Peoples Daily Newspaper, Wednesday, May 08, 2012

. . . putting the people first

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

EFCC sacks ACP, 6CSPs, 26 others

Insecurity: Farmerswarn of food shortage

>> PAGE 2

US oil major to sellassets in Nigeria

>> PAGE 3 >> PAGE 19 >> PAGE 19

Mark returns, urgesdialogue with Boko Haram

Police foil another BUK tragedy, detonate 3 powerful bombsFrom Edwin Olofu, Kano

The anti-bomb squad of theKano state Police Commandyesterday detonated three

high caliber time bombs on the oldcampus of Bayero University,

Kano.The explosives were planted

around the Faculties of Science andLaw as well as the Sports Complex.

The anti-bomb squad, backedby armed personnel, cordoned offthe old site and evacuated

residents to safety before swinginginto action in an institution locatedin the densely populated ghettoesof Kabuga, Dorayi and Rijiyar Zaki.

Bayero University, witnesseddevastating attacks by gunmenpenultimate week that killed some

20 Christian worshippers,including two professors.

Police Public Relation Officer,ASP Magaji Musa Majia, yesterdaysaid the police were alerted by theuniversity authorities.

“We are in the university at Contd on Page 2

the invitation of the BUKauthorities to diffuse some strangeobjects established to be highcalibre improvised explosivedevices planted by unknownpersons.”

You can’t queryNSE expenditures

Sokoto state Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (middle), commissioning 500 housing units for statecivil servants, yesterday at Mana. With him are his Deputy, Alhaji Mukthar Shagari (left), and Commissioner forLand and Housing, Barrister Nasiru Aliyu Danstoho (right).

By Lawrence Olaoye

Contd on Page 2

Okereke-Onyiuke to Oteh

Vol. 8 No. 33 Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Jimadal Akhir 18, 1433 AH N150

Reps threaten Oteh’s arrest if . . .

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-11

Editorial 12

Op.Ed 13

Letters 14

Opinion 15

Metro 16-17

Business 19-22

S/Exchange 23

S/Report 24

Motoring 26

Tribute 27

Arts 29

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Salami: Court hears PDP,Oyinlola suit against

MTN tomorrow, Page 3

WE WANTTO HEAR

FROM YOU

International 31-34

Strange World 35

Digest 36

Politics 37-40

Sports 41-47

Columnist 48

PAGE 2 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012

Mark returns, urges dialogue with Boko Haram

Okereke-Onyiuke to Oteh: You can’t query NSE expenditures

Police foil another BUK tragedy, detonate 3 powerful bombsContd from Page 1

Contd from Page 1

By Richard Ihediwa with agency report

President of the Senate, DavidMark, yesterday presidedover the business of the upper

chamber of the NationalAssembly for the first time inweeks during which time he wasreceiving treatment for anundisclosed ailment in an Israelihospital.

According to Premium Timeswhich covered the Senate sittingyesterday, Mark, who returned tothe country last week, spent overa week convalescing in his Apomansion where friends and well-wishers trooped to wish him quickrecovery.

“I am happy to be back,” hesaid as he took his seat at the hightable in the Senate chamber.

The Senate president used theopportunity to address thePresidency, his colleagues in theSenate and the entire nation.

“The current level ofinsecurity in the country isunacceptable and something

must be done to improve it andvery quickly too,” the Senatepresident said, apparentlyreferring to the Executive arm ofgovernment, whose response tothe security crisis has been bymost Nigerians to beunsatisfactory.

“Clearly, the terrorists havedeclared war on Nigeria andNigerians,” the Senate presidentsaid.

From his viewpoint, theescalating acts of terror threatenNigeria’s unity and challenge thevery human values Nigeriansbelieve in.

“This is the time for concertedaction by all Nigerians,” Marksaid.

“The primary responsibility oftackling this challenge lies withthe government but thatnotwithstanding, we all haveroles to play,” Mark said,specifically suggesting thatgovernment dialogue with thesect.

“These misguided groups are

our brothers and sisters,” he said.“Government must therefore

explore all avenues to discuss withthem.

“On the other hand, those whoare aggrieved must find a betterway to expressed theirgrievances.”

Since August 2009 when theBoko Haram terrorist sect firstlaunched attacks on the Nigerianstate, over 1,000 Nigerians havebeen killed.

Recently, however, the secthas added media houses andtertiary institutions to its list oftargets.

The government and itssecurity agencies have in mostcases appeared to be steps behindthe attackers.

“Let me also say withoutmincing words that the securityagencies must intensify their pre-operational responsibilities, rolesand actions and improve theiroperational capabilities,” theSenate president said.

“Their major task must be to

thwart and prevent thesebombings.”

Mark blamed his colleagues forhelping fuel the corruption whichis ruining Nigeria’s economy andinternational reputation.

He said his colleagues haveallowed the system to go corruptbecause of their laziness in playingtheir oversight role over thegovernment.

“Let me use this opportunityto state unequivocally that wemust improve on our oversightfunctions,” he said.

“The inefficiency andcorruption in the system, whichthe various investigationCommittees have uncovered,could have been reasonablyabated if we had carried out ouroversight functions exhaustivelyand effectively,” he added.

He said if his colleagues carriedout their constitutional oversightfunctions effectively, some of theincidents of corruption in Nigeriacould have either been stopped orreduced to the barest minimum.

He added that “our men haveprofessionally and successfullydetonated the three bombs and Iam glad to inform you that no onewas hurt in the process.”

Loud explosions were heard inand around BUK when the bombswere being detonated, causingunderstandable panic in a

university community yet torecover from the penultimateweekend’s killings.

Yesterday’s incident promptedthe beefing up of security in Kanocity to forestall possible breakdownof law and order just as militaryaircraft hovered over fear-strickenKano.

The discovery of time bombs on

the old campus came barely twoweeks after an IED was foundconcealed at the SociologyDepartment on the new Campuslocated on the Kano-Gwarzofederal highway.

The institution’s PublicRelations Officer, Mr. MustaphaZaharadeen said, “yes, we foundstrange and suspicious objects on

our old campus and had gleefullyinvited the police to establish thefacts of the matter”.

Zaharadeen added that theuniversity authorities wereholding “a crucial meeting”,stating that the official positionof the university would be makeknown to the public in duecourse”.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012

EFCC sacks ACP, 6 CSPs, 26 othersThe Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission (EFCC),yesterday, sacked 33 of its

officers for alleged corruption. According to a source at the

agency, there is also “massive re-deployment” as several officers arebeing re-deployed to the NigerianPolice Force.

The source said the

commission confirmed that as away of repositioning the anti-graftagency and ridding it of ineffectiveoperatives, 33 EFCC officers, whowere seconded from the police, havebeen sent away from thecommission.

He said the redeploymentaffected two AssistantCommissioners of Police (ACP), sixChief Superintendents of Police(CSP), five Superintendents of

By Lambert Tyem Police (SP), 10 DeputySuperintendents of Police (DSPs),nine Assistant Superintendents ofPolice (ASPs), and one policeinspector.

The source added that some ofthe officers being redeployed eitherhave disciplinary issues or havebeen inept in the discharge of theirduties.

“The officers affected arethose with questionable records,

and those with pendingdisciplinary problems,” oursource said.

The commission’s chairman,Mr. Lamorde had during hisconfirmation by the Senatealleged that some EFCCoperatives were corrupt. He saidthat his commission planned topurchase a lie detector machineto be used on all EFCC staff.

“Orders have been placed for

those machines, but they are yetto arrive,” said Wilson Uwujaren,the spokesman for the EFCC whodeclined to comment on the officialreasons for the re-deployment ofthe operatives.

While sending the 33 officersaway, the EFCC chairman alsorequested the Inspector General ofPolice, Mohammed Abubakar, toredeploy new officers to thecommission.

A Federal High Court inAbuja will tomorrowcommence hearing in the

suit filed by former Osun stateGovernor, Prince OlagunsoyeOyinlola and the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) against atelecommunication giant, MTNNigeria.

The duo accused the MTN ofnot releasing the full Call DataRecords (CDRs) of the suspendedPresident of the Court of Appeal,Justice Isa Ayo Salami to theNational Judicial Council (NJC).

It would be recalled that,Justice Peter Affen of an AbujaHigh Court recently dismissed asuit filed by Oni against JusticeSalami for not disclosingreasonable cause of action.

But MTN in its statement ofdefence to the present suit claimedit does not have the storagecapacity to store and release CDRsbeyond three months.

A witness statement on oathfiled in court by MTN's SeniorManager, Commercial Legal, Mr.

Rotimi Odusola, averred that, "Iknow as a fact due to capacity andstorage constraint, the 1stdefendant (MTN) can only releaseCDRs for periods not exceedingthree (3) months from the date ofreceipt of a legitimate request forthe release for the CDRs.

"I know as a fact the 1stdefendant's standard requirementwith respect to its post-paidsubscription is consequent on itspolicy upon which it has absoluteprerogative.

"I know that the 1st defendantreleased Adeolu Oyinlola's CDR tohim in compliance with itsobligations to its subscribers."

Responding to paragraphs 22-23 of the statement of claims, theMTN stated that it alwayscooperates with Security agenciesand accedes to their legitimaterequests while adhering to its rigidprocedures to ensure its customer’sconfidentiality regime is notcompromised or prejudiced andalso within the confines of itscapacity and storage constraints.

Salami: Court hears PDP,Oyinlola suit against MTN

The Supreme Courtyesterday threw out amotion to set aside its own

judgment which was broughtbefore it by the Borno stategovernorship candidate of thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP),Alhaji Mohammed Goni.

Goni is challenging the validityof the election of Governor KashimShettima of Bornu state during theApril 2011 governorship election.

The presiding Justice FrancisFededo Tabai, who led JusticesMuntaka Coomasie, Mary PeterOdili, Chukwuma Enne andOlukayode Ariwoola on the panel,held that the motion was an abuseof court process.

Mohammed Goni’s lawyer,Mr. Femi Falana, urged the apexcourt to set aside its own judgmentdelivered on February 17, 2012.

Falana said that since the casewas a constitutional matter, theSupreme Court panel of sevenjustices ought to have beenempanelled instead of the fivejustices that heard the appeal.

He argued further that someof the justices that sat in the earlierjudgment were not supposed to be

there.The apex court had on

February 17, 2012 deliveredjudgment in favour of GovernorKashim Shettima in theconsolidated appeals instituted bythe governor and his party, AllNigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)challenging the decision of theCourt of Appeal which upturnedtheir victory before the state’sGovernorship Election PetitionTribunal that dismissed thepetition filed by the PDP and itscandidate, Alhaji Mohammed Goniduring the last April, 2011governorship election.

The Court of Appeal had, lastDecember, ordered for a freshhearing of the PDP’s petition byanother panel on the grounds thatthe decision of the Borno StateElection Petition Tribunal waswrong in holding that the PDP andits candidate in the election fellshort in complying with theprovision of Paragraph 18 (1)(2)of the First Schedule of theConstitution which provides for aperiod of sevens days afterpleadings for a petitioner toformerly apply for thecommencement of hearing of hisor her petition.

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

Borno guber: Supreme Courtthrows out Goni’s motion

By Richard Ihediwa

Former Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Prof.Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, responding to allegation of mismanagementduring a public hearing by the House ad-hoc committeeinvestigating the Capital Market collapse, yesterday at the NationalAssembly, Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Pensionprobe:SenateindictsMaina

The Senate panelinvestigating the allegedlooting of pension fund

has indicted the embattledchairman of Pension ReformTask Team, AbdulrasheedMaina and other members ofthe team.

This is just as the panelchairman, Senator AloysuisEtok said he was ready to beexecuted if found guilty ofallegations of bribery leveledagainst him and the committeemembers by the task force.

Etok, at a news conferenceyesterday in Abuja accusedMaina and some officials of thetask force of “outright stealing”of pension fund and desperateattempt to bribe the probepanel.

Etok, ahead of thepresentation of its report to theSenate next week accusedMiana of “embezzlement, fraudand misappropriation ofpension fund”.

The lawmaker, who wasreacting to the reportedN2bilion bribe allegedlydemanded by his committeefrom the task force team, saidhe would be ready to die if theallegation against him wasproven.

“I have never seen N2billionbefore in my life and if I see it Iwill collapse. Furthermore, Ionce again call on the NigeriaPolice, ICPC and other lawenforcement agencies tocommence investigation intothis allegation. If proved to betrue, I shall offer myself to betied to the stake and be shot asan additional antidote for graftand corruption in our system”.

Insisting that the briberyallegation was part of Maina’splot to divert the attention ofNigerians, Etok accused thetask force team of frustratingall efforts of the committee tounravel mismanagement ofpension fund in the country.

NDLEA impounds176 bags of cannabis

The National Drug LawEnforcement Agency(NDLEA) said the agency

has impounded 179 bags of dried“cannabis sativa’’ valued at N10million.

The Deputy Commander ofNarcotics, Mr. Obiefule Chidi whodisclosed this yesterday in Abujaat a news briefing, said that thedried weeds weighed 1.660kg.

Chidi said that the drugs wereseized from a 1517 Mercedes BenzTruck with Registration Number,Lagos XN 531 KSF, traveling fromEdo state to Abuja.

He said the suspects hadpartitioned the truck with a pan,packing the cannabis in the innerchamber and left the outer partempty in a camouflage.

According to him, thecommand has recorded some levelof success in the area of seizure andprosecution of drug traffickers.

“The command has arrested atotal of 87 suspects from Januaryto date and have seized a total of1798.96kg (1.799 tonnes) ofCannabis sativa, 1.27kg of cocaine

and 5.20kg of psychotropicsubstances.

“Worthy of mention is theseizure of 1.10 kilogrammes ofpowdery substance suspected to becocaine imported from Trinidadand Tobago in March”, Chidi said.

The deputy commander saidthat the command had convicted27 drug traffickers andrehabilitated 15 drug dependentsfrom January to date.

Chidi urged members of the publicand government to assist thecommand with useful information toensure that the society was drug-free.

He also called for support toenable the agency acquire somedrug detective machines as wellas an helicopter to surveyriversides where dealers grew thecannabis plants.

Responding, the suspect whogave his name as Endurance Isibordenied knowledge of the drugs inthe truck.

The agency also paraded oneMr. Abubakar Umar, 31, forpossession of two boxes of cannabissativa. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012PAGE 4

PTDF commissions N1billion energy centre

Petroleum TechnologyDevelopment fund, (PTDF)has commissioned a N1

billion centre for renewableenergy at the Umaru Musa‘Yar’Adua University (UMYU),Katsina state.

Speaking at thecommissioning ceremony,yesterday in Katsina, theexecutive secretary of PTDF,Engineer Muttaqa Rabe Darma,noted that the centre which wasnamed after the state governor,Ibrahim Shehu Shema Centre forrenewable energy research wasconceived to conduct research onall form of alternative energysources.

He said “the centre wouldconduct research in bio-fuel,micro and hydro wind energy

sources. We want to make it as oneof the best centre for alternativeenergy research in the world”.

According to him, the Katsinauniversity energy centre wasamong the 10 centres selectedamong the Nigerian universitiesunder the third phase of the fundsenergy programme, adding thatof all the centres Katsina was thefirst to be commissioned due to thecommitment of the stategovernment.

Similarly, the PTDF bossdisclosed that the centre was fullyequipped with modernequipments that include anauditorium, lecture theatre,classrooms, workshop,laboratories, borehole, watertreatment plant, professor’soffices and other academic staffoffices.

In a remark, the vice-

chancellor of Umaru Musa‘Yar’adua University, Katsina,Professor Muuta Ibrahim, notedthat the establishment of thecentre was the fruit of theuniversity’s effort to reach out tostakeholders in findingalternative energy sources.

He stated that the universitywhich is currently conductingtwo research and developmentprojects in biofuel has accordingto him reached out to otherresearch centres in Nigeria andneigbouring Niger Republic forjoint efforts in energy research.

Also speaking, GovernorIbrahim Shehu Shema of KatsinaState, commended the PTDF forits vision and commitment insupporting the alternativeenergy research anddevelopment projects in Nigerianuniversities.

Doctors’s strike: We are open to dialogue, Lagos govtthat it has deployed the newlyrecruited 373 doctors to beef upthe number of the doctorsavailable at the state ownedhospitals to a total of 1059.

While adding that more newdoctors would be recruited as theneed arises, the lots of doctors haveshown interest to take upemployment in the state civilservice since advertisement to thiseffect has been placed in somenational dailies.

The Commissioner for Health,

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

L-R: Chairman/Managing Director, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, Executive Director,Operations of Mobil, Mr. Henry Obih, and Supply Manager of the company, Nnamdi Obiagwu, takingoath, before the House Committee Ad-Committee on investigation of the Capital Market collapse,at the National Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

The governor of Niger state,Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu,yesterday in Minna said that

Nigeria has the prospect to feed theworld if more emphasis is placed onmechanised agriculture.

He also said that a serious focuson agricultural mechanisation willeradicate the Almajiri and streetbegging in the country.

At the official transplanting ofthe first seedlings under the IsraeliAgriculture Humanitarian project,Aliyu said the vast land availablein the country is suitable for thecultivation of all cash and food cropsand therefore put Nigeria in aposition to deliver more agriculturalproduce to the world.

He applauded the initiative ofthe Israeli government for settingup the irrigation farm at Lapai-

Gwari town, stressing thatirrigation farming will put moreNigerians and especially the youthsin employment all the year round.

The governor therefore directedthe Ministry of Agriculture toacquire additional 100 hectares ofland to be added to the ones availableto the project so that the schemewill be more viable and commercialoriented.

The Israeli Ambassador toNigeria, Mr. Moshe Ram, advisedNigeria to allow agriculture to takea principal place in the country andadvised Nigeria to stop dependingon oil which he said will ‘dry up’whereas agriculture will lastforever.

Mr. Moshe Ram expressed griefthat young Nigerians are leavingagriculture for other jobs, asituation he explained was not inthe interest of the country.

Aliyu calls for mechanised agriculture

The Minister of PetroleumResources, Diezeni Alison-Madueke, was yesterday

conspicuously absent at the ongoingMinisterial Platform designed tocommemorate the NationalDemocracy Day 2012 and firstAnniversary of the GoodluckJonathan administration.

The forum is coordinated by theMinister of Information, Mr.Labaran Maku, to give all ministersthe opportunity of direct interface

with the public as they present theirachievements, accomplishments,challenges and policy direction oftheir respective ministries andparastatals.

Also, the briefing is aimed atproviding media practitionersopportunity for on-the-spotassessments of key FederalGovernment projects under theTransformation Agenda the ofadministration.

However, no reasons were givenfor the Mrs. Alison-Madueke’sabsence at the public briefing.

Alison-Madueke absentat ministerial briefing

Contrary to news reportsyesterday that officials ofthe Federal Roads Safety

Corps (FRSC), on a routine checkalong Jos road, Lafia, Nasarawastate, were responsible for thedeath of one Saleh AuduWambai, following which irateyouths trailed and burnt down apatrol van of the corps, TumaDalok, FRSC sector commander,has denied the report, sayingthat the deceased died when heslipped off the moving patrol vanand hit his head on the tarmac.

Dalok who spoke with ourreporter yesterday in his office,explained that following theseizure of car particulars togetherwith driving license of anunidentified lady carrying thedeceased person and others, forfailing to put on their seat belt, acommotion ensued with

Wambai attempting to forcefullyretrieve the driving license fromthe team.

According to the sectorcommander, the commotion,which occurred in front of theCollege of Agriculture, Lafia,instantly drew the attention ofpeople, mostly commercialmotor-bike riders, forcing theofficials to hastily leave the area,with one official who was leftbehind saved from being lynchedby the angry mob by an armedmobile police who fired into theair to disperse the youths.

He explained that it was whilethe patrol van was moving whenWambai, who had alreadysnatched the car particularsfrom the hands of the lady leadingthe team, attempted to board themoving vehicle in his bid toretrieve the driving license butslipped in the process and hit hishead on the tarmac.

Nasarawa FRSCdenies killing youth

From Bimbo Ogunnaike, Lagos

From Iliya Garba, Minna

Dr. Jide Idris who made thisdisclosure at a press briefing at thestate secretariat yesterday, saidthe state government was at themeeting called by the State Houseof Assembly last Saturday toresolve the friction between thetwo parties in the conflict butexpressed disappointment thatthe representatives of the strikingdoctors at the meeting threwcaution to the winds and insultedall the government officialspresent.

According to thecommissioner, the bone ofcontention between thegovernment and the sackeddoctors is their demand forteaching allowance for non-teaching doctors and theirinsistence that a new Consultantmust start on Grade Level 15adding: “We said we cannot payteaching allowance to a learningdoctor neither can we start withGrade level 15 for a newconsultant.”

By Muhammad Nasir

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

A day after the strikingdoctors in Lagos ownedhospitals were sacked, the

state government yesterday saidthe decision to dismiss the strikingdoctors is painful but has to betaken to enable emergencyservice and hospital services thathave been grounded for almosttwo weeks across the statecontinue effectively.

The government also disclosed

Undisclosed amount ofmoney was cartedaway by unknown

gunmen at the Oando fillingstation opposite Jalingo mainmotor park at the weekend.

Investigation by our reporter

revealed that rovers numberingsix arrived at the filling station onthree Bajaj Motorcycles and heldthe manager and the pumpattendants hostage and demandedfor money.

The robbers started shooting inthe air to scare the staff of thestation and passersby when the

manager started showing someresistance.

An eyewitness told PeoplesDaily that the robbers who wereall in masks and had sophisticatedguns operated for over 30minutes unchallenged.

A trader near the filling stationsaid the police and army who were

stationed at the roundabout nearthe station came to their duty postafter the robbers completed theiroperation.

When contacted, the PolicePublic Relation Officer, IbiamMbaseki who confirmed theincident however said that noneof the armed robbers was arrested.

Robbers cart away millions in OandoFrom Yusha’u Alhassan Jalingo


L-R: Distinguished Scientist, Dr. Peter Lamptey, United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. TerrenceMcCulley, representative of Minister of Health, Dr. Mansur Kabir, and Director General, National Agencyfor the Control of AIDS (NACA), Professor John Idoko, during the launch of Strengthening IntegratedDelivery of HIV/AIDS Service Project, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Capital Market: CBN, SEC lied,says former Afribank GMD

Insurgency: Wazirin Katsinaadvocates dialogue

The Waziri of Katsina, Dr.Sani Abubakar Lugga hascalled on all concerned

parties to apply dialogue as bestremedy to the variousinsurgencies in the country.

In a statement he madeavailable to Peoples Daily, hesaid Nigeria has faced severalcrisis similar to the current "BokoHaram" which also sprang upfrom agitations.

He said, "the Movement for theSurvival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP) sprang up in the NigerDelta and on May 21st, 1994, a

By A'isha Biola Raji bloody fight ensued between itsrival factions where four Ogonitraditional chiefs weremurdered."

He further stated that,"MEND and Boko Haram sprangup in identical fashions and theiractivities escalated after the"murder" of their leaders and thearrest of their members. Both areclaiming to be fighting againstinjustice being perpetrated ontheir communities by thegovernment and its agencies."

"The group, Jama'atu AhlisSunnah Lidda'awati wal Jihad,known as Boko Haram came intolimelight as a result of the arrest

and "extra-judicial murder" of itshead, Malam Mohammed Yusufalong with other leaders of theGroup while in the custody of theBorno State Police Command on30th July, 2009", he narrated.

Dr. Lugga, thereforerecommended that governmentshould mull over MEND and BokoHaram backgrounds alongside thehonest and down-to-earthrecommendations of Sheik AhmedLemu commission which statedthat, "poverty alleviationmeasures, justice and fairness anderadication of corruption shouldbe the guiding principles ofgovernance."

From Iliya Garba, Minna

Worried by the fraud inthe state Board ofInternal Revenue, the

governor of Niger state, Dr.Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu hasordered the investigation ofN42million fraud alleged tohave been committed by thestaff of the Board in collaborationwith a bank operating in thestate.

The Commissioner forFinance, Alhaji Mu'azu Bawamade this known yesterday in achat with journalists in Minna,saying three staff of the boardhave been suspended to paveway for commencement ofinvestigation in the allegedfraud.

He said that the governorhad directed the Head of Service

Gov. Aliyu ordersprobe of N42m fraud

The acting Deputy YouthCoordinator of the NigeriaRed Cross, North East Zone,

Mr. Uba Ayuba, has called on thepublic to render humanitarianservices in the society to alleviatehuman suffering.

Uba made the call in aninterview with the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Gombeyesterday at a celebration tomark the founder's day of thesociety.

Red Cross urges more humanitarian services'It is very important for people

in the society to embracehumanitarian services bycontributing their quota toalleviate the human suffering,"he said.

According to him, the daymarks the birthday of the founderof the Red Cross Society, Mr HenryDunant.

"So, the day is very importantto us because, it really informs usthat human beings are still

existing and need our services.That is why we are out for theservices.

"We, the youth of Gombe Statebranch, saw that it is veryimportant to come out and informthe people that Red Cross in thestate is still existing and we havea lot of things to do," he said.

Members of the Society visitedGombe Motor Park and assistedpeople by coordinating themovement of vehicles. (NAN)

to constitute a committee thatwould investigate the matterand whoever was found guilty,would face the wrath of the law.

Alhaji Bawa also said that thefraud was committed incollaboration with one of thebranches of IntercontinentalBank in the state, saying hissignature, as the commissionerof finance and that of theAccountant General of the statewere forged with the help of someof the staff of bank to open a fakeaccount through which thedeception was perpetrated.

He assured that the stategovernment would not lose apenny from the moneywithdrawn from the fakeaccount, as the erring bankwould mandatorily reimbursethe state government.

FG immunises children in 4,000displaced Benue communitiesBy A'isha Biola Raji

The Federal Government inits bid to protect childrenagainst vaccine preventable

diseases, has immunised 3000displaced communities in Benuestate affected by a clash in a bordertown between Benue and Nasarawastates and over 1000 Fulanipopulation who are victims ofconflict from Cross River state.

The Executive Director,National Primary HealthcareDevelopment Agency (NPHCDA),Dr. Ado Muhammad disclosed thisduring the vaccination of over 4000displaced Nigerians both in KatsinaAla and Guma local governmentareas of Benue state.

This was contained in a press

statement signed by Saadu Salahu,Head, Public Relations Unit of theagency.

According to the statement,the Executive Director, who wasrepresented by North CentralZonal Co-coordinator of theAgency, Dr. Wugin Hussein,advised them to make theirchildren available forimmunisation.

Dr. Ado called on pregnantwomen among them to also availthemselves of antenatal servicesand routine immunisation atnearest hospital facilities.

He assured that the FederalGovernment would continue toprovide quality health services toall Nigerians no matter wherethey lived or worked.

NOA charges Nigerianson discipline, patriotism

By Lawrence Olaoye

during its 2007 public offers.Adigwe said that at no time

did Afribank give money to anycompany namely, FalconSecurities Ltd, Fidelity FinanceCompany Limited and SpringCapital Markets Ltd. to buy itsown shares in the public offer.

He said contrary to theassertions, the companiesmention sourced the fundsthrough loans secured fromUnion Bank Plc.

The Deputy Governor of the

Central Bank, Kingsley Moghaluhad made the allegation in hispresentation before thecommittee last week while Otehcorroborated the submission onMonday.

Oteh had accused Afribank,Afribank Trustees, AfribankRegistrars and their Directors, ofcommitting various gravemarket infractions in share buy-back schemes and of makingmisrepresentations in thereturns to the SEC to prevent

detection.She claimed that the bank

funded its public offer, violatingSection 106 (4), and Section 110of the ISA 2007 as well as Rule109B of SEC Rules.

Oteh alleged that shares ownedby 1,258 entities (some of whichshe said were fictitious) andindividuals were merged intofourteen accounts of ninecompanies some of which wereallegedly owned by Afribank andits Directors.

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Director-General,National OrientationAgency (NOA), Mike

Omeri, has charged Nigerians tobe disciplined and patriotic, so asto transform the country into agreater nation.

Omeri, who gave this chargein Abuja, during the launch of the"Do the right thing" campaign,added that the myriad ofwrongdoings in the country wasoccasioned by the lack of patriotismand zeal for the service to thecountry.

He said there was urgent needto engage all Nigerians, from the

Federal Government to the grass-roots, to participate in thetransformation agenda of thepresent administration, which hesaid, was focused on changing thecountry for the better.

On what "Do the right thing"would achieve the NOA boss said,"the transformation is all inclusive,all areas where there iswrongdoing, from the authority tothe local man in the street. Wehave all failed as a people in tryingto uplift our country for the better.It is not only the responsibility ofthe government but theresponsibility of all Nigerians to joinhands with the government anddo the right thing".

The former Group ManagingDirector of Afribank,Sebastian Adigwe,

yesterday alleged that theDirector General of the Securitiesand Exchange Commission(SEC), Ms. Arunma Oteh, and theDeputy Governor of the CentralBank of Nigeria, KingsleyMoghalu, lied under Oath.

Adigwe, in his presentationbefore the House of

Representatives ad-hoccommittee investigating thenear collapse of the capitalmarket, denied the allegationthat Afribank gave money tothree firms to buy its own shares

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012

Reps want FAAN sanctioned over Abuja Airport blackout

The House ofRepresentatives hasrecommended that

the officials of the FederalAirports Authority of

Nigeria (FAAN), andNigeria AirspaceManagement Agency(NAMA), who were onduty when a BritishAirways plane landed indarkness at the Nnamdi

Azikiwe InternationalAirport in Abuja recentlybe sanctioned.

Specifically, thelawmakers affirmed that“The officials of FAAN andNAMA responsible for light

at the time of the incidenceshould be identified andsanctioned for negligenceof duty.”

The parliament hadyesterday whileconsidering the report of

By Lawrence Olaoye its Committee on Aviationand Power on the urgentneed to investigate thecircumstances leading tothe anomaly which tookplace on 9 February, 2012,also directed the PowerHolding Company ofNigeria (PHCN), FAANand NAMA to ensureconstant and stability of

power in all the airports inthe country.

Meanwhile, the Houseof Representativesyesterday directed itsstanding Committee onCommunications toinvestigate the SIM cardregistration regime andreport back to it within 30days.

The Ad-hoc committeeof the House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s

probing the subsidy regime,yesterday, commence itssecond round of itinvestigation into the allegepetroleum subsidy scam.

The chairman of thecommittee, Hon. FaroukLawan, said the aim is to doa thorough exercise and togive an opportunity to theoil companies who didn’tappear before it at the firstround of the probe and whowere given second chanceby the House to appear andmake their ownpresentations before thecommittee and clarifycertain issues relating to the

earlier report that indictedthe oil companies.

Lawan k added that thecommittee has so farattended to nine different oilcompanies and are expectedto finish the exercise bytomorrow andsubsequently tender thereport before the House bythe end of the week.

He blame the PetroleumProduct Pricing RegulatoryAgency (PPPRA), fordisregarding its ownguideline and procedures inissues relating to companieswhich lack the requirementto participate in the schemebeing allowed to participateand collect huge amounts ofmoney for subsidy incollusion with officials of thePPPRA and other.

