2 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —3

CMYK

4 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

6—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

My father was a gambler, drug addict — GodogodoMy mother died of sickle cell anaemiaGodogodo coordinated Ogun bullion van robbery—Suspect

BY IFEANYI OKOLIE

LAGOS — NOTORIOUSSouth-West robbery czar,

Abiodun Ogunjobi, aka,Godogodo, has said that lack ofparental care was responsible forhis becoming a deadly robber.

Godogodo who has terrorizedthe zone for over 14 years, lead-ing most bank robberies and otherdeadly operations, told Van-guard, yesterday, during an in-terview at the state Police Com-mand headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos,that his parents abandoned himat an early age to fend for him-self.

The 36-year-old man, whospoke in emotional laden voice,said he was the eldest of the chil-dren and his mother who he saidwas a sickler, died from her sick-ness.

My father wasa wayward man

“My father was a wayward man.He was a drug addict and a gam-bler. My mother was a sickler andshe died after giving birth to myyoungest brother.

“But my father, who got mar-ried to another woman, didn’tbother to take care of me. As alittle child I struggled throughprimary school, picking bottles,iron and rubber from refusedump.

“The little money I made fromit was what I used in paying myschool fees in primary school andafter I graduated I went into thebusiness of robbery fully.

“As a little boy I was sleepingon the street and my father didn’tcare. All he cared about was togamble away his money and takedrugs.

“Gradually I started stealingand when I got of age I startedrobbing people at Katangura mar-ket, Iyana-Ipaja, but in 1999, Iwas arrested and sent to prisonfor fighting and when I came backsome of the boys who were oper-ating with me then had becomebig time robbers. I joined themand in one of our operations, Iwas shot in the eyes by some vigi-lante men that accosted us inOgun State and I ended up los-ing one of my eyes.

“I would say after that incidentI became tough and very careful.I don’t socialise, drink, smoke orgo after women. I saw thosethings as weakness that couldgive out a tough man.

I have 3 childrenfrom 3 women

“I have three children fromthree women. I ran away from myother wives because the policewanted to use them to arrest me.

“I also want to make it clear thatI didn't participate in all the rob-bery operations the police are ac-cusing me of. People like me be-cause I am not greedy, I makesure everybody gets their ownshare after a successful operation.

“Some of these boys also go out

on their own to rob and when theyare arrested they will tell the po-lice that they are my boys.

“I can’t lie anymore, I have beenarrested. All I want is for the po-lice to give me a second chance.I will assist them arrest all therobbers in Lagos and South-West.”

Godogodo coordinatedOgun, Kwara robberies—Suspect

Meantime, a suspected robber,Felix Sunday, aka, K Money, whotook part in two bank robberies inKwara State and a bullion vanrobbery, in Ogun State, this yearhas said that Godogodo coordi-nated the robberies.

Sunday, who was arrestedMarch 2013, after a deadly rob-bery attack at the MurtalaMuhammed International Air-port, Lagos, where he and mem-bers of his gang killed two po-

licemen and carted away hugesums of money from bureau dechange operators at the airport,told Vanguard that on January2013, Godogodo and his righthand man, Odun Paul, led themto rob in Oro town, Kwara State.

“We were 12 in number and wewent for that operation with eightAK-47 rifles. We struck at thebanks around 5pm that day andwe started shooting indiscrimi-

nately. People ran away for safetyand a member of the gang who isa dynamite expert blew open thebank doors with dynamite.

“We went into FirstBank andcarted away all the money in itand afterwards we struck at theopposite bank and did the same.

“Nobody was killed in that op-eration because we operated un-challenged, after which we droveto Ondo State where we sharedour loot.

“I got N500,000 as my shareand I was happy.

"Few weeks after that operation,Godogodo called us for a bullionvan operation. We attacked thevan along Ijebu-Ode SagamuRoad in Ogun State and openedfire on the van which was not ar-moured.

“We over-powered the police-men and took over the van con-taining both local and foreign cur-rencies and we shared it.

“Godogodo was a source of in-spiration to all of us and when-ever we had him around in anoperation, we don’t fear the po-lice.

“He had the ability to confrontthe police and overpower them.We didn’t know he was going tobe arrested this easily. He hasboasted severally that he is go-ing to kill a lot of policemen when-ever they come for him and hedid not care dying before his ar-rest. I don’t know how the policedid it but Godogodo is tough.”

Police sergeant dismissed for demanding N25,000bribe from motorist ...after 21 yrs in service

BY EVELYN USMAN

LAGOS — THE orderly roomtrial of a Police Sergeant,

Chris Omeleze, attached to theLagos State Traffic Division, IkejaSTD, caught on video demand-ing bribe from a motorists, Tues-day, was concluded yesterday.

Vanguard reliably gathered thatthe sergeant with Force number192954 who had served 21 years,was subsequently dismissedfrom the Police Force, as he wasreportedly found guilty at the endof the trial.

The panel, as gathered, foundOmaleze guilty of misconduct.

The sergeant was reported tohave arrested a motorist who wasreturning from the airport, for con-travening traffic rules. He wassaid to have entered the vehicle,threatening to take the motoristwho was with a female passen-ger to the station.

However, along the line, he re-portedly demanded N25,000 fromthe motorist for the release of thevehicle. But the motorist offeredN2000, pleading that he had onlyN500 on him, an offer the police-man refused.

But unknown to him, the nego-tiation was being recorded onvideo.

The motorist was said to have

been taken to the entrance of thestation where the sergeant con-tinued the negotiation, claimingthat he was not the only one in-volved.

All entreaties by the motoristand the passenger who were ontheir way to Ajah fell on deaf earsas the sergeant demanded more.

Later that day, the video clip

went viral on social media,prompting the Inspector-Generalof Police to direct the Lagos StatePolice Command to fish out thepoliceman and carry out an or-derly room trial on him.

The video clip, as gathered, wasused during the trial where thesergeant was said to have beendumb founded and appealed to

the negotiation for a bribe asshown on the video clip went thus:

The negotiation

Policeman: Once we enter thiscompound now (police station), Ino go follow you talk.

Motorist (pleading): I don’thave N25,000.

Policeman: Ok. Talk better thingnow, make you go your way, makeyou go your Osborne

Motorist: (protests again) Idon’t have more than N2,000

Policeman: Ok (sighed). Oh...( q u i e t ) .Motorist: If you want to help me,must I pay N25k?Policeman: I know sir, I know youcannot raise N25,000. But talksomething reasonable

Motorist: (Female passenger)I told you I just got my ticket now.You want me to show you. Myticket is in the car.Policeman: Wait now… What youare saying is very far… Add some-thing reasonable to that. Makeyou go your way. I know there isno how you can raise N25k; a guylike you.

Motorist: Oga, a man like me…oga

Policeman: And moreover, I am

Continues on Page 7

be given a secondchance.

Contacted onphone, spokes-man for the LagosState Police Com-mand, NgoziBraide, con-firmed the dis-missal. Shestated: “Yes, hehas been dis-missed, express-ing the Force dis-appointment ofthe sergeant’smisconduct. Sheurged members ofthe public to helpflush out bad eggsfrom the force byreporting relatedcases to Policewith evidence.

A transcript ofChris Omeleze, the dismissed Police sergeant

The compound where Godogodo was arrested.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013—7

Policesergeantdismissed fordemandingN25,000 bribe

Continues from page 6

Youths protest killing of colleague bypolicemanAs Lagos Police begin manhunt for killer cop

As hit-and-run driver kills sanitation staff

BY EVELYN USMAN

LAGOS— AGGRIEVEDyouths numbering over a

hundred, yesterday, took over theChief Sunny Egbede Close, Dia-mond Estate in Amuwo-Odofinarea of Lagos, location of the com-pany manned by the mobile po-liceman who allegedly shot a bar-ber dead and injured three oth-ers, protesting the death of oneof their own.

The youths said to have madebonfire in the close, demandedthe arrest of the mobile Policemanidentified as Corporal Moham-med Abubakar, attached to Mopol17, Ondo State.

Their presence sent fears downthe spines of staff of the companywho remained inside while theprotest lasted. For fear of the un-known, the company was said tohave contacted policemen fromthe Area ‘E’ Command, FESTACTown, who arrived the scene tocalm the protesting youths andat the same time prevented themfrom carrying out any damage.

Eye witnesses said one of themanagement staff of the companywho addressed the protestingyouths demanded for relatives ofthose affected, particularly thoseof the deceased, identified sim-ply as Bright, apparently to settlewith them.

It reportedly took the interven-tion of the policemen to dispersethe protesting youths after arriv-ing at a conclusion with the man-agement of the company.

Meanwhile, the alleged killercop was reportedly still on therun, yesterday. Although the vis-ibly angry Lagos State Commis-sioner of Police, Mr Umar Mankowas said to have launched a man

hunt for Corporal Abubakar.Vanguard reliably gathered that

the CP who had on several occa-sions warned his men againstindiscriminate shootings, threat-ening to deal decisively with any-one found culpable, had contactedthe the MOPOL 17 SquadronCommander, with a view to as-certaining the whereabouts of thefleeing cop.

Vanguard also gathered thatinvestigation into the killer cop’smission in Lagos was ongoingand the circumstance that led tothe tragic incident.

However, when Vanguard con-tacted MOPOL 17 Squadron inAkure, Ondo State, it was gath-ered that Corporal Ibrahim wasdeplored on special duty to La-gos. On whether he was deploredspecifically to the company inDiamond Sstate remained a ques-tion to be answered by the con-cerned authorities.

not working alone.Look,if you enter this com-pound (police station),you wi l l pay biggermoney.

Motorist: You know Iwon’ t s tand on thatground and risk sayingbigger amount when Idon’ t have. I don’ thave…

Policeman: I am notworking alone

Motorist: I don’t livehere. I came here to col-lect something. I haveN500 on me. If I cannotat least… I’m going toAjah. I’m coming back toairport tomorrow. How doyou want me to do it?

Motorist (female): I’vetold you .. should I showyou my ticket?

Policeman: Wait… Nobe $50, $20 and otherdollars dey with you?

Motorist: (female): Ihave told you I’m payingfor excess luggage. Thatwas why I offered you…

Policeman: All that $50– you want to use for ex-cess luggage… you deyspeak grammar; by thetime when speak (sic) nodey for two of us, you gosee my own. Add some-thing to that money.

Motorist: I don’t havePoliceman: You don’t

have ….(sighed) pause…Motorist: So you cannot

help me because I cannotput small money to it…..to that N2,000 (silencefor some moments)

Policeman: I have re-lated to you like my ownyoung brother, l ike afriend…

Motorist: Have I notspoken to you like a man,to tell you what I have?

Policeman: If it is pos-sible from that side.. youthink I will still be insidehere? (the car)

Motorist: You think Iwill waste my time hereif I have more money?

Pol iceman: I ’m notworking alone, if I am,even if it is N1,000 I willcollect from you and go.

(Policeman picks hismobile phone and calls acolleague named Wasiuand reported that theSUV that he arrested wasnot ready for a deal; thathe should tell Oga to‘book it ’ “He told meN2,000,” he reported tothe said Wasiu.

The collapsed two-storey building. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke

Two-storey building collapses in Port Harcourt

PORT HARCOURT— A two-storey building under con-

struction on Akpajo Road,Elelenwo caved in yesterdaymorning.

Eye witnesses who spoke toVanguard said some of the build-ers were about resuming for the

day's job when the incident oc-curred. However, no life was lost.

At press time, the gate to thepremises was under lock and key.The workers could not be tracedfor comment.

Those who spoke said poor mix-ing of the concrete used for the

decking and the pillars werelargely responsible for the uglydevelopment. They also blamedthe 10mm iron rods used for thedecking instead of 16mm.

In another development, a hitand run driver allegedly knockeddown one of the ladies engaged

by the Rivers State Environmen-tal Sanitation Agency to sweepmajor roads in Port Harcourt.

She was reportedly killed, yes-terday morning around MarketJunction on Aba road. Vanguardgathered that driver immediatelysped off after the incident.

One killed, two injured as hunters shoot vigilantes in error

LOKOJA—IT was a case of thehunter being hunted in Yagba

West Local Government Area,Kogi State, Monday, as one of twosets of vigilante groups deployedto a crime zone fell to the bulletsof another who mistook their col-leagues for robbers, leaving onedead and two others badlywounded.

Eye witness accounts of the trag-edy which occurred betweenOkunran and Okoloke commu-nities were unanimous that theincident followed a tip-off thathighway robbers were operatingalong Egbe-Pategi federal road,dispossessing travellers of valu-ables.

Following the tip-off, it wasgathered that a distress call fromthe local vigilantes in Okolokewas made to the local governmentcouncil, which responded bymobilizing more vigilantes from

neighbouring Odo-Ere, the coun-cil headquarters and Egbe, thecommercial nerve centre of thecouncil, for reinforcement.

A team of vigilantes, number-ing 12, immediately reported tothe police divisional office at Odo-Ere before embarking on the res-cue mission.

Confirming the incident, Me-dia Assistant to Governor IdrisWada on Research and Docu-mentation, Mr Ralph Agbana,who hails from the council, toldnewsmen that as part of theirstrategies, the local governmentvigilantes, on arrival at the scene,decided to split into two groupsof six preparatory to engaging therobbers.

He said: “On their way, they meta car driven by one of the victimsof the robbers who narrated hisordeal to them, confirming thatthe men of the underworld were

still operating.A group of vigilantes then en-

tered the car towards the scene.But as soon as the robbers sightedthe car they had robbed, they tookto their heels.

The vigilantes came down andfired at the robbers but their ef-forts were too late as they all dis-appeared into the bushes.

As the vigilantes re-strategizedto ambush the robbers, anotherset of six hunters from Okoloke,joining forces with the vigilantesto dislodge the robbers but whoclaimed ignorance of the deploy-ment of vigilantes from the localgovernment, opened fire on thelocal government vigilantes whowere caught off-guard.

One of the victims, whose namewas given as Abayomi Sunday,was said to have died instantlyfrom bullets that hit him on thehead.

Two of his colleagues, whosenames were given as BamideleOlayemi and Dele Asebiobirin,however, survived with bulletwounds on their leg and thighand are said to be responding totreatment at the ECWA Hospital,Egbe.

Vice chairman of the council,Hon Omoniyi Adeyemi, also con-firmed the incident, saying fiveof the unregistered hunters whoallegedly opened fire on the vigi-lantes have been arrested and arebeing detained at the DivisionalPolice Office, Odo-Ere, while asixth suspect was still at large.

The council chief further dis-closed that although the shooterswere identified as hunters whoclaimed to have joined in the on-slaught against the robbers as vol-unteers, they were not membersof the official vigilante group rec-ognized by the council authori-ties.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013—9

TRAFFIC: Traffic build-up along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Diran Oshe.

Crisis looms in APC over presidentialticket

WAEC releases May/June results, withholds 112,865

ABUJA—THERE were indications, yesterday, that

the newly-registered AllProgressives Congress, APC,might have run into a politi-cal storm over who to field asits presidential candidate inthe 2015 election.

Vanguard gathered thatwhile the party is seriouslyconsidering a younger butpopular northern politicianto fly its presidential flag,one of the founding lead-ers of APC, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari(rtd.), has said that hewould not step down forany other.

The decision by Buhari tocontest again in 2015 is saidto have unsettled key leadersof the party, who are reportedto have agreed in principle toconcede the presidential slotto younger members of theparty.

A Senator, on the platformof APC, told Vanguard inAbuja that the new party was

taken aback by the former Con-gress for Progressive Change,CPC’s presidential candidate’sdecision to jettison a gentlemanagreement and run in 2015.

‘Gentlemanagreement’

The lawmaker, who is a rank-ing officer in the National As-

sembly, told Vanguard thatthe former leader’s ambitionwas at variance with an ear-lier understanding that nei-ther Buhari nor AsiwajuTinubu, who are regarded asthe principal promoters ofAPC, would run for any elec-tive office in order to give thenew party the ‘semblance ofa new beginning.’

The lawmaker said: “Ourearlier thinking was that thetwo leaders (Buhari andTinubu) should provide lead-ership for the new party andgroom an acceptable candi-date that will beat PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP’sGoodluck Jonathan, becausefrom all indications, PDP willpresent him.

“By our calculations, ayounger and vibrant politi-cian should run as our candi-date so as to give PDP a goodfight.

“But from the way thingsare, we are stuck betweentelling Buhari, outright, not torun and allowing him to con-tinue with some ripple effectscoming our way later.”

Watching TambuwalThe source confirmed that

APC was already working onthe possibility of drafting theSpeaker of the House of Rep-resentatives, AminuTambuwal, into the new partywith a view to presenting himas the party’s candidate in2015.

