Vanguard which he 

published and still do. He 

did not write his column 

which popularised him but 

he has, and still is popular 

for his turning out good 

journalists. One of that is 

yours truly. I, however, still 

remember Uncle Sam for 

his kindness. He will ask 

for your family and your 

well-being. Uncle Sam has 

visited me in my home 

many times I cannot now 

remember how many timeboth 

in illness and in good 

health. 

Allah De-Alade 

Odunewu -was a master 

craftsman. I mean when 

word craftsmen are 

concerned. And we learnt 

a lot from him. He wrote like 

a professor letting the words 

just sink in. His Sunday 

tonic was a sine qua non. 

He visited me in my home 

-one old man to another 

young boy. Alade was 

once commissioner in 

Lagos 

State 

government. 

Lateef Kayode 

Jakande is still alive 

and kicking and his 

John West column in the 

Tribune was a must 

read. By the way, he is 

my older cousin and my 

father’s cousin by 

extension from our 

Omuaran root. His 

father, Oloye Jakande 

was my father’s cousin 

and so loved him to name 

When my 

daughter,Denrele 

asked me to put my 

thoughts on paper to 

mark my birthday, I do 

not know where to 

begin. It has been a 

very eventful journeyfrom 

my primary 

school in Abeokuta 

and Ibadan; from my 

school in Fiditi and 

the Abeokuta 

Grammar School to 

my professional 

colleges in London 

Lateef after my father 

when he was born. 

When I went to work for 

Tribune, he was in 

castration but we worked 

for him all the same. 

LKJ has/had courage 

and spirit and as 

governor of Lagos 

State, he set all the 

good examples. 

Chief Olu Adebanjo 

was my editor at the Daily 

Express. He became 

council Chairman of Ijebu 

Odogbolu Local 

Government in his dying 

years but he has served 

Shagari in NPN days. I 

learned an undying 

lesson from him. How not 

to be proud on account of 

your achievements. It is a 

long story; but the long 

and short of it is that you 

never know who you will 

meet on your way down. 

My friend, the 

Akirogun of the Egbas, 

Olusegun Osoba is 

special. We were not 

friends at first, but 

through my long lasting 

friend Eddie Kola 

Aderinokun. Akirogun 

will defend my position 

and will put things my 

way. When he offered 

me the chairmanship of 

Abeokuta North Local 

Government, I had had 

no experience of it. I do 

not know why I deserve 

his special care. May he 

live long! 

I wish I knew where 

Chief Emiola Atanda is 

now. He was editor of 

the Tribune in 1964. I 

heard he was a professor 

of communication in Ife 

or thereabout. He was 

way up my elder. He 

treated me well and I 

learned some of his 

editorial styles in my craft. 

Eddie Aderinokun is my 

lifelong friend. We started 

from secondary school in 

Abeokuta and we wanted 

to go into journalism 

together. I started at the 

Daily Express a month 

ahead of him and we have 

been inseparable. 

Eddie would do 

anything possible for me. 

I stayed with him at Yaba 

and he visited me in 

Stockholm. I became 

friends with Dayo Duyile 

and we have been friends 

ever since. It was Dayo 

who dragged me to 

lecture at the NIJ. I can 

go on and on about my 

friends because they 

bunch with me, but there 

are some special friends I 

cannot stop singing 

about-my wife and 

children. They go with 

me through rain or shine. 

My wife -Silifat 

Modupeola Animasaunmy 

wife of 54 years and 

my children. 

The hallmark of my life 

has been its contentment. 

I have been content with 

life from my early years. I 

have been satisfied with it 

and I take whatever 

comes to me. 

Alhamdulilah. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

VANGUARD, SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2016, PAGE 27 

Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep record improved sales 

A typical used car market 

Auto policy summit: Dealers 

differ on imported used cars 

THERE is a saying that when 

two brothers come out from a 

meeting, frowning, they must 

have told each other the bitter 

truth. This was exactly what happened 

recently at the Oriental 

Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, venue 

of the one-day stakeholders’ 

forum on the Nigerian automotive 

industry. The event put together 

by the Nigerian Economic 

Summit Group has the theme 

Setting an implementation agenda 

for the national automotive 

plants. The forum discussed the 

way forward for the Nigerian 

Automotive Industry Development 

Plan, NAIDP, with the main 

objective of eliminating existing 

limitations in implementation 

process. 

Present at the event were 

Minister of Industry, Trade and 

Investments, Dr. Okechukwu 

Enelomah, the Director General 

of National Automotive Design 

and Development Council as well 

as chieftains in the automotive industry, 

like Chief Michael Ade- 

Ojo of Elizade Group, William 

Anumudu of Globe Motors, Cosmos 

Maduka of Coscharis Group, 

Ibrahim Boyi of PAN Nigeria Ltd, 

and a host of others. 

In his opening speech, the 

Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian 

Economic Summit, Laoye 

Jaiyeola, noted the importance of 

the auto sector to the nation’s economic 

development. 

According to him, the choice of 

the automotive industry as one 

of those targeted for diversification 

of the economy is predicated 

on the potential of the industry 

to play a strategic and catalytic 

role in economic development 

in the area of employment creation, 

GDP contribution, SME development. 

Automotive parts, 

components and services, skills 

development and the acquisition 

of technology other areas are the 

sector can also boost the economy. 

He regretted that though the 

size of the automobile market in 

Nigeria is worth over four billion 

dollars annually, it does not translate 

into anything meaningful for 

the country characterised by importation. 

So the forum was challenged 

to leave no stone unturned in 

proffering solution that could 

make the policy work. 

Jaiyeola reminded the participants 

that the success NAIDP 

does not only have implications 

for the development of small and 

medium enterprises, but ultimately 

offers the opportunity of Nigeria 

moving significantly on the 

Doing Business rankings or indeed 

the WEF competitive 

rankng. 

The discussant which includes 

The Managing Director of PAN 

Nigeria Ltd, Ibrahim Boyi; Managing 

Director of Toyota Nigeria 

Ltd, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, Dr. Cosmas 

Maduka of Coscharis Group, 

Thomas Pelletier, Managing 

Director CFAO Automotive, 

Tokunbo Aromolaran, Managing 

Director of VON Automobiles 

Ltd, expressed their views 

on the ban of imported used vehicles, 

tariff increase, closure of 

land border. 

Setting the debate in motion, 

the Minister of Industry, Trade 

and Investment, explained that 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s 

administration does not 

only believe in the auto policy 

but is also determined to make 

a success of it. 

While the stakeholders agreed 

on the importance of having a 

robust auto policy, one issue 

they expressed divergent views 

was imported used vehicles, 

which control a chunk of the 

nation’s auto market. 

Mr. Ade-Ojo, noted that placing 

a ban on imported used vehicles 

should not be the first 

thing to do. 

In his views: “We are importing 

used vehicles, because local 

assemblers are not able to 

meet up the volume of vehicles 

required by the consumers 

at the price they can afford. 

“My take, therefore, is that 

rather than keep looking at 

placing a ban on imported 

used vehicles, we should try 

to build local content, which is 

the only way the fruit of the 

auto policy can be reaped. 

“Right now, everything is 

imported. If we can make the 

tyres, batteries and other parts 

locally, all of us will be able to 

use them. What we are doing 

at the moment is mere assembling, 

which contribute very little 

to the economy," he said. 

Meanwhile, Coscharis 

chairman, Dr. Maduka, maintained 

that Nigeria has no reasons 

importing used vehicles, 

which in his view, amounts to 

working against the growth of 

the auto industry. 

“In the 70s, “no one was buying 

used vehicles. If the government 

is willing to make 

things happen, they must ban 

importation of used vehicles. As 

I am speaking here, we have 

for long assembled 500 cars that 

cannot be sold.” 

He challenged the Federal 

Government to make up its mind 

as to what it wants to do and 

achieve. 

He added: “And as I have said 

at several occasions, no woman 

will deliver a child without going 

through pain and without 

losing blood, even if delivered 

by caesarean. If you ban the 

used vehicles now, the auto assemblers 

will be able to sell more 

and increase volumes." 

“Initially, it will be painful, but 

at the long run, prices of vehicles 

will come down, and today’s 

new vehicles will become 

tomorrow’s used vehicles. In 

other words, those interested in 

buying used vehicles will have 

them available in a matter of 

three, four years.” 

For Mr. Boyi, Managing Director, 

PAN Nigeria and Deputy 

Chairman, Nigeria Automotive 

Manufacturers Association, 

NAMA: “All government need 

do is increase tariff on used vehicles, 

assist Nigerian vehicle 

buyers by supporting vehicle 

finance scheme as spelt out in 

the policy, and as it was in the 

1970s and 80s’. 

“Let us look at what made the 

first auto policy work in the 70s 

and 80s. Had the government 

remained steadfast, there would 

have been no need for another 

auto policy." 

“And I will like to add that you 

do not just make imported used 

vehicles more expensive, also 

ensure that vehicle importation 

record is linked with vehicle 

registration. In other words, create 

a central record that will contain 

data of vehicles imported, 

for which the appropriate duties 

are paid. That will shut the 

door against vehicle smuggling.” 

Mr. Thomas Pelletier, Managing 

director, CFAO Automotive 

Equipment and Services Ltd, 

supported imposing higher tariff 

on imported used vehicles 

and asked the government to 

discourage automobiles from 

coming through the land borders. 

“It is not right for duties on 

imported used vehicles to be 

lower than that of brand new 

vehicles,” he argued. “Rather, 

custom duties on used and new 

vehicles should be at par. 

“Beyond that, there is a need 

to ban importation of used vehicles 

through land borders. 

And the Federal Government 

should create an enabling environment 

for auto finance.” 

Mr. Tokunbo Aromolaran, 

Managing Director, VON Automobile 

and Chairman 

NAMA, suggested progressive 

ban on used vehicles as 

the way forward. 

He said: “The fact is that it is 

abnormal to have a very small 

market such as we have at the 

moment. It is so because used 

vehicles are holding the chunk 

of the market. For the auto 

policy to succeed, used vehicles 

should not be competing 

with locally assembled vehicles. 

The least the government 

can do is impose a levy as envisaged 

in the auto policy. 

“Also, assemblers should 

come up with affordable cars, 

which can be churned out in 

numbers. At the same time, the 

government should ban used 

cars gradually, not at once.” 

He suggested a policy that 

would restrict importation of 

vehicles via the nation’s sea 

ports only. 

“Smuggling cannot be controlled 

if we continue to allow 

vehicles from Cotonou,” Aromolaran 

added. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


periscope 

Our Ikorodu 

massacre story, 

by monarch, Oba 

Ajibade Agoro 

•’Why militants went 

after Lagos/Ogun 

border residents’ 

C 

M 

YK 

The Ayangburen of Ikorodu, 

Lagos State, Oba Adewale 

Shotobi, and the Ranodu of 

Imota, Oba Ajibade Agoro, on 

Monday, led other traditional rulers in 

Ikorodu Division on a sympathy visit 

to Primero Transport Services, 

operators of the damaged Bus Rapid 

Transit, BRT, buses, vandalized by 

miscreants, at its headquarters, in 

Ikorodu, following the mayhem that 

was triggered by the killing of a traffic 

hawker by a fast moving truck while 

trying to escape from law enforcement 

agents. Apparently irked by nefarious 

activities perpetrated around Ikorodu, 

Agoro expressed concerns and spoke 

with Sunday Vanguard on the invasion 

of Lagos, Ogun border communities 

around Ikorodu by suspected 

militants. 

Reason for incessant attacks 

It’s not a pleasure to be here because 

we are here to sympathise with the 

owners of the damaged BRT buses 

serving our area. We are concerned as 

traditional rulers of Ikorodu Division, 

as people of Ikorodu Division because 

these buses ply our route. 

Where this happened, from the 

reports we gathered, was between Ketu 

and Maryland, along Ikorodu Road 

and this is why we are concerned. One 

can not quantify the loss the owner 

sustained on the damaged buses. We 

have inspected the damaged 48 buses. If 

they want to put them back on the road, 

it will cost millions and this is why we 

are concerned. 

We are only praying God to spare us 

this type of unbecoming attitude to the 

economic development of Ikorodu. We 

know Ikorodu Division is becoming 

metropolitan, and we are not criminals, 

but we know that we have many people 

now who do not belong here but are 

residents here and there is no way we 

cannot have this type of situation. We 

are only appealing to them as much as 

we want to habour them, they should 

maintain our long standing good name. 

Of recent, there was a report about 

Ikorodu which was disheartening to 

our people. The report termed us 

criminals and this stemmed from the 

vandalisation of oil pipelines. 

Perpetrrator of armed robbery, 

The Neigbourhood 

Watchers, who first 

responded to the 

massacre, were over 

powered. They 

could not withstand 

the militants 

superior fire power 

kidnapping, ritual killing, among others 

are not indigenes of Ikorodu. 

What happened in the case of 

vandalisation of the buses was because 

of street trading. I know if our people 

were involved, they would be a minute 

percentage. We are not happy making 

this kind of visit to sympathise with the 

bus operators. It’s a colossal loss. The 

buses have ben run aground and if 

they must return to the road, millions 

of Naira would be spent and this 

could have been used to prosecute 

other profitable ventures. If it’s not 

for a company with financial muzzle 

it would be the end of their 

operation. If they don’t have the 

financial wherewithal, they would 

just be run aground and this will be 

to our disadvantage in Ikorodu 

Division. 

Therefore, we are appealing to 

residents to maintain the peace, we 

are no criminals; we habour them, 

we are very accommodating because 

of our closeness to the city of Lagos. 

We don’t want to shy away from our 

responsibilities; so they should think 

of us for according them warm 

reception, reciprocate our gesture by 

not vandalizing our economic 

mainstay and, thereby, abstaining 

from giving us a bad name. 

We only sympathise with the 

operators of this company that God 

will replenish their purse so that 

they can put the buses back on the 

road within the shortest possible 

time for the betterment of our 

people and indeed Lagosians. 

On the criminalization of Ikorodu 

people, we want to tell the world 

that we are no criminals here, but 

because this happened along 

Ikorodu Road, there is no way we 

can remove ourselves from the 

incident. Law is made to be obeyed; 

if you go against the law and you 

are caught, but you don’t blame 

government. If you don’t trample 

upon the law, nobody will chase you 

about. They should obey our laws in 

Lagos and not turn Lagos into a 

jungle city where people go about 

without regulation and no 

government will tolerate that. The 

people should think of us the host 

before committing any crime 

because the blame will be on us. We 

only pray God to stop recurrence 

of all these violence and crimes. 

On measures in place to stop 

further violence 

We have made representation to 

government and, in this type of 

situation, there is little or nothing 

we can do as human beings. What 

happened in Ogijo, Ishawo, among 

our other communities, about two 

weeks ago, there was nothing 

anybody could have done about it. 

No one will wake up and dare to 

face armed men, it is the police 

who can do that. There is battalion 

of the Nigeria Army called 24 

Motorized Battalion, in 

Odogunyan; therefore, we are using 

this opportunity to call on the 

authorities to come to our aid 

because we are helpless. Who can 

go and face men armed with AK-47 

rifles because he is a traditional 

ruler or a chief? We are helpless. 

We have made representation to 

government for their intervention. 

Youths’ engagement 

Our representatives in government, 

recently, organized seminars to interact 

with youths. Hon, Babajimi Benson, 

representing Ikorodu in the House of 

Representatives, organized one and 

S.O.B Agunbiade, Kunle Solaja, 

representing us in the state House of 

Assembly did one too. 

In modern times, there is little or 

nothing traditional rulers can do 

because the economic manpower and 

resources are controlled by 

government. Therefore, it is the 

government we will call upon to create 

more jobs for our youths. On our own 

part, through our representatives, we 

are trying for the youths, sponsoring 

courses, seminars, empowerment 

among others. These are the little we 

can do to support government. But 

bulk of it lies with the government. It 

has the economic power to do it, it 

was like those days when kings had the 

power on economic policies and 

resources of their communities; it is 

not so in modern day times. So we are 

appealing to government to do so, 

though, they are trying. 

On militants attack 

We are collaborating with Ogun and 

Lagos State governments because the 

communities affected are on the 

periphery of Ogun State. These people 

(attackers) confessed that it was 

because our people exposed them 

when they went to vandalized oil 

pipelines that they started killing 

them. 

Meanwhile, to stop the killing, the 

police authorities have established a 

special squad to patrol the area and 

glory be to God the attack has 

stopped. 

The Neigbourhood Watchers, who 

first responded to the massacre, were 

over powered. They could not 

withstand the militants superior fire 

power. Even the police ran away in the 

first instance; it was when the newly 

formed squad arrived that the 

situation was brought under control. 

Permanent solution to invasion and 

violence in Ikorodu 

We will consult our ancestors 

because it has never been like this. We 

will consult the ancestors, appease 

them in order to ward off this type of 

misfortune. It’s highly necessary to 

bring back normalcy, peace, love and 

what have that used to pervade in 

Ikorodu.


Celebrity Couple 

I TOLD MY WIFE... 

Get pregnant or 

forget marriage 

– Nollywood producer, Fidelis Duker 

C 

M 

YK 

Nollywood producer and founder of Abuja International Film Festival, Fidelis Duker, 

is enjoying the benefit of early marriage. He kept his vow when he impregnated his 

wife,Temitope, at a very young age, and went ahead to marry her despite the odds. 

Today, the couple are better off for it, as their children are all grown up. Their first daughter 

will be 20 in another two years when they will be marking their twentieth wedding anniversary. 

In this encounter, Fidelis recounts some of the challenges he faced with his wife four years 

into marriage and how they were able to overcome the dark moments. On her part, Temitope 

says “marrying early was a blessing in disguise.” 

Ahead of the 20th wedding 

anniversary 

Do we really have any plan to 

celebrate our 20th wedding 

anniversary? I think every year is 

a passing phase for us. I keep 

telling people, especially those in 

the movie industry where you we 

cases of breaking of marriages 

after one or two years, that there 

is no perfect marriage. The first 

two years after we got married, 

we had turbulent times. We met in 

1995, so between then and now, 

we have had 21 years of 

interacting with each other. And 

we have been married for more 

than 18 years now. 

I think celebrating 20 years in 

marriage is a landmark . But the 

good thing about celebrating our 

20th wedding anniversary will be 

that my eldest daughter will be 20 

years as well, and she will be 

graduating from the university 

then. My second daughter will 

almost clock 19 years . That 

would be our celebration. It’s not 

about the number of years we 

have spent together. We are 

looking at even spending many 

more years together. I have always 

advised young couples that they 

should look beyond the glamour 

attached to marriage . You 

should see your wife as your 

friend. That’s why if you ask my 

friends like Fred Amata, Zeb Ejiro 

and others, they keep saying my 

wife is my confidant. She’s always 

among my friends. As a matter of 

fact, she rarely has her own 

friends. She’s complaining now 

that I dragged her into my 

industry and she has now become 

friends of my friends as well. I think 

that’s what has kept us going. We 

have not kept anything from each 

other. 

Growing up with her 

I 

met her when she was very 

young. I grew up with her. And 

she’s complaining now that she 

never enjoyed her young age. 

That’s why she can’t wait to see 

her children finish their education 

so that those things she missed as 

a young girl, she wants to enjoy 

them now. She never had the 

opportunity to mingle with people 

as she went into marriage very 

early. The only friend my wife 

knew as a young girl then was me. 

It is very rare to see somebody 

who married at a very young age 

to keep the marriage. Even her 

friends then were very scared when 

we first got married. 

Fear of losing her 

It wasn’t really the fear of losing 

her to another man that made 

me to marry her at that young 

age. Sincerely, while growing up, 

I made two vows, one, that I would 

never live outside the shores of the 

country no matter the opportunity 

and, second, any woman that got 

pregnant for me would 

automatically become my wife; 

even if she was not be ready to 

marry me, I would insist on 

marrying her. So, we courted for 

about a year and a half before 

she took in for me. Most of my 

friends who were not thinking of 

going into marriage then thought 

something was wrong with me. 

When I made the vow that any 

woman I would date and later get 

pregnant for me would become 

my wife, I didn’t want to break 

the vow, even though I was dating 

other girls. At that time, I was a 

bit comfortable as I had started 

making films. I felt the only thing 

left for me was to get married. In 

fact, it was my car that I used on 

my wedding day. The economic 

situation was a bit conducive at 

that time in 1998. I was less than 

30 years and you can imagine the 

kind of risk I took. But I was ready 

to go into marriage. I think I 

became matured very early. When 

my friends and colleagues in the 

industry were not ready to go into 

marriage, I took the bull by the 

horn. I only worked for somebody 

in a computer firm for six months 

in my entire life. 

Parents support 

I 

think my dad was 

pretending, but my mum 

supported me. When I told her 

that my wife was pregnant for me, 

my mum asked me if I really 

wanted to marry her? I answered 

in the affirmative. Unfortunately, 

my mum died one or two years 

after our marriage. For my dad, 

he was indifferent as he never 

really encouraged me. He wasn’t 

pleased with my decision even 

though he didn’t make it known 

to me. Also, my father in-law 

never wanted the marriage 

because my wife is the only child 

of her parents. And she was still in 

school then. But like my mum, her 

mum also stood by her and 

ensured that she didn’t abort the 

baby. 

Challenges of early 

marriage 

Our first four years in 

marriage was one of the 

toughest part of my entire life. 

After our wedding, we lost our 

apartment, and my car was 

damaged beyond repairs by one 

of my friends who had an accident 

I married my friend — Temitope 

Challenges of early marriage 

I 

married my friend in the first place. Of 

course, early marriage comes with a lot of 

challenges. But the most important thing is 

to understand that you are in a relationship 

with it. My office was the only 

thing I had left. But the irony of it 

is that nobody knew what my wife 

and I were passing. I was 

practically living in my office with 

my wife. Early in the morning, we 

would take our bath before staff 

would resume duties, and after 

work, we would stay back. 

Sometimes, we would stay with 

my friend who was then living in 

Yaba. While we were passing 

through the hard times, my wife 

didn’t give up on me, neither did 

my friends know our 

predicaments. For eight months, 

we were homeless. Most of my 

friends will be shocked to hear this 

for the first time. Finally, we rented 

an apartment in Ijaye, on the 

outskirts of Lagos, and moved 

into the house. But all this while, 

my wife stood by me and never 

regretted her decision to marry 

me. 

Hurting wife 

I 

have done a lot of things that 

hurt her. Apart from cheating 

on your wife, there are other 

things you can do to hurt her. Your 

wife might expect a gift from you 

on her birthday, and you forget to 

buy her a gift year after year. 

Definitely she will feel hurt. But 

one thing I like about hurting my 

wife is that she’s quick to forgive 

and forget. She’s my best friend 

and my everything. 

and you want it to work. And above all, you 

must love your partner. One of the 

disadvantages of early marriage is that, while 

your age mates are enjoying their time, you 

were already committed. You missed out that 

youthful exuberance. 

For example, at the time I got married, I had 

a lot of friends who were beginning to 

experience life. But those things I didn’t enjoy 

due to early marry, God has given me the 

opportunity to enjoy them now. What I didn’t 

enjoy as a young girl, life has given back to me 

now. 

Ready for marriage 

I 

married very early when my age mates were 

not dreaming of going into marriage. I wasn’t 

ready at the time I got married. Though we had 

challenges along the line, we were able to 

overcome those challenges. On the part of 

my parents, it was not easy for them to welcome 

the idea. That is why I ensured that my 

marriage is a success. Like I used to tell young 

girls, marriage means commitment. You must 

love and respect your husband: know what 

makes him happy and the things he doesn’t like. 

Other women in his life 

At the time I met him, I wasn’t aware of any 

woman in his life. Maybe he was very 

careful to keep me in the dark about it. But I 

would have still married him if I knew he had a 

woman. And if he had been into drinking and 

smoking, nothing would have made me to 

marry him. 

What she doesn’t like 

That would too personal. But I would like 

him to work on his temperament.


•Prof. Sola Adorounmu 

THE President of the 

Nigerian Computer Society, 

NCS, Prof. Sola Adorounmu has 

warned that Nigeria will continue 

to remain in the digital colony of 

other countries of the world unless 

her national security is protected 

and managed by the indigenous 

IT professionals. 

The President of NCS who 

dropped this hint recently in Lagos 

while unfolding details of the 

2016 NCS national conference 

holding next week in Abuja said 

that advancing national safety 

and security, innovation and 

innovation, inclusion and 

networking security among others 

will top discussion at the forum. . 

While condemning the 

engagement of foreigners in 

handling Nigeria’s national 

THOSE who think that 

software products 

developed in Nigerian cannot be 

retooled for global 

competitiveness market should 

better have a rethink. 

Just recently, Team Humane 

under World Citizenship from 

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- 

Ife, Osun State, Nigeria was 

among 35 teams from around the 

world selected to contest at the 

2016 Microsoft Imagine Cup 

world wide finals holding this 

month in Seattle, Washington, the 

United States of America. 

Microsoft Imagine Cup is the 

premier student technology 

program and competition, and a 

cornerstone of the Microsoft 

YouthSpark initiative. 

It would be recalled that more 

than 150 top teams from National 

Finals events had pitched on 

World Semifinals, where they were 

judged by a global panel of MVPs, 

industry experts and Microsoft 

staff. 