Second round ofsubsidy probe beginsBy Umar Mohammed Puma

The Catholic Bishop ofSokoto Diocese,Matthew Hassan

Kukah, has commiseratedwith Edo state governor,Comrade AdamsOshiomhole, over themurder of his PrincipalPrivate Secretary, Mr.

Olaitan Oyerinde who waskilled by unknowngunmen in his home inBenin City, last weekend.

In a condolence lettersent to the governor,Kukah who alsocommiserated withOshiomhole over therecent convoy crash onWarrake-Auchi road inwhich three journalists

Kukah commiserates withOshiomhole over slain aideFrom Osaigbovo Iguobaro,Benin

were killed said he shouldnot despair as “God oftentries those He wishes to usein the furnace”.

“I have just read thetragic news of the brutalkilling of our friend andbrother, Comrade Olaitanon the internet. I had triedto reach you early in theweek but you did not pickthe phone. I had called in

respect to the news aboutyour accident and the lossof your staff”.

On the late Olaitan,Kukah said, “I really feeleven more about Olaitanbecause he is a man I hadgrown to love and respect.I know he was such anefficient gentleman, lovedand believed in you andyour work…”

The president of theNigeria Union ofJournalists (NUJ),

Mr. Mohammed Garba,on Monday called on theEdo state government toemploy widows of slainjournalists to enablethem cope with the direeconomic situation.

Garba stated this in

Government House,Benin City, when he paida condolence visit to thestate deputy governor,Dr. Pius Odubu, onbehalf of the latejournalists, Mr. OlatunjiJacobs, George Okosun,Fidelis Okhani and Mr.Chuks Ogu who died inGovernor Adams

Oshiomhole’s convoy onApril 29th 2012 in a roadmishap; and theprincipal privatesecretary to thegovernor, Mr. OyerindeOlaitan who wasmurdered by gunmenrecently.

He however,commended the

governor for thefinancial and moralsupport rendered to thebereaved family.

…As NUJ backs widows of slain journalists

Lagos state governor,Mr. BabatundeFashola, has advised

youths, especially schoolchildren to join handswith stakeholders in theefforts to confront seriousthreats posed by climatechange.

The governor whogave the adviceyesterday whilespeaking on the occasionof the 4th anniversary ofthe Lagos State SchoolsClimate Change Club inIkeja, described childrenas protagonists of change,saying they couldpromote environment-friendly behaviour thatcould significantlymitigate the impact of theenvironmental problem.

His words: “As a resultof the challengespresented by the scourgeof global warming, thetime has come for you asleaders of tomorrow toreason together and joinhands with governmentto confront this monster.

“We must strivetogether to confront theproblem, particularly asyou are the youngpopulation who are thehope of our future, andnow daily come undersevere threat of climatechange and its attendantthreats…”

Fasholatasks youthon climatechangeFrom Bimbo Ogunnaike,Lagos

Borno stateCommissioner forWomen Affairs,

Hajiya Inna Galadima,yesterday, said governmenthas unveiled concretemechanisms to improve thestandard of motherlessbabies’ homes across thestate, in order to ensure thewelfare of the less privileged.

Hajiya Inna who spoke tonewsmen, noted that theGovernor Kashim Shettima-led administration hasaccorded much priority tothe welfare of the lessprivileged by increasing the

feeding and equipping themotherless babies’ homeswith health facilities.

She explained that herministry is living to itsexpectations in taking propercare of the children in theFatima Ali Sheriff Motherless’Home and several others.

While highlighting someof the achievements theministry had recorded in lessthan a year, thecommissioner said theministry came out with aprogramme on girl-childmentoring, where 50successful women in the statehave made themselvesavailable to mentor 100girls.

Borno moves to overhaulmotherless babies’ homesFrom Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

‘The new hike inelectricity tariff willbe as low as 11 percent

so that the common Nigeriancan afford it without muchimpact on the limited incomehe has access to and inconsideration of his othernumerous needs’.

This was disclosed by theMinister of Power, ProfessorBarth Nnaji, at a briefing atthe Radio House Abuja,yesterday.

He assured that the hikewill be on different categorieswhich will enable the

common Nigerian to affordelectricity for his needsregardless of what he earns.

According to the minister,“The new tariff is expected togo into effect on the 1st of June,2012 and it will enhancefurther incentiveperformance of all elementsof the power value chain” asall the necessary steps havebeen put in place to ensureeffective and upgraded powersupply in the Country as wellas transforming theelectricity sector into themajor driver of Nigeria’seconomic developmentprocess.

Nnaji describes 11 percentelectricity tariff hike as ‘low’By Muhammad Sada


4

2 3

1

2

3

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Callisthenics display by pupils ofQueens College during the4thAnniversaryof the ClimateChange Club for Schools, yesterdayin Lagos.

4

L-R: Chairman, IBTC Bank, ChiefAtedo Peterside, Adamawa stateGovernor, Admiral Murtala Nyako,Anambra state Governor, Mr PeterObi, Chairman Forte Oil, Chief FemiOtedola, and Chairman, DangoteGroup, Alhaji Aliko Dangoe,discussing during theEconomic Management Teammeeting with President GoodluckJonathan, yesterdayat the State House, in Abuja. Photo:Joe Oroye

FRSC van set ablaze by angryyouth, on Monday in Lafia,Nasarawa state. Photo: NAN

Section of Peoples Hotel destroyedby bomb blast on Monday night inBauchi. Photo: NAN


From Ayodele Samuel andOjebola Matthew, Lagos

Lagos based human rightslawyer, Femi Falana andthe Joint Action Front have

faulted the sacking of 788 doctorsby the Lagos state government forgoing on strike.

Falana said in a statementyesterday that the action of thegovernment came as a surprise tomany at a time the trade disputewas being resolved.

Falana said under the TradeDispute Act, an employer has nopowers to sack workers whoembark on strike.

According him, “when therewas a strike by doctors working inthe Lagos state public service thelast time, I led a team of civil society

leaders to meet with both sideswhich contributed to the resolutionof the crisis.

“Once again, we met onSunday, 6 May and constituted ateam to meet with officials of thegovernment and the strikingdoctors on Wednesday 9 May,2012. But to our utter chagrin, thedoctors were dismissed from serviceyesterday. In view of the far-reaching implication of this action,we urge Governor BabatundeFashola, to reverse the decision andfile a complaint before the NationalIndustrial Court for urgentdetermination of the industrialdispute.”

He added: “Under the TradeDispute Act, an employer has nopowers to sack workers whoembark on strike. In military

governor of Lagos state vs Ojukwuand Attorney General of Lagos vsAttorney General of theFederation, the Supreme Courtheld that the government whichoperates under the rule of lawshould desist from resorting to self-help in settling disputes.

“Therefore, Governor Fasholashould recall the dismissed doctorsand direct the State AttorneyGeneral to file a suit at the NationalIndustrial Court without anydelay”.

On its part, the Joint ActionFront (JAF) yesterday condemnedthe “unlawful” sacking of doctorsby Lagos state governor, and urgedhim to “unconditionally” recallthem as well as meet the demandsfor which they went on strike.

JAF, in a press statement

yesterday described the action ofthe state government as “a graveviolation of labour laws andinternational conventions on thefreedom of association. The sack ofdoctors clearly contravenes thedecisions and principle of freedomof association committee of thegoverning body of theinternational Labour Organization(ILO)”.

The dismissal of workers becauseof a strike, it said, constituteddiscrimination in employment ongrounds of legitimate trade unionactivities contrary to Convention 98of ILO laws.

The group said, the Lagos stategovernment should be heldresponsible for the death ofLagosians arising from its refusalto meet the demands of doctors.

Falana, JAF fault sack ofstriking Lagos doctors

Jakusko local governmentcouncil of Yobe state hasannounced plans to improve

the people oriented projects in itscommunities.

The chairman, Alhaji YauUsman Dachia who disclosed thisyesterday in Jakusko, the councilheadquarters, said the council wasworking hard to overcome allwater problems in communities.

According to him, a committeeheaded by him, would assess andrepair faulty boreholes in thecouncil area, adding that thecouncil had embarked onnumerous projects which weremarked with others to becommissioned in few weeks timeby the state governor.

Yau Dachia, said the projectscut across all aspect of human lifesuch as health, electricity, water,good roads, renovation of the localgovernment secretariat etc.

Yobe LG plansnew projectsFrom Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

Kwara state Commissionerfor Health, Alhaji KayodeAbdul has disclosed that

5,500 women die every year frompregnancy complications becauseof inadequate family planninginformation across the world withover 99 percent of the numberoccurring in developing countries.

Abdul, who was represented bya Director, Medical Service andTraining, Dr. Isaac Oludipe, statedthis in Ilorin yesterday during theofficial opening ceremony ofFamily Planning Week inconjunction with Nigeria UrbanReproductive HealthInitiatives(NURHI), noted that thegoals of preventing the death ofwomen during childbirth needurgent attention in most affectedcountries.

He said further that, “familyPlanning is also key in theachievement of MDGs 4,5 and 6which help in the reduction of highmortality rate of mother and child.Family Planning improvesmaternal Health and as wellcombat HIV/AIDS, malaria andother diseases with thecontraceptive prevalence rate of24.6%, unmet need 30% andintension to use 27%, there is needto expand the services in all theLGAs of the state and build up thecapacity of health workers”.

He added that NURHI inKwara state has made tremendousprogress in the area of providingquality service and affordablehealthcare services to the people ofthe state while new doctors andnurses have been recruited intothe health sector among others.

The state coordinator ofNURHI, Alhaji Abubakar Sidiq, inhis remarks disclosed that thechallenges the organization facedin the implementation of theprogramme included nonchalantattitude of men towards theacceptability of the programme bytheir wives.

5,500 pregnantwomen dieannually, sayscommissionerFrom Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

The Court of Appeal, IlorinDivision presided over byJustice Abdullahi Tijjani,

has set aside the ruling of the IlorinFederal High Court which hadrefused the University of Ilorinauthority to tender somedocuments as exhibits in a case filedagainst it by 26 sacked teachers ofthe institution’s secondary school.

Twenty-six teachers of theUniversity of Ilorin secondary schoolwere relieved of their appointments inAugust 2007 and they instituted a suit

against the institution for “wrongfultermination of appointment”.

The sacked teachers alsodragged the institution before theFederal High Court, seeking fortheir reinstatement and paymentof all salaries and allowances from2007 to date.

They also claimed that theprocedure for terminating theirappointments which is regulatedby University of Ilorin Act andother conditions of service waswrong and unconstitutional

The Federal High Court in itsruling held that the documents

sought to be tendered by theUniversity of Ilorin were notpleaded in its motion and also notrelevant to the case before it.

The appellant filed aninterlocutory appeal against theruling of the lower court forrefusing to admit the documents.

The documents which wererefused by the Federal High Courtincludes the Academic Staff Unionof Universities (ASUU) conditionsof service, letter from the NigerianUniversities Commission (NUC)and the agreement reachedbetween the ASUU and the Federal

Government in 1992.Justice Tijjani while leading

others judges, in their judgmentagreed with the respondents that theappellants did not plead the documentsin their motion and resolved it infavour of the respondents.

He ruled in favour of theappellants that the letter and theagreement between ASUU andFederal Government weregermane to the case.

The appellate court said that theNUC through its secretary gaveofficial position and had no pecuniaryor material interest in the matter.

Unilorin: Appeal Court sets aside High Court rulingFrom Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

From Salisu Zakari Madradun,Gusau

Over N115 million wouldhave gone to the pockets of600 ghost workers in

Zamfara, but for the interventionof the verification committee set

up by the state government.The state Commissioner for

Local Government and ChieftaincyAffairs, Alhaji Muttaka Rini, madethe disclosure while speaking to ourreporter in his office.

The commissioner said for overa year, the state government had

been losing huge amounts of moneyto the ghost workers until now.

According to Rini, who wasspeaking on the activities of hisministry, the state governmentunder Abdulaziz Yari, decided toconstitute a verification committeeaimed at fishing out the ghost

workers who for long, have beencollecting money illegally.

Said he, “we were able to save N50milion the first month the committeeswung into action, and during thesecond exercise, the figure even raisedto N70 million, which will give youN120 million just within two months”.

Verification: Zamfara saved N120m in 3 months, says commissioner

L-R: Representative of Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Prof. Kunle Odumosu,chairman of the occasion, Prof. Abdul-Ganiyu Garba, and a guest lecturer, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, during NISER’s monthly seminarseries, yesterday in Ibadan. Photo: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012 PAGE 11

SNC timely, desirable, says donFrom Lawal Sadiq Sanusi,Kaduna

A lecturer in the Departmentof Political Science,University of Abuja, Dr.

Kabir Mato has described thecurrent agitation for tahesovereign national conference bysome section of Nigerians as notonly desirable but also timely.

MAto who is the Director,Institute for Anti Corruption Studies

of the University of Abuja and publiccommentator, stated this lastweekend in Kaduna during publicpresentation of NextVoice Magazineheld at Arewa House, Kaduna.

Dr. Mato, who was the guestspeaker at the occasion, pointed outthat the North stands to losenothing from breaking away fromthe current federalism as it hasalready been marginalised by itssouthern counterparts.

“Those noise makers from the

south are of the belief that theNorth does not want Nigeria tobreak. They are making thegreatest mistake of their lives.

According to him the Northwas not on the same page with thesouth and as such Nigeria may notknow the colors of stability in theforeseeable future adding, “One ofthe options open is the so calledSovereign National Conference ifpossible so that we may all go ourways”.

He said it was estimated thatout of every N10 that is spent bygovernment at the centre, N8 goesto southerners, and only N1 andlittle was in the hands of thenortherners which translation wasseen in form of poverty and want.

The don said “as a Nigerian ofNorthern extraction, I am a victimof the federation called Nigeria andnot among its major beneficiaries.My section of the country is largerin space and population and yet

the economy is massively in thehands of the minority south”.

Dr. Mato, who dismissed thepossibility of convening sovereignnational conference despite itsdesirability and timeliness due tothe current arrangements of theconstitution in the country,warned that if there was any wayNigerians would be given thechoice as to whether the countryshould remain one or not, theNorth’s yes would be amazing.

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Director-General of theNational OrientationAgency (NOA), Mr. Mike

Omeri, has expressed shock at thedeath of the former Super Eaglesstriker, Rashidi Yekini,describing him as a patriot whomade Nigeria proud in the fieldof soccer.

Omeri, who recalled thefootballer's appearance at the1994 World Cup where he scoredthe first goal for Nigeria at thatyear’s tournament, said Yekiniexemplified the determination ofthe Nigerian spirit, which hesaid is needed to transform thenation.

A statement issued yesterday,by the Chief Press Secretary in theagency, Paul Odenyi, condoledwith the family of the late striker,

and urged Nigerians to emulatethe noble examples of the latefootballer, who shunnedcontroversy in and outside the turf,and mentored a whole generationof young men to take up soccer as acareer.

In his words: “Yekini was a goodexample of a good Nigerian. Heexemplified our spirit andexhibited the core values ofdetermination, hard work andhumility. He was somebody youcould say represented the Do-the-Right-Thing charge.

In a similar vein, the NOA bosshas condemned the murder of Mr.Olaitan Oyerinde, the PrincipalPrivate Secretary to the Edo stategovernor, Comrade AdamsOshiomole, describing it as

barbaric and inhuman.Reacting to the incident which

happened in Benin, the Edo statecapital, Omeri, said the rise inpolitically motivated violence inthe state is a clear negation of theprogress made by both theIndependent National ElectoralCommission and the securityagencies towards the conduct ofpeaceful elections especially the2011 polls.

A statement issued yesterday,by a Chief Press Secretary, in theagency, Paul Odenyi, describedOyerinde as a brilliant man whomade his mark in the trade unionmovement before taking upposition as an official of the Edo stategovernment.

It called on security agencies

especially the police to see the newsurge in violence in the state as achallenge which they must tackleurgently.

Omeri said the call for thetransformation of the nation mustinclude a change of attitude by allNigerians especially the politicalclass who as leaders must exemplifythe true values of the country.

While condoling with thegovernor and the government ofEdo state, the Director-Generalurged him to rise up to the occasionby involving all stakeholders tofind solution to the currentproblem. He also pleaded withpolitical elements not to undulypoliticise the situation and allowsecurity agencies investigate thematter properly.

Yekini was a patriot — NOA boss…says Oyerinde killing barbaric, inhuman

The Kano state Commissionerof Water Resources, AlhajiBala Mohammed

Gwagwarwa has said with thelevel of commitment to therehabilitation currently beingcarried out by the stategovernment, water scarcity in thestate will soon be a thing of the past.

Gwagwarwa stated thisduring a press conference in hisoffice. He said at the inception ofthe administration, only one outof the six water intakes at theChallawa Treatment Plant wasworking and even at this it wasnot working properly.

He said the 150 million litreTamburawa Water Works has nogenerating plant at all its stationsas it was depending on PHCN forpower which is not totallyguaranteed. He said the stategovernment therefore, found itpertinent to rehabilitate the waterintake pump at Challawa as wellas providing a generating set to theTamburawa Water Works for it tobe able to supply the city.

All these have beensuccessfully carried out as the No.6 water intake at Challawa hasbeen rehabilitated while a 4number 1.65MVA capacitygenerating sets and auxiliarieshave been installed at theTamburawa Water TreatmentPlant and have already beencommissioned.

According to thecommissioner, 600mm diameterpipes for Watari to Mil Tara hasbeen procured at the cost of overN2 billion laying of which will startas soon as they arrive the state fromthe Apapa Port in Lagos.

He urged the people of the stateto be patient, as the stategovernment is working to remedytheir water problems which havebeen there for many years.

Kano govt toboost watersupplyFrom Bala Nasir, Kano

The Nigeria Security andCivil Defence Corps(NSCDC) in Delta state, has

seized 143, 935 litres of diesel infour months, the stateCommandant, Mr. AmosAndekin, has said.

Andekin disclosed this in an

interview with the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Asabayesterday.

He said 34,410 litres of theproduct were seized in Januarywhile 99,000 and 10,525 litreswere seized in February and Aprilrespectively, adding that no

seizure was made in March.Andekin said 19 persons were

arrested in connection with theseizure, explaining that six suspectswere arrested in January while 13persons were arrested in Februaryand April, respectively.

The commandant said the

suspects were already beingprosecuted and would soon appearin court.

Andekin, who recentlyundertook a sensitisation tour ofsome local governments in thestate, said he would address thereported misconducts among the

volunteer corps personnel.“Because of the similarity in

the uniform of the regular NSCDCstaff and the volunteers, the publicmost often mistake the volunteersfor the regulars when the formercommit any offence ormisbehave”, he said.

NSCDC seizes 143,000 litres of diesel in Delta

Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri (left), addressing participants during a roadwalk to sensitiseNigerians on the new slogan of NOA “Do the Right Thing, Transform Nigeria,” yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo


Hippopotamus threatens fishing community in GombeFishermen in Malleri

community in Kwamilocal government area of

Gombe state yesterdayappealed to the stategovernment to save them frompossible attacks fromhippopotamus.

Malam Abdullahi Bako, afisherman in the community,told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Malleri that

hippopotamus, in largenumbers, had invaded the riverin which they fished.

According to Bako, thehippopotamus are nowthreatening their lives as wellas destroying their fishing toolsadding that he had been fishingin the river in the last 27 yearsand that the fishermen usedlocal fishing equipment that areeasy for the hippopotamus to

destroy.“We are appealing to

government to come to our aidand give us soft loans to enableus buy modern fishingequipment which will bedifficult for the hippopotamus todestroy,” he said.

He said that he was makingdaily catch of 8 to 10 basins,with each basin selling betweenN4, 000 and N15, 0000,

L-R: Minister of Power, Professor Bath Nnaji, Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke ,andGroup Managing Director of NNPC, Engineer Austin Oniwon, briefing journalists of the outcome ofPresidential Workshop on Power, on Monday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye.

depending on the size of thecatch.

“With the coming ofhippopotamus that aredestroying our equipment, wehardly get three basins a day,which is a setback to ourbusiness,” he said.

Ahmadu Abdullahi, a 13-year-old fisher who told NANthat he started fishing when hewas seven years, also appealed

The Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission(EFCC), yesterday accused

former governor of Gombe state,Danjuma Goje and four othersstanding trial on an 18-countcharge bordering on conspiracyand money launderingamounting to N25billion, ofdeliberately delaying their trial

N25b scam: EFCC accuses Goje ofdelaying trial, as thugs attack journalists

to the government to give themsoft loans to purchase modernfishing equipment as he wasusing the proceeds to pay hisschool fees and take care of hisneeds.

However, Adamu Aliyu,another fisherman, said theypay revenue to the Upper BenueRiver Development Authorityevery year and urged theauthority to assist them. (NAN)

Potter laments neglect of artsFrom Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

A world acclaimed ceramistand proprietor of DajoPottery in Benue state,

Mr. Levi Bem Yakobu hasdecried the neglect of arts bygovernment.

Mr. Yakobu who spoke withjournalists yesterday in hisresidence in Makurdi,maintained that ceramic craftsis capable of generating a lot offoreign exchange to the countrymore than oil.

He contended that Nigeriaparticularly Benue state, hasabundant clay deposits, the bestin the world to take the leading

role in ceramic works from Chinathat is adjudged the best inceramic across the globe.

He however lamented at thelukewarm attitude of federal andstate governments over artworks, urging that emphasisshould not be placed so much onoil as ceramics is capable ofproviding mass employmentand generating wealth for thecountry and state.

“Studies have shown thatkaolin is found in largequantities in Nigeria, especiallyBenue state. I have madepersonal effort to give requisiteattention to ceramic work butall my sacrifices have not beenadequately rewarded. I am theonly black man to win threeceramic grand prix in China, thehome of ceramics thatcumulated into Nigeria signingthe International Declaration onCeramics Acts by the Minster ofState for Trade and InvestmentDr. Samuel Ortom. NowNigeria, particularly Benuestate, is engraved on the worldmap of ceramics”, Mr. Yakobuintimated.

He therefore advised FG toinject adequate capital into thesector, provide power as well asensure decisive patronage ofceramics.

The Head of Service in Kogistate, Dr. Moses Atakpa,has appealed to labour in

the state to sustain theprevailing harmoniousrelationship with the presentgovernment to enhanceproductivity and developmentof the state.

Speaking at a receptionorganised in his honour by theNLC in Lokoja, Atakpaprescribed industrial harmonyrather than confrontation, aspanacea for speedydevelopment.

He urged the workers toexploit avenues that couldengender development saying

Kogi is one of the states in theNorth-central zone thatwitnesses industrial harmony.

He stressed that thesustenance of a healthyrelationship betweengovernment and labour wouldnot only increase output but spurgovernment to improve thewelfare of the civil servants.

Atakpa commended theNigeria Labour Congress (NLC)for always taking the dialogueoption, describing it as a potentweapon to achieve desiredobjectives, saying that theirlabour would not be in vain.

Earlier, the state chairmanof NLC, Mr. James Odaudu,reiterated commitment of theorganised labour to the welfare

of civil servants as hemaintained that standard wouldnot be compromised.

Kogi HOS sues for industrial harmonyFrom Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Benin Monarch, ObaErediauwa has warnedpoliticians, political

parties and individuals who usethe name, picture,imprimatur and effigy of themonarch as signs for campaignahead of the next governorshipelection billed for July 14th2 0 1 2 .

A statement signed by thesecretary to the BeninTraditional Council, FrankIrabor, reiterated the Oba’sdesire and prayers as father toall individuals or partiescommitted to the continuedunity of the people of the state.

It however said that “It isunacceptable for political partiesor any group of persons to beascribed to the Oba of Benin”.

Benin Monarch warns politiciansagainst using his nameFrom Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

By Lambert Tyem, Abuja & AuwalAhmad, Gombe

at the Federal High Court sittingin Gombe, Gombe state.

The other four accusedpersons are Aliyu El-Nafaty,Sambo Tumu, S.M. Dakoro andS.M. Dakoro Gombe (acompany). They were firstarraigned on Monday, October17th, 2011.

According to WilsonUwujaren Ag. Head, Media andPublicity of the Commission saidat the resumed hearing of the

case before Hon JusticeBabatunde Quadri, defencecounsel, Adeniyi Akintola (SAN)opposed an attempt byprosecution counsel, WahabShittu, to proceed on trial bycalling his witnesses for crossexamination.

Adeniyi according to EFCChad urged the court to requestWahab Shittu to show to hisclients and the court, anevidence of prosecutorial

authority from the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation andMinister of Justice before thecommencement of trial.

"He buttressed his positionwith references to relatedmatters that have been settledat the High Courts, Court ofAppeal and the Supreme Courtsin this regard.

Citing the 1999 Constitution,Akintola said it is only the AGFand Minister of Justice that canprosecute a criminal case onbehalf of the state or do sothrough the instrumentality ofa fiat.

He finally submitted that theonly locus the prosecutor canhave is to produce a fiat, dulysigned by the AGF before thecourt, the absence of whichimplies an absence of authorityto proceed in the trial therebydenying the accused persons andthe court the right to know.

Akintola opted for the courtin the present circumstance todismiss the charge against theaccused persons.

But in his response, Shittuurged the court to take judicial

notice that the prosecution isready to proceed with the trialby calling witnesses already incourt.

He contended that theobjection was only raised in thecourt orally, without a pre-judicial notice. He accused thedefence of ploy to deliberatelydelay proceedings.

Shittu also wondered why thedefence did not query hisauthority in earlierappearances; as according tohim, “I see this as an attempt tostall the case, even for the thirdtime.”

He told the court that he couldnot have proceeded with thebrief in the first instance, if hedid not have such authority.

But in order not to waste thetime of the court in ruling onarguments and proof ofevidence, he prayed the courtfor an adjournment to producethe authority.

Honourable Justice Quadriobliged him and adjourned toJuly 3, 4, 5, and 6, 2012, fordefinite hearing of prosecutionwitnesses and accelerated trial.

Meanwhile, a mild dramaplayed out outside the courtroomas suspected thugs attacked photojournalists who attempted to takepictures of Senator Goje comingout of court.


Prosecute fuel subsidyscammers now

The report submitted by thead hoc committee of theHouse of Representatives

that probed the fuel subsidy regimehas afforded the Jonathanpresidency whose anti-corruption effort has beenlacklustre so far, an opportunityto redeem itself in that direction. Ithas given the government of theday a rare chance to walk its talkabout the fight against all mannerof graft and corruption.

We are, however, sceptical of thecurrent regime’s anti –corruptionstand on account of the foot-dragging by the Attorney Generaland Minister of Justice, BelloAdoke. Speaking last week, theMinister dampened theenthusiasm of a majority ofNigerians who had hoped for apossible prosecution of the culpritsby saying that the federalgovernment has no plans to dowhat they yearn for concerning theprobe report.

Adoke’s disposition though didnot altogether come as a surpriseconsidering that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan’s PoliticalAdviser, Ahmed Gulak, had earlierdismissed the report as “shallow”,thereby preparing the grounds forpossibly “sweeping under thecarpet” recommendations of the

“On this matter, thepresident cannot afford to

quibble such as he has beendoing on the question whether

or not he will stand for re-election in 2015.

Unfortunately for him, on theanti-graft war effort he has

more than Nigerians to botherabout. The international

community, too, is watching

report. Our position is buttressed by

allegations that most of thebeneficiaries of the massive scamthat is the fuel subsidy regime arecompanies that contributedsignificantly to the presidentialelectioneering campaign of thecurrent occupant of Aso Rock.

The Save Nigeria Group (SNG)alleged in a widely circulatedstatement last Sunday that theindividuals and corporate bodiesindicted by the report are big donorsto Jonathan’s campaign. Since thatcharge was made, the Presidencyhas kept a deafening silence, fuellingand lending credence to the

allegations.While the probe lasted, in full

public glare, having been capturedand brought to most homes bytelevision cameras, Nigerians weretreated to a sickening tale of sleazeand outright theft of the commonpatrimony. It was revealed ingraphic detail that severalcompanies, some of themunregistered, had benefitted fromsubsidy advanced for fuel importsnot delivered.

Notwithstanding the bodylanguage of the two presidentialaides, we hold the President by hisword that no culprit in the fuelsubsidy fraud will go unpunished.Cynics are wont to dismiss thepresidential assertion asunconvincing, given similar vows inthe past that disappeared as quicklyas they came. However, we atPeoples Daily believe that thePresident can walk his talk and riseto the occasion of battling graft andcorruption. History beckons.

On this matter, the presidentcannot afford to quibble such as hehas been doing on the questionwhether or not he will stand for re-election in 2015. Unfortunately forhim, on the anti-graft war effort hehas more than Nigerians to botherabout. The internationalcommunity, too, is watching.

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The heat of the Sunday sunis sweltering. I havewound down all four of my

glasses but I feel trapped in thisboiling box that is my car. I amdriving slowly betweenMakera and Kakuri in Kadunalooking for a cybercafé to sendan email to a friend. As I movefrom the point where Makerabecomes Kakuri, I can literallysee the street change fromshirts trousers and skirts tocaftans and hijabs. I know thatthis is the case in much ofKaduna, but to see thedifference in so short a distanceis disconcerting.

I was born in the capital ofthe North. The state that oncerepresented everythingpositive: developed,cosmopolitan, progressive.Today, having returned to livein Kaduna after a few yearsaway, I have become a witnessto the shameful dying spectaclethat the North has become.

In some sort of self-inflictedreligious apartheid, our cities,notably Jos and Kaduna- oncequiet and integrated- are nowreligiously-exclusive, passive-aggressive (sometimes openlyaggressive), mutually-suspicious contiguouscommunities. True some mightargue that this quiet separationthat has created Muslim andChristian communities has itspositive effects, but it is notwithout obvious dangers. Sadlybecause of the increasingly

Beyond Boko Haram: Workingfor a more tolerant NorthBy Elnathan John

Azazi and security challengesin northern Nigeria (II)At the point where Nigeria

is today it is totally vainto go on deluding

ourselves with the wrongdiagnosis of our problems. Theissue of insecurity cannot betreated in isolation of otherhappenings in theenvironment. The Americangovernment recently madepublic its opinion on theproblem, agreeing that it hasmore to do with economicdisempowerment than politicsand/or religion. Truth is,extremism of the sorts we arewitnessing only thrives wherethere is acute poverty. Whileeconomic progress isincreasingly seen in the south,especially the south-west, thenorth’s case is a total trail.Poverty is rampant in thenorth-east where the rate ismore than 70 per cent. Whilethis might not be an excuse fortaking to violence it creates alarge room for vulnerability inthe face of manipulative antics.And the fact that many peoplehave long lost any hope for afuture adds to their willingnessto be recruited and used interror campaigns as is the casetoday.

