19 die as Muslims celebrate Eld-el Kabir

2 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 27, 2012

CMYK

SATURDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 3

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CMYK

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012— 5

19 die as Muslims celebrate Eid-el-Kabir

•Wamakko, Sultan task Nigerians onpeaceful coexistence

No fewer than 19 werekilled in two seperateauto-crashes in Ilorin, theKwara State capital dur-ing this year’s Sallah cel-ebration. Three peoplewere burnt to ashes yes-terday morning in thestate capital while 16 oth-ers died in a separatemultiple crash involvinga trailer and a commuterbus at Osin River Com-munity, a suburb of Ilorinat the beginning of thefestivity on Wednesday.

Kwara State Sector Com-mander of the FRSC, OlaAdemoluti,confirmed theincident, saying that thethree people were burntto ashes on Sallah morn-ing in Ilorin.

It was also gathered thata 10-year-old boy sur-vived Wednesday’s crashas he was rescued underthe wreckage of the vehi-cles some hours after thetragic incident.

Witnesses said that thecommuter bus was con-veying passengers whowere returning to Gbada-mu-Ologi village in Ilor-in East Local GovernmentArea from Oke-Oyi Mar-ket where they had goneto shop in preparation forthe Eid-el-Kabir celebra-tion, pointing out that theaccident occurred whenthe driver of the trailer lostcontrol of the vehiclewhile descending a slopeat high speed.

The eyewitness said thatthe trailer crushed thecommuter bus while ma-neuvering through therough part of the spot asit descended the slope.However, FRSC Com-mader Adeyemi confirmedthat the remains of the vic-tims had been depositedat the University of IlorinTeaching Hospital, UITH,Ilorin.

On the crash involvingthe petrol tanker, eye wit-nesses told Saturday Van-guard that brake failurecaused the incident as thetanker rammed into thetaxi cab around Oke Oyi,near the NNPC depot,which caught fire as thecontent spilled.

However, reports fromacross the country showedthat there was peaceful

celebration even as theformer President ShehuShagari, Governors AliyuWamakko of Sokoto Stateand Kashim Shettima,Sultan Sa’ad Abubakarand Ambassador ShehuMalami, Governors Baba-tunde Fashola, MauzuBabangida Aliyu, Ibikun-le Amosun and the ACNleader, Asiwaju BolaTinubu were amongprominent Nigerians whoprayed yesterday to markthis year’s Eid-el-Kabircelebration.

Others included formerMinister of Mines andPower, MuhammedAhmed Gusau and hiscounterpart in Ministry ofCulture, Senator Bello Ji-brin Gada.

However, contrary towide speculations by theJoint Task Force JTF inMaiduguri and Damatu-ru, the Borno and Yobestate capitals that the BokoHaram sect will launchmassive attacks before,during and after the Sal-lah, there was a peacefulcelebration in both stateswith massive turn out ofMuslim faithfuls at theirvarious Eid el Kabir pray-ing grounds.

In some of the prayinggrounds in Maiduguriand Damaturu cities, itwas observed that Mus-lims performed theirprayers without anyhitches.

Most of those who wentout to pray however,rushed back to theirhomes soon after, in plac-es like Gomari Airport,Bulumkutu, Polo, Dam-boa road, Ramat Squareamong others in Maidu-guri. Prayers at Jere localGovernment Areas ofBorno state started atabout 8:30am.Islamic leaders in theirmessages on the occasion,urged Nigerians, partic-ularly Muslims to pray forpeaceful coexistence inthe country and the worldat large.

In a message signed byhis Special Assistant onPress Affairs, AbubakarDangusau, Wamakkocalled on the people to besteadfast in the worship ofGod.

”The Muslim Ummahshould strengthen the tiesof kinship and imbibe thespirit of sacrifice whichEid-el-kabir symbolises,”he added.Also in his own message

delivered in his palaceyesterday, by the Maga-jin garin Sokoto, AlhajiRilwanu Bello, SultanAbubakar urged Nigeri-ans, especially northern-ers and their governors,to intensify efforts on to-tal eradication of polio inthe country.

He further admonishedMuslims to be committedto the payment of Zakkat,stressing that “such mon-ies are used in feedingwidows, orphans and theindigent people in thesociety.”

The Sultan commendedGovernor Wamakko forbuilding a general hospi-tal in each of the 23 localgovernment Councils ofthe State.

The Shehu of Borno, Al-haji Abubakar Garbai IbnElkanemi who paid hisSallah homage to Gover-nor Kashim Shettima atthe Government Housethanked him for his effortsin uplifting the tradition-al and religious institu-tions, even as he prayedAllah to restore peace tothe state.In Minna, the Niger StateGovernor, Dr. BabangidaAliyu assured that hewould continue to run aninclusive, transparentand accountable adminis-tration in a bid to ensurea more prosperous statethat would be the home ofpride, happiness and ful-filment for present andfuture generations.

According to him, “Wepledge our loyalty to apartnership and relation-ship of mutual respectaimed at facilitating thedevelopment of NigerState. We reassure you ofour determination to con-tinue to run an inclusive,transparent and account-able administration in ourdrive towards achieving amore prosperous Nigerstate that will be a homeof pride, happiness andfulfillment for the presentand future generations.

”May I use this oppor-tunity to appeal to all Ni-gerlites and indeed allNigerians to give peace achance in the spirit of thisseason, and to devote thisperiod to extra-ordinaryprayers for the peace, se-curity and prosperity ofour dear state and nation,rather than engaging inrumour mongering, wish-ful thinking and politici-zation of every issue to the

detriment of peaceful andharmonious co-existence.

”We should thereforeimbibe the lessons of Eid-el-Kabir, which reinforcethe spirit of kindness, pi-ety, liberation and com-mitment to duty, as wellas the promotion of reli-gious harmony andpeaceful co-existence, aswe celebrate.’’

He then admonished allthose angling for electiveand appointive politicaloffice in 2015 to leave therace to Allah who is theonly one that knows whowill become what at anyparticular time.

”We believe infinitelythat Allah’s will on 2015and indeed every issuewill come to pass, weshould therefore avoid ut-terances and actions thatwill create unnecessaryrancor and animosity be-tween us. Let us leave thefuture to Allah,” he add-ed.

Also in Lagos State,Governor BabatundeFashola of Lagos stateand his predecessor, Asi-waju Bola Tinubu amongother clerics asked Nige-rians to eschew violenceand embrace peace for thedevelopment of he coun-try.

Fashola, however, saidthat the ongoing enforce-ment of the new road traf-fic law restricting opera-tion of commercial motor-cycle operators popularlycalled Okada from themetropolis was not re-sponsible for the trafficgridlock experiencedacross the state.

They spoke after therakat prayer at the DodanBarracks praying ground,Lagos, adding that livingin peace and harmony isthe key to the country’s

fast prosperity.Fashola emphasized

sacrifice as enjoined bypreachers was for every-one to have harmoniouspeaceful coexistence.

According to him, thesacrifice required from“Nigerians is to continueto coexist in peace, loveand tolerance and restrainfrom our diversity. Andwhen we understand ourdiversity, really it gives usthe strength and harmo-ny with which we can pro-ceed forward as a peo-ple.”

Tinubu on his own said,“It’s only under the atmo-sphere of peace that ev-eryone in this country canprosper and the countrycan achieve its set goalswhich will make it rankedamong the first 10 coun-tries in the world.”

On the traffic, Fasholaexplained “What has hap-pened is that there is highmovement of people threedays before the celebra-tion. This is because peo-ple are travelling in andout of the state. Manymarketers have importedrice and other foodstuffsrequired for the celebra-tion. And all these aremoved on the same roadsand the roads will neverexpand because of theseason. Couple with that,there has been fuel scar-city in the country.

“So motorists have toalso queue in different fill-ing stations and restrict-ing other commuters toone lane or no lane. Andthese were the things thatour traffic officers havebeen managing to ensurethat residents of the statehave free flow of traffic,”he added.

Speaking in his sermon,the Chief Imam of LagosCentral Mosque, Alh.

Garba Akinola urged Ni-gerians to donate reliefmaterials to flood victims,saying “this will help toreduce the plight of thevictims and make themcelebrate the festival likeevery other person in thecountry.”

At Ogun State, Gover-nor Ibikunle Amosun so-licited understanding, tol-erance and peaceful co-habitation among Nigeri-ans. Amosun, who spokein Abeokuta shortly afterthe Eid prayer held at theLantoro Praying Ground,pointed out that Nigeriacould only thrive when allNigerians eschew vio-lence and embrace peaceand unity.He also urgedMuslims across the coun-try to emulate the teach-ings of Prophet Mu-hammed and ProphetIbrahim’s total submissionto the will of God whichled to the festival.

The governor urged Ni-gerians to steer clear ofany act that threatens theunity of the country. Hesaid: “ no state or countrywill benefit and progress

with crisis, we should there-

fore, eshew violence and

embrace peace”. Earlier, the

Chief Imam of Egbaland,

Alhaji Liadi Orunsolu, who

led the Eid prayer, enjoined

Muslim faithful and all

mankind to fear Allah as

demonstrated by Prophet

Ibrahim in the Holy

books.Alhaji Orunsolu dis-

closed that the annual

slaughter of rams by Mus-

lims all over the world was

not for sacrifice and cele-

bration alone, but for fear

of God and utmost respect

for human creator.

He added that man, par-

ticularly Muslims should

not involve in anything that

can incur the wrath of God

against him.

The Deputy Governor of Niger State ,Hon Ahmed Musa Ibeto, the GovernorDr. Mu’Azu Babangida Aliyu, former President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida andformer Head of State Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar on their way to the Eid pray-ing ground.

BY OLASUNKANMI

AKONI, DAYO

JOHNSON, WOLE

MOSADOMI, DAUD

OLATUNJI & ABDAL-

LAH EL-KUREBE

6— SATURDAY Vanguard, 0CTOBER 27 , 2012

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yes-

terday visited the TarabaState Governor, DanbabaSuntai, who was in-volved in a Cesna 2085N-BMJ plane crashThursday at the Yola Air-port, at the National Hos-pital in Abuja, describinghis condition as stable.Suntai, was moved fromYola to the National Hos-pital for adequate medi-cal care.

Jonathan on arrival atthe Emergency Ward ofthe hospital at about3:15p.m in a BMW carwith few security aidesand was received by theChief Medical Director,CMD, Professor BelloBala Shehu.

Speaking during thevisit to Suntai, Jonathanassured curious news-men that the Governorwas in stable health.He said, “First and fore-most I have to thank Godfor what has happened.Plane crash is not some-thing you just wave off.We are quite happy thatthe governor is stable, Ihave seen him, doctorsare working very hard onhim. I believe that Godwilling, he will come outof it. But he is still inhospital. Being a gover-nor, people are worried.People want to know hisstate of health.”

Also fielding questionsfrom newsmen on thecondition of the gover-nor, the CMD said, “Heis very stable. For thefirst 24 hours of any in-jury, there areworries...We will contin-ue to observe him for thefirst 24 hours. There is noneed to do any operationon him. He is very sta-ble. Given what hap-pened, we are very sat-isfied with the situationat the moment.”

Meanwhile, the Sen-ate President, DavidMark , has commiserat-ed with the Governor ofTaraba State, DanbabaDan-Fulani Suntai overthe injuries he sustainedin the crash even as theruling People’s Demo-cratic Party, PDP alsourged Nigerians to prayfor Governor Suntai and

Gov Suntai moved to AbujaHospital

President Goodluck Jonathan (r) receiving a Sallah greeting card from Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who led muslims residing in the FCT to pay asallah homage to the president in Abuja on Friday.

BY HENRY UMORU,with agency report

•Jonathan visits Hospital•as Mark, PDP pray

his aides for speedy re-covery, according to astatement by the Nation-al Publicity Secretary ofthe party, Chief OlisaMetu.

In a statement signedby his Special Adviser,Media and Publicity,Kola Ologbondiyan,Mark also urged Nige-rians to pray for Suntaifor a speedy recovery,even as he expressedshock at the news of theaccident.

The party particularlyasked its members na-tionwide to observeprayers tomorrow for hisquick recovery pointingout that the fact that Sun-tai survived such a hugecrash, was an indicationthat God has a greaterpurpose for his (Suntai)existence and services tohis fatherland.

”While praying for theirspeedy recovery, the par-ty should not to allow thepains of the moment toshake their faith in

God.”However, Mark who

sympathized with thegovernment and the peo-ple of Taraba State, how-ever urged them to re-main calm and prayerfulfor speedy recovery oftheir beloved Governor.According to him, “I re-ceived with shock thenews of plane crash in-volving the Taraba StateGovernor, Danbaba Sun-tai, although, it camewith a relief that ourbrother, Suntai survivedthe crash and his re-sponding to medical at-tention. I sincerely sym-pathize with the familiesof those that lost theirloved ones in the crashand pray God to givethem eternal rest. It isquite unfortunate but wecannot question God inany circumstances.”

Senator Mark thenurged government func-tionaries in Taraba Stateto ensure that no vacu-um was created in gov-ernance during the littleperiod of Governor Sun-tai medical treatmentwhile assuring of theNational Assembly sup-port at all times.

President Jonathan yesterday visited Abuja hospital where Taraba Gov wasmoved to. He is seen here during the visit.

Why we want Orashi State — Ezemba

NATIONAL Chairman of Orashi State

Movement, Mr MarkEzemba has said that thedemand for the new state fol-lowed bare- faced margin-alisation of the people of thearea by fellow Igbo in par-ticular and other Nigeriansin general.

Speaking in an interviewwith Saturday Vanguard,Ezemba explained that theproposed state would bemade up of people from twoethnic nationalities includ-

BY ENYIM ENYIM,Onitsha

ing the Oru people livingamong the Igbo in Anam-bra and Imo states of thesouth east geo - politicalzone.

Ezemba alleged that boththe present and past gover-nors of the two states hadbeen unfair to the Oru peo-ple as they had neverthought it expedient to givethem any political appoint-ment or recommend theirqualified sons and daugh-ters for federal appointment.”We the Oru people haveabout 72 professors but weare not considered for anypolitical position in either the

five Igbo states or at the fed-eral level. It is only whenthey have difficult assign-ments that they would re-member people like JusticeChukwudifu Oputa. Wewant a state of our own sothat we can develop ourown area,’’ he said.He categorically deniedthat the people of the areawere agitating for the newstate because of allocationsfrom the Federation Ac-count, according to insinu-ations in some quarters,adding that their demandwas based on equity andfair play.

He described as selfishthe suggestion by someIgbo leaders and stake-holders that Ndi Igboshould come together andwork for the creation of oneadditional state, saying thatthe Oru people had not gotany state in the countrywhile other Igbo alreadyhad five.

While calling on the Igbopeople to support the move-ment for the creation of the pro-posed Orashi State, Ezembaexpressed implicit confidencein the chairman of the statecreation committee headed byDr Ofia Nwali.

Benin CBN staff donatesto flood victims

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE, Benin

RELIEF items worthmillions of Naira

were yesterday donated bystaff of the Central Bank ofNigeria, Benin Branch tothe victims of flood disas-ter at Illeshi Camp, EsanSouth East Local Govern-ment Area of Edo state.

Benin Branch Controllerof the CBN, Mr. VictorOligbo who led other staffof the apex bank to thecamp, said they weremoved by the plights of thevictims who had been dis-placed by the flood disas-ter.

Among Items donated by the CBN Staff to the Il-lushi camp situated closeto the bank of River Nigerincluded:- mattresses,bags of rice, some kegs ofvegetable oil, bags of sa-chet water as well as somecartons of Indomie.

Receiving the gifts, theTransition Caretaker Com-mittee Chairman of EsanSouth East Local Govern-ment, Mr. Andrew Akha-bue commended the staffof CBN, Benin Branch for

being their brother’s keep-ers, promising that thecouncil would ensure evendistribution of the materi-als to the various camps inthe local government area.

Also speaking, theEbijie of Illushi, HRH IkeChristopher Kebordihthanked the donors fortheir kind gestures andcalled on other well spirit-ed members of the societyto emulate them.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 7

Muslim Festival: Lagos suspends Environmental Sani-tationBY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

The usual monthly en-vironmental sanitationexercise will not be ob-served today in Lagosdue mainly to the on-go-ing celebration of the Il-eya, muslim festival.

Commissioner for theEnvironment, Mr. TunjiBello who made this dec-laration, in Lagos, saidthe suspension of thismonth’s exercise wasmainly to allow for hitch-free movement of per-sons, particularly thosewilling to travel for theIleya.

The commissioner not-ed that, ‘cleanliness isnext to Godliness’ wecannot but encouragecleanliness in all aspectsof human endeavour and

therefore enjoined alland sundry to ensurethat the festival is cele-brated in the cleanliestenvironment possible.”

He, however, urged La-gos residents to stillclean their homes andimmediate environmentsirrespective of the liftingof the restriction orderwhich is only for themonth of October as themonthly cleaning exer-cise will commence inNovember.

While wishing Muslimfaithful happycelebration,Bello ad-monished residents tobag their refuse proper-ly to allow for easy col-lection and disposal todesignated dumpsites byLAWMA and PSP Oper-ators.

The commissioner alsoassured that LAWMA

would deploy men andequipment to ensurequick evacuation ofwaste generated duringthe festive period.

Bello also remindedLagosians that the rainsare still here and Lagosas a coastal state is sus-ceptible to flooding. Headvised residents in thecity to desist from dump-ing waste into canals anddrainages as the conse-quences of massiveflooding being experi-enced across the nationis enough warning todiscourage us fromdumping refuse todrains and canals.

He emphasized thatthe state government re-mained unwavered in itscommitment to a cleanand hygienic environ-ment

PDP, NURTW clash in IbadanBy OLA AJAYI, Ibadan

VIOLENT clashensued between

members of the Nation-

al Union of Road Trans-port Workers {NURTW}and some members of thePeoples’ Democratic Par-ty {PDP} in Ibadan yes-terday.

According to sources,the clash occurred in theresidence of the AareMusulumi of Yorubaland,Alhaji AbdulAzeezArisekola.

PDP members on theentourage of the formerSenate leader, TeslimFolarin and Azeem Gbo-larunmi, as Saturday Van-guard gathered were inthe residence of the busi-ness tycoon singingpraises of the PDP whenGovernor Abiola Ajimobiand some members of theNURTW led by their care-

taker chairman, TaofeekAyorinde were on seat.

All these, according tosource, happened afterthe Sallah prayers at theAgodi Eid prayingground.

It was further gatheredthat the leader of theNURTW warned the PDPmembers to stop singingthe offensive song espe-cially in the presence ofthe governor who is achieftain of the ActionCongress of Nigeria, buthis warning was not heed-ed by the PDP membersand this later developedinto exchange of punch-es.

Worried by the develop-ment, Alhaji Arisekolahad to call the warringmob to order and directedthem to leave his house.

Some of them were saidto have been injuredwhen the PDP supporterswere being beaten.

Ajimobi reportedlyfrowned at the ugly inci-dent and warned themagainst taking laws intotheir hands.

Reacting to the crisis,Folarin said it was not hisparty members that trig-gered the violence.

CAN alerts on looming food shortageBY FESTUS AHON,Ughelli

AS those affected bythe ravaging flood

still grapples with thedestruction of their farm-lands and other person-al effects, the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria,CAN, Ughelli North Lo-cal Government Area,Delta State chapter, yes-terday charged govern-ment at all levels to takeappropriate steps to-wards tackling the loom-ing food shortage in thecountry.

Chairman of the chap-ter, Rt. Rev. DiamondEmuobor, who stated thiswhile presenting somefood items and other re-lief materials to flood vic-tims at the Ughelli campexpressed fear that theremight be hunger becausefarmlands have been de-stroyed.

Similarly, BroadlineConstruction Companyyesterday presented re-lief materials worth thou-sands of naira to victimsof flood disaster at Cave-gina Primary SchoolCamp in Warri. Present-ing the items, ManagingDirector of the Company,Mr Fadi El-Khoury com-mended Governor Em-manuel Uduaghan forthe upkeep of the floodvictims.

Meanwhile, LevantConstruction Limited, aconstruction firm, donat-

ed relief materials andfood items worth millionsof naira to flood victimsin Burutu, Warri SouthWest and Bomadi LocalGovernment Areas of theState.

General Manager ofthe company, Mr. EliasElias while presentingthe items at the StateGovernment House An-nex, Warri, lamented

that the ravaging floodwreaked havoc in the af-fected communities.Also, the Niger DeltaDevelopment Commis-sion, NDDC, a transportfirm, Dominion ExpressTransport and the Na-tional Association ofSeadogs, ‘umalokun’Deck, Ughelli also donat-ed food items and otherrelief materials worth

millions of naira to thevictims of flood disasterin Delta State.

Presenting the itemsdonated by the NDDC atthe Oleh camp, the Com-missioner representingDelta State on the boardof the commission, ChiefSolomon Ogba said thedonation was meant toalleviate the sufferings ofthe victims.

Flood: NIMASA budgets N250million forrelief materialsBY PETER DURU,Makurdi

THE Director Generalof the Nigerian Mari-

time Administration andSafety Agency, NIMASA,Mr. Ziakede Akpoboloke-mi has disclosed that theagency has set aside overN250million for the pro-curement of relief materi-als for Internally Dis-placed Persons across thecountry.

Akpobolokemi said thatNIMASA was collaborat-ing with federal govern-ment to stem future reoc-currence of flood in the-country.

The NIMASA DirectorGeneral stated this yes-terday while presentingrelief materials to the Dep-uty Governor of Benuestate, Chief Steven La-

wani, for onward distribu-tion to the Internally Dis-placed Persons in Makur-di. Represented by Mrs.Lilian Nneji, the Directorof General disclosed thatthe agency had alreadyvisited ‘Grade A’ catego-rized states in the flood

desaster, adding that theagency was thinking ofways of handling such asituation in future.

He expressed concernover the fate of the dis-placed persons, pointingout that their upkeepshould be given priority.

He sympathized withthe government and peo-ple of Benue state over theflood disaster and hintedthat the agency would bemaking a proposal to theNational Assembly on theneed for the provision ofa law on the managementof flood in Nigeria.

...Dangerous reptiles take over tenancy in Yenagoa

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA,Yenagoa

THE high flood whichleft about three quar-

ter of the capital city sub-merged is blamed for thehigh presence of the rep-tiles around human settle-ments.

Though there had beenno reported death causedby snake bites, the num-ber of persons treated for

snake bites in the lastthree weeks had in-creased tremendously, itwas learnt. In spite of riskposed by the invasion ofthese reptiles, snakehunters have been mak-ing brisk business in thelast couple of weeks as theflood sacked thousands ofresidents from theirhomes.Only last week, aswamp buggy operatorclearing the canal of de-bris and trapped water

plants narrowly escapedbeing killed by a giantpython at the Opolo sub-urb of Yenagoa.

The snake was said tohave wrapped itselfround the swamp buggycabin trying to reach theterrified operator butcould not due to the met-al and fibre-glass protec-tion around him before itlater disappeared into thecanal causing the man torun for his dear life.

”We are living in fear ofsnake bites. The reptilesare always lurking aroundhomes and some havestarted to enter housesand putting small chil-dren in danger,” lament-ed John Aziba, a residentof Azikoro.

He urged the state gov-ernment and the Yenagoacity council to as a matterof urgency fumigate theflooded areas so as to re-pel the reptiles incursion.

L-R: Kwara State Governor, Alhaji (Dr) Abdulfatah Ahmed, former Gover-nor, Senator (Dr) Abubakar Bukola Saraki, former Acting National Chair-man, Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Minister ofSports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi and Speaker, Kwara House of Assembly,Hon. Razak Atunwa, during the Eid-el-Kabir prayer in Ilorin....Friday.

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012

$180m Halliburton scandal: Jonathan orders Adoketo fish out $26.5m Julius Berger plea bargain moneyBY KINSLEY

OMONOBI, Abuja

AFTERMATH of thedirective by the Feder-

al Government to the Policeto resuscitate the investiga-tive report of the $180mil-lion Halliburton scam andAmerica’s insistence thatthe $26.5million plea bar-gain money returned byConstruction giant, JuliusBerger, be located andmade available to Police,there is confusion over thewhereabouts of the hugeamount of money.

Irked by the development,Saturday Vanguard gath-ered that PresidentJonathan as directed theAttorney General of the fed-eration, Mr. Adoke to fishout the money and make itavailable to the Police bynext week.

The decision to task theAttorney General with theassignment, according tosources, followed conflict-ing statements by both Ju-lius Berger, office of the Ac-countant General of the fed-eration and the Police in-vestigators about the trueposition of the money. Oneaccount said the money wasin the possession of the Ac-countant General of the fed-eration. Another accountsaid the money was beingkept in the office of the AGFwhile the Police said theyare at a loss over the mon-ey’s whereabouts.

Julius Berger one of thecompanies indicted in theHalliburton $180 millionbribery scandal had optedfor a plea bargain in orderto be spared the prosecu-tion process following theconclusion of the 5-man in-ter-agency investigationpanel headed by the In-spector General of Police.

Sources told SaturdayVanguard that there is morethan meets the eye with re-gards to the whereabouts ofthe plea bargain money andthat the American govern-ment was aware of someunder hand dealings henceit told President Jonathan toorder investigation to lookfor the money.

Following what the sourcesaid was past experiences,efforts are also to be madeto ascertain if really, JuliusBerger actually paid anymoney into federal govern-ment coffers.

Julius Berger, during Po-lice investigations into thebribery scandal was alleg-edly found to be the conduitpipe through which Halli-

burton and Mr. JefferyTesler distributed thebribe money to topgovernment function-aries and some prom-inent Nigerians.

Of all the major sus-pects indicted in thePolice investigationreports, only theformer Special Assis-tant on Domestic Af-fairs to former Presi-dent Obasanjo whoadmitted to collecting$6million from formerGMD of NNPC, ChiefJackson Gaius Obase-ki was charged tocourt and since2010, the trial hasbeen ongoing.

The case was re-opened again, twoweeks ago when the

federal government re-quested the UnitedStates government torelease the balance ofthe bribery money heldup in a U.S. bank.

In its response, theU.S. government blunt-ly refused to release themoney saying while it(US) prosecuted thosewho partook in the cor-ruption scam in the USand jailed them, the Ni-gerian government hasbeen applying lip ser-vice to the matter indicat-ing it was not serious infighting corruption.

The only condition giv-en to release the moneywas the immediate pros-ecution of all those topshots including JuliusBerger that were indict-

Uba battles Arthur Eze over N.2b property in EnuguBY TONY EDIKE,

Enugu

A sensational legal battle between a

business mogul fromAnambra State, PrinceArthur Eze and SenatorAndy Uba, representingAnambra South Senato-

rial District is now ragingbefore an Enugu StateHigh Court presided overby the Chief Judge, Jus-tice Innocent Umezulike.

The legal battle eruptedfollowing an attempt byPrince Eze to take over twoimmovable properties be-longing to one Major

Emmanuel Okwuosawhich the Enugu StateHigh Court orderedshould be sold to enableEze recover the $1million(about N157 million) alleg-edly owed him by Okwu-o s a .However, Senator Uba isclaiming ownership of the

two properties namely:Plots M17 and O/19 Inde-pendence Layout, Enuguwhich the court presidedover by Justice Umezu-like, had earlier ordered tobe attached for sale infavour of Prince Eze onOctober 10, 2012.

Umezulike had grantedan ex-parte applicationbrought by Obi Orakwue,counsel for Prince Ezepursuant to Section 44 ofSheriffs & Civil ProcessAct, 2004; Order IV Rules1 (2) & 16 (1); Order VIIRule 7 Judgment Enforce-ment Rules and orderedthe attachment and sale byprivate contract of the im-movable properties of Ok-wuosa, the judgementdebtor, who was indebtedto the applicant to tune ofabout $1 million only.But following the issuance

of the Writ of attachmentand sale against the saidproperties by the court asdirected in suit number E/147/2012, Senator Ubaapproached the court asan interested party/appel-lant saying that the twoproperties in questionwere bought for him bythe said Major Okwuosafrom Chief R. O. Nkwochafamily at N250 million.

But in a 26-paragraphcounter affidavit opposingUba’s motion dated Octo-ber 19, 2012, Prince Eze’scounsel, Orakwue, toldthe court that Uba was notthe owner of the two im-movable properties butOkwuosa, who had hisinterest duly registered inthe names at the LandsRegistery vide irrevocablepower of attorney andDeed of Assignment.

Devastating coastal erosion imminentin Lagos — Asiodu

BY OLASUNKANMI

AKONI

NIGERIA is themost populous

country in Africa, ac-cording to 2006 cen-sus figure. Extremeweather and climateevents have consti-tuted serious threat toglobal economicgrowth over the pastfew years, especiallyto the socio-economyNigeria, severefloods, windstorms,drought and deserti-fication, and severalother extreme weath-er and climate eventshave impacted nega-tively on its socio-economy and manypeople have been af-fected throughout thecountry. The countryis very prone toflooding mainlyalong the Niger Riv-er through Benue ba-sin and Sokoto basinand this affects agri-cultural land use to a

great extent. Many ofthe country’s larger riv-ers have flood plains,which are subject toflooding during therainy season. Urbanflooding occurs intowns located on flat orlow lying terrain(coastal areas).

The President of Nige-rian ConservationFoundation (NCF),Philip Asiodu (CON)has warned the federalgovernment that coast-al erosion problem inLagos State is the na-tion’s “most urgent en-vironmental chal-lenge.”

SEPLAT Petroleum Development graduates 24 youthsfrom its skills acquisition programmeBY FESTUS AHON,

Ughelli

THE General Manager of SEPLAT Petro-

leum Development Com-pany, Mr. Bright Oghor ata graduation ceremonyfor graduates of the skillaquisition programmehas, said the programmewas designed to contributeto the socio-economic de-velopment of the compa-ny’s operational areas. Headded that the scope cov-ered Welding and Fabrica-tion, Fashion and design

ICT/Computer Technologyand hair stylist/Manage-ment.

He said the company’soperator of the NPDC/SE-PLAT Joint Venture inOMLs 4, 38 and 41 wouldprovide assistance to enablethe graduands set up theirown workshop and busi-ness centres which in turnwill create job opportunitiesfor other youths and by ex-tension contribute in reduc-ing unemployment in theareas.

Saying that the trainingwas for one year, Oghor

said: “this is the first batchof trainees; the programmewould be sustained by ourcompany as this initiativeforms part of our corporatesocial responsibility. Assuch, other communitieswill benefit from the pro-gramme as well.”

While maintaining thatgraduands would be pre-sented with takeoff grants,starter-packs of items tohelp them establish theirbusinesses, he disclosedthat the company had ini-tiated some laudable cap-ital and non capital

projects such as waterscheme, market stalls con-struction, electrification,housing schemes, schol-arship awards, donation ofbuses and speed boats tocommunities amongst oth-ers.

He said the companywould continue to partnerwith the communities toimprove and sustain theprojects which he saidwere aimed at deliveringpremium values to all,adding that the companywas poised for the deliveryof sustainable communitydevelopment programmes.

Ogun State Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Alh. YusuphOlaniyonu, Abdul-Rahmon Amosun, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikun-le Amosun, at Lantoro Prayer Ground, Abeokuta... yesterday


Flood: Another woman gives birth to twins in camp

•as Dozzy group donates 3000 bagsof rice to victims

BY VINCENT

UJUMADU, Awka

ANOTHER set oftwins has been de-

livered at the flood vic-tims camp located at theCentral School, Odekpein Ogbaru local govern-ment area of AnambraState, bringing to threethe number of multiplebirths recorded in thecamps in the state sincethe victims were sackedby flood that ravagedtheir communities. Twosets of triplets had earli-er been recorded at theFr. Joseph MemorialHigh School, Agulericamp where victims fromAnambra West andAyamelum were quar-tered.

The Chairman of Og-baru local governmentTransition Committee,Mr. Steve Chukwuma,said on Thursday whenDozzy Group of Compa-nies donated 3,000 bagsof rice to the flood vic-tims, adding that anoth-er pregnant woman atthe camp was also deliv-ered of a single baby.

Both mothers were saidto still be in a hospital.

The Head, HumanResources and Adminis-tration of Dozzy Group,Mr. Chima Akuchie, whopresented 200 bags ofrice to the camp man-agement at Atani, Ogba-ru local governmentarea, said the donationwas to ameliorate thesuffering of the victims,who have lost most oftheir life savings.

The company alsomade similar donationsto the victims camped atIhiala, Okija, Aguleri,Onitsha and other partsof Ogbaru, assuring thatmore donations would bemade in future.

The Anglican Bishopof Ogbaru, Rt. Rev. Sam-uel Ezeofor, who re-ceived the bags of rice onbehalf of the relief campcommittee, identifiedhunger as a major chal-lenge to the displacedpersons in camp.

He commended DozzyGroup for the supportand prayed God to blessthe company more so thatit will continue to renderhelp to people that were

in need. He debunked allega-

tions of diversion of re-lief materials, addinghowever, that there wasone case in which a con-signment of relief mate-rials being sent to Ogba-ru was hijacked by otherflood victims who toldthose bringing the mate-rials that the camps inOgbaru had been cut offby the flood.

The bishop said that52 churches were sub-merged by the flood,which submerged theentire Ogbaru local gov-ernment area, addingthat as at Friday, 41churches were still under

Abandoned baby found dead behind Unical hostelBY JOHNBOSCO

AGBAKWURU, Calabar

A TWO-DAY old babyabandoned by an

unknown mother wasfound dead behind theMedical Students Hostel,University of Calabar nearthe office of the Cross Riv-er State first lady, Mrs.Obioma Liyel-Imoke.

Mrs. Imoke in the last

five years had been wag-ing war against teenagepregnancy and childabandonment throughher pets’ projects and hadbeen able to put a stop torampant baby abandon-ment in the state despitealleged campaign of cal-umny carried recentlyagainst her.