He said some APC leaderswere working on Tambuwalbecause of his age, accept-ability across party lines andthe fact that he hails from theNorth-West with the highestvoting population in Nigeria.

However, former NationalPublicity Secretary of the de-funct CPC, Rotimi Fasakin,said on Tuesday that therewas no time Buhari enteredinto any agreement with any-body not to run as a presiden-tial candidate in 2015.

Fasakin said: “Nobody canstop the former head of statefrom testing his popularity atAPC’s presidential primary.”

Fasakin described the pur-ported arrangement wherebyBuhari and Tinubu weremade to jettison whateverambitions they had as a ruse.

He said: “The said arrange-ment is mere propaganda tostop Buhari from testing hispopularity again in 2015. ButI can tell you that it will notwork.

“Let me tell you, come 2015,General Buhari will partici-pate at the APC presidentialprimary and nobody can stophim. I repeat, he will contestand no one can stop him fromdoing so.”

Nobody can stop Buhari from contesting— FasakinBY SONI DANIEL,

Regional Editor, North

LAGOS—OUT of the 1, 671,188 candidates that sat for

this year’s May/June West Af-rican Senior School CertificateExaminations, WASSCE,615,123 representing 36.74percent, got below five credits.

The Head of Nigeria NationalOffice, of West African Exami-nations Council, WAEC, Mr.Charles Eguridu announcedthis at a press briefing in La-gos yesterday.

Eguridu said that the coun-cil was “unable to provide sta-tistics of those who obtainedcredit and above in five sub-jects, including Maths andEnglish at this time, becausemany candidates in the North-Eastern part of the countryhave partial results at the mo-

ment.“This is due to security

challenges encounteredduring the examinations,particularly the loss ofscripts.”

He said that the level ofperformance increased con-siderably when comparedwith that of last year.

It will be recalled thatthree WAEC personnel werebrutally murdered by un-known gunmen on theirway from Yola to Maiduguriduring the conduct of thelast examinations.

Eguridu assured that thecouncil was collaboratingwith security agents to avoidthe recurrence of such atragedy in the future.

He said that the results of112,865 candidates, repre-senting 6.75 percent were

being withheld in connectionwith various cases of examina-tion malpractice.

According to him, “suchcases are being investigated,and reports of the investigationswill be presented to the Nige-rian Examinations Committee,NEC, of the council in duecourse for consideration.”

StatisticsOf the total number of candi-

dates that sat for the examina-tion, 889,636 candidates(53.23%), obtained six creditsand above; 1,074,065 candi-dates (64.26%) obtained fivecredits and above.

1,225,591 candidates(73.33%) obtained credit andabove in four subjects, while1,353,273 candidates (80.97%)obtained credit and above inthree subjects.

A total of 1,465,581 candidatesobtained credit and above in twosubjects. Although 1,689,188 can-didates registered, only1,671,268, comprising 920,416males and 750,852 females, sat forthe examinations.

1,543,683 candidates (91.38%)have their results fully released,while 145,505 candidates (8.62%)have a few of their subjects beingprocessed.

A total of 2,176 cases of multi-ple entries were discovered dur-ing the processing of the results.

Eguridu said that in line withthe Council’s regulation, the en-tire results of all candidates whoare guilty of this act would be can-celled.

WAEC has also extended theclosing date for registration for theNovember/December 2013WASSCE (Private) period to Tues-day August 20.

BY DAYO ADESULU &LAJU ARENYEKA

10—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Last minutes shopping for the Eid-Fitri at the Oshodi Bus-stop, yesterday. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

...More messages

Jonathan pays condolence visit to FasholaBY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

& MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

P R E S I D E N TG O O D L U C K

Jonathan, yesterday, paid acondolence visit to GovernorBabatunde Fashola of LagosState, over the death of hisfather, Pa Ademola Fashola.

Pa Fashola, 80, died Mon-day after a brief illness.

Jonathan waswas accompanied by the At-torney-General and Ministerof Justice, Ministers of Petro-leum, Information, Trade andInvestment Sports and Chair-man of National Sports Com-mission, NSC, Mr.Muhammed Adoke;M r s . D i e z a n i A l i s o n -Madueke , Mr. LabaranMaku, Mr. Olusegun Agangaand Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, re-spectively.

The Chief Imam of Abuja,Central Mosque, AlhajiMusa Muhammed, who wasin the presidential team, ledthe prayer session at the State

House, Marina, during theshort visit.

Speaking, PresidentJonathan described the deathof Pa Fashola, as very sad,saying, “I know that this is theperiod that we need his pres-ence, most especially, as aparent that will assist one inhandling a number of respon-sibilities. That was why I toldmy Chief of Staff that we mustpay a visit to the Governor, hiswife and the entire family.

“It is a sad event for you(Fashola) to have lost yourfather at this point. But wemust also thank God for thelife that he had lived. We wereindeed happy that your fatherthough he had left us at a verypainful moment, he also liveda fulfilled life.

“He lived to maturity. Butmost especially, he had beenable to replace himself tenfoldbefore departing. You(Fashola) and your siblingsare still with us. So many peo-ple didn’t have the opportu-nity of replacing themselves

MEANWHILE, A mem-ber of the National

Assembly, Alhaji YakubuBalogun and former Deputy-Governor of the state, PrincessSarah Adebisi Sosan, yester-day, commiserated with thegovernor over the death ofhis father .

Sosan, in a statement, said“Even though he gave up atthe age of 80, his demise ispainful as we have lost a true,honest, steadfast, committedand highly dependableelderstatesman whose contri-butions to the growth of mod-ern Lagos through strong sup-

port and advice, is legendary.“Pa Fashola even at that age

was a man no one would wantto lose, especially at a timelike this.

“I therefore, on behalf of my-self and my family send ourcondolences to GovernorBabtunde Raji Fashola on thisgreat loss, while we pray thatthe Almighty Allah would giveboth the immediate and ex-tended families andLagosians the fortitude to bearthe loss.”

She urged the governor andformer boss, “who I was privi-leged to work with in life to,please, take solace in the factthat Papa had lived a fulfilledlife and should not allow hisdemise to demoralise himfrom delivering democraticdividends to the people of thestate.”

On his part, Balogun said,“Pa Fashola was a great manwho spoke the truth at alltimes, with fear of God as hiswatchword.”

Balogun, who representsLagos Island Federal Con-stituency II in the House ofRepresentatives, said PaFashola would be greatlymissed by all.

A member of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, Boardof Trustees, BoT, Chief DonEtiebet, in a condolence mes-sage, said: “May the soul ofPa Ademola Fashola rest inperfect peace and while wemourn the loss of the pillar ofstrength and the foundationof achievements and focus ofHis Excellency, we pray thatAlmighty God will give himthe grace to withstand the ir-reparable loss with fortitude.”

before they departing thisworld.”

Also, former Minister of Fed-

eral Capital Territory, FCT,Mallam Nasru-el-Rufai, paida condolence visit to Fashola.

‘Deportation’: TUC sues for peacebetween Lagos and Anambra

TRADE UNION Congressof Nigeria, TUC, yester-

day called on both Lagos StateGovernment and its AnambraState counterpart, not to allowthe purported “deportation” ofsome indigenes of AnrambraState to degenerate into a cri-sis, especially now that thepolitical terrain was charged.

TUC in a statement by itsPresident and Secretary Gen-eral, Bobboi Kaigama andMusa Lawal, respectively, saidit was concerned by the dailyreports in national dailies onthe issue.

According to the statement,“the reason why we make thiscase is that all Nigerians irre-spective of state of origin havethe right to live wherever theyfeel provided they do not breakthe statutory law of the land.

As has been the case, there ishardly any part of the worldwhere you do not have peo-ple from different tribes, statesand countries living together.Migration did not start todayand it may never end.

“Already, many people areraising eye-brows over the‘deportation’. For them nomatter what Lagos State gov-ernment calls it -whether in-tegration, relocation, repatria-tion or ‘deportation’, the factremains that every Nigerianbe it Igbo, Yoruba or Hausahas the constitutional right tolive anywhere in the country.

“The Congress is of the opin-ion that governor BabatundeFashola and Governor PeterObi should shun insinuationsfrom their supporters, cometogether as brothers and col-leagues to see how the issuecan be amicably resolved.”

THE LIONS clubsInternational Dis-

trict 404B Nigeria Gov-ernor, Lion YinkaBolarinwa, sent a condo-lence message to theNigeria Union of Jour-nalists, NUJ, over theloss of some of its mem-bers in a ghastly motoraccident on the Ife/Ilesha road en routeIbadan and Lagos fromAbuja after a meeting ofconfederation of theirchapels.

Lion Bolarinwa in astatement by the LionsClubs Director of com-m u n i c a t i o n s ,Adegboyega Ogunosun,said he was worriedabout the wanton loss oflives on Nigerian roads.

He called on all threetiers of government toevolve more proactiveroad maintenance strat-egy and culture whilestepping up their roadsafety campaign, advo-cacy and promulgationof enabling laws whereneed be.

According to him,“part of the responsibili-ties of our governments,is the guarantee of theentire citizens’ safetyfrom all sources of dan-gers, such as road acci-dent that has claimedmany vibrant lives un-timely.”

He added that thedeath of NUJ membersfrom Ibadan and Lagoschapters was a loss tothe entire nation.

Lions clubsgovernorcondoles NUJ

This is to inform the general public of the loss of Deed of Conveyancefor a plot of land with survey plan of situated at

Area, Ibereko,Badagry, belonging tois now missing.

SOSA / LA2172/97Omi-Eye

Mr Smart Oghene Oderhohwo

All efforts to trace the saiddocument proved abortive.

If foundPlease contact Badagry Police station

or the undersigned:

Loss Of Document

Mr Smart Oghene Oderhohwo08054130014, 08037163759.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —13

CMYK

14—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

PDP clears Uba, Anenih, Ukachukwu,10 others for Anambra guber primaries

BY HENRY UMORU

VISIT—From left: Vanguard Regional Editor North, Mr Soni Daniel; Director of Treasury,Mrs Oparaocha Ifeyinwa; Director General, Citizens Network for Peace and Development,CNPD, Comrade Peter Dressman and Vanguard Abuja Bureau Chief, Mr Emma Ujah,during a visit by Citizens Network for Peace and Development to Vanguard's Abuja office.Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

120 of every1,000children inFCT die atbirth

BY LAIDEAKINBOADE

ABUJA— THE FederalCapital Territory

Administration, FCTA,yesterday, said 120 of every1,000 children born in theFCT die at birth as 425 ofevery 100,000 women thatgive birth in the territorylose their lives in the processof delivery.

Secretary, Health andHuman Services Secretariatof the FCT administration,Dr Demola Onakomaiya,disclosed when the Ministerof State, FCT, OlajumokeAkinjide, inaugurated theMinisterial Committee onRejuvenating PrimaryHealthCare System in FCT.

Onakomaiya said thedevelopment, which was afallout of the failure ofprimary health facilities inthe territory, had promptedthe FCTA to declare a stateof emergency in the sector.

ABUJA—AHEAD of the August24 Anambra State primary

election of Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, the leadership of theparty, yesterday, cleared thefollowing aspirants to contest theelection.

They are Senators Andy Uba andEmmanuel Anosike Obi; ChiefIyom Josephine Anenih; Dr.Obinna Uzoh; Prince NicholasUkachukwu; Mr Mike Oloye; NzeAkachukwu Nwankpo; ChiefUgochukwu Okeke; Amb. JerryUgokwe; Patrick Nduka Ugbomo;Agape Ifunanyachukwu Dike-Kramer; Dr. Alex Obiogbolu;Charles Odunukwe; and WalterUbaka Okeke while four aspirantswho paid N11 million for theexpression of interest andnomination forms weredisqualified.

Vanguard gathered that theAmbassador Aminu Wali-ledScreening Committee for AnambraState did not clear Tony Nwoye;Onwuanyi Afamefuna Damian;Sylvester Okonkwo andUgochukwu Okeke.

A source told Vanguard that theaspirants did not scale throughbased on what the committeetermed irregularities in thedocumentation of tax papers.

Other members of the ScreeningCommittee were former DeputyGovernor of Ekiti State, Mrs BiodunOlujimi; Mohammed UmaruKumalia; former Deputy Speaker,House of Representatives, AustinOkpala and Casmir Ugwu.

The aspirants, the source said,would appeal their disqualificationbefore the screening appeal panel,headed by former governor ofZamfara State, Alhaji MahmudAliyu Shinkafi, just as they willappear tomorrow to pay anotherN180, 000.

Other members of the appealpanel are the National ZonalChairmen of PDP, Col. AustinAkobundu; Alhaji Yusuf Ayitogu;Senator Girgiri Lawan; Sen.Ibrahim Kazaure; Dr. Steve Oruand Chief Ishola Filani.

Others are Gen. CharlesAirhiavbere (rtd); Sen. TeslimFolarin; Dauda Birma; NuhuZagbayi; Nicholas Amande andMao Ohuabunwa to serve asSecretary.

It will be recalled that aspirantswho submitted and appeared beforethe screening committee on Tuesdaywere Senators Andy Uba andEmmanuel Anosike Obi; ChiefIyom Josephine Anenih; Dr.Obinna Uzoh; Prince NicholasUkachukwu; Barrister Mike Oloye;Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo; ChiefUgochukwu Okeke; Amb. JerryUgokwe; Sylvester Okonkwo; TonyNwoye; Patrick Nduka Ugbomo;

Agape Ifunanyachukwu Dike-Kramer; Dr. Alex Obiogbolu;Charles Odunukwe;Onwuanyi Afamefuna Damian

and Walter Ubaka Okeke.Those who picked forms and

did not return were EuchariaAzodo; Donatus Okonkwo;

Chukwuka Onyema;Adimachukwu Calista; ChinyereUdemba; Ikeobasi Mokelu; LindaChuba Ikepeazu, among others.

As committee disqualifies Tony Nwoye, 3 others

JTF relaxescurfew inPotiskumtown

THE Military Joint TaskForce, JTF, in Yobe State

has relaxed the 24-hourcurfew earlier imposed onPotiskum town.

A statement issued by thespokesman of the TaskForce in the state, CaptainEli Lazarus said therelaxation of the curfew wissequel to the completion ofthe operation carried outwithin Potiskum metropolis.

It, however, said the10:00pm to 6:00am curfewacross the state is still inforce and appreciates thepatience and cooperation ofresidents throughout theperiod of the 24 hourscurfew imposed on thetown.

“Upon the completion ofspecial operations inPotiskum town, the JointTask Force relaxes the 24hours curfew imposed onthe town recently with effectfrom today (Wednesday 7August 2013).

“However, the earliercurfew imposed on the statewhich commences from 10O’clock in the evening to 6O’clock in the morning isstill in force”

The statement also wishesthe Muslim community ahappy Eid-El-Fitrcelebration.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013—15

PRAYER—Imam Yunus Kehinde; Chief Imam/Missioner N.U.D World-wide leading theprayer, while from left: Mr. Kunle Olayemi, Vice Chairman, NUJ; Dr. Abdul RaheemOloyo; Rector, Federal Poly, Ilaro and Dr. Tajudeen Yusuf, Senior lecturer, UNILAG,Akoka, Lagos, at a special prayer organised by the Correspondent's Chapel of OgunState Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, for the soul of the three journalists who died ina motor accident at Ilesha, Osun State. Photo: Wumi Akinola.

BY BEN AGANDE,HENRY UMORU, DAYO

JOHNSON, ANAYOOKOLI & JOSEPH

ERUNKE

Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal, Govscanvass unity at Sallah

ABUJA—PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan, Senate

President, David Mark, Speakerof the House of Representatives,Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, andgovernors, yesterday, in theirSallah messages stressed theneed for Nigerians to unite andbuild a virile and progressivenation.

The President also urgedelected officials to avoidoverheating the polity withunnecessary ethnic and politicalintrigues, and give the highestpriority to fulfilling promises ofbetter living conditions for theelectorate first, before turningtheir minds to plans andpermutations for future elections.

In his Sallah message to thenation, President Jonathanthanked Muslims in the countrywho responded to calls by himand other leaders for specialprayers during Ramadan forpeace, security and progress inNigeria.

A statement by the SpecialAdviser to the President onMedia and Publicity, Dr. ReubenAbati, said: “President Jonathanseizes the opportunity of the Eid-el-Fitri to reassure Nigerians ofhis resolute commitment toovercoming distractions anddelivering on his promise of goodgovernance and nationaltransformation.

Jonathan assuresNigerians

"The President assuresNigerians that his administrationwill continue working tirelesslyto build on the firm foundationsfor sustainable nationaldevelopment which it hasalready established in key areassuch as public infrastructure,power supply, roads,transportation, aviation,agriculture, education,healthcare, youth employmentand electoral reform".