Meanwhile, Nigeria, South 

Africa and Tunisia will be flying 

African flag at the worldwide 

finals this summer in the United 

States of America. 

However, team Nigeria has a 

solution designed to help visually 

impaired navigate smartphones. 

The solution developed by the 

Nigerian Team comes with an 

accompanying hardware known 

as the Humane handle, which 

interacts with apps installed on a 

device using Bluetooth. 

One thing is clear. With their 

impressive outing at the regional 

level, there were convincing 

NCS to FG: Do not 

outsource Nigeria’s 

national security to 

foreign IT vendors 

security, he said that, NCS has 

always advocated that the usage 

of IT in security needs to be 

improved through more 

widespread adoption of IT 

professionalism in the private and 

public sectors. 

He assured that NCS and its 

members could play a major role 

in improving the state of security 

nationwide, combating terrorism, 

enhancing public service delivery 

and accountability and boosting 

job creation. 

“The national conference will 

provide a multi-stakeholder 

forum to examine pertinent 

considerations in achieving IT 

enabled Security to advance and 

achieve sustainable development. 

engagement opportunities will be 

explored during the Conference to 

signals that they will make 

Nigeria proud at the global stage. 

This development has positive 

signals for Nigeria as the only 

country in the West African subregion 

to qualify for worldwide 

finals. Besides that, for three years 

running, Nigeria has been 

making it for global finals. 

While government of Nigeria 

and the private sector are yet to 

plug the low hanging technology 

fruit in tech start-ups, solutions 

developed by Nigerian 

technology students have 

continued to be the toast of 

international community. 

Just last year during Microsoft 

Imagine Cup contest in Seattle, 

Washington, , Team Nigeria’s 

AsthmaVisor solution attracted 

Edited by EMEKA AGINAM 

Email: emekaaginam@yahoo.com 08057538314 

present and develop effective 

strategies, creative approaches 

and practical solutions. 

Engaging 

foreigners in 

handling 

Nigeria’s 

national security 

is dangerous 

Advancing the IT industry and 

profession 

He disclosed that the conference 

will focus on issues related 

including National Database – 

Integral to National Security, IT 

and the National Security 

Strategy, Universal Broadband 

Access – the Security Imperative, 

among others. 

Warning on the dangers of 

outsourcing the country’s 

national security, he informed that 

Microsoft attention after their live 

presentation. 

During the time in question, 

Microsoft Corporation had 

expressed interest on the 

possibilities of working with Team 

LifeWatch from Nigeria on their 

AsthmaVisor solution designed to 

supervise asthmatic patients. 

This development has shown 

that Nigerian indigenous solution 

can be retooled to the 

international market if given 

opportunity and the right 

platform. 

We are ready for global 

showcase 

Speaking on the level of their 

preparedness, the spokesperson of 

Team Humane, Ayodele 

Obasegun Tekena assured that 

NCS was preparing for the best 

and has assembled an impressive 

line-up of leading researchers, 

entrepreneurs, educators, industry 

experts, thought leaders, 

international scholars, among 

others to share their extensive 

knowledge and experience on 

“Information Technology for 

National Safety and Security” as 

the theme of the national 

conference. 

Conference to boost national 

safety and security 

“With the technology and 

innovation expertise, insights and 

thought leadership that will 

abound, NCS is certain that the 

outcomes will boost National 

Safety and Security in Nigeria. It 

will provide the best and most 

modern answers to Nigeria’s 

security challenges”, he explained. 

Also speaking, Jide Awe , 

Innovation and Development 

Advisor, ICT and the Chairman, 

Conferences committee, Nigeria 

Computer Society (NCS) said that 

national security is about 

protecting the nation’s interests, 

warning that it is dangerous and 

extreme vulnerability to keep the 

country’s vital interests, including 

the the economy, military, 

cyberspace, borders, among 

others in the hands of external 

powers. 

Imagine Cup: We are ready for global showcase — Team Nigeria 

FROM LEFT: Team Nigeria: Otalu Babatunde, Victor Shoaga, 

Obasegun Ayode, and Oyatope Blessing, Team Humane from Obafemi 

Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in a short demo shortly after they were 

announced as the national winners recently at the Microsoft office in 

Lagos . They will compete in the world stage this Month in Seattle, 

Washington.. Photo by Emeka Aginam. 

To solve the problem of 

unemployment crisis facing 

the country, U-Connect, a human 

resources e-commerce platform 

they were ready for global 

showcase. 

“We have upgraded Humane to 

include state of the art 

technologies such as AI for facial 

and scene recognition. We are 

also concluding partnerships with 

resume and job search companies 

which would help advance our 

solution as regards helping the 

visually impaired apply for jobs. 

We have increased the app base of 

the solution to fit educational 

use”, he said. 

Test run 

“We also plan on carrying a 

market survey where the Humane 

solution will be tested on about 

1000 to 5000 persons. This survey 

would span for two weeks along 

sides the development survey. 

To compete at world stage is the 

beginning is the beginning of our 

global competitiveness. 

“ We are defining standards that 

will pilot innovation for the 

visually impaired”. 

Solution has global 

competitiveness 

For the Developer Experience & 

Evangelism Director, Microsoft 

Nigeria, Shina Oyetosho, the 

solution developed by these 

students has the capability to 

compete globally. 

“Microsoft is committed in 

empowering students to become 

the next generation of innovators, 

entrepreneurs and developers, the 

competition inspires student 

developers around the world to 

create innovative solutions that 

change the way we live, work and 

play while also growing the skills 

they need to pursue a future in 

technology.” 

The implication 

“By putting your national 

security in the hands of external 

external interests the nation is at 

the mercy such interests. 

“It is against the very concept of 

our own national security. With 

our national security in their 

hands,they could exploit the 

situation to favour their 

companies, industries and global 

aspirations while at the same time 

undermining Nigeria and 

keeping us at a disadvantage. 

“It is risky to assume external 

interests will care more about your 

local concerns who have a direct 

stake in Nigeria. Forward looking 

nations always ensure that there 

is significant local content in 

national security”., he stated. 

Identifying gaps 

He said that Nigeria has 

indigenous solutions in some 

aspects of national security. 

“There is however a need to 

identify gaps in critical aspects 

and develop a strategy to build 

local capacity and invest in 

research. 

“There is also a growing global 

market in IT enabled security and 

it isn’t in Nigeria’s interest to be 

on consuming end. Building local 

capacity in security can enable tap 

into the global opportunities as 

well”, Awe said. 

U-Connect to bridge gap between 

Job seekers, employers 

has unveiled a portal Gr8jobsng 

portal to bridge the gap between 

Job seekers and employers and 

give them the ability to reach their 

full potential. 

The Gr8jobsng platform 

provides an enabling structure 

that allows Job seekers the 

opportunity to present themselves 

in efficient and effective manner 

whilst capturing the attention of 

different employers. 

The platform also allows 

employers to effectively and 

efficiently select Job seekers that 

embody the values, competencies 

and experience, they are looking 

for. 

This platform, according to the 

promoters, is a key enabler to 

solving the recruitment and 

career progression challenges of 

both the employer and the job 

seekers, which will positively 

impact on them and the larger 

Nigerian economy. 

The solution is tailored to 

address the needs of Small and 

Medium Scale Enterprises 

(SME’s), Multinationals 

Companies (MNCs) and 

International Companies by 

giving them access to top notch 

HR Service, qualified employees 

thereby improving the quality of 

employment in their respective 

businesses and the country as a 

whole. Equipped to cater to Job 

Seekers, employers and 

professional training institutes, 

the platform makes World-class 

HR services Available, Accessible 

and Affordable to all Users. 

“We strongly believe that these 

three groups hold the fate of the 

Nigerian economy and once we 

have an employable and equipped 

populace the full potentials of the 

country can be reached. To have 

built a solution that caters directly 

to them in helping them grow is a 

source of pride for me.


healthy living 

BY OLAYINKA LATONA 

Oluyemisi Alatise was recently 

elected in Manchester, United 

Kingdom as President of 

International Inner Wheel, IIW, one 

of the largest women’s service 

voluntary organisations in the world, 

active in more than 103 countries and 

has over 103,000 members in its 94 

years of existence. IIW draws its 

membership primarily from the wives 

of Rotarians and other female 

professionals. Occupying the lofty 

position that comes to Africa, 

especially to a Nigerian woman for 

the first time in history, Alatise, who 

will pilot the club till 2017, took over 

from Mrs. Charlotte de Vos of 

Belgium. 

In this interview, Alatise recounts 

how she emerged the President of 

IIW, and her childhood which gave 

her entrepreneurial skills and 

philanthropist lifestyle. 

How do you feel becoming the first 

African or, better still, the first 

Nigerian woman to occupy the 

highest position in IIW? 

I feel delighted, I feel humbled 

because, whilst I was active in Inner 

Wheel, I was not working because I 

wanted to be the President, but I 

enjoyed what I was doing. I enjoy 

serving humanity and it just fell on 

my laps. 

Was there any friction, campaign 

challenges or battle during the 

election? 

There was no battle because you did 

not even see your voters and our 

voting was done by postal system, you 

could not rig or canvass. Not that we 

gathered in a place and members 

were asked whether they liked a 

contestant or not. Your country 

nominates you and the nomination 

will be sent to the administrative 

department where it will be circulated 

to countries all over the world. Then 

from the nominees, members will 

choose, through the postal system, the 

person they want as their President. 

Therefore, there is no way you can 

know your voters; you are seen and 

assessed by your activities through 

your curriculum vitae which details 

where you have served and what you 

have done. 

What impact do you think your 

emergence as IIW President will 

have on African women? 

For Nigerian women, I am publishing 

a book that has contributions from 

about 42 countries and focuses on 

female privileges, challenges and 

abuse of girls and women. We are not 

a political group, hence we cannot 

force an enactment but we can create 

awareness that women are 

endangered species right from the 

womb. In some countries, when they 

realize you are pregnant and you are 

going to have a girl-child, such 

pregnant will be aborted. If they did 

not know the sex, once the baby is 

delivered, she will be killed. If a girl 

escaped that as an infant, her genital 

is mutilated in different forms while 

some other girls are forced into childmarriage. 

We are going to expose all these ills 

in the book for more awareness on the 

need to put an end to all the negative 

Mutilators of 

female genitals 

can’t hide anymore 

– Alatise, International Inner Wheel President 

In some parts of the 

world, if the parents did 

not mutilate their girls, 

the girls later on 

mutilate themselves 

because men refuse to 

marry them out of the 

fear that the sexual urge 

of unmutilated women 

cannot be controlled 

practices against the girl-child and 

women in our country and Africa in 

general. 

I do not understand why a woman 

should allow anybody to mutilate her 

daughter, we are going to stop the 

vicious cycle because if it was done to 

the mother, then it must not be done 

to the girl-child. The practice is wrong 

and does not have any medical 

advantage on the girl. That is why 

there is the need to educate upcoming 

mothers not to allow their daughters 

to be mutilated just because it was 

done to them. It is paramount that we 

save the girl-child, especially in Africa 

because it is disheartening that in 

some parts of the world, if the parents 

did not mutilate their girls, the girls 

later on mutilate themselves because 

men refuse to marry them out of the 

fear that the sexual urge of 

unmutilated women cannot be 

controlled, and it has been proved 

that female genital mutilation can 

only make a woman insatiable. 

How do you feel when you see kids 

on the street hawking? 

Hawking is part of child abuse. But, 

on the other hand, there is no harm 

teaching a child how to trade but 

such child must be guided. I was a 

street hawker as a little girl; my 

mother used to trade in Jankara 

Market in Lagos while we lived in 

Rika. When I closed from school by 

I.30pm, I will go to my father’s stall 

and help him till around 5pm. From 

there I will go to my mother’s stall 

where she will give me some wares to 

sell on my way home and I will sell. 

But my mother would educate me on 

the route that I must 

follow and warn me 

seriously not to 

follow anybody 

inside to sell my 

wares. There is no 

harm doing it, 

parents just need to 

educate the children 

not to follow any 

customer inside 

because we have to be 

street-wise to avoid 

the dangers involved 

in street hawking. 

We cannot continue to 

pamper the girls and push 

the boys. If you pamper the 

girls, you are sending them 

to the world where they will be 

pushed because if you did not 

push the girls, they will eventually 

get to the world where they will 

be pushed to the corner. 

But some sell till late 

in the night 

I do not support 

that. I will 

advise 

parents to 

reduce the zeal to use their children 

to look for money, hawking is not all 

about looking for money. The 

minimum their children can get 

within a reasonable time should be 

enough for them and they should not 

exploit the girl-child because, in 

doing so, they are exposing her to 

danger. 

What is your view on the banning of 

street trading in Lagos? 

I support the ban because I was 

talking of 50 years ago and Lagos was 

not the way it is now, it is a different 

case now. The Lagos where I grew up 

in, we walked on the street by 10pm 

and nobody will disturb you. The ban 

is for the safety of the child, the 

parent and the society; such children 

are being protected from harm and 

moral danger. 

Advice to Nigerians especially the 

women folk 

My advice is not only for Nigerian 

woman but also to everyone that 

whatever we like 

to do for the 

betterment of 

our country 

and society, 

we should 

do it without 

thinking of 

the monetary 

aspect 

because other 

successes will 

follow it. 

Theme for tenure 

The theme is 

‘Touch a heart’, I 

believe in 

anything one 

does, 

•Mrs Alatise 

should be done with kindness. Touch 

a Heart is more than a philosophy of 

the mind; it is a philosophy of the 

spirit because you cannot touch a 

heart; when it becomes touchable, then 

it is diseased. You can only touch a 

heart emotionally, by your words and 

deeds. You can touch a heart by 

listening, not necessarily giving 

advice, just listening to someone 

pouring emotions out, with patience. 

Giving someone a put on the back, a 

warm hug, when there is no one to 

acknowledge, can give the courage to 

move a mountain. A wink of an eye 

means you can do it. The smile 

expressed by the recipient of your 

kindness is an experience more 

powerful than words. 

To become acquainted with touching a 

heart, one must be prepared to learn 

new things, and feel new feelings. It is 

good to touch other people’s hearts 

subtly, not allowing our tongues to 

hurt those around us or hurt ourselves 

but rather be kind with our words.


By JAPHET ALAKAM 

LITERATURE 

Again, experts have 

identified the neglect of 

Nigerian languages and culture 

as the bane of its crippled 

development. This was the 

submission of scholars who spoke 

during the 2016 Authors’ forum 

organised by the famous 

publishers, University Press Plc 

at the ancient city of Ibadan. 

The forum which is a yearly 

opportunity for authors to 

celebrate themselves and reflect 

on their roles as nation builders, 

this year focussed on ways of 

sustaining local languages, 

particularly by transmitting it to 

the young generation. 

The event was graced by 

notable scholars like Emeritus 

Professors Ayo Banjo, Femi 

Osofisan, Ayo Bamgbose and Dr. 

Lalekan Are, Chairman of UP Plc, 

who also chaired the event. 

Others present were,; Eze Prof. 

Chukwuemeka Ike, Professors 

Akachi Ezeigbo, Akinwunmi 

Ishola, Niyi Osundare, Duro 

Adeleke and many others. 

In his opening remarks, Dr Are 

said “This year’s Author’s Forum 

will be discussing the neglect of 

Nigerian languages and culture. 

Language is more than just a 

means of communication. It 

influences our culture and even 

our thought processes. On a 

deeper level, language is an 

expression of who we are as 

individuals, communities and 

nations. Culture refers to 

dynamic social systems and 

shared patterns of behaviours, 

beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and 

values. He then lambasted 

parents , especially younger ones 

who are in the habit of speaking 

to children in borrowed 

languages. “I am ashamed of our 

young people of child bearing 

age. They are the people 

responsible for the 

disappearance of our local 

languages, when they have kids, 

they don’t speak our local 

languages to them.” 

“Remember that you can only 

learn fast and think deeply in your 

own mother tongue. Being able 

By PRISCA SAM-DURU 

FESTIVAL 

As the world eagerly awaits a 

Nigerian perspective on the 

Choral Music Art, The Director 

General, National Council for 

Arts and Culture, Mrs Dayo 

Keshi has been speaking on the 

essence of such festival stressing 

that the initiation of Choralfest 

as well as its format today 

remains one of the fastest 

growing forms of tourism 

activities which is becoming 

incresingly popular. 

Keshi disclosed this during a 

press conference heralding the 

2016 Choralfest Nigeria 

holding in conjunction with 

Music guru and traditional ruler 

of Oko, Anambra State, Igwe 

(Prof) Laz Ekwueme; Tope 

Babayemi, Ayo Bankole and 

Babafemi Ogundipe aka B-Clef. 

The staging of Choralfest she 

explained, is in furtherance of 

the Council’s commitment in 

contributing to the present 

Administration’s determination 

to effectively respond to the 

various economic challenges 

through youth empowerment, 

rural transformation and 

diversification of the nation’s 

Neglect of mother tongue,culture, 

bane of Nigeria’s devt — Experts 

to communicate in your mother 

tongue and at the same time 

proficient in English are not 

mutually exclusive. It is believed 

that if primary education were in 

the people’s mother tongue it 

would be much easier to learn 

English as a second language and 

be truly bilingual. In our days, the 

only language of instruction in 

school the first two years, 

irrespective of your ethnic 

background, was in the mother 

tongue. You must learn in the 

language of your immediate 

environment. 

“Therefore, we must all 

cultivate the habit of speaking to 

our children in our mother tongue 

at home and facilitate the 

learning of indigenous language 

in schools”. 

In his presentation, the guest 

lecturer, Bamgbose who spoke on 

We must cultivate 

the habit of 

speaking to our 

children in our 

mother tongue at 

home 

the topic ‘Neglect of Nigerian 

Languages and Culture: Counting 

the Cost’stated that, “Nigerian 

languages and culture are losing 

their status under English 

dominance in such places as the 

home, school, and social events. 

Neglect of Nigerian languages 

and culture underlies many of the 

ills plaguing Nigeria”. Adding, 

that the rationalizations for the 

neglect included the fact that the 

country has no local common 

language of communication, 

inadequate terminology for most 

modern expressions, and the need 

for modernization and 

globalization. 

He, cited examples of countries 

Choralfest boosts youth empowerment, wealth 

creation - Keshi, DG, NCAC 

•R-L, NCAC DG, Mrs Dayo Keshi; Prof Laz Ekwueme, Ayo Bankole 

and Babayemi Babatope during the conference in Lagos 

sources of revenue generation, 

Adding, “Coupled with this, is my 

policy thrust of leveraging on the 

abundant potentials in the 

cultural industries, especially in 

the areas of festivals for use 

towards youth empowerment and 

wealth creation in areas for which 

Nigeria has a very strong 

comparative advantage. To tap 

into this great potential, NCAC 

is fine tuning strategies towards 

the staging at least on National 

festival each in 6 Geo-Political 

Zones of the Federation aimed at 

L–R:Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo; Eze Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike; 

Chairman, University Press Plc, Dr. Lalekan Are; MD, UP Plc, Mr. 

Samuel Kolawole and guest lecturer, Emeritus Professor Ayo 

Bamgbose at the event 

like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, 

Japan and China who use their 

languages fully without the 

excuses and are technologically 

advanced. 

According to him, in the past 

mother tongue served the 

educational needs of pupils in 

the first three or four years in 

primary schools before English 

was introduced as a subject in 

later years. This makes the 

pupils to be thoroughly 

grounded in mother tongue 

before receiving instruction in 

English and that result to 

proper understanding of 

concepts taught in various 

subjects. 

Citing the example of the 

1930’s Church Missionary 

Society’s Iwe Kika readers that 

covered various subjects, 

Bamgbose, debunked the usual 

argument that African 

languages lacked adequate 

terms for modern concepts. 

Continuing, Bamgbose 

pointed out that the gains of the 

past have been eroded and 

blamed the federal government 

for the introduction of 

Universal Free Education of the 

Western Region that reduced 

primary school from eight years 

to six, thereby cutting off the first 

few years when mother tongue 

was used as medium of 

accelerating the commercial 

and economic activities of such 

Zones. The festival in view are 

National Durbar, National 

Masquerade, National Boat 

Regatta and National Textile 

and Fashion fair festivals. 

Choralfest in partnership with 

the corporate sponsors is one 

way of improving and 

contributing to the festival 

landscape in Nigeria as well as 

maximising their economic 

and non-economic impacts. 

“This year’s festival coming up 

instruction. 

He also stated that failure to 

teach pupils in the language of the 

environment affects the 

performance of pupils as they find 

it difficult to grasp concepts in 

English, an action that leads to 

high failure rate in English and 

Mathematics. As a way out, he then 

proposed, “As an alternative to the 

current practice, a mother tongue 

or a language that a child already 

knows well could be the medium of 

instruction throughout primary 

education, with English only taught 

as a subject. 

“This has been tried out in 1970- 

80 at the now Obafemi Awolowo 

University, Ile-Ife, in a project 

known as the Six-Year Primary 

Project (SYPP) by a former Minister 

if Education, Prof. Babs Fafunwa, 

and the results have been 

impressive”. 

Apart from its effects on the 

pupils, Bamgbose said that the 

deteriorating use of English to the 

neglect of mother tongue has also 

affected the social and political 

space where it cuts the flow of 

information. As he put it, “An 

official language, such as English 

in Nigeria, puts many people at a 

disadvantage owing to lack of 

school education.” 

On governance, he noted that the 

use of English leaves many behind, 

as they cannot participate fully 

later in the year she noted, attracts 

participation from across the 6 

Geo-Political Zones. It will 

feature the unique, rich and 

spectacular Choral Music of the 

different ethnic backgrounds of 

the country. ” 

B-Clef also disclosed that 

guidelines will be sent to choirs 

nationwide in the 4 Zones while 

zonal competition begins in 3 

months time. Choirs outside the 

country will also be invited. 

Offering guests a glimpse of what 

to expect at the Choralfest, B-Clef 

and his choir rapped up the 

conference with renditions that 

travelled round Africa, South 

Africa, Ghana and then back to 

Nigeria rendering songs that 

represented three tribes in Nigeria 

with their roof shaking and goose 

pimples producing voices. 

In all the songs performed both in 

English and African languages, 

none was a match to the Igbo song 

‘Welu Obi Dimkpa 

kpahariba...’composed by the icon 

himself, Igwe Laz Ekwueme. It 

earned the choir, a standing 

o v a t i o n . 

during sitting as debates, bills, 

laws and electoral processes are 

conducted in an unfamiliar 

language. 

He then advocated for 

measures to empower Nigerian 

languages which include, 

“Implementation of language 

provisions of the Constitution, 

use of Nigerian languages in 

more situations such as a 

governor or a chairman of local 

council addressing a local 

community, commissioning of 

language experts for 

terminology creation, 

translation of more official 

documents into local 

languages.” 

Yvonne Okoro’s 

Ghana Must Go 

wins big at 

Golden Movie 

Awards 

By PRISCA SAM-DURU 

AWARD 

It was a day of joy for awardwinning 

Ghanaian/Nigerian 

actress, Yvonne Okoro as her 

romantic comedy, ‘Ghana Must 

Go’, won multiple awards at the 

Golden Movie Awards which 

took place at The Kempinski 

Hotel, Accra, Ghana over the 

weekend. 

The Golden Movie Awards is the 

biggest annual award ceremony 

honouring outstanding 

achievements in African 

Television and Digital media. 

The prestigious awards are 

administered by experts in 

Cinema and Television in 

Ghana. ‘Ghana Must Go’ won 4 

accolades including Best Actor 

(Kofi Adjorlolo); Best Actress 

(Yvonne Okoro); Best 

Supporting Actress (Doris 

Yvonne Okoro during the Awards 

in Ghana 

Sackitey), and Best Comedy of 

the Year. 

Delighted Okoro who 

appreciated all the other cast 

and crew members who made 

her dream a reality, dedicated 

the awards to her teeming fans 

in Ghana and Nigeria. 

‘Ghana Must Go’ tells the 

interesting story of two young 

lovers who are of Nigerian and 

Ghanaian origin. Yvonne 

Okoro plays the role of Ama, a 

London-based Ghanaian 

woman who brings her Nigerian 

boyfriend, Chuks (Blossom 

Chukwujekwu), home to meet 

her parents, much to the 

displeasure of her wealthy father. 

Ama’s parents refuse to give 

their blessing to their union, 

citing historical happenings 

between the neighbouring 

nations as reasons for their 

refusal. The series of events tests 

the love of the young couple in 

the most hilarious and 

unexpected fashion. 

The movie was released earlier 

in 2016 and has already enjoyed 

Box Office Success in Ghana. It 

is currently in Nigerian cinemas 

until August 2016.

SUNDAY Vanguard 

anguard, , JULY 10, , 2016, PAGE 

GE 33 

How many men after 30 years of marriage still love their wives? 

MEN are the strongest 

allies when protecting 

their philandering 

interests. Alex, an industrialist in 

his 60s recognized his first son’s 

potential as a businessman when 

he made brilliant success of his 

secondary school exams. Getting 

him a place in one of the 

universities abroad was a doddle. 

As soon as he finished his masters 

degree in business admin., Alex 

asked Francis, his son, to join the 

firm. “I was very happy to,” 

Francis said “as I’d helped several 

times when I was on vacation. 