President Jonathan’s

incompetence in handling thematter is usually reflected inevery of his utterances andthose of the principal officers ofhis government. On a numberof occasions they claimed to bewinning the battle when thereality points to the contrary.Their statements alwayssmack of contempt for thepeople of Nigeria who directlybear the brunt the violence.The president once said suicidebombing was a phenomenonNigerians must learn to livewith. On another occasion hischief of defence staff, AirMarshall Oluseyi Petinrin saidthe bombings will fizzle outwhenever Boko Haram runsshort of suicide bombers. Andvery recently Labaran Maku,Jonathan’s informationminister, bizarrely canvassedmedia blackout for anythinglinked to the sect, includingtheir atrocious acts I suppose,as a way of rendering themirrelevant. Maku needs to bereminded that in the scenario

he is trying to construct it isthe ordinary Nigerian thatwill get hurt most if attacks likethose we see each day gounreported.

As a student of conflictresolution I strongly subscribeto Azar’s suggestion that: ‘Inresolving protracted conflict, acollaborative problem solvingprocess can be utilised toovercome deep seatedmistrusts and hatred. Aproblem solving approachconveys a view that conflicthas to be treated as somethingto be resolved, not to be wonthrough an adversarialprocess.’ Without any doubtBoko Haram’s ability to inflictmaximum havoc is notwithering away. Any bid fornegotiation should take thisinto consideration and, againstthis backdrop, a space must becreated for concession. Amongthe issues that must beaddressed immediately is theempowerment of people. Someglimmer of hope, at least, needs

to be given in the form ofgrassroots regeneration,targeting youths particularly.Ignorance, which creates a lushterrain for manipulation, mustbe fought headlong. But mostimportantly justice must beallowed to flourish, as a rightand not some privilege thatcould be withdrawn at will.

Postscript:Hobbes’ state of natureThe news of Comrade

Olaitan Oyerinde’s murder overthe weekend at his residence inBenin City, came to me as arude shock, although there hasbeen no shortage of reports ofsimilar gory happenings overthe past few months. He wasuntil his death the PrincipalPrivate Secretary to Edo stateGovernor Adams Oshiomhole.Truth be told, Nigeria is fastbecoming a failed state and itremains to be seen whether anyattempt will be made to halt thedrift. I won’t be in any hurry toforget our trip to Sudan in early

2004, how the slain comradeand I missed our return flightto Lagos and ended up spendingthe next 24 hours at the JomoKenyatta Airport in Nairobi.There was no dull moment inthat long wait as we discussedNigeria’s evolving crisis ofdemocracy. Not a moment did Ithink that today I will wake upto the dreadful news of hisbrutal assassination at a timeNigeria is clearly in tatters. Addthis to the recent suicide bombattack on THISDAY newspaperand the threat issued on othernewspapers, as well as themassacre of cattle herders in amarket in Potiskum, Yobe stateto mention a few, you get adepressing picture of whatThomas Hobbes referred to as aState of Nature, where warswere waged by all against all.That is how low Nigeria hassunk.

ConcludedAliyu Musa wrote in from

Liverpool Hope University,Hope Park, Liverpool, UK

By Aliyu Musa

widespread attacks of BokoHaram, no one is talking aboutthe issues germane to theNorth, pre-Boko Haram. In factsome have cynically impliedthat the Boko Haram attacks(that affect everyone) havereduced the perennial Muslim-Christian crises. We musthowever look at the problemswe have, beyond Boko Haram.

What separation has causedis a heightened otherness-convenient for trading blameand the spread of dangerousrumours and propaganda. Oneof the things I am grateful for isthat I grew up not in ahomogenous community butwith Christian, Muslim,Hausa, Yoruba, Nupe, Igbo,Ibibio, Edo, Ebira, Urhobo, Tiv,Idoma, Igala and Fulanineighbours (in addition to thelarge numbers of people fromthe indigenous tribes ofKaduna). I did not grow upwondering if Muslims weregood or bad people, ifSoutherners were good or badpeople, because they were allaround me and I did not sufferfrom the suspicion that is theproduct of ignorance. As a resultit is hard for me to contributeor even listen to talk about howMuslims or Southerners are‘our’ problem. The violencethat has forced people to liveseparately is capable of creatingeven more deeply rootedviolence. Children in Kadunaand Jos now grow up inexclusively Christian orMuslim communities where it

is easy to speak disparaginglyof people of another religion orculture; where it easy to blamethem for the problems that iscommon to everyone; wherethe only debate is ‘Us vs Them’.

The violence which livingseparately is quietly breedingis further worsened by theirresponsibility of leaders fromthe North. Leaders who havebenefitted from theperpetration of poverty anddependence and the divisionsthat have prevented NorthernNigerians from demandinggood and responsiblegovernance from their leaders.

The problem with poverty,which in my opinion is moreacute in the North than in theSouth, is that it looks forenemies to blame and lash outat. That is why poorercommunities generally havehigher crime rates, moredomestic abuse, more rape, andmore senseless rumors thatlead to violence. There can beno quick fixes to decades-oldproblems and because changecan be painful and demanding,the few but immenselypowerful persons whose powerderives from this currentunacceptable situation, willfight any move to fix the Northand liberate its peoplementally and economically.We must expect this while wechart a course for the reductionof poverty and theempowerment of women andyoung people in ourcommunities.

What we must begin to do isto invest in the North and insistthat those who seek our supportfor votes equally invest in theNorth. When we haveindustries, and businesses- realinvestment as opposed to theembarrassing povertyeradication schemes whichgovernors in the North nowbandy about like Keke Napepand motorcycles- then there isa possibility that people will beable to empower themselvesand have a stake in developed,stable North, so much thatthey will be able to fight fromwithin the forces militatingagainst peace and stability.

While the current situationof separate religiouscommunities is unfortunate,there is no quick fix for thateither. The mistrust andmutual suspicion is deep andcan only change over time andyears of education and reeducation. We can achieve thisif we start now teaching thenext generation that the otheris not the enemy. That theenemy is poverty and badwicked leadership. That wecannot all be Muslim orChristian. That no one is evilsimply because of his/herreligion. That every humanbeing deserves to be treatedjustly and with dignity. Thatviolence and oppression onlybegets more violence andoppression. That respect begetsrespect. That the construct ofsuperiority of tribe and/orreligion is only useful to those

who seek to perpetuatethemselves in power to thedetriment of ordinary people.

I believe that real economicempowerment and re-education will make our citieshave more tolerant, morecosmopolitan and more securecommunities. The fact is thatwe are weaker, easier to exploitand attack, when we arehungry and dependent. In theend we have more in commonthan divide us, more commonenemies to fight thandifferences.

We must as individualNortherners must look inward.Agriculture must besupported, not on smallsubsistence scale but on a scalethat is capable to empoweringpoor farmers, their families andemployees. Northernpoliticians and self-styledphilanthropists should bejudged based on how muchconcrete, sustainabledevelopment they havebrought to the North. We mustbegin the critique from within.

I want to be able to drivethrough the Muslim TudunWada and Rigasa in Kadunaand not feel afraid. I want to beable to invite my Muslim friendwho lives in Badiko to the non-Muslim Sabo where I live andnot be scared that if a crisisbreaks out, I alone may not beable to save him. Today Icannot. Tomorrow can bebetter.Elnathan John is a publicaffairs analyst


Re-Letter to Archbishop Onaiyekan

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contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name anda valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed

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WRITE TO US

As a concerned Nigerian,public affairs analyst andcleric, I write this rejoinder

concerning the above subjectmatter which I regard not only asa war of words, attack on a reveredecclesiastical personage anddeception but an outright play onthe intelligence of Nigerians.

It is important to get thingsright. In the Catholic Church, anArchbishop is addressed as, YourGrace and not My Lord and Abujais not just a diocese but anArchdiocese.

What seems unclear to manylike me is who, between one PiusAdesanmi, whose name appears atthe beginning of the text, and thepresidential spokesperson, Dr.Reuben Abati, whose name isappended at the end of the write-up, is the real author of the piece inquestion.

Since the latter’s name wasaffixed underside the bit and he isthe presidential ‘town-crier,’ onewould say, Abati we know butAdesanmi, we don’t! Meaning, weknow where it is coming from;because the writer equally inferredthat the Archbishop Onaiyekanwas referring to Mr. President!

I would just pick some sensitivepoints made therein which soundphilosophically illogical andirrational as well as practicallyconfusing and contradictory. Yousaid, “President Jonathan wasquick to recognize that terrorismhas been a global threat sinceSeptember 11, 2011 and had thepresence of mind and sense ofjudgment to realize that it is nowNigeria’s turn to be attacked byterrorists.”

I dare to put it to you thatexperience and common sense tellus that recognizing danger is notthe same thing as taking decisivesteps to nip the situation in the bud.To say it is our turn to be attacked

by terrorists is the unkindest cut ofthe millennium to the Nigerianpopulace. Are you saying thatwhat we are now facing is our ownshare of the ‘international cake’ ofterror?

In yourfrantic defense ofthe status quo,you said, “Assoon as he (thepresident -addition, mine)had thatepiphany, hetook a bold stepthat no worldleader has evertaken on terror;he reassured theNigerian peoplethat BokoHaram ando t h e rmanifestations ofterror would end in Nigeria byJune 2012.” Knowledge of logicreveals this as a fallacy of hastyconclusion. What bold steps hasgovernment taken about the waron terror? Is it the partial state ofemergency in some volatile states?Is it the check-point approach tosecurity measures? How manysurveillance helicopters do we seeflying about to say the least ofcommunity-policing?

Your assumptions andconclusions are far-fetched. Torefresh your memory, PresidentBarack Obama in his inauguralspeech said concerning terrorists:“we will defeat you…” Hispredecessor, George Bush declaringthe war on terror on September 20,2001 said, “Our grief has turnedto anger and anger to resolution.

Whether we bring our enemiesto justice or bring justice to ourenemies, justice will be done.”

Do these words sound like beingon top of the situation? On thecontrary, these words areproactive, assertive, alive andactive. One is surprised at thephrase, being on top of the

situation, often used by Mr.President. Taken literary, it meansour leaders are on top, enjoying theivory palace of comfort while themasses are below, feeling the heat.I challenge anyone from the southto take a vacation to the North-Eastand you will know what being ontop of the situation breeds!

I make bold to opine that givingan expiry date to the war on terroris treating the matter with kidgloves. This is far from anachievement save only beingfailure to read the handwriting onthe wall. The Scripture is clear onthis when it says, “Just whenpeople are saying: Now peace andsecurity are ours, suddenly ruinwill come upon them” (1 Thess.5:3). What do we make of the recentattacks in Bayero University, Kanoand Jalingo - Taraba States?

One is shocked that thecontroversial removal of fuel

subsidy is now shamefullyproclaimed from the rooftop as anachievement. One wonders whyAbati, who had written articlesagainst the removal of fuelsubsidies, one of which, in 2009,

he titled: “WeShall StartStoning theEconomists inthe OfficialCorridors,” isnow an apostleof thisquagmire. Isthis the case ofhis sipping theirresistible juiceof power or it isjust the case ofthe undoing ofprofessionalism?The conclusionis, he has joinedthe cabal, the

kitchen cabinet – in fact, acompromising yes-Lieutenant toa do-it-General

What is more worrisome is theremark that, “He struck a deadlyblow against corruption and freedup subsidy money for investmentin infrastructure…” Whatinfrastructure is the Dr. talkingabout? Is it the epileptic powersupply, moribund railwaysystem, insecurity of lives andproperty, poverty andunemployment?

The call on foreign investors“…to ignore the threat of BokoHaram and go about their businesspeacefully in Nigeria” is aninvitation to play in the lion’s den.‘Ignore’ is not synonymous withtaking ‘measures (security)’ andharkening to this unpopular andillusory creed is attempting to stopthe thunder with one’s head.

Having tasted power, Abati

now boldly eulogises his boss byreminding Nigerians of the latter’sfamous feat namely being on thelist of one hundred most influentialpeople in Times Magazine. If onemay ask, how many of such peopleso- recognized, are talking about itor consider it a-noise-making-venture? If the likes of Bill Gateswould prefer a low profile what arewe talking about? We must notethat Nigeria is the most populousnation in Black Africa. Endowedwith human and naturalresources, she has paid her dues inthe areas of music, movies, sports,the academia to mention just afew. As such, any president comingfrom a country like this cannot butbe a celebrity in the eyes of theworld.

Suffice it to point here that, theArchbishop, like any otherconcerned, sensible and sensitiveNigerian, has the right to air hisopinion. Secondly, he, like otherclerics of his right, has theprophetic mandate of sticking toconsciousness. Truth is like hottea, whether you serve it hot orcold depends on you. Telling theecclesiastic to upgrade hisknowledge of the Nigerianrealities before granting aninterview is daring theintelligence of a man of manydistinctions and standing in theway of God’s anointed to proclaimthe truth. To Adesanmi, I say, isthis the prize of majoring inEnglish and African Studies? ToAbati, some words are morepowerful than others – measureyours on the DIVINE WORD andthe POSTERITY of this greatnation. I rest my case!Fr. Justine John Dyikuk, aCatholic Priest and a PublicAffairs Commentator, writesfrom Bauchi.

By Justine John Dyikuk

The loss of integrity of ourpublic examinationsoccasioned by the variants of

examination malpractice engagedby students and their teachersduring public examinations acrossthe country has generally been asource of national embarrassment.

Critics of the way the publicexaminations were hitherto runhave had a field day tearing thepublic examination structure of thenation. Every possible angle onwhy the nation’s publicexaminations structure laggedbehind international standard hadbeen x-rayed and in manyinstances, the public examinationbodies operating in the countryscored below average in the ratingof these ‘examiners’.

In the last 10months, however,most people, especially critics of thepublic examination structure havenot been in the media discussingthe lapses of these agencies with theintensity that they did in the past.Even though some harsh criticismsare still out in the public space,they are far and in between, withsome of them based mainly on datathat are no longer operational.

In the last 10months, theMinister of State for Education,

Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike withsupervisory responsibility on thetwo examination bodies in thecountry, the West AfricanExamination Council, WAEC andthe National Examination Council,NECO, has been able to instill arenewed process that has reducedthe cases of examinationmalpractices in the examinationsconducted by these two agencies.

To begin with, the two agencieshave conducted three seniorsecondary certificate examinationsbetween July (2011) and now. Onecommon fact that is similar for thethree examinations is that non ofthe question papers leaked. This is arare feat in view of where the nationis coming from as regards theconduct of public examinations inrecent past.

During a press conference tomark WAEC 60th Anniversary inLagos, a journalist had sought toknow what measures were taken toensure that question papers usedduring the last November/December WAEC Private SeniorSecondary Examinations did notleak to students. Minister of State forEducation, Barr. Wike embargoedthis question declaring that thoughit was a compliment, it negativelyaffected the operations of the council.

Wike working with other

stakeholders to fight examinationmalpractice visited theheadquarters of NECO in Minnawhere he alongside themanagement of the councilstrengthened the quality assuranceprocess of the agency. The positiveresults of these steps are nowmanifesting.

In March, under the supervisionof the Minister of State for Education,NECO management engaged thegeneration and development ofquality test items to improve thestandard of its examination in linewith international standards.

For NECO, other critical successpoints since July 2011 have beenthe early release of results forstudents to make optimal use ofthem, accreditation and re-accreditation of schools forparticipation in publicexaminations and the developmentof new syllabi in September 2011with a focus to improving theentrepreneurial skills of Nigerianchildren.

With the approval of the Ministerof State for Education, Barr. Wike,NECO undertook the sponsorship ofstaff to attend seminars, workshopsand conferences with a view toenhancing their competences in theconduct of examinations.

Protecting the integrity of the

examinations conducted by NECOin the last 10months have beengiven the priority that it deserves,with operatives of the NationalSecurity and Civil Defence Corpsdirectly involved in examinationsecurity. Lecturers of tertiaryinstitutions have also been used tofight against the examinationmalpractices with theirparticipation in recentexaminations by NECO.

This strategy had actuallyreduced, to a reasonable extent,the significant incidences ofexamination malpractice therebyenhancing the quality of NECOcertificates as well as providing amore valid picture of students’performance at the secondaryeducation level. This is a majorarea that the Council hadcontributed immensely towardsthe Transformation Agenda of theFederal Government consideringthat such valid descriptions ofstudents’ performance hadprovoked discourse for urgentreforms in the education sector.

For Wike, the restoration of theintegrity of the certificatesawarded to Nigerian students uponthe completion of their publicexaminations is paramount. In thecourse of this period for instance,there has been greater voluntary

acceptance of the certificatesawarded by NECO, the more recentof the two examination bodies underhis supervision.

Moving forward, Wike believesthat further steps should be takenby the government to discourageexamination malpractice anddevelop a future generation ofNigerians who would not seekcorrupt means to attaineducational qualification. He is inconcert with the managements ofWAEC and NECO working outstrategies and methods toconsolidate on the successes thathave been recorded by the twoagencies in the coming years.

Fundamentally, Nigeriansmust understand that these publicexamination bodies are meant forquality assurance. They are notexpected to groom the students, butto provide generally acceptable testsfor them at the end of their studieson the basis of existing syllabi madeknown to the students. Thisunderstanding will guide whatevercomments people make about theoperations of these agencies.Clearly, there has been a departurefrom the gloomy past and thisshould be appreciated.Simeon Nwakaudu is theSpecial Assistant (Media) toMinister of State for Education.

Restoring the integrity of our public examinationsBy Simeon Nwakaudu


Mueller and Dweck(1998) gave 400children a test and then

told each that they had got 80%right. They then told half thatthis must be because they wereintelligent and the other half itmust be because they workedhard.

They then offered them all achoice of an easy task or a hardtask. 65% of those told they wereclever chose the easy task, whichwas chosen by only 45% of thosewho were praised for effort.

In other words, those who hadbeen praised for being cleversubsequently avoided difficulttasks that might make themappear less intelligent.Interestingly also, more of thosewho had been praised for effortchose the harder task as theynow saw hard work as gainingdesirable praise.

Further tests found that thosepraised for effort worked harderwhilst those praised forintelligence worked less. If youtell a person they already havethe ability do so something, youare also telling them that theydo not need to work.

The bottomline is that praiseis not a magic pill. If you praiseanyone for anything, then thepraise is meaningless. If youmake them look good they may

want to stay looking good and sobecome risk-averse.

For praise to be motivating ithas to be sincere, specific anddeserved. To be sincere, youhave to believe the praise thatyou are giving. For this, youneed to make some kind ofjudgement that determines theperson as good in some way, incomparison with some standardor mark. One way of doing thisis noting that the person is doingthings better or achieving somegoal.

Another way is comparingthem with others, showing theyare the best at something orbetter than another person.

The former method is oftenthe better approach as socialcomparison can also bring socialanxieties with it.

I am thus opting for thatapproach in my assessment ofthe strides made by the Katsinastate Governor, Ibrahim ShehuShema in the five years of hisstewardship of the state.

I would also avoid praisingthe Governor for being clever sothat he will not subsequentlyavoid difficult tasks that mightmake him appear lessintelligent.

I therefore only praiseShema’s effort so he may chooseto continue confronting hardertasks like those in the secondgroup in Mueller and Dweck’s

test who saw hard work asgaining desirable praise.

In this regard, one needs toshare with the world the giantachievements of Shema’sadministration in the executionof the Millennium DevelopmentGoals projects in Katsina state.

That Katsina State hasbenefitted from all the fourgrants given to states so farbecause of good performance is noexaggeration.

Having completed all theprojects started and with no caseof abandoned project or revokedcontract, Shema’sadministration certainly has astory to tell.

Specifically, Shema hasfrom 2007 thus far, executed sixsemi-urban water schemes incommunities around the statewith each supplying clean waterto over 5,000 people.

This is aside from over 192solar-powered boreholesconstructed, 850 hand-pumpedboreholes, construction andequipping of 39 maternal andchild clinics, and 19 maternaland children wards in ruralareas.

The administration also hasto its credit the construction andequipping of 18 wards across thestate’s general hospitals,construction 240 VIP latrines,

training of 100 VVF patients,distribution of 33,300 mosquitonets and the purchased 2 newambulances and two newgenerators for VVF HospitalBabbar Ruga.

It is well known that to carrythe local governments along inthe implementation of theMDGs, three local governmentswere selected in each state inNigeria.

For Katsina State, Mashi,Kaita and Musawa were selected.Already the state governmenthas released N300million to localgovernments MDGs account,and we have also receivedN300Million from the federalgovernment for the projects. Allis set for the local governmentsto award the contracts after dueprocess. Now the people canunderstand why the Emir ofDaura conferred the title ofSarkin Yakin Hausa on GovernorShema.

There is only one explanationto the success of our story ofShema’s administration in thisrespect- willingness to dedicatehimself, will to succeed,inherent desire to achieve,sensitivity to the needs of people,perseverance and sheer hardwork, and the courage to keepgoing.Maska contributed thispiece from Funtua localgovernment, Katsina state

Katsina state on the tracks of change

Suswam: Harbinger of a new Benue generation

Rt. Hon Gabriel Suswam isone young gentlemanwhose exemplary

leadership qualities will continueto speak for the new generation ofleaders in Benue State as far aseffective service delivery to thepeople is concerned. With aSpartan commitment to duty,very dynamic Gabriel Suswamhas proven to the whole worldthat the rigors of the exalted officeof the Executive Governor of astate demands more thanexperience or ethnic affiliation.Many who sought to govern thestate with him at the 2011general elections came with veryimpressive past records ofachievements in their chosenendeavours, Suswam who waswell armed with his belief in whatdevelopment should be all aboutin a 21st century Benue State,approached the people with asingle message, ‘I am young, nottired and still ready to serve youbetter.

According to the popularsaying, the devil you know isbetter than the angel you do notsee. In fact as for us and GabrielSuswam, it was a covenant ofvisible massive infrastructuraldevelopment rather than thenumerous bridges across the drylands of Gboko, Otukpo, Otukpaand other places promised byopposition flag-bearers. Theresults of the wishes of the peopleas genuinely expressed throughthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC), theattendant legal tussle which

followed and its correspondinglandmark verdicts at variouslevels are serious signs that noindividual or group of persons canever fool the people again.

Despite these persons’undemocratic posture or lack ofproper understanding of legalterminologies as quoted by ourlearned jurists to resolve all issuesarticulated by learned counselsor a combination of both, GabrielSuswam has continued to pilotthe ship of state affairs like alocomotive train without breakswhile in motion. He hasremained unstoppable in hiscovenant with the peace lovingpeople of Benue State who votedhim into power. Suswam hasonce again set an unbeatable legalrecord that legitimate houseowners can not be vacated on thestrength of propaganda orprocured sympathy.

Who and what GabrielSuswam represents in buildingthe new foundation of a GreaterBenue has continued to remaina source of academic discourse tomany students of governmentand history. By mere ideologicalreasoning one may be temptedto say Suswam is a Marxistconsidering his prudence withstate funds and equitabledistribution of resources to all andsundry and a particular eye onthe grassroots. Many of hisfollowers have systematicallyargued that he is an apostle ofSocrates in a modern democracyconsidering the fact that hecarries the trouble of the poorpopulation in terms of food,shelter, clothing and other basic

necessities on his head even as aChief Executive Officer, a largerpopulation of the youths havecome to collectively agree thatSuswam is the torch-bearer, thepride and the Ambassador of thenew generation in the business ofpolitics. Here is another practicalrevolutionary who bears no armsbut continue to dominate theemerging world of democracywith a clear vision centered onaccountability to public good andsingle minded belief in service tofatherland.

Over the years, the people’sGovernor as he is fondly referredto as has proven a singular pointon behalf of the youths of thiscountry that our young men andwomen are capable of competingwith their counterpartsanywhere in the world byadministering a complexcommunity like Benue State anddelivering on a larger percentageof the people’s expectations. Hehas indeed opened a new vista inour day to day discussion thatyoung people should be given aplace to test their intellectualcapacity while the elders playadvisory roles to make sure thatthings work well. In Borno Statewe hear about honorary specialadviser like the one given to ChiefAudu Ogbeh and others.Experience from developed climesalso show that nobody in pastgovernment becomes useless afterleaving office due to the fact thatthey are always given roles toplay to ensure that the dreamsand the vision of the foundingfathers are harnessed for thebenefit of the people.

Of a truth I would not demandthat the likes of Unongo, Waku,Ayu and their contemporaries inthe struggle retire to bed as thereis no rest time for the brain as faras the head continues to work butthey must appreciate the postindependent builder of a newBenue State, Mr. Infrastructureto return the land back to its lostglory. Deep within the minds ofthese leaders there should because for celebration for beingprivileged to witness therebuilding and reconstruction ofour beloved state by a gentlemanwho joined politics under theirable supervision.

From the long array of youngmen and women occupyingvery sensitive offices in thepresent administration such asthe Speaker of the House ofAssembly, Commissioners,Secretary to the StateGovernment, CaretakerChairmen and heads of agencies,one may me tempted to agreethat the new order has taken overin Benue State. In reality Gov.Suswam has not relegated theelders to a mere backseat positionin the affairs of governance butstrategically helped to positionthe youths as the engine room toeffectively deliver the dividendsof democracy to the largestpopulation of our people. Thesehonourable young elements areon daily basis displaying theirtrue worth in every assignmentgiven to them. Few examples areGreater Makurdi and OtobiWater Projects achieved underthe supervision of Mr. JohnNgbede, a revived local

government system whereprimary education and primaryhealth care services have takena positive turn under PrinceSolomon Wombo and otherswhich will go a long way to showthe legacy the man at the centreintends to leave behind at the endof his 8 years in office.

To whom much is given so alsomuch is demanded. Mr.Infrastructure has given morethan many CEOs that havegoverned the state in the pastconsidering the resourcesreceived from Abuja under theseperiods in view. We will bemincing no words to write hisname in gold in the areas ofsecurity of lives and propertieswhich is the priority of anygovernment with a human face.In every ramification Suswamhas left indelible footprints thatmake it impossible for histraducers to triumph andmaking it possible for thoseseeking to govern in the future toalign their quest with theinspiration driving Mr. Security,“I am young, I am not tired, Iwant to serve my people, ifSuswam can do it, I can also do itfor my people too.”

Benue sons and daughters arenow speaking like the Americansalways making references tospeeches and achievements of thepeople’s Governor in everygathering including religiousplaces of worship. Tell me we nowhave a Marthin Luther King Jnrin Benue State that Nigerianstruly need to know.

Philip Agbese wrote infrom Abuja.

By Mohammed Aliyu Maska

Philip Agbese

“This is aside from over 192solar-powered boreholes

constructed, 850 hand-pumpedboreholes, construction andequipping of 39 maternal andchild clinics, and 19 maternal

and children wards in rural areas

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012PAGE 16

two accused persons snatchedher handbag.

Monday said the handbagcontained a long-sleeve shirt,a pair of trainer shoes, Nokiacharger, make-up items andN3,000 cash, adding that theyalso forcibly stole her twoNokia GSM phones.

The prosecutor said that thetotal cost of the items in thehandbag was N36,000,

Driver, conductor bag one week in prison for snatching handbagadding that during policeinvestigation all the stolenitems were recovered.

He said the offence was thatof a joint act and theft,contrary to section 79 and 288of the Penal Code.

Senior Magistrate KatsinaAlu said that ‘’since the twoaccused persons have noprevious conviction orcriminal records, the court

An Abuja SeniorMagistrates’ Court hassentenced a bus driver,

Ikechukwu Nzeh, 26, and hisconductor James Dike, 20 toone week in prison each forsnatching a lady’s handbag.

Police prosecutor AmiduMonday, told the court that onMay 5, one Promise Joseph ofKaramaji Village, Abujareported to the police that the

Court to determine 23-year-old’s bail application May 30Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf

of Abuja High Courtyesterday, fixed May 30

for ruling in a bail applicationfiled by a 23-year-old woman,Jennifer Alumona.

Alumona was 19 in 2009when she and three men werearraigned before the court ona five-count charge ofconspiracy, assault and armedrobbery.

The men are Idris Olayemi,25; Abdullahi Ibrahim, 25,and Yusuf Mohammed, 28.

They were charged withconspiracy, robbery and beingin possession of a locally-madedouble-barrel gun with twolive cartridges.

They were also chargedwith causing voluntary hurtand abetting.

Police prosecutor DanielOguadinma, told the courtthat Alumona had on April 28,2009 led the other suspects tothe home of her boyfriend, oneChief Chijioke Ogbeta, androbbed him of his ToyotaCorolla car.

Oguadinma also told thecourt that the suspects stoleN600,000 from their victimbefore fleeing.

At the resumed sitting onTuesday, counsel to Alumona,Mr Ijeh Ezekwe, filed anapplication for bail on thegrounds that his client was not

linked to the offence.The counsel argued that

bail was based on thepresumption of innocence anda conditional right asguaranteed by Section 35 of the1999 Constitution of theFederal Republic of Nigeria.

He further argued thatmere allegation of abatementwould not automaticallysuspend the provisions ofChapter 4 of the 1999Constitution on the right to bailof an accused.

Ezekwe urged the court torelease the accused from SulejaPrison custody, pending thedetermination of the caseagainst her.

But the police prosecutoropposed the application, saying“what the accused was beingcharged with was a seriousoffence which is not bailable.”

He said that it would not bein the public interest to grantbail to a person charged witharmed robbery.

Oguadinma argued thatthe court could only grant bailwhere there was no sufficientevidence against the accused.

He told the court that theprosecution had “hard”evidence to prove that theaccused was a member of anarmed gang that robbedOgbeta and prayed the court todismiss the application. (NAN)

Abajiinauguratescommittee onindiscriminaterefuse disposal

As parts of its effort towardmaintaining cleanlinessin Abaji Area Council of the

FCT, the administration of Abaji,has constituted a committee onenvironmental sanitation, topenalize defaulters, whoindiscriminately dump refusearound the council area and thecommunity at large.

The Chairman Hon. YahayaMusa Muhammad, whoconstituted the committee,headed by Chief Magistrate,Lamino Kabir, told newsmenthat his administration iscommitted to the totalenvironmental cleanliness incollaboration with AbujaEnvironmental Protection Board(AEPB), to prosecute defaulters.

According to him, theenvironmental sanitationcommittee and theadministration will no longertolerate indecency andunhealthy environment.

He tasked the committee tosensitize the residence on theimportance of sanitation, tomonitor the house hold andensure proper sanitary of theirenvironment, to inspect Schools,Business Premises Restaurantand Hotels, to ensure compliancewith environmental laws andserve as a mobile court incollaboration with AbujaEnvironmental Protection Board(AEPB).

On his part, the chairman ofthe committee Chief MagistrateLamino Kabir, thanked thecouncil chairman for givingthem the opportunity to servethe council and the community,assuring that the committee willwork within the laid down ruleswithout compromise.

By Adeola Tukuru

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will tamper justice withmercy’ ’ .

Alu, however, said that thecourt would not allow them togo unpunished to deter othersof similar minds.

He sentenced the accusedpersons to one week in prisoneach and ordered that theypay a compensation of N15,000 to the complainant.(NAN)

A middle-age woman DJ job at a social function in Bwari, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Dear reader, Metrowelcomes humaninterest stories in yourneighbourhood. Pleasecall or send SMS to08065327178 or [email protected] to inform us abouthappenings in yourarea. Share yourexperiences or those ofyour friends andneighbours with fellowreaders.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012PAGE 18

Don’t increase Hajj form rate,pilgrims board warns staff

of higher amount other thanthe official rate by thegovernment.