Senate President, David Mark,again reiterated the urgent needfor Nigerians to unite and builda stronger country.

Senator Mark, whocommended Muslim faithful fortheir steadfastness and prayers,especially during the fastingperiod for the sustenance ofpeace and unity in the country,stressed the need for harmoniousrelationship and mutualcoexistence between and amongdifferent ethnic groups in thecountry.

Mark, in a statement signed byhis Chief Press Secretary, PaulMumeh, said: “The AlmightyGod did not make mistake by

putting different ethnics andreligious groups together to forma one united nation call Nigeria,It is therefore incumbent on allof us to work towards the peaceand unity that wouldengendered progress in thecountry.

Let us walk towardsachieving peaceefulco-existence — Mark

“We have come a long way asa people bounded by commondestiny; we can do better by beingour brothers’ keeper at all timesand make our society a betterplace for all.

“All hands must, therefore, beon deck to stop these ugly trendsof violence and crisis of variousdegrees that have tended to tearour nation apart.”

He pleaded with Nigerians tojoin hands with government inthe implementation of policiesand programmes, adding thatdevelopment could only thrivein an atmosphere of peace andcooperation.

Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Aminu WaziriTambuwal, urged Nigerians topromote attributes that unite thecountry, rather than layingemphasis on seemingly divisivetendencies among the variousethnic and religious groups inthe country.

Tambuwal appeals toleaders to close ranks

In a statement by his SpecialAdviser on Media and PublicAffairs, Malam Imam Imam,

Tambuwal appealed to leadersto close ranks and work for theunity and progress of thenation.

He said the devotion andsacrifices made by Muslims inthe last 30 days should bereplicated in every day lives,adding that the month-longperiod of self-restraint shouldserve as reminder of people’scommitment to the nation andhumanity.

The speaker stated: “Thesame way we all rememberedthe less fortunate and thoseafflicted by poverty and diseaseduring Ramadan. I implore usto carry over those attributes toour engagements afterRamadan.

“Only by so doing can wetruly say we have imbibed theteachings of the Holy monthinto our every day lives”.

While congratulatingNigerians, especially Muslims,for witnessing this year’s Eid-el-Fitri, the speaker said theHouse of Representativeswould strive for the unity, peaceand development of thecountry.

Orji calls for prayers

Governor Theodore Orji ofAbia State urged Muslims touse the period to reflect on theteachings of ProphetMohammed which centred onlove, sacrifice and peace.

The governor said whatNigeria needed now was peaceand unity and urged Muslimsin the country to use theoccasion to pray for peace.

He said to achieve the peaceand unity, everyone in Nigeria,including Muslims and non-Muslims, must be ready to makesacrifices for the nation to witnessdevelopment and progress.

He assured that hisgovernment would continue toprovide security for indigenesand non- indigenes in the state.

Let us dedicateourselves to theNigerian project— Mimiko

Governor Olusegun Mimikourged Muslims to ensure thatthey put the good lessons ofRamadan to use so that theirobedience to the divineinstruction to obey the Ramadancould be rewarded by God.

Governor Mimiko also calls formore dedication to the Nigeriaproject by all and sundry “so thatthe labour of our heroes past andpresent shall not be in vain”

He urged the nation to takeadvantage of the just concludedholy month of Ramadan to usherin a new era into the country,devoid of conflict, blood lettingand every traces of evil.

Governor Peter Obi of AnambraState said: "I rejoice withMuslims, especially in AnambraState at the occasion of the Eid-el-Fitri.

He said: "Times like this callfor sharing of love throughcharity and compassion. It alsocalls for understanding anddevotion to the progress anddevelopment of our dear state.

"May the joy of the celebrationbring us into greater love withone another.""

No bad bloodwithJonathan— IBB

BY EMMANUELAZIKEN & HENRY

UMORU

A B U J A — F O R M E RMilitary President,

General Ibrahim Babangida,yesterday, rebuffedinsinuations of bad bloodbetween him and PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, assertingthat there was never a time heturned the President awayfrom having breakfast in hishouse.

Babangida said in astatement that the newspaperreport alleging that he turnedPresident Jonathan away fromcoming to his house to havethe early morning breakfastbefore the commencement ofthe Islamic fast was entirelywrong.

President Jonathan had lastTuesday, through a statementissued by his Special Adviseron Media, Dr. Rueben Abati,equally refuted the story anddemanded an apology.

Emphasizing his respect andreverence for the office of thePresident and the person ofPresident Jonathan, GeneralBabangida said he was morethan willing to have anymeeting with him for thepurpose of nation building.

He said: “There was no timethat the President requested fora breakfast meeting withGeneral IBB, let alone turneddown by the former President.

“Former President IBB hadvisited President GoodluckJonathan more than twice sincehis assumption of office,meetings which afforded thetwo leaders the opportunity tobrainstorm on the challengesconfronting the country.

“It is, therefore, very unfairto the persons of formerPresident General IbrahimBabangida and PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to beportrayed as if there was badblood between them.

“Having served this countrybefore and knowing theenormity of the challenges ofgovernance, General IbrahimBabangida will be more thanwilling to have unconditionalbreakfast meeting or any othermeeting for that matter with thePresident and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ofNigeria.

“While General IBB will belooking forward to any of suchinvitation now and in the nearfuture, it is important andappropriate on the part of themedia to always cross-checktheir facts correctly beforegoing around town withsensational headlines at thedetriment of bona fide citizensof Nigeria, especially that ofthe President".

CMYK

nVanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 — 17

,

,

EARLY this week, reports emergedthat Vice President Namadi

Sambo, on behalf of the FederalGovernment, had “sought the supportof the Islamic Development Bank(IDB) for the provision of about $450Mto expand the power transmissionsystem to wheel up to 20, 000megawatts of electricity”. NamadiSambo made the demand during acourtesy visit by the IDB President, Dr.Ahmed Ali, in Saudi Arabia, where thevice president is performing Umrah,the lesser hajj. Dr. Ali who received alist of other requests from the vicepresident, revealed that the bank hadapproved three of five projects thatNigeria submitted. These are theconstruction of four new sciencesecondary schools in Kaduna stateworth $17.9M; construction of a 300-bed specialist hospital in Kaduna stateat $43.15M; and the Zaria watersupply project worth $81.0M. All arein Sambo’s home state.

It is interesting that monies are beingsourced for projects, ostensibly toimprove the quality of lives ofNigerians. We have the negativeexperience in the recent past of foreignloans that were badly applied for whichour country suffered direconsequences. Kaduna is my secondhome, so I follow its developmentissues very keenly. The numberscrunching around the IDB loan revealsthat the devil is always in the detail,with these foreign loans and what theyare meant to finance. A good friendpointed this out to me during the weekand I will like to share it. The IDB loanwill construct four new sciencesecondary schools at $17.9M. Attoday’s official CBN rate of N155.25to the USD, that translates to aboutN2.778B. Divided by four, the numberof schools to be built, each school willcost about N694, 743. 750M. Theprofessionals in the constructionindustry need to explain and justifythese costs; but more poignantly, fromthe cost element, how many graduateteachers in Mathematics, Physics,Chemistry and Biology are there toemploy in Kaduna state for theseschools? And is thought given to thatvital component of the project? Theseschools are to be located around the

Vice President Namadi Sambo'sIslamic Development Bank loan

state, but how will laboratories runwhere there is no regular electricitysupply? If they use generators how dothey guarantee regular supply of

I DON'T know if it is apocryphal, but I read thatstudents in Ikenne, the Ogun state homestead of

the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, were asked whatthey knew about the nationalist and one of thegreatest politicians and administrators Nigeria everhad. Most of the children answered that the Obafemithey knew was the football player, Obafemi Martins,not Chief Obafemi Awolowo! That story conveysvividly, the tragedy of a country that has conspiredagainst its own best interest, by dropping orrelegating utterly, the teaching of history, in theschool system. At which point this happened, Icannot exactly recall, but it crept upon us, againstsome frightening backdrops. Imperialism beginningto intervene to influence the curricular of studies inneo-colonial countries like Nigeria, by the mid-1980s, during military dictatorship. They launcheda frontal attack on subjects that reinforced anti-imperialist consciousness, and history was one ofthem. It should be recalled that from the 1940s,pioneering African historians like Prof. Kenneth Dike;Prof. Cheikh Anta Diop and others, had madeAfrican history very much a part of the struggle forour African identities in the struggle againstcolonialism. The African Personality and histraditions, including the oral traditions; the peoplingand construction of the African continent; theempires; the struggle to master nature within thesettings of Africa, entered the terrain of history, muchagainst the racist stereotypes of colonialhistoriography.

In the end colonialism retreated from the scene, tobe replaced by neocolonialism. The imperialist

diesel and what is the cost componentfor diesel supply?

The second interrogation relates tothe construction of a 300-bed specialisthospital at $43.15M; which is N6.7B.In Kaduna State, ABU TeachingHospital is already located in Shika,in Namadi Sambo’s hometown ofZaria. The Barau Dikko SpecialistHospital is being upgraded into ateaching hospital for the Kaduna StateUniversity. With two teaching hospitalsin the state, what’s the reason for athird specialist hospital? Besides, thereis also the 200-bed 44 MilitaryReference Hospital in Kaduna. It wasupgraded to UN standard by GeneralAbdulrahman Danbazau, former Chiefof Army Staff. In addition to provisionof health services to members of ourarmed forces, the hospital is open tocivilians. There is even provision for aPresidential Wing, rather like ahospital within a hospital. All

radiological equipment came from GE;it had over 20 consultants coveringmost areas of medicine. If NamadiSambo’s specialist hospital comes onboard, how functional will it become,with the epileptic power supply. Andare we not better off investing inpreventive, primary health care thanthe prestigious, money-consumingcurative levels?

The third item is the Zaria watersupply project at $81M or

N17.9B. The project has gone on for avery long time and it is interesting thatpeople allege that the vice president’scompany is the contractor for the waterproject! The money is actually thecapital component of the project,without much thought going into therecurrent cost that will be incurred,long after the capital spending hasbeen done. Let me point out as a matterof interest, that according to the DebtManagement Office (DMO), Kadunais only second to Lagos in the level offoreign indebtedness at $215. 68M, asat 2012. We must now add to that,Namadi Sambo’s new IDB debt of$142. 050M. Those who know howthese things work, say there aredangers ahead: the international priceof oil can drop; the theft of oil in theNiger Delta may assume a worsedimension, especially with PetroleumMinister, Diezani Allison-Maduekesaying not much can be done to findrestitution for twenty years; Nigeria’sdollar revenue can drop, while theCBN might be unable to support thenaira, with serious consequences fordollar denominated loans, such asNamadi Sambo’s IDB loan. Then thereis the huge domestic debt profile too.How will Kaduna state cope? NamadiSambo will be long gone from the scenebut the consequences will be there intothe future. We must give ourselves thepause about these foreign loans andprojects they are incurred for. In truth,these problems are nationwide. In myother home, Kwara state, in the eightyears of Bukola Saraki, billions of nairawent into appropriations for the Ilorinwater supply project and till today, thejury is out about how much water hascome out of our taps! We in dire straitsindeed!

countries needed to retain their hegemony in Africaand the minds of Africans has always been a contestedterrain, in terms of the knowledge these minds areexposed to. An assertive knowledge of history is notin the long-term interest of capitalist exploitation inAfrica. So an offensive was launched on history andother subjects that create African personalitiesconscious of and proud in their history. The citizenand African patriot endanger the imperialist agenda.They want zombies and unthinking consumers of theproducts of the imperialist world. They want Africansenamoured of Kentucky Fried Chickens; who enjoyholidaying at Disney world in Orland, Florida, notAfricans hacking back to the grandeurs of Africa’s pastto recreate them in the new, historical conditions. Theyintroduced a disdain for history as a subject,substituting with the nebulous subject called “SocialStudies”. Today, most Departments of History inNigerian universities survive only in combination with“International Studies”; and very few students enrollto study history. Yet, this is a country that had aremarkable tradition of world-class, Africanisthistorians: Prof. Kenneth Dike; Prof. Ade Ajayi; Prof.Afigbo; Prof. Fred Omu; Prof. Alayande; Prof.Abdullahi Smith; Prof. Balogun; Dr. Yusufu BalaUsman; Prof. Ade Obayemi, to mention just a few!

Today about 75 percent of our population is under the age of 35. Please check online chat

rooms to gauge the depth of ignorance about Nigeriaand its peoples. We are doing a great disservice toNigeria’s future with an educational system that doesnot make history a compulsory subject right through

the school system; for our children to take courses inNigerian, West African, African and World history, rightfrom primary schools. It doesn’t matter what course ofstudy the student is specialising in, he/she must takethese compulsory electives. When one doesn’t knowwhere he is coming from, he cannot make a correctjudgment of where he is headed. It is the same for acountry. Our children must be given a rich diet ofhistorical knowledge to orient them into the world theyare growing into. Where there is surety about historyand profound knowledge and pride in its course,children will grow into their world with remarkableconfidence.

I face this problem of the disappearance of history inmy role in parenting my children. My forefathers werescholars who wrote history, in the Arabic language. Itry to help my children to understand the historicalforces that moulded and brought us to where we havearrived today. Every family faces the same problemtoday in our country. In my case, I combine the oraltraditions handed over to me, with trying to encourageinterest in a systematic appreciation of history so thatmy children can at least understand and appreciatetheir heritage and grow up as proud citizens of Nigeria,Africa and the world of the Twenty-First Century. Butthe individual effort like mine can only go that far. It isthe duty of the Nigerian state to provide education forour children, which reinstates the teaching andvalorization of history. I hope the consciousness willspread like veldt fire and all parents in Nigeria willdemand the teaching of Nigeria, African and Worldhistory as compulsory subjects for all children in theNigerian school system. That is the right way to go!

Let us teach our children History

Vice President Namadi Sambo

According to theDebt ManagementOffice (DMO),Kaduna is onlysecond to Lagos inthe level of foreignindebtedness at$215. 68m, as at2012. We must nowadd to that, NamadiSambo’s new IDBdebt of $142. 050m.Those who knowhow these thingswork, say there aredangers ahead: theinternational price ofoil can drop; the theftof oil in the NigerDelta may assume aworse dimension

OPINION

18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

*Mr. Imansuangbon, a lawyer, wrotefrom Abuja.

BY KENNETH IMANSUANGBON

AGE, according to the British greatphilosopher, Mark Twain is an

issue of mind over matter. If you don’tmind, it doesn’t matter. For Chief AnthonyAkhakon Anenih and his family, friends,well-wishers even enemies across theglobe, it matters because Anenih is now anoctogenarian. This is a no mean feat in acontinent where the average lifespan of aman is less than 45 years. For a man whowas not born with a silver spoon in hismouth, he steadily and diligently bravedall odds to be who he is today, which isnothing but an eloquent testimony ofGod’s grace and reward for selfless serviceto humanity.

As a growing young child in Uzenema-Arue vilage in Uromi, Edo State, Anenihjoined his parents in their rubber plantationwhich was major occupation in the regionthen. Not deterred by enormous challengesin the society, he had his primaryeducation at Government School nowOkpujie Primary School also in Uromibetween 1944 and 1949. By 1951 he joinedthe Nigeria Police Force in Benin City andalso diligently studied at home andobtained the GCE ‘O’ Level as well as ‘A’Level. His professional commitment in thePolice gave him the opportunity to attendthe Nigeria Police College in Ikeja andother professional trainings outside theshores of the country. Due to the confidencethe Police authorities reposed in him, hewas chosen above other colleagues to serveas a Police Orderly to the First GovernorGeneral of Nigeria, the late Dr. Nnamdi

neni The q ntess t al d greatAnenih: The quintessential and greatn n Th n es t a d reae i e q t s l g tAnenih: The quintessential and greate @ 8leader @ 80e @ 8leader @ 80

Azikiwe. Before his retirement from the Nigeria

Police as a Commissioner, Anenih hadmade an indelible mark in the Force.Though the Nigeria Police as it is todaymay be a far cry from the dream police,Anenih and colleagues paid their creditabledues before their retirement, a reason forwhich the history of the Force cannot becomplete without mentioning Anenih’simmense contribution.

A man with a Midas touch, his foray intothe murky waters of Nigerian politics haslargely been a success story due to hisimmense achievements. Believing so muchin the words of the great writer, Jim Rohn,that “whoever renders service to many putshimself in line for greatness - great wealth,great return, great satisfaction, greatreputation, and great joy”, Anenih’s entryinto the political scene since the SecondRepublic has been characterized withselfless service to humanity not only to hispeople in Edo but to Nigerians across thedivide. That was the reason he was notdesirous of contesting for the politicaloffice of a governor or President, evenwhen it was obvious that he would win.Rather, in the interest of the generality ofthe people, he has always remained in thebackground to play the fatherly role to alland sundry. It is clear that in the countrytoday, he appears to be one of most sought

for politicians, not because of his financialstrength or deep pocket, but because of hisimmeasurable experience and wisdom.