“I was 25, the whole world at 

my feet when dad put me in 

charge of production, a 

department I’d always worked 

with from time to time. We were a 

family of six children and dad 

worshipped the earth mum walked 

on. A close knit family, we always 

shared each other’s success and 

pain. The day all this changed, I 

was in dad’s office, discussing 

very thorny problems when he left 

me to things and hurried to an 

appointment he had earlier. Still 

engrossed in figures, I absentmindedly 

picked up the phone 

when it rang and a female voice 

purred: ‘Hello darling 

workaholic. When are you 

showing your face here? Betty is 

anxious to show off the things you 

brought back for her from your 

last trip.’ ‘Excuse me’, I said, 

confused, ‘who exactly are you?’ 

Oh, I’m sorry’, said this cultured 

voice. ‘ thought the MD was still 

in his office. Could you tell him, 

Sola, his wife called?’ She then 

rang off. She obviously thought I 

was an ordinary member of staff. 

“I felt as if someone had hit me 

in the stomach. Of course, I 

guessed straight away that, Sola, 

the ‘wife’ was my dad’s mistress. 

But who was Betty? It took a lot of 

diplomacy to find out that most 

members of staff knew Sola as my 

dad’s second ‘wife’ and Betty was 

their daughter. That was when I 

realized a serpent had entered the 

garden of Eden my family lived 

in. Poor mum, she had left a 

promising nursing career to raise 

us kids. How could dad do this to 

her? To us? Over the years, he’d 

drummed it into his children how 

important it was to be above 

board and to be fair in how we 

deal with other human beings. 

Definitely, deceit was a sin as far 

as he 

knew. So where do we all go from 

here? I’m petrified thinking of 

confronting dad, not to talk of 

putting mum and my siblings in 

the picture. It would destroy the 

happy family we now take for 

granted ... “ I told Francis I would 

give his problem a thought. 

Then it occurred to me that I 

shouldn’t give the answers all of 

the time so I asked a few people. 

Yemisi, a married mother of three 

was the first to voice her opinion. 

She told me: “My first word 

which goes to the ‘baby’ graduate 

“is, he ain’t seen nothing yet! I find 

it difficult to believe we still have 

such a perfect gentleman like his 

father in Nigeria.’ 

“Apart from being a successful 

businessman, he caters well 

enough for his number one family 

and still loves his wife after almost 

thirty years of marriage. For this 

alone, he deserves the ‘Best father 

of the century’ award. He again 

tries as much as possible to keep 

his affairs from his family. This I 

believe he does not intend to keep 

from at least his first son for too 

long. If not he would not, have 

asked him to work for him 

knowing very well that his 

mistress visits his office that often. 

“I think this man is a father in a 

million. Though it is bad enough 

that he has a child outside his 

matrimonial home, but then let 

us search our minds and see. How 

many fathers have such affairs and 

still keep a happy home? How 

many men after thirty years of 

marriage still respect and love 

their wives that much? Not very 

many men have we known to deny 

such a story to a son they educated, 

clothed and fed. 

“If we all compare our family 

lives with this man’s (I don’t mean 

the newly married or those who 

are five years old in the biz) we 

would realize that this gentleman 

deserves an applause from us all. 

His advising his children to 

behave decently does not make 

him a hypocrite, after all, 

experience they say is the best 

teacher. So, I consider this man 

who has been in this type of mess 

the right person to advise the 

young ones. 

“To the big ‘baby’, I say grow up 

- and talk more to your old man 

about his ‘problem’. He needs 

your advice as much as you need 

his. I also wish you to write and 

publish your own love story after 

30 years of marriage. In the 

meantime, you should let a 

sleeping dog lie. When the time 

comes, you will be the one to tell 

and also give your old woman the 

heart to bear the shock of a 

supposed betrayal...” 

Justice’s male view is typical. 

He is 46 and a lecturer. According 

to him it is not a sin to get 

involved with another woman 

and rent a house for her while one 

is having an already wellestablished 

married home, 

provided one has the money. 

Polygamy is an indispensable 

African custom which we 

inherited from our ancestors. In 

the traditional society, a big man 

such as Alex is supposed to have 

not less than 20 wives. Polygamy 

is an inherited African cultural 

institution and it must continue 

to progress despite modem 

civilized habits and religious 

propaganda. 

“The fact that he advised his 

children to observe strict 

religious principles and run away 

from immoral and a scandalous 

behaviour does not mean that he 

himself is innocent. He wanted his 

children to live up to standard 

and have a promising future. 

“In my opinion, I would 

strongly advise the son not to tell 

his mother, but to try and be very 

friendly and intimate with Sola 

and his father, helping them 

sometimes to iron out their 

differences. The son would be 

termed absurd and unreasonable, 

if he instantly hates his father and 

Sola because of this. He will be a 

prodigal son, if he tells his 

mother. He must follow this 

advice, because he himself does 

not know which girls he would 

end up with in his search for 

marital bliss.” 

08052201867(Text Only) 

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bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 

08056180152, SMS only 

The nanny was a better option than his wife! 

YOU must have. 

lost count of 

stories you’ve 

been regaled with about 

the shenanigans of some 

husbands and the 

family’s nanny. 

Only, it is a 

heartbreaking reality for 

some wives. What does it 

feel like to be betrayed by 

the man you married 

with a woman living 

under your own roof? 

And what kind of man 

behaves in such a 

despicable way? Here, in 

a startling and brave 

account Roger, a lawyer 

in his mid-forties shares 

his reason for not only 

going after the maid, but 

getting married to her ... 

“Muji is not your runof-the-mill 

maid,” he 

says. “I know people will 

assume that I’ve had 

some sort of mid-life 

crisis in my mid-forties. 

But my feelings for Muji 

are anything but 

frivolous - and I didn’t 

do it lightly. My 

marriage to Rita, my wife 

of 18 years was breaking 

down, and falling in love 

with Muji just speeded 

things up. We got 

married in England and 

had three young children 

when Muji was sent to us 

as a possible help. She 

already had her OND 

and the plan was that 

she would make enough 

money within say three 

years to help her further 

her studies. 

“I don’t feel guilty 

about what happened 

because I didn’t go out 

looking for love. And it 

certainly hasn’t been 

easy. I’ve constantly 

worried about everything 

and the impact it will 

have - not just on the 

children, but also Fikayo 

my wife, and Muji. The 

person I was least 

worried about was me. 

Everyone tells my wife 

and me that they are 

amazed at how calmly we 

are dealing with the 

situation. She has been 

extraordinarily generous 

in her understanding 

and I know she could 

have reacted so I could 

be punished for what I’d 

done. 

“When I met Fikayo, I 

was the one who pursued 

her relentlessly. She 

worked for a reputable IT 

company and the night 

we met, I thought she 

was gorgeous. Looking 

back, I could see an 

imbalance in our 

affections. It wasn’t that 

noticeable in our 20s 

because you don’t think 

about those things when 

you’re having fun. But 

these sort of cracks 

become amplified as you 

get older and have 

children. It was very 

obvious in the past few 

years since we had our 

first child that Fikayo’s 

heart wasn’t in it when 

we had sex. It was more 

frustrating than hurtful. 

We bumbled along fine 

as friends but we didn’t 

connect any more as 

husband and wife. 

“As for Muji, I liked her 

from the moment we met, 

but I didn’t find her 

attractive. In fact, I 

thought she was ‘bush’. 

But we often stayed up 

late whilst she got on 

with the chores and I 

listened to some music. 

In hindsight, I enjoyed 

having the company and 

sharing some of my 

feelings with her, afterall 

she was educated 

enough and quite 

intelligent. As my wife 

and I started bickering 

constantly - over our 

finances and her 

unwillingness to help 

with the domestic chores 

- I felt the need to confide 

in someone. Like most 

people in that situation, 

I turned to the person I 

saw most often. The fact 

that I worked from home 

meant that that person 

was Muji. It didn’t feel 

disloyal because Muji 

had been privy to the 

atmosphere between us. 

She remained entirely 

neutral. I just wanted to 

off-load. Towards the 

end of 2010, I was 

seriously doubting my 

marriage. The arguments 

were non-stop and I was 

worrying about the effect 

on the children. 

“Early that year, we 

started making plans to 

return to Nigeria. My 

wife had suspected my 

feelings for Muji and 

she was more sad than 

shocked. She had made 

plans to visit her sister in 

London for a few weeks 

and left without taking 

the children. Muji was 

that good with them and 

they all liked her very 

much. Apart from 

helping with their 

home work, she played 

games with them and 

thought them how to 

dance. My wife believed 

her absence would give 

Muji and me space to 

resolve our differences. I 

was overcomed by an 

unexpected feeling of 

sadness. I know it wasn’t 

normal to feel what I felt 

about my children’s 

nanny. 

“Thoughts of Muji 

began to consume me: 

how happy and at ease I 

felt in her company - 

how much fun we had 

together and yes, how 

wonderful she was with 

the children. Did I want 

to be with her or was this 

just a reaction to feeling 

unhappy with my wife? I 

wasn’t sure. I felt stuck 

and didn’t want to hurt 

anyone. When my 

feelings for Muji 

intensified, I came up 

with what I thought was 

a plan to resolve the 

situation. I decided to tell 

her I was falling in love 

with her convinced she 

would be alarmed and 

probably make a scene. 

And that would have 

been the end of it. I would 

have licked my wounds 

and moved on. I felt then 

that that would be the 

preferable outcome, 

because any thing else 

would complicate 

matters. But it backfired 

monumentally. 

“Alone with her one 

evening, I went to her 

room and told her how I 

felt. I don’t remember my 

exact words, but she 

started crying and 

confessed she had 

feelings for me too. Far 

from feeling elated, it put 

me in a panic because I 

knew this meant we were 

now in an impossible 

situation. Up till then, 

we’d had no physical 

contact but when I held 

her in my arms, made 

love to her and saw how 

responsive she was, 

I knew that was the 

type of response I’d 

longed for from a woman 

for a very long time. 

I had to tell Fikayo 

weeks later about how I 

felt. Delaying the 

inevitable any longer 

would have made 

matters much worse. As 

to be expected, Fikayo 

was incredibly upset and 

for the first time, I could 

understand why some 

times people strangle 

offending partners or 

gun them down. It would 

have been easier not to 

have to deal with this 

trauma. But the reality 

is, there was no way to 

end my marriage and 

start a relationship with 

Muji and avoid anyone 

being hurt. 

“Muji found a bedsit 

which I helped pay for 

and my wife kicked me 

out of the house. I had 

to plead with her to take 

Muji back for the months 

it would take us to 

finalise the sale of the 

house so we could all go 

back to Nigeria. The 

children need not suffer 

as my wife couldn’t 

really look after them 

half as much as Muji 

did. I stayed in her 

bedsit and she moved 

back to the house. I 

worried about 

explaining the situation 

to the children until I 

realised the children sort 

of guessed what was 

going on but they 

seemed unperturbed by 

it all. 

“Instead of selling the 

house, my wife decided 

to buy me out and 

refused to relocate with 

me. She even agreed 

that I should come to 

Nigeria with the 

children knowing Muji 

would be their stepmum. 

She was quite realistic 

about the break-up of our 

marriage - if it wasn’t 

Muji, she believed it 

would be another woman 

and she would rather her 

children were raised by 

someone she knew than 

by a woman who would 

make their lives 

miserable. 

“We’ve since divorced - 

I didn’t contest anything. 

I was grateful she was 

civilised enough to let me 

have a share of the 

house. We’ve since 

settled nicely here in 

Nigeria and the children 

talk to their mother all the 

time and go on holidays 

to see her. As for me, I 

couldn’t be happier. Muji 

loves and worships the 

earth I tread on and I’ve 

since 

set her up in a 

flourishing business. She 

has her own child and 

another one is on the way 

but you would never 

guess she wasn’t the 

children’s mother. 

Ironically, my ex-wife 

found a replacement for 

her and I will for ever be 

grateful for the civilised 

way she handled 

everything. “ 

Thanks For The 

Memories! (Humour) 

One Saturday, a man 

and a woman walk into a 

very posh shop. 

“Show the lady your 

finest mink!” the man 

demands. So the owner of 

the shop goes in the back 

and comes out with a fulllength 

coat. .As the lady 

tries it on, the owner 

sidles up to the man and 

whispers, “Ah, sir, that 

particular forgoes for N2 

million.” “No problem!” 

says the man. “I’ll write 

a cheque!” “Very good 

sir,” says the owner. “You 

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So the man and the 

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There wasn’t a penny in 

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YOUR column to express your loving thoughts in 

words to your sweetheart. Don’t be shy. Let it 

flow and let him or her know how dearly you feel. 

Write now in not more than 75 words to: The Editor, 

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sunlovenotes@yahoo.com Please mark your envelope: 

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Igbo leader vows: 

Grazing law will not stand 

in southern Nigeria 


BY TONY NWANKWO 

Chief (Dr.) Sylvan Olisanye 

Ebigwei (MON), consultant 

dental surgeon, is President- 

Emeritus, Aka Ikenga, the Igbo We don’t know whether 

socio-political organisation. In 

this interview, he reacts to the there are now two sets of 

menace of herdsmen in Igbo land 

Nigerians, some who have 

and South of Nigeria generally. 

He says the government must no gun licence, yet they 

provide a solution quickly to save 

the country from chaos. Excerpts: 

carry sophisticated 

weapons and attack 

The problem of violent 

herdsmen is unresolved. communities, sack them 

What do you suggest should and occupy their land and 

be done? 

It is a general and popular news all nobody is asking 

over the country right now, because questions. They are not 

though there have been cattle rearers 

from the time we were born, the being arrested. It is so 

present crop of cattle rearers have 

become a suspicious breed, whether 

strange 

they are truly Fulani herdsmen or 

not. In the past, they have not been I cannot say it came with the APC 

known to be killing anybody. True government. It has been on even 

Fulani herdsmen normally live with before the elections, but the tendency 

communities, peacefully, without to cause mayhem in communities 

killing anybody, and the community and sack communities was not there 

don’t kill their animals or the Fulani before. But it has taken a very 

cattle rearers themselves. What is dangerous dimension with the 

happening now is very strange. And coming of this government. We are 

I believe that government will look surprised that even the government 

into it, whether these are really has not said much about it, neither 

Fulani herdsmen or the offshoot of are they doing anything to stop these 

Boko Haram. 

marauders. 

This destruction seems to have The herdsmen carry AK47 rifles 

come with the APC government? even in local communities. Why 

BY FESTUS AHON 

CHIEF Eddie Ono-Sorhue is a 

member of the Delta State Advisory 

and Peace Building Council and 

hails from Ogbe-Udu/Owhrode 

community in Udu Local Government 

Area. The PDP chieftain and 

former Chairman of Okpe and Udu 

Local Government Councils, in this 

interview spoke on his kidnap experience 

and the fate of APC ahead 

and that I was very sick. They gave 

thought to my driver’s explanation 

of the 2019 elections. Excerpts: 

and asked me to go. It is nothing 

Can you please share your experience 

with regards to your Kidnap 

short of a miracle. But they took my 

driver further into the bush with them 

where they kept him for six days until 

a ransom was paid. I am so de- 

experience speaks vol 

ume with regards to the 

lighted that after six days with the 

saga?My security of the ordinary 

kidnappers, my driver was eventually 

released to complete our joy. 

man in the street of this country. In 

the name of social contract, we have 

It took me sometime to find my 

all surrendered our individual rights 

way back to the main Ughelli-Asaba 

road. My spirit was lifted when I 

to the state for protection yet we are 

not protected. I had a very traumatic 

eventually met a patrol team at Aradhe. 

I narrated my ordeal to them 

experience with some vandals (Fulani 

herdsmen cum kidnappers) on 

hoping that they would be magnanimous 

to help me out. They advised 

Wednesday May 3, 2016, on my way 

from Asaba. 

me to look for a hotel and pass the 

I was on my way to Warri from 

night. I explained to them that my 

Asaba at about 5.30pm on the said 

driver was still with the kidnappers. 

date when just between Obodete junction 

and Aradhe, near Ozoro, my 

They politely told me they would not 

be able to render any assistance. I 

driver sighted four heavily armed 

urged them to take me to Ozoro police 

station but they bluntly declined. 

and masked young men whom he 

thought were military men because 

Eventually, a motorbike offered to 

of the army camouflage they wore. 

take me to Ozoro that night. 

They were searching another vehicle 

ahead of us. But at a closer look, 

At the station, the station officer 

asked me to go back to Kwale to report 

the case as the spot where the 

my driver discovered that they were 

Fulani men with AK 47 assault rifles 

incident took place was not within 

and sticks. He quickly put the car on 

their jurisdiction. The following 

reverse gear in an attempt to escape 

morning, I moved to Kwale to report 

the case where the officer on duty 

when four other equally armed 

members of the gang with AK 47 rifles 

emerged from the nearby bush- 

also declined jurisdiction over the 

area, insisting that it was within Ozoro 

division. I had to move the two 

es at the rear and stopped us. 

We were dragged out of the vehicle 

Divisional Police Officers to the scene 

and marched into the bush. They 

of the incident to define its jurisdiction. 

Eventually, it was established 

were 8 in number. They gave us the 

beating of our lives from the time of 

that it was within the Ozoro Police 

abduction till about 9.30pm when 

division before Ozoro took over the 

our abductors released me on consideration 

for my state of health. 

matter. 

At this point, I was given Anti-Kidnapping 

squad officer to report the 

My release was the handwork of God. 

My driver told them I am his father 

C 

M 

YK 

can’t the authorities identify those 

arming them? 

That is the reason Nigerians are 

wondering, whether we have two sets 

of Nigerians. Those who are not 

soldiers or law enforcement agents, 

yet they carry sophisticated weapons. 

Imagine you and I, carrying rifles in 

our bag and parading the streets, 

what do you think the police or other 

law enforcement people will do to us? 

So, the whole thing is becoming very 

strange. We don’t know whether there 

are now two sets of Nigerians, some 

who have no gun licence, yet they 

carry sophisticated weapons and 

attack communities, sack them and 

occupy their land and nobody is 

asking questions. They are not being 

arrested. It is so strange. 

Meanwhile, there are three Bills 

before the National Assembly, 

seeking grazing lands for these 

herdsmen. What do you make of 

these Bills becoming law in the 

country? 

The law cannot stand because it is 

a call for anarchy in the country. Land 

is very sacrosanct to communities 

and giving it to total strangers by 

force, they are calling for civil war. 

And I will advise the government and 

even the states, not to pass such a aw 

because nobody is going to respect it. 

People are ready to die for their 

fatherland. So, I think they are trying 

to step on the tiger’s tail. As far as I 

am concerned, it is not going to work 

and it will never work. What 

•Sylvan Olisanye Ebigwei 

Nigerians should do is to see what 

other countries are doing - 

modernise cattle rearing. Let them 

modernize Sambisa Forest. The 

forest is a wide expanse of land, let 

them irrigate the place, plant the well 

known Brazilian grass and rear their 

cattle there. From there they can 

export their cattle in trucks to 

communities that need them. Not to 

take community land and give it to 

people who don’t belong to the area. 

If the present generation of Nigerians 

can stomach that, I don’t think the 

incoming generation will accept it, 

because these are things that are 

causing problems in Zango Kataf, 

Jos, and such other areas. Statistics 

show that in many communities 

where these people are strangers and 

they are given small piece of land, in 

no time they start to expand, and that 

normally leads to conflicts. So, 

government should not try forcing 

people to give off their land to total 

strangers because that will be a call 

to civil war. 

Those who are sponsoring these 

Bills say they have sufficient 

number in both Houses to pass 

them into law? 

Well, they should know that to every 

negative action there must be 

another negative reaction. One 

thing is to pass a law, another is to 

actualise it, because I don’t think any 

community in this country will cede 

case to. The officer requested for recharge 

card for his phone to enable 

him performs his constitutional duties 

which I obliged him. They further 

demanded for mobilization before 

they carry out the tracking of 

the kidnappers. I immediately decided 

to disconnect from him as it was 

obvious there was no hope of any 

reprieve from their intervention, 

more so when the kidnappers had 

established contact with us for negotiation. 

A ransom was eventually paid 

before my driver was released after 

six days in the kidnappers den (inside 

the bush of Kwale). 

The above scenario only confirms 

the assertion that some animals are 

more equal than others. Or are we 

now living in two separate countries? 

How can herdsmen in the name of 

cattle rearing move along the highway 

or bush with AK 47 rifle without 

security agents accosting them 

whereas an ordinary hunters with 

guns/double barrel guns are charged 

for illegal possession of firearms? 

In the spirit of the social contract 

which impels the individual to surrender 

his rights to the state for protection, 

can we say the state has kept 

its obligation for us to remain in this 

contract against the backdrop of the 

above experience? 

I am afraid we have gradually returned 

to the nature state where life 

was short and brutal with empires 

created for the survival of the fittest. 

It is shocking to note that security 

men on the road or offices are no 

longer interested in the safety of lives 

and property as my experience is 

written in blood and iron. 

What was the experience of your 

driver in the bush? 

Debriefing him on his release after 

six days in the kidnappers den, my 

driver, Mr Ogboru Ughelecha, narrated 

a very mind-chilling tale of how 

they trekked into the forest till 6 am 

the following morning before they 

stopped in the middle of nowhere. 

He was beaten mercilessly and 

threatened severally by the herdsmen 

should his family fail to provide the 

ransom. To underscore the seriousness 

of their threats, they showed him 

about five decomposing corpses of 

victims whose families failed to provide 

ransom for on time and where 

killed. ‘’Look, can you see this man? 

His family did not come on time and 

we fired him”, they had told him in 

heavy Hausa accent. The five corpses 

were in different spots inside the 

forest. He was made to kneel down 

before the corpses for hours without 

food. It was a harrowing experience. 

That too suggests that many kidnap 

victims still being searched for by 

family members may have been 

killed already by their abductors. We 

are living with a very terrible menace, 

more serious than we can imagine. 

My experience and that of my 

their land to strangers under any 

guise. So, as we speak, several 

community leaders are meeting in 

Igboland. The Ohanaeze and the rest 

of them, are holding meetings, 

consultations because those Bills are 

not going to sail through. And if it 

sails through, it can never be 

implemented. 

Now that they are killing people, 

like in Enugu and even in Abia State. 

Is it not possible to stop them from 

even coming to these places? 

Yes, what is happening is that 

community leaders in these places 

are appealing to their people, 

particularly the youths, not to 

revenge. So, they are watching what 

government can do. But the waiting 

period must have a time frame. No 

community will allow their citizens 

to be massacred and fail to react. 

So, they are waiting for the 

government to do something. If 

nothing is done, every community 

will find a way to defend themselves. 

And you know what that means, 

chaos, civil disorder, irrespective of 

whatever the law enforcement 

people can do. They should know 

that there are many arms in people’s 

hands at the moment. Nigeria of 

today is not the Nigeria of yesterday. 

There are a lot of hidden arms. And 

since what the herdsmen are doing 

is nationwide, especially from the 

Middle Belt down to the south, there 

may be a coalition of efforts, synergy, 

among the southern Nigerian 

people and the Middle Belt to 

confront these people. And what do 

you call that? That could result in a 

severe civil war. And it can lead to 

the dismemberment of this country 

as a nation. So, the government 

should look further than now, with 

their political microscope to 

understand that what is happening 

now, especially over land, if this is 

not checkmated, it is going to lead 

to a severe crisis in this country that 

the central government cannot 

control. 

Herdsmen compelled my driver to kneel before 

decomposing corpses — Chief Ono-Sorhue, former Udu LG boss 

•Chief Ono-Sorhue 

driver say it all. It was in view of our 

survival of the kidnap saga that we 

went to Church on Sunday June 12, 

2016 to give thanks to God for his 

saving grace and deliverance from 

the hands of kidnappers. Many die 

in the hands of these people yet we 

came back alive. To God be the glory 

for bringing us home in one piece. 

May I also thank all those who attended 

our thanksgiving at the Udu 

Road Branch of Christ Missionaries 

Crusaders Church. 

Away from your kidnap experience, 

On May 29th Nigeria celebrated 

Democracy Day, would you 

say the APC led government has 

got it right? 

For those of us who saw Buhari in 

power in 1983 through 1985, we 

knew he has nothing to offer, he is 

still operating his military laws, 

though we are in a democratic setup. 

He preached change and the 

change we have today is the dollar 

rising from N190 to N360 per dollar. 

He preached change when fuel 

rose from under a N100 to N200. I 

am very convinced that the leadership 

of APC are confused. It is not 

easy to say I got it wrong so let me 

leave, that is why they are still there 

but their end will soon come in the 

next election, you will see it. 

How prepared is the PDP to take 

over come 2019 considering the 

division in the party? 

The Acting Chairman, Senator 

Ahmed Makarfi is doing everything 

possible to bring the party into shape. 