The Director in aninterview warned thatanybody caught in the act willface the wrath of the law, whileappealing to the people to be

Magistrates’ Court on threecounts of joint act, criminalbreach of t rust andc h e a t i n g .

Pol ice prosecutor Sal isu

Mohammed to ld the courtthat the case was reported atGwar impa Pol ice Stat ion ,Abuja, by Mr Supreme Ekpoof House 75, First Avenue,

Man charged with criminal breach of trustSoft drinks hawker, waiting for customers, yesterday, in Maitama, Abuja.

The Director, FCT MuslimPilgrims Welfare Board,Alhaji Ado Faskari has

warned its staffs andindividuals who transfer theirhajj form to people in exchange

By Adeola Tukuru

Gwarimpa, Abuja , onMarch 28.

Mohammed sa id thecompla inant reported thatthe accused and two others,Nelson Nworah and HelenNworah, now at large ,conspired and collected N2million to buy a car for him.

The prosecutor said thata f ter rece iv ing the money ,the accused failed to producea car and converted themoney to his personal use

He added that the offencewas contrary to sections 79,312 , and 322 of the PenalCode.

The accused pleaded notguilty to the charges.

Senior Magis trateAbdul lahi I le lah grantedthe accused bail in the sumof N1 mi l l ion wi th threesureties in like sum. One ofthe sureties must be a civilservant on GL 12 and above,he said.

Abdul lahi sa id that thesureties must be living in aknown and defined addresswithin the jurisdiction of thecourt .

He adjourned the case toMay 16. (NAN)

patient with the availableslots.

He further enjoined everyintending pilgrim to be lawabiding and be a goodambassador of Nigeria, and toseek for basic knowledge of hajjrites before paying the money

to the board.Alhaji Faskari explained

that the board has modalitieson payment as no cash will bereceived from anybody exceptbank draft, payable to FCTMuslim Pilgrims WelfareBoard.

A car dea ler , FrankNworah, 28 , o fGwarimpa Model City,

Abuja , yes terday appearedbefore an Abuja Senior

The Coalition of CivilSociety forTransparency in

Governance (CCSTOG) hasattributed the continuousinstability at University ofAbuja to selfishness and greedon the part of some staff,plotting to remove the ViceChancellor, Professor JamesAdelabu.

National President of thegroup, Comrade Ibrahim Alih,told newsmen in Abuja thatthe continuous instabilitycaused by some students onthe campus was championedby lecturers of the institutionwho were desirous of achievingselfish goals.

He challenged the brainsbehind the crisis to sheathetheir words and embracepeaceful dialogue andresolution mechanisms put inplace to move the Universityforward, instead ofconstituting nuisance, whichhe said was capable ofdiminishing the image of theschool in public light.

The group also called on thestudents to concentrate ontheir educational pursuit,instead delving in to issuesthat that does not affect theireducation.

Uniabuja:Group blamesstaff forinstabilityBy Adeola Tukuru

The Police yesterdayarraigned one MrAbdulrasheed Musa, aged

19, of Kabusa Village forimpregnating the wife of Mr. Yu-Shehu Mohammed of KarmajijiVillage, Abuja.

Police Prosecutor Paul Anigbotold the Magistrates' Court thatthe case was reported at the LugbePolice station on May 5, byMohammed.

Anigbo said that Musa wascaught having a relationship withZaliha Usman, the wife ofMohammed without thehusband's consent.

The prosecutor stated that therelationship led to pregnancy,adding that the woman haddelivered a child for the accusedperson.

Anigbo said that the accusedperson was unable to give asatisfactory account of himselfwhen questioned by the police, andthat the case contravened section389 of the Penal Code.

The accused person denied theallegation.

In her ruling, MagistrateOmolola Akindele granted theaccused bail in the sum ofN50,000 and two sureties whomust reside within thejurisdiction of the court.

Akindele said the sureties mustalso possess a good means oflivelihood, and adjourned the case

Man in court forimpregnatinganotherperson’s wife

A truck overloaded with passengers along Suleja-Kaduna road recently. Photos: Mahmud Isa


Management Tip of the DayKnow when to give up on your goals

consequences. If you'vecommitted to going to the gymevery morning but find thatyou're too tired to be productivethe rest of the day, somethingneeds to give. In these cases,adjust the goal itself or at leasthow you go about achieving it.

Your goals impede other

objectives. Most people haveseveral goals - getting healthy,spending time with family,making more sales calls, etc. Ifone of your goals is preventingyou from reaching another one,decide which is more important.Source: Harvard BusinessReview

INSIDE

Setting goals and sticking tothem is important. But youshould also occasionally re-

evaluate your goals. Quittingisn't fun, but sometimes it'snecessary. Here are two warningsigns that it might be time toabandon your goal:

Your goals have adverse

BUYING SELLING

CFA 0.2884 0.3084• 201.7321 203.0357£ 250.107 251.7232RIYAL 41.2623 41.5289$ 154.75 155.75

CBN 5th May, 2012

EXCHANGE RATES

PARALLEL RATES BUYING SELLING

• 210 212£ 250 252RIYAL 40 42$ 156 158

mirates clinchescargo airline ofthe year award

- Pg 20

Email: [email protected] Mob: 08033644990

BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESS

Flight schedule

LOS-ABJ: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00,16.30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30

ABJ-LOS: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30,11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.35

ABJ-KANO: 18.40

KANO-ABJ: 08.35

ABJ-SOK (MON): 09.35

SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35

LOS-ABJ: 06.50, 13.30, 19.45

ABU-LOS: 07.30, 13.00, 14.00, 19.00

LOS-ABJ: 07.02, 08.10, 12.06,15.30, 17.10

ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40

LOS-ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

IRS AIRLINES

AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY)

DANA AIRLINES (MON - SUN)

AEROCONTRACTORS (MON - SUN)

ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10

ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20

SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00

SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

LOS-ABJ (SUN): 12.30

LOS-ABJ (SAT): 16.45

ABU-LOS (SUN): 10.30, 14.30, 19.30

ABU-LOS (SAT): 18.30

ABJ-LOS (SAT/SUN): 13.05, 18.00

LOS-KANO: 08.10

KANO-LOS: 11.25KANO-ABUJA: 11.25

ABUJA-KANO: 10.08

ABJ-LOS: 11.30, 3.45, 4.45

LOS-KANO: 6.15LOS-KANO (SAT/SUN): 16.30KANO-LOS: 07.30KANO-LOS (SUN/SUN): 10.30

S/N BENEFICIARIES SUB-TOTAL (N)

1 FG (52.68%)States (26.72%)L/govt Councils (20.72%)Derivation (13% of Mineralrevenue-oil/gas)Value Added Tax (VAT)& Transfers 613.7 billion

FAAC allocation for the month of March 2012

NIPC partners DICON to boostcountry’s investment profile

The Executive Secretary ofNigerian InvestmentPromotion Commission

(NIPC), Engr Mustafa Bello haspromised to work with the DefenceIndustry Corporation of Nigeria(DICON) to enhance the economicdevelopment of the countrythrough the promotion of both localand Foreign Direct Investment(FDIs).

Engr Bello said this yesterdaywhile declaring open a trainingprogramme for some DICON staffmembers organised by thecommission in Abuja.

Bello explained that the purposeof the training “is to sell our ideasto your corporation and the servicechiefs in general, in order to usethem to enhance our economicdevelopment.”

The NIPC boss, who noted thatseveral countries had used theirmilitary might to attract foreigninvestments, called for thetransformation of DICON into aregulator for more effective andefficient services.

According to him, thecorporation, with the support ofthe military authorities canproduce and customise theequipment needed in the armed

Insecurity: Farmers warn offood shortage from poorharvest

The All FarmersAssociation of Nigeria(AFAN) yesterday in

Abuja said that the level ofinsecurity in the countrymight affect crop production thisyear.

The Financial Secretaryof the association, Dr TundeArosanyin, told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) that a lot offarmers had their moraledampened by the level ofinsecurity in the country.

Arosanyin said that somefarmers in the North-East zonehad migrated to the southernparts of the country, where itwould appear was relativelypeaceful, to engage in farmingactivities.

He also said that while someof these farmers had moved to

areas where there were damsand reservoirs, somehad moved to states that wereinvolved in the lower Niger-River Basin project.

“Some of them have movedto Kogi, where we have theLower Niger River Basin. Somehave gone to Oyo state, andparts of Osun to engage in thefarming activities,”

Arosanyin, however saidthat the association hadcommunicated to its membersthe efforts made by the FederalGovernment to address theissue of insecurity in thecountry.

The AFAN official said thatmost of the farmers had theirmorale dampened because thecost of production was high andthe market prices of some theirproducts were not encouraging.(NAN)

Shell finds two oil leaks in Ogoniland

L-R: Assistant General Manager, Edward Property Company, Mr.Olanipekun Taiwo, Osun stateCommissioner for Rural Integration and Special Duties, Barrister Ajbola Bashiru, and Secretary to thestate government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)on Ayegbaju ultral modern market, yesterday at the Governor's office, in Osogbo, the state capital.

forces to suit the Nigerianenvironment.

Bello also pointed out that inthe area of medicine, the militaryhas used its expertise to solve a lotof human problems as well asutilising useful information aboutthe space, agriculture,environment and others inadvancing development of thecountry.

In his remarks, the Director-General of DICON, Major-GeneralSuleiman Usman Labaran stressedthe readiness of the corporation toexplore new frontiers in the area ofcapacity building for its staff to runcommercial businesses.

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

Royal Dutch Shell said itfound two fresh on-shoreoil pipeline leaks in

Nigeria’s Delta region onMonday, three days after thecompany declared force majeureon exports of the high gradeBonny Light crude due to outagescaused by oil theft.

“Two new leaks were reportedon May 7 on the trans-Nigerpipeline at Akpajo and K-Dere in

Ogoniland after a similarnumber of leaks caused byhacksaw cuts were repaired atthe weekend,” Shell spokesmanPrecious Okolo said yesterday.

“A joint investigation teamwill determine the cause andextent of the leaks preparatoryto repair work.”

Shell no longer operates inOgoniland after lengthy disputeswith local Nigerians about

pollution. It still has pipelines andother infrastructure there andsays it is committed to clearingup spills, whatever the cause.

A United Nations report inAugust last year criticised Shelland the Nigerian governmentfor contributing to 50 years ofpollution in Ogoniland, which itsays needs the world’s largest everoil clean-up that could take up to30 years. (Reuters)

U.S. oil major,Conocophillips is sellingall of its Nigerian assets

including on-shore and off-shoreoil and gas fields and a stake in itsLNG Brass facility, sourcesfamiliar with the situation toldReuters.

The assets are expected toattract interest from Nigerianand Asian players and could besold individually, the sources said,and could help Conocophillipsraise several billions of dollars.

ConocoPhillips recentlycompleted the spin-off of itsdownstream activities intoPhillips 66, a newly-createdindependent U.S. refiner.(Reuters)

US oil major tosell Nigerianassets- Sources


EnterpriseBank chairmanreassurescustomers ofimprovedservices

Chairman of EnterpriseBank Limited (EBL),Emeka Onwuka, has

reassured customers of thebank all over the country thatthe mandate of the currentboard and management is tocontinually deliver qualityservice to all stakeholders.

Forte Oil adoptsSAP, set toimproveoperationalefficiency

Forte Oil Plc (FormerlyAfrican Petroleum Plc)has announced the

adoption of world-classEnterprise Business solution-SAP across its Business.

Costoptimisationprocess buoysTranscorpearnings by 19%

The TransnationalCorporation of Nigeria(Transcorp) Plc at the

weekend announced a 19percent increase in its revenuefrom N2.38 billion in2011from N2.83 billionrecorded the previous year inspite of what it described as a“harsh operatingenvironment”.

FMBN clearsN364m pensionarrears

The Federal Mortgage Bankof Nigeria (FMBN) is set topay up the pension

arrears of its pensionerstotalling N363,585,854.28.

MasterCardprofit rises 21percent onincreasedspending, beatsestimates

The world’s second-largestcredit and debit cardnetwork, MasterCard Inc.

reported a 21 percent rise inquarterly profit as consumersspent more with their cardsand revenue rose faster thanexpenses.

COMPANYNEWS

The Delta state governor, Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan hasdisclosed how the state, one

of the major oil producing areasin Nigeria is planning to themake the Asaba airport, locatedat the state capital, theeconomic hub of the South-Southstates of Nigeria.

The governor told journaliststhat, aside making the airport a

major economic hub, it would bethe ideal model of how a modernairport should look like.

Uduaghan said, “We arelooking at this airport as theairport of the future in Nigeria.There are many airports acrossthe world that does not have thekind of facilities we have here inAsaba Airport”.

Speaking further, he said due

Asaba airport to become economic hubof South - south, says Uduaghan

Domestic carrier, AeroContractors has adopteda fresh look for its cabin

crew, which the company saidis in line with its renaissanceand demonstration ofinnovativeness as one of its core

values.The new wears design

launched to mark the airline’s53rd anniversary introduced anew colour scheme with avariety for both male andfemale crew, in line with the

Aero Contractors cabin crew adopts new look

to the slow pace of the airportproject since it was awarded tothe contractor in 2011, the jobhas now been split into three andgiven to three contractors to fast-track its completion withoutvariation on actual total cost.

“I am under pressure from oursister states in the South East - Anambra, Abia and Enugu - toget the airport running.”

Cabin crew of Aero Conctrators in new outfits

According to him, despite theunfriendly terrain of the locationof the airport due to the nature ofthe terrain, the government wasdoing everything possible to levelthe hill close to the runway, so asto have a runway that would beable not only to take smallaircraft but also a wide-body onessuch as the Airbus A380 in thenear future.

Vice-President Cargo, RamMenen told the gathering that“these awards are voted for byour industry, and theirrecognition of the continuedsuccess of Emirates SkyCargo isa great honour.”The Cargo Airline of the Year2012 awards are organised bytrade magazine, Air CargoNews and attract votes fromfreight forwarders around theworld. The awards are the onlyevent where theBritish International FreightAssociation audits and approvesthe votes cast.

airline’s corporate brand coloursof navy blue, oranage and white.

Commenting on themilestone, the Managingdirector, CaptainAkinlawon George said, “This isone of several innovationstargeted at re-positioning Aeroas the airline of choice. We knowwe are the market leader and weintend to look the part. Thedesign scheme introduces anassortment, which is also in linewith the varietyand uniqueness of our product

…As Emirates clinches cargoairline of the year award

Delta Airlines acquiresrefinery for N24bn

Delta Airlines has acquiredan oil refinery fromC o n o c o P h i l l i p s

for $180million (about N24billion), and expects to recoverthe investment in its first yearofoperations by saving on fuelcosts, the airline said.

The acquisition is expected tobe completed in the first half of2012 with jet fuel productionbeginning in the third quarter.

According to statement bythe United State carrier, itexpects the move to save it$300m a year in fuel costs, whichhit almost $12 billion in 2011.

The refinery will be tweakedto maximise jet fuel productionwhile production at the refinerywill be combined with multi-year agreements to exchangegasoline, diesel, and other refinedproducts for jet fuel will provide80% of Delta’s jet fuel needs in the

United States.While speaking on the swap

agreements with BP and Phillips66, Richard Anderson, Delta’sCEO noted that: “This modestinvestment, the equivalent of thelist price of a new widebodyaircraft, will allow Delta toreduce its fuel expense by $300million annually and ensure

jet fuel availability in theNorth-East. This strategy isaligned with the moves we havemade to build a stronger airlinefor our shareholders, employeesand customers.”

Anderson enthused that,“This is a novel deal and theentire industry will be watchingwith great interest; If it works asplanned, expect more deals likethis. The high cost of fuel ismaking every airline look atways to soften the shocks to theircash flow”.

offering. This is the theme of thiseffort: Variety andUniqueness”.

George also noted that theairline was witnessing a rebirth,with strong performances overthe past two months in on-time-performance.

“On-time performance hasbecome a shared value in ourcompany, and is guarded by allof us. Over the last couple ofmonths our on-time departurehas improved to 87%, aremarkable achievement weintend to improve upon withinthe next few months”, he toldjournalists.

It appears a clear coast againfor United Arab EmiratesDubia based Emirates

Airlines, as its cargo wing,SkyCargo was voted CargoAirline of the Year for the 24thconsecutive year as well theBest Middle-East Cargo Airline.The carrier, which was alsonamed ‘Best African CargoAirline’, received the accoladesat the prestigious Cargo Airlineof the Year 2012awards which held at London’sLancaster Hotel.Speaking on the award,Emirates’ Divisional Senior


The score card: achievements of an icon

It is not common place thesedays to find people exhibit thekind of exceptional steadfastness

and patriotism in public office inthe same manner OtunbaOlusegun Runsewe has shownover the past five years as theDirector General of the NigerianTourism Corporation, (NTDC).Runsewe has been resilient inexecuting his assigned task ofplacing Nigeria on the world mapas a tourist destination of choice inthe whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

While exuding confidence allthe way as he carries out hisconstitutional chores, OtunbaRunsewe has never failed to boastto all, including foreigners thatNigeria's tourism industry will inno distant future, take over fromthe oil and gas sector as the highestrevenue earner for the country.One is tempted to believe himindisputably as efforts in thatregard appear to be yieldingresults. Although it may not bepossible to effectively capture allthe achievements in this piece, afew of them are worthy of mention.

It is the belief of the NTDCunder Runsewe's leadership, thatwhile oil is exhaustible, tourism issustainable. So the corporation hasbeen giving domestic tourismpriority attention, while alsomarketing the country's imageabroad. When he assumed office,Segun Runsewe, set targets forhimself which he intended toachieve. Looking at theachievements of NTDC within thistime, it will not be out of place tosay he has surmounted them all.

Some of his achievementsincludes; changing the Nigeria'stourism slogan from "PracticalTourism" at the inception of hisadministration to the morebefitting, ''Tourism is Life,'

establishment of Care Centre thathas taken off in the local andinternational wings of NnamdiAzikwe International Airport,Abuja. These centres provide freetravel information for allcategories of travellers free ofcharge. Others include signageerected in strategic locations inAbuja, introduction of emergencycalls centre for distress travellers,branding of Abuja Metro Buses asa way of showing in pictureNigeria's major tourist

attractions to the general public.Apart from these, the NTDC has

also concluded the production of acomprehensive Abuja Map andthat of the entire country, some ofwhich will be erected throughoutthe city, building a fish village atArgungu in Kebbi State and thereis also plan to build a yam housein Anambra State, where yamfestivities is revered.

He also promised to build onthe achievements of the country'sparticipation at internationaltravel fairs; such as the WorldTravel Market (WTM) London,FITUR in Madrid, Spain and theprestigious ITB-Berlin inGermany, a feat he has alredy

achieved. Also recently concluded are,

a new NTDC premises wearing anew look and dotted withbeautifully erected boards ofmajor tourist attractions andactivities, with restaurantswhich serve assorted Africandishes and also serves as a researchcentre.

Runsewe also hinted that theNTDC has concludedarrangement with AA, UK, an

international rating company tohelp in the grading andclassification of hotels across thecountry and that it would soon becompulsory for all hotels in thecountry to install CCTV toenhance security of their guestsand staff. Presently, the NTDC hasacquired a bio-data machinewhich captures the data of staffand guests in hotels nationwide toensure security of lives andproperty.

Collaborations aimed atmaking Nigeria's hospitalityindustry world-class reachedfever peaks when in conjunctionwith the Nigerian TelevisionAuthority, the NTDC procured

thousands of the Startimesdecoders for on-ward distributionto all Nigerian-based hospitalityoutfits like Hotels, Eateries, Parks,Travel Agencies, with 6 monthssubscription package, all for free.

According to the NTDC chief,the aim was to sell out our tourismpotentials by persuading visitorsto Nigeria to embrace andappreciate our local contentespecially in the area ofentertainment while

complementing thetransformation agenda in theareas of employment generationand job creation via tourismdevelopment.

The Journalist-turnedtourism developer on March 7,this year, took Nigeria to ITBBerlin, a world gathering whichhas been on for 46 years. It is ameeting point for serious mindedcountries that earnestly desire toaccelerate and put their economiesat the front burner ofcontemporary global growth,development and trend.

It was with this spirit ofwinning glory for Nigeria andgetting the best from 2012 ITBBerlin that Nigeria's delegatesconducted and approachedbusiness throughout in Berlinleading to many opportunities.The 2012 ITB Berlin was one ofthe golden moments of Nigeria'stourism incursion into theinternational market.

Chief Runsewe, who was onground to monitor and direct theconduct of business, had ampleopportunity of spreading thegospel according to Nigeria'stourism, emphasising the themeof this year's goal - mobilisationtourism.

Chief Runsewe pointed outthat President Jonathan had beendoing everything humanlypossible to make sure that theworld understood the truesituation of things in Nigeria asagainst the orchestrated negativemedia report on the country.

Chief Runsewe also revealedthat the Mobilisation TourismInitiative, which had gained worldrecognition would be lauched inmajor cities of the world saying"we are staging road show tosensitise and drum support for theTeam Nigeria and Nigeriatourism."

Making the 2012 ITB Berlinworthwhile was theMemorandum-of-Understandingwhich the NTDC signed with anAmerican tour broker company,

The NTDC has also givensupport to domestic carnivals andother tourism activities. Theannual Calabar Festival, Lagosand Abuja festivals are examplesof the manynachievements of theNTDC so far. Indeed, the OsunOsogbo, Argungu and Nwoyofishing festivals, Ojude Oba, KanoDurbar, New Yam festivals,among others, have beenreceiving huge support from theNTDC which also freely givesbranded promotional materials.

Similarly, the corporation hasthrown its weight behind theannual Ovia Osese CulturalFestival which holds in Ogori, KogiState. Otunba Runsewe whodescribed the festival as reveredand preserving the Nigerianculture and values assured of theNTDC's support to the annualevent both materially andtechnically.

In Kebbi state, the Argungufishing festival has also beenenjoying enormous support andpromotion from the NTDC,among which is the constructionof a house in fish shape, popularlycalled The Fish House. Thebuilding currently serves as thesecretariat for the festival and

venue for committee meetings.Like the Argungu, the Nwoyofishing festival in Taraba Statehas also been given a boost, madefamous and promoted to aninternational event since theNTDC decided to throw its weightbehind it. Currently, it is rankedamong the leading festivals in thecountry.

Durbars in Kano, Katsina andother northern states, as well asthe new yam festivals in theSouth-East, have all also receivedhuge priority attention from theNTDC. The corporation built aYam House in Igbo Ukwu inAguata LGA of Anambra State toraise the profile of the event toattract both local andinternational recognition. Thenew yam festival has gonethrough series of transformation,with new events added to it tomake it a worthwhile celebrationcapable of attracting local andforeign tourists.

It also believed that theinvolvement of NTDC in the OsunOsogbo festival has also raised itsstandard, with local and foreigntourists trooping in every year.The heavy traffic to the festivalprompted a need for high sanitarymeasures, which the corporationresponded to by providing mobiletoilets.

At the recent AfricanTourism Market, Akwaaba, theNTDC, led by its DG, unveiledthe new tourism promotiontripod--food, sports and culture--brilliantly showcased at theexhibition hall. It began with anoverwhelming mini-carnivaltrain where special dishes fromthe 36 states of Nigeria wereserved to give both local andforeign exhibitors as well asvisitors the culinary delight ofthe country.

These achievements have notbeen unrewarded. On Thursday22 March this year TribuneNewspapers conferred an awardof excellence on Runsewe. Otherawards include Chieftaincy titlesfrom the Yoruba community inAbuja, among others.

By Miriam Humbe

Otunba Olusegun Runsewe

“It was with thisspirit of winningglory for Nigeriaand getting the

best from 2012 ITBBerlin that

Nigeria's delegatesconducted and

approachedbusiness

throughout in Berlinleading to manyopportunities.

The DGreceivingone ofnumerousawardsbestowed ohim for hisoutstandingachievement


Jonathan vows to deal with manipulators of power privatisation programme

President GoodluckJonathan on Mondaythreatened to deal with

individuals or groups who attemptto manipulate the ongoingprivatisation of the power sector.

He gave the warning at the endof a one-day PresidentialWorkshop on power, with thetheme, “Dismantling Barriers toachieving our Power SectorVision”, which took place at the

Banquet Hall of the PresidentialVilla, Abuja.

The President noted thateverything concerning theprivatisation progamme mustfollow due process in accordancewith global best practices as theprogramme did not just involveNigerians but also global playersin the industry.

According to him, “TheBureau for Public Enterprises(BPE) must follow up on theprivatisation issue strictly. We do

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem not want to hear any story again.They must follow issues to theletter and strictly with thedates. That we must do with dateson the Power Reform RoadMap. ”We agreed that it is onlythrough privatisation that wewould get to where we want togo and in doing that, let me usethis opportunity to warn that I donot want to hear that they havebeen influenced by any politician.

“At least I am the number onepolitician. Whether the person is

my mother or my uncle, I do notwant to hear that somebody isfrom the President or Vice-President or that; If you makemistakes, you are on your own andwe will deal with you decisively”,he declared.

On the new electricity tariffswhich were scheduled to takeeffect from February last year,President Jonathan observed thatthere had not been enoughenlightenment to prepareNigerians for the new prices and

therefore ordered increasedadvocacy, in order to avoid arepeat of the fuel subsidyupheaval.

While noting that he wasmade to bear the brunt of thefuel subsidy saga because stategovernors who initially backedthe initiative appeared towithdraw under pressure, headded that Nigerians must beadequately educated on the newtariff structure before the June 1commencement date.

L-R: President /CEO, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc, Mr. Obinna Ufudo, Chairman, Transcorp Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu,Company Secretary, Christopher Ezeafulukwe, and Director, Mrs Angela Nwabuoku, during the 6th Annual General Meeting of thecompany, recently in Abuja.

South Africa’s biggestconsumer foods maker,Tiger Brands said on

Monday it was in talks withDangote Industries over theNigerian conglomerate’s stake inits flour milling unit.

The talks come amid reportsthat Tiger Brands is bidding foran 80 percent stake in DangoteFlour Mills, which makes pastaand flour in the country.

Shares in Dangote Flour Milljumped 4.64 percent to N4.96 onMonday, their highest level inmore than six weeks. Tiger Brandswas little changed at 288.21rand.

Johannesburg-based TigerBrands did not give furtherdetails, saying developmentswould be reported to shareholders.

Buying all or part of DangoteFlour Mills would give the makerof bread, breakfast cereal andenergy drinks a substantialpresence in the Nigerian foodmarket.

Dangote has the millingcapacity of 4,800 metric tons perday, producing wheat flour,confectionary flour, bread flourand pasta semolina

Banking and companysources told Reuters that TigerBrands has already done a duediligence and FirstRand’sinvestment arm, Rand MerchantBank is its advisor.

Tiger Brands intalks withDangote overflour unit

200 foreign firms for 2nd Nigeria Investment forum

About 200 foreigncompanies and 100 localbusiness outfits are

expected to sendrepresentatives to Abuja nextmonth for the 2nd NigeriaInternational InvestmentForum being organised by theNigeria Investment PromotionCommission (NIPC) inconjunction withCommonwealth BusinessCouncil (CBC) and Image AffairsNigeria Ltd.

Briefing newsmen on thepreparations for the forumyesterday in Abuja, ExecutiveSecretary of NIPC, EngrMustapha Bello said the aim ofthe forum was to lead a globalcampaign for the untappedinvestment opportunities in thecountry, showcase the country’sabundant natural resources toa worldwide audience andstimulate the growth of bothlocal and foreign investmentsinto Nigeria.

He added that the forumwould give an opportunity forpotential investors from aroundthe world to appreciate theinvestment climate Nigeria has

to offer and to have aninteraction with stakeholderson how put together profitablebusinesses in the country.

Engr Bello said the forumwould focus the discussions onthe infrastructure available forinvestors to take advantage ofas well as exhibition of tradeitems by the Nigerian privatesector.

Representative of the CBC,

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Mr Greger Mckinon who alsospoke at the briefing noted thatthe first edition of the forum wasresponsible for the inflow ofinvestments into power sectorfrom both local and foreignsources in the last one year.

“The last forum was also ableto mobilise investments intoNigeria’s agricultural sector,”he added.

He said further that this

year’s event would seek toencourage investors to put theirmonies in other vibrant sectorsof the country’s economyespecially in areas whereNigeria has comparativeadvantage.

The 2nd edition of theNigeria InternationalInvestment Forum is scheduledto hold between 27th and 29thofJune, 2012 in Abuja.

The Shippers’ Association ofLagos State yesterdaycommended the state

government for ridding the Mile-2/Apapa expressway of themenace of grounded articulatedvehicles.

The secretary of theassociation, Mr. Jonathan Nicol,told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) that clearing the vehicleswould enhance free movement ofcargoes from the Lagos ports.

He said that the exercise offreeing the roads leading to themajor seaports was long overdue.

The state government onMonday claimed that it had

impounded 60 trucks forallegedly obstructing flow oftraffic along the expressway.

Nicol said that many brokendown trucks had been removedalong the Mile 2-Tin-Can portRoad, Creek Road and WarehouseRoad.

“When you have groundedvehicles on the sideways andthere are other articulated trucksentering the ports, itautomatically narrows the way,’’he said.

The association scribecommended the stategovernment for clearing theexpressway. (NAN)

Shippers happy over Mile 2-Apapa expressway clean-up

A climate changeconsultant, Prof.Emmanuel Oladipo has

said yesterday in Abuja that theKyoto Protocol Adaptation Fundwas put in place in order to helpNigeria and other developingnations cope with climatechange.

Oladipo said that theinitiative was set up so that everydeveloping country would havean opportunity to make proposalsthat could be funded by the KyotoProtocol Adaptation fund.

He added that this would helpthe nation to cope with problemsassociated with climatechanges such as flooding,

drought, erosion, anddesertification.

Oladipo said Nigeria wouldcome up with one or two proposalsthat would be submitted to thefund in few months to for funding.

He said the Kyoto protocol wasa serious attempt to makedeveloped nations that areresponsible for the largestcontribution of the green housegas emission into the atmosphereto reduce their emission rate.

He stated that the meeting onadaptation of the protocol was nowin a negotiation phase for anotherfive years, which woulddetermine whether it continuesor not. (NAN)

Adaptation fund to enhancenations’ climate change- Don

PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012

Lake Chad: Once thesource livelihood of some30 million people spreadacross four countries, thislake is fast vanishing

As you approach theLake Chad basin fromMaiduguri, in

northeastern Nigeria, theatmosphere of despair istelling. The air is dusty, thewind is f ierce and

unrelenting, the plants arewilting and the earth isturning into sand dunes.The sparse vegetation isoccasionally broken bywithered trees and shrubs.The l ives of herders,

fisherfolk and farmers areteetering on the edge as thelake dries up before theireyes.

Vegetation and water,the traditional staples oflivelihood for the Lake Chadcommunity dwellers, arevanishing. Vultures feast ondead cows as drought anddesertif ication take theirtoll . The UN Food andAgriculture Organization(FAO) has called the

situation an “ecologicalcatastrophe,” predictingthat the lake coulddisappear this century.