Speaking at the scenewhere the dead baby was

abandoned, special assis-tant to the Governor onPublic Health/ NGO andSpecial Projects, Dr. Re-gina Ejemot-Nwadiarosaid her attention wasdrawn to the incident byan anonymous callerwhich prompted her pres-ence at the scene.

Nwadiaro said that im-mediately she got to theplace, she called the Cal-abar Urban DevelopmentAuthority, CUDA, whoquickly responded to thecall and subsequentlyalerted the Police.

She condemned the per-petrator of which she de-

scribed as a dastardly act,callous, inhuman and out-right wickedness.

According to her, “forthe past five years the wifeof the State GovernorMrs. Obioma Liyel-Im-oke, has been champion-ing the stamping out ofteenage pregnancy childabandonment in the statethrough her project;Mothers’ Against ChildAbandonment (MACA).

“It is thus, dishearten-ing that in spite of the con-sistent efforts by Mrs.Obioma Liyel-Imoke andthe MACA team, peoplecould still dump babies.”

I did not banish women in my kingdom — Erhiekevwe 1BY GODWIN OGHRE,

Sapele

THE Ovie of IdjerheKingdom Ethiope

West Local GovernmentHRM Erhiekevwe I hassaid recent speculationand media report that hehas banished fifty wom-en from his kingdom,was false and wronglypublished by the media.

The royal father whomade clarification on thecrisis which recentlyrocked the kingdom, saidit revolved around thewomen of the kingdom

and that it was the coun-cil of women of the en-tire kingdom that sus-pended a handful ofsome other women fromAjavwini Village, one ofthe forty villages thatmake up the kingdom,when the women coun-cil regarded as atrociousand a taboo, the activi-ties of the suspendedwomen against the Ovie-ship, not only in thekingdom but in the en-tire Urhobo nation.

He further said thegeneral women council

that suspended the err-ing women was headedby the most senior wom-an in the kingdom - theOkpakoeweya, and thatthe council said what itdid was in tandem withthe custom of the land.

The royal father, whotraced the genesis of thecrisis to two years back,said the crisis startedwhen the people of Ajav-wini Village elected of-ficers to represent theirinterest in meetings withsome oil firms operatingin the kingdom, afterwhich the representa-tives of the village

brought the list of theelected officers to him forapproval.

Girl with stray bullet on head: JTF offerssympathy, police absolve army

BY EGUFE

YAFUGBORHI, Port-Harcourt

THE Joint Taskforce(JTF), 2 Brigade,

Port Harcourt, has vowedto bring to book, perpe-trators of the allegedshooting of a commercialbus at the Agip Round-about in Port Harcourtwhich has left one of twoaffected victims battlingfor her life with a bulletin the head.

Witnesses account had,over the Wednesday in-cident, fingered soldiersfor the alleged shootingfollowing a reportedscuffle with a commer-cial bus driver at thebusy Mile 4 neighbour-hood in the Rivers capi-tal city.

In a statement, MajorMichael Etete, Spokes-

person for the 2 Brigadesaid, “The Brigade sym-pathises with those in-jured during the inci-dent and investigation tounravel the surroundingcircumstances has com-menced.

The JTF which ex-pressed sympathy for theinjured victims, howev-er stated that it washasty to hold the army

responsible based on areported preliminary po-lice report indicatingthat the “soldiers at thelocation did not fire theirrifles as their ammuni-tions were complete.”

Major Etete declaredthat the Brigade wouldleave no stone unturnedto uncover the truth andbring the perpetrators tobook.Why we closed down 15 companies

— C-River govt

BY JOHNBOSCO

AGBAKWURU, Calabar

THE Cross River Stategovernment has giv-

en reasons why 15 com-panies operating in Aka-mkpa Local Governmentof the state were closeddown, saying that thegovernment cannot foldits arms watching some

people to exploit anddefraud the state.

The companies whichoperate on mining andquarrying of granites inthe area were said tohave been shut as a re-sult of disagreement be-tween the state govern-ment and the communi-ties on collection of rev-enue.

It was alleged that thecompanies entered intoan understanding withthe host communities tobe paying certain levy tothe communities as a wayof compensating themover the environmentaldegradation and loss ofarable lands for farmingas a major means of live-lihood sustainability.

St Enda’s Old Students meet

A CRUCIAL special

general meeting of

St. Enda’s College (Ag-

barho Grammar School),

Agbarho, Ughelli North

Local Government of

Delta State Old Students

Association has been

scheduled for Saturday,

October 27 at the school

compound in Agbarho.

A statement by the in-

terim national president,

Chief Igben, says salient

issues pertaining to the

school’s golden jubilee

celebration have been

lined up for discussion

and therefore urged

members to be punctual.

English Premier League top side, Liverpool Football Club, in partnershipwith Standard Chartered Bank, recently held a football clinic for kids inLagos aimed at discovering new stars for Nigeria.Picture shows one of theparticipants, Master Demilade Azeez being presented a certificate at the endof the football clinic.

BY EMMANUEL

EDUKUGHO

Responding to clamours forfinancial assistance in the

wake of the flood disasternationwide as governors ofaffected states sought‘’federal might’’ to bail themout from the deluge, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan promptlycame to the rescue.

He announced a totalamount of N17.6 billionpackage to tackle the flood.The President told abeleaguered nation that out ofthat amount, N13.3 billionhad been allocated to affectedstates while FederalGovernment agencies whoseactivities directly impact onthe flood ameliorationprogramme will get N4.3billion.

According to Jonathan,based on the presentassessment, the states werecategorised into four groups,A to D.

In Category A are eightstates consisting of Adamawa,Oyo, Kogi, Anambra, Bayelsa,Delta, Benue, and Plateauwho received N500 millioneach.

Category B states areJigawa, Kano, Bauchi,Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa,Taraba, Cross River, Edo,

Lagos and Imo getting N400million each. The Category Cstates are Kwara, Katsina,Gombe, Ogun, Ondo, Ebonyi,Abia and Rivers with N300million each.

While Category D statesincluded Sokoto, Kebbi,Zamfara, Yobe, Enugu, Ekiti,Osun, Akwa Ibom, Borno, andthe FCT (Abuja) having N250million each.

Also allocated funds tofurther intensify their

intervention activities, arecritical agencies of theFederal Government whichincluded Ministry of Works,N2.6 billion, NationalEmergency ManagementAgency, NEMA, N1.1 billion,National Commission forRefugees, N150 million, and

the Technical committee onFloods Impact Assessment,N100 million.

A 34-member NationalCommittee on Flood Reliefand Rehabilitation wasestablished chaired bywealthy businessman AlhajiAliko Dangote together withMr. Olisa Agbakoba, aHuman Rights activist andlawyer and including eminentNigerians like Dr. DoraAkunyili, Frank Nweke Jnr.Tunde Lemo, DeputyGovernor CBN, Dr. MikeAdenuga, Chairman ofMobile Communication giantGlobacom who was namedchief fund mobiliser, AlhajiIsiaku Rabiu, Mrs. FolorunshoAlakija, Mr. Tony Elumelu,Senator Florence Ita-Giwa,Alhaji Mohammed Indimi,

and many others.Their mandate was to raise

funds to complementgovernment’s resources toprovide urgent relief forvictims of the floods and thepost-impact rehabilitation ofaffected persons andcommunities. The committeeis also expected to advisegovernment on the ‘’judiciousutilization of funds raised’’and to co-opt any other personor oganisation that it may finduseful in carrying out itsassignment.

Jonathan had noted in hisOctober 9 national

broadcast that the floodsravaged many parts of thecountry rendering tens ofthousands of fellow Nigerianshomeless and causingmassive destruction ofproperty, farmlands andinfrastructure across thecountry.

His words: ‘’It is sad thatthis global phenomenon ofdevastating flood has come toNigeria at this time. I want toreassure all Nigerians thatthe Federal Government isprepared to do everythingpossible to mitigate the impactof this natural disaster.’’

Most of the affected stateshave set up camps for thedisplaced persons. SaturdayVanguard learned that someof these camps areovercrowded, lackingessential facilities such asclean drinking water,medications, food andhygienic environment suitablefor human habitation. Thecamps along Lokoja/Abujahighway were said to be dirty,smelling, stinking with thelikelihood of epidemicbreaking out.

Many of them lacked toiletfacilities, waste disposalfacilities while hygiene is atthe lowest. Even these

temporary camps forflood victims are beingthreatened by water insome places. Notenough food for therefugees.

There are about 17camps in Bayelsa

State, believed to be theworst hit. Some of thesecamps are located in thesports complex atYenagoa, IgbogeneHelipat, DemiariGrammar School,Tombia, etc. Thechallenges experiencedat these camps includelack of toilets, foodinsufficiency, electricity,possible outbreak ofepidemic diseases suchas cholera, malaria, andalso the metropolitannature of the locationwhich allowed for somany people who arenot displaced to troopdown for daily ration offood. In Rivers State,some officials allegedlydiverted relief materialsfor flood victims.

The case of BayelsaState is so pathetic aseven the house ofPresident GoodluckJonathan in Otuoke issaid to be under water.

It was gathered thatthe water level is stillrising in Bayelsa Statedue to its geographicallocation which places itbelow sea level and alsothe fact that major riversand tributaries emptyinto the Atlantic Oceanthrough the state.Communication facilitiesand public infrastructurehave virtually collapsed.

Governor SeriakeDickson has set up FloodM a n a g e m e n tCommittee of 20members chaired by theDeputy Governor, RearAdmiral GboribioghaJohn Jonah (Rtd) withProf. Edmund AllisonOguru who is secretaryto the state governmentas secretary of thecommittee whilecommissioners, SpecialAdvisers andrepresentatives of localgovernments aremembers.

It was reported thatmost of the state has

been submerged to theextent that the Ministerof Petroleum ResourcesMrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke had to usechopper to fly over herhometown as she couldnot land due to water.

Governor EmmanuelUduaghan has set up

,

,

Continues on page 45

10—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012

Some of these camps areovercrowded, lackingessential facilities such asclean drinking water,medication, food and hygienicenvironment suitable forhuman habitation

Gov Dicksonof BayelsaState

PresidentJonathan

Namadi Sambo,Vice President

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012—11

By Austin Ogwuda, Asaba

DELTA State, is generallyregarded as a mini

Nigeria and a State difficult togovern because of its diversenature, coupled with highwire politics. No wonder it isa State assumed too difficultto govern.

However, the incumbentgovernor, Dr. EmmanuelUduaghan, a medical doctorby profession is very consciousof that fact hence he applieswisdom in what he does.

Before the FederalGovernment announced N500million as the share of theN17.6billion relief to floodedStates, tongue had alreadystarted to wag over the sharingformula of relief materials andcash that were coming in fromkind individuals and corporatebodies that were first callers tothe camps.

This reporter once overheardone of the female victimsmurmuring at Saint Patrick’sCollege, SPC Asaba the daywhen the memberrepresenting Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency,Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, one theearly callers, donated reliefmaterials comprising 100 bagsof rice, cartons of beverages,cartons of vegetable oil andcash of one million naira to aidin transporting their trappedproperty in the flood amongother items.

When the lady noticed that Iam a journalist, shecomplained aloud saying,“oga press man, come,people have been coming todonate to us but we don’t seethe money, the feeding ispoor”.

How the governor lashed areporter for being inquisitiveto know how much was spentso far.

After that incident at SPC,grumblings either borne out ofmistrust or mischief hadcontinued not only in thatcamp but in several othercamps that were set up by theState Government until one reporter put a question to thegovernor during a recentinteractive session withnewsmen at GovernmentHouse Asaba, specially tobrief the press on the floodingsituation.

How the governor lasheda reporter for being

inquisitive in knowing howmuch was spent so far:And that question drew the ireof the governor when thereporter wanted to know howmuch had so far expended inthe rehabilitation of the floodvictims.

And this was how thegovernor reacted:

“Let me ask you (reporter),what have you donated to anyof the camps?

Sorry I am saying this

because I think we are gettingto a stage in this country wheregovernance is becoming veryuninteresting. Let me ask youthese were the people thatwere virtually washed away bywater. And I am struggling togive them accommodation andall that, you think it is moneythat I will be thinking of first.For God’s sake let’s be humanbecause I hear all sorts ofthings.

“We have been preparing fordisaster but not of thismagnitude. I have not toldthem give me account of howmuch you have spent becausethat should not be my prioritynow. Everyday people go tothe camp in hundreds but letme tell you that I know thatmost of the people that arecoming to the camp were notaffected by the flood. But theyare coming there to eat but inmy conscience can I drivethem. The answer is no. I amnot encouraging people who

eat the person is hungry. Firstof all let us think of how tostabilize those people becauseit is a big challenge becauseeveryday hundreds of peopleare coming to the camp so ifyou ask me how much wehave spent I don’t have therecord of how much we havespent.

I am ready to spend theentire State’s fund if that

will bring succour to floodvicitms - UduaghanOn the issue of the N500million, first it hasn’t come. Amsaying this so that we don’tput so much emphasis on howmuch government is spendingeven if I have to spend all themoney in the State to makethese people comfortable, Iwill do it because if you havegone to those camps and letsome of them look at youreyes, if you chop that kind ofmoney you will not only getdiarrhea not just watery

diarrhea but bloody diarrhea.I am more interested in

rehabilitating those peoplefirst rather than talking aboutmoney”, he echoed.

Cautioned againstpoliticization of the

flood issue:Since the flood issue startedthe governor who cut short hisoverseas trip and returnedback home had been sittingdown almost on a daily basiswith political appointees andmembers of the State House ofAssembly to assess fieldreports. And in one of thosemeetings, he cautionedagainst politicization of theflood project.

According to him, “I will notmeddle in the committee’swork. I will not disburse thismoney (N500m) and definitelywill not be part of what theyshall do. Whatever decision

,

,are not affected by the flood tocome and eat in the camps,please don’t get me wrong,but for somebody to struggleto enter that camp to go and


I will notmeddle in thecommittee’swork; I will notdisburse thismoney (N500m)and definitelywill not be partof what theyshall do.


‘Nigerian factor might affectappropriate disbursement of funds’

BY EBUN SESSOU

NIGERIA has beenexperiencing its toughest

time flood and many lives,properties have been destroyedin the process. So many peoplehave been commenting on theimpact of these flood disasterson Nigerians and Nigeria,particularly, the poor.

Amidst the ongoing ravagesby floods, and ensuingcatastrophes, there seem to bedeliberate efforts to understatethe extent and magnitude ofdevastation by floods by thegovernemnt of the land.

Recently, the FederalGovernemnt allocated somefunds for some States in thecountry for flood victims indifferent capacities and set upcommittee to oversee thescheme.

But, there are insinuationsthat the victims of the floodmight not benefit from theproject. Perhaps the politiciansin the country might hijack thefund.

Consequently, the poor arethe ones who are mostly facedwith much pain and bear thebrunt of all these displacementsand dislocations.

In most cases, the poor havebeen left to cater forthemselves, as they havealternately been neglected,relegated and left in squalidconditions, extreme squalorand to their own devices.

Relief materials have beenvery hard to come by, andworse, there have been caseswhere relief materials havebeen commandeered by thosewho need these relief materialsthe least.

In many affluent or wealthyhomes, it may not be far fetchedthat top members of Nigerianpolitical class, will be directingthe funds to themselves.

Relief materials ostensiblytargeting the most desperateand the neediest of cases inmost cases been hijacked bylocal political operatives,among them, so-called chiefsand traditional rulers, whoought to be, at the barestminimum, facilitators ofdistribution chain and be theconduit of relief material to thepoor.

Relief material intended forthe poor by donors, are nowstockpiled in the homes ofsome local political aparachiksand so-called traditional rulers,all this, while the poordesperate citizens wait in thelurch, for relief materials andneedful.

Some cross section of

Nigerians in both Oyo andLagos State who spoke withSaturday Vanguard lamentedthat funds which have beenallocated by the FederalGovernment was onlymentioned on the pages ofNewspapers and on TelevisionStations across the nationwithout its manifestation.

Mr. Arowosegbe wholives in Odo-Ona

Apata, Oyo State, said most ofthe relief materials are onlyhijacked by governmentofficials and thugs in the areaand not the affected people.

According to him, “Thosewho are affected do not benefitfrom any of the scheme. Thegovernment only tell us that ithas allocated five hundredmillion, 500,000,000 to OyoState especially those whoseproperties were destoyed by theflood but we have not seen orheard anything about it. Thefirst time the incidenthappened in Oyo State, thosewho were affected have notbeen given any fund till date.

“I am not the only one whowas affected and I believe thosewho were affected too had notbeen given anything. Over 150people affected in my area havenot benefited.

“Some people lost theirhouses, properties, farmlands.

There was a particular familythat lost seven children to theincident.

“Those who have beenvisting the local govrnment tofind out what is going on therehave not been able to come witha positive development.

“There is no farmland in myarea but there was a man whowas into cat fish rearing. Hisfish ponds were destroyedcompletely. Some companiesincluding Saplet were alsodestroyed”, he added.

A-70 years old farmer, ElderEmmanuel Salau who spoke toSaturday Vanguard lamentedthat the recent flood ravagingsome major parts of Nigeria has

grossly affected the producesuch that it is difficult to plantany product that will germinate.

“Right now, we are at themercies of the flood and ourfarm produce has been grosslyaffected. The flood has affectedus such that all the produce aretotally perished.Asked if government is helpingfarmers in the country, he said,“that is what they have beensaying but I have notexperienced it and none of thefarmers around me hasbenefited either. I believe theyknow those they aresupporting. Those who are notconnected don’t have access totheir loans or funds.

Dr. Dotun Agboju, afarmer, said with flood

ravaging major parts ofNigeria, some of the agric landshave been affected. “All thefarmland have beensurrounded by flood all over thecountry and in that regard,nobody can go to the farm andthe crops on the farm will bedestroyed. What this means isthat there will be food crisis. Weheard the minister said, ”thegovernment is doingsomething towards avertingthis problem but we have not

ones enjoying all the benefits.While the real farmers have togo through stringent efforts tobe relevant in the society.

A member of the LagosState House of Assembly,

Mr. Ipoola Omisorerepresenting Ifako/Ijaye II, alsothe Chairman Committee onSpecial Duties andEmergencies opined Nigerianfactor might mire the effectivedisbursement of the fundsallocated to States especiallyflood victims.

His words: “I am not doubtinganybody’s capacity. But weknow what happened with thepensioners’ case and we praythat such will not happen again.

“I don’t know how much hasbeen allocated to Lagos Statebut I know that the StateGovernment is trying in itscapacity to make sure thatflooding is minimised. Whileother States are groaning, weare smiling in Lagos State.

“There have been persistenceintervention by thegovernment to make sure thatdrainages are cleared. Themajor concern is that LagosState is below sea level and wehave some riverinecommunities.

“We need FederalGovernment intervention toassist Lagos State in terms offunds disbursement. As theformer Federal Capital, Lagositself needs special attention.We have to construct morechannels for proper flow ofwater to the canals so that theBar Beach that is easilyovertaken by Ocean Surge willbe a thing of the past.

“What we have today ispalliative measures unlikewhat is obtainable in otherparts of the world where wehave Ocean beaches protected.

“With the flood problem,there is need for properplanning and not reacting tosituations. We need to reallywake up from our slumber andnot wait until flood destroys ourproperties.

“I pity those in other areas.Even our Federal highways arenot well constructed. Flood hasdestoyed major parts of Federalroads. Therefore the committeeset up by the federalGovernment needs to come toLagos to know the rightapproach. I believe Lagosneeds an holistic approach.

We have a list of flood victimsin the State. There are some inIfako/Ijaye, Ajegunle, andother areas. “And I believeFederal Government needs apermanent solution toappraoch the issue.”

seen anything yet. We have notseen anything on ground toshow that this imminentproblem will not come to pass.

On loan, government willkeep making noise on thepages of Newspapers but thetruth is that most of the farmersdon’t have access to loan orfunds as claimed by thegovernment.

“Farmers go through difficultsituations in order to accessfunds or loans. The situation onground is that the politicalfarmers have taken over theopportunities that the realfarmers should benefit. Thepolitical farmers who are thefriends of politicians are the

,

,

I don’t know how much hasbeen allocated to Lagos Statebut I know that the StateGovernment is trying in itscapacity to make sure thatflooding is minimised

•Hon. Omisore


BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA,Yenagoa

“WHEN that torrential

rainfall pulverizedthe ground on December 31,2011 causing pool of water insome low areas of Yenagoa many of us thought it was asign of good things to comebut ten months after we arefaced with the worst disasterone could ever imagined. Ihave seen floods in the last 59years but they are nothingcompared to what we are ex-periencing today. I have lostall I laboured for in life,” la-mented Madam Edaere Tho-mas one of the displaced per-sons at the Bishop DimieriGrammar School BDGS reliefcamp.

This is certainly not the bestof times for indigenes ofBayelsa State many of whomhave been forced to flee theirhomes in the last four weeksand are now taking temporaryshelter at tents and reliefcamps put in place by the stategovernment and the NationalEmergency ManagementAgency (NEMA) in areas thatsurvived the deluge in Yena-goa and other parts of thestate.

While those in the variousrelief camps could be countedas lucky having roofs overtheir heads in spite of thewidespread complaint of inad-equate food supply those whodared the flood by remainingin their submerged homes arenow forced to contend with in-vading reptile especiallysnakes as well as mosquitoes.As they go through the mo-tions of daily life, the hauntedlook in many eyes betray lay-ers of unspoken fears and un-certainty. Many do not evenknow where to start from againwhen they return to theirabandoned homes.The very poor ones whosehomes were mud houses arecurrently at a loss and are notsure where to go after theflood.

Virtually all of such struc-tures have been washed awayby the deluge.

Though the state govern-ment appropriated N1.5bn tomitigate the suffering of thedisplaced population causedby the flood there had beenwidespread complain of ne-glect and starvation in the var-ious comps due to alleged di-version of relief materialsmeant for the displacedvictims.

A distraught Madam Thomas, a widow and

mother of six told SaturdayVanguard philosophically, “Ihave seen the worst in my life.If anybody had told me of thiswaiting disaster I would havedismissed it with the wave ofthe hand. The hardship in thiscamp is my least worry. Havebeen sleeping on the bare floor

In Bayelsa, victims allegediversion of relief materials...as Gov Dickson threatens to deal with anybodycaught trying to capitalize on the situation to makemoney

here so that my little childrencan make do with the mattressI was lucky to secure.”According to her, “My basicconcern is how we will copeafter the flood. I depend on thefarmland left behind by myhusband for our survival. Ourmud house back home in thevillage (Sagbama) is gone andthe seedlings I kept aside forthe new planting season andour farm implements havebeen washed away.”She pleaded with the authori-ties to come to their aid by as-sisting them with cash to en-able them get a new roof overtheir head and plant seedlingsand farming tools to help themstart a new life.

Also another victim at theSamson Siasia Stadium, whogave her name as IzonebiJohn, told Saturday Vanguard,“we are aware of the fund re-lease by the state governmentto cater for us. Sadly, the re-lief materials meant for us arenot getting to us. The officialssaddled with the responsibili-ty of taking care of us are notdoing enough to assuage ourplight.”

John Obuh, an indigene ofBiseni in Yenagoa local gov-ernment area said there wasno need sulking over an inci-dent he had no control over.“It is clear we have lost every-thing but our basic concernshould be our survival after the

flood,” he said.For Olotu Preye, one of the

internally displaced persons atSamson Siasia Stadium,though the situation at the re-lief camp may not be the best,he was grateful to God forsparing his life and that of hisfamily members. “I thank Godfor his mercies; at least, we arenot exposed to the elements ofthe weather. My problem is nothunger; though we are notgetting food on time to eat asone would have but where dowe start from after returninghome?”

Preye expressed the hopethat the state government

would be magnanimousenough to assist them finan-cially to pick up the pieces oftheir life. He also called on thegovernment to put in placemeasures to ensure that theirchildren regain lost ground in

the school calendar year dueto the forced closure of schoolsin the state. This, the statecommissioner for education,Mr. Salo Adikumo said wouldbe address by government al-laying the fears of parents.Pa Okorie, in his early, sixtiescould not hold back the tears,lamenting. “some days I gowithout food, how do you ex-pect me to struggle for foodwith the young ones. I amaware of Governor Dickson’spassion for us but some of hisaides are more interested inwhat they stand to gain fromthe exercise. His coming tovisit us last Saturday has re-ally boosted our morale andbrought about significant im-provement in the distributionof relief materials at the camp.Disturbed by the alleged di-version of relief materialsmeant for the flood victims,Governor Seriake Dickson

whose private fish farm wasalso lost to the ravaging floodnot only mandated the statecommissioner of police, Mr.Kingsley Omire and the StateDirector of State Security Ser-vices, Andrew Iorkyar to em-bark on a tour of the variouscamps for an on the spot as-sessment of situation but alsoordered the immediate reorga-nization of the food distribu-tion system. The governor alsothreatened to deal decisivelywith anybody caught trying toincite flood victims against thegovernment or trying to capi-talize on the situation to makemoney.

Also, he ordered the imme-diate suspension of Mr. Chin-edu Ubah, the Senior SpecialAssistant on Non Indigenesover his alleged role in thecreation of a separate floodrelief camp for non indigenesand all that transpired there-in, which gave rise to seriesof complaints and causingunnecessary confusion in theprocess.

The governor who visited thevarious camps in the state saidhis administration was not in-terested in sharing money toany person after the flood musthave receded noting that gov-ernment post flood plans forthe people are geared towardshelping them to go back totheir various means of liveli-hood.

,

,

The governor also threatened todeal decisively with anybodycaught trying to incite floodvictims against the governmentor trying to capitalize on thesituation to make money.

CMYK


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,*The inheritor and the heir

It is no longer news that Olusegun Mimiko was returnedas the Ondo State governor in the recent election. Thatfact was released after the votes had all been cast, counted

and collated to the satisfaction of INEC (Independent NationalElectoral Commission), the official institution invested withthe authority to conduct the polls.That was when it becamecertain that the incumbent governor had been returned bythe people of the state whom he had striven to serve for thepast four years. That is what elections are for.

It might have been apparent, before the election, thatMimiko had qualified for another term.

He claimed that, of course, but it was really not for him oranybody else to declare.Thatwas purely a matter ofopinion,a right to whicheverybody was entitled.Some other people exercisedthat same right in favour ofhis opponents. The design ofelections seeks to guaranteethe reality and annul thewishful projections.

It is thereforeembarrassing for somepeople, who should knowbetter, to suggest that thepronounced assumption thatthe Labour Party Candidatewould win the Ondogovernorship election wasenough to have made others,particularly the ActionCongress of Nigeria, handhim the palm without his stir.It does not happen that way.The post of a state governoris simply too important, toomassive and attractive to befilled without any contest, nomatter to what degreevictory appears tilted in anydirection. What is more, ademocratic system thriveson contention—contentionof ideology, contention ofprogramme, all embodied inthe contention of personalitythrough which it is allfiltered, and based uponwhich the people can make achoice.

That was how, it wouldappear, the people have

made their choice in OndoState. The opposition wasrightly there, if only to “fulfillall righteousness”. And itwas a fitting “righteousness”to be observed, to add to thequality of the election being“credible”, apart from beingfree and fair. Those who putthemselves forward, thoughtheir chances were not soinviting, actually deserve tobe commended, notridiculed, as returning home“empty-handed”. The fact

that they did not simply rollover on their backs insubmission, for me, testifiesto their belief in the system.Over all, it also evinces astrong faith in the Nigerianproject and its potentials.And, as it turned out, it wasnot so much of a toutedlandslide victory since, at thecount, more people actuallyvoted for the oppositioncombined, than voted forMimiko. That is not to takeany shine away from hisdeserved triumph against all

*Mimiko

odds.It is time for the analysts,

and others who know it all, toreveal why the winner wonand the losers lost. There willbe dissension in that as well.It might be an aspect worthmentioning, however, that

democracy also demandsthat the one who is presentedto contend for the choice ofthe people must, ab initio,have been freely chosen byhis supporters and sponsorsfor that purpose. That is whatpreliminary elections aremeant for. But they are moreconspicuous by their absencethan observance over theyears in almost everypolitical party. The rightconceded to, or acquired bypolitical power brokerswithin and without the party,

to control the selection of thecandidate for the party hasbeen a sore point with theparty members for years.

In spite of its unpleasantresults, by way ofconsequential defeats anddefection of members to

other parties, the practice haswaxed stronger in recentyears. The debacle sufferedby the ACN in Ondo may havebeen partially caused by theimposition of someone fromthe “diaspora” on the free willof the people as theirflagbearer.

The loss of Olu Agunloyeto the LP, as a

consequence, may forcefullybring home the lesson thatshould have been learntyears ago from the days ofObafemi Awolowo. He wasable to get away with it mostof the time, but the effort leftindelible scars on hisillustrious career and itsramifications. It is hardly aninheritance to be dearlydesired.. There may yet be

footnotes appended to theMimiko victory, still in hisfavour or otherwise.

This may tie in with thehesitancy of the ACN to flingbouquets of congratulatorymessages at him. There aregrunts about malpractices

involved in the election. Nomatter what anyone feels,only the law courts caneffectively reject or upholdthe accusations. So while it istrue that the declared winnerof an election is almostroutinely congratulatedeven by his or her opponentsin other parts of the world,that is because electionrigging, and othermalpractices, are almostunknown in such climes. Inour beloved country, theyare commonplace. The ACNstrove to win back no lessthan three stolen mandatesafter the 2011 elections. Theparty may rightly shelve theidea of sprayingcongratulations all over thetarmac immediately after anelection it is adjudged to have

lost. It has been more thanonce bitten. It may beuncharitable to overlookwhere the party is “comingfrom” in this regard. Eventhe National Peoples Party,NPN, must be having a re-think about its rush tocongratulate the newlyelected LP Governor of OndoState. The members of theparty in that state havedistanced themselves fromthe ebullience of thefelicitations extended to thewinner of an election whichthey claim was far fromsqueaky clean. The defeatedNPN candidate, maybe as anafterthought, also nowseems to concur. It is not acase of being a poor loser, ornot being a gentleman. It isabiding by the dictates ofpragmatism on the peculiarpolitical terrain of our dearnation.

The inclusion of OndoState under the

umbrella ( if you please) of theACN would indeed be like oldtimes when the entire WesternRegion was under the ActionGroup, and the virtual controlof one man. Anyone strivingfor a return to that era withthe ambition of assuming theposition which that leader,Obafemi Awolowo enjoyed,may encounter too manyobstacles in trying to achievethat dream. It could even turninto a nightmare. Justconsider the implication ofthe fact that one of the loudestovations for Mimiko’s victorycame from the household ofAwolowo himself. It wouldappear that the self-styledinheritor may not be the heir,after all.

Time out.

,Over all, italso evincesa strongfaith in theN i g e r i a nproject andits potentials

The people have made their choicein Ondo State. The opposition wasrightly there, if only to “fulfill allrighteousness”

CMYK


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CMYK

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,,

A little mirror to the Nigerian Police

The swift way the perpetratorsof the ‘face book’ murder ofCynthia Osokogu were

brought to book, brought huge reliefto all of us, and, if truth be told, morethan a little pride. But moreimportantly, it brought closure andallowed the friends and family of thepoor lady and to some extent, thelarger society, to also have closureand move on with their lives. That ishow it should be. A crime iscommitted, the perpetrators areapprehended, justice is done, thesociety learns from it, and moves on.

Sadly, this is more of an exceptionthan the rule. We all know, if we livein this country, that most crimes arepoorly investigated if investigated atall. In the course of an investigation,(should any be done) crude violenceand high handedness often replacepatient intelligence gathering. Theresult is that wrong persons moreoften than not, are arrested andcharged.

Prosecution is anotherthing. Have you everseen a police prosecutorat work? I have and itsnot pretty. To see somepolice prosecutorsbeing cross-examined,has to be one of themost embarrassingthings around, even inthis country wherenothing shocks. He is sobadly prepared that acharge-and-bail lawyerwould twist him aroundhis little fingers. Theresult? Crime— bothhigh and low profileones—remain largelyunsolved.

Last week was theanniversary of the

murder of Dele Giwa.That of Chief Bola Ige isanother two months away. I wassufficiently close to the two of themto remember their passing away withpain. Always with pain. The firstcolleague to phone me when I wasabout to start my publication was thelate Dele Giwa. ‘Lets have breakfasttogether and talk about yourpublication’,he said.’I don’t want youto make the kind of mistakes we made.’I still remember those words, just as Iremember his offer to foot myaccommodation bill if I could attenda printing exhibition with him inGermany. He was a warm andgenerous being. I saw him a week tohis gruesome death, and he was so fullof life and plans for his belovedNewswatch. Because his murder hasbeen unresolved, none of us—hiscolleagues, friends, and family—havenot had any closure.

The same thing with Uncle Bola Ige;he was one of the few people I knowthat high office never changed. I hadbeen around him in and out of office,and he was always himself, unaffectedby high office. A very cerebral man,he surrounded himself with youngmen who could stimulate him. His

simplicity, was probably why he wasso easily killed.

I spoke to him a couple of weeksbefore he was murdered. He told mehe was resigning from governmentand that we should talk. The ‘talk’never took place. He was good to me,and, like Giwa, difficult to forget.

Between these two unresolvedmurders were also many high profilepolitical killings. You tend to thinkthe police do not have the capacityor the will to investigate crime.

A recent conversation with anewly retired Commissioner of

Police leads me to believing theformer. The retired commissionerwanted a crime in which he wasinvolved, investigated. To his uttersurprise and annoyance, theinvestigating police officer (IPO)asked for mobilisation money. Myfriend tried to pull rank by calling amore senior officer who instantlyapologised and promised to look into

it. After a half heartedattempt to ‘investigate’,the matter ‘died’. Ilaughed inwardly whenhe told me the story. Hehad just been given adosage of what most ofus have been swallowingfor years. What goesaround, they say, comesaround.