We are quite prepared to take the 

mantle of leadership from APC 

come 2019. Hope you are aware the 

dust has finally settled at the National 

headquarters of the PDP.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016 --- PAGE 37 

OSUN HIJAB CRISIS: Aregbesola should build Muslim 

schools---Bishop Odeleke 

AS far as tele-evangelism is concerned in Nigeria, the founder of Christ Message Ministries, Bishop Bolanle Odeleke has had her footprints engraved 

in the sands of time. Being the first female bishop in Africa, Odeleke has lent her voice to various issues in Christianity as well as national. Recently, she 

celebrated her 66th birthday which coincided with the maiden edition of the church founder’s day. In this interview with OLAYINKA LATONA, Odeleke 

recalls how God has helped her in her ministerial journey and used the opportunity to speak on the controversy surrounding the wearing of hijab among 

female Muslim students in all public schools in Osun State and called on Gov. Aregbesola to establish Muslim schools for Muslim students rather than causing 

chaos and rivalry among the two religions. Excerpts... 

Christendom. 

establish Muslim schools because 

What is the secret of youthful look 

most of the schools were established 

even at 66? 

by Christian missionaries and if they 

The secret is God and I feel good 

cannot establish their own, they 

and happy because the Lord has 

should not disturb us. That is why 

been helping me despite various 

the Christians resorted to wearing 

challenges. God even told us that 

choir uniforms to schools. If the 

we will encounter tribulations in this 

government wants the Muslim 

world but we should cheer up 

students to wear hijab, they should 

because He has gone ahead of us to 

establish Muslim schools for them. 

conquer all life's battles for His 

Why introducing hijab in Christian 

children. That is why God helped 

schools? They want to cause 

me to overcome the challenges that 

confusion. We will not agree. 

reared their heads at that time and 

for me to know and experience the 

awesomeness of God. 

Advice to upcoming ministers of 

God 

The number one thing is that they 

should hold on to God and focus on 

to their calling. I used to advise 

people not to come to the ministry if 

God did not call them because 

ministry is not an easy task. What 

we are doing today is just a 

glamorous part of it. If one is not 

called and deep rooted in the Word 

of God, when troubles come, such a 

person will be swept away. 

Upcoming ministers of God should 

be rooted in Christ who will uphold 

them in times of trial. They must be 

passionate about ministerial work 

and the people so that they will be 

able to overcome ministerial 

challenges. 

On corruption in the nation and 

among Christians 

I can tell you that the Church of God 

in Nigeria is trying its best to arrest 

the menace of corruption in the 

society. In my church, I speak against 

it and advise members to be good 

ambassadors of Christ wherever 

they find themselves and I know 

other ministers of God who preach 

against corruption in their churches. 

If one is a follower of Christ in the 

real sense, such a person will not be 

involved in corrupt acts because he 

or she is guided by the Spirit of God. 

The Church is doing a lot to curb 

series of challenges that have been 

confronting us as a nation. 

Corruption would have even be 

bigger than what we have now. 

There would have been war in 

Nigeria, if not for the Church. But 

we did not stay on the roof top to 

proclaim it, because we are not 

commercial prophets. When God 

says something concerning the 

nation, we gather ourselves as a 

Church and we prayed. We teach our 

congregation to be a good 

ambassadors of Nigeria and it has 

been like that. There are lots of our 

members in the secular world doing 

wellnote who are not involved in 

corrupt practices. This is so because 

most church leaders preach Christ 

and discipline to our members. 

Low prophetical words in the 

Church of God 

There are still prophetic words but 

the problem is that publicity is being 

given to those who profess themselves 

as servants of God and they 

are not. In the 80's we had great 

prophets of God like late Archbishop 

Benson Idahosa, late Baba 

Obadare, Prophet Abiara including 

me. We used to preach in the television 

stations and send out messages 

to those in authorities. The 

challenge now is that we have flocks 

of people that profess themselves as 

prophets whereas they are not. We 

still have genuine prophets in 

Wither Osun State! We are watching 

*Bishop Bola Odeleke 

How will you rate 

women in ministry? 

I give God the glory that 

we now have lots of women 

in ministry unlike 

years back. It got to a 

stage that I started praying 

for God to raise more 

females in the work of 

ministry. I wondered why 

I should be the only female 

among other ministers 

of God then. I started 

grooming women for the 

work of the kingdom and 

they are doing well in 

their various ministries. 

I want to advise men to 

allow and support their 

wives whom God called 

into ministry. Men should 

support these women’s 

vision and help them to 

bring out the potentials 

that God embedded in 

them. Any man that 

allows his wife in ministry 

will also grow and record successful 

stories. 

What is your take on the wearing 

of hijab by female Muslim students 

in public schools in Osun State? 

I am not in support of wearing of 

hijab in Osun State public schools. 

I outrightly kicked against it when 

it was introduced. I told them that 

the state government should go and 

Nigerian lawmakers accused of 

sexual misconduct in United States 

of America 

When I heard about the report from 

US ambassador to Nigeria, I was 

not happy. Though the three accused 

lawmakers are currently under 

investigation but it is not a good 

omen for us as a nation. I will use 

this opportunity to appeal to 

Nigerians to stop voting for politicians 

because of money instead of 

integrity, good character and fear 

of God. 

Dialogue with Avengers 

Before you talk of dialogue, does the 

government know these people? I 

think dialogue might not work 

because the real Avengers will not 

come out because they will be afraid 

of being arrested. Instead of 

dialogue, government should invest 

more in security, train experts who 

can go into their midst, identify the 

real avengers, and then government 

will know what to do next. 

By ANTHONY OKOGIE 

IN Nigeria today, Religion is 

always used for wrong reasons. 

We witnessed the OIC palaver 

of 1986 which nearly split our 

country in two, the religious riots in 

the old Kaduna State during which 

a number of churches were set 

ablaze and innocent lives were lost, 

the Sharia controversy in some 

states in the North in 2000 which 

also led to loss of human lives and 

harassment of the Christian minority 

in those states, the subjection of 

Nigerians to noise pollution issuing 

from churches and mosques, the 

exploitation of religious differences 

by politicians who would do or say 

anything to get votes, the use of 

religion to justify the obviously 

politically motivated Boko Haram 

insurgency, to mention but these. 

Religion is once again in the news, 

this time in Osun State on the 

wearing of HIJAB. 

The Hijab 

The much publicized hijab controversy 

in Osun State and the 

ensuing altercation between 

Muslims and Christians in the state 

should make peace-loving Nigerians 

apprehensive. Osun State is in 

the South West, a part of Nigeria 

that is noted and envied for its interreligious 

harmony. It is a part of 

Nigeria where one could find siblings 

who practice different religions 

without acrimony. Let it not 

be that the hijab controversy in Osun 

State is the beginning of the end of 

inter-religious harmony in southwestern 

Nigeria. 

Osun State Governor (Ogbeni) Rauf 

Aregbesola has, in some quarters, 

been accused of instigating the crisis. 

The governor, for his part, has protested 

his innocence. He has asked 

his accusers to provide evidence to 

prove the accusation. His accusers, 

for their part, believe rightly or 

wrongly, that his protestations make 

him look like the man who, according 

to a Yoruba allegory, having shot 

an arrow, now uses a mortar as his 

helmet. They believe, again rightly 

or wrongly, that the government he 

heads comes across as a government 

of questionable neutrality in 

this matter. 

The Real Problem 

But let us identify the real problem 

in Osun State. It is neither the 

wearing of hijab nor the wearing of 

choir robes. The problem of Osun 

State is the problem of many of the 

states in the fissiparous federalism 

Nigeria has been operating. Osun 

State, like an overwhelming majority 

of states in Nigeria, has failed to 

demonstrate that it is economically 

viable, and there are sufficient 

indices to back the assertion. 

The state government has not been 

able to pay salaries of workers for 

months. From the uncompleted 

intersection at Gbongan on the 

Ibadan-Ife Road, through the entire 

state, it is clearly evident that roads 

in Osun State are among the worst 

in Nigeria. It is hardly possible to 

drive one kilometer without a 

pothole, sometimes a crater. In 

2015, Osun State was ranked 29th 

of the 36 states in performance in 

the senior secondary school certificate 

examination. 

Quality of life in Osun State ranks 

among the worst in Nigeria. It 

would therefore amount to a 

distraction to make wearing a religious 

garb—whether it is hijab or 

choir robes—the issue in Osun State. 

It betrays a depressing lack of focus. 

This is the time for the governor and 

the people to live up to their beautiful 

name, to think and act like omoluabi, 

since they call the state Ipinle 

Omoluabi. 

The problem of Osun State I dare 

say is not religion but the scandalous 

under-development of the state. Why 

is it that a portion of Nigeria that is 

so richly endowed is inhabited by 

impoverished people? The potentials 

for agriculture, tourism, sports, 

education in Osun State and the 

poor living condition of the people 

of the state raises a big question 

about quality of governance, past 

and present, in Ipinle Omoluabi. 

Instead of quarreling over religion, 

the people of Osun State would do 

well to call all its governors, past 

and present, to explain why, since 

the creation of the state in 1991, that 

state has simply failed to take off. 

What type of politics has left Osun 

State in abject poverty? 

But religion is in the horizon, and 

we cannot refuse to 

look at what is in the 

horizon. That is why 

we must still inquire: 

is wearing the hijab 

an absolute 

obligation in Islam? 

In other words, 

would a Muslim 

woman be less 

Islamic if she were 

not to wear the hijab? 

There are scholars of 

the religion of Islam 

like Leila Ahmed and 

Raza Aslam who 

would answer the 

question in the 

negative. 

As such scholars 

would point out, 

while wearing the 

hijab was required of 

the wives of the holy 

prophet of Islam, it 

was not required of all Muslim 

women always and every-where. It 

is because wearing of the hijab is 

neither a fundamental hu-man right 

nor a religious obliga-tion of 

universal extension that we have 

countries like Turkey, Tunisia, 

Tajikistan, to mention but these, 

where Muslims are in an overwhelming 

majority but Muslim 

women are not obliged to wear the 

hijab. Wearing the hijab was in fact 

banned in Iran between 1936 and 

1979. 

In the same vein, the choir robes 

being worn to school by some in 

Osun State are meant to be worn 

during worship. Wearing them to 

school would amount to a desecration 

of those robes. Scholars of 

Christian religion, particularly 

scholars of the history of Christian 

liturgy, who know the meaning and 

history of those robes would point 

*Okogie 

out that wearing them to school is 

not a fundamental human right. 

Osun State is therefore reminding 

us that we are in this mess because 

Nigeria is a country where religious 

scholarship is treated with levity. 

Many of our preachers in Christianity 

and in Islam fail to see that religion 

is a human act, and, as a human 

act, must not be taken out of the 

sphere of intelligence. We have 

become a nation of religious fanatics 

where faith is separated from 

reason, and where there is absence 

of differentiation between piety and 

public nuisance. Religion is being 

used to cover up our incivility and 

intellectual laziness, and both sides 

in the Osun story are guilty of the 

same offence. 

The Osun State story challenges us 

to distinguish between the right to 

wear the hijab or choir robes and 

the right to wear them to school. The 

right to wear a religious garb, any 

religious garb, is not to be disputed. 

But to mistake it for a fundamental 

human right, and to claim that 

wearing them to school is a fundamental 

human right is to fail to 

grasp an important distinction. 

We must be careful not to allow the 

enmity and acrimony of the past to 

pass into the future, into the hearts 

of our children and children’s 

children. The children of Osun State, 

in the innocence of their young and 

impressionable minds, have always 

related well with each other. Opportunistic 

political and religious 

leaders in Osun State should refrain 

from actions that might lead to war 

among their children and children’s 

children. That is why this fashion 

parade of religious garb in Osun 

State calls for sober reflection. 

*Anthony Cardinal Okogie, 

immediate past Archbishop of 

Lagos, wrote in from Lagos. 

C 

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Bishop's son escapes UNIPORT's kidnappers 

...bags first class degree in Ghana 

By Sam Eyoboka 

UFUOMATOMA 

Kwakpovwe, 26, 

was registered to 

read Pharmacy at the University 

of Port Harcourt and 

was doing just that when four 

demon-possessed gun-toting 

yet-to-be-identified hoodlums 

attempted to kidnap him 

and the attendant emotional 

trauma truncated that dream 

forcing his parents to relocate 

him to Ghana to continue his 

studies there. Ufuomatoma, 

Toma for short, is the second 

son of the publisher of Our 

Daily Manna and founder of 

The Manna Prayer Mountain 

Ministry, Orioke-Ogudu, 

Lagos, Bishop Chris Kwakpovwe. 

Last Sunday, a joyous father 

assembled gaily-dressed 

friends, relations and other 

well wishers from Delta State 

and around, to a special 

thanksgiving service at the 

Manna Prayer Mountain to 

celebrate Toma who had just 

bagged a First Class degree 

in Management and Computer 

Science. The joy knew no 

bounds as the church choir 

and Toma's six-man acapela 

group treated guests to popular 

gospel songs including 

several in Ghanaian languages. 

The service attended by the 

guest speaker, Archbishop 

George Amu of Goodnews 

Miracle Church, Lagos, 

former Board member/PRO, 

SSO of PFN, Pastor Femi 

Adura, and a host of other 

religious leaders also began 

the countdown to the 14-day 

fasting and prayers in 

preparation for the July 23 

Anointing Service scheduled 

for the Prayer Mountain. At 

the end of the service, the 

bishop announced that there 

was plenty to eat and drink 

and of course the crowd 

waited patiently. 

Narrating the family's grassto-grace 

story, the OAUtrained 

pharmacist turned 

gospel preacher and publisher, 

Bishop Kwakpovwe said 

several years ago before the 

birth of the daily devotional, 

"we went through severe 

battles that I attempted 

commiting suicide by hanging. 

My plan was just to make 

sure that the children go to 

school so I can end it all 

before they return. I bought a 

rope and was about to hang 

myself but I heard a voice 

telling me, 'all you’ve been 

through all these years; is not 

unto death but unto destiny 

fulfilment of millions.' I didn’t 

know what it meant. He said 

you shall rise from a burden 

for the people, He said 'I've 

passed you through so that 

you can now help those who 

are passing through'. 

I didn’t understand because 

I'm a pharmacist and not a 

pastor or a writer. He said you 

will write. That was how 

ODM was born. I heard the 

name Daily Manna but my 

wife added the ‘Our’ to it. But 

after a while, though we 

started gradually first on a 

piece of paper in pamphlet 

form of about four pages. We 

did that for about a year or 

two. At a stage, I just found 

that during that 8-year crisis, 

I still couldn’t pay my children’s 

school fees because I was 

investing everything in the 

ministry. Everything turned 

upside down. My plan was to 

kill myself but at the end I got 

over that phase. But it didn’t 

just end that very day. The next 

phase was school fees and so 

on so I took the children to 

the village to stay with my 

mother. 

I didn’t want to borrow 

money, I would rather suffer. 

Toma and his elder brother, 

now doing Masters in the 

U.S. had to go to the village. 

They tried to kidnap him so 

he left for Ghana. It was so 

hard, I wanted to go back to 

pharmacy instead of suffering 

as a full time pastor! But 

God wouldn’t allow me do 

pharmacy. He said if I do it, I 

will not last. So the battle was 

harsh and these children 

suffered. My wife was so 

tolerant. 

The rich also cry 

Continuing his version of therich-also-cry 

narration, the 

bishop admitted that his wife, 

for several years could not 

afford ordinary sanitary pads. 

"Everything then was just 

about the ministry, it was 

either in or out; you either sink 

or swim. Any time I decided 

to go to renew my certificate 

so I can work, God would say 

'don’t go to pharmacy council, 

if you do, you are gone.' 

He said: 'If you wait on Me, 

the world will hear your story'. 

When our cooking gas finished 

we started using firewood. 

At a stage, instead of buying 

fish, I’ld go to the market and 

ask them to give me those 

bones that dogs can take. 

"My wife would cut the bones 

into bits. It got to a point, I 

couldn’t even afford the bones 

anymore. There was a boy 

called Eric, my children’s best 

friend then who crossed the 

nearby river and catch fish in 

the morning and that is what 

I will use for food for that day. 

My house was close to the 

river. Eric was so helpful. His 

father was an Ijaw who lived 

on top of the river. He would 

go to the bush and cut trees 

down that would take about 

four days to dry before we 

could use them for firewood. 

When the guy left for school, 

we started using saw dust. At 

a point, I couldn’t afford the 

saw dust. So life was very 

harsh. St. Gloria, my children's 

school, increased school 

fees and I couldn't cope so I 

took them to my village. My 

mother tried and the children 

adjusted. 

"When people tell me Toma 

is humble, I just laugh. Why 

won’t he be humble? You 

know where we were coming 

from? This was in the 90s. 

People were pitying me but 

they couldn't help me though 

they were very supportive. 

People like Adegbe, the Ojos 

gave me money to start Our 

Daily Manna. The first ODM 

I published was with money 

from one of the Ojos. They’ve 

been here for 16 years." 

According to the bishop, 

Toma spent seven years, while 

his elder brother spent six 

years in Ughelli in Delta 

State, before gaining admission 

to the University of Port 

Harcourt to read pharmacy. 

The kidnap 

story 

One evening in his school 

hall, four Egbesu boys kidnapped 

him but by divine 

L-R: Mr. Toma Kwakpovwe, Bishop Chris Kwakpovwe, Rev. (Mrs) 

Flora Kwakpovwe and their daughter at the thanksgiving service. 

*Pastor Femi Adura and Archbishop 

George Amu at the thanksgiving service. 

intervention, he managed to 

escape through the toilet 

window. What made him to 

leave Nigeria; his bed, 

generator and everything 

because he couldn’t go back 

to his private hostel. 

I called him and asked him 

where he was, he said he was 

in a bush. I told him to go to 

the nearest G. Agofure Motor 

park and proceed to Lagos 

even if he didn't have money. 

I spoke with the driver telling 

him I would pay on arrival in 

Lagos. He missed school for 

about a year because he 

couldn’t go back to Port 

Harcourt. 

The then Rivers State Police 

commissioner called me and 

said they would give him 

security and I refused; the 

Nigeria Police cannot secure 

him. I believe that God did it. 

Maybe if the kidnappers 

didn’t attack him, I may not 

have sent him out for first 

degree. That battle promoted 

him. My life stories are very 

complicated and always very 

hard but they always lead to 

great testimonies. 

The bishop believes that what 

precipitated the son's kidnap 

had to do with his early act of 

benevolence to the university. 

"I just bought some pharmacy 

books for the faculty of 

pharmacy, and during the 

convocation, the dean of the 

faulty told the VC that one 

parent donated pharmacy 

books. I studied pharmacy at 

OAU, Ile Ife. I got the books 

and donated same for the 

department of pharmacy and 

this guy now announced my 

name. 

That was what led to the 

kidnap. The truth is there are 

no millions anywhere. The 

kind of life I live, I'm an 

aggressive person. If you give 

me money now, I'm investing 

it in the Lekki Prayer Tower 

just about to start. 

In Ghana, Toma didn’t do 

pharmacy. Instead he did 

management and computer 

studies. To continue with 

His mentors 

Among his mentors are the 

late Archbishop Benson 

Idahosa who baptized him, 

the outgoing CAN president, 

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and 

Pastor W.F. Kumuyi. 

Which was why we asked him 

about the controversy over the 

Deeper Life's Daily Manna 

and his own Our Daily 

Manna and this is how he 

responded: "It became a legal 

issue but as an elder and 

father, I had to honour Pastor 

Kumuyi. We began Our Daily 

Manna in January 2001. The 

law states that you must 

deposit three copies with the 

National Library which we 

did but one of 

the guys there, 

Mr. Ola Ojo, 

worshipped 

with Deeper 

Life. The 

moment he saw 

Our Daily 

Manna he just 

adopted the 

name, Daily 

Manna. The 

guy wrote for 

Kumuyi before 

and at a time 

worked for 

Pastor Adeboye 

and now with 

Pastor Olukoya. 

They do what is 

known as contract 

writing. 

This guy is gift-ed. He has about 20 workers 

equipped with computers who work on 

pastors' messages. He came to me to 

produce for me. I'm not allowed. I'm still 

asking God why because I need help. I need 

God to raise people who have caught the 

ODM vision. I can’t keep writ-ing like this 

for life. Sometimes I write kneel-ing down. 

Sometimes I will be on the bed; sometimes 

I will stand on one very big table. There is 

no style I have not used to write. I'm now 

using dictation," he maintained. 

Told to enumerate testimonies that have 

attended the effort, Kwakpovwe said there 

was no way he could, stating: "Is it about 

the dead that were raised? People placed 

this book on people who doctors had 

pronounced dead and they come back to 

life and many more in Ghana, Zimbabwe, 

pharmacy, he needed to do a South Africa, Mozambique, 

pre-degree programme U.S, China, Canada, Russia, 

meaning he had to do another 

two more years. I said no. I 

told him let God’s will be 

done. Toma is today a business 

advertisement guru. 

The funny thing, the cleric 

continued, is that nobody can 

put his finger on the day of his 

breakthrough. "So, I can’t say 

this is how it started. People 

say there is so much power 

behind ODM because sometimes 

I write in anger and in 

hunger. We’ve changed the 

quality from time to time but 

not the writing. It must continue," 

he explained. 

Was that the only thing you 

were doing then, Kwakpovwe 

France, all over the world. Not 

just Our Daily Manna, there is 

also War against Hamman." 

He also had an opportunity 

to talk of the anointing service 

scheduled for July 23, saying: 

"We have two anointing 

services every year: in January 

which is very explosive and the 

July one which is also massive. 

A knock down is not a knockout! 

You must hold on, delay 

is not denial. We have set aside 

14 days from Sunday, July 10 

to fast towards the July 

anointing service. We are 

expecting delegates from 

about 200 countries where 

ODM is being read." 

who began his Christian 

voyage at the Catholic Silence of 

Church before a born again 

experience on February 3, 

matrimonial 

1976 at a Scripture Union challenge 

meeting before a soujorn at 

Tunde Joda's Christ Chapel, 

then Chapel of Praise, W.F. 

Kumuyi's Deeper Life and the 

Assemblies of God Church, 

was asked. "We had one 

fellowship kind of then, it was 

not a church. We had Chapel 

of Liberty many years ago at 

Ojota which metamorphosed 

to Liberty Army. All these were 

The man of God would rather 

not talk about recent controversy 

over his matrimony, 

saying: "I could talk about my 

past experiences but marital 

misconception was a very 

bitter one. I don’t want to go 

into that because it will take 

me to so many issues. But the 

summary is that I'm above that 

in residential houses. 

now. I married properly; 

properly means I paid bride 

price and there are legal 

papers. If you had an 

experien-ce years ago and you 

just felt that this person ought 

to be and it didn’t happen 

what will you do? 

"That’s a very odd experience. 

I can’t even talk about it here 

because there are so many 

twists. I was just too emotional, 

very young, very small but 

later in life before I went 

through this major crisis, I 

had to take the bull by the 

horn and I think God gave 

me my wife. I married her 

legally. If you like somebody 

but you didn’t pay her bride 

price for any reason, maybe 

the person was married, it’s 

painful, but what do you do? 

Every disappointment is a 

blessing. So that’s my story," 

he summariz-ed. 

Also speaking, Toma who 

attended Kogbodi International 

School, Ughelli, Delta 

state, said the transition was 

not altogether a bad 

experien-ce because it offered 

them the opportunity to get 

close to grand ma and other 

people at the homefront. 

"The transition from Lagos to 

Delta State was not very easy 

to cope with initially but as 

time went on, I got used to it. 

We went through secondary 

school education and came 

out of it. Looking back at the 

whole thing, I'm able to pick 

strength from different points 

of the journey. It taught me so 

many things I probably 

wouldn’t have known being 

in Lagos. I am exposed to 

many other things that I am 

grateful for right now. The 

Lagos education system and 

environment compared to 

Delta State was a whole lot 

of difference," he stated. 

The young lad attended Regent 

University of Science 

and Technology in Ghana, 

affirming that the experience 

in that West African nation 

was satisfactory and fulfilling. 

"Before I got to Regent, it 

was a bit of a struggle, trying 

to pick the right school. I got 

admission to go to U.K. but 

my dad did not permit me to 

go. I got admission in a 

couple of other schools in 

Ghana; it was a bit of a 

struggle, trying to pick the 

actual university to go to. But 

as time went on, I settled for 

Regent University and I 

began to study there. Leaving 

Port Harcourt and starting 

over again, I had a drive to 

do more than the average 

student would. Everything I 

wanted to do, I wanted to do 

it very well," he added. 

Osanebi empowers 22 women 

DEPUTY Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. 

Hon. Friday Ossai Osanebi has called on all Deltans, 

especially leaders and well meaning Deltans to see the 

prosperity agenda of Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa as a collective 

mandate. He said this Sunday at Christ Embassy, Beneku, 

Ndokwa East Local Government area during a thanksgiving 

service. Osanebi demonstrated his compassion for the poor in 

the society when he urged the congregation to see the properity 

of every believer as paramount in the heart of God and as 

people that have received some level of blessing from God, it's 

just natural to distribute same to the less privileged. 

The Deputy Speaker then called on the church pastor and 

other leaders, to select 22 less privileged and economically 

weak women to be empowered to start small scale enterprises. 

He then empowered the 22 women with varying sums of money 

in line with their choices of business. 

To ensure that the women were serious minded and not wasters, 

Osanebi took time to interview each one to ascertain the nature 

of business they could do comfortably and that was how the 

deputy speaker in turn gave them cheques in church to 

immediately start up businesses of their choice immediately. 