According to FAODirector of Land and Water,Parviz Koohafkan, the LakeChad basin is one of the mostimportant agriculturalheritage sites in the world,providing a l i fel ine tonearly 30 million people infour countries — Nigeria,Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Lake Chad is located inthe far west of Chad and thenortheast of Nigeria. Partsof the lake also extend toNiger and Cameroon. It isfed mainly by the ChariRiver through the Lagonetributary, which used toprovide 90 per cent of itswater. It was once Africa’slargest water reservoir inthe Sahel region, coveringan area of about 26,000square kilometres, about thesize of the US state ofMaryland and bigger thanIsrael or Kuwait.

By 2001 the lake coveredless than one-fifth of thatarea. “It may even be worsenow,” says AbbasMohammed, a climatologistat the University ofMaiduguri, Nigeria.

Dams and irrigationThe UN Environment

Programme (UNEP) and theLake Chad BasinCommission (LCBC), aregional body that regulatesthe use of the basin’s waterand other naturalresources, maintain thatinefficient damming andirrigation methods on thepart of the countriesbordering the lake arepartly responsible for itsshrinkage. EmmanuelAsuquo-Obot of the WorldWildlife Fund (WWF), anorganization devoted towildlife conservation, pointsto the diversion of waterfrom the Chari River toirrigation projects and damsalong the Jama’are andHadejia Rivers innortheastern Nigeria.

As parts of the lake dryup, most farmers and cattleherders have movedtowards greener areas,where they compete for landresources with host

communities. Others havegone to Kano, Abuja, Lagosand other big cit ies formenial jobs or to roam thestreets as beggars.

Those who remain inLake Chad shorelinecommunities such as DoronBaga are haunted by thespeed with which the lakeis vanishing. The DoronBaga settlement, whichused to be by the lakeside,is now 20 kilometers fromits edge.

Alhaji Baba Garba, a 78-year-old fisherman who hasspent his life on the banksof the lake, says that much

Passengers in Nigeria taking ferries to cross Lake Chad whose shoreline is receding because the lake is drying up.

Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe

Action is needed to counteran "ecological catastrophe",writes Ahmad Salkida

of the vi l lage used to bealongside it. Pointing at oneof his children in his mid-30s, Garba adds, “evenbefore that boy, Suleiman,was born.” Another villager,Salisu Zuru, laments thedeath of livestock.

The once busy Bagamarket in Maiduguri, wheretruckloads of fish from thelake used to be processed andthen transported daily toother parts of the country, isnow quiet. The villagersmust now travel by canoeand on foot for days fromDoron Baga to Daban Masara,then to Darak in search of

food. Darak is an affluentfishing community to theeast of Cameroon’s borderwith Nigeria.

Tensions riseThe impact of the drying

lake is causing tensionsamong communitiesaround Lake Chad. Thereare repeated conflictsamong nationals ofdifferent countries overcontrol of the remainingwater. Cameroonians andNigerians in Darak village,for example, constantlyfight over the water.Nigerians claim to be thefirst settlers in the village,while Cameroonians invokenationalistic sentiments,since the village is withinCameroonian territory.Fishermen also wantfarmers and herdsmen tocease diverting lake waterto their farmlands andlivestock.

The LCBC — establishedby the leaders of Chad,Nigeria, Cameroon andNiger in 1964 and laterjoined by the Central AfricaRepublic in 1994 — and itspartners continue to makeefforts to save the lake or atleast mitigate the impact ofits shrinkage on people’s

lives. In his book AnInconvenient Truth, formerUS Vice-President Al Goreshows several images of thelake shrinking from 25,000square kilometres in 1963 to

just 1,500 square km in2001. However, a 2007satellite image showsimprovements fromprevious years.

Recent drought may

again have worsened thesituation, says ProfessorMohammed of theUniversity of Maiduguri. Heurges the LCBC and itspartners to tackle the

impact of climate change, aswell as to control dammingand irrigation by the LCBCcountries.

Replenishment plansThe commission’s

member countries haveplans to replenish the lakeby building a dam and 60miles of canals to pumpwater uphill from the CongoRiver to the Chari River andthen on to Lake Chad. Thereplenishment project “willbe the first of its kind inAfrica,” says MartinGbafolo, the LCBC’s directorof water resources andenvironment. Thecommission has raised morethan $5 mill ion for afeasibility study. Althoughthe total cost of the projectwill not be known until thestudy is completed, expertslike Professor Mohammedexpect it will take a hugeinjection of funds to save thelake.

Already the World Bankis providing $10.6 millionfor a project to reverse landand water degradation inparts of the lake. Inaddition, the LCBC iseducating livestock herderson gaining access to grazingand watering areas. Waterusers are taught efficientwater-utilization methodsand fishermen moreappropriate techniques forcatching fish.

At the opening of theAfrican World Forum onSustainable Development inN’Djamena, Chad, inOctober 2010, NigerianPresident GoodluckJonathan stressed thecollective determination ofleaders of the LCBC membercountries to salvage thelake. But among the 30million people who dependon it, there is uncertaintyas to how much longer thelake will remain and whenthey will be able to get arelief.

(Pambazuka News)

“As parts of the lake dry up,most farmers and cattle

herders have movedtowards greener areas,where they compete forland resources with host

communitiesLake Chad goes dry: Once one of the largest water masses in the world


Hyundai's Fluidic Sculpture designphilosophy has quickly won manyadmirers, accolades and ownersaround the world. The all-newAzera is the latest interpretation ofthis dramatic design language thatcreates a sense of speed andmovement.

With their jewel-like facets, theAzera's LED front accent lights andHID headlights flank an elegantlycurved grille, helping the driver seeand be seen. In addition, high-efficiency LED lighting minimizesenergy consumption andmaximizes Azera's sense of style.

The panoramic tilt-and-slidesunroof opens up the Azera'sspacious interior to a world ofnatural light and expansive views.Its design makes the most of asatisfying driving experience andputs you closer to the environment.

Lovely to look at and a delightto the ears, the exhaust system isbeautifully integrated into the rearbumper. It's also tuned to

It makes sense that likelypremium car buyers haveextremely high expectations.

They've got a lot riding on theirdecision. The 2012 Azera wasdesigned to offer a complete class-leading power, ride and handlingthat particular drivers value most.

A good measure of Azera'sinnovative thinking starts underthe hood. The 3.3L V6 enginecreates an effortless flow of powerand surprising fuel efficiencyusing advancements that includeGasoline Direct Injection (GDI)and Dual Continuously VariableValve Timing (D-CVVT).

Getting the optimal mix of fueland air into the combustionchamber is the holy grail of enginetuning. It's a simple goal that canget very complicated. But Hyundaitakes advantage of Gasoline DirectInjection (GDI) to inject the fueldirectly into the combustionchamber. The result: high levels ofboth power and MPG.

The Azera's 6-speed automatictransmission with SHIFTRONICmakes skillful use of all the powerits V6 engine generates andefficiently applying it to the road, asthe driver requires.

The Azera is one premium sedanthat knows what to do with all ofthat fluid power when the roadturns, or turns rough. Equippedwith SACHS ASD suspension, itdelivers a sophisticated, smoothride over road surfaces that aren'tsmooth at all.

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With nine airbags standard,knees finally get the respect theydeserve.

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Truth is, with all of the innovativesafety features that are standardon every Azera, the feeling ofsecurity is all-encompassing.

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The front seats in the Azeraprovide the comfort and supportone expects, but buried deepwithin their design is theincreased ability to absorb impactin the event of a rear-end collision.This type of structuralreinforcement has been shown toreduce neck and head injuries by17%.

At the center of Azera's activesafety technology is its VehicleStability Management system

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Rear-seat passengers haveaccess to a slate of added comfortfeatures including an innovativepower rear sunshade, manual rearside-window sunshades andsecond-row air vents. At the touchof a button, the power rearsunshade deploys to block out thesun, keeping the interior cool evenin summer. When reverse isselected, it retracts to provide aclear view behind the vehicle.

When the sun drops below thehorizon, the mood in Azera's cabinchanges. Its distinctive interiorlighting system adds soft, ambientlight and a sculptural quality.

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Command all that you convey.The Azera's power tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel featurescruise, audio and phone controls.The instrument cluster providesdriver information including fueleconomy and advanced vehiclesettings.

The Azera's sophisticatednavigation system delivers addedconvenience, safety and capability.Its centerpiece is the 7-inch, high-resolution touchscreen display.Using voice command recognitionor prompts via the touchscreen,you can access images from therearview camera or getinformation on traffic, weather,sports and stocks from your 90-day trial of Sirius XM SatelliteRadio.

Approach the vehicle with theProximity Key, push one buttonon the door and the Azerarecognizes you and then unlocksthe door.

Hyundai Azera: Unrivalled safety,unsurpassed performance


Burma boys and strange wars

Frustrating. There are goodmoments. Hear Private AliBanana, the main character:

“...I pay homage to the scorpionfor, as the saying goes, he whospurns that which is short, hasn’tstepped on a scorpion. Am I beingspurned because I’m short? It surelycannot be because I don’t speak yourlanguage. I’ve tried learning it,your eminence, God is my witness.But every time I start from a to z, Iget lost somewhere between â andð, and my head hurts and I have tolie down to recover. May you livelong kyaftin sir.’” (p 40)

‘Mules?’ Ali gasped as if stungby a driver ant. ‘Do you know whoI am? I’m the son of Dawa the kingof well-diggers whose blessed nosecould sniff out water in Sokoto whilehe’s standing in Saminaka. I’m theson of Hauwa whose mother wasTalatu whose mother wasFatimatu queen of the moistkulikuli cake, the memory of whosekulilkuli still makes old men waterat the mouth till this day. Our peoplesay that distance is an illness; onlytravel can cure it. Do you think thatAli Banana, son of Dawa, great-grandson of Fatima, has crossed thegreat sea and travelled this far, riflestrapped to his shoulder, to look aftermules?’ (p 38)

Beautiful. And then we find outmiles of pages later that thisfabulous oratory is delivered by aman who turns out in fact, to be aboy-soldier. Incredulous, suchprecociousness especially when onerealizes that the same child haduttered ‘I here for to killi diJampani.’ (p 33) It is impossible tosee the child in Ali Banana even asthe book assures that Ali Bananaindeed started out as a thirteen yearold soldier. This reader isunconvinced. It stretches credulity.

In Burma Boy, a tedious taleunfolds through the eyes of awriter unfamiliar with theterrain of Burmaand India, thewar theatre. It is one thing to beborn after an event; it is anotherthing to have never been at thescene of the crime. The bookanswers the question each time,with a forlorn “No, I was not thereand I have never been there.”Bandele’s knowledge of thegeography is not intimate enoughand comes across as contrived –as if the writer read about severalplaces and sprinkled the resultingknowledge on several pages of thebook. Burmais still a distant,remote land. It is not enough tolitter the book with exotic flora andfauna. The landscape is notwatered enough, not nurturedenough to keep it alive. Everybattle is fought in the same leafyhills, sunken valleys and paddyfields. The book suffers from therich monotony of a stuntedimagination.

Then there is this abidingdisconnectedness. For example,Chapter 4 seems to start exactlywhere Chapter 3 did not end andthis reader is not sure why. Weaksynaptic connections try gamelyto string the chapters together.Most times the ends don’t touch andthe result is jarring. One just feelslost in this vast jungle that thewriter doesn’t seem to conquer.And the reader feels like a haplesssoldier, captured and frog-marched through a jungle tonowhere. Once the reader recoversfrom the climactic end to chapter1, the book never really builds upagain; there is nothing to lookforward to.

To be continuedSource: African wtriter.com

Continued from last Wednesday

There is plenty to frustrate thereader in this book. Bandeleobviously read a lot of books

about the Burma experience andit shows. It is not a pretty sighthowever. Numerous scenes arelovingly slapped together andthey hang together, tough butseparate, hardly ever jelling inthis unlikely stew of a story – likethe unhappy ingredients of a potof okro soup put together by ahungry and impatient cook.Every ingredient stands alonerefusing to play Bandele’s dreamsymphony. The okro soup’srichness is rendered destitute bythe narcissism of its feudingingredients. For example, indesign and execution, chapter 1 iseasily the best part of the book, butwhat is the point of this chapterother than to introduce aperversely eccentric character –Major Wingate? Also charactersare born and rapidly killed off –there is no staying power. Apainful riot of too many minorcharacters ensures that the readerstays distracted from the message.The book is a caricaturist’s delight.Stereotypes, mostly ethnic fallupon stereotypes and jostlegamely for space in the reader’slimited span of attention. Here, inthis book, exaggerations are aninappropriate tool for scoringpoints. Also since the war theatreremains oblique to the reader, letme suggest that a map of the wartheatre in that region (Burma,India, etc) would have been useful.

Overweight sentences puffand huff their way through amaze of a story. The very firstsentence in the book screams, “Ineed to go on a diet!” I am notexaggerating; two mere sentencesgo on for three quarters of a page.Awkward sentences, fat, withmuscles in the wrong places andfat everywhere else. Exhibit one:

“Godiwillin Nnamdi, a school-teacher’s son from Onitsha whohad joined the army to spite hisfather for some slight he could nolonger remember, ominouslyannounced that only last weektwo Indian nationalists, whowanted neither the British in theircountry, nor the Japs, but wouldprefer the Japs if they had to makea choice, had been caught tryingto poison the base’s water supply.”(p 56)

There are all these longsentences thrown into a room andthy loll about like grenades thatwon’t go off. Exhibit 2:

“A wandering bomb soaredbeyond the trucks anddisintegrated into several smallerbombs as it struck a tree like anaxe with a thousand blades,carving the thick stem intoseveral pieces and flinging thedisembodied upper trunk with itscrown of shattered branches intothe solid undergrowth behind.” (p114)

The attempts at humor onlyregister and arrest the beginningsof a smile on the reader’s face likethe beginnings of great sexarrested at half climax.

BOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEW

LAUNDRY

I am still at a loss why the oncerevered Chief Ibori allowed thiskind of calamity to befall him.

What went wrong? On top of mytable, I have a picture of him inLondon after the sentencing witha cardboard hanging on his necklike a common criminal thoughthe prosecutor called him a‘common thief’. He looked verycontrite and very sober and I thinkvery tired too. He must havewanted to put all this behind himand get on with his sentence.

Why am I at a loss? Becausethere are some of us who havebeen jobless for quite some timewho would have willinglyconsented to be used as aprofessional laundry and thosefunds would never have beentraced to him. For instance if Iborihad contracted me to be hislaundry, for that amount of moneyI would have gladly gone to jailmany times over and his moneywill still be intact! And I will be theone who will wear that cardboardand very happily too.

I am using this medium toappeal to our clueless men andwomen who cannot seem to gettheir hands off the till that I amavailable to launder! I will do athorough professional laundry jobfor you that the money will neverbe traced to you. If I am caught,well I am just an ordinary artist. Iwill laugh all the way to jail. Letthem make 100 cardboards, I willwear it all. Did you read thecardboard? – JAMES IBORI 011ID/11091 15/04/2011. Yeepa!! Whynot use professionals like us?Like one of our characters in ournew play rightly asked – must youwash all your clothes yourself?

ARTS FUNDWe are looking for arts minded

individuals and people to investjust 1% of the billions floatingaround in our country in the arts.Just 1%. This is not too much toask for the arts and the bettermentof the society. Can you imaginejust 1% of the entire Ibori lootdesignated as a fund for the arts?Apart from the jubilation in the artscircuit, there will be creativityunprecedented all over the nation.However, I suspect that this willnever happen as the people whowill give just the 1% do not takeartistes and the craft as seriousminded people. In their opinion,we will fritter away all the moneyalong with the associatedgoodwill.

IN OUR LIVESTwo weeks ago during the trip

to Ghana, we were told oforganizations in Nigeria folding upand moving to safer climes. This

FRFRFRFRFROM OM OM OM OM THETHETHETHETHELIVE STLIVE STLIVE STLIVE STLIVE STAAAAAGEGEGEGEGE

with

Patrick-Jude Oteh

0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215

(SMS only)

is being done quietly and it willtake us all a long time to notethat these organizations aregone. Those who have noticedare only those who need theimmediate services of theseorganizations. Barely a few yearsago, one of the places you couldcatch a good performance and agood dose of elite gossip alongwith excellent dining and arooftop bar/restaurant was at theBritish Council, Abuja. This is nomore. The last time I went there,I was denied access to park.There are so many of suchplaces either closed or foldingup. The venue of our discussionwas the British Council, Accraduring break at theAFRIFESTNET launch. Therestaurant and the little gardenconverted to a meeting placewas always full during lunchhours. I felt very sad at the thingswe are losing and the ones wehave lost. Pathetic and sad!

THE AIR FARES COMEDYAfter all the noise and

grandstanding in respect of BAand VN evading taxes and ademand that they pay somefines and the threat by theaviation minister to ban themfrom Nigeria if they refuse to playball or reduce their fares to whatobtains even in Ghana, the onemonth ultimatum given to themto comply or else......all seemsto be quiet! The new word fromthe authorities is that ‘we willneed time to study the reportand see what exactly is wrong’!Ha HA ha ha ha.......... Whatexactly do we stand for in thiscountry?

THE $200M ARTSINTERVENTION FUND

We are still asking andlooking for anyone who hasaccessed this fund. Or what hashappened to this fund. I was toldin Ghana that it was a politicalstatement! Someone else saidit was not our money! That itbelonged to the World Bank!Another said, even if it was ourmoney it has been divertedsomewhere else! I said I stillhave a lot of faith in my countrythat the money is there and thatit is we artistes that are refusingto access the fund....... I am ofthe opinion that the CBN is incustody of the funds. Andguarding it jealously for artistes.I want to appeal .....ourorganization needs money andvery urgently too. We have plentyof collateral – costumes, drums,keyboards, human capital....weneed the money urgently. Our2012 program is already runninglate. How can we access it?

By Ikhide R. Ikheloa (Nnamdi)

The book cover


Hearing the voice of the voicelessat Betty Abah’s Abuja reading

“I planned to read the poem,and I had thought that maybe itwould make some in the audiencecry.” That was what Betty Abahsaid as an introduction to one ofthe poems she read at theInternational Institute ofJournalism where she was theGuest Writer of Abuja Writers’Forum, AWF. She didn’t need tosay it loud on that occasion. Andthat is because anyone who readsthe volumes of work of this well-travelled, and highly decoratedjournalist who was formerly on thestables of Newswatch and TELLmagazines would not but feelwhat she meant, and shed tearsfor the downtrodden, the voicelessthat were majorly the focus of herpoems. But then the emphasis onceagain was more on how effectivelyshe had utilized her genre toconvey to the society many aninhuman condition. She usedliterature to serve a useful andknown purpose on that score, andof some of her works, a participanthad said, “You score a big blow forwomen.” That was just onesubject in Abah’s work that couldmake a reader shed tears for thehuman condition especially inNigeria. It is because she wrotewhat she feels, and captured howothers feel too.

The various subjects in herthree volumes of poetry collectionresonate with her readers, and onereason is because there is thisdelicious, down-to-earth touch toher writing. It made some in heraudience ask why she writes theway she does, and if she haspreference for any specific style ofpoetry writing. “I don’t have anyparticular style. I write the way Iam inspired,” she said. And she gotinspired by the things she sees andwhat she dreams.Incomprehensible God! is oneoutcome of such. And there isPeace. Both are in the collectiontitled, Sound of Broken Chain.That title, also the title of one thepoems in the same book cannot bedetached from her strong belief inthe possibility of a manundergoing profound changes.“When a man who drinks toomuch alcohol, or that is mad ischanged, chain is broken.” Onecould see the change that he is nolonger mad; “it is like a proof, thesound of a broken chain,” sheexplained. That turn around in thelife of any human being shebelieves so much in. Such is

enough to make anyone crybecause of the relief inherent inthe experience, and her religiousbackground is one reason. “Mywriting is my expression of mybeing, so you cannot removereligion from me,” she statedwhile responding to a question onwhy she takes on her kind ofsubjects.

One of her other poetrycollection is Pending Thoughts.And there is her third collection,Go Tell The King. Some of thepoems she read from this areWhen I Die; Surviving Nigeria;Crude Women; Dem Go Say I BeWomen, and A Certain Day. Thelast was what the poet specificallythought might make anyone cry,and no less so the other titles, too.A Certain Day was about one ofthe plane crashes in the country.The author covered the event as ajournalist. And there was a manwhose body would not be found;relatives of other victims collectedbodies from the site of the crash,and carried out burialceremonies, but not his. His peoplecame and collect soil. Theywanted something to bury. Thejournalist saw this and thought ofthe child of the deceased. Whatthought would a child have of afather that was dead but whosebody never confirmed it? So shewrote. And what she penned wasless about the effect of theineptitude displayed in highplaces in this clime that led to lossof lives in plane crashes, than thethoughts in the head of a childabout his late father: “…I dreamtthat last night/playing tenniswith good, laughing Daddy/ I hadgrown a big, big boy/ and Dad wasin shorts and all/ I said Daddy, areyou home at last? He smiled andthen ran as fast and fast away/ Iran after, calling Daddy comeback!..”

Women are not left out ofAbah’s writing, as well as the issueof environmental degradation.How she conveyed the condition ofwomen in her poems would drawsympathy, and the devastation inthe Niger Delta region of the

country would draw tears. As forthe environmentalist part of her,the author had even boasted to anassociate of hers when she was onher way to the reading in Abujathat she would use the occasion tocarry on the struggle against thedegradation of the earth. And thatsome of her poems did do. Some callher a feminist because of the courseshe had deployed her genre topursue. “But you don’t need to be afeminist to know there is so muchoppression going on.” She recalledhow women in some parts of South-South would hold umbrella andstand outside the Town Hall duringa general town meeting, whilewhat men and youth discusswithin the hall is passed to themfrom mouth to mount. They stayoutside because women cannot bepart of the decision making, andthey need umbrella to shield off theelement. Youth means youngmales, and never females, so whenoil companies ‘settle’ communities,women are treated as if they don’texist, Abah informed her audience.

J.P Clark is the author’sfavourite poet, and she readsMaya Angelou’s work a lot. AndAbah is so passionate about herwriting that she writes only whatshe feels strongly about. Someoneonce asked her to write poems onsome specific issues for a pay, but

Betty Abah

PEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OF

THE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEK

They turned the nationupside down looking for the

ticketThey found it and turned thenation to a very thick thicketThey tied our necks to their

horses and turned themloose

They celebrated their gainsand the liberty we had to lose

They turned the treasuryupside down looking for raw

goldThey found it and turned the

treasury to a planet borncold

They tied our appetite to thescarce crumbs in their old

binsThey documented ourlosses with lunch full of

sandy beans

They plucked our promisingchildren from our maternal

armsThey overfed them with

strange breast milk servedwith arms

They let them loose likehungry wolves to uproot our

dreamsThey came and transplanted

our homes into the coldstreams

They came amidst trumpetsand drums for a golden

carnivalThey exhibited the razor-

sharp dentition of a furiouscannibal

They turned the nationupside down looking for our

high hopeThey found, desecrated andtied it to their fragile political

rope

Our daughters are theircargoes and our fathers their

wagonsThey spit fire and speak instrange tongues laced with

jargonsWe look up to the hill fromwhere comes the old time

prophetThat he might speak for uslike an ordained heavenly

trumpet

Title: Looking for the ticketBy Adeola Ikuomola

“A religion that takes noaccount of practical affairsand does not help to solvethem is no religion.”–– Mohandas Gandhi.

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETE

she declined because it is not hermode of putting pen to paper. Itmust be a sign of how serious shetakes her work, how passionateshe feels about the subjects shetakes on. In all, she fights for acause with her writing. It’s oneother thing, as expected ofliterature, that Abah’s writingdoes so well in her three collections.

Several other artists expressedthemselves under the watchfuldirection of the Master ofCeremony, Seun Badejo. Theirpresentations were a part of extratreats of the day. Kamal Balogun,a member of AWF, performed apoem in Igala language toeveryone’s delight. What hiswatchers missed in language theygot in the actions that conveyedthe message. Tokunbo Edwardsplayed on his guitar music thatsome said “tended towards ‘rock,’”and to satisfactory applause fromthe audience. And ChimeEmembo showed paintings thathe themed, Christian religious art.He developed the theme based onhis religious conviction, and aparticular painting in hiscollection that had Jesus drawinga man out of water was titled, TheSaviour. Lami Yakubu’s shortstory, The Stillborn, was receivedwith enthusiasm and her crispsentences were commended bythe 2008 NLNG Literature Prizenominee, Ozioma Izuora, assomething that she, as a lawyer,particularly liked. ChidoOnumah, a banker, read twopoems with the titles: TheAlmanjiri, and Epitaph on thePlateau, which reflected the on-going violence in that part of thecountry. The Special Guest atthe event was Alhaji BilyaBala, a Director at People’Media Limited, publishers ofPeople’s Daily newspaper,who in his speech enjoinedwriters not to relent incarrying the flag of their artforward. Other notablepersonalities at the even includeChinyere Obi-Obasi, 2011 NLNGLiterature Prize nominee; OkeIkeogu, a published poet andmany others. The next AWF’sGuest Writer Session takes placeon May 26.Ajibade wrote from [email protected]

The April edition of theAbuja Writers’ Forum’sGuest Writer Sessionhad a poet whose workcaptured, not justpersonal, but some of thefar-reaching effects, onordinary people, of thechallenges that confrontthe nation, TUNJIAJIBADE writes.

Cross section of participants


Islamophobia: Europe’snew political diseaseLondon, United Kingdom -

A new wave of anti-Muslim intolerance and

antagonism is sweepingEurope. The far right politicalgains seen in some parts of thecontinent are alarming. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim andextreme right parties seem tobe cashing in on economichardship and austeritymeasures. In a blinkered worldof "us" and "them" they havefound in Europe's Muslimcitizens the "others".

In this fevered atmosphereof rising nationalism Islam, thereligion of its most-impoverished people, is takingover the continent. Never mindthe agonies such sentimentscaused when acted upon by theNorway killer, Anders Breiviklast year. "Racism is the lowestform of stupidity; Islamophobiais the height of common sense!"said one group in 2008.

To any person with amodicum of common sensesuch attitudes are absurd andbordering on a mythical viewof reality. We must check theirrise. In a powerful indictment,the Council of EuropeCommissioner for HumanRights, Thomas Hammarberg,posted a blog about howEuropean Muslims arestigmatised by populistrhetoric (October 2010).

"European countries appearto face another crisis beyondbudget deficits - thedisintegration of human value.One symptom is the increasingexpression of intolerancetowards Muslims. Opinion pollsin several European countriesreflect fear, suspicion andnegative opinions of Muslimsand Islamic culture," he wrote.

He was not alone in givingEuropeans this warning;many people across Britishpolitics and media have sharedsimilar sentiments for sometime. Amnesty Internationalhas shared this concern. In itsApril 2012 report "Choice andprejudice: discriminationagainst Muslims in Europe",Amnesty exposes the impact ofdiscrimination on Muslims.Marco Perolini, Amnesty'sexpert on discrimination, says:"Muslim women are beingdenied jobs and girls preventedfrom attending regular classesjust because they weartraditional forms of dress, suchas the headscarf. Men can bedismissed for wearing beardsassociated with Islam... Ratherthan countering theseprejudices, political parties andpublic officials are all too oftenpandering to them in theirquest for votes."

Amnesty International hasaccused France, Belgium andthe Netherlands of failing toimplement proper lawsbanning discrimination inemployment.

It is disheartening that acontinent that had learntmany lessons in such a hard

way, after the devastation ofthe two World Wars, andwhich prides itself in equalityand human rights, is allowingitself to be influenced by theforces of intolerance and hate.It is now open season to malignMuslims because of theirreligious and culturalpractices. Yet Muslimimmigrants arriving after thewar joined in the effort torebuild the economies of war-torn Europe in the 1950s. Inalmost every field of life,Muslims have been an integralpart of the European tapestry.Muslims are today at home inEurope, have been contributorsto its past and are stakeholdersin its future.

Yet the language andrhetoric used by the Far Rightand the level of politicalexpediency in mainstreamEuropean politics is mindboggling. The hate mongersare apparently succeeding in

swapping a racist agenda for anIslamophobic one. Thelacklustre response fromEuropean leaders has pavedthe way for anti-Muslimbigotry to move closer to themainstream.

It took a cold-bloodedmassacre of 77 Norwegianyouths by a far-right"Christian" extremist, AndersBehring Breivik last summer,to shake the conscience ofEurope's political class. It was ahorrendous wake-up call tohome-grown far-right violenceand ideology, inspired by therhetoric of vote-chasingpoliticians, pseudo academics,media analysts and hategroups like the English DefenceLeague (EDL) in Britain.Breivik, in his recent trial, hasmade vitriolic attack onEuropean leaders for their"impotence" to stand up againstMuslim "conquest" of Europe. Inthis, he is propounding the

Europe has been recently undergoing a wave of Islamophobic hysteria the past few years [AFP]

ANALYSIS

"Eurabia" fantasy that iscentral to the so-called "counterjihadist" movement propelledby ideologues in the USA.

Elsewhere, in France, theshockwave of the far-rightNational Front polling nearlyone fifth of French voters in thefirst round of the presidentialelections is still reverberating.Both the socialist candidate andthe incumbent president arenow wooing the supporters ofMarine le Pen.

In Britain the recent newsthat the EDL has joined handswith the British Freedom Party(BFP) is going to have politicalimplications. The BFP wasformed in 2010 by disaffectedmembers of the BNP andwhatever its stated objectives,its main target is the Muslimcommunity. It wants to ban theniqab, stop the building of newmosques and Islamic schoolsand outlaw Sharia (as if it runsBritain!) including Islamic

finance. The news that EDLhead Tommy Robinson is to beappointed Deputy Leader of theBritish Freedom Party hasalarmed anti-racist groups likeHOPE Not Hate, and others.

The alliance of EDL and BFPwould be more dangerous thanthe BNP: the current EDL head"Tommy Robinson" (real name:Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, atanning salon manager fromLuton) has a better mediapresence than the Holocaust-denying Nick Griffin. Infocusing on Islam and thethreat of "Islamist extremists"they can have a bigger appealthan the simple racist agenda ofthe BNP. With political trust atan all-time low, this far rightalliance may take advantage ofvoter apathy in national and localpolitics to advance their cause.

Be that as it may, we muststand firm and not let our countryand continent slip into theintolerant past. We must joinhands to slay the dragon ofIslamophobia and help buildEurope again with everyone'shelp, Muslim and non-Muslim,alike. It is time we listen to thevoices of sanity, not hate.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bariis a parenting consultant. Heis a founding member of TheEast London CommunitiesOrganisation (TELCO),Chairman of the East LondonMosque Trust, and formerSecretary General of theMuslim Council of Britain(2006-10).

“Elsewhere, in France, the shockwave of the far-right National Front polling nearly one fifth of Frenchvoters in the first round of the presidential electionsis still reverberating. Both the socialist candidateand the incumbent president are now wooing the

supporters of Marine le Pen.