Are these juniorofficers being sleazy andgreedy or are they intruth, insufficientlymobilised? In otherwords, how much moneyis being devoted tocrime intelligence,prevention, anddetection? A police forceis not a police force if itcan not prevent, detect,and prosecute crime.

The 2013 budget has

allocated a hefty sum to the policeforce—ostensibly to fight BokoHaram. It will be money misapplied—apologies to a former VicePresident—if the raison d’etre of apolice force, is again ignored. Thepolicy that allows a junior detectiveto fund crime investigation from hissalary before reimbursement (if any)is a wrong one. A policy that playsdown data gathering and forensicintelligence in this day and age, is awrong one. So is a policy that doesnot focus on training and retraining,of detectives.

It’s not the quantum ofammunition purchased

(contracts for the boys?) that willmake the people sleep with their twoeyes closed.

It does not, in the end , matterwhether we have Federal Police, StatePolice, or Village Police. What thepeople want, and deserve, is aneffective Police.

Then, and only then, will the friendsand families of Dele Giwa and UncleBola Ige and others who werebrutishly cut down, have closure andtheir souls really rest in

It’s not thequantum ofammunitionp u r c h a s e d(contracts forthe boys?)that will makethe peoplesleep withtheir two eyesclosed

Beyond your imagination

Don’t despair.It’s not over.It may look as

though there is no wayout . Everyone andexperts on the mattermay have concludedthat it is hopeless yetI say to you there isthe God that can doexceeding andabundantly above allthat you can think orimagine (Eph. 3:20).No case is hopelesswith Him. He thrivesalways in situationsthat the devil and thewor ld says i t i simpossible. Hear me;God will do beyondyour imagination.

Don’t listen to thelies of the devil andmen. God does nothate you. He has notforgotten nor forsakenyou. It is impossiblefor God to forget orforsake you. You are inthe palm of His handsalways. He nei thersleeps nor slumbersbecause of you. Hisplans for you are soawesome that theenemy is so afraid ofit and he has made uphis mind to do all hecan to stop you but hewill fail. God will notdisappoint you. He istoo faithful to fail. Heis trustworthy and everdependable. There isnothing that is toohard for God tohandle. Believe meyour case is too small.He a l ready has amiracle for you. Getready.

In Luke chapter 5:1-11, the bible says thatPeter went out asusual to his businessbut re turned backempty handed. Hemust have beenfeel ing ter r ib le ,d isappointed andwondering what wouldhappen to his family.Today so many are inthis condit ion. Theworks of their handsare not making anyprogress and yet they

For more details, contact us at Christ Reality Church, beside Gossard Hotel, opposite First Bank Sports Ground, Community Road, Satellite Town or P.O.Box, 3196, Yaba Lagos. Tel: 07029235279, 07029235280. E-mail:[email protected]. Website: www.christrealityministries.org.

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have commitments allover the place and theywonder how they can getout of the mess. I havegood news for you, Godwill not disappoint you.While Peter waswondering then cameJesus and made use ofthe boat of peter andthereafter asked peter tolaunch out into the seaand cast his net for acatch. Peter said toJesus, I have toiled allnight and caughtnothing butnevertheless at thy wordI will let down my net.What was peter saying?He was saying that yourword has power enoughto change his situation.Peter with al l o f hisexpert ise caughtnothing but with God’sintervention there was aturnaround. Theblessings that peterencountered were sogreat that he was afraid.He had never seen somany miracles in hislife. This was beyondpeter ’s imagination.

Beloved, this same Godhas not changed. Thetruth of the matter isthat what He did forpeter is nothing to Himand He can also do foryou. He is not arespecter of persons. Noman on earth has trulyenjoyed the fullness ofthe kind of blessings thatGod has for them. Thebible re fers to Hisblessings asunsearchable r iches.

Receive this truth,no matter yourimagination, God isfar beyond it. Lookup to God, yourchange is at hand.He desires to dogreat things for you.

He changedeverything aboutpeter. His mindsetwas changed. Whatpeter never thoughtwas possible becamepossible. I prophesyto your life God whocreated the heavensand the earth willshow you mercy andturn your casearound to the amaze-ment o f yourenemies. Everyonemocking you will bedisgraced by thisgreat God in thename of Jesus.

One thing thatmade peter toexper ience themightiness of Godwas because he madehis boat available forJesus to use. Whatare you prepared togive to the Lord forHim to use? Give itto Him now and youwill not be ashamed.God will do beyondyour imagination.

Have you givenyour life to Jesus? Ifnot, please pray thisprayer. Father, Icome to you as I am.I invite Jesus into myl i fe to be mypersonal Lord andSaviour.

Don’t listen to the lies of thedevil and men. God does nothate you. He has not forgottennor forsaken you. It isimpossible for God to forget orforsake you

SATURDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 16

CMYK

Vanguard, SARTURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012—17

18—SATURDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 27, 2012

The Husband

The man told his doctor that he wasn’t able

to do all the things around the house that he

used to do. The doctor started a long and thor-

ough examination, but finally found nothing

wrong with the man.

When the examination was complete, he said,

“Now, Doc, I can’t take it. Tell me in plain En-

glish what is wrong with me.”

“Well, in plain English,” the doctor replied,

“you’re just lazy.”

“Okay,” said the man. “Now give me the

medical term so I can tell my wife”.

Is it love?

Bill and Steve are enjoying a beer and dis-

cussing the possibility of love. “I thought I

was in love three times,” Bill says.

“Thought?” Steve asks. “What do you mean?”

“Three years ago, I cared very deeply for a woman

who wanted nothing to do with me,” Bill says.

“Wasn’t that love?” Steve asks.

“No, that was obsession,” Bill explains. “Then two

years ago, I cared very deeply for an attractive wom-

an who didn’t understand me.”

“Wasn’t that love?” asks Steve.

“No, that was lust,” Bill replies. “And just last year,

I met a woman while I was on a cruise. She was gor-

geous, intelligent, a great conversationalist and had

a super sense of humour. Everywhere I followed

her on that ship, I would get a very strange sensa-

tion in the pit of my stomach.”

“Well, wasn’t that love,” asks Steve.

“No. That was motion sickness!” Bill replies.

A young man and a hot girl

C O C K - T A L E S

I’m physically attracted tosomeone who assaulted me

Aunty Julie,I have a huge crush on one

of my coworkers. I am singlebut he is not, so I have nevermade any passes or encour-aged myself to flirt with him.Five months ago, as I was thelast one to leave from work , Iran into him. I was surprisedthat he was still there. Tomake a long story short, hetried to assault me. I got away.I’m experiencing terrible con-fusion. I am still attracted tohim! I can’t stop thinkingabout him and whenever heignores me (and hedoes...constantly), I feel likeI’m going to go crazy!

I can’t tell anyone; no onewill believe me. They wouldsay that I provoked him andthat I wanted it to happen. Ican’t give up the job. I needthe income for myeducation.Why do I feel thisway? What happened to me?Why would he do somethinglike this if he has a wife?

Judith, Apapa

Dear Judith,That sounds like a terrifying

experience. How difficult itmust be to continue seeing himand to feel like you wouldn’t bebelieved if you told anyone.Whatever you did in responseto the assault was exactly righton: you got away, it soundslike, with minimal or no physi-cal injuries. Nonetheless, thisexperience must have beentraumatic. There are two prima-ry parts to your question: why

would I feel this way towardssomeone who tried to hurt meand why would he do this, es-pecially if he has a wife?

Let’s address the latterquestion first. Myths aboutrape abound. One such mythis that people who rape aresexually frustrated or neverhave access to sex. Studiesactually show that this is notthe case. Whether or not

someone is in a relationshipis not a predictor of whetheror not they will rape. This isprobably because rape is notan act for fulfilling sexual grat-ification. It’s an act of violenceand at the core of the motiveis a desire for power and con-trol. Incidentally, in case youwere worried that your sexualattraction “provoked” the rapein any way, this is anothermyth: the myth that women re-ally want to be raped. This isa statement often used by peo-ple who rape in order to jus-tify or excuse their violence.Notice how people rarelymake this claim about othertypes of crime: robbery or mug-gings, for example. Rape is nodifferent. Of course, you didn’twant it. Your fear of not beingbelieved makes sense giventhe presence of these myths.Is there anyone whom youcan trust that would believeyou?

Your attraction to him, whileit may be distressing for you,is actually not all that uncom-mon. Most people who rapechoose to rape someone theyknow. Studies indicate that85% of female victims of sexu-al assault report knowing theirassailant. These women aresometimes the dates, intimatepartners, and/or wives of themen who rape them. It is like-ly, then, that a large numberof women share your experi-ence of having feelings forsomeone who attacked them.Even if someone severs a re-lationship after being assault-

ed, feelings of love and attrac-tion may remain for a time.Feelings don’t necessarily dis-solve after one negative expe-rience .It sounds that despitethat attraction, you know he isbad news and you are avoid-ing him because of this, eventhough it still hurts that heignores you. You are trying tokeep yourself safe and that’svery important. All of thesefeelings are likely very un-pleasant to be experiencing,but you are not crazy for feel-ing them.

What’s important is that youfeel supported in makingwhatever decisions feel rightfor you in this situation.

If staying at your job feels ab-solutely necessary, have asafety plan in place. What willyou do if you are working lateagain? Is there a way to en-sure you will never be alonein the building with him? Doyou think there is a chance hewould try to assault you againif you were? When the assaulthappened, it sounds asthough you were able to main-tain your physical safety. Arethere additional measures thatyou may want to take, such ascarrying pepper spray or tak-ing a self-defense class? An-other myth regarding sexualassault and rape is that fight-ing back makes the situationworse for women, but studiesshow that the opposite is true.

The safety plan is importantnot only for your physical safe-ty, but your emotional safety,as well. What do you need tocope with all the feelings thatcome up when you see him atwork? Are there ways to mini-mize your contact with him?Does seeing a therapist soundlike an option for you? Lastly,it may be good to keep inmind that you are possibly notthe only person in his life whohe has tried to assault. Thereis a culture of silence and ta-boo around rape. At somepoint, you may find it usefulto confide in a trusted co-work-er who also knows him andmay have had a similar expe-rience.

In any case, trust your gutto know how to navigate thissituation. Your survivalstrength is admirable.

Why hasn’t he called me?you. Maybe he lost yournumber, or there are manypossible scenarios that wouldexplain his behaviour. Ofcourse, there is also the chancethat he’s just not interested.

If he doesn’t call and you stilldon’t know why, then perhapsit’s time for you to move on. Ifyou’re not getting what youwant out of a relationship, it’sprobably best to look elsewhere.As the saying goes, there are amillion fish in the sea. Haveyou been too focused on thisone guy? Is there somethingabout him in particular that youare attracted to, or is it the ideaof having a boyfriend?

As for your second question,it can be hard to tell at first ifsomeone is attracted to you foryour looks or for who you are— or both. This is somethingthat becomes apparent as youspend more time with a person.If the attraction is purely

Dear Julie,I met this guy I like about a

month ago and I think that hereally likes me. He has a verybusy schedule with work, butwhen he says he will call me,he usually doesn’t. If he reallylikes me, why won’t he callwhen he says he will? Also,how can I tell if he likes me forme and not just my looks?

Queen, Asaba

Dear Queen,It’s easy to over think things

and jump to conclusions,especially when you likesomeone. But before you writehim off or get downhearted,remember that there could bea number of reasons why hehasn’t called you.

Busy at work? It sounds likehe could just be really busy.Have you tried calling himinstead? Maybe he is shy andcan’t work up the nerve to call

physical, the relationship mayeventually fizzle, rather thansizzle, as you realize that youdon’t have much in common.

With this guy, or anypotential partner, payattention to your instincts. Doyou feel happy spending timewith this person? Can you talkto him easily? Do you spendtime together doing thingsother than being physical?Although it can be difficult totell at first what someone isinterested in, after a while,you might be able to get abetter sense of his motives.Then you can decide if therelationship is working foryou.

In this situation and in thefuture, consider this: if you’reinto someone and you’re justwaiting for the phone to ring,maybe it’s time for you to takethe initiative and call him.Sometimes you have to take arisk to get the reward!

A young man met this hot girl and she invited him for

dinner before they go out later that night. On the day of

the date he goes to the pharmacy and asks the Pharmacist

for some condoms. “ what size pack do you want” the phar-

macist asked. Boldly he states “ I have a date with a real

hottie tonight and I am sure to score, she has a very sexy

mother too so just to be safe give me a six pack”. He paid

and left.

That night at the girl’s house, the dinner table was set

and everyone was sitting at the table already waiting for

the girl’s dad to return from work. As her father entered

the kitchen and sat down, the boy grabbed the girls hand

bowed his head and said let us pray and say grace for this

wonderful food. He started the prayer and continued it for

a very long time thanking everyone he could think of.

When he finally finished, the girl whispered to him “ I

didn’t know you were so religious”

He answered back

” I didn’t know your father is a PHARMACIST !!”

CMYK

SATURDAY Vanguard OCTOBER 27, 2012—19

CMYK

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Is your partnercracking up?

Recently, a formercolleague told methat she was worried

about an older brother whohad suddenly gone religious.According to her, thisbrother said “he could hearGod talking to him throughthe radio. He also alleged thatall of us in the family wereevil because, we didn’tbelieve in the spiritualchurch. He thinks his ownspiritual church and hisbeliefs are right. As wild as helooked when he made theseallegations, it was obviousthat he was cracking up? Sohow do you tell if someoneclose to you is cracking up?’With all these nameddisasters and economiccrunch plaguing the countrywouldn’t it be nice to know?

According to psychiatrists, there are seven

clues to alert you. Forinstance, an unexpectedchange in behaviour is thebig tip-off that a friend,relation or co-worker issuffering from emotionalproblems and may needprofessional help. Here arethe seven clues to look for:•A person who is usually

energetic acts tired andindifferent. The person maycomplain about being tired.His work may be neglectedand he doesn’t seem to care.•A previous polite and

caring person suddenlybecomes insensitive.Manners and social etiquette

often fall apart during mentalillness, said a psychiatrist.“Words like ‘please’ and‘thank you’ may disappearfrom the person’s vocabulary

and he or she may act rude—pushing ahead of others in aline, for example.”•A person who usually

controls his alcohol or drug

intake loses control. Whensomeone with no history ofalcohol or drug-abuse beginsto abuse these substances, itcan be a sign of mental illness.

And drug abuse doesn’tnecessarily have to meanillicit drugs — it also canmean prescribed drugs.•A person who usually

maintains stablerelationship starts todevelop difficulty withimportant ones. Theperson may have troubledealing with people on thejob — and with his or herspouse. He or she mayresort to physical oremotional abuse and mayyell or scream.•A person with emotions

in the normal rangebecomes despondent orshows rapid shifts in mood.The person may begin to

have rapid shifts in emotionsgoing from anger toplayfulness, from sadness togiggles.•A previously decisive

person has trouble makingdecisions. Even the smallestdecision, like choosingclothes, becomes difficult.The person might make up hisor her mind and then changesit possibly several times.•A person with good

hygiene develops poorhygiene. His or her clothesmay be inappropriate,dirtyor not ironed. Often,theperson may wear the sameclothes for days, not brush hisor her teeth and bathe lessfrequently —and may even

begin to smell bad.According to a recent

publication in the medicaljournal, you could be acandidate for a nervousbreakdown if you answer yesto six or more of the 12questions:•Did you have a tragic

childhood? A Parent’s deathor separation?•Was your childhood

unsettled with constantmoves, parents coming andgoing?•Do you usually blame

yourself when things gowrong?•Have you always felt

everyone is bigger, moreclever, and nicer than you?•Do you drink too much or

take drugs?•Are you the sort of person

who thinks happiness won’tlast?•Have you always felt

people criticize you behindyour back?•Do you find it difficult to

express your feelings?•Do you find it hard to be

angry even when you’vereason to be?•Do you find it difficult to findand keep friends and lovers?•Have you been exposed to

a nervous breakdownsufferer, particularly whenyoung?•Are you pre-occupied with

your health? Indeed, readingthis, are you now convincedyou’re having a nervousbreakdown?

According to theP s y c h i a t r i s t : ” i n

approaching someone youthink needs help, do so in acaring manner. Saysomething like; “somethingseems to be different aboutyou. You’re not acting likeyour old self. I really careabout you and I think youshould talk to someone whois skilled about it”.

Stop that anger from boiling over!

SECONDS out, round one ... Everycouple knows that moment when

passion gives way to rage. When the oneyou were madly in love with is suddenlythe one driving you mad. So, how doyou deal with those feelings? Do yourevel in a row or shrink from a skirmish?Counsellors say that couples shouldn’tback away from arguments becausebottling up emotions only lead totrouble. But some ways of reacting aresimply unhelpful. Recognize yourself inany of them?

The sulker: When you are mad,you wander around with a long

face, banging saucepans, sighingheavily. You have to be coaxed intorevealing what’s on your mind andalways manage to make your partnerfeel he or she is in the wrong. Youcannot see the funny side of thingsand refuse to be jollied out of yoursulk. Below the belt line: “nothing’sthe matter”.

The Nagger: You just go on and on.A row is the perfect excuse for

bringing up every petty grievanceyou have ever felt. You’ve got thememory of an elephant and are quitecapable of remembering ill orimagined slights from years ago. Youcan start a raw just as you are aboutto meet friends for a night out,turning sugar-sweet once theyarrive, and picking up the threads assoon as they leave. You can keep araw simmering for days. Below thebelt line,” ‘Andanother thing ... ‘

The Quitter: Whenthings get too hot tohandle, you simplywalk out. You mightlock yourself in thebathroom or go outfor a drink, and then,

you have to be wooed back. Or, youwait until your partner is so worriedabout you that he or she apologizedwhen you return. In any case, youwin even if you were in the wrong.Below the belt line: We’ll talk whenyou calm down.”

The Martyr: You pretended tosuffer in silence but when you’reannoyed, you create anatmosphere that can be cut with aknife. You may pretend to give inbut you can’t lose with good graceand you make your partner suffer.. You develop headaches at bedtime or mope around the houselike a bear with a sore head. In theend, your partner can’t stand the

tension and makes the peace.

The Prophet: Wheneveranything goes wrong you are

the first to rejoice in disaster. Yourefuse to accept any blame, andyou take delight in discovering

other people’s mistakes. Your holier-than-thou attitude is guaranteed todrive your partner around the bendwhile you can carry on assuming anair of calm. Below the belt lines! “Itold you so”.

The doormat: You hate rows somuch that you agree black was whiteto keep peace. You are so insecureyou think that love can’t survive afew ups and downs. You can’tunderstand why the passivity drivesyour partner mad, though. Below thebelt line: “Whatever.”

The cry baby: You never standup for yourself - you simply

dissolved into tears. You havelearned that you don’t have to betough to get your own way. So, whenthings look too heavy to handle, youjust turn on the water works. One daythough, you will try the trick to oftenand your partner will have becomewaterproof. Below the belt line! “Boo-hoo”,

Counsellors say that couplesshouldn’t back away fromarguments because bottling upemotions only lead to trouble

When someone with nohistory of alcohol or drug-abuse begins to abuse thesesubstances, it can be a sign ofmental illness

communicate your interest in them.

Although you may not realize it, you

may be giving off signals to others that

make it difficult for them to approach

you. By reaching out to them with a

genuine smile, you can show that you

are accessible and down-to-earth.

Sometimes, this can be hard,

though. Perhaps you are so nervous

about how you look and how you are

behaving that you don’t notice when

a potential love-interest is testing the

waters. Many couples meet through

activities which keep them focused on

a mutual goal, and allow them to just

“be themselves.” Maybe you love to

sing and there’s a chorus at your


CMYK

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08089353066

*Idemu, 49, widower, with two children, needs achristian born again lady of 37 years andabove who is gainfully employed or intobusiness and must be resident in Deltastate on 07034362180

•Race, 34, fair, single, from Imo State ,based in Lagos, desires a working classwoman on 08162782661

•Efosa, 30, from Edo, needs a reliablelady of 23-26 for a serious relationship

Intimacy is scary:Are you ready?

someone’s sensitivity, creative side,

intellect, or her or his engaging way of

telling a story. You said you are beautiful,

tall and smart . But relationships develop

based on much more than these objective

traits.

How would you describe your behaviour

when you are with other people? Are you

warm and friendly? Do you introduce

yourself and invite conversation, or wait

for others to make the first move? How do

you show people that you are interested

in what they have to say? Think about

what makes you feel good when you are

talking with other people. One of the most

successful ways to increase people’s

interest in you is to sincerely

I’m beautiful but I have no boyfriend

I can’t seem to be noticed. I am told all the

time that I am beautiful by my friends, but the

guys don’t even give me a look. I wear semi-

sexy (nothing revealing, just flattering)

clothing and I stay in style. I have been asked

to participate in beauty pageants. I am an

undergraduate and I am 5’9" tall. Why can’t I

get any male attention and how do I change

this?

Omasan, Delta

Ans: There are many reasons why we are

attracted to other people. Our attractions

may be fueled by someone’s “classic”

beauty, or by the details of her or his face,

body, and gestures that make each of us

unique and intriguing. We may appreciate

school or local community centre

you can join. Or, maybe you could

join a book discussion group, or take

a photography course. Doing

something you love can make you

feel good and feeling good is always

contagious.

Whatever the activity, there are

sure to be lots of new, interesting

people with which to share your

experiences.

Talk with your friends about what

it is that they were attracted to in

you, and how they think you are seen

by other people. The likelihood isthat there is more to their interestin you than how you look on theoutside.

needs an educated, employed lady of 2 5-43 for marriage on 08076355362

•Ayomide, 50, an engineer , based inLagos, wants a lady aged 35-45 from the

South West formarriage on08154677743

•Taofik Ajibola,31, lives and worksin Lagos, wants alady of 23-26 yearsfor a seriousrelationship on08052355875

Do you have reactions to our stories or have you any experience you wantto share with our readers? Please e-mail,[email protected]

Do you want to be linked?Neither Chioma Gabriel nor Saturday Vanguard has any relationship with anybody wanting to be

linked. We have no agents anywhere and charge no fees. We have no personal information of peoplewho have been linked or want to be linked and therefore, are not answerable for disappointments or

embarrassments some people may encounter in the process.

that will lead to marriage on 07067504523

•Ayinde, male, 44, Christian, educated, employed , Yoruba,

Lucy and her husbandPeters recently celebrated

the 25th anniversary of theirmarriage. The guests thatattended the anniversary weremarvelled at the closenessbetween the couple whodespite their five children, stillact as if they were still incourtship. Their romanticdisplays shocked only thosewho were just knowing themfor the first time. As for theirchildren and relations, theintimacy shared by the coupleis not new. The kids havealways known their parents tobe very intimate and arehopeful to be like them in theirown relationships.

Most of us believe that wewant to have a loving andintimate relationship with asignificant other. But we maynot realize what that actuallymeans. We may not be readyto deal with and reveal ourown inner demons, thoseparts of ourselves that causeus to feel hurt, insecure,ashamed and embarrassed.We may not be willing toaccept those insecurities andunpleasant personality traitsand actions in our so-calledintimate partner. We mayprefer to live in the illusionthat there is someone out thereso strong and powerful andemotionally present that wedon’t need to be anything butthe same self we have alwaysbeen and we will be lovedforever.

Indeed, intimacy, trueintimacy, may be the mostdifficult life task and the mostrewarding. Many of us feelinsecure about the appearanceand functioning of our body.Most of us do not fit the mediastandards of male or femaleyouthful beauty and strength.

We don’t need an ideal partnerto fulfill our dreams; we needto become our own ideal.Marriage does not inevitablylead to loss of sexual desire,excitement, and passion.Aging does not mean the endsexual desire, sexualattractiveness, and sexualbehaviour.

Many people have discovered their passion,

for the very first time, in thelong term commitment ofmarriage or in the later stages

of life within a new andexciting relationship. In fact,many married couplescontinue to have passionateand pleasurable sex with theirlife time mate into their goldenyears.

The excitement and ongoingpassion emerges when we feelseen and known andacknowledged as the fullyalive man or woman that weare.

Intimacy does not alwaysinclude sexual contact or evenany form of touch. We can be

verbally intimate with a totalstranger when we reveal outdeepest fears and desires andneeds. But that is fleeting andmomentary intimacy that doesnot last. Just as many of ushave experienced moments ofpure love, moments of pureecstasy, moments of religiousluminosity, we would not claimto be living in a continualstate of love, ecstasy orreligious enlightenment.Lasting intimacy occurs overtime as we reveal our self,over and over and over againregardless of the responses wemay receive in the moment,trusting and knowing that weare seeing and being seen byanother.

Sexual contact does notinsure intimacy. In fact, veryoften, the mere act of sexualcontact interferes with thepotential for true intimacy.When our hormones arestimulated, we may becomeaggressive, clingy, self-absorbed, or detached fromthe potential relationshipavailable with another person.Watching pornography canbring a sense of heightenedarousal and sexual releasewithout intimate contact orconnection with anyone at all.

However, sexuality is nota separate part of our

life, apart from the sensationsin our body, the feelings in ourheart, and the thoughts in ourmind. Our sexuality expresseswho we are, the culminationof our life experiences and ourbodily memories. Sexualitydoes not first appear at pubertyor adolescence or adulthood,as the media often suggests.Our sexuality is with us fromthe moment of conception, andperhaps even earlier in ourmother’s womb, and it remains

with us until the very end ofour life. Male fetuses actuallyhave erections in the womband little girls’ vaginaslubricate during sleep.

Rarely does the media teachus how to handle the shynessand even shame so many ofus feel or the difficulty manyof us have connecting withpotential sexual partners. Werarely hear about the fear ofrejection, isolation, insecurity,and sexual problems we oftenexperience in our mostintimate relationships. Andwhat about so many of us whoare fully capable of loving onepartner intimately butsomehow fall in love with orlust after the one person whopushes us away, dangles acarrot of love only todisappoint us over and overagain, leaving us in a mentalstate of self-annihilation.

There is little or no supportfor sensitive, kind, lovingsexuality, based upon trustingour own body’s reaction andknowing a partner intimatelyfor an extended period of time.The prevailing belief,accepted as fact by mostpeople, is that heightenedsexual desire and passion aremost prominent in the early,tentative, exploratory days ofany relationship. But sexualpleasure can be even moreheightened when we discoverthe magic of touching andbeing touched in just the waythat reaches our innerlonging.

And this happens most easilywhen we feel safe and areunderstood and accepted forthe whole package that weare, including our mostunattractive physical andemotional features.


,

,Things nobody ever toldyou about sex

You’ve taken sexeducation; you havehands-on experience

and have seenevery episode of ‘Sex and theCity’ —twice. So, you thinkyou know a lot about sex?Here are things your healthteacher most certainly nevertaught you.

Women can ejaculate, tooAlthough a hotly debatedissue, many women claim thatbefore or during orgasm, theyexpel a fluid that’s not urineand not vaginal lubrication.It’s a clear, odourless fluid thatcomes out of the urethra itself(or its surrounding ducts) andcan range from a few drops toa flood. It can happen as aresult of G-spot stimulationand takes practice and a senseof letting go to have thisexperience. But don’t fret ifyou aren’t able to do it. Don’tbe alarmed if happens either.

The left side is best for awoman’s pleasure According to sex-workshopleaders, there’s actually aspecific area of the clitoristhat’s the most sensitive. Theysay in every female, that theupper left quadrant of theclitoral head is the mostpleasurable spot to touch. So alittle to the left is the way togo.

Many women experiencePost-Coital Bleeding If you see red afterintercourse, it doesn’tnecessarily mean you’regetting your period…or thatanything has ripped. Youcould be experiencing post-coital bleeding, a conditionthat can sometimes result froman infection of the cervix or apolyp. While most post-coitalbleeding isn’t life-threatening,you should still see your OB/GYN. Only he or she can tell iftreatment is required.

Your desire is often relatedto your menstrual cycleIt’s no coincidence that many

women experience an increasein sexual desire around thetime they ovulate. That’s whentestosterone levels are at theirpeak and, well, testosteronemakes you frisky —just askany guy. In fact, it’s a prettyneat trick of biology that wewould want sex right aroundthe time we’re most likely toget pregnant!

Women can orgasm anunlimited amount of timesAfter orgasm, menexperience a refractoryperiod during which theylose their erection. Womendon’t need the samerecovery time. Women haveunlimited capacity. Oftenthey think that once theyexperience their firstorgasm, that they are done.On the contrary, womenhave the ability toexperience one orgasm afteranother. Both genders canhave multiple orgasms butthat men must masterspecific techniques in orderto do so. This means theman must understand hisbody enough to know whento decrease stimulation right

before he ejaculates. Oncehe’s achieved this, you’vegot a partner to ride thewave of successive orgasmswith!

Sex doesn’t slow downfor many elderly peopleSeniors don’t spend all daygetting reduced price ticketsto the movies. Many of

them are too busy goingall the way! Sexualattraction and connectionis a life-long drive, says acertified sex educator.So if your sex life is a littlelackluster, don’t blame iton age. For many olderwomen the reason theyaren’t having sex issimply a matter ofopportunity. Make time forsex, and sex will happen.

Having sex can makeyou look sexierWhen a woman does thedeed, her estrogen levelsdouble. This can make herhair shinier and her skinsofter. Estrogen seems tobe the fountain of youthfor women. It can evenkeep the body enrichedwith more moisture in thewalls of the vagina. Thinkof sex as the ultimatebeauty treatment and getthem nice and often.

One ejaculation yieldsonly about a teaspoon ofsemen

You may want to keepthis one secret from yourman, especially if hethinks his love juice couldfill up a quart every timehe makes love. “Despiteclaims, the majority ofmen have about 1-2teaspoons of ejaculate,maybe more if he hasn’torgasmed in quite some

They say in every female, that theupper left quadrant of the clitoralhead is the most pleasurable spotto touch

•Texting doubles ability to succeed.

time.

Humans and dolphinsare the only mammals thathave sex solely forpleasure.The truth is, as humans,we can savor and enjoy sexand not just think of it forprocreation purposes.Don’t take this gift forgranted and crank up thedial a little bit tonight—turn on some soft music,light a few candles andmake like a dolphin.

Sex can actually lowerstress levels and keep youfrom getting sick

Did you know that whenyou’re super busy, gettingbusy can be just the thingto keep you sane? That’sbecause intercourse canlower blood pressurelevels, making you lessprone to stress. Regularsex can also give youhigher levels of anantibody calledimmunoglobulin A, whichhelps ward off colds andother infections. So, in caseyou ever needed an excusefor nooky, there you go.

Strengthening the PCmuscle equals betterbladder control and bettersexYou do crunches for yourabs, but when was the last

time you did your Kegels? It’san exercise... (similar tostopping the flow of urine whenyou’re peeing). The PC musclecan help with bladder control,but even better, it can makeyour orgasms more intense.The move: hold your PC muscle(like you were holding inurine) for 10 seconds, thenreleasefor 10 seconds. That’s one.Repeat 10 times. For optimalKegels, do three sets a day.

Sex usually lasts less than 10minutesWe’ve all seen those montageswhere a couple stays up allnight doing it on everyavailable surface, not stoppingto eat or even take a bathroombreak. But, in reality sex isusually not an all-night affair.There is nothing wrong withyour love life! If you want it tolast longer, your guy needs toget in touch with his body to beable to slow down his arousalarc. He can use techniquessuch as breath control to helphim last longer.

Falling asleep after sex isnormal for men — and women

There’s a reason you and yourhoney feel tired after sex (andit’s usually not because one ofyou doesn’t feel likereciprocating). After sex,oxytocin is released and thathormone is responsible forcalming you and even inducingsleep.

22— SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012

Behold Next Movie Star

finalists' mentors !

POPULAR Actors, JudeOrhorha, Tony Umez and

Doyin Hassan have beenenlisted to mentor the finalistsof the Next Movie Star 2012during the reality show’sannual training and groomingsession.

The 10-day session is one ofthe unique selling points ofthe show whereby finalists aretaken into a secured andsecluded environment wherethey undergo intense trainingand mentoring sessions byexperts and professionals inthe industry and allied sectorsbefore the show proper goeson air.

Last Monday, actor-turned-academic, Dr. Doyin Hassan,

N

lectured the finalists on ‘TheActor And Acting’ whereinhe clinically highlightedsome of the essentials thatmake an actor thick. Lateron, another popular actor,Ralph-Niyi Stevens, took thefinalists through the‘Science of Acting (Screen/Stage). On the second day,it was the turn of veteran sit-com actor, Jude Orhorha,whose paper dwelt on‘Acting as a profession’.Trado-contemporary dancer,Femi Fadeyi was next as hetook the finalists through thewhole gamut of dance withhis paper, ‘Intro tomovement and dance’. Othercelebrity speakers included

Umez who spoke on‘Welcome to Nollywood’,Marketing communicationsexpert, Kingsley James, wasalso on hand to deliver alecture on ‘Making Moneywith your Talent (Perception/Position)’ and beefyentertainment entrepreneurand proprietor of KISSEvents, Howie Tee, who spokeon ‘Managing Stardom’.

Television star, BukkyOgunnote’s paper dwell on‘Can Acting save a Film?’,while one of the break awaystars of the Super Story series,Sam Uche Anyamele spoke on‘Acting as a Tool for Social Re-engineering.’

According to the executive

Top Nollywood actress,Grace Amah, who has

been missing on screen forsome time now may havefinalised plans to stage acomeback to her first love-acting.

Amah took a break early lastyear in order to have her sonabroad. Since then, she hasbeen missing on screen.

The Actress was spotted at a

‘I’m back and better’

Grace Amah

ANOZIE EGOLEcelebrity event last week inLagos, where sheannounced return to actingafter months ofdisappearing from thescreen.