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Buhari should restructure Nigeria, says Bishop Umunna 

General Overseer of Bible Life Christian Church, Ajegunle, Lagos, Bishop (Prof.) Leonard Umunna marked his 62nd birthday 

anniversary with a variety of activities in his church including Bible Quiz, debate on the topic: 'Is God partial?' with plenty to eat 

and drink. At the end, the celebrant granted an interview with reporters present where he took a look at the state of the nation. 

SAM EYOBOKA was there. Excerpts... 

How does it feel to be 62 

years and in the service of 

the Lord? 

I feel like I am just beginning, 

because I have acquired 

experience, knowledge---not 

enough really---but it is good, 

better, best every other year. I 

have never had a better 

yesterday. It has always been 

good yesterday, better today 

and best tomorrow. 

At 62 could you to take a 

look at the state of the 

Nigerian nation? 

Nigeria is now a laughing 

stock among many people 

all over the world. In the 

comity of nations, it has rated 

less then ‘A’ again. You know 

you have a list. Africa is not 

even in ‘A’ list in the real sense 

of it. Football, it in reverse 

process; economy wise, it is 

in reverse process and we have 

been named one that had the 

best economy. Now, we are 

not even a good economy. 

What do you want me to say 

of Nigeria now? When we 

were young, we enjoyed 

Nigeria, but we didn’t know. 

We thought we would enjoy it 

better without the Europeans. 

But now we know that some 

of our leaders did not learn 

from the Europeans before 

they took over. They had 

programmes and the managed 

it well; this is the reality. If 

my children were to have a 

bit of what we had: Is it the 

streets where we walked 

between orchards?; is it the 

schools where you will go to 

school in your uniform and 

return clean?; Is it in the office 

when you graduate, you have 

a car waiting for you to do 

the job?; Is it in the home, you 

will sleep fine and wake up? 

What is that you are proud of 

about Nigeria now? Let 

somebody tell me! You have 

heard of light. Then we had 

Electrical Corporation of 

Nigeria (ECN). Then we were 

proud of ourselves in the 

comity of nations. Our 

pound, shilling and pens then 

now Naira and Kobo were 

enough match for any international 

currency. Is it 

educational attainment, any 

certificate you had in Nigeria 

you will stand with your 

equals anywhere. If our 

people travelled abroad we 

were honoured. The other 

time I went to America, I was 

the only one who carried the 

Nigerian flag. It was demanded 

that all of us should come 

with our national flags. All the 

other Nigerians that went 

with me, none did. But God 

honoured me because they 

looked down on me as if I was 

the most corrupt person in 

that international programme. 

I was sort of humiliated at the 

airport let alone in the place. 

But when they raised my 

resume, they knew that this 

person is different. When we 

lined up to wash the feet of 

people, it fell on my lot to wash 

the feet of the most prominent 

prophet there. Immediately I 

took her feet, the anointing 

took over, she landed on the 

ground. She tried to get up, 

she landed on the ground 

again. People began to look 

and they said that is that man 

who carried the Nigerian 

flag. Honour came back. It is 

people who have purity and 

integrity that God can 

support nowadays. 

At what point did Nigeria 

began to nose-dive? 

The trouble started before the 

Nigerian Civil War. Yes, the 

one of oil was after Gowon 

and Co; when they felt that 

they have gotten enough and 

nobody should have telephones, 

this and that. Before 

the civil war, there was heavy 

disenchantment in the West – 

Operation Wetiee. That tribal, 

regional statement began to 

be punitive. Like the present 

administration now has 

further polarized Nigeria. 

Before, we were a bit united, 

at least, believing in our 

government that we have a 

Nigerian government. But 

now, they don’t believe that 

there is a Nigerian government. 

That was before the war? 

Yes. Now this one is before 

virtually another war, worsening 

things. That was what 

triggered it; all these Operation 

wetiee. What made the 

Nzeogwus to take over? Was 

it not this kind of thing: 

political appointments, 

when some get in, you put only 

your tribes men, members of 

your political party. Was it not 

what started it then? Then 

there was a counter coup. The 

same thing is happening now. 

We are polarized now more. 

We were never so divided in 

tribalism, religion, in government 

as now. Then it was step 

one, now its step two. What 

do you want me to say? It is 

there in the history book. It is 

here with us again. 

Are we at the verge of a 

revolution? 

We are in a revolution 

already. It is only that the 

powers that be are suppressing 

them. There's revolution 

in the North; there is 

revolution in the East; there 

is revolution in the West; and 

also at the center. Didn’t you 

hear that they are planning a 

coup? 

Even in the Niger Delta? 

I said in the East, not only in 

the Niger Delta. I told you 

people the other time that 

there is no part of Nigeria that 

is not marginalized. Now that 

they have found something to 

vent their spleen, this ranching 

and that party corruption 

charge, no! Everywhere now, 

Boko Haran has not stopped 

because ISIS are restrategising; 

they feel that the man 

who was in league with them 

did not do well. They asked 

him to do this; he did that. He 

was using children and 

female to bomb. They said 

don’t do it, he did it. That is 

why they suffered damage; 

now they are restrategising. 

They want Islamic State. Go 

to the East, you think that they 

have kept quiet, but they have 

taken to arms. It is only that 

their leaders are not pleased 

with them because it will 

affect the leadership more 

now. It could have been easier 

in the time of Odumegwu 

Ojukwu because then they 

had guns and soldiers but 

now they are not finding it 

easy. Let truth be told. Even 

CUTTING BIRTHDAY CAKE: Bishop (Prof.) Leonard Umunna, the 

celebrant, flanked by some guests, cutting his 62nd birthday cake 

you yourself here now you are nothing less than unitary. It is 

not sitting comfortable. You military. The Western side, the 

are sitting on a keg of gun Eastern side and the Northern 

powder: any day there is a side, ask them; they were 

bang you could be thrown off better. After the war, I heard 

jobs. Instead of promotion it Gowon dividing Nigeria into 

is a demotion. I told you that 12 states. Later, it became 

I am not prepared to talk to political division; so that the 

the press about this government 

because all the wonder- 

a state for her parents. And 

wife of Babangida will have 

ful good ideas that God gave this time, it didn’t serve the 

immediately some other purpose again. May be God 

governments heard that used it to avoid unnecessary 

Bishop Umunna said this power belonging to the blocs 

thing fine and God helped and so that it can easily be 

them. But now you talk and check-mated. But now it has 

talk it will seem as if you are gone as far as security, to 

just like others talking. politics. What else do you 

want? If you want to correct 

these things, start from the 

head. 

What is the solution? 

Let’s start from the head; that 

is where the issue starts rotten. 

Buhari should reshuffle his 

cabinet. 

That’s not the head. The 

head is Buhari himself…. 

Buhari is the one that invited 

them. I said let’s start from 

the head. Buhari should 

reshuffle his cabinet. He is 

the head of Nigeria now. He 

should restructure Nigeria 

and restructure each 

ministry; and spread it down 

the ladder. 

What do you mean by that? 

The regional clime was 

better. You have started 

federalism; you are running 

IT was another moment 

of celebration for the 

Priests and Religious in 

Lagos Catholic Archdiocese 

as members of Serra Club of 

Maryland gathered friends 

and well wishers for a dinner 

with Priests/Religious & 

Patrons' night in support of 

the promotion and funding 

of priestly vocations. 

The dinner, a forum for the 

Serra Club of Maryland to 

review its activities in the past 

year and sensitize the public 

to key into the five elements 

of Serra which include 

Spiritual growth in Christ, 

encouragement of church 

vocations, Religious education, 

Responsive lay leadership 

and Association in 

Should we then go back to 

the national conference 

recommendations or a 

referendum? 

When I recommended a 

referendum before the 

coming in of the Buhari 

administration, it was good 

then. But now, I don’t think 

that a referendum will even 

agree that we should be 

together. The current realities 

will make them to say let’s 

part our ways. That’s why I 

am saying restructure. The 

truth about this is, this nation 

has refused to take the right 

advice I gave them. They 

should change the constitution. 

Not amend it; change the 

name. It has a spiritual 

vibration that will make it to 

continue like this; striving to 

progress and not making any 

head way. If they don’t change 

the constitution in line with 

the current reality all the 

problems we are passing 

through they are the things 

that we are to solve forget 

about oil, this and that. 

Nobody would want to be 

cheated. I was coming from 

Pakistan the other time 

passing through Dubai, and 

came back. I said oooo, it is a 

question of time now that the 

whole world has opened our 

eyes, before we see war 

between the Delta people and 

the state. Now that oil has 

been found in Lagos and 

others are saying they have 

and this and that; injustice is 

in the land. They left this land 

…oh it is for our people, that 

is the problem. Then I say that 

there is no nation or state that 

is oil producing that is not 

living better than Nigeria. 

How do you dash me my 

thing, and tell me to keep 

quiet? Where the greatest 

injustice is, is in our nation. 

The last CAN election has 

sort of divided Christians in 

Nigeria.... 

It is a product of our economy 

and realities in our nation. 

Righteousness exalts a nation 

when you have a right leader 

at the top. Whether you 

believe it or not, your 

foremost leader is an 

indication of peace. Once 

there is economic restoration, 

once there is good leadership 

at the top, you will see that it 

will affect CAN; affect 

Cherubim and Sera-phim, 

Apostolic Church, Bible Life 

Church, Roman Catholic and 

every other church. But the 

center cannot hold, as Chinua 

Achebe said, once the kind of 

thing you are seeing is all 

about. 

For that of CAN, let’s see what 

happened during Jonathan/ 

Ayo Oritsejafor regime of 

CAN because politics has 

come into it. The division is 

also at the state level; we are 

further polarized. Buhari has 

come to polarize Christians 

more. Some leaders in the 

North said God said Buhari 

would win, some other said 

Buhari would lose and some 

told Jonathan that God has 

vowed that he must return. It 

shouldn’t be so. God is not 

interested in whether you 

come from this religion or 

that to lead this nation. 

Christians should tread softly 

on the issue of Ishmaelite will 

not. Even God allowed an 

Egyptian, Jeroboam, to rule 

Israel not to talk of Nigeria. 

Will President Buhari be the 

last president of Nigeria? 

I don’t predict. God has told 

me to keep quiet. And He has 

not told me about Buhari. He 

is the only president that God 

told me not to say anything. 

During the time of Jonathan, 

I wanted to correct him about 

all his weaknesses, but God 

said don’t correct him that He 

has a purpose for which he 

put him there. Towards the 

end we saw it. He saved 

Nigeria from war. But I don’t 

assure you that there will be 

no war for now. I don’t assure 

you that there will be no 

Nigeria. But going by the 

pace of things, unless something 

is done quickly, sorry, 

one of these days you may ask 

how is Nigeria and they will 

ask which part but they can 

remedy it. 

Serra Club of Maryland fetes priests and religious 

By Sam Eyoboka & 

Olayinka Latona 

Christian fellowship. 

The event took place at the 

McGovern Hall of St. Agnes 

Catholic Church, Maryland, 

Lagos and was attended by 

Catholic faithfuls including 

the Episcopal Vicar, Lagos 

Region, Archdiocese of Lagos, 

Very Rev. Msgr. Bernard 

Okodua, Dr. Deji Adebayo, 

Rev. Father Fadairo, friends 

from different sectors of the 

economy, relations as well as 

other guests to show appreciation 

to the Clergy and the 

Religious for all they have 

been doing for the parishioners 

in general. Admonishing 

members of the club and 

other participants to put God 

first in their under-takings, 

Rev. Fr. Paul Anyansi who 

delivered the dinner lecture 

titled; “Steps to Saint-hood, 

The example of St. Junipero 

Serra”, stressed that Christians 

ought to live a life worthy 

of emulation at all times. 

According to him, "St. Serra 

who was born on November 

24, 1713 in a Spanish village 

of Petra, was a disciplined 

Christian whose missionary 

career was to the glory of God 

and love of humanity. His 

lifestyle should be an example 

for us, Junipero Serra 

totally gave his life for others, 

and in like manner, God 

called each one of us to be 

special and disciplined in our 

various vocations”. 

Enumerating some of the 

past activities of Serra Club 

of Maryland, the club president, 

Serran Rose Nzenwa 

said: “We had a lot of programmes 

between 2015 and this 

year. We donated N1 million 

to the archdiocese for the 

priests' school fees while the 

sisters got N500,000. We buy 

items for them, celebrate their 

birthdays and their special 

days. It is a vocation and we 

don’t normally run away 

from anything that concerns 

priests and priesthood.” 

Continuing, Serran Nzenwa 

said: “The challenges facing 

the club are just like any other 

organization. We are dealing 

with human beings of different 

types, sometimes some of 

them are difficult to handle, 

some cannot support you 

when it comes to work”. 

Serra Club of Maryland is a 

member of the Serra 

International, a voluntary 

association of Catholic lay 

men and women who 

dedicate themselves to the 

fostering and promotion of 

vocation to the ministerial 

priesthood and consecrated 

life. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


THERE IS NO THIRTEENTH 

APOSTLE 

JESUS says if a man wit 

nesses about himself, 

his witness should not 

be believed: “He who speaks 

of himself seeks his own glory, 

but he who seeks the glory 

of him who sent him is true, 

and no unrighteousness is in 

him.” (John 7:18). 

However, most of what we 

know about Paul is what he 

witnesses about himself. For 

example, Paul says of the disciples 

of Jesus: “Are they ministers 

of Christ? (I speak as beside 

myself,) I am more! I have 

been in labors more abundantly, 

in stripes above measure, 

in prisons more, in 

deaths many times.” (II 

Corinthians 11:23). 

Jesus says: “If I bear witness 

of myself, my witness is 

not true.” (John 5:31). Paul repeatedly 

witnesses about himself. 

Therefore, he should not 

be believed. For example, he 

claims to be one of the apostles 

of Christ. (Galatians 1:1). 

But the truth of the matter is 

that he is not. 

Twelve apostles 

Jesus has only 12 apostles 

and Paul is not one of them: 

“When it was day, (Jesus) 

called his disciples, and from 

them he chose 12, whom he 

also named apostles: Simon, 

whom he also named Peter; 

Andrew, his brother; James; 

John; Philip; Bartholomew; 

Matthew; Thomas; James, 

the son of Alphaeus; Simon, 

who was called the Zealot; 

Judas the son of James; and 

Judas Iscariot, who also became 

a traitor.” (Luke 6:13- 

16). 

It was specifically these 12 

disciples that Jesus “named” 

apostles. According to Jesus, 

there can only be 12 apostles 

because there were only 12 

tribes of Israel. Moreover, 

there can only be 12 apostles 

because there will only be 12 

thrones of judgment. This is 

the explanation of Jesus, the 

author and finisher of our 

faith, to his disciples: “Assuredly 

I say to you, that in the 

regeneration, when the Son 

of Man sits on the throne of 

his glory, you who have followed 

me will also sit on 12 

thrones, judging the 12 tribes 

of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28). 

There can only be 12 apostles 

because the holy city, the 

New Jerusalem, has only 12 

foundations. As Jesus revealed 

to John: “The wall of 

the city had 12 foundations, 

and on them were the names 

of the 12 apostles of the 

Lamb.” (Revelation 21:14). 

These “12 apostles of the 

Lamb” do not include Paul. 

False Witness 

Jesus’ apostles were drawn 

from those who had been with 

Paul claims to be one of the 

apostles of Christ. But the truth 

of the matter is that he is not 

him from the beginning of his 

ministry and were therefore 

well-schooled in his doctrine. 

He said to them: “You also 

will bear witness, because you 

have been with me from the 

beginning.” (John 15:27). 

Paul does not qualify. He 

was not with the Lord from 

the beginning and is unfamiliar 

with Jesus’ doctrine. 

There is nothing in any of 

Paul’s epistles about Jesus’ 

cardinal principles; nothing 

about his tenets of the Sermon 

on the Mount; and nothing 

about Jesus’ many illuminating 

parables. As the 

theologian Ferdinand Christian 

Baur asks: “What kind 

of authority can there be for 

an ‘apostle’ who, unlike the 

other apostles, had never 

been prepared for the apostolic 

office in Jesus’ own 

school but had only later 

dared to claim the apostolic 

office on the basis of his own 

authority?” 

Since the requisite number 

of apostles is 12,when Judas 

committed suicide, the remaining 

11 decided to 

choose a new 12th apostle. 

This is how Peter presents the 

criterion for making that 

choice: “Of these men who 

have accompanied us all the 

time that the Lord Jesus went 

in and out among us, beginning 

from the baptism of 

John to that day when he was 

taken up from us, one of these 

must become a witness with 

us of his resurrection.” (Acts 

1:21-22). 

Paul simply does not meet 

these requirements. He was 

not a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. 

After Matthias was 

chosen, Luke says no more 

apostles were entertained. 

They remained an exclusive 

group: “No one else dared 

join them, even though they 

were highly regarded by the 

people.” (Acts 5:13). Significantly, 

after James was beheaded, 

another apostle was 

not chosen to replace him 

because, unlike Judas, James 

remains one of the 12 even in 

death. 

False Apostle 

Paul is a fake self-appointed 

apostle. This accounts for 

his many blunders. For example, 

Paul says on Jesus’ 

resurrection: “He was seen by 

Cephas, then by the 12.” (1 

Corinthians 15:5). However, 

Jesus only appeared to 11 disciples 

for Judas was no longer 

part of the 12. (Luke 24:33- 

34). When Jesus resurrected, 

the entirety of Jesus’ disciples 

at Pentecost was 120. (Acts 

1:15). Yet Paul says Jesus appeared 

to 500 people. (1 

Corinthians 15:5-6). 

Indeed, Jesus commends 

the Ephesians for rejecting 

fake apostles like Paul: "You 

cannot bear those who are 

evil. And you have tested 

those who say they are apostles 

and are not, and have 

found them liars." (Revelation 

2:2). 

Paul is the only person in 

the bible who told the Ephesians 

he was an apostle when 

he was not. (Ephesians 1:1). 

According to Luke, the Ephesians 

rejected his witness: 

“For three months Paul went 

to the Jewish meeting place 

and talked bravely with the 

people about God's kingdom. 

He tried to win them over, but 

some of them were stubborn 

and refused to believe.” (Acts 

19:8-9). 

Ephesus was in Asia and, 

as Paul admits to Timothy; 

Paul was rejected by all the 

Christians in Asia: "This you 

know, that all those in Asia 

have turned away from me." 

(II Timothy 1:15). As a matter 

of fact, they passed a "sentence 

of death" on him. (II 

Corinthians 1:8-9). 

That is why he found it necessary 

to turn from Asia and 

appeal to the European 

Corinthians: "If I am not an 

apostle to others, yet doubtless 

I am to you. For you are 

the seal of my apostleship in 

the Lord." (1 Corinthians 9:2). 

This appeal for public validation 

is pathetic especially 

in light of Paul's earlier boast 

of being an apostle: "not of 

men, neither by man, but by 

Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:1). 

Apostles are not elected by 

members of a church: apostles 

are chosen exclusively by 

the Lord. 

Jesus called Paul as a minister 

and not as an apostle: “I 

have appeared to you for this 

purpose, to make you a minister 

and a witness both of the 

things which you have seen 

and of the things which I will 

yet reveal to you.” (Acts 

26:16). When Ananias went 

to Paul, he did not call him 

Apostle Saul but “Brother 

Saul.” (Acts 9:17). When the 

writer of II Peter also refers to 

Paul, he does not call him 

Apostle Paul but “brother 

Paul.” (II Peter 3:15). 

John says we should test the 

spirits whether they are of 

God. (1 John 4:1). Let us do 

so with Paul. He says to the 

Galatians: "Am I trying to 

please men? If I were still trying 

to please men, I would 

not be a servant of Christ." 

(Galatians 1:10). But Paul 

contradicts this by admitting 

subsequently to the Corinthians: 

"I try to please everybody 

in every way." (1 Corinthians 

10:33). 

He is thereby snared by his 

own words. (Proverbs 6:2). 

Since he still tried to please 

men, then by his own yardstick, 

Paul is not a servant of 

Christ. 

That is how the Holy Spirit 

exposes liars. 

Another Scriptural Letter to 

Femi Aribisala 

By Mike Diagbare 

ON August 17, 2014, I 

wrote a personal 

scriptural letter to 

you protesting your continuous 

vilification of 

Apostle Paul and his gospel. 

Your article in Sunday 

Vanguard of June 26, 2016 

continued this criticism 

with the title: “Whose Report 

Do You Believe: Jesus Delivered 

Sinners from Satan; 

Paul delivered Sinners to 

Satan.” 

You wrote inter alia, “Christians 

assume Paul preached 

the same gospel as Jesus, 

but close scrutiny reveals 

otherwise. Paul never heard 

Jesus preach, he simply 

fabricated his own gospel 

and attributed it to Jesus. As 

a result, there are many 

contradictions between the 

gospel of Jesus and that of 

Paul.” 

Femi, I assumed my first 

scriptural letter that I and 

others wrote to you educated 

and changed your 

gospel understanding and 

importance of Apostle Paul. 

For I noticed in some of 

your subsequent writings, 

you quoted Apostle Paul to 

buttress your point. But I had 

miss-judged you. 

You said: “Jesus preaches 

the gospel of the kingdom 

of God. Jesus went about all 

Galilee, teaching in the 

synagogues and preaching 

the gospel of the kingdom 

(Matthew 4:23). But Paul 

preaches the gospel of God‘s 

Grace.” (Acts 20:24). 

Wouldn’t Jesus preaching of 

God‘s Kingdom include 

Apostle Paul’s preaching of 

God’s grace? For Apostle 

Paul says: “I consider my life 

worth nothing to me, if I 

may finish the race and 

complete the task the Lord 

Jesus have given me; the 

task of testifying to the 

gospel of God’s Grace.” 

(Acts 20:24). Are you telling 

your readers that there is no 

such thing as the grace of 

God? If so, where is God‘s 

prerogative? 

Femi, you also said that 

Jesus is The Saviour in the 

gospel of the Kingdom. 

“She shall bear a Son and 

you shall call his name 

Jesus for He shall save his 

people from sin.” (Matthew 

1:21). Then no scripture says 

Apostle Paul is The Saviour 

in his gospel of grace! Paul 

never ascribed the power of 

salvation or gospel of his 

name or anything of the sort 

to himself! 

Where, in the Bible or 

gospel, did it say Apostle 

Paul is ever a Saviour? 

Apostle Paul wrote himself 

in Romans 11:1-15, that he 

is a servant of Jesus Christ. 

He said: “I am talking to 

you gentiles. Insomuch as I 

am apostle to Gentiles, I 

make much of my ministry 

in the hope that I may somehow 

arouse my own people 

to envy, and save some of 

them.” (Romans 11:13-14) 

Apostle Paul is only an apostle 

of Jesus to the Gentiles. 

Jesus is the only Saviour. You 

also quoted Jesus as saying 

he will build his church 

himself: “I will build my 

church and the gate of hell 

will not prevail against it.” 

*RIGHT OF REPLY 

You completely 

do not understand 

Apostle Paul’s 

writings 

(Matthew 16:18) 

What is the difference in Paul 

saying in I Corinthians 3:10: 

“By the grace God has given 

me, I laid a foundation as 

an expert builder and someone 

else is building on it. 

But each one should be 

careful how he builds, for no 

one can lay any other 

foundation other than the 

one already laid, which is 

Jesus Christ.” 

This means that Apostle 

Paul is the expert builder of 

the Gentile’s church whose 

foundation was laid by 

Jesus Christ Himself. 

I recall your vehemently denial 

that Jesus gave His life 

as ransom to save anybody. 

Have you now accepted that 

Jesus gave His life as ransom? 

As you now quote 

Matthew 20:28 which says, 

“The son of man did not 

come to be served but to serve 

and give his life as ransom 

for many.” 

If Apostle Paul says Jesus 

gave His life as ransom for 

all, how does this contradict 

Jesus gospel? The fact is that 

He gave his life as ransom 

to save mankind. Whether 

it is for many or all, Jews or 

Gentiles, it does not matter. 

Let me quote you Isaiah 

66:19-21 to support Apostle 

Paul’s doctrine of ransom 

for all. “They will proclaim 

my glory among the nations, 

and they will bring all 

your brothers, from all the 

nations, to my holy mountain 

in Jerusalem as an 

offering to the Lord – on 

horses, in chariots, and 

wagons, and on mules, and 

camels, says the Lord, they 

will bring them as the 

Israelites bring their grain 

offerings to the Temple of 

the Lord in ceremonial 

clean vessels. And I will 

select some of them to be 

priests and Levites says the 

Lord.” 

Mr. Aribisala, you also 

wrote: “The principles Paul 

present in his letters to the 

churches are at variance 

with those that Jesus taught 

during his three year ministry. 

Since Paul’s teachings 

contradict those of Jesus, 

those who follow Paul cannot 

be Jesus disciples at the 

same time. Take note of the 

following divergence. 

“Jesus says he came to call 

sinners to repentance. 'I have 

not come to call the righteous 

but sinners to repentance.'” 

Matthew 9:13. But 

Paul says Jesus came to save 

sinners. “Christ Jesus came 

into the world to save sinners 

of whom I am chief.” (I 

Timothy 1:15) 

Femi, what is contradicting 

in what Apostle Paul preached? 

Is calling a sinner to 

repentance not the same as 

saving a sinner? 