South Africacourt ordersZimbabwetortureinvestigation

South Africa mustinvestigate Zimbabweanofficials over allegations

they tortured opposition figuresin 2007, a Pretoria high court hasruled.

Under international law,South Africa has a duty toinvestigate crimes againsthumanity, the judge said.

Prosecutors had previouslyrefused to investigate the officials,who had travelled to SouthAfrica.

South Africa was the firstAfrican country to recognise theInternational Criminal Court(ICC).

The case was brought by theSouthern Africa LitigationCentre (SALC), along with theZimbabwean Exiles Forum (ZEF),many of whose members fled toSouth Africa saying they hadbeen tortured by Zimbabweansecurity agents.

They argued that because itrecognises the ICC, it is obliged toact on allegations of humanrights abuses.

This judgment will send ashiver down the spines ofZimbabwean officials whobelieved that they would neverbe held to account for their crimes"It centres on an incident in2007, when supporters of thethen-opposition Movement forDemocratic Change say theywere tortured after a raid on theirparty headquarters. They havenamed 17 Zimbabwean officialsand want them arrested andprosecuted.

South African Judge HansFabricius ruled that police andprosecutors had acted"unconstitutionally andunlawfully" - and ordered themto conduct an investigation.

exchange shortages.Several key donors -

including former colonialpower Britain - also suspendedaid to Malawi.

The late president, Binguwa Mutharika, had fixed theexchange rate in 2005, andhad steadfastly refused to

Malawi devaluescurrency by a third

make a major devaluation,which he argued would hurt thepoor.

After Mutharika's suddendeath last month, the newpresident, Joyce Banda, hasmoved quickly to restorerelations with internationallenders and donors.

Fighters attack Libyan government HQFormer Libyan fighters

demanding unpaidstipends have attacked

and surrounded the

Malawi has devalued itscurrency, kwacha, by athird, and it will no

longer be pegged to the USdollar.

With Tuesday's decision, theAfrican nation has met animportant demand of theInternational Monetary Fund tofix its troubled economy.

"Following this devaluation,the kwacha is now fullyliberalised," the Reserve Bank ofMalawi said in a statement.

The central bank's notice ofofficial exchange rates put onedollar at 250 kwacha, comparedto 166 kwacha on Friday, a33.598 per cent value drop.

On the black market, the USdollar has sold at more than 300kwacha, a disparity that droveforeign currency out of thebanking system and into thehands of informal dealers.

The Reserve Bank said it didnot expect the currency reformto increase inflation, becausemost commodities were alreadybeing traded at the unofficialexchange rate.

People lined up for days for afew litres of petrol, and goods forthe domestic market were soldover the border to earn foreigncurrency.

Dollars earned throughtobacco sales, which usuallyaccount for 60 per cent ofMalawi's foreign currencyrevenue, can now go throughcommercial banks instead ofthrough the central bank.

The IMF has for months

called for a devaluation to end ashortage of foreign currencythat has left Malawi unable toimport enough fuel to keep thenation running.

It suspended its programmewith Malawi last year, for acredit of nearly $80m thatshould have cushioned foreign-

Shortage of foreign currency has left Malawi unable to import enough fuel to keep the nation running[Reuters]

A 29-year-old Zimbabwean refu-gee lives with her baby in direpoverty and torture.

The former rebels are angry at the decision by the government tostop stipends over corruption and fraud [AFP]

headquarters of the interimgovernment, witnesses say.

The attack on Tuesday leftthree dead and several others

wounded, according to aninterior ministry official.

A defence ministryspokesperson confirmed therewere dead and injured, but hedid not know casualty numbers.

"Many men encircled thebuilding and opened fire againstit with weapons including anti-aircraft cannons," agovernment employee presentduring the attack told the AFPnews agency.

Several lorries mountedwith anti-aircraft gunssurrounded the building incentral Tripoli, blocking traffic,the witnesses said.

Al Jazeera's Omar al Saleh,reporting from Tripoli, said therebels came from the Nafusamountains and that they werestill surrounding the building.

He said the decision by the

interim government to haltstipends, citing "mass corruptionand fraud", angered the formerfighters.

"I did speak to the son of theLibyan finance minister whosaid his father was at the buildingat the time of the attack," ourcorrespondent said.

"He said there was heavyammunition being fired. He saidat least three people were killed.

"[He also said that] when thenews spread, other [militia]brigades came to protect thegovernment. The fighting lastedbetween one hour and twohours."

The headquarters haspreviously been attacked, butour correspondent said that oneof the fighters he spoke todescribed Tuesday's attack as themost serious.

Egypt judges send scores to trial for unrestInvestigating judges sent 293

Egyptians to trial on chargesof resisting authorities,

damaging public property andcarrying knives and fire bombsduring an anti-governmentprotest last year.

A three-week sit-in inDecember outside the Cabinetbuilding turned violent whentroops badly beat a protester. In fourdays of clashes that followed, 14people were killed and hundredsinjured.

The defendants, including 24minors, are also accused of burninga research center housing oldmanuscripts, attempting to stormthe Interior Ministry and

The generals drew criticism for their crackdown on the Decem-ber protest, including beating women [Reuters]

practicing medicine without apermit - a reference to the protesterssetting up field hospitals to treathundreds of wounded.

They will be tried in a civiliancriminal court.

Egypt's official news agencysaid on Monday the minors will betried in a juvenile court. No datehas been set for the trial.

This is one in a series of masstrials following violent clashesbetween protesters and securityforces over the past year.

The generaals drewinternational criticism for theircrackdown on the Decemberprotest, including beating womenand pursuing journalists.


Al Jazeera English forced out of Chinacoverage of China. Just as Chinanews services cover the worldfreely we would expect that samefreedom in China for any AlJazeera journalist.

"Al Jazeera Media Network

The channel expressed itsdisappointment at thesituation and said it would

continue to request a presence inChina.

It has been requestingadditional visas forcorrespondents for some timethrough the normal proceduresbut these have not been issued.

Melissa Chan, who has beenAl Jazeera English's Chinacorrespondent since 2007, hasfiled nearly 400 reports duringher five years in the country.

She has covered stories aboutthe economy, domestic politics,foreign policy, the environment,social justice, labour rights andhuman rights.

Salah Negm, director of newsat Al Jazeera English said: "We'vebeen doing a first class job atcovering all stories in China.

"Our editorial DNA includescovering all stories from all sides.We constantly cover the voice ofthe voiceless and sometimes thatcalls for tough news coveragefrom anywhere in world.

"We hope China appreciatesthe integrity of our newscoverage and our journalism. Wevalue this journalist integrity inour coverage of all countries inthe world.

"We are committed to our

Al Jazeera English has closed its bureau in Beijing after the Chinese authorities refused torenew its correspondent's press credentials and visa, or allow a replacement journalist.

Greeks may have to go back to the ballot box after failed initial efforts to form a coalition govern-ment [Reuters]

Tomislav Nikolic's, right, Serbian Progressive Party won the most seats in parliament with 73[Reuters]

will continue to work with theChinese authorities in order toreopen our Beijing bureau."

Bob Dietz of the New York-based Committee to ProtectJournalists said Chan's case, the

first expulsion of a journalist since1998, "marks a real deteriorationin China's media environmentand sends a message thatinternational coverage isunwanted".

Greek leftistsin bid to formcoalition

Greece's radical leftistSyriza party is to starttrying to build an anti-

austerity cabinet and prevent freshelections, a day after theconservatives failed to form acoalition government.

Alexis Tsipras, Syriza's leader, isholding talks with President CarolosPapoulias on Tuesday and will begiven three days to form agovernment.

The meeting comes as debt-ladenGreece faces stern warnings fromGermany and the EU to stick to itsbailout deal.

"We will exhaust all possibilitiesto reach an understanding,primarily with the forces of the left,"Tsipras said ahead of the meeting.

The conservative NewDemocracy party's failure to form agovernment underscored Greece'sprecarious situation, with thecountry needing bailout funds tostay afloat, but where painfulausterity measures have given riseto widespread voter anger.

The euro and world stockmarkets sank on Monday aftervoters kicked out the Greekgovernment in weekend electionsand voted in a Socialist president ofFrance in a backlash againstausterity, but Asian marketsrebounded Tuesday.

Al Jazeera's John Psaropoulos,reporting from Athens, said: "Thereare fewer chances today, I think, offorming consensual governmentthan we had yesterday when thelargest party, the Conservatives,was trying its hands at it."

"Today it's the radical left, Syriza,who really want a sort of leftistcoalition of the communists andother left parties.

"There is a great deal of digestingto be done of the results here. Theidea that Greece doesn't have a stablegovernment is still sinking in."

The political developments inFrance and Greece had stokedanxiety about the fate of the EU'stough fiscal pact adopted in Marchto try to end the eurozone's cripplingdebt crisis.

New Democracy leader AntonisSamaras said on Monday his effortsto form a "national salvation"administration had failed, meaningthat Syriza, as the runner-up inSunday's election, would now betasked with forming a government.

"I did whatever I could to securea result but it was impossible,"Samaras said in a televised addressafter a day of separate meetings withfellow leaders.

Samaras, 60, was rebuffed bySyriza and the small Democratic Leftgroup, while the nationalistIndependent Greeks and theCommunist party refused to evenmeet with him.

Third-placed socialist partyPASOK, which was formerly in acoalition with New Democracy,agreed to co-operate but only if theleftists also joined.

The snub to Samaras suggeststhat Greece's political parties arepaying more attention to thepunishing message sent by votersfed up with austerity measures thanto worries about the future of the euroor warnings from Berlin andBrussels.

Socialists keyto futureSerbiangovernment

The Serbian party foundedby Slobodan Milosevic, theformer president, has

emerged as potentialkingmakers after generalelections in which neither theliberal nor nationalist campsclinched clear victory.

Socialist Ivica Dacic's partydoubled its tally in Sunday'sballot from the last elections,achieving its best result sinceMilosevic was ousted from powerin a pro-democracy uprising in2000.

The opposition right-wingpopulist Serbian ProgressiveParty (SNS) took 73 seats in the250-member assembly, ahead ofthe Democrat Party (DS), whichtook 67 seats. Neither party hasenough to govern on its own.Dacic's Socialists won 44 seats.

"We have risen from theashes," a triumphant Dacic said.

Dacci said he would seek to beprime minister in any futuregovernment, and left the dooropen for negotiations with boththe DS and SNS.

"If we still don't know who willbe Serbia's next president, Ithink we know who will be theprime minister," he declaredconfidently at a celebration lateon Sunday.

In presidential elections, alsoheld on Sunday, a near-completeofficial vote count released onMonday confirmed that a runoffwill be held on May 20 betweenthe DS's Boris Tadic, who won25.3 per cent of the vote, and theSNS's Tomislav Nikolic, who had24.9 per cent.


Interpol issues warrant for Iraqi VPInterpol has issued an

international 'Red Notice'alert for Iraq's fugitive Vice

President Tariq al-Hashemi onsuspicion of "guiding and financingterrorist attacks".

Hashemi, who is being tried inabsentia in Baghdad after beingaccused of running a death squad,insisted in a statement on Tuesdaythat he was not above the law andwas ready to appear in court if hissecurity, and a fair trial, could beguaranteed.

"The Red Notice for al-Hashemirepresents a regional andinternational alert to all of Interpol's190 member countries to seek theirhelp in locating and arresting him,"the Lyon-based international policeagency said.

Interpol said the notice, itshighest possible alert, was issuedfollowing an Iraqi warrant made"as part of an investigation in whichsecurity forces seized bombingmaterials and arrestedindividuals".

Hashemi - last known to be inIstanbul, after receiving medicaltreatment for respiratorycomplications in the Turkishcapital, Ankara - along with hisbodyguards faces about 150charges, including the allegedkilling of six judges and other seniorofficials, according to an Iraqijudicial spokesman.

He has challenged thelegitimacy of the trial and said hislife is at risk in Baghdad.

The decision to charge the keySunni Arab leader sparked apolitical crisis that saw the vicepresident's bloc boycott cabinet andparliament over accusations Nurial-Maliki, Iraq's Shia primeminister, was monopolising power.

Hashemi said in a statementposted on his website early onTuesday that he was awaiting a"political solution" to the standoff.

"I respect the [Iraqi] judiciaryand I am not above the law," he said.

"If a fair trial is possible, notpoliticised, and there are securityguarantees and guarantees of myconstitutional rights, I will standbefore any court, even if it is inBaghdad because I am sure of myinnocence."

Ghassan al-Attiya, a Baghdad-based analyst said the accusationslodged against the vice presidentare indeed political in nature.

Attiya says in the periodbetween February 2006 and May2008, all of the local "militias wereattacking each other. I would notpresume any of them to beinnocent".

Attiya says Iraqi governmentclaims that evidence againstHashemi dates back three yearsraises further questions, "why didn'tthey raise the issue before ...probably there is a political motive"to the charges.

Saad al-Mutalabi, senior adviserto prime minister Maliki, saidaccusations that the primeminister is furthering ethnic andsectarian divides in the country "isjust political talk".

Mutalabi, in a phone interviewwith Al Jazeera says it is politicians,not lawyers lodging the complaintsagainst the prime minister.

As proof against charges thatthe prime minister is stokingsectarian rifts within the nation,

Mutalabi points to Maliki's trip to theprovince of Kirkuk, where he isholding a cabinet meeting in supportof Arab Sunnis in the northernprovince.

Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reportingfrom the Jordanian capital, Amman,said that though Hashemi maintainshis own innocence, it may be possiblethat members of his entourage mayhave been involved in attacks duringthe civil war.

"It could be possible that some ofhis guards were implicated but hedidn't know about it", ourcorrespondent says of the vicepresident's take on the 150 chargeslodged against him.

Hashemi said he was planning toreturn to Erbil, the capital of IraqiKurdistan, on Tuesday but decidedto delay his trip after appeals byunnamed political leaders.

Attiya says if Hasemi does indeedto face trial in Iraq he would be takinga major step towards turning thepolitical tables in Iraq.

Hasemi "will really be a hero ofthe people and expose the polticisationof the government", if he stands trial

said Attiya.Interpol secretary general

Ronald Noble said in a statementthat the Red Notice would"significantly restrict" Hashemi'sability to travel and crossinternational borders.

"This case also clearlydemonstrates the commitmentof Iraqi authorities to work withthe world police community viaInterpol to apprehendindividuals facing seriouscharges," he said.

A Red Notice is not aninternationally binding arrestwarrant but many of Interpol'smembers consider it a validrequest, especially if they havean extradition treaty with therequesting country.

Selcuk Unal, a Turkishgovernment spokesperson hastold Al Jazeera that the Red Noticeis "just disseminating informationabout a person" and that Hashemi,still considered Iraq's current vicepresident, will return to Iraq afterreceiving medical treatment inIstanbul. Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi

US refuses to talk with al-Qaeda over hostageWashington will not

negotiate with al-Qaedaover the release of a 70-year-

old US citizen who was kidnapped in

Pakistan almost a year ago, WhiteHouse spokesman Jay Carney said.

Carney said on Monday that theadministration of Barack Obama,

the US president, was concernedabout the well-being of WarrenWeinstein and would continue tomake efforts to have him freed.

The statement came after al-Qaeda released a video on Sundayshowing Weinstein imploringObama to accept the group'sdemands or else he would be killed.

"My life is in your hands, Mr.President," Weinstein said in the newvideo. "If you accept the demands, Ilive; if you don't accept the demands,then I die."

But Carney also said he did notbelieve the president had seen thevideo.

The video posted online onSunday followed one issued inDecember in which Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's leader, saidWeinstein would be released if theUS stopped airstrikes in Afghanistan,Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.

Weinstein was abducted in August in the eastern Pakistani city ofLahore after attackers broke into his home [AP]

‘US foils al-Qaeda plot’ to bomb airliner

He also demanded the release of allal-Qaeda and Taliban suspects aroundthe world.

Weinstein was abducted in Augustin the eastern Pakistani city of Lahoreafter attackers broke into his home.He was the country director inPakistan for JE Austin Associates, aUS-based firm that advises a range ofPakistani business and governmentsectors.

"It's important you accept thedemands and act quickly and don'tdelay,'' Weinstein said in the video,addressing Obama. "There'll be nobenefit in delaying. It will just makethings more difficult for me."

He appealed to Obama as a father.If the president responds to the al-Qaeda's' demands, Weinstein said,"then I will live and hopefully rejoinmy family and also enjoy my children,my two daughters, like you enjoy yourtwo daughters".

Looking at the life and death of the al-Qaeda mastermind

The US has thwarted a plot byal-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemento bomb an airliner around the

one-year anniversary of the killingof Osama bin Laden, the country'sNational Security Council hasconfirmed to Al Jazeera.

US media reports on Monday saidthe plot involved an upgrade of theunderwear bomb that failed todetonate aboard a jetliner overDetroit, Michigan, on December 25,2009.

President Barack Obama "wasassured that the device did not pose athreat to the public," Caitlin Hayden,National Security Council deputyspokeswoman, said.

Obama, who had been informedof the plot in April, had howeverdirected agencies "to take whateversteps necessary to guard against thistype of attack" and had been regularlybriefed by his national security team.

Separately, the Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) said therewas no active plot against the US atthis time.

"We have no specific, credibleinformation regarding an active

terrorist plot against the US at thistime," DHS spokesman MattChandler said.

This new bomb was alsodesigned to be used in a passenger'sunderwear, but this time al-Qaedadeveloped a more refineddetonation system, US officials saidon Monday.

The Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI) is examining

the latest bomb to see whether itcould have passed through airportsecurity and brought down anairplane, officials said.

They said the device did notcontain metal, meaning itprobably could have passedthrough an airport metal detector.But it was not clear whether newbody scanners used in manyairports would have detected it.

The would-be suicide bomber,based in Yemen, had not yet pickeda target or bought his plane ticketswhen the Central IntelligenceAgency (CIA) stepped in and seizedthe bomb, officials said. It is notimmediately clear what happenedto the alleged bomber.

"As a result of close co-operationwith our security and intelligencepartners overseas, an improvisedexplosive device (IED) designed tocarry out a terrorist attack has beenseized abroad," the FBI said in astatement.

"Initial exploitation indicatesthat the device is very similar to IEDsthat have been used previously byal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) in attempted terroristattacks, including against aircraftand for targeted assassinations," itadded.

The AP news agency learnedabout the thwarted plot last week,but agreed to White House and CIArequests not to publish itimmediately because the sensitiveintelligence operation was still underway.


Drugs made from deadbabies seized in South Korea

which include ground up rhinohorns.

The Chinese have

Thousands ofpills filled withpowdered humanbaby fleshdiscovered bycustoms officialsin South Korea

Sick capsules like the ones seized in South Korea

More than 17,000 pillssmuggled into countryhave been intercepted

since last AugustPills viewed as a 'miracle cure'

for all ailments - butunsurprisingly they areharmful

Thousands of pills filled withpowdered human flesh havebeen discovered by customsofficials in South Korea, it wasrevealed today.

The capsules are in demandbecause they are viewed asbeing a medicinal 'cure-all'.

The grim trade is being runfrom China where corruptmedical staff are said to betipping off medical companieswhen babies are aborted ordelivered still-born.

The tiny corpses are thenbought, stored in householdrefrigerators in homes of thoseinvolved in the trade before theyare removed and taken to clinicswhere they are placed in medicaldrying microwaves.

Once the skin is tinder dry, itis pummelled into powder andthen processed into capsulesalong with herbs to disguise thetrue ingredients from healthinvestigators and customsofficers.

The discoveries since lastAugust has shocked evenhardened customs agents whohave pledged to strengtheninspections.

Many of the remedies aremore than 2,000 years old - andclaim to be alternative methodsfor curing disease.

The use of rhino horns inChinese medicines has beenwidely criticised.

Despite the claims the 'cures'can treat everything frombroken bones to headaches, thereis limited proof they actuallywork.

A team of Australianscientists discovered that someof the medicines containedtraces of black bears andantelope.

The Murdoch Universityteam used DNA sequencing towork out what the plants andanimal ingredients are.

Chinese officials areunderstood to have been awareof the trade and have tried to stopthe capsules being exported butthousands of packets of themhave been smuggled through toSouth Korea.

There is a huge demand foralternative Chinese remedies -

historically consumed humanplacentas to improve bloodsupply and circulation.

Dead baby pills: This is ground baby powder which testsdiscovered is 99.7 per cent human last year. South Korean officialshave stopped 17,000 dead baby pills being imported since lastAugust

Endangered species in chinese medicines

Chinese alternative medicines contain traces of endangeredspecies, a study has found.

Smuggling: More than 17,000 capsules disguised as 'staminaboosters' have been intercepted as they were smuggled into SouthKorea last year (file photo of Seoul airport)

Turtle with boy’s initials carved on its shell found byhis father 47 years later in same backyard

In 1965 The Beatles playedShea Stadium, Malcolm Xwas assassinated and

Goldfinger had just hit screensacross the country.

It was also the year when13-year-old Jeff Cokeleydiscovered an eastern box turtle

Visible on the underside of theturtle's shell are Jeff Cokeley's'J.C' initials and 1965, the yearwhen he found it

in his backyard, carved hisinitials and the year onto itsshell and then let the creaturego.

Flash forward 47 years andthe boy's 85-year-old father,who still lives on the property,finds a box turtle in hisbackyard, turns it over anddiscovers it is the exact sameone from all those years ago.

'I picked it up and I thought,'Oh geez, this is Jeff's turtle!' saidHolland Cokeley, who lives inSouth Strabane, Pennslyvania,according to the Observer-Reporter.com

'It's been here for 47 yearsand it still has the samemarkings on it!'

Written on the pastron, orthe underside of its shell, was'JC' and '1965', exactly the sameas Jeff had done almost 50years before, said CBSPittsburgh.

The engraving made by theteenage boy would not havehurt the turtle as its shell is sothick.

The unnamed turtle wasbrought back by 85-year-oldHolland Cokeley to the frontporch of the house where hephotographed it

Holland Cokeley stands in frontof the wooded area where thelong-lost turtle was found

Discovering the long-lostturtle after taking a walk withthe neighbour's dog, Jeffbrought it back to his house,took some pictures and thensent them to his son.

'I saw my initials and dateon the bottom of the turtle andI started laughing,' said Jeff,who now lives in Rochester,New York and works for Kodak.

'I pulled the pictures up on

the computer. As soon as I sawit, I just started laughing.'

'I just had to show my wife.'Thanking serendipity for

bringing him the turtle,Holland also thanked theneighbour's dog whose furiousbarking led the elderly man tothe reunion.

After bringing the turtlehome, Holland returned theturtle to the woods.


Mixing herbal remedies with conventionalGP drugs ‘could put lives at risk’

Ulbricht said: ‘Natural does notequal safe. If something has atherapeutic action in a humanbody, this substance can alsocause a reaction or aninteraction.’

Her research found thatthere are serious risks whenpopular natural products suchas feverfew, ginger, and ginkgo,which all contain nutrients thatlower blood pressure or thin theblood, interact with aspirin andwarfarin, which are taken bymillions to ward off heartattacks.

Even mixing energy drinks ornutritional bars with medicationcan cause dangerous side effects.

Dr Ulbricht also warned that

Herbal andc o m p l e m e n t a r ytreatments may put lives

at risk when they are mixed withconventional medicines, anexpert has warned.

Research shows thatunwanted side effects and healthproblems can be triggered bycombining natural supplementswith widely used drugs.

An estimated ten millionBritons regularly take herbalremedies, vitamins andminerals.

But popular supplementssuch as garlic, ginger, St John’sWort and even green tea can allhave hazardous impacts on theeffect of prescription or over-the-counter medicines.

Dr Catherine Ulbricht, anAmerican pharmacist andauthor on herbal medicines,suggests that the danger frommixing is greatest in youngerand older people and those withmultiple health conditions whotake numerous pills. Pregnantwomen and breastfeedingmothers could also be at risk.

Dr Ulbricht said doctors needto tell patients about anypotential risks to avoid anyharmful or life-threateningeffects of taking naturalsupplements.

Writing for the magazineAlternative andComplementary Therapies, Dr

Eating fish may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s bylowering levels of protein linked to the disease

Another reason to eat fish: Scientists have found that omega 3contained in fish, such as sardines, lower a protein that is linked toAlzheimer's disease

Ginger is one of the highlighted remedies

Jogging for just an hour a weekcan increase your lifeexpectancy by around six

years, reveal scientists.Even better news is that a gentle

jog is better for you than any sort ofextreme workout, the studyconcludes.

Researchers found that joggingat a slow or average pace for one ortwo hours per week can increase thelife expectancy of men by 6.2 yearsand women by 5.6 years, reducingthe risk of death by 44 per cent.

The results challenge previousstudies into jogging whichquestioned whether it is healthy orhazardous, with the debate kickingoff in the 70s when middle agedmen began taking an interest inthe exercise.

However, following the death ofa few men who died while out on arun, the media suggested joggingmight be too strenuous for middleaged people, casting doubts over thepast-time.

As part of the Copenhagen CityHeart study, a cardiovascularstudy of around 20,000 men andwomen aged 20 to 93, researchersset about quashing previoussuggestions that jogging is bad forpeople’s health.

The study has so far resulted inover 750 papers, and has previouslyexplored associations for longevitywith different forms of exercise andother factors.

Researchers believe joggingdelivers multiple health benefits,improving oxygen uptake,lowering blood pressure, preventing

obesity, improving cardiacfunction and improvingpsychological function, as well asmany more benefits.

Dr Peter Schnohr, fromthe Bispebjerg University Hospital,said: ‘The improved psychologicalwellbeing may be down to fact thatpeople have more socialinteractions when they’re outjogging.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

garlic supplements, which aretaken to reduce blood pressure,can interfere with anti-clottingmedications and theimmunosuppressant drugcyclosporine which preventstransplant rejection.

She also highlighted theinteraction of grapefruit juicewith medicines, which suggeststhat it may block enzymes thatnormally break them down in theintestines.

One glass of grapefruit juicecould persist for longer than 24hours, meaning many people areadvised not to drink it at all whilealso taking certain drugs,including statins,antihypertensives, psychiatricdrugs and Viagra.

Dr Ulbricht adds that thesedative valerian, used as anatural alternative to sleepingpills, can intensify the effect ofanaesthetics, while St John’sWort, a herbal treatment fordepression, can interact withimmunosuppressive drugs andpotentially lead to the rejectionof transplants.

Surgeons advise that mostsurgery-related side effects canbe avoided by not taking herbalproducts at least one or two weeksprior to surgery and during thepostoperative period whileprescription medications such asblood thinners are prescribed.

Source: Dailymail.co.ukFindings: Dr Catherine Ulbricht

Eating fish and other foodscontaining omega-3 fattyacids may lower the risk of

Alzheimer’s disease, new researchsuggests.

The oily compounds, whichcombat inflammation, appear tolower blood levels of a proteinlinked to Alzheimer’s, scientistshave found.

Researchers in the US studied1,219 people over the age of 65 whowere free of dementia.

Participants were askedquestions about their diet, and hadtheir blood tested for beta-amyloid.

The protein clumps together inthe brains of people withAlzheimer’s and is one of the keyhallmarks of the disease.

Blood beta-amyloid levels werefound to lower with greaterconsumption of omega-3 fattyacid.

A daily intake of one gram ofomega-3 above the averageamount consumed by the studyparticipants was associated with a20% to 30% reduction in beta-amyloid.

Levels of the protein in the bloodare believed to reflect those foundin the brain, indicating a protectiveeffect from consuming omega-3rich foods.

Lead researcher Dr NikolaosScarmeas, from ColumbiaUniversity Medical Centre in NewYork, said: ‘While it’s not easy tomeasure the level of beta-amyloiddeposits in the brain in this type ofstudy, it is relatively easy to

measure the levels of beta-amyloidin the blood, which, to a certaindegree, relates to the level in thebrain.

‘Determining through furtherresearch whether omega-3 fattyacids or other nutrients relate tospinal fluid or brain beta-amyloidlevels, or levels of other Alzheimer’sdisease-related proteins, canstrengthen our confidence onbeneficial effects of parts of our dietin preventing dementia.’

The scientists, whose findingsare reported in the journalNeurology, looked at 10 nutrientsincluding saturated fatty acids,omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids,mono-unsaturated fatty acid,vitamins E, C, B12 and D, folate

and beta-carotene.Other nutrients besides omega-

3 fatty acids were not associatedwith different blood levels of beta-amyloid.

The link between omega-3 andblood beta-amyloid remained thesame after adjusting for a rangeof potential influences, includingpossession of a version of the APOEknown to increase Alzheimer’srisk.

Omega-3 fatty acids are mostlyfound in oily fish such as salmon,herring and mackerel. Loweramounts can also be found in nuts,some vegetables including Brusselssprouts, kale and spinach, andvegetable oils.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Gentle jogging once a week‘can add six years to your life’

Get thosefeetmoving:Joggingfor an houra weekfrom theage of 20to 70takes 108days butadds morethan fiveyears toyour life


bunch of ingrates, whose rantingsshould be ignored, the Ekiti JusticeGroup (EJG) has said.

EJG, which was reacting tocomments credited to the duo ofOnipede and Adesanya in somenewspapers today that “Oni was adividing factor in the PDP in Ekiti

Ekiti group blasts PDP chieftains over 2014 guber comment

Gov Fashola Babatunde

A mbassador-des ignatefrom Ekiti state, PrincessJolaade Onipede and

immediate past Zonal Secretary ofthe Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Chief Ropo Adesanya are

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Chief Ropo Adesanya

state” said; “no one should besurprised that such commentscould come from Onipede about Onibecause she (Onipede) has historyof treachery, which shedemonstrated by betrayingOtunba Niyi Adebayo under whomshe served as commissioner for fouryears.”

In a statement signed by itsCoordinator, Dr. TunjiOluwasanmi, EJG said; “Segun Oniis a great son and leader of Ekiti andwe as a group will not take kindly toanyone disrespecting him forwhatever reason.

“Today, the likes of Hon. SolaOmolayo, who worked assiduouslyfor Oni’s victory in the 2007 and2009 elections in Onipede’s wardhave left PDP out of annoyance thatOni appointed Onipede, who didlittle or nothing during the electionsas Special Adviser instead of one ofthem.

“And Onipede should even tellthe public at what point Oni becamea dividing factor in the PDP becausewe are aware that after Oni leftgovernment, she deserted him, butstarted coming to his house themoment the case challenging Oni’sremoval was filed.

“In the case of Chief RopoAdesanya, it is on record that he

did not play any role in Oni’s victoryin the 2007 election because he wassick during the election.

“When Prince Dayo Adeyeyewas sponsored for ministerial post,it was this same people thatmasterminded series of petitionsagainst Adeyeye, including the oneclaiming that he was a psychiatricpatient.

“That notwithstanding, it wasOni that nominated Adesanya forministerial appointment whenAdeyeye was rejected. ButAdesanya could not appear beforethe Senate because wife of late Dr.Ayo Daramola had mobilisedwomen in the senate and circulatedpetition against him (Adesanya)alleging his involvement in themurder of her husband. It is onrecord that Oni was the one, whosaved him (Adesanya) from theembarrassment he would havesuffered then by preventing hisappearance before the Senate.