No wonder as the State Chairman ofNational Party of Nigeria, NPN, between1981and 1983, Anenih worked tirelesslyand convincingly for the election of Dr.Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia as thecivilian governor of the then Bendel State.Describing Anenih as an encyclopedia ofthe polity called Nigeria is not far from thetruth. That was why every successivegovernment in the country has alwaysfound in him a reliable, experienced,nationalistic, detribalized, dependable andresourceful Nigerian in building andrebuilding the country for better.

Having held and still holding variouskey positions, there is no doubt that

Anenih has built bridges not only acrossthe country, but around the globe like noother Nigerian politician of his age andclass. He has established himself as anicon in Nigeria’s politics and democracy, adevelopment that has endeared him toNigerians from different walks of life.

With the return of democracy in thecountry in 1999, he was among thefoundation members of the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP and has played andhas continued to play major roles inshaping the political space even as an

octogenarian. In the face of all odds, he hasconsistently kept faith with the people, Godand his political party, even when the partyhas lost the governorship seat to theopposition party in his home state, Edo,due to some internal squabbles in the partyinstigated by outsiders in 2007.

A trail blazer all his life, Anenih by thislives according to the words of RalphWaldo Emerson that: “Do not follow wherethe path may lead. Go instead where thereis no path and leave a trail”. Hisremarkable achievements, especially inthe area of human empowerment, peacepromotion, dialogue and unity in diversity,speak volume of him, and are all there forposterity to see and verify.

He never believed or subscribed topolitical harlotry as is the case with mostNigerian politicians. Anenih has alwaysremained steadfast and committed to hisparty ideologies and principles. That wasthe reason when the position of theChiarman Board of Trustees, BoT, of ourgreat party, the PDP became vacantfollowing Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’sresignation, all the members, including thePresidency, without hesitation moved forAnenih as the candidate for the plumposition.

That position, he has used and still usingto stabilize our great party in the face of thedaunting challenges in the country’s polity.At 80, Anenih is still trudging onundeterred and unruffled. Happy birthdayour leader and many more years ahead.

WITH the November 16 2013 governorshipelection about 103 days away, Anambra Statepolitical atmosphere has become turbo-charged. The state’s hordes of money bagpoliticians have started deploying their arsenalsinto the race in which so far about 45 aspirantshave emerged.Last week’s reconciliation of feuding All

Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) leaders– Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State andNational Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, as wellas the recent registration of the AllProgressives Congress (APC) – have raisedthe stakes for the polls.Anambra citizens deserve a violence-free, fair

and credible election. The successor ofGovernor Peter Obi must be determined bythe electorate through the ballot box. Everyvote must be made to count.Given the great upheavals of the past three

terms, the onus is on the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC), the politicalparties, politicians, candidates, securityagencies and the citizenry to ensure a hitch-free exercise.The political parties must avoid imposition of

TTTToooowwww c l a d red b po la d cred bl po lards credible pollards credible poll mn An b an An mb ain Anambrain Anambra

candidates or situations where a party has twolists of candidates for a position, which oftenleads to long and tortuous litigations with theconstituents being the losers.Most federal lawmakers from Anambra, in the

last 12 years, have won or lost their seatsthrough the law courts on account of deep-seated intra- and inter-party crises occasionedby feuding factions in the parties and deeplyflawed elections.Anambra has the unenviable record of having

produced five governors in the last 14 years.Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju of the PDP left afterserving a term of four years in 2003.Dr Chris Ngige, who wanted to go the Senate,

was drafted in by godfathers and he won acontroversial election in 2003 on PDP’splatform. He later fell out with his godfathers afew weeks into his sojourn at the GovernmentHouse. He was abducted at a stage, makinghim the first and only governor to be abductedin Nigeria. His reign was cut short by the lawcourts, which declared Peter Obi of APGA asthe real winner of the 2003 election.Obi took over in March 2006 with a PDP-

dominated House of Assembly. At a stage, hewas impeached by the House and his deputy,Lady Virgy Etiaba, was sworn-in as governor.Obi recovered his seat through the SupremeCourt, which declared his removal as illegal.Obi was also made to vacate his seat for about10 days in 2007 after Dr Andy Uba of the PDPwas declared the winner of the 2007 elections.He, however, returned to his seat via a

Supreme Court ruling that his first term wouldend in 2010 and not 2007.Anambra citizens would be saved the agony

of this topsy-turvy electoral path with theattendant drawback on good governance if allstakeholders ensure a credible election inNovember.

CMYK

020—020— an u rdVanguardn u da rVanguard T, THURSDAY T , THURSDAY, A G , AUGUST 8 , A G , AUGUST 8 , , 2013201320132013

Pa Awolesi’s home and site of the mast under construction. Photo: Bose Adelaja

TUSSLE WITH OMO-ONILES:

Man kills friend overtelecom mast in Lagos

BY BOSE ADELAJA

BEFORE his untimelydeath penultimate week-

end, Alhaji Taiwo Awolesi lived fortwo years in an uncompleted bun-galow on No 25 Mohammed Ajayiclose, Sabo, Ikorodu. Although hewas among the first set of people toown a piece of land in the area, hewas unable to erect a structure onthe land until two years ago whenhe parked to the uncompletedbuilding even as work was ongo-ing.

About a year ago after Pa Awole-si moved into the apartment, hesublet a room, while he occupiedone. But the building which is theleast developed in the close isnow deserted, no thanks to hissudden demise.

The apartment lacks basic facili-ties like kitchen, toilet and bathromas well as other structures meant tomake life comfortable for the occu-pants who are compelled to answerthe call of nature at a nearby bush.

In the neighbourhood, Pa Awole-si was known for his simplicity al-though he was referred to as a‘ghost’ as residents were unable totrace his background. Also, someclaimed he was a lone ranger asthey could not ascertain whether hewas married or not. Apart from hismale tenant, no other person was

,

,

traceable to Pa Awolesi during hislife time.

Fortune seemingly smiled onhim some months ago when a tele-communications company showedinterest in his remaining piece ofland to erect its mast. The requestwas welcomed by this octogenari-an who immediately entered intonegotiation with the company

was lurking around the corner.Around 12 noon of that fateful day,some miscreants popularlly called‘Omo-Oniles’ invaded the projectsite, unleashing terror on thosepresent.

Upon arrival, they stopped theongoing work and seized someconstruction tools. They also tookthe octogenarian hostage, demand-

Confusion immediately reignedand a crowd was attracted to thescene. Thereafter the Police atSagamu road Division was intimat-ed of the development and theDivisional Police Officer, DPO, Sun-ny Akaeze, led his men to thescene. They promptly arrestedthe suspect and deposited the vic-tim’s corpse at the morgue.

Meantime, investigations intothe matter is still on-going, thoughthe case has since been trans-

ferred to the Criminal Investiga-tive Department, CID, Panti.

A Police source informed that thesuspect claimed he fired the shot toscare the miscreants but ended uphitting Pa Awolesi.

When Vanguard Metro visited thescene, the deceased’s home wasdeserted, while work on the projectappeared to have been suspend-ed.

At the community, Pa Awolesi’stragic killing has stirred outrageas residents continue to rain curs-es on the Omo-Oniles. Some ofthem also blamed the develop-ment on the failure of the LagosState government for its failure tocurb the excesses of the Omo-Oniles.

According to a trader, MadamTeniola Badmus, there is need forthe State government to come tothe aid of residents. ‘’These Omo-Oniles often take the law into theirhands not minding the conse-quence; and many have been sentto their early graves as a result ofthis. They usually attack peoplebuilding houses with dangerousweapons, demanding hugeamounts of money from their vic-tims. So government should im-mediately call them to order,’’ shesubmitted.

Another resident, a widow whopleaded anonymity, said the trag-edy was one of several to hap-pen in the community. ‘’I remem-ber when our roof was leaking andwe decided to give it a facelift; theOmo-Oniles invaded our com-pound to stop the project. Howev-er, God gave me victory at the end.Forget about what transpired on PaAwolesi’s land, the truth is that theLagos State government is to beblamed for Pa Awolesi’s death,’’ shesaid.

These Omo-Oniles often take the law intotheir hands not minding the consequence;and many have been sent to their earlygraves as a result of this

Long wait for BRT: ‘LagosConnect’ e-ticketing to the rescue

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

LAST week, GovernorBabatunde Fashola of

Lagos State, represented by hisdeputy, Joke Orelope-Adefulire, formally kicked offthe “Lagos Connect”, anelectronic payment card toreplace payment of physicalcash on the Bus Rapid Transit,BRT. The Lagos MetropolitanArea Transport AuthorityLAMATA, is the regulator ofBRT scheme.

Managing Director,LAMATA, Dr. DayoMobereola, said thatgovernment was not unawareof the challenges thatcommuters using the currentBRT system were experiencing,but has taken serious steps toensure the restoration ofefficient and effective servicedelivery on the system andincrease its capacity.

LAMATA, in collaborationwith operators had earlier

disclosed plans to introduce 50new buses, and 100 refurbishedserviceable vehicles to thepresent fleet of BRT buses by theend of the third quarter of thisyear, even as it announced a re-structuring of operationsmanagement team aimed atfurther ensuring effectivenessand efficiency.

Lagos connect e-ticketing, isthe latest technologicalinnovation the government hasintroduced in collaboration withthe private sector into the publictransportation system in thestate. Powered by e-PurseSystems, a Lagos basedtechnological solutions provider.

The smart card, which allowscommuters who patronise theservices of the BRT paymentoption, is aimed at reducing thescramble often witnessed at thevarious bus shelters and thestress of waiting in long queuesfor paper ticket on the BRTcorridor.

which picked Friday July 26, 2013to start the construction of the basewhere the mast will be erected.

After money running into mil-lions of Naira reportedly changedhands, necessary building materi-als and construction workers weremobilised to the site. Apart from thetelecommunication mast, planswere also in top gear to construct asoak-way pit for the uncompletedbuilding.

At the commencement of theproject, Pa Awolesi’s joy knew nobounds; even neighbours werehappy for him as they sang hispraise, thanking God on his be-half. But unknown to all tragedy

ing for a percentage of the sale of aportion of the land to the tele-com company. They warned ofdire consequences if their de-mand was not met.

At this juncture, Pa Awolesisensed danger and made entreat-ies to the hoodlums but this fell ondeaf ears. Not knowing the nextline of action, the confused octoge-narian ran to a friend, a cemeteryguard, Pa Segun Salami, for suc-cour. Pa Salami arrived the scenewith a locally made gun. But trag-ically the bullet of the the first shothe fired went straight to Pa Awole-si’s chest and he slumped and diedon the spot.

CMYK

22 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

From left: Director, Lagos State Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Lanre Adeniyi; Group Managing Director, ARTEEIndustries Ltd., Mr. Haresh Kaswani; Group Head, Retail Banking Group, FirstBank of Nigeria Ltd., Mr. TundeOwolabi and MD/CEO, I-ONE-C, Mr. Kelechi Dozie at the recently concluded BusinessDay Retail Conference.

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

AFRICA has emerged the mostbusiness-confident region in the world,

in the Global Economic Conditions Survey(GECS) conducted by the Association ofChartered Certified Accountants(ACCA)and the Institute of ManagementAccountants (IMA).

GECS is the largest quarterly economicsurvey of accountants in the world,gauging the views of ACCA and IMAfinance professionals working at the coalface of businesses.

The results for the second quarter (Q2)showed that the Sub-Saharan Africanregion had managed to cope with theinflation and volatile flows of funds thatchallenged policymakers in late 2012.

A number of other factors combined togive the region a major confidence boostin the second quarter. Just 32 per cent ofrespondents from Africa’s business

Africa is most businessconfident region—ACCA, IMA survey

community are now reporting a lossof confidence, down from 40 per centin early 2013, while 41 per centreported confidence gains, up sevenpercentage points from the previousquarter. Perceptions of the economicrecovery in general have shot up,with 60 per cent reporting anoptimistic outlook, up from 51 percent.

Emmanouil Schizas, senioreconomic analyst at ACCA and editorof the GEC Survey, commented:“Globally, this is not a recovery foreveryone, but for significant parts ofthe world it looks like the real thing.If this new found dynamism persistsbeyond a couple of quarters it couldbuild its own momentumindependent of monetary policy. Andlooking at Africa, it has reclaimed itsplace as the most confident of themajor world economic regions.

“Despite continued positive newsabout the global and nationaleconomies, the GECS businessconfidence index has only just aboutinched in the right direction. After asurge in business confidence in Q1that was perhaps a little premature,confidence levels are now in linewith fundamentals.

“What is encouraging is that themarginal improvement in globalbusiness dynamism in early 2013 hasnow accelerated across all measuresof investment, orders andemployment. Employment inparticular is recovering quickly andis now stronger than at any point inthe last two years.”

Africa spokesperson – JamilAmpomah , Director - Sub SaharanAfrica ACCA said: “While this is amassive continent, GECS’s findingsresonate across the whole of Africa;the worst challenges of late 2012appear to have been overcome.Investment in capital and peopleamong African businesses remainedstable over the first half of the year.Demand and cash-flow pressureseased significantly in Q2 2013, afterrising unevenly for about a year.

BY PETER EGWUATU

THE Bankers’ Committee has taken thecashless policy campaign to Ogun state

to enlighten the people on the use andbenefits of the initiative.

The scheme, which was introduced toLagos, a year ago, was extended to Ogun,Kano, Anambra and Abia States as well asthe Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on July1.

The initiative, which has entered itssecond phase, saw the CBN and bankofficials staging road shows in sixdelineated zones (Ilaro, Mowe/Ibafo, Ota,Abeokuta, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode) inOgun state, to create awareness on how touse different payment channels such as

CBN, banks take cashless campaign to Ogun

Automated TellerMachines(ATMs),Point of Sales (PoS),and money transfers.

According to a statement from theBankers’ Committee, the six-dayactivities saw market men andwomen, Small and Medium ScaleEnterprises (SMEs) among others,being education on how to transactbusiness electronically.

The enlightenment programme,according to the statement, was for sixdays, commencing from July 22 to 27,2013. The daily programme wasdivided into two segments -thestakeholders’ forum, which involvedthe various stakeholders and the townstorming/ neighborhood activation in

all six delineated zones.“It was indeed a very interactive

session across boards as bankerswere on hand to throw more

light on the puzzles in the mindof stakeholders,” the statementadded.

Two brand ambassadors –MamaG-Patience Ozokwo and Mr LatinBolaji Amusan, added life theevent by thrilling the stakeholderswith rib-cracking jokes on thecashless policy.

The cashless policy, whoseimplementation began in Lagos inJanuary, last year, is aimed atreducing the dominance of cash inthe system.

IFC to floatN160bn bond tosupport Nigeria’scapital market

BY PETER EGWUATU

INTERNATIONAL FinanceCorpration, IFC, a member of the

World Bank Group, yesterday dis-closed that it is working with theSecurities and Exchange Commis-sion, (SEC) in Nigeria to float $ 1billion ( N160 billion ) the first long-term, local-currency bond programein the country.

Speaking at the Nigerian DebtCapital Markets Conference hostedby Securities and Exchange Commis-sion and IFC in partnership of Pen-sion Commission(PENCOM), theVice President of IFC, Mr. JingdongHua, said “The program will allowIFC to issue a series of local-currencybonds totaling up to $1 billion, todeepen domestic capital markets andsupport private sector developmentin Nigeria.”

According to him, “ Nigeria is aleader in the implementation of theIFC Pan African Domestic MediumTerm Note Programme. The programenables IFC to raise long-term, lo-cal-currency funding for private sec-tor development in the region. A vi-brant, local-currency capital marketis essential for any country to achieveits full economic potential, and a cor-nerstone of our strategy to help coun-tries achieve sustainable growth. Ourdesire to put in place a programmefor regular naira-denominated issu-ances reflects IFC’s commitment tothe domestic capital markets in Ni-geria, and our growing investmentto support private sector develop-ment in the country.”

Continuing, the IFC boss said, IFChas identified that infrastructure, es-pecially power is key constraint toprivate sector development.

In her remark, the Director Gen-eral of SEC, Arunma Oteh, notedthat IFC’s committed portfolio in Ni-geria stands at $1.5 billion, the larg-est country portfolio in Africa and theeighth-largest globally.

According to her, “SEC has spear-headed a number of reforms to ac-celerate the development ofNigeria’s domestic capital markets,and the IFC program is an impor-tant contribution to these efforts,”said Arunma Oteh, “It will enableregular domestic issuances by an in-ternational, triple-A rated issuer, ex-panding the opportunities for inves-tors and increasing access to local-currency finance for Nigerian busi-nesses ” she added.