You also wrote that Jesus 

kept company with sinners. 

“As Jesus reclined in the 

house, behold many tax 

collectors and sinners came 

and were reclining with 

him and his disciples.” 

Matthew 9:10. But Paul says 

Christians should not keep 

company with sinners. I 

Corinthians 5:9. 

Femi, was it not Jesus who 

in Matthew 18:17, who says, 

“… a brother who offends 

and who refuses to listen to 

the church, should be treated 

as you would a pagan or 

a tax collector?” 

You completely do not understand 

Apostle Paul’s 

writings. If you will quote I 

Corinthians 5:4-5 to justify 

your most offensive headline 

that says Jesus delivered 

sinners from Satan but Paul 

delivered sinners to Satan. 

For the benefit of your 

readers who may not have 

time to look up this scripture, 

it says: “When you are 

assembled in the name of 

our Lord Jesus Christ and I 

am with you in spirit and the 

power of our Lord Jesus 

Christ is present, hand this 

man over to Satan, so that 

the sinful nature may be 

destroyed and his spirit 

saved on the day of the 

Lord.” 

Is there no difference between 

the flesh and the 

Spirit? Is it not the spirit of 

the sinner that is saved? 

There are other topics of 

scripture you claim there 

are differences between 

Jesus’ teaching and that of 

Apostle Paul. If I have to 

delve into all the issues you 

raised, I might be writing a 

very long essay. 

You wrote: “It is imperative 

that as followers of Jesus, we 

must heed his warning. A lot 

of the warnings of Jesus 

identify Paul as a wolf in 

sheep clothing. Take another 

look at the following: 

Jesus said we should determine 

a prophet by his fruits. 

“Beware of false prophets 

who come to you in sheep 

clothing but inwardly they 

are devouring wolves. You 

shall know them by their 

fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-16) 

Femi Aribisala, in all honesty, 

you deliberately 

distort scripture you do not 

understand to suit your 

ignorance of scripture. 

Femi, you also wrote that 

Jesus says we should beware 

of the doctrine of the 

Pharisees. “Be sure to guard 

against the dishonest teaching 

of the Pharisees. It is 

their way of fooling people.” 

(Luke 14:31-30) 

You said: ‘But Paul remained 

a Pharisee even after he 

became a Christian. When 

he observed that some of the 

council members were Sadducees 

and others Pharisees, 

he shouted, “I am a Pharisee 

and the son of a Pharisee. I 

am on trial simply because 

I believe that the dead will 

be raised to life.” (Acts 23:6) 

Mr. Aribisala, let it be 

known that Jesus spoke of 

Pharisees who shut the 

kingdom of heaven against 

men. “Woe to you, scribes 

and Pharisees, hypocrites. 

For you shut the kingdom 

of heaven against men. For 

you neither go in nor do you 

allow those entering to go 

in.” (Matthew 23:13) 

*To be concluded next week


THE SHERIFF/MAKARFI STALEMATE 

PDP more divided ahead of Edo, 

Ondo polls 

*The forces behind sacked National Chairman 

•Makarfi 

BY BEN AGANDE, ABUJA 

The Federal High Court 

sitting in Port-Harcourt, 

Rivers State, last week, 

ruled that the process that led to 

the setting up of the Caretaker 

Committee of the Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP) at its last national 

convention was in accordance 

with the provisions of the 

constitution of the party. By the 

judgment, the court had, according 

to some observers, conferred 

legitimacy on the Senator 

Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker 

Committee which is in a contest 

with the former Chairman of the 

PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, and his 

group who equally laid claim 

to the leadership of the party. 

In the judgement, Justice 

Mohammed Liman also held 

that Sheriff didn’t have the power 

to unilaterally postpone the 

PDP convention, since there was 

a caveat in the party’s constitution 

that he was to preside over 

the national convention with other 

national officers of the party. 

“The first defendant, from undisputable 

evidence, participated 

from the very initial stage of summoning 

the convention from the 

level of national executive council, 

appointed a national convention 

organising committee, he 

filed to contest , was screened but 

disqualified from participating in 

the convention. So from this scenario, 

it is logical to assume that 

he was not prevented from participating 

in the convention. It will 

also not come from him that the 

convention was not properly convened. 

The first defendant submitted 

himself for screening, purchased 

the form for the screening. 

The screening was widely reported 

in the media,” Liman said. The 

judge said Sheriff did not attend 

the national convention but went 

ahead to postpone the exercise 

when delegates from all parts of 

the country were already at the 

venue. He said the unilateral action 

of Sheriff violated the constitution 

of the PDP, adding that if he 

had attended the convention and 

proposed postponement of the exercise 

was rejected, he would have 

been vindicated. “The National 

Chairman should have attended 

the convention and propose postponement. 

He would have been 

vindicated even if they rejected it”, 

he said. Liman said the Deputy 

National Chairman of the party 

was in order to have presided over 

the convention in the absence of 

the National Chairman because 

conditions under which he could 

assume such powers were clearly 

spelt out in the constitution of the 

party. His words: “Article 35 provides 

that the Deputy National 

Chairman shall assist the National 

Chairman, deputise for the 

National Chairman in his absence. 

It is obvious that the Deputy 

National Chairman can preside 

over the convention in the absence 

of the National Chairman.” 

But if anybody expected that the 

court judgment was going to put 

an end to the crisis in the party, a 

huge disappointment awaited 

him. As it has become the norm 

with Sheriff since losing out at the 

Port-Harcourt national convention 

of the PDP, he has defied the 

governors elected on the platform 

of the party and insisted that he 

remains the Chairman, hinging 

his claim on orders his group had 

obtained from the various courts. 

In one of such interlocutory orders, 

an Abuja High Court presided 

over by Justice Okon Abang, 

restrained the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, the “PDP and their agents 

from dealing with or according 

any facility required by law (regarding 

the gubernatorial elections 

to be conducted by INEC in 

Edo and Ondo states) to any other 

person or groups other than the 

Sheriff, Prof Wale Oladipo and 

•Sheriff 

With Sheriff and 

Makarfi sticking to 

their positions 

without any sign of 

compromise, it 

appears that the 

ultimate loser in the 

fierce contest for 

power would be the 

party in Edo 

Fatai Adeyanju-led NWC of the 

party. 

For those behind Sheriff’s emergence 

as Chairman of the PDP 

from the blues, the last thing on 

their mind was the leadership crisis 

that the party is embroiled in. 

While the promoters were counting 

on his alleged deep pocket to 

stabilize the PDP in the aftermath 

of its defeat in the presidential 

election of last year, the potentials 

of his wanting to stay on in power 

were not factored-in when the 

merits of his chairmanship on the 

party was being worked out. So 

when the governors elected on the 

platform of the PDP tried, without 

success, to railroad Sheriff out 

of the convention when it became 

obvious that he was no longer willing 

to do their biddings he bared 

his fangs. 

Although there is no denying the 

fact that many party members 

seem to be against the leadership 

of the former governor of Borno 

State, he has been able to galvanize 

a few, even if controversial 

members of the party, to his side. 

It is the few but powerful members 

that have sustained the leadership 

battle in the PDP that 

threatens the chances of the party 

in the forthcoming governorship 

elections in Edo and Ondo states. 

SHERIFF’S SUPPORTERS 

When Sheriff fell out with PDP 

governors as a result of his unilateral 

cancellation of the Port-Harcourt 

convention, which the governors 

insisted must go on, it was 

widely believed that his tenure as 

the Chairman was getting to the 

end. Recent events in the party, 

however, point to the contrary. 

With almost all the major stakeholders 

in the party against him, 

the question that comes to mind 

is, where does the former Borno 

governor draw his strength to sustain 

the fight that he has so far 

done successfully? 

A careful interrogation of the 

Sheriff personae will provide an 

insight into why he may endure 

the fight for much longer. 

Since coming into limelight, 

Sheriff has presented an image of 

a political juggernaut who takes 

no hostages and brooks no opposition 

to his leadership. When he 

fell out with Mala Kachalla whom 

he installed as the governor of 

Borno at the beginning of the 

present political dispensation, the 

embattled PDP leader, credited 

with a huge financial arsenal to 

prosecute any political war, single-handedly 

took the ticket from 

Kachalla who decamped from the 

defunct All Peoples Party (APP) to 

the former Alliance for Democracy 

(AD) with ignominy. His subsequent 

eight years tenure as governor 

of Borno cemented his hold 

on the then APP and extended his 

sphere of influence to the national 

level which was crowned with 

his appointment as the Chairman 

of the Board of Trustees of the now 

also defunct All Nigerian Peoples 

Party (ANPP). It is this influence 

that he finds very handy in the imbroglio 

that he is in presently. 

Beyond the reach and capacity 

of Sheriff, he has the support of 

very powerful politicians who are 

ready to back him all the way. 

Though the raison d’être for the 

support from these powerful individuals 

may be at variance with 

why Sheriff is insisting on remaining 

in office against all odds, they 

are united by their disdain for certain 

key players in the PDP who 

are opposed to Sheriff. 

Prominent among those whose 

support the PDP leader counts on 

to cling on to the party chairmanship 

is Senator Buruji Kashamu. 

Kashamu’s short and controversial 

political trajectory has 

shown him as a man who thrives 

in controversy. In the last one year 

or so, he has fought battles on several 

fronts. Apart from his attempts 

to stave off his deportation 

to the United States of America to 

face some charges, the Ogun senator 

has used his alleged deep 

pocket to bulldoze his way 

through the tricky politics of the 

South-West and registering himself 

as a power to contend with. 

He sees his support for Sheriff as 

a sure way of retaining his influence 

on the politics of the South- 

West and possibly extend same to 

the national level. 

Another strong backer of Sheriff 

is Chris Uba, the Anambra born 

political giant alleged to be behind 

the move to remove a former 

governor of Anambra State, Chris 

Ngige, in 2003. Since that incident, 

Uba has had his hand in 

many controversies that dogged 

Anambra politics. In fact, he challenged 

the emergence of his brother, 

Andy Uba, as the senatorial 

candidate in the last election and 

pursued the case to the Supreme 

Court. 

Chris Uba’s support for Sheriff 

is as much a matter of political 

self-survival and relevance as to 

expand his sphere of influence. For 

a man who has the record of being 

the youngest member of the 

Board of Trustees of the PDP, he 

cannot afford to see his investment 

in the party blown away by the 

emergence of a leader that he 

would not have an influence on. 

Sheriff appears to be giving him 

a listening ear that he is not sure 

to get from any other outsider that 

he may not be too familiar with. 

Another prominent supporter of 

Sheriff is Senator Hope Uzodinma 

from Imo State. Senator 

Uzodinma is locked in a fierce 

battle with the former Deputy 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

Emeka Ihedioha, over 

who controls the structure of the 

party in the state. Ihedioha, who 

was the party’s governorship candidate 

in the 2015 elections in 

Imo still has his eyes on the seat 

that he lost to Governor Rochas 

Okorocha. Uzodinma, who is 

PDP 

also 

m 

not new to controversy, is also determined 

to have a try for the governorship 

election of the state 

when the tenure of the incumbent 

expires. With Ihedioha neck deep 

in his support for the Makarfi-led 

Caretaker Committee, it was natural 

that Uzodinma would pitch 

his tent with Sheriff. He was rewarded 

with the chairmanship of 

the Sheriff-led faction of the PDP 

gubernatorial election committee 

for Edo State. Although INEC refused 

to recognize the primary 

conducted by the Sheriff group, 

they are not willing to let go of the 

contestation for the state as the 

faction also conducted its primary 

and came out with Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen 

as its candidate. 

WINNERS AND LOSERS 

With Sheriff and Makarfi sticking 

to their positions without any 

sign of compromise, it appears that 

the ultimate loser in the fierce contest 

for power would be the party 

in Edo. Although the main faction 

of the PDP has elected Pastor Ize 

Iyamu as the candidate of party for 

the September election in Edo, the 

intransigence of Sheriff who has 

also produced a candidate for same 

election in the name of same party 

will seriously jeopardize the interest 

of the party in the election. With 

INEC caught in legal cross-fire 

that both parties in the feud have 

resorted to, there is potent fear that, 

at best, the PDP would be going 

into the election as a divided house 

or, at worst, risk not being put on 

the ballot. 

Unless both parties in the leadership 

crisis allow common sense 

to prevail and look at the greater 

interest of the party, the PDP, 

which has been decimated because 

of its dismal performance 

in the last general election will 

be rest assured that it would sacrifice 

its bright chances in the 

Edo election on the altar of ego. 

The ultimate loser would be the 

people of Edo who would not be 

availed of all the options they 

would have chosen from.


face-Off 

Why I ‘ll be the 

next occupant of 

Edo Gov’t Govt House 

—Hon. Iduoriyekemwen 

BY EMMA UJAH, ABUJA 

Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwe is a two-term Majority Leader, Edo State 

House of Assembly. The former Edo State representative in the Niger 

Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says, in this interview, that 

he stands out as the most qualified candidate to occupy the Edo State 

Government, as Gov. Adams Oshimhole’s tenure ends shortly. Excerpts: 

C 

M 

YK 

Y 

ou want to be governor of Edo 

State. What is your pedigree? 

Since the commencement of this 

new democratic era, I have been a very 

active participant. I was elected into the 

Edo House of Assembly in 1999; I was 

the Majority Leader in Edo House of 

Assembly for eight years. I also went to 

the Niger Delta Development 

Commission as the state representative 

and I have participated in virtually all 

the political activities of the Peoples 

Democratic Party in Edo since 1998. 

In fact, I was among the founding 

members of the political party. In terms 

of experience I have been a legislator 

and I have also served in a body that is 

part of the executive and that is the Niger 

Delta Commission. 

In these offices I have shown faith and I 

have also tried in my own way to ensure 

our people have the effects of good 

governance and that the dividend of 

democracy is actually enjoyed by my 

constituents and those directly under my 

political constituency. 

Why do you think you are the right 

candidate for Edo State Government 

House? 

I have said earlier that I have been part 

of the government since 1999 and I 

know the basic responsibilities of 

government. It is to be able to do things, 

the things that will ensure basic 

satisfaction to the people and generate 

happiness in the people. My stay so far 

in government has given me the 

opportunity to know that things can be 

done differently from the way things are 

been done now. If you understand the 

geographical topography of Edo state, 

it is one state that is endowed with both 

human and natural resources. It is a 

state were we have agricultural 

resources, stable, flat lands and solid 

minerals. All these can be transformed 

for the betterment and growth of that 

state. Edo state as we speak today, is a 

state that hasn’t been able to have a clear 

cut economic direction. I think there has 

been no deliberate effort of government 

to create an economic policy geared 

towards eliminating poverty and 

strengthening infrastructure. Edo state 

is a state that is in clear need of an 

economic foundation which will lead 

to the engagement of the unemployed 

in our state, which will lead to the 

development of entrepreneurial skills 

of the people of the state, which will lead 

to the strengthening of Small and 

Medium Enterprises. I am in that state 

and I know that is one thing the state is 

lacking, not minding the fact that the 

state is one of the states that you can say 

in terms of education is one of the 

foremost states in this country. 

It is a state where we need to develop 

those basic things like education; we 

Edo is a state that is in 

clear need of an 

economic foundation 

which will lead to the 

engagement of the 

unemployed in our 

state, which will lead to 

the development of 

entrepreneurial skills of 

the people of the state, 

which will lead to the 

strengthening of Small 

and Medium 

Enterprises 

have to give the right quality of 

education back to our people like it 

was in the past. Right now, what we 

have is infrastructure, you see school 

buildings but you visit those schools 

and the right capacity of staff are not 

there. When you don’t have the right 

capacity of staff, what then will be the 

quality of students we are going to train 

in that school? So it is a time when we 

have to redefine a clear economic 

direction for the state. 

What is the nature of your economic 

blueprint? 

One of the major points I want to look 

at as a governor is to lay the economic 

foundation of growth in the state and 

you can do this in so many ways. You 

have to strengthen the agricultural 

sector; you have to create an 

environment to allow private 

businesses to develop and thrive. 

Government like we know can’t give 

jobs to everybody, government can’t 

employ all the unemployed in the 

society. What government can do is to 

create the enabling environment to 

allow entrepreneurs to develop and in 

their developing they engage persons 

to strengthen their businesses and by 

so doing you are taking out people 

from the streets. In the area of 

agriculture, to also strengthen first and 

foremost the local farmers who are in 

the states by giving them incentives 

and strengthen them to increase their 

capacity, while government will on her 

own part see how we can help them to 

have good access to their farmers and 

also do things to see the preservation 

of their farm produce. These are some of 

the things we hope to do in the area of 

agriculture while we invite persons who are 

interested in going into agriculture to come 

to the state and give them all the support 

they need to establish and operate in our 

state. 

Only about 9 months ago many 

governorship candidates spoke 

glowingly about their desires and visions 

for their states, only to be elected and 

found out there was no money to run the 

states. They had to run to the federal 

government to beg for bail out. Have 

you deeply considered that you can have 

a similar situation, if elected governor of 

your Edo? 

Yes we are in a country were almost every 

state depends on allocation from the 

federal government but that is dwindling. 

Consequently, we must look at other ways 

to generate revenue and in doing that we 

must create enabling environment for 

entrepreneurial growth and development 

in the state. When that is done, yes it might 

not be quite easy at the beginning, but 

over time, it is something you build on. If 

you look at life, basically what is the 

foremost thing that affects everyone in the 

society, once you are able to put forth 

policies that can solve the basic 

physiological needs of any society then that 

society is ready for development and by 

that basic physiological needs we are talking 

about things like food, clothing and shelter. 

If government sets out to do that and we 

are able to achieve that, then it will be time 

to start thing of novelties that you can do to 

improve on the economy of the state. The 

point we are now is to develop the existing 

infrastructure. 

How much are you aware of the assets 

and liabilities of Edo state? 

Edo State is a state that is blessed with 

abundant minerals, as well as, other natural 

resources. Edo state is one state that 

opportunities bound to be explored in 

various sectors. It is one of the states in the 

country that are oil producing, no matter 

how and has one of the highest gas reserves 

in the country. 

I was going through some part of the state 

and found out that even the forestry 

department that people have been falling 

trees and there has been a lot of 

deforestation but there were not re-planting. 

These are just basic things on government 

must take a definite stand, stay by it, not 

just for the present but for the future. We 

must see government as a continuous 

process. 

One of the things I also think is the bane of 

development in many of the states is that 

almost all the state governments and the 

federal government operate on 

borrowing. Consequently, it is not 

unlikely that when you assume office as a 

governor you will find a debt profile. You 

won’t say because there are debts to be paid you are not 

going to face what you need to do to improve on the 

economy and well being of the people. While you look at 

the debt, the ones that are genuine, you continue to service 

because as I said government is a continuous process. 

The government is there constant and it is the operators 

of government that come in and out. So once one gets to 

office, what one has to do is to review all those things. 

Right now, I can’t tell you that I know the extent of 

indebtedness of Edo state- even the state government up 

till now, has never come out to tell the people of Edo state 

this is the state of indebtedness. The state government 

continuous to pride itself in say ‘we are not owing anybody, 

we are not owing this and that’ but those are things that 

once you get into office you will find out for yourself. 

Even until very recently the governor was still taking a 

World Bank loan. Aren’t you scared of the finances of 

the state that will confront you if you become the 

governor of the state? 

Well why should I be scared? It is the reason for the World 

Bank loan that he was taking I should be bothered aboutwhether 

those loans are actually applied for the purpose 

for which they were obtained. I heard that before those 

loans were obtained some certain conditions were given 

them to meet. I am still not sure as to what amount of that 

money has been released to Edo state. So with the new 

government coming in place you have to do an appraisal, 

ook at what is there, look at what amount and value of 

that loan has been released and what part of the loan 

released has been utilised. 

We know that very recently there were issues about 

the current governor trying to establish a new university 

in his home town and some people feel that should not 

be a priority for a state with two universities. What is 

your take on it? 

I think the establishment of a new state university shouldn’t 

arise because the existing ones can be strengthened to 

provide opportunities for more candidates. If you think 

you need to create new departments or new faculties, the 

laws establishing that existing institution allow for 

multiple campuses 

You could take a particular campus out of the present 

place and move it to any part of the state that you see fit, 

rather than establishing a new university in the state. I 

think one state government will be having too many 

responsibility managing two state universities. 

For so many people change is what they thing should 

happen in the Nigerian political arena that is why we 

have a federal government that is been controlled by 

APC and so many states controlled by APC. How do 

you think that you would be able to wrest Edo state 

from the APC? 

Firstly, my people in Edo State believe in me. They have 

confidence in me because I have lived most of my life 

with them and amongst them. They see a practical 

demonstration of my belief in Edo State by my actions 

through the things I do in the state. Most of my 

investments are there because I believe that Edo State 

can be greater and in Edo state the change mantra that 

we are seeing is actually needed more but that aside, 

elections are won when the people see the credibility of 

the candidate. There have been states in this country where 

candidates have emerged and defeated incumbent 

governors. There are states in this country where 

candidates emerge and defeated the incumbent party 

both at the state and federal.


face-Off 

TWO CANDID 

ANDIDATES, ONE PAR 

ARTY Y IN EDO POLL 

PDP’s Ize Iyamu or 

Iduoriyekemwen is no 

match for APC’s Obaseki 

– Charles Idahosa 

Says Ikimi must apologise for 

anti-Oshiomhole’s comments 

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN – CITY 

Charles Idahosa is one of the founding members of the All Progressives Congress 

(APC) and currently the Political Adviser to Governor Adams Oshiomhole. In this 

interview, he criticises a former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi, over 

what he describes as derogatory comments he used against Oshiomhole. He responds 

to allegations made against the APC-led government in the state during the recent 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, rally, asserting that the party is confused as to who 

between Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen will be 

facing Godwin Obaseki of the APC in the forthcoming governorship poll in the 

state. 

PDP rally 

I watched the rally. I have always 

wanted to remain calm with what has 

been happening because I have gone 

through it all before. I tried to be a 

senator; as I speak, my N1million is 

still with the PDP, but they gave the 

ticket to Daisy Danjuma. I wanted to 

be governor. I contested the primary 

with Oshiomhole, but later the ticket 

was given to him. And I have been his 

adviser since then. So you can 

imagine how I felt when Chief Ikimi 

opened his mouth to say Osagie Ize- 

Iyamu brought Oshiomhole to him. 

He claimed he did not know 

Oshiomhole. How can you say you 

gave Oshiomhole ticket and you 

didn’t know him, a man that was the 

President of the NLC and you said you 

were a Foreign Minister? I want to put 

it on record that the primary election 

between myself and Oshiomhole was 

very comprehensive and Oshiomhole 

deserved the victory. Oshiomhole’s 

emergence was not an automatic 

declaration from Ikimi. So he never 

gave Oshiomhole governorship. I also 

heard him say that the current 

secretariat of the APC was provided by 

Osagie Ize-Iyamu, that is also not true. 

I ran that APC secretariat for two 

years, paying the salaries of workers, 

furnished the place. We rented that 

place and the owner said we should 

deposit N20million since it is a 

political party. But we said we didn’t 

have such money. Then the son of the 

owner, who is my friend, said we could 

use an individual’s name to acquire it. 

Another thing he said was that 

himself and Ize-Iyamu formed APC. I 

was the first person from Edo to be 

drafted into the national body of the 

party to work with Ikimi when we 

were forming APC. While we were 

forming the party, Ize-Iyamu was 

Secretary to Edo State Government 

and he and others were in the PDP 

fighting Chief Anenih. So, how did he 

now form APC? Is he saying Ize- 

Iyamu was in PDP in the day time and 

ACD, as we were called then, at night? 

On May 29, 2007, when INEC 

declared that Oshiomhole lost the 

election before we went to court, when 

Lucky Igbinedion was handing over to 

Prof.Osunbor, Ize-Iyamu was standing 

PDP was in 

government for 16 

years and you expect 

a man who just came 

to power one year ago 

to perform magic 

overnight? Did Buhari 

tell us that he is a 

magician? One year is 

too early to judge him 

beside him as Secretary to 

Government. He was SSG till 2007; 

so, at what point was he the leader 

of an opposition party that came to 

power later? 

They were equally talking about 

Airport Road, that Oshiomhole has 

not done anything. Where the PDP is 

making a big mistake is this their 

talk always that Oshiomhole has not 

done anything. I have told some of 

their leaders who are my friends that 

they should change their tactics 

because they will be fooling 

themselves if they continue to say 

Oshiomhole has not done anything 

when people have seen that Edo has 

changed. They should be saying they 

will build flyover since Oshiomhole 

has built roads rather than saying he 

has not done anything. They are 

making a mockery of themselves. 

When Ikimi defected to the PDP after 

he did not get the chairmanship of 

APC, he said that he cooked the food 

and Oshiomhole removed the pot 

and the food. I wonder why he is 

always talking about food and 

cooking. He repeated it at their 

rally. 

We decided to keep calm since 

because he has no electoral value; so 

we are not worried about him at all. 

The other day Ikimi referred to Oshiomhole 

as a Kukuruku boy, trying to use derogatory 

comments against the governor. I am giving 

him seven days to apologize to Oshiomhole or 

else we will take action against him. 

There is this insinuation that some of you 

may find it difficult to work against Ize- 

Iyamu as the PDP candidate due to his close 

relationship with some of you? 