“I stayed off the screen allthese months to be able tonurture my baby. But now,I’m back again in full force.At the moment, I havefeatured in two movieswhich are yet to bereleased.”Amah said.

After a very long break from

the mainstream, veteran Actor,Clem Ohameze has resurfacedagain. He is one of the cast of amind-blowing, yet-to-be releasedmovie, The Kingdom.

Ohameze starred in the big-budget movie alongside notableActors in the likes of actress-turned evangelist, EuchariaAnunobi, Van Vicker, JibolaDaboh, Annie Macaulay-Idibia,Tade Adelana, ChelseaEzeamong other renownedactors.

The Kingdom, from the stableof De Kross Movies Production,was directed by Ifeanyi Ikpoenyiand shot in Abuja, for severalweeks with high-end-equip-ment and tested crew members.

Speaking on the project, Chris-topher Ozoemena, the executiveproducer of the movie disclosedthat the flick was shot for the in-

ternational market. “The Kingdom, was painstakingly shot on HighDefinition, thus making it an international movie project.”

“Being a big-budget movie, we decided to do something differentfrom the usual Nollywood style.

Nonso Diobi,Sylvia Nduka to

host BON awards

Organisers of the Best ofNollywood Awards(BON) has

named sensational actor, Nonso Diobiand former Most Beautiful Girl inNigeria(MBGN), Sylvia Nduka ashost for this year ’s edition of theannual awards.

They also named veteran actor,Richard Mofe Damijo, Emem Isongand Tunde Kelani as somedistinguished Nollywood practitionersexpected at this year’s event, whichholds on Sunday, November 11, 2012.

The brand Manager of BON, MissOnye said, BON decided to celebratethese practitioners following theirindividual contributions towards thedevelopment of the industry.

According to her, the Revelation ofthe Year category is the mostcompetitive of all the three categoriesof the awards this year. It has AmandaEbeye, Seyi Ashekun, Moyo Lawal,Ifeanyi Kalu,Tunde Owoniran and KCEjelonu battling for the prize.

Clem Ohameze battles forThe Kingdom

•Grace Amah

• Sylvia

• Clem

•Jude •Tony •Hassan


VETERAN Actor, EnebeliElebuwa popularly

known as Andrew CheckingOut who was knocked downby a devastating stroke lastyear, said he is getting better.

He spoke on telephonepenultimate Friday, from hishospital bed in India to OjiOnoko, a journalist who hasbeen monitoring his recoverysince Delta State governmentmoved him to Abuja in Junethis year.

In a voice reminiscent of hisgreat acting days, Elebuwawho hails from Utagba-Uno inNdokwa West localgovernment area of DeltaState, said he owes a debt ofgratitude to the Delta Stategovernment which has beentaking care of him since thedebilitating illness startedNovember last year. Hedisclosed that the Statedispatched its Commissionerof Culture and a renownedActor, Richard Mofe Damijo,RMD, to him at the Surulerehospital, Lagos where he wasinitially admitted immediatelyafter with enough funds thattook care of his treatmentthere and the two otherhospitals he was referred to.

“Honestly, I amoverwhelmed by the supportand encouragement of DeltaState to my plight”, he said.“But for the State’sintervention, I really don’tknow what would havehappened to me”, he added,stressing that the Stategovernor, Dr. Emmanuel

From India, Enebeli Elebuwasends message of hope, thanksUduaghan

Uduaghan should be praisedfor his efforts in saving the lifeof a fellow Deltan.

“The State flew me to anIndian facility in Abuja inJune this year when mycondition was deteriorating inLagos”, he disclosed. He saidthat was where for the firsttime he was able to stand

unaided for three minutesafter a two-month stay. “Andwhen my condition could notimprove beyond that point,the governor directed that Ishould be moved to Indiawhere I am currentlyreceiving treatment andgetting better by the day”.

Winners have

emerged inthe 17th African FilmAwards 2012 a.k.a Afro

Hollywood Awards at aspecial ceremony held in

Akure, Ondo State capital,last week.

Sultry Actresses, Tonto Dike andHelen Paul were some of the winners of the awardsorganised by African Voice Newspaper, UK.

The high point of the event was when a new entrant, KikiOmeili who starred in “Married But Living Single” wasadjudged winner of Best Actress in supporting role in an Englishlanguage film. She defeated Oge Okoye and Nse Ikpe Etim toclinch the prize, while Tonto Dike emerged Best Actress of the

year, defeatingOmoni Oboli andChika Ike.

The winners willbe attending theprestigious annualawards slated forNovember 3, inLondon. At theevent also, thewinner of the AfricanActor of the Year willbe announced.

The contest is between JosephBenjamin of Nigeria (Tango WithMe), Van Vicker of Ghana andone of South Africa’s leadingActors, Jafta Mamabolo (famedfor his role in Otelo Burning).

Prince Mike Abiola, publisherof African Voice Newspaper UKand Chairman of the awardsorganisation, said, “I am sopleased with the result of thedistinguished and independentpanel of film critics who watchedmany Nollywood films to arriveat the winners. Congratulationsto all the winners and nominees.

“The decision to host the

The ANCOP-FIAPF Copyright Forum

As part of their advocacy functions, the Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP),

Nigeria, in collaboration with the International Federationof Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), France, earlierthis week in Lagos organized a one-day forum oncopyright. The highly informative and educative eventattracted some of the very best in the Nigerianentertainment industry either as guest speakers, panelistsor participants.

Big names like Charles Igwe, Amaka Igwe, KunleAfolayan, Chief Tony Okoroji, Efere Ozako, Patrick Doyle,Tony Abulu, Jennifer Eliorgu, Ejike Asiegbu, MayoAyilaran, Charlie Boy, Majek Fasheck, Igwe Gabosky,Emeka Mba, Oritz Wilikie, Isaac Moses, Nneka Moses,Chris Ekejimbe and a host of others joined the leader ofFIAPF delegation from France, Mr. Bertrand Moullier totake a critical look at the current trends in copyright atlocal and international levels and how it affects the keyinterest of Intellectual Property (IP) owners in theNigerian entertainment industry.

My concern however, is the rather sad and patheticattempt by some moribund associations/guilds and somespent forces in Nollywwod to unduly politicize aworkshop meant to inform and educate IP owners in theNigerian audio-visual sector. In fact, some of thesecharacters and jokers demanded to be paid before theycan attend the forum! This is a manifest poverty of themind. There is a total disconnect between the leadershipand membership of some of the so-called associationsand guilds in Nollywood. The interest of most of theseleaders and their clique is not to serve their membersbut mainly to use the platform as their meal ticket. Allthey do is scamper to Abuja and other State capitals totrade off the industry for their selfish interest.

Is it not sad that today, key stakeholders in the Nigerianentertainment industry have been reduced to mereclappers, dancers and jesters for the amusement ofpoliticians? Serious issues that will move the industryforward makes no meaning to leaders of theseenterprising brief-case associations and guilds. Pity!However, my good friend and brother, Efere Ozakobelieves very strongly that the old Nollywood is deadand the new Nollywood is alive and taking shape. Icannot agree less with this truism and ANCOP is proudto be part of this new dawn.

Reel Views and “Behind the Scenes” are two setof books which were presented to the public inAbuja last Tuesday by the Nigerian Film

Corporation.The new titles are a collection of reviews, selected

speeches and papers on the Nigerian and African Filmindustry by Afolabi Adensanya, Managing Director/ChiefExecutive of the apex Film Agency, (NFC).

In a release by Nigerian Film Corporation, thesignificance of the two Books lie not only in the depth ofinformation they provide on the Nigerian and AfricanFilm Industries, but also furnishes a critical analysis,providing suggestions, germane to the sustainabledevelopment of the motion picture industry beyondNigeria’s and Africa’s borders.

While “Reel Views” is a critical collection of the writingsof Adesanya, covering over two decades of hisprofessional life and provides refreshing perspectives toFilm making as an independent Film maker andPhotojournalists, writer and Film scholar, “Behind theScenes”, takes a delve into the almost eight years ofAdesanya’s administration of Nigeria’s apex film agency,as it’s Chief Executive.

Scholars and students of Nigerian cinema, accordingto Prof. Femi Shaka, will find this new work, “Veryeducative and thought provoking.

NFC boss out with Reel Views and

Behind the Scenes

•Enebeli

•To

nto

24— Vanguard, SATURDAY , OCTOBER 27, 2012

ElizabethTaylor topsthe Top 10richest deadcelebs listI

t’s been revealed that DameElizabeth Taylor is, despite having

tragically passed away in March lastyear, is still making some good money.So much so that the ‘Cleopatra’ star hastopped the list of the Top 10 richest deadcelebs of all time.

According to American businessmagazine Forbes’ list of the highest-earning dead celebrities, screen goddessElizabeth Taylor has beaten ‘Thriller ’singer Michael Jackson to the top spotwith her whopping $210 million fortune.

That puts Dame Elizabeth Taylor ’sestate $45 million ahead of any LIVINGcelebrity - which we’re sure will haveher laughing all the way to the PearlyGates.

$184 million of the legendary Actress’fortune came from Taylor ’s record-breaking Christie’s auction, which soldoff her fine jewelry, costumes and artwork.

And there’s no denying that, withoutthat explosive one-time auction, Michael‘King of Pop’ Jackson would havecontinued to reign as the highest-paidceleb, deceased or..., y’know, not-so-

deceased.Michael Jackson made a cool $145 million this

year, mostly from music sales, the ‘Thriller Live’tour and his stakes in the infamous Cirque DeSoleil.

But, despite MJ sitting $90 million aheadof Elvis Presley’s third place cash sum, it’s

worth remembering that Elvis left the buildingway back in 1977... and the ‘Are You LonesomeTonight?’ singer is still as popular as ever!

Liz Taylor passed away on Wednesday, March23, 2011 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

The screen goddess who dazzled the wholeworld with her talent, beauty and posh Hollywoodlifestyle, died of ‘congestive heart failure’.

1. Elizabeth Taylor: $210 million2. Michael Jackson: $145 million3. Elvis Presley: $55 million4. Charles Schulz: $37 million5. Bob Marley: $17 million6. John Lennon: $12 million7. Marilyn Monroe: $10 million7. Albert Einstein: $10 million9. Theodor Geisel: $9 million10. Steve McQueen: $8 million10. Bettie Page: $8 million

Check out the full list of the Top 10highest-paid deceased celebs:

Entertainment powerhouse, Koga Entertainment hasannounced that popular music act, Flavour will no

longer be performing at this year ’s music concertscheduled to hold at the exquisite Eko Hotel and Suites,Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, November 30.

Reason; the Onyi na Tumo crooner is due to travel toMalaysia any moment from now.

It now means that Hypertek Honcho and Africancrooner, 2face Idibia, GOOD Music star, Dbanj, AfrobeatMaestro, Femi Kuti, Afro juju exponent, Sir Shina Peterswill be performing live at this year ’s concert. Acecomedian, Bright Okpocha a.k.a BasketMouth will hostthe music concert which has been tagged the mother ofall concerts.

The concert’s maiden edition held last year at theexpansive Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) but is nowreturning to the upscale Eko Hotels and Suites this year.Top music acts headlined last year’s concert, the likes of2face, MI, P Square, Femi Kuti, Mocheddah, Obesere,Duncan Mighty, Wizkid, Eldee and Sir Shina Peters withthe father of comedy, Ali Baba anchoring the event withChioma of STV.

Shedding more light on what fans would expect at thisyear’s concert, Anu Awoseyi of Koga Entertainment said‘’the show is still coming up on the 30th of November2012 with the above-mentioned artistes on parade exceptFlavour who won’t be a part of the concert anymore. Weat Koga intend staging the best musical concert of 2012,that plan hasn’t changed at all”

Honda Legend, respectively.Not only did these acts get cars,the label also got them wellfurnished apartments in FestacTown.

According to the label boss,Emeka Morgan Oguejior whois based in the United States,‘the essence of all these, is toensure the free flow ofcreativity among our artistes.It might also interest you toknow that apart from the cars,the apartment and otherthings, we have erected a stateof art recording studio whereall Morgan Entertainment actscan go and do all theirrecordings too. We have allthese things available at theirbeck and core, because webelieve creativity flows whenyour mind is at rest.’

Dialect signs new deal with MorganEntertainment,gets SVU

Flavour to be missed at

Top10 MICS

Mo r g a n

entertainment,one of Nigeria’s leadingrecord labels, weeks backsigned a new act, FelixOtuokere with stage name

Dialect.Dialect as he

prefers to becalled, did not onlyget signed on to thelabel’s imprint butgot a brand newHonda ElementSUV from the labelmanagement.

It would berecalled that frominception, Morganentertainment havedeveloped a cultureof signing on an actwith a car attached. Itstarted with late MC

Loph, who got a brand new2007 model Durango SUV, toKonga and Ned, who werealso given brand new 2005model Cadilac STS and

Dialect, the new entrantinto the Morgan

Entertainment family is basedin the eastern part of Nigeria,where he has over the yearsstrived to stand tall among hispeers in the course of hismusical career, which startedin 2001 with three albums tohis credit.

Dialect whose talent cutsacross singing and dancing isalso a respected producer and

a graphic designer. He hassongs like Janglover, I SendDem” ft Vector and Osheamong other, to his credit. Hewill be dropping his album,Break out which will featureacts like P-square, Flavour,Na’Bania among others,anytime soon.

On the new deal, Dialectsaid, “‘’I give God the glory,and to everyone who was aninstrument to this new dawnfor me.”

•ElizabethTaylor

Vanguard, SATURDAY , OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 25

The Nigerian Christendom and specially gospel musiclovers will be privileged to be treated with superlative

music performances and ministrations from theinternationally acclaim and multi-talented prophetess,Dr.Juanita Bynum.

Juanita Bynum is making a remarkable visit to Nigeria inDecember. Her visit promises to usher in a spiritual revivalfor Nigeria. The highly esteemed American-born gospelArtiste, actress and televangelist will be the centre ofattraction at this year’s revival Assembly’s International FireConference 2012, which she is also headlining as the guestspeaker and artiste.

In a statement by the Church, under the leadership ofpopular clergyman, Apostle Anselm Maduluko, theconference will hold for three-days, from December 14,through 17, at the Church auditorium, located around Ogbaarea of Lagos.

According to the statement, the Conference which is setto ‘fire up’ Lagos and its environs will feature best of gospelmusic from Bynum and notable Nigerian gospel acts suchas Chioma Jesus, Uche Agu from South Africa and HigherDimension Choir.

Juanita Bynum, world renowned televangelist, author,actress and gospel singer was born in January 16, 1959, atChicago Illinois, United states. Bynum is one of 5 children,of Elder Thomas Bynum Sr. and Katherine Bynum. Shegrew up in Chicago, and received a starring role in PerryMiddle School’s annual play, My Fair Lady. Bynumattended saints’ Academy Church of God in Christ (COGIC)High School (a boarding school) in Lexington, Mississippi.Bynum was raised as attendee at St. Luke Church of Godin Christ, in Chicago, a Pentecostal church.

Juanita Bynumstorms Nigeriafor fire confab

By Mukosolu Nzom& Ezinne Njoku

The Yori-Yoricrooners,Vast and Smash of

Bracket music group surely gotsomething exciting for their fansduring this Sallah holiday as theyhave dropped a new single,‘Temperature.”

The music duo who disclosedthis, in a telephone chat withShowtime, said, they decided tocome out with a new single inorder to maintain the tempo. “Wedon’t want to bore our fans that’swhy we decided to release thisnew single to keep them busy.”they said.

The duo has really moved up inthe music world and now rubsshoulders with the best. Fewmonths ago, they embarked on amusical tour of the United Statesof America and Germany. Thegroup’s latest single will be anaddition to its growing profile inthe African music scene.

Bracket outwith new single

Student shines as 1st

female winner emerges instar Time To Shine Promo

Otame Oluchi, a student of Ogun StateInsititute of Technology and David

Nwankwo, a Bauchi state based commercialdriver, are certainly shining this month withtheir brand new 2012 Toyota Corolla cars.Both individuals emerged the second batchof car winners in the ongoing Star Time ToShine Promo, the biggest in the history ofpremium lager beer, Star.

Now with the car, 22-year-old Otame saysthat her status has been elevated in school.“Now I am a different person. Everybody willwant to be my friend when I get back toschool,” she said.

It didn’t matter to, Otame, the first lady towin a car in this year’s promo, that shecannot drive. She says the car will motivateher to improve on her driving skills. “I don’teven know how to drive. It is funny but thatis the truth. With this car that I have won,learning how to drive has become the firstitem on my agenda, “she said.

As for David Nwankwo, a Bauchi Statebased commercial driver and the second carwinner on the day, the brand new ToyotaCorolla car is the answer to his prayers: “Ihave been praying to God for my ownpersonal car for a while now. Now I have it.

•Bracket

2nd batch of car winner, Oluchi and DrAdebayo at the presentation ceremony

The popularcomic act

and musicianbased in theNiger Deltaregion, IdowuMoye, a.k.aMaleke hasraised over N6million for aBenin artist,EsoheOsagiede whois presentlydown withkidney related

Malekeraises N6mfor kidneypatient

disease.Esohe has been battling the illness for

some time now . Unfortunately his familyhas not been able to raise the N8 millionrequired by an Indian hospital for thetreatment until Maleke got to know aboutthe patient’s predicament.However, Maleke who originally organisedan occasion which was supposed to be thelaunch of his new album, having invitednotable musicians such as 2face,Abdulkarim and many others, turned out tobecome a fund raising event for the ailingEsohe and totally ignore to benefit any-thing for his album launch.According to him, “I know I spent millionsof Naira to organise the occasion whichwas originally planned to be the launch ofmy new album. But luckily for us, all myfriends that graced the occasion madedonations and at least, we were able toraise N6 million.”

Maleke

CMYK


Taylor Swiftsplits fromConorKennedy

Singer Taylor Swift is single again aftersplitting from her boyfriend Conor Kennedy,

according to a US report.The unlucky-in-love country star romanced

the 18-year-old son of Robert F Kennedy, Jrthroughout the summer and spent longweekends at his family’s compound in HyannisPort, Massachusetts.

Swift later flew the high school senior to meether parents in Nashville, Tennessee and shealso purchased a beachside home in the same

Cape Cod neighbourhood asher beau’s grandmother, EthelKennedy.

However, after just a fewmonths of dating, the pair hascalled it quits due to distanceissues - Conor is currentlyenrolled in a Massachusettsboarding school, while thecountry star is touring theworld promoting her newalbum Red, which wasreleased this week.

A source tellsUsMagazine.com, “Theyquietly parted ways a whileago. It was just a distancething. No hard feelings.They’re fine... It’s been overa month since they’ve evenseen each other. With herpromotion for Red, she has notime off until the end of theyear.”

It’s the latest high-profileromance that has fallen flat forSwift - she has also dated JakeGyllenhaal, John Mayer, JoeJonas and Taylor Lautner.

LindaNolanregretsnot having

children

Irish singer LindaNolan is planning to

open her home totroubled youngstersafter admitting shedeeply regrets nothaving children of herown.

The Nolans star put offbecoming a mother tofocus on her showbizcareer, but now wishesshe had taken the timeto start a family of herown.

She tells TheLancashire and NorthWest magazine, “I neverhad children of my own.It was my own fault. Iput my career first and,in the end, it was toolate. That’s something Ideeply regret.”

Now the 53 year oldwants to become a fosterparent and take childreninto her care.

She adds, “I hope Iwill be given the chanceto show some childrenthat people can love youand that you can feelsafe and happy with theadults who look afteryou.

“All children shouldfeel that - I certainly did- but sadly, it’s not thecase for some.”

The network announcedlast Wednesday “American

Idol” will launch its 12th

season with a two-nightpremiere on January 16 and17, 2013.The first night will be a two-hour show featuring the returnof host Ryan Seacrest andjudge Randy Jackson and theintroduction of new judgesMariah Carey, Nicki Minajand Keith Urban.Kevin Bacon’s much-anticipated new thriller “TheFollowing” debuts at 8 p.m.Jan. 21. The drama follows anex-FBI agent (Bacon) calledout of retirement track downthe serial killer (JamesPurefoy) who has created agrowing web of killers usingthe internet.It will air onM o n d a y s .The second season of KieferSutherland’s drama “Touch”returns at 8 p.m. Fridaysstarting Feb. 1.This season, single father

FOX announces premieredates for ‘American Idol’and ‘The Following’

Martin Bohm (Sutherland)and his gifted son, Jake(David Mazouz), findthemselves at the center of aglobal conspiracy involving amother in search of hermissing teenage daughter, amathematical genius and areligious zealot assassinatingothers with abilities likeJ a k e ’ s .The severely autistic childcan’t communicate with hisdesperate single father butcan perceive the seeminglyhidden patterns that connectevery life on the planet. It’sup to Martin to interprett h e m .Joining the cast this seasonare Maria Bello (“ER”), LukasHaas (“24”), Said Taghmaoui(“G.I. Joe: The Rise of TheCobra”) and newcomer SaxonS h a r b i n o .The premiere date for “TheGoodwin Games” will beannounced later.

Just as JessicaSimpson is planning

her wedding, her parentsare ending their ownmarriage. On Wednesday,Joe and Tina Simpsonannounced they ’redivorcing after 34 years.“It is an amicable split andthere is no third partyinvolved,” the couple saidin a statement. “Any otherrelated allegations arecompletely false. Thefamily appreciates yourrespect for their privacy atthis time.”

Those allegationsthey’re referring to is aNational Enquirer reportthis week that theminister-turned-managerrecently confessed to hisfamily that he is gay. “Joegot the family togetherabout two months ago andcame out of the closet,” asource told the tabloid.

Whether or not that’strue, it has been a toughcouple of months for the

Jessica Simpson’s parents splitafter 34 years of marriage

•Linda

•Taylor

•American idol

famous father. In August,he was arrested for DUI inSherman Oaks,California. If convicted,the 54-year-old could facea maximum of six monthsin jail, three yearsprobation, and a $1,000fine.

According to“Entertainment Tonight,”Tina filed divorce papersin McLennan County,Texas, on September 24,just two weeks after herhusband plead not guiltyto DUI. In the filing, shespecified, “The marriagehas become insupportablebecause of discord orconflict of personalities.”Days later, Joe respondedwith his own divorcepetition, insisting that hiswife gets nothing fromhim in the split, reportsTMZ. The estrangedcouple also recently puttheir Encino, California,mansion on the market for$4.3 million.

Tina, Jessica, and Joe Simpson

CMYK

CMYK

28 —Vanguard, SARTURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012

My disposition

I am a very shy person but people find it difficultto believe me when I say this. Actors are themostly shy people in the world. It’s hard to

find an actor who does not feel comfortableplaying the character that has been

created for him. But when it is time forhim to be himself, he or she is usually

a shy person. I was telling one of myfriends some time ago that I havedifferent personalities when I walkdown the red carpet. I’m anotherperson and not probably the RitaDominic you know. I tell myself,don’t be shy, just hit the red carpetwith boldness.

Winning an AMAA awardwith a Kenyan film

I am not surprised because Ialways believe when you do agood film, you will be recogn-ised for it, whether it is a Nige-rian film, Kenyan film or any

country in the world.AMAA has their own criteria for

selecting an award winning film. Itcould have been a Nigerian film. But

I must say I put in my best in “Shat-tered”, because of the character I played and

the storyline. It does not have to be a Kenyan film.I just felt at that point in time that “Shattered”was one film that I have done in my whole careerthat gave me an award at AMAA.

Longing to win an award before nowI have been nominated for an award at AMAA

before now. But I once told myself, I want to winan award at AMAA for a film I worked for. And“Shattered” helped to realsie that dream. I washappy and I walked with my head high. I didnot want to be nominated for an award for a filmthat wasn’t challenging as ‘’Shattered’’; a filmI did not put in so much effort. I wanted to benominated for a good film that has quality andis challenging.

Between Shattered and The MeetingIt is hard to answer this question. May be,

‘’Shattered’’ was a lead role, so also is “The Meet-ing’’, I have never played a cankerous role likeI did in “The Meeting.’’. It is a different role.

My conncetion with KenyansI was in Kenya about two years ago when

then Nigerian Ambassador to Kenya, and hiswife invited me as a special Guest of Honor,for the 50th independence celebration of thecountry. I observed the celebration with them.

—Rita Dominic

I am a different person when I’mon the red-carpet

Rita Dominic made history last weekend when she emerged‘ from the blues topremiere a big budget movie, “The Meeting” which many industry watchers

believe relaunched her into the mainstream of the movie world after months of stay-ing off the screen. The premiere, however marked a turning point in her actingcareer as she shares her success with Showtime Celebrity.

Thereafter, I was in the country again duringthe AMAA nomination party. About five monthslater, precisely in June, 2010, my manager gota call from Kenyan ambassador to Nigeria thatthere is a Kenyan film producer that wouldwant to meet with me, and discuss moderali-ties in terms of featuring me in his new movieand all that.

Twenty five days after, instead of sending thescript to me, the said producer decided to flyinto the country to meet with me. And when Isaw the script, I fell in love with it.

From then on, we established a working re-lationship and exchange of ideas. Everythinghappened so fast and before I knew what washappening, a deal aws struck.

BENJAMIN NJOKU

Working in KenyaIt was very fantastic. Kenya is like a second home

to me. Kenyans do not joke with me and I love themfor that. Could you imagine that they went after meon twitter, wanting to know when I will be visitingtheir country again.

The movie called The MeetingIt has been several months of hardwork. We even

had to suspend shooting for months just because wewanted permission to shoot at the airport in Abuja.Then there was the challenge of sourcing funds andthe challenge of finding appropriate locations. So wehad to commit funds to building sets. But we are sat-isfied with what we got.

I am glad at the comment that people have beenmaking. Someone said he liked the fact that it is atruly Nigerian story that cuts across borders. That’s the idea. To sign a truly Nigerian story that address-es an array of contemporary issues. But generally, Iconsider this era a new one for Nollywood and it canonly get better from here.

The Meeting tells the story of a corporate executive

,

,

I once told myself,that I want to win anaward at AMAA for afilm I worked for. And“Shattered” helpedme to realise thatdream

•RitaDominic

Vanguard, SARTURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 29

who flies to Abuja to make an impor-tant 9:30am meeting with the Honor-able Minister of Land and Resourc-es. He is scheduled to return withthe afternoon flight same day to hisoffice. But the unexpected happened,when he is faced with challengesfrom the Minister’s secretary( RitaDominic) and he is forced to remainin Abuja on the insistence of his boss(Jide Kosoko) so as to ensure theMinister signs all necessary docu-ments that would save hiscompany.While in Abuja, he meetsup with a young lady who introduceshim to the city, and for the first timeafter his wife’s death, he begins tofall in love again.

Cost of producing The Meeting

I can’t put a figure to it because weare still spending. But it is certainlya big budget film because we are stillspending on the film and I must say

that it has beenvery challengingraising funds forthis film. Most in-vestors don’t wantto fund movies be-cause some of themhave done that be-fore and they gottheir fingers burnt.We are still facedwith the problem ofaccessing the in-tervention fund ofthe Federal Gov-ernment. It is stilldifficult becausethe banks still in-sist that we mustcome with heavycollaterals. But Ihear some peoplehave been able toaccess it.

Whether it is therole for me

I will say this andmore includingShattered and par-ticularly “Shat-tered” whichearned me theAMAA awards forbest actress in aleading role. Iplayed lead in“Shattered” and soI was everywhereand so it demand-ed that I would bein every scene. Ididn’t play thelead in “The Meet-ing” but it is cer-tainly differentfrom all the roles Ihave played. Ihave never playeda cantankerous 50-year-old or any rolelike that. But all theroles I have playedhave been differentand unique in theirown ways, a rea-son I said this andmany more, likeStreet of Calabarand 76 by Izu

Ojukwu. All the characters Ihave played recently are veryunique and challenging. And Iwant to keep pushing myself. Iwant to go way beyond the or-dinary as far as role interpreta-tion is concerned.

Were you bothered steppingdown to play a sub-lead rolein your movie

No, I was not and I don’teven care what role it is.

The story is what is importantto me. I mean my firstnomination at the AMAAawards was as best supportingactress. I didn’t say to myself‘why will they nominate me fora supporting role?’ No. So, it ismore about the story andwhether I fit into the role. I don’tlike to force myself into a role Idon’t fit into and that is what

I woke up this morning not knowing how I felt aboutthis day. Usually my birthday comes with a lot of

anticipation and excitement, but for once in a very longtime I either didn’t want the day to come, or I wantedit to come and go quickly.

Something very uncharacteristic of me; and I beganto wonder why? For years on my birthday I would befrustrated at the mere idea of not doing a party orgetting a present. In fact many of my friends havecalled me a birthday freak, because the whole monthof October is my birthday!! I would send list of thingsI expected to get out to people (yes I have a list I sendout to people every year,just to ensure they knewexactly what I wanted) don’t worry, very few peopleactually got me any of the things on my list, it hadbecome a little joke between my friends. But that’s howobsessed I am with birthdays.

And so as the day approached this year, I kept gettingcalled about my not so famous ‘wish list’ and wherethe party would be. But I merely brushed them aside,much to their surprise and I’m sure they began toquestion if everything was alright with me.Truth is I was frustrated, not at the idea of growing upor getting old, no far from that, but at the idea of notfinishing things I expected to have done by this age,feeling like I was running out of time to achieve theseset of goals and wanting more time to do them beforethis day.

And in my eagerness to complete these things, forgotthe true meaning of a birthday! Birthdays are not abouthow many presents you receive or parties you have, itmarks another milestone in your life. A statement thatstates : I made it, I am here, I’m alive!!!So often we measure the quality of life by the thingswe have, but the quality of life goes beyond that; it’sabout the life we have lived so far, how fulfilled we areand how if it’s our last day on earth we can go knowingwe enjoyed it to the fullest.

I look around and I’m disappointed at what I nearlymissed by focusing on the wrong things.The unconditional love I have from my family whonever fail to tell and show me just how important Iam.My friends who make me laugh and share in mylittle mischief and adventures.

Celebrity Notebookwe try to do in our company;tocast right, cast properly and tomaintain best international stan-dards and practice

Why I ventured intoproduction

It does pay to act even thoughit can be better. However, mydecision to venture intoproduction has a lot to do withmy passion for the arts. I lovethe arts so much. I have alwayswanted to partake in the variousfields of film making. I havedone acting, now I amcombining it with production.Who knows I might try directingin the future. So, first andforemost, it is my own way ofgiving back to the industry byencouraging up and comingtalents as well. We need to givethem the opportunity andchance to shine and that isexactly what I have done in TheMeeting.

My driving force inthe industry

I will give all the glory to God,and then the support of myfamily, my fans and mymanagement. Also, I never sayto myself that I knoweverything. The day you stoplearning is the day you beginto lose it. There is no end tolearning. So, we need to keeplearning everyday and witheach new work. Even when youhave played it before, you canalways find ways to play itdifferently.

The wedding bellVery soon and you will be

duly invited when it is time.And if you have not heardanything about my private life,it is because I have beenguarding that aspect jealously.As an actress, I already live mylife for the public. So, the little Ican guard, I guard jealouslyand try to keep it private.

Between Ini Edo and IThere was no fight between

Ini and myself. In fact, Ini is likea younger sister and colleagueto me. I have always advisedher in the past and we have along standing relationship. Idon’t think, there is anythinggoing on between us.

Why I was missed on screenafter starring in White Waters

Starring in “White Waters wasan eye-opener to the kind ofroles I could play in movies. Itwas also, an indication that mycareer need to go to certainplaces. After starring in thatmovie, went into hibernationwhere I asked myself a lot ofquestions bothering on the di-rection I want to take my ca-reer to. For some time, my fansmissed me on screen. I wasbusy then working on myproject ‘’The Street of Calabar’’‘’ Shattered” and two othermovies. These were theprojects I was focusing on.

•Lydia

Lydia Forson turned 28, last Wednesday.Check out the letter she posted on herfacebook wall, announcing her birthdayto the world...

•RitaDominic

CMYK

30 — Vanguard, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012

Five plaFive plaFive plaFive plaFive playyyyyererererers ts ts ts ts to wo wo wo wo watcatcatcatcatch in this weekh in this weekh in this weekh in this weekh in this weekEnglish Premier League fEnglish Premier League fEnglish Premier League fEnglish Premier League fEnglish Premier League fixturesixturesixturesixturesixtures

T E N N I ST E N N I ST E N N I ST E N N I ST E N N I S

The timetable for RafaelNadal’s return to competitive

tennis remains fluid. He’s stillworking his way back fromlingering knee issues. With thatbeing said, while his extendedabsence is worrisome, tennis fansshould expect him to return to anelite level when he does comeback.

Nadal recently said that his maingoal right now is being ready fornext season’s first major, the Aus-tralian Open, in January. He didn’ttake himself out of considerationfor the Davis Cup final nextmonth, but wasn’t confident abouthis chances.

"About the Davis Cup final, ofcourse I would love to take partin it, but first I have to see if I willbe ready technically and physi-cally.

"We would have to ask whether Iam the right choice to compete in aSpanish team that has been longpreparing for this important tie

Rafael Nadal: Tennis Star Will Remain Top ContenderUpon Return considering also the

months I have spentwithout playing. Butthat’s a decision that it’snot mine."

He has already with-drawn himself from theBNP Paribas Mastersand the Barclays ATPWorld Tour Finals, ac-cording to media re-ports.

Nadal shouldn’t rushback. He’s alreadymissed several keyevents, including the2012 London Olym-pics, due to the injury.There’s no reason to riska setback now just toget back on the court,even though he wouldlove to help Spain winthe title.

Getting back to full strength, or asclose as humanly possible after theyears of relentless pounding his legshave taken, should be the only fo-cus right now. Not any specific

tournament or date.As long as the 26-year-old

superstar keeps the long-term perspective in mind, heshould have no trouble es-tablishing himself as one ofthe top players in the world.