It will be recalled that In February2013, IFC issued the first local-cur-rency bond by a non-resident issuerin Nigeria, raising 12 billion naira($76.3 million). IFC issues bonds aspart of its regular programme of rais-ing funds for private sector develop-ment, and to support the develop-ment of domestic capital markets. Inmany cases IFC is the first, or amongthe first non-resident issuers.

24 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Agents blame scanners for reroutingof cargoes at Tin Can

IMPORTERS and their agents are run-

ning away from scanningof consignments follow-ing insistence that suchscanned cargoes be sub-jected to 100 per cent ex-amination at Tin-can Is-land Container Terminal(TICT).

Disclosing this to Van-

guard, the NationalCouncil of Managing Di-rectors of LicensedC u s t o m s A g e n t s(NCMDLCA), noted thatthe new trend is forcingimporters to pay more forsuch consignments.Speaking on behalf of thegroup, National Secre-tary, Uchu Block, saidthat TICT was the worstamong other terminals at

Tin-can.Block pointed out that

most of the goods thatare scanned at the facil-ity are referred back forphysical examination re-sulting in about 10 to 12days further delay.Giving an example of arecent situation, Blocksaid a client imported a20 foot container of Com-pletely Knocked Down

(CKD) suit cases thatcame in through TICT.He explained that thecontainer was routed forscanning and after it wasdone, the result showedthat there was discrep-ancy because of the zipand other components ofthe item.

The NCMDLCA scribefurther noted that the con-tainer spent extra 10 daysat the port before physi-cal examination was per-formed on it while the im-porter had to pay N30,000more than the duty on theconsignment as terminaloperator and shippingcompany charges.

When contacted,Richard Akinbosotu,Commercial Manager ofthe company refused tocomment. Instead he re-ferred Vanguard to the of-fice of the Managing Di-rector, Mr Yahuda Kotik,who was said to havetravelled out of the coun-try.

His personal assistantwho spoke with Van-guard only provided atelephone number thatdid not work.

COLLOQUIUM : The Customs Area Controller of the Apapa Customs Command, Mr. Charles EpoweiEdike (m) discussing with the Customs Public Relations Officer Mr. Adewale Adeniyi a Deputy Comptrol-ler at the just concluded colloquium organized by the MARCON in Lagos. On the left is President of theMaritime Reporters Congress of Nigeria (MARCON) Mr. Ismail Aniemu

Ministry not neglecting maritime sector— Hassan Bello

EXECUTIVE Secretary of the Nigerian

Shippers’ Council (NSC),Mr. Hassan Bello, hassaid that the reported ne-glect of the maritime sec-tor by the Ministry ofTransport was untrue. He,however, stressed that allthe parastatals under itwere well covered interms of policies and di-rection.

The NSC boss told Van-guard in Lagos that theministry has alwaysadopted a comprehensiveand holistic approach be-cause of the multi-modelnature of transportation.

Hassan said: “The Min-istry is not neglecting anysector in policies, policyimplementation, projectpromotion, supervisionand co-ordination. Minis-try of Transport has alwaysadopted a comprehensiveand holistic approach be-cause it is aware of themulti-modal concept oftransportation that is: car-riage of goods or passen-gers, or offering servicesthrough various modes.The ministry is focused onthe integration of thesemodes.”

He noted that the min-istry was working towardsachieving seamless trans-portation system throughthe integration of variousmodes of transport. Hepointed out that no areawas given preferenceunlesse there was par-ticular emphasis at thetime.

Explaining the nature ofconnectivity of the variousmodes of transportation,the Shippers’ Councilhelmsman noted that“What happens in onemode affects the other(s).

Goods are transportedlargely by sea and passmany avenues beforethey reach the destinationof shippers. “Transporta-tion by sea could be the

principal mode, but youhave other modes of trans-port like linkage (rail),road and inland water-ways. That is why the min-istry is emphasising or

giving attention to the railbecause the rail carriesbulk of the cargo and atvery cheap or reasonablecost.” On monitoring ofthe activities of terminaloperators, he said the ef-ficiency of the terminal op-

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

AAAAg tsg tsgentsgentsl m nl m nlamentlamentsystemsystemsystemssystemsbr kd nowbr kdownbreakdownbreakdown

BY GODWIN ORITSE

CUSTOMS licensedagents have decried

incessant breakdown ofserver at the Tin-CanIsland port, a developmentthat sometimes makecargoes run intounnecessary demurrage.

The agents suspectsabotage on the part of theinformation technologyfirm contracted to assist theCustoms in its reformprocess.

Speaking to Vanguard atthe just concluded one daycolloquium organised bythe Maritime ReportersCongress of Nigeria(MARCON), formerChairman of theAssociation of LicensedCustoms Agents (ANLCA)Mr. Kayode Farinto saidthat the trend of systembreakdown is not new.

Farinto stated that theissue of sabotage cannot beruled out as theInformation Technologyconsultant is wary of thefact that its contract isrunning out adding it mustdo every thing possible toremain relevant.

The former ANLCA bossexplained that because ofthe continuous systemfailure, duty payments arenot reflected in the Customssystems sometimes fordays.

He disclosed that theserver at Tin-Can port willbreakdown and remaindown for three to fourdays..

Speaking in similar vein,the Secretary General of theNational ApprovedGovernment FreightForwarders (NAGAFF) Mr.Increase Uche said thatsystem failure is a dailyoccurrence. The TechnicalSupervisor of the NigeriaCustoms Service at theTin-Can Island PortCommand Nasiru Isiyakusaid that the breakdown ofthe server is sabotageadding that the frequencyof system failure is toohigh for comfort.

Mr. Chris Osunkwo, theCommand Public Relatiionofficer said that thesituation is onlyexperienced when there isheavy rain fall or strongwind.

Osunkwo also explainedthat it is at such times thatduty payments are notreflected because suchpayments hang until theydrop into Customs system.

MAN okays use of DSME HP gas system

DAEWOO Shipbuilding & Ma

rine Engineering has an-nounced a patent licenceagreement with MANDiesel & Turbo for use ofthe DSME high pressure-fueled gas supply (HP-FGS) system.

Under the terms of thecontract, details of whichare being kept confiden-tial, MAN will useDSME’s HP-FGS systempatents and licences forits two-stroke LNG pro-pulsion based commer-cial vessel projects.

DSME believes this tobe a significant develop-

ment in gas fuelled shiptechnology, as with aclaimed 80% marketshare, MAN Diesel &Turbo enjoys a leadingposition in large two-stroke marine engines.As the first orders for two-stroke marine enginesusing LNG fuel havebeen for MAN’s ME-GIengines, DSME says that“this patent contract isexpected to bring outgreat ripple effects to re-lated industries.”

Although the ME-GIhas been available forover 10 years, its highpressure gas compressor

system was too bulky andtoo power-hungry tomake it viable for shippower applications.

DSME says the devel-opment of the high pres-sure pump-based fuelsystem, offering a radicalimprovement in efficientuse of power and space,has made dual-fuelledtwo-stroke engines into arealistic commercialproposition. DSME de-veloped and patented itssystem in 2007, and now,with increased interest inLNG as ship fuel, thecompany believes thecombination of its gas fuel

system and MAN’s two-stroke technology willopen the gateway to moredual-fuelled two-strokeorders from the commer-cial shipbuilding indus-try.

The DSME technologyhas been successfullyused on MAN’s ME-GItest engine inCopenhagen, and is be-ing supplied to NASSCOin the USA for the MANME-GI engines for thefirst LNG-powered con-tainer ships, being builtfor TOTE to a design byDSME subsidiary DSEC.

erators fell within thescope/purview of theCouncil but stressed thatterminal operators wereoperating in someoneelse’s house (their land-lord being the NigerianPorts Authority).

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

26— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013—27

CMYK

28— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013—31

CMYK

32 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

36 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

The Vice-Chancellorof La-gos State

University, Prof. JohnOladapo Obafunwa hasexpressed optimism anddetermination to eradi-cate what he termed themany years of rot in theuniversity, which ranksthe first amongst stateuniversities and 11thamongst all the universi-ties in Nigeria (NationalUniversities Commission2013 ranking).

Before now, many avisitor familiar with theuniversity will attest tothe fact that it wasplagued by rot in everyarea. LASU in the last 27years was a far-cry fromwhat a citadel of learningshould be, even thoughits Faculty of Law wasrated the best in Nigeriaand sub-Saharan Africabut LASU-Law was de-accredited in 2009 by the

NUC over poor standardsin academic andinfrastructural facilities.

It is against thisbackdrop that Obafunwaalongside some principalofficers of the universityconducted journalistsround some of thefacilities to reveal the on-going academic andinfrastructural facelift inthe school. This, henoted was not without thesupport of the state gov-ernment led by GovernorBabatunde Fashola.

Donkey years of rotPrior to November 1,

2011, when Obafunwawas ratified the 7th Vice-Chancellor by govern-ment and the GoverningCouncil, LASU had theproblem of inadequatelecture halls which led toa situation wherestudents had to stand toreceive lectures.

The science laboratorieswere not spared as kero-sene stoves became

bunsen burners.The constant unrest,

maiming and killings or-chestrated by cultistgroups in the schoolmade LASU a safe havenfor cultists. The recklessdisruption of the institu-tion’s academic calendarby local chapters of staffunions like the AcademicStaff Union of Universi-ties (ASUU), Senior StaffAssociation of Universi-ties (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union(NASU) and National As-sociation of AcademicTechnologists (NAAT)was a devastating tidethat needed to bestemmed.

And Obafunwa cameAssuming the coveted

Vice- Chancellorship po-sition, having been two-time Provost of the uni-versity ’s College ofMedicine (LASUCOM),Ikeja, Obafunwaconfessed that the newmandate was no tea party.

According to him, hisfears were basicallyhinged upon the deeprots that have bedeviledthe regular and externalsystems of the universityfor so many years.

These cut across theimmeasurable backlogsof results and certifi-cates of students whicheven extended to 1999/2000 academic session inboth systems; the deepcorruption in the univer-sity that had encouragedembezzlement, misap-propriation andmisapplication of fundsmeant to improvestandards of the univer-sity; the high number ofghost workers especiallyin the external systemand poor quality ofteaching staff.

On assumption of of-fice, Obafunwalamented that he had tocontend with the back-log of salary arrearsowed the teaching andnon-teaching staff,

•Prof. John Obafunwa

We’re determined to rid LASU of rots —Prof. ObafunwaBY IKENNA ASOMBA

Imoke commends Airtel’seducational developmentTHE Governor of

Cross River State,Senator Liyel Imoke, hascommended Airtel Niger-ia for playing a crucialrole in the developmentof primary educationacross the country.

Speaking at the com-missioning of threPresbyterian PrimarySchool 2, Ediba, Abi LGA,Cross River State, Imoke,represented by the stateCommissioner forEducation, ProfessorOffiong E. Offiong,thanked Airtel for trans-forming the school anddonating to the pupilsand teachers of theschool.

“Airtel’s Adopt-a-Schoolprogramme is onelaudable venturedesigned to impact posi-tively on the academiclives of our children. This

which might spur themto down their tools atany moment, therebydisrupting the universi-ty’s academic calendar.

Deeply bothered bythese, the ForensicPathologist said histransformation agendawas hinged upon basiclaudable infrastructuraland academicblueprints, whilst can-vassing the support ofgovernment, staff andstudents in achievingthem all.

In less than two years,LASU is on the verge ofpriding itself as an insti-tution which has set thepace of getting its aca-demic potentials right.

During the tour of fa-cilities, it was confirmedto Vanguard Learningthat the current admin-istration has gotten itright in major areas suchas e-course registrationfor students; e-transactfor students and staff; e-r e s u l t s / a c a d e m i cprofiles for students;

quick release of results;provision of state-of-the-art teaching facilitiesacross the departmentsof the school; re-accredi-tation of de-accreditedcourses; putting in placelaudable infrastructuralprojects and in all, astable academic calen-dar for two sessionsrunning.

Academic faceliftThe administration

launched a “novelty” e-registration system forstudents to register theirsemester courses withouthitches. Also, throughthis giant move, the erawhere students had toform long queues tocollect registration pinshas been eradicated.

“We launched an e-payment model fortuition fees which re-ceived encomiums fromstudents and staff as ithas been declaredefficient and easy.

“Lecturers are nowmore responsible withthe marking of examina-tion scripts, double-checking of markedscripts, uploading andcorrections, unlike inthe past when malfea-sance was the order ofthe day. Presently, thecurrent result-uploadingsystem known as DPUdoesn’t allow the altera-tion of grades after theabout two weeks of gracegiven for marking anduploading of resultsafter every semester ex-amination.

collaborative effort by Air-tel Nigeria is indeed amuch cherished one thatwill go a long way to as-sist the state governmentrealize its vision for theeducation sector.

Airtel’s CEO, SegunOgunsanya, representedby the RegionalOperations Director,South Region, GodfreyEfeurhobo, said Airtel iscommitted to its strategicpartnerships with gov-ernments andorganizations to uplift thestandard of primary edu-cation in the country.

“Without a doubt,quality education offerschildren the bestopportunity in life to re-alise their dreams of be-coming leaders oftomorrow.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013— 37○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

FIDSON Healthcare Plc,through its Astymin brand

said it has in two years reward-ed 250 pupils of various schoolsin Nigeria courtesy AstyminBrilliance Reward, ABRscheme.

The ABR is the company’sCorporate Social Responsibili-ty, CSR initiative to rewardgraduating pupils of variousschools who performed bril-liantly in their academics.

Speaking at the 2013 editionof the scheme in Lagos, theSales & Marketing Director,Olugbenga Olayeye said; “It isnoteworthy that having pulledthrough successfully for twoconsecutive years, in the spiritof continuous improvement; wehave decided to improve onthis year’s experience in termsof number, content and quality.

We have added more schoolsand expanded the coverage totwo more states of the federationbringing the number of partic-ipating schools to 200spanning six states - Lagos,Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Delta andEnugu states.

“In the last two years, we

have rewarded over 250 pupilsfrom different schools, andhave admitted them into theAstymin Hall of Fame - aplatform we have provided tofoster friendship, networkingand knowledge sharingamongst these kids.

Fidson rewards 250 students in 2yrsBy PRINCEWILL

EKWUJURU

,,

There was a young boy who was a fan of a footballlegend, Jim Brown. He had a dream of becominga star like his hero some day. But there was some-

thing “ridiculous” about this boy and his dream. This youngboy was born into a run-down section of San Francisco.He was crippled by rickets due to malnutrition.

At the age of six his legs had become permanently bowedand his calves so atrophied that his nickname was “pencillegs”. In spite of his profound limitations, the young laddared to dream and believed in his dream.

This young boy did not have a dime to attend footballgames. Whenever Jim Brown played, he would wait out-side the stadium until the maintenance crew opened thegate in the fourth quarter. He would get into the stadiumand be engrossed in the balance of the game.

At age 13 the youngster walked into an ice cream par-lour after the football game, astonishingly he saw his idol,Jim Brown. He approached the football star and said, “Mr.Brown, I’m your biggest fan”.

Graciously, Brown thanked him. He persisted, “Mr.Brown you know what? Brown turned to him and said,“what is it son?” he continued, “I know every record you’veever set, every touchdown you’ve ever scored”. Jim Brownsmiled and said “That’s great” and returned to his con-versation. If you thought that the young boy was done,you are wrong.

“Mr. Brown” he pressed on, Jim Brown turned to himyet again. This time the youngster gazed deep into hiseyes with a burning passion so great that Brown could

ad y o y ant t? b l d ou w i badly do you want it?How badly do you want it?How badly do you want it?

feel it and said, “Mr. Brown, one day I’m going to breakeveryone of your records”. The football legend smiled andsaid “that’s great kid. What’s your name?” The boy replied,“Orenthal, Sir, Orenthal James Simpson”.

Anthony Robbins observed, “Know that the only limit towhat you can have in life is the size of your imaginationand the level of your commitment to make it real.” Theworld could not stop the impoverished young boy afflictedwith rickets from becoming a football legend. Guess what?Donald Curtis O. J. Simpson broke all of Jim Brown’srecords and set some new ones of his own.

How badly do you want to win the game of life? Do youcome up with enough reasons for not accomplishing yourdreams? Are you afraid of rejection, ridicule or success?Are you working aimlessly without thought and direction?Do you have a vague hope that someday fortune will dropon your laps? If the answers are in the affirmative, thenyou are playing the game of life to lose.

People who play to win the game of life are regular, ev-eryday people with a difference; those who have decidedto make the most of themselves by concentrating theirthoughts on a definite and an all consuming desire toemerge a champion in the game of life.