I find it difficult to attack him because he is 

my younger brother. But he should not run his 

mouth anyhow because, if he does, then I will 

have no option since we are not in the same 

party. My party, the APC, has a very good 

candidate in the person of Godwin Obaseki 

who is equally my brother. Obaseki happens to 

be an old boy of my school, Eghosa Anglican 

Grammar School. Edo College has produced 

governor before; we want Eghosa Anglican 

Grammar School too, to produce governor. 

Almost everybody in the race is close to me 

because I am old in this game. But another 

issue is that we don’t even know who Obaseki 

is going to face, whether it is Ize-Iyamu or 

Matthew Iduoriyekemwen. They have two 

candidates in the PDP; so we are confused as 

to who our candidate will meet. But we are 

watching and whoever eventually meets us 

will certainly be crushed. 

But why is it also difficult for your party to 

pick a running mate for Obaseki? 

arty leaders have been meeting and working 

hard on that. The issue will be resolved in the 

next few days. I heard that some people are 

saying this will cause crisis in APC, that was 

the same thing they said before the primary. 

But you can see that there was no crisis after 

the primary. So this one will also be resolved. 

Some of us have made our input on the matter 

and we believe that, at the end of the day, it will 

be resolved. 

Ize-Iyamu no threat to APC 

His emergence is not a threat to APC. The 

issue is that he is both a politician and a 

pastor. When pastors mount the pulpit to 

preach to you, you will donate your last kobo 

to the church. So they have this gift of the garb, 

they can convince you to even bring all your 

belongings to the church. He is good in 

making powerful speeches as a politician of 

so many years standing, so he has that 

capacity to convince his followers that he will 

win even when he knows that he will crash. If 

you watched the event when they kicked off 

their campaign at the Baptist ground, Chief 

Anenih did not talk, Esama did not speak also. 

You could see confusion on the faces of those who 

were there because they didn’t know who will be 

their candidate eventually. But Ize-Iyamu is a 

smart politician, we are aware he is making 

moves to join another party if he ended up not 

becoming the authentic candidate of the PDP. We 

have heard stories about some of our members 

who may want to work with him and jeopardise 

our chances, but, let me tell you, registered party 

members are not up to five per cent of voters. 90 

per cent of those who will vote that day are not 

party members, they will vote for APC 

government that has done so well for them. It is 

only we here in the urban areas that know Ize- 

Iyamu, most people who are in the rural areas 

know Oshiomhole and his candidate is the one 

they will vote for. PDP is dead here right now. 

Nigerians are crying that the APC-led 

Federal Government is not doing enough to 

boost the economy. Don’t you think that may 

affect the APC in the election? 

PDP was in government for 16 years and you 

expect a man who just came to power one year 

ago to perform magic overnight? Did Buhari tell 

us that he is a magician? One year is too early to 

judge him. Were militants blowing up pipelines 

when Jonathan was there? We know those doing 

it to cripple the economy and rubbish the 

government. Let me tell you, during this 

campaign, Oshiomhole will lead the campaign 

of Godwin Obaseki. Ize-Iyamu’s credentials are 

tied around Lucky Igbinedion. When Ize-Iyamu 

left university, he became the PA to Lucky 

Igbinedion, he became his Chief of Staff and then 

SSG. The question now is, will Lucky Igbinedion 

campaign with Ize-Iyamu now? When you 

mention Obaseki, you will tie him with 

Oshiomhole, but when you mention Ize-Iyamu, 

you tie him with Igbinedion because Ize-Iyamu is 

nothing without Lucky Igbinedion. Ize-Iyamu has 

not worked outside the Igbinedions. But Obaseki 

is a stock broker, a banker and financial expert. 

Now, he came to assist Oshiomhole and, for 

seven years, he has worked without collecting 

salary. 

Obaseki is proud that Oshiomhole will lead his 

campaign. When the campaigns starts, we will 

know who will lead Ize-Iyamu’s campaign. It is 

even an insult that the name of a former governor 

was not in the campaign train of Ize-Iyamu. Has 

he abandoned Lucky? 

So in this campaign, Oshiomhole is a good 

man, he is loved by many, it will be very easy to 

beat any PDP candidate because he will lead our 

campaign. 

C 

M 

YK


VIEWPOINT 

By Nelson Ako Okoli 

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF 

A prosecution in proper 

perspectives 

SENATE President Bukola 

Saraki is currently facing trial 

at the Code of Conduct Tribunal 

over allegations of wrongdoings 

pertaining to asset declaration in 

his days as Governor of Kwara 

State. He is also answering to 

charges bordering on alleged 

forgery of Senate rules. The Senate 

President is seen as the number 

three man in the hierarchy of 

power and order of protocol in 

Nigeria. The occupant of the office 

would ordinarily be a very 

powerful person especially when 

he is a member of the ruling party. 

However in the case of Saraki, the 

extra advantage of his supposed 

membership of the ruling party 

appears to be lacking on account 

of his determination to occupy the 

position of Senate President. He 

vied for the position and, via the 

instrumentality of deft political 

maneuvering/strategy, he emerged 

the President of the Senate to the 

consternation of some powerful 

forces within his party who made 

no effort to conceal their 

opposition to his ambition. He has 

however managed to remain in the 

position even in the face of 

opposition from his supposed party 

men. 

POLITICS OF SARAKI’S 

EMERGENCE 

The politics of Saraki’s 

controversial emergence has its 

roots in the inability of the ruling 

party to manage effectively its post 

electoral victory and also the 

failure of the ACN, CPC, ANPP, 

break away faction of PDP and 

other political parties that merged 

to form the APC to completely 

discard their old identities and 

subsume same under the canopy 

of the new party APC. It was 

reasoned in some quarters that 

since the CPC and ACN had taken 

the presidential and vice 

presidential slots, Saraki, who 

joined the APC with other 

politicians from the breakaway 

Of Saraki’s trials, politics and real likelihood of bias 

Those who are 

asking the 

learned trial judge 

to disqualify 

himself are 

situating their 

calls on a 

likelihood of bias 

PDP, should be allowed to take the 

number three slot. It was not very 

difficult for the pro-Saraki 

senators to reach an agreement 

with the PDP senators who 

combined forces with them to 

install Saraki as Senate President. 

Since Saraki’s emergence, it has 

been one intrigue after the other, 

all aimed at making him 

uncomfortable in his No 3 

position and, curiously, all the 

intrigues have been orchestrated 

by his fellow party men. This 

speaks volumes about intra party 

cohesion/unity or lack of same. 

That topic is however for another 

day. 

Perhaps I need to say here that I 

am not a fan of Saraki even though 

he was a friend to a relation of 

mine. I chose my words carefully 

by saying “.......... was a friend” 

because I don’t know if they are 

still friends and also because I 

know for a fact that in Nigeria, a 

friend in power is a friend lost. 

There may be very few exceptions 

to this rule though. My interest in 

this topic is mainly on the issues 

and principles pertaining thereto 

and not necessarily on the 

dramatis personae in the current 

theatre of anomie. 

If it is indeed true that the 

breakaway faction of the PDP (now 

in APC) took every steps to ensure 

the emergence of Saraki as Senate 

President, then they (the 

breakaway PDP block in APC) 

would be right to call themselves 

the defenders of democracy, equity 

and spirit of the 1999 constitution 

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 

for the following reasons: 

1. By Saraki’s emergence the 

Senate has made a bold statement 

to the effect that the legislature 

would guard jealously its 

independence and would not 

condone any undue interference 

from the executive arm of 

government or any political party. 

That would be commendable 

especially when we remember 

what harm executive/presidential 

interference did to the legislature 

in the days of Obasanjo’s 

presidency. 

2. Saraki’s political engineering 

was a bold attempt at upholding 

the principle of equitable 

distribution of offices. It did not 

matter to Saraki’s party (the APC) 

that the South East and South and 

South were completely ignored in 

their scheme of distribution of very 

important national offices. It was 

Saraki’s maneuver that accorded 

the South East an opportunity to 

produce the Deputy Senate 

President. Saraki and his 

supporters even went further in the 

composition of the Senate 

Committees by ensuring that the 

South East contrary to the wishes 

of some powerful forces in the 

ruling party was not totally 

ignored in the scheme of things. 

3. Section 14 (3) of the 1999 

constitution States clearly as 

follows: 

a“ The composition of the 

Government of the Federation or 

any of it’s agencies and the conduct 

of it’s affairs shall be carried out 

in such a manner as to reflect the 

Feaderal character of Nigeria and 

the need to promote national unity 

.........Thereby ensuring that there 

shall be no predominance of 

persons from a few states or from 

a few ethnic or other sectional 

groups in that government or in 

any of it’s agencies.” 

So far, Saraki and his group 

appear to be very mindful of this 

very important provision of our 

constitution which comes under the 

heading of “Fundamental 

objectives and directives principles 

to state policy”. They have upheld 

this aspect of the spirit of our 

constitution in the composition of 

committees and other 

appointments unlike what obtains 

in the executive arm of the APC 

controlled Federal Government 

which ensured a deliberate 

exclusion of the South East from 

every aspect of the nation’s security 

apparatus. As it stands today, 

nobody from the South East is 

entitled to attend any Security 

Council meeting under the present 

day Federal Government which 

seems to operate a deliberate 

policy of exclusion/ 

marginalization of the South East 

in utter disregard of constitutional 

provisions. 

Section 15(2) of the 1999 

constitution states 

“..........national integration shall 

be actively encouraged whilst 

discrimination on grounds of 

place of origin, sex, religion, 

status, 

ethnic or linguistic association 

or ties shall be prohibited”. 

It is rather curious that while the 

APC controlled Federal 

Government (Executive arm) 

violates the spirit of the 1999 

constitution reproduced in part 

above, the Senate under Saraki (an 

APC Senator) makes visible efforts 

to uphold same. This could make 

one easily arrive at any of the 

following conclusion or more as 

follows: 

1. The ruling party is yet to 

become a political party in the real 

sense of the word as all the merging 

parties are still maintaining their 

individual identities and group 

idiosyncrasies. 

2. The ruling party is utterly 

bereft of any modicum of cohesion 

hence the simultaneous operation 

of two mutually exclusive and 

diametrically opposing policies:- 

a recipe for confusion. 

Whichever way one looks at it, 

the Senate under Saraki must be 

commended for defying the party’s 

policy of exclusion/ 

marginalization. The Senate 

under Saraki’s leadership must be 

commended for upholding the 

constitution and defending the 

independence/autonomy of the 

legislature. 

Sequel to the foregoing, and the 

seeming demystification of the 

APC party leadership, no effort is 

being spared to teach the “errant” 

Saraki a lesson in party 

supremacy. After several 

ineffective and unsuccessful media 

trials, Saraki is now before the 

Code of Conduct Tribunal. 

THE CCT TRIAL OF SARAKI 

AND THE LIKELYHOOD OF 

BIAS 

As a practicing lawyer, I would 

avoid every temptation to go into 

the merits or otherwise of the cases 

of the prosecution and /or defense. 

Both sides have formidable legal 

teams to handle their briefs. I am 

however uncomfortable with the 

calls by some pro-Saraki 

commentators for the presiding 

judge (The Hon. Justice Danladi 

Umar) to disqualify himself from 

the Saraki case. The judiciary is a 

separate arm of government and 

no effort should be spared in 

insulating it from the undue 

influence of the executive arm of 

government and politicians 

generally. Our judges must be 

protected from the undue 

interference of politicians. 

Those who are asking the 

learned trial judge to disqualify 

himself are situating their calls on 

a likelihood of bias. There have 

been insinuations to the effect that 

the learned judge is being 

investigated by the EFCC. Those 

who are making these calls should 

be reminded that the issue of 

“likelihood of bias” is not a very 

easy issue to deal with before a 

judge/panel or tribunal because 

you would be essentially asking 

the learned jurist to pass a 

judgment on/himself by saying 

whether he is likely to be biased. 

The law is not based on emotions. 

The learned jurist has the legal 

authority to hear the application 

and decide whichever way he 

pleases. The beauty of the system 

however lies in the fact that Saraki 

has a constitutionally guaranteed 

right of appeal which cannot be 

denied. 

*Okoli, a legal practitioner, is 

a Realtor and Chartered 

A r b i t r a t o r . 

(akookoli3@gmail.com) 

To be continued 

VIEWPOINT 

By Uche Anichukwu 


Flaws VIEWPOINT 

in the prosecution of 

Senate leaders 

By Uche Anichukwu 

I 

read a recent editorial by a 

newspaper entitled, “Ekweremadu’s 

Desperation”, and which attacked 

Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s letter 

alerting the international community 

to what he perceived as the 

endangerment of the Nigerian 

democracy. 

Entitled “Nigerian Democracy is in 

Grave Danger: Re: Trumped Up 

Charges Against the Presiding 

Officers Of the 8th Senate”, 

Ekweremadu, in forwarding the court 

summons containing what he termed 

trumped-up charges against himself, 

the President of the Senate, Senator 

Bukola Saraki; and two others, 

requested various members of the 

international community like the UN, 

EU, EU Parliament, USA, Canada, 

UK, etc to “read through the 

annexures- petition by members of the 

Senate Unity Forum, statements by 

persons interrogated, and the police 

report- to see if our names appeared 

anywhere in these documents”. 

However, far from requesting the 

Senate Trial: Unmasking the Real Desperadoes 

intervention of the international 

community in his case as erroneously/ 

mischievously reported by some, 

Ekweremadu clearly stated: “This is 

for your information and reflection”. 

Ekweremadu’s letter has expectedly 

generated serious reactions among 

Nigerians, mainly in support, but also 

with some dissents. 

Said the newspaper, 

“Ekweremadu’s letter, as usual with 

the typical Nigerian elite’s manner of 

defence, was not about whether he and 

the three others actually committed 

the alleged crime of forgery or not; it 

pandered to the usual appeal to pity 

and sentiment more than any attempt 

to exonerate them of the alleged 

crime”. 

I want to share my opinion on the 

propriety or otherwise of the letter as 

well the alleged desperation. 

Nigeria, being a member of the 

international community, is not an 

island. Our hard-won democracy did 

not come entirely by our own efforts. 

The global community also pressured 

the military to quit. The UN, EU, 

Britain, Canada, USA, etc., have also 

continued to fund several aspects of 

our democracy and development 

efforts. 

If the ruling party feigns ignorance 

regarding the grave implications to 

Nigeria and Africa, of full-blown 

political crises that could result from 

the plethora of deliberate 

constitutional breaches and exclusion 

of some parts of the country from 

government, let them allow the 

international communities to, on their 

own, say that Ekweremadu raised a 

false alarm. 

Professing the rule of law, the 

newspaper said those accused of 

forgery should “face their charge 

instead of trying to politicize their 

trial”. What the editorial, however, 

fails to address, is what happens where 

the actions of the Inspector-General 

of Police and Attorney-General of the 

Federation (AGF) are in breach of the 

constitution and amount to what the 

Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, 

recently described as “an abuse of 

legal process”. 

There is a subsisting case (FHC/ABJ/ 

CS/646/15), filed by Senator Gilbert 

Nnaji, challenging the 

constitutionality of the police 

investigation into Senate Standing 

Order in question. Although Justice 

Gabriel Kolawole, of the FHC, Abuja 

refused Senator Nnaji’s ex-parte 

application last year seeking to stop 

the police from further investigation 

pending the exhaustion of the pending 

suit, he ordered the respondents, 

namely, Office of the Inspector- 

General of Police and Office of the 

Attorney-General of the Federation 

not to take actions that would 

undermine the suit. 

However, even in refusing the 

application, Kolawole made some 

instructive judicial pronouncements 

that should have guided the AGF, 

whom himself, was a counsel to a party 

to the case (Senator Suleiman 

Hunkuyi). 

He said: “The issues as relating to 

the Senate Rules or Standing Orders 

are firstly, a purely domestic legislative 

matter. Where allegation of forgery is 

made, it is for the Court to reflect 

deeply whether it is not an allegation, 

which the Senate Committees on 

Rules and of its Ethics, can validly 

investigate and to take steps within its 

own internal proceedings to nullify 

any of its Standing Orders found to be 

irregular and to also sanction any of 

its members that may be found 

culpable….” 

“I am wary that a dangerous 

precedent is not being set for the 8th 

National Assembly to have its internal 

proceedings, being regulated, and 

perhaps supervised by other arms of 

government of the federation, i.e. the 

Executive and Judicial arms”. 

Furthermore, the judge had also, on 

July 27, 2015, ruled:”The National 

Assembly, being one of the three arms 

of government of the Federation, is 

expected to be free to run and conduct 

its affairs in accordance with its own 

‘Rules’ or ‘Standing Orders’; where it 

has taken a decision, which did not 

follow its own internal ‘Rules’ and 

‘Standing Orders’, the choice open to 

the members is to get the decision 

reversed only through democratic 

process by mobilizing the majority of 

the members to get the decision 

reviewed and possibly reversed”. 

Consequently, his most recent ruling 

(June 28, 2016) expectly frowned at 

the AGF’s failure to exercise his 

powers in Section 174(1) of the 

Constitution to stop the criminal 

charge against the accused persons. 

Before I conclude, let me refer to the 

headline story of The Guardian 

Newspaper of Wednesday, July 6, 

2016 where the foremost 

constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben 

Nwabueze, SAN, declared that the 

trial “is a flagrant breach of 

separation of powers caused by 

ignorance”, because “the sound 

principle, which makes one master in 

his own house precludes him from 

imposing his control in another who 

is a master there”. 

I leave it to men of conscience to 

judge who, between Ekweremadu and 

those trying him, is the real desperado. 

But I pity those who, for selfish interests 

of today, applaud this “abuse of legal 

process”, and emasculation of the 

legislature. They forget that what goes 

around comes around. 

Anichukwu is Special Adviser 

(Media) to Deputy President of the 

Senate


VIEWPOINT 

By Dotun Ayeni 


Time to build a new breed 

of people 

MY 7-year-old daughter 

informed me happily a few 

days ago that her teacher had told 

her that if the school had an 

award category for “best thinker” 

she would get that award for her 

class. My daughter was of course 

happy about this and was 

consoled by the explanation that 

the school had no category for 

this type of award. 

The available awards are 

awards for best behaved, super 

writer, super reader, best student 

awards and of course early birdand 

this my daughter has cleverly 

informed me means nothing. 

Nothing? Yes she says. It has 

nothing to do with your work in 

class. It’s for those whose parents 

bring them early to school. Very 

early. Some of these parents have 

to be at work very early and 

fortunately or should I say 

unfortunately, their children get 

to grab the early bird award for 

this feat. 

This has got me thinking. I’m 

not so concerned about the early 

bird award. My daughter 

The future belongs to thinkers 

It is time we 

made a change 

and I don’t see a 

better place to 

start this than in 

our schools. And 

maybe starting 

with an award for 

best thinker? 

believes it means nothing. I’ve 

told her it’s a way for the school 

to instill a culture of punctuality 

in the children and she should be 

pleased if she gets one. This is 

actually beside the point. 

I’ve been thinking about why a 

school won’t have an award 

category for best thinker. Since 

the early bird category is a way 

to instill a culture of punctuality, 

won’t a best thinker award instill 

a culture of thinking and great 

introspection? 

What do these children need 

most as they grow gradually into 

the world of work? 

What has set great men and 

women apart in times past? What 

has disrupted the world as we 

know it today? Why is there so 

much change everywhere that we 

struggle to keep up and barely 

do? There’s so much happening 

today, changing the way we 

transact business, the way we 

work and the way we live. 

There’s the internet of things 

making it easier for 

manufacturers to understand the 

end user of their products and 

their behavior, social media and 

messaging tools giving a 

platform to business men and 

women to sell their goods and 

meet buyers who may never have 

known they existed, new and 

improved technology making it 

easier for men and women to 

work from different locations 

and time zones, technology that 

can simulate the best classrooms 

and lab settings in the world. 

Were these disruptions made 

possible by instilling a culture of 

good behavior, punctuality, good 

handwriting or even good 

reading habits? 

I don’t think so. This is not to 

say that the other awards do not 

have their merit. They surely do. 

But I am also certain that the 

future belongs to the thinkers. 

Those who will not be boxed into 

a corner and accept things as 

they are. Those who are bold 

enough to challenge what’s 

obtainable and create something 

unheard off. Something so 

outrageous that you must be on 

another level to even conceive it. 

People have been doing this. 

The ones who have changed our 

world from inception have been 

the thinkers. People like Isaac 

Newton, Graham Bell, Martin 

Luther King and even Edward 

Deci. 

Our educational systems have 

been built in such a way that the 

brightest ones. with all the 

awards are at best a reflection of 

their teachers. Students in 

universities have learnt to 

replicate what they see and read, 

often regurgitating the mind of 

their lecturers to pass their 

exams. Will these children ever 

come into their own in such 

environments? 

There’s been a lot of bold 

statements recently about 

successful entrepreneurs without 

a degree. The danger is not in 

getting the degree. The danger is 

how the system prepares children 

to follow rules, paint within the 

lines and become a certain kind 

of person prepared for a certain 

kind of profession. 

The times have changed and it 

is time we made a change. 

This is a message to all our 

educational institutions. It is 

time to build a new breed of 

people starting from their 

childhood. We must not just tell 

them about people who have 

changed the world. We must let 

them know that they can as well. 

It starts with opening up the 

mind, thinking and learning to 

challenge what they see, hear and 

know. 

The future will belong only to 

these kind of people. It is time we 

made a change and I don’t see a 

better place to start this than in 

our schools. And maybe starting 

with an award for best thinker? 

* Ayeni, chartered MCIPD, 

ACIPD, is the Principal 

Consultant at F316 Limited. She 

lives in Lagos. 

VIEWPOINT 

By Reuben Akhere 


The ongoing battle for Edo 

THERE is no doubt that the 

recent governorship primary 

of the All Progressives Congress 

(APC) in Edo State is widely 

regarded as one of the best 

primaries conducted by the APC 

leadership since the coming of 

President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The popular wish of the APC 

delegates prevailed through the 

emergence of the Chairman of 

the Edo State Economic and 

Strategy Team and financial 

guru, Mr Godwin Obaseki, as the 

governorship candidate of the 

APC for the September 10, 2016 

governorship election in the 

state. 

However, another burning 

issue in the APC today is that of 

the deputy governorship slot, 

VIEWPOINT 

By Bisiriyu Akewusola 


The need to mend fences 

with electricity distributors 

THE saying that you 

cannot eat your cake 

and still have it can be used 

very correctly to describe 

the relationship between 

Nigerian trade unions and 

power distribution 

companies called discos . 

This is because the trade 

unions have always accused 

the discos of exploiting the 

Nigerian consumers by not 

supplying them electricity 

when in fact the unions know 

that these discos have 

serious problems not of their 

own making in not being able 

to distribute electricity in their 

various areas of power 

distribution all over the 

nation . Which again is like 

giving a dog a bad name in 

order to hang it .But that is 

quite unfortunate as it is unfair 

and that is why many 

Nigerians in the know of this 

sad state of affairs , have 

called on some of the union 

leaders, both privately and 

in public to apologise to 

EDO 2016: Eboigbe as Obaseki’s running mate 

and which zone between Edo 

North and Central should it be 

ceded to. Many people in Edo 

understand how Esan land has 

been marginalized in terms of the 

tripod arrangement in the 

current APC-led administration. 

The only position they have, 

which is speakership of the 

House of Assembly, was taken 

away from them due to power 

play. But we have always found 

solace on the road projects and 

even water project which the 

administration of Governor 

Adams Oshiomhole made 

possible in Esan land, something 

successive PDP- led governments 

in the state never did despite the 

fact that Esan produced one of 

the most powerful leaders the 

PDP ever produced in this 

country. 

For those of us who have 

admired so much the politics of 

APC in the state, and 

Oshiomhole’s massive 

developmental projects, we are 

saying that equity and fairness be 

considered when considering 

Obaseki’s running mate. Apart 

from the fact that this move, if 

actualized, would boost the 

chances of the APC in Esan land, 

it will show Esan people how PDP 

has marginalized them in their 

ten years of governance. Esan 

PDP leaders have never brought 

the deputy governorship to our 

people. The only time they 

brought governorship to the 

area, in the person 

Prof.Osarhiemiem Osunbor, the 

same PDP leaders from Esanland 

conspired to remove him. Now 

we want APC to show that it is 

the party for the masses. APC 

must tell Edo people that it is the 

party for the oppressed by ceding 

the deputy governorship slot to 

Esan land. Though Esan land is 

blessed with men and women 

who are qualified for the 

position, it is also imperative to 

point out that within the APC, 

they have somebody like Mr 

Victor Eboigbe, who has been a 

member of the APC right from 

its ACD days, who can do the job. 

Eboigbe may not be a noise 

maker when it comes to politics, 

but he is one of the few from Edo 

Central that work sincerely for 

the success of the Oshiomhole 

administration since its 

inception. Eboigbe arrived Edo 

with the Comrade Governor in 

2007 from his base in America , 

mobilized resources and men for 

the success of the now APC-led 

government. Most of us in Edo 

Central believes that this is the 

right time to compensate this 

young man who has touched the 

lives of many youths in Esan. He 

has the intelligence, the 

youthfulness, the capacity and 

political sagacity to do this job. 