Wayne Rooney(ManchesterUnited vs. StokeCity)

IN the past threeweeks, Wayne Rooneyhas

beenabsolutely

tremendous. Against CFR Cluj in

the Champions League,the Englishman was puton the wing and assistedtwice. When United facedNewcastle United a fewdays later, Rooney playedright behind Van Persieand once again set up twogoals.

And, in England’s 5-0win at home to SanMarino, the 26-year-oldscored a brace. Rooney isin top form and hasshowed how strong he canbe in midfield. Manchester United will behuge favourites to winagainst Stoke City and you

would expect WayneRooney to be at his best.

Jose Fonte (WestHam United vs.Southampton)

Southampton currentlyhave the worst defense inthe English Premier League,conceding 20 goals in justseven matches. They maynot be in the relegation zoneanymore but will certainlyneed to improve over thecourse of the season.

Jose Fonte has played inevery Southampton leaguematch so far this season andhas been guilty of poordefending on a fewoccasions.

Against Fulham in theSaints’ most recent match,Fonte scored two goals forhis club, including a 90th-minute equalizer.

The Portuguese had a verystrong game on both offenseand defense and will wantto do the same against WestHam United today.

Adel Taarabt (QPRvs. Everton)

In his three Premier Leagueappearances this campaign, AdelTaarabt has already equalled his2011/2012 goal tally.

The Moroccan midfielder had atough first season in the PremierLeague last year but played wellnear the end of the campaign.

After being out of the startinglineup for much of this season,Taarabt has returned to QPR’smidfield with back-to-back goals.

Mark Hughes’ side are bottom ofthe league but have looked morethreatening with Taarabt back inthe squad and will be hoping for agood result against Everton.

Aaron Lennon(Tottenham Hotspur vs.Chelsea)

Aaron Lennon’s inconsistencyprevents him from being labelledas one of Europe’s top wingers.

The English player can besuperb one game and poor thenext.

The English Premier League resumes this weekend following the international break. In the past10 or so days, fans have seen some outstanding World Cup Qualifying matches from around theworld, but now we return to the domestic fixtures.

In the Premier League, there are some great games to watch this weekend. Leaders Chelsea faceTottenham Hotspur in what should be a pulsating tie, while sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion hostManchester City.

This is a list of five players to watch in the Premier League this weekend.

•Wayne Rooney

•Olivier Giroud

•Jose Fonte

• Adel Taarabt

• Aaron lennon

Vanguard, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 31

ekekekekekend’send’send’send’send’s

GOLFGOLFGOLFGOLFGOLF

Off The Pitch

January transfer targets for Tottenham

Tiger Woods at CIMB Classic 2012:

Day 1 Highlights, Analysis and More

On Day 1 at the CIMB Classic, TigerWoods beat the heat, owned the back

nine and currently trails the leader, TroyMatteson, by three strokes.

Not a bad way to open the tournament.Woods absolutely destroyed the final nine

holes with five birdies, leaving him in a solidposition at five-under. He would birdieseven holes in total.

Woods is currently tied for seventh withfive other players. Here are your first-roundhighlights.

Surely, Woods will be pleased with his startto the tournament. Yet you can’t help won-dering if he’ll also ask himself “What if?”after a few holes on Thursday.

On eight and nine, he missed short birdieputts you know he would love to have back.On 17, he just missed an eagle attempt. Sit-ting at even-par on the turn surely wasn’twhat Woods wanted either.

But let’s give credit where credit is due—he fought back and played some fantasticgolf down the stretch. And he did so in swel-tering conditions.

Agent hints thatKevin Strootmanwill move insummer

The agent of KevinStrootman, ChielDekker, has hinted thatthe Dutch midfieldercould transfer to a newclub next summer .

Strootman, 22, hasbeen linked withManchester United andAC Milan. Both willhave to wait until theoffseason for anypotential move,according to Dekker.

“My client could leave in January?Absolutely not. There’s nothing inthat,” he said. “We are only in October- the only thing I can say is to call meback in May.”

Arjen Robben consideredretiring

Bayern Munich and Netherlandsmidfielder Arjen Robben told report-ers on Tuesday that he had recentlyconsidered retirement due to repeat-ed injuries.

Robben, 28, later walked back hiscomments. Speaking to reporters, hesaid: “Out of frustration, because ittakes so long, I had those thoughts.But no worries, I will be back soon.Retirement? Definitely now!”

Juventus ahead in chase forFernando Llorente?

Juventus will reportedly beat Arsenalto the signing of Spain internationalforward Fernando Llorente. The Italianclub will then sign winger TheoWalcott away from Arsenal.

Juve have reportedly offeredLlorente, 27, a provisional contractworth £145,000 per week. Walcott, 23,is in the final year of his contract andhas yet to sign an extension withArsenal.

Endings and beginnings are the hot topics in this edition ofOff the Pitch.

Arjen Robben and Landon Donovan made waves early thisweek with some vague talk about the future. Meanwhile,midfielders Kevin Strootman and Joao Moutinho could be onthe verge of new horizons.

Also, we have all of those stories, along with updates onFernando Llorente, Theo Walcott and Rio Ferdinand .

• Arjen Robben • Kevin_Strootman

Lennon has been fairlygood so far this seasonbut really proved howgood he was inTottenham’s game againstAston Villa. The wingerwas clearly man of thematch, with greatattacking play and awonderful goal. AaronLennon continued hisgood form in World CupQualifying with twoassists against SanMarino at Wembley.

Olivier Giroud(Norwich City vs.Arsenal)

Olivier Giroud isbeginning to justifyhis £12 million transferfee. The Frenchmanmoved from Montpellierto Arsenal over thesummer but hasn’t lookedlike the striker whoscored 21 Ligue 1 goalslast season.

Against West HamUnited, Giroud scored hisfirst league goal for hisnew club and set upArsenal’s late winninggoal.

He then came off thebench in the 86th minutefor France against Spainand scored theequalizing goal.

Arsenal fans will hopethat Giroud’s reversal inform is permanent.

Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a decent start to the season,thanks in no small part to their summer signings.

To varying degrees, Jan Vertonghen, Clint Dempsey, MoussaDembele, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Hugo Lloris have already madecontributions for their new club.

But no side with ambition can ever take their eye completelyoff other players they believe will help bolster the squad orimprove the first team.

Here are four players Spurs could be looking to sign comethe January transfer window to help their bid for a spot in nextseason’s Champions League.

Lewis HoltbyThere will be a lot more attention on Holtby after he played

his part in Schalke’s 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates onWednesday.

The midfielder, who was born and raised in Germany but ishalf English, has had an impressive season for theGelsenkirchen club, whose only defeat so far this season wasagainst Bayern Munich.

The 22-year-old, who captains Germany’s Under-21 side, isout of contract at the end of the season, meaning Spurs couldpush through a mid-season move if Schalke do not offer him anew deal.

Joao MoutinhoMoutinho could well have been a Tottenham player already

were it not for Spurs’ late bid for the Portugal international ondeadline day falling through.

Villas-Boas’ top target could yet leave Porto in January, butSpurs now face some serious competition for his signature.

Super-rich clubs Paris-Saint Germain and Zenit St Petersburgare now both interested in the midfielder, according to reportsand those clubs both operate on a financial level with whichSpurs have no chance of competing • Fernando

• Lewis Holtby• Joao Moutinho

32—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27, 2012

Are you pushing himaway by chasing him?

My erections are less frequent

Are you chasing after aman and don’t evenknow it? When you

chase a man, you not onlytend to unwittingly push himaway, but in the end, you don’tgive him the chance to showyou how HE really feels aboutYOU.

It is frustrating to sit backand let a man drift away. Wewant a man to know we’re in-terested in him. We want tomake it easy for him to ask usout again. We want to seem en-thusiastic and easygoing.

We know we’re not sup-posed to be chasing after him,and yet we’re doing it in waysthat we’re not even aware of.

We think being “friendly” isthe same as showing interestin a man. We are taught tothink that if we act “casual” aman won’t notice that we’re ac-tually chasing him.

But, the truth is, we are. Andwhen we do things that seemlike we’re “chasing” to a man,it’s a turn off for him. He feelssmothered and feels an ag-gressive “vibe” from you thatdoes nothing to inspire him towant to get closer.

Chasing a man includes:

* Calling him before he callsyou. This includes calling himbecause you heard or readabout something interesting,or because you knew there wasa great band playing some-where, or someone told youabout some great event thatyou want to invite him to or -anything at all. It also includescalling to ask why he hasn’tcalled you.

*Initiating contact. E-mail-ing him, texting him,Facebooking him, sending hima cute card, dropping by hishouse, or in any way attempt-ing to initiate some kind of con-tact.

• Making suggestions orplans.

Inviting him to come and joinyou, or in any way acting likethe social director of the rela-tionship.

•Asking him how he feels. This includes, especially,

asking him how he feels about“you” or the “relationship.”These are things we do almostwithout even thinking aboutit. These are things that feelnatural to us, and we excusethem by thinking we’re justbeing “friendly.” And at theheart of this is one fear: Feel-

I can still get hard, but the erec-tions don’t come as easily (or as fre-quently) as they used to. I’m only30 , should I be worried?

Ans: Most men experience a grad-ual diminishing of erectile quality asthey get older; it’s a normal part oflife. At 30, though, you shouldn’tnecessarily be experiencing theseissues, and I wonder if there’s someaspect of your lifestyle that may cor-relate to the change. Maybe you’re

not exercising enough? Or you’ve puton wieght? Taking certain medicationsor masturbating too much are also po-tential causes.

Talk to your doctor to get to the bot-tom of what’s going on, and if this isjust your natural pattern, ask him orher about taking a stimulant like Via-gra. Don’t worry, taking Viagra at 30is totally fine if you have a genuineneed for it.

He has a small penisMy husband has a small penis. The

sex is good, and he’s very secure withhimself, but I’m afraid to try certainpositions. Any suggestions?

Ans: Since he’s more comfortablewith the way things are going thanyou are, why don’t you relax and usea sexy tone of voice to suggest one ofthe things you’ve dreamed of trying?Only suggest one new thing at a timeduring a sex session, or else he mayget concerned that you’ve been un-happy with things.

For example, let’s say you’ve been

Ask the Sexpert

In classical Greek myths, theSirens are creatures - halfwoman, half animal who playand sing on beautiful, flower-filled islands. The beauty oftheir voices is mesmerizing toanyone who hears. Men areso enraptured by the Siren’ssong that they jump off theirboats, swim for the island, lettheir boats crash on the rocks,and give up everything to bewith them.

What we can learn in thesestories is that ALL women nat-urally have this power. Allwomen have a Siren Song. Allwomen have the power to hyp-notically attract a man. You areNOT the exception. Being aSiren is your birthright as awoman!

The most powerful asset youneed to connect with a man isalready inside you. All youneed to do is understand thepower you have, believe in it,and know how to use it.

The most powerful asset youneed to connect with a man isalready inside you. All youneed to do is understand thepower you have, believe in it,and know how to use it.

There is a real way to attractmen like a magnet - even theman you’re with right now whoseems so disinterested andcold - WITHOUT worryingabout all the things we wom-en have been TAUGHT toworry about, and using thestrengths and qualities youALREADY HAVE.

Three things that actuallyPREVENT him from falling inlove

Most women continuouslytry all the wrong ways to getlove, and end up pushing menaway instead.

These roads only lead you toa friend, or a “player” or a manjust “passing through” on hisway to the real love of his life.

* The Logical Road (MIND)You shine during a discus-

sion, and you have a lot incommon. You’ll impress a manand make him enjoy yourcompany, but you may feel dis-appointed to learn that he feelsno CHEMISTRY.

That’s because when you tryto connect with a man throughhis mind, he doesn’t FEEL athing! Oh, he may “enjoy be-ing with you,” but he nevergets TOUCHED by you in adeep, connected, emotionalsense.

ing like we’re going to lose himby not letting him know we’reinterested in him.

AND, NOTHING COULDBE FURTHER FROM THETRUTH.

Everything on this list is thesame as putting a sign on yourchest that says “Needy.” Itsmacks of desperation. And,it’s just plain not attractive tohim.

He may LIKE it. He may beflattered. He may have no oneelse around and so he’ll dateyou. He may even come to likeyou very much. You may evenend up in a relationship withhim. But, you will never knowhow he really feels about you.

So, if you can’t do those

things , what do you do?You can do the one thing that

is completely different fromwhat most other women do-you get a man’s full attentionand interest. You’ll discoverwhat that one thing is, and howthat subtle energy shift canmake a tremendous differencein how a man starts to pursueyou for a change.

There’s a new way of BEINGwith a man that makes himwant to be around you all thetime, that makes him want tocaress you, pull you close andtell you he loves you. And thebest part is it requires less ofthe kind of things that scream“chasing” and “neediness” tohim and instead feel attractiveand feminine.

Your feminine power willmake you irresistible

Have you ever wonderedwhat it would be like to haveyour man (or any man you de-sire) throw himself at your feetin total devotion, willing to riskEVERYTHING just to be withyou?

It may seem like a fantasy,yet - there are women all overthe world who are experienc-ing this right now.

You probably know a womanjust like this. She’s not partic-ularly beautiful. She may noteven be the smartest, most suc-cessful woman you know. Orthe most generous or kind orfunny. Certainly, she doesn’thave as much “going for her”as you do!

But somehow she just knowshow to “hook” men in a waythat seems almost effortless.She always has great men trail-ing after her. She seems toknow how to inspire life-longdevotion in a man - from thefirst meeting all the waythrough years and years ofmarriage.

What secret does a womanlike this have that makes herso irresistible to men?

If you’ve ever devoted yourheart, time, and energy to aman who wouldn’t commit,only to watch him marry awoman like this, the feeling isterrible.

Why do some women havemen fighting to be with them,while it’s such a struggle forothers?

These women are ModernSirens. Just like the myth theyare named for, these womenknow how to inspire a man tosacrifice everything for them,including their “freedom” to bewith any other woman.

dreaming of leaning against the bed-room wall with him behind you. Youneed to say something like, “I’ve gotthis amazing fantasy where we’rereally horny and sneak to the back ofa restaurant, lean against a wall, andhave rampant sex!” How can he re-sist if you suggest it like that, consid-ering that he’s pretty confident? It’ssimply timing and the way you say itthat will work best. As for the physi-cal aspect, the rest will fall into place.


Lindy’s Gems in theRough is non governmental organization

birth to build leaders using play,a rare platform to stimulate theyoung minds of children. Aswell as encourage bonding, in-teraction and healthy risk. Es-tablished by Eme Aderinoku in2009, the foundation seeks tobridge the gap between lessprivileged and privileged chil-dren using play as a mediumto create a memorable experi-ence.

She has a diploma in market-ing, BSC in Sociology and MBAin Banking and Finance allacquired from the University ofLagos.

After investing 10 years of hercareer in the banking sector, sheresigned and went into eventplanning. Since inception, shehas continually unleashed herorganizing and coordinatingproficiency; a trade she doeswith impeccable finesse.

What is the event all about?The foundation was estab-

lished to address the social de-velopment needs of children inorphanages making use of funas a platform to get both chil-dren from orphanages and priv-ileged children in the same en-vironment with no bias to sta-tus. Recognizing the impor-tance of play in the healthy de-velopment of every child, a factwell recognized by the UnitedNations Commission for Hu-man Rights as the right of ev-ery child.

Our vision is to build self mo-tivated, balanced and confidentchildren across Nigeria and Af-rica as a whole using fun as atool; as well as bridging the gapbetween the privileged and theless privileged.“Gems in the Rough” are chil-dren in various homes - orphan-ages, institutions etc –preciousstones of inestimable value sur-rounded by rare conditions whoordinarily would not have ac-cess to fun, which is why we areintroducing play as a balanceinto the lives of these gems. Ourprogrammes are designed onthe platform of fun and mentor-ship, with the aim of givingthese children cherished child-hood memories the event isbilled to hold every year.

Why use play as a platformto make a difference in thelives of children?

All we want to do is make adifference in the lives of chil-dren, so we decided to go theplay route, because play is im-

Play helps in cognitive developmentPlay helps in cognitive developmentPlay helps in cognitive developmentPlay helps in cognitive developmentPlay helps in cognitive developmentof cof cof cof cof children hildren hildren hildren hildren ...Aderinoku

portant to every child’s mentaland cognitive skills develop-ment. Playing is normal; it iswhat every child does readily.Every child needs this balance.World Health Organizationsays play is a right of everychild. Bringing children from“privileged homes” to mix withchildren from “less privilegedbackground”, play together,appreciate one another, chal-lenge themselves, and embarkon adventurous task. This helpsdevelop innate skills that areonly discovered when they en-gage in playful activities. Overtime, we realize that there arecertain innate skills childrenhave that they don’t discoveruntil they engage in playfulactivities.

Another tool we also use is

friends with other children, theytook part in the fashion parade,walked on the runway, went toTinapa and the Governor’s of-fice.

What is the criterion for se-lecting the orphanages andschools that participate?

We are open to schools andorphanages that want to partic-ipate. We work with orphanag-es that people don’t know aboutso as to bring them to the limelight to enable people who wantto help have access to them. Wewrite to schools, if they acceptour invitation, they are allowedto participate.

In the past three years what

has been the challenges of or-ganizing this event?

Sponsorship has been a ma-jor problem, most people andcorporate organizations wouldrather be part of a project thatwill get them more visibility.Getting people to support anevent that emphasis play is per-ceived as alien. We are still hop-ing that people will get to knowabout the foundation and keyinto its vision and be life part-ners. But we have also beenable to get support from credi-ble organizations that are sup-porting us with products. To alarge extent, we are still the ma-jor sponsor of the event and we

will continue to because it issomething we believe in.

What really inspired youinto this?

From inception, the event hasbeen inspired by the need togive back to the society and chil-dren I particular. As an entre-preneur who specializes inevent planning and manage-ment, after four years of doingbusiness, I chose this mediumto put smiles in the faces of chil-dren.

Did you work after school?Yes, I have about 10 years ex-

perience in banking. So why quit a prospective

banking career that was cer-tain?

I wonder if that was certain,you know how we get into paidemployment because that iswhat is available. I have alwaysknown that if I had to choosebetween work and family Iwould always choose family.So, after I got married, I decid-ed to go into entrepreneurship,because with the kind of bank-ing that I was involved in, it wasobvious I would have to rob ei-ther my career or family life.

I wouldn’t have been an ex-cellent banker without sacrific-

When you teach a child thatgiving is a way of life, the childgrows up knowing that I mustalways think of the next personand have his interest at heart,it becomes natural to him or her.It becomes offensive to be selfcentered.

What are the factors limit-ing the average Nigerian child?

That power to think is what islimiting the Nigerian child. Thefact that I have just a pair of shirtand trousers does not stop mefrom thinking of becoming thepresident. The power of themind is powerful that you don’tsee obstacles rather you providesolution. The average Nigeriachild has a mentality of limita-tion. Which is why we oftenhear words like “I don’t quali-fy”, “I didn’t go to a universi-ty”, “I don’t know people”, and“I don’t have connection”. Whohas the power to qualify you?You are the only one that canlimit yourself.

When children have self con-fidence and a sense of worth,they don’t limit themselves be-cause of the circumstance theyfind themselves. They think outof that environment. But whenthey have low self esteem, allthey see is limitation.

Tell us about this year’s event

themed telematch?As the name suggest, the

theme for this year’s event isadopted from certain features ofpopular German TV broadcastin the 70s, where competitingcontestant would dress in elab-orate costume. In creating abalance, we are bringing fourschools and four orphanages.The schools participating are:Corona, Victoria Island/Lekki,Imperia Gate School and Es-taport Schools. While the or-phanages are: Sought afterwomen and children founda-tion, Compassionate orphanageand Golden crest family centre.

How successful has this event

been over the years?Very successful, from the feed-

backs we have received from theorphanages and schools thatparticipated in our past event.A major thing we have beenable to achieve is eradication ofcomplex. The children are nowmore confident and bolder. Lastyear, we had a talent competi-tion and Citadel of grace or-phanage emerged the winner.We took 25 children includingthe winners of the talent com-petition to the Calabar carnivalfor six days. It was an emotion-al and a fun experience for thechildren. Apart from making

mentorship, because we believein the power of words. Usually,we bring people from all worksof life to speak and encouragethe children to think out of thebox. The message is not just tothe less privileged children, itis also to tell the privileged chil-dren learn to share and reachout, that way, they know theycan help make a difference.

Why is your focus more onchildren?

Our focus on children is borneout of the fact that most of theleadership problem in thiscountry is a foundation issue.If you take a look at our leaderstoday, not all of them are from awealthy or poor background; itis a mix of both. But there is afundamental divide, which isthe orientation each one of thembrings to the table. An averageAmerica child is very patrioticbecause he has been groomedto think and defend his coun-try. If we believe that childrenare the future, we need to re-orientate their mind set so wecan have better leaders.

,

,The power of themind is powerfulthat you don’t seeobstacles rather youprovide solution.The average Nigeriachild has a mentalityof limitation

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

Eme Aderinoku ...Our vision is to build self motivated, bal-anced and confident children across Nigeria


CMYK

Fruit of the day

Hand wash campaign,a must for every homeBY EBUN SESSOU

As parts of its efforts to commemorate this year’s Global Hand Washing Day, Reckitt Benckiser, makers of Dettol

soap has embarked on a sensitisation campaign , "Dettol 21Days of Healthy Hands Habit" to reduce the number of deathsin children.

Speaking at the media conference to unveil the campaign inLagos, Ashok Bhasin, Managing Director, Central Africa Re-gion, said the 21 days' target is predicated on the research find-ing on human behaviour and attitudinal change to the effectthat it takes a period of 21 days of consistently doing a particu-lar thing to make it a habit.

"Interestingly, the main focus of the hand washing campaignis to educate the children, who are the 'agents of change' tocultivate the habit of hand washing.Dettol is a brand known forprotecting millions of families from germs globally."

He added that, with its passion and commitment to healthand hygiene, the 21 Days to a 'Healthy Hands' Habit with Dettolwill further go a long way in improving the hand hygienesituation of millions of households in Nigeria and significantly

By KATHERINE USEH

Abiola David Aina popularly known as flowsick

is a young talented and oneof the most-sought-after risingstar in the Nigerian music in-dustry at the moment with hisnew single, “Low Key”. He isour guest in this edition ofCelebrity Tummy Talk as hespeaks on healthy living andwhat keeps him fit.

What was food to youwhile growing up?

Well, food is everything. Ieat a lot. As a child, mymother taught me how to eathealthy and that is why Idon’t have food disorder.

As an adult, what haschanged in your eatinghabit?

I stopped eating some foodincluding yam, plantain, andfried eggs. Now I eat a lot ofprotein, meat, pasta and localfood such as amala.

When it comes to food,what can you say?

Food is my best friend. I can-

TODAY’S MENU

not do without eating for aday. I eat at least six times ina day, but in moderation andI make sure it has lots of pro-tein in it.

Do you exercise at all?I hardly exercise. But when

I was in higher school, I wasinvolved in weight lifting andsprint. And if I exercise at all,

it will be jogging and running.

What kind of fruits anddrinks do you take?

For fruits, I like grapes, ap-ples and pears. For drinks, Ilike fruit juice including or-ange and apple juice as longas they don’t have so muchsugar content. Basically, I en-

joy taking natural fruitjuice.

How would you de-scribe healthy living?

I eat moderately anddon’t eat late at night. I donot sleep immediately af-ter food. I eat a lot of vege-tables, greens, protein andfruits.

Grape JuiceFact: Research has shown that grapes

juice can help protect cardiovascularhealth. It helps control bad cholesteroland contributes to healthy blood pres-sure. It may help protect memory andbrain health and may be protectiveof long-term health

A new study published in the Jour-nal of Medicinal Food found that nat-ural compounds in Concord grapejuice may help protect healthy hu-man breast cells from DNA damage.

ToothacheBacteria in the mouth is caused by the

breakdown of sugar into acids which is com-bined with the calcium in the enamel tocause decay or erosion, pains.

Grind garlic and add salt and use cottonwool and apply on the affected tooth, it willtake the pain away and give complete cure.A clove should also be chewed.

Couple’s cor-ner: Ignitingthe love again

District Gov-ernor, RotaryInternationalDistrict 9110Nigeria, Dr.Kamoru AdisaOmotosho andhis wife eatingduring a visitto the Rotaryclub of FestacMetropolitan

help to reduce deatharising from preventa-ble diseases.

His words: "This cam-paign is targeted at en-suring every child is safefrom unwanted diseasesincluding diarrhea, mal-nutrition and malaria.

"In Nigeria 200, 000children under the ageof five die every yeardue to Diarrhoea. 88 percent of diarrhea deathscould be attributed tounsafe water, poorsanitation and hygiene".

YOUR FOOD& YOUR HEALTH

TIT BITS

TOMATO & BEEFSPAGHETTIRecipesTwo tablespoons olive oil, halfcup minced onion, One clovegarlic, minced half cupminced celery, Twotablespoons butter ,Onepound lean ground beef,Half teaspoon white sugar,One teaspoon salt,Half teaspoon dried mint sixounces fresh choppedmushrooms, one small cantomato pasteTwo small bowls beef broth (30cl), Two teaspoons dried basilOne packet Power PastaSpaghetti (500 gm),Oneteaspoon olive oilThree tablespoons salt, Onetablespoon chopped freshparsley, for garnishone quarter cup grated cheese

PreparationsIn a large pan, warm olive oilover low heat; saute onion,garlic and celery until onionis transparent. Put butterwhile stirring and increaseheat to medium. Brown thebeef until no longer pink. Mixin sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, mintand mushrooms. Lower theheat and stir for about threeminutes.

In a large bowl, combinetomato paste and broth. Pourthis liquid and basil to thepan. Simmer over very lowheat for about two hours,stirring occasionally.

Bring a large pot of water toa vigorous boil with threetablespoons salt and 1teaspoon olive oil. Slip PowerPasta Spaghetti into waterholding on to ends untilstrands soften a bit. Cook overhigh heat for about 10minutes. When properlycooked, raw taste should begone but still have a firmtexture.

When ready to serve,combine pasta with meatsauce; serve on a warmedplatter or bowl topped withparsley and cheese.

Do you know ? :Thomas Jefferson was creditedfor bringing the first macaronimachine to America in 1789

Cross section of pupils washingtheir hands during sensitisationcampaign of healthy hand

Food is my soulmate— Flowsick

SATURDAY, Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012—35

CMYK

From left: Mrs. Oke Aduloju,Daughter, Mr. Kivie Kagho Omamadia withhis wife Victoria cutting the Cake, Miss. Kome Kagho Omamadia, Daughter,Miss. Arubasa Kagho Omamadia, Daughter and Grand Children look on.

from left: Ojugo Stella, Mrs. Nellie Tiemo, Mrs.Ese Titiloye and Mrs. Fadekemi Olasewere

from left: Pastors Johnson &Ese Omomadia andPastor Folashade,

from left: Mrs. Nnenna Ojiako and Ekene Ojiako

from left: Mr. Pessu Temisanren, Rita Amuka andYeye Rewane

from right: Mr. and Mrs. Ochuko Okugbemi andDame Nancy Oghenekaro,

Mr. and Mrs. Austine Tadaferua

From Left, Prince Bola Ajibola; Proprietor,Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, GovernorMuhammed Kwankwaso of Kano State, Awardee,and Alhaji Abdulahi Garuba; Deputy Governor ofKastina

L-R: Alhaja Salimot Badru, former Dep. Gov. of OgunState and Alhaja A. O. Ajibola, wife of the proprietor

Cross section of traditional rulers at the Ceremony

From the left; Alhaji Adamu, Alhaji Yahaya Maikitiand Alhaji Dashiru Suleh

Hat-trick of celebration for the Omamadias

Mr. Kivie Kagho-O m a m a d i a ,who retired as

the Assistant GeneralManager at the LegalDepartment of UnionBank of Nigeria and hislovely wife, Victoriarecently hosted familyand friends to a lavishreception to celebrate atreble of landmarks intheir lives.And that is, Mr. Kivie’s60th birthday, his wife,Victoria’s 55th birthdayand 34th year of theirmarriage. It was a dayof merriment, nostalgiaand a big family reunionfor the Kagho-Omamadia clan. Photosby Joe Akintola, PhotoEditor and BunmiAzeez

Roll of honours at Crescent

University’s convocation

Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun state, heldits fourth convocation ceremony and the daywas filled with moments of honours as some

eminent Nigerians bagged some honourary degreesalongside the school’s graduands who bagged theirfirst degrees. Governor Muhammed Kwankwaso ofKano State was honoured with Doctor of Science PublicAdministration Honouris Causa while his Katsinastate counterpart bagged his, in Political Science andInternational Relation. Photos by Wumi Akinola

36 — VANGUARD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012

I was too ambitious asa child — Dr. Nwosu

Dr John Chukwu Nwosu, Ezekwesiri Eze 1 isthe royal father of the Igbo community inMushin area of Lagos. He has many titlesincluding the Mayor of Ladipo and

Ohamadike of Utuh, Dike di Oranma ofIgboland. He spoke with EBUN SESSOU on hisaspiration in life and how he attained theposition he is occupying presently. According

to him, life is a challenge and everyonemust aspire to impact positively on

the lives of others. Enjoy it

Aspirationsin life?

Oneo f

them is to bea goodleader. I havebeen a leaderfrom mychildhood andI am stillpraying toexceed theposition that Ihold presently.

How has life treated you?Life has been good to me.

I’ve crossed many rivers andI have gone through manyordeals. But, I make sure thatI give my best to the peoplearound me. I also ensure thatI am at the right place at theright time. My leadership rolein ensuring orderliness inLadipo market earned meAsiwaju Ndigbo of Mushin-land and in 2007 by the Olu ofMushin. I also contested forchairmanship position inMushin local government butI wasn’t given the opportunity.

...life as a childI was a village boy. I grew

up andschooled in the

village. I came toLagos in 1986.Before then, I wasa village boy,handling thingsmy own way. Asa young boy, Iwas doing somemanual jobs tosurvive andmake money.Although, myparents werepaying my schoolfees , I neededmore money tokeep soul andbody together. Iwas living like abig boy. I neverrelied on anyone.I struggled on myown to surviveand that is thespirit that hasbeen guidingme until thisday.

Can you tellus some of themanual jobsyou did?

I did whatwas calledi k e k e t o r i e

(struggle before you eat). Iworked as a bricklayer. Mycousin and I used to offload atrailer of cement within anight. In the morning, we arealready digging foundation ofa building. We did all kindsof work to survive.

What was going throughyour mind when you weredoing menial jobs?

I was too ambitious to get tothe peak of my life. Each timeI see people driving their cars,

,

I like money so much and Ithought it wise to come andstart a business in Lagos

I was optimistic that “oneday, I will drive my own car”.Whenever I was working forpeople, I was optimistic thatone day, people would workfor me. I used to advisepeople on why it is necessaryto fend for themselves.

What were thechallenges you passedthrough in your schooldays?

It wasn’t an easy task. Thechallenges of my life startedin the boarding school. Someboys were coming up with theissue of seniority, so muchthat I couldn’t manage thesituation. So, I quit theboarding house and I movedto Onitsha where I completedmy education. Life wasn’t sodifficult because I hadeverything I needed. I wasliving like a boss because Iwas a house prefect. Andwhen I put in forapprenticeship, my lifestylechanged. I was living like aboss and so, I find it difficultto cope. I spent three years asan apprentice instead of sevenyears. So, I left and went toestablish my business. Since,then, things have beenmoving well until I decided tojoin market politics.Unfortunately, things werenot as easy as expected.Everybody was struggling forpower. I played the politicsand at the end, I got thechairmanship position as wellas the Vice President positionof Ladipo market. And then, Idecided to partake in Nigerianpolitics. So, I went for localgovernment chairmanshipbut I wasn’t given the chanceand I quit.

Why did Igbos pick up

interest in learningspare-parts?

Igbos are known to beindustrious. They wouldn’t goborrowing and so, it iscompulsory for them tostruggle. They love tradingand that is their majorbusiness.

What brought you to Lagos?When I was in secondary, my

desire was to be in Lagos totrade. I like money so muchand I thought it wise to come

and start up business inLagos. In January 1987, Icame to Lagos to startbusiness. I came under theumbrella of J.C.C OkonkwoInvestment limited. Thecompany deals on Peugeotspare parts and I was there forthree years. In 1991, I startedmy business. My master gaveme two thousand naira andmy father raised fivethousand naira for me as well.I started selling motor spareparts in 1991. I was used tolavishing all the monies I getand so, I didn’t have reserve.I was used to clubbing,womanising and there was noreserve. When I started thejob, I lived in a hotel for twoand half years before Ithought of settling down. I leftthe hotel in 1994, rented anapartment and startedanother life but I enjoyed lifeto its fulness.

What instigated you togo and rent anapartment?

It was when I got to knowthe reality of life. Then, I wasliving like a boss but at astage, a girl advised me.There was a day I hostedfifteen girls in a night but twoout of them cried for me. Andone of them talked to me.After a while, I regainedconsciousness and sincethen, things have beenmoving smoothly.

Is there any connectionwith both of you till date?

We lost contacts.

What happened to yourentourages the moment youquit your reckless lifestyle?

Most of them quit. Theycouldn’t understand what wasgoing on. But some reasonableones stayed back.

Did you discuss yourreckless lifestyle with yourwife?

I told her before we gotmarried.

How did you meet a wife?I met her on the road. I saw

her and offered her a lift.Then, I had made up my mindto marry and I had a mindsetof the kind of woman I wantedas wife. I met her at Mile 2bus-stop and offered her a liftand from there, things startedpicking up.