“It was after this that Oni askedAdesanya what he wanted and inaccordance with his request, he(Adesanya) was made ZonalSecretary of the PDP, without himlifting a finger and he was alsoappointed Chairman, GoverningCouncil of the Federal Polytechnic,Ede.

Following the efforts of theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission

[INEC] chairman Prof.Attahiru Mohammed Jegatoward conducting free, fairand credible elections in 2015,the Kebbi state ResidentialElectoral Commissioner,Alhaji Mikail Abdulahiyesterday organized a one dayworkshop for Principals ofsecondary school across thestate on voter education.

He added that theCommission was workingtowards making 2015 generalelections not only the best inNigeria’s political history, butalso the most acceptable toNigerians and the entireworld’.

Addressing theparticipants at the workshopyesterday at the Na’amoConference Hall, FederalPolytechnic Brinin Kebbi, theResident Commissioner saidthat it was part of theCommission’s quest foreffective means of engagingthe electorate that informedthe decision to adopt thestrategy. According to him,the workshop was topositively change the trend byentrenching voter education.

We are all witnesses to theanti-democratic practicessuch as voter apathy, electionviolence, political intolerance among others.The negative consequences ofall these on the electoralprocess are quite obvious’’ hesaid.

Mikail further explainedthat the target of the voters’education project was thestudents in primary andsecondary schools. ‘ ’We allowe these youngergenerations a duty to helpshape their destinies by giving them the right orientationand civic education whichmake them responsiblecitizens in future. In otherwords we must adopt thephilosophy of ‘ ’catch themyoung’’ and allow them tobecome veritable tools tocarry voter educationpropaganda to thee l e c t o r a t e s . ’ E l e c t o r a lCoordinator for North-WestZone, Prof. Shehu Dalhatu, inhis comments, pointed outthat including electioneducation in the minds of theteenagers will immenselyhelp them to grow up andknow that there should be noapathy, no violence duringand after an election.

must have taken so manythings into considerationbefore embarking on theaction.

Deputy Speaker of theHouse, Taiwo Kolawole, whoheaded the Committee set upto mediate in the crisis, said

Lagos lawmakers dividedover doctors’ sackMembers of the Lagos

state House ofAssembly yesterday

disagreed over the sack of thestriking medical doctors whoseissues are still being sorted outby the Assembly.

Speaker of the Assembly,Adeyemi Ikuforijui, whoraised the matter said he hadyet to confirm the story andfind out why they wereactually sacked.

While some of the membersfelt slighted by the executivearm in taking the decision, amajority of the members feltthe doctors had become gods inthe state and that theirexcesses needed to be curbed.

Bayo Oshinowo, took aswipe at his colleagues andaccused them of trying tosupport the executive arm ofthe State Government inrubbishing the Assembly andits efforts to mediate in thecrisis.

His grouse was that theexecutive arm did not allowthe lawmakers effectivelyresolve the issues with thedoctors before issuing themsack letters.

Most of the otherlawmakers did not support hisline of argument as, accordingto them, the executive arm

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

that it took them severalhours to pacify the doctors atthe weekend even thoughaccording to him, most of theirdemands were not enough toembark on strike.

He said the doctors failed torecognise that they were

employees of the stategovernment and were not todictate the terms andconditions for work to theiremployer.

He added that throughoutthe period the deliberationlasted between the Committee,the doctors and thegovernment delegation, thedoctors exuded disrespect intheir speech and behaviour.

He said the Committee wasable to secure a promise from theState Government that once thedoctors agreed to resume work,they would not be reprimanded,punished or even victimised forgoing on strike and that thegovernment side agreed.

“This was part of theconditions given by the doctors,but after the executive agreed,the doctors refused to give us apromise that they would returnto work,” Kolawole said.

He said the Committee foundout that the State Governmenthad started implementing theagreement reached with thedoctors before now.

He alleged that there was acommunication gap betweenthe parties and that the MedicalGuild had taken the issue to theArbitration Court.

He said the Committee triedto no avail to convince thedoctors to sign a tripatiteagreement so that they could goback to work even though mostof their demands were sortedout.

Gov Segun Oni

Kebbi INECorganizesworkshop,promises freeand fair electionsFrom Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi


have very notable members fromPDP and Accord joining ACN in theHouse of Assembly. What does thismean? One, we are now in themajority in the House of Assembly.Two, these are foundation andsenior members of the House.

“For them to have joined us is areflection of their own wisdom andforesight, and it is a confirmationof the fact that ACN as a party isnow doing well in Oyo state. Noother party, no matter theirmachinations, will change theprogress that we have alreadystarted in Oyo state,’’ the governorsaid.

PDP, Accord Partylawmakers defect to Oyo ACN

Two members of theopposition PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and

Accord Party (AP) in the Oyo StateHouse of Assembly yesterdaydefected to the ruling party ActionCongress of Nigeria(ACN)

The two lawmakers, Hon.Mathew Abioye representing OgoOluwa/Surulere Constituency fromPDP and Hon. Temitope Olatoye(aka Sugar) from LageluConstituency from Accord partyannounced their decampment atthe floor of the House on yesterday.

While Abioye is a two-termmember of the House, Olatoye wasvoted to the House in 2011.

With the development,membership of ACN, which used tobe 15, has now increased to 17, withthe PDP and AP having 10 and sixmembers respectively, thus givingACN the total control of the House.

The lawmakers, who werefollowed by hundreds of theirsupporters who waved brooms, theinsignia of the ACN, after theirdeclaration for the ruling party atthe House of Assembly, thereaftertrooped to the Governor’s office todeclare their loyalty to GovernorAbiola Ajimobi.

Wearing uniform Ankara thathad been specifically chosen for theday, the whole of the Governor’soffice was electrified by theirdifferent songs which they sangwelcoming the two decampees “towhere they naturally belong.”

The governor, while receivingthem in his office, expressedhappiness that the lawmakers hadthought it wise and expedient to joinACN, a development which he saidhad put the ruling party in avantage position in the House.

“It’s a very happy thing for us to

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

A lawyer and HumanRights Activist, Mr.Femi Falana, has called

on the Federal Governmentto reorganise the legaldepartment of the Economicand Financial CrimeCommission (EFCC).

Falana made call in aninterview with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inAbuja on Tuesday.

“We are calling on theFederal Government toreposition the legaldepartment of EFCC to bemore active in fightingcorruption in the country. “

He stressedthat repositioning theE F C C l e g a ld e p a r t m e n t w o u l d e n s u r ethat corrupt publich o l d e r s w e r e d i l i g e n t l yprosecuted.

According to him, onlypatriotic lawyers shoulds e r v e a n t i - c o r r u p t i o nagencies as the well being ofthe country is paramountin prosecuting corrupt cases.

Falana said thatgovernment should musterstronger political will to fightcorruption, noting that antigraft agencies had not beenhamstrung in the dischargeof their responsibilities.

T h e r i g h t sactivist argued that the anti-graft agencies would not needa special court to be able toensure speedy trial of corrupt cases.

“EFCC doesn’t need aspecial court to prosecutecorrupt officials, it will bemanaged and administeredby the same judges. “

Falana advised the mediato lead the fight againstcorruption, describing it “ asa monster that hindergrowth and development ofthe country in allramifications”.

He recalled that prior tothe establishment of the antigraft agencies, the mediawere fighting corrupt leadersand corruption with vigour.

“The media must lead thefight against corruption,even before theestablishments of anticorruption agencies; themedia were fightingcorruption and corruptleaders. “

Falana expressed regretover increasing rate of corruption, citing the recentreports of TransparencyInternational (TI) on themanner in whichcorruption has eaten deepinto the fabrics of the society.

“I am confident that it ispossible to wake up now. Withthe support and commitmentof the political class and civilsociety groups, the nationcan get out of the situation.”

Falanaurges FG toreorganiseEFCC

Rep Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje,Chairman, House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s

committee on Foreign Affairs hasdescribed the French presidential election which ledto the ouster of the incumbentPresident Nicholas Sarkozy as“issues-based’’.

Socialist Presidentialcandidate, Mr. Francois Hollandewon the French Presidential

election on Sunday defeatingthe incumbent PresidentNicholas Sarkozy with 52 percent as against Sarkozy 48 percent.

Ukeje told newsmen inAbuja yesterday that it waseasy for Hollande to defeat theincumbent President becausethe campaigns were issuesbased and the electorate werewell informed.

According to her issues likemigration, taxation,

employment and foreignrelations took the centre stageunlike in Nigeria where issuesrelating to infrastructuraldevelopment on roads, water,electricity, health care delivery,education dominated the issues.

Ukeje (PDP-Abia)congratulated the newly electedFrench President and expressedhope that he would deliver on hiselectoral promises to the peopleof France.

She said Nigeria politicians

Rep lauds the ouster of French President, SarkozyBy Lawrence Olaoye have a lot to learn in the general

and peaceful conduct of Franceelection in such a way thatwould have positive impact inthe polity.

Sarkozy was the firstincumbent French president in30 years to lose an electionwithout securing a second term.

Hollande on the other handwas the Socialist FrenchPresident to have wonPresidential election in thecountry in the last 20 years.

L-R: Edo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship running mate, Barrister Johnson Abulagba, EdoPDP governorship flag bearer, General Charles Airhiavbere, former Edo state Governor, ProfessorOserhiemen Osunbor, PDP state Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, and Director General, General CharlesAirhiavbere Campaign Committee, Senator Odion Ogbesia, in a group photograph shortly after a visit byleadership of the party to Professor Osunbor's residence, recently in Iruekpen, Edo state.

The Speaker of the House, Mrs.Monsurat Sunmonu, whiledescribing the decampment as awelcome development, expressedthe optimism that more of thelawmakers in the opposition partieswould still join ACN.

Abioye hinged his decision toleave his former party on the factthat PDP had become a dividedhouse, adding that the partyproduced parallel executives fromtwo different congresses.

“PDP is a divided house. I havedecided to leave the divided house tojoin a united house, which is theprogressive party, ACN,’’ the

lawmaker said.He also said that he took the

decision to complement the effortsof Gov. Ajimobi “who has beendoing very well through massiveinfrastructural development tochange the face of Oyo State’’.

Also commenting, Hon.Olatoye said that he decided to jointhe ruling party in the interest ofhis people, majority of whom hesaid had embraced ACN.

He added that, his defectionbased on personal differences withformer party and not underpressure as been insinuated bysome people in the state.

Some lawyers in Lagosyesterday backed theNational Assembly’s bid to

remove the immunity clause in theproposed amendment of the 1999Constitution.

The lawyers, who spoke to theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN) inseparate interviews, said itsremoval would be a landmark inthe fight against corruption andimpunity in Nigeria.

Section 308 of the 1999Constitution at present confersimmunity on the president, vice-

president, state governors andtheir deputies.

According to the clause, no civilor criminal proceedings shall beinstituted or continued againstsuch persons while in office.

One of the recommendationsbefore the Sen. Ike Ekweremadu-led Constitution ReviewCommittee is that the immunityclause should be amended in a wayin which it will apply only to civilmatters.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria,Chief Philip Jimoh-Lasisi, told NAN

in Lagos that its removal would putthe president and state governorson their toes at all times.

He said: “There should be noimmunity for any person,irrespective of his position, who isinvolved in crime.

“The law should be allowed totake its course and this will put everypublic officer in check”.

According to him, if there willbe immunity for the affected publicofficers, it should only affect civilmatters.

Mr Leonard Dibia, Director,

Constitution amendment: Lawyers back removal of immunity clauseAccess to Justice, a human rightsgroup, said that the removal was aprerequisite to solving thecorruption pandemic in Nigeria.

Dibia said: “It is a very welcomedevelopment because there is apandemic in Nigeria now andwhich is corruption.

“Drastic situations requiredrastic solutions and we may findourselves departing from theparadigm that exists inconstitutional democracy ofprotecting an incumbent fromprosecution.


PDP summons membersas impeachment loomsin Niger Assembly

Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) members of Nigerstate House of Assembly

yesterday in Minna summon itsmembers to resolve its leadershipcrisis as fear of impeachment ofthe leadership of the House.

Peoples Daily gathered thatthe meeting of the 24 PDPmembers out of the 27 membersof the Assembly was held at theparty secretariat in Minna.

The state working committeeof the party that coordinated themeeting pleaded with membersnot to initiate impeachment ofthe leadership of the House aftera serious deliberation that lastedfor hours.

Oguta Seat: INEC delays re-run election despite court order

From Iliya Garba, Minna Leadership of the House weresaid to have blamed theirinability to call for sitting oftheAssembly since April, 17,2012 for fear that they may beimpeached.

Our correspondent learnt thatthe Assembly may faceconstitutional lacuna over lackof the required number of sittingsas contained in 1999 constitutionfor a legislative year as the Housecontinued to adjourn over allegedthreat of impeachment of itsleadership.

It was also revealed that someof the lawmakers were concernedthat the Assembly would not meetup the required181 sittings for alegislative year as contained insection 104 of the Constitution.

A lawmaker told Peoples Daily“our last sitting was on April 17,2012 and there has not been sittingsince then because the leadershipof the house felt there was plan toimpeach them even when wehave not met the number ofsittings”.

He stated that it was thisanxiety that necessitated the PDPto summon a meeting on thematter. The meeting was howeveradjourned for a courtesy visit atthe National Secretariat of theparty in Abuja.

It was however not clearwhether the members have agreedto the conditions of the party as thestate Publicity Secretary of theparty, Hassan Saba could, not bereached on his phone.

The Director General ofthe National Institutefor Legislative Studies

(NILS), Ladi Hamalai, hasdeclared that the institutewould strengthen thelegislative process of theNational Assembly.

Speaking during theopening ceremony oforientation course for the newstaff of the institute heldyesterday in Abuja, Hamalaisaid the ceremony marked theofficial take-off of the institute,calling on the staff to see eachother as belonging to thesame family which requirescollaboration.

She disclosed that theinstitute would in a shortwhile meet with the statelegislative houses to fashionout areas of collaboration fora more robust law makingbusiness.

Also speaking, theChairman of the occasion,Chudi Uwazuruike, said theinstitute would engender aknowledge basedlegislature, which wil l inturn create a formidabledemocracy that wil l yielddividends to the people.

Delivering a paper titled,

“ O r g a n i s a t i o n a lDevelopment and Employeeproductivity, a professionalperspective”, the immediatepast Director General of theFederal Inland RevenueService (FIRS), IfuekoOmoigui-Okauru, said thesuccess of the institute isdependent on the abil ity ofthe staff to understand andkey into the vision andmission of the organisation.

She advised them not tosee themselves as opportunistsin the institute, but as a callfor commitment andpatriotism, adding thatsimilar institute should be setup for the executive arm of thegovernment.

While pointing out thatpoor legislative system in thecountry has frustrated manylaw makers who aredetermined to make genuineimpact, Ifueko called on NILSto x-ray how constitutionalamendment is done by otherparliaments.

She moreover highlightedthe importance ofmeasurement of set targets todetermine the level of successrecorded, adding that for theinstitute to survive andsucceed, standard and rulesshould never be compromised.

Legislation to be moreeffective soon, says NILS DGBy Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Independent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC) has yet to conduct a

re-run election to fill the vacantseat of the Oguta StateConstituency as ordered by theFederal High Court Owerri, Imostate.

Justice F.A Onabanjo had onDec 12, 2011 ordered thecommission to hold a re-runelection to fill the vacant seatwithout further delay.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) recalls that Mr. EugeneDibiagwu, candidate of the PDP forthe seat at April 26, 2011 electionapproached the Court to compelINEC to issue him the certificate ofreturn.

He had further sought an orderof the court to be sworn in as winnerof the election based on the alreadydeclared result in which he scoredthe highest.

He had prayed the court to stopINEC from conducting freshelection in Oguta stateconstituency, saying that theseven wards results that had

already been declared by theCommission should be affirmed.

The plaintiff (Dibiagwu) hadclaimed among other things: adeclaration that the Defendant(INEC) lacked the powers toconduct fresh election for the ImoState House of Assembly in theOguta state constituency in sevenwards of Oguta ward A and wardB.

He had mentioned the otherwards to be Egwe/Egbuoma ward,Oru ward, Ossemotor/Enigboward, Awa ward and Izombe ward.

Dibiagwu also soughtdeclaration that the defendant(INEC) lacked the powers todisregard the results of the ImoState House of Assembly electionscompiled and announced in theseven wards in Oguta localgovernment

He had stated that INECfurther lacked the powers todisregard the results from Ogutalocal government collation centreas results of the Imo State House ofAssembly elections for Oguta stateconstituency held on April 26,

2011.In dismissing the suit filed by

Dibiagwu, the PDPcandidate, Onabanjo had heldamong others that,“we thereforehold that the petitioner has notproved its allegation that electiontook place in Oguta Localgovernment Area on the 26th ofApril 2011, except in the 40 listedpolling Units’’.

While the case was on, theAPGA candidate for the sameelection, Chief Walter Uzonwanneand Ugboma Onyebuchi of AllNigeria Congress of Nigeria(ANCN) applied to join in the case.

NAN reports that the court hadrefused their motion and thereafterdismissed it.

According to her, the suit canbe effectively determined anddisposed of in the absence of theparties seeking to be joined.

Not satisfied with the ruling,the APGA candidate, Uzonwanneapproached the Federal High Courtin Abuja and asked for order ofMandamus in suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/811/201.

The National secretariatof Congress forprogressive change,

CPC, has accused agubernatorial aspirant of theparty in the Taraba stateduring last general election,Muhammed Bello Mustapha,of fraud and anti-partya c t i v i ty .

The accusation wascontained in a query issuedto Muhammed BelloMustapha from the party'snational Secretariat Abuja,on 12th April 2012.

Bello popularly known asM.B Mustapha was accused ofopening a secretariat of theparty in the Taraba statewithout permission.

The query signed by theNational secretary of theparty Buba Galadimaaccused M.B Mstapha ofprinting and selling fakenomination forms forchairmanship andcouncillorship tounsuspecting members of theCPC in Taraba state.

The party also accusedMustapha of conducting fakeprimary election forchairmanship andcouncillorship candidates tothe Taraba State IndependentElectoral Commission TSIECfor screening.

He was also indicated ofharassing and intimidating

innocent executive membersof the recognized faction ofthe CPC in the state.

The National secretariatof the party directed M.BMustapha to defend himselfwithin three days or failureto do so would compel theNational Secretariat of theparty to report the securityand financial aspects of theaccusations to the police andEFCC for necessary action.

According to the query,the party was also preparedto take necessary actionagainst Mustapha if he failsto defend himself on otheraspects of the accusationsproperly.

When contacted MBMustapha who confirmedreceiving the query howeversaid he regretted evenreading it.

He said Buba Galadimathe National secretary of theparty who signed the queryhad no moral justification toquery him because he wasnot law abiding.

Mustapha maintainedthat Buba Galadima wasonly perpetrating hispersonal agenda in the CPCtrying to pocket al lmembers of the party.

He said that he could notbe intimidated by anyindividual or group in theCPC just because he refusedto dance to their tunes,describing the query givento him as child's play.

CPC accuses Mustapha offraud, anti-party activityFrom Yusha'u Alhassan, Jalingo

L-R: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Niger state Governor,Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, and state chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdullrahaman Enagi, during thegovernor's visit to the National Chairman at the national headquarters of the party, on Monday in Abuja.


Plateau election tribunal rejectsAkujah’s application to amend replyThe Election Petition

Tribunal sitting in Josyesterday dismissed Peter

Akujah’s application to amend hisreply to the reply to his petitionfiled by Suleiman Kwande (DPP).

Akujah of the PDP,had through his counsel, MrSunday Obende, filed anapplication in which heprayed the tribunal to allow himto amend his reply to Kwande’sresponse to his original petitionbefore the tribunal.

“We wish to amend our replyby substituting the first withanother one and hope that ourprayer will be granted in the

interest of justice,’’ Obendepleaded.

But Kwande, through hiscounsel, Mr Robert Emukpoerue,opposed the application, andalleged that it was not only a ployto introduce new issues, butagainst the Electoral Act 2010 asamended.

“My Lords, the petitioner failedto seek the consent of the tribunaland even filed the applicationoutside the five days provision asis the rule.

“I hereby pray the court todismiss this application as it isaimed at surreptitiouslyintroducing new issues to the

petitioner’s reply to our reply tohis petition,’’ Emukpoerueargued.

The counsel argued that thetribunal had no such power toentertain or allow such anapplication since it was against theElectoral Act 2010 as amended.

In its ruling, the tribunal,chaired by Justice A. A. Nwaigwe,declared that “the application isconsidered as an effort to getextension of time surreptitiously,and we so hold.

“The petitioner had five dayswithin which to raise new issuesfrom the date of submission buthe did not, more so that it is

The former Minister forCommerce and Industry,Sen. Jubril Marthins-Kuye,

said on Tuesday that every effortwas being made to resolve thecrisis rocking the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) in Ogunstate.

All hands on deck to resolve Ogun PDP crisis — Martins KuyeMarthins-Kuye made this

known in an interview with theNews Agency of Nigeria(NAN) inIjebu-Ode, Ogun.

He said the party had nowrealised that there was need for allthe members to be united.

It would be recalled that theNational Working Committee ofthe party had on April 18dissolved the Ogun state PDPExecutive and directed the South-West National Vice Chairman of

the Party, Mr Segun On,i to takeover the party structure.

M a r t i n s - K u y e s a i d t h a tthough the crisis has yet to beresolved, all hands were on deckto put the party together for astrong electoral fight against theACN.

“Every effort is being made toresolve the crisis in the party inthe state. I will not say that thecrisis has been resolved but I thinkall hands are on deck.

“Most of us now appreciatesincerely that in unity we achievesuccess and in disunity weachieve failure.

We are trying our best to putPDP together in the state so thatwe can give a good electoral fightto the ACN“.

Marthins-Kuye, a one-timeMinister of State for Finance anda Third Republic Senator, is one ofthe prominent leaders of the partyin the state.

Mr. Chinedu Ogah, theEbonyi PeoplesDemocratic Party

(PDP) Youth Leader, on Mondayfulfilled his pledge to erecthouses for electoral violencevictims in Ikwo LocalGovernment Area.

Ogah, while inauguratingfour of such three-roombungalows in differentcommunities in the area, said he had built 13 such houses for violence victims and widows.

“The projects wereundertaken by myorganization; the ChiboyFoundations and the cost isincorporated inside the N5.6million budget of the foundationfor developmental projects thisyear,” Ogah said.

He said that the gesture wasa way of appreciating thesacrifices made by thebeneficiaries in ensuring thatthe PDP emerged victoriousin the 2011 general elections.

”The victims had theirhouses burnt by the politicalthugs of opposing politicalparties in the area during thecampaigns of 2011 elections.

”We have to reinforce theirbelief in the party and makethem realise that their sacrificeswere not in vain,” he said.

Ogah, the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Chiboy Foundation,said that in addition to thehouses, the organisation hadbuilt six boreholes in the area.

”We have also inauguratedseveral electricity projects,mini bridges and culverts acrossthe area to complement thegovernment’s efforts atinfrastructure development ofthe state,” Ogah said.

He said his actions were notpolitically motivated but in thespirit of giving back to thesociety what he gained from it.

”I am not contesting for anyelective position, as there areseveral avenues where one canexcel in life other than politics,”he said.

The beneficiaries includeMrs Ngozi Ezaga and Mr.Nwante Mpkuru, who aresupporters of the party in thearea.

Ezaga thanked Ogah for thegesture, saying she had beensquatting in the house ofneighbours since her house wasburnt.

”I thank God for giving himthe grace to assist me in thisform and pray that he continuesto render such gestures for thebenefit of the society.

In his remark Eze DominicAloh, Traditional Ruler ofNdufu Amagu AutonomousCommunity in Ikwo, whereOgah hails from, thanked himfor the gesture and called onother wealthy individuals toemulate him.

”The task of developing thestate, especially the rural area,does not lie with the governmentalone, as Ogah has shown,’’ Alohsaid.

PDP youthleader donateshouses toviolence victimsin Ebonyi

contrary to the electoral act to doso after the five days expiration.

“Therefore, the defects noticedmakes it convincing that theapplication is a new process,which can not be allowed and it ishereby dismissed.’’

Nwaigwe also dismissedanother application by Akujahseeking to oppose the joint repliesmade by the respondents to hispetition.

Dismissing the application, thetribunal said “we can’t severe thereplies because they either rosetogether or fall together andtherefore, so the petitioner’smotion has failed’’.

The Bauchi state chapter ofthe CPC has obtained aninterim order restraining

the Bauchi state governmentand two others from spendingthe local councils’ funds apartfrom payments of salaries.

The order, signed by JusticeIbrahim Zango, Chief Judge ofBauchi state, was madeavailable tonewsmen yesterday in Bauchi.

CPC stops Bauchi govt from spending local councils’ fundsThe order listed the state

government, the Commissionerfor Local Government Affairsand the Accountant-General asrespondents.

It restrained them fromreleasing, approving or in anymanner allowing the 20caretaker chairmen and theircouncillors from spending anyfund belonging to the localcouncils.

It also restrained therespondents from tamperingwith the funds whether in jointaccount with thefirst respondent or any otheraccount and in whatevermanner pending the hearingand determination of theoriginal summons.

S i m i l a r l y ,the order restrained therespondents from awarding

any contract or executing anyproject or programme using thefunds of the councils inwhatever manner possible.

The CPC has gone to courtpraying for an interiminjunction to stop thegovernment and the otherrespondents from using thecouncils funds.

The case was adjourned toMay 17, for mention.

L-R: Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Hon. Betty Apiafi, PresidentNigerian Community in Ireland, Mr. Emeka Ikebuasi, Chairman House Committee on Diaspora , Hon. AbikeDabiri Erewa , and Hon. Joseph Akinlaja , during the meeting with Nigerian community in Ireland, at theNational Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Awujale of Ijebuland, ObaSikiru Adetona, hasappealed to the Federal

Government to pay more attentionto the security situation in thecountry.

Adetona made the appeal inIjebu-Ode on Monday when Gov.Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun paid hima courtesy visit in his palace.

He decried the level of insecurityin the country and urged the FederalGovernment to do everythingwithin its powers to secure the livesand property of the people.

“I want to implore the FederalGovernment to pay more attentionto the issue of security in the country.

“If we build schools, roads andhospitals and there is no adequatesecurity, who will then enjoy thefacilities?

“The Federal Governmentshould therefore do all it can toprovide adequate security, even if itmeans spending all the revenue onit,“ Adetona said.

He expressed appreciation to thegovernor for the developmentalprojects which he sited in Ijebulandand urged him not to relent inhis efforts to take the state to anenviable position.

Awujale urgesFG to addressnational security


Skipper of home-based SuperEagles, Chigozie Agbim andtwo of Warri Wolves

teammate Sunday Mba andreliable defender AzubuikeEgwueke were conspicuouslymissing in the squad of 18 playersthat trained yesterday at thepractice pitch of the NationalStadium Abuja.

Also missing were the duo ofObinna Nwachukwu andgoalkeeper Dan Akpeyi all ofHeartland FC. The five playersthough were excused by HeadCoach Stephen Keshi, because oftheir clubs CAF ConfederationCup away engagements thisweekend.

In contrast though, CAFChampions League flag bearerSunshine Stars duo of GodfreyOboabana and Izu Azuka trainedwith the team. Sunshine Stars arehosts of Djoliba FC of Mali thisweekend in Ijebu-Ode.

Okemute Odah, Hamza IkennaOnwuemenyi, Juwon Oshaniwa,Nura Mohammed, GbolahanSalami, Kalu Uche, Henry Uche,Samson Pius were in full swingduring training exercise.

Also, Marcel Obioha, HassanHussein, Emma Nwachi, UgonnaOzochukwu, Papa Idris, GabrielReuben and electric winger EjikeUzoenyi. But Barnabas Imenger,who has a slight knock on hisknee was exempted from themorning training.

Meanwhile, Keshi haschallenged the newly invitedmembers of the team to provetheir mettles for places in theLima-bound squad to confrontPeru. “Prove yourself on the pitchand you will be on the plane toPeru”, he said.

The Super Eagles and the Flying Eagles are to trade tackles in amouth watering friendly encounter on Friday at the PracticePitch of the National Stadium in Abuja.

Stephen Keshi, head coach of the senior team said he would expect100 per cent dominance from the senior national team, even as healso advised the players to take it easy on the day.

Meanwhile, Flying Eagles Media Officer, Samm Audu, boasted that,“it’s on record, that the Flying Eagles have never lost to the SuperEagles in any friendly and I hope we continue to keep that record onFriday,” he said even as his counter in Eagles Ben Alaiya simply retorted:“we shall see when Friday comes.”

Okemute Okah will be the only goalkeeper for the senior teamfollowing Agbim and Akpeyi’s continental assignments.

Keshi men to face Obuh’s on Friday

Agbim,Mba, 3otherEagles notin camp,as 18 trainin AbujaStories by Patrick Andrew

Nigerian wrestlers that havesealed their places for theLondon Olympics Games are

to undergo training tour ofGermany where they wouldfurther sharpen their reflexes forthe Games.

Austin Edeze, the President,Nigeria Wrestling Federation(NWF), disclosed yesterday

stressing that the four wrestlersthat have qualified for the OlympicGames would be given necessarysupport to stay fit for the SummerGames.

The information alters theNWF’s proposed a training tour ofBulgaria a venue Nigerian wrestlersalways go to to tune up for majorchampionships.

Those that are to benefit areSinivie Boltic (90kg) who qualifiedin February at the Senior WorldWrestling Championship inIstanbul, Turkey. Others areAdibo Dick (96kg), AmarachiObiajunwan (72kg) and BlessingOborududu (63kg) who qualifiedat the Africa/Oceania qualifiersin March.

Edeze said the federation’sfocus now was on the fourwrestlers who have qualified. “Ourfocus now is on intensive trainingprogrammes for the four qualifiedwrestlers because we cannot rest

on our oars, no stone will be leftunturned,” he said.

The president said that from thetraining so far, he was confidentof a good outing at the London2012 Olympics from July 27 toAugust 12. “We are definitely goingto make Nigeria proud,” he said.

“Wrestling is a good means ofdeveloping the minds of youthswhile engaging them meaningfully;it has employed a lot of people.And it is one sport governmentshould look closely into becauseit is cheap to maintain,” he said.

Edeze regretted that thefederation was unable toparticipate in the other twoOlympic qualifiers in China in Apriland Finland in May.

“We are not happy that wewere not able to participate inthe two other qualifiers becauseit would have providedopportunities for us to qualify atleast a wrestler more,” he said.

London 2012: Wrestlers to tour Germanyahead of Olympics, says NWF President

The flame for the London 2012Olympic Games will be lit onMay 10 with every solemnity in

the traditional way, according to apress release of the Hellenic OlympicCommittee (HOC).

The statement said that theceremony would be attended by thePresident of the InternationalOlympic Committee, Jacques Roggeand the President of the HellenicOlympic Committee Spyros Capralos.