Eboigbe is not a stranger to the 

APC or Oshiomhole, so backing 

him for deputy governorship will 

guarantee resounding victory for 

APC in Edo Central. It will also 

be the end of PDP in the zone. I 

believe that the APC leadership 

and its governorship candidate, 

Obaseki, will understand these 

facts and do the needful in the 

interest of APC in Edo. 

*Akhere is a public affairs 

analyst 

Trade unions should apologise to Discos 

the discos or at least refrain 

from whipping public and 

consumer hostility against 

them for an offence they have 

not committed in any way . 

Aside from the well known 

fact of pipeline vandalisation 

which has crippled gas 

supplies turbines fuelled by gas 

nationally , the number of 

such sources of power have 

been dwindling drastically 

since the so called terrorist 

group called the Avengers 

have stepped up their 

attacks in the Niger Delta 

creeks . The number of gas 

powered turbines decreased 

from 140 last year to 

78 by April this year and 

is now 50 according to 

Ministry of Power sources . 

In addition the power 

sector was reported to be 

losing 2bn naira daily 

to gas shortage. Thus 

electricity generation has 

taken a negative nose dive in 

terms of availability of 

power and electricity nation 

wide .If electricity is not 

available what then are the 

discos supposed to distribute 

to Nigerian consumers ? 

Yet in spite of this apparent 

road block against the 

route of regular electricity 

supply the Nigerian trade 

unions mounted a road 

block of its own against 

fellow Nigerians who have 

put their money and energy 

into the discos to distribute 

electricity to Nigerians . Of 

course the discos and their 

management could not 

have foreseen the pipelines 

vandalisation in the Niger 

Delta . Neither could they 

have imagined a situation 

when they would have 

literally nothing to distribute 

in virtually all the 11 

designated spheres of their 

capacities all over the nation 

. I do not think any of 

the disco management 

team especially the highly 

qualified expatriates 

would have come to work in 

the power distribution sector in 

Nigeria if they knew that 

electricity generation would 

simply dry up right before 

our eyes as it has done so 

painfully in the last few 

months . 

This is made more 

embarrassing by the fact 

that the discos in Nigeria 

have adopted global best 

practices in their strategy for 

distribution of electricity in 

Nigeria . They have recruited 

the best hands and brains 

globally in technology , 

engineering , and human 

capital . In terms of 

distribution capacities these 

discos have brought in the best 

in the world and have 

remunerated them highly to 

motivate them for excellent 

performance in terms of 

electricity service delivery 

in Nigeria . Now they have 

run against a stonewall of a dry 

well in power generation and 

transmission and they 

deservethe sympathy and 

understanding of all 

Nigerians who expect them 

to be the ultimate panacea and 

cure for our black history 

of poor and irregular 

electricity as a nation . 

Most importantly they 

deserve the cooperation of the 

average Nigerian especially 

workers and their leaders in the 

trade unions . That is why 

educated and enlightened 

Nigerians were furious that 

the Unions were inciting 

Nigerian electricity 

consumers against these 

discos and were asking that 

workers should strike 

against the new tariffs of the 

discos approved for them by 

the Nigerian Electricity 

Regulatory Commission which 

itself is run by equally 

patriotic Nigerians like the 

discos , their Nigerian workers 

and staff who earn their living 

in the discos all over Nigeria 

. It is imperative therefore 

after the failed strike that 

the unions should mend 

fences with the discos 

management and apologise to 

them to gain their trust . This 

is the only way the unions can 

save their honor and face . At 

least to show that they are 

not trying to destroy the discos 

for nothing as the terrorists 

are doing to our pipelines 

and throwing a whole nation 

into utter and avoidable 

darkness . 

*Akewusola, an engineer, 

writes from Sokoto

46—SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 

Emma, Austin and the Jay Jay 

Okocha Foundation 

By Jacob Ajom 

SOME are born great, 

some achieve greatness, 

and some have greatness 

thrust upon them. 

– William Shakespeare 

IN the beginning, it was 

never imagined; neither 

was there an inkling to what 

the end result would be. Two 

sons of the same stock, 

played football to the highest 

level (at least both played for 

the national team). One is 

older and started playing 

before his younger sibling. 

As luck would have it, 

fortune decided to smile so 

much on the younger one 

that even his elder brother’s 

name became his.Okocha’s 

Jay Jay” name was actually 

passed down from his older 

brother. James who started 

playing football first. His 

immediate older brother 

Emmanuel was also called 

Emma Jay Jay, but the name 

stock with Augustine Okocha 

who first began playing 

football on the street like 

many other football stars. 

That sums the story of 

Emma Okocha, elder brother 

of the famous Austin Jay-Jay 

Okocha, whose exploits on 

the football fields in Europe, 

Asia and Africa have made 

him a living legend. Jay Jay 

is among Pele’s all-time best 

100 players globally. To date, 

the mercurial midfielder who 

retired nearly a decade ago 

is still being sought after by 

fans of various clubs, asking 

him to dust his boots and 

come out of retirement. 

Emma Okocha’s luck (or 

lack of it) of being born with 

Jay-Jay was amplified last 

week in Lagos by Emma 

himself, during the unveiling 

of the Jay-Jay Okocha 

Foundation. “Austin always 

makes things difficult for me,” 

he started. But how? Emma 

has an answer, “I thought he 

will be looking up to me as 

his elder brother – but here 

we are – he practically flew 

over me.” 

Though with a tinge of 

humour, the elder Okocha 

told how, when moving 

together, the crowd (because 

Jay-Jay is always pulling 

crowds) would swoop on him 

and forget that he(Emma) was 

an Okocha too. “It would take 

some minutes before he 

realises that we were together 

and then, we would start 

looking for each other.” 

Thankfully, Emma said the 

younger and more 

prosperous Okocha has 

never abandoned him in the 

lurch. “He has never 

abandoned me and I have 

enjoyed every ride, every 

moment with him.” As a key 

figure in the Jay Jay Okocha 

•Austin Jay-Jay Okocha (l) in a tete-a-tete with CEO, I-Naira.Com Hillary 

Nwaukor. 

Stankovic Cup: D’Tigers stop 

China again, place third 

NIGERIA’s Olympic 

bound senior national 

male basketball 

team, D’Tigers rounded 

off their Stankovic Cup 

outing in Beijing, China 

by handing the Chinese 

men’s basketball team 

their second defeat and 

make them sit at the bottom 

of the 4-Nation tournament. 

The Chinese side had 

lost 71-79 to Nigeria in the 

opener and again on Friday, 

lost 64-74 to the 

D’Tigers at the tournament’s 

third-place play-off 

yesterday. 

France, who beat 

D’Tigers in the third game 

Friday, 82-73,claimed the 

title with a 70-57 victory 

over Argentina in the final. 

D’Tigers’ Ike Diogu 

nicked 17 points as the 

team out-rebounded the 

Chinese 41-33 and 

grabbed 16 offensive rebounds 

while the host’s 

key player, Yi Jianlian finished 

with a game-high 20 

points, five rebounds and 

three assists for his side. 

Dingyan Yuhang and Guo 

Ailun added 12 apiece. 

The D’Tigers technical 

crew are happy with the 

outing in China and hope 

to build on the experience 

as the team move back to 

the US where other players 

like the Aminu brothers, 

Alade and Al-Farouq, 

and new NBA draft, Mike 

Gbinije, to continue with 

their preparation for the 

Olympics which is just 26 

days away. 

Foundation set up, Emma has 

pledged to do his best to lift 

the noble ideals of its initiator 

and make it work. Said he, 

“We want to make sure we 

give our best into it and bring 

smiles to the needy.” 

The Jay Jay Okocha 

Foundation, according to its 

initiator, Austin Jay Jay 

Okocha, will create a 

platform which will provide 

a fillip to the search for future 

Okochas. Jay Jay said, 

“Everybody here knows how 

I started. I was not from a rich 

home. I was a street boy but 

was lucky to find myself 

where I am today. That is the 

kind of opportunity the 

foundation wants to offer to 

thousands of talented 

Nigerian youths. Offer them 

training, groom them and 

make them realise their 

dreams through football.” 

The former Super Eagles 

captain said, “Football has 

given me everything 

including a voice. Through 

the foundation, I am going 

to use my voice and unite this 

country and do everything to 

sustain that unity”. 

Okocha said, “Ï have been 

looking forward to this day, 

when I can create a platform 

to give back to the society 

what football has given me. I 

am a very passionate person; 

very competitive and I hate 

to lose. I am ageing and I feel 

it is the right time to come out 

of my shell and do something 

that will benefit the society. 

But I could not do it alone. I 

couldn’t have started in a 

better way than partner I- 

Nigeria.com.” 

To raise enough funds for 

the foundation, the 

management team, led by 

Austin Jay Jay Okocha signed 

an agreement with an online 

auctioning firm, I-Naira.com 

led by the CEO, Hillary 

Nwaukor. 

SANDWICHED.... Michael Umeh (C) of Nigeria 

goes up for a basket during a match between France 

and Nigeria at the 2016 Stankovic Continental Cup 

Basketball Tournament in Beijing, China, on Friday. 

Nigeria lost 73-82. Photo: Courtesy (Xinhua/ 

Ju Huanzong) 

•Emma Okocha 

The deal makes the firm the 

official auctioneers of Jay-Jay 

Okocha’s memorabilia and 

the proceeds would be 

remitted to the foundation. 

“We’ll start auctioning 

thousands of his jerseys, 

boots and other memorabilia 

of his and those of his 

colleagues, covering his 

entire football career, to raise 

funds for the foundation,” 

Nwaukor said, adding that 

his company associated with 

the Jay Jay Okocha 

Foundation because of its 

underpinning philosophy 

which is identifying with the 

poor and underprivileged of 

the society. “We share the 

same patriotic zeal and 

fervour. We are an indigenous 

company which promotes 

anything Nigerian.” 

Former Super Eagles 

players, Peter Rufai, Austin 

Eguavoen and Mutiu 

Adepoju all pledged their 

support for the project which 

they have identified as a 

veritable means of reaching 

out to thousands of talented 

youths across the country. 

Eagles celebrate Musa’s 

Leicester move 

NIGERIA’S Super 

Eagles have 

celebrated Ahmed Musa’s 

move to Premier League 

champions Leicester City. 

A cross section of Eagles 

stars believes the Nigeria 

vice-captain will excel in 

the EPL. 

Ogenyi Onazi 

congratulated the former 

CSKA Moscow star and 

tasked him to show them 

the “Jos spirit”. 

“Congratulations to my 

bro and team mate, run 

them down in EPL with 

Jos blood,” Onazi 

tweeted. 

Kenneth Omeruo also 

through his Instagram 

page wrote: “Congrats 

my bro.. Welcome to the 

#EPL you will definitely 

do great.” 

Norway-based 

defender Williams Troost- 

Ekong was not left out 

with his congratulatory 

message too. “Congrats 

Ahmed Musa! Can’t wait 

to see my big bro in the 

prem CFC.” He tweeted. 

Bright Dike 

tweeted:”Congrats to my 

boy Ahmed Musa on 

joining Leicester City, go 

kill it in the Prem.” 

Rio 2016: Nigeria House assures 

full display of Nigeria’s culture 

NIGERIA House In Rio 

Olympics Project 

Committee has assured 

Nigerians planning to 

attend the 20th Olympiad 

in Rio de Janeiro Brazil that 

they will not miss the 

nation’s cultural diversity and 

displays during the global 

fiesta at the Nigeria House 

in Brazil. 

Assuring Nigerians of a 

touch Nigeria’s rich cultural 

heritage while in Brazil 

during the Olympics, Nigeria 

House Committee Project 

Coordinator and Chief 

Executive Officer, 

Abdullahi Mohammed while 

watching a dress rehearsal of 

the African Theatre Dance to 

perform in Rio during the 

Olympics said from what is 

on ground, the country’s rich 

cultural heritage will be the 

cynosure of all eyes in Rio. 

Abdullahi who was visibly 

excited after watching the 

“Africa Theater Dance” 

said “this is just a teaser or 

simply call it a tip of the ice 

berg of what Nigeria House 

will showcase in Rio. You can 

appreciate the kind of efforts 

this committee is 

undertaking to make 

Nigeria’s participation at the 

Olympics memorable.”

SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 — 47 

Serena beats Kerber to win 7th 

Wimbledon title 

SERENA Williams won her record-tying 22nd Grand 

Slam title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in 

the Wimbledon final yesterday. 

Williams pulled even with Steffi Graf for the most 

major championships in the open era, which 

began in 1968. Now, Williams stands behind 

only Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24. 

This was Williams’ seventh singles trophy 

at the All England Club and second 

in a row. Her victory at Wimbledon a year 

ago raised her Grand Slam count to 21, 

but while she came close to adding 

to that total since, she couldn’t 

quite do it. 

The 34-year-old American 

beat her German opponent, 

seeded fourth for 

this year’s tournament, in 

straight sets on Centre 

Court yesterday. 

Kerber, 28, defeated Williams 

in the Australian Open 

final and pressed her hard 

in the first set before being 

bested comfortably in the second. 

There was a stunning loss to 

Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals in September, 

ending Williams’ bid for a calendar-year Grand 

France v Portugal 

Continued from back page 

reaching the final of Euro 

2016 on home soil has generated 

a wonderful feelgood factor 

across the whole country. 

The celebrations on Paris 

streets went long into the 

early hours of Friday as they 

ready for today’s match in the 

capital city. 

But as coach Didier 

Deschamps says, the host nation 

have not won nothing yet 

even though they will start 

favourites to beat a Portugal 

side that only hit form during 

their own semifinal against 

Wales. 

France are going for their 

third European crown having 

won the trophy in 1984 when 

they also hosted and again in 

2000 in Belgium and Netherlands. 

They were also the hosts 

when they won their only World 

Cup title in 1998. 

Portugal by contrast have yet 

to go all the way in a major 

tournament and their win 

against Wales was their first at 

Euro 2016 inside the regulation 

Yusuf 


Yusuf is one of three coaches 

on the NFF short list for the 

Super Eagles job. 

However, it has been 

gathered that the NFF will on 

July 18, 2016 consider either 

Paul Le Guen or Tom Saintfiet 

for the top Eagles post, while 

also getting Yusuf on board but 

as chief coach with a 

Yakubu makes shock return to 

English football 

W 

HEN Jaap Stam’s 

new team took the field at 

Boreham Wood’s tidy Meadow 

Park ground yesterday, all eyes 

were on a figure in the home team’s 

attack. A figure familiar to Reading 

fans, to boot. 

Yakubu Aiyegbini, scorer of 21 

goals in 57 international 

appearances for Nigeria, was back 

playing on English soil for the first 

time since his release by the 

Berkshire club in May 2015. 

A post from Boreham Wood’s 

official twitter account announced 

the striker, who last season played 

12 times, without scoring, for 

Turkish Super Lig side 

Kayserispor, would feature for the 

National League outfit in their 

friendly meeting with the Royals. 

Murray 


Novak Djokovic, Roger 

Federer or Rafael Nadal. 

Murray finds himself in the 

unusual position of favourite 

with fate seemingly doing its 

best to make sure the British 

star captures a third career 

Grand Slam crown. 

It will also be Murray’s first 

final from 11 at the majors 

Slam. 

Then came losses in finals 

to Kerber at the Australian 

Open in January, and to 

Garbine Muguruza at the 

French Open last month. 

90 minutes. 

Having finished as runners 

up to Greece on home soil in 

2004 they were also semifinalists 

on three occasions – 1984, 

2000, 2012. Are they destined 

again to finish up as the nearly 

men of European football at the 

Stade de France today? 

renegotiated contract and 

more responsibilities. 

Already a number of top 

personalities have reached out 

to the former Enyimba and 

Kano Pillars coach to accept 

this role. 

“The officials want Salisu to 

work with the foreign coach, 

not under him. He will 

understudy the new man with 

the plan to take over the team 

thereafter,” an official 

informed. 

“They hope they can get him 

to agree this new arrangement 

especially as he will bring 

continuity to the team having 

worked with most of the 

country’s players for more 

than a year. 

“He will also be given more 

responsibilities, like heading 

the home-based Eagles, which 

as assistant Eagles coach, he 

did not enjoy. “And all his 

unpaid salaries will also be 

cleared.” 

where he hasn’t faced either 

Djokovic or Federer against 

whom he has lost eight times. 

And if Murray needed any 

more convincing that this will 

be the year when he adds to 

his 2012 US Open and 2013 

Wimbledon titles it’s seeing 

Ivan Lendl back in his 

coaching corner. It was the 

Czech who oversaw the 

Briton’s triumphs in New York 

and London. 

Is Nigeria going to the Olympics? 

WHO do you blame in this instance? A child that fails an impor 

tant examination, not because of want of trying or for not being 

brilliant or his father who failed in his duties to provide the son with 

the relevant materials to write the exam. 

In the matter at hand here, preparation for the quadrennial ritual 

‘examination’ for Nigerian athletes, otherwise called Olympic Games, 

started four years ago and Nigeria knew her athletes will compete 

among other athletes from over 200 countries around the globe. 

Because of the disastrous outing at the last Games in London, a concerned 

government put up a machinery to begin early preparation 

and ensure that a repeat of the woeful outing four years ago is avoided. 

However, with 26 days to the Rio Games today, no lesson seemed 

to have been learned by those President Muhammadu Buhari put incharge 

of Nigeria’s sports. 

Nobody should blame the president if Nigeria fails in Rio or better 

still, if Team Nigeria come back worse than they did four years ago in 

London. Why do I say so? Shortly before the African Games in Congo 

last year, President Buhari met a budget for the Games as well as 

preparation for the Rio Games. After being briefed by the man at the 

helm in the absence of a cabinet minister, Alhassan Yakmut, then DG 

of the now defunct National Sports Commission, who scaled down 

the seemingly bloated budget, President Buhari gladly approved N2.9 

billion for the NSC, with a proviso that Yakmut must give him account 

of his spendings. 

The president was elated when Team Nigeria improved from her 

third position at the 2011 African Games in Maputo, Mozambique to 

second behind South Africa at the Congo Games last year. He gladly 

assured the NSC Director General that he would reward the athletes 

who brought honour to the country. And he did, also including other 

athletes from other competitions in 2015. 

As Yakmut was getting set to prepare Team Nigeria for the Rio Games, 

a minister was appointed for sports. He had forwarded some fund 

from the balance left from the N2.9 billion after the Congo Games to 

the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC for part payment of accommodation 

and flight tickets for Team Nigeria. 

Plans were afoot for both local and foreign training tours for the 

athletes to tune them up for the great task that awaits them in Rio. The 

athletes were expectant and looked forward to it because Yakmut promised 

them of good welfare before the African Games and he delivered. 

He did not stay to carry out his plan and dream for the athletes as he 

was posted out from the sports ministry to the Niger Delta ministry. 

He did not leave without handing over to his successors, Barrister 

Solomon Dalung, the new sports minister and the Permanent Secretary, 

Mr Christian Ohaa, he said. 

Nigerians were not told that Yakmut failed to hand over before he 

left. And Yakmut has come out to say that from the over N640 million 

he left behind from the N2.9 billion, the sports minister instructed 

him to give the NFF some amount from it to prosecute one of their 

programmes. 

Yet, the minister has consistently maintained that no account has 

been given on how the N2.9 billion was spent. Worse still, he said that 

there is no money with which teams which qualified for the Olympics 

could prepare for the Games. 

Surprisingly too, no effort has been made to recall or summon Yakmut 

to say what he knows about the money allegedly ‘missing’ from 

the sports ministry’s account. In a government that prides itself as 

one fighting corruption? 

As a result of this, our teams going for the Olympics are left in the 

lurch. The sports ministry is like a ghost town these days because the 

staff have little or nothing to do. All because no funds to prepare Team 

Nigeria athletes. Yet, Nigerians, including the minister, expect them 

to perform wonders in Rio. 

As you read this, the U-23 football team are living on borrowed money 

in Atlanta. And it is reported to be for only 10 days, after which they 

may be thrown into the streets for lack of money. There is no word 

from the sports ministry, and the NOC, which takes athletes, on behalf 

of the government, to Games of this nature, on whether money 

would be sent to the team in the US or not. 

But for the luck the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF has in 

securing a sponsor for the national team, the skeletal or low profile 

training camp in Los Angeles for the men’s senior basketball team, 

the D’Tigers as well as the tournament they just attended in China, 

would have been a mirage. The losers so far are the home-based players 

and some technical officials who haven’t been able to join the 

team’s Los Angeles camp for now. 

Which team is not affected? Is it athletics which found it difficult sending 

its athletes to Durban, South Africa to qualify for the Olympics for 

some and tune up others who had already qualified? Or is it the wrestling 

federation whose president, Dr. Daniel Igali has consistently cried 

out over the poor preparation which he described as “‘the worst in the 

history of our Olympic participation?” 

Dr. Igali managed to take six of his wrestlers to Spain for the Grand 

Prix there at the weekend to tune them up for the Olympics. It is not 

clear how the federation raised the money for the trip. That is the sad 

story about Nigeria and Team Nigeria. 

The saddest thing however, is that the minister is neither looking for 

the money Yakmut has said he left behind nor making any alternative 

arrangement to source funds for Team Nigeria to get the final preparation 

for the Olympics. His pre-occupation for now, 26 days to the Olympics, 

is who makes the trip to Illah, Delta state for the burial of our 

football legend, late Stephen Okechukwu Chinedu Keshi. Yes, Keshi 

deserves a befitting burial, but is it Dalung’s sole responsibility?

SUNDAY Vanguard, JULY 10, 2016 

Serena beats Kerber to 

win 7th Wimbledon title 

•Equals Steffi Graf’s Grand Slam record 

Full story pg 47 

Euro 2016: France v Portugal, 

who wears the crown? 

*All eyes on Ronaldo, Griezmann 

•Griezmann 

•Murray 

•Ronaldo 

NO side ever wins a 

major football tournament 

without a modicum 

of good fortune and 

France arguably had 

theirs in the semifinal 

against Germany when 

they were outplayed for 

large parts of the game 

and were awarded a soft 

penalty. 

That is now history and 

there is no doubt that 

Continues on page 47 

NFF confident Yusuf ‘ll 

work with foreign boss 

TOP officials of the 

Nigeria Football 

Federation (NFF) have 

expressed confidence 

they will convince the 

country’s caretaker 

Wimbledon 2016: Murray faces Raonic test 

See solution on page 5 

ACROSS 

1. Governor of Sokoto 

State (8) 

5. Assistant (4) 

7. Praise (5) 

8. Upright (4) 

9. Lantern (4) 

11. Tradition (6) 

13. Lagos masquerade 

(3) 

15. Exclamation (2) 

16. Pig’s nose (5) 

18. Agent (3) 

20. Glitters (6) 

24. Forward (5) 

25. Nigerian state (6) 

27. Boring tool (3) 

29. Ghanaian fabric 

(5) 

31. Perform (2) 

32. Oshiomhole’s 

state (3) 

34. U.S. currency (6) 

36. Vow (4) 

38. Musical quality (4) 

39. Inclination (5) 

40. Eager (4) 

•Raonic 

41. Damages (8) 

DOWN 

1. Sample (5) 

2. Niger state town (4) 

3. Observe (5) 

4. Lecture (6) 

5. Everyone (3) 

6. Use (6) 

10. Inquires (4) 

12. Carpet (3) 

14. Colour (6) 

15. Resistance unit (3) 

17. Coax (4) 

19. Rollicked (6) 

21. Hatchet (3) 

22. Satisfied (4) 

23. Nigerian state (3) 

26. Cry of derision (3) 

27 . African country (6) 

28. Endure (4) 

29. Child (3) 

30. Spoke (6) 

31. Adorn (5) 

33. Baking chambers 

(5) 

35. Asterisk (4) 

37. Possessed (3) 

CANADIAN Milos 

Raonic is set to face 

fan favourite Andy 

Murray for the 

Wimbledon crown. So 

how do the pair match up 

ahead of their historic 

clash this night? 

The final is Raonic’s 

first at a Grand Slam, 

while Murray — a 

champion in 2013 — is 

aiming to become the 

first Brit since the 

legendary Fred Perry to 

win more than one title 

at the All England Club. 

It will be the first 

Wimbledon title match 

since 2002 not to feature 


coach Salisu Yusuf to 

work with a foreign 

coach even after he 

insisted he wishes to 

head the Super Eagles 

on a permanent basis. 

The 54-year-old Yusuf 

has been assistant coach 

to Stephen Keshi, 

Sunday Oliseh and 

Samson Siasia, and he 

has made it very clear he 

now wishes to lead the 

Super Eagles beginning 

•Champion Serena 

RESULTS 

with the 2018 World Cup 

qualifying campaign. 

Yusuf 


NPFL: 

El Kanemi 3 MFM 1 

Heartland 0 Enyimba 0 

FIXTURES 

3SC v Nasarawa Utd 4pm 

Rivers Utd v Tornadoes 4pm 

W/Wolves v Wikki Tourist 4pm 

Plateau Utd v Akwa Utd 4pm 

Kano Pillars v Lobi Stars 4pm 

Ikorodu Utd v Ifeanyi Uba 4pm 

Euro 2016 FINAL 

Portugal v Frances 8pm 

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