,

CMYK

SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY VANGUARDVANGUARDVANGUARDVANGUARDVANGUARD,,,,, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, 2012 — 372012 — 372012 — 372012 — 372012 — 37

CMYK

38—Saturday Vanguard, October 27, 2012

CMYK

SASASASASATURDTURDTURDTURDTURDAAAAAY VY VY VY VY Vanguard, anguard, anguard, anguard, anguard, OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27,OCTOBER 27, 2012—39 2012—39 2012—39 2012—39 2012—39

CMYK

40—SATURDAY 40—SATURDAY 40—SATURDAY 40—SATURDAY 40—SATURDAY VANGUARDVANGUARDVANGUARDVANGUARDVANGUARD,,,,, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, OCTOBER 27, 20122012201220122012

Show Stopper, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

THE Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Coupe was the showStopper at the 14th

Abuja Motor Show asvisitors throng to

Mercedes-Benz stand tocatch a glimpse of themost powerful car at thevenue.

The 6.3 litre engineSuper Sport car roared

DETERMINED togive Nigerians

the best of after-salesservice, WeststarAssociates Limited,authorised distributor ofM e r c e d e s - B e n z ,Chrysler, Jeep andDodge has investedheavily in workshopfacilities in the FederalCapital Territory (FCT)Abuja.

Fielding questionsfrom journalists during atour of the facility onTuesday, the GeneralManager WeststarAssociates in Abuja, Mr.Armin Schmand said thefacility opened forbusiness about sixmonths ago, stressingthat it has the capacity to

Weststar fortifies after-salesbackup with new Abuja facility

provide after-salesservices for users ofMercedes-Benz inAbuja and other statearound the FCT.

According to him,about .3 million Euroswas used in acquiringthe ultra-modernworkshop facility, while2.5 million Euros wereused to stock the placewith genuine spare partsas backup for repairs.

Schamand said spareparts are ordered on amonthly basis to ensureadequate after salesbackup. The workshophas four repair baysand an ultra-moderndiagnostic machine.

The company iscurrently participating

in the 14th edition AbujaInternational Motor Fairat the Eagle Sqaure withsix new passenger carmodels, four truck andbus models.

Weststar Associates isshowcasing its array ofcommercial vehicles andpassenger cars across600 sqm, and trucksespecially designed forNigeria, and theMercedes-Benz 30-seater Bus Concept(World Premier).

He explained that theAtego and Actros havebeen designed forcompletely differentrequirements, takinginto account differencesin the condition of theroads in the respective

regions of Nigeria.“Mercedes-Benz Truckssupplies suitablevehicles designedspecifically for thevarying regionalrequirements andconditions all over theworld."

Mercedes-Benz isrepresented by 4 trucks,6 passenger cars and theworldpremier of a newBus concept with 30seats.

The new B180 –Compact Sports Tourer,the all new GLK and therecently launchedML350 are among thespecial highlights arethe fuel reducedversions of the C- and E-Class for very attractive

Trade Fair Prices.According to Weststar,

visitors are invited tolearn about Mercedes-Benz service:FleetBoard, CharterWay,Genuine Parts,M e r c e d e s - B e n zMobiloVan, TruckM a i n t e n a n c eM a n a g e m e n t ,Telediagnosis – just tomention a few keywordsin connection with trucksand vans and passengercars. Above all, thismeans partnership,availability andcompetence. For busesand coaches fromMercedes-Benz this istraditionally provided byOMNIplus.

during the car parade atthe show to theadmiration of everyone.Its wings were spread,leaving the car toplessfor people to view the

well finished interior.The SLS AMG is a

Super Sports car thatenthrails its driver: withits breathtakingperformance courtesy ofthe powerful engine.With an aluminum spaceframe for less weight

coupled with maximumrigidity. With a front mid-engine featuring a trans-axle design for optimumweight distribution. Andwith a high-tech chassisto meet the mostdiscerning ofrequirements.

Chevrolet crashesprices for Abuja MotorFair CFAO Motors,

distributors ofChevrolet brand inNigeria is offeringgenerous discount tocustomers who maketheir purchase at the on-going Abuja Motor Fair.The company is alsoshowering visitors withgifts like caps, T-Shirts,Pens, etc.

According to astatement from thecompany, the discount isbeing offered to loversand admirers ofChevrolet brands inNigeria to enable themown and drive brandnew Chevrolet cars atreduced prices.

CFAO is using the fairto extend the company’s100 years celebration ofChevrolet brand toNigerians. To this endthe company hasdropped the prices of itsproducts.

For instance, AVEOwhose showroom priceisN2.2m is offered at thefair for N1.85m, plus oneyear fuel subsidy orc o m p r e h e n s i v einsurance cover orN80,000 instant cashback, depending on thebuyer’s choice.

Mrs. FrancescaFabunmi, Head of CFAOINTERMOTORS, everyvisitor to the CFAOpavilion gets a free gift;whilst the buyers of anyof Chevrolet Captiva,Cruze, Sonic. AVEO andSPARK get morebranded gift items.

According to hervisitors will also have theopportunity to feel thepresence of the all-newChevrolet SONIC, thelatest 2013 model beingintroduced to the publicfor the first time inNigeria.

The 2013 ChevroletSonic ranks as one of theworld’s best affordablecars and it is available asa hatchback Chevroletfour-cylinder engine,1.4-litre turbochargedand aspirated engine.The interior features ofthe SONIC are classywith a cockpit dashboardand competitive safetyand comfort facilities.The exterior of theSONIC is sporty, curvyand attractive with vastbody colour choices.

Chevrolet Captiva, theflagship model is alsoset to captivate visitorsat the CFAO pavilion,with good value formoney, large space,abundant standardequipment, smartinterior packaging andclever fold-flat seatdisplay.

CMYK

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

FOR the 830,000 victims ofthe flood disaster in Riv-

ers state life has never beenthe same since they relocatedto camps set up by the stategovernment for victims of theflood disaster.

Chairman of the state FloodRelief Committee and Deputygovernor of the state, EngrTele Ikuru confirmed that eightof the victims had passed onat separate times at the camps.Saturday Vanguard also gath-ered that in Ahoada threewomen were delivered safelyof their babies.

Some victims at the campblamed the death on poor san-itary condition. The Deputygovernor who was silent on thecause of the death said thestate government was makingfrantic effort to shore up sani-tary state of the various camps.

Engr Tele Ikuru said the fed-eral government should raiseprovision for the state for vic-tims of the disaster. Accordingto him, a total of 183 commu-nities have been affected, add-ing that the money would begrossly inadequate to cushionthe plight of victims.

He said so far the NationalEmergency ManagementCommittee had brought fivehundred mattresses and twohundred bags of assorted fooditems so far to the state.

“From our assessment, andthe reports we are getting,there is more to be done. Westill need relief materials asthe water is yet to dry up, andthere are more predictions thatthe experience of the last fewweeks are not yet over as our

water levels are expected torise in to the impacted areas,” he said.

Adding, the traditional rul-er of Ekpeye kingdom, EzeRobinson O. Robinson won-dered why the federal govern-ment grouped the state in cat-egory C when a large part ofthe area had been submergedin water. “I don’t see how peo-ple living under water are cat-egorized as C. Who are in Aand B? The state is under wa-ter how then do you catego-rize us as C?

Describing the categoriza-tion as an error on the part ofthe federal government hesaid it should redress it withthe state this time in categoryA.

Some victims at the campsaid they were yet to feel theimpact of the federal govern-ment. According to them reliefsupport had only been fromthe state government, church-es, companies and individu-als.

Mrs. Patience said she heardthe federal government ear-

marked money to cushion thepains of victims of the disas-ter in the state, adding that shewas told the money wouldcome through various bodiesbefore it gets to the camps.

According to her, over fiftypercent of the allocation wouldlikely have found its way intoprivate pockets before reliefprovisions would get to dis-placed persons.

She was not alone in thisline of thought. Mr. Frank saidit was another move to rewardparty stalwarts and loyalists. He said the governmentshould have released thefunds directly to the variousstate governments for vic-tims of the disaster.

Traditional rulers, community leaders divert relief

materialsSome traditional rulers andcommunity leaders have beenaccused of diverting reliefmaterials meant for camps intheir areas.

Deputy governor of the stateand Chairman of the Flood

relief committee, Engr Ikuruwho confirmed the accusationsaid there are already com-plaints from the variouscamps.

He warned that the govern-ment would not hesitate todeal with any one caught. Ac-cording to the Deputy gover-nor, reports had it that someof the traditional rulers weregiving more attention to theirloyalists at the camps.

“It is absurd for chiefs andleaders of some communitiesto bring their chieftaincy andcommunal problems to thecamps, and engage in willful,illegal favoritism and criminaldiversion of relief materialsmeant for the flood victims.

“Such acts of criminality willnot be condoned henceforth,and defaulters will be made toface the full wrath of the law.” When Saturday Vanguardvisited some of the camps inAhoada West and East localgovernment areas, victims cor-roborated the findings of thestate government. They ac-cused some persons in chargeof distribution of relief materi-als of deliberately shortchang-ing some families.

They said these personswere guided by certain paro-chial considerations in the dis-tribution. They listed some toinclude age long chieftaincydisputes among families, landrelated problems and maritaldifferences

They said there were situa-tions were items meant forsome camps were deliberate-ly reduced because of some ofthese factors. They furtherappealed to the state govern-ment to come up with mea-

sures to checkmate the abus-es.

At the camps in Okobe com-munity, Ahoada West localgovernment some of the dis-placed persons said they hadto rally round themselves toraise money to buy soup itemssuch as fish and other ingre-dients for meals. They saidthey get rice, beans, ground-nut oil, pepper, onion salt andother consumables from thestate government relief agen-cy.

They said the impassablestate of the East West

road had made it difficult forsome relief materials meant forthem to get to their camps. Ac-cording to them, Mr. SundayIjeoma who is in charge of thecamps in the community, theygo to Ahoada to get relief ma-terials meant for them becausevehicles cannot drive throughtheir portion of the East Westroad to them. He enjoinedthe government to fix the road.

Adding, Mr. Felix said therelief items were kept at Ahoa-da East and from there theyare distributed to all affectedcamps in the two Ahoada lo-cal government areas. Hefurther urged the governmentto urgently make the roadmotorable. He said they hadto wait until when they see bigvehicles like 911 that can drivethrough the pool of water onthe road before they go toAhoada for relief materials. Hesaid this was affecting whatthey get from there.

In RiverIn RiverIn RiverIn RiverIn Rivers, trs, trs, trs, trs, traditional ruleraditional ruleraditional ruleraditional ruleraditional rulers and communitys and communitys and communitys and communitys and communityheads are allegedly diverheads are allegedly diverheads are allegedly diverheads are allegedly diverheads are allegedly diverting relief matting relief matting relief matting relief matting relief materialserialserialserialserials•N300m not enough for Flood victims—Rivers Deputy Governor

,

,



I don’t see how people livingunder water are categorized asC; who are in A and B? Thestate is under water how thendo you categorize us as C?

CMYK

BY JOHN BULUS

The total sum of N22m was lastweek released by Gombe stategovernment to rehabilitate theflood victims. Sequel to spec-ulations that the funds anditems purchased may be hi-jacked by politicians and cor-rupt officials, the State Emer-gency Management Agency,SEMA says it was going to su-pervise the exercise as report-ed by JOHN BULUS.

Respite may have finallycome the way of

Gombe State flood victims whohave been taking refuge at atemporary camp opened at La-wanti Primary School, AkkoLocal Government Area of theState since September thisyear.

The State Government lastweek fulfilled its pledge of N22million made to the victimsthrough the State EmergencyManagement Agency, SEMA.Already, the money has beenused for the purchasing ofmost items ranging from fooditems, building items, cloth-ings, household items, mat-tresses, cements, woods, blan-kets, mats, buckets and plas-tics andhanded down to Gombe LocalGovernment where which ap-pears to be worst hit with about13 flood ravaged areas.While the materials are yet tobe distributed, the Director,Admin and Finance, DAF aswell as Desk officer handlingEmergencies in the StateEmergency managementAgency, SEMA Hajiya Lara-ba Ahmed Kawu, said SEMAwill be on ground to supervisethe exercise to ensure account-ability and transparency fol-lowing speculations makingthe rounds that some unscru-pulous elements within the

In Gombe , SEMA superIn Gombe , SEMA superIn Gombe , SEMA superIn Gombe , SEMA superIn Gombe , SEMA supervisesvisesvisesvisesvisescompensation excompensation excompensation excompensation excompensation exererererercisecisecisecisecise

circle of power want to cornerthe items and the money.She said: “The governor insist-ed that these materials need-ed to be bought. So, they werepurchased and delivered toGombe Local Government lastweek, but they are yet to bedistributed. These materialsinclude food items, buildingitems, clothings, householditems. We also bought mat-tresses, cements, woods, blan-kets, mats, buckets, plasticsand all that.“We will be there when theydistribute them. We gave themthe list of the persons affectedat that material time and theyhave their representatives. Weinvited the representative ofeach ward when wewere making the presentationto Gombe Local Government.So, when they are going to bedistributed, they will invite usto supervise”.Apart from the materials pro-vided at the instance of theState Government, HajiyaKawu hinted that SEMA willon Saturday (today) make apresentation of various itemsprovided by the NationalEmergency ManagementAgency, SEMA, to the floodvictims in the state.“But we as, SEMA, havesome materials from NEMAwe are going to the InternallyDisplaced Persons at Lawanti

Primary School on Saturday(today)”. It could be recalledthat a camp was opened atLawanti Primary School inAkko Local Government Areawhere over 70 households who

are mainly victims of flood rat-ed incidences from wuru vil-lage are currently taking shel-ter. The people have beenthere since September 15 2012rainfall that wrecked havoc onthe community.

The same rainfall also af fected the people of Ang-wa Yelwa in Kwadon in Yel-matu Deba local GovernmentArea, a suburb of Gombe me-tropolis. The disaster de-stroyed over 40 houses just asit killed many live stocks.Usman Mohammed, a resi-dent of the area and victim of

the circumstance who spoke toJournalists described the sit-uation as very terrible, narrat-ing how he escaped the flood.“The flood got to my chest re-gion as I swam to salvage afew things from the house. Thegood news is that no bodydied but over 40 houses weredestroyed and more than 35lives stocks including goats,cows and fowls were alsokilled”.

Also, Jimmy Roster, a resi-dent of the Idi Quarters inGombe metropolis who had hisproperty submerged by the di-saster is however happy thatthe government has come totheir aid.

He said: “If you are affectedby this kind of disaster, youfeel as if no body is going tohelp you. But we are so grate-ful to the Government that theyhave come to assist us, we thevictims. My own case, thewalls collapsed and every-thing in my house was de-stroyed by the flood.”Other areas in the state wherethe flood ravaged includedYelmatu Deba, Balanga, Duk-ku and Gombe Local Govern-ment Areas. In Gombe LocalGovernment, about 13 areaswere affected: Federal LowCost, Kundulum, Nasssarawo,Kakagawa, Herowa Gana,Dawaki, Jekadafari, TudunWada and others.

At the last count, Gombe, hasrecorded 14 deaths accordingto the official records. But an-alysts chide the number, argu-ing that the number of deathshas exceeded 14. Similarly,over 90 houses have beendestroyed, more than 500 fam-ilies displaced, several farm-lands submerged while sever-al domestic animals have beenkilled.

,,

In Rivers, traditional rulers and communityheads are allegedly diverting relief materials

Life at the campsAt most of the camps in the

two Ahoada local governmentareas, residents wake up veryearly to pray. After the morn-ing devotion they do somecleaning until about 9am whenthose in charge of distributionof relief materials start arriv-ing.

Mr. Ijeoma said he goes tocamps in Okobe from 9am be-cause men and women livetogether. He felt going thereearly would not be too fine forthe women. He said by 9 to930am he had finished distri-bution of consumables like riceand beans to them. He said thepeople organized themselvesinto various groups that han-dle the cooking.

He said the relief committeedistributed pots, spoons and

plates to the various camps. Sothey have utensils to cook andeat with. He said they alsoprovided the camps with ker-osene for their cooking.

He said he comes to thecamp by 4pm again to distrib-ute what they should cook.

We want generators Some of the camp resi-dents who spoke the Vanguardexpressed gratitude for the at-tention from the government.But they said the governmentshould provide them with gen-erators, adding that at nightthe camps were too dark.

They said after their mealsin the morning they go on ca-noes to their various farms toharvest what is left. On Sun-days they organize themselvesfor their congregational andnondenominational worship.Pastors according to themcome from neighboring

churches. Government should not be

in a hurry to close our campsSome residents at the camps

said they were not in a hurryto relocate. They pleaded withgovernment not to shut downthe camps immediately afterthe flood dries up. They saidthey should be given enoughtime to plan for their reloca-tion.

“We don’t have any where togo to after here”, they plead-ed. They said they lived inmud houses which the floodswept off. “We will need timeto build our houses.”

Some other women said theyhad noting to live on whenthey move out of the camp be-cause their harvest had beenswept off by flood. “We couldnot harvest our cassava, yam


Continued from page 41


SEMA will be on ground to supervisethe exercise to ensure accountabilityand transparency followingspeculations making the rounds thatsome unscrupulous elements withinthe circle of power want to corner theitems and the money

CMYK


BY VINCENT UJUMADU, Awka

THE flood that ravaged nofewer than 40 communities

in eight local government ar-eas of Anambra had begun torecede, but it had left behindmonumental destruction thatis making the affected peopleto be lamenting about the nat-ural disaster. Many peoplewho spoke to Saturday Van-guard after visiting their hous-es as the flood left their com-munities, said they were con-fused and even afraid to sleepin their houses for the fear thatthey might collapse if properfortification was not carried outimmediately.

The case of Mr. and Mrs.Emeka Chukwuma from Ataniin Ogbaru local governmentarea was so pathetic that thecouple appeared to be con-fused as to what to do in viewof the enormous damage doneto their once palatial mansionin the area. In fact, at the timethe flood began, Mrs. EvanChukwuma was in India for aroutine check up, having ear-lier undergone a kidney trans-plant in that country. Whenshe returned and travelled toAtani, their house was com-pletely submerged and theywere only able to salvagesome of their property and re-located to Awka, the AnambraState capital.

As she was recuperatingfrom her illness, she was alsoworried about the condition ofher house and property backhome in Atani. Though theymanaged to remove some oftheir property, most of thoseproperty were further dam-aged in the course of transfer,while others got lost in tran-sit.

Mrs. Chukwuma told Sat-urday Vanguard: “When welearnt that the flood had reced-ed, we travelled to Atani to seethe condition of our house. Wediscovered that we need to dototal rehabilitation to make thehouse conducive for habita-tion. And because we spentalmost all the money we hadduring my trip to India, cou-pled with the fact that we sus-tained heavy losses in thecourse of transferring ourproperty, the return journeyhas become very difficult.”

According to her, rehabilita-tion of their village housewould require more that N1million, adding that they needfinancial assistance from ap-propriate authorities to enablethem resettle. The situation,she confessed, was aggravat-ing her poor health condition.

Like the family of Chukwu-ma, most manufacturing in-dustries in the commercialtown of Onitsha which had toshut down their factories in thewake of the flood that sub-merged the Habour Industri-al Estate in the city, are send-ing Save Our Soul, SOS, to theauthorities to come to their aid,especially in the cleaning up

of the flooded companies.Chief Paul Okonkwo, whosemulti –million naira TouristGarden Hotel, Asaba and themanufacturing arm of hisPokobros Group of Companies,said he lost over N2 billion tothe flood.

Conducting Senator AndyUba representing AnambraSouth round his Tourist Gar-den Hotel, Asaba and the com-pany’s head office at Onitsha,Okonkwo said it would takethe company about N400m toclean the hotel at Asaba. Atpress time, the hotel was stillsubmerged. According toOkonkwo, his Pokobros Groupof Companies, which hasabout 1,500 staff in its employ,stopped production due to theflood, adding that as the floodhas begun to recede, the im-mediate concern of the manu-facturers in Onitsha is how toget the companies runningagain.

The industrialist alsostressed the need for the

federal government to com-plete the dredging of the Riv-er Niger, stating that if themuch-publicized dredging ofthe River Niger had takenplace, the impact of the floodwould have been minimal anddismissed the claim in somequarters that the River Nigerhas been dredged up to 70percent, saying that as it isnow, the Onitsha River Portcannot be operational becauseit cannot take barges due tothe shallow nature of the riv-er.

He said: “We were asked toinvest in manufacturing ven-tures. We have done that andnow that the flood had de-

stroyed these investments,government should also bailus out by putting in placemeasures that would enablethe companies to resume pro-duction to avoid a situationwhere jobs are lost due to theclosure of the companies.”

He called for the creation ofan intervention fund, thatwould help to reactivate thecompanies, and pay workersfor some months to enablethem pick up again.

Another industrialist, ChiefChidube Oranu, who is themanaging director of KristoralGroup of Companies commis-sioned by President GoodluckJonathan during his visit toAnambra State, said all theraw materials acquired by thecompany, as well as some ma-chines and generating sets,were destroyed by the flood.While the flooding lasted, ca-noes were the only means ofmoving into and out of thecompany and with the floodreceding, the environmenthad become messier with de-bris littered in the massivecompound. Oranu said: “Ev-erything is at stand still in thecompany. The over 1000 work-ers, including the expatriates,are idle because the company

was completely shut down.Like his colleague, ChiefOkonkwo of Pokobros, he saidthe solution to the lastingproblem of flooding is properdredging of the River Niger.

While the industrialists arelamenting the loss of their in-vestments, a farmer, Mr. God-win Ochia, whose family wascamped at a primary school inAtani was downcast when Sat-urday Vanguard visited thecamp. He had looked forwardto returning home when signof the receding of the floodwas noticed. He enthusiasti-cally travelled to know the sit-uation at his Akili communityonly to discover that his bun-galow, which he built twoyears ago, had collapsed. Nar-rating his ordeal, Ochia saidthat all the while, he was con-cerned about how to acquireseedlings for the next farmingseason only to be faced withthe situation of not having ahome to move into. Many peo-ple have similar stories to telland this poses greater chal-lenges to the authorities.

Following the problems thatarose from the flooding, An-ambra State government andwell- to- do people in the statehave started making arrange-

ments on how to ensurethat the victims wereproperly rehabilitated.

G o v e r n m e n trecords showed

that there were over25000 victims at the 23camps provided for thevictims, excluding theindustrialists. Proactivemeasures had also beenadopted by governmentto ensure that materialsdonated by the peoplewent round, while themoney promised by thefederal government, inwhich Anambra wouldreceive N500 million, isbeing expected. Thestate inter-ministerialcommittee on flood di-saster, which is coordi-nating the exercise, saidgovernment spent N40million to evacuate thevictims from the affectedeight local governmentareas to the 23 campslocated in parts of thestate.

Vice chairman of thecommittee and commis-sioner for economicplanning and budget,Professor ChinyereOkunna, in a passionateplea to the people of thestate, said while peoplewere providing fooditems and other materi-als to the victims, theyshould also bear in mindthat money was neededfor the proper resettle-ment of the victims afterthe flood. According toher, accounts had beenopened in two bankswhere people could payin their donations, as-suring that such monieswould be properly re-ceipted and the donorsmade public.

In AnambrIn AnambrIn AnambrIn AnambrIn Anambra, fa, fa, fa, fa, flood victimslood victimslood victimslood victimslood victimsbegin return journey homebegin return journey homebegin return journey homebegin return journey homebegin return journey home

,,

The state inter-ministerial committeeon flood disaster, which iscoordinating the exercise, saidgovernment spent N40 million toevacuate the victims from the affectedeight local government areas to the 23camps located in parts of the state.

CMYK

44—SA44—SA44—SA44—SA44—SATURDTURDTURDTURDTURDAAAAAY Y Y Y Y VVVVVanguard,anguard,anguard,anguard,anguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012 OCTOBER 27, 2012 OCTOBER 27, 2012 OCTOBER 27, 2012 OCTOBER 27, 2012

CMYK

World’s oldest father does it again at thea g eof 96...

An Indian man has become the world’s oldest fa-ther for the second time at the age of 96.

Ramjit Raghav was awarded the title two yearsago when he had his first born son Karamjit aged94.

Although he swore one was enough, the pensionerand his wife Shakuntala, 54, welcomed another sonRanjit, last month. Speaking at his home in the stateof Haryana, 31 miles from Delhi, Ramjit said:

“What can I do? This is all God’s wish. “He want-ed me to have another son.”

When Shakuntala gave birth to the healthy boyearlier this month at the Government hospital inHaryana, the doctors laughed when Ramjit said hewas the father.

--with Richard Okotie, Mofid Islam, ZhozokhoCmu and 40 others

World's oldest fatherODD WODD WODD WODD WODD WORLDORLDORLDORLDORLD

World’s oldest father

Peculiar pelican with TWO HEADS in flight

Double-HeaderTalk about a double-header!

Amazing photograph showspeculiar pelican with TWOHEADS in flight...

The image of the odd bird wastaken by Ukrainian photographerVladimir Kucherenko in theDanube Delta, but it wasn’t untilthe shutterbug returned homethat he noticed something offabout the picture. The develop-ment of two heads in an animalcould be the result of randomchance, exposure to chemicals ora complication during thegestation period that prevents apair of embryos from splitting.

– with Jeeni Rohman, IzafaAhmed, Kofil Ahmed and 43 oth-ers

Twin babycrocodiles

Snap! Twin babycrocodiles hatch fromsingle egg in China...

Surprise Xiao Zeng,from the crocodilegarden in China, said itwas the first time he hadwitnessed two of thecreatures hatch from thesame egg.

– with El Levite Sanc-tified Reggae, JerinRahman, Lily Ale Meroand 37 others

Twin baby crocodiles

*President Goodluck Jonathan with ChiefCosmas Okoli on wheelchair at the WorldEconomic forum on Africa held in AddisAbaba

Hope rising

It has been very difficultto raise funds for HOPEAND POSSIBILITIES

RIDE. However, given theimportance of the project in ourstruggle to mainstream personswith disabilities, MAARDEChas decided to organize a pre-event to create adequateawareness for the project whichwill help us get the funds weneed. To this effect, the Hopeand Possibilities Ride has beenpostponed to November 2013.The pre-event will hold inDecember 2012.

The objectives of the pre-event are among others, toraise funds and createawareness for the main event.Most importantly, this pre-event will clear doubts in theminds of potential sponsorsand assure them that the eventis purely an advocacy event;aimed at mainstreamingpersons with disabilities andcreate conducive environmentfor them to contribute theirquota to the socio-economicdevelopment our country.

The pre-event will have someof the accouterments, all therazzmatazz and theseriousness of the main eventwith the exception of the factthat there will not be fullmanual tricycle ride all throughthe route. The pre-event willconsist of driving along thehighways between states whileriding the manual tricycleswithin the state capitals to bevisited.

This pre-event is not as

capital intensive as the Hope and PossibilitiesRide and we are sure that we will be able toget funding for it. We have madearrangements with a dealer in the USA whohas agreed to release two special vans for theproject with the understanding that paymentwill be made as soon as the funds are

available.The pre-event will last

for two weeks. It willtake off from Lagos andwill go through all thestates we will visitduring the main event.We will pay courtesycalls on all the StateGovernors on our routeto Abuja and visittraditional rulers andcorporate organizations.Mini-rallies will be heldin the state capitals tocreate awareness for themain event and itsobjectives.

Most of the equipmentwe will use for this pre-event will also be usedfor the main event. Sofor the main event, wewill need additionalequipment to take careof security, largecontingent, camping andthe logistics of long andslow movement of themanual tricycle riders.We will also needinformation, education

and communicationmaterials to ensureeffective disseminationof information andeducation of the generalpopulace on theobjectives of the ride.

This new initiative willalso enable us toconcretize the buy-in ofthe Federal Governmentinto the Hope andPossibilities Ride, whichwill help allay the fearsof some prospectivesponsors who feel thattheir sponsorship mightbe misconstrued byGovernment as beingantagonistic and thusmay put them on acollision course withGovernment; whichwould spell doom fortheir businesses andinterests.

In the light of theabove, we are makingarrangements to meetwith the Minister ofFinance andcoordinating Minister ofthe Economy, Mrs.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, todiscuss this project andother issues of nationalimportance as it pertainsto Nigerians withdisabilities. Effort is alsobeing made to meet withMr. President for hisblessing and support. Ipersonally hinted Mr.President of this projectin May this year whenwe met at Addis-Ababa,

Ethiopia during theWorld Economic Forumon Africa and he wasexcited and directed theState House Chief ofProtocol to make anappointment for me tosee him.

I am confident of thePresidency ’s buy-ingiven the superlativeperformance of NigerianParalympians at theLondon 2012Paralympics and theirattendant recognitionand reward by theFederal Government.The need for our countryto invest more in theempowerment of personswith disabilities hasbecome more evident inthe light of theachievement of athleteswith disabilities and thatof the nondisabledathletes that representedNigeria at the justconcluded London 2012Olympic and Paralympicgames.

To all intents andpurposes, hope is risingfor Hope andPossibilities Ride. Withthe endorsement andsupport of the FederalRoad Safety Commission(FRSC), the NigerianPolice Force and theexpected buy-in of theFederal and stategovernments, Hope andPossibilities Ride will bea reality.

Flood ManagementCommittee and called forproper statistics of victims,locations and propertiesdestroyed to guidegovernment in post-floodplanning. About 70,000victims of the flood in 12 localgovernment areas are kept in18 relief camps in Delta.

President Jonathan himselfhas been visiting statesravaged by the flood andoffering victims assurance ofassistance and words of hope.He had been to Kogi,Adamawa, Bayelsa, Delta,Taraba, Rivers, Anambra,Benue.

At the Institute ofContinuing Education (ICE)Asaba camp in Delta State fordisplaced persons, he raisedtheir spirit saying that they arenot alone in their predicamentas he has come to sympathisewith them He assured flood

victims that they will beprovided with high yieldingseeds that will grow fast andquick for them to havesomething to fall back onwhen the flood recedes.

Some well-meaning peoplehave called on governors whohad the responsibility ofdisbursing the funds to beaccountable, transparent andprudent.

A former DeputyComptroller of the

Nigeria Customs Service hadadvised governors whosestates are affected to set upcommittees of eminent citizens(as some had already done) tooversee the disbursement ofthe funds provided by theFederal Government forvictims. This is the crux of thematter as some may beimproperly disbursed, abused,diverted and eventually goinginto wrong hands.

Many prominent Nigerians

are worried about the need forthe funds to reach the victimsand alleviate their hardship.They fear about the so-calledthe Nigerian factor likely tomitigate against properutilization and disbursementof the funds. Already, there areindications of inadequate foodsupply at the camps and lackof social amenities neededand which could have beenprovided for from the allocatedfunds. There are speculationsthat a bulk of the money mayend up in private pockets ordiverted considering the highlevel of corruption in thecountry.

The Federal and stategovernments have not puteffective monitoringmechanism in place tocheckmate fraudulent motivesand actions by corrupt officials.

Just recently, Rivers Stategovernor had cause to warnofficials, traditional rulersagainst diverting relief

materials and funds meant forflood victims.

Responding to questionsduring a World Press

Conference in Lagos to mark10th anniversary of CovenantUniversity, Dr. David Oyedepoexpressed disappointmentover the lack of accountabilityand transparency that couldtrail the disbursement of thefunds earmarked by theFederal Government for floodvictims.

He slammed the culture ofcorruption that has become thehallmark of Nigeria’s nationallife in which people who stolepublic funds are oftencelebrated instead ofindictment.

‘’The only sector workingtoday is politics. People seepolitical office as chance tomake money from the top tobottom,’’ adding that ‘’evenmoney for the flood victimscould be diverted.’’

Is FG’s N17.6 billion for flood victims in right hands?


Why I washed my hands off FG’sN500m relief to Delta flood victims

they take on how to disbursethe fund shall be well with me.Let members of the committeedecide what to do with themoney”.

“These are trying times andthis is not the time to quarreland create tension. We shouldbe our brother ’s keeper.People are going throughtrauma and need to becomforted”.

“I have short term plan,middle and long term plans forthe flood issue and we are veryserious and not playingpolitics. When politics come weplay it but not with flood issuewhere our people aresuffering”.

The assurances overjudicious utilization of thefund notwithstanding, thedust arising from rumourmongering remainedunsettled. Some are stillcynical about how the fundwould be shared, devoid ofethnic and political bias.

Some of the displacedpersons in various camps inthe State although praised theState government for the careso far but would prefer somecash to start all over again.

Day Uduaghan celebratedhis birthday with flood

victimsThey were overjoyed when theGovernor celebrated his 58thbirthday on Monday this weekwith them in the camps as

they milled around thegovernor chanting birthdaysongs. Protocol wastemporarily suspended as thegovernor mixed freely withthem, a day his security aideshad hectic task battling tocontrol the surging crowd asthey were very eager to havea feel of him.

What we want by displacedpersons:

Displaced Mr. Tony Biosa fromOmiligbome, a riverine suburbin Asaba, presently at theInstitute of ContinuingEducation, (ICE) told ourreporter: “left to me I wouldwant the money donated to beshared on one to one basis.Government people should goto each camp ask us to line upand hand what ever they feelwill enable us start life again.I wont like the money to begiven to politicians becausethey will share it among theirown boys. And as a poor manwhat can one do. They havethe money if you talk they willlock you up”.

Also a big time yam sellerwho simply gave her name asVictoria at another camp inIllah said “the water cannotstay there forever. I think thewater is going back gradually.So what I need is money. I amnot bothered on how much wasdonated but if it can be sharedaccording to the level of whatone lost it will be good. I amnot a lazy person. I losteverything but if I can get

some money now I will startagain”.

Some others who spoke oncondition of anonymityechoed the same view whilesome others differed.

Thomas at SPC said, “weshould thank God that ourlives are saved first. Nigerianstoo talk about money. For me Iam happy with the provisionthe government is giving tous. they cannot be as if you areliving in your home. We aremany but I am happy bo!, heexclaimed.