These class of people are clear about who they are; whatthey want and where they are going and they won’t settlefor anything less. People in the winning class are preparedto stake even their very existence to accomplish their worth-while dreams.

Championship demands a champion mentality; motiva-tion, dedication and desire. Amateur requires an amateurmentality; motivation, dedication and desire. The thin linethat separates the champions from the amateurs is whatthey are willing to give up in order to go up.

Champions have the trademark of setting goals and mak-ing plans and they work their plans. Opportunities are at-tracted to those with intensified desire because they areprepared for it. Knowledge and experience is what raisesordinary ability to win in championships.

People who have decided tomake the most of themselvesby concentrating theirthoughts on a definite andan all consuming desire toemerge a champion in thegame of life

*From left: Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, Public Relations Manager, Dufil Prima Food's Plc; Mr. FadareOlumuyiwa Akande, student of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, one of the ben-eficiaries, receiving cheque from Mr. Deepak Singhal, MD/CEO, Dufil Prima Foods Plc andDr. Oluseye Onabonjo, senior lecturer, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal Uni-versity of Agriculture, Abeokuta, during the presentation of cheque to the Indomie MSCNutrition Scholarship, in Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

Award: A cross Section of qualify and deserving candidates,receiving G.C.E forms from Ayanre Youth Development and Empower-ment Committee, as part of the association empowerment programmefor youths in the Ayanre community Assciation in Olorunda L.C.D.Aof Lagos State

THE former Vice-Chancel-lor, University of Ibadan,

Prof. Olufemi Bamiro has em-phasized the need foruniversities to be quality agentsby building excellence andalso called for prudent manage-ment of resources by universityadministrators.

Delivering his keynote ad-dress titiled; Tertiary EducationAdministration in the 21stCentury: The ideals, the reali-ty and the prospect at the 5thFederal University of Technol-ogy, Akure, FUTA, Registryannual lecture at the Hilltopauditorium of the institutionsaid; “Every university strivesto develop its staff to meet cur-rent world trends; this is achiev-able through periodic andconstant staff development.

Speaking further, Prof. Bami-ro said to build a world class

Don tasks varsity administrators onprudent mgt of resources

BY DAYO ADESULU university, there should be atriangular relationship betweenthe government (owner of theuniversities), the academic(producer of graduates) andthe industry (end-users of theproducts). This will help tobuild the economy better.

In his opening address, theVice-Chancellor, Prof. AdebiyiDaramola said the universitysystem and industries cannotdo without each other. Whilethe former rigorously engagesin teaching and research andproduces workforce and inno-vators, the latter appropriatesthe products of the former tomake profit.

Thus, there is a need for con-tinuous synergy by the two. Hefurther said that there is alwaysa mutuality of benefits as thegrowing businesses of indus-trial concern become beneficialto the university system as theyplough back part of their profits

into research and other mutu-ally beneficial operators oftertiary institutions.

In her welcome address, theRegistrar, Dr. (Mrs.) ModupeAjayi acknowledged with deepgratitude the presence of both,Prof. Bamiro and Mr. Owofe-mi. Dr. (Mrs.) Ajayi also un-derscored the vision of takingFUTA to the market place aspart of the reason d’être for thechoice of the Guest Lecturer.

She said; “We have an entre-preneurial component fromwhich issues of symbiotic pro-ductive and result-orientedcollaboration between the‘town’ and ‘gown’ will beaddressed.

Having the duo of ProfessorBamiro and Mr. Owofemiaround us today confirms to usthat there is a lot of hope anddividend in bringing the aca-demic and entrepreneurstogether.”

, G 8 , 1N T U T 9VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8 , 2013—39

AAAAgbakgbakgb kagbakoba sues Ekiti Aoba sues Ekiti Aob su E iti Aa s es k oba sues Ekiti AG oG o oG G ovvvver judiciarer judiciare u cir j di arer judiciary fundingy fundingy fu d g n iny fundingBy DAYO BENSON

FORMER President,Nigeria Bar Associa-

tion (NBA), Mr OlisaAgbakoba SAN, has fileda suit against Ekiti StateAttorney General, overnon payment of the state’sjudiciary ConsolidatedRevenue Fund directly tothe head of the judiciary,contrary to Section 121(3)of the 1999 Constitution.

In a suit filed throughan originating summon, atthe Ekiti State High Court,the plaintiff, who is a LifeBencher, joined the EkitiState House of Assemblyand the state’s ChiefJudge as second and thirddefendants respectively.

Specifically, Agbakoba isasking the court to compelthe Ekiti State Govern-ment to comply with theprovisions of Section121(3) of the 1999 Consti-tution, which provides thatmonies standing to thecredit of the judiciary inthe Consolidated RevenueFund of the State shall bepaid directly to the headsof court concerned.

Additionally, the plain-tiff, who was also a onetime chairman of judiciarycommittee of the NBA, isseeking a perpetualinjunction against thedefendants from allpractices on judiciaryfunding which he claimedruns contrary to Section121 (3) CFRN 1999, to wit,submitting judiciary’sestimates to the executiveand release of the judici-ary’s fund in warrants bythe executive instead ofdirectly to the heads ofcourts.

In a 16-paragraphaffidavit and a writtenaddress in support of theoriginating summon, theplaintiff inter alia averredthat, “Judiciary does nothave sufficient funds tooperate optimally asenvisaged under theCFRN 1999. The judiciary

depends on the executivefor its budget and releaseof funds, which under-mines the independenceof the judiciary andcourage of judges asthere is constant need tosurvive.

“In furtherance of mydesire to support andstrengthen the judicialsystem, I conducted acompliance audit of state

judiciaries across Nigeriaand discovered that theEkiti state government isin breach of Section121(3) 1999 Constitutionwhich provides thatmonies standing to thecredit of the judiciary inthe Consolidated Reve-nue Fund of the Stateshall be paid directly tothe heads of courtconcerned. “I observed

that contrary to theintendment of CFRN1999, the Ekiti stateexecutive arm controls thebudget of the Ekiti statejudicial arm, includes it inthe State Annual Appro-priation Bill and sends tothe House of Assembly forappropriation.

“I know as fact that thefunds standing to thecredit of the Ekiti state

judiciary in the Consoli-dated Revenue Fund ofthe State are not paiddirectly to the 3rd defend-ant. The 3rd defendant ispaid in warrants. Thefunds are not receiveddirectly as stipulated in S121 (3) CFRN 1999.

“ I am aware that theproper thing is for theGovernor to prepare theestimates of the minis-

tries, departments andagencies under hiscontrol into an Appropria-tion Bill and lay beforethe State House ofAssembly, the Judiciaryprepares its own esti-mates and it is charged tothe Consolidated Reve-nue Fund of the State.”

However, the defend-ants are yet to respondand no date has beenfixed for hearing.

Chronicle of Al-Mustapha’s 14-year trialBY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

MR Richard Akinnola is a Human

Rights activist, whosepassion for good govern-ance in the country isunfathomable. He wasdescribed by JusticeHabeeb Abiru of LagosState High Court as“conscience of theNation”. However, hisprolific writings havegathered more ground inthe defence of the Rightsand dignity of man.

In a 99-page book titled,“A Travesty of Justice: TheAcquittal of Major HamzaAl-Mustapha and othersover the murder ofKudirat Abiola,” Akinnolachronicled the 14-yeartrial of Kudirat’s murdercase, wife of presumedwinner of June 12, 1993Presidential Election,Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

According to Akinnola:“As a matter of fact, in thefirst year of the trial, therewere 49 adjournments, allat the instances of thedefence. This is perhaps,one of the longest crimi-nal trials in the anal ofsuch cases in Nigeria.That a case can drag onfor fourteen years!”

He explained that therewere three different setsof cases, which are, theassassination of AlhajaKudirat Abiola, theattempted assassination of

Alex Ibru, late publisherof Guardian, and theattempted assassination ofMr Abraham Adesanya,late NADECO/Afenifereleader. While the latterwas not disposed off, theother two were.

“Interestingly, while innormal clime, it is theaccused person thatwants speedy dispensa-tion of justice, particularlywhen the accused is incustody, strangely, thistrial was unduly pro-longed by the accusedpersons as part of theirstrategy to undulypoliticize the case andwin public sympathy tothe erroneous impressionthat the trial had dragged

on for too long” Akinnolastated.

The activist pointed outthat the accused personswere in 1999, first broughtbefore the Chief Magis-trate court, Ikeja, Lagospresided over by PaulGbogodo. They werecharged with conspiracyand murder of KudiratAbiola on June 4, 1996.The prosecutor was apoliceman, Mr NuhuRibadu, who later becamethe Chairman of theEconomic and FinancialCrimes commission(EFCC).

How the first judge topreside over the matterpulled out

Akinnola noted that inthe year 2000, the ac-

cused persons weresubsequently chargedbefore a Lagos HighCourt, presided over byJustice ChristopherSegun, then Chief Judgeof the State.

He added: “But thefeathers of controversysoon began to fly as soonas the case began.Unknown to the judgethat a major strategy ofthe defence was tofrustrate the trial andmake it political, thejudge made a slip oftongue which the defencelatched on.

“At the commencementof the trial, the leaddefence counsel, MrClement Akpamgbo (nowlate) had applied orally tothe judge to allow theaccused persons sit downin the dock, an applica-tion which Justice Segunturned down by saying‘No! No! What kind ofapplication is that? Icannot allow criminals tosit at my court.’

“Mr J.B. Daudu SAN,counsel to one of theaccused persons, Mo-hammed Abacha, son ofthe late Head of State,Sani Abacha, latched onthis by raising allegationsof bias against the judgefor calling his clients‘criminals’, and asked thejudge to disqualifyhimself from presidingover the case. Justice

Segun, in a short ruling,did not hesitate to washhis hands off the case,reassigning the case asthe Chief Judge to JusticeKudirat Kekere-Ekun(now of the SupremeCourt).”

The trial before justiceKekere-Ekun

Akinnola stressed: “Thetrial before JusticeKekere-Ekun commencedsmoothly with the prose-cution, Fola Arthur-Worrey (now executivesecretary, Lagos StateSecurity Trust Fund). Theaccused persons allpleaded not guilty. Forthe defence was no lessformidable as led byAkpamgbo, Daudu,Yakubu Mikayu, Bala IbnNa’Allah and Kaloma Ali.

“The proceedings beforeJustice Kekere-Ekun soonran into a stormy weatheras Daudu again broughtan application asking thecourt to discharge Abachafrom the trial. The appli-cation was predicated onthe ground that thecharge of accessory afterthe fact of murder pre-ferred against Abachacould not stand since thecharge of murder had notbeen proven.

“After listening to all thearguments, JusticeKekere-Ekun overruledDaudu. Dissatisfied,Daudu tenaciouslypursed the application tothe court of appeal andthe Supreme Court wherehe eventually got hisrequest in a very contro-versial decision.

“The apex court of July11, 2002 gave the verdictin favour of Abacha,discharging him from thetrial. It should be notedthat while Daudu waspursing Abaha’s applica-tion at the appellate court,he brought an applicationbefore the trial court forstay of proceedings,pending the determina-tion of his application atthe higher courts.

•Major Hamza Al-Mustapha

0 A A D U S 3 N R T 8 40— VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

What’s age got to do with it?BY AWA KALU, SAN

OUR print, electronicand social media

have in the past coupleof days been heavilyinundated with disputa-tion concerning recentproceedings at theNational Assembly.What can immediatelybe said without equivo-cation is that the Senatedid not vote to vary theage of marriage nor didit legitimize childmarriage. Rather, whatappears to have angeredmany Nigerians arosefrom a consideration bySenate, of the ‘age forrenunciation of citizen-ship’, having regard tothe provisions of section29 of the constitution ofthe Federation of Niger-ia, 1999 (hereafter, ‘theConstitution’).

For the avoidance ofdoubt, section 29 of theConstitution provides asfollows: (1) Any citizenof Nigeria of full agewho wishes to renouncehis Nigerian citizenshipshall make a declarationin the manner pre-scribed for the renuncia-tion (2) The Presidentshall cause the declara-tion made in subsection(1) of this section to beregistered and uponsuch registration, shallcease to be a citizen ofNigeria. (3)

The President maywithhold the registrationof any declaration madeunder subsection (1) ofthis section if- (a) thedeclaration is madeduring any war in whichNigeria is physicallyinvolved; or (b) in hisopinion, it is otherwisecontrary to public policy.(4) For the purpose ofsubsection (1) of thissection- (a) “full age”means the age of eight-een years and above; (b)any woman who ismarried shall be deemedto be of full age. Thusfar, it is very clear thatthe raging controversyhas arisen from section29(4)(b) of the Constitu-tion which in plainlanguage states that anywoman who is marriedshall be deemed to be offull age.

What the law is in thisjurisdiction is that anyprovisions in a statute orother piece of legislationwhich is in subsections,must be read as a wholeand not piecemeal. [SeeInakoju v. Adeleke]. Inthat connection, it is

legitimate to interpretesection 29(4)(b) to meanthat for the purpose ofrenunciation of citizen-ship, any person whowishes to take thatmonumental step mustnot be less than 18years.

Should that citizen bemarried, then she will bedeemed to be of full ageshould she express thedesire renounce herNigerian citizenship bymaking the declarationin the manner pre-scribed for the renuncia-tion. By way of clarifica-tion, it is necessary tostate that the word‘deemed’ in section 29(4)(b) is a term of artwhich has over theyears, been interpretedover and over again. Forinstance, in BarristerPaul Ubom & Anor. v.Nseyen Anderson Anaka(1999) 6 NWLR (pt.605)99, the Calabar Divisionof the Court of Appeal,interpreted the word‘deem’ to mean ‘to hold,consider, adjudge,believe, condemn,determine, treat as if,construe’.

In that case, the pieceof legislation which fellfor construction wassection 83 (2) of thedefunct Local Govern-ment (Basic Constitu-tional and TransitionalProvisions) Decree No.36 of 1998 which provid-

ed that the person whoseelection is complained ofis in this Decree referredto as the respondent, butif the petition complains ofthe conduct of an electoralofficer, a presiding officer,a returning officer or anyother person who tookpart in the conduct of an

election, the electoralofficer, presiding officer, areturning officer or thatother person shall for thepurpose of this Decree bedeemed to be a respond-ent and shall be joined inthe election petition as a

necessary party. Thecourt, in the finalresult, held that“where an electionpetition complains ofthe conduct of areturning officer, heshall for all purposesbe deemed to be arespondent.

The effect of non-joinder of a returningofficer where allega-tions of misconduct aremade against him isthat proof of the mis-conduct will not beentertained by thetribunal in the absence

of the joinder. Such non-joinder is a fundamentalvice which renders allallegations madeagainst the officersunproved”. A moredirect interpretation ofthe word ‘deem’ wasprovided very recentlyby the apex court, theSupreme Court, in Orjiv. D.T.M. (Nig) Ltd.,(2009) 18 NWLR(pt.1173) 467. In thatcase, two sections of theCompanies and AlliedMatters Act (CAMA)which contained theword ‘deem’ had to beconstrued. Section 79 (1)of CAMA provides that.The subscribers of thememorandum of acompany shall bedeemed to have agreedto become members ofthe company, and on itsregistration shall beentered as members inits register of members’.

The other section, thatis section 223(3) ofCAMA is to the effectthat ‘Any meeting called,held and conducted inaccordance with anorder under subsection(1) of this section, shallfor all purposes bedeemed to be a meetingof the company or of theboard of directors dulycalled, held and con-ducted’. In the light ofthese provisions, theSupreme Court held that‘A deeming provision ina statute is a provision

which makes supposi-tion. The deemingprovision is intended toenlarge the meaning ofa particular word or toinclude matters whichotherwise may or maynot fall within the mainprovision.

For example when aperson is deemed to besomething, the onlymeaning possible is thatthough he is not inreality that something,the act of parliamentrequires him to betreated as if he were’.Tobi J.S.C specificallyelaborated on themeaning of ‘deem’ whenhe said: ‘In my humbleview, a deeming provi-sion in a statute is moreof a caricature thananything. It is also moreof a camouflage thananything. The word, inshort, stands in theplace of a reality. And adeeming provision in asection of a statute willalways operate in theabsence of the realprovision; it cannotoperate side by side withthe real provision. Inother words, both thereal and deemed provi-sion, cannot be in thesame section dealingwith the same subjectmatter. In such a situa-tion, a supposed deem-ing provision will giveway to the real provi-sion.”

