www.peoplesdaily-online.com Vol. 9 No. 6 Monday, August 20, 2012 Shawwal 2, 1433 AH N150 . . . putting the people first Young Amina and Nana Ibrahim were among other Muslims offering Eid-el-Fitr prayers held at the National Prayer ground, Airport Road, Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: JOE OROYE T he Special Task Force (STF) code- named "Operation Safe Haven" in Jos, the Plateau state capital, yesterday averted what would have been a bloody sallah day when Muslims returning from Farin Gada eid prayer ground almost clashed with the students of nearby University of Jos. Peoples Daily gathered that Muslim youth were said to be chanting slogans as they marched towards the prayer ground, thereby raising tension in the university community. Students residing off campus and those accommodated in the village hostel immediately mobilized and signalled their colleagues in Abuja and Naraguta hostels to come out and confront the Muslim youth. However, the STF promptly moved to the scene and prevented any breakdown of law and order by dispersing the restive Muslim youth and students. Further investigation revealed that vehicles parked around the institution's Transport fares double Insecurity: Shehu of Borno shelves durbar ‘FG dialogue with Boko Haram sham’ >> PAGE 3 >> PAGE 3 Bandits bomb Edo prisons, free inmates >> PAGE 4 Fuel scarcity mars Sallah in Abuja STF averts violence in Jos Contd on Page 2 From Nankpah Bakwan and Nurudeen Hussain, Jos By Abdulwahab Isa and Muhammad Nasir T he fuel scarcity in Abuja, the nation’s capital, which began last Wednesday entered the fourth day yesterday, with a telling effect on the city’s socio-economic life. It particularly marred yesterday’s Eid-el-fitr festivities, marking the end of the 30 days of the Ramadan fast. Many Muslim faithful were holed up indoors due to high transport fares brought about by the unavailability of petrol at filling stations in the metropolis and its environs. Peoples Daily correspondents who monitored the situation said Abuja has come to a virtual standstill. Transport fares, they reported, have climbed to a double digit on all routes. At Yaman filling station in Area 3 and Conoil in Area 10, the roads were completely inaccessible, having been blocked by parked vehicles. Virtually all the filling stations visited were not dispensing fuel and their entrance gates were locked, but anxious nonetheless queued up outside, hoping the fuel attendants would eventually sell fuel. While filling stations were not selling, fuel hawkers selling the product in jerry cans made brisk business. As at yesterday, a litre of fuel in the black market had gone up to N300. A journalist who Contd on Page 2 Ocean surge death toll reaches seven >> PAGE 3
Transcript
www.peoplesdaily-online.com
Vol. 9 No. 6 Monday, August 20, 2012 Shawwal 2, 1433 AH N150. . . putting the people first
Young Amina and Nana Ibrahim were among other Muslims offering Eid-el-Fitr prayers held at the NationalPrayer ground, Airport Road, Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: JOE OROYE
The Special Task Force (STF) code-named "Operation Safe Haven" inJos, the Plateau state capital,
yesterday averted what would have beena bloody sallah day when Muslimsreturning from Farin Gada eid prayerground almost clashed with the students ofnearby University of Jos.
Peoples Daily gathered that Muslimyouth were said to be chanting slogans asthey marched towards the prayer ground,thereby raising tension in the universitycommunity.
Students residing off campus and thoseaccommodated in the village hostelimmediately mobilized and signalled theircolleagues in Abuja and Naraguta hostelsto come out and confront the Muslim youth.
However, the STF promptly moved tothe scene and prevented any breakdown oflaw and order by dispersing the restiveMuslim youth and students.
Further investigation revealed thatvehicles parked around the institution's
The fuel scarcity in Abuja,the nation’s capital, whichbegan last Wednesday
entered the fourth day yesterday,with a telling effect on the city’ssocio-economic life.
It particularly marredyesterday’s Eid-el-fitr festivities,marking the end of the 30 days ofthe Ramadan fast. Many Muslimfaithful were holed up indoors dueto high transport fares broughtabout by the unavailability ofpetrol at filling stations in themetropolis and its environs.
Peoples Daily correspondentswho monitored the situation saidAbuja has come to a virtualstandstill.
Transport fares, theyreported, have climbed to a doubledigit on all routes.
At Yaman filling station inArea 3 and Conoil in Area 10, the
roads were completelyinaccessible, having been blockedby parked vehicles.
Virtually all the fillingstations visited were notdispensing fuel and their entrancegates were locked, but anxiousnonetheless queued up outside,hoping the fuel attendants would
eventually sell fuel.While filling stations were not
selling, fuel hawkers selling theproduct in jerry cans made briskbusiness.
As at yesterday, a litre of fuelin the black market had gone upto N300. A journalist who
Contd on Page 2
Ocean surgedeath toll
reaches seven>> PAGE 3
CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-11
Editorial 12
Op.Ed 13
Letters 14
Opinion 15
Metro 16-18
Business 19-20
Newsxtra 26
Education 27-28
Health 29-30
The Peoples Daily wants tohear from you with any news
I wasn’t involved inOkupe’s contract scam,says Suswam, Page 37
WE WANTTO HEAR
FROM YOU
International 32-34
Digest 36
Politics 37-40
Sports 41-47
Columnist 48
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Fuel scarcity mars Sallah in Abuja
PAGE 2
narrated his experience to ourcorrespondent said he bought 20litres at the cost of N5,000.
A middle-aged man whoidentified himself as Mr. Emekasaid he bought ten litres fuel forN6,000 in the black marketyesterday, just as another personsaid he bought 25 litres forN8,000.
A driver told our
correspondent that some fuelattendants were cashing in on theprevailing circumstance toexploit drivers.
He said a filling station in Area11 sold fuel to him at black marketprices.
Our reporter who visitedOando filling station in Area 10,observed that motorists whom areMuslims that went to fill theirtanks got trapped in a queue for
Contd from Page 1
entrance had their windscreensshattered and one person waswounded.
Meanwhile, the Plateau statePolice Command has expresseddismay over the clash betweenthe Muslim youth and students,noting that “in spite of the seriesof parleys with religious leaders,youths, and the stern warningissued on the use of abusive andprovocative language andcarrying of weapons yet somemisguided youths still wentahead to foment trouble.”
A statement by theCommand’s Deputy Police PublicRelations Officer ASP DanjumaAzikiti described yesterday’sincident as “highly condemnableand unfortunate though nobodylost his life in the skirmish neitherwas any place of worship affected.”
It urged religious leaders andparents alike to caution theirfollowers, children and wardsagainst all forms of violence,warning that security forceswould not compromise in dealingwith trouble makers in the state.
The police, however,reassured citizens that normalcyhas since been restored in theFarin Gada area and called on alllaw abiding citizens to partnerwith security personnel to ensureenduring and sustainable peacein the state.
Peoples Daily recalls thatviolence marred last year’s sallahin the city in which many liveswere lost and properties destroyed.
Though yesterday’s festivitywent off relatively peacefully, thebuild-up to it was not.
Three people believed to beFulani herdsmen were ambushedand killed on Friday by yet-to-beidentified gunmen at Sho village.
Those killed were identified asYero Goma, Wada Usman andMaliki Magoro. Goma and Usmandied on the spot while Magoro diedwhile receiving treatment inhospital, according to theNational Secretary of MiyetiAllah Cattle Breeders Association,Alhaji Saleh Bayeri.
According to him, the threewere apparently ambushed whilereturning to Sho from Barkin Ladi
where they had gone to celebratesallah.
The attack was the latest in theseries of acts of violence in the areaafter last month’s killing ofSenator Gyang Dantong andGyang Fulani, the MajorityLeader in the Plateau state Houseof Assembly.
However, the sallah festivitieswere peaceful in other parts of thestate capital.
The Chief Imam of Jos, SheikhZakariyya Balarabe Dawud, in asermon delivered immediatelyafter the two rakkat prayers wereconcluded, admonished the youthto eschew violence.
"Youths are the strength ofevery society, most especiallyMuslims youths; I enjoin you todesist from indulging in thuggery;you should also refrain fromcarrying arms and fighting oneanother," he said.
"You should celebrate thefestive period in a sober andpeaceful manner, and in line withthe true teachings of Islam."
Sheikh Zakariyya frowned atthe action of security operatives
who prevented Muslims fromconducting the Eid prayer atBarkin Ladi, as well as the decisionof the state government to stoppingMuslims in Jos from using theirburial ground in Russau village.
He said that "only equitabledispensation of social justice to alland sundry on the part of those inleadership will yield positiveresults in the quest for peacefulcoexistence."
In his pre-prayer sermon, theMurshid (Chief Missioner) ofJamatu Nasril Islam (JNI) inPlateau state, Shiekh Abdul'AzeezYusuf, urged the congregation tofear Allah and repent from theirsins, stressing that ProphetMuhammad (SAW) has enjoinedMuslims to spread salutations toindividuals, and to pay visits tofriends and relatives includingnon-Muslims.
The representative of thePlateau State Government, AlhajiIdris Ibrahim Waziri, who is theCommissioner for WaterResources, said that GovernorJonah Jang wished Muslims "ahearty barka da sallah."
Contd from Page 1
JTF avert violence in Jos
hours and could not make it to themosque.
Meanwhile, EconomyCoordinating Minister andMinister of Finance, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, has said that theprevailing scarcity is artificial,accusing some oil marketers ofhaving caused it because theywere indicted in the oil subsidyscam.
A meeting last Thursday
between the minister and the oilfirms to end the scarcity,however, failed.
A statement issued over theweekend on behalf of the ministerby her Senior Special Assistant onMedia, Paul Nwabiuku, said 21companies were beinginvestigated based on evidencethat they may have engaged infraudulent activities under thefuel subsidy regime.
A police corporal, AnthonyUgwuoke, yesterday atEdda Village, Ugwuachara
in Ebonyi local government areaof Ebonyi, shot himself dead aftershooting his wife, Nkechi, and twodaughters.
Ugwuoke’s wife and daughtersare in critical condition at the FederalTeaching Hospital, Abakaliki(FETHA), where neighbours rushedthem after the incident, the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt.
NAN learnt that the latepoliceman was attached to the B’Operations unit of the PoliceCommand in Ebonyi and was anorderly to a High Court judge inthe state.
Mr. Sylvester Igbo, PolicePublic Relations Officer in the state,confirmed the incident but addedthat no clue had been establishedon the motive for the action.
“Investigations into the matterare on-going as we would ensurewe get to its root.
“The body of the late officer has,however, been deposited at FETHAmortuary,” he said.
Chief Jones Igboke, a communityleader in the area, expressed sadnessover the incident and called on thepolice to unravel the mysterysurrounding it. (NAN)
How PHCN assets werevalued – BPE Spokesman
“Quite unlike other companies,distribution companies are notallowed to determine the pricesthat consumers pay for the servicesthey render. This is becauseelectricity distribution is a naturalmonopoly and if the state allowsthe private distributors to chargewhatever tariff that pleases them,then they would use the monopolypowers to exploit the consumers.The purpose of valuation mustdetermine the approach to be used.
“To that extent, if one isvaluing a business for the purposeof acquisition, discounted cash flowmethod is usually the preferredmethod by investors. NERC has inthe last two years undertaken avaluation of distribution assets andthe outcome of the values placedon those assets is reflected in thetariffs that became effective onJune 1, 2012. NERC in placingvalues on the distribution assetsmust have been guided to ensurethat Nigerians are not exploited asit is the consumers that ultimatelypay for the assets through thetariff. Included in the tariff is thereturn on investment whichNERC is allowing investors basedon the values placed on the assetsof the distribution companies…” hesaid.
To earn revenue from the saleof PHCN successorcompanies is not the main
reason for the ongoingprivatisation of the power utilityby the Federal Government but toimprove access to electricity andensure fair tariffs to all end users.
Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE) spokesman, Mr.Chukwuma Nwokoh who madethese known while refutingallegations made by labour leadersthat PHCN assets were beingundervalued and sold off to privateinvestors, regretted that “critics ofthe valuation of PHCN successorcompanies have not taken pains tounderstand how power assets arevalued”.
BPE had announced that theFederal Government would earnover N200 billion from the sale ofPHCN assets being privatized; butComrade Bede Opara, president ofSenior Staff Association ofElectricity and Allied Companies,had alleged that the assets werebeing grossly undervalued, addingthat if it was only about N200billion that the PHCN assets werebeing sold for, the electricityworkers should be allowed to buy
the 18 PHCN successor companieswith their severance benefits.Concurring with his labourcounterpart, Comrade Joe Ajaero,general secretary of the NationalUnion of Electricity Employees(NUEE), had listed items thatought to have been included in thevaluation in order to get theappropriate value of PHCN assets.
According to the BPEspokesman, “it is apt to clarify thatthe over N200 billion to be realisedas privatisation proceeds is inrespect of 60 percent equity in the11 distribution companies does notinclude the proceeds to be realisedfrom the sale of the generatingcompanies… in the ongoing reformand privatisation of PHCN successorcompanies, it is only the distributionand generation assets that wouldbe sold to the private sector. Thetransmission assets will continue tobe owned by the FederalGovernment and managed by theprivate sector… We shall now lookat how the assets in distribution andgeneration are valued. Distributionassets: The only agencyempowered by law to fix electricitytariff in Nigeria and by extensionto place value on distribution assetsis the Nigerian ElectricityRegulatory Commission (NERC).
FG dialogue with Boko Harama sham, says Shehu Sani
false sense of hope while on theground there is no credibleevidence to establish what they aresaying.
“Any talks between the FederalGovernment and Boko Harammay not be impossible but it mustbe done honestly and sincerely andthrough channels that arecredible.
“I am of the belief that this‘arrangee’ talks will onlyundermine the search for peaceand these senseless killings andbombings going on in the north
President of the Kaduna-based Civil Rights Congress(CRC), Malam Shehu Sani,
has described the reported dialoguewith Boko Haram in Saudi Arabiaas diversionary and a ploy bygovernment to give Nigerians falsehope that the insurgency by thegroup would soon end.
Moreover, according to Sani,the proposed talks may not haveindeed come from the genuineleadership of the group.
According to him, “if there isgoing to be any genuine talks,there should be confirmation fromthe leadership of the group and notthe government.
“From what we know, the onlychannel of communication by thegroup is through YouTubepostings by the leader, MalamShekau and as far as I amconcerned, I do not think or believethat there is any dialogue goingon because it has not come fromthe usual source.”
“Government is raising some
From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna should be ended by honest andsincere commitment and not bythe seizing, misinforming andmisdirecting the conscience ofNigerians.
“Of what use is it, if the groupeventually dismisses the so-calledtalks, after raising a false sense ofhope and if actually this so-calleddialogue going on in Saudi Arabiaor wherever is true, why is it thatthe killings are still continuing?Genuine talks can only berecognized by a seize-fire andcessation of all hostilities.”
He called on the governmentto immediately open a relief campto victims who are displaced by thesurge.
His words: “destroying our housewill not bring solution to the surge,all those wrecks and vessel must beremoved first and government mustprovide a somewhere to stay for the
The death toll from the Oceansurge which washed outcommunities in Kuramo
Beach at the weekend in Lagos, hasreached seven, following thediscovery of six more bodiesyesterday. Residents of thecommunities affected haveblamed the incident on shipwrecks
and abandoned vessels on the sea.A residents and community
leader, Ayinde Olusa, said theNigerian Maritime Administrationand Safety Agency (NIMASA) andother agencies have sinceabandoned many shipwreckedvessels on the water ways whichcontributed to the damages.
displaced people, as at now we can’tquantify the loss because manythings will be affected.”
Meanwhile the Lagos StateCommissioner for WaterfrontInfrastructure Development,Segun Oniru, has ordered theimmediate evacuation of thestate’s waterfront communities.
Lagos Ocean Surge: Death toll hits 7, more missing…Communities blame NIMASA, othersFrom Ayodele Samuel, Lagos
The police in Okene,yesterday, found a Hondacar containing various
weapons including six AK47 rufflesand eleven fully loaded magazinesin Oboroke Ihima area of the town.The car, which was said to havebeen parked by an unknown personwas said to have been on a sort ofrelay transit to an unknowndestination.
Residents, who suspected thevehicle, had reported to the Ohi ofIhima, Alhaji Abdulraheem AhmedOgido, who in turn alerted the police.
It was gathered that the
residents raised suspicion whenanother person tried to pick up thecar parked near a lady who sellsGSM recharge cards. The lady wassaid to have raised an alarm whichattracted residents, resulting in thediscovery.
The Kogi state PoliceCommissioner, MohammedKatsina, who confirmed theincident however said the car wasabandoned by some criminals afterhaving confrontation with hismen. He noted that the police wasalready on the trail of the suspectsand assured that there would beno hiding place for the criminals.
It would be recalled that somegunmen yesterday, engaged thepolice in a gun duel at Idare in Okenewhich lasted for several hours.
From Sam Egwu, Lokoja
Police discover more armsin Okene
The city of Kano was throwninto pandemonium Sundayafternoon following a gun
duel between gunmen and soldiersat a check point around MalamAminu Kano Teaching Hospital,cutting short Sallah festivities inthe area.
While Sallah festivities wentpeacefully in most parts of the northdespite fears of attacks, the moodwas disrupted in Kano when someinsurgent yesterday afternoonattacked a military checkpoint,forcing the soldiers to engage themin a fierce gun battle.
An eyewitness hinted that thegunmen launched their attackfrom a motor bike they rode on butwere repelled by the military JointTask Force (JTF) forcing them toretreat with gunshot wounds. Amobile policeman was said to havebeen injured in the duel.
The gunfight was said to haveattracted the attention of othersecurity operatives in the area whoalso responded, forcing thegunmen to flee.
Residents and motorist aroundthe area were forced to fleeresulting in general panic in thecity, which was already living inapprehension following warningsby security forces of plans byinsurgents to launch attacks onsome northern states during theSallah festivities.
Following the attack, the JTFcordoned off the Kundila Housingestate and immediately mounteda manhunt for the gunmen.
Confirming the incident, JTFspokesman in Kano, Lt. IkedichiIweha said that the attack wasrepelled, adding that there was nocasualty on the part of securitypersonnel on duty. Iweha howeverstated that the mobile policemanthat was hit on the leg during theattack was treated and returnedto his duty post.
He said the gunmen escapedwith gunshot wound and escapeinto the neighborhood of Kundilaestate during the gun fight, addingthat the “development compelledthe military to cordon off the estateto fish them out
town.Edo State Controller of Prisons,
Mr. F. O Ewulo, when contactedon telephone, confirmed theincident but quickly added that theincident is been investigated.
On his part Edo state PolicePublic Relations Officer, AnthonyAirhuoyo, said the state commandwas yet to be briefed by theDivisional Police Officer, (DPO) incharge of the area.
Earlier in the year, Ewulo hadconfirmed that the prison hasabout 37 inmates on the deathrow. However, the number andcategories of prisoners that escapedis yet to be known.
Several prisoners escapedwhen heavily armedhoodlums, yesterday, used
explosives to blast one of the gatesof the Oko Minimum Prisons in Edostate.
The men who were said to havecome in a Toyota Coaster bus,attacked the prison at about 1.30am using explosives and otherdangerous weapons. The bombingof the gate of the prisons was said tohave been accompanied by heavyshooting forcing residents toabandon their homes.
The actual number of prisoners
that escaped during the attacks isyet to be ascertained, thoughsources said a large number ofthem made it out of the cells while12 inmates were re-arrested.
It was gathered that thegunmen had overpowered theprison officials and policemenguarding the prison withexplosives.
When newsmen visited theprison yesterday morning, theentrance was cordoned off bysecurity men who turned awayjournalists and relations of inmateswho had come to the prison toensure the welfare of their relationsafter news of the attack filtered into
From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin
Bandits bomb Edo prison, free inmates
Sallah:Gun battlein KanoFrom Edwin Olofu, Kano
Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo in a handshake with President Goodluck Jonathan during the Sallah Homage to mark theEid-el-Fitr held at the State House Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: JOE OROYE
PAGE 4 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Insecurity: Shehu of Borno shelves Sallah durbar
Following what appears to bethe worsening insecurity inMaiduguri, the Borno state
capital, the annual Sallah durbarusually conducted by the Shehuof Borno, Alhaji Abubakar GarbaiEl-Kanemi, as part of the Eid-el-Fitri celebration did not take placeyesterday.
Our correspondent reportsthat spectacular horse-ridingprocessions called ‘Hawa’ andseveral other traditional displaysare among the durbar events heldduring the two annual Sallahceremonies at the palace of thetraditional rules, drawingthousands of spectators fromwithin the country and abroad.
The palace of Alhaji El-
Kanemi, who is both theChairman of Borno state’s Councilof Chiefs and Deputy PresidentGeneral of both the SupremeCouncil for Islamic Affairs, (SCIA)and Jama’atu Nasril Islam, theMuslims’ apex decision-makingbodies, did not issue officialstatement over the cancellationof the durbar activity.
It was however gathered thatthe emirate council’s decision toput off the traditional ceremonieswas not unconnected with threemajor issues, bordering oninsecurity.
The first reason, it was learnt,followed the June this year’s failedsuicide attack on the monarchand state Deputy Governor,
Cross section of Muslim worshippers at Al- Habibiyyah Mosque, during Eid-el-fitr prayer, yesterday in Gusape District, Asokoro Extention,Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo
Zanna Umar Mustapha.The attack left at least 10
persons dead, several otherswounded, when a suicide bomber,targeted the two dignitaries andblew himself to death afterFriday’s prayers in Maiduguricentral mosque, behind the El-Kanemi’s palace.
Similarly, it was gathered thatthe suspension of the celebrationmight be linked to the warninggiven by the Joint Military TaskForce (JTF), that it has uncoveredplot by terrorists to launch deadlyattacks on military formationsand civil areas in Maiduguri,during the Ed-el-Fitri festivity.
A source hinted that theemirate council was advised
against staging the event to avoidsuicide bombers, who may takeadvantage of the large crowd tomaneuver their ways and attackpersonalities and innocentcitizens.
The last Thursday’s killing ofAlhaji Zannah Kafilama, theformer secretary to the Bornoemirate council during the lateShehu of Borno, Alhaji MustaphaUmar El-Kanemi, was seen asanother factor that compelled thetraditional council to suspend thehistoric event.
Although the Eid-el-Fitriprayers were conductedpeacefully, amidst heavysecurity presence of heavilyarmed soldiers, however,thousands of Muslim faithful insome areas shunned the religiousrite due to the fear of the
Governor Umaru TankoA l -
makura of Nasarawastate, has called on
muslims to use the celebrationof the Eid-el-Fitr to prayfervently for peace, stability,continued unity and progressof the state and the country atlarge.
Al-makura, who made thecall in a press release issued tonewsmen in Lafia yesterday,urged the people todemonstrate the lessons of love,patience, perseverance,dedication, charity and aboveall, the fear of Almighty Allah,in words and deeds all the time.
While describing this year’sRamadan, which ran through30 full days, as a uniqueoccurrence that calls for soberreflection, the governor calledon all and sundry to preach loveand peacefully amongthemselves, stressing thatwithout love and peaceful co-existence, Nigeria cannotdevelop.
The governor equally urgedall road users to be cautious andalways obey traffic regulationsin order to avoid unnecessaryaccidents, calling on officials ofthe Federal Road SafetyCommission (FRSC) in the Stateto specially step up operationsduring the celebration.
Eid-el-Fitri:Al-makurapreaches peaceFrom Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia
to the grounds returned homewithout participating in thecongregational prayer, sayingthey were discouraged by theblockage of some of the roadsleading to the prayer grounds.
The prayers at the RamatSquare where importantdignitaries, including KashimShettima, held their prayer wasmarked by hundreds of sternlooking security men, while allroads leading to the prayerground was cordoned offthroughout the prayer period.
Vehicles were not allowed tobe parked close to the prayinggrounds making the Muslimfaithful to walk some distance toperform the ritual of praying atthe grounds.
Bauchi Sallah held amidst tight securitySallah celebration in Bauchi
state was held peacefully,though under tight security
to ensure that lives and propertyof citizens were protected.
It was observed that troops ofwell armed policemen, soldiersand vigilantes groups weredeployed to all the major streetsin the metropolis to forestall anybreach of peace during thecelebration.
Governor Isa Yuguda, in hisSallah massage, commended bothMuslims and Christian’s brothersfor offering prayers to ensurepeaceful co-existence in the state.
He urged Muslims ummah tolearn from the teachings of themonth of Ramadan especially byaccessing the past activitiesaimed at correcting the mistakes,adding that they should makegood use of the lessons of theRamadan in the subsequentmonths to come.
Yuguda therefore called onwell to do individuals to alwaysassist the less privileged ones inthe society, so as to give them asense of belonging.
“We have many lessons tolearn from the month of Ramadanas the religion of Islam alwayspreaches peace. I appreciate theprayers offered by both Muslimand Christian followers for thepeaceful co-existence in the stateand I urge all citizens to continuepraying for peaceful atmosphere
From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi in the state” he said.He reiterated the
commitment of his governmentto ensure peaceful and mutualunderstanding among variousgroups in the state, calling fortolerance among variousreligious and ethnic groups in thestate.
The Emir of Bauchi, AlhajiRilwanu Sulaimanu Adamu, inhis remarks urged Muslimummah to always observe theteaching of the religion especiallyby doing away with any act thatwill bring unrest in the society.
He urged the people of theEmirate to always pray for thepeaceful co-existence among thedifferent groups within theemirate and the state in general.
The Emir and other villageheads took a horse ride from theBauchi central mosque were thetwo raka’at prayer wasconducted instead of the Eidpraying ground due to badweather as a result of rainfall.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola ofOsun state has declared thekilling and bombing of
Christians and churches by theBoko Haram Sect, asunjustifiably, running againstthe tenets of the Islamic faith.
Speaking at the Eid-el-Fitriprayer to mark the end of theRamadan fast in Osogbo onSunday, Governor Aregbesoladeclared that Islam, as a religiondoes not advocate violence.
Citing portions of the HolyQuran where ProphetMohammed entered Jerusalem
and refused to invade a church,the Osun Governor explainedthat this was exemplary of howMuslims should relate withChristians in their daily living.
Aregbesola stressed thatMuslims are not allowed to killother people except in warsituations, which usually resultfrom exchange of bullets.
According to him, in suchsituations, Muslims areforbidden from killing prisonersof war, saying that the blood ofsuch victims would count on thehead of those who took their lives.
He added that the HolyProphet Muhammed cautioned
that no tree should be cut downexcept when roads are to beconstructed, not to talk of killinghuman beings in the name ofreligion.
He urged the Muslimcommunity to demandexplanation from those who havebeen hiding under the banner ofIslam to violate the sanctity ofhuman lives so as to check themenace.
Speaking earlier, the ChiefImam of Osogbo, SheikhMustapha Ajisafe, admonishedMuslims to continue to live inharmony with each other.
Killing in the name of Islam unjustifiable – AregbesolaFrom Inumidun Ojelade, Osogbo
PAGE 5PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Unity, peace, prerequisite forNigeria's progress - Jonathan
Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto state in hand shake with Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar at eid praying ground.
President GoodluckJonathan has remindedNigerians of the need to
collectively work towards theattainment of peace, saying it isa perequisite for unity andprogress of the country.
He made the assertionyesterday, while receiving topgovernment functionaries led byVice President Namadi Sambowho paid him the traditional'Sallah' homage at the StateHouse, Abuja.
"There must be unity and
peace for Nigeria to progress. Wemust unite, for us to progress,there must be peace for us toprogress", he declared.
It is the tradition that theVice President leads a delegationof Muslim faithful in the FederalCapital Territory (FCT) to pay
'Sallah' homage to the Presidentimmediately after the Eidprayers.
The President reassured thecitizenry of the commitment ofhis administration to theimplementation of thetransformation agenda,
Cooperate with security agents,Bayero tasks Kano people
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji AdoBayero, has charged thepeople of the state to
cooperate with security agents intheir effort to restore peace in thestate.
Bayero said the state, like someother parts of the country, is facingsecurity challenges which requirecooperating with the security
From Edwin Olofu, Kano operatives towards the sustenanceof peace and maintenance of lawand order in the state.
The emir made the remark,Sunday at Kofar Kwaru after heattended this year's Eid-el Fitrprayer at the Sheikh IbrahimNyass Mosque Kofar Mata.
The royal father had earlierattended the Id prayer amidsttight security at the prayerground riding on a horse cart with
his entourage, governmentofficials and other Muslimfaithful.
He admonished people toalways have the fear of Allah andshun evil practices that can causeharm and confusion in their lives.
"Everyone should endeavourto search his soul and avoid anynegative tendencies that arecapable of bringing evil to thesociety", the emir said.
By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem
stressing the crucial role of peaceand tranquility in achievingthat.
"Today is a great day, it is amoment not just for Muslims butall Nigerians to reflect on theunity of Nigeria. What we arepassing through as nation can
be overcome with prayers", hesaid. He reiterated hisgovernment's resolve to drivethe transformation process to alogical end.
President Jonathan alsopromised to build on the effort ofthe country's founding fathers,saying "this is a forum to tellNigerians that we are one".
The leader of the delegation,Vice President Sambo, who justreturned from Saudi Arabiaafter the Lesser Hajj, hadinformed President Jonathanthat Nigerians who also went forUmrah, prayed for peace andunity as well as for him to havewisdom to transform thecountry.
Present at the occasion werethe national chairman of thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP),Bamanga Tukur, Senator PhilipAduda, Minister of PoliceAffairs, Caleb Olubolade, theHead of the Civil Service of theFederation, Bello Isa Sali, theChief of Air Staff, Air MarshalMohammed Dikko Umar, theInspector General of Police,Muhammed Abubakar, formerSpeaker of House ofRepresentatives, Ghali Na'Abba,among others.
Only court can judge my son - Bamanga Tukur
The national chairman of thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Bamanga
Tukur, has insisted that it is only aproper judicial process and notthe court of public opinionthat wi l l determine theculpability or otherwise of hisson in the fuel subsidy scam.
His son, Mahmud is
By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem presently facing trialalongside others for allegedinvolvement in fraudulentclaims in the subsidy regime.
Fielding questions fromState House correspondentsyesterday, af ter paying'Sallah' homage to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, Tukursaid he would not disown hisson.
He added that as an adult,
Mahmud would face theconsequences of his actions.
"He is my son, I never disownedhim. My son is an adult; I canassure you it is only the court ofjustice that will determine it. It isnot justice by public opinion, it isjustice by the court. As I have said,we must follow justice and whoeveris found guilty will be so dealt with,if he is not, we will know,'' hedeclared.
FG expresses readiness to dialogue with Boko Haram
The Federal Government hasexpressed willingness to enterinto negotiations with the
group Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna LilDaawati Wal Jihad popularlyknown as Boko Haram.
According to a statement signedby the Minister of Information, Mr.Labaran Maku, government isready to welcome any idea that will
By A'isha Biola Raji marshal in peace, security and calmto the country.
The statement read: "TheFederal Government welcomes anyinitiative that will usher in peace,security and tranquility in thecountry; we welcome the statementby Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna LilDaawati Wal Jihad."
Also, the Federal Governmentreiterated its eagerness to listen tothe grievances of the sect. "It is our
hope that this process will lead torestoration of peace, security andtranquility to Northern Nigeria."
The decision sprang from thestatement issued through VOAHausa Service Tuesday last weekwherein a purported representativeof the sect had acknowledged that ithas been in contact with the FederalGovernment and had startednegotiations with the objective ofreaching a compromise.
Securitychallenges apassing phase- Suswam
Governor Gabriel Suswamof Benue state has urgedNigerians to see the
current security challengesfacing the nation as a passingphase that every nation has togo through in its history.
The governor, who said thisin a message to Muslims on thecelebration of Eid-el-Fitr signedby his Special Adviser on Mediaand Public Affairs, CletusAkwaya, said many nationshave experienced worse securitychallenges but overcame themthrough dialogue, and creativethinking.
He expressed belief that theprayers and supplications of theMuslim faithful during thefasting period will go a long wayin relieving the nation of theenormous challenges facing it,urging them not to waver intheir prayers, even after theRamadan.
Suswam further advisedMuslims and all Nigerians toembrace dialogue andintrospection in the search forpeace and solutions to thecurrent national securitychallenges which have claimedhundreds of lives and destroyedthe economy of many states ofthe federation.
From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Katsina emirurges parentsto monitorchildren
The Emir of Katsina, AlhajiAbdulmumini KabirUsman, has urged parents
to closely monitor the conduct oftheir children and the companythey keep.
The emir, who stated thiswhile addressing his subjects atthe Kangiwa Square, Kofar Soro,Katsina shortly after the Eid-el-Fitr prayer, noted that it was bymonitoring the conduct of theirwards that they could be savedfrom being used by politiciansand other evil minded persons.
He tasked parents to investin the education of their childrento make them responsiblecitizens who would be of benefitto their society and the countryin general.
Similarly the emir called onNigerians to intensify prayersover the security challengesfacing the country, adding thatthere was nothing like peace.
On the Fulan-farmers' clash,the emir advised thebelligerents to live peacefullywith one another since he saidthey all operate within the sameperiphery.
"I wish to advise farmers tomake sure they evacuate theirfarm produce early to guardagainst invasion by cattlerearers. The herdsmen must alsoguard their cattle againststraying into farm lands" hestressed.
From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua,Katsina
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012PAGE 6
L-R Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate discussing during the FECmeeting held at the State House Abuja on Wednesday. Photo: Joe Oroye
Suswam vows to deposetraditional chiefs in crisis areasFrom Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Benue State Governor,Gabriel Suswam, hasvowed to remove
traditional rulers in Otukpo andObi local government areas andother parts of the State in theevent of escalation of crisis intheir domains.
The Governor, who made thisthreat at the weekend during acondolence visit on the Och'Idoma in Otukpo, HRHAgabaidu Elias Ikoyi Obekpa, inhis palace, condemned therecent incident between the 2
LGAs, maintaining that there isno justification for a people whohave lived together as a familyto take up arms against eachother.
He blamed the traditionalrulers of both LGAs for failing intheir responsibilities to handlethe situation by restrainingtheir youths from engaging ina war with each other, sayingthat such negligence hasresulted in the brutal killing ofpeople and destruction ofproperty.
"Government will takeserious action to avoid
reoccurrence of the crisis. We donot want the State to be engagedin any crisis especially at thistime when the nation isengulfed in serious securitychallenges", the governor said.
He therefore promised thatthe State Ministry of Land/Survey will commenceimmediate demarcation of theboundary between the two LGAsto avert any future conflict.
In his response, the Och'Idoma also regretted that thecrisis had lingered on since thedays of former Deputy Governorof the State, Chief Ogiri Ajene,
Unpaid salaries: NULGE gives Kwara govt 14 days ultimatum
Following the inability ofKwara state governmentto pay up all the June and
July salaries of Local Governmentworkers, the Nigeria Union of LocalGovernment Employers (NULGE),Kwara state branch, has issued a14 day ultimatum to the stategovernment to do so, failure ofwhich all the workers in the 14Council areas would embark onindefinite strike.
From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin of Local Government Employers",argued that they were grosslyunder-funded.
It blamed the Joint Account forthe mermaid of crisis facing thelocal government system in thestate, saying it has not beenbeneficial to the Local GovernmentSystem in Kwara state.
"The most worrisome is the factthat in-spite of the short-fall in theFederal allocation, the usualdetrimental deduction from thelocal government allocation are
NSCDCmergerunnecessary,says boss
Following media reportscredited to some groupsand individuals advocating
the merger of Nigeria Security andCivil Defence Corps (NSCDC), withother security agencies, theCommandant-General of the corps,Ade Abolurin, has described the callas unnecessary.
He made a case for collaborationand checks and balances among thevarious security agencies, ratherthan merger.
Abolurin, who gave thisindication over the weekend in Abuja,added that the corps was created witha specific mandate which is differentfrom other security agencies.
It would be recalled that recently,a committee set up by the FederalGovernment to reposition Nigerianpolice recommended that NSCDC,ICPC, FRSC and some other agenciesbe merged with the Nigeria police.
In response to this, the NSCDC bosssaid that such recommendations willbe tantamount to backwardness,considering the enormous role hiscorps plays in ensuring peace,security of lives and property in thecountry.
The Minister of the FederalCapitoal Territy (FCT),Abuja, Senator Bala
Mohammed, has said the FederalGovernment is coming up with a socialhousing scheme to ameliorate thehardship of those affected by thedemolition execise in the territory.
Mohammed disclosed thisyesterday, after the traditional Sallahhomage by the Muslim communityin the FCT to President GoodluckJonathan at the State House.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Vice PresidentNamadi Sambo led the delegation tothe President, which includedMuslim clerics and faithfuls,Ministers, Presidential aides and somemembers of the National Assembly.
In an interview with State Housecorrespondents, Mohammed saidthat government was not unawareof the hardship the demolitionwould cause, disclosing that itwas a necessary exercise to ridthe city of undesirableelements.
"I assure them that under hisExcellency, PresidentJonathan, we are coming upwith social housing that willaccommodate the needs andaspirations of every Nigerian,especially those that are affectedby the demolition.
"At the end of the day, wewill carry out an exercise wherethey will be registered. We willbe able to provide them withaffordable housing and in a placewhere they will like.
recalling that attempts weremade to demarcate the boundarybetween the 2 LGAs but was notsuccessful.
He also lambasted traditionalrulers of the 2 areas for theirfailure to nip the crisis in the bud,saying that his kingdom wouldbe compelled to evoke the gods toauthenticate the actual owner ofIjegwu land.
It could be recalled thatrecently, fighting between Otobipeople of Otukpo and their Obibrothers over a piece of land inIjegwu led to the death of over13 persons.
The Union, in a communiquéissued at the weekend and signedby Comrade Abayomi M. Afolabi,the state Secretary of NULGE, theunion said that if the stategovernment refused to address allthe issues discussed at the unionmeeting, they would not haveother choice than to going onindustrial strike.
The Union, in the communiquéentitled" The Strangulation of LocalGovernment System in KwaraState: The Position of Nigeria Union
By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
still being made, leaving the localgovernment Councils financiallyincapacitated.
"That the constitutional roles oflocal government council as a thirdtire of government have beenusurped by the Ministry of Localgovernment, Chieftaincy Affairsand Community Development;thus reducing local governmentcouncil to mere appendages of thestate contrary to the constitution ofthe federal republic of Nigeria." Theunion stated.
Police nabs suspects for stealing FCT Appeal Court property
An alleged gang of hoodlums,who stole properties of FCTCustomary Court of Appeal,
has been nabbed by the police.Chukwu Kajika, from Enugu
state, was caught last Tuesday atKabusa area of Abuja MunicipalArea Council, where he and othermembers of his armed gang, weretrying to cart away propertyworth millions of naira, whichbelongs to FCT Customary Courtof Appeal.
According to the Chief Security
By Nasir Muhammad air-conditioners, file cabinets,executive tables and chairs.
Narrating further, he said therobbery was foiled by prompt effortof security man on duty, who calledKabusa Police post; from where ateam of police was urgently sent toarrest the hoodlums.
He explained that as soon as thePolice sighted their advancingvehicle, they opened fire while therobbers also retaliated by firing atthe Police.
"Luck however ran against thehoodlums when their vehicleveered off the road, into the market
Officer of the Court, YakubuAbubakar, the Presiding Judge ofthe Customary Court, Kabusa,Hon. Salim Olasupo Ibrahim, calledhim on phone at 4:30am on thatfateful day to inform him thatarmed robbers had invaded thecourt.
He said the bandits had alreadyloaded into a blue Volkswagen spacebus with registration number XK677ABJ, stolen items from thecourt.
He listed the items stolen by thehoodlums to include: generator sets,photocopying machine, Panasonic
and got stocked; they abandonedtheir vehicles and fled." He stated.
He noted with dismay that nofewer than ten courts have been sofar robbed of items with millions ofnaira stolen, including generatorsets, photocopies, Panasonic air-conditioners, file cabinets, executivetables and chairs.
The courts affected according tohim, include those of Galadimana,Piakasa, Dutse Alhaji, Zuba,Gabalape, Bako, Gwagwalada B,Kwaita, Oroso and Deidei where twosecurity men were killed by thebandits. (NAN)
PAGE 7PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Jikwoyi, Karu residents tackleRep over democracy promises
A cross-section ofresidents of Jikwoyiand Karu a satelite
communities in AbujaMunicipal Area Council(AMAC)have expressed theirdissatisfaction over the nonfulfillment of electoralpromises by theirrepresentatives, both atfederal and local councils.
The residents complainedthat the only time thecommunity witnessed thepresence of theirrepresentatives is duringelectioneering campaigns,
Jang cautions against religious fanaticism
after which they disappearabandoning the people thatvoted them to office.
Some of them who talkedto Peoples Daily said, “Fromthe past representatives to thepresent ones, the cultureseems to be the same.Zaphania Jisalo, the formerChairman of AMAC andcurrent member of the Houseof Representatives, got to thepeak of his political career withthe votes he got from thepeople of Karu/Jikwoyicommunity”
They added “What havethe people of the communitybenefitted for their support tothis Gbagi born politician who
is also a member of the PeopleDemocratic Party (PDP)overthe years?. In order to win thevote of the masses of thesecommunities duringelectioneering campaign,they will convincinglypromise electricity, water,street lights and roads,market, waste bins and so onusing their political skills.”
Speaking further, theysaid that the communitieshave not witness the presenceof any government, bothfederal and local, sayingthat they have continuedto live in darkness as aresult of epileptic powersupply for years now.
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
As Muslims celebrateEid el Fitri, thePlateau state
Governor, Jonah David Jang,has called on Muslim faithfulto sustain the lessons learntduring the period of Ramadan,stressing that religion shouldnot be allowed to tear thecountry apart, but should
rather be practiced in ways tounite the country.
In an Eid-el-Fitri messageto Muslims which was signedby his Director of Press andpublic Affairs, James Mannok,the Governor also prayed forcontinuous peace, love andstability in Nigeria.
Jang also advisedNigerians not to allow religionto tear the country apart, butto embrace and defend the
unity of the country as well asthe protection of humandignity.
He reiterated his resolve todeliver democracy dividendsto the people, calling forcooperation for government tosucceed.
He added that they shouldnot sleep over the secularity ofthe country, but should joinhands in the crusade for abetter and egalitarian society.
From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos
Yuguda releases 3.5 million for kidneypatient’s treatment
Bauchi stategovernment hasreleased $22,000 to
offset the medical bills of 25years old Abubakar Buba,whose kidneys wereremoved at a private clinicin Bauchi recently.
A statement signed bythe Chief Press Secretary tothe Bauchi State Governor,
Ishola Michael Adeyemi,stated that the stategovernment released thesum for kidney transplantin India as recommended bythe Abubakar Tafa BalewaUniversity TeachingHospital, Bauchi.
It further stated that thestate Commissioner ofHealth, Dr. Sani AbubakarMalami had already led ateam of medical personnelfrom the ministry to assess
the condition of the patientwith the aim of flying himto India for the transplant.
The state government,while sympathizing withthe patient, prayed for asuccessful transplant andquick recovery; just as itpromised that thecircumstances that led tothe removal of the kidneyswill be thoroughlyinvestigated to sanctionanyone indicted ofprofessional misconduct.
Group partners with Jigawa govt torevamp reading culture
A Youth association,Jigawa YouthD e v e l o p m e n t
Movement, is partnering withthe Jigawa state government torevamp reading culture,through a sensitizationcampaign for both primary andsecondary school pupils in thestate.
The president of theassociation, comrade AminuAminu, stated this yesterday inJigawa during a press conferenceto commemorate the UnitedNations International YouthDay.
Aminu also said that apartfrom inculcating the readinghabits in the students, theassociation will also partner withthe state government to providefree legal, medical and
accounting education to thestudents.
He said the decision waspropelled by the present effort ofthe state government in theprovision of free post graduatescholarship to indigent studentsof the state.
Speaking further, hecommended the state governorfor improving the quantity andquality of food supplied toboarding schools across the state,in addition to the 100% increasein students’ bursary allowances.
From Ahmed Kaigama,Bauchi
From Ahmed Abubakar,Dutse
Wada’s aide denies arrest over Okene killing
Aide to the Governorof Kogi state,Abubakar Adagu
Suberu, who is the formerchairman of Okehi localgovernment area of kogi state,has denied the rumours makinground that he was arrested overthe Okene killing.
A press statement signed by
his legal representative, UsmanSalih, which was madeavailable to journalists in lokoja,said that there was no truth inthe reports, pointing out that itwas manufactured by hisclient’s political detractors.
According to his Counsel,“the arrest and detention ofSuberu has got nothing to dowith the Otite or Okene killingsbut it was as a result of a petition
written against him by somepoliticians from Okehi LGAbordering on some criminalallegations which areunconnected with the saidkillings.”
While calling on the mediato exercise caution on thematter, Salihu noted that theallegations are presently beinginvestigated by the lawenforcement agency.
From Sam Egwu, Lokoja
PAGE 10 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Imam warns Muslims against suicide,says punishment is hell fireThe Imam of Gwallaga
Mosque in Bauchimetropolis, Sheikh
Suleiman Bashir, yesterdaywarned Muslims againstinvolvement in suicide forwhatever reason.
Bashir gave the warning inhis Eid-el-Fitr sermon precedingthe two Raka’at prayers to markthe end of the Ramadan fast.
He said uicide was un-Islamicand its punishment was hell fire.
“Life is a gift from Allah andnobody has right to do away withit. Suicide for whatever reason isa grievous sin abhored by Allah”.
The Imam also warnedMuslims against shedding theblood of innocent persons whethersuch victims were Muslims ornon-Muslims.
According to him, anyonewho kills an innocent person willface the wrath of Allah.
“Every human being has a
right to live and only Allah hasthe right to give and take live.
“Those who shed the blood ofothers would account for suchsouls before Allah”.
Bashir advised Muslims torespect the right of others and notto transgress beyond Islamiclimits.
‘’Killing a single Muslim or atrusted unbeliever is akin tokilling the whole of humanity.
“Killing is only permissible in
Islam when a person kills a fellowhuman being.
“If you chop off someone’s ear,you should have your earchopped off; if you pluck an eye,you should have your eyeplucked; if you cause a bodilyharm, you must paycompensation”, the Imam saidwhile quoting from the HolyQuran.
Hundred of Muslims fatefulthat participated in thetwo-rakkat prayer at the
Ilorin Central Id groundyesterday, booed the stategovernment over inability toprovide water to the metropolis.
The presiding cleric who hadlauded the state government forproviding security around thepraying ground and forproviding tents for the people wasinterrupted with loud boos fromthe crowd when he mentionedthat the state government hadprovided water for the people.
Muslims boo Kwara govt overwater shortage at Id groundFrom Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin
Former Governor of Kwarastate and Senatorrepresenting Kwara Central
Senatorial District, AbubakarBukola Saraki, has said that theacquisition of some parcels of landin Ilorin metropolis by the stategovernment was done in the bestinterest of the community as partof the master plan to transform thestate capital into a model one inNigeria.
Senator Saraki gave thisexplanation when he visitedKwara state pilgrims in SaudiArabia during the Lesser Hajj.
The Cheif Press Secretary toGovernor Abdulfatah Ahmed,Alhaji Abduwahab Oba in astatement, quoted Sen. Saraki tohave said that it was hisadministration that acquired thesaid land in public interest and notthe Abdulfatah Ahmedadministration.
“As your son in Ilorin, I cannotcarry out any policy or measurethat will be injurious to thecollective good of the people. Thesaid parcels of lands were acquiredas part of my administration’s effortto transform Ilorin to the best cityin Nigeria”.
Senator Saraki who is the
Chairman of Senate Committee onEnvironment and Ecologyappealed to the people to cooperatewith the State Government in itsdevelopmental efforts that willtransform Ilorin and other parts ofthe State.
The former governor urged thepeople of the state see the landacquisition in proper perspectiveof laying a solid foundation for thestate capital, adding that if therewere grey areas on the issue, allparties should embrace andexplore the option of dialogue foramicable resolutions and not givethe exercise some politicalcolouration.
Saraki explains Ilorin land acquisitionGov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state checking slabs at a new Muslim cemetery in Bauchi on Saturday.With him is the Commissioner for Special Duties, Alhaji Bappah Azare.
He also warned Muslimsagainst rebellion, adding that itwas un-Islamic for Muslims torebel against one another.
Bashir called on Muslims toalways seek repentance for theirsins and fear Allah in whateverthey do.
He thanked Allah for thesuccessful completion of theRamadan fast and urgedMuslims to carry the lessonslearnt beyond the Ramadan.
The Eid prayer was attendedby hundreds of Muslims amidheavy security presence. (NAN)
From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin
Our correspondent observedthat it took about 10 minutesbefore the congregation could becalmed as some members beganchanting: “It’s time for prayer,it’s time for prayer”… in Arabic.
However, the Cheif Imam ofIlorin, Alhaji Muhammed Saliu,in his sermon congratulatedMuslims for the successfulcompletion of the Ramadan andwarned those in the corridors ofpower to always remember thatone they would leave the earthand their deeds would serve ascompany during theinterrogation with AlmightyAllah.
Jos, the Plateau capital, iscalm and peaceful asMuslims celebrate the Eid-
el-Fitr festival to mark the end ofthe Ramadan.
Correspondents of the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN), whowent round some parts of the city,however, observed that thefestivity was without the fun andfanfare usually associated withit.
“People are generally in theirhouses and celebrating in theirvicinities; everywhere is calm,peaceful and quiet”, Capt. SalisuMustapha, spokesman of themilitary Special Task Force (STF)on peace in Plateau, told NAN.
He said that reports from STFfield officers had also confirmedthat everywhere was orderly
with no report of any disturbancefrom any quarters.
NAN correspondentsobserved some gaily dressedyouths visiting some playgrounds especially around Rikkos,Gangare and Ungwan-Rogoareas, while the normal sharingof food among families was beingcarried out.
NAN reports that the STF hadmade adequate securitypreparations for the festival byblocking some major highways inthe state capital, forcing manypeople to trek long distances totheir places of worship.
Fierce-looking securityofficials were also stationed alongmajor highways, while vehiclesplying the roads were thoroughlychecked. (NAN)
The Kogi state chapter of theNational Youth Council ofNigeria, (NYC), has
identified leadership failure asbeing responsible for the presentinsecurity in the country.
The chairman of the councilin the state, Engr. GodwinEmmanuel, who stated thiswhile addressing a pressconference in Lokoja as part ofthe activities to mark this year’sYouth Day, said governmentmust urgently take steps tocurtail the Boko Haram menace.
While condemning the
recent acts of terrorism in Kogistate, the group reminded thegovernment that it was itsconstitutional responsibility toprotect the lives and propertyof every member of the society.He however commended theefforts of the state governor,Capt. Idris Wada, inrepositioning the state foreffective service delivery.
He called on the governmentto pay special attention toinfrastructural development,youth unemployment,inclusion of youth in governanceand approval for monthlysubversion to the Kogi NYC.
Leadership failure responsiblefor insecurity, says NYCFrom Sam Egwu, Lokoja
Jos peaceful as Muslimscelebrate Eid-el-Fitr
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012 PAGE 11
MONEY SENSE
Principle 1: Definitenessof purpose:
It is the starting point of allachievement. Without a purposeand a plan, people drift aimlesslythrough life. Definiteness ofPurpose is knowing what yourgoal is, knowing what you want -the starting point of allachievement.Principle 2: MastermindAlliance
The Mastermind principleconsists of an alliance of two ormore minds working in perfectharmony for the attainment of acommon definite objective.Success does not come without thecooperation of others.Principle 3: Use Applied Faith
Faith is a state of mind throughwhich your aims, desires, plansand purposes may be translatedinto their physical or financialequivalent.Principle 4: Go the Extra Mile
Going the extra mile is theaction of rendering more andbetter service than that for whichyou are presently paid. Doing itall the time and doing it with apleasing, positive attitude.Principle 5: Create a PleasingPersonality
Personality is the sum total ofone's mental, spiritual andphysical traits and habits thatdistinguish one from all others. Itis the factor that determineswhether one is liked or disliked byothers. A pleasing personalityhelps you master the major causeof failure - the inability to get alongwith people harmoniously.
Principle 6: CreatePersonal Initiative
Personal initiative is the powerthat inspires the completion of thatwhich one begins. No person is freeuntil he learns to do his ownthinking and gains the courage toact on his own. Personal Initiativeis the inner power that starts allaction; the power that inspires thecompletion of all that one begins.
Take insurance to securethe education of your child
"You will never changeyour life until youchange something youdo daily. The secret ofyour success is found inyour daily routine." -William Murphy,Entrepreneur
Quote
The biggest legacy a parentcan leave for the child isbefitting education and
'too bad' if you can't pay thechild's school fees, whether deador alive.
While it is the desire of mostparent to see this responsibilitytaken to the end, challenges oflife ranging from economic todeath could scuttle the planmidway, and when thishappens, the child does notonly lose focus but getsfrustrated to such an extentthat it becomes regret all life.
What should I do as parentor guardian to secure theeducation of my child or ward,whether or not I am there topay his or her school fees?
Insurance experts say thereis that opportunity to save forthe child's education throughtaking out an insurance policysuch that if you live, you canhave some money at the end ofthe term period to continuewith life. But should death comealong the way or incapacitatedas a result of accident or illness,insurance takes up the burdento train the child till he or shecompletes the education.
Seyi Ifaturoti managingdirector, CrystaLife Assuranceplc said taking insurance forthe child's education gives restof mind to parents and offersthe platform that protects thefuture of the child.
According to her, providing
for the education of the child iswhat should not be swept underthe carpet and requires thatpeople begin to look futuristicand appreciate the fact thatanything can happen in life,including the unexpected.
Ifaturoti said it's educationhas been designed to take careof this challenge. It is aneducational endowment planspecifically made to guaranteethe availability of funds for theeducation of the children,wards up to any academic levelyou desire.
It covers death and mayinclude other ancillary coverslike permanent disability andcritical illness of the lifeassurance at additional
premium.The policy is designed such
that on survival and uponmaturity cover, the sumassured is paid plus accruedbonuses, now called maturityvalue.
All the insurance companiesin the country have one form ofeducation policy or the other.Some polices are designed forparents and guardians whilesome others are designed for theschools, which covers theeducation of the pupils andstudents under their umbrella.
Go to your insurer and takethat education insurance thatbest meets your uniquesituation.
Save or invest... which one?Mairo Abubakar is a fulltime housewife. She isone because her
husband wants her to be. Butalong the line, she was able toconvince him to allow heroperate 'Esusu' - the traditionalmicrofinance.
With Esusu, depositors pay inan agreed amount daily and getpaid their contributions at theend of every month. Cecelia thushas access to a pull of funds froma good number of individualsand microenterprises. And sheearns interest on such pull offunds.
Overtime, she has earnedsome good money. What does shedo with her earnings? She hasthe option of either saving a goodportion of it in a bank and earninterest, or investing it in abusiness. She is comfortablewith these short-term depositsbecause she is able to access the
money whenever she needs it.But this is wrong. Why? She
is not distinguishing betweensaving and investment. Themoney she is saving is easilyaccessible and without any risk.However, holding money in thisfashion is suitable only for herimmediate or unexpected needssince all her futurerequirements will not be of thisnature.
The money Abubakar issaving is an asset that has thepotential to generate higherreturns so that she can reach hergoals faster. This will mean thatthe money that has to be setaside from her current incomewill come down, since thereturns will add to the amountbeing created for her futureneeds. The income thus freed can
be used to meet other goals orimprove current quality of life.To enhance the earning capacityof her money, Cecelia
Abubakar must makeconscious choices to invest themoney instead of leaving it in thebank account. Investmentsprovide higher returns, butcome with the risk of lowerliquidity and fluctuatingvalues.
Look at this other similarscenario: Mahe Adamu andAwwal Isa got N1.4 million eachas severance packages from theircompanies, following theirretirement from the company.
Mahe Adamu put his in afixed deposit account in acommercial bank in Lagos. Hedid this because he did not wantto bother himself with investing
in a business and all that go withit. Awwal Isa on the other handinvested it in a business run bya relation and settled for profitsharing. All Adamu gets on hisfixed money is some N8000monthly. And Isa's incomefluctuates between N350, 000and N400, 000 a month!
A typical tradition way of savings in olden days
PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Probe Doyin Okupe nowIt is not in doubt that the Goodluck
Jonathan Presidency is in dire need ofimage laundering for it to regain trust
and credibility in the eyes of Nigerians.The utter lack of focus and direction ingenuinely moving the nation forward asdemonstrated by President Jonathan hasleft many disillusioned and come to theconclusion that very little hope is there ofhis delivering on his so calledtransformation agenda. With a presidentclearly out of his depths coupled with awife who is gaffe prone, the Presidencydoes need all the help it can get to help itreconnect with Nigerians.
This evidently informed the decision toengage Dr. Doyin Okupe as the SeniorSpecial Assistant to the President on PublicAffairs to try to put a spin on every misstepthe government takes from now on. Okupeis no stranger to such an ignominiousassignment as he was first given the task byformer President Olusegun Obasanjo.Sadly for him though, he left disgracefullyafter having been kicked out of office. Thatsuch a pedigree would qualify him for thesame position again beats the imaginationand leaves right thinking Nigeriansbewildered with regard to the premiumPresident Jonathan places on those heinvites into his government.
On taking office, Okupe said part of hisjob is to bring his wealth of experience toengage the public on current nationalissues and to help Nigerians “see thepresident from a different perspectiveother than the stereotypical perspectiveout there". He went to say his is all aboutpublic advocacy. At a different forum, hecheekily described himself as an "attacklion" after rejecting an earlier descriptionof him as an attack dog of the Presidency.He has since shown his prowess in takingon perceived enemies of the Jonathan
“We urge the Benue stategovernment to take this matter
seriously and divulge moredetails of the state of the
contract and for the EFCC totake a closer interest in it;after all, there is sufficient
ground now to open aninvestigation
Presidency with the manner in which hepounced on the former FCT minister, Nasirel-Rufai, and the opposition political parties.His unique take on the Boko Haraminsurgency is indicative that a lion is indeedon the loose.
But just before he goes about hisunenviable assignment, we urge him tocome clean on the allegations dogging himover a contract he secured from the Benuestate government during George Akume'stenure. The Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) has alleged that Okupe failed to
execute a N600 million contract he got fromthe state government but absconded withthe money instead. It was alleged that in2004, Okupe, through his company, ValueTrust Investment Company, secured thecontract for the construction of 230km ruralroads but failed to deliver on the contractterms.
Former governor Akume, speakingthrough his aide, has confirmed that Okupewas given the contract by the stategovernment but refused to be drawn into its
specifics. The ruling Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) has waded in as expected indefence of the presidential imagelaunderer even as it claimed that the EFCChas never opened any investigation againstOkupe. It said the issue is a civil matterbetween the two parties to the contractand it believes the contract agreementstipulates dispute resolution processes.
We are glad that the PDP itself hasaccepted that Okupe did secure thecontract. However, its explanation of thisweighty issue is not enough as it did notaddress the fundamental issue of whetherOkupe delivered on the contract or not.We strongly believe that Okupe shouldhimself address this matter and tellNigerians whether or not we faithfullyexecuted the contract having collectedhuge sums of public money for it. In ouropinion, he has no moral right to preach toNigerians the good of this administrationwhen he himself has this dark cloudhangting over his head.
We urge the Benue state government totake this matter seriously and divulgemore details of the state of the contractand for the EFCC to take a closer interestin it; after all, there is sufficient groundnow to open an investigation. If PresidentJonathan is serious about the fight againstcorruption, it is logical to say that hecannot afford to be associated withindividuals with dodgy pasts. We areshocked that the Presidency will allow thissituation to unfold when one would havethought that background checks arecarried out on individuals before they areappointed into public office. If such acheck was conducted on Okupe and noevidence of wrong doing was found againsthim regarding the contract then Nigeriansought to be told. As it is, this is a big smearon the government.
The recent tinkering of theleadership personnel of theDefence establishment by
President Jonathan even it becosmetic, appear to wake up somepeople from a self-imposedslumber. For whatever it isworth, the visits by the newNational Security Adviser (NSA)Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) to thetheatres of war have shown thosebearing the brunt of the terroriststhat some people still care abouttheir plight. The president failedto visit both Borno and Yobestates, the centres of the BokoHaram carnage giving as anexcuse the lack of functionalityof the Maiduguri Airport (theshame of it) for his non visit buthis erstwhile NSA, Owoye Azazicouldn't even glorify the peopleby giving an excuse, no matterhow laughable. The people arereally appreciative of the NSA'svisit to empathise with them onthe siege they have been underin the past two years.
But the visit alone cannotsolve the people's problems andthey are waiting for the NSA tostart acting. Thankfully Col.Dasuki informed Nigerians thathe has obtained the phonenumbers of those to be contactedfor dialogue on how to bring anend to the state of insecurityfacing the country, particularly
the north. Col. Sambo has clearlyshown his intentions of dealingwith the macabre dance of thoseattempting to bring the north inparticularly to its knees, byhitting the ground running. Butas far as I can see there are thosewho want to ensure that he failedwoefully in his attempt. Therenewed and sustained attacks onnorthern cities is indicative of thedesire of the merchants of deathto make a statement - ofparticular interest is the attackson Police formations in Sokotostate, the home state of the NSA.
Islam clearly prohibitsfighting (war) during certainmonths, the Ramadan inclusive,so it is clear to all discerning andobjective minds that thosecarrying out these attacks areeither not Muslims or do notunderstand their religion verywell. My gut feeling tells me theyare fifth columnists with theintention of giving Islam a badname and in the process achievetwo things - both very dangerousto the corporate existence of thecountry. One, to create a religiousdivide between Christians andMuslims, particularly in thenorth; and two, to crippleeconomic activities in the region.They appear to be succeeding onboth fronts. Before the madnessin Sokoto, there was the massacrein Plateau state, whichultimately led to the death of a
Senator and a member of thestate legislature. This camealmost immediately after thevisit of the new NSA to the state.All these things appear funny tome and doesn't have any linkageto religion nor could besimplistically explained as areaction by northerners who arebitter for losing power to thesouth. Truth be told, if thegovernment and its functionariesare ready to get to the bottom ofthe madness, all they have to dois fall back on what one of its ownbegan and was truncatedmidway.
When Major GeneralMungonu, erstwhile Chief ofDefence Intelligence (CDI),beamed his searchlight on "BokoHaram" he came close todiscovering those behind thekillers and before you say'Goodluck' he was removed fromoffice. But before he wasremoved, he made startlingprogress that points to certainpoliticians from his home stateas being the men behind themasks. Of particular interest wasthe immediate past governor, AliModu Sherriff. Mungono wasthreatened to discontinue his lineof investigation or be removed,or worse still, lose hisCommission. All these weremade public in the run-up to hisremoval. Sponsored mediaarticles against him appeared
Dasuki and prevailing security challengesBy Babayola Toungo A lot of arrests have been made
with each suspect branded as the'mastermind', yet non of theses'masterminds' was taken to thecourts for prosecution much lessconviction. Are Nigerians then tobelieve that the government is notinterested in getting to the bottomof this Boko Haram issue? Whathappens to people like Ali Tishaku,a SSS operative embedded in to theBoko Haram hierarchy that was tobe denied by his employers after'coming in from the cold' with areport that was not in conformitywith the current thinking in theSSS? He had to go to the court to gethis freedom from an employer heserved diligently. Where is he andwhat happened to his report?
With Col. Dasuki as the NSA,we believe he will first of all bring toan end this inter-agency rivalryand pursue the real culprits andbring them to court for all Nigeriansto see. The likes of Mungonu andTishaku may be of immense helpto the NSA's cause of bringing to anend the mayhem and destructionsin the country given their pastparticipation in curbing themadness. After all, Lamorde wasonce kicked out of the EFCC, butrecognising his knowledge of theCommission, he was broughtback to head the place.
Babayola Toungu wrotein from Yola, Adamawastate.
As a dabbler into the divineworld of the Orisha, I findnothing as fascinating as the
statue of Sango that stares at youwhenever you find yourself atPower House, the legendary nameof the headquarters of the defunctNational Electric Power Authority(NEPA). For here is a god oflightening, thunder and fire,obviously the classical naturalelements of a destructive weatherpattern, ironically becoming astrategic tool for generatingenergy. This enables motoringmechanism for industrialproduction, brightening theenvironment for the attainmentand sustenance of productiveliving and ensuring generalenlightenment of the humanmind, allowing for visionarythoughts of discoveries, inventionsand developments.
It is surely an architecturalcontradiction, especially if theliterary comparism of light andfire is discountenanced from thereality of one leading to the other,as in most instances, it is waterrather than fire, which generatesfrictional energy and produceselectricity.
Unfortunately, it is a similartype of confusion that is unfoldingwithin the Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria (PHCN), as inthe past few weeks, the mostderided successor to the muchridiculed and inefficient electricalpower agency is once again in thenews, albeit for the wrong reasons.The headlines being about therestructuring and unbundling ofthe lethargic government
company into much smallermanageable companies thatefficiently caters for its customers,while providing constant powersupply. Of course, as it is withanything that concerns change,those that are most likely to loseout in the arrangement are raisinga lot of dust and challenging thewhole process. Thus the company'sworkers are always on strike, foryou hardly find a week when oneof news or another is not relayingthe threat of a strike or theannouncement of its resumptionafter a short period of suspension ofan earlier trade dispute.
However one thing that is evenmore confounding than theindustrial labour confusion, whichthe current situation in theprimary national electricityprovider represents, is the currentavailability of electricity in homesand businesses across the country.If we are to be honest in ourappraisal, it would be safe to saythat it has never been so good formajority of citizens of this country,who have had to endure years anddecades of frustrating darkness and
immobility due to theunavailability of electricity topower productive ventures.
Indeed the past few days hasbeen puzzling for me as I wonderwhether it is the gods who directthe activities of the power agency,because, while the company hasshut most of its operating officeswithin my locality, there hasironically been a boost in electricitysupply in my vicinity. It has beena season of uninterrupted powersupply.
For an organization that has along and established history ofdisappointing its consumers, a lotof Nigerians find it amusing thatemployees of such a terriblyunderperforming company couldresist change from the establishednorm of epileptic power supply,gross incompetence, debilitatingcorruption and institutionalizedworker truancy. In fact, seeminglydue to the suspected collusion ofunscrupulous businesspersonswith officials of the electrical powerprovider, Nigeria is today the mostprofitable internationaldestination for generators. Some
compromised staff are known tosabotage electricity supply evenwhen there is availability of powerwithin the transmission grid.
Nigerians are so irritated andfrustrated by the penchant of thepower company to inflict pain onthe generality of the citizens thatthey could not bring themselvesto empathize with the workerswhose jobs are now on the line asthe government tries to make thepower sector more efficient andresult-oriented. Ours is a nationalcommunity that frowns at anygovernment policy thatdeliberatively seeks to deprive anemployee of his or herfundamental means of livelihood.But PHCN workers havecompletely burnt out theirgoodwill, and most Nigeriansappear to side with government inthis case.
Certainly if the primary aimand mission of the power sectorreform is to rev up electricityproduction and distribution byreorganizing the capacity,management and operations of thecountry's premier power provider,
Between inept PHCN workers and hands of the gods
with regularity in newspapersand the threat finally came topass. Mungonu's investigationpointed directly to the formergovernor but in a bizarre movethat can only happen in Nigeria,Mungonu was removed as CDIand Sherriff was appointedChairman of the Board ofTrustees of the All Nigeria PeoplesParty (ANPP). While the Generalwas sent to the cooler, Sherriff ison the way to rehabilitating hisbattered image.
After Mungonu's ouster, thespate of attacks heightened withthe attendant loss of lives andproperty because the tell-taleclues he was pursuing weredeliberately allowed to fizzle outby redirecting the energies of theintelligence agencies to phantomsuspects who couldn't be allowedto see the four walls of a courtroom. To compound thedeliberate bungling, we have theState Security Service (SSS) andthe Police working at cross-purpose on the same case. Thetwo agencies always paradedifferent suspects on a particularcase, or one service contradictingthe other as in the case of theRadio House bomber. Nigerianscame to be cynical about thesincerity of the security andintelligence services and had thedistinct impression that somebody,somewhere is lying to protect somepeople.
By Nasiru Suwaid we must all support theadministration to shake thecompany to its core foundation, inorder to generate the desiredresults.
Thus the untruthful claimsthat the privatization of the powercorporation would not necessarilylead to loss of jobs or that the privateenergy entrepreneur would beprevailed upon to continue withthe present staff structure,arrangement and expertise is purebalderdash, an expectation that isincompatible with the principles ofrunning an efficient privateenterprise. In fact, to be honest, nodiligent, profit-motivatedcommercial arrangement couldaccommodate the type of personnelmindset existing within thenational power managementcompany.
However, if the about-to-be-privatized Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria (PHCN),amidst the crises afflicting itsmanagement, staff and generalorganizational infrastructure,could sustain such a high level ofstable transmission of electricity,as my people have seen in the pastweeks, then, perhaps it is notmerely changing of ownershipstructure that would revitalize thesector, but also acceding to thespiritual benevolence of the gods,who have been able to bless theNigerian nation with abundantrainfall that has helped inreplenishing our rivers and thehydro-electric dams, which aids inthe generation of enough watts ofelectricity for our country.
Nasiru Suwaid wrote infrom Kano.
For an organization that has a long and establishedhistory of disappointing its consumers, a lot of Nigerians
find it amusing that employees of such a terriblyunderperforming company could resist change from the
established norm of epileptic power supply, grossincompetence, debilitating corruption and institutionalized
worker truancy.
“
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012PAGE 14
An Olympian let down
Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, textmessages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written
contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name anda valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed
Usually, we get by withthe "Supporters' Club"e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y
launching into a refrain thatis fast becoming shorthandfor our tunnel-visioned andspendthrift ways. However,at this Olympics, somethinggave. As always, we did notplan in any meaningful wayfor success, so this could notbe the "why". Whatever itwas, though, our "miracle-working God" just failed toturn up at the differentarenas; and event afterevent, hope faded faster thanthe winning athletesbreasted the tape. Hopefully,Team Nigeria's manydropped balls are easilyexplained by the absence inLondon of the "Supporters'Club". For then, all we haveto do over the next four years,is to organise "Supporters'Clubs" around Olympicevents that we hope to takepart in. Infuse them with thepassion that attends ourfootball matches. Findsponsors for their kits. And,importantly, begin toprepare the Brazilianauthorities for the plethora ofvisas that the officialNigerian contingent will needahead of our participating atthe next Olympic Games tobe hosted there in 2016.
Otherwise, as with everydepartment of the country,our relative failure(remember that the league ofcountries without medalsincludes a few worthies) at theLondon Olympics speaks to a
failure to upgrade domesticsporting assets, and invest innew capacity - both personneland infrastructure. It helpsthat Lagos State (and itsgovernment) is often cited asfirst amongstsub-nat ionalgovernmentsin thecountry, sowe may usee x a m p l e sfrom here asn a t i o n a lp r o x i e s .Between Iju(a Lagossuburb) andYaba (on them a i n l a n d ) ,there is about35 kilometresof roads thatpass through built up spaces.At both ends, there are twostadiums: one at Agege, andthe other at Rowe Park. These,besides the exclusive privateclubs that minister to thefancies of the middle-agedconcerned about their risingblood pressures, exhaust theoptions for sports andrecreation available tomillions of people resident onthis axis.
The facility at Agege is apoor, distant relative of theone at Yaba. But even then,none is quite close to thestandards that produced thetimes and spectacles that wejust witnessed at the London
Olympics. No doubt, stadiumsof the right specifications willencourage adolescents andteenagers to play hooky. Andthere may yet be the oddworld-beater amongst this lot.
Largely, however, betterstadiums should also welcomeparent/guardians (with themeans) and whose children/wards express a desire to takepart in competitive sports. Forthis latter category, it is ascrucial that our sportsfacilities support a variety ofdisciplines, as it is that thereare coaches in place who passmuster (technical abilities, andmentoring know-how). Folk, inshort, that you may leave yoursix-year old with (duringvacations), go to work, andreturn to be briefed onprogress, and suggestions thereabout.
Invariably, the medium-
term goal should be to havesuch facilities andcompetences in every localgovernment area of moststates; thus, holding out thepossibility of intra-and inter-
l o c a lg o v e r n m e n tc o m p e t i t i o n sthat help driven a t i o n a lp e r f o r m a n c e .However, thereare short-termhurdles that wewill need tos u r m o u n talong this path.Kidnappers (forritual andransom) ands e c t a r i a nbombers ofpublic places,
currently mean that mostparents/guardians will beloath to leave their children/wards in the care of thesepublic spaces however up-to-date their facilities may be.So, there is a securitydimension to this business too,as with the rest of theeconomy.
But beyond the ease andconvenience of would-besports persons' access to publicsports facilities in theirformative years, there is thenot-too-minor difficulty oftheir access to sportingactivities in school. Sadly,with the public school space inthe country (for academic
Dating back to FredrickLugard's days, people atthe top have always
desired to keep the masses inthe dark while they talkedabout how to divide andconquer. Thank goodness,there are always few bravesouls who risk it all to fightevery insidious “dualmandate”. They creativelyuse the media to liberate theoppressed and to give voice tothe disenfranchised. Freedomof speech is the cornerstone ofevery true democracy.
When the likes of currentNigeria's Senate PresidentMark David call for heightenedmedia censorship, Nigerianindependent website operatorsshould loudly protest. Citizensought to draw a line in thesand and peacefully declarethat the dog is not going tohunt anymore.
Nigerian website operatorsare today's freedom fighterswith battle scares to prove it.They have written and/orpublished articles thatattracted the wrath of the bigwigs. Some have used thatbadge of honour to garnermore credibility andpopularity.
The pioneering websites are:NigerianVil lageSquare.com,N i g e r i a m a s t e r W e b . c o m ,N i g e r i a W o r l d . c o m ,E l e n d u R e p o r t s . c o m ,S a h a r a R e p o r t e r s . c o m ,NigerianVoice.com, etc. I hopeNigeriansInFrance.com andAfricanUndisguised.com arerestored soon. Nigerians shouldregularly visit each of thesewebsites to show support and tokeep them in business.Nigerians need more websites tohaunt the do-nothing-goodpoliticians.
Legendary Fela used hismusic and fame to fight thepower. Likewise, these websitesemploy their sites as powerfulthorns on the side of errantleaders; proving the pen ismightier than the sword. Howthese people muster enoughcourage to operate their websitesshould be studied, commended,and replicated in other aspectsof Nigerian society.
The websites perform othersocietal functions. For example,after reading about a womanwith serious sickness, a readercontacted the NigeriaWorldoperator. He was prompt intacking down the news reporterto find the sick woman. AHarvard-trained surgeon Dr.Brian Camazine had
volunteered to perform thesurgery pro-bono and ananonymous reader had agreedto chip in N400,000 thenewspaper article sought totreat the woman. Reporterscovering such pleas shouldinclude adequate contactinformation, in case a readerhas the wherewithal to assist.
The websites foster trainingground for budding writers.Seasoned authors can use thevenues to mentor futurewriters and to showcase theircraft. Hats off to prolific Internetwriters, such as RudolfOkonkwo, PetersideChamberlain, Nasir El-Rufai,Okey Ndibe, Femi Awodele,Femi Ajayi, and others. Onedoes not have to agree witheverything writers publish toappreciate their contributions.We need more authors to writeabout what we need to know, notjust what they think we wantto read.
My favorite contributorsare: Rudolf Okonkwo andPeterside Chamberlain andNasir El-Rufai. These writersknow how to breakdowncomplex topics so the averagereader can understand them.Mr. Okonkwo's pieces areesoterically great; read hisarticles!. Mallam El-Rufai's
Should Nigeria’s media be censored?By chuks u.c. Ukaoma articles are often right on;
however, the reader needs toknow that the Mallam'snursing a political ambition. Imiss Mr. Chamberlain'sfinancial articles.
Surviving In Biafra byAlfred Uzokwe is a book one ofthe sites helped popularize. It'sa unique book that narratesthat vicious civil war via achild's lens. To obtain a copy ofthe book, either ask your locallibrary to stock it or buy one.
It's ironic that someNigerian websites arecensoring contributors. Someof the writers think their workbecame too thorny that somepoliticians called in censorshipfavor. While a few others thinkthere are tribal or regionalpolitics being played beneaththe surface. Some websiteswant exclusive right to articlesthey publish. Then there arepersonal fall outs that result inwriters being banned.Whatever the reason(s), theduties of these websites are tooimportant to allow them to beattenuated.
It's a competitive businessbut the websites could emulateNigerianVoice and NigerianVillage Square and SaharaReporters who publish articleswithout exclusivity
requirement. These three sitesare progressive and delightful,in deed. Sahara Reporters goesa step further by advertisingcompeting websites. Bravo toNigerianVoice.com! It's acomprehensive website withinstant publishing and editingfunctions.
Unfortunately, a fewwriters have traded their famefor seats at the fleecing table,once the price is right. Thesepeople pen critical articlesabout the government orpoliticians but as soon as theirbread is buttered, they beginto sing a different tune.
Website owners have theirwork cut out for them. Whilethey remain the vanguards ofNigerian fledgling democracy,they should have enoughcourage to broadcast news outof their pipelines without fearor favour! Finally, it's up to thereaders to collectively let theleaders know they won't standfor media censorship of anykind. That is the essence of ademocratic Nigeria.
Chuks "U.C." Ukaomaresides in Austin, Texas,USA. Read his otherarticles on this and Yahoowebsite. Email:[email protected]
By Uddin Ifeanyi
pursuits) shambolic, it isbetter imagined what statesport infrastructure therewould be. The jury is still outon the quality of instruction/tutelage in the private schoolsector (better than a chaoticpublic sector offering cannotbe good enough), but it is a safebet that sporting instruction isthe first casualty of theconfined spaces in which mostprivate schools in the countryare located.
Therefore, even if, sub-national governmentsmanage to square the circleround the provision of publicsports and recreational spacesas close to our communities asis practicable, we run thedanger that our would-beOlympic medallists lose, asthey proceed throughsecondary school anduniversity, all the skills gainedgrowing up. How do weincentivise private responsesthat conduce to the public good?This is the central challenge ofgovernance in the countrytoday. I suspect it has alwaysbeen so. But today, a mostunusual type of governmentseems more focussed on rousingour "miracle-working God",than deploying the talents Heso obviously gave us the wayother more organised peopleare.
Uddin Ifeanyi can bereached on twitter.com/Ifeanyiuddin
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012 PAGE 15
Two retired generals andformer heads of statestirred up a hornet's nest
recently when they profferedsolutions to the growinginsecurity and hopelessness in thecountry. Coming on the heels of awar of attrition between them,there was enough reason forNigerians to be guarded about theintervention by OlusegunObasanjo and Ibrahim Babangidawho ruled Nigeria cumulativelyfor 19 years.
The periods that thesegenerals ruled (1976-79; 1985-93; and 1999-2007) were aboutthe most glorious of the nation'shistory, not in terms ofdevelopment or genuine attemptto redefine the future of thecountry, but in terms of hope anddesire on the part of Nigerians tolift up their country and make ita global contender. As it turnedout, Obasanjo and Babangidamade sure they were the years ofthe locust. Obasanjo andBabangida orchestrated perhapsthe greatest despoliation ofNigeria, its wealth as well ashuman and material resources.
Obasanjo and Babangidatalked about the greatness ofNigeria and Nigerians, but theydid everything possible toundermine the country and itspeople. They had the opportunityto write their names in gold astrue statesmen, but they botchedit. Of course, on the personal level,both Obasanjo and Babangidahave received adequate responseto their unwelcomed interventionso I shall not dwell on that. I shallfocus on the thrust of theirintervention.
"Nigeria's existence notnegotiable - OBJ, IBB" was how onenewspaper headlined theintercession of the retired generalsthe morning after. The paper
reported Obasanjo and Babangidaas saying that "the worryingtrend emerging from the violentattacks, bombings and mindlesskillings of innocent Nigerians wascreating room for doubt about theend of the carnage, but that 'thecontinued unity of this nation isnot only priceless, but non-negotiable'".
I wonder what our rulers reallymean when they say the "unityof Nigeria is not negotiable". If youhear this glib talk from people whoactually did something toadvance the unity of Nigeria,then it is understandable. Itbecomes worrisome when thosewho advance this proposition are
A nation is usually unitedaround a common national ethos,a set of values and principles thatare abiding. Not so in Nigeria. Forthe ruling class in Nigeria, theonly unifying factor is corruption,as one of their own, GovernorBabangida Aliyu of Niger State,eloquently espoused in his speechat Chatham House, London, inJune. For majority of Nigerians,the unifying factor is a life ofgrinding poverty andhopelessness. No countrysustained by corruption and thepoverty and hopelessness of itscitizenry can survive for too long.
In a sense, therefore, the realthreat to the unity of Nigerian has
nibbling at the seams of thenation, we willfully assume thatthe country will still holdtogether and that things will getbetter. It is this same false hopethat led us to the London Olympicsafter just three months ofpreparation. As I write, theLondon games are about to endwithout any medal hope forNigeria. Anybody whounderstands Nigeria will not besurprised that this may yet be ourworst Olympics.
Regrettably, our youth onwhose shoulders the survival ofthis nation rests, appear to haveimbibed the worst examples of the"wasted generation" before them.That is the real tragedy of oursituation. Just last week, theAfrican Centre for Media &Information Literacy held alecture to mark the 2012International Youth Day. It wasmeant as a sober occasion for ouryouth, the greatest resource of ournation, to reflect on their role andcontribution to nationaldevelopment as well theresponsibility of the governmentto the youth. Many of the so-calledyouth leaders that came for thisevent arrived with muchfanfare, with retinues of aides intow. All someone close by couldmutter was: "if these people evercome close to power, they will doworse than our current crop ofrulers".
When I look at corruption inNigeria, our dismal showing inLondon, the attitude of ourdehumanized and traumatizedyouth, and the war mongeringgoing on, it all makes sense to me.The conclusion I have arrived atis that it is necessary but notsufficient to do critiques of sectoraldeficiencies of our problems as anation. Nigeria has collapsed. Itis imperative, therefore, that thesystemic dysfunction in Nigeriais confronted and changed to cater
A hackers’ paradise called NigeriaBy Chidi Onumah to all in a truly law governed
country. And the only way to dothis is to "negotiate" Nigeriathrough a Sovereign NationalConference (SNC), not just of so-called ethnic nationalities, butalso of marginalized andpauperized people of Nigeria.
Part of the reason corruptionthrives so much in Nigeria is thestructure of the country. Politicalviolence is rife, states and ethnicnationalities are threateningsecession, yet there are people whostill insist that it is forbidden toquestion the status quo. Those whoare really concerned aboutNigeria and genuinely fearthat the country will break upif it goes the route of SNC, asopposed to those who mouth"the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable" should rest assuredthat it won't happen without avery bloody war or wars. It isnot exactly clear which ethnicnationality wants to embark onthat futile journey. The greaterprospect now is that of anarchy(as in Somalia) or the rise offascism through what EdwinMadunagu describes as "acoalition of the most unlikelybed-follows'".
What Nigeria needs now isa radical change that willredefine the country and createa new national ethos. It is forthis reason that all those whohave bled the country andbrought it to its knees shouldbe wary, not just of socialmedia, but also the street angerof Nigerians.
This street anger must festerand yield positive results if weare to achieve a nationalrenewal and end what acolleague has described as thehackers' paradise called Nigeria.
those who have done everythingpossible to undermine the unityof the country. In simple terms,"negotiable" means "open todiscussion; not fixed, but able tobe established or changed throughdiscussion and compromise".Considering the current state ofthe nation, the social and politicalupheavals that go to the very coreof national existence, only amasochist will deny that this istime to "negotiate" Nigeria.
come from those who havesucceeded in dividing Nigeriansthrough their pillage and misuseof our patrimony. Our rulers knowthat the country is not workingbecause of massive corruption andthat we can't sustain the currentsystem for too long. Yet, becauseour elite, and in some casesordinary Nigerians, seem satisfiedwith the proceeds of corruption,they are blind to the danger weare all entrapped in. While we are
“What Nigeria needs now is aradical change that will redefinethe country and create a new
national ethos. It is for this reasonthat all those who have bled the
country and brought it to its kneesshould be wary, not just of social
media, but also the street anger ofNigerians.
If you juxtapose the hazardsthat still exist on Nigerianroads with the billions of Naira
already spent on the Federal RoadSafety Commission (FRSC) since itsinception, then you begin to realizethat the well intended venture hasfailed to achieve its primaryobjective - to keep Nigeria roads safefor drivers, passengers andpedestrians.
It would be a denial to say thatover the years the commission hasnot made noteworthy attempts atcombating the perils common toNigeria highways. Nevertheless, asarchetypal of Nigeria, thecommission, under variousChairmen, instead of vigorouslypursuing its primary task andtackling the root of the problem oflack of safety on our roads, hascontinued to chase shadows. Theprimary task for which thecommission was set up is to keepour roads safe. And so many yearsafter, has it succeeded in achievingthis? The answer is no.
The lack of safety on Nigerianroads is mainly due to bad driving.
There is a preponderance ofdangerous driving largely becausepeople who should have no businesson wheels drive. Nigeria is acountry where someone would buya car even before he learns how todrive. Thereafter, he would beg oneof his friends or relations to showhim how to drive on a Sundaymorning at a backyard primaryschool field. After two or threeexercises, he jumps into the road asa driver so long as he could coughout about N10, 000 for a driver'slicence. The issuing office is onlyinterested in the money. Once thismoney is paid, the issuingauthority is ready to issue a blindperson, even someone who ismentally deranged, a go ahead todrive on Nigerian roads.
90% of the drivers never wentthrough an approved drivingschool, where, apart from turningthe steering and gearing, drivingrules and signs are taught. Whileanother sizeable percentagepossesses a driver's licence, but can'teven drive. They are those who useit only for identification purposesat banks etc.
The FRSC under Osita Chiduka
is like the proverbial man that ischasing rat while his house is on fire.The changing of plate numbersrecently undertaken is anunnecessary cosmetic which willnot impact its major chore. What Ihave expected the commission to dosince its inauguration is to reviewevery driver's licence. I canauthoritatively say that 80% ofpeople driving in Nigeria ought tohave no business driving. The truthremains that there are a lot of madmen on wheels. They disobey allaccepted traffic norms and signsand pedestrians are mostlyendangered. The first rule aboutdriving in civilized climes is that thepedestrian is king. Butunfortunately in Nigeria, it is as ifthey are disturbing traffic. Vehicleusers will not even let them cross atzebra crossings or when there is agreen light for them to traverse.Dangerous driving poses amplifiedmenace for newcomers to Nigeria,who come from climes wheredriving is done only by the rules.
I also expect the FRSC to evolvea mechanism by which it controlsevery holder of a driver's licence. Itcan introduce the Point-System,
FRSC: Chasing a rat while the house burnsBy Charles Ofoji whereby, by each traffic offence a
driver loses some points and whenone loses over ten points, he forfeitshis licence for a specified number ofperiod or ad infinitum, dependingon the gravity of the offence(s). It isbalderdash that driver's licenceexpires. How can a driver's licenceexpire? The knowledge of driving isa lifelong ability. It is nottemporary. Even when people goto renew their so-called expiredlicences no new tests are conducted.So where is the aim? Instead ofputting driving licence ownersthrough such unnecessary,stressing and aimless renewalprocedure, the Road SafetyCommission can better checkabuses more effectively with thePoint-System thing.
I have also long expectedChiduka and his men to introducebreath screeners in theirmanagement of road safety. Thiswriter has often gone out withfriends at night and after a drinkingspree, they will jump into their carsand drive home. Yours sincerelyhas always been consternated. Thiscan only happen in Nigeria. In fact,most of the times, you hear drivers
saying that they need to "booze" firstin order to "clear" their eyes. Thenyou can only laugh in yourstomach. Such is only possiblebecause the Road SafetyCommission is not awake to itsprimary responsibility. The roadMarshals have to be extra active atnight when more alcohol isconsumed by the populace in orderto eradicate drink-driving, whichis a major cause of roads mishaps.
Chiduka is a brilliant CorpsMarshall. There is no doubt aboutthis. Nevertheless, what I put toquestion is his ability to bringgenuine reforms, which would helpthe commission realize the primarygoal for which it was set up. TheFRSC was not established to beautifyplate numbers etc or do a monthlyshow-off jogging exercise. It wasestablished to keep our roads safe.Therefore, I expect him to introducefundamental reforms which willenhance safety on our roads and heshould refrain from superfluousaesthetics.
Victims of demolitionexercises in the FederalCapital Territory (FCT)
may soon have succour, as theFederal Government (FG) hasdirected that affordable houses bebuilt for all those that havesuffered unpleasant consequencesfollowing this.
The decision of the FederalGovernment was made knownyesterday by the Minister of theFederal Capital Territory (FCT),Senator Bala Mohammed.
Senator Mohammed, who played host to some residentsof the FCT after the Eid prayers,
Jonathan orders affordablehousing for demolition victims
in his official residence in LifeCamp said this was a palliativemeasure to cushion the effect ofthe exercises on the victims as hesolicited for their understandingin this matter.
According to him, thedemolition exercises carried outin the last three months were nota deliberate act to inflict harmand impoverish those affected but to rescue the Abuja Master Planand for security reasons amongothers.
”We are not demolishingbecause we want to cause pain toanybody. It is because we want toserve them and everybody and itis because there must be a rescue
operation for them and the rest ofthe people so that we will besecured. At times we take such adecision because of some heavyresponsibility and informationthat we have and certainly, we asan administration know the agonythey are going through.
“We are going to do somethingin tandem with the directive of hisExcellency, Dr Ebele GoodluckJonathan to make sure we providesome solace and provide forpalliation on a long term basis. In away and manner, we are going tobuild in the FCT, affordable housesthat would accommodate thosethat are affected,” he explained.
The minister also revealed that
very soon, the administrationwould begin a registration exerciseof all those that were affected todevelop a social housing for them,adding that an area has alreadybeen provided for this purpose.
On his Sallah message toMuslim faithful and other FCTresidents, Senator Mohammedwho fielded questions fromjournalists appreciated residents.
” I thank them most especiallyfor giving us the support and theyshould know that as residents theyalso exercise leadership at their ownlevel,” he said as he urged bothChristians and Muslims tocontinue to live together inharmony.
By Josephine Ella
The Police have arraignedtwo persons, FaithOkenna, 24, and Shaibu
Adamu, 53, before an AbujaMagistrate’s Court on a two-count charge of theft andconspiracy.
The accused persons, both of62 Road, Galadima, Gwarinpa,Abuja, were alleged to have
Sales girl arraigned over theftcommitted the offence on July16, 2012 .
One Miss Chinwe Obi of thesame address according to thepolice prosecutor, Sergeant Salisu Mohammed, reportedthe matter to the Gwarimpapolice station on July 29, 2012.
”The two accused conspiredand stole 51 bags of cement and
iron rods valued at aboutN106, 000 from the site wherethey worked. Okenna was thesales girl, while Adamu was thesecurity. They conspired andstole the items put under theircare,’’ Mohammed said.
The accused, however,admitted stealing only the 51bags of cement.
In view of their plea, theprosecutor asked the court fora new date to enable the policeto complete their investigation.
Mohammed also told thecourt that the receiver of thestolen items was still at large.
The magistrate, JacintaOkeke, granted them bail inthe sum of N250, 000 each and
One Aminu Mohammed,34, of Mabushi, Abuja, has been sentenced to
two weeks imprisonment forreceiving stolen property fromGidion Dauda of Wuse 2,Abuja.
Police prosecutorEmmanuel Adikwu had told
Man, 34, bags two weeks imprisonment for buying stolen goodsan Abuja Senior Magistrate’sCourt, which sentenced theaccused, that Mohammedwas brought to the MaitamaPolice Station by Jibrin Ahmedof Wuse 2, Abuja on August 12, 2012.
Adikwu said that sometimein June, one Gidion Dauda, a
gardener at Judges Quarters,stole some tables and acupboard and sold them to theconvict for
N17, 000.He said the offence
contravenes the provisions ofSection 317 of the Penal
Code.
Mohammed, who pleadedguilty to the charge, beggedfor leniency, saying, “I did notknow that they were stolenproperty”.
The Senior Magistrate, MrsJosephine Obanor, saidalthough the convict was afirst time offender, he must be
An Abuja based non-g o v e r n m e n t a lorganisation (NGO),
Helpline Foundation has calledon the Muslim faithful in theFederal Capital Territory(FCT)and across the country to usethis year Eid-el-Fitr to pray forpeace and security in Nigeria.
The President of theFoundation, Mrs. JumaiAhmadu, who made the callwhile addressing journalists inAbuja as part of the activities of the foundation to mark thecelebration, emphasised thatthe occasion was to glorifyAllah’s grace, kindness andlove.
She said: “Eid stands forharmony and brotherhood. It isan occasion which not only callsfor celebration but also upholdsthe religious fervor preached bythe Koran”, stressing that it was a time to give in charity to thosein need and celebrate withfamily and friends.
According to her, HelplineFoundation has established a‘charity shop’ in Kuje AreaCouncil of the FCT to meet thisimportant religious obligation.
She called on the residentsof the territory, especiallyorphans and widows to visit the shop for gift items.
Speaking on the state ofsecurity in the country, Mrs.Ahmadu noted that there is nobetter time than this spiritualoccasion, to offer prayer for thecountry, even as shecommended moves by theFederal Government tonegotiate with the Boko Haramsect with a view to putting anend to senseless killings.
Eid-el-Fitr:Foundationtasks Muslimson peacefulco-existenceBy Josephine Ella
Grains sellers waiting in Bwari market, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo
punished.She held that the likes of
Mohammed would encouragepeople to steal and that he wasworse than the thief himself.
Obanor sentenced theconvict to two weeksimprisonment without anoption of fine. (NAN)
two sureties each in like sum. Okeke said the sureties
must be civil servants on GradeLevel 09, religious leaders inthe rank of a branch pastor orlmam and must reside withinthe court’s jurisdiction.
She adjourned the case toOctober 4, 2012 for hearing.(NAN)
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012PAGE 18
Technician held over allegedattempt to steal church offering
of Abuja.Johnson, of No 19, Zambia
road, Area 11, Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT), was arraignedbefore Chief MagistrateAzubuike Okeagu on a two-count charge of criminal trespassand attempt to commit anoffence of theft contrary toSections 342 and 95 of the PenalCode respectively.
The police prosecutor, Simon
Ibrahim, told the court that oneLoveday Ihemeje of MFM,reported the case to the Utakopolice station on August 10,2012.
According to him, theaccused criminally trespassedinto the church premises andwent into the second floor of thechurch hall and made severalattempts to temper with thechurch’s offering box but was
A 34-year-old technician,Ademola Johnson hasbeen arraigned by the
police before an Abuja ChiefMagistrate’s Court forallegedly trying to steal fromone of offering boxes of theMountain of Fire and Miracles(MFM) church in Utako district
Ahmed of the same address.Adikwu said that Dauda stole
24 slide windows, a cupboard andsome tables from the Judgesquarters and sold them to oneAminu Mohammed of Mabushi,
Abuja.The prosecutor said the value
of the stolen items had yet to beascertained or recovered.
Dauda, who pleaded guilty to
Gardener jailed for theft at Judges Quartersthe charge, begged theMagistrate for mercy.
“I am usually the only personthat takes care of and watchesover the house. They sometimegive me only N200 for my upkeepand I get very hungry most
times, while I am working inthe house that was why I wastempted to steal.
“I am begging the court to
give me time to try and recoverthe items from Aminu,’’ Daudasaid.
Presiding Magistrate,Josephine Obanor, who said “theguilty must not be
allowed to go unpunished’’ andtherefore sentenced the accusedto one month imprisonment withan option to pay N15,000 fine.(NAN)
caught in the process.Ibrahim said that the
complainant told the police thatprior to this latest incident,sometimes in 2011, Johnson wascaught red handed stealing fromthe offering box.
Johnson pleaded not guilty tothe charges preferred againsthim by the police.
Okeagu adjourned the case toSeptember 3, 2012, for hearing. The Minister of State for
Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Oloye Olajumoke
Akinjide, has felicitated with allMuslims in Nigeria forcompleting the 30 days annualfast and urged them tocontinuously pray for the peaceand unity of Nigeria.
Akinjide, who spoke in thecongratulatory messagethrough his Special Assistant onMedia and Publicity, OluyinkaAkintunde, advised all Muslimsto hold onto the lessons of theholy month, which includesupplications to the almighty,sacrifice and brotherly love forone another.
She also urged local andforeign investors to partner withthe Federal Capital TerritoryAdministration (FCTA) in thedevelopment of the federalcapital city and satellite towns.
She assured that the presentadministration of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan was fullycommitted to thetransformation of the countryand the economy.
On the FCT, Akinjidereiterated the Administration’scommitment towards makingAbuja a world class city and alsoone of the top 20 economies ofthe world.
“We welcome the local andforeign investors to takeadvantage of the photographyexhibition and the AbujaCarnival to invest in the FCT. We have, however, developed aframework to involve theprivate sector in Abuja’sdevelopment through thepubl ic-private-partnership(PPP) arrangement. Theprivate sector has to takeadvantage of the annual AbujaCarnival to invest in the FederalCapital Territory.
The Minister noted thatAbuja was fast becoming thechoice event for national andinternational tourists throughthe annual carnival.
She explained that theinternational photographyexhibition of the Abuja Carnivalheld last week at the TiwaniContemporary in London wasaimed at achieving enhancednational prestige, increasedparticipation, improvedsponsorship, and improvedpackaging of the annualcarnival.
Over 50 classical shots fromvarious events of the Abujacarnival were adapted intoframed pictures, brochures ande-photo book format anddisplayed at the internationalphotography exhibition inLondon.
Eid-el-Fitr:Akinjide tasksMuslims onpeace, unity
Catholic faithful queue for security checks, recently at the church’s gate in Area 3, Garki, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo
An Abuja SeniorMagistrate’s’ Court hassentenced 23-year-old
gardener, GideonDauda of Judges Quarters,
Wuse 2, Abuja, to one monthimprisonment for theft.
Police prosecutor, EmmanuelAdikwu told the court that theconvict was brought to theMaitama Police Station by Jibrin
By Usman Shuaibu six area councils along for thesuccess of the scheme.
He also urged themanagement of the board toallocate 80 per cent ofscholarships to the originalinhabitants of the FCT to aidthem in their academicpursuit.
FCT Scholarship Board urged to parley with council chairmen Ushefa, who made the call
while interacting with theauthorities of the board inBwari, expressed joy over theprogress made by the FCTindigenes towardseducational pursuit so far.
On her part, the Directorof the FCT Scholarship Board
noted that inadequate fundinghad been the challenge theboard was facing.
She appealed to the councilchairmen, non-governmentalorganisations andconstruction companiesoperating in Abuja to assistthe board financially.
The Chairman of BwariArea Council of theFederal Capital
Territory (FCT), Hon. PeterYohanna Ushefa has appealedto the FCT Scholarship Boardto carry the chairmen of the
By Stanley Onyekwere
...woos investorsover infrastructuredevt
They were arraigned on afour-court charge of criminalconspiracy, forgery, criminalbreach of trust and cheating.
Police prosecutor, Mohammed Garba told the courtthat one Dr Udugbai Ilevbare, alsoof the council, reported the matterto the Garki police station on July18.
Garba said the accused forgedthe official receipts of the council
Two nabbed for forging medical, dental council receiptand had been issuing them to thepeople.
“Badmus and Naomi havebeen converting the money madefrom the issuance of the receiptsto their own personal use,’’ he said.
Counsel to the accused, JudeUgwuanyi, urged the court togrant his clients bail.
The prosecutor opposed thebail application on the groundthat the offence was not
bailable.The presiding Judge, Alhaji
Umar Kagarko, however,granted them bail in the sum ofN300, 000 each.
Kagarko ordered the accusedto provide a surety who mustbe either a public or civilservant of a senior status.
He adjourned the case toOctober, 17, 2012 for hearing.(NAN)
Two staff of the Medical anddental Council ofNigeria (MDCN) have been
arraigned before an Area Courtin Karu, Abuja for forging thecouncil’s official receipt andissuing same to unsuspectingmembers of the public.
One Badmus Adebayo, 42,and Naomi Nwabueze, 34 arestaff of the council in Garki,Abuja.
By Josephine Ella
PAGE 19PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Management Tip of the DayStop wasting your boss’s time
INSIDE
It’s easy to complain about amanager who wastes time.It’s much harder to see how
you might misuse thatmanager’s time. Here are threeways to minimize the impactyou have on your supervisor’stight schedule:
Local cement production hits18m metric tons, says MakojuNigeria has recorded a
major feat in theutilisation of a major
natural mineral resource,limestone, as local productionof cement hits 18 millionmetric tons above the 17million metric tonnes localdemand.
President, CementManufacturers Association ofNigeria (CMAN), JosephMakoju, who disclosed thiswhile addressing the Ministerof Works, Mike Onolememen onthe proposed utilisation ofcement for road construction inthe country, noted that thecountry has 58 million metrictons installed capacity ofcement.
The country also recordedzero importation of cementfrom January 2012 to date.
Makoju, who attributed theachievement to the “backwardintegration policy” initiated in2002, explained that the movewas geared towards improvinglocal production of cement andreduction in capital flight.
He said, “In 2003, cementproduction was two millionmetric tons per year and in thatyear we were importing aboutsix million metric tons.Importation was at the peakaround 2007 at seven million.But as we are sitting here
too often. If you or one of yourdirect reports canaccomplish the task withoutyour boss’s help, do it.
Present solutions, notproblems. Don’t br ingproblems to your boss tosolve. Instead, br ingproposed solutions, and seekhis feedback.
Accommodate herworking style. Forexample, i f she prefers toreceive information inwrit ing rather than inperson, honor thosepreferences even i f i t ’s notyour style .
Source: HarvardBusiness Review
today, I’m happy to report thattotal local production has goneup to 12.8 million metric tonsin 2011 from two million in2002 and we project localproduction for this year wouldbe up to 18 to 20 million metrictons. The local demand isprojected at about 17 millionmetric tons, even if the localproduction for the first time isin excess of local demand.
“I’m also happy to report thatfor the first time in our history,since January to date, there wasno cement importation, so weare in a position where we arephasing-out import and relyingon local production. For the totalinstalled capacity, new plantswere commissioned in the lasttwo years.
Dangote commissioned sixmillion metric tons in OgunState; Lafarge commissioned 2.2
From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos
Experts urge FGto support retailsector forgrowth of SMEs
Following the fastest growingand youngest population ofNigeria as well as Africa, retail
business, especially food andconsumer goods, is expected to drivethe economy to the tune of $185billion (N29.6 trillion) in the nearfuture.
This is against the backdrop ofNigeria being the largest Africanconsumer market. Meanwhile,consumer expenditure which iscentred on retail sector activities(food, clothing/footwear, andhousehold goods) accounts for 74.1per cent of total market.
This notwithstanding, Nigerianretail is still dominated by the so-called ‘informal channels’particularly the open marketswhere all sorts of things are soldfrom food and clothes, to electronics.
The market thus remains quitefragmented, with no majorconcerns holding strong share. Butwith the increased presence ofinternational chains, theenvironment is changing slowlyand becoming slightly lessfragmented.
Experts say Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises (MSMEs) inNigeria ordinarily would prefer toremain informal so as to evade taxes.‘‘No one loves to pay taxes, but it’sgood to pay taxes. It’s only whensmall businesses pay tax that theycan get credibility in the creditmarket, raise funds, and in turn willgrow their business, becoming bigenterprises,’’ Haresh Keswani,group managing director, ArteeIndustries Limited said in aninterview.
‘‘ The problem is that everyonethinks short term. If governmentgives us industry status, we willsupport SMEs because we wouldhave the ability. For instance, inthe last two years, we have helpedmost of our small scale suppliers tothe tune of N500 million loan, justby writing to the bank andguaranteeing them.’’
According to him, onceorganized retail comes, as a smallbusiness selling to us, the SME willbe expected to pay taxes. He saidthat small business owners will benotified when they are declaredthem as suppliers, thus tax officialscan come to them for taxes.’’
Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Segun Aganga, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of State for Finance, Sen. YerimaNgama, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku and Minister of Works, Mike Onomemen, briefing on economy, recently at the StateHouse, Abuja
million metric tons in Ewekoro,Ogun State; Dangote alsocommissioned a new plant of 5.5million metric tons of cementplant in Obajana plant 3 andwhen you put all localproduction together today wehave 58 million metric tons. So,Nigeria has arrived to berecognised as a cementproducing country.”
While speaking on the
proposal sent to the FederalMinistry of Works on the use ofcement for road construction inthe country, Makoju whodoubles as special adviser toAliko Dangote, president,Dangote Group, assured thatthe use of cement for roadconstruction will reduce cost ofmaintenance at the long run aswell as ensure durability ofNigerian roads.
year in July, from 12.9 percentyear-on-year in June, statisticsshowed on Friday, surprisingmany analysts who had expectedinflation to rise.
Food inflation, the largestcontributor to the headlineindex, rose slightly to 12.1percent year-on-year in July,compared with 12.0 percent inJune, the National Bureau ofStatistics (NBS) said in a report.(Reuters)
Inflation eases to 12.8 % in July
PAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
COMPANYNEWS
Etisalat, Alcatel
Etisalat Nigeria hasintroduced a permission-and preference-based
mobile advertising service, incollaboration with Alcatel-Lucent.
A statement credited to themanagement of the companysays that with this development,the company is to deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s Optism, the software-based mobile marketing solutionwhich allows subscribers to sharetheir interests and preferenceswith their mobile operator and‘opt-in’ to receive personalised,relevant advertising and specialoffers on their mobile phonesfrom their favorite brands.
“Alcatel-Lucent, on behalf ofEtisalat Nigeria, has created alocal ecosystem made up of keyplayers in the advertising valuechain (including advertisers,brands and media agencies),which would position EtisalatNigeria as the enabler ofinteractive dialogues with alarge group of mobile phoneusers, with very detailedconsumer profiles”.
Intel, Adlevo
Intel Capital, Intel’s globalinvestment and M&Aorganization and Adlevo
Capital Managers, LLC (“AdlevoCapital”), a private equity fundmanager focused on investmentsinto technology-enabledbusinesses in sub-Saharan Africahave completed an expansioninvestment into RancardSolutions Limited (“Rancard”), aleading provider of cloud basedsoftware for mobile contentdiscovery and delivery, focusedon Africa.
While Rancard SolutionsLimited is a software company,focused on delivering the world’sleading brands to relevantmobile audiences across Africa;Adlevo Capital is the first privateequity firm focused oninvestments into technology-enabled companies acrossmultiple African countries.
Also, Intel Capital, Intel’sglobal investment and M&Aorganisation, makes equityinvestments in innovativetechnology start-ups andcompanies worldwide.
Diamond Bank
Diamond Bank hascompleted plans toexpand its retail banking
to every part of the country andthe West African sub-region.The Group Managing Director,Alex Otti, who was speakingagainst the backdrop of thebank’s rising credit rating in thefinancial market, stated that thebank was also strengthening itsability to grow its micro smalland medium enterprises (SMEs)banking business.According to him, apart fromattracting the un-banked intothe mainstream of banking, thebank also acknowledged the roleof SMEs as the engine of economicgrowth and development.
Inflation rates from Jul, 2011 to Jun, 2012Max = 12.9%, Min = 9.3% for period in display.Current Inflation rate = 12.9% Source:CBN
Interbank rates fall on budget allocationsNigeria’s interbank
lending rates fellsharply on Friday to an
average of 14 percent, fromaround 19.33 percent theprevious day after about N283billion ($1.80 billion) in budgetallocations to governmentagencies hit the market.
Dealers said the market wasshort prior to the disbursal of thebudget funds due to strictercentral bank’s measures totighten liquidity in the system
Earnings Report for Banks Source:Pro-share Nigeria
and support the local currency.“The market opened with a
deficit of about N197 billion onFriday, but by the time thebudget allocations hit thesystem today, the cost ofborrowing fell sharply,” onedealer said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) in July raised the CashReserve Requirement (CRR) forlenders to 12 percent from 8percent, and reduced net openforeign exchange positions to 1
percent from 3 percent, torestrict the money supply andsupport the currency.
The bank also barred banksthat borrow Naira funds from itsofficial window from using thosefunds to buy dollars at its by-weekly auction, a bid to crackdown on currency speculation.
Dealers said the release of thebudget funds on Friday was arelief to the market which hasbeen hit by cash shortages.
The secured Open Buy Back
NEXIM, Infrastructure Bank partner to deepen exports
Nigerian Export ImportBank (NEXIM) andInfrastructure Bank on
Thursday agreed to forge apartnership that could see thedeepening of the non-oil sectorand expand exports.
The partnership agreementwas reached when theManaging Director of NEXIMBank, Roberts Orya, and histeam visited the InfrastructureBank in Abuja.
The maiden meeting of thetwo development institutionswas essentially to explore areasof mutual cooperation thatwould deepen inter-agencycooperation between them as wellas explore avenues for
transactional risk sharing in co-financing arrangement projectsthat have export content.
Explaining reasons for thevisit, Orya said the NEXIM Bankwas interested in buildingsynergies and capacities tosupport government’stransformation agenda,particularly as the bank wasestablished to diversify theNigerian economy from themono product of oil.
“We believe that we need towork with institutions like theInfrastructure Bank to be able toactualise the banks’ mandate,”he said.
At the meeting, Oryainformed the Managing Directorof Infrastructure Bank, AdekunleOyinloye and his team of some ofNEXIM Bank’s key
infrastructural projects andinitiatives that they would like tosee collaboration between the twoinstitutions.
The first, according to him, isthe sea link project, which isbasically a maritime transportinfrastructure conceived toenhance trade volumes withinthe ECOWAS sub-region and eventhe Central African region.
The sea link facilitated by thebank was initiated due to hugechallenges that a lot of Nigerianexporters face in exporting theirgoods within the region and evento the neighbouring countriessince there is no maritimetransportation that makes foreasy movement of goods andpeople in the region.
He further said the visit wasalso to explore some othertransactional relationship onsome of the projects that NEXIMhas funded, which for instancewould need some kind ofinfrastructure type of financingarrangement that would helpmake the projects viable andsustainable and consequentlygalvanise what the bank isdoing.
Orya also sought thepartnership of the InfrastructureBank in its commitment to co-financing and refinancingarrangements of infrastructure-type transactions, like hoteldevelopment as tourisminfrastructure to support thenational tourism master plan.
Highlighting specific areas ofintended collaboration further,Orya told the house that NEXIMBank has made huge
(OBB) dropped to 14 percentfrom 18 percent the previousday and lower than the 15percent it closed last Friday.
Overnight and call ratesclosed at 14 percent each,compared with 20 percentrespectively on Thursday.
“We see rates stable at thislevel for the better part of nextweek because of the fewertrading days and the improvedliquidity level in the system,”another dealer said. (Reuters)
investments in agriculture,solid minerals, services,explaining that infrastructuresupport is needed so that some ofthe current challenges can betackled.
He also mentioned the bank’sextensive role in deepening ofthe creative and entertainmentindustry due to its enormouspotential in terms of creatingjobs and generating exchangerate and sought partnershipwith the Infrastructure Bank todeepen the sector and promoteexport in line withgovernment’s present policyinitiative.
In response, Oyinloyecommended strides so far madeby the NEXIM Bank’smanagement to stimulate thenon-oil sector, assuring of theirreadiness to work with Orya andhis team.
He said that theInfrastructure Bank has beenrepositioned and refocused totake up new roles and was quitewilling to partner with NEXIMBank on key projects that wouldhelp drive the president’stransformation agenda. Hepledged that the bank would beready to offer advice andparticularly ensure that theconceived projects are bankable.
“We would be glad to providethe skills where required and dolet us know at what point youwant us to play a role,” Oyinloyeassured.
By Abdulwahab Isa with agencyreports
Standard Bank hasconcluded plans to add upto 30 new branches
across the continent before theend of the year, Ben Kruger,the banks deputy chiefexecutive said on Friday.
According to Kruger, thebulk of the banks will be sitedin Nigeria, adding that thelender expects its full-yearcredit impairments to be littlechanged from last year.
“This year we’ll add 20, 30branches across the network,”Kruger said, following thebank’s first-half resultspresentation. (Source:Bloomberg)
StandardBank eyesNigeria inexpansionplans
PAGE 21PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Capital marketoperators
Two months after theFederal Governmentdissolved the Board of
Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC), a new boardis yet to be reconstituted andmarket operators have called onthe government to appoint a newboard saying the developmentwill further delay the recovery ofthe nation’s stock market.
The Minister of Finance andCoordinating Minister for theEconomy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had on June 15,announced the dissolution ofSEC’s board following theexpiration of its tenure of fouryears.
But due to the suspension ofSEC Director-General, ArunmahOteh, by the board then, Okonjo-Iweala announced theappointment of Mr. BrahimBolaji Bello as acting DG of thecommission.
Fidson Healthcare
Fidson Healthcare Plc, aNigerian drug maker,jumped the most in 11
weeks after reporting it swung toprofit in the first half.The stockclimbed 4.8 percent to 0.88naira by 2:18 p.m. in Lagos, themost since May 31.Net income for the six monthsthrough June surged to 152.8million naira, compared with aloss of 188.6 million naira a yearearlier, the Lagos-based companysaid in a statement published onthe Nigeria Stock Exchangewebsite today. Revenueincreased to 3.6 billion nairafrom 2.6 billion naira over thesame period. Fidson paid adividend of 10 kobo per share for2011, it said on April 20.The shares have advanced 2.3percent this week, comparedwith a decline of 0.6 percent inthe Nigerian Stock Exchange AllShare Index.
NSE
Each day for four days, nofewer than 50 dealingmember firms at the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)will pay about N1.05millionrepresenting N21, 000 perparticipant as course fee for theforthcoming InternationalFinancial Reporting Standards(IFRS) training.The NSE noted in a circular(BDR/CIR/MUO/08/12) to alldealing members, signed byOlufemi Shobanjo, Head, BrokerDealer Regulation noted that “inthe light of the adoption of theInternational FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS) andthe directive by the FederalGovernment to all companieswhich includes Dealing MemberFirms of the Nigerian StockExchange, it has becomeimperative for Chief ExecutiveOfficers of Dealing Member Firmsto be informed of the acceptableaccounting standardsinternationally.”
INVESTORSNEWS BEAT
Source:Pro-share Nigeria
NSE- ASI holds support leveldespite 2 weeks loss of -1.62%Mixed market sentiments
persist on the Nigerianbourse amid increased
market volatility on the back ofgrowing speculative tradingwhile bargain tendencyappeared weak in the face ofcontinued price correction trend.
Further analysis revealedsustained mild retracementdespite positive opening in theweek while market slides furtherinto trading range as againsthuge profit booking experiencedin the previous week. Thecontinued price correctiontendency witnessed towards bigcounters had significant impacton the market posture despiteimproved breadth observed in
the week.Nevertheless, the key
benchmark indices maintainedtheir hold above 23,000psychological line despiteincreased market price volatilityand pessimistic trading duringthe week while the marketturnover closed negative.
Market opened the week onpositive note to extend two gainsby +0.15%. However, the keybenchmark indices slipped by -0.64% to erased previous gainand maintained below-the-linepostures for two sessions despiteimproved market breadth,recording -0.09% and -0.17% losson Wednesday and Thursdayrespectively.
Conversely, the All ShareIndex (ASI) returned to positiveside by +0.32% on Friday as moreof value and blue chip stocksgained weight on the back ofimproved patronage, closing theweek on the negative note withcumulative loss of -0.42%.
However, the All-Share Indexin the week under review dippedby -0.42% to close at 23,141.08as against a decline by -1.21%recorded last week to close at23,239.03.
In the same vein, the marketcapitalization in the weekdepreciated by N30.62 billion(US$204.17 million) to close atN7.36 trillion (US$49.09 billion)as against depreciation by
N90.43 billion (US$565.21million) recorded last week toclose at N7.39 trillion (US$46.22billion).
The total volume traded inthe week closed at 1.31 billionunits valued at N932.58 million(US$48.49 million) comparedwith 1.31 billion units valued atN9.13 billion (US$57.09 million)exchanged in 19,199 deals lastweek. The volume transaction inthe week when compared withthe previous week data moveddown by -29.24% as againstdecline by -19.58% recorded lastweek. Weekly value also wentdown by -20.34% as againstnegative position of -23.03%recorded last week.
Nigerian yields lower on likely index inclusionNigerian bond yields are
expected to ease furthernext week as news of the
country’s likely inclusion in theJP Morgan government bondindex heightens offshore investorinterest in its debt.
Nigeria is likely to be includedin JP Morgan’s GovernmentBond Index - Emerging Markets(GBI-EM) from October,potentially bringing up to $1billion into one of Africa’s most
developed debt markets, thebank said on Wednesday. [ID:nL6E8JFAZ0]
Dealers said theannouncement spurred a rash ofbuying, pushing down yieldsacross the board.
The yield on the most liquidbond, the 3-year, fell to 15.60 onFriday from 16.17 percent aweek ago. That on the 5-yearinstrument dropped to 15.70percent, compared with 16.28
percent last Friday.“We expect a lot of foreign
investors to rush for local debt inthe coming days in response tothe report on JP Morgan and thiswill further push down yields,”one dealer said.
Nigeria’s Debt ManagementOffice sold 75 billion naira ($478million) in bonds with maturitiesranging from 5 to 10 years at amonthly auction on Wednesday.The yield on the 5-year paper
20 medical investors to visit Nigeriainvestors in health-relatedbusinesses, will be led into thecountry by Mr. Torsten Wagnerfrom Bayern International andMrs. Susanne Ackermann fromthe Chamber of Commerce,Passau, where they have booked
was marginally higher, whilethose on the 7- and 10-yearsecurities fell.
Dealers said a lower-than-expected inflation figure for Julywould also support a further dropin yields. Consumer inflationeased marginally to 12.8 percentyear-on-year, from 12.9 percentin June, surprising analysts whohad expected it to rise due to thepartial removal of fuel subsidiesin January. (Reuters)
No fewer than 20 potentialmedical investors underthe Bavaria Group are
coming to Nigeria to explore localinvestment opportunities in thecountry.
The group of potential
exhibition stands at the upcomingWest African Health Conferenceand Exhibition (WAH Nigeria2012), to be held betweenSeptember 5-7 in Lagos.
WAH coordinator, Dr WaleAlabi, who confirmed this, said,
“We are expecting a group of 20investors that are into high-profile medical equipment andtechnologies provision from theBavarian group alone. This is amajor boost for the seven year-old event that has consistentlyprovided investmentopportunities and solutionmodules for a private sector ledsolution to the continent’shealthcare problems.”
According to Alabi, membersof the group had indicated intheir correspondences, an utmostdesire to invest in Nigeria.
“These investors have set outto build operational bases inNigeria as a way of reaching outto the sub-region,” he said,adding, “I am delighted at theirdisposition because it willultimately provide solutions tosome of the lingering healthproblems in the sub-region, andmake Nigeria the referencepoint.”
Nigeria ranked as investmenthaven despite corruption
government officials werecommonplace, suggesting thatregistered firms confront morerequests for such bribes… Only20 per cent of micro-enterprisefirms reported having advanceknowledge of the amount of thepayment required to ‘get thingsdone’.” Therefore, “Informalpayments/gifts represented
A World Banks’ recentinvestment assessmentreport states that despite
reports of corruption, Nigeriaremains the most attractiveinvestment destination inAfrica.
The report says: “One-thirdof micro-enterprises reportedthat informal payments/gifts to
approximately 1.2 per cent ofannual sales for all micro-enterprises.”
26 states within the countrywere analysed, where it is notedthat government contractorshave to pay approximately 4.3per cent of the contract valuein order to secure and maintaincontracts. (NAN)
PAGE 22 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
banks have been able to servicetheir 346,266 registeredcustomers, among other issues.
Speaking on the issue, a formerdirector, Budget and Supervision,CBN, Titus Okunronmu, said sucha report is timely because theproblems facing some of theinstitutions. Okunronmu saidCBN’s decision to schedule thereport for the end of the year is soas to enable it get enoughinformation about the activities ofthe institutions.
He said: “The apex bankcollects information on banksthroughout the year. I think thereport is going to say a lot aboutthe operations of the MFIs, theircapacity for growth to meet theyearnings of depositors and loanportfolios, among other issues. It isgood for the public because thereport will expose the MFIs to the
The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) plans to release thereport on the performance of
the 671 microfinance institutions(MFIs) in the country before theend of the year.
The report, which is expectedto appraise the sub sector, willprovide information on theperformance of the banks, theircapital base, participation in theRural Finance InstitutionsDevelopment Programme(RUFIN) and loan recovery efforts,among other initiatives.
Sources close to the apex banksaid the report on the activities ofthe MFIs would be completed bythe end of this year and presentedto the public. The source, who spokeon condition of anonymity, said thereport would capture how the
public. Through the report, themembers of the public will knowwhether to continue doingbusiness with some of the banks.It is a good information that shouldbe made readily available to thepeople.”
He said the decision to releasethe report is good for the sub-sector, noting that such a reportis difficult to come by because it ishighly investigative.
“If they tell us the position ofthe banks, many would runaway. But they don’t normallygive such information until thereis crisis.
The report will tell us themoney the MFIs are having, andhow they are using the money. Itwill tell us whether the money iswell spent or not. From experience,MFIs are ready to give loans tocustomers,” he added.
CBN to release report onmicrofinance banksbefore year-endBy Aminu Imam
The management of theNigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation
(NNPC) in Abuja has been calledto monitor the distribution ofpetroleum products to Benue stateto curtail the illegal activities ofits men in the state.
Special Assistant to GovernorGabriel Suswam on Public Utility,Gaddafi Asemanya, who spoke tonewsmen recently on the heels ofthe arraignment of ZubairuManu, the state coordinator and11 others in court last week, saidthat there was need for the NNPCto send men of proven integrity tomanage such sensitive offices.
The state coordinator wasrecently arrested andsubsequently arraigned before aChief Magistrate’s court with 11others over allegations of criminalconspiracy and illegal dealing inpetroleum and other allied
matters.According to him, “what
happened has shown clearly thatthe entire staff of the NNPC MegaStation were involved in fraud, asthey were caught selling keroseneat the ungodly hour of 4a.m,thereby sabotaging the effort ofboth the state and the FederalGovernment. It also shows that Ihad no hidden agenda when Iraided the station sometime ago.”
Asemanya also noted that thejob of the task force is tocomplement what the staff of themega station was doing, disclosingthat there is substantive evidenceto convict the suspects based ontheir confessional statements tothe police which show that theysold the product at N110 per litreinstead of N50 per litre.
Asemanya also urged the oilmarket outfit to make use of theservices of uniformed personnel,civil society groups and journaliststo sell kerosene in the state toforestall shady deals.
Benue urges NNPC to monitordistribution of productsBy Muhammad Nasir
conference in Lagos, said the tenyear lifespan for AMCON in theoriginal act, deliberated uponby the National Assembly in2010 was removed during thereconciliation process betweenthe House of Representativesand the Senate.
AMCON was set up by theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN)and the Ministry of Finance.
The agency, which was soldto the public as a vehicle with afixed (10 year) term, would nothave its existence terminatedby 2020 as the Act establishingit initially envisaged.
AMCON has issued bonds to
The extension of the tenureof Asset ManagementCorporation of Nigeria
(AMCON), a resolutionmechanism for cleaning upbanks’ non-performing loans(NPL) may expose thecountry’s economy to systemicrisks, as well as negativefallouts from the possiblepoliticisation of the agency inthe future.
Director of RiskManagement at the CBN, KemiFatogbe, in a presentation at arecent Risk Managers
the value of N3.89 billion($25.1 million) since it was setup in 2010 through theissuance of zero-coupon bonds,giving banks more capacity tolend to the private sector.
The revelation thatAMCON with its huge powers,would now be a permanentagency, is however givinganalysts cause for concern.
“Should banks or otherentities expect in advance, theacquisition of their NPLs (andeven possibly a governmentbail-out), systemic risks to thefinancial system wouldincrease over time,” Samir
Extension of AMCON tenure may expose economy to systemic riskFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos Gadio, an emerging markets
strategist at Standard Bank,London said.
“Another concern is that theoutstanding amount of AMCONbonds now equals the stock ofFGN bonds (N3.7 trillion as ofMarch 2012).”
Most resolution vehiclessuch as AMCON are supposedto be temporary mechanisms/institutions set up in times offinancial stress, to assistregulatory authorities managethe fallout, which promptedanalysts to also question therole of a permanent AMCON, inview of the Nigerian Deposit
Insurance Corporation’s(NDIC) existence.
“Ultimately it is not good forthe growth of our financialsystem, to have a permanentAMCON that will also start toduplicate some of NDIC’s roles,”said Kayode Akindele, partnerat 46 Parallel, an investmentfirm.
“It will be more efficient andbetter for government toencourage private sectordistressed funds to play theAMCON role after the 10 yearlife span of AMCON, therebyletting the market price andmarket such debt”, he said.
Nigeria and the Republicof Congo have resolvedto intensify
collaboration and cooperationin the oil and gas sector with aview to boosting bilateral tradevolumes and investment flows,particularly in the areas ofsmall and medium businesses.
This agreement was reachedjust as the Nigerian Ambassadorto the Republic of Congo, HerExcellency, Princess JolaadeVictoria Onipede vowed tocombat transnational crimessuch as drug and humantrafficking, terrorism, illegal,unreported and unregulatedfishing and financial crimes.
The joint efforts in thesector which would alsoinclude other extractiveindustries, according toPrincess Onipede, would assistboth countries in tackling theirwide range of common socio-cultural, economic, politicaland security aspirations,challenges and threats.
The ambassador, whilepresenting her letter ofcredence to President DenisSasson Nguesso of the Republicof Congo, during the week,acknowledged that the twocountries shared and faced awide range of common socio-cultural, economic, politicaland security aspirations,challenges and threats.
She gave the assurance thather tenure would be used toreinforce the long-standingexcellent ties between the twocountries with a view toaddressing the identifiedproblems.
She further disclosed thatNigeria is making all necessaryefforts to host the secondNigeria-Republic of Congo Bi-National Commission to sortout outstanding bilateralissues, including the conclusionand signing of a bilateralaccord on trade andinvestment promotion andprotection. (NAN)
Nigeria, Congocollaborate to boostbilateral investments
L-R: Special Adviser to the President on Planning and Strategies, Chief Oronto Douglas and Chairman,Fort Oil, Chief Femi Otedola, discussing after a meeting with President Jonathan at the State House,Abuja.
PAGE 24 PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
How I was kidnapped from Jikwoyi and takento Katsina by fake football coach – Ibrahim
The family of Mr.Ayuba Ibrahim wasin celebration mood
last two months when thefamily was greeted with thenews that their son, ThomasIbrahim, kidnapped a yearago, had been found inKaduna state.
The celebration becamestronger on Saturday 5thAugust, 2012 when Thomaswas finally reunited withthe family, an experiencethat was described by thefamily as the handiwork ofGod.
Thomas was said to have
been kidnapped by a mancalled Aminu Adamu whoclaimed that he was afootball coach in JikwoyiPhase 4 last year. However,luck ran out on him and hewas arrested by the police(SAS) after declaring himwanted and displaying hisphotographs all 36 states ofthe federation and Abuja.
Narrating his ordeal,Thomas said “the man islike my coach. We used toplay football together andhe used to buy jerseys for mein Jiwoyi Phase 4.
“We used to play in
Thomas Ibrahim was kidnapped twomonths from his home in Jikwoyi, asuburb of Abuja, by a man who posed asfootball coach. He was first taken andended up in Kaduna. A frantic search bythe police led to the eventual arrest of thefake coach and Thomas’ release. Son andmother spoke exclusively to Peoples Dailyreporter, Etuk Sunday.
Jikwoyi Phase 2 andNyanya. Sometimes he didtake me to his house. But oneday, very early in themorning I went to his houseand he took me a motorbike(Okada) to Keffi Park inMararaba; from there wewent to Nasarawa. There inNasarawa, he took me to aherbalist in a ush in theBagaji part of Nasarawastate where we spent twodays.”
Thomas continued:“From Nasarawa he took meto another herbalist inKatsina state, still in a bush
“When the coach came back anddiscovered that I was no longer with
the herbalist, he went to him and theyused their magic powers to trace me
to Kaduna. He wanted to take meback to the herbalist but the people
refused and he left the school
under a big tree. We did notsleep there that day; he tookme to a particular housefrom where we visited theherbalist every day.
“One day, we went thereand I was very thirsty, andthe herbalist asked me to goto a shrine and drink water.When I came out of theroom, they said they wantedto teach me how to becomea herbalist but I could nottalk or answer back and thecoach left me there.
“Every day the herbalistwould beat me if I failed tograsp what he was teachingme.”
Thomas said it took astrong heart for him to tryto escape. “I found it very
difficult to escape initiallybecause I was always beingfollowed by the herbalist”,he said.
After several fai ledattempts, Thomas f inal lymade i t . “One day I wasfortunate to be left alone,so I made my escape,” herecounted.
“I went to Katsina maintown on foot; I was evenbitten by a snake. On myway, some people saw meand helped me with a snakeantidote, a l though theywere sent by the herbalistto recapture me. I wasfortunate that fuel finishedin the car they came in, soI ran from them. While Iwas running, I saw the
body guards of the Emir ofKatsina and I narrated myordeal to them, and theytook me to the Emir, Alhaji
Abdul Kabiru Usman. Hesaid he was going to takeme to school; he took me toan boarding Islamic school
in Kaduna.“When the coach came
back and discovered that Iwas no lo n g e r w i t h t h eherbalist, he went to himand they used their magicp o w e r s t o t r a c e m e t oKaduna. He wanted to takeme back to the herbal is tbut the people refused andhe left the school.
“When they discoveredt h a t t h a t p o l i c e w e r ea w a r e o f w h a t w a shappening they took me tothe Emir who in turn tookme to a chief in a particularvillage. The chief enrolledme in an Arabic school andthey were teaching meArabic. That was where Iwas s tay ing before the
police came for me. Theyarrested the coach and hetook them to the schoolwhere I was staying.”
“Thomas said althoughhe was a Christian beforehe was k idnapped, h isnamed was changed to aMuslim name and he madeto accept Is lam. “Theychanged my name in theschool f rom ThomasIbrahim to (Abdul lahiIbrahim) and also changedmy mother ’ s name f romVictor ia Ibrahim to(Zainab Ibrahim) . Theyused my mother’s name toprepare visa to take me toSaudi Arabia to s tudybecause , according tothem, I was intelligent.”
Meanwhile, his mother,Mrs . Vic tor ia Ibrahim,whi le ta lk ing to PeoplesDaily said “I started lookingfor him when I discoveredhis disappearance. I onceto ld the man (AminuAdamu) not to
come close to my son buthe pleaded that he l ikedchi ldren and that hewanted to teach themfootball. I accepted to leth im Thomas wi th h imbecause f rom hisappearance I thought hecould not hurt a fly.
“Nevertheless I warnedhim not to take my son outof Abuja for whateverreasons . “He had thatopportunity because two ofmy children were sick so Itook them to hospi ta l . Iwent to Jikwoyi divisionalpol ice headquarters toreport when he d id notcome home that day.
“When I complained tothem they said they wereg o i n g t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h ematter but they were tooslow to me, so I went toB r e k e t e F a mily , aprogramme on Love FMwhere cases involving thepoor are treated. I presentedmy case to them; I said myson had been kidnapped andthat police were not serious
with the case so they directedme to FCT police commandwhich sent its men to Jikwoyipolice station and asked themto intensify their effort in thesearch for the boy.
“They promised that theywould work to ensure that theboy was found.
We had Amin Adamu’scell phone number but eachtime you called him he willinsult you and cut the call.The last thing he said wasthat he was not in custody ofthe boy and we should go andlook for him. We begged himand told him that if he wasnot in custody of the boy heshould come back to Jikwoyibut he refused and told usthat he travelled.
“I went back to the policefor them to trace his numberbut they refused to help me.Meanwhile, we have beenpraying and keeping faithuntil last two months whenthey called me from Kadunathey had seen the so-calledcoach’s pictures; we were toldthat the man had beenarrested.
“The SAS went there on aFriday two weeks ago for theboy. They returned with theboy on Saturday and I wasvery happy.”
Contacted for a comment,the police declined.
Thomas Ibrahim and his mother, Victoria Ibrahim
Thomas Ibrahim Thomas
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012PAGE 26
Girl, six, has such severe allergiesshe could be killed by a kissBy Daily Mail Reporter
A little girl has such severe allergiesthat even a kiss could prove deadly.Isla Franks, six, suffers such severe
reactions that she is wrapped in bandagesfrom the neck down for 24 hours a day, toprotect her super-sensitive skin.
Her condition is so severe that she had tobe rushed to hospital after her little sistergave her a kiss - hours after she had drunk aglass of milk.
Her parents have to keep her clothes ina freezer instead of a wardrobe - because ofher extreme reaction to dust mites.
Isla was diagnosed with extremeallergies to eggs, milk, wheat, grass and dustwhen she was just six months old - and herparents told she would have to be wrappedin bandages to protect her skin.
Isla has a special cupboard for her foodto stop it coming into contact with anythingelse.
Her mother Katy, from Stoke-on-Trent,Staffs, said: “We can’t do the things thatother families can - even something asnormal as going out for dinner could bedeadly for Isla.
“If anything Isla is allergic to so muchas brushes past her skin, she comes up in ahuge angry rash which is really painful forher.
“And if it goes anywhere near her face,her throat will start to swell. She has somany allergies, it’s difficult to keep heraway from them.”
The schoolgirl struggles to live a normallife - and is regularly sent home from schoolafter suffering from flare ups.
Last month, she suffered a reaction aftersitting next to a school friend who owned acat - revealing another allergy for herworried parents to add to the list.
Mrs Franks added: “We noticed thatsomething wasn't right when Isla was six
The top-to-toe bandages protect Isla'sskin from allergens.
Collect of Isla during an allergic attackthe day after a neighbour cut their grass.
months old - she stopped sleeping properlyand was really grumpy.
“Her skin would flare up so badly thatpeople even stopped me in the supermarketand asked if I had burned her.
“The hospital carried out all sorts of tests,and discovered she was allergic to eggs, milk,wheat, dust and grass - we were devastated.
“We were told she had to wear bandagesto cover her skin from the neck down to stopher skin flaring up.
“When her skin gets particularly bad,Isla has to have a layer of wet bandages, tocool her skin, over her usual layer of drybandages, which she has to wear 24 hours aday.
“Isla doesn't know any different fromhaving the bandages on, but they do irritateher. I have to sleep with her at night now tostop her scratching in her sleep, and pullingthem off.
Isla with her parents Dan and Katy, who must be vigilant at all times
Isla and her mum Katy on holiday when Isla was eighteen months-old. She wasdiagnosed with several allergies when she was just six months-old.
“There are a lot of things she misses outon that all her friends can do, which doesupset me.
“Isla can't go to parties, or round to herfriend's houses to play, because it's toodangerous for her. If one of the other childrentouched her after eating something, it couldkill her.
“She can't take part in sports day, or evensit on the carpet with the other children atschool, because if there's any trace of dust init, Isla's allergies will flare up.
“The one blessing is that she's been thesame her whole life, so she doesn't really knowany different.
“She does sometimes get upset when shesees other children doing things she can't do.
“The other day, she saw some childreneating ice cream, and asked 'what does thattaste like, Mummy?', which was reallyupsetting.
“But she’s a brave girl, and doesn't lether allergies get in the way of runningaround and being a normal little girl.
“It sounds like a cliche to say you can'twrap your kids up in cotton wool - but Iliterally have to.”
Source: Dailymail.co.uk
PAGE 27PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
The Enugu StateUniversity of Technology(ESUT) has confirmed
that the abductors of its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. CyprianOnyeji, are demanding aransom of N200m.
Addressing newsmen inEnugu on Friday, the DeputyVice-Chancellor, Prof. AloysiusUzoagulu, said the family of thevice-chancellor informed theschool about the demand.
Uzoagulu said theinstitution would not beinvolved in the payment of anyransom, noting that it couldonly offer its encouragement tothe family.
``I want to let us know thatthe family is into the matterand the university cannot goahead of the family.
``The wife is there, thechildren are there, the closerelatives are there and theyare working hard to see thatthey do something for therelease of their father and wego there to know how far andencourage them.
``So that is the much wecan do. If anybody will assistthe family, we can use thisopportunity to call on thegeneral public to help thefamily, get to them, consolethem, comfort them and pray
for them.``The situation is that Prof.
Cyprian Onyeji has not gainedhis freedom yet. We are notinto that negotiation as to knowwhether they have cut down orwhatever. If we want to knowthe details, we get to thefamily.
``In fact, it is the wife inparticular that will tell us ortell anybody how far they havegone with the negotiation.''
Uzoagulu debunked mediareports that the institution wason strike followingWednesday's abduction of Prof.Onyeji.
He called on students to
Abductors of vice-chancellor of EnuguUniversity demand N200m ransom
return to school, adding thatfull academic activities wouldresume on Aug. 22 after theSallah break.
On why the vice-chancellorwas residing outside the schoolcompound, Uzoaguluexplained that the V-C's lodgewas being renovated.
The deputy vice-chancellor,who said that the source andreason for the abduction wasyet to be known, appealed tochurches, fellowships andspirited individuals to assist theinstitution in praying for theurgent release of the boss.
``Last year, we called onstudents to renounce cultismand we had more than 160students that did that and sincethen, we have not been havingany incident about theiroperation in the school.
``When cult activitieshappen, ESUT is usuallymentioned. I want to say thatwhatever that is happening intown, we are not aware ofthat and we cannot holdESUT students responsible.
``To the best of ourknowledge, we are not awarethat cult activities have beentaking place that will lead tothe abduction of our vice-chancellor,'' he said.
Uzoagulu disclosed thatthe two police aides to Onyejiwho were injured during theambush had been dischargedfrom the University ofNigeria Teaching Hospital ,while one was still receivingtreatment .
The News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) reports thatthe Registrar of the school, Mr.Chris Igbokwe, as well as thelibrarian, Mr. George Igwebike,accompanied the deputy vice-chancellor to the briefing.(NAN)
The Ministry of Educationand Rwanda EducationBoard (REB) recently
launched an initiative dubbed"Rwanda Reads".
The campaign that aims atpromoting the culture of readingthrough several publicawareness programmes on theneed to read, was aimed atimproving literacy throughcreating access to text books orreading materials.
Launching the campaign atKigali Institute of Educationrecently, the Minister ofEducation, Dr Vincent Biruta,said that reading at a tender agewas a strong foundation ofchildren's early development andeffectively contributes to one'sintellect.
"Parents and teachers shouldlead or encourage children andstudents so that the younggeneration will realise the needto love reading," Biruta said.
He said reading will have adirect impact on enabling
children or students to contributetowards the development of theircommunities and the country asa whole.
The minister observed that itwill also improve on the qualityof education and improvestudent's performance.
The event that broughttogether 300 players, specificallyin the education sector, markedthe beginning of a countrywidedistribution of reading materialsfor various age groups.
Among other organizationsinvolved in the initiative is theEducation Development CentreInc (EDC), a US basedorganization. The organizationhas embarked on variousapproaches to promote readingright from primary schools.
Supported by the UnitedStates Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID), theorganization, in partnershipwith the Ministry of Educationand Rwanda Education Board(REB), is promoting Literacy,Language and Learning (L3) inschools.
It also modernisede andequipped a recording studio atREB to enable schools acquirerecorded information to facilitateteaching and learning.
The 5-year project will seevideo production of modules forteachers as well as producingliteracy and programs in Englishand Kinyarwanda.
The organisation is also set tooperate mobile libraries tofurther make access to text bookseasier. The programme is to beimplemented in collaborationwith the Peace Corps - a UnitedStates volunteer serviceorganization.
Speaking to The SundayTimes, the head of theorganization, Said Yasin, saidthey had provided newtechnology to enable effectiverecording.
"We are providing all thetechnical support in making surethat we produce quality or moderneducation materials that willbenefit all schools in the country,"Yasin said.
The state-of-the-art audio and
Rwanda: New efforts to promote reading cultureL-R: Minister of State for Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, with a Philanthropist, Chief EmekaWoke, during the Later courtesy call to the Minister, recently in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo
By Tobias Lengnan Dapam withagency report
video recording equipments costabout $ 75,000. It already startedrecording some programmes to beused. Yasin argues that theinitiative was one of the modernmeasures of effective learning aslearners easily learn when theyhear and observe what theirteachers are teaching.
Also in the organization'spipeline is the introduction of themobile libraries, a project that isexpected to further give thepopulation access to text books.
the programme would beimplemented in collaboration withthe Peace Corps- a United Statesvolunteer service organizationwith support from USAID.
The libraries will be set incommunities identified to have themost vulnerable people, in additionto enabling students from thesecommunities to read.
EDC officials said that althoughmechanisms were being put inplace, parents and teachers toohave the responsibilities ofencouraging students to adoptthe culture of reading at an earlyage
Varsity donblames massfailure inWAEC onpoor fundingof publicschoolsA university lecturer, Prof.
Jack Aigbodioh, hasattributed the mass
failure of candidates in WestAfrica Examination Council(WAEC) and other externalexaminations to poor fundingof schools.
The professor of Philosophyat the Ambrose Alli University(AAU), Ekpoma in Edo madehis views known in aninterview with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inEkpoma.
He also blamed the lack offacilities, in-conducivelearning environment andunqualified teachers in publicschools in the country aslargely responsible for the poorresults by the candidates inpublic examinations.
According to Aigbodioh,who is also the Director ofGeneral Studies of theuniversity, governmentfunding of secondary educationis not commensurate with thepopulation of children in school.
“I am personally notsurprise that the studentscontinue to suffer the way theyare going. We are not takingeducation seriously in thiscountry.
“Explosion of childpopulation in this country isnot matched with adequatefinancial and facility support.
“If we are to get things right,government must first of allcarry out proper populationcensus of children in school andallocate appropriate resourcesaccordingly.
“The next in line is to ensureteachers recruited to teach inprimary and in the secondaryschools, especially publicschools are qualified to do so.
“As government must workto improve learning andteaching facilities in theseschools, they must also ensureproper remuneration of theteachers.
“I stress on remunerationbecause when poorly paid,these teachers, to survive,engage themselves insomething else to augmentwhat they are been paid.
“By so doing, when thishappens, possibility of givingtheir best is out of the question,"he said.
Aigbodioh also said that ``ifcorruption persists with theway it is going and wecontinue to spend money onirrelevant things, I do not seehope for the Nigeria child.''(NAN)
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012PAGE 28
Tradition affects girl childeducation in Africa
Participants at the ongoingHowzat Foundation CricketClinic for coaches in Lagos,
recently commended thefoundation for developing cricketto empower youths.
They told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) at the clinicvenue, the National Stadium inSurulere, Lagos, that there wasneed for companies to assist inpopularising the gamethroughout the country.
The participants, made up ofcoaches, primary school pupilsand students, described the gameas a gentleman's sport, whichcaused players to turn away fromnegative attitudes and helped todevelop their thinking abilities.
Maureen Tobi, a 16-year-oldstudent of New Era SeniorSecondary School, Surulere, said
that she started playing cricketsince her Junior SecondarySchool days because of the HowzatFoundation.
“I started playing cricket whenI was in JSS III and I now play forLagos State.
“I have actually learnt somuch since embracing the sportafter the foundation brought it tomy school when I was in JSS1,"she said.
Tobi added that since shestarted taking part in the sport, ithad shaped her lifestyle andattitude as a young lady.
“It has actually shaped mypersonality because it is agentleman's game that will stopone from negative attitudesbecause in cricket you need to becool-headed to excel.
“And I have no other choicethan to humble myself to theteachings of my coaches, so as to
become a good cricketer," she said.Twelve-year-old Sunkanmi
Oladimeji, a JSS 1 student of St.Joseph's School, Ishaga, told NANhe had been playing the game forseven years due to the support ofthe Howzat Foundation.
“I have been playing for thepast seven years, since I was fiveyears old.
“I was introduced to the sportby a neighbour of mine who playscricket and brought me to theHowzat Clinic and since then, Ihave always enjoyed playingcricket.
“And I like the game becauseit is a gentleman's game thatdevelops one's thinking abilities,"Oladimeji said.
Montel Nediong, five, a pupilof Cratos Memorial Nursery andPrimary School, Surulere, saidthat he was enjoying his exposureto the game at the clinic. (NAN)
Coaches, students laud HowzatFoundation’s cricket clinic
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwomi Adesina with the Minister of Education professor Ruqayyatu RufaiAhmed
By Maryam Garba Hassan
By Tobias Lengnan Dapam withagency report
UNICEF reports titledNarrowing the Gaps toMeet the Goals and
Progress for children: Achievingthe MDGs with Equity,unearthed glaring disparitiesamong children born in poorfamilies compared to those fromricher families in sub-SaharanAfrica and South Asia.
it said most poor Nomadicfamily in North Easternprovince in Kenya and northernNigeria, have had turbulenttime, owing to their livelihoodwhich mostly depended on theirlivestock, adding that thoseprovinces also have high level ofapathy towards girls' education.
Salma Muhammed, a youngherd's woman in Kenya said shewould rather herd her father'sgoats rather than go to school,being that the nearest school is10 km away and with the bitingdrought in the area, making it
hard to study."Herding goats is tough with
the thirst, sun, loneliness andhunger each day. And it can lastforever. You herd as a girl, thenas a wife, as a pregnant woman,as a mother and even as agrandmother," says RukiaSalma, a 13-year-old Girl.
According to Salma, theopportunity to receive aneducation has been profounddifference. She says seeing hersister get married at a youngerage gave her a clear picture ofwhat her destiny would be like ifshe did not have an education."Education has an end whichcould lead to better livelihood. So
I have decided to give my verybest to books (studying) to changemy future," the form two pupilssaid.
Salma represented a numberof the many African children whocan't access education due topoverty, by gone traditions andlack of commitment bygovernments to put thesechildren in school
Reacting on the development,Mr. Hellen Tombo, who is the PanAfrican advocacy advisor forPlan International, a children'sorganisation working withcommunities in 48 developingcountries to alleviate childpoverty, said "in sub-Saharan
Africa a lack of political will andbad governance is hindering theachievement of MDGs aimed atchildren.
"Heavily rooted, biased,traditional attitudes on age andgender are delaying theemancipation of children andwomen and our governmentsare not responding well," Tombosaid.
According to Edward Ouma,Chief Executive Officer ofChildren's Legal Action Network- a non-governmentalorganisation working to promotehigh quality legal aid servicesthat improve the lives ofchildren, the governments in
sub-Saharan Africa have focusedon the wrong priorities such asheavy spending on military tothe detriment of the healthsector, education andinfrastructure such as roads andhospitals.
He said national budgets,plans and policies need to caterfor the MDGs that still lag behind,like maternal health. "We needgirl-friendly schools with safelearning environments andgender-sensitive curriculums.Countries such as Nigeria,Rwanda and Ghana have beenvery strategic and prioritisedwomen empowerment andgender equality", he said.
20,000 Deltastudentsaccess N460massistance fund
No fewer than 20,000students of Delta originhave accessed N460.1
million out of the N635.7 millionapproved for the Students SpecialAssistance Scheme (SSAS) by thestate government.
The Chairman of the Delta StateBursary and Scholarship Board,Msgr. Buchi Aninye, made thisknown recently in Asaba at abriefing on the activities of theboard.
Aninye said that the stategovernment had approved andreleased N635.7 million for the2010 and 2011 students' specialassistance scheme.
He said about N80 million wasreturned by the board as unclaimedmoney in the 2009 and the 2010academic session, the money wasrolled into 2010 and 2011 session.
He explained that a Website forapplication was opened in February2011 and closed in May 2011.
According to him, at the close ofthe site, 52,297 students from 145institutions applied for theassistance.
Aninye pointed that the boardconducted an electronic screening,which reduced the figure to 28,849students, as qualified.
The chairman said the list of the28,849 students was sent to thevarious institutions for finalverification in enhancingaccountability and transparency,adding that 20,000 were finallycleared.
He explained that 33,000entries who fraudulently access theweb were disqualified for doubleand fake registration, adding thatthe government was able to saveN660 million through thescreening.
According to him, 400 fakestudents were discovered in EnuguState University of Technology(ESUT) alone.
He said that the board hadclosed payment for the 2010 and2011 session to enable it process thestudents' assistance for the 2012session. (NAN)
Vice-chancellorscondemnkidnap ofcolleague
The Association of Vice-Chancellors of NigerianUniversities on Friday
condemned the abduction of Prof.Cyprian Onyeji, the Vice-Chancellor of the Enugu StateUniversity of Technology (ESUT).
Prof. Michael Faborode, theSecretary-General of theassociation, told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja thatissue of kidnapping had become aworrisome development in thecountry.
NAN reports that Onyeji waskidnapped on Aug. 15, in Enuguon his way to his office at ESUTcampus.
“We are very disturbed aboutthe development; it portrays adangerous trend and a dangerousdevelopment for the country,when vice chancellors have nowbecome more endangered.
“Vice chancellors havealready faced a lot challenges intheir universities, now forkidnapping to be added to themis another dimension.
“It is really mind bugling,we have talked to the universityand we are trying to followdevelopment. We are hopingthat he will be released withoutbeing harmed,'' Faborode said.
He said that kidnapping hadbecome one of the majorchallenges faced by thecountry.
The vice-chancellor calledon the Federal Government totake all necessary availablesteps to address the problem.
He added that this was theonly way that investors couldalso bring in economicdevelopment to the country.
Faborode said that the issueof kidnap was causing a lot ofhavoc to the development andprogress of the country
“I believe that this is an issuethat government has to take aspriority number one so thatpeople can be assured of theirsafety,'' he said. (NAN)
PAGE 29PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Ebun Gago, 32, a housewife from a hamlet inIbaji local government
area of kogi statepenultimate week hadsuddenly developedappendicitis while on thefarm working hard to getfood for her family. She wasrushed to the village cottageclinic but sadly, there wasno nurse or a qualifiedcommunity healthattendant to treat her.
The husband, Gago alsoa struggling subsistencefarmer tried frantically toraise money to transfer herto the general hospitallocated at the localgovernment headquartersOnyedega some distanceaway but he could not raisethe amount needed to get avehicle that could transporthis wife.
At last, when succorfinally came by way of aGood Samaritan, poor Ebunhad finally given up theghost.
There was also the case ofRegina who was in labour,she was rushed to thehospital for delivery but tothe disappointment of allthe people, the hospital 'sgenerating set had beengrounded for years and theusual epileptic powersupply could not help butfrustrate the effort of thedoctor and nurses attendingto her.
In a bizarre and a nativecreativity, the doctor who
How Capt Wada's health carerevolution is working in Kogi
Federal Medical Centre Lokoja
From Sam Egwu, Lokoja
Governor of Kogi state, Captain Idris Wada
was determined to saveRegina's life, requested for alantern to performcaesarian operation on her.She was however lucky tohave survived the operationwith the baby delivered.
One cannot help butagree that, the patheticstories of Ebun Gago andRegina are not different fromone thousand and one ruralfolks who, on daily basis arebeing sent to their untimelygraves due to inaccessibilityof medical care whichordinarily should be at
reach of every citizenirrespective of status orqualification.
This was a generalproblem before CaptainIdris wada took over themantle of leadership in thestate on 27th January,2011. Wada from inceptiondid not leave any one indoubt that his policy isdirected in health caredelivery. This, according tohim, is what he is set toachieve even if it is going tobe the only meaningfulachievement in his
administration.For a start, he gave
directives that the elderly(above sixty years),children (below five years)and the nursing mothersshould be freely treated inall the health centers acrossthe state.
To arrest the ugly trend,he ordered for immediaterecruitment of 100 medicalprofessionals to be postedto health care centersacross the state.
To sustain the policy ofproviding quality healthcare delivery system ataccessible and affordable tothe people, Captain IdrisWada entered into amemorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) with afaith based health providersknown as CEDIO outreachministry.
The outreach has, for thepast three months been toover thirteen localgovernment areas of thestate treating all manner ofdiseases and illnesses at nocost to the patients.
Presenting the interimreport to the governorrecently at the governmenthouse Lokoja, the teamleader, Mrs Ifeanyi ChukwuOkakhai, noted with dismayat the deplorable state offacilities in all the healthcenters visited so far in thestate.
She said aside from theshortage of doctors andnurses and other medicalprofessionals, the near
For a start, he gave directivesthat the elderly (above sixtyyears), children (below five
years) and the nursing mothersshould be freely treated in allthe health centers across the
state.To arrest the ugly trend, he
ordered for immediaterecruitment of 100 medical
professionals to be posted tohealth care centers across the
state.
“
absence and run downequipment could pose athreat to the success of thehealth care transformationagenda of the government.She hinted that in this 21stcentury, what is calledhospitals and health centresin most of the villagesvisited could be mistakenfor a slaughter slabs as thestructures were obsoleteand crying for renovationseven as the primaryequipment for diagnosisand treatment of commondiseases as high bloodpressure, blood sugartesting kits ando p h t h a l m o l o g i c a lequipment were notavailable.
According to the teamleader, the free medicalexercise cut across diagnostic,surgeries , eye treatment,preventive and curativecare, de-worming , dentalcare, ante natal and treatmentof sores were covered.
Okakhai stated that, at theend of first phase of theexercise covering thirteenlocal government areas,above 24, 975 patientshaving various ailments werefreely treated. She disclosedthat the pilot treatmentcarried out in twelve ruralcommunities across thirteenareas councils revealed that,optical patients and dentalcases were prevalent whilede-worming and ante natalcases were not left out in thecry for governmentattention.
PAGE 30 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Malaria: Dealing with the killer diseaseMalaria is caused by a
parasite calledPlasmodium, which
is transmitted via the bitesof infected mosquitoes. Inthe human body, theparasites multiply in theliver, and then infect redblood cells. Usually, peopleget malaria by being bittenby an infective femaleAnopheles mosquito. OnlyAnopheles mosquitoes cantransmit malaria and theymust have been infectedthrough a previous bloodmeal taken on an infectedperson. When a mosquitobites an infected person, asmall amount of blood istaken in which containsmicroscopic malariaparasites. About 1 weeklater, when the mosquitotakes its next blood meal,these parasites mix with themosquito's saliva and areinjected into the personbeing bitten.
Because the malariaparasite is found in redblood cells of an infectedperson, malaria can also betransmitted through bloodtransfusion, organtransplant, or the shareduse of needles or syringescontaminated with blood.Malaria may also betransmitted from a motherto her unborn infant beforeor during delivery("congenital" malaria).
Malaria SymptomsSymptoms of malaria
include fever and flu-likeillness, including shakingchills, headache, muscleaches, and tiredness.Nausea, vomiting, anddiarrhea may also occur.Malaria may cause anemiaand jaundice (yellowcoloring of the skin and eyes)because of the loss of redblood cells. Symptomsusually appear between 10and 15 days after themosquito bite. If not treated,malaria can quickly becomelife-threatening bydisrupting the blood supplyto vital organs. Infectionwith one type of malaria,Plasmodium falciparum, ifnot promptly treated, maycause kidney failure,seizures, mental confusion,coma, and death. In manyparts of the world, theparasites have developedresistance to a number ofmalaria medicines.
When can malariamanifest in the body
For most people,symptoms begin 10 days to4 weeks after infection,although a person may feelill as early as 7 days or as lateas 1 year later. Two kinds ofmalaria, P. vivax and P.ovale, can occur again(relapsing malaria). In P.
vivax and P. ovaleinfections, some parasitescan remain dormant in theliver for several months upto about 4 years after aperson is bitten by aninfected mosquito. Whenthese parasites come out ofhibernation and begininvading red blood cells("relapse"), the person willbecome sick.
Infection with malariaparasites may result in awide variety of symptoms,ranging from absent or verymild symptoms to severedisease and even death.Malaria disease can becategorized asuncomplicated or severe(complicated). In general,malaria is a curable diseaseif diagnosed and treatedpromptly and correctly.
Malaria preventionMalaria prevention
consists of a combination ofmosquito avoidancemeasures andc h e m o p r o p h y l a x i s .Although very efficacious,none of the recommendedinterventions are 100%effective.
Mosquito avoidancemeasures
Because of the nocturnalfeeding habits of Anophelesmosquitoes, malariatransmission occursprimarily between dusk anddawn.
Contact with mosquitoescan be reduced by remainingin well-screened areas,using mosquito bed nets(preferably insecticide-treated nets), using ap y r e t h r o i d - c o n t a i n i n g
flying-insect spray in livingand sleeping areas duringevening and nighttimehours, and wearing clothesthat cover most of the body.
All travelers should usean effective mosquitorepellent.
The most effectiverepellent against a widerange of vectors is DEET (N,N-diethylmetatoluamide) ,an ingredient in manycommercially availableinsect repellents. The actualconcentration of DEETvaries widely amongrepellents. DEETformulations as high as 50%,are recommended for bothadults and children olderthan 2 months of age. DEET
should be applied to theexposed parts of the skinwhen mosquitoes are likelyto be present.
In addition to using atopical insect repellent, ap e r m e t h r i n - c o n t a i n i n gproduct may be applied tobed nets and clothing foradditional protectionagainst mosquitoes.
Three easy ways toprevent malaria
There are many ways toreduce the likelihood ofcontriving malaria: theeasiest of which is to not getbitten in the first place. Thiscan be achieved by wearinglong clothing especiallywhen at dawn and dusk were
the mosquitoes are mostactive. Wearing insectrepellent will also increaseyour defense againstmalaria. Sleeping under amosquito net is veryeffective and cheap.
Don't get bittenMosquitoes are active at
twilight and at night, so takeprecautions during thistime.
Sleep in rooms that areproperly screened withgauze over the windows anddoors.
use a mosquito netaround your bed, with aninsecticide such aspyrethrum
Long trousers, long-sleeved clothing and socksstop the mosquitoes bitingwill also protect you.
NetsHave an insecticide-
treated mosquito net aroundyour bed.
The net should be small-meshed, with no holes. Itshould be rolled up duringthe day, so mosquitoes andother insects can't get inside.Take your own net with you.
Impregnation lasts fromsix months to one year,depending on how much thenet is used.
Preventive medicineTaking medicines to
prevent malaria if you arevisiting an area wheremalaria is active becauseresistance to chloroquineand other drugs isspreading, preventivemedicines that wereeffective five years ago mayno longer be so. Thegeographic spread ofresistance in the malariaparasite is increasing.
www.malaria.com
mosquitoes trasmit Malaria.
Contd. from Back Page
Instead of lamenting thesorry state of our economy, itspoor management and thepossibility that we will be up toour necks in debt once again,economic and business interestsshould facilitate a thorough soul-search for what is wrong withthe way we manage oureconomy. We need answers tothe impact of the size ofgovernment on the economy; toour perennial failure to executeour budgets as planned; to thepersistence of an enclaveeconomy which is dangerouslyvulnerable to external stimuli;to decaying and inadequateinfrastructure which cannotsupport a growing economy; andto the search for vision anddiscipline in pursuit of long-termeconomic goals.
Our political parties shouldraise a think tank to identify the
Why President Jonathan should be supportedweaknesses of our electoralsystem, and how it can beplugged. Other Nigerians withinsights, expertise or experience,as well as C.S.Os and professionalgroups should be involved inproviding a blueprint for athorough overhaul of ourelectoral system between nowand 2015.
It will be very dangerous tocontinue to leave the problems ofNigeria on the doorsteps of thisadministration. Theadministration is likely tocontinue to open the door, see theproblems, and walk back inlocking the door, and preferringto believe it did not see what itsaw. It is time for patriots, leadersand those who know about ourproblems to step up. This is not afavour to President Jonathan,and it should not matter that hemay choose to ignore outcomes ofsome of these activities. This is aservice to the fatherland, and
PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012 PAGE 35
there may be no otheropportunities to salvage ournation. Those who are contentwith opportunistic and sterileopposition lose the opportunity toinsist that identified viable and
practical options must be pursuedby the administration. Agroundswell of demand forpurposeful and strong leadership,strategies and options willprovide the necessary pressure
for the President to act moredecisively.
President Jonathan needshelp to govern. Those who lovethis nation should help him withideas, suggestions and inputs. Thebest guarantee that this nationcan survive its short termchallenges lies in strengtheningJonathan’s capacity to deal withthem. We have no future as aunited, secure and prosperousnation unless we fix our currentchallenges. President Jonathan isone of them. He must not beisolated and merely bombardedwith criticisms so long as he isleading us. Those who want himto go in 2015 may consider thethought that it will be easier forhim not to run again in 2015 ifhe makes a fairly good job of hiscurrent mandate, than if hemesses it up. Rulers who mess upbig time tend to want to stay onforever, lest they are called toaccount.
“President Jonathan needs help togovern. Those who love this nation should
help him with ideas, suggestions andinputs. The best guarantee that this nationcan survive its short term challenges lies instrengthening Jonathan’s capacity to dealwith them. We have no future as a united,secure and prosperous nation unless we
fix our current challenges. PresidentJonathan is one of them
Dubbed the 'face-kini', thenew craze is sweepingacross China as the most
efficient way to avoid thedamaging effects of the sun.
The full body suits andprotective head masks areproving extremely popular withvisitors to beaches acrossQingdao, in north-east China'sShandong province.
According to state-runbroadcaster China RadioInternational, the beachbalaclavas were initiallydesigned to combat sunburn, butare also extremely effective atrepelling insects and jellyfish.
'The weather is too hot, thefirst thing I do each day is to swimin the sea,' explained 62-year-oldQingdao resident Zhang Guilan.
The special swimwear wasoriginally designed several yearsago but is only just starting tocatch on across the country,added Ms Guilan.
Chinese media outlets havelikened people wearing thecolourful suits, which featuremouth and eye holes, tocharacters from a sci-fi movie.
Shops across the provincehave stocked up on the sunprotectors with demand for thesuits continuing to grow steadily.
'Face-kini' beach balaclava craze hits China
Colourful: Chinese beachgoers wearing body suits (Picture: AFP)
While most people strip off whenheading to the seaside, beachgoers inChina are covering up in masks and fullbody suits to avoid harmful UV rays.
The new craze is sweeping across China (Picture: AFP)The protective head mask has been dubbed the 'face-kini' (Picture:AFP)
PAGE 36 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Could chocolate stave off dementia?A daily dose of chocolate
could help keep dementiaand Alzheimer's at bay,
a study suggests.Researchers found that
consuming cocoa every dayhelped improve mild cognitiveimpairment - a conditioninvolving memory loss whichcan progress to dementia orAlzheimer's - in elderlypatients.
For the study, 90 peopleaged 70 or older diagnosed withmild cognitive impairmentwere split into three groups of
30 and given either a high,medium or low dose of a cocoadrink daily.
The drink containedflavanols - chemicalsassociated with a decreaseddementia risk which are foundin a variety of foods, includingcocoa products such as darkchocolate.
The participants' diet wasrestricted to eliminate othersources of flavanols, such as teaor red wine.
Their cognitive functionwas examined using tests of
Researchers found those who drank the high and medium doses daily had significantly bettercognitive scores by the end of the eight-week study in a number of categories, including workingmemory
Beneficial? Researchers found that eating chocolate regularlycould reduce the risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's
factors including workingmemory and processing speed.
Researchers found thosewho drank the high andmedium doses daily hadsignificantly better cognitivescores by the end of the eight-week study in a number ofcategories, including workingmemory.
Those given the higherdoses of the flavanol drinkimproved far more than thosegiven the lowest dose, thestudy, published in the journal
Hypertension, found.Insulin resistance and blood
pressure also decreased in thosedrinking high and mediumdoses of the flavanol drink.
Doctor GiovambattistaDesideri of the University ofL'Aquila in Italy, lead authorof the study, said: 'This studyprovides encouraging evidencethat consuming cocoaflavanols, as a part of a calorie-controlled and nutritionally-balanced diet, could improvecognitive function.
'Larger studies are needed tovalidate the findings, figureout how long the positiveeffects will last and determinethe levels of cocoa flavanolsrequired for benefit.'
Dr Laura Phipps, ofAlzheimer's Research UK, said:'Cocoa-based treatments forbrain function would likelyhave patients queuing out thedoor, but this small study offlavanols is not yet conclusive.'Source: Dailymail.co.uk
Yo-yo dieting is not bad for youand won't stop you losing weightYo-yo dieting may be
demoralising, but peopletrying to watch their
weight will be relieved to hearthat it won't stop them fromshedding pounds in the long run.
Researchers had feared thatpeople who shift the weight onlyto pile it on again could bedamaging their health.
However, a study from theFred Hutchinson CancerResearch Center has become thefirst to show yo-yo diets do nothave a long-term effect onmetabolism or the ability to loseweight later in life.
Lead researcher Dr AnneMcTiernan said: 'To ourknowledge, no previous studieshave examined the effect ofprior weight cycling on thebody composition, metabolicand hormonal changes inducedby a comprehensive lifestyleintervention in free-livingwomen.'
She added: 'A history ofunsuccessful weight loss shouldnot dissuade an individualfrom future attempts to shedpounds or diminish the role ofa healthy diet and regularphysical activity in successfulweight management.'
The researchers randomlyassigned 439 overweight-to-obese, sedentary women, ages
50 to 75, to one of four groups:reduced-calorie diet only,exercise only (mainly briskwalking), reduced-calorie dietplus exercise and a controlgroup that received nointervention.
At the end of the year longstudy, participants on the diet-only and diet-plus-exercisegroups lost an average of 10 percent of their starting weight,which was the goal of theprogramme.
The analysis aimed todetermine whether womenwith a history of moderate orsevere weight fluctuationswere at a disadvantagecompared to non-weight-cyclerswhen it came to losing weight.
Around a fifth of the womenhad a history of yo-yo dietingdefined by losing and regainingmore than 20 pounds on threeor more occasions. A quarterreported losing 10 or morepounds on three or moreoccasions.
Severe yo-yo dieters were anaverage of nearly 20 pounds
heavier at the start of the studyby the end. However, there wasno difference in the ability to loseweight or take part in theexercises between those who yo-yo dieted and those who didn't.
Nor was there anysignificant difference from thenon-cyclers in terms of theimpact of diet or diet-plus-exercise on weight loss,percentage of body fat and leanmuscle mass gained or lost.
Other physiological factorssuch as blood pressure, insulinsensitivity, and bloodconcentrations of hormones suchas leptin (which helps make onefeel full) and adiponectin (whichhelps regulate glucose levels)also did not differ significantlyamong those whose weightfluctuated and those whose didnot.
The findings are importantas it could encourage overweightpeople to persevere with tryingto slim down.
'We know there's anassociation between obesity,sedentary behavior and
Finding it impossible to resist that donut? It's worth perseveringwith the diet as repeatedly gaining and losing weight will not ruinyour chances long-term
increased risk of certain cancers,'McTiernan said.
'The World HealthOrganisation estimates that aquarter to a third of cancers
By Claire Bates
could be prevented withmaintenance of normal weightand keeping a physically activelifestyle.'Source: Dailymail.co.uk
PAGE 37PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
The House of Assemblyrecently alleged thatthe state owed
workers salaries. Whatexactly is the state’sfinancial status? Is the statebroke?
No. You see, the finances ofthe state depend on thefederation account and oncethere is problem in federationaccount, it affects all thestates, not just Benue state. Ofcourse, there are delays. ThePresident himself said in thenewspapers today, 17thAugust that salaries must bepaid today. So it means thereare delays. When there isdelay from the federationaccount, for money to comeout, it means there are delays.Benue does not owe any person.
The problem in the state isthe biometric exercise that weare carrying out to sort theissue of over bloated pay rolland strength of the civilservice. You will agree withme that when you start theprocess of computing, it willsometimes affect one or twopersons. For instance, theDeputy Governor and I, had insome cases, missed our salaryand it is not because there isno money. This is exactly whathas affected few people but thestate government does not oweanybody.
In SUBEB, there was ajudgment in the month of Julywhich didn’t start with us. Itwas a case of N29 million andthe judge went ahead to give ajudgment that the wholeaccount should be garnished.This was a case that happenedunder the last administration,when the governmentdismissed teachers who werenot of Benue origin and thatcase was going on before Ibecame a governor. But eventhe issue has been sorted out.
I think that was the matterthe Commissioner ofInformation responded to andthe House of Assembly becamesensitive in some of the things
I wasn’t involved in Okupe’scontract scam, says Suswam
the commissioner said. I was,to some extent, sensitivebecause I expected that theywould have got the fact whenit was said that governmentowed salaries for nine monthsand you know that in Benue ifyou owe salary for one month,it won’t just be in the realms ofspeculation because the newswill be everywhere. So, we donot owe salaries but thebiometrics created problem.However, they are in theprocess of sorting outcomplaints arising from thedata capturing. The problemhad been if your name appearstwice, the computer will rejectit and then you would not bepaid, but that does not mean weowed.
It is a common knowledgethat the country is goingthrough some financialchallenges and no state isexempted. But, one thing I dotake seriously is to prioritizesalary; once, money comes,salaries are paid before anyother thing is done and I don’t
joke with that. So, I don’t thinkthe Assembly and Executiveare into any problem nor haveserious issue concerning that.
Away from politicaldifferences, ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACNhas been talking aboutOkupe, how he came toBenue and defrauded thestate. But, yourgovernment has kept sealedlips over the matter? Whatis government’s position on
these failed contracts? That is because we are not
the one who gave the contract.However, the person who did,Senator George Akume, as Iread in the Newspaperyesterday, has made a pressstatement to that effectthrough his Media Aide. Iwasn’t involved in that deal.The Media Aide asserted thatthey gave a contract and therewere issues. So, I’m waiting forthem and I think it will get tous to know. I believe SenatorAkume is in a better position toaddress that problem.
But, government iscontinuum; the presentadministration can take thematter to the EconomicFinancial CrimesCommission, (EFCC)because the amountinvolved is much
I agree with you, but if youread what the Media Assistantto Senator Akume did say, shesaid the problem arose withthem and that they arehandling it. You know, that Ididn’t have a handing overnote. I have told you thisseveral times before; no handover note was ever given to me.
What is happening to theChairman, Board of Benuestate Internal Revenue Mr.Andrew Ayabam?Sometimes, we were told heproceeded on leave becausethere was a problem at theBoard of Internal RevenueServices, BIRS. Don’t youthink there is a decline inyour revenue generation?
Governor Gabriel Suswam
No. He is on leave. Thereare so many speculations aboutwhether he is sacked or onleave, but he gave a letter thathe wanted to go on leave.However, the revenue board isnot properly constitutedbecause there is supposed to bea Board and also a TechnicalCommittee. We are in theprocess of constituting it. Bythe time he returns fromleave, the Board would havebeen properly put in place.Benue state is not a state thatgenerates much revenue.
In reporting revenue, thereare three components. Youhave the PAYE which iscaptured as revenue and sowhen he was reporting N1billion, it wasn’t that theywere generating it from BIRS.In fact, about 80% of it wasfrom PAYE. This amount ofmoney is taken from yoursalary and goes back intopaying your salaries but it iscaptured when reporting whatis generated as revenue not aspart of expenditure. I thinkmost people didn’t understandthat and simply think Benuewas generating N1 billion. No,we were not generating thatamount.
The issue of capitalmarket N13billion bond thestate government procured,the public is worried abouthow the money wasexpended because theFinance Commissionerfailed to give details of howit was channeled during thebudget breakdown
There is no way you canutilize the bond other than thepurpose it was meant for. Thebond is attached to specificprojects and it is operatedbetween the SecurityExchange Commission, SEC,Banks and the state. There areabout three banks involvedthat monitor the money to seehow it is expended. If forinstance, I want to build ahouse, I will cost it and themoney is paid to that extent.So, there is no alarm orquestion of tampering withbond money. It is almost animpossible thing to do.
Amidst growing concerns raised by the Benue state House of Assembly that led to the summoning of thestate’s Finance Commissioner over the status of the state’s finances, Governor Gabriel Suswam at theweekend explained the factors leading to delays in payment of civil servants’ salaries in the state; clarifyingmisconceptions about the state’s internally generated revenue just as he asserted his ignorance about thealleged contract scam involving President Goodluck Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs,Dr. Doyin Okupe. Our Correspondent, Uche Nnorom, was at the media parley. Excerpts:
INTERVIEW
“It is a common knowledge that thecountry is going through some financialchallenges and no state is exempted.But, one thing I do take seriously is toprioritize salary; once, money comes,
salaries are paid before any other thingis done and I don’t joke with that
PAGE 38 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
INEC directs parties toorganize IPAC election
From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna
machinery in place for an electionto usher in a new Inter-PartyAdvisory Council (IPAC) followingthe expiration of the EmmanuelOsita Okereke-led executive.
It would be recalled that 37political parties, under the aegis ofConcerned Political Parties, had atan inaugural meeting held atGombe Jewel Hotels, Abuja, on the30th of July, 2012, resolved that thetenure of Emmanuel Okereke-ledExecutive ended in March 2012.
Bauchi state government hascommended the Bogorocommunity for coexisting
peacefully irrespective of ethnoreligious and political differencesjust as it called on others to emulatethem so that the peacefulatmosphere that exist in the statecould be sustained.
A press statement from theoffice of the Chief Press Secretaryto the Governor, Ishola MichaelAdeyemi, stated that Bauchi state
Yuguda commends peace initiative inBogoro LGA as Fulani herdsmen return
governor, Isa Yuguda, made thecommendation following a moveby the Fulani who fled at the wakeof the incessant crises in the area toreturn having been assured ofpeaceful coexistence by otherethnic groups in the area.
According the release, thegovernor assured that hisadministration will continue topursue peace and peacefulcoexistence among the differentpeople in the state irrespective ofthe differences in religion,language and political affiliation,
stressing that it is only in a peacefulatmosphere that development andpositive progress can be made.
It also commended those whoinitiated the peace move which ledto the return of those who hadearlier on fled the areas due to crisisurging them to intensify efforts toensure that others yet to come backdid so because according to him,wherever one chooses to live, he orshe should live there in peace andtolerate others around him.
Government, according to himwill ensure that lives and
Internal wranglingwill make ACN,CPC mergerineffective, saysPDP BoT Secretary
The Secretary to thePeoples DemocraticParty (PDP)'s Board of
Trustees (BoT) has said theongoing merger talks betweenthe Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) and the Congress forProgressive Change (CPC)would collapse due to internalwrangling.
He said the PDP is notdisturbed by merger talksamong some oppositionpolitical parties as a way ofdefeating the ruling party in2015 election.
According to him, "PDP isnot shaken by the ACN andCPC merger talks because ithas not materialized andlooking at the personalitiesinvolved, they will not agreeon common stand to form amega party.
"Recently, the ANPP partedways with Senator MuhktarAruwa who decamped to thePDP and he is a big figure toreckon with in ANPP especiallyin the northern part of thecountry.
"And, Bashir Tofa of Kano isalso going to join the PDP. TheANPP and APGA will not jointhem (ACN and CPC) and otherparties may not join them.
"Already, they are fastlosing their strongholds withinNigeria and you find out thatwhere they are supposed be,they are not there again.
"It is the determination andprogressive approach of thePDP now and we are going todefinitely capture even theirstrongholds. I do not believe assome people say, that PDP willstay for 100 years but I amsaying that for now, PDP isgetting stronger and strongerto win election everywhere inNigeria.
However, according toJibrin, it is too early forNigerians to begin discussionson 2015, arguing thatPresident Goodluck Jonathanhas just spent one year inoffice.
"one year is not enough tojudge Mr. President and weshould give him theopportunity to continue withdevelopment agenda. And,may be after two or threeyears in office, Nigerians willbe able to decide whether Mr.President should come back ornot.
"But it is immature to starttalking about 2015 nowbecause it will divertattention; it is will bringconfusion. So, it is better toleave the President toconcentrate on the good workhe is doing now. Nigeriansshould not regionalize issues onwhat he is doing for thecountry. We should look atJonathan as President ofNigeria and not a sectionalleader."
Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Am,inuWaziri Tambuwal and his
deputy, rt. Hon. Emeka Ihediohahave charged Nigerians to imbibethe virtues of tolerance andbrotherliness in order to move thenation foerward.
Tambuwal in a release signed onhis behalf by his Special Assistanceon Media and Public Affairs, Imam
Sallah: Tambuwal, Ihedioha charge Nigerians on toleranceImam, urged Muslims in thecountry to use the period of the Eid-el-Fitr Sallah celebration to reflect ontheir spiritual life as individuals andhow they can contribute moremeaningfully towards makingNigeria a greater nation.
The Speaker said thesteadfastness and devotion shownby Muslims during the RamadanFast was a reflection of their serviceto the Almighty Allah who willreward them abundantly for their
efforts.According to him: “The long
period of self restraint and selfpurification was a great spiritualexercise that has its heavenlyblessings. Iit is only those who aregenuinely convinced in their chosenfaith that can successfully undergothe process.”
While congratulating theMuslims for the Sallah festivities,Tambuwal further enjoined allNigerians in general to imbibe the
properties of all innocent citizenswere protected while it will nothesitate to deal with anyone orgroup of persons, no matter theirstatus, who want to disrupt thepeace presently being enjoyed inthe state.
Following a peace move by somepeople, fleeing Fulani herdsmenhave decided to rerun to Gubdiya,Kizim,Gisha, Gelu, Dan Koki,Garlan, Tudun Wada, DogonTsamiya, Anguwan Lere,Anguwan Tabo, Dundu andAnguwan Sarkin Fulani villages allin Bogoro LGA where over 150households have been resettled.
Meanwhile the Bauchi stateGovernment has appealed to theChristian community in MarrabanGumau to be a bit patient with it asefforts are being made to rehabilitateall the places of worship destroyedduring the 2011 post electionviolence.
The government in astatement regretted that a fewpeople misappropriated moneydonated by some concerned personsfor the purposes of rehabilitating thedestroyed places of worshipdeclaring, however that theconcerned people have beenarrested by security agents andinvestigations have sincecommenced to ascertain whatactually happened.
The statement signed by theChief Press Secretary to theGovernor stressed that governmentwill continue to promote religiousharmony among the differentpeople in the state just as it willensure that lives and properties areprotected in an atmosphere offreedom to practice any religion.
spirit of tolerance, love and goodneighbourliness amongst themselvesas exemplified by the ProphetMohammed (SAW).
He said it is only by doing this thatthey will be living up to theexpectations of God Almighty.He saidthe Nigerian nation is currentlypassing through some toughchallenges, but expressed optimismthat everything will be better forNigeria and Nigerians sooner thanlater.
From Ahmed kaigama, Bauchi
By Lawrence Olaoye
L-R Adamawa state Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, Minister of State Finance, Dr. YarimaNgama, discussing during their meeting with Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan held at the StateHouse Abuja recently. Photo: Joe Oroye
In a letter signed by theSecretary of the Commission,Abdullahi Kaugama, theCommissuion stated that thetenure of the Chairman andSecretary of IPAC expired sinceMarch, 21st, 2012.
INEC further said that in linewith relevant provisions of thePolitical Parties Code of Conduct,2011, IPAC is expected to elect,under the supervision of theCommission, a Chairman and a
Secretary for a one (1) year termbased on merit and commitment.
According to the latter,“Political Parties are advised toimmediately organize and notifythe Commission on the date for theconduct of elections to fill the vacantpositions of Chairman andSecretary of the Inter-PartyAdvisory Committee (IPAC).”
This comes in compliance to thedemand of 37 political parties thatthe INEC should urgently put
Independent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC) has written to the
national chairmen of registeredpolitical parties, directing them toimmediately organize and notifythe Commission on the date toconduct the Inter Party AdvisoryCouncil (IPAC) election for a newset of leaders.
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
intervention of the duo ofGeneral Ibrahim BadamasiBabangida (GCFR) and AlhajiAtiku Abubakar (GCON) in theircall for Nigerians to rally roundPresident Goodluck Jonathan totackle the security and economicchallenges facing the nation, andthe condemnation ofsecessionists threats by a fewmisguided elements.
“The pronouncements by theelder statesmen at a time someself seeking individuals andpolitical groups are fanning theembers of hatred and divisionare a joyful reminder that thereare still highly respected leaderswho are willing to rise abovenarrow sectional considerations
for the overall stability of thecountry.
“Nigerians will recall thatGeneral Babangida in his mediaparley to celebrate his 71stbirthday described calls for theresignation of the President as“laughable”. Former VicePresident Atiku Abubakar alsoechoed the same voice, urgingNigerians to put aside politicsand join hands in preventing thethreat to our corporate existenceby some ethnic organizations. Wecommend the statesmanlydisposition of these distinguishedpolitical icons and urge Nigeriansto take a cue from this.
We appreciate that in amultiparty democracy, there are
PDP eulogizes IBB, Atikuover peace efforts
different views on governance.However, the plurality of viewsmust never be allowed to threatenthe corporate existence of theCountry. Nigeria must remainour common denominator inspite of our different political andcultural orientations.”
While wishing the nationHappy Sallah, the partycounseled the people to hold ontothe lessons of the holy monthwhich are supplications to theAlmighty, sacrifice andbrotherly love for one another.According to the party, “Wecannot claim to be people of faithif our actions negate thefundamental prescriptions of ourcreator.
By Lawrence Olaoye
The former governor ofOyo state, SenatorRashidi Ladoja, has said
his much expected return to thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP)has been put on hold.
Ladoja who disclosed this tonewsmen yesterday afterobserving the end of Ramadanprayer at Agodi Eid-prayingground said the negotiation hasbeen frustrated on differentgrounds.
He assured that AccordParty will continue to serve asthe alternative party to rulingAction Congress of Nigeria(ACN) and PDP in Oyo state.
Ladoja however expressedhis sadness at the refusal of thestate government to conductlocal government elections in
My return to PDP no longer on course, says Ladojathe state after fifteen monthsin office.
According to him, it isunconstitutional to havecaretaker chairmen to steer theship of the council for morethan a year in office.
He further disclosed that theworking relationship with theGovernor Ajimobi governmentis still on course noting that thegovernor is expected to fulfillhis part of the agreement.
Ladoja explained thatGovernor Ajimobi was one whoinvited the Accord Party tohelp him stabilise hisgovernment so as to have timeto work saying that thegovernor has not said he doesnot need Accord Party’sassistance again.
The Ibadan High Chiefhowever noted that although
leaders of the ACN aremounting pressure on Ajimobinot to honour his side ofagreement, he still believesthat he would honour it.
“My negotiation with thePDP is no longer on course. Weare open to negotiation. Accordparty will be an alternativeparty for both the ACN andPDP in 2015. I cannot say Iwould contest in 2015 becauseI don’t know if I will be alivethen. I am not happy that Localgovernment council electionhas not been conducted in thestate. I spoke to the governorand he told me that there is apending case in the court. Weshould try to build institutionand not people. Irrespective ofwho heads the OYSIEC, theyshould be able to conduct freeand fair election,” he said
The Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) haseulogized both the former
Military President IbrahimBadamasi Babangida and theformer Vice President AtikuAbubakar for their declaredsupport for President PresidentGoodluck Jonathan in finding alasting solution to the economicand security challenges facingthe nation.
The party in a statementmade available to newsmen byits National Publicity Secretary,Chief Olisa Metuh, stated ”ThePDP wishes to specificallycommend the patriotic
The National Associationof Nigerian Traders(NANTS) and the
Nigeria Union of TradersAssociation, Ghana (NUTAG),have commended the Speakerof the ECOWAS Parliament,Ike Ekweremmadu, forintervening to preventpossible crackdown onNigerian and other ECOWASnationals’ businesses inGhana.
In a letter to Ekweremadu,the Nigerian businesscommunity in Ghana said theintervention by ECOWASParliament, which flowed fromthe Speaker’s decision to tabletheir petition for debate, savedwhat would have been a badsituation, not just for theNigerian businesscommunity, but otherECOWAS Nationals in Ghana.
The letter which wasjointly signed by theSecretariat President ofNANTS, Ken Ukaoha andSecretary-General of NUTAG,Comrade Jasper Emenike readin part, “We write to expressour sincere appreciation forthe swift response andexpeditious intervention of theECOWAS Parliament underyour distinguished leadership,over the threats, harassmentand intimidation meted outby the Ghana Authorities onECOWAS nationals living anddoing business in Ghana.
“We note withappreciations that it was basedon this swift intervention thatthe Government of Ghanaannounced the suspension ofthe implementation of thefour-month ultimatum inrelation to the planned closureof shops and subsequentdeportation of Nigeria andECOWAS Traders in Ghanaover the Ghana InvestmentPromotion Centre ForeignInvestment Act, 1994.”
The Nigerian businessassociations which also calledfor the establishment ofECOWAS Regional Markets inat least four different parts ofthe sub-region to assume thestatus and benefits of a freetrade zone for the promotion ofregional trade and made-in-West Africa goods and services,extolled the vibrant andvisionary leadership whichSenator Ekweremadu hadbrought to bear on ECOWASParliament and regionalintegration.
“We cannot wholly expressour gratitude to God formaking you a leader inECOWAS at this time inhistory when the region isfaced with several challengesranging from political,security, economic, and theirsocial dimensions”, accordingto the letter.
A member representingEket/Esit-Eket/Onna/Ibeno Federal Constituency
in the House of Representatives,Bassey Dan-Abia, has called on themanagement of Mobil ProducingUnlimited to immediatelycommence the clean-up of oilspillage at its Idoho Platform inAkwa Ibom state.
According to him, the spillagewhich occurred in Atiacommunity in Ibeno LocalGovernment has desecrated thecommunity and affected themeans of livelihood of the people.
Dan-Abia, in a statement issuedon the matter also urged the oilcompany to begin immediatepayment of compensation to theaffected communities.
According to him, the spill hasextended from Esuk Ikimi, to otherfishing communities like Ekeme,Esuk Ikim Akwaha, Ndito Eka Ipa,Itak Idim Ekpe, Itak Ifaha, Etio Esek,Atia, Okposo 1 and Okposo 2.
While bemoaning theconsequences of the spill on theenvironment, the lawmaker alsonoted that it has adversely affectedthe lives of the people who dependon fishing for their livelihood as thewaters have been polluted leadingto truncation of fishing activities,and depriving the people the sourceof their major trade.
He expressed his worries overthe spate of oil spillage in theNigeria oil extractive sector, as henoted that the unpalatablesituation is fuelled by “pervasiveorganisation failure along withweak Federal Regulation”.
While urging the residents ofthe affected area to remain calm,he however warned that anyattempt by Mobil ProducingUnlimited not to have animmediate oil spill response planwould not be acceptable.
Rep urgesMobil toclean-up oilspill in A/IbomBy Lawrence Olaoye
Kano state Governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and his Kaduna counterpart, Mr. PatrickIbrahim Yakowa, discussing during the PDP meeting held in Abuja recently. Photo: Joe Oroye
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan
PAGE 40 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
Two former Action Congressof Nigeria (ACN)governorship candidates
in Plateau state are underpressure by several groups tochallenge Governor JonahJang’s candidate, GyangPwajok, in the bye-election intoPlateau northern senatorialzone seat.
The seat became vacantfollowing the death of SenatorGyang Dantong who died duringthe mass burial of over 50persons massacred in Masehvillage of Riyom LocalGovernment Area of Plateaustate.
Those under pressure to jointhe fray are Ambassador ChrisGiwa who contested the lastgovernorship election against
Dungs, Giwa to challenge Jang’scandidate in Senatorial bye-election
God to take the country to greaterheights.
“On behalf of Gov. OlusegunMimiko of Ondo, we want to adviseMuslims to continue to be yourbrother’s keeper.
“We must live in peace with ourneighbours, we must imbibe, at alltimes, the spirit of oneness, piety, andself sacrifice that we alldemonstrated during the fastingperiod.
“We must emulate theteachings Prophet Mohammed if allour sacrifices and fasting must makeany meaning before AlmightyAllah.
“We, therefore, wish all ourMuslim brothers and sisters inOndo and Nigeria, as a whole, ahappy Eid- el-Fitr and pray that theAlmighty Allah grants our prayersand accept our deeds,’’ theOrganisation stated.
It assured the people of the statethat the Mimiko administrationwould not rest on its oars in ensuringthat the rate of rapid developmentin the state continued beyond Oct.20 when the state would hold a newgovernorship election.
Governor Jang under theplatform of ACN and retiredColonel John Dungs who alsocontested against Governor Jangunder the platform of ActionCongress (AC) in 2003 butcontested the senatorial electionagainst late Dantong under theplatform of Democratic PeoplesParty (DPP).
Giwa came second in the lastgovernorship and has theresources and strength toprosecute the election.Similarly, Dung also has theresources and followership.
Our reporter gathered thatPwajok resigned hisappointment as the Chief of Staffto Governor Jang and before hisappointment he was a lecturerwith the university of Jos,Department of political science.
However, both Dungs, Giwa
and Pwajok are the GovernorJang’s kinsmen but Pwajokhailed from the same Du villagewith Jang and as such heenjoyed a lot of governmentbacking than the others inrespect of bye election.
Our reporter observed thatthe election is going to be keenlycontested as other Beroms arebeginning to question the choiceof Pwajok on the grounds thathimself and Jang are fromthesame village and that thedeceased (Dantong) hailed fromRiyom LGA and that it will idealfor the Governor to pick somefrom Riyom and not Du.
There are indications thatthe aggrieved LG workers whohave been on strike for almostfour months over the refusal ofthe state government toimplement the 18, 000
A lawmaker, Rep. PallyIriase (ACN- Owan East /West, Edo) in the House of
Representatives, said yesterdaythat creating more states in Nigeriawould not be in the best interest ofthe country.
He instead canvassed for theautonomy and empowerment oflocal governments.
Iriase told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) that grantingautonomy to the local governmentswas imperative because it wouldenable them to operate as a true tierof government.
The lawmaker expressed worrythat creation of more states couldcreate “corruption centres,’’ addingthat those agitating for more statesdid not wish the country well.
“Those who are calling for the
Lawmaker says creation of morestates not in Nigeria’s interest
creation of more states are notwishing Nigerians well; I am notfor creation of more states becausewe have many states that are notviable.
“When you create states, youcreate more corruption centres.What we allocate to maintain thosepolitical institutions is mind-boggling and it is not helpful toNigerians.
“What we are just doing is toreplicate these centres that are justthere for consumption, and theyproduce much less than they takefrom the national cake,” he added.
Iriase said the clamour for morestates would be reduced if localgovernments were even allowedsemi-autonomy.
“After all, the local governmentis the unit of government that is
closer to the people, not thestates,” he said.
He told NAN that the issue oflocal governments not being givena free hand to run their affairs wouldbe addressed by the ConstitutionReview Committee.
Iriase also told NAN that theissue of devolution of powers iftackled would entrench truefederalism among the variousstates in the country.
“If there is devolution of powers,if there is true federalism, therewould be very healthy competitionamongst the states.
“It would even give morecredence to party manifesto becauseeach party that has certain statesas their sphere of influence wouldwant to outshine the other,” Iriasesaid. (NAN)
R-L former Anambra state Governor Senator Chris Ngige and former Managing Director ZennithBank Chief Jim Ovia discussing during their private meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan atthe State House Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye
The Olusegun MimikoCampaign Organisation inAkure yesterday urged
Muslims to imbibe the lessons andvalues of Ramadan.
In a statement, Mr KolawoleOlabisi, the Director of Publicity andMedia Relations of the organisation,said the core values of Ramadanincluded personal sacrifice, pietyand self-denial.
The organisation urgedMuslims to demonstrate the valuesat all times and not only during theRamadan.
It urged Muslims to pray fordivine healing of the nation fromthe wanton waste of lives andproperty, which had plagued thepolity in recent times.
It said that unless the faithfulrededicated themselves to theteachings of Prophet Mohammedall their sacrifices during the 30days of fasting would amount tonothing.
The organisation saidthat piety, devotion, spirit ofoneness and good neighbourlinessdisplayed during Ramadan mustcontinue as “we collectively pray
inclination; we must learn to loveeach other.
“The only time we believe in oneNigeria is when we are playingfootball, if that is the case, we aregoing to be playing that footballeveryday.”
In his response, the Chief Imamof Onitsha, Alhaji AbdulrahmanYahaya, thanked the governor’saide for the gesture and assured thegovernment of continuous supportfor its programmes by the Muslimcommunity.
Yahaya noted that the tworeligions preached peace, love andgood neighbourliness.
“We would continue to preachand teach our Muslim faithful tocontinue to seek peace and embracedialogue in resolving anycontentious issue in the state,’’ he said.
Anambra govt. urges Muslimsto promote peace, love
Anambra Government hasurged Muslim faithful tocontinue to maintain and
promote the existing peace and lovein the state.
Chief Benji Obi, the Senior SpecialAssistant to Gov. Peter Obi on Inter-Party Affairs, made the appeal onFriday in Onitsha while breaking fastwith Muslim faithful.
The governor’s aide also donatedfood, confectioneries and drinks to theMuslim faithful.
Obi said that the stategovernment would continue toprovide a conducive environment forall residents of the state,notwithstanding their religious orpolitical inclinations.
“The message I came with is toshow the Muslims that we are one,irrespective of your religious
Bala Dawakin-Kudu, in Kano onSaturday.
Ganduje appealed to Muslims toemulate Prophet Muhammed’s wayof life, stressing that the one-monthRamadan fasting should be seen as aperiod for cleansing and atonement.
“After the Ramadan, we shouldbe more determined to live in thepath of Allah as true believers.
“We should also emulate theexemplary attributes of Islamwhich are love, tolerance, andpeaceful co-existence,’’ he said.
He called on the people tocontinue to pray for peace, unityand progress of the state and thecountry.
“We must see ourselves aspartners in progress so that we canhave a state which will be an envyof others in the country.’’
In Gusau, Gov. Abdulaziz Yari ofZamfara on Saturday warnedthat nobody should pay him thetraditional Sallah homage.
Governors, CAN task Nigerians ongood neighbourliness, tolerance
Gov. Babatunde Fashola ofLagos state has called onNigerians to use the Eid el Fitr
period to demonstrate virtues thatpromote good neigbourliness andpeaceful co-existence.
Fashola made the call in his Sallahmessage signed by Mr Hakeem Bello,his Special Adviser on Media, in Lagoson Saturday.
He urged Nigerians, especiallyMuslims to rededicate their lives to Godas the ultimate reasonand the significance of the Ramadanfasting.
He called on citizens to respect thecountry‘s laws, pointing out thatdeveloped countries thrivedon compliance with laws by theircitizens.
Also, the Deputy Governor of KanoState, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, calledon Muslims in the state to imbibe thespirit of tolerance and sacrifice.
This is contained in a sallahmessage signed by his Director of Press,
ManchesterUnited go formore playersafter Robin VanPersie deal
An empty sack will not standupright - Ghanaian Proverb
It now appears that thenation has missed the realimport of the joint statement
released two weeks ago by formerPresidents Obasanjo andBabangida. In the period since thestatement was released, it hasbeen subjected to a deservingtorrent of analyses, criticalreviews, condemnations andcommendations, which is to beexpected. After all, this was ajoint statement from two of theprime architects of the state ofour current political framework,in a context which stronglyargues that the presentadministration is more a victimof our inherited limitations thantheir designers. NeitherPresident Jonathan nor his legionof spokespersons has evenbothered to respond to thestatement which drawsattention to serious threats to thesecurity of the nation, andwidespread doubts over its abilityto survive them. But we haveheard thundering repudiationsagainst calls for the President toresign, or even, the mostlaughable of all, against allegedcalls by a Muslim group that hebecomes a Muslim or faceunending violent challenge.
The statement by two formerPresidents who are walkingencyclopedias on crisismanagement andmismanagement was a warningthat the nation is tottering on thebrink, and citizens need to stepback and chart a course awayfrom a future which promisesnothing but pain and privation.The statement said nothingabout the administration’s role inthe perilous state of our securitysituation, a politicalenvironment whichprogressively polarizes thenation, and an economicmanagement style which breedsunprecedented waste andcorruption. Perhaps the twoelders felt it was not their place tojoin the bandwagon of criticswhich President Jonathan seemsto expand by the day. Or perhapsthey have offered all the advisethey can in private, and havedecided to absolve themselves ofblame for watching the nationburn and disintegrate in silence.So they turn on citizens, victimsof a very weak leadership, andappeal to them to raise theirlevels of patriotism and
It is now imperative that thenation reassesses its approach tothe many limitations of thisadministration. Critics of theadministration need to re-evaluate their strategies, and inparticular, ask whethercriticisms alone can influence theway President Jonathan governsthis nation. The simple truth isthat the Jonathanadministration is being swampedby the challenges it faces, and itscapacity to deal with them iswoefully inadequate. An attitudewhich suggests to him that he isdoing well, but is not beingappreciated by millions ofcitizens will reinforce a mindsetwhich encourages more of thesame. Similarly, critics whothink pointing at massive deficitsin competence, integrity andvision will be sufficient to raisethe bar, or create a critical massof hostility and resistance in thecountry are just as much aliability as the administration isto Nigerians.
What the nation needs is astrong push from politicians,civil society, professional groups,organized labour and youth tocreate a massive momentumtowards real change, which willassist this administration withideas, strategies, options andsupport to address the mostcritical of its weaknesses. Insteadof accusing Jonathan ofindifference towards a nationgradually falling apart, apolitical summit should beconvened by elder statesmen,active and retired politicians,academia and civil society toattempt to rebuild bridges whichhave been crumbling since2009. The summit shouldaddress the manifest challengesfrom the effects of JASLIWAJ(Boko Haram) phenomenon, theperilous state of the politicaleconomy of much of the north,the incipient challenges to theunity of the country from thesouth-south, and the issuesrelating to the clamour for aConstitutional Conference.
Manchester Unitedmanager Sir AlexFerguson is not ruling
out making another signingbefore the close of the transferwindow.
United completed thecapture of striker Robin vanPersie from Arsenal on Friday,with the Dutchman followingShinji Kagawa and Nick Powellin joining the Red Devils thissummer.
Ferguson, though, couldyet further add to his ranks,amid suggestions he remains inthe market for a left back, withEverton's Leighton Bainesthought to be high on his list oftargets.
"We have spent a bigamount of money and, if I needto go to the owners, I am surethey would say 'yes'. But it's onlyif a certain player would becomeavailable."
www.peoplesdaily-online.com
. . . putting the people first
commitment to the future of thenation.
Alhaji Ahmed Joda also raisedhis voice, but he went further tomake specific demands onPresident Jonathan. In additionto convening a ConstituentAssembly to knock togetheranother constitution which willmore appropriately reflect theconcerns and challenges ofcontemporary realities, he asksJonathan to fight corruption,eliminate waste, improve thequality of governance, addresssecurity issues more vigorously,improve the electoral processbefore 2015, and renounce anyintention to run as Presidentagain.
Alhaji Joda acknowledgesthat President Jonathan’sadministration has a major roleto play in the manner our currentchallenges are resolved; and hisperson and political ambition arecentral to the resolution of thesechallenges in the long term.Again, the administration hasnot uttered a word, not even thecustomary condemnation ofcriticisms, in response to AlhajiJoda’s reinforcement of the twoformer leaders’ plea. Instead, it isdigging in on a now familiarstrategy of ignoring problems, orinforming the nation that theydo not exist; and if they do, theywere created by pastadministrations, or are productsof a northern-based insurgency;or are well on their way to beingsolved.
Former Heads of State and otherelders can spearhead this. It willbe in the interest of PresidentJonathan and his administrationand his party to work with andin the summit. If he chooses toignore it, it should still go ahead,and let Nigerians know what itsees and advises.
Instead of accusing Jonathanof being clueless regarding theJASLIWAJ (Boko Haram)insurgency, the Muslimleadership should engage itself ina search over what could possiblyhave bred this insurgency; whatits place is in mainstream Islamicdoctrines; and what needs to bedone to engage it by Muslims, non-Muslims and the Nigerians State.This challenge can be taken up bya few respected ulama, leaders andgroups, but it must have sufficientscope and integrity to guide theMuslim community and theNigerian state adequately interms of how to relate to it.
Instead of locking ourselves upagainst resurging kidnapping,violent crimes, bombs and bullets,our senior retired heads of policeand other security agencies shouldput heads together to examine thebasic weaknesses of our law andorder institutions. Retiredmembers of the judiciary shouldexamine why our judicial systemis too weak to contain massiveassaults on its integrity. We needexpert and experienced hands totell us how to re-invent our police,and provide answers to the manyquestions we ask over federal andstate police, and the near-irrelevance of the police as a toolagainst disorder and crime.Retired Chief Justices can initiatethis on their own. If theadministration wants to be part ofit, fine. If not, let them tellNigerians what they think iswrong, and what can be done aboutit.
Instead of lamenting the theftof our nation by pervasive andpolitically-entrenched corruption,civil society, labour, professionalgroups and other patriotic citizensshould work under a C.S.Oumbrella to examine the reasonswhy corruption has eaten so deeplyinto our value systems andinstitutions, and what steps theadministration should take tobegin to roll it back. If theadministration wants to be part ofthis very important work, fine. Ifnot, Nigerians should be told what,in specific terms, needs to be doneto deal with current cases ofcorruption being investigated orbeing prosecuted, what needs to bedone to dilute the intimate linkagesbetween politics and corruption,and what needs to be done in thelong term to reduce it to the barestminimum.
Sixteen-year-old FabriceOlinga made historywhen he became the
youngest ever player to scorein La Liga, grabbing the onlygoal as Malaga clinched a 1-0victory at promoted CeltaVigo.
The Cameroon-bornforward came on as a 58th-minute substitute to make hisleague debut and got the 84th-minute winner as the newseason got under way.
At only 16 years and 98days, Olinga is 191 daysyounger than current AthleticBilbao player Iker Muniain whohad held the previous record foryoungest scorer.
Malaga coach ManuelPellegrini denied that theteenager's debut was a messageto the club's owners who havebeen criticised for selling someof their best players over thesummer.