Others were the President of theOrganising Committee of OlympicGames London 2012, Sebastian Coe,members of the InternationalOlympic Committee, Greek andBritish officials.

It added that members of thePlenary Session of the HellenicOlympic Committee andrepresentatives of sports federationswould also attend the ceremony.

The High Priestess, Ino Menegaki,according to the statement, wouldlight the Olympic Flame directly fromthe sun rays and then, after theritual prepared by theChoreographer Artemis Ignatiou.

It added that the sacred flamewould later be handed over to thefirst torchbearer, world swimmingchampion, Spyros Gianniotis.

According to the statement, aneight-day torch relay around Greecewould follow, ending on May 17 withthe arrival of the flame at thePanathenaic Stadium in Athens.

It would be handed over to thedelegation of the United Kingdomto continue its journey for theOlympic city of London. The lasttorchbearers in Greece would bethe Olympic champions Pyrros Dimasand Li Ning.

Overall, the torch relay wouldcover 2,900 km in Greece, in thehands of 490 torchbearers.

It would cross 26 provinces, 38municipalities and 40 cities, visitingfive archaeological sites, while 34altar lighting ceremonies would beheld in specific cities along the way.

It was only in 1990 thatCameroon reached thequarter-finals stageagainst England, and sofar African countrieshave not passed thatstage. But FIFA knowsthat we can have achampion from Africasooner or later andthat is why we have toimprove football inAfrica because Africahas the capacity.

“

Olympic flamefor London2012 to be litMay 10

Izu Azuka, Sunday Mba, Dan Akpeyi, are all excused from the Eagles camp because of clubs’continental engagements

Africa with her array of stars has the potentialsto produce a World Cup winning country andshould do so soonest, according to Jan Poulsen,

a coaching instructor with world football governingbody FIFA.

The Dane, who is in Abuja for a five-day coachingcourse under the FIFA “Win In Africa With Africa”(WIAWA) coaching course, disclosed yesterday thatFIFA hopes soon an African country would join theelite class of FIFA senior World Cup winners.

“FIFA organised the course most importantly tohave coaches who can teach players to play moretactics and organising games. The body hopes thatsooner or later, we will have a World Cup championfrom Africa because you have the players.

“We have been saying this for many years and weknow it is attainable but it has not been achieved sofar,” he said at the maiden edition of the WIAWA coachingcourse that began yesterday and would on May 12.

Poulsen said the course, which is being attendedby 30 participants- coaches with Nigerian Premier

League clubs and the national teams- was imperativefollowing an observation from FIFA technical studygroup that African countries had not passed thequarter-final stage of the FIFA World Cup finals notfor want of quality but managerial inadequacies.

“ It was only in 1990 that Cameroon reached thequarter-finals stage against England, and so far Africancountries have not passed that stage. But FIFA knowsthat we can have a champion from Africa sooner orlater and that is why we have to improve football inAfrica because Africa has the capacity,” theinstructor said.

He said the choice of Nigeria for the course outof many other African countries was borne out ofthe desire of the country’s football body to improvethe abilities of its coaches.

“ It is the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) thatrequested that it wants to improve the coaches inthe country. So, the association applied and askedFIFA if it is possible to have the course in Nigeria,and it was approved,” Poulsen said.

Africa has potentials to winWorld Cup, say FIFA instructor


T he Kwara state government said yesterday that it has launcheda N1.5 million endowment fund to cater for the children oflate Super Eagles player, Rashidi Yekini.

The endowment fund will cover Yekini’s children’s education to theuniversity level. The state government also pledged to immortalise the1993 African Footballer of the Year by naming a public facility in the stateafter him.

Mr Tunji Moronfoye, the state Commissioner for Communications andInformation, who disclosed these to newsmen in Ilorin, said the governmentwould also bear the cost of the fidau prayer for the late footballer.

The fidau prayer is to hold on May 12 in his hometown, Ira, in OyunLocal Government Area of the state. The commissioner, who claimed tobe a closed associate of the soccer star, said that the deceased wouldforever be remembered for his commitment and dedication to Africanfootball.

He said that though the footballer spent his life in Ibadan, he was apride to the people of Kwara, based on the feat he achieved in Africanfootball. “Yekini’s death was a great loss and still lingering in the minds ofthe people of Kwara. Yekini was a great soccer star. A gentle and easy-going footballer; it was painful that he died so young,” Moronfoye said.

The late Super Eagles striker, who scored Nigeria’s first World Cup goalin U.S.A ‘94, who also scored 37 goals in 58 cap for the country, died onMay 4, aged 48. Married with three wives and three children, Yekini wasburied on May 5 in his home town, Ira. Rashidi Yekini

David Haye vs Dereck Chisora

David Haye and Dereck Chisoraare to face each other in afight sanctioned by the

Luxembourg Boxing Federation onJuly 14 at Upton Park.

The two fighters were involvedin a brawl following Chisora’sdefeat by Vitali Klitschko inMunich in February.

The British Boxing Board ofControl will not sanction the fightbecause neither man holds aBritish licence.

But the European Unionfreedom of trade laws permit thefight to be held in the UnitedKingdom and they have been givenlicences by the LuxembourgBoxing Federation.

Speaking at the conference,where the two fighters wereseparated by a steel fence, Hayesaid: “He is the ideal opponentfor me. I am so glad he has got agood chin because if he didn’thave a good chin he would beblasted out in first round.

“I tried to knock him out inMunich and this is the opportunityto shut him up.” Chisora, who wassurrounded by eight security guards,responded: “I don’t like him.

“Talk is cheap now. That was alucky shot he hit me with inMunich. Your talk is cheap. Youalways talk but you don’t deliverin the ring.”

The two men, whose news-conference clash three monthsago is still being investigated by

Munich police, revealed they hadseen each other in Londonrecently, with Chisora accusingHaye of having “pulled a knife”.Haye responded: “I was eating asteak. It was in a restaurant.”

Chisora had his licencewithdrawn after a number ofcontroversial incidents before andafter the Klitschko fight - but he

has appealed against the decision.Among the controversies, the

28-year-old slapped Klitschko atthe weigh-in and spat water at theUkrainian’s brother Wladimirbefore the contest.

Haye relinquished his licencewhen he retired in October lastyear, three months after losing hisWBA title to Wladimir in Hamburg.

Israel-based goalkeeper AustinEjide will be recalled to theSuper Eagles for next month’s

World and Nations Cups qualifiersafter over five months ininternational wilderness.

Ejide was last in action for theEagles in coach Samson Siasia’s lastgame in charge, a friendly againstGhana in London, which ended ina goalless.

He was also in the post whenthe Eagles were forced to 2-2draw by Guinea a result thatensured that Nigeria was edgedout of the 2012 Nations Cup thatwas jointly hosted by Gabon andEquitorial Guinea.

His club Maccabi Petah Tikvawere relegated this season afterthey finished 14th in the 16-teamIsraeli championship.

Confirming this to a wire service,Super Eagles goalkeepers’ trainer,Ike Shorumu, said the technicalcrew have resolved to call upthree goal keepers who will benamed for the June qualifiersagainst Namibia, Malawi andRwanda.

“You know my department isvery sensitive. I have settled forthree goal keepers for the Junegames: two foreign- based and onehome-based. Vincent Enyeama,Austin Ejide and Chigozie Agbim,”he specially disclosed.

“The idea is to have Agbim learnfrom the two foreign-based like Idid during my days with Peter Rufaiand Wilfred (Agbonavbare).”

Shorunmu, who playedprofessionally in Switzerland forseveral seasons, further said thathe is not disturbed that Eaglesfirst-choice Enyeama has yet toestablish himself at French clubLille.

“For him to be on the benchweek in, week out and travel withthe team means he is in top shape,so it will be wrong to say he isnot fit,” defended Shorunmu.

Top seeds Victoria Azarenkaand Maria Sharapova madeserene progress past Czech

opponents into the third round ofthe Madrid Open tennis yesterday.

Azarenka dispatched AndreaHlavackova 6-3 7-6 and Sharapova sawoff Klara Zakopalova 6-4 6-3.

Sharapova, who beat world No 1Azarenka in the Stuttgart final lastmonth, was first up on the unfamiliarblue clay of the Manolo Santanashow court, a controversial

innovation at this year’s edition ofthe event that has prompted mixedreactions from players.

With the sliding roof closed tokeep off the morning drizzle, theRussian soon found her range andbroke Zakopalova’s serve in theopening game.

The three-times grand-slam singleschampion wobbled when serving forthe match at 5-2 in the second setbut broke again in the next gamefor a comfortable win that set up a

meeting with another Czech,unseeded Lucie Safarova, or Spanishwildcard Carla Suarez Navarro.

Sharapova said the blue clay wasa little more slippery than its redcounterpart but that she generallyapproved of the decision to switchcolours, which organisers arguemakes it easier to follow the yellowballs on television.

Belarussian Azarenka had newly-appointed adviser Amelie Mauresmowatching from her box alongsidecoach Sam Sumyk and made shortwork of Hlavackova, who neededtreatment on a problematic left

thigh midway through the secondset.

Like Sharapova, Azarenka misseda chance to serve out the match inthe second set but went on to takethe tiebreak 7-2 and will next playRussian Nadia Petrova or Ana Ivanovicof Serbia, a former world No 1 whois seeded 13.

Serena Williams, seeded nine andmaking her first Europeanappearance of the season, playsunseeded Russian AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova later, a day after hersister Venus was knocked out byGermany’s Angelique Kerber.

EaglesrecallAustinEjide

Madrid Masters: Sharapova, Azarenka crushopponents to march on

Haye, Chisora to fight at Upton Park

He is the ideal opponent for me. I am so glad hehas got a good chin because if he didn’t have agood chin he would be blasted out in first round. Itried to knock him out in Munich and this is theopportunity to shut him up.

“

Contrary to its earliergrandstanding on the finesimposed on three clubs,

the Executive Secretary of theNigeria Primer League (NPL),Tunji Babalola, has revealed thatthe league body will allow themto participate in today’smidweek game.

The NPL had insisted that theclubs must pay imposed fines ofN3m, N2m for Sharks, Gombe andWikki Tourists respectivelybefore they would be allowedto play their next league games.

But yesterday, Babalola saidthe three clubs will not beprevented or punished shouldthey play the midweek matchesbecause the rules allow amaximum grace period of twoweeks foolowing which theycould be punished if they failedto pay their fines.

The clubs had been fined forincidences of violence at theirhome grounds and would haveto play behind closed doors.

“No payment has made to theNPL so far. However, I cannot saythe clubs will not play theirmidweek matches because I havenot receive any directive fromthe Organising and DisciplinaryCommittee in that respect. Youthey have appealed and until theappeal is determined they maybe guilty.

“The decision was taken lastFriday and the clubs have 14 dayswithin which to pay the money.I can confirm that thesecretariat has not receiveanything from the clubs, but theycan still play their matches thatfall within the 14 days. We willact after then,” he said.

Further, Tunji reaffirmed thatMr. Ezekiel Kankai the StadiumManager of Samson SiasiaStadium, Yenegoa, remainsbanned in definitely from all NPLactivities for fuelling crisesamong clubs, puncturing vehicletires of the match commissionerduring the botched Sharksversus Ocean Boys match as wellas creating unnecessary fears inthe minds of football fans in thestadium.

NPL shiftsground forSharks, Wikki,Gombe overfineBy Albert Akota

Kwara launches N1.5mendowment fund for Yekini

Austin Ejide

EPL RESULTLiverpool 4 Chelsea 1


In fine fettle after a month-long rest, Roger Federer is ready to get his clay seasonon the swing today and hopes to continue his bid to recapture the world No 1ranking from Novak Djokovic.The 30-year-old Swiss maestro has not played since losing to Andy Roddick at the

Sony Ericsson Open at the end of March. He said he needed some time away fromtennis to recharge his batteries and rid himself of one or two niggling injuries.

Federer has played some of his best tennis in years in winning three titles thisyear, including the Indian Wells Masters event, but knows that challenging Rafa Nadalon the Spaniard’s favoured clay and stealing his French Open crown in Paris startingat the end of this month will be a tall order.

“I feel good about my chances of playing well in the next few months,” the worldNo 3 told a news conference at the Madrid Open on Sunday. “But then again I amcoming back on clay and Rafa has been so dominant on this surface for so manyyears so I know the task ahead of me,” added the 16-times grand slam singles champion.

Federer said he had needed time out after an intense start to the year when heplayed 23 matches and lost just three, reaching the semifinals of the AustralianOpen before falling to Nadal. He won events in Rotterdam andDubai to add to hissuccess in Indian Wells.

He also had a busy end to 2011, triumphing at the World Tour finals in London inNovember after victories at theParis Masters and his home event in Basle.

The rest was vital, said Federer.“I needed it because I did play so, so much and this break was also looking ahead

to what’s to come and there’s a lot on my plate and want to be fresh in my mind andfit in my body for those big goals ahead,” he added.

“It was more about relaxing my body because I had been playing with some nigglinginjuries over a few weeks, or a few months almost, and I am happy they went away.

“It was just to get away from tennis for a while really, get away from the crazinessthat surrounds it, the matches and the press and all that stuff.

“So that was nice to just recharge the batteries, that was the key during thisbreak.”

If Federer can leapfrog No 2 Nadal and topple Djokovic he would equal PeteSampras’s record of 286 weeks at the top of the rankings and the Swiss said he wasin a “pretty good position” to do it over the coming months. “All of a sudden if youdo win a grand slam again you have a shot and if I do I’ll probably be extremely closeto world No 1,” he said. “Then again easier said than done. I know what it takes to

Wary top seed Novak Djokovic hopesavoid injury as plays on the untriedblue clay laid down for the Madrid

Masters as the controversial surface gets atest under battle conditions beginning fromtoday.

The world No 1 also fired a shot acrossthe bow of the ATP, which agreed to theone-year experiment without informingplayers, a coup quietly pushed throughwithout executive oversight by formerboss Adam Helfant, who left at the end of2011.

“The hope of all players is that wewon’t have injuries and have a decent weekof tennis,” said Djokovic, who skipped theATP event in Belgrade last week after thedeath of his grandfather during the MonteCarlo Masters.

Serb Djokovic played through hisemotional pain and reached the MonteCarlo final, where he was crushed by RafaelNadal.

“The blue clay surface makes this yeardifferent,” said the 2011 Madrid champion.“It is the first time in history. It will beinteresting for everyone to see whathappens.

“There is a certain difference comparedto red clay, but we have it (blue) in frontof us. I tried to prepare for it as well as Icould. But it’s the same for everyone.”

Djokovic joined with Nadal in criticisingATP executives who didn’t bother toconsult with at least their top-shelfplayers.

“The only disappointing thing from a

player standpoint is that it was decidedwithout players agreeing to it,” said theSerb. “Players should be agreeing to thechange there should be some value in whatthey say.

“I’m not blaming the tournament, it isfighting for its own interests. But the ATPshould have done a better job on playerrights in protecting what the players want.”

The proposal from larger-than-lifebillionaire Madrid impresario Ion Tiriac ison a one-year trial, with the event sayingits purpose is to help spectators see theyellow ball more clearly on the bluesurface.

In men’s play, Russian Mikhail Youzhnydefeated local wild card Javier Marti 6-3,6-2 and Serb Viktor Troicki beat AmericanDonald Young 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Federer fresh forclay swing asMadrid Mastersbegins

Djokovic hopes toavoid injury blues

Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal

win a grand slam. It’s hard, it’s always beenhard. “It’s still far away for me and myfocus is on my next match here onWednesday. “But it is a dream for me thisyear try to achieve that again. I’ll try tochase that as hard as I can and see if it’spossible. If not it’s no problem and I’lljust try to win tournaments which is athrill in itself.”

Federer, who has a bye into the secondround, begins his Madrid Open campaigntoday against the winner of the first-round match between fast-rising CanadianMilos Raonic and former world No 3 DavidNalbandian of Argentina.

“It was just to get awayfrom tennis for a whilereally, get away fromthe craziness thatsurrounds it, thematches and the pressand all that stuff


Nwankwo Kanu

Joseph Yobo, skipper, Super Eagles

The Birnin Kudu ZonalSports Committee ofJigawa State on

Monday said that it hadcompleted arrangement fora football competitionamong the localgovernments within thezone.

The Chairman of thecommittee, Alhaji AdoAhmed, told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inBirnin Kudu that thecompetition would start intwo weeks time.

“The aim is to fish outtalents among the clubs inthe area that will representthe zone in national andinternational tournaments,”Ahmed said.

He said that the localgovernments in the zonewere the Birnin Kudu,Gwaram and Buji localgovernments.

The chairman said thatthe committee would visitthe three local governmentsto seek for financialassistance from the councilchairmen for the successfulconduct of thecompetition.

He called on referees tobe fair to all during theproposed competition.

According to thechairman, football, like anyother sporting activity, is toentertain as well as tostrengthen relationshipamong people.

Birnin Kudu sportscommittee to organisefootball competition

Nigeria head coach, Stephen Keshi has expressedconcern over the lack of a stable home ground forhis team, describing lack of a particular ground as

“worrisome.”He blamed the situation on the growing trend of artificial

pitches being built in most of the stadia across the countryand astro turf was not quite conducive for players.

“It is a worrisome case that the national team no longerhas a home ground of its own. Most of the stadia in thecountry have artificial turfs, which is not decent for theplayers. In my days, the National Stadium in Lagos wasusually our home and we settled in there very well for ourmatches.

“Last time before the team went for the friendly againstEgypt in Dubai, they trained on artificial pitch. But in Dubai,the pitch is natural grass and the players just had to adaptto it.

“If countries with harsher climates still keep naturalgrasses for their pitches I don’t see why most of the stadiahere (in Nigeria) have artificial pitches,” he lamented.

The Super Eagles are billed to play one 2014 FIFA WorldCup qualifier and a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier inNigeria but the country’s football federation is yet to namea venue for the games.

“I hope we get to know the venue where we will playthese games soon so that we can just move there andstart preparing and get used to the place,” he remarked.

The Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna had been pickedto play host tothe matches butsecurity concernsknocked off thefacility in thenorthern city.

The NigeriaF o o t b a l lFederation (NFF)has carried outchecks on threestadia with naturalgrass but hasdelayed itsdecision onpicking one ofthem.

The UJ EsueneStadium in Calabar,was only yesterdayunofficially namedEagles next venuefor next month’sWorld Cupqualifier andRwanda.

Keshi expressesconcern over Eagleshome ground

Kanu wantsschool sportsresuscitated

An official of the Benue State Sports Council, MrDavid Orngu , has called for the re-introductionof basic sports like sack, needle and bottle races

in primary and post primary institutions in the country.Orngu, an Assistant Director of Sports, made the call

in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)in Makurdi and insisted that without the re-introductionof such basic sports interest would remain wane.

“Such sports boost self-coordination and confidenceearly in the lives of athletes and prepares them for thechallenges ahead. Apart from that, they provide realentertainment; imagine the young lads doing the sackrace, it provides discipline for them and self control.

“We need to bring them back into our schoolcurriculum for the cognitive development of the youngones.”

According to him, the sports also provide physicaland mental coordination of athletes, adding that sportmanagers in the schools must emphasise this.

He said athletes who started through that process,had better control of their emotions and were notusually no involved in drug addiction.

... As director demandsreturn of basic sports insecondary schools

FIFA says Algeria hasasked for the WorldCup qualifier next

month in Mali to be movedto a neutral venue becauseof instability in the WestAfrican country.

The world soccer alsosays it is “monitoring thesituation” in Mali and willjointly decide with theConfederation of AfricanFootball on the request “indue course.”

Mali has been troubledsince soldiers toppled the

president in March. Lastweek, club teams fromNigeria and Egypt werestranded in the capital,Bamako, after an attemptedcountercoup.

Nigeria’s Sunshine Starsclaimed to have beenharassed by soldiers at theirhotel, while Al Ahlyreturned home on anEgyptian military plane afteralso being unable to leavefor days.

Mali are due to hostAlgeria on June 8.

Algeria want WorldCup qualifier moved

Patrick Ekeji, DG, NSC

I participatedactively in schoolsportstournaments andit was throughthat means Icame intoprofessionalfootball

“

Former Super Eagles skipper, Nwankwo Kanu, has appealedto the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the 36 statesand the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to as a matter of

urgency revive school sports to ginger grassroots sportsdevelopment.

Kanu, a product of grassroots sports programme-YSFON-made the call at the launching of the one-week GreenspringSchool/Kanu Football Camp in Lekki, Lagos State.

The football camp, which is intended to give teenageplayers opportunity to come under a close watch of soundtechnical persons, will open from July 1 to July 7 in theschool premises.

The camp would be open to students in Lagos State. Theregistration fee with accommodation and feeding would costN60, 000.

Kanu said that his journey as a professional footballercommenced from the school sports where he was discovered.

“I participated actively in school sports tournaments andit was through that means I came into professional football,”he said. Thomas Olaiya, the President of West Africa SchoolSport Union (WASSU), said that the camping initiative wouldaid the discovery of talents that would replace the ageingplayers. “With more of this kind of initiatives, we will be ableto discover talents that will replace the ageing ones, thus itshould be encouraged. And should the talents identified bemonitored and nurtured, then we can also use them tocurb the age cheat challenge,” Olaiya said.

Mrs Lai koiki, the Director of Greenspring School, said theprogram would be an annual one and was brought up toengage the students positively.

“It is our way of continuing the school’s effort of shapingthe character of our wards through sports. “And this isbecause we recognise the fact that sport is a good means toeducate youths on discipline, comradeship and fair play,”she said.

The director said that the school believed in the fact thatthe future of football laid in the development of the gameamong youths. Tade Azeez, the Vice-Chairman Lagos StateFootball Association (FA), who represented the Lagos StateCommissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development,applauded the initiative and called on more schools to emulateit.

“The school is only making the job of the FA easy byproviding the football camp and we will support the projectwith the needed assistance,” he said.


P i c t o r i a l

A. Carles Puyol is set to miss Euro 2012 as he is to undergo knee surgery that will rule him out for six weeks, the reigning European champions' first game is against Italy on June.B. England batsman Jonathan Trott backs his skipper Andrew Strauss to come good this summer despite his extended run of poor form.C. Rickie Fowler (r) and Rory McIlroy, playoff combatants at Quail Hollow, represent golf's changing of the guard.D. David Haye and Dereck Chisora will fight at Upton Park on 14 July in a bout sanctioned by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation.E. Great Britain's men will face defending champions Hungary, while the women face Australia at the London 2012 Olympics.F. Britain's Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling medal hope Myroslav Dykun fails a doping test.G. F1 writer Andrew Benson and commentary legend Murray Walker look back on the career of Nelson Piquet.

B

A

C

D

E

F

G

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT: 0803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 7458BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS: 0805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 1765NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS: 0803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 3308LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS: 0805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 1969

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Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza,Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos,Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: [email protected]: 2141– 6141

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012

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going to know whether you didgoing to know whether you didgoing to know whether you didgoing to know whether you didgoing to know whether you didit or notit or notit or notit or notit or not

— Opr— Opr— Opr— Opr— Oprah ah ah ah ah WWWWWinfrinfrinfrinfrinfreeeeeyyyyy

WBA title:Peterson failsdrugs test toput fight withKhan in doubt

The resolution taken onThursday, last week bythe House of

Representatives in Abuja toinvestigate the killing of 60traders at the cattle market inPotiskum, Yobe state ispolitically important. I do notsuggest that the outcome of theinvestigation will lead to actionby way of arrests andprosecution of individuals. Butit will serve a historical purpose.

The sceptic will say to youthat about three years ago, thelegislature investigated thescam in the electric power sectorand came to a conclusion that awhopping $16 billion had beenstolen by identified actors.Nothing has happened to them.In fact, the lead character in thatscandal, who once said he hadno sense of shame, has become aregular face at anti-corruptionlecture circuits at home andabroad; he has been playing theostrich and pontificatingagainst corruption, so called.

Nigerians must also befeeling a lot of frustration aboutthe discovery by the currentparliament that money in excessof N151 billion had been stolenfrom pension funds. Thishappened at a time when oldand tired pensioners collapsedand died in queues in front ofbanks, waiting to obtain theever-elusive monthly stipends.

While this has been playingout without any definiteindication that just one personwill receive punishment beyondtheir week-long pre-trialdetentions, the mother of allscams broke out. This is talkingabout the petrol subsidy scandalin which a massive sum ofN1.07 trillion was stolen andshared between officials ofgovernment and importers ofpetroleum products. So far, thebody language of thegovernment and that of theAttorney-General of theFederation convey a sense thatthis too will go the way of thosepast scandals.

What I find beneficial inthese discoveries is that they addto our statistics. The PDP and thecurrent rulers will not be inpower for ever. There must be aday, in our lifetime or that ofour children, or that of theirchildren, when someone will digup the records and say, “hey,what happened here? Who didwhat? Where is the money?” Itis something that has happenedin other jurisdictions. Ghana,our neighbour dealt with thissituation in a way many didn’tlike. For, on that day, the streetsof Accra overflowed with theblood of rulers, past and present.

The role of our parliament asa forum for public hearing andthe documentation of records offraud and theft therefore is asignificant one in our givencircumstances and must neverbe taken for granted.

Honourable Aliyu Yakubu,the fellow who tabled the motionfor the probe of those deaths inPotiskum, which wassubsequently adopted, toldfellow parliamentarians: “Allthe security measures of thegovernment are not yielding thedesired results. There may be afew benefits, but compared toharm and ill-effect the securityoperations are having, theefforts of the security servicescome to nothing. I don’t see anypurpose their deployment isserving. On this particularmass killing of the innocenttraders at the cattle market, theshooting spree went on for threeto four hours. Securitycheckpoints were within two tothree kilometres of this market.They (security) pretended as ifthey heard no evil, saw no evil”.

In agreeing with him, theHouse mandated the Committeeon National Security,Intelligence and Public Safety tocall the Service Chiefs and theNational Security Adviser,NSA, to a hearing to explain howand why there happened thiswastage of large number of livesand of unquantifiable property.This hearing, if it holds inpublic, must enrich our recordof mismanagement andimpunity even if it leads to noaction by the government. Thegenerations of future Nigerians

must find a record of how therulers of this countryabandoned the people to live likeanimals in their savagery anddepravity. It is also possible thatshocking records may emerge asto who are the sponsors of thisviolence. Are they politiciansfrom the North of the country,thereby confirming theinnuendoes of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and hisinner circle? Or could it be thatit is the government, as is beingspeculated, that is muzzling thepublic? Is the Nigeriangovernment at a war withNigerian citizens?

This public hearing mustalso ignore the dismissivestatements of the JonathanGovernment to find a way to seeand listen to the 127-pagedeposition of Henry Okah, therepentant Niger Delta militantwho is standing trial in SouthAfrica. Are there geo-politicalreasons from the violence on theNorth or in the North? Did thePresident order the twobombings in Warri and Abujain 2010 to black-paint hisopponents?

This investigation may alsobring focus to bear on the famousremarks the NSA, GeneralAzazi, made at Asaba. Is PDPresponsible for the violence andterrorism in the country?Yoruba people say that the manthey are suspecting of being athief must not be toying with hisneighbour’s goat. What is theevidence with the NSA?

This public hearing may alsohelp to examine the conduct ofthe police and the army indealing with the civilianpopulation. Are the police andthe army a state within thestate that nobody can call themto order?

In the course of the samesitting, the House stopped barelyshort of calling the emergencyrule instituted by the Presidenton a selected number of localcouncil areas a stupid enterprisethat had achieved nothing. Theonly noticeable effect is by wayof the seizure of their monthlyallocations and the House isright to ask that all such moneybe released.

Time to end the butchering

Amir Khan's rematchwith Lamont Peterson isin doubt after the

American champion failed adrugs test, yesterday.

Both fighters agreed torandom testing before theirlight-welterweight bout in LasVegas on 19 May and Petersontested positive for synthetictestosterone.

"Lamont has never had apositive test either before orafter this isolated occurrence.We plan to submit medicalfindings by Tuesday reflectingthe facts in support of Lamont'sgood faith intentions," said aPeterson statement.

The fighters are due to meetfor a second time on May 19after the World BoxingAssociation ordered a rematchfollowing Peterson'controversial victory overKhan last December.

The WBA claimed therewere "multiple irregularities" inthe first fight after Khanappealed against the pointsdefeat which took place inPeterson's home town,Washington D.C.

The statement added: "Wehave tremendous respect forthe Voluntary Anti-DopingAssociation [Vada] and itsmission. Lamont, [hismanager] Barry [Hunter] andthe entire team emphaticallysupport random drug testing inthe most comprehensivemanner possible.

"We are workingexpeditiously with a team ofpathologists and other medicalspecialists to confirm the originof the test result and in fullcompliance with the rules of theNevada State AthleticCommission."

Peterson improved hisrecord to 30-1 with one drawand 15 knockouts. Khan, 25, aBritish fighter, dropped to 26-2with and 18 knockouts.

He complained afterwardabout the referee's decision todeduct two points from him forpushing. He also complainedabout an unauthorized manseen distracting a ringsideofficial.

Worse still, themilitarization of cities andtowns, has adversely affectedthe economic life of the people insuch areas like Kano, Kaduna,Maiduguri, Yobe and Suleja.With curfews in force, tradersand others, strugglingcommercially for a living haveto operate for only few hours andstart rushing back home. Evenbanks in these Boko Haraminfested areas now operate fewerhours than normal because ofthe curfews. The ordeal of thepeople in these areas is toounspeakable. It is a doublewhammy for the citizens ofthese areas: they are not saferbecause of these securityoperations and at the same time,their means of livelihood isdeclining day after day.

The head of the army,General Azubuike Ihejirika toldarmy commanders in Kadunaat a get-together last month thatthe army was in a state of warbut they don’t seem to bedeploying accordingly. TheJanuary 20th invasion of Kanoby the insurgents remains thedeadliest in the country. Thecity has two army formations,an Air Force station and a robustpolice presence that includes acommand, a training school anda police university, a 30minutes drive from the citycentre. If January 20thhappened to Kano as an accidentor a surprise, why is there nopursuit, no rapid response to thedaily attacks that have featuredin the city?

In addition to the periloussecurity situation in most partsof the country, many of theaffected state governors appearto be unconcerned about whatis going on in their states. Theyappear to be acquiescent orunder some sort of a spell. Underour Constitution, the securityservices are all under politicalcontrol and the leadingauthority in each state isunquestionably the governor.

When you look at all thesethings, knowing that this is acountry in which the culture ofimpunity is well entrenched, aconsolation may be in the Houseof Representatives’ talk shop.These big men may be askedquestions. That may be the onlyway to call them to account.Records will be obtained andkept. A future government mayone day come and issue awhitepaper on all thewhitepapers, not a whitewashwe get from this government.

Under our Constitution, thegovernment may be angry butit can’t dissolve the parliament.Let the House fear no one.

Speaker Aminu Tambuwal

. . . putting the people first

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

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Garba Shehu

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Peoples Daily Newspaper, Wednesday, May 08, 2012

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