Rights group speaks:

National CoordinatorForum for Justice &HumanRights Defence, Mr.Oghenejabor Ikimi said, “Iwould advise the Stategovernment to plan for postflood palliatives for registeredflood victims by setting aside30 percent of its flood reliefpackage of N500 million fromthe Federal Government forthe upkeep of flood victimshoused in various designatedcamps in the State while theremaining 70 percent be suedfor post flood palliatives for theflood victims. No doubt theabove funds though small, ifwell managed would go a longway to ameliorate the plightsof the flood victims in one wayor the other.

“Sincerely speaking, myadvice to all flood victims is forthem to ensure that they allregister in the nearest campclose to them as government

may decide to plan withthe number of personsregistered in the variousdesignated camps for itspost flood palliatives, ifany.

“I therefore advisethose flood victims notliving in any of thedesignated camps to getregistered immediatelywhile non victims whohave no business livingin any of the designatedcamps should stay clearfrom the said camps intheir own interest beforethey incur the wrath ofGod and man”.

Delta InformationCommissioner:

On his part, the StateCommissioner forInformation, Mr. ChikeOgeah said, “the DeltaState government hasalready made apronouncement throughthe governor that thegovernment would setup a committeecomprising of privateeminent citizens ofDelta state to be chairedby a retired SupremeCourt jurist, JusticeTabai. Other membersinclude Dr. Pat Utomiand other eminentcitizens. Thegovernment will workclosely with thiscommittee and ensurethat the money isapplied to the mostcritical areas where itshall be of maximumbenefit to the mass ofour people

Oppositon Partyreacts too:

Delta State Chairmanof Labour Party, LP,Comrade EmekaNkwoala in hiscontribution said, “thereshould be a committee ofmen and women withhigh integrity separatefrom the government.This committee willliaise with the variouscamps commandants toascertain most criticalneeds of the people.

But in all, whilesharing the sentimentsexpressed by thegovernor one expectsthat the committee ofeminent persons beingmen of integrity wouldlive up to expectation.

This is because a greatphilosopher Mark Twainonce said aboutingratitude that: “if youpick up a starving dogand make himprosperous, he will notbite you. That is theprincipal differencebetween a dog and aman”.



and groundnut. Theflood swept off every-thing””, they said. Theyenjoined the governmentto assist them with fundsto set themselves upwhen the camps are dueto be shut down.

Donations flow intocamps

Churches, companiesand individuals havebeen visiting the variouscamps in Rivers state todonate relief materials. A chieftain of the rulingPeoples Democratic Par-ty, Prince TonyePrincewill was among in-dividuals that had donat-ed items to the camps.

Also Indorama ElemePetrochemicals limiteddonated relief materialsvalued at several millionsof naira. They includeone hundred and fiftybags of 25 kg rice, 300 car-tons of indomie, 45 bagsof 100kg garri, tomatoes,vegetable oil etc.

Managing Director ofthe firm, Mr. ManishMundra said the compa-ny was deeply touched bypains of victims of the di-saster. He assured thatthe firm would continueto support effort to miti-gate their pains.

In Rivers,traditional rulersand communityheads areallegedly divertingrelief materials



Hello Jets’,Barka de Sallah to

our muslimsbrothers and sister! It isso sad that some of ourparents are so busybuilding estates, butthey do not care aboutwhat happens to ourfuture. Some of us aresexually abused, butwho would listen to ourtales. Some of us do noteven know the meaningof abuse. If our parentscan spend some timewith us and askquestions...

In this edition, thestory of the greedyTortoise and the sadway he learnt his lessonwas writtenby MasterNwaibe EbukukaCalistus from LeadsNursery and PrimarySchool, Satelite Town,Lagos state, Lawmakertasks children on socio-economic the Africanchild playing in aunique way and manymore. These and othersare on your darlingpage. Have awonderful read and abeautiful Sallah!

The ungrateful tortoiseBy Nwaibe Ebukuka Calistus

School-: Leads Nursery andPrimary School, SateliteTown, Lagos state 9 years old, pri. 5

Once upon a time, in theland of the animals, Mr.

Tortoise was a hard workingperson, but in their land,there was no food so Mr.Tortoise went to the land of thedead. He went to the land ofthe dead to ask for food andhe was given a magic drumwhenever he beats the drum,all kinds of food will come outof it, and everyone will make

his /her choice on the type offood he/she wants to eat.

He returned back to hisvillage with the drum andgathered to his house everyperson in the kingdom, thenhe beats the drum again andall kinds of food came out andeverybody ate his /herfavorites and even took homesome of the left over to theirvarious homes.

So for over six months, thedrum was in his houseproviding food for thevillagers. There wasenjoyment and merriment inthe whole of the animalkingdom, after some time the

magic drum stoppedproducing food. Mr. Tortoisebecame so angry about this,so he set off again to the spiritland, he gave them the drumso harshly and shouted atthem in a very loud voice andsaid in a loud voice that thespirits are mad. He abusedthem with all manner of badwords and left. On gettingto the village square, one ofthe spirits called Jangoappeared to him and gave hima mighty slap; the Tortoise felldown and died instantly. Thevillagers became hungryagain.

Member, Lagos State ofAssembly and of

Assembly Mrs. Lola Akande,representing IkejaConstituency II haschallenged childrenespecially young women torededicate themselves toimprove the socio-economicand technologicaladvancement of the nation.

Akande who is the DeputyLeader gave this chargeduring the inauguration ofthe Girl Guides Society ofOjodu Senior SecondarySchool and her decoration asmatron of the society. Shenoted that young women arecapable of improving theeconomy condition of thecountry by makingthemselves visible andavailable to the decisionmaking.

Her words: “I am happy tobe part of this history. TheGirl-Guides is the largest

LawmakLawmakLawmakLawmakLawmaker ter ter ter ter tasks casks casks casks casks children onhildren onhildren onhildren onhildren onsocio-economicsocio-economicsocio-economicsocio-economicsocio-economic

Organization for girls andwomen in the world. I wantto appreciate them for theaward confirmed on me .Ihope to contribute my best tothe upliftment of theorganization”.

•gFor young Womenpotentials to be properlytapped there must becollective effort from all theStakeholders includingGovernment, Parents,teachers, society Leaders aswell non-governmentalassociation and otherconcerned groups”.

Meanwhile, Mrs.Okuyeri Iyabode,

Assistant State CommissionerLagos State Girl GuidesAssociation, said theassociation is a voluntary onefounded in England in 1919by Lord Baden aimed atrecognizing young women toinculcate moral value.

Playing in a unique way!

Last weekend was a greatday of fun for children who

attended the annual childrenfamily funday eventorganized by Lindy’s GemsFoundation is a corporatesocial responsibility platformof Lindy’s Events, a corporateevents and amusemententertainment providercompany, rolled out its drumto celebrate children.According to the organizer ofthe event, Ene Aderinokun,the event designed as aplatform to develop theNigerian child’s physical andemotional balance especiallychildren in Orphanagesthrough organized play isessential to the developmentof children’s creativityimagination, dexterity,physical and cognitivestrengths.This year ’s event hadTelematch, the first of its kindin Nigeria. It involvedcompetition amongst children

divided into two teams,Trojans and Spartans. Thecompetition allowed childrenfrom different backgroundslearn to work together toachieve common goals.Thetwo teams comprised ofchildren from Corona SchoolIkoyi, Corona School Lekki,Imperial Gate School Lekki,Estaport School Gbagada,Ijamido Home, Golden CrestOrphanage, Sought afterWomen and ChildrenFoundation andCompassionate Orphanage.With a rich extensive programthat is focused on challengingchildren to think out of theirenvironment and restrictivemindsets, Lindys Gems in aRough event, over the yearshas been able to building selfconfidence, create socialbonds, develop team spiritedvalues, character moldingand create a life changingexperience for children.

Saturday Vanguard, October 27, 2012 —47

W hen Mr. BabaAdisa Bolanta wasposted to head

Imo State Police Command afew weeks ago, someindigenes and residents,especially those who know hispedigree, leaped for joy. Apartfrom this, Bolanta had servedas Deputy Commissioner ofPolice, DCP, in the state, a fewyears back.

He knew what the statelooked like before he wastransferred. He must haveequally read from the nationaldailies and weeklies what hewas to inherit on his return toImo State.

It did not therefore baffleclose watchers of the statesecurity situation that on arrivalin Owerri, Bolanta quicklyreassessed the crime situation,as well as got briefs fromthose on ground before hissecond “missionary journey”to Imo.

In an apparent move tomatch what he was told withwhat was on ground, Bolantacommenced a programmedtour of the divisional policeheadquarters and addressedhis subordinates, traditionalrulers, town union executivesand opinion leaders in all theplaces he visited. Bolantacentered his address on theneed to make Imo a crime-freestate or possibly reduce itdrastically.

So far, the new police bosshas introduced radio andtelevision jingles, warning thepeople to distance themselvesfrom crime and criminals. Hehas also erected bill boards atstrategic places in the state,wherein he enumeratedtelephone numbers thatshould be called when peoplefind themselves in danger.This is the first of its kind sincethe creation of Imo State.

Police in Imo swinginto action

BY CHIDI NKWOKPARA

...read riot act to kidnappers andarmed robbers

Baba Bolanta, Cp Imo

Bolanta centered his address onthe need to make Imo a crime-freestate or possibly reduce itdrastically

Comptroller General of Immigration, Mrs Rose Uzoma (r) assisted by Mr. Freeman TamarabebeMologe, Ag. Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration while decorating Mr. Dom Ob. Asogwa,PA to the CGI, with his new rank of Deputy Comptroller of Immigration in Abuja.

PHOTO SPEAK

At an earlier encounter withCrime Guard in his office, CPBolanta was particularlyworried about the spate ofkidnapping and armed robberycases in the state. He promisedthat he will not only see any

community that harbour armedrobbers and kidnappers aswaging a war on the state andits people but will also visit thefull weight of the law on suchcommunities. He equally readthe riot act to his officers and

men. While assuring them thathe will do everything withinhis power to make their dutieslighter, Bolanta howeverwarned that he will, in likemanner, prescribecommensurate punishment foranybody that engages inunethical practices.

Armed with Bolanta’s directives, his men not only

Aba’s Toyota Sienna, while themotorcycle belonged to Chidi,who was driving in the Sienna,adding that “as soon as I wasarrested, Nwa Aba and Chididrove off in the Sienna.”

Bolanta and his men haveequally nabbed trans-

border hoodlums. First to bearrested was one KingsleyIkechukwu, and following his,

,went to work but haveremained visible in varyingplaces. For instance, onOctober 9, 2012, at about2.30pm, one Chibuzor Oguziewas seen hovering around afirst generation bank located atMbari Street, Owerri. Thisbank was bombed some timeago by hoodlums. The

inexplicable presence of thisman attracted the attention ofthe bank’s security personneland they quickly alerted thepolice patrol team. On sightingthe police, the suspect, whowas riding an unregisteredmotorcycle at the time, zoomedoff towards the city . The policepursued and arrested himalong Douglas Road.

On interrogation, thesuspect denied being anarmed robber but explainedthat his modus-operandi wasto move around with masterkeys, looking for anybody thatwould cash money from banksand put in the car. He,however, affirmed that as soonas he identifies a possiblevictim, he would alertmembers of his gang, whowould trail him/her from thebank premises to wherever thecar would be parked. Thesuspect named Chidi(surname unknown), a nativeof Amuri Omanze and anotherperson identified by his nickname, “Nwa Aba”, as hiscolleagues in crime.Continuing, he said on the dayhe was arrested, the masterkey they came with was in Nwa

confessional statement, oneChidi (surname unknown) waspicked up by the police. Thepolice boss told Crime Guard:“They operate within andoutside Nigeria. Theiroperational bases includeCameroon, Dubai and otherAfrican countries.

The money they realized iswhat they used in buying allthe properties police saw withthem.”

The properties in ChibuzorOguzie’s possession at thetime of his arrest included: anunregistered Q-Linkmotorcycle, unregisteredMercedes Benz convertible carmodel SIK30, Toyota Camrycar with registration number AY412 WER, HI-GI audio poweramplifier with its speakers,small size LG refrigerator andsmall Q-Link standing fan.Kingsley Ikechukwu hadInfinity QX4 Jeep withregistration number BK 810AKD, Mitsubishi L-300 buswith registration number YB726 FST, Mitsubishi L-300 withregistration number XB 143UNC, two unregistered Q-Linkmotorcycles and anunregistered Sinoko ladiesmotorcycle.

On October 18, 2012, thepolice rescued an Eze-elect, aCatholic priest and another 72-year-old man from kidnappersden. Bolanta told the storybetter.“At about 7.30am on thefateful day, an Eze-elect,Nelson Orisakwe and SirGodwin Orisakwe, both fromUmueke village, OwerreNkworji, Nkwerre local councilarea of Imo State, left theirvillage for Owerri to attend acourt session. On getting toEziama Obaire, also inNkwerre local governmentarea, four armed men jumpedout of the bush to the highway.They shot sporadically into theair. This forced the haplesscitizens to stop abruptly. Twoof the armed men jumped intothe Mercedes Benz V-booththe Eze-elect and his brotherwere in and drove away.


for further tests at theUniversity of Lagos TeachingHospital with a note in a sealedenvelope. The doctor at LUTHon his own part carried outvarious tests without alsodisclosing the nature of thosetests to me. I was subsequentlyinformed that I had testedpositive to the Human ImmunoDeficiency Virus (HIV). I wasnever provided any form ofcounseling before or after thetests were carried out asrequired by medical ethics andthe law. In fact, I did notunderstand what was going onbut I remember that I waspregnant at that time. Thesituation was made worsewhen my employer advisedthat I should prepare to diesince I had not much time.

He also promptly terminatedmy employment as an auxiliarynurse at the hospital becauseof my HIV -positive status. Inthe termination letter datedOctober 23, 1995, heexplained that the hospital’smanagement could notcompromise the facility or itspatients by exposing them torisks of being infected withHIV. But surprisingly, hequickly gave me a letterrecommending me foremployment in other medicalfacilities.

I suffered serious emotionaland psychological trauma

as a result of the news of myHIV-positive status. This,coupled with the loss of myemployment, contributed to aspontaneous miscarriage of mypregnancy. I was furthervictimized, rejected,humiliated and put at greatrisk when my employerrefused to carry out evacuation

never came. While at thevillage, I ran into someonewho asked me to go to LUTHso that I would receive help. Ialso obeyed. It was while Ivisited LUTH that I ran into mygod-mother, Mrs Onyewuenyiwho listened to my ordeal andreferred me to SERAC. WhenI visited SERAC, theyinterviewed me andsubsequently, contacted myformer employer so as to seeif he will do any form ofsettlement but he ignoredSERAC, so, SERAC took thematter to court on my behalf.

The first shocker I got wasright in the court.Unfortunately, the unfairnessI suffered did not stop at thehands of my employer and hishospital.

On July 14, 2000, SERACfiled the lawsuit

challenging the termination ofmy employment as an auxiliarynurse by the Medical Centreand its Chief Medical Director,based on my HIV-positivestatus.

So, the shocker like Imentioned, happened in 2001.Right there in the court, the then

presiding judge in the case,barred me from entering thecourtroom because of my HIV -positive status.

The judge further ruled thatsatisfactory expert evidencemust be presented in court toconvince her that the judge andothers would not becomeinfected with the HIV virus asa result of my mere physicalpresence in the courtroom. Itwas a huge blow on mydevastated life. SERACappealed that decision and theCourt of Appeal remitted thematter back to the High Courtfor trial. Thank God I wasallowed to testify in my casewithout further restrictions inthe court, in the compound, andbecause I made public mystatus which I am glad I did.Otherwise, I would have diedout of ignorance.

Some illiterate and ignorantneighbours avoided me likeplague. It would have beenokay by me if they did just that,but they went further tohumiliate me and pass sillycomments when they see mearound and in short, theylooked for one excuse or theother to tell me the story of mylife.

They fought my niece whocame on holiday, saying she

had no mother which was whyshe can put up with me in mystate.

In all this, I am grateful toGod for the wonderful husbandHe gave me. My husband hassince then tested negative to thevirus and you may be glad toknow that I also have a son whois also negative. God has reallyused Dr Felix Morka and infact, workers at SERAC whohave adopted me as a part oftheir family, to bless me andgive me reason to live. Indeed,they gave me reason to live tosee my dream of beingvictorious come true.

I have been getting assistancefrom SERAC in terms offeeding, transportation to Lagoseach time my case came upbecause I relocated with myfamily to Obigbo in Rivers State;they also helped for hospitalbills.

On the issue of court case,there was another shocker. Asmy case progressed, myemployer presented falseaffidavit showing that I haddied in my hometown. As youcan see, I’m alive and veryhealthy. So, we discovered thatthe affidavit was filed in supportof a motion seeking to dismissmy lawsuit against my employerand his hospital. The falsedeclaration was one of myemployer’s and his lawyers’strategies to frustrate mydetermination to get justice inthe matter of the wrongfultermination of my employmentand other violations.

On getting information abouttheir wicked plan, Dr FelixMorka called me and asked if Iwas okay to travel to Lagos, Isaid yes and he asked me totake the next flight to Lagoswhich I did. When I appearedat the court,my employer andhis cohorts were shocked.

Well, to cut the long storyshort, on Thursday September27, 2012, Honorable Justice Y.O.Idowu the judge at the LagosState High Court Idowu heldthat the termination of myemployment by the hospitalwhere I worked on the groundof my HIV-positive status isillegal, unlawful and actuatedby malice and extreme badfaith. So she gave an order for5 Million Naira for generaldamages for the wrongfultermination of my employmentto be paid to me and 2 MillionNaira as compensation forunlawful conduct of HIVtesting without my informedconsent and also fornegligence.

Right now, I feel on top ofthe world for my victory andin fact that is anunderstatement because Ican’t explain exactly how I feelnow. This is a case that seemedimpossible and in fact if thematter was left for me or myfamily to handle, it would havedied a natural death becauseI’m from a poor background.

I appreciate every effortmade by Dr Felix Morka andhis workers to see me throughthis victory without collectinga kobo from me.

Doctor told me to prepareDoctor told me to prepareDoctor told me to prepareDoctor told me to prepareDoctor told me to preparettttto die but 1o die but 1o die but 1o die but 1o die but 17 y7 y7 y7 y7 yearearearearears afs afs afs afs aftttttererererer,,,,,I’m still alive and healthyI’m still alive and healthyI’m still alive and healthyI’m still alive and healthyI’m still alive and healthy—Mrs Ahamefule, HIV-Positive Nurse

Mrs. Georgina Ahamefule, is an indigene of Imo Statewho tested positive to Human Immuno Deficiency Virus while working as an auxiliary nurse at a

certain Medical Centre in Lagos. At first, due to her naivety,she found the whole world, crashing on her, no thanks to heremployer, Dr Molokwu, the Chief Medical Director of theMedical Centre who terminated her employment which beganin 1989 and advised her to go back to her village and diesince she had but little time. A lot happened to this woman, asshe shares her traumatic experiences during a tumultuousjourney to victory.

The high point of her account is that her fighting spirit isbacked by God and the Social and Economic Rights ActionCenter (SERAC).

She won a N7-million lawsuit against Dr Molokwu. It was alandmark judgment for Felix Morka, the executive Director ofSERAC who described the judge’s decision as representing amajor victory for Georgina and all those living with the HIVvirus in the country. Dr Morka also disclosed during a pressconference that the judgment was the first-ever judicialpronouncement on the unlawfulness of HIV-based discriminationand therefore, significant in holding that conducting HIV testwithout the individual’s consent is tantamount to unlawfulbattery...

Read on.I joined a certain Medical Centre as an auxiliary nurse in

1989. In 1995, while I was pregnant, I had boils on my skinand I went to my employer for treatment. He carried out medicalexaminations and diagnostic tests without disclosing the natureand outcome of the tests to me. My employer later referred me

BY PRISCA SAM-DURU

,

,

My husbandhas since thentestednegative to thevirus and youmay be glad toknow that Ialso have ason who isalso negativeof the miscarried pregnancywhich he himself prescribed,on the ground of my HIV -positive status. But thank Goddoctors at another hospitaleventually carried out theevacuation procedure for me.After that, I thought he wasstating the fact about myhaving little or no time to liveand so in obedience, Irelocated to my home town andthere, I waited to die but death

Georgina Ahamefule...the unfairness I suffered did not stopat the hands of Dr. Molokwu and his hospital.


,

,

He added that thehigh cost of ram inthe market was duelargely toinsecurity in mostparts of the northwhich according tohim had left manyherdsmen losingtheir rams, sheepand cows toseveral attacks asthey had to flee forsafety

Fuel scarcity, cost of foods,insecurity, mar Sallah celebration

LONG queues in someparts of the country

amost marred Eid-el-Kabircelebration as most peoplecommuting for the festiveperiod groaned under scarcityof fuel and exorbitant fareswhile others lamented highcost of rams and other fooditems in the market.

Saturday Vanguard visitedfilling stations along Ikoroduroad, Oshodi-Apapa road andother parts of Lagos, as wellas ram markets in the area,Thursday to examine the sit-uation.

Most filling stations in andaround the city were underlock and key with a few ofthem opening to skeletal ser-vices, attending to motoristson long queues stretchingover two kilometres away.Most of them operated withone dispensing pump and fewattendants. In some of the fill-ing stations that opened shopto customers Thursday, a li-tre of petrol was sold abovethe recommended pump priceof N97 per litre between theranges of N110 to N120. Thefew ones who sold at the rec-ommended price raked addi-tional N500 on every 10 litreof petrol depending on the ne-gotiation. At the NNPC Megafilling station in Majidun,Ikorodu, queues stretched aslong as two kilometers, dis-rupting traffic in the area. AtTotal filling station in Poston-Barracks area along Oshodiroad, only one pump was atwork and few attendants wereseen dispensing fuel to mo-torists at the recommendedprice but not without sometips.

At MRS filling station atCele-Igbe, in Ikotun area,Lagos, the situation was evenworse. Motorists were madeto pay as much as additionalN500 to N1000 as bribe to fillvehicle tanks, while thosewho bought in jerry-cans weremade to pay much more de-pending on the negotiation.A buyer who does not wanthis name in print told Satur-day Vanguard how he angri-ly left the filling station afterhe was asked to pay N1,500before his 25 litre jerrycancould be filled. “I walked inthere to buy fuel in my 25litrejerry-can because there wasno queue. In fact nobody wasthere, but I noticed they wereselling fuel. The attendantsaid I have to pay the sum ofN1,500 before my can couldbe filled and I asked whatthen was the cost of the realfuel of 25 litres if I had to paythat much as bribe? He latertold me that he was sorry thatthere was no fuel.”

Against the backdrop ofthe statement signed by the

BY ISHOLA BALOGUN

acting Group General Manag-er, Group Public Affairs Divi-sion of NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pep-ple, recently that “there is nothreat of fuel scarcity,” mostfilling stations are under lockand key and a few ones thatopened to customers com-plained that there was no sup-ply of the products.

The development affectedmovements of people who

desired to transit from onepoint to the other for the cele-bration of Eid-il-Kabir.

At the popular Ojota MotorPark, Lagos, fares to most partsof the South West states and

villages had gone up astro-nomically. A journey to Ije-bu-Ode, Ibadan which usu-ally cost about N700 andN800 respectively now costabout N2000 and N2500 re-spectively.

Speaking to Saturday Van-guard, some of the commut-ers expressed worry that theywere forced to pay such ex-orbitant fares because of theirresolve to go home for theSallah celebration. One ofthem who lamented the situ-ation to the reporter said:

“It has never been thisworse. We know that usuallyduring festive period, trans-porters increase the fares butthis is outrageous. The fuelshortage has also adverselyaffected fares.”

At the ram market inOwode-elede, in

Ikorodu road, ram sellersbemoan the low turnout ofbuyers less than twenty hoursto the Muslim feast of ramsacrifice. Abubakar whobarely speaks English toldthe reporter that theminimum price for a maturedram for Ileya ranged between40,000 to 100,000 per ram de-pending on the size. Headded that the high cost ofram in the market was duelargely to insecurity in mostparts of the north which ac-cording to him had left many

herdsmen losing their rams,sheep and cows to severalattacks as they had to flee forsafety. He added that the bulkof ram supply comes fromBorno and Niger states add-ing that Maiduguri had sincebecome a no-go-area.

A Muslim, Alhaji Abdu-lazeez Amao, who could notbuy a ram at the market not-ed that it was not a do-or-dieaffair, indicating that the sac-rifice solely depends on af-fordability.

At the Mile 12 market, La-gos, shoppers were seen mak-ing last minute rush for sal-lah shopping. Some of themwho spoke to the reportergrumbled over the high costof tomatoes and vegetablesincluding onions. Tolulope,

a housewife, said: “I thoughtit would be better on Thurs-day when people might havetravelled home for Sallah. Itwas not any better; they solda small basket of tomatoes atN4,500 but now they are sell-ing it at N5,200 at the samemarket. I don’t know what isgoing on in this country,” shelamented.

Beside the fact that the cur-rent situation might be a pre-lude to what the end of theyear has to offer in terms ofprices of food and security, thecheer, fervour and enthusi-asms of the Ileya festive peri-od may not have fully cometo life. But even when themeat is limited, the sharingremains unlimited.

•Mile 12 market in Lagos

•A filling station in Lagos

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We recently celebrated our52 years of Independence, doyou think we are makingprogress as a nation?

I do not think that Nigeria ismoving forward and you knowthat there is certain informationcirculating that Nigeria maynot survive itself beyond 2015as one nation. That predictionshould be taken very seriouslyby a well minded person.Don’t think it is just a guesswork. Nigeria started derailingas a nation from 1966 whenthere was the first military coupthat ousted the civiliangovernment under SirAbubakar Tafawa Belewa.Those who toppled thatgovernment were the militaryand they had no knowledge ofpolitical administration. Allthey did was to plant militarygovernors in each state.

The only state that had nomilitary administration was theEastern region, theadministrator put there wasUkpabi Asika who was theirstooge. So the administrationplanned by Chief Awolowo, SirAhmadu Bello, Dr Azikiwe,because we had three regionsthen, was destroyed. Themilitary was even jealous ofthemselves and they startedtoppling themselves andplanted a wrong system ofgovernment. MurtalaMuhammed came with goodintension but they did notallow him to stay. Idiagbonand Buhari came to sanitizethe system but at the end ofthe day, Babangida came andoverthrew them. So thepolitical system in Nigeriafrom 1966 till date has neverplanted a good administrationfor this country. Anybody thatcame into power was after his

Northerners when they callthemselves Middle Beltans,are they not qualified tooccupy that office of thePresident? So there is no needdeceiving people and talkingabout one Nigeria, there is noone Nigeria. If the Igbos puttheir foot on ground, they willreceive popular support fromother areas for thePresidency. The Northernerswill definitely say no, they evenwant to push out Jonathanwho is yet to conclude histenure . Do you think wepeople in the South South willfold our hands and supporttheir own candidate? SoNigeria cannot be trulyconsidered to be one country,it is not one country, it is somany countries in one country.And let me tell you, Nigeriacannot remain one if anythinghappens to PresidentJonathan. That rope that istying the country together willbe broken and that will lead to

for the short period of the civilianadministration, they were angels,no but if they were to be civiliancoups as the military did to thecivilians when they were in power,Nigeria would have beenshattered into various states. Buteven though they are weak, theyhave not been given enoughopportunity to practicedemocracy. Militaryintervention weakened theimpact of democracy and thatis why I cannot say thatcivilians have done well sincethe inception of this democracyin 1999. The civilians areequally rogues. The moneymeant to develop the nation isbeing stolen every day byindividuals. And when theyhave the opportunity to fillpositions, it is either they puttheir brothers or sisters, or theywill put their girl friends. So, nocommon man in this countryhas a means of survival or doyou think a hungry man willkeep quiet forever? No. Civilianshave not learnt their lessons.Nigeria needs to be cleaned upand how do we do that? Don’timpose your influence on me, Iwill not impose my influence onyou. We are praying that thesolution to our problem shouldcome fast and that is why yousee people agitating for anational conference so that wewill know where we belong.

You talked about Prof. Jega,are you saying that you are notsatisfied with the conduct of theEdo election?

The election in Edo wassuccessful because the people ofEdo state said this is our stand.The entire Edo peopledetermined their destiny, so hehas no alternative than to dothe right thing. He did wellbecause the people of the statesaid we will die if you do anything wrong. So Jega has notimpressed me. Did you not seewhat happened in Kogi, is thatan election? Was it not underJega? Is Delta election a goodone? Jega himself is a problem,I cannot praise him for anything. Look at the electoral casesin the court, did INEC providethe judiciary with thenecessary information?

Are you saying we havenothing to celebrate at our52nd anniversary?

The nation is a total failure, itis not a nation. Look at prices ofcommodities, look at the killingsbeing perpetrated by BokoHaram, look at kidnapping,armed robbery, assassinations,terrorism, will such thingshappen in a normal country.We have the Army, we have thePolice, are they really doingtheir work. The bottom line isthat we have nothing tocelebrate.

Then what is the solution?Let there be a National

Conference where every bodywill decide their own fate. Nomatter how far you patch thiscountry, you are wasting your

take over power, Boko Haramis a political and religiousproblem. If Jonathan were tobe a military man, Boko Haramwould not have been inexistence. Some persons whodo not want any other personsto rule them in the North arethe ones supporting BokoHaram. But the Northernersare playing a dangerous game.What I am saying is that by2015, this country willdisintegrate. I support thatcomment the Americans madebecause nobody will come fromthe North and say he wants tobe a President of this countrybecause the South will resistit. We are not idiots.

The Igbos have beenagitating for Presidency

The Igbos as a matter of facthave the right to thepresidency. The reason is thatsince Aguiyi Ironsi who testedpower after the first Republic,Azikiwe was only a ceremonial

Igbos have aright to thePresidency—Okpozo

selfish interest. When IBBcame, he tried to maintain twopolitical systems in thecountry. We had the SDP andNRC. That was a goodintension because all thesemushroom political partieswere avoided. We thought thatsystem will remain butunfortunately, they did notallow that. And that has madethe politics of this country veryunstable. For instance, if youlook deeply into the politicalparties in this country, you willfind out that many of themushroom political partiesare PDP appendages. Theother ones cannot sustainthemselves because thewealth of the nation is in thehands of the PDP. So whenthere is an election, all theydo is to finance those politicalparties just to cause confusionand they will be collectingmoney indirectly throughthese political parties.

Secondly, the INECchairmen they have beenputting are stooges of thegovernment in power. WhenIwu came, he became amilitary man, the only INECchairman that did well isProf.Nwosu under IBB. Heplanned INEC well to checkall abuses and he sustainedhis position because he is areliable man. Even thisProf.Jega, I have not seensincerity in his operations. SoI do not foresee a situationwhereby this country ismoving to be one. Even underthe government of Jonathan,those who are not leaders intheir communities are theones advising him, to theextent that the unstablenature of the politicalsituation of this countrytoday, there is no plan on howto move Nigeria forward.

The Northerners want to

2015

President, practically thepower was in the hands of SirAbubakar Tafawa Balewa, so noIgbo man has been given thatopportunity to rule thiscountry. Are they not part ofNigeria? Will you continue tooppress them and you talkabout one Nigeria?

Besides that, where do youplace the people of the MiddleBelt, are you calling them

the end of Nigeria.

What about the civilians,have they done well for thepeople?

Civilians have not been givenchance to manage the politics ofthe nation. Look at the numberof years the military has ruled andthe number of years the civilianshave ruled and you will see thedifference. I am not saying that

,

,The nation is a total failure, it is not anation. Look at prices ofcommodities, look at the killingsbeing perpetrated by Boko Haram,look at kidnapping, armed robbery,assassinations, terrorism, will suchthings happen in a normal country

Senator Francis Okpozo...I do not think that Nigeria ismoving forward

Senator Francis Okpozo is a second Republicsenator and South South leader. In this interview withSaturday Vanguard, he declares that Nigeria has

nothing to celebrate just as he warns that the nation may beheading towards disintegration if urgent steps are not takento address the injustice being done to the minorities and thepeople of the South South. Excerpts:

BY Simon Ebegbulem,Benin city

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What is your view of thenation at 52?

Nigeria is a failed state,a country with so

many challenges. Our chal-lenges are enormous. Theycall for sober reflection. Thefederal government at themoment is still searching forsolutions to our problems.

We have adopted a foreignculture that is alien to oursystem. We have not beenlucky to have many honestleaders in the country. Mostof the past leaders were selfseeking. This is why we haveleaders who are richer thanthe country. We have not got-ten it right in terms of re- in-tegration.

The economy is in sham-bles. A situation where onecontractor will undertake aroad project that is less than200 kilometres for six and ahalf years and the job has notgone twenty percent calls forconcern. The East West roadproject has been on since2006. This is 2012, and we areyet to get 20% on the job. Thistype of road with the rightcapacity should not exceedtwo years.

At 52, do you think we

should revisit our gover-nance structure?

I sincerely call for true fed-eralism. The system we arerunning is not working, weneed to devolve powers tothe federating states; it willcreate room for thorough ac-countability. A nation as bigas Nigeria cannot run as aunitary system.

At 52, we are talking ofanother constitution amend-ment, what are your viewson some burning issues likeState Police, Immunityclause, autonomy of localgovernments?

I think the country is notripe enough for state police.This will likely destroy thecountry because it will be

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

,We have adopted a foreign culture that isalien to our system. We have not beenlucky to have many honest leaders in thecountry. Most of the past leaders were selfseeking. This is why we have leaders whoare richer than the country

Nigeria is a failedstate—Edebiri

,used as a tool of oppression,to fight opposition. StatePolice is likely to fight againstthe unity of the country.

On Immunity clause, Ithink this should be re-viewed. Governors shouldnot be arrested over allega-tions but they should besued and when criminal al-legations are establishedagainst them, then, theyshould be thrown out of of-fice. The governor shouldanswer for criminal allega-tions while in office. Wehave a history where afteroffice they jet out of thecountry to run away from thelaw.

Some have said removalof immunity will create dis-traction. Then to avoid suchdistractions, the governorsshould do the right thing.

Local governments shouldenjoy autonomy; their alloca-tions should go to them di-rectly. But there should be a

in July this year?Police have not given us

any information on their in-vestigation. We think the pro-cess is slow. We call on thestate government and thePolice to unmask the killersof Julius. We urged on thestate government to ensurethe killers of Julius arebrought to book.

Let’s hear your wordfor our political lead

ers on Nigeria at 52

Nigerians should revive Nigeria. It isonly Nigerians who

can revive the country. At themoment, we are running afailed state. There is no pow-er; the roads are bad, manylocal industries are ground-ed. Government should riseup to its challenges. We needtransportation. Imagine, ArikAir got grounded and therewas pandemonium in thecountry. Government shouldinvest in the aviation sector.

Recently, I was trapped intraffic at Ugbowo for sixhours because of the state ofour roads. Warri to Port Har-court should be two hours butbecause of the poor state ofthe roads, people make it infive hours. See the manyhours wasted on our roadsdue to their bad state. Thefederal government shouldtake decisive steps to tacklethe challenges before us at52.

kind of understanding be-tween the state and local gov-ernments on how to developthe state. For instance, localgovernments can providewater for small communitieswhile state governments dosuch for big and urban com-munities.

Any update from the Po-

lice yet on the Chairman ofyour party in Rivers statethat was brutally murdered

CHIEF Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri is a member of the Board of Trustees of theAll Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP. In this interview with Saturday Vanguardin Port Harcourt, he laments the failure of the country at 52.

He calls on the federal government to take decisive steps to tackle thechallenges of poverty, power supply, bad roads, corruption and other relatedchallenges to get the nation back on track.

* Edebiri

Our security system is in amess. Christians at the mo-ment are walking out of thenorthern part of the country.This should not be becausewe are brothers. We shouldbuild a strong, virile andunited country.

You were one of the top

three candidates at the lastgovernorship election inEdo state. Are you at the tri-bunal or is there any under-standing between you andthe government of AdamsOshiomhole?

Let me quickly say thatthere is no understandingbetween me and Adams. Ionly congratulated him afterthe election and since then,we have not met or spoken.

We are not in the tribunalbecause we don’t want to en-gage in legal battle that willdrag the state backward. Our focus is on how to buildthe state.

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RAISING grasscutteris becoming as lu-

Grasscutter Farming: A growing money spinnercrative as farming inpoultry, fish, and pig in

the country. It has expe-rienced sporadic growthin recent times. But one

,

,

Lagos state traffic lawwill reposition transportsystem — OLADAPO

Most states ofthe federationseem to havesame thinkingand positionabout thedangers and riskassociated withOkada riding inthis country

Onebunne:man who has been in theVanguard of grasscutteris the Managing Direc-tor, Jovana Farms, PrinceArinze Onebunne, de-scribed the venture as agrowing money spinnerfor farmers. He said it isnot difficult for one torear them. According tohim, what one should dois to find elephant grassto feed them in themorning and evening.

He stated that

grasscutter farminghelps generate a healthyprofit as he hinges his

success on-technicalstrategies,sound vet-erinary andanimal hus-bandry re-search andthe use ofaffordableproductionm e t h o d sthat aresuitable forsmall-scalefarmers.

He saidfurther thatthe experi-ence hegained ina n i m a lfarming foryears isnow avail-able for en-

trepreneurs through na-tionwide seminars andworkshop. Today, Oneb-unne helps people toraise grasscutter farms.Hence, many house-holds and restaurantsserve meals with grass-cutter. Onebunne de-scribed the developmentas an advantage for hiscolleagues as Nigeriansare looking for the tastybush meat.

"With about N35,000 to

N45,000 one can kick-offwith one family of grass-cutter called a colony.This comprises one maleand four females. Theyare reared in a cagewhich costs N5,000,therefore with N50,000one is already in busi-ness”, he said.

He advised newentrants to buy themwhen they are fourmonths old the breedingstock age. “If you buy atthis stage and rear themfor four months, they willstart having babies ateight mouths and youcan start marking profit.”

“A grasscutter isodourless unlike a fowlor a rabbit. As a result,the cage can be placedanywhere in thecompound or even in thekitchen. The merit agrasscutter has overothers is that it issusceptible to fewdisease or healthproblems and can easilybe fed with a variety ofgrass.

They feed mainly onsucculent stems andforages of some grasses.He insisted that interest-ed farmers must under-go practical training be-fore venturing into thebusiness to enable themreap full benefits.

He said among the ba-sic input for the breed-ing are cages and their

housing units, starterstock, feeds, and feedingbowls and cleaning ma-terials. The housing unitprotects them from ad-verse weather condi-tions, such as cold, es-cape of animals duringaccidental openings ofindividual cages andprotection from theft.

There is no need at thebeginning to rent a roomspace or hire a salesteam. What is more, over-head costs can be signif-icantly reduced.

Onebunne works withinterested farmers andprovide them with infor-mation on how they canget cages and initialbreeders from his farm.The demand for grass-cutter meat is high withits accompanying pricehikes, making the pros-pect of grasscutter rear-ing very bright either asa full-time or part-timejob. At the moment, Jo-vana farms organizesnationwide sensitizationtraining seminars on thepractical ways of makingit through small scalefarming. However, forfurther information onthe grasscutter business,one can visitwww.jovanafarm.com formore details. Choosealso the nearest venuefrom the advert box inthis page.

Siyanbola A. Oladapo,M a n a g i n g

Director/CEO, BowillErrands Limited, is aseasoned andprofessional practitionerin the courier industrywith many years ofexperience. In thisinterview with SaturdayVanguard Business, heexplains what the trafficlaw in Lagos tends to doin the courier industryand others. He alsoreminds courierpractitioners on theinherent opportunities inthe industry that are yetto be tapped. Excerpts:

A new traffic rule ispassed to law in Lagos,can you x-ray the goodand bad of this law as itaffects courier industry?

The Lagos State trafficlaw provisions as it wereand the intentions arecommendable. Moststates of the federationseem to have samethinking and positionabout the dangers and

risk associated with Okadariding in this country,which has led to outrightban in some of the states.Most of these motorcycleswere not even designedfor commercialtransportation by themanufacturers. The lawrecognizes the effect ofroute restriction on courierbusiness and has thereforegranted us someexception with a provisoto use a motorcycle ofhigher engine capacity,which in this instance is200cc from 125cc beingpresently used by couriercompanies. However, theimplication of this isinjection of fresh fund,which may not be readilyavailable to procure newmotorcycles of 200ccengine capacity, trainingof our dispatch riders andits attendant costs, whichmay also not have beenbudgeted for. The law in away will assist in sanitizingthe industry as onlyserious minded people

will be in dispatchbusiness. Most companieswho were not licensed ascourier company but areengaged in courierbusiness will be out of itbecause part of modalitiesof this law is that Lagosstate government will

create specialized numberplates for couriercompanies, which willhelp remove quacks fromthe industry.

On the other hand, withthe restriction in theroute, it will create easy

passage for our dispatchriders to move as againstwhat is obtainable whereyou have okada ridersswarming on the roads,greater percentage ofthem without formaltraining and had noconsideration for otherroad users.

The greatest challengenow is the deliberaterefusal of law enforcementagencies, especially thepolicemen to allow couriercompanies to operate.The courier boxes areattached to ourmotorcycles with namesconspicuously written,motorcycles are branded,passengers are notcarried, our riders arewell kitted, protectivematerials are in place, yetthey have been harassingus all in a bid by theoverzealous ones amongstthem to exploit us. Theyhave turned it to money

making venture and theyhave greatly impactedour business negatively.Motorcycles with sensitivedocuments have beenimpounded. There istherefore an urgent needto educate the police andother agencies, likeLASTMA to stop theharassment of couriercompanies. The LagosState Governmentthrough the workaholicCommissioner forTransportation, Mr.Kayode Opeifa has beensympathetic to our course,because the 200ccmotorcycles are notavailable on shelve andneeded some time to getthem. We do not have anydoubt, that Lagos StateMinistry of Transportwhich was recently votedthe BEST FRIENDLYG O V E R N M E N TAGENCY in the courierindustry by courier

practitioners will wade infor a smooth transition.When the law came outinitially, there was noexception; courierindustries were restrictedlike others. When thecourier made theirpresentation togovernment, they listenedand gave us the rightdirection to do our courierbusiness. So, what weneed now is to get fund toprocure the recommendedmotorcycles, hoping thatbanks will be there tosupport us.

At 52, can you accessthe performance of thepostal sector?

Nigeria has come a longway economically, sociallyand politically in allramifications grapplingwith political instabilitywhich translates tofrequent changes ofpolicies, economic policyi n c o n s i s t e n c i e s ,alignment andrealignment of ministries,agencies with differentminister supervising theministries, jettisoningpredecessor's directionand coming up withdifferent ideas, thatsometimes are not forwardlooking etc. This is whatNigerian postal sector asa unit of the economy inthe last 52 years haswitnessed, grappled withand ‘developed’ into. It ishowever, expected thatthe sector with the inherentpotential as economycatalyst, lined withabundant employmentgenerating opportunitiesand bring a full load ofgoodwill to the countryand bolster economicconfidence.

Oladapo:


UK court convicts Nigerian whouses witchcraft to traffic teenagegirls for prostitution

A Nigerian humantrafficker who terri-

fied his victims into silencethrough “juju” witchcraftrituals and sexual violencewas convicted yesterday oftrafficking girls to work inthe sex trade across Eu-rope.

Former security guardOsezua Osolase faces jailwhen he is sentenced onMonday for tricking im-poverished young Nige-rian girls into travelling toBritain before farmingthem out as sex workersfor up to £70,000 a time tocontinental gangs.

Police identified flightrecords and forged pass-port records to show thathe recruited 28 girls andescorted many of themabroad over a 15-monthperiod from 2010. ButOsolase boasted to his vic-tims that he had been run-ning the scam for morethan a decade.

Osolase deliberately tar-geted some of the mostvulnerable girls in theworld - orphaned, ill-ed-

ucated and homeless -and brought them to Brit-ain where he kept themcaptive.

The 42-year-old en-sured their obedience bybinding the young girls tohim with “juju” rituals -a powerful force in partsof Nigeria - that left girlsfearing that they woulddie if they ran away orspoke out against him.

But in a major break-through for police, offic-ers traced three of theirvictims - aged 14, 16, and17 at the time - who wereprepared to give evidenceafter they were stoppedby authorities while trav-elling to the European cit-ies on false travel docu-ments.

One of the girls told howshe was taken to a houseof witchcraft in Lagos. Theteenager was given ablood-like mixture, told tobathe in it and wrap sod-den cloth around her. Apriest cut hair from herarmpits, some of her fin-ger and toenails and took

blood from her hand. Thewoman was told that thebody parts taken in theritual would be used tofind and kill her if evershe tried to run away.

The majority of Oso-lase’s victims were traf-ficked to Italy, Spain andFrance where there is ahigh demand for West Af-rican women to work inthe sex trade, police said.However, detectives be-lieve that he funnelled hiswealth back to Nigeriaand had no trappings ofwealth at his home inNorthfleet, Kent.

Detective Inspector Ed-die Fox said: “Osolase ledthese girls to believe abetter life awaited them inthe UK, he preyed on vul-nerable girls who had noone to care for them andwould not be missed.“Juju is a well establishedbelief but Osolase corrupt-ed it in a bid to gain con-trol and bend the wills ofhis victims. He exploitedthe girls and took advan-tage of the fact they hadnobody.’’

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and

former Vice President ofWorld Bank, Dr Oby Ezek-wesili, Cross River State Gov-ernor, Liyel Imoke, Chair-man Empowerment SupportInitiative (ESI), Hon DakukuAdol Peterside, and wives ofState Governors includingwell meaning Nigerianshave joined the Founder ofESI, Dame Judith Amaechito champion the cause forproper legislation and imple-mentation of investment inearly childhood education inthe country.

Declaring open the 3rdNational Conference on Kin-dergarten Education in PortHarcourt, President Good-luck Jonathan said sound ed-ucation, application ofknowledge and policy imple-mentation of early childhoodeducation were key in pro-moting speedy developmentin the country.

President Jonathan repre-sented by the Minister ofYouth Development, AlhajiInumo Abdul Kadir said,“Education is not a privilege,but an inalienable right ofevery child, we must makeappropriate investments inearly childhood education toachieve our lofty goals”,Jonathan said.

In her lead paper presen-

National Kindergarten Conference:Jonathan, Amaechi, Ezekwesili,others declare support for earlychildhood education

tation, former World BankVice-President, Oby Ezek-wesili said, the importanceof education in any econo-my is the vehicle throughwhich societal developmentcan be achieved.

Also speaking, ChairmanBoard of Trustees, Empow-erment Support Initiative

(ESI) and Member Repre-senting Opobo/Nkoro Fed-eral Constituency in theHouse of Representatives,Hon Dakuku Adol Petersidesaid the event would providethe forum to examine the roleof early childhood educationin the development cycle ofa child.

PRESIDENT Goodluck E. Jonathan will

today undertake a one-day official visit to AkwaIbom State to commissionthe new Governor’s of-fice and perform theground-breaking ceremo-ny of an International Sta-dium in the state.

Governor Godswill O.Akpabio disclosed thiswhile answering ques-tions from GovernmentHouse correspondentsThursday at GovernmentHouse, Uyo after his re-turn from official trip to anInternational Telecommu-

President Jonathan to commissionGovernor’s office, Uyo today

nications Union meetingin Dubai.Governor Akpabio re-marked “The new Gover-nor’s office is to be com-missioned by PresidentJonathan on Saturday aspart of the uncommontransformation agenda inthe state. The office wasan old structure, even be-fore my administration’’.

He said ‘’So, there wasneed for a massive reno-vation and expansion ofthe structure of the state,which is a call point forvisitors and investors.


Athletics Federation of Nigeria,AFN, technical director,

Omatsheye Nesiama has said thatthe federation will need as much aseight million pounds (about N2.02b)to prepare Nigeria’s athletes for theRio 2016 Olympics.

Nesiama, a Navy Captain wasspeaking during the three-day Athleticscoaches’ forum and clinic organised bythe AFN as part of its ‘Project Rio 2016’programme last week. He said that thissum will be used to modernise the PortHarcourt High Performance Centre,which has been approved by the worldathletics ruling body, IAAF and also toput Nigerian elite athletes at podiumperformance level.

He added that the AFN is proposingthis project in line with directives bySports Minister, Bolaji Abudulahi to allfederations to develop a programme thatwill see Nigeria winning medals at thenext Olympics.

“We are looking up to the NSC toprovide funds for the High PerformanceCentre to take off. Though we have somefacilities on the ground at the Universityof Port Harcourt, we still need five toeight million pounds to get theprogramme going,” said the widely readand traveled Navy captain.

He stated that there was need forNigeria to do a rethink and plan for thefuture after the disappointment of theLondon 2012 Olympics.

“If we were to be truthful to ourselvesyou will agree with me that we don’tdeserve a medal at the London 2012Games. We must have to start somethingnow and that is why we are training ourcoaches and getting them ready for thechallenge ahead.

And if we are able to get this project

AFN needsN2b toprepare forRio 2016

*Gloria Asumnucompetes withVeronicaCampbellBrown at theLondon 2012Olympics.

After three days of exposure tomodern athletics coaching

techniques, Nigerian coaches havebeen challenged to work hard andproduce medal potentials for the Rio2016 Olympic Games.

Athletics Federation of Nigeriapresident, Solomon Ogba made thecharge during the week whilespeaking at the Athletics coachesforum/clinic organised by the technicalcommittee of the AFN, towardspreparations for the Rio 2016Olympics. Over 60 coaches attendedthe event which featured Nigeria-bornUnited Kingdom Athletics coach,Michel Afilaka.

“Our coaches must deliver now thatwe are exposing them to moderncoaching techniques. Before now, mostof our coaches lacked the technicalknow how. This is why the federationtook upon itself to organise clinics.

This is the third in the series andbesides that, we are encouraging ourformer athletes and others who areinterested to pick IAAF certification.Good enough we have eight of ourcoaches who have moved to level threeand we are encouraging them to moveto the next level,” said Ogba.

Produce champions for Nigeria, Ogbachallenges coaches

Coach Afilaka, in his submissionurged Nigerian coaches to cometogether and face the problemsconfronting them as a united force.

“Nigerian coaches must cometogether and make things work. Thereis no use complaining about a badsystem, now it is time to work with thesystem or work without the system.”

going by the 2015 world championships inBeijing, China, we should get podiumperformances. Otherwise we might justforget about Rio 2016,” he stressed.

He stressed that the target of the Rio 2016project will be to identify athletics talents,select, nurture and expose them, adding thatelite athletes’ training programme will alsobe funded, while coaches and administratorswill be trained and updated.

Sylva Eleanya: A Silverwaretoo earlyBY EMEKA OBASI

DEATH no doubt mustbe everyone’s final

activity, a price we mustall pay.Under very nor-mal circumstances, mor-tals shy away from ourend.Yes, there are a fewsuicide cases here andthere, through bombs orhara -kiri[Japanese forbelly cutting]. By theway, I do not think thereare still any kamikazepilots. Even euthanasia(mercy killing) remains ataboo in sane minds.Death indeed is a thief.

Sylva Eleanya wonprizes in the course of hisjob as Sports photo jour-nalist. The laurels camein torrents-encomiums,plaques, shields, tro-phies name them.Andwe were like OliverTwist expectingmore.Now we did notplan for this.Death.Ohdeath. Death is acoward.You know, itcaught our mannapping.Trust Sylva,hislens would have cap-tured the act, that waswhy death came knock-ing at dawn.Likequicksilver,the deed wasdone.Not in ourdream.This is real.

There is this generationof photo journalists thatI code named ‘Digital’.In this group you haveSam Olusegun,WilsonBodiso-Owei, Pius Esiri,Femi Gbadegesin-K u t i , G o r d o nO m o i g u i , A y o d e l eOjo.Sylva was one ofthem.

At the Sydney 2000Olympic Games,eight ofus shared the sameapartment.Our home wasthe Media Village, insidethe Cumberland campusof the Sydney Universityin Lidcombe.My roommate was Emeka Enechi(nowlate), Kunle Solajapaired Gboyega Okeg-benro, Felix Awogu andNnamdi Anazia (ofblessed memory) tooksame room while Sylvastayed with Sanni Zaria.Sylva loved the DreamTeam so much that hetravelled all the way toMelbourne, about one-and half hours flightaway as they playedHonduras.With mega

stars like MauriceG r e e n , M i c h a e lJohnson,Marion Jones(before we fished out thebeast in her) and GailDevers, I placed athlet-ics ahead of soccer.

Going to Melbournewas good though. I hadan uncle who left Lagosin 1978, and had notseen Nigeria eversince.Somehow, he wasincommunicado a fewyears to 2000. My trip toAustralia therefore wasalso to locate him.ThankGod I did.We agreed tomeet at the end of theGames. Sylva’s tripcaused me to send amessage. My uncle wasto meet the photo jour-nalist at thea i r p o r t . S o m e t h i n gchanged the plan.Theycould not meet.Whenthey spoke on phone, myfriend gave it to my un-cle, albeit,without myconsent ooo.

In his typical Owerrid i a l e c t , S y l v ahollered,”enyi, ashi ije-na ayo uyo!”(my friend,they say you have re-fused to visithome).When he told methis, I shivered.It waswhat I had mentioned toSylva,but I did not sendhim to harass the ex-Bi-afran soldier.Well, Ieventually met my unclein Melbourne.Welaughed over it, and gottalking.The man was sobitter with the Nigeriansystem that he asked meif General Babangidawas still the President.For an 18-year-old whojoined the army from col-lege, got his intenstines

gushing from his stom-ach in battle and couldnot see his mother ’scorpse, he had everyreason to be angry.

Twelve years later,theLondon Olympicscame.Vanguard SportsEditor Tony UbaniNwokoma wasthere.While bewailingSylva’s inability to se-cure travellingdocuments,I sent him amail about Sylva.I knewhe could make it, and hedid.I told Ubani the Mel-bourne story.Two weeksago,I was on line toDean of Sports EditorsOnochie Anibeze, On-yegwu. I also talkedabout Sylva.We laughedover Dada Adekola’s car-toon, ‘Toni andSliva’.You cannot missthe ‘mischief ’.The randycartoon character Toni isdifferent from TonyUbani.Sliva could be oneOnitsha marketcharacter,not SylvaEleanya.Infact,my mindwas still there when thesad news hit me.

Sylva loved hiscamera,he enjoyed hisjob.Were it possible,hemight ask God for onelast opportunity-to playa fast one on all of us-Sylva would wake up,grab his tools,attend hisfuneral.Just to capturecrying faces, floodedeyes, failed voices andweeping friends. A part-ing gift, maybe, a pain-ful exit.All Fairy tales.

Emeka Obasi is MediaAdviser to former Abiastate Governor OrjiUzor Kalu.

•Late Sylva Eleanya


10-28-2012 E.Guinea 14:30 South Africa10/28/12 Senegal 17:30 RD Congo10/31/12 South Africa 14:30 Senegal10/31/12 RD Congo 16:30 E.Guinea11/03/12 E.Guinea 17:30 Senegal11/03/12 South Africa 17:30 RD Congo10/29/12 Nigeria 14:30 Cameroon10/29/12 Cote d’Ivoire 17:30 Ethiopia11/01/12 Cameroon 14:30 Cote d’Ivoire11/01/12 Ethiopia 17:30 Nigeria11/04/12 Nigeria 17:30 Cote d’Ivoire11/04/12 Cameroon 17:30 Ethiopia

TEAMS

Group A:Equatorial GuineaSouth AfricaSenegalCongo DR

Group BNigeriaCameroonCote /d’IvoireEthiopia

LAST TIME … Africa’s most capped female footballer,Perpetua Nkwocha, hopes to impress at this championship andretire thereafter seven appearances.

FORMER national teamcoach, Paul Hamilton has

predicted that the SuperFalcons are still hot favouritesto retain the title as the 8thAfrican Women Championshipbegins tomorrow in EquatorialGuinea. “I have faith in theteam to do it once morebecause in my view, they havehad a wonderful preparationunlike what we had in thepast. I must commend theNFF for having ensured theycamped early and playedfriendly matches that showedthey are ready.

So, if they go in withconfidence and discipline, Ibet you we will be having thetitle back here with us becausethe Falcons remain myfavourite team to win. I putthem far above the rest,” hestated in Lagos.

Ghana are out of thisparticular edition, whichleaves South Africa,Equatorial Guinea andCameroon as top contenders.But Hamilton, the formerSuper Falcons handler, saiddespite in-roads made bythese countries, Nigeriaremains the best on theground that “ we have verygood players from the U-17and U-20 teams who havecompeted at top internationallevels and have acquired theexperience.”

“I believe they will bring thisto bear in this competition. Noother country parades sucharray of quality female playersin Africa as Nigeria. I can giveyou the assurance that if theyadd confidence and discipline,coupled with the experienceand knowledge of the

handlers, no other team canmatch our girls.” he said.

Nigeria play in Group B andstart against Cameroon onMonday and face Ethiopia inthe second group game onThursday November 1, withthe last tie billed against IvoryCoast on Saturday, November4. Host Equatorial Guinealead Group A with SouthAfrica, Senegal, and CongoDR also in the running for thecrown.

The AWC is the bestplatform for top female

footballers to showcase theirskill in hot contest for a title.Nigeria won the inauguraledition in Abeokuta in 1998after a 2-0 win over arch rivals,Ghana’s Black Queens andretained it two years later inSouth Africa, beating thehosts. The match wasabandoned in the 73rd minuteafter Nigeria led 2-0 and thehost crowd became unruly.

In 2002, the competitionreturned to Nigeria, hosted inWarri and Falcons, despitesuffering first defeat in Africa1-0 to Ghana in thepreliminary round, came backforcefully to beat the Queens2-0 in the final for a third title.

With two more triumphs in2004 (South Africa) and 2006at home, the Falcons for thefirst time lost the crown in2008, having been eliminated2-1 in the semi final by thehost, Equatorial Guinea, whobeat South Africa 2-1 in thefinal.

The Super Falcons had theirrevenge in the last edition inSouth Africa beatingEquatorial Guinea 4-2 in thefinal to reclaim the title.

AWC: Falcons still favouritesfor title, says Hamilton

By EDDIE AKALONU

5 top golfers fly Nigeria’s flag atthe World FinalsMTN World Golfers

Championship finalswill tee-off on October 27,

2012 in Durban, South Africa.The event which will featurethe crème de la crème in global

golf will see Nigeria beingrepresented at the annualevent by a five-man team ofgolf gladiators that justqualified at the rigorousNational Finals held in Uyo.

The team is made up of PaulErokoro, who won theNational Finals in September,Usenobong Akpabio, SamGaladima, EmmanuelOnamajuru and Uko Urok, allleaders of their differenthandicap categories at theNational Finals.

Nigeria will square upagainst other countries in theWGC like Argentina, Armenia,Australia, Austria, Belgium,Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria,China, Czech Republic,Denmark, Finland, Germany,Hong Kong, Hungary, India,Indonesia, Italy, Kenya,Macau, Malaysia andMoldova. Others are: TheNetherlands, Norway, Poland,Russia, Singapore, Slovakia,Slovenia, South Africa (host),Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,Thailand, Ukraine, USA andVietnam.

The Nigerian contingentwho departed the countryyesterday proved themselvesworthy as a group ofrepresentatives after eachmember won his respectivecategory in Uyo.

Dolphinshockedover loss toIkeja

Last Saturday, theDolphin Golf Clubsituated in the Navy

Town, Ojo, locked horns withthe Ikeja Gof Club. After thetitanic battle that raged over 18holes, the Ikeja Golf Club that hasnever lost a Matchplay in fiveyears triumphed, thumpingDolphin 7 points to 4.

Before the event, no one gaveDolphin any chance of survivingthe power play of the Ikejapundits. What was howevershocking was that Dolphin,greenhorns of sort, if the issue isMatchplay, almost wrestled hometo an unbelievable upset. Asidethe lack of experience from theDolphin side, probably the Ikejateam could have beenoverwhelmed.

“I won’t say we lost to Ikeja”,Dolphin Captain, CommodoreSAG Abbah, stated. Continuing,he said, “The scoreline was 7-4.That was close enough given thefact that we were not given anychance. But this is not reason welost. I can say we prepared wellfor the event. But on the day, mostof us were forced to stay behindsince we have to prepare for thevisit of the new Chief of NavalStaff. Those who stayed behindformed the ‘first team’ of ourcourse. Truly I was thinking thegame would be played in twodays like other Match Plays.

Kalusha berates African playersZAMBIA’S greatest player

Kalusha Bwalya believesAfrican football is failing toreach its potential because of a“prima donna” attitude fromsome stars.

The 1988 African Footballer ofthe Year has urged players totake responsibility for their ac-tions. “I hear so many times thatwhen players come back to playfor their respective countries,they want to be treated them likeprima donnas,” he told BBCSport.

“When some Africans becomebig stars it can lead them to be

ill disciplined.”During his career Bwalya

spent five years at Dutch sidePSV Eindhoven, so he under-stands the demands of playingabroad and travelling back torepresent his country.

And the 49-year-old believesthere is no excuse for playersto not respect their nationalsides - or to continually turn uplate for training camps - draw-ing a comparison with the com-mitment he himself showed forhis club. “When I was at PSV, Iwas late [for training] maybetwice,” said Bwalya, who made

147 appearances for Zambiaand is their most capped play-er. “Once was because the timewas changed and the other be-cause I was caught up at a rail-way line near the trainingground and I had to wait therefor 10-15 minutes.

“My question would be ‘whydo we as players act one way inEurope - for clubs - and differ-ently for national associations?’

“Why can they not exhibit thesame discipline that they havein Europe?”

Bwalya believes it is this dis-crepancy that is preventing Af-

rican teams from being the bestthey can be.

“The African player is themost resistant in the world; hecan play in the snow, he canplay in 40 degrees, 50 degrees,he can play when it is raining,”Bwalya told BBC’s World Foot-ball programme. “He can playin Mexico, he can play in Afri-ca, Asia, everywhere.

“We have the best product butwe are not able to nurture thattalent. “My coach always usedto say that if you have short-cuts in training then it willeventually show on the pitch.

CMYK

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Editor: 08062315286(TEXT ONLY). Advert Dept: 01-7924470; Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: weekend @vanguardngr.com, [email protected], [email protected].

Advert:[email protected] Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) EDITOR: CHIOMA GABRIEL. All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 27, 2012

CROSS WORD PUZZLE

SOLUTION ON PAGE 54

Nations Cup: RRRRRenarenarenarenarenardddddvows to revengevows to revengevows to revengevows to revengevows to revengeEagles 20Eagles 20Eagles 20Eagles 20Eagles 20111110 def0 def0 def0 def0 defeateateateateat

seriously.”However, Eagles

coach, Stephen Keshistated that he will beready for the Zambiachallenge. He said thathe was not intimidatedby the unpredictableZambian team.

“I believe that everyteam that qualified forthe Nations Cup aregood and are strongcontenders for thetrophy. So, we’ll preparefor tough battles ahead,”he said.

BY BEN EFE

Zambian coach, HerveRenard had wanted

to avoid the SuperEagles of Nigeria in thegroup pairings, but theFrench-born coachfondly called the Fox,has recalculated hischances as he faced theEagles that have won allNations Cup ties againstthe Chipolopolos.

Renard said after thedraw in Durban that hisaim will be to top thegroup and to achievethat Nigeria must haveto be beaten.

“We crashed out of thequarterfinals in 2010, welost to Nigeria. So wehave a good chance ofrevenge against a verygood Nigerian team.

“Our target from thegroup is to finish top andachieve the mostimportant thing which isto reach the quarterfinal. After that, we canmanage to go very far;as far as we can go,”Renard said.

The Chipolopolo willopen the defence of

the trophy they won in2012 against Ethiopia onJanuary 21 and thenafter they will meet theEagles in the secondgroup game.

“We must negotiate ouropening match againstEthiopia

“The opening match isvery, very important in acompetition so we musttreat everyone very

The Chipolopolohandler sees South

Africa as ‘home’ becausethey are always there totrain for their qualifyingmatches and so said itwill give them theconfidence to tackle theiropponents during theNations Cup.

“We are almost at homehere, so we have to beconfident. We are hereand will be coming hereto make history,” Renardtold a Zambian onlinenewspaper.

Former Super Eaglesassistant coach, Joe

Erico declared thatNigerians would bemaking a mistake, if theythink the Eagles willhave an easy ride in thegroup C pairing of the2013 Africa Nations Cup.

Erico, a former nationalteam goalkeeper whoalong side StephenKeshi were assistants toShaibu Amodu at theMali 2002 Nations Cupstated that the Eagleswill not find it easy withthe perceived weaker

teams such as BurkinaFaso and most especiallyEthiopia.

Nigeria was lumped ingroup C, which hasdefending champions,Zambia, Burkina Fasoand Ethiopia. This wasagainst predictions thatthe Eagles will gettougher opponents suchas Ghana, Cote d’Ivoirein the preliminaryrounds, but Erico aveteran coach warns thatthat group C is just asslippery as thepronounced group of

death featuring Coted’Ivoire, Togo, Tunisia

Group C could be slippery, Erico warns Eaglesand Algeria.

“There are no minnowsagain in football,especially in Africa,”sighed Erico.

He urged the Eagles togive equal attention toall the teams in thegroup.

“So as much as theEagles will prepare wellto face Burkina Faso andZambia, I want the teamto prepare well againstEthiopia and thecoaching crew must makesure that they arepsychologically ready.”

•Odemwingie

Aston Villa v Norwich 1.45pmArsenal v QPR 4pmReading v Fulham 4pmStoke City v Sunderland 4pmWigan v West Ham 4pmMan City v Swansea 6.30pm

Today’s matches

•Erico

ACROSS1.Super Falconets (U-20) Strik-er, Ngozi (6)4.State in Nigeria Known as the“Liberal State”? (6)7.Beverage (3)8.L.G.A. in Rivers State (6)9.Bauchi State Governor, AlhajiIsa (6)10.Adamawa State Governor,Muritala (5)13.Akwa United FC Chairman,Isong (5)15.State in Nigeria Known as“State of Harmony”? (5)17.Colour (5)18.Cross River State Governor,Mr. Liyel (5)20.Vietnamese Capital City (5)23.L.G.A. In Niger State (5)26.Mali “Les Aigles” NationalCoach, Pathe (6)27.France “Ligue 1” Clubside (6)28.Cereal Crop, (3)29.L.G.A. in Kebbi State (6)30.Anambra State Deputy Gov-ernor, Dame Virginia (6)

DOWN1.Imo State Capital (6)2.Former Super Eagles Skip-per, Jay Jay (6)3.Country in Europe (5)4.Eskimo Canoe (5)5.Delta State Deputy Governor,Dr. Amos (6)6.Minister of Trade & Invest-ment, Mr. Olusegun (6)10.Zambian Currency Unit (5)11.Former Minister of Sports,Stephen (5)12.L.G.A. in Kogi State (5)14.Addition Result (3)16.Greek Alphabet (3)18.Oyo State Capital (6)19.Super Eagles AssistantCoach, Sylvanus (6)21.Igbo Girls Name (6)22.L.G.A. In Osun State (6)24.Niger Republic’s First Pres-ident, Mr. Hamani (5)25.Number (5)

CMYK

19 die as Muslims celebrate Eld-el Kabir

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