Court awards N35m against bank for breach of contractBY ONOZURE DANIA

A LAGOS HighCourt, sitting at

Tafawa Balewa SquareCourt Complex, hasordered Union Bank ofNigeria Plc to pay thesum of US$ 217,381.05 orits naira equivalent at thecurrent exchange rate toone of it customers, PrinceNwokocha Ezikpe andhis company FelimexNigeria Limited, beingthe total sum of moneydebited from the claim-ant’s account by the bankand was not remitted totheir foreign businesspartners.

The court presided overby Justice MorenikeObadina, in its judgment,in Suit No LD/1092/2008,the court held that theclaimants had establishedtheir entitlement to thereliefs sought as the fundswhich were debited fromtheir account with theUnion Bank, meant forremittance to the Central

Bank of Nigeria (CBN)and on to their foreignpartners, were notremitted. The money wassupposed to be paymentsfor the series oftransactions between theclaimants and theirforeign business partners.

In addition to thepayment of the aforemen-tioned sum by the bank tothe claimants, the courtalso awarded the sum ofN3 million as generaldamages against UnionBank for breach ofcontract.Furthermore, thecourt held that theclaimants are entitled tothe statutory post judg-ment interest and wastherefore awarded 10 percent interest on thejudgment sum from thedate of the judgment untilthe entire sum is liquidat-ed.

However, the courtrefused the claimants’claim for pre-judgmentinterest at the rate of 19percent per annum from

May 1982 until finalliquidation of the debt onthe ground adding thatthe claim was not plead-ed neither was there

evidence in support ofthe claim.Reviewing thearguments and submis-sions of counsel to theparties, Justice Obadina

held that Union Bank didnot supply any documen-tary proof from its ownrecord on the remittanceof the funds to the CentralBank of Nigeria .

BY WAHABABDULAH

•Awa Kalu

,,

If they have the objectiveof true federalism, theywill not be going in thedirection of actually de-stroying it

Falana threatens lawsuit against coy overN.358bn debt

LAGOS lawyer, MrFemi Falana, SAN,

has threatened legalaction over the allegedN358,497,500.00 billionowed eight members ofthe Outdoor AdvertisingAssociation of Nigeria,OAAN, by VixenEnterprises Limited.

To this end, a sevenday-ultimatum has beenissued to the company topay up the sum, followingwhich they will file anaction in court to recoverthe debt.In a letter byFalana and Falanachambers on behalf of theOutdoor AdvertisementAgency of Nigeria,

OAAN, which was copiedto Mrs Gladys Talabi,Executive Director, LegalServices, Globacom Ltd.,titled, “Demand for thepayment of358,497,500.00 beingindebtedness to somemembers of OutdoorAdvertising Association ofNigeria, OAAN,” theadvertisers claimed thatVixen allegedly refused topay the money in spite ofrepeated demands.

Already, the manage-ment of Vixen hasresponded to the letter. Ina response dated July 31,2013 and signed by anauthorised signatory,(without a name), read inpart: “Reference yourletter dated 29 July, 2013in respect of the above,we have evaluated the

claims contained in yourletter and wish to requestfor some time to situate theclaims in perspective andrevert to you asappropriate.”

The companies whichallegedly carried out theadvertising services forVixen on behalf of anindigenous communi-cation firm, GlobalcomNigeria are : NigeriaAdvertising ServicesLimited, Great GraceCommunication Limited,Media Link, FrancisStillwaters NigeriaLimited and Tripple AOutdoor Limited.

Others are KOKVisibility Edge Limited,De Signplast NigeriaLimited and CharellaNigeria Limited.

A ANG RS U VANGUARD, THURSDAY,AUGUST 8, 2013—41

Required proof for criminal allegations in election petition (2)

BY AKINTAYOIWILADE

Akintayo Iwilade

LIKE we arguedearlier, the strict rule

was developed to ensure“only guilty persons areconvicted by the State”.Therefore, it is the endgoal of a proceeding thatshould ordinarily deter-mine the standard ofproof to be applied. The‘strict rule’ ought only toapply where the end goalof a proceeding seeksconviction of a citizen bythe State and not wherethe end goal is a pursuitof compensatory damag-es, injunctive/restorativereliefs, declarations,restitutive orders etc; suchas are often sought in civiland election petitionproceedings respectively.

Sound logic is thereforediminished when a

Plaintiff, Claimant orPetitioner is required (justto obtain compensatorydamages, injunctive/restorative reliefs,declarations etc), todemonstrate thewholesome prosecutorialpowers of the State toarrest, gather, investigateand even confiscaterequired ‘proof beyondreasonable doubtevidence’. It becomesmore untenable when it isconsidered that suchPlaintiff, Claimant orPetitioner hardly everpossesses the supportiveprivileges and‘investigativeinfrastructure’ available,often exclusively, to theState.

Accordingly, it betraysuneven and illogicaljustice to impose theonerous ‘proof beyond

reasonable doubt’ eviden-tial burden on aspects ofsuch proceedings, inwhich different outcomes,other than the convictionsought by the State incriminal proceedings, arewhat is being sought.

From the decisions inTorti v. Ukpabi (1984) 1SCNLR 214, Nwobodo vOnoh (1984) 1 SC 1,Omoboriowo v. Ajasin

(1984) 1 SC 1 etc; to therecent cases involvingBuhari v Obasanjo (2005)13 NWLR (pt. 941) pg 1at 182, Agagu v Mimiko(2009) All FWLR (pt. 462)1122 at 1167-1168 andmany others, theSupreme Court, theCourt of Appeal and allLower Tribunals have leftno one in doubt of thestate of the Law on thestandard of proofrequired to judiciallyverify criminal allegationsmade in ElectionPetitions throughoutNigeria. The standard is,and remains, that‘criminal allegationsmade in ElectionPetitions must be provedbeyond reasonable doubtand; where an ElectionPetition is founded solelyon such criminalallegations and there

happens to be a wantingin the stated statutorystandard of proof, thepetition cannot succeed’.That is the state of theLaw today, and it remainsfirmly so and continuallyenforceable, except, anduntil set-aside by an Act ofParliament.

That being the State ofthe Law, it is posited thatthere is no logicaljurisprudential foundationto support or justify thecontinued application andimposition of suchonerous evidential burdenon Election Petitions. Adynamic reversal of thecurrent Law, throughconcerted legislative andjurisprudential rethinking,is highly desirable.

It must be adequately

To be continued

FOR about twoweeks now, the

nation has been caughtin another hysteria. Atthe centre of it is aphantom “Child Mar-riage Bill” supposedlypassed by the Senate.Like most matters at theheart of many nationalfrenzies and umbragesin the past, this one tooturned out to be anotherbout of ignorance,mischief, hypocrisy, andprofessional ineptitudein defence of a falsealarm.

Indeed, the penchantof some of us for thebandwagon often leavesus too gullible. It canonly compare to that ofthe Roman plebians inShakespeare’s “JuliusCaesar” who are easilyswayed into rampage.Take for instance theencounter of the Romanmob with a man namedCinna. In response totheir numerous ques-tions, he answers,“Truly, my name isCinna”. “Tear him topieces; he is a conspira-tor”, one of them yells.“I am Cinna the poet, Iam Cinna the poet,” hecries out. Not in themood to reason, anothermember of the mobinsists “Tear him for hisbad verses, tear him forhis bad verses”. Even when he pleadsthat “I am not Cinna theconspirator”, anothercitizen insists that “It isno matter, his name’s

Phantom ‘Child Marriage Bill’: Much ado about a false alarmBY UCHE

ANICHEKWUCinna”. The poor man islynched for Caesar’sdeath he knows nothingabout.

In real life, the Ro-mans’ fondness forentertainment was sointense that the popu-larity of successiveemperors dependedgreatly on their ability tostage violent entertain-ments. Bloody combatsin the amphitheatres bygladiators were theopium of the masses.The salutation “Ave,Imperator, morituri tesalutant” (Hail, Em-peror, those who areabout to die salute you)as elaborated inSuetonius’ work, “DeVita Caesarum” (TheLife of the Caesars),leaves no one in doubtthat the amphitheatrewas a abattoir. But itdidn’t matter to theRomans. The bloodierthe merrier- so long asthey got entertained.Likewise, the way someof us willfully promotelies and ignorance, itdoes not seem peoplegive a damn whosecharacter is assassi-nated.

However, after readingthe comments of aformer Minister, Mrs.Oby Ezekwesili whenthe Gender and Consti-tution Reform Network(GECORN) visited theSenate President,Senator David Mark,one cannot but excusethe masses. She said:“Our society is yetrudimentary in peoplecompletely following

issues of legislation,issues of the constitu-tion. And so manypeople assumed thatthere was some new Billthat was being dis-cussed in the Senatewhere the Senators weregiven the right to marryunder-aged children. Itwasn’t the case.”

Nevertheless, thesame cannot be said ofthose who ought toknow better, but wentahead to willfully putevents in the Senateconcerning Section 29 ofthe Constitution out ofcontext. One of suchopprobrious commentswas an editorial by oneof Nigeria’s leadingnational dailies entitled“Shameless Senate”published on Wednes-day, June 22, 2013. Theeditorial reads in part:“Under Section 29 (4aand 4b) of the Constitu-tion, a woman shall notbe qualified for mar-riage until she is 18years of age.” This iscertainly not what thatpart of the Constitution

talks about. It then goesfurther to state that “The Senate, onWednesday, proposed tochange that provision to‘a woman is deemed tobe of full age once sheis married’, irrespectiveof the age she did so.”This too is false andfallacious.

In her widely pub-lished piece which givesgraphic details of thesad impacts of underagemarriage on NorthernNigeria, MaryamUwais, a rights activistand wife of the formerChief Justice of Nigeriasays: “It should bepointed out, however,that several mediareports on the constitu-tional review debate atthe Senate give theimpression that under-age marriage has beenendorsed by the SenateChambers. Facts arethat S.29 of the 1979Constitution permits aNigerian citizen of ‘fullage’ to renounce his orher citizenship bydeclaration in a pre-scribed manner, forwhich purpose ‘full age’was stated to be 18years and above. Thesubsection also providesthat, ‘any woman who ismarried shall bedeemed to be of fullage’. In its currentefforts to review theConstitution, the SenateCommittee had deter-mined that the particu-lar subsection should bedeleted, basicallybecause citizenship hasno bearing on gender,

as for example, voting,the right to drive a car,possess a weapon orsuch similar socialinteractions that areevolving or are germaneto a democratic Nation.”

Indeed, Section 29Subsection 1 providesthat “Any citizen ofNigeria of full age whowishes to renounce hisNigerian citizenshipshall make a declarationin the prescribed man-ner for the renuncia-tion.” Subsection 4,which is the bone ofcontention, providesthat

“For the purposes ofsubsection (1) of thissection.

(a) “full age” meansthe age of eighteenyears and above;

(b) any woman who ismarried shall bedeemed to be of fullage.” The Constitutionis specific as to theONLY purpose Subsec-tion 4(b) can serve- thatis strictly for the pur-poses of subsection 1 orrenunciation of citizen-ship.

This fact is supportedby the position paperpresented by GECORN(comprising people likeMrs. Oby Ezekwesili,Iyom Josephine Anenih,Mrs Maryam Uwais,and Minister of WomenAffairs, Hajia ZainabMaina) during the saidvisit to the SenatePresident while thematter raged. It reads inpart: “At the moment ofbirth, the first gift everyNigerian receives from

the state is citizenship.To protect this sacredgift of citizenship, weadvocate for the deletionof section 29 (4) (b) of the1999 Constitution. It is thedesire of all Nigerians,who treasure our citizen-ship, to remove thisprovision that providesthat young Nigerian girls,who are not old enoughto vote or to obtain adriver’s licence, aresomehow old enough torenounce their citizen-ship… Citizenship is andmust remain gender-neutral and safeguardedfrom any cultural, reli-gious or social interpreta-tions or connotations.”

Although the Senate’sefforts at removing thissubsection unfortunatelyfailed, it deserves somecredit for proposing theremoval. Ironically, therecommendation to deleteit did not come from thehordes of “activists”seeking to become heroesof a phantom campaign.Yes, the Senate, throughthe Ekweremadu Com-mittee, fished out thissubsection that has beenin the Constitution since1979 by itself and slated itfor deletion.

The Deputy President ofthe Senate who chairs theSenate Committee onConstitution Review leftno one in doubt of ration-ale. He said: “Section29(4)(b) was recom-mended for deletionbecause the Committeeconsidered it discrimina-tory. Section 29(4)(a) hasalready defined “full age”for purposes of citizenshiprenunciation as ageeighteen and above. Weconsidered it genderdiscriminatory andimbalance to place theman and woman ondifferent scales in mat-ters of citizenshiprenunciation…. As such,it was recommended fordeletion, but could notpass eventually.”

In essence, sad as itwere that Section29(4)(b) could not bedeleted, it does not giveany one any legalbacking to marry a girl ofless than 18 years as ifoffends the provisions ofthe Child Rights Act(also passed by themuch profaned NationalAssembly). The current“activism” shouldinstead be directed atgetting States that areyet to domesticate theChild Rights Act to doso.

Anichukwu is SpecialAdviser Media to theDeputy Senate President

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013—43

Man arraignedfor allegedtheft, fraud

Leventis boosts Sino-Nigeriantrade as Foton trucks hit market

BY KENNETH EHIGIATOR

BY IJEOMANATHANIEL

S-West PDP hails Gov Dickson's c'ttee overEkiti crisis

Labour shutsUnion Homesover sack of300 workers

OrjicommiserateswithFashola,NUJ

BY ANAYO OKOLI

Gov Theodore Orji of Abia state (right) receiving a keynote address from the chairman,Tomato Dealers relief market, Ahiaeke, Elder Emeka Onyemere when they visited thegovernor in Umuahia.

ONE of the country’s leadingautomobile companies,

Leventis Motors, has launched intothe Nigeria market Foton trucks,its new range of products.The development is a further boostto the trade relations betweenNigeria and China, especiallyagainst the backdrop of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan's recent visit toChina.

The trucks, which comes in twovariations, namely Light DutyTrucks, LDT, and Medium andHeavy Duty Trucks, M&HDT, area product of Foton-Daimler joint

venture, which had been asuccessful story in China, itshome country.

Sales Manager, LeventisMotors, Mr. Ashish Kumar,said the trucks were widelyaccepted globally, adding thatits launch in Nigeria offered anoptimal solution to thetransportation needs in thecountry.

According to him, thecompany introduced the trucksinto Nigeria, based on its deepunderstanding of the market.

Kumar said: “Foton trucksmeet all safety norms,including frontal crash, roofcrush and rear wall strength.Some of the variants are also

fitted with ABS to ensure thesafety of the crew and goods. Allthese come with the economy ofvery good fuel mileage”.

Speaking in a similar vein, thecompany’s Manager, Service,Mr. Vilas Bhurke, said the truckscarried 24-month/100,000warranty, backed bycomprehensive spareparts andservice network across thecountry.

He said: "We, at LeventisMotors, believe that totalcustomer satisfaction is onlyachieved when a good qualityvehicle is supported by attentiveand responsive customer careand after sales service andsupport".

2015: We 'll stop APC in South East—Igbo youths

THE Chief Ishola Filani-ledcaretaker committee of Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, in the SouthWest has hailed Governor SeriakeDickson’s National ReconciliationCommittee for resolving the crisisthat engulfed Ekiti State chapter ofthe party.

In a statement by the ZonalPublicity Secretary, Mr WaheedLawal, the party expressed itsgratitude to the national leadershipof the party for its foresight andwisdom in setting up the Dicksoncommittee.

It also commended the committeefor “the mature and exemplary wayit has been going about itsassignment without fear or favour,especially as it relates to EkitiState.”

The party said it was gratifyingthat the Dickson-led committeealigned with its decision reversingactions taken by the two sides tothe crisis.

The party said: “It bears eloquenttestimony to the impartiality of the

zonal and national leadershipof the party” .

It urged leaders andmembers of the party to closeranks and work as a unitedentity now that the crisis hasbeen resolved, adding that“there is no victor, novanquished.”

While noting that all the otherpending internal issues withinthe state chapter of the party willbe amicably resolved by theleaders, it appealed tostakeholders to go all out andmobilise for the PDP so as tocome top in the 2014governorship elections.

UMUAHIA—ABIA Stategovernor, Chief

Theodore Orji, hascommiserated with GovernorBabatunde Fashola of LagosState over the death of hisfather, Pa Ademola Fashola.

He also condoled with theNigeria Union of Journalists,NUJ, on the death of itsofficers in a car crash last week.

Orji, in a statement by hisChief Press Secretary, Mr.Ugochukwu Emezue, urgedGovernor Fashola to take heartas death was a necessary endfor every mortal.

Orji, who described the lateoctogenarian as a respectedcommunity leader who liveda life of emulation, urged hisLagos State counterpart tocontinue to sustain thelegacies of his late father.

