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Vol. 10 No. 3 Wednesday, January 2, 2013 Safar 19, 1434 AH N150 . . . putting the people first

2013: Be serious with governance, ACN tells Jonathan

The Action Congress ofNigeria (ACN) has urgedthe Jonathan

administration to shake off whatit describes as its trade marklethargy and take governancemore seriously in 2013.

The party in a New Yearmessage yesterday in Lagos byNational Publicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the

administration must take drasticsteps to ease the hardship whichit visited on Nigerians, especiallyin the past year.

It said since the country'sreturn to democratic rule in1999, the year 2012 rankedamong the worst years forNigerians, “going by the very lowstandard of a non-performing andprofligate administration likePresident Jonathan's.”

It accused the government of

We’ll contain BokoHaram, says

Jonathan>> PAGE 3 >> PAGE 2 >> PAGE 2

Contd on Page 2

It was suprising yesterday as Abuja residents came out to see President Jonathan’s 2015 campaign posters floodingthe major streets in the city. Photo: Ahmed Shekarau

“ambushing Nigerians onJanuary 1, 2012, with a totallyunnecessary and punitive fuelprice hike” and ensuring through2012 “that everything wentdownhill from that moment untilthe end of the year.”

The party lamented thatNigerians were made to pay farabove the official price for fuel,with its bandwagon effect on theprices of goods and services,adding that such eroded the trust

Nigerians reposed in theadministration.

''Mr. President, that singularact of your administration helpedto erode whatever trust Nigeriansreposed in you. Since trust is acritical element between thegovernment and the governed,you must begin to rebuild trustby delivering on your promises,since trust can neither be decreednor forced,” the statement said.

''Suffice it to say that Nigerians

cannot and will not trust anadministration that promises tofight corruption but has presidedover the worst cases of corruptionin the history of the country;Nigerians cannot and will nottrust an administration that setup committees after committeesto probe the oil sector, only toshamelessly dump the reports ofthe committees in the garbagecan! And Nigerians cannot and

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Still two years ahead of the2015 Presidential election,posters drumming support

for the re-election of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan have takenover major streets in the FederalCapital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Residents of the FCT woke upearly on New Year day to see thePresident’s posters, which wereapparently placed on Sundaynight or in the wee hours ofyesterday.

The posters came barely a dayafter the Jigawa state House ofAssembly endorsed Governor SuleLamido for President in 2015.

The Jonathan posters wereplaced at strategic places inAsokoro, Wuse, Maitama districtsof the FCT, including the entranceof the Headquarters of the rulingPeoples Democratic Party (PDP),major news stands and waste bins,walls and trees among others.They have inscriptionsdrumming support for thePresident and declaring thatthere is “no vacancy in Aso Rock”.

The posters have a broadpicture of Jonathan in hissignature bowler hat with twoPDP logos. On them areinscriptions which read: “Novacancy in Aso Rock”, “Let’s do

By Richard Ihediwa, LawrenceOlaoye, Umar Muhammad Puma

2015: Jonathan’s campaignposters flood Abuja

It’s handiwork of mischief makers - PDP— Say “No vacancy in Aso Rock”

Contd on Page 2

SSS releasesAl-Mizan journalists

13 insurgents, onesoldier killed as JTFengages gunmen in Borno

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-10

Editorial 12

Op.Ed 13

Letters 14

Opinion 15

Metro 16-18

Business 19-22

S/Exchange 23

Property 24-27

Motoring 28

Arts 29-30

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Jonathan fulfilledcampaign promises in2012, claims Okupe,

Page 39

WE WANTTO HEAR

FROM YOU

Int’l 37-38

Politics 39-40

Sports 41-46

Leisure 47

Columnist 48

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013PAGE 2

2015: Jonathan’s campaign posters flood AbujaContd from Page 1

more”, “One good turn deservesanother” and another”; “SupportGoodluck Azikiwe Jonathan for2015 Presidency” just under thePresident’s portrait.

No support group acknowledgedbeing behind the posters which arenow raising dusts in Abuja,especially against the backdrop ofthe reiteration by Jonathan thathe is more interested in histransformation agenda and does notwant to be distracted by 2015presidency issues.

There are, however,speculations in opposition groupsthat Jonathan’s supporters werebehind the posters and wanted touse them to test the waters aheadof party preparations for electionsexpected to commence next year.This is especially against thebackdrop of stiff opposition alreadymounted by some northernelements against any move toallow the President to run in 2015.

However, reacting to theposters, the leadership of the PDPyesterday described it as “the

handiwork of mischief makers whoare trying to tarnish the image ofthe President and that of theparty.”

The party’s National PublicitySecretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, toldour reporter on the phone that thePresident and the PDP had no handwhatsoever in the posters.

According to him, “The party andthe President have consistentlymaintained that what they areconcerned about now is performanceby all the political office holders onthe platform of the party. We are notat this time thinking about who willcontest in 2015 or not.

“We have always maintainedthat it is too early to startcampaigning. The President andthe party are definitely not part ofthe posters pasting. It is purely thehandwork of mischief makers.”

Also reacting to thedevelopment, the Chairman of theConference of Nigeria PoliticalParties (CNPP), Alhaji BalarabeMusa, described the mounting ofthe Jonathan posters as mere actof arrogance.

“I really don’t want tocomment on that, but it is merearrogance for anybody who isbehind this; I think Nigerians arebetter placed to say that throughthe ballot box in 2015”, he said.

Despite several assurances bythe Presidency, there aremounting speculations that thePresident could be interested in therace especially as his lawyersrecently submitted in court thatJonathan was in his first tenureand remained eligible to contest fora second term in 2015.

They based their argument onthe calculation that his first comingfrom 2010 to 2011 was part of thetenure of late President UmaruYar’adua.

The lawyers who wereresponding to two suits challengingJonathan’s eligibility to contest the2015 Presidential election in anAbuja High Court also asked thecourt to dismiss the suit.

In the first suit, a member ofthe PDP and a Port Harcourt-basedlegal practitioner, Henry Amadi,had approached the court for an

order to stop Jonathan fromcontesting in 2015.

Amadi had prayed the court tostop Jonathan from r participatingas candidate for 2015 election atthe end of his current term of officein 2015 as doing so will hoistillegality in the polity since the oathof allegiance and office he will takeif he wins will violate the two oathsof allegiance and office stipulatedby the 1999 Constitution.

But in his counter-affidavitfiled on the President’s behalf byMr Ade Okeaya-Inneh (SAN),Jonathan urged the court todecline jurisdiction to entertain thesuit, saying the plaintiff is anordinary individual who is notqualified to ask the court to stophim from contesting 2015Presidential election.

The President had put up thesame defence in the other suit filedby another member of the PDP, Mr.Cyriacus Njoku, who prayed anAbuja High Court presided over byJustice Mudashiru Oniyangi toblock President Jonathan suspectedbid to seek reelection in 2015.

will not trust a spendthriftadministration that wastes scarceresources on flimsy projects likebanquet halls and mansions for afew government officials, whenmillions are jobless and homeless'',ACN said.

The party advised himPresident Jonathan to drop whatit described as his “amorphousTransformation Agenda in favourof a compact programme thatprioritises security, job creation,infrastructural development and

the fight against corruption”.It also said the administration

should stop relying on phantomstatistics to give Nigerians theimpression that it was deliveringthe dividends of democracy,“when indeed the opposite is thecase.

''Despite this so-called economicgrowth, the reality of the Nigeriansituation is that more of our youthsare daily meandering throughtraffic in our major cities sellingtoothpicks, rat poison and purewater. What does this so-called

economic growth figures mean tothem?

''The Jonathan administrationtrumpets economic growth figureswith glee, but of what use is economicgrowth that has not translated tobetter lives for the people, create jobs,put food on the table and make ourroads more passable?

“In 2013, the Jonathanadministration must jettisoncooked-up economic growthfigures and make concerted effortto reverse the situation that hasseen an estimated 11 million

2013: Be serious with governance, ACN tells JonathanContd from Page 1

President GoodluckJonathan gave Nigerianscheering New Year news

yesterday when he disclosed thatalmost all the Boko Haramelements responsible for the deadlyattacks on the United Nationsbuilding in Abuja, the NigeriaPolice Headquatres and St.Theresa’s Catholic Church,Madalla, have been arrested.

The President whileworshipping at the All SaintsAnglican Church, Wuse Zone 5,Abuja, said the people responsiblefor those bomb attacks “are nolonger free men”.

He added that the country'ssecurity agencies are doing morethan what most eyes can see tocontain insecurity.

“The church's prayers havebeen helping us to stabilise thecountry in these challengingtimes”, he said.

“There was a time the countrywas drifting and everyonethought the country would notendure but the prayers rescued us.

“We shall overcome terrorism,kidnapping and armed robbery withmore prayers from the Church.

“Most of the recent terrorsuspects have been arrested. Mostpeople will not know what thesecurity agencies have been doing.The people who bombed the Police

Headquarters, United Nations(UN) House and St Theresa'sCatholic Church in Madalla havebeen arrested. We will continue toimprove security architecture."

Speaking on expectations forthe new tear, he said: "The newyear will be better for the country.We have a huge population andwe will continue to provideemployment for our people andencourage entrepreneurship.

The Old Testament lesson wasearlier read by the First Lady, MrsPatience Jonathan from Gen. 17:9-16.

According to the preacher,Nicolas Okoh, the Anglican Church

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem all over the world was celebratingthe naming and circumcision ofJesus Christ as well as the NewYear. The theme of sermon was"circumcise your heart"

The preacher urged Nigerians,the church, businessmen, civilservants and politicians at alllevels, to “circumcise their hearts.”

He also challenged teachersand academicians as well asstudents who dress indecently oncampuses to do the same.

He told market women who sellfake products, oil marketers andtransporters who hike prices infestive periods, kidnappers, armedrobbers and members of the Boko

We’ll contain Boko Haram, says JonathanHaram sect to "circumcise theirhearts".

The preacher also advisedyoung men who are in a haste toride jeeps having graduated fromschool to be patient and "circumcisetheir hearts."

According to him, traditionalrulers, university authorities whosell doctorate degrees and titles tothose who are not worthy of themalso need to do a rethink.

Also present in church wereMinister of Police Affairs, CaptCaleb Olubolade (rtd) and Ministerof state, FCT, Oloye OlajumokeAkinjide. The President's motheralso attended the church service.

Nigerian children out of school, 46percent of our youths unemployed,made Nigeria a country with oneof the highest rates of road crashesin the world, put the country's lifeexpectancy at a mere 51.9 years(compared with 62.7 for Gabon,73.4 for Mauritius and 74 forLibya) and the indignity ofannually seeing the countryranked among the most corrupt.”

The party wished all Nigeriansa Happy New Year, and prayedthat 2013 would bring peace andjoy to all.

The Joint Military TaskForce, (JTF) in Borno state,yesterday, said its troops

engaged suspected insurgents in agun duel, killing 13 of them, whilea soldier was killed, with two otherswounded.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col.Sagir Musa, in a statementemailed to newsmen last night,said the incident occurred at about

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

4.pm in Bulabulin and BayanQuarters Ward when a team ofsoldiers burst into a house believedto be the hide-out of Boko Harammembers.

“At about 1600 hours today,(yesterday) troops of the Joint TaskForce (JTF) had an encounter withBoko Haram terrorists at Bulabulinand Bayan Quarters of Maiduguri.During the encounter, the JTF lostone soldier and two others werewounded, while 13 Boko Haramterrorists lost their lives. Civilians

were well protected and have nocasualty recorded as a result of theencounter”, the statement said.

According to the task force, theoperation is ongoing to apprehendthe fleeing members of the gangand recover more weapons.

Items recovered from theinsurgents comprised of three AK47 rifles, one rocket-propelledgrenade launcher, (RPG) as wellas large quantity of assortedammunition and improvisedexplosive devices (IEDs).

13 insurgents, one soldier killed asJTF engages gunmen in Borno

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013 PAGE 3

Nigeria onverge ofchange– Okotie

Presidential aspirant, Rev.Chris Okotie has warnedthat Nigeria is on the verge

of change that would usher thecountry into a new era.

In a New Year message in Lagosyesterday, the pastor-politiciansaid: “Nigeria is on the verge ofchange and it is imminent andauspicious. Chairman Mao said: “Ifthe people no longer fear yourpower, it is because another poweris on its way”.

Reviewing the state of thenation in 2012, he observed: “Poorgovernance is at the root of most ofour national problems. The spateof high profile kidnappings, terrorattacks, criminalities of all shadesare directly related to the failureof governance in 2012. And unlessthe ruling elite change theparadigm and embrace purposefulgovernance, things are not goingto change as expected.

“Our leaders should also doaway with the habit of bandyingeconomic indices of positive growththat cannot be directly related tothe mass poverty anddysfunctional realities on ground”,according to Okotie, adding “wemust begin to close the gap betweenrhetoric and service delivery”.

He argued that the pursuit oftrue democracy, equity andjustice were sine qua non forpeace, and development in anymodern society. The pastor-politician called on PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to exercisestrong leadership expected of apresident whose country isembroiled in complex socio-political and economic crisis.


Most churches in Kogi stateyesterday, pettitioned forthe quick recovery of the

state governor, Capt Idis Wadafrom the injury he sustainedduring an auto crash on Friday

December 28, 2012.At Saint Francis Catholic

Church Ganaja Junction,Lokoja the congregationprayed against anythinghappening to the governor atthis point, as it would be aserious setback.

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Auto crash: Churches pray for Wada

As a New Year gift, GovernorKashim Shettima of Bornostate, yesterday signed

warrant for the release of 30prisoners after which he placedthem on N10, 000 monthlyallowance which they are toreceive in their three monthsvocational jobs training before theirre-integration into the society.

Governor Shettima who signedthe warrant during his visit to theMaximum Security Prison inMaiduguri handed overN1million to the DeputyController in charge of the prison,Mohammed Bello Bomoi out ofwhich N300,b000 is to cater formonthly allowance of the 30 freedinmates while he directed thateach person be given N5,000 astransport to reunite with theirfamilies.

The governor noted that thetraining will be held at thepremises of the prison so as to keepother inmates in high hopes,strengthen the capacity of theprisons in providing vocational

skills while making the freedinmates keep in touch with theirformer colleagues in the next threemonths to give them confidenceand reassurance.

Governor Shettima alsoreleased six hundred thousandnaira by government to settle finesfor other prisoners serving variousjail terms who went to prison forinability to pay fines as optionsduring their convictions.

He also interacted with allinmates, consoled them anddonated food items to them.

The Governor called on theinmates to regard their conditionsas trial moments and reformprocesses that should make themgood and better citizens.

Earlier, the acting Attorney-General and Commissioner forJUSTICE, Barr. Kaka ShehuLawan, said a committee onprerogative of mercy under hischairmanship went round thevarious prisons in the state asdirected by the governor andrecommended 30 inmates forrelease following the receipt ofapplication on same as required bylaw.

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

Shettima frees 30 inmates of Maiduguri Prisons

The Kano state branch of thePharmaceutical Society ofNigeria (PSN), has assured

the residents of the ancient city ofthe availability of drugs inregistered pharmaceutical shopsand government hospitals in thestate despite the closure of theSabon-Gari drugs market.

A statement made available onSunday to newsmen in Kanosigned by the PSN Kano branchchairman, Alhaji Ahmed Gana

Mohammed, said the decision ofthe government to close themarket is in the best interest of thepeople of the state.

It will be recalled that thegovernment took the decision toclose the market in on the premisethat the concentration of drugsshops in the market breedscounterfeit and fake drugs aroundthe state.

The closure came into effectthe 31st December, 2012. Ourcorrespondent observed that thesellers complied and the entire

From Edwin Olofu, Kano drugs section of the AbubakarRimi market has been shutdown.

The statement reads in part:“we assure you that the decision ofthe government to close themarket is in the best interest ofKano people and all beneficiaries ofpharmaceutical service.

“The people in the state canget drugs prescribed to themfrom government hospitals,registered pharmaceuticalpremises and patent medicineshops including Lafia Jari shops”.

Pharmacists assure Kano residents ofdrugs availability despite market closure

SSS releases Al-Mizan journalistsMusa Mohamed Awwal

and Aliyu Saleh,workers of Al-Mizan, a

Kaduna-based Hausa newspaperwho were detained by securityoperatives for a week without

From Mohammed Adamu,Kaduna

charges were released by theState Security Service at about12:30pm yesterday.

The men were seized fromtheir homes on Monday, 24thof December and taken away toan undisclosed location byheavily armed securityoperatives.

Their arrest and detentionhave been linked to a storypublished by the newspaperon its websitewww.almizan.info on Friday,21 December. Until theirrelease yesterday from SSScustody in Abuja, theirwhereabouts had remained

unknown and severalorganisations and pressuregroups called for their release.

The SSS had demanded to seethe Editor-in-Chief of Al-Mizan,Alhaji Ibrahim Musa before therelease of Awwal and Saleh. Itwas not clear yesterday if Musahad been found.

Poverty in the North hasbeen identified as the majorcauses of conflict in northern

Nigeria. This was the position ofspeakers last month at the end ofNigeria Muslim Forum in theUnited Kingdom, (NMFUK).

A communiqué issued at theend of the 22nd annual conferenceat Stamford Court University,Leicester in UK, indicated thatviolence in northern Nigeria,usually in the form of ethno-religious conflicts is caused bypoverty and adverse hunger.

The communiqué which wassigned by Aliyu Musa, on behalf ofthe communiqué draftingcommittee, added that the scourgehas affected the society with suchdepth that people react insometimes very unpredictableand unreasonable manner.

On how to tackle the insecurityin the region, the body said"serious, sincere and deliberateefforts must be made tosignificantly reduce poverty.

"Also, justice must be dispensedto all irrespective of gender, tribe/ethnicity or creed", the body said.

It also called on governmentsat all levels, social and religiousinstitutions and members of thesociety to contribute their bits inensuring fairness and socialcohesion.

Poverty causeof conflict inNorth – NMFUKBy Tobias Lengnan Dapam

According to Rev Father JohnFemi of Church of the Archangels,Gadumo along Lokoja-Ajaokutaroad, "anybody who wants to ruleKogi state, sentiments apart,should canvass for his own votesand leave the present governoralone".

The Inspector-General ofPolice, (IGP) MD Abubakar,yesterday on behalf of the

Police High Command promisedthat the force shall overcome theinsecurity confronting the nation

in 2013. Speaking through PPRO,

Frank Mba, the IG salutedNigerians both at home and abroadon the auspicious moment of theNew Year celebration.

He commended Nigerians fortheir vigilance, partnership and

By Lambert Tyem support for the Police, withoutwhich the task of policing Nigeriain 2012 would have been nearimpossible.

Abubakar enjoined citizens notto relent, but rather continue toassist the force even with greatervigour in the months ahead.

We'll overcome security challenges in 2013 – IGP

Recuperating Taraba state Governor, Danbaba Suntai (middle) with his wife, Hauwa(left), a family friend, Prince Tita Nbalam (right), and his three-week old twins in acafeteria of a German hospital On Monday. Photo: NAN


Jubril Aminu flays Governors' ForumSen. Jubril Aminu,

yesterday described theNigerian Governors' Forum

as strange and an instrument foroppressing the FederalGovernment and the people.

Aminu made the remark at amedia briefing, organised by theAdamawa Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) stakeholders in Yola."It is very strange. I worked inmany countries and have not

seen anything like such a forum."The Governors' Forum is whatis used to oppress everybody,including the President", Aminusaid.

He said the forum alwaysensured that state governorshad their way in everything,including nominating whobecame an ambassador ormember of the NationalAssembly.

"I don't know how the forumcame about in this country. Andif it is not checked, it will put thecountry in serious trouble, as thestate chief executives unite tochallenge the FederalGovernment", Aminu said.

He called for the application ofinternal democracy in therunning of the political parties. Hecautioned against the politics ofsentiment and stressed that the

A vigilante group known asDonga Security in Toro localgovernment area of Bauchi

state has arrested seven suspectedcattle rustlers over stolen cows andrecovered arms from them.

This was disclosed by the statechairman of the group, AlhajiShehu Musa in Bauchi. Musa said"We received a report that manycattle were stolen, so we followed andpursued them inside the bushbetween Dass and Toro localgovernment areas. And wesucceeded in arresting the suspectsand we also recovered all the stolencows.

According to him, the suspectshave confessed to have committedthe offense saying "during the arrest,we recovered two guns, two axes,three machetes, three bows andarrows".

He said the suspects will behanded over to the Divisional PoliceOfficer in Toro for furtherinvestigation and prosecution.

He solicited the support from thepeople as well as useful informationthat could lead to the arrest ofcriminals.

Two of the suspects, MohammedKabiru and Buba Alhaji, said theystole two cows each separately andadded them to their own herd ontheir way to grazing areas andpleaded for leniency.

When contacted, the PolicePublic Relations Officer of Bauchistate command, ASP AbbasAbdullahi, said they are yet toreceive the report saying they mayget the report after the publicholidays.

Vigilantesarrest sevencattle rustlers,recover armsin BauchiFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

NGO gives free eye treatment to 160 persons in Kogi

No fewer than 160 personshave been operated forvarious eye diseases

including cataract, glaucomaand therrigium, in the ongoingfree eye care treatment beingcarried out by anongovernmental organisation,(NGO), Asmau Foundation, atthe Okene General Hospital in

Kogi state.The president and founder of

the organisation, Alhaji SanusiAbubakar, who disclosed this tojournalists yesterday in Okene,noted that the death of hismother spurred him torededicate his life to service tohumanity.

"My late mother meanteverything to me. She loved meso that she stopped at nothing to

make me happy. Unfortunatelywhen I was to give back what shegave to me, she died. I thendecided that I will start an NGOto immortalise her name andthat was the birth of AsmauFoundation", he said.

Abubakar also stated that thiswas the sixth edition of the freeeye treatment at the ZonalHospital Okene in Okene localgovernment area of Kogi state.

The Jigawa StateDirectorate of Fire Servicesays it has saved properties

worth over N359 million in theoutgoing year 2012.

The deputy director of theDirectorate, Muhammad RabiuNda, made this known whilebriefing newsmen on the activitiesof the agency in the outgoing year.

He said other properties worthover N139 million were lost duringthe period under review.

Malam Nda said 80 lives werelost through various fire outbreaksand road accidents in the 2012.

He also said 253 person's liveswere saved and 95 animals werealso rescued while 35 animals werelost during the period underreview.

Nda explained that theDirectorate received 194 fire callsand one 144 rescue calls.

He then called on people to beextra careful while handling fireespecially during the harmattan.

Jigawa fireservice savedpropertiesworth N359min 2012From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

Jigawa to construct 271 kilometres roads at N26bn

The Jigawa stategovernment is currentlyconstructing 271

kilometre-lengths of variousroads awarded in the out goneyear 2012 worth N26 billion.

The Commissioner for Worksand Transport, Alhaji Baba S.Aliyu stated this while speakingon the achievements of theMinistry in 2012.

The commissioner said theroads comprise six roads that cutacross all the three senatorialzones in the state.

Alhaji Aliyu explained thatin order to ensure prudentmanagement of governmentfunds, the ministry's engineers

were responsible for the design,plan and award all the projectsthat saved the state over N500million if it had engaged theservices of external consultants.

He stated that the ministryhad never abandoned projects itstarted or even inherited,assuring of strict adherence todue process in the execution ofprojects.

The roads awarded includeUnguwar Mani-Koriyal toGwiwa, Limawa-Warwade-Jidawa to Sakwaya, Danladi-Hammado to Sule Tankarkar,Arawa to Baturiya, Sukullufi-Kale to Gunka and to Wurno.

The commissioner said theministry has established a designlaboratory for the easy designing

and planning of new roads in thestate.

He said the ministry hasachieved a lot under the leadershipof Governor Sule Lamido in theprovision of roads and otherinfrastructure, adding that roadshave key value to the lives of peopleespecially to their economicactivities and transportation oftheir loved ones.

He said the ministry hasconstructed five valley bridges in2011 and in 2012 comprising thatof Gunka which was over floodedduring the rainy season.

The commissioner said thestate government hasconstructed 20 roads with adistance of 1,300 kilometres atthe cost of N56 billion.

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

R-L:PresidentGoodluckJonathanand his wifePatience,and thePresident’smother,Mrs. EuniceJonathan,duringworshipNew Yearservice,yesterdayat the AllSaintsChurch ofNigeria, inAbuja.

Photo: JoeOroye

He noted that the foundationwas primarily established tobring light to humanity; "thuschoosing free eye treatment wasa fulfillment of the mandate",stressing that he would workhard to remain consistent withthe operation.

According to him AsmauFoundation which commencedeyes treatment at the centralsenatorial zone of the state threeyears ago has so far treated over5,000 persons adding that over1500 patients have so far beenattended to on this edition.

"When I look at this figures whoin their closet would say Asmauhad given us sight, it makes me afulfilled man" he noted withenthusiasm.

He added that as a Muslim, hedid not embark on the project forpolitical consideration but tocontribute his quota to theenhancement of the wellbeing ofthe people, saying "I would be ahappy man if I could cover theentire state in the shortest possibletime".

He however urged well-to-doindigenes of the state to makephilanthropy a culture, notingthat government alone cannotprovide all the health needs ofthe people.

introduction of sentiments in thenomination of candidates wouldbring about tyrants in publicoffice.

Aminu protested against theintervention of Gov. Sule Lamidocommittee in the crisis inAdamawa PDP and said he had noconfidence in the choice of Lamido,because of his relationship withGov. Murtala Nyako ofAdamawa state. (NAN)

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

In its 15th December, 2012 edition, The Nation newspapercarried a story with the above heading, based on an interviewit had with the EX-PICOMSS Chairman, AVM Atawodi(rtd), in which he denied all allegations of wrongdoing I levelledagainst him in my petitions to The President and the DG,

SSS, and challenged me to prove the allegations.There have also been appearing in newspapers, stories alluding

to my having collected from the government huge sums of moneywhich I have supposedly diverted without fulfilling my contractualobligations to the government.

1. I have wholly and fully accepted the challenge to me byAtawodi as contained in the said edition of the “The Nation”newspaper captioned “ALLEGED N3bn SCAM: Ex–PICOMSS Chair fights back.”

MY RESPONSE AND EVIDENCE ON AVM ATAWODI(RTD)

I, Rabiu Hassan, hereby confirm, re-assert and declare that it isabsolutely true that the N620, 910,000.00 paid to me by AVMAtawodi and credited into my account on the 28th November,2011 with A/C. No. 1830010246947901- HYPERTECHNIGERIAN LTD was indeed and in fact mostly converted intoUSD$ which AVM Atawodi collected and diverted for his privateuse. EXHIBIT A here attached is an extract from the officialstatement of account detailing the transactions carried out by me,the dates, specific amounts, the names of the beneficiaries and theBureaux De Change that I used to purchase USD$ which, with theexception of the last item on the extract, were mostly delivered byme personally to AVM Atawodi. The Extract statement fromECOBANK speaks for itself even though it excluded some of thetransactions carried out through a micro-finance Bank to purchaseUSD$ for the same purpose. The extract also does not containdetails of some direct withdrawals by me and or through otherparties, all of which were for and at the behest of AVM Atawodi(please find here Exhibit A 1 which is from the original statementof account showing those items omitted in Exhibit A above).What is fundamentally proven by the extract from ECOBANKis the fact that monies from the N620,910,000.00 paid byPICOMSS were at various times and in varying quantumwithdrawn or used to purchase USD$.

Exhibits A & A1 on their own do not prove that the Dollars soconverted were actually collected by AVM Atawodi, it may beargued.

But I have three (3) living witnesses that could testify and(two) 2 have indeed testified, one via sworn court affidavit and theother in witness statement as being privy to the fact that AVMAtawodi did collect the monies. In fact, on the 1st occasion, one ofthe witnesses was actually physically present.

These 3 witnesses are:(a) The Bank branch manager-Ecobank Plc.(b) Jingina Mohammed – My driver and a witness to the

actual exchange of the 1st sum of USD$ 1.3 Million given toAVM Atawodi.

(c) Mr. Roland (second name unknown to me) a protégé, closeconfidant and right hand man of AVM Atawodi, who in fact liveswith the Atawodi family in the family home at Maitama, Abuja,for very many years and is, as far as I know, still living there.

Mr. Roland took physical possession of the money USD$1.3million at the car park of the IBB Golf Club and on theinstructions of AVM Atawodi.

From the very beginning, I was fully aware that the N620million was meant to be stolen because Atawodi made it veryclear to me that he was in a hurry to get some money and servicesome judges handling the various litigations that followed theoutcome of the Kogi State gubernatorial election disputes in whichAtawodi was a candidate. Atawodi also confided in me the need toservice some members of the National Assembly working for hisbill before the NASS for the conversion of PICOMSS from anAD-HOC Committee into a full government agency.

I am no saint myself in this matter. On Atawodi’s instruction,I took USD$400,000 for myself. I have freely confessed to thisfact in my statements to the SSS and EFCC investigators.

The transfer to my account was done without anydocumentation whatsoever. I never ever presented any invoice ordemand for payment. I did not sign any payment voucher nor wasthere any contract or agreement between PICOMSS and myself

‘Alleged N3bn Scam: Ex-PICOMSSchair fights back’ – MY RESPONSE

as at the time the money was credited into my account.For the record the N620,910, 000.00 paid by PICOMSS is not

USD $ 4.4 million as reported by The Nation newspaper. As at the28/11/2011 the open market value of the Naira to Dollar was atN167.5 – USD $ 1, which means the N620,910,000 was worthUSD $3,760,925.37. EXHIBIT A1 also shows that MohammedMustapha of Hypertech Nig. Limited received the sum of N10million from the N620 million largesse. M. Mustapha shouldstep forward and tell Nigerians what the N10 million hecollected was for. For the record, M. Mustapha was a directbeneficiary and part and parcel of the stolen N620 million.

2. ON N 1 BILLION CLAIM“There is fresh evidence showing that over N1 billion was

paid out so far but none of the six Boats has been delivered”.The quote is attributed to a source close to the SSS investigationteam as reported in The Nation’s news story.

I bought these six (6) boats at an auctioned price of only Euros• 250, 000.00 each (basic), which amounts to Euros •1.5 millionfor the six (6) boats.

Atawodi requested the inclusion of optional items such as Radars,Navigation equipment’, night vision systems and spare parts etc.which after negotiations brought the total cost of the boats to Euros• 2,013,563.00million. And it was this price that the then NSA –Gen. Azazi (late) insisted on paying for the boats, less the cost of

shipping and my agency fee. See Exhibits B1 – B10. So wheredoes the alleged N 1 billion come from? I challenge anyone in thisworld to come up with proof that I got paid N 1 billion or more!!

Exhibits B3 – B5 are proof that I paid Euro 1, 820,000 to TPMarine out of Euro 2,013,000.00 with all transfers and receiptsattached. Exhibit B6 is a copy of the certificate of ownership all ofwhich have been released to me by TP Marine.

2A. WHY THE SIX BOATS ARE NOT DELIVEREDThe conspiracy between Atawodi, the “2 Jews” who own

M15 – and Mohammed Mustapha of Hypertech Nig. Ltd isthe reason why the Boats have not yet been delivered. 1st, M15sued Mohammed Mustapha in court in Holland and obtained atemporary court order attaching 3 of the 6 boats. See EXHIBITsC1 -C7. Place these in context with particular notice to the datesand the conspiracy is glaringly clear. With Azazi out and SamboDasuki in (Dasuki being another colleague and course mate ofAtawodi), Atawodi must have been emboldened to re-launch hisbid to defraud Nigeria of the 15.5 million Euros.

The “2 Jews” are ostensibly claiming USD$500,000 fromM. Mustapha which they allegedly paid as deposit for theboats on behalf of Mustapha and 50% of the PICOMSScontract profit due to M. Mustapha. They showed anagreement they signed with M. Mustapha as proof.

I challenge anyone including the “2 Jews” Mustapha andPICOMSS to produce any contract awarded by PICOMSSto Mustapha to supply the 6 boats! I aver and assert that nosuch legally binding contract exists anywhere between PICOMSSand anybody.

I challenge the “2 Jews,” Mustapha and PICOMSS/Atawodito show proof that PICOMSS or any of them paid a singlekobo to TP Marine on the so-called PICOMSS contract. And Iassert that the claim of the “Jews” to have invested USD$500,000is a fraud and blatant lie! Exhibit B10 proves that beyonddoubt.

3. ON HOW THE N 620,910,000.00 (USD $ 4 MILLIONCAME ABOUT)

The deal for the purchase of the six (6) boats at the cost ofEuros •15.5 million was based on Atawodi’s claim that the thenNSA (now late General Azazi) had in fact jointly with Atawodidetermined that the boats should be bought by PICOMSS at thecost of Euros 3.2 million each. Azazi was going to release themoney to PICOMSS to pay for the boats. Atawodi remindedme that Azazi was a very close friend and confidant, that theywere actually course mates at The Nigeria Defence Academy andthat with Azazi in on the deal and paying, we had no need fordue process certification. In fact, Atawodi assured me thatthe full •15.5 million would be paid by Gen. Azazi within aweek and that the entire deal would be wrapped-up in 2weeks time.

Atawodi collected my banking details, summoned his accountantand ordered that the sum of USD $ 4 million in local currency bepaid into my account. N620, 910,000.00, apparently calculatedas the equivalent of USD $4,000,000.00 at the official rate, waspaid into my account by PICOMSS. My evidence here is thesales contract signed between PICOMSS and Hypertech UKLtd/Hypertech Nig. Ltd for •15.5 million without recourse toany due process or approval. See Exhibits D1-D3 (Note: TheEXHIBIT here attached is a back-dated document. My witnessis PICOMSS’ secretary, Col Gabriel Musa).

4. ON GENERAL AZAZI (LATE)After a period of one month passed with no payment coming

from Azazi, and with my personal investment already committedand the N620,910,000.00 paid by PICOMSS already gone, Ibecame very worried and decided to enquire as to what was goingon.

Atawodi’s response was that he had suddenly realised thatAzazi was his enemy and was in fact not only refusing torelease the money to PICOMSS but was also behind thewithdrawal of PICOMSS bill before the National Assembly.

Atawodi assured and advised me not to panic as he had cut adeal with the National Assembly for PICOMSS to be votedhuge sums of money in the 2012 budget which this timearound would not be buried under the NSA’s budget, but

DAVID MAMAN & SHAY TAL - The Notorious ‘Jews’MOHAMMED MUSTAPHA‘Hungry and desperate’

NSA SAMBO DASUKI‘what is his agenda?’

AVM ATAWODE (rtd)The man at the centre of it all!

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6


would be paid directly to PICOMSS. He also said that I shouldjust wait for the budget details to come out and he, Atawodi, wouldhave the money to pay me to continue with the transaction.

Atawodi informed me that all he needed to do was pass mypapers through the BPP, obtain a certificate of no objection andthat he didn’t need the NSA anymore.

This was patently absurd and total madness to me. Here was aman, whom Atawodi alleged was in on the deal to inflate the priceof the boats and overnight this same very man became Atawodi’sgreatest enemy on earth. My senses simply could not accept thisabrupt somersault and I knew something had gone badly wrongwith the deal.

I personally knew Gen. Azazi as a friend and associate towhom I had free access as the NSA. I decided to check on Azazi tofind out what had gone wrong as I was still working on theassumption that Azazi was part and parcel of the deal.

I made arrangement and saw Gen. Azazi, confronted him withthe case of the PICOMSS deal and required to know what hadgone wrong.

Azazi was utterly and totally shocked and rendered speechlessby my assertion that he and Atawodi had fixed the price at whichthe boats should be bought by Nigeria and which had led me into amajor financial commitment only for things to go awry at this latestage.

After Azazi had regained his composure, he sat me down andswore in all the names of what is holy that he has never sat downwith Atawodi to discuss, determine or fix the price at which theboats were to be bought by PICOMSS.

Azazi informed me that Atawodi came to him requesting him toapprove and release •15.5 million to enable PICOMSS acquire 6boats which they had sourced in Holland, and that his response toAtawodi was that he couldn’t release that kind of money toPICOMSS unless Mr. President approved such an expenditure.

Azazi told me he advised Atawodi to write him an officialmemo stating PICOMSS’ requirement, and he (Azazi) wouldthen forward his own memo to Mr. President seeking for Mr.President’s approval for such expenditure by PICOMSS.

Atawodi presented the memo on the basis of which Azazi fileda memo to The President on PICOMSS request.

According to Azazi, Mr. President, having gone through thememo informed him that he would only approve the request ifthe original due process certification of the contract for theboats originally awarded by MOD in 2007, was made availableto him.

Mr. President’s position was conveyed back to Atawodi byAzazi, with a request that Atawodi comply and present thecertification for presentation to Mr. President. Azazi insistedthat was all that ever occurred between him and Atawodi onthe issue of the 6 boats.

In fact, Azazi went on to intimate me of the fact that on 3consecutive occasions Mr. President had cause to ask him aboutthe due process papers and that he felt very embarrassed beforeThe President and that consequently, he chose to completely ignoreAtawodi/PICOMSS on the matter of the boats and never referredto it again.

I had every reason to believe Gen. Azazi’s version because hewas clearly unaware of the true cost of the 6 boats which wasonly •1.5 million, as against the •15.5 million PICOMSSwas requesting and was stunned beyond belief when I casuallyrevealed to him the actual cost of the boats.

I suggested to Azazi that since Atawodi was one floor below hisoffice, he should Summon Atawodi to join us and confront himwith all these facts.

Gen. Azazi decided on a different approach, probablyconsidering it beneath his dignity to have an open confrontationwith Atawodi, especially in front of a relative outsider like me.

On the spot, Azazi took a number of decisions:He directed me to steer clear of the PICOMSS contraption,

and deliver the 6 boats to the Nigerian Army and not PICOMSS;and he assured that he, Azazi, as the NSA, would pay me for theboats as part of his contribution to the Nigerian Army.

In front of me he summoned the Chief of Army Staff, whoarrived Azazi’s office while I was still within the premises. AndAzazi later informed me that he had asked the Chief of ArmyStaff to, with immediate effect, forward him a memo as to whetherthe Nigerian Army still required the boats or not, and that theCOAS promptly submitted a memo strongly soliciting for theboats. Azazi also informed me that he had already given his approvalto the transaction on the memo submitted by the COAS.

Azazi made it very clear to me that he was not awardingme a contract but is only cleaning up the mess created byPICOMSS and therefore he was paying for the boats at theexact auction price that I got them for i.e •2, 013,000.00 million– not a kobo more, not a kobo less – and that he would pay me formy services only the sum of •600,000.00, for which I thanked himand indicated my acceptance.

See EXHIBITS D1 & D2 in evidence of the instalmentsapproved and paid me by Azazi and Col. Sambo Dasuki, thenew NSA. Both Azazi & Sambo paid me and dealt with me asHYPERTECH (MR) Ltd. Neither of them recognised any othercompany or names.

As far as the case of the Army Boats is concerned, Gen.Azazi played a very positive role by stopping the PICOMSSscam and saving the Federal Government of Nigeria over 13million Euros. If he – Gen. Azazi – was part of the scam, hewouldnt have done this.

Gen. Azazi is now late and cannot speak for himself. But Mr.President is very much with us and is best placed to stand up forAzazi by confirming or denying what Azazi had attributed to him.The Chief of Army Staff is still with us as the COAS. TheSpecial Assistant to the late Gen. Azazi and Gen. Wiwa, Azazi’sChief of Operations are all alive and may have been privy toGen. Azazi’s side of the story. I think the least that Gen. Azazi

deserves from the COAS and those that worked closely withhim is the moral courage to speak up for the dead man whowas their close friend and mentor. See Exhibit D3.

5. ON THE “JEWS” (DAVID MAMAN AND SHAY TAL) OFM15

There have for decades been operating in Nigeria, largelylegitimately, serious minded, committed and honest Israelibusinessmen and women with very solid names and reputationsbuilt over time.

The “JEWS” typified by the characters behind M15 arerelatively new breed of Israelis and distinguished from the normalIsraelis we knew by their utter and complete lack of conscience,insatiable and vicious greed and their capacity and willingnessto do anything for money. These characters are the “MONEYGRUBBERS”, “the USERERS” and “heartless exploiters.”

M15 or David Maman and Shay Tal, whose generallyunscrupulous conduct in handling government contracts is widelyknown, are out only to fleece Nigeria at all cost. These crookishbusinessmen are not only behind the 145 million Euros projectdesigned to dupe Nigeria on the so-called 5 year contract forthe leasing of 2 Israeli spy satellites from IMAGESAT – anIsraeli state owned company – a project whose real value is lessthan USD $40 million (note: USD $ not Euros), they also areguilty of having duped both the BPP and the FCTA administrationinto approving the purchase of 1 unit surveillance balloon atUSD $1.9 million while the actual cost of the project is less thanUSD 300,000. The same Jews were kicked out of Akwa Ibom stateby current Governor - Godswill Akpabio – for duping the state in adeal for provision of equipment and material support for the trackingand apprehension of kidnappers. The duo are also, even as I write,still being investigated by the EFCC for alleged criminal breach ofcontract against the FGN.

These “2 JEWS” are Atawodi’s henchmen and professionalexperts at misleading, manipulating, concocting and feeding falseinformation to the BPP for Atawodi – PICOMSS to obtain thedesired Certificate of No Objection on the 15.5 million Euro boatsdeal. They deliberately lied by giving the BPP false informationand specifications about the boats. They also lied and presentedthemselves to the BPP as the manufacturers’ representatives. SeeExhibits E1 – E3.

6. ON MOHAMMED MUSTAPHA OF HYPERTECH NIG.LTD

This is a young, very hungry, unprincipled, opportunistic anddesperate Nigerian. It is very easy to understand how and why M.Mustapha can so easily be drawn into the web of conspiracy anddeceit by Atawodi and the 2 “JEWS,” given the figure of 15.5million Euros being dangled before the eyes of such an unprincipledand desperate character.

Mohammed Mustapha was nothing more than an ingrate, a liar,impostor, betrayer and convenient tool at the hands of Atawodi andM15 – the “JEWS”. The boy is so desperate that he actuallywrote the NSA asking for a double payment of N659,332,144.00to get the boats delivered.

7. CRUX OF THE MATTER: ARE THE 6 BOATS PAID FORBY ME OR NOT? WAS THE MONEY PAID ME BY THE NSAFOR THE BOATS DIVERTED OR APPLIED FOR THEPURPOSE IT WAS MEANT FOR?

Here, I need not comment. Refer to EXHIBITS B1 – B10 above.And I challenge anybody in this world to prove the contrary! I havepaid fully for the boats less an outstanding balance of Euro 154,000which my lawyers in Holland refuse to release in view of the courtattachments by M15.

8. THE CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE: A COVER-UP OFJUST SHEER INCOMPETENCE?

Here is a very interesting question! You have a situation in whichThe President’s NSA paid up a total sum of EURO 1.5 millionto me for the supply of the 6 boats to the Nigerian Army! On theother hand, you have “2 JEWS”, M. Mustapha and Atawodi/PICOMSS claiming ownership of the very same 6 boats on whichthe ONSA expended the sum of EURO 1.5 million!

And yet, neither the NSA nor any other relevant authority inNigeria is asking questions or bothered to find out what is going onuntil my open petition to The President and the D-G SSS. Thisis so incredible! What is going on? The least one will expect is thatI be taken to task to explain the anomaly? No one did! And thisis in spite of my innumerable letters, reports, memos and pleadingsto the NSA, all of which to date I’ve never ever received even anacknowledgement letter. This is also in spite of my Holland lawyers’several written requests to the NSA and other authorities whichwere never either acknowledged or replied. This is also in spite ofthe various written communications by TP Marine – themanufacturer of the 6 boats – to both the NSA, the Army authoritiesand the MOD, none of which was ever acknowledged or respondedto!

EXHIBITS F1 - F5 here attached speak for themselves!So why the conspiracy of silence? Is it an attempt to cover-

up and save one of “our own” or just sheer incompetence orthe usual NO ONE GIVES A DAMN!! I demand an answer!!!

9. BELLO FADILE & THE NSA’S INVESTIGATIONThe investigation instituted by the NSA and being handled by

Col. Bello Fadile (rtd), Director for Special Duties, ONSAwas from the very beginning either diversionary or mischievousor is meant to achieve an undisclosed agenda. Clearly, theinvestigation is not really about the 6 boats/PICOMSS. Nor wasit about the very serious crimes against Nigeria as reported by me inmy petition which includes the Euro 145 million satellite deal, theNaval Dockyard fraud, the MOD failed contracts scam deal, amongstothers. What agenda are the NSA and Bello Fadile pursuing?

Are the NSA and Fadile on the side of Nigeria or whoseinterest are they serving? See Exhibits G1-G3.

10. ON PICOMSSMost of the Newspaper stories about the scandals at PICOMSS

have focused largely on the issues of the supply of the six patrol boatsand the scam associated therein.

In my actual petition, I had emphasised more on the fundamentallyvery very corrupt and rotten structure that PICOMSS hadbecome, principally used as a vehicle for the siphoning of publicfunds.

I had for instance, referred to the 2011 National budget ofNigeria in which PICOMSS, an ad-hoc committee set up by thepresidency, was somehow allocated the sum of N50 billion, whichis twice the N25 billion allocated to the Office of National SecurityAdviser (ONSA) in the same 2011 national budget.

Nobody seems to have paid much attention to this anomaly. Inspite of the fact that legally and constitutionally, PICOMSS isnot entitled to a share of the national budget of Nigeria in its capacityas an ad-hoc committee, it was allocated such a mind-boggling amountin the Appropriation Act of 2011, hidden under the budget of theONSA.

This has been the tradition since I knew PICOMSS. To the bestof my knowledge, PICOMSS was not set up by, neither does itreport to the NSA.

PICOMSS was originally set up by the presidency under theumbrella of the Federal Ministry of Transport with the HonourableMinister of Transport as Chairman and membership drawn fromvarious places.

In fact, PICOMSS was originally housed within the premises ofthe Ministry of Transport. I’m not privy to how it came about thatthe Minister of Transport no longer Chairs PICOMSS. Nor amI aware as to the fact and circumstances under which PICOMSSwas lent office spaces within the office of the NSA.

It is a fundamental breach of our constitution for PICOMSSto have direct access to the national budget of Nigeria. But itwas very convenient for PICOMSS and its promoters and patronsfor PICOMSS to appear to be part of the office of the NSA.

My petition did not focus on the so-called N3 billion scam overthe supply of six units of K38 boats. I had, in my petition, broughtup specific charges of massive official corruption, totaldisregard to and the manipulation of the due process orprocurement law which under the leadership of AVM Atawodiled to the massive fraud perpetrated in the acquisition of two orthree private air crafts, the project for hanger construction inBenin and Lagos and the project or contract for the supply andinstallation of a National Maritime Rader coverage of thecoastal waters of Nigeria, to mention just a few.

All these allegations have been totally ignored by the BelloFadile-led NSA’s investigation in spite of my assertions that ifinvestigated none of these projects would be found to have conformedwith, or passed the due process of Government in themanagement of public funds. These projects have cost Nigeriatens of millions of Dollars & Euros, carried out by an ad-hoccommittee which I still challenge to produce evidence of aPresidential or Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval forany of its projects or contracts.

But this has always been the case in PICOMSS, as even beforethe ascendency of Atawodi as Chairman of PICOMSS, a fraud ofmonumental proportion in which Nigeria was bled of over •240million Euros, ostensibly paid as the cost of a contract for the totalradar coverage of Nigeria’s Maritime borders, at the end of whichonly three units of unserviceable UAVs and five units of 40 nauticalmile capacity of unusable radars were supplied and dumped inNigeria, none of which had ever worked to date, occurred.

This grand theft was perpetrated by an even more notoriousIsraeli defence contractor called Amit – owner of the infamouscompany known as DOLYATECH – through a front companyregistered in Israel called AERONAUTICS and with the activeconnivance and collusion of the leadership of PICOMSS and verytop-placed government and close personal aides of The Presidentof Nigeria.

The recent revelations by the Nuhu Ribadu committee aboutthe over N19 billion paid to PICOMSS from the NNPC accountsonly confirm my stated position that PICOMSS has been amassively corrupt and major drain pipe of the Nation’s resources,not accountable to any body and operating in total disregard to anylaid down procedure or due process of Government.

11. THE THREAT TO MY LIFEMy life and that of my family have been under threat since my

petition on the official corruption and the subversion of Nigeria’ssecurity and defence interests through the award of fraudulent andoften unexecuted defence and security contracts or projects.

This threat to my life and my family are very real and serious.Just last week, Thursday, December 27, 2012, my house wasinvaded and forcefully broken into by 3 truck-load of heavily armedpolicemen in company of the “2 Jews,” Shay Tal and DavidMaman, at about 2pm in the afternoon. Investigations are going onto determine where from and by whose authority the police cameand invaded my house in company of the “Jews.”

The invading policemen and the “2 Jews,” where at my housedemanding for my whereabouts, knowing fully well my officeaddress. The invaders illegally arrested 4 of my domestic staff, andhad them detained for hours at the Life Camp Police Division onno account.

My lawyer and I have sought for protection from the SSS andPolice. Suffice it to say that no amount of threat to my life or myfreedom can silence me. I have a lot more documents andinformation on what has been going on. And I will sing like acanary. I say to all my detractors, please bring it on. I am equal tothe challenges, even though they control and have access to theapparatus of state coercion and I stand alone with only the truthand with God on my side.

I hereby call on Mr. President to institute a high-poweredjudicial commission of inquiry into the Defence and Securitycontracts awards for the last two decades to see how Nigerialost hundreds of billions of US Dollars.

Signed:Rabiu Hassan

Abuja02-01-2013

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

‘Alleged N3bn Scam: . . . . .PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013PAGE 6





2012 full of insecurity, tragedies – YugudaThe Bauchi state governor,

Malam Isa Yuguda hasdescribed the outgoing year

as one full of insecurity andtragedies for the Nigeria andmany families.

The governor who stated thisin his New Year l message inBauchi Monday said 2012witnessed the passing away ofprominent Nigerians, natural

and man- made disastersparticularly in Nigeria.

He urged all and sundry toreflect on the previous year andtake stock of happenings during theyear with a view to planning for abetter 2013.

He said “the last one yearwitnessed many tragedies whichincluded the passing away ofprominent Nigerians. Variousparts of the country were alsoravaged by flood disaster during

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi the last raining season. I wish touse this occasion to commiseratewith the families of the deceasedand victims of the flood disaster.”

Yuguda noted that the yearunder review witnessed securitychallenges in his state but whichhe said were brought under control“by the grace of the Almighty Godthrough collective efforts of thestate government and securityagencies.”

The governor enjoined every

citizen in the state to resolve in theNew Year to live in peace with hisneighbour irrespective of religious,cultural or political differences.

“We should also continue tofervently pray for the securitychallenges to come to an end andfor the peace to reign throughoutthe country,” he said.

Yuguda reiterated hiscommitment to promotingmutual respect and peaceful co-existence among citizens in the

PCC goes tough on aviation,telecom sectors in New Year

The Kogi state governor,Captain Idris Wada hasurged Nigerians to continue

in the spirit of unity andbrotherhood that have long keptthem as one big family.

In his New Year messages onMonday, Captain Wadacongratulated indigenes of KogiState and indeed other Nigerians,especially the Christiancommunity for witnessing thesefestivals.

"It is my prayers that the NewYear will usher our country into aseason of unprecedented peace,security, joy and economic wellbeing

"For us as a government, this

year’s celebration is unique. It isthe first New Year season ouradministration is marking in office

"Let me therefore commendindigenes and other peopleresident in our dear state, for thelevel of orderliness and peace inour society.

"Your unflinching support andcooperation with ouradministration has ensured thesteady transformation beingrecorded by government", he said.

According to him, "If not foranything, we must remember ourcountry and its leadership at afestive season such as this. Indeed,the receding year has come withits own challenges.

"We recall the enormouschallenge posed by the recent flood

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja that ravaged our state and otherparts of the country".

The governor therefore calledon Nigerians to pray and committhe land to the protection andblessings of the Almighty Godadding that his administration wascommitted in the last months tolaying the foundation of a genuinetransformation agenda for thestate.

"As we go into the New Year,government will continue theexecution of programmes that willemancipate our society from theshackles of despair and poverty" hesaid and called on the securityoperatives in the state to maintainorder and respect for humanityand security of lives and propertyof the state.

state.He said: “As government, we

are committed to ensuring thesecurity of lives and property of allthe people of Bauchi State”.

“We would leave no stoneunturned in our efforts to ensurethat we continue to enjoy peace inBauchi State where all citizens willmove freely without anymolestation. I therefore call on youto support us in realising this goal”,he added.

Public ComplaintsCommission (PCC) said itwill focus more and

investigate the activities in theaviation, telecommunicationsectors and employers of labour, ingeneral, this year.

PCC Federal Commissioner,Mr. Funsho Olukoga while briefingnewsmen in Lagos said that thecommission would focus oncomplaints arising from airfares inboth domestic and internationalroutes.

“Secondly, if there is sufficientreason to investigate injustice orthe breach of rights of Lagoscitizens by service providers in thetelecommunications industry, wewill investigate.

“We will also probe theactivities of employers whoterminate services of employeeswithout paying them duebenefits,” he said.

Olukoga said the commissionreceived 349 complaints in 2012and 255 complaints were fullyresolved since it was inauguratedin May 2012.

The commissioner alsodisclosed that in the last seven

months, the commissionperformed well by identifyingwith Lagosians and registeringitself in their minds.

He explained that in the courseof analysing complaintsregistered with it, the commissionbecame convinced that there wasneed to focus more on certainareas which could potentiallygenerate complaints from Lagosresidents.

He explained further that aspart of measures to bring theactivities of the commission to thepeople, the commission wouldembark on sensitisation andcollaboration with relevant organssuch as consumer protectionagencies, labour unions, DPP andlaw enforcement agencies toensure that citizens rights areprotected.

Apart from these, he assuredthat the commission wouldestablish units in the localgovernments where citizens wouldbe sensitised and encouraged tobring their complaints to thecommission.

The Public ComplaintsCommission was enacted throughthe Act of Parliament and wascommissioned this year.


As Nigerians celebrate theNew Year, the DirectorGeneral, National

Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr.Mike Omeri tasked them to be moreunited in 2013 to project thecountry in good light.

Omeri also called on Nigerians

to exhibit more tolerance and goodneighbourliness in order to enjoygreater peace and stability in2013.

A statement issued yesterdayby the Chief Press Secretary of theagency, Paul Odenyi, challengedNigerians to resolve to make 2013the year in which all forms ofinsecurity would be brought to a

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam final end so as to proceed to a futurewhere national development isunhindered.

He praised the resolve ofNigerians to remain invisible andurged them not to be distracted byelements that are hell-bent oncreating chaos in the land.

Further, Omeri askedNigerians to continue to have faith

NOA boss calls for more unity in 2013in President Goodluck Jonathan’sleadership, just as he assured thatbetter days were ahead.

He reiterated the commitmentof the present administration toproviding adequate security forprotection of lives and property aswell as providing basicinfrastructure to enhance theliving conditions of Nigerians.

Wada calls for peace

Nasarawa state nowrealises N300 millionmonthly as Internally

Generated Revenue (IGR), whichrepresents a slight increase overthe average N280 millionpreviously attained.

Acting chairman of the staterevenue board, Usman Okposhi,disclosed this to journalists in Lafia,Monday, in response to allegationsof underhand dealings at the board,which he dismissed as normal

political witchhunt by rival parties.Okposhi observed that since his

assumption of duty as actingchairman of the board, GovernorUmaru Tanko Al-makura, hassustained a close supervision on theactivities of the board, warning himnot to compromise on mattersrelating to revenue due tomounting pressure.

According to the actingchairman, “we don’t collect cashhere. All the ministries, boards andparastatals pay their taxes at thebank and only tellers are forwardedto us.”

While observing that thepayment of taxes in the state hasbeen affected by the recentimplementation of the new taxregime, as well as the newminimum wage, Okposhi statedthat despite the lean resources, thegovernor is doing his best, though“Nasarawa lacks good sources ofrevenue because it has noindustries”.

“So if we cannot help him(governor), let us not abuse him”,he maintained.

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

Nasarawa getsN300m IGR monthly

L-R: Kano state Governor, Dr. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso going through a road project designwith a consultant, Engr. Hassan Kuliya, on Monday at Government House, Kano.

PAGE 11PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013

In all realms of life it takescourage to stretch your limits,express your power, and fulfillyour potential. It’s no differentin the financial realm.— Suze Orman

Quote

The regular season of peopletravelling to see their lovedones and touring is almost

here. "A tempting period" if notplanned. Tours and travels aremeant to be all fun, as seeing onesgrandparents or relatives makesone very happy.

However, such stories do notalways have a happy ending asmany holiday trips end up like atsunami; leaving behind afinancial mess that may takemonths or years to clean-up if notwell planned. Now, many peopleplan, but most people fail to stick totheir plan. They are usuallycarried away with the season ofexcitement.

Financial Expert, Sanjay Mataigive tips that would be useful fromthe regret of a fellow tourist.

Never try to imitate othersJust because the "Ojos"

travelled abroad last year, does notmean that we too should haveflown to foreign locales. This "me-too" culture and unbridledconsumerism is one of the mostcommon causes of financialmisery. Let's take note and checkour motives on why we want totravel.

Make sure you plan: Poorplanning produces poor output. Weshould have set aside a spendinglimit that will not strain ourfinances. For instance, we couldkeep aside 5-10 percent ascontingency amount, so as to notconstraint ourselves too much orleave room for unforeseenexpenses. We should understandthat spending more money doesn'tnecessarily mean moreenjoyment

Consider the gifts you wantto give out

This is important as people inthe villages or wherever expects apackage from you especially whenyou are coming from Lagos. it isadvisable to list all your friends andrelatives for whom you want to geta gift so as to avoid unplannedspending.

Guide yourfinances fora worthwhiletravellingexperience

Insurance gift for the new bornIt is usually exciting when a

new baby is born. Now you findfriends and relatives of the

celebrating family troop in theirnumbers to present one form of giftor the other. These come in form ofcash or baby things, which helpthe nursing parents, start life forthe new born.

Unfortunately, some of thesegifts are forgotten after sometimeand even the new child may nothave a trace of the gifts receivedon his behalf when he eventuallygrows up.

But if you give insurance to thechild, not only would it make moreimpact on the life of the baby, he orshe would grow to enjoy thebenefit, and incidentally traced tothe source of the gift.

So, one gift that remainsmemorable which can be presentedto the child via his parents iseducation insurance policy.

This insurance gift is taken byeither parent who will continuepaying the premium for the termperiod, that in the event of theunexpected, the child's educationwho is the identified beneficiary isunhampered.

Education insurance policy isa means by which a breadwinnercan ensure that the education ofhis dependant/s is not undulyterminated because in the eventof death or permanent disabilityor job loss.

On the other hand, if theunfavourable event that wasinsured does not occur, the childmay still have some benefits thatwill accrue to him at the maturitydate of the insurance policy. Thisis dependent on the premium andit can also be review up or downdepending on the capacity of the

benefiting parents.However, to secure the future

of the children, experts have saidthat a parent can consider gettinga life insurance policy that protectsthe child's education in the eventof the unexpected.

Insurers say this type of lifeinsurance policy is a targeted

savings plan geared towardsfinancing the future education ofa named child. "It is an instrumentby which sufficient funds can beaccumulated for education and itprotects children from being forcedto end their schoolingprematurely."

The policy's coverage include,death of the parent, guardian orsponsor of the named child, totalpermanent disability of theparent, guardian or sponsor due toan accident or critical illness, lossof employment of the parent andguardian or sponsor resulting fromredundancy.

According to insurers, a lot ofparents and guardians usuallydevelop cold feet when the childrenare returning to schools at the endof each holiday, and so get irritableat the slightest opportunitybecause it is usually a time to payschool fees.

So education insurancewhatever type is dedicatedtowards giving quality education,which is the principal desire of allparents. The product is targeted ateasing financial pressure ofsponsorship of children's educationon parent and ensuring continuityof children's education, in casethere is an occurrence of theunexpected." This insurance policycan be found with the insurancecompanies doing life insurancebusinesses.

The times are hard andmany would get moredelayed in getting married

because they could not imaginehow much it would takeembarking on a wedding alone.This is after the main expensewhich is payment of bride pricewould have been settled. This isdepending on the tribe. But in all,if you are operating on lean budget,see these:

1. Inexpensive invitations area great way to cut back onexpenses. (Most of your guests willend up pitching the invitation inthe trash after the weddinganyway.) To help make theinvitation memorable for yourclose friends and family, considerframing the invitation anddecorating the frame with specialflowers or keepsakes from thewedding. You can also opt forhandmade or scrapbookinvitations for a personalised feelwithout excessive cost.

2. If you are really pinchingpennies for your wedding, the costof food for the reception can be quitedaunting. Instead of cutting out awedding reception because youcan't afford the meal, try adding arequest to your invitations andhave your guests bring a covereddish or dessert. A potluck wedding

is better than no wedding at all,and you won't be stuck with a largecatering bill.

3. Include the items you needfor the wedding on your giftregistry for your bridal shower.This especially comes in handy ifyou've already set uphousekeeping and don't need anextra glass measuring cup, bathtowels, or cookie sheets.

4. If you're renting tables andchairs, splurge to have themdelivered and set up. Thisadditional cost will save youmoney in the long run.

5. For decorating on a budget,try going with fewer flowers andadd candles or edible treats for tabledecorations.

6. If you're crafty, you can findtons of great instructional videosonline to help you arrange yourown wedding flowers.

7. Provide disposable camerasfor guests to take snapshots at thewedding. You can also ask a friendwho enjoys photography as ahobby to do your wedding portraitsinstead of hiring a professionalphotographer.

8. Call your local culinary orvocational school to check out ratesfor catering and wedding cakes forless.

9. If your wedding dress coversyour feet, consider wearing a pairof shoes you already own, or evenwhite slippers for maximumcomfort at a low cost.

10. Make arrangements todonate your leftover wedding foodto a homeless shelter or church, orask family members to bringcontainers to cart the leftovershome to avoid waste.

11. When making your seatingchart, appoint one person at eachtable to oversee the reception. Thisperson is responsible for cleaningup spills, ensuring rental propertyisn't damaged, and the facility isreturned to a pre-rental state toensure you get your deposit back.

12. Ask your church or socialgroup to make cookies as appetizersfor the reception.

13. Serve cupcakes instead ofcake. (You can make these easilyyourself).

Planning a wedding on a shoestring budget

Before you plan to embarkon that trip, you need to askyourself sundry questions

that will put back more money inyour pocket, than spending,spending.

Sometimes, it does not meanthat the more you spend, the higheryou have access to best airlinesproducts or the better treatmentyou get on your trip. It may simplymean that you are just wastingthat money because you did nottake a lot of things intoconsideration.

First of all, consider if 'youactually need to travel?

This may sound a bit obvious,but seriously, are you planning todo a series of trips? Could they becombined? Is there a fellowcolleague who is travelling in that

area who could attend yourmeeting instead?

With careful planning, thenumber of trips and hence time outof the office could be reduced, notonly cutting your travelexpenditure but increasing staffproductivity too.

Some 'full fares' are based onmaximum permitted mileage,thus enabling the traveller to stopen route. So to combine meetingsfor instance, like in Singapore andSydney by using a full fare ticketto Sydney would be considerablycheaper than planning twoseparate itineraries.

Secondly, check it out if youtruly need to travel in businessclass / first class.

Whilst cost is an importantconsideration, the choice in class of

travel is frequently influenced bystatus, comfort and flexibility.These factors often confuse, distortand inflate the budgeting process.

A fully flexible Economy tickethas the same versatility as a firstclass ticket.

Someone travelling to NewYork wanting a fully flexible ticketwith British Airways is going to bepaying about £760 includingtaxes. However if you want totravel on Business Class, that sametrip will cost you over five times asmuch, about £4,200. If howeveryou wanted to travel furtherforwards on the aircraft, in FirstClass, then you will be paying over50 percent more again, nearly£6,700.

Also, have you consideredalternative suppliers and

How you can make efficient travels at cheaper costproducts?

Most frequent travellers willhave their preferences, likes anddislikes. How might this betranslated into purchasingpatterns? Are travellers selectingcertain airlines or hotels overothers for personal reasons or gain?Is this possibly at conflict with thecorporate objective?

For instance, a certain airlinefor example, by many consideredthe nation's favourite, may be thefirst choice for many by virtue ofits profile, loyalty schemes orgeneral popularity, but there arecomparable alternatives basedupon service and scheduling whohave slightly different products orfare structures, better suited to thecompany wanting to control costs.Source: www.moneyning.com

PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013

Zuma and the fate of ANCEarly in December last year,

Africa’s oldest political party,African National Congress

(ANC) of South Africa, held its muchanticipated 53rd elective conferencein Manguang municipality. Longbefore the conference, it was wellknown that one crucial decision itwould have to make was the politicalfate of President Jacob Zuma. Hisloss of political momentum becameobvious after the Marikana massacrein which 34 miners at South Africa’splatinum mine were murdered bypolice in what was widely believed tobe an unprovoked attack on thedefenceless miners asking for payrise and better working conditions.

Opponents of President Zuma hadseized on the Marikana massacre totrumpet government’s insensitivityand collaborationist stance with bigbusiness. Erstwhile ANC youthleader Julius Malema made politicalcapital out of the Marikana debacleagainst Zuma.

However, when the conferencefinally took place, Zuma rompedhome, winning with a convincing2,983 votes to his challenger, theincumbent Vice President KgalemaMollanthe’s paltry 991 votes. Toboot, Zuma’ allies won all the five topparty posts and scooped most of the80 seats on the National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC). Moredramatically, Cyril Ramophosa, abillionaire businessman and formerSecretary General of the NationalUnion of Mine Workers, who sits onthe board of many blue chipcorporations which he had battled

“We believe that whilethe ANC’s historic role inthe emergence of SouthAfrica in its current stageand form is assured of anoble place in history, theglory of the past does not

translate to immutablewisdom

against in the past as union leader,won the vice presidency of the party.

The outcome of the conference hasraised President Zuma, whosepolitical obituary most pundits werepredicting, from the ashes. In anironic twist, from being at its mercy,Zuma now holds the fate of the ANC.Formerly a fiery populist leader onthe left wing of the party, President

Zuma has gradually moved to thecentre, eschewing that free-wheelingpopulist rhetoric that he was well-known for.

Ejecting the fiery Julius Malemafrom the party clearly indicated thatwhile he could dance to the populisttunes of anti-apartheid songs, thecharacter of his regime is at oncemerging with the internationalpolitical oligarchy. All said and done,

President Zuma is firmly at thepolitical top.

We think that Zuma’s focus on alegacy would make him a merehands-off leader. Even Ramophosa’scomplete ideological turnaround, inwhich a former militant tradeunionist is now a tycoon withinterests in all the commandingheights of the economy, makes anyprospects of good policies suspect. Aleaked e-mail he had sent to themanagement of the Lomin Platinum,the firm at the centre of theMarikana massacre, urged morepolice action on the strikingworkers.

However, South Africa is believedto be in political and economictransition with structures andinstitutions still in their formation.We believe that while the ANC’shistoric role in the emergence ofSouth Africa in its current stage andform is assured of a noble place inhistory, the glory of the past doesnot translate to immutable wisdom.ANC is still the biggest politicalformation in the country but thefate of the country should not betethered to the sole drama of itsfortunes.

Meanwhile, President Zuma mustview victory as a rallying and clarioncall for inclusion even of those whovehemently opposed him, likeMalema, currently in politicalwilderness. He had written to theconference to be recalled to theparty but was ignored. This is notgood for Africa’s most dynamicdemocracy.

OUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSION OUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLECHAIRMAN

MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

ALI M. ALI

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION

HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

EDITOR, DAILY

ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND

JAMILA NUHU MUSA

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING

HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU

ADESOJI OYINLOLA

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industry by putting thepeople first, upholdingthe truth, maintaining

the highestprofessional andethical standards

while delivering valueto our stakeholders”

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OUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISION

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEFRUFA’I IBRAHIM

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIALORIALORIALORIALORIAL


Distinguished SenatorDavid AlechenuBonaventure Mark is a

very lucky man. Indeed, he is oneof the luckiest Nigerians dead oralive. In the last three decades, hehas featured prominently on thenational stage as minister ofcommunications, Governor ofNiger State, four-term senator andtwo-term Senate President.

Other things being equal,Senator Mark may yet end his longand illustrious career by emergingas President of the FederalRepublic, an ambition I am surehe doesn't take lightly, the constantdenials by aides notwithstanding.Senator Mark has had occasion totake shots at the Jonathangovernment on the problem ofinsecurity, poor infrastructureand the government's fiscalpolicies. It is the mark of a militarystrategist. In all, though, he is aloyal party man; and a patient oneat that.

Every now and again, aides ofthe Senate President alert us ofmischief makers "bent on causingdisaffection between PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and thePresident of the Senate". Thereference is to the cacophony ofvoices championing the 2015presidential ambition of SenatorMark. The Special Adviser, Mediaand Publicity, to Senator Mark,Kola Ologbondiyan, had this to sayrecently in response to one of theubiquitous "Mark for President2015" groups: "It is imperative tostate and emphatically too, thatSenator Mark and PresidentJonathan are on the same page inthe onerous task of providingdemocratic dividends forNigerians. It is thereforeirresponsible, mischievous andmisplaced for any set of Nigeriansto embark on overheating thepolity at this time of our nationalhistory. The Senate President isfaced with providing qualitative

legislative leadership for our nationand (has) urged mischief makersnot to distract him".

I had the fortune ofencountering Senator Mark in allhis power and splendor earlier inthe year. It was during a casualvisit to a friend, a former legislator,at the Apo Legislative Quarters inAbuja. After my visit, my frienddecided to drive me home. A fewmetres down the road, we werehalted by a detachment ofpolicemen. While I wonderedimpatiently what was going on,my friend who obviously was usedto the scenario just rested bothhands on the steering wheel andwaited as a convoy of more thanten vehicles, including three blacklimousines, a bomb disposal van,an ambulance, numerous policeescort jeeps with heavily armedpolicemen, crawled into animposing edifice few metres aheadof us.

After about five minutes, wewere given permission to continueour journey. My friendcommented offhandedly: "That isthe Senate President". Myimmediate reaction wasamazement and then revulsionwhen I realised that the SenatePresident was coming from hisoffice a few kilometres away. Mymind wondered furiously aboutwhat democracy was costing the

Our not-so-distinguished SenatorsBy Chido Onumah Someone once asked: "What

manner of 'god' is the office ofNigeria's Senate President that theoccupant should earn six timesmore than what President BarackObama of the United States takeshome and three times more thanwhat the British Prime Ministerearns, in a country where over 65per cent of the citizens wallowbelow the $1 benchmark?" That isthe tragedy of the Nigeriansituation.

This piece is as much aboutDavid Mark as it is about the"hallowed chamber" he leads. Itwas prompted by an event earlierlast month, involving thechairman, Federal Civil ServiceCommission (FCSC), DeaconessJoan Ayo. During its 2012 budgetperformance before the SenateCommittee on Establishment andPublic Service Matters, DeaconessAyo was confronted by the vicechairman of the committee,Senator Babafemi Ojudu, whoalleged that there was a rumourmaking the rounds that "some staffof the commission were compellingyoung job seekers to part withN500,000 ($3,000) to get jobs".

Senator Ojudu noted that "sucha rumour is not good for the imageof this committee; it is not good forthe image of your commission andthe image of the country." TheFCSC chairman responded bysaying the commission had zerotolerance for corruption andcorrupt practices and that she washearing the rumour for the firsttime from Senator Ojudu. Shechallenged the senator to showproof of the alleged money-for-jobscandal.

Of course, Deaconess Ayo wasbeing economical with the truth.I don't know if Senator Ojudu wasable to provide proof as requestedby Deaconess Ayo, but theexchange threw up an issue thatis equally troubling. Talking aboutrumours, we have heardallegations that senators collectbribe before approving budgets.

But this pales in comparison to thefact that many governmentagencies now insist that job seekersmust get letters from senatorsbefore they are considered foremployment. And this is norumour because I have beeninvolved with two federal agencieswhere this issue came up. It seemsthe only reason our senators enjoythis privilege is that they havecontrol over the budget of theseagencies. It is understandable ifsenators use their influence to helptheir "constituents", but it iscriminal for them to legalize it.

Dr. Sam Amadi, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian ElectricityRegulatory Commission (NERC),put this phenomenon inperspective during the 7th RalphOpara Memorial Lecture organisedby the National Association ofSeadogs (NAS), on Friday,November 2, 2012. In a speechtitled, "Terrorism, Insecurity andIrredentist Movements: theChallenges for Nation-Building inNigeria", Amadi noted, "Today,Nigerian leaders have added totheir sin of the exclusion ofNigerian citizens from the wealthof the nation, the sin of excludingthem from employmentopportunities. Every employmentin private and public sector inNigeria today is based on a letter ofsponsorship from one senator orgovernor or Minister.

This is what the average jobseeker in Nigeria has to contendwith. Senators Mark and Ojuducan't say they are not aware of thisphenomenon. And if they are notaware, I am using this medium tobring it to their attention. Theyshould denounce the agencies thatare bringing the Senate intodisrepute. For the amount ofmoney the country spendsmaintaining the Senate, the lastthing we need is for our so-calledlawmakers to become a menace tosociety by shamelessly acting outthe despicable role of thoughtlessenablers and overseers of anextremely dysfunctional polity.

Chido Onumah is reachableon [email protected]

mass of our people; the cost ofmaintaining the Senate President'sfleet of vehicles and aides; of theimposing house we just drove pastand the fact that the Minister of theFederal Capital Territory, SenatorBala Mohammed, was building anew official residence for the SenatePresident and the three otherpresiding officers of the NationalAssembly, the Deputy SenatePresident as well as the Speaker andhis deputy, for more than N1bneach.

So, it was a bit of a surprise whenSenator Mark spoke recentlyduring his condolence visit to thefamily of the late Senate Leader inthe Second Republic, Dr. OlusolaSaraki, in Ilorin, Kwara state. Whilepraising Saraki, the SenatePresident noted: "Baba is not dead.He lives on because a man wholived as he did does not die. Ineverything, he was always himself.He did not pretend. He was anatural man doing what he lovedbest. He did all he did from thebottom of his heart. Unfortunatelythere are many actors andpretenders on the political scene inNigeria today. Politics should beplayed with honesty, with honourand a lot of integrity".

It seems Senator Mark nevermisses an opportunity to say theright things. But doing the rightthings is a different kettle of fish.

For this article oncorruption, I wish topropose a model which I

have dubbed the OPENS model.O stands for Organizational, Pfor Political, E for Economic, Nfor Natural resources and S forSocio-cultural factors. We cantherefore safely state thatcorruption emanates from thesefive broad sources in all thecountries of the world.

Organizational corruption isassociated with bureaucracy,red tape and officialdom. It is asystems or structural corruptionwhich manifests itself in the wayan organization is structured, orthe way it operates. Thisorganizational corruption mayalso be linked to the culture ofthe organization. The internal orimmediate micro environmentof the organization maydetermine whether corruptionexists or not. This may be astable or competitive and

turbulent environment. In mostrigid and tall organizationalstructures in stable and lesschanging environments, withmany levels of hierarchy,decision making is slow as manyconservative procedures have tobe followed, such as excessiveform filling and having toproduce many documents. Ofimportance, also are internalcontrols and effective riskmanagement measures whichare in place.

Organizations operating instable and uncompetitiveenvironments in LDCs tend to becorrupt, such as the civil service,the police, the judiciary, tax andrevenue offices, localgovernment, licensing offices,public educational institutions,and public health institutions inGhana. The degree of freedom ordecision making latitude orcentralization/decentralizationwill also determine whether ornot corruption exists. If theorganization is highly

centralized, it gives room forcorruption. If it is also highlydecentralized, there is crisis ofcontrol and lack ofstandardization, giving rise topetty and localized corruption.Therefore, the ideal structure isa middle way of somecentralization of criticalfunctions, and somedecentralization of less criticalfunctions. Dysfunction andatrophy, in organizations whichdo not undergo change, can causecorruption. This is why we needmore of mixed economies andPublic Private Partnerships(PPP).

Organizations whichsubstitute technology for labour,and which tend to ignore peopleskills and 360º communication,may also experience heavy dosesof corruption.

Political corruption becomesprevalent where too muchpower is concentrated in thehands of the ruling elite, whereelection results are manipulated

Overcoming corruption in Ghana: A new dimension towards a model (I)By Kwesi Atta Sakyi and it is a foregone conclusion,

where multiparty democracyis endangered, becauseminority political parties arecrowded out of political space,and the NGOs are crippled,muzzled and given no politicalspace. Fortunately for Ghana,our democracy is burgeoning, asthere is political space foropposition political parties, andwe have a lot of checks andbalances in place, among thearms of government, namelythe executive, legislature andjudiciary.

It seems our judiciary is notdoing very well in Ghanabecause of organizationalcapture and paralysis. This isbecause the judicial proceduresare long, convoluted andobscure. Oversight in thejudiciary is weak as members ofthe bar and bench, manipulatethe system to gain personalpecuniary advantages byinvoking legal technicalities.This is where we need a radical

shake-up of the judiciary by theLegislature and Executive,despite their independence. Weneed to strengthen thegatekeeping functions. Judgesand magistrates delay casesunnecessarily in order tocontinue exploiting clientsfinancially. They forget theaxiom of justice delayed is justicedenied.

Even though judicialindependence is cherished, Ithink the Executive andLegislature in Ghana have tomove in to stop the rot in thejudiciary by using their checksand balances. Politicalcorruption can also be stopped inits tracks by considering thefunding for the political parties.Politicians have to declare theirassets prior to taking office, andafter leaving office. We needmore entrenched separation ofpowers.

C o n t a c t :[email protected]

“this is no rumour because I have beeninvolved with two federal agencies

where this issue came up. It seems theonly reason our senators enjoy this

privilege is that they have control overthe budget of these agencies. It is

understandable if senators use theirinfluence to help their "constituents"


By Ose Oyamendan

About this time last year,I had picked my likelycandidates for the man

of the year. It was going to beeasy. 2012 was the year of theOlympics. Given theassurances and boasts from theNigerian Lords of sports, Ithought it was not going to betough choosing from themedal winners. But, theNigerian Olympic team wentshopping in London forsouvenirs instead of medals.To make it worse, the currentLords of Nigerian sports toldthe tall tales they and theirpredecessors have told foreternity – other countriesinvest heavily in sports andNigeria does very little. And,just to satisfy all the old menwith fading memories, theypromised to start preparingimmediately for the nextOlympics. Just like always. Afew weeks ago, I took a drivearound some sports centers.And, I could see athletes andofficials were preparing hardin beer parlors at the stadia.Just like old times.

Who would have thoughtthat the “Occupy Movement”would berth in Nigeria? But,the Nigerian leadershipcontrived to make it happen.Nigerian leaders who neverfeel a rise in prices of goods triedto slip a hike in gas pricesovernight hoping no onewould listen. It blew up in theirfaces like all those pipelineexplosions. It is tough to namethe “Occupy” activists as mymen of the year. Who do I pick?

The big men in Ikoyi and theelitist streets of Abuja who tookoccupy stroll around theirblocks and return tochampagnes lunch in theirmansions. Or, the ordinary folkswho were protesting against theexcesses of the previous group?

Two women were prominenton my shortlist.Diezani Alison-Maduekwe andAruma Oteh. Thetwo women arepowerful and Ilove powerfulwomen. I had todisqualify Otehbecause she’skicking the buttof Nigerianlegislators. And,we can’t allowthat. What wouldwomen do afterthat? Tell the menthe ruined thecountry? Or winthis man of the year award I’mseriously trying to rig for themen? Diezani blew it byagreeing to the appointment ofNuhu Ribadu to look into theimmaculate house of Nigeria’sgas. Since when did Ribadu notfind fault with anything? Youwould think he would return averdict of best gas managementsystem in the world and get afew oil wells as a reward. Then,I can tell him what he hasalways suspected – that I’m hislong lost brother.

Federal legislators havebeen congratulatingthemselves on carrying

out their task satisfactorilythe past year. In fact, most ofthem have been beating theirchests, claiming to havedeepened Nigerian democracythrough people-friendlylegislation.

One of the “achievements”they lay claim to is the passageof 21 bills by the Senate, theadoption of very importantresolutions and thecomprehensive discussionsand debates carried out by thetwo houses and motionsinitiated by either thegovernment or originatingfrom the general public.

They say all that they haddone was with the greatestsense of duty. True. There isno doubt that theirperformance in the lastlegislative calendar had beenstellar as their output faroutweighed that of previousyears.

However, in giving kudos tothe legislators I am of the firmview that mention must bemade of the National Assemblybureaucracy without whichthe lawmakers could not haveachieved such a high level ofperformance. It is obvious from

information available that themanagement of the NationalAssembly under the leadershipof its team leader, the Clerk ofthe Assembly, Alhaji SalisuAbubakar Maikasuwa, had inthe past year workedassiduously but silently toprovide the necessaryinfrastructure and theenabling environment foreffective legislative work bythe lawmakers.

It is on record that theNational Assemblybureaucracy had at thebeginning of the seventhassembly provided, amongothers, competent legislativeaides, resource persons andother necessary requirementsof the lawmakers which

Role of bureaucracy in the work of National AssemblyBy Ibrahim Biu facilitated their various

assignments. The legislativeaides and others wereresponsible for carrying outdetailed researches andinvestigations on sensitiveissues which were successfullydebated and subsequentlydeliberated upon by thelawmakers in the year underreview.

Both houses successfullydebated and adopted severalresolutions and motions whichhave no doubt impactedpositively on the lives of themajority of Nigerians since theAssembly took off last year afterthe lawmakers were sworn inJune, 2011.

Nigerians are aware thatthe new wing of the National

My ‘Man of the Year’parties, what if they all decideto show up? Where are we goingto host the award? Besides,what have the Nigerian peopledone in 2012? Despite all theircomplaints, there still exists agroup called Nigerians. Not tooimpressive.

The president was of courseon my shortlist. Whywouldn’t hebe? Beingt h epresident ofN i g e r i aqualifies youfor the manof the yearaward. Thep e a c e f u llooking manw a n d e r e dinto ap o s i t i o nwhere hewears then a t i o n a l

headache. You have got to pitythe man. People hate him.People insult him. Peopleblame him for what he hasn’tdone. No one gives him creditfor what he has done. And,some spiteful people even sayhe’s clueless. Just sad. Hedeserves my man of the year.But, I don’t give awards out ofpity.

Turns out, my man of theyear was right in my face allalong. He’s not on the corridorsof power. He has been in power

so long he’s a power untohimself. He gets his boys to bashthe presidency on weekdays andon Sundays, he’s right therebeside the president at Sundayservice. He’s so smooth if he wasa woman, I’ll take a loan andtake him out to dinner.

I first met him a long timeago when he was inBabangida’s Armed ForcesRuling Council. I was thisbumbling teenager whostupidly believed my pen ismightier a guns. I corneredhim for a quick interview. Heshot me a look that I read tomean, “buzz off you, little pest!”But he did it with a smile.Unlike Theophilus Danjumawho took my interview requestnote, tore it to shreds,summoned me and promptlyturned my open arms into adustbin.

My man of the year is theSenate President, John DavidMark. Any man who has threeof the key names in the Biblewould be on my short list anyday. If I was the president, Iwould go medieval on his buttand send him into exile before2013 is over. That’s what youdo to your rivals in the old days.But, then Mark may go Biblicalon the president’s butt. All ofwhich makes the road to 2015very interesting.

Ose Oyamendan isNigerian filmmaker based inLos Angeles.

I thought of two radicalchoices. Muhammadu Buhariand Bola Tinubu. They areleaders of the opposition andseem hell bent on pushing PDPout of power. I’m not crazy aboutBuhari but you know the manhas built a reputation oncredibility and forthrightness.

I like Tinubu but the yet to beforcefully denied stories downthe coast about his empire putsthe two men at odds. So, if themarriage is not exactly madein heaven, you’re not gettingmy award. Besides, they havenot done anything yet but makewhite noise.

As a last resort, I thought ofgiving the award to theNigerian people. But, there wasa problem. Who will accept theaward on their behalf? Youknow how Nigerians love

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Assembly, which hascontinued to provide adequatesecurity and conduciveaccommodation for theAssembly members, wasvigorously pursued andcompleted by the Assembly’sbureaucracy.

A group of journalists andsome lawyers recentlybrainstormed on theperformance of the NationalAssembly and arrived at theconclusion that even thoughthe federal legislators actuallygave of their best this timearound, they could not haveachieved much had it not beenbecause of the solidinfrastructure provided by theMaikasuwa-led managementteam.

The forum was of the beliefthat if any group should beat itschest or celebrate the success ofthe federal lawmakers in 2012,it should be the entire staff ofthe National Assemblybureaucracy, from themessenger to the highest paiddirector as well as the Clerk ofthe Assembly and his ablelieutenants, made up of hisdeputy, the two clerks, seniordirectors and their deputies aswell as all the other civilservants in the NationalAssembly.

They deservecommendation because of theexemplary manner in which

they discharged theirassignments and the high levelof cooperation they gave to thelawmakers. In addition, thecivil servants consistentlycooperated with their colleagueswho were assigned to thelawmakers in both the Senateand the House ofRepresentatives to ensure thatassignments given by thelawmakers were properly andpromptly handled anddelivered.

These actions made thefederal legislators to commendthe bureaucracy on manyoccasions during the year for ajob well done. Both the SenatePresident, David Mark, and theSpeaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Alhaji AminuTambuwal, as well as theprincipal officers of theAssembly, have all commendedthe civil servants. Even peopleoutside the National Assemblyhave at one time or the othercommended the bureaucracy.

I believe that though the civilservants deserve suchcommendations, they shouldput more grease on their elbowsso that more could be achievedby the lawmakers in the yearsto come. This action could alsoenhance the country’sdemocratic practice.

Ibrahim Biu sent in thispiece from Abuja

“These actions made the federal legislatorsto commend the bureaucracy on manyoccasions during the year for a job welldone. Both the Senate President, DavidMark, and the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, aswell as the principal officers of the

Assembly, have all commended the civilservants


When she says those wordsbe assured you’ll soon getit. It means she’s tired of

meting-out those stingingcorrectional backhands thatgradually lost their didacticimpact as we grew older. It’s awarning she’s saving the bestcracks of her pankere cane untilthe day she decides your cup hasrun over (which could be in a fewhours, actually). Gosh! And momknew how to crack those whips!Hey, before you start saying howabusive she was, just know thatwhen you have 11 childrenrunning amok all over the place,your closest friend has to be thepankere. For one, there was no wayyou could’ve tamed a rampaginghothead like me withoutconstantly resorting to thisinfamous (many Nigerianparents will disagree) tool.

Let me not bore you with myfamily tales. But, as the year petersout, it’s necessary that we calculatethe miles we’ve covered as apeople. Need I warn you that whatyou’re about to read won’t bepleasant? My intention is not tomake your delicious festive jollofrice and cold beer taste like sawdustand piss; actually I hope to stir youinto doing the needful if you wantto eat jollof rice and beer come nextChristmas.

We’re about to get it. If nothingis done to gauze thishaemorrhaging country it wouldsoon crumble like akara paste inlukewarm oil. If things continuethe way they are, next Christmassome of us would be eating poweredegg yolks from USAID or someother white saviour organisations.Yeah, it is that bad. Oh, you thinkit hasn’t got that bad? Tell me thatwhen you’re done reading this.

Agreed, the rain didn’t startbeating us today. But 2012 was aparticularly terrible year for thiscountry. It was a year when theabsurd became normal and the

normal sounded outlandish.President Goodluck Jonathanpromised during his Christmasday speech that 2013 will bebetter. But many of us know thatthe president’s promises are asdubious as a molue built withplastic. I’m not Prophet T.BJoshua’s protégé, but 2013 will betougher. You know why? Thisgovernment hasn’t got what ittakes to get us out of limbo. In fact,from all indications, it’saccelerating our passage into hellproper. I’d never expect an applefrom an agbalumo tree. Honestly,anyone who expects this crop ofpoliticians to wake up tomorrowmorning and set their waysstraight is as self-delusional assomeone trying to get a high bysmoking uju.

Increasingly, Nigeria is beingmentioned in the same breath asthose Central Asian and MiddleEastern countries or regions withthe “-istan” suffix such asWaziristan, Pakistan,Afghanistan, Turkmenistan,Tajikistan, when people talk aboutthe quality of lives, insecurity andtotal breakdown of law and order.If you noticed, I left out corruptionand I’m sure you know whywe’rethe undisputed world champion ofcorruption. Besides I really don’twant to bore you with talk aboutcorruption in this piece. Seriously,how does one begin to explain thatN5 trillion (over $33 billion) hasbeen stolen under the watch on thisgovernment? Please how?

In 2012 we found ourselvesoccupying similar (sometimesworse) positions on every study orstatistics with the “-istan”countries or regions. I rememberwatching Al-Jazeera about threeyears ago and was trying toimagine how tough life was forcivilians living in Taliban-infestedWaziristan, Now all I’ve to do is look

Welcome to NigerianistanBy Nicholas Ibekwe

at Maiduguri and other North-Eastern states to see the vilestexample of human survival.

Let’s look at some of the studiesin the outgoing year to appreciatehow dire our situation is. In 2012we became the kidnap capital of theworld. Last October the AfricanInsurance Organisation (AIO)released a report that stated that aquarter of the global kidnap forransom takes place in Nigeria. Withover 60 million youth out ofillegitimate work, Kidnapping isthe fastest growing business in the

many people especially from theEast would have travelled to theirhometown to spend the Christmasand New Year holidays. But thefear of being abducted has forcedpeople to stay back in therelatively safe Lagos for theholidays.

Earlier in December, wereceived the “honour” of beingrated the seventh most terrorisedcountry in the world on the firstever Global Terrorism Index doneby the Institute for Economic andPeace. In fact, Nigeria and

An eventful year ends,much as it began —inauspiciously. Which is

sad! For we recall the immediatepast not so much for how well offwe have turned out (though,arguably, the past twelve monthshad moments that, had the bravebeen sufficiently persuaded to try,held out the promise of realredemption). Instead, what isetched, indelibly in most cases, inour minds are the episodes (thebombings, the unresolvedmurders, the melodramatickidnappings and ransoming, thedeaths by a thousand differentways) that remind us of how farwe have veered off the beatenpath. Why not then look awayfrom Janus’ rear-facing visage,and instead contemplatetomorrow? Too early to call theNew Year! Nevertheless, Isuppose it is safe to presume thatthe federal government will notmuddy the waters as perverselythis year as it did last year. Still,in a way, the disruption to social

and economic life, whichheralded 2012, was a potentaugury for the year.

At this point, we could betalking just about anywhere inthe world. All through last year,global output growth sputteredand stuttered. The euro zonestruggling with sovereign debts,agreed solutions that it just assoon found very hard toimplement. US numbers were allover the place, everywhere, thatis, but the one place everyonewanted them to be — up. Asia wasunsure what portion of the shoethat belongs to the world’s growthengine it was willing to take up.Emerging markets? These werein better fettle. But collectively,still too puny to affect muchbesides their own nationals.

But my concern, today, iswith activity much closer home,where the sense is that the morecrucial motion and movementlast year were either lateral orbackwards. Is this rawpessimism? Am I guilty, asbruited about in the corridors ofpower concerning perspectives

similar to mine, of the charge ofbeing no longer able to see thetrees for the woods? I concede thatthe incumbent administrationmay have been very hard atwork all through last year (itcould hardly have beenmalingering all year long). Thedifficulty is ascertaining thenature (and ultimate ends) of itsexertions.

I spent much of the last yearlooking at the numbers from theofficial bean counters. Noneimproved by much (the savingson the excess crude account, andimprovements to the externalreserve balance were notableexceptions). Government, hardat work in those arcane spheresof the economy did not quite helpthe key measures. Higher tariffson rice and wheat hit pocketsharder at the lower rungs of theladder. Even the gods wereunusually unkind, last year. Oncethe Cameroonian governmentopened the sluice gates at theLagdo Dam, our agriculturalsector was never going to lookquite the same again. Worried by

the huge task of comforting thedisplaced, we cannot do much,but pray, about the farmlandsstill under water.

Add double digit (andtrending up) inflation levels tothe unsupportableunemployment numbers, andour misery index is headed in onedirection only. Now, there is oneindex that might support apanglossian gloss on theeconomy’s performance.Regrettably, it is not the fiscaldeficit numbers. At thebeginning of last year, we wereshooting for a fiscal deficit ofaround 2.27% of the budget(about N1.16tn). We ended upwith a slightly higher deficit,although we earned more fromthe sale of our sole revenueearner, and spent less on creatingfixed assets than we had budgetedfor. All of this extra spend did endup somewhere, if the ginicoefficient for the economy bearstrue witness to its performance.If income inequality worsenedlast year, as indeed most observerssay it did, then government may

Reflections on the last twelve monthshave operated in the interest ofthe top earners in the country.Accordingly, these latter elite aregetting richer, not so much at theexpense of the rest of us. Butthrough their knowledge of andaccess to the location ofgovernment’s bakery.

The cure to our myriadproblems over the next 12 monthsmight not be how to bake a cakebig enough for the poor and thevulnerable to be assured a shareof. Anyway, not if we all do notknow our way to the bakery.Better yet (even as we try toredress this informationasymmetry) to restructure theway government’s money isspent. Or, put differently, to putenough money in the pockets ofthe millions of Nigerians who (fordiverse reasons) currentlycontemplate a bleak New Year.At least they will spend it in a waythat drives demand locally,rather than find novel ways offerretting such monies abroad.

Ifeanyi Uddin is reachableon Facebook

By Ifeanyi Uddin

“Few days ago, the U.S., Canada and Taiwan warnedtheir nationals against traveling to Nigeria. Just likethe U.S. government had done few days earlier, the

Taiwanese government fear that there may be aterrorist attack in Abuja in the coming days. They

also warned that Boko Haram may extend its killingcampaign to southern part of the country

South-East and the Niger Delta(apart from oil theft, of course).

Some weeks back the Ministerof Finance’s mother was abductedfrom her home in Delta State. Forseveral days the police and armywere running dizzy and confusedall over the place like a colony ofsoldier ants visited by a burningtouch. She wasn’t released until herfamily paid the ransom. But for thestupidity of the kidnappers theywouldn’t have been caught. Sothink, if best detectives andintelligence officers couldn’t findher how secured are you?

Lagos witnessed the heaviesttraffic in recent times thisDecember. Usually, the last twoweeks of the month used to be funfor commuters within city as

Somalia (that has been without afunctional government fordecades) were the only Africancountries in the top ten. In fact wemarginally lost the sixth place toSomalia. Nigeria scored of 7.242while Somalia’s score was 7.244.

Few days ago, the U.S., Canadaand Taiwan warned theirnationals against traveling toNigeria. Just like the U.S.government had done few daysearlier, the Taiwanesegovernment fear that there maybe a terrorist attack in Abuja inthe coming days. They alsowarned that Boko Haram mayextend its killing campaign tosouthern part of the country. So ifyou’re in Lagos acting all detachedand thinking you’re safe from the

Haram boys, think again!On education, last March a

UNESCO official revealed that 9million of the 70 million childrenout of school worldwide areNigerians. I’m not saying thechunk of this figure wasaccumulated in the last two years,but a feeling president will, insteadof spending N2.2 billion ($14million) to build a banquette hall,spend some of the money inbuilding new schools and ontraining teachers.

Talking about kids, inNovember, the EconomistIntelligence Unit (EIU), a sistercompany of The Economist, ratedNigeria as the worst place to havea baby next year. The country wasplaced at the bottom of the Where-to-be-born-index 2013. Countriessuch as Bangladesh, Kenya,Pakistan, and even Syria did betterthan Nigeria. Please, make familyplanning your top priority in2013.

Like I said at the outset, I don’tintend to frighten anyoneunnecessarily. All I’ve done herewas to calculate the miles we’vecovered after a horrendous race in2012. Though I’m not a pessimist,I’ve extricated myself from the e-go-beta brainwash. It’d only getbetter if we snap out of this politicalnumbness and actively demandthe best from politicians. Like I tolda friend who was worried about mycriticism of the government onTwitter and Facebook,government decides how manymorsels of eba you would swallowduring lunch. It decides if you’dhave orishirishi in that egusi soupor if you’d merely settle forcrayfish. Happy New Year! Isincerely hope 2013 proves I’m aterrible social commentator.

Nicholas Ibekwe was arecent Chevening scholar atCity University of London


Fulanicommunitylaments clashwith Gwariindigenes

The displaced Fulanicommunity inGwagwalada Area

Council of the FederalCapital Territory(FCT) hascondemned the kill ings andloss of property during aclash with the Gwari people.

Two people were killed andmany people displaced to theskirmish that took place onS a t u r d a y .

A News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) correspondent whovisited the displaced Fulanicommunity camped at theUniversity of Abujapermanent site reports thatthe victims were countingtheir losses.

Malam Mohammed Lawaltold NAN that the incidentescalated on Sunday whensome herdsmen were feedingtheir cattle with remnants ofgrains belonging to a Gwarim a n .

Lawal noted that Fulaniand the Gwari communitieshad leaved in harmony forover 30 years and wonderedwhy the misunderstandingshould erupt now.

He called on governmentto resolve the crisis, pledgingto live in peace and harmonywith the Gwari people.

Another displacedherdsman, Malam ShuaibuAdamu, also told NAN that aMobile Police unit be createdin the area to avoid a repeatof such ugly incident.

Adamu commended theFCT minister for the promptattention given to them inthe camp, as they were givenfoods, fruits, and blankets,among other relief materialsin the camp. Alhaji

Alhassan Gangari , alivestock attendant with theVeterinary MedicineDepartment of Univeristy ofAbuja, said that governmentshould al low those whosehouses were not destroyed toreturn to their originalabode.

NAN reports that the FCTMinister, Senator BalaMohammed, had set up a 11-man committee to look intothe clash within seven days.(NAN)

Perpetrators of Gwari, Fulaniclash to face the law – Minister

crisis.According to him, the

constituted committee which isgiven one week to submit itsreport is expected to find out theremote and immediate causes ofthe incident; assess the damages;required compensation as well asrecommend those that will faceprosecution.

He also directed the FCTUrban Affairs Department andNEMA to continue to take care ofthose displaced by providingsuccour to them, appealing to allthe disagreeing factions to forgiveone another and warned againstany reprisal attack.

The minister announced thathis Administration would take amajor step in creating a grazingzone in the Federal CapitalTerritory to reduce the re-occurrence of similar incidence.

Earlier, the Chairman of theGwagwalada Area Council,

The Federal CapitalT e r r i t o r yAdministration has said

that all those found the recentunfortunate Gwari/Fulanihostilities that left two personsdead in Gwako village inGwagwalada Area Council of theFederal Capital Territory wouldface the full wrath of the law.

The FCT Minister, SenatorBala Mohammed gave thisassurance on Monday, during anemergency meeting of allstakeholder includingrepresentatives of the Gwaris andFulanis at the secretariat of theGwagwalada Area Council,Gwagwalada town.

“Anybody found to beculpable or have participated inthe perpetuation of this heinouscrime, whatever his or herposition in society will face the full

wrath of the law,” he said, urging them to continue to live in peaceand harmony.

Senator Mohammed calledfor calm and urged members ofthe communities to continue tomaintain peace and harmoniousco-existence amongst themselvessince they have a long standinghistory of living together as one.

He expressed the desire of thegovernment to get to the rootcause of the matter to ensure thatthis unfortunate incident neverhappen again.

He seized the opportunity tosympathize with those who losttheir loved ones, or were injuredor lost their property during theincident.

In a related development, theminister set up a 15-MemberReconciliation and InvestigationCommittee headed by the FCTPolice Commissioner, Mr.Aderenle Shinaba to look into the

Alhaji Zakari Angulu Dobithanked the Minister for hisprompt response to thisunfortunate incident andrevealed that all stakeholders ofGwaris and Fulanis across theGwagwalada Area Council hadbeen invited to be part of themeeting.

Pn his part, the Aguma ofGwagwalada, AlhajiMohammed Magaji appealed toresidents to stop rumourmongering and to continue tolive in peace and harmony.

Also, the Chairman of FCTMiyetti-Allah, Alhaji AbdullahiAdamu advised residents toshun rumour mongering andpromised that the Fulanis willnot carry out any reprisal attackbut challenged the authoritiesthat they are waiting to see whatactions the government will takeagainst the perpetrators of thecrime.

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

The Director of the FederalCapital Territory(FCT)Water Board, Mr Jibril

Ibrahim, has warned FCTresidents against drillingboreholes close to septic tanks.

Ibrahim who gave thewarning in an interview withthe News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) explained that drinkingwater from borehole drilled close

to septic tanks could lead tocholera and other serious healthchallenges.

“Borehole or well water closeto soak away is not good fordrinking except for laundry andother domestic purposes,” he said.

He said the board’s regulationon the issue would have beeneffective if there was adequatewater supply in the FCT.

“We have a regulation but weare being careful to monitorinflux of boreholes in the FCTbecause of some areas that do nothave tap water. Although somepeople do come to seek our advicebefore they drill borehole and wenormally ask them what theywant to do with the boreholes. Wetest the soil of the land and waterfrom the boreholes and we help

Board warns against drilling boreholes near septic tanksthem to remove iron from thewater to make it safe fordrinking,” the director said.

According to him,government will soon ratify andput in place an enabling law thatwill allow the board to checkboreholes in all households.

“The law will be enforced nextyear because we will soon havetreatment plant to provide water

to all residents of FCT and thedrilling of borehole will reduce,’’he said.

He said that the Abajitreatment plant was nearcompletion, adding thatgovernment was also workingout modalities to construct adam and reservoir for Karshiresidents and its environs.(NAN)

A taxi overloaded with goods and passengers, yesterday in Area 1, Abuja Photo: Justin Imo-owo


Worshippers in Abujaoffered specialprayers for God’s

intervention in Nigeria’snumerous challenges and wisdomfor its leaders at church services tousher in the new year.

In many of the churches visitedby the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on the eve of the New Year,the faithful sang praises to God andoffered special prayers for Nigeria,its people and leaders.

At the ECWA Church in WuseII, the faithful sang and praisedGod, read relevant Bible passagesand offered special prayers for thecountry.

In an interview, the seniorpastor of the Church, Rev. BarjeMaigadi, assured Nigerians ofGod’s love for Nigeria. He predictedthat God had designated the yearto address the numerouschallenges confronting theeconomy and the people of Nigeria.Maigadi called on politicians andNigerian leaders to work for thegood of the people by raising theirstandard of living.

He said that God would useNigerians to improve on theeconomy and make things better.The clergyman urged Nigerians tocontinue to persevere and imbibethe habit of togetherness and carein 2013.

Also at Abuja BreakthroughChapel in Area 11, Garki District,Bishop Ben Oruma said the yearheld great promises for Nigeria buturged the people to work hard andpray for God’s intervention in thenation’s affairs.

At the Redeemed ChristianChurch of God (RCCG) in Area 1,worshippers offered special prayersfor members of the church and thecountry.

Pastor Dele Babade, the pastorin-charge of Province 4 of RCCG,urged political leaders in Nigeriato be united irrespective of theirreligious and political affiliations.

Babade said that there was noneed for bickering amongpoliticians, stressing that divisionamong politicians would notencourage development.

He urged the leadership of thecountry to be more sincere withtheir programmes of alleviatingpoverty and improving theeconomy.

He urged all Nigeriansirrespective of their backgroundsto work harder in the new year.

Babade called on the FederalGovernment to initiate measuresto dialogue with aggrieved groupsin parts of the country in theinterest of peace and unity.

The story was the same at theAll Christian Fellowship Mission,Maitama as the faithful praisedand worshipped God at thetraditional crossover service.

Worshippers were excited at theservice conducted by the GeneralOverseer of the Church, Rev.Williams Okoye. Okoye saidalthough the situation in thecountry was frightening, God wasin control and would intervene atthe appointed time. (NAN)

Worshippers offerspecial prayersfor God’sintervention in2013

Guto community wants health care centreis usually very hard to find avehicle to convey the sick, butonly rickety ones andmotorcycles, even if yourequest for a chartered vehiclethey hardly come here.

“This is due to the badnature of the road as vehicleowners fear that their vehiclemay break down,’’ he said.

Tiyok said that many

The Guto Community in BwariArea Council of the FederalCapital Territory(FCT), hascalled on the council to providea health centre for them toreduce the rate of preventabledeaths.

The Community Leader, MrTimothy Tiyok, told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) thattheir major problem was

conveying sick persons toBwari General Hospital formedical attention.

According to him, thedistance from the communityto the council headquarters isnot long, but the deplorablestate of the road remains themajor challenge.

“The distance is not that far,but the road is in bad shape, it

pregnant women and thosewith life threatening diseasesor sickness died on their way tohospital, especially during therainy season.

He, therefore, appealed tothe council and the FederalCapital TerritoryAdministration to, as a matterof urgency, build a health carecentre for them to reduce thehardship.

Mrs Mariam Kato, a WomenLeader in the area, said she wasa victim when she had her lastpregnancy five years ago, asthere was no vehicle to conveyher to general hospital fordelivery.

She said that if governmentwould provide a health facilityit would go a long way inreducing the hardship, notonly for them alone, but for theFulani herdsmen aroundthem.

She said that some of theresidents had resorted to usingherbs for treating their sickones instead of going to thehospital.

Also speaking, the YouthLeader, Mr Danlami Dogo, saidthe youths were working outan arrangement withmotorcycle operators onresponding to sick personduring crisis.

NAN reports that there arefive health centres in the areacouncil, which have not beenput to use after inaugurationtwo years ago. It was alsodiscovered that the non-utilisation of the centres hadadversely affected healthcaredelivery service in the area.(NAN)

The Chairman,Gwagwalada AreaCouncil of the Federal

Capital Territory (FCT), AlhajiZakari Angulu, has presentedN4.8 billion budget proposalfor 2013.

Presenting the budgetestimate to the legislative armof the council at Gwagwaladafor endorsement, Anguluurged for speedy passage.

He said that recurrent

expenditure would account for45 per cent of the budget,while 43 per cent wasearmarked as capitalallocation. According to him,overhead cost would accountfor 12 per cent of the totalbudget.

Angulu explained that theincrease in percentageestimate for recurrentexpenditure followed theinclusion of Local Education

Authority (LEA) in the fiscalframework of the budget. Hesaid necessary provisions thatwould take care ofdepartmental, legislative andother vital issues were givenpremium consideration in thebudget estimate.

“The budget estimate is aclear demonstration of ourgenuine desire to leavingGwagwalada Area Councilbetter than what we met on

Gwagwalada budgets N4.8 billion for 2013

Children having fun, during the New Year celebration, yesterday at Millennium Park, Abuja.Photo: Mahmud Isa

INSIDE FCT COURTS

ground six years ago,” he said.In his remarks, Mr Yusuf

Mohammed, Leader of thelegislature, commended thecouncil executive for thetimely presentation of thebudget.

He pledged thecommitment of the legislatorsto ensure that dueconsideration to enhancespeedy passage in the interestof the electorate. (NAN)

The Unit Manager of theRoad SectorDevelopment Team

(RSDT), Mr Ishaq Mohammed, has said that the construction ofpedestrian bridges in the FederalCapital Territory(FCT) is oncourse.

Mohammed told the NewsAgency of Nigerian (NAN) inAbuja that the master plan of thecity must be considered beforethe construction of pedestrianbridges.

He was reacting to the notionby some residents of Abuja thatthe sites of the ongoing

pedestrian bridges were wronglyplaced.

He explained that before theproject was awarded, the teamhad met with the Federal CapitalDevelopment Administrationand the Urban DevelopmentBoard to ensure that plans for thecity were not tempered with.

Some observers alsocomplained that the pedestrianbridges sited miles away from thebus stops may not achieve itspurpose.

NAN reports that sixpedestrian bridges awarded inSeptember are to be constructed

in six months.The project was awarded to

three construction companies atthe cost of 10 million US dollars.The companies are Messrs EnercoNigeria Ltd; Messrs Rural SteelBridging Ltd; and Messrs DutumCompany Ltd. The project is acollaboration between the WorldBank and Federal Governmentwith a financing ratio of 9 to 1respectively.

NAN also reports that the sixpedestrian bridges in Abuja arelocated in different areasincluding the Nnamdi Azikiweexpressway by Tafawa Balewa

Construction of pedestrian bridges on course - RSDT bossWay (Old Secretariat) and theNnamdi Azikiwe expressway byOlusegun Obasanjo Way (Wuyejunction).

Other locations are theNnamdi Azikiwe expressway byAhmadu Bello Way (BanexJunction) and the NnamdiAzikiwe expressway by ShehuShagari Way (NICONJunction). The remaining twobridges would be located onShehu Yar’Adua Way by OkonjoIweala Way (VIO-MabushiJunction) and Shehu ShagariWay by Ladi Kwali Way(Sheraton Junction). (NAN)


INSIDE FCTCOURTS

Banker docked for accusingman of stealing sex organ

accused Aigbinemolen of “se-cretly taking his penis and ren-dering him useless or incom-plete’’.

He said that Bello’s offencecontravenes Section 391 of thePenal Code. Bello, however, de-nied the allegation. The judge,

A banker, Rashidi Bello, 32, ofKurudu, Abuja, has appearedbefore a Karu Upper Area Courtin the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) for alleged defamation ofcharacter.

The Police Prosecutor, MrFrancis Udofia, told the court that

one Louis Aigbinemolen ofJikwoyi, Phase 5, Abuja reportedthe case at the Karu Police Sta-tion on December 27, 2012.

Udofia said that on December26, Aigbinemolen was convey-ing Bello in his Toyota car whenat Area 11 in Garki, Abuja, he

Alhaji Umar Kagarko, grantedthe accused bail in the sum ofN20, 000 with a credible suretythat must be resident within thecourt's jurisdiction.

He adjourned the case toMarch 20, 2013 for hearing.(NAN)An Abuja Senior Magis

trates Court has warnedand discharged Shola

Ogungure of House 15,Trademore Estate, Lugbe, Abuja,over a charge of burglary.

Senior Magistrate HadizaShagari discharged the accusedbased on the submission of theprosecutor that the complainantwas no longer interested in thecase and that the accused hadbeen forgiven.

Inspector Jeremiah Elijahhad told the court that Ogungurewas charged with burgling thehouse of Samson Sholademi onNovember 9, 2012.

“The accused and one other,who is now on the run, were re-ported at the Lugbe Police Stationby the complainant who lives atHouse 13 of the same estate onNovember 10.

“The complainant left hishouse for work on Nov. 9, butwhen he came back, he discov-ered that the accused and theother had entered the housethrough the ceiling.

“The accused stole thecomplainant’s Laptop valued atN130, 000 and computer net-working equipment valued atN25, 000,’’ he told the court.(NAN)

Complainantforgivesburglar

Two suspected Mobile phonesnatchers, InnocentDagala, 19, and Sunday

Jacob, 20, both of Kabayi area ofMararaba in Nasarawa State arenow in police custody for allegedlystealing a cell phone.

Sp. John Emego, in charge of theKabayi area Police station, told theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN) thatthe suspects were arrested by mem-bers of a vigilante on December 25,2012.

He said that the complainant,Mr Chijioke Ameh, also of Kabayiarea, was standing beside his car,when the suspects attacked him withharmful weapons.

Emego added that the suspectsthreatened him with a knife andstick and demanded that ``he re-leases his phones and money tothem’’.

He said Ameh had no choice thanto comply, adding that the suspectswere arrested by a vigilante whilethey were trying to escape andhanded over to the police for furtherinvestigation.

Emego advised parents to alwayswatch their wards and the type ofcompany they keep in order to avertany unpleasant peer influence andensure a crime-free society. (NAN)

Two suspectedmobile phonesnatchersnabbed

pired in June, and instead of re-newing the rent, Akindipe forgedanother leased agreement.

“Akindipe claimed that thecouple had an agreement withone school, and the school subletthe property to him for N13 mil-lion,’’ Akogwu said.

Akogwu added that duringinvestigation, it was discoveredthat Akindipe conspired withOsuwa and forged the leaseagreement.

Two men, Ayodele Akindipeof Samora Street, Asokoro,Abuja and Okechukwu

Osuwa of Utako District, Abuja,appeared before a Karu UpperArea Court in the Federal Capi-tal Territory(FCT) for allegedforgery and joint act.

The charges said the of-fences contravene Section 79and 364 of the Penal Code.

The Police Prosecutor, MrPhilip Akogwu, told the court

that a couple, Mr and MrsErasmus Morah of No. 18, AudeOgbe Street, Jabi, Abuja, re-ported the case at the AsokoroPolice Station on December 19,2 0 1 2 .

Akogwu said the couple andAkindipe had an agreement forthe lease of the couple's propertysometime in June. The propertywas to be leased for a year forN12 million.

He added that the rent ex-

The two accused also forgedthe signature of the couplewithout their knowledge. Theaccused, however, denied the al-legations.

The Judge, Alhaji UmarKagarko, granted them bail inthe sum of N300, 000 with acredible surety who must residewithin the court's jurisdiction.The case was adjourned to Janu-ary 2, 2012 for hearing.(NAN)

Two men in court for forgery

tigation, one of the cell phoneswas recovered from the ac-cused,” he told the court.

Okechuckwu also told thecourt that the offence contra-vened the provisions of Sec-tions 319 and 322 of the PenalCode, but Okere pleaded notgui l ty .

Senior Magistrate Bashiru

The Police in Abuja havearraigned a commercialbus preacher,

Chuckwuemeka Okere, 36, be-fore a Karu Senior MagistratesCourt for alleged cheating andbeing in possession of stolenitems.

Police Prosecutor, EzeOkechuckwu told the court that

on Dec. 10, Okere, who residesin Nyanya Gwandara area ofAbuja, lured Zamani Zuneyaof Garki II, Abuja, to a hill inKubwa under the pretence ofpreaching to her.

“While praying for Zuneyaon the hill, he stole her bag con-taining two cell phones andN15,000. During police inves-

Police arraign preacher for cheating, possession of stolen goods

Roadside barber attending to a client, yesterday in Garki village, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Alkali granted the accused bailin the sum of N50,000 and twosureties in like sum.

He said the sureties musthave a reasonable means of live-lihood and must reside withinthe jurisdiction of the court.

Bashiru adjourned the caseto January 16, 2013 for hear-ing. (NAN)


Management Tip of the DayHelp your team mind their manners

INSIDE

It’s natural to want colleagues to treat us with respect. Yet as companies become morevirtual, global, and stressed out,common courtesies can go by thewayside. Here are two stepstoward restoring civility on yourteam:· Convene a meeting todiscuss expectations. Bring your

Nigerians lament lackof lower currency

denominations

- Pg 20BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSEmail: [email protected] Mob: 08033644990

team, including virtualmembers, together to talk openlyabout the kind of behaviors youexpect from each other. Whatdoes it mean to act considerately,and what’s getting in the way?Assume that people aren’tintentionally actingdisrespectful.· Ask people to push

back. Some people may notrealize how their actions makeothers feel. When your team seesbad behavior, encourage themto call it out and explain theimpact it has on others.

Source: Harvard BusinessReview

Customers patronising the second hand clothes sellers, on Monday at Wuse market in Abuja. Photo: NAN

CBN suspends nationwide cash-lite policy indefinitelyBy Abdulwahab Isa

The proposed plan bythe Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) to

introduce the cash-less policy toother states of the federation in2013 has suffered a majorsetback following the decision ofthe apex bank to suspend theplan indefinitely.

CBN spokesperson, UgoOkoroafor, who disclosed this

recently, said the decision tosuspend the plan was made toafford CBN the opportunity tocorrect all the anomalies noticedin the Lagos implementation ofthe policy.

“For now, the CBN hassuspended the plan to introducethe policy to other states nextyear. The test run we did inLagos showed some problems inthe implementation. Forinstance, people complained

there were no enough POS andAutomated Teller Machines(ATM) machines, which we alsonoticed. The problem ofawareness was also there as somepeople said they were not wellinformed about the policy,” hesaid.

He continues, ‘So, before weintroduce it to other states, wewant to correct the problems.There are some states that do nothave enough banks and ATM

machines like Lag0s andprovisions have to be made forthe policy to work in thoseplaces. It will also afford thebanks to upgrade their systemsfor effective operation of thepolicy. So, when we areconvinced those things havebeen put in place, it will beextended to other states.”

He, however, said the policywill continue to operate inLagos.

As the on-going glut in thenation’s cement marketcontinues unabated, the

Management of Lafarge CementWAPCO Plc has significantlyreduced its production capacity tomake stay competitive in theindustry.

Plant Manager, Lafarge’sEwekoro (two) cement plant,Mr.Lanre Opakunle, noted thatpresently, 50 percent of Lafarge’sShagamu plant was already shutdown and the factory wascurrently running at 50 percentless than what it normally does.He also noted that the Company’sEwekoro plant (one) had cut downproduction by 40 percent inresponse to the distress in themarket.

He further disclosed that at themoment, the various Lafargefactories have excess cement andclicker inventory at their plantsof about 300,000 metric tonnes,which cannot be absorbed by theNigerian market because it isalready over supplied

As for the Ewekoro (two) plant,which Opakunle operates, he saidthey had since began to run theplant on skeletal schedule toprevent the total shut down of anypart of the plant.

Conducting journalist aroundthe Ewekoro (two) plant, which

was littered with various heaps ofclinker and bulk cement that arespillover from the overflowingclinker and cement silos in thefacility, Opakunle said thefactory was already running outof space where excess clinker canbe deposited.

“We do not have space in ourstrategic storage facility for morethan 20,000 tonnes of clinker,which is only the output of fourdays production and if things stilldo not change in the market thefactory may be force to either

Lafarge reduces capacityas cement glut intensifies

By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule

scale down its production or shutdown its production lines,” he said.

“All you need to do is to look atour 80,000 tonnes per hourcement parking facility fromwhere trailers load cement andtake to the market, you can seethat the 10 units each of 80,000tonnes per hour parkers aretotally deserted. It is about 2.00pm now and only 180 tonnes ofcement have been loaded off,normally by this time not lessthan 1,400 tonnes would havebeen loaded off,” he lamented.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi ofOyo State hascongratulated the people of

the state on the occasion of theNew Year, promising that hewould redouble his efforts to makelife more meaningful to them in2013.

The governor, in his New Yearmessage to the people of the state,assured of new lease of life whichhe said would be brought to thestate through aggressiveinfrastructural development.

He said that theinfrastructural activities, whichwould be unprecedented in thehistory of state, would cut acrossall sectors of the economy.

Governor Ajimobi also saidthat the beautification efforts of hisadministration, which he saidwere now being widelyacknowledged and applauded,would continue unabated untilthe entire state was given thenecessary facelift.

He craved for theunderstanding of the people of thestate, particularly those affectedby the ongoing removal of illegalstructures across the state, statingthat it could be likened to theproverbial circumcision whichcomes with pain but whoseelegance later on becomes a thingof pride.

The governor said that theneighbourhood markets beingconstructed by his administration,and which would be ready soon,would afford them the opportunityof plying their trade in safe, secureand decent environment.

Opakunle, who advisedthat the Federal Governmentshould do all within its powerto ensure that local investorswho have committed hugefunds into actual cementmanufacturing do not run intocrisis, warned that usingimported products to replacelocally made ones portendsvarious socio-economicproblems including decliningcapacity utilisation, increasedunemployment and paucityforeign investment.

Ajimobi assuresmassiveinfrastructuraldevt. in 2013From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

An acute fuel scarcity inDutse and its surroundingshas left motorists frustrated

in long queues at filling stations,the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports. The situation hasnegatively affected free flow ofvehicular and human movementand brought hardship to thepeople.

A NAN correspondent, whowent round some fuel stationsyesterday, reports that because ofthe non-availability of fuel inmajor filling stations, there arelong queues of vehicles at NNPCretail stations which have stocks.

Meanwhile, in the thrivingblack market, a litre of petrol soldat N150. A commercial bus driver,Malam Haruna Manga, said thatthe persistent fuel scarcity hadaffected transport services andforced transporters out of business.

Manga said that he patronisedthe black market in spite of theexorbitant price. “Most of theservice stations are not dispensingfuel and the situation is patheticand exposes us to difficulties,”Manga said.

Acute fuelscarcity hits Dutse

PAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY,WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2012

COMPANYNEWS

EmiratesEmirates, one of the

world’s fastest-growingairlines, says it is

offering special fares tocustomers from Nigeriatravelling to over 120destinations on its networks.

The special fares,according to ThierryAntinori, Emirates’ executivevice president, PassengerSales Worldwide, apply tomore than 120 destinationsacross the airline’s networkif booked betweenDecember 26, 2012, andJanuary 10, 2013, for travelfrom January 18 to June 10,2013.

”The raft of savingsmeans that passengers canfly, for example from Nigeriato other Middle Eastdestinations for as little as$989 and to Dubai from $956.

NigerInsurancePlcDr. Justus Clinton

Uranta has bowed outas the managing

director of Niger InsurancePlc after 35 years ofmeritorious service in theinsurance industry. Mr.Kolapo Adedeji, the deputy-managing director, wouldsucceed Uranta.

At a send forth partyorganised for him in Lagosrecently, Uranta, who hasbeen MD/CEO of NigerInsurance since 2005,informed that hevoluntarily resigned fromthe organisation afterhaving spent 35 years inthe insurance industry.

However, due to the factthat the company’s board ofdirectors is convinced thatUranta still has a lot tocontribute to the insurancefirm, the board has decidedto retain him as a director.

MutualBenefitsAssurance

Notwithstanding thehostile businessenvironment, Mutual

Benefits Assurance Plc hasannounced a grosspremium income of N5.471billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2011.

This represents anincrease of 62 per cent overN3.368 billion recorded inthe corresponding period of2010, while the profitbefore tax increased bythree per cent fromN892.293 mill ion toN916.996 mil l ion.

Nigerians lament lack oflower currency denominationsWhile Nigerians have

been told that theirquest for lower value

naira notes may soon come tofruition by the Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN), manyNigerians, particularlytraders and commercialvehicle owners andcommuters are crying out tothe concerned authoritiesover the persisting lack oflower currencydenominations in theNigerian financial system.

Since about 85 per cent ofthe nation’s dailytransactions are conducted incash, it is becoming a dailyhassle for most ordinaryNigerians to access lowercurrency denominations, somuch so that the issue of onegetting ‘ordinary change’ inlower denomination of Nairanotes has become a dailynightmare for mostNigerians.

It has become almost acrime now in Nigeria to walkinto a restaurant orsupermarket, or board acommercial vehicle and nothold your own change. Afterbuying stuff and trying topay, the first thing you hearis something like, “ Hold yourchange o!”

Since when did it become acustomer’s duty to hold his orher change? And since whendid Nigerians have to pay theprice for not having that saidchange?

Most businesses onlyrequire lower currencydenominations for petty-cashpurposes which are notfrequently a significantamount. For retailers andothers dealing directly withthe public, there is often theneed to pay in substantialamounts of cash in differentdenominations of notes.

A fried yam seller at Utakomarket, who spoke to ourcorrespondents, but preferredanonymity, described theproblem of change in herbusiness as ‘seriously’affecting her business.“Actually, we get seriousproblem with small changeswith customers like ifsomebody comes with N1,000 or N500, because somepeople will not even buy if youdon’t have change. They willask you first”.

However, despite theagreeing with the problemsassociated with largerdenominations, the yamseller doesn’t believe that theattempt last year by the CBNto introduce N5, 000 noteswould have solved theproblem. She said, “I think theproblem will even get worse ifCBN brings out new N5, 000notes. Even now, we

encounter problems ofchanging N1, 000 or N5, 00notes, so if it’s N5, 000 it willbe worse.”

A conductor with one ofthe Mass Transit Buses,popularly known as “subsidybus”, who could barely speakbecause of emotion opined thatthey used to tell passengers tohold their change before theyenter such buses, because ofthe challenges they face. Hestated that they waste longtime looking for change,especially when a passenger isdropping before they reachtheir bus stops, whichaccording to him affects theirbottom line.

“We dey tell passengers tohold change for hand beforethey enter. Na because of theproblem we get; na im be thereason we dey tell passengers.We fit stay long on the waybefore we get change. Theproblem e no be small ooo”, helamented.

When pressed to talk abouthis opinion if CBN introducescoins this year, the conductorfrowned his face, andanswered thus: ”For this kindour work, if you come bringcoins, we no fit collect am, Itell you, bros; For where we gokeep am?” he angrily queried.

Also, a mechanic alongJabi road, Hassan, said thathe often encounter problemswith the issue of change. Hecited the nature of hisbusiness and the fact that he,most times, deals withcommercial transport.

When asked whether hewould welcome theintroduction of new N5, 000notes, Hassan stated that itwouldn’t affect his mechanicbusiness much. “If they bringN5, 000 notes, it will make nodifference to my business,because I deal with lowernotes.” On lower

denominations coins, heclaimed that “most people willnot be going round with coinsin their pockets, so you seethey won’t last before theydisappear.”

According to a bus driverin Jabi, Felix Emmanuel,“Sometimes, we find itdifficult to give our passengerschange and it affects ourbusiness”. Could you believea passenger will give youN1,000 from Area 1 toBerger, how can you manageto find a change? Especiallywhen you just came out in themorning; To me, I find itdifficult to leave change forany passenger because thegain is not much.

The botched plannedintroduction of N5,000 noteby the CBN would surely haveaffected many businesses inNigeria where people aresuffering in their daily searchof livelihood. Whenever yougo to the market with hugeamount to buy foodstuff ofN500, where do you expectthe trader to find a change?It’s either you as the buyerforfeit your change or theseller does, which will surelyaffect your budget as thebuyer and in turn affect theseller, because he might notmeet up with his/her profit atthe end.

According to a taxi driver,Suleiman Abdullahi , havingthe requisite change is veryimportant in every businessbecause according to him, “Itgives you rest of mind, anytime you have passengers andissue their change to themwithout any hitches.

On the issue of the N5,000notes by CBN, he said, “It is agood idea, in terms oftravelling safely with a largeamount of money withoutbeing noticed by thieves orhoodlums; also, it will make

transactions easier and fasteras one can be able to keep alarge amount in his house oroffice for businesstransactions”.

However, he noted thatwhen carrying out atransaction, one sometimesfind it difficult to buy someitems in the market as sellersrefuse to accept higherdenominations because ofchange. This will surely affectthe seller, according to him,who is likely to take longertime before selling his goodsand “it would also affect thebuyer if he/she is pressed tobuy the goods, leaving hischange behind. It will alsoaffect the economy, puttingmore hardship to the poor.

Cash is still the king oftransaction in the country,even in Lagos statewhere the CBN introduced an e w c a s h l e s s p o l i c y l a s tyear as a pilot test, andtherefore the availability oflower denominations is a taskfor the CBN The amount of thehuge loss to the country arisingfrom aborted transactions duelack of appropriate ‘change’ canbest be imagined. Even theAutomated Teller Machines(ATMs) dotting the country’slandscape for now dispenseminimum of N500 currencynote.

Most people, especially theaffluent of the society, may seethis as a small issue as they arewont to leave their changerather than face the hassle of,“No change o.” But for the restof most Nigerians, who are leftto bear the brunt of endlessfrustrations, and sometimesdegenerating into quarrels andeven exchanging blows.

It has therefore becomeimperative that the CBNshould come to their rescue sothat real change can beeffected.

Naira currencies


Need to fast-trackTourism Intervention Fund

In the third week ofDecember, 2012, thePridemark hotel in Abuja,

venue of the Federation ofTourism Associations of Nigeria(FTAN) governing councilmeeting, was a beehive ofactivities. Investors in thehospitality sector of the tourismindustry had converged there inorder to brainstorm on aproposed programme coming upin April 2013 with the theme:"The Nigerian Tourism InvestorsForum 2013".

Discussions were centred onthe event which will be in twoin segments. The first part of it,according to FTAN president,Chief Samuel Alabi, is anexhibition, where tourism sub-contractors or service providerscould come out and exhibit theirproducts. These comprise of thebottling companies, suppliers oftea items and a lot of otheritems. They are expected toshowcase their products forpossible consumption by thetourism investors.

The other part which heexplained as very essential hasto do with the intervention fund."We are reviewing the fundchallenges as it affects thetourism sector", he said. Thetourism intervention fund is anissue which has remained on thedrawing board for a long timenow. At the April programme,speakers will be invited who willinclude governmentfunctionaries. They areexpected to give a talk on whatthe federal government has instock for the tourism industryespecially with regards toalleviating the fundingchallenges facing the tourismsector.

Chief Alabi said, "We equallywant to use the opportunity tofind new tourism frontiers. Wehave limited numbers of touroperators in Nigeria. We believethis is the right timegovernment should dosomething to empower people toset up their businesses in orderto ensure that Nigeriansthemselves can consumeNigerian tourism products".

Expectations fromgovernment:

"On the basis of the series ofletters we have written, we areexpecting an intervention fundin the region of N500bn to assistthose with existing businesses toupgrade their facilities, thosethat have taken loans and theirloan is now proving difficult toservice due to very high interestrates", he stated.

"We believe that ifgovernment give us the tourismfund, the rate will becompetitive and will be easier torepay", the FTAN president said.Those categories of investors willbe able to repackage their loansand pay at cheaper rates. Theassociation is also banking on thefact that there are a lot of waysif the fund is availed, thattourism products will spring uphere and there in Nigeria, toboost the economy", he furtherstated.

The FTAN president was surethat there would be no difficulty

disbursing the funds as theNigerian Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (NTDC), as theregulatory body in the tourismindustry has the records of allhotels in the country at itsdisposal.

At a forum earlier in 2012,Chief Alabi had pleaded that thegovernment should not waituntil the businesses of theirmembers become comatosebefore coming to their aid, "if theFederal Government'sdetermination to reduce overdependence on oil revenue is tobe achieved, the development oftourism industry must beencouraged by provision ofcheap funds", he said.

The Deputy President of theassociation, Mr., TomiAkingbogun also added his voicewhen he appealed to the FederalGovernment to releasemodalities on how the approvedtourism intervention fundwould be generated. Just likeintervention funds helped tostabilise the banking industryand other sectors, Mr. TomiAkingbogun optimized that thetourism fund would strengthenthe sector.

"All we need is affordableloans and long-term loans forlong term investments, the shortterm loans is killing the tourismindustry,'' Akingbogun said.

He said the association hopedthe intervention fund would notbe in form of taxes on guestslodging in hotels. "Tourism is allabout life. We patronisemusicians, painters, artists and

even the DSTV. Tourism couldreduce the rate ofunemployment and contributeto economic development of thecountry if the potential in thesector was fully harnessed", headded.

Akingbogun called ongovernment to work outmodalities to disburse the fundsas soon as possible as most hotel

owners had collaterals to enablethem access the fund. There isthe need to fast track the releaseof the tourism fund in the onlysector which is the highestemployer of labour in thecountry today wheregovernment agencies aredownsizing its work force.

Unfortunately, unlike thebanking industry, textile

industry, and agriculturalindustry and of recent, thecapital market sector, theFederal Government is yet togive intervention fund totourism investors. "We find thisvery curious and strange andthis is part of the reasons whywe put up the event in April, thesecond quarter of 2013.Government has not done anydirect empowerment to tourisminvestors in Nigeria", Chief Alabilamented.

Shortly upon assumption ofoffice in July 2011, the Ministerof Tourism, Culture andNational Orientation, ChiefEdem Duke, who is a tourismpractitioner, spoke on his agendafor the culture and tourismsector when he promised to bringhis wealth of experience to bear onthe development of culture andtourism in Nigeria.

He was positive that Nigeria,which has, over the years,laboured under the challenges ofthe mono product economy,equally has the opportunity ofrolling tourism out as the newfrontier for the nation's growth anddevelopment.

With the support ofstakeholders in the sector, Dukepledged to foster a new agenda forthe sector and turn the once-relegated tourism sector of theeconomy into a major contributionto the growth of Nigeria's GrossDomestic Product (GDP) andsecond to the oil and gas sector inthe revenue profile of the countrythrough the provision of jobs forwomen and youths.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief EdemDuke

By Miriam Humbe

Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, DG, NTDC

FTAN President, Chief Samuel Alabi


Making Nigeria preferred investment havenOn assumption of office on

May 29, 2011, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan

created the Ministry of Trade andInvestment to boost thefulfillment of his embryonicEconomic TransformationAgenda.

The new ministry was carvedout from the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry, with anexpanded mandate of creatingthe enabling environment tostimulate domestic investmentsand attract foreign directinvestments.

The raison d'être behind theministry's creation ministry wasto enhance job creation, wealthgeneration and all-inclusiveeconomic growth in the country.

A year after the ministry'screation, stakeholders andindustry watchers say that thegovernment's action is, to a largeextent, getting the desiredresults.

Commenting on the ministry,Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Nigercommended the FederalGovernment for itsestablishment, saying that it hadsince been providing qualityservice delivery.

He noted that the MrOlusegun Aganga, Minister ofTrade and Investment, had alsobrought his wealth of experienceto bear on the affairs of theministry.

“His (Aganga's) appointmentby President Jonathan, first asthe Minister of Finance, and nowas Minister of Trade andinvestment, has resulted in theintroduction of policies andreforms which have helped to putNigeria on a sound footing toattract local and foreign directinvestment across all sectors ofthe economy," Aliyu noted.

Aganga's most favourite slogansince his assumption of office hasbeen the popular “InvestmentGolden Rule'', which states that“investment flows in, settles andultimately grows where it is treatedwell and appreciated."

As part of efforts to make Nigeriathe preferred investmentdestination, Aganga said that theministry had embarked on thereform of the country's investmentclimate, working in tandem withUK's Department for International

Development (DFID) and theWorld Bank.

He has also inauguratedcommittees on “Doing Business'',“Competitiveness'' and “InvestorCare'', while establishing the“Competitiveness Council''.

In addition, the ministry hasmade concerted efforts tostrengthen the One-StopInvestment Centre (OSIC) of theNigerian Investment PromotionCommission.

Just recently, the CorporateAffairs Commission (CAC)officially inaugurated its start-to-finish 24-hour businessincorporation service.

What this means is that it nowtakes just one day for anyone toregister or incorporate abusiness.

Aganga stressed that thetarget was to ensure thatcompanies were registeredwithin two hours, whileinstituting a vibrant and

transparent companies'registry.

“We want a registry whereservices will be user-friendly;we want to show local andinternational investors thatNigeria means business,'' hesaid.

To ensure the scheme'seffectiveness, the ministerdirected that a complaintsregister should be opened toaccommodate the complaints ofthose who were not able to gettheir companies registeredwithin 24 hours.

All the same, theseinvestment climate reformprogrammes have been yieldingthe desired results, going by thelatest statistics released by the UNConference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD).

The statistics placed Nigeriaas Africa's biggest destination forForeign Direct Investment (FDI)in 2011, with a total FDI inflow of

8.92 billion U.S. dollars (aboutN1.3 trillion)

According to the 2012 WorldInvestment Report, subtitled“Towards a New Generation ofInvestment Policies", released byUNCTAD in Geneva inNovember, Nigeria received 8.92billion dollars in FDI, therebyplacing it as first in Africa.

In the report, South Africa wasranked second with a total FDIinflow of 5.81 billion U.S. dollars.

Besides, reports from theMinistry of Trade and Investmentindicated that Nigeria securedover N6.8 trillion investmentcommitments from local andforeign investors within the lastone year.

Aganga explained that theinvestment commitments weresecured from over 70 investors'meetings held at home andabroad.

The minister said that suchmeetings held in 2011 aloneshowed a total commitment ofN3.9 trillion over the next threeyears.

International relations expertsand diplomats have attributedthe growing interest in Nigeria byboth local and foreign investors tothe large untapped investmentopportunities existing in thecountry.

Speaking during his visit toNigeria, Mr Simon Smits,Kingdom of the Netherlands' Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade, notedthat the opportunities in Nigeriafar out-weighed the challenges.

“What I have observed duringthe past few days of my visit toNigeria is that when I discussedwith business people from Nigeriaand The Netherlands, theyagreed that the opportunities inNigeria out-weigh the challenges,''Smits said.

Similarly, a renowned

economist, Mr Charles Robertson,said in a recent interview withReuters that Nigeria wascurrently the best investmentdestination globally, withprospects for high returns oninvestments.

“We know Nigeria is not riskfree. But look around the worldand find another economy with apopulation of 160 million and withsuch a great potential. It's astruggle to find them,'' Robertsonsaid.

Sharing similar sentiments,Mr. Ketan Makwana, the SpecialAdviser on Youth, Commerce andCulture to the Cabinet Office of theBritish Prime Minister, said in arecent interview that foreignnationals should disregardinsinuations that Nigeria was notsafe for investment, visitation, orresidency.

“Nigeria is most definitely anemerging economy, with more ofits population seekingentrepreneurship as a way of life.I am one of those who believe thatyou cannot comment onsomething except you haveexperienced it yourself.

“I will advise foreigners todisregard the erroneousimpression that Nigeria is not safe.Ignore what you hear, come andexperience it yourself. Then, youcan make a decision. Nigeria hasalmost become a second home tome,'' Makwana added.

Economic analysts,nonetheless, appeal to thegovernment to sustain the drivefor foreign direct investment inthe country, while providing thenecessary logistics support forthe Ministry of Trade andInvestment.

“The ministry is well-positioned to boost the country'seconomic growth,'' some of themnoted. (Source: NAN)

“Aganga’s most favourite slogan sincehis assumption of office has been thepopular “Investment Golden Rule'',

which states that “investment flows in,settles and ultimately grows where it is

treated well and appreciated."

Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun AgangaPresident Goodluck Jonathan

PEOSPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013 PAGE 23

Report as at Monday, December 31, 2012


[email protected]

Why Tata isdeveloping

India’scheapesthousing

unitsPg 27

Recapitalizationheats upcompetitionin Nigeria’smortgagesub-sector

Pg 26

Foreigninvestorsrush forreal estateopportunitiesin Nigeria

Pg 26

Bill on Social housing out soonPg 27


Design tips for 2013As we enter into the new year, part of making the year really new is to redecorate our homes; the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, patios; indeedto have the entire home oozing out a new look that enables our minds to function afresh and open to us new thoughts and fresh ideas that will haveus approaching challenges with well-thought out winning strategies. Want a really new year? Then try out these design tips in your home.

Mirrors Work MagicA kitchen with a mirrored backsplash as in this picture gives the illusion of more space. The kitchenopens up to the living room on one side and the family room, where we eat and watch TV, on the other.The idea is that it should be an extension of both of these spaces.

Think UpwardThe designer of thissmall kitchenextends the kitchenupwards to ensureaccommodation ofstuff and to avoidclutter. HomeDepot designerEmily O'Keefeadded cabinetrywith period charmto this smallkitchen. "Sincespace was tight, Iwent up, stackingthe cabinets," shesays. "The ceilingsare 11 feet high, butnot every cabinettouches the ceiling- that way they lookmore likefurniture." Its asmart idea worthtrying in your ownkitchen.

Leave CabinetsOpen

An opencabinet is moreinteresting thana closed one. Letpeople into yoursecret world.

Wallpaper IsEasy

The fastestway to makeover sliding closetdoors is towallpaper them,like MelissaWarner did toturn a bedroominto her office.

Go DarkDark walls do the opposite of what you’d expect: They make a small room feel bigger.


Recapitalization heats up competitionin Nigeria’s mortgage sub-sector

Tagged “NHF e-CollectionPlatform”, the product is designedto among other things checksharp practices within themortgage industry and enhancefund mobilization under the NHFscheme.

This is coming soon after therecent increase in the capital baseof mortgage banks by the CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN).

Market watchers say moreinnovations and changes areexpected in the industry as theFederal Government prepares toexecute the new Housing andUrban Development Policyapproved last week by the FederalExecutive Council (FEC)

The Managing Director of theFMBN, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumowhile commenting on the newproduct said “the e-collectionplatform will address a numberof problems facing the NHFscheme such as refusal of someemployers to deduct theiremployees’ NHF contributions,failure of some employers toremit NHF contributions afterdeducting such contributionsfrom their employees and failureof some employers to provide

The gale of change blowingthrough Nigeria’s growingmortgage sub-sector has

begun to heighten as mortgagebanks enter the final lap of theirconsolidation exercise in 2013.The Central Bank of Nigeria hadlast year increased the capitalbase of mortgage banks from 100million Naira to 2.5 billion Nairafor mortgage banks that want tooperate within a state and 5billion Naira for those that wantto operate nationwide.

The increase quickly sparkedoff a flurry of activities andunease in the industry as someweak mortgage banks have sincebeen in search of funds torecapitalize or partners to mergewith.

The intensity of the battle torecapitalize has further beenincreased by the plan of thePresident Goodluck Jonathanadministration to announce ahousing roadmap early thisyear. The coming roadmap isexpected to boost homeownershipin Nigeria and drastically reducethe nation’s rising deficit of over16 million housing units. Theroadmap is expected to putpressure on the mortgage banksas the expected increase in theconstruction of housing unitswill require increased and well-packaged mortgages to beaccessed by Nigerians. As muchas this will lead to a virile andthriving mortgage sub-sector,the current economic slowdownin Nigeria is making fund-mobilization for recapitalizationby the mortgage banks adaunting task.

The housing sector isexpected to be very active in2013 as the Bill on SocialHousing, newly-approvedNational Housing and UrbanDevelopment Policies, mortgagebanks recapitalizationprogramme and many housingbills at the National Assembly allcome up for implementation inthe new year.

In readiness for the expectedrevolution in the housing sector,Nigeria’s sole secondarymortgage banker, the FederalMortgage Bank of Nigeria(FMBN) has launched anelectronic collection platform todrive its National Housing Fund(NHF) collection fromcontributors and NHF designatedbanks.

By Udenna Orji

remittance schedules to FMBN.All these sharp practices enablesome unscrupulous employers oflabour to misappropriate NHFmonies or even embezzle suchfunds”

How does the new FMBN e-collection platform work? As soonas an employer instructs adesignated NHF collection bankto pay the monthly salaries of itsworkers into the workers’individual bank accounts andthe bank makes the payments,the NHF e-collection platformwill automatically deduct 2.5 %of the basic salary of each worker(being the NHF component of thesalary). The deductedcomponent (i.e. the 2.5% NHFcontribution from each worker)is also automatically andinstantly channeled into adedicated NHF collectionaccount generated by the e-collection platform. Equallygenerated are details of eachworker’s contribution history,including the worker’s identityand amount contributed so far.FMBN instantly credits eachcontributor’s NHF account withthe amount remitted for the

month.Explaining further, Mr.

Kumo said “the platform, forexample, will make it easy forNHF contributors to check theirNHF contributions using theNHF e-cards on any ATMmachines nationwide, theamount of money they havecontributed to the NHF schemeand thus be in a position to knowif their employers are makingthe appropriate NHFremittances as and when due”.

A top executive at mortgagebankers, Resort Savings & LoansPlc, Mr. Aliu Oshoke told PeoplesDaily that “What FMBN hasdone is to turn the usual pass bookinto an electronic card. Thoughyou cannot withdraw with thiscard, with it you will knowdetails of your contributionsunlike before when you did nothave any details. With this newcard, you can go to any ATM orcomputer with internet access,log onto the FMBN portal and seedetails of all your contributions”.He added that the e-collectionplatform would help inmobilizing more funds under theNHF scheme as it would check

sharp practices by somestakeholders.

Mr. Geofrey Ozoani, GroupGeneral Manager of masshousing developer, El-SalemNigeria Limited while hailingthe new NHF e-collectionPlatform said “it will create moreawareness of mortgages amongNigerians. There is a burningneed to create awareness toNigerians about mortgages andNigerian mortgage institutions.Even contributors to theNational Housing Fund do notknow what they arecontributing for”.

The NHF Act No.3 of 1992which set up the NationalHousing Fund scheme stipulatesthat a Nigerian worker earningthe minimum national wageand above per annum in eitherthe public or private sectors ofthe economy shall contribute2.5% of his/her basic monthlysalary to the Fund. The Fundprovides long-term loans tomortgage institutions for on-lending to contributors to theFund for the purpose of building,purchasing and improvement ofresidential houses.

Interestingly, despite therecent global meltdown andturmoil in Dubai where

property prices are coming down,discerning investors, with eyes onthe future are building moreportfolios in real estate.

And following the approval ofa new National Housing Policyand a new Urban DevelopmentPolicy by the Federal ExecutiveCouncil last June, foreign capitalhas been flooding into the country

for housing development underthe Private-Public Partnership(PPP) through which the federalgovernment intends to build onemillion housing units annuallyunder the new housing policy.

The reason for the blossomingreal estate sector in Nigeria,according to Seyi Oyetunde,Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer, ContinentalEstates, is because “real estatecannot crash, it stabilizes.

Demand is higher than supply inreal estate. I tell you there isnowhere else like real estate. Therichest men in the world, if youlook at their wealth, the bulk of itcomes from real estate. I can’tremember exactly now but Iknow about 90 per cent of theworld’s richest men thrive in realestate. Even when they do otherthings, it is based on their stock ofreal estate. They own cornershops everywhere, corner shops

that enjoy appreciation. Becausethey own their own shops, theydon’t rent and if at all they’ve gotto rent, maybe it’s out ofcompulsion. But 90% or 95% oftheir locations are out rightlyowned. People whose wealth isphenomenal and will last aboutfour generations without effortare in real estate. I tell you it isexodus syndrome that happensin Nigeria. With the directforeign investment into the

Nigerian market too, many shopsare opened, so many peopleglobally are beginning to realizethat the local market in Nigeriais attractive for their variousbusinesses. One of the first thingsthey will need is commercial realestate and then maybe back it upwith one serious luxuryapartment for the CEO and thenthe other managers can be givenhousing allowances and the restof them.”

Foreign investors rush for real estate opportunities in Nigeria

FMBN boss, Gimba Ya'u KumoCBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi


to the United Nations Declarationof Human Rights which alsorecognizes housing as a humanright and as such should join herdeveloped counterparts inputting in place policies that willboost homeownership amongNigerians and develop socialhousing for the no-income and

low-income earners in thecountry. Article 25 of theUniversal Declaration of HumanRights states that “Everyone hasthe right to a standard of livingadequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,including food, clothing, Housing,medical care and necessary social

Bill on Social housing out soonservices and the right to security inthe event of unemployment,sickness, disability, widowhood,old age or other lack of livelihood incircumstances beyond his control”.

The seminar was organizedby the Forum of Advocates onSocial Housing (FASH) and hadin attendance the HonourableMinister of Lands, Housing andUrban Development, Ms. AmaPepple, Senator Abba BukarIbrahim, members of theNational Assembly, property andconstruction professionals,bankers and members of thepublic while some of the resourcepersons were drawn fromNigerians in the diaspora withspecialization in social housingdevelopment and management.

Senator Ibrahim assured thatthe National Social Housing Billbefore the senate would be passedby the senate in a few weeks,

As 2013 sets in, activities inthe housing sector areexpected to be revved up as

stakeholders prepare for the finalpassing of the bill on social housing,now in its final stages at theNational Assembly. The bill is amajor part of the housing roadmapwhich President GoodluckJonathan said would beannounced early this year. Theroadmap is expected torevolutionize the housing sectorand tackle Nigeria’s worrisomedeficit of over 16 million housingunits.

Housing stakeholders inNigeria are calling for aconstitutional provision that willmake it mandatory for the varioustiers of government in the countryto provide decent and affordablehousing for all Nigerians. This willusher into Nigeria, SocialHousing, which bill will soon bepassed by the National Assembly,according to the SenateCommittee Chairman on Housing& Urban Development, SenatorAbba Bukar Ibrahim.

At a one-day seminar on SocialHousing held in Abuja recently,participants unanimously calledfor “a comprehensive HousingProvision Law on the recognitionand inclusion of “HousingRight” like Civil Rights as aspecific provision in theconstitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria and not just asa preamble in the FundamentalObjectives and DirectivePrinciples of State Policy”. Theyargued that Nigeria is a signatory

By Udenna Orji adding that virtually all themembers of the senate werecommitted to thecommencement of social housingin Nigeria. He said PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and theNational Assembly weredetermined to kick-start a housingrevolution in Nigeria hence theholding of a Presidential Retreaton Housing next Monday.

Social housing is an umbrellaterm referring to housing whichis owned and managed by thestate, not-for-profitorganizations, or a combinationof the two, usually with the aimof providing affordable rentalhousing. It is the provision ofaffordable, non-profit driven,mass produced houses that couldbe occupied by low incomeearners, who may wish to savetowards eventually buying suchhouses with time.

after profits, but they were alsotrying to justify their fast-accelerating land costs, especiallyin and around Mumbai (formerlyknown as Bombay) and othermajor cities.

But some business consultants(most prominently renownedmanagement expert, C. K.Prahalad) were arguing thatcompanies would profithandsomely if they target the“bottom of the pyramid” wherethe bulk of consumers are. It lookslike Tata is taking that advice.

Tata, the Indian companythat made worldwideheadlines with its $2,000

(about N300,000) Nano car plansto build 1,000 tiny apartmentsoutside Mumbai that will sell for$7,800 to $13,400 each. Thecompany plans to roll out low-costprojects outside other major cities.Tata’s housing division istargeting a segment of the marketthat was largely overlookedduring the housing boom. India’sbuilders were concentrating onbuilding shiny new high rises

Why Tata is developingIndia’s cheapest housing units

Housing and Urban Development Minister, Amal Pepple


The 2013 Honda Civic provesthat Honda is no slouch whenit comes to acting on

constructive criticism. The Civicwas redesigned just last year, butthe overhaul was panned as beingtoo slight to give the car any realadvantage in the very competitivecompact car segment. This year,Honda responds by sprucing upthe Civic with improvements thataddress the previous model'sbiggest flaws.

The most obvious changes arethe styling upgrades, which givethe car a sportier look that's alsomore distinctive, compared to theprevious-generation car. Inside thecabin, many of the cheap plasticsthat drew fire last year have beenreplaced with materials that boasta more high-end look and feel. Thedesign is largely the same, though,meaning it lacks some of the visualpizzazz and sophistication of somerivals.

Also important to note in thecabin is the significantly expandedstandard features list. Additionalincluded amenities now includeBluetooth, a rearview camera, textmessage functionality, an iPodinterface and Pandorafunctionality. Most of these itemsare often options on competitorvehicles as well.

There are mechanical revisionsas well. Honda recalibrated thesuspension and steering for moreresponsive handling, and addedadditional sound-deadeningmaterial for a quieter ride. On thesafety front, the new Civic benefitsfrom an updated body structurethat's said to provide better frontalimpact protection, revised front-seat side airbags, and theaddition of optionalforward collisionw a r n i n ga n dlane

departurew a r n i n gsystems forthe CivicHybrid model. These

Honda Civic comes with sportier lookare also very rare items in this pricerange.

So it seems as if the 2013 HondaCivic is now truly up to speed withits well-dressed and fully loadedrivals, which means the list ofexcellent choices in this segmentjust got a little bit longer. We'd stillsuggest looking at some of ourother favorites, including the 2013Ford Focus, 2013 Hyundai Elantraand Mazda 3, as they'recompetitive in terms of value,feature content and interiorquality. Civic Hybridshoppers will findthe ToyotaPrius Ca n d

VolkswagenJetta Hybrid tobe strong alternatives.And gearheads hankering for theCivic Si should test-drive the FordFocus ST, Mazdaspeed 3 andVolkswagen GTI since they stillsignificantly outdo it from aperformance perspective.

Overall, however, we'reimpressed with the revitalizedHonda Civic and find it to once

again be among the top choices fora small sedan or coupe.

The 2013 Honda Civic is acompact car offered in coupe andsedan body styles.

The standard Civic coupe andsedan come in LX,midrange EX andtop-of-the-l i n e

EX-L trims.The sedan is also available in a fuel-efficient HF trim.

Entry-level LX models comeequipped with 15-inch steelwheels, automatic headlights, fullpower accessories, air-conditioning, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a one-piece fold-down rear seatback and

cruise control. Electronic featuresinclude a 5-inch central displayscreen, a rearview camera,Bluetooth phone and audioconnectivity, SMS text messaging

functionalityand a four-speaker(six for the coupe) sound systemwith a CD player, an auxiliaryaudio jack, an iPod/USB audiointerface and Pandora radiofunctionality.

The fuel-efficient HF sedanstarts out with standard featuressimilar to those of the LX sedan,then adds a few upgrades designedto deliver maximum mpg. These

include low-rolling-resistancetires and aerodynamic

c a s t - a l u m i n u mwheels, wind-

c h e a t i n gunderbody

panels

and a rearspoiler.

The EX model adds to

or supplants those features with16-inch alloy wheels, rear discbrakes, a sunroof and 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks. EX coupes

get an upgraded seven-speaker sound

system, while EXsedans step up

to a six-s p e a k e r

s o u n dsystem.

The EX-Lmodel adds foglights,

heated mirrors, leatherupholstery and heated front

seats.The Civic Natural Gas is

available in one trim whosefeatures largely mirror those of

the LX.The Civic Hybrid sedan is

available in two trim levels, withthe base model's list of standardfeatures being similar to those ofthe mainstream EX sedan. TheHybrid also comes with forwardcollision warning and lanedeparture warning. The top-of-the-line "Leather" trim level for theHybrid adds extras found on theregular EX-L.

The sporty Si coupe and sedancome in a single trim level thatincludes 17-inch alloy wheels, abigger engine, a limited-slip frontdifferential, a sport-tunedsuspension, foglights and front andrear spoilers. Inside upgradesinclude most of the items from theEX model's standard features listplus front sport seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, analuminum shift knob and redbacklit gauges.

A navigation system with voicecontrols, satellite radio and real-time traffic updates is optional onall Si, Natural Gas and Hybridmodels, and on EX and EX-Lsedans and coupes.

The front-wheel-drive 2013Honda Civic is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that putsout 140 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque. Transmission choicesinclude a five-speed manual and anavailable five-speed automatic (HFand EX models get the automatic asstandard equipment). With theautomatic, the Civic returns anEPA-estimated 28 mpg city/39 mpghighway and 32 mpg combined.With the manual these numbers areslightly lower at 28/36/28, whereasthey go up to 29/41/33 on the HFmodel. In Edmunds performancetesting, a Civic EX-L went from zeroto 60 mph in 9.2 seconds -- anaverage time for this segment.Source: Edmunds.com


Don’t allow extinction ofIgbo language, says ClergyBishop Ikenna Uzoewulu of

Christ FoundationDeliverance Ministries

Worldwide, on has appealed toNdigbo not to allow Igbo languageand culture to go into extinction.

Uzoewulu made the appeal inAba, Abia, while on a pastoral visitto the Church. He said it wasimperative that Igbo languagewas repositioned because it wasthe Igbo man’s only lastingidentity.

Uzoewulu, who is the DeputyPresident of the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria (CAN),

Orumba South Local GovernmentArea in Anambra State, urged thechurches to preach the gospel andconduct other activities in Igbolanguage.

He advised Ndigbo to beconscious of their language and doeverything to preserve it. He saidit would spell doom for the Igbonation in the near future if thelanguage was allowed to go intoextinction, as had been predicted.

“All hands must be on deck toensure that Igbo language does notdie by putting its usage in practicein our everyday affairs. “We

should also make it as a duty andsee it as a pride to teach ourchildren the mother tongue, “ hesaid.

The clergy decried thesecurity challenge in someNorthern parts of the countrycaused by the activities of BokoHaram sect. He urged Christiansto pray earnestly and ceaselesslyfor God’s intervention. Uzoewulucommended President GoodluckJonathan’s efforts to reform thepower and agriculture sectors,adding that more needed to bedone. (NAN)

The Eze-Dunu, traditional ruler of Ifite-Dunu community, Igwe Chukwuemeka Ilouno (2nd right),doing the Ofala dance to mark his 3rd Ofala festival, on Sunday at Dunukofia local governmentarea in Anambra state. Photo: NAN

Benue Govt. will organise subsequent youth carnival

The Benue Government haspromised to organisesubsequent editions of the

Youth Carnival in the State. Gov.Gabriel Suswam, represented by hisDeputy, Stephen Lawani,announced this in Makurdi at theend of the Youth Cultural Carnivalin the state

Suswam explained that theMinistry of Culture and Tourismwould henceforth, partner with theoffice of the Special Assistant to theGovernor on Youth Affairs, toorganise subsequent youthcarnivals.

He said the just-concludedcarnival was the best of its kind inthe country due to its positive effecton the dying cultures in the state.The governor said the carnival was

capable of transforming Benueyouths into international celebritiesif they were adequately trained.

“I am satisfied with what I haveseen this evening; I have never seenanything like this. Yourperformances were great. ``Thecostume, dancing steps, music andeverything about this carnival wasunique. ``I know that you willbecome the most celebrated artistsin the world if you are adequatelytrained and we would try our bestto give you that opportunity,” hesaid.

He expressed satisfaction withthe behaviour of the youths duringthe carnival. He said the carnivaltaught the youths the importanceof their culture as an embodimentof the Benue tradition.

Mrs Comfort Ajene, theCommissioner for Culture andTourism, said the main objectiveof the carnival was to showcase thenumerous cultures in the state. “Italso served as a medium topromote our culture which is beingseriously destroyed by westernculture,’’

Ajene said. The News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) reports thatMnena Kershima, 22, fromOshongo Local Government Area,beat seven other contestants to winthe Miss Carnival 2012competition. NAN also reportsthat Ipusu Dance group beat 50other contestants to win thedancing competition. No fewerthan 43,000 youths participatedin the carnival. (NAN)

Hotel operators record high patronage at 2012 Calabar Carnival

Some operators haveattributed the highpatronages of at their hotels

to the high turnout of tourists atthe Calabar Carnival whichended on Monday.

Mr Michael Idakwo, GeneralManager, Tinapa Lakeside Hotel,told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Calabar that the hotelmade N15 million from patronageduring the festival which lastedfor one month.

He said that the hotel roomswere fully booked, adding thatmore visitors came on daily basisto enquire if there were still empty

rooms. “We have 242 rooms andthe whole rooms were occupied byvisitors that came to the carnival.“Some visitors had made theirbookings two months before thefestival, “ he said.

Idakwo said that 25,000customers visited the hotel in2012. Miss Offiong Bassey, SeniorSupervisor, Formula Hotel, saidthat there were 25 rooms in thehotel which were fully bookedduring the festival. “Themanagement was recording N30,000 daily sales before the festival,but during the carnival, werecorded an average of N70, 000.

Mr Ettah Enem, Manager,Gomez Plaza Hotel also attributedthe high patronage to the turnoutof visitors at the carnival andurged organisers to continue toinitiate programmes that wouldbring visitors to the city onregular basis.

Miss Mary Nick, Front DeskManager, Naks Hotel and Towers,said that hotel almost lost itsfavourite customers becausevisitors had booked the wholerooms in advance. She said thefavourite customers werecomplaining that there was noroom for them to lodge. (NAN)

This is how my Dad wherehe alive would have put it.It has been an eventful

year and at this point I can dareto say that there has been a lotof motion but no movement. Inall facets of our lives.

I just got back from a muchdeserved trip to Agenebode.From there I went to Igarra whereI practically grew up. I also wentto Auchi which was a transitpoint for me and siblings whenwe were also growing up. Igarraleft a big gap in my soul. In twentyyears, nothing has changed.The landmarks are all the sameand I still recognised all thosehaunts we used to frequent asteenagers. They have becomedilapidated but not changed.The main road from Igarra Oketo Ugbogbo was still the same.I could even swear that thepotholes were the same. I wastold that it was majorly becauseIgarra has always been in theopposition. Hmmm....

The roads from Jos toAgenebode have not changed.What happened to thepresidential directive that allroads must be repaired in onemonth?. A journey of about ninehours thus became a nightmareof twelve hours. In the case offuel, there was a major change.All the mega stations did nothave fuel except Lokoja whichhad a queue running for almostten ki lometres. If you werepatient enough, you joined thequeue and bought fuel for N97but if you were in a hurry all thestations along this route soldfuel between N115 – N125. Takeit or leave it. Many thanks to thatexcellent organization – FRSCthat ensured that there wassmooth flow of traffic in Lokojaand Okene.

A friend at Agenebode saidhe paid N45,000 to be able toget a ticket on the flight fromLagos to Benin. All of thesedistort ions of economicswithout meaning – how on earthcan one buy a ticket on-line andthe t icket is not honouredbecause there are more peoplewilling to pay double or triple theprice of a normal ticket. I ambeginning to think that weshould be getting to the point inNigeria where for any infractionwe should be ready to take thecourt route.

In the arts sector, wewitnessed a lot of movement.But for a country of 167m peopleit is not enough that in a year

there are less than forty theatreplays that can be reckonedwith. One is not talking of theairport receptions for visitingdignitaries or those organizedwhen the CEO is visiting orjetting out. I am talking oftheatre productions. Theaudiences are beginning toincrease and this is good butwe need more ambit iousproductions and productionsthat will make the soul to soar.This is still lacking. But 2013is giving us the opportunity toconsolidate on the little gainsof 2012. As for governmentpatronage for the arts, I knowit is still a very painful fact thatit is all an issue of ‘who knowman/woman’. Many of ourleaders still do not appreciateor even know the use of thearts in any society especiallyone like ours. If they do knowthey pretend that all is well inthe arts sector. All is not well. Iknow of a lot of promisesmade in 2010 which are yet tobe fulfilled at the end of 2012.So it has always been. For theavoidance of doubt let them allknow that no matter howsuccessful a show orperformance, t icket salesaccount for only 40% of theentire production costs. Therest is left for individual,corporate or governmentpatronage (i f one has thepatience to chase them). I havebeen reliably informed thatthere is no endowment fund forthe arts but there is amoribund arts policy. Let ussee what 2013 holds.Hmmm...

Ann John Mafai diedtowards the tail end of 2012. Itwas a very sad way to go aftera long and protracted battlewith cancer. She was one ofour most faithful art istes.When she died my thoughtswent to an organization in theUK that arranges for cheapand affordable treatment fordancers who have retired andare i l l either from boneweaknesses or the inability tocontinue to work. We arecurrently looking in thatdirection. Been able to providean endowment of sorts forourselves.

To those who continue tosupport and cherish the arts,we can only say, do not betired. The light in the tunnel isnot too long. We thank you atthe close of this eventful year.

Oh! What a year!

FRFRFRFRFROM OM OM OM OM THETHETHETHETHELIVE STLIVE STLIVE STLIVE STLIVE STAAAAAGEGEGEGEGE

with

Patrick-Jude Oteh

0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215

(SMS only)


PEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OF

THE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEK

New pilgrim on stilledhorizon

Scours a virulent thresholdthrough a prism

Wasted lands tell a sordidtale; a life of its own

With twists and turns – afire-lit tail…

Invocations were death-throes galore

As baldies with hook beakscircled patiently

“One last time!” was thebellow yielding a sob

“For my fathers and mychildren’s children…”

Beyond the chants and theheaving pants

Beyond even the memoriesgone-by with recants“We who walked with

thunder and supped withgods!”

“We who bestrodecolossally – wielders of fiery

word swords!”

Bones of old pilgrims werelittered in plain sight

They with plain beaks, daredto salivate intently

When Canines crackedcanines encored in vain

plightOnce upon a time, everyone

knew their place…

We swill the caustic froth offermented truths

We yield to the relentlesspace of fleeting youth

Beyond the Crier’s bellclang – the dreary herald

Our dreams yield sharply toour reality’s pangs…

Wasted lands tell of wastedlives

As new old pilgrims retreatin peace

New Prodigal of soil returnswith fleece

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETE“Love is not a thing to understand.Love is not a thing to feel.Love is not a thing to give andreceive.Love is a thing only to becomeAnd eternally be."– Sri Chinmoy

There are times when I havefollowed literary wisdomfrom the western sage that

to be a good poet one must writeand think like WilliamShakespeare or John Milton. Theworks of poets who are “good” oreven “great”, I used to reason, mustbe popular and historical. This logicalso applies to African writers andbrings to the forefront severalreasons why Vultures of Fortuneshould be of interest to any readerof serious poetry.

To understand Vultures ofFortune is to understand a normalman’s protestation against theinjustice that he sees all aroundhim and in his native country. Ibelieve Vultures of Fortune, as itsname reveals, is a book thatexplores the nature of betrayal andvain promises men love to make totheir fellow human beings. Whena vulture feeds on a carcass it didnot kill, it is in fact reaping whereit did not sow. In essence, this sumsup the story of the activitiesundertaken by greedy multi-national oil companies in Niger-Delta, an oil rich region in Nigeriawhere most of the country’s wealthcomes from.

The Niger-Delta has producedmany talented writers who havesought to voice out her pangsthrough poetry. The world wouldrecall the late Ken Saro Wiwa, anactivist in the early ‘90s fromOgoni land, the ethnic village ofthe Ogonis in Niger-Delta, whotried to use poetry and oratory toraise awareness about the plight ofthe Niger-Delta people. Thepassionate Saro Wiwa was later puton trial and hung for treasonagainst the Nigerian government.Wherever and whenever there isinjustice, there will be profiteersand charlatans; Pious Okoro makesthis keen observation in Vulturesof Fortune.

In my estimation, Vultures ofFortune is not just a collection ofshort poems but a poetic work filledwith protestation in the midst ofinjustice perpetuated by cunningand crooked human beings. Howone man obtains his riches may bemore hidden than meets theordinary human eye. Racial andethnic discrimination seems in the21st century fabulous to the denierof such unless he or she hasencountered one personally. Aleech, like an opportunist, operates

Vultures of Fortune

like a vulture. Okoro does well todepict foreign oil exploiters aspeople “who lay golden eggs indistant lands where their nest arebuilt.” In the poem “BeforeOloibiri”, the unlucky villagewhere oil was first discovered,Okoro in Vultures of Fortunemetaphorically describes themultinational oil companies andits key ally, the Nigeriangovernment, as havingabandoned the village, its people,its concern and welfare “like aharlot after the exploits.” ThoughNiger Delta is a now a veritable oilmine, Okoro notes that it formerlywas a place “where mosquitoesonce guarded bravely fromdesecration.”

Now if you have everexperienced the loss of a close friendor a relative, you should findOkoro’s poem written for a latechildhood friend, Chinedu Isiodu,very poignant. In “The Way ofMan” Okoro states that in life thereis a “shrouded mystery mortals

By Isaac Ewuoso

would always face.” I do notbelieve a real mad person is onewho has been declared as such bya mental institution, be it publicor private. So who are the real madmen of today? In “And we Callthem Mad Men”, Okoro illustrateshow garbage searchers, naïvefellows who fall victim to theopportunists or vultures, and poorfellows who could barely provideshelter for themselves are all madmen.

When you have to prove thatyou are an American or a soulbrother, then you know thatracism and stereotypes often gohand in hand. Though I am anatural born American with anaccent and I am “African looking”—so I have been told — I can sharethe sentiment of Okoro in thepoem “I, too, I am a brother” whenyou have to prove yourself tosomeone or a group of people thatyou are no different than they are.Therefore I can boldly say that “I,too I am a brother” and no less an

American than a secondgeneration Irish or GermanAmerican. Okoro protests:

“I plead to be heardI, too am a brotherThe one, who was sparedThe sea experienceBut made it to the land.”Who is to say or argue

convincingly that westernexploitation of Africa, particularlyof Nigeria and Niger-Delta, hasended? Western exploitation ofAfrica is not just limited to oil andgas but can be seen in second-handindustrial materials and vehiclesexported to Nigeria calledTokunbos in popular Nigerianslang. In the poem “Car, cash ‘n’Carry” Okoro writes:

“Drunks parade tokunbosThe good ‘n’ the worstThe West seeks to dumpIn the wastelandsThat produce nothingBut receive everythingLike the open sea.”But Okoro’s book leaves us with

the question: where do we go fromhere? I once heard a wise wittysaying from a psychologist on radiothat “in order to deal with aproblem you must identify it.” Iagree with that statementabsolutely! But I say in regards tothe problems revealed in Vulturesof Fortune that not only must weidentify them and the causes butalso provide solutions for them—some means of alleviating theplights of Niger-Delta inhabitants,if not, eliminating them. If theNigerian government and its’Western oil consumers who serveas allies for “color blind”exploitative business overturescannot assuage the pains of theNiger-Delta, the privilegedNigerian who lives as an expatriatein the west or the privileged “oilexpatriate” or better still theprivileged Westerner whoindirectly benefits from the regionthrough oil purchase and technicalmechanical support, should havesome compassion and even guilt tohelp out the poor of the poorest wholive there. There has been no timein which we need too much doingas opposed to too much sayingabout the injustice and poverty wesee all around us than in the 21stcentury. May God help us andgive us wisdom.

Source: Africanwriter.com

BOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEW

Title: Once Upon a Time…By C. Uche Onuora

13 states attend 2012 Igbo cultural carnival in AbiaNo fewer than 13 states are

participating in thisyear’s Igbo (Uturu)

cultural Carnival organised bythe Igbo Renaissance Centre of theGregory University, Uturu,Abia.

The Chairman of thecarnival, Professor GeorgeObiozor, commended theinitiator, Dr Greg Ibe, theChancellor of the university, forhis efforts toward thepreservation of the Igbo cultureand values.

Obiozor, a one-time Ministerof Foreign Affairs, said the Igboculture was facing serious threatof extinction, but that it could besaved through such initiative. He

enjoined Ibe not to rest on his oarsand expressed the confidence thatthe carnival would achievegreater national andinternational acclaim.

Senator Uche Chukwumerije,representing Abia NorthSenatorial District, enjoined thepeople not to allow their richcultural heritage to extinct.

Chukwumerije said manyNigerians were imitating foreigncultures at the detriment of thecountry’s rich culture. He notedthat advanced nations, includingAmerica, were spending so muchto preserve their own culture.

Mr Olusegun Runsewe, theDirector-General, NationalTourism Development

Corporation, said it would help topreserve the Igbo language andculture.

Runsewe, represented by MrVincent Arua, said the lack ofsuch carnivals portrayed the Igboas a people without a culture. Heexpressed the hope that thecarnival would help Africans inDiaspora to trace their root, inaddition to wealth creationthrough tourism.

The initiator of the carnivalsaid that he drew his inspirationfrom his belief in the study ofanthropology that “culture is life.“The Igbo culture and languagewill not go extinct if it is passedon from the old to young ones,’’Ibe said.

He said that the carnival,being the fifth edition, would setgoals for the organisers, beyondthe celebration of the people’scultural heritage.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that traditionalrulers are among those attendingthe carnival. It featuredchildren’s carnival, Uturu specialcarnival, carnival float,‘egwuonwa’ commandperformance, culture Christmascantata and a cross over churchservice/fireworks. States fromthe south-east, south-south andsome from the north attended thefour-day fiesta with the theme:``Harmonious Diversity’’.(NAN)


The Minister of Information,Labaran Maku, has statedthat so far the Federal

Government has generated twomillion jobs in agriculturalsector alone, and expressedgovernment’s intention togenerate three million jobs toNigerians this year.

The minister, who made thisknown during ‘2012 End of theYear Media Briefing’ Monday inAbuja, disclosed that a newsystem targeting the entireagricultural chain is beingpursued by the FederalGovernment as a departure fromprevious programmes.

In the power sector, Makumaintained that for the firsttime in Nigeria, the country’spower generation has reached 4,500 MW from the inherited 2,500 MW and attributed theprogress to the reforms andderegulation in the sector.

Stating that three out of the10 new power plants projectsbeing undertaken by the FederalGovernment have beencompleted, the minister declaredthat “a new contract for thehydro-power plant in Kadunawas awarded towards ending ofthe 2012 year” in addition to theMoU signed with a Chinesecompany to generate 3, 0050MW in Mambilla.

On the country’s presentsecurity challenges, the ministerstated the FG’s determination totackle insecurity andcommended the efforts of thesecurity officers which has“nipped in the bud severalplanned attacks”, describing theJoint Task Force (JTF) as theheroes of 2012.

Maku rounded off withachievements in the transportsector, which, according to him,for the first time in over threedecades, train movement fromLagos to Kano have beenrestored, restating that thedredging of River Niger isprogressing well with thecompletion of the Niger sectiontargeted for March next year.

Agriculture to generate threemillion jobs in 2013 – Maku

Fund seekers during the New Year celebration, yesterday at Millennium Park, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Osun warns public defecators

The Niger Delta YouthInitiative for PositiveChange, has warned some

Nigerian youth against therecent trend of using the socialmedia as platform to criticize thePresident Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal government, even asit called on the President to startdelivering his election promisesin the New Year.

The group who decried thedelight in using offensive wordsagainst leaders, said the attitudeof abusing leaders was notcommon in other countries.

According to Daily Post, anonline news portal,the NationalCoordinator of the group, Mr.David Ato who issued thewarning on Sunday, whileaddressing newsmen in PortHarcourt, Rivers State capital

noted that Jonathan had goodplans for the country.

Ato pointed out thatinsulting him on Facebook andother social media was not thebest, but rather, people shouldlearn how to respect leaderswhom they elected into office.

“The truth is that Nigeria hasbeen facing a lot of economic andpolitical problems for a longtime. Jonathan did not createthese problems, so the youthshould desist from using abusivewords against the President of thecountry”, he said.

While calling on the youth tosupport Jonathan , Atoreminded those insulting thepresident that he did not createthe economic and political crisiscurrently being faced by thenation.

The group therefore called onthe President to start deliveringon his election promises in the

New Year, stressing that thecountry had waited enough forhis transformation agenda toyield results.

Furthermore, the groupleader lamented over thecontinuous killings of innocentNigerians by the dreaded BokoHaram sect, calling on everyNigerian to pray fervently forpeace and progress, noting thatthe ongoing crisis in thenorthern region was affectingthe image and economy of thecountry, as nobody would investin a volatile environment.

While urging the president toquickly curtail the risinginsecurity presentlythreatening to tear the nationapart, the group advised thesecurity agents to liaise withmembers of the public onsecurity-related issues to helpbring the situation undercontrol.

‘Stop insulting Jonathanon social media’

By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule & TobiasLengnan Dapam

By Stanley Onyekwere, withagency report

The Osun stateCommissioner forEnvironment and

Sanitation, Prof. OlubukolaOyawoye, said that the stategovernment will no longertolerate defecation in publicplaces from next month.Oyawoye, who gave thewarning in Osogbo whilespeaking with newsmen, decriedthe way and manner somepublic places in the state operatewithout functional toilets.

The commissioner called onbusiness organisations to providetoilets for their workers andcustomers to ensure public health.

Oyawoye warned that as fromJanuary, the Community-LedTotal Sanitation (CLTS) Task Forcewould embark on inspection visitsto public places and houses in thestate.

She admonished operators of

motor parks, markets, hotels,restaurants, filling stations andcanteens to build toilets in theirown interest.

The commissioner said theneed to provide toilet facilities fortheir workers and customers wasto complement government’sefforts at promoting healthyliving.

Oyawoye described the habitof defecating in public places asworrisome, stressing the need forquick government intervention toprevent an epidemic.

She recalled that Gov. RaufAregbesola’s administration hadbuilt 32 functional toilets in publicschools in Ejigbo Local GovernmentArea.

The commissioner warnedthat anyone who failed to complywith government’s directivewould face the wrath of the law.(NAN)

NPA donates reliefmaterials to floodvictims in Kebbi

The Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) hasdonated relief materials to

flood victims in Kebbi state .The relief materials

consisted of 7,800 mosquitonets ,750 blankets and 750mattresses which werepresented to the Kebbi Stategovernment through theDeputy Governor, Alh.Ibrahim Khalid Aliyu by theNPA‘s Assistant GeneralManager, Buhari Abdullahi .

According to Abdullahi, therelief materials were intended

to bring succour to the familiesof flood victims in the State andthat similar gesture wasextended to other states affectedby the flood depending on thedegree of the flood.

“We are joining other wellmeaning Nigerians to providesuccour to the families of the floodvictims in Kebbi under ourcorporate social responsibilities”

The Kebbi State DeputyGovernor, Alh. Ibrahim KhalidAliyu thanked and commendedindividuals like Senator AtikuBagudu and NPA as the firstGovernmental organization tosend relief to the flood victims.

From Ahmed Idris, Brinin Kebbi

Fashola signs 2013 budget into law

Lagos State Governor, Mr.Babatunde Fashola (SAN)on Monday gave his

assent to the 2013Appropriation Bill totaling asum of N499, 105,000,000and appealed to all publicservants that the time to buckleup and get down to work againhas come.

Capital Expenditure took alion share of N269,376 billionwhich represented 54 percentwhile a sum of N229,729billion which represented 46percent was approved asrecurrent expenditure.

The governor who spoke atthe Conference Room of theLagos House, Ikeja added thatthe State government’ssuccesses has been and willremain measured by theoverall output and percentageperformance of the budget yearon year.

Governor Fashola said thebudget would be fullyoperational as it wouldcommence full operation fromJanuary 2.

He thanked the members ofthe State House of Assembly forworking round the clock toensure a quick passage of the

2013 Appropriation Act.Speaking, Chairman of the

House Committee onAppropriation, Hon MudashiruObasa said the House made acorrective amendment to thedraft figure submitted by theExecutive to arrive at theN499, 105,000,000 figure.

The 2013 budget is madeup a sum of N269,376 billionas capital expenditure and asum of N229,729 billion asrecurrent expenditure alltotaling N499, 105,000,000.

He added that the increasewas necessitated by adiscovery of theAppropriation Committeethat a cut down in overheadon all Ministries, Departmentsand Agencies (MDAs) hasseriously affected the LagosInternal Revenue Service(LIRS) against the existinglaw that established theagency as well commitmentfor the Lagos State House ofAssembly in the area ofcapital projects.

Hon Obasa explained thatobservations were also madeduring the Year 2012 budgetas it affects some of the MDAsthat a few of them performedwell in the area of InternallyGenerated Revenue (IGR).



60 killed in Ivory Coast stampedeAt least 60 people have

been crushed to deathand more than 200

injured during new yearfestivities in Ivory Coast's maincity Abidjan, officials say.

The incident occurred inthe early hours of Tuesdaynear a stadium in the centralPlateau area of the city wherea fireworks display was held.

The cause of the stampedeis not yet clear. It occurred aspeople were heading home afterthe event.

Most of the dead arebelieved to be children agedbetween eight and 15.

The death toll is expected torise.

The crush happened nearthe entrance to the stadiumafter the fireworks ended atabout 02:00 local time.

According to some reports,thousands of people weretrying to leave the stadium atthe same time as another largecrowd was trying to get in, theBBC's West Africacorrespondent Thomas Fessysays.

"In the crush, people werewalked over and suffocated bythe crowd," Lt Col Issa Sako,head of the military rescueeffort, told public television. Unclaimed belongings at the stadium.

CAR rebelsreject AUcall for talksRebels fighting the president of

the Central AfricanRepublic, François Bozize,

have rejected appeals from theAfrican Union to form a coalitiongovernment and to halt theiradvance on the capital Bangui.

"We are not convinced of thecommitments made by PresidentBozize," said Juma Narkoyo, therebel spokesman, when reached bytelephone by the Associated Pressin Bangui on Monday.

"Bozize has always spoken, buthe never keeps his word."

The rebels said they would enternegotiations "only if the head of statereleases all our relatives they havearrested without reason".

The AU is trying to secure a lullin fighting, which has seen therebels take several towns, toencourage them and Bozize to forma unity government.

The rebels' refusal to halt theiradvance came as dozens of troopsfrom neighbouring Republic ofCongo arrived at sunset on NewYear's Eve in Bangui as part of aneffort to step up the presence of amultinational regional militaryforce.

After disembarking from theirmilitary aircraft, the group of about120 men headed towards the linebetween government forces and acoalition of four rebel groups knownas Seleka north of Bangui.

About 10 towns, includingSibut, which is about 185km fromBangui, are currently in the handsof the rebels who have vowed toadvance on the capital.

Fighting began less than amonth ago and the rebels havetaken town after town, sometimeswithout a shot being fired.

The government imposed acurfew starting from 7pm, leavingthe streets largely empty on NewYear's Eve.

The rebels claim that Bozize hasabducted more than a dozen oftheir family members and warnedif the president uses foreign troopsto protect his government, theymay continue their militarycampaign towards the capital.

But the African Union has toldthe rebels that if they seize powerthey will face sanctions andCentral African Republic will besuspended from the continentalbloc.

Meanwhile, Francois Hollande,France's president, welcomed theefforts by the AU and the group ofneighbouring states to find anegotiated solution.

Hollande called for "opening adialogue between CAR authoritiesand all the parties present,including the rebellion".

The UN Security Councilhas imposed sanctions onleaders of the M23 rebel

movement in DR Congo.Under the measures, those

linked to the group will havetheir assets frozen and be barred

from travel. Similar measureswere taken against RwandanFDLR rebels.

Made up of deserters from thearmy, the M23 captured Goma- on DRC's eastern border withRwanda - from government andUN troops last month.

It later withdrew from thecity, following internationalcondemnation.

The New Year's Eve sanctionscome the day before Rwandajoins the Security Council for atwo-year term.

The UN and DR Congogovernment accuse Rwanda andUganda of backing the rebels, anallegation they strongly deny.

Rwanda is widely seen ashaving backed armed groups inthe east of DR Congo as a way tofight Hutu rebels who fled thereafter the genocide of the 1990s.

It has been accused of usingmilitias as proxies in an on-goingbattle for the region, which is

Col. Sultani Makenga, leaderof the M23.

The site is littered withabandoned clothes and bloodstains.

Relatives have gone there toget news of missing loved ones.

The distraught mother of anine-year-old boy told local

media: "I have just seen allthose bodies, but I can't find myson."

The 65,000-capacity FelixHouphouet Boigny Stadiumwas named after the foundingpresident of Ivory Coast.

M23 rebels placedunder UN sanctions

The fireworks event hadbeen organised to celebrate therecently re-established peace.

The night before thetragedy, the stadium hosted aconcert by US performer ChrisBrown.

Jonathan, other African heads to grace Mahama's inauguration

In less than a week to the swearing-in of Ghana's President-elect,John Dramani Mahama,

President Jonathan and a dozenheads of African countries haveconfirmed their participation in theevent.

Leaders expected include FaureGnassingbe of Togo, MahamadouIsoufou of Niger, Blaise Compaore ofBurkina Faso, African Union (AU)Chairman, President Thomas YayiBoni of Benin Republic and AlassaneOuattara of Cote d'Ivoire.

The Presidential TransitionTeam spokesperson, Mr. James

Jose Ramos-Horta getsUN Guinea-Bissau role

Mr Ramos Horta shared the Nobel Peace prize in 1996 for work-ing towards peace in East Timor.

Agyenim-Boateng, reportedly saidin Accra that "all is set for theinaugural ceremony on January 7"and invitations had been extendedto 50,000 guests from around theworld.

James disclosed that work on theceremonial ground has begun andwill be completed by January 5,adding that the team had receivedall hand-over notes from ministersand government officials.

For now, there were indicationsthat opposition New Patriotic Party,NPP, may shun the event on accountof alleged irregularities that marred

the polls over which it filed a petitionat the Supreme Court.

The oppositions Director ofCommunications, Nana Akomea,said the party was yet to confirmwhether or not it would attend theinauguration of President Mahamaon Saturday. If it fails to attend, itwould be the first time a mainopposition party is shunning theinauguration of a president-elect sincethe return of democracy in 1992.

Akomea stressed that he wasuncertain the party would sendrepresentatives to the event.However, he said the party's decision

would be informed by legal advice,saying they would attend if theirpresence would not invalidate thesuit filed against Mahama's victory.

"If lawyers so advise that yourpresence there when you believe thatthe whole process is based on anillegality and your presence therecompromises you, the legal opinionwill hold sway," he added.

The NPP Presidential candidate,Nana Akufo-Addo, had earlier toldjournalists after filing the challengewith the Supreme Court that thealleged discrepancies were too largeto overlook.

UN Secretary-General BanKi-moon has appointedthe former president of

East Timor, Nobel Peace prizewinner Jose Ramos-Horta, as hisspecial representative to Guinea-Bissau.

Mr Ramos-Horta will take upthe post on 31 January, a UNstatement said.

He will take over from

Rwandan diplomat JosephMutaboba.

The military seized power ofthe West African nation in acoup in April, and instability hasturned the country into a primedrug smuggling spot.

The UN Security Council hasdemanded that Guinea-Bissau'srulers restore constitutionalrule.


North Korean leaderreaches out to S/Korea

Protesters call for trial of the rapists.

Kim Jong-un made the call in a televised New Year speech.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for an end toconfrontation between the two

Koreas, technically still at war in theabsence of a peace treaty to end their1950-53 conflict, in a surprise NewYear speech broadcast on state media.

The address by Kim, who took overpower in the reclusive state after hisfather, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011,appeared to take the place of the policy-

setting New Year editorial publishedin leading state newspapers.

Impoverished North Korearaised tensions in the region bylaunching a long-range rocket inDecember that it said was aimedat putting a scientific satellite in

orbit, drawing internationalcondemnation.

North Korea, which considersNorth and South as one country,the Democratic People's Republicof Korea, is banned from testingmissile or nuclear technology

Asia andMiddle East

under UN sanctions imposed after its2006 and 2009 nuclear weaponstests.

"An important issue in putting anend to the division of the country andachieving its reunification is to removeconfrontation between the north and

the south," Kim said in the address thatappeared to be pre-recorded and wasmade at an undisclosed location.

"The past records of inter-Koreanrelations show that confrontationbetween fellow countrymen leads tonothing but war."

Venezuela's Vice-President Elias Jaua (right) ignored US warnings to avoid close ties with Iran'sAhmadinejad (2nd right).

Iran blastsObama forLatinAmerica law

Iran has blasted US PresidentBarack Obama for enacting alaw aimed at countering

Tehran's alleged influence in LatinAmerica, saying it was an overtintervention in the region.

"It is an overt intervention inLatin American affairs... that showsthey are not familiar with newworld relations," Iranian foreignministry spokesman RaminMehmanparast told reporters onTuesday.

The United States, he said, "stilllives in the Cold War era andconsiders Latin America as its backyard".

"We recommend that theyrespect the nations' right in today'sworld... world public opinion doesnot accept such an interventionistmove."

Mehmanparast said Tehran'srelation with all nations, inparticular with Latin Americancountries, was "friendly" based on"mutual respect and interest".

On Friday, Obama enacted thelaw which through a newdiplomatic and political strategy tobe designed by the StateDepartment is aimed to counterIran's alleged influence in LatinAmerica.

India tocharge fivegang-rapesuspects

Indian police have said they expectto formally charge five of sixsuspects with murder in the death

of 23-year-old woman who was rapedon a moving bus in New Delhi lastmonth.

The sixth suspect in the case thathas outraged the country is under18-years old. Under Indian law,juveniles cannot be prosecuted formurder.

Police ordered a bone test for thesixth accused to confirm his age,according to a police officer who spoketo the Associated Press on condition ofanonymity as he was not authorisedto talk to reporters.

Rajan Bhagat, New Delhi policespokesman, said on Tuesday that acharge-sheet in the case will be filedin court on Thursday.

Police also said they expected toreceive the victim's postmortemreport on Tuesday.

The suspects face the deathpenalty if convicted.

The physiotherapy student diedlast week in a Singapore hospitalwhere she had been sent foremergency treatment after thecrime in India's capital on December16.

The case has triggered protestsacross India and raised questionsabout lax attitudes by police towardsexual crimes.

Protesters and politicians fromacross the spectrum called for a specialsession of Parliament to pass new lawsto increase punishments for rapists -including possible chemicalcastration - and to set up fast-trackcourts to deal with rape cases within90 days.

Thousands of Indians have litcandles, held prayer meetings andmarched through various cities andtowns to express their grief anddemand stronger protection forwomen and the death penalty forrape, which is now punishable by amaximum of life imprisonment.

Authorities clamped down ondemonstrations in the heart of thecity before Christmas, but hundredsof people gathered for vigils onMonday nigh.

Protesters were seen sitting atJantar Mantar, New Delhi's famousprotest site and were shoutingslogans.

More events were planned acrossthe city.

Meanwhile on Monday, theIndian army and navy canceledtheir New Year's celebrations, as didSonia Gandhi, head of the rulingCongress party.

Seven charityworkers shotdead inPakistan

Seven charity workers, six ofthem women, have beenshot dead in north-west Pakistan,

police say.The women, some of them teachers,

were attacked near a children'scommunity centre. A male colleague diedwith them. All were Pakistani citizens.

Their vehicle came under gunfirenear the centre run by Pakistani charityUjala, or Light.

Militants targeting a vaccinationprogramme are suspected. No group hassaid it carried out the attack.

The incident happened in the Swabidistrict close to a road connectingPeshawar to the eastern city of Lahore.

The centre was part school and partclinic, specialising in maternal health.

"Four men came on two motorbikes.They attacked their van. They openedfire to the right and left of the van and fledon their motorbikes," Swabi district policechief Abdul Rashid Khan said, accordingto AFP.

PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, WENESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013

On fulfillment ofcampaign promisesJonathan’s

Okupe, refuted claims thatPresident Jonathan has notfulfilled most of the promises hemade to Nigerians during theelection that brought him intopower saying, he was optimisticthat the year 2013 will be the"year of Nigeria's glory. He alsoadded that Nigerians wereseriously lamenting before thecoming of Jonathan, butaccording to him, thelamentations have started todecrease.

"To say that Nigerianslamented the most in 2012, thatis not true. There werelamentations before. ThePresident on assumption of officesaid the days of lamentations areover, so in gradual sequence, thelamentations started to decrease.Gladly enough, stage by stage,most of the promises he made arebeing fulfilled gradually.

"2013 is a year of Nigeria'sglory. The president has said it.Good things are coming toNigeria. There will be growth inall ramifications. There will beregular power supply" he said.

On Boko HaramOkupe said even though the

President has not foreclosed directinterface with the group, thedialogue would have to beconstructive with highest level ofsincerity. He said the FederalGovernment was not againstdialogue but that the realrepresentatives of the sect mustfirst of all be identified beforegenuine dialogue can take place.

"I believe that most Nigeriansare interested in dialogue and thatthis ultimately would be the bestway of resolving the issue, butdialogue would have to beconstructive. You have to identifygenuine people and when theproper stage is set for dialogue, thegovernment would surely beinterested", he said.

Even so, the President saidmore than 70% of the intendedaction of the sect is being foiled bysecurity agencies, adding that Asorock has the capability to secureand protect the people of thecountry. "The FederalGovernment has curtailed theinsurgency, it's no longerescalating. There is containmentwith both the numbers andlocations. Don't forget thatinsurgency is not easy to containanywhere in the world, but thegovernment has a responsibilityto protect the people and it's doingjust that.

"So, we should be careful withthe way we criticize the President;we should measure ourutterances. You don't destroy acountry because you want tocriticize the Federal Government.Boko haram only spread to sevenstates when it began and has beencontained to three states. Howthen can people be saying that thecountry is not safe?" He asked.

On Anenih's appointmentas NPA Chairman

Reacting to condemnationsthat trailed last week appointmentof Chief Anthony Anenih as theChairman of the Nigeria PortsAuthority (NPA), the

released. "Why then shouldpeople be accusing him ofembezzling money when themoney was not released?" hequeried.

On FG's action on fuelsubsidy

Okupe assured Nigeriansthat the coming year will be thecountry's year of glory and thatthe Federal Government did notmake a mistake in its handlingof the fuel subsidy issue inJanuary this year. He said theJonathan's administration is avery responsive governmentand that, according to him,explains why the government,after due consultations bow tothe wishes of the Nigerian peoplethrough the reduction in petrolprice from N141 to N97 per litre."I am not being pompous orirrational but I don't agree thatgovernment made a mistakegiven the way it handled the fuelsubsidy issue. As responsiblegovernment, if you do somethingwrong and you come to therealization, you should agree thatyou make a mistake, but in thatparticular situation, fromgovernment perspective, it wasn'ta mistake. I don't thinkgovernment made a mistake; I am

President Goodluck Jonatha

speaking from government'sposition, I don't think it was anerror. Government backed downto the wishes of the people whichare a responsible thing to do in ademocracy".

On refineriesHe also spoke on the nation's

refineries saying just like an oldcar, the refineries in the countryare old and instead of spendingmoney on frequent maintenance,the best option is to sell it off andpurchase a new one.

On why the federalgovernment did not partner withthose operating illegal refineriesin the creeks to raise the refineriesto a standard level and makethem legal, Okupe said theoperation of illegal refineries hasnothing to with national growthand development. "The refineriesare working and I believe thateven in recent times, the recentfigure that we have is thatmajority of the refineries we haveare very, very old. The least ofthem is about 30 years in age ormore. So, we are caught betweenthe devil and the deep blue sea.The best thing to do is to do awaywith these refineries. It is likehaving an old car and you don'thave money to purchase a new"

Presidential spokesperson saidthat there was nothing wrongin appointing the veteranpolitician to use his vastexperience to guide theprofessionals in NPA. He saidthe various allegations leveledagainst the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) chieftain have notbeen proven in the court of lawand that records have shownthat they are all lies.

He particularly mentionedthe billions of Naira thatAnenih was alleged to havecollected when he was theMinister of Works, saying thatthe money was only budgetedby the ministry and was not

Jonathan fulfilled campaignpromises in 2012, claims OkupeINTERVIEW Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs in this

interaction with newsmen in Lagos recently spoke on the “achievements” recorded by his principal inyear 2012 and other issues of national interest. Our Lagos Correspondent, Ayodele Samuel was there.

Dr. Doyin Okupe

"I believe that most Nigeriansare interested in dialogue andthat this ultimately would bethe best way of resolving the

issue, but dialogue would haveto be constructive.

“


2013: CNPP seeks globalsanctions against corrupt leaders

The newly registeredUnited ProgressivesParty (UPP) yesterday

disclosed that it has zoned thePresidential ticket of the partyto the South East geopoliticalzone of the country,challenging PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to sit up andtackle insecurity, corruptionand poverty head-on.

In a statement signed by the

National Publicity Secretary ofthe party, Ogbuechi Dike, UPPsaid that in consonance withsection 14(2)b of the 1999constitution (as amended), thesecurity and welfare of thepeople remains the primarypurpose of government.

It urged the President to stopexecutive rigmarole andprovide abundant democracydividends to the long sufferingNigerians, recalling that in theprevious year 2012, hell was

2015: UPP zones presidential ticket to S/Eastlet loose on Nigeria due tounprecedented violence, flood,corruption, armed robberies,infrastructural decay, hunger,executive recklessness, whichcreated despair in the land.

On this basis, UPP reiteratedthat it remains a party to beatin 2015, saying it is battleready, having conquered thesouth east zone in its march toAso Rock.

In another development,UPP called on Governor

Deputy Speaker, House ofRepresentatives, Rt. Hon.Emeka Ihedioha, has

called on Nigerians to put thepast behind them and lookforward with hope, optimismand renewed faith in themselvesand the country in the year2013 and beyond.

In a New Year message signedby his Chief Press Secretary, OkeEpia, the Deputy Speaker saidthe challenges of 2012 havehelped to strengthen the resolveof Nigerians to overcome thehurdles of nation-building,noting that the country hascome out stronger in spite ofthem.

He expressed hope thatNigeria will be better in the NewYear and that all citizens mustcontinue to contributemeaningfully to the growth anddevelopment of the country.

He congratulated Nigerians,Imolites for the God-givenopportunity to see a brand newyear. He pledged increasedcommitment of the House ofRepresentatives improving thelives and living conditions ofNigerians generally.

2013: Ihediohaurgesrenewed faith

By Umar Muhammad Puma

Argentina, the US and UK; andvetting of all international businessesthat require specified amount oftransfers. We believe these measureswould bring significantimprovement in the situation of thecountry when taken promptly".

Ezugwu added that, sincecoming into the office after the 2011

elections, President Jonathan, hasnot visited Borno state even if onlyto reassure the suffering citizens ofthat place that Nigeria has not andwill not forsake them.

Considering the size of thecountry in all ramifications andthe series of Federal Government'sfailed boasts to rout out the

insurgency by extremists in theNorth East of the country ,theConference said the ongoingcarnage is a massive tragedy ofinternational proportion.

"The President is making a showof coming to terms with the realityon ground but his actionsthroughout 2012 told Nigerians ofa man who will rather groomcorruption to thrive to getwhatever reprieve he seeks for

himself. He continues to surroundhimself with questionablecharacters with most of thosearound him being neck deep insleaze from Ministers, SpecialAdvisers to heads of extra-ministerial departments. Hehimself admitted that somedirectors are richer thangovernors. A known ex-convictsstruts the corridors of thepresidential villa".

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi Theodore Orji of Abia State totake immediate

steps to provideinfrastructure to the displacedspare parts traders at OhiyaMechanic Village Umuahiawho have been trading inunhygienic and uncompletedbuildings where the stategovernment relocated them.

It also called on thegovernor to intervene andreduce the high cost of thenewly built shops placed at onemillion naira, each at AzuekeIbeku Umuahia buildingmaterial market to make itaffordable for most of thetraders, saying it is the essenceof good governance andcompassionate leadership.

Meanwhile, it commendedthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC)for de-registering unviablepolitical parties, urging thecommission to start preparationfor the 2015 general election inorder to avoid a fire brigadeapproach that could impede ourfrail democracy.

It also advised INEC toprovide a level play field to allpolitical parties and maintainits integrity as an unbiasedumpire.

By Lawrence Olaoye

God will manifest Himself in Ekitiin 2013 - PDP guber aspirant

year."We also wish to urge our

people, especially supporters ofthe PDP to remain calm,focussed and keep hope alive inthe New Year, because God willsurely manifest Himselfconcerning Ekiti State this year.

"Therefore, our people shouldremain steadfast in theirsupport, commitment andloyalty for us and our greatparty, the PDP, bearing in mindthat in this new year 2013, wewill remained committed toserving them."

Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) governorshipaspirant in Ekiti State,

Prince Dayo Adeyeye hasdescribed the new year 2013 asthe year of clear manifestationof the will of God concerningthe State, saying; "No matterhow thick a c loud is , therewil l a lways be sunshine atthe end."

In a New Year message bythe Prince Adedayo AdeyeyeMovement (PAAM), s igned

by its Director General, Hon.Bis i Kolawole, the PDPgovernorship hopeful saidthe people 's goodwil l andsupport towards the PDP inthe year 2012 had furtherreinforced his commitmentto serving the statewholeheartedly and makinglife more meaningful for thedowntrodden.

The statement read, "Wein PAAM wish tocongratulate the ent irepeople of Ekit i State formaking it to this brand new

The Conference of NigerianPolitical Parties (CNPP),has called on the international

community to activate laws tosanction corrupt leaders in thecountry in the year 2013.

In its New Year message toNigerians, the Secretary General ofCNPP, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said theinternational community andagencies cannot stand by and watchthe plotted disintegration of thecountry.

"It is on this note we urge nationsof earth and the internationalcommunity to strongly consider:international sanctions againstcorrupt Nigerian leaders, similar tothose imposed on South Africaduring the apartheid era, until thecountry's corruption perceptionindex improves

"Nothing presently works inNigeria except for what is merelythe semblance of a country to theextent that it is now a shadow of whatis was before the military snatchedpower back in 1996 or when Nigeriajoined the comity of nations as a giantof Africa in 1960. The state can nolonger guarantee the fundamentalrights of its citizens with the state ofsecurity abysmally poor and statesin several parts of the country,particularly in a state of war;

"We urge the internationalcommunity to freeze and or closureof questionable International BankAccounts especially those inSwitzerland, Cayman Island, Dubai,Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil,

…Says NASS is corrupt

l-R: Chairman,ApproprationCommittee,Lagos StateHouse ofAssembly,Hon. MonsuruObasa,DeputySpeaker,Hon.KolawoleTaiwo, thestategovernor, Mr.BabatundeFashola, andhis deputy,Mrs. JokeOrelope-Adefulire,during thesigning of2013Approprationbill into law,on Monday inLagos.

Photo: NAN



Real Betis of Spain midfielder, Nosa Igiebor andVillareal striker, Ikechukwu Uche, yesterdayjoined the Super Eagles fold ahead of the

international friendly against Catalonia selected latertonight.

Celtic’s Rabiu Ibrahim was also part of the partythat joined the Eagles for the only training session.

There were fears that Igiebor, might not make theteam, when he failed to arrive Faro, Portugal asarranged with Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, butimmediately evaporated when he appeared in campyesterday afternoon, as the team landed in Barcelona.

The team departed its Browns Resort and SportsCentre camp on schedule at 4am, Portuguese time,which is 5am, Nigerian time, but experienced somelittle delay at the Faro Airport, but eventually arrivedLisbon at some minutes after 9am.

The flight took just 35minutes. After immigrationformalities the team set out for Barcelona and arrivedthe city at about 11:20am Nigeria and Spanish time.The flight lasted 1:30minutes

Officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Spain led byHead of Chancery, Mr Safiu Olaniyan, Deputy ConsulGeneral, Mr. Nze Nnadi, Curtis Aghedo, who isPresident Nigerian Union in Barcelona, KingsleyLawal, President Nigerians in Valles and GbengaAdegoke Scribe of Nigerians in Valles, were on hand to

Victor Ikpeba

Chibuzor Okonkwo

Head Coach of Catalonia side, Johan Cryuff, has listed 10 playersfrom Spanish La Liga leaders Barcelona for the internationalfriendly against Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

He has also picked seven players from Espanyol FC, whose ground willhost the encounter.

The list made available to the Nigerian delegation on arrival in Barcelonahas Barcelona first choice in goal, Victor Valdes, Xavi Hernandez, CarlosPuyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Martin Montoya, SergioRoberto, Christian Tello and Marc Bartra all listed from the Catalan giants.

From Espanyol, there will be Joan Verdi, Joan Capdevilla, Sergio Garcia,Kiko Casilas, Raul Rodriguez, Victor Sanchez, and Sergio Tejera. Others inthe team list are AC Milan’s Bojan Rkic, Getafe’s Alvaro Vazquez, JordiAmat and Francesco Medina ‘Piti’ both of Rayo Vallecano and Red BullsZalburg’s Jonathan Soriaro.

“These are big names no doubt but our players know that names don’tplay football these days, we will just go out there and give our best againstthem”, Head Coach Stephen Keshi said.

The match time has also been brought forward, as it would now be playedat 7pm, Nigerian and Spanish time from 9pm that it was earlier slated butthe venue remains Espanyol FC home ground in the Catalan city. Carlos Puyol

Super Eagles right full back,Chibuzor Okonkwo is positivehis side will have a good game

against the Catalonian selected sidein today’s friendly in Spain.

Okonkwo missed the friendly tieno thanks to non-possession of validShengen Visa.

The Eagles are already in Faro,Portugal and will head to Spain forthe crunch encounter that willserve as tune-up match for the side’s2013 AFCON title chase in SouthAfrica.

Okonkwo said if the Eagles adherestrictly to instruction they will beable to nick a positive result againststar-studded Catalonian side.

“I’m confident that the Eagles willget a good result against theCatalonian selected once they playaccording to the coaches’instructions.

“The Catalonian side we’re toldare star-studded but they’re

beatable. We’ve been given the besttraining and equally preparedmentally and physically to standshoulder to shoulder with them.

“I won’t be there physically butI’ll continue to pray for their successnot only in the friendly game butduring the AFCON proper,” said theformer Heartland strongman tosupersport.com.

The former Bayelsa Uniteddefence ace is still hopeful that amiracle will see him feature for theside in South Africa.

“Everything is still possible; Icould still be in South Africa if Goddecrees it to be so. So I live each daybelieving that a miracle could stillhappen,” he said.

The Eagles will head to Nelspruit,South Africa where they are due tostart their title campaign againstGroup C West African foes, BurkinaFaso on January 21 before they faceCup holders, Zambia and Ethiopia.

Former African Player of theyear Victor Ikpeba has saidhe is being impersonated on

Twitter as he does not have suchan account.

Ikpeba made this clarificationfollowing an exchange onTwitter purportedly betweenhim and Osaze Odemwingie afterthe West Bromwich striker wassensationally dropped from theAFCON.

“I make bold to statecategorically here that I don’thave a Twitter account, neitherhave I exchanged words withanybody on the social networksite,”said Ikpeba in a statement.

“I only have a Facebookaccount, which I even seldomvisit. I would rather spend myprecious time with my familythan confront anybody on asocial network site.

“I am using this medium tocall on Nigerians to disregardstatements or comments fromthis Tweeter account opened inmy name and picture becausesuch remarks are not from me.”

Ikpeba, who is on the technicalcommittee of the NigeriaFootball Federation (NFF),instead enjoined the Eagles to go

to South Africa to prove they arethe giants of the continent.

“They should go out there andprove once again that we are thetrue giant of African football,irrespective of who is selected ornot,” he urged.

Igiebor, Uche link up withEagles in Barcelona

receive the team at the magnificent BarcelonaInternational Airport.

There were also about 20 Nigerian footballsupporters who were at the airport to bid the teamwelcome.

The team was immediately moved to the equallyeye-popping Hotel Fira Palace in the heart of Barcelona,where they were addressed by Mr Olaniyan on behalfof the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Amb. BaincaOlivia Odimegwu Ojukwu, who was unavoidablyabsent due to other engagements.

In her speech, Ambassador Ojukwu, described thenational team as the higher grade of ambassadors ofNigeria and urged the players to go all out and do thecountry proud in the friendly against Catalonia andat the upcoming Nations Cup in South Africa.

She said she was aware that the government ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan was solidly behind theteam to achieve success at the AFCON tourney asfootball is a major unifying force in Nigeria.

Head Coach Stephen Keshi, said he was humbledby the kind words of the ambassador and assured thatthe Super Eagles will do all within their powers todefend the green white green colours of the nation atall times.

“We promise never to let the confidence and trust ofthe nation down at all times”, he said.

Warri Wolves defenderAzubuike Egwekwe

has named 10 players from mightyBarcelona, while several playersfrom the NPL expected to be part ofthe action.

Warri Wolves defender AzubuikeEgwekwe said that they are unfazedby the prospect of coming upagainst some of world football’s topstars like Xavi, Puyol and VictorValdes.

“I am aware the Catalonia teamis a star-studded with most of theplayers from Barcelona. I am notafraid to mark or face any player.We are professional players just likethem so no cause for alarm,“Egwuekwe declared.

Sunshine Stars right backSolomon Kwambe said the Eagleswill be up to the task.

“We fear no one. We have beentraining hard for the game and weare ready. They are known stars

but we are ready to make a nameand show the world we are equal tothe task, “ Kwambe said.

Kano Pillars star Gabriel Reubenwill battle the likes of Xavi for thecontrol of the midfield and he saidhe is looking forward to thechallenge.

“It will be a great experience forme battling for the control ofmidfield with Iniesta and Xavi. I willbattle them to the best of myability,” he stated.

“I am not intimidated one bit. Itwill be a great experience for us asindividuals and as a team.

The Catalan side thrashedNigeria 5-0 when they first clashedin 1998.

Today’s game will be staged atthe home ground of La Liga sideEspanyol and it will kick off 9pmNigerian time.

The Nigeria Premier League(NPL) stars have said they willtake on the Barcelona stars

who will line up for Cataloniatonight.

Eagles take on Catalonia, who

NPL stars dare Barcelona

Okonkwo sure of Eagles

Ikpeba disownsTwitter comments

Catalonia lists 10 Barcelona stars, 7Espanyol players against Eagles

Stories by Albert Akota


Dolphins femalebasketball club ofLagos has

emerged winners of the2012 Mark D-Balltournament.

The club defeated thedefending championsPearls basketball teamfrom Lagos to clinch thetrophy.

The final match, whichtook place at Otukpo Sports

Arena, was a thrillingmoment for the championswhen they beat theirrivals 32-24 points.

The defendingchampions, which had 10points against the 11points on the Dolphins sideduring the first time out,could not equalize at theend of the fourth quarter.

Okworogun Ochuko,Head Coach of Dolphins,

said she was very happyand impressed by theperformance of the girls.

Ochuko said it waspossible that theiropponents underratedthem after beating themat the group stage.

“I feel so happy; the firsttime we met at the groupmatch they defeated us.

”So, may be, they haveunderrated us and it was

in their mind that theyhave beaten us once andthey can do it again,” shesaid.

Ochuko said after theywere defeated by Pearls inthe group match, theywent back to work on theirlapses and weredetermined to come outstrong at the final.

”Being that we lostbefore, we now went back

and looked at where wewere lacking, what we didwrong and what we didright.

“So, we went to work onthem and came back, theywere not expecting whatthey got and when theyrealized it was alreadylate,” she said.

The Captain ofDolphins, TokunboOlaoshibikan, said she felt

so great that they won thetrophy, adding that theyhad sacrificed so much toattend the tournament.

“I feel so great becausecoming down here wehad to sacrifice ourChristmas and New Yearwith our families andcoming down here for thefirst time it was tough butam happy we won,”Olaoshibikan said.

Dolphin’s female team wins basketball competition

Plateau United Coach, Patrick Mancha has blamedhis wards for the 1-2 loss to FC Abuja in NigeriaNational League (NNL) Matchday 2 in Abuja.

The Tin City side had looked forward to consolidate ontheir 2-0 emphatic home win against Spotlight FC inthe season’s opening day.

Mancha, who has course to complain on the handlingof the match, said his charges would have negated thepoor officiating if they had converted several goalscoringchances that came their way.

“The way you prepare your bed so will you lay on it,we got the match wrong and we paid dearly for it.

“Fine, there are lots to be bitter over the referee’shandling of the match but I don’t want to dwell on it.

“I blamed my wards for their failure to convert several Emeka Inyama, NNL chairman

The Super Eagles arrived in Spain yesterday toprepare for the Nations Cup in Catalonia afterhaving been camped in Faro, Portugal for a week.

Celtic playmaker Rabiu Ibrahim is expected to joinhis team mates yesterday as he could not make the campwith them in Faro, Portugal because of un-anticipateddelays in his flight schedule.

Ikechukwu Uche and Ibrahim will be the last duo to make theEagles’ camp just in time for the clash on Wednesday Jan. 2. Rabiu Ibrahim

Midfielder Nosa Igiebor who was to have joined upwith his team mates in Faro is ‘AWOL’ as the team’stechnical crew has no clues regarding his whereabouts.

“We are still waiting for word from Nosa at themoment, so we cannot say he will be in Catalonia orFaro for the game”, Team Secretary, Dayo Enebi Achor.

Today’s match against the Catalonia select managedby Dutch legend Johann Cryuff will be played at thehome of La Liga side, Espanyol at 9:00pm Nigerian time.

Eagles arrive Spain for today’s cracker

goalscoring chances. They blew over seven such glaringchances. I think we lost the game ourselves.

“There is always a lesson to learn from each game, it’san eye opener if we must make headway in this year’sleague season,” said the former Nigerian player tosupersport.com.

Mancha said they will make up for the defeat againsttheir Matchday 3 opponents, Niger Tornadoes at theRwang Pam Stadium on Sunday.

“We’ll make up for the loss when we host NigerTornadoes on Sunday,” he said.

The former Golden Eaglets player said he is prayingfor a good football year free of crisis.

“We pray for a football season free of crisis in the NewYear and beyond,” he enthused.

Mancha blames wards for defeatJohn Obi Mikel

Chigozie Agbim

Warri Wolves’g o a l k e e p e r ,Chigozie Agbim,

will be between the sticksfor Super Eagles in today’spre-AFCON game againstCatalonia.

Reports in the local mediathis week had suggestedthat overseas goalkeepers,Vincent Enyeama andAustin Ejide, will link upwith the Nigerian squad forthe friendly match.

But Chief Coach,Stephen Keshi has said notto have had the trio of

captain Joseph Yobo, Ejideand Enyeama in his plansfor the game againstCatalonia at the EstadiCornella-El Prat.

The absence of Ejide andEnyeama now leavesAgbim as the mostexperienced keeper in theteam in spite of thepresence of Heartland shot-stopper, Daniel Akpeyi.

“The two goalkeepers,Vincent Enyeama andAustin Ejide as well ascaptain Joseph Yobo werenot part of the plans for the

Catalonia game.“Myself and the coaches

including the head coach(Keshi) were surprised toread that they were set toarrive in Spain for thegame. The report neveremanated from the SuperEagles’ camp.

“There are twogoalkeepers (Agbim andAkpeyi) here as well as ahandful of players, so oneof the two will take to thegoalpost.

“Spokesman of the SuperEagles, Ben Alaiya saidyesterday as the teamtravelled out of Portugal

for today’s match.But Alaiya was tight-

lipped on the goalkeeper,who would be picked forthe game in Spain.

“Honestly, I cannot say(which goalkeeper willstart against Catalonia).The coaches will take thatdecision and when they doI will inform you,” heoffered.

It is the second timeNigeria will come upagainst Catalonia after a 0-5 loss to the Catalunyaselected team at the EstadiOlimpic Lluis Companysonon December 22, 1998.

Agbim to start against Catalonia

Nigeria inter-national, John ObiMikel is now aware

that he faces a battle for astarting place at Chelsea.

M i k e l ’ sacknowledgment stemsfrom the conversion ofcentre-back David Luiz toa defensive midfielder byChelsea manager RafaelBenitez in recent games.

The 25-year-old

Nigerian midfielder hasbeen the man for the dirtyjob at Chelsea for the pastsix years and has becomeaccustomed to thepartnership of eitherRamires or FrankLampard in the heart ofthe pitch.

“I think he (Luiz) needsto play at the back. Itaffects you because I’vebeen here for a long time.

“And now I have to playwith David Luiz. It’s just alot, I think,psychologically as well.

“You think, ‘If I’mplaying today, who am Igoing to play with?’

“I’ve played with Frank(Lampard) for a long timeand I’ve always enjoyedplaying with Frank andRami as well and (now)with David,” said Mikel.

Benitez, however, stuckto Luiz for Chelsea’s gameat Everton over theweekend despite Mikelbeing available afterserving a three-matchsuspension.

The former Liverpoolmanager firstexperimented with Luiz inthe holding role at therecent edition of the FifaClub World Cup.

Mikel admitschallenge at Chelsea


Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the BrisbaneInternational on Tuesday as a precaution beforethe Australian Open.

The French Open champion recently withdrew froman exhibition in South Korea because of an injuredcollarbone.

American Serena Williams, ranked third in theworld, advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-2victory over Alize Cornet of France.

Williams, 31, who won Wimbledon and the US Openlast year along with Olympic gold and the season-endingWTA Championships, only needed an hour to beat theworld number 44. The former world number one willplay either fellow American Sloane Stephens or SofiaArvidsson of Sweden in the last eight. Maria Sharapova

Former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe says membersof the New Year honours committee made a “bigmistake” in not recognizing more Paralympic

athletes.He said Paralympians were not put on an equal footing

with Olympic medallists and that was a “missedopportunity”.

Wheelchair athlete David Weir, who was made a CBEafter winning four gold medals, has suggestedParalympians have to work harder to earn recognition.

Cyclist Sarah Storey became a dame, the top awardto a Paralympian this year.

Olympic cyclist Bradley Wiggins and sailor BenAinslie were knightedDavid Weir

C h e l t e n h a mracecourse hasbeen forced to

cancel its prestigious NewYear’s Day meeting becauseof a waterlogged track.

The ground was heavyand saturated in placesleaving some areas of thetrack unraceable.

And with further rainforecast, clerk of the courseSimon Claisse made an earlydecision.

He added: “Sadly we’vehad to take the decisionearlier than we thought toabandon the meeting.

“We’ve had more rainfall- it’s still raining herenow and there’s quite a lotmore rain forecast.

Heavy rain also put paidto Monday’s meeting atWarwick but Uttoxeter doesgo ahead after passing aninspection.

Cheltenham’sNew Yearmeetingabandoned

Cycling and rowing performance directors DaveBrailsford and David Tanner were knighted for theirservices to both Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In total, 29 athletes from ParalympicsGB wererecognised following their achievements in the summer.

“Paralympians would get honours; the committee saidit was unlikely. We managed to get them to changetheir mind and have a separate category for Olympiansand Paralympians.

Saying they had had made a “big mistake” in notawarding the highest honour to Paralympians like Weir,he said: “There was an opportunity to be consistent andif you look at his record over several Olympics I thinkthe least he should have got is a knighthood.

Consider paralympians forhonours, minister tells committee

Andy Murray

British number oneHeather Watsonbeat fifth seed Sorana

Cirstea of Romania toadvance to the second roundof the ASB Classic inAuckland.

Cirstea retired having lostthe first set 6-3.

Meanwhile, Britishnumber two Laura Robsonlost 6-2 6-3 to Romania’sMonica Niculescu in thesecond round of the ShenzhenOpen in China.

Robson, the world number53, will now prepare for theAustralian Open, whichstarts on 14 January.

Top seed Li Na beat MandyMinella of Luxembourg 6-46-0 to reach the secondround.

Watson enterssecond roundof ASB Classicin Auckland

Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor hasapologised toRaymond van

Barneveld after thealtercation at the end oftheir PDC WorldChampionship semi-final.

Taylor appearedagitated with his opponentfollowing the 6-4 win.

“Raymond’s a big ladand has a stronghandshake. When hepulled me, it hurt me, saidthe 16-time worldchampion.

“I’ve contactedRaymond to apologise and

hopefully we can put itbehind us now. I reactedwrongly and I’m ashamedof that because I really likeRaymond.

He added: “I’m guttedabout what happened. It’supset a lot of people and it’salso

“I’m very close toRaymond. He’s a greatcompetitor and it wassomething that happenedin the heat of themoment.”

Van Gerwen, 23, haswon his last two matchesagainst Taylor, but will

not be underestimatingthe challenge posed byhis number-one rankedopponent.

“I like playing him andhe likes playing me so itshould be a hard game,”Van Gerwen said. “It’s onefor everyone to watch - it’sgoing to be a crackingmatch.

“He’ll be ready to playme. He wants his titleback, I want my first title.We are both going to workvery hard and it’s going tobe a cracking game. Forme it’s a dream come true.

PDC world darts: Taylorapologises to Barneveld

Andy Murray sayshe feels betterprepared for big

tournaments followinghis US Open victory.

Murray, who also wonOlympic gold in2012, ended Britain’swait for a Grand Slamchampion when he beatNovak Djokovic atFlushing Meadows.

“The last few years I gotclose but never managedto get over the finalhurdle,” said the worldnumber three.

“Now that I’vemanaged to do it, I hopethat when I’m in thosesituations again I’ll dealwith them better.”

“I probably just feel alittle bit more relaxed inthe last few weeks than Inormally do a few weeksbefore a slam.

The Scot begins 2013as the number one seed atthe BrisbaneInternational and willface local qualifier JohnMillman, the worldnumber 199, onThursday after receivinga first-round bye.

That tournament willact as preparation for theAustralian Open - whereMurray reached thesemi-finals in 2012 -which begins on 14January .

Following the 25-year-

old’s success in2012, when he alsoreached the Wimbledonfinal for the first time, hewas made an OBE in theNew Year Honours list.

Tour de France winnerBradley Wiggins andfour-time sailing goldmedallist Ben Ainsliereceived knighthoods,but Murray said he wouldneed to achieve morebefore he could join them.

Murray, who joinedforces with eight-timemajor winner Ivan Lendl12 months ago, said hisnew coach had helpedhim deal with thepressures of being aGrand Slam champion.

Murray set for 2013after US Open victory

Sharapova, 25, withdrew from the Brisbane eventlast year but recovered to reach the Australian Openfinal, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka.

The French Open champion added: “I still have quitea bit of time to prepare for Australia. I’m on the righttrack, been training really well.”

The 2011 champion Petra Kvitova of the CzechRepublic lost 6-4 7-5 to Russia’s AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova while fifth seed Sara Errani of Italywas also knocked out, losing 4-6 6-1 7-5 to Slovak DanielaHantuchova.

The season-opening event has now lost five of its topeight seeds following first-round exits for seventhseed Sam Stosur of Australia and eighthseed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Monday.

Sharapova pulls out of Brisbane International

Shaun Edward

Defence coach ShaunEdwards has quit hisconsultancy role at

London Irish to concentrateon his duties with the Walesnational team.

London Irish have theworst defence in thePremiership and lay secondbottom in the table.

Edwards was defencecoach for the British andIrish Lions’ tour of SouthAfrica in 2009 but wasoverlooked by his Wales headcoach Warren Gatland forthis year’s Australia tour.

London Irish, who reachedthe Premiership final in2009, have struggled thisseason, conceding 31 tries tolay only one point clear ofbottom-club Sale.

Edwards workedalongside Gatland at LondonWasps and the club went onto win two Heineken Cuptitles.

He linked up with Walesat the end of 2007, with thenational team winning theSix Nations Grand Slam in2008 and 2012 as well asreaching the semi-finals ofthe 2011 World Cup.

Edwardsquits LondonIrish role forWales duties


2013 Nations Cup finals

Victor Obinna Nsofor has explained that moving to EasternEurope may have hurt his chance of making Nigeria’s AFCONprovisional squad.

The Nigerian striker joined Russian Premier League club,Lokomotiv Moscow from Inter Milan in June 2011 but now feels themove may have cost him a place in Stephen Keshi’s team to theAfrica Cup of Nations.

“Players in the English league as well as the Spanish league alwaysdo have the advantage.

“Every fan back here (in Nigeria) follows those leagues becausethey are on TV every week unlike other leagues. So it’s easier toknow who is doing well in England and Spain as well as Italy unlikein Russia.

“May be if I play my football in these leagues I would have had theopportunity to be called up. But since I’m not in the team I can onlypray and wish them a great outing in South Africa,” said the 25-year-old striker.

Nsofor last played for Nigeria’s Super Eagles in September 2011in an AFCON qualifying against Madagascar. Victor Obinna Nsofor

Chris Green

Asamoah Gyan wants to becomeGhana’s first captain to lift theAfrica Cup of Nations since 1982 in

South Africa.The Al Ain striker was installed Black

Stars skipper in September last year due tothe physical frailties of John Mensah, whowas elevated as General Captain.

Gyan wants to succeed where ispredecessors Abedi Ayew, CK AKunnor,Stephen Appiah have all failed.

His first major test will be in South Africawhere the Black Stars begin theircampaign against DR Congo on 20January .

The four-time champions will also faceMali and Niger to advance to the knock-outstage. “I think the GFA and the playershave given me the support. So it will dependon us,” Gyan said in an interview.

As a captain I will make sure I help myteam with my advice and the rest will beleft to the team to deliver.

“Hopefully we will be ending the long waitfor an African title next year in SouthAfrica.Asamoah Gyan

The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) has threatened topetition FIFA if Newcastle

United and Millwall FC of Englandfailed to release Eagles players forthe African Cup of Nations(AFCON) competition.

The federation had invited SholaAmeobi of Newcastle and Millwallfor the AFCON competition holdingin South Africa from Jan. 19 to Feb.10. Chris Green, Chairman,Technical Committee of NFF, madethreat known in an interview inPort Harcourt.

Green said if by Jan. 5 Ameobiand Shittu failed to report to theEagles’ camp, the federation wouldwrite to FIFA against the clubs.

“Now, for Danny Shittu andShola Ameobi, as far as we areconcerned, we do not want thatmatter to distract us because thecoach is ready to work without theplayers.

“But again, the football federationshall consider such attitude as quiteunwholesome on the part of theplayers as well as their clubs becauseas it appears, it’s the clubs that arepushing for these players not tohonour the invitation to play fortheir country.

“So, of course, we are going to takethe matter to FIFA; we are going towrite appropriately; we are notgoing to lie low because, at least, let’sdo what is right, that we should notbe taken for granted.

“After all, these players werefound in Nigeria, these players arefrom Nigeria and they also desireto play for Nigeria.

“So, what is the problem? Whywould they have to stop them,using underarm tricks to stop them.That will not be right,” he said.

Green said both Newcastle andMillwall had not communicatedwith the federation officially overthe inability of these players to playfor Nigeria.

However, the NFF official said thecoaching crew of the Super Eagleshad other players to replace Ameobiand Shittu if they failed to report tocamp.

He said more players would joinothers already in camp in Faro,Portugal, and that the team wouldplay a friendly match with CapeVerde before the tournament, inSouth Africa.

NFF threatens topetition FIFA overplayers’ delay

Why I miss AFCON list – Nsofor

Ahmed Musa

Ahmed Musa has said abefitting New Year gift forthe fans would be Nigeria

winning the 2013 AFCON.The CSKA Moscow star said that

the fans, who last celebrated aNigeria triumph at the AFCON 19years ago, deserve a trophy fortheir support over the years.

“I am wishing Nigerians andthe fans a great new 2013. MyNew Year resolution is to win2013 AFCON because it would bea perfect gift for Nigerians, whohave stood by the national team,“Musa said.

Musa has also insisted the Eagleswill not be intimidated by the topstars they will face when they takeon Catalonia tonight in Spain.

He will up against Barcelonadefenders Carlos Puyol, GerrardPique and Jordi Alba in thisAFCON warm-up clash.

“Personally, it won’t be hard toface them. I have faced a lot ofworld-class defenders especially inChampions league. Others in ourteam have played at top level, sothere is no reason to be afraid offacing any one,” he declared.

“Emma (Emenike) took on theBarcelona defence at Camp Nou,for one, so no cause for alarm. Weare ready for them.

Musa wantsAFCONtrophy asNew Year gift

The President of Uganda FA Lawrence Mulindwa has tipped the country to go past the group stageof the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Uganda is second in Group J with two points from as manymatches after draws against both group leaders Senegal and Angola.

“We have managed two draws against Senegal and Angola, but have four other games and have achance to get out of that group,” explained the FUFA president Mulindwa.

Mulindwa attributed the country’s failure to feature in major competitions to lack of enoughsponsorship including little support from government.

“We have struggled to get our teams to qualify for tournaments and we have done our best despitelimited resources,” said Mulindwa, who was flanked by his Vice President (Administration) MosesMagogo and the CEO Edgar Watson.

For 2013, Mulindwa said they will ensure that the national team are well prepared for tournaments,while maintaining good working relationship with FIFA, CAF, CECAFA, the government and sponsorsand also promote and develop women’s football.

However, Mulindwa said he is happy since he took over administration of the sport in Uganda; thecountry has won the regional Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup four times.

Ghana winger AndreAyew has boldlydeclared that the Black

Stars will win the 2013 AfricaCup of Nations.

The four-time championsflattered to deceive at the last

edition in Gabon andEquatorial Guinea 2012 wherethey finished fourth.

Ghana has a tough Groupcomprising DR Congo, Mali andNiger at the tournament inSouth Africa.

Kwesi Appiah’s side will beginpreparations in Abu Dhabi onJanuary 5 where they willplay Egypt and Tunisia inwarm-up matches.

Ayew, who is on the verge ofrecapturing his verve after a

slow start to the season in theFrench Ligue 1, believes Ghanawill win their fifth title.

“Please, I’m not here to talkabout the Nations Cup. I cantalk about it when the time isright,” the OlympiqueMarseille ace said in Doualawhere he joined Samuel Eto’ofor a book launch.

Ayew tips Ghana to win AFCON

Uganda FA boss upbeat on 2014 World Cup

Gyan wantsto win AFCONas captain


1

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1] QPR boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed he willspeak to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers aboutthe potential signing of Joe Cole, although a deal willneed to be struck over the midfielder's wages.

2] Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo hasrubbished reports that they will attempt to lureAshley Cole from Chelsea during the January transferwindow.

3] Legendary running back Eric Dickerson's 28-year-old single-season rushing record is threatened byAdrian Peterson.

4] Britain's Andy Murray says he is feeling morerelaxed as he prepares for this month's AustralianOpen.

5] Test Match Special commentator ChristopherMartin-Jenkins dies of cancer at the age of 67.

6] Ex-sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe says the sporthonours committee made a "big mistake" in notrecognising more Paralympic athletes.

P I C T O R I A L


Premier League leaders Manchester Unitedbegan the year of 2013 by maintaining theirseven-point advantage at the top of the table,

exorcising a ghost from last season’s failed title bidin the process.

Rivals City also picked up three points at home toStoke while Tottenham kept up their pursuit of atop-four finish, but relegation-threatened AstonVilla were denied victory at the death againstSwansea.

ManU lost a pivotal encounter at Wigan duringthe ultimately doomed 2011-12 campaign, handingCity the lifeline they needed to eventually claimtheir first Premier League crown.

There was to be no repeat at the DW Stadium onNew Year’s Day, with United comfortable 4-0 winners thanks to braces from Javier Hernandezand Robin van Persie.

Sir Alex Ferguson continued the easing-in processof Nemanja Vidic after the defender’s return frominjury by leaving him on the bench at kick-off, buttop scorer Van Persie was restored alongsideHernandez up front as both men got on the scoresheetbefore half-time.

Manchester clubs cruise, Spurs go thirdThe opener came in the 35th minute after Ali Al-

Habsi, who looked shaky in the Wigan goal allafternoon, parried Patrice Evra’s shot to Hernandez,allowing the Mexican a simple task of converting therebound.

Van Persie then made it 2-0 at the break with aglorious strike, stepping inside Ivan Ramis to bendone in with his right foot.

Arouna Kone thought he had halved the deficit forWigan just before the hour, only to be correctly flaggedoffside, and Hernandez quickly killed the game off witha predatory volley after Van Persie’s free-kick hit thewall.

The last say came from the Dutchman, whoconverted Danny Welbeck’s pass after poor defendingfrom Wigan.

Manchester City continues to battle to defend theircrown after they deservedly beat Stoke 3-0 at theEtihad Stadium. James Milner and Joleon Lescottreplaced Samir Nasri and Matija Nastasic for the hosts,whose goals came from Pablo Zabaleta, Edin Dzekoand Sergio Aguero.

Roberto Mancini’s men were excellent withoutscoring for the first half-hour in front of their homefans, Aguero hitting a post with their best effort.

The breakthrough arrived two minutes before theinterval when Zabaleta followed up Milner’s effort topoke past Asmir Begovic.

Tottenham’s push for Champions League footballcontinues apace after they beat Reading 3-1 to chalkup a seventh win in their last nine league fixtures.

Michael Dawson, Emmanuel Adebayor and ClintDempsey got on the scoresheet as Spurs somewhatnervily came from behind to move above Chelsea intothird.

Andre Villas-Boas’ side were stunned in the fourthminute by Reading, who led through PavelPogrebnyak’s close-range strike after Ian Harte’s free-kick rebounded off the bar.

West Brom’s hopes of keeping pace with the topfour suffered a big setback after they were beaten 2-1 by Fulhamat The Hawthorns.

Steve Clarke’s side are now five points adrift offourth-placed Chelsea courtesy of goals from DimitarBerbatov and Alex Kacaniklic.

At the bottom of the table, Aston Villa picked up avaluable point in their battle against relegation,drawing 2-2 atSwansea. The result moves Villa twopoints clear of the bottom three, although they wereonly seconds away from a victory.

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVENAMED INITAITIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRSCOMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THECOMPANIES AND ALL IED MATERS ACT NO.1 OF 1990THE TRUSTEES ARE1 EZEH ANTHONIA EKWY 2 DR. HASSAN MAHMUD 3 NWANI CHUKWUMOGOR CHRIS4 IKENGA MAUREEN IFEOMA. 5 DR. OZOEMENA SCHOLASTICA NNAJI 6 CHINELO CYNTHIA MBADUGHA.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:1. TO CATER FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED.2. TO IDENTIFY NEEDY CHILDREN WITH THE AIM OF PROVIDINGTHEIR NEEDS.3. TO EDUCATE PARENTS AND WARDS ON BEST PARENTINGPRACTICES.ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BEFORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATEAFFAIRS COMMISSION PLOT 420 TIGIS CRESENT OFF AGUIYIIRONSI STREET MAITAMA P.M.B 198 GARKI ABUJA, WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION

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Quick CrossWord (102)ACROSS4 Howler (4)7 Serious play (5)9 Young Pooter in The Diary of aNobody (5)10 Abbot’s subordinate (5)11 School exam (inits) (4)12 Family animal (3)15 Similar in years (2,2,3)16 Odd specimen (5)17 Follows (6)18 Small freshwater fish (6)21 Custom or mannerism (5)23 Pungent chemical used insmelling salts (7)25 __ and Dec, TV presenter duo (3)26 Giant teal-brewing vessles (4)28 Compensage (5)30 Of the Netherlands (5)31 Zipped bags (5)32 Freedom from worries andproblems (4)

DOWN1 Instruct thoroughly (5)2 Domestic fuse unit (3)3 Soft animal hair (3)4 The __ Sleep, Philip Marlowemystery (3)5 Promptly (2,3)6 Start to perspire (5,5)8 Military weapons (9)9 Worshipped (5)12 Energetic person (10)13 Sailors (4)14 Declaring formally (9)19 __ Bawden, children’s author (4)20 Trust (5)22 Strong links (5)24 Unsuitable (5)27 Prosecute (3)28 __ of God, result of naturalforces (3)29 ‘To __ is human; to forgive,divine,’ Pope quotation (3)

Yesterday’s answer

SUDOKUSUDOKUGetting Started

Each sudoku puzzle is a 9 by 9 grid of horizontal and verticalrows, evenly separated into 9 squares with 9 spaces each.Instead of word clues, each puzzle’s solution is determinedby the pattern of the numbers already filled in you. Yousolve the puzzle by filling in the missing digits so that, whencompleted, each row and each square will have all thenumber from 1 to 9; each number will appear in exactlynine spaces within each puzzle.

Yesterday’s solution

Say what?

Panda-style: Giant bear gets in on the Gangnam craze as he dances on his back legsSource: Dailymail.co.uk

PHOTO OF THE DAY

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

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Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako,Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office:No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 805 727 9862.e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] ISSN: 2141– 6141

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTTTTTABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETEI have facts and figures for my belief and thatis why I keep talking about those things. TheNorth-east zone remains the largest political

zone and it is the most neglected of all the sixgeo-political zones.

— Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim

How can Nigerians begoverned with this highlevel of cruelty by

means of obnoxious laws here andthere? Why is it that laws areexecuted with the speed like thatof an angry hunting lion when ithas to do with the poor in thiscountry but when it concerns thebigger criminals in the name ofpolitical leaders and elites everygovernment begins to formcommittees that never find themguilty? Why this impunity ofrecklessness?

Why is it that Nigerianleaders at various levels are veryinsensitive to the cry of thepeople, but yet expect to win thewar against crime and socialvices? Objectively speaking, howcan Nigeria’s “vision 2020”policy of being one of the world’sleading political and economicalpowers in 2020 be realized whenaverage Nigerian citizens stilllive under $1 a day and theirleaders do not see them aspartners but as slaves?

Who is advising GovernorFashola with this heinous law toban commercial motorcyclistspopularly known as ‘okadas’ inLagos state without first of allhonestly providing analternative? This law is nasty andhas got no human face. I wasshocked and felt sick when I sawthousands of destroyedmotorcycles proudly displayed tothe media as an achievement bythe agents of Governor. Oh, myheart bleeds! I do not know ifGovernor Fashola is aware thatas his agents destroyed thosethousands of 'okadas' that theyalso destroyed many homes,shattered many dreams,jeopardized the future of manychildren and created morehooligans and criminals.

By Nigerian standards ofgovernance and development,Governor Fashola is one of thevery few governors in Nigeriathat I still respect and that is whyI am making my stand known.Can somebody please tellGovernor Fashola that he has atthis juncture woefully failed thepeople because the reason ofbanning ‘okadas’ is shallow andlaughable? If part of the reasonsof banning commercial 'okada'operators was because many ofthe riders were engaged innefarious activities with their‘okadas’, can we now say becauseof some people that may bethieving politicians in Lagosstate that we should stop havinga government in the state?

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo saidthat there are rogues and thievesin the National Assemblies. Canwe now ban law making in

comfortably provide answers tothe aforementioned questions;can he now see that the peopledid not fail but rather theinability of the Lagos stategovernment to thoroughly viewthe issue and come up with asound solution that failed themasses?

If Governor Fashola continuesto refuse to reverse this anti-masses law, the governor mayhave indirectly advocated thatNigerian banks should be closedbecause there are some bankmanagers who cooperate withfraudsters to steal millions orsome workers of some banks whowork with criminals byinforming them when, whereand how to break their banks andsteal. If this obnoxious law isallowed to stand, GovernorFashola has equally advocatedthat the Nigeria police should beclosed because there are manycriminals and bribe takers intheir midst whose work also hasbeen to gather false evidenceagainst helpless poor Nigerians.Some Nigerian militarypersonnel have been dismissedfrom service, charged to court andfound guilty as criminals.Consequently, the militaryshould also be scraped in Nigeriabecause they are equally a failuresince some of them supplysophisticated arms to armedrobbers to kill and wreak havocon Nigerians.

I feel pained to see thatGovernor Fashola has quicklystarted to play on our collectiveintelligence with a massivecampaign that since the ban ofcommercial ‘okadas’ that thenumber of accidents has reducedin Lagos state, but decided toremain silent whether crime hasreduced or increased.

Governor Fashola, do not forgetthat directly or indirectly youused the same ’okada’ peopleduring your election campaignfor votes. Why did you not ban'okadas' before the 2011 election?Contrarily you made a law for all'okada' riders and their passengersto be within certain safetystandards before they couldoperate in Lagos state? Could thatlaw have been a mistake on the

Erstwhile NigeriaPremier League (NPL)Chairman, Rumson

Victor Baribote has angrily hitout at the sports minister, BolajiAbdullahi for saying he is theproblem of the nation sports.

Baribote is claiming that thesports minister is responsible forthe melee between the clubsowners and the out-gone board.

Baribote was in Decemberlast year thrown out as the NPLchairman after being accused oflack of transparency andaccountability at the seventhannual gathering of the NPLheld in Abuja.

Last month, the NFFhowever set up a 13-manInterim ManagementCommittee that hastemporarily taken charge theaffairs of the NPL pending whenanother election would beconducted.

The committee is headed byformer lawmaker, NdukaIrabor and has former Nigerianinternational, Kanu Nwankwoas a member.

Baribote disclosed tosupersport.com that the sportsminister should honourablyresign his appointment addingthat the head of the sportsministry is not worthy of beingat the helm of the football andothers sports in the country.

“He said he wants to sanitizesports in Nigeria, and if hereally wants to lead by exampleas a leader, then he should resignhaving wasted billions of the taxpayers money at the 2012Olympics without a medal.

“He is a failure and he hashis own hidden agenda bybringing IMG from London intothe NPL without consultingeither the NFF executivecommittee or the NPL board.

“Nigerians should know thatthe reason of removing theboard was not for the interest ofthe game, but for the greedy actof the minister who sponsoredthe clubs owners to fight me inAbuja as he wanted to makesomething out of the system.

The court case has beenadjourned to January 22where the truth shall beunveiled,” Baribote explained.

Meanwhile, severalattempts to speak with the sportsminister, Abdullahi was futileas his phone was switched off.

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

NPL chairmanwants sportsminister sacked

Is Fashola becoming a bad governor?

Nigeria because of many of thesemerciless Nigerian law makersin the National Assembly? Canwe say because there are toomany air crashes in Nigeria dueto the fact that a few individualsassigned with the responsibilityto certify that planes are in verygood conditions before they areput in use have collected bribesin order to allow coffins to airliftNigerians ban the use ofaircrafts? Or can we because ofnumerous motor accidents inNigeria as a result of the failuresof government at various levelsban the use of motors?

Governor Fashola said that itwas because of many ‘okada’accidents that made him bancommercial motorcyclists. Whatdid he do to reduce the number ofaccidents before this unfoundedaction? Is it not the responsibilityof every government to find outthe causes of problems? DidGovernor Fashola’s governmenttry to find out why there weremany 'okada' accident cases? Dothe agents of the governor, DoesLASMA, the body of theexecutioners of this unfriendlylaw have the ordinary alcoholtesting instruments in order toexamine and know who isdriving under the influence ofalcohol on Lagos roads especiallywhen an accident occurs? Did thegovernment of Governor Fasholaprovide standard traffic signs andspeed limits on all the roadswhere he has banned ‘okadas’?

If Governor Fashola cannot

Gov. Raji Fashola

side of your government or acalculated attempt to deceptivelywin the confidence and the vote ofthe 'okada' riders? Most of the'okada' riders, who bought theirmotorcycles under credit or‘higher purchase’, borrowedmoney to comply to your orderand now that you arecomfortably sitting as theexecutive governor of Lagos stateyou have stopped their source ofdaily bread.

Because in Nigeria everythingis possible, therefore, dearGovernor Fashola, could it be thatthe idea of safety gadgets was notwell thought of when you cameup with the policy or that somepeople in your cabinet could haveimported helmets without yourknowledge and had mountedpressure for the implementationof the helmet law through adviceso that their business couldflourish? And now, perhaps thebusiness of helmets seems nolonger lucrative they have againchanneled their deceptive policysomewhere and ‘okada’ operatorsand their families can go to hell.

Dear Governor Fashola, this isa message from your fellowgovernor who also happens to bein the same party “ACN” like you,Governor Adams Oshiomhole ofEdo state, “I think it’s, for me, aclass issue and I belong to theworking class, so I cannot ban‘okada’. First, I believe that ‘okada’is a response to certain deficit inour intra-urban transportationsystem. From the 60s to the 70sto the 80s, we never had ‘okada’.If you ask a lady to take a ride on amotorbike it was like a taboo. Nowit has became fashionable to havea woman and two children on topof a bike. It is not a culture choice.It is as a result of deficit in our intra-city transportation system.”

Dear Governor Fashola, Iappeal to you to please reversethis policy because a good leadermust have good listening ears.

The ban of ‘okadas’ from Deltastate to Lagos state or anywherein Nigeria under any guise is aneconomic murder on the part ofthe poor masses. However, ifGovernor Fashola insists not toheed to the plea of the people, well,we will grudgingly and helplesslysuccumb to his wish, but he shouldunderstand that he has only usedhis position and might against usbut has not won our respect andthat a day shall come whenLagosians will remind him thisissue like the way Nigerians havekept on reminding IBB theannulment of June 12 that hasirredeemably murdered hispolitical return to ‘Aso Rock’.

Uzoma Ahamefule wrotefrom Vienna, Austria

[email protected]

Uzoma Ahamefule

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