Commiserating with theNUJ over the death of someof its members in a ghastlymotor accident in Osun State,the governor described theaccident as tragic anddevastating.

Orji, who described thethree late NUJ officials ashighly dedicated, committedand highly professional in thedischarge of their duties asjournalists while alive, saidtheir death had created avacuum in the pen profession.

He, however, noted that noone could question God onwhy he called those who diedin the crash, and urged thefamilies of the deceased tobear their great loss withfortitude.

He prayed God to granttheir souls eternal rest.

He urged Nigerians to keeppraying for the protection ofNUJ members whose jobremained challenging andtasking.

BY ANAYO OKOLI

UMUAHIA—THE youthwing of Igbo Socio-cultural

organisation, OhanaezeNdigbo, has vowed to stop theAll Progressives Congress,APC, from winning elections inthe South East geo-politicalzone in 2015.

Rising from a meeting inEnugu, Ohanaeze youthsadvised the APC to concentratein the North and South-West as

the South-East zone was a nogo area for the party.

Organising Secretary ofOhanaeze Ndigbo YouthCouncil, Mazi OkechukwuIsiguzoro, who spoke on theresolution adopted at themeeting, said Igbo youthswould never be associated witha political party that hadexhibited ethnic and religiousbias as the APC.

According to him, the Yoruba/Hausa alliance which the new

party epitomizes has neverfavoured Ndigbo sinceindependence and cautionedNdigbo against embracing theparty.

Isiguzoro said: “APC shouldtherefore concentrate in the Northand West. We (Ohanaeze youths)will make sure that APC does notwin even a councillorship seat inthe South-East.

“The party was formed out ofacrimony. We will not tolerate anygang up in the South-East”.

BY KELECHIAZUBUIKE

NIGERIA LabourCongress, NLC, and its

affiliate, Association of SeniorStaff of Banks Insurance andFinancial Institutions,ASSBIFI, workers and otheractivists, have shut theoperations of Union HomesPlc over alleged unproceduralsack of 300 workers andbreach of collectiveagreement.

According to the aggrievedlabour leaders, themanagement of the companyhad in the past five monthsunjustly terminated 300workers, while over 100 otherswere forced to resign.

They demanded, amongothers, immediate payment oflegacy funds to individualStaff Retirement SavingsAccounts, RSA, with differentPension Fund Administrators,PFAs.

Immediate withdrawal oftermination letters from staffunjustly removed to be placedby withdrawal of service ordisengagement letters;immediate payment ofredundancy benefits to staffwhose employments wereunjustly terminated;immediate payment ofcorrectly calculated gratuitybenefits to all staff unjustlyterminated and forced toresign their appointments.

LAGOS—A man,Oluwalusi Akin, was

yesterday, arraigned beforean Ikeja Magistrates Courtsitting in Ikega for allegedlydeceptively representingOando Marketing Plc in thebuying and selling of oilproducts worth N 2,523, 640.

The suspect, docked beforeMagistrate E. A Fabanwo, isfacing a three-count charge oftheft and fraud preferredagainst him by the police.

Police Prosecutor, BarthNwaokenye ASP, told the courtthat the defendant committedthe alleged offence in March,2012 at Oando Marketing Plc,Toyin Street, Ikeja.

He said the defendant didobtain AGO diesel productsfrom one Adeniyi Ige anddeceptively issue him a fakeGTBANK cheque.

46— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

48—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Eid-il-Fitr : Borno Gov tasksMuslims on peace

SalvationArmy electsSwiss-Britishcommissioneras 20thGeneral

AUTO CRASH: NLC commiserates with NUJ

Fed Collegeof AlternativeMedicine notillegal— Provost

LAGOS—THE Federal College of

Complementary and Al-ternative Medicine(FEDCAM) in Isheri-Olofin, Lagos is not anillegal School.

This was contained ina statement issued inLagos, yesterday, by theNational Association ofPhysicians and Comple-mentary AlternativeMedicine (NACAPAM)and signed by the prov-ost of the college, Dr.Idowu Ogunkoya.

NACAPAM insists,therefore, that the Medi-cine and Dental Councilof Nigeria (MDCN) hasno reason whatsoever toclose down the college.

The college was report-edly closed down lastweekend by the HODInspectorate of MDCN,Dr. Henry Okwuokenye,alleging that Dr.Ogunkoya had no prac-tice license to act as theprovost and that therewas no accreditation offaculty and curriculumof training for the school.

But reacting to theabrupt closure of the col-lege, FEDCAM said thatDr. Okwuokenye was in-formed about theschool’s operations, ac-tivities and purpose.NACAPAM said: "TheFederal College of Com-plementary and Alterna-tive Medicine(FEDCAM), was set upfor the purpose of train-ing people for traditionaland natural medicineand not to award de-grees or doctorate de-grees."

MEETING—From left: Chairman, National Pligrims Welfare Board, Kaduna State,Bishop Buba Lamido; Bishop Emmanuel S. Makurues, Executive Secretary, National Chris-tian Pligrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Okpara and Secretary of the welfare board,Rev. Joe Yari at a meeting in Kaduna, yesterday. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

BY NDAHI MARAMA

MAIDUGURI —GOVERNOR Kashim

Shettima of Borno State, hascalled on Muslims in the stateto use the spirit of the justconcluded Ramadan fast andmarking of Eid-il-Fitr to con-tribute to the efforts at ensur-ing and sustaining peace inthe state.

In a statement issued by hisspokesman, Isa Gusau, yes-terday, Governor Shettimasaid his administration wasdetermined, to continuallywork with relevantstakeholders to sustain peacein the state and advised citi-zens to perform roles thatwill stabilise the State.

According to him, ”wethank Allah for the success-ful completion of theRamadan fast and for the Eidfestival. We also thank ourgood citizens who must havedevoted their times to offer-ing prayers for the attainmentof peace in Borno and the restof Nigeria. Their prayers arebeing answered becausepeace is evidently returningto the state even though wehave had some recent inci-dents.

"The Government is encour-aged by the fact that citizenshave remained undaunteddespite the incidents as theyare speedily returning tohitherto deserted areas. Wewill remain rooted in our com-mitment to work for the attain-ment of peace in our dearBorno State and Nigeria atlarge. We are bound by con-stitutional, moral and spir-

itual obligations to ensurethe safety of our citizens andtheir property and we shallcontinue to hold these obli-gations.

"We, however, need to con-tinue support of our dear citi-zens whose roles in our des-perate search for peace iscrucial.

“ We will need our citizensto remain dedicated inprayers, cooperative withsecurity bodies, communallyvigilant; we urge parents tocarry on with guiding theirchildren and wards to be ofgood and lawful behaviours;we urge citizens to avoidspreading of rumour whichcan cause false alarms thatcould lead to general panicand breaches of securitywhile we should all promote

peace through making rea-sonable utterances in privatediscussions and public dis-course.

"We should at all times re-alise, that the search forpeace is a shared obligationbetween leaders and the ledsince peace is basic to ourcontinued existence as indi-viduals and as a society. Wemust never be deterred by in-cidents because there is noalternative to the return ofpeace. I pray that we celebratethe Sallah in peace and har-mony. I call on all of us to bekind to our neighbours, rela-tives, friends and the needyby extending gestures tothem in the spirit behind theRamadan and the Eid-il-fitr.We must be our brother ’skeepers to attract compassionfrom our creator and fellowhumans from whom we mayalso find ourselves in need. “

LAGOS—NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC,

has sent a letter of condo-lence to Nigeria Union ofJournalists, NUJ, over thetragic death of three of itsmembers last Friday in aghastly motor accident.

NLC in a letter by its Act-ing General Secretary, ChrisUyot in Abuja, addressed tothe NUJ President, GarbaMohammed, said: “It is witha heart laden with sorrow,but total submission to thewill of God that we write tocondole with you on behalfof the Nigeria Labour Con-

gress on the tragic death ofexecutives and members ofyour union on Ibadan -AkureExpress Way. Their death isone too many in similar cir-cumstances as well as leavesa sour taste in the mouth. Itis both a sad commentary onour road infrastructure andour driving culture.

“Comrade President, thetragic and painful loss ofComrades Kafayat Odunsi,Adolphus Okonkwo andTunde Olawanike, is not onlysuggestive of the increasingdangers to which journalistsare exposed, but underscores

the need to have comprehen-sive insurance cover and wel-fare package for members.Youhave been at the forefront ofsecuring advantages for mem-bers as well as raising thepractice bar. I have no doubtin my mind that you will pur-sue to a logical end issues per-taining to the protection ofmembers.”

It added that “may their gen-tle souls rest in peace, and mayGod give you, their familiesand friends the fortitude to bearthis irreparable loss. Please doconvey to their families ourheart-felt condolences.”

Schoolproprietorcounselsyoung schoolleavers

BY OPEOLUWANIOGUNJIMI

LAGOS—YOUNGschool leavers have

been advised to use theireducation to grab oppor-tunities that could makethem contribute posi-tively to the developmentof the country and man-kind.

Proprietor of RoyalGroup of schools, PastorChristian Ekeh, gave theadvice during theschool's 11th Valedictoryservice held at theschool premises in Papa-Ajao, Mushin.

L AGOS—SALVATION Army has

elected CommissionerAndré Cox, a Swiss-Brit-ish, as the 20th Generalof the church and char-ity. He replaces GeneralLinda Bond who retiredrecently.

The election took placeat High Council whichsaw 117 of the SalvationArmy’s senior leadersfrom around the worldgather outside Londonfor the sacred task ofchoosing the next inter-national leader.

The General acceptedhis new responsibility ina spirit of humility, say-ing that, irrespective ofthe rank he held, he hadnot moved away from hisoriginal calling toofficership – to be God’sservant and to proclaimthe gospel.

General Cox shares hisministry with his wife,Commissioner SilviaCox, who is the WorldPresident of Women’sMinistries. TogetherGeneral and Commis-sioner Cox will lead the1.5 million strong world-wide church of The Sal-vation Army.

On being announcedas The Salvation Army’s20th General, the newinternational leader toldmore than 10,000 peoplefrom around the worldwatching via a livewebcast that he wasthankful to God butaware of the “awesometask that has been placedupon our shoulders. Ipray that The SalvationArmy will be known forbeing a force for good inthe world"

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —49

CMYK

50— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —51

CMYK

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —55

CMYK

56— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Lekki wives: The dust in the diamond

TO many, especially parentswho discourage their wards

from taking visual art as a pro-fession, recent developmentswithin the art terrain is a pointerto them that art is capable ofturning people into millionaires.Apart from raking in millionsfrom sale of art works during artauctions, three millionaires willemerge as the Nigerian Brewer-ies and African Artists’ Founda-tion (AAF) get set to reward threelucky winners of the 2013 Nation-al Art Competition.

Announcing the twelve final-ists for the sixth annual NationalArt Competition in Lagos lastweek, the organisers disclosedthat it is going to be naira rain

•as 12 finalists emerge for NAC finals

Artists set todefine artisticidentity

for the winners as the first prizewinner will go home with Twomillion naira(N2M).The first run-ner up will get N1.5M while thesecond runner up will get onemillion naira (N1m).

According to them, the NationalArt Competition aims to promotethe development of contemporaryAfrican art and raise awarenessof social issues through the useof creative artistic expression.

This year, over a hundredentries were received from allgeopolitical zones in Nigeria andtwelve finalists were selected bythe artist selection committee, ledby El Anatsui. The 12 that willjostle for the prizes are:KarimahAshadu, Alayande Ayanwale,Chidinma Nnorom Chinke,

A scene from the drama series

A painting by Nigerian born Bimbo Adenuga

LEKKI Wives is a drama series written, produced, and

directed by Blessing Effiom Egbe.She has amazingly carved aniche for herself in the crowdedNigerian movie industry. Thesensational actress cum modelwho is a theatre arts graduate isa breath of fresh air in Nollywoodsetting out to push the envelopein her movie productions. Hermovie’ Two Brides and a Baby’got twelve nominations from therevered Nollywood awards TheBest Of Nollywood(B.O.N)

A few minutes spent watchingher new flick Lekki Wives and Igot stuck by the freshness andtechnical appropriateness of thestory. Starring the likes of AdaoraUkoh-Miranda, Keira Hewatch-Peace,Katherine Obiang-Uju,KikiOmeli-Loveth, and ChinonsoYoung-Cleopatra. Lekki is a high

BY JAPHET ALAKAM Mary Edoga Chioma, SesuTilley-Gyado, Taiye Idahor, Er-asmus Onyishi, OlanrewajuTejuoso, Felicia Okpara Tochuk-wu, Victoria Udondian, the artistduo Chuka Ejorh & OlamideUdo-Udoma, and the artist duoHalima Abubakar & ZemayeOkediji.

Working on the theme “IDEN-TITY: Who Do You Think YouAre?”, the artistswill explore theirviews on the relationship be-tween individual and collectiveidentity in Nigeria today and alsoexamine the role of art as a vehi-cle for social change. The artistswill through the theme contrib-ute to the ongoing debate in Ni-geria about the value and func-tion of our national identity: do

where they had the opportunityto exchange ideas with each oth-er and participate in workshopsby leading artists, scholars, andpractitioners in their fields.

Finalproject

After the retreat, finalists willalso use four months to executetheir final project before tGrandFinale and Judging Ceremonywhich will take place on 24, 2013, Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Is-land, Lagos.

Speaking at the unveiling cer-emony, Mrs Emete Tonukari,NB’s CRS/SustainabilityManager,Nigerian Breweriessaid that Nigeria Breweries has

been partnering with the AfricanArtists’ Foundation to organisethe National Art Competition forsix consecutive years. And thatthe competition is part of an ef-fort to encourage and promotethe development of creativity, artsand artists in Nigeria. ‘’Nigeri-an Breweries recognises that artsplay an important role instrengthening cultural values inany society. This sponsorship re-mains only part of a broad initia-tive to support arts developmentin Nigeria, as well as the devel-opment of talents in various fieldsof endeavor.’’ she added

On his part, AAF director, AzuNwagbogu said that AAF is anon-profit organisation dedicat-ed to the promotion and devel-opment of contemporary Africanart. The Foundation serves a sig-nificant role in art and academiccommunities through organizingart exhibitions, festivals, compe-titions, residencies, and work-shops with the aim of unearth-ing and developing talent, cre-ating societal awareness, and pro-viding a platform to express cre-ativity.

The National Art Competition isproudly sponsored by NigerianBreweries Plc, coordinated by Art-ists’ Foundation (AAF) supportedby 24 and Bogobiri Guest House.Media Partners include VanguardMedia Ltd, Mania Magazine, andThe Beat 99.9 FM.

we identify ourselves withour state of origin, or do weaccept the communities inwhich we reside, embrac-ing them as our home?What are our anxietiesabout our perceived statusin society and how has glo-balization and social mediaboosted or influenced thisstatus?

The organisers also dis-closed that as part of effortsto equip, develop ideas andthe message of their work,the finalists were engagedin an Artist Retreat atArtGalleryIkoyi, Lagos be-tween 29 - August 2, 2013

brow location in Lagos synony-mous with wealth, power, and os-tentatious lifestyles. Everythingseems picture perfect for theLekki wives on the outside, butbehind the glitter and glamourthey parade, is stench and thestruggle to live life on their ownterms.

It’s certainly a thrill to seeUju(Catherine Obiang), the re-nowned on air personality comealive in the interpretation of herrole. Uju is the odd one, the fishout of water amongst the Lekkiwives .She is desperate to keepup with the joneses and lead asuccessful life. Even though sheacquires all the trappings of aLekki babe, her fake lifestyle andquirkiness came to the open.Miranda is the loud mouthamongst them. Despite the nearflawless lifestyle she pretends to

tion she desires in the waitingarms of her lover(the dude sheis supposed to get marriedto).She dares to bring him to herhusband’s house claiming he isher cousin.

Loveth’s quest for material ac-quisition led her to sleeping with

her landlord, destroying her mar-riage, and having an affair withher friend’s husband. On theother hand, Peace is the bornagain, bible quoting wife whodoesn’t pay attention to her hus-band’s sexual needs. This madehim an easy prey for Loveth.

The themes of infidelity, hypoc-risy, distrust, and hatred are be-ing amplified in this drama se-ries. Aside from the noticeablecharacterization and continuityflaws, this production managesto be exceptional in its deliveryand depth.

live, she has a troubledhome front. Her husbandis crippled and her sexu-ality is questionable, as shederives pleasure and issexually attracted to otherwomen.

She becomes thegateway from her family’ssqualor and poverty. Cleo-patra is being sold out byher parents to a 72 yearsold Otunba whose wealthleads them out of poverty.Her union is bereft of loveand care, and she decidesto get the love and affec-

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —57

CMYK

60— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 —61

